Farmers Weekly NZ July 27 2020 by AgriHQ

3 Farmers need wool discipline Vol 19 No 28, July 27, 2020

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From famine to flood Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz

ETWEEN 12 and 15 Northland dairy farms did not have their milk picked up as scheduled during mid-July’s torrential rainfall and floods, Fonterra regional manager Mike Borrie said. Most of the farms were in the Kaeo district and collections resumed for all farms within two days. Borrie said 25% of the province’s 900 dairy farms were winter milking some or all of their cows after autumn calving. As of July 22, there were 577 farms being picked up, or 64% of the total, as spring calving progressed. Farmers need 400 litres of milk in the vat before pick-up begins and until that time milk usually goes to calves. There is no colostrum collection in Northland. Fonterra’s Kauri plant north of Whangarei is operating one dryer a little ahead of the processing resumption programme and Maungaturoto will start up shortly. Fonterra’s nearby Jordan Valley dairy farm at Kauri has not started sending milk and has flood disruptions in the Hikurangi Flood Control Scheme. “Before the storm and the floods, Northland farmers were recovering from the drought and getting back into required pasture cover,” Borrie said.

RESILIENT: Hikurangi dairy farmer Geoff Crawford had to send away 450 wintermilking cows and faces resowing up to 200ha. Photo: James Keith BlackHawk Film

“Further setbacks will affect many districts, especially around the Hikurangi scheme, Maungakahia river and the Tangiteroria-Tangowahine areas on the Wairua river. “They are going to have feed pinches and a coordinated effort is underway to assist.” Federated Farmers Northland vice-president, Colin Hannah, said the adverse events committee had met and organised some relief measures. Territory manager for the federation, Murray Lynch, was door-knocking in the floodaffected areas and asking

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about damage and needs. He was assisted by Fonterra’s area managers. People who need help should also call the Rural Support 0800 787 254. “We know there is no supplementary feed available in the north so our advice is to feed PKE and stand-off cows,” Hannah said. It was going to take 21 days for the floodwaters to drain, unless there was more heavy rainfall. Northland president John Blackwell said the flooding came after the region’s most-severe drought and pastures had only

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begun growing about two months ago. Therefore, farmers had very little in the way of reserves or grass suitable for grazing and would have to resow paddocks that stayed under water for any length of time. FMG said it has received about 130 claims with the majority for damage to houses and buildings, contents and vehicles. Local managers and assessors had been on the ground since July 18. FMG had contacted over 4000 clients either in person or by email.

Before the storm and the floods, Northland farmers were recovering from the drought and getting back into required pasture cover. Mike Borrie Fonterra regional manager MORE: P4

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NEWS

27 Are your cows beauties or beasts?

Dairy farmers need to be more conscious about how they produce and why, Shirli Notcovich says.

REGULARS Newsmaker �� 24 New Thinking �� 25

25 Pests can make value-added food

Editorial �� 26

Adam Wilson, co-owner of the Barn Cafe in Waimate, has been inundated in recent weeks with locals and passersby seeking out the cafe’s revamped wallaby pie.

Pulpit �� 27 Opinion �� 28 World �� 30 Real Estate �� 32-33 Employment �� 34 Classifieds �� 34-35 Livestock �� 35 Weather �� 37

7 Fieldays Online to merge with

4 Northland goes from drought

physical event

to deluge

Fieldays Online has ended but will be back next year to run alongside its traditional counterpart.

Northland farmers and some homeowners are still cleaning up after torrential downpours that meteorologists called “a one-in-500 years” event.

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Markets �� 36-40 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and well-being initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

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.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

What’s next for wool industry? Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz STEP one of the wool industry’s Vision and Action report has connected the stakeholders now Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor says the next step must lead to real purpose. “It’s absolutely crucial the next step is real purpose, this report will most certainly not be sitting gathering dust,” O’Connor said. “The project action group (PAG) has rounded up the situation, connected with industry players and provided some real guidance for the next step. “With the absence of major initiatives from the industry I have to be responsible to put something up.” In doing that, O’Connor said he wants to work with some of the major wool players. “I am committed to ensuring the recommendation in the report for the establishment of a governance group is followed through and I will be working through that with PAG. “I’ll have more I can report on in the next two weeks,” he said. O’Connor said his vision for this group is to oversee a clear and detailed strategy with some timelines. Once the governance group is established the recommendation to look at appointing an executive officer will become the responsibility of that group. Funding for the group and executive officer remains a work in progress at this stage. The new group will be appointed by O’Connor and he anticipates will include global experts specialising in consumerfocussed strategy. “Absolutely this has to be a commitment to international markets and opportunities to map

Industry has been given plenty of time to state their case, it’s now for us to get in and give farmers a real pathway of optimism. Damien O’Connor Minister of Agriculture out some strategic investment cases for the strong wool industry,” he said. “Any representation first and foremost must deliver back to the wool producer – the farmer, without whose commitment this will fail. “Industry has been given plenty of time to state their case, it’s now for us to really get in and give farmers a real pathway of optimism. “Every international indicator points to huge potential in wool.” O’Connor acknowledged the industry had lost all structure and initiatives over the past 20 years and perhaps the former Wool Board wasn’t such a bad entity. “For all its failings and faults the Wool Board was an entity that gave some structure, it needed radical reform of the entity, not to destroy it,” he said. “There was promise of new innovation and that never happened, instead $100 million was frittered away and wool farmers never saw any of it.” A new generation of farmers now has not seen the benefit of wool values, but they do see the potential of new customer values. “People have done their best in an unco-ordinated and disorganised way to develop wool potential but the reality is without

FRAGMENTED: Feds meat and wool Mid Canterbury provincial chairman David Acland says the industry will remain fragmented if farmers are just going to throw their wool out the gate to whoever is coming past to pick up. collective initiative ideas never fly high enough,” O’Connor said. Mount Somers Station farmer and Federated Farmers provincial meat and wool chairman David Acland said farmers need to look outside the farm gate to get an understanding of who they are working with. “We need to make sure we are not just putting wool into an auction but instead working with a broker and making sure conversations with the broker are digging deeper about where our wool is going. “As farmers we must make sure our wool preparation is up to scratch and that means having the broker coming into the shed at least once a year to work with the shearing contractor. “It’s small steps but I believe the market is wanting that,” Acland said. Acland sees benefit in one

industry baseline that everyone is working off. He likened a new wool industry structure to that of the red meat industry. “There’s a whole lot more discipline within the meat industry of how you sell and with contracts there’s an understanding of what and how to prepare.” Acland said for farmers to demand that consumers buy wool they must have pride in what they are producing, including wearing wool themselves. Wools of NZ chairman James Parsons said the wool vision and action report rings true on multiple levels and while it may have been a while coming it’s important to get behind the recommendations. “The highlighted opportunities are real, the challenge for the sector is to pull together enough self-belief to realise the

opportunities,” Parsons said. He said PAG should not be criticised given its representation, for not recommending structural reform and specific commercial recommendations. “That responsibility sits with the commercial players who now need to work together picking up the report recommendations to drive the necessary change, Parsons added. “Growers deserve better than what they have been getting. “It’s time to reignite the pride and purpose in what we grow and Wools of NZ as a grower-owned marketing and export company is committed to play our part and do better also. “A skilled and capable wool industry governance group and executive will in my view add value and play an important part in lifting the sector out of the doldrums.”

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Farmers face cleanup after the downpour Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz NORTHLAND farmers and some homeowners are still cleaning up after torrential downpours that meteorologists called “a onein-500 years” event. Centred worst in the middle of the province and the eastern hills and coast, over 350mm fell in three days, from Wednesday, July 15, to Friday, July 17. The damage was caused overnight on Friday, when more than 200mm fell in a few hours along with repeated lightning strikes and thunder. It blew out farm dams and fences, scoured roads and drains, and flooded many houses and commercial premises in Whangarei and the mid-north, around Kawakawa and Moerewa. Town supply water treatment plants have been overwhelmed

and septic tanks need pumping out. Hikurangi dairy farmer Geoff Crawford said 50mm fell in 35 minutes late on Friday afternoon and he has never seen such intensity. With 1100 cows on low-lying land in the Hikurangi Flood Management Scheme, Crawford had to call for help in moving 440 in-milk, autumn calvers on Saturday morning to relief farms at Kaitaia, Bayley’s Beach and Tomorata. “The response from agents, farmers and transport operators was extraordinary and very humbling,” he said. The 650-cow spring herd has started calving at a rate of around 25 a day, mostly on hard ground to avoid calves drowning. The largest of his three farms, on the corner of Jordan Valley Road and Hukerenui Road, has about 500ha of 550ha under flood

INUNDATED: The damage was caused when more than 200mm fell in a few hours along with repeated lightning strikes and thunder. Photo: James Keith/BlackHawk Film

waters that will take up to four weeks to move. The 5600ha drainage scheme has channels, stop banks, flood gates and pumps that push water back into the Wairua river, eventually to flow 50kms to the Wairoa river, the Kaipara harbour, and the Tasman Sea. Crawford said this year has been horrific with Northland’s worst drought followed by this flooding. His costs have included $500,000 for feed and loss of milk

production, $100,000 for new pasture establishment over 200ha, $50,000 for fertiliser and now more money for supplementary feed and an unknown area of resowing. The loss of the milk from the autumn herd during the next two or three months will also hurt. “As the water recedes, we will assess what is needed, like perhaps chicory and plantain for the summer. “We will get through with the help of the bank,” he said.

May, June and July have been wet, with about 800mm, after six months of well-below-average rainfall. NIWA says month-to-date rain has been between 150 and 300mm-plus across the whole province, two to three times the normal. Soil moisture is now at field capacity over the whole of the North Island except for a patch around inland Manawatu and Whanganui, centred on Taihape.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Rain fails to wash away problems Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz THE drought might have been broken across most of Hawke’s Bay but many farmers are still dealing with its effects. Jacqui Anderson, who with husband Wayne has farms at Waipukurau in Central Hawke’s Bay and Maraekakaho, west of Hastings, says the extended drought followed by plenty of rain over the past month has affected each property differently. They couple have farmed at Waipukurau for 20 years, mainly trading bulls, and put plans in place early. They did a feed budget last year knowing the number of bulls they were likely to carry over winter so bought balage when it wasn’t too hard to get. Anderson says that was not possible at Maraekakaho, a deer farm they took possession of in March. It meant they could not make decisions early enough and suffered badly for it. Not being able to destock or wean before

the sale settlement had a drastic effect. So they had a significant feed deficit requiring applications to drought relief funds while also buying in a lot of balage, hay, palm kernel and maize. Rain over the past month has created a new set of problems. The Waipukurau farm, with its clay soil, has become very muddy, especially as there was very little grass cover to begin with. The red metal soils at Maraekakaho have good drainage so mud is not a problem. Though the property looks green, with rain complemented by relatively warm temperatures, grass is very short so supplements continue to be relied on. Having the second farm means they could recently shift 32 steers to lighten the load at Waipukurau, where it is getting wetter, to Maraekakaho to get them ready for the spring/summer market. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council principal air scientist Dr Kathleen Kozyniak said the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges got up to 270mm

RESILIENT: It’s been tough going for many Hawke’s Bay farmers but most have got through the worst of it, Hawke’s Bay Rural Advisory Group co-chairman Lochie MacGillivray says.

in the past week and the Tangoio area, between Napier and Tutira, had more than 100mm. The Heretaunga and Ruataniwha Plains had some of the lower totals, mostly about 15-40mm. The region has had about 73% of normal July rain but its spread across the region is variable with the Ruataniwha Plains sitting at 46% of the July average compared to 107% at Tangoio. Soil moisture is sitting at or above median levels for the time of year at most sites. Bridge Pa has again snuck into the top 10% of readings. Soil temperatures increased over the week, ranging from 11C at lowland sites to 8C at higher elevations. Callum Sherwood, who farms at Sherenden, about 40km inland from Napier, got about 80mm of rain last week, which following steady falls for the past month. His ground is at just about capacity. It’s a welcome change from earlier in the year, which anecdotally was drier than any other time in living memory. Records from some farms going back to the 1920s and 1930s show this year was drier than anyone had seen. Sherwood says he has only about a third of the cattle he would normally have on the farm, having got rid of stock earlier when it was obvious feed was going to be in short supply. He sold 400 lambs a week before yards were shut by covid. With stock numbers right down and plenty of rain in recent weeks the outlook for spring is more promising that it had been though he’s been relying on

Who got the rain?

Rainfall totals from July 13 to July 20, 2020, 10am

Rain over the past month has created a new set of problems.

supplementary feed for a while. It will also take a while to rebuild stock numbers. Hawke’s Bay Rural Advisory Group co-chairman Lochie MacGillivray says most farmers have managed to farm through the tough conditions though some are still in a fragile situation and an increase in grass growth is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. He advises farmers to delay set stocking for as long as possible to allow covers to build up. It’s important to start thinking about next year’s income and farmers who were forced to destock could consider rearing calves as a way of restocking. It’s been an exhausting time for many farmers in the region and tiredness coupled with what

can be treacherous weather conditions can lead to accidents so he is urging farmers and farm staff to take extra. Applications to the Hawke’s Bay mayoral drought fund have been coming in at about $25,000 a week, which is less than expected. If that keeps up there will likely be money left over, which was not what the fund was set up for. Consideration is now being given to increasing access to the money. That might include adjusting the start date for applications. The fund was set up on May 19 and only invoices dated after that are eligible. It could also mean a change to the maximum amount farmers can get. The maximum big farms can get is $1350. MacGillivray says those farmers might have spent $100,000 feeding stock so can’t be bothered applying for help when what they can get is proportionally tiny. “So maybe we look at the threshold. But we haven’t made these calls yet.”

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Fieldays online a success Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz FIELDAYS Online has ended but will be back next year to run alongside its traditional counterpart. Set up as an alternative to the real event due to restrictions in gathering numbers brought on by covid-19, the online platform will be integrated into the physical event in 2021, Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation said. A studio set will be constructed on the Fieldays site at Mystery Creek to host the virtual component next year when it reverts to its usual date in midJune. “We believe this is the first agricultural show in the world to go virtual, so we have no benchmark. We know that a number of big agricultural events around the world are watching us – none of them are running and New Zealand is in a very fortunate place where we’re almost open for business,” he said. Nation said they will review the event and speak to exhibitors to learn what they can do better for next year. All of the data around site traffic including when and for how long

STAYING ONLINE: Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation says they will run the virtual event in tandem with the traditional four-day event next year.

people visited the platform has been collected. It will be released next month. Sale volumes initiated from the online platform are unknown because many of the invoices went through Trade Me or the shopping cart of the exhibitor. Nation said initial conversations he had with siteholders had been positive with reports of high engagement with people through the site. There were also indications people were on the website for at least an hour. “The content is obviously quite

rich and they are poking around and getting information on different areas,” he said. Adding there had also been visitors to the website from over 70 countries. Nation was pleased with the level of traffic given it was the first time Fieldays Online had operated. “We are very happy with where we have landed as far as really good engagement with the Health and Wellbeing (area), and really good engagement in the Careers and Education area,” he said.

Innovation on display at the virtual Fieldays Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz

A CHEMICAL free treatment for the varroa mite in beehives and a product that reduces urinary nitrogen output in dairy cows are among the winners at the 2020 Fieldays Online innovation awards. The two inventions - called Hivesite and Bioactive N – won awards for the best grassroots and established prototype awards respectively. Hivesite is an autonomous chemical-free varroa mite treatment. It treats the varroa mite by automatically applying an in-hive solar powered thermal treatment every three weeks, including safely during the honey flow, for continuous varroa control. Its developers are working on a trial to test their prototype.

It also won the James & Wells Innovation Award. Bioactive N is a product made by Waikato company AgriSea helps farmers reduce their cows urinary nitrogen by 18% while increasing their animal health and performance. Other winners of this year’s awards are: Young Inventor of the Year Award Winner: St Paul’s Collegiate School - James Barker, Thomas Glenn, William Cowan, and Curtly Harper for the Flash Flow Vodafone Digital Innovation Award Winner: Tussock Innovation for Waterwatch Live Callaghan Innovation Partnership and Collaboration Award Winner: Ecolibrium Biologicals Ltd for Lateral. Amazon Web Services Innovation in Data Award Winner: Fleetpin Ltd for its Rollover Safety System.

“We have no benchmark. It’s not as though we can compare it to last year. This is a really good start.” He said he “pinched myself” when Prince Charles delivered a message when it was opened on July 13. “Agriculture is very dear to his heart and he was delighted to assist and it was a really genuine address,” Nation said. While Fieldays Online has closed, the video content will be stored on Fieldays’ website. Nation was also proud that it took staff 108 days to create the platform once it became known covid-19 would prevent the traditional Fieldays from being held. “That’s 108 days to think about it, plan it, build it and launch it,” he said. It was a concept they had to sell to people and companies, many of whom were not in the online digital space. Staff had to help these establish their digital presence as well as source and plan and create the online video content. Fieldays managed to get just under 300 exhibitors onboard, which Nation was happy with, given the environment and short turnaround from when

they indefinitely postponed the physical event. He was told it was probably the biggest technical pivot seen in NZ. “The team built half of it in total lockdown and then launched it through (level) two and one,” he said.

We know that a number of big agricultural events around the world are watching us – none of them are running and NZ is in a very fortunate place where we’re almost open for business. Peter Nation Fieldays chief executive It wrapped up on July 26 with the final filming taking place on July 24. There was one hiccup though, with the site crashing on the first day due to high traffic. “We were mortified. It was a good hour and a half until we got it stable but it hasn’t missed a beat since then,” he said.

Wools NZ elects new chairman Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

AUTOMATIC: The Hivesite, a chemical-free treatment to eradicate Varroa in beehives won two awards at the 2020 Fieldays Innovation Awards.

Innovation Launch Award Winner: Antahi Innovations Ltd for its Trusti Colostrum Management System Innovation International Award Winner: MagGrow.

FORMER Beef and Lamb New Zealand chairman James Parson has been elected chairman of Wools NZ to lead the organisation in a new direction post covid-19. The recognised industry leader, well known for his past chairmanship of Beef and Lamb NZ and the NZ Meat Board, Parsons was initially elected to the board by growers at the organisation’s annual meeting in November. The grower-owned strong wool marketing and export company has now embarked on a new era post covid-19 to re-orientate its strategic direction. Parsons, a Northland sheep and beef farmer, believes he well understands the industry challenges from a grassroots perspective. The board has confidence Parsons has the discipline and skills to support large scale negotiations and partnerships necessary to drive collaborative change in the wool supply chain. He takes up the leadership role from interim chairwoman Rebecca Smith who while stepping down from the chair, remains on the board as a director. During her time as chairwoman Smith led the organisation through a considerable period of change necessary to reset the skills and capability for growth in the current team. This included the appointment of

new chief executive John McWhirter in February. McWhirter is a highly experienced chief executive who brings experience in building supply chains, products, brands and developing strong consumer loyalty to the organisation. During his career he has led Hellers Limited, a multimillion-dollar company located in Australia and NZ with previous roles also including positions with PGG Wrightson, Tegel and Mars Inc. “The Board recognised specific skills John (McWhirter) had in turning primary produce into consumer goods,” Parsons said. “Strong wool prices have been through a period of decline for the last two decades and covid-19 has seen prices crash to an all-time low.” Adding Wools NZ research shows the price that the consumer pays has not changed and woollen products are still considered premium products by many. “We recognise that the current state of the industry is unsustainable at current price levels and Wools NZ is well placed with international representatives and strong partnerships in the market,” he said. The board of Wools NZ comprises chairman James Parsons and directors Craig Hickson, Ian Marshall and Rebecca Smith. Directors who have vacated their positions this year include Mark Shadbolt and Lucy Griffiths.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Price correction on the way for farm values? Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz A PRICE correction in the rural real estate market could be on its way as new data shows farm sales are continuing to trend downwards. That data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) showed farm sale numbers had fallen 18.9% for the three months ended June compared to the same period in 2019. There were 261 total farm sales over those three months compared to 322 last year across the sale period. The trend is even steeper when compared to 2018 numbers where farm sales totalled 427 and 459 in 2017 across those three months. Four out of 14 regions recorded an increase in the number of farm sales. Waikato recorded the most substantial decline in sales with 20 fewer, followed by Manawatu/ Whanganui at 13. Grazing and finishing farms comprised the largest number of sales at 28% each, while dairy sales accounted for 9% and horticulture 12%. The median price per hectare rose 5% from $22,044 to $23,136. Massey University Real Estate Analysis Unit and senior lecturer Ioana McCarthy said the market needed a correction and believed one could be on the way. “There’s always been this link between volume and price and the volume tends to precede the value in price, so this decrease in volume should be indicative of a decrease in price,” she said. If vendors are suddenly forced

to sell then eventually there will be that downward push on price. McCarthy said blaming banks for tightening its lending criteria for farm purchases was simplistic. “There’s all of the regulatory compliance and people do not have as much interest in getting into rural property when you’re not sure what’s going to change going forward with your carbon emissions and nitrogen leaching – this is how I would react if I was buying a farm – I would be a lot more anxious and I would want to see a correction down in the price I was paying,” she explained. Those reasons along with the ramifications of covid-19 meant there is huge uncertainty in the market, McCarthy said. “There’s more and more risk coming in and I would think a savvy purchaser would say if I am taking that much more risk I would like to be rewarded for it with the right return and so we need a correction down,” she said. Farmers had to be more conscious of paying a price when purchasing property that related to their income stream, she said. REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said knowing those regulations is part of the due diligence carried out by agents and vendors during the sale process. “If there are subsequent regulations that come on down the line related to fresh water then that will just be a consequence of being involved in the business,” he said. Peacocke said the data reflects a continuation of the emerging

SALES DOWN: Latest figures from the REINZ show total farm sales have fallen 18.9% for the three months ended June compared to the same period in 2019. trend that has become evident over the last two years. “Whether or not the volumes will get back to where they were, who knows?” he asked. Adding the slide in sale numbers raised a question around whether numbers will stabilise at the current level, or if the downward trend will continue. “Should it be the latter, given the range of issues currently impacting on the rural sector, not the least being the need for youthful rejuvenation of the farm ownership structure, it could be that an avalanche of potential sales is building up behind an earthen dam,” Peacocke explained. “Should the dam burst, what is the likely impact on farm values – will values increase, stabilise or decrease? When asked what he thinks will happen, he said he preferred to pose the question only. One of the options available for vendors are delayed settlement structure arrangements, which allow younger farmers a stepping stone for farm ownership while allowing the owner the chance to phase out of ownership.

“We are starting to see this happening in the odd instance,” he said. Southern Wide Real Estate Gore manager Mark Wilson said rather than a correction, the market in the southern part of the South Island had already adjusted, having come off what has been an inflated high and back to a more settled, realistic price. “It’s caught up with itself. The pace that we got used to was never sustainable,” he said. Wilson explained the market had evolved from one that was inflated and fuelled by dairy expansion to a more normal state. “If you take that anomaly out of it. We are heading into what I believe is a stable environment where you will see more of a natural market without the artificial influences of rapid expansion,” he said. Adding this had occurred in the southern region of NZ where prices had come back 18-22% since five to 10 years ago. Since then, sales volumes in the region had been reasonably stable in the past few years. “There have been dairy farm sales in Southland in the last 12

TUMBLE: REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke says the number of farm sales is continuing to slide.

months and if you say there hasn’t been as many as there used to be, you’re right there’s not – but we’re in a different place too because there aren’t 20 new conversions happening.” Prices being achieved from sales were still very stable, he said. “If a farm is sensibly priced there is someone there to buy it.”

“It’s alright to talk“

Want to talk? Connect to supports that can help you right now: 1737 Need to Talk? Is a mental health helpline number that provides access to trained counsellors who can offer support to anyone who needs to talk about mental health or addiction issues. It is free to call or text at any time. Youthline www.youthline.co.nz offers support to young people and their families, including online resources about a wide range of issues that affect young people. It can be contacted by calling 0800 376 633, texting 234, email (talk@youthline.co.nz) or online chat. Domestic violence and advice & support, call Women’s Refuge Crisis line 0800 733 843. 0800 787 254 www.ruralsupport.org.nz

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What’s up www.whatsup.co.nz offers counselling to 5 to 18 year olds by freephone 0800 942 8787 (1pm-10pm Monday - Friday, 3pm-10pm weekends) or online chat. Mental health information and advice for children, teenagers and families is available on its website. The Lowdown www.thelowdown.co.nz is a website and helpline for young people to help them recognise and understand depression or anxiety. It also has a 24/7 helpline that can be contacted by calling freephone 0800 111 757 or texting 5626.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Powder holds improved price level Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz WHOLE milk powder prices held firm in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction after a 13% surge in the previous, early July auction. Commentators welcomed the small decline of 0.7% in the GDT index as evidence of price stability following the 8.3% increase previously. ANZ agricultural economist Susan Kilsby increased her farmgate milk price forecast by 75c from $5.75 to $6.50/kg milksolids, a 13% rise. WMP prices hit a 2020 low on May 20 when the category average was US$2677/tonne. The latest GDT average is $3218, some 20% recovery in just two months and 5% higher than the same time last year. Kilsby’s commentary said demand for WMP has remained resilient through the covid-19 crisis and its present level is 9% higher than the average of the past five years. But she remains cautious about the rest of this year as greater New Zealand production comes onto the market, leading to predictions

BIG LIFT: ANZ economist Susan Kilsby has enough confidence in dairy demand to add 75 cents to her farmgate milk price forecast, putting it 10 cents ahead of the $6.40 mid point of Fonterra’s range.

closer to $3000 or a little below. While farmgate returns will be tempered by the strong kiwi dollar, dairy companies will have hedged a portion of their foreign exchange around US64c. Global economies are benefitting from central bank and government funding and Kilsby said it is debatable how long that will last. “We anticipate these persistent

global economic headwinds will become evident in coming months and at some point this is likely to put downward pressure on commodity prices. “But for now we are confident the current strength in the market warrants a significant upgrade in our milk price forecast for the current season.” Butter and anhydrous milk fat prices fell in the GDT event, by

4.9% and 2.8% respectively. Westpac’s senior rural economist Nathan Penny said dairy prices have consolidated the massive gains of the previous auction. WMP prices have comfortably wiped out any previous covid-19 related falls. He is comfortable with a milk price forecast of $6.50. Penny also noted Fonterra’s comment that improved market conditions in China have enabled it to lift the bottom of the milk price forecast range by 50c. The consequent 25c lift in the mid-point, $6.40, is worth $450 million to dairy farmers. Rabobank dairy analyst Thomas Bailey said WMP prices were buoyed by Chinese demand, notwithstanding a surge in domestic powder supply. “It appears demand is stronger than expected and manufacturers have struggled to substitute New Zealand WMP with domestic stocks due to differences in taste and colour profiles. “This is a dynamic we will be watching carefully as we make our way through the second half of 2020.”

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Fonterra also provided a breakdown of its July fixed milk price contract, announced on July 17. Just over 1000 farmers applied for a total of 65m kilos at the net price of $6.85.

It appears demand is stronger than expected. Thomas Bailey Rabobank Because the contract offer was for 15m kilos all applicants will receive a scaled-back 22% of their application volumes. Fonterra does not intend to change the FMP scheme because it is delivering a generous result compared with the seasonal milk price forecast. If the milk price futures market on the NZX Dairy Derivatives exchange remains at $6.80-$6.90 the Fonterra FMP offer on August 10 and 11 is likely to be swamped with applications from farmers.

News

10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Smith plays down British farmer fears Nigel Stirling nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com

RUSTY: Lockwood Smith says Britain has relied on the EU to deal with trade agreements for 40 years so faces a steep learning curve after it leaves the union.

A FORMER Trade Minister is hopeful he can play his part convincing Britain to open its farmers up to increased competition from New Zealand and other rival producers once it leaves the European Union. Lockwood Smith credited his appointment to a new commission advising the British government

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on trade agreements and agriculture to his long experience as a farmer and former trade and agriculture minister, as well as his knowledge of the British farming and political scene as a recent High Commissioner to London. “There is a realisation that (British) agriculture needs to move forward and this is an attempt to find a consensus on how best to do that,” Smith said. While the 14-member commission was stacked with representatives from Britain’s farming unions Smith said there was enough representation from retailers and veterinary experts to ensure it took a broad approach to its work. The appointment of a former senior executive of British supermarket chain Tesco as chairman indicated that the interests of British consumers would be taken into account by the commission when weighing up the benefits of new trade deals. “All the farmer organisations are represented but the chair is not a farmer and I think that is significant,” Smith said. “Consumer welfare will be a significant part of what we look at ... don’t forget the British government as part of the whole Brexit debate has argued consumers will benefit from Brexit.” But British farmers fear the trade-off for cheaper food will be increased imports from countries with lower animal welfare and environmental standards, which could put them out of business. Smith said those concerns betrayed a lack of understanding about how global agricultural trade was regulated. He said the rules which dictated trade agreements were based on standards set by international scientific bodies such as Codex Alimentarius, which dealt with food safety and the World Organisation of Animal Health. These bodies set minimum standards for the World Trade Organisation, albeit they were not always followed by the EU, notably in its import bans on chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef. “It is fair to say that the UK has been out of this sort of stuff for 40 years because the EU has handled all of it on their behalf. “So there is quite a learning curve for those in the UK.” Smith spoke to a number of farmer audiences while High Commissioner between 2013 and 2017. They wanted the same opportunities NZ’s trade agreements provided to farmers here but were afraid about what they would have to give up to get them. Some were worried they would have to go through the same pain NZ farmers endured in the 1980s when subsidies were abolished overnight. But Smith said that was not an approach he had ever tried to push on British farmers. He said that if the British taxpayer was happy to pay its farmers for access to the countryside and other public goods that was fine so long as those subsidies were not linked to them producing more. “To me we have got to be sensible about the culture over there. “So long as these things are absolutely transparent and minimally distorting of trade that is the important thing.” The UK is currently in talks for free trade deals with NZ, Australia, the United States, Japan and the EU.

Have your say: farmersweekly.co.nz

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

LIC holds line in disruptive year Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz LIC dairy farmer-owned co-operative reported a steady result for the eventful 2020 financial year ended May 31 that contained a failed $100 million proposal to invest in Israel. The proposal of the board and management to buy half of Afimilk dairy technology company was voted down three-to-one by shareholders in April. LIC chairman Murray King said the deal was a significant but achievable long-term strategic investment that made strong commercial sense. “It was going to extend us but we confidently expected to handle that and we had done extremely detailed modelling on the value of the company and its prospects.” But the covid-19 pandemic, international travel restrictions and the fall in the value of the New Zealand dollar made shareholders wary of spending so much offshore. LIC remains with a strong balance sheet, no long-term debt and a need to invest in dairy data applications, King said. The Afimilk deal was very thoroughly investigated and directors and senior managers did not consider they had an obligation to resign following the negative shareholder vote. From its 2020 trading results LIC will pay dividends totalling $18.1 million at a rate of 12.75c a share, which was 80% of underlying earnings, up from $15.6m the previous year. With 9962 shareholders the average dividend payment will be $1800 each and represents a gross dividend yield of 22.7% based on the share price of 78c. The annual report discloses the 19 biggest farmer-shareholders have an average of about 1m shares each and therefore collectively own more than 10% of the co-operative. Those shareholdings, topped by Trinity Lands Group with 7.4m shares, were built up when LIC had two classes of shares – since simplified in 2018. King said the LIC constitution has a cap on shareholding at 5% and voting is limited to 1%. The annual result was a net profit after tax of $17.5m, down 21% from the previous year, from revenue of $254m, up 3%. Underlying earnings were $22.7m, up 16%, when revaluation of the bull team was taken into account. LIC had a team of 943 bulls at balance date with an assessed value of $115m, about 40% of the total assets. King said the bull revaluation downwards by $7m was because of the ongoing shift from daughter-proven bulls to genomic bulls, which have a shorter commercial life. The revaluation was a factor in the reduction of net profit. Despite a challenging season dairy farmers continue to invest in the latest genomics and LIC services. Sales of genomic semen in NZ rose from 23% to 38%. International sales were disrupted by covid-19 and the number of straws sold came down from 1m to 850,000 and revenue of $12m. Highlights of the LIC services were a 42% increase in A2/A2 testing, Genemark DNA testing up 9%, testing for Johne’s disease up 20% and milk pregnancy testing up 27%. Covid did affect herd testing in the fourth quarter of the financial year and milk samples

(10.4m) were 5% down for the year. King commented on the recent Ministry for Primary Industries funding for further development of the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database. “It is the final phase of the handover to NZ Animal Evaluation and we welcome the improvements to traits other than production (TOP) and the supports to breed societies.”

INFORMATION: Despite its failure to win approval for the Afimilk venture LIC still needs to invest in dairy data applications, chairman Murray King says.

News

12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

M bovis eradication on track Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz THE number of properties infected with Mycoplasma bovis has dropped to an all-time low, triggering a wave of confidence that the plan to eradicate the cattle disease from New Zealand is ontrack. Three years on since the disease was first confirmed in NZ, industry leaders are confident the worldfirst attempt to eradicate the disease is making positive gains towards eradication being within reach in the coming seven years. As of July 22, the M bovis programme had just four confirmed active properties on its books. Of these, two are dairy and one beef in the North Island, with one beef property in Canterbury. Of the four, two still have cattle to be culled while two are depopulated and completing cleaning and disinfection. Movement restrictions are in place on 62 farms while their herds are being tested, down 74% from the number of farms under notices in July last year. “Where we are at the moment, gives us a real confidence of achieving eradication,” M bovis programme director Stuart Anderson said. Adding the job isn’t finished yet. “Spring is coming and we do expect to pick up a few more yet through bulk tank milk testing,” Anderson said. “But we are a low base now, and that gives strong confidence that we are on track.” Anderson said it will take another year to get the last of

PROGRESS: Frank Peters said losing his 1400-cow herd to Mycoplasma bovis nearly killed him but he is happy to hear that three years later there’s confidence that eradication of the disease is on track and his heartache hasn’t been in vain. the cases before the programme shifts into a surveillance phase, in which whole beef and milk herd sampling will continue for up to six years. “We are still basing the programme on being a 10-year programme. “It’s the long tail-end that needs to be done now to have 100% confidence that we are free of M bovis, but all signs are pointing to that,” he said. Beyond the 10 years, ongoing biosecurity processes will continue both in respect to import controls and on-farm biosecurity and surveillance.

“We will be working around border and on-farm biosecurity measures and working with farmers and vets to ensure they continue to be vigilant in terms of recognising signs of disease in animals on farm, ” he explained. Anderson said the programme’s processes have improved immensely overtime but compensation remained the biggest challenge. “On the whole, there’s been significant improvements in how the programme and its processes work for farmers but we are still working hard in the compensation

Hopeful over M bovis progress MID Canterbury dairy farmer Frank Peters has been embroiled in the Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme since his 1400-cow herd was first detected with the disease in early 2018. At the time, Peters slammed The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for its decision-making and lack of transparency, urging officials to share more of its M bovis response information and everyone one would be a lot better off. He acknowledged in speaking out, he was going where others feared to tread. “Our cows have got the death wish. Our herd will be wiped out with no assurance it’s even proving anything,” Peters said. “There’s been plenty of tears and anger. “We are all being told to keep quiet but at the end of the day if we share what we know we will all be better off.” Peters now believes he has been proven right. “I’ve been in it for two and half years, it’s great they think they have got eradication sussed – that’s the best news,” Peters said. “It would be heartache for us after what we have been though if it’s all been a lost cause.” Peters said a lot was learned in three years, especially for MPI. “I believe we were guinea pigs and while we are still alive, we are kicking, only just,” he said.

“We are struggling.” Peters is happy to see that the programme has undergone significant improvements, that while no less devastating, has made the pathway for affected farmers somewhat smoother. “I am happy for the farmers who were picked up later that while still no less heartbreaking, MPI has listened and the processes are more flexible and farmer friendly including consultation to get better operational solutions.” Adding that he is personally not out of it yet. “I only received my first milk loss claim payout a fortnight ago and am still waiting on a lot more,” he said. “The impact has knocked us around with interest costs, on top of everything we had to borrow money to cover milk losses. “We are not getting the same production from the herd and we’re struggling to breed the high-performance herd that we lost when 55-years of genetics breeding went down the gurgler. “But we must move on, we can’t keep dwelling on it, we have to get on and continue farming and do the best we can. “This has bloody near killed us and most definitely has taken a part of us we can never replace.”

area to get a smoother and quicker process, particularly for the more complex cases,” Anderson said. While it remains unclear how M bovis arrived in the country, Anderson said the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is confident that border biosecurity measures are robust. Biosecurity and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said the key to its success are the eradication programme partners DairyNZ and Beef and Lamb NZ. “They were part of the bold decision to attempt to eradicate this disease and have been part of our efforts since the very beginning,” he said. O’Connor said it was estimated that allowing the disease to spread could cause $1.3 billion in economic losses in the first 10 years alone, along with substantial animal welfare issues and serious ongoing challenges for farmers having to manage the disease within their herds. “One key measure of success of our 10-year eradication plan, the Estimated Dissemination Rate (EDR), shows strongly that we have M bovis firmly in our sights,” O’Connor explained. “If the EDR is greater than one, then the disease is growing. If it’s below one, we’re shrinking the disease.” The EDR is now at 0.4, which is down from over two at the start of the outbreak, so we are looking harder to find fewer infected animals. O’Connor acknowledged the eradication effort has not been without substantial challenges, and he said the impact on affected farmers can’t be underestimated. “Farmers deserve a lot of credit for their efforts. We are continuing to improve processes and work

By the numbers AS of July 21 there were 250 confirmed infected properties; four of which were still active, and 246 were cleared. Breakdown: 69 North Island 181 South Island • 58 dairy • 137 beef • 55 other • 157,854 animals culled • 1,517,203 tests completed • $166m compensation paid

hard to support their wellbeing and recovery, including getting their compensation claims paid as quickly as possible,” he said. “The next 12 months is about ensuring that we have found all infected herds.” This will involve ongoing bulk tank milk surveillance, nationwide beef surveillance and on-farm testing of identified at-risk herds. “We will not let up on our efforts and will ensure that this disease is gone so that we can farm free from it in the future,” O’Connor said. M bovis was first detected in NZ on July 22, 2017 In May 2018, government and industry bodies DairyNZ and Beef and Lamb NZ, with support from Fonterra, Federated Farmers, the Dairy Companies Association of NZ, Meat Industry Association and the NZ Veterinary Association, made the decision to attempt a world-first eradication of the disease. The projected budget for the 10-year programme is $870 million, with 68% provided by the government and 32% provided by farmer levies.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Agriculture keeps on keeping on A NEW report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows the country’s land-based primary industries performed well in the lock down. The country’s land-based industries proved themselves to be exceptionally resilient, particularly when it comes to trade, report author and NZIER principal economist Chris Nixon said. A mixture of strong demand from Asia, particularly China, flexible supply chains that suit commodity products and strong institutions that govern food processing have all contributed to NZ’s strong trading results through the covid-19 pandemic. Dairy, meat and horticulture are up by nearly $1 billion year-to-date relative to this time in 2019. “Not only has demand for NZ products remained solid, the outlook for all land-based industries looks strong. Supporting this growth are the flexibility of our supply chains and the institutions that govern the rules around food processing,” Nixon said. “The covid-19 crisis has shown the benefit of keeping-on keepingon. Whatever covid-19 has done to other parts of world trade it has

reinforced the underlying strength and importance of NZ’s land-based industries.” The general picture for exports appears to be of cautious optimism but bracing itself for the coming recession. That optimism is based around the continued demand for NZ farmed products despite covid-19. He warned that as the covid-19 pandemic continues NZ must remain vigilant to how it impacts trade globally. “A reduction in consumption of retail goods in the United States could have an impact on Asian demand and incomes. This may mean that other countries have less to spend on NZ products and services. “However, NZ’s exposure to North American markets is limited because their commodity markets are fiercely protected. Also, recessions tend not impact on commodity products relative to consumer products. These factors have acted in our favour during covid. “Inward-looking US and European Union trade policies means that we have to tread carefully in the new trade policy world,” Nixon said.

STRONG OUTLOOK: Demand for New Zealand products remains solid despite the covid-19 pandemic.

Soil your Undies research underway in the south SOILED undies and earthworms form the basis of an innovative soil research programme being undertaken in Otago. The Soil your Undies Otago research programme aims to understand and measure the health of rural soils using simple biological indicators – earthworms, dung beetles, and cotton undies to build a map of soil health. The programme is asking participants to bury cotton undies and record an earthworm count. The project will also look at the dung beetle’s role as an ecosystem engineer. The research programme will inform communities of their soils’ health and provide a basis for future sampling and strategies to improve soil and soil invertebrate communities. School students in the North Otago and East Otago region will research soil types in their area. They will bury 100% cotton underwear for a couple of months as a way of measuring soil health. Researchers say the more threadbare the undies the more micro-organisms in the soil meaning the healthier the soil. Eleanor Wright, one of the researchers leading the project, said it is about science extension and adoption. “By using simple biological indicators such as earthworms, dung beetles and cotton undies participants can build a map of soil health,” Wright said. Beef and Lamb New Zealand is a partner in the research programme

which it said fits with its Catchment Community Programme. One of Beef and Lamb’s top priorities is enhancing its environmental position to strengthen farmers’ reputation in NZ and globally. “This research supports our strategy with understanding soil health fundamental to understanding our natural resource, catchments and businesses,” environmental capability manager Richard Parkes said.

By using simple biological indicators such as earthworms, dung beetles and cotton undies participants can build a map of soil health. Eleanor Wright Researcher “The research is a fun and interactive way to create a wider discussion while teaching people simple and effective ways of determining soil health,” Parkes said. The project is scheduled to be complete in June next year. Other partners in the project include the East Otago Catchment Group, North Otago Land Management Group (NOSLAM), EnviroSchools Otago, AgResearch, Otago University scientists, Dung Beetle Innovations, Otago Regional Council Eco fund and the Science Learning Hub.

Share a meal on us!

The Pride in Our Land campaign acknowledges farmers, rural families and those in the primary sector for their determination. We know its tough out there. Muster 2020 is just for you, and your better halves, to share a meal on us, laugh till your stomach hurts and have a darn good time!

Come on, rattle your dags and join in the fun! 6.00 pm Meet and Greet 6.15 pm Kai Time Refreshments available cash bar available

July 2020

7.00 pm The Muster

Thursday 30 - 6:30pm - Raetihi Cosmopolitan Club, Raetihi Friday 31 - 6:30pm - Whanganui Vet Club, Whanganui

Amberly and Ben Caldwell plus friends wrangling laughs thru the night

9.00 pm

August 2020 Tuesday 4 - Palmerston North Golf Club Thursday 6 - Murrayfield Museum & Cafe, Levin Friday 7 - Rangatira Golf Club, Hunterville Thursday 13 - Halcombe Tavern, Halcombe Village Friday 14 - Taihape Golf Club, Taihape Saturday 15 - Makoura Lodge, Apiti

Visit prideinourland.co.nz for more information or to register

You can register via: Email: prideinourland@gmail.com Phone: 027 372 2645

Our people, sharing their stories on our land!

News

16 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Cost control the biggest influence Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz DairyNZ’s latest economic survey reveals that cost control continues to be a key driver for New Zealand dairy farmers as the industry faces ongoing challenges in both production and profitability. The survey for the 2018-2019 year showed that operating profit per hectare for owner-operators was $2154. This is down on the previous year’s total of $2238, but above the average for the previous decade of $1696, DairyNZ principal economist Dr Graeme Doole said. Doole says that volatility will remain a significant challenge for farmers to manage. Feed continues to be a farmers largest expenditure area at 28.5% of total expenditure. It has been farmers’ expenses category since 2007-2008. Labour was the second highest operating expense at 21.1% while maintenance and running costs and fertiliser contributed 16.7% and 9.44% respectively. The price of imported supplement has also risen as covid-19 impacts supply chains. Prices for wheat and barley climbed strongly, closing about $75 per tonne higher at around $425/T. Palm kernel prices dipped early in the season, before climbing again to close about $25 per tonne higher at around $275/T. Palm kernel imports decreased 1% from 1.91 million tonnes to 1.89 million tonnes in the year to June 2019. “We are also now seeing substantial pressure on the balance sheet of farms. Recent data shows us that in the last season, dairy farm sales were down 40% and farm prices down, on average, by 17%,” Doole said.

COSTLY: Feed continues to be a farmer’s largest cost, making up 28.5% of total expenditure, according to DairyNZ’s latest economic survey for the 2018-19 year.

Mandatory debt payments lifted due to higher interest rates for some lenders and increasing pressure on farmers to pay principal. “These headwinds are coming at a challenging time for the country. Yet, dairy farms still have a strong cashflow, particularly relative to other sectors, so will play a pivotal role in New Zealand’s recovery,” he said. Milk production was at a 10-year high of 395kg milk solids per cow while dairy operating expenses per kilogram of milk solids fell 3 cents to $5.10/ kg MS. “There are a large number of factors that could cause the milk price to shift up or down by a decent amount in the next

season. Many, but not all, of these are related to the covid-19 pandemic,” he said. While the results for operating profit and production were positive, increased costs, debt repayment and covid-19 will have a strong influence on farm business performance, Doole said. The operating return on assets was 4% for owner-operator farmers. “This is a reasonable operating return however returns from capital gain are now much lower than what we have seen in the last decade or absent altogether. “Moving forward, this emphasises the need to increase farm profit through focusing on

careful cost management,” Doole said. Sharemilkers had a positive year with $775 operating profit per hectare - the highest level since 2013-14. Operating expenses for sharemilkers decreased 13 cents to $3/kg MS. Production per cow and hectare increased from last season from 376-410kg MS/cow and 10721222/kg MS/ha. The average sized herd had also lifted from 391-452. The average cash available for living and growth increased to $134,715 per farm. With increased capital expenditure, drawings and debt, a cash deficit of $12,622 was recorded in 2018-19. The operating return on dairy assets was at 12.4% for sharemilkers, while total return

on assets was measured at 18%. The level of debt to assets increased to 61.6 percent at close, while term liabilities of $3.78/kg MS was similar to the previous season. The annual survey is taken from the analysis of 260 owneroperators and 122 50:50 share milking farms across New Zealand. Farms in Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland recorded higher operating profits per hectare than other regions. Regional average farm working expenses were lowest in Taranaki and Bay of Plenty at $3.86 and $4.06/kg MS respectively while farm working expenses for the other regions ranged from $4.11$4.46/kg MS.

AUGUST 2020

The latest Dairy Farmer will hit letterboxes on August 3 Our OnFarmStory this month features Manawatu farmer George Whitelock who retired from a successful rugby career to go dairy farming.

Winning in env ironmental sustainability Dairy needs Gov ernment support to grow A big clue season’s returnto s

From footy to farming

A Manawatu far mer has sw for gumboots to apped his rugby boots go dairying

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We also catch up with Canterbury farmers Tony Coltman and Dana Carver who are the 2020 Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment supreme award winners. Also featured is the Alltech ONE virtual conference and we take a look at calving.

Get the full story at farmersweekly.co.nz

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News

18 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Second check gives grazers thumbs up INSPECTION: Environment Southland chief executive Rob Phillips says despite significant water and mud, there has been a high level of compliance.

SOUTHLAND farmers appear to have got the message about the need to lift their game with winter grazing compliance. A second aerial inspection by Environment Southland this winter has shown further improvement in practice, even coming after a period of heavy rain. The first inspection last month also found a high level of compliance. Council chief executive Rob Phillips says despite significant water and mud, farmers have taken

OSPRI tackles TB in Hawke’s Bay Working with Hawke’s Bay cattle and deer farmers, OSPRI is working to eradicate bovine TB in the region. 642 herds have been TB tested and targeted aerial and ground-based possum control work is underway, with more planned for 2021. • 149,396 hectares were controlled in 2019/20 • 155,233 hectares will be controlled in 2020/21

16Beef 3 Dairy 0 Deer

= 19

herds currently infected

advice and implemented back fencing, buffer zones and were mindful of critical source areas. “We know the weather can provide some challenges for farmers carrying out winter grazing, but we also know that there are many things that can be done to mitigate the effects of winter grazing on the environment,” he said. The council has received several complaints in the last week from members of the public concerned about stock in muddy paddocks which the compliance team is following up. “We understand that seeing stock in muddy paddocks can cause concern for people, but some mud can be part of winter life in the south. “That doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for animals to be in unsatisfactory conditions or for the grazing practices to have negative impacts on the surrounding environment and waterways,” he added “We will follow up complaints received and take the necessary action. “This may mean enforcement action where that is appropriate, but in many cases, it may mean a referral to our land and water services team or another industry group for further advice and support to improve their practice. “Where animal welfare concerns are identified, these will be passed on to the Ministry for Primary Industries.”

Map 1: Aerial and ground operations completed to date. Herds cleared of infection

As at 16 July 2020

16 of the 19 infected herds have had one clear test. Control status Complete In progress

Published 21/7/2020. LINZ Topographic Series provided under a CC4.0 License.

Map 2: The 2020/21 model has been developed to maintain a good buffer, continue to target the disease source and focus on steep habitat such as gullies.

One more clear test within six months is needed before the herd is declared TB-free.

Attend a local meeting Come and find out more at one of these local meetings: Patoka: Monday 3 August, 5–8pm, Patoka Community Hall Putorino: Tuesday 4 August, 5–8pm, Waikare District Sport Complex Control status Planned 2020 Planned 2021 Proposed operation

Te Pohue: Wednesday 5 August, 5–8pm, Te Pohue School

For more information

on the Hawke’s Bay TB response, visit www.ospri.co.nz/hawkes-bay

Published 21/7/2020. LINZ Topographic Series provided under a CC4.0 License.

TBfree is an OSPRI programme

ospri.co.nz

0800 482 463

Events celebrate rural communities AGRITECH industry transformation plan leader David Downs is returning to his roots as part of Pride in our Land events being held throughout the Manawatu-Whanganui Region. Whanganui-born Downs, a general manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise who is head of the Government taskforce behind the agritech plan, is guest speaker at events in Raetihi and Whanganui next Thursday and Friday, July 30 and 31. They are part of a wider series of get-togethers that began at Mokotuku’s Black Dog Pub on July 9 and wind up at Makoura Lodge at Apiti on August 15. Downs has overcome plenty of adversity himself. The former comedian, actor and New Zealander of the Year semi-finalist has battled cancer, which he wrote about in his book A Mild Touch of Cancer. The Pride in our Land campaign looks to support rural communities by packaging and promoting what support is available. It’s a Manawatu District Council initiative, supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Mayor Helen Worboys says it aims to support rural communities struggling under the weight of a range of issues, including drought, the ability to feed stock, increasing government regulations and pressure from banks. Events have been organised to get people off the farm and help them reconnect with others. They include Muster 2020, an opportunity for farming families to have a free meal with others from their area. There’s also been a learn to fly-fish session, a Manawatu Rural Support workshop and a Pride in our Land photo challenge to help share examples of why people should be proud of their rural community.

prideinourland.co.nz.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Pilot kickstarts shearing training Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz ALMOST $2 million will be spent developing and delivering sustainable and integrated training for shearing and wool handling. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says $1.86m from the Provincial Growth Fund will be invested over two years to establish a pilot for the Shearing Training Model programme. It will use micro-credentialing, earn-as-you-learn training to upskill 150 new and 120 existing shearers. It will target school leavers, unemployed and underemployed people, career changers and those already in the industry who want to learn new skills. The programme will initially include two pilot schemes in Tairawhiti, Hawke’s Bay, Otago and Southland, where it will also establish centres of excellence for expert training in shearing and wool handling. “The industry has identified a need for more hands-on training to go with the paper-based

PIECEMEAL: Shearing Contractors Association executive officer Phil Holden says existing shearing and wool handling training needs more structure.

qualifications currently used,” Jones says. “This project is the first step towards meeting that need.” The pilot is an initiative of the Shearing Contractors Association. Executive officer Phil Holden

said training tends to be piecemeal rather than structured and is driven by individual contractors. The Government funding will allow the association to establish a charitable trust to look after the

governance and management of the pilot. The practical details around what the training will involve and who will provide it will be determined by the trust. The aim is to get a programme running then integrate it into the new vocational training framework being implemented following Government changes to the system that became law earlier this year. “We don’t want to be a training entity ourselves,” Holden says. The aim is to provide a structured training environment that will deliver skilled people capable of working in a woolshed. The investment is timely because a skills shortage means the industry has long relied on workers coming in from overseas, which is now not possible because of closed borders. The association is working with government agencies to find a solution before the shearing season begins but the investment in training will hopefully address the skill shortage long-term., he said. “We’re excited. It’s a big day for shearing.”

Primary ITO acting chief executive Andrea Leslie is pleased to see Government investment in training for the wool harvesting industry. “We are 100% supportive of wool harvesting training.

It’s a big day for shearing. Phil Holden Shearing Contractors Assn “Recognising that there was a lack of formal training in shearing and wool handling available, last year we launched three microcredentials as introductions to the industry. “While these are a start the industry needs more comprehensive training. “Job openings are forecast to grow in the coming years so training will be critical as NZ faces competition from overseas for our shearers and wool handlers.” he said.

Mycoplasma bovis

246

farms have been confirmed with and cleared of M. bovis

48 There are

farms under movement restrictions and undergoing testing…

Thank you!

There are currently just

years on

known farms infected with M. bovis in NZ

that’s

79% fewer than this time last year

We are aiming to The work is not done yet,

move fully into the

we expect to find some

long term surveillance

more infected herds

programme in the

The M. bovis Programme is well and truly on track. We’re confident we will achieve eradication so we can farm free from the disease. We owe a debt of gratitude to the farmers who have been affected by M. bovis.

Find out more at mbovis.govt.nz

next 12 months

Information current as at 21/7/2020

News

20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Venison schedules difficult to forecast Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz EXPORTERS are reluctant to preempt spring venison schedules as covid-19 reinfection continues to weigh on market direction and demand. “There’s so much going on in the market. Food service is set to be disrupted more and that’s a big deal for the deer industry, it’s not good news,” Mountain River manager John Sadler told the Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) 2020 final virtual conference session. “Unfortunately, the continuing uncertainty will impact on the prospect for the chilled season,” he said. “The challenges just keep coming and we’re faced with trying to move more product into retail because freight services are so seriously disrupted, and I

SPOTLIGHT ON LACK OF DIVERSITY: Deer Industry NZ venison marketing manager Nick Taylor says covid-19 has underscored the importance of market diversification and product options in planning future marketing initiatives.

think we will see that continuing through the season.” Sadler said chilled products are becoming a logistical problem because of the transit times in getting the product to Europe. “Sea freight vessels are taking longer creating issues with storing and selling into retail and air freight has gone sky high, double what it has been,” he explained. “We have worked with our partner in Europe to develop some chilled retail products, marinating frozen products and offering grilling options for the barbecue. “These sorts of innovative options are going to be the way we will be able to sell more retail.” Alliance marketing manager Terry O’Connell said covid-19 uncertainty has put spring schedule pricing in a tailspin. “While there is good chatter out there some of these key importers

are hesitant to engage because they are worried about a second (covid) wave coming through and affecting food service again, ” O’Connell said. “It’s a really difficult position we’re in at the moment but we are still confident there will be demand for venison in the game season.” Understanding new needs for the future is a work in progress that has been magnified in the post-covid market space. Silver Fern Farms (SFF) sales manager Glen McLennan said one of the biggest learnings to come from the covid-19 pandemic is the need to have a diverse range of market options and channels. “We have been working hard to extend the range that we sell into and the New Zealand retail market has been a key part of that,” he said. McLennan said the retail sector is challenging due to the lack of knowledge around how products are cooked. “I believe we’ve successfully marketed our branded retail packs in NZ and that’s been so successful we are expanding to launch into the US. “We are now running promotions into the main season to encourage home cooking trends.” Adding China continues to show some promising markets, including in pet food. Duncan NZ Venison marketing manager Jared Sandri said with the worldwide pandemic impacting all global markets there has been limited chance to identify new markets.

CHALLENGING: Duncan NZ Venison marketing manager Jared Sandri said with the worldwide pandemic impacting all global markets there has been limited chance to identify new markets.

“So with that, we have focused on the NZ market and looked at ways to help people with their shopping habits and cooking trends, and a lot of that is purchasing food online. “It has helped that a lot of people are supporting local produce and companies when sourcing protein,” Sandri said.

These sorts of innovative options are going to be the way we will be able to sell more retail. John Sadler Mountain River manager “While we can’t travel (overseas) we have got to trust customers and be supportive of them in their demand in the meantime. For First Light venison, general manager Toni Frost said the focus is on building business with the lower value convenience products. “We are thinking outside the

There are three ways you can read us: 1. Own a farm. If farming is your main income, you register with NZ Post to have Farmers Weekly delivered free to your mailbox. This is how around 80,000 farmers receive theirs. 2. Read the virtual paper online at farmersweekly.co.nz/topic/virtual-publication. Our online eNewsletters have the paper before it hits mailboxes and you can sign up to recieve them at farmersweekly.co.nz/e-newsletter. 3. Subscribe - a great gift for retired farmers and town dwellers. This is for people in town who want a hard copy of the paper each week. Farmers Weekly is just under $4 per issue ($16/month, $192 incl GST per year) and Dairy Farmer is $8.95 per issue ($98.45 incl GST / year). Pay by credit card or Farmlands card. www.farmersweekly.co.nz/subscribe or freephone 0800 85 25 80

square to power on forward and find new ways of venison for the future. “Retail is not an easy challenge or solution for business but we are investing in that channel, especially in the US with the support we have there.” DINZ venison marketing manager Nick Taylor said covid-19 underscores the importance of market diversification and product options. “As we are planning our activities into the future, it’s thinking about how we can support companies to undertake some of that market exploration work into new markets which is challenging and takes time and energy.” DINZ has increased funding available for new industry marketing initiatives. “We’ve got a fantastic story about the product and the provenance of the product and our farmers who are supplying it and everyone has agreed there’s huge opportunity. “I believe we are well-placed to keep moving that story and taking it out to the world,” Taylor added.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Pamu could help young famers Gerald Piddock & BusinessDesk PAMU Farms’ $2.2 billion balance sheet should be used to help young farmers buy their first farms, New Zealand First says. Agriculture spokesman Mark Patterson said farm ownership has become increasingly difficult for young people who historically could have worked their way into a farm on the back of hard work. The sheep and beef farmer, who will represent the party in Otago’s new Taieri electorate at the election, said there is no longer an obvious path into farming with blockages including land prices and considerably tightened lending criteria. Patterson submitted a remit at last weekend’s party conference, receiving a positive endorsement from the 150 delegates. Under the remit Pamu, or Landcorp Farming, will provide equity funding and go into partnership with selected and qualified young farmers. The intention isn’t to sell Landcorp farms. “We just want to use their balance sheet to leverage lending with Landcorp taking an

equity stake in the first farm or orchard.” It could also help farmers into sharemilking or share farming arrangements and with building up working capital. “It’s often the hardest to get that first $100,000 so it’s not just buying farms, it’s supporting that ability to get the business up and running also.” He said he wanted to get the idea across the line with the party before approaching Landcorp. Landcorp, which has a portfolio of 115 owned or leased dairy, sheep, beef and wood farms on 376,000 hectares, has forecast higher-than-expected earnings to June 2020 on the strength of a positive season for milk, sheep and beef. It expects full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and revaluations at about $78 million. “But I am genuinely concerned that there are no real avenues to get into ownership so we need initiatives to help genuine farmers buy into an industry which is already tough but has underpinned and will continue to underpin the country’s prosperity,” Patterson said.

Real Estate Institute rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said the idea has merit. “Any avenues that provide more options for farm ownership would be welcome. We would also be advocating some benevolent approaches from existing farm owners in terms of funding.” The concept reminds him of the land settlement process used last century. “That provided a great opportunity for some very competent people who didn’t have the resources to get into farm ownership. “If something like that was introduced it would be a great idea.” The institute’s data for the three months to the end of June shows there were 261 farm sales compared to 322 sales over the corresponding quarter in 2019. Four out of 14 regions recorded an increase in the number of farm sales over the past three months compared to the three months ending in June 2019. The median price per hectare rose 5% from $22,044 to $23,136.

LEG-UP: Blockages limiting young people’s ability to buy first farms could be overcome with help from Pamu, NZ First agriculture spokesman Mark Patterson says.

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News

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Agritech boosting global grunt Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz MORE horsepower behind New Zealand’s agritech sector is the biggest hope for industry players following the launch of a transformation plan by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford. The plan is the first of several intended to boost investment and resilience of key sectors identified for their contributions and potential in the economy. Other sectors include construction, food and beverages and forestry. The agritech plan represents a rare alignment of six government departments and has been acknowledged for offering a clear path to grow the $1.5 billion sector. Destined for release in April, Covid-19 delayed the launch and forced a review of the strategy. “Covid-19 reinforced the need to lift productivity and support industries where NZ has a competitive advantage and support,” Twyford said. The plan identifies three high-

impact projects to be actioned quickly. They are the establishment of a horticultural robotics institute, leveraging off the skills and talent at Waikato University and Robotics-Plus in Tauranga, the Farm 2050 initiative to identify and support disruptive technology capable of dealing with nutrient issues in agriculture and the creation of a specialist agritech venture capital fund. Twyford noted the theme of picking winners through plans has not be de rigueur since the 1980s. “But in the decades that have followed the world’s topperforming economic successes in increased productivity tell us we need to rethink this old orthodoxy,” he said. Israel has an agritech sector valued at almost 10 times NZ’s, after receiving focused government support. The Government working hand in glove with the commercial and science communities will ensure greater success, subject to highquality engagement, he said. O’Connor said the plan links strongly to Te Taiao, aimed at increasing the primary sector’s value over volume with a lower and more sustainable footprint. Agritech NZ executive director

agrievents

Wednesday 12/08/2020 & 19/08/2020 Beef + Lamb New Zealand & Agri-Women’s Development Trust Know your Mindset. Grow your Influence. A practical personal development workshop created for farmers to respond to pressures with meaningful action. Presented by Clinical Psychologist Dr Nigel George and AWDT Founder Lindy Nelson More info and register at www.beeflambnz.com/events AWDT Future Focus Programme designed for red meat farming partnerships to plan their business together. 2 full-day workshop delivered over two months. Locations and dates (2 modules): • Gore: 28th Jul & 25th Aug Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business 3 full-day workshops run over three months. Equips and supports women involved in sheep and beef and dairy farming to lift business performance. Locations and dates (3 modules): • Maramarua: 29th Jul, 26th Aug and 16th Sept Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz for more info AWDT It’s all about YOU It’s all about YOU is a two-day personal development programme for women involved in the primary sector or rural communities. You’ll discover your true value, refocus on what is important, explore possibilities and create new networks. Locations and dates: • Milton 30th & 31st July • Whangarei 31st Aug & 1st Sept Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: Tessa@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info

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

PICKING WINNERS: The transformation plan for the agritech sector will single out specific projects for support, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford says. Photo: Jamie Troughton

Peter Wren-Hilton said the NZ market for some of the agritech developed recently is simply too small to make it commercially viable so getting it to a wider world is critical for commercial success. One example he cited was an asparagus picker developed by Waikato University that has only four or five potential customers here but significant numbers of large-scale ones in United States. “But the world is also watching NZ right now and not just in how we have managed covid-19. “The likes of United Kingdom and Singapore are looking at this NZ model for agritech and how we

have got together to create a plan and want to develop their own collaborations.” It is critical an industry reference group is alongside each of the three main projects to ensure delivery, he said. Rezare Systems managing director Andrew Cooke praised the plan’s intent but cautioned it also requires a better understanding of agritech adoption in NZ by farmers. “It is not always about monetary value and if the reasons farmers adopt agritech can be better understood then it needs to be well communicated to agritech companies.”

Farm data sharing is also important and having data standards might bring only relatively small savings across the industry but it offers huge gains for the agritech sector being able to access it more easily. “It is important to be able to speed up that gap between concept and launch. The days of an inventor working away in their shed before presenting a product that requires funding are over – time frames are much tighter and often a pitch for funds will only be with a basic prototype, with earlier funding moving it through to final launch quicker.” Despite millions being invested in agritech by large overseas companies globally, the value of NZ’s agri-tech exports has tended to hover between $1.1 billion and $1.2b over the past five years. A focus on pasture production, domestic use and a disconnect between research and development and marketing commercial technology were identified as shortcomings. Capital shortage has also been an issue and the proposed fund will be spun off separate to the $300 million venture capital fund established in last year’s Budget. It is hoped with interest from private parties the fund can address the gap in early stage funding NZ agri-tech companies face.

Hamilton agritech firm sells to UK company Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz HAMILTON based Rezare has been purchased by Map of Ag group as the UK based company seeks to deepen its farm and primary sector software skills. Founded by managing director Andrew Cooke in 2004, Rezare has established a high-profile reputation in New Zealand and internationally for developing software systems for the primary sector. This has included biological models, budgeting and genetic recording technologies. Cooke was also instrumental in helping the agritech sector establish farm data exchange and privacy standards for the sector. Map of Ag operates in the UK, Argentina and NZ, providing farm and food chain operators with decision

NEW ROLE: Rezare’s managing director Andrew Cooke has been appointed chief technical officer for Map of Ag.

support software. The purchase by the UK firm comes with a past Kiwi connection. Map of Ag was founded by New Zealander Forbes Elworthy in 2015 and spun off from the family’s Craigmore agri-forestry investments portfolio of businesses. “Our two companies often found ourselves pitching to

the same potential clients, and we decided there could be value in working together,” Cooke said. “Map of Ag has its strengths in the food supply chain area, including customers like Sainsburys, McDonalds’ sustainable beef network and Arla.” The company has also been closely involved in the highprofile “hands free hectare” project where a 35ha trial farm will ultimately be completely operated by autonomous robotic technology. “What Map of Ag did not have was a truly ag focussed software team, which is where our strength lies,” Cooke explained. “The people we have are good at understanding farm systems and knowing what data is needed from those systems, understanding animals, grass systems and nutrient management.” Working with Map of Ag

would also give Rezare greater ability to template some of its earlier bespoke software systems, taking previously developed ones and making small adjustments specific to client needs. “This proves more cost effective than building out from scratch each time,” he added. Map of Ag CEO Richard Vecqueray said Rezare was an ideal fit for the company, delivering exceptional capabilities in areas of data solutions and comes as customers are seeking netzero carbon commitments and, with that, measures of sustainability, animal welfare and farm assurance. Map of Ag intends to retain the Rezare brand and adds about $4 million a year to its revenue stream with the purchase. Cooke has been appointed chief technical officer for Map of Ag.

AginED Ag ED

FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U E N E R P

Volume 17 I July 27, 2020 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz In your paper: The winners of the DairyNZ farmkit are...

Kate Manion and Gareth Davidson! We hope you enjoy your Farming Kit from DairyNZ.

YOUR . OPINION..

This week there is an interesting piece in Farmers Weekly around pests in pies, looking at people using Wallabies and other ‘pests’ to make pies. Read the story and tell us if you think this would be a viable option in NZ for the types of things that are considered pests here, e.g. rabbits, hares, Tahr?

Do you think there are other ideas like the pest in pies approach, that could be used to decrease our pest population but in a way that could create income and industry for those involved?

2 Find and watch the OnFarm Story of Patrick Malley “This is actually what we do here” and read the accompanying article “Small footprint but many jobs”.

Send us your response to agined@globalhq.co.nz

3 Where in NZ are the Malleys based?

We may choose your letter to feature in Ewe said!

Nose to Tail Dining with Beef+Lamb NZ

Kidneys Brains Tongue Tripe Sweetbreads Bioavailable Vitamins Folate Phosphorus Copper Zinc Iron Omega3s Protein

This graph shows the price trends for the AgriHQ average North Island two-year store steer, to July 17. 1

3 Were prime steer prices stronger in the North Island or the South Island last week?

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1 When the Malleys purchased the orchard it grew kiwifruit and avocados. The Malleys got rid of the avocado trees and diversified the kiwifruit into covered and uncovered SunGold for increased Psa-V resistance. What is Psa-V? How are these kiwifruit more resistant?

4 The Malleys also have a focus on biological diversity throughout their property, using some plant species to help control pests and diseases and encourage other beneficial activities. Can you list five of these and outline what their uses/benefits are?

STRETCH YOURSELF:

2 What was the North Island stag price last week?

5 How many full-time workers do they employ?

3 How does their workforce differ from the more typical seasonal or casual labour forces usually used by kiwifruit/berry growers?

Selenium Liver Pate Bacon Potassium

Go to the AgriHQ Market Snapshot page

4 What do the Malleys grow on their property?

2 What types of berries did they replace the avocado trees with?

Have some fun finding names of types of meats that make up nose-to-tail dining and the nutritional benefits they provide for our bodies and minds

Go to www.farmersweekly.co.nz

With the latest average of $2.95/kg, how many c/ kg is this below this time last year and the five-year average?

SHOW US YOUR BOOTS! Send us photos of your much loved or repurposed gumboots. Over the next four weeks we are looking for the best photos of your favourite gummies! Perhaps you have made yours into some other footwear, or maybe your dad has a pair that are older than you are. So, send in your photos by July 26 and thanks to Skellerup you could win yourself a brand-new pair of Red Bands if you are chosen as one of our winners! Make sure you follow these steps to enter: 1 Head to: www.redband.co.nz

2 A long drought for many regions led to the offloading of more animals than usual, either through processors or the store markets. How do you think this affected demand and therefore prices for store cattle during that period? Hint: Farmers are unlikely to purchase stock if they have little feed.

2 On their website, find the answer to this question: When was the first pair of Red Band Gumboots manufactured?

3 The last four to six weeks demonstrates a reasonably sharp lift in prices, after many regions received rain. It is typical for prices to rise at this time of the year due to drivers such as tighter supply of available stock and strengthening prices at the processors. Why do you think prices/demand has risen faster in the last few weeks than last year? Hint: If farmers have less stock than they normally would, what will they need to do now?

For answers to last week’s questions and more content head to our website: www. sites.google.com/view/agined/home

3 Include the answer in your email, attach your gumboot photo, and send through to us at: agined@globalhq.co.nz

Newsmaker

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Veteran land advisor moved with the times After nearly 45 years of providing land management and soil conservation advice to farmers in Manawatu, Whanganui, Rangitikei and Tararua, Kevin Rooke is retiring. He spoke to Colin Williscroft.

ESPITE being satisfied with his contribution spanning his 45-year career, one of the things Kevin Rooke will miss the most during retirement, is being part of the changing farming landscape. The former Lincoln College (now university) student and New Zealand Farm Cadet of the Year started work as a soil conservator with the Rangitikei-Whanganui Catchment Board in Marton during the mid-1970s. It was a different world to how things operate today. “We had grant money from the government but we were competing with subsidies where farmers got money for stock retention, fertiliser and land development,” Rooke recalls. “That meant we had farmers farming what I call tiger country. They could afford to farm it because they had a financial partner: the government. “In the mid-1980s, when the subsidies came off, they had to sit back and think, ‘holy hell, what am I doing here?’ There was a lot of land that should never have been farmed.” Rooke said throughout the 1990s there was a move by forestry companies to buy properties to plant in forestry. “In a way, they were partially doing our job because for some of the properties, forestry was really the best land use,” he explained. Initially, Rooke looked after Turakina Valley, towards Whanganui. Then in 1989, local government reorganisation meant catchment boards, pest boards and other organisations were merged into regional councils. At the time, the name changed to Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Council, now known as Horizons Regional Council, while his area moved to include the Pohangina/Oroua areas. “We got bigger, but it was business as usual. I worked more in the Manawatu district with a different soil type and different erosion problems to what I was used to.” Over the years, Rooke’s job titles have morphed from soil conservator to land manager to land management advisor, but the fundamental tasks have essentially stayed the same. Even today, he is amazed at

the havoc a 2004 storm wreaked across the lower North Island. A weekend of heavy rain, high winds, plummeting temperatures, thunderstorms and hail led to flood damage on more than 1000 farms. Around 5000 sheep and 1000 dairy cattle were lost, and about 20,000 hectares of farmland was left under water. “I have never, ever seen a high tide mark like it. It was incredible. There was a lot of water in there. We have had ’04 storms before and we’ve had them since, but the difference was the ’04 storm affected the whole lower North Island,” Rooke recalled. The storm marked the birth of Horizons Regional Council’s Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI). “The old farm plans were all about soil erosion. SLUI ones are about potential erosion, water quality, biodiversity, farm and land management – the whole spectrum, and that came out of the ’04 storm,” he said. Rooke says 16 years later there is still significant government investment in the SLUI programme through the Hill Country Erosion Fund, although farmers are also rated per hectare as their contribution to the scheme. “It’s all about sustainable land use. Water quality is also a big issue with a lot of riparian fencing and planting,” he explained. “Swamps were being drained when I first started, now we call them wetlands and look after them for a whole host of reasons. We started fencing off that tiger country ... that block out the back that’s better taken out of grazing and put into trees.” In 2008, Rooke moved to the Woodville office to cover the Tararua area, as well retaining responsibility for Pohangina Valley and Oroua. He says it required a change in perception. “On the west coast, the prevailing weather comes from the north/north-west and clears from the south. Over here (Tararua), they get their rubbish from the south,” he said. “In this job, you have to have a reasonable grasp of the local weather, not to mention an idea of local farming systems.” Rooke recognises that farmers have to make a living from their properties but some of the work

FOND MEMORIES: Kevin Rooke enjoyed the time he spent talking to farmers on land most people don’t have access to.

When I started, we spent a couple of hours each night on the phone working through the toll operator to ring up farmers. There was no such thing as sending them an email or phoning them while they were out on the farm. Kevin Rooke Long-serving land advisor the regional council does can help improve production. Fencing the back-end of tiger country and putting it into forestry might draw complaints from farmers who see stock numbers going down, and recommends that they invest their money in the good country they still have, instead of throwing it at unproductive blocks.

He also encourages land managers new to their role to do what he used to and ask older workmates or predecessors about the history of their areas and learn from what they have to say. Rooke spoke about how times have changed, and how it’s a different world now compared to when he began in the role with no subsidies and improved education, science and technology. “There were no computers when I started. Now, I’ve got a computer on my desk, an iPad in my ute and a cellphone,” he said. “When I started, we spent a couple of hours each night on the phone working through the toll operator to ring up farmers. There was no such thing as sending them an email or phoning them while they were out on the farm. “Then we went out to do the field work for a farm plan, wrote the farm plan up and drafted the maps, tracing the lines of the paddocks and boundaries from aerial photos. “We’d put (note) suggested works programmes, soil types,

land use capability, all kinds of things like that. We did the whole lot on big hunks of perma-trace (transparent paper). Now, it’s done by computers with a few clicks.” One of the highlights of his job has been seeing parts of NZ inaccessible to most people, what he calls “going out the back” but it’s farmers who he will miss the most. “I’ve had some favourites who I’ve been working with for years and years. Now, I’m working for their sons and daughters, so I’m dealing with the second generation. I’ve nearly got to the third generation so I better go before there’s any more,” he said with a laugh. Rooke loves driving around, looking at areas where he has worked in the past and seeing the developments made. “Those are the things I’ll miss, being part of those changes.” His latest change, retirement, means a move to Foxton Beach, a lot of walking on the beach, a bit of whitebaiting and “a lot of doing absolutely nothing at all”.

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Pests can make value-added food Thanks in part to millions of dollars in covid-19 funding pests are well and truly in hunters’ sights as the Government integrates employment, pest control and the environment. The rich mix of goats, wallabies, possums and even koi carp could deliver some quality flesh for a sort of value-add biosecurity payback. Richard Rennie investigates the opportunities the provinces to benefit from the eradication bonanza.

DAM Wilson, coowner of the Barn Cafe in Waimate, has been inundated in recent weeks with locals and passersby seeking out the cafe’s revamped wallaby pie. Wilson’s business partner Andrew Bolton decided it was time to bring back the marsupial savoury that was originally on the menu 15 years ago at the Waimate Savoy Tearooms. Wilson’s customers have since chowed through 25 kilograms of wallaby in two weeks, enough for about 250 pies, and demand has stayed strong. Wallabies are among the pests getting special attention in the Budget, with $27 million of eradication funding to curb losses estimated at $28m a year in lost pasture production. Estimates are that three marsupials consume the equivalent of one sheep and losses risk blowing out to $85m a year in lost pasture production if populations continue to grow. Prolific through south Canterbury for years, they have also staked territory around Rotorua lakes. Ironically, despite wallaby’s pest status, Wilson’s and Bolton’s pie rebirth was almost stymied by the cost of the meat, now sourced from Blenheim game processor Premium Game. “To make money with pies you need to get the protein cost down to $20 a kg, which we did, but it was higher to start with,” Wilson said. He has hopes of minimising the food miles of the locally sourced processed pest by ultimately starting to process the wallabies in Waimate. The men trialled a few recipe variations before hitting on a winner.

“We use local ingredients, including a filling of onion, garlic and a plum sauce to take away some of the gaminess, and add smoked paprika for some depth of flavour.” They sell them at $5 a pie, slightly smaller than conventional pies to help keep the cost down. The strong selling pie has expanded the business’s range and boosted the cafe’s profile with punters in Christchurch wanting to buy the pies there. “I have told them if they want one, they have to come down and get one.” Wilson has also considered trialling other game meats, with varied success. They include tahr (too tough), possum (too stinky) and, most successfully, a locally sourced venison pie. He believes there is be a market for a range of game-pest pies, providing the taste is right and the meat could be sourced locally. Further south in Wanaka Jason Danielson of Kai Pie Wholesale

claimed silver in last year’s NZ Pie Awards with his gourmet chicken and bacon pie. His business delivers wholesale all over the country, including all ski-field cafes. Danielson has experimented with more exotic pest ingredients than chicken and bacon, including goat and a peri-peri sauce pie. “It went well, but we found the goat was very expensive, well over $25 a kg, compared to $14 a kg for lamb, and we were only getting the same price per pie as our other wholesale ones. We have had to drop it.” Danielson said he’s open to any meat type but often it’s the cost of the protein that will put him off. In a region where rabbits thrive as a pest he appreciates the irony of it simply being too expensive to put into a pie. “It is ridiculously priced at $30 a kg.” Nick Fox, owner of Basecamp Salamis near Katikati has been

shooting 30-40 wallabies a night around Lake Tarawera as part of a pest control mission, and getting $15 a wallaby as pet food for his efforts. He will often turn the marsupials into salami for hunters, describing them as a cross between beef and venison, and carrying more fat than most small game makes them good for salami and sausages. Callum Hughes, owner of game meat supplier Fare Game in Invercargill, one of only two commercial game suppliers, said more could be done in combining pests into diets. That could be as pies or otherwise. His business supplies wild deer, rabbit, hares and goat to luxury resorts, delis and butchers. He was recently involved with the Wapiti Foundation, NZ Deerstalkers Association and DoC helping process 500 wild deer shot in Fiordland to transport the meat to needy families over

POPULAR: Adam Wilson’s wallaby pie has expanded his business’s range and boosted the cafe’s profile with punters in Christchurch wanting to buy the pies there.

lockdown as 1kg mince packs. An estimated 18 tonnes of meat was donated and he sees more potential as deer numbers rise nationally. “Rabbits are also a source of protein for some people out there. But for us one of the biggest challenges is finding reliable and capable shooters happy to go out night after night to get the numbers.” He has had considerable enquiry since lockdown from people wanting to look at game options, but feels somewhat hamstrung by bureaucracy. This includes the rules around possums, the country’s most prolific damaging pest. Regulations require possums to be held alive for 10 days prior to processing, be caught only in a Tb free area, and at least 1km beyond a poison zone. Hughes admits he is also no fan of possums as they tend to stink as they are cooked. Up in Waikato waterways are teeming with koi carp, also the recent target of regional council eradication plans. Waikato Regional Council has recently decommissioned a carp capture and process trap on Lake Waikare that was turning the pest into fertiliser pellets. Meanwhile, much of the control has also occurred through the annual NZ Bowhunters’ competition, with teams pulling up to half a tonne each out of waterways at every competition. But competition organiser Allan Metcalf doubted a “smoked carp pie” would be a winner unless at a wild food festival. He said the thick-skinned goldfish-like pests that have spread through Waikato, Waihou and Piako rivers have been an excellent fertiliser, and good for burley bait too.

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Opinion

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

EDITORIAL Eradication was the only option

HREE years into the programme to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis statistics show progress is being made. Just four farms are known to have the disease now. It’s still early days given it’s year three of a 10-year battle but the signs are positive. M bovis and the eradication programme have taken a massive toll on many farmers. In the past three years Farmers Weekly has covered a number of distraught farmers who’ve seen their herds carted off to slaughter. Others then waited far too long for the promised compensation. Many in rural communties wondered if the effort to eradicate was worth the pain. They argued the production losses the disease would cause if it bedded in here didn’t outweigh the cost of eradication. Studies are still under way to quantify whether that’s the case. Looking to a long horizon, though, it seems like the right decision. M bovis causes mastitis, abortions and other nasty things. For a nation that’s looking to leverage its commitment to animal welfare in an effort to drive up the value of the food it produces being bovis-free is always going to be preferable. Even some of the worstaffected farmers, such as Frank Peters who is quoted in this edition, can see that. To live with M bovis would have been to tell the world we’re okay with a percentage of our animals getting sick, being uncomfortable and maybe dying. We’d be saying that’s just a cost of our food production system. Increasingly, consumers aren’t buying that story. Sure, there are other areas of the system that need work as well. Live exports and bobby calves are a couple that spring to mind. Our industry needs to show it’s committed to continual improvement when it comes to welfare and sustainability. Our record on these issues is already the envy of the rest of the farming world. But that’s no reason to rest on our laurels.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Trees cause irreparable harm READING Mr Field’s response to my letter, I was struck that there was no justification for pouring taxpayers’ money into helping corporations to destroy farmland in New Zealand. I never claimed that pasture is the natural state of the landscape of NZ. It is patently obvious that there are downstream environmental impacts from pastoral agriculture. It is even fair to say that in certain parts of NZ landscape was cleared, which never should have been. I would, however, note that the worst excesses of this kind of behaviour were undertaken when the Government subsidised it through boondoggles such as the Marginal Lands Board.

None of these concessions hide the fact that rampant afforestation is causing irreparable harm to landscapes across NZ. Just yesterday, my Facebook feed featured a video of east coast rivers and beaches choked with forestry waste. Waste from trees that I would bet were planted with all haste and government support following cyclone Bola. More helpful government intervention! Livestock agriculture has some key benefits to NZ society. First, it produces food, unlike Pinus radiata. When, in 1861, there was only 70,000ha of pasture in NZ, there were only one billion people on the planet. There are now north of seven billion of us, and rather

selfishly, we all like to eat. If NZ becomes a forest park, the net result will be deforestation elsewhere in the world. I think it’s a fair bet that burning Brazilian rainforest to produce beef will not feature riparian planting and Environmental Management Plans. Secondly, livestock must be processed regardless of the market return. When prices are low, farmers continue to employ thousands of tanker drivers, freezing workers and other Kiwis. When log prices drop, the corporate forest owners will happily leave their logs standing and watch their workforce wither. This has been graphically illustrated just this year with

the impact of covid-19. If Field thinks that widespread conversion of food production to radiata forest will enhance biodiversity, he is free to plant all the land he likes and see if Moa are brought back from extinction. I just ask that taxpayer dollars are frittered away on the fruitless exercise, and that foresters be held accountable for their environmental degradation in the same way the farmers are. The unfairness of taxing farmers to use the taxes to subsidise their competition is staggering, and the fact that forestry is being subsidised while trashing our rivers is just adding insult to injury. David Skiffington Cheltenham

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Are your cows your beauties or your beasts? Shirli Notcovich

T HAS been a very exciting news week for the dairy industry. The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards prizegiving held on 4 July and two previous Global Dairy Trade price increases have provided a boost in confidence and positivity, bringing a breath of fresh air to the industry. Consumers are also seeking healthy, New Zealandmade food that will help restore our economy earlier than other countries. It hasn’t all been positive, though. Some of the optimistic news and celebration of the awards has been overshadowed by one of the winners being stripped of his title after tweets he had made years ago referencing ill treatment of animals resurfaced, which consequently led to increased media coverage around the need for more animal welfare regulation and laws to protect animals from exploitation. And it is not news that things are changing. Consumer preferences show that people are more aware of what’s on their plates and in their glasses than ever. They want to know where their milk is coming from, how and where the cows were living and if they were happy while being milked. Things are changing so fast that it makes it hard to catch up, and the dairy industry is no exception to the wave of change. Public requests for more sustainable practices and reduced environmental footprints are being heard and new regulations

The

Pulpit AWARE: Dairy farmers need to be more conscious about how they produce and why, Shirli Notcovich says.

are now well in place. An example of that is the launch of the zero-carbon milk which comes with “carbon credits” that has apparently been well received by consumers. However, there is a piece still missing in this puzzle. Talking about what the dairy industry is doing and treating the industry as an unknown third party is not the right approach. Who is the dairy industry? Every single dairy farmer and every single person working in and with the industry is. The dairy industry in New Zealand is formed mainly by cooperatives and that puts a layer of responsibility on everyone. Clear examples from the past can show us how fast perceptions can change in our society and how things that may have been deemed normal and acceptable 10 or 20 years ago, is now unacceptable.

People who have read about the removal of the prize earned by the Tararua farmers as part of a “cancel culture” are misreading the news. There is a lot more to think and do here: Have you ever lost your temper with a cow or calf? Have you got any on-farm practice that you think wouldn’t look right if seen by an animal welfare activist? What would your vet think about it? It is not about demonising anyone here but at the end of the day it makes no sense to produce milk if people are not going to buy it because of doubts about mistreatment or suffering of animals.

We are at risk of getting to that stage. However, we still have time to make the right decisions in order to keep producing milk without being judged or prosecuted. We should demonstrate that we don’t need to get prosecuted to make the right decisions to bring the changes forward. This is the opportunity for us to learn to be better, calmer, caring, more present and respectful milk producers. We need to reflect on this story, learn to be more conscious about how we produce and why. Let’s start to embrace other people’s perspectives without

losing our aim: to produce good quality milk with the best health benefits for everyone: cows and humans. Are your cows your beauties or your beasts?

Who am I? Shirli Notcovich is a PhD student investigating new alternatives for mastitis prevention in dairy cows

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

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Opinion

28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

UK shows that less is best Alternative View

Alan Emerson

A MATE contacted me after a recent column to ask “if the Brits can relatively and quickly reform their levy organisations why can’t we?”. He has a point. In the UK, there is just one industry good levy organisation and that is the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB). It was established in 2008 and defines its purpose as “to inspire our farmers, growers and industry to succeed in a rapidly changing world”. The groups that amalgamated to form the AHDB were the Meat and Livestock Commission – which handled pigs, beef and lamb, the Milk Development Council, the Horticulture Development Council, the HomeGrown Cereals Authority, and the British Potato Council. Have a look at their website.

They make our levy organisations look distinctly pedestrian by comparison. Its statutory purpose is to improve UK farming’s efficiency and competitiveness. And while the 2019 Annual Report was written under the Sword of Damocles of Brexit and pre-covid-19, it’s still interesting and relevant. They talk about their “independent and evidencebased approach” and having a wide-ranging and singular focus. It would be good to see that happening here. The fact that it is well-resourced is obvious, but its budget last year was just £68 million (NZ$131m). New Zealand farmers are currently paying industry good levies of NZ$112m, and that’s not far behind. Here’s the rub though. In the UK I’m told there are 138,000 farmers, while in NZ we have a little over a third of that. According to Statistics NZ we have 52,000 farmers. The UK has one levy organisation, and we have five levy groups providing a mass of duplication. Having one levy group in the UK gives them a greater focus with less duplication, and they are

infinitely more effective. A simple example is that methane mitigation is the same, be it with sheep or cows, and reducing nitrogen is similar, as is trade access. We don’t need a bevy of organisations to handle those issues, we need just one. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is the political voice of the British farmer. I visited the NFU some years ago and had lunch with their executive group. It was an interesting occasion and I was made to feel welcome. As our trade negotiators know, the NFU is a focussed and powerful organisation. It works closely with the AHDB for the common good. It has 90,000 farmers, growers and countryside members with an annual income of around NZ$64m. It also has NZ$246m in reserves – that is some fighting fund. In NZ we have Federated Farmers with an annual income of less than NZ$9m, and what absolutely frustrates me is that we’re an agricultural country. We largely live off cows and sheep. In 2018, our agricultural exports were NZ$80 billion, or around half

that in British pounds. The British government proudly tells me that in 2014 the contribution from agriculture and fishing to the economy was about NZ$21.5bn. Further, beef and veal was worth NZ$5bn, mutton and lamb NZ$2bn, and milk NZ$9bn. That means that compared with NZ agriculture they are a subsidised bit player. What galls me is that they come across as being smarter. Instead of a heap of industry good levy organisations they have just one. It’s not a whole lot better resourced than our group but infinitely more efficient and, I’d suggest, with a far better focus. Logic suggests that one organisation would find it difficult to waste money and resources by competing with itself. Realising the importance of a strong farmer voice, the British farmers have created one with reserves, or in other words a fighting fund of massive proportions. They are effective across all political formats and even have an office in Brussels. Federated Farmers in NZ is certainly effective but hugely under-resourced for the challenges it has.

The Brits farming organisations are also smarter than ours. If you go to the NFU and AHDB websites you’ll find they’re in-sync. There are projects and issues where one group is supporting the other and some where they’re both involved. It is hard to see any patch mentality. I’ve spoken to friends and colleagues in the UK and they tell me the system works well. But if I went to the Tinui pub, I’d get a different reaction on the local scene. Frustratingly, by the complete lack of debate on the issues, it would appear that NZ farmers are happy with the status quo, even though in the latest Dairy NZ referendum just over a third voted for the levy to continue. We desperately need an informed debate on farmer representation into the future. We need to bulldoze the silos that are costing us heavily, in both money and effective support. More importantly, we need an industry leader prepared to grasp the nettle.

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

Blast from the past becomes lesson of order From the Ridge

lives, which I find remarkable. I was perusing the emailed copy of a publication called AlumniLinc and was extremely impressed to see one of my old classmates Richard Riddell had risen to the heights of being the Chair of the Lincoln University Foundation. I flicked through the rest of the publication until I came to a section which was a request for

information from the Canterbury Museum. The museum it seems has come into possession of many photos and are wanting to identify them as they have no labels. They posted a couple as examples. The first was known to be a 1938 snap of Lincoln’s students’ tennis and cricket teams walking confidently across the grass,

LK0100740©

Steve Wyn-Harris

SOMETHING other than politics, covid-19 or the state of the world, I believe, is in order – and perhaps desired – this week. This photo came into my life last week. Or maybe back into it but I’ve never possessed it, seen it, or even thought of it for 40 years. This tale is about memory, or lack of it, reminiscence, and the order that some folk have in their

Heavy duty long lasting Ph 021 047 9299

OLD SCHOOL: Lincoln College Thirsts rugby team, left to right: Back row; Steve Wyn-Harris, Mike Johnson, Bill Wright and Dave Stewart. Middle row: Dave Robyns, Derek Ryan, Lloyd Cundy, Doug Hall, Grant Barron and Gav Smith. Front row: Steve Holland, John Waldin, John Grandiek, Gerrad Prendergast, Paul Peterson, Doug Snell and Stuart King.

dressed very nattily in their blazers and long white pants. I peered at their faces and wondered how many of them went on to go to war and maybe not return. The other was a more recent colour photo of a rugby team. On closer inspection, some of these guys were rather familiar and the rugby ball had ‘Lincoln College Thirsts’ written on it. This was indeed my own rugby team. You know how most Kiwi blokes will retell stories of their rugby prowess and abilities for hours on end leaving you wondering how come they never became an All Black? This is not one of those stories. This team was made up of the discards, the unwanted but mainly the fellows who didn’t turn up for registration or trials because they forgot or had other stuff to do. This was in an era when several hundred students were playing rugby. We were probably the bottom team but didn’t greatly trouble ourselves with the onerous business of training or strategy. Probably, my greatest playing feat was watching an exceptionally large Pacific Islander being passed a tap penalty at speed and thundering

Continued next page

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Sector must find one united voice Meaty Matters

Allan Barber

SEVERAL organisations with an interest in the future of our agricultural sector have come out with strategies or visions for what needs to be done to find New Zealand’s place in the sun. One such report produced by the Primary Sector Council has been sponsored, one could say hijacked, by the Government and converted by the Primary Industries Ministry into a set of financial and environmental targets. Another is the result of independent research and consultation. Ideally, the Government will engage with the primary sector to agree the best policy settings the industry believes necessary to meet these ambitious targets rather than insisting on following the plan it commissioned to meet its own priorities. The coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming election have to some extent provided a distraction from the pace of environmental change but nobody should be under any illusion – this will undoubtedly accelerate when a new government is in power which at the moment looks like a Labour/Greens coalition without the NZ First handbrake being needed to govern. There is a small window for the

Continued from previous page at us standing on the try line. The two of us in his way stepped deftly aside without conferring and he bewilderingly passed us by at such momentum that he crossed the dead ball line without placing the ball. Who says cowardness doesn’t have its rewards? The cups I borrowed from the refectory were to be the only symbol of our success. We dreamt up the name thinking that when asked at the pub by some pretty young lady which Lincoln team we played for, she may have hopefully misheard and enthusiastically chummed up with a fellow playing for the Lincoln First Fifteen which at the time were mightily successful, treated like gods

primary sector to argue for its preferred future direction. Two recently launched strategies recommend a path for the future: The PSC’s vision Te Taiao – Fit for a Better World, which, in the document just released, has become a Roadmap for Accelerating our Economic Potential and is a mishmash of general strategies and specific financial objectives and Auckland University think tank Koi Tu’s challenging paper on The Future of Food. Both reports recognise the Government’s Carbon Zero and Essential Freshwater measures and the primary industry organisations’ climate change commitment He Waka Eke Noa but the final version of Te Taiao picks up the misguided Government methane targets.

There is a small window for the primary sector to argue for its preferred future direction.

Two years after its formation the PSC has achieved what it was tasked to do, having developed a Vision and some first steps. The initial report was completed last December with the stated vision of putting Te Taiao or the natural world at the heart of what we do and respecting and nurturing land, water, air and biodiversity while pursuing regenerative agricultural practices, producing outstanding products and communicating the Aotearoa New Zealand brand.

and went on to produce several All Blacks. As far as I know, the plan never worked. It looks like we had just the 15 rugby jerseys. And a shortage of socks. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or that the two most hippy-looking of us – without a jersey but wearing the team one – were two of the three guys in that whole rugby club of 500 who didn’t think the Springbok tour of that winter was such a great idea. I don’t know about Dave and Hamish, but that stance was the bravest thing I’ve ever done. We would have a long line of large blokes lining up at Bob’s and the Carlton after Saturday games to tell us just why we were on the wrong side. But not of history it turned out. So that’s the reminiscence

The report has now been adopted by the Government and turned into an action plan that undertakes to revolutionise the sector by diversifying away from undifferentiated commodities and producing as yet unidentified billion-dollar products. By 2030 the goal is for the sector to have doubled the value of exports and businesses and production systems will be almost unrecognisable from today while science, technology and tertiary education will have changed beyond measure within five years. That will partly be achieved by adopting regenerative agriculture and respecting the natural environment. These objectives are undoubtedly worthy but there is a massive leap between intention and realisation. The more sceptical observer will doubt whether the increased export target is possible in the face of other policy settings such as the unjustifiably penal methane reduction targets and carbon incentives at the expense of traditional sheep and beef farming on hill country. It is ironic these two policy settings directly threaten New Zealand rural communities as well as grass-fed prime lamb and beef production, two of the products best equipped to capture premium value from the world’s wealthier consumers. The objective of achieving a step change towards coordinated scientific research, tertiary education and business systems also appears optimistic though it would undoubtedly result in a substantial improvement in industry capability.

CHANGED: The Primary Sector Council produced the report Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor appointed it to do but it has been adopted and polished to meet the Government’s policy objectives rather than setting out the best policy objective for the farming sector. Koi Tu is avowedly apolitical and its paper, The Future of Food and The Primary Sector: The Journey to Sustainability, is the sixth of a series of discussion papers under the umbrella heading The Future is Now, based on the belief NZ can become a global thought leader by building a compelling and authentic narrative in the postcovid world. In contrast the PSC was appointed by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor early in the Parliamentary term to produce a report that has been adopted and polished to meet the Government’s policy objectives. Koi Tu’s paper stands on its merits without glossy pictures and diagrams but makes its points succinctly and coherently. Its 10 required components are a masterpiece of practical clarity, including among others agreement on goals for sustainable and renewable agriculture, a clear sustainable origin brand, investment in science and technology related to food production, food safety and traceability, investment in broadband connectivity, requirements of primary sector

his filing cabinet and starts and now we come to memory. rattling all the names off Several faces were familiar, from the back of a photo he but I could only put names to has kept for 40 years and about five of us. These were knew where to find it within guys I played rugby with. seconds. Prepared to lay my body on I haven’t even gotten the line for. Well, maybe not around to getting our wedding that far as we’ve seen above photos in an album yet. but still, you’d think I’d This is the sort of order that have the decency to I want in my life and Grant’s remember. feat has encouraged me to I emailed the museum’s lift my game. It’s not too request for information late. to my mate, fellow farmer He was even able to tell and trustee John (front row, me news about several of second on the left). He’s got a our old teammates and went much better memory on to supply the Canterbury and confirmed those five, Museum with all the names and added another five. So, I they required for their records then rang Grant (middle row, and for posterity. second right) and a valuer from Otago. This is where order comes Your View in. I told him about the photo Steve Wyn-Harris is a Central and he says: “hang on, I’ve Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer. swyn@xtra.co.nz got it right here,” then opens

workforce and rural communities and, most critically, clear and unequivocal endorsement to the nation of the central role of the primary industries and growers in wealth creation and jobs for NZ. The industry groups that signed up to He Waka Eke Noa would be well advised to adopt Koi Tu’s stated prerequisites for the primary sector’s future success and sustainability and put their combined efforts into ensuring buy-in from the Government on what ought to become the sector’s vision. Agreeing to Te Taiao as the country of origin brand might even persuade the Government to adopt the rest of the recommendations. While I am still of the opinion different bodies are important to represent the needs of individual primary sector branches there are times when the general interest is better represented by a single voice. This is one of those times.

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

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World

30 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Climate change trumps coronavirus concerns EUROPEAN Union regulations are constraining large farmers during the coronavirus crisis, as opposed to protecting them, a survey has found. Sixty percent of large farms in the European Union claimed current EU regulations had made it difficult for the farming industry to respond flexibly during the pandemic and other crises, according to an Ipsos Mori survey commissioned by Syngenta Group. The survey of 250 French,

German, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Spanish farmers found Germany had the least faith in regulations (9%), while Poland had the most (43%). Just under half said their farm business had been impacted by the covid-19 pandemic and onein-four had immediate concerns about the survival of their business. For one-third, the crisis had raised concerns about the longterm viability of farming. In line with the severity of the pandemic

World climate change facts • Three-in-four farmers in Africa and India said their farming businesses had been impacted by climate change, but under half said so in the USA • Just 13% globally did not feel they had been impacted at all by climate change • 9% believed reducing emissions would make their businesses more competitive • 76% of Brazilian farmers were convinced of the benefits, compared to just 48% in the US • One-quarter said financial viability was the greatest barrier to adoption • 15% had seen impacts on crop yields and 9% were unable to grow their usual crops • In Europe, Spanish and Italian farmers were the most concerned about climate change (93%) • Since February, the percentage of large French farmers who were concerned about the effects of climate change had increased from 71% to 89% Source: Syngenta Group

in Italy, Italian farm businesses were the worst hit with 78% reporting an impact, and almost half said the impact was severe. A drop in sales and revenue was mostly responsible, followed by disrupted supply chains and shortages of equipment, machinery and labour. Despite the pandemic, 63% believed climate change would have a greater impact on their business in the next five years, while more than half said climate change was their immediate priority. A separate survey, also for Syngenta, of 600 large-scale farmers in Africa, Brazil, China, USA, France and India, found 87% had experienced some negative effect on their ability to produce food as a result of climate change. This figure rises to 90% in India and 86% on the African continent. The most common problems were cited as volatile weather, droughts and flooding. Globally, two-thirds of largescale farmers said they had already taken action to reduce

Gas converted to animal feed AN INITIATIVE that converts carbon dioxide into animal feed is one of nine agritech projects to secure NZ$46.2m of government funding as part of a push towards more efficient food production. Led by Nottingham company Deep Branch Biotechnology, the project will turn carbon dioxide from Drax Group’s Selby power station in North Yorkshire into an alternative to soy and fishmeal for the animal industry. Deep Branch’s CO2-toprotein process uses carbon dioxide from industrial emissions to generate a singlecell protein that is optimised for animal nutrition. The carbon recycling company and Drax Group are part of the Nottingham-based React-First consortium which will receive more than NZ$3.8m for the project. Farming Minister Victoria Prentis said “It’s great to see investment in these outstanding ideas which will help us tackle the farming industry’s greatest challenges, from achieving net zero emissions to investing in sustainable alternative protein for animal feed.” A further project led by Saga Robotics in Lincoln will receive nearly NZ$4.8m to fund its work to create a fleet of robots to help growers in the UK.

SIMPLIFY: Farmers are being urged to offer easy online shopping solutions.

The consortium, which includes agri-robotics experts from the University of Lincoln, said the Robot Highways project could help reduce reliance on seasonal labour, estimating a 40% reduction in the manpower required. The intention is to design robots that will assist farmers by picking and packing fruit and treating crops to reduce pests and diseases. Kent soft fruit grower Clock House Farm Ltd is part of the consortium. The technology also aims to help move the sector towards a carbon zero future – something the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) wants the farming industry to achieve

by 2040 – by reducing fruit waste and fungicide use. The University of Reading’s School of Agriculture, Policy and Development will evaluate the economic benefits of the robots, and bring growers, policy-makers and tech developers together to create suitable uses for the technology in farming. Dr David Rose, associate professor of Agricultural Innovation and Extension at the university, said “Autonomous robotic technologies could play a key role in the future of agricultural production, but only if they are trusted, reliable, and provide a tangible benefit for farmers.” – UK Farmers Weekly

ALARMED: Since February, the percentage of large French farmers who were concerned about the effects of climate change had increased from 71% to 89%. their greenhouse gas emissions, with the most popular strategy being carbon management in soil. Financial and policy incentives were the top requests from farmers, with cost and lack of government support noted as the main barriers to implementing more sustainable farming practices. This comes as Syngenta launched its new Good Growth Plan, which pledged to help accelerate innovation for farmers and strive for carbon neutral agriculture. Speaking during an online event hosted by media network Euractiv, Syngenta chief executive Erik Fyrwald said the company has pledged to invest $2 billion (NZ$3bn) into sustainable agriculture by 2025 and deliver two technological breakthroughs

to market each year. This comes as all the targets from the original Good Growth Plan launched in 2013 were achieved or exceeded, including bringing more than 14 million hectares of farmland back from the brink of degradation and enhancing biodiversity on more than 8m ha of farmland. As part of the pledge, Syngenta also committed to reducing the carbon intensity of its operations by 50 per cent by 2030 to support the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. In Europe, the company has promised to increase biodiversity and minimise pesticide use by expanding its reach to farmers to train them in the safe use and precision application of pesticides. – UK Farmers Guardian

Paid damage claims sparks row FORMER British Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs adviser Professor Sir Ian Boyd has been accused of lying in claiming livestock farmers are being paid by the Government to damage the environment. Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn said he was immensely frustrated to see the spurious arguments being thoughtlessly regurgitated again. In a newspaper interview Boyd said “Most of the livestock production in the United Kingdom is unprofitable without public subsidy. “The public is subsidising the production of livestock to produce environmental damage, all the way from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution. “Why should we continue to do that? “It is not sensible.” It is not the first time Boyd, who was the department’s chief scientific adviser from 2012 to 2019, caused controversy in the farming community. In 2018 he shocked attendees at the Institute for Agri-food Research and Innovation Metaldehyde Conference by saying the UK’s agriculture system was designed in the 19th century and had not changed much since.

And in November farm groups criticised his call for people to cut down on eating red meat to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target. Dunn said “UK livestock farmers are holding at least one-third of the below-ground store of carbon, providing a massive service to wider society. “It is simply a lie to say the public is subsidising livestock farmers to damage the environment. “In fact, livestock farmers are delivering great food to high standards at reasonable prices and a whole suite of environmental, animal welfare and wider societal benefits. “Switching our retail and food service purchases of meat from imported to domestic sources is what we should be doing if we want to raise our carbon and environmental efficiency.” National Farmers Union vicepresident Stuart Roberts said “A country with some of the most sustainable systems in the world and with a world-leading aspiration for net zero, alongside some of the highest animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards, is somewhere we should be looking to produce a greater proportion of food, not less.” – UK Farmers Guardian

World

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Livestock debate still needed THERE should be a more nuanced, well-rounded debate about livestock and the food system, which balances the pros and cons, Edinburgh University agriculture and food security expert Professor Geoff Simm says. Every location, farm and even animal is different so there is no silver bullet to this complex issue and improving one thing could simply displace the impact elsewhere. Developing better information and metrics to help farmers and consumers weigh things up and make the right choices would be a big step forward, he said. “Meat definitely can be sustainable but we are on a trajectory, globally, where it is not. “There has been a five- or sixfold increase in production over the last five decades or so. “Most of that is poultry and pig meat and most of it is in Asia. “So it is a global issue and we are small players,” he said. However, most British food producers want to play their part in tackling the issue and welcome the fact consumers are trying to take responsibility for their own footprints too. There is good evidence moderate meat consumption benefits health and new, plantbased products that people want to eat are therefore positive though their environmental and health impacts should be looked at on a product-by-product basis because so much depends on how and where they are produced.

What is needed, though, is a much more nuanced debate about meat because livestock are not all bad but they are not all good either. While it stands to reason that to produce protein or energy from livestock takes more resources there are several things that often get missed, particularly in a debate that has been northernhemisphere focused, he said “For millennia many cultures have consumed livestock products and it is very deeply ingrained,” he said. “We also know livestock products are a vital source of some key nutrients including protein, energy, micronutrients and highly bio-available micronutrients including calcium, iron and vitamin B12. “At a global level that is critical and has a major impact on the wellbeing of pregnant and lactating women and physical and cognitive development of young children. “In many parts of the world livestock also consume resources that are not directly usable by humans or use land that cannot grow human food directly.” That said, people are interested in other land uses too and conversations about rewilding and planting trees are legitimate. “I think we need a balanced scorecard because we are trying to optimise so many different things,” he said. “This should take account not just of methane production, which is often singled out, but of

DOES IT FIT? Professor Geoff Simm asks whether animal protein can be part of a sustainable food system. nutrition, livelihoods, farmers, the rural economy, cultures and environmental impacts including biodiversity, which well-managed grazing systems can enhance. “But we are lacking a lot of tools that help farmers and consumers make the right decisions. “We know a lot of the broad principles but what gets really complicated is when you are trying to manage the trade-offs. “Say you are on a grass-based system – does increasing growth rates through concentrates help or hinder your footprint? It would probably reduce methane emissions on-farm but it will have an impact off-farm because you are bringing in concentrates that have been grown elsewhere.

Industry outraged over banned meat comments INDUSTRY leaders have reacted angrily to comments from the new Trade and Agriculture Commission chairman, who called for an end to the “alarmism” around chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef on his first day in post. In an opinion piece published under his name in The Telegraph, Tim Smith, a former chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and ex-Tesco group technical director, said the panic over both products, which are currently banned in the UK, had done “neither the industry nor the public any favours”. His comments, shared by the Department for International Trade on social media, prompted a backlash from Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council.

“People are rightly concerned about maintaining our food standards and want to know our Government is listening,” Griffiths said. “These comments show either a lack of understanding of the subject or a degree of contempt for people who are genuinely worried, neither of which is a good look for a commission, supposedly intended to be on the side of British food producers.” After five years at the helm of the FSA, Smith moved to Tesco in 2012, which was hit one year later by the horsemeat scandal. He previously worked for Northern Foods, Arla and Sara Lee. Kath Dalmeny, chief executive of Sustain, said: “The Government is trying to fob us off with a temporary, toothless commission, stacked with industry representatives and no consumer champions.

“To have the chair of this commission dismiss our serious concerns about dirty production systems which need chlorine washing as ‘alarmism’ adds insult to injury. “Mr Smith says the Government has been clear on maintaining high standards of food safety and animal welfare, yet it refuses to protect these in law from cheap imports.” Trade expert David Henig, UK director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, described Mr Smith’s comments as “disappointing” on social media. In a tweet, Henig said: “When seeking a consensus on a difficult topic it is generally not a good idea to start by telling large numbers they are being alarmist.” – UK Farmers Guardian

“And it gets particularly tricky with soya and other resources that have a biodiversity impact elsewhere in the world.” Developing reasonably robust metrics that help farmers and consumers make the right choices in real-time when faced with choices would be hugely helpful, he said. There is though, no onesize-fits-all sustainable farming system. “Often the advantages of one system have downsides too,” Simm said. “But whatever system is most applicable to your set of circumstances you can do things to reduce environmental impacts through best practice.” Scientists are in discussion

about how important methane actually is to climate change but, regardless, it is good to limit emissions by reducing waste through improved fertility, livestock health, fertiliser use and manure management. Dietary additives and breeding for reduced methane, are also being researched. Policy should also properly reward sustainable practices and disincentivise ones that are not. The environmental and health impacts of production should also be costed in but, alongside policies that tackle the United Kingdom’s high rates of inequality and poverty to ensure food poverty is not exacerbated. – UK Farmers Guardian

Scots at odds with UK plan SCOTTISH and United Kingdom ministers have locked horns in a battle over the future protection of food standards. According to Michael Russell, Scotland’s Constitutional Affairs Secretary, the UK Government is intending to bring forward new legislation which would force the devolved nations to accept lower food standards if England chooses to accept them as part of any future trade deals. Russell set out his concerns in a terse letter to Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove, in which he accused the UK Government of pursuing its plans while Scottish Ministers were preoccupied with covid-19. Russell’s letter read: “The introduction of a mutual recognition regime of the type we understand you wish to bring forward would mean a reduction in standards in one part of the UK would have the effect of pushing down standards elsewhere in the UK, in contradiction of the preferred approaches of stakeholders and decisions

taken by devolved parliaments. “Mutual recognition could be applied to a range of devolved policy choices such as food standards. “This proposal is not only unacceptable: it also ignores the reality of devolution. Your approach would work against the interests of producers and consumers, and ignore the need to reflect natural variations in our geographies, sectors and communities which is a cornerstone of devolution.” National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland said it was engaging with both the Scottish and UK Governments. The new law is designed to protect the UK internal market, and would create an external body to stop devolved administrations from passing legislation which distorts domestic trade. It would also include provisions for a new mutual recognition regime which could require regulatory standards in one part of the UK to be automatically accepted in others. – UK Farmers Guardian

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; July 27, 2020

RURAL 266 Broadway, 4710 Marton marton@pb.co.nz Office 06 327 0070

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Depot, house and land

A real change in real estate.

MORTGAGEE

WEB ID MTU77022 OHINGAITI 40 Onslow Street View By Appointment TENDER closes Thursday 6th August, 2020 at 2.00pm This large and established contractors depot and complex is in two titles totaling some 2.01 hectares, with 1 hectare used for grazing. Key features of the depot are the large graveled yard and a large multi-bay John Hewitt truck workshop. There are staff rooms and a bathroom. Mobile 020 408 60204 Office 06 388 0200 Complementing this are further support buildings, john.hewitt@pb.co.nz including a recently established tipping bin for bulk products. Completing the package is a very sound and Richard White well-presented three bedroom house, with garaging and Mobile 027 442 6171 outbuildings. This is a complete package being sold by Office 06 327 0070 Mortgagee Tender. richardw@pb.co.nz

TENDER

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

Proud to be together

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RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

NEW LISTING

MARLBOROUGH 3459 State Highway 63 'The Springs' 'The Springs' at 1069ha (2462 acres) is one of Marlboroughs last traditional sheep and beef farms of scale. Running 4500 stock units (5-year average) renowned as a well-balanced property with mainly north-facing hills rising to 650m complemented by approx 98ha of productive flats. A permanent material five-bedroom contemporary homestead and a full range of farm infrastructure complete a desirable farming package. Forestry is on three boundaries and viticulture is on adjacent properties which opens up future possibilities of forestry, carbon farming and viticulture development.

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 3.00pm, Friday 4 September

VIEW 1.00-3.00pm,

Wednesday 5 August

Joe Blakiston M 027 434 4069 E jblakiston@pggwrightson.co.nz Greg Lyons M 027 579 1233 E greg.lyons@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/BLE32074 PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

Helping grow the country

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 27, 2020

79.2399 ha approx. 3 1 5 By Tender Closes Friday 28 August 2020 Including crop. Plus plant at valuation. View By Appointment www.ljhooker.co.nz/ ljhooker.co.nz/G7BGEE G7BGEE

Far North Real Estate (2010) Ltd

Awanui 238 Sweetwater Road Avocados, The New Gold Showing excellent returns, one of the original Far North Avocado Orchards. • 79.2399 hectares (195.80 acres) • 67 hectares approx. of mature orchard area including the building

Gerard Ponsonby 027 454 4808 gponsonby.kaitaia@ljh.co.nz LJ Hooker Kaitaia 09 408 1241

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

• 74,000 trays last season • 100,000 plus trays estimated this season • Top manager in place • 3 bedroom home • Near new 4 bay shed with lunch room, toilets, shower, office

• Other older sheds • Full irrigation consent to take 800cm/day • 1315 mature Kentia Palm Trees A great opportunity to purchase a fully managed orchard showing excellent returns as a standalone investment. Our Vendor has developed the property over the last 25 years and now with age, it is time to sell. If you’re looking for lifestyle, this is a wonderful opportunity and you are very close to fishing on the East and West Coast. CV $12,335,000

Far North Real Estate (2010) Ltd Licensed REAA 2008. All information contained herein is gathered from sources we consider to be reliable. However, we cannot guarantee or give any warranty about the information provided. Interested parties must solely rely on their own enquiries.

Welcome to GlobalHQ’s new Real Estate Partnership Manager Clint Dunstan I come from a diverse professional background that has seen me work in everything from professional rugby to fundraising. This varied background has given me a wealth of experience in building effective, long-term commercial relationships. Some of my achievements include working as a contract Performance Analyst for the New Zealand rugby sevens teams and leading a $5.5 million fundraising campaign for Wildbase Recovery. I have a passion for the Real Estate sector, most recently working with one of New Zealand’s marquee commercial property developers. Born and bred in Manawatu, I am also passionate about rural and regional New Zealand.

Contact Clint today on 06 323 0760, 027 474 6004 or email clint.dunstan@globalhq.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/advertising

Agri Job Board

Noticeboard

ANDWEEDER C50

STOCK MANAGER HAUNUI Rob & Sharyn Kjestrup

(Developed by Andy Lysaght)

Haunui is an 800ha, 5000su property, located 40 minutes east of Dannevirke. The successful applicant will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the property, working mainly by themselves. The owners live 15 minutes away, running a separate 13,000su property in a sharefarming arrangement; both properties at times will work in together.

for farmers, growers & agriprofessionals

Expand your horizons. Grow your networks. Gain global experience.

Gareth Holder – Redloh Horticulture Timing is the key to cost-effective pumpkin weed control, and we found the C50 to be a key low-cost tool for achieving this result. We have now reached a point where the majority of plantings only require a very quick handweed, or no handweeding at all, with only two C50 passes. This is a considerable cost saving for us both in direct labour costs and the time to organise such activities. We On the way to the job. are seeing consistent savings of approximately $200$250/ha and consider the C50 an integral part of our weed control tools.

The ideal applicant will have: • At least 4-years experience (sheep and beef) • Competence in feed budgeting • Capable stockperson, with a good team of dogs • Excellent time management and organisation skills • NZ Residency A great (warm), 4-bedroom home and remuneration package will be offered to the right applicant. Primary school bus stop is 6km away, for Weber School, which along with the community is fantastic. Applications close: 3rd August 2020

Hamish Thomas — Cropping Manager, NH Packing and Farming Co Ltd We have been running the C50 in our Squash crops. The C50 has given us the ability to weed our crops at a critical stage which then in turn has limited the amount of manual hand weeding we have had to do. The support and knowledge Andy continues to provide has been much appreciated.

Please email your resume to: rskjestrup@inspire.net.nz or phone 06 374 3885 for more details

Apply now!

NH produce running a 3 row Andweeder C50 on side shift tool bar with vision technology guidance & the tractor running on GPS

NEED

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Five $40,000 scholarships available

STAFF?

www.ruralleaders.co.nz/nuffield

For more information see our video on YouTube – Andweeder® C50

Call Debbie 0800 85 25 80 classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

3 row Andweeder C50 with manual side shift

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

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

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EARMARKERS

Call Andy on 021 672 241 or email: andylysaght@xtra.co.nz

Under Woolshed/Covered Yards Cleaning Specialist www.underthewoolshed.kiwi

We are not committed to one buyer that is how we get our customers the most profit we can. Set up to do the smaller, trickier wood lots. No job too big or too small.

Free quotes Markets for all species Email: BTZforestry@gmail.com

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Phone Scott Newman Freephone 0800 2SCOTTY (0800 27 26 88) Mobile 027 26 26 27 2

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Scholarships

Read our reviews below to show how two successful NZ companies are ﬁnding the Andweeder® C50:

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2021

The Andweeder® C50 is redeﬁning large-scale weeding in a way that beneﬁt sectors of the agricultural industry, a mechanical non-chemical inter-plant weeder.

Our homes are built using the same materials & quality as an onsite build. Easily transported to almost anywhere in the North Island. Plans range from one bedroom to four bedroom First Home – Farm House Investment – Beach Bach

Call or email us for your free copy of our plans Email: info@ezylinehomes.co.nz Phone: 07 572 0230 Web: www.ezylinehomes.co.nz

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Noticeboard ANIMAL HANDLING

ATTENTION FARMERS

DOGS FOR SALE

FLY OR LICE problem? Electrodip – the magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides. Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness. Phone 07 573 8512 w w w. e l e c t r o d i p . c o m

DAGS .20c PER KG. Replacement woolpacks. PV Weber Wools. Kawakawa Road, Feilding. Phone 06 323 9550.

12-MONTH-HEADING dog, going well. Will make a good strong dog. Phone Don White 021 022 41610.

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

ATTENTION FARMERS FAST GRASS www.gibb-gro.co.nz GROWTH PROMOTANT Only $6.00 per hectare + GST delivered Brian Mace 0274 389 822 brianmace@xtra.co.nz MANUKA SITES REQUIRED. Fair and competitive payment options. Seeking sites for beehives near Manuka. Contact 021 560 665 or email: hardyhivezzz@ gmail.com

CALF TRAILER MATS SUREFOOT MAT 1.5m x 1m x 24mm $98ea + Frt & GST (6 or more freight free). Phone 0800 686 119.

CONTRACTORS GORSE AND THISTLE SPRAY. We also scrub cut. Four men with all gear in your area. Phone Dave 06 375 8032. BOOK AN AD. For $2.10 +gst per word you can book an ad in The NZ Farmers Weekly Classifieds. Ph Debbie on 0800 85 25 80.

DOGS FOR SALE WHATATUTU DOG SALE. Saturday 5th September at Otara Station, 319 Whatatutu Road. Te Karaka, Gisborne. Sale starts 12 noon. Dosing clearance required. Enquiries to Allen Irwin. Phone 06 862 3618. Email: toromirostation@gmail. com

BREEDING. TRAINING. Selling. Buying, Delivering. www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos – email: mikehughesworkingdogs@ farmside.co.nz

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

FORESTRY WANTED

NATIVE FOREST FOR MILLING also Macrocarpa and Red Gum, New Zealand wide. We can arrange permits and plans. Also after milled timber to purchase. NEW ZEALAND NATIVE TIMBER SUPPLIERS (WGTN) LIMITED 04 293 2097 Richard.

GRAZING WANTED FOR R3 STEERS, R2 Steers. Any number / location NI wide considered. 027 480 8897.

GOATS WANTED

FERAL GOATS WANTED. All head counted, payment on pick-up, pick-up within 24 hours. Prices based on works schedule. Experienced musterers available. Phone Bill and Vicky Le Feuvre 07 893 8916. GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds. Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten. Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis. NAKI GOATS. Trucking goats to the works every week throughout the NI. Phone Michael and Clarice. 027 643 0403.

HORTICULTURE NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp. The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz BOOK AN AD. For only $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in The NZ Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie on 0800 85 25 80 to book in.

LEASE LAND WANTED STORE AND/OR finishing type country – sheep and beef. Prefer Manawatu, Tararua, South Rangitikei, North Horowhenua - any size block considered depending on location. Present lease block is currently going into trees. Please phone Gerard 027 814 6764.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556. M O R R I S O N WILTSHIRES & Low Input Composite Sheep. NZ’s Original Wiltshire Flock. Ewes and rams available now. Contact Richard Morrison: 021 626 513 richard@ thegullies.nz - www. thegullies.nz

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

PERSONAL

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

Love Is A Blending Of Two! A country lady by heart, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She would like to find a gentleman with similar interests. She enjoys bush walks, cooking, gardening, swimming, camping and a good conversation.

0800 446 332 quote code 53

www.countrycompanionship.co.nz

STOCK FEED BALEAGE $110+gst. Unit loads available. Phone 021 455 787.

FO SALR E

SELLING

SOMETHING?

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

BULL SALE RESULTS CORRECTIONS

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South Island Richard Harley 021 765 430 Greg Collins 027 481 9772

Contact: Matt Sanson 027 556 9928

SALE TALK A customer was bothering the waiter in a restaurant.

FRANKTON COMBINED SALE Hewitt_BB_2300x750@20%.indd 1

1/11/19 11:44 AM

Tuesday 28th July

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard UPCOMING AUCTIONS Tuesday, 28 July 2020 7.00 pm – Altrive Red Deer Hinds Sales Thursday, 30 July 2020 7.00 pm – National Livestock, per kg 7.30 pm – National Livestock, per head Monday, 10 August 2020 7.00 pm - Foveran Deer Hind & Weaner Sale Tuesday, 11 August 2020 7.00 pm – Brock Deer 5th Elite Mixed Age Hind and Weaner Sale For more information go to bidr.co.nz or contact the team on 0800 TO BIDR

Comprising 700 cattle:

Forward Contracts for 250kg Friesian Bulls 1st May Delivery

10.30am Pigs 11.30am Sheep 200 Prime Lambs 500 Store Lambs 150 Cull Ewes Armyn Sanders 0274 430 905 11.45am Boners/Bulls 50 Boners 12.00pm Feeder Calves 700 Calves Neil Lyons 0272 235 784 12.15pm Store Cattle 500 1yr & 2yr Steers, Heifers, Bulls Visit agonline.co.nz for more details. Vaughn Larsen 027 801 4599 or Tony Blackwood 027 243 1858 Freephone 0800 10 22 76 | www.pggwrightson.co.nz Helping grow the country

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nick.dromgool@geneticdevelopment.co.nz

Thursday 6th August 2020 12.00pm Kauroa Saleyards, TeMata Rd, Raglan

Forward Contracts for 100kg Friesian Bulls & Beef Cross Calves

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North Island Luke McBride 027 304 0533 Harry Van De Ven 027 486 9866 Wayne Doran 027 493 8957

KAUROA (RAGLAN) SPRING CATTLE FAIR

For Sale: Yearling Friesian Store Bulls

Please Contact

Contact Nick Dromgool 027 857 7305

“We don’t even have an air conditioner.”

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Simmentals equal top price was Gold Creek Simmentals with 23 bulls offered, 21 sold. Average $7285 and the top price was $18,000 to Opawa Downs.

0800 85 25 80

100kg Friesian Bulls & Beef Cross Calves 300-450kg Steers

Spring 19 Born - $1600.00 Autumn 19 Born PTIC - $1750.00

Nationwide F12 + with Friesian sire 100kg plus J12 + with Jersey sire 80kg plus Deposit paid on commitment.

“Oh, I really don’t care or mind,” said the waiter with a smile.

GRAZING Required R2YR STEERS HB AREA

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381

Wanted to Buy: Long term Heifer grazing – Canterbury

September Delivery Friesian Heifers

Weaner Heifer calves

So finally, a second customer asked him why he didn’t throw out the pest.

STORE LAMBS – Males & Ewes 35-40kg 1YR FRSN BULLS 220-250kg R2YR BULLS 350-400kg Due Aug/Sept MA SIC COWS

SOUTH ISLAND LIVESTOCK

EXPORT WANTED

Recorded Heifer calves North Island – Auckland South 7-10 day old Friesian calves F12+ with recorded Friesian sire.

Surprisingly, the waiter was very patient, he walked back and forth and never once got angry.

“Proudly Based in Hawke’s Bay”

Silverstreams top priced Charolais sold for $35,000 to Auahi Charolais with Australian semen rights to Palgrove Charolais.

Heifer Calves Wanted

First, he asked that the air conditioning be turned up because he was too hot, then he asked it be turned down cause he was too cold, and so on for about half an hour.

STOCK REQUIRED

R2YR & R3YR ANGUS STEERS 500kg+

To meet please call

Livestock Noticeboard

Livestock

LK0103223©

60 2yr Charolais-Here/Frsn X & Here/Frsn Ang X Steers 400 1yr Purebred Angus Steers (Angus Pure) 120 1yr Purebred Angus Heifers (Angus Pure) 55 1yr Charolais X Heifers 30 1yr Here-Frsn X Steers 15 1yr Here-Frsn X Heifers 15 1yr Speckle Park Steers 15 1yr Speckle Park Heifers Special Entries: A/C WJ Cleave & KD Taitoko 60 TOP 2yr Charolais-Here/Frsn X & Angus-Here/Frsn X Steers A/C CP Jowsey 60 TOP 1yr Purebred Angus Steers (Angus Pure Tags) A/C Waiteika Station (K Abbott) 100 TOP 1yr Angus/Angus X Steers (Angus Pure Tags) 40 TOP 1yr Angus/Angus X Heifers (Angus Pure Tags) A/C Glenmoerangi Station (Tom Jowsey) 20 TOP 1yr Angus Steers (Angus Pure Tags) A/C K&P Shea 110 TOP 1yr Angus Steers (Angus Pure Tags) 70 TOP 1yr Angus Heifers (Angus Pure Tags) The above lines are annual drafts which include Purebred Angus cattle Sept/Oct born, sired by top Angus bulls from Twin Oaks, Springdale, Waitangi, Kaharau, Rangitira & Matauri Angus Studs & all entries can be highly recommended for their shifting ability. PGG Wrightson: Chris Leuthart 027 493 6594 Vaughn Larsen 027 801 4599 NZ Farmers: Brent Bougen 027 210 4698 Helping grow the country

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Suz Bremner

Mel Croad

Nicola Dennis

Cattle

Reece Brick

Graham Johnson

Caitlin Pemberton

Sheep

BEEF

William Hickson

Deer

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.45

5.80

NI lamb (17kg)

7.20

8.10

NI Stag (60kg)

6.10

8.85

NI Bull (300kg)

5.45

5.50

NI mutton (20kg)

4.95

5.50

SI Stag (60kg)

6.10

8.85

NI Cow (200kg)

4.15

4.40

SI lamb (17kg)

6.95

7.80

SI Steer (300kg)

4.85

5.65

SI mutton (20kg)

4.55

5.45

SI Bull (300kg)

4.70

5.20

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

3.65

3.50

4.25

UK CKT lamb leg

9.30

9.31

9.75

US imported 95CL bull

8.04

8.07

7.88

US domestic 90CL cow

7.98

8.04

7.38

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

5.50

5.0

$/kg CW

South Island steer slaughter price

6.50

8.0 7.0

5.0

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

5.00

WOOL

4.50

(NZ$/kg) Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

2018-19

Dairy

Aug 2019-20

Jun

Last week

Prior week

Last year

1.95

1.88

2.96

Nearby contract

Last price*

380

Jul-19

vs 4 weeks ago

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

Mar-20

May-20

Jul-20

410

0.00

405

SMP

0.00

400

AMF

0.00

Milk Price

0.00

$/tonne

WMP

Butter

395 390 385 380

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Jul-19

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

Mar-20

May-20

Jul-20

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL 400

3200

350 $/tonne

3400

3000 2800

750

783

Company

YTD High

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

35.35

37.33

21.1

The a2 Milk Company Limited

21.15

21.36

13.8

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

4.73

5.8

3.61

Auckland International Airport Limited

6.31

9.21

4.26 3.445

Spark New Zealand Limited

4.865

4.965

13.64

17.18

6.61

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

4.68

5.62

3.595 4.9

7.9

8.14

Mainfreight Limited

42.75

43.99

Contact Energy Limited

5.84

7.74

4.54

Listed Agri Shares

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

21.15

21.36

13.8

Comvita Limited

3.03

4.97

1.66

Delegat Group Limited

12.95

13.33

6.39

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.88

4.06

3.41

Foley Wines Limited

1.78

1.91

1.35

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

0.77

0.82

0.68

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.18

0.21

0.176 1.29

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.89

2.3

PGG Wrightson Limited

2.88

3.01

1.55

Sanford Limited (NS)

6.33

8.2

5.55

Scales Corporation Limited

5.15

5.35

3.3

Seeka Limited

3.98

4.74

3.4

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

7.18

9.1

4.36

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

2.65

2.93

2.35

16881

16959

12699

S&P/NZX 50 Index

11693

12073

8499

S&P/NZX 10 Index

12343

12477

9100

300 250

Jul

Aug Sep Latest price

Oct

Nov 4 weeks ago

Dec

200

Jul-19

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

Mar-20

May-20

Jul-20

YTD Low

Ryman Healthcare Limited Port of Tauranga Limited

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

750

Top 10 by Market Cap

400

Jun-20

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T)

313

DAP

$/tonne Apr-20 Sept. 2021

616

294

390 Feb-20

572

294

1.90

410

Oct-19 Dec-19 Sept. 2020

572

7.00

Aug 2019-20

Urea

30 micron lamb

420

Jun

Last year

7.50

Apr 2018-19

Prior week

1.85

6.00

Feb

Last week

1.95

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

6.50

NZ average (NZ$/t)

37 micron ewe

430

Aug-19

Dec

Fertiliser

Aug 2019-20

Super

8.00

2600

Apr 2018-19

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES

5.50

Oct

FERTILISER

Coarse xbred ind. Oct

5-yr ave

US$/t

Feb

Last year

South Island stag slaughter price

12.0 11.0 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0

5-yr ave

5.50

4.00

Last week Prior week

North Island stag slaughter price

12.0 11.0 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0

6.0

6.00 $/kg CW

South Island lamb slaughter price

9.0

4.00

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

7.0 6.0

4.50

$/kg MS

8.0

6.00

5.00

Last year

North Island lamb slaughter price

9.0 $/kg CW

North Island steer slaughter price 6.50

Last week Prior week

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Ingrid Usherwood

16881

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

11693

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

12343

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

Pulse

WEATHER Soil Moisture

High pressure kicks off this week. A powerful high will lie over New Zealand today then slide further east tomorrow. On Wednesday and Thursday it will be centred over the Chatham Islands but stretches back and still covers the North and South Islands but will bring a sub-tropical northerly flow into many regions and rain clouds later on the West Coast. On Friday and Saturday the forecast is a little more unclear with high pressure still mostly dominating but some showers in the mix with NZ stuck between two highs but not perfectly under them. Either way, it still looks fairly settled. The first week of August looks to be dominated by more high pressure and some coastal showers.

Rocky road for lamb

23/07/2020

Mel Croad mel.croad@globalhq.co.nz

T Source: NIWA Data

Highlights

Wind

Light, variable winds for many regions but an east to northeast flow should form in northern NZ and northerly quarter winds in many other regions mid to late week. On Sunday a brief southerly chance will affect some. Lighter winds early next week too.

Highlights/ Extremes

Temperature Fairly normal temperatures will shift to warmer than normal for many places as a northerly flow forms this week. No major cold changes are coming though on Sunday and Monday there might be a brief cooler change in the south and east of each island.

14-day outlook

It is drier than average for most. Some milder weather is coming. For some places it might already feel like hints of spring are in the air.

7-day rainfall forecast

July ends with high pressure and August starts with high pressure – that’s probably the best way to sum up the 14-day weather pattern. Put simply, this week kicks off with a high that then drifts east, allowing the anticyclonic airflow around the centre to pull down sub-tropical northerlies and some West Coast rain. As this week’s high departs another might move in next week. Between the two NZ might get a showery southerly in some places around Sunday.

100

200

400

Not much in the way of rain over the coming week or two with a lot of high pressure in the area. The West Coast might get some subtropical fuelled rain or showers and should be wetter. The rest of NZ looks drier than normal for this time of year. Driest weather will be in eastern areas. A Tasman Sea rainmaker looks unlikely to reach NZ.

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

HE recent upside in farmgate lamb prices has slowed. Most of it came from procurement pressure so it was destined to have only a limited

lifespan. A quick scan of the Australian lamb market shows processors are making weekly price cuts, reflecting the weakness in global markets. While AgriHQ’s latest Livestock Outlook report points to price increases for lamb going into spring this upside is lower than many have farmed to in recent times. That is on the back of an uncertain export scene, particularly for our higher-value cuts. Since the spread of covid-19 global demand for lamb has unravelled to an extent and is clearly not tracking like previous years. Key export markets and therefore farmgate prices both face uphill challenges unlikely to go away any time soon. Overseas markets are stuttering at best and have yet to show any concentrated recovery. Limiting the volume of lamb shipped to China last month, down 20% month-onmonth, seems to have developed some more activity and therefore upside in prices. However, that still leaves lamb flaps more than US$1/kg behind this time last year. While exporters say export markets are okay they are making that comparison with where they were a month or two ago, rather than what it was like a year ago. There is a long road ahead before we see any buoyancy return to lamb markets and, unfortunately, a second wave of covid-19

through key countries will only delay the recovery. There is some expectation the winter slowdown in processing and, therefore, lower export sales might be well-timed to generate some demand closer to spring. In a normal trading environment that might be just the ticket but we must look wider than that. The global realisation that health concerns connected to covid-19 will continue to affect the global economy means consumers might have to adapt to a new norm, which could determine or influence their protein choices. We are already seeing consumers in our more traditional markets opting to trade down to cheaper proteins. That is more pronounced in markets where lamb consumption was already under pressure. If anything is positive in the trading environment it’s that opportunities still exist. The key challenge is to understand recent changes to lamb demand might not be temporary. Now, more than ever, we need to sell our story, not just our product. If we get that right then a $9/kg lamb price shouldn’t be just a memory. We have already seen the impact of social distancing on the food service and restaurant trade in many markets. Fortunately, for New Zealand lamb, there is some balance with options at both food service and retail. It is still possible to export lamb to overseas markets but the volumes and values of many cuts are considerably lower than in recent years. A further drop in lamb production because of lower NZ and Australian supplies might not give the market the boost it needs but further embed lamb as a niche product.

NZ average lamb export value (NZD) 12.5 11.5 NZ$/kg

Overview

10.5 9.5 8.5 7.5

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb 2018-19

Apr

Jun 2019-20

My Daily Digest The news you need to see in a daily newsletter from the biggest rural newsroom in the country.

Aug Source: GTIS

SALE YARD WRAP

Ewe lamb prices closing gap Store ewe lambs are outnumbering male lambs at most yards around the country as male lamb supply starts to dwindle and more farmers sort out replacement ewe lambs. The reduction in male numbers has also come with a decline in quality, which has seen focus for some finishers shift to the ewe lambs on offer. That increase in interest, as well as better quality in the ewe lamb pens, has meant the gap between male and ewe lamb prices has closed, and at some yards ewe lambs sold at similar to higher levels than the males. NORTHLAND Wellsford store cattle sale • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 482-558kg, improved to $2.69-$2.74/ kg • R2 Angus and Angus-Hereford heifers, 414-420kg, were wellreceived at $2.69-$2.72/kg • R1 Angus-Friesian heifers, 166kg, strengthened to $500 • R1 Limousin-cross bulls, 190-222kg, sold to strong interest and finished at $585-$670 A moderate 441 cattle were penned at WELLSFORD last Monday, with a handful of R3 steers back on the books and five Hereford-Friesian steers, 717kg, sold well at $2.80/kg, whilst four Hereford-dairy heifers, 557kg, managed $2.71/ kg. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 345kg, returned $2.87/kg, and heifers of the same breeding and 385-459kg improved to $2.65-$2.68/kg. R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 166kg, strengthened to $660-$670. A quality pen of Hereford-dairy, 161kg, pushed to $600, while the balance, 147-165kg, traded at $435-$480. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 146-168kg, had a good following and fetched $535-$570, while Hereford-dairy, 164-198kg, returned $450-$510. Read more in your LivestockEye. Kaikohe cattle • R1 Angus and Charolais-cross steers earned $2.80/kg, with Angus-Friesian, $3.20/kg • Quality R1 Hereford-Friesian heifers around 250kg sold at $2.70$2.80/kg • R1 Simmental bulls made $3.00-$3.10/kg • Boner cows fetched $1.80/kg, with beef cows $2.03/kg Due to flooding there was a small yarding of around 250 head at KAIKOHE last Wednesday, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. Any decent cattle held, although many lines were of poor quality and sold accordingly. R2 steers were mostly crossbred and Jersey-cross, which fetched $1.80/kg to $1.85/kg, while quality beef-cross heifers were steady at $2.50/kg. Yearling Friesian bulls with horns made $2.65-$2.70/kg, while lesser quality lines sold around the $2.00/kg mark.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe cattle • Small R1 crossbred heifers earned $2.77/kg to $3.35/kg • Prime steers and heifers were softened slightly to $2.60-$2.69/kg Boner cows fetched $1.89/kg to $2.14/kg The store market firmed at PUKEKOHE last Saturday, with tight supply of good quality cattle and strong demand. R2 heifers made $2.55/kg, and better autumn-born weaner steers strengthened to $610-$700.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Good Charolais-Angus steers, 363kg, sold strongly at $3.16/kg • Friesian bulls, 280kg, made $750 • Prime beef cows returned $1.75/kg to $2.25/kg • Top prime ewes fetched $232 TUAKAU drew a small yarding with less than 300 store cattle last week, PGG Wrightson agent Chris Elliott reported. Good steers, 380-550kg, made $2.70/kg to $2.90/kg, with 280-350kg at $2.70/kg to $3.05/kg. Hereford weaners, 200230kg, sold well at $680-$760, and 130kg Hereford-Friesian fetched $580. Autumn-born Friesian bulls managed $475. Good Hereford-Friesian heifers, 380-467kg, earned $2.782.81/kg, and 220-250kg, $2.50/kg to $2.80/kg. Prime steers, 640kg and above traded at $2.90-$2.99/kg on Wednesday, while medium returned $2.75-$2.88/kg, and light, $2.60$2.70/kg. Heavy heifers managed $2.80-$2.94/kg, and medium

$2.70-$2.79/kg. Well-conditioned Friesian cows fetched $1.95/kg to $2.25/kg, with medium boners, $1.75-$1.89/kg, and light, $1.50/kg to $1.69/kg. Heavy prime lambs fetched $145-$189 and mediums $120-$140. Good stores lambs returned $100-$120. Medium-good ewes realised $150$200.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep sale • R2 Angus steers, 362kg, strengthened to $3.04/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 469kg, held at $2.90/kg • R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 153kg, strengthened to $600 • Autumn-born weaner Friesian bulls, 106kg, pushed to $490 • Boner run-with-bull Ayrshire cows, 342-387kg, were wellreceived at $1.99-$2.04/kg Just over 300 cattle were penned at RANGIURU last Tuesday. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 267-388kg, improved to $2.81-$2.90/kg. The best of the heifers was five HerefordFriesian, 395kg, which held at $2.66/kg. R1 HerefordFriesian steers, 166kg, eased to $560 while Friesian, 264kg, earned $660. All heifers, 228-252kg, were picked up for $560-$600. Four Hereford bulls, 202kg, realised $590 while Friesian, 148kg, fetched $440. Autumn-born weaner beef-dairy steers, 102-115kg, returned $400-$405. AngusJersey bulls, 80-103kg, traded at $340-$460. A very limited prime section included three Angus-Friesian cows, 601kg, which softened to $2.25/kg. Prime lambs returned $111$185, while stores traded at $45-$98. Read more in your LivestockEye.

WAIKATO Frankton cattle sales 21.07 • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 317-337kg, earned $2.85-$2.91/kg • R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 218-245kg, lifted to $750-$800 • R1 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 162-200kg, held at $520-$580 • In-calf boner Friesian cows, 462-546kg, fetched $2.12-$2.13/kg Thunderstorms and extreme wet could not dampen demand at FRANKTON last Tuesday for PGG Wrightson. R2 red Hereford-Friesian steers, 357-367kg, returned $2.78$2.80/kg and Hereford-Friesian heifers, 304-415kg, held at $2.76-$2.78/kg. R1 beef-dairy steers, 181-235kg, fetched $605-$750. Friesian bulls, 166-187kg, eased to $380-$420. Autumnborn Hereford-Friesian weaner heifers, 109kg, improved to $450. Prime steers, 546-679kg, all firmed to $2.87-$2.92/ kg, and thirteen Friesian bulls, 508kg, returned $2.63/ kg. Prime lambs held with tops at $168-$185, and light to medium $130-$159. Top store lambs lifted to $128.50-$155, with light to medium steady at $59-$101. Top prime ewes pushed to $221, and the balance $74-$151. Read more in your LivestockEye. Waikato/Hauraki feeder calf sales Feeder calf sales are now a regular feature on the calendar at yards in dairy dominant areas, and combined at Paeroa, Tirau, Frankton and Te Awamutu 2300 calves were sold throughout the week. Sales earlier in the week were strong, though adverse weather and the increase in volume meant the market eased as the week progressed. Each sale had a solid local buying bench active, though dependent on which yard there was also competition from Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, South Auckland and Te Kuiti. Combined over the sales good Friesian bull calves made $155-$195, medium $90-$145, and small $45-$110. Hereford-Friesian bulls sold up to $240-$320, with medium $200-$235, and small $80-$190. Good Angus-cross made $145-$195, and medium $100-$130. Hereford-Friesian heifers started at $160-$260, with medium $100-$155 and small, $40-$90. Te Awamutu also had a good offering of Angus-cross

heifers, with good types at $145-$170, medium $120-$130, and small $50-$70. Read more in your LivestockEye. Frankton cattle sales 22.07 • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 344-438kg, lifted to $2.65-$2.75/kg • Seven R2 Charolais-cross heifers, 495kg, run with a Gelbvieh bull, realised $1265 • R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 138kg, sold well at $530 • R1 Friesian bulls, 280-315kg, lifted to $780-$805 • Nine prime South Devon steers, 562kg, lifted to $2.87/kg A reasonable number of buyers braved the inclement weather at FRANKTON last Wednesday for the New Zealand Farmers Livestock sale. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 355-443kg, strengthened to $2.85-$2.86/kg, while AngusFriesian heifers, 369-427kg, managed $2.60/kg. Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 474-486kg, were consistent at $2.64-$2.65/kg and Hereford-dairy, 453kg, held at $2.69/kg. Boner Friesian cows, 610-676kg, returned $2.05-$2.13/kg, though lighter 507kg improved to $2.09/kg. Friesian-cross, 383-388kg, sold to limited demand at $1.72-$1.73/kg. All incalf boners, 436-566kg, improved to $2.20-$2.32/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero sheep • Male store lambs made $133.50 • Ram store lambs earned $132-$133 • Top prime lambs strengthened to $133-$158, with medium $109$126 and light $61 • Top prime ewes lifted to $131-$142 with medium $106-$118 There were around 470 store lambs at MATAWHERO last Friday. Heavy ewe lambs fetched $122-$123.50 with lighter types at $50-$80, while mixed sex sold in two ranges of $122.50 and $88. Romney scanned-in-lamb ewes in good condition made $142, while lighter Romdale were cheaper at $50-$92. Read more in your LivestockEye.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle • Recorded dairy cows fetched $900-$1400 • R3 crossbred bulls, 628kg, made $2.95/kg • R2 Speckle Park-Friesian heifers, in calf to Speckle Park bull, sold for $2.66/kg • Boner cows were firm at $1.87-$1.91/kg Quality was mixed at TARANAKI last Wednesday, with buyers showing a clear preference for well-marked animals. The better R2 steers sold on a mostly steady market, with quality types at $2.65-$2.66/kg, while the top end of R2 heifers achieved $2.38-$2.48/kg regardless of breed. Better R1 steers made $2.71/kg to $2.83/kg, with lesser types at $2.50-$2.58/kg. R1 Hereford heifers, 137-160kg, fetched $3.50-$3.58/kg, and same breed bulls, 157-178kg, earned $4.46/kg to $4.61/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford Lodge prime cattle and sheep • Very heavy mixed age ewes held at $154-$161 • Good to very-good ewes also held at $114-$123 • Good to heavy male lambs fetched $120.50-$140 • Heavy mixed-sex lambs were mostly steady at $125.50-$151 A drizzly morning did not deter sheep buyers at STORTFORD LODGE last Monday. Heavy mixed age ewes held at $130-$146, as did medium and medium-good at $103-$111. Top two-tooths sold well at $132.50-$158, with good ewes steady at $111-$118, though third cuts eased to $93. A handful of very-heavy ram lambs took top honours at $176, with similar weighted mixed-sex at $169. Top-end ewe lambs held at $151, and heavy types

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020

feeder calf section Friesian bulls made $60-$185. HerefordFriesian bulls earned $180-$310, while same breed heifers fetched $50-$210, with Belgian Blue-cross heifers, $285.

improved to $135. Just four cattle were presented and a single very-good Angus heifer, 625kg, took the top prize at $2.81/kg. Two store Angus heifers, 395kg, were good shopping at $2.00/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep • Angus cows, 558kg and run-with-bull, fetched $2.35/kg • Boner Friesian heifers, 432-558kg, were consistent at $2.02-$2.09/ kg • Four pens of very heavy prime lambs achieved $200 • Most mixed-sex lambs firmed to $144-$187 • A small entry of ewe lambs returned $153-$186 Lamb volume grew to nearly 5000 head at FEILDING last Monday, though strong demand meant firm prices for both lambs and ewes. Most male lambs returned $145-$192. Ewe volume decreased and 2-tooth ewes mostly made $142-$149, while just one line of mixed age fell below $100. Top price was $181, with most at $126-$173. Cattle volume tallied 84 head and run-with-bull traditional cows featured. Most run-with-bull and empty made $2.12-$2.21/kg, while prime dairy-beef heifers fetched $2.45-$2.50/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye. Feilding store sale • Traditional R2 and R3 steers, 405-485kg, most lifted to $3.15$3.35/kg • Traditional R2 heifers, 330-395kg, sold for $2.75-$2.85/kg • Medium ewes with lambs-at-foot were $119 all counted • Male lamb average jumped to $140.50 • Ewe lamb average also jumped to $129.50 Just under a thousand store cattle found good interest through all sections. A good-sized line of traditional VIC cows, 535kg, went for $1280 or $2.40/kg to open the sale. Big pens of traditional steers, 405-450kg, were $3.20-$3.35/ kg, with most lighter cuts of all breeds $2.90-$3.10/kg. R2 Friesian bulls, 435-480kg, held at $2.85-$3.00/kg. All breeds of 330-365kg R2 heifers were $2.70-$2.75/kg. R1 beefFriesian steers, 185-220kg, made $3.15-$3.30/kg, $620-$695. Large lines of tidy 150-180kg Hereford-Friesian heifers were $3.25-$3.45/kg, $510-$585. R1 Friesian bulls, 210-290kg, sold for $2.90-$3.05/kg. A yarding of 9500 lambs saw a surge in interest, lifting the market around $15. Good male lambs were $145-$160, with $130-$140 covering the medium cuts and $105-$120 being paid on the rest. This strength flowed easily into the ewe lambs. Two top ewe lamb pens were $151-$158.50, but otherwise good lines made $135-$145, mediums $120-$130, and $100-$110 covered the bulk of the lighter pens. It was slower selling on the 2500 ewes, though quality was lesser. Medium and better ewes scanning above 165% were mainly $170-$195, but this eased to $135-$150 as percentages, line sizes or condition worked against the pens. One line of heavy run-with-ram Romneys did very well at $236 though. Read more in your LivestockEye. Rongotea cattle • Four-year Hereford bulls, 905kg, made $1.49/kg • R2 Murray Grey heifers, 485kg, fetched $2.54/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers with calves at foot fetched $1000 all-counted • In-calf Friesian cows earned $950-$1350 Heavy rain kept the better-quality cattle at home at RONGOTEA last Wednesday, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. R2 HerefordFriesian steers, 375kg, softened to $2.40/kg, with Friesian, 385kg, at $1.92/kg. In the R1 pens, Friesian and Jersey bulls, 207-345kg, sold at $2.76/kg to $2.87/kg, while HerefordFriesian heifers, 277-363kg, managed $1.63-$1.68/kg. In the

Manfeild Park feeder calf sales • A total of 220 feeder calves sold over two days • Belgian Blue-cross bulls sold for $290-$360 and heifers, $320 • Good Speckle Park-cross heifers and bulls earned $230-$260 • Good Friesian bulls eased from $160-$210 last Monday to $120$150 • Top Hereford-Friesian bulls reached $320 MANFEILD PARK kicked off the feeder calf season with two sales held last Monday and Thursday. The Monday market was solid, though as expected prices eased for Friesian bulls at the Thursday sale. Medium and good Hereford-Friesian bulls made $200-$295, and other beefcross $150-$250. Medium Speckle-Park bulls sold for $150, and small to medium Friesian bulls, $30-$100. Good Hereford-Friesian heifers made $180-$240, and top beefcross sold for $180-$255 dependent on breed. Small and medium calves traded at $100-$220, with Speckle Parkcross at a clear premium. Read more in your LivestockEye.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park cattle and sheep sale • R2 traditional heifers were able to achieve $2.21/kg • Better R1 steers at 235-325kg earned $2.22/kg to $2.43/kg • Heavy prime ewes achieved $208-$260 with medium $111-$158 and light $106-$124 A limited offering of store cattle met soft demand at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday. R2 traditional steers, 350kg, sold well at $2.73/kg, though red Hereford-Friesian, 417kg, fetched $2.30/kg. The usual buyers were present for the prime cattle and high yielding steers firmed to $2.66-$2.76/kg, while the majority held at $2.55-$2.65/kg. Prime heifers at more desirable weights were able to make $2.62-$2.67/kg while heavy Angus cows, 660-685kg, realized $2.09-$2.11/kg. A large gallery of buyers was present for just under 1500 store lambs, which sold on a firm market where heavy types made $110-$128, medium $90-$100 and light $50-$80. Prime lamb quality firmed with the top end at $160-$186, medium $135-$155 and bottom end at $120$130. Read more in your LivestockEye. Coalgate cattle and sheep sale • R2 Red Devon-cross steers, 459kg, fetched $2.42/kg • R2 Angus and Angus-Hereford heifers, 319-325kg, made $2.15$2.16/kg • R1 Speckle Park-cross steers, 230kg, made $590 • Heavy prime lambs earned $160-$193, and medium $124-$153 • Heavy ewes earned $140-$169 A big yarding of store lambs greeted sale goers at COALGATE last Thursday with over 2000 head present. The top pens of males and ewes earned $121-$130, with $100$120 typical of most others. The prime cattle line-up was also large, with the bulk of the steers high-yielding types above 500kg that earned $2.56-$2.66/kg, with second cuts $2.46-$2.52/kg. Heifers outnumbered steers 2:1 and made a touch more, with nearly all of them dairy-beef types, 471-622kg, that earned $2.58/kg-$2.69/kg. Friesian cows sold in two cuts with 550-653kg at $1.90-$1.99/kg, while 489-502kg earned $1.84-$1.93/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka prime and boner cattle; all sheep • Top end boner cows made $1.71-$1.80/kg • Four prime Murray Grey-cross heifers, 611kg, fetched $2.64/kg • Heavy Coopdale ewe hoggets sold very well at $170

• Halfbred mixed-sex and male lambs earned $100-$120 • Heavy mixed age rams were bought for $100-$113 Boner cows made up a large portion of the cattle tally at TEMUKA last Monday. These sold on a firm market where the average Friesian price lifted to $1.72/kg. Prime steers continued to strengthen with most at $2.54-$2.63/ kg. Lambs from the Chatham Islands, Central Otago and Maniototo made up the bulk of the store lambs and males typically earned $111-$132. Top mixed-sex traded at $121-$130, medium $111-$120 and light $91-$97. Prime lambs firmed with the top end at $176-$201 and medium $100-$167. Heavy prime mixed age ewes sold at $191-$201, medium $120-$186 and light $119 and below. Read more in your LivestockEye. Temuka store cattle • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 331-428kg, were priced from $2.16/ kg to $2.33/kg • R2 Angus heifers, 334-359kg, made $2.35-$2.42/kg • R2 Wagyu-cross steers, 341kg, fetched $2.62/kg • R1 Hereford steers, 207-297kg, earned $740-$830 Just shy of 650 cattle were penned at TEMUKA last Thursday. Heifers provided most of the older lines with heavier steers mostly Hereford-Friesian and Angus-Friesian that sold for $2.48-$2.58/kg. Lighter beef-cross steers were mostly $2.19/kg to $2.38/kg, and Friesian-cross, 470kg, $2.17/kg. Buyers had a good selection of R1 cattle to pick through. Most were Angus-Hereford steers, 144-246kg, that earned $400-$740. Beef-cross heifers, 152-226kg, made $380-$535, while Murray Grey, 234-298kg, traded for $555-$720. Nearly 60 breeding cattle participated, which included vetted-in-calf and run-with-bull lines. These were selectively bought with the main highlight run-with-bull Angus-cross cows, 444kg, $1.82/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

OTAGO Balclutha sheep • Heavy store lambs held at $140-$170 • Top store lambs softened to $100-$110 • Heavy prime ewes softened to $120-$160 There was a good quality yarding of prime lambs at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday, though the market eased a little for light to medium types at $110-$130. Demand for prime ewes dropped slightly with medium down to $100, and light $60. A handful of unscanned breeding ewes were penned and two-tooths made $182, while older ewes fetched $130. Medium store lambs softened to $70-$90, and small $60.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville cattle and sheep sale • Better prime heifers, 440kg, fetched $2.10/kg, with light types at $1.60-$1.65/kg • Boner cows sold at $1.65-$1.75/kg • Good store Hereford-cross steers, 526kg, achieved $2.47/kg • Heavy prime ewes eased to $137-$151, with medium $101-$135, and light $70-$90 Prime cattle sold on a sound market at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday, with steers, 450-550kg, at $2.30/kg to $2.50/kg. A medium yarding of store cattle included Murray Greycross steers, 348-370kg, at $2.29-$2.37/kg, and same breed heifers, 341-371kg, $2.17-$2.22/kg. R1 Murray Grey-cross bulls, 228-266kg, earned $2.36/kg, and 209-259kg heifers made $1.93/kg to $2.20/kg. Prime lambs softened with heavy types at $139-$149, medium $122-$136, and light $105-$117. Better two-tooths earned $111. Top end store lambs fetched $95-$105, with light to medium types at $70-$90.

Where livestock market insights begin LivestockEye • • • •

LivestockEye reports provide full sale results and informed commentary and is emailed directly after the sale. The most comprehensive and independent sale report you can get your hands on. Only AgriHQ sample-weighs store lambs to give you $/kg LW benchmark pricing. Choose from 10 sale yards across the country or check out our other popular reports.

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Markets

40 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020 NI LAMB

SI COW

NI STEER

($/KG)

3.65

7.20

5.45

BONER FRIESIAN COWS, 570KG AVERAGE, AT TEMUKA

high $190-$200 lights Very heavy prime

($/KG LW)

1.72

male and mixed-sex lambs at Feilding

Waiting for a wave Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz

AIRY traders around the Pacific are watching the economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic to see how second wave shutdowns might affect supply and demand and commodity prices. For example, Singapore plunged into recession during the April-June quarter as it recorded an annualised 41.2% fall in gross domestic product from the first quarter. Numidia dairy commodities trader Joris Goebbels said that was the worst GDP number ever recorded in Singapore, which was like a canary for other economies because of its almost total reliance on trade and tourism. He was speaking during the latest twice-monthly NZX Dairy Derivatives webinar on the prospects for dairy commodities. Interfood derivatives unit leader Nick Vanderkolk, also based in Singapore but currently in Auckland, said traders are trying to pick up economic signals for dairy supply and demand and investment decisions by processors and customers. An example he used was increased home consumption of dairy fat products in New Zealand and Australia but not so much in southeast Asia. Pacific Dairy Ingredients managing director Nigel Van Den Bosch, of Melbourne, normally based in Shanghai, said China’s demand for whole milk powder is a big factor in a field of unknowns. It was a surprise to dairy traders that NZ whole milk powder prices shot up 13% at the July 7 Global Dairy Trade to achieve a range between US$3200 and $3500/tonne. “Chinese distributors were short because of some delays in shipping and

GOING DOWN: Dairy traders think China’s demand for whole milk powder will wane as the season progresses.

Chinese distributors were short because of some delays in shipping. Nigel Van Den Bosch Pacific Dairy Ingredient the Fonterra offering of WMP was not large,” he said. The three webinar participants think China’s demand for WMP will wane as the NZ peak milk season progresses. Vanderkolk does not expect strong forward contracting while all commodity indices are dropping and as GDT volumes ramp up. He forecasts more hand-to-mouth buying among WMP customers and said recent higher prices partly reflect a safety-stocks approach by large users guarding against supply chain problems.

Van Den Bosch suggests the economic effects of the pandemic and slowdown in trade should create more demand for price hedging products like futures and options. Goebbels is watching the United States for economic impacts, the trading results of the quick-service restaurants and the movement of some products to cheaper versions for in-home cooking. “Cheese prices in the US are high and being supported by the government but what happens when a second wave of shutdowns hits restaurants and stadiums,” he asked. Traders said that unlike dairy farmers they don’t fear price volatility because their businesses are based on analysing the markets and providing options for their clients.

$121-$127 Top male lambs at Coalgate

ACROSS THE RAILS SUZ BREMNER

Feeder calf season kicks off DESPITE adverse weather Waikato dairy farmers are into the full swing of calving. That has resulted in a lift in volume at the feeder calf sales, which tend to trickle on most weeks throughout the year, but really change up a gear now. The feeder calf sales let farmers sell calves to a keen market, with the animals taken on by rearers. Most calves are sold at four to 10-days of age. PGG Wrightson agent Neil Lyons is the man in the know when it comes to anything feeder calf sale related in Waikato, being heavily involved in the sales, organising, auctioneering or a mix of both at Paeroa, Tirau, Frankton and Te Awamutu. Between those yards, farms from north King Country to Thames Valley are serviced and last year 40,000 calves went through the sale system – all sold under cover and most on sawdust. Lyons reports this past week 2300 passed through the four yards but volume will continue to increase in the next few weeks. “Cows are calving like there is no tomorrow and the calves are getting better as the weather improves. At the moment we are seeing mainly Friesian bulls coming in with a scattering of whiteheads through the pens but those numbers will pick up.” Lyons says the feeder calf market took off with a hiss and a roar, which is typical. But as supply increases orders are easily filled and recent weather has resulted in a few buyers holding off till it improves, which has meant prices have eased lately. “When you auctioneer so many sales you know who’s who on the buying bench and what they will be targeting. There has been a bit of a settling of prices this week due to the volume and weather. Crossbred calves, Kiwicross in particular, are the hardest to sell as they have a very limited market as older cattle.” Feeder calf reports can be found in the AgriHQ Sale Yard Wrap. suz.bremner@globalhq.co.nz

Find out more about AgriHQ at agrihq.co.nz

nzx.com/markets/nzx-dairy-derivatives/ webinars-2020

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SPARTA The trusted insecticide that’s safer for the applicator and the environment, with little impact on natural enemies of key pests in forage brassicas. - Novel mode of action with no record of resistance - Exceptional control of key pests - Safe for the end user, the environment, and most beneficial insects - Photo stability and translaminar activity confer good residual activity. Controls: Diamondback Moth Caterpillar, White Butterfly Caterpillar, Leaf Miner, Looper Caterpillar, Springtails, Nysius (suppression).

TRANSFORM Stop aphids in their tracks while protecting the good guys with this IPM-friendly insecticide. - Superior aphid control - Fast knockdown and cessation of feeding, limiting crop damage and spread of viruses - Systemic movement to protect new, untreated growth - Extended residual control (up to 21 days) - IPM friendly – safe to key beneficial insects - New mode of action for resistance management - Excellent environmental and toxicological profile.

Corteva’s entire forage brassica range can be applied by ground or aerial applicators. Other key products in our brassica protection portfolio include Versatill PowerFloTM and RadiateTM herbicides, LorsbanTM insecticides and UptakeTM crop oil.

Versatill™Powerflo™ HERBICIDE

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Use rate 200ml/ha 1.2L/ha 560ml/ha 280-400ml/ha

Use rate 100ml/ha

150ml/ha

Use rate 20ml/ha 150 ml/ha

At onset of insect damage Milk - 28 days, Meat - 14 days Once dry

No 1L & 5L

At onset of insect damage

Milk - 7 days, Meat - 14 days

6 hours

1L, 5L & 20L

5L & 20L

Once dry

7 days

At onset of insect damage

5L & 20L

1 hour

14 days

Seedling weeds up to 8 leaf

5 + 120

5L & 10L

1 hour

7 days

Seedling weeds 1-8 leaf

Uptake™ Spraying oil

60 + 276g

Radiate™

1L & 5L

1-2 hours

Nil

Seedling weeds 2-8 leaf

Uptake™ Spraying oil

150 + 225

Picloram + Clopyralid

1L/Ha

Rate/ha

Other legumes & vegetables - 6 months

Clover - 3 months

Black Nightshade Fathen Fumitory Hairy Nightshade Shepherds Purse Cali Thistles Other thistles (supp)

Weeds:

Fodder beet - 6 months

Maize, cereal, ryegrass, forage brassica - Nil

Plant back interval

Yes! Very important!

You’ll find our full suite of brassica protection products at all good rural outlets. For more information visit corteva.co.nz

Non-ionic surfactant

Timing of application Grazing WHP Rainfast Application type Certified handler Packaging

Non-ionic surfactant

Spray oil required

500

240 NIS recommended

120

Aminopyralid + Clopyralid

Milestone™ Arylex™ Active + Clopyralid

Chlorpyrifos

Transform™ Isoclast™ Active

1L/ha

Ragwort

Sparta™

750 ml 1L/ha Spurrey

Amaranthus, 750 ml/ha Narrow Leaf Plantain

500-750 ml/ha

Rate/ha

Spinetoram

Korvetto™

Weeds: Black Nightshade Willow Weed Fathen Fumitory, Clovers Hairy Nightshade Wireweed, Thistles, Water Pepper

Other legumes & vegetables - 18 months

Clover - 6 - 12 months

Herbicides Lorsban™ 50EC

350ml/ha

Always apply with

Rate/ha

Fathen Black Nightshade Thorn Apple Amaranthus (supp)

Fodder beet - 18 months

Other legumes & vegetables - 12 months

Fodder beet - 12 months

Weeds:

Maize, cereal, ryegrass, forage brassica - Nil

Clover - 6 months

Plant back interval

Maize, cereal, ryegrass, forage brassica - Nil

Plant back interval

Not concerned

Insecticides

Caterpillars and Aphids?

Insects controlled Aphids

Insects controlled Springtails Nysius (suppression) Diamond Back Moth White Butterfly Looper Caterpillars Leaf Miner

Yes

Is re-cropping flexibility important?

IPM Friendly?

NIS recommended

Active ingredients g ae/L

THE BRASSICA PROTECTION SPECIALISTS ——

Insects controlled Springtails Nysius Cutworm Aphids

Weeds?

Insects?

Choosing the right products for ultimate brassica protection

keeTear p m me e o out n y an ou d rw a

Farmers Weekly NZ July 27 2020

Articles inside

Pulpit

World

Editorial

New Thinking

Newsmaker