Country-WIde Febuary, 2017 by NZ Farmlife Media

GROWING NZ FARMING

SIDE-BY SIDES Are they the best option?

Close shave

Southlander Nathan Stratford made the forthcoming world shearing champs after a tight contest. p25

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February 2017

Country-Wide February 2017

OPS0004

“ 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

An OSPRI programme

Country-Wide February 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

Attention to detail

ften the difference between success and failure are the little things. That’s why attention to detail is so important. It can be the difference between winning and losing on a sports fields, profit or loss in a business. For shearer Nathan Stratford, it meant fewer mistakes and a place in the New Zealand team for the world champs in Invercargill next month even though he was not the fastest shearer (p25). In farming attention to detail is often the difference between the average and top operators in farming. Northern Waikato farmer Neil Aicken has featured a number of times in Country-Wide and he is in this issue again (p40). That’s because his bull beef operation is like an onion, you keep going there and pulling back layers of new information. The mantra on his Waikawa farm is pay attention to the detail no matter how small the job. Neil has golden rules such as all his bulls are off to be killed before February 1 regardless of the pasture growth or season. Bulls stay in small mobs until they are same-day killed at the meat plant. By using soil scientist Doug Edmeades, Neil was able to correct an unseen potassium deficiency and grow more grass.

It was my first visit to Waikawa but others have been a number of times because they learn more from each visit. Our series ‘How farmers learn’ continues p26 and there is a focus on what motivates them to learn. It certainly is not just money otherwise many wouldn’t still be farming. For a number it is about being the best. To do that, they have to pay attention to the detail. What else stops farmers from learning? No doubt answers will undoubtedly include a lack of time, apathy and an unwillingness to pay for good advice. One is the barriers we in the media are increasingly encountering between people with the knowledge to impart and our farmer readers. People such as scientists and company staff members who are restricted and managed by their organisations’ propagandists. A good story becomes a message the organisation or company wants told rather than what a farmer needs to read. By doing so, important information gets lost, the sort of detail which can make a difference behind the farm gate.

Terry Brosnahan

NEXT ISSUE Country-Wide March includes: • SIDE-BY-SIDES – What are the options for your farm? A checklist of requirements and features to help shortlist suitable models. • GENETIC TASTE TEST – A genomic test is being developed to predict which terminal sire rams are likely to produce offspring with better-quality meat.

• REGIONAL WATER PLANS – The series continues with a look at what’s happening in the South Island. • HEALTH AND SAFETY – A look at what farmers need to do to comply with the rules.

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

Wairere turned our scanning into profit “Our composite flock was scanning well but only lambing at up to 130%. A big ram change five years ago to Wairere Romney has seen an increase to 150% survival to sale, and a 3 to 4kg increase in weaning weight to 32-33kg. The big gains have been in both ewe and lamb survival, as well as the total wool clip doubling.” Tim and Sonya Martin farm around 400ha of hill country on the north Taranaki coast near Waikawau. The property is running 2000 ewes, plus their hoggets, along with 300 breeding and finishing cattle.

Making your sheepfarming easier and more profitable

www.wairererams.co.nz | 0800 924 7373 Country-Wide February 2017

More: p30

BOUNDARIES Wanaka’s family tri-hards.

A two-tooth competition.

HOME BLOCK Alice Scott rides out on the castie beat.

Paul Burt gets over his grumpy days.

A neighbour’s bull delivers gifts for Micha Johansen.

Jane Smith has no need to squeeze the rain gauge.

Trainee vet Amy Hoogenboom gets an unwanted shower. 13 Robert Hodgkins farms unsubsidised in England.

Andrew Steven selects some prime cuts.

FACTS 17

Weather is driving the sheep markets.

NOTEBOOK

What’s on when and who’s doing what.

BUSINESS Healthy rivers: An uncertain future.

Healthy rivers: ‘Don’t get side-tracked’.

Healthy rivers: Under pressure on the hills.

Healthy rivers: Plan a death sentence.

Healthy rivers: Pool resources.

Shearing world champs: a close shave for Nathan Stratford.

Contents

How farmers learn: The act of learning.

How farmers learn: Developing women’s autonomy.

Ram sales stronger than expected.

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

Landcorp looks to organics for future.

LIVESTOCK Simon Harvey picks the sweet spot in Awatere Valley.

Simon Glennie weighs the costs with an internal foe.

Sub Editor: Andy Maciver, ph 06 280 3166, andy.maciver@nzfarmlife.co.nz

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ISSN 2253-2307 (Online)

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Country-Wide February 2017

More: p74

More: p8

YOUNG COUNTRY

Tim Byrne offers suggestions for building parasite resistance. 36 38

Abi Chase advises on the perils of worm weather. Trevor Cook sees farmers getting it right on hill country.

PLATE TO PASTURE

SILVER FERN FARMS

Reviving the koura is a focus for Logan Wallace’s water quality work.

Lloyd Smith: there’s a time and place for treats for dogs.

COMMUNITY The Steeles combine farming and tourism on Retaruke’s Blue Duck Station.

SOLUTIONS 40

Neil Aicken knows how to grow bull beef.

LincolnSheep trial relies on EID.

Closer watch needed on cadmium.

The Turners are moving on from Hirawai.

Forget grain for sheep on lucerne.

Gentle country near Te Anau.

Spring rain brings revival in North Canterbury.

PLANT AND MACHINERY

James Hoban finds vintage stuff in clearing sales.

OUR COVER

ENVIRONMENT

Nathan Stratford is a machine shearer representing New Zealand at the world shearing champs at Invercargill in February.

Farm environmental plans a useful tool.

Keri Johnson makes a plea for robust science on waterways. 64 65

Denis Hocking proposes a toast to trees for 2017.

54 56

Turning green into gold at Onetai Station.

FARMING IN FOCUS More photos from this month’s Country-Wide.

Tim McVeagh checks out options for farm vehicles.

TECHNOLOGY

There’s always more to learn, reckons Alan Royal.

Kirstin Mills keeps her eyes on the road.

Country-Wide February 2017

Opportunity in land of Spud Robbins.

Herbicide resistance risk widespread.

Environment plans: Write it down.

ESTATE

Reviving sub clover.

ARABLE

App tracks the processing trail.

FORAGE

More: p35

Photo: John Cosgrove

BOUNDARIES | POST-CHRISTMAS

Family Guys Wanaka Challenge team, from left, Lynda Gray, Madeline Dykes and Cam Dykes take time out to ponder their next training moves.

Wanaka’s tri-hards

ri-hards of all ages and abilities will be lining up at this year’s Challenge Wanaka half and full triathlon events at Wanaka on February 18. The estimated 2500 participants compete individually or in teams to complete the 1.8km swim, 90km bike or 21km run half event; or 3.8km swim, 180 bike and 42km run full event. Event trustee Victoria Murray-Orr says this year six entrants, who have identified themselves as farmers, are taking on the full distance, and 38 the half distance. A repeat entrant is the Three Farmers team from Southland. Country-Wide reporter Lynda Gray has signed up a family team, Family Guys, with husband Cam Dykes (swimming) and daughter Madeline (running). Lynda’s return to a road cycling after a 10-year hiatus has required the purchase of a new bike and a Garmin, a new best friend and gadget which keeps tabs on

False teeth

her every cycling move such as cadence, speed and heart rate. The only thing the Garmin doesn’t do is make the actual pedalling into a head wind or grinding up hills any easier, she says. The team’s post-Christmas training programme has included procrastination, sweat, but as yet no serious tears. There is also an alcohol ban for the two senior members until after race day in the hope of shaving by several micro-seconds the overall finishing time.

A Rural Women New Zealand branch chairwoman who is married to a Federated Farmers leader, goes to the dentist for a set of false teeth. At her first RWNZ meeting with the new teeth, she talks for only eight minutes. The second meeting, she talks for only 10 minutes. The following meeting, she talks for 2 hours and 48 minutes. The members had to physically shut her up. They then asked her what happened. The chairwoman said at the first meeting her gums hurt so badly she couldn’t talk for more than eight minutes. At the second meeting the gums still hurt too much and she could only talk for 10 minutes. But, at the third, she had accidentally put in her husband’s teeth and couldn’t shut up.

Out-takes Tasty pet

At least one child in North Canterbury experienced mixed emotions at Christmas time. Culverden farmers were shocked at what they saw when they delivered several Christmas lambs to Harris Meats for processing in December.

Also in the queue, was a truck with one lamb on-board. This lamb was wearing a collar. Unfortunately the lamb’s destination was the same as the others in the queue and it seems that the only plausible explanation for the collar was that this was a family pet. It was noted that the man delivering the lamb was travelling alone. At least one North Canterbury farmer with young children has been known to explain when stock leave the farm that “a nice man from Cheviot called Mr Harris has bought them”. How the gentleman in the queue explained the pet’s absence, with a straight face, between mouthfuls, is unknown.

Country-Wide February 2017

BOUNDARIES | COMPETITIONS

Time to enter The Country-Wide West Otago Two-tooth competition is on again. Like last year the competition is open to farmers outside West Otago, but within reason. Distance is a factor in determining who is eligible, so each

Out-takes While you wait

A guy sticks his head into a barber shop and asks “Hey, mate how long before I can get a haircut?” The barber looks around the shop and says “About two hours,” and the guy leaves. A few days later the same guy sticks his head in the door and asks...”How long before I can get a haircut?” Again, the barber looks around at shop full of customers and says “About two hours.” The guy leaves. A week later the same guy sticks his head in the shop and asks “How long before I can get a haircut?” The barber looks around the shop and says “About an hour and a half”. The guy leaves. The barber looks over at a friend in the shop and says “Hey, Charlie, I’ll give you a free cut if you follow that guy and see where he goes.” In a little while, Charlie comes back into the shop laughing hysterically. The barber says, “This must be good, where did he go when he left here?” Charlie says: “To your house.”

Country-Wide February 2017

outside entry will be on a case-by-case basis. The sponsors’ prizes for the overall winner include $1000 cash from CountryWide, $2000 worth of Rohan perennial ryegrass seed and pasture management

Thumbs out and up

A Country-Wide writer was recently travelling with his 11-year-old daughter when they stopped for food and drink. Across the road were several hitchhikers and the daughter said it would be nice to give them a ride. Told by his wife never to pick up hitch-hikers, the dad wasn’t so keen and hoping someone else would give them a ride. So he told his girl they might if they were still there after they had eaten and they were. They were still there after the father and daughter had gone for a long walk in search of a nearby toilet and tidied the car to make room for the guests. Reluctantly the dad drove up the road and pulled over only to find the number of hitch-hikers had grown to four. Even with a seven-seater car it was still a squeeze to fit the tourists in with their packs in the car. The Yanks and the German had been waiting three hours for a ride and were very grateful. So too was the driver’s daughter who delighted in having an audience to talk to about Disney movies for the next hour.

Town and country

During the past three years, North Canterbury drought stories have featured regularly on the television news.

Judging during last year’s competition.

assistance from Agriseeds plus a $2000 soil fertility consultation from agKnowledge. Entries close on March 20. For inquiries and entry forms contact Andrew Young 027 2488200 or email zitayoung@gmail.com

One regular point of contact for these stories always encouraged media who contacted him to talk to farmers in the most affected part of the district at any point in time. When he suggested two farmers in Cheviot to one journalist, she explained that while they wished to appear deeply empathetic to the district’s plight, working with the most severely impacted members of the community, Cheviot was just a bit further from Christchurch than she intended to drive.

He reluctantly agreed that seeing as they would not go to Cheviot, he would meet them at his place (approximately 20 minutes closer to town) to at least ensure the story would be aired. The journalist asked if she could film him feeding out after lunch and he patiently explained that she would have to get there a bit earlier to see that. His patience took a blow when she then said she would only come after lunch and wondered if he could stage a feeding out scene then. His patience suffered the final blow when she asked earnestly whether he used a pitch fork to feed out.

the lambs off their mothers not once but twice in one week they are back out in the blocks with plenty of scope. Some of the ewes look like they have an extra lamb or two following them around but, in the end, it had to be done. The new year is looking to be full of promise after a good lamb survival, our winter crops getting a decent start with wee spells of rain and warm weather and a new woolshed and covered yards also on the cards. The concrete has been poured for the piles and the building crew is due to return next week.

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Riding out on the castie beat

Alice Scott

Middlemarch, Central Otago

eveloping a native hill run into a productive dryland farm there is always going to be the odd issue which one could tick off as “growing pains”. Easing our cattle numbers down to 450 and introducing sheep on to the property in 2014, we now have 2000 ewes. We have kept our shearing to once a year. This has been down to several factors; the main one being the old woolshed is not suitable for pre-lamb shearing and we have no covered yards. We did the same thing in 2015 and didn’t seem to have too much trouble with cast sheep. But give the big girls an easy spring with phenomenal growth and cast they will become. The most we rolled over in a single day was 28 casties and most days the tallies were 15 to 20. Do the simple maths – value of ewe plus one or two lambs equals well worth the time and effort to check them. And they had to be checked every day to find them alive. Warm weather followed by a spell of rain was a recipe for legs in the air everywhere. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the castie beat. My horse Honey and I would ride out in the afternoon. With a purpose for

Out for an evening ride to check for casties.

the ride and a break from the evening mealtime/bedtime routine we happily spent the next three or four hours riding around the sheep and helping the girls back to their feet. Mostly, though, it was my husband John doing the castie beat. We hoped the issue would abate as the lambs started to appear – the cast numbers did drop but still two, three, four, five sheep were being rolled each day. Surely, we thought, once they have finished lambing we will be right. But even with lambs at foot the odd ewe was found, legs high in the air and their offspring helping themselves. “Got any ideas?” John said to me when I asked him what could be done about it. “You can’t shear them with lambs at foot can you?” I asked. “It’s been done,” he mumbled. The crunch came when John discovered fly strike on one of the ewes. Within a week the crutching trailer was here and two days later the old woolshed began to rock and roll, spilling out ewes six kilos lighter. We’re now 10 days out from weaning and while it hasn’t been ideal to draft

Within a week the crutching trailer was here and two days later the old woolshed began to rock and roll, spilling out ewes six kilos lighter.

We have earmarked a few mobs of calves, the Charolais and Angus-cross were the first through the yards as the males are castrated. The Herefords we sell privately as bull calves and the heifers go to sale which we will mark once the lambs are away. I dare say there will be more subdivision on John’s mind this year too and various other development projects lined up. A busy life off farm also awaits as school goes back in a few weeks. PTA, play group, pony club and dance lessons are on the agenda and our middle child Annabelle will be off to school in August. Somewhere in there I will find another excuse to get out for a few more evening rides. • Alice and John Scott and their three children farm Summer Hills, an 1800-hectare sheep and beef farm 25km east of Middlemarch, Otago.

An end of an era for our old woolshed.

Country-Wide February 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Trimming the grump ratio Paul Burt has visions of joining the likes of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, stars of Grumpy Old Men.

Paul Burt

Matata, Bay of Plenty There is no getting around the fact that some mature members of our profession could easily stand in for the cast for the TV show Grumpy Old Men. I ask myself: is it because we are still matching wits with the woolly hoards or is it more a reflection of advancing years. In case you think it’s time I was kept away from the public and relocated to a hut at the back of the farm I will clarify. There are actually only eight or 10 days a year when I am grumpy and those are the days when truck and trailer units leave the farm laden with lambs, cull ewes, or wool which represent the year’s production. I am not actually grumpy those days, the lip doesn’t drop till 14 days later when the banked remuneration will only settle the budgeted essentials and won’t come near the wish list.

However many grumpy days you suffer, they are better than angry days and the media seems to have unearthed a lot of angry people.

When wool returns matched those from lamb the wish list would have been an accepted part of farm maintenance: painting buildings, metalling farm roads or perhaps a new set of yards. As for that shiny yellow Komatsu – dream on. My grumpy rating – nine days out of 365 – doesn’t sound so bad but how do I stop it getting worse. It worries me that the desire to, and the reality of, work until I’m 85 will be two different things.

Country-Wide February 2017

And buying spare parts for an aging body plus the downtime for getting them installed and running them in won’t improve my mood. I’ll have to come up with a plan if I want to emulate my old friend Tom who, with his boots on, ran out of breath at 86 on a sunny day, sorting some of his beloved prime bullocks. Despite a life ending, it wasn’t sad and the independent and stoic among us would gladly trade a few extra years to dodge a one-way trip to a retirement home. I am happy that my career will require the whole of my life. It’s what I enjoy and I aim to carry on, more slowly but hopefully still going forward. I might even get that grump ratio trimmed. Others have a time limit on their farming lives and actively pursue retirement. They desire new experiences and meet new people. They seek the thrill of being a little frivolous with their capital which, on farm sale, is suddenly available. This period is reward for all that has gone before and is well-deserved by the many spouses who may not have been as passionate about the farm as their partners. However many grumpy days you suffer, they are better than angry days and the media seems to have unearthed a lot of angry people. A phenomenon is published anger at other people’s opinions. The right to express an opinion is a basic freedom of democratic society and we have laws to curb offensive or extreme opinions. Until that line is crossed, one person’s opinion is as valid as the next and tolerance should prevail.

Social media exacerbates the problem because 99% of people carry a method for instant self-publication and the ease of this process leaves many brains halfengaged. Some high-profile worthwhile members of the community have been caught out by expressing opinions or personal interpretations of facts that are taken as official views, linked to the positions they hold. At worst the utterings are unwise but it is well to remember the people concerned wouldn’t hold the positions they do if they had not displayed consistent ability and integrity. Some very angry voices are expressing displeasure – facts or opinions? – at the way we farmers treat the environment. It seems these people won’t be happy until livestock are removed from the countryside and the land looked after by more benevolent custodians. Not far from here there is a substantial river with good trout and eel populations. It passes through farmland, with river boundary fences and riparian planting. It’s in a picturesque valley and tourists often stop to take photos. Further downstream the river meanders for miles through no-man’s land with the road roughly parallel. No one stops and there is no swimming or fishing because the gorse and blackberry obscure the water and deny access. Let the angry people take out their frustrations on the gorse bushes growing on public land. Get rid of that nitrogen-producing eyesore and plant and tend some native trees. If they feel out of their depth, they may have to ask local farmers how it’s done.

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

When the neighbour’s bull paid a visit

Micha Johansen Eketahuna, Wairarapa

We’ve made it to nine-months of farm ownership and it’s definitely been worse than we expected, despite attempts to be as realistic as possible before purchase. The very wet winter became a very wet spring, and my “moving on in 10 years” plan became a five-year, then a three-year plan. Fortunately the sun finally came out, and I am almost back to my 10-year plan. Because it has been so wet, grass growth has been pretty dismal, which meant we never got beyond milking once a day, which has been fabulous. I’m pushing to stay OAD forever, as the freedom from that afternoon milking is pure bliss, not that we’ve taken much advantage of this freedom, aside from Christmas day, and TJL (Trent) being able to get to speedway without dealing with me whining “I don’t want to milk in the afternoon, on my own, it’s too hot, and I’m scared of bulls”.

Trent racing his minisprint in Wellington.

One big advantage of OAD has been the option to pimp TJL to the local contractor, to help cart silage. Contracting means he is getting to know the area and a few locals. It also means we won’t take as big a hit to the finances as we feared. With our finances not being quite where we want them, we also decided to sell my Friesian-cross bull weaners, which is what I had hoped not to do. Good prices, $485 for the first six and $530 for my last three, almost made up for having to part with my boys. I still have four that we steered, including Thor, who was born before bobby calf pick-up, then broke his hock, and Banshee, a gorgeous Hereford-cross who probably would have netted us a fair amount, but I love him, so he stays. Selling the bulls put an end to a long discussion we’d had with my parents, as to whether we’d graze a few head on their seven acres, or whether we would cut supplement. It did trigger another fortnight-long conversation, as to whether we should make silage or hay, and then big bales or smalls. We concluded it was best to make conventional bales, 60 for calves, and Mum and Dad would sell the rest. Once the weather sorted itself out and we got days likely for baling, Dad got into a bit of a fluster. It started with him severely twisting his knee, and being reduced to light duties, plus TJL had plans to race his minisprint in Wellington on the most likely baling day. My opinion that I could pick up all 200 myself got poo poo’d. Okay, so I can talk a good game and didn’t really believe I could do it all, but I knew I could do at least 50, and it never rains in Waipukurau in summer anyway, so why worry? Dad, demonstrating his total disbelief in my ability to lift anything more than one bale, decided he’d phone a friend to see if he could lend a hand. “Isn’t he your age?”, “No. He’s younger,” was Dad’s reply. Apparently, when you are 77, 71-year-olds are spring chickens, capable of throwing bales of hay around. Unfortunately Dad’s mate was a bit under the weather, so poor Dad was back to me

Santa, the neighbour’s bull who came delivering gifts.

as the only definite. Fortunately, come baling day, TJL had opted to take a nap rather than go to Wellington and my sister had also somehow been roped in, so we had quite a crew, with 236 bales to move and stack. I love hay making. I was picking up bales with ease, regaling my family with shouts of “I am the hay queen, roaaaaar...”, and kind of hoping we could find other people and help pick up theirs. I just love hay.

Trent drenching R1s.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the land to make all the supplement we need, so we will be buying it in. We have been looking for a lease block, but no luck as yet. Ironically the farms behind, alongside and across the road are all leased out, just not to us. So if anyone knows of any blocks, 20-40ha, Woodville to Masterton, please, let us know. I hope all of my readers – Hi Mum – have had a pleasant summer. Even our in-milk cows had a visit from Santa, in the form of the neighbour’s big old Hereford bull, who jumped the fence to deliver a few gifts. Fortunately it was at the right time of year and he was a very quiet boy, so fingers crossed we see a few extra Hereford-cross calves come calving 2017.

Twitter: @michajohansen Instagram: @michajjohansen Email: michajohansen@hotmail.com

Country-Wide February 2017

100% of farms have toxoplasmosis present. 88% of farms have campylobacter present. So what are the odds?

ABORTION STORMS. TWO DISEASES. TWO VACCINES.

When you think abortion storms, you probably think toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is everywhere and any ewe that contracts it may abort.

ELE-01787F-CW

But campylobacter also causes abortion, is nearly as prevalent and equally as deadly. Campylobacter can cost you 20-30% of your lambs.

There are two diseases that cause abortion storms and preventing them takes two vaccines. So talk to your vet about how the Toxovax®+ Campyvax4® combination gives you the best protection against abortion storms.

AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No’s: A4769, A9535. ®Registered trademark. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz. NZ/TVAX/0915/009

Country-Wide February 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

No need to squeeze the rain gauge Jane Smith Five Forks, North Otago

Another year under our belts at Newhaven and the rain gods have smiled on us. For a region of climatic extremes, it hasn’t taken us long to sink into rainfall complacency – at this time of year we are usually squeezing the rain gauge for an extra millimetre, yet over the past few months there have almost been mutterings of wishing for a sunny day. The Fossil Creek Angus cows have had a great calving among the tussocks with some impressive looking calves on board. Lamb weaning was surprisingly straightforward – with the offspring aged five, eight and 10 now proving consistently useful in the yards despite their father’s instructions to willing workers being more complex and confusing than an ACC invoice. We are in the midst of Perendale ram selling season at Newhaven and it has been motivating to see the impressive gains sheep farmers are making behind the farm gate, especially those sticking to the basics and doing them well – investing in genetics, soil fertility and pastures. Against the odds, our sector is more than doing its bit to push productivity. Arguably the hardest thing about being a farmer is making decisions that involve a wide and often scary matrix of variables; yet this also makes us a pretty good at seeing the big picture. However, spend more than three hours

with Wellington bureaucrats and you very soon discover this is not how our regulators think. Perhaps a compulsory 10 hours a year on the tractor for every public servant followed closely by eight hours on a handpiece would encourage more open-minded solutions, although with an election looming there will no doubt be a moratorium on lateral thinking. In October I was fortunate enough to be asked to sit on the Global Farmer Roundtable, alongside 12 farmers from around the world – including Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Rwanda, India, Spain, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Argentina. The World Bank president addressed us and it was music to my exporting ears when he stated the world urgently needs free trade for innovation, food security and sustainable distribution. The only way to do this is to end agricultural subsidies which he described as a US$585 billion false economy. The British farmer fresh from Brexit beside me looked decidedly uncomfortable. Anyone recall 1984? “Ah, a sheep farmer from New Zealand. A pleasure to meet you,” was a fellow roundtabler’s greeting. “Your NZ lamb is the finest in the world, but what a pity that you are terribly, terribly bad at selling it.” I appreciated the honest and upfront approach of this farmer from India. “In India, we sell first and then grow. This, you need to learn.” He couldn’t believe we have such a fine product but invariably allow the market to decide what they would like to pay in an inevitable race to the lowest common denominator. I am hanging my hat on the new marketing strategy through Beef +Lamb New Zealand, although a panindustry approach would be preferable with some really clever insights available from other primary industries that we should embrace.

Good labour is hard to find, even if you breed it. Junior Shepherd George, aged five, takes a laid-back approach to this year’s weaning.

Unfortunately, over the past 20 years, we misread the world’s need for food as a need for cheap food. We even told them this is. We were wrong. The world needs sustainably produced food and they need to pay for it. I was questioned time and again on just why NZ farmers are being held to account by our own citizens to environmental standards above and beyond those any other primary industry around the globe has to meet, without the costs being offset by higher returns. An assumption was made that NZ farmers mustn’t have to pay taxes – and instead we must just smile and bear the brunt of having to jump through hoops for a “licence to farm”. A fresh approach needed here perhaps? Speaking of fresh approaches, 2017 is the year of Better Communication in the Sheep Yards. Indeed the only time when I wish for a strong nor wester – as I have learnt to stand up-wind at all times – no chance of hearing or even acknowledging what you are doing wrong. However the one perk of being an involuntary volunteer is that you can walk off the job at any time, and the guy on the drafting gate knows it.

The Fossil Creek Cows are happy among the tussock. 12

Country-Wide February 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Getting naked for the bull-in-a-calendar shoot. Photo Kevin Bills Photography

Unwanted shower for a trainee vet

Amy Hoogenboom

Vet student, Massey University I must admit, I found it a bit of challenge deciding where to start and what to write for my first Homeblock column, however nothing shall ever come close to the challenge of keeping my eyes open on Friday at 8am during a lecture on feline nutrition. Growing up in the rural township of Waipukurau, I had the odd pet lamb to look after during my childhood and plenty of friends who lived on farms but I would hardly say I came from a farming background. It was an introduction to the Future Beef NZ Hoof & Hook competition in my early teens that I found a passion for the beef industry and cemented my desire to become a vet. Much of my early involvement in the

Country-Wide February 2017

beef industry was helping show cattle for retired vet and GlenAnthony Simmental studmaster, Tony Thompson. In 2015, eight years of Hoof & Hook competitions drew to a close when I won the Allflex Senior Beef Ambassador title. However, my involvement with the organisation continues and I am now on the Future Beef NZ executive committee. Four years after swapping the ambercoloured hill backdrop in Waipukurau for the bright lights of Palmerston North I am about to begin my fourth year of the vet degree at Massey University. What better time to look back on third year vet; late night study, early morning lectures, getting naked and too many exams. Vet school is not the easiest degree course. It requires a lot of time (something I never seem to have), dedication (a must-have) and motivation (often non-existent). People say the hardest part is getting in. As someone who did not get accepted on their first try, I would have to say the hard part started once I got in. I’m not saying people didn’t tell me it would be hard but they certainly forgot to mention some days I would absolutely hate vet school and question my decision to pursue the degree. Thankfully, the highs are greater than

the lows leading to third year vet school being the most exciting year of learning so far. I enjoy the days filled with cattle rectal palpations, ewe necropsies and obstetrical problems, the lectures on renal pathology are more interesting than they sound and pharmacology is bearable. Massey vet school has many traditions but none are more well-known than the annual Barely There naked vet calendar. The calendar raises money for our class halfway day which marks the midpoint in our five-year degree and 10% of the profits also go to a charity as chosen by the class. The calendar is something I had both been looking forward to and dreading since getting into the vet course. For our class photo we decided on a bull sale. One of the more awkward class trips, we ventured out to local Angus stud, Atahua, who had kindly lent us the use of their sale ring and a bull. The start was a bit weird but it was okay by the end of it all, especially after we had shared a few laughs over the bull deciding the hay one of the guys by the ring was using to strategically cover his manhood looked tastier than the pea-vine that had been left for him in the ring.

‘I enjoy the days filled with cattle rectal palpations, ewe necropsies and obstetrical problems, the lectures on renal pathology are more interesting than they sound and pharmacology is bearable.’

Sometimes, just like every job, you have a shitty day and recently I had a day that was shittier than most. I was helping blood-sample 200 dairy cows during an afternoon milking in a herringbone dairy. Sampling in a herringbone is somewhat trickier than sampling in a rotary shed or cattle race unless you are 6ft tall. As I stood on my tip-toes to collect blood sample number 55, I had a bit of trouble finding the vein but I finally got it. I just needed three seconds for the tube to fill enough for a sample but unfortunately the cow had other ideas. Before I even had time to register my front had been showered with digested grass, water and bodily secretions. I think everyone in the shed had a wee chuckle, even I had to laugh at the whole situation. Thank goodness it missed my head.

HOME BLOCK | UNITED KINGDOM

Unsubsidised in the UK

Robert Hodgkins Hertfordshire, England

Our farm team comprises of myself, Joanna and our three children Maggie, three and half, Evie, 2, and George (about 10 days) we have just taken on an excellent 25-year-old shepherd called Josh and we run 1200 New Zealand Romney ewes all with very high percentage of imported Wairere genetics. Although Englishmen by birth/design, our family has always had a very close relationship with NZ. From the early 1980s we have employed heaps of your countrymen as they pass through Europe and many have remained lifelong friends to the family. To return the favour – believe me it was a poor trade from your point of view – after I completed university I spent just under a year in Geraldine working for a silage contractor called Woodleys in 2004. By way of an introduction into how the farm came into being, in 2012 I was still on the “home” farm which runs around 4500 breeding Romneys on the south coast near Brighton. I had been away for eight weeks completing my Nuffield project on “Sheep genomics – the future of profitable performance prediction”. The Nuffield experience gave me a chance to reflect on the family business and take an objective look at it from a distance. It was while visiting farms in NZ I came to realise we had a large problem on our “home” family farm in Sussex. It had a fairly young and very proactive father who was not planning on retiring any time soon, it had myself working on the farm and it also had my younger brother who was keen to come back from working as a land agent – within the next five years the farm was going to have some serious succession issues.

After a lot of soul-searching (and at the time some very difficult family conversations around the kitchen table) it was agreed I would leave the farm in Sussex and move to be with my girlfriend in Hertfordshire (she runs a large 800ha arable operation). It was decided the home farm would “buy” me out of the partnership using draft ewes and <35kg ewe lambs. In exchange for any “rights” I had to the farm (in effect I got my inheritance early) eight months later Maggie came along so you might be able to guess the catalyst for solving the problem.

It was while visiting farms in NZ I came to realise we had a large problem on our “home” family farm in Sussex.

In late 2012 I moved to Hertfordshire with 200 draft ewes, a 10-year-old horsebox and a 16-year-old Prattley. We secured 60 acres of parkland and I managed to get a contract job at Ford Motor Company designing clutches (my degree was in mechanical engineering). For 18 months I worked full time at Ford and tended the sheep in the evening

and weekends. I took two weeks off for lambing, using teasers to tighten up lambing so I didn’t have to take too much time off. In the meantime, I sold my house and various other bits and pieces to fund the sheep. In February 2014 I attended the Worshipful Farmers advanced course in business that radically changed my outlook and inspired me to take on further debt and raise the asset base, the sheep. So, in late 2014, HSBC loaned us the money we needed and we swapped our new ewe lambs for more draft ewes and received another 200 ewes as another part of our payout from the home farm. In 2015 we lambed 460 ewes and 200 ewe lambs. I also left my left my job at Ford to go full-time farming. In late 2015 we took on more draft ewes as a further payout from the home farm and retained as many of our own ewe lambs as possible. This meant we were able to raise sheep numbers again. In April 2016 we lambed 870 ewes and are carrying another 250 ewe lambs. This November by keeping back ewe lambs we are putting 1200 ewes to the tup. Next year we will retain 500 ewe lambs and get rid of the oldest 200 ewes (some of them are 2006 born). We should be up to 2020 ewes by 2020 which, as a completely unsubsidised farm (rare in the UK) is where we need to be to try and compete with our subsidised neighbours.

Robert Hodgkins aboard his quad on his Hertfordshire farm.

Country-Wide February 2017

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HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Butcher’s slab – Andrew’s wife Vicky vacuumpacks cuts of beef for the freezer.

Prime cuts down on the farm a target first and after using three rounds at 30 metres, I could barely hit the target. For the avoidance of a debacle, sense prevailed and a more accurate weapon was chosen. For the cutting up stage, I put a clean sheet of customwood on the deck of the ute and I cut while Vicky packed.

Andrew Steven Rosewill, Timaru

With a prime cattle beast ready for slaughter, we had to consider our options. Would it be time/cost-efficient to do the job ourselves? I had never done the job from start to finish before, but have cut up plenty of venison and mutton. In this modern age we have YouTube to show us how to do nearly everything. The cost of having the professionals do it is often more than I think it should be so the decision was made. Looking at our assortment of firearms, the .303 was chosen as the best tool for the job. There were five bullets but the rifle was without a back sight. I thought that at close range, I could do without a back sight. I took the precaution of trying out on

Our youngest has finished with school and with no clear career objectives, apart from a desire to drive combine harvesters, we are employing him for the year with the aim of teaching him the multitude of small skills a useful adult needs.

We have various lumps of meat: steak, roast and stew. The individual steaks can be cut just before cooking. We bought a vacuum-packing machine [$100 from Briscoes] and to age the meat without flies, put it into an empty freezer and ran it for a couple of hours a day, just to keep it cool. We cut the short ribs; they are delicious

when slow cooked and not often seen in New Zealand. Mostly the meat is cut off and rolled to make rolled roast. The whole exercise didn’t take too long and was quite good fun. I also learnt that dairy-bred animals can be very good eating, contrary to what I had assumed. Our youngest has finished with school and with no clear career objectives, apart from a desire to drive combine harvesters, we are employing him for the year with the aim of teaching him the multitude of small skills a useful adult needs. Like how to get to work on time with all the things needed for the day like a jersey, lunch, fuel etc. Teaching him to like sheep is going to be more difficult. We are enjoying having him here. We do have the scenario of one soft parent but I use the prospect of working on a dairy farm as a threat for lateness. I don’t want to talk much about farming details as that may depress you, but can share some thoughts from the tractor seat. Do you recall David Lange suggesting “the average farmer couldn’t run a corner shop”? I wondered if the country is run as well as the average farm. No. Sometimes in farming forums you hear the irritating expression “failing to plan is planning to fail” Does New Zealand have a plan?

Country-Wide February 2017

FACTS

Weather dictating sheep markets Pasture Growth I ndex - comparison t o normal

AGRIHQ ANALYST

+40%

Reece Brick

Versus normal

+80%

eather is the biggest issue influencing farmgate returns this season. Mother Nature has left the various regions of New Zealand in many differing states. At one end of the spectrum is Northland and Hawke’s Bay. Neither of these areas has received significant rainfall in what is now approaching two months, leaving paddocks extremely dry. This problem has only been exacerbated by the blustery winds which have whipped their way across the country. While this has drawn more lambs out to slaughter, it is the store markets which have been the most heavily affected, especially for lambs. The impact of the cold, damp spring is still being felt through the North Island, with average liveweights and carcase yields still down on previous seasons, pushing more to sell stock store rather direct to slaughter. Store lamb prices have already fallen sharply across the eastern and lower

-40% -80% 09-Oct

09-Nov Northland

Nth Cant.

The impact of the cold, damp spring is still being felt through the North Island, with average liveweights and carcase yields still down on previous seasons.

UK CKT leg 8.5

NZ$/kg

8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 17-Oct

17-Dec 5-yr Ave

Country-Wide February 2017

17-Feb Last Year

09-Dec Hawke's Bay

09-Jan Manawatu

North Island, and they are unlikely to improve unless there is a major change in weather patterns in the short-term. At the other end of the spectrum is the South Island. Conditions through nearly all areas are much better than typical for this time of the year. This is especially true for North Canterbury, which has slowly moved out of drought conditions in recent months. At the time this was written, store lambs in the South Island were making at least 20c/kg more than in the North Island, as well sitting above the same point in any of the past four years. The strength of onfarm conditions in the lead-up to Christmas left processors short on numbers to kill therefore export offerings out of NZ were tighter than usual. This has acted to supported returns on lamb into overseas markets in recent weeks, leaving most markets in a better position than initially anticipated. The main downer on this current season is the United Kingdom. Even though in-market pricing on frozen lamb legs has actually been 32% better than a year ago, the NZD:GBP has completely negated any increase in pricing to date. Exporters are trying to push more product normally destined for the UK into other European countries with mixed success so far.

17-Apr This Year

NOTEBOOK

How sweet it is James Taylor returns to New Zealand for the first time in seven years for two special performances as part of a Australasian tour in February. The first will be at Vector Arena, Auckland, on Saturday, February 4 from 7:00pm-11:55pm, followed the next day by a performance at Church Road Winery, Taradale, from 7:00pm-11:55pm.

Shearing showdown

The New Zealand Shearing Foundation welcomes about 6000 spectators to take in the action over three days at the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill. The event offers something for everyone with the elite competitors striving for world titles, and everyone else there for the festival of shearing, a wool and trade expo. February 8-11, Stadium Southland, Invercargill. www.worldshearingchamps.com

Young farmer regionals

tender and tasty lamb in New Zealand. Run by Beef + Lamb New Zealand, it is open to sheep farmers and retailers from around the country. Finalists’ lamb is then tasted at the Upper Clutha A & P show in Wanaka in March, by top chefs and celebrities to find the grand champion.

Winery tour

Regional finals of the 2017 FMG Young Farmer of The Year kick off in February, beginning with the Otago-Southland regional final at Roxburgh Racecourse, Central Otago on Saturday, February 18, 8am-5pm. The Aorangi regional final follows on Saturday, February 25, 8am-5pm at Methven A&P Showgrounds, Ashburton District. Regional finalists throughout the country were picked at district contest and skills days between October and December with regional finals held nationwide from February to April. The grand final, with TV presenter Te Radar as front-man, featuring the winners of each regional final will be held in the Manawatu from July 6-8.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Winery Tour continues into February with a lineup featuring two of New Zealand’s most successful artists, Brooke Fraser and Bic Runga, and newcomer Benny Tipene. The Winery Tour 2017 involves 12 shows around NZ, celebrating the Kiwi summer in the best way possible, with outstanding music and great wine in some idyllic wineries and outdoor venues. Shows are at Vilagrad Winery, Mystery Creek, Hamilton, Friday, February 3; Ascension Wine Estate, Matakana, Saturday, February 4; Toll Stadium, Whangarei, Sunday, February 5; Black Barn Vineyards, Havelock North, Friday, February 10;

Basin Reserve, Wellington, Saturday, February 11; Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North, Sunday February 12; Neudorf Vineyards, Upper Moutere, Friday, February 17; Waipara Hills Winery, Waipara, Saturday, February 18; Villa Maria Estate Winery, Mangere, Auckland, Sunday, February 19. www.winerytour.co.nz

A&P shows Masterton A&P Show, Solway Showgrounds, Saturday February 18, 8.30am. Helensville A&P Show, Grand Hotel, Saturday, February 25 7am.

NOTE BOOK

If you have something you think might be suitable for the Notebook page please send it in a Word document (.doc or .docx) to Andy.Maciver@nzfarmlife.co.nz along with any pictures as .jpg attachments.

Taste test Finalists in the Golden Lamb Awards – the Glammies – will be announced on Monday, February 27. The competition aims to find the highest-yielding, most-

Country-Wide February 2017

mitigations already in place to reduce contaminant loss.

Q. WILL ALL FARMERS HAVE TO APPLY FOR A RESOURCE CONSENT? A. Not all farmers will have to apply for a resource consent.

BUSINESS | ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS

In some cases for small and low intensity farming activities and properties with low risk factors (identified in the proposed plan) those landowners will need to register their enterprise with the regional council and exclude all stock from waterways, but are unlikely to have to take any futher action.

Healthy Rivers/ Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1

An uncertain future Q. WILL STOCK BE ALLOWED ON STEEP LAND? A. The plan change does not prohibit farming based on the slope of land. However slope is one factor that determines which rule/s will apply to a particular property.

The first of a series in which Country-Wide writers look at regional environmental plan changes and the potential impact on farmers. Anne Hughes

armers want clean water and healthy rivers, but may face an uncertain future if proposed rule changes to achieve this go ahead. Beef+Lamb New Zealand environment policy manager – North Island Corina Jordan has been helping farmers engage in the planning process and understand the Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 (PC1). More than 700 farmers attended B+LNZ submission workshops across the region. Jordan says farmers largely support the vision and strategy for healthy rivers. Their biggest concerns with the proposal are uncertainty for the future,

PLANNING TIPS

For low risk properties they are unlikely to need a Farm Environment Plan. If a property is over 20ha however, and has more than 6 stock units per hectare, no land over a 15 degree slope can only be cultivated or grazed unless there is a Farm Environment Plan detailing allocation appropriate mitigation measures. the nitrogen method and

For slopes over 25 degrees wherecosts stream fencing is not practical, potentially high to comply with Farm Environment Plans also need to describe alternative new rules that won’t necessarily be mitigation measures. For land with a slope between 15 and 25 matched environmental degrees, farmers alsoby needequal to achieve a grazing setback of 3m.

benefits. Jordan says if farmers invest in environmental mitigation to become compliant by 2026, there is no certainty these steps will be adequate by then. A decade from now they could be forced to retire some land, meaning their farms might no longer be financially viable. Many farmers feel the grandparenting method of nitrogen allocation, modelled by Overseer from a nitrogen reference point based on a farms’ 2014-15 or 2015-16 nitrogen losses (whichever year is highest), is unfair. “Farmers who are already trying to do the right thing with nitrogen leaching, Plan Change 1 (PC1) focuses on the Waikato and Waipa river catchments. The rest of the Waikato region will be reviewed this year under the Waikato Regional Plan, starting with the WaihouPiako and Coromandel catchments, followed by the West Coast. This will include setting objectives, limits and targets for all water bodies, as required by Government’s national policy statement for freshwater management.

Some tips to help you be heard in the freshwater planning process: • Understand what council is proposing. • Get involved. • Have your say. • Don’t assume another group has your interests covered. • Save money – get together as groups and pay for professional advice and support. • Submissions need to be focused, concise, written in simple language. • You can elaborate at the hearing. • Start the submission by briefly telling council about yourself and your connection to the catchment. • Submit in support of parts of the plan that you do agree on – other groups may oppose these parts and have them changed. • Tell council which parts you oppose. • Focus on the plan, not other issues with council. • Tell council how each part of the plan you support or oppose will affect you/your family/your farm. • Stick to the facts. • Tell council what changes you would like them to make. • Where possible, suggest solutions. • Ask to be heard at the hearing. This must be stated in your written submission. At the hearing: • Explain your submission in more detail. • Introduce expert evidence to support your statements. • Show photographs of your property. • Talk about how the plan will affect you, your family and the farm. • Stick to the facts. • Support facts with evidence and examples. • Come prepared. • Hearing statements can be made individually or as a group. Want to know more? B+LNZ has resources to help farmers engage in the submission process and hearing processes and to get involved in council level planning.

Country-Wide February 2017

or who might just be starting out and building up stock numbers could be at a disadvantage compared to other farmers currently running at high stocking rates,” Jordan says. Farmers will be required to reduce their nitrogen losses to at or below the 75th percentile by July 2026, but she says farmers are still concerned that those leaching at lower levels now will have less flexibility. The grandparenting allocation method was adopted in the Lake Taupo catchment. Jordan says parts of Canterbury also have a form of grandparenting, while Horizons Regional Council has taken a lessregulated and different management approach. She says Hawke’s Bay has also taken a less-draconian approach for the dry stock sector. Jordan says nitrogen allocation issues can cause friction and have a negative impact on communities. In the Waikato proposal, most farmers will need resource consent to continue farming. Excluding livestock (large animals) from water bodies is a big cost, especially on hill country. Jordan says the financial impact won’t be matched by environmental benefits and possible destabilisation of these hills could have a larger environmental impact. “Farmers are really worried about what this plan means for them and their businesses and communities. “A lot don’t have confidence that the statutory process is the best way to achieve water quality outcomes and assurance of farming viability...” Submissions close on March 8. Jordan urges farmers not already engaged in the process to make a submission. 19

BUSINESS | ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS

‘Don’t get sidetracked by nitrogen’ Anne Hughes Any action onfarm to improve river water quality needs to be well-planned, targeted and sustainable. Bill and Sue Garland have been making improvements to benefit the environment for the past 30 years. They have completed about 20 different projects, most ranging in price from $10,000-$20,000, on their farm on the slopes of Maungatautari mountain at Pukeatua, south-east of Hamilton. Bill is concerned the 10-year timeframe to implement changes onfarm, as proposed in the Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 (PC1), is too short. “It’s important whatever we do we do it properly and in a way that’s sustainable. “We don’t want a landscape with fenced off areas littered with blackberry and willow and no one can get anywhere near it.” Bill is part of the Farmers for Positive Change group, working with Beef +Lamb New Zealand to make farmers aware of the implications of PC1 and help them get involved. He does not yet know

exactly how a nitrogen cap will impact their 430-hectare sheep and beef farm. B+LNZ will be doing nutrient budgets on theirs and several other farms to explore the implications further. Bill also sees sediment and phosphate loss as big issues for hill country farmers. “It’s important we don’t get sidetracked by nitrogen at the expense of other things.”

‘We don’t want a landscape with fenced off areas littered with blackberry and willow and no one can get anywhere near it.’

He worries the proposed new rules will create uncertainty for farmers and might remove incentives for young people to enter farming. “Farmers are fearful – if this is the first stage in an eight-stage process is it going to become too tough to farm sheep and

Bill Garland has completed a range of environmental projects on his 430ha sheep and beef farm on the slopes of Maungatautari, south-east of Hamilton.

beef the way they’ve traditionally done on hill country?” Bill says many farmers in the Waikato and Waipa river catchments have lifted animal performance and are now running fewer stock/ha than in the past. “If this thing’s going to be successful and ensure farming becomes more sustainable in the long term we need to focus on the strengths of sheep and beef farmers rather than try to model us around dairy or some other land use.” Bill supports the need for farm environment plans and says these should be driving environmental decisions onfarm. “We could do quite a bit of stuff to make us compliant in a short amount of time, but I know deep down it won’t improve water quality.” Fencing off a stream won’t necessarily prevent erosion of a steep hill, he says. “That’s where the farm plan comes in that focuses on where the contaminants are coming from rather than a rule that doesn’t have regard to all the contributors to the problem.”

Landcorp prepares for new rules New rules being touted for Waikato landowners come as no surprise to New Zealand’s largest farmer. Landcorp has several dairy farms, one sheep-milking farm and seven dry stock farms in the Waikato river catchment, plus some lease land. Landcorp general manager environment Phil McKenzie says the state-owned farmer has been involved in the collaborative stakeholder meetings from the start and has been working through what the implications of the Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 might be for Landcorp. Landcorp already has land and environment plans in place on each of its farms, with a strong focus on nutrient

management.It has also developed in-house tools, such as a nutrient management module for farm staff. “We’re getting a lot more awareness amongst our farm teams that there’s a whole bigger picture than just production from farm animals,” McKenzie says. “We do have customers in our livestock supplies who come onfarm and can see the work we’ve been doing around the environment and safety. It all adds up for a package that makes it more appealing to do a supply arrangement with Landcorp.” Landcorp will probably submit more broadly in support of the plan change, rather than against. “We haven’t come across anything (in the

plan) yet that will be a complete showstopper.” He has sympathy for the challenges some farmers will face under the plan change. “Land prices have been building around a permitted set of uses that might no longer be permitted. “We have some size and scale but we have fundamentally the same challenges as any other farmer.” Landcorp does have the advantage of interacting with regional councils throughout the country. “We’ve been able to look over the horizon a little earlier and start making some moves earlier than perhaps others have been able to.”

Country-Wide February 2017

Rob Macnab.

BUSINESS | ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS

COMPLIANCE COSTS:

Under pressure on the hills Compliance costs and financial viability are huge concerns for Waikato hill country farmers, as they face new rules to protect water quality. Total Ag farm consultant Rob Macnab has completed a model farm synopsis to get a clearer picture of what the financial impact of Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 could be. Macnab’s model is based on a lowemitting, flexible hill country farming business. He says it is essentially the effect of assigning a nitrogen reference point, not allowing the rapid movement between sheep and cattle to minimise or maximise income volatility that puts hill country farming under pressure.

MODEL FARM DATA: • 425ha effective of class three North Island hill country. • Priority 1 catchment with farm environment plan by 2020 and stock exclusion by 2013. • 1000MA ewes self-replacing at 10-year average of 120%. • 400-500 weaner cattle purchased in March, with 50% sold store at 15 months. Balance carried through to slaughter at 285-300kg carcaseweight in December-January. • No supplements made or purchased. • No nitrogen applied as fertiliser. • Fertility average of 15-50 Olsen P and pH at 5.5-5.6. Sulphur intermittently limiting. • Annual fertiliser inputs 10-20kgP/ha. • Stocking rate 11.1su/ha and a sheep-

to-cattle ratio varying between 70:30 (2008-2009) to 49:51 (2014-15). These years coincide with high product prices for each stock class and demonstrate the flexibility of farming policies to maintain profitability. As part of a farm environment plan, a mitigant to minimise P and sediment loss on slopes above 25 degrees, the reduction in running R2 cattle over winter and pole planting will meet policy. This stock class will be replaced by additional ewes and weaner cattle.

FARM INCOME: • Above mean average gross farm revenue seven years out of 10 (based on B+LNZ economic service analysis). • Above mean average profit four years out of 10. • Business does not post a cash profit one year in 10. (This is before tax, living, debt reduction and capex, but does include depreciation).

• $246.80/ha – capital cost for 16,136 metres of cattle stock exclusion fencing. • $231.54/ha – capital cost for an additional 10,968m of pipe based on a gravity system from high water source (cheapest option). Water to 18 paddocks. • $32.95/ha - for four main crossing culverts. • Capitalised over 15 years: • $19,932 – total cost per year at 5.5% interest. Rises to $23,313 at 8%. • Average cost $46.89/ha. This puts the business in a loss situation three years out of 10.

EFFECT OF NITROGEN REFERENCE POINT (NRP) By running the business through Overseer based on the 2014-15 and 201516 years, the average NRP is 11kg/N/ ha. This is a low-emission position and affects cattle policies on this property. By maintaining a stocking rate of 11.1su, more sheep will be needed. This assumes a stocking rate of 11.1su/ha is the optimum for this property. Gross margins during 10 years on this property average $47.10 for sheep (range $27.63 to $84.42) and cattle $30.78 (range $-27.06 to $50.42). This volatility is managed by altering the sheep-to-cattle ratio. With a low NRP, this property is limited in its flexibility. If R2 cattle are replaced with 70% sheep and 30% weaner cattle (and all cattle sold at 15 months), this removes the profit for an additional four years. This now puts the business in a position of posting a loss seven years out of 10.

Country-Wide February 2017

BUSINESS | ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS

You can’t lift the price. But you can lift the numbers.

Water plan a death sentence Proposed rule changes are being labelled a death sentence for Waikato hill country farming. Jason and Sara Barrier farm at Waerenga, North Waikato, in partnership with another couple. Together they operate a store cattle operation of 2600 yearlings spread across four separate hillcountry blocks. Jason says the Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 (PC1) is unaffordable for most dry stock farmers. Compliance costs on just two of the partnership’s four farms could be more than $1 million. Two independent assessments on two blocks, totalling 670ha, put the costs at $800,000 to $1.3m, depending on how the Waikato Regional Council (WRC) interprets the proposed rules, he says. The assessments added up the total amount of new fencing, culverts and water reticulation systems required. “I can’t afford either of those amounts and I don’t know too many dry stock farmers who can,” Jason says. “PC1, unless modified through submissions, is essentially a death sentence for hill country farming in Waikato and the small rural communities that depend on us.” The compliance process will make hill country waterways filthy with sediment, he says, by bulldozing fence line cuttings along many of their creeks and spilling the resulting loose soil into creeks. Jason says farmers with the lightest environmental footprint will be penalised for the contribution of more intensive farming and non-farming businesses to today’s water issues. “One of my neighbours runs a large extensive hill country block with a low stocking rate and very little fertiliser use. “Under the WRC proposed nitrogen cap grandparenting system, which will inevitably be reflected in land values, he will eventually suffer a capital loss, probably in the millions – all because he did the right thing environmentally.” Jason says the Waikato needs different rules for different parts of the region, taking into account scale, water quality and farming intensity. It might be easy and affordable to fence

Country-Wide February 2017

creeks on an intensive dairy or beef farm, he says, but that does not mean it’s the right policy for extensive hill country. Jason says the WRC doesn’t know how to implement some of its own rules, creating uncertainty for farmers, bankers and real estate agents. WRC can’t tell farmers what they would need to do to comply in the case of hill country creeks where part of the creek slopes 25 degrees or steeper and some does not. “They also suggest water reticulation as a possible mitigation for slopes over 25 degrees, but then refuse to say whether this is sufficient in itself to make the farm compliant. “I’m not about to spend $173,000 on implementing a huge new water reticulation system with that sort of uncertainty hanging over me.” Jason attended WRC stakeholder feedback meetings, but says none of their key concerns were addressed in the final PC1 proposal. He submitted two of their blocks into independent case-study reports, in the hope WRC would be more likely to listen to independent experts Jason has joined cross-sector resistance movement PLUG (Primary Land User Group) and is part of a local hill country farmer group working together to submit against the proposal. He supports the objective of improving water quality in the Waikato. “The streams where I farm are nearly all quite drinkable. “I’m proud of that fact, but I also know there are some things I can do to contribute by making our good water even better.” The farming partnership sits in the 11% of PC1 area temporarily withdrawn because of concerns around a lack of consultation with Hauraki Iwi. He commends Hauraki Iwi for refusing to be ignored and says dry stock farmers are also tired of being ignored. “We all want cleaner rivers and most dry stock farmers want to be part of the solution – but not at this cost. It’s time for central Government to step in and take some responsibility for coming up with a workable realistic solution.”

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Anne Hughes

BUSINESS | ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS

Pool resources Anne Hughes Stand your ground, is Ken Shaw’s advice to farmers pleading their case for a viable future on the land with policymakers. The hill-country farmer from Matawai, north-west of Gisborne, who gave a presentation at one of four hearings on the Gisborne District Council’s proposed regional freshwater plan in December. Shaw and his family are part of the Matawai Farmer’s Group – 15 farmers who have come together to pool their resources and knowledge to submit on the freshwater plan. The group lodged its submission in December 2015. Hearings were completed a year later. No date is set for the hearing panel to release its decisions, but it could be as early as February or March. Shaw says group members contributed about $500 each to cover the costs of the submission and hearing process. They employed a local environmental engineer to help with their submissions and hearing presentations, to help members understand the jargon in the proposed plan and interpret what it could mean for them. Three of the members presented at hearings and Shaw says the group approach worked well. They were complimented by the hearing panel on bringing a human face to the process. “If it had just been me trying to protest against it alone, it would have been a shambles.” Shaw’s 20 minute presentation was to

five hearing commissioners, plus council representatives. He made it as visual as possible, with an aerial map of the farm and photos. As a former monitor farm, Shaw had a lot of information available that was useful in his presentation, which focused on explaining why they use winter crops, how they use them and how they follow best practice.

‘Justify what you’re doing and show how you are using best practice.’

Shaw was able to present the hearing panel with a financial breakdown of his break-feeding system in cents/kg of drymatter detail. “A lot of us do a bit of break-feeding in winter on a small scale. It is vital to our feed curve and budget, but there were restrictions being placed on us as intensive farmers.” Shaw says it was good to be able to have their say and it was worth the time, effort and costs involved. “Justify what you’re doing and show how you are using best practice.” As it stands, Shaw says the Gisborne proposal is too ambiguous, causing farmers to worry about future implications for their businesses. As well as rules around stock exclusion

Matawai farmer Ken Shaw did not miss the opportunity to engage with council on the proposed regional freshwater plan for Gisborne.

from waterways and stock crossing waterways, the proposed plan includes a minimum proposed culvert size of 450mm in diameter and resource consent will be required for culverts in catchments of more than 100 hectares. • More on environmental plans p60

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BUSINESS | WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

A close shave Terry Brosnahan When Nathan Stratford comes home after a day of shearing sheep he doesn’t whip the top off a bottle of beer and relax. He jumps on a rowing machine and does his cardio workout. He is an athlete preparing for his greatest challenge, the world shearing and woolhandling championships in his home town, Invercargill in February. He is one of the two machine shearers in the New Zealand team. The other is John Kirkpatrick from Napier. The Southlander got there by beating the reigning world and NZ champion Rowland Smith by a whisker at the NZ team selection finals at the Canterbury A&P Show last year. When Stratford went into the finals he was in third place after the 10-month selection process. He firmly believed Smith and Kirkpatrick would be in the team for the world champs.

Being on home turf will help but there will also be a lot of pressure on him which he is adamant will not get to him – well, not too much.

In fact Stratford was a full sheep behind the first finisher. “I was shocked to be in the team.” However, it is not all about speed. The quality of his work on the 20 sheep he shore gave him the nod. Stratford’s build up for the champs is mainly shearing a lot of sheep in an eight-hour day, if the weather allows, and the rowing.

Nathan Stratford tears into a Romney cross ewe at Murray McLean’s Southland farm.

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Nathan Stratford will represent New Zealand at the world shearing champs at Invercargill in February.

At 42, Stratford’s body feels a day’s shearing especially the next morning. The sheep aren’t getting any lighter. They averaged 60kg when he started 20 years ago, now many weigh 80-85kg. Also he finds the new breeds are more aggressive, not as settled while shearing. He spends more time at the physio and goes swimming when he can get there. Often the pool is closed by the time he gets back to Invercargill after shearing. He is on no special diet but avoids junk food. A lot of water with minerals goes down his throat, 8-9 litres/day. When Stratford started shearing his dream was to own a farm. “That’s gone out the window years ago after the rise in land prices.” He has shorn all over the country which has meant long periods of time away from his wife Lisa and their two children, Seb (10) and Lexie (5), but bills have to be paid. So what does he think about while he’s shearing? He focuses on his footwork and the position of the sheep. “I’m not one for counting blows.” During a normal working day he will listen to music or the banter around him. His top tally for a day is 430 ewes and 400 for lambs which he finds more difficult. “I find them more fidgety.” As for the world champs, being on home turf will help but there will also be a lot of pressure on him which he is adamant will not get to him – well, not too much. “There will be a lot of eyes on me but I’m doing it for myself.” He will face tough competition from Australia’s Shannon Warnest, a two-time world champ, and Scotsman Gavin Mutch, the 2012 winner, who farms in Taranaki. The rest of the six-member NZ team for the world champs at Stadium Southland, February 8-11 are blade shearers Tony Dobbs and Phil Oldfield, both from South Canterbury along with Gisborne woolhanders, Joel Henare and MaryAnne Baty.

BUSINESS | HOW FARMERS LEARN

Top-performing farmers are leaders, will be widely read, go to field days and seminars, have a good network of likeminded peers and a well-used professional network.

The act of learning Peter Flannery With the invention of the internet, the world is awash with information. Information provides knowledge. Knowledge provides education. Education provides learning. But does it? With access to so much information, why is there such a wide gap between the top and bottom performers? Top-performing farmers are motivated to put knowledge into action. It is only then, that knowledge converts into learning. So maybe the question isn’t how do farmers learn, but rather, how do farmers get motivated to learn? In any industry the top performers strive to be even better. Elite sportsmen put in hours of practice, and spend a fortune on coaches. Likewise, top farmers work smarter at being better than the average. They are continually looking to improve and will have no hesitation in investing in sound advice for small percentage gains. Yet those who could make significant percentage gains from acting on knowledge tend to largely ignore it. The motivation of top farmers stems from their values. Some want more money, but many are driven by their competitive nature, they strive to be the best. Top farmers benchmark against themselves, record and measure everything that counts. Recording is important because if you make a change how do you know it has made a difference. What gets measured, gets done. Importantly though, don’t change too much at once otherwise you won’t know what has worked and what hasn’t. Good farmers start at the bottom and work up. When I first came to Southland in

1995 an award-winning sheep farmer spoke of how he had spent money on drainage first, then soil fertility followed by improved pasture species and then on improving his sheep genetics. The farmer said if he got all those right everything fell into place and the bank manager tended to leave him alone. Farmers too driven by finances won’t have the courage to follow through on long-term strategies. They will tend to focus on the short term. If a farmer needs $100,000 to improve drainage and is confident it will generate enough extra revenue to pay interest costs (about $6000) and repay the loan over four years, he should talk to his bank manager.

Importantly though, don’t change too much at once otherwise you won’t know what has worked and what hasn’t.

However, the danger is a farmer borrowing the money may not have the skills or courage to follow through on the development. So it is money down the drain. Good advice is needed to make sure the risks are understood. The top-performing farmers know small incremental gains only come from doing things better than they did before. These farmers are leaders, will be widely read, go to field days and seminars, have a good network of likeminded peers and a well-used professional network. They will sift through the information and

apply what they think will give them the biggest gain. The next group down will also do most of the above, but will be much slower to put the knowledge into action. Nevertheless, they follow and learn. They will still be in the top half of the industry, but need to see evidence of a change working before they apply it to their own business. The bottom group are below average, are neither leaders nor followers. This group is lost. Perhaps they don’t know how to act or don’t want to. They may think they don’t need to act. Whatever the reason, if they want to sustainably work their way up through the ranks of their peers, they need make a change. Incremental learning will continue within the industry, moving the whole population to the right. Those at the bottom will eventually drop out while by and large the rest will maintain their ranking, learning at the same pace as their similarly ranked peers. The challenge for individual farmers, is how to learn at a quicker pace than the rest. Only then will they be able to ‘move through the field’. Successful farmers have a dream or goal, so they know what to aim for. However, goals will constantly change. Goals, once achieved need to be reset, or maybe the goal is no longer relevant, or was too big a stretch. Therefore goals need to be monitored and reviewed and the plan to achieve them refined. If you are happy with your results then fine. If not, do something different. You need to understand the consequences of acting versus not acting. If that won’t motivate you nothing will. Make a conscious decision to act and that is-learn. • Peter Flannery is a farm business consultant and the principal of Farm Plan, Invercargill. He spent 20 years working as a farming bank manager and five as a stock agent.

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BUSINESS | HOW FARMERS LEARN

Farming Women Tairawhiti members in action.

Developing women’s autonomy Lynda Gray The Agriculture Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) can be credited with the establishment of 15 women’s farming groups throughout the country. The groups were set up by AWDT graduates, mostly from the Red Meat Profit Partnership-funded Understanding Your Farming Business (UYFB) course. Each group has a slightly different focus; some deal with big-picture agriissues, while others get expert help to improve the admin and management side of their farming businesses. Handson farm learning was also a focus area and in isolated regions the social side was very important. AWDT is building a networking system for the groups but is being careful to stick to the mantra of developing women’s leadership skills, executive director Lindy Nelson says. “We’re very careful to take an ‘arms around’ rather than a ‘hands-in approach’. It’s about growing the women rather than managing them. We want them to develop autonomy and mastery.” Support for the groups includes a closed Facebook page for UYFB graduates to share issues and Lindy Nelson. discussions which sometimes include the farm groups they belong to. AWDT also offers each group four to six months of coaching for the leader and deputy

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leader during which they develop a strategic plan. In essence AWDT’s support is about providing leadership tools, Nelson says. It is up to the group to sort funding for speakers and courses. “It’s something I feel strongly about. They get sector support from the Red Meat Profit Partnership of $2000 to complete the (UYFB) course. I believe paying to belong (to a farming group) is an investment in the farm business.” She also believed the groups had a finite life span. “We talk about that when they decide on their strategy and purpose and when it does happen we encourage them to celebrate what they have achieved.”

One of the main things is making the connections, Farming Women Tairawhiti co-founder Sandra Matthews says.

GROUP LEARNING Sandra Matthews and fellow East Coast farming woman Marie Burke set up Farming Women Tairawhiti after completing two AWDT courses. “The courses gave us the confidence and ability to think outside the square.

One of the main things is making the connections in our regions which is big geographically and isolated,” Matthews said The group, established in February 2015, has a Facebook following of 380. It hosts a mix of training and focus days ranging from farm safety, wellbeing, animal health and nutrition, and workshops covering first aid training, rural software programmes and firearms licensing. “When we know there’s going to be a training course in the region we email and Facebook members to let them know but sometimes we will run a specific training course.” Matthews says they are now looking at establishing an on-farm discussion group. “There are some wonderful discussion groups within our region but predominantly male, although women are always welcome to attend and some do. Women do think differently to men and this group would encompass ‘outside the square’ thinking for improving the farm system. We also have access to professional advisers who can help in varying topics.” Jude Miller, another UYFB graduate set up a West Otago group earlier this year. The intention is to have three or four theme-focused events a year; to date they’ve had two where invited speakers talked about the new health and safety legislation, and business planning/ succession. “For me it’s been about progressing a lot of the information we discussed on the course and keeping that learning going,” Jude says.

WOMEN IN ARABLE Women in Arable is a sector-driven forum where Foundation for Arable Research women members meet about 10 times a year for interactive presentations on farm and industry-related issues. The group evolved from the Active in Arable group set up in 2001 by a Sustainable Farming Fund grant. An advisory committee of five comes up with the topics of interest and it’s left to facilitator and FAR communications manager Anna Heslop to find the speakers and schedule the meetings. The meetings are held in Mid-Canterbury although a couple have also been held in Southland over the last two years. This year’s topics have covered biosecurity for farmers, stubble-burning regulations, Plant & Food research on low-gluten cereals and an ECan Q & A session on nutrient management, compliance and who to contact for particular issues. Although the focus is not on professional development the forums have identified leadership talent.

BUSINESS | LIVESTOCK

PGG Wrightson’s Callum Stewart. Some people have chased the FE programme.

Ram sales strong Rebecca Harper Rams sales have been stronger than expected and, despite dropping ewe numbers, the number of rams sold has remained steady, PGG Wrightson National Genetics Manager, Callum Stewart, says. “For the season, what we thought was going to be a tough ram-selling season, we have seen a lot of people stepping up in buying rams,” Stewart says. Not surprisingly, some people have chased the FE programme, after last season’s shocker for facial eczema. “People are buying on a mixture of performance rams, with data behind them, and the type of animal they are looking for to give more performance in their commercial ewe flock, to do better on a lower red meat market.” Stewart said there had been success both at auction and at onfarm sales.

The recent Gore ram fair was strong, he says. Over two days 260 rams were sold, with good clearance rates, from both the North and South Islands. Highlights were: vendor Peter Christie, Gore, $7800 Perendale; vendor Ross McCall, Gore, $9000 Suffolk; vendor Will Gibson, Middlemarch, $10,500 Suffolk; vendor Sharon Paterson, Waikaka $5600 Texel; vendor David Wylie, Ashburton, $4400 Romney. Rural Livestock genetics representative, Anthony Cox, says people are becoming a lot more discerning about the rams they buy and, in the South Island, onfarm sales are becoming more popular. “They seem to prefer the onfarm sales, people like to have lots of choice in front of them. I am seeing a swing to onfarm sales, there’s a few more guys having them down here and a lot of them have been going well, considering the way the industry is.”

He has also noticed a slight change towards terminal sires and farmers weighing up the option of not breeding replacements and buying in ewe lambs instead.

World beef supplies to rise Global beef production is expected to increase this year while consumption is forecast to remain static. Bord Bia, (the Irish food board) predicts production will increase by 1.4%, Irish media reported. Major beef exporter Australia is expected to show a 24% drop in exports this year but increased production from other countries is expected to make up any shortfall in global supplies.

France has become the second European Union country to gain access to the US beef market.

Bord Bia beef sector manager Mark Zieg said reduced supplies from Australia and New Zealand were expected to be offset by higher export volumes from the United States, Brazil, India, Canada and Paraguay.

International consumption is expected to be driven by higher consumption in Asia and Africa and by increased demand from these markets. The drop in Australian beef production and rise in prices, has opened the door for possible Irish exports to Egypt. Egyptian authorities are reported keen to agree trade deals with other beef exporting nations in order to guarantee supplies and ensure price competition for contracts. Last year was a difficult year for Irish live exports, despite 20,000 head being shipped to Turkey and a 26% increase in live exports to Spain. Meanwhile, France has become the second European Union country to gain access to the US beef market. The US has announced it would lift the embargo on French imports. The market closed due to the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis in the 1990s. Ireland was the first EU country to be granted access to the US for manufacturing beef, which is typically used in burgers and processed products.

Raw, intact Irish beef was the first from a European Union country allowed into the United States after the BSE crisis of the 1990s.

Access was granted to Irish manufacturing beef after more than a year of intensive work by the Department of Agriculture and built on the January 2015 granting of access to raw, intact Irish beef. At the time, the US market was estimated it could be worth about NZ$150 million to Irish beef exporters.

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BUSINESS | BRANDING

Organics among Carden’s Landcorp strategies Andrew Swallow Sweeping changes are afoot at Landcorp: mass commodity production is out; branded marketing in. Organics is even on the table. The state-owned enterprise’s chief executive Steven Carden was a keynote speaker at the combined conference of the New Zealand and Australian Soil Science Societies Steven Carden. (NZASSS) shortly before Christmas. Striding the stage in chinos, jersey, T-shirt and Vans (designer sneakers) his delivery epitomised the future he envisages for the country’s biggest farmer. “Ongoing intensification of land is not able to be sustained any longer. Our business model has to change,” he told delegates. Powerful opposing forces are at play globally: rapidly rising population and protein demand, largely in the east, versus the wealthy, generally west, wanting to get back to nature with simple, pure, authentic food experiences. “They want to cut people out of supply chains, get closer to producers,” Carden said, who pointed to My Food Bag (see www.myfoodbag.co.nz) as a NZ example of the trend, or United States equivalent Blue Apron (see www.blueapron.com). Another trend on his radar is the shift from animals to plants for protein, for dietary and environmental reasons. There are now more than 70 non-dairy “milk” products; China aims to halve per capita meat consumption; plant-made “meats” such as the Impossible Burger are booming. “They’re not after the vegetarians and the vegans; they’re actually after the meat lovers,” Carden noted. Land, water, and soil used producing an Impossible Burger is a fraction of that used conventionally and they will

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become “much, much more economic to produce” than traditional patties. Meanwhile, business people and celebrities including James Cameron and Peter Jackson are investing millions into ventures persuading people to switch to plant-origin proteins. “Meat consumption and dairy consumption may not be at the levels we anticipated historically. That is a harsh reality that I am facing leading Landcorp as I look at the future and where food production and food consumption is going to go,” Carden said. To profit in such a global environment farms need to be either super low-cost, which will increasingly mean plantonly production, or ethically exemplary livestock farmers branding and marketing healthy product to achieve premium prices. At present most NZ farms, many of Landcorp’s included, sit in a low-profit trough between those extremes. Carden’s strategy is to move Landcorp to the premium end with a range of authentic pasture-based products, backed by a compelling story, targeted at highend consumers. He aims to minimise environmental, animal welfare, and health and safety risk; use technology to be “world-best”; make unique products; connect to

consumers with brands and marketing. “We’ve even started to convert a couple of our farms to organics. There is a sustained and discernible premium for organic produce and as producers of food and a business we would be crazy not to go after those premiums.” Acknowledging organic farming is an anathema to scientists, Carden said if consumers are prepared to pay double because they perceive organic milk formula is better for their baby and closer to nature, then the consumer is right. Initially it would be dairy, but organic meat may follow if sustainable premiums can be secured. Other moves include developing umbrella brand Pamu – the Maori verb to farm – to enhance value for all Landcorp product, banning palm kernel because it no longer fits Landcorp’s values, sheep milking and exploring opportunities for products that meet health needs. “This is where New Zealand farming needs to go. We cannot be broad-based production any longer, producing commodities. We have to be niche, around farm systems that are truly differentiated.” • More from the NZASSS conference in Forage p46

Cribb and Carden on same page? Elements of Landcorp chief executive Steve Carden’s presentation to the NZASSS conference (see main story) were echoed by fellow keynote speaker Julian Cribb in his Age of Food talk a couple of days later. Cribb, an Australian who’s presented to several major New Zealand agri-business conferences recently (see Country-Wide June 2016), highlighted the extreme challenges climate change and global population growth present to mankind’s future and said cities that recycle everything and grow much of their own food are part of the solution. Aquaculture and algae will also be key, for food and fuel, while farmers in environmentally sensitive areas should be paid to retire land and restore nature. “Agriculture can continue but it will continue on a basis where the consumer pays for the ecological and environmental cost of producing the food. That’s part of the educative process that’s got to happen. “Food is too cheap today. That’s why the human jaw bone is destroying the planet,” Cribb, a science journalist turned novelist and public speaker, said.

LIVESTOCK | ON FARM Buying 700 hectares of better low country in 2012 complemented the high country and nearly doubled stock units to 6300.

Mix of brains and practicality Not often do you get a mix of the intellectual with the practical. Joanna Grigg meets Awatere Valley farmer Simon Harvey who has both.

he success of his high country business is based on an insightful pick of where the sweet spot is for Merino wool and fertility, and an ability to translate good ideas into

reality. Simon admits he reads a lot: history, reports on Merino science, market news and farming publications. Simon has the ability to pull out what’s useful and apply

He may be driving an ‘old timer’ but Tom Harvey excels in technology, making his own EID reader for $150 and building a drone.

it with a high level of success. “Research and be prepared for change but don’t chop and change,” he says. In October, Simon and Lynda Harvey, together with eldest son Tom, beat seven other entrants to take out the top prize for sheep and beef farmers in Marlborough. The judges commented on the impressive ewe fertility, wool clip and low cost structure (42% of gross income). Average return on capital is 5.6% compared to 0.5% and 0.3% for South Island high and hill country farms respectively (Beef +Lamb New Zealand Economic Service data 2015/16). The business produces an EBIT of $62 a stock unit (double the average for similar farms) which means it can service interest and rates which are 20% of income. In 2012 the Harveys purchased an adjoining 700-hectare property which has been successfully amalgamated. “It doubled carrying capacity but took us from having cash in the bank to quite a sizable mortgage,” Simon says. Simon was raised on Glen Orkney and in 1985 he and Lynda married and took over from his parents. He studied at Lincoln College and

Key points • Winner of the inaugural Westpac Bayleys Marlborough Sheep & Beef Farmer of the Year • Chosen for quadruple bottom line performance. • 150% scan and 120% lambing over all ewes. • 6.5kg greasy wool/ewe • Best result 59% lambs prime at weaning from Merinos to terminal sire. • Expenses only 42% ($111/stock unit gross income and $47/su expenses) • Surplus $215/hectare off high country learnt about wool at the coalface; shearing Merinos in Australia. This gave him a very practical ability to class wool and judge stock. Simon understands Merino genetics and the industry through his involvement with the Merino 100% Club, the Feetfirst Project, Merino Inc and the Marlborough Merino Association. “I’ve always been fascinated with understanding the evolutionary process and how it impacts on genetic selection.” Since 2011 he has chaired Merino Inc.

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He is quietly confident in his assessment of the industry and incredibly well informed. Among Merino farmers the Harveys’ flock is admired for their high fertility. They set the local bragging benchmark with a top-scanning result of 168% in the Merino to terminal sire mob in 2016, although you would never hear it from the Harveys. Glen Orkney merino ewes are bred to be heavy clippers and raise twins. In the 15 years since they started breeding their own rams, Simon says he has culled heavily and introduced better carcase and fertility genetics. Most importantly the ewes are managed in a way to realise their genetic potential, with high country pastures growing legumes that drive productivity and, in turn, encourage better quality grass. Technology is used if it returns a dollar and Tom Harvey is a notable do-ityourselfer. Tom built his own EID wand reader for $150 and his brother Edward wrote the software to run it. When Tom couldn’t get decent internet speed to talk to his girlfriend in Northern Ireland online he set up an RBI connection for half the price yet six times the data. With support from Iplex, he led the installation of a gravity-fed 11-trough water scheme through challenging terrain. He is working on a wireless electric fence monitor and cell-networkconnected tank level monitor. He has built a number of drones. Tom has farmed with his parents for four years and, following succession planning with all the family, a farming company has been formed with Simon, Lynda and Tom as equal partners. Tom and Simon normally work together on jobs. Tom studied animal and agricultural science at Massey University and has worked on a skifield and beef ranch in Canada, cotton and sheep farms in Australia and a dairy farm in South Canterbury. Simon says they have tried things that were not financially successful, goats being an example. He tried three different Merino-crosses before deciding to stick with straight Merino genetics. He keeps enthused by treating farming as more than a business and spending time on aesthetics like trees. “Every day I see work but the work leads to rewards.” Lynda and Simon value relationships with buyers and their community highly. Being honest and credible is in their business plan. Lynda has been the rural support co-ordinator for Medway and Middle Awatere for eight years and on the Seddon Anglican Church management team. “Building loyalty is hugely beneficial in tough times,” she says.

Farmers Simon, Lynda Harvey (pictured) and Tom Harvey have Merinos that perform well above average. This was recognised in their win of the Westpac Bayleys Marlborough Sheep & Beef Farmer of the Year Competition. They will host a field day on Thursday 16 February.

Table 1: Out ahead: Glen Orkney’s results beat the Beef+ Lamb New Zealand Class One and Two hands down. Parameter

Glen Orkney (three year average)

Economic Service Class 1 high country (2015/16)

Economic Service Class 2 SI Hill country (2015/16)

Stock units

6300

10100

6200

Gross revenue/su

$111

$84

$89

Working expenses/su

$47

$52

$55

EBIT/su (earnings before interest, tax & rent)

$62

$23

$24

Lambing %

120%

102%

121%

Return on Capital

5.6%

0.5%

0.3%

The straight Merino flock wean 115% (three year average). This season the B-mob Merinos to a Poll Dorset/Texel terminal sire scanned168% and lambed 133%.

What a season. Cabbage tree flowers and prime lambs off Merinos make for an attractive spring.

This ryegrass/annual clover pasture is valued for lactation. Simon tried lotus and other legumes before he realised subterranean clover was the best option for much of the farm and “right under my nose all the time”.

›› Ewes clip almost seven kilos of 20 micron wool p32 Country-Wide February 2017

Higher country.

Ewes clip almost seven kilos of 20 micron wool A Glen Orkney ewe typically earns $120, $58 of wool and $62 of lamb. The high clip weight of 6.5kg of 20 micron wool makes a substantial contribution to income and has been fairly price-stable since 2012. Sheep meat returns have lost $12/su over this time although Simon Harvey still believes there is greater potential from growing the volume of sheep meat than from improving the wool. “The focus on carcase has favourable correlations for health and vigour traits too.” The two-tooths clip six kg of 19.5 micron wool and the ewe hoggets clip an impressive 4.5kg of 18 micron wool. Hogget wool that meets the Icebreaker specifications is added to the adult clip with the balance sold on the open market. The Harveys have sold to the NZ Merino Company and the Silere meat contract since their inception. The previous dry spring and summer meant only four tonnes of pasture grew per hectare for the year. Despite this desperate spring, 28% of terminal lambs were weaned prime off the ewe at 16.6kg carcaseweight (CW). Another 1250 lambs were sold store at 28kg LW in December. This spring was the complete flipside, with huge amounts of feed. Lambing

About Glen Orkney • 1926ha (86% effective) • 3500 merino ewes (340 stud) • 1500 merino hoggets • 140 Angus cows and 90 yearlings • Rainfall 750mm (low as 420mm) percentage (ewes mated to lambs weaned) was 126%. Most of the 2020 early lambs were weaned in mid-December. Close to 50% were killed at 17.5kg and 38% went store at 30.3kg truck weight. About 7% of prime lambs had to stay over Christmas due to truck space (a post-Kaikoura quake issue). The best result previously was 59% of lambs weaned prime at 16.5kg from Merino ewes mated to the terminal sire. Dry rates were 2.8% in 2016. While some Merino farmers rely on anthelmintic capsules to boost ewes, Simon only capsules triplet-bearing ewes to Merino rams and early multiples. Ewes are fed to be condition score three or better all year round. Simon will move any Merino into the B terminal mob if she cannot maintain a condition score three, has scours or wool faults. All dry or

wet:dry ewes are culled. “Culling for scouring has made a big difference to the incidence of dags,” he says. The Harveys started to breed their own rams when they couldn’t find rams to fit their requirements. They benchmark genetics through the NZ Merino Central Progeny Test. They have also linked to the Australian database to generate breeding values for all their stud animals. Ewe hoggets are culled just before shearing at 11 months. Multiple born hoggets are given some leniency for size. About half the wether hoggets are wintered and sold prime at 19kg CW after spring shearing. On the meat side, muscle, fat and growth rates are important criteria in the stud selection process. The B Merinos are put to a Poll Dorset/Texel and the two-tooths to a Cheviot ram, for birthing ease. The terminal lambs grow 300g/ head/day pre-weaning. “The terminal mob is purposely large as the Merino-crosses sell better store so are a valuable tool for providing flexibility with stock numbers, while maximising potential income.” The property is currently footrot-free but a recent outbreak was eliminated using the Chris Mulvaney protocol.

Public Field Day at the Winners: Simon, Lynda and Tom Harvey's

Lunch: Vechicles:

Thursday February 16th 10 am till 5 pm Glen Orkney, Stronsay Woolshed 1109 Medway Rd, Awatere BYO 4WD vehicles only for the farm tour

“The winners of the 2016 Westpac Bayleys Marlborough Sheep and Beef Farmer of the Year competition, Awatere Valley Merino sheep and Angus cattle breeders Simon, Lynda and Tom Harvey, will be opening their farm to show why they are the region’s top sheep and beef farmers in 2016.” Come along and discover how the business has found their Wool-Meat financial sweet spot through a focus on financial and animal performance, business and land management, An airstrip on the farm is available to those wishing to fly, however you are asked to and social and family responsibilities. The business has achieved an outstanding level of register with Simon Harvey performance including: (03) 575 7361. • An average Economic Farm Surplus of $207/ha and $55/su over the past 3 years Please register your attendance by emailing • Farm Working Expenses at just 44% of Gross Farm Income Theresa.Laws@beeflambnz.com with names • Return on Capital of 5.4% and numbers attending. • An overall lambing performance of 126 % in 2016 For further information, please contact Greg from Merino’s “Competition organisers and sponsors invite you to join them for a BBQ and refreshments at the conclusion of the Field Day.”

RS0085618©

Date: Time: Venue:

Sheppard by email, greg@sheppardagriculture.co.nz

Country-Wide February 2017

Cattle return under half that of sheep but have their place. Forestry harvest is scheduled for 2017 and 2025.

Planning and monitoring strengths The Harveys have a monthly planner on a whiteboard in the kitchen and a weekly planner by the phone. You get the feeling not many jobs get rolled over to the following week. An animal health calendar is put in place with The Vet Centre and the Harveys have been involved with numerous projects with Peter Anderson, farm consultant. The Johnes Project study showed a loss of between 1% and 6% in their ewes. This triggered a Johnes vaccination programme at Glen Orkney. Even feed budgeting on hill and high country is tackled, with help from consultant Greg Shepherd. “We measure monthly and late autumn is the key time,” Tom Harvey says. The Harveys are trialling Farm IQ to see how it can be used as a cloud based tool. “Without an electronic way of storing our records they can be difficult to share and refer back to.” With eight sets of yards it is logistically difficult to move the sheep scales so the Harveys don’t weigh as much as they’d like to. Financial management is tight. Simon knew they could survive on 3500 stock units without a mortgage but was

Glen Orkney is known among trampers as home of the Awatere Tussock Track.

Country-Wide February 2017

looking to invest some saved cash. He and Lynda looked at stock markets and commercial property and had already established 12ha of pine forest. In the end they decided to stick with what they knew; farming land. When the property next door came up for sale they decided it was the best investment, even though it put most of their eggs in one basket. Lynda says it is a privilege to own land. The Harveys have excluded eight areas from grazing, mainly in gullies where patches of dryland native species remain. An environmental farm plan was done in 2002 and natives have been planted back into covenanted areas while hundreds of exotic trees have been planted for shade and shelter. The tops run to 1400m ungrazed. They don’t burn large areas anymore. The Harveys have a tourism income stream over summer, with their Awatere Tussock Track, a three-day unguided walk over the farm. Simon and Lynda believe the opportunity to help bridge the urbanrural divide is just as important as the modest income generated. “We enjoy sharing our property with interested enthusiastic trampers.”

Cost control No-one could accuse the Harveys of iron disease. The business only has a 1994 tractor running 100 hours a year, a side-by-side bike, a two-wheel bike and a ute. “We have a 35-year-old drill so we better count that too,” Simon says. In comparison to Class Two hill country farms, Glen Orkney spends 70% of the average on vehicle expenses and 40% of the average on repairs and maintenance. However the Harveys spend more on animal health, wages and $2/su more on fertiliser ($9.30/su). Feeding is direct pasture grazing with some hay supplements. A 26ha lucerne platform is direct-grazed with weaned lambs. Sulphur-fortified super phosphate (150kg/ha) is applied to half the farm every two years. They over-sow sub-clover by hand into patches of hill blocks, something that has been done for eight years with good results. It is cheap and you really target the best sites, Simon says. He’s also oversown with a helicopter using the “Derrick Moot protocol” with good success. This spring there was a swathe of legume over much of the hill. A real strength of the property is the lack of nassella tussock, broom and gorse. Matagouri is controlled initially with metsulfuron from a helicopter then by hand spray or hand cut followup. The 86% effective farm area is a tribute to Simon’s disciplined annual weed control. “If native scrub is not overly invasive and scattered then I tolerate it in the grazing blocks.” Cattle produce less than half the net income of sheep (at $58/su gross) and are the release valve at low-feed times. The in-calf rate of 93% matches the Class Two pregnancy rate for 2016. The 140 mixed age cows, 26 heifers and 90 trading cattle make up 22% of total stock units. Angus cattle are used to condition pasture and soak up excess feed. If heifers can be finished by 20 to 22 months then this is a bonus, Simon says, but steer calves are usually sold store in autumn at 240kg. “The new property has suitable country for finishing though and we will take advantage of this.” Heifers had been put to the bull previously but Simon now chooses not to. “I am open-minded about it but not convinced the stress and work at calving time is worth it.”

LIVESTOCK | PARASITES

Simon Glennie There is something innately unfair about internal parasites in our ruminant livestock systems. For a start, we are unable to see them without the help of a microscope and yet they cause a few hundred million dollars of production loss every year to the sheep industry alone. We have all watched on with interest as the highly fecund foe has developed resistance to the drugs we have employed in the battle to retain productivity. Farmers have also seen products come in and out of favour and have witnessed the inexplicable link between drench and Christmas hams. Unfortunately, nothing

BATTLING THE INVISIBLE FOE has prevented the average price per effective dose climbing and adding to the burgeoning cost of running livestock. What else have we learned over time that helps but costs us less? Over time there have been a few key messages that I consider have been taken up by the industry, but by no means universally. Principles such as quarantine, refugia and FECRT are all a part of what we do with parasites.

“Farmers are better to think in terms of the larvae likely to be eaten.”

2006-2016 drench comparison 2006

2016

Levamisole

4c*

Dual Combo

Ivomec

19c

Triple

17-18c

Startec

53-53c

Zolvix

80-82c

Animal health/su -SI class 6

$3.61

$5.78

* Single active drugs are not routinely stocked as modelling has favoured combination products in the drive to extend drug efficacy. Note: the Animal health spend for class 6 reflects the shift in average per stock unit spend climbing from $3.61/su in 2006-07 to $5.78 recently. Greater use of combination drench has limited the availability of single actives.

Along with multi-active drenches, these methods deal with extending the effective period of the drugs we use so the cataclysmic day that multi-drug resistance shows its colours on our farms is delayed. Another change has been a shift in mindset to bear more consideration to the larvae on the pasture than the worm in the gut. However, this has proven very difficult to act upon due to the lack of visual cues. While we can do a simple FEC test and know there are parasites present in the gut and treat based on the egg output, no simple measure exists out on the pasture. In theory, we can know which paddocks were grazed by high FEC

mobs prior to drenching last time but usually other immediate pressures such as climate and finishing feed quality often override the potentially high larval challenge – after all, we can’t see it. What has happened has been a preventative attitude where regular dosing keeps the general contamination under control. Well-fed stock tend to fare better when it comes to parasites both in terms of mounting an effective immune response and being able to cope with a challenge. A number of papers refer to a link between protein and the ability to cope with a parasite burden. The premise is that a more effective immune response is able to be mounted where protein intake is adequate. Further to the protein story, the presence of condensed tannins is thought to have an impact both directly and indirectly on parasites. The presence of condensed tannins found in plants like Sulla and Lotus corniculatus (birdsfoot trefoil) help indirectly by protecting proteins from degradation in the rumen, allowing a greater portion to pass to the more acidic Abomasum for digestion. It is also thought that the condensed tannins in the feed act directly reducing egg output and also reducing the rate and or success at which eggs become infective larvae on pastures. There is also some interest in terms of the nitrogen loss to the environment which may offer a win-win. Unfortunately, there are as yet no mainstream long-term pasture plants

Country-Wide February 2017

that contain high levels of condensed tannins. At farm level, there is a tradeoff between the loss of production from parasites, the cost of effective treatment and the longer-term risk and sustainability of our approach. For some, the option of inclusion of plants with higher condensed tannin levels may become increasingly feasible, particularly as drug efficacy declines. For many, the option is well down the list of priorities due to factors such as yield potential and suitability in the environment. In the short term, farmers are better to think in terms of the larvae likely to be eaten. Wet and warm conditions are ideal for parasite cycles and we need to accept this natural process. Act strategically through drenching and good nutrition to reduce future contamination by not allowing extended periods of high FEC output to occur. If the high FEC output is coming from ewes that are under pressure in late winter, then treat to reduce future contamination. Holding tightly to a policy of not drenching adult stock can be counterproductive and may lead to even more drench use due to high

contamination and poor growth rates in stock. Over time, the selection of superior rams (resistant and resilient) will reduce the reliance on drugs for control. The times that issues appear are usually when conditions change such as the end of a dry spell. Typically, livestock continue to contaminate pastures through a dry spell but few eggs hatch due to the lack of moisture. The situation changes at the end of a dry period as a large hatch of infective larvae make their way to the few emerging blades of new growth. Stock ingest large numbers of infective larvae which often has a big impact sometimes not acted upon as FEC is low until worms mature. Once again, the strategy of acting (drenching and feeding) to reduce a big future contamination holds. If this approach is used along with practices such as multi-active drenches, refugia and FECRT, we are best placed to extend our drug efficacy. However, over time we need to select superior rams and look to our forages for help in the battle against our less visible foe.

At farm level, there is a trade-off between the loss of production from parasites, the cost of effective treatment and the longer-term risk and sustainability of our approach.

• Simon Glennie is a farm consultant with AbacusBio.

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LIVESTOCK | PARASITES

Fighting parasites with genetics It is possible to genetically select for sheep which are resistant and resilient.

IN THE GENES Tim Byrne Did the internal parasites have a good Christmas and summer holiday on your farm? Hopefully not. It’s been a great grass growing season and we don’t want to be wasting grass and other resources by feeding parasites. There is a mix of approaches when it comes controlling parasites in a flock from blanket drenching all the ewes at weaning, to only drenching the tail end, to not drenching at all. Some use boluses for some or all ewes at mating. Lambs tend to be drenched on a four-week cycle from weaning and usually all the lambs remaining after the most-recent pick for slaughter get a shot. There are, of course, also grazing management options to reduce contamination of pastures. For an increasing number of farmers, internal parasite resistance to drenches will come to the front of the mind. Many in the New Zealand sheep industry consider there is a looming problem of resistance by parasites to the drenches used to control them. There’s certainly strong evidence the problem is looming closer than we might like to admit. Breeding sheep that can better-handle parasites themselves will be a key part of the strategy employed to address this problem. The damage caused by parasites starts as soon as the infective larvae on pasture travel past the tongue. Reducing the impact should involve a combination of reducing the number of larvae eaten, breeding sheep that are less affected by them and using drenches to kill them when infection passes a production threshold. One strategy is to select for “resistance” whereby the host, the sheep, fights the worm infection. Resistant animals mount an immune response to reduce or eliminate the population of worms in their gut. This has been shown to incur a cost to the sheep and can lead to a reduction in performance as the sheep

diverts nutrients (energy and protein) to this task. Commonly, resistance is measured as low levels of faecal egg count (FEC). An alternate strategy to reduce the impact of worms on animal performance is to select sheep that tolerate an infection. Such sheep are “resilient”.

‘In other words, we want both resistance and resilience.’

The main criterion defining this is continued productive performance in the face of a challenge. Some of these sheep may carry large worm burdens, shed a lot of parasite eggs and be a significant source of infection for other sheep, so while they are growing well themselves they are reducing the growth potential of other sheep. Ideally, we want animals that do not put excessive effort into fighting infection and so compromise production, but which do not carry significant parasite loads which are a

source of infection for other animals. In other words, we want both resistance and resilience. Sheep that are neither resistant nor resilient are “susceptible”. Genetic selection for both resistance and resilience is possible and has been going on for several years in some performance recording flocks. From a genetics point-of-view, what sort of economic opportunity is offered by buying rams that have genetics that do not succumb to the infection from internal parasites, through either resistance or resilience? The average maternal ram produced in 2015 from SIL performance-recording flocks generating genetic improvement for resistance to parasites offered additional profit of about 55 cents per ewe lambing above a 1995 start point. This will be made up of improvements in resistance (lower FEC) that reduce the negative impact of a parasite challenge on slaughter lamb liveweight, hogget liveweight and hogget fleece weight – there are other impacts but from a genetics point of view, these are captured elsewhere so for the purposes of counting the cost of susceptibility these aren’t included here. The average maternal ram produced

Country-Wide February 2017

in 2015 from SIL performance recording flocks involved in generating genetic improvement for resilience to parasites offered additional profit of 93 cents/ewe lambing above a 1995 start point. This is made up of improvements in liveweight gain under a parasite challenge and cost-saving from a delay in when the first drench is required and fewer drenches, for resilient lambs. Of note is that the progeny of these 2015 rams are, on average, expected to require a first drench 22 days later, compared to the progeny of rams from 1995. To understand how much profit can be added to the commercial farming business through resistance and resilience, by switching to using these rams, a few more sums are needed. The equation requires a few factors including replacement rate, tailing percentage, number of ewes mated per ram, and working lifetime of a ram. Luckily there’s a rule of thumb number you can use to work out what additional profit these rams can add to your business over their lifetime. Assuming no terminal sires are used, this rule of thumb number is two (if 20% of ewes are mated to a terminal sire, then the magic number is 2.5). If you multiply the extra profit (on SIL indexes) from the

ram in cents by two you get the extra profit in $ over the ram lifetime. This means that the 55 cents from parasite resistance is worth $110 (55x2) and the 93c from parasite resilience is worth $186 (93x2). Not bad money for the average ram recorded for these traits.

‘...for a flock buying 10 maternal rams a year this gain accumulates to about $36,900 over the 10 years.”

Also, the rams these breeders produce are improving year-on-year; by an average of 3 cents a year for resistance and 5 cents a year for resilience. Using our rule of thumb above, average profit increases by $6 (3x2) for resistance and by $10 (5x2) for resilience from each year-group of rams. Combining the initial profit lift and yearly improvements in both traits, for a flock buying 10 maternal rams a year this gain accumulates to about $36,900 over the 10 years. The key is to capture

this along with profit from genetic improvement for growth, meat and reproduction. This is done by using overall profit indices. If you would like to get some tools to convert SIL profit indices into returns over a ram’s lifetime, contact me: tbyrne@abacusbio.co.nz. What’s the moral of the story? That genetics offers a long-term tool to help deal with the rising issue of internal parasite resistance to drenches. Rams are available that can add profit to commercial sheep farming via increased performance and reduced costs, associated with managing parasite challenge. The profits above are estimated under the assumption drenching regimes are sustainable. They’ll be a lot bigger if our drenches fail completely. They’ll also be a lot bigger if you buy high-genetic-merit rams from a resistance/resilience breeder. It takes a few years to increase the resistance/resilience of a flock so start now to prepare your flock for the future. The great thing about genetic change is that the gains are cumulative and permanent. • Tim Byrne is a geneticist with AbacusBio.

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LIVESTOCK | PARASITES

Worm weather

The life cycle of a typical stomach worm.

Abi Chase Summer has arrived and with the warm weather comes the regular drenching of your livestock. Ever wondered just how much the weather can affect drenching recommendations? In general the parasite life cycle is simple – parasite larvae live on pasture, they are eaten and grow into adult worms in the gut of your animals. These adult worms mate with each other and produce eggs. The eggs come out with the faeces and hatch into larvae and the cycle continues. For most gut parasites, the time between an animal being infected and the worms producing eggs is constant, regardless of the climate, and is around three weeks. The weather though will affect the parasite stages that live on your pasture. When eggs are shed in faeces and land on the grass they have to develop into larvae which then has to move away from the faecal pat. Temperature and moisture can have a big influence on how quickly this happens. This could influence your drenching intervals and is one of the reasons there’s never a set drench interval recommendation on drench products, the frustration of many a farmer. It’s an obvious one but sometimes people forget that when you drench stock you’re only killing the parasite stage that’s inside the animal, whatever is on the pasture escapes – or is “in refuge” from the drench. When we plan drenching strategies we should always think about the parasites inside the animals and on pasture. If temperature and moisture affect the pasture stages then it’s sensible that these should be given consideration when making drenching decisions. Eggs are microscopic and contained within the faecal pats

initially. When the larva inside hatches it can wiggle and will swim away from the faeces but it needs moisture to be able to do this. If the grass is very dry or there’s a hard crust on top of the faecal pat the larvae will be contained but will live as long as there’s moisture in the faeces. A bout of rain is great for breaking up a faecal pat and bouncing grateful larvae

A bout of rain is great for breaking up a faecal pat and bouncing grateful larvae metres away where they’re more likely to get eaten.

metres away where they’re more likely to get eaten – a handy fact to know because heavy rain after a long dry spell can expose your stock to lots of larvae all of a sudden. At temperatures common in the Kiwi summer (21-23C) it takes less than a week for an egg to change into an infective larva and can even be as quick as three days in some species of worms. As the parasite lifecycle is shorter in the summer they reproduce in numbers quicker than say at 11C when the time from egg to

infective larvae is usually three to four weeks. This is a good reason to keep to recommended drench times – best to get these from your vet. Being even a week late with a drench in the summer months could mean that your animals have been exposed to a lot more larvae than you’d expect. The number of larvae being eaten is directly related to growth rates – the more they eat the less they grow. But what if there’s no moisture? Larvae don’t do very well in very dry conditions – they die quite quickly. If you drench too often in these conditions then you risk resistance issues with your drench occurring. This is exactly why resistance in hot dry areas, such as Australia, happens so quickly. As climate can significantly affect the lifecycle of parasites it’s worth allowing your drenching programme to be flexible throughout the year and seek good advice from your vet regularly. Timing is everything with drenching, get it bangon and you’ll optimise your productivity, profitability and the longevity of your drench. It’s been said that the difference between a good farmer and a great farmer is seven days – get behind with your drench programme and you could be chasing your tail for the rest of the season. • Dr Abi Chase is Merial NZ’s technical product manager.

Country-Wide February 2017

LIVESTOCK | ANIMAL HEALTH

Getting it right on hill country STOCK CHECK Trevor Cook Endless commentary focuses on the economics of dairy farming, the breakeven milksolids price and number of dairy farming businesses on the edge. In comparison there is sporadic commentary about the economic state of the sheep and beef industry. Over time there have been attempts to calculate a breakeven lamb price, but this is a very complex financial indicator. The financial position of the average sheep and beef farming business is seldom visited. The glimpse I get is that there is huge variation, with some, and maybe many, just hanging in there by spending very little and probably supplementing the household coffers by sending a family member to work elsewhere. This is particularly the case for hill country farming. It is rarely reported or acknowledged and is possibly a real handbrake on the industry progressing. Substantial changes are needed to avoid what could be a train crash as these precarious businesses age. Corporate buyup is not a comfortable solution but the reality in many cases is that it can bring huge increases in all aspects of farming. Lots more spending but that fuels much higher outputs. On the other hand, on similar hills there are owner-operated farms that are not making a fortune, but are really generating good profits. These are family businesses or more-recent entrants and have no corporate flavour at all. It is not the business structure that

Country-Wide February 2017

makes the difference but what is done on the farm. Capital investment is often the key to change and it is the corporate type entrant that is more likely to give that cash injection. But certainly such is not confined to that ownership model. So what do these more viable hill country farming businesses do that puts them in that state? Analyses of what is behind the various quintiles of farm profitability done by Beef+Lamb New Zealand show these more profitable farmers do whatever they do very well. They lamb at 140+%, not 120%.

Animal health management is much more than a medicine plan.

They wean 92+% of calves to cows wintered. They have a sensible trading policy that suits the capability of their farms. The breed of sheep or colour of their cows is not what makes the difference. Being able to apply best-practice packages is how they do it. I have spoken a lot in the past about these packages, because I know how powerful they are in achieving good outcomes. It is not simple as there are several interacting factors that influence lamb survival for example. Getting some vaccines in is simple, but ensuring a positive energy status coming into lambing is an outcome from actions taken in March as well as the management of feed allocation. Putting in more time could be a factor of difference, but probably not a big one. It is not uncommon to hear farmer comment though that more fences mean

more time shifting. I would think that that is a small trade-off for the benefit. I always get a kick out of hearing a bull farmer proudly letting everyone know he has shifted 30 mobs this morning before coming to the discussion group. The benefits are tangible, just like in dairy farming. Best-practice packages are not input schedules. I get annoyed when I see an animal health plan that is just a product input schedule. Animal health management is much more than a medicine plan. Animal health is part of production and as such should be part of that plan. Timing of medical inputs is very much influenced by the production system they are aimed at. This format for presenting animal health plans plays into the hands of companies that rely on repetition. Once embedded in a product input schedule any chosen product has a good chance of remaining there. Review of such schedules is not common enough and usually any review is just a rollover. I have commented before about the savings that can come from reviewing the need or otherwise of every input in place. Demonstrated need is one of those that sat behind the use of any product. Where is the evidence that a treatment is necessary? Such an approach is not now common. User endorsements about the benefits of a product seem to be accepted too often as the evidence of that need. The real challenge for veterinarians servicing farming systems is to know that their advice must be untainted, yet the financial viability of that veterinary business has some dependence on those product sales. That is one of the reasons I never wear animal health company branded clothing when working. But what a well-dressed farmer I am in the weekend.

SPONSORED FEATURE | PLATE TO PASTURE The Waikawa team: Haylee Jones, Neil Aicken and Blair Linton.

Customers are always right

Attention to detail is the key for Neil Aicken’s Pukekawa bull beef operation, on show at a recent Silver Fern Farms Plate to Pasture field day. Words Terry Brosnahan. Photos Peter Drury.

eil Aicken knows how to grow bull beef. He also knows who his customers are and what they want. “They are the people who buy and eat meat and want safe food.” Neil’s Waikawa Farms pumps out about 450kg net of carcaseweight/ha/year. It is an intensive and well-run profitable operation with a low environmental footprint. That’s why hundreds, possibly thousands of people, have beaten a track to his farm at Pukekawa, 30 minutes south of Pukekohe to see first-hand how he does it. Even though Neil and Waikawa have been in the public eye for some time (See Country-Wide January and June 2016)

visitors, like those attending the recent Silver Fern Farms Plate to Pasture field day, always learn something new. Visitors to Waikawa have included meat buyers such as McDonald’s. “The head guys of McDonald’s came out about 18 months ago and were blown away seeing the bulls.” It was the middle of winter and they saw contented bulls eating grass. They also saw traceability. “We took them into the office and said pick an EID tag and we could trace that bull right back.” McDonald’s reps saw data on when the bull arrived on the farm, the animal health treatments it had and its progress

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS • Bulls bought all over NZ • Based on truck weight • Weighed again when they arrive • Quarantined drenched • Held in a holding paddock overnight • Average of 20 bulls per mob • Stay in same mob until processed • Each mob gets 15 cells/two day shifts • Colour tags and earmarks for mobs in case of mix-ups • There are 1380 cells at 0.33ha/cell • Bulls go into pasture covers 3000kg DM/ha, • Leave at 1500kg/ha • Golden rule: Bulls to be off the property by February 1

Waikawa is 456ha (effective) split into 1380 cells stocked with 1600 bulls.

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to the time it left the farm. Neil says they want to know who the supplier is, where McDonald’s meat comes from, how the animals are treated and confirm they are 100% grass-fed. Attention to detail, no matter what the job, is the mantra on Waikawa. A key part of the farm’s bull management is they are kept in small mobs (no more than 20) and never mixed with others. They even stay in their group and on their own when same-day processed at Silver Fern Farms. Neil says it all counts in producing quality, tenderness and taste. He started farming bulls 40 years ago and just loves it. Neil loves the control that comes with bull beef farming. Going out in the morning and shifting bulls from a break eaten down to 1500kg drymatter (DM) on to the new one at 3000kg DM. “There’s nothing more rewarding than that.” He essentially runs a grass factory on the 456ha (effective) of rolling hills. Waikawa is split into 1300 cells from which 8-9t/ha of grass is harvested and fed to about 1600 bulls run in 84 mobs. He says bulls grow 20% faster than steers and are crackers at converting grass into meat. Even though the farm is in a summer dry area, every 18kg of drymatter is converted into 1kg of meat. “We couldn’t do that without bulls and subdivision.”

With good soil fertility, subdivision and bulls the old pastures on Waikawa grow 8-9 tonnes of drymatter/ha to be eaten.

The grass whisperer What makes this impressive is most of the pastures on Waikawa are old and some have been down for more than 70 years. The secret is focusing on the three Ss, subdivision, stock policy and soil fertility. Soil fertility is kept high, subdivision and the right stock class ensures the grass is well-utilised. Neil is in his seventh-year as a FarmIQ pilot farmer contracted to help FarmIQ. One of the bonuses is the ability to run farm trials. The exact size of cells and rotations are known. Neil wanted to take production from 400kg/ha to 500kg/ha but at a conversion rate of 20:1 needed to grow 2000kg/ha more drymatter. Farm consultant, AgFirst’s Bob Thomson told the recent field day on

Waikawa a number of demonstration trials not scientific trials were set up. They measured the impact of new pasture varieties including BaseAR37, fescue and plantain. They scrutinised soil fertility and tried different rates of phosphate, potassium and sulphur, and trace elements such as copper and B12. The trials were all animal-based and EID captured the production data. After five years only the use of more phosphate gave a significant cost benefit. Waikawa can get away with lifting the Olsen P from mid 20s to mid 30s because of the high rates of utilisation. Bob says new pasture is a low priority on hill country if soil fertility and subdivision are a limiting factor.

GOLDEN RULE There is a golden rule on Waikawa. Everything destined to be processed goes before February 1 no matter what pasture growth or prices are doing. Neil meets with his Silver Fern Farm livestock rep Simon Boshier before the start of each season to plan the flow of stock from the farm to the processing plant. The bulls bought in only spend nine months on the farm. From the data collected and analysed Neil has a good idea what the numbers and weights will be. The bulls are weighed at least four times a year. Bulls come on the farm at 18-months-old weighing 300-400kg liveweight (LW) and leave nine months later weighing 600-700kg LW. They are recorded into FarmIQ Farm Management System (FMS). Only the systems are entered into FarmIQ, not the cells and shifts. Otherwise Neil would need a labour unit.

Country-Wide February 2017

Eighteen month old bulls come on to the farm weighing 300-400kg LW and leave nine months later weighing 600700kg LW.

PLATE TO PASTURE | UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS

Even though the farm is in a summer dry area, bulls convert every 18kg of drymatter into 1kg of meat.

Plate to Pasture For Silver Fern Farms, Neil is the perfect supplier. He is consistent, has meticulous records of what is coming and when. He supplies what the customer wants; safe and sustainable food. No surprise then that he and his team won the Silver Fern Farms Plate to Pasture title in 2015. A key element of the award is the recognition of farm businesses which have the consumer in mind. For Neil, winning the award was one

of the highlights of his farming career. However it was no fluke. “We didn’t go in it to come second.” So how did the Waikawa team win? For a start they analysed the brief carefully and came up with a strategy to win. The brief was consumer-focussed and they put a lot of effort into answering every question in detail. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into that to win the prize.” Plate to Pasture judges were impressed with their attention to detail and that they knew what happened to the bulls after they left the farm, right through to the consumer. The judges were impressed with the farming operation’s low impact on the

environment. Bush and waterways have been fenced off, a level-two environment plan has been completed. Neil has learned about customers, meat plants and how the whole system works. The primal cuts are taken out of his bulls for Asia and the grinding meat goes into McDonald’s. Both customers want traceability so they have assured safe product. With electronic identification and constant monitoring Neil can deliver this. “We monitor everything that moves here.”

LEARNING EARLY

Neil demonstrates how the micro troughs work while trying to avoid a zap from the electric fence. He uses 1.6mm wire as 2.5mm is too heavy and sags. Photo: Peter Drury

You are never too old to learn but perhaps too young. Neil started his farming education at the age of three when he went down to the yards and let out the sheep penned up for the truck because they looked hungry. The truck turned up to empty yards and a hopping-mad farmer chasing after his son. After that Neil was given 10 sheep to draft and move around the yards. It kept him happy all day. At intermediate school he started rearing calves and in his last year of school, reared 200 then grazed them out on blocks of land. When he left school and went shearing he had up to 14 blocks. Neil, 54, is still learning and encourages his staff to do likewise through field days, courses and reading. He is also keen to share what he has learned with visitors and in return, wants to learn off them. The rest of the team are Haylee Jones, who is the administrator and farm technician and Blair Linton, who started about seven months ago as trainee farm manager.

Country-Wide February 2017

Back (L-R): Part of the steering group: Blair Linton, Simon Boshier and Stephen Stafford-Bush

Team Waikawa

Haylee Jones has relished the chance to learn. Neil has put her through a number of courses and she operates Farmax, FarmIQ and Cashmanager. “Neil’s awesome, he is our biggest cheerleader.” She lives five minutes away with her two children. Hayley uses FarmIQ’s FMS to record and analyse all the data collected on each animal including weights and animal health treatments. “If we are audited then we have all the information in a one-stop-shop and can give it.” Haylee says anything that happens on the farm is recorded. “It makes the farmer accountable for what he is doing with the animals on the farm.” She loves working on Waikawa because the work is so varied. Half the time she will be in the office, the rest of the time out on the farm doing technician work or helping with bulls. “It is seriously the best job in the world.” What is happening out on the farm is reflected in the computer programmes. That’s as long as the data is good, so attention to detail is everything. Each Monday from January to June, Haylee collects grass samples and washes off facial eczema (FE) spores to be counted under a microscope. “The spores are easy to see as they look like little grenades.” Northern Waikato was a hotspot for FE

and rampant on neighbouring farms but no spores were found on Waikawa. This is put down to the grazing regime and a lack of dead litter. Haylee also carries out the pasture cage cuts and helps with weighing of the bulls. All the bulls are weighed at least four times during their time on Waikawa. She says one of the best courses Neil sent her on was the Agriculture Women’s Development Trust training programme. It proved to be a catalyst to her becoming more involved in the business. Haylee says the course teaches women to communicate with their boss or husband. Women learn how to decipher accounts and have conversations about the farming business. She says women tend to look at things differently from men so having them involved in the farm with data collection and analysis, improves the business. Neil has always encouraged the team to be more active and have a voice in the farming business. “Neil empowers us, he makes us feel like we can do anything.”

Attendees ponder the Waikawa team’s words of wisdom during the field day.

Field day attendees look out over the flats, most of which goes under water six times a year.

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Front (L-R): Brad Saxton, Neil Aicken, Haylee Jones and Bob Thomson

BLAIR LINTON Blair has been working on Waikawa for about seven months. He did know a little about bulls before starting. His family run mainly bull beef on their farm in the hills near Te Puke. He heard about the job after graduating with a Bachelor of Agriculture Commerce. One of his jobs is shifting the bulls into their cells every second day. Neil sends a photo of the planned shifts. It takes about five hours for one person to shift the 84 mobs, three hours with two people. The beauty of Neil’s system is that it is simple, easy to follow and highly effective. Blair says it only took him two weeks to understand and do the shifts. The work roster is 12 days on two days off though in the weekends it is usually just shifting stock for a few hours and checking water. Some farmers won’t farm bulls simply because they are scared of them. Not Blair. “They’re real predictable and friendly. Cows and heifers are just real strange animals.” Every minute counts. Each extra minute taken to shift a mob adds up when multiplied by 84. Having dogs speeds the job up and lowers the risk. If there is a stroppy bull in a mob humans don’t have to go into the paddock, the dogs go. Blair has three dogs, but it is the first time he’s owned dogs and only two are trained up to work. Other tasks include checking the micro troughs work, grubbing thistles, weighing and drenching bulls and spraying weeds. He is also working with Chris Boon AgFirst Northland trialling the use of drones and satellites to measure pastures.

PLATE TO PASTURE | SUSTAINABILITY LEAVE IT TO THE EXPERTS

A winning combination: Waikawa farm owner Neil Aicken with administrator and farm technician, Haylee Jones.

Sustainable business

Sustainability for Neil is more than just looking after the environment and the bottom line. He says Waikawa is all about the people. “If I haven’t got good people, I haven’t got Waikawa.” He is always looking to improve the sustainable side of the business. As well as poplar poles, they are planting pin oaks in a trial which will hopefully grow and provide shade for the cattle. A river runs through the middle of the farm so environmental planning is paramount. Neil has spent a lot of time working with the Waikato regional and district councils. The intensive system requires 60kg N/ ha which goes on in three lots over the year and 500kg/ha of Superten 7k as annual maintenance. Nutrient seepage into the environment is low because of the farm system’s high utilisation. Proof of Waikawa’s environmental

PLATE TO PASTURE AWARDS Each year the country’s top 250 suppliers are invited to five regional awards events. Processing data is studied to find Silver Fern Farms top suppliers of lamb, prime beef, deer, dairy stock and bulls. Judging is over a calendar year for the following critical factors: • Specification and presentation • Shareholding • Direct supply and commitment of supply • Supply volume and timing • Farm assurance. The five regional winners are then visited by a panel to assess how they manage their businesses to meet consumers’ needs to determine the national Plate to Pasture Award winner. The winner receives a market trip for two to visit a key overseas market.

credentials was winning four sections in the Ballance Farm Environment awards last year. The competition also gave them valuable feedback. Stock water comes via micro troughs, little discs in the ground under hot wire. The bulls have to press down the centre of the disc to get a drink. The discs are gravity fed by the 300,000 litres of water stored in tanks. The water is pumped from the river and creeks into the tanks. Too much water can be an issue. There is about 60ha of flats which Neil banks on most of it going under water six times a year. When he means under water he’s talking a waterskiing lake, 3-4 metres deep which is why the pump shed is so high. It is not all work and no play for Neil. He likes to travel and during the week gets off farm with his karate and badminton. Also his daughter Chantal, who is a hairdresser, lives nearby in Pukekohe.

Silver Fern Farms’ Myra White checks the barbecue at the Waikawa field day.

Silver Fern Farms Reserve beef on the sizzle.

Neil surrounds himself with experts whether financial or fencing. He could do the fencing but chose to hire a fencing contractor who was quicker and better, leaving Neil free to do what he likes – growing bulls. One of the benefits to come out of FarmIQ is the setting up of a steering team which was formed about seven years ago. The 12-member strong group is made up of Neil, Haylee, Blair and nine professionals involved in the farm business. They meet three times a year and the meetings are not always conventional. At one meeting they held a debate with Neil and the farm’s accountant Stephen Stafford-Bush in one team arguing against the status quo. It led to robust discussion and some tweaks to the farm business. Delicious lamb racks and Reserve beef.

Silver Fern Farms Lisa Fogarty prepares the lamb.

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Focus on the customer King Country farmers Karen and William Oliver won the inaugural Plate to Pasture in 2014. They operate two farms on which they winter 3000 deer, 1100 cattle and 4200 sheep. The Olivers focus on identifying who their consumer is and meeting their expectations. The couple are proud to show and explain to their end user what they do in their operation. William, a marketing graduate, says the award has helped them to understand further their customer and changes in their desire for healthy food. They keep a close watch on Silver Fern Farms’ market information, read a lot and attend seminars, like the recent F2F in Sydney, to keep up with food trends and new technology. This has influenced their business plans which recently changed to include a concentration on prime grass-fed beef and signing spring venison contracts

for Silver Fern Farms’ new market initiatives. Karen has driven the management of health and safety, training and the team culture. Guidelines and goals are set for the four staff and casuals who are then charged to take on a level of responsibility for themselves. Every two months the directors, Karen, William and an independent, have meetings with the managers to review financial actuals against budgets. The managers report back on progress towards physical goals. The Olivers have also engaged in Farm Environment Plans which led to management practice changes around stocking and care of their soils and waterways. They also protect 200ha of the 1500ha they own as a native reserve. Like for many other farmers it comes at a cost, but one the Olivers regard as an investment for the customer, succession and future generations.

Chris and Anne-Marie Allen up the front with Neil Aicken during the field day.

Attention to detail

When Anne-Marie and Chris Allen recovered from the surprise of making the 2016 Plate to Pasture finals, they decided to have a concerted effort at winning it. And they won. The couple farm 360 hectares at Ashburton Forks in Mid Canterbury, running a highly productive operation. They run 1800 breeding ewes, 400 hoggets and 700 R1 and R2 cattle, along with some crop. The Allen’s cunning plan to win was just to articulate well what they did in their farming business. They carefully went through the Silver Fern Farms’ detailed brief and wrote down what they do. The Allens always go to supplier meetings, a habit Anne-Marie picked up from her mother Margaret McAtamney.

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They would often be the only two women at the meetings. The couple focus on what the consumer and Silver Fern Farms wants – healthy animals raised with good animal welfare and environmentally friendly practices, in spec and on time. With their stock manager Nicky Norrie they pay great attention to detail. One of their points of difference is irrigation which allows them to stretch the supply curve. They supply 5500 lambs for 10 months of the year. The Allens use a lot of technology, including FarmIQ and Cash Manager as well as a number of irrigation management systems. They monitor closely winter crop and animal growth rates plus water use.

William and Karen Oliver, inaugural Plate to Pasture winners.

SUPPLIER EFFORTS RECOGNISED Silver Fern Farms’ Chair Rob Hewett says the awards, now into their fourth year, have celebrated farmers for focusing on meeting the needs of consumers. “They are about recognising the efforts our Silver Fern Farms suppliers go to every day on their farms in order to deliver consistent quality red meat that meets the high expectations of our consumers. “It is critical that we celebrate excellence in our industry and amongst farmers supplying Silver Fern Farms. The initiative is part of the company’s plate to pasture strategy. He says it is essential farmers are rewarded for how they supply the company as farmers are central to its story of the people, place and passion that makes up Silver Fern Farms’ consumer brand. Hewett has also enjoyed meeting with farmers across the country. The award takes into account data from suppliers of bull beef, prime beef,deer, lamb and dairy beef. “We place a lot of weight on stock specification and presentation, shareholding, direct supply commitment of supply and Farm Assurance. “They are all critical factors in delivering our global customers the very best New Zealand red meat under the Silver Fern Farms brand.” Hewett says there are many farmers who are excellent farmers, but ultimately the award is looking to celebrate one supplier, like Waikawa Farms, who has systems that show they are in-tune with the needs of the consumer. “That’s important as when we meet their needs we can grow value in market and return that value to shareholders and suppliers.”

FORAGE | SOIL

CLOSER WATCH NEEDED ON CADMIUM It’s probably not a problem on your farm yet but it’s worth keeping an eye on cadmium concentrations in soil and fertiliser inputs reports Andrew Swallow.

udging by papers presented at the recent combined conference of the New Zealand and Australian soil societies cadmium is a potential problem. And with Europe mulling much tighter limits on the fertiliser contaminant than our own, marketing hurdles may emerge in time. Cadmium(Cd), a heavy metal, was the topic of no fewer than seven papers and a couple of posters at the NZASSS conference in Queenstown in December last year, indicating the level of ongoing research into the issue. High soil cadmium in NZ is a legacy of when our superphosphate was made mostly with rock from Nauru, as Ravensdown’s Ants Roberts, a member of the Fertiliser Association’s cadmium

management group, explained at the conference. Such superphosphate typically had more than 420mg Cd/kg P but in 1995 manufacturers set a 340mg/kg limit and lowered the bar in 1997 to 280mg/ kg. Since 2003 fertiliser content has averaged 184mg Cd/kg P, dipping below 100mg/kg in 2015 as a combination of lower fertiliser prices and suppliers’ management of their stocks saw the amount of cadmium in the rock blends used tumble. Roberts said there was no guarantee such low figures would continue, though the 280mg/kg ceiling would still be adhered to. Based on soil sample results, cadmium levels nationally appear to have plateaued, Roberts said, but whether that

Cadmium management tiers Soil cadmium mg Cd/kg soil

Management tier

Management required

<0.6

No restriction on phosphate fertiliser type or application.

0.6 – 0.99

Some restrictions on phosphate fertiliser application rates, and implementation of appropriate management practices.

1.0 – 1.39

Increased restrictions on phosphate fertiliser type and application rates, and implementation of appropriate management practices.

1.4 – 1.79

Further restrictions on phosphate fertiliser type and application rates, and implementation of appropriate management practices.

≥1.8

No further cadmium accumulation allowed unless a detailed site-specific investigation is undertaken to identify risks and pathways for potential harm.

Source: Abraham et al, 2016, Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre Occasional Report 29.

Cadmium key points • Global concern over dietary content. • Elevated levels in NZ soil a legacy of high-cadmium superphosphate pre-1990s. • Plant uptake from soil passes to livestock and accumulates in liver and kidneys. • Some plant species take up more cadmium than others. • Research into cadium spikes and animals grazing plantain and chicory • Oysters, potatoes and bread are main cadmium contributors in NZ consumers’ diets. • Europe’s cadmium content limits for fertiliser stricter than NZ’s. 280mg/kg ceiling was low enough to stop further accumulation remained to be seen. AgResearch’s Colin Gray suggested it may not be because at that, with a typical annual maintenance application of 30kgP/ha, an average 5.5g Cd/ha/year was added to the soil, greater than the estimated total annual cadmium losses from the soil via leaching, surface runoff and plant or animal uptake. Gray presented research into cadmium movement in a stony Riversdale soil from just north of Gore. The results suggest cadmium may be more mobile than previously accepted due to formation of soluble cadmium-chloride complexes under application of cow urine. However, with the exception of a couple of spikes, cadmium concentrations in drainage were still below guideline values for water quality and there was little or no evidence elsewhere in NZ of cadmium getting into groundwater. Work presented by Mahdiyeh Salmanzadeh, of the University of Country-Wide February 2017

FOOD CROP UPTAKE

Waikato, at the conference supports that. Her analysis of 22 sites nationwide, with or without irrigation but the same fertiliser (and hence cadmium) Ants Roberts. history, found only about 5% of cadmium applied over the years has been removed by irrigation. The cadmium content of the Riversdale soils in Gray’s work ranged 0.23-0.29mg/ kg of soil. As such they are in Tier 0 of the cadmium management group’s system for ranking contamination of NZ soils (see table). For management of those Tier 0 soils, no action is required but if content exceeds 0.6mgCd/kg of soil, increasing restrictions on fertiliser use apply. There are no restrictions on sale of produce based on soil tests, though there are standards for produce itself (see panels). Roberts said industry sampling shows the few farms with soils in the higher tiers are mostly in Waikato, Taranaki and Bay of Plenty. Of nearly 2000 farms sampled, only four are in tier 4, all in either Otorohonga or Waipa districts. A common factor behind high readings is historically high phosphate use, typically on volcanic or ash soil which, due to its high anion storage capacity, required large amounts of phosphate fertiliser to lift pasture production. Roberts said buyers of farms would be prudent to consider likelihood of high cadmium contamination based on farm fertiliser history and test soils if concerned, however for most farmers a watching brief was all that was required. “There are a whole lot of other things which are more important to worry about.” Country-Wide February 2017

Cadmium uptake is not simply driven by the amount in the soil and the plant species being grown. Research suggests soil type and properties – pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and organic matter in particular – plus possibly some management techniques, also have an influence. Landcare Research’s Jo Cavanagh told the NZASSS conference uptake appears higher off recent, gley and pallic soils than off allophanic or granular soil. Type of clay may be another factor and low pH is “a bit of a flag for higher uptake”. Wheat and potato trials to see if liming or compost treatment reduce uptake will be harvested this year but dozens of commercial wheat, potato, onion, lettuce and spinach crops, and the soils they were grown on, have already been tested for cadmium content by Cavanagh and colleagues. Overall, spinach had by far the highest plant uptake factor (PUF) – the ratio of plant cadmium content relative to soil cadmium content – followed by lettuce. However, there were significant regional differences in PUF which were being analysed to try to identify soil type and possibly management influences over and above that of general soil properties such as pH. High cadmium content in soil was not always reflected in high plant content, another indication of soil type and properties influencing uptake. Pukekohe, Matamata and Waikato generally had the highest median soil cadmium levels, the highest medians being about 0.7mg/kg under lettuce in Pukekohe and a similar figure under onions at in Matamata. Of more than 200 crops sampled, only three – one spinach, one onion and one potato - exceeded food standards, though a few wheat samples were close to limits. Cavanagh said at normal consumption levels, none of the concentrations found would result in consumers breaching World Health Organisation cadmium intake guidelines.

Cadmium: what’s the problem? Livestock and humans, cannot effectively excrete cadmium and it accumulates in kidneys and, to a lesser extent, livers. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says high dietary intakes can disturb calcium metabolism and cause kidney stones. Softening of bones and osteoporosis may also occur, as seen in many cases of Itai-itai disease from one area of Japan where soil was highly contaminated with cadmium from zinc and lead mines, and in turn, the rice grown on it. New Zealand research has shown accumulation in livestock is largely due to ingestion of plant material, not soil. Kidneys and livers from sheep and cattle more than three years old at time of slaughter are excluded from the food chain to prevent human ingestion of high-cadmium meats. Occasional spikes in cadmium content of offals from younger animals have been recorded. Research is underway to see if these are associated with specialist finishing feeds, notably plantain and chicory. These two forages in pot trials, picked up seven and 16 times as much cadmium as ryegrass did from the same soil cadmium level. Europe is discussing dropping its limit on cadmium in fertiliser from 60mg Cd/kg P – already much lower than NZ’s (see main story) – to 20mg/ kg. Ravensdown’s Ants Roberts says he doesn’t envisage regulatory restrictions on NZ produce to result, but such standards could be incorporated into premium retailer contract requirements. A 2009 Ministry for Primary Industry simulation of cadmium contamination of New Zealanders’ diets found oysters to be by far the highest contributor, followed by potatoes and bread. Toddlers and children had the highest intake relative to WHO Provisional Tolerable Monthly Intake (PTMI) figures, at 42.8% and 45.2% respectively. Adult men’s intake was 26.8% of the PTMI, and women’s 21.6%.

Research is looking into whether high cadmium spikes are associated with specialist finishing feeds, notably plantain and chicory.

FORAGE | SUB CLOVER

Reviving sub clover Thanks to aerial applications of sub clover seed 40-50 years ago, the plant is endemic in New Zealand’s hill country. But, over the years, poor management practices – including over-grazing and not allowing the plant to set-seed – have compromised its productive potential. Now, many sheep and beef farmers are asking how they can manage and augment existing plant populations within their farm systems. To provide answers, the Sustainable Farming Fund’s Sub 4 Spring project has been established. Supported by Beef +Lamb New Zealand, trial sites stretch from Omarama in South Canterbury through to steep hill country near Gisborne. This geographical and climatic spread is allowing scientists, led by Lincoln University’s Professor Derrick Moot, and agronomists to determine best management practices for both endemic and introduced sub clover species across different environments. Allowing seed to set is critical to managing sub clover. As it is an annual clover, seed-set enables plant populations to be built and it is these plants that will provide a bulk of high-quality feed the following winter and early spring. Sub is the earliest legume, growing four to six weeks earlier than white clover. In late spring and summer the selffertile flowers become burrs and the plant “pegs” burying its seed in the ground (hence the name subterranean Allowing seed to set is critical to managing sub clover.

clover) and dies. At the late flowering stage, the plant needs to be shut-off from stock so seeds can be buried, ready to germinate the following autumn. Managed correctly, one seed can, over time, produce 500 seeds and populations can build up. Once established, the seedlings can be lightly grazed when they have passed the “pluck” test. This is when tugged gently, the roots will remain securely in the ground as the leaves are plucked off. Moot says controlling resident vegetation is important to prevent it outcompeting the new sub seedlings. “Cattle are the best control option if the herbage is rank, but a hard summer clean-up graze with sheep can also set up a block before introducing new seed.” Long vegetation is sub clover’s greatest enemy. In spring, competing vegetation will cause the sub to elongate and compete for light. The elongated plant will not “peg” as many burrs so fewer seeds will be buried leading to lower germination in autumn. Cattle are an invaluable tool in controlling resident vegetation in a growthy spring and in autumn. Removing tag in autumn will allow the seedlings to flourish and unlike sheep, cattle will usually only graze the top leaves off the seedling which won’t damage them. Sheep, however, will graze the highly palatable and energy-dense seedlings to the ground. Autumn rain determines yield the following spring, so dry autumns can limit the productive potential of sub clover. Hard seeds are part of sub clover’s survival mechanism, in that not all seeds will germinate in one year – some will take four to five years to germinate. A hard-seedness is determined by the cultivar and the environment. “The strength of having hard seed is that it doesn’t all germinate in the one rainfall,” Moot says. Some varieties will have more hard seeds than others and so cultivars are given a hard-seedness ranking- although

Managing sub Critical management factors: • Manage to allow seed-set by shutting the area up in late spring. • Use cattle to control competing vegetation, particularly in early spring and autumn. • Reap the rewards in winter and early spring. • It takes time to set the sub “system up” – so manage for the forage while building plant populations and the seed bank. • Once the system is established-an area should be managed for reseeding every eight-10 years.

there will be still be variations within each cultivar. For this reason, Moot suggests sowing a mix of cultivars, this will provide a mix of hard and soft seed and early and later flowering dates.

‘Cattle are the best control option if the herbage is rank, but a hard summer clean-up graze with sheep can also set up a block before introducing new seed.’

Luisetti Seeds agronomist, Andrew Johnston, who has worked with Wairoa farmers Dave Read and Judy Bogaard, and Peter and Joy Wilson of Clinton, says sowing rates are typically 10kg/ha of mixed cultivars – although this may vary according to terrain and environment. He says some farmers are adding Tuatara plantain and Charger chicory to autumn-sown sub clover mixes of Antas, Woogenellup and Denmark sub clover with success.

Country-Wide February 2017

Online guide One of the first outcomes of the Sub 4 Spring project is a “Guide for subterranean identification and use in New Zealand.” A useful resource for identifying different cultivars of sub clover, it can be downloaded at http:// www.lincoln.ac.nz/Research/CurrentResearch/Dryland-Pastures-Research / Research-projects/Sub-4-Spring/

The Sustainable Farming Fund’s Sub 4 Spring project is helping to answer management questions

NITROGEN FARMING’S MOST CRITICAL ELEMENT New Zealand pastures are typically nitrogen-deficient and legumes are the cheapest, most effective and sustainable way to get nitrogen (N) into soils. Moot stresses the importance of N in pastoral farming systems saying it is more critical than water. Without N plants are unable to efficiently utilise available soil moisture.

Derrick Moot has been helping farmers establish and manage sub clover in nontypical sub environments.

Legumes fix 25-30kgN/tonne of drymatter but 600kg of N is required to grow 22t DM so legumes should be making up a high percentage of the forages within this country’s pastoral systems. “If we haven’t got good legume content – and don’t manage it – we will lose it over time.” With a high metabolisable energy (ME) content, legumes also drive stock performance and given a choice, sheep will prefer a diet of 70% legume and 30% grass. A high ME translates into improved lactation and livestock growth rates which allows earlier finishing and better body condition in breeding stock. This gives farmers options around strategically spelling country, particularly hill country or buying trading stock. As Moot says, getting legumes into our

hill country farming systems has benefits beyond improved productivity and profitability. It enhances the long-term sustainability of hill country that, in many areas, has been in a slow state of decline for many years.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY Maximising lamb growth rates before the summer dry is a perennial challenge on many dryland sheep and beef farms. Moot says lambs need to grow at 300 grams/head/day to achieve 35kg liveweight in 100 days before soil moisture typically starts to run out. To drive these growth rates, stock need a forage with an ME of 12 and legumes fit the bill.

Supplied by Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Grass saving measures With much of the country on the knife-edge of extended dry and possibly drought conditions the big question is how to nurse grass through late summer and autumn. “Most have good grass covers on hand due to the excellent spring. It’s not necessarily good quality but it’s better than not having it,” Agriseeds pasture system manager Graham Kerr said. The hard work of promoting quality grass growth should have happened during the spring. “The earlier you control seed heads, the better the grass quality will be in terms of retillering. Getting through summer is all about the number of tillers.” The two ways of encouraging retillering in spring was mechanically, by making of silage and hay, or grazing especially with Country-Wide February 2017

cattle who were excellent at nipping off seed heads. Once the dry weather started and grass growth stopped the key was to avoid overgrazing. “It’s important to realise that the reserves of the plant are above ground in the bottom four centimetres. You can graze down to that level but need to leave some cover because it will speed up recovery when rain does come.” Overgrazing also left pastures at risk of weed invasion, Agriseeds lower South Island agronomist Alan Harvey said. “Keeping pastures as healthy as possible now is important because it will directly impact on autumn quality.” And if the pressure really came on it made sense to sacrifice old, run-out pastures or those due to be sown in crop and save at all costs young grass.

Agriseeds Waikato-based agronomist Will Henson reiterates the importance of not overgrazing pastures and says the use of a stand-off paddock or feeding of a summer crop were ways to reduce grazing pressure. Waikato farmers should also be on the lookout for signs of black beetle. “If you have a heavy infestation earmark it for chicory because it’s a nonhost crop.” His other words of advice for North Island farmers were to order grass seed early. “With the Kaikoura earthquake it’s important to order early as we know there is going to be a delay in getting seed from the South Island.”

lyndagray@xtra.co.nz 49

grain’s high starch – energy – content would complement lucerne’s high protein and boost stock productivity. However, most research on grain supplementation of lucerne diets has been in dairy cattle and/or feedlot situations where conserved forage is fed. Hence the lucerne is of relatively low quality compared to grazed.

FORAGE | NZ GRASSLANDS CONFERENCE

‘If the season is dry and flowering doesn’t occur it’s important to recognise these paddocks the following season and give them a significant break.’

Forget grain for sheep on lucerne management messages for the deeprooted legume, Lincoln’s Professor Derrick Moot said based on two years’ results from Ashley Dene there was no Feeding grain to sheep grazing lucerne is reason to supplement ewes and lambs on a waste of time and money, judging by the crop. Lincoln University research relayed at The research was prompted by a the New Zealand Grassland Association’s annualWIDE conference. COUNTRY 1/3 ADVERT 210MM X 106MM growing number of farms supplementing the crop with grain on the assumption In one of several papers reinforcing

Andrew Swallow

Moot and his team offered ewes and lambs grazing lucerne at Ashley Dene whole barley in summer 2013/14 and crushed barley in 2014/15, using a feeder reputed to restrict intake. They found the feeder did successfully restrict intake, preventing any individual gorging, but also that despite free access to grain throughout, none of the supplemented mobs ate much of it. “We provided lucerne: why would you eat grain?” quipped Moot to the conference audience. Ewes with lambs at foot on lucerne did benefit a little from access to grain (see table), however there was no significant effect on lamb growth. Post-weaning, lambs grew slightly faster with access to grain in the first year of the trial but that was more than reversed in the second year such that on average the effect of grain was negative.

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Grain feeding on lucerne – Lincoln results Treatment Lactation 2013/14 Post-weaning 2013/2014 Lactation 2014/15 Post weaning 2014/15

Ewe LWG (g/ewe/ day)

Lamb LWG (g/lamb/ day)

Whole barley

13.9

241

No barley

-16.9

240

Whole barley

N/A

199

No barley

N/A

187

Crushed barley

27.4

353

No barley

67.9

334

Crushed barley

N/A

154

No barley

N/A

188

Height, allowing for season, is the best quick check on lucerne quantity.

Source: Moot et al, Journal of New Zealand Grasslands, Vol 78.

The poor second-year results on grain may have been because lambs mobbed at the feeder, apparently seeking shade, and there was increased flystrike and dagginess in that mob. Moot’s team conclude that, over two years, their findings “indicate no basis for grain feeding to sheep grazing fresh lucerne”. Speaking before Moot at the conference, agronomist Sarah Bennett stressed the importance of being flexible in grazing management with lucerne, based on the findings of five years’ work as part of the Pastoral 21 programme. Rotational grazing six paddocks should start in spring with the first paddock at 15cm to prevent later-grazed paddocks going over 40cm. If growth does get away and a paddock exceeds 40cm, drop it out of the rotation and cut it, Bennett said. Ideally all paddocks will be about 30cm tall when ewes and lambs enter for the second time in spring. With weaned lambs, a lower pre-graze height of about 25cm, equating to 20002500kg drymatter/hectare, should be used as they will not “clean-up” like ewes or cattle. Such stock classes can be used to follow lambs where pre-graze covers exceed 2500kg DM/ha. The research also showed the importance of spelling lucerne stands in autumn, ideally long enough for flowering to occur, to allow root regeneration. “If the season is dry and flowering doesn’t occur it’s important to recognise these paddocks the following season and give them a significant break.” Moot, lead author on the paper

Lucerne lessons • Grain supplementation no benefit. • Height x season best guide to lucerne quantity. • Conserve, don’t graze, if height >40cm. • Spell for at least six weeks in autumn. • Ewe lambs provide oestrogen early warning.

Country-Wide February 2017

presented by Bennett, added: “what you do in spring doesn’t matter as long as you look after it in autumn. It’s a similar story with red clover and chicory.” He also presented work led by Anna Mills on use of height as a measure for feed availability in lucerne (see table). While there is considerable variation year to year and season to season, it remains the best test to use onfarm with little variation between cultivars. Moot stressed the data was only for dryland, hence it won’t work in all situations, particularly irrigated stands. Lincoln University’s Hung Ta presented work on how development of lucerne cultivars varies with dormancy rating, the main finding being the least-dormant type had higher leaf area which in turn meant higher production in its first year. The leaf area increase was down to leaf size rather than any increase in leaf number or branching. Combined with a taller stem, the least-dormant type grew 20% more above-ground biomass by mid-January from October sowing than highly dormant and moderately dormant types did. However, this benefit may well be short-lived if higher winter activity

reduced persistence, as may be expected in much of NZ, he added. Meanwhile, Rachel Fields said premature teat development in ewe lambs grazing lucerne could be used as an indicator of high oestrogen levels in crops, serving as a warning to remove ewes to grass or alternative feeds a month or more before mating. The Journal, the content of which is freely available online, is released every year at the association’s annual conference, which this summer was in Timaru. See www.grassland.org.nz for all papers.

Lucerne yield guide Season (+ rule of thumb)

Height (cm)

6-yr yield range (kgDM/ha)

Mean yld (kgDM/ha)

Spring

1630-2800

2270

(~95kgDM/cm crop height)

2450-3040

3100

3260-4760

3930

4080-5950

4760

Summer

1078-2278

1758

(~75kgDM/cm crop height)

1617-3007

2485

2156-3734

3212

2695-4615

3939

Autumn

1078-1448

1275

(50-55kgDM/cm crop height)

1568-2172

1774

1903-2896

2273

2238-3620

2771

Source: Adapted from Mills et al, Journal of New Zealand Grasslands, Vol 78.

ARABLE | CHEMICAL CONTROL

Escolta, an approved fungicide for control of fodder beet diseases rust, powdery mildew and cercospora is now available to farmers.

Resistance risk widespread FAR’s biennial Crops 2016 field day at Chertsey in December featured a range of agronomic topics, some of which were relevant to all sectors, not just arable. Andrew Swallow reports.

rowers were warned herbicide resistance could cost them “big time” at the Foundation of Arable Research’s showcase crops event. “Why do I keep going on about this?” AgResearch’s Trevor James asked. “One of the reasons is it’s going to impact you financially big time,” he told the crowd of mostly cropping farmers and agronomists. But speaking to Country-Wide after the event, James stressed livestock farmers also need to be aware of the risks, especially those that grow feed crops. “There isn’t an agricultural sector that doesn’t have at least one resistant weed species.” Even farms that were all pasture had encountered problems, such as nodding thistles resistant to hormone-type herbicides and giant buttercup resistant to those herbicides and sulfonyl-urea products. Repeat use of the same herbicides, sometimes year-after-year in the same paddock, was a sure-fire way to select for weeds resistant to the chemistry and once a population had become resistant it would not lose that resistance, James warned. Some growers thought they could simply switch to another product but generally it was not that simple as for some weeds there were few effective modes of action and many active ingredients had the same control pathways. Multiple brand names for products

with the same active ingredient added to the risk of confusion. “You need to be fully aware of what you, or your contractor, are spraying and what the active ingredient is,” he said.

‘If they’re going to set seed you need to do something about it. Spot spray them with a different active, rogue them, cultivate to kill them; whatever you do it’s important to wipe them out.’

Cutting application rates was risky because it increased the chance of a weed partially resistant to a herbicide surviving to breed, set seed, and produce another generation of plants with at least that same level of resistance, and possibly a few that were more resistant. Ignoring occasional survivors was also bad practice. “If they’re going to set seed you need to do something about it. Spot spray them with a different active, rogue them, cultivate to kill them; whatever you do it’s important to wipe them out.” If a herbicide-resistant survivor set seed and products with the same mode of

action were used in subsequent seasons, tell-tale tear-drop-shaped patches of the weed were likely to appear, the tear-drop running in line with cultivation. James said rotatation was a key cultural control technique to prevent resistance – rotation of crops, paddocks and chemistry. Using herbicides in mixture was also good practice provided they were compatible and had different and effective modes of action. With an understanding of the problem weed’s life-cycle, cultivation could also be a useful tool. Even if onfarm weed control practice was exemplary, importing a resistance or new weed problem was still possible. So contractors should be encouraged to clean machinery before coming on to the farm and if they refused, asked to start work in the same area each time so it could then be monitored more closely for new weed problems. “You need to ensure you’re not getting something new and nasty on your property.” With an increasing number of herbicide-resistance cases confirmed across the country to glyphosate and several other modes of action, it was imperative New Zealand heeded the lessons from overseas, he said. In Australia, some weeds on some farms were now resistant to seven or eight different herbicide modes of action, rendering some crops unviable. Similarly severe problems have emerged in Europe and North America. Country-Wide February 2017

CROSS-RESISTANCE RESEARCH FAR’s Matilda Gunnarson (pictured above) told Crops 2016 visitors ryegrass resistant to both Group A herbicides, the fops and dims including products such as Twinax, and Group B sulfonyl products such as Hussar, has been confirmed onfarm in New Zealand, as have wild oats resistant to Group B chemistry. Controlled crosses of resistant lines of ryegrass with non-resistant cultivars were being grown out to investigate whether resistance was transferred in pollen, as it had been shown to in other species.

Rotatation is a key cultural control technique to prevent resistance – rotation of crops, paddocks and chemistry.

MANAGE IRRIGATION TO STONE CONTENT NEW TRICKS WITH OLD CHEMISTRY BEET FUNGICIDE DEBUTS Escolta, an approved fungicide for control of fodder beet diseases rust, powdery mildew and cercospora is available for the first time in New Zealand this summer. Escolta is a co-formulation of triazole cyproconazole and strobilurin trifloxystrobin marketed by Bayer CropScience. Talking to Country-Wide at FAR’s Crops 2016 event, the firm’s Chris Miln (pictured above) said it should be used soon after crops have closed over, at the first sign of disease. “In Europe they commonly see yield responses of 10% plus,” Miln said. While such yield responses were from the more disease-susceptible sugar beet cultivars, they were bulb-only and many growers here had started using fungicides already, off-label, to keep crops clean and retain leaf until grazing. “Now at least they have something available that’s on label.” Crops treated with Escolta should not be grazed until 42 days later. Country-Wide February 2017

Adama’s Daren Mabey (pictured above) explained to Crops 2016 visitors how the firm is using some older fungicide chemistry in new ways to enhance cereal yields. Phoenix active ingredient Folpet was discovered in the 1950s. It works on three sites in fungal pathogens with the result no resistance to the chemistry has been recorded anywhere in the world. It also boosts triazole efficacy by “sledging” the partner product into the plant. “It [Phoenix] is just a protectant so it has to be mixed with another product.” While Phoenix had been available for a couple of seasons, Bolide, a mixture of the 1977 triazole prochloraz (as in Sportak) and 1990s favourite epoxiconazole, had only just been released. Mabey said the prochloraz controlled different strains of septoria to expoxiconazole and prothioconazole (as in Proline), and Bolide also had a label recommendation for control of tan spot, which could prove useful for second wheat growers further south.

Reduce irrigation on wheat to match the water-holding capacity of the stoniest soils in a paddock is the message emerging from preliminary results from the ongoing Maximising Value of Irrigation (MVI) project. Plant and Food Research’s Hamish Brown (pictured above) explained to visitors at the Foundation of Arable Research’s Crops 2016 event (see main story) that wheat off lysimeters filled with stony soil yielded just as much as those filled with stone-free soil. The result was “quite a surprise” and indicates less water could have been used on the stony soil without yield penalty. “It also suggests we might have been better to manage irrigation across the crop for the poor soils, rather than the good,” Brown said. The stony soils leached less nitrate, again contrary to what might have been expected, but that was probably due to less organic matter in the stony soil lysimeters because of the stone content. Brown stressed the results are preliminary and at 8t/ha, the wheat yield was mediocre. The project is ongoing with barley on the lysimeters this summer and a continued rotation of arable crops planned. 53

PLANT & MACHINERY | VEHICLES

braked. • Stock work. With visibility, size, manoeuvrability, and mounting/ dismounting advantages, the quad has the edge for stock work. Other vehicles may have more creature comforts for following the cows up the race to the dairy and the children can be kept warm and dry. Compact tractors are not suited to stock work. For stock work only, the cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, safer to ride, two-wheeler has the edge.

Side-by-side vehicles the best option? Side-by-side vehicles have gained in popularity on New Zealand farms often at the expense of quads. Tim McVeagh finds out why.

t is accepted that side-by-sides, compared to quads generally can carry more (passengers included), tow more and are safer. But there are a range of vehicle types that may be considered for the farm as alternatives to quads and side-by-sides. This includes vehicles like the Suzuki Farmworker, Suzuki Jimny, Impact Truck, Mahindra Pik-Up and Mahindra Thar, and compact tractors. Tasks of light vehicles on farms include: • Transporting people. A downfall of the quad has been its inability to carry passengers and on farms this often includes young children. Quads and compact tractors are designed for the rider/driver only, although some Can Am quads are set up for a passenger. Most side-by-sides have seating for two or three, while there are models with seating for six. Most utes have seating for two while the SUVs can have seating for up to seven (Mahindra Thar). • Carrying equipment. This usually includes a farm and animal tool kit, but can include equipment and machinery like fencing gear and sprayers. The quad is at a disadvantage here, with upper limits of around 45kg on the front carrier and 90kg on the rear. Adding weight, particularly a dynamic load like a tank of spray changes the handling of the machine significantly. Side-by-side carrying capacity ranges from around 180 to 450kg, with models like the Tuatara having a front

carrier too. Most side-by-sides have a tipping deck, which may be manually or electrically operated. Light offroad utes have payloads from 500kg (Suzuki Farmworker and Impact Truck) to 1000kg, (Mahindra Pik-Up). SUVs being fully enclosed are not suitable for carrying posts, sprayers and similar gear. Compact tractors’ load carrying capacity, transport tray included can be up to 800kg for a mid range CT.

Where the run-off or other properties are serviced and have more rugged terrain, offroad capability may be a higher priority than on a dairy farm

• Towing trailers, calfaterias, sprayers. Maximum towing weights are exactly that and must be moderated according to terrain and surface conditions. A vehicle with a longer wheelbase is more suited to towing offroad. The best of the quads can tow a maximum of about 500kg, while some side-by-sides can tow up to 950kg. Dedicated off-road utes can tow from 500kg (Suzuki Farmworker) to 2500kg (Mahindra Pik-Up). Compact tractors can have substantial towing capacities. The mid range Farmall 35B can tow up to 1400kg unbraked and 2800kg

• Safety. In addition to these functions, the machine needs to be safe to operate. In 2015 16 of the 19 farm fatalities involved vehicles. Much has been made of the relevant safety merits of quads and side-by-sides. “Safety is about choosing the right vehicle for the task, using the vehicle within its design parameters and following the manufacturer’s recommendations,” Worksafe’s Al McCone says. “Being in an enclosed cab and wearing a seat belt must be a safer place to be than being a rider on an unenclosed platform, providing the vehicle is being used within its design parameters and safety precautions are taken”. McCone emphasises the need to wear seat belts in side-by-sides. “If you’re not belted in, the side-byside may be less-safe than a quad bike. There have been side-by-side fatalities where the driver would have survived if they had been wearing a seat belt. If you’re strapped in you might be bruised and battered. If you have a helmet on, too, you might be uninjured,” McCone says. Side-by-side accident photos show that roll cages are intact even after rolling several times. Landcorp has reduced their quad fleet in the last year from 300 to about 100, with none now on their dairy farms. “We don’t believe there’s a job that can’t be done by another vehicle, given the relatively flat terrain of the dairy farm,” Lucy Wills of Landcorp says. “We’re not anti quad bike per se. Our approach is to have the right vehicle for the right job. The tasks carried out using a quad bike were analysed and the farm managers themselves came to the conclusion that there were vehicles other than quads that were appropriate for those tasks, so the risk of injury or death while using quads could be avoided. The perceived increase in safety was a major factor in quitting the quads”. They referred to a Melbourne University study which concluded the side-by-sides they tested with a Country-Wide February 2017

• Have a reasonable purchase price and resale value. Ball park purchase prices, excluding GST for examples of these vehicle types are…… Side-bySides:

A certified ROPS on a side-by-side will reduce injury at rollover only if seat belts are worn. Wearing helmets, too, further reduces the chance of injury.

well-designed ROPS provide greater potential rollover crashworthiness in comparison to the quad bikes they tested, even when the quads were fitted with an operator protection device. This may not apply if the rider and/ or passenger does not wear a helmet or the installed seat belt”. There are now more two-wheelers, side-by-sides, Suzuki Jimnys and Toyota utes on Landcorp farms. Honda 700 and 1000 side-by-sides were chosen based on a risk-assessment process, though they were not considered the cheapest to buy or maintain. They have fitted seat belt interlock devices to the majority of their side-by-sides. Without the seat belt fastened, the speed cannot exceed 7km/h allowing for passing through gates without wearing the seat belt. With the seat belt worn, the speed is limited to 55km/h. Initially farm staff, particularly those who had ridden quads for years were concerned about stability with a dog box on the back, limited visibility out the back, dust accumulation in the cab and noise. Confidence and comfort has increased exponentially. And while vehicles still constitute the highest proportion of Landcorp accidents, the severity of injuries has reduced. Farm utes and SUVs, like side-bysides are much safer when seat belts are worn and operated within the manufacturer’s guidelines. Compact tractors, while not offering an enclosed cab, do have a ROPs and some also have seat belts. Their lower maximum speed of about 30km/h improves their safety. Vehicles like the Suzuki Farmworker are in the same price bracket as many side-by-sides and are worth consideration.

Quad Bikes:

Off Road Utes:

SUVs

Compact Tractors:

Like the resale value, it could be expected that the more robust vehicle types will be more mechanically reliable. Mechanics servicing reputable compact tractors suggest an engine service life of 10,000 hours.

Kawasaki Mule SX XC

$13,909

Kubota RTV-X1100

$32,500

Kawasaki 2015 BF 300 2wd

$7595

Kawasaki 2016 BF 750 EPS

$17,480

Honda Quad:

100 hrs or 1000km

$300

Mahindra Pik-up

$21,990

100 hrs or 1000km

$300 $350

Suzuki Farmworker

$14,990 to $21,590

Honda Side-bySide

from $19,000

5000km or six months

$300

Impact Truck

Suzuki Farmworker:

Suzuki Jimny

$19,990 to $24,500

Farmall B tractor:

300 hrs

$650

Mahindra Thar

from $15,000

Off Road Utes:

Mahindra Pik-up

$21,990

Mahindra eMAX 25 with loader

$19,990

Farmall B35

$22,000

These models are quoted to illustrate the range of prices and are not comparable models. Resale value will vary greatly, but in general terms the more-robust vehicles will have longer service life, deteriorate least, and hold their value most. Compact tractors and utes are arguably the most robust in this line-up. • Be mechanically reliable. Viewers who watched TVNZ’s Fair Go programme in September would be alarmed by the mechanical problems of a well-recognised brand of side-byside and even more so by the dealer’s response. Problems included three broken CVT belts in 14 months. The dealer’s advice for farmers who do big hours was to change the side-byside after the two-year warranty runs out. Other than feedback from users in person or on the internet, there is little information available to prospective buyers either comparing vehicle types or models.

• Have reasonable running costs. Examples of recommended service intervals and approximate costs:

The vehicle should: • Be road legal. So it can be used as a runabout or back-up vehicle. Some versions of the Impact Truck, Suzuki Jimny and the Mahindra Pik-Up are road legal. • Be reasonably comfortable. Full weather protection is essential for young children and not so bad for their parents too. Heaters, air con and radios are an asset usually found in the light farm vehicles. Think about: • Farm terrain. For most dairy farming situations all these vehicles should be adequate, but where the vehicle is to be used on hill country a more-capable vehicle type and model should be sought. • Staff skills. Quads require “active riding” in some circumstances, while the other vehicle types do not. The compact tractor is probably the simplest to drive, and can be legally driven by 12-year-olds under some conditions. The minimum age for driving adult quads is 16. The side-byside driver’s minimum age is set by the manufacturer and is commonly 16 too. • Versatility. The compact tractor’s three-point linkage means a transport tray or back blade can be used. A power take off and hydraulics means a range of implements including a fertiliser spreader, mower, post hole borer, tipping trailer and a wood splitter can be used. A loader with a 4-in-1 bucket or forks means the tractor can be used for lifting, carrying and spreading. Before buying a side-by-side for the farm, the wish list should be defined, and the parameters weighted, so the best horse for the course is bought. Next issue: The side-by-side options.

Country-Wide February 2017

PLANT & MACHINERY | VINTAGE SALES

Several hundred potential buyers turned up to see a large number of vintage tractors sold at Fairlie last year. The number of Allis Chalmers tractors available for sale was considerable.

Clearing sales vintage stuff James Hoban A run of vintage clearing sales in 2016 saw hundreds of collectors make new acquisitions. At least five sales looked on paper to be “the biggest collection I’ve seen sold” and each time a long-suffering wife heard this it became a less-effective justification for a long drive. The run of sales culminated with the downsizing of the Robertson collection in Hinds. Not for the first time last year, overseas buyers came to look at taking New Zealand farming history out of the country. A rare Allis Chalmers RC had already made its way to Perth after being sold several weeks earlier in Fairlie. The items of most interest in Hinds

These two Allis Chalmers Roto-balers were a bargain to the right person

were a partially restored International Titan tractor, an immaculate International Junior 8-16 tractor and an extremely rare 1927 International chaindriven truck, claimed to have been used in the construction of the Hoover dam. The truck was passed in at $25,000 without attracting a bid, the Junior attracted bids to $33,000 and the Titan sold for $27,000. While collectors would love to own such rare machines, it seems prices in that vicinity are beyond most. For a number of attendees, just getting to the sale requires winning a small marital battle. Being brave enough to make a purchase and take it home to an already simmering situation presents a whole new challenge. Perhaps the hardest question to answer is “What are you going to do with it?”

Explaining how rare the item is, how reasonably priced it was, how much it would resell for (on the right day) and how you have always wanted that particular model can feel like pushing uphill. Generally it is easier not to buy. Increasingly the crowd at these clearing sales is changing. This goes beyond the aging of the regulars. There is a growing cohort of garden enthusiasts

Biggest sale yet? March 4 will see the largest vintage machinery sale in New Zealand in recent memory. The dispersal of a large collection on behalf of the I&J Harrison Trust will take place in Stratford. The late Ian Harrison collected stationary engines, tractors and a large array of associated paraphernalia. The dispersal of this impressive collection includes a number of rare machines and is likely to attract overseas interest. Tractors which will be features of the sale are a 1938 Silver King, a 1918 cross-engine Case, a 1940 John Deere LA, a 1950 Fordson County crawler and a 1948 Overland 4. Details can be viewed on the PGGWrightson Agonline website (This writer is looking for someone to attend the sale in his place).

Country-Wide February 2017

Tips for people considering starting a vintage tractor collection Tractor prices are fickle. For example restored McCormick-Deering O12s have sold publicly in the past five years for anywhere from $2200 to $7500. Be sure to understand whether the sale price is GST-inclusive or exclusive Parts can make a “cheap” tractor expensive. Rear tyres can cost several hundred dollars each. If technical support is needed for radiators, magnetos or engines then several hundred dollars won’t go far. It is easy to spend big money on panel and paint if not equipped to do this at home. New spare parts are available for many vintage tractors. It is reassuring to know they are available but bills can quickly mount. It is worth watching the exchange rate and comparing local prices with directly importing parts from overseas, which can save much money at times. paying ludicrous prices for machinery that should be shed-stored or scrapped. These items become garden features. Weekend sales tend to attract a larger representation from this (mostly, but not exclusively, female) group. Scrap merchants are always picking up the dregs collectors either cannot or will not buy. As one collector commented at a recent sale when a scrap man bought a 1930s McCormick tractor: “What a waste, they’re not making any more of those.” His friend pointed out to him, “If none of us will buy it we can’t complain about where it goes.” There is also an emerging group of creative attendees looking for rustic items to engineer art work, sculptures or furniture. This group will pay big money for an item if they really want it. Auctioneers are growing older but even the up-and-comers bring a degree of wit. They ruthlessly tempt collectors with talk of “opportunities”. One older gentleman considering a bid at a recent sale was told by the auctioneer “you can’t take that money with you sir”. At times an auctioneer is momentarily flustered when a shrewd bidder asks where the other bids are coming from. Anything other than lightning reactions and straight face gives away the deception. More collections seem to be coming on the market.

The Titan was a drawcard for many. Alongside it is another rare tractor – an International unior which attracted bids to $33,000.

Country-Wide February 2017

This is partly due to the age of collectors and the fact many do not have a home for the collections once they have moved on. Some of these people want big money. Families conducting estate sales can at times be slightly unrealistic, but some older collectors are happier to set a fair price and see their treasures off to a good home. Many museums are either illequipped or uninterested in accepting the role of looking after larger vintage items such as tractors.

The extremely rare 1927 International chaindriven truck, passed in at $25,000, at Hinds. This Case and several restored Fordsons made good prices at the Fairlie sale.

james.hoban@outlook.co.nz

Table showing a selection of auction prices for vintage tractors sold at clearing sales in 2016. Tractor

Price in dollars (excl gst)

Description

Allis Chalmers B

1600

Rough

Allis Chalmers B

2100

Engine free, good compression, belly mower, complete

Allis Chalmers D272

2400

Older restoration, average condition

Allis Chalmers M crawler

1650

Unrestored

Allis Chalmers U

3000

Older restoration

Allis Chalmers WC

800

Back tyres shot, no seat, no guards, rough

Allis Chalmers WC

900

Average condition

Allis Chalmers WC

750

Rough, steel wheels

Allis Chalmers WD45

1200

Engine stuck

Allis Chalners U

3000

Painted, steel wheels

Case C

8000

Restored

Caterpillar 15

4250

Complete, engine free

Caterpillar D2

1600

Average condition

Caterpillar D2 with blade

1200

Average condition

Caterpillar D4

1200

Rough

Fordson F

11,000

Restored

Fordson N

10,500

Restored

Fordson N

8500

Restored

Fordson N

8000

Restored

Massey Harris 744D

1650

Rough

500

Complete, engine free

McCormick-Deering T20

ENVIRONMENT | ONFARM

Turning green into gold Farming in the green and making gold is what the owners and management team of an Awakino station in northern Taranaki are striving for. Sandra Taylor reports.

A waterway running to the sea. A reticulated water system is being built and waterways fenced off.

netai Station’s team’s goal is to build a business that protects and enhances the beef and sheep farm’s environment while maximising productivity and profitability. Through Beef + lamb New Zealand’s environmental focus farm project, the team at Onetai Station are examining every aspect of the business. They are doing this through an environmental lens to ensure what changes they make are in the best long-term interests of the environment, the farm, the business and the people involved. Argentinian-based brothers Rafa and Frederico Grozovsky bought the 1450-hectare (891ha effective) hill country station two years ago. They immediately established a NZ management team, with Patrick Kowalewski as farm manager and director, Taupo farmer Mike Barton,

providing strategic direction. The farm has huge development potential, but Mike made it clear that from the outset, the development programme would not be capital intensive. “We want to grow out of income and good farming practice.” Fencing, tracks, dams and a water system are all a work in progress, but they have been able to tick a new woolshed off the wish-list thanks to Patrick’s carpentry skills. Rather than making wholesale changes, owners and management team are aiming for incremental gains which, over time, will create a significant step-change in productivity and profitability. In the past year, the management team has seen pasture quality and utilisation improve and Patrick has implemented a rotational grazing system. This has enabled them to finish some stock on what has been a traditional store farm. Two years ago, Onetai was growing 5.4 tonnes/ha of pasture, last year, under a new grazing regime, they grew 6.1t/ha and are aiming for 7t/ha by 2020. Patrick feels they could now increase stock units, but they don’t want animal performance to suffer. Two years ago the farm wintered 6000su, this year this increased to 7500su and the management team aim to run 10,000su by 2020. To do this the owners and management team will be working alongside the Waikato Regional Council, Department of Conservation and the QE11 Trust to implement their environmental plan to ensure they are increasing stock numbers

without increasing their environmental impact. They have already made inroads into improving the farm environment by eradicating 1700 feral goats, fencing wetlands and planting poplar poles on erosion-prone hillsides. The latter two have been carried out in conjunction with a fencing development programme which includes 4km of new fencing with a further 3km to be built in the coming year. The management team are reducing breeding cow numbers in favour of trading cattle.

Along with farm-improving infrastructure, as part of the Environmental Focus Farm programme the management team are using Farmax to model and analyse stock policies. Farmax is also being used to benchmark stock performance and develop feed budgets. Patrick has already culled a number of under-performing stock and feels stock performance has improved, although they were hit hard by facial eczema last summer which did impact on ewe performance. To help minimise the impact of this production-limiting disease in the future, Patrick is buying rams that are genetically more tolerant of facial eczema.

HONEY

Stands of bush and manuka provide opportunity for honey production.

Last year a local honey company flew 400 beehives into bush areas on Onetai Station for six weeks. The hives generated an income without having any impact on the farm, Country-Wide February 2017

although this raised the question about the economics of clearing manuka from easier country for development – or whether honey offered a better return. Farmax will be used to determine the best long-term land-use option, taking into account environmental benefits. In the meantime they will take the money from the hives while they can, Patrick says. The farm has 200-300ha of manuka which could be used for honey and Patrick believes there is potential for farmers and beekeepers to maximise returns from hives. This might include using sheep to eat clover so the bees are forced to go to the manuka flowers. This season the honey company guaranteed an $80 return per hive and up to 15% of the value of the honey.

LIVESTOCK Last year Onetai wintered 3000 Perendale ewes, 930 hoggets, 339 breeding cows and 100 R1 beef bulls. They are running a high percentage of replacements as they strive to build their ewe flock to 4000, but have dropped breeding cow numbers in favour of more flexible trading cattle. Despite reducing numbers, beef cows will continue to play an important pasture management role on Onetai, Patrick says. Scanning and docking percentages are the key drivers of the sheep operation. At these times, Patrick sees both the potential of the season’s lamb crop and to what extent that potential has been realised. He is striving to lift ewe productivity and this will primarily be done through improved feeding, particularly going into mating. This year they have a premating target weight of 65kg. Patrick admits lamb finishing is a challenge, with average daily growth rates of 50-100 grams/day. In 2015 they had 70% of their lamb crop finished by May, but this fell to just 44% last year. This season they aim to finish all their lambs by May at an average of 17kg carcaseweight and to help achieve this, they have – for the first time – grown a 15ha crop of summer rape and turnips.

Onetai Station’s management team: Mike Barton, Andrew Jolly (Beef + Lamb New Zealand), Robert Burrow (recently retired director), Steve Howarth (AgFirst farm consultant), Patrick Kowalewski (farm manager).

to intensify the easier country while protecting sensitive areas. With the help of environmental consultant Erica van Reenen, Patrick has completed level one, two and three environment plans; the latter is considered to be the gold standard environment plan for farmers. Levels one and two helped Patrick identify key farm assets, natural resources, management priorities and, as part of level two, he mapped the farm into six land management units. These units take into account the land use capability and soil types. This information is used to determine the most appropriate management for each unit. A level three environment plan takes environmental management down to paddock scale, with the intention of using very detailed mapping information to determine the most appropriate management to minimise environmental risks. This was completed with support from Landcare Research. As part of their level one environment plan and from discussions with Waikato Regional Council, Patrick and Erica identified a large wetland area, which acts as a filtering system for nutrient run-off from the steep hill country. It has been an area where cattle congregate, so to protect the area, it will be fenced and native plants planted to augment existing vegetation and help attract biodiversity.

Fencing the area will make stock management easier and reduce liver fluke challenges as cattle will not be drinking fluke-contaminated water. Water reticulation systems are being planned. The first will include pumping water to a dam at a high point and gravity will feed water to a reticulated water system on the easier country. Stock prefer drinking water out of a trough, rather than trying to navigate waterways and there are production gains associated with having easy access to water. There is however a large capital cost with setting up piped water systems, so they need to be well planned. One of the outstanding features of the farm is a 600ha block of hard beech – the most-northern tract of hard beech in the country. This block, managed in conjunction with a forest restoration trust, is home to rare native frogs and bats. Erosion is a risk on such steep hill country and as they carry out the farm development, Patrick will be using erosion-prevention strategies such as contour-fencing, grazing management, space-planting poplar poles and manuka and allowing manuka to regenerate in erosion-prone areas.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT The characteristics and variations of land type on Onetai have underpinned all management and development decisions. Ultimately, they are aiming

Onetai Station’s Argentinian-based owners are striving to protect the farm’s unique environment while maximising profitability. Country-Wide February 2017

ENVIRONMENT | WRITING PLANS

Get black on white Anne Lee Nicola Groundwater is a firm believer that the discipline of writing something down is the first step to making it happen. It’s one of the reasons she and husband Tom are strong supporters of the farm environment plan (FEP) approach to managing good environmental outcomes onfarm. The couple have two dairy farms in Canterbury, just south of Christchurch at Brookside and Killinchy. The 240-hectare Killinchy farm milks 900 cows while the 180ha Brookside milks 600. “It’s that quote from Guy de Maupassant, ‘Get black on white.’ If you take the time to write it down it becomes top of mind,” she says. They first became aware of FEPs through the Whakaora Te Waihora project – a catchment-wide programme to help restore the health Lake Ellesmere, Te Waihora. Nicola attended workshops run by the regional council Environment Canterbury (ECan) and worked through an FEP with Tom, detailing the good management practices they were carrying out in relation to the onfarm situations that can have an impact on the environment. “It’s about really knowing your own dairy farm and your own management so you can be absolutely certain you’re doing everything you can to protect the environment. “I think that’s a genuine concern most farmers have,” she says. The way the plans are set out helps work through it logically. Since then they’ve also carried out an FEP as part of new regional rules in Canterbury and worked with The AgriBusiness Group consultant Dave Lucock. “What Tom and I really like about the FEPs is just how measurable everything is. That’s something we find really motivating because you can look at 60

where you’re at relative to targets. As new technologies come out you think about how they can be used so that you’re doing things even more sustainably too.” Like many dairy farmers the Groundwaters have seen big shifts in technology, especially in their region where irrigation has changed considerably – not only in how the water is physically applied but in how it’s delivered, monitored and measured. “We’re moving from Rotorainers to pivots as we can and putting in Aquaflex soil moisture monitoring. They’re all things that make sure we’re using the right amount of water at the right times to get the best pasture production as well as making sure water and nutrients aren’t draining down through the soil. “Pivots save staff time, they have fewer moving parts and they’re more efficient at applying water, putting on low rates more frequently so they help grown more grass.

‘If you take the time to write it down it becomes top of mind.’

“I think that in nearly every case where we’ve done something that benefits the environment it makes sense for the business as well. “But, you know, even if the business case was pretty light, doing the right thing for the environment is so important that we’d probably do it too. “Looking after the environment is what gives us the right to be here farming; it’s just part of it.” The recording they do helps monitor the use of resources, whether water or nutrients, so they can be sure they’re optimising their use. But the information gives them peace of mind too and is helpful when it comes to having their FEPs audited.

Nicola Groundwater and Dave Lucock review the farm environment plan.

They use Precision Farming – an online service that includes GPS mapping which records soil types and blocks and where the fertiliser is going when. It provides proof of placement and allows them to quantify the amount of nutrient going on to each area. Nicola has been looking through their FEPs as audit time approaches – the first audit they’ll have under ECan’s new rules – and is gathering the information they already collect so it’s at hand for the visit. When the couple look at what they have in their FEP it’s clear they take plenty of actions to mitigate environmental effects. They have just about the full range of soil types from stony to heavy across their two farms and have recently put Permastore above-ground effluent storage tanks on both farms because they want peace of mind on the heavier soils. Effluent irrigators are fitted with GPS fail-safe devices, which means they shut down if the irrigator stops moving for any reason. They have bridges, culverts and kilometres of riparian planting. While the planting doesn’t necessarily make running the farm any easier or more efficient like the other investments, they still feel there are benefits because it adds to the health of waterways. That’s not to say they see their plan and their current actions as set in stone or the final solution. They’re open to new technologies and developments in farming as proven research delivers new solutions. “Right now though, when you take that step to write things down you’re putting the environment right up there as a priority and that’s got to be a good thing.” Country-Wide February 2017

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ENVIRONMENT | FARM PLANS

Farm plans a useful tool Anne Lee Regional councils around the country are increasingly using farm environment plans (FEPs) as a tool to manage adverse environmental effects. In some cases they’re used in conjunction with a more stringent regulatory approach such as requiring resource consents to farm, while in other areas they’re being used as a tool in their own right. Federated Farmers dairy section chairman Andrew Hoggard says as a way to achieve improved environmental performance the plans are certainly preferable to heavier-handed regulation. “Providing the plans allow for farmers to identify the specific risks they have

The Good Management Practices (GMP) used to help set nitrogen leaching limits in Canterbury.

on their properties and then decide the pathway they’re going to use to achieve the outcomes to minimise those risks, then farm environment plans can be a very good tool,” he says. The industry-agreed good management practices were generally accepted as sensible, reasonable approaches to managing farming activities so that any harmful effects on the environment can be mitigated. Importantly they leave the way open for farmers to determine the detail of the practices while spelling out what should be achieved in areas such as irrigation, effluent, soils and nutrient management. (Dairy Exporter, June 2015, p74) “No one knows your farm and your situation better than you do so if we

Andrew Hoggard – flexibility is important.

can have a broad-stroke approach that indicates the direction of travel and outcomes that are needed then we can use tools like farm environment plans to achieve that.

Identify the physical and biophysical characteristics of the farm system, assess the risk factors to water quality and manage them appropriately.

Apply effluent to pasture and crops at depths, rates and times to match plant requirements and minimise risk to water bodies.

Manage the amount and timing of irrigation inputs to meet plant demands and minimise risk of leaching and run-off.

Maintain accurate and auditable records of annual farm inputs, outputs and management practices.

Store, transport and distribute feed to minimise wastage, leachate and soil damage.

Ensure the effluent system meets industry specific Code of Practice or equivalent standard.

Ensure equipment for spreading effluent and other organic manures is wellmaintained and calibrated.

Monitor soil phosphorus levels and maintain them at or below agronomic optimum for the farm system. Ensure equipment for spreading fertilisers is wellmaintained and calibrated.

Design, calibrate and operate irrigation systems to minimise the amount of water needed to meet production objectives. Manage the amount and timing of fertiliser inputs, taking account of all sources of nutrients to match plant requirements and minimise risk of losses.

Country-Wide February 2017

“Farmers have to be free to work out the best way to address risks on their property.” The approach was preferable to the heavier-handed European approaches, where farming practices are more prescriptive from a regulatory point of view. They can incur greater costs and can lead to highly inefficient operations that stifle innovation by locking farmers in to regulated activities. Hoggard says every region in the country is dealing with different issues so it’s important there can be flexibility within the plans to deal with those. What he doesn’t want is farmers having to work through plans and spending time on factors that aren’t a risk on their property or within their catchment. He sees benefit in the development of a single template, such as DairyNZ’s Sustainable Milk Plan, in terms of the use of industry resources and its ability to help bring farmers along together. • More on farm environment plans in Country-wide March 2017, and Dairy Exporter, November, 2016, p51.

Have sufficient suitable storage available to enable farm effluent and waste water to be stored when soil conditions are unsuitable for application.

What’s in the plan? In Canterbury Farm Environment Plans must comply with schedule seven of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan. There are a number of plans that fit the bill, including DairyNZ’s Sustainable Milk Plan. Under schedule seven each plan has to include basic property details such as the address, legal description, ownership and contact details. A farm map or aerial photograph must be included that shows: • The farm boundaries • The boundaries of the main land management areas such as milking platform and runoff areas • The location of permanent or intermittent rivers, streams, lakes, drains, ponds and wetlands • Riparian vegetation and riparian fencing • The location of storage facilities, offal or refuse disposal pits, feedpads or stock holding areas, effluent blocks, raceways, tracks and crossings • The location of any areas in or next to the property designated as areas of significant indigenous biodiversity. The plan must provide an assessment of the adverse environmental effects and risks associated with the farming activities and how they’ll be managed, including: • irrigation • application of nutrients • soil management • effluent application • stock exclusion from waterways • offal pits and farm rubbish pits. Each area has specific objectives relating to using resources efficiently, minimising wastage and loss of nutrients or contaminants to water – either through the soil to aquifers, or by drainage or across land to waterways. For each management area the plan must provide measurable targets with timeframes to achieve each objective. Good management practices need to be described for each practice along with the actions that need to be taken to achieve the objectives and targets. Records have to be kept so performance can be measured and each plan must include an Overseer nutrient budget.

Manage grazing to minimise losses from critical source areas.

Retire all Land Use Capability Class 8 and either retire or actively manage all Class 7e to ensure intensive soil conservation measures and practices are in place.

Select appropriate paddocks for intensive grazing, recognising and mitigating possible nutrient and sediment loss from critical source areas.

Manage periods of exposed soil between crops-pasture to reduce risk of erosion, overland flow and leaching.

Store and load fertiliser to minimise the risk of spillage, leaching and loss into water bodies.

Identify risk of overland flow of sediment and faecal bacteria on the property and implement measures to minimise transport of these to water bodies.

Exclude stock from waterways.

Locate and manage farm tracks, gateways, water troughs, self-feeding areas, stock camps, wallows and other sources of run-off to minimise risk to water quality.

Country-Wide February 2017

Manage farming operations to minimise direct and indirect losses of sediment and nutrients to water and maintain or enhance soil structure where agronomically appropriate.

Otago Regional Council wants waterways to meet Plan Change 6A targets before the plan comes into effect in 2020.

ENVIRONMENT | RIVERS

A plea for robust science Keri Johnston With 2016 done and dusted (where did that year go?) it is time to reflect on the year gone and look ahead at what 2017 may bring. One stand-out piece of work I was involved in sums up 2016 for me. Many articles ago, I alluded to a consent hearing process underway in Otago for applications to discharge nutrients into land – the first of their kind sought under Otago’s Plan Change 6A. Otago’s plan is supposed to be largely permitted (consent is not required) however, ever-changing versions of Overseer has resulted in the permitted line getting further away and this was the case for the consents being granted. When the plan was made operative, the permissive line meant a reduction in N loss of 33%, however, overnight, this increased to 68%, all in a catchment where the council openly acknowledged there was lack of understanding of the hydrology, nutrient transport and nutrient attenuation processes. The issue of changing versions of Overseer coupled with a lack of robust science and what that would mean for Otago farmers was sung loud by the applicant and others during the hearing. At no stage was there any suggestion the status quo was acceptable – there would have to be change, but they pleaded with the council not to set limits without any science to back them up, particularly when it means people’s livelihoods would ultimately be severely impacted. Their plea fell on deaf ears and the limits proposed by the council were adopted. Following adoption of Plan Change 6A, the farm financiers became very concerned that if consents could not be obtained at a level above the permitted line, there would be dire economic consequences – land values would be undermined, jobs lost and families 64

homeless. Hence, it was urged that consents be obtained as soon as possible to ensure a certain future for the farm. The council was generally of the opinion that their plan allowed for consent to be applied for and supported the applicant’s proposal to reduce N losses by 30% over a 15-year period. They recommended the application could proceed un-notified if written approval from iwi could be obtained. A glimmer of hope for a reasonable process to occur.

Iwi, and many others for that matter including the applicant, wanted the science completed as well to ensure any future management decisions for the catchment were made with actual data and knowledge.

Extensive consultation was undertaken with iwi, however, approval could not be obtained. Their concerns were bigger than what the applicant was proposing – there were issues of plan integrity and that if meeting the permitted level was such a hard ask, and inevitably others would find themselves in the same position, then what would that mean for water quality outcomes being able to be met? Without iwi approval, the application was limited notified and a hearing subsequently held. Evidence presented during the hearing showed nearly a ten-fold reduction in N losses from the catchment would be necessary to meet the plan water quality outcomes and there was no clear link in the plan

between the permitted activity limits and instream N concentration limits. The independent commissioners hearing the applications described this as “somewhat disturbing but not surprising”. That’s a scary statement of acknowledgment in itself. The consents were granted, but with a reduction of 35% over 15 years. Iwi then appealed the decision, so it was off to the Environment Court. Mediation occurred, and as a result, the council committed to a comprehensive study of the catchment, and the applicant agreed to work with iwi in development of its farm environment plans. While this is a good outcome for the applicant, I was left wondering whether the whole purpose of the appeal by iwi was to leverage the council into getting the science for the catchment done. I suspect it was – iwi, and many others for that matter including the applicant, wanted the science completed as well to ensure any future management decisions for the catchment were made with actual data and knowledge. I don’t think that’s too unreasonable. After all, it had been shown throughout the consent hearing that there was no clear link between the N-loss limits and the water quality outcomes for this catchment. Basing limits on science in the future surely is a want of everyone involved in water quality management? So why does this piece of work sum up 2016 for me? A year of ups and downs, and swings and roundabouts. A year of frustration. Things seeming to be on the right path, and then, wham, knocked back down again. Dusting yourself off, and coming out of things OK. I can only hope 2017 is a more level year – one of reason and sensibility. You need to begin the year thinking positively, or else it’s a bloody long year of misery. Country-Wide February 2017

ENVIRONMENT | FORESTRY

A TOAST TO TREES FOR 2017 Denis Hocking At the start of each year I run though through some of my hopes. The first for 2017 is a recurring one, forestry will get some of the recognition and support it deserves in the political, commercial and technical spheres. After last month’s Cabinet reshuffle, the minister now responsible for forestry, Louise Upston is at least in Cabinet, but ranked 20 out of 21. She is from a forestry-heavy electorate – Taupo – but doesn’t have any political record of championing forestry. I would like to discover that she is in fact an enthusiastic advocate, as Jo Goodhew appeared to be, but in the big political picture you do get the feeling forestry is seen as peripheral to the real work of MPI – a minor add-on for an inexperienced, junior minister. Other indicators of priorities might be the regional growth strategies which, as I discussed last year, studiously ignore forestry, even for difficult, erosion-prone country. Nor do we find any forestry, especially farm forestry, advocates among opposition parties. It is a tragedy that more hard-pressed sheep farmers don’t have a farm forestry string in their now rather slack bow. As always, I sold all my lambs store in October and November, at prices $12 to $15 behind the previous three seasons, but I expect to still make a profit thanks to forestry. Last year my beef breeding operation crashed after an encounter with BVD, but I made a profit thanks to forestry. With lamb and wool prices down, it looks like a lean

season for those heavily sheepdependent. Talking to other farmers I am always surprised how little most know about forestry markets and their lack of interest in the forestry option – “too long-term to solve my problems” or words to that effect. Also there is the expectation that if it is forestry they should be subsidised.

It is a tragedy that more hardpressed sheep farmers don’t have a farm forestry string in their now rather slack bow.

Farmers may like the word sustainability, but so few seem to have a time horizon longer than four or five years. Hopefully most CountryWide subscribers will have read Paul Burt’s December column, especially the last couple of paragraphs, where he mentioned returns from forestry on their poorest land had matched the country’s top meat production figures on the best of land. Please put the good news first in future, Paul, it cheers us up. But we must remember that forestry also experiences commodity cycles, though unlike milk and lambs trees can be left standing. I discussed last year my disappointment that the pastoral greenhouse gas researchers seem to have resolutely shunned farm forestry as part of any mitigation strategy. This year I

will add another complaint – against Professor Jacqueline Rowarth. In a rival but obviously inferior rural publication, Rowarth bemoans the pressure on pastoral farming to reduce emissions under the title ‘Emission reductions will have costs’. While I agree with many of her comments, her ability to avoid mentioning forestry staggers me. And with reference to the above, I think a thorough study could be entitled ‘Emission reductions will help profits’. I should add that some will say that we just need a functional ETS to achieve results. I disagree and believe a moredirected strategy would be needed, but could still be a profitable source of logs while sequestering a lot of CO2, and also helping with water quality and soil conservation. Rowarth does typify the blind spot most agricultural consultants and commentators have for forestry. Indeed, this is the only regular farm forestry column in the rural media. Last year I spent a paragraph lambasting forestry and timber supply lines for poor quality and ignorance of wood’s properties and performance. This criticism still stands, but I would like to add a good news sequel. The Kaikoura District Council had just started moving into a new, high tech., wooden building when the November earthquake struck. The new building came through unscathed and was immediately put to use as the local control centre. In the words of one employee, “it was brilliant”. I can’t help comparing this with the problems in Wellington. So my hopes for 2017 are for appropriate recognition of forestry and wood. It keeps some of us profitable, sequesters CO2, helps water quality and soil conservation and wooden buildings are just what we need in these shaky isles. So let’s hear it for the trees.

High quality logs and variety of grades for different markets add up to a good return for farm forestry blocks. Country-Wide February 2017

TECHNOLOGY | LEARNING

Use the New Year to learn Alan Royal You have made your New Year’s resolutions – yeah right. One thing I was taught, was that you should spend at least 10 minutes each day learning something new. This is one of my renewable New Year’s resolutions which I benefit from, both personally and business-wise. I am going to redirect you to some of the material I have mentioned in past issues as well as some new stuff that may benefit your business and personal goals. As a warmer, have you been interested in what drones can do for your farming operation? Have a look at goo.gl/6PE3pT, the B+LNZ demonstration farm project. If you want to do an easy-learn free course on drones, go to goo.gl/pybfHg. Don’t forget to also use our old friend Google by putting in the keywords: drones in agriculture. The above is a starter for online learning. If you go to goo.gl/kapuon, you can access 14 sites that provide courses on a massive range of subjects.

To get a little more technical have a look at What Works (whatworks.org. nz). The site describes itself thus: “helps the people who make Aotearoa New Zealand a better place – especially smaller community groups who can struggle to show the value of their work. It aims to help people gather robust data and information to tell a real story about what they are doing and the difference it makes. If you need to reflect on your work, demonstrate its effectiveness and keep improving your practice, this site is for you.” Rather a mouthful but has some great free business tools and advice. Until recently, accurate speech-to-text processing required an expensive piece of software. If your typing speed and accuracy is as bad as mine, then I now have just the tool for you. Look at goo.gl/ OUIxAS, where it tells you how you can type just using your voice and also edit a document by speaking using Google Docs. Note though, this feature is only available in Chrome browsers. I have long praised the Google Handwriting app, which allows your finger to do the typing. Read about it by

doing a Google search using the keywords “google handwriting app” and selecting your type of device. It is available for the touch-type windows phone, android phone and iPhone. It can be loaded to your device automatically from within your computer. It is the only writing app I use on my phone. It recognises my terrible handwriting with relative ease. Even when I make a mistake it comes to the rescue and politely advises there may be an alternative spelling.

One thing I was taught, was that you should spend at least 10 minutes each day learning something new. This is one of my renewable New Year’s resolutions which I benefit from, both personally and business-wise.

Note Everything (goo.gl/Y9k8B) is “a note (notepad) application where you can create and store text-, voice- and paint-notes. Your notes can be organised in folders. You can create shortcuts on home, send notes, use live folders & much more.” It integrates nicely with the Google handwriting app above. It is now the only notepad I use on my smartphone. Its major benefit is that it can be used on the run, at the drop of a hat. Talking of smartphones, I was reminded of one of their many uses when I saw a photo of an old acquaintance peering at a chemical compound label with a magnifying glass. Why not try using your smartphone camera and zooming in on the label to read it. You can even take a photo for future reference. See my “101 or more smartphone uses” tutorial at goo.gl/ aKSC45. Keep at those New Year learning resolutions. For a copy of this article, with active links, email Alan Royal at a.royal@paradise.net.nz. 66

Country-Wide February 2017

Hit record as you leave and the journey is filmed and saved to your phone.

TECHNOLOGY | SAFE DRIVING

Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel... Kirstin Mills A generation ago the biggest things that could distract drivers inside their cars were other passengers and the radio. Now, cellphones are a big potential distraction. Everyone knows they should not check texts while driving. But it’s not always easy to resist. Thankfully, technology can help if you, a family member or one of your staff just can’t be trusted not to check the phone upon hearing a notification. Vodafone customers can use Vodafone’s free Drivesafe function. You text “Drive on” to a set number before you set off and if anyone sends you a text they receive an automatic reply saying: “I’m driving right now. I’ll read your TXT as soon as it is safe to do so. Vodafone DriveSafe.” When you stop driving you text “Drive off” and you can then check your messages (if you forget to turn it off, it switches off after 24 hours). On iPhones, DriveSafe only works with regular texts (it does not work for Apple’s proprietary iMessage system). Of course, DriveSafe only works for Vodafone customers. If you’re not with Vodafone and want a similar system, then you’re in luck if you have an Android device; there are several options including Safely Go and Live2Txt. As an iPhone user I haven’t tried these

One option for iPhone users, is to use Siri to read out and reply to messages while driving. Country-Wide February 2017

but they seem to have good feedback. Unfortunately, as an iPhone user my options are more limited. I did try an app called DriveSafe, but could not get it to turn off after I activated it and found it clunky to use, so deleted it without ever using it in my car. One option for iPhone users, is to use Siri to read out and reply to messages while driving, but that still involves a lot of distraction for a driver.

You hit record as you leave and the journey is filmed and saved to your phone.

I think your best bet is to put your phone into flight mode while driving and just accept people must wait for a reply. If you still want to receive calls, you can turn off text notifications instead. So now you’re not distracted and are driving well, you might want to think about getting rewarded for your good behaviour. If you are with Tower Insurance (and have an iPhone or Android smartphone) you can save up to 20% on your premiums if you illustrate your good driving with the Tower Insurance SmartDriver app. You can still use the app if you’re not with Tower, but obviously, the discounts won’t apply. The free app measures your acceleration, braking, cornering, trip frequency and duration. Tower uses the data to determine a SmartDriver score, awarding points for each trip you take based on how smoothly you brake and accelerate etc. An obvious question with this app is whether the data can be used against you;

If you are with Tower Insurance (and have an iPhone or Android smartphone) you can save up to 20% on your premiums if you illustrate your good driving with the Tower Insurance SmartDriver app.

Tower says if it is legally required to share information with authorities, it will. However, it will not use any data from the app when assessing claims. Using the leaderboards you can test yourself against a friend or family member, or even create or join a bigger group (or look at the New Zealand-wide leaderboard). Lastly, if you want further proof of your safe driving in the event of an accident, you could try the Safe Drive app. You need some way to mount your phone on your dash so the camera is focused on the road. You hit record as you leave and the journey is filmed and saved to your phone. It uses your phone’s GPS to record the route as well. It is a great way to show the cause of an accident. 67

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Bark-off

Rewards for the working dog p73

Water-wise in Waipahi Logan Wallace tackles sediment and nutrient run-off on the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s South Otago farm p70

Reviving the koura Logan Wallace is fully immersed in water quality and nutrient management. Lynda Gray reports.

he trickle down of nutrient and water-wise action is filtering through on the Wallace family’s South Otago farm. Fewer weed-congested waterways is one visible sign and another, although difficult to pick out with the naked eye, are the tiny freshwater crayfish (koura) clinging to the underside of rocks in some of the streams. Since taking on management of the 290 hectare farm four years ago Logan Wallace, 26, has rolled out practical strategies to reduce sediment and phosphorus run-off. “Phosphorus and E- coli run-off into our waterways is our biggest issue,” he says. He’s got baseline figures on nutrient load levels from when the farm was part of an Otago Regional Council 2008 monitoring study, and has also carried water discharge tests. Although comfortable with where the results sit he’s turning attention to weed growth in the digger-straightened and cleaned waterways running through the farm. “My aim is to get the streams to the state where they don’t need regular cleaning out but have enough plant life to soak up nutrients without causing an issue.” Nutrient mitigation strategies are in place and there are plans to roll out a few more as cash and time permits. So far almost one kilometre of waterways has been fenced, and another two kilometres is targeted. Best management practices are followed such as leaving three-metre buffer strips between cultivated land and waterways and grazing winter crop paddocks from the highest to lowest-lying point. Critical source areas have been identified, such as the natural wetland which has been planted out and excavated in places for more

efficient trapping of sediment. Logan plans to make another sediment trap in a troublesome gully where water accumulates over the winter. Getting to grips with nutrient limits creates extra work and expense but Logan can see the long-term benefits and is generally in agreement with the Otago Regional Council’s land and water plan. A big help in keeping him up to speed with nutrient and water quality issues and best management practices is the Pomahaka

Water Care Group (PWCG) he joined four years ago. The group has 80 farmer members whose mission is to clean up the 2000 square kilometre catchment that not so long ago was identified as having “fair” water quality in the lower reaches due to high levels of E. coli and nitrogen. The catchment in south and west Otago has about 360 farms which range from intensive downland dairy to extensive hill and tussock country. The group has arrested decline in water quality and built a clearer

Logan (26) sorting out questions relating to his collection of seed and fertiliser samples for the Young Farmers Club (YFC) Otago district competition.

Country-Wide February 2017

The tiny freshwater craysfish (koura) that cling to the underside of rocks are signs of improved waterway quality.

understanding of where and how degradation is happening through a two-pronged strategy. As well as encouraging simple onfarm management changes, catchment-wide testing is undertaken in addition to what’s done by the Otago Regional Council (ORC). Farmers each pay $250 annually for testing four times a year at 28 sites across 11 tributaries. The group was also involved in the review of the council’s 300-page water plan – a document Logan has read cover-to-cover – and provided feedback on the issues they believe needed addressing. “One of the key messages that we sent was that the council needs to sort out a strategy

on how they will deal with serious noncompliance.” Next year the group will start a project in conjunction with ORC to see if a single catchment consent process can be successfully applied for control of weed and sediment issues in the Wairuna catchment, which includes the Wallaces’ farm. “We’re thinking that it doesn’t make sense for individual farmers to apply for consent to achieve the same thing. If we can use a single consent it should save everybody time and money. The council has said they will help us out so now it’s a matter of getting farmers to agree on what exactly needs to happen.”

Logan Wallace

Logan is a Telford graduate who regularly takes Telford students such as Luke Oxenham for practical work experience.

• Waipahi • South Otago • Manager of the family’s sheep and contract stock grazing farm • 290ha (270ha effective), including 30ha of tussock hill country • Capital stock • 2200 Romney-Texel ewes • 600 hoggets • Goals • To increase farm size and employ a full-time worker • Take on agricultural industry leadership roles

Learning curve Tertiary study and membership of skill-building clubs have helped developed Logan’s wider farming career. He completed a Certificate in Agriculture and Diploma in Rural Business at Telford in 2008-2009, during which he joined YFC. He chose Telford ahead of other tertiary agricultural learning providers because of the practical emphasis and his struggle with getting things down on paper. He furthered his communication skills by joining the Gore toastmasters group which has provided invaluable presentation and public speaking tips that have been put to good use during YFC competitions. He’s pursued a slightly different type of learning since joining the Land Search and Rescue 18 months ago as a volunteer. To date he’s joined in on one search and a couple of staged recovery exercises.

Country-Wide February 2017

Family support Logan manages the farm with occasional help only from his parents Ross and Alexa. Logan leases the farm and has part-shares in the stock with his parents. “Getting mum and dad as part-shareholders in the stock was the only way for me to get the backing of the bank.” Eventually he would like to buy more land and take on a full-time employee to make time for leadership roles within the farming industry. Sheep breeding and lamb finishing is the main focus with an important secondary income stream from contract stock grazing. This year 540 hoggets from North Canterbury grazed from autumn until the end of October. Heifer calves arrived in December and will depart in May 2018. All but the 30ha of tussock hill country is developed, although Logan has taken the first steps by chemical topping rather than cultivating the rocky land, then oversowing with red and white clover. “My aim is to produce more high quality feed but retain the red tussock for shelter and aesthetics.” The next step will be applying lime, but how exactly is the question. “We’ll need to fly it on but I’m still figuring out how because we don’t have access to a conventional airstrip.” Logan Wallace.

Well placed

Logan runs 2200 Romney-Texel ewes and 600 hoggets.

Logan was placed fifth in last year’s Young Farmers national final as well as taking first place in the agri-sports and second in the practical components. It was his first go at the national title and he was very pleased with his overall result. The three-month lead up to the final was “self-inflicted punishment” involving a personal fitness trainer, up to two days a week of study and extra onfarm support from his dad, Ross. “I put maintenance on the back burner and did the bare essentials.” He felt reasonably well prepared going into the final and drew on experience from previous regional finals to help him through. “I learnt from two years ago that when things go wrong in a module you just have to forget it and carry on.” He is targeting another grand final but is taking a break this year partly to recharge and on the advice of a former winner. “He said to wait until it was hosted in your home province. In 2018 it will be held in Otago/Southland and will also be the 50th anniversary of the competition.”

The planting of grasses and flax has improved the effectiveness of this natural wetland as a sediment and phosphorous trap.

Country-Wide February 2017

Imagine taking a team of working dogs out on an autumn muster where you stay three weeks in a back hut. You’d need an extra pack-horse to carry the treats.

BARK-OFF Words by Lloyd Smith

A time and place for treats

question frequently asked at dog training days is: do I give my dogs treats while training to recognise progress made. The short and simple answer to that is No. I do not believe treats are required when training dogs to work stock. They have been selectively bred for the past 100-plus years to work stock and consequently have a bred-in desire to do so. The best reward you can give these dogs is allow them the opportunity to do exactly that, work stock. I am not against the concept of giving dogs treats in certain circumstances but not dogs bred for stock work. Other breeds, for example obedience and agility dogs do not have that bred-in natural desire to fulfil a specific role and as such have to be taught everything required. Taking into consideration the circumstances these breeds are trained under I can see the merit in recognising progress by giving the dog a treat. But I do believe the more you give them the more they expect and consistency and repetition play a big part in training dogs, so once you start with this concept you have to be prepared to continue with it. I do believe in rewarding a dog rather than giving it treats which brings into question how much is appropriate. I find that a “good dog, well done” with a pat is

Key points: 1. Treats are not required when training working dogs. 2. Working dogs have a bred-in desire to work stock and the opportunity to do this is the best possible reward. 3. Recognise and reward progress made, verbal re-assurance and a pat work wonders. 4. A whole different mentality is involved when owning and controlling a team of working dogs. 5. Discipline and respect are essential.

Country-Wide February 2017

adequate and achieves good results. The facial expression and tail-wagging indicates the dog acknowledges you are pleased with its efforts. The concept of giving working dogs treats as recognition for good work is not really practical in the environment they are required to work in. Imagine taking a team of eight working dogs out on an autumn muster where you stay three weeks in a back hut. You would have to take an extra pack-horse to carry the treats. However, I do believe many trainers do not reward their dogs enough while training them. Good contact with your young dog is important. In my articles on training I mentioned how important the tone of voice aspect was and how it plays a big part in training your dog.

A hand on their back and a reassuring voice with the odd pat where appropriate builds confidence.

At the young dog stage a hand on their back and a reassuring voice with the odd pat where appropriate builds confidence which is essential to make progress. But recognition and reward does have to be justified and comes as a consequence of the dog earning it. Another aspect of the working dog a lot of people fail to comprehend is the mentality involved in owning and managing a team of dogs as opposed to owning one or two pets or sporting dogs. This requires a firm but fair approach where you are the leader of the pack and to be successful you must have the respect of your team. Each dog has a role to play and as with any good team each individual complements the others. Maintaining discipline within a team is not always easy but is the key to achieving good results. Monitoring their frame of mind and keeping their attitude right is important and while confidence is great, cockiness is

undesirable. Jealousy and hierarchy can be issues if not kept under control. An unruly member can prove quite disruptive and unsettling for the calmer and more sensitive dogs in your team. If this type of dog cannot be brought into line and made to conform then it is often better to sell it and let it be someone else’s problem. As is sometimes the case with our top sports teams you can get potentially brilliant individuals that will not conform to playing a team game and in our work situation to be successful teamwork is essential. You, being the leader, decide the game plan and your team perform their duties on instruction to execute it. I find electric dog collars a very useful tool when maintaining discipline within the team environment. The options available allow you to apply stimulation appropriate to the degree of offending and because it is instantaneous the dog understands exactly why they are receiving any such correction. Often the tone option as a reminder is all that’s required. I am aware animal rights groups, SPCA and some vets are against the use of e-collars but I also believe they fail to comprehend just what’s required to manage and control a team of dogs as opposed to one or two individuals. If dog owners did not have the option to use e-collars they would have to resort to physical discipline to correct problems which I believe would be detrimental to both dog and owner as in any physical confrontation you can lose sight of what’s fair and reasonable. The biggest downside of e-collars is if an ignorant, ill-informed individual gets hold of the controls. Contrary to some belief we do not delight in administering random shocks to our dogs, we only use them when we believe it is in their long-term best interests. Opponents of e-collars need to be aware that because of that strong bred-in desire to work stock most dogs, if left to their own devices, would eventually worry and harm stock. Is it not in the dog’s best interests to be trained and under control than to be put down for unruly behaviour? 73

COMMUNITY | DIVERSIFICATION

Dan Steele and his wife Sandy with their children Blue and Snow at Blue Duck Station.

an Steele owns and manages Blue Duck Station, a 2915-hectare sheep and beef cattle farm located 55km south-west of Taumarunui, where the Retaruke and Whanganui Rivers meet. A 2015 Nuffield Scholar, Steele lives on the property with his wife Sandy and their two young children Blue and Snow, and has recently added the lease of his parents’ neighbouring Retaruke Station to his operation. Steele considers Blue Duck Station all “effective”, with a grazing area of 1600ha and the balance in native bush and manuka. Contour is predominantly medium to steep hill country and the climate summer-moist.

Most farms offer challenges – the things often listed as “weaknesses” in a SWOT analysis. Steele has a knack for turning challenges into attributes.

Hill country attributes Dan Steele has combined livestock farming with conservation and tourism to make the most of Blue Duck Station. Richard Gavigan visited the isolated farm at Retaruke.

But livestock farming is only half of what Steele and his team do. Since buying 600ha Whakahoro Farm 10 years ago, Steele has built five lodges and established an award-winning conservation project. His business now employs 10 full-time staff as well as part-time staff and contractors. While the farming business has grown considerably, the lodge and tourism operation now account for about 50% of annual gross income. Blue Duck Station hosts about 8000 tourists a year who visit for horse trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, tramping and hunting. There are plenty of farmers and their families among that number, as the rivers, native bush and the history associated with the Bridge to Nowhere and the Mangapurua Soldier Settlement Scheme appeal to rural people. Conservation is of high importance on Blue Duck Station, with the primary focus protecting New Zealand’s native blue duck, whio. This is achieved

Mountain view from Blue Duck Station. Picture: Dan Steele. 74

Country-Wide February 2017

Blue Duck vista.

through an intensive predator control programme, with 540 stoat/rat traps set and monitored. Dan and his team have caught more than 10,000 rats, 1000 stoats and hundreds of feral cats so far. The progress Steele has achieved in a relatively short period can be attributed to several key components of his approach to farming and business. These are also things that can be applied to any farming business, regardless of location, land resource and enterprise-mix. Have a dream and follow it. Nine years ago Steele vocalised plans and dreams that had this writer shaking his head and wondering. Today those dreams are fast becoming reality. Just do it. Things don’t just happen – you have to make them happen. Analysis and planning are essential, but if things stack up just get stuck in. Steele has a positive, “can-do” attitude that engenders support from staff and his wider business team. Turn challenges into opportunities. Most farms offer challenges – the things often listed as “weaknesses” in a SWOT analysis. Steele

has a knack for turning challenges into attributes. For example, manuka regeneration is an opportunity to generate additional income through honey production. Native bush is a valuable resource due to its aesthetic value and the tourism opportunities it creates rather than a negative impact on so-called effective grazing area. A lack of finishing country is an opportunity to simplify and reduce the labour requirement of the farming system by selling store lambs and focusing on breeding ewe performance. Steele is always looking for win/win opportunities. Embrace the environment. Caring for the environment while farming sustainably and profitably is a critical goal – you can’t have a good life without good air, water, food and companionship. Those that take a proactive approach to managing their environment can access assistance. Steele has worked closely with Horizons Regional Council and the Department of Conservation in developing a sustainable land use plan, fencing sensitive areas of the farm and

Manuka regeneration is an opportunity to generate additional income through honey production.

protecting native plants and animals. Look after staff. It’s difficult to run a large-scale, multi enterprise business without others who share your vision and have the skills to achieve your high standards. The Steeles work hard to ensure staff members feel part of a team and enjoy what they do. They make sure they have the right people in the right roles. Include your family. Farming is a busy occupation but it does offer opportunities to include family in activities. Dan and Sandy include their young children where possible and are conscious of fostering an interest in land, farming and conservation. Never forget to have a little fun along the way. More? at www.blueduckstation.co.nz

Signs on the road to Blue Duck Station.

Country-Wide February 2017

SOLUTIONS | RESEARCH

LincolnSheep relies on EID

‘We want to identify the ewes that can lose weight during lactation and put it back on prior to mating.’

This is the second year this study has run, with supplementation last year reducing faecal egg counts in the ewes by 50% during lactation, resulting in improved lamb production with fewer drenches. Part of this trial includes making the most of an animal’s inherent ability to cope with worms by strategically drenching lambs based on their growth rates with only those needing it being drenched. “So if they are still growing they won’t get drenched.” Bywater says this strategy is expected to significantly slow the development of drench resistance and reduce the number of lambs drenched and the amount of drench used. The objective of the trial is to demonstrate the economics of these 76

The LincolnSheep trial is looking to reduce the loss of immunity to parasites in the ewe by feeding a high-protein supplement over lambing.

weaned. Another trial will be looking management programmes over multiple at the feasibility of double – or out-ofyears. season lambing – in a proportion of the This trial relies on the use of electronic ewe flock. identification (EID) to allow individual Bywater says biologically, they know management; so each animal is weighed it is possible to do this, they are now and growth rates automatically recorded. looking to see if this system could fit with EID will also be instrumental in better a pasture supply curve. understanding ewe elasticity. Researchers are developing a system Bywater says some ewes lose more using cull ewes- between 15-18% of weight over lactation and wean larger the flock- weaning these ewes early lambs, but it is their ability to recover in November, mating them again in weight and body condition scores postDecember and getting a second lamb in weaning that is the most critical factor. autumn. “We want to identify the ewes that can This lamb could be finished for the lose weight during lactation and put it high-value early lamb market and the back on prior to mating.” ewe culled. The project team have been weighing Bywater says by implementing this and body condition-scoring ewes every system they are hoping to get 12-14% month as well as putting them through more lambs from their ewes each year. a CT scanner multiple times a year. This gives them a clear picture of fat and muscle distribution and how this changes throughout the reproductive Superaxe and Aussie Chopper WS3150 Aussie cycle. The ultimate Chopper shown Hydraulic Log Splitters here. aim is to develop a reference weight Australian made direct to you for each individual. in New Zealand Deviations in the Setting new standards in safety, reference weight design and performance will then be able to determine change Built tough by in tissue reserves. Whitlands Engineering This data will Call for your free brochure and DVD pack be correlated with fecundity and www.superaxe.co.nz 0800 702 701 weight of lambs JH0085140©

incoln University is addressing inconsistent profitability on sheep and beef farms by setting up farm system trials – the LincolnSheep programme – that focus on improving productivity, flexibility and resilience. The programme includes a 15-hectare irrigated “summer-safe” unit being used to examine various constraints and opportunities in this environment, including parasite control. Professor of Agricultural Systems Tony Bywater says it is known that a breakdown in the sheep’s immune system during times of stress, such as late pregnancy and early lactation, causes parasite burdens to increase. Over a six-week window, parasites shed eggs and contaminate pasture. It is this contamination that causes productionlimiting worm burdens in lambs through summer. Scientists Andy Greer and Chris Logan will be looking at reducing this loss of immunity in the ewe by feeding a highprotein supplement over lambing.

Country-Wide February 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

App tracks processing

SOLUTIONS

Tractor sales boom Sales of tractors remain relatively buoyant, demonstrating a positive outlook in the primary industry, New Zealand Tractor and Machinery Association president, Mark Hamilton-Manns says. The total number of tractor sales was 2381 to the end of September, on a par with 2012 (2389) demonstrating that overall primary industry was stable and weathering volatility in the global dairy markets. Figures compiled by the association show sales only declined slightly overall, by 6%, on the same period in 2015. “Growth in horticulture and viticulture looks set to continue. Tractor sales in the Bay of Plenty have increased more than 50% in the last year with the continued success of the kiwifruit and avocado sectors. Sales in the Nelson region increased by 30% driven by the buoyant viticulture and horticulture segments,” Hamilton-Manns said. Hawke’s Bay sales increased by 16% and this was just the start of the increase as orchardists were expecting to triple the number of apples planted over the next few years and this would be reflected in investment in tractors and other associated machinery.

Alliance Group has launched a new app to support its 5000 farmer shareholders. The Farm Alliance app, developed as part of the cooperative’s business strategy, provides a range of resources for farmers to help them manage the processing of their stock. Farmers can now see their own livestock processing results in real time, access their latest kill sheets, make booking requests, check statistics and schedule and receive industry updates. Mark Blandford, Alliance chief information officer, said the co-op was constantly looking for new ways to help farmer shareholders with their businesses. “Farmers can get their kill sheets delivered straight to their mobile phones as soon as their stock is processed and they will be automatically notified when new information is available. “The menu also includes all of a farmer’s kills for the previous six months and annual kill statistics. These can also be filtered by species.” Alliance Group will explore making further enhancements to the platform in the months ahead, he said. Heather Stacy, Alliance general manager livestock and shareholder services, said: “This is another example of our business strategy in action as we seek to improve our co-operative’s performance and lift returns to our farmer shareholders.” The app accounts for patchy coverage in some rural locations by saving information, such as booking requests, and sending it only once the connection is active, she said. Farmers can download the app free of charge by searching for “Farm Alliance” in either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

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The four-bedroom, three-bathroom main homestead was refurbished in 2004.

ESTATE

Time to move on at Hirawai The Turner family have been farming and expanding Hirawai in southern Hawke’s Bay since the 1920s, using the alluvial flats and easy contours of its 603 hectares for a sheep and beef breeding and finishing operation, but it’s time to move on and the property is now for sale by tender. Located in the dress circle of Dannevirke, just 5km east of the town and with eight titles, makes a property with the scale of Hirawai a rarity in the rural market. Pat Portas from Property Brokers says the added bonus of the Manawatu River on one boundary and a large retired wetland add recreational activities to the farm’s appeal, but its value is in the numerous farming opportunities from its soils and contour. “The property has a great balance of contour, with about 510ha that could be cultivated, including 70ha of alluvial flats. So there’s numerous farming opportunities from sheep and beef

Hirawai has a large retired wetland as a feature of the farm.

breeding and finishing to dairy grazing and cropping.” Warm, moist summers due to the Ruahine Ranges to the west combine with good soil types described as Kumeroa and Takapau silt loam to lift performance on the farm. Last year Hirawai wintered 4200 breeding ewes, 1100 ewe hoggets and 1800 finishing lambs as well as 100 in-calf heifers, 146 R1 bulls and 135 R2 bulls. On the sheep side, lambing averages 130% with all progeny averaging 18kg at slaughter. Extensive subdivision has resulted in 116 main paddocks with water sourced from a gallery in a creek next to the main house. A pump pressure-feeds the property with tanks used as a backup for the system. Most years 250kg/ha of superphospate is applied to the cultivatable area which this year has 14ha planted in Pasja or Spitfire rape. Between 10 and 15ha is regrassed each year with Ohau, Feast and

An added bonus is the Manawatu River on one boundary.

Delish mixes. Surplus feed is made into balage, hay or silage and used as winter feed or sold off-farm. Facilities include three woolsheds, from a one-stand shed to the main five-stand woolshed with a night pen for 700 ewes and yards. Three sets of cattle yards are set up to handle stock and four hay or implement sheds have been built over the years. “It’s got a very nice house that’s an older home and they’ve done it up very tastefully in keeping with its character.” The four-bedroom, three-bathroom bungalow was refurbished in 2004 and is one of three houses on Hirawai. A second house has three bedrooms and the third is an older two-bedroom cottage. Tenders for Hirawai close on March 9. It has a 2014 capital value of $9.72 million. It can be viewed www. propertybrokers.co.nz ID PR52997.

More? Contact Pat Portas on 027 447 0612 or Jared Brock on 027 449 5496.

Warm moist summers combine with good soil types to lift performance.

Finishing sheep and beef at Glengyle Glengyle Station near Dannevirke in Hawke’s Bay has a balance of contour and altitude over its 716 hectares that enables it to finish livestock through summer and autumn on its limestone plateau. The station is for sale by auction and lies about 38km east of Dannevirke where the front of the property flows over 100ha

of Argyle soil types useful for wintering, then moves into about 336ha of clay/ papa base soils capable of cultivation and growing good, well-established pasture. The top of the station at the Oporae Peak reaches 756 metres and becomes a rolling plateau of limestone country that captures regular summer moisture from

the annual 2000mm rainfall and this proves invaluable through summer and autumn. Jim Crispin from Property Brokers says Glengyle lies with a westerly aspect, so much of it receives all-day sun as well as regular moisture on the tops. “It’s got some lovely high-quality soil types in the higher country which is limestone base and gives it strong growth through late summer and autumn, so you can carry stock through that period and finish them.” The owners have run a sheep and beef breeding and finishing operation adding up to about 4,500 stock units with additional grazers carried. Crispin says further subdivision plus a younger generation at the helm could lift carrying Country-Wide February 2017

The farm wintered 2150 breeding ewes and 600 ewe hoggets.

Gentle country in western Southland The well-managed farm has good pastures and improvements.

The farm finishes 30 to 40 cattle each year.

The flat to rolling contour of a 221-hectare farm for sale near Te Anau runs a sheep and cattle operation and has the potential to diversify into dairy grazing. Located 18km from Te Anau in a gentle basin, this much-loved and well-managed farm has good pastures and improvements, plus an attractive homestead in well-landscaped grounds, all for sale at $4.1 million. Flat contour makes up 36% of the farm, with a further 56% of easy-rolling contour and the remaining 10% is an oversown grazable face. Metal from a gravel pit on the farm covers a well-formed internal metal access lane that leads to 52 main paddocks. Good-quality fences surround the paddocks and most have power available. Troughs are supplied from the Kakapo scheme with the allocation of 5.5 units

and that is supplemented by permanent streams.

capacity close to 6000 stock units. Last year the farm achieved 130% lambing and 90% calving, with surplus lambs averaging 17-18kg at slaughter and cattle either killed or sold into forwardstore markets. Glengyle has been extensively fenced with conventional fences which have been repaired and brought into an overall good standard, plus several new fences erected recently and preparation for more. It has 34 main paddocks and five holding paddocks, with well-formed access tracks. A lime pit provides a coarse-grade for capping the access tracks. “The owners have done a lot of work in a short space of time and have improved access tracks, fencing and put 300 tonne of fertiliser on last year. They’re also putting in a 12 tonne fertiliser bin beside the airstrip.” A real feature of the station, Crispin

says, are the exceptionally good springs in the limestone country that provide stock water and one source has been tapped and fed to a series of holding tanks. These supply bi-lateral lines to a number of troughs, all gravity fed and capable of supplying most of the farm. “One of the other features of the farm is a big gully running through the middle which has pine trees at the lower end and manuka at the top where they have 144 beehives contracted with Convita. It provides quite a bit of income and you could double that number of hives.” Three sets of satellite sheep yards and a set of cattle yards are distributed around the station and the four-stand woolshed with its 450-ewe night pen is in very good condition. Shearers’ quarters are also in good condition and likewise the three-bay hayshed and a three-bay implement shed which has a lockable bay with a concrete

Country-Wide February 2017

The homestead with its limestone block and timber exterior has both character and charm and is positioned on an elevated site where it overlooks the expansive garden out to the farm and the mountains beyond. Last winter the farm wintered 2150 breeding ewes and 600 ewe hoggets, though that was on an area which included 29ha being retained by the owner. Lambing averages 135% to 148% and

lambs are sold about 17.5kg to 18kg. As well as sheep, the farm finishes 30 to 40 cattle each year. A three-stand raised-board woolshed has covered yards attached that caters for 600 woollies and the farm also has a twobay implement shed, raised storage bay, two four-bay haybarns and cattle yards with a crush and scales. The homestead with its limestone block and timber exterior has both character and charm and is positioned on an elevated site where it overlooks the expansive garden out to the farm and the mountains beyond. Inside, timber floors add rich colour to the limestone blocks of this three-bedroom home with its separate lounge and entertaining area. To view the farm, visit www. southernwide.co.nz ref SWI1701

More? Contact Dallas Lucas on 0274 325 774 or Michelle Lucas on 0275 640 737.

floor, power and workbench. On the home front, the station has a well-designed five-bedroom weatherboard homestead built in 1967 with a swimming pool. A second home with four bedrooms was built about 1896. Glengyle will be auctioned on February 16 and can be viewed at www. propertybrokers.co.nz ID DR53092. It has a 2014 rateable valuation of $2.4 million and Crispin expects it to sell well above that.

More? Contact Crispin on 027 717 8862.

Last year the property produced 500 tonnes of grain, three tonnes of clover seed and three cuts of lucerne.

ESTATE

Opportunity at home of Spud Robbins

ich volcanic soils suitable for intensive horticulture and cropping lie beneath Taipo Park near Oamaru and offers are invited on the 192-hectare property that once grew a range of vegetables and today runs cattle for Five Star Beef, plus high-yielding grain and small-seed crops. The Kakanui area just south of Oamaru is known for its fertile soils and Taipo Park was once owned by Alan and Marie Robins who gained a reputation for their new-season potatoes, earning him the name Spud Robins. The farm was then bought by Japanese food company, Nikken Seil, and became one of eight properties in the area working towards producing organic vegetables to process for export. The company had about 400ha being set up for the enterprise until its principal shareholder died and the properties were sold. Today’s owners, Nigel and Jennifer de Geest crop a large percentage of Taipo Park and last year produced 500 tonnes

of grain, three tonnes of clover seed and three cuts of lucerne. Through winter it carried 270 R1 cattle and 1500 lambs and Merv Dalziel from Farmlands Real Estate says the stock always achieve high growth rates. “It’s always produced very highyielding crops and the stock has always performed very well. To have the chance to purchase a property of this quality, location, contour and size is very rare.” The small town of Kakanui lies on the coast, 14km south of Oamaru, with the river by the same name reaching the sea near the town. Taipo Park with its soughtafter soils close to Oamaru has the added advantage of seven titles, ranging from 2681 square metres to 102.3ha. Together, those titles have been given a 2014 GV of $4.525 million and Dalziel says the farm with its high standard of improvements is expected to sell for about $30,000/ha. It is split into 33 main paddocks and a good central lane connecting them. Reliable irrigation has been paramount to the farming operation and includes 100 North Otago Irrigation Company

shares that delivers water at 40 litres/sec and a primary right to the Kakanui River that delivers 28 litres/sec. A pivot covers 44ha of the farm, K-line 56ha and guns a further 70ha, with annual irrigation costs averaging $420/ha, including power. “The Kakanui water is free and you just pay for your power. All together it’s reliable, cost-effective irrigation.” A high standard of improvements include a large four-bedroom home with a conservatory, two closed-in implement sheds, a large 24m by 12m shed, woolshed and covered yards, fivebay haybarn and other sheds, plus three 150-tonne grain silos. New cattle yards are a recent addition to handle stock for the Five Star Beef side of the farm operation. To view Taipo Park, visit www. farmlandsrealestate.co.nz ID TU10880.

More? Contact Dalziel on 027 439 5823.

Production in Piopio A 335-hectare farm at Piopio for sale at $2.6 million is the chance for young farmers to get stuck in and develop it further to reach its potential and then reap the rewards. The farm is 19km north of Piopio and 28km west of Te Kuiti where it spreads over rolling hill country with medium hill and steeper sidlings. About 20ha is native bush, leaving 310 effective hectares that is considered traditionally summer-safe country with an annual rainfall up to 2500mm. A married couple run a breeding and finishing operation on the farm, finishing lambs to 17.5kg/18kg and in the past selling weaner cattle, though have recently changed that policy to grazing

dairy heifers. Last winter it carried 1550 mixed-age ewes and 330 ewe hoggets, with lambing beginning on September 1 and averaging 135%. A recently-installed water reticulation scheme on the farm has enabled the owners to increase cattle numbers and last year it carried 154 R2 heifers to June 1 and then wintered 79 mixed-age cows and R2 heifers, 76 R1 heifers and 50 R1 Jersey bulls. The Mairoa ash country is split into 64 paddocks and many of those are watered from a spring beside the woolshed that is collected in a 25,000-litre tank and then pumped to a 25,000-litre tank at the top of the farm before being gravity fed to 30% of the farm.

Two sets of cattle and sheep yards are in good condition, including covered yards at the four-stand woolshed that holds 1500 ewes overnight. A threebay implement shed adds to the farm’s infrastructure. Home is a five-bedroom brick homestead with a pool to cool off and views over much of the farm. Peter Wylie from PGG Wrightson Real Estate the farm is a good opportunity for someone to take charge of a progressively moving forward property and motivated vendors keen to move on. It can be viewed at www.pggwre.co.nz ID TEK24767.

More? Contact Peter Wylie on 0800 735 578 or 027 4735 855.

Country-Wide February 2017

This 656ha breeding and finishing farm in the Waikari Valley sold in spring.

Spring rains bring revival Anne Hughes North Canterbury is bouncing back. After three years of severe drought, farms have responded quickly to regular spring rains in many parts of the area. PGG Wrightson Canterbury real estate manager Peter Crean says the drought-breaker and lifting dairy payout put some momentum back into spring farm sales. “One of the reasons people buy farms here is because the soils and climate respond so quickly,” Crean says. “It’s amazing how the clover has come out after spring rains – that’s the beauty of North Canterbury.” Crean says North Canterbury has a pleasant climate, but conditions can quickly go from one extreme to another, drying out fast if north-easterly winds and high temperatures combine. Buyers are not put off by the drought history, he says. Most come from other parts of Canterbury and understand the climatic conditions. Most North Canterbury farms are within one-and-a-half hour’s drive from Christchurch. Close proximity to a large city and international airport are a big drawcard for buyers. Interest is strong for economic units carrying 5000 SU or more. Much of this interest comes from farmers looking for a finishing unit to complement their breeding block or vice versa. “Then you’re not at the mercy of the store market and with a breeding unit you can secure your supply.” Numbers of farm sales lifted during

spring, but were not yet back to normal levels. “The last two years buyers have been reluctant to step forward because of the drought,” Crean says. “This year they’ll step forward for above-average sheep and beef units, which have been making in excess of $1000/SU this spring.”

‘It’s amazing how the clover has come out after spring rains – that’s the beauty of North Canterbury.’

Smaller units were also selling well, especially well-presented farms with good, sound infrastructure that did not need a lot of money spent on them. An example of this was the sale of Sulphur Springs, a 200-hectare farm that sold in spring for $3.26 million. There were five bidders at the auction vying for the well-presented property in the Scargill Valley, with a modern house, new infrastructure and modern pastures. A 656ha breeding and finishing farm in the Waikari Valley also sold in spring. Clifton has valley flats, developed downs and medium to some steep tussock hill country. The easier country is well developed with good, permanent grasses. The current cropping and regrassing programme includes 136ha sown in oats

and Italian ryegrass; rape or lucerne. Another spring sale was of a large hill country breeding farm, Marble Point Station at Hanmer Springs. The station runs Corriedale sheep and Angus breeding cows. Both Clifton and Marble Point sold for more than $1000/SU. PGG Wrightson real estate will be marketing three West Coast dry stock farms this summer. The farms are three of those being sold by Landcorp. Mawheraiti is a 1453ha deer-breeding unit near the top of the Grey Valley. Burkes Creek Farm is a deer-breeding, cattle and deer-finishing unit on the outskirts of Reefton, comprising four separate blocks totalling 380ha. Raft Creek Farm is a 481ha deerbreeding and genetics unit 15km southeast of Hokitika. Culverden-based Property Brokers agent Tim Murdoch says uncertainty around nutrient zoning rules is having a bigger impact on farm sales in parts of North Canterbury than droughts and earthquakes. On the upside, land within the Hurunui Water Project catchment is already achieving a premium. The irrigation scheme is not yet guaranteed to go ahead, but has received funding to take it through to the pre-construction stage, still about another two years away. Murdoch says planned sales from Waiau north were mostly postponed following the November earthquake, but farm sales in the rest of North Canterbury were strong during the second half of 2016. A bare land sheep and cattle property on the edge of the Culverden Basin was going under contract just before Christmas. The 915ha hill-country farm attracted strong interest, despite having no infrastructure other than sheep and cattle yards. Murdoch says these types of properties are popular for farmers looking to increase scale to make their business more profitable, have more options during drought and to better utilise their home blocks for finishing.

aahughes@gisborne.net.nz

North Canterbury farm Sulphur Springs sold in spring for $3.26 million. Photos provided.

Country-Wide February 2017

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

Kayaking through a gorge on the Whanganui River near Blue Duck Station.

On the move during the Waikawa field day.

Merino ewes on the tussock tops of Glen Orkney Station, Awatere Valley, Marlborough.

Consultant Erica Van Reenan has helped the Onetai Station management team develop environment management plans.

Vintage tractors lined up at the Hinds sale.

Nathan Stratford is representing New Zealand at the world shearing champs at Invercargill in February.

Country-Wide February 2017

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