Country-WIde April, 2017 by NZ Farmlife Media

GROWING NZ FARMING

Steep country

stacks up Wanganui farmers Mary and Bevan Proffit with son Falcon are achieving their financial goals. p30

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Country-Wide April 2017

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“IF WE LOSE THE OVERSEAS MARKETS, THAT’S THE END OF IT. THAT’S WHY I’M BEHIND NAIT” KEITH, BEEF FARMER, WAIRARAPA

It’s no accident that our meat is world-class. It’s the result of hard work and no small amount of pride. Tracing stock history with NAIT is more important than ever. It helps prove our food is safe and keeps the markets wanting more. Next time your animals are in the yard, tag and register them to help New Zealand stay competitive.

TO LEARN MORE, VISIT NAIT.CO.NZ 2

An OSPRI programme

Country-Wide April 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

Story telling

lot of media attention has focused on the Government’s freshwater standards and its goal of making 90% of waterways swimmable by 2040. Right on cue the anti-farming lobby, aided and abetted by mainstream media, came out swinging claiming the E.Coli goalposts were being moved in favour of farming. The rants even included a radio panel coming to the conclusion that the best way to lessen waterway pollution was for farmers to produce less and sell more at a higher price. That would be nice. Social media is full of anecdotes of people swimming in pristine rivers and streams in their youth which have now become polluted. Is it possible that those waterways haven’t been pristine for a very long time? Where did the factories’ and the towns’ crap go? Where did all the sheep dip and other chemicals run to? Wildfowl are major polluters so why aren’t Fish & Game in the gun? Sometimes it pays not to know too much about what’s in the water. Years ago my wife and I were swimming in the Wairau River when I decided to wander upstream. Around the bend was a rotting beef cow carcase and the water was flowing through it to where we had been swimming. I never said a word until later that night. We suffered no ill-effects.

It is amazing how strong the antifarming sentiment has become among townies over waterways especially against dairy. A lot of it has been whipped up by the Greens and lobby groups which see it as a great election issue. They are cherrypicking the facts and twisting the truth to fit their own political purposes. The recently departed cartoonist Murray Ball brought town and country together through Footrot Flats. More Murray Ball types are needed to bridge the urban-rural divide and tell the truth about modern farming, its innovation and sophistication. Farming desperately needs to go on the offensive with a co-ordinated approach. Maybe NZ Farming Inc should set up a counter-environment lobby group and call it Land & Streams. Then have an advertising and social media campaign which doesn’t attack opponents, but tells the real story about hard-working people protecting their farm environments. Tell urban audiences about farmers’ love of the land. How 99.9% have, out of their own pocket, done more than greenies to enhance the land and their animals.

NEXT ISSUE Country-Wide Beef May includes: • ANIMAL HEALTH: Advice from vets on cow fertility, facial eczema, preweaning growth rates, trace elements, theileria, anthelmintics and their usage. • THE MARKETS: What is happening in key international markets and around the weaner fairs. • FARM MANAGEMENT: Why waste good feed on a cow? The pros and cons of early weaning. • CELL GRAZING: How to design and run the ideal system for bull beef. • THE DRENCH GUIDE: The latest products, specifications, withholding periods and advice. • CASE STUDIES: Farmers running breeding, finishing and feedlot operations.

Terry Brosnahan

Got any feedback? Contact the editor direct: terry.brosnahan@nzfarmlife.co.nz or call 03 471 5272.

help with your farm budget? Q:A:Need Lincoln University’s Financial Budget Manual 2016

GROWING NZ FARMING

CASHFLOW KING

SIDE-BY-SIDES

Unorthodox strategies keep the bank manager happy.

WHICH ONE DO YOU CHOOSE?

A tale or

two to tell

Manawatu’s retired farm manager Gordon Jones chronicles his 40-year farming career. p75

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Country-Wide March 2017

THE DEER FARMER 1

$99+GST/year Country-Wide April 2017

Check out page 78 for more details.

1 of 40 to be WON 3

More: p44

BOUNDARIES King Country goes to the dog trials.

Wet ride for nation’s equestrians.

HOME BLOCK Roger Barton questions his love affair with wool.

Trudi Baird manages to get in some time at the beach.

Some of Joanna Davies’ lambs got to keep their wool.

Nick Loughnan reflects on thriving livestock.

David Walston copes with unseasonal weather. Charlotte Rietveld gets to understand Iron Disease.

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Paul Burt goes in search of some blueprints.

George Scott finds there’s life after farming.

FACTS

Wool suffers in China’s absence, Reece Brick writes.

NOTEBOOK

What’s on when and who’s doing what.

BUSINESS 19

Special report: Investing in partial irrigation. Making the most of limited water.

Matching water to your soil.

App ensures irrigation efficiency. Winners in Wairarapa.

Contents

Letter: Differing views on Overseer trial.

A vintage investment goes sour for James Hoban.

LIVESTOCK Bevan and Mary Proffit keep it simple in Wanganui hill country.

Reluctance to join FE genetic defence.

Feed for twinning ewes.

38 39

Hairy shaker arrives on back of a truck. Sub Editor: Andy Maciver, ph 06 280 3166, andy.maciver@nzfarmlife.co.nz

Country-Wide is published by NZ Farm Life Media PO Box 218, Feilding 4740 General enquiries: Toll free 0800 2AG SUB (0800 224 782) www.nzfarmlife.co.nz Editor: Terry Brosnahan, ph 03 471 5272; mob 027 249 0200; terry.brosnahan@nzfarmlife.co.nz Managing Editor: Tony Leggett, ph 06 280 3162 mob 0274 746 093, tony.leggett@nzfarmlife.co.nz Deer Farmer Editor: Lynda Gray, ph 03 448 6222, lyndagray@xtra.co.nz

Reporters Andrew Swallow ph 021 745 183 Anne Calcinai ph 07 894 5069; Lynda Gray ph 03 448 6222; Gerard Hall ph 03 409 8386; Jackie Harrigan ph 06 280 3165; Robert Pattison ph +64 27 889 8444; Marie Taylor ph 06 836 7018; Sandra Taylor, ph 021 1518685; Tim McVeagh 06 3294797; James Hoban 027 2511986; Russell Priest 06 328 9852; Jo Cuttance 03 976 5599; Amanda Bowes 0274 998 421; Cheyenne Stein, 06 280 3168. Account Managers: Warren McDonald, National Sales Manager, ph 06 323 0143 John McMaster, Auckland/Northland, ph 0274 443 143 Janine Gray, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, ph 0274 746 094 Donna Hirst, Lower North Island & international, ph 06 323 0739

Shirley Howard, real estate, ph 06 323 0760 Debbie Brown, classifieds & employment, ph 06 323 0765 Nigel Ramsden, Livestock, ph 06 323 0761 David Paterson, South Island, ph 03 382 6143 Designer: Joanne Hannam Production Planning: ph 06 280 3167 Subscriptions: nzfarmlife.co.nz/shop ph 0800 224 782 or subs@nzfarmlife.co.nz Printed by PMP Print, Riccarton, Christchurch ISSN 1179-9854 (Print)

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Country-Wide April 2017

More: p68 Genetics: What does it all mean? Tim Byrne asks.

More: p52

Trevor Cook finds sheep are returning to England’s pastures. 41 A West Otago family tame their tussock country.

FORAGE Agronomist Emma Crutchley sets the balance on the home farm.

Nutritionist Charlotte Westwood says it’s time to check winter feed.

Dawn Dalley measures the outputs.

Catch crops get an early start.

Whopping wheat yields but barley bombs.

Future Farmer builds skills in Southland.

Latest farm kit on show at LAMMA.

In search of a secondhand combine.

COMMUNITY Money for jam in the berry business. For the shear challenge.

56 57

Production on the Catlins tourist trail.

62 63

TECHNOLOGY

Kirstin Mills finds ways to rescue old images.

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Despite the ravages of a devastating flood, Bevan and Mary Proffit have no regrets about making the move to a steep hill country farm east of Wanganui. By keeping the management simple Bevan hopes to achieve his family’s financial objectives with Ohineiti Station.

Arron Hutton asks what’s your farm environment

OUR COVER

of fresh water.

Alan Royal puts bookmarks in order.

FARMING IN FOCUS

Keri Johnston gives her perspective on the redefinition

Denis Hocking describes the challenges of erosion.

ESTATE

Auditors train to check farm environment plans.

More photos from this month’s Country-Wide.

Mark Crawford describes how Southland’s plan affects

74 75

Electrodip deals to flies and lice.

Northland beef farms close gap on dairy.

Water: A submission deluge in Southland.

Belated calls for unity on water.

Bike track adds to appeal of Little Tora.

ENVIRONMENT

threshold?

VarioGrip drives zero-till cropping.

PLANT AND MACHINERY

farmers.

Ashley and Shonelle Townsend are nailing farming.

SOLUTIONS

ARABLE

Rules should focus on outcomes.

Lloyd Smith goes on the road, training dogs. 48

Don’t treat your soils like dirt.

YOUNG COUNTRY

Pou finds a new direction.

More: p30

Photo: Graeme Brown

BOUNDARIES | EVENTS Jesse Linton and Wishing Crown on their way to third place in the Horse Showhunter of the Year event. Photo: Rebecca Harper

Wet ride for equestrians

housands of horses and their riders descended on the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds in Hastings for the biggest annual event on the New Zealand equestrian calendar, the Horse of the Year Show. Run over six days, the event showcased the best in equestrian talent from around the country, as well as riders coming from as far afield as Australia and the United States. Riders compete in a number of different disciplines from dressage and showjumping to mounted games.

But this year’s show will be remembered for more than just equestrian competition, surely going down in history as one of the wettest shows on records. Torrential rain in the early hours of Saturday morning turned the grounds into a quagmire and forced the cancellation of some events, including the popular cross country phase of the eventing. Organisers rallied to save the showpiece events held on the Sunday, with the prestigious Olympic Cup for showjumping and Dressage Horse

Scientists have been studying seismic activity on South Otago farms.

Otago not quake immune Otago has the same chance of being struck by a big earthquake as anywhere else in the South Island. A team of Otago University scientists have been investigating Otago’s risk of seismic activity by studying the Akatore Fault. The research was conducted on two South Otago farms at Akatore and Toko Mouth. The group, led by chair of earthquake science Professor Mark Stirling, believe the 1974 Dunedin magnitude 5.0 earthquake may have been a result of the Akatore Fault or a related parallel offshore fault. The Akatore Fault is the eastern-most onshore component of the Otago reverse fault fold belt and is the closest major fault to Dunedin. It is also close to Milton and Balclutha.

The future hazard of the fault is unknown, however, the fault has been active and will produce earthquakes again, Stirling said. The fault is capable of generating an earthquake of magnitude 7.0. If the fault ruptured, there would likely be strong shaking and the ground on the south-east side of the fault would rise 1-2 metres. This would cause swamps to develop on some catchments. The fault scarp would be steep and unstable until farmers ploughed it over. Shaking would be widespread and cause serious damage to older buildings in Dunedin, Milton and Balclutha. The team has discovered there have been three big earthquakes in the last 10,000 years with two in a narrow period between 3500 and 750 years ago, with about 1-2m of slip per earthquake.

of the Year being decided despite testing ground conditions. Young Karaka rider Lily Tootill, 20, and her horse Ulysses NZPH jumped the only double clear to take out the Olympic Cup, while Taranaki rider Abbie Deken had the biggest win of her career, riding off with the Dressage Horse of the Year title on KH Ambrose. Even with the bad weather, organisers said gate numbers looked to be on par with last year and were pleased with how the show went, given the circumstances.

Organic begging bowl begs question Organics Aotearoa put out its begging bowl last month seeking to raise $50,000. The money is to develop a single national organic standard, seek regulation to protect the term organic, and to develop its GMO and sustainable agriculture policies as part of its election year lobbying work. In doing so it reminded potential donors it is a registered charity so donations qualify for a tax credit. Which begs the question: how fair is it that such an industry body can be a charity, with payments to it qualifying for tax credits, when levies to the likes of Beef +Lamb NZ, or Hort NZ, do not? Of course, payments to BLNZ and Hort NZ are obligatory under the Commodities Levy Act, but OANZ membership and donations to it, are optional. So what should happen if OANZ succeeds in securing regulation of the term organic, limiting its use to those who are members of one of the movement’s certification bodies? Perhaps its charitable status should be abolished. Stirling’s team are still trying to find out if that is all that has happened in the past 120,000 years.

Country-Wide April 2017

BOUNDARIES | DOG TRIALS

King Country bark-off Dog trials are well underway on hill country courses around the country, but Taumarunui was the place to be at the start of the season. Huntaways were barking up and heading dogs negotiating sheep through the yards for a good cause at the King Country Charity Dog Trial at the end of January. King Country welcomed competitors from throughout the country, vying for the regional, North Island and national Tux Yarding and Tux Handy Dog titles during three days of competition on Taringamotu Otamakahi Trust Farm. After the King Country winners were decided in the regional run-off, the North Island placings were decided in the island run-off, followed by the New Zealand finals in both the yarding (heading dog) and handy (huntaway) events. Scott Walker and Max travelled from Gore to win the New Zealand Handy Dog final. Northland’s Murray Child and Boy claimed the New Zealand Yarding challenge title. Proceeds from the 2017 event are being donated to the Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance, the Waitomo District Historical Society, local Women’s Refuge and the Ruapehu Basketball organisation.

South Island competitor Lutz Kaiser and heading dog Skip placed second in the maiden final of the Tux New Zealand Yarding Challenge. Photo: Diane Birch.

Be smart with scholarships

Award’s end presents opportunity

It is sad to see the end of the South Island Farmer of the Year Award but Lincoln University Foundation’s decision to call time on the 30-year-old competition is understandable. Re-directing funds to scholarships for Lincoln students probably will benefit the farming sector more, provided the scholarships aren’t just funding students who would have gone to Lincoln to study agriculture anyway. Some of the scholarships must entice new entrants. They need to be promoted to the smartest kids in the more unlikely places from a farming perspective: Auckland’s lower-decile secondary schools would be a good place to start. Farmers’ sons at private schools needn’t apply. If they do, and they become the typical scholar, the foundation will have become nothing better than an old boys’ clique.

The end of the South Island Farmer of the Year Award should be seen as an opportunity by Beef + Lamb NZ, DINZ, and possibly FAR. For far too long these sectors have looked over the fence at the annual Dairy Industry Awards with envy and mooted a similar format, but to no avail. Now, with one less major farming award in the calendar, perhaps a way can be found to put together a cross-sector, nationwide format that fosters similar networking and professional development in our non-dairy sectors. Trainee/worker, manager, and equity-holder categories could feature, as they do in the dairy awards, with perhaps an age and/or time in the industry limit on entrants in the equity-holder category. Meanwhile the Ballance Farm Environment Awards continue to serve as a platform showcasing excellence among longer established owner-occupiers in all sectors.

Country-Wide April 2017

HOME BLOCK | WAIRARAPA

WOOL I OR WON’T I? matrix of farming in a positive way. This year we are back to stunned-mullet status. Wool returns haven’t got a boulder’s show of paying the cost of lamb shearing and even off a good breeding ewe the revenue from the first 2kg shorn off will be just enough to pay for shearing and woolpacks etc, not to mention the animal health work that is specifically targeted toward better wool production.

Roger Barton Greytown

I’m considering ending my love affair with wool. Since I was a little fella I have been enamoured with wool and shearing. I started on a broom, they hadn’t invented swivel sweeps at that stage, migrated to penner-up and presser and then on to a handpiece at an early age. I never shore at any speed but I was clean. Too clean, according to some. I was wasting time and not making enough money. But I had pride and once a standard was achieved it felt bad regressing to the lowest-common denominator. Somehow I have convinced myself that if it wasn’t for my handpiece I may not have survived the torrid times of the mid1980s when debt consumed 60% of gross annual income in our darkest hour. Perhaps I would have been better spraying gorse or shearing someone else’s sheep without the need to fuss over wool preparation and getting things done right. But I didn’t’ see it that way. Right or wrong I’ve always shorn sheep. I know it doesn’t look like relaxation but I enjoy it. Well I used to. Somehow the current price of wool has interfered with this 50-something years of love affair with this amazing fibre. Like it or not the wool industry seems to be taking a thrashing from the big players in the world’s wool players. The Chinese dominate the buying bench and some are saying they are worried by the US of A’s Mr Trump and his protectionist tendencies. Last year we began to breathe a sigh of relief that harvesting wool had some future. Returns exceeded budget expectations. It all added to the complex 8

“Wool fibre has a hydrophobic (water repelling) exterior and hydrophilic (water loving) interior that confer its unique moisture management properties – properties that are not shared by synthetic fibres such as nylon.”

ow? ou kn Did y

The porina moths have been beating up on the windows at night for the last 10 days or so. No great big flights but with grass cover and soil moisture in their favour they will have good survival so the annual dig will be more important in late autumn.

The cost of harvesting wool this season will consume the greatest percentage ever of the total wool revenue. It’s not pretty and it sure isn’t fun. On a wider front we’ve had a fairly charmed summer – 148mm of rain over three days in mid-February is setting us up nicely for going into autumn. Paddocks have been sprayed off for the regrassing programme and we can be assured that there will be enough

moisture for a good germination. Often drilling in mid-March there is insufficient soil moisture to throw things into gear so we should be on the front foot with establishment. The porina moths have been beating up on the windows at night for the last 10 days or so. No great big flights but with grass cover and soil moisture in their favour they will have good survival so the annual dig will be more important in late autumn. My scouts in Taihape tell me there have been some enormous flights up that way. Given our proximity to the Tararuas and our soil type we have always farmed with porina and grass grub. A good friend was heard to lament that we have far more stock under the ground than above it. On the livestock front we seem to have been playing catch up over the summer. Lambs were well off the pace at weaning after a very wet spring and it has dragged us back all the way through. Rightly or wrongly we have forfeited ownership of our 50 or so cows and calves to the other property. Our subdivision is good here and paddocks are easily further split with electric wires so tidying up shouldn’t be an issue. However when challenged as to why we would run cows on a property such as this part of my rationale has been around pasture pest control. Back to those pesky porina and grass grub, there is no better weapon for pasture grooming than a beef cow. I may have made a mistake parting with them here. I’ll just add it to a growing list of mistakes and life’s learning.

The revenue from the first 2kg shorn off will be just enough to pay for shearing and woolpacks, not to mention the animal health work specifically targeted toward better wool production.

Country-Wide April 2017

HOME BLOCK | SOUTHLAND

SURF’S UP, never mind the injuries Trudi Baird Otautau

I’m writing this parked up on the beach on a beautiful sunny Tuesday afternoon while Phil gets in an hour’s surfing. This isn’t a usual afternoon habit but we’ve just taken our Nelson friends to lunch at the nearby beachside café as they are homeward-bound. Every time we’ve caught up together in the past few years we’ve been snowed under with farm jobs, so this time we wanted to make sure they got a relaxing stay. We obviously achieved this, as they joked if they didn’t know better from past stays with us, they might just think farmers have it easy. Farming is many things but easy isn’t one of them and we have been living proof of this lately. A family crisis in late November meant I was called away at short notice for all of December and much of January. This presented a challenge as even though Phil likes to tell me I have the life of Riley, with my absence coinciding with the busiest six weeks on the farm, starting with weaning two days later, he had to act fast. My immediate replacement was the hiring of a sheep conveyor. I’m sure the urban sisterhood would frown upon this and label me a fool but being replaced with a whole sheep conveyor and its staff, is actually quite empowering. It’s nice to know Riley does have some value. Having a labour unit absent so long brings its share of stress especially when the labour unit is also the chief cook and bottle-washer. But things do fall into Country-Wide April 2017

Rod Payne, from Nelson, and Phil compare injuries. Same thumb, same brace. One from mountain biking, the other a slip of the handpiece.

place. Family, friends and neighbours rallied around and were so supportive. Phil and our teenage son Max have never eaten so well and I don’t think my house has ever been so clean. Max was allowed off school a few days before end-of-year breakup to help out and he worked like an absolute trooper, despite not having a great passion for farming at this stage. Phil quickly realised though he had to be fast dishing out jobs or Max would already have his fishing rod in hand and be halfway to the river. Even the young huntaway, which was struggling to notice sheep suddenly hit its straps and virtually ran the sheep yards single-handed. The only hiccup was when Phil accidently ran over his indispensible heading bitch but then quite miraculously, she dusted herself off and started working harder than ever. Phil’s one with the ladies. It was strange for me being away from all the work and action. Even missing rousing at shearing, a job I normally detest, gave me mixed emotions when Phil said the ewes, in better condition than usual, shore so fast the shearing shed was just humming with wool and sweat flying everywhere – I couldn’t believe I felt a heart pang at not being in the shed. So, despite the bitter lemons been tossed our way, it felt like we still managed to create a little lemonade. But constant stress invariably blunts reactions and a few days into January, when Phil admits he and Max were probably pushing things a bit hard to get the last of the big jobs done and with just two mobs of lambs left to drench and crutch, the hand-piece slipped and Phil severed a tendon and blood vessel in his thumb. I haven’t seen a photo but apparently he was a sight even by A&E standards. Living the bachelor life for so long meant he was already looking unkempt but adding a day’s sheepyard grime and being covered in his own blood, I’m

told he made quite an impression at the hospital. Despite the upheaval, the season is proving to be one of our best, which has certainly helped lighten the load. Our lambing percentage was a bit of a shocker – our second worst, due largely to the bearing storm that hit us and many other southern farmers. But the phenomenal spring growth set us up and we managed an exceptional weaning at heavier weights. Lamb growth has continued to soar allowing us to achieve an additional 3kg liveweight to help buffer the dismal meat prices. The ewes came out of weaning carrying good condition so focus has been more on maintenance than weight gain. The big news for us is the return of our clover. Herbage tests are finally registering the presence of molybdenum and visually we’re seeing a return of the nitrogen cycle. Phil reckons the deficiency has cost us three years of good production and I agree. It’s been a battle to get it right as a molybdenum deficiency scares many in the fertiliser business, who scampered behind their science textbooks and struggled with definitive answers. The safety margins they hide behind cost us dearly and would have cost us another three years if we continued to listen. Despite all the expertise sold to farmers, gut instinct is still worth gold.

Lana Crengle and Trudi Baird – friends since childhood and despite living in Nelson Lana’s still a Southern girl at heart. 9

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

When it pays not to shear the lambs

Joanna Davies Toko Mouth

The Clutha region is shining bright with Nigel Woodhead, a member of our farm discussion group winning the right to represent Otago/Southland at the FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest. Good luck Nigel and we would all love for you to bring the trophy back to Milton. Here we have just finished shearing the lambs and in a move away from our normal practice of shearing all the lambs, we decided to shear only half of them. Our reasoning was current wool prices did not justify taking the wool off and our meat company appears to be paying more for us to keep it on. The bigger lambs which will be killed during March stayed woolly and the little ones, about 1600 of them were shorn. In total we sell about 4000 lambs. We are taking part in an electronic Animal Status Declaration (eASD) trial. This is being run by Silver Fern Farms and Ospri. The trial group are SFF suppliers that supply Finegand plant. It is just completing the ASD form online and they want to iron out any kinks before going nationwide with it. The idea is farmers will complete their forms using their smart phones while

loading stock and flick it through before the truck is out the gate. One issue we have is we have no cell phone coverage, so we will complete the form the night before at the house and then later modify the document if the stock numbers on the truck do not match the form, we will see how the system handles that. At the back of the farm a logging contractor is attempting to take out more than 6000 tonnes of logs, owned by a previous owner of Coombe Hay. With summer not arriving here at Toko Mouth until February 20, needless to say things have not been going well. Their method has been to use a ground-based hauler to get the logs to a skid site then, because of extremely soft ground they have created an additional skid site at the end of our farm lane. To get the logs to that site, they use a modified hauler which can carry half a truck-load of logs at one time and a really big dump truck. Once at this site they load the logs, then using a big dozer, haul the loaded logging trucks up to the highest point of the farm before letting the trucks go to carve their own way out. Messy. At the end of February we had members from West Taieri (Outram) Pony Club staying at the farm. They spent two days riding over the farm and along the beach. It was great to be able to offer this experience to young riders. Our eldest daughter Georgina, 3, was given her first pony ride by one of the members. I thought she would be a little scared but she loved it and she did look like a natural sitting in the saddle. This was a little distressing for me as I am hoping to steer her away from horses, but considering I have three saddles, four sets of harness and a racing sulky in one shed

Georgina Davies Georgina Davies having her first ride on a pony.

and a horse float in another, some might see it as a little hypocritical if I deny her horse-riding or, heaven forbid, horseracing dream. Our youngest daughter Juliette, six months, has just started day care and both she and I love it. She loves it for the constant attention and activities and I love it knowing she is having all the experiences six-month-olds are supposed to have. Surprisingly when she comes home from her 9am to 3pm, twiceweekly adventure, she is neither tired nor grumpy, but rather happy and contented. Contented, is not a word we often use to describe Juliette. Improving income by having more people staying in the cottage is going well. A Canadian couple who were driving by, called in and ended up staying three days. Not only did they rent the cottage but they helped with the mustering and worked in the sheep yards for free. If I can get more guests like these then I may have just cracked how to make some money from this sheep and beef-farming game.

West Taieri Pony Club members at Coombe Hay.

Country-Wide April 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Understanding our animals An artfully composed rider who is beautifully balanced with a light rein and a finger tip touch on her mount’s neck as she lines up the next barrel.

Nick Loughnan Alexandra

Field days can be great places to meet up with like-minded farmers and get the chance to glean a few ideas that may be worth trying out at home. I usually forget the talks given by farm advisers with PowerPoint presentations and screens of graphs, well before I get out the host’s driveway to head back home. But I do remember the practical snippets of experiences shared by other farmers that often come when the socialising begins after the keynote speakers have finished. And I have always listened to those who run good stock. Usually they have a great understanding of how to get the basics right, regardless of what the seasons might throw at them. “Breed ‘em, feed ‘em and weed ‘em” is an old farming adage that neatly sums

up any class of livestock farming. The modern translation is something like “quality genetics, animal nutrition and replacement selection criteria”. While that all sounds straightforward, we all probably underrate ourselves in managing all the stuff that needs to be running successfully alongside that focus to be getting the best out of our livestock. Pasture quality, soil structure and fertility, animal health, pest and weed control, machinery maintenance, fencing, stock water, budgeting, irrigation, compliance regulations, managing employees and most importantly our family household focus. Most of us manage to cobble these necessary aspects together with varying degrees of success and keep the cash flow heading in the right direction. So it always gets my attention when I see livestock thriving, reflecting well on those who are on top of their game. I appreciate all that it takes for this to happen and I admire those who consistently understand the animals they farm or work with. Include top shearers who are supreme endurance athletes in tune with hapless sheep, successful sharemilkers who pride themselves on the condition and performance of their cows, national dog trialists who patiently train and coax their dogs to masterful

levels of control and equestrian events showing well-practised displays of understanding and trust between horse and rider. It’s cavalcade time in Otago as I write in early March and hundreds of cavalcaders on horseback are traversing different routes all over inland Otago to converge at Omakau, a little town some 20km up-river from us. It’s a huge annual event for all involved and its participants quickly become forever hooked on it. In such busy times, the joy of a slow horseback trek through some of the grandest open country in the South Island and camping out with the clearest views of the night’s heavens has a distinctly spiritual dimension to it. The appeal is obvious, as is the bond between people and their horses. A few years ago, our local newspaper had a stunning front page shot taken at a nearby rodeo. The rider was competing in a barrel race and I still enjoy looking at it. There is dust, excitement, a playfully charging horse and an artfully composed rider who is beautifully balanced with a light rein and a finger tip touch on her mount’s neck as she lines up the next barrel. And both sets of eyes in different directions. Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words. We can learn a lot about people with their animals.

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Country-Wide April 2017

1/02/17 2:10 PM

HOME BLOCK | ENGLAND

An unseasonal dry David is an arable farmer married to Sabrina and they have two girls,Elyse and Maddie. They farm 800ha in Hertfordshire, England. About 724ha is cropped.

David Walston Hertfordshire

It has definitely been a bit of a tricky end to 2016 and start of 2017 for us. First we had a really incredibly dry autumn and that has carried on through the winter. This was a particular problem for us from August onwards, as we always plant around a third of the farm with cover crops after the wheat has been harvested. There was no real rain from the beginning of July until well into September which meant harvest went absurdly quickly, but also the cover crops did not want to grow, even when they did germinate. We never recovered from that start, and so when the growing season stopped about the end of October, the amount of biomass we had grown was pretty derisory. I’ve always been a fan of having our cover crops grazed by sheep – never cows as they create too much damage in our no-till system, even on our free-draining land. The problem with this is that I have literally no desire to be a shepherd. Seriously, who wants to spend their day looking for dead sheep? Luckily I have a great contract grazier, or should I say had, as he decided to tell me in July that he was retiring. So come October I had no sheep, but not much cover either. As it turns out, a neighbour of mine had half of his stubble turnips fail, again due to the dry weather, so he was happy to bring 500 ewes over for a couple of months. To give an idea of how bad the cover crops were, 220 hectares kept 500 animals for two months. The other problem stemming from the dry autumn has been getting all our 12

oilseed rape established properly. When we planted it, the seeds sat dormant for about a week, and then got a nice little rain. Unfortunately this prompted all the slugs to come out of hiding and we immediately lost 60% of our crop.

Outside the farm gate, the big news swirling around the industry is the potential banning of glyphosate. Twitter is alive with farmers telling other farmers how vital it is to keep the registration, which is a perfect example of preaching to the choir.

This wasn’t too big a deal as it was home-saved seed, with no pre-emergence herbicides or fertiliser, so we planted again. That all came fairly well, except for one field which was written off by a little pest we have called cabbage stem flea beetle. The rest still survives, but we are spending several hours every day trying to keep the pigeons from eating it all. At least the price is relatively strong, so if we can get it to harvest it will have been a good idea. Now we are waiting for spring to start so we can drill into those grazed cover crop fields. We will be putting in

malting barley, oats, marrowfat peas and sugar beet, which will go in with a strip till machine one-pass system if all goes according to plan. We did not grow any sugar beet at all last year for the first time in probably 50 years. The price fell too low and it really clashes with how I am trying to run the farm and improve our soils. I’m hoping we can make the establishment more friendly with the strip till rather than the plough, but harvesting is always going to be a problem. Fifty-tonne machines in a wet field in December are not really a recipe for long-term success, although we have found that keeping trailers off the fields and unloading on headlands really reduces the impact of the operation as a whole. Outside the farm gate, the big news swirling around the industry is the potential banning of glyphosate. Twitter is alive with farmers telling other farmers how vital it is to keep the registration, which is a perfect example of preaching to the choir. I’ve been trying to get the message out there by writing about it in our local village newspapers, but it’s hardly a sexy subject so no big publications want to pick it up. It’s such a shame, as out of all the pesticides we use – many of them unnecessarily in my view – glyphosate seems to be one of the least harmful, and at the same time the most useful in allowing us to farm in ever more environmentally friendly ways. I do wonder if the anti campaigners really know what they are wishing for? Country-Wide April 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Revealing the secrets of Middle Rock

Charlotte Rietveld Rakaia Gorge, Canterbury

In keeping with usual practice here at Middle Rock, late summer weaning is now being followed with progressive autumn lamb sales. Despite everything drying off throughout February, autumn rains and dews are now keeping pastures green, crops growing and stock prices buoyant. While I haven’t been around as long as some, it always seems strange to me when annual draft ewes are worth as much if not more than prime lambs. But we’re not complaining.

Once located, the occasional covert inspection of secret sheds is recommended, however discovery of such inspections runs the risk of fostering clandestine operations.

While the result of this has left me seeking asylum with Julian in the Ecuadorian embassy, the ground-swell of support would indicate there are a great number of undiagnosed Iron Disease sufferers out there. Long ago coined by farm accountant Pita Alexander, the ailment’s “misguided love of plant and shiny steel” symptoms would appear to be the cartilage to the nation’s rural backbone. Indeed, Iron Disease is the wind in the flags of every agricultural field days, the fuel in the engine of rural sales reps, the ink in each Agtrader edition and the bane of every long-suffering wife. In truth, The Boss suffers from only a mild version of this – a mild and really rather helpful version – but let’s not let the truth get in the way. My rural banking days taught me of the existence of onfarm secret sheds – the avoided places where such undisclosed, unbudgeted items were stored. Said places typically house particularly shiny or undeniably rusty items. Sufferers are attracted to both extremes, the latter being more prevalent. With a seldom-achieved end-use in mind for every single prized possession, the affliction’s mantra is a commonly echoed chorus of “that could be useful one day”. This is a phrase most frequently heard at clearing sales – Mecca for an Iron Disease sufferer. Undeniable diagnostic proof can be obtained by mere mention of an Iron Disease sufferer’s kryptonite: scrap metal

dealers. Should these words be followed by references to divorce and blasphemy, you can be assured you are dealing with a severe case. Alas, treatment options remain limited. Once located, the occasional covert inspection of secret sheds is recommended, however discovery of such inspections runs the risk of fostering clandestine operations. Booking holidays to avoid field days, preferably to the nearest rust rehab centre is the best means of defence. Alternatively, buy shares in Rio Tinto and hope for some form of return. But once again I fear I may have said too much. It turns out I have married the CEO of the That Could Be Useful One Day corporation and with #2 baby barely a trimester away, who knows what genes I could be proliferating. Some mothers do ’ave ’em. Indeed, mothering has become my main game at present. With The Boss still firing on all cylinders and Vince still busy with Ironman 4X4, we’ve made the difficult call to put childcare costs towards a full-time farm labour unit. I am now little more than the casual farm labourer, having to reassure myself frequently this is but a short – albeit extremely worthwhile – phase in life. On the flip side, not having to juggle farm life with a toddler in a front pack, back pack, pushchair or play pen allows for far more leisure and family time. So do feel free to call in to see Mr Assange and me at the embassy any time. The contents of a secret shed are revealed.

In fact, I’m barely saying a word. Middle Rock’s feature in March’s Country Calendar episode has left me sticking to the straight and narrow, head down, posterior skyward in fear of The Boss and the Chief Inspector seeking retribution. Despite filming endless aspects of sheep breeding, feeding and sales policies, it would seem the Country Calendar crew were somewhat more intrigued with Middle Rock’s less conventional aspects. And so it was that I ended up on national television sharing a few family legends. With cameras rolling, who could resist a quick chat about The Boss’s jet-boating disasters, secret plane purchases and infamous Iron Disease? Country-Wide April 2017

HOME BLOCK | BAY OF PLENTY

He eventually found what he was looking for by focusing on the cloud of hot air hanging over Washington DC.

An O-ring failure in the ego valve

Paul Burt Matata

Imagination plays a big role in religious belief but I don’t suggest it’s not real for believers, therefore I hope I can be forgiven for the mental picture of God rummaging in dusty cardboard boxes trying to find the original blueprint for human beings. He (or she) probably doesn’t cuss but if his or her filing system is anything like mine, finding something specific from a long time ago can be frustrating and often futile. “I’m bl….y sure that file was in the box marked ‘after-thought’ next to the dinosaur catalogue.” God had been doing a bit of surveillance with the all-seeing binoculars and as the earth was scanned from bottom to top the lenses hovered over EN-ZED. “A bit dry here and there,” he/she thought “and a few more cracks in the surface” (he/she made a mental note to inform Brian Tamaki the cracks were 14

Mother Nature’s doing.) He (I’m going to stop writing she now – if you haven’t got the picture that I’m not gender-biased you never will) noted a few clouds over the hill country, the brooding economic kind and wondered if he should interfere and miraculously double the lamb schedule and make wool great again. “Nah,” he thought. “It’s their own fault. They’ve allowed themselves to fall behind. The world has changed, get with it.” On reflection that was maybe a little harsh but he decided not to act anyway. “I’ve given them free will. They can fix their own problems.” There was a strange pulse to the little islands that he hadn’t sensed so strongly before. He could feel the vibrations of discord between town and country and thought that a touch ungrateful. “I’ve given them the best place in the world to live and they are bickering over how to look after it.” Overall the country was in good shape and he took pleasure in the sporting prowess of its people. World beaters, especially when you consider how few of them there are. What he couldn’t understand was why that passion and commitment to be the best wasn’t evident in social statistics. A tiny country that could bring to bear enough focus to win a world cup can surely look after its kids better. Typical humans, he thought, they embrace the fun part but won’t commit to the full responsibility. The lenses swung northeast across the Pacific searching for the problem that had

caused an alarm to go off on the earth monitor. An orange light had activated on the human behaviour control panel and it was unlike anything he had seen before, or at least before the advent of Twitter. It crossed his mind that he should have paid more attention to the growth of the internet-y thing. It could spell the beginning of the end. History had periodically thrown up similar situations but this one seemed amplified. Humans have got so good at connectedness (he didn’t say communication because that denotes a reasonable two-way exchange) everyone thinks they know everything instantly. The keyboard has become mightier than the sword and is being wielded in a most unchivalrous manner. He eventually found what he was looking for by focusing on the cloud of hot air hanging over Washington DC. That’s why he needed the blueprint to check for the design flaw that could cause such a malfunction. He suspected an O-ring failure in the ego valve but what concerned him most was the tampering with his doctrine of truth. It was being turned 50 shades of grey and he was sure he had created truth to be a guiding, inviolate principal of the whole experiment.

An orange light had activated on the human behaviour control panel and it was unlike anything he had seen before, or at least before the advent of Twitter.

Perhaps I’m getting old he thought. In the beginning there could only be one truth but these bl…y humans have construed things to the extent that truth can be whatever they believe it to be. He had spoken to Allah, Krishna, Buddha and the others and they all agreed assault on the truth and intolerance of belief is causing some terrible acts to be committed in their names. Again he questioned the original recipe. Being created equal, but having free will now seemed somewhat contradictory considering the trouble Homo-sapiens had got themselves into. On reflection he decided not to interfere and with that turned his attention to the rest of the universe. • Note: I apologise to anyone I have offended by presuming to think like God. Please accept this because you won’t get one from Donald. Country-Wide April 2017

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HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

George and tourists checking stoat traps in the Matukituki valley.

A new life at West Wanaka

George Scott Wanaka

It is now 21 months since I left the farm. Is there life after farming? It was not an easy decision to leave the farm where I had lived all my life and for Mary the 38 years she had lived in New Zealand and where we had brought up our children. My father had also lived there all his life and my grandfather as well had moved to Pukerau, South Otago, from the Waikoikoi district. Several people asked â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what will you do when you move off farm? They told me I would be bored. They asked how I would cope on an 850 square metre section. I have not been bored, in fact quite the opposite. I have had plenty to do and the section is fine, as I spend very little time here. Every day on the farm I would plan what had to be done for the day and for the week. I am doing the same now, I am retired. The only difference now is how to fit in a part time job with all the fun things, voluntary activities and the family. One week after retiring to Wanaka I contacted Mark Orbell of Ridgeline Adventures, who I had meet four years previously. I started driving for him the following day. Ridgeline Adventures does 4WD farm tours around West Wanaka 16

Station. I get to meet people from all over the world and to talk farming. Most tourists have been driving through NZ seeing sheep, deer and cattle over the fence and now they have a chance to see them from inside the fence. They are really interested in farming and want to know more than just the basics. They talk about the great lamb, beef and venison they have enjoyed eating here, and now they can see where it is grown. They are seeing the animals out on our green pastures and feel even happier knowing where they have been farmed.

I get to meet people from all over the world and to talk farming. Most tourists have been driving through NZ seeing sheep, deer and cattle over the fence and now they have a chance to see them from inside the fence.

West Wanaka is an idyllic NZ station that is very well presented and farmed. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great place to showcase our sheep, beef and deer. Never underestimate the influence we can have showing tourists in NZ our produce. They do go home and seek it out. I also talk about the history of NZ farming and the history of Wanaka. The

icing on the cake are the superb views of the Matukituki valley, Mt Aspiring and the lake, away from the tourist crowds. Making it even better is my boss (quite a change, just being the worker) who encourages feedback and ideas about trips we do. I feel part of his business and not just a driver. I joined the Wanaka Rotary Club soon after moving here. We have about 70 members and it is a very active and fun club to be involved in. We raise a huge amount of money each year through a range of activities. This weekend I was helping to cook food at the Wanaka show. At the Ravensdown site we cooked more than 1000 meals for the weekend. I have been asked to be Wanaka Rotary Club President in 2018/19. It is great to be a part of a club which helps the local community and supports international projects. For me it has also been a great place to make new friends. Having enjoyed the outdoors all my life, I am now part of a group called Wanaka Walkers. We meet on Mondays with a packed lunch and go walking on one of the many tracks around Central Otago. We can walk up to 18km in a day, often finishing off with a coffee or a beer. Lastly and most importantly I have more time to relax and to do things with Mary. We have time to visit our children and grandchildren. We also find we are able to travel when we want to, rather than when it suits the farm. Just two weeks ago we had a Skype call from a former farm worker from Austria, inviting us to her wedding in mid-September. This we previously could not have done. So, yes there is life after farming. Country-Wide April 2017

FACTS

Wool battles China’s absence AGRIHQ ANALYST Thousand bales

Reece Brick

year can make a big difference in the sheep industry and that has certainly been the situation for wool. The wool industry was buzzing during the 2015-16 season when the market was buoyed by stronger than expected demand from China. However, as with other products, China giveth and China taketh away. Several factors are stacked against wool this season. The eagerness of Chinese buyers in 2015-16 drove prices upwards and raised inventory levels in China. This made wool too expensive compared to substitutes, causing many end-users to turn away from wool. Similarly, changes in fashion trends soften interest in wool. Now China finds itself with an excess of slow-selling wool, leaving them noticeably absent at New Zealand auctions. The exchange rate also turned some away from NZ. The more common wool grades have felt the brunt of this impact.

Volume of wool auctioned

60 40 20 0

Jul

Sep 5-yr Ave

Lambs’ wool, 30 micron, made an average of just $3.90/kg at auction in January and February. A year ago it was making nearly double this at $7.10/kg. Likewise, 37 micron wool, commonly taken off Romney or similar ewes, only averaged $3.70/kg in January and February. This was a third less than the $5.75/kg made a year ago. Finer wools are much more sheltered from the chaos. Because these grades fill a niche, they are less-reliant on large volume buying out of China. Finer wools are viewed

37 micron wool price

$kg

6 5 4 3

Jul

Sep

Nov

5-yr Ave

Country-Wide April 2017

Nov

Jan 2015-16

Mar

Jan 2015-16

Mar

May

2016-17

as excellent value relative to similar products, ensuring solid interest from western European importers. As an example, 21 micron wool made $14.25/kg and 18 micron $16.55/kg during the peak of the Merino wool trade. Each was up 6-7% on the previous year. Recent auctions have improved on a few weeks ago, but no-one in the industry is getting too excited just yet. Low prices have enticed some buyers back into the market, while a lack of volume available at auction is also underpinning the market. Poor auction results have meant farmers are withholding their wool from the market, waiting until prices improve before they choose to sell. Only 55,445 bales were offered throughout NZ in the six weeks from late January this year. This was back 35-48% on the five previous years. The danger is that the auction system will become oversaturated with wool later in the season, as more opt to sell. It is doubtful whether the market will be able to handle a big increase in volume without prices dropping further.

May 2016-17

NOTEBOOK Dog day for playgroup Country-Wide columnist Lloyd Smith joins Ginger Anderson for a oneon-one working dog training day in aid of Omarama Playgroup on Sunday, April 23 from 9.30am, followed by a barbecue about 5pm at Richard and Gemma Gloag’s, Buscot, 732 Twizel Omarama Road. Cost: $40 includes training day, BBQ lunch, BBQ tea and refreshments. Please register with Carla Hunter by April 13: smithyc66@gmail. comor 03 976 0504.

Joseph the Musical

Enduring show, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been reinvented for a new generation and is heading to New Zealand in April 2017. The Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical will open at the Civic in Auckland on Saturday, April 15. It will then move to Christchurch’s Isaac Theatre Royal, on Wednesday, May 10 and the Opera House in Wellington a week later. More? www.josephthemusical.com

It’s nomination time Know a person or group making a positive difference in the deer industry? Tell us and we will tell the world. Nominations are open for the New Zealand Deer Industry Award sponsored by Country-Wide and Deer Industry NZ. The award recognises individuals, people or organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the NZ deer industry either in the previous year or over a number of years. 18

A&P shows Oxford A&P Show, Oxford showgrounds, Saturday, April 1. More? oxfordapshow.co.nz Mackenzie Highland A&P Show, Fairlie Showgrounds, Monday, April 17. More? www.mackenzieshow.co.nz

The award is now in its 33rd year and will be presented at the Deer Industry Conference in Wellington on May 26 and 27. • For nomination details and more information contact Tony Pearse, DINZ producer manager, on 021 719 038 or 04 471 6118, email tony.pearse@deernz.org

Dinosaurs at Wellington Botanic Gardens this Easter. Get up close and personal with Tyranosaurus rex, Velociraptor, Dilophosaurus and other reptiles that once roamed our ancient continent of Gondwana. More? www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/ dinosaurs/wellington

For a laugh

Eastern expo East Coast Farming Expo, at Wairoa’s A&P Showgrounds on April 5 and 6, allows farmers and landowners the chance to explore new ideas for their operation and have their questions answered, in an exclusive and specialised environment, without having to travel out of the region. More? www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz

The 2017 NZ International Comedy Festival, from April 27 to May 21 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch marks a quarter century of showcasing a plethora of amazing comedians, many for the first time on a New Zealand stage. More? www.comedyfestival.co.nz

Meeting T-rex

Sustainable future Farming for the Future Seminar at Carterton Events Centre on Tuesday, April 4, is in its fourth successful year. The focus in 2017 is to help farmers find new ideas and inspiration to be more sustainable. More? www.farmingforthefuture.org.nz

NOTE BOOK

Travel back in time to the Age of the

If you have something that might be suitable for the Notebook page send it as a word document to andy.maciver@nzfarmlife.co.nz along with any pictures as .jpg attachments. Country-Wide April 2017

BUSINESS | IRRIGATION A little irrigation makes the business a lot less vulnerable to the extremes of climate, Greg Anderson says.

Investing in the water In a special feature, we look at investing in partial irrigation and using water more effectively. Andrew Swallow

reg Anderson is confident his investment in irrigation pays, but isn’t sure whether he’d buy into it if he didn’t already have the water. He runs 2500 Perendale ewes and 60-70 breeding cows at Awarima, a mostly hilly 1320-hectare station north of Fairlie, Canterbury. When he and wife Sandy bought the farm in 2001 it came with 52ha of Opuha Water shares but side-roll sprinklers meant only 30ha could be watered effectively and even that was a headache. Two dry years in succession prompted them to upgrade to a Rotorainer 200 last winter. It can put on up to 28mm in 22 hours with a nine-day return across 49ha. “We looked at pivots but we’d have needed two because of the triangular shape of this block and they’d have needed to be ones that can bend which are more expensive and, we’ve been told, more prone to things going wrong.” The Rotorainer came in at $150,000 Guaranteed feed: 49ha of irrigated front country means there’s always feed to wean lambs on to.

compared to about $500,000 for a pivot set-up. Re-fencing the block was also simpler for the Rotorainer’s straight runs. “I did it all myself.” He allows an hour a day to shift the Rotorainer but often has it done in 40 minutes. The side-rolls were sometimes quicker, but often caused problems which could run into hours to fix, as could shifts back to the start of a run. Justifying the Rotorainer investment to the bank (see table) they estimated effective irrigation of the flats would add 5kg/head to 2500 lambs’ liveweight at sale, which, valued at $2.50/kg (prime or store), is an extra $31,250 income. Guaranteed quality feed to flush ewes in autumn could also help lift lambing percentage which was 130% this year, a shade down on 133% the previous year which was their best ever. “It was about 95% when we started running this farm.” An extra 250 lambs at their anticipated new average sale price of $75/head would add another $18,750 to the farm’s income, taking the total extra income

anticipated to $50,000. Against that Anderson put annual water charges and an “at worst” figure for diesel for pumping, though those were costs he already had with the sideroll. Adding 9% interest on the capital invested took extra annual cost over if he hadn’t been irrigating to $32,000, leaving a margin of nearly $18,000. Had they been buying 54ha of water shares as well – recent sales suggest they’d

The shares remain an appreciating asset and add value to the farm because of the certainty they bring in what can be a particularly unpredictable climate.

be about $450,000 – the decision may have been different, he acknowledges. Based on that $450,000 value, total capital invested in irrigation is $600,000, so $25,000 represents just over 4% return on capital employed. However, when they bought Awarima in 2001 the shares were valued at $26,000. “Above-the-dam” Opuha shares such as theirs are particularly scarce, so, had they sold, they’d have been unlikely to have the opportunity of irrigation ever again, Anderson says. As it is, the shares remain an

›› p20 Country-Wide April 2017

Maximising the benefit of the water means almost exclusively using pivots. Pivots which turn 360 degrees are more efficient than 180-degree pivots.

BUSINESS | PARTIAL IRRIGATION

Making the most of limited water Peter Clarke Many livestock farms – sheep, beef, dairy support and deer – can be partly irrigated. The question is often asked, what proportion of the farm is the optimum to irrigate? Irrigating an entire farm is not always possible due to limited water supplies, contour, or financial constraints. So what is the reality? The premise that irrigation on part of a farm would be a good thing to insure against drought, guarantee feed for young stock, and guarantee hay and silage for winter feed, never works out in economic terms. Irrigation costs are such that the irrigated area must be intensified, and grazed with the most profitable stock, which are usually finishing stock and dairy grazing. Then when dry seasons come along the dryland stock (capital stock) receive little or no benefit from the irrigation, as the irrigated area is fully committed to finishing/dairy grazing. So what is needed for an economic irrigation system on partly irrigated stock properties?

›› From p19 appreciating asset and add value to the farm because of the certainty they bring in what can be a particularly unpredictable climate. Annual rainfall averages 600-700mm, but has hit 1100mm in a year. “It’s not the total rain we get, but when we get it.” Altitude, at 450 metres at the house rising to 1000m at the back of the property, also means there’s little or no winter growth and always some snow. The irrigated front country guarantees he can take 400-500 rounds of baleage in spring, confident it will regrow under irrigation ready to wean lambs on to. Without the water, that feed would have to be bought in dry years, which is when it’s most expensive, and/or they’d be forced to sell lambs and possibly other stock when prices are weak.

• A sensible and sustainable debt/equity ratio. Most irrigation development is funded by bank term loan and on every farm there is a limit to the amount which can be borrowed. • The return to capital invested in irrigation needs to be at least twice the bank term loan interest rate, say 12-15%, to allow for risk and debt repayment and to increase the farm’s cash surplus. There are instances where irrigation is not being used profitably due to lack of intensification, with the result that the increased costs exceed the increased income – nil or negative return to irrigation capital. Just having green grass is not an indicator of profitability. • A very reliable water supply – for instance a reliability of 90% during the irrigation season sounds good, but is in fact low, as it will be likely that water is not available for say 20 days in midsummer. This will severely reduce the return to the irrigation capital. • A design which will achieve high water use efficiency to maximise the benefit of the water and as demanded by

• With any development, maintain a sensible (viable) debt/equity ratio • Use a pivot, if possible gravity-fed • Pivot area layout is critical to management and to economics • Precision rotational grazing a must– this comes from the pivot area layout • Then it is possible to maintain a high stocking rate • Have a mix of sheep and cattle for parasite control • Winter on grass for low cost • High stocking rate and a high return per stock unit crucial. local environmental authorities. That means almost exclusively using pivots. Pivots which turn 360 degrees are more efficient than 180-degree pivots. • There is only one chance to get the design right and keep capital costs down, so consider it carefully. • Look for some cost-reducing advantage, such as water pressure from gravity. • The land use must be able to adhere to nitrate and phosphorus leaching rules, such as Ecan’s land and water regional Plan.

Conservative calculations Costs

Additional revenue

Irrigation pump, mainline and rotorainer:

$150,000

+5kgLWT/head on 2500 lambs @$2.50/kgLWT

$31,250

Digger hire:

$3000

+10% lambing from guaranteed feed for flushing = 250 more lambs @$75/head

$18,750

Fencing:

$14,600

Total additional annual revenue

$50,000.00

Sundries:

$2400

Total investment:

$175,000

Annual costs: interest on investment @ 9% per annum

$15,750

Water charges

$9500

Diesel for 2200hrs pumping/year (worst case)

$6776

Total annual cost

$32,026

Annual margin over costs and interest on investment

$17,974

Country-Wide April 2017

Annual costs The annual cost of irrigation varies with the layout, but typically with say $6000 capital/hectare the annual costs are: Costs

$/ha

Interest

$360

Energy

$300 or more

R&M

$50

Depreciation

$200

Water charge

$100 or more $1,010

The annual cost of irrigation varies with the layout, but typically with say $6000 capital/hectare the annual costs are $1010/ha (see graph). The highest annual cost is always interest and depreciation. Alternatively, and this is the cash cost for most farms, there is a 15-year table term loan which costs the interest rate plus 2.8% to amortise the loan to zero at 15 years. In any event the irrigated land must increase income over the dry land income by more than $1010 in the above example. To put that in perspective, $1010/ha additional cost is equivalent to: • An additional 11.2 stock units/ha at $90/su gross margin. • Or taking say an original 10su/ha at $90/su gross margin to 19su/ha at $100/ su gross margin. • All this is just to cover costs. On some very dry land with no real carrying capacity, irrigation can take it to 20su/ha or $2000/ha gross margin, and then there is a net after-the-above irrigation costs of almost $1000/ha. Some recent irrigation schemes provide pressurised water at the farm gate, so the energy cost and water charges above are replaced by a new water charge, of up to $1000/ha. The total annual cost is then about $1600/ha, making it much more difficult to find an adequate return to irrigation capital. So how do we make irrigation on sheep and beef farms economic? There is a long list of fine tuning to improve economics:. Irrigation type • Pivots have an efficiency that other systems can not match: • Even spread of water • Low infiltration rate, although a maximum pivot length of about 550m is needed here • Frequency of watering – every 2-3 days • Linear irrigators and moveable pivots cannot match this • Do not underestimate the increased pasture growth from frequent and even watering by pivots, compared to less-frequent watering and less-even application with other systems.

afforded. Use gravity pressure if at all possible. Pay interest rather than energy costs, as in the long term this will be more cost effective. Go to an all-grass system so there is no down-time in production. Design a precision fencing layout to allow for a rotation of 25-100 days, with stock water in every grazing cell so there is always a back fence. This will grow the maximum amount of pasture and it will be of good quality. Do not fence pivots as “pie wedges” for sheep and beef, have circular paddocks of equal area, not equal width. Divide these circular paddocks from centre to outside of the pivot to achieve the rotation length required. The circular paddocks allow for easier fertilising, access, hay/silage making, and avoid most of the (rough) crossing of pivot wheel ruts. Where only part of the farm is irrigated, never allow capital stock to be part of the stock programme on the irrigated area – the irrigation is for higher-earning finishing stock. Knock out some of the major costs: • Eliminate energy costs through gravity water pressure • Cut wintering costs through all-grass wintering • Less frequent regrassing will be needed, and grass grub will be much less of a problem • Let’s be old fashioned and fix the N with clovers to cut N fertiliser costs. Wintering costs must be minimised, so go to grass wintering, with the key annual pasture cover goal being say 2000kg/ha drymatter cover as at May 1. Fertiliser and soils What do we need to grow top pasture from day one? A soil pH of 6.0–6.3 (not 5.8) and capital dressings of PKS? Yes, but

after that the pasture runs on nitrogen. Some low-fertility soils will need quite high levels of N fertilisers, as in their native state they have very little N. Allow clovers to fix the N by easing back on N fertiliser in years two and three. Maintenance P and S fertiliser will be required, but don’t forget that N “runs the show”. Pastures Grow ryegrass and clover and do not be side-tracked by herbs and other grasses. Use a genuine perennial ryegrass to avoid frequent regrassing costs and “down time” – hybrids and tetraploids are unlikely to last as long as diploid perennials. Grow late flowering ryegrasses to maintain pasture quality through November when earlier flowering grasses would be going to seedhead. Stock At last, we can put some stock on the irrigated block. We need 20su/ha at a high income per stock unit. Draw up a feed profile of the pasture supply and demand, and match the pasture supply as well as possible with demand from high earning capacity stock. The earning capacity of stock may be (in cents/kg DM eaten): Winter hoggets 16 cents, dairy heifers 18c, summer finishing lambs 15-27c. The sheep/cattle ratio is very important for: • Matching feed demand to the feed supply profile • Maintaining feed quality • Controlling internal parasites. Cattle grazing will grow more grass, cattle are easier to intensify, therefore can be carried at higher stocking rates than sheep.

KEY POINTS Irrigation as an insurance can not be Just having green grass is not an indicator of profitability. Country-Wide April 2017

areas within your irrigation area • Take samples from and measure your soil horizons • Clearly mark on the containers of soil what site they came from and what depth. • Take about 500 grams per soil type • Remove all foreign material and stones from sample • Estimate the amount of stones removed as a percentage of sample out it go or weigh the sample before and after five minutes of water being applied to applying removal soil as there has to be enough mass for This is a • Crush any large particles to produce gravity to push it in. After that infiltration Soils a an even sample consistency starts off quite high and then it pans what we • You should end up with half a cup of out. Hydrophobic soils (water repellent) when we sifted sample are high in organic matter and have a “Our s • Pour this into a glass jar as one part very low rate of infiltration. we minim soil and four parts water – eg: half a Centre pivots have low rates of outcome cup of soil and two cups of water. infiltration at the centre with high rates have to • Add one tablespoon of clothes at the end. washing detergent for every two cups Permeability: The rate at which Cheyenne Stein KNOWING YOUR SOILS order to of water and shake for five minutes water moves through the soil. Each cheyenne.stein@nzfarmlife.co.nz “It’s important that we HOW under M (the detergent acts as a surfactant horizon has to fill up before the next @CheyStein2 which allows the bonds between the one will. Water moves down the soil “Whe soil because it really affects eve dirt particles to easily break apart and profiles as soil nears field withof irrigatio find out else we docapacity in terms settle at the bottom of the jar. gravitational water moving through I got top is half solids (sand,thesilt, c As regional councils • Let sit for 24-48 hours. put a focus onmacropores andSoil capillary water moving sun’s organic matter) and half neighbo macro farm environment upthrough micropores. • Layers will form in theplans, jar. Soil getting is up of silt and clay. The flow: This is what Decemb (for draining) and micropores (f tomade speed onsand, all things irrigation is Preferential sand will almost immediately settle at happens when we apply water too fast one was storage). Pores must be conne becoming increasingly important not the bottom, the silt settles in about – it finds cracks and worm holes and said he a order for water to only compliance butclay also five for minutes. However, the canto improve Christma lack water holding ability. Knowing take one or two days to settle at the off over HOW BIG IS THE FUEL TANK? move. Cultivation irrigation efficiency. yourbottom. soil type is an important Brenege disrupts those Most areas of New Zealand have consideration in irrigation as this • Once settled you can measure But so connections. seen massive growth will determine frequency and in rate and calculate each horizon asthe aof use of Soils are irrigation. In NZ, percentage ofspatially, the totalsoil andtypes use hold so Well-structured, irrigation, IrrigationNZ project manager vary greatly over a short distance, these in combination with a soil this is so medium-textured Steven Breneger told a group of particularly in regions liketo Canterbury. identification triangle work out amount soils have a good Wairarapa farmers in December, and it A your number tools are available to help soil of type. It is desc mix of macropores was important for them understand identify soil types. S-map online to provides of soil an SOIL WATER AND HOW MOVES a their printable report with soil IT type, soil the ground capacity and micropores. irrigation system from The AgriB drainage and soilHow depth. be amount Infiltration: fastThese watercan moves Heavy, collapsed up. Husbandr used part of This your isconsent process with half of th intoasthe soil. affected by things managem soils have many going to get any regional councils. isn’t readily a like“Irrigation compaction, soil type, farming activities Soil testing is a one-time investment Field c practice, organic matter etc. micropores so hold smaller, what’s irrigated now will be Governm which an accurate map ofthe thefirst soil describe Thegives infiltration rate curves water well but very irrigated in the future along with some i. types on your property, however the soil

BUSINESS | IRRIGATION SPECIAL

Matching water to your soil

Matching water to your soil Cheyenne Stein

As regional councils put a focus on farm environment plans, getting up to speed on all things irrigation is becoming increasingly important not only for compliance but also to improve irrigation efficiency. Most areas of New Zealand have seen massive growth in the use of irrigation, IrrigationNZ project manager Steven Breneger told a group of Wairarapa farmers in December, and it was important for them to understand their irrigation system from the ground up. “Irrigation isn’t going to get any macropores so more land. There are sampling must be done at thetwo right drivers: time doing it whenfew soil moisture is near field smaller, what’s irrigated now will be ii. ofeconomy year to give and an accurate picture. irrigated in the future along with some water movement is Exporter | ww climate change. Thecapacity.” only 56 Dairy “Soil mapping a long dry period simply dig a hole, take more land. There are two drivers: very slow. place that itafter won’t grow is the WestOr, you could Working when soil moisture is low gives an some photos, look and measure your economy and climate change. The only systems Light or stony Coast.” incorrect picture so you should really be horizons. place that it won’t grow is the West DXP 01-17 book.indb 56 The role o Coast.” • Manag • Liaisin KNOWING YOUR SOILS • Develo “It’s important that we understand the practic soil because it really affects everything • Coach Soil class WHC (mm/100mm) else we do in terms of irrigation.” • Ensuri Soil is half solids (sand, silt, clay and 17.5 - 19.0 • Implem Clay Loam organic matter) and half macropores • Provid (for draining) and micropores (for water 15.5 - 16.5 Silt loam, no stones or gravel • Develo storage). Pores must be connected in evalua 11.0 - 12.0 Silt loams, approx 30% gravel order for water to move. Cultivation Experienc disrupts those connections. 6.5 - 11.0 to adapt Sandy loam Well-structured, medium-textured will be cr soils have a good mix of macropores and 4.5 - 5.5 Sand adapted f micropores. Heavy, collapsed soils have many micropores so hold water well but **Determine effective root depth and adjust accordinly very few macropores so water movement For soils with stones, adjust by percentage accordingly is very slow. Light or stony soils have For soils with distinct layers, sum layers to effective root depth many macropores but few micopores so

Estimated water holding capacity (WHC) mm/100mm

Country-Wide Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | January 2017

April 2017

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Country-Wide April 2017

BUSINESS | IRRIGATION SPECIAL

SOIL WATER AND HOW IT MOVES

Infiltration: How fast water moves into the soil. This is affected by things like compaction, soil type, farming practice, organic matter etc. The infiltration rate curves the first five minutes of water being applied to soil as there has to be enough mass for gravity to push it in. After that infiltration starts off quite high and then it pans out. Hydrophobic soils (water repellent) are high in organic matter and have a very low rate of infiltration. Centre pivots have low rates of infiltration at the centre 57with high rates at the end. Permeability: The rate at which water moves through the soil. Each horizon has to fill up before the next one will. Water moves down the soil profiles as result in losing money and yield as the soil nears field capacity with gravitational plant uses up too much energy trying to water moving through macropores access it. and capillary water moving “In an irrigation sensethrough we want to micropores. irrigate between the stress point and Preferential flow: This is what happens field capacity.” apply water too fast – it finds any water applied above the nk of a when weHowever, is “lost” runoff water. em. cracksfield and capacity worm holes andas out it goes. Over-watering soilwhere will have the same rtain Typically you get this applying effect100mm as starving more than an soil. hour. This is a “Soil has toto beleaching. a mixture of air and en major contributor you over-water the plantsoit will Soilswater. aren’tIf inherently consistent shut down because it can’t breathe.” been what we imagine our soils will look like For irrigation there’s a couple of when metrics. we irrigate isn’t right. One is the risk profile of your efill to “Ourcrop. soilsIf are limitation, I’m our growing rice my it’s riskhow profile we minimise this and maximise thewith is quite high so being accurate outcome. Onceiswe understand that we irrigation important. at pasture the right “If I’m water growing therate riskin hed itshave to apply profile is quite order to get any use low outbecause of it.” if I don’t irrigate today or tomorrow the grass epends isn’t suddenly going to retreat into the . In a HOW MUCH AND HOW OFTEN? ground and stop growing.” n active “When I first got to NZ I wanted to he top find out how farmers use irrigation and CALCULATING THE FUEL TANK % of the I got top three answers: I irrigate when elow the • Readily available water = 50% soil the sun’swater shining, I irrigate when my vival. holding capacity per 100mm neighbour does and in • To determine Iastart cropsirrigating readily available December andadjust stop in The best water by March. the active root depth a young farm manager who parts: one wasExample: 20mm more just before A soil with a water holding capacity the said he applies per 100mm = 20mm wo points Christmas so he gets an extra few days off 50% of this 10mm the over Christmas andisNew Year,” Breneger The crop has an active root depth of water said. elow the But 400mm soils don’t work like that, he said. availablethey water = 4only x 10mm only. Soils areReadily like a sponge, can hold= 40mm ter will so much. The official term for this is soil water-holding capacity; the amount of

Soil mapping must be done when soil is near field capacity to get an accurate picture.

water a given soil can hold. It is described in millimetres per 100mm of soil and calculated using the field capacity minus the wilting point. Actual amount depends on root depth. Only half of the available water capacity is readily available. Field capacity is a term used to describe the point where the soil water-holding capacity has reached its maximum for the entire field. The water-holding capacity depends on the primary active root zone. In a plant there is a root zone and an active root zone. Active root zone is the top tip to the roots and extracts 75% of the water and nutrients anything below the active root zone is used for survival.

HOW BIG IS THE FUEL TANK? THE FUEL TANK Field capacity Readily available water

Irrigation zone

Stress point

Survival water Wilting point

The is split two parts:is the So bucket the trigger pointinto for irrigation readily available waterhas and the used survival when 40mm of water been by water. Between those two points is the the crop stress point. Water above theplants stressused point How do you know when water? water and production is 40mm readilyofavailable Now Water that webelow know how much point water we water. the stress is can for store in the soil, weTrying can calculate used survival only. to access how fast it will be used. Two numbers the survival water will result in losing are involved in this money and yield as calculation. the plant uses up too Crop factor and the potential much energy trying to access it. evapotranspiration rate (PET). “In an irrigation sense we want to Crop factor. Every plant has one. irrigate between the stress point and field This number is derived from full height capacity.” maturity full cover because that’s when However, any water applied above the evapotranspiration is the only influence; field capacity isisthe “lost” as when runoffa water. evaporation factor plant is growing because the have surface area is Over-watering soil will the same exposed. effect as starving soil. Pasture a crop factor of In “Soil has has to be a mixture of 1.0. air and otherIfwords the plant willthe consume water. you over-water plants 1mm the of water day.down because it can’t plant will ashut That’s one millilitre a day of water that breathe.” it’s going to consume. For irrigation there’s a couple of PET the potential evapotraspiration rate this is a monthly number that is mainly affected by wind. These figures can be looked up on NIWA. PET x crop factor= Crop

The jar test

An at-home do-it-yourself way of identifying soil types is the jar test. Take samples from representative areas within your irrigation area Take samples from and measure your soil horizons Clearly mark on the containers of soil what site they came from and what depth. Take about 500grams per soil type Remove all foreign material and stones from sample Estimate the amount of stones removed as a percentage of sample or weigh the sample before and after removal Crush any large particles to produce an even sample consistency You should end up with half a cup of sifted sample Pour this into a glass jar as one part soil and four parts water – eg: half a cup of soil and two cups of water. Add one tablespoon of clothes washing detergent for every two cups of water and shake for five minutes (the detergent acts as a surfactant which allows the bonds between the dirt particles to easily break apart and settle at the bottom of the jar. Let sit for 24-48 hours. Layers will form in the jar. Soil is made up of sand, silt and clay. The sand will almost immediately settle at the bottom, the silt settles in about five minutes. However, the clay can take one or two days to settle at the bottom. Once settled you can measure and calculate each horizon as a percentage of the total and use these in combination with a soil identification triangle to work out your soil type.

metrics. One is the risk profile of your crop. If I’m growing rice my risk profile is quite high so being accurate with irrigation is important. “If I’m growing pasture the risk profile is quite low because if I don’t irrigate today or tomorrow the grass isn’t suddenly going to retreat into the ground and stop growing.”

Country-Wide April 2017

The rules of scheduling irrigation • Soils are a lot like the fuel tank of a car, there are rules around them. • You can only put in what the soil can hold • You can only take out what has been put in • You need to know when to refill • The last part comes with problems.

Soil profiles on a farm: Each soil profile has to fill up before the next one will.

CALCULATING THE FUEL TANK Root depth of crop x Available soil water ÷100mm ÷2 = Available water capacity (aka the fuel tank size) Example: Root depth of 400mm x 20mm/100 ÷by 2 = 40mm readily available water Irrigate when 40mm water has been used by the crop How do you know when plants used 40mm of water? Now that we know how much water we can store in the soil, we can calculate how fast it will be used. Two numbers are involved in this calculation. Crop factor and the potential evapotranspiration rate (PET). Crop factor. Every plant has one. This number is derived from full height

Country-Wide April 2017

maturity full cover because that’s when evapotranspiration is the only influence; evaporation is the factor when a plant is growing because the surface area is exposed. Pasture has a crop factor of 1.0. In other words the plant will consume 1mm of water a day. That’s one millilitre a day of water that it’s going to consume. PET the potential evapotraspiration rate this is a monthly number that is mainly affected by wind. These figures can be looked up on NIWA. PET x crop factor= Crop evapotranspiration Example: PET 4.5 x crop factor 1.0 = 4.5mm/day So every day on average the soil is

going to lose 4.5mm. By dividing the 40mm of water needed by the 4.5mm lost this will calculate how often you need to irrigate. 4.5 x 1.0 = 4.5mm 40mm divided by 4.5 = 8.8 days Every 8.8 days need to irrigate 40mm to stay at peak potential. Irrigation is not uniform so inefficiencies are unavoidable. There are various types of losses in irrigation, from leaking pipes, evaporation in the air to uneven application or excessive application depths and rates which can account for 5-30% of losses. “The aim is to adequately water most of the crop. Some parts will be too wet, others too dry so you have to try and minimise these differences.”

BUSINESS | IRRIGATION SPECIAL

Ecan summer students William Wright and Beth Turner field-test the Check It app.

App launches to ensure irrigation efficiency Everyone working in the rural sector knows that efficiency increases production and profitability. That’s why Irrigation NZ has developed the Check It – Bucket Test app. National Projects manager, Steve Breneger, walks you through what the app is and how it will make your farm more successful. WHAT IS A BUCKET TEST? A bucket test measures how much and how evenly irrigation systems are applying water. A series of buckets are set out in a line under the irrigator in front of the wetted length so samples can be taken. For drip micro irrigation, individual sprinklers or emitters are tested. The bucket test is a very simple way of understanding if you have a problem without any prior knowledge of complex hydraulics and pressure. So how does the Check It Bucket Test app work? The Check It app gets rid of variability, delivering better, more accurate results. “If you were to test the same machine using current methods – say Irrig8lite with its 24 buckets or putting three buckets under each span – as well as this app, you’d get three different results. That’s because even with the same machine, spacing between buckets will be variable, which will affect the consistency of your results,” Breneger said. The Check It app uses the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) methodology as its benchmark and the results it delivers are more closely aligned to the USDA than any other software currently on the market. Basically, it will deliver information that you can act on with confidence because it has taken out the variance so you get consistent, reliable data. Check It walks users through an annual performance assessment, provides the results instantly to their phone and e-mails a report to them. For farmers undertaking bucket tests as part of their farm environment plans, this app provides a consistent, proven method

to measure how well their irrigator is performing. Check It has been rigorously tested in the field for the past two months by university students who don’t have a technical background. Their feedback is that “it’s bloody good” and “really simple to work”. And that’s what the goal was – to create the most robust yet simple way of doing a bucket test. “When the app is released I need to be 100% confident that it will provide a positive user experience from day one,” Breneger said. The Check It app works with linear and pivot systems. Spray lines and travellers will be included in future updates. THE PROBLEM IT SOLVES: • All farmers know that focussing on the efficient use of water is an investment in good business. Aside from its importance in managing nitrogen loss, efficient water use is a fundamental factor in ensuring great pasture production, which has a direct impact on animal welfare and profitability. • Check It looks at the irrigator itself, not anything beyond it. It assesses the accuracy of the wetted footprint and gives farmers an instant and easy indication if there are any problems with their application. The app can be used for a wide range of irrigation methods, farm environments and user capability. BENEFITS IT DELIVERS: • Increased profitability through increased efficiency • Early identification of issues means farmers don’t waste water, time and money operating inefficient systems • The industry standard for annual

performance assessments of irrigation systems in New Zealand • Provides evidence that you have undertaken an annual performance assessment of your irrigation system for your farm environment plan audit. • It’s a great tool for farmers to show what they’re doing to ensure efficient use of water. • The underlying premise behind the app is that we wanted to develop something so intuitive and easy that farmers would want to go out and use it themselves. Sure, they can get someone in to do their testing and mail them a report, but then there’s a disconnect – “do I really have to be worried about this; I’ll put it aside for later”. • What we’ve found is that if you engage farmers, if you give them a tool that then gives them insight into performance, they’re much more likely to use those results to take some sort of action. • We think the Check It app will become the one tool irrigators need to check efficiency. It is intuitive, accurate, practical to operate and simple to understand. WHERE CAN I GET IT? The app is available for download free of charge from the App Store or Google Play. For more information, go to: www. buckettest.co.nz or the Regen website www.nzregen.co.nz. • More irrigation p44

Country-Wide April 2017

BUSINESS | AWARD

Longbush Valley farmer Willie Falloon

Winners in Wairarapa Rebecca Harper Longbush Valley farmers Willie and Ange Falloon have achieved consistently excellent financial results over the last four years, despite hard, dry seasons. This is a key feature of their business and contributed to their being named the 2017 Keinzley AgVet Wairarapa Farm Business of the Year. The Falloons farm their 430-hectare (effective) property Taumaru in the

Longbush Valley, between Masterton and Martinborough, along with a 20ha lease block. The area has one of the lowest rainfalls in the Wairarapa, with an average of 800mm falling mainly in the winter. The property comprises 13ha of flats, 220ha of rolling terraces and 197ha of hill country. The couple run Pinebank Angus stud, which was established in 1919. The stud sells 75 yearling and two-year-old stud

bulls to the beef industry and, along with satellite supply herds, sells 300-350 Angus bulls to the dairy industry. They have a Coopworth ewe flock that is producing in the top 10% of performance for Wairarapa flocks and undertake an intensive feed cropping and re-grassing programme comprising rape, chicory/plantain clover mixes and winter Italian. Their gross farm income and economic farm surplus performance has placed them in the top 10% of the BakerAg FAB database for the last four years, despite challenging seasons. Taumaru’s gross revenue/ha for 201516 was double that of the average in the BakerAg FAB database. Their economic farm surplus was 2.35 times higher than the average. The Falloons have an extensive offfarm investment portfolio, which has been driven off profits from the business and leveraging off the Pinebank beef genetics. A feature of the business is close monitoring of financial key performance indicators, stock performance and feed levels, without the use of sophisticated systems or software. They have also invested in joint ventures with young farming couples to create an opportunity for them in the industry. A field day was to be held at Taumaru on Wednesday, March 29, starting at 9am.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Differing views on Overseer trial I read your article in the March edition on the Otago Regional Council’s Water Plan with interest, particularly the section discussing the Overseer validation trial on Mt Aspiring Station. As the owners of the trial site we were involved and I have read the AgResearch report so was surprised that myself and Gavin Palmer of the ORC had different views on the results. The trial was designed to test the accuracy of the Overseer model under conditions it had not previously been validated in – rainfall of about 2400mm per annum on relatively free draining soils. Palmer is quoted as saying “measured leaching rates for nitrogen and phosphorus at the pasture site compared reasonably well with estimates from Overseer”. In fact the Overseer estimates were 71% (N) and 72% (P) greater than the actual results measured. When you are farming in a catchment

Country-Wide April 2017

with a nitrogen leaching limit of 15kg N/ha I find the difference between an estimate of 24kg N/ha and an actual measurement of 14kg N/ha is very significant and not a “comparable result”. The Overseer estimates for the crop site were 82% and 182% greater than the measured results for N and P respectively. Palmer’s explanation for this is that “one season of winter grazing was not long enough to capture total nitrogen deposits”. This is despite Overseer being run on a single-crop model for direct comparison and a statement in the AgResearch final report stating “The pattern of N leaching from the crop site indicated that all of the N deposited in 2015 had leached from the crop site by late April 2016”. Measurements were taken until June 2016 – a full 12 months after grazing. What is true is that a second (and third) year of measurement would be extremely valuable. The results at this

stage have to be used with caution because they do not allow for any between-year variation. However, they clearly show further work needs to be done before Overseer outputs can be relied upon in this environment. I have a lot of respect for the ORC’s science team and field staff as I think they are very capable people working hard to produce good results. I also see Overseer as a valuable decision support tool and the best regulatory model we have available. However, at this stage there are clear doubts about its accuracy in our farming environment and the best we could expect is a regional council that understands that. We need to work together to further develop Overseer and/or come to an understanding of how it can be practically used within the regulations. Randall Aspinall Mt Aspiring Station

BUSINESS | COLLECTING

lice and children A ” car. d n a a ri a M ew n family – – enjoying their “n The Hoba m ia ill W

The restored 1929 Essex Super Six before its seizure and subsequent legal tussle.

A vintage investment goes sour James Hoban In January 2016 we invested in a vintage car. My wife Maria and I liked the look of something around 1930, preferably a sedan and given our price limit it was likely to be an Essex, Chevrolet or Dodge. After some research we bought a 1929 Essex Super Six from Te Kuiti, with the help of a good friend Ray, for $10,000. Ray owned an identical Essex, knew the faults, pitfalls, questions to ask and was very helpful, as well as reassuring for a dubious wife. Ray secured the car for us, despite the seller being quite reluctant to let it go. “Don’t expect to get rich out of an old car,” Ray told us initially, but he also assured us that at $10,000 we were buying reasonably well. Since then, we have lost the Essex, paid several lawyers’ bills, suffered a harsh introduction to the New Zealand legal system and are more than $15,000 out of pocket.

THE WHEELS FALL OFF Two weeks before the Young Farmer contest I was visiting friends in Christchurch who helped with my preparation. An upset Maria phoned me to say someone was at the property with a tow truck looking for the Essex because it was stolen. All online searches showed the car was not stolen and that no money was owing on it.

I had registered the car in my name with no red flags showing up so this was hard to believe. The tow truck driver waiting on the doorstep, with my wife and father not sure what to do, had a court order for the car to be removed. The tow truck driver eventually took the Essex, after three attempts in the space of an afternoon. The court order I was given was a “without notice” order granting a warrant to uplift the Essex from me. This meant I was not given the opportunity to be heard before the order was made and I had no idea it was coming. The tow truck driver assured us the car would not be taken out of Canterbury but we later found it had gone to the North Island. In an attempt to put this to one side until after the Young Farmer contest, I gave our lawyer all the information I had, contacted the seller and left the lawyer in charge for a couple of weeks. The seller was extremely helpful. He had spent a considerable amount putting what he bought as a wreck back on the road. He spoke to the people who had worked on the Essex. They had police-checked it because they could not afford to work with stolen cars. Local police told us they could not offer much help because it was a civil matter. Their research showed the Essex had been reported stolen in 2007, recovered in 2009 and was the subject of another dispute in 2011. It was not

reported stolen the second time. There was no way for us to know this car was ever the subject of any dispute or to query the court order which turned up on our doorstep. Because the court order was between the person trying to get the car back and another person who had owned the car later, we could not get access to the argument for some time because we were not named in the proceedings. It has taken months for information to be drip-fed to us, with the costs increasing and no sign of a resolution. We do not personally know the people involved and there have been several other innocent owners of the Essex between when they had the car and my ownership, with no hint that it has ever been the subject of legal disputes. We now know from police records that the police decided not to prosecute or lay criminal charges for the alleged car theft back in 2007 or any time after that. I understand the person who claims he was the original owner made his complaints to the police about the theft at the time from an overseas jail cell. There are conflicting witness statements on the police file and the police concluded they did not wish to take the matter further for a host of reasons – overall there was “reasonable doubt” that the incident was not as the owner had suggested. The only reason we are now here, is that after the police did not assist the

Country-Wide April 2017

original owner, he chose to file a civil court claim in 2012 against the then registered owner. This was not disclosed to us when we purchased the vehicle from a subsequent purchaser who, like us, knew nothing about it. He had the car police-checked and all appeared fine. There was no way of us knowing about the dispute. For some reason the civil claim has dragged on for more than four years and remains alive.

PROGRESS?

It would be nice to think there is a lesson in here somewhere for others. Because we checked everything we could and have done nothing wrong, it is hard to see what that lesson is.

continue to stay in the argument. We have the option of starting a dispute with the previous owner of the Essex but we trust the fact he knew nothing about all this. It seems likely the two owners before him were also oblivious. If the police had considered the original dispute to be genuine then the car would have had a red flag

against it and any of those owners (including us) would have known to avoid it. The car in 2007 was described in the police documents as a parts car. These days, after investment from later owners (including us) it is a morevaluable, roadworthy, restored car. Innocent owners working their way back through each other for refunds would be complicated and unlikely to result in a fair outcome. It would be nice to think there is a lesson in here somewhere for others. Because we checked everything we could and have done nothing wrong, it is hard to see what that lesson is. We have been exposed to the harsh reality that a person who makes a criminal complaint that the police dismiss is not prevented from bringing a civil claim for the same event. I passed the same tow truck heading north a few weeks ago with a 1930s Chevrolet aboard. Hopefully that doesn’t mean someone else has been bitten by a situation as unfortunate as the Essex. This could happen to anyone. Genuine help from readers will be gratefully received.

james.hoban@outlook.co.nz

02045 WPABMCW

We have spent our limit on lawyers but we are no further ahead in getting our car back. We are told the car will not be released until the court makes an order as to who is the true owner. The claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities (not beyond reasonable doubt because this is a civil claim rather than a criminal one) that he was the owner and that the car was sold without his authority back in 2007. This saga has a way to go, and we are waiting for the court to set the matter down for a hearing. So far our lawyer has been excellent and two policemen have been particularly helpful. A lawyer acting for one of the others has been late getting every piece of

information to us and has continually been excused by the judge, despite ignoring our requests well past his deadlines. Our lawyer’s latest advice was that we are likely to be wasting money if we

“He’s not the money provider guy. He’s the benchmark guy and the ‘what do you think of this’ guy.” Justin King, Brookwood Station, Takapau

At Westpac, our Agribusiness bankers know farming. And they bring all that accumulated knowledge and expertise to your business. So when it comes to making things happen they’re in a good place. Usually yours. It’s why we’re putting on more Agribusiness bankers. We’re backing farming and we’re backing farmers.

To find your local Agribusiness banker, visit westpac.co.nz/agri Country-Wide April 2017

LIVESTOCK | HILL COUNTRY

Proffit from the KISS principle

Despite the ravages of a devastating flood, Bevan and Mary Proffit have no regrets about making the move to a steep hill country farm east of Wanganui. Russell Priest reports. Photos by Graeme Brown.

n a topographically challenging environment Bevan Proffit has opted to keep management simple to achieve his family’s financial objective. Two years after taking over their new farm (Ohineiti Station) at Kakatahi north-east of Wanganui, Bevan and Mary Proffit were hit by a major weather bomb. It destroyed vital infrastructure – fences, tracks, bridges and dams, significantly affecting accessibility and reducing the number of paddocks while bringing management to a grinding halt. Eighteen months on, infrastructure is still being repaired with the help of a bulldozer and digger acquired before the event. One steep hill face slipped in two places, above a strategically important easy-contoured area adjacent to one of the woolsheds, destroying fences, tracks and water systems. A significant part of the easy-contoured area below was engulfed in a deep slurry of mud, silt and ash which took some time to dry out leaving critical holding paddocks out of commission for two years. At the time of my visit this area covering about 12 hectares was being contoured and prepared for seeding and

Key facts

Bevan with three of his best companions

• Ohineiti Station • 1424ha (1340ha effective). • Owners: Bevan and Mary Proffit. • 548ha lease block also farmed. • 40km north east of Wanganui. • Mainly steep hill country. • Stock wintered: • 9250 Perendale ewes. • 2600 ewe hoggets. • 130 sire rams. • 320 MA cows. • 80 R2 in-calf heifers. • 30 empty R2 heifers. • 140 R1 heifers. • 30 tail-end weaner steers. • 15 sire bulls.

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water systems, tracks and fences were being restored. “The last 18 months have been very frustrating,” Bevan said. “We’ve felt we’ve stood still but in fact we’ve done a helluva lot of work. “The first spring following June 2015 the digger and bully did 600 hours of work between them.” In spite of all this damage the Proffits have managed to remain positive and focused on their goals and accept such catastrophic events are an integral part of farming. Horizons Regional Council has drawn up a whole farm plan for the Proffits which involves the planting of poplar and willow poles for hill slope and gully erosion, the retirement and reversion of about 300ha of severely eroding slopes and gullies and the fencing off of waterways.

The Proffits farm some challenging topography.

The intensification predicament Bevan’s thoughts on intensification of the farm have been somewhat modified by the storm and he is now struggling with what degree of intensification to adopt. Should some of the larger paddocks be subdivided further adding to the existing 55? This means extra capital in the form of water systems, fences and tracking. Does this make his business more vulnerable to events similar to what has just occurred? What is the payback period likely to be? These are all questions he and his advisors must answer. One strategy firmly fixed in his mind is to deliver quality water to the easier country and particularly to young stock. Research has shown the payback period for this expenditure is in the region of one and a half to four years. To this end a water source at 250 metres above sea level delivering at least 70,000 litres/day will be tapped and gravity-fed via a 63mm pipe to the woolshed, servicing a number of paddocks on the way. Once the infrastructural damage has been restored this will be the number one priority. Extending alleyways to improve workability and fencing off easycontoured areas for intensification will be next. Bevan, Mary and their two sons Aidan, 11, and Falcon, 9, moved from their farm at Mahoenui near Pio Pio in the King Country almost four years ago after selling it to Bevan’s brother Russell. The brothers had farmed next door to one another for five years after their father died. The Proffits swapped 300ha for 1424ha of predominantly steep hill

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country 40km north-east of Wanganui and in spite of the storm damage they have no regrets having made the move. “While the move has separated Russell and me geographically it’s actually brought us closer together emotionally which sounds a bit strange but he gets the first option to buy any of our store stock and we buy rams and bulls from him.” Bevan’s father Jeff Proffit was wellknown in stud breeding circles having been president of both the Shorthorn Cattle Breed Society and the Perendale Sheep Society. Obviously inheriting his father’s interest in breeding rams and bulls, son Russell has carried on with all

the Raupuha stud’s Shorthorn, Perendale, Romdale, Suffolk and Sufftex breeds. The home farm is not the only area of land the Proffits farm. Bevan’s Canadian-resident uncle recently bought a 548ha block of land similar to theirs across the road as an investment and has leased it to them. In total the effective area farmed is about 1800ha. Little time has been wasted by the Proffits in getting involved in community affairs. Mary has got behind the community events associated with the Kakatahi School and Bevan has just become chairman of the Western North Island ward of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s farmers’ council.

Bevan is seriously contemplating not mating any 15-month heifers.

Management challenges “Big country” best describes the topography of the land the Proffits farm. The hills are mostly steep and seem to go on forever but Bevan thinks they peak at about 520m asl. Few areas of flat land exist and a total of 200ha is Bevan’s best guestimate of the area of easier country. The rest is hectare after hectare of relentless steep hills. This sort of country brings with it huge management challenges not the least of which is access and while the farm is reasonably well-tracked there are few lanes to enable easier stock movement. The Proffits are looking to remedy this. Adequately watering stock is another challenge on this sort of country. Most water comes from natural sources and delivered via dams or streams. Stock can often only be held for short periods near the yards because of the lack of water. Bevan has made provision of water a priority. The sheer steepness of the terrain and the presence of under-runners accounts for major lamb and calf losses. Some paddocks are worse than others so Bevan has categorised these according to losses recorded. Calving percentages in the worst paddocks can be as low as 60%.

Shepherd Mark Perrett repairing slip-damaged fences.

Dams are an important source of stock water.

Keeping boundary fences stock-proof is a never-ending chore partly because of slips but also because of the length of fencing involved. “In one paddock the boundary fence is 4km long, so I’m going to graze it out well before I put the rams out then leave it empty during the mating period.” Because of the difficult terrain, achieving a clean muster is nigh impossible and generally requires a shepherd on each side of the gully (if it is a gully paddock) with his team of dogs and a radio transmitter to communicate

with his colleague on the other side. Just when Bevan thought he had enough challenges to deal with along came another one in the autumn of last year in the form of a porina infestation on some of the easier country. Being a new experience for him he has yet to decide how he will deal with it.

Business relationships As a means of strengthening their business Bevan has entered into a number of buying and selling business relationships. “Business relationships are based on trust with both parties being fair and honest with one another. They must share equally in the profit otherwise the relationship will not survive,” Bevan said. “If I’m being ripped off I’ll find out sooner or later because of my large network of business friends and then it’s all over, rover.” Bevan concludes the relationships must be working because the buyers keep on returning. He believes selling all store animals on the farm is the most efficient way of disposing of them. Most of the lambs (96%) are weighed before being sold on the farm with the price being determined before they are trucked out. About 10% of the lambs are killed directly off their mothers. Four regular buyers take the store lambs. Virtually all his cattle are also sold as stores on the farm.

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Country-Wide April 2017

Predominantly Perendale ewes are farmed.

The engine room A large flock of 9000 Perendale ewes drive the Proffits’ business. Management is focused on encouraging the flock to perform at its highest level so after weaning the aim is to at least maintain ewe condition score through to mating. Mating takes place on three dates in three mobs. About 900 five-year ewes and 3100 “B” flock ewes are joined with terminal sires (Suffolk and Sufftex) on March 10 and March 15 respectively and 5000 MA Perendale ewes are joined with Perendale rams on April 15. Lambing over an extended period spreads the risk of losing a large number of lambs as the result of a major storm while also spreading the work load. “B” flock ewes are those Bevan considers not worthy to breed replacements because of defects like black spots, poor constitution, being wet-dry and having poor feet. Mating almost half the ewes to terminal sires enables Bevan to wean earlier (November 20), kill about 350 lambs off their mothers, sell about 1200 stores, kill all the 6yr ewes and take some pressure off the farming system. Perendale lambs are weaned pre-Xmas with about 350 killed off their mothers and some sold as stores. By mid-January about 5000 of the approximately 10,700 lambs weaned will have been sold. Those remaining will be the smaller lambs

which are carried on to greater weights and replacement ewe lambs. The objective is to sell store lambs weighed on the farm at an average liveweight of 30kg (27-33kg). An independent stock agent from Pio Pio works with four clients who buy most of the lambs at weaning and some in January. “The agent is brilliant at weaning time – he puts in two 12-hour days helping us out so he certainly earns his commission.” With the contour far too steep to use mechanical topping to maintain pasture quality Bevan relies on the ever-reliable breeding cow and there are about 400 of these. “They are the workers on the farm, the unsung heroes of our business. They mop up the spring/summer feed surplus while maintaining pasture quality for other stock, stick it on their backs and feed it out during the winter when feed is in short supply.” The steep contour and prevalence of under-runners however mean a 77% average calving percentage is the best the Proffits can achieve. It’s not that the cows are not capable of achieving a better result. All they need is a little more TLC, however the contour is not conducive to this. “We have no trouble growing our

Slips from the June 2015 weather bomb scar the countryside.

Ewe hoggets with Mt. Ruapehu in the background.

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Soils are mainly a mix of compacted silt and mudstone topped with volcanic ash.

heifers, calving them and getting them back in calf, however their performance declines after entering the main herd.” With preferential treatment, results achieved calving heifers as two-year-olds have been very encouraging. Last year the 69 R2 heifers calved on some of the easier country weaned 64 calves (three heifers died). “Unfortunately it’s hard to make calving cows on the easier country work because it includes our wettest soils and we need the cows up on the hills cleaning up over the August/September period.” In looking at the bigger picture Bevan is seriously considering not mating any 15-month heifers (at present all are mated) in an endeavour to improve the calving performance of his mixed-age cows. A larger “dry” mob of R2 heifers would then be available for cleaning up the poorer-performing calving paddocks, thereby avoiding having calving cows on these paddocks over the critical calving period.

Breeding cows are used to groom pasture.

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The Proffits are keen to protect their water courses with native vegetation.

The Proffits’ cattle-breeding programme involves the crossing of three breeds – Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn resulting in a good dose of hybrid vigour. Easy-calving Hereford bulls from the Cranstones’ stud at Fordell are mated with the 15-month heifers from January 15 for about two-and-a-half cycles. Angus mixed-age cows are mated to Angus bulls from the Purdies’ stud and AngusHereford cows mated to brother Russell’s Shorthorn bulls from the same date for about the same time. As with many of the jobs on Ohineiti

Station the time of bull removal is based on management convenience not strict adherence to calendar dates. Bevan would rather have a late pregnant female than an empty one. “If we end up with more pregnant females than we want we can always sell them,” he said. Almost half the calves are sold as weaners on the farm and the balance are wintered, with those surplus to requirements sold as stores at 15 months. Bevan’s brother Russell buys all the male calves, most of which are left as bulls.

Most calves are sold as weaners.

The Proffits use Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn bulls in their breeding programme.

A digger and bulldozer are kept busy repairing infrastructure.

Winter management As part of Bevan’s desire to keep management as simple as possible, movement of mobs throughout winter is kept to a minimum. Cows are set-stocked, usually only being brought into the yards once a year at weaning time. Last year an extra visit was required to administer copper bullets. Ewes and ewe hoggets are shufflegrazed in mobs around designated rotations and yarded only when absolutely essential. No supplements are fed and no nitrogen is used strategically to bridge gaps in feed supply. Scanning of both cows and ewes is a vital management tool for Bevan. Singles, twins, triplets (if it is not too difficult) and lates are identified in the ewes and cows are foetal aged. Separating early and late-lambing ewes is of particular benefit as docking is able to proceed without being delayed by late arrivals. Ewes carrying singles are set-stocked for lambing on the more difficult lambing areas. Ewes are shorn in June and again in December, ewe hoggets in December and again in April and lambs in December. Most soils on Ohineiti Station are sedimentary (mainly compacted silt and mudstone) with the easier country being

capped with volcanic ash. Small pockets of compacted sandstone can be found on the southern end of the farm. Investment in soil fertility is always a bottomless pit on steep hill country and with Olsen Phosphate levels at 3-4 on Ohineiti’s steep hills and up to 10 on the easier hills with pH varying from 5-5.4 there is certainly scope for improvement. Bevan, however, is not too concerned about the fertility status believing he is holding or maybe slightly improving levels with his fertiliser programme. “Ours is strong, healthy hill country, Bevan said. “It produces excellent store stock and this is what we want to be specialising in.” The fertiliser used by the Proffits combines phosphate in three forms; a highly citric soluble form, a water-soluble form and a di-calcic form. The soils have an ongoing requirement for sulphur so elemental sulphur is also applied, along with occasional small quantities of boron and cobalt to address trace element deficiencies. Bevan admits he does not focus on genetics as much as he should and holds the view that if he has done his homework and selected the right breeder

the genetics of his flock and herd should improve. Phenotypic selection is what he has strong views about however. He likes well-muscled, wedge-shaped, moderateframed animals with a good spring of rib, sound feet and good bone.

Bees harvesting manuka honey are accommodated on a profit-sharing basis.

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LIVESTOCK | FACIAL ECZEMA

Farmers reluctant to join FE genetic defence Anne Hughes Genetics are considered the best defence against facial eczema, but many farmers are reluctant to get on board. Breeders were expecting more demand for rams with facial eczema (FE) tolerance, after a widespread and devastating FE season last year. Coopworth breeder Kate Broadbent was receiving calls from distressed farmers last year, struggling with dead sheep, sick lambs and up to 30% dry rates at scanning. Broadbent achieved her highestever average ram price in 2016 and her breeder friends sold all their FE-tolerant rams, but demand came mostly from existing clients. “We all anticipated that after last year’s epic FE season we would see increasing demand,” she says. Reasons for the lack of uptake could be that farmers hit last year believe the high FE challenge was just a one-off, or that their ram breeders have promised to start testing for FE tolerance. Or it could

be the result of compelling marketing from breeders who are doing some work around tolerance, but are just at the beginning of the process, Broadbent says. “Even if they had big losses they are willing to stick with that type of sheep and back their breeder and play catch-up. “I don’t know how many years you can do that before you don’t have any ewes left.” At least more people now have a better understanding of how the disease works, she says, after last year’s tough season. “Whether you believe in global warming or not, things are changing. FE is one example and it could thrive in areas it has never thrived before.” Broadbent already has clients at the top of the South Island. Her Nikau Coopworth stud has been testing for FE tolerance for more than 30 years and she cannot recall a year when there were no FE spore counts. “If farmers are complacent and think it’s a one-off, there’s nothing we can do to help them. For those who do want to

do something, there’s lots of breeders out there who can help them with that.” The Hain family of Gisborne has bred FE tolerance into their flock since the early 1980s. Sam and Gemma Hain say there could be several reasons why last year’s severe outbreak did not translate into more sales of FE-tolerant rams. They say one of the biggest contributors is probably falling ewe numbers nationally, reducing overall demand for rams. “Further to this, FE caused even greater losses of ewes meaning those farmers affected by FE required even fewer rams than normal,” Sam Hain says. The Hains’ say more breeders are starting to introduce some form of FE tolerance into their rams. In these cases, ram buyers affected by last year’s FE challenge may be choosing to stick with their current breeders. “If breeders continue down this path the level of eczema-tolerant genetics will certainly increase across the industry, albeit at a slower rate.” “This is still providing some protection in the long run for FE, by disseminating very highly FE-tolerant genetics through the industry through stud ram sales.” The Hains have high demand for facial eczema-tested rams for use in other studs. “I’ve had a lot of questions from other breeders about good ways of getting tolerance in their flocks. I’m very comfortable to answer those questions because it’s good for the industry to get those genetics out there.” Facial Eczema Working Group coordinator, scientist Dr Ken Geenty, is surprised more FE-tolerant rams were not bought. “I think the main reasons were lack of awareness of the benefits and misconceptions about the trade-off regarding other production traits. The latter is minimal,” Geenty says. He says these are the type of issues the working group is aiming to address.

Collaborating on a misunderstood disease Anne Hughes Research and development into a costly and devastating disease could be resurrected within a year. Once the Facial Eczema Working Group has prioritised research and development

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(R&D) projects, they can seek the funding needed to make it happen. Chairman Robert Carter says the group (working alongside a technical advisory group) includes representatives from the deer, dairy and sheep and beef industries, collaborating to deliver consistent

A sward of ryegrass: The cost of facial eczema to all livestock industries combined in New Zealand is estimated to be more than $500million.

messages on facial eczema, an often unseen and misunderstood disease. Carter says they are unsure yet how much money will be needed to get some R&D off the ground, but he hopes work will start within the next 12 months. “We need to prioritise the projects, then go to the funders with a very good case for them. “We’ll need to prove it is an issue and that there is a cost benefit to doing this.” Facial eczema is estimated to cost all livestock industries combined more than $500million every year. Carter says that is a very good reason to be looking for solutions. Some of the R&D projects being considered include an app to predict FE spore counts, control of the fungus that produces the toxic spores, rehabilitation of liver damage (caused by FE) and other ways to establish tolerance in animals. Apart from R&D, Carter says the group is also working on creating educational packages to be available to farmers as needed. The Facing Up to Facial Eczema booklet, a resource first released in the 1990s to help the sheep industry understand the disease, has been re-written with more up-to-date information. Another focus for the working group is on training the trainers, ensuring there

King Country farmer Robert Carter hopes research and development into facial eczema will be up and running within the year.

are people able to deliver information and run seminars when required. Carter says the trainers could include farm consultants, vets, Beef + Lamb New Zealand extension staff and even farmers. “We want to make it so resources can be used in the future and the information be well organised for when people need it. “Facial eczema is there every year, but some years are worse than others.” Beef + Lamb New Zealand Genetics

plans to establish an FE central progeny test - comparing rams from all over the country for their FE tolerance and other high performance traits. Carter says there is not enough ram swapping happening between breeders focusing on FE tolerance. He hopes a central progeny test, with different breeders putting rams forward for comparison, might improve the linkages between breeders and encourage more sharing of FE tolerant genetics.

Feed for twinning ewes Richard Gavigan The combined results of a number of Massey University research projects offer guidelines for managing twinning ewes during pregnancy and lactation to maximise lamb weaning weights. Studies investigating feeding from midpregnancy onwards showed ewes can be fed at maintenance levels right up to set stocking around 10 days before lambing. Feed requirements for maintenance increase on a weekly basis during the lead-up to lambing (due to the additional needs of the unborn lambs), but they can be met by keeping ewes on rotation and shifting them when covers hit 800kg DM/ha (2cm). Lower grazing residuals have an adverse effect on performance because ewes are unable to eat enough feed when pastures are very short. The trials suggested target pasture cover for twinning ewes at set stocking and throughout lactation should be 1200-1300kg DM/ha (4cm). Offering ewes more feed (1500-1800 kg DM/ha or

Pasture covers should not be allowed to drop below 1200kg DM/ha during lactation as this has been shown to lower average lamb liveweights.

6-7cm) during this period did not result in heavier lambs at weaning, although ewes were in slightly better condition. Pasture covers should not be allowed to drop below 1200kg DM/ha during lactation as this has been shown to lower average lamb liveweights at weaning by up to 3kg. Studies also found lighter ewes (condition score 2.0 in late pregnancy) weaned significantly lighter lambs than well-conditioned ewes (condition score 3.0).

KEY POINTS FOR FARMERS:

Ewes can remain on rotation, with

grazing residuals of no less than 800kg DM/ha, until 10 days before lambing. Aim for pasture covers of 1200kg DM/ha at set stocking and throughout lactation for twinning ewes. Consider strategies such as lambing dates, using nitrogen fertiliser, spraying for porina caterpillar, and reducing feed allocation to singlebearing and late-lambing ewes to achieve and maintain target pasture covers for twinners. Prioritise lighter-conditioned ewes during pregnancy and lactation.

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LIVESTOCK | ANIMAL HEALTH

Hairy shaker arrives on back of a truck Lynda Gray Undersized, hairy and shaking lambs are classic tell-tale sign of hairy shaker disease. The viral disease is nothing new and generally regarded as a sporadic problem in Otago and Southland. However, there were outbreaks of the disease last year in North Canterbury which vet Noel McGirr says most likely came in off the back of a truck. “With the drought over the last couple of years there have been a lot of sheep moved in and out of the area and it’s increased the chances of bringing in the disease. It’s here, it’s not rife but it’s caused issues for some farmers.” On one North Canterbury farm fertility was dramatically reduced when carriers in a line of bought-in Southland ewes were mixed with unexposed (naive) ewes at mating. Careful pre-mating management was the best way to prevent spread of the disease, by making sure any ewes grazed off-farm in a different province were mixed with ewes at least a month before mating. If affected by the disease it was important ewe replacements were not selected from the infected mobs. “If you do it will increase the risk of selecting a persistently infected (PI) animal which will perpetuate the disease. If you do want to select a lamb because of its genetic merit get it tested first.” Blood or skin testing to diagnose

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infected animals was possible but expensive. In Central Otago an isolated outbreak on one farm led to blood testing during tailing by Rebecca Kingan of Vetlife, Alexandra, of suspect-looking lambs in the wider region. “There was speculation about it and we wanted to gauge prevalence of the disease but it doesn’t seem to be any more widely spread than in other years.” Awareness and mating management was the best prevention, she says. The disease can cause early abortion although the classic tell-tale sign that the flock has been infected are the undersized, mutant hairy lambs, some of which will also have brown patches on their shoulders and backs. These lambs are constant shedders of the virus and running them with ewe hoggets before mating is a natural way to immunise them against the disease but not 100% reliable, North Otago vet Dave Robertson says. Another strategy could be to run persistently infected BVD calves with breeding ewes. Overseas research had looked at the possibility of using a BVD cattle vaccine Bovilis in young ewes to prevent the disease, Kim Kelly, MSD Animal Health technical advisor says. The French research indicated vaccination with a half dose induced the production of antibodies but further experiments were needed to assess its efficacy in a challenge situation.

The classic tell-tale sign that the flock has been infected are the undersized, mutant hairy lambs.

What is hairy shaker? Hairy shaker disease, also known as border disease, is caused by a virus in the same family as bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD). It typically affects hoggets and twotooths, but once exposed to the disease they are immune. It is often difficult to pick out the persistently infected (PI) ewes which produce the virus in faeces, saliva and blood and always produce a persistently infected lamb. Signs of infection are: early abortions; stillbirths; weak, small, hairy lambs with tremors and often with brown patches on their shoulders or along backs. Unlike BVD in cattle, there is no vaccine available for hairy shaker disease in sheep and no test cheap enough to screen all ewes to get rid of persistently infected ewes. How to control: • mix any bought-in ewes with the flock at least four weeks before mating • cull any lambs that have been severely affected • cull any ewes that produce offspring with hairy shakers for two consecutive years • buy in ewe replacements instead of retaining affected ewes’ lambs • farmers can test for the disease but it is expensive to screen all ewes. “I’m not aware of anyone in New Zealand who has tried this. Cost would be the issue as it would require an initial dose and then a booster shot.”

LIVESTOCK | GENETICS

But what does it all mean? The goal of genetic improvement is to change a population of animals.

IN THE GENES Tim Byrne As a breeder or buyer of rams or bulls, you no doubt hear a lot of jargon thrown around about genetics. Geneticists, those charged with analysing the genetics of animals, certainly use jargon when we talk to each other and probably use too much of it when we talk to the people who use the genetic information to select animals. What this article is about is getting to the bottom of what we are really trying to do with genetics, to take some of the jargon out of the game. It may be obvious but it’s worth remembering that the goal of genetic improvement is to change a population of animals, whether that be a flock/herd or a breed, to be better at the things that make more profit, reduce environmental impact, or improve animal welfare. A few key things are needed to enable population genetic changes to happen. First, there’s the often-used term, heritability. To make a genetic change in some trait of an animal, you need a heritability because this is how much of the difference in the trait in a population comes from genetic differences between animals – performance for the trait must be under some genetic control. Each trait has its own heritability. Broadly speaking, a higher heritability means more of the differences you observe between animals are due to genetics, and you can make genetic change faster. As examples, liveweight has a high heritability and lamb survival has a low heritability. Another requirement is differences between animals for the trait, because we need this variation so we can exploit the best performers. Again, broadly speaking, if there is more variation there is more opportunity to find animals that are much better for the things we want to improve. As examples, liveweight has a high variation and lean meat yield has a

lower level of variation. With knowledge of these two things along with data on how animals are related to each other, a pedigree, and on performance for the trait (a weight, for example), we can make some estimation of the genetic merit of animals in a population. Geneticists call these estimates of genetic merit, breeding values. They are an estimate of how different animals are, genetically, for a trait based on what we know. They are a tool to compare animals. For something like weaning weight, the higher the breeding value the better; the better the animal is than the average of the others it’s being compared to. There are animals that are worse than the average too, but those are seldom considered as keepers.

Genomics adds accuracy to breeding values, so can speed up genetic change, especially when we want to predict performance for later in life trait, when the animal in question is young.

Another term that gets thrown around is accuracy or reliability. This is simply a measure of how much confidence there is in the breeding value. A higher accuracy means we have more confidence that the estimate is closer to the truth, so with higher accuracy we can make faster progress. Higher accuracy is achieved when heritability is higher or when there are lots of performance records for an individual and its relatives. What usually happens is that an industry wants to change the population of animals for several traits, often as many as 20. In this case, we want to be efficient at making changes in lots of traits at the same time – and not all are independent of each other. Correlations are measures of how one trait predicts or is related to another. For example, if an animal has a heavy weight at six-

months-old, because of genetics, that is a good predictor of how heavy is will be at 12-months. This is a positive correlation. Some correlations are negative, faster growth rate might mean less fat, for example. These relationships between traits are used extensively when trying to predict the genetic merit of animals. Genomics and gene test use DNA information to help in the estimation of the genetic merit, by creating a deeper understanding of the relationship between animals – how much DNA they have in common, or by linking some DNA marker to trait performance. Genomics adds accuracy to breeding values, so can speed up genetic change, especially when we want to predict performance for later in life trait, when the animal in question is young. DNA information is another prediction tool. It doesn’t mean we have perfect knowledge of how good an animal is. If you have estimates of merit for many traits for the animals in a population, which is usually the case, it can be difficult to work out exactly which animals are the best overall, because there is simply too much information. The solution to this is to combine the information into an index, not too dissimilar to a financial index like the NZX50. An index is a single number, an overall profit ranking, based on a combination of breeding values multiplied by an economic weighting. The economic weighting is a profit margin, based on the impact of improving the trait on a commercial farm. Each trait breeding value has its own economic weighting. To make the most out of genetic improvement, for both breeders and buyers, the key is to engage with industry genetic improvement providers as much as possible, ensure you ask questions, discuss the traits that impact the efficiency and profitability of your businesses. Estimates of genetic merit, such as breeding values and indices, are tools to compare and rank animals, and are powerful and proven ways of creating population changes. • Tim Byrne is a consultant with AbacusBio

Country-Wide April 2017

LIVESTOCK | ANIMAL HEALTH

Sheep return to England’s pastures green STOCK CHECK Trevor Cook Experiencing the sentiment of United Kingdom farmers last month was just like being at home. Frustration about lamb price, especially store lambs, impending environmental restrictions, springs that don’t happen and Brexit concerns were standard conversation topics. That aside, the huge progress some farmers have made in switching to pasture-based farming systems is astounding. Many have been able to maintain high levels of production while significantly reducing their costs. Well, this applies to sheep farming. There is little evidence much is changing for beef cattle and their own analyses show most beef herds are losing money. As always when I return from that world I see more clearly the opportunity that still exists here. Efficient use of pasture is the cornerstone of profitability. That means high levels of utilisation, feeding just enough and growing as much as we can. We already farm efficient-size livestock, not like most of our counterparts in the UK. The sense of, and in turn the intent to, farm pastures as efficiently as possible is not as prominent as it should be in most farm forums. I have spoken before about forage crops that are providing comfort not profit, this is the antithesis of efficient pasture farming. So it was music to my ears at a recent discussion group that the advice from the group was to put in more fences as the next big step in progressing the farm.

But putting in more fences is only one part of efficient use of pasture. It is the tool to enable such efficient use. Planning the use – the amount of pasture, the allocation, the end objective (in pasture cover and stock condition) is necessary to exploit the value of any fencing. But the lack of water is too often an obstacle to fully exploiting the potential of more subdivision.

I analysed a few farm accounts in the UK and was almost alarmed by the animal health costs. They vaccinate against more diseases, pour supplements in willy nilly and use a multitude of medicines we do not. There was a massive range in what different farmers were paying for the same vaccine. One vaccine cost £7 on one farm and £4 on the other – a NZ$5 difference. A B12 supplement was costing 80p on one farm and 50p on another. I have looked closely at animal health costs here and the room for savings can be significant. Not so much from sourcing cheaper product but from reviewing the need for each input. A question, or maybe an excuse that is common in the UK is that sheep that

have spent the last few generations inside and/or on largely concentrate diets would not cope with a change to pasture. Enough farming systems have made that change almost seamlessly to debunk that assertion. Interestingly though, a recently reported study has shown lambs born to ewes fed on a particular herb in pregnancy took more readily to that herb. This is just one of a multitude of studies that show offspring behaviour can be influenced by experiences their mothers had when they were pregnant. Does this mean we could condition lambs to grow faster on a herb such as plantain by feeding their mothers that while they are pregnant? This would not be efficient pasture farming though. Having just been to the province where plantain is abundant, the Wairarapa, this would be a good study arena. My visit was to be a judge to choose the best farming business for the year. Three outstanding businesses were scrutinised and some key factors were common to them all. Each had a very high-performing sheep flock. A mixture of sheep breeds excluded that as the common factor. A focus on growing ewe lambs to great weights by autumn and spending the summer getting lightcondition ewes fatter by mating was a common factor. The other factor common to them all was that they invested in being able to have as much control over as many of the influences as possible. That is, leave as little as possible to an outcome being just by chance or just what the season delivered. Each farm was a case study in successful farming. What a great experience. Showcasing such farms should be high on the extension calendar, because it makes clear what any farm can do to improve profitability. Many UK sheep farmers have made huge progress in switching to pasture-based farming systems. The same is not the case with beef cattle.

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Hill and tussock development has increased stock carrying capacity by 10su/ha and cost just over $218/su

LIVESTOCK | HILL COUNTRY

Taming the tussock Lynda Gray Steady-as-she-goes hill and tussock development of Wohelo, a West Otago run and tussock block, has been a smart use of money for Nelson and Fi Hancox. Over the past four years $2180/ha has been spent on tussock development, which will lift stock-carrying capacity by 10 stock units a hectare. The $218/su investment in spray, seed, fertiliser, drainage and fencing has been a cheap way to increase carrying capacity, working out at about 20% of the cost of buying land. “We need to fertilise it anyway so it’s been an economic way to get stocking rate up to 10 to 12su/ha. To buy the same land developed would cost about $10,000/ha,” Nelson says. But the undertaking has not been without costs and risk. There have been the costs of drainage, extra fertiliser and fencing; plus the extra demands on staff and machinery. It’s also added risk and a certain amount of stress, especially around snow and the potential effect it could have on crops and livestock. But on the flipside has been the development margin – the increase in stock-carrying capacity which has improved the capital value. “We’ve taken our time and done things slowly, so it’s been well worth it.” The development, funded out of retained earnings, has amounted to about 40ha a year to work in with Wohelo’s cropping programme. The farm, until April 1 this year, comprised two blocks separated by six kilometres of gravel road. The 430ha home block with woolshed and yards grows about 30ha of brassicas and the 939ha “run” block – a

Fi and Nelson Hancox say that development of Wohelo to increase stock carrying capacity has worked out at about 20% of the cost of buying land.

slight misnomer given that most is now developed – grows 50ha. Over the past four years 160ha of the run block’s oversown tussock country has been sown into permanent pasture following crops of soft turnips and kale. The spray, fertiliser, cultivation, seed, cartage and spreading costs of the tussock-to-pasture development are $1480/ha, and of that lime is the biggest expense at $560/ha. About seven tonnes is applied over two years, typically lifting pH from around 5.2 to 6.0. “We’ve found that it takes about 1t/ha to shift the pH by 0.1.”

Clover has returned after several years of decimation by clover root weevil.

The first dressing of 4t/ha, is spread by truck after spraying and discing in autumn. The ground is then fallowed over winter. In spring discing to remove weeds is followed by hooper harrows to make a level bed for the sowing of soft turnips. Soil-testing before sowing is done to assess the fertiliser requirement which generally amounts to around 250kg/ha of DAP and 250kg/ha of Serpentine Super. Hoggets and two-tooths graze the turnips over May and June. “They can split and turn to mush pretty quickly so we break-feed them early.” In the second year another 3t/ha of lime is spread before discing and harrowing. The Kestrel or Regal kale is broadcast at 4.5kg/ha with 300kg/ha of DAP. Also added is a Livestock Supplies trace element mix for kale. The mix of fast and slow-release boron, copper, fastrelease selenium, zinc sulphate, copper sulphate, and magnesium oxide has been used for the last 15 years. “It works out at about $68/ha but we

Fencing lessons Paul Slack is supervising the third round of fencing. He jokes that once this round is done it will be time to leave. The first fences were wooden stakes and four-wire electric which didn’t cope with snow or cattle. An attempt was made to strengthen them with extra wires, posts and droppers but was only moderately successful. The latest fencing upgrade of post, netting and hot wire is finally meeting job specs.

believe it’s well worth it. Our livestock performance is better and we need boron anyway to prevent brown heart.” The kale, like the soft turnips, is grazed early to mid-winter so it’s well-chewedthrough before any snow. The swedes, all of which are direct-drilled mostly into older run and home block pastures, are saved for later winter grazing. In the third year the ground is surfacecultivated, roller-drilled into a permanent hardy perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy and clover mix. During tussock cultivation and crop establishment most of the drainage is done which takes about a coil of Novaflo per hectare to drain springs. “We try to do about two-thirds before the turnips and then go back and tidy up in the second year so it has time to settle before sowing in the third year.” With only 40 hectares of oversown tussock left, the hard work of pasture development is all-but done. But the project won’t be 100% complete until shelter belt and gully planting of Moutere willows and flax is ticked off. The willows have been a preferred shelter species since farm forestry expert Graham Milligan recommended them to the Hancoxes while farming in northern Southland 30 years ago. Cuttings from those original trees have been used for plantings on the three west Otago farms. “They’re smacked in the ground with a post driver and grow at least a metre a year.” As well as being easy-care they leaf up early to provide shelter from the wind during spring and the prunings are highly palatable to stock. The gully plantings will be fenced off from Country-Wide April 2017

Farm facts Rock picking has been part of the development process at Wohelo.

Wohelo costs of tussock development to grow a turnip crop (excludes regrassing)

livestock but eventually sheep will have access for shade and shelter. Looking back at Wohelo’s tussock development Nelson and Fi say they’re proud of what’s Cost per ha been done and credit much of the Spray $30 success to farm manager Paul Slack. “It’s been a great achievement Lion 490 $35 for Paul and us,” Fi says. Disc (twice) $300 A few things would be handled Lime (capital) $560 differently around the tussock development with the benefit of DAP 250 $200 hindsight. In the early days the Serpentine Super (capital) $100 Hancoxes used helicopters for Seed $30 spraying out tussock which turned Hooper harrowing $50 out to be a bad move because of spray drift on to tussocks they Urea $60 wanted to keep in the gullies. Drainage $400 Closer supervision of contractors Fencing $300 so more tussock was left along Cartage/spreading $40 fence lines and around gully faces for shelter is another regret. Water $75 “That’s not a criticism of the TOTAL $2180 contractors but I think we soon realised we needed to be doing it ourselves because we knew the land and contour best,” Nelson says. Reduced cattle grazing in the tussock gullies to leave more natural shelter would also have been a good idea.

THEN AND NOW Colin Richardson, Fi’s dad bought Wohelo in 1976 with the goal of developing it to upscale his sheep farming business. “Dad loved developing land and was passionate about sheep and he saw huge potential. The neighbours told him he was mad but they started doing the same five or seven years later,” Fi says. The farm was named by the Weatherall family, the original owners of the block. Before taking ownership the family and their Clydesdale teams were employed to plough over a lot of the Moa Flat area before subdivision into farm-sized blocks. The Wohelo name is an acronym made up by the first two letters of work, health and love. Nelson says a subsequent manager of the block thought the made-up name stood for “work like hell”. Nelson and Fi bought Wohelo in 2005 not long after Paul Slack, a longtime employee of the Richardson family, took on management. Another but slightly different development to take effect on April 1 was the addition of 407ha from the neighbouring Whitcomb farm. The acquisition has joined together the run and home block, saving stock a 6km trek down a gravel road for shearing. The development has altered the farm boundaries for the Mt Allen and Wohelo managers. The “new” Wohelo, managed by Paul, now includes the run block and Whitcomb farm; and Mt Allen, managed by Julian Kelly, now includes the Wohelo home block. Wohelo’s development stacks up on two fronts. It’s been a cheaper way to increase carrying capacity and at the same time has increased the capital value of the farm, which is tax-free. The Hancoxes estimate they spent $2000/ha on development costs which has increased Economic Farm Surplus (EFS) from $100 to $350/ha. The $250 increase in EFS divided by the development cost of $2000/ha gives a return on investment of 12.5%. • More photos p82 Country-Wide April 2017

Nelson and Fi Hancox own three west Otago farms: • Kowai Downs (Tapanui) 550ha, summer-safe and mostly frost-free. Managed by Brian Sparrow. • Mt Allen (Heriot/Moa flat) 780 ha of rolling, gully country with excellent natural shelter. Managed by Julian Kelly. • Wohelo (Moa Flat) 1346ha plus 125ha tree lease block (60ha effective) for grazing of cattle. High altitude, summer-safe but prone to snow in winter. Managed by Paul Slack. • The farms collectively finish about 30,000 lambs and are run separately although stock is traded between the three. The focus of the three farms is sheep breeding/lamb finishing with some cattle finishing. Stock management and feeding is kept simple and based on brassicas and grass with minimal supplements. Wohelo • Altitude: 300 – 750masl • Rainfall: 850 – 950mm • Snow falls occur most winters and can lie for two to six weeks. • Stock units/ha: 9 but will left to 10 su/ha when development is complete Stock: • Sheep (Inverdale Romdale) • MA ewes + 2T 8200 • Hoggets 2500 • Lambs 100 • Rams 76 • Cattle (Angus, Angus-cross) • MA cows 160 • R1 heifers 70 • Bulls 5 Goals • Complete tussock development within five years • Develop and implement a shelter plan (1 – 10 years) • Improve fertility on poorer areas of paddocks over next five years • Lift lambing percentage to 150% through the reintroduction of Inverdale gene over the next four years • Lamb 80% of hoggets • Increase cattle number and use a newly leased tree block for wintering them Pasture/crop varieties Brassicas • Green Globe and roundup-resistant turnips broadcast @ 1.2kg/ha (first year) • Kestrel and Regal kale broadcast @ 4.5kg/ha (second year). • Swede and kale mixes include: Triumph and Clutha Gold swedes (900g/ha); and Kestrel kale (100g/ha), Pasture • Samson AR1 (17kg/ha); Savvy cocksfoot (1kg/ ha); Hilltop white clover (2kg/ha); Huia white clover (3kg/ha) • Prospect AR1 (20kg/ha); Savvy cocksfoot (1kg/ ha); Timothy (1kg/ha); Bounty white clover (3kg/ ha); Hilltop white clover (2kg/ha)

Key facts

FORAGE | IRRIGATION

Emma was an agronomist for PGGWrightson and Landcorp before coming home to farm.

Keeping

THE BALANCE Former agronomist Emma Crutchley set the pasture and crop balance for the irrigated and dryland of Central Otago’s Puketoi station. Lynda Gray reports.

1200-lift in ewe numbers over the past eight years is the most tangible gain from spray irrigation development at Puketoi station. Since 2001 the Crutchley family has installed five centre-pivot irrigators. The development was started by Geoff and Noela, but it’s the next generation mulling the “where to now” opportunities from more efficient and effective watering. 44

At a Beef +Lamb day late last year the Crutchley’s daughter Emma said the future farming mix was a topic of “healthy debate” but the family agreed keeping the stock and drymatter in balance while increasing production was the overriding goal. “I think 7000 ewes is about as high as we can go without knocking the hill country and keeping enough feed for the cows,” Emma said. The ewes graze the 1340-hectare of hill

Puketoi Station • Geoff and Noela Crutchley • Their daughter Emma Crutchley and husband Kyle Hagen • Emma’s brother Bruce Crutchley • Extensive, partly irrigated flat and hill country farm at Gimmerburn, near Ranfurly. • Production focus is lamb and cattle finishing plus an Angus stud. Long-time annual rainfall average is 350mm but has dipped below 300mm over the last two years. Area • 2886ha • 1543ha (flat), includes 450ha of irrigation. • 1343ha (hill) • Irrigation • Pivot: 370ha • k-line: 80ha Stock • Sheep (Romney) • 6800 MA and 2T Romney ewes • 1800 hoggets • Cattle (Angus Stud) • 150 MA cows plus R2s • 50 R1 heifers • 45 R1 bulls

country from February until June when they’re brought back to the 1550ha flats for scanning and winter crop feeding. Taking ewe numbers beyond 7000 would mean bringing them off the hill earlier, a move that could ultimately create a serious feed pinch on the flats over late winter and spring. With a line in the sand drawn as far as stock-carrying capacity, it’s the pasture and crop balance on the irrigated and dryland flats that’s been planned and executed largely by Emma, a former agronomist. She has worked on an eight-year crop and pasture rotation on the spray irrigated area converted from borderdyke. The first step in the process was getting rid of the border-dykes with spray and then grading a month or so later. Following cultivation ryecorn, has been grown as a thatch-buster and fertilitybooster before pivot installation. One year of brassicas followed; two years would have been ideal but impractical given the large area for new pasture establishment. For permanent pastures a mix of late flowering tetraploids and mid-flowering diploid ryegrasses has been used. “I like the late-flowering tetraploids for quality, pre-weaning lamb feed but like the mid-flowering diploids for early spring growth. We’re aiming to keep Country-Wide April 2017

Carrying capacity on the 260ha of borderdyke converted spray irrigated country has more than doubled to 15 – 18 su/ha.

Win-win crop

the balance and keep the lambs going forward to weaning a lot easier.” Pasture and crop management is a lot easier under spray irrigation, she said, but the staged nature of the development means a constant juggling of stock and grazing around the patchwork of young pasture, cultivated and crop paddocks.

‘If you don’t graze too hard and use nitrogen to help it recover grass grub shouldn’t become much of a problem. I think that’s better than diazinon which knocks out everything alive in the soil.’

Most weeds and pests have been easy to control although grass grub has been a problem in some places. Emma’s taken a “stand-off” approach

to prevent it taking a foot-hold. “My attitude is if you don’t graze too hard and use nitrogen to help it recover grass grub shouldn’t become much of a problem. I think that’s better than diazinon which knocks out everything alive in the soil.” Fertility on the spray-irrigated area was around OlsenP 20. Although good, there had been a lot of fertility transfer on the border-dyked land making patch-up fertiliser necessary. About seven tonnes of NRich Ammo was strategically applied in spring, and in autumn 200kg/ha of Sulphurgain 20S to tackle an ongoing sulphur deficiency. Although the ryegrass mix gives good lamb finishing feed its propensity to shut down once soil temperatures top the mid-20s – which also coincides with peak grazing pressure – led to installation of a fifth pivot mostly for lucerne. “For us it’s a summer-safe crop and we know it adds about another kilogram to lambs on the hooks.” This pivot went on to 110ha of dryland

Ryecorn is a win-win crop at Puketoi. As well as breaking down thatch and boosting fertility during development of the spray-irrigated platform, some of it is harvested for seed. The seed production side-line happened by chance in 2008 when a crop bolted on a dryland block. It was harvested and sold locally. About 50ha of ryecorn is grown and strip-grazed in winter. In spring 15ha gets a dressing of nitrogen and is shut up until harvest in February. Dryland barley will be grown for the first time this year on 30ha. Emma wanted a crop that would cope with saline dryland country before the drilling of lucerne. Some online research identified barley as a likely candidate. It will be autumn or spring sown, depending on soil moisture levels.

Table 1: Fertility under border-dyke pH Olsen P K S(S04)

Fertility under centre-pivot

10 – 15

3-6

6 - 10

20 - 25

6-7

Pivotal decision The $300,000 decision in 2001 to install two centre-pivots, the first permanent spray irrigators in the Maniototo region, was based on common sense, Geoff Crutchley said. “We had a block that was not responding to border-dyke. It was a no-brainer because we had a guaranteed supply of water and the cost was comparative to redoing the borderdykes.” There are now five pivots, and that’s the limit, Emma said. The first two pivots, Irrifrance, and the last three Valley, vary in length from 400-800 metres. All have been placed so they stop positioned away from the nor-wester that often buffets the valley. The three newest are controlled by simple text messaging. Water for irrigation, supplied from mid-September until April, comes from the Maniototo scheme. It’s a reliable scheme, the only pitfall being the acidic water that after 16 years has rusted and blocked the sprinklers on one of the first irrigators which will require refitting. Water is taken directly from the race by four of the irrigators, and the fifth draws from a small dam. The cost of electricity to run the five irrigators is about $20,000 a year. The change from border-dyke to spray irrigation has lifted stock carrying capacity from 8su/ha to 15-18su/ha. The 80ha of k-line irrigation are on a block the Crutchleys bought in 2011.

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Flower power: Evelyn in the garden, one of nine stop-offs in last year’s Maniototo Garden Club tour. The annual event attracted 300 visitors and raised $4500.

Pines in the move

Financial bearing Emma says it is difficult to calculate the return on investment as they are farming four completely different land types: high-value finishing under pivots, dryland light soils with less than 350mm annual rainfall, hill country and river wetland. They all complement one another and every season is different. “The average is not the norm.” Some costs and returns are: • Water charges are $11,000/year for about 400ha • Power costs are about $52,000/year • K-line power costs $25,000 and grows half the amount of feed but is poorly designed • The two later centre-pivots cost about $350,000 for the 100ha and $400,000 for 110ha, the latter was installed last year. A typical rotational cropping cost for area under a centre-pivot is about $1550/ha A typical summer crop of Italian and pasja or rape is about $1377/ha Stock units have increased from 10/ ha on borderdyke to 18/ha under a pivot lucerne and lucerne-cocksfoot in spring last year. About 65-75ha of the legume will remain under irrigation after brassica and ryecorn crops. “We’re feeling our way. We’d like to keep most of the lucerne but will see how it goes.” More dryland lucerne is planned in

Pinus radiata and poplar are being planted around the perimeter of the irrigation development.

One of the first two pivots went on to 80ha of gravelly country that Geoff had battled with under border-dyke. The water was ineffective at growing any significant pasture or crop so 16ha of Pinus radiata was planted in the hope of generating some return and to provide shelter. When the decision was made to bring on spray irrigation 10ha had to be ripped out. Pinus radiata as well as poplars are being planted around the perimeter of the irrigated platform. About 400600 are planted each year.

Bruce Crutchley farms Puketoi with his sister Emma and her husband Kyle Hagen

Au pair Selma Bruggemann from Germany and Reuben.

addition to the 200ha established over the last eight years on native country above the irrigation race. Most years about 20ha has been directdrilled following ryecorn, although very little has gone in over the last two years because of the dry. “Lucerne is great because it survives

drought so well, but if it gets dry it doesn’t grow. A nor-wester can easily tip it up and blow away 3000kg/DM/ ha and leave us with nothing after two weeks.” Some of the lucerne paddocks have an Olsen P of about 5 but perform well, so a bare minimum of fertiliser – a one-

Learning how plants grow Emma went to Lincoln University and completed a BAgSci (honours) with a dissertation on lucerne management. “It taught me a lot about how plants grow and what factors stop them from growing.” On graduating she worked as an agronomist for PGGWrightson, then Landcorp, covering the North and South Islands. “I was in my mid-20s and all my friends were doing their OE while I was living in Wellington and jumping on a plane every second day to visit a lot of cool places. It was great but was never something I wanted do for ever. It made me realise that New Zealand has a really strong pastoral farming sector compared to the rest of the world.” She came home in 2009 and Kyle joined her in 2010. Kyle, also a Lincoln graduate, was a stock manager on a western Southland Landcorp farm. The couple have two children Evelyn (3½) and Reuben (20 months) and in September last year employed an au pair Selma Bruggemann (18) from Germany so Emma could return to full-time farming. Consideration was given to taking on a farm worker but an au pair made more sense given Emma’s expertise, team of dogs and desire to stay actively involved in the farm. The couple farm Puketoi with Emma’s brother Bruce and occasional help from Geoff and Noela.

Lucerne is an important summer greenfeed for ewes and lambs.

Country-Wide April 2017

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Centre-pivot crop and pasture development rotations Spray: February Direct drill with ryecorn (grown on farm) Fertiliser: 200kg/ha DAP Sulphur Super Crop yield: 3.5 – 4t/ha, strip-grazed in winter than lambed on in September Border removal Cultivation Rotation A

Rotation B

300 – 400kg/ha Superten

300kg/ha Superten

Early Dec drilling of swedes/kale

Late Oct/early Nov drilling of pasja or forage rape for summer finishing

2 x Urea (Feb and April)

2 x grazing

Crop yield: 14 – 16t/ ha

2 x Urea (Feb and April)

Spray in Sep

Spray following Spring

Cultivate with light disc, harrow and roll

Direct drill into permanent ryegrass

Drill into permanent ryegrass

and-only application of Sulphergain at sowing – is all it gets. “That’s all it gets because some years it doesn’t return anything.” Spray irrigation has changed the sheep system from store lamb breeding to mostly prime lamb finishing. “Before the pivots we used to finish

Puketoi Angus stud cows and calves clean up as required behind the ewes on the pivot paddocks.

lambs one year in four,” Emma said. Over the last eight years terminal sires have been used over one-third of the ewe flock with the goal of getting progeny out the gate before Christmas. Last year’s drought up-ended that goal; 40% made it to prime weight by the last week of November and the rest were sold as stores. Emma and Kyle are quietly confident the latest pivot installed last year should mean an almost 100% turnout of prime lambs. The downside of the terminal lamb breeding is the reduction in the replacement ewe lamb pool and for that reason the number of ewes going to the terminal ram will be capped at 40%. Although the sheep focus has changed under pivots, the cattle component has

remained as is. The family established the Puketoi Angus stud in 1972 and sell about 30 bulls at an annual onfarm sale, with the rest sold prime. Emma and Kyle thought long and hard about keeping on the stud when they took on management. “The issue was that we single-sire mate which leaves us pushed for grass at mating, but we’re passionate about cattle and they’re great for pasture control under the pivots.” The 150 cows are managed in a fuss and supplement-free system. They winter on the hills, calve on the dryland flats. They clean up as required behind the ewes on the pivot paddocks, but not in the last couple of years due to the dry conditions. “They’ve done it tough so are making up for it this year.”

Time to check winter feeds April is the ideal time to get out into winter feed crops and make your first formal assessments of yield, PGG Wrightson’s Charlotte Westwood says. While a worthwhile tonnage can still be added from late growth getting an accurate handle on crop quantity, quality and condition now helps avoid costly surprises or surpluses later in the year. “If you’re going to have too much, you can do something about it rather than waiting until you see all those nasty yellow flowers start to appear on your brassicas come spring,” she told a group of growers and agronomists at a recent PGGWrightsons Seeds field day. Similarly, if a shortfall looms, there’s still time to buy extra feed or offload stock. “Feed budgets still rule as a planning tool.” Yields should be measured with cuts or digs rather than eye, she stresses, as appearances can be very misleading and 48

Never rely on the eye-ometer for yield, or book values for quality, PGG Wrightson nutritionist Charlotte Westwood says.

samples sent away for quality assessment prior to grazing. “Don’t ever rely on book values for drymatter when you’re yield-assessing any crop.”

For brassica at least, season and location cause wide variations even within cultivars, she says, however within-paddock variation of drymatter appears to be minimal so one sample from a typical patch of crop is usually sufficient. Few, if any, winter crops are a complete diet for stock so what’s offered with them can make a big difference to performance, even if the supplement is only a small percentage of the diet, she adds. “I’d never go 100% brassica, even with beef cattle that are fully adapted to it.” Growing cattle require more protein and benefit from higher metaboliseable energy, so baleage or high-quality ryegrass straw is worthwhile. Cows just need some fibre so straw is adequate. “But straw is getting quite expensive for what it is so it might be worth looking at some more mature baleage for cows on kale or fodder beet.” Country-Wide April 2017

FORAGE | SOILS

Don’t treat your soils like dirt Cheyenne Stein

Figure 1. Illustration of soil damage with increasing soil wetness (from Betteridge et al. 2003).

SOIL COMPACTION AND PUGGING Soil compaction happens when a force greater than the bearing strength of soil is applied, compressing the soil macropores. Soil macroporosity describes the percentage of air spaces within soils and is used as a measure of soil physical quality. This occurs when soil moisture content starts to increase, lubricating the soil aggregates and decreasing their resistance to compactive forces. Soil pugging involves the deformation and remoulding of soil when animal

Prevention Management strategies for treading in the wet period should be based on your farm’s soil type, Houlbrooke says, and prevention is more economical than repairing. • Reduce stock numbers • Decrease grazing duration • Make use of off-pasture systems • Graze lighter young stock on heavy soils • Strategically grazing areas by soil type • Maintain good pasture covers • Put a back fence behind fresh breaks to prevent previously undamaged or partially damaged soils from becoming further damaged.

Country-Wide April 2017

No compaction, No pugging

INCREASING MOISTURE CONTNET

With winter fast approaching it’s time to start thinking about keeping your soils intact in the wet months. AgResearch soil scientist and science team leader David Houlbrooke says there are two types of damage done by animal treading – compaction damage and pugging. The difference between the two comes down to the soil moisture content at the time of damage. Soil structure is important for pasture production. Water and air must be able to move freely in and out of the soil and between soil aggregates, which allows plant roots, earthworms and micro-organisms to function normally. Soil treading causes damage to the soil structure, which leads to a decrease in pasture production.

Limited compaction, No pugging

Pasture is essentially buried in the soil, meaning a greater short-term production loss. One pugging event can depress pasture production by 20-60% depending on soil type and grazing conditions and the effects can last for four to eight months, Houlbrooke says.

High compaction, Low pugging

FACTORS INFLUENCING SOIL DAMAGE Soil texture is an important Moderate compaction, Moderate pugging driver when it comes to soil’s predisposition to treading damage. Lighter country with coarse soils, Low compaction, High pugging like silt loams and sandy silt loams, provides greater resistance to soil compaction because of their freer-draining properties. Heavier weight exceeds a soil’s bearing capacity. It country with greater clay content is more happens when soils are very wet and soil prone to compaction partly because of macropores are likely to contain water, how often it’s wet and the poor draining such as when they are draining. ability. “Lighter country has good drainage and is less likely to have soil moisture EFFECT OF SOIL DAMAGE content to be at risk and if they are in The loss of soil macroporosity from that state, they have mineralogy that soil compaction applies a “hand brake” is more resistant to compactive forces to pasture production that can stick damaging soil aggregates.” around for the long-term. There is often Vegetative cover also plays a role in a cumulative effect, particularly if land soil damage with some protection being management doesn’t change. provided by the pasture root mass, “The soil’s physical structure isn’t as which promotes aggregate formation and good at transmitting air, root exploration therefore improves structural stability is decreased and plant available water and pore space. isn’t held in the soil profile to the same extent when it’s compact,” Houlbrooke says. REPAIRING SOIL DAMAGE The infiltration rate of the soil is Soil has a natural ability to repair itself decreased. This is the rate at which and recover from both soil compaction water moves into and through soil and pugging if given a period of rest and therefore affects the soil’s drainage from intensive grazing. Natural soil capability. Less drainage capacity leads processes like earthworm activity, root to higher soil moisture levels which development and decay enhance soil will make soils more prone to pugging recovery. damage. Compaction damage can also be “It’s also likely that greater overland repaired by using sub-soilers or aerators flow will be generated which means which loosen the soil and break up a greater loss of contaminants like the compaction, but management also phosphorus and microbial to surface needs to be improved to reduce future water.” compaction damage to be effective Digging a hole is the easiest way to in the long term. For severe pugging identify compaction. When digging damage from a single event, Houlbrooke through the top soils, if you’re picking up says consideration should be given to large chunks of soil aggregate and roots re-grassing as part of a pasture renewal aren’t exploring nicely you know you programme. Moderate and minor damage have some compaction. If the soil is nice can often be left to recover naturally by and crumbly there is no compaction. limiting grazing intensity, by grazing Pugging, on the other hand, has an lighter young stock or decreasing grazing immediate detrimental effect on pasture. frequency. 49

FORAGE | NITROGEN Dawn Dalley – important to validate computer models with real life data

Dalley says in some cases they were almost identical and in others there were small variations but the information could be used to do further work and make the models even more accurate. They’ve also done a metabolism stall trial using diverse pastures and she says those results in comparison with model outputs show people can have confidence that the models are a good representation of reality.

PATCH WORK

Measuring the outputs Anne Lee While Mork and Mindy might be more well known to the wider population it’s Molly and Mindy dairy farmers might be interested in. They’re two computer models that can simulate the biological outputs of dairy cows – highly useful when scientists want to work out the effect of different combinations of forages on nitrogen concentrations in cow urine for example. It’s vital the models give accurate results but they’re only going to be as good as the information used to set them up. DairyNZ scientist Dr Dawn Dalley has carried out several trials recently aimed at generating data to compare the model outputs with those measured using real cows and real feeding situations, as well as finding out just what is going on with urinary nitrogen concentrations under different feeding regimes. The studies were part of the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching (FRNL) programme and Dalley has looked at varying levels of fodder beet fed to both lactating and non-lactating cows. The trials use cows in metabolism stalls which allow all the feed inputs and all of the cow’s outputs to be closely measured including the amount of nitrogen in milk, faeces, urine and liveweight change. Dalley says they used lactating cows and looked at a diet of pasture with 0, 20, 40, and 60% of the diet as fodder beet, 50

although they reduced the 60% fodder beet treatment to 50% after the cows in the trial showed signs of acidosis. Non-lactating cows were fed 70% fodder beet with pasture silage or 85% fodder beet with straw.

‘There are differences in urine patch spread depending on what they’re standing on – in the Waikato urine patches on pasture spread more than those on the fodder beet paddock.’

“We were purposely pushing the limits in terms of low nitrogen intake to really test the models. As well as N metabolism we also looked at rumen pH and rumen metabolites with AgResearch linking with us on assessing amino acid metabolites and volatile fatty acid production. “There was also some rumen microbe work done too.” Analysis from the real outputs of the cows were then compared with what Molly and Mindy predicted those outputs would be if the same diets were fed, with DairyNZ scientist Dr Pablo Gregorini running the models.

Since that work Dalley says they’ve also carried out one grazing experiment using non-lactating cows that were fitted with AgResearch urine sensors that measure the volume, number of urinations and N content of each urination, allowing urinary nitrogen loading on the soil (kg N per square metre) to be calculated. Cows were fed 8kg drymatter (DM)/ cow of fodder beet and 4kg DM/cow of pasture silage or 8kg DM/cow of pasture and 4kg DM/cow of maize silage to simulate typical wintering diets. The research also involves painstaking measurements of the areas of urine patches based on various volumes of urine. “So if a cow has a urination that’s 2.5litres we know for instance over what area that urine will spread. “There are differences in urine patch spread depending on what they’re standing on – in the Waikato urine patches on pasture spread more than those on the fodder beet paddock. This result was surprising given the visual compaction of the soil surface in the fodder beet paddock due to treading effects and more surface spread was expected.” By using the information from the urine sensors they know the number, volume and concentration of urine patches and with the area of the patches also known they can work out what the nitrogen loading is going on to the paddock based on stocking rate. This way they can determine the differences between the pasture or crops when it comes to nitrogen loading and risk of nitrate leaching. Dalley says they are analysing those results and the information will be important to use in other research and calculations that might be used to determine regulatory limits or compliance with those limits. The more accurate the information that rules can be based on the better and the more likely it is farmers can look at adopting mitigations that will result in significant reductions in nitrate leaching. Courtesy of the New Zealand Dairy Exporter Country-Wide April 2017

FORAGE | SCIENCE IN ACTION

Catch crop gets early start Anne Lee Getting catch crops into the ground quickly following a winter crop helps reduce nitrate leaching but getting it in can be easier said than done. That’s where farmers have come up with the idea of broadcasting the cereal seed on to the paddock and where the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching (FRNL) programme has stepped up to test their idea. Plant and Food Research scientist Dr Brendon Malcolm says the idea came from farmers involved in the programme during discussions showing the benefits of getting the catch crop in early and is a great example of how the feedback loop provided by including farmers in the programme is working. “It’s one of the great things about the way the programme is set up – we can take on board these ideas from farmers and test them for them,” he says. So in mid-winter (July), two plot trials were set up on two different paddocks – one had been in fodder beet and one had been in kale and both had been grazed by cows through the winter. Oat crops were then sown using three different establishment methods with the trial strips repeated along the length of the plots. Light tillage, direct drilling and broadcasting were all investigated. The crops were due to be harvested by the end of November so definite yield results will be available soon. But Malcolm says the differences between cultivation techniques and between the two sites – one following fodder beet and one following kale – were apparent well before harvest. He cautions that it’s just one trial done in one year. A year when it wasn’t particularly wet, but the preliminary results show the broadcast was behind the direct drill while the direct-drilled crop wasn’t too far behind in yield to the yield on the light tillage approach plots. The crops following kale also appear to be higher-yielding all round compared with the crops sown after fodder beet. The light tillage approach included grubbing, power-harrowing, rolling and drilling with full cultivation using a plough avoided. Country-Wide April 2017

Brendon Malcolm and DairyNZ scientist Dr Dawn Dalley check a catch crop of oats direct drilled after fodder beet.

Direct drilling was a single pass with the direct drill. Broadcasting wasn’t a no till approach but included a light grubbing before the seed was broadcast at the same rate the other treatments. The soil was then maxitilled. Malcolm says the concentration of stock on the crop over the winter combined with the stony light soils at the trial site on Lincoln University’s Ashley Dene meant a hard crust formed on the top of the soil. “If we’d just applied the seed to the soil surface it would have been like sprinkling it on concrete so we decided that the light grubbing was needed just to break up that surface and get some soil-to-seed contact,” he says. The condition of the soil would vary on different soil types and could even vary depending on rainfall through the winter. Farmers had raised the question of flying seed on and “hoof and toothing” – relying on the cows to push the seed into the ground. Malcolm says they did a small proof-ofconcept strip to see what would happen if seed was broadcast on just before the cows went on to the winter crops to graze. It didn’t work. In a 20m x 4m strip there were just three oat plants found after germination and once the cows moved off. Malcolm says the tines of the direct drill struggled in the fodder beet paddock to get into the ground in some places because the cap on the soil was so hard.

“That might not be the case in a wetter winter.” The lower yields in the broadcast trials also didn’t mean the approach was an abject failure. “It may be we just have to broadcast at a higher rate to compensate for the lack of soil-to-seed contact although we can’t say yet with any certainty that would boost the plant numbers. “When we have the results analysed we’ll be able to give a better indication of the yield differences that could be likely but it may be that farmers are happy to get a more variable yield from that approach.” Most farmers who are already using oats as a catch crop are drilling them either by direct drilling or using a light tillage approach. The apparent increase in yields across all establishment approaches on the crops following kale compared with the crops following fodder beet may be due to a number of factors. They include the differences in the amount of nitrogen applied to the initial wintering crops with kale dressed with 300units of nitrogen per hectare while fodder beet received half that. The lower protein in the fodder beet crop could have an influence as could variations in volumes and concentrations of urine patches between the two crops. They’re all factors also being investigated in the wider FRNL programme. Courtesy of the New Zealand Dairy Exporter 51

ARABLE | HARVEST

Farmers have reported big yields from autumn-sown wheat but poor yields of barley.

Whopping w but barley heats bombs Andrew Swallow It’s been a year of whopping wheat yields but average to poor barleys, judging by growers’ comments and trial results. Wheats delivered despite high disease pressure, notably from septoria, robust spray programmes paying in spades for the first time in several seasons. FAR’s dryland cultivar performance trials (CPT) at Fairlie, inland South Canterbury, averaged 14.5 tonnes/hectare, 40% above the site’s four-year mean of 10.3t/ ha while at Chertsey, Mid Canterbury, unirrigated April 4-sown feed and biscuit cultivars came in at 10.7t/ha, 3t/ha above the four-year unirrigated average for that site.

Watered wheats at Chertsey were also up on the long-term mean, but only 1t/ha at 13.2t/ha, while milling wheat yields were on par and irrigated autumnsown barley bombed, averaging 7.3t/ha compared to a four year mean of 9t/ha, with most cultivars brackling and some lodging. Dryland barley at St Andrews, south of Timaru, fared no better, averaging 7.5t/ ha, versus a four-year mean prior to this year of 9.3t/ha, though the site wasn’t sown until June last year. Whether that late sowing made any difference seems doubtful as other growers reported similar disappointments. “We’re probably down at least 2t/ha on

average,” Warren Darling of Timaru said, who two years ago set a Guinness World Record for barley yield, at 13.8t/ha. “We had a cracker of a season for (winter) barley two years ago but this would have to be one of the worst.” Persistent wet weather, notably over-flowering and through to harvest, favoured disease, especially ramularia, and a sunshine shortage failed to fill grains. “We had a lot of lodging as well which definitely affected grain weight.” However, better weather through February finished wheat well with a 14t/ ha average yield over the weighbridge. “We’ve had some of the best wheat yields we’ve ever grown, probably 2t/ha

Herbage seeds heads up A good harvest and continuing weak global demand means sow-and-hope herbage seed crops will be particularly high risk this autumn, Federated Farmers Herbage Seed Section representative Hugh Wigley says. “It’s not going to be a good option to plant Nui if you can’t get a proprietary [variety] contract,” he said. Many growers did that last autumn and with no increase in export demand considerable stocks may have to be held onfarm. “For two or three years now Europe’s just shut up shop. It was a major market but the quantity they’re taking has come to standstill and the US hasn’t been taking very much for quite a while either.” One possible positive is a wet autumn in New Zealand and Australia which could stimulate trans-Tasman demand. “It makes a huge difference if there’s a big uptake of seed in New Zealand and Australia.” Yields from this year’s herbage seed crops were good in general despite limited sunshine during flowering but any lapse in disease control was punished, Wigley said. “Any crop where rust got away suffered badly.”

Like many farmers, Palmerston’s Noel Sheat and his family have been itching to get harvesting.

Country-Wide April 2017

above our long-term average,” Darling said, having finished harvest on March 10, taking the last paddocks at 17-18% moisture ahead of what proved to be a correctly forecast wet weekend. That rain hit Chris Dennison’s harvest, just north of Oamaru, with 25% left to do despite having had the drier going most of the summer. “We’ve dried about 80% of it so far. In a normal year we might do 50% and last year it was 20%. We were finished by March 4 then, which was one of our quickest harvests ever but this is turning into one of the most drawn-out.” Like Darling, his wheat yields had been pleasing averaging 15t/ha with 50ha still to do despite the odd paddock succumbing to septoria even where robust spray programmes were used. Spring-sown barleys were running on par with recent years at 10-11t/ha and hadn’t needed irrigation, so that was a saving, but diesel and labour for drying

Response to fungicides Trial (site & crop)

Source: FAR. Mean untreated

Mean treated

Average response

Cultivar response range

Chertsey dryland wheat

7.9t/ha

10.7t/ha

2.8t/ha

0.4 – 4.5t/ha

Mean of Methven, Chertsey and Temuka irrigated wheat

9.5t/ha

13.9t/ha

4.4t/ha

1.8 – 6.5t/ha

was adding $15-20/t cost, as it was for wheat. Oilseed rape – a crop Dennison set a world record for in 2015 only to have a United Kingdom grower surpass it six months later – had disappointed at 4t/ha compared to 5t/ha normally. “I think the wind took a bit of it but some of it was never there either.” FAR chief executive Nick Pyke said that was a common comment about oilseed rape this season, but other break-crops had fared better. “From what I’ve heard peas have been reasonably good, but not outstanding, and ryegrass yields have been good.

Milton farmer Barrie Allison checks autumn-sown wheat before harvesting.

Struggle with wet and disease Terry Brosnahan Harvest has been a struggle in Otago with wet weather and disease taking their toll. Wet weather has meant Noel Sheat and his family at Palmerston have had few days in which to let their Case axial-flow combines. Not surprisingly the moisture is not dropping so the coalfired drier is working flat out. Sheat, 77, likes the moisture to drop to under 20% and they have been harvesting at about 18.5%. The Sheats are halfway through their 160ha of wheat, barley and oats with the autumn wheat yields averaging Country-Wide April 2017

about 10t/ha. Milton farmer Barrie Allison was digging and laying drains when Country-Wide called. He had finished 110ha of autumnsown crops and was waiting on 20ha of spring-sown barley to ripen before finishing the harvest. He has been luckier with the weather. Little drying was needed this year as crops were harvested about 15%. The 50ha of autumn wheat ranged from 10-14t/ha. “The autumn barley was a disaster and the rape was devastated by birds.” Allison said disease triggered by the wet spring knocked the barley.

Clovers have been some good, some bad, which was possibly related to pollination.” PGG Wrightson’s Nick Brooks was more upbeat, saying peas had been “very good – well above average” and some white clover yields were exceptional, at well over 1t/ha, though some were still to harvest as of mid March. It was a similar story with wheat, with exceptional yields reported provided robust spray programmes had been used but a considerable area was still to cut from Timaru south, he noted. The season had also favoured septoriaresistant cultivars. “The varieties with a good septoria package and reasonable yield potential have done exceptionally well but as always, you need to look at the four-year means when choosing varieties and look for the varieties that perform consistently well across a number of sites,” he added ahead of a grower meeting in Southland. FAR was aiming to have its comprehensive cultivar evaluation booklet available in early April but a stillto-be-harvested wheat trial in Southland, as of mid-March, threatened to delay that. FAR’s results round-up meetings are scheduled from April 4, starting in Timaru. See www.far.org.nz. In Southland, autumn-sown barleys fared better in CPT trials, coming in at 9.4t/ha against a four-year mean of 7.7t/ ha for the site, but Federated Farmers’ grain and seed chair for the region, Stephen Wilkins, said growers were reporting mixed results. “It’s probably been below average overall. There was a lot of disease because the crops established well and got quite forward with early disease pressure that proved difficult to get rid of.” Spring-sown barleys were looking more promising, as was wheat, but there was still quite a bit to cut as of mid-March. “We’re probably a half to two-thirds done.” At the other end of the country where maize is the main cereal, Colin Mackinnon said crops had largely caught up after a cold, wet start but March’s heavy rain was going to cause headaches for silage harvesting and possibly grain too. “The other problem is the prices. Most contracts were signed at about $250/t this year which is below the cost of production without doubt.” 53

PLANT & MACHINERY | SHOW TIME

Power products

Acres Supercrop 1

LAMMA is the United Kingdom’s largest ag machinery show with more than 900 exhibitors and 40,000 farmers drawn to the two-day event in eastern England including Country-Wide’s Nick Fone. ACRES SUPERCROP 1 Acres Machinery’s Supercrop three-inone rake/wuffler/tedder has the ability to pull 3.2 metres of spread grass or straw into one swath, fluff it up and then fling it all back out to the same width once again. Where it’s clever is that you can use one, two or all three of the key elements independently. Up front what looks like a pair of snowplough blades use concealed tines to draw crop into the centre where it passes through a conventional conditioner rotor. Hovering just above the rear hood are a pair of tedder rotors which, when folded down, catch the crop mid-air before it hits the deck and spin it back out to full width. Of course that’s not always necessary so it can simply remain folded out of the way. Similarly, the belt-and-tine rake sections can be folded and hitched up to allow the machine to aerate an existing swath. The standard trailed conditioner has a list price of £10,500 (NZ$18,440) while the folding 3.2m rake element adds a further £15,000 (NZ$26,345). Mounting the two-star tedder on the back takes the grand total to just shy of £29,000 (NZ$50,934).

MANITOU MLA PIVOT-STEER

Manitou is back in the bend-in-themiddle loader game. On its stand at LAMMA the French firm had a prototype of its latest MLA handler after an absence from the market of some four to five years.Details are sketchy but its vital stats are likely to match or exceed the competition – so a lift capacity in excess of 3.2 tonnes and a maximum height above five metres. Power will be a Deutz motor pumping out more than 140hp but the transmission is yet to be finalised. 54

Manitou’s R&D department is testing the 6Fx3R Dana-Spicer torque converter box used previously alongside the ZF twinpump hydrostatic it is introducing in its New Ag rigid-chassis machines. The cab is a completely new affair with curved roof window and sweeping rear quarter-lights. It will share its internal trim and controls with the new rigids.

MORO ARATRI PLOUGHS the Orbital was something of a misfit with its big diameter spinning flywheel at the front of its barrel-shaped body fed by a hinged-elbow pusher plate. However the concept found favour with quite a few livestock farmers. And so it’s back and Alltech intends to push it as a complementary product alongside Keenan’s new Storti-built tub wagons and old-school barrel mixers. Alpego UK now has a range of ploughs to offer alongside its usual line-up of power-harrows and other cultivation kit. We might not have heard of it but apparently Moro Aratri is a well-known name in the Italian plough game, having been churning out heavy metal since 1957. Conveniently, its yellow colourscheme is a particularly close match for Alpego’s existing livery. As you might expect, there are models in the line-up that start from a singlefurrow conventional and stretch right up to nine-furrow reversible semis. For now though Alpego will concentrate on the all-important fourseven-furrow market. A bells-and-whistles six-furrow will set you back £32,000 (NZ$56,203).

KEENAN ORBITAL Since Alltech’s aqusition of Keenan last year, there have been some big changes in the company’s product offering, not least the addition of a vertical auger tub mixer to the line-up. But there’s also been a quieter addition – the resurrection of the Orbital muckspreader. It’s been a while since it appeared in the firm’s marketing material but apparently Alltech management see a strong future for the back-to-front muckflinger. When launched in the mid-1990s,

HEATH SUPER DOZER Best known for its bale chasers, Warwickshire’s Heath Engineering is building a range of loader attachments which includes a folding bale spike and this telescopic grain pusher. Tagged the Super Dozer, it retracts from 5.5m to 4m making it a much more agile tool around the yard. Extended it will give a 7m machine an effective 9m reach, according to the company – critical in keeping the handler’s wheels out of the grain. It also makes it possible for non-telescopic loading shovels to do a decent job of pushing up heaps. Unusually the headstock brackets are welded on in a horizontal position, enabling it to be folded vertically for transport with the loader boom in its lowest position. Price is £3200 (NZ$5620). The picture also shows a novel folding rear-hitch mirror designed specifically for telehandlers. Plumbed into the same circuit as the pick-up hitch with a priority valve to make sure oil goes to the right place first, a hydraulic ram folds the mirror down into position as the hook is lowered and back up out of harm’s way as it’s latched back up. Price is £750 (NZ$1317) which Heath says should be easily justified by the savings in replacement glass. Country-Wide April 2017

PLANT & MACHINERY | SECONDHAND BUYING Having the autolevel model means they don’t have to slow down going across side-slopes.

Levelling on a combine British machinery writer Nick Fone talks to a fellow countryman and arable farmer about his search for a secondhand combine and why he settled on a Massey Ferguson Cerea 7278. Until last year, a 15-year-old Massey Ferguson 36 RS was responsible for cutting the crops on Ian Warman’s Fyfield Farm near Marlborough, Wiltshire. Although it had only done 2000 drum hours it was beginning to show its age. “During harvest 2014 the 36 cost a small fortune in parts and was broken down a lot.” That meant they didn’t cut crops at their best and missed out on the premiums they rely on to make their small acreage viable. He had only two requirements – it needed to be considerably younger and have full body levelling. After a good deal of looking around he settled on a 2008 Cerea 7278. Similar in many ways to the 36RS with eight strawwalkers and built at MF’s now-defunct Dronningborg factory in Denmark, the new combine offered significantly more capacity. He wanted a New Holland but they didn’t have a hill-sider of the size he wanted. His second choice was a Lexion Montana but the trade-in price was too low.

Ian Warman with his Massey Ferguson Cerea 7278 combine.

Country-Wide April 2017

“On top of that, for the price of a used Montana I could buy two equivalent-age Massey or John Deere combines.” So it then came down to the proximity of dealers. The local MF branch is 15 minutes away while the Deere one 45 minutes’ drive. The 7278s were in the price range so he chose one which looked in better condition. Ian does all his own maintenance and repairs so there was a value in having the familiarity of another Dronningborg-built machine. Another factor was the Powerflow header. It draws difficult crop in, presents it right to the feeder housing like a vario would and there isn’t the hassle of fitting rape extensions. “Going to an eight-walker machine took us massively over capacity but it now means our contract combining acreage doesn’t impact on cutting our own crops.” Based on 920 drum hours and 1120 engine hours he paid £67,500 (NZ$118,365) less $35,071 for the trade in. It was about half the price of the equivalent age Lexion Montanas he looked at. Ian says in good, standing wheat the 7278 can do 30 tonnes/hour without working hard. “We can push that to over 35 tonnes but you then see walker losses start to climb.” It is a wide-bodied machine with a huge cleaning area so sieve losses are never a problem. Having the autolevel model means they don’t have to slow down going across side-slopes. The chopper was a huge improvement

Likes and gripes Good value – a lot of combine for the money AutoLevel – full body-leveling minimises losses on slopes Sophistication – all adjustments made electronically from the cab Straw chopper – improved chop and spread Reliability – not the best build quality Physically massive – big, wide eightwalker body Cheap hoses – single-braided hydraulic pipes have begun to fail Reel flex – fully down, reel can bounce and break knife sections VITAL STATS – 2008 model on 1320 engine hours. Eight strawwalkers. 413hp Sisu engine, 7.5m (25ft) header, 9500-litre grain tank. AutoLevel body levelling. Made in Denmark. over the previous one. It’s still a Rekord unit but the spread is so much better and covers the full cut-width. “That’s now very important here as we’ve moved to chopping everything bar our barley straw in an effort to maintain soil organic matter and improve fertility.” He says it is the same cab as the 36 which felt very advanced for a late 1990s combine but is now a bit dated. The switchgear is simple and easyto-replace and every single setting can be made electronically through the Datavision terminal. “You can even adjust left and right sections of the sieves which is great in principle but accessing the settings menus is awkward so you’re less-inclined to bother in work.” Another let down is the joystick which is less intuitive than the old machine which had mini thumb-sticks for the various functions. “Now it’s all identical buttons which you have to double-check each time – you are less able to identify them by touch.” Ian says the first 81 hectares last season were a disaster after he was told it had a full winter service and was harvest-ready. “When I asked for the paperwork there were no parts attributed to the service, which rang alarm bells.” The list of failures was big. The header auger clutch was badly worn, the trace elevator chains broke and the retractable finger bushes needed replacing. The chaffspreader pump didn’t function from the start and the list went on. “However, once I had got the maintenance in hand myself the reliability improved massively.” 55

ENVIRONMENT | WATER

Water plan deluged in submissions

Mount Linton Station is one of about 900 submitters to the Environment Southland Land and Water Plan.

In our Part Three of our series on regional councils environment plans the spotlight falls on Southland and Canterbury. Anne Hughes Southland farmers will not go unheard. Environment Southland can be under no illusions how farmers feel about its approach to meeting the national freshwater policy. The proposed Southland Water and Land Plan received a whopping 900 submissions. The supporting documents entail several thousand pages. Hearings are set to start in winter, with about 600 submitters indicating they want to support their case at the hearing stage. Southland Federated Farmers chair Allan Baird fears the process, and the success of Federated Farmers and other organisations in encouraging farmers to become engaged, has turned into a circus. “I’m concerned by what it has evolved into,” Baird says. “The fact it will take months for the

process to work through and most likely years for any changes to this plan to get actioned. In the meantime we’ve got to live with it.”

Farmers face an entirely new plan, which they need to understand, then try to rectify if it is not fit for purpose.

Baird says the hearing process will take months, at a huge cost to the council and most likely be followed by an appeal process. Actioning any changes to the plan will be a long, slow process and Baird says it would be have been more effective to make incremental changes to the current plan. Instead, farmers face

The cost of complying with stock exclusion rules could extend into the millions for one large hill country station Mount Linton Station general manager Ceri Lewis says the farm has about 8500 hectares of hill country, watered naturally through springs and creeks. Fencing all of these waterways off would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, let alone the huge costs of installing a reticulated water system on such a large area. “We’re hoping it won’t come to that, that common sense will prevail,” Lewis says. The large western Southland station is developing about 300ha of hill country every year. Lewis says they make every effort to do all the development work in the best way for the environment – leaving big buffers around waterways, leaving areas of native growth untouched, retaining a portion of tussock for shelter and involving Environment Southland. The station’s hill country development is also carried out aerially, without cultivation. “It’s unacceptable that there are rivers in New Zealand you can’t swim in. Anything that’s doing that needs to be stopped,” Lewis says. Mount Linton Station plans to support its submission to the plan at hearing stage.

an entirely new plan, which they need to understand, then try to rectify if it is not fit for purpose. “I’m pleased that farmers have come forward to try to understand the process and tell the council they’re not pleased with what they’re reading.” Baird says the situation is the result of Environment Southland implementing a plan without really understanding the contributors to good environment practices. “In my view the council hasn’t handled it well. “They have created this circus that is bigger than they thought it would be.” Voters’ feelings toward the plan proposal were also reflected in last year’s Environment Southland council elections, electing farmers David Stevens and Jeremy McPhail. “The two new councillors are closer to the rural vein of that area than the previous two councillors,” Baird says. “It certainly brought forward these two candidates to stand and offer an alternative approach.”

THE NINE ZONES

The Environment Southland Land and Water plan divides the region into nine physiographic zones. Each zone represents areas of the landscape with common attributes that influence water quality, such as climate, topography, geology and soil type: • Alpine • Bedrock/Hill Country • Central Plains • Gleyed • Lignite – Marine Terraces • Old Mataura • Oxidising • Peat Wetlands • Riverine Country-Wide April 2017

ENVIRONMENT | SOUTHLAND

Rules should focus on outcomes Anne Hughes Water quality rules should be focused on strong environmental outcomes, not just ticking boxes. Beef + Lamb New Zealand environment policy manager South Island Julia Beijeman says 900 submissions to Environment Southland’s proposed water and land plan is incredible for a region of Southland’s size. Beijeman is now working with farmers to help prepare their hearing statements. She hopes farmers continue to be involved by backing up their submissions during the hearing process. “It’s an amazing opportunity to stand there in front of the decision-makers and tell their story.” Scientists have divided Southland into nine physiographic zones. New rules around different farming practices will depend on what zone (or zones) each farm falls under. Beijeman says farming to a particular land area’s capability makes sense and many farmers support the concept. The issue is how each zone has been defined, using regional scale maps to zone individual properties. “Farmers would probably be quite comfortable with the physiographic zones if they had the ability to work with council to get it right. “The way the plan has been notified,

if you are zoned incorrectly you can’t do anything about it.” She says altering the zones would require an entire plan change, so B+LNZ in its submission has asked for the maps to be removed from the plan, enabling amendments without a whole plan change. Beijeman says farmers are also concerned the plan’s definition of intensive winter grazing is too broad, not recognising the relative risk of different forage crops.

Farmers would like a longer timeframe to comply with stock exclusion rules and some recognition for those already progressing towards this.

Limits on the area permitted to be under intensive winter grazing are seen by some as too restrictive. For those physiographic zones that lose nutrients easily (such as Old Mataura), farmers are only allowed 20ha of winter grazing. Anything more will require consent. For those physiographic zones that

don’t lose nutrients quite as easily (such as bedrock/hill country), farmers are allowed 50ha of winter grazing before needing consent. “Sheep and beef farmers think that area is about right for smaller properties, but for larger properties, it doesn’t reflect the size of the large stations,” Beijeman says. She says farmers feel a percentage threshold might better reflect that – allowing intensive winter grazing on about 10% of effective area before requiring consent could be a better threshold. Beijeman says for many farmers, the plan’s rules around buffer zones for cultivation on sloping land and thresholds for different slopes requiring resource consent are again too restrictive. Farmers would like a longer timeframe to comply with stock exclusion rules and some recognition for those already progressing towards this. “We’ve suggested they allow farmers to prioritise where they would exclude stock through their farm environment plan. “They would still be progressively working towards stock exclusion, just working on the highest priorities first.” Beijeman says the plan would require a lot of farmers to create farm environment plans. B+LNZ wants to ensure these plans can be prepared by farmers themselves and not be so complicated they have to hire professionals to create them.

Limits on intensive winter grazing areas is seen by some farmers as too restrictive. Country-Wide April 2017

ENVIRONMENT | WATER

How Southland’s proposed plan affects farmers Mark Crawford The aim of Southland’s proposed water and land plan is to integrate the management of land, water and associated ecosystems to maintain and improve water quality within the region. The plan divides the region into physiographic zones, a key driver of nutrient pathways into waterways. While the plan is still under review, with 897 submissions to be considered, farmers may be wondering how it will affect them and whether they may need a consent for their land-based activity. First, it all depends on the physiographic zone they’re been placed in; then review against their farming activity and the size of landholdings. This will determine what type of consent may be required, bearing in mind the plan is not operative yet. For a start, if your landholding is under 20 hectare then farming is a permitted activity. If you are non-dairying in oxidising, riverine or peat wetlands zones, farming remains as a permitted activity until May 2018. Central Plains,

Mark Crawford of Ravensdown – The timeline for dairying starts now.

Bedrock, Hill Country and Gleyed zones have until May 2019 and Old Mataura or Lignite Marine terrace physiographic zones remain permitted until May 2020. Farms that do not meet the permitted activity requirements may require resource consent from May 30, 2018, 2019 or 2020, depending on their physiographic zone. Sheep, beef and deer farms between 20 and 100ha remain a permitted activity so long as they have a farm management plan (FMP) from May 30, 2018. Within each physiographic zone from the dates outlined above, farmers will need to complete a farm management plan and nutrient budget every three years, assuming the farming system is stable. There is no specific requirement as to who should do these budgets, however the industry has a CNMA (certified nutrient management adviser) scheme to provide this service. The timeline for dairying starts now. An existing dairy farm, as at May 30, 2016, is a permitted activity provided the conditions of the effluent discharge consent have been followed, a FMP

is prepared and it isn’t in the Alpine physiographic zone. New or expanded dairy farms (from May 2016) require resource consent. Intensive winter grazing on landholdings greater than 20ha on Old Mataura or Peat Wetlands zones, or greater than 50ha on other physiographic zones may require a resource consent after May 2018. This means the council will consider the FMP and nutrient budget on its quality.

An existing dairy farm, as at May 30, 2016, is a permitted activity provided the conditions of the effluent discharge consent have been followed, a FMP is prepared and it isn’t in the Alpine physiographic zone.

Winter grazing on less than 20ha is a permitted activity, except in the Alpine zones. These rules also apply to cultivation. If farmers follow these rules a consent may not be required, unless they are in the Alpine zone, in which case different rules apply. There are still rules around discharging animal effluent and waste water that farmers will need to understand given most rural properties have septic tanks. For dairy farms, there are also specific effluent discharge rules. Once you know the three essentials, your zone, your farming activity and landholding size, and consent required, get in touch with your environmental consultant when the plan becomes operative. In the meantime the details of the proposed plan are on the council’s website. • Mark Crawford is Ravensdown senior farm environmental consultant.

Country-Wide April 2017

ENVIRONMENT | WATER

Changes to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management will require regional councils to toughen their stance on issues such as sewage discharges and planting riparian margins.

REDEFINING FRESH WATER Keri Johnston To quote Environment Minister Nick Smith, “swimming in a clean river or lake is an exhilarating experience. It is a recreational opportunity that has been lost to billions of people in the world due to pollution.” And it’s with that the Government has announced the latest in its package of freshwater reforms – a $2 billion clean-up plan for the next 23 years. The clean-up plan includes five key components. The first is the target that 90% of rivers and lakes will be swimmable by 2040, with 80% by 2030. This replaces the Government’s current standard of our waterways being “wadeable” and applies to rivers deeper than 40cm and lakes with shores larger than 1.5km (so, yes, this will exclude many smaller waterways from having to meet the swimmable standard). The target is based on meeting the water quality standard 80% of the time, acknowledging the fact that following a deluge of rain, swimmable water quality is not achieved for any other reason than that of Mother Nature herself. This is in line with both European and United States definitions. According to the Government, this will result in another 10,000km of swimmable rivers and lakes by 2040. Coupled with this new maps and information of current water quality for swimming will be produced and will identify areas where improvement is Country-Wide April 2017

needed. As with all grand plans, policy changes and regulation will be needed. In this case, it means changes to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management that will require regional councils to toughen their stance on issues such as sewage discharges and planting riparian margins. It would also bring in Macro invertebrate monitoring for ecological health and require regional councils to set instream limits for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolve reactive phosphorus (DRP).

The Government’s package includes a ban on allowing stock in waterways, which will progressively apply to dairy, pig, beef and deer farms from now until 2030.

For a long time now, the issue of stock exclusion has been danced around and a plan for regulating is long overdue. The Government’s package includes a ban on allowing stock in waterways, which will progressively apply to dairy, pig, beef and deer farms from now until 2030. Last but by no means least, is the introduction of criteria for the allocation of the Government’s $100 million

Freshwater Improvement Fund. The plan has been met with the usual scepticism. One of the main reasons is that the threshold for what is considered swimmable has changed. Before, swimmable water quality was an E.Coli level of less than 260/100ml. This has been more than doubled to 540/100ml. Sceptics are of the view that this is merely shifting the goalpost rather than addressing the issue. However, when it’s put into context, that is not the case. The old wadable standard was an annual median of 260/100ml. The new swimmable standard is not to exceed 540/100ml for five, 10 or 20% of the time (for excellent, good and fair categories), but it also must have an annual median of less than 130/100ml. As with all things political, nothing is ever what it seems at face value. What is completely being overlooked by the sceptics is the cost of the plan. The stock exclusion regulations alone are expected to cost in the order of $367m. Overall, the plan seems reasonably practical. It recognises that meeting a target all of the time is unreasonable, and gives a time period of 23 years for things to improve. After all, poor water quality didn’t just happen overnight and the reversal of that is also not going to happen overnight. Is the plan ambitious? Yes, but it is achievable provided everyone (rural and urban alike) does their part. The plan is open for submissions until 5pm on Friday, April 28, 2017. 59

ENVIRONMENT | WATER

For sheep, beef and mixed livestock properties moving from a N loss-based system to a farm system threshold may provide a clearer direction.

What’s your farm environment threshold? Arron Hutton The rubber is now starting to hit the road for farmers in the nutrient space in Canterbury. All regions are now in play with farmers affected by either the Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP) or sub-regional variations. By now farmers should be aware of their nutrient allocation zone (blue, green, orange or red) and be looking to take action if required. Farmers in orange zones that require resource consents to farm should have applied already with those requiring consents in the red zones due by June. A little confusion still exists for moderately intensive farms without a sub-regional plan, still under the LWRP, with the outcomes of Plan Change 5 (PC5) not yet released. The key change in approach suggested in PC5 is the changing of the threshold from a 20kg of nitrogen (N) per hectare loss limit to a “farm activity” undertaken approach as the consenting trigger. When notified, the farm activity threshold suggested 50ha of irrigation and/or 20ha of intensive wintering. These thresholds have been subject to considerable challenge as part of the hearing process and it is a matter of watching this space. For sheep, beef and mixed livestock properties moving from a N loss-based system to a farm system threshold may provide a clearer direction, as the need for consent is no longer based off the N loss modelled. There will be winners and losers in the change, with the most likely losers being extensive properties with intensive wintering and/or irrigation that 60

previously would have been well under the N-loss threshold due to the total land area involved.

SUB-REGIONAL PLANS PC5 does not apply to those areas with sub-regional plans, such as Selwyn Waihora, Hinds/Hekaeo Plains and South Canterbury Coastal, or the Hurunui Waiau River Regional Plan. Selwyn Waihora – Consents deadline July 2017: Here we have some specific rules unrelated to nitrogen that recognise risk factors and values predominately related to Lake Ellesmere and Te Waihora. Farmers need to ascertain whether they are located within either of the phosphorus-risk sediment area or Cultural Landscapes Values Management Area as it is likely you may require a consent regardless of your N loss. Hinds/Hekeao Plains: This is in a slight state of flux as it is not fully operative. It has slightly different N-loss thresholds to other regions and due to the uncertainty farmers are best advised to discuss their individual situations with a consultant or industry body. South Coastal Canterbury Streams: The decision was publicly notified on October 1, 2016. In general, farming activities are permitted provided N baselines and flexibility caps are not exceeded and “good farm practices” are implemented. Farming activities that do not meet the permitted activity rules require resource consent. Farming activities that are part of a farming enterprise or Nutrient User Group require resource consent as a discretionary activity. Hurunui and Waiau: The Hurunui Waiau River Regional Plan (HWRRP) has been operative since December 20, 2013, and the plan is scheduled to begin the review process in 2018. The HWRRP is split into the Hurunui, Waiau and Jed river catchments. Existing land use as at December 20, 2013, is deemed a permitted activity, provided

you joined a collective, otherwise consent is now required. Change in land use is determined as being “an increase greater than 10% in the long-term average release of nitrogen and phosphorus to land which may enter water”. The consequence of the 10% rule will vary depending on which river catchment you are in. As a result, farmers at this stage are best advised to discuss their individual situations with a consultant or industry body. The concept of recording current and intended onfarm actions in farm environment plans (FEPs) is more widely understood now. Farmers who are a part of irrigation schemes and/or dairy farmers all typically now have FEPs or follow active industry schemes. Beef and Lamb and FAR are offering regional farmer workshops, expected to start again over autumn and winter following harvest. The value of a quality fit-for-purpose Overseer nutrient budget is being increasingly understood. It is a learning curve for many, with the level of detail required for regulation far beyond that of budgets most farmers have been exposed to in historical nutrient budgets produced for recommending fertiliser. Environment Canterbury (ECAN) has acknowledged farmers may have a delay in getting these nutrient budgets done, which may hold up consent applications and have set up waiting lists in conjunction with a number of the larger providers. Having registered, it is expected farmers have a FEP and that it is being implemented. Farmers looking to get a further understanding of the rules and requirements for their property are best to look at www.Canterburywater. farm, a farmer-focused website developed by ECAN. • Arron Hutton is Ravensdown’s principal farm environmental consultant. Country-Wide April 2017

ENVIRONMENT | WATER QUALITY

Belated calls for unity on water Staff writers For many Hurunui farmers, reading about the water debates in other regions especially the Waikato must feel like déjà vu. In September 2014, several hundred angry Hurunui sheep, beef and deer farmers arrived at a local water meeting to show their dissatisfaction at an Environment Canterbury water plan. The major issue was that the plan restricted dryland and less-intensive farmers while allowing greater licence for irrigated businesses to operate. These farmers were criticised for having their heads in the sand, despite the fact that those closely involved in the plan development had not foreseen the impact it would have on dryland farming. After a long community process to look for a resolution, the best that could be achieved was an ECan acknowledgement that one particular rule had unintended consequences which were unreasonable and that it would not enforce this rule in reasonable circumstances. This was unprecedented. It alarmed green interest groups and gave them reason to complain publically that farmers were being let off. In reality ECan’s acknowledgement gave no guarantee for a farmer if it ever came to the crunch. This was the holding pattern intended to remain in place until the plan would begin going through a review in 2018. The Hurunui story was wellknown across the country. Some council staff resented being forced to admit, by their governors, in the face of massive public resentment and opposition, that council policy was unreasonable. Farmers involved in the core Hurunui response to ECan have been at events across New Zealand where others have stated that they knew what happened in the Hurunui district and it was the last thing they would want in their patch. Politicians, communities, industry groups and green stakeholders were all aware of the Hurunui story. Why then, has Waikato arrived in a situation where less-intensive farms are on the back tit once again, while intensive farmers enjoy the benefits of a grandfathered approach to nutrient allocation? It would be easy, for many, to blame dairy farmers. Having watched a dairydominated irrigation scheme in Amuri Country-Wide April 2017

The Hurunui plan restricted dryland and less-intensive farmers while allowing greater licence for irrigated businesses.

publically “participate” in collaborative meetings, while secretively applying for resource consent to lock in their nutrient allocation in catchments under pressure, it seems reasonable to view these people with a degree of scepticism. The same story is repeatable in other parts of Canterbury. Irrigation schemes have come under fire from other farmers because they have locked in their position in a way often seen to be at the expense of farmers outside of the scheme. At the same time, many of these schemes are being driven towards costly upgrades. This drives water-use efficiency but also sees some shareholders leave their farms in order to avoid more expensive irrigation. It encourages these schemes to lock in as much room to grow as possible, for as long as possible. While this reaction leads to community resentment, it is a predictable response to the changes in water regulation. Many directors of these companies would argue they have to behave in this way because they see it as being in the best interests of their scheme. Another scapegoat is, as usual, the regional council. It is easy to have a crack at these slow-moving, inflexible, remote, bureaucratic beasts. Then again, they are always quick to offer some version of “the Government and the public are making us do this”. This argument is watertight at a high level only. The Government offers the general direction: thou shalt set water quality limits, while letting councils figure out how to do it. The detail where the devil resides is the responsibility of the councils. The Government’s growth agenda and concurrent water quality handbrakes certainly influence the outcomes of community debates, where councils tend to favour irrigated aspirations. As for the community pulling the strings – the

advent of a council taking community direction meekly is not a prominent memory. Well if it’s not the council’s fault or the dairy farmers it must be the greenies. This is an interesting thought. When the values of most dryland farmers and green groups are broken down, there is a remarkable amount of common ground. The song sheets are similar – we like to swim in the river, our children grow up here, sustainable future for families in a healthy community and environment, ability to thrive and prosper etc. It can be argued often that the values are better-aligned between these two sets of groups than they are between dryland farmers and established irrigation schemes which are largely financially driven, despite their rhetoric. This might offend some directors but the examples of schemes making ruthless decisions are evidence that community, at times, comes second. The most likely answer is that a combination of these factors is constantly seeing sheep, beef and deer farmers disadvantaged. Add the resource disparity between Beef+Lamb, DINZ and the behemoths DairyNZ and Fonterra and the picture for dryland farmers is not pretty. In the wake of the Waikato debacle, dairy, irrigation and other industry leaders have publically called on Team Ag to unite and fight regulation together. Having deer, sheep and beef farmers onside, bringing their lower stocking rates, biodiversity and family-themed business to the argument would help strengthen the position of the intensive farmers. The unfortunate reality is that they are asking for this unification now, when in a number of catchments they have already got what they want, at the expense of others. 61

ENVIRONMENT | AUDITS

Checking the plans Anne Lee Auditing farm environment plans mightn’t be a box-ticking exercise but those doing the audits have to tick a few boxes before they gain certification. Environment Canterbury (ECan) principal strategy advisor Ian Brown says auditors have to meet a number of requirements as part of certification. This ensures people going out to farms have a thorough understanding of farm systems. “They need to have at least five years’ experience of farming systems – whether that includes time gaining tertiary qualifications as well as time working in an onfarm capacity or whether it all be onfarm and have completed a nutrient management course at Massey,” Brown says. They do auditor training sessions with Ecan, spending time in the “classroom” and onfarm doing trial audits. Brown says before certification they have to complete two audits accompanied by an ECan representative and show they are competent. There will be continued training and the auditors will be audited periodically. About 40-50 people have participated in training courses but not all are likely to be certified. “We need to have very competent people who can engage with farmers and talk through the farm system, understand the complexities of it and gain a good understanding of how the farmer runs their operation, where the risks are on that farm and how the business is managing them.” Last season about 250 audits were done and the feedback from farmers was some had felt a bit daunted by the prospect before it happened, but once it was completed they’d found the experience hadn’t been too bad, Brown says. So what are the auditors looking for? The farmer has to supply the auditor with their farm environment plan and usually the latest Overseer nutrient budget before the visit. During the visit the auditor will aim to gain evidence to give them confidence what’s in the plan is being achieved. 62

“It’s really about the auditor asking questions, listening to the answers, looking for themselves out onfarm as well as checking records and information the farmer collects. “What they’re trying to do is to determine the level of confidence they have that what’s meant to be being done is being done. It won’t be a list of questions that can have a yes or no answer. “Those kinds of answers and those kinds of questions really don’t do anything to give any confidence they’re actually being done.

Audit results Audits of farm environment plans in Canterbury result in the farm being given a grade. These signify the level of confidence the auditor has the farm is being managed to industry agreed good management practice standards or is on track to do so. Grades range from A to D, with A and B signifying the auditor is confident management is on track to achieve good management practices to mitigate environmental risks on that property. Because all dairy farms will require a farm environment plan as part of their consent to farm under new rules, an A or B grade is needed to be compliant. The frequency of audits is dependent on the grade. A = audit every three years (four years if part of an irrigation scheme) B = audit every two years C = audit every year D = audit every six months C and D grades show there’s low confidence that management is on track to mitigate environmental risks on that property and means it is noncompliant. The auditor will visit more frequently with the expectation the farm will achieve an A or B grade on the next visit. If the farm gets a second C or D grade in three years ECan will take action to get improvement.

Dave Lucock with Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Award winner sharemilker Joe Wyborn.

“They’ll ask open-ended questions like – tell me how you schedule your irrigation? Or how do you decide how much nitrogen you’ll apply this season?” Brown says they’ll work though all the major categories in the farm plan: irrigation; nutrient, effluent, soil and riparian management, and offal or rubbish pits. “Farmers often ask me how much data they should be collecting for the audits and I throw it back at them and ask them to think about what records they keep that are useful for them. “If they’re keeping records just for me then they’re probably a waste of time.” If there are areas of concern the auditor can talk through the issues but must draw the line at acting as a consultant. Brown says farms are expected to get an A or B grade to be compliant. “If they’re consistently achieving a C or D grade that means they’re not complying with their consent so there’s a prospect of action, just as there would be if they were non-compliant with any other part of the consent. “We’ve had the occasional D but people are quick to rectify the problems.” Under the latest ECan rules the farmers in a scheme who achieve an A grade will only be audited every four years – one year longer than if they’re outside the scheme. Most schemes now have their own environmental managers and farmers are well-supported in that area. Country-Wide April 2017

ENVIRONMENT | FARM FORESTY

Afforestation, and the fact that the canyon system has reached the watershed, has helped stabilise Goulter’s Gully over the last 50 years.

The challenge of diverse landforms Denis Hocking Over recent months more and more of my time has been taken up helping to plan and prepare for the annual New Zealand Farm Forestry Association conference, this year is being held in Feilding, with field days out into the surrounds. The dates are April 6-10, so it may be on or past by the time you read this. The theme is “the challenge of diverse landforms” emphasising the use of trees for stabilising and using some of our more difficult land forms. And for those who imagine the land around Feilding is all gentle and productive terrace and flood plain, rest assured there are some very awkward landforms not far away. The sand country can still be a challenge and people should never under-estimate the importance of the coastal forests in stabilising the sands and protecting the more inland farmland. Interestingly, forests that were established primarily as protection forests have matured into “nice little earners” producing good structural timber with very easy logging and excellent access. However another very challenging landform, also involving sand, is about 20km north of Feilding. Here, a little west of the Pohangina valley and a little east of the classy Kiwitea/Kimbolton country is some very spectacular erosion, second only perhaps to the most dramatic east

Aerial view of Goulter’s Gully.

Goulter’s Gully system created on 450ha of flat terrace over 30 years. Country-Wide April 2017

coast examples, yet extraordinarily few locals know about it and the lessons it has to tell. First, a little geology. Running west/ east from just north of Whanganui to the Ruahine ranges are bands of very soft, unconsolidated sandstone, hundreds of metres thick. However the word sandstone is misleading. This is loose, free running sand, laid down on sinking seashores between 4 million and less than 1 million years ago. Now they are being pushed up as the land rises again.

By the 1950s a canyon system 11 kilometres in total length and 80 metres maximum depth had developed over about 450ha, destroying fences, boundaries and access.

Much of this sand is covered and protected with gravel layers and the loess-derived topsoil, or interspersed layers of limestone and mudstone, but in areas where it is exposed it is highly erodible – susceptible to both landslip and especially gully erosion. It is also relatively infertile, but can be good treegrowing country. A dramatic example of what can go wrong is demonstrated at Goulter’s Gully. A terrace on the eastern side of the Oroua River was cleared of forest about 1900 and looked to be very attractive farmland – flat, fertile, relatively freedraining. But then in the 1930s the altered drainage and a series of storms resulted in streams breaking through the protective loess/gravel cap and exposing the soft sand below. By the 1950s a canyon system 11 kilometres in total length and 80 metres maximum depth had developed over about 450ha, destroying fences, boundaries and access. Afforestation, and the fact that the canyon system has reached the watershed, has helped stabilise the system

over the last 50 years, but it demonstrates the potential for these landforms and lithologies (the underlying parent material) to turn feral. And much of the eroded sand still lies in the lower Oroua River, raising the bed and reducing flood capacity as the river crosses the highly productive Kairanga floodplain. There are plenty of other examples, less extreme but still potentially very serious and little wonder that this is a key area for the Horizons Regional Council’s Sustainable Land Use Initiative, aimed at reducing erosion and sediment loads from this highly erodible country. Afforestation, or “woody vegetative cover”, is regarded as the best tool in the soil conservation armoury, so it seems entirely appropriate that we discuss this at a farm forestry conference. There are plenty of associated issues – production forest versus retirement leading to access and harvesting questions and also whether radiata pine, with its rapidly decaying root system, is the most appropriate species. Harvesting on very similar, steep, unstable and highly erodible land will be demonstrated and discussed at a hill country forest behind Whanganui on Monday, April 10. There have been major technical developments in steep land forest harvesting recently and no doubt new toys will be on display. I think the next priority here should be developing harvesting technology better-suited to the smaller, farm woodlots. There will be plenty of other issues to be discussed including mycorrhizal fungi, an under-recognised partnership in forest and perhaps most plant cultivation. We are privileged to have two internationally recognised experts attending the conference, to give us insights into the murky world of soil biology and ecology. Another notable speaker will be Ian Proudfoot, KPMG agri-business expert, and I for one will be very interested to hear his thoughts on forestry and especially farm forestry. So I am looking forward to some interesting days and I just hope that people from outside the farm forestry membership will come along to discuss and learn about the role of trees in tackling our “diverse landforms”. 63

TECHNOLOGY | LINKS

Having trouble sorting and finding bookmarks? Alan Royal Many articles ago I described, with great sorrow, the withdrawal by Google of iGoogle. iGoogle was a page you could use as your homepage, and at the same time include your common online bookmarks, such as links to weather, news, mail and calendar. iGoogle (formerly Google Personalized Homepage) was a customisable start page or personal web portal launched by Google in May 2005. It was discontinued on November 1, 2013 because the company believed the need for it had eroded over time. iGoogle now has a “look alike” page, called a web portal, a specially designed website that brings information together from diverse sources in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displaying information (a portlet), often, the user can configure which ones to display. It is a rather unwieldly approach to developing a personal startup page, compared with Symbaloo, described below. I provided, in that earlier article, some similar tools. One of these was the free Symbaloo (symbaloo.com). I have been using Symbaloo since 2013. I have tried other bookmarking tools, but always returned to Symbaloo. Symbaloo is now an established tool you can use as your personal startup page or home page – the page you can set to

open automatically when you open your browser. All your bookmark (or favourite) links on that page are saved to and stored in the cloud. This means you can access them from any computer (including iPad and tablet and smartphone), any time and from anywhere you have access to a wireless-connected computing device. They can also be shared with other people.

You can import your full list of bookmarks or favourites from common browsers and establish them as a Symbaloo tile.

You can quickly add any web page address to your Symbaloo home page. One way is to copy the link of the web page you are viewing then right click on an empty grey tile on your Symbaloo home page. A box labelled “Quick add a tile” will appear. Paste the saved link to the box by clicking the green arrow. Further editing (colours and text) can be done with a right click on the link you have made. There are also other ways (bit.ly/2lOX2B4) to add and edit links. You can import your full list of

bookmarks or favourites from common browsers and establish them as a Symbaloo tile. With most browsers, you need to first export your bookmarks to a file. As each browser varies in approach you will need to look in your browser’s bookmarks or favourites settings to find out how to export your bookmarks or favourites. You can then copy that file to a tile as described above. If you have a selection of related bookmarks you can create a new Symbaloo page. By saving the link of that page you can add it to your home page. This reduces clutter on your home page. You can also drag and drop many Symbaloo links to a single tile. For example, if you have many news sites as separate tiles, you can put them on to a single tile and label it “News” Symbaloo has an extensive knowledge base (or help) section. It is found at en.support.symbaloo.com/ knowledgebase. Tip – put that address in a tile on Symbaloo, for quick and easy reference. A complementary approach, in Chrome, for searching all bookmarks, is to use an extension called Quickmarks. This extension, when loaded, is used by simply typing the letter b in the url bar, pressing the space bar, and typing in a word(s) contained in your stored bookmark. For a copy of this article, with active links, email Alan Royal at a.royal@ paradise.net.nz.

Country-Wide April 2017

Rescuing those old images Kirstin Mills Anyone older than about 40 probably has a stack of old photo albums or loose photos in a drawer or stashed in boxes. Meanwhile people under 40 probably have a hard drive or smartphone full of photos, but few hard copies. The problem with the former is those photos will be deteriorating and if destroyed in the likes of a fire or flood, unless you still have the negatives (and they were stored separately) then your photos would be lost. The problem is similar with the second issue – if your computer or phone is stolen or dies then, unless you back up to an external hard drive or the cloud, you have nothing left. Thankfully there are easy solutions for both scenarios. You may have thought about sitting down with a scanner and going through old albums. The beauty of a scanner is that you can scan multiple photos at a time and it’s a high quality option, but the downside is it’s a laborious and therefore daunting process. Also, scanners pick up every speck of dust on the photo and scanner glass unless you clean both carefully. You may also not want to invest in buying a scanner if it’s something you would rarely use. Fortunately there are now a range of apps that do a good job of scanning photos with your phone or tablet. One

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of the most well-known ones is Google’s PhotoScan. You simply line up your photo and take a picture of it with your phone. The phone will then direct you to move the phone camera around (lining up with dots on-screen) so it gets the right perspective and removes any glare on the photo. Other than letting you rotate the image and adjust the corners, there are no editing tools and you can only scan one photo at a time, but the app does a good job and is simple to use. If you want something with a few more features Shoebox might be for you. I use it with my Ancestry.com account; it lets you add information about where and when a photo was taken and who is in it. Photomyne is another option and lets you scan more than one photo at a time, detecting the edges automatically. If all your photos are already in digital format and you worry about losing them should your hard drive crash, then photobooks are a great option. Of course you can get your photos printed and buy an album and spend time meticulously putting the photos into it. But given the time and money you will spend, I’d recommend a photobook instead. Photobooks work in one of two ways. You either upload your photos to the photobook site and play around with the layout online, or you download software from the site, create the photobook on your computer then upload the entire

file to the site. Some providers offer both options. If you don’t have a fast or a reliable internet connection it might be easier to do your editing locally. Either way, the photobook gets printed and delivered to your door, although with some sites you can arrange to pick up the photobook.

If all your photos are already in digital format and you worry about losing them should your hard drive crash, then photobooks are a great option.

All photobook sites give you the options of various book sizes and layouts, with lots of themes to choose from. They can automate the process for you if you don’t want to spend a lot of time on layout. Popular options include Snapfish, VistaPrint, Frogprints and Momento, but ask around and see what friends recommend. I like the ease of use of Momento, but it can get quite pricey (possibly because I make huge albums) .

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WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER

New direct ion Pou a lway s d to g knew she o farm ing.

wante

Building life on the farm

The Townsends have no regrets about moving from Auckland to Balclutha to take on the family farm p70

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INTO FARMING Words by Cheyenne Stein

Pou was the only girl in her level 3 cadetship.

g n i d n i F ew a n ion t c e dir

araraina Haami – known as Pou to her friends and family – likes to “kick in the background”. Although she’s not one for the limelight, her achievements are getting her noticed. Working on the land was always what Pou wanted to do. She grew up around the industry helping out her Koko (grandfather) who ran a shearing gang and jumping in the truck with her dad who drives stock trucks. “Growing up and helping Koko and seeing my dad work was what really inspired me to get into farming.” Getting a city job wasn’t ever really anything she was interested in. “I always knew I wanted to get into farming, just figuring out how took me a while.” Pou, 21, lived with her parents in Marton and says she was living a pretty undesirable life. With no direction and no clear plan in sight for her farming ambitions she spent her days at home doing drugs and “not much else”. Then she found out about the Awhiwhenua farm school – a joint initiative between Atihau Whanganui Incorporation (AWHI) and Land Based Training (LBT) which gives young shepherds the opportunity to study towards their New Zealand certificate in agriculture level 3 on one of the AWHIowned farms. The course has a mix of classroom teaching, run out of the local Nga Mokai Marae with LBT trainer Derek Priest, and on-the-job teaching at Te Pa station in Ohakune. Being able to study farming and get a foot in the door as well as getting the chance to learn about her heritage appealed to Pou. She applied for the course, got in and begun her move to Ohakune. Aside from the initial shock of the harsher winters Pou took to the training course like a duck to water. The zerotolerance policy on drugs is heavily enforced when cadets first start, something Pou is extremely grateful for as it helped her be more focused on some of the tough course content. “I used to feel like my mind was quite

GETTING EMPLOYMENT IN THAT SECOND YEAR WAS GREAT. A LOT OF OTHER CADETS WEREN’T ABLE TO. BUT TO GET IT YOU REALLY HAVE TO WORK HARD FOR IT. IT GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO AIM FOR.’ 68

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Te Pa farm manager Jack Valois and Land Based Training operations manager James Towers on the site of the new residential facility.

Te Pa station manager Jack Valois with some of the farm’s horses.

fogged, now I think a lot clearer and feel better in myself. Having a new direction in life has changed things a lot. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Pou’s work ethic and natural affinity for farming was quick to show its head, in particularly her natural ability in stock work. She recalls one day where a shepherd was moving sheep and had a break from the mob. Sheep were running up the road and on noticing this, Pou leapt to her feet and bolted through the bush and up the hill to cut them off, all while her fellow cadets sat and wondered why she was running. “It was the longest run of my life. I just saw something needed doing and did it.” Pou started the cadetship as a “rough diamond” and came out the other side with a new sense of purpose and direction. Her “head-down, bum-up” attitude towards course work and practical work got her noticed and as such, she was offered a job in her second year on one of the AWHI farms. Hers was the first year the opportunity was available. “Getting employment in that second year was great. A lot of other cadets weren’t able to. But to get it you really have to work hard for it. It gives you something to aim for.” Now, a year later, she has started work on her level 4 certificate and is enjoying her job as junior shepherd. Based on AWHI’s Te Pa station, Pou also works for the

neighbouring AWHI farm, Ohutu. To top off her responsibilities she was also selected to be live-in mentor to the new round of level 3 students for 2017. This year’s level 3 course is a residentialbased programme. The six cadets will move into the purpose-built residential facility for their year of study. Pou will join them as a mentor. When she first started, cadets were picked up and brought to the farm each day for lessons and practical work. Half way through they decided they all wanted to be living on the farm. “Being in the farm environment just made things easier and more realistic. Back home it was easy to slip back into old habits.” This is a key reason why AWHI took the next step to building the residential facility to provide realistic and full immersion training for the cadets. Robyn Matthews, field officer at LBT says they were keen to use Pou as a mentor because of her brilliant back story. “She’s not afraid to open up and tell them where she made mistakes and the realities of things. She’s a really good example that it doesn’t matter what background you come from – this is still an option and a pathway. Doesn’t matter where you start from,” Robyn says. Despite the accolades from the team at LBT and those who worked and trained with her, she remains quiet about her achievements. “I’m one of those people that just likes

to get on with the job and kick in the background. I just want to do my job well and do what I enjoy.” It’s not all fun and games though. Level 4 is proving to be a big step up with more technical and business-based topics on farming being covered. Calculating feed budgets and writing farm reports, however, is helping set her up for a future as a head shepherd or stock manager. Working and learning at the same time seems to be the winning combination for Pou. What she learns in the classroom she gets to put into practice the next day. The full time shepherds and other staff who work on the properties are like extra tutors helping the students understand the practical implications of what they learn. “Derek is the man. He’s so passionate about it and he’s the one that pushes us to do our best. He puts 120% into teaching it and it makes you want to put 120% back. If you have a good teacher you don’t want to waste their time.” Most of Pou’s day is spent doing stock work and any other jobs the shepherds need help with. This gives her a prime opportunity to do her favourite thing. Work with dogs. “I really enjoy working with the dogs. I’d love to be able to help teach the new cadets that side of things. I’m aiming to get into dog trials but we will see how it goes.” Pou aims to complete her level 5 in the future and after that is keen to look at doing a university degree. At this stage she doesn’t see farm ownership in future, she much prefers to be working on the land and with her dogs rather than being in an office, but she says her options are endless now, as is her drive to succeed. “You own it, you drive it. You get out what you put in. Two years ago I wouldn’t have seen myself in the position I am today. Getting the cadetship was the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Feeding out at Te Pa station.

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THEY ARE FOCUSED ON KEEPING COSTS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE SO WANTED CHANGES WHICH WERE REALISTIC AND COULDN’T JUSTIFY THE COST OF A CONSULTANT.

MENTORING Words by Terry Brosnahan Photos by John Cosgrove

Builder and valuer nail farming Self-employed builder Ashley Townsend and his wife Shonelle have no regrets leaving Auckland to go sheep and beef farming near Balclutha.

shley Townsend may not have the scale to farm fulltime, but farming still measures up for the self-employed builder. He and his wife Shonelle farm sheep and beef near Balclutha. Farming takes priority from September to January then the workload eases off to allow Ashley to take on building jobs. Most of his clients are farmers so they understand when he can’t be on site. With three children, Riley, 6, Boston, 3

and Mason, 18-months old, the couple are busy with little spare time. When CountryWide caught up with them they were drafting lambs for the works before Ashley had to head north to Temuka later that day for a week of building work. Normally the building jobs are local and he is home each night. Both are 31 years old and spent five years in Auckland before deciding to head south. Ashley was a self-employed builder and Shonelle a property valuer after she graduated with a degree in valuation.

The Townsends run 2000 Coopworth Texel breeding ewes, 500 hoggets and 30 Friesian bulls. The 185ha home block was owned by Ashley’s dad Paul and his late mother, Pam. Ashley and Shonelle recently bought another 55ha at Maitland which is about an hour further south. They lease another 50ha near the home farm. The Maitland block has been used for growing and selling feed to a local contractor and dairy farmer. They have brought in store lambs in past years to fatten, but due to distance and time constraints selling feed has been more economical. Ashley says it is better to finish their own lambs to higher weights. They don’t rear calves because, apart from this year, there are so many options for buying them in. Anyway where would they get the time to rear calves? He finds autumn-born bull calves the best buying as they are ready to grow and can get rid of them earlier whereas spring-born ones compete with lambs and hang around until April/May which eats into winter feed. The bulls are killed at 18 months weighing about 270kg carcaseweight. They use contractors for some of the heavy cultivation like ploughing and shearing. His father Paul, with the help of six children, did most of this work without contractors. Time away from the farm meant Ashley had gaps in his farming knowledge. That’s why he was keen to be part of the Future Farmer Focus Group, Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s programme aimed at building up skills (see p72). Ashley found the programme valuable especially feed budgeting, the importance of setting business and personal goals and understanding how to assess various leasing options. One of his farming goals is to get at least 40% of lambs away before Christmas. He is averaging 15-20%. Ashley drafts lambs at 42kg liveweight for the works. He is also working on bettering flock genetics as he believes the sheep are too short and fineboned. He finds genetic improvement frustratingly slow. They have tapped into Hamish Bielski’s expertise for an independent view on sheep

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Ashley drafts off the light lambs, two-tooths and lambs for the works at 42kg LW.

genetics. It’s been good advice with year-onyear improvements leading to less input at lambing time and better lamb weights. Ashley entered the South Island Farmer of the Year in 2015 to benchmark and pick up farming information from the competition. “I didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for.” It turned out to be good value especially with the networking and judges’ constructive feedback. Ashley and Shonelle are part of a farm discussion group led by a local farmer. The

Builder and farmer, Ashley Townsend with son Mason, 18 months, on their Balclutha farm.

Townsends have used farm consultants in the past but found it hard to find one who could relate to their business and scale of farming. They are focused on keeping costs as low as possible so wanted changes which were realistic and couldn’t justify the cost of a consultant. “For us it was just matter of tweaking.” For that reason they have changed farm accountant. They now use Dunedin-based Richard Farquhar who is almost like a farm adviser as well. The couple also find Beef + Lamb NZ

Green acres the place to be

When Ashley and Shonelle were in Auckland they decided it was not where they wanted to start a family. So they sold their two Auckland rental properties and took over the family farm in late 2010. “I managed to convince Shonelle to go farming,” Ashley says. Shonelle was from Wellington and had never lived on a farm. Their first spring was unpleasant with snow through the peak of lambing in September. Initially she found it hard, especially the unpredictability of the weather and the prices. “I’m a valuer. I like order and answers.” But she would never go back to Auckland. They say the last job a tradesman does is on his own home and Ashley has a long list around the house and farm. The drafting race inside the woolshed was a makeshift affair as Ashley hasn’t had time to build a proper setup to protect the weigh crate outside. The house is close to a busy and at times dangerous State Highway 1. Crossing the road is getting harder and crashes more frequent. Only recently a car crashed through the fence and landed just behind the children’s swing. They would like to subdivide and sell the house so they can build a new house up the top of the farm. Paul used to help out on the farm but with remarrying and eight children between him and his wife plus grandchildren, his life is too busy for Ashley to rely on regularly.

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a great source for resources especially on issues such health and safety and farm environmental plans which some farmers are ignoring. “You can’t keep putting your head in the sand,” Ashley says. Time management is on Ashley’s list of skills he needs to improve. He knows timing is crucial especially with getting crops and young grass in the ground at the right time. Shonelle has signed up for a rural women’s farm business course to improve her farm management skills.

The Townsends are handy people to know. Paul is a plumber and two of Ashley’s brothers are also builders. A sister was sharemilking and the youngest is working on a dairy farm. Farming won’t become a fulltime job for Ashley unless land prices drop or farm gate returns rise. Who knows, an equity partnership opportunity may appear, but for now Ashley and Shonelle are happy to be farming.

Shonelle keeps the sheep up during drafting with help from Boston, 3, and Mason, 18 months.

FOCUS GROUP

Harry Prebble, Ian McLachlan, Glenn Erskine and Phil Crutchley.

Building the skills in Southland

fter a successful trial, a programme aimed at building the skill-set of sheep and beef farmers is being held again in Southland. Applications are now open for the Future Farmer focus group, a programme that delivers three technical workshops over a six-month period. These workshops cover farm business, personal development, tools and technology, genetics and understanding the supply-chain. Aimed at building the skills of more practically-minded people, the programme is the brainchild of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Southern South Island Farmer Council and has been organised by the region’s extension manager Olivia Ross. Olivia says they have been very pleased with the success of the programme and have had positive feedback from the 20 participants who completed last year’s course. Lisa Crawford, who farms alongside her parents in the Waikaka Valley, found the programme valuable and says she would recommend it to anybody who wants to learn about – and progress through – the sheep and beef industry. “Particularly for those going down the line of farm succession or who are looking at various options for entering the industry,” she says. Lisa found the modules on finance and genetics particularly useful and enjoyed her first module session, which included goal-setting. One of her goals was to buy sheep and she had ticked that one off within just a few months. The final module included a visit to a meat processor followed by a session with a chef who demonstrated how different cuts are used. This included a few recipes and meal ideas for busy young people.

Phil Crutchle y from Te An au is taught how to fly a dron e by Abacusbio’s Luke Procto r.

Lisa says it was great to see the whole chain from farm-gate to the plate. For Lisa, the Future Farmer programme has been a springboard into further developing her skill-base and this year she is doing an Agriwomen Development Trust’s “Understanding Your Farm Business” course. Olivia says applications for the 2017 intake of the Future Farmer focus group opened at the end of February and they will be selecting 20 people. “By selecting a diverse range of experiences, ages and locations also means greater networking opportunities and the sharing of ideas between participants.” She says there is no age limit to the programme, the overall goal is to maintain farmers within the sheep and beef industry and for them to be recognised as a valuable asset to the New Zealand economy. The Future Farmer focus group aims to help those working in the sheep and beef sector develop an understanding of the farm business, develop better decisionmaking skills, understand the importance of managing mental health and personal well-being and gain insight into the machinations of the sheep and beef industries. The three workshops are held in different locations in Southland and Otago and this year module two – which covers agri-tools and technology as well as genetics – will be a two-day workshop in Dunedin. For further information contact Olivia Ross on 0278017868

Excel Participants complete an ge llen cha et she spread

Supplied Beef + Lamb New Zealand Country-Wide April 2017

DOGS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN TRAINED TO A USEFUL STANDARD CAN DEVELOP UNDESIRABLE HABITS THAT LIMIT THEIR VALUE AS A WORKING DOG.

BARK-OFF Words by Lloyd Smith

On the road training dogs

ive am Friday, February 17, was the beginning of a 15-day road trip for Linda and me which would include eight days of dog training and travelling 3245km. Twelve hours of this was on the narrow gravel road between Hanmer Springs and the Awatere Valley through Molesworth and the Muller Stations. This was necessitated by the closure of SH1 north of Kaikoura following November’s earthquake. We stayed with very good friends who farm at Ward and this was our first chance to view some of the devastation. When this very damaging act of nature occurred we all felt sympathy for those affected and wished there was something constructive we could do. As the days went by and the media’s attention moved to something more sensational and newsworthy the consequences of the earthquake tended to fade from our minds and we moved on. But this trip into the earthquake-damaged area was a reality check and a stark reminder that while we could easily move on it is not that easy for those that have to live there and constantly view the consequences it has been to their hard-earned assets. They still experience on-going aftershocks which contribute to their anguish and apprehension. Their confidence and sense of security has suffered a considerable knock. We need to

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remain in constant contact with our friends in these areas and offer our moral support letting them know we are aware of their plight and think of them often. Our first dog training session was that Friday afternoon at Windwhistle put on by Beef + Lamb NZ which was very well supported with about 80 people attending including a lot of young people. From there we travelled north to Atihau between Wanganui and Raetihi for four days on their various blocks. Three days involved working one-on-one with staff which I found very rewarding and judging from positive feedback I believe they also enjoyed and benefited greatly. I commend the Atihau governance for their recognition of the need and offering their staff the opportunity to upskill. Atihau is upgrading its Land Based Training cadet scheme which includes a brand new cookshop and accommodation facility based at the Te Pa block close to Raetihi. This should provide an attractive opportunity for prospective trainees hoping to start a career in farming and as they run a very large scale breeding and finishing operation over several blocks that will provide employment opportunities at the completion of their course. We moved on to Otiwhiti Station where 12 cadets are involved in Land Based Training.

We have assisted with dog training there since its inception about 10 years ago and believe this establishment is constantly improving and now offers a very credible ag training programme. The facilities and cookshop are of a very high standard and I was impressed by the calibre of this year’s cadets. All these new trainees are set up with a young heading dog to train during the year they spend at Otiwhiti. Later in the year they are given assistance to acquire a useful huntaway which sets them up for employment the following year. Our last training day in the North Island involved a visit to Taratahi where we gave the first-year students a demonstration on dog training and an insight into what lies ahead if they choose to pursue a career that involves managing and moving stock. After lunch we worked one-on-one with the second-year students who had dogs and endeavoured to assist them cope with the problems associated with acquiring older dogs. In the past I produced an article on “What to be aware of when acquiring a dog” which was intended to assist young people make sound decisions when acquiring their first dog. The advice given becomes particularly relevant when one has the opportunity to view their acquisitions. Dogs that have never been trained to a useful standard can develop undesirable habits that limit their value as a working dog. Some young folk take the required steps to ensure they end up with a useful dog that will contribute well and be an asset in the management and movement of stock, while others pick up the first available dog off Trade-Me then struggle to control the creature, becoming disillusioned in the process. Be careful and make sure any dog acquired is going to be an asset. You are better off without a dog than an unruly, out-of-control one which becomes a liability, teaches you nothing and hinders your progress as a stockman. I find it pleasing and encouraging wherever I go to find a genuine enthusiasm for training dogs particularly among younger people which augers well for the future of both our dogs and the stock they handle.

COMMUNITY | PRODUCE

Berry business money for jam Terry Brosnahan Donald Butler has politicians eating out of his hand including the Prime Minister Bill English and political maverick Winston Peters. He isn’t a lobbyist or a Machiavellian character, it is just that he and his wife Jackie make a great berryfruit sundae. The politicians were at the South Canterbury couple’s stand at the Wanaka Show recently and lapped it up. Donald and Jackie, both 76, are good at mixing with all types of people and so they should be. They take their berryfruit to farmers’ markets, events like A&P shows and sell from their iconic Butlers berry farm on State Highway 1 near Waimate. Donald built the first little roadside stall himself in 1967, the year decimal currency came in. “I bought the timber in shillings and pence, sold the fruit in dollars and cents.” Today there is a shop, cafe and backpackers’ accommodation on the farm, all of which is hard to miss with the giant wagon and large strawberries displayed out the front. Donald worked on local farms after he left school but green thumbs ran in both sides of his parents’ families. His father grew apples and his mother’s family were orchardists. Donald helped out his dad and mucked around with strawberries before he got serious about growing them in 1967. He and Jackie grow a range of fruit which during the 1980s and 1990s used to employ up to 70 people picking berryfruit. “It was when Red Gauntlet was the

An aerial photograph of Butler’s berry farm near Waimate.

main strawberry variety and they used to come in by the truckloads every day.” With the modern Californian varieties there are fewer flowers at any one time but the season is spread out and goes on a lot longer. Now there are 15-20 people picking the berries. Staff are not hard to find though partners of foreign dairy farm workers and backpackers are increasingly hired as fewer and fewer Kiwis want to work. A wide range of berries, fruit and vegetables are grown for the shop but raspberries and strawberries are the main crops. About 25 hectares of blackcurrants are grown for processing. Donald is never too sure how big the berryfruit area is on their 70ha as plants are going in and coming out all the time. There is a large area of pasture and 4001000 lambs are bought in to fatten. In the weekends he and staff members go the Christchurch, Oamaru and Dunedin farmers’ markets. “They love it and don’t mind getting up at 4.30am.”

Donald Butler started growing strawberries 50 years and has never lost the taste for them.

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There is no missing Butlers Berry Farm on State Highway 1 near Waimate.

Jackie says this season has been busy with a lot of travellers heading south since the Kaikoura earthquakes. Waimate is renowned for growing great strawberries. Whether it is the climate, the soils or the people or all three, no one can say. Jackie wanted to celebrate Waimate’s strawberry prowess and help the area. So she started the Waimate Strawberry Fare in 1984 which draws up to 15,000 people

to the area in early December each year. Donald says the hardest part about berryfruit has been the weather and, until they took greater control over selling their produce, the unreliable prices. Like many growers they used to sell through the auction market but got fed up being price takers and the poor returns or not being paid at all. Export orders to Australia often ended with fruit sitting on the tarmac rotting or a buyer would go bust and didn’t pay them. The best thing he likes about the business is the enjoyment people get from visiting the berry farm. It’s not like leaving the IRD. “It’s great to see people going out with

a smile on their face.” Increasingly fewer sprays are being used and regulation has increased but Donald says it is good being a selfemployed business and they make a comfortable living. “Nobody can sack you.” Out of the couple’s four children only one, Christopher has made horticulture a career though Simon gave the family business a go and planted the blackcurrants. After 50 years of growing berryfruit Donald is still keen, but Jackie is ready for a change. No decisions have been made but leasing the business out could be an option rather than selling.

A clip for the shear challenge Japan is estimated to have about 20,000 sheep, but that didn’t stop it entering a team at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill recently. Even though Japan entered the machine and blade shearing and woolhandling, it wasn’t a large team. Shun Oishi travels around Japan teaching farmers to shear their own sheep. He entered all three events, machine and blade shearing and woolhandling. He came 46 out of 54 in the machine shearing with countryman Masakuni Oswada last. Shun was 17th in the woolhanding with teammate Yuki Yamomoto 30th and second last. She is a recent newcomer to woolhandling. When asked what his daily tally was with the blades, Shun replied he hadn’t done more than a couple of hours in one day. He came 21st in the blades with an Argentinian last. Another interesting group were the Norwegians ringing their sheep bells, a smaller version of the Waikato supporters’ cow bells. A large group of Norwegian farmers were touring New Zealand with Farm to

Country-Wide April 2017

Just happy to compete, Shun Oishi and Yuki Yamomoto at the World Shearing champs.

Farm Tours and supporting their team at the champs. Norwegian Martha Linstad, who worked in NZ several years ago, was acting as an unofficial tour leader and interpreter. A commentator at the champs informed onlookers that the bells scare predators away, but Martha said they are used as a cheap form of GPS to locate the sheep in vast areas. Norway has about 1.2 million sheep and the farmers are heavily subsidised.

Most supply Nortura, a co-operative with processing plants for meat and eggs. Nortura farm adviser Karluf Haakull said about 17,000 farmers supply 700,000 lambs a year to the co-op. The co-op pays about 50 krone (NZ$10.30)/kg for 15kg lambs, but it is only 30% of a farmer’s income. The rest comes from subsidies. The lambs are about 135 days old when killed and are not allowed to be exported.

SOLUTIONS

Wasps consuming the Vespex bait. Photo: Richard Toft

Wasp Wipeout gets $22,000 boost Nelson-Tasman region’s Wasp Wipeout programme has gained the support of chemical company BASF. Wasp Wipeout is a community-led conservation project that aims to significantly reduce German wasp and common wasp populations in the region.The company will provide just over $22,000 to support the project’s summer campaigns in 2017 and 2018. Wasps pose a serious threat to the biodiversity of the ecosystem, harming native birds and insects and competing for food with native species. They are estimated to cost the economy more than NZ$130 million a year, causing damage to primary industries and posing a significant threat to human health and outdoor recreational activities. The control method adopted by the project and approved for public use, uses the protein-based wasp bait Vespex, produced by local company Merchento using BASF insecticide fipronil. The resulting wasp bait is making a significant difference in the fight against these costly pests. The protein-based bait targets only wasps and is not attractive to non-target insects including bees. BASF worked closely with Merchento and the Department of Conservation to ensure good stewardship around the use of the product.

Electrodip – the magic-eye sheep jetter Having a fly or lice problem? The Electrodip is quick and easy to use – about 1500 sheep an hour and sides that adjust automatically to the size of the sheep – and uses only the amount of chemical you need to be retained on the sheep. Turning the nozzles on or off enables the Electrodip to jet into a full fleece to the skin or jet completely around the sheep when you have no wool on. Electrodip continues to update and innovate and the company can now supply wheels for existing pump and motor units as well as a lead-out ramp to help with animal flow. Older models are being refurbished in the company workshop as larger properties buy the new Electrodip and trade in their older models which tend to go to smaller operators. With the Electrodip, you control the timing and volume of the treatments. Fresh chemical is used every time so there is no decrease in efficacy. Farmers are also using a lice-active chemical at fly-dipping time. Owning your own machine means there is no reliance or waiting on contractors and saves you time and money.

More? Phone 07 573 8512 or email dipping@electrodip.co.nz

More? See www.basf.com

An autumn dressing of Golden Bay

Dolomite – the time-saver Time is the commodity in shortest supply in spring. Delays in any form are a major frustration stretching the skills and patience of the most experienced and resourceful operators. It is usually in the darkest and most miserable conditions that a cow is down and a decision has to be made. Treat immediately and delay milking, or get the herd to the shed and return later risking greater muscle damage with the possibility she may not recover. It’s not the financial cost, which is difficult to calculate and usually considerable, that exercises the mind, it’s how to find the necessary time in an already over-stretched schedule. It’s a tough start to the day. The solution is Golden Bay Dolomite. An autumn dressing at 200-250kg/ha will markedly reduce both the number and severity of magnesium-related metabolic disorders in spring. The usual pattern is that affected cows make it to the shed under their own steam and can be drafted and treated while still on their feet, with recovery usually rapid and complete. Dolomite is natural, containing both magnesium and calcium along with a wide range of naturally occurring trace elements.

More? See 0800 4DOLOMITE (0800 436 566)

ARE YOUR DOGS ON

MONTHLY DOSING?

ENSURE YOUR DOGS ARE TREATED FOR SHEEP MEASLES BEFORE GOING ON OR NEAR SHEEP PASTURE

For more information contact your veterinarian, phone Ovis Management on 0800 222 011 or go to www.sheepmeasles.co.nz

Country-Wide April 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

SOLUTIONS

ATTENTION FARMERS

VarioGrip powers zero-till cropping Altonbrook Farm in Mid-Canterbury has spent more than a decade establishing a zero-till system and now has the perfect set of machines for the job, including a new Fendt 927 VarioGrip tractor. Stu Macaulay manages Altonbrook Farm, a 680-hectare property at Southbridge that grows wheat, barley, grass seed, clover and peas and runs 1700 ewes and 900 calves. Stu was instrumental in the purchase of the Fendt 927 tractor with the VarioGrip tyre pressure regulation system a year ago when they updated their Cross Slot drill.

www.gibb-gro.co.nz

Altonbrook Farm near Southbridge is a no-till operation that uses its Fendt 927 and Trimble GPS to run a Cross Slot drill.

ANIMAL HANDLING FLY OR LICE problem? Electrodip - The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides. Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness. Phone 07 573 8512

More? Call AGCO NZ manager Peter Scott at 0272 708 027 or Peter.Scott@agcocorp.com

ANIMAL SUPPLEMENTS

handle and the bales it produces are a thousand Manawatu contractor times better.” Ryan Badger loves the Ryan particularly likes the bale chamber on the strength and simplicity Welger RP 160 V and the way it forms the bales. of Lely machinery and he “It is a faster operation and it makes says his new Lely Welger a nicer looking bale. Baleage bales wrap RP 160 V round baler and a lot better because they are more uniform.” Lotus 770 P tedder are great additions to his fleet. Ryan and his family run More? 0800 LELY NZ RTB Agri Ltd, based between Palmerston North and Ashhurst. They offer a range of Superaxe and Aussie Chopper WS3150 Aussie services including baling, cultivation and Chopper shown Hydraulic Log Splitters here. maize planting. Ryan first used a Lely Welger baler when Australian made direct to you he was working for another contractor in New Zealand several years ago and decided he needed Setting new standards in safety, one of his own. He bought a Welger 520, design and performance then traded it for a 435, before buying the new Lely Welger RP 160 V this season. Built tough by “The improvements between the 435 Whitlands Engineering and the 160 are huge. The 160 is a totally Call for your free brochure and DVD pack different machine,” he says. “They look fairly similar but the way www.superaxe.co.nz 0800 702 701 the new machine runs, and the crop it can JH0085140©

brianmace@xtra. co.nz

They looked at some other options before deciding on the Fendt. “The Fendt was the better option for us. We could do more with it, although we are not fully utilising all the technology at this point. We are fairly fussy about comparing like-for-like and we found the Fendt slightly cheaper on a spec-for-spec basis,” Stu says. “We got the tyre size option that we wanted and the steering package that was compatible with our Trimble GPS system.”

Lely baler impresses Manawatu contractor

Country-Wide April 2017

GROWTH PROMOTANT $5.85 per hectare + GST delivered Brian Mace 0274 389 822 07 571 0336

www.electrodip.com

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, GARLIC & HONEY. 200L - $450 or 1000L $2000 excl. with FREE DELIVERY from Black Type Minerals Ltd www. blacktypeminerals. co.nz

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE WILTSHIRE & SHIRE® RAMS, EWES & LAMBS for sale. Hardy, low input, easy care meat sheep. No dagging, No shearing. No dip, drench or vaccine since 1989. Deliver all over NZ. Certified Organic, BioGro 215 since 1989. Also Tufty® (polled Highland) Bulls available www.organicrams.co.nz, tim@ organic-rams.co.nz Phone 03 225 5283.

FERTILISER Golden Bay

Dolomite

NZ’s finest magnesium (Mg) fertiliser For more info call

0800 436 566 77

ide W ry riber draw t n u c e Co Subs priz fit e n be

GROWING NZ

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FARMING

CASHFLOW KING

Unorthodox strategie the bank manager s keep happy.

A tale or

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Manawatu’s retired farm chronicles his 40-yea manager Gordon Jones r farming career. p75

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March 2017

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Jones manager Gordonp75 retired farm career. Manawatu’s 40-year farming chronicles his March 2017

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ESTATE

From its vantage point the modern five-bedroom home overlooks rolling contour with patches of native bush to Foveaux Strait.

Production on Catlins tourist trail Twelve years ago Colin and Dot McDonald bought two neighbouring properties at the southern edge of the Catlins at Haldane and set about redeveloping everything to create a largescale, practical and productive farm. Today the 534-hectare farm has a new house, buildings, fences, lanes, regrassing, riparian fencing and is the productive property they knew it could be. With the project complete and the kids left home, they’ve decided it’s time for a new challenge and the farm is for sale. Last year the farm carried 2950 ewes, 840 hoggets, 351 R2 cattle, 308 R1 cattle, 30 cows for a month and 1834 store lambs that were brought in. It has a lambing percentage between 145% and 150%, with lambs finished at 18-19kg. It’s far more than a large-scale, productive farm though. From its vantage point higher on the farm, the McDonalds’ modern fivebedroom home overlooks the gentlerolling contour with patches of native bush to Foveaux Strait beyond. The Southern Scenic Route rolls past the gate with travellers exploring the wild beauty of the Catlins and the farm is ripe for a tourist venture or accommodation. “It’s a really special place because it is just so beautiful,” Dot says. “As a farm tourism place, it has the X-factor and there’s a huge number of places you could put accommodation for tourists and it would be wonderful for horse trekking. You go up the top of the hill and you have 360-degree views that go from Curio Bay to Slope Point and down to Waipapa.” Stands of native bush remain on the farm, including one stand of solely totara and in the past 12 years the McDonalds

The Southern Scenic Route rolls past the gate.

Country-Wide April 2017

have developed wetland areas as well as fenced streams and begun riparian planting. Several kilometres of flax have been planted for shelter, though the farm enjoys its own microclimate with just a couple of frosts a year and the rain from the west often doesn’t make it that far east. “We have good growth through winter and the sandier country is warmer so we use that a lot through those months. We’ve been using a clover called Apex which is really exciting on the sandy soils and this year we lambed our triplet ewes there and were able to send the lambs away to slaughter at weaning.” A good balance of soils through the farm run from those lighter, sandy soils to a medium clay loam and in the past 12 years much of it has been regrassed and regularly fertilised with serpentine super and lime. Regrassing usually follows crops and fodder beet is grown for winter feed, especially for the 300 weaner cattle bought in each year. “We usually buy in about 300 weaners and put them on fodder beet through winter to try and get them to come off the beet heavier so we can fatten them to higher weights earlier. We also grow a chicory, plantain and clover mix in several different areas of the farm and that’s good for finishing the lambs.” Up to 2000 can be bought in early January and finished by late May on those chicory, plantain and clover paddocks. “People don’t realise you can farm like this down here – it’s extremely productive.” After 12 years of restructuring and refencing the farm, it now has 111

paddocks, plus 10 holding paddocks with water reticulated to most of them from a 10m deep well. Water is pumped to a top tank and then gravity fed to tanks and troughs. Another source of income for the farm is a quarry with highway-quality rock which is used for crushing and spreading on local roads. And soon, the road from Waipapa in the south to Curio Bay in the Catlins will be sealed, which bodes well for tourism as well.

‘You go up the top of the hill and you have 360-degree views that go from Curio Bay to Slope Point and down to Waipapa.’

Dallas Lucas from Southern Wide Real Estate describes it as a multi-purpose farm with high stock performance as well as tourism potential and income from the quarry. “It has a particularly good balance of contour, with the rolling ground offset by sandier, free-draining ground. So you can fatten beef cattle and carry them through winter without much worry – you can pretty much carry whatever you like.” Price is by negotiation for the farm which can be viewed at www. southernwide.co.nz ref SWG1714.

More? Contact Dallas Lucas on 0274 325 774 or Craig Fairbairn on 0274 319 745.

Last year the farm carried 351 R2 and 308 R1 cattle.

Ten minutes from Little Tora, waves break along a 15km stretch of black-sand beach.

ESTATE

Manuka honey offers another income stream.

MTB track adds to Little Tora appeal

Toratora Mountain Biking Track has MTB bikers from Wellington and the wider region flocking to the station.

The cross country track meanders through 150ha of spectacular native bush.

A private mountain bike track, private homestay accommodation business and a 962-hectare sheep, beef and manuka honey station is for sale near the Wairarapa wine village of Martinborough. It’s a multi-income business on a farm that Blair Stevens from NZR Real Estate says has provided a great family lifestyle to hunt, fish, surf, swim and bike over the years. The farm has 600 effective hectares which run between 2000 and 3000 ewes plus up to 200 cattle with both sheep and beef replacements, under a semi-finishing regime. It’s well-subdivided into 75 paddocks with access lanes for easy stock management and a quality water supply to those paddocks. The farm infrastructure is excellent, Stevens says, with most fences in good order, a large four-stand woodshed with 1000NP, sheep and cattle yards well-positioned for ease of management, shelter belts planted and well-maintained, good farm tracks throughout, two large central lane ways on both sides of the farm and satellite yards in top condition. A very good fertiliser history tops it all off. The Toratora Mountain Biking Track has MTB bikers from Wellington and the wider region flocking to the station, paying $25 a head for the challenge and thrill of the professionally designed track. The cross country track meanders through 150ha of spectacular native bush with long-flowing descents, tabletops and sculpted berms, plus a beginners trail and a hand-built tighter, more technical trail for the more advanced. The Tora Outstation Homestay accommodation business has also been enjoyed by hundreds of families over the years seeking the peace and quiet of the country with the option of plenty

of activities to entertain every member of the family. A stone’s throw from the banks of the Awhea River, the historic character villa was the original musterers’ hut on the station and caters for up to 14 guests. “Clients can go for a mountain bike ride, farm walk, trail run, have a game of tennis, swim and then go for a surf out at the Tora Break which is well-known throughout New Zealand.” Ten minutes from Little Tora, waves break along a 15km stretch of blacksand beach with wave breaks providing competition for the big wave title, while seals bask on rock formations and watch the surfing action. Between biking, nature and character accommodation, it’s an adrenalin-pumping, captivating escape for the city dwellers who head to Little Tora. “They have an excellent income from the mountain bike track and the accommodation business, while they still have good, solid sheep and beef farm returns and an evolving manuka honey business. “The vendors have a lot of pride and passion in everything they do. It’s a property you drive past and it really stands out with its park-like grounds and beautiful homestead.”

The four-bedroom modernised homestead in its manicured grounds is accompanied by a two-bedroom sleepout, a pool and an as-new asphalt tennis court. An old haybarn has been converted into a very large games room and bar with pool table, table tennis table, dart board, Sky TV and a large projector screen for those All Black matches. “Little Tora has been such a great place to raise a family. The kids have grown up hunting, motor biking, mountain biking, fishing and surfing, so it’s a pretty cool lifestyle, with multiple incomes.” Tora Beach and coastline is renowned for its paua, crayfish and recreation, as well as being one of NZ’s most popular surf beaches, while the farm offers red and fallow deer plus pigs for hunting. The wineries of Martinborough and boutique village of Greytown are just 25 minutes away and Wellington an hourand- a-half drive. Tenders for Little Tora close on April 6. To view the station visit www.nzr.nz ref W022 and to take a look at the mountain bike trails visit www.toratora.co.nz or the Tora Outstation at https://www. holidayhouses.co.nz/properties/16253. asp.

More? Contact Blair Stevens on 06 370 9199 or 027 527 7007.

The four-bedroom modernised homestead

Country-Wide April 2017

ESTATE ESTATE | SNAPSHOT

Towai is a 268ha Northland property, bought by the current owners as a step towards retirement.

Beef farms close gap on Northland dairy

Anne Hughes

Growing demand

The price gap between dairy and beef farm land is closing in an active Northland market. Strong beef schedules and low interest Numbers of Northland dry stock farms rates are proving too good for buyers to (more than 100ha) reported as sold to refuse. REINZ: The combination of the two are 2016 42 creating a positive climate for farm sales 2015 40 in Northland, with existing farmers 2014 31 taking the opportunity to expand and 2013 26 new entrants being able to take the plunge into farm ownership. Farmlands Real Estate lower Northland agent Nicky Reid says the recent drought has not dried up demand for farms – beef and dairy in particular. Winter grass growth and its suitability m r for cattle are strong selling points for a f k stoc a dry i and the Northland. i, a w e r To hanga is for sale. “Northland’s strength is its cattle en W , betwe of Islands country – the ability to calve early and y Ba grow huge weaners with strong weaner fairs at Kaikohe and Wellsford,” Reid says. Northland boasts lots of waterfront farmland, but the country varies greatly – from flat to steep hill country and soil types ranging from free-draining or volcanic to naturally fertile marine clays. “Lifestyle opportunities are a major drawcard. Nearly every farm has a boat tucked in a shed on it somewhere.” Annual rainfall in some parts of Northland is up to 2000mm. Year-rou nd calving pro Reid says Northland has traditionally consiste vides a nt incom been a place dairy farmers come to e on Towa buy their first farm, mostly due to i. affordability. She says the area has grown in popularity in recent years, with the number of outside buyers purchasing dairy farms increasing from 15% to 2025%. Despite strong demand for dairy farms, beef units in Northland are eep and h s a selling well and the gap in sale is i Towa land in North s price/ha between dairy and beef rm fa f e s be inter gra is narrowing, Reid says. ing on w growth. s li a it p a c Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) figures show 12 dairy farms sold in the Kaipara district in the past year, averaging $25/kg milksolids (MS) and $10,764 a hectare. Nine grazing and finishing This Ka farms of more than 100ha were ipara fa rm home to sold for an average of $8728/ha. an Ang was once

us now a s heep an stud. It is with ca d beef farm lf rearin , g and c ropping . Country-Wide April 2017

Reid is marketing a sheep and beef farm that capitalises on winter grass growth. Located between Whangarei and the Bay of Islands, the asking price for the 268ha property Towai is $2.5 million. Its current owners bought Towai as a step towards retirement. Attracted to the farm’s close proximity to the Bay of Islands and the Northland climate, they sold their large farm in the King Country to move north. Year-round calving provides a consistent income on the hill country farm, with annual rainfall between 1600mm and 1800mm. Farmlands Real Estate recently sold a 146ha dairy farm at Matakohe in lower Northland for $1,100,000. The farm has been producing 39,000kg MS from 130 cows, growing out all its own young stock and finishing some beef cattle. Bayleys Country real estate agent Stewart Ruddell says buyers from outside of Northland continue to be attracted to the region. Renowned for winter grass growth, this summer got dangerously dry for many farmers in the north, but Ruddell says some parts welcomed 150mm of rain in January and February, resulting in a greener edge for many places at the start of autumn. Larger dry stock farms are attracting strong interest, but smaller, entry leveltype dairy and dry stock farms in good areas are ever popular. “It is this style of farm that continues to realise top prices.” One of several farms Ruddell is marketing is a 221ha farm in the Tangowahine Valley, Kaipara district. Almost half of the farm is flat to rolling contour, with the balance in hill country. Pastures are mostly a rye and clover mix, with some kikuyu on the hills. Historically an Angus bull stud, the current owners graze sheep and beef, with supplementary income from calf rearing and cropping. Currently wintering about 2600 stock units, the property is well subdivided into 42 paddocks with high productivity and a good fertiliser history.

aahughes@gisborne.net.nz 81

FARMING IN FOCUS More photos from this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Country-Wide.

Ashley and Shonelle Townsend

Wohelo

Paul Slack, Wohelo manager.

Fi and Nelson Hancox say that development of Wohelo to increase stock carrying capacity has worked out at about 20% of the cost of buying land.

The new barbed, electric and netting fences keep cattle in their place.

Country-Wide April 2017

Noel Sheat Harvesting

Butlers produce and sell a wide range of products.

Butlers Berry Farm

Donald Butler started growing strawberries 50 years and has never lost the taste for them.

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Butlersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cafe and shop staff, left to right: Lily Sadler, Flore Bonneface, Jasmine Buckingham and Bethje Meier.

Norwegian farmers and those bloody bells. From left to right: Martha Linstad, Karluf Haakull and Rolf and Henny Roynlid.

E IT TO TH K E TA

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