Canterbury Farming, May 2014 by Integrity Community Media

29,200 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast.

May 2014

INSIDE Big guns out for irrigation opener Page 6

Scholarship recipient look toward future in bovine genetics Page 12

From farming to global conservation

Page 35

Prolific sire retires leaving great legacy

by Kelly M. Phillips

National Party heavyweights were out in force for the Construction start of stage one for the $375 million Central Plains Water irrigation project. Prime Minister John Key, joined members of the Central Plains Water Trust and local farmers and politicians gathered in Hororata for the sod turning on the $140 million stage one of the Central Plains Water Scheme. Joining the Prime Minister for the event were Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy, Speaker of the House David Carter and Canterbury Earthquake Recovery minister Gerry Brownlee. According to Mr Key, the scheme is the first of its kind in New Zealand although similar projects have been granted consents and said the government’s role was to act as the glue that bound the various working groups together. “This project was always seen as the frontrunner and will lead to the creation of around 1,000 new jobs in the region. “This project takes pressure off existing waterways,” he said, referring to the project’s use of surface water instead of ground and aquifer reserves. Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy said, “we don’t have a water shortage issue in the country, we have a water storage issue.” To underline the economic impact, the minister cited a recent study by Lincoln University which found that, “10% of Christchurch’s gross economic output comes from direct expenditure on Selwyn

and [the] neighbouring Waimakariri District.” The scheme was first proposed by the Central Plains Water Enhancement Committee in 2001 as way to secure future agricultural yields through water storage. Initial funding for the scheme came from local farmers who purchased shares and raised $4.7 million. Additional funds have been provided by the Selwyn District Council, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Irrigation Acceleration Fund, Crown Irrigation Investments Limited and contributions from farmers. Stage One will see the construction of a 40m wide, 17km long headrace canal and 130km pipe distribution network. Completion is estimated for September 2015 with a total cost of $140 million. The final project will irrigate an estimated 60,000ha and draw water from both the Rakaia and Waimakariri rivers. The first phase will irrigate 20,000ha which will add 5,000ha to what is currently available. According to the CPW the company is required to have a two-year ground water monitoring record in place before taking water for surface irrigation. CPW began the monitoring of groundwater in selected bores in December 2012,

CPW Trust chief executive Derek Crombie, with the first sod turned for the irrigation scheme is delighted work has begun

following discussions with Environment Canterbury. Checkpoints are included along the project to monitor water levels and quality and excess water will be stored in Lake Coleridge until needed. CPW Trust chief executive Derek Crombie said the scheme began with a group of concerned farmers who were uncertain of its future success. Excess water will be stored in Lake Coleridge until needed.

Prime Minister John Key addresses the crowd at the sod turning for the Central Plains Water irrigation scheme

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May 2014

Massey veterinary students au naturel Massey University’s third-year veterinary students have shed their clothes and posed with utes, haystacks and animals to fundraise for the New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association. The ‘Barely There’ calendar is in its ninth year and has proven to be a successful fundraiser. Photos are taken from around the Manawatu region, on and around the Massey Campus in Palmerston North and as far as Tauranga and Wellington. Barely There co-ordinator and third-year veterinary student, Nadine Hahn says Vet school is based around traditions and this is one of the many.

“This out-of-the-box fundraiser is seen as a once in a lifetime opportunity for the third-year students to be involved in, and is a great way to get to know your classmates — in more ways than one. “As you can imagine, being involved in this sort of project has its own unique challenges as dogs, kittens, chickens and cows are not known for keeping still — especially around groups.”

Massey University vet students pose for a photograph for their fundraising ‘Barely There’ calendar

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Ten percent of the proceeds from the calendar will go to the New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association which is a charitable organisation providing opportunities for anyone with a disability to enjoy safe, therapeutic horse riding and horse-related activities. They help out over 3,200 riders throughout 55 branches around the country. Ms Hahn says they chose NZRDA because they believe their donations to this organisation will be able to benefit both the people and the animals that participate in this national movement. She says all other profits go towards funding the ‘half-way’

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celebrations — a class trip away for the students. “It’s a much anticipated celebration of the hard work and dedication that goes in to getting a five-year veterinary degree,” Ms Hahn says. The New Zealand Veterinary Association is one of the major sponsors of the calendar. Chief Executive Julie Hood says it is a fun way to support our future young vets as well as a charitable organisation in the process. The calendars can be purchased from www. vetcalendar.co.nz for $15 (+p&p) and the calendar dates run from 1 July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

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Canterbury Farming prints material contributed by freelance journalists, contributing columnists and letters from readers. The information and opinions published are not necessarily those of Canterbury Farming or its staff. Canterbury Farming takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Canterbury Farming is published by NorthSouth Multi Media Ltd

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May 2014

Formula complies with Chinese standards

Quad safety violation brings fine

by Kelly M. Phillips

Westland Milk Products remains accredited to supply China with dairy products and Synlait is working towards accreditation for the production of infant formula.

Fifteen thousand dollars is a high price to pay for refusing to wear a helmet.

The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China or CNCA now requires that infant formula contract manufacturers show a close working relationship with brand owners. Synlait said it expected to receive accreditation after the Ministry of Primary Industries approves its Risk Management Plan and upon completion of a dry blending and consumer packaging facility next month. Westland CEO Rod Quin said his company does not export branded formula. “Rather we produce and sell ingredient base powders, which are sold to customers in New Zealand and offshore, including China, for further processing and packing. “We were included in the recent Chinese audit visits to New Zealand infant nutrition manufacturers and we are very pleased to have achieved registration.” “We support the Chinese moves to impose Westland Milk Products CEO greater controls and stricter standards around Rod Quin speaks at a media event the importation of infant formula. Ultimately this will benefit New Zealand exporters by giving the Chinese we are confident of meeting our long term objectives,” he said. consumers more confidence in our products.” According to beehive.govt. Formula producers were given advance notice of China’s plan nz, exports of retail-ready infant to tighten rules on New Zealand exports. Synlait Milk managing director Dr John Penno said the impact formula have doubled in recent of the regulatory changes was anticipated in the company’s recent years and now represent about four per cent of New Zealand’s six month report. “We pointed to a likely short term reduction on sales of our dairy exports to China, or about finished infant formula and nutritional products into China, however, $200 million per year

Although the amount imposed on a Marlborough farmer is unprecedented, WorkSafe NZ stands by its decision to issue the fine. The fine came after witnesses saw herd manager Rangi Holmes riding the quad with a juvenile passenger a total of five times in a twenty month span. Both passengers were helmetless. According to WorkSafe NZ, Mr Holmes’ employer was issued a notice prohibiting the carrying of passengers on quad bikes and requiring the use of helmets In August last year. “He [Mr Holmes] was supplied with a copy of the notice, but on October 3 2013 he was again spotted carrying a child on a quad bike. Neither he nor the child had on a helmet.” Mr Holmes was sentenced at the Nelson District Court in mid-May on the charges

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of failing to protect both his and his passenger’s safety. “There was simply no excuse for Mr Holmes not wearing a helmet,” WorkSafe NZ’s General Manager of Health and Safety Operations, Ona de Rooy said. “Helmets were supplied at his workplace but he chose not to wear one. A helmet can be the difference between walking away from an accident and suffering a permanent, lifechanging brain injury. “Quad bikes designed for one person should also not be used to carry passengers — particularly children in a work environment. Mr Holmes repeatedly showed reckless disregard for safety. He is lucky WorkSafe NZ inspectors intervened before there was any accident.” Bruce Wills, President of Federated Farmers said, WorkSafe NZ was sending a clear message to all quad bike users that it has the regulatory muscle and is now prepared to deploy it. “Whatever you may think about a helmet the law is

the law. If you ﬂout it you risk significant penalties as this case shows,” Mr Wills said. According to an ACC pamphlet called Quad Bike Safety: Tips on How to Stay Safe, “Quad bikes are one of the most widely used motor vehicles on New Zealand farms, and many farmers consider them essential to their farming operations.” For the complete list of quad bike safety tips visit www.acc. co.nz. The Department of Labour has also published guidelines for the safe use of quad bikes at www.business.govt.nz.

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From the Minister

O’Connor Comments with Damien O’Connor Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture

Food safety overhaul

Nathan Guy, Minister for Primary Industries

Dairying drives success

The Food Bill was debated recently in Parliament. It is a major overhaul of our food safety laws and has taken 10 years to get to this stage.

A key message I always tell farmers, growers, fishers and foresters around the country is that we need to celebrate our success loudly and proudly.

I fully support the new legislation because it empowers food businesses to manage food safety themselves using tools based on the level of risk associated with the types of food they produce. At the heart of the new food safety regime is a sliding scale where those businesses which pose the most food safety risk are the most regulated. What is really disappointing is the missed opportunity to introduce mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) as part of this overhaul. I introduced an amendment to the bill that would have done this and had the support of all parties in the House except National, ACT and United Future. I believe it is necessary to include CoOL to complement

If we don’t, no-one else will do it for us. That’s why I was proud to attend the Dairy Industry Awards in Auckland recently — a black-tie event attended by nearly 1,000 people. Congratulations to all the winners on the night. There were some inspiring winners like Ruth Hone who became the first ever woman to win Dairy Trainee of the Year. Out of the 11 dairy trainee finalists, five were women. 27-year-old Nick Bertram was named 2014 Farm Manager of the Year, which is a great achievement given he joined the industry with no family background or experience in farming. Congratulations also to Charlie and Jody McCaig, 2014 New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year. In my speech I pointed out to the audience that every hour of every day, the dairy sector earns another $2 million in exports. It’s the hard work of farmers that pays for our schools, roads and hospitals and I don’t believe you get thanked enough for that. There is a lot to be proud of. According to Dairy NZ, the productivity of dairy farmers has doubled in the last 50 years. I’m very proud of the efforts farmers have made to improve their environmental performance, with around 90% of waterways now fenced off from stock.

other consistent improvements to our food safety regime contained in the legislation. New Zealand is currently exempt from the CoOL provisions in the Food Treaty and is now one of only eight mainstream countries where CoOL remains voluntary (the others are Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam). All our major trading partners such as Australia, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, UAE, the United Kingdom and the USA have mandatory CoOL. Mandatory CoOL is supported by the horticultural sector, the pork industry and Consumer New Zealand. CoOL not only gives Kiwis the chance to buy locally grown SAFE - Bait is enclosed and contained safely away from pets, children, working dogs, livestock and non target wildlife. ECONOMIC - Grate systems stops bait being carried away for storage, no wastage. Bait is eaten inside the Bait Station. FILL AND FORGET Requires minimal attention. USE ANYWHERE Sheds, homes, chicken coops, forest, gardens, factories, town or country.

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and produced food, it also gives our foreign consumers the opportunity to buy our quality products. It provides consumers with information on which to base a purchasing decision. It is interesting to see that the Government has accepted the recommendation from the botulism inquiry that we should provide foreign markets with assurances of authenticity of New Zealandmanufactured infant formula products. The Government also says the new food safety laws will improve our ability to negotiate and maintain recognition from other countries that our food safety system is equivalent to overseas systems and that this will help us access overseas markets for our exporters. This all sounds like CoOL to me but Minister Nikki Kaye won’t commit to actually saying this and doing something about it. At the end of the day, the current Government’s position does not recognise the right of consumers to know where their food was grown and the system under which any handling and processing occurred. This will change under a Labour Government.

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Nathan Guy gives Prime Minister John key a few pointers on milking

We’ve also seen big strides forward in animal welfare. Farmers realise they need to be proactive and take the lead on these issues, because there are plenty of critics out there who will take any chance to bash you. I see part of my job to be an advocate in Parliament and I’ll keep fighting your corner. All of us need to keep talking to our urban cousins, reminding them of what we’ve achieved. We’ve got some very exciting opportunities and challenges ahead of us. The world population is going to reach 9 billion by 2050 and as they get wealthier, they will want more and more of the protein we produce.

To meet this challenge we need to encourage young people into this industry. By 2025 it’s estimated we’ll need another 50,000 new positions filled, and around half of those will require a tertiary qualification. On that note, earlier this month I launched a new Young Enterprise programme happening in schools across New Zealand. Students are being asked to promote careers in the primary industries to their fellow students, which will really help raise awareness. Congratulations again to all the Dairy Industry Awards winners — with great people the future looks bright for this industry.

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May 2014

Country Matters with Rob Cope-Williams

Rural shows have commercial advantage While A&P shows have been the haven for stud stock breeders to show off their wares for 150 or more years, now the commercial breeders have found their arena. Mint lamb, or pasture to plate contests have suddenly taken the real aspects of stock out to the buying public and those selling sires. While any one animal can only win the title once, for obvious reasons, the total bloodline can wallow in the limelight of their departed cousin. Taste, texture, tenderness and every other aspect that a consumer can and should demand is put up against the region’s best for all to assess after the panel of judges have smelt, tasted, chewed and gazed at the small cuts of premium lamb. That is the glory part, behind the scenes the lambs have been assessed for cover and yield by those who know about such things. The beef side of things have the nationwide ‘Steak

of Origin’ contest, more sophisticated perhaps, and not as open to the public eye as the lamb contests conducted at A&P shows, but much along the same lines. A count back over the past few years would indicate that the Angus breed and Angus cross cattle more than hold their own, but to what ends as far as the person buying meat in the supermarket. Yes, Angus producers do have their own label available, and there are some who remember the attributes needed for any produce to go under that label, but does that sway the person with the shopping trolley. I buy 90 per cent of my meat from Peter Timms butchery in Edgeware because I know that they only buy top line meat and they are as passionate about their

high standards as I am about cooking it correctly. However, I have never seen a sign on a tray saying the lamb was from the award winning ﬂock or the steaks were from the award winning herd. So is it a case of the awards giving the farmer a brief warm feeling for a while and apart from having to buy several rounds of drinks for his mates and a silver cup to clean every year. I would love to see a really good follow up system that takes the victory and recognition of excellence out to the consuming public. It certainly needs and deserves more than just a press release and a page in the farming papers. The public deserve excellence, but they have to be able to know where to find it.

My point of view

Allen Cookson

Monetary reform For about a decade, most countries have had interest rates much lower than ours. The influx of foreign money to take advantage of our high rates can increase inflation though that is followed by deflationary and/ or recessionary pressures as debt and interest are repaid. If money that is borrowed from overseas is wisely invested in equipment and materials (e.g. irrigators, fertiliser), the cost of borrowing is exceeded by the increase in earnings. Such borrowing is non-inflationary in the medium to long run. Reckless borrowing which bids up the price of a farm is obviously inflationary. Even National leaders have repeatedly (until Labour’s reform proposals) said that our currency is harmfully overvalued, handicapping exporters and local industries. Yet National have offered no remedies. The present system temporarily controls inflation by increasing debt. It restricts our earning capacity and

increases the burden of unemployment (including crime, health and taxation). Farmers, business leaders and economists have complained about our ﬂawed monetary system. Since 1973 New Zealand has every year spent more than it has earned. The debt is paid by selling our assets — land, infrastructure and profitable enterprises. The ignorance and incompetence of our politicians is mind boggling. Now, at last, a major party acknowledges some of the problems, and has credible remedies with flexibility to cope with unexpected developments. This is new for Labour politicians, who previously denied reality. Under Dr Michael Cullen, as National does now, they crowed about their strong management of government debt, while facilitating soaring private debt.

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May 2014

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT future in bovine genetics BY KELLY M. PHILLIPS

Charlotte Flay was in the middle of milking a cow when she got the call about her Farmers’ Mutual Group Agricultural Scholarship award.

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The Ohoka native was raised on a dairy farm and has an enduring love for the Holstein Friesian breed. “Mum and Dad were good at getting us working on the farm,” she said. Her parents gave her and her two sisters small tasks to do which she says made working with the cows a lot of fun. While her mother handled the calves and filled out paperwork, her father managed the main stock of about 260 Holstein Friesians. Ms Flay eventually joined the New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association and became active in training and showing calves from her farm. “I would pick out my favourites and train them,” she said. “You have to catch them, talk, groom and quieten them.” Showing the calves meant putting them through an

Clipping, proper feeding for appearance and the animal’s nature all had to be carefully evaluated. While her older sisters found other interests in their teens, Ms. Flay stayed keen on agriculture.

“Mom and Dad encouraged it,” she said. “Dad and I can still have a yarn about cows for hours.” The focus of her family’s small farm was on breeding a better milk cow.

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May 2014 “Genetics is what makes a good animal,” she said. Regular visitors to the family property included veterinarians and breeding representatives which sparked Ms Flay’s interest in the science behind running a dairy. “I did Ag Science all through high school and I was Ag Captain,” she said. “By year 13 there were only seven people in the programme.” Ms Flay said many students left when they realised that there was more to farming than just ‘playing with the animals’. She also felt that some of her fellow students had negative perceptions toward the practice of farming and the work involved. To further her training, she went to work on a dairy farm in Ashburton. “They love their animals,” she said of the business. In her opinion, happy cows make for better milk production. She also enrolled in the Bachelor in Agricultural Science degree at Lincoln University and did some online research for scholarships. She found information on the FMG Agricultural Scholarship, filled out an application, wrote an essay and waited. The theme of her essay was changing technology and the need for information sharing between farming generations. “You used to leave high school and become a farmer,” she said. “Some older farmers are set in their ways and stubborn about change.” She hopes more farmers like herself will be able to reach out

Charlotte Flay is completing her first year in Agricultural Science at Lincoln University

to the ones who have been in the fields for decades and give them information on improvements in the science of farming. While it’s still possible to leave high school and go straight into farming, Ms Flay’s generation now has training options available through ITO schemes, Diplomas in Agriculture and the Bachelors and Honours programmes at universities. In her time at Lincoln she has studied land and farm

management, chemistry and biology. She’s doing well in chemistry and says that all classes relate to on-farm management. “On the farm you will see all these things happening. These classes explain what’s going on.” There are also stimulating conversations with fellow farming students. “We recently had a foot rot debate in the common room. I’m getting tips on farming

systems from guys whose farms are 20 times larger than ours.” The FMG scholarship will provide Ms Flay with $4,000 a year and she says it will make a big difference in financing her education. Conrad Wilkshire, FMG’s general manager of advice and insurance, said scholars like Charlotte show there are smart, highly motivated young leaders coming into the agriculture industry who are not only practically skilled, but are also driven to push the sector into a tech-savvy and innovative space moving forward. At the end of her three-year bachelor programme Ms Flay hopes to be accepted into an honours programme at Lincoln. Her goal is to eventually work for the Canadian Dairy Information Centre in the department of Breed Improvement and Genetic Evaluation. “I want to study the correlation between feeding and milk production. We can then breed cows with certain gene markers to improve production.” In the future she hopes to make her research available to farmers throughout New Zealand.

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May 2014

Country Law

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Legal formalities after death The death of a relative or loved one is an emotional time involving contact with professionals who we are not always in contact with. The initial contact would usually be the funeral director who attends to certain legal formalities. They see to medical, death, and cremation certificates and registration of the death with the department of internal affairs. In the weeks following the funeral, it is usual to commence the administration of the deceased’s estate. The person or persons appointed as executors under the deceased’s will are responsible for obtaining a grant of probate of the will. If the deceased did not leave a will, one of the next of kin would apply for a Letter of Administration. Application for either Probate or Letters of Administration is made to the High Court. On the issue of the Probate or Letters of Administration document, administration of the estate commences. It includes getting details of all assets and liabilities of the estate, protecting the assets and selling

them as appropriate. Accounts due and any taxes owing should also be paid in the course of administration. A will may be challenged on a number of grounds. Sometimes a testator may not have mental capacity to make a valid will. The more common ground is where someone has received inadequate provision in the will. Those claims arise in a number of ways — often a family member who is not happy about their inheritance, or someone else who has assisted the deceased on the basis of a promise that they would be included in the will. The Property (relationships) Act has also introduced rights for a spouse who has not been adequately provided for in the will. In most cases claimants have 12 months from the grant of Probate to file proceedings and if the estate has been distributed the executors or administrators may be personally liable if the estate has been distributed and a claimant is successful in bringing proceedings.

Distribution of an estate usually occurs when the administration has been completed. However it is unlikely to be within six months of the grant of Probate as personal liability would fall on the executors should a debt arise during that time. If the executors become aware of other claims it would be usual for them to postpone distribution until the claims have been made or the time for making a claim has passed. Distribution where a will left by the deceased will be in accordance with the directions in the will. Where the deceased did not leave a will, the estate will be distributed amongst close relatives according to the fixed rules in the Administration Act. It is therefore recommended that everybody leaves a valid will to avoid having their estate going to folk who they may not wish to provide for. This article has been prepared by Bessie Paterson, a partner with Ronald W Angland & Son, Solicitors, who may be contacted on Tel: 03 349 4708 or email bessie@anglands.co.nz.

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impacts on economic activity may or may not explain the softer economic but we remain positive on global growth. Asia is far more important with growth in China still above 7%, rising in South Korea and very strong in Japan. More importantly central banks continue to state they stand ready and have the capacity to provide additional (lower interest rate) stimulus if needed, including the United States Federal Reserve should data remain weak (and inﬂation below 2.5%.) Looking at the equity markets we have seen markets rally strongly in February as investors focussed on the prospect of further accommodative policies and on an improved corporate profit outlook. United States equities also benefitted from reporting seasonal profit results, with 74% of reporting companies beating consensus expectations. Sales growth was still anaemic but gains were being made via lower costs. European equities also rallied, receiving a boost from merger and acquisition activity. Emerging markets managed a positive return during February but were still the weakest performer over the quarter.

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We have seen improving global economic activity which has led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost its global growth forecasts, Argentina to unexpectedly devalue its currency — while Turkey (and others) were forced into significant interest rates increases to stem their capital outﬂows. Confidence then received a further knock as Chinese economic data disappointed, with the consequential announcement of ‘softer data’ from other major economies. Some of this movement in economic activity was attributed to exceptional global weather patterns affecting northern hemisphere primary production and general activity, although it is not unusual for soft patches in the dataflow to follow stronger quarters. Commentators popularised the phrases the ‘fragile five’ to describe the emerging economies with current account deficits, currency and interest rate turbulence, and the ‘polar vortex’ to describe the weather phenomena on both sides of the Atlantic. In the case of the ‘fragile five’ their aggregate economic contribution does not significantly impact global output. The weather related

To find out more, call Forsyth Barr Authorised Financial Adviser Andrew Wyllie, 03 365 4244 andrew.wyllie@forsythbarr.co.nz

In Australasia, New Zealand equities delivered a credible performance despite the reporting season not delivering earnings upgrades as yet and with further supply anticipated, in the form of the Genesis Energy announcement. Being an election year political uncertainty is also a risk factor that may affect market pricing. While the Australian equity market recovered from its January low, closer trading associations with emerging markets and weak corporate investment are slowing that market. Returns in New Zealand dollars were further pressured by the Australian dollar weakening over the period. On the fixed interest front, better global economic data and the tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s bond purchases initially pushed longer-dated interest rates higher but these were moderated by the capital outflows from emerging markets. The comments from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, supporting accommodative policies, also provided downward interest rate pressure. In contrast, expectations are for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to commence tightening in March and for short-term rates to rise to 3.5% by December 2014. Andrew Wyllie is an Authorised Financial Adviser with Forsyth Barr in Christchurch. He can be contacted regarding portfolio management, fixed interest, or share investments on 0800 367 227 or andrew.wyllie@ forsythbarr.co.nz. To find out more about Forsyth Barr visit www.forsythbarr.co.nz. This column is general in nature and should not be regarded as personalised investment advice.

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May 2014

Employment Talk by Matt Jones

Helping staff stay motivated and loyal Let’s face it, some of us farming types aren’t exactly experts at managing personnel. Some farm owners and managers just have a knack for it, however if you don’t here’s a brief cheat sheet on covering the basics to ensure that your current staff stay motivated and loyal to you and your farming business. Start by being organised Set clear goals, standards and expectations for your workplace and have detailed job descriptions for staff. If employees have a clear understanding of tasks and expected farm behaviour, along with farm policy manual and a code of conduct, you will prevent many potential recruitment headaches long term. Be sure to communicate all of this from the get-go to avoid any misunderstandings, as well as to instigate a successful hire process. The takeaway here is to develop transparent written policies and procedures for your farm, bring these up regularly with staff so everyone’s on the same page.

Motivate your staff What really drives our employees? Every person is different so take the time to find out. Lay out challenges for them, work through opportunities and never hold back a well-deserved reward for a stellar job. All staff value some positive feedback. Don’t be fooled into thinking that their pay packet adequately covers this on its own, a few positive words go a long way! To really motivate staff, recognise and give praise for their performance regularly. Rewards do not need to be complicated nor expensive just appropriate to each situation. Whether it’s a pub shout, a day off or a weekend getaway package it will all make a difference. Nurture a committed team Let workers share in your successes, instil a culture where a great job is recognised, where staff are enthusiastic and watch productivity soar.

Start by being grateful for their efforts, make feedback constructive and always add a positive to any negative you need to address with employees. Involve them in some business discussions where perhaps you had a record month of profitability, share the wins and make them feel included. What are ‘stay interviews’? These are informal catch ups with each team member to find out what’s important to them, their goals and future plans. Evaluate how the business can support them to achieve their goals. Whether it’s extra training, more responsibility and pay, autonomy or a promotion — even being listened to adds to motivation levels and job satisfaction. Managing performance There is an art to this but it’s not rocket science. It’s basically an ongoing cycle of planning, monitoring, measuring, feedback, coaching,

training and review. Set realistic goals and expectations while giving considered feedback to prompt staff to perform to their maximum for the good of themselves and the farm. It is important that your workers have

the necessary skills and resources to successfully do their job. If this is an issue be approachable and solution focussed. Retention is key Keep staff enthused and stimulated, thanks, regular

feedback and rewards will keep them satisfied in their career and help your farming business to ﬂourish. Having similar issues? Feel free to contact the team at Agstaff.

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May 2014

The ‘Know to make it Flow’ Andrew Curtis, Irrigation New Zealand CEO

SMART irrigators need strong financial and governance expertise If you haven’t heard about SMART Irrigation by now, you’ve either been on holiday or taking a breather from the plethora of farming publications that pile into your mailbox each month. IrrigationNZ launched SMART Irrigation in April and it’s a new framework to ensure future irrigation in New

Zealand is both professional and sustainable. SMART stands for ‘Sustainably Managed,

Accountable, Responsible and Trusted’ and focusses on three simple steps by which irrigators can better manage their environmental footprint. These are: (1) Design future irrigation systems to industry standards and codes of practice (2) Annually check the irrigation system is performing as it should (3) Justify the reason for applying irrigation At the heart of SMART Irrigation is record keeping.

To prove you are a SMART Irrigator, you will need to provide evidence that these three simple steps are being achieved. Accurate and timely record keeping will be the new mantra for our industry. IrrigationNZ is very aware irrigators need support to move towards the SMART philosophy. We are developing resources and certificates to address the standards and codes of practice requirements. For an update on industry qualifications you can check our corporate

website www.irrigationnz. co.nz/eventsandtraining or visit the SMART website for an overview of the framework www.smartirrigation.co.nz. To start you on the SMART journey however, two upcoming workshops are in the offering. In just over a fortnight, a ‘Governance Essentials’ course will help irrigators understand the difference between operational and governance decisions made by their irrigation scheme. If you are already a director or aspiring to join a board, this is the workshop for you. Presented by Juliet McKee, an accredited fellow of the Institute of Directors, the June 12 oneday workshop at the Copthorne

Hotel in Christchurch will cover governance from both a staff and board member’s perspective. The nitty gritty of well-run meetings and good board papers will also be covered alongside a case study focussing on strategy and board/management relationships. In July IrrigationNZ will follow up with a ‘Finance Essentials’ workshop presented by Craig Rust, a fellow member of the Institute of Directors and chartered accountant. The oneday workshop on July 17, also at the Copthorne Hotel, will cover all aspects of financial reporting from financial statements and terminology through to budgets, forecasts and investment approaches. To find out more about both workshops please phone IrrigationNZ on 03 341 2225 or register online at www.irrigationnz.co/nz/ eventsandtraining. Both workshops link directly to the SMART Irrigation framework in that continual education and training is the only way to change practice so our farming operations become more sustainable and profitable over time. Being financially and governance savvy is a huge part of our future success. We look forward to seeing you there.

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From farming to global conservation A background growing up on a 280ha hilly, high country sheep and beef farm near Apiti provided Brooke McIntyre with an ideal stepping stone to global wildlife and conservation work.

rooke’s fourth year at Otago University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology and a Post-graduate Diploma in Wildlife Management, was spent mainly out in the field. She took part in studies involving tagging fur seal cubs, black stilt monitoring, investigating deer and possum control methods, tracking Kiwi in Franz Joseph, and spent six weeks on Stewart Island.

Following university she completed a six-month Conservation Corps course with the intention of working for the Department of Conservation (DOC). “However my dreams were big and working in New Zealand wasn’t going to be enough,” said Brooke. After eight months teaching English in Japan as a key money earner, Brooke travelled to Costa Rica to work for Global

Vision International. Her work there involved leading groups of volunteers and conducting daily field surveys. Brooke said their efforts concentrated on monitoring the nesting activity of the critically endangered leatherback and green turtle population. Volunteers went on nightly beach patrols to prevent poachers from digging up the eggs and eating them, or selling on the black market.

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Brooke working at the Queenstown Kiwi and Birdlife Park

“Other work involved setting up camera traps in the forest to try and capture the elusive jaguar on film and surveys documenting the increasing trend of jaguar predation on nesting green turtles.” Brooke also worked as an expedition leader for a project based in San Marcos on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. She led trekking excursions into the forest,

camped in tree huts, fetched water, chopped firewood and cooked over an open fire. “Basically showing others how to live a more simple life and understand more about themselves through the practice of yoga and meditation.” A onemonth introductory yoga course in Mexico followed before returning to New Zealand for a stint in the shearing sheds as a roustabout. Brooke then

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travelled to India, Indonesia, various parts of Asia. After solo backpacking in southern India, Brooke met up with her sister Kimberley and they trekked to Everest Base camp together. With a long-standing goal to travel to Africa, Brooke applied for a two-month ranger course that qualified her as a field guide in South Africa. Based at the 10,000ha Mabula Private Game Reserve, north of Johannesburg, Brooke and nine others ventured out each day on two, twohour game drives to learn everything possible about the African bush. Broke said the course covered wildlife, animal behaviour, identifying tracks and signs, African trees, geology, astronomy, and conservation. Following up the option to complete an internship at Mabula Game Lodge, guiding international and South African guests on two-hour game viewing safaris proved to be a demanding, challenging and exhausting job. “A lot of people come to Africa with the notion of seeing ‘the big five — elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion’ right away and to get the best shots with their cameras.

May 2014

Brooke qualified as a field guide in South Africa Black rhinos receiving supplementary feed during the dry season

“Whilst Mabula was a ‘big five’ game reserve, with only 10 elephants, elusive leopards and lions that were difficult to spot amongst the tall grass, satisfying clients demands was not always possible. “I found the South African guests were happy to be shown the smaller aspects of the bush and simply observe the animals, whereas with our Indian clientele especially, we would have ‘Ferrari safaris’, racing around the reserve from one big animal to another in order to see as much as possible.” Brooke didn’t enjoy this aspect and the pressure to find the animals. “Although there were strict rules in place about how many vehicles on one sighting, it was clearly obvious that the elephants were not as happy to see us as we were to see them. “Backing out of an elephant sighting when a female threatened to charge the vehicle certainly got the heart racing.” A topic close to Brooke’s heart is combating poaching of the Southern White Rhino in South Africa. She said statistics of rhino poaching have increased dramatically in the last few years with high demand for the horn in Vietnam and China. Poaching is now highlyequipped with criminal syndicates operating and showing no signs of slowing. In 2013 the final statistic was 1004 which was well above 2012’s

tally of 668, and 448 killed in 2011. “I was surprised to learn that it is often ex-vets or even rangers involved in the operation to track the rhino.” Brooke said the killing is ruthless with the rhino tranquilised with a dart gun, a

“Seek, explore, discover is the motto i live by”

chainsaw used to cut the horn off at its base, and the rhino left to wake up. “The silly thing is the horn is composed of keratin which is the same material as our fingernails. “It grows back but of course not if it is brutally cut off at the base to get as much product as possible. “The rhino obviously cannot recover from such brutality.” Although Brooke loves New Zealand and the rural life, she has more plans to travel in the near future. “Seek, explore, discover’ is the motto I live by. “I love New Zealand, yet am fuelled by wanderlust. I truly believe life is about new experiences.”

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WATER

May 2014

Irrigation Issues Dr Tony Daveron

Irrigation in May — who cares? Last month I dispelled the ‘myth’ (or was it legend?) about Irrigation New Zealand Conferences and their attraction with rain. Who cares, it has just continued to rain and in relatively large dollops. Who cares, it has just continued to rain and in relatively large dollops. The

heavy rainfall has brought with it the misery of house and street ﬂooding, inability

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to complete harvest and when harvest could occur heaps of soil damage in the form of deep wheel tracks. Therefore, it seems ironic that I should even head this article ‘Irrigation in May’ but rightly conclude — who cares? This late summer and early autumn has vindicated the usual entitling of my articles with Irrigation Matters. Who cares at this time of the year? In fact who has really cared since March? When one drives around it is hard to put ‘OMG it is wet’ out of one’s mind. Just yesterday I headed out to Kaitorete Spit to GPS some bores and another 10-20mm had water lying everywhere. So what is there to write about irrigation? • Not about any need to irrigate; • Not about any dumb irrigation decisions (despite the odd comment in April that a couple of sunny days had dried things out!); • Not about irrigation maintenance because one can’t drive across paddocks

Field capacity is: • Soil moisture content after drainage (usually 1-3 days) following a large rainfall — NOT an irrigation; and • When all the macro pores or the big spaces are full of air and the micro pores or tiny spaces contain the water

Organic Matter

Saturation is: • ALL the pores (macro & micro) are filled with water; and • ALL the air has been displaced

Soil Particles Previously Air

Water

to the irrigators without making a mess; and • Perhaps about how wet the soil is and how it will stay that way for several months. But what I can write about

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is the soil moisture conditions on a Lismore stony silt loam up the plains toward Kirwee. Since the last week of February these soils — generally considered some

the most free draining soils in Canterbury — have spent an inordinate amount of time between field capacity and saturation. Just so we are on the same page: See above.

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WATER

May 2014 ‘explanation lies within the’ — in this case, the soil. Soil physics tell us: a. The underlying gravels drain infinitely more quickly than the overlying silt loam; and b. The gravels will have stopped draining before the overlying silt loam; c. Therefore the top soil (the overlying silt loam) will become wetter and take longer to reach field capacity.

In the plot of soil moisture the following is shown: mm of soil moisture in the top 20cm of the profile (just above the gravels) saturation field capacity stress point (the soil moisture content when yield loss occurs), and soil moisture between field capacity and saturation



A simplification of the soil physics, but in a nutshell when we have as much rain as we have had in the last six to seven weeks, well the soils just can’t hack it and saturation becomes the order of the day. Even the 15-20mm rainfall on May 20 resulted in about a day above field capacity. And so it will be for the rest of the winter — brrrr or ughhh, whichever applies.

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Most obviously in the plot of soil moisture: a. Never got close to the stress point from the last week of February and mid-May — thank you to the rainfall b. Never had to irrigate after February 28 (not obvious, just believe me)

c. Soil moisture was above field capacity and at saturation (about 75mm) for a considerable number of days (and it is not winter yet!) Just how can the topsoil remain so wet when the Lismore soils are so ‘free draining’? According to a common idiom, the

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WATER

May 2014

Weather Watch by Tony Trewinnard

Like March, April was a wet cloudy cool month for Canterbury and persistent easterly quarter airflows were responsible for several significant rain events, with a very cloudy period in the first two thirds of the month. Towards the end of the month airflows from the westerly quarter began to reestablish themselves. The persistent easterly weather was largely due to anticyclones south of New Zealand, and troughs of low pressure forming in the Tasman Sea and moving across northern and central New Zealand.

Rainfall was at least 300% of normal across the region, and up to 500% of normal in parts of North Canterbury, coastal Mid Canterbury, and on Banks Peninsula. Two particularly heavy rainfall events caused significant ﬂooding during the month. Rainfall totals in many areas were the highest April totals since the mid 1970s, and

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in some places the highest on record. For many, this came on top of near record March rainfall totals, and the combined March and April figures set records across the region. The number of days with rain was also at record high levels. Temperatures were near normal or a little below normal, with daytime temperatures especially colder than usual, but balanced by milder nights with no frosts. Sunshine hours were at record low levels, being 30-50% below normal. In Christchurch this April was the cloudiest month ever recorded. In the tropical Pacific many indicators are continuing to point towards developing El Nino conditions, with regions of warmer than usual water surfacing near the equator. However, some of the usual trends we expect to see in a typical El Nino event are not occurring, or are occurring in an unusual way. In particular, the Southern Oscillation Index has returned to positive levels by early May, which is not the usual behaviour ahead of an

Forecast — Canterbury Rainfall

Temperature

Sunshine

Airflow

June

Wetter than normal

A little cooler than normal

A little cloudier than normal

More southerly and easterly airflow

July

Wetter than normal

A little cooler than normal

A little cloudier than normal

More anticyclones than usual

August

Near normal

Mixed

September

Drier than normal

Milder than normal

Sunnier than normal

More westerly airflows

El Nino event. This leads us to believe that the coming El Nino event may not be typical. Particularly, we expect this El Nino to be weaker and shorter lived than many. Computer models are now showing a clear trend towards El Nino developing in the next three months, with some models showing the developing of a strong event. However, predictability at this time of the year is still poor, and the type of patterns predicted are only partly El Nino like. As we are currently in a phase in the Pacific where La Nina events are expected to be more dominant, we expect this El Nino to be relatively short

lived, and likely to be replaced early next year by potentially strong La Nina conditions. As we move into El Nino, Canterbury often experiences an absence of westerly airﬂow, with more winds from other directions, and more anticyclones. This has been especially evident in the last few months, and is likely to continue through most of the winter, bringing more cloud, more rain, and cooler temperatures. As the El Nino develops and reaches maturity we expect to see a shift to more frequent westerly or southwesterly airﬂow through the spring and early summer, with periods of northwesterly airflow

more common, frequent southwesterly changes, and generally drier weather. Over the next few months until about August we confidently expect to see at least normal rainfall in Canterbury, and quite likely above or well above totals in at least one month. Sunshine hours are likely to be near or a little below normal. Temperatures are likely to be a little colder than normal, with at least one month likely to see significantly colder temperatures. By about September, we may be seeing a shift to more westerly airﬂow, with drier, warmer, and sunnier conditions.

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May 2014

FORESTRY

May 2014

Trees & Other Stuff

Forestry Market Report Allan Laurie MNZIF Laurie Forestry Ltd

by Andy McCord

Organic control of wilding pines A couple of months ago I wrote how Rupert Price from Pukaki Downs was attempting to control the young wilding pines on the property he was managing using Mike Prosser’s chopper with an ‘Organic Brew’. Knowing how hard it is to control these wildings even with conventional formulations I was keen to see the results. As the photo suggests I think these boys have nailed the problem as by the looks of it these trees will be dead by spring. But the real kicker here is that they reckon it costs only half the price of a non-organic brew, plus with a bit more of the ‘active’ they can also control mature pines.

We’ll have to keep an eye on this. I’ll report back in the spring. Joke time: Guido was famed to be the best lover in his Italian village. While relaxing in his local bar he notices a beautiful blonde tourist sitting in the corner. With the idea of putting another notch on his bedpost he approaches her for a chat. In no time they were upstairs in his bedroom making mad passionate love. After it was all over he rolls over and with a satisfying smirk says to the blonde in his best English: ‘You finish?’. He was ﬂabbergasted when the blonde simply answered ‘No’. So not to disappoint, but more importantly to make sure

the word didn’t get back out that he didn’t satisfy his partner, he went at it again. This time after her screams of delight had settled down he rolled over but this time with a pant said: ‘You finish now?’ But again with a lovely grin she whispers ‘No’. So with all the energy he could muster he starts off again, and this time after the screams of delight, as well and the tearing of the bed sheets, he was convinced he had satisfied his partner. So after catching his breath, and with a puffy red face asks: ‘You finish now?’ With that the blonde held his hand and looked at him lovingly in the eyes and said: ‘No — like I said I am not Finnish I am Norwegian, but I think I love you’.

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As indicated last month the China market was displaying signs of speed wobbles. Indeed the wheel nuts have certainly come loose this month with downward pressure on pricing exceeding expectations. Last month I suggested May CIF settlements in China would be in the order of US$150 per cubic metre for the market indicator A grade. This followed a peak in March of US$160. Indeed May settlements have been struggling at US$145 and some commentators have been suggesting US$140 will be the new price in June. In terms of providing some perspectives about this market it is important to remember: 1) The market was significantly over-cooked at US$160. There was nothing more certain than the market going pear shaped when we reached that level. 2) The price settlements in China are controlled by New Zealand companies, indeed New Zealand dominates the volume and pricing mechanisms in the softwood log market in China. 3) The recent price drops are simply a reﬂection of supply exceeding demand. 4) At the current settlements we are now back to where we were in April/May last year and then we were breaking out the champagne. In short, the Chinese are not to blame for the recent downward price pressures, rather NZ log suppliers are completely at fault pushing prices far beyond sustainable levels. Indeed the recent price falls will hurt China traders and sawmills much more than NZ. There is three months supply of logs sitting on eastern seaboard ports in China meaning all the

US$160 logs now have to be sold at much lower levels to domestic customers. Over the last few weeks in China, in what is normally their highest usage period, average daily consumption levels have been in the order of 60,000 cubic metres. Actually that isn’t too bad for this time of the year. Last year they were running at about 70,000 per day. Log deliveries from Russia, NZ, Australia, United States and Canada have been a little under that meaning overall inventory has fallen very slightly. However we will need to shrink supply significantly if we are to stabilise the current situation. This will be helped in part by additional vessels heading to India in May and June. Meanwhile in NZ, the best thing that has happened is the deluge of rain that has slowed forest harvest generally. A most frustratingly expensive situation for those like ourselves now involved in trying to extract logs from difficult to access areas. However the lower volumes being shipped nationally are desperately needed in order to give time for the China market to recover. My spies are suggesting the domestic market is going well. Those selling lumber to Asia and Australia are complaining bitterly about the exchange rate. Demand centred on Christchurch is certainly going well at least in terms of volume. Trying to get the real oil on what is happening to lumber prices is akin to trying to extract a tooth from the mouth of a hen — not easy. One of our domestic customers conceded things were going better but he reminded me you only have to

look at the recent closures of five major sawmills in NZ to see things are not all that pretty. For both log and lumber segments some better spot freight market opportunities are emerging. In the case of logs, shipping companies are more prepared to negotiate as they see things unfolding in China. In the case of lumber, the imbalance of freight out versus that coming in, is seeing some very sharp container rates on offer. Up to 50% discounts have been quoted recently. For this trade much depends on the ports of load and discharge. A US$ FOREX rate continuing in the realms of $0.86+ is very unhealthy and certainly debilitating the bottom line for both log and lumber exports. Even those in the corridors of power have admitted the current high exchange rate is undesirable. We can only hope sometime in the very near future this reality shifts from lip service to something of substance. Harvest of wind damaged forests, woodlots and shelterbelts in Canterbury continues at pace. Indeed we can now see a small ﬂicker of light at the end of a tunnel which appears to be about September/October. Meanwhile, the good news is the trees are holding on well and little loss is being experienced due to deterioration. Once again all in all, a more subdued and negative tone this month, but on the back of some very good times in the market indeed. Thus, it has never been more timely to remember — the only way forward for climate, country and the planet is to get out there and plant more trees.

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ADVERTORIAL

Home is where the heart is Natural Habitat Homes import timber packages that reflect just how special a home can be — somewhere warm, safe and comfortable. Founded in the 1970s by Heather and Steve Kirner, Natural Habitat Homes works with a well established United States company to source and import pre-cut natural timber building material packages into New Zealand. “For many years we had wanted to build a natural timber home and we came close to building one on a couple of occasions,” says Heather. “Committing to a new home was the ultimate dream but we didn’t want a typical run-of-the-mill house. “A few years ago we chanced upon a home that we immediately liked and, like the owner of that home, we decided to investigate importing the materials ourselves. After a fair amount of ‘Googling’ and investigation we found a source company in the United States that ticked all of the boxes.” Thinking that it may be too good to be true, Heather and Steve decided to travel to

Look up before you plant There are a variety of shrubs and trees suitable for planting near power lines. Consider the significant benefits of using a mix of exotic and native plants. They will provide you with shelter, low maintenance, a habitat for pollinators and resistance to drought. Examples of power line friendly trees are shown below, but it is recommended that you consult with a native plant nursery to determine suitable species for your area. BOTANICAL NAME

COMMON NAME

Natives Coprosma propinqua

Mingimingi

Coprosma robusta

Karamu

Corokia cotoneaster

Korokio, Wire-netting bush

Phormium tenax

Flax, Harakeke

Fuchsia excorticata

Kotukutuku, Tree fuchsia

Hebe salicifolia

Koromiko

Leptospermum scoparium

Manuka

Macropiper exelsum

Kawakawa, Pepper tree

Olearia lineata

Small-leaved tree daisy

Pittosporum tenuifolium

Kohuhu

Psuedopanax arboreus

Fivefinger, Whauwhaupaku

Pseudopanax crassifolius

Horoeka, Lancewood

Sophora microphylla

South Island Kowhai

Trees on private land are the responsibility of the land owner. By choosing a tree that won’t impact power lines, you will be protecting your local community’s future health and wellbeing.

Exotics

America and spent two weeks travelling around the various building sites and learning how to build timber homes in an efficient and quality manner. Impressed by what they saw, it was back to New Zealand to make the necessary arrangements. “We found no problems with the Council regarding the product or build process — in fact our proposed house actually exceeded the

regulations and standards — so we decided to start on our new home. “It was so exciting to see our dream come true and we were so happy with the end result and budget, that we decided these homes should be available to other people. What started as a personal journey to build our dream home has turned into a new journey as a company, and we are very pleased to share our homes with you.”

Escallonia sp.

Apple Blossom

Malus sp.

Crab Apple

* Cupressus spp.

* Cypress

Acer spp.

Maples

* Thuja spp.

* Thuja

Viburnum spp.

Viburnum

* Choose a true dwarf variety. If planting an exotic hedge, choose a slow growing variety such as Cupressus leylandii, Cupressus arizonica and Cupressus torulosa (Bowral) or Thuja occidentalis “Smaragd”.

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May 2014

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Gypsy Week a major event for Canterbury dairy farmers by Kelly M. Phillips

For one week at the end of May, hundreds of sharemilkers take to the roads to move their dairy stock. The tradition has come to be known as Gypsy Day or, more recently, Gypsy Week. June first marks the beginning of a new dairy season and in days prior, sharemilkers whose contracts have ended must pack up house, herd and milking equipment to move on to proverbial greener pastures. A variety of financial decisions must be made to facilitate the farmers’ transitions and rural banks do brisk business during this time. For the roving milkers, this semi-nomadic life is necessary because dairy payouts are ﬂexible from year to year.

Sharemilking is a unique arrangement in which the milker can conduct his business without having to purchase expensive land while the landowner utilises his property without having to oversee a milking operation. The sharemilking path can also lead to eventual land and dairy ownership. For Mark and Vanessa Shefford, moving their family of five meant lots of pre-planning. “For us it started months ago, applying for jobs and looking for staff,” Mark said. The family is increasing the size of their operation from 500 to 1,070 cows and will be

milking at two separate farms. Financing their move from Ashburton to Oamaru required a loan of about $6,000. Mr Shefford said land ownership is his eventual goal, although, he’s not sure he’ll continue with dairy cows. While the Sheffords aren’t moving any cows this year, their relocation requires hauling silage wagons, tractors and dirt bikes down to the new location, settling their three children into new schools mid-year and coordinating with the outgoing sharemilker at the new farm to make sure the family residence is ready when they arrive. He expressed concern over how

his three children would adjust to their new schools and said his youngest daughter did not want to leave their current home. However, moving house was an accepted part of being a successful sharemilker. He said he will be getting help with the household move from good friends with trucks. “I’ve had to move stock in the past and it’s not such a drama because the rural transport companies know what they’re doing.” According to him, one of the most common ways of moving cattle is by walking them. This is usually done on rural roads with four wheelers. 10 LOC0% AL

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Springfield, 2km west of town of SH73, Kaikoura near SH1, south of the Kowhai River bridge, Pareora, near St. Andrews south of Timaru and Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. Checking herd health before movement is important and a 12–20g magnesium supplement is recommended by Dairy NZ to help with lower magnesium blood levels brought on by the

Many district councils have specific bylaws that address stock crossings and specify the type of permit and signage needed for a move across a highway or rural road. A major concern during transportation is the spilling of efﬂuent on the roadways which can lead to hazardous driving conditions for motorists.

To minimise this risk, owners are advised to switch cows off green feed at least four hours prior to transport. It is also recommended efﬂuent tanks are emptied before transport and owners have knowledge of efﬂuent disposal sites along their route. Mr Shefford said he prepped his cows by filling them up on

straw and hay 24 hours before the move. According to Environment Canterbury, there are six effluent disposal sites open in the region. These are: Glasnevin Commercial Vehicle Compliance Station and Stock Effluent Disposal Site SH1 south of Waipara, Tinwald, Ashburton Saleyards of SH1,

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stress of transport. Dairy NZ said cows must have a body condition score of 3.0 in order to be considered fit for travel and that animals with a lower score should be assessed by a veterinarian. According to Dairy NZ regulation changes have also reduced the weight allowance for general access vehicles such as stock trucks so farmers may need to allow

for reduced stock numbers being loaded. Mr Shefford said the key to a relatively fuss free move is to be proactive and well organised. “A good wife helps too. Vanessa organises everything while I work with the stock.” For further information on effluent disposal call Environment Canterbury at 03 353 9007 or 0800 324 636.

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Moving stock on Gypsy Day? • If you are in a Movement Control Area, complete a TB test to move them to winter grazing • Fully complete an ASD and don’t forget to sign it • If grazing in a Movement Control Area cows must be tested within 60 days of moving them home. Animals cannot be tested within 21 days of calving, so plan ahead or call 0800 482 4636 for advice.

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May 2014

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$99,900 +GST* *Pricing is based on a standard model and is correct at time of printing however may be subject to change. Image shown is sample only.

TO T O FIND OUT MORE: CHCH Quintin Boyd John Murgatroyd Murray Chesterman

027 4867 792 027 4355 900 027 2664 222

CHRISTCHURCH

ASHBURTON

799 Jones Rd, Rolleston 03 349 4883

832 East St 03 307 9911

ASH Baden McDowell Mark Symes Reece Trotter R

027 4387 555 027 4441 706 027 4867 733

www.dne.co.nz 0800 432 633

multi purpose feeders Feed bin on skids

Sheep/ Yearling feeder

1370mm W x 1360mm H x 3050mm (10’0’’) L • • • •

Steel Trough with drainage holes drilled in each corner. Pre galvanised sheet metal trough with feed barrier surround and full length skids for ease of movement. One side panel drops down for loading. Ideal for winter strip grazing! 26 Feed spaces

1525mm W x 1000mm H x 1630mm 5’4”) L •

rs $

0 155 T*

03 318 6934 021 1433 469

www.riverdownsteel.com

riverdown steel Phone Mobile

540 *

TO VIEW OUR FULL RANGE VISIT

Ideal for hay and baleage it can be moved without leaving feed behind!

Contact Lucy Baker

Email riverdownsteel@gmail.com Website www.riverdownsteel.com

May 2014

Is it fit for transport?

A fit animal is: • No signs of ill health (e.g. no signs of dull coat, sunken

• Must comply with all pharmaceutical withholding periods

eyes, or discharge from eyes, nose, mouth, vagina)

when going to processors

• No visible wounds, bleeding, disease, deformity or infection

• Able to bear weight on all four limbs

Rules for cattle transport

DAIRY SHED POWER PROTECTION

How to assess an animal’s fitness for transport:

DUNLITE / EUROPEAN SINCRO PTO TRACTOR VALUE PACKAGE

Fit for transport BCS 3.0 or more

YES

KOHLER / GENERAC

STANDBY GAS GENERATORS

 50–110kVA  4 pole – 1500rpm  AVR auto voltage regulator  Full NZ compliant componentry  NZ Certificate of Compliance supplied  Dependable NZ assembled  Uses include a portable power plant for irrigation, pumps, cool rooms etc.

To saleyard, processor or alternate property

 1 or 3 phase  10.5 to 16kVA  Full Auto Start – Mainsfailure Start  Silenced / Weatherproof Shell

PTO Generator + 3 Point Linkage Frame + 1/3 Phase Plugs

Start

Starting from

From only $6,949+GST

Fit & healthy

YES

BCS 2.5 to 3.0

YES

Quality

Fit for conditional transport NO

Direct to processor or an alternate property for additional feed/ weight gain (Not to saleyard)

BCS less than 2.5

Current vet cert.

$5,435+GST

YES NO

Dependability

EU20 Portable Inverter Generator

Dependable Kohler water cooled Diesel Engine

 Lightweight 21kg – Highly Portable  Ideal for Caravans & RV’s  From just 53dB – Whisper Quiet  Smooth Power – better than commercial quality  Up to 15 HOURS run time PER TANK! . Includes FREE FITTED

 3.5-150 kVA  Soundproof Enclosure  Integral Fuel tank giving up to 24hrs run time  Single source warranty  ISO 3001 Accredited  Easy installation and maintenance  AVR - Automatic Voltage Regulation  Digital Controller with Auto start  Clean 50Hz  1/3 Phase options

Hourmeter worth

Do not transport

$2252+GST

Options include on-farm slaughter or feed and veterinary treatment

Durability = Complete Peace of Mind

$95

“Remember the Bitterness of Poor Quality remains long after the Sweetness of Low price is forgotten”

Why Buy from OMC Power Equipment? • Inlet connections and cable lengths supplied to match shed • All units shipped ready to connect for instant backup • Items shipped freight free NZ wide • Ask us about leasing - 90% tax deductible - cash flow friendly

chart courtesy of Dairy New Zealand Animals at body condition score (BCS) 2.5 or less will have the followingFlowfeatures:

(e) Electric prodders must The movement of cattle (c) Dairy cattle should not (b) All dairy cattle, Backbone: Very prominent, visible notches Severely depressed on Gypsy Week is regulated bewith driven more thanwhich 10–12can km/ Rump: including calves, must(hollow) be able not be used to drive calves. easily be counted Further guidelines are under the Ministry of Primary day without a period for rest Pins: to stand Very and clear,bear threeweight prongedon tapallformation Industries’ Ribs: Animal Welfare and four limbs and be fit enough to available through Dairy NZ’s Shortribs clearly visible andfeed, easily including counted. Thewater. short If Very angular, with deep “V” Bodya very Condition Scoring Made (Dairy Cattle) Code of Welfare this travel includes any hills, Tailhead: withstand theprominent journey and without ribs will have very sharp edges. The long ribs may be visible as shape 2010 which lays out specific then the distance should be less suffering unreasonable or Easy. far down as the udder guidelines. than 6–8 km/day. unnecessary pain Thigh: No visible fat or anddistress. very little muscle HipDroving Bones: Deep depressionsSection on the side of the hip bone Section 5.2 5.15 Pre-transport (c) Any animal likely to give (a) Drovers should check Selection birth during transport must not with the road and rail authorities Minimum Standard No. 18 be selected. Important: for any requirements that may — Pre-transport Selection (d) Every unweaned calf to be specific to the area through (a) The person in charge be transported the farm must whether an Contact your vet, transport operator or processing company ifoffyou are unsure must examine the selected which the dairy cattle are to be have been fed at least half of animal is fit for transport. walked. dairy cattle prior to transport, that day’s ration of colostrum or 2 (b) There should be clear to ensure that all animals are fit milk, not more than two hours 1 warnings to other road users. and healthy for transportation. before transportation. A fit animal 0800 is: 4 DairyNZ (0800 4 324Animals 7969) at body condition • No signs of ill health (e.g. no score (BCS) 2.5 or less will signs of dull coat, sunken eyes, have the following features: or discharge from eyes, nose, Backbone: Ve r y mouth, vagina) prominent, with visible • No visible wounds, bleeding, notches which can easily be disease, deformity or infection counted. • Must comply with all Ribs: Shortribs clearly pharmaceutical withholding visible and easily counted. periods when going to The short ribs will have very processors sharp edges. The long ribs • Able to bear weight on all may be visible as far down four limbs as the udder.

Hip Bones: Deep depressions on the side of the hip bone. Rump: Severely depressed (hollow). Pins: Very clear, three pronged tap formation. Tailhead: Very prominent and angular, with a very deep “V” shape. Thigh: No visible fat and very little muscle.

YOUR OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT SPECIALIST

FINANCE, LEASE TO BUY

www.omcpowerequipment.co.nz · 100 Gasson St, Christchurch

PHONE 0800 662 769 toll free · sales@omc.net.nz

3 6

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May 2014

Southern excavation & DrivewayS LtD ✔ Rural, Lifestyle and Residential ✔ Site Works ✔ Trenching ✔ Root Raking ✔ Tree, Stump and Gorse Removal ✔ Drain Cleaning ✔ Shingle Driveways ✔ Shingle and Soil Supplies ✔ Cartage and Excavation Specialist ✔ 20 years experience in industry Owner/ OperatOr phone Karl 0274324334 email: southernex1@gmail.com

Getting the best job done by Paul Campbell

With a workplace that is as varied as the geography — and that means, in New Zealand, extremely varied, it’s always a case of the right machine for the right job when earthmoving. Consequently, a contractor needs various types of earthmoving equipment from time to time. And if you are simply a landowner wanting earthmoving done, it pays to have a little background information. Machinery can open a huge capital investment window, but the smart operator today has hiring in mind, because there are obviously different types of machinery for different tasks — moving materials

“Local knowledge that counts” Specialists in all types of : • Earthmoving/Excavation • Borderdyking (Laser and GPS) • Dairy Conversions and Underpasses • Farm Maintenance • Irrigation Trenching and Pipe Laying • Pond Construction and Design • Tree and Stump Removal

Digger & Trailer

4 Hire

17hrs min a week

Digger $48+GST per hr, 17hrs per week. 2013, 14

tonne wheel digger. Comes with digging & tilt buckets.

FUrNiTUre TrAiLer $45 per day, 4.2L x 1.9W x 2.0H.

Waimate 03 689 7881 | Timaru 03 687 4699 Oamaru 03 433 1246 | Ashburton 03 308 6011

enquiry@rooneygroup.co.nz | www.rooneygroup.co.nz

J.A.S.e. Hire

Call Jason 027 495 5732

Located Terrace rd Bankside

BEFORE YOU BUY NEW, COME AND SEE US! WE CAN TURN OR FIT NEW PINS AND BUSHES. We can repair and build up your idlers, sprockets can be built up or new rings can be attached, rollers both bottom and top can be repaired or replaced and if you need new stone guards - we can do it! If the parts on your machine are beyond repair, we can supply new parts for you either from our stock or imported in directly. Not sure if your undercarriage gear is up to standard?We will send someone out to look at your machine to help you decide what work is required or what parts you may need.

FOR ALL YOUR UNDER CARRIAGE NEEDS Call BJ Scarlett Ltd

0800 88 2900 03 688 2900

May 2014

including rock, concrete, asphalt, clay, loam — this list goes on. Projects need to be efficiently carried out in specific contract times and that of course involves earthmovers and other related heavy equipment. Experienced industry operators well know if you are a contractor then you’ll need to hire different types of earthmoving equipment from

time to time. Forget great capital investment, which also includes protection and maintenance and insurance. That’s the role of the hirer. It does not make sense to buy the gear when your requirements might change from time to time. Besides, the company that owns the equipment will take care of their maintenance and upkeep.

In addition, the company will have professional operators to handle the equipment, if you don’t simply dry hire and have you own operators. So what do you need to look for in the hire marketplace? Deal with a company that has the equipment that you require and can offer you tandem tippers, semi tippers, excavators, backhoes,

bulldozers, graders, wheel loaders, dump trucks etc. It is no secret that requirements can change as a project develops, so going in well

prepared can avoid the necessity of changes in plans leading to changes in contractors. A firm with a wide range of machinery is better than a lone operator who may mean days of delay with the required machinery tied up in jobs elsewhere. Preparation is a guardian of time and should ensure that you will always get the equipment you require in order to complete different stages of your project. Is the equipment in good condition? If you hire wellmaintained equipment then you can be sure that your work gets completed on time. You won’t have to worry about lost opportunities caused due to downtime. Will the company help with the disposal of debris? Your construction and demolition activities will result in a great deal of debris which you are required to dispose of in a safe manner. Be sure to check

if the company that hires out equipment for earthmoving will do this for you. This will save you a great deal of effort. Does the company pay sufficient attention to safety? Always deal with a company that follows industry safety standards. The equipment you hire should come with completed maintenance log books. They should also have wellmaintained brakes, headlights and horns. And finally, cost effectiveness is a no-brainer so ensure the company you choose is affordable, with nothing hidden in the small print. You’ll obviously want to keep your costs down in order to maintain profitability. However, you should not compromise on quality just to get a good discount. Good hiring should result in good work being done on time and within budget.

Farm Bridges - Precast and Prestressed Concrete

DWYER LEWIS EARTHWORKS LTD Suppliers of grampians rotten rock for dairy cow lanes & silage pits etc • Excavators - 5 x 23 Tonne tracked excavators - 2 x 14 tonne wheeled excavators • Cat 130G Grader • Sakai 7 tonne double drum vibrating roller, 14 tonne construction roller • Transporter - permitted 45 tonne • Trucks • On site screening of shingle products

Shane Dwyer

Ph 0274 661 025 • A/H 03 315 8978 Fax 03 315 8975

Blue Lewis

At Stahlton we pride ourselves on delivering cost effective and sustainable solutions for the rural sector. Specialising in precast farm bridges, Stahlton will provide you with a fit-for-purpose solution designed and installed with your environment in mind. Irrigator bridges • • •

Cost effective solution. Easy installation. Durable product.

Spans available: • 7,000 max (200mm deep) • 12,000 max (300mm deep) • 18,000 max (400mm deep).

Ph 0275 258 358 • A/H 03 314 3886 Fax 03 314 3877

For For further further information: information: Phone: 344782 3014 Phone: 03 0800 486 Web: Web: www.stahlton.co.nz www.stahlton.co.nz

www.stahlton.co.nz

Culverden / Scargill

YOU CAN NOT BEAT EXPERIENCE

A division of Fulton Hogan Ltd

STONE CRUSHING Our Heavy Duty Machinery is Perfect for Roading and the Development of Stoney Farm Land

L&S Contracting servicing the Canterbury area. Lindsay Marwick has over 30 years experience in all general earthmoving and development needs.

Services available:

• Effluent and storage ponds • Dairy Track Lime Rock • General excavation and Site works • Roading and track work • Irrigation and border dyking • Tree removal root raking

L&S Contracting Ltd

Machinery available: • Tip trucks • Mini digger • 20 ton diggers • Rippers and root rakes • Roller • Grader

027 244 3498 a/h ph: 03 303 7260

Lindsay Marwick lindsay@lscontracting.co.nz www.lscontracting.co.nz

• Stone paddocks upto 300mm in diameter down to 25mm • Laneways and Driveways • Raw River Bed Gravel (unscreeened) • Coarse Lime Rock • Recycled material - concrete, brick etc.

MURPHY CONTRACTING

RESURFACE DAIRY LANES Contact Graeme & Kay Murphy Ph (03) 693 9406 • Mobile (027) 451 8553

May 2014

What lies beneath? by Paul Campbell

Heavy earthmoving machinery, and of course just a simple trench digger, can have an impact which can spread unwanted ripples far outside their operative zone. Simply digging up old posts on a fence line recently cut the telephone services to a wide rural area, when the Telecom cable was severed. So it behoves contractors, machinery operators and indeed landowners to make sure they know what’s in the ground they are working on. There are rules and regulations aplenty and a wise

TROUGHS & TANKS • CULVERT PIPE • WATER RETICULATION • STOCK CONTROL & MORE

RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIALISTS UNDERPASSES

BRIDGES

STONETRAPS

FDE EFFLUENT SYSTEMS

EFFLUENT STORAGE (From 40,000 to 4 million litres volume capacty)

landowner will acquaint him or herself to the presence of cables, drains, water pipes, and the like. Before commencing any excavation work, including tunnelling or boring, it is the duty of the ‘person in charge’ to make the necessary enquiries by contacting the various authorities, who could have an interest — usually best identified by the phone company and then the local or regional council, to find out the exact location of any underground pipes or cables laid within the proposed work area. A record should be made of the enquiries and replies. The greatest source of damage to underground cables and pipes is the use of earthmoving plant such as excavators, backhoes, gradalls, bulldozers, and similar equipment.

Brent Jones

Earth Moving, Track work etc, scraper, Digger, Grader Hire & Boarder Dyking Specialising in Dairy Conversions & Effluent Ponds.

B.R. Jones Contracting, RD 5, Ashburton Ph/Fax (03) 303 6304 Mob 0274 383 596 Email contract1995@hotmail.com

When it is known that any underground facility exists, pipes, drains, or cables, then it is again the person in charge who needs to make exactly sure of what’s underneath by trial excavations, particularly in the case of signals and communications cables. Then its probably a case of ﬂagging these so that they are obvious to all involved on the site, explaining the location and marking positions on the surface. The serious consequences of broken pipe and cables is underlined by the industry standard warning that it’s essential that there be a detailed investigation in every case, of earthmoving, trenching and excavation work, even though the project might be of a minor nature. The cost of repairing damage is frequently extremely high and in addition the loss of the facility can affect a very wide area, and in the case of cut communications, can in fact be life threatening. At the very least it leads to expensive delays and a serious loss of goodwill. And when hazards such as electrical cables, or gas or fuel pipelines have been identified as existing — all staff working on the site must be told.

To advertise in the Canterbury Farming Please call 03 347 2314 or email sales@canfarm.co.nz

Providing quality Pivot Track Maintenance in the Canterbury Region Take care of your pivot ruts in the most economical and efficient way to extend the life of your pivots and create a safer work environment for your staff

David Buckley

BRANCHES CANTERBURY WIDE 0800 WE PIPE (93 7473)

www.hynds.co.nz

03 317 9522 027 659 6596 ruralfields@xtra.co.nz www.ruralfields.co.nz Ploughing ● Subsoiling ● Stubble Incorporation ● Power Harrowing Cultivation ● Ridging ● Roller Drilling ● Min Till Drilling ● Conventional Drilling ● Direct Drilling ● Mowing ● Pivot Track Maintenance ● Muck Spreading

May 2014

FENCING National Fencing Championships to return for Fieldays by Kelly M. Phillips

The National Fencing Championships will this year offer farmers four competitive categories in which to display their fence building skills. This year’s competition will again be held at the New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays at the Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton from June 11–14. The competitions include the Bill Schuler Novice Round final, the Wiremark Golden Pliers Singles Championship, the Fieldays Silver Spades Doubles Championship and the Fieldays Silver Spades doubles training institutes’ competition. According to The New Zealand National Fieldays Society (NZNFS) fencing is an essential element within farming communities and has been a part of Fieldays from the beginning. “The national championships are known as the premier fencing competition in New Zealand and are highly regarded as the pinnacle in fencing excellence with a stronghold for maintaining traditions in agricultural fencing systems.”

A participant in last year’s National Fencing Championships puts his skills to the test

The Wiremark Golden Pliers Singles Championship combines fencing finesse with sheer tenacity — it’s a competition of strategy and requires an eye for detail. The Fieldays Silver Spades is a pairs team event with many of the competitor combinations

Waitohi

timber Town & Country Timbers

developing their team work over many years. “A positive sign for the industry is the number of younger competitors realising the attraction of competitions and the valuable aid it provides

to their fencing businesses in learning techniques and keeping up with the latest products,” a NZNFS spokesperson said. The New Zealand Fencing Contractors Association is

calling for entries for the fencing competitions at Fieldays. Entry forms are available online at www.fieldays.co.nz or at the NZFC page of the Fencing Contractors Association

New Zealand website. Further information is available through Kathy Newdick on 07 895 6899 or by email on newdickwk@ xtra.co.nz Entries close May 25.

• qualified fencing contractor (NZQA) • dairy conversions • lifestyle block fencing • high country fencing • deer, cattle & sheep yard construction • explosive/blasting certified • member of the NZ Fencing Contractors Association

027 454 2020

SOLCOR FENCE DEFENDER NEW TO THE MARKET 2 years of on-farm testing...

Sheep GratinG Fence StakeS h4 Fence DropperS Dropper h3.2 Farm SheD timber Sheep YarD timber Suppliers to CRT

26 Crombie Road, RD25 Temuka Phone: 03 615 9343

Angle crossovers tried, tested and successful! • Easy to install • Can be used on existing fences – no wire cutting • High specification UV resistant cord and nylon fittings Visit www.solcor.com to see a video of Solcor’s Fence Defender in action. Manufactured by Loring Distributors Ph 03 579 5772 BLENHEIM

Available through all CRT FarmCentres, PGG Wrightson Stores and Hazlett Rural

DARFIELD For the month of June all wire fencing product purchases go into a draw for a ITM 500 jacket FENCING WIRE

May 2014

FENCING C O M PA N Y P R O F I L E

Covering versatile fencing projects

by Kelly M. Phillips

Geoff Rogers likes a good fencing challenge. Their business, High Country Fencing has been handling difficult fencing jobs in the Canterbury high country for more than 15 years and their expertise has won them contracts with the likes of the Department of Conservation, Fish and Game and Environment Canterbury. Geoff Rogers gained experience by working for a fence building company in Wanaka. “After that I had a good idea of what worked and what didn’t,” he said. What followed was the acquisition of a specialised side mounted post driver for his Komatsu bulldozer. “Due to the better ability to anchor itself on steep slippery hill country and the lower center of gravity, the bulldozer is a safer choice.” Mr Rogers also procured an explosives licence and tough

A recent High Country Fencing project

equipment like a rock drill and a pneumatic picket post driver. In areas the bulldozer cannot safely access, the company will install the fencing by hand. “We drill a hole and then blast it with explosives,” Mr Rogers said. “We take on the challenge.” For especially remote jobs, High Country Fencing

will utilise a helicopter to ﬂy in materials. The company can handle deer, sheep, cattle and horse fencing, temporary construction or earthquake fencing, vineyard, electric and stock yard fencing. In addition they offer a bulldozing and fencing repair and maintenance service. The company is

accredited through the Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand. Mr Rogers stresses the importance of safety standards on the job and says he is lucky to have good staff. Even so, he’s still a hands-on boss and still does about 50% of the work himself.

The side mounted post driver can do the tough jobs on steep hills

To advertise in the Canterbury Farming Please call 03 347 2314 or email sales@canfarm.co.nz The Christie Post Driver developed by Christie Engineering has been designed for the harsh Australian environment. Weighing 13kg it is lightweight and portable while being powerful enough to drive a star or Y steel picket post into the hardest ground in a matter of seconds using 1720BPM hammer action . The design enables the operator to move along a fence line with ease much faster than traditional air and hydraulic driven units.

Powered by the ultra reliable Honda GX35 1.0kW motor and featuring a Honda throttle assembly the unit has been built to last. Covered by a 3 year motor and 1 year assembly warranty the Christie Post Driver is ready to tackle any fence.

Lightweight alloy configuration

Ph: 027 469 4301

Up to 500 posts per litre

Spring dampened handles

Reliable Honda motor

Ned Robertson • 027 329 4009 robertsonfencingltd@xtra.co.nz

All Internal components are manufactured from the highest quality precision machined materials to give the longest tool life possible. The harsh hammering action is isolated from the operator via spring dampened handles allowing many hours of fatigue free operation.

Suits standard star and Y posts

Sole NZ Agent: NZF Products Limited, 201 Maces Road, Bromley, Christchurch

Roundwood

RobeRtson Fencing Ltd

Handle mounted throttle

sales@nzfproducts.co.nz www.nzfproducts.co.nz

Southbrook Rd Rangiora Ph 03 313 8339 Fax 03 313 3767 Email roundwood@mcalpines.co.nz

Certified for all your fencing requirements Commercial • General Fencing • Rural & Stock Yards Lifestyle • Repairs & Maintenance

POSTS

• Deer Posts • Stays • Strainers • Poles • Sheep Posts • Trellis Posts

May 2014

FENCING ADVERTORIAL

Fencing solutions for tough conditions Fencing contractors in the South Island are rapidly changing their post drivers over to the FENCEPRO Ultra G3 as they are finding them so durable and adaptable to the local conditions.

Concentrate on the riding. Look where you’re going, not where the stock are going.

Rural Section HOURS Mon - Fri: 7am - 5pm Saturday: 8am- 12pm

We are here

Your Local Timber Merchant

Jason Pester 1304 Main South Road, Christchurch jason@cthl.co.nz P 03 3477465 F 03 3477032

The FENCEPRO Ultra G3

the performance of the Rock Drill and take performance to the next level. Contact the FENCEPRO team or your local dealer to find out more about these new developments, or come

and see them on our Fieldays Site C35 — next to Powerfarming. We can also put you in touch with owners of the Ultra G3 who are rapt with their purchase. Ph 0800 362 776 (0800 FNC PRO).

THOMSON PLANTINGS • Environmental plantings • Plant selection and positioning • Effective mulching • Regular maintenance • Garden rejuvenating • Native nursery

Hugh Thomson

Planning & Planting

Built for tough South Island conditions! The FENCEPRO Ultra G3 post driver is purpose built for the difficult South island terrain. NEW options Hydraulic Legs (as shown) New Rock Drill - attaches to the Rock Spike Extractor

0800 362 776

03 686 4945 | 0272 758 911 thomsonplantings@gmail.com

www.fencepro.co.nz Fieldays Site C35

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ts R ket

to Rolleston

Ber

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Tre

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Roundwood Farm posts Deer Fencing Post and Rail Fencing Yarding Timber Oregon Rails Oregon Gates Sheep and Deer Netting Gallagher Strainrite Fencing Systems

The vast number of options available allows fencing contractors to set up their rigs to suit their team and terrain. The obligatory Rock Spike in Canterbury can be mounted either side of the mast. Many contractors are now opting for the hydraulically positioned Rock Spike Extractor, instead of the traditional manual swing version. On the Ultra G3, the Rock Spike can be mounted on either side of the mast — it is up to operator preference. New options include hydraulic legs, rather than manually adjusted ones. Some owners are happy with one hydraulic leg, others prefer both. These can be fitted to existing post drivers if required. Another new development from FENCEPRO is the Rock Drill. The current hydraulic auger is fine in most conditions except in real rocky going. The Rock Drill fits to the Rock Spike extractor and has four times the torque of the existing auger. New auger tips complement

QUAD BIKE SAFETY

FENCEPRO Professional Post Drivers

RURAL WHEELS

May 2014

Kiwi legend pushes the boundaries by Andy Bryenton

Bruce McLaren’s name is synonymous with speed. From the Circuit De La Sarthe at Le Mans to the CanAm tracks of North America, and the gruelling F1 circuit, his legacy is one of engineering excellence, velocity, and grit. The Kiwi driver was born in 1937, the son of a gas station owner, and his early life was shaped by the crippling Perthes disease he contracted at age nine, leaving one of his legs shorter than the other. Denied the chance to pursue

more physical team sports like rugby, the man who was called ‘fearless’ and ‘an unstoppable force’ by his rivals took to motor racing, in an Austin Seven tuned by his father Les. By 1958 Bruce was in the driver’s seat at the New Zealand

Grand Prix. Aussie racing legend Jack Brabham was so impressed by his performance that he asked Bruce to race for his team, ushering in an era of what can only be called total domination of motorsport by the young man from Auckland.

The McLaren M7A of 1968 gave McLaren their first Formula One wins

Round up a Fieldays Hot Deal

In 1959 he won the United States GP, at age 22 the youngest driver ever to do so. In 1962 he took the ultimate F1 crown on Monaco’s glittering Riviera-side circuit. But it was as a designer and engineer of race cars that he made an even greater mark, developing new aerodynamic techniques — sometimes literally in the pit lane with a pair of tin snips! Bruce’s untimely death was foreshadowed by the words he wrote for another young racer who lost his life — team mate Timmy Mayer. Bruce eulogized: ‘To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone’.

Tragically, the same words rang true when Bruce’s car lost traction at Goodwood circuit, England, disintegrating on impact. He was only 32 years old. Even after his death, the legacy of this driving legend has been carried forward in a spirit he would no doubt have appreciated. First, by the formula one team which still bears his name — and subsequently appended to a range of cars which, like the man himself, have taken on the world’s best and won. The McLaren F1 was the definitive hypercar of the 1990s, beating all comers in ﬂat out speed, and even putting the multi-million-dollar-developed Bugatti EB110 in the shade. Now the incredible P1 carries on this legacy.

QUAD BIKE SAFETY

Wear a helmet. A helmet is a must while riding a quad bike around the farm.

*Offers valid until 30th June 2014, while stocks last. The special price of $51,990 + on road costs is available on Territory Titanium RWD Petrol. Style Pack includes running boards, mud flaps and fitment; and is available on Territory Titanium models only. The special price of $36,990 + GST + on road costs is available on Transit Custom SWB. The special price of $36,495 + on road costs is available on Kuga Ambiente EcoBoost. The special price of $32,990 + GST + on road costs is available on Ranger 2WD XL Double Cab Wellside Manual. Dewalt Tool Pack is available on the Ranger XL & XLT and Transit Custom model range (excluding Ranger Wildtrak and Tourneo Custom), while stocks last. All vehicle prices shown exclude on road costs. Ranger and Transit Custom prices exclude GST. These offers are not available in conjunction with any other special offers unless specified otherwise. For full terms and conditions, visit fordhotdeals.co.nz.

Avon City Ford

Go Further

RURAL WHEELS

May 2014

The rebel from the south by Andy Bryenton

The world of side by side UTVs is a tough one to break into — even the big names in off road machinery have found that they need a unique selling point to entice buyers away from market-leading brands. We’ve seen machines with six and eight wheels, amphibious crawlers, tip up trays, variable seating, all kinds of engines — it’s an arms race to create the ultimate in versatility for the hunters and farmers who buy these hard-working vehicles. Now the team from Bad Boy Mowers have thrown their hat in the ring, and they’ve done so in a fashion which well suits their roots in rural Arkansas, USA. The company, born out of a working man’s toolshed to create tougher, more reliable, more powerful ride-on mowers, has created the Intimidator, a UTV built so tough it looks ready to withstand a major warzone. The Bad Boy/Intimidator folks aren’t messing around. Any company which goes from two men in a garage to a market leading position in John Deere’s back yard this fast, deserves a look. The Intimidator, with its focus on strong, welded-steel components, seems a good fit for the way Kiwi farmers treat their UTVs as well. From front to back, 1.25 inch tubular steel a-arms support gas-charged coilover shocks. The chassis is built like that of a tank. The engine (available in petrol, electric, or a thumping, torque-heavy 1,000cc diesel) is midmounted low for a good

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centre of gravity, and up top options include seating for up to six burly men, or a full six foot truck deck and seats for two. Twin-pot automotive style brakes round out a safety package that includes three point belts and full rollover protection. The Intimidator lives up to its name with power, though, more than anything else. The diesel unit has a rated towing capacity of 2,100 pounds — that’s 950 kilos — and a further 540 kilos on the back deck.

That’s a ton of grunt, in almost literal terms. If a buyer is considering a new UTV for work rather than play, this is a figure that’s hard to look past. The old adage is that they do things bigger in Texas, but in this case the state of Arkansas has done America proud, producing a UTV which is truly bigger, bolder and brawnier than the rest. If some other models on the market today are equated with SUVs, then think of this as the full military Humvee — ready to go to war against the hardest terrain it can find.

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DAIRY

May 2014

Hoof Print

To advertise in the Canterbury Farming Please call 03 347 2314 or email sales@canfarm.co.nz

with Fred Hoekstra

HOOF TRIMMING SERVICES, EQUIPMENT & TRAINING

Nutrition and lameness In my last article I asked you to show me some solid evidence to demonstrate that stones and pushing cows in the yard would bruise the hooves. cause sole penetration and cause white line separation. A number of readers did respond and I very much appreciate your emails and feedback. I didn’t get any evidence, but I did get some questions regarding the causes of lameness. I will endeavour to cover those questions in my articles but it will take more

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than just this one. Lameness is a multifactorial problem. Most of us already know that. What are the factors that are involved in this problem? To make it as simple as I can, I believe that the main issues are nutrition and stress. There are other factors, but if we control the nutrition and stress then we can eliminate a great deal of our problems to the point where we have minimised the issue. These two factors are both broad aspects that need more explanation. Before we start addressing the nutritional aspects of the problem I have to advise that I am not a nutritionist. I do have some knowledge in this area but I am by no means an expert. A

lot of what I say about nutrition comes from nutritionists that I work with and have a lot of respect for. Many pasture-fed cows do not get enough effective fibre in their diet, and I am aware that this contradicts what some nutritionists believe. Fibre has a big impact on the health of the corium. Whilst there is nothing in the fibre that is directly involved in the healing process of the corium, the fibre does help with the processes in the rumen, creating a better, more stable, rumen pH. The microbes in the rumen function better and there will be less acidosis — acidosis being an important factor in laminitis. This can be particularly

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important when cows are out of the paddock for long times due to milking. If the cows are fed meal in the cow shed then it may be even more important. Cows gorge themselves when they are in the paddock and starve when they have been out of the paddock for too long so there is a big pH ﬂuctuation in the rumen. This is made worse if the cows are getting meal in the cowshed.I am not saying that we shouldn’t feed meal in the cowshed but it is important to know what can potentially happen when we do. I know that it is believed that the fibre content in the grass on our pasture-based systems is enough. My question would be: “How do we know how much fibre a cow needs?” How do we know what the lowest acceptable pH in the rumen is? If we only look at some elements in the rumen and just draw our conclusions on that then we may be missing the boat. One scenario I would like to put before you is how come beef animals on nice lush pastures in Canterbury have haemorrhaging and even sole ulcers? I can show you beef cow feet with just that. These cows have never been pushed, don’t know what stones look like and yet have so called ‘stone bruises’. Of course, there could be other factors like calving, cows being on heat or whatever. The thing is that the haemorrhage in the hooves is quite constant over the year. When you look at cows that are being kept in the high country, they don’t have anywhere near the amount of haemorrhage, yet they have a lot more stones to deal with than their counterparts on the ﬂat. I will continue this subject and endeavour to follow up on those questions in my next article but please keep those emails coming. Email me at info@veehof.co.nz for further discussions.

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May 2014

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per hectare input for the season of 22.7kgN/ha. Although the pasture production figures are yet to be put into the Overseer model previous independent analyses shows the cage figures to be conservative. Approximately one third of the projected 1,550kg/ha of milk solids this season is from bought in feed leaving milk solid production from pasture in excess of 1,000kg/ha. A record quantity of surplus pasture has been conserved during spring and early summer. Pastures are dense and even with no obvious fertility patches. Calves are grazed on the property during the growing season and the herd wintered at home. Pipes measuring Nitrate-N leaching were installed in March 2011 along with the same number of pipes on a neighbouring property using a

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conventional fertiliser N driven programme. The results to early Feb this year (2014) showed Nitrate-N losses to be around 70% less than those from the neighbouring farm. Clover is the primary nitrogen fixing agent on the Berryman property with summer pasture a mass of red and white ﬂower. Due to astute grazing management and the increased amount of calcium available for plant uptake clover plants are almost entirely unaffected by ﬂea, weevil or other predators. With clover containing higher levels of nutrients particularly calcium, the growth rate of young animals is exceptional and the cows comfortably produce more than their live weight in milk solids each year. For more information contact Peter Burton on 0800 843 809.

properties where conventional nitrogen driven programmes are in place. Production is higher, both total and per hectare, and costs are lower. These farms are equally dependent on the availability of nitrogen for their growth; they are simply making more efficient use of the abundance of it in the air and soil. Pasture production, based on cage cuts, for the Berryman property, an intensive dairy operation at Otakiri near Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty grew 21,635kg DM/ha for the twelve months to the 30th April, an average of 59.9kgDM/ha per day. 10.8kgN/ha has been applied in a total nutrient mix this autumn, to help stimulate grass growth with the arrival of cooler conditions. 19kgN/ha was applied to 60% of the farm in late winter giving an average

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When less produces more It’s not run-off into waterways from pastoral land that’s the greatest concern it’s what’s coming out the bottom into aquifers that’s the major contaminator and the quickest and most effective way to stop that is to cease tipping it in the top. Nitrogen constitutes 78% of the air that we breathe, the top 20cm of pastoral soil holds 5,000–15,000kgN/ha. There’s no shortage of the stuff, it just has to be used more efficiently. The claim that farmers will produce significantly less and have the value of their land decimated if they are no longer permitted to use nitrogen fertiliser is an argument increasingly difficult to sustain. The motivation of farmers applying little or no fertiliser nitrogen is to preserve the value of their land by being able to continue producing without environmental damage, and their position is the one that will ultimately prevail. Any enterprise that destroys the base from which its wealth is generated is simply not profitable, and long-term intensive pastoral farming driven by regular nitrogen applications is just that. Central government, local and district councils will regulate in favour of the environment regardless of outrage from the farming community. Political power is with those in urban areas and the income generated from pastoral farming can be replaced, potentially leaving farmers with very expensive real estate and limited means of generating an income. But there is a solution that with a little further development may satisfy all. Ten years of measurements from properties applying DoloZest and CalciZest based total nutrient programmes show they grow more total pasture than

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DAIRY

May 2014

Entries open for South Island Farmer of the Year Nominations and entries are open for the 2014 Lincoln University Foundation South Island Farmer of the Year competition, and organisers are hoping for another record year. The competition is open to any form of primary production farm business including agriculture, horticulture, viticulture and aquaculture.

of the usual four,” Lincoln University Foundation chair Ben Todhunter said. “This, plus the very successful winner’s field day at

“Last year we had entries from throughout the South Island, the quality of which were such that we were obliged to select six finalists instead

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Last year’s Lincoln University Foundation South Island Farmer of the Year winner’s Peter and Vai Yealands (front) with Chief Judge Nicky Hyslop (left) Chairman Ben Todhunter (centre) and judge Guy Trafford

Yealands Wine Estate, generated a lot of interest.” Mr Todhunter said one of the attractions of the competition is that size really doesn’t matter and is not one of the criteria for judging. “We’re looking for leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, which can be found equally in a small familyowned farm business as they can within a large commercial agricultural entity.” He said another reason for last year’s record entries was undoubtedly the decision but the trust board to accept nominations. “Traditionally it has been very hard to get farmers to put their own hand up and say ‘I’m a top-notch farmer’ but when they’re nominated by others that seems to take the ‘tall poppy’ factor out of it and they’re more willing to let their nomination go forward. “Anyone can make a nomination of a farmer, and all

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nominees will be contacted by a representative of the trust to talk them through the entry process.” The Foundation is particularly keen to receive nominations or entries from innovative farmers at the beginning of their careers. “We want to reward those who have just started this journey, as well as showcase people who have already ‘made it’. “Emerging top farmers might not win the overall competition but could well be up for one of the other prizes and, more especially, they will benefit from the analysis and experience that entering provides to enhance their business, so that they might be an overall winner some time in the future.” Winners of the South Island Farmer of the Year competition receive a $20,000 travel grant to allow the winners to go overseas to look at other farming practices, examine new technologies and innovations

and enhance their farm business. In addition, the Foundation offers four special category prizes of $5,000 each: The BNZ award for Human Resource Management; The Silver Fern Farms ‘Plate to Pasture’ award; The Lincoln University prize for Technology and Innovation and The Farmlands Cooperative Prize for Resource use Efficiency. “The prizes are noteworthy and the learning and ideas that stem being a finalist, together with the contacts that entrants make with other top farmers across a range of farming sectors, make this competition an extremely satisfying experience, both in the short term and in the longer term,” Mr Todhunter said. Nominations and entries are open now and will close on August 1. Judging will occur during September and October with the finals at Lincoln University in November.

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DAIRY

May 2014

Prolific sire retires leaving great legacy CRV Ambreed retired one of its most productive Holstein-Friesian sires last month [May] leaving a legacy of 50,000 daughters and sons to New Zealand dairy farmers. At 12 years of age, Firenze has generated around $8 million in revenue and has sired progeny in the Asia-Pacific region, South Africa, South America and the United States of America. In New Zealand alone he is recorded as having 40,964 daughters in 3,330 herds and of his sons, 67 have been enrolled on the Animal Evaluation database for herd improvement in New Zealand. CRV Ambreed’s managing director Angus Haslett said it is hard to name another New Zealand bull who has been so strong in producing both excellent daughters and sons, in the way that Firenze has. “On average, one in 10 bulls that enter our progeny test sire group graduate as daughterproven, meaning they have between 70 — 150 daughters across 40 herds. These bulls might be marketed to dairy farmers for two to three years in our catalogue lineup but after that, the demand for their genetics tends to wane as other bulls are proven. “However, Firenze has been catalogued and marketed for nine years now and this has been quite spectacular for him and the genetic gain of the New Zealand dairy industry,” said Mr Haslett.

Mr Wilson, an avid HolsteinFriesian breeder who won the 2006 Otago Sharemilker of the Year award, said the novelty of having one of New Zealand’s top performing bulls on the farm will certainly not be

wasted. “We have star treatment planned for Firenze when he comes home. He will be put out to pasture with a big smile while he looks after the dry cows and gets the chance to be a real bull.”

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He said Firenze will leave his mark on the New Zealand dairy industry, adding that Firenze is not being retired because of his age, inability to produce enough semen or because the quality of his genetics have changed but because he has already offered so much inﬂuence to the national dairy herd and has a high number of proven sons to continue his genetic line. Firenze currently has nine sons in the April 2014 Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) List published by New Zealand Animal Evaluation, with three of them in the top 10.

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CRV Ambreed’s genetic development strategist Phil Beatson and his former colleague, Pennie Ormsby, were the genetic analysts who selected Firenze for the company’s progeny testing programme in 2003. He said that in his 13 years with the company, he has never seen a bull that has had as many strong sons and excellent daughters. “Often bulls are good at producing either one or the other — but not both — and it is this quality that has made Firenze’s progeny popular not only with New Zealand’s dairy farmers and breeders, but

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also with other AI companies. “Firenze isn’t an overly tall bull but he is certainly powerful through a combination of his open frame, strength and width throughout. He is also pretty quiet as far as bulls go and it is his temperament that really shines through in his daughters which you can pick out a mile away in the herd.” On retirement, Firenze will head back to his breeder Geoffrey Wilson and spend his remaining years on one of the Wilson family’s three Otago dairy farms on the Tairei Plains.

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May 2014

Wool Perspective From Rob Cochrane GM, Procurement, PGG Wrightson Wool

Options aplenty The past month or so has been rather interesting and revitalising for wool prices with the first auction in May strengthening on the back of the obvious supply shortage, but more importantly a resurgence of interest from processors around the globe creating a much welcome and more positive signal to the market place. The solid market tone has enabled a number of wool growers to sell most (if not all) of their recently shorn wool and allowed a large percentage of wool which was passed-in at earlier sales for failing to reach grower reserve prices, to also be cleared to the trade. At PGG Wrightson (PGW) we cover all bases with a comprehensive and strategically placed national network of wool representatives, transport hubs, and warehouses, auction centres in Napier and Christchurch, plus a wholly owned wool marketing and export division — Bloch & Behrens NZ Ltd (B&B) — supplying quality wool to a vast range of processors and manufacturers for the production of such items as: luxury blankets and throws, insulation, furnishing fabrics, upholstery, tennis ball felt, duvet inners, hand knotted rugs,

machine tufted carpets, machine woven carpets and rugs, livestock covers, ski jackets and babies’ blankets. A large number of manufacturers who source their wool through the PGW/B&B channel are European based, focussed on high quality retail sales and are mindful of how important on-going deliveries of quality wool are to their reputation. Some of these customers are now interested in longer term three year supply contracts which in turn means that PGW can offer some certainty to growers who supply the required wool types. Over and above the three year contracts are the PGW/ B&B fixed price forward contracts, covering a wide range of types. These contracts have been operating extremely

successfully since 2008 offering PGW’s growers a fixed price ‘today’ for wool as it is growing and to be shorn and delivered at a pre-determined date in the future, often between three and nine months from the date of signing the contract. For spot market sellers, the PGW auction system offers many benefits, particularly in the current climate of dwindling supply, because export industry representatives are able to appraise a wide range of wool types from the grab sample removed from each bale within a line, which is accompanied by comprehensive test data measured from core plugs of wool, also removed from each bale, and reported by an independent laboratory who has no financial or other interest in the wool itself. All exporters attend the auction armed with their pre-

sale assessments of each line allowing them to make keen judgement of what lines of wool they can or cannot combine to suit their processor orders. This provides vendors with the absolute widest possible exposure to the market place, due to the expert ability of wool exporters who push boundaries to ensure their wool deliveries are maximised for wool type, and subsequent price is driven by full benches of buyers competing fiercely at every auction. Post auction invoices, account sale documents, receipt of payment, collection of testing fees, receipt of shipping instructions, branding of wool bales prior to dispatch to wool scours or wool dump facilities, all require expert interpretation and control, and the ‘prompt’ wool payment system (an agreed specific day and time

when buyers must pay in full for their wool purchases with cleared funds, and growers are paid) is one many industries would like to emulate. Negative comment towards the auction system from time to time usually has, in my experience, been suggested by misinformed and inexperienced commentators, the majority of whom agree, however, that supply and demand remain the most effective drivers of

the wool market. With sheep numbers seemingly continuing to decrease in the face of changing land use, neverending marketing and sales programmes in the global market place via all New Zealand wool exporters, and an extremely low volume of grower stock on hand in comparison to many other years at a similar time — shouldn’t demand be increasing? We hope so. That’s my view.

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LIVESTOCK

May 2014

Giant grass shows potential for dairy farm use by Kelly M. Phillips

To most people grass, giant or otherwise, is not a riveting subject but to scientists and dairy experts one variety promises exciting results Miscanthus x giganteus is the scientific name of a giant grass which originates from East Asia and Lincoln University PhD candidate Chris Littlejohn is taking a closer look at its potential as a shelterbelt for Canterbury fields. His shelterbelt study began in Balclutha before he transferred to Canterbury where the biggest contrast was the lack of shelter. When fields are converted for dairy use, trees are often

removed to accommodate the irrigation system. Shelter is important for animal comfort and for protecting pasture growth from strong winds. Mr Littlejohn said the easiest form of irrigation is the centre pivot but the question has been how do you get shelter to grow underneath it. Enter giant miscanthus. The grass is a sterile hybrid that spreads slowly through rhizomes making it easy to manage once planted.

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It can grow up to a metre in height in its first year of planting and up to four metres by the second year. It is a perennial with a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years. “Once past its first winter miscanthus is a very resilient plant that requires low inputs of fertiliser,” Mr Littlejohn said. “Weed control is required up to halfway through its second season, but after this no insecticide or herbicide application is necessary.” It’s ﬂexible stems mean that a centre pivot irrigator can roll through it without inﬂicting damage. Giant miscanthus also provides a habitat for skinks and important pollinators like bumblebees. Mark Williams is the owner of Aylesbury Dairy Farm where the grass has been planted as part of a trial study funded by Dairy NZ and Westland Milk Products. He recently found out how much cows like the taste of the miscanthus when part of his herd broke into a patch and grazed happily until they were driven out. The crop is expected to make a full recovery.

Mr Littlejohn’s supervisor at Lincoln, Professor Steve Wratten is a firm believer in the utility of giant miscanthus. “No other product seems capable of providing animal shelter, effective pasture shelter and a cash return in the form of renewable diesel,” Professor Wratten said. “Plus, miscanthus can be used as fodder, a superior bedding material in calf sheds and dried as fuel for boilers to reduce dependence on diesel, coal and electricity,” he said. He hopes in the future portable equipment for miscanthus fuel production will be developed and taken from farm to farm. Mr Littlejohn said the plant’s 6% light permeability means it reduces wind turbulence. “It reduces moisture loss which increases pasture growth. We’ve seen 12–14% more grass growth in the first half of the growing season.” “The grass dies back in the winter and resprouts in September.” Mark Williams and his farm hands favour the grass because its base growth isn’t dense enough to harbour rodents like native toi toi and ﬂax do.

A closer look at giant miscanthus

“We are getting significant shelter from rain and wind events,” he said. He likes the grass so much he is considering planting it along his farm borders as a privacy screen. Peter Brown is the owner of Miscanthus New Zealand and has been an avid promoter and grower of the grass. His business can provide greenhouse grown plantlets and a consultation service to farmers interested in trying out giant

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miscanthus on their property. One tray of 60 plantlets costs about $2.50 a plant but larger orders of 30,000 plants or more reduce the per plant cost to 60 cents a piece. Mr Brown said the harvested plant will yield around 20 tonnes per hectare after its first three years of growth. He suggests a higher yield of 30 tonnes per hectare may be possible. “Giant miscanthus has been planted in the Far North, Hawkes Bay, Otago and Southland and has done fine in our climate.” “It doesn’t like permanently boggy ground but can be submerged for several weeks without dying.” Mr Littlejohn said cultivation is not essential and plants can be planted into holes made with a soil corer even in poor soil. “Adequate water availability is essential and under irrigation plant growth rate is impressive and survival of greater than 90% is attainable.” In the United States the plant is being studied as a renewable biofuel and in Europe it is being mixed with coal to produce electricity. For more information on acquiring giant miscanthus visit www.miscanthus.co.nz.

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May 2014

Changing soil pH and calcium

by Tim Jenkins

If a soil test shows that the pH is above or below a desired range then liming can be used to lift the pH or in some cases sulphur used to drop the pH. The amount of lime required depends on the amount of change required, the buffering capacity of the soil (related to pH, organic matter and minerals in the soil) and the type of lime. The speed with which the pH change takes place can also be affected by the fineness of the lime, soil moisture, starting pH and whether the lime was incorporated into the soil or just placed on the surface.

How much lime?

A light soil and a heavy soil at the same pH have different cation exchange capacity (reported in most soil tests) and so different levels of hydrogen that need to be converted to water by liming. A heavy soil (or one with higher organic matter content) will generally require more lime than a light soil (or a low organic matter soil) to shift the pH by one unit.

Some acid soils may also have aluminium in solution on cation exchange sites and this can use up some of the liming action. In a typical silt loam soil, it might take 2.5 to 3 tonne/ha lime to lift the pH by one unit (eg 5.5 to 6.0). Sandy soils might require 1 to 2 tonne to achieve the same change in pH, while a heavy clay soil may need more than 6 tonne/ha.

Chemistry of the liming effect Starting with the basic chemistry of liming, it can be seen that the pH lift comes from the carbonate part of calcium carbonate. Lime is calcium carbonate and dolomite lime also has some magnesium carbonate. Lime weathers in the soil through the action of natural acids and slow dissolution. The positively charged calcium

ions (and magnesium ions if relevant) are released into the soil solution and then swap with other cations (positively charged ions) present on the cation exchange sites. In an acid soil, many of the cations are hydrogen ions (it is the hydrogen ions that are the basis of the acidity) and they are preferentially lost during liming. The hydrogen ions don’t disappear — they react with the carbonate (CO³²-) from the lime to form hydrogen carbonate which in turn forms carbon dioxide and water (the two hydrogens are in the water’s H²O structure).

But the calcium is also an important part of the overall liming effect. Calcium is termed a base cation because it is less acidic than other types of cations. As lime supplies the calcium, the pH change is

maintained as calcium replaces hydrogen ions on the cation exchange sites. Part of the liming effect is a stimulation of soil biology and calcium is an important aspect of that action. Available calcium is important for good activity of earthworms and many beneficial soil bacteria.

The liming effect

The benefits of liming include improved availability of many nutrients (compared to acid soil availability). Reduced issues with aluminium toxicity and lock-up of phosphorus. Improved nitrogen fixation partly through improved molybdenum availability. Stimulated biological activity from the pH effect and the calcium. Reduced risk of some diseases including brassica club root. Improved soil structure from the higher calcium levels.

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In some cases a calcium boost may be desired to improve soil structure but the pH is already at a good level. Gypsum (calcium sulphate) can provide this benefit in a variety of soils including clay soils that show poor structure when wet and/or when dry. The sulphate effect on reducing soil pH is balanced by the base cation nature of calcium in gypsum to result in generally no net change in soil pH. We have seen good soil structure results in recent gypsum research. Very finely ground lime ﬂour can be used in small amounts (generally 50 to 200 kg/ha at a

time) to boost soil solution pH, biological activity and legume performance. Although it has the same effect on soil pH as the same weight of coarser agricultural lime, the speed of effect and better distribution of particles in the soil means a fast response that provides a priming effect in the soil stimulation of soil biological activity can be achieved with the small amount of lime ﬂour without risking over-liming in the long term. But it doesn’t replace the requirement bulk liming and pH lift in a really acid soil with aluminium problems. Next month will cover the ways in which soil can become more acidic over time.

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May 2014

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The National Animal Identification and Tracing Act of 2012 requires all persons in charge of deer or cattle to tag their animals. The purpose of the tag is to monitor for biosecurity risks and disease outbreaks in cattle and the scheme is managed by OSPRI New Zealand. OSPRI’s programme design and farm operations manager Dr Stu Hutchings said the current focus is on helping people understand the importance of registering their tagged animals and confirming or recording on

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persons with exempt animals still need to register and receive a NAIT number for them. Farmers can purchase RFID tags from local farm supply stores or artificial breeding providers. The cattle tags are white and approved manufacturers include Allﬂex, Leader and Zee Tags. Each one costs $5 and 90 cents of the purchase price goes towards running the NAIT scheme. Tags should be affixed to the right ear of the calf and can be read visually or with a scanner. NAIT offers a list of approved entities that can scan tags and also has an accredited

information provider who can register, tag and record animal movements on the farmer’s behalf. Each tag carries a unique number that can keep track of a variety of data on individual animals including their weight and treatment history. Calves that are being moved on or off property must have their movements registered within 48 hours. Animals which die, go missing, or are charitably donated must also be registered with NAIT. For more information on NAIT requirements and services visit www.nait.co.nz

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