Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
15
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2014
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16
Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Dave’s fencing tool is King of the farm By Mike Barrington Dave Neal recovered from a broken back, but a stroke which followed soon after put him out of business and into a wheelchair for three months. Fast action by the St John Ambulance service when he had the stroke saved the 53-year-old former tiler and builder from Hikurangi from ‘‘becoming a cabbage’’. He now can’t do physical work, but he’s bounced back from medical and financial adversity by developing a fence-battening tool which could potentially be sold to every farmer, lifestyler and fencing contractor in the country. Mr Neal was watching his partner Debbie and their 12-year-old daughter Lilly struggling to nail battens on the fence at their home when he came up with the idea for the Batten King, a gadget making the job quick and easy. Fence battening can be a struggle for one person, and is easier with a second person on the other side of the fence holding a spade handle or similar brace propped against the batten to absorb the jarring impact as staples are hammered or stapled on to the wires. Mr Neal said farmers and contractors had come up with fencebattening aids in the past, but the Batten King had a slider device to accurately position battens against wires, eliminating the need to physically hold the batten and making fastening it a one-man job which could be carried out in a few seconds using a staple gun. He got Accident Compensation Corporation aid when he broke his back, but ACC help dried up when he had his stroke. And despite paying $600 a month for private health insurance to cover the tiling and building crew he employed, the insurer wouldn’t cover his stroke and his business fell over. While Mr Neal has issues with his treatment by ACC and his
TOP TOOL: The Batten King, made of galvanised channel steel, has a 3mm stainlesssteel slider which holds battens in place by one wire, allowing staples to be applied to the other wires in an even manner. The galvanised handle is screwed to the top of the tool when it is use or positioned inside the channel, as pictured, so the gadget can fit in a car boot. PHOTO/
MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
CHILD’S PLAY: Dave Neal watches as his 12-year-old daughter Lilly makes easy work of fencing using the Batten King tool he developed. PHOTO/
MIKE BARRINGTON
insurance company, he has high praise for the way the Ministry of Social Development helped him, paying bills which kept his family secure in their home. He is also grateful his parents, Brian and Rosie Neal, of Howick, helped them overcome the stress of his health and financial crisis. Brian Neal told The Land an
ambulance crew passing nearby when a call for help was made after his son had the stroke was ‘‘there before the phone was put down’’. The quick response had enabled Dave to get an injection which had ‘‘saved him from being a cabbage ’’. Brian Neal, a retired toolmaker, helped his son refine the Batten King design, apply for a patent and
set up a family company to make it. Dave Neal said they had given the tools to a couple of fencing contractors to try and they were so impressed they wouldn’t give them back. Batten Kings are now for sale for $280 plus GST from Neal Manufacturing Ltd, phone/fax 09 534 5908; email: nealmfg@xtra.co.nz.
CONTACT US ADVERTISING
EDITORIAL
NATIONAL ADVERTISING
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
Cam Mitchell 09 470 2882, 021 225 9692 cam.mitchell@northernadvocate.co.nz
Mike Barrington 09 470 2837 mike.barrington@northernadvocate.co.nz
Matthew Sherry 021 2710364 matthew.sherry@apn.co.nz
Colleen Thorpe 021 775 005 colleen.thorpe@apn.co.nz
The Land is published every Thursday in APN Regional Newspapers throughout the North Island.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
Creamy there for club By Mike Barrington
Time has taken all Kevin O’Shea’s hair, but people still call him Creamy. The 77-year-old picked up the nickname back when he rode a horse to school at Maungakaramea, preferring his steed to the bus. “The horse was creamcoloured and was called Creamy. Back then I had fair hair so I was called Creamy, too. It’s not a bad name for a dairy farmer,” he said, laughing. The Maungakaramea Sheepdog Trial Club last month held a sponsors evening at which top Northland trialist and Maungakaramea farmer Murray Child was congratulated for being named captain of the five-man New Zealand dog trial team which later crossed the ditch and regained the Wayleggo Cup by beating Australia in the annual Transtasman Challenge. Club president Leslie Child also thanked those who help make local dog trials happen — sponsors, organisers, committee members, and event helpers — and the 65 people present loudly applauded the popular Creamy O’Shea when Murray Child presented him with the NZ Farmer Merit Award for his lifetime contribution to the Maungakaramea club.
STALWART: Kevin “Creamy” O’Shea, left, receives the NZ Farmer Merit Award from Murray Child for his lifetime contribution to the Maungakaramea Sheepdog Trial Club. PHOTO/RACHAEL QUIN
patrons. Their father Tom had been “a real dog trial man” whom Mr O’Shea was “fairly sure” had won a national title with his eye dog Wag. But Creamy never took up the sport. He married Merle — “She’s a local girl so she only had to move from one side of the village to the other” — and they
Mr O’Shea began liberating sheep for trials on the club’s former course on Maungakaremea mountain when he was a 15-year-old and was still doing it on the present course on Ross and Grant Woolhouse’s farm in Omana Rd until about three years ago. Creamy and his brother, Dannie, are now club
milked 220 Jersey cows on 99ha and ran a successful Jersey stud until their son, Shayne, bought the herd in 1993, sharemilked for them for five years, then moved to a farm at Kokopu where he and his sister, Charmaine, won the Northland Ballance Farm Environment Award last year. Charmaine was earlier this year named NZ Dairy Woman of the Year. He now has 52ha on which he grazes replace heifers for his children’s farm. He’s always had dogs until his last one was hit by a car and had to be put down about seven years ago. While Creamy never competed in dog trials, he coached the Mid-Western Rugby Club junior team Murray Child played in to a championship win in 1971. Creamy reckons he doesn’t need a dog. He just opens opens gates, gives a call and the heifers move where he wants them. His health is good and he’s a light-hearted character, easy to talk to. Asked if he’s going to survive long enough to get a royal telegram for clocking up a century, he said that if he’s out with friends he doesn’t mind telling them he’s going to live to be 100. “But you never know, do you?” he said with a typical Creamy chuckle.
Plenty to interest in Conservation Week next month By Abigail Monteith Northlanders don’t need to travel far to interact with nature during Conservation Week, from November 1-9 — many stunning treasures wait to be discovered on their doorstep. Department of Conservation (DoC) Northland district partnership ranger Fiona Watson says most New Zealanders visit public conservation land each year, to sightsee, walk and picnic. “We want to translate that interest into encouraging more people to play an active role in conservation . . . we have created local events for people to experience the huge range of what’s available,” she said.
For example: ■ Test your local knowledge with a quiz. Check the DoC website during Conservation Week to be in to win great prizes, including a family trip to the Poor Knights. ■ Get a lesson on volunteering during Volunteer Day on the Kauri Coast on November 7. Join a DoC ranger and help preserve our environment with nursery work at Trounson Park. You may hear and see ku¯kupa (NZ wood pigeon) on a guided walk. Kiwi North also will have activities and there will be a Whangarei Growers’ Market stall on November 1, with displays, a competition and more. Look for the DoC marquee.
Three national competitions in October-November offer great conservation spot prizes. ■ My World photo competition — explore the outdoors, and share your experience via social media by posting using #conservationweek ■ Creative writing competition — 5-12 year olds can write a short story about their local treasure. ■ Creative art competition — 5-12 year olds can draw a picture of their local special place and send it to us. For more information, see www.conservationweek.org.nz ■ Abigail Monteith is a partnership ranger at DoC’s Northland district office in Whangarei.
Briefly Biological techniques The Kaipara Biological Farming Group will discuss biological farming in the Kaipara Harbour catchment at Hal and Penny Harding’s farm at 242 Pouto Rd, Dargaville, from 10.30am3.30pm tomorrow. Cost: $25/person. Bring a packed lunch. A similar discussion will take place at Bev Trowbridge’s farm at 332 Koromiki Rd, Ahuroa, from 1pm-5pm on Saturday. For information call Hal on 09 439 7359 or Bev on 09 422 5267.
Fonterra open day Fonterra and the Department of Conservation will hold a community open day at the Fonterra farm at 259 Jordan Valley Rd, Hikurangi, from 10:30am-1pm tomorrow to mark the start of their 10-year Living Water programme to improve water quality in the Hikurangi catchment.
Book Field Days site Early registrations for the 407 sites at the 2015 Northland Field Days at Dargaville on February 26-28 are up 50 per cent. Businesses need to move quickly to book the 10 per cent of sites still available, says event co-ordinator Meagan Edmonds. To book visit www.northland fielddays.co.nz; email her at info@northlandfield days.co.nz; or call on 09 439 8998.
Growers reject levy Preliminary results for the referendum for a new new wool commodity levy, which closed on Friday, show wool growers voted 43.2 per cent to 56.8 per cent against introducing the levy while the weighted vote from larger enterprises was against the levy 40.29 per cent to 59.71 per cent.
Berry good news
HELPING: Mauri Kearns, DoC volunteer, plants puriri at a Bay of Islands campground. PHOTO/DoC
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17
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The Land
US$/t
6000
GlobalDairyTrade Previous US$/t 1/10/14 Auction WMP 2692 ! 2443 AMF 3264 ! 3117 Average 2795 ! 2599
Agrifax WMP Price
4000
2000
Jun
Sep 2012/13
Dec 2013/14
Mar 2014/15
NZc/kg (net)
North Is. Schedule This $/kg CW net Week P2 Steer # 4.99 M2 Bull # 4.94 M Cow # 3.82
North Island Steer Schedule
450 350 250
Oct
Jan 5Oyr avg
Apr 2013/14
Jul 2014/15
# OVERSEAS PRICES
NZ$/hd (net)
North Is. Schedule $/head net Lamb 17.5kg " Lamb 19kg " Mutton 21kg #
North Island Lamb Schedule
100 75 50
Oct
Jan 5Oyr avg
Apr 2013/14
Jul
FARMGATE PRICES Last Week 4.99 4.94 3.82
2014/15
CHRIS TAYLOR – Agriculture Market Analyst
Processing for Christmas contracts is underway with additional premiums paid on early new season lambs increasing in recent weeks. Gross rates of $6.50-$6.60/kg have been paid for new season lamb this week. However, processing has got off to a slower start. Although plenty of lambs are on the ground early, lambing farmers are reported to be a week or too behind in getting stock up to weight and ready for processing. A lift in processing numbers is expected in the next two weeks. Typically the last shipments are made in the first week of November and Christmas processing is completed by the end of October. Overall Christmas chilled volume is small and processors are confident of completing their chilled contracts. Frozen inventory levels in New Zealand are low at the moment and
This Week 107.35 116.73 61.68
Last Week 106.67 115.98 61.68
Year Versus Ago 5-yr Avg 101.40 0% 110.14 0% 62.42 –4%
chris.taylor@nzx.com
processors are starting the new season with very little product in storage, well down on previous years. This enables exporters to start the season on the right foot and with a good proportion of the early season lamb sold chilled for immediate shipment inventories are not expected to build. While supplies are low in NZ, inventories have built up in China, which is typical for this time of year. The situation has not been helped by high exports of lamb and mutton from Australia continuing to add to supplies in Asia during winter as New Zealand’s production winds down. Mutton supplies in China are reportedly quite high still, and exporters will be hoping for a good winter consumption period before the bulk of New Zealand’s production comes on stream in the new year.
NZ Lamb Exports
25
120
Agrifax Log Price Indicator
100 80 60 40 SepO12
MarO13
SepO13
22 11
500 400 300
200 OctO12 AprO13 Oct 12 Apr 13 Milling wheat
OctO13 Oct 13 Feed wheat
AprO14 Apr 14
OctO13 39 Micron
AprO14
Feb
Apr 2012/13
Jun 2013/14
Aug
800
Wool Prices
600 400 200 OctO12
AprO13 29 Micron
NZX DAIRY PGI Last 15 Days As at October 13, 2014
Pasture Growth Index Above normal Near normal Below normal The NZX Pasture Growth Index (PGI) is an indicator of potential pasture growth based on three key climatic variables – temperature, moisture and light.
Australian Lamb Exports
10
Oct
Dec Feb Apr 5OYr Ave 2012/13
Jun 2013/14
Aug
MORE: The information above is extracted from key reports produced by NZX Agrifax, the leading provider of specialist industry data and intelligence on the New Zealand sheep, beef, dairy, forestry, venison, wool and grain sectors. Please contact us to view the full reports. www.agrifax.co.nz | info@nzxagrifax.co.nz
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OctO14 Oct 14 Feed barley
WOOL
15
0 Dec 5OYr Ave
SepO14
NZ Feed Grain Indicator
5 Oct
MarO14
GRAIN & FEED
20 000t
000t
"
Lamb schedules are on the up, as Christmas processing for UK and European markets is now in full swing. Further lifts in schedules in the past week have pushed net pricing for a 17.5kg lamb to $107/ head, with gross prices at $6.50/kg-plus.
33
0
"
Year Versus Ago 5-yr Avg 4.32 +26% 4.01 +32% 3.07 +36%
FARMGATE PRICES
CHRISTMAS PROCESSING IN FULL SWING
44
Year Versus Ago 5-yr Avg 5208 –31% 5062 –27% 4980 –27%
FORESTRY
Gross rates for beef have kept on rising in recent weeks with gross schedule rates for steers and bulls reaching $5.60/kg in the North Island for this week. Numbers available for processing are still tight, with farmers holding on to stock due to an abundance of spring pasture.
SHEEP 125
!
Dairy commodity prices have remained weak in the lead up to the October 15 GDT auction. But market sentiment on the NZX Dairy Futures market remains bullish, with prices for the October WMP contract settling 4% higher than those achieved at the October 1 GDT.
# OVERSEAS PRICES
BEEF 550
FAT PRODUCTS
NZ$/t
! POWDER PRODUCTS
DAIRY
Thursday, October 16, 2014
NZ$/t
Northern Advocate
NZc/kg
18
16Oct2014 metservice.com | graphic compiled by
Lamb
OctO14
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
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Business writers Fran O’Sullivan and Alexander Speirs call the shots here every Thursday
OPINION
Quality fuels sales stampede
with FRAN O’SULLIVAN
B
Success doesn’t require producers to reinvent the wheel or cash up an enormous marketing budget
UILDING premium products is all the rage in the agri-business game with major companies rapidly expanding their profiles in the fast-moving consumer goods and ingredients business to drive more revenue. Away from the big end of town there’s some interesting innovations happening. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past three weeks — chances are you’ve at some point come across Whittaker’s chocolate milk — created in conjunction with artisan food maker Lewis Road Creamery. The product has been a social media sensation — blowing up Facebook and quickly spreading across other platforms. Supermarkets are selling out minutes after receiving stock, with some even reporting queues while awaiting delivery. The idea isn’t really an original one, even in the dairy space. Fonterra produce Pineapple Lumps flavoured milk in partnership with Kraft — but the public frenzy doesn’t come close to comparing. Shortages have seen those lucky enough to get their hands on Whittaker’s chocolate milk selling their products for big premiums online. From the outset, the marketing for the new chocolate milk has been completely on point. That should come as little surprise with Peter Cullinane — former Chief Operating Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide and co-founder of Antipodes Water — at the helm of Lewis Road which formed a partnership with Whittaker’s to develop the new brand. Cullinane said that from the outset, it was clear what their point of difference would be. “When you walk down the dairy aisle and you look at the flavoured milks, they’re brightly coloured, they look like confectionary really rather than quality products. “Anything we do should first and foremost be about the
SWEET REWARDS: Peter Cullinane, at the helm of Lewis Road.
product itself. It should be a brilliant product and then it needs to be packaged and branded effectively, but at it’s heart it’s about having a brilliant product.” Much like Whittaker’s does with its chocolate, Lewis Road Creamery has made the product and the ingredients the star of the show. The branding and packaging is simple yet elegant. The chocolate milk is a premium product and it looks like one. But it has been social media savvy driving demand. When done effectively social media campaigns can provide enormous exposure for a relatively modest expense. Many food businesses have tried but few really hit the nail on the head. It’s still somewhat of an unknown territory and those that have succeeded seem to be the result of either perfect planning or perfect products, combined with a bit of dumb luck. Last year it was the croissantdonut hybrid dubbed the cronut
which became an overnight global sensation on social media. Whittaker’s formed a partnership earlier this year with Griffins to manufacture 100’s & 1000’s’ biscuit flavoured chocolate crossover proved that potential existed in New Zealand. A relatively minor campaign by Lewis Road generated enormous hype for their
ANYTHING WE DO SHOULD FIRST AND FOREMOST BE ABOUT THE PRODUCT ITSELF. IT SHOULD BE A BRILLIANT PRODUCT AND THEN IT NEEDS TO BE PACKAGED AND BRANDED EFFECTIVELY, BUT AT IT’S HEART IT’S ABOUT HAVING A BRILLIANT PRODUCT.
chocolate milk long before the slow initial rollout. Simple promotion with an engaged and growing social media audience resulted in demand 30 times higher than initially anticipated. The success has led to Lewis Road further toning down its marketing efforts and planning investment in plant and equipment to try to bridge the ever-increasing gap between supply and demand. Cullinane is confident that supply can still be increased significantly before demand reaches a plateau. He says the success “demonstrates that quality is in demand and quality sells”. While bit players and artisan producers in this country tend to be focused on producing beautiful products — the approach taken by Lewis Road lays a blueprint of sorts for others to follow. To really gain traction at the premium end of the market, the quality has to be evident across the board — from packaging and branding to the product itself. It’s a truly holistic approach, but it shows that success doesn’t require producers to reinvent the wheel or cash up an enormous marketing budget. Instead it seems, genuine quality with some social media savvy is the new number 8 wire approach for small players at the premium end of town. Fran O’Sullivan is a business columnist for the NZ Herald and Alexander Speirs (right) is a business journalist for Herald Business Reports
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20
Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Rural radio personality Dominic George vents his views here every Thursday
COMMENT
Never a dull moment here in Godzone
with DOMINIC GEORGE
Leadership battles, terror alert, woeful Wallabies, we’ve had them all
F
ARMING Show host Jamie Mackay returns to New Zealand early next week after leading a farming and footy tour to South Africa, a trip I’ve dubbed his Three Month Tour of the Republic, based on the inordinate amount of time he’s been away. And there’s plenty that’s happened in his absence. On the farming front, we’ve seen beef prices continue to rise, dairy prices continue to fall, MPI take a caning over Yersinia pseudo tuberculosis and the wool levy vote get rejected. Politically, we’ve seen the Labour leadership race go from dumb to dumber and our terror alert bumped up a bit with the Government laying the PR groundwork to send military assistance to help quell Isis. On the sporting front, the ITM cup has dragged on with a few little talking points, Bathurst turned out to be a dead-set humdinger, and all eyes are on Brisbane this Saturday to see whether the woeful Wallabies will galvanise in the face of the Bealeinspired off-field drama or get torn a collective “new one” by the All Blacks, starting from a rare loss which
LEADERSHIP RACE: The scramble to replace David Cunliffe as Labour leader has reached new lows in recent weeks.
Mackay and co witnessed in Johannesburg. No doubt being the news junkie he is, Jamie has probably caught up with most or all of these stories but there’s a few off the beaten track he may not have come across, so I’ve taken the liberty of enlightening him. One of the best things that we’ve reported on the Farming Show, more precisely on our website, is the Cowboys Monkey Rodeo in the US. Yep, little capuchin monkeys, dressed up as cowboys, riding sheepdogs,
SELF DRIVE HIRE
DIGGERS, ROLLERS, DUMPERS ETC... WIDE RANGE OF EXCAVATOR ATTACHMENTS
attempting to herd the flock into pens. It’s so pointless, it’s fantastic. WTF were those Yanks thinking this time? Where the hell did this originate? Which moonshine swilling good ‘ol boy thought this up? I think I want to meet him . . . maybe not. But I do want to meet the dwarf stripper who got a bride-to-be pregnant in Spain during her hen’s night. True story; she indulged in a little slap and tickle with the “entertainment” (apparently dwarf strippers are quite big in Spain) and
thought she could cover it up. Alas, when the product of that illadvised liaison entered the world, the ruse was up. It would appear dwarfism is genetic. And finally, while Mackay has been searching for elephants on safari, a bunch of hairdressers in Darwin have decided to make the male haircut experience just a little bit better. They’ve taken to wearing lingerie and plying customers with beer while they’re getting their hair cut. An inspired move which would really take off in New Zealand. A quick survey I conducted consisting of one question: “Would you like to have your hair cut by women in lingerie as you drink beer?”, came back 100 per cent in the affirmative. The margin of error was 2.4 as some of the blokes I asked in the office probably didn’t understand the question. Still, comprehensive to say the least. So little monkeys, little men and little minds – look what happens when the boss goes away. I can’t wait for him to come back so I can look at 400 awkward photos of him grinning away in the same pose in front of different South African locales. Dominic George hosts Farming First, 5am-6am weekdays on Radio Sport.
Mel’s Milk and Meat Boy have Times Changed Plotting a dairy farmers budget graph, deciding on a route, to maintain and sustain it without revising it almost continually is virtually impossible in the current climate. Incomes declining faster than Dotcom’s exit from the parliamentary scene are at the moment almost the norm. Here today and gone tomorrow milk prices are very hard to follow let alone budget for. But as always there are strong reasons to remain driven by positivity which is why in this edition I have chosen to focus soley upon the reasons I believe we must look ahead with a calm and strong attitude. Firstly most dairy farmers are still basking in the carry over from last years record payout and the ability that gave them to meet debt reduction, R&M or capital purchases. Secondly over the last two or three decades history shows new peaks usually follow at intervals of approximately six years. Whilst this is great for younger career farmers it gives little consolation to old farts like me. Those of us perhaps considering the possibility of not making it to “the next peak” must allow memories of 2008 and 2014 seasons to reign supreme. Thirdly the declining dollar which is forecast to drop quite sharply even more could within reasonable time assist farm gate prices. Lastly we have a strong and ever increasing buyer pool, active albeit cautiously. Each year northland farms appear greater “value for money” as our farm prices still trail most of the country whilst we wallow in a most sought after climate. Free appraisals throughout Northland gladly furnished.
Remember “Buy or Sell” with “Wrightsons and Mel”
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Helping grow the country Licensed REAA 2008
RURAL PROPERTY
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
Farmers and economists focus wary eyes on prices Buyers outnumber sellers in the rural property market right now
R with TONY VERDON
21
URAL REAL estate experts say there is still a shortage of rural properties being listed for sale and strong buyer inquiry across the country, in spite of the continued fall in international dairy prices. The latest Real Estate Institute rural property figures report strong enquiry for quality dairy support and cropping properties, although the institute also says environmental and compliance issues are having an impact on the market in all regions. There were 38 more farm sales during the three months to the end of August this year compared with the same period last year. That is a 10.3 per cent increase in farm sales. The institute says 1922 farms were sold in the year to the end of August this year, 24.7 per cent more than were sold in the year to August 2013. Nine regions recorded increases in sales volume during the three months to the end of August this year, with Canterbury recording the largest increase (14 more sales than a year earlier) followed by Northland, where there were 10 more sales than during the same three months last year. REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke says listings were in short supply in all districts, but buyer enquiry was strong across the country. There had been “solid activity” in the horticultural sector in the Bay of Plenty, and strong enquiry for quality dairy support and cropping properties. He says investor interest was focused on properties that generated a return acceptable to the equity market, while environmental and compliance issues were having an impact on all regions. The lifestyle property market had a 13.9 per cent fall in sales volume in the three months to the
ANXIETY: The impact of falling dairy prices is expected to be felt in 2015-16.
end of August compared with a year earlier. “While the volume of sales of lifestyle properties has fallen over the past 12 months, over half of the regions have held or marginally increased levels of sales over July and August,” says Mr Peacocke. Quality lifestyle properties that were well priced to the market continued to sell well. Rural real estate market observers will be watching the next set of three-monthly figures to see how much impact falling
BEEN HERE A
WHILE THE VOLUME OF SALES OF LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES HAS FALLEN OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS, OVER HALF OF THE REGIONS HAVE HELD OR MARGINALLY INCREASED LEVELS OF SALES OVER JULY AND AUGUST
LONG TIME?
dairy prices are having on the market, with economists predicting the fall will have a significant impact on regional economies. ANZ rural economist Con Williams says the impact will be material if there is not an improvement in prices. “The headline reduction is equivalent to an approximate $5 billion hit to dairy revenue, or 2.2 per cent of GDP,” he says. But he says the impact would start to show up only in the 2015-16 season if there were another low milk price and opening advance. “So the forecast improvement in international prices and or a materially lower New Zealand dollar are key to averting a material increase in financial stress,” he says. The ANZ economists say the forestry and dairy sectors have had downward adjustments in prices, with Global Dairy Trade prices nearly halving since February. “Having arrived early, the dairy sector is now looking like it will be one of the first to leave the party.” In their September Economic Outlook report the ANZ economists say, however, that they remain optimistic there will be a better outcome of $6.50kg milk solids in 2015-16. With international turmoil continuing, all eyes will be on the next set of REINZ rural property statistics to see just how much impact falling commodity prices are having.
This farm has meant everything to you, just like it did to your dad and your grandad. Now you’re selling, you have lots of plans but still it’s hard to leave so much history behind. We know this is a time of mixed feelings. We also know how much trust you are putting in us when you ask us to sell a property that has meant so much to generations of your family. To find out more about how Bayleys Country team would approach selling your property, go to bayleys.co.nz/wegetit/country
NZ’s No.1 rural real estate brand Licensed under the REA Act 2008
22
Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
NEED LEGAL ADVICE FOR YOUR FARM? JOIN FEDERATED FARMERS AND GET IT FOR FREE 0800 FARMING (0800 327 646) www.fedfarm.org.nz BALANCING ACT: Robin Casey recommends identifying the deficiencies first.
PHOTO/FILE A_090913WCBRCFAR01
For advice on your farm contact our team: Far North: James Tattersall - 09 430 4915 KeriKeri: Peter Stott - 09 430 4911 Whangarei/Dargerville: Kylie Mounter - 09 470 3325, Nicola Smith - 09 430 4874
Add clover to mix with caution — expert Soil deficiencies threat to success By Iain Hyndman Challenges lie ahead for some farmers jumping on the bandwagon to use a plantain/clover mix as pasture replacement. There is a marked trend in the region to use the mix in an effort to increase stock metabolisable energy (ME), which in turn reduces the amount of dry matter consumed. Independent agricultural fertiliser broker Robin Casey said plantain was becoming increasingly popular and adding clover to the mix was being prompted widely recently. “Plantain is a relatively easy crop to grow in that it can flourish in both alkaline and acidic-based soils. And while that may suit a wide variety of farmers from the flats to hill country, adding clover to the mix brings challenges,” he said. “Clover enjoys alkaline-based soils to flourish, so farmers need to balance deficiencies in the soil to succeed. “Clover and plantain together are a good mix and really does help boost ME. Beef and Lamb figures from the Q-graze programme developed by Lincoln University clearly show a substantial lift in daily lamb growth when feeding on this mix. “My cage grass cut analysis confirms this and reveals daily lamb growth
PASTURE PAIRING: Plantain (broadleaf) and clover cohabit when conditions are right.
PHOTO/SUPPLIED PLANTAIN-CLOVER
increases by up to 60g — that’s huge,” Mr Casey said. Traditional pastures produce an ME of around 10.5 to 11.5, but figures show the plantain/clover mix increases ME to between 12 and 13. And that means stock only need to eat about a third less to have similar ME rates. “Farmers really do need to identify the challenges of adding clover to plantain to succeed and specific advice is required.” He has teamed up with an agronomist from a well-know seed merchant to provide advice. Mr Casey combines his considerable knowledge of trace elements, nutrients and fertilisers with the agronomist’s knowledge of seeds and weed control. “Weeds are a killer of most pasture crops and this specific mix requires specific control measures,” he said.
— Wanganui Chronicle
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
23
COMMENT
Sharing changes a big improvement
with HAMISH FLETT
Focusing decision-making on what is best for the whole business rather than individual parties will change attitudes and behaviour for the better
M
ANY dairy farmers watching 3rd Degree would have been left with a warm fuzzy after the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) results were made known. It has been volatile time in the market, with dislocated European milk pushing prices flat. A lot of dairy farmers will be seeking some stability right now and Federated Farmers’ new and improved herd-owning sharemilking agreement is providing some much-needed reassurance. Removing the “set off” provision, which in the previous agreement had allowed the withholding of sharemilker payment, will now be in breach, which is great for everyone. In Waikato one of the more important changes in the agreement is the shared cost of making silage. With this cost-sharing arrangement agreed at the start
of the season, sharemilkers and farm owners will have more certainty. It will enable sharemilkers to fully use their pasture, which is the cheapest feed source and forego making silage when
worried about the cost. Under this agreement, the situation of the farm owner and sharemilker waiting until they run out of grass will see them splitting the palm kernel bill as agreed to at the start of the season. It will also make the farm owner think twice about demanding a sharemilker cut their silage. I believe the new agreement will change the attitude and behaviour of both parties for the good of the farming partnership and both businesses because it now focuses decision-making on what is best for the whole business rather than how the individual parties may be affected. Hopefully, a surplus of pasture will now be seen as a blessing and not another cost. Any type of farming is a longrun thing and you have to take the rough with the smooth. Improving how the farm business operates by removing opportunities for complications and misunderstandings is good for everyone. They’ve even included a dispute resolution flowchart to show both parties what’s involved if things go wrong, because let’s face it, business arrangements can go sour so it pays to have yourself covered whether farm owner or sharemilker. Federated Farmers, Dairy
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Women’s Network and DairyNZ are running a travelling Eyes Wide Open seminars, which teaches sharemilkers, contract milkers, farm owners, rural professionals and interested parties how to negotiate a fair sharemilking and contract milking contract. It’s important to know what you are getting into before you sign a contract. Getting that win-win for both parties is also good for the whole business. At the end of the day any farmer should want what is fair and reasonable for both parties. I hear all too often about owners and sharemilkers quibbling over a few dollars. Sharemilkers, if you don’t want costs, go and be a farm manager. And farm owners, if you don’t want costs, lease your farm. The herd-owning sharemilking agreement is really positive for farm owners and sharemilkers alike, a fantastic improvement. Speaking of improving, the Dairy Industry Awards is a great one for it. These awards are a great way to boost your business skills and profile and to lead the industry. Entries this year open on October 20. ■ Hamish Flett is Federated Farmers Waikato Sharemilker chairman.
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Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Living without inductions looms Act immediately to be successful, farmers advised Forced births (inductions) have been used as a tool to address calving-pattern issues on dairy farms for many years. As the industry has been working over recent years to phase out the practice, its routine use will no longer be permitted on dairy farms from spring 2015. Farmers facing life without inductions in 2015 for the first time need to start making some important decisions, says Joyce Voogt, a dairy farmer, veterinarian and reproduction solutions manager for LIC. “Success for living without inductions in 2015 and beyond will depend on the actions farmers take now, starting with their planning for mating this year,” she said. “The industry has made remarkable progress over the last few years in reducing the percentage of routine inductions in the national dairy herd but with the practice now being banned altogether, there has never been a more important time to address over-extended calving spreads in a sustainable way. “Late-calving cows will hold a farm back in both production and reproduction, so having a robust plan in place to minimise them is
vital and the most natural way to do this is by focusing on their herd’s six-week in-calf rate, with a proactive approach to mating management, all year-round. For many farmers, that needs to start this spring.” The industry target is to get 78 per cent of the herd in-calf within the first six weeks of mating, but the national average is now sitting at 65 per cent. She said it represented an important opportunity for many farmers to boost profits, production and remove reliance on reproductive interventions such as inductions. As farmers shift their focus to maximising their six week incalf rate, the need for inductions will be removed, she said. “Late-calving cows hold back a herd’s reproductive performance, so the higher the six-week in-calf rate and the lower the number of late calvers in the herd the more sustainable long-term herd fertility will be. “These faster rates of pregnancies will reduce the need for reproductive interventions as cows get more time to naturally cycle and conceive the following year.”
— Rotorua Daily Post
TOOL RULED OUT: Forced births will be outlawed by late 2015.
PHOTO/FILE
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
25
HEALTH & SAFETY
Law upgrades rules on safety
with CHRIS LEWIS
Farmers must address their risk management systems ahead of worker legislation taking effect in April
H
EALTH and safety plans are fast becoming the norm on dairy farms but the obligation isn’t just on the milk industry. All agricultural sectors need to adopt best practice in the workplace to keep themselves and their staff safe. There is a culture change afoot that has had a long evolutionary process, chipping away at different workplaces and types of businesses, with farming on the menu for the past few years. New Zealand has long been fine-tuning its health and safety practices in the workplace. The Health and Safety Reform Bill that comes into play in April 2015 covers the Government’s aim to reduce our workplace injury and death toll by 25 per cent by 2020. It makes sense that we’re being lined up because farming is a risky business with unpredictable elements. We’re not the worst but we’re not the best, and so the industry stakeholders have been working with each other to put in place
methods to help change the way we approach things. I’ve had personal experience of workplace incidents, after having the Westpac helicopter, which our charitable trust sponsors $25,000 yearly, visit the farm after a worker had a bike accident a few years ago. And I myself spent 13 days in Waikato Hospital earlier this year after a back injury on the farm. Even the best workplaces have issues but the speakers will talk about how with good processes you can minimise your farm and staff risks — and your legal responsibilities. Google “health and safety onfarm” and a raft of information and advice becomes available to you, such as Dairy NZ’s Health and Safety Compliance Tool Kit, FarmSafe programmes and
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WorkSafe’s Quad Bike Safety. Federated Farmers has an occupational health and safety manual, located on our website with our employment agreements, drug and alcohol policy for staff, and employment information. In the Waikato, Federated Farmers is organising meetings for farmers after a successful meeting was held in Cambridge this year. Farmers need a little help to get up to speed on the everchanging regulatory space and this is one area that is moving at pace. Federated Farmers Waikato welcomes all farmers to come along and hear about the importance of health and safety on-farm as well as understand how they can do better. There are obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 that everyone in the rural sector needs to be aware of, including any liabilities and responsibilities for
managing hazards to reduce potential accidents on-farm. Most farmers already mitigate these risks without the paperwork but sometimes that piece of paper can save your backside and is worth its weight in gold. From entering into the space through the Federation, I know I have had my eyes opened to the risks my business faces if I don’t step up and front-foot my responsibilities. Now it’s about spreading that message. I know many farmers were hoping this would go away, especially some of the impractical parts, like expecting farmers to drive quad bikes without passengers or not allowing children in the workplace — which, when it is also their home makes it a bit tricky to be a parent. ■ Chris Lewis is Federated Farmers Waikato provincial president.
26
Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Solution to weed issue truly de-vine available to operate in such narrow rows, the challenge was to devise a means of controlling weeds which was inexpensive, robust and useable in narrow rows. The solution was to develop a bespoke tool and this was done together with design and engineering business Moteo Ridge Engineering Services that has specialist expertise in that area. “We already owned a narrow tine cultivator which was basically a 1m steel frame fitted with ‘S’ tines and having removed the tines, this was used as the frame of the new tool,” Mr McCollum said. “They took it away and came up with this idea.” Moteo Ridge’s John Patrick worked up a design which consisted of a single cutting disc and a ‘‘Ridgeback’’ mounding disc, mounted in line on the frame. He delivered it in 2013 and it was used extensively, and successfully, in the Fernhill
PROBLEM SOLVED: Dermot McCollum, owner of Stonecroft Winery, Roy's Hill, with his organic vineyard weeder.
PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND
vineyard for the 2013/14 growing season. “We found that the tool performed very well,” Mr McCollum said, saying that as the tool moves down the row, the cutting disc makes an incision in the ground which allows the mounding disc to engage and run at a buried depth of up to 400mm. “Basically the idea is to run the tool as close as possible to the row of vines as this undermines the weeds adjacent to the vines and throws the
cultivated soil on top of the row which also acts as a weed suppressant.” However, in some stoney parts of the vineyard the tool had not been able to penetrate the surface so more modifications were carried out. A second set of cutting and mounding discs were added together with a central stabilising disc and a set of weights were added. “The vineyard has had one pass so far this season and we are very happy with the
results,” Mr McCollum said. Mr Patrick said there were several benefits in operating the new weeding tool. “It has no moving parts, no hydraulic controls and once the equipment is set up there is no need to make adjustments for a given row width.’’ Mr McCollum said the bespoke designed and built tool had been so effective they were now using it on their other vineyards.
— Hawke’s Bay Today
TE ND ER
Narrower than usual rows between the vines at Stonecroft winery’s Fernhill vineyard had made effective weeding something of a problem — until owner Dermot McCollum called in some engineering and design advice. It was advice, and later good engineering, which has solved the problem. “We didn’t have an alternative — so we came up with one.” Normal weeding, in normalwidth rows, is usually taken care of by using a combination of tractor side-mounted undervine weeder and mounding disc, McCollum said. However, due to the row spacing in the Fernhill vineyard that approach was not a goer. The 1.3m row width makes the rows some of the narrowest in the country, so the existing equipment was too wide to be used. When initial research found nothing was commercially
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
Substantial Northland Dairy Portfolio
MaNgakahia Valley, Nort hlaND
Seven dairy and three support farms located in mid-Northland are being offered for sale individually or as a portfolio. With a total land area of 3,300ha, this is a significant opportunity to invest in the future of New Zealand dairy farming, and to leverage off the hard work that has already been done in combining this substantial dairy farming operation. The farms are milking around 3,900 cows and are forecast to milk in excess of 1.2m KG’s of milk solids (15m litres) this season. There is a strong and proven management team in place and the new owner has the opportunity to further increase production levels. This is an opportunity to acquire a substantial position in New Zealand’s leading industry, and invest in quality farms with good infrastructure and support, with significant scope to increase production.
For sale by International Tender, closing 4pm, 27th November 2014. Bayleys Auckland, 4 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Auckland. The farms may be sold as a whole or in parts. Additional info and video’s at www.tennzfarms.co.nz. To register your interest and receive further information, please contact: John Barnett B 09 425 7640 M 021 790 393 john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz
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27
28
Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The Vet Centre The Vet Centres’ four clinics situated in Mangawhai, Maungaturoto, Waipu and Ruawai are only too happy to provide advice and assist lifestyle block owners with their animal health needs. All clinics are open 8-5 Monday to Friday, and the Waipu and Mangawhai clinics are open Saturday mornings as well. The Club also offers a 24 hour emergency service across our entire catchment. Each clinic is stocked to provide remedies suited to small block owners needs and literature is also available explaining these needs and options. Our vets will provide additional advice if needed but normally our front desk staff will be able to assist you with your enquiries. All types of animals require treatment for parasite control on an ongoing basis,
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and many of these issues can be proactively controlled or prevented. Prevention is obviously better than cure, and prevention is also more humane and cheaper. Common problems are fly strike in summer, particularly during warm moist weather, eczema from mid summer throughout autumn, and worm problems — particularly when your grass has freshened after dry periods or when the grass is really short in the winter months. In addition, lice and ticks on all animals can cause severe health problems if not controlled. Please also remember all animals require access to fresh water throughout the summer. Our suggestion is to seek advice from our clinics before the summer holidays, but be aware that problems can occur at any time. CALF DAY: Trish Hosking says strict hygiene standards are a must when rearing young calves as they are susceptible to disease. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
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High steaks for beefy calves Everyday is calf day on Trish Hosking’s Rahui Rd farm. The Ngongotaha dry stock farmer grew up on a dairy farm in the Waikato and has looked after calves since she started taking one to primary school pet days. She reared 65 calves each spring before building a new shed four years ago to accommodate 130 calves a year. “I’ve always reared calves,” Mrs Hosking said. “There were eight of us in the family and we all had a calf we took to pet days at school.” Rearing calves was intensive farming, she said. “I don’t do anything else, I just farm. I love it. “Sometimes you get a little too attached to them and don’t want them to leave the farm when they are sold.” On average, calf rearers stayed in the business for about four years. “A lot can go wrong rearing calves because it is high risk, and it can be uneconomic if you can’t buy 4-day-old calves at a reasonable price. “The key is to buy young good quality calves and sell them for a profit at 100kg to a contract buyer with a guaranteed price.” Mrs Hosking said most dairy farmers were keen to sell to rearers at a reasonable price — that way both of parties benefited. “This year 90,000 more calves than usual were killed — this meant rearers didn’t rear the calves, and dairy farmers didn’t get a premium price selling to them. “The result is that there will be a
shortage of dairy beef calves this summer which causes a problem for dairy farmers wanting to buy these calves to fatten.” It is not until calves reach 9-12 months and develop resistance to worms that a calf rearer “can relax a little’’. Up until then, it is a constant daily vigil to monitor the calves’ growth and disease resistance. Tube-feeding colostrum is essential in the first days to build protection as young calves can get sick quickly and have little immunity to diseases, such as salmonella or rotavirus, which can spread rapidly through the shed without warning. Mrs Hosking is vigilant about protecting her calves — this year she has reared 120 — from disease and will often have them off limits to visitors. “I also take the precaution at buying my calves from dairy farmers I know and can trust.” Her purpose-built calf rearing shed accommodates 10-15 calves in each pen for the first six weeks, or until they reach 65kg, and are turned out to pasture. The pens have warm dry shavings, clean water and access to fresh pellets. “I feed them high-quality milk powder, always feeding them the right amounts at the right time,” she said. From six weeks old to the time the calves reach 100kg, they are fed pellets until they are able to survive on grass alone. Regular drenching helped control worms, coccidiosis, eczema and copper deficiency.
— Rotorua Daily Post
WHANGAREI
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Northern Advocate
29
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30
Northern Advocate
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Maximising triplet survival
A
N AWARD-winning farming couple right in the thick of lambing have their work cut out for them this spring. Matt and Lynley Wyeth plan to successfully mother 1000 triplets with the help of a new indoor rearing programme. The couple are into their second successful year of a ground-breaking indoor triplet programme that’s reaping big rewards on their 1000ha Spring Valley Enterprises property near Masterton. Mrs Wyeth says the indoor programme means they are enjoying much higher survival rates. “We bring the ewes into our covered yards around their due dates and lamb them inside. “Once they’ve lambed, we leave them in a pen for 12 hours with their lambs. This gives the ewe the opportunity to really bond with her three lambs, so she is less likely to drop any.” Mr Wyeth said through the trial, they had about a 286 per cent survival rate out of a possible 300 per cent, and from that, they hoped to dock 255 per cent. “We treat our lambing time as our harvest time, therefore we plan to maximise our return per sheep stock unit. The triplet system will see 1000 ewes lambed indoors and 500 outside
as a control. This system won’t fit everybody but there’s a lot farmers can take out of it.” The programme also fitted well with their animal ethics protocols. “We’re maximising the survival of our triplets and minimising our wastage. “There’s also a ‘feel good’ factor to it — we’re counting the live ones, not the dead ones.” The Wyeths are always seeking new ways to increase their farm’s efficiency and productivity and they’re quick to attribute a key part of their success in aligning with leading breeder Focus Genetics. Since partnering with Focus Genetics eight years ago, the docked lambing percentage at Spring Valley is up 20 per cent, to now being consistently over 150 per cent. And weaning weights are also strong. At the first weaning draft in midDecember, Mr Wyeth said he got 85 per cent straight off the ewes, averaging a weight of 38kg at 90 days. “Ideally, we like an early weaning weight selected from a twin, and we try and select quality hoggets that will be sure to get in-lamb,” he said. The Wyeths’ hard work is now being recognised nationally. As well as being
TRIPPING ALONG: Lynley Wyeth and Harriet Hendricks, from Britain, co-manager the triplet programme. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
named Supreme winners of the 2014 Greater Wellington Ballance Farm Environment Awards, the Wyeths also took out this year’s terminal cross Beef+Lamb Golden Lamb Award for producing the tastiest lamb. The farm’s performance is
improving and Mr Wyeth is happy with their recipe for success. “Winning the Tastiest Lamb in the terminal cross category for our Highlander/ Primera lambs shows we’re producing a top-quality eating experience.”
— WTA
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