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Team effort leads to triumph for farmers
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Negotiations with the UAE began in May, the talks were concluded four months later, and the NZ$1.3 billion a year agreement was signed, sealed and delivered in Wellington this month.
I am incredibly proud to be part of a government that shows that kind of performance and commitment. I am also proud of the hard work the large team of officials did behind the scenes to bring this about — they were outstanding.
This high-quality trade agreement will have immense and long-reaching benefits for farmers and our downstream industries. It gives New Zealand duty-free access for 98.5 per cent of our exports to the UAE, rising to 99 per cent after three years. The UAE is one of New Zealand’s most significant markets in the Middle East, with goods and services exports totalling NZ$1.1 billion in the year to June 2024.
Key exports to the UAE include dairy, industrial products, meat and horticulture. The UAE is a big market, and this free trade agreement is one of our most important ever, particularly for farmers. Nor is it the only recent good news for farmers from a new government that understands global trading and how to manage it. There is also the rapid removal of restrictive Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that affect $9.8 billion worth of New Zealand’s trade.
So far, significant progress has been made in eliminating NTBs, and more efforts are underway. Success comes down to understanding global marketing and politics, building personal relationships, and, above all, getting out there and doing it.
That is precisely what has been adeptly executed by a great team, and, as a farmer, I couldn’t be more delighted or proud.
Barbara Kuriger, MP for Taranaki-King Country
by Barbara Kuriger, MP for Taranaki-King Country
Kiwis mixed success in trans-Tasman event
by Paul Campbell
Labour Weekend was no vacation for many Kiwi shearers, and a gallant bid to claim New Zealand’s first trans-Tasman machine shearing test win in Australia since 2010 has again fallen short, with a defeat by almost 29 points in the series’ 50th anniversary match in Western Australia.
“There was great competition in the Australian National Shearing and Woolhandling Championships at Katanning, 280km southeast of Perth,” said Shearing Sports New Zealand spokesman Doug Laing.
“The Kiwis kept in touch with the pace over the six merinos, and trans-Tasman series newcomer and King Country shearer Jack Fagan, whose father sheared in 12 similar tests, led the chase after Nathan Meaney, passing the Australian on the last of the six crossbreds to win the race by five seconds.
“Still, Fagan and machine shearing teammates, Leon Samuels, of Roxburgh, and Chris Vickers, of Shag Point, Coastal Otago, were still overcome by the fine wool class of Meaney (South Australia), Daniel McIntyre (NSW) and Josh Bone (Vic), who made amends for a loss to New Zealand at the Golden Shears in Masterton last March.”
Meaney won the Mark Conlan Memorial for best individual performance, with quality points more than 10 points better than the best of the Kiwi trio.
Also making amends for defeat in Masterton, and helping Australia to a two to one triumph across the tests, were wool handlers Alexander Schoff (Qld) and Marlene Whittle (Vic), who
beat new New Zealand pair Pagan Rimene, of Alexandra, and Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna, by 4.05 points in a contest of six merino fleeces and six crossbred fleeces.
The open woolhandling final was won by Australia, with second place going to 2014 Masterton Golden Shears Junior champion Creedence Culshaw, from Raupunga, while Jacki Harmer, originally from Hastings, was fourth. Both of the New Zealanders are now based in West Australia.
“The New Zealand team remains the same for the machine shearing and woolhandling tests in Masterton on February 28 to March 1,” said Laing.
“Back at home, the holiday weekend saw the Great Raihania Shears at the Hawke’s Bay Show, where it was ladies’ day in the open woolhandling. Jasmin Tipoki, of Napier, had the biggest of her three wins in open woolhandling, in crowning a day of successes for Napierbased family shearing operation Puna Shearing, with partner Paraki Puna winning the open shearing plate, and workmate Te Whetu Brown winning the Senior woolhandling final.
“It was a close call for Tipoki, a former first-ranked senior, who won by less than three points from 2022–2024
New Zealand representative Cushla Abraham, of Masterton, with third place going to defending Great Raihania
Shears open champion Ngaira Puha, of Kimbolton, and fourth to Marika Braddick, of Eketahuna.”
Photo Credit: SSNZ
Ngaira Puha (left) and Jasmin Tipoki in a battle for the Great Raihania Shears open woolhandling crown
A JOURNEY OF SUCCESS
Growing up on a sheep and beef farm, Mitchel Hoare sought to continue his pathway in the industry alongside his wife Charlotte and daughter, Ruby.
“My sisters Abbe, Ella and I grew up in Te Kuiti on a 300-hectare sheep and beef farm. I always wanted to pursue that type of farming myself,” said Mitchel.
“We had an awesome childhood, and went to a rural primary school with 25 other students. I did relief milking in high school to make some money but dairying was never on the cards.
“Being strategic in my pathway, I invested time in a cadetship at Waipaoa Station in Gisborne after I finished school. It taught me a good base for practical skills like breaking in a dog, fencing and other everyday skills.”
With those added to his skill set, Mitchel went on to achieve a diploma in
farm management at Lincoln University.
Not only would his study create a good financial understanding, but it also allowed him to forge friendships and connections.
“After that, I spent some time shepherding before leasing 240 hectares across two properties, allowing me to be self-employed. We do predominantly sheep and beef farming with a calfrearing component.
“Annually, we rear a mix of 250 spring and autumn calves. We have 800 ewes to the ram, finishing all progeny and trading numbers, depending on the season. We did 800 last year.
“Leasing has been a good opportunity for us to learn the business side of
BY AMY FIFITA
Charlotte and Mitchel lease 240 hectares across two properties for their beef and lamb farming venture
farming, rather than a manager’s role where you don’t do the financial tasks.”
Despite being happy within his farming element, Mitchel aspires to purchase
a farm one day. Mitchel says he and Charlotte are flexible about moving to another area once they can buy their forever farm.
Charlotte and Mitchel have a one-year-old daughter, Ruby, who is experiencing the farming lifestyle
“For now, we are enjoying living in the King Country, and are leveraging the relationships we have here. We have a great group of friends and family, and it is a good microclimate.
“We are building equity to buy our own farm, and currently, would like to lease more land, but it is hard to come by.”
Charlotte and Mitchel also have another venture with his parents, Suzie and Chris. Together, they own and operate a native nursery — Te Tawai.
“While as a farmer, I value genetics and having a good foundation breeding stock, my personal passion is for my family, friends and being a good custodian of the land.
“Charlotte and I have a 50% share, and grow 50,000 native plants annually. Charlotte is heavily involved in the nursery, and also works at MSD Animal Health full-time as the central North Island territory manager.
“We are three years into selling native plants to local farmers. We all have green thumbs, and it was a big step building the facility and setting up the nursery, so luckily, some local nurseries helped us out.”
Amongst his busy work and family schedule, Mitchel had the opportunity to win the AgResearch Emerging Achiever Award at the Beef and Lamb New Zealand Awards.
“Going to the awards evening and winning was special. It was an inspiring
and positive night, and everyone had cool stories to tell, allowing me to meet many influential people. I walked away from it pretty refreshed.
“Getting exposure will hopefully lead to an opportunity to own my own farm. It was awesome to see the advocacy, market research and innovation going on behind the scenes with the companies, B+LNZ, private companies and governmentfunded initiatives.”
In his speech, Mitchel said everyone there needs to appreciate farmers for getting up and going to work each day because they are paying everyone’s wages.
“Farming is good, because there is always a consumer for your product,
whether it be a farmer or a consumer. It is such an established industry. The more I think about it, the more I realise that we can’t do it without those at the other end selling it.”
Winning his award isn’t the only thing Mitchel is grateful for. He values his family, friends and everyone who has supported him in his journey so far, but also his farming upbringing, something he can pass on to his own child Ruby.
“I appreciate growing up on a farm. Bringing up our child on a farm makes me slow down and enjoy what we have. With the days warming up and getting longer, it is getting easier for her to be on the farm with us and she loves it — it puts things into perspective.”
AgResearch research capability director Dave Houlbrooke presented Mitchel with his award
WETLAND BLAZE HIT
T•
•
he fire burned uncounted hectares and challenged the resources of firefighters, while destroying fauna and flora habitats.
From the earliest days, the valued wetlands provided human support before the burgeoning requirements of agriculture began making inroads. The natural feature was providing early Māori with food, including wildfowl and eels, as well as other freshwater fish. They grew
The unfolding drama of the Waikato wetland’s fire where Fire and Emergency crews battled damage to the Whangamarino wetlands has highlighted the vulnerability of a resource increasingly accepted as environmentally vital, after huge historical depletion.
taro, harvested flax, medicinal plants and material for daily living support.
With the years and population growth came great change, and the wetlands are still largely a forgotten habitat with their importance underrated, according to the National Wetland Trust, which says more than 90 per cent have been drained or filled. The trust is working to reverse this trend, and to increase knowledge, appreciation and understanding of the value of wetlands.
Waikato River Authority Iwi co-chair Roger Pikia has reported that ‘wetland loss has been extreme in the catchment over the past decades and the protection and enhancement of what we have left is crucial, even more so when this loss is viewed in the context of climate change and the ecosystem services that healthy wetlands perform.’
Thus, the advent of fire only puts a virtual nail in the coffin of wetland recovery.
The Waikato region is a New Zealand stronghold for wetlands with the two largest freshwater wetlands in the North Island, the country’s biggest river delta, and around 11 per cent of the county’s nation’s remaining resource. These are Whangamarino Wetland, Kopuatai Peat Dome and the Firth of Thames estuary.
The different plant types found in freshwater wetlands mainly depend on the water supply and nutrient levels.
In the Waikato, there are low nutrient wetlands (bogs) and highly fertile wetlands (swamps). Fens are intermediate in fertility and sometimes occur at the edges of bogs.
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No two wetlands are exactly alike. The look of a wetland, and its mix of plants and animals, vary with local conditions, including climate, water flow, altitude and substrate. Several different types of plant, birds and animal communities may be present in larger wetlands, and all wetlands may change over time as environmental conditions change.
In the last 160 years, the area of wetlands in the Waikato region has declined by around 75 per cent and, fire threat aside, some remaining wetlands are being invaded by introduced pests. However, the region’s still a wetland stronghold.
In the 1840s an estimated 110,000 ha of wetland covered the lower Waikato area and Hauraki Plains, but European settlement saw most drained to become stock pasture.
Fire damage aside, current estimates of the area of remaining freshwater wetlands in the Waikato region are around 27,000 ha, including Whangamarino wetland (7,100 ha) and Kopuatai Peat Dome (9,200 ha).
The modern day methods and high-tech equipment, including air support used in controlling such a large blaze, would have amazed early emergency personnel.
New Zealand’s first volunteer fire brigade was established in Auckland in 1854, with volunteer fire brigades established progressively in other towns and cities across the country. The Municipal Corporations Act 1867 allowed borough councils to establish fire brigades and appoint fire inspectors, starting the first paid fire brigades. The Fire Brigades Act 1906 set up local fire boards, and levied the central government, local authorities and insurance companies to cover costs.
Waikato was no newcomer to the scourge of large scale rural conflagration, though. During the summer of 1945/46, a large scrub and forest fire threatened Taupō and blocked the Rotorua–Taupō Road. Wise heads then instigated the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1947, which pretty much created the modern rural firefighting force
It took a major tragedy to lead to a more modern fire service. It involved an incident on November 18 1947, when Ballantynes department store was destroyed by fire, killing 41 of its staff.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry proposed a national fire service, such as today’s FENZ, but this proved too soon, and so under the Fire Services Act 1949, the Fire Service Council was created to coordinate urban fire brigades, direct firefighter training and distribute equipment. In
1958, the first national training school for firefighters was established.
On September 29 1958, the first 111 emergency telephone service was introduced and gradually expanded nationwide. Fire and Emergency New Zealand was formally established in 2017, merging the New Zealand Fire Service, the National Rural Fire Authority, and 38 rural fire districts and territorial authorities.
As in the Waikato outbreak, the Department of Conservation is no longer responsible for fires, with FENZ now the fire authority for all public conservation land. The New Zealand Defence Force is responsible for fire services covering the land under its control, industry fire brigades provide fire services to specific facilities, such as major airports and industrial plants, while FENZ provides mutual assistance to these brigades.
The Whangamarino wetlands are home to precious life
Photo credit: FENZ
Fire razed a significant wetland area
by Amy Fifita
Grant boosts fundraising efforts
After receiving a GrainCorp Animal Nutrition grant for $10,000, the Hautapu Sports Club is making headway on its three-stage netball court refurbishment.
The Hautapu Sports Club draws players to its grounds for hockey, rugby and netball. With an inundation of new members in the past four years, the netball court requires some love to support the club’s six successful netball teams.
“We are community-focussed at Hautapu Sports Club and cater for the surrounding areas, including a number of the rural schools,” said junior netball club director Jody Anderson.
“Primary and middle schools no longer look after the codes, and it is all done by the club. We have had a considerable increase in members in all sports within the last four years.
“Our netball court is in dire need of refurbishment, and not ideal for teams wanting to use it for training. It is dangerous, and we are seeing cracks and surface peeling.”
Volunteer coach Angela Ryan, and also GrainCorp’s marketing manager, suggested to Jody to seek funds from the company she works for.
“Many of our colleagues and children have played at the Hautapu club. We also have clients that support the club, so it was great for us to give to an organisation that is close to us,” said Angela.
“The key to their success was that they were in an agricultural hub and based on a redevelopment project. It was exciting
year six
that they were successful, and that we could support them.”
Angela says the company has two community grant rounds annually; this year’s was in February and July. The next opportunity is in February 2025.
that use the court
“It was nice to contribute something substantial towards their goal, and now that we know NZ organisations can get across the line, we will encourage more to apply. It is for rural and ag-based organisations with a community focus, and we want to see
more NZ community organisations have access to these grants.”
Jody says the project has a big cost outlay, so every little bit helps, and that the GrainCorp grant is an amazing way to boost funds.
The
Kahikatea winners are among six netball teams
by Liz Clark
This year, the movement celebrates its 21st year, funding more than 1,320 men’s health projects worldwide, transforming research, and how health services reach and support men.
In New Zealand, the Movember movement is tackling these issues headon with a series of projects and initiatives aimed at improving men’s health. Mental health and suicide prevention have been one of the most significant challenges.
The organisation is addressing these issues through collaboration with health partners such as HeadFirst, developed in conjunction with New Zealand Rugby to deliver mental health literacy programmes across rugby union nationwide. Joining this programme are Farmstrong, supporting farmers’ wellbeing and quality of life, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery projects. Find out more at nz.movember. com/about/mental-health.
The next two issues are just as important. Prostate cancer affects more than 1.4 million men each year globally; it’s one of the most common cancers for men 45 and older. Early detection is the key to prevention. Find out more
Men’s health matters
at nz.movember.com/men-s-health/ prostate-cancer.
Testicular cancer is the number one cause in younger men. It may sound bad but if it’s detected early, the chances of a full recovery are high. Movember has initiatives online for self-checking and prevention. Visit nz.movember.com/mens-health/testicular-cancer.
Movember is the time for everyone to stand up and fight the good fight. Grow a mo for better men’s health. Your mo will get attention and start the conversation about how the Movember movement can help. To sign up go to nz.movember.com/ support-us/grow.
Move for Mental Health is another way to raise funds by taking up the challenge to walk or run 60 kilometres. The distance can be covered in one go or in stages during the campaign month. This cause remembers 60 men lost every hour, globally, to suicide. Sign up at nz.movember.com/support-us/move.
For more initiatives on how to raise funds for Movember and men’s health or to donate, visit the Movember website for ideas about how you and your mates can help this important cause.
Grow a mo for Movember to support men’s health next month
Optimal bedding for animal wellbeing
Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies can help you find the most affordable and efficient solution to your animal bedding requirements.
Keeping livestock warm, dry and healthy is crucial to the success of any farming or breeding operation. Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies offers a range of products, all produced with the health and wellbeing needs of livestock in mind, giving your animals a good start in life.
For the past 25 years, Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies has serviced Waikato and the central North Island. As a business, it prides itself on being the leading supplier of bulk and baled shavings, woodchip and chipper fines throughout the North Island.
The company now operates out of its new depot in Tirau, which includes a purposebuilt shavings storage unit, filled with a ready supply of product.
Considered the gold standard in bedding material, all shavings offered by Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies are kiln-dried and chemical-free. This helps to keep animals warm, dry and healthy throughout the year.
Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies has a consistent supply of wood shavings all year round and currently has good stock available for delivery in the Waikato, Manawatu, Wairarapa and Taranaki regions.
The 100% biodegradable wood shavings can be supplied in bulk on-farm via a dedicated fleet of truck and trailer units and walking floor trucks. Customers also have the option of purchasing baled shavings (approximately 100kg), which are suitable for sheds and other large livestock operations. For ease of use and handling, Premium Dust Free Pet Packs (approximately 18kg) of shavings are also available in the product range. The sealed plastic bag ensures the shavings remain clean and dry, and are ideal for calf stalls, poultry sheds and dairy goat bedding.
Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies delivers a range of animal bedding requirements around the North Island
In addition to wood shavings, Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies also offers New Zealand radiata pine wood chip and chipper fines. These products are being produced on-site in Hinuera, and are a popular option for the
equine and dairy markets due to their excellent warmth, drainage and easy-tomanage characteristics.
Contact Moorey Animal Bedding Supplies at 07 888 1955 or order@moorey.co.nz to discuss all your animal bedding requirements.
by Andy Bryenton
Tuatara’s test of the toughest
When we talked to Tuatara Machinery’s director, Geoff Hill recently, we cut right to the chase and asked him why people should buy a Tuatara off-roader. His response was immediate.
“They’re built of steel, not plastic — they will go where other ATVs won’t,” said Geoff. “They’ll carry more, tow more, and they are cheap and easy to service. Many customers service them themselves, thus avoiding the $150 hourly rate that many dealerships charge.
“The Tuatara is not a recreational vehicle, like many of the competition, it’s a commercial vehicle that is designed to work and one that has extreme versatility in uses.”
Instead of being based on a lineage that goes back to motorcycles, Tuatara’s stable of hard-working UTVs come from a design ‘blank slate’, totally informed by the needs and wants of New Zealand’s farmers.
“Our design comes from talking to farmers,” says Geoff. “I’m always listening to feedback from our customers in the field, and we incorporate that knowledge into our design. Tuatara is designed for hard work.”
This leads to some unique points of difference, hardwired into the DNA of the whole range, petrol and electric. It starts with a solid steel construction for strength, foregoing plastics for more rigidity and toughness. Then the Tuatara is powered up with either a modern water-cooled threecylinder, 69-horsepower petrol engine or a choice of two electric options delivering up to 175km of range — all hardened against the elements. Like any serious off-roader, it’s equipped with locking diffs to deliver superior traction when it’s needed.
The petrol engine comes from the lineage of motor cars, not bikes, meaning that it’s quiet, economical and extensively tested. The electric motor gets water cooling too, to make sure that it ticks one of the biggest boxes Kiwi farmers demand — total reliability. Geoff reckons that farms are a good fit for electric vehicles, which are used during the day and charged overnight. They also have the benefit of greatly reduced maintenance and running costs and improved ease of use.
The overall design of the Tuatara emphasises the ability to go anywhere, and feedback from customers bears this out. Geoff has been sent videos of his machines towing two-tonne utes out of sticky situations, pulling 1,000 litre calf feeders, and getting to places where other UTVs fear to tread.
The Tuatara boasts an over-all carrying capacity of 750kgs, which it manages with ease. It also comes with a winch with a twotonne pulling capacity, just one of the many standard accessories supplied.
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Nutritional therapy for joints
by John Arts, Abundant Health
You have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. This means you have joined one of, if not, the largest health problem clubs.
Likely, you have seen your GP, who may have arranged X-rays to confirm that you have cartilage loss, as evidenced by reduction in the spaces between bones of joints. There may also be degenerative changes to these bones. You may have been referred to an orthopaedic specialist who may have outlined surgical options.
Medicine has essentially three options for osteoarthritis (OA): pain relief, physiotherapy or surgery. However, nutritional therapy based on quality, professionally prescribed supplements and anti-inflammatory diets can make a significant different. My client files are full of testimonies from people who have had significant reductions in pain and improvements in mobility.
Let’s give your OA symptoms a score of 10/10 discomfort. What would your life be like if this reduced to 5/10 or even 2/10? I recently caught up with a client with significant knee pain from osteoarthritis. The worst part was the pain
at night. He now reports the pain at night has gone and is significantly better during the day. He has gone from 10/10 to around 2/10.
The question is whether we are willing to try something different. There is the cost barrier.
Fortunately, a quality Joint supplement with omega 3 fish oil is about $40 a month; more in the initial intensive period. Adopting an anti-inflammatory diet will possibly mean some extra costs, but it is hard to put a price on our health. However, in my experience the biggest barrier is simply we are creatures of habit and naturally resist change. Feel free to request an emailed copy of my osteoarthritis programme.
John Arts (Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions or advice contact John on 0800 423 559 or email john@abundant.co.nz. Join his newsletter at abundant.co.nz.
What is Bettaflex?
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John Arts comments:
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The versatile Tuatara has been designed from first principles to work hard in real New Zealand conditions
Arts, Founder, Abundant Health)
RURAL CONTRACTORS & SUPPLIERS
by Paul Campbell
A sector for job opportunities
Rural contracting has a great shortage of staff and has to attract seasonal workers from overseas when visa problems may arise and despite the fact that employment opportunities exist for New Zealanders.
Roles from weed spraying and crop drilling to operating and servicing complex machinery, such as combine harvesters and silage equipment, driving tractors, mowers and sprayers as well as machinery maintenance.
Training opportunities abound for operating larger and more sophisticated machinery including, combine harvesters, hay balers and similar agricultural machinery.
Even a tractor-driving job can earn a take-home pay of approaching $50,000 annually. Training courses are available in which an operator will connect a variety of equipment and operate it safely on the road, across paddocks and on undulating terrain. Tractor driving requires some prior knowledge or basic training either at a starter course or on-site.
A complex machinery operator could earn up to $80,000, and this job requires good technical skills.
“Operating a combine harvester or foraging machine is like being at the controls of a spaceship,” says one instructor. These are highly technical machines with several computers, touch screens, and joysticks to control the variety of operations the machine has to perform.
Mechanical support is another opening. Machinery is vital to rural contracting, and it needs to function properly. People who can perform regular maintenance and repairs are important, particularly as service centres are often some distance away. An agrichemical
applicator requires some certification received after training.
Spraying crops to remove pests and encourage growth is an important job in agriculture. Training in the safe use of agrichemicals, protective equipment
and various types of applicators (from backpacks to large spraying rigs) is available through formal NZQA training and Growsafe accreditation. Training and learning opportunities advice can be found at ruralcontractors.org.nz.
Machinery operators are sought after by contractors
by Paul Campbell
Visa changes frustrate contractors
Rural Contractors New Zealand members are frustrated at having to work through more
machinery operators ahead of the imminent season start.
“I have been seeing a significant increase in my members asking for assistance of late,” says CEO Andrew Olsen. “While I try to help, dealing with the daily influx of confused and disgruntled rural contractors asking for help is wearing a bit thin. We are not an immigration advisory service but we sure feel like we’re paying a price for the lengthy checking and processing times.
“I had hoped the second year of the accreditation requirements would have been smoother, but it’s not what we’re seeing. We have New Zealand employers applying for reaccreditation, and time frames for this have blown out, meaning further delays in being eligible to apply for visas.”
The vast majority of businesses can’t afford an immigration adviser to navigate the complexity of accreditation or visa applications. So there’s a lot of hit and more miss than the previous year.
“I do acknowledge that in response to lobbying and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford had announced rural contractors could use the Special Purpose or Event class of visa (SPEV). However, in mid-
August MBIE advised the SPEV visa was now the SPWV visa (Specific Purpose Working Visa).”
This had come with additional conditions, including a need to advertise a role for which Olsen says there were no trained and available Kiwi workers. However, around 80% of applications were approved in three weeks and feedback from members indicate the SPWV is currently the preferred visa class.
“The government has also acknowledged there is a case for looking closely at what a seasonal worker visa looks like. In our case, many of these workers will return several years in a row, already have a NZ bank account, IRD number and an accredited employer backing their visa, so wouldn’t it make sense to design a visa around that?
“This is an opportunity for the government to take pressure off, and allow Ag NZ to get on with the business of doubling exports.
“The government must also consider changes alongside its review of vocational training. For our members, the career pathway is a shambles, and we foresee a significant reliance on skilled overseas
“Rural contractors don’t support having to send workers to polytechnics for training for weeks and months on end. They want their workers to be able to pick up micro-credentials on the job and build these if they wish into a qualification.”
Andrew Olsen, Rural Contractors New Zealand CEO
workers in the mid-term and until vocational education training sorts itself out.
by Paul Campbell
Farm hills sparked a new industry
Farm contracting has always featured a high adventurous side, with aerial top dressing still a valued farm service, and purpose-designed aircraft carrying often spectacular operations especially in hill country.
There’s a true story of an early pilot contractor on a Hawke’s Bay hill property who tied the tail of his Tiger Moth to a fencepost, facing a sloping downhill paddock. Reaching maximum revs, the pilot signalled his farmer who cut the rope with an axe for a successful takeoff.
Today, things are a little more legal. In much earlier days though, the task was to spread the material by hand. Contract labour found it extremely hard work, and stories were told of bags of unspread fertiliser thrown into gullies and the workers in the nearest pub.
Aerial contracting came to the fore after the second world war. Planes were plentiful, leading to wartime pilots able to find a new vocation exploring the skies over remote land, spreading superphosphate to boost production.
New Zealand’s hill country farming economy became more viable with fertiliser dropping from the air.
In the lower country, contractors have moved to specialised truck spreaders, and in all, some two million tonnes of fertiliser is applied annually to pastures,
crops and forests by truck or tractor or fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft.
About 40% is spread by aircraft on to steep country. The operator, farmer or pilot tries to partly overlap the previous swathe pattern with the next pass. This helps to compensate for the low rate at the edge of each pass.
On the ground in pre-war times a horse towing a spreader box was used. Later, spreaders consisted of a hopper filled with fertiliser on the back of a tractor, while a spinning device ensured a good spread. On large farms, contract firms are increasingly being used. With large trucks and hoppers, they can do an efficient and accurate job.
On dairy farms, cows spend only one day or night grazing each paddock before being moved to the next. Nitrogen fertiliser is often applied to each paddock after each grazing. This does not require a contractor, so is often done using the four-wheel-drive farm bike with a spreader attachment behind.
As aerial topdressing expanded, the Civil Aviation Department set out specifications that Included ground-
handling, and safety for the pilot. Fletcher Aviation Corporation planned the Fletcher FU 24 aircraft, and since then, the Fletcher remains the most common fixed-wing aircraft used for aerial topdressing in New Zealand.
A common hill farm sight with purpose-built planes
South Waikato Garage Doors
by Liz Clark
SUMMER BUILD
Keeping it sustainable
With spring kicking in, thoughts will turn toward outdoor living spaces, a plan to build that
Most decks and outdoor furniture use H3 or H4-treated radiata pine. However, other timber can be used, including eucalyptus, macrocarpa and tropical hardwoods such as kwila, balau and, more rarely, Fijian kauri. Alternative timbers can be attractive and durable. Still, before you jump into the vehicle and go off to the local hardware store to get your timber or outdoor furniture made from tropical hardwood, consider where it came from first.
If your furniture retailer is responsible, the wood the products are made from will carry a sustainable forest certification label, especially in the case of outdoor furniture. While it’s a great idea to have attractive wood tables and chairs, check before you buy that a sustainable wood certification label comes with the product you want to purchase. If there isn’t a label on the product, then check with the retailer where it was originally sourced from.
The same applies to decking timber. Check with your local timber merchant to see where that particular tropical timber species has been sourced. All good timber retailers can provide advice and
information on where their imported wood has been supplied from.
Tropical timber comes from regions such as Africa, Indonesia, South America and the Pacific Islands. Balau is a dense hardwood native to the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Kwila is sourced from the Indonesian-ruled areas of New Guinea. Issues have been raised regarding illegal logging surrounding this particular hardwood species in recent times.
Fijian kauri is considered a fast-growing timber species. Still, according to a study
by the Vanuatu Environmental Science Society, this tropical tree is now under threat. There are legal and sustainable logging operations globally that comply with international conventions on sustainable timber production.
According to the Ministry of Primary Industries website, tropical hardwood timber has the highest chance of being illegally or unsustainably logged. You can also check if the retailer is a member of the New Zealand Imported Timber Trade Group. Its members are importers and
and
retailers that aim to only import and sell sustainable timber products.
For more information about the importation of tropical timber, visit the MPI website at mpi.govt.nz/import/forestproducts/combatting-trade-of-illegallylogged-timber.
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Tropical hardwood can make attractive decking or outdoor furniture — check for sourcing before you buy
by Andy Bryenton
SUMMER BUILD
A new future for an old favourite
Bricks are the building material that made the first cities possible, but their use as a mainstay of construction declined during the rise of prefabricated options.
Now, however, brick is back, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is its timeless appeal and sheer endurance.
Modern hyperpress brickmaking uses a very small amount of cement, about nine per cent of the brick, as a bonding agent, and a tiny amount of pigment for aesthetics. The rest, up to 90 per cent of the brick, is formed from waste rock, recycled concrete crushed up into powder, and waste products from smelting. Fly ash from burning waste to generate energy is also sometimes used, sealing it up out of environmental cycles.
There’s no sand, no quicklime and no kiln. Instead, massive pressure is brought to bear on the raw materials, forging them into a solid brick using kinetic squeezing in a kind of titanic vice. The result is approximately 1,000 kilograms less of CO2 emissions for every tonne of bricks produced. Add to this the fact that hyperpress bricks are a way to recycle waste and sequester fly ash and that no liquid, solid or gas waste byproducts
Traditionally strong and aesthetically pleasing, brick is enjoying a renaissance, thanks in part to new manufacturing technologies
come from the pressing factory itself, and this new technology looks like a cleaner way forward.
Taking things back to the source, African innovators are solving housing issues with soil-cement blocks, pressed using a solar-powered, truck-portable brickmaker. By modernising the techniques used in
and
by Andy Bryenton
Contenders for top tractor crown
The finalists have been winnowed down from a large and varied field, as a panel of expert judges consider the question: Which is the best tractor for the coming model year of 2025?
The international Tractor of the Year competition is almost a year-round task for the 25 professional agricultural machinery reviewers, who add the weight of their knowledge to the judging panel. The 2025 decision started back in June, when the panel met in Milan to consider the long list of contenders, at the Let the Challenge Begin gala. They’ll make a call on the best tractors in a variety of categories, spanning orchard specialist machines, giant open-plain crop cultivators and versatile dairying all-rounders.
A new category this year is just for autonomous robot tractors. The TotYBot prize is for tractors without a driver’s cabin or seat, no steering wheel and full self-driving capabilities. It’s a glimpse into a future where a farmer may be able to coordinate a fleet of machines from the front porch. There are four major contenders vying for the first-ever robotic tractor crown, from companies like Black Shire, Field Robotics, AutoAgri and Agxeed, rather than the massively established names that dominate the other categories.
Unlike motor cars, tractors are ready for assessment earlier in their designto-showroom cycle, meaning that the top of the crop for 2025 is ready to be put through its paces now. In the mid-power category, it’s a battle of some of the ‘usual suspects’; those big contenders that often dominate the awards podium and the sales charts. For 2025, Case IH has an updated Puma 260 in the running, up against the CLAAS Arion 660, Fendt’s big Vario 620 DP, the McCormick X7.624 VTDrive and Valtra’s N175 Direct.
The coveted high-power award is hotly contested with a powerful field of five
finalists. Case IH is back on track, with the large and impressive Quadtrac 715, rolling on wide triangular-section treads.
The JCB Fastrac 8330 iCON represents the team in yellow, while New Holland roll out the T7.340 HD. Valtra’s new S416 and the Massey Ferguson 9s.425 round out the heavyweight division.
Those with an eye for coincidence will note that this top 10 of mid and high-powered tractors contains the new versions of all the machines picked by Top
Gear back in 2007, when they tried to grow their own biodiesel. The final decision will come soon, with the announcement of 2025’s top tractor across these and three other categories: utility, specialised and sustainable tractors.
Fertco offers the New Zealand agricultural industry some of the most effective soil and plant nutrient products on the market today. Fertilisers that can deliver you a better return and often are kinder to our environment at the same time.
For the first time in 2025, the prestigious Tractor of the Year competition will have a category for robotic tractors
DAIRY & LIVESTOCK
Top achievers in the beef and lamb sector
by Andy Bryenton
This month saw top contributors to the agricultural red sector feted in Hamilton, as Beef and Lamb New Zealand handed out accolades to leaders in the field.
“Tonight’s winners represent the very best of our sector,” said B+LNZ chairperson Kate Acland.
“I’m so proud of our farmers and organisations and individuals that support and innovate in our sector.”
Eight major award categories attracted a high standard of finalists, recognising the people, the technologies
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and innovations that contribute to New Zealand’s world-leading farming industry.
The Ballance Agri-Nutrients Science and Research Award was the first to be presented, and was won by AgResearch plant scientist, Dr David Hume. His work in developing and bringing to market the novel endophyte AR37 is estimated to have helped add $3.6 billion to the New Zealand economy during a 20-year period.
The Datamars Livestock Technology Award was won by FarmIQ, with the Freshwater Farm Plan Tool. This innovative planning solution was lauded for its potential to help farmers with compliance and efficiency.
The Ravenwood family, who own Fernglen Farm, incorporated a 1,300-strong milking ewe herd into their sheep and beef operation and, in doing so, have enabled all members of the family to be part of the business. This lateral-thinking approach won them the Gallagher Innovative Farming Award.
The Silver Fern Farms Market Leader Award was won by Headwaters, a group of farmers working together to add value by improving their product. The judges praised the way Headwaters had worked with chefs directly in a farm-to-plate meeting of minds.
The AgResearch Emerging Achiever Award was won by Te Kuiti farmer Mitchel Hoare, a community-involved high achiever
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and
working hard toward owning his own farm. Meanwhile, the Rabobank People and Development Award was won by Growing Future Farmers, for its dedication to training a new generation of farming leaders. Judges said that through its longrunning flagship event, the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust provided a platform from which farmers could tell their story to a wide audience. This was a deciding factor in its victory in the FMG Rural Champion Award category.
The Alliance Significant Contribution Award was won by Ian McIvor, for his research into farm production and resilience, fighting soil erosion around New Zealand. Finally, the Beef and Lamb New Zealand Regional Leadership Award went to Pukeatua farmer Graeme Gleeson. As a farmer advocate and leading campaigner for the group Farmers for Positive Change, Graeme has worked to ensure regional and national government policies are fair, equitable, and based on science.
Kate Acland, Beef + Lamb New Zealand chair
DAIRY & LIVESTOCK
Farewell for DairyNZ chair
Jim van der Poel has served his final day as chair of Dairy New Zealand at the organisations’s AGM, which saw two new director candidates announced. His role will be succeeded by chair-elect Tracy Brown.
Richard McIntyre, from Levin, was elected to the board of directors, and Jacqueline Rowarth, from Tirau, has been re-elected.
“I am excited to have Jacqueline and Richard on the board and to work alongside them. They are committed dairy leaders who will play an important role in supporting the progress of DairyNZ and dairy farming in New Zealand,” says DairyNZ chair-elect Tracy Brown.
“Thank you to all who put their name forward, and those who voted and took the time to have their say in the future of our industry.”
The AGM highlighted key areas where DairyNZ will continue to deliver value for levy-payers, including through the reducing GHG emissions programme, providing credible evidence to support farm profitability, along with stepping up New Zealand’s rate of genetic gain.
All resolutions were approved, including David Hunt being officially ratified as an independent director, while it was announced that Ellen Barlett will fill the vacancy on the directors’ remuneration committee for a 12-month term, given no formal nominations.
DairyNZ, and others across the sector and country, formally thanked Jim van der Poel for a quarter-century of leadership within DairyNZ and the wider dairy sector.
“We wanted to acknowledge Jim’s tremendous contribution to the sector on behalf of the dairy farmers of New Zealand,” says Tracy.
“It has been my privilege to not only lead within our sector, but to serve beside fellow dairy farmers.”
“He has been involved in supporting the sector through the Mycoplasma bovis biosecurity incursion, changes in government and environmental policy change. Despite the challenges, Jim showed time and time again he was a strong leader for dairy and advocated for the best outcomes for farmers.”
Jim said he was grateful for the part he has played in the sector over the years.
“It has been my privilege to not only lead within our sector, but to serve beside fellow dairy farmers,” says Jim. “Together, I feel we have always done what is right, rather than what is easy, and that is why we continue to be a world-leading dairy nation, and a huge contributor to the wellbeing of this country.”
DairyNZ’s board of directors is made up of five farmer-elected and three independent directors. Tracy Brown will become DairyNZ Chair, following a formal board process early next month.
Jim van der Pol had his last day as DairyNZ chair at the organisation’s recent AGM
