Farmlander August 2016 North Island by Farmlands

SPECIAL OFFERS AND INFORMATION FOR FARMLANDS SHAREHOLDERS

AUGUST 2016 Valid from 1-31 August 2016

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TAPPING INTO TECHNOLOGY

CONTENTS

THE FARMLANDER

PLAN365

FROM THE CEO

23-24

Plan365 Animal Management

26-30

Plan365 Forage and Arable

32-38

Plan365 Horticulture

Hi all,

40-48

Plan365 Nutrition

Plan365 Dairy Management

Plan365 Rural Infrastructure

62-63

Real Estate Listings

Welcome to the August issue of Farmlander magazine. We have dedicated a fair bit of time this month to discussing health and safety, a topic that everyone needs to take seriously. With the Health and Safety at Work Act becoming effective from April this year, it has put greater responsibility on all of us for the health and safety of our people. It’s very easy to shrug this off and say ‘it’s the bureaucrats, they have no idea what the real world is like, they are just getting in the road’. But the reality is the primary sector has been let off the hook, especially agriculture. Far too many people are injured, seriously hurt and killed on farms in New Zealand. The owner and operator model has meant we all tend to do things our way. Given our relationships with our workforce (where generally we have a small number of workers and we know them really well as we work alongside them) – it is simply not good enough that people get hurt on our farms. I see the new Act as an opportunity. An opportunity for all of us in this sector to move from lagging to leadership. Farmlands is up for the journey – we take health and safety seriously and we are ready and willing to help you. Please talk to us and let’s work together to make sure everyone who comes on to a farm leaves in the condition they arrived. That’s the way it should be. I hope the final weeks of winter treat you well.

INTEREST 2

From the CEO

Save the date

Meet the team

6-9

Health and Safety focus

Buying Power Promise

Farmlands 5 minutes

12-16

Special Feature - Saving Lives

Choices Rewards

Cream of the crop - Tony Murrell

20-21

Ladies Nights

Shareholder Calendar Photo Competition

Farmlands Fuel

54-55

Farmlands Mid-Year Clothing Sale

Farmlands National Cull Cow Pool

ON YOUR FARMLANDS CARD 4-5

What’s hot?

17 Ford 22

Bunnings

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Harvey Norman

Mitre 10 Mega

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Peter Reidie

56-57

Chief Executive Officer Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited

The Card that gives back

58 Repco 60-61 Spark 64

Dow Agro Sciences

SAVE THE DATE

WHAT’S COMING UP WITH FARMLANDS

TICKETS

Tony’s Top tips for growing great gardens

$25 LIMIT OF 4 PER SHAREHOLDER

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1 AUGUST 2016 ST

visit www.farmlands.co.nz/ladiesnight or see in-store for details.

Special prices and offers apply from the 1st to the 31st of August 2016. Only while stocks last. Check your Farmlands store for product availability. All prices include GST unless otherwise stated. Savings based on Farmlands normal retail price. Note: The “Your Price” advertised in The Farmlander magazine is the price that a Farmlands shareholder will be charged if the advertised products are purchased during the promotional period. Farmlands stores also use a “net” price (discounted price without a rebate) to attract cash sale customers and potential shareholders. *Savings based on Farmlands normal retail price. Accounts are payable at Farmlands Head Office or any store by the 20th of each month. Failure to pay an Account by Due Date is a Default Event under the Terms and Conditions and Farmlands is then at its discretion entitled to: suspend or terminate the Account; charge interest at 2% per month; reverse

2 | THE FARMLANDER

AUGUST

Hautapu Lifestyler Day A day of amazing deals and advice on everything you need!

discounts or credit rebates; debit other Shareholder Accounts; make demand on a Card Signatory; debit any default administration costs incurred; register a mortgage over land; terminate shareholding. Farmlands shareholders have the option to pay their Accounts either in part or in full by MasterCard or Visa Credit Card. Payment by any credit card will not entitle the shareholder to receive Bonus Rebates for the month paid or part paid. Neither Farmlands nor any other person involved in the preparation of this document accepts any liability for any opinion or information (including the accuracy or completeness thereof) or for any consequences flowing from its use. The information contained in this document is given in good faith, has been derived from sources perceived to be reliable and accurate and is subject to Farmlands Terms and Conditions. Not all products are available at all Farmlands stores. Offers valid at Farmlands North Island stores only.

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Sophie Loe Q: What is your current role at Farmlands? A: Farmlands Card Account Manager — Upper South Island. Q: What do you enjoy about your job? A: Getting out in the different regions and negotiating deals for our shareholders to get them the best price on their Farmlands Card. Q: What type of work were you doing before you started at Farmlands? A: I was living in Dubai and working as a Flight Attendant for Emirates. Q: Tell us a bit about your family. A: I am the youngest of four, I have one sister and two brothers. We were brought up on a dairy farm in the Wairarapa where my parents still live. Q: Where is your favourite New Zealand getaway? A: Queenstown, you can’t beat this place in winter!

Sophie’s Pulled Lamb

IMPORTANT NOTICE Do you know someone who could make a valuable contribution to the Farmlands Board of Directors? Following the Society’s Rules, the Board has confirmed a Director election will take place in each of the North and South Islands. If you would like to nominate someone as a Farmlands Director, criteria and nomination forms can be downloaded from www.farmlands.co.nz or by contacting Esther Gilbert at Polson Higgs, esther.gilbert@ph.co.nz or (03) 474 9713. Nominations must be received at 139 Moray Place, Dunedin 9016 (the Polson Higgs offices) no later than

Ingredients 1 leg of lamb around 2.6kg 4 peeled cloves of garlic (optional) 2 sprigs of rosemary

noon on Tuesday, 9th August 2016. Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 Tablespoons flour 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 cup of water

Method 1. Pre-heat oven to 180oC. 2. Take the lamb out of the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking. 3. Place the lamb in a roasting dish and make incisions in the skin. Take the peeled garlic cloves and insert into the lamb. 4. Chop rosemary and place some under the lamb and on top. 5. Sprinkle flour mixed with sugar over the top of the meat. 6. Pour 1 cup of water around the meat so that the base of the pan is well covered for the meat to sit in. 7. Place meat in the oven to brown the top (make sure it doesn’t burn). This will allow the skin to crisp. 8. Turn right back to 120oC and cook for 5-6 hours or until the meat is pulling.

CALL IN AND SEE US! Tap into the huge amount of knowledge and experience at your local Farmlands store. Drop in, call 0800 200 600 or visit www.farmlands.co.nz

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9. Serve with creamy potato and parsnip mash, red cabbage and gravy.

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THE FARMLANDER | 3

What’s hot?

Your latest news and offers from Farmlands Card Partners

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Avoiding the August injury toll With late winter workloads starting to ramp up, it’s timely to remember that the highest number of farming injuries are reported during August. Tasks like calving, sheep vaccinations and feeding of winter crops, together with working in often dark and wintry conditions, have traditionally made the month a busy and difficult time for farmers, with injuries hitting productivity. “It’s a tough time of year,” Al McCone, WorkSafe’s Agriculture Programme Manager says. “Dealing with weather extremes, animals and large machinery does carry risk and can be dangerous. But that doesn’t mean all accidents have to happen – some simple steps can reduce your risks. “The secret isn’t in more paperwork. It’s in the thinking you do before you start the task. Think about what has to be done, how it is going to be done, when and who is going to do it. If you’ve already done the thinking before you start the task, you will already have the risks and solutions sorted.

“Being tired, dealing with agitated stock, being cold, or being in a shed with an unusually slippery floor are all things that can make even the most routine task an accident waiting to happen. “Think of health and safety risk management like you would financial risk management. Both involve identifying the risks, assessing the options and managing and reviewing them to understand what worked and what could be improved. Ultimately, this process will mean you will have a more efficient, profitable and safe business. “For instance, with vaccination of ewes coming up, you need to either arrange for a vet to do this or, if you plan to do it yourself, ensure you learn vaccination techniques under supervision. Anyone administering the vaccinations or helping with them needs to be appropriately trained and experienced in handling sheep. “With winter feeding still underway, there will be lifting of haybales or other heavy feedstuffs. Anyone doing this should be trained in proper lifting techniques

to avoid manual handling injuries, which can cause musculoskeletal damage with potentially long-term health impacts. Farmers need to take special care when moving feedstuffs with tractors, especially when large bales are on hydraulics.” WorkSafe has partnered with farming groups, including Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Federated Farmers, to produce an updated and easy to use toolkit, which provides practical advice and resources to help farmers improve health and safety on their farms. The Keep Safe, Keep Farming toolkit includes ways to identify and manage risks and to help make health and safety part of your everyday activity. It has examples of things you can do to manage risk well, like farm rules, a contractor checklist, a maintenance record, hazard map and training register. WorkSafe also provides a wide range of free guides that can help you plan ahead and train your staff. “For instance, when you are preparing to vaccinate ewes, it pays to have a look at our Safe Guide to Handling Sheep – which has a section devoted to vaccinations,” Al says. “No matter how experienced you are, it’s a good reminder of the steps you need to take and the safety messages you need to communicate to your workers to be safe.” For further information, and to access the resources, visit www.saferfarms.org.nz Article supplied by WorkSafe.

6 | THE FARMLANDER

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Rural industry risk management Changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) came into effect on 4th April 2016. For the rural industry, some changes have been made to the management of workplace risk. Risk management, according to the new HSWA, can be broken down into the following three steps. 1. Identify the risk of harm or illness What can hurt the people on your farm? Risk assessment begins with identifying potential sources of harm or illness that are hazards. Risk analysis involves developing understanding of the risks through a consideration of cause and effect. Risk analysis must consider the likelihood of the hazard or the risk concerned occurring, the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or risk and what the person concerned knows, or ought (reasonably) to know about the hazard or risk. 2. Risk treatment How will you protect the people on your farm? Health and safety legislation specifies that risk management involves eliminating risks as far as is reasonably practicable. In circumstances where risks cannot be eliminated, the law requires that risks are minimised as far as is reasonably practicable. Control measures are used to eliminate or minimise risk – this could include maintenance of equipment to ensure it is safe, training in the task to be completed or changing the way a job is completed to eliminate the risk altogether.

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It is important to use the information from your risk identification to guide your control measures – the greater the potential harm, the more you should do to manage the risk.

has a SDS. A good SDS identifies the adverse effects, risks and will tell you the correct PPE to wear, incompatible substances, storage and appropriate disposal.

3. Communicate and monitor the risk

• Communicate and monitor the risk

How will the people on your farm know about potential risks?

Communicating the hazardous substances risks to the wider farm, workers and contractors through mandatory signage (as identified in the control regulations), updates as part of tool box meetings and inductions and training in the handling of hazardous substances.

Communication and consultation at every stage of the risk management process should involve both internal and external stakeholders. Risk management must be regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure both the risk monitoring and assessment are up to date and risk controls are effective and being implemented as agreed. How do these steps work in a real life rural setting? Consider hazardous substances on the farm. • Identify the risk Farms host numerous hazardous substances that if handled, used or stored incorrectly could potentially harm a worker. Hazard: Chemicals stored in unmarked containers. Risk: It is likely a person could use or be exposed to a chemical they are not qualified to handle. This could result in burns, explosion and/or poisoning.

Risk management in the rural setting is an ongoing procedure but once the process of identifying risks, risk treatment and communication and monitoring risks is understood and being practiced by all involved, the procedure becomes second nature and farms will, in turn, become safer. If you are considering upskilling yourself or your team or thinking about training as a way to manage risk within your business, you can use your Farmlands Card to purchase training through Vertical Horizonz. Call 0800 723 3848 or email info@verticalhorizonz.co.nz Article supplied by Farmlands Learning and Development team.

• Risk treatment Ensure all chemicals are handled according to the hazardous substances Safety Data Sheet (SDS). Best practice is that a SDS has been issued within the last 5 years and that every chemical

THE FARMLANDER | 7

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Tapping into safety technology Health and safety compliance doesn’t require mountains of paperwork – in fact, it can be achieved through a few taps on your smartphone. That is the vision of OnSide, a business bringing technology to the forefront of health and safety practice. OnSide was created by Michael Falconer, Juliet Maclean and Ryan Higgs, who met when they used to work together at Synlait Farms. All three identified safety as a key part of running a good business. With Michael’s leadership in the forest products sector and Juliet’s drive to help Synlait become a leader in health and safety, Ryan says the only thing missing was the technology to help their vision come to life. “One of the things we struggled with was the tools,” he explains. “There were the paper-based tools but paper wasn’t going to work for businesses where most of the activity is done outside. We decided we would develop something that was.” Michael and Juliet provided the health and safety nous for OnSide, while Ryan’s interests focused on developing the practical side of things. The result is a simple, technology based solution to manage health and safety for farmers and their visitors. “It’s useful for anyone operating an outdoor site that needs to manage risks,” Ryan says. “The farm or site has a virtual boundary – or ‘geofence’ – and a risk map, so when a visitor or team member crosses over the geofence, the app notifies them they have arrived at the farm and asks them to review the risks.

8 | THE FARMLANDER

“It only shows them new information when they are a repeat visitor, so they review the risk register, acknowledge the new risks and sign in to the farm.” Ryan says the uptake to the new technology has been excellent and better than initial expectations, with close to 1,000 people signed up to trial the system before the licensing model went live. Initially launched in April, the technology takes into account the latest legislation, language used and specifies who needs to be involved in safety planning. “Everyone has an important role to play in health and safety, not just the farm or business owner,” he says. “We have designed the system to make that happen – with the app on your phone, anyone can add a new risk and report an incident. “For us this is the first step. There is a long list of features we would like to add and we’ve continued to develop the system since we launched. We

are listening to the feedback from our OnSide users and considering this before we make changes.” So what could a Farmlands shareholder expect if they wanted to create their own health and safety plan using OnSide? “They could register the system online, set up their farm map and geofence in 5 minutes (using a satellite map) and get a good, fit for purpose register in 10-15 minutes, which will evolve over time,” Ryan says. “Most of the information is pre-loaded, so they can get risk management actions and even create an emergency plan. From there, they just need to invite their team, make contractors and visitors aware of OnSide and they should be good to go. “It’s mobile, practical and real time and will evolve as required. Good health and safety management doesn’t have to be complicated.” OnSide is a Farmlands Card Partner.

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Quad bike safety Quad bike injuries can be prevented – they aren’t part of the job. Quad bikes are not all terrain vehicles – they can’t go everywhere, or do everything. Respect their limits and make sure everyone on your farm follows these safety steps: Step 1 - Riders must be trained/ experienced enough to do the job Before anyone rides your quad bikes, assess their skills. If they need training, the best option is a skills course. For information on accredited training providers, visit the NZQA website or call 0800 697 296. Or, contact your local quad bike dealer and ask about courses in your area. Step 2 - Choose the right vehicle for the job When choosing the right vehicle for the job, pay close attention to what your quad bike owner’s manual says about carrying passengers. Most manufacturers’ manuals say passengers should not be carried. Also consider the maximum towed and carried load limits for your quad bike. Step 3 - Always wear a helmet Helmets can be the difference between walking away from an accident and suffering a permanent, life-changing brain injury. Step 4 - Don’t let kids ride adult quad bikes Quad bike manufacturers set a minimum age for using their bikes,

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based on the age when young people have sufficient strength, body weight and mental ability to master the safe riding techniques. On all adult-sized quad bikes (more than 90cc) sold in New Zealand that age is 16 or older. More safety tips

• Keep quad bikes maintained in a safe condition • Take care on slopes and rough terrain – don’t exceed the capabilities of the bike

• Don’t do tasks that interfere with safe riding – keep both hands on the bike, eyes on the ground in front Farmers have the same duties under the legislation as other employers. Farmers who don’t follow these safety steps risk penalties under the legislation if someone working on their farm is seriously injured or killed. For further information visit www.saferfarms.org.nz Article supplied by WorkSafe.

THE FARMLANDER | 9

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FARMLANDS 5 MINUTES

5 minutes with Anne Hindson The Nuffield Scholarships and Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme will soon be accepting applications for the 2017 courses. How does someone benefit from participating in these courses? The Nuffield Scholarships are all about developing farmers/growers as leaders to be influencers in the industry in key decision making forums. Those selected for a scholarship have the opportunity to gain a global understanding and insights to bring back home and provide some insights for the industry through presentations and their specific topic report. The Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme is a personal leadership development programme and it tends to attract those who want to take the next step in their leadership pathway either in community, management or governance roles. The programme provides a platform for extending or commencing leadership roles. With 53 leaders graduating each year from both programmes, we are contributing significantly to leadership in the primary industries. As globally recognised accreditations, how have the Nuffield Scholarships and Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme shaped rural leadership worldwide? Nuffield is the internationally focused programme of the two, with scholars participating in global forums. New Zealand scholars have a strong influence on international leadership through their involvement in the programme, their research and the reciprocal hosting and ongoing networks that develop.

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The Kellogg Programme is New Zealand focused rather than international, although many Kellogg alumni are in leadership roles in industries with strong international marketing, production and sales programmes. Designed to strengthen leadership at community, regional and national level in New Zealand, the programme develops skills and knowledge to help create more effective and critically thinking influencers within work and community networks. With many of New Zealand’s rural leaders attending, what are some of the more common topics of interest you have noticed over the past years? The topics chosen for research in both programmes tend to reflect personal interests and can be quite diverse. Many of the topics recently reflect key issues, challenges and opportunities for the industry as well as developing technology. Current Nuffield and Kellogg topics range from new technologies through to governance, synthetic food, environmental tourism, milk pricing, social media, farm succession and a strong focus on community engagement. The calibre of candidates seems to be high every year – is there a particular trait you look for in a candidate? We are lucky that we have so many talented people in our primary industries and they are keen to develop themselves and take on leadership roles. It is hard to say what the traits are that make a particularly good leader but increasingly EQ or people skills are becoming increasingly important.

General Manag er, Nuffield NZ Scholarships and Kellogg Ru ral Leadership Programme

For Nuffield, we have been putting greater emphasis on selecting those who are in farming/growing or have a close association with the land. While for the Kellogg programme, individuals choose to apply and we select on the basis of having a good mix across sectors, geographical location, gender and age. Changes to health and safety in the industry have required new thinking and higher vigilance – how do the Nuffield Scholarships and Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme evolve with changes to the industry? We expect that most of the people who come on to both these programmes would be leaders in or have a good understanding of health and safety. Prior to the introduction of the legislation, we dedicated time in the Kellogg Programme to looking at the new legislation and issues around values vs compliance but we find most come in quite knowledgeable around the legislation now. We have seen a major shift from resistance to compliance to seeing health and safety as a responsibility to keep themselves, their staff and visitors safe at work.

THE FARMLANDER | 11

SPECIAL FEATURE

Saving lives Keeping Kiwi farms safe | Dean Lithgow has had his own close call with overhead wires.

12 | THE FARMLANDER

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| Transport trucks made an ideal mobile billboard for Dean’s campaign.

Too many. That’s the simple answer when someone asks how many people have died or been injured while working in New Zealand’s primary sector. It’s an isolated occupation, one that is often sole charge and filled with hazards, both seen and unseen.

“‘Let’s Get Em Down’ was instigated by the farmer in me,

But New Zealand is finally waking up to the dangers of our rural industry and the toll they take, both professionally and personally. Changes to legislation help as a guide but it is more a shift in culture that is producing results.

“I hit a wire and I was one of the more fortunate ones – I

One person leading the charge is Wanganui farmer, helicopter pilot and Farmlands shareholder, Dean Lithgow. When not kept busy by flying, or checking in with family and staff on his dairy, beef and sheep operation, he is the proponent of ‘Let’s Get Em Down’, an organisation that aims to raise awareness of the dangers of overhead wires on-farm. Dean knows first-hand the dangers that wires pose to pilots when working on farms and hopes the message can save lives.

aviation and agriculture, that need each other and work well

“Most pilots that I know have encountered a wire at some stage in their career, myself included,” he says. “We launched the campaign on 20th of June last year. When we started, my aim was to saturate the topic as much as I possibly could, just to get it out there and keep it out there.

more so than the helicopter pilot. I struggle to read all the agriculture literature that arrives in my mail each week, so we need to work together and educate each other across both industries,” he says. sustained damage to the aircraft but managed to get it on the ground. The big thing I’ve really pushed is it is an education safety awareness campaign – two great industries, together. My view is we need to work together as a team.” At his own expense, Dean has been creating some of the marketing and collateral needed to get his message across. A number of businesses in the rural industry have also been spreading the message in-house and have supported him with advertising. The visual element of his campaign has had great results, with the help of a few famous friends. “Greg Murphy was good enough to front our campaign and Richie McCaw joined not long after. I don’t mind admitting I’ve thanked them publicly, on radio and in articles. I can’t thank those two guys enough, because rural New Zealand

“They may not see it this week, they may not see it next week – but eventually we hope people realise ‘that’s right, I need to take those wires down’.”

can relate to those two figures,” he says.

Dean has the statistics to back up his campaign. He says from the approximately 160 pilots that have been killed in the agricultural aviation industry in New Zealand, 29 of those are directly through wire strikes.

important to me to make sure we succeeded. All the support

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“If a farmer opens a paper with Richie McCaw in it, they are bound to read it. Having got those guys on board, it was has been welcomed.” The advertising campaign has been complemented by Dean’s novel ideas to keep the message out there.

THE FARMLANDER | 13

to show farmers how hard it is to see a wire while in flight. “Between both the aviation and agricultural industries, I’m hoping some of the initiatives being used in our greater region can be carried on throughout New Zealand, to keep that awareness there,” he says. “It’s an emotional plea to rural New Zealand. If only half a dozen people see that video, it is a simple way of getting the message across.” It is not just individuals leading the calls for safer work environments. At Landcorp, New Zealand’s largest farming organisation, the call has come from within. Landcorp’s scale underlines the importance of its leadership with health and safety – 140 farms, 715 permanent staff, more than 158,000 hectares owned and more than 225,000 hectares leased or sharemilked. But Chief Executive Steve Carden is matter-of-fact when he states the safety record of the business needs dramatic improvement. “Four years ago, we had a fatality on one of our West Coast farms – a quad bike accident,” he says. “It spurred some changes and when I joined the business 3 years ago, one of the first things I was involved in was the ‘Play It Safe’ campaign.”

Chiller bags with his campaign slogan ‘Keep us safe on your place’ have been distributed throughout nearby areas, while billboards appear on State Highways 1 and 3. “Grange Transport has also put that same logo – ‘Keep us safe on your place’ – on the back of their stock crates as a travelling billboard. Visiting freezing works, stock yards and sale yards – it’s just another little advert out there.” Dean’s efforts were rewarded last month at the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority’s annual conference, where they recognised his contribution to safety in the industry. While Dean is grateful for the recognition, his work is not done. “We’re just going to continue with what we’re doing. I caught

“It’s about getting into the hearts and minds of staff and thinking about the risks on farms. People’s perception about how risky farms are is out of whack with how risky farms actually are.

“

| Stafford and Casey Lithgow with a safety billboard.

up with WorkSafe and they’ve come on board with us. Now that people have seen the simple initiatives that have been brought to the table, I’m hoping other organisations will jump on board.” The more organisations that sign up, the greater ‘saturation’ Dean’s campaign will have. It is even online, where a search for ‘Let’s Get Em Down’ on YouTube leads you to a video featuring Dean’s sons Casey (15) and Stafford (12). “My family has been heavily involved. My sons put quite an emotional video clip together and I also put a wire up across one of my own gullies, got a quad copter and filmed this wire

14 | THE FARMLANDER

The campaign, fronted by radio personality, farmer and former All Black Richard Loe, got people talking about safety and driving more conversation about the risks on-farm. Steve says while the campaign was successful and people started to make some changes, the need for improvement remained. “A lot of people felt farming was a dangerous occupation and thought ‘this is what I signed up for’,” he says. “But then we were hit by more fatalities – major blows to our organisation that made us rethink how we keep our people safe on our farms.”

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| Dean Lithgow created ‘Let’s Get Em Down’ to raise awareness of overhead wires.

The result was a complete overhaul of Landcorp’s approach to safety. A health and safety consultancy business from Australia – Wilson Consulting, was brought in to help Landcorp understand the risks from an independent point of view. “It’s about getting into the hearts and minds of staff and thinking about the risks on farms. People’s perception about how risky farms are is out of whack with how risky farms actually are,” Steve says. “We thought we were doing a pretty good job on safety. Our people were wearing helmets and high vis and saying the right things. We were even winning safety leadership awards for our work on the ‘Play it Safe’ campaign. “But what we realised was we were comparing ourselves against the wrong metric. We were deceiving ourselves as to how dangerous our farms actually are. Wilson Consulting aren’t agriculture specialists, they’re safety specialists. What they’ve done is compared our safety record to other dangerous industries and companies across Australasia and our safety record was the worst they’d seen as a company.” The safety record discussion is frank – but Steve believes it needs to be. He is also honest about the time needed to see the changes take effect. “It’s going to take a while to turn around. I’ve spent a lot of time talking to my staff directly with what happened with our fatalities and how easy it was for this to happen on any of our farms,” he says. “It gives staff the realisation that if these huge tragedies happened to them, it could happen to anyone.

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“Our team’s perception of risk and safety is they feel we take it really seriously as a company. It’s a thing we do not compromise on. But at the same time, we have had a pretty unsophisticated view of what high performing safe organisations look like. “What we’ve now done is set up a safety forum with 20 of our top farm staff. They’re working on a safety plan for our organisation – PPE gear for staff, identifying how to do a risk analysis, machinery training and a whole range of different initiatives over the next 3 years that I hope will fundamentally change how we work here.” Steve says key to the process is that the safety solutions and their prioritisation are being owned by Landcorp staff. This is not a management call – this is about Landcorp staff setting their own high standards and holding each other accountable to them. It’s also about involving the partners and kids who live on Landcorp farms, because the change Landcorp is looking for is about adopting a new attitude and living that attitude both at work and at home. “Some of the things we are introducing are very practical. We know where our greatest risks are – dealing with machinery (like vehicles), animals and trip hazards – we get quite a few sprained ankles and busted knees,” he says. “So we’ve put in place a programme for how we do premachinery start checks and identifying risks on the job that they’re about to do.” “We have inductions for new staff coming on-farm, so all staff can clearly identify risks and tell people coming onto the farms, like contractors and suppliers. This practical stuff is important but more critically the thing we are trying to

THE FARMLANDER | 15

| Landcorp has put a number of safety processes in place.

change isn’t about getting our people to follow rules and fill

Steve says while it is the right thing to do as a business,

out paperwork. We are wanting our people to adopt a safety

raising safety standards makes a lot of sense commercially

mind-set. We are wanting them to have really thoughtful

as well. On average, 11 people per month at Landcorp have

conversations about where the risks in our business are, how

to take time off because of a lost time injury, a huge financial

we manage those risks and how we make sure that we are

cost to the business. He is determined for Landcorp to

learning from the small incidents that happen on-farm – and

become a leader in the industry and make sure their staff get

make changes so that they don’t happen again.”

home safe every day. “I’m convinced that putting safety first is a smart business

“

If we don’t work at these underlying wellness issues, we’re not going to see sustained improvement in our safety performance.

move. The most profitable farms we have are the safest farms. Good planning, good communication and a strong culture all drive safety. They are also the same ingredients we need to run a strong and profitable farm. “We want people to come to us because they like that we take their safety seriously.”

“

“Another area we’re looking at is the underlying cause of accidents in our business. A lot happen at the end of a shift, as people are rushing to get a job finished, or on Friday afternoons as people are tired after a week of work. Things like low energy and poor nutrition, insufficient training, low literacy levels and difficulties in following training material – these all increase the risks of injury. “If we don’t work at these underlying wellness issues, we’re not going to see sustained improvement in our safety performance.”

16 | THE FARMLANDER

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L FORD DEALER CONTACT YOUR LOCA DAY! FOR A TEST DRIVE TO 1. Farmlands special pricing is available to Farmlands Co-operative shareholders at participating Ford New Zealand dealerships. Special pricing on Focus Trend EcoBoost Hatch, Kuga Trend EcoBoost AWD and Everest Trend includes GST and is available from 1st July 2016 until 31st August 2016, or while stocks last, at participating Ford New Zealand dealerships. The special price excludes on road costs, options and accessories and is not available in conjunction with any other special offers. 2. For phone and media player compatibility, please visit www.ford.co.nz/sync

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THE FARMLANDER | 17

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To redeem your Choices Rewards Points, visit us online at www.farmlands.co.nz/choices or simply call the Choices Rewards team on 0800 200 600, option 4. Goods available from 1st August – 31st August 2016 or while stocks last.

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CO-OPERATIVE NEWS

The cream of the crop Tony Murrell is passionate about gardening – and he’s even more passionate about sharing his love for gardening with others. Inspired by his Grandfather and encouraged by his parents from a young age, Tony has turned his hobby into a career that has spanned nearly 30 years. Tony is the resident gardening expert on TV One’s Kiwi Living and the host of The Home and Garden Show on Radio Live. He also previously appeared on Ground Force, Garden Wars, House and Garden and Mucking In. “I trained in horticulture from quite a young age,” Tony says. “That largely came about because I had such an interest as a young boy. My Mum tells me that when I was little I was known for quite often going and tending to the pot plants in my classroom when I had just started school.” Tony is appreciative that over the past number of years, his career has allowed him to engage with New Zealanders and people from all over the world, talking about gardening and enthusing others, making them just as passionate as he is. This year will be no exception, as he travels around the country to host Ladies Nights. “I always enjoy meeting people around New Zealand,” he says. “It’s also a chance to have a good laugh, answer questions and tell people about some of the behind the scenes things that have happened on Kiwi Living, talk about what it’s like to pull a gardening TV and radio show together, how I find all my topics and how to stay seasonal. But most importantly, it is about how

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Tony’s Top tips for growing great gardens

Never plant in summer. Enjoy the garden in summer and put your feet up – and start practising how to make cocktails!

to make it real and not complicated for anybody to have a lovely garden.” Even after 30 years in the horticulture industry, Tony says he is still learning every day. He loves hearing people’s stories and their own ideas about how to do things, picking up lots of interesting tips along the way. “Ladies Nights will also be a chance for us to share ideas, which is so important,” he says. “I am excited to be able to chat to people that live rurally, as they always have really interesting ways of growing plants effectively and making their garden super efficient, really dynamic and super healthy.” Tony is convinced he’s found a way to grow the very best crops this coming summer – the best tomatoes, the best lettuces, the best spuds and shrubs – without it costing an arm and a leg. “Most people think you need to buy lots of compost and topsoil – but I can help you create your own garden with

Tony’s top tip #1:

just a few ingredients that you would find in and around your own property and it doesn’t matter if you’re renting or you own your own place, you can have an amazing garden and it can cost you very, very little. Growing plants from seeds is hugely economical. Even if you establish a garden in a small way, you will get so much pleasure from it. Come along and I’ll tell you all about it!” Tony is also excited to share some inspirational stories about the beautiful gardens he has visited with Kiwi Living over the past season. “Some of the gardens have been extraordinary and I’d like to share some little secrets as to how the gardens got up and out of the ground and what it took.”

THE FARMLANDER | 19

Tony’s Top tips for growing great gardens

FAR_04921

Join Farmlands and our host, Tony Murrell for a great evening focused on all things gardening.

TICKETS

Happiest outside enjoying the seasons and sharing stories and advice with like-minded garden enthusiasts, Tony is a household name in New Zealand, synonymous with all things growing. Upon his return from 7 years overseas designing and building gardens for the rich and famous, Tony hit our TV screens in shows such as Ground Force and Mucking In. He currently hosts the hugely popular radio show, The Home and Garden Show, on Radio Live and lends his advice as the resident gardening expert on TV One’s Kiwi Living.

$25

Don’t miss this chance to catch up with old friends, learn some top tips and grab some great gardening deals. Ticket prices are incredible value, so don’t delay – make sure you book yours early, as they’re sure to sell out!

Ticket includes a drink on arrival and light supper.

Terms conditions apply. Visit www.farmlands.co.nz/ladiesnight for full details. On sale |from 1st August 2016.reserved. 20 | and THE FARMLANDER Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited © August 2016. All rights

LIMIT OF 4 PER SHAREHOLDER

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Dates Whangarei Wednesday 28th September, Toll Stadium

Hamilton Thursday 29th September, Claudelands Arena

Gisborne Wednesday 5th October, Quality Hotel Emerald

Hastings Thursday 6th October, Hawke’s Bay Racing Centre

Palmerston North Wednesday 12th October, Awapuni Race Course

Hawera Thursday 13th October, TSB Hub

Start time 6pm bOOK YOUR TICKETS TODAY AT YOUR LOCAL FARMLANDS STORE OR BY CALLING

0800 200 600

or register online at www.farmlands.co.nz

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THE FARMLANDER | 21

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Bunnings innovative solutions for your next build The benefits of using innovative products and materials in your build are endless. Trade Innovations chooses only the most innovative products to present to savvy decision makers in New Zealand’s building industry. They aim to raise the standards by promoting quality, cost-effective, and cutting edge materials that will be able to withstand the test of time and attention to weather tightness. The Bunnings team, all of whom have had hands-on experience in the industry, work collaboratively to find out what does work. They won’t sacrifice quality for quantity. The products they choose to promote reflect their convictions. Trade Innovations has amassed an extensive range of products and materials that are truly turning heads on site. The range includes:

Mammoth Insulation This is a friction fit polyester thermal and acoustic insulation that’s guaranteed to perform for 50 years from installation. It’s also 100% recyclable and a great contributor to Homestar ratings. Hydrapanel This is a composite magnesium oxide wall and ceiling lining. It’s perfect for bathrooms, kitchens, laundries, commercial food preparation and even garages. Redwood Redwood is a natural, renewable resource and has a resistance to decay. It’s a perfect alternative for Cedar cladding and decking. Deck Chair This is an ingenious way to install a deck over a membrane, meeting code compliances for drainage and entry height requirements. It is made from post treated LVL and assembled in a factory, making for a very quick and stable decking sub-structure. Much of the product line, distribution wise, is exclusive to Bunnings. To learn more about Trade Innovations’ full range, talk to your Bunnings Trade Team. Find your nearest store at bunnings.co.nz/stores or call 0508 BUNNINGS.

J-FRAME This is a CodeMark certified product; an alternative to conventionally sawn timber framing. It’s resistant to warp, twist and bow, which means every length is true straight and dimensionally stable.

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ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

Treating dairy cows in early lactation Internal parasites have been shown to cause a reduction in milk yield in lactating dairy cows¹, ². In early lactation, cows are in a negative energy balance, stripping body fat to meet the demands of milk production. This means there is less energy available to fuel the cow’s immune system. Parasite larvae can therefore become established within the gastrointestinal tract. The question then arises, is it cost effective to remove these parasites and if so, what is the best product to use and way to administer it? The aim of treatment is to prevent the establishment of parasite larvae for as long as possible, until the body’s immune system is capable of achieving this for itself. Cydectin® Pour-On has the longest persistent activity claims of any endectocide in New Zealand, against the main production limiting parasites of adult cattle, Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus. It is therefore the treatment of choice for cows in early lactation. As a pour-on, it also has the advantage of having a nil milk and meat withholding. Recent work by Dr. Dave Leathwick³ highlighted that there was no difference in Cydectin Pour-On’s ability to kill Ostertagia whether it was given by the pour-on, injectable or oral route. Efficacy against Ostertagia for all formulations of Cydectin was >99 percent. The benefit of treating dairy cows with Cydectin Pour-On can be an increase

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in milk production of 3.5 percent when treated in early lactation. It can also significantly increase milk protein levels4. Treatment of first calvers with long acting endectocides after calving has also been shown to significantly increase first time conception rates and decrease the calving to conception interval5, meaning more heifers will get in calf early and stay in the herd for longer.

However, to help reduce the risk of developing drench resistance, not all cows should be treated within a herd.

The exact return for individual farms will vary depending on a number of factors, such as level of feeding, body condition of the cows and their genetic ability to strip body fat in favour of milk production.

References: 1. Bliss D.H., Todd A.C. (1977) Milk losses in dairy cows after exposure to infective trichostrongylid larvae. Vet Med Small Animal Clin 72: 1612-1617. 2. Barger I. A., Gibbs H.C. (1981) Milk production of cows infected experimentally with trichostrongylid parasites. Vet Parasitology 9: 69-73. 3. Leathwick D.M., Miller, C.M., Efficacy of oral, injectable and Pour-On formulations of moxidectin against gastrointestinal nematodes in cattle in New Zealand, Vet Parasitology (2012). 4. Murphy A.W., The effect of treatment with Moxidectin, a long acting endectocide, on milk production in lactating dairy cows. World Buiatrics Congress Sydney 1998. 5. McPherson W.B., Slacek B., Familton A., Gogolewski R.P., Gross S.J. The Impact of Eprinomectin Treatment on dairy cattle reproductive performance. Proc 17th Annual Seminar, Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians NZVA, 2000 © VetLearn® Foundation (NZ) 2003.

As a general rule, high producing cows, first calving heifers, low body condition animals and those on poorer feeding levels will benefit the most from drenching during lactation and hence give the best return on investment.

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Zoetis New Zealand Limited. CYDECTIN is a registered trademark of Zoetis Inc. or its subsidiaries. ACVM No. A6203.

THE FARMLANDER | 23

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Take the stress out of mating cycles, order today from your local Farmlands store. 0800 200 600 www.farmlands.co.nz

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THE FARMLANDER | 25

FORAGE AND ARABLE

Mastering spring spray-out and paddock preparation There’s only one chance to prepare paddocks properly for summer crop or new grass, so this first step in the spring sowing process is arguably one of the most critical. Fortunately, WeedMaster TS540 from New Zealand glyphosate specialist Nufarm has all the technical attributes you need to make a top job of the spring spray-out. This season Nufarm has made it even easier to get the best out of this innovative formulation, with a new smartphone app that helps work out spray rate calculations. Available free from both the iTunes store and Google Play, the app is designed to simplify the process of identifying how much WeedMaster TS540 is required for both individual weed species and the job as a whole. It will help save time during one of the busiest parts of the season, giving you the information you need to achieve the best possible result with just a few taps of the phone. The app is the latest development for WeedMaster TS540, which was created by Nufarm to satisfy New Zealand farmers’ unique glyphosate herbicide requirements. With its patented formulation containing 540g/L glyphosate, plus Nufarm’s unique Twin Salt technology, WeedMaster has

26 | THE FARMLANDER

quickly become the go-to glyphosate for anyone looking for fast, powerful results in New Zealand conditions. It combines both the potassium and isopropylamine salts, so it provides excellent efficacy and consistent results in the field. It is designed to beat the plant's natural defence system with fast uptake and translocation. The result is complete control of target species. Helping WeedMaster TS540 achieve this is an exclusive 'blended in-can' surfactant, which has been specifically designed for Nufarm's high load multi-salt glyphosate technology. Known as Activate™, this surfactant accelerates herbicide uptake through the waxy leaf cuticle to get the active ingredient into the sap transport system more rapidly. That's good news for anyone spraying out in changeable spring weather conditions – WeedMaster TS540 when tank mixed with Pulse® Penetrant should deliver commercially acceptable weed control, even if rain occurs just 20 minutes after application. Other benefits of the high strength formulation include less time spent filling up tanks and mixing for application and less product and packaging to transport, store and dispose of. It’s easy to pour and mix, which means even more efficiency and reduced turnaround time. And once tank mixed it remains effective for 5 days (remember to add more Pulse). This in turn results in greater flexibility with

less wastage – and it has excellent low temperature storage ability. WeedMaster TS540 has an extensive range of labelled use situations, including the ability to graze, cultivate or drill 24 hours after treatment for annual weeds and 3 days for perennial weeds. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Nufarm.

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FORAGE AND ARABLE

Hybrid busts the “buster” Local dairy farmers refer to Waharoa as “the 5 percent region”. The area’s output is so consistent if your milk production varies by more than 5 percent in any given year then there is something seriously wrong. This kind of reliability drives people to own a farm there and that’s why Peter Lansdaal has two. The original family farms have been added to over the past 30 years to create two blocks of 160 hectares and 190 hectares. Peter lives in the area with his wife Christine and his two college-aged sons but both farms are run by sharemilkers, which gives him time to occasionally go fishing for snapper in the Firth of Thames or indulge in his other hobby – social trail bike riding on his rather old Yamaha WR450. Peter sees improving pasture quality as one of the main challenges to optimising his milk production, which across the two blocks is 380,000kg per annum. Every year he looks for the paddocks in poorest condition and earmarks about 15ha for his next maize crop. Paddocks are sprayed in autumn, direct-drilled in annuals then sprayed out again in spring. They are then ploughed, power-harrowed and planted with Pioneer® brand P0891 maize. After harvest, the ground is contoured if necessary and sown into permanent pasture. “This usually makes it the best pasture on the farms for the next couple of years.” Peter also says the maize silage allows him to extend the milking season of his 1,180 Jersey cows and improve their condition for the mating season.

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Because of the particular local weather conditions, Peter sought the advice of his local Pioneer representative Jim Barr and Farmlands representative Peter Smart on what hybrid to use. As Jim explains: “If your farm is situated too close to the Kaimai Ranges it can be subjected to a strong wind locally known as the ‘Kaimai Buster’, which can sometimes flatten crops. We chose P0891 because it has an extensive root system and strong stems, which gives the plants a fighting chance against the extreme weather conditions without compromising yield.” Peter is a participant in the Pioneer maize hybrid trialling programme, which is conducted on farms across the country and uses the results to help him plan his next season’s maize crop.

FWE to survive the lower pay-out years. To streamline his operation and reduce labour costs, he has built a new 54 bale rotary cowshed on the 190ha block, which will enable him to milk 600 cows in one go. Peter is confident this new investment, along with maintaining his maize silage re-grassing programme, will get him through these challenging times. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Pioneer® brand products.

Like most dairy farmers right now, his main focus is on reducing total

THE FARMLANDER | 27

FORAGE AND ARABLE

Fodder beet proving its worth | Nick Webster (left) with Farmlands TFO Sam Sturgess.

North Otago dairy farmer Nick Webster has been growing fodder beet for the past 5 years. After initially deciding to trial it, it has since allowed him to “grow more quality dry matter per hectare and have high utilisation rates”. Nick milks 700 cows off his 200ha property south of Oamaru, which is fully irrigated (50 percent pivot: 50 percent K-line). He grows 30ha of fodder beet on his run-off block, which he predominantly winters his cows on as well as some beef finishing. He also grows a small area of fodder beet on the platform that he milks off at the end of the season, which helps with the transitioning onto winter rations. Nick averages 24t DM/ha with fodder beet on irrigated ground. However, he realises that to achieve these results, he has to stick to the programme and believes that good seed bed preparation is key. Choice of cultivar was important to Nick as he required a high yielding beet to graze and one that would also give him the option to lift if there was any leftover in the spring. With advice from his Farmlands TFO, Sam Sturgess, 20ha of Rivage and 10ha of Cerise was sown on

28 | THE FARMLANDER

the 24th of October last spring. Rivage fodder beet is one of the leading fodder beet varieties on the market today, with fantastic yield, bulb uniformity and leaf holding ability coming into the winter. With a high bulb DM percent ranging between 18-21 percent, it sits approximately 50 percent out of the ground, making it very well suited for grazing in situ. Cerise is also a high bulb DM type, ranging between 18-21 percent and sits approximately 10 percent more in the ground than Rivage. This characteristic is more favourable when lifting beet, however is still suitable for grazing. It all starts with soil preparation, making sure a fine, consolidated seed bed is achieved. If you can get this right and improve the germination and obtain a more even plant establishment, weed control becomes much easier when the beet is at a similar growth stage. Nick uses a standard beet fertiliser mix incorporated into the soil prior to precision sowing the beet at the recommended 80,000 seeds per hectare. A side dressing of 150kg of urea is also applied post-drilling once the plants have germinated. Fodder beet require a high level of potassium

but Nick opted not to put any extra K on post-sowing, as his soils are naturally high in K. Once the cows are fully transitioned, Nick aims for a final diet of 9-10kg of fodder beet, 2kg of silage and 2kg of straw per head per day. Fodder beet fits in really well with his cropping rotation, normally ex cereal and he will usually leave a cereal verge in his beet paddocks so all the cows are able to get on the crop at the start of the winter. With quite good soils, Nick has found that “utilisation is better in beet than brassica as there is not as much wastage.” Any leftover beet doesn’t go to waste like brassica might and is lifted and fed to the cows on the platform at 2-5kg/cow/day. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Agricom.

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FORAGE AND ARABLE

Fodder beet technology takes flight Measuring fodder beet may seem like a pretty basic exercise but in Taupo, one company has found a way to make the exercise even simpler. Farmlands Technical Field Officer Brian Richards was on hand to assist with a winter brassica competition earlier this year, judged on not only best yield but cost of production. Measuring the production of 30 crops was made easier (and more entertaining) by the use of drones supplied by Auckland business Precision Hawk. While the skill-set required to measure overall yield is still being fine-tuned, Precision Hawk’s Stephen Wrigley says accuracy in measurement of total dry matter will soon be a reality. “We’re using a drone that has a multi spectral sensor, which picks up wavelengths of light that are invisible to the naked eye,” he says. “Every time it takes a snap it is capturing red, blue, green near infrared and red edge wavelengths of light. We have software that puts it all together and spits out a normalised difference vegetative index (NDVI).” The technology is already being used in the grape, kiwifruit and squash industries to identify diseases, weeds and insect challenges. Stephen says while the technology has been around for a while, it has rarely been used commercially.

| Farmlands Technical Field Officer Brian Richards with some of the in-competition fodder beet.

"If we’ve calculated in an area that 12 percent of the paddock is high, 14 percent low and the rest medium, we’re able to target those areas and multiply from there, so we can get a much more accurate fix on the total amount of dry matter.”

“A lot of it (the technology) has been sitting in the universities,” he says. “Massey has been doing a lot of the research behind it but it has been around since the early 1980s.

Further calculations are possible from the technology. If there are patches lacking in vigour, the program allows users to work out where those patches are geospacially and if variable rate fertiliser equipment is readily available, solutions such as nutritional deficiencies can be addressed.

“We can pick out the high, low and medium levels of the crop and we’ve learned where to take samples from.

“The other side of it is if you’re doing calculations, such as wondering if you’ve grown enough supplement to feed your

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cows in the winter, you can start looking for alternatives like making silage or getting in palm kernel,” Stephen says. “It’s a real valuable tool in terms of calculating daily feed budget.” Having been in the farming sector for more than 20 years, Stephen’s involvement in the winter brassica competition came from Brian running into one of Stephen’s old employees. Precision Hawk started indexing work and trialling the software use via the drones. As farming moves towards the future, having this technology available will make it easier to have a bird’s eye view on winter preparation.

THE FARMLANDER | 29

FORAGE AND ARABLE

Global dairy markets – assuming the positive The world dairy market is an unpredictable beast and if I could consistently predict its direction, I wouldn’t be working for Farmlands (no offence Farmlands). That being said, after nearly 15 years of trading, advising and managing risk in soft commodity markets, my gut instinct is saying “go long” dairy. We have been in a bear market for 2, going on 3 years. How long does it take for farmers collectively around the world to start responding to low prices by producing less milk? Supply will adjust to a level where dairy farmers will eventually make money. Cows will be culled, supplementary feed will be reduced and acreage will be lost. With milk it’s taking longer than expected, with EU intervention, favourable seasons and the removal of EU production quotas, low grain prices, all resulting in a delayed supply response. The latest data from the EU indicates a slow-down in milk production growth. Whilst production in the first quarter of this year is 5.6 percent above the

same period last year, it is clear that growth is slowing.

It’s not the fault of the analyst – it is just the nature of the milk market.

Conscious that I am a grains analyst, not a dairy analyst, I sought input for this editorial from Global Dairy Analyst, Brian Rice from Rice Dairy. This is what Brian had to say: “Northern hemisphere peak production has passed for the season and as the baton is passed to the southern hemisphere, it looks like we are facing negative milk production numbers in all key nations in both Oceania and South America. The US is maintaining at slight growth levels, with market on edge in anticipation of potential above-normal heat/dryness, stress potential because as of June 28th it hasn’t materialised. The largest global milk engine, EU, is showing signs of production slow-down.

One of the few positives to come out of our terrible dairy “anni horribiles” (terrible years) is that solutions have been sought to manage the price volatility in dairy returns.

So, the global supply curve seems to be bending down. And the bear market is no spring chicken. This is not enough to subscribe for a steady march higher in price (yet) but I do believe it is enough to theorise that the price lows are in for this latest bear dairy market.” To me, the take home message from Brian’s analysis is that supply is starting to react to low prices. History has proven that the only consistency in milk forecasts is that they are consistently inaccurate.

30 | THE FARMLANDER

NZX has recently launched an exchange traded milk price futures that derive their value from the Fonterra milk price pay-out. These contracts are the missing link in our dairy market. When dairy prices improve, NZX milk futures will be a way of capturing high prices for your dairy production. Using milk futures is not for everyone. My experiences advising famers in Australia has taught me a number of lessons. The first is that farmers should use futures contracts to manage risk, not to punt markets. The second lesson is that if you don’t fully understand what you’re doing, don’t do it. The third and final lesson is to make informed decisions. Seek out independent information sources or pay for independent advice. All bear markets have a beginning and an end. Let’s hope for a reduction in Northern European dairy supply, a rising dairy market and as the Queen would say an “annus mirabilis” (a good year) going forward. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Dean Smith, Grain Trader, Farmlands Grain and Seed.

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HORTICULTURE

Added flexibility for apple growers Black spot and powdery mildew management in the orchard has never been so difficult, mainly due to restrictions on what products are available and can be used. Placement of quality compounds can be compromised by resistance or residue constraints. Today the post petal fall spray programme resembles those of the 70’s with reliance on protectants. The selection of high calibre single site fungicides post-flowering is pretty much reduced to a single triazole. Strobilurins have black spot resistance issues and anilinopyrimidines and SDHI’s get restricted to petal fall due to residues. However this has changed, following a season with an extensive, 17 block trial development programme, where blocks were sprayed with two applications of

Sercadis (20ml/100L to the point of run-off or as a concentrate) after petal fall. Ensuing fruit at harvest was tested for fluxapyroxad residues and all fruits came back <0.01ppm for fluxapyroxad, below any export market MRL requirement. Based on these new results and the original small plot trial data, BASF has secured “All export market access” for Sercadis in the critical post petal fall window. Growers can now use a new generation fungicide in a spray window that it was previously excluded from. Sercadis can now be applied up to 21 days post petal fall, or until king fruit reach 25mm, whichever comes first. Sercadis offers a rock solid solution for both black spot and powdery mildew at a new timing where previously there were almost no alternatives. Sercadis should always be used in a tank mix with protectant products like Delan® to cover off resistance management issues. These combinations have been extensively used over the apple crop leading up to petal fall and can now be applied post-flowering. Sercadis + protectant can also be tank mixed with Regalis® Xtra plant growth regulator in the postflowering window for greater flexibility. Sercadis has good translaminer and acropetal systemic movement but should still be applied with equipment calibrated to fully cover the canopy. Sercadis can be used up to four times in a season with no more than two sequential applications before alternating with products from a different mode of action.

32 | THE FARMLANDER

| Untreated grass.

| Grass treated Sercadis.

The lifting of export restrictions means Sercadis is the only SDHI that can be applied out to 21 days post petal fall, making it very flexible in the black spot and mildew spray programme. For more information, contact your local Farmlands Technical Advisor or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by BASF. ® Registered trademarks of BASF SE

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HORTICULTURE

Minimising agrichemical trespass In rural New Zealand there are a lot of good hard working Kiwis running their own businesses, making the New Zealand economy sing. There’s often good banter across the fence between the sheep and beef farmer and that guy next door growing some weird horticultural crop. Sometimes this relationship can become volatile by totally unintentional agrichemical drift. Agrichemical drift can occur via water droplet “spray drift” or through “volatilisation” of the agrichemical into a gas. In this gaseous form the chemical can move great distances (many kilometres) from one property across many others. Problems occur when sensitive crops are located nearby. Hormone weed killers like 2,4D Ester or amine, MCPA, MCPB, Dicamba, Picloram, Clopyralid and Triclopyr used extensively on pasture and scrub land for the past 60 odd years are the cause of the problem. Symptoms of spray drift of pasture/cereal hormone herbicides will depend on the crop involved and

| Grape shoot hormone spray damage.

| Hormone damage to grape bunch, showing lack of berry set post-flowering.

the concentration that the crop has been exposed to. Symptoms include soft shoot twisting, fruit/crop abortion, major irreversible damage, or crop death.

and co-operation between applicator and potentially affected parties. Farmlands fully endorses the responsible use of agrichemicals and would encourage any farmer who is located within an 8km range of vineyards or other sensitive horticultural crops to consider the following points:

Due to concerns of such damage, the Agricultural Chemicals (Vineyards) Regulations 1962 were introduced. These regulations prohibited the use of hormone weed killers in the period 1st September to 30th April for dust formulations and year round for a range of other formulations if used within 8km of a vineyard. The Pesticides Act has now been replaced and under the Resource Management Act 1991 much of the regulations now sit under Local Authority Plans. Applications of registered pesticides, including herbicides are deemed to be “discharging” potential contaminant within the geographic zone of the local Regional Authority. All users must be familiar with the particular constraints on “discharges” within their local region. Irresponsible or reckless spraying is clearly no longer acceptable and operators who tempt fate may find themselves facing criminal prosecution, hefty fines, or compensation payments following civil action. The key to avoiding drift is education

| Normal healthy grape bunch post-flowering

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1. Do not spray with hormone type agrichemicals between the period 1st September to 30th April. 2. Select the correct nozzle and pressure combination to produce a heavy droplet that will not drift off target. 3. Apply when there is air movement away from sensitive crops. 4. Do not spray on hot days. Spray early morning. Stop spraying when wind exceeds 7km/h. 5. Give priority to ground spraying rather than aerial application. 6. Drift control additives can prove to be very beneficial when applying herbicides. For more information, contact your local Farmlands Technical Advisor or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Chris Herries, Technical Manager, Farmlands Horticulture. Reference to: A.D. Clarke (Hormone Herbicides avoiding damage to Grapevines).

THE FARMLANDER | 33

HORTICULTURE

Using vineyard nets to protect your investment If you have been using nets on your vineyard, you will know the damage that birds can do to your crop if it is left unprotected. Vineyard nets reduce the damage caused by birds and over a very short period of time the initial investment is recouped through higher yields of better quality fruit. If you haven’t used vineyard nets up to now, maybe it’s a good time to consider using nets for your grapes. Empak has been manufacturing and supplying nets for protecting New Zealand grapes and horticultural crops for over 10 years. Empak nets have been made by the same factory since the company began in 2005. The nets are all guaranteed for 10 years against UV

34 | THE FARMLANDER

degradation and the company and staff also take great pride in their after sales service and advice. Empak can supply (in black or white) all types of net from side net through to multi-row net up to 22m wide by 400m. They also offer a free measuring and quote service for made to order nets for your own vineyard, so you get the best value from your investment.

products, avoiding waste product going to landfill or being burnt into our environment. Please contact Empak if you have plastics for recycling. For more information, contact your local Farmlands Technical Advisor, or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Empak.

Empak also recycles nets and plastics through its plastic recycling scheme Plasback. Empak and Plasback are the only companies to actively recycle nets and other horticultural plastics within New Zealand. If you have old nets, irrigation drip line or spray guards from young vines, all this plastic can be recycled into other

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HORTICULTURE HORTICULTURE

Supercharged copper fungicide The latest advance in formulation technology takes protectant copper fungicides to a whole new level for New Zealand growers this spring.

But it is also registered for feijoas, kiwifruit, stonefruit, asparagus, onions, tomatoes and pine trees, among many other crops.

ChampION++® from Nufarm, which is exclusive to Farmlands, features highly uniform copper hydroxide particles, whose average size is one of the smallest available for this type of chemistry. This enables low rates of active ingredient to be applied per hectare.

Alan says the new formulation was a global development project with the specific goal of raising the bar for modern copper treatments.

What’s more, Nufarm technical expert Alan Cliffe says ChampION++ is BioGro® certified as an approved crop input for organic growers. “ChampION++ is all about doing more with less. Because of the way it has been formulated, it provides excellent coverage and disease control with low use rates,” Alan says. Containing 300g/kg copper as copper hydroxide, the new product is registered for control of a wide range of fungal and bacterial diseases on fruit, vegetable and brassica crops. At this time of the season, it’s likely to be of immediate relevance to pipfruit, avocado, citrus and grape growers planning their spring disease management strategies.

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Not only are the copper hydroxide crystalline particles contained in ChampION++ smaller than most other coppers currently available, they are highly consistent, so it delivers a greater number of smaller, more precisely shaped particles (average size 1.8 micron) to give better coverage of the leaf surface.

environmentally friendly biodispersant, which suits both conventional and organic use and paper packaging for ChampION++ means there is no plastic container to dispose of after use. Compatible with most commonly used fungicides and insecticides, the new product comes in 10kg packs. For more information, contact your local Farmlands Technical Advisor or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Nufarm. *As a special introductory offer, growers will receive a free 3L volumetric measuring jug with purchase of ChampION++ from Farmlands, while stocks last.

Because smaller particles have proportionately greater surface area, the result is a higher release of Cu++ ions, which in turn means lower use rate and subsequent environmental loading. “It’s a unique combination,” Alan says. “And there are also some other important benefits associated with the product.” The WDG formulation is low-dust, stable, free flowing, easily pourable and quick to disperse in water. It contains a highly efficient and

THE FARMLANDER | 35

HORTICULTURE

r a d n e l a C r e Sharehold ! n o i t i t e p m o C o Pho t Home is where the heart is. Show us your best photos of the parts of paradise you call home and you could feature in our 2017 calendar and WIN a $200 Farmlands voucher. Whether you’re at home in the paddock, orchard, vineyard or milking shed, send through your favourite shots of where your heart is to take part in our Shareholder Calendar Photo Competition. Let us know what’s special to you about the place you call home and who knows, your photo could jump into June or secure the spot for September.

To enter your photo, head to www.farmlands.co.nz/calendar

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HORTICULTURE

Staying ahead of resistance in pipfruit Fungicide resistance has been a major factor in the evolution of pipfruit fungicides to control black spot and powdery mildew in New Zealand. However, with no new pipfruit fungicide chemistry on the horizon, growers need to prolong the useful life of existing fungicides. Black spot and powdery mildew are classified as high risk in their propensity to develop resistant populations. When coupled with high risk fungicide mode of action groups (such as QoIs or strobilurins), products such as Flint®, which once did a very good job of preventing disease, are no longer recommended in New Zealand for black spot control, due to reduced sensitivity and control failure. For Anilinopyrimidine (AP) fungicides such as Chorus®, black spot resistance has developed regionally. Chorus® is no longer recommended for use against black spot in Tasman or Waikato but in Hawke’s Bay where AP resistance is not as widespread, Chorus® can still be used up to two times (in mixture with another protectant). Chorus® also has a label claim for dry eye

rot (Botrytis species) and can be used across all growing regions from full bloom to 90 percent petal fall to help manage this disease, particularly on open sinus varieties with susceptibility to this disease. Demethylation Inhibitor (DMIs) fungicides have been the mainstay in the apple spray programme for decades. One of the key features of DMIs is their ability to “reachback” to control early black spot infection, as well as giving some forward protection. DMI fungicides have been affected by resistance, with products such as Topas® and Systhane® now largely obsolete in pipfruit due to reduced sensitivity. Now Score WG® (difenoconazole) and flusilazole are the only effective DMIs recommended for the control of black spot in New Zealand but they should not be used for “fire-fighting” when disease has become established. The relatively recent introduction of Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors (SDHI) fungicides for pipfruit has been timely, offering reliable preventative control of both black spot and powdery mildew with a new mode of action. SDHIs have quickly become the foundation of

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a modern preventative fungicide spray programme in the critical period between tight cluster and petal fall. SDHIs (such as Seguris Flexi®) can be used up to four times per season in a block of two applications separated by another chemical group. SDHIs must be applied in mixture with an effective dose of a broad spectrum protectant fungicide that is not at risk from resistance. Seguris Flexi® has excellent rainfastness and the benefit of a 90 percent petal fall preharvest interval. SDHI fungicides have a site-specific mode of action and are at high risk of resistance development. To prolong the effectiveness of SDHIs and other at-risk fungicides (e.g. DMIs and APs) growers must use them strictly within current industry resistance management guidelines. For more information, contact your local Farmlands Technical Advisor or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Syngenta.

THE FARMLANDER | 37

HORTICULTURE HORTICULTURE

Growing the humble potato Growing a good potato crop is not simply a matter of planting a table potato from a bag brought from a supermarket, or a left-over from the previous year’s crop. These are not certified seed potatoes. Certified seed potatoes are purpose-grown to maximise the likelihood of healthy, high-yielding crops and minimise the opportunity for disease. There are more than a hundred diseases that attack potatoes. An uncertified potato may have been infected with viruses spread from plant to plant by aphids, or the potato taken from a table bag may have been sprayed by a sprout inhibitor to stop it from growing.

Both of these factors increase the risk of getting no crop or at the very least of reducing the possible yield. Unhealthy potatoes can spread diseases in the soil, which affect other crops. Such effects would not be noticed until the following season when the garden produces less healthy vegetables. Seed potatoes are grown from healthy tissue of previous crops to ensure they are true to their variety (also called cultivar). Some varieties are better suited to certain uses than others, for example early potatoes are ready around 2 to 3 months after planting and best to dig when tops are still growing. They are to be used straight away. Main crop varieties are better for storing once the tops have completely died off. They can be left in the ground or dug up and stored in a sack in a dark cool place. If left in the ground it does pay to dig before frosts or soil becomes wet in the winter. Second early/main varieties can be used as either.

pass two assessments before they are allowed to be harvested for sale as seed potatoes. Certified seed potatoes also tend to produce cleaner, more attractive and uniformly sized potatoes, which are likely to store well. It is a good idea to buy fresh seed potatoes each season, because older seed potatoes might produce plants with numerous stems that sprout quickly but die early, resulting in smaller potatoes. It is best to plant potatoes in a new place each year to further reduce the risk of disease spread. For more information, contact your local Farmlands Technical Advisor or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Morton Smith-Dawe.

It is not always possible to tell the variety of a potato by looking at it. All bags of certified seed potatoes are clearly labelled. The seed potato crop is tested for diseases at every step including field production. Farmers’ crops must

38 | THE FARMLANDER

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NUTRITION

Getting it right, right from the start! Controlling worms in foals and young horses is important. The immature immune systems of foals and young horses make them far more susceptible to worms than older animals. Young animals are also more susceptible to damage caused by worms due to their smaller size. Immature lungs and digestive systems are easily damaged by migrating worms and a worm burden that may not cause a problem in an adult horse can easily block the gut of a foal. Ascarids – The worm most dangerous to young horses. The large roundworm or ascarid primarily affects horses less than 2 years of age. They are the most significant parasite in young horses because they are such large worms and can quickly develop into life threatening numbers. They have the potential to cause liver damage and lung damage. Each female ascarid can lay 100,000 to

200,000 eggs each day. The eggs pass out with the horse’s faeces. Infective larvae develop within coated eggs, which are not affected by adverse weather conditions and can remain viable for years. When the egg is ingested its coating is digested in the horse’s stomach. As the eggs reach the small intestine they hatch and the larvae immediately penetrate the lining of the intestinal tract, beginning a 30 day migration through the liver, lungs and digestive tract. It is important to remember that faecal egg tests do not detect migration of parasite larvae within the horse. When a horse is just a few months old it has all the lung tissue it is ever going to have. Because lung tissue heals by scarring, damage to these sensitive structures is permanent, with less functional lung available for the horse to utilise. Horses whose lungs have been damaged by ascarid larval migration may have to breathe harder and faster to meet their oxygen demand as they develop and are asked to perform. Ascarid larval migration can also lead to other diseases. It reduces overall thriftiness in foals and can be related to pneumonia in foals. Ascarid larvae may have an immunosuppressive effect in the lung, reducing the ability of the horse’s immune system to respond to foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. Understanding mectin resistance and ascarids. Unfortunately, it appears ascarids will be the worm species that develop resistance to the mectins. Resistance has been documented in several

40 | THE FARMLANDER

countries (including New Zealand) and some studies cite failures of multiple types of “mectins”, so it appears that cross resistance to all “mectins” may occur. Strategy T Oral Paste for Horses is the best way to treat and control worms in young horses. There is no wormer on the market quite like it. With its unique synergistic ‘non-mectin’ combination of actives, it treats and controls susceptible strains of all common worms in horses, including adult stages of ivermectin, moxidectin and abamectin resistant ascarids, which makes it the best choice for foals and young horses and to combat ‘mectin’ resistance. Strategy T is particularly suitable for worming young horses from 6 weeks to 24 months. Safety studies have proven Strategy T to be safe to use on all types of horses including pregnant mares, foals and breeding stallions. Ideally worming of young horses should be performed on the basis of faecal egg counts. Talk to your vet for a programme that’s right for you. Strategy T completely protects young horses from ascarids, as well as other worms. So don’t take a risk with your young horse’s health, treat with Strategy T and get worming right, right from the start. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Virbac.

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NUTRITION

S U N BO LS! DEA

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BUY 13, GET 2 FREE TERMS & CONDITIONS Not available in conjunction with any other promotion e.g. price promotion. Deal must be sold at regular shelf price. Please contact your local Mars TERMS & CONDITIONS available in conjunction any other promotion e.g.only. price promotion. Deal must Please contactproduct. your local Territory ManagerNot to order. Order needs to be with purchased for one customer The free product must bebe of sold equalatorregular lesser shelf valueprice. than the purchased Farmlands store to order. Order needs to be purchased for one customer only. The free product must be of equal or lesser value than the purchased product.

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®Registered Trademark. ™Trademark. ©Mars, 2016. ®Registered Trademark. ™Trademark. ©Mars, 2016.

20kg Working Dog Formula

NUTRITION

Dry matter in the ruminant diet Whilst water is an essential substance to animals, it doesn’t provide nutrients, which are contained in the dry portion of feeds. Dry matter percentage is the percentage of a feed sample retained after the moisture is removed by heating until a constant weight is achieved. Intake of total dry matter is important, as it determines the total nutrients taken in from the diet and available to an animal. Maximising dry matter intake is the key to driving animal production. If a cow can consume more of any given diet, there will be more total nutrients (energy, protein etc.) entering the system and available to partition towards maintenance requirements and then towards production. When buying feeds or rationing stock accurately, it is important to know the dry matter content of the feed ingredients. Forages and moist feeds such as brewer’s grains are generally discussed or purchased on a dry matter basis when dealing with ruminants – an ‘as-fed’ basis is used more regularly when dealing with compound feeds, straights and feeds for monogastric animals. Most grains, straights and protein meals have a high dry matter (around 86 percent to 91 percent), while pasture and other forages have a low dry matter content (e.g. are higher in moisture). Spoilage organisms need moisture, so stored feeds with more than 15 percent moisture are more prone to deterioration (molasses is a noticeable exception because it keeps well when pure despite

42 | THE FARMLANDER

containing about 75 percent dry matter). Feeding individual feed ingredients according to their fresh weight is only accurate if the moisture content of the feed is the same at the time of feeding out as it was assumed to be when the diet was put together on paper. Farmers may be underfeeding or overfeeding stock if the dry matter percentage of the forages being offered is significantly lower (e.g. baleage is wetter than expected) or higher (e.g. some fodder beet varieties are drier than others) than the estimated level. A very simple laboratory dry matter test can be very worthwhile, or even a DIY at home dry matter test can be better than guess work. It is also beneficial to take the dry matter into account when purchasing/ comparing buying in different feeds. See below for any easy way to work out the cost per kg of dry matter of feeds.

Dry Matter

Water

Remove Water

Dry Matter

Add Water

As-fed Basis

DM Basis

| A diagram showing the difference between feed as expressed on an ‘as-fed’ basis and on a ‘dry matter’ basis.

To calculate the cost per kg dry matter: Cost per tonne fresh weight = Price ÷ (weight in kg ÷ 1,000) Cost per kg fresh weight = Cost per tonne ÷ 1,000

Ruminants are pretty good at utilising wet pasture but extremes of dry matter percentage can impact on dry matter intake. Very wet pasture can slow rumen fermentation rates, very dry total mixed ration diets can be improved by the addition of some water and drinking water will improve the intake of calf meal. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Stacey Cosnett, Assistant Nutritionist, Farmlands Nutrition.

Cost per kgDM = Cost per kg fresh weight ÷ (DM % ÷ 100) E.g. $100 bale of baleage weighing 350kg at 40 percent dry matter = 71c/kgDM

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NUTRITION

Maintaining equine hoof health over winter Many aspects of equine health and nutrition require extra attention over the winter months and hoof health is especially important to uphold when the weather is cold and the paddocks may be slightly more water logged than usual. The age old saying ‘no hoof no horse’ is especially true and the following recommendations should be helpful for keeping hooves as healthy as possible during winter. Regardless of whether your horse is shod or remains barefoot, prevention is always better than cure when it comes to hoof health. Regular inspection of hooves by cleaning them, picking them out and examining them for cracks, bruises and any further damage is important. If paddocks are particularly muddy, ensuring horses have some areas of dry to stand on or moving them to a drier yard or paddock regularly for some portion of the day can help to avoid problems that occur from hooves being continuously wet. Avoiding painful hoof abscesses that occur from mud entering cracks – and the bacteria it contains causing infections – is especially important. Further problems that can occur from long periods of being damp include thrush or mud fever around the skin on the coronet band or pastern. Investing in a reliable, trustworthy farrier is an important part of maintaining hoof health, as regular trimming of feet can also help to identify any problem areas and prevent cracks that can lead to hoof abscesses if left untreated. With shod horses, winter is an ideal time for shoes to become easily removed in the mud and it is often worthwhile to stay

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on top of regular re-shoeing, to avoid losing shoes that can sometimes be expensive to replace. Providing a balanced diet that meets all trace mineral and vitamin requirements is important for every horse and the specific nutrients that are required for optimum hoof health include biotin, zinc and methionine. Zinc plays an important role in the health and integrity of skin and hooves, however studies have shown that feeding zinc at higher levels than requirements has little effect on hoof quality. Biotin is the most common nutrient supplemented for hoof health and while there have been some studies that successfully show a difference in hoof health in horses supplemented with biotin, it is generally

more effective when supplemented in combination with zinc and methionine. In the case of a horse with consistent hoof problems such as cracks, abscesses or brittle hooves, additional supplementation with a hoof supplement that contains these three nutrients can be beneficial. Considering the horse takes 6 to 9 months to grow a new hoof, it is important to be patient with any hoof supplementation and allow significant time to see a difference in hoof quality. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Luisa Wood, Equine Nutrition Technical Advisor.

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NUTRITION

Coccidiosis – simple actions to minimise risk Coccidiosis is a parasitic infection of the intestinal tract of animals caused by a coccidian protozoa. Coccidiosis can affect many species of animals including but not restricted to cattle, poultry and rabbits. Younger animals are much more at risk compared to mature animals when exposed to the parasite due to their immature immune system, which is still developing resistance. Stressed animals and animals offered inadequate nutrition are also more at risk when exposed to the parasite. Coccidiosis can live in the environment from season to season if the conditions are right and the parasite can spread between animals living in close quarters very easily through oocytes in faeces. This makes our New Zealand calves very prone to issues, particularly because the same sheds and paddocks are commonly used year on year for calf rearing. Coccidiosis is a debilitating infection that can cause many issues in animals, ranging from general ill-thrift and poor growth rates due to sub-optimal nutrient absorption, right through to severe diarrhoea causing dehydration and death. It is an infection worth taking simple steps to prevent. The most obvious sign of severe coccidiosis infection is a bloody scour. The reason you see blood coming through in the faeces of severely affected animals is because the parasite destroys the lining of the intestines – eggs of the parasite are laid in the intestinal wall and when these eggs hatch they rupture the lining of the digestive system. Calves with a more severe infection are very hard to bring back to full health, as the

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absorption of nutrients from the intestines becomes extremely compromised for a long time following the infection due to the loss of absorptive tissues. A bloody scour is the symptom at the more severe end of the coccidiosis spectrum, however animals can also be affected and show the following symptoms:

Ingestion

Sporulated oocyst contaminates food or drink

• D iarrhoea – with or without blood present. • Loss of condition or poor growth rates. • Tail, hind quarters and hocks stained with faecal material. • Rough coat, droopy ears, general ill-thrift and/or depression. • In order to officially diagnose the condition, faecal samples can be sent for analysis. Prevention is the key to coccidiosis control.

Oocyst in faeces

Coccidiosis

them, which is great, however some may not. Familiarise yourself with your calf milk replacer choice and consider adding a coccidiostat to the milk if not already present – particularly if you have historically had coccidiosis issues on-farm. • Ensure that calf hard feed/pellets contain a coccidiostat such as Bovatec® or Rumensin® – most good quality calf feeds will already. This is probably the easiest action you can take for coccidiosis prevention as it’s as simple as one decision. Just remember that calves will not be covered until they are eating a substantial amount of the meal, so you may need to consider adding a coccidiostat to the milk as well if not included already, especially if calves are being fed higher rates of whole milk. • Continue feeding a coccidiostat containing calf feed post-weaning to ensure calves are still covered during this high stress transition period.

A few simple steps can reduce the risk of coccidiosis occurring on your farm this season. Some actions you can take for coccidiosis prevention: • E nsure hygiene is a top priority and ensure sheds are as clean and dry as possible. Clean calf sheds with a disinfectant regularly. • Keep food troughs and water troughs off the ground and clean regularly to avoid heavy faecal contamination. • If using waste/transition milk consider using an additive (such as Nutritech’s DanCalf) in the milk to add a coccidiostat. A coccidiostat is a compound that breaks the lifecycle of the parasite in the digestive system. If using calf milk replacer, some may already have a coccidiostat present in

Maturation in intestine

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Stacey Cosnett, Assistant Nutritionist, Farmlands Nutrition.

THE FARMLANDER | 45

NUTRITION

How to triumph with stags As detailed in the Farmlands Lifestyle Guide, deer antlers are the fastest growing living tissue on earth. So what is required to maximise the yield of velvet or the antler quality of trophy stags? Velvet yield per head seems to be increasing annually, which may be a reflection of high quality genetics becoming more widespread in conjunction with improved nutrition and management. Deer are pretty adaptive to changes in nutrition – but especially at higher levels of production, it is probably best to avoid feast and famine type scenarios. In ways that are not fully understood, reproductive organs in particular respond to stick or carrot type messages within the body, which may be affecting developments much earlier than might have been expected. Nutrition affects the initiation of antler growth, which is determined by body weight more than day length and antler size. Body reserves of protein and minerals are important for antler growth, so it is important that as button drop approaches, stags have come out of the winter in good condition.

46 | THE FARMLANDER

Supplementary feeding to encourage velvet yield or antler size is easier to justify economically when the gap between the quality and/or quantity of the forage available is wide relative to the genetic potential of the animals. With limited peer reviewed research available, it is difficult to know to what extent improvements in pasture and forage crop management and quality is keeping up with genetic improvements. Supplementary feed options for deer farmers have increased in recent years and are looking increasingly attractive as grain prices ease. By-products such as palm kernel expeller offer relative economy per kg dry matter but may not support the highest level of production. With a comparatively high fibre level, palm kernel has become popular as a forage alternative when pasture supply is limited and is a minor component in Reliance Deer Conditioning Nuts. With about one third of the energy in palm kernel coming from fat, it can be useful to help body condition. Organic copper sources are often thought to be safer than inorganic copper but experience in the dairy sector suggests that higher rates of palm kernel feeding can elevate liver copper levels to levels that are considered dangerous. Copper has been identified as the most important trace element in terms of observed clinical signs of deficiency. Deer are reasonably tolerable of copper but the old

adage ‘everything in moderation’ may be apt when it comes to feeding palm kernel meal. Barley offers higher energy and less fibre than palm kernel. Barley is a good complement to high quality forages but needs careful mineral and vitamin balancing when fed at higher rates. Gradual introduction and small meal size reduces the risk of acidosis and has contributed to the increased use of restricted delivery system feeders for deer. Grain based compound feeds offer the advantages of grain enhanced with additional protein, minerals, vitamins and even extra energy from rumen bypass fat depending on the specification. During the early stage of antler growth, the velvet antler is high at 80 percent protein compared to 67-69 percent in harvested velvet and about 32 percent in hardened antler. Reliance Deer Elite Nuts have been specially formulated to provide essential nutrients to maintain weight, as well as to improve antler growth and development in red deer, elk or wapiti. Energy from both grains and rumen protected fat, by-pass protein, vitamins, minerals and trace elements are supplied in a fully processed nut that significantly decreases waste in the paddock. Also, nuts spread out across a paddock offer the advantage that delicate velvet tissue is unlikely to be damaged, compared to trough feeding. Visit your local Farmlands store for all the information and tools that you will need for maximise the yield of velvet or antler quality. Article supplied by Dr. Rob Derrick, Nutritionist, Farmlands Nutrition.

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NUTRITION

Plan for a wholesome home grown Christmas menu With the shortest day of the year only just behind us and some cold months ahead, it may seem strange to be thinking about your Christmas menu. But if you enjoy sitting down to a meal that you have grown at home, now is the perfect time to start planning rearing your own poultry for that perfect celebration. Whether it is the humble chicken or the more challenging turkey, with the help of NRM Meat Bird Crumble, the task is surprisingly easy and rewarding for those up to the challenge. Growing a turkey from day-old to a liveweight of around 10kg (or about 7.5kg when dressed) will take about 4 months, so planning early is important. There can be considerable variation in the growth rate of ducks, with meat type Pekin generally reaching about 2.75kg (or 2kg when dressed) at around 8 weeks of age. The lean red meat of the Muscovy duck is very popular in some countries such as France but these birds can take between 3 and 4 months to reach market weight of 3kg (or 1.8kg dressed) for females and 5kg (or 3kg dressed) for males. Meat type chickens, such as the Ross and Cobb have the potential to grow rapidly and can easily achieve liveweights of 3kg (or 2.1kg dressed) in about 7 weeks. Male birds have the potential to grow more rapidly and to a greater weight and if you purchase day-old chickens from a commercial hatchery you may be able to request sexed birds. Providing a source of high quality, readily digestible nutrients is essential if you want to optimise growth rates in

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young birds, NRM Meat Bird Crumble is designed specifically with this goal in mind. Formulated to contain a combination of grains, quality proteins and a balanced supply of macro and trace minerals and vitamins, NRM Meat Bird Crumble provides the essential nutrients required to support growth and development in meat type birds. Added organic acids and essential oils help to support gut health in the young growing birds, improving the digestion of nutrients available in the feed. Poultry are generally quite easy to look after, both feed and a source of clean, fresh water should be supplied ad libitum (in other words, not restricted) throughout rearing. NRM Meat Bird Crumble is fully balanced to meet all the requirements of growing poultry but supplementing the feed with small amounts of vegetable scraps from the kitchen is acceptable, providing balanced feed is available at

all times. Contrary to what many believe, poultry are not vegetarians and will eat insects, slugs, snails and worms in the garden in addition to seeds and grain. Providing appropriate housing is essential and all poultry require shelter that is draught free and protects the birds from rain and sun during hot weather. All young poultry require heat during their early life and the internet is a good source of information on setting up suitable accommodation for your choice of poultry. The Farmlands Lifestyle Guide also provides useful tips and hints that may be helpful in deciding what species of bird you would like to raise. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by NRM.

THE FARMLANDER | 47

NUTRITION

Believe in yourself I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true – hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practise, practise, practise. If you don’t love something then don’t do it, it’s as easy as that. It’s full swing ahead now and you and your calf rearers are definitely getting plenty of practise, this is not the time to get complacent on your great plans and health/hygiene practices. Tick boxes each day and don’t get slack on the basics – this could prove to be costly. Your sheds are filling fast and keeping that proactive eye on things starts to really come into play now. A chat to your calf rearers or to yourself each day reminding yourselves of the basics is a great practice to get into. Especially on hygiene, to prevent diseases and illness on the rearers and calves is most important. In reality the spreader

of disease in the barn is the rearer, so complete control is never possible. But to eliminate the rearers becoming sick is a huge start to the success of your season. Believe in yourself and have faith in your abilities and you will fly through the next 6 weeks easily. Your calves have shelter, warmth, ventilation, no draughts, clean water, free of ammonia smells in the bedding, milk powder or vat milk – but what fibre and meal is on offer? Your aim is to convert that calf from a milk-fed neonate to a functional ruminant as quickly as possible in preparation for weaning. It takes time to develop a fully functional rumen. From day 1 I like to offer straw to my calves – calves nibble, chew and taste from day 1. A good way to amuse the calf while being beneficial is by being able to chew on straw/hay and meal. Cereals and fibre must be available at all times. Clean out the meal feeders daily to prevent build up of mould and to also only offer small amounts at first so that the meal is at its freshest, as calves rely on smells and taste. My team hand feed small amounts of meal as soon as the calves finish their milk, from day 3 till day 6. This stops any cross sucking as well as teaching them

48 | THE FARMLANDER

to find the meal as soon as they have drunk their milk. There must be room so every calf can eat at the same time without competition. Calves move as a herd and shy calves that hang back because of stronger calves taking up the room, has those smaller shy calves missing out and then taking longer if at all to get going onto the meal, thus having a negative effect at weaning. We treat every calf as an individual, which is hugely important through every stage of calf rearing. I find that it’s better to stay on the same meal as each transition we can eliminate, the less checks we give the calves. I use Reliance 20% from day 3 till 100kg. I have found this stops the pendulum effect in weight gains and keeps the calves on track to be eating 1kg a day sooner. Use a high quality commercial feed and aim for good target weights to weaning. All things are difficult before they become easy, so ensure that calves and staff are well cared for and stress free. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Karen Fraser, Young Stock Manager.

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DAIRY MANAGEMENT

Best practice, best teat condition Dairy farmers Brian and son Kerry Butler made the switch to iodinebased teat spray a year ago on the recommendation of FIL. With a low somatic cell count and reasonably good teat condition prior to switching, both scores are better still. Their average SCC for this last year was 50,000.

to manage mastitis and improve teat condition. Here, Trev recommended Iodoshield Active teat spray and mixed emollient teat conditioner, noting they adjust the levels of emollient based on climatic conditions and teat condition scores. FIL also monitors the herd regularly to ensure they’re seeing results and managing cost.

Brian and his wife Sandy own two farms in Taranaki. Kerry manages 60ha with 170 cows, their eldest daughter and son in law work on the second property running 220 cows. A third property is owned by another daughter and her husband milking 200 cows – all farms using FIL Iodoshield Active.

Kerry says they were impressed by the information that Trev had to back up his recommendations as well as his ongoing service, plus they’re seeing results.

In July 2015, FIL Area Manager Trev Gilberd visited the Butlers to check teat condition. “Brian and Kerry weren’t that happy with teat condition and wanted a plan that would also protect the herd. We sat down to do an udder health plan, recommending they switch from chlorhexidine to iodine, because it’s a broader spectrum pathogen killer.” Whilst both chlorhexidine and iodine play a role in helping to improve teat condition, it’s imperative that farmers use the option that is right for their farming situation. Iodine is the best option for mastitis control in wet and muddy conditions. Similarly, farmers are advised to use the best skin conditioner available, at the right level. Every crack in a cow’s teat puts the whole herd at risk. The FIL udder health plan is based on the history of mastitis on-farm (what active to use) and seasonal challenges (affecting mix rates), the objective being

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“Trev was absolutely thorough in helping us to employ best practice, showing us what products to use and how. He went through the cow shed to make sure everything was working right, checked we were mixing correctly and checked our teat spray method. “He also gave us plenty of information on iodine, showing us before and after photos of teat condition. We had definitely been misinformed in the past, as we were told we could get milk residues if we used iodine, which certainly hasn’t been the case. “We’re blown away with the difference in teat condition since changing to iodine. It’s particularly noticeable at cups off, where you might get a bit of bleeding. We have less cracking, no sores, no bleeding. “We already had a low cell count but we’ve made further gains.

has been invaluable. Teat condition on all three farms is the best we’ve ever seen.” Trev points out that the Butlers follow advice to the book and, therefore, get the desired results. “Kerry mixes the teat spray for all three farms – there’s no variation in concentration or emollient levels. And they only mix 20L at a time to keep it fresh, maintaining better control to maximise protection for the herd. Their teat condition score is excellent and that’s really satisfactory.” For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by GEA|FIL.

“Where we were getting three to four cases of mastitis on average annually, we had only one last year. “Importantly, we see Trev regularly and he’s often in touch. That support

THE FARMLANDER | 49

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RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Built to last The year was 2004, a Hansen salesperson was standing on a Southland farm talking with a burly Southland farmer about the Hansen range of poly pipe fittings when the evolution of the Hansen Ball Valve began. The farmer asked, “when are you blokes going to make a bloody good tap out of the tough plastic you use in your fittings?” That set the wheels in motion for the Hansen team to build a ‘bloody good tap’, which had to be easier to install and perform better than those currently available and most importantly – “the valves must not leak!” The key features that the R&D team had to work to ensure Hansen not only met but exceeded farmers’ expectations were unrestricted full flow, ability to withstand a negative 15 degrees Southland frost, operate effortlessly at low and high pressures and lastly be manufactured out of the same tough plastic as the poly pipe fittings. Two years later, after many sleepless nights, meetings, trials and tests, the

Full Flow Ball Valve was ready to be released into the market. It was decided then that Hansen must not only design a better performing and easier to install ball valve but to put them through rigorous quality control and testing procedures before they left the factory. As a result Hansen goes one step further, with a member of the team individually hand testing every single ball valve using both air and water before it leaves the Hansen factory in Whangarei to ensure there are no leaks. The Ball Valves are used on farms all around the world and are field tested in temperatures ranging from -30 to 45°C. The ball valves are manufactured from Glass Fibre Reinforced Nylon, an engineering grade plastic that is recognised as one of the best materials in the world to manufacture fitting and valves from, which means they won’t rust, corrode or crack when subjected to frost. The design is ‘Frost Friendly’, a unique feature of being able to stand up in cold climates well beyond any competitor valve they have ever seen.

| “We get a lot of customers tell us how much they love our ball valves. They are one of the many products our clients insist on once they have experienced the quality,” Hansen team member Barry Wallace says.

The ball valves are available in both female/female and male/female threads from 15-50mm, with removable handles for security, which helps eliminate tampering with the valve settings. Each comes with a positive ‘click’ smooth open/close action and is Potable Water Approved (AS/NZS 4020 drinking water test standard). They also come with different coloured handles for different applications – blue for general use and lilac for grey water, with other colours available on request. Every Hansen Ball Valve has a lifetime warranty, so in the unlikely event that you experience any problems or difficulties, please visit your local Farmlands store and they will be able to offer you assistance.

| Hansen Ball Valve being used on a farm.

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| Hansen Ball Valve being put to test on a South Island farm.

Article supplied by Hansen.

THE FARMLANDER | 51

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52 | THE FARMLANDER

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FARMLANDS FUEL

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THE FARMLANDER | 53

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REAL ESTATE

Real Estate

Unparalleled perfection

Property ID: MT1003 www.farmlandsrealestate.co.nz

Located in Putaruru, Oxford Farm comprises 409 hectares and has been developed to the highest level with superior infrastructure. The gentle rolling contoured rich fertile and free draining Tirau Ash soils is well raced and fenced into approximately 180 paddocks. Production under the present farming system milking between 600-650 cows, autumn calving and a further 500-580 spring calving sees production around 538,000kgMS. For sale on a walk in walk out basis or land and buildings only. Price by negotiation.

Ian Morgan Rural/Lifestyle - Waikato 027 492 5878 ian.morgan@farmlands.co.nz

Diverse Martinborough property This very desirable 88 hectare property, currently run as a stock fattening block has huge opportunities. With future subdivision possibilities and vineyards on the boundary, it could make a large scale vineyard. The property is complemented by three sheds and is virtually all flat with a very gentle slope from a stunning house site with panoramic views. Currently leased on a short term basis it could suit a city investor wanting a rural lifestyle or would work well as a fattening unit for a hill country breeding block. Offers invited plus GST.

62 | THE FARMLANDER 60

Property ID: MA1149 www.farmlandsrealestate.co.nz

Tim Falloon Rural/Lifestyle - Wairarapa 027 449 2105 tim.falloon@farmlands.co.nz Rod Cranswick Rural/Lifestyle - Wairarapa 027 436 5738 rod.cranswick@farmlands.co.nz

Farmlands 2016.AllAllrights rightsreserved. reserved. FarmlandsCo-operative Co-operativeSociety SocietyLimited Limited| ÂŠ | ÂŠAugust July 2016.

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REAL ESTATE

Magic in the mushrooms

Property ID: DA1697 www.farmlandsrealestate.co.nz

Due to family commitments, this Burnham lifestyle property and mushroom business is reluctantly offered to the market. The 10 hectare block has a four bedroom, two bathroom home in an attractive garden setting. The property is well subdivided, with cattle yards. The mushroom business is a proven and consistent performer with resource consents held, it is located within close proximity to State Highway 1 with established supply chain relationships. Sale price includes land, buildings and business. $1,625,000 plus GST (if any).

Matt Collier Rural/Lifestyle - Canterbury 027 205 6626 matt.collier@farmlands.co.nz

Fertile small farm

Property ID: DU2428 www.farmlandsrealestate.co.nz

Located in Dunback – 27.9 hectares of flat, fertile soils adjacent to Highway 85 (Pigroot) and with a Shag River boundary. Permanent pasture and one paddock of Kale under current short term grazing arrangement. Stock water ex Shag River and pumped to holding tank, then reticulated to troughs. The tidy three bedroom home is serviced by council water scheme. This attractive unit is set up for cattle grazing and finishing. Good cattle yards, 3-bay garaging plus sundry buildings. Auction on-site 1pm, Friday 2 September 2016 (no prior offers).

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Alan Eason Rural/Lifestyle - Otago 027 489 8760 alan.eason@farmlands.co.nz

63 THE FARMLANDER | 61