Plan 365 August 2016 by Farmlands

AUGUST 2016

RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE

NUTRITION

FORAGE AND ARABLE

HORTICULTURE

ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

DAIRY MANAGEMENT

Plan 365 is a technical guide aimed at helping shareholders learn about best practice and the latest advancements in rural technology.

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.

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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

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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.”

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.

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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| 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).

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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

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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

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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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

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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 Ingestion 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 Sporulated oocyst end of the coccidiosis spectrum, however contaminates food animals can also be affected and show or drink the following symptoms: • Diarrhoea – 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: • Ensure 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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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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NUTRITION

Bottle rearing lambs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; fun and financially rewarding Rearing orphan and surplus lambs can be both a profitable and rewarding process. It can give you peace of mind that you are capturing all of the production potential of your prolific flock and have the ability to respond to sudden ewe deaths. Sheep fertility has increased significantly in recent years, with the New Zealand average lambing percentage jumping from 100 percent in the 1980s to more than 130 percent these days, with top performing sheep farmers attaining in excess of 150 percent. More twins invariably means more triplets, which some ewes may struggle to rear. Rearing lambs is also not just restricted to the commercial farmer and lamb rearing is a task enjoyed by many come spring, especially as school pet day rolls around! Colostrum is the initial key to orphan lamb survivability and it is crucial to feed lambs 10 percent of their body weight in good quality colostrum with high levels of immunoglobulins within

the first 12 hours of life, with the first feed given as quickly as possible after birth. A nutritionally balanced and highly digestible milk powder is then essential for supporting good lamb growth rates. Reliance Feed Milk is a great choice, as it is specially formulated to meet the requirements of growing young animals. Abomasal bloat can be a common issue when rearing lambs and this is because as a species, they are designed to have lots of little milk feeds over a day rather than a few larger ones. When the abomasum (the compartment of the gastrointestinal system that digests milk) is overloaded during a single feed problems can occur â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the right-hand side of the animal may start to bloat out and the animal can die fairly quickly if the built up gas is not released. Of course we can feed lambs smaller volumes of milk more regularly during the day to avoid overwhelming the abomasum, however we can also take the extra step of adding yoghurt into the milk to help prevent abomasal bloat. Meat and Wool

New Zealand has a great factsheet on how to use yoghurt to prevent abomasal bloat, which is available online or you can talk to your local Farmlands store for more information. Profitable lamb rearing is also reliant on good rumen development that can support early weaning and minimise post-weaning growth checks. Hard feed stimulates papillae development in the rumen and should be offered to lambs ad-lib from day 1, in order to prepare them for digesting high fibre pasture. Farmlands has a few options to choose from that are specifically designed for lambs (who have quite different requirements compared to calves). Reliance Lamb Start Mix is a muesli style feed that is perfect for younger lambs, as its molassed nature makes it highly attractive to animals new to hard feed. Reliance Lamb Performance Pellets are another great option. Both Reliance products contain Gutboosta, which is a unique blend of essential oils and prebiotics to stimulate feed intake and improve gut health. Both products also contain 19 percent protein that helps to support good frame and muscle growth, which is important when the goal is healthy, well-grown lambs. Reliance lamb feeds can also be used to promote fast growing lambs on ewes, or where there is a large number of twins and triplets and the quantity of milk is limiting growth rates. Visit your local Farmlands store for all the information and tools that you will need for successful lamb rearing this season. Article supplied by Stacey Cosnett, Assistant Nutritionist, Farmlands Nutrition.

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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

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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.