Farmers Weekly NZ March 27 2023

Clear path sought for inhibitor approval

A mood for change

towards creating a united voice between BLNZ, Federated Farmers and DairyNZ.

SOUTHLAND farmer

Geoffrey Young says his elevation to the board of Beef + Lamb New Zealand is a win for the country’s “disenfranchised and unheard farmers”.

Young ousted long-serving board member and chair Andrew Morrison after winning the Southern South Island director election by 8777 weighted votes to 6587 votes.

Morrison’s term will end after the BLNZ annual meeting in New Plymouth on March 30, when a new chair will be elected.

At the same time, Morrison’s term with the New Zealand Meat Board will conclude and that board will elect a new chair following the BLNZ meeting.

Young told Farmers Weekly there is clearly a mood for change among farmers and his decision to stand has “certainly been vindicated”.

“I’m delighted for all of the farmers who have felt unheard or ignored or disenfranchised by Beef + Lamb over the last several years,” he said.

Young stood as an independent, but said senior members of Federated Farmers and lobby group Groundswell had asked him to put his name forward. He said he is honoured to be elected and now wants to move

“Andrew has worked very hard and has certainly raised the profile,” Young said.

“But farmers felt he wasn’t being strong enough in their advocacy, especially around He Waka Eke Noa [HWEN] and greenhouse gas emissions.”

In those positions you need to represent all sheep and beef farmers nationally. You can’t represent an interest group or a region.

Given Young’s clear majority in the election, he hopes the board will be open to discussions about HWEN and its future.

“I’m not in favour of sitting in a meeting just for the sake of talking. I like to see something get done.”

Morrison was disappointed to lose, but said that is the nature of democracy.

He said he has enjoyed his nine years with BLNZ, including five as chair, and said its staff and management are outstanding.

Morrison believes strong farmer feelings about HWEN had “massively” played a part in voting.

Continued page 3

Planting and growing tourism on farm

Agritourism NZ founder Marijke Dunselman says a new programme for farmers covers all aspects of starting an on-farm agritourism business.

PEOPLE 4

Processors step up after cyclone mayhem

The New Zealand Defence Force used AFFCO’s Wairoa plant as a base to store emergency provisions for distribution in the devastated region by military personnel and the council.

OPINION 26

Beef + Lamb NZ campaign shows it’s possible to add value to red meat and reap a premium

MARKETS 9

NZ risks being left behind as developments overtake early cautious approach to genetic tech

TECHNOLOGY 19

‘Grow agritech’s contribution to $8bn by 2030’ is AgriTech New Zealand’s new strategy

TECHNOLOGY 29

Craig Page NEWS Governance

Andrew Morrison BLNZ outgoing chair

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News in brief

Westland in the black

Westland Milk Products posted record sales in 2022 and is firmly back in the black.

Revenue jumped 27% year on year in the 12 months to December 31 to $1.04 billion. Profit was $39 million versus a loss of $82.2m in calendar 2021.

Westland continues to pay farmers a 10 cent premium above the forecast Fonterra payout.

Weather dents Pāmu

Climatic weather events and softer milk prices have seen Pāmu lower its net operating profit full-year forecast from $55 million to $34-$44m.

Early assessment of the cost of Cyclone Gabrielle’s damage to 24 of its farms is $6.5m over two years, with $2.5m falling in the current financial year.

The change to expected net operating profit also reflects a reduction in forecast revenue from both dairy and livestock.

Trade deficit grows

A $41 million increase in goods exported in February compared with the same month last year was matched by a $40m increase in imports.

The net result is a merchandise (goods) trade deficit of $714m that remains close to record levels.

There was an increase of 0.8% in exports. A re-opened China helped to drive this, with an extra $100m in exports heading there in February compared with the same month in 2022.

Fert prices ease

OUTLOOK: Jarden’s head of derivatives, Mike McIntyre, says the medium-term milk price outlook is around $8.50 and milk price futures contracts for next season and the following season are trading at that level.

The cost of phosphate and nitrogen-based fertilisers has come down again with both Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown announcing cuts in price.

According to NZX’s Grain and Feed Insights report, Ballance eased its prices for urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP), with Nrich Urea reducing 8.13% to $1130/t, from the previous price of $1230/t. DAP prices declined 11.14% from the previous price of $1795/t to $1595/t. Ravensdown followed suit.

Back in 1860, exporting meat to the other side of the world seemed about as easy as nailing gravy to the ceiling. But a few determined kiwis took the bull by the horns and now our grass-fed beef and lamb is sought-after all around the globe.

At AFFCO, we see the same pioneering spirit alive and well in farmers today. We’re playing our part too – exploring every opportunity to take New Zealand’s finest farm-raised products to the world.

pioneering spirit tells us nothing’s out of reach

O’Connor questions BLNZ’s ‘priorities’

Gerald Piddock POLITICS Policy & regulation

AGRICULTURE Minister

Damien O’Connor says he questions the priorities of Beef+Lamb New Zealand after it launched a campaign against government policies it says are crippling farmers.

That campaign, Kiwis Backing Farmers, was launched earlier in March by BLNZ together with advocacy group 50 Shades of Green.

My view is that perhaps they would be better off spending that money on investigating drench resistance or helping their farmers in Hawke’s Bay or the east coast.

Speaking in Hamilton, O’Connor questioned whether BLNZ wouldn’t be better off focusing its energy and resources on bigger priorities.

“My view is that perhaps they would be better off spending

that money on investigating drench resistance or helping their farmers in Hawke’s Bay or the east coast.”

The organisation should work towards making farming systems more resilient so farms are not affected like they were when Cyclone Gabrielle occurred, he said.

Kiwis Backing Farmers aims to highlight the cumulative impact on rural communities of successive government policies – for example, the wholesale conversion of productive sheep and beef farms into carbon farms.

The Meat Industry Association (MIA) has backed the campaign, saying the only sustainable way for the government to deliver better outcomes for the environment and the economy is to work with farmers.

“Many of these regulations could be much better aligned with on-farm practice, and collectively add unnecessary costs on farmers at a time when inflation and volatile global markets are putting their operations under extreme pressure,” MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said.

The meat-processing sector is also concerned about the lack of limits on fossil fuel emitters offsetting their emissions by planting trees on productive land, she said.

GRASSROOTS: Geo rey Young says his decision to stand in the Beef + Lamb NZ election was about giving a voice to grassroots farming.

When asked if he was disappointed, O’Connor said: “Yeah, I hope some of the decisions made at the [BLNZ] AGM aren’t a backwards step.

“I can remember the vote to remove the wool levy, which has been part of the destruction of opportunities for wool, and we’re desperately trying to build it

back up using taxpayers’ money.

“Hopefully they share the vision of a better future.

“It does require commitment; it does require an industry good organisation and it requires people to make hard decisions on their behalf.”

BLNZ’s annual meeting is in New Plymouth on March 30.

Continued from page 1

“The issues that were yesterday in the sector remain the same tomorrow. It’s very easy to make a statement about whatever. The point is, the challenge remains the same and a solution has to be found.

“In those positions you need to represent all sheep and beef farmers nationally. You can’t represent an interest group or a region. That may be viewed as a challenge for some.”

Nine remits have been lodged by farmers to be discussed at the meeting, indicating a heightened level of frustration by some levy players.

Those remits cover issues of weighted voting, consultation, transparency and a call for BLNZ to leave the He Waka Eke Noa partnership.

Morrison has been inundated with messages of support since the election, which he said has been “quite humbling”.

“None of us do this for the money. We do this because we like the sector. I understand the angst in the sector and that some people might not get the outcome they wanted in some of the policies.”

Morrison is now looking forward to spending more time on his farm and with family, particularly his ageing mother.

LOOKING AHEAD: Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says he hopes decisions made at Beef + Lamb NZ’s upcoming AGM won’t be ‘a backwards step’.

Damien O’Connor Agriculture Minister

Retreat from Russia drags on for Fonterra

Nigel Stirling NEWS Fonterra

FONTERRA is still winding down its Russia business more than a year after announcing a decision to exit following the invasion of Ukraine.

Trade statistics show dairy exports from New Zealand stopped in April last year soon after Fonterra announced it would be pulling out of the Russian market, and have not resumed.

In a statement the co-operative said it exited its Russian joint venture Unifood last month but has yet to close its Moscow sales office.

“The wholly owned Moscowbased sales office is currently in the advanced stages of liquidation [which], subject to getting final regulatory clearances, is expected to be completed in May.

“Most of the Fonterra employees that worked in this sales office have been redeployed to other parts of Fonterra’s business,” the statement said.

Fonterra had employed seven people in its Moscow office and a further 35 at its Unifood joint venture in St Petersburg.

The co-operative said a confidentiality agreement prevents it from disclosing the terms of the disposal of its Unifood stake.

In March last year Fonterra said it expected a financial hit of less than $10 million from exiting its Russian businesses.

It is understood Fonterra spent $30m for a 49% share in Unifood, which it set up in 2017 with its Russian distributor Galaktika, owned by former Russian naval officer Maksim Ivanov.

Russian media reports at the time said the St Petersburg factory established by the joint venture planned to manufacture and distribute products using both imported and local ingredients and would employ 100 people.

However, the factory ran into problems early on, struggling to source local milk and imported dairy products for further processing, running at only 20%30% capacity.

The struggle to get its hands on imported dairy products wasn’t helped by the slow reinstatement of export licences for NZ dairy factories blacklisted by the Russian government following Fonterra’s 2013 botulism scare.

In its statement, Fonterra said the St Petersburg factory is continuing to operate but it could not say who bought its stake or for how much. It would also not say if or by how much it had previously written down the value of its Unifood stake.

A lawyer helping NZ companies trading with Russia told Farmers Weekly the war in Ukraine has made it very difficult to get money out of the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had introduced capital controls to prevent a run on the country’s banks, effectively freezing the bank balances of Western companies.

sanctions would make it next to impossible to find a NZ bank willing to repatriate funds.

Exporters are also being squeezed by Russian customs authorities.

“At the eleventh hour just as your product is at the border they make you sign a waiver saying if anything happens to this consignment or if we have any problems we reserve the right to destroy it at your expense,” the lawyer said.

“You have got to have your wits about you and I think the vast bulk of Kiwi businesses have thought they might invest their time elsewhere.”

How to plant and grow tourism on your farm

with a focus on planning, product development (assessing opportunities on your farm), marketing and health and safety.

luxury lodges, from educational tours to multi-day walks.

AN AGRITOURISM training programme has been set up to help farmers who are looking to diversify their income.

The new Regional Agritourism Accelerator Programme covers all aspects of starting and growing a successful agritourism business

“We have worked with, trained and coached hundreds of (agri) tourism businesses over the years”, Agritourism NZ founder Marijke Dunselman said.

Agritourism can be defined as a tourism activity on a working farm, from farm cottages to

“There are so many ways to add value to farming operations by hosting visitors through a range of activities and accommodation options. There are also opportunities to partner with other businesses to operate a tourism business on your land and share profits.”

The programme will run in regions around New Zealand from May and is supported by regional economic development agencies.

It starts with a full day inperson workshop, followed by five monthly in-depth webinars. Each regional group will have the opportunity to form an Agritourism Cluster and network with other agritourism operators around NZ.

Fonterra

Even if it was possible to access money held in Russian bank accounts, Western financial

DIVERSIFY: There are so many ways to add value to farming operations by hosting visitors through a range of activities and accommodation options.

MORE:

For more information, locations and dates, visit www.agritourism.nz

PROTEST: A year ago Fonterra announced its decision to exit Russia following that country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: Matti Karstedt

Most of the Fonterra employees that worked in this sales office have been redeployed to other parts of Fonterra’s business.

Clear path sought for inhibitor approval

Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Regulation

WITH at least three methane inhibitor products waiting in the wings for commercialisation, questions remain over the process to get government approval for farmers to access and use the technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Late last year the Animal Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) division of the Ministry for Primary Industries published long-awaited guidelines containing the information needed to support an application for methane inhibitor use in livestock.

These included an outline of the study design, quantifying efficacy claims, and the type of measurement techniques used when trialling product compounds.

But, while welcoming the arrival of guidelines, a regulatory consultant fears they are still too generalised, and fail to embolden commercial companies to be the first to set foot on the regulatory pathway.

For farmers the clock is ticking on mitigation, with He Waka Eke Noa requiring a 10% reduction by 2030, and few tools on the table so far to do so.

Julia McNab, director of regulatory consultants Intuit Regulatory, noted the guidelines are relatively explicit about the type of technology that should be used to measure compounds’ efficacy, including respiratory chambers and the GreenFeed feed portioning and gas monitoring equipment.

“But it is considerably less specific about how many trials you need, including what different stock classes and the feed types that efficacy needs to be trialled upon,” McNab said.

“There is some guidance there, but not enough. Companies don’t want to go through their trial programme only to find that ACVM will only grant them a limited label claim.”

The draft guidance document states trial animals should be clinically healthy and representative of the age, sex, and class for which the inhibitor is to be administered.

Stock are to be “typical to the average NZ farm for that species and class”.

Efficacy claims have to state the compound achieves “at least x% reduction in methane yield for x% of days”.

more overseas countries start to grant approval to methane inhibitors, there is a real risk New Zealand will be left behind.

“There is a sense that no one company wants to be the first to seek approval through the ACVM guidelines. Many are starting to think perhaps it is easier to get over the line in the likes of Europe, or Australia.”

NZ Food Safety deputy directorgeneral Vincent Arbuckle told Farmers Weekly farmers need to be confident that inhibitors are safe and fit for purpose for NZ farming conditions.

He said the inhibitor guidance documents include public consultation and targeted consultation with key stakeholders, including inhibitor manufacturers, with generally positive feedback on the documents.

“It is not possible to provide prescriptive details on how many trials or what measures are needed, as there are too many variables, and different kinds of inhibitors will likely need a different trial/research approach.

“These variables include the target animal type, it’s physiological state (whether it’s pregnant or growing or lactating), types of animal feed and how the inhibitor is to be applied.

after following market approval processes.

A DSM spokesperson said the company is working hard to complete some of the NZspecific and unique requirements, and anticipates handing in its registration in the course of this year.

DELAYED: Intuit Regulatory director Julia McNab says it is a case of ‘you go, no you go’ when it comes to companies being rst movers for seeking methane inhibitor approval.

McNab said the concern within the industry is the lack of feed type specificity, which needs tightening up.

“It means things could get quite complicated and you could end up having to conduct dozens of trials. We are still looking for clarity and guidance.”

She agreed that as more and

“Instead, the documents provide advice on key components and statistical information to ensure the appropriate number of animals are used in a trial,” he said in a written statement.

So far, 20 of the 21 applications for approvals have been granted for research purposes.

Dutch nutrition giant DSM confirmed last year its methane mitigator Bovaer is available for commercial use in Australia

Fonterra confirmed it is continuing to investigate its Kowbucha inhibitor. Long-term trials are underway to determine reproducibility of earlier results and the company remains optimistic about the solution and continues to work with regulators to support the process.

McNab likened the process for methane inhibitor approval to that of getting a new drench active over the line – costing millions and taking several years.

She also has concerns over the lack of testing infrastructure in NZ, including the number of

respiratory monitoring chambers. Mark Aspin, manager for Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium, agreed there are few gas testing facilities.

“But yes, we are going to see more of them. There are plans afoot to double the number of chambers from four to eight with AgResearch in Palmerston North, and possibly another set in the South Island. Infrastructure for respiratory study does hold us back.”

Aspin is hopeful the guidelines will cope with having data that is used in product development at scale also feeding into regulatory efficacy data, helping save research dollars in the process.

He said his understanding of discussions to date is that if a company has the data, and it meets the criteria, there is a real likelihood it can go ahead with production.

There is some guidance there, but not enough. Companies don’t want to go through their trial programme only to find that ACVM will only grant them a limited label claim.

Julia McNab Intuit Regulatory

Rising profits lift Fonterra share price

Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Fonterra

THE prospects of Fonterra paying a good dividend and a capital return this year have driven up the Fonterra Shareholders Fund (FSF) unit price from $3.05 to $3.50.

Fonterra farmer-only supply shares (FCG) have also risen in value, from $2.60 to $3.05.

The disparity between FSF and FCG prices is due to uncertainty about the new flexible shareholding structure to be implemented on March 28, and its impact on share prices.

Fonterra’s interim FY23 results contained good news for earnings, profits and dividends along with an intention to pay 50c a share in capital return in October, funded from the sale of its Chilean subsidiary Soprole.

Non-farmer investors in the FSF units will also benefit from the 50c and what is expected to be a dividend of around 33c for FY23.

Craigs Investment Partners called FY23 a year of supernormal profits and predicted that Fonterra would pay as much as $1.07 a FCG

RANGE: Fonterra Co-operative Council chair John Stevenson said farmers would be pleased to see the increased earnings guidance range, up 5c to 55c-75c.

share and FSF investment unit over the next 18 months.

This would be made up of 33c in the current financial year, the 50c Soprole capital return and a further 24c dividend in FY24.

Craigs nominated a target price for the FSF units of $3.80 but also warned that the new flexible

shareholding structure could lead to price volatility.

Forsyth Barr expects Fonterra’s full-year results to show a 10% increase in revenue to around $24.4 billion, from which it would derive a normalised net profit of $1bn, record earnings per share of around 67c and a likely dividend of 32c.

But as the currently favourable stream returns normalise, earnings per share expectations drop to 45c in the following two financial years, and dividends to around 25c.

Fonterra Co-operative Council chair John Stevenson said farmers will be pleased to see the increased earnings guidance range, up 5c to 55c-75c.

“Our co-op continues to perform well in an environment of ongoing volatility and disruption due to its scale and its ability to move our milk into products and markets where it sees favourable prices,” Stevenson said.

He said farmers will welcome the 10c interim dividend and the prospect of the 50c capital return in October, at which time the fullyear dividend will also be paid.

Fonterra said its Ingredients division had an extraordinary

first half, with revenue up 28% to $8.7bn and normalised earnings before interest and tax up 118% to $911 million.

channels benefitted from improved in-market prices but higher input costs and ongoing pressure on margins impacted the Consumer channel performance.

Fonterra Brands in New Zealand is under margin pressure and performance is not improving as fast as planned.

Therefore, the valuation of FBNZ was revised down by $92m and the Asian consumer brands, Anlene, Chesdale and Anmum, took a $70m devaluation.

John Stevenson Fonterra Co-operative Council

Milk was diverted from powder to protein and cheese and that flexibility and optimisation was helped by lower milk volumes, down 3%.

Non-reference products began the financial year around US$6000 a tonne on average versus only $4500 for the reference products, and that gap continued when all prices fell somewhat towards the end of the calendar year.

The Consumer and Foodservice

Dairy season limps to a good conclusion

Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Dairy

GLOBAL dairy prices are dragging their feet and forecasts of the New Zealand milk price have been revised downwards as the season draws to a close.

Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny said the expected pick-up in Chinese demand is taking longer than anticipated and he has trimmed his milk price forecast by 35c to $8.40/kg. “With the end of the season drawing near, we have effectively run out of time for our previous

forecast to hold,” he said.

Previously, ASB had lowered its forecast by 15c to $8.50, the midpoint of Fonterra’s own forecast range of $8.20 to $8.80.

ANZ reduced its forecast by 25c to $8.50.

However, while these forecasts have been reduced, the $8.50 consensus, if it is confirmed, will be the second-best farmgate milk price outcome.

The latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) results were not encouraging for milk powder of milkfat products, and cheddar prices suffered their second consecutive 10% fall.

Cheddar has now lost 40% in value during the past year and that may signal a sharp ending to Fonterra’s non-reference protein products windfall of the current financial year.

But the main performer for Fonterra, casein, is not traded on the GDT platform.

For the second March auction, the GDT price index fell 2.6%, including anhydrous milk fat and butter down 3.8% and 3% respectively, skim milk powder down 3.5% and whole milk powder down 1.5%.

Jarden’s head of derivatives, Mike McIntyre, said the

medium-term milk price outlook is around $8.50 and milk price futures contracts for next season and the following season are trading at that level.

The GDT index has fallen 38% over the past 12 months, which analysts say is due to China’s reduced presence in the auctions because of covid lockdowns.

China’s share of NZ dairy exports dropped from 43% in late 2021 to around 30% currently.

“But we maintain that it is a matter of when, not if, lifting Chinese demand translates into higher dairy prices,” Penny said.

The newly named Global Markets division, formerly Asia-Pacific and Africa, Middle East, Europe, North America, took the hit from impairments in Consumer.

The Greater China division was also down in the Consumer segment but that was positively outweighed by Foodservice earnings.

Both divisions had very positive earnings when their share of Ingredients sales were included. Gross profit after tax was $691m, less the $315m impact of impairments, inflation and exchange rates, leaving normalised net profit at $611m and a reported net profit after tax of $546m, up 50%.

OUTLOOK: Jarden’s head of derivatives, Mike McIntyre, said the medium-term milk price outlook is around $8.50 and milk price futures contracts for next season and the following season are trading at that level.

Our co-op continues to perform well in an environment of ongoing volatility and disruption due to its scale and its ability to move our milk into products and markets where it sees favourable prices.

DOC hits local water users with 6000% hike

“If Transpower has lines over my land, why can’t I charge them market rates?

value for each type of concession the department oversees is utilised”.

SHAREHOLDERS of a small North Otago irrigation company say a proposed 6000% hike in the annual fees they pay for an easement across public conservation land could set a much wider precedent.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is seeking to increase from $550 to $32,684 the annual fee it charges the Otekaieke Community Water Company (OCWC) for an easement across 0.085ha of scrubby North Otago public conservation land.

The easement gives access to non-potable water from the Otekaieke River, which is used for stock water, gardens and smallscale irrigation.

At last year’s concession fee review DOC proposed increasing the fee to $10,894 in 2022 with a further increase to $32,684 in 2024 to reflect “market rates”.

OCWC shareholder Greg Metherell said using that logic, the fee for any easement could be substantially increased.

“The wider implication for NZ is that we could face huge cost increases.”

He describes his absolute shock when he read the letter outlining the proposed easement fee.

“It was so extreme I first thought it was a mistake.”

Getting answers and explanations from DOC has been difficult and reached a point where Federated Farmers is negotiating with DOC on the OCWC’s behalf.

Metherell said the water scheme existed for over 100 years before the users bought it from the Waitaki District Council for $1 in 2015. The purchase came with conditions.

The OCWC has 15 shareholders who use small amounts for garden and stock and three who run commercial farms and use the water for garden, stock and smallscale irrigation.

In a letter to OCWC last year, the DOC stated the new fees “represent the value of the opportunity granted, a fee setting framework based on the market

It states that the concession “is to be set at the market value for the activity being carried out on public conservation land”, and it reflects exclusivity.

It states fees are determined by the nature of the activity, the effects of the activity and the contractual conditions set by the concession.

The company has rejected the increase, saying DOC has not provided evidence of how it determined market rates in calculating the new fee and asks how it can charge for managing water when that is the responsibility of ECan, to which OCWC pays a fee.

Correspondence from experts working for the OCWC describe as flimsy DOC’s attempt to establish market rates for the easement and agree with Metherell that it will create a commercially significant precedent.

It is also noted that the Deed of Easement contract is between DOC and OCWC, not individual shareholders, so it has no formal

means to charge individual shareholders based on their activity.

DOC’s director of regulatory services, Steve Taylor, limited his response because discussions are still underway with concessionaires.

He said in a statement that existing fees are below market rates.

“A recent review found these were previously charged at below market rates and we are now proposing to charge market rates.

“We are working with the concessionaires in good faith to try and resolve the situation.”

A breakdown of how DOC calculates annual concession fees reveals administration charges vary between $150 and $500, monitoring fees are based on a cost recovery basis, and easements servicing more than one lot are calculated by multiplying the relevant easement fee by the number of lots or beneficiaries.

®

Optimising fertility and improving weight gains in their herd are the priorities for 50/50 sharemilkers Mel and Ben Lilley of Ashburton. MARKS-MIN ZMSC with B₁₂ delivers trace minerals and B₁₂ to support reproduction, growth and immunity in dairy cows and young livestock. To

“ The gains we’ve seen are better reproduction, better six week in-calf rate and less empties.”

Mel Lilley, Mid Canterbury

Neal Wallace NEWS Water

VALUABLE BIT OF DIRT: The easement across public conservation land in North Otago, which the Department of Conservation wants to charge users $32,684 for each year.

There’s value in red meat going green

ABEEF + Lamb New Zealand campaign has proven it is possible to not only add value to New Zealand red meat but also deliver that premium back to farmers, once a market’s unique value profile is understood.

An Our Land and Watersponsored webinar on the ability of NZ’s food and beverage sector to earn a “green premium”, and then deliver it back to NZ growers and farmers, has highlighted the opportunities that exist and are being realised by the primary sector.

Professor Paul Dalziel of Lincoln University’s Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit said based off 24 overseas surveys run over three years and generating 10,000 data points, it is possible to determine key influences on consumers’ food choices.

“In all the surveys we are getting figures suggesting market segments that can be identified that are willing to pay a significant premium on food and fibre products that deliver on claims around environment.”

He said given NZ has trade agreements that open up a global market of about 3 billion people, against its ability to feed only about 35 million, there are certainly sufficient niches for this country to comfortably supply.

Michael Wan, global manager for Beef + Lamb NZ’s Red Meat Story campaign Taste Pure Nature, said that, having recently returned from the United States, he had witnessed a plethora of food products making “natural” claims, making sustainability’s definition more confusing than ever for many consumers.

He also noted that despite data that may suggest consumers will pay a premium for a food product

making those claims, things could change when the point of purchase arrived.

He said the Taste Pure Nature campaign run in US and China has undertaken to better understand the role red meat plays in consumers’ diets and then to

In all the surveys we are getting figures suggesting market segments that can be identified that are willing to pay a significant premium on food and fibre products that deliver on claims around environment.

improve the lack of knowledge around NZ’s unique grass-fed farming system.

“This idea of origin plays a big role. We have learnt once you start educating people, they get interested in it.”

The campaign has identified the “conscious foodie” consumer, one seeking greater levels of assurance around their food supply.

Research has estimated the collaborative campaign has generated a 33% lift in premiums where the Taste Pure Nature campaign has run, and its impact has surprised and excited those involved in it, he said.

The key aspects of the campaign have been awareness, informing consumers what it is that makes grass fed meat different, and aspiration – that is, whether they act on that knowledge.

The campaign has given the market momentum, and

participants the confidence to embark on other areas of marketing including food trucks and vendor-distributed ready-toeat meals.

Mandy Bell, chair of Deer Industry NZ, said the focus for NZ venison has also been on its “naturally raised” farm methods, and its relatively small volume compared to sheep and beef means specific product niches in specific markets have been identified, particularly post-covid.

The lean red meat market in the US is delivering a 20% premium, with the schedule “comfortably” above $7 a kg.

She said for the sustainability claims around land and water to continue to be made, farmers need clarity on where they need to go, and need to be well supported to help them achieve it easier.

“It is quite doable, but it does require end-to-end collaboration.”

Dalziel pointed out research that has also revealed the value of understanding “localism” and interpretation of sustainability to a fine degree within very specific market sectors.

“The strength of the [BLNZ] work is in understanding how the consumers that are their target segment react to different pictures, to different words.

“To take the example of China. We have not been able to find any market segment in our work with dairy consumers concerning carbon neutral or carbon zero.

“But we have found segments of red meat eaters to whom that is an important part of their choice set.

“We are becoming much, much more sophisticated at the industry level at identifying market segments and how to reach out to them using language they will understand.”

Paul Dalziel Lincoln University

Richard Rennie MARKETS Food

PREMIUM: The Taste Pure Nature campaign is evidence that identifying a consumer niche can deliver a premium back to farmers.

On Farm Support rides into storm recovery

Hugh Stringleman NEWS Regulation

THE Ministry for Primary Industries is halfway through recruitment to its contentious On Farm Support team, and some of the new farm advisers have jumped into the deep end after Cyclone Gabrielle.

MPI divisional director and chief science adviser John Roche said the new East Coast team members along with three from Bay of Plenty and four brought in from the South Island began their roles with cyclone recovery work.

They assessed the needs and fed these back to central government, emergency management response and the regional councils.

“Really pragmatic individuals connected with landowners and collected good intelligence to be able to build a recovery framework,” Roche said.

He has appointed 41 people to On Farm Support Teams so far, including regional managers in 10 locations.

These are Northland, Waikato and Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, East Coast, central and southern North Island, northern and western South Island, Canterbury, Otago and Southland.

MPI’s briefing paper for the new regional service says the aim is to have 50 staff members in place by March, growing to 90 nationwide over time.

The budget is $55 million over four years.

Roche said the remuneration levels are similar to those in the private and industry-good workforces of rural professionals and he is confident MPI is not paying above the board.

He also addressed concerns that MPI will poach privately employed farm advisers, saying that a majority of the employees are new to this work.

“First and foremost, they have empathy for the primary sector and have agricultural qualifications or experience but were not in advisory services in the private sector.

“I have told the private sector that the country is short of farm advisers overall and we are growing the workforce.”

Roche has visited the regions and talked with rural professionals and the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management to allay concerns.

Within the budget, MPI has included part funding for new entrants into private sector advisory services.

It will recruit and train younger

farm advisers who will in time seek private positions.

Roche said On Farm Support is not tasked with new and existing national MPI campaigns as its work will vary from region to region.

“Different regions will have different challenges and existing support networks.”

Consultation with the existing advisory services will identify the gaps where MPI On Farm Support can help.

NZ’s food-exporting success is built on strong relationships between scientists, advisers and farmers, he said, and MPI On Farm Support will be a conduit within the sector.

“This is not about an operational plan from Wellington but establishing regional teams and having them see where we can be of help.”

Roche said surveys show 25% to 40% of farmers and growers do not seek advice at present, either from private consultants or industry bodies like DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ – “yet all primary producers have to meet obligations and climate changes coming at them”.

“We believe we have both an opportunity and an obligation to help the harder-to-reach farmers.

“When the MAF Advisory Service

was privatised in the 1980s, central government lost its eyes and ears on the ground.

“On Farm Support will have input to policy development and the ability to ground-truth proposed regulations.

“Our people will know what requirements are coming down from the markets and talk with farmers before it becomes a blunt discussion.”

Roche spoke at the 35th annual FLRC Workshop at Massey University in February on the practical and philosophical base for his MPI work.

“The challenge ahead of food production is to produce as much in the next 30 years as was produced in the past 2000 years,” he said.

“Consumers want natural foods, without a doubt. They also want a correct balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability.”

Roche said alternatives to milk and meat are not gaining ground but effectively replacing themselves with new products –soy with almond, almond with oat and so on.

Alternatives are growing, but off a small base compared with the standard commodities.

Compliance with regulations arises out of what global

customers and New Zealanders are demanding of farmers.

“We have faced headwinds before and we are still here and it will be the same in the future.

“We can meet our obligations, maintain our profitable businesses and continue to enjoy what we do.”

IMPLEMENTATION: Ministry for Primary Industries chief science adviser John Roche is the inaugural director of the new On Farm Support team.

Cyclone recovery key focus for MPI

The Ministry for Primary Industries is working hard to help people affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, with staff on the ground supporting farmers and growers.

MPI is liaising with Civil Defence, regional response teams, councils, sector groups, whenua Māori entities and Rural Support Trusts to provide ongoing recovery support.

Coordinating closely with farm supply companies, veterinarians and regional councils – under the umbrella of the National Emergency Management Agency – MPI has co-ordinated the delivery of supplies such as water reticulation materials, temporary boundary fencing materials, animal health supplies, and veterinary medicines.

To date, more than 35 supply drops have been made in hard-hit areas such as Puketapu, Puketitiri, Pūtōrino, Upper Dartmoor, Lower Waihau Cluster, Tūtira, Esk Valley, Kotemāori and Pātoka. These are communities that have been extensively damaged or cut off after bridges and roads were washed out in the cyclone.

Animal welfare was an early lead priority in the aftermath of the cyclone, and MPI continues to work closely with animal sector groups, meat processors and farmers to recover from the impact of the cyclone. For example, we are supporting efforts by local communities to get sheep and cattle for slaughter or sale off farms.

MPI and Federated Farmers

restarted the national Feed Co-ordination Service to support farmers recovering from the cyclone.

The service helps match people with grazing or supplementary feed for sale to those who need it.

A total of $51 million has been made available by the Government to farmers, growers, and whenua Maori owners significantly

Wellbeing help after the cyclone

Wellbeing help is available for those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, and it’s important people take time to look after themselves, their whanau and community.

Mental health experts say it is normal to feel distressed and to experience symptoms of stress after a traumatic event.

That goes for people involved directly, those who have family and friends involved, those who work in services that are part of the response to the event, and the wider community.

Symptoms of stress include trouble sleeping, feeling tense or irritable, or having repeated thoughts or images of the event. Stress symptoms can be physical, such as being jumpy and easily startled, having headaches or pain from tense muscles, and a pounding heart.

These kinds of feelings and symptoms are part of our normal reaction to a traumatic event, and for most people they pass after several days or weeks.

Advice on recovering from traumatic events:

• Spend time in places that feel safe and comfortable as much as possible.

• Tell yourself that how you are feeling is a normal reaction and

will pass – it is nothing to be afraid of.

• Reach out to your usual supports wh ānau, friends, workmates.

• Sharing how we feel, and offering support to others, is important for recovery.

• Keep to usual routines –mealtimes, bedtime, exercise and so on.

• Keep active. Going to work, doing usual leisure activities, seeing friends and so on can distract us from any distressing feelings, and is also helpful. There is also this advice to help children cope:

• Reassure them that the event is over, and they are safe.

• Encourage them to talk about how they feel about what happened.

• Tell them they can ask questions, and answer these in plain language appropriate to their age – be honest but avoid details of the trauma.

• Tell them that feeling upset or afraid is normal, and that telling you how they are feeling will help, and that with time they will feel better.

• Be understanding – they may have problems sleeping or tantrums, or may wet the bed.

• Be patient and reassuring if this happens – again, with support and care it will pass.

affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The funding is to undertake urgent repair work, including fencing, and clearing silt to save trees and vines.

Grant applications closed on March 20, but those in hard-to reach areas have until April 3 to apply.

For more information about cyclone recovery go to mpi.govt/ cyclonerecovery

• Give your children extra love and attention.

• Try to keep to normal routines –mealtimes, bedtimes and so on, and allow them to get out and play, to go to the park etcetera.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

• Farmstrong: www.farmstrong.org.nz, info@farmstrong.co.nz

• Mental Health Foundation: www.mentalhealth.org.nz/helplines

• Depression.org.nz: www.depression.org.nz, 0800 111 757, text 4202

• Rural Support Trusts: 0800 787 254, www.rural-support.org.nz

• FirstMate: 0800 237 438 www.firstmate.org.nz

• Text or call NEED TO TALK? 1737

• Access & Choice local provider: www.wellbeingsupport.health.nz

• Healthline: 0800 611 116

• Youthline: www.youthline.co.nz 0800 376 633

• Alcohol Drug Helpline: 0800 787 797

• Gambling Helpline: 0800 654 655

• Your health professional

• In an emergency call 111

OTHER ASSISTANCE

Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment www.mbie.govt.nz

Civil Defence payments

Visit the Work and Income website or call 0800 400 100 Feed Coordination Service

0800 FARMING (0800 327 646) Ministry for Primary Industries www.mpi.govt.nz 0800 00 83 33 info@mpi.govt.nz

DairyNZ

www.dairynz.co.nz

0800 4 DairyNZ (0800 4 324 7969) info@dairynz.co.nz

Beef and Lamb NZ www.beeflambnz.com

0800 BEEFLAMB (0800 233 352) enquiries@beeflambnz.com

Federated Farmers www.fedfarm.org.nz 0800 327 646

Horticulture NZ www.hortnz.co.nz 04 472 3795 info@hortnz.co.nz

New Zealand Wine www.nzwine.com/members

021 192 4924 Forest Owners Association www.nzfoa.org.nz

Ensuring safe livestock movement

Roads and tracks damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle may mean sheep and cattle being moved or sold will have to be walked longer distances. Droving and transport can be stressful for stock and it is important to ensure your animals are well prepared and cared for.

Droving

• Prior to mustering, plan a route with adequate opportunities for rest and access to water.

• Consider conditions such as uneven surfaces, river crossings and steep terrain.

• If the temperature is high, try to move animals during cooler parts of the day.

• Muster at a pace that matches the slowest animals in the mob. Take it slow and steady.

• Stock must be fit enough to walk.

• At the end of each day, animals need time to settle down and find shelter before it gets dark.

• If in doubt, consult your veterinarian about the

suitability of your animals for droving.

Transporting

• Empty out stock in a grazed area or holding yard prior to transport for at least four hours.

• Do not limit access to water.

• Hay or baleage can be provided.

• Supplement lactating cows with calcium and magnesium on the day of transport.

• Animals must only be transported when they are fit enough to withstand the entire journey without suffering unnecessary or unreasonable pain or distress.

• Consult your veterinarian about the suitability of your animals for transport. MPI is supporting Hawke’s Bay farmers with limited road access to coordinate the movement of livestock. Further information and local fact sheets can be found at www.mpi.govt.nz/ CycloneGabrielleRecovery can be found here: www.mpi.govt.nz/ CycloneGabrielleRecovery

MPI staff load essential supplies onto a helicopter at the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds.

Fruit and veg prices rocketed in February

Neal Wallace MARKETS Horticulture

FRUIT and vegetable prices rose a massive 23% in February – the highest monthly increase in more than 40 years – as growers weathered a season from hell along with higher costs.

But the impact on northern growers from a wet, stormy summer will be felt even more keenly as they are left with low volumes of export-quality kiwifruit, onions, pumpkins and apples.

Jerry Prendergast, the president of the pan-product industry group United Fresh, said despite northern fresh fruit and vegetable growers taking a battering, domestic supplies and distribution networks stood up reasonably relatively well.

While consumers paid more for fruit and vegetables, there were shortages of some greens and it is estimated 70% of the Northland kumara crop has been washed out by flooding.

Stats NZ reports food prices overall were 12% higher in

February than a year earlier, with grocery food the largest contributor, although tomatoes (117%) and potatoes (48%) rose sharply, along with broccoli and lettuce.

Prendergast expects some vegetable growers may look for other land uses as business scale becomes more important in the wake of the storms and rampant inflation.

He said the storms and wet weather variously impacted key vegetable growing areas of Pukekohe and Horowhenua, but Nelson-Tasman largely escaped and helped fill the produce gap.

Prendergast said supply shortages out of Pukekohe actually started last year when wet weather disrupted planting. This was accentuated by the summer storms.

He said summer’s disruptions show consumers may need to be more flexible in their expectations of year-round supply of some product.

“We’ve come to expect lettuce in winter, but you only go back a decade or two and you only had some produce in summer

and some in winter.”

Brigit Corson, the head of produce and butchery with Foodstuffs North Island, said quality specifications for apples and kiwifruit could be temporarily adjusted as fruit is redirected from export to domestic markets.

Corson said supermarket staff have been in Hawke’s Bay and East Coast meeting with growers. Given the volume of produce likely to be redirected, they will work with growers to ensure these are marketed in an orderly fashion.

Foodstuffs draws its produce from different regions and this summer sourced product from the South Island to fill some gaps, and imported beans from Australia. The season for products such as sweetcorn and watermelons was much shorter due to a lack of product.

Corson said the supply chain proved resilient due in part to lessons learnt during covid on how to deal with disruption.

The improved weather will ensure an abundance of greens and root vegetables in the coming months, but she warns prices will be higher due to rising input

costs experienced by growers.

A spokesperson for the Countdown chain said it has been meeting and working closely with the more than 100 growers to assess the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle on fruit and vegetable supply.

“More widely, across our business our priority is to make food, including fruit and vegetables, as affordable as we can for Kiwis and sensitively manage the industry-wide inflationary pressures we and our partners are seeing.”

The 12% increase in food prices

last month compared to February 2022 was the largest monthly increase since November 1980 when the food price index rose 12.4% and September 2008 when it hit 10.8%.

Stats NZ data shows restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased 8.4%, meat, poultry and fish prices 9.8% and non-alcoholic beverages 9.1%.

“Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips and cheddar cheese were the largest drivers within grocery food,” Stats NZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.

Rabobank and ASB grant Craigmore hefty green loan

targets linked to its sustainability strategy.

CRAIGMORE Sustainables is to borrow $142 million in a sustainability-linked loan to improve environmental results across its primary sector portfolio. The loan, provided through a club deal arrangement by Rabobank and ASB, is one of the largest of its type for a New Zealand agribusiness company operating inside the farm gate. It will see Craigmore Farming Partnership (CFP), which runs dairy farms and horticulture properties across NZ, receive financial incentives as it delivers

These include greenhouse gases, people and leadership, animal welfare and biodiversity.

NZ-owned Craigmore Sustainables has a portfolio of dairy, grazing, forestry and horticultural properties covering over 25,000ha throughout NZ.

“Our whole purpose is to produce globally sought-after food and fibre that leads the way in sustainability practices while benefiting our rural communities,”

Craigmore CEO Ché Charteris said.

“This agreement will help Craigmore deliver on this ambition. Specifically, a big focus

is to support our teams to identify, test and adapt GHG-reduction solutions to integrate into realworld farming and orcharding operations.

“We’re here to grow the best of Aotearoa New Zealand – whether that be the best crops and varieties, or the best in our people and our environment. Working with our partners to integrate sustainability into rural debt in a detailed manner helps achieve this goal for us, and other rural businesses that wish to follow this path.”

Craigmore’s head of acquisitions and corporate finance, Paul Burns, said the loan will accelerate the businesses’ sustainability goals,

which are integral to its long-term strategy.

Craigmore has set bold climate aspirations, seeking to materially exceed the GHG reduction targets set by the Climate Change Commission through land-use change and changes to existing operations.

These include establishing one of NZ’s first carbon-neutral dairy farms by 2035.

A key part of the new loan also focuses on native restoration projects and further developing team leadership skills in its businesses.

Rabobank NZ general manager of country banking Bruce Weir said the company has a valuable

relationship with Craigmore, “whose commitment to meeting sustainability and environmental challenges very much aligns with Rabobank’s global commitment in this space”.

ASB acting executive general manager of business banking, Ben Speedy, said ASB is delighted to support Craigmore with the sustainability-linked loan. “Craigmore is at the food and fibre industry vanguard when it comes to emissions reduction innovation and progress on environmental, sustainability and governance, while having people and the community at the heart of what it does – it deserves high commendation for its work.”

PRODUCE: The price of tomatoes rose 117% in February, in a month when food prices were 12% higher that the same month a year earlier. Potatoes, broccoli and lettuce also rose sharply.

Staff reporter NEWS Sustainability

How hot are ewe? New tool is on the case

Piddock TECHNOLOGY Sheep

AGRESEARCH scientists are developing a tool to help sheep farmers better predict when their animals are likely to be heatstressed.

The tool, called a heat load index, will be used to help farmers proactively manage this risk for their animals.

The project, funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries, has scientists monitoring a small mob of Romney ewes in a paddock at its Ruakura site, where the data collected will be used to formulate the index.

The research was outlined at a field day at Ruakura organised by the MPI.

AgResearch scientist Karin Schutz said they are monitoring the ewes’ movements and time spent in shade and grazing pasture. The sheep’s respiration rates are also recorded and counted.

The index – along with a temperature threshold to advise when farmers should start mitigating for heat – should be ready by next summer.

A heat stress risk map will be created using NIWA weather data

and sheep population density to show areas where heat stress is potentially an issue.

The work follows similar research where a heat load index was developed for dairy cows and released last year, taking into account temperature, solar radiation, humidity and air movement.

“In general terms, the more humid the weather is, the lower the air temperature is that the animals can cope with,” Schutz said.

That work found that a cow’s respiration rates took off once temperatures hit 21degC.

“If it’s a sunny day without any windspeed or air movement, that’s when cows start to get affected.”

Schutz said that threshold can lift because of external factors such as wind or cloud cover, which can push that temperature to the mid to high 20s.

That index was based on Waikato data during different heat stress trials. This year, more data is being collected from different regions in collaboration with Fonterra and DairyNZ to validate the index and make it more relevant to other regions.

The project had scientists monitor cows using ear tag technology that recorded grazing and ruminating behaviour. Data

sensors were also placed on the cattle’s legs to measure lying behaviour. Tail sensors measured skin temperature, and respiration rates were recorded by manual observation.

Schutz said sheep and cows behave in similar ways when facing heat stress.

“They will go and look for shade. If they have plenty of shade, they will sit down in the shade then and go off and graze and go back to the shade again.

“It’s a natural response for

animals to go and look for shade.”

Higher respiration rates also increase the need to consume water. If the animals cannot stay cool, their grazing activities are reduced, eventually leading to them breathing hard and panting.

Fonterra’s Mike Shallcrass said New Zealand’s outdoor farming systems are unusual because the animals are farmed all year round and people do not appreciate how odd this is.

Shallcrass said they are often questioned by customers in the

marketplace around how outdoor farmed animals are treated when it comes to rain, cold and heat.

“It’s a minority of farmers who get that far in their thinking, but it’s growing. Our understanding of the heat stress mitigations available to farmers is seen as a risk from a business perspective.” For the past two years, he said, the co-op has created a report for each of its farmers highlighting the estimated production it faces if no mitigations are put in place to stop heat stress.

Gerald

HOT EWES: These sheep are been monitored at AgResearch’s Ruakura site to see how they are a ected by heat stress, with the work eventually leading to a heat stress index tool for farmers.

Know your Fonterra share flexibility range

Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Fonterra

FONTERRA’s farmers will soon receive their first measurement statement of shareholding status under the new Flexible Shareholding capital structure, but they are not required to do anything in the meantime.

Compliance with the share standard was suspended for two years while the new capital structure was devised, proposed and agreed upon.

Flexible Shareholding is to be implemented on March 28 after lengthy consultation and dairy industry regulatory changes by the government.

Farmers will get another measurement statement in June and then will have until December 1 to comply with the new standard for the 2023-24 season.

So the first measurement statement will be advisory only, showing farmers where they sit in relation to the minimum holding of 33% of milk supply and the maximum holding of four times milk supply.

They do not need to do anything to be compliant during the

remainder of the 2022-23 season. Compliance is not expected to be an onerous or urgent action for the vast majority of existing shareholders, especially owneroperators, because the flexibility span is so wide.

A farm with the average annual milk production of 150,000 kg milksolids and fully shared up under the old one-for-one compliance standard could sell down 100,000 shares or buy

450,000 shares under the new constitutional rules.

Fonterra foreshadowed the first measurement statement in its interim results and Flexible Shareholding releases on March 16 and was asked for clarification.

“We have decided that it would be beneficial for farmers to get a measurement statement shortly after the implementation date to show from the outset what Flexible Shareholding means for them.

Otis brings alt-milk production home

NEW Zealand firm Free Flow Manufacturing plans a dedicated plant-based milk facility this year and has signed oat milk company Otis as its foundation customer. The new facility will be capable of producing 50 million litres of plant-based milk annually.

The deal will allow Otago-based Otis to return manufacturing of its popular oat milk from Sweden to NZ.

According to Free Flow Manufacturing co-founder Scott Day, the demand for plant-based milk alternatives is growing.

“Grocery spending on plantbased milks in New Zealand increased by 44% from 2019 to the end of 2022, with sales jumping from $61 million to $88m,” he said.

“The launch of our new plant-based milk facility in East Auckland is an important

milestone for the sector, enabling it to reduce its carbon footprint, improve innovation and produce premium products locally for health-conscious consumers worldwide.”

Otis co-founders Tim Ryan and Chris Wilkie said they have been on a mission to return to making their oat milk in NZ ever since they launched in Lincoln, Canterbury in 2018.

“As we scaled up our production, we weren’t prepared to compromise on quality, and because of this, we’ve had to ship our New Zealand oats to Sweden for manufacture due to the lack of a local partner that has the technology required to produce premium oat milks to the gold standard we demand,” they said.

“The journey has been long and hard and has involved seven feasibility studies over eight different sites across Aotearoa, costing a lot of money and years of graft for a small startup.”

Free Flow Manufacturing is a

contract beverage manufacturing facility operating out of a purposebuilt plant in Auckland.

Established by co-founders Day, Adam Sorenson and Russell Hopper – initially to produce its own water brand, Vista – it now provides end-to-end contract manufacturing services.

The new manufacturing facility will see Free Flow Manufacturing’s existing footprint expand with an additional 2,500 square metres of production and another 4,000 square metres of warehousing. According to the company, the same machinery that will be used in the new plant can be used to produce plant-based milk and brew and process beer. Developed in conjunction with leading German machine manufacturer Krones and brewing technology masters Steinecker, this opens up yet another revenue stream for Free Flow and an opportunity for companies to reduce reliance on imported goods in favour of locally made products.

“While some may have found it difficult to meet their requirements under the existing capital structure, our intention of introducing greater flexibility in the level of investment required is to make it easier for existing farmers to remain with the co-op and for new farmers to join.

“This supports Fonterra’s strategy by helping to maintain a sustainable milk supply, protecting farmer ownership and control, and supporting a stable balance sheet.”

Up to two-thirds of the existing 1.6 billion supply shares will now be surplus to the minimum holdings, and therefore available for trading on the farmers-only Fonterra Shareholders Market (FSM) on the New Zealand stock exchange.

This is the big unknown of Flexible Shareholding and its much-reduced minimum holding in terms of market liquidity, or the ability of individuals to readily buy and sell shares.

However, the prospect of a 50c-a-share capital return and 33c dividend in October should convince many farmers to sit on their surplus shares for the time being.

The co-op has invested in

Greater flexibility in the level of investment required is to make it easier for existing farmers to remain with the co-op and for new farmers to join.

transitional support with a $300 million buy-back programme to operate for 11 weeks between March 28 and June 9.

The maximum share purchase is 75 million shares, less than 5% of the total shares issued.

Fonterra has made available options for share trading, including a do-it-yourself trading account, investment as you earn, delegated trading and use of a registered broker.

It could also use enforced compliance trading to purchase shares on behalf of a noncompliant farmer up to the minimum holding.

New suppliers, sharemilkers and contract milkers have extended share-up options available and exiting farmers five to 15 years to sell down.

I know recent extreme weather has brought massive stress and pressure for many communities. Let’s support one another, so people feel able to open up and talk if they’re feeling ‘under the pump’.

For tips and resources on getting through tough times visit: farmstrong.co.nz

Sam Whitelock Farmstrong Ambassador

FEELING THEIR OATS: Otis co-founder Tim Ryan says he and Chris Wilkie have been on a mission to return to making their oat milk in NZ ever since they launched in Lincoln, Canterbury in 2018 – ‘years of graft for a small startup’.

DEADLINES: Farmers will get a measurement statement in June and then will have until December 1 to comply with the new standard for the 2023-24 season.

Fonterra

High tech backs cannabis crop opportunity

Richard Rennie NEWS Horticulture

ABAY of Plenty tech company has quietly revolutionised cannabis processing, providing a pathway from an artisanal small-scale sector to a broad-acre operation offering patients lower cost, legal medicine – and farmers a viable new cropping option.

Eqalis was formed four years ago by a group of investors including Greg Misson, the founding managing director of Open Country Cheese, who tipped up Fonterra’s New Zealand farm milk monopsony (a market situation in which there is only one buyer).

Today, Misson said, the aim is still to be something of a disruptor.

This time that is thanks to a process he and his team in Katikati have been developing that enables significantly larger scale extraction of the key cannabinoid compounds THC and CBD. They are destined for both medicinal drug use and as ingredients in an ever-widening range of commodity products from shampoo to pet food.

Today in NZ the purchase of medicinal cannabis products is legal with a doctor’s prescription, but uptake via prescriptions remains relatively low because of the high cost of products and doctors’ need for a wider evidence base before prescribing.

Medicinally, CBD helps with inflammation and seizures in medications such as Epidiolex, the first prescription drug to contain CBD.

THC has been approved for nausea treatment caused by chemotherapy, and is linked to helping with glaucoma and muscle spasticity.

But the tolerance of patients to the psychoactive THC is highly individualised, with approximately 20% of the population genetically predisposed to have a greater risk of developing psychosis issue later in life.

The company is patenting a prescribing tool based on a DNA test designed to identify a patient’s risk profile, prior to any treatment being recommended.

Overseas uptake of cannabisbased medicines is considerably more advanced than in NZ, with CBD used in products other than medicines. Estimates are the cannabinoid sector will soar from US$4 billion (about $6bn) a year to US$56bn a year by 2028.

“What we are seeing is CBD shifting from just medicinal use to being a supplement and commodity,” Misson said.

He said the current processes for extracting CBD and THC from cannabis plants are intensive and require pressurised use of carbon dioxide, or use of flammable solvents. Machines valued at $500,000 are capable of processing less than 50kg of biomass a day.

Current systems require cannabis to be dried prior to processing “so, your ability to scale up is really limited. Because of this typically you require 5% of your cropping area be committed to processing plant- that is a big, expensive footprint,” Misson said.

Eqalis has developed a patented process that bypasses the need to dry the crop prior to processing,

and has removed the processing bottleneck with technology Misson claims will provide hundreds of times more processing capacity nationally.

Drawing on his dairy experience, he likens what comes next to what happened in the dairy sector. “Cheese production used to be very artisanal, and it was not until dairy factories successfully scaled up the technology that dairy farms were in turn able to scale up their operations. With this came some significant economies of scale, greater volumes to market and more multiple end uses for cheese.”

Eqalis is looking to supply the broadening and growing CBD supplement market with the bulk of its processed products, with medicinal-grade CBD and THC forming the minority of the final market.

“Just as we saw the ingredients market open up after small-scale cheese production, we see the same thing happening here,” Misson said.

The company is putting strong emphasis on good plant genetics, importing seed from around the world and growing multiple varieties out to identify responses to growth parameters including moisture, humidity and temperature.

With 40 cultivars growing, capable of producing 100 cannabinoid compounds and 200 terpenes (naturally occurring plant compounds), they can identify multiple plant options for different growing circumstances.

The identified varieties are planted under iwi management on Matakana Island, “hardened” to growing outdoors before being transported to Timaru to grow out in a larger scale, commercial farmtype environment. Misson said estimates are that commercially viable crops could generate $40,000 a hectare in CBD value alone.

“We are confident it is a crop

farmers would be interested in growing. The cultivation tech is not far removed from other crops worth significantly less, and it does not require the infrastructure you have for crops like kiwifruit.”

The plant also offers some upsides to farmers wanting to reduce their nitrogen footprint, given its appetite for nitrogen uptake in its vegetative stages of growth.

Timing of processing is key with cannabis as it is for hop crops, where drying has to be initiated as soon as possible after the harvest. With Eqalis’s process removing the drying stage, Misson can see the potential for centralised processing plants capable of handling about 400ha each in key growing regions.

The company is in advanced discussions to merge with another cannabis company, Cannasouth, combining with that company’s cannabis flower-based product range. The merged entity would be the largest cannabis company in NZ.

Meantime Eqalis is awaiting approval for its range of products and ingredients. It has also developed a topical cannabinoidbased product for treating pain, and Misson believes farmers will have the opportunity to leverage off their success by cropping cannabis in the next five years.

JOINT VENTURE: Tyrone Carlton, left, and Jake Chew of Eqalis with the latest trial cannabis crop being grown indoors.

ENGINE ROOM: Eqalis research scientist Shane Rutherford in the company’s lab.

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Heavyweights back changes to gene regs

Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Genetics

THE call by scientists and groups for a review of New Zealand’s gene technology regulations has grown with some of the country’s largest research bodies joining the chorus.

Earlier this month The Well NZ report on NZ’s gene technology prompted a push for a recalibration on gene tech, describing the regulations as no longer fit for purpose (see facing page).

The report highlighted how overseas markets have adapted their approach to keep up with gene editing progress, while NZ’s has sat still for the past 20 years.

Now Science New Zealand, representing the country’s research heavyweight Crown Research Institutes (CRIs), has also called for an informed debate about how gene tech can meet NZ’s challenges.

The group has specified targeted DNA editing including CRISPR-Cas 9 tech as being indistinguishable from that occurring randomly in nature, saying it cannot be detected as occurring from gene editing.

The group notes the tech provides options in addressing wider challenges, not least those arising from climate change and its impact on food, the environment, water and animal and human health.

Science NZ CEO Peter Lennox said CRIs have a responsibility given by Parliament to engage with the public on gene editing

tech, requiring them to take up tech that benefits NZ.

“There needs to be conversation and it needs to bring the public along with it,” Lennox said.

Scion portfolio manager Dr Alec Foster contributed to the WELL NZ report and has had vast experience with the tech in the United Kingdom and United States.

“If we look at the challenges in

New Zealand compared to the US and UK environment, things are so much easier to get done there,” he said.

Regulations are more accommodating for researchers, with NZ having the tightest regulations in the world.

Both the UK and European Union are changing their regulations on GE in the coming year to make them more accommodating, posing an interesting challenge for NZ, said Foster.

“That’s a big departure for the EU to re-assess their rules. Previously NZ has been able to say ‘We are following the EU model’, but now the EU is moving and we are not even having the conversation.”

He cited the example of US geneediting research that has resulted in the release of trees capable of growing 50% faster, due to improved photosynthesis.

“We can do some great stuff in labs, but the bottleneck is in field trials and release here.”

Plant and Food chief scientist Professor Richard Newcomb said having easier access to gene editing technology in NZ would be invaluable to help make crops more resistant to climate change.

“Horticultural crops require winter chilling, and that will be a problem for just about all our

perennial crops. And climate change is coming at such a pace, the usual approaches [to breeding] will not be able to keep up with it.”

Like many scientists, he would like to see regulations that allow for outcomes rather than regulating specific research methods.

“We are already out of step with the world, and even more so if the EU changes its stance. Gene editing is regarded as a GMO here, where other countries separate it out from that.”

Dr Richard Scott, AgResearch’s team leader on climate change and forage innovation, said NZ’s regulations as they stand are the biggest hurdle facing scientists.

“Our rules do not prevent GE being used, but the level of protection that is required is significant.”

AgResearch has run trials of its high metabolisable energy rye grasses in the United States, where regulations are less onerous.

It is also poised to move trials to Australia, where Scott said largescale feed trial approval will be easier to acquire than here.

He appreciated the irony that consumers are able to buy a variety of food products here with overseas-sourced GE inputs like canola oil, but farmers are not able to grow them here.

dairy based assets – including Fonterra shares that are now set to pay a tax free capital return of fifty cents per share.

LEFT BEHIND: Plant and Food chief scientist Dr Richard Newcomb says New Zealand is being left behind with outdated genetic modi cation regulations.

Genetics laws due for overhaul – report

Annette Scott TECHNOLOGY Genetics

ANEW report on modern genetic technology has prompted calls for a recalibration of regulations governing genetic technologies, arguing New Zealand’s current rules are no longer fit for purpose.

The report says NZ needs to have informed conversations about its “decades-old” rules governing the use of genetic technologies because NZ farmers may be missing out on opportunities.

The report, WELL NZ: Modern Gene Technology – what it is and how it is regulated, says it aims to serve as an unbiased, factbased resource for those seeking to better understand the current state of genetic technology and regulations.

Released under the aegis of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Fit for a Better World programme and created by the independent government-funded primary sector think tank Te Puna Whakaaronui, it highlights how overseas markets have adapted their approach to keep up with the progress of genetic technologies, while NZ’s rules and regulations are no longer fit for purpose.

The report says most regulations have fallen under one of two broad approaches since the early 1990s – a focus on the process or a focus on the product.

Australia, the United States, China, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Singapore are among the countries that regulate based on product traits, rather than process. They impose safety assessment processes and approvals on product characteristics,

irrespective of whether the product has been produced using genetic technology.

In contrast, the European Union, United Kingdom and NZ have regulatory regimes that restrict all products that use any genetic engineering techniques or processes.

They are currently the only markets that regulate based on process only.

The UK currently has a bill before its parliament that, if passed, would update this approach, and the EU is also working on regulatory changes.

“Obviously, we also need to ensure that consumers are comfortable with any changes that we make to our approach and that we maintain the high confidence they have in our food system and exports,” Brier said.

Consumer attitudes in key markets will need to be tested as part of the process.

“We need to give our farmers the best chance to adapt to the changing climate and the changing marketplace.”

Brier cited the example of using genetic technology to create grass that is easier on the environment by producing less greenhouse gas emissions when consumed by a ruminant, or that releases less nitrogen into waterways.

The report highlights how the Royal Commission grappled with emerging gene technologies in 2001 and focused on applying the precautionary principle to NZ’s regulation to limit unknown risks.

Delivering the new normal on NZ’s economic aspirations will need the government and enterprise to take a more active and strategic role to co-ordinate investment and innovation collaboration with the private sector, the report says.

Beef + Lamb NZ welcomed the report.

“We welcome the conversation about genetic technology,” B+LNZ general manager farming excellence Dan Brier said.

He said that 20-30 years ago, genetic technology was new and not well understood. As a result, NZ employed the precautionary principle to guide its regulation.

Now “it’s important that we revisit this approach to maintain our food security and keep up with our competitors overseas”.

Recommendations from its inquiry emphasised the need to ensure ongoing calibration between regulatory settings, technology and societal preferences, setting out guidelines and recommendations to ensure inclusive consultation would inform future policy and regulatory change.

“In the last 20 years genetic technology has advanced rapidly,” Brier said.

“This has led to calls for a recalibration of regulatory settings around genetic technologies, as the current rules are no longer fit for purpose,” Brier said.

“NZ must maintain its competitive advantage. To do this we need to work with the latest genetic technologies.

“We need to be conscious of what our consumers want while

also being careful not to group all genetic technology as genetic modification when there is much more nuance.

“At the end of the day, it is the consumer that will decide and having them intimately involved

in the conversation is critical.” WELL_NZ is the third substantive report Te Puna Whakaaronui has produced. The next report, expected to be published in mid2023, will concern the application of industry policy in NZ.

NUANCE: Beef + Lamb NZ general manager farming excellence Dan Brier says NZ must be careful not to group all genetic technology as genetic modi cation when there is much more nuance.

This has led to calls for a re-calibration of regulatory settings around genetic technologies.

Dan Brier B+LNZ

Caution as Wakanui’s M bovis status lifted

we needed to take a different approach to protect farmers and their cattle.

FARMERS in the Wakanui farming community near Ashburton will be able to farm free of Mycoplasma bovis now their controlled area status has been lifted.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) imposed the controlled area notice (CAN) on the farming community in October 2022 as it endeavoured to eliminate lingering M bovis infection in the area.

The M bovis programme has depopulated, cleaned and disinfected all confirmed infected properties in the area, and revoked the CAN on Friday, March 17.

“Wakanui farmers will be able to farm free of M bovis when we revoke the CAN that was declared to help eliminate infection from the area,” programme director Simon Andrew said.

“These farmers have had to farm with M bovis in their region since December 2017 when the first M bovis farm in Ashburton was discovered.

“As we have not found M bovis outside of Canterbury in more than two years and this has been one of the last remaining pockets of confirmed M bovis infection,

“We will continue to monitor the area closely and are taking a cautious approach, so we can act quickly should there be reinfection in the wider national herd,” Andrew said.

To ensure swift action can be taken, the Five Star Beef feedlot will remain under a restricted place notice for a period while precautionary surveillance activities are undertaken and MPI is assured its actions have been successful.

Andrew said the CAN was an important step towards ensuring the pocket of infection was eliminated.

The eight cattle properties in the high-risk area have been cleared of stock, including the removal of infected and in-contact cattle.

Stringent testing and monitoring for infection in cattle during the past six months in the at-risk CAN area has not identified the presence of M bovis.

“We know the last four and a half years for farmers in this area have not been easy,” Andrew said.

“We recognise the hard work and sacrifices these farmers have made and we are continuing to work closely with them to provide support where needed.”

The programme’s national background surveillance screening is continuing to give confidence that M bovis infection is not widespread.

These programmes will continue for a further four years to quickly detect any last remaining infected farms and gather the necessary evidence to declare freedom from M bovis in New Zealand.

“It’s critical the farming community maintain good onfarm biosecurity standards so the programme can continue to build on the progress made,” Andrew said.

“Keeping NAIT records up to date is crucial to our ability to monitor risk and track down potentially infected animals before M bovis spreads to other farms.

“We are as close to moving to the next phase of eradication as we have ever been, but we could not have got this far in the eradication effort without the hard work and sacrifices made by farmers in Wakanui and across NZ.

“While this is positive news it doesn’t mean the job is done.

“It is likely that we’ll find more infected cattle before we declare success and if we do find any infection, we will deal with the situation quickly and carefully.”

The M bovis eradication programme began in May 2018

and is jointly funded by the government, 68%, and DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ, 32%.

Currently there are three infected properties, and 183,000

cattle have been culled from a total of 278 infected properties since the start of the programme, with $235 million been paid out in 2829 claims to date.

Annette Scott NEWS Disease

INFECTION: M bovis programme director Simon Andrew says the CAN was an important step towards ensuring the pocket of infection was eliminated.

Letters of the week

I’ll miss you, Steve

Julie Rush

Feilding

READING Steve Wyn-Harris’s “From the Ridge” each week is a high point to the day the Farmers Weekly arrives in my mail box.

I have kept some of his articles. Top was the loading of the bulls. Ditch was another.

Steve comes across as fair and very compassionate. Funny, to say the least.

I got his phone number and called him some weeks back. Steve said that most of the ladies that he had talked to were older. Including this 75-year-old farmer from the Rangitīkei River Valley.

Steve, I have enjoyed your column and will miss your witty comments.

I hope you keep up some farming activities and enjoy the grandies, as I do mine.

Where do you stand on water?

Gerry Eckhoff Alexandra

From the Editor

Learning to grow up

Craig Page Deputy editor

THE devastation caused by recent cyclones has all too graphically illustrated the need for New Zealand to start seriously considering alternative options for horticulture.

The government has made a start by offering $3.53m to support a four-year programme with New Zealand’s first commercial vertical farm, Greengrower at Waikato’s Innovation Park in Hamilton.

Leafy greens, such as lettuce, spinach and herbs, are grown in trays and in tunnels, receiving optimal sunlight, water and humidity to ensure maximum growth rates and efficiency.

Plants can reach maturity in half the time of those grown outside.

The Hamilton facility uses 1% of the water used in outdoor farming, without the runoff or leaching from an outdoor farming system.

The weather gods are taken out of the equation and vegetables, once considered seasonal, can be grown all year round.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor insists vertical farming will complement, rather than replace existing outdoor food productions systems.

He is right. Traditional growers working the land are not going anywhere, anytime soon.

But when you consider the impact Cyclone Gabrielle has had in the upper North Island - crop and infrastructure damage and fertile topsoil washed awayviable alternatives are necessary if NZ is to maintain its place as a food producer.

Greengrower started commercial production late last year with one tunnel. The site is currently producing about 4000 bags of leafy green vegetables a day.

Two other tunnels are expected to be completed this year enabling the company to deliver the equivalent production of a 150ha farm.

“If you’re getting the equivalent of production from 150ha of land in a building like this, you can very quickly go through the calculations and think that this can be a pretty smart and sustainable investment,” O’Connor said.

Those behind the initiative say, while they are a small part of the food production industry, they could help alleviate supply and demand price fluctuations for the public.

While new to NZ, vertical farming is well

recognised internationally. The ‘world’s largest vertical farm’ is in Dubai and set to produce 900 tonnes of leafy greens annually. The more than 36,000 sq m facility is located near Al Maktoum International Airport.

Expert says the worldwide shortages of water, land and energy, combined with increasing fears about the global food shortage and climate change, means vertical farming increasingly fits the bill.

When you consider the impact Cyclone Gabrielle has had in the upper North Island - crop and infrastructure damage and fertile topsoil washed away - viable alternatives are necessary if NZ is to maintain its place as a food producer.

Vertical farms do no require large amounts of land, can be established in areas close to markets and consumers, reducing emissions from transportation and distribution costs.

But, they don’t come cheap.

The $3.53m government funding for Greengrower comes on top of the $5.3m already invested by the business and its shareholders.

However, if it means NZ can produce fresh, affordable vegetables for everyone, then it will be money well spent.

I WISH to express my serious concerns that representative groups such as Federated Farmers, Irrigation NZ, Beef + Lamb NZ and Horticulture NZ appear not to be directly involved in the Water Users group taking a case to the Court of Appeal over ownership and/ or control of use rights to and of fresh water.

It is inconceivable that these important organisations are not directly involved in this case. Every farmer is an industrial user of water, whether they are a grain or livestock user, as is every fruit grower, golf course, hydroponic grower et al.

The Green party has already indicated it supports a levy of 10c per cubic metre. Water takes are already metered, so it is a simple matter of imposing a charge. Please note the charge for carbon discharge is already agreed to and will be applied soon.

There may well have to be financial tradeoffs by rural interests so as to support this case, but as someone once said, needs must when the devil drives. Your call people.

Best

Send your letter to the Editor at Farmers Weekly P.0. Box 529, Feilding or email us at farmers.weekly@agrihq.co.nz

A rethink on how we farm without harm

IN ALL the ways I’ve thought about what it takes to farm so we get home safely every night, I never imagined it might require an inflatable boat or helicopter. Cyclone Gabrielle delivered us a signal from the future about the impact of climate change and it pretty much said “You’re not ready.

“You’ve spent time thinking about the environment you farm in, your land, water, plantings and the protection of ecosystems, but what about yourself and your people?”

The lessons were delivered with a cruel ferociousness, destroying land, lives, livelihoods, animals and infrastructure. Separating families, communities and even some of us working on the same farm. The cyclone redefined for me what it means to be physically and mentally safe during and after an event like this. Where is the safe place where farming communities can come together and how do we protect one another now and, in the future, and farm without harm?

Like so many of you, I am thinking about the mental and physical toll on our farmers and their families right now, almost two months post-cyclone. We already know that 24% of on-farm injuries can be directly attributed to diminished wellbeing, stress and tiredness and these are a precursor to accidents. I imagine that number post-cyclone probably just tripled. Now, combine this with farmers having to make huge on-farm decisions in a state of post-adrenal fatigue.

So how do we support them to make good calls daily that keep them physically safe, and long-term calls that keep them psychologically safe?

Farmstrong has prepared the ground over the past few years, giving farmers the tools to help them through the day-to-day

ups and downs of farming, and safeguard their emotional and physical wellbeing. The Rural Support Trust and others are swinging into gear with planned activities. Our industry bodies, Beef + Lamb NZ (BLNZ), Dairy NZ and Federated Farmers, are working hard to both understand and meet farmers’ immediate needs.

Yet on farm, day to day, minute to minute, we are alone with our farming partners, our families – those we work with. What are the good calls we need to make to prevent harm? What are the conversations we have to have with ourselves and those who work with us, to ensure we put our wellbeing before the mountain of tasks ahead of us so we get through?

Earlier this month, Safer Farms rallied industry leaders for an urgent meeting to gather experiences and insights and to understand how we can be better prepared to mitigate the stress, anxiety, loss and damage inflicted on farmers during climate emergencies. How might we rethink what it means to be healthy, safe and well on farms and understand this as the psychological toll sets in?

What are the good calls we need to make to prevent harm? What are the conversations we have to have with ourselves and those who work with us, to ensure we put our wellbeing before the mountain of tasks ahead of us so we get through?

Common themes emerged: Many felt a lack of preparedness within their communities when they were cut off; many had grave concerns about animal welfare; and a phenomenon known as

survivors’ guilt had kicked in – “at least no one was hurt” or “at least we have a house”. This thinking could mean we aren’t acknowledging or even grieving for our own loss.

And the feeling of being overwhelmed was starting to set in, too.

Everyone who attended the meeting – Pāmu, PGG Wrightsons, Alliance, Farmlands, Ballance Agri-nutrients, Agri-Women’s Development Trust, Ngāi Tahu, Greenlea, Farmright, Silver Fern Farms, BLNZ – agreed we need better industry-wide preparedness and collaboration, with strong community response hubs in place for the future.

This includes a plan for communities to be able to respond to emergencies in their own way and draw on services they uniquely need, and agreement

between industry agencies as to the roles they play in a response.

This could include the formation of rural climate emergency response teams; the identification of community safe hubs (similar to a marae where sleeping, cooking washing facilitates, communication and electricity are available); and/or emergency wellbeing skills programmes to equip communities with the skills to effectively communicate with farmers in distress.

Protecting farmer wellbeing in the face of increasing adverse weather events will be a key component of the Farm Without Harm Strategy, which Safer Farms looks forward to launching in May this year.

For many farmers their environment has completely

changed, their land has changed, and they too will have changed. How we look out for our farmers and for each other, and ensure that we are making good calls on farms, has never been more critical.

Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across? We offer readers the chance to have their say. Contact us and have yours.

farmers.weekly@agrihq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519

Lindy Nelson Chair of Safer Farms

HARD LESSONS: Safer Farms chair Lindy Nelson says the lessons of Cyclone Gabrielle were delivered with a ‘cruel ferociousness’.

We need to edit our response on genetics

Alternative view

demonstrate] drought and salt tolerance”.

GMOs are also pivotal for human health. For example, modern day insulin is a genetically modified product, as will be the longawaited cure for cancer.

Of concern is that the think tank tells us that our regulatory framework is not fit for purpose. I’d agree, it’s not.

The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act banning GMOs dates back more than 30 years. The world has moved on.

15% saying no, which begs the question as to why GM isn’t legal here.

The grass referred to in the Feds questionnaire was developed by AgResearch in NZ but had to be trialled overseas courtesy of our antiquated laws. That’s scandalous.

It actually gets worse, as the Feds pointed out. They argue that our overseas competitors can use GM whereas we can’t.

Alan Emerson Semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com

THE recent release on genetic modification by Te Puna Whakaaronui, the independent government-funded food and fibre think tank, makes interesting reading.

For the record, I’m in favour of genetic modification (GM) and believe we should have adopted the technology a long time ago. It is an indictment on spineless politicians that we haven’t.

I’m aware of the anti-GMO brigade but they use emotion, not science, to advance their cause.

I’d describe them as modern day Luddites with about the same irrational arguments that Ned Ludd had way back in the 1800s. In addition, the plaintive cry that it will harm our country’s image is fallacious.

There is no credible research to back that up.

The think tank’s report starts by telling us that “globally, genetic technology has been applied across the food and fibre sectors to improve yield, size, taste and nutritional content of product as well as develop resistance to factors such as disease, pests [and

I have a real difficulty understanding our politician’s aversion to genetically engineered (GE) crops especially when research tells us that 75% of processed food in a supermarket contains elements of genetic modification, meaning it is here, now.

The major everyday crops that have been genetically modified include corn, soybeans, sugar beet, cotton, apples, tomatoes, rice, potatoes and squash.

In addition, corn syrup is used as a sweetener in many foods and drinks. Corn starch is used in soups and sauces. Soybean, corn and canola oils are in snack foods, bread, salad dressings and mayonnaise. Sugar beet produces sugar.

The World Health Organisation and the National Academy of Sciences in the United States have found no evidence that GE foods are harmful.

Recently Federated Farmers surveyed 1000 Kiwis with the question, “NZ scientists using genetic modification have developed a new type of grass that can reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution from cattle and sheep. Do you think Kiwi farmers should be given the choice of using this new grass if they wish?”

The results were clear, with 72% of respondents saying yes and just

That means they are more sustainable and profitable than we are.

Reinforcing that, the US’s National Institutes of Health published a paper on the benefits of genetically engineered food. It is a long list but includes food being more nutritious and tastier, increased supply with reduced cost and a longer shelf life – and some food being medicinal. Potatoes can also be modified to produce fewer cancer-causing substances when fried.

Additional benefits include disease- and drought-resistant plants that require fewer environmental resources such as water and fertiliser, combined with less use of pesticides.

The institutes add that “there are no side-effects from consuming GE foods”.

What galls me is the continual bleating of some greens and the anti-GM brigade about climate change, our “nuclear moment”. The answer to that “moment” isn’t to have fewer cows and with it a reduced income, but genetic modification. Pine trees can be genetically modified to absorb more CO2 and grass can be modified so ruminants burp less methane.

That science is available now. So, if we are serious about climate change then we also need to be serious about genetic modification. Another bleat I’ve heard is that if we accept genetic modification,

The Feds point out that our overseas competitors can use GM whereas we can’t. That means they are more sustainable and profitable than we are.

it will affect us in the marketplace. People will be less inclined to buy NZ products. I find that argument spurious as the countries we export to don’t ban food containing genetically modified material. Countries that do include Algeria, Madagascar, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Belize, Peru and Venezuela. They are

hardly major export markets for us.

The think tank investigated whether GM impacted a country’s brand, with the answer being a conditional no.

So there is absolutely no reason not to legalise genetic modification here in NZ now. If politicians of all colours are remotely concerned about the issue they need to investigate the current science on the topic.

Genetic modification in one form or another has been around since the 1970s. Detractors have used some of the problems of almost 60 years ago to try to effect legislation today.

Science has changed and we need to change as well.

Tapping the public purse for good or ill

From the ridge

subsidies. The Lange Labour Government had won the 1984 election and inherited a bankrupt economy, so had little choice but to make massive changes.

The traditional party of the right, National under Muldoon, had strayed far to the left with a highly regulated, government-controlled, inefficient economy. Things weren’t going well.

Muldoon had brought in agricultural subsidies to appeal to his rural support base and by 1984 these payments amounted to more than 30% of pastoral farmers’ income.

income rather than increasing their profits in the markets.

Labour, the traditional party of the left, came in and surprisingly embraced free-market reforms and what was to be labelled neo-liberalism.

show their displeasure.

But to their credit, many of our agricultural leaders agreed that we had strayed down the wrong path, and supported these measures –to much hostility from some of their support base. Sometimes inevitable, rational policy is not popular.

Where the freeing up of our economy was unfair was that it took many years for other sectors of the economy to be deregulated and opened up to competition.

much protectionism has remained. In the current world political environment, the swing towards free trade and open markets appears to have gone as far as it might for the time being as countries begin to look inward again and governments succumb to voter pressure. The United States under Trump is a good example.

THE day I began farming in my own right in 1985 coincided with the removal of agricultural

Just writing that seemed so unbelievable that I’ve checked my memory and found two academic papers to support it.

Farmers were heading quickly in the direction of farming to maximise their taxpayer-funded

When it announced that agricultural subsidies were to be removed as one measure to try to save the NZ economy, all hell broke loose and many once personal-responsibility, free-market, right-wing farmers demonstrated in the streets to

We’ve spent subsequent decades on the world stage morally pointing at our stance and advocating for the removal of agricultural subsidies elsewhere and an opening up of other regulated economies for the benefit of all.

This advocacy has helped get many trade deals over the line, but

I watched in disbelief as many in the rural sector helped themselves to the wage subsidy two or three years ago.

This was a high-trust model designed to protect jobs in industries that were unable to function under the restrictions of lockdown to control covid.

Farming had a licence to continue to operate, unlike many

Continued next page

MAKING GRAINS: The benefits of GM food include that it is more nutritious and tastier, there is increased supply with reduced cost and a longer shelf life, Alan Emerson says, quoting the US’s National Institutes of Health.

Steve Wyn-Harris Central Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer: swyn@xtra.co.nz

I watched in disbelief as many in the rural sector helped themselves to the wage subsidy two or three years ago.

Farmers need support to recover, reinvest

Straight talking

to what we spend on imports, and involves a huge investment income deficit of around $12bn too. The includes debt servicing on borrowings and net profit flows on foreign-owned NZ assets, including banks.

The current account trade deficit was $12.5bn. To put that in perspective, that is roughly the combined value of red meat and kiwifruit exports we are “short” on the export side of the trade equation.

Cameron Bagrie

Managing director of Bagrie Economics and a shareholder and director of Chaperon

FARMERS should be swinging from the chandeliers following last week’s current account figures and credit rating warning from Standard & Poor’s.

The laws of economics are coming back into play. Wellbeing needs an economic base. A major chunk of it is provided by the rural community and pastoral exports. New Zealand cannot continue to borrow and spend our way to growth.

By hook, or by crook, the NZ economy needs to change tack, earn more and spend less.

S&P’s comments are the first sign of market discipline. When you are in unsustainable zones economically, market forces eventually send signals. You either respond to them, or markets start to drive outcomes. Former United Kingdom prime minister Liz Truss found out the hard way, as financial markets torched “Trussonomics” when the British pound dived and interest rates increased. Exit Liz Truss.

NZ’s current account deficit has surged to 8.9% of gross domestic product, the highest on record, and a nominal deficit of $33.8 billion. That is a massive shortfall between what we earn via exports relative

industries. Given the extreme shortage already of capable and competent shepherds, milkers and other farmworkers, no one on a farm was ever at risk of losing their job due to the lockdowns. And this at a time when we were receiving record prices, although admittedly with great difficulties getting killing space due to the restrictions on the meat plants.

I see there is a trickle of prosecutions for wage subsidy abuse, and watch with ongoing interest.

Farming operations in the right place or in the know have been getting very large subsidies to plant out natives and undertake environmental work, which does make the world a better place but disadvantages all of those others who had already done it themselves from their own pocket or haven’t been able to access those same subsidies and face fully

The current account deficit is equivalent to 33% of all current account receipts covering exports of goods, services, and investment income.

The latest gross domestic product figures show stagnant to falling export volumes since 2018. The dollar value of goods exports has increased 14.6% between December 2018 and December 2022 with a lower currency assisting. Meanwhile, goods imports have risen 41.2%.

“We would need to see the current account deficit narrow over the next 12 to 18 months and if it doesn’t there is going to be increased pressure on the AA+ rating,” noted the S&P analyst.

We are on notice.

Would a downgrade really hurt? Initially, no. NZ’s current foreign currency credit rating is currently AA+, indicating very low credit risk. S&P upgraded NZ’s credit ratings in 2021 so any potential reversal needs a sense of perspective.

A change would be a margin of credit excellence adjustment.

The NZ dollar reacted slightly negatively to S&P’s comments but without a dramatic move. Other countries face debt challenges too.

Round one is the polite tap on the shoulder saying get your house in order.

NZ could be in serious trouble if the terms of trade – the ratio of export prices to import prices – recedes.

The current account will improve on some levels. A weaker economy

funding the work themselves or not doing it at all.

The payments to those hit by the cyclone are a genuine gesture by the government to give some small help to those who have suffered devastating losses and is more of a moral support than anything.

Calls from varying sectors and across the political spectrum for much more massive taxpayer support to help fix private businesses is more problematic. What the government should be doing is everything in its control to get the roading infrastructure up to speed as fast as possible in these regions hit badly by the cyclone.

And future-proof that infrastructure and supporting infrastructure, like electricity and telecommunications for future inevitable events.

Labour has become accustomed to using public funds to support private businesses in need and I don’t recall hearing National

Government policy will need to be supportive. You do not boost exports by lumping cost after cost onto businesses – and 15% farm cost inflation is absurd.

will dampen import demand. A recovery in inbound tourism will support services exports, though NZers are travelling too. Are tourists getting the same pre-covid experience, meaning they will return? That is debatable.

The current account reflects a mismatch between investment and saving. We need to import the latter to fill a lack of savings locally. Cyclone Gabrielle and

improving our climate change readiness just added to the investment line.

Households are struggling to save, and the government is running deficits constraining the national savings line.

Government policy is holding back pastoral growth, and sectors offering opportunity such as pipfruit and horticulture just took backwards steps and will take time to get back on track. It is essential these sectors are given support to recover and re-invest. Forestry, one of the identified potential stars along with horticulture in the Ministry for Primary Industries Fit for a Better Word document, faces challenges. The document needs to be re-written to include some real aspiration, and given a high execution priority.

All major structural shifts take time.

The current account figures and S&P comments merely mark the start of a journey.

That journey starts with the market providing the right signals, such as the NZ dollar settling in a lower trading range. The NZ dollar versus the United States dollar appears to be settling in a mid-60s zone, compared with averaging in the low 70s over the prior two decades.

From here, industry players and businesses will need to respond. Credit and capital will need to flow. NZ’s housing-centric banking model needs to change. Sectors with strong growth potential, including horticulture and pipfruit, will need to be supported to drive a fast recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle. We cannot let those sectors stagnate.

Government policy will need to be supportive. You do not boost exports by lumping cost after cost onto businesses – and 15% farm cost inflation is absurd. Science and research development will be essential.

Same with the education system and lifting our global connectivity. Poor infrastructure dents productivity. We need to calibrate NZ more towards earning our way to growth as opposed to spending it. That will take a lot of work and need more do-fests and less talk-fests.

The more industry and the government can calibrate a better earnings backbone across the economy, the less the market will need to adjust to drive it. Market mechanisms are a lower currency and higher interest rates. The former makes us poorer globally and few want the latter.

This will not happen overnight. The current account ballooning well into the danger zone and S&P’s comments expressing more concerns and waving a downgrade stick just signal we need to get the ball moving before market forces start driving us that way.

or ACT talking the hard talk to their support base that this is a dangerous path to continue down.

The public purse might be the biggest in the land but even it has its limits.

But one way or another, it’s a conversation that needs to be had.

Continued from previous page

MILKING IT: Farming had a licence to continue to operate under covid restrictions, and no jobs were at risk –and yet there were farmers who received wage subsidies meant to protect vulnerable jobs, Steve Wyn-Harris says.

MORE MONEY: You do not boost exports by lumping cost after cost onto businesses, Cameron Bagrie says. Science and research development will be essential.

Processors step up after cyclone mayhem

Meaty matters

plants is accessing livestock, with many farmers unable to get either store or prime stock off their farms. Ovation’s procurement manager, Hylton Bayliss, said the growth window on higheraltitude farms is narrowing and this will become a major issue if it continues. He is concerned about the number of paddocks that are no longer usable and fears the impact will be a reduction of ewe numbers, which will be felt for several years.

Allan Barber

Meat industry commentator: allan@barberstrategic.co.nz, http:// allanbarber.wordpress.com

HAWKE’S Bay and Gisborne meat plants have reopened after varying periods out of action following cyclone damage, but access remains a major problem.

AFFCO Wairoa was the first facility to get back into action, two weeks after its closure, and was initially able to provide the town with water from its own bore. Its status as the town’s biggest employer meant it was important to reopen as quickly as possible, and the mayor was willing to repay the compliment, allowing access to the town’s water supply as soon as it was operational.

The plant is now running two beef shifts five days a week, but lamb is slower, with two shifts for four days at present. AFFCO has also been killing lamb and mutton for Silver Fern Farms to avoid excessive transport time.

Ovation’s Gisborne plant wasn’t so fortunate, but after three weeks was able to run one shift with a limited water allowance, restricting it to half its normal throughput.

The main difficulty for both

There is only one road out of the region open at present, via Matawai and the Waioeka Gorge. This involves a two-stage, 15-hour journey via Taupō, where drivers change over to comply with mandatory limits. This will continue until the Wairoa-Napier highway is reopened.

This unavoidable situation is a logistical challenge that causes stress to the stock, as well as costing a lot more than normal.

The other major road closure was the Napier-Taupō highway. This has now reopened during daylight hours, but it is fragile and remains subject to closure if conditions dictate. Coastal shipping has been introduced between Gisborne and Napier so produce can be transported faster.

AFFCO’s livestock manager, Tom Young, is more optimistic about the future outlook for livestock numbers once farms recover.

He notes the difficulty of access across the whole Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions, although stock has started to come out slowly, affecting lambs more than beef. Where trucks can’t get onto more remote properties, the solution, when possible, is to drove the cattle or lambs to the end of the accessible road.

Grant Bunting, ANZCO’s GM Supply, thinks it will take time for a clear pattern of processing

requirements to become clear, but once infrastructure has been largely restored, there will be a bow wave. This may result in a bottleneck with western North Island farmers hitting peak at the same time.

Silver Fern Farms’ Pacific plant was flooded and heavily affected by silt. All the inventory had to be moved to an off-site cold store while the cold chain rooms were defrosted and cleaned. Although all the inventory maintained its temperature and hygiene standards, there was 7cm of ice and silt on the floor that had to be prised off with a jackhammer

before the pallets could be moved. This plant is where SFF’s marketled beef programmes – 100% Angus, 100% Prime, Reserve EQ and Angus – are normally processed, but stock for these programmes were processed at Te Aroha and Hawera during the closure. The 100% Lamb Programme was able to be processed at Takapau as usual, but in some cases lambs may have fallen out of specification owing to delays from road closures.

Rissington is an example of a badly affected community with lack of road access until the old bridge can be replaced with a class 1 bridge, which will enable heavy trucks and cars to resume for livestock movements and supplies. This is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month.

donation programme for farmers to donate lamb, sheep, cattle or deer, with the proceeds going to the trust. Meanwhile, AFFCO has donated $100,000 to the Wairoa Mayoral Relief Fund, distributed lamb to the community and provided bore water, while letting the army use the plant site to fly in emergency provisions, stored in AFFCO’s dry stores and chillers, for distribution by the army and the council.

CARE PACKAGE: AFFCO has donated $100,000 to the Wairoa Mayoral Relief Fund, distributed lamb to the community and provided bore water as well as letting the army use the plant site to fly in provisions.

Jeremy Absolom said the recent spell of mostly fine weather has helped to restore morale, but this can only last so long without proper access, which will enable more self-help and an increase in business activity. At present access in and out, when dry, is only by 4x4.

As well as getting plants operating again, the Meat Industry Association reports that meat companies have all stepped up to provide support for regional communities. The Greenlea Foundation Trust has made a $1 million donation to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help cleanup and recovery operations, and the Greenlea rescue helicopter has been transporting people in need of urgent medical care to nearby hospitals and care facilities. In addition, a further $1m has been earmarked for ongoing support for affected communities.

Alliance Group has donated $200,000 to the East Coast Rural Support Trust and launched a shareholder-supplier stock-

This latest climate disaster has emphasised the importance of sheep and beef farmers being loyal to their processor of choice, in return for which they can expect to receive loyalty and commitment in return.

Silver Fern Farms has provided over 10t of product to those in need, including maraes, mosques, churches, fire stations, shelters for displaced persons, and isolated communities. The company is also co-ordinating helicopter drops to the most isolated areas of Rissington, Pātoka and Tūtira, helping get much-needed equipment and services to those communities. Unaffected Silver Fern Farms farmers are also donating animals to Meat the Need and cash contributions to the Rural Support Trust when they have animals processed.

This latest climate disaster has emphasised the importance of sheep and beef farmers being loyal to their processor of choice, in return for which they can expect to receive loyalty and commitment in return.

Never has the sector’s interdependence been so graphically illustrated.

BASE LINE: At the height of the emergency response, the New Zealand Defence Force was given the use of AFFCO’s Wairoa plant as a base to store emergency provisions for distribution in the devastated region by military personnel and the council.

St Patrick’s Day salute to green synergies

“That’s something we are going to develop and work further on.”

CHARLIE McConalogue, Ireland’s minister for agriculture, food and the marine, sees significant synergies between his country and New Zealand as the two nations grapple with many of the same issues.

Speaking on St Patrick’s Day during his week-long visit to NZ, McConalogue said the day is “very much a global celebration, our national day, and it’s something we are very proud of”.

“As part of that, we, as ministers, fan out across the world to engage with Irish communities abroad and to develop and maintain the many friendships we have.”

McConalogue specifically requested to come to NZ “because of the engagement we’ve had over the last few years and the potential that we have in the time ahead, to work particularly closely in the agriculture and food space”.

Historically the two nations have largely been competitors because of their similarities but “our similarities now mean that we are partners in innovation”.

This is particularly true with regard to sustainability and the emissions reductions challenge, he said, noting the two agricultural models are quite similar, given that both are pasture-based. “A lot of the solutions that we are going to need are common,” he said.

He pointed to an existing joint research initiative, which is being jointly funded by the two countries to the tune of more than €7 million (about $11.9m).

Regarding what the two countries could offer each other he said it was “very balanced and mutually beneficial and we both bring similar attributes to the table”.

Essentially, the goal is to “identify new tools and new technologies that will help us reduce emissions on grass-based production systems”, he said.

“New Zealand is investing significantly on research projects here and we’re investing significantly in projects at home, so it makes sense that we collaborate and invest together.

are facing cost increases, lower international dairy prices as well as new environmental requirements, putting the sector under pressure.

McConalogue doesn’t see any domestic food security challenges in either country, as Ireland –like NZ – is a highly productive country that exports the bulk of what it produces.

However, he said it’s really important – as significant foodproducing nations – that the two countries continue to be productive in terms of producing food.

He also noted global demand for food is only going to rise as the population increases and as climate challenges curtail production in some parts of the world.

“The challenge is going to be to produce that food in a way that has a significantly lower emissions footprint. That’s what we want to achieve.”

He said it is important to be conscious of the impact all of this has on the farming sector itself.

“It makes sense for us to collaborate in relation to identifying solutions because they’re equally applicable to both countries.”

He said the fact that the countries have alternate seasons also opens doors for year-round research.

McConalogue said a lot of this is being driven by the consumers that “we are all producing for”.

According to him, it’s important that both countries are at the forefront from a sustainability point of view to maximise the value of what farmers do.

Irish farmers, like NZ farmers,

“We are undertaking a significant challenge and a significant need to embrace change,” he said. “It’s a new dimension, that challenge of continuing to be productive from a food point of view, but reducing the emissions footprint of how we do it.”

He said the only way to achieve this is with “everybody pulling the same way on the one rope”.

Against that backdrop, it’s essential the government communicate and engage so everyone is on the same page.

“It’s not an easy process,” he said, but “it’s one we are working very hard in Ireland to achieve”.

He noted it’s easier to generate fear.

“It is easier to make people afraid of the challenge than it is to inspire and give confidence.”

He believes, however, there is a real willingness among farmers to embrace this and that should be acknowledged and their roles respected.

“Too often the focus is on agriculture, too often the finger is being pointed, in an accusatory fashion, and the contribution

that is being made and the work that has been done is not acknowledged.”

McConalogue said against that backdrop, there is a need to “dial down the conflict, dial down the heat and focus on the journey and focus on what we are doing”.

It won’t happen overnight but farmers have always been innovative and have always been transformative, he added.

“This is a new innovation and a new transformation [is] required.”

Farmgate milk prices continue to fall in UK

FALLING consumer demand for dairy products in the United Kingdom has been highlighted by processors announcing March and April milk price cuts.

Arla announced a 3.52 pence per litre drop in its on-account price for conventional and organic milk from March 1.

This means the UK

SOURING: Consumer demand for milk is continuing to fall as a result of inflation and economic uncertainty.

manufacturing price for conventional and organic milk will be 44.95ppl (about 87 New Zealand cents) and 49.73ppl respectively.

Arthur Fearnall, Arla Foods AMBA board director and an Arla farmer, said consumer demand is continuing to fall as a result of consistently high inflation and an uncertain economic outlook.

“Additional milk volumes are driving a continued decrease in commodity prices, and the prices for EU and world commodities are now broadly on par.

Consumer consumption for organic is also continuing to react to the high inflationary landscape. The outlook is negative,” Fearnall said.

Paul Savage, agriculture director for Arla UK, said that as the cost of living crisis continues, consumers are buying less.

“The economic outlook remains uncertain, and while in recent weeks we have seen the first signs of stabilisation in the Global Dairy Trade, we are still facing a challenging commodity market, especially as milk volumes continue to increase overall,” Savage said.

“As a dairy co-operative, we remain committed to delivering the most value to our farmerowners’ milk.”

Dairy farmers supplying Muller and meeting the conditions for Muller advantage will receive a milk price of 42.5ppl from April 1, including the 1ppl Muller advantage premium paid quarterly in arrears. This is a reduction of 1.5ppl on March.

Richard Collins, head of agriculture at Muller Milk and Ingredients, said: “As we work to ensure security of supply for the millions of shoppers who purchase

the dairy products we make every day, we are continuing to face market pressures, and supply is ahead of forecast.”

First milk announced its milk price from April 1 will reduce by 3ppl, taking it to 42.69ppl for a manufacturing standard litre, including the member premium and regenerative farming bonus.

Freshways announced a further 3ppl drop in April to a standard litre price of 41ppl, following a 3ppl drop in March, citing the declining value in fat, falling consumer demand and increased milk volumes in the marketplace.

Freshways managing director Bali Nijjar said: “As a consequence of these factors, our customers are being quoted at discounted rates by our competitors, who are now sitting with excess milk volumes, and we have no choice but to defend our position from a sales perspective.”

He said Freshways would “endeavour” to hold this price for the coming months.

Farmers Guardian

It is easier to make people afraid of the challenge than it is to inspire and give confidence.

Charlie McConalogue Ireland’s minister for agriculture, food and the marine

CLOSE TIES: Ireland’s minister for agriculture, food and the marine Charlie McConalogue with his NZ counterpart Damien O’Connor.

New Alliance captain braced for headwinds

The Alliance Group’s new chief executive feels his entire career has been coaching him for the role. Willie Wiese tells Neal Wallace that he is excited about prospects for the co-operative.

WILLIE Wiese is yet to experience anything resembling a normal year in the nearly six years he has worked in the meat industry.

The new Alliance Group chief executive was the co-operative’s manufacturing manager before this month’s appointment as David Surveyor’s successor.

“I’ve learnt to plan for every possible disruptive event,” he says.

Raised and educated in South Africa, Wiese worked there and in Australia, and fell in love with New Zealand during winter holidays skiing in Queenstown.

When the opportunity came, he joined Alliance in late 2017.

The son of a vegetable grower in South Africa’s Western Cape, on leaving high school Wiese initially studied engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

He subsequently returned to university on several further occasions to complete management papers, which led to senior corporate roles in gas, packaging and paper manufacturing in South Africa and Australia.

He has now stepped up to the top role at Alliance, replacing Surveyor, who led the co-operative for eight years.

Surveyor has returned to Australia and is now chief executive of Australian Stock Exchange-listed Select Harvests.

Wiese says Surveyor’s tenure involved plenty of what he calls “heavy lifting”.

He was appointed at a time when Alliance was losing shareholders, the business and brands weren’t performing well and the industry had endured a savage market correction, Wiese says.

Surveyor left having addressed those issues – and after having lead the co-operative to record

profits before provisions, distribution and tax of $117.2 million for the year ending September 30 2022.

Turnover was a record $2.2 billion.

But challenges remain, and it seems likely Wiese’s hopes for a “normal year” will remain elusive.

Those challenges include continuing to balance processing capacity and profile with livestock numbers.

Wiese says 70% of Alliance’s processing capacity is weighted towards ovine, and, with falling sheep numbers, this profile needs constant balancing.

Pacific Islands and then further afield.”

He would like to see Immigration NZ look at its rules and regulations to accelerate the processing of visas so international staff can be recruited faster.

Leading one of the country’s largest red meat exporters was once unthinkable for the son of a vegetable grower.

“We did have some home kill, but we were a vegetable farm with some livestock,” he says.

Study has been a big part of his life.

Having graduated with a Master’s degree in electrical engineering and engineering science, he followed that up with degrees in business administration and supply chain and business.

As an engineer he worked for several companies but describes his time at BOC Gas as career-defining.

investment firm that had bought Cart Holt Harvey’s NZ paper and hygiene business, now known as Asaleo Care.

But it was winter skiing excursions to Queenstown that would see Wiese not only shift industries, but countries too.

In December 2017 he was appointed Alliance’s manufacturing manager.

He says the shift from paper and packaging to meat processing was not as daunting as it may appear.

Technically the processes are similar with the biggest difference being meat is a deconstructing process rather than one involving construction.

But the principle is the same: the need to introduce efficient processes to increase competitiveness and improve service delivery.

Part of that challenge comes from the scale and pace at which farmland is being converted to forestry, an issue Wiese does not see ending for the next five years at least.

“The scale, pace and incentives supporting the way it is being done, we need to work with government and industry bodies to see how best it can be managed.

“It’s not either-or, we can do both.”

A workforce shortage remains a major challenge and Wiese says unlike Australia, where meat industry staffing has recovered to between 104% to 110% of pre-covid levels, a comparable measurement for NZ is just 50% to 60%.

“Alliance has always taken the view that we will recruit and develop locally as fast as we can, but if once we have explored that avenue and we can’t get sufficient staff, we need to firstly look to

The company had a labour issue with the division handling bulk gas and cylinder distribution, which Wiese was asked to fix. He did so successfully, and that made him realise that he enjoyed that extended management role and had skills beyond engineering.

But suddenly his life was turned upside down with the passing of his first wife, leaving Wiese with two young children to care for alongside a developing career.

He was a single parent for 16 years, during which he worked and variously studied part time, with his children often coming to lectures and sitting with him in the back row.

He was appointed to a national role with packaging multinational Nampak, and sent to Australia to oversee the troubled construction of a new paper manufacturing plant and, later, the restructuring of the business.

The plant finally opened in 2010.

Four years later he was recruited by Pacific Equity Partners, a private Australian equity

Wiese used his manufacturing knowledge to introduce lean manufacturing processes to Alliance; these had tangible benefits, reducing costs and improving efficiency.

His introduction to the meat industry was helped by twice being acting manager of the Lorneville plant.

“Working there was really good for connecting with people in places like the slaughter board and boning rooms.

“It really grounds you.”

Given the variety and how his career has tracked, Wiese feels that joining Alliance was meant to be.

“It is almost like I have been coached and my career developed to where I am right now at Alliance.”

There are several initiatives underway at Alliance, including decarbonisation of plants, and next year emissions will be 37% lower than they were in 2018, with the co-op on track to achieve an 80% reduction by 2029.

Other initiatives include the continued rollout of automation and robotics, and developing

technology and communication with farmers to enhance and grow its hand-picked beef, lamb and venison product range.

Wiese says he brings energy, a willingness to collaborate and inclusiveness to the role, while also being decisive.

These are attributes he says are timely, given that the meat industry faces labour shortages, global inflation and fluctuating markets.

“Anyone can sail a ship in calm waters. You are up against it while on deck in high winds and a storm.”

Remarried, Wiese lives in Christchurch where two of his children attend local schools. His two adult children from his first marriage live in Australia.

Wiese’s love for his adopted country is obvious, but his passion for South Africa remains.

Asked who will win this year’s Rugby World Cup, he unapologetically says South Africa – but qualifies that by saying he hopes the final is against the All Blacks, his second favourite team.

Future’s bright for award-winning Bremner

HARRIET Bremner has a long list of must-dos after being named co-winner of Australasian agriculture’s coveted Zanda McDonald Award.

But among the first was to steal a two-day honeymoon with husband Ed Pinckney in Mooloolaba, on Queenland’s Sunshine Coast, before getting back to work.

“I’m allowed two days and it’s back to the farm on Monday,” Bremner said.

The 33-year-old Southland farmer, children’s author and health and safety advocate for agriculture was named joint winner of the award, which recognises exceptional young professionals in the primary sector.

Farm management company owner Mitch Highett, also 33, from Orange, New South Wales, was the other recipient. They received their awards at a ceremony in Brisbane on March 15.

“I still can’t believe it, to be fair,” Bremner said.

“A lot of people applied for the award and being part of this whole thing is a prize in itself. It’s the cherry on top to have won and I’m completely blown away.”

Recently married, Bremner and Pinckney farm Jericho Station, a 1400ha property at Manapouri.

Zanda McDonald Award chair Richard Rains said Bremner and Highett are deserving winners.

“As judges we were really impressed with the impacts they’re making in their respective careers.

“Whilst they’re carving out quite different paths, they both possess many of the same

qualities, including a strong sense of leadership, determination and spirit.

“We’re excited to see what the future holds for them both, and helping them on their journeys.”

Bremner and Highett’s prize packages include a tailored mentoring trip in New Zealand and Australia and $10,000 worth of education or training of their choice. The pair will travel by a private Pilatus jet to parts of their mentoring trips, enabling them to reach diverse and remote agricultural enterprises.

Bremner said she has yet to decide how she will use the prize money.

“There are so many opportunities out there. I want to create my mentoring trip around Australia and New Zealand and see what comes from that. I want to broaden my horizons, get a feel for

what’s out there and then work on making that decision.”

Bremner said one of the main benefits of the award will be being part of the “Zanda McDonald family” and being able to tap into its wealth of knowledge.

Being at the awards ceremony underlined for her that there is a positive outlook for the agriculture sector.

“I can’t get over how kind everybody is and how positive they are about the future of agriculture. One of things to look at is the challenges the sector is facing, and how we can turn it into a positive and see it as an opportunity.

“We’ve definitely got challenges. But like anything in life you can choose to make it a negative or go ‘How are we going to turn this around and make an opportunity out of it?’”

Craig Page PEOPLE Awards

NEW ZEALANDER: South Africanborn Alliance CEO Willie Wiese loves his adoptive country – just don’t ask him to switch sides in a Rugby World Cup.

Anyone can sail a ship in calm waters. You are up against it while on deck in high winds and a storm.

Willie Wiese Alliance Group

LOOKING AHEAD: Harriet Bremner says the agriculture sector has a positive future.

Agritech master plan hones focus, goals

Being the pathfinder for New Zealand’s industry transformation plans has been both a blessing and a curse, but AgriTech New Zealand CEO Brendan O’Connell has learnt enough in the past three years to be able to re-focus and refine expectations for the process. He speaks to Richard Rennie.

THREE years into it, the agritech sector’s industry transformation plan is getting a makeover, developing sharper definitions on outcomes and expectations for the industry’s future.

In a series of roadshows, AgriTech New Zealand CEO Brendan O’Connell is outlining the key points the plan is re-focusing on, seeking industry feedback and summarising its success to date. The sector was the first to kick off with an industry transformation plan (ITP), since followed by forestry and, recently, advanced manufacturing.

“Being the first plan to be launched was a blessing and a curse in many ways. Also, some very strange years followed across the past three years,” O’Connell says.

Being recognised as a genuine growth sector, having the ear of two key ministers (agriculture and economic development),

and having a combination of government agencies support it have, however, given the plan some strong early impetus.

Despite covid travel constraints, a key win has been building a stronger international network with markets including Australia, Ireland, and the United States, taking researchers and innovators into those markets to better understand how they work.

A knowledge hub has been established, compiling a database of all known agritech firms, contacts and locations throughout New Zealand, and Callaghan Innovation has worked with identified early agritech startups to help them develop their growth pathways more effectively. Formal partnerships have also been cemented with overseas grower groups, including the huge Western Growers alliance in the US.

Farm 2050 trials are also continuing, with $850,000 of

funding to identify, validate and demonstrate at scale promising disruptive technologies, currently focused on pasture-based dairy.

“What we heard were a lot of the high-level skills had landed in the right place,” Grant Bryden, lead Ministry for Primary Industries official on the plan, says, though “there were still challenges to businesses wanting to get to scale”.

He says one key refresh to the plan was a shorter “elevator pitch”, with the simply stated goal being to “grow agritech’s contribution to $8 billion by 2030”.

The industry is also working to pin down just how much the sector is worth now, something that has proven elusive.

“Based off the top 22 companies, it is estimated to be valued at $1.6bn, but there are about 450 other companies out there, so it’s safe to say the starting point is $1.6bn, but the total could be nearer $2-$2.5bn.”

The sector is co-sponsoring a series of insight reports to provide a better baseline of data for measuring growth from here.

O’Connell acknowledged $8bn is a big stretch for the sector, equating to about 15% compounding annual growth between now and 2030, compared to its estimated current rate of 7%.

This is the equivalent to another 10 GallagherLIC sized businesses, another 20 generating between $50m and $200m, and 35 generating between $4m and $50m.

BUILDING THE WEB: Callaghan Innovation has worked with identified early agritech startups to help them develop their growth pathways more effectively.

“This is the equivalent to another 10 Gallagher-LIC sized businesses, another 20 generating between $50 million and $200m, and 35 generating between $4m and $50m.”

He says there will of course be more growth to come from big players like Gallaghers and LIC, and he is encouraged by the change in behaviour even such big companies are exhibiting when it comes to achieving that growth.

“Companies like Gallagher are behaving more like an active investor, investing in established tech companies to grow from. This is what we have seen more of in overseas companies like Syngenta,” O’Connell says.

The refreshed ITP proposal

Brendan O’Connell AgriTech NZ CEO

also includes sharper outcome definitions.

These have been distilled down to seven key areas, including seeking a more diverse workforce on higher paying jobs, greater iwi recognition given their strong links to the land, and a stronger underlying infrastructure to support agritech companies.

O’Connell says feedback is being sought from the industry to tune in the changes.

“What becomes important is what will be done under these outcomes and looking at ‘How is that relevant to my business?’”

Peony Pink Blue Sky

BOOSTED: AgriTech NZ CEO Brendan O’Connell says the industry’s revamped ITP gives a clearer, more concise outline of what it wants to achieve by 2030.

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North Loburn 52 Mount Grey Road

Profitable rural living

Currently run as a dryland dairy, the property is subdivided into 29 paddocks, each accessible through laneways for operational efficiency. The farm is equipped with modern infrastructure and well-maintained equipment, providing the perfect stepping stone to farm ownership close to Christchurch. There are two fourhectare (more or less) run-off blocks nearby, which are also available to purchase. The main four-bedroom dwelling offers the ultimate in comfort and luxury, with an attached double garage, the home features an open-plan kitchen and dining area, along with two spacious sitting rooms. An additional three-bedroom cottage with a double garage offers comfortable and private living, perfect for accommodating staff or guests. bayleys.co.nz/5520612

Coutts Island 589 Coutts Island Road

60.7028ha

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior)

12pm, Tue 18 Apr 2023

3 Deans Avenue, Christchurch

Phone for viewing times

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

Superb farming opportunity

The best of both worlds is truly possible with this highly productive farming property located so close to the city. 198.2447 hectares (more or less) the property is currently grazing cattle, both beef and dairy support, along with winter grazing. Excellent quality infrastructure is in place for future success with good quality cattle yards and crush, three large sheds, and three bedroom cottage. The ample low-cost irrigation water supply from two underground bores is a standout feature at this property. Stock water is reticulated from a storage tank via a surface pump to stock troughs. Comprehensive irrigation covers the property via pivot and solid set. bayleys.co.nz/5520478

198.2447ha

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior)

12pm, Thu 6 Apr 2023

3 Deans Avenue, Christchurch

Phone for viewing times

Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz

Craig Blackburn 027 489 7225 craig.blackburn@bayleys.co.nz

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

32

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 27, 2023

Accelerating success.

Sheep/Beef/Deer

Exceptional Pongaroa Drystock Farm

For Sale by Negotiation (plus GST if any)

Dairy

Jason Waterman 027 376 8313 jason.waterman@colliers.com Rob

Deal 027 241 4775

Glentunnel

10 Riversleigh Road

Welcome to ‘Kinsale’

Scale in this location is an absolute rarity, especially when it comes with a great balance of soils and contour, giving versatility for both winter and summer grazing. This 398.7571-hectare property is exceptionally well maintained, making it a perfect investment opportunity for anyone looking to diversify their agricultural portfolio. Exceptionally well presented, ‘Kinsale’ has consistently seen upgrades and improvements over the whole property, resulting in a high standard of fencing, laneways and supporting infrastructure, with all paddocks having been re-grassed in the last five years. Historically, the property has been run as an intensive bull beef operation, along with grazing dairy cattle, finishing sheep and prime cattle.

bayleys.co.nz/5520630

398.7571ha

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 12pm, Fri 14 Apr 2023

3 Deans Avenue, Christchurch View by appointment Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz

Craig Blackburn 027 489 7225 craig.blackburn@bayleys.co.nz

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Rob Deal 027 241 4775 rob.deal@colliers.com

82.1037 hectares, located 1km from the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka. 190 cows –74,413kgms last 3 seasons. Good consents (to 2030) and the option and consents to irrigate up to 42 hectares. A 20 ASD Herringbone shed and support sheds. Three bedroom home plus large double garage with sleepout. 14 Titles for future flexibility.

Rural

36 Pururu East Road, Te Kuiti

100 ha (approx) of magical NZ dairy land situated in the lovely Rangitoto district. Well raced and watered with strong pastures and fertile maeroa ash soils. Good infrastructure, currently run as a dairy farm but offers plenty of options. Two houses, a tidy farm dairy and excellent support shedding.

rwteawamutu.co.nz/TEA30522

Rosetown Realty Ltd Licensed REAA2008

colliers.co.nz

1.00pm at

Noldy Rust 027

255 3047

Maungaturoto 506 Batley Road Auction

Batley Peninsula

400 ha freehold and 200 ha lease available by negotiation. Located on the Batley Peninsula in the Kaipara Harbour, within 17.5 km of Maungaturoto and only 50 minutes to Whangarei and Auckland one and a half hours away.

A once in a century opportunity to buy this one of a kind fattening unit on a peninsular of its own in the Kaipara Harbour. 7 km of coastal boundary with a number of its own private beaches.

Extensive re-fencing has taken place during the past five years. Consisting of nine wire. Most have been battened, some still to be done. Still a small amount of two wire electric. 68 main paddocks, two holding paddocks. Two houses are on farm and the historic Batley House is available by negotiation.

Galatea 3931 Galatea Road

Tender

Auction 12.00pm, Thu 20th Apr, 2023, (unless sold prior), Property Brokers, 180 Bank Street, Whangarei

View Fri 31 Mar 10.00 - 11.00am

Thu 6 Apr 11.00 - 1.00pm

Web pb.co.nz/WHR114588

Mike Colthurst

M 021 741 414 E mike.colthurst@pb.co.nz

Large scale dairy farm and quarry

Dairy units of this size are rarely offered for sale in this locality.

Approximately 348 ha (more or less) is being offered for sale encompassing six titles. Up until this last season the farm has been milking 850-900 cows for a three year production average of 317,600 kgMS (19/20 - 21/22 seasons from 441 ha) with all young stock grazed on the property and cows wintered at home. This season has seen a change in farm practice where cow numbers have dropped to 450 and 100 ha of maize is being grown on the property. Approximately 250 ha of the property is flat to gently rolling contour with the balance being made up of moderate hill country. 114 ha of the property is currently irrigated via two central pivot units. Application has been lodged to bring a further 26 ha in under a third pivot.

16 2 6

Tender closes 12.00pm, Thu 20th Apr, 2023 (unless sold prior), 38 Landing Road, Whakatane

View Wed 29 Mar 10.30 - 12.00pm

Wed 5 Apr 10.30 - 12.00pm

Web pb.co.nz/WTR117036

Phillip Berry

M 027 478 8892 E phillip.berry@pb.co.nz

Peter Lissington

M 027 430 8770 E peterl@pb.co.nz

5.04 ha Chicken (Broiler) farm at Lepperton

For sale is this large and very well presented and maintained poultry production farm which is contracted to Tegel. Ideally located in the desirable Lepperton district in North Taranaki, the property comprises of eight modernised sheds of varying sizes with a combined total net shed area of 11,290m2. 5.5 - 6 runs annually with 190,000 birds per run. Substantial investment into fully upgrading and automation to ensure sheds are at the highest standard for their ages. Other improvements include natural energy (solar) and water storage facilities. All supporting plant and equipment is included. Approximately 1.5 ha of grazing land subdivided into five grazing paddocks.

Mataroa 163 Rongoiti Road

3 2 2

For Sale By Negotiation + GST (if any)

Abbotsford Station - 1,664 ha

This iconic large, scale sheep and beef breeding and finishing property with forestry option, is located within close travelling distance to Outram and Dunedin City. Abbotsford Station wintered 5,124 Romdale ewes, 1,525 hoggets, 181 beef cows, 30 R2 heifers, 33 R1 heifers, plus bulls and steers with strong options to increase production. Location, rainfall and altitude all provide great options for alternate land use such as forestry. Improvements include five stand woolshed with covered yards, implement shed and new set of cattle yards. Rolling and flat contour, along with an extensive private stock water scheme are assets that make Abbotsford Station an ideal breeding and finishing unit.

Open Day

Tender closes 12.00pm, Thu 27th Apr, 2023 (unless sold prior), Property Brokers, 21 Macandrew Road, South Dunedin

View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/DNR114362

Ray Kean M 027 435 7478

Willy Rathbone M 021 701 968

Iconic Glencrest Farm

Located 10 km from heartland Taihape, in the renown Mataroa District. Glencrest is 313 ha of fertile rolling pasture with some medium hill country. Located within the local rain belt, the property is predominantly summer safe. Not often does a farm of this calibre come to the market. Land use ranges from drystock, breeding and finishing all the way through to dairy support. Well subdivided into 55 main paddocks with a central lane providing easy stock movement. Well watered from a natural reservoir and natural springs. A four stand woolshed and yards complement the property, as does the renovated five bedroom home set in mature grounds. This property boasts location and contour and has not been for sale in generations. The Mataroa settlement on the farm boundary has the local primary school with a bus service to other schools in Taihape. A strong rural community. 90 km to Lake Taupo and the same to Feilding further demonstrates the locality. 4 x 4 required for viewing.

5 1+

Auction 1.00pm, Tue 4th Apr, 2023, 163 Rongoiti Road, Mataroa.

View Thu 30 Mar 11.00 - 12.00pm Web pb.co.nz/TPR117465

Greg Kellick M 027 619 3051 E greg.kellick@pb.co.nz

Ted Shannon M 021 833 536 E ted.shannon@pb.co.nz

Lepperton 687 Manutahi Road

Lee Stream 2797 Clarks Junction-Lee Stream Road Tender

OPEN DAY

WHAKATANE 697 Matata Road and 172 Sutherland Road

Scale on the Plains - Eight Titles - 177 Hectares

•Best three-year production of 206,602kg MS, rearing 100 calves on whole milk

•Milking 500 mixed age cows, Dairy NZ 3 production system

•Fully compliant new effluent system

•28 ASHB dairy shed with ACR's and two herd homes and full complement of support buildings

•Fonterra whey scheme supply and infrastructure in place

•Two, three bedroom homes

•In eight titles, options for a support block purchase exist

This is an excellent opportunity to purchase a well established, highly productive dairy farm on the renowned Rangitaiki Plains, recognised for its great climate, highly productive soils and a most desirable lifestyle - a decision your family will thank you for in generations and decades to come.

pggwre.co.nz/WHK37602

EXCLUSIVE

6 2 2

TENDER Plus GST (if any)

(Unless Sold By Private Treaty)

Closes 4.00pm, Thursday 20 April

VIEW 11.00-1.00pm, Tuesday 28 March

Phil Goldsmith

M 027 494 1844

E pgoldsmith@pggwrightson.co.nz

EXCLUSIVE

OTAUA, NORTHLAND

First Farm Opportunity!

A perfect first farm opportunity for those wanting to milk around 180-200 cows. The contour is flat to rolling and as well as native bush, there is a constant reliable water supply via the Otaua stream running through the property.

•93ha dairy unit

•Three bedroom, two bathroom home

•20 aside herringbone with in-shed teat sprayer

•PKE shed/workshop, calf sheds

•250 cow feed pad with flood wash

This property will sell! Enquire today.

pggwre.co.nz/KER36462

3 2 1

AUCTION Plus GST (if any)

(Unless Sold Prior)

11.00am, Thursday 20 April

VIEW By Appointment Only

Andrew Ludbrook

M 027 254 4784

E aludbrook@pggwrightson.co.nz

Craig Johnsen

M 027 407 1339

E craig.johnsen@pggwrightson.co.nz

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

PLEASANT POINT, STH CANTERBURY

Cropping / Sheep / Dairy Support - 118 Hectares

Located in close proximity to Pleasant Point this property has a history of mixed cropping, breeding ewes, finishing lambs and dairy support. Mainly flat to easy rolling with a mixture of fertile quality soils.

Infrastructure consists of a three-stand woolshed and covered sheep yards with night pens, grain storage and drying facility, workshop, implement sheds, hay barn and a permanent material sunny four bedroom home situated to take advantage of the vast panoramic views. This property has been well farmed and is ready for new owners to continue the good stewardship of the land.

pggwre.co.nz/TIM36872

Simon Richards

M 027 457 0990

E simon.richards@pggwrightson.co.nz

NZ’s leading rural real estate company

PRICE BY NEGOTIATION Plus GST (if any)

NZRSB

2023 AGM, CONFERENCE, BEEF VALUE CHAIN DAY TOUR & DINNER

2 - 3 MAY | RUAKURA, HAMILTON, WAIKATO

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

The opportunity exists for motivated and qualified individuals to be nominated for the Board of the NZRSB. Nominations are open now.

Nominate by emailing info@nzsustainablebeef.co.nz with the nominee ’s contact details and a bio or resume, or visit www.nzsustainablebeef.co.nz

SHEPHERD GENERAL

Due to our long term staff member Sam moving on to a new opportunity we are on the hunt for a new team member. We are a family owned and operated business, in the Maniototo Basin Central Otago.

We farm crossbred ewes and an Angus Stud, over a mix of hill country and flat. We have 500 ha of irrigation, all lambs are finished and we also grow a range of crops for grain and seed production.

This role is part of a small family team, so there is a wide variety of work which is a great chance to learn building skills and knowledge.

Roles include, stock work, yard work with sheep and cattle, winter feeding, tractor work, including truck driving at harvest time, and general jobs such as fencing and weed control. We would prefer the person to have at least 1 years experience in the sheep and beef industry. We support off farm training to help with personal development.

Accommodation provided as a 2-bedroom house in Patearoa (10 minutes from the Puketoi homestead)

Start date, April/May, remuneration to be negotiated depending on level of experience.

If this sounds like it might be for you please flick us an email at kyle.emma@puketoiangus.co.nz or give Kyle a buzz on 0211757746

General Manager Role

• Strategic senior leadership position, partnering with the best in the business

• Drive innovation for Southern Farmers to create sustainable farm systems (for people, cows and our environment)

The Southern Research and Demonstration Farm (the Southern Dairy Hub’s) vision is to be an internationally recognised, innovative and leading centre of excellence for dairy farming, research, and extension. We’re looking for a General Manager to lead our team to realise this vision.

With a milking platform (including wintering) of nearly 300 ha, the Hub milks approximately 750 cows in a range of research trials at Wallacetown, Invercargill. The farm was converted in 2017 and is close to Invercargill city which has a brand new CBD development and great schools and amenities. For R&R you have world class fishing, diving and hunting on your door step and Queenstown just 2.5 hours away.

We are looking for a General Manager to lead the business forward, continuing the legacy of passionate and forward-thinking farmers delivering business performance alongside robust research outcomes.

For more information about the Southern Dairy Hub visit https://www.southerndairyhub.co.nz/

What we are looking for:

We’re looking for an experienced leader with in-depth knowledge of dairy farm or research operations and a strong affinity for the rural sector. You’ll also need to be:

• A positive and inspirational leader who fosters a cohesive culture based on shared purpose and values;

• A proven history of building strong relationships and partnering with others to deliver high quality outcomes;

• Strong business and technical farming knowledge and skills, with the credibility to lead and influence in the paddock and the Board room;

• Experience of successfully providing direction, empowering, motivating, mentoring and coaching others to grow and achieve goals and objectives.

A full position description for the role is available online at http://www.primarypeople.co.nz/currentjobs

To Apply

If you are ready to apply for this opportunity, please submit your resume and cover letter by email to lynsey@primarypeople.co.nz.

Applications close 6th April 2023.

HIGH

5-ply film for baleage

Cattle and dairy food MAF approved

Solar pump systems

Solar street and road lights

Solar energy power systems

Subsidiary of GB Trading Ltd

www.gbnsolar.com

The Path to Sustainable ENERGY

Call now to find out how COMPETITIVE we are in pricing. Mobile: 022 151 0248 george.gbtrading@gmail.com

South Island High Country Grand Slam Self drive your own 4WD from Blenheim to Cardona in Central Otago through a network of high country tracks including Molesworth on this 7 day 8 night tour.

Both these tours are; Fully guided with radio contact; Fully catered and stay in very comfortable lodge and farmstays; Made up of smaller tour groups (7-9 vehicles) and travel at a quieter pace.

2IC Farm Manager TASMANIA

A opportunity exists in a Privately owned 100% Livestock Business running 1200+ Angus breeders and 3000+ ewes plus value adding to all the progeny on the North East coast of Tasmania. The Enterprise is run over three farms in close proximity.

Successful applicant will have:

• A positive and motivated attitude, plus use of Ag tech for farming operations

• Good time management and communication skills

• A good standard of animal health skills and high standards of animal welfare, plus competent working dogs

• Practical skills across general farming operation

What we are offering:

• An attractive remuneration package on experience, plus upside on productivity gains

• This is a position that could turn into a full Management role

• A Relocation package will be offered to the Successful applicant

Our local town is Bridport. The area offers great camping, fishing, hunting, world class golf courses and mountain biking plus much more. Job prospects for partners is high in community. A warm modern 5-bedroom house is included which is on the school bus run. Enquiries & resume to Tim Gunn – email: tlgunn@outlook.com or call on 0061 408 915514

Find primary sector vacancies at:

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

To advertise phone Debbie 06 323 0765

Marketplace

ANIMAL HANDLING

FLY OR LICE problem?

Electrodip – the magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides. Incredible chemical and time savings with proven e ectiveness. Phone 07 573 8512 www.electrodip.com

CRAIGCO SHEEP JETTERS. Sensor Jet.

Livestock

PROMOTES QUICK PASTURE growth. Only $6.50+gst per hectare delivered. 0508-GIBBGRO [0508

EARLY CALVING QUALITY

FRIESIAN &

FRIESIAN CROSS INMILK HERD

NEVER BEEN OFFERED FOR SALE

A/c EL + HJ McGaffin

Date: Wednesday 5th April 2023

Address: 237 Milliken Road, RD 1, Morrinsville

D/N 76910

Start time: 11:30am, lunch provided will be available for online bidding

COMPRISING:

270 x In-Milk Friesian & Friesian Cross

Mixed Aged In-Calf Cows

DETAILS:

BW: 178 PW: 208 RA%: 98%

Due to calve 7th July 2023, AB mated for 6 weeks to nominated LIC Xbred and a few Charolais.

ATTENTION FARMERS

Pasture Seed Range and Mixes

Contact us: 0508 733 343 or 021 228 5035 www.vernado.co.nz

CHILLERS & FREEZERS SEE TradeME #2251190054 Ph JC: 021 441 180 E: frigidair@xtra.co.nz When only the best will do!

CONTRACTORS

375 8032.

DOGS FOR SALE

BUYING / SELLING. Huntaways. Heading dogs. Deliver NZ wide. https:// www.youtube.com/@ mikehughesworkingdog 07 315 5553.

TOP BLOODLINES. Heading and Huntaway pups. Phone Dave Andrews 027 450 6095.

ELECTRO-TEK ENGINEERING

07 893 8916 / 027 363 2932.

GRAZING AVAILABLE

SPACE FOR AROUND 35 incalf cows. Located between Tīrau and Putāruru. Available from mid-April. $35+gst per head per week. Phone Stew 027 711 3598.

41 HECTARES, Morrison Road, Paeroa from June 1stsuit dairy grazers. Phone Lyn 027 276 2156.

WINTER COW or May to May dairy heifer grazing available from 1st May. Hauraki area. knlstewart@gmail.com or phone 022 131 8375.

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 WANTED

DAIRY OR GRAZING. Rangitīkei / Manawatū through to HB. Regenerative farming practiced. Open to developing land in partnership. Phone Michael 027 223 6156.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE

Tailed with Frsn bulls (out 10/12). Vetted to date.

Herd Tests: 4 x Tests, Last test 29/03/2023, 430

M/S per cow, SCC: 70,000

BVD Milk Tested, Lepto Vaccinated and TB Status C10

AUCTIONEERS NOTES:

This owner milked early calving three generational herd comes forward in great condition and quality.

Always mated to Nominated LIC AB, vetted to dates. Always have a low empty rate with this season being 9%.

An excellent herd that is very well managed, very well uddered and quiet.

Low SCC, cows scanned again prior to sale. An excellent herd with huge potential.

PAYMENT/DELIVERY TERMS:

Immediate delivery, or for those without farm access, the cows can stay on farm until the end of May and will be dried off.

Deferred payments until 20th May 2023

OUR VENDOR:

Emma McGaffin 021 236 158

CARRFIELDS LIVESTOCK AGENTS:

Matthew Hancock 027 601 3787 matthew.hancock@carrfields.co.nz

GOLDEN HEIFERS WITH GOLDEN INDEXES

ON FARM INCALF HEIFER

TUESDAY 4TH APRIL ••• 12 NOON

336 Waotu Road, Putaruru

PUMPS

HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMPS, suitable on high headlifts. Low energy usage for single/3-phase motors, waterwheel and turbine drives. Low maintenance costs and easy to service. Enquiries phone 04 526 4415, email sales@hydra-cell.co.nz

GOOD HONEST CRV FRIESIAN AND FRIESIAN CROSS IN-MILK HERD AUCTION

A/c EDGAR-BIDDLE PARTNERSHIP

Date: Thursday 6th April 2023

Address: Matamata Saleyards

- Waharoa East Road, Matamata, 3471

Start Time: 12:00pm will be available for online bidding

COMPRISING:

150 x In-Milk Friesian & Friesian Cross

Mixed Aged In-Calf Cows

11 xFriesian & Friesian Cross R1 Heifers

DETAILS:

Cows: BW133 PW173 NZMI271

Heifers: BW184 PW196

• Herd tested: 3 Tests done through the season

• 305 M/S Per Cow, SCC: 161,000

• BVD Tested: Yes TB Status: C10

• Calving Date: 20th July 2023 - 6 Week AB

CRV Nominated Friesian then tailed with Hereford Bull removed 22nd December 2022

AUCTIONEERS NOTE:

Good honest cows off steep farm that will shift well. Cows farmed in Opotiki Coastal Kikuyu Country.

Owner milked – Owned 10 years.

Quiet, well managed cows on a system 1.

Years of CRV breeding – Vetted to dates.

Cows are currently milked as OAD.

PAYMENT TERMS:

Payment to be made within 14 days after sale

CARRFIELDS LIVESTOCK AGENT:

Paul Collins 027 304 8994

Andrew Gordon 027 487 2044

OUR VENDOR:

Simon Edgar 027 555 8282

VIEW OUR CATALOGUE AT www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

LONG ESTABLISH, HIGH INDEXING IN-MILK CROSSBRED HERD /IN-CALF HEIFER AUCTION

A/c PALMERDELL TRUST

– Neil & Kim Bailey

Date: Tuesday 11th April 2023

Address: 957 Stratford Opunake Road, D/N 41229

Start Time: 11:30am Lunch provided will be available for online bidding

COMPRISING:

130 x High Indexing Mixed Age

In-Milk Dairy Cows

40 x High Indexing Capital Replacement

In-Calf Heifers

DETAILS:

Cows: BW216 PW264 avg

Heifers: BW259 PW278 avg

Herd Tested:

4 x Herd Test programme last tested 23/02/2023

Milk solids:

Up to 400+ Per Cow with SCC 150,000 Lepto Vaccinated, TB tested 10/02/2023, C10

AUCTIONEERS NOTES:

The Bailey family are offering up to auction this high country, high quality crossbred herd and capital replacement in-calf heifers. Rotary milked cows doing the hard yards on the slopes of Mt Taranaki, farmed at 1300ft, annual rainfall 3.5 meters. Herd is vetted to date, in-calf heifers have been scanned all calving by the end of September and comes to auction with vendors personal guarantee of satisfaction.

OUR VENDORS:

Grazing available by prior arrangement with vendor or vendor agent till 1st June for purchases that are unable to take delivery within a few days of auction.

PAYMENT TERMS:

14 days from auction unless prior arrangements made with vendors or Carrfields Livestock Agent.

CARRFIELDS LIVESTOCK AGENT: Colin Dent 027 646 8908 colin.dent@carrfields.co.nz

OUR VENDORS: Neil & Kim Bailey 027 294 8694

ZON BIRDSCARER electro-tek@xtra.co.nz Phone: 06 357 2454

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 027 688 2954 Richard.

BOOK AN AD. For only $2.30

+ gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classi eds section.

Phone Debbie on 0800 85

80 to book in or email classi eds@agrihq.co.nz

RURAL MASSAGE

RELAXING FULL BODY massage in rural Ohaupo. Unwind. De-stress. www. ruralmassage.co.nz or call 027 529 5540.

SHEEP SCANNING AVAILABLE

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

STOCK FEED

MOISTURE METERS Hay, Silage dry matter, grain. www.moisturemeters.co.nz 0800 213 343.

The Kraakman Family are proud to offer for sale the last of their Capital Dairy Stock after 40 years of Nominated LIC Breeding. Numerous Contract Cows have been bred resulting in a number of bulls being selected for the LIC Breeding Teams.

# 80 x Crossbred Incalf Heifers # 90% A2A2

# D.T.C. 10th July to Vendors High BW

Recorded Crossbred Bulls # BW 316 PW 322 RA 100%

Star attractions are Heifers

CPHN 21-49 and CPHN 21-89 both carrying LIC Contracts with expected Calf BW 450. LIC are also seeking a contract on CPHN 21-89 for the coming mating season.

Purchasers of well grown High Indexted Crossbred Heifers are encouraged to attend this end of an era sale.

Enquiries:

Vendor: Francis Kraakman 0272 863 741

NZFLL Agent: Steve Emile 0272 243 880

KERRAH SIMMENTAL FEMALE REDUCTION SALE

Tuesday 11 April , 1pm

On Farm at Tangiwai Stn, Wairoa

A rare opportunity to secure high performing, genuine hill country females from a stud that focuses on docility, structure and balanced breeding values. Interfaced with Bidr.

Comprising of approx. 100 VIC Cows and Heifers, plus 15 autumn cows with calves at foot.

Enquiries:

Emma Pollitt 027 597 5821

Phil Transom 027 442 0060

TUI HILLS HEREFORDS

Thursday 30 March

7.00pm | Bidr online sale

Comprising:

16- MA Hereford Cows

VIC

DTC 17th July to Early October

Rich Colours

• Well marked

• Very strong cows with capacity and volume doing their calves exceptionally well.

Farmed on Bay of Plenty Hill Country.

Enquiries:

Cam Heggie 027 501 8182

JERSEY COMPLETE DISPERSAL SALE

Complete Dispersal Sale High Quality – High Producing Jersey Herd & Replacements

Tuesday 11th April | 6.30pm.

Bidr Online Auction only | bidr.co.nz

Vendors

Mrs BF Smith, Graham Smith and Debbie Mercer 233 Kamahi Road West, Edendale, Southland.

A very well-presented, well-bred offering consisting:

• 66 Jersey M/A Cows

• 7 Ayrshire, Friesian and Friesian Cross M/A cows

• 22 Jersey R2 In-Calf Heifers

• 19 Jersey R1 Heifers

Tb C10, Young Stock Lepto. Vacc., BVD Bulk Milk tested. Open day 1st April 2023 from 10am – 2pm (luncheon provided)

Closed herd since 2001. Bred to the best Jersey Genetics since the herds inception, in the 1970s.

Good producing cows with herd average last season of 4421 litres 405kgm/s 254 days, Cows with nice conformation, milked through a Rotary Shed, under a low input system.

Judiciously recorded & Herd Tested, RA 99%, Calving from end of July, all transferable through LIC.

All In-calf females Scanned In-calf, 28 day In-Calf warranty from sale day applies. Delivery to be completed by 20th May 2023, Cows dried off 20th April 2023 if still on property.

All Enquiries

Mark Cuttance (PGW) 027 442 4742

Brian Robinson (BRLL) 027 241 0051

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard bidr.co.nz

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard bidr.co.nz

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard bidr.co.nz

FEILDING WEANER FAIRS 2023

Feilding Saleyards | 11.30am

Dates:

Calendared Sale

• Wednesday 29 March

• Tuesday 4 April

Steer & Bull

• Wednesday 5 April

Heifer

Wednesday 19 April

Sue Brothers

• Thursday 20 April

• Wednesday 26 April

Steer & Bull

• Thursday 27 April

Heifer

• Thursday 4 May

• Thursday 18 May

Enquiries:

Maurice Stewart 027 246 9255

Tony Gallen 027 591 1711

PLANT & MACHINERY SALE

Friday 31 March | 1.00pm start A/C MR Simmons 90 Rathgens Road, Makikihi, South Canterbury

MAIN ITEMS WILL BE SOLD IN CONJUNCTION WITH bidr ONLINE AS HYBRID SALE.

NOKOMAI STATION ANNUAL AUTUMN LAMB SALE

Wednesday 29 March

Commencing 1.00pm

(Note change of date from PGW calendar) (signposted SH 6 Athol – Lumsden highway)

Comprising:

• 7000 Half bred Wether Lambs

2000 Half bred Ewe Lambs

1000 Texel x MS Lambs

A fantastic line of half bred lambs that won’t let you down weight potential wise and wool wise. Craigneuk bloodlines that come highly recommended.

Animal health: 4 in 1 smartshot at tailing, triple drench and 5 in 1 at weaning. Scanda drench 10/3, crutched 10/3.

Enquiries:

Barry McAlister (PGW) 027 441 6432

James Hore (Vendor) 021 301 797

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard bidr.co.nz

START TIME APPROX. 1.30pm

For full details go to Agonline or PGG Wrightson Mid/South Canterbury Facebook page.

Outside entries are being accepted.

Enquiries: Gus Simmons (Vendor) 027 244 7188

Kelvin Sadler (PGW) 027 430 2029

PRELIMINARY NOTICE GLACIER HORNED HEREFORDS DISPERSAL SALE

Thursday 11 May

Commencing 2.00pm Fox Glacier

Comprising:

• 50 Mixed Age Cows (P.T.I.C.)

• 12 1st Calving 3yr Heifers (P.T.I.C.)

• 20 Rising 2yr Heifers (Empty)

• 28 Rising 1yr Heifers

For further information contact:

Wayne & Maggie Williams (Vendors) 027 2644 624

Enquiries:

John McKone (PGW) 027 2299 375

DAIRY HERD SALES BUY NOW

Contact

PGW Dairy

Key: Dairy Cattle Sheep Other

FERMOY HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN SALE

Wednesday 12 April , 10.30am

On Farm Bidr Auction

End of Era

Fermoy Holstein Friesian Sale

Stewart & Julia Eden

High Quality, High Producing Holstein Friesian Herd & Replacements

Comprising:

187 M/A Holstein Friesian Cows

23 R2 Holstein Friesian In-calf Heifers

• 27 R1 Holstein Friesian Heifers 6 Java South Devon Bulls

Fermoy est. 1990 Represents 33 years of Holstein Friesian breeding history, using the very best of sires from around the world, Cows sell with records to 11,358 litres, 385 kg protein and 506kgs fats, 64 lots are A2/A2.

Opportunity to purchase from a tremendous herd which is uniform in type, with nice confirmation, using Semex optimate breeding program for a number of years.

Catalogues with full terms and conditions are available online at agonline.co.nz – upcoming sales and bidr.co.nz

Enquiries: Mike van der Linden 027 609 9187

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard bidr.co.nz

SALE TALK

In the great desert lived a bunch of nomads. Their leader, Benny, had risen to his rank, due to his magnificent beard. His people believed his strength and courage came from his beard, and thus the man with the biggest beard was their chief. After leading the band for many years, Benny began to feel uncomfortable wearing the beard in this hot and dusty land. He wanted to shave it off, so he called his council together to get their advice.

When he said he wanted to shave, the councilmen were shocked. One said, “Do you now remember the ancient legend? The leader who removes his beard is cursed and made into a piece of earthenware.”

Benny had heard this legend, but being a modern man, he scoffed at the tale. Being headstrong, he went ahead and cut away his once magnificent beard. As the final whisker was cut off, a huge dust storm came up. It lasted only a few seconds, and when it cleared, there stood a man-sized clay vessel! The council then knew the legend must be true. Their conclusion? “A Benny shaved is a Benny urned.”

If you’ve got a joke you want to share with the farming community, then email us at: saletalk@agrihq.co.nz with Sale Talk in the subject line Conditions apply

Markets

Flurry of sales as we roll into autumn

Busy time around the country as beef calves keep South Island auctioneers engaged, boner cow numbers surge and sheep pens start to gear up

Suz Bremner MARKETS Livestock

IT’S A busy time at saleyards around the country as autumn arrives, with several classes of stock ramping up in supply. North Island weaner fairs are merging into South Island calf sales, boner cows are coming out in a flurry along with snow in the South Island and store lamb volume is slowly starting to creep up.

The North Island is heading into round two of beef weaner fairs and at Rangiuru steers sold on a slightly stronger market to results posted at the first fair. Heifer results were more mixed as medium types held but a firm hand on budgets meant that while the heifer calves were heavier this time round, prices were slightly softer.

Feilding tends to start a few weeks later than other yards but stretches out further into May, but this fair was held a week earlier than last year, and tallies were down to 750-head due to that fact. Prices followed the trend set at other yards.

South Island calf sales also got underway over the past week and, though it is still early days, they look to be traipsing a similar path to North Island fairs. The Owaka calf sale at Balclutha and the Mt Benger calf sale were among the front runners, and Rural Livestock agent Dennis Mullally said Mt

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Benger posted great results.

“Prices were up $60-$70 on last season for all classes, thanks to great spring-like growth and good margins made last year. Vendors were very happy with results,” Mullally said.

Not only are beef calves keeping South Island auctioneers busy, but boner cow numbers have surged in recent weeks. Temuka is the biggest trader of boner cows nationwide and so creates the best market to keep an eye on.

The past two months have shown a big increase in supply at a total of nearly 2800, with one week of March still to go.

It is not unusual for boner cow numbers to fluctuate between years, dependent on the season and schedule prices, but also adding to the tally this year is a higher than usual dry rate coming through at scanning.

Monthly tallies for the FebruaryMarch period are still well off the pace of peak offloads in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, where around 4000-head were sent to sale over each of those periods.

Peak levels are yet to come though as these are usually hit in April and May.

And not to forget the sheep pens that have been starting to gear up over the past few weeks at some yards. Stortford Lodge is yet to hit its straps as there are still lambs that are unable to be transported to sale due to roading issues, as has been the case at Matawhero.

To date, Feilding tallies have

Mt Benger calf sale prices were up $60-$70 on last season for all classes, thanks to great spring-like growth and good margins made last year. Vendors were very happy with results.

Dennis Mullally Rural Livestock

been at or below last year’s, which is reflective of the good season as well as the reducing national

ewe flock. Feilding, and to a lesser degree Stortford Lodge, have been attracting heavier lambs to market as well.

This is a representation of the fact that good grass growth this season meant that there was not the typical rush to offload younger lambs earlier on as paddocks dried out and grass disappeared.

Another key decider of lambs taking a ticket to the yards has been the ability for them to achieve prices higher than what they would at the processors, relative to their weight and condition.

It is no secret that lambs have

A tool for every scenario: FARMAX is helping farmers get the balance right

FARMAX is an award-winning farm modelling and decision support tool developed for pastoral farmers in New Zealand. The tool allows you to build a model of your own unique farm system and use it to record actual farm performance data, forecast future expectations and investigate unlimited scenarios for potential changes to your farm system.

A popular scenario of late has been in relation to greenhouse gas emissions, as all farmers are required to have a written plan to measure and manage their GHG emissions by the end of 2024.

There are a wide range of opportunities to alter the

GHG profile and production, including:

• Reducing the total dry matter consumed on farm

• Improving the efficiency of pasture and crop production

• Matching feed demand with pasture growth and utilisation

• Improving the management of livestock effluent

• Capturing and storing carbon

FARMAX provides confidence for farmers and rural professionals alike when it comes to making any farm plan, as you can model different scenarios to the farming system before making the changes.

“It really comes back to assessing your options and that’s where FARMAX can come in – you model your farm, play around with it, see what you could do and that will give you the implications both for greenhouse gases and for farm profitability.” Phil Journeaux, AgFirst Waikato.

However, FARMAX can be used for much more than just a GHG plan.

These are some of the reasons why farmers love FARMAX:

• Forecast your production and profit

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Some farmers use FARMAX themselves, but many choose to work with their farm consultant to unlock its full potential and tap into their unique experience. From there, you decide on the best path forward for you and your farm business and document a plan to meet your goals and objectives.

not yielded the best this year, especially in those regions that have had a wet summer that lacked sunshine, and the saleyards have provided a good alternative to sending to the processors. South Island yards also had a lift in throughput last week as Temuka yarded nearly 5000 while Canterbury Park reached 2800. Coalgate advertised just over 3100 store lambs.

As autumn continues to flow into winter, we can expect to see livestock classes stick to these trends, before farmers hunker down for what we hope will be a kind winter.

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE: Just under 5000 store lambs were o ered at Temuka as tallies start to increase heading towards winter.

Weekly saleyards

A big step in the right direction for flood-hit farmers in Hawke’s Bay was the arrival of livestock at the Stortford Lodge saleyards from cut-off districts. The regular Wednesday store sale featured several lines of cattle, including weaners that were not able to make it to the fair, as well as store lambs from districts such as Rissington, Glengarry, Tutira and Kaiwaka. This was made possible by a combined effort of logistical planning by farmers, stock agent and livestock trucking companies.

NUMBERS UP: Relative to recent sales the store lamb yarding of just over 2800 at Canterbury Park was a decent showing, and will set the tone for the next few weeks as farmers make their pre-winter offloads.

WELCOME BACK: Cattle and lambs from cut-off districts of Hawke’s Bay were welcomed back at Stortford Lodge. They included these R2 Angus heifers, joined by R3 steers, R2 steers and bulls, and weaner cattle.

Cattle Sheep Deer

Fertiliser Forestry

Dairy

Grain

Close of market

Listed Agri shares

Fronts roll in, drop their rain, then leave Weather

THE pattern has changed a little recently with the last few fronts coming in from the west. A front moved into the lower South Island from Monday afternoon then pushed northwards as we mentioned in last week’s outlook. This delivered heavy rain to the West Coast with thunderstorms, and overnight into Tuesday morning some soaking rain for Southland and parts of Otago.

Good timing, as the far south has been dry – although sometimes when it’s been too dry you don’t want too much rain in one hit as that causes other issues, but farmers would have managed the best they could with the hand dealt.

Canterbury, especially nearer the coast and into North Canterbury, got some good rain as this system moved northwards on Tuesday. Fronts often lag in the east when they move up the country; the West Coast gets it first then there is a delay before it moves up the eastern side.

Very strong southwesterly winds pushed

Upcoming highlights

• Dry weather for most this week but still a couple of showers about

• Rain builds for the West Coast from Thursday

• Next larger scale front pushes northwards Friday and Saturday

up the east coast on Tuesday morning with severe gales right on the coastal fringe for some.

The North Island saw the front mentioned above move through from Tuesday afternoon, bringing moderate levels of rain but nothing over the top. A good thing too as the North Island still has saturated soil moisture levels.

Wednesday was a bit of a wind-down day. We still had a southwesterly airflow but signs of improvement were noticed with western regions seeing sun. Strong southwesterlies right along the eastern coastal fringe of the South Island into Wairarapa gradually backed off. Inland parts of the South Island had a cold start with a light frost or two forming.

Thursday was settled, Friday mostly too, with temperatures popping up a little in the east as the airflow tended to the north. Saturday a front moved onto the South Island, reaching the North Island on Sunday bringing rain in the west and only a few spits or showers in the east.

Monday and Tuesday this week is dry for most due to high pressure, but a front manages to squeeze in, moving into the lower South Island overnight tonight then up the east coast on Tuesday delivering a few showers. Wednesday is mainly dry, perhaps a few light showers about.

Dry again on Thursday, but now we see

JUST ENOUGH: The North Island had a front move through from last Tuesday afternoon, bringing moderate levels of rain – a good thing, too, as the North Island still has saturated soil moisture levels.

some rain move into the West Coast. Rain becoming heavier for the West Coast on Friday as a front moves in. The North Island sees this front on Saturday, with scattered falls spreading eastwards. Western regions continue to see showers

or some rain on Sunday and Monday next week as westerly quarter flows continue. Perhaps showers will move up the eastern side on Tuesday. After this high pressure midweek, expect another front moving in from the Tasman.