Review rips into plantain as N buster
Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Arable
ASCIENTIFIC review paper has torpedoed research underpinning a multimillion-dollar plantain project hoping to see the plant deployed as a nitrate busting solution for dairy farmers.
The New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research has just published a scientific review of 15 years of plantain research in NZ. The report’s authors include Dr Tony Connor of Lincoln Genetics, a former manager of AgResearch’s forage science division.
The review’s findings indicate aspects of plantain’s ability to absorb nitrates and to mitigate losses are suspect, and say there may be better alternative species worthy of further research work.
The review comes as the sevenyear Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFFF) plantain potency project passes the halfway mark, having spent $12.6 million of its $22m funding.
The project was launched in 2021 to help improve waterway quality and nitrate losses.
It comprises $9m of funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries and $10.47m in cash from DairyNZ, Fonterra and PGG Wrightson Seeds. The remaining $2.8 million is provided in kind.
Plantain has been promised to farmers as one of the most viable tools to help deliver improvements
to nitrate levels, thanks in part to its claimed diluting effects on cow urine N levels, and its ability to reduce nitrate runoff through the soil profile.
DairyNZ’s own modelling has estimated it could reduce N losses by 15,000 tonnes a year, and provide savings of $1 billion between 2031 and 2040.
Three other areas the research is focusing on include plantain’s ability to partition more N into dung than urine, to directly prevent N leaching through soil, and to indirectly mitigate N breakdown in soils, thanks to particular metabolites in the grass.
Connor said other forages have not been adequately studied for their potential value as N-mitigation tools.
“Clearly plantain increases urination, we suspect that’s because it has a relatively high water content. But there are other forage with a higher water content that might perform as equally well as plantain.”
These include chicory and tetraploid ryes.
While helping lower N levels, plantain has also proven difficult for farmers to establish in their pasture swards and is consistently lower in yield than diploid ryegrasses.
In an extensive written response to Farmers Weekly, DairyNZ scientists defend the move to focus on plantain in the project.
Continued page 3
SECTORFOCUS
Premium apples saved by new dam
The first release of water from the Waimea Community Dam came in the nick of time for Vailima Orchards, says business manager Matthew Hoddy, as the company builds on its reputation for quality apples.
HORTICULTURE 18-20
Almost half of farmland would be retired if fine sediment rules enforced.
NEWS 3
forests the way ahead
Short-rotation forestry is a critical component of the bioenergy solution for New Zealand, says Scion’s Alan Jones.
OPINION 13
Farmgate red meat returns could take as much as a year to bounce back.
NEWS 4
NZ must find the courage to be pragmatic, not political, says John Foley.
OPINION 15
Photo: Tim Cuff
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News in brief
Nominations open
Board of directors nominations at DairyNZ are open.
Nominations are called for two farmerelected DairyNZ board of director positions and one Directors’ Remuneration Committee member position. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel said farmer-elected directors with previous governance or leadership experience bring diverse experience and insights to the board table.
Solar farm
Trinasolar in collaboration with Lodestone Energy has completed the construction of Rangitaiki Solar Farm in Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty.
The farm has a capacity of 32 MW and generates enough electricity to power 7500 homes. It also uses agrivoltaics for a dual use of land for solar energy production and agriculture. Construction started in March 2023.
Pork winners
New Zealand’s top bacon and ham producers have been announced, with two butcheries taking out the top spot for their outstanding bacon and ham products. Supreme Winner in the bacon category was Cameron Harrison Butchery in Upper Hutt with its honey cured streaky bacon. The Supreme Award in the ham category went to Sam’s Butchery in Silverdale, Auckland for its mini Champagne ham.
Pumpkin pricing
Pumpkins have seen a significant price drop, down 57% in June compared to the same time last year, according to Stats NZ. Foodstuffs North Island’s head of meat and produce, Brigit Corson, said it is great to see pumpkins back at great prices.
“Cyclone Gabrielle wiped out a lot of the crop in 2023 and they were in short supply leading to higher-than-normal prices,” she said. In NZ, pumpkins are grown as an annual crop, planted in spring and harvested in autumn.
BLNZ seeks ‘fundamental rethink’ on water rules
EVEN if agriculture was removed and catchments returned to their natural state, 38% of the country’s rivers would still not meet national sediment standards, an independent review of freshwater quality standards has found.
The review by independent consultants Torlesse Environmental for Beef + Lamb New Zealand also found an estimated 44% of all sheep and beef farmland would need to be retired, along with other extensive mitigations, if the national bottom lines (NBL) for fine sediment were enforced.
And “even if these measures were taken, around 50% of the catchments currently below the NBLs would remain below them”, the report says.
The report notes that published literature indicates around 20% of waterways coming out of catchments in their natural state, for example National Parks, do not currently meet suspended fine sediment NBLs.
BLNZ chair Kate Acland is calling for urgent changes to the sediment and E coli attribute
Continued from page 1
They state the focus was because the weight of past evidence showed plantain had the greatest potential across all four mechanisms of N reduction, not only dilution.
“A key objective of the programme is to understand, confirm and quantify these mechanisms and their combined effect at paddock scale,” the response says.
“Once confirmed, this knowledge can be applied for modelling the effect of other high water content species such as chicory and paving the way for new research.”
They acknowledge challenges in maintaining plantain in established pasture.
“However, our network of partner farmers across NZ are demonstrating how they can make plantain work in their pasture systems.”
The review authors point to a lack of evidence plantain could partition more N into dung than urine.
DairyNZ maintains key research was omitted in the review, and says N levels in urine were lower for pastures with 30% and 45% plantain content.
The review has also challenged
bands and NBLs, saying they are “flawed, they are not achievable, and trying to achieve them will decimate farming and rural communities”.
The government has extended the period for regional councils to implement the National Policy Statement-Fresh Water Management (NPS-FM) and has said it will amend it, but Acland said the measures are still place and many councils are continuing with their planning processes based on the current NBLs.
We need to act before regional freshwater plans become operative on the basis of these flawed NBLs.
The farming body is recommending the suspended fine sediment attribute and 95th percentile E coli limit – when water quality is not compromised by E coli for 95% of the time – are removed as interim measures.
Acland said there is urgency to replace the NPS-FM with a more appropriate national framework for managing suspended fine sediment and E coli.
Sheep and beef farming can have
the long-held benchmark of dairy cow urine equating to 1000kg N a hectare, a factor driving the need to reduce cow urine concentration through plantain planting.
The authors say figures coming from United States data, and work by Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, instead places it much lower, at 240kgN/ ha.
DairyNZ dismisses this as a red herring.
and trying to achieve them will decimate farming and
an impact on freshwater quality and it needs to be managed, Acland said.
“However, the way this is currently being done has some significant issues and will have massive implications for our sector, so it’s vital we get it right.”
The review found that fine sediment NBLs were based on the impacts to a small number of indigenous fish species and brown trout, which are highly susceptible to sediment.
It noted the link between sediment and fish used to establish the NBLs is based on recent modelled sediment data rather than measured data and paired with fish abundance surveys beginning in the 1970s.
The review concluded that relationship has significant uncertainty.
It says Rowarth’s work was sourced as a non-peer reviewed popular press article, with a narrow study range.
DairyNZ does, however, place the equivalent urine figure lower, at 600kgN/ha.
Issues around the use of lysimeter trials misreading or overstating N losses in plantain versus rye grass trails are also highlighted in the review.
review has challenged plantain’s ability to reduce nitrate levels, and suggests alternative species may be better placed for farmers to deploy.
The NBLs were also found to not adequately account for natural variability, as evidenced by the number of rivers with catchments in their natural state that would not meet them.
The inclusion of the 95th percentile statistics does not allow regional councils to exclude data collected during heavy rainfall and floods.
The report noted that most mitigations are less effective during high flow from heavy rainfall events, so it can be difficult to meet the requirement to improve from one E coli attribute state band to the next.
Equally, the minimum required improvement for E coli applies all year round, including winter months, during storm events and to all waterways, including those not suitable for swimming
DairyNZ has acknowledged the inconsistency of experimental results for testing soils under plantain pasture.
“This is a key focus for our programme, such that the effect can be understood, confirmed and quantified for a range of soils and climates.”
It also points to 26% lowered N levels after four years on the Massey trial farm on plantain pastures versus all rye, and at Lincoln where losses were 17% lower.
While the Lincoln data has not been published yet, the Massey data has, in Grass and Forage Science magazine.
DairyNZ says Rowarth’s DairyNZ directorship and apparent conflict reflects the nature of competition in a small country.
It notes she is also a director of Ravensdown, part owner of Cropmark, a competing seed company to PGGW Seeds, which is a project funder. One of the other report authors is Matt Deighton, Cropmark technical manager.
Cropmark also produces Oracle, a plantain variety.
With the mid-point of the project now here, DairyNZ says it is continually reviewing its project-based funding.
or other contact recreation.
BLNZ estimates meeting current NBLs for water quality would cost the NZ economy $3.9 billion a year in lower exports plus the impact of closed business such as processing plants, farm servicing businesses and rural communities facilities.
The cost of planting and additional fencing to meet these standards is estimated at $1.4bn.
“These are eye-watering and hugely concerning numbers for our sector, and for New Zealand,” Acland said.
“This review supports the urgent need for a fundamental rethink of the management framework for suspended fine sediment and E coli.
“We need to act before regional freshwater plans become operative on the basis of these flawed NBLs.”
“We remain committed to the work we have done on plantain and finishing the programme.”
Andrew Miller, Fonterra’s GM for farm excellence, said there was no silver bullet to reducing N leaching, and that was why Fonterra has several research partnerships underway.
We remain committed to the work we have done on plantain and finishing the programme.
Spokesperson DairyNZ
“We continue to support research that seeks to further understand the benefits of plantain at a farm scale, its impact on different New Zealand soils and its effects on dairy products and animal health.”
An MPI spokesperson confirmed the agency is aware of the review report.
They said all SFF Futures investments are subject to ongoing monitoring, and a scheduled independent mid-term review of the programme is underway now.
“This will help evaluate how the programme is progressing.”
Neal Wallace NEWS Water
FLAWED: BLNZ chair Kate Acland is calling for urgent changes to the sediment and E coli attribute bands and NBLs, saying they are ‘flawed, they are not achievable,
rural communities’.
Kate Acland Beef + Lamb NZ
QUESTIONED: The scientific
Red meat giants muscle in on NZ markets
Bryan Gibson MARKETS Production
FARMGATE returns for red meat could take a year to bounce back from the current levels, Meat Industry Association chair Nathan Guy says.
Speaking on the Farmers Weekly In Focus podcast, Guy pointed to increased supply from the likes of Brazil and Australia, and China’s economic slowdown, as the main challenges.
“There’s a lot of those big producing beef countries that are in there on steroids, particularly Brazil. Their growth over the last couple of years has been phenomenal.”
Post-covid, Chinese consumers have become more willing to trust the quality and safety of domestically produced food and New Zealand’s unique trade status with that massive market has now gone.
LIKE MINDS:
NZ special agricultural trade
envoy Hamish Marr, special representative for Australian agriculture Su McCluskey and Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive Patrick Hutchison say the two countries can work together to improve value for food producers.
“In the past we had first mover advantage in China and over time, we’ve lost that. There’s now 42 countries in that market that have similar access to New Zealand. So we’ve probably lost some of the narrative.”
There’s now 42 countries in that market that have similar access to New Zealand. So we’ve probably lost some of the narrative.
Nathan Guy Meat Industry Association
Guy said that messaging will be crucial in gaining value for farmers and processors.
“We produce a lean product. It’s higher nutrition. It’s very healthy.
China believes that grain-fed is superior, of higher quality and also a higher price point, and we need to move our product as much as
Meat Industry Association
possible out of that commodity hot pot market and into the fine dining, white tablecloth restaurants.”
The Meat Industry Association
Aus urges trade collaboration with NZ to push ag stories
Bryan Gibson MARKETS Exports
AS TWO unsubsidised food exporters, New Zealand and Australia have the opportunity to work together to push their agricultural stories to the big powers of the world, the special representative for Australian agriculture Su McCluskey says.
McCluskey was part of a discussion at the Red Meat Sector Conference in Wellington with her counterpart Hamish Marr, NZ’s special agricultural trade envoy.
“I’m here in New Zealand saying, ‘How do we collaborate?’ I was in Canada saying, ‘How do we collaborate?’ We’re a big country, but we’re also a small nation in terms of what impact we have in export markets, but we can collaborate with other like minds to actually help to get that message across, and then domestically it is sharing what I’m hearing,” McCluskey said.
“I always make it clear that I’m not there to tell businesses what to do. They will make their
own decisions, but, like New Zealand, we’re not subsidised, so profitability and productivity is absolutely key for us.
“So I think about what’s the value proposition for our farmers, why it’s important that we actually are engaged in the debate around sustainability and what it needs to be on farm, how knowing your baseline actually helps you to manage your farm and your business better, and looking through a risk lens, ‘What’s the cost of not doing this?’”
Marr said as relatively minor players in the global food trade, New Zealand and Australia need to find out how they can add value to the massive domestic food producers in the likes of the United States and the European Union.
“We’re not big players in the world and we haven’t got the ability to actually upset markets domestically. We haven’t got the horsepower and production to actually upset markets.
“So my message always is, ‘What can we do as a trading nation to support your market so that
we can add value to your own domestic market?’”
Marr said a recent trip to the US highlighted this, with big cattle farmers there telling him how much they liked the fact that NZ beef is adding value to their own businesses at the moment.
I’m here in New Zealand saying, ‘How do we collaborate?’
Su
McCluskey
Special
representative for Australian agriculture
McCluskey warned that Australasia mustn’t go down the same regulatory road as the European Union, where environmental lobbies have captured decision-makers and left farmers unable to influence policy.
“For example, in the Netherlands only a few weeks ago I was talking to Dutch farmers. They are as concerned as we are about deforestation because they can’t comply – it falls on deaf ears.
“So, we’ve got to work with like minds.”
driving that initiative hard and the marketing managers from the various companies will be pushing that along.
“And we’re out in the market at the moment looking for a coordinator to drive this thing.”
Back home, Guy acknowledged farmers are doing it tough with environmental standards to meet while dealing with lower returns.
He is looking forward to a review of emissions targets that the government is undertaking but warns that farmers aren’t off the hook.
“We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we’re going to need to continue to do more in the environmental space, because consumers and customers are going to keep asking.”
has recently taken on the management of Taste Pure Nature from Beef + Lamb NZ and Guy is looking forward to its next phase.
“We’re looking forward to
Guy applauded the government’s work to open up new export markets, particularly in India.
MORE:
Listen to Farmers Weekly In Focus wherever you find your podcasts.
‘New emissions tools just three years out’
Neal Wallace TECHNOLOGY Emissions
LIVESTOCK farmers could have access to several new tools to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions within three years, says the head of a group investing in such research.
Wayne McNee, the chief executive of AgriZeroNZ, told the Red Meat Sector Conference in Wellington that the privatepublic partnership has $191 million in funding jointly provided by companies and the government to invest in technology to help farmers reduce emissions by 30% by 2030.
It has an ultimate aim of finding solutions that will allow “near zero” emissions by 2040 – and doing so while still maintaining farm profitability and productivity.
He said New Zealand’s key and most influential global food customers require suppliers to reduce their emissions.
By 2025 Nestlé requires a 20% and Mars a 27% reduction in Scope 3 emissions, those which come from activities from assets not owned or controlled by them.
Other leading customers, such as Danone, McDonald’s, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all have 2030 emission reduction goals ahead of 2050 net zero targets.
AgriZeroNZ’s private funders are a2, Silver Fern farms, Fonterra, ANZCO, Synlait, Ravensdown, Rabobank, ANZ, ASB and BNZ.
So far it has invested $29.2m in 10 projects but has a further 77 potential opportunities.
It is making strategic investments in emissions reduction technology both locally and globally.
McNee said planting trees to offset emissions is not a sustainable alternative; tools are needed to reduce overall emissions.
McNee said most of AgriZeroNZ’s business is building global partnerships, assessing emerging trends, agitating for change and having input into NZ regulatory settings.
It also acts as a venture fund investor to accelerate opportunities, capability and unblocking constraints.
McNee said AgriZeroNZ is not investing in emission reducing genetics because other entities are.
Its other investments are in a NZ company, Ruminant Biotech, which is developing a slowrelease biodegradable methane inhibiting bolus.
It is also financially supporting NZ researchers working on methane vaccines and inhibitors and has invested in Hoofprint Biome, a United States company developing probiotics and natural enzymes that could potentially reduce methane emissions by 80%.
AgriZeroNZ has also invested in NZ company BioLumic, which is breeding high producing, low emissions grass species, and ArkeaBio, a US company developing a methane vaccine.
McNee said he is working with regulators to assist with the looming regulatory approval process but is also watching closely the impact of the coalition government’s crackdown on regulations.
ONGOING:
chair Nathan Guy says we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we’re going to need to continue to do more in the environmental space, because consumers and customers are going to keep asking.
‘Toughest real estate market in 30 years’
Annette Scott MARKETS
Real estate
PROVINCES continue to thrive despite notable headwinds but there’s no denying the current economic climate is affecting farm sales, rural real estate companies say.
PGG Wrighston general manager real estate Peter Newbold said the market “is the most challenging it has been in 30-odd years”.
“We are at the bottom of the trough. It is going to change for the better, but it is not going to boom,” Newbold said.
The latest data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) reveals a notable decrease in farm sales across the country.
Newbold said recent sentiment has centred on expectations of increased activity in 2025, but “when you look at some of the messaging that’s coming out from banks, politicians and the general state of the market, I think we’re
going to see a lot more activity into spring”.
Vendors are being more realistic and buyers are starting to look at properties, although inflation and interest rates continue to influence the market.
“They’re the two things that, as a nation, we should be focusing on.
“Once sentiment changes, the market will benefit from more confidence and create more opportunities.”
Newbold identified the Southland region as historically being an indicator of where the market will head. The region saw strong market activity heading into winter and also has a lot more activity in the pipeline for spring, he said.
“If I go back and look at what’s happened in history that will tell me things are on the move and that activity will spread up the country,” Newbold said.
Property Brokers general manager rural Conrad Wilkshire said the property market is reflecting the wider economic climate in NZ.
In that vein, Wilkshire said understanding the impact of economic cycles and regulatory frameworks on real estate supply and demand has proved more useful than traditional benchmarks of commodity prices and farmer-grower confidence.
“The rural real estate market is entering a new era this spring as interest rates and land use options continue to evolve.
“Historically we’ve quoted 10-year benchmarks and annual sale performance, but we have changed tack this season and are instead looking at market information quarter on quarter, aligned with the seasons to compare like-with-like selling periods.”
Interest rates and access to capital have had a significant effect on real estate markets over the past three years and as interest rates have gone up, demand for rural property has reduced dramatically.
But Wilkshire said, “interestingly the median price per hectare held up at $31,900/ha over spring 2023
but this winter 2024 we’ve seen that drop to $25,000/ha as ongoing reality of higher interest rates and the current commodity cycle moderate vendor expectations”.
“A highlight this season has been our success with marketing dairy properties, selling more than the prior year but there is no question that commodity prices and cost challenges have significantly impacted our sheep and beef producers’ growth aspirations this year and moderated demand.”
Wilkshire said a highlight of the past 12 months has been the marketing of rural properties of less than 100ha, where the weight of money to complete a purchase
CHAMPS: Neil Evans and his dog Tess, pictured after success at last year’s New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Championships at Warepa, near Balclutha.
ENCOURAGEMENT:
Conrad Wilkshire says sales of properties less than 100ha in size play a significant role in bringing much-needed liquidity into the rural property market, instilling a sense of encouragement and hope.
is much more within the reach of many.
“We are very proud to be helping the next generation get on the rural property ladder, and these sales play a significant role in bringing much-needed liquidity into the rural property market, instilling a sense of encouragement and hope.
“As we head into spring there are no silver bullets but it’s worth reflecting that this recent economic period has been challenging for everyone, and for real estate has been tougher than the Global Financial Crisis, but there is always a rebound.
“When you take stock, the worst is behind us,” Wilkshire said.
ATV accident claims top dog triallist
Annette Scott NEWS Community
THE New Zealand sheep dog trialling fraternity is reeling in shock following the sudden death of highly respected and successful dog triallist Neil Evans. Evans was killed in an ATV accident on his family farm at Omihi in North Canterbury on Monday.
In a tribute to Evans the NZ Sheep Dog Trialling Association (NZSDTA) said “it is with enormous sadness we advise of the passing of Neil as a result of a
tragic accident at home.
“Neil was a well-respected and extremely successful dog triallist and good friend of so many in our sport.
“The NZSDTA extends our sincerest condolences to families and friends.
“With respect the family has requested privacy as they navigate their way through this tragedy.”
The small rural Omihi community is devastated after emergency services were called to the ATV crash at the property late on Monday morning (July 22), but Evans could not be saved.
Evans captained the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trialling team that took out the prestigious Wayleggo Cup at the annual Trans-Tasman 2023 test series held at the Ashburton A&P show in October last year.
Evans leaves a long list of successes in dog trialling competitions from local to regional and national championships and most recently the international test series against Australia with his dog Tess.
He was a highly valued and competitive member of the Omihi dog trial club.
How to: feed your dog to help sustain their focus
We’ve all been there… It’s been a big morning of mustering in the hills, and you’re cold, wet and muddy Smoko is tantalisingly close. The sheep are almost right where you want them, and then…
Your dog’s brain appears to actually switch off Like a light They stop listening to commands, lie down in exactly the wrong spot, or decide to just start f reestyling. Sheep swirl away f rom the gate – a bleating mass of ovine confusion. Commands to your dog are met with a curious head tilt and an innocently raised ear Dreams of hot black tea (and perhaps even a biscuit), vanish mirage-like
When your dog experiences mental fatigue the f rustration is real! Though physical fatigue is often a contributing factor, there can be more to it The question is Can the right diet, help your dog focus for longer?
constant stream of information It listens to commands, makes decisions, and directs the body – often for hours on end. All of this uses lots of nutrients. So, what equals doggy brain food?
Glucose
Mammalian brains – including yours and your dog’s – use glucose as their major fuel source, so it’s no surprise that brain function is closely linked with glucose levels. Glucose that is consumed by your dog (in food) and not used immediately, is stored in their liver and muscles as glycogen. Then, when they’re working, glycogen is converted back to glucose to fuel their body – and their brain.
Which begs the question – what foods provide glucose?
CopRice Working Dog food contains a balance of all three. It is high in bioavailable protein (meat is the number one ingredient for a reason) and fat It also contains Australian-grown rice which provides the body with a natural source of glucose.
Antioxidants
Diets rich in antioxidant nutrients – such as Vitamins E and C, Zinc and Selenium – help support your dog’s immune system. This in turn helps support overall health and wellbeing. With these benefits in mind, CopRice Working Dog food also contains optimal levels of antioxidants.
Your working dog’s brain works as hard as their body So whilst they definitely need nutrition for physical stamina, they need it for mental stamina too Their brain processes a
Protein and fat help provide your dog with sustained energy for whole body stamina and the amino acids in protein provide some glucose Carbohydrates (like the starch in rice) also provide a source of glucose
Keep th em workin g at th eir peak for lon ger.
As the owner of handy dogs, you know only too well that your dogs’ breeding training and fitness all play a major role in how long they can keep their mind on the job But nutrition that stacks up is also key When it comes to feeding for hard work – which includes mental stamina – the CopRice Working Dog range has been carefully crafted to keep them working at their peak for longer
Exporters bucked up by venison demand
Annette Scott MARKETS Deer
STEADY early demand for venison in Europe and new opportunities in the United States market have exporters encouraged as venison bucks the New Zealand red meat trend.
While demand is steady, challenges continue. It is early days, but exporters report farmgate prices are expected to build on last year’s stability. Venison companies are focused on extracting maximum value from the US market, following the launch of the SFF Futures co-investment project, alongside their other marketing work in the European Union and Asian markets.
The North American project builds on work started in 2020 to pivot venison sales to US retail customers, following the severe
impact on foodservice during covid.
The US now accounts for about 39% of the returns from venison exports and returned about $59 million in export value in the year ending May 2024.
Exporters report a positive outlook for the 2024-2025 venison season.
“While the talk will always fall back to the shortages caused by lower deer numbers, it does provide the perfect environment to commit to, and establish, more niche markets,” Alliance Group sales manager Katrina Allen said.
“The aim is to continue to expand the range of products to the affluent consumers of the North American market.
“This market offers year-round sales and good growth potential, so the timing of this project is perfect for the rebuilding of the industry.”
Allen said elk sales to the North American market continue to gain
momentum with good signs that this niche market can grow into an important year-round revenue stream.
There’s been good early demand for chilled venison in Europe, where chilled venison volume and pricing discussions have also just started with customers for most exporters.
While it is still early for marketers to confidently come out with indications of the farmgate contract prices they will be offering deer farmers this year, good demand is being reported.
About 28% of export value today is derived from Europe.
While there are obvious concerns around the constricting supply, Allen said the focus for Alliance will be on supporting its inmarket partners who understand the importance of offering a safe, consistent product, specifically raised for this market, and who are able to extract maximum value so as to gain the very best returns back to farmers.
CONSISTENT: Alliance Group sales manager Katrina Allen says the company’s focus will be on supporting inmarket partners who understand the importance of offering a safe, consistent product.
OUTLOOK: Duncan NZ general manager marketing and operations Rob Kidd expects this season’s chilled EU prices will be at least as good as last year, if not a little better.
Duncan NZ reiterated the strong demand from European game season buyers.
“It appears Europe now understands there is likely to be less supply available,” Duncan NZ general manager marketing and operations Rob Kidd said.
Kidd expects from early discussions that the outlook for this season’s chilled EU prices will be “at least as good as last year, if not a little better”.
He is realistic that the law of supply and demand “will not work as simply as we might hope”.
“The price and availability of competing proteins, such as European wild venison, will all impact the price.”
EU retailers and the foodservice sector remain very price sensitive.
One of Duncan NZ’s large German retail customers has decided not to stock game meat, including venison, this season.
“They are actively seeking
North America offers year-round sales and good growth potential, so the timing of this project is perfect for the rebuilding of the industry.
Katrina Allen Alliance Group
cheaper non-game protein options and that shows alternative proteins, priced more attractively, are key to shelf-space at retail level.
“We will be investigating this further on an upcoming market visit and paying close attention to see if this is just one retailer’s approach or possibly a wider European trend.
“This tells us we are right as a company and industry to continue to build demand in the non-EU markets such as North America, Asia and China.”
Global growth is expected in petfood items with offal, bones and deer skins experiencing steady demand.
That’s a positive, Kidd said, given the turmoil surrounding other
meat species and “suggests these specialty deer items are achieving some good differentiation”.
A lack of 20-foot containers, due to global shipping supply chain disruption and the threat of strike action in both US and EU ports, is adding to the now lengthy list of challenges for meat exporters. Despite the challenges, venison has bucked the overall trend for red meat, with the Ministry for Primary Industries’ latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) projecting a rise in venison export value of 10% to around $200 million in the year to end June 30 2024.
Venison’s market diversification is expected to push deer industry growth further, with the SOPI forecasting venison export revenue to lift by a further 9% in 2024-2025, with demand potentially exceeding supply. National published farmgate prices have averaged $8.70 a kilogram, above the five-year average, in the year to June 30 2024.
Last year processors offered chilled venison niche market contracts at prices upwards from $10/kg, rising to $10.30-50/kg at the September peak.
Net profit falls for LIC in a challenging year
LIC has navigated a challenging 2023-2024 financial year with a modest profit and dividend for its shareholders.
The dairy improvement coop’s net profit after tax was $7.7 million, down 71.7% from $27.4m last year. Its total revenue fell 3.3% from $276.5m last year to $267.3m, down 3.3% and its underlying earnings fell 41.6% from $23.7m to $13.9m.
A dividend of $8.3m – 5.84 cents per share, representing 60% of underlying earnings – will be paid to shareholders. This is in addition to the $18.5m special dividend paid earlier this year of 13 cents per share.
Board chair Corrigan Sowman
said the financial year has produced some difficult conditions for the co-operative with a reduced milk price environment, a subsequent reduction in activity driving a lower bull valuation, ongoing cost inflation, tax changes, and a semen quality issue that resulted in over $2m worth of credits paid to farmers.
“Despite some very challenging conditions the board is pleased to present a positive result to
Our farmer shareholders are the heart of our co-operative and it has been a particularly difficult year for them.
Corrigan Sowman LIC
our farmer shareholders, for the seventh successive year.
“Our farmer shareholders are the heart of our co-operative and it has been a particularly difficult year for them with a lower milk price environment alongside continuing high input and debt servicing costs. The impacts of the lower milk price were felt across New Zealand, which is reflected in the 3.3% reduction in revenue.”
Sowman said they have identified cost savings to offset reduced revenue and this has allowed the co-operative to still post a profit and pay out a dividend to shareholders.
Tax legislation enacted in March this year removed the ability to depreciate commercial buildings for tax purposes from the 2024/25 income tax year.
The application of this tax
change created a one-off, noncash accounting adjustment of $4m to increase tax expense at year-end, with a corresponding increase in LIC’s deferred tax liability balance.
Research and development investment increased by 14.2% to $21.2m, representing 7.9% of revenue. Investments include a methane research trial focused on investigating the potential to breed low methane-emitting cows in the future, as well as a heat tolerance research programme that involves breeding high genetic merit dairy cows with improved heat tolerance.
The proportion of fresh semen straws used for breeding replacement daughters on farm increased to 79.4% and LIC achieved its target turnaround times for GeneMark, Johne’s
Disease, and milk pregnancy testing.
Johne’s Disease testing saw a 10% increase, with 1.18 million animals tested during 2023/24. LIC’s herd management system MINDA saw notable improvements during the period, integrating with milk processors such as Fonterra and Open Country as well as integrations with wearable providers and OSPRI. It is now used by 90% of dairy farmers in New Zealand.
Sowman said the coming year still presents a difficult economic environment with ongoing cost pressures on farm. LIC expects underlying earnings for 2024/25 to be in the range of $16-22m, assuming no significant events, including climate events, or milk price change take place between now and then.
Staff reporter NEWS Results
McIvor moves on after ‘quite a ride’
Annette Scott PEOPLE Sheep & beef
VALUABLE lessons have been learnt over the past eight years under Sam McIvor’s reign at the helm of Beef + Lamb New Zealand, all of which the departing leader believes have set the organisation up to determine its own destiny.
McIvor will embark on his new role as chief executive at OSPRI next month.
As he bid farewell in his final week with Beef + Lamb NZ (BLNZ) and the NZ Meat Board, he reflected on 17 years with the industry organisations.
“It has been a real privilege to serve farmers and it’s been an eventful time.
“Reflecting on recent years, we’ve seen significant developments both within our organisations and across our industry,” McIvor said.
“We have navigated global shifts like Brexit and secured significant free trade agreements through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership [CPTPP], and with the UK and the EU.”
China’s emergence as a key export market has been notable, bringing positives and challenges.
“We have contended with covid-19, Mycoplasma bovis, and the biggest policy reform in 30 years, dominated by the environment.
“We’ve seen the highest sheep and beef returns in 40 years followed rapidly by the lowest returns in 20 years.
“During my time I have had the privilege of helping to shape two BLNZ strategies –a red meat sector strategy, a sector environment strategy –and validating our low carbon footprint and biodiversity benefits.
“It’s been quite a ride!” BLNZ has undertaken a
significant uplift in research and innovation investment, genetics and extension efforts, and increased integration with the dairy industry.
“We have navigated through repeated reform across research and industry training, all while building greater collaboration across primary industry organisations.”
Highlights for McIvor include the Red Meat Profit Partnership, a key catalyst in fostering greater industry collaboration, the launch of Taste Pure Nature, the NZ Farm Assurance Programme and NZFAP+.
He has worked for BLNZ for 17 years in two stints since the late 1990s, initially spending nine years in extension and R&D.
McIvor said “it’s really hard to sum up that amount of time”, but the past eight years at the helm have been the most significant.
There has been a lot of change.
“The change will continue and how we as a sector anticipate, prepare and respond to it will be critical to success.”
McIvor said the industry should seek to determine its own destiny. Leading it is preferable to it being dictated by others.
“We’ve made tremendous progress with greater collaboration across the industry value chain, but it will need to get better.
“We need to take the next leap in productivity. I believe it’s possible.
“Farmer-led and -driven initiatives can give us this.”
Genetics has been absolutely transformational in the sheep industry and needs to continue at pace.
“Our beef and dairy beef genetics utilisation needs a step up.”
Nature positive – the interaction of climate change, biodiversity, soil and water – will dominate production and the market environment over the next 10 years.
McIvor believes the industry is well positioned in this regard.
“But we need to invest in better measurement and validation to provide assurance to customers and other stakeholders.”
Technology and data, including artificial intelligence, offer huge opportunities and the sector must embrace them.
Tenacity in trade will be critical.
Free trade agreements and removal of non-tariff barriers still offer real value.
“Keeping the government accountable and our active involvement and influence in international trade conversations
The change will continue and how we as a sector anticipate, prepare and respond to it will be critical to success.
Sam McIvor Beef + Lamb NZ
is key – being clear as a sector about how we want to position ourselves, how we want to feel about ourselves, how we want others to see us and then following that up with the right behaviours.
“We should be taking every opportunity to celebrate success and encourage each other to continue excelling in what we do and getting behind our emerging leaders.
“Our camaraderie and sharing as a sector set us apart internationally – so keep doing it.”
McIvor said the most enjoyable part of his job has been on farm, face to face in the regions witnessing farmers demonstrating world-class farming.
“It’s an industry I’m extremely proud of and I remain committed to its success.”
While acknowledging the sector is experiencing tough times right now, McIvor said he is “absolutely confident the sector has a vibrant future”.
BLNZ has a critical role to play with farmers.
“The team is massively committed and competent and while it was a tough decision to leave, I’m confident the next leader will take the organisation a step up in delivering value and impact.
“I look forward to continuing the relationships as I transfer to OSPRI from August 1.”
McIvor’s parting word for sheep and beef farmers: “I encourage you to take the next few days and weeks to get your NAIT records straight!”
A local approach to rural mental health
“
We’ve got a lot of barriers still to break down in rural mental health There’s still stigma and discrimination, and we want to ensure that all people in our rural communities feel the confidence to ask for help when they need it
Matt Doocey, Minister for Mental Health
Bryan talks with Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey about how the government plans to tackle the mental health crisis in rural communities. Doocey says local organisations are best placed to meet the needs of their communities and he outlines a new decentralised approach
PRIVILEGE: Departing BLNZ CEO Sam McIvor says it has been a real privilege to serve farmers.
Hoggard does battle on formula labelling
Eric Frykberg MARKETS Dairy
THE Minister of Food Safety is set to take on his counterparts from all Australian states and the Federal Government to try to save New Zealand infant formula exports to Australia and potentially to China.
Andrew Hoggard’s aim will be to amend proposed rules that would limit New Zealand producers’ abilities to showcase the ingredients of their products on packaging.
The move stems from a public push to promote breastfeeding in Australia.
But New Zealand producers have long argued that mothers who need infant formula for whatever reason should have full access to information about the products their babies are consuming.
The French multinational Danone has warned that jobs could be lost and exports restricted if the changes are made.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon estimated $300 million in sales to Australia and potentially up to $2 billion elsewhere could be at risk at his post cabinet media conference last week.
The work to equalise standards for all Australian states and New Zealand was begun in 2013 and is basically finished. If implemented, it would be in force five years from now.
“Both officials in New Zealand and the industry itself are happy with about 99% of it and it actually improves a lot of stuff,” Hoggard said.
“The problem is there are two paragraphs around what manufacturers can put on front-of-pack labelling to inform consumers around ingredients or the protein content that may be in the product that’s basically going to put us at a competitive disadvantage.”
Hoggard said he will be pushing for a relaxation of the proposals.
“Basically, you know, I’m going to be asking the Australian ministers to review this part of it and I am hopeful they will listen to me and grant that review. Otherwise, the only option available to us will be to have a separate New Zealand or a modified New Zealand standard that’s different from the Australian ones.”
Hoggard said this will impose big costs on producers here. He said the problem could extend to exports of infant formula to China. That is because standards in China are tougher still, but China would still accept products that comply with rules set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).
“China allows e-commerce, so people can go online and import stuff from overseas jurisdictions as long as it meets that overseas jurisdiction’s food safety standard. So, it doesn’t have to meet the Chinese standard, which is actually even tougher than what FSANZ is proposing. It just has to make the home countries’ standard, which would be the FSANZ standard.”
Hoggard said the proposed change is not quite like cigarette package labelling, but is a bit similar, with a health-oriented labelling policy driving reform, but going too far.
In a separate comment, the chief executive of the Infant Nutrition Council, Jonathan Chew, told NewstalkZB that FSANZ has the power to make binding rules and the cost could be serious for New Zealand.
“This would be the first time any country has gone this far in removing (ingredient) information from packaging.”
He said this would put New Zealand products at a disadvantage compared with goods from the European Union, whose local rules allow product labelling.
undergoing this
INFORMATION: New Zealand producers have long argued that mothers who need infant formula should have full access to information about the products their babies are consuming.
Arable’s finest all about the environment
Annette Scott PEOPLE Awards
THE finalists have been named for the arable industry’s showcase awards next month.
From a farmer experimenting with nitrogen-fixing faba beans to an agronomy veteran helping with world-record wheat yield attempts, the 2024 Arable Award finalists’ selection has been a tough decision for the judging panel, Federated Farmers arable chair and event spokesperson David Birkett said.
“It hasn’t been an easy season for arable farmers, with rising costs and variable returns, so it’s great to see a strong crop of highcalibre award entries this year,” he said.
The awards are about celebrating all that’s good in the arable sector, “the innovation, commitment and achievements of the best of us”.
Birkett highlighted the Positive Environmental Impact Award and Innovation Award as particularly significant.
“I’m excited about the finalists for those categories because they’re all people helping us to create a stronger and more sustainable arable sector.”
Ashburton farmer and finalist
EXCITED: David Birkett is excited about the finalists because they’re all people helping to create a stronger and more sustainable arable sector.
in the Positive Environmental Impact Award Angus McKenzie is described by the judges as an articulate advocate for showing that environmental action on a farm doesn’t have to be a financial drain.
McKenzie is up against Feilding’s Tim Gorton, who impressed the
judges with his “curiosity and passion” and an ambitious annual tree-planting programme for sediment control and biodiversity.
The third finalist in this section, Daniel Finlayson of Waikato, is noted for his regard for environmental stewardship as a farming foundation principle
AWARENESS: Judging panel convenor Ivan Lawrie says the elevated awareness of environmental impacts shown by finalists across all award categories is encouraging.
as opposed to a “nice to have” with genuine iwi engagement and continuous efforts to find solutions that work.
The Innovation Award finalists are Brent Austin, Anna Gillum and Dr Soonie Chng.
Austin, who farms near Ashburton and is involved with
It hasn’t been an easy season for arable farmers, so it’s great to see a strong crop of high-calibre award entries this year.
three Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) Grower Leading Change groups, is a leader in experimenting with nitrogenfixing faba beans to see how much nitrogen these provide following cereal crops.
Gillum, who’s spearheaded PGG Wrightson Seeds’ cereal fungicide research for eight years, is passionate about learning and adapting technologies from New Zealand and overseas and introducing them to agronomy packages for farmers.
David Birkett Federated Farmers
The full list of awards and finalists:
Cereal Grower of the Year, sponsored by Bayer
Morgan & Karen Horrell, MKH Farming, Gore
Peter Hewson, Esk Valley Farming, Canterbury
Brad Lindsay, Arhee Farming, Southland
Maize Grower of the Year, sponsored by Pioneer
• Mark Shera, Parkfields Farm, Ashburton
• Alan Henderson, Cranleigh Agri-business Trust, Te Awamutu
Simon Nitschke, Arable Solutions, Marton Seed Grower of the Year, sponsored PGG Wrightson Seeds Ltd
• John McCaw, McCaw Farming Ltd, Methven
• Tim & James Robinson, Robinson Farming Partnership, Methven
• Scott Rome, Waifield Farm Ltd, Gore Agronomist of the Year, sponsored by NZGSTA Sam Sturgess, Catalyst Performance Agronomy, Oamaru
David Weith, Bayer, Timaru Nicola Pace, RAGT New Zealand, Christchurch Positive Environmental Impact Award, sponsored by FMG
Tim Gorton, Gorton Farming Ltd, Feilding Angus McKenzie, Wairuna Farm Ltd, Ashburton
Daniel Finlayson, Methleigh Farms Ltd, Waikato Innovation Award, sponsored by Barenbrug
• Brent Austin, Austin Farming Ltd, Ashburton
• Anna Gillum, PGG Wrightson Seeds, Lincoln
• Soonie Chng, NZ Institute for Plant and Food Research, Lincoln
Working Together Award, sponsored by BASF Grass Weed Control Arable Growers Group, South Canterbury
• Liquid Injection Arable Growth Group, Ashburton
• Oil Seed Rape Monitor Farms (FAR and Pure Oil NZ), South Canterbury
Chng is dedicated to understanding arable crop diseases and finding solutions for growers. Three finalists have been selected in each of the Seed, Maize and Wheat Grower of the Year categories with the overall winner of these titles to be also named Arable Grower of the Year.
Agronomist of the Year finalists are 30-year arable veteran David Weith; Sam Sturgess, founder of a North Otago arable focus group; and Nicola Pace, who among other achievements involves herself with the Mt Hutt College, Methven, agricultural programme, mentoring young people keen to get into the sector.
Judging panel convenor and FAR business operations general manager Ivan Lawrie said a core ethos of the foundation is cooperation and striving together for excellence.
Lawrie noted the “elevated awareness of environmental impacts” shown by finalists across all award categories.
“Managing that impact has been paramount to everyone and that’s really encouraging.
“In all categories, the finalists were very, very close. It was hard for the judges to come to a decision; all of them are people we would happily have named as a worthy winner,” Lawrie said.
The awards evening is on August 15 at the Air Force Museum of NZ, Wigram, Christchurch. Ticket sales close on August 5 at: www.arableawards.co.nz
New Zealand Olympians on their quest for gold thank New Zealand sheep and beef farmers.
“I’m really proud of all farmers out there The mahi you put in behind the scenes doesn’t go unnoticed. From our Team, we want to thank you so much!”
Proud par tner of Watch Stacey and other Olympians share their thanks to our farmers at beeflambnz/olympic-games or scan the QR code
Stacey Waaka, Beef + Lamb New Zealand ambassador and New Zealand Team athlete
From the Editor
Making sense of farm safety
Craig Page Deputy editor
THE tragic death of one of New Zealand’s leading dog triallists in a farm-related accident is yet another stark reminder of the dangers that confront those working on the land.
Neil Evans was killed in an ATV accident on his family farm at Omihi in North Canterbury last Monday.
The death has hit the tight-knit sheep dog trialling community particularly hard. Evans was a longtime, well-respected triallist and captained the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trialling team that won the Wayleggo Cup at the annual Trans-Tasman 2023 test series held at the Ashburton A&P show in October last year.
Just last year Evans and his star performer Tess won the national short head title for the second consecutive year. Evans also
finished fourth in that event with a second dog, Smoke.
The cause of Evans’s accident is under review and will be the subject of investigations by WorkSafe and the police.
However, the accident again raises the question of workplace safety on the farm and the worrying regularity of deaths in the industry each year.
It is an issue that has been discussed at length, with all manner of safety programmes made available to farmers.
According to WorkSafe statistics, six people died in agriculture workplace accidents between December 2023 and May this year. Five of those involved vehicles.
WorkSafe has previously warned that farm machinery can cost lives and farmers need to take time to think about that they are doing, and how they are doing it.
The issue prompted Safer Farms to launch a new health and safety programme last year, Farm Without Harm, with its catchphrase Half-Arsed Stops Here.
Safer Farms chair Lindy Nelson told Farmers Weekly at the time of the launch that the new strategy aimed to work from the farm up.
It was not about compliance or other people making rules for farmers. The programme was about farmers taking responsibility and coming together to find solutions to prevent deaths on farms.
“It’s about thinking about the big risks on farm, identifying those and going, ‘Okay, how do we mitigate those risks?’” Nelson said
“It’s about the ability for us to fail safely. It’s about acknowledging that we’re human.”
Nelson was adamant that the concept of health and safety needed to be reframed as it was a tainted brand.
The sad reality is that it often takes a fatality for people to finally sit up and take serious notice.
“You get people immediately thinking that it’s about compliance. And while we’re not backing away from that, what we’re saying is, what we have done in the past has not worked. The statistics are as bad as ever so let’s own the problem. Let’s find solutions.”
Rather than thinking about compliance, the aim is to have people just thinking about doing good work, which in turn should lead to safer practices.
The sad reality is that it often takes a fatality for people to finally sit up and take serious notice.
That needs to change. Everyone deserves to get home safely and put their feet up at the end of a long day at work.
Letters of the week Put away petition on live exports
N Wagener Houhora
IT IS frustrating to learn that opponents of live animal export have presented a petition to Parliament calling for the current ban to continue.
This was reportedly organised by Dr John Hellstrom, respected vet and adviser to previous governments on animal welfare issues. The petition contained around 50,000 signatures of a wide range of people including farmers and vets.
Tellingly, the petition was presented to the former Labour agriculture minister who was responsible for getting the current ban put in place in 2021.This was an absolute rort resulting in effectively managing to turn a maritime disaster into an animal welfare issue.
While the animals certainly drowned, along with all the ship’s crew, it is what can happen when ships founder at sea. Just as happened to the crew of a Japanese ship which sank in extreme weather conditions not long after in that same part of the world. And has happened since time began when there were ships and boats on the sea.
While lessons have been learnt, maritime disasters have never resulted in the activity the ships were engaged in being banned, the Titanic and the Wahine being but two examples.
As a farmer in a family farming company involved in live animal export until the ban, I have never had any feedback that our cattle suffered as a result of travelling by ship.
Also, although while not seeing much TV and no Facebook, I am an avid reader of newspapers, any and every farming paper that arrives, as well as a keen follower of RNZ. In all this I have only ever read and heard positive reports of the welfare of export animals.
One in particular came from a vet who had done several delivery voyages, and spoke highly of the inspection process and care taken, particularly by the Filipino crew who loved the animals and couldn’t do enough for them. The animals also gained weight, which is probably the ultimate test of welfare.
Rather than assuming moral guardianship of other people’s animals and running off to the architect of the current ban with their petition to retain the ban, in the interest of fairness the petition organisers should have begun by presenting their reasons for wanting to continue the ban in a transparent form for everyone to see.
One would hope that the 50,000-odd signatories would have been given valid
Continued next page
In my view
...
Short-lived, dense forests the way ahead
THE sharp decline in new forestry planting, as recently reported, jeopardises New Zealand’s capacity to supply domestic bioenergy over the coming decade.
This coincides with a rapid acceleration in demand now taking place for bioenergy feedstocks from forests, a situation likely to intensify into the middle of the next decade and beyond.
The forecast slump in timber supply could hinder our urgently needed national transition to domestically produced bioenergy, essential for decarbonising all sectors of our economy in response to the emerging climate crisis.
Combined with escalating bioenergy demand, a perfect storm could arise in coming years if we fail to meet this demand and grow sufficient biomass.
Short rotation forestry is a critical component of the bioenergy solution for New Zealand that can be used now to meet this challenge.
Awareness of future supply and demand challenges for domestic bioenergy prompted our threeyear study at Scion on the role that short rotation forestry could play in filling the biomass supply gap and contributing to our bioenergy future.
Short rotation forestry involves rapid rotation cycles of plantation trees, typically harvested within 12-18 years, compared to the 28-30 year rotation used in conventional commercial timber plantations.
Implementing an accelerated forest biomass growing regime offers several advantages for bioenergy production. Firstly,
short rotation forestry allows us to quickly address anticipated feedstock supply shortfalls over the coming decades, particularly amid increasing bioenergy demand.
Establishing dedicated short rotation forestry plantations for bioenergy now will maintain bioenergy feedstock supplies into the mid-2030s and beyond – precisely when our capacity to supply conventional sources of woody biomass is expected to decline.
Renewed establishment of short rotation forestry plantations in the future would enable growers to adapt and respond rapidly to peaks in bioenergy demand expected over the coming decades.
New Zealand’s forestry value chain is already well integrated and has become highly effective at producing large volumes of timber at increasingly rapid rates. Short rotation forestry is an adaptation of this conventional forestry platform, specifically optimised for bioenergy.
Our short rotation forestry regime model, based on radiata pine, Eucalyptus fastigata or Eucalyptus regnans, indicates substantial potential yields when grown between 650 and 1250
Significantly, establishing short rotation forestry plantations now would avoid reliance on contentious sources of imported forest biomass in the
stems per hectare on a short rotation basis.
Establishing short rotation forestry over 150,000 hectares of lower-value grassland, or less than 1% of our total national land area, could deliver ongoing renewable energy on an annual basis equivalent to approximately 6% of our current annual fossil fuel demand.
Importantly, our work identifies that afforestation of lowproducing grazing land (Land
hand knowledge and experience in the export world there is among the petitioners. For example, how many of the vets have been on export voyages. In fact, has Dr Hellstrom been on an export voyage?
reasons for the petition, so why not the people actually involved in the export business?
From there the various issues could be rationally worked through until there was agreement and a way forward. A normal negotiating process, in fact, as opposed to a ban – which is a kneejerk action at best.
As part of the process it would be interesting to learn the first-
It should also be acknowledged that if it weren’t for the early settlers shipping cattle, sheep and pigs from the other side of the world, in no doubt much more stern conditions and longer voyages than today, we would not be in this situation.
The fact they proceeded to reproduce and multiply suggests animals have always been able to cope with sea voyages.
EDITOR Bryan Gibson 06 323 1519 bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz EDITORIAL Carmelita Mentor-Fredericks editorial@globalhq.co.nz Neal Wallace 03 474 9240 neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz Colin Williscroft 027 298 6127 colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz Annette Scott 021 908 400 annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz Hugh Stringleman 09 432 8594 hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz Gerald Piddock 027 486 8346 gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz Richard Rennie 07 552 6176 richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz Nigel Stirling 021 136 5570 nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com PUBLISHER Dean Williamson 027 323 9407 dean.williamson@globalhq.co.nz
ADVERTISING Andy Whitson 027 626 2269 New Media & Business Development Lead andy.whitson@globalhq.co.nz Steve McLaren 027 205 1456 Auckland/Northland Partnership Manager steve.mclaren@globalhq.co.nz
Jody Anderson 027 474 6094 Waikato/Bay of Plenty Partnership Manager jody.anderson@globalhq.co.nz
The loss of genetics is also an issue cited. In our case the heifers we sell to export are not what we want to keep as herd replacements. The breed we farm are not (unlike the kiwifruit issue) unique to New Zealand. They are a worldwide breed to the point that now at bull sales the EBVs (estimated breeding values) include North American data as opposed to just Australasian before this. So the genetics are worldwide and there are plenty of others out there ready to take our place. The claim that our trade with many countries opposed to live animal exports may be harmed by our taking part in it is rather
Use Capability (LUC) 5-7), rather than converting existing timber plantations, provides the most cost-effective pathway for the rapid establishment of these new bioenergy forests.
Short rotation forestry thus presents an attractive option for landowners or investors seeking alternative income sources from economically marginal grazing land, particularly given an expected growth in the bioenergy market over the coming decade.
Short rotation forestry can offer a range of co-benefits beyond meeting bioenergy demand.
Compared with the ongoing greenhouse gas emissions from animals on grazing land, short rotation forestry plantations sequester carbon from the atmosphere in biomass and soils over multiple rotations.
Tree planting with short rotation forestry can also stabilise slopes and reduce erosion risks compared to grazing land.
Our nationwide assessment of short rotation forestry specifically excluded any unsuitable land areas for forestry, including highly erodible, red-zoned land.
Moreover, short rotation forestry harvesting for bioenergy requires the removal of all tree biomass, which minimises residual slash waste issues that may be of potential concern, particularly with forestry activities on hillcountry.
In economically disadvantaged regions, processing of short rotation forestry biomass for
hypocritical given that the ban achieves just that. Again from my reading, trade is a tough game but one thing that shines through consistently is the importance of trust, which seems to be in short supply within NZ. All in all it is a sorry saga and like the carbon emission issue it is time to forget about all the emotive drama and get back to science and rational debate and in particular avoid issues becoming political footballs. Transparency by all sides is paramount. If there are genuine animal welfare problems, expose them for sure and deal with them accordingly and move on.
various bioenergy applications, including wood pellet processing, conversion to liquid biofuels, or electricity generation, could also provide much-needed economic stimulus.
Significantly, establishing short rotation forestry plantations now would avoid reliance on contentious sources of imported forest biomass in the future, which may become necessary if domestic bioenergy demand cannot be met with the current rate of conventional forestry planting.
There is growing concern internationally about the sustainability and climate mitigation effectiveness of imported biomass, which is increasingly being sourced from overseas to fuel European bioenergy systems. A recent bioenergy trial in New Zealand even used imported wood pellets from the United States.
New Zealand is perhaps unique in the OECD in terms of its capacity to easily meet demand for bioenergy through domestically grown sources of biomass, particularly from forestry.
This renewable biomass can be transformed as needed into electricity, liquid biofuels and power industrial processes. We urgently need to seriously consider a range of viable growing options now to meet the forthcoming bioenergy shortfall, and among these, short rotation forestry stands out as highly promising.
Alan Jones Jones is a silviculture and forest carbon scientist at Crown Research Institute Scion
RAPID: New Zealand’s forestry value chain is already well integrated and has become highly effective at producing large volumes of timber at increasingly rapid rates, says Alan Jones.
BENEFITS: Short rotation forestry can offer a range of co-benefits beyond meeting bioenergy demand, says Alan Jones.
future.
Clearer vision emerges as party lines blur
Alternative view
IWAS most impressed to read in last week’s Farmers Weekly about Federated Farmers hosting a group of Labour politicians for two days in Hamilton. They reported that the meeting was “worthwhile”, which it certainly will be. That Labour’s primary industries spokesperson, Jo Luxton, went on social media in support of the Feds initiative proved how worthwhile it was. It was a big call from Federated Farmers as I can remember a previous Labour minister of agriculture, Jim Sutton, labelling the organisation “the National Party in gumboots”. At the time it was an apt description. That the levy organisations, Groundswell, Rural Women and others were involved is also positive.
In the last government the Labour MPs I was aware of with
a detailed knowledge of the intricacies of the primary sector were Damien O’Connor, obviously, and Luxton and Kieran McAnulty. That was a small voice in a large caucus.
Now, thanks to the Feds, there will be many more Labour MPs understanding our challenges. As importantly, the MPs will know who to go to for honest opinions of rural issues.
We had a pile of ill-thought-out legislation and regulation from the previous government that foisted massive costs on the primary sector for little practical benefit.
My view is that happened as the result of a caucus largely ignorant of the intricacies of farming combined with an overzealous and blissfully ignorant bureaucracy, certainly as far as the Ministry for the Environment was concerned.
In future, thanks to Federated Farmers, hopefully that won’t happen.
I was also pleased to receive a statement from Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, who is forming a cross-party committee to develop an “enduring framework” for climate change adaptation.
I certainly support his crossparty inquiry. Climate change is here and we’re going to have to adapt. Having all political parties agreeing on one direction means that the job will be done properly. There is unlikely to be political posturing and any change in government should not affect the plan.
It will be the powerful Finance and Expenditure Committee that
will be tasked with developing recommendations, which is appropriate in my view. It has good representation from all parties.
We should get a definitive, costed strategy from the committee.
The time frame is tight with the committee required to provide recommendations in September for incorporation into legislation that can hopefully be introduced early next year.
Watts made the point that damaging weather events will only become more severe and frequent over time and that an “enduring and long-term approach” is needed to provide people with certainty.
I agree.
The previous climate change minister, James Shaw, announced an Environment Committee inquiry some months before the election but nothing had been reported back. The committee did receive 150 submissions that Watts said would be considered. In addition he intends to call for further submissions from the public.
The risks associated with climate change are clear and present for rural New Zealand.
For example, the increased risk of drought in both the northern and eastern parts of both islands will not only limit farming as we know it but increase the risk of fires.
It will also increase the demand for fresh water.
The change to our coast will create further problems. For a start there will be many coastal areas that are uninhabitable and the residents will have to move
Having all political parties agreeing on one direction means that the job will be done properly.
elsewhere. I read that the previous one-in-100-year climate event on the coast could occur every year.
Internationally, climate change will also have a major effect on NZ.
The Royal Society tells me that all aspects of food security are potentially affected by climate change including food access, utilisation and price stability.
Long haul tourism is expected to decline.
Commodity prices are predicted to increase.
The key findings of the Royal Society study into climate change are that we’ll have more frequent hot extremes coupled with less frequent cold. There will also be increased extreme rainfall resulting in floods.
So we have a problem and
we’re going to try to solve it in a non-partisan way, which, in my opinion, is the only enduring solution.
The Green Party is supporting the government’s move, which is positive.
Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick commended Watts for progressing climate adaptation work in “a cross-party manner”.
“It is imperative we build enduring and long-lasting policies that outlast any one government,” she said.
Climate change is and will be a major issue for NZ both now and far into the future. It has been estimated that 440,000 sheds and dwellings are in flood risk areas with a replacement value of $218 billion.
The issue must be addressed and developing a cross-party solution is, in my view, by far the best way of moving forward.
Watts is to be commended for his initiative, which I only hope can move into other areas that are important for our future.
Making the cut: many factors set price
Meaty matters
Allan Barber Meat industry commentator: allan@barberstrategic.co.nz, http:// allanbarber.wordpress.com
ALL the separate parts of the carcase are priced according to what is achievable in the market on the day or has already been locked in by a contract.
Exchange rates – generally the value of the New Zealand dollar against the US dollar, euro or pound sterling – confirm the basket of prices obtained, which make up the value attributed to
that week’s supply of livestock. Each processor has a different mix of customers and market destinations, both export and domestic, as well as its own cost structure, but the schedule prices are remarkably similar, although there are regional differences, particularly the variation between North and South Island.
The South Island processors tend to offer lower prices, dictated by the sharper seasonal processing peak although this levels out when supply is short. In general schedules do not differ much because of the need to remain competitive for procurement purposes.
Yield of meat to total carcase weight is an important factor with the average having increased as processing technology has improved.
Beef yield is consistently over 70% of the carcase weight, the balance consisting of bones, offal and other co-products, while lamb yield is lower with the dressed weight at about 63% and the meat component not much over 50%.
For a long time, farmers have
been pushing for yield-based payment for their livestock supplies, both beef and lamb, on the basis certain breeds provide larger areas of meat for which a premium can be gained.
Apart from a few programmes, such as First Light wagyu, certified Angus or Silere Merino, meat processors have generally steered clear of offering a premium for specific breeds because of
the difficulty of guaranteeing sufficient supply on a continuous basis to meet a particular market niche.
If beef or lamb producers believe their product should command a premium, one way to achieve it is to set up their own fully integrated operation and develop their own customer base, either domestic or export.
This is expensive to establish, but certainly ensures the ability to secure whatever premium exists without suffering from the averaging effect, although it imposes the responsibility on the producer to market the whole carcase.
An alternative is to form a supplier group with neighbouring producers, thereby providing a critical mass of product of the same breed and specifications, which would be attractive to a processor.
There are more than 20 individual cuts from the prime beef carcase making up approximately half the carcase or two-thirds
SUPPORT: Labour’s primary industries spokesperson, Jo Luxton, went on social media to voice her support for the Feds initiative
Alan Emerson Semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com
ROAST: The British market has traditionally been prepared to pay well for legs of lamb, and has started to buy again after a period of depressed demand. Continued next page
Finding the courage to be a pragmatist
Eating the elephant
RECENTLY, there has been much commentary on New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit. Costed at more than $200 billion and growing year on year, it is becoming a severe limiter to our future economic prospects. Experts tell us our chronic underinvestment is, in essence, robbing the future.
A change in government brings this issue into focus and is always
Continued from previous page
of the meat yield, while the remainder of the saleable meat yield is trim of variable fat content to be sold as manufacturing or grinding beef.
The actual percentage of the carcase that can be sold at a significant premium above the average is less than 10% of the total meat yield, which explains why processors are generally reluctant to reward individual breed programmes to any great extent.
Silver Fern Farms (SFF) has led the way in offering specific programmes like Reserve, Angus, Net Carbon Zero, and Nature Positive, as well as those designed for lamb and venison.
The purpose of these programmes, which offer a specified premium over normal operating schedule, is to reflect
a good time to reflect on what NZ governments do best – defunding the previous government’s projects and policies.
With every election cycle there is a bonfire, driven by ideology as much as good governance. Think climate change legislation, Three Waters, replacement ferries, Auckland’s light rail project, the NZ Battery project at Lake Onslow, school builds (for example, Rolleston College’s second campus), Northland’s rail revitalisation, and numerous cancelled roading projects, to name but a few.
Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, or whether these projects and polices had merit, the wastage in terms of human endeavour and taxpayer dollars is staggering – $65 million spent on consultants for Three Waters, the Auckland light rail project had $228m invested up to its cancellation, with nothing built, and then the $484m sunk into the replacement ferry project before it was halted.
In their place, new projects will be initiated, consultation undertaken, timelines developed, consultants engaged, and funding allocated – just in time for the next change of government. Then the cycle will repeat.
In another age, we were good at large-scale, complex infrastructure
market signals and the company’s ability to extract a premium in the market, stating “Our strategy is to turn these signals into value layered above the weekly operating price by rewarding farmers who are aligned with them. Our programmes and contracts also support us to meet customer commitments by creating more certainty around supply.”
SFF paid out $11 million in special beef programme premiums in 2023, a 14% increase on the previous year, while lamb
The actual percentage of the carcase that can be sold at a significant premium above the average is less than 10% of the total meat yield.
projects. In the 10 years from 1954 to 1964, with a population sitting around 2.9 million, NZ constructed the Auckland Harbour Bridge (from 1954), the Benmore Dam (from 1958), and started the Manapōuri Power Scheme (1964).
These vast projects were uniquely challenging and required innovation. During the construction of the Benmore Dam, the cost of steel rose.
With costs ballooning, the Ministry of Works encouraged innovative thinking to solve the problem – instead of steel penstocks, the engineers decided to use enormous precast concrete ones, made on site. This method had never been used anywhere else in the world – but still the project was completed, with no political scandal.
Over this 10-year period there were three changes of government: National until 1957 (Holland), Labour until 1960 (Nash) and National again to 1972 (Holyoake).
We had a national consensus on infrastructure, the government had expertise in the Ministry of Works, and projects had a high degree of co-ordination between the government and business.
What has changed? Undoubtedly NZ had a much greater degree of social cohesion in those days. The two degrees of separation
programmes benefited from a 5% lift in premiums last year.
This suggests there can be real value in the market available from product which offers specific benefits to the consumer and end user, like 100% grassfed, antibiotic-free, no added hormones, GMO-free and doesn’t use feedlots.
One New Zealand exporter says the United States market is the main market where premiums are obtainable.
These can range from $2 per kilo for organic 90CL for use in organic retail ground beef, to 45 cents per kilo for 100% grassfed or pure Angus trim.
There is no premium available for prime beef secondary cuts and offal or any bull and cow cuts, although SFF offers a 100% standard bull programme.
Beef Central, the Australian online publication, recently
really did apply and because of this, there was probably a much greater degree of accountability.
Politicians had to be more engaged locally and, as a consequence, had a better understanding of the issues – politics was more “bottom up” than today’s “top down” version.
My father recounted an anecdote that captures this. He was a member of Waimate Federated Farmers for many years and was at a woolshed meeting attended by Colin Moyle, minister of agriculture at the time.
In those days, farmers could influence the decision-makers through direct engagement and politicians were open to frank discussion – their ideology wasn’t hard wired.
Moyle answered questions and when asked ones he could not answer would simply say “I don’t know the answer to that.” Farmers respected him for his honesty. They expected and received open dialogue directly with a minister; there was no spin or deflection.
In those days, farmers could influence the decision-makers through direct engagement and politicians were open to frank
published an article assessing the opportunities for exporters to gain a premium for trimmings, which were estimated to make up as much of 30% of the meat yield, exponentially more than any other cut.
Whereas grinding beef is traditionally priced on the chemical lean meat to fat ratio, there now appear to be a long list of attributes that can have an impact on the price obtained, such as breed type, certified organic, HGP free, certified grassfed, frozen vs chilled, halal and methane claims.
Any premiums on trim cannot be expected all year round as there is a strong seasonal effect, which depends on volumes being shipped. At other times of the year trim with special claims may simply be sold with generic product, while when the market falls trim tends to be
discussion – their ideology wasn’t hard wired.
This is called pragmatism. In a political sense, this means doing things because they need doing, or because they are the right thing to do.
Senator Robert Kennedy (snr) was actually a hardnosed pragmatist rather than the liberal he is remembered as.
In his political career he shifted from conservative aide in Senator Joe McCarthy’s congressional hearings into communist sympathisers, to advocating for the advancement of civil rights, peace in Vietnam and the United States’s rural poor.
Kennedy was a pragmatist. He fundamentally changed his politics to reflect the reality of American society and wasn’t afraid to lose political capital. For modern New Zealand, the pragmatism to build infrastructure and create enduring government policies is hard to find. As a result, things aren’t done.
Even when projects are clearly needed, we struggle. Things that are more complex and risk political capital such as, mitigating climate change, gene editing, and large infrastructure projects, are placed firmly in the “too hard” basket. If we are to take a lesson from the life of Robert Kennedy, it is to have the courage to be a pragmatist.
commoditised and sold at the generic price.
Lamb is more complicated with different markets being prepared to pay for different products. The British market has traditionally been prepared to pay well for legs, the US for frenched racks and the European Union for loins, while China has taken forequarters and flaps.
After a sustained period of depressed demand and prices, the three of these main regions have started to buy again, albeit at a time of year when supply is short, and China purchases have fallen to the lowest share of New Zealand exports for several years.
During an extended period of low market prices, there is increasingly a benefit for farmers to have a strong relationship with their processor and to respond to the market signals that provide the opportunity to maximise earnings.
John Foley Foley, guest columnist on Eating the Elephant this week, lives near Lincoln in Canterbury and works in the seed industry.
STEEL: Vast projects such as the Benmore Dam, begun in 1958, were uniquely challenging and required innovation, says John Foley.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In this series, the team find a lesson in history for NZ Ag.
Injury insight: design the life that you want
Ag consultant Joel Hensman speaks out in his bid to help farmers see the bigger picture. Annette Scott reports.
LIFE-CHANGING
Acricket injury caused ag consultant Joel Hensman to step out of his daily routine and adopt a broader perspective on life –something, he believes, is also essential for farmers.
Drawing on his own brave life story, Perrin Ag senior consultant Hensman is dedicated to helping clients see the bigger picture of their businesses and make informed decisions that support both their operations and personal wellbeing.
Hensman’s journey into agriculture began on Thorn Flat, a 1000 hectare block of Kereru Station backing onto the Ruahine ranges in Manawatū.
His upbringing there instilled in him a deep connection to the land and laid the groundwork for his future in New Zealand’s primary sector.
With his love of the outdoors, from a very early age that he set his sights on being a shepherd.
“Mum questioned me on ‘Will this take you where you want to go?’” Hensman says.
Encouraged to get a formal qualification, he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Agriculture from Massey University, which further solidified his passion for farming.
“I finished the degree and went shepherding anyway but I eventually sold off the dogs and took on a huge change from the outdoor I loved to the indoor office of farm consultancy. I could still apply my practical knowledge.
“After six years this was not having the impact I was looking for.”
Hensman then landed himself a job with a water and ag-tech company.
“This was about how technology is being used to validate the work farmers are doing on farm.”
In his latest role, as he balances his recovery from severe postconcussion syndrome after being struck in the head with a cricket ball during a social match, Hensman has learnt to prioritise what truly matters.
“I help our clients step out of their daily realm and look at things through a broader lens.
“When you start talking to farmers about their goals and then look at what their long-term vision is, sometimes the two don’t align.
“Part of my recovery was figuring out what’s important; simplifying life and doing the things we often push down the road.”
This experience gave him a fresh perspective and a holistic approach to farm consultancy.
“I am acutely aware of the mental health challenges facing our industry and the need to maintain the sustainability of our land and our people.
“We want farm practices that ensure long-term success without compromising farmers’ wellbeing.”
Sometimes, these crucial conversations are best had in the everyday environments of farmers.
“I am the kind of consultant who’s happy to get on a handpiece in the woolshed alongside a farmer if that’s a better place to have the conversation.”
With the abundance of data available to farmers today, Hensman highlights the importance of effectively interpreting this information.
“Sometimes just having the skill to look at the farm data and see what can be tweaked is a big part of aligning goals with the longterm vision.”
Hensman’s ability to think
outside the box and empower others to learn and grow makes him well-equipped to manage farm supervision and strategic planning.
He has been involved in enhancing and supporting Māori-led organisations through farm supervision and major development projects, further showcasing his versatile skill set. His family reassessed their lifestyle following his injury, embracing minimalism by moving into a tiny house on 12ha of leased land near Palmerston North, where they graze dairy heifers.
“We had renovated two houses, had two kids, I had a head injury.
“We were in a position to look at the next step; we had been 12 years in the Bay of Plenty; relocation, let’s do it, let’s move.
“We were watching tiny house movies and getting excited. We were over renovation; big houses are a lot of cleaning.
“‘Do we need it?’ We started asking the question. Then came covid, the chance to shake up ideas on what we did want to do.
“My head injury was the world’s worst training course. It did teach me a lot, and a lot about our relationship and what is important.
“I was working long, hard days, making priority choices of work ahead of family.
“What would have happened to our marriage if this injury did not happen?”
This change has allowed the family to focus on what truly matters, spending quality time together and maintaining a balanced life.
“I’m not advocating for everyone to move to tiny house living, but it’s where we ended up when we started assessing our life alongside our career and family goals.
journey in an ecosystem of people.
My head injury was the world’s worst training course. It did teach me a lot, and a lot about our relationship and what is important.
Joel Hensman Perrin Ag
“It’s about taking a broader look and being open to alternatives.
“It’s been a tough journey for me. I now know the things that are non-negotiables for mental health.
I wish I knew what those things were five years ago.”
Hensman likes to see people flourish in their own right.
“Everybody is on their own
“I always challenge people’s thinking – is it what they really want in their next steps, are they putting their feet where they want to go?”
Hensman encourages a regular check-in on yourself.
“Make conscious choices. Bad day, bad client; need to re-focus and put solutions in place to deal with the problem.”
Away from work, Hensman enjoys mountain biking, tramping, hunting, and spending time with his family.
Living in a tiny house and running a small farm operation, he is passionate about growing great food and helping people understand where their food comes from, all while keeping his boots dirty.
Skills translate to safety for immigrant workers
Gerhard Uys NEWS Education
THE health and safety of our farming community can’t wait till English language abilities are developed, says Lyzanne du Plessis, co-founder of Agri Teach Me in Southland.
Agri Teach Me provides agricultural training using online video content followed by practical on-farm sessions.
Du Plessis and dairy farmer husband and co-founder of Agri Teach Me, Hannes, hosted a Farm Bike Skills day near Lumsden recently aimed at the Nepalese community, who mostly have English as a third language.
Dhurba Joshi, a senior farm assistant at the Southern Dairy Hub, acted as translator for Agri Teach Me.
Joshi said when he met the Du
Plessis couple on a tractor training day he talked to them about the Nepalese dairy worker community, who at times struggle with the English language, and how this barrier affected training and
advancing in the industry.
“Whenever the community got together I saw this problem,” he said.
Joshi said the couple later approached him to help solve this
communication challenge.
“I want to grow in dairy and if I can help solve this problem it’s good for me and it is good for the community”.
Joshi said some rules and
SKILLS: Agri Teach Me’s Hannes du Plessis, second from right, and Dhurba Joshi, who acted as translator for Nepalese workers in the dairy community, teach farm bike skills.
regulations on, in this case, safety and road rules, are completely different in New Zealand, and if this is not understood it could have serious consequences.
Besides physical riding, the bike safety day addressed compliance topics that are crucial so workers can fulfill their obligations on farm, he said.
Du Plessis said the practical course is ideal for farm workers who need safe-riding skills and knowledge about their farm bikes that will keep them safe.
The four-hour training covered health and safety, active riding techniques, maneuvering a quad or two-wheeler over various terrain, riding to different conditions, basic maintenance checks and fixes
Participants received a summary letter that can be added to their employer’s Health & Safety register.
BRAVE: Joel Hensman’s own brave life story is helping his clients see the bigger picture of their businesses and make informed decisions that support both their operations and personal wellbeing.
Southland farms look beyond regulation
Armed with a high-resolution landscape model, farmers can make precise decisions on what mitigation options are available to them. Gerhard Uys reports.
THREE farmers in Southland have teamed up with experts to see how they can mitigate nutrient loss to the environment on their farms beyond what regulations require.
The project was a collaboration between Thriving Southland and Land Water Science, funded by AgMardt.
It used LiDAR, drone-based photogrammetry and groundbased radiometric survey to create a high-resolution landscape model of the farms.
As understanding farm geography is key to understanding the effect of mitigations, the models were used to identify watersheds or basins, and identified location discharge points where water joins streams, or leaves a farm property.
At a recent field day held on one of the case study farms, experts discussed what modelling showed about the farms’ landscape, how that influenced mitigation options, and talked challenges and costs.
southerly direction, and join into the Mataura River approximately 30km south-east of the property.
The property sits on the area known as Balfour Fan.
The fan is a well-known “nitrate hotspot”, with some of its groundwater zones exceeding New Zealand and World Health Organisation levels for safe nitrate concentration in drinking water, the report says.
Due to the nature of the aquifer –not being flushed by alpine or hill country water – the concentration of nitrate in some areas continues to build.
“Variability in climate, topography, geology and soils significantly influences the type of contaminant and severity of water quality outcomes,” the report says.
Clint Rissmann from Land and Water Science says a property should be thought about as a whole connected system. Groundwater has travelled kilometres down gradient and discharges far away from the source.
Arable farmers Blair and Jody Drysdale grow wheat, barley, oil seed rape, hemp, peas, lucerne and oats on their 321 hectare farm in Balfour, Southland.
Drysdale says he wants to stay viable while minimising the farm’s environmental footprint.
The farm property is mostly flat with elevation ranging between 152m above sea level in the southeast corner of the property and 160m above sea level along the northern boundary and centre of the property.
The farm also has a dairy grazing and sheep enterprise, with 21.7ha leased out for tulip production.
Drysdale applies on average 123kg N/ha/yr.
A report on the project by Thriving Southland, titled Understanding Your Landscape’s Resilience, Beyond Regulation, says the farm is in an alluvial terrace between the Waimea Stream and the Longridge Stream. Both the streams flow in a
For example, sector one on the Drysdales’ farm is “good arable soils, well drained, good at filtering pathogens, no issue with E coli, good at filtering organic carbon, good at retaining phosphorus, but has the Achilles heel of nitrate leaching”.
Drains and tiles also allow nitrate to move through to streams.
Where the soils on the farm are imperfectly to poorly drained or the water table is shallow, runoff does not continually happen, with one or two large rain events often responsible for most of a farm’s nutrient losses, he says.
“The property is variable. We used the combined survey datasets and ground truthing to split the farm into sectors that have different topography (slope), soil characteristics, hydrology and as a result different water quality outcomes.
“I’m interested in the landscape. Land use is the primary driver of outcomes, it doesn’t matter if you’re urban or rural. But it’s what’s under the hood that determines the type of outcome you get.
“If everyone looked at tributaries over their farm and across their catchment and talked to their neighbours about what they can do, then mitigations will be a huge service to the catchment.”
Rissmann says often the numbers that regulators will put out on, for example, nitrogen reduction targets seem exceedingly high and hard to comprehend.
However, the collective impact of multiple mitigations should not be underestimated.
For example, research shows that wetlands, sediment traps or woodchip bioreactors can make a big dent in contaminant losses to waterways, with some studies reporting reductions in sediment and phosphorus by 70-80%, and up to 90% removal of nitrates.
covers an area as little as 23.8ha up to 64.8ha, meaning different mitigation options are viable depending on the site.
Farm systems and environmental consultant Miranda Hunter works with farmers to assess what environmental mitigations will cost and what they will mitigate, then uses modelling to give them options to choose from, depending on the goals for their business and their finances.
For the Beyond Regulation project, Hunter modelled mitigation options and their impacts on total GHG profile, nitrous oxide change, change in N loss, nitrogen surplus change and P loss, and the costs and impact on the farm system.
“This gives a sense of how big a lever we can pull with mitigation.”
On the Drysdales’ farm, options included targeting nutrients to meet plant requirements, crop rotations, selling crop residues, developing wetlands and alternative land use by establishing 2ha of chestnuts.
Farmers can mitigate both what goes into a landscape and what
comes from it and in essence have an ambulance at both the top and bottom of the cliff, she says.
Hunter says in some cases farmers consider large scale land use change as a mitigation option.
However, large scale change needs investors with deep pockets, a market and often involves skills that farmers do not have on farm.
Large scale change should not be undertaken primarily for environmental reasons but rather as a consideration for succession or changing farm goals.
Most want to make incremental changes and to learn in the process, an approach Hunter says is safer.
Project lead at Thriving Southland Richard Kyte says the long-term result from the project is to build farmer and catchment group confidence in their ability to deliver their own solutions, on their farms, using the right data and information.
Drysdale says he will now do measurements around water flow and laser tile levels, which will help to determine if a wetland or a bioreactor is most viable as a mitigation option.
Land and Water Science used a high-resolution physiographic approach to map the inherent and varied susceptibility of the landscape to land use activities at property scales.
The 20mx20m resolution of the mapping provides a more resolved picture of contaminant susceptibility than current 1:50,000 physiographic environments maps, he says.
The report says the maps are of sufficient resolution to show paddock-scale variation in susceptibility.
“Radiometric surveys pick up radiation from the ground and is sensitive to soil texture, organic carbon and chemistry. We go out, dig holes and ground-truth it. We build a picture.”
Rissmann says understanding soil characteristics means they can understand if there will be leaching or recharge after a rain event, or what challenges a specific soil type holds.
“That may be from a gold standard wetland or bioreactor, but at a paddock scale that is immense. Even a 30% reduction is huge. There’s value in small things targeted in the right place. Mitigation at catchment level accrues,” Rissmann says.
A high-resolution radiometric survey across the 1400ha of the Balfour Fan showed most of the farm is Benio soil.
Across the majority of the property soils are well to excessively well-drained, due to a high content of quartz sands coated with clay.
Due to their drainage characteristics and extreme weathering, the soils and aquifer materials of the Balfour Fan are less able to remove nitrate than younger soils and aquifer materials.
From west to east across the property various soil types have differences in draining ability and nitrate susceptibility and each
MODEL: The project used LiDAR, drone-based photogrammetry and groundbased radiometric survey to create a high-resolution landscape model of the farms.
LEVER: Farm systems and environmental consultant Miranda Hunter works with farmers to figure out what environmental mitigations will cost and how big a lever they can pull with mitigation options.
Photo: Gerhard Uys
SPECIFICS: Clint Rissmann from Land and Water Science says understanding soil characteristics means they can understand if there will be leaching or recharge after a rain event, or what challenges a specific soil type holds.
Photo: Gerhard Uys
Sector Focus Horticulture
Vailima’s premium apples saved by new dam
Fiona Terry TECHNOLOGY Water
THE first release of water from the Waimea Community Dam came in the nick of time for Vailima Orchards, which has grown a reputation as a supplier of quality apples domestically and overseas.
“The premium market in Asia demands a bigger apple, especially for the gifting market,” said Matthew Hoddy, fourth generation apple grower in the Tasman region and business manager at Vailima Orchards.
“If you’re visiting a family member, for instance, you’d take a couple of nice apples from New Zealand that would be cut up to share, rather than here where you might take a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine.”
Vailima grows 10 varieties of
apples on 218 hectares on the Waimea Plains, including the Eve, Ambrosia and Evercrisp varieties its marketing arm Luv’ya Apples holds intellectual property licences for. As well as supplying the New Zealand and Asia markets, it also exports to North America and Western Europe.
But the extreme drought faced by the region earlier this year threatened to severely impact the size of the crop, limiting where the fruit could be sold.
“In early March, if the dam hadn’t started flowing we’d have been heading for significant rationing steps,” Hoddy said.
“Leading into the season it was a dry summer and although the aquifers were well managed between council and irrigators, we’d had so long without rain it’d got to that critical point. Severe rationing would have without doubt affected crop size.
“That would have put pressure
on our marketers to find a home for smaller fruit in a different market that might have been full already.”
It’s not just this year’s crop the extended drought conditions would have impacted, Hoddy said, but the following year’s too, as at that time the trees were setting buds for 2025’s fruit. Any further water restrictions would also have posed a fatal risk to productive trees, some of which date back 35 years.
“Thankfully because of the
release of water from the Waimea Dam we managed to continue to irrigate and size the fruit needed to meet the market demands.”
At its peak the orchard employs around 245 workers, and 150 at the post-harvest side of the business.
In a good year more than 14 million kilogrammes of fruit is grown on Vailima’s orchard properties, something Hoddy’s great grandfather Walter could only have dreamed of when he first began the family business over 100 years ago.
A draper from England, he’d ventured to New Zealand in 1914 after seeing the Appleby Apple Lands advertised in a London newspaper. Initially planting in the Moutere Hills, the family relocated to the Waimea Plains in 1972 at a time the Waimea East Irrigation Scheme was being established.
Leading into the season it was a dry summer and ... we’d had so long without rain it’d got to that critical point.
Matthew Hoddy Vailima Orchards
“The system turned these plains into 1000ha with fully pressurised irrigation water,” said Hoddy, who was brought up on the orchard and has a Bachelor of Commerce (Horticulture) from Lincoln University.
“It used to be sufficient because the minimum river levels were a lot lower, so irrigators could water their crops longer into the season before rationing started. Following a round of environmental changes the minimum river flow was increased, so any rationing kicked in earlier with the river health in mind.
“Getting your crops ready for harvest and then suddenly having no water, it was never going to work.”
Eighteen potential locations were assessed for a dam before the Lee Valley was chosen. The five-year construction project cost $198.2 million and was funded by its shareholders, Tasman District Council (TDC) and Waimea Irrigators Ltd.
The project faced complications including delays caused by covid, global supply chain disruptions, costs of materials, and unexpected geological hurdles.
“We commenced filling the reservoir in September last year after completing the intake pipework,” said Mike Scott, CEO of Waimea Water Ltd, the organisation tasked with the dam’s construction.
“Murphy’s Law, we had three really wet winters and springs while we constructed the dam but as soon as we started filling the reservoir it was very dry, so the reservoir filled much slower than expected – that’s when the drought started.”
At full capacity, behind its 53m high concrete face, the reservoir is able to hold 13 billion litres of water, a volume reached on January 31 this year.
“We needed the reservoir at full capacity for water to flow down the spillway before we could remove the temporary river diversion and connect the pipework, otherwise the river would have dried up,” Scott said.
“As soon as that happened, we were working flat out through the month of February to get the pipework connections finished and the valve ready.”
Water was finally released on March 2, resulting in restrictions being lifted for all, including domestic users.
Said Scott: “That was two days before TDC had been due to increase their restrictions, which would have been quite painful to the primary sector, industry and other users.
“Between the date of opening the valve and the region’s first
RELIEF: Because of the release of water from the Waimea Dam, Matthew Hoddy says, Vailama Orchards has managed to continue to irrigate and grow the size of fruit the market demands.
Photos: Tim Cuff
BIG APPLE: Vailima grows 10 varieties of apples on 218 hectares on the Waimea Plains, including the Eve, Ambrosia and Evercrisp varieties.
DEMANDS: The premium market in Asia demands a bigger apple, especially for the gifting market, says Matthew Hoddy, business manager at Vailima Orchards.
rainfall of any significance on 11th April, we released 20% of the reservoir, so we got there just in time and the Waimea Dam did its job.
“It was a great relief but also a very exhausting period for the team who put in a big shift and worked long hours to get it finished.”
Hoddy said: “As an orchard we’ve invested heavily to get the dam project over the line and working, along with a lot of the other growers on the Waimea Plains.
“Knowing we could have some surety around some of the input parameters, with the dam being built, gave us the certainty to develop more intensely with some
of the structures to improve yield. It gave us that confidence to keep reinvesting and to know we can keep doing this on the Waimea Plains.”
He recalls another harsh summer. “For us water-wise this was the year of the Pigeon Valley fires, summer of 2019. We did go into some very severe rationing and that made it a harder year to size fruit. The result was we couldn’t export the ideal sizes to the ideal markets for the premium customers.”
This presented potential problems with brand presence, a concern that was growing dramatically at the start of this year too as the drought’s severity increased.
“When you’re dealing with a buyer and you can’t fulfil, it’s especially hard to come back another year in better conditions,” said Hoddy.
The stability of water supply has enabled more investment in a formal trellis system, which, although coming with higher capital costs, Vailima is implementing to produce greater yields.
“These new developments actually lead to more permanent jobs and more meaningful jobs because putting up the structures needs skilled people,” Hoddy said. “So it’s not just about picking and packing apples, it’s everything else that goes with that.”
WELCOME: The first release of water from the Waimea Dam could not have come at a better time for Vailima Orchards.
Photo: Supplied
VALUED: It amounts to only fractions of a cent per tray, but the levy increase would give NZKGI the ability to roll out more independent assessments of the industry, and respond faster to one-off events, says CEO Colin Bond.
Kiwifruit war chest needs topping up
Richard Rennie NEWS Governance
KIWIFRUIT growers are being asked to vote on putting in an extra two-tenths of one cent a tray to boost their organisation’s bank account after the draining exercise of defending the use of Hi Cane spray.
In a note to growers, NZ Kiwifruit Growers CEO Colin Bond says the reassessment of the budding spray through the Environmental Protection Authority committee process had cost the organisation most of its retained earnings.
This has left NZKGI without the financial capacity to fight such cases in the immediate future.
In the past two years the organisation has also had an ongoing issue defending and working with growers hit by district council rate increases.
These were initiated by Gisborne District Council three years ago when the council pushed for a rates rise for SunGold growers, based on
the higher earning value of the licensed fruit and attaching the licence to the rateable land value.
Efforts to defend this failed, resulting in the Court of Appeal upholding an earlier High Court decision that growers could be valued for rates based on their SunGold licence.
This has resulted in rates increases as high as 50% for some growers.
If passed at the upcoming AGM, growers will face a new levy amount 1.3 cents a tray. This will amount to an additional $200,000 to NZKGI’s income.
Some key areas NZKGI is keen to employ the additional funds include being able to take on projects independent of Zespri funding, enhancing performance reporting of Zespri, and better capacity to respond quickly to one-off events.
One example of this was the ability to conduct a performance analysis of the Europe mice infestation, or to build a better picture of global threats such as illegally grown SunGold fruit.
The AGM is held on August 21.
Alzheimer’s daffodil trials show promise
Delwyn Dickey TECHNOLOGY Health
DAFFODILS grown to produce galanthamine, an active ingredient in medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, have been successfully trialled on South Island sheep farms.
Many families have gone through the heartbreak of watching a loved one slowly succumb to Alzheimer’s disease.
Despite billions being poured into the dementia drugs market for research and development over the last 20 years, there are still relatively few drug options available to treat the growing number of people who live with dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type.
Though not a cure, one drug on the market shown to slow Alzheimer’s progress and reduce symptoms (including memory loss) comes from galanthamine, an alkaloid substance found in some plants.
There are high levels in some daffodils. Daffodils are the favoured source for commercial extraction of galanthamine by United Kingdom-based Agroceutical Products, which is behind large-scale daffodil production already underway in Wales. Agroceutical Products is looking for a southern hemisphere source to enable year-round production.
While galanthamine is found in many plants, other sources tend to have lower levels, and the plants are killed at harvest. Daffodils, on the other hand, are a no-fuss perennial and can be harvested for years.
It’s thought daffodils produce higher concentrations of the compound when stressed, including through poorer soil, challenging climates and higher altitudes.
Sheep’s aversion to eating them, while grazing around them, makes daffodils easy to integrate into existing high country farming operations. Such an operation would potentially add a new
diverse revenue stream for farmers on poorer soils.
Nick Pyke, crop technologist and director of sustainable arable farming consultancy Leftfield Innovation, approached Our Land and Water for funding through the Rural Professionals Fund to carry out growing trials.
The team at Leftfield is looking to find a way to multiply the bulbs quickly for the big numbers that would be needed for commercial production.
The team at Leftfield is looking to find a way to multiply the bulbs quickly for the big numbers that would be needed for commercial production.
Trial plantings got underway in seven South Island sites in autumn 2023 to see how the daffodils fared in different environments and if they would produce high enough
concentrations of galanthamine.
Seven sites in the South Island were trialled, from coastal and almost at sea level on Banks Peninsula, to 630m above sea level in Otago. Soil pH and fertility (Olsen P) were recorded for each site.
Plots of one square metre with a minimum of 100 bulbs were planted on each site. Larger 10 square metre plots were also set up on several properties, with rows of bulbs at 70cm apart to simulate commercial planting.
A 10 square metre site at Methven was planted with the higher density of at least 100 bulbs per square metre for a comparison in yield potential.
Four months later, 10 plants from each site were removed, along with separate bunches of leaves, and tested for galanthamine.
The use of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) enabled the team to gauge and compare how many milligrams of
galanthamine per plant were being produced across the different sites.
During their annual hibernation daffodils store energy from the current growing season in the bulb to spur on growth in the next season.
These stored metabolites may have offset some of the effects of a harsher environment and different nutritional levels the plants experienced during the trial, potentially affecting the amount of galanthamine they produced.
Concentrations of galanthamine varied in each plant across the various sites, as did the size of the plants. While the plants grew bigger at some sites, there was little correlation between plant wet weight and the concentration of galanthamine.
There was also no relationship between soil pH or phosphate levels. Nor was there a trend with elevation, which is contrary to the current understanding from Welsh production.
Dry matter (DM) produced from
the high-density plantings at Methven was significantly more at nearly 3000kg of DM/ha, compared to the yields of 622 kg/ DM/ha at the Oxford site and 382 kg/DM/ha at High Peak Station near Darfield.
Because of the wide variation in galanthamine levels across the sites, the team weren’t confident about estimating an exact weight of galanthamine that would be produced per kilogram of DM.
“Production levels vary at different sites as the growth of the plant and galanthamine levels are not strongly correlated, so any figure is just a guide,” said Travis Glare, research director with Lincoln University.
The team estimates between 310g and 440g of galanthamine could be extracted from a hectare of DM.
Any carryover influence the previous season’s environment has on galanthamine levels should become clearer this coming season. Allowing the daffodils to settle in over a couple of seasons on the sites will also likely give a clearer picture of how stressors, including altitude, affect galanthamine levels.
Also getting underway in autumn 2023 and lasting six months was work at Lincoln University to nail down a cost-effective way to multiply bulb tissue in a laboratory – similar to pine production. The daffodil bulbs used weren’t the same as those in the trials, coming instead from a commercial garden nursery with their variety unknown.
Daffodils grown across the South Island all had detectable levels of galanthamine in the subsamples. At most sites, the concentration in daffodil leaves exceeded the results from trials in 2021 and 2023.
Following on from the trials, an entity will now be formed to develop a business plan along with more research and development in New Zealand, Pyke said. A business model that delivers the value directly back to the farmers, as much as possible, will be part of this process.
UNDER PRESSURE: It’s thought daffodils produce higher concentrations of the compound when stressed, including through poorer soil, challenging climates and higher altitudes.
There are more reasons for farmers to read the Farmers Weekly than any other newspaper.
News. Insights. Analysis. The Farmer’s Voice. Opinion. Special Reports. Features. People Stories. Technology. Dairy Focus. Sheep & Beef Focus. Horticulture Focus. Arable Focus. Ag&Ed. AgriStars. Federated Farmers News. World News. Real Estate. Livestock. Marketplace. Jobs. Sale Yard Reports. Market Snapshot. Weather. Advertisements and Catalogues.
“ I read it every week. I usually have a look at it online first and dip back in the following week when it lands in my mailbox.”
Larissa Brown Federated Farmers Provincial Dairy Chair Otago
FEDERATED FARMERS
Vol 2 No 29, July 29, 2024
Farmer confidence still stubbornly low
Farm confidence has fallen since the start of the year, with debt, interest rates and banks causing the greatest concern to Kiwi farmers.
Federated Farmers’ latest Farm Confidence survey of 1400 dairy, sheep, beef and arable farmers shows confidence remains stuck in historically low territory.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to see farmer confidence is still sitting at these stubbornly low levels,” Federated Farmers national president Wayne Langford says.
“Unfortunately, these survey results are just reflecting how farming families are truly feeling out there at the moment.
“Farmers have really been doing it tough for some time now, with high interest rates, low commodity prices and sky-high input costs making it really hard to earn a living.”
Langford says Federated Farmers were encouraged by a slight lift in farmer confidence shown in our January 2024 survey – but things have since gone backwards.
“Restoring farmer confidence is a huge focus for Federated Farmers. It’s what gets me out of bed each morning, feeling motivated to make a difference.
“We clearly have a big job ahead of us, but we’re up for the challenge. We’ll keep pushing hard to improve
the lives of farming families across the country.
“The Government have done a lot of work repealing and rewriting some of the most unworkable regulations, but there’s still so much more to be done.”
But the six-monthly survey clearly shows it’s not only regulation that’s eroding farmer confidence, Langford says.
“There are a whole range of other issues that are also having an impact.
We want to see farmers thriving and feeling confident, not lying in bed stressing about how to pay their bills and keep the lights on.
Wayne Langford Federated Farmers president
“These include concerns about banking, high interest rates, soft farm-gate prices, the ability to find staff, and the general economic outlook for the country.
“Farmers will also be watching interest rates closely and desperately hoping for a rate cut later this year to help relieve some of the pressure they’re feeling.”
Carried out in mid-July, the survey found more farmers consider the
current economic climate to be ‘bad’ compared to January.
This is the second-worst result in the survey’s history, with the lowest being July 2023.
Things are no better when looking ahead, with more than half of farmers expecting economic conditions to deteriorate in the year ahead, slightly worse than in January.
“The survey also paints a bleak picture of what’s happening with farm profitability,” Langford says.
“Just over a third of farmers are making a loss right now, while only 27% say they’re making a profit and 39% breaking even.
“If that’s not bad enough, more than half of farmers expect their profitability to decline over the next 12 months.”
Langford says he’s deeply concerned for farmers’ wellbeing and what this might mean for their families, rural communities and the wider New Zealand economy.
“In this July survey, about half of farmers told us their mental health and wellbeing is being affected by worries about things like interest, farmgate prices and regulation.
“We want to see farmers thriving and feeling confident, not lying in bed stressing about how to pay their bills and keep the lights on.
“When farmers lose confidence, they cut their spending and shave
LOW: After a slight lift in farmer confidence earlier this year, it’s frustrating to see things have since gone backwards, Wayne Langford says.
costs from their business, and that has major flow-on effects for the wider economy.”
Farmers surveyed said their biggest concern right now is debt, interest and banks.
“This is consistently coming through as the main issue for farmers, which is why we have pushed so hard for an independent inquiry into rural banking.
“It’s great the Government have given an inquiry the green light, but farmers actually want to see action and for changes to be made to the system.”
The survey also shows farmers are having serious challenges recruiting staff.
“Finding skilled staff is a major issue, particularly for dairy farmers who are in the thick of calving right now.
“It’s concerning that farmers are finding it much harder to recruit skilled and motivated staff over the past six months than the previous six months.
“It’s nearing crisis point this season, with recent changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme causing all kinds of issues.” Other concerns for farmers include reduced farmgate and commodity prices, regulation and compliance costs, and rising input costs.
Langford says Federated Farmers will continue to work with the Government to urgently address these issues and restore farmer confidence.
Federated Farmers’ Farm Confidence survey is done twice a year, in January and July, and this is the 31st survey.
Great goat hunt offers win-win
Hunters shooting feral goats over the next few months will not only be doing a favour to farmers and native plants, they could pick up some big prizes.
The National Wild Goat Hunting Competition is back, with $70,000 worth of prizes, such as a wild game banquet, hunting gear, guided hunts, and personal locator beacons.
Supported by Federated Farmers, Hunting & Fishing NZ and Te Tari Pūreke Firearms Safety Authority, the competition runs from 1 August to 26 November.
Department of Conservation director national programmes Ben Reddiex was thrilled with the response to the inaugural event last year, with nearly 700 hunters shooting more than 10,000 wild goats.
“Managing wild goat numbers is an ongoing challenge. The competition helps to reduce pressure on New Zealand’s precious native ecosystems and farmlands,” Reddiex says.
Wild goats eat smaller native seedlings, remove forest understory and change the composition of bush and forest areas. Their eating and trampling of vegetation on slopes can cause erosion and they can also destroy farmers’ riparian and restoration planting.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says there’s a lack of information about the economic impact of goats and other feral animal populations, and what it costs farmers to control them.
“We aim to fill this gap with a Federated Farmers National Pest Management Survey, which went live on July 26.
“The survey will look to quant-ify the extent of feral animal management on-farm, what pests are managed, the cost of control work, and estimated farm production lost to wild animals.”
Langford says Federated Farmers is hearing from a growing number of members about feral animals coming out of public
We’re right behind the intent of the national goat hunting competition.
Wayne Langford Federated Farmers president
conservation land onto their farms.
“It’s a really serious problem,” he says. “We’re right behind the intent of the national goat hunting competition. One deer eats the same amount as two adult sheep or a oneyear-old heifer, and one wild goat is the equivalent of one sheep.
“Sheep and beef farmers have enough costs piling on them without feral animals undermining their livelihoods.”
Federated Farmers members should keep an eye out for an email inviting them to complete the survey.
Top of the crop: arable set to celebrate
New Zealand’s arable sector is gearing up to honour those who’ve excelled in the past year, with finalists for the annual awards now announced.
This year’s Arable Awards finalists range from a grower who’s experimenting with nitrogen-fixing faba beans to farmers achieving environmental gains without losing production.
“The awards are about celebrating all that’s good in arable – the innovation, commitment and achievements of the best of us,” Federated Farmers arable chair David Birkett says.
Ticket sales for the awards evening on 15 August in Christchurch are going well, he says.
“It hasn’t been an easy season for
arable farmers, with rising costs and variable returns.
“So, it’s great to see a strong crop of high-calibre award entries, and plenty of people keen to come out and celebrate with them.”
Birkett is particularly excited about both the Positive Environmental Impact Award and the Innovation Award.
“They’re all about how we create a stronger and more sustainable arable sector.”
Judges described Ashburton farmer Angus McKenzie as an articulate advocate for showing environmental action on a farm doesn’t have to be a financial drain.
He’s up against Feilding’s Tim Gorton and Waikato’s Daniel Finlayson for the Positive Environmental Impact Award.
The Innovation Award finalists are Brent Austin, Anna Gillum and Dr Soonie Chng.
Austin, who farms near Ashburton, has been a leader in experimenting with nitrogen-fixing faba beans to see how much nitrogen these provide for following cereal crops.
Meanwhile, Gillum has spearheaded PGG Wrightson Seeds cereal fungicide research for eight years, and Chng is also dedicated to understanding arable crop diseases and transferring that knowledge as solutions for growers.
MORE:
Ticket sales are open until 5 August. Get your ticket and see the full list of awards and finalists at arableawards. co.nz/finalists
Sc an her e t o l ear n mor e
INROADS: Hopes are high that the return of a national hunting competition will put a big dent in wild goat populations.
Photo: The Red Stag Timber Hunters Club
Work visa process ‘a litany of errors’
Judy and David Garshaw had hoped they wouldn’t be picking up calves without a key team member this season, but that’s exactly where they’ve found themselves.
“We have an experienced Irish dairy farmer ready to join our team, but she’s stuck in Australia because of issues with her immigration paperwork,” says Judy.
“When we started the Accredited Employer Work Visa application process, we were told it would be six weeks, but that process has ballooned out to four months now.
“Our staff member, Aoidhe, is just sitting in Australia twiddling her thumbs while she waits for Immigration NZ to let her get on a plane. It’s so frustrating.”
Judy, 65, and David, 68, are dairy farm owners in Otaua, North Waikato, and had hoped Aoidhe would be with them well before calving started.
“What really mattered to me was giving her enough time to do a driving safety course, do the health and safety checks, familiarise
herself with the farm,” Judy says.
“We wanted her to have time to settle in and find her feet in a new country, but now she’ll be arriving in the middle of calving and be straight into work.”
Judy says she and David are still very active and hands-on farmers, but their plan was to have Aoidhe join their team to help with the physical work.
The whole system is completely broken and it feels impossible to get a clear answer about what’s happening with your application.
Judy Garshaw North Waikato dairy farmer
“We’ve been stretched so thin that we even had my 73-year-old sister, who lives in a retirement village in Matamata, helping out on the farm.
“A woman of her age should be enjoying her retirement, not on her
hands and knees in the mud calving a cow with milk fever at 5.30am on a cold winter morning.”
Judy says the entire process with Immigration NZ has been clunky, time-consuming, and confusing to navigate.
“It’s just a litany of errors, really. The whole system is completely broken and it feels impossible to get a clear answer about what’s happening with your application.”
Federated Farmers immigration spokesperson Richard McIntyre says it’s frustrating that many farming families are in a similar position to the Garshaws.
“It’s simply not good enough that we’ve got families heading into the thick of calving season without enough staff to properly run their farm.
“Things are nearing crisis point, and they haven’t been helped by recent changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme that are causing significant delays.
“Many of our rural communities, particularly those more remote, just don’t have a large enough local
workforce, let alone with the farming skills required.
“Unfortunately, those farmers are often dependent on skilled international staff to fill critical gaps in their team to keep the farm running.”
McIntyre says it can be incredibly stressful for farmers who find themselves short-staffed during a busy time of year – particularly if it’s unexpected.
farmers because of issues with the paperwork.
“We understand the most common issues are farmers using the wrong ANZSCO code or failing to provide sufficient evidence of three years’ experience.
“Immigration NZ have told us that clear and well-evidenced applications should be processed rapidly, but if farmers are having issues, we want them to reach out to us.
SLOW: Recent changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme are causing significant delays, Richard McIntyre says.
“It can have major flow-on effects to not only your workload, mental health and animal welfare, but also your family life and relationships too.
“We probably don’t talk enough about that last point, but we should because the pressure it can put on an entire farming family can be crushing.”
He says Federated Farmers are aware of the issues and are working closely with Immigration NZ and Minister Erica Stanford to try and resolve them quickly.
“Policy changes have created grey areas that are causing significant delays, but there are some things farmers can be doing themselves to help speed things up.
“The major challenge right now is that more than half of all dairy visa applications are being returned to
“That’s the value of your Federated Farmers membership: we’re here and we’ve got your back when you need it most.”
Good news for the Garshaws finally came through shortly after Federated Farmers went to bat for them.
“We’ve just had news from Immigration NZ that Aoidhe’s paperwork has been processed and she can finally enter the country,” Judy said on July 19.
“It’s like a huge weight has been lifted. She’ll be on a plane and with us on the farm by midday tomorrow.
“I urge any farmer who is not a member of Federated Farmers to consider joining.
“This is not the first time they have been very supportive and, without their help, I doubt we’d have Aoidhe here.”
FULL SQUAD: A relieved Judy Garshaw (centre), as Immigration NZ finally gave the green light for Irish dairy worker Aoidhe (left) to enter the country in late July, joining fellow Irish farmer Caroline (right) to make up a full team.
Federated Farmers
Rates hike riles West Coast farmers
West Coast farmers are slamming their regional council for imposing the largest rates rise in the country on rural families already strapped for cash.
Simon Cameron, Federated Farmers West Coast president, says it’s staggering that the local council is hitting the community with a 27% rates hike during a cost-of-living crisis.
“I can accept the cost of everything has gone up and that council aren’t immune to that, but this increase seems massively disproportionate and is well above inflation.
“This is a total kick in the guts for our rural communities, already under huge financial pressure and struggling this season.
The only thing we seem to get for our rates is our road graded after it’s flooded, and often we have to wait months before that happens.
Cameron Federated Farmers West Coast president
“There needs to be some accountability for the council’s spending and poor cost control.”
West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) agreed in late June to adopt its plan for the next 10 years. The average rates increase will be 27%, followed by 12% and 7.5% the following years.
There was no cutting of proposed expenditure, despite Federated Farmers calling for this in its submission on the council’s Long-Term Plan.
Cameron says he’s been hearing from farmers in every corner of the region, all asking the same question: ‘Where’s all the money going?’
“We’re getting slapped with this huge rate increase, but we can’t see where our money is even going as rural ratepayers,” Cameron says.
“The only thing we seem to get
for our rates is our road graded after it’s flooded, and often we have to wait months before that happens.”
Dairy farmer Frano Volckman, Federated Farmers West Coast vicepresident, says the rates increase will “go down like a cup of cold sick” with farmers.
“The council are completely out of touch. Do they not realise how tough it is for people out there right now? Nobody has any spare money floating around.”
Volckman, who farms nine hours up the coast from Cameron, says the council needs to “put its big boy pants on” and demand more funding from central government.
“The problem with the coast is we have such a big area – so much of it is national park – but we have a very low number of ratepayers to spread the burden across.
“We’re constantly on the back foot trying to keep up with what central
government want us to do for things like tourism or pest control.
“The council need to be having a conversation with the Government about what a fairer cost-split could look like.”
Like Cameron, Volckman queries what value farmers get from their rates bill.
“We don’t have rubbish collections, mains water or sewerage, so what do farmers see from it?
“Our roads around here have been munted for so long.
“We don’t often see new metal going on; the roads just get graded, which means they’re ok for a week or two, and then the potholes reappear.
“I don’t think your average cocky is getting much benefit from their rates.”
Cameron says the council’s senior leadership team need to be held more accountable for spending decisions.
“There’s a perception that those leading the councils – both here and around the country – have not been prudent with their spending.
“Are the decision-makers being held accountable, and what happens if they’ve been making poor spending decisions?”
Cameron says, while all organisations are facing inflation pressure, any private sector organisation, and even central government, needs to first look at how it can be more efficient with its own spending before simply putting its prices up.
“I also wonder if part of the issue here is that the West Coast has faced a lot of uncertainty and economic vandalism,” Cameron says.
“When your key sectors of agriculture, mining and tourism have been impacted by high inflation, overregulation and covid border closures, it means people and
businesses are leaving the region and this reduces the overall rating base.
“Programmes like the Fast-track Bill and repealing of unworkable freshwater rules are welcome relief to the West Coast.”
Cameron says he’ll be working hard to build a stronger relationship with the regional and district councils, so they understand what life is like on the ground for farmers.
“I’m new in the provincial president role and I’m keen to see West Coast Feds making more of an effort to communicate with our councils, at the same time as them listening more to farmers.
“I personally want to work on more of a proactive basis, rather than a reactive basis.
“I think we’ll all get a better outcome if we can properly discuss the issues and then figure out fair solutions.”
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BIG: West Coast Federated Farmers president Simon Cameron, pictured with partner Courtney and daughter Pippa, loves farming in a big landscape, but he’s not loving the regional council’s big rate rise.
Simon
Trading in a two-speed economy
Neal Wallace MARKETS Trade
THE Chinese economy operated at two speeds in the first five months of this year, with the consumption and the property markets stalling while manufacturing and exports were robust.
This is detailed in a Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade market intelligence report, which says first quarter economic growth in China was 5.3%, exceeding market expectations of 4.9% growth.
In the March 2024 quarter China bought $5.34 billion of New Zealand goods and services, 21.6% of all NZ exports for that period.
Sluggish demand due to high property debt and low consumer confidence is a key reason for
weak prices of primary sector exports to China for the past year.
Retail growth remained below pre-pandemic projections at 2.3% in April, the slowest rate since 2022, although there was improvement in May, when it grew at 3.7%.
The property sector was also depressed, with sales falling 20.7% year on year in May, after a 22.8% drop in April.
Investment in property fell 10.1% in the year to May.
In May the Chinese government announced new support measures for the property market, including relaxed mortgage rules and $67bn in loans to fund the state purchases of unsold homes.
Domestic tourism has performed strongly but there was a 12.3% drop in per-head spending.
China’s manufacturing and export sectors also performed
CUSTOMER: In the March 2024 quarter China bought $5.34 billion of New Zealand goods and services, 21.6% of all NZ exports for that period.
strongly through April and May with investment in manufacturing growing 9.6% and exports 7.6%.
NZ dairy exports for the first four month of this year totalled $2.4bn, 3% higher than the same period a year earlier, although the report describes demand as “tepid”, noting total imports to China fell 12% in the year to April.
This shows the savvy business decisions of some firms to concentrate on higher value sales channels (food services and bakery), and less so on retail channels.
Market intelligence report MFAT
“Taken together, 3% year-onyear growth in the year to date April shows the relative resilience of NZ dairy exports and savvy business decisions of some firms to concentrate on food services and bakery, and less so on retail channels,” the report says.
Exports of NZ infant formula in the year to April were $410 million, nearly 17% down on the same period last year, but that came off a high base after NZ companies moved quickly to meet China’s new infant formula registration requirements.
“The increase in China’s total imports of infant formula from competitors shows they have now caught up.”
The report notes indications
that China’s total infant formula imports in the year to April could be 31% lower due to growing trust in local brands and China’s low birth rate.
Exports of NZ meat to China in the four months to April were $985m, down almost 29% on the prior year due to high inventory reducing imports of foreign meat and competition from Brazil, Australia, Argentina and the United States.
China also released some pork reserves for sale, which pushed down meat prices during a period of weak domestic consumption.
Chinese pork production is declining, with the number of piglets born in the first quarter 4.9% lower than a year ago.
“This should see pork prices – and meat prices by extension – increase in China over the medium term, third and further quarters of 2024.”
NZ forestry and wood product exports to China increased by 8% in the year to April 2024, to $1.1bn, compared with the same period a year earlier.
China buys about 89% of NZ’s softwood logs.
The MFAT report notes that trade tensions are growing with the US imposing tariffs on a range of Chinese manufactured goods, and the European Union on Chinese electric vehicles.
Foreign direct investment is also an issue, falling 27.9% year on year to April, but a third straight monthly rise of inflation has lessened the risk of deflation, although at 0.3%, inflation is well below the government’s 3% target.
Onions shed a layer of export hassle
ONION growers have secured streamlined access for exports to their prized market, Indonesia.
A deal concluded in Auckland will allow sales to Indonesia without fumigation, which can affect quality.
Instead, there will be checks of consignments of onions at New Zealand packhouses and growing areas, which are verified by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Once the MPI is satisfied, it will issue export certification for onion consignments.
The agreement was signed in Auckland between Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and the visiting head of the Indonesia Quarantine Authority (IQA), Dr Sahat Manaor Panggabean.
A reciprocal part of the pact will ease the sales of Indonesian pineapples in New Zealand.
The deal is an updated cooperation arrangement that covers technical matters, such as enhanced digitisation of export certificates, and biosecurity.
“The co-operation arrangement paves the way for New Zealand and Indonesia to boost our $3 billion two-way trade,” McClay said.
“This is a significant step forward that will save our growers time and money, and it demonstrates Indonesia’s confidence in New Zealand’s strong biosecurity processes.”
The agreement has been long in the making, but it comes amid warnings that the tide is turning globally against free trade. Symptoms of this include stiff tariffs imposed on Chinese EVs by both the United States and the European Union, as well as the continued disabling of the WTO’s appellate court by the US. In addition, US presidential candidate Donald Trump is proposing 10% tariffs on all goods coming into the US.
In a recent speech New Zealand’s chief trade negotiator, Vangelis Vitalis, said the golden age of trade, from the 1990s til 2016, was over, and “the jungle is growing back”.
Vitalis said the best option for New Zealand in this situation is to try to enhance the value of the trade agreements it already has.
New Zealand has a 14-yearold free trade deal with the 10-country Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Indonesia is a member. The Indonesian economy has been growing at around 5% for several years, according to the IMF, and Vitalis mentioned Indonesia in his talk as a country New Zealand should focus on.
New Zealand and Indonesia have had trade difficulties in the past, including a five-year dispute over beef sales, which New Zealand won. But a veteran trade authority, Stephen Jacobi, thinks Indonesia is still a good prospect for this country.
“Agreements like this one are useful. I mean, onions are not going to transform the
ENHANCE: New Zealand’s chief trade negotiator, Vangelis Vitalis, says the best option for New Zealand is to try to enhance the value of the trade agreements it already has.
New Zealand economy, but it is important to have the best possible access to the Indonesian economy.
“The biggest thing would be if they join CPTPP, which they say they would like to do. Indonesia is a very large, important potential market for us we have had a lot of trouble with over the years, so anything we can do to get access is a good thing.”
For the onion industry, this deal is big. Onions dwarf other vegetable exports, with the next largest contender, buttercup squash, just a fraction of the size. Around 85% of all onions grown in New Zealand are exported, and Indonesia is by far the biggest target, paying $45 million to exporters from here.
Gerhard Uys NEWS Imports
THE Ministry for Primary Industries has recalled products containing sesame seeds from 15 different brands after salmonella was detected in a bulk seed import.
The recalls of the product started on Friday and were still ongoing on Monday, July 22.
New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said affected seeds were imported in bulk from India and traced to the products, which have been removed from sale.
In all, 16,625kg of seeds were affected.
“The salmonella was detected as part of routine testing. As is usual practice for recalls, the entire batch which contained the contaminated sample was recalled.”
The seeds were recalled from stores across multiple regions, including Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Taupō and Napier.
Products affected ranged from specialty bakery breads containing sesame seeds to grocery store refills of sesame seeds, spice mixes, and a sesame seed sprinkle supplied with My Food Bag meals.
Christchurch-based Davis Trading Company was the importer.
“People can get seriously ill from salmonellosis, so either return the products to the place of purchase or throw them away.
“Symptoms of salmonellosis appear within 12 to 72 hours and include abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. Illness usually lasts between four and 7 days but, in more severe cases, it can go on for up to 10 days and cause more serious illness.”
Arbuckle said the safety of consumers is always a priority when undertaking recalls. “We work with food businesses, including importers, throughout the supply chain to identify potentially affected products and remove them from sale.”
Food businesses must safely manage and dispose of recalled products and may not sell them.
INDIA: New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle says the affected seeds were imported in bulk from India.
Eric Frykberg MARKETS Horticulture
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NZ Rural Real Estate Market
The
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Our business transacts 1 in 4 rural sales nationally, and like anyone whose business is tied to the land, we’re fairly invested in finding the silver linings in the current primary sector outlook. Our business goes back 38-plus years supporting provincial NZ real estate, and our rural real estate business has trebled in size over the last five years, so our roots go deep with rural NZ.
Understanding the impact of economic cycles and regulatory frameworks on real estate supply and demand, has proved more useful than traditional benchmarks of commodity prices and farmer/grower confidence surveys
In our view, the NZ rural real estate market is entering a new era this spring as interest rates and land use options continue to evolve Historically we ’ ve quoted 10-year benchmarks and annual sales performance, but we have changed tack this season and are instead looking at market information quarter on quarter, aligned to the seasons to compare like-with-like selling periods
Interest rates and access to capital have had a significant effect on real estate markets over the last three years, and as interest rates have gone up, demand for rural property has reduced dramatically
This best illustration is Spring 2021, the OCR had just increased to 0 5%, and over that three-month spring period, the rural real estate market transacted $1 674m from 472 rural properties Dial forward two years to last Spring 2023, and OCR had reached 5 25%, and we saw $679m of transactions from 239 sales
Put another way, last year’s spring market dropped almost 60% in sales value compared to 2021
Interestingly, the median price per hectare has held up well at $31,900/ha over spring 2023, but this winter 2024, we ’ ve seen that drop to $25,000/ha as the ongoing reality of higher interest rates and the current commodity cycle moderate vendor expectations
Extended marketing campaigns for some farms dating back 12-18 months have also been a factor
There has recently been some moderation in the RBNZ tone, and markets are, for the first time, starting to price in an interest rate reduction for this spring To date, the market has absorbed a steadfast OCR held at 5 5% over consecutive Reserve Bank decisions dating back to May 2023 Importantly, should the market perceive interest rates have peaked, this will be a significant confidence factor
The commodity cycle has negatively impacted farm gate returns for dairy, sheep, and beef production systems, particularly the Hill Country Not much about that is expected to change dramatically this season
However, the standing orders with the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) have changed under the new government to significantly speed up decision-making under the current policy settings
This has already had an immediate effect with the backlog of OIO applications cleared and a stronger business focus when processing new applications well within prescribed guidelines This is potentially very helpful to vendors weighing up the risks of a conditional sale and purchase agreement tied to an OIO application Solar is starting to feature in recent OIO decisions suiting well-located flat land adjacent to key utility infrastructure At the other end of the scale, pasture to forestry applications will be considered by the OIO for production forestry; specifically Land Use Class (LUC) 6 and 7, importantly these decisions are expected to confirm within months
So don’t let recent media suggest there is no pasture to forestry investment appetite; there is, but it’s more aligned with what a farmer will pay than historic market premiums
New Zealand Quarterly Rural Sales 1 January 2021 - 30 June 2024 (20ha+)
New planting of forestry is expected to be back 40% this year Should the carbon price spike this season that could change; however, on recent data, it seems unlikely For this season, having some pasture-toforestry activity operating helps underpin the market, and given the pressure on Hill Country balance sheets, this demand is welcomed by those looking for options to diversify or exit the farm
Growers are having a much better year in 2024, and given all the production headwinds of 2023, that would not have been hard Demand for grower exports continues to firm This segment of the property market all but stopped last year; however, unlike pastoral systems, orchard values are very much tied to the underlying return, so there is good reason to be positive here, too
In short, both interest rates and regulatory settings are set to help stimulate market activity as we head into the new season There are no silver bullets, but it is worth reflecting that this recent economic period has been challenging for everyone, and for real estate, has been tougher than the GFC, but there is always a rebound When you take stock of the charts, the worst is behind us, so for those wanting options, we are of the view that you should “ go early” to market and catch this renewed confidence before you have to compete with a flood of new listings Our advice is always very simple: get some advice; our rural team is always open to talking through the options specific to your property and its unique location
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SALE TALK
Husband and wife jokes.
• My husband claims I’m the cheapest person he’s ever met.
I’m not buying it.
• My wife’s leaving me because she thinks I’m obsessed with astronomy. What planet is she on?
• My husband and I often laugh about how competitive we are. But I laugh more.
• My wife threw some Omega 3 capsules at me today.
It’s okay though, I only have super fish oil injuries.
I invited my husband to go to the gym with me and then I didn’t show.
I hope he gets the message that we’re not working out.
• I told my wife she drew her eyebrows too high.
She seemed surprised.
My husband says the salads I make tend to be a bit on the dry side.
It’s definitely something that needs addressing.
FARM MAPPING
ON-POINT PLANNING this winter with a simple and practical farm map – visit farmmapping.co.nz for a free quote.
FERAL DEER
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GOATS WANTED
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PUMPS
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Ewe sale
Thursday 8th August 1:30pm
On offer approximately 2000 Capital stock Romdale ewes, on offer due too sale of property.
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EMPLOYMENT WANTED
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It’s back to the future for beef & lamb
Trading patterns are increasingly switching back to what we saw in the late 2010s, and domestically, procurement competition has returned.
IT’S been a wild few years for global sheep and beef markets. The big reset that we went through a year ago caught everyone through the supply chain off guard and we’ve been feeling the pinch ever since.
But it’s not all doom and gloom out there. The room for improvement is certainly significant in China, but both beef and lamb sales into developed markets such as the United States, Europe and Japan have provided a little spark in an otherwise dull landscape.
One point that’s cropped up in conversation for people at all points in the supply chain is how much this season feels like a throwback to around 2017/2018. And perhaps that’s the period we should use as a reference to understand how the coming year and beyond may pan out.
New Zealand sheep and beef exporters haven’t had a “normal” trading year since 2018.
It all began with the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in
China. What followed was the mass culling of pigs, escalating Chinese pork production in 2018, only for these volumes to bottom out 24.1 million tonnes or 37% below those peak annual levels just two years later. Chinese pork output only recovered to pre-ASF levels last year.
This outbreak and the following concerns about food supply sparked the initial surge in buying from China, in turn lifting livestock values in New Zealand. In the space of a year, the share of New Zealand beef exported to China jumped from 26% to 46%, with lamb also rising, from 36% to 45%. Admittedly, some of this was driven by speculators who believed they could ride the market upwards.
There was always bound to be some market realignment as China rebuilt pig numbers, but as we all know covid muddied the waters further. Rather than tame buying, global production and logistical issues created artificial shortages in all markets.
Combined with various governments issuing massive stimulus cheques, this sent export prices to exorbitant levels in the
Importers built up expensive inventories they eventually started to struggle to sell. These past 12 months have been the hangover from that party.
early 2020s. Over time importers built up expensive inventories they eventually started to struggle to sell. These past 12 months have been the hangover from that party.
As the dust settles, our trading patterns are increasingly switching back to what we saw in the late 2010s. Exporters are spreading sales into a wider variety of markets, with China reverting to taking the lesserquality cuts it was previously known for.
With the selling focus shifting back to the likes of the US and Europe, more emphasis has been put on creating value-add products within New Zealand too, mainly through producing more chilled or boneless cuts.
Because of this, lamb slaughter prices are likely to return to peaking in line with chilled Christmas production, rather than the later or extended peak that Chinese New Year buying has caused in recent years.
Locally, the big change has been the ease at which farmers can get stock into processors. It’s no secret that the major slaughter backlogs generated through the covid years kept a lid on what processors had to pay to source stock.
Now that overseas workers are more readily available, staff absenteeism rates are well
down, and other sectors aren’t competing for staff as heavily, all processors can churn through stock more readily, to the point where backlogs have been a rarity. The fact there’s been next to zero overhang of cull dairy cows into winter is one example of this. That’s caused a switch to a more traditional winter slaughter market this season, where capacity has easily outnumbered the volume of finished stock available. Processors have tried to manage this by shutting chains earlier and for longer.
Regardless, procurement competition has returned, underpinned by local trade processors, causing slaughter prices to lift irrespective of what’s occurring in overseas markets. Low livestock numbers nationwide are exacerbating this situation too.
SEASON: Lamb slaughter prices are likely to return to peaking in line with chilled Christmas production, rather than the later Chinese New Year peak of recent years.
Reece Brick MARKETS Beef & lamb
Weekly saleyards
Beef is the flavour of the month and demand has the store cattle market sizzling already despite winter temperatures. A large yarding of nearly 300-head of R2 traditional steers pulled a crowd at Stortford Lodge on Wednesday. Manawatū and Bay of Plenty buyers were able to secure a few pens, but the lion’s share stayed local. Excluding just two pens, they earned $3.81-$3.89/kg across weights from 395kg to 504kg. It is not just traditional breeding experiencing demand – autumn-born weaners at Frankton were a hit on the same day and half a dozen pens, steers and bulls, traded over $7/kg.
weaner dairy-beef
Stortford Lodge | July 24 | 515 cattle, 5070 sheep
or $/hd Mixed-age Angus cows, VIC, one line, 564kg
R2 Angus steers, 395-436kg
R2 Angus & Angus-Hereford steers, 488-496kg 3.85-3.89
R2 beef-cross heifers, 367-413kg
R1 Hereford steers, 228-261kg
Dannevirke | July 18 | 1163 sheep
R2 Hereford-Friesian, Angus-Friesian heifers, 383-453kg
R1 traditional steers, 195-295kg
R1 Hereford bulls, 212-239kg
R1 Friesian bulls, 171-271kg
R1 Angus, Hereford heifers, 174-231kg 805-910
R1 Simmental-cross, Angus-Friesian heifers, 229-269kg 960-990
Aut-born weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers, one line, 144kg 705
5-year Perendale ewes, SIL, medium to good 85-89
Mixed-age Romney ewes, SIL, medium-good to very good 85-176
Store cryptorchid lambs, good to heavy 108-152
Store male lambs, good 86-118
Store ewe lambs, good to heavy
Store ewe lambs, light to medium
Feilding | July 22 | 57 cattle, 3827 sheep
bulls, 603-905kg
Boner Friesian cows, 500-586kg
Boner Friesian cows, 556-570kg 2.55-2.68
Mixed-age ewes, RWR blackface, one line 140
Store Halfbred wether lambs, medium
Store mixed-sex lambs, medium
Prime ewes, most
Prime mixed-sex lambs, most
Balclutha | July 24
Charlton | July 18 | 257 sheep
Lorneville | July 23
or $/hd
or $/hd
R2 beef heifers, 466-511kg 1550-1680
R1 beef-cross steers and heifers, 259-292kg
Feeder calves | July 22 - July 24
Tuakau | July 22 |
Angus-Friesian, Speckle Park-Friesian heifers, small to good
Paeroa | July 22 |
AgriHQ market trends
Cattle Sheep
NZX market trends
The final month of winter
THE eastern South Island needs rain, and at the time of writing this column there were some chances of wet weather for Canterbury and surrounds as we go through this week. We’ve had a number of people tell us spring feels like it’s arriving early – despite a snowy cold blast potentially moving in right after I write this.
Usually spring in New Zealand is defined by an uptick in westerly winds, and more days where people say “I feel like spring is here!” –usually those sunnier, milder, days where you notice the odd flower in bloom or new buds forming, or pasture taking off again.
Spring is about life returning. Winter is death, decay and being dormant. This is why I firmly believe NZ barely has a winter. For those who have travelled abroad you may well agree, because in the depths of winter in Canada, or Norway, or Scotland you’re not talking about flowers out, or pine pollen, and you’re not wearing
shorts and a singlet for work.
NZ barely has a winter. It’s much more like an elongated autumn and spring combined. In fact, early spring is often full of some of the snowiest weather in northern hemisphere nations. That peak of cold air arriving with longer sunshine hours is part of the reason spring can be such a volatile season.
We have people saying an early spring is arriving, while others say this is the coldest winter they’ve had in 20 years.
So why am I talking so much about spring when we’re in the depths of winter? Because if you need rain, spring can be a tricky season, and August for northern NZ heralds an early spring weather pattern – more changeable weather mixed in with some really mild days.
Spring can throw us weather more extreme than winter sometimes, just like it can in the northern hemisphere. But it does it with longer sunshine hours and
a much higher chance of a warm bounce back a few days later.
For lower South Island readers you may not be in agreement –although a farmer from south Westland wrote to me last week to say daffodils are out everywhere. Another farmer, in Hawke’s Bay, told me the big spring daffodils are out now, not the small winter ones. And I have orchids in Auckland that normally flower in October looking ready to flower in August. Around NZ we have a mixture of people saying an early spring is arriving, while others say this is the coldest winter they’ve had in 20 years.
August can be a strange time in NZ. We’re technically in the peak of winter, yet some see hints of spring. But it’s not surprising that the last week of July and the start of August may well kick off with peak winter weather. We’re not out of the woods from snow risks until October.
Despite the cold blast coming, however, I’m optimistic some of you are getting a spring in your step now. Here’s hoping the chaos of it all brings rain to those who need it before spring warmth and wind dry soil moisture out further.
ACCUMULATE: Rainfall accumulation over seven days starting from 6am Sunday July 28 through to 6am Sunday August 4.
Philip Duncan NEWS Weather