Country-Wide June, 2017 by NZ Farmlife Media

GROWING NZ FARMING

Easy Rider Shepherd Keiran Short rounds up cattle on Poututu Station which are the heart of the farm business. p39

Chemical topping on hill country

Duck shootingopening day

$12.00

incl gst

June 2017

Country-Wide June 2017

MOVING OR MOVED YOUR HERD TO A NEW FARM?

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR TBFREE AND NAIT •

Update your contact details

•

Record your stock movements in NAIT

•

Check the TB status and testing requirements of the area you’re moving to

•

Correctly complete an animal status declaration (ASD) form when shifting stock and give to the next person in charge

•

Make sure that stock shifting from a TBfree Movement Control Area have a pre-movement TB test up to 60 days before the move

FURTHER HELP GO TO OSPRI.CO.NZ OR CALL 0800 482 463.

NAIT and TBfree are OSPRI programmes 2

Country-Wide June 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

A rough ride

he past five weeks have been a physical and emotional rollercoaster for me. One minute I was driving along, hale and hearty, the next I was struck by a thunderclap headache behind my left ear. It felt like someone had hit me with a fence batten. Eventually a scan at Dunedin’s Emergency Department showed the pain was caused by bleeding from a cancerous tumour on my brain. Steroids reduced the swelling but it had to come out quickly in case it bled again. The worst news was it was only secondary. A CT scan showed cancer in at least in the right kidney and could be elsewhere in the body. During all this kerfuffle I couldn’t help noting the similarities between farming and human health. Like in farming there are people worse off than yourself, but that doesn’t help you. Many have risen above their setbacks and they are the ones you want to meet. When I was sitting in the neurosurgical waiting room a man strode in with a bandage pad on the back of his head. I sniggered as it looked like he had slept on a sanitary pad (I was later to get my own). He turned out to be Jack Cocks, a

former farm consultant and farmer who I had heard had a bleed on the brain years ago. He didn’t say much but it was a defining moment for me. If he can come through it so can I. So I stopped feeling for myself and started taking steps to beat the cancer, but like farming, you need a good team around you to succeed. For farmers it is family, professionals and staff. For me it was my wife Eleanor, family, friends and of course the medical team. Thanks to the neurosurgical unit in Dunedin, especially the visiting British neurosurgeon Mr Bhatt and his team, the operation seems to be a complete success. The cancerous kidney still needs to go and so far – touch wood – no cancer has been detected elsewhere. At some stage in June I will have the second operation and be out of action but will be on twitter @ CountryWideEd and www.facebook.com/ terry.brosnahan if you want to follow my progress. Don’t assume the worst if there are no entries at certain times – I may just be tired.

NEXT ISSUE Country-Wide Beef July includes: • PERFECT TUCKER: A cattle feedlot has finally cracked the optimum feeding regime. • GREAT SCOOPS: A look at the tractor buckets for lifting fodder beet from paddocks. • KEEPING SCORE: How maintaining breeding cows’ body condition scores to within a limited range throughout the year will help drive herd productivity and profitability. • CALF REARING: Tips from the experts and successful rearers. • DRONES: Just an expensive toy or are there good practical uses on a farm?

Terry Brosnahan

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

Going for Gold… Wairere tested 53 ram lambs for FE tolerance in February 2017 with a sporidesmin dose rate of .45. Of the 53, 42 had a nil result, 1 was marginal, 8 were slight, 2 were a moderate response. The Wairere FE Tolerant flock is three quarters of the way to FE Gold status at .6. Couple that with Wairere’s exceptional lamb growth rate: Peter Roberts managed a centre pivot finishing farm in mid Canterbury for 13 years, processing 500,000 lambs during that time. The best growth rate he ever measured on a line of lambs was a line from Wairere South, which gained 446 grams per day.

Wairere, making your sheep farming easier and more profitable

Ram lambs from the Wairere Challenger test group.

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

More: p44

BOUNDARIES Medals for Flemington.

What’s needed is a farmers’ champion.

HOME BLOCK Chanelle O’Sullivan discovers 50 shades of farming.

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It’s Plan B for Andrew Steven’s borage crop. The Tararuas beckon for Micha Johansen.

Phil Taylor reckons it’s a hard time getting old.

Alice Scott takes time out with the girls.

Blair Smith relishes the autumn rain.

Rain holds off for Robert Hodgkins.

NOTEBOOK

What’s on when and who’s doing what.

FACTS 17

Lamb exports recover, Reece Brick writes.

BUSINESS Consistency wins on Tautane Station.

Farm security: Thieves leave trail of destruction.

Farm security: Burglars on the block. IRD focuses on hobby farmers.

Contents 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

DEER FARMER Duncan makes pivotal southern move.

Venison market as good as it gets.

The Nicolsons weigh in on weaner growth.

Strong prices lift breeding numbers.

Deer-specific drench a work in progress.

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

Country-Wide is published by NZ Farm Life Media PO Box 218, Feilding 4740 General enquiries: Toll free 0800 2AG SUB (0800 224 782) www.nzfarmlife.co.nz

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

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

ISSN 2253-2307 (Online)

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Country-Wide June 2017

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LIVESTOCK Two-tooth champ changes tack.

PLATE TO PASTURE

The Savages keep beef cattle cool.

Solid TB plan backs healthy beef.

Farming in trust at Omapere.

High-octane genetics.

When a drench programme fails.

FORAGE Raphanobrassica brings bundled benefits.

ARABLE

SILVER FERN FARMS Red meat legacy.

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Harvest staggers home.

Special place, special people.

A trial of sheep and shepherd.

COMMUNITY Elevated growth in South Africa.

SOLUTIONS Producing firewood for profit.

ENVIRONMENT

Digestion system a process line.

UK farmer finds bucket beets feed costs.

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Bad habits are made, not born, Lloyd Smith says.

Purpose designed cattle-handlers.

PLANT AND MACHINERY

YOUNG COUNTRY

Doing the homework on that new job.

First shots of opening weekend.

High yields with Craige Mackenzie’s precision cropping.

More: p77

ESTATE Partners to sell Waipaoa Station.

No praying needed if spray done right.

Dairy grazing at Tuatapere.

Aerial no-till sustainable with good practice.

Take a look at leasing.

Keri Johnson says it’s time for one plan for all. Farm forester Denis Hocking goes playing in the sandpit.

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

TECHNOLOGY

Alan Royal’s Boomerang always comes back. Kirstin Mills sheds light on Google’s world of maps.

OUR COVER

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Keeping it simple at Poututu Station. Photo: Joanna Higgins-Ware

More: p73

Country-Wide June 2017

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BOUNDARIES | SPORT

Medallists in the Grand Prix at the Flemington School Winter Olympics.

Medals for Flemington

he Winter Olympics came to Waipukurau recently – Flemington School style. The annual event, now in its eighth year, is the brainchild of successful showjumper Claire Wilson and is held at the Wilson family’s Mt Herbert Farm, just out of Waipukurau.

Pages from the past Stu Nicolson, with grandson Emmitt (2), uncovered a blast from New Zealand’s farming past while cleaning out an old farm shed on the family’s Ida Valley farm (see story page 30). Stacked in a wooden apple box in remarkably good shape were several issues of the NZ Journal of Agriculture from the 1940s and 1950s. The magazines belonged to Stu’s Uncle Alec, proof being the one issue still within a slightly yellowed and tatty typed addressed envelope. A look at some of the cover illustrations give an interesting glimpse of post-war life in NZ, in particular the still-strong connection with the “mother country”. This relationship is perfectly captured by two pipe-smoking men pondering the United Kingdom’s place on a world map, and on another a cleancut tractor-driving young farmer backdropped, for some unknown reason, by London’s St Paul’s cathedral.

The aim is to run a fun grass-roots jumping competition and fundraise for Flemington School at the same time. This year about 200 horse and pony riders took part in the fundraiser, from tiny dots competing in the kindy jump to some of the country’s top riders in the 95cm Grand Prix event. Generous sponsorship meant sizeable

Stu Nicolson, with grandson Emmitt (2).

Story topics within include the potential for aerial topdressing, as well as the perennial topics of how to improve beef and lamb production. A special section for the lady of the house includes knitting patterns and poster and card making as a rewarding leisure pursuit. Stu says he’s pleased to have rescued the magazines but is unsure who they should be passed on to for posterity; ifs Country-Wide readers know of a suitable archive email lyndagray@xtra.co.nz Here’s hoping Emmitt will have the same views as Grandad when he discovers in an old shed a stash of 2016-2017 Country-Wide mags in 2080.

cash prizes, rugs, garlands and the special Olympic medals were up for grabs – there was even a podium for the medallists. Every rider received a goodie bag, complete with carrots for their equine friend. “Why do I do it? I am not your normal mother on the school fundraising committee – I can’t bake cakes or arrange flowers or such like. I am passionate about encouraging young riders and horses into the sport of showjumping, so the Winter Olympics became a place where I could do my bit for the local school and also for young horse and pony riders in our area,” Claire says. “The day went well, we were very lucky with the weather. There is always room for improvement, but it is very rewarding to hear that lots of people enjoyed their day. As a result of the many parents and locals who helped and supported the day the Flemington School made $19,000.”

A winning bachelor South Island fencing contractor Toby How won the Fieldays Rural Bachelor title in 2015. It wasn’t something he would normally do, but competing in rural bachelor (and winning) was a selfconfidence boost. His advice to this year’s finalists is to have fun, enjoy the experience and not take it too seriously. “I’m fairly competitive usually, but I just didn’t stress too much.” Since winning the rural bachelor title, the 30-year-old has continued working for himself as a fencing contractor. He is now living with his partner Sarah Tait, an arable rep for PGG Wrightson, and has bought 10 hectares of bare land at Geraldine, where he plans to build a home. Last year he spent a couple of months in Mongolia, guiding horse treks. “When I get bored of the fencing I can go on a bit of a sabbatical.” How has a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) from Lincoln University and spent some time working on dairy and dry stock farms before going fencing.

Country-Wide June 2017

BOUNDARIES | OUT-TAKES

Farmer champion needed Later in June Federated Farmers holds its annual meeting and a new president will be elected. Usually the vice president, in this case Anders Crofoot, steps up to the top job but sometimes there are challengers and an election is necessary. Whether that would be the case this year remained to be seen as CountryWide went to press but one thing was sure: most of the Federation’s members wouldn’t have a say in the result – at least, not directly.

representative positions. It does little to engage grassroots members. A review is overdue as Feds’ is needed in the farmers’ corner when fighting anti-farming propaganda in the media, as well as with local, regional and central government. The danger is the trend for levy-bodies to advocate on behalf of their sector continues to grow, and Feds becomes a side-show. That would be a disaster. United we stand; divided we fall.

Land sales Usually the Feds’ vice president, in this case Anders Crofoot, steps up to the top job.

Feds use a collegiate system in its democratic process, whereby provincial presidents, industry group chairs, and one or two others, vote for those nominated for the various national

Federated Farmers’ next leader needs to be a farmer, someone who has worked on the land and made a living from it. Someone who owns a farm they worked for, not inherited or bought out of money from earnings made outside of farming. Maybe then Feds would stop supporting organisations like Landcorp which is selling of farms to overseas buyers. People who own farms should be able to sell their land to the highest bidder including foreign buyers.

But not a taxpayer-funded organisation like Landcorp which only returns miniscule profits on its billion dollar assets. The land should be made available to settling young NZ farmers as was originally intended.

Spilt milk DairyNZ and other farming organisations leaders should be crying bloody murder on behalf of its members over TVNZ’s Sunday programme, Price of Milk, last month. Presenter Cameron Bennett and the company which made it, Attitude, obviously had a set agenda against dairy farmers. After interviewing and filming two top, large-scale dairy farmers for hours they used none of the footage. Instead they sought out Flinty and Jasmine’s farms, who were not typical. One was deep in mud, the other into muck and magic with off-farm propping it up. Dr William Rolleston’s term as Feds’ president ends in June. Who will be his successor?

DairyNZ’s Tim Mackle was the 2016 Communicator of the Year yet his response and Feds’ William Rolleston’s were very limp-wristed. They have plenty of PR people – use them. If the programme had been racist or sexist advertisers would have dumped the show. But because it put the boot into dairy farming there was no reaction. Perhaps farmers should boycott the advertisers: Mazda, Cadbury (which is already offside with Dunedin consumers), Mitsubishi, Nescafe and Placemakers.

Country-Wide June 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Caption:Chanelle and Dave O’Sullivan and children.

Fifty shades of farming

Chanelle O’Sullivan Temuka, South Canterbury

n 2007 I moved from suburban Auckland to a high country station on the shores of Lake Pukaki. I met Dave just a month later at the Mackenzie Young Farmers Club – he thought I was a lost tourist. From then came a couple of years of dairy farming then three years as a vet nurse before having our now five-year-old, Izzy. For the past year I have been a social media marketing specialist, helping rural companies make the most of social media as well as website building, planning and more, for Grass Roots Media. I also run a non-profit group called Farming Mums NZ where nearly 9000 rural women from around New Zealand are members. I’m finishing up a contract at the NZ Landcare Trust and I run a personal blog ‘Just’ a Farmer’s Wife. Admittedly I do find myself running around like a headless chook at times but most of the time I really do enjoy it. It’s certainly a case of a surprise around each corner and unpredictability driving our lives. Dave was born and raised in Timaru

and spent a year traveling and working in Ireland, and the last 15 years fully immersed in agriculture from Lincoln University to high country stations and intensive deer units. Dave is contracting around the area while we assemble our newest venture (I can’t wait to be able to fill you in on this #watchthisspace). The opportunity to briefly step back from a management position has also allowed Dave to do the Kellogg Rural Leadership programme and the flexibility it has brought has really come at the perfect time for both of us. We are widely involved in different aspects of the industry as well as some really innovative and exciting new ones. The last 18 months have been a whirlwind. Brilliant, busy and very exciting including a few highlights such as completing the Kellogg programme in November, running a half marathon in October and the Farming Mums Cookbooks got published. It also brought some quite drastic life changes – daunting at the time, but it has worked out well

Dave was driving a beautiful big Fendt for a local cropping farmer.

and opened plenty of new doors. Always have faith it will work out. Tonight we also take a new step into personal development together, to expand our repertoire into one of the most important markets in the world – the whole family is learning Mandarin. Sure, it’s a crazy life but it sure beats a boring one. I have been heavily involved with many aspects of the agriculture industry for 10 years now and there are many things I love about it. There are also a few things that frustrate me a little. One that really irks me about farming at times, is this myth of work/life balance. It’s so easy to not go anywhere to escape the physical, mental and emotional ties to the farm. For example, many employees feel guilty about taking time off and farm owners feel like their job is never done. Often they feel they can’t trust anyone to do the job as well. I think we really need to remember why we are farming, how we can make the most of it and why it’s important to get off the farm from time to time, even if it’s for a coffee in town, a visit to the pub with the boys or a fish and chip picnic with the family.

Many employees feel guilty about taking time off and farm owners feel like their job is never done. Often they feel they can’t trust anyone to do the job as well. I think we really need to remember why we are farming, how we can make the most of it.

We talk so much about mental health and I really feel like this is a key factor – full immersion in a job has its upsides, but mental health is not one of them. The most common regret we have at the end of our lives, and among the top, from men in particular, is “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard”. Food for thought. Meanwhile, on a lighter note, while I battled away through my first experience of the school holidays – Dave was driving a beautiful big Fendt for local cropping farmer, Tony Howey. The paddock he is in is 69 hectares and can take over 12 minutes to get from one end to the other and it’s all self-steer – all he needs to do is turn corners? It may be 12-15 hour days while they play catch up from the wet weather but I’m pretty sure I drew the short straw here.

Country-Wide June 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Plan B for borage

Andrew Steven Rosewill, Timaru

The girl pictured is my niece, Lucy. She is standing in a beautiful crop of borage. This is my third and most successful attempt to grow the crop. It was planted late November with the expectation the foul spring conditions would give way to sunshine and a dry autumn. I direct drilled it at a heavier than normal rate to out-compete weeds and to reduce the amount of branching, leading to less loss of seed from its indeterminate flowering pattern. The crop has to be windrowed while the crop is green and still flowering, otherwise the plant simply drops its seeds on the ground. It was cut a few days before having three inches of rain on it. That amount of rain wouldn’t be the end of the world if it was followed by drying conditions. It wasn’t. A small opportunity to harvest appeared. The crop was lying in wet mushy rows but the top of the row was getting some drying and the forecast was dreadful so an attempt had to be made. I couldn’t believe how well the combine was coping with the conditions, until it completely blocked up. Plan B was to remove a cover at the bottom of the machine, which allowed the seeds to fall out the bottom and be collected by a tarpaulin dragging on the ground beneath. Every 200 metres or so, Vicky would bring the tractor alongside so the seed could be shovelled into the bucket. So passed Sunday afternoon until drizzle came in and stopped proceedings. We got about 3ha done and estimate about 1.2 tonnes of very wet seed that

Country-Wide June 2017

Andrew Steven’s niece, Lucy, in the borage crop.

needed immediate drying. Subsequent conditions put paid to any chance of harvesting the remaining 7ha. Borage seed has an oil component that is used in the pharmaceutical industry. It can have a value of about $8-$10/kg of seed. It took the best part of a day to remove all the riddles and preparation floors from the combine to clean all the wet residue off. For the future, a good use for the borage plant is to grow it in the garden to feed the bees and use the flowers to incorporate into ice cubes for the enhancement of gin drinking. High-value seed crops are incredibly attractive to birds and they congregate in their thousands to eat your profit. I take quite an interest in native birds and would like to see our native falcon be some use by predating these crop eaters.

The birds (Black Stilts) couldn’t be found in their normal braided river habitat. They had found a better food source at the local dairy farm.

They can be found in the nearby hills but don’t spend much time over farmland. I have seen them cruising places where rock pigeons roost. A local native bird story gives me some amusement – DOC has a Black Stilt

recovery programme in the Mackenzie Basin and they keep track of the wild populations. The birds couldn’t be found in their normal braided river habitat. They had found a better food source at the local dairy farm. I have a reliable report of a bittern (they are very uncommon locally) being spotted on a struggling local lowland stream. It might have been feeding on the adjacent dairy farm. An effect of harvest failure is to make the sheep enterprise look relatively profitable. I have bought some lightweight Merino lambs, but with trading stock so expensive, thoughts have focused more on the breeding flock which still remains. I have fed summer forage crops to the ewe lambs to ensure they were big enough for mating. Hogget mating looks a better margin than trading lambs. My best kill sheet for this year came from Dorper lambs born to Perendale hoggets. Maybe you have read about the effect of synthetic microfibres in the environment. The world’s oceans are being polluted by plastic breakdown products. The microfibres are coming from synthetic fabrics, and even washing clothes results in them entering the environment. These fibres can even be found in the flesh of fish. I am eagerly awaiting the natural fibre industries to use this information to land a body blow on the synthetics industry. Finally, have you noticed how many “experts” there are out there today? From the feelings of rabbits to water quality, they seem to know it all.

The Tararuas beckon for Micha Johansen, who has a revived interest in tramping.

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Back on the tramping trail

Micha Johansen Eketahuna

TJ (Trent) has been on at me to find an interest or a hobby. Apparently watching TV while consuming chocolate, and tweeting about it, does not count. As I have ticked off the only three things on my bucket list – parachute jump, Coast to Coast and find a farmer – I have spent the last 10 years living in an unhealthy state of unenthusiastic malaise, so it was definitely time for a change. The biggest question directed at me was “What is your passion?” And I had no idea. To TJ’s utter disappointment I found two, neither of which involve fencing and both involve getting off farm, a lot. First, I’ve got back into tramping, which has been expensive, and fantastic. I was motivated by a fellow twit, tweeter, twitterer? She has been getting out and about, and I was jealous, and I finally twigged that there was nothing stopping me from getting out, especially as the Tararua Ranges are so close to where we live. Because I tramp by myself mum said I needed a personal locator beacon(PLB), at the hefty price of $520. Luckily I’m smart enough to take TJ, PLB shopping, so when the price was mentioned at the counter I could ask if my life was worth

that to him. Of course he said “no”, much to the astonishment of another customer who didn’t know whether to laugh, or call the police. I also needed maps and a new pack, because I can’t find my old one. And now, to top it all off, I need a new pair of shoes. When I first thought about getting back into tramping I dragged my old boots out of the cupboard, tipped out the spiders, and put them on for a walk. I made it as far as the cowshed, where one sole promptly fell off. My second option was to dig out my old trail shoes. I’ve managed to squeeze my feet into these shoes for three tramps, but unfortunately, again, the sole is falling off one, so off to the shops for a new pair it is. All up the total cost will be about $1000 and I figure it’s about the equivalent of one set of racecar tyres. TJ says it’s not a competition, but it so is.

Now I’m used to dairy days, where we mostly hang out in a shed, with a whiteboard. But not the sheep and beef guys.

My other new hobby has been to get into farm days and assorted agricultural meetings. I’ve now lost count of what I have attended but, while I have been attending quite a few dairy ones, the Beef + Lamb NZ ones have been the standouts. The first event I attended was the Wairarapa sheep and beef farm business of the year. Now I’m used to dairy days, where we mostly hang out in a shed, with a whiteboard. But not the sheep and beef

guys. Oh no, they all show up with a quad or side-by-side. Who knew? Not me. Warm clothes would have helped. Plus cash, for lunch. And it went to 4.30pm. Dairy ones are over by 2pm, because most have to go home and milk. So I got to experience 30 or so minutes of the day, at which point everyone else headed off on their bikes while I hid in my ute, because I was too shy to see if I could get a ride. I will definitely be prepared for the next one. If you are there, I’m the pretentious idiot with her quad in an enclosed trailer. I’ve also been to an Angus breeders’ open day, who was curious as to how I found out about it as it was for his clients, however I was made very welcome, and it was incredibly interesting involving genetics, and bull selection. The Angus Pure at lunch was outstanding, and certainly much more tender and tasty than the usual dairy cow we have in our freezer. In future the event I am looking forward to the most, is the Beef + Lamb sheep breeders forum, at Napier in June. Sheep and genetics? My kind of heaven. Each time I mention it TJ says “we aren’t getting sheep”, to which I say “we so are” and repeat. Last time we had this discussion TJ got to the point where he said he wasn’t crutching or shearing them, so that means I am allowed to get some sheep, right? Onfarm, TJ informs me, things are trucking along okay. We have winter grazing sorted at Woodville, making it handy to keep an eye on the girls, and to lend a hand if needed. We have also found grazing for our 2016-born replacements, whilst keeping five beefies home to graze the steeper paddocks. Hopefully getting some stock off will make our upcoming season much plainer sailing than the one that is about to end.

Country-Wide June 2017

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN The fibreglass fence poles stood up well to the flooding.

GETTING OLD IS NOT FOR SISSIES

Phil Taylor

Ngaroma, South Waikato As usual Ngaroma has delivered us a great year. It was a little slow at the start but the recent grass growth has brought production back to normal and in some cases ahead of last year. Two unexpected 100-year rain events sent flooded torrents over my new Kiwitech fibreglass fence poles. They bent over under pressure but stood upright and unharmed once the waters receded, unlike the neighbour’s post and wire fences that have remained flat and now require rebuilding. In the middle of February, just as I was ready to head off fishing, my 99.5-yearold father, caring for himself in his own home, fell and broke his hip. Since I have

Country-Wide June 2017

his enduring power of attorney for care and welfare I have been grounded since then. My time since February has been spent coming to grips with the New Zealand health care system. One could be forgiven for not understanding it from the outset. Being a medical doctor or having a degree in sociology might have helped, but without it even now I am not sure I understand fully how it all works. You see my Dad is of sound mind with a memory perhaps better than mine, a vivid sense of humour, still managing all his household affairs, and a mind full of stories that streams of visitors come daily to share with him. The problem is his worn-out knees make him immobile. One hundred years of hard physical work have had their toll. Six years sleeping on the ground in the Second World War might not have helped either. He can’t walk anymore, so we rely on the health care system to assist him. It has taken me four months, but for those who are interested here is how I think it works. First, the hospital system is set up to get you well as quickly as possible. All the resources needed are contained within. New Zealanders are so lucky to have it. The fun begins when you leave the

hospital. First you contact NASC (Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination Services) Whether respite, part-time or full-time rest home care, or own-home care, this government organisation will assess the patient’s needs, providing funds to do whatever is needed to maintain quality of life. Their preference is to keep people at home as long as possible. Their funds are paid out to Health Care NZ. These caregivers are the unsung heroes who do everything, from changing diapers and preparing meals to washing or any other personal service needed, for up to 21 hours a week and up to three or four visits a day. District health nurses will administer medication or dress wounds. Lifestyle Potential provide all the specialised hardware, from wheelchairs to walkers, walking sticks or made-tomeasure one-offs: Their repair servicemen will visit to do your repairs. Next, by liaising with your doctor, occupational therapists and physiotherapists will implement and monitor in-house rehabilitation programmes as needed. The watchful eye of Age Concern ensures old folk get the care and respect they deserve. I have the utmost admiration for this organisation. They do provide some hardware but most importantly co-ordinate a team of volunteers who provide company for those at home alone. It has a friendship service. In our case they run around town doing grocery shopping or attend to the “do it yourself fix it” jobs as needed, but most of all they are just good friends. Now I understand it, I cannot speak highly enough of all those unrecognised, hard-working, dedicated and compassionate people who have been involved in nursing him back to health and strength so that he could return to his own home. All he is waiting for now is his new inside electric wheelchair.

Philip Taylor’s dad who is 99 anda-half years-old is making a great recovery from his accident.

Alice and John Sc ott with their youngest Rosa (2) .

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Time out with the girls

Alice Scott

Middlemarch, Otago About seven years ago I sent a group message to some old school and university friends that we should have a “pot luck luncheon”. We had each had our first baby and it was nice to talk shop with others in the same boat. I recall there was a bit of banter for my choice of words “pot-luck” and “luncheon” but it stuck and since then our regular catch-ups between the six of us has seen the arrival of 20 children – there are two pairs of twins and the latest is just a week or so old.

The beauty of having no cell coverage is just how present you are with your friends and family. Each night the children were deliciously tired after a happy day of lots of fresh air and exercise and I too fell into bed knackered from the day’s adventures.

Initially it was very easy to arrange our pot-lucks – with no kids at school and minimal work commitments. But as the years have passed, our first and secondborn are at school, a couple of us work full or near-to-full time and the reality is we have too many children between us all these days to make any sort of potluck luncheon at our homes an enjoyable event. We didn’t give up though.

We now tend to leave the kids at home with the hubbies and arrange a girls’ night out at a favourite restaurant a few times a year. Last year we began an annual camping weekend at a youth adventure camp in Otago – kids and hubbies included. It was big and spacious with plenty of beds, bathrooms and outdoor activities. With no cellphone coverage or wifi – it was a brilliant weekend and everyone went away saying “let’s do that again”. This year we (minus one family with the new baby) chose to go to a different camp in the Catlins National Forest; a remote, scenic and stunning part of the southern east side of the South Island. Again no cell coverage or wifi. Just acres of native bush and some truly magnificent walks to waterfalls and caves. The beauty of having no cell coverage is just how present you are with your friends and family. Each night the children were deliciously tired after a happy day of lots of fresh air and exercise and I too fell into bed knackered from the day’s adventures; sore face and stomach muscles from all the laughing (and potentially also from pulling the flying fox back up the hill a few more times than I care to remember). The thing that makes us happy campers is our knowledge that not one of us is there to judge or gossip. We value each other, understand each other’s idiosyncrasies and we have the ability to fill each other with positivity and confidence. The blokes – all farmers – enjoyed getting away with their families but still within their comfort zone out in the great outdoors; not a clothes shop or café to be found for miles. There were lengthy discussions over cups of coffee and the odd beer, a few marshmallows on the bonfire (once they finally got it going), a high-speed game of touch with the bigger

(minus one The camping crew d a quick fin to ged na ma family) t before sho up gro moment to get a we all departed.

Lots of little ladies: Out of 20 children, there are 15 girls.

kids and lots of bush walks and beach exploring. We have already booked and paid our deposit for next year’s camp and sure enough it will come around fast. The reason I am sharing this is to reiterate to the blokes reading this not to write-off the missus’ girly mates; those coffee group sessions or what you might view as a lazy ladies’ luncheon. It could be the beginnings of some fabulous friendships and a sign of the good times ahead. • Alice and John Scott and their three children farm Summer Hills, an 1800-hectare sheep and beef farm 25km east of Middlemarch, Otago.

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HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Things look positive for our Fossil Creek Bull Sale.

Relishing the autumn rain

Blair Smith

Five Forks, North Otago There is something satisfying about this time of year – calves weaned, rams are out, duck shooting is looming, young grass looks good without the scourge of summer thistles and for once, the autumn weather gods have delivered more than 200mm of rain to North Otago – an area that often survives on little more than 350mm for the year. It has been nice to be given the chance to let all stock be fully allocated on the feed front – allowing the time and effort we put into genetic gains to come to fruition. Our Fossil Creek Angus calves weaned magnificent weights and it has been heartening to see buoyant calf sales throughout the country coupled with robust lamb prices. Things look positive for our Fossil Creek Bull Sale in mid June. D-Day for our North Otago Irrigation Scheme came and went back in September, however I am hoping “good things come to those that wait” is really true and if so, great things are ahead for our district, with an extra $50 million a year being pumped into our small local economy – which by my rough calculations is a 25% return on investment. Seems a no-brainer for the crown to invest in irrigation schemes – one would argue a slightly better investment than the miserly

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0.25% return on the $2-billion Landcorp empire. Despite the Southland saying that I grew up with “where there is mud, there is money” (which was really an optimistic way of making you feel better about climbing into sweaty wet weather gear for weeks on end), high rainfall is not all roses. Our community spent weeks designing and laying out the most magnificent motorbike trail ride through 16 local farms in March, only to have the most miserable excuse for weekend weather hit us on that exact weekend. For the last 11 years the biggest issue has been fire risk and dust, so I guess it was a nice change for our mud-loving bikers. The onset of winter brings the challenge of keeping eight demanding women happy. Now this is not some sort of extra-marital confession, but marks the start of five-year-old team rugby coaching season. The kids are a walk in the park. The mothers however are a different story. In this PC world we live in, it is essential little Johnny and Jessica get the exact same time on the field Josh, Jenny and Jack do. Speaking of demanding women, “How clean and green is the bloody tourism industry” was one of Jane’s recent rants – (of which I generally adopt the

male retreat technique of “nod at the right time to appear as though you are listening”) however this was one topic that I agree on wholeheartedly. With tourist numbers set to rise to 3.5 million any day, the question has to be asked how sustainable is their industry? They expect farmers to not only lead the charge on keeping things clean and green, but pay for the public toilets in every small town, front up with better biosecurity, clean up local queen’s chain areas of the muck from freedom campers, and somehow bear responsibility for the invasion of didymo (courtesy of overseas fishermen for the sake of a $150 fishing licence). I look forward to the next Sunday documentary on this, instead of the assumption that farming is some sort of evil wealth-gathering, resource-destroying pastime. At this time of year, I often wonder whether the same protesters against duck shooting have even looked at the e-coli contribution of those same waterfowl.

Seems a no-brainer for the crown to invest in irrigation schemes – one would argue a slightly better investment than the miserly 0.25% return on the $2-billion Landcorp empire

A heck of a lot of positive things are happening in our industry at the moment – just this week we hosted groups from Waitaki Girls’ High School, Waitaki Boy’s High School and an ANZCO producer group. We were impressed with the plans these final year students had for their career pathways and every time a farmer group heads in our gate we learn a hell of a lot. Onwards and upwards for 2017, with a vote for strong lamb and beef prices going forward and perhaps even a proof of life in the wool industry. The Newhaven Perendales have a spring in their step.

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Post Christmas, the lamb price picked up quite a bit and I managed to dump a lot of the fat lambs in a relatively short time.

When the rain didn’t come

Robert Hodgkins Hertfordshire, England

Winter here has been a challenge. We had made a management plan in late summer to plant large areas of overwinter feed. Having just taken on 120 hectares of arable land it was great having it all under our control and I was looking forward to vast crops of stubble turnips. With that resource seemingly in place we made a couple of management decisions that would haunt us later. First was not to push the fat lambs too hard on the grass and capitalise on the better price later in the season by holding them and then finishing them on the turnips, we also had a load of older eight-10 crop ewes that I had been threatening to get rid of (although as Joanna keeps telling me I say that every year about them – apparently I am a sheep hoarder). But with a young business every sheep counts and with the turnips up our sleeve I figured as long as they had a tooth or two we could get away with running

Winter 2016 crop.

them another year. We also had about 200 poor-condition two-tooths I was desperately trying to grow on, and some ewe lambs we intended to mate that I needed to get up to 42kg. So, all up we had close to 250ha of feed, which was massively over the top but as above we had certain classes of stock that needed them and the rest of the stock could use them as a conditionbooster over winter. However, as with most things in agriculture mother nature decided to stick two fingers up at me. The United Kingdom went through a very dry summer and autumn with less than 30% of the average rain for that time of year and grass covers going into winter were the first to suffer with limited autumn growth. Winter cover crops of stubble turnips never really poked out of the ground and in the end about 40% of the crop was a complete write off. Remaining crops that did make it were very stunted and nothing like the drymatter I had expected or hoped for. Early turnips were allocated to the thin ewes and the two-tooths to give a pre-mate boost, with the fat lambs bouncing around some of the better fields eating what was left of the covers. At this point I admit I was a man in denial and convinced rain was certain to come and it would all be okay. However as weeks went by without any moisture (aside from my tears) it was becoming obvious we were going to run out of stubble turnips.

In the end, with a week before the rams went in, I pulled the two-tooths off the turnips (they had been there for seven weeks) to try and conserve some crops for the fat lambs. In hindsight this was a really poor idea as the change in diet and their average condition just as the tups hit pulled our scanning result massively down but I had simply run out of options. We kept our thin ewes on turnips during mating and it was great to see them really turn around BCS-wise. Post Christmas, the lamb price picked up and I managed to dump a lot of the fat lambs in a relatively short time. We had about 40 that were still not fit to go but by early February we did not seem to have a blade of fodder on the place so I decided to just send them in. Weights and grades were disappointing but I felt we had to prioritise the in-lamb ewes. Across the flock the ewes had done as well as expected. We had been running around with hay and silage most of the winter as we had eaten the grass early on in the season and it never came back in the autumn. While the hay certainly wasn’t dairy quality it wasn’t too bad and we somehow managed to keep most things with a belly full. We also took the opportunity to drench the whole flock with Cydectin. The last couple of years we have not really been drenching but with limited intakes the ewes needed every advantage thrown their way. Scanning was early February. It was 164% across the ewes, about 10% lower than usual, as expected the two- tooths dragged it down only managing 128%. Post scanning the best grass was rationed for multiples and more or less leave the singles to it. Every animal was condition scored which created a small group of sub 2.5 animals and moved them to the lambing paddocks I had been trying to save. Lambing here we come. • Robert Hodgkins farms with his wife Joanna in Hertfordshire, England. They run 1200 New Zealand Romneys and have three children under four years of age.

Winter 2015 crop (for comparision).

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NOTEBOOK Featuring farming Fieldays is the largest agricultural event in the southern hemisphere with 140,000 people attending the four-day event at Mystery Creek, Hamilton, from June 14-17. National Fieldays is the ultimate launch platform for cutting edge agricultural technology and innovation. More? www.fieldays.co.nz

Feds’ conference

Federated Farmers national conference – Farming in a brave new world – is in Wellington’s Mac’s Function Centre on June 20-22. More? www.fedfarm.org.nz

Body work

Imagineering celebration The world of imagined Victorian creations is celebrated in Oamaru every year. The 2017 Steampunk NZ Festival is the premier Steampunk event of the southern hemisphere based in the world Steampunk capital, from June 1-4. Between racing teapots, airships and much more madness, a highlight is the show at the Oamaru Opera House: Moments in Time, a series of short theatre pieces that tell of futures as they might have been and to top it all a Gala Ball. More? www.facebook.com/SteampunkNZFestival

the box” food and wine experiences, set in stunning locations throughout Hawke’s Bay. Hunker down with roaring fires, musical notes and lashings of local produce prepared in warming ways. Glasses of rich, full bodied reds will be taking centre stage as Hawke’s Bay’s food and wine heroes strut their stuff at over 60 events. More? www.eventfinda.co.nz/tour/ 2017/winter-f-a-w-c

One for winter foodies Winter F.A.W.C! is a series of “out of

Future growth

Answers in the stars Matariki, Maori New Year begins on June 25 this year as the star cluster Pleiades appears over New Zealand. Matariki is the Maori name for Pleiades. Bring your whanau and join your community for celebrations and festivities.

Auckland Art Gallery presents one of its late night presentations its major exhibition The Body Laid Bare: Masterpieces from Tate on Tuesday, June 13. More than 100 works by JMW Turner, Auguste Rodin, Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin and many more tell the story of the nude from the 1800s to the present. More? www.aucklandartgallery.com

30 practical workshops for farmers to choose from along with a lineup of guest speakers. More? www.side.org.nz

The Foundation for Arable Research 2017 conference – Growing Sustainable Futures – is at Lincoln University on June 29 and 30. The conference will include four research sessions: Future Farming, Farm Systems, Agronomy and Weeds, Pests and Diseases. There will also be an afternoon of field visits and a conference dinner. More? www.far.org.nz

Winter sports Weather permitting, it’s the ski season.

More? www.eventfinda.co.nz/tour/ 2017/matariki-2017

SIDE show SIDE – The South Island Dairy Event kicks off at Lincoln University on June 26. The three-day conference includes

NOTE BOOK

If you have something you think might be suitable for the Notebook page please send it in a word document (.doc) to andy.maciver@ nzfarmlife.co.nz along with any pictures as jpgs.

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FACTS

Good few months for lamb exports Lamb flaps

AGRIHQ ANALYST

9 8 NZ$/kg

Reece Brick

hink back to the beginning of the 2016-17 season and you’ll remember there wasn’t much confidence in the lamb sector. Brexit and the subsequent impact on the British pound were cutting deeply into export prices to the United Kingdom, Chinese demand was still subdued, and there were doubts around the ability of continental Europe to absorb any extra product sent in its direction. In the months since, global lamb markets have proven to be as fickle as ever and now appear well-poised for the remainder of the year. The main bright spark for exporters is China. From early-2013 to mid-2015 Chinese buyers were very active in sourcing lamb from New Zealand. Unfortunately this proved unsustainable. Many buyers through this period were speculators who’d never traded in lamb before. When returns on the lamb they’d

7 6 5 4

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5-yr Ave bought began to ease they backed out of the market. This caused a snowball effect where Chinese importers eventually incurred massive losses, killing interest through the 2015-16 season. There’s been a significant recovery through this year though. The two main lamb cuts traded into China are flaps and forequarters, which are now making 47% and 38% more than a year ago respectively. Regular lamb distributors are underpinning the market, which has left exporters confident this level can be sustainable, unlike two years ago.

UK CKT lamb leg 10

NZ$/kg

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The UK has performed better than expected too. NZ exporters diverted significant volumes of lamb legs, a key item of the UK market, into continental Europe in response to exchange rate movements in the early season. The weak pound also boosted exports from the UK. These two factors have left the UK short on lamb and importers have either had to increase what they are willing to pay or miss out entirely. If it wasn’t for the exchange rate frozen CKT legs would be at their highest since late 2011. All signals point to Australian activity staying in NZ’s favour for the rest of the season too. Meat and Livestock Australia recently lowered its lamb slaughter forecast for the year. Increased ewe lamb retention was cited as the main reason, though good prices for fine-micron wools have also caused more wethers to be kept onfarm. Assuming its forecasts prove accurate, Australia’s annual kill will be the lowest since 2012. This negates some competition between NZ and Australia.

Aug 2016-17

BUSINESS | ONFARM

Making money and educating

Students are a key part of Tautane, which is leased by Taratahi. Picture supplied.

Achieving a consistent performance with a large scale operation is not easy but Tautane Station managers Matt and Claire Smith along with their team are doing just that. The station at Herbertville is a commerical operation but it is also fertile ground for young minds. Rebecca Harper reports.

he three Ms – measuring, monitoring and managing – contribute to a high level of accountability and consistent performance at Tautane Station at Herbertville, this year’s winner of the Tararua Sheep and Beef Farm Business of the Year. Achieving consistent performance on the large-scale commercial property, situated in a tough coastal environment, is no mean feat for managers Matt and Claire Smith and their team. Added to the mix is the fact that education is at the heart of everything done on the property, which is leased by Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre and used as a practical training ground for young people. Tautane is owned by Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated and Taratahi has a 10year lease on the station. Since taking on the lease in 2013 the focus has been on improving production and profitability, along with creating a positive onfarm residential learning environment for students. Stock policies are based on a maternal breeding/semi-finishing operation that aims to achieve high individual stock performance (number of lambs and calves born) as well as above average feed

conversion to live weight and kilograms of product sold. Scale is no excuse for poor performance at Tautane. When Matt arrived he had the opportunity to start with a clean slate, hiring a completely new team and seeking to get away from the mentality of seeing Tautane as a traditional, largescale, extensive station and instead treat it as a farm. The goal is to achieve $1000/hectare gross farm revenue (GFR) and $500/ha economic farm surplus (EFS). They are well on their way, with an average EFS of $363/ha over the last four years, a lambing percentage of 131.9% and calving of 89.5%. Return on capital has average 6.6% over four years, well above the industry average of 1-2%. BakerAg consultant Sully Alsop commented that, while the EFS was not spectacular, what was impressive was the consistency of performance achieved on a large scale, especially considering the seasons and prices over that period. He also highlighted the remarkable management of the business. “Scale takes away an element of control. You have to be able to trust your staff to make decisions for you.

Tautane managers Claire and Matt Smith.

Farm facts:

Tautane Station, Herbertville • Owned by Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated • Leased by Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre (10-year lease: 2013 to 2023) • Managed by Matt and Claire Smith • 3716 hectares (3374ha effective) • Large-scale coastal hill country • 5 full time staff + Taratahi students • Rainfall: 1004ml average/year • Winter wet/summer dry • Altitude: 0 to 290 metres Stock: • Ewes: 16, 545 • Ewe hoggets: 5208 • Rams: 287 • Cows: 656 • 2yr heifers: 167 • 1yr heifers: 194 • 2yr steers: 162 • Bulls: 35

Collecting information and getting it across to staff so you are confident they will make the same decision you would have made.”

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Utilising technology Research and development and technology are being well utilised at Tautane to capture information and drive good decision-making. Matt is required to undertake a high level of reporting and accountability to Taratahi general manager farm business and training, Paul Crick, and there is a no surprises policy. Monthly variance reports are done and any overspend of $1000 or more must be approved by Paul. There’s no such thing as gut feel at Tautane. Everything is justified with facts and figures to back up decisions. Even for an adverse event or animal health issue, it is not good enough to say it was a district-wide problem – they want to know why it happened on Tautane. Matt uses Farmax to model pasture covers and once a month undertakes a pasture walk. Staff are given sward sticks and taught how to use them, pasture covers are recorded when stock enter and exit paddocks. FarmIQ is used to analyse gross margins and determine what options will return the most money. It is also used by staff, who all have an ipad and apps on their cellphones to access FarmIQ, where all the recording and monitoring is captured. An interactive map shows where stock is and staff can record when they have moved a mob. “It’s about getting my guys to quantify pasture covers and stock weights. I don’t want ‘they look a bit light’, I want a number. I rely on these guys to be my eyes and ears. The mentality is, if you think it needs shifting, shift it, especially young stock,” Matt says. “Trust is everything. I trust my guys and their judgement and try to encourage them to think on their own two feet. I try to give them the personal development they need to up skill them.” The key information recorded and analysed to drive decision-making includes pasture covers and growth, ewe weight, ewe hogget weight and soil moisture maps. In a nutshell, decisions are made based on live weight of stock (demand) and pasture covers (supply), and how much money they will make. Capturing so much information is one thing, but ensuring there’s not an information overload and that information collected is actually analysed and used to make decisions is an important consideration. Paul says they would lose consistency if they didn’t use the technology, as well as their high level of accountability. Technology provides efficiencies around labour and communication. “We’re

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Key points

HERBERTVILLE

Tautane is a large scale coastal station at Herbertville, this year’s winner of the Tararua Sheep & Beef Farm Business of the Year.

probably running two less labour units than would be normal for this property.” Matt says the biggest limitation around technology, be it on a large or small scale property, is your mind set. “Yes, it takes time, but it produces consistency. If you have information the facts are in front of you and making decisions is easy.” The coastal property is winter wet and summer dry, and can be prone to severely dry summers as well as high wind.

• High levels of measuring, monitoring and managing leading to sound decision making, consistent performance and a high level of reporting and accountability. • Large scale is no excuse for poor performance at Tautane. • Learning is at the heart of everything they do - the iconic station is leased by Taratahi and provides a unique opportunity for practical learning on a large-scale, commercial farm for students. • They are successfully utilising technology to capture information and drive efficiencies.

Pinch times for feed are around March and lambing time and the business is designed to be flexible, with this climate in mind. Nitrogen is applied to strategic areas in spring and trade lambs are another lever they can pull. Matt recently started enterprising different classes of stock e.g hoggets to see exactly what makes money and put priority feed into those animals.

Two-tooths in the yard, averaged 62kg at mating.

Genetic changes backed by EID data Terminal mixed-age ewes are mated to Suftex (6629 ewes), Romney (2351 ewes) and Coopworth (3000 ewes) rams, with 815 terminal two-tooth ewes mated to a Suftex ram and 3750 maternal two-tooth ewes going to a Romney ram. The 2500 ewe hoggets are mated to Romney and Suftex/Dorper rams. Coopworth genetics have been introduced after a disappointing scanning result in their second season at Tautane. To justify decisions around genetics, progeny are identified and everything is scanned separately. They have also looked at changing the terminal genetics and progeny were monitored using EID. “The new rams equate to about $9 a lamb difference. By building up that information I can go to Paul and explain why I want to change

rams,” Matt says. All ewes are body condition scored and 3 is the line in the sand. Ewe BCS is constantly monitored and, once scanned, ewes will be managed according to BCS and whether they are single/twin. The goal is to mate all ewe hoggets, but they are still struggling with getting the tail end up to weight. At Tautane 55% of income is from lambs, so weaning is a key driver. The policy is for 25% of nonreplacement lambs to be sold prime at weaning, 25% finished and the balance sold store. This year they set up a relationship with a finisher for the first time, everything is weighed onfarm and the price set before lambs depart the property.

Beef progeny test The cattle breeding policy is Angus cows mated to an Angus bull for two cycles, and the same for the heifers. Tautane has been part of the Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics Beef Central Progeny Test for the last three years. The test aims to quantify the value of genetics for commercial farmers and at Tautane 400 cows are artificially inseminated to a range of Angus bulls with high to low EBVs. Steers are killed at 280-320kg, with carcase traits and growth evaluated. Results from the test to date show growth EBVs are working on commercial farms, in a range of environments and feeding/management systems, and that Angus are outcompeting other breeds in dairy beef performance at birth. The test also shows that AI is now a commercial opportunity and Matt says they will consider continuing it, even after the test ends, with the potential to identify high-performing cows and keep some progeny as sires. Musclescanning is another technology they may carry on with. “EBVs are working, especially around weaning weight, there’s definitely a correlation.” They also noticed a relationship between BCS and conception rate, which goes up once cows hit a BCS of 7. Anything below 6.5 is drafted off and managed separately.

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Variable rate fertiliser trial Tautane is also partnering with Ravensdown, Massey University and AgResearch through a Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) fund for a variable-rate fertiliser trial. In general, fertiliser is determined by the lease agreement, which requires 200kg of superphosphate over the whole property every year and half the farm needs one tonne lime/ha every five years. The year the lime is applied, Tautane can remove the superphosphate from that half of the farm. The PGP technology has already allowed them to remove 376ha of waterways and sensitive areas and instead apply that fertiliser to more productive areas of the farm. As well as enabling targeted use of fertiliser, leading to better return on investment, this has positive implications for the environment. On the environmental front, the focus is on good stewardship of the land, going beyond compliance and using high quality environmental practices. Working with Horizons Regional Council, initiatives include planting 400 poplar and willow poles a year,

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Progeny test weaners in the yards at Tautane.

aiming to have 33% of dams fenced off and planted by 2020 and fencing off 2.5km of waterways annually. They are also looking at retiring a small block of scrubby bush to regenerate, and are exploring the use of sediment traps. Matt is keen to get away from cattle in dams and waterways and aims to clean out dams, fence them off and then

syphon water from the dams to trough systems. “Good environment is good business. The way society is going I think we have to be proactive. There is a labour requirement, but I think there are real benefits to be had. Fencing off dams is about improving water quality and I’m in favour of it.”

The Pacific Ocean forms a backdrop to Tautane Station.

Real learning on real farms is education…the students are integrated into whatever is happening on the farm. We explain what we are going to do, how we will do it and why – they need to understand the purpose behind what we do,” Matt says. The group is split into two, with one half going with the fencer/general and the other half concentrating on stock work. The focus is on the three Ps – position, patience and pressure – as well as work ethic and attitude. “Attitude and work ethic are important. It’s a commercial farm and there are time pressures. Be keen and enthusiastic, Our services include: be on time, show an interest and ask • Customised lots of questions. maintenance painting It’s a positive work programmes. environment and

Taratahi plays an important role in the industry, training the next generation of employees, and the ability to gain practical on-farm experience in a commercial environment is vital. Students arrive on Tautane in groups of seven to eight and live on the station for two weeks at a time, fitting in with whatever is happening, be it drenching, docking, getting on a hand piece or doing dog tuckers. “The fundamental reason we are here

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we have a lot of laughs and banter going on.” Tautane provides a unique opportunity for students to experience mustering big paddocks, handling mobs of up to 6000 ewes or 400 cows, and being able to crutch large numbers of sheep in a day and not leave until the job is done. The scale of the station also means the chance to repeat key tasks. Claire looks after the pastoral care of the students, with an emphasis on students being self-reliant and learning the life skills they will need in the real world. For Matt’s fulltime staff, about 50% of their time is taken up by education. The students are green when they arrive and in some ways could be seen as a negative workforce, but as the year progresses and they get to know the farm and get their own dogs, they become a real asset. • Meet the Smiths, Young Country, p73.

Hemoata Kopa and boyfriend Taane Hubbard with their dogs Sherek and Bell.

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BUSINESS | FARM SECURITY

Thieves leave trail of destruction

Thieves on David and Jacky Short’s Feilding farm couldn’t get into the gun safe, but destroyed it trying. Photo provided.

Criminals cut fences and crossed paddocks on a windy night to raid a Feilding farmer. Anne Hughes reports. Shearing gear was clearly not on the shopping list when criminals broke into a Feilding farm workshop. David and Jacky Short manufacture and distribute the popular portable shearer Handypiece from their farm on the outskirts of Feilding. David says criminals must have cased their farm and workshop thoroughly before breaking in one night in late February. The offenders chose a windy night when they were unlikely to be heard, parked their vehicle behind trees down the road and entered through paddocks, avoiding using the driveway and passing the house to access the workshop. David suspects they fed the three working dogs, housed near the workshop, to keep them quiet. “Our dogs usually go bananas if there’s someone down there they don’t know.” The thieves disabled the alarm system and gained access through a large sliding door, which they got open by digging out the bottom. “We reckon they must have cased the job out for them to know that the alarm system wasn’t monitored back to town or to make our phone ring.” Despite the amount of shearing gear in the workshop, the thieves stole a quad bike, two motorbikes, a racing go kart, a new spear gun and a new chainsaw. They tried unsuccessfully to wedge open the gun safe, ruining it in the

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process. The thieves departed through the farm, cutting a couple of fences on their way out and leaving a second chainsaw lying in a paddock. David thinks they must have ridden the bikes out. The bikes were in the locked workshop with the keys in. The Shorts discovered the break in when they started work the next morning. David called police who attended that day, along with a forensics person who dusted for fingerprints, although none were found. Another nearby property was burgled soon after and David learnt thieves had been targeting rural areas around Feilding, Marton and Bulls. The culprits were caught weeks later

when a gun they’d stolen from down the road was advertised on Trade Me. Despite catching the thieves, none of the Shorts’ stolen items have been recovered. David even heard through the grapevine where the go kart was, but police didn’t have enough information for a search warrant. Insurance will cover the stolen items, but David says going through the claims process was a hassle. They now know the importance of an itemised insurance checklist, taking photos and recording serial numbers of items at the time of purchase. “You have to make 100% sure of your wording in your policies.” Damage to the fences was covered because David had taken out fencing insurance after the 2003 floods. “We’ll be doing a good review of our insurance. “Never take for granted that you’ve got something in a safe area and make sure you have a very good list of what you think is insured, with photos.” The Shorts now have a monitored alarm system, so they will be alerted if someone tampers with it, and security cameras. David says that doesn’t guarantee they won’t be burgled again. He was frustrated at the general feeling among police that if the offenders were caught, they would only get a slap on the hand as punishment. “It wasn’t until the guns were stolen that it became a bit more serious.” With the string of burglaries occurring in three rural areas, David says it became complicated with different policing areas trying to work together. Thieves cut their way through fences to get away with their haul. Photo provided.

BUSINESS | FARM SECURITY

Burglars on the block Anne Hughes Thieves have targeted Ian Corney’s farm five times in the past seven years. He has no doubt it will happen again. Ian farms near Taumarunui in the King Country. The thefts have occurred not on his home farm, but on a separate block 20 minutes’ drive away. Occasionally, the house on this farm has been occupied by a farm worker or tenant, but the woolshed is not easily visible from the house, the road or the neighbour’s property. Ian has owned the farm for 11 years. Thefts from the woolshed have only occurred in the past seven. The farm house has been broken into twice, but the woolshed and its contents have been the main target. Tools, a scales monitor, fencing gear and weed spray have been taken. “A lot of the stuff that’s been stolen was absolutely no use to anyone unless you have a specific use for them,” Ian says. For example, the scales monitor is only compatible with a certain type of weigh system and he can only wonder why the hot water heater was torn off the wall of the woolshed lunch room – possibly for the copper inside it. A quad bike was tampered with, but the thieves were not successful in taking it. Thieves have smashed locks, kicked in doors and torn corrugated iron to access locked storage areas.

Ian used to tie a strop around a post and padlock that to the quad bike. The bike and other valuable items not stored in the locked woolshed are now kept in a shipping container Ian bought for $3000 in an attempt to deter thieves. “After the second time we were burgled (six years ago) we bought the storage container, which was working well up until just before Christmas when they smashed the lock open.” He has installed surveillance and signage, but cameras require monitoring and cell phone reception is needed for live footage.

Padlocking the gate is just one way Ian Corney has stepped up security on his farm.

“It doesn’t matter what you do – someone, somehow is going to get around it.” On advice from police, the gate heading into the woolshed is chained and padlocked. “They might still get in, but it slows them down.” Ian no longer risks leaving some gear on the farm overnight. “All my chainsaws and fencing gear

Ian Corney bought a shipping container, hoping to make things harder for thieves.

goes back and forwards from home to here with me, which is a damned nuisance.” The person responsible for the secondto-last theft (before Christmas) was caught and the scales monitor, shearing gear and an old historic axe were returned. This was the only time Ian retrieved any of his stolen property. Despite the time and expense of trying to prevent further thefts, Ian is not convinced his security measures will deter criminals. “Of course it will happen again. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. “I don’t know if it’s a sign of the society we’re living in or not, but it seems to be getting worse.” Ian says his insurance company (FMG) has been very good in helping replace or compensate for the stolen items, but it is a hassle finding receipts and quotes. It was especially hard to find a value for the traditional Zip water heater – not a common item these days. Ian says the police do a really good job and have given him good advice, but rural policing is under-resourced and officers cover large areas. “They do a good job, but you could put four times as many police on the job and would that be enough? To be honest, I don’t know if it would.”

Make security a priority Rural communities need to work together, be observant and keep police informed of anything out of the ordinary, community policing co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Alasdair Macmillan says. Many reported thefts are committed by opportunist criminals simply looking for that insecure shed or farm vehicle with the keys left in the ignition, Macmillan says. All farmers should check their boundaries and fence lines on a regular basis. Farmers should also keep an eye out for unexpected signs of herding near their boundary lines.

Macmillan urges neighbours to make a note of any movement of stock, particularly if it’s at an unusual time of the year. “If possible, make a note of any suspicious vehicle’s registration number, description, the direction the vehicle travelled in and what it was carrying. Even a photo on a cellphone provides a significant amount of information to police.” Farmers should also be reviewing their auditing systems and there are almost always improvements that can be made to the management and security of stock, he says.

Clearly tag animals and regardless of the size of your property, stock numbers should be checked once a week. Items such as animal tags and equipment should be kept in a secure facility. Enhanced security and signage can help to deter opportunistic thefts. When employing staff, Macmillan says employers should carry out due diligence on applicants, to minimise the risk to their business. Find out how secure your farm is by completing the rural security checklist on the New Zealand Police website www. police.govt.nz

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Rural security tips If your neighbour has suffered a burglary recently, your chances of being burgled are much higher. The most common items stolen are chainsaws, tools, small machinery, fuel, farm bikes and bike parts.

Make your house hard to target: The range of deterrents to theft of bikes and quads includes a small disc lock which can be kept in a pocket, and an alarm lock which is set off when it senses movement.

wall or to something that will restrict access • Security around firearms storage should be able to withstand at least 10 minutes of attempted forced entry by thieves using common tools such as hammers, crowbars and screwdrivers • Keep perimeter gates locked and ensure they can’t be taken off their hinges • Ensure employees know security measures are in place • Display signs promoting crime prevention measures • Cut back bushes and trees around buildings so offenders can’t be easily concealed • Installing a hotwire on top of boundary fences and gates can help restrict access • Remove keys from unattended farm

Protecting livestock • Where possible, lock stockyard gates and loading ramps • Regularly check paddocks where animals are grazing • Keep up-to-date records • Keep hedges, fences and gates wellmaintained • Report stock thefts, and attempted thefts, to police and record them on the Agri HQ livestock theft page. Source: The Rural Crime Prevention Guide from FMG, New Zealand Police and Federated Farmers.

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• Install sensor lighting at the front and rear of the house, high enough so criminals cannot cover or remove bulbs • Leave curtains partially open so the home looks occupied • Leave an inside light on when out at night so it appears someone is home • Always fully close windows when you are not at home • Do not leave valuable items outside overnight • Photograph and register the details and serial numbers of your important assets and possessions at www.snap.org.nz – a website set up by New Zealand Police to help recover stolen goods and make them harder for criminals to on-sell • Where possible, leave re-fuelling until the next day • Ensure vehicle storage areas are well lit and, if possible, close to your home • Avoid leaving tractors and other vehicles in boundary paddocks • Park vehicles with fuel caps close to the

bikes and tractors • If you can’t keep quad bikes in a secure building, use a padlock or anchor and chain the bike • Mark or engrave farm property with an identifying feature such as your name • Install security lighting around (locked) fuel tanks • Keep an inventory on fuel consumption, so thefts can be identified quickly • Install alarms in buildings containing high value farm assets and property • Consider installing cameras around key buildings or a security alarm across the main entrance to your property • Dummy cameras can also deter thieves.

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

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BUSINESS | TAXATION

IRD focuses on hobby farmers Jono Bredin Inland Revenue is chasing GST-registered hobby farms that have no taxable activity. Since early September 2016, IRD has a new focus of tidying up the number of taxpayers who are GST-registered where a “taxable activity” may no longer exist. The existence of a taxable activity is an ongoing, compulsory requirement of being GST registered. Such an activity is defined as one carried on continuously or regularly and involves, or is intended to involve, supplies made to another person for the payment of money or some other consideration. For GST purposes it is important to distinguish between a business and a hobby, as the latter is specifically excluded from the definition of a taxable activity. While this is not black and white and every circumstance is different, the onus will always be on a farmer to prove the reasons they conduct the activity, Jono Bredin. the time input into

GST-registered hobby farms or lifestyle blocks that have no taxable activity face de-registration and possible tax repayments.

the activity and that the structure used has a “business” feel and associated characteristics. For example, pleasure or enjoyment is the predominant reason for carrying on a hobby, but is only a secondary factor for conducting a taxable activity. A hobby is likely to be undertaken from time to time in contrast to the continuity of a business and the associated level of financial investment. IRD has sent a number of letters to accountants and their clients stating they intend to cancel the taxpayer’s GST registration from a certain date. Many of these letters have been received by those owning farms or lifestyle blocks who may have registered for GST when land was originally purchased. The letter provides an email address to respond to if a taxpayer thinks they should remain GST-registered, but as a default the GST registration will be cancelled as a matter of course. The significant consequence of any GST de-registration is that GST will need to be repaid on the market value of all assets owned on that date. Over recent years many land blocks may Large 1.5 tonne have increased big capacity in value which could mean the tax payable would be significant. Robustly If you think especiall built, y suitable you may be in the for shee p, cattle position where you and dee r have previously claimed GST on the purchase of land and you may no

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longer meet the ongoing requirements to be GST-registered, there are some options you can consider after speaking to a tax specialist. For example, you may prefer to retrospectively de-register if your taxable activity ceased some time ago and it reduces your GST exposure due to lower historical land values. In this situation there may be use of money interest on the amounts outstanding but by owning up to IRD there would likely be no penalties. Interest costs can also be kept to a minimum by buying the tax via a tax pooling intermediary. Subject to the facts, IRD has indicated that where a person has ceased any taxable activity, they would sympathetically consider agreeing to retrospective de-registration if a taxpayer presents an argument, supported by reasonable evidence that they once carried on a taxable activity which has now ceased. On the other hand, the department will be wary of those who try to produce an outcome contrary to the intent of the legislation. An example would be where a taxpayer bought land claiming it was part of a taxable activity, claimed GST, but now says they never had any taxable activity. If you have previously bought land or perhaps you think the extent of your farming activities is more like a hobby and have claimed GST back, you should be proactive and talk to a tax specialist about your options. Not only can they ensure a positive outcome with IRD, they can also provide options for limiting the total cost to you including any potential interest and penalties. • Dunedin-based Jono Bredin is a director and head of tax at Keogh McCormack. Email: jbredin@kmbusiness.co.nz, Web: www.kmbusiness.co.nz

Country-Wide June 2017

WEIGHING WEANER GROWTH

WILD SIDE Duncan makes gains north and south P28

SEARCH FOR DEER-SPECIFIC DRENCH Country-Wide June 2017

DEER | EID

Pivotal move for Duncan Specialist venison processing company Duncan New Zealand now has a foothold in both North and South Islands. Lynda Gray reports.

he 2014 buyout of Otago Venison has been a pivotal move for Duncan New Zealand in the South Island. “We’ve gone from being a seller of venison from the Mosgiel plant to a fully integrated procurement to marketing business, complementing our North Island operation,” marketing manager Glenn Tyrrell says. The specialist venison company now has a processing foothold in both North and South islands, with plants near

‘The feral market is an easy fit for us as supply dovetails into when farmed supply numbers are lower.’

Rotorua and at Mosgiel, near Dunedin. ”We’ve retained our market-led focus, but it’s improved our quality control and operational efficiency, along with meeting the growing demands of our customers.” Duncan NZ had a 25% shareholding in Otago Venison, and in December 2014

moved to full ownership, about the same time Tyrrell came on board as marketing manager. He started working from the Mosgiel processing Glenn Tyrrell: A fully integrated business plant, across the road from Invermay, but recently moved to Wanaka where new marketing executive Jared Sandri is also based. The United States has always been the major market for Duncan NZ venison but has been 25 years in the making, mostly by company co-founder Andrew Duncan. “The market has grown quite dramatically for us while Europe has been going through a tough time.” They supply two specialty meat wholesalers – Broadleaf, based in Los Angeles, and Sierra, based in Reno, Nevada. The US has a growing appetite for natural or organic-type meats. They have a preference for middle cuts whereas the European market remains leg-focused, Tyrrell says. Duncan NZ is one of four NZ processors

developing Cervena for summer consumption in Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), a region that has traditionally used venison in winter menus. The European spring initiative is part of the deer industry’s P2P initiative.

WILD SIDE Last year Duncan NZ started feral venison processing at the Mosgiel plant. “It complements our farmed kill venison and there’s good demand for the product,” Tyrrell says. A handful of hunters supplied animals from April until August and were paid on a per-kilogram basis. The feral price tended to be lower than the farmed price because there were greater processing costs and fewer market options. There were rigorous standards around the supply. Animals had to be GPStracked and located to verify capture was in an authorised control area, and transported in a chilled trailer to the processing facility within 10 hours. They were delivered with skin on Jared Sandri: Developing and key offal the domestic market. intact, which

Country-Wide June 2017

DEER | MARKETS

RED MEAT EXPERIENCE Jared Sandri is a newbie to Duncan NZ but not without experience in the red meat industry. Sandri, who was appointed marketing executive in mid-April, got valuable insight to the red meat industry during a three-year stint with Silver Fern Farms. Tyrrell, who at the time was SFF sales and marketing general manager, took Sandri on as part of the company’s graduate cadetship programme. Over six months Sandri got practical experience and understanding of the many different links and stages in the paddock-to-plate marketing chain. He moved up the ranks and served more than two years in a red meat sales executive role responsible for some European markets. He left SFF for overseas travel and landed an account manager role with global giant Coca Cola working with bars, cafes and restaurants in central London. His new role will be taking on and further developing the domestic food service market as well as supporting Tyrrell in export markets. “I’ll be continuing on from what Vinnie Duncan has developed over the past 25 years. There’s a lot to learn but it’s a great opportunity.” Although Wanaka-based, Sandri will spend much of his time in Duncan NZ’s Whitford head office and working alongside meat foodservice wholesaler Carve Meats.

Country-Wide June 2017

New Zealand venison is in a good space. USA NUMBER ONE “I think it (the market) is probably The United States is the number as good as it’s ever been,” Duncan-NZ one destination for NZ venison. It’s marketing manager Glenn Tyrrell says. the first time ever that Germany has But with 30-plus years’ experience of been surpassed, making it a significant the global venison industry, the DINZ milestone. board member is quick to qualify his Since 2013 exports have more than summation. doubled from 1514 tonnes (Feb–Feb) “The negative is there’s not enough to 3115t. animals and that leaves the potential for But in the bigger picture the overheated procurement and the risk of European zone remains a major buying overpricing.” force taking a greater volume of the Over the last three years the national higher-value chilled cuts in September kill has reduced by almost 30% from and October. 420,000 to 298,000. The 2017 kill is The dip in exports to these markets estimated to be about 280,000. reflects the NZ drop in production. “That’s tough for processors but we Tyrrell is confident about the future see this as a major retention year and for NZ venison in the US despite the hopefully numbers will grow.” prospect of Trump-driven protectionist Although the frozen price for venison policies. has increased it is unlikely chilled prices “The Reserve Bank has highlighted will increase to the same degree. its concerns for NZ agriculture and I “It doesn’t mean we can add another see it as a big risk for lamb and beef in couple of dollars to chilled products. particular. I think it’s less of a risk for If we did it will blow the market… NZ venison because of the absence of farmers’ expectations for price need to be domestically produced venison.” realistic.” He won’t be drawn on what “realistic” might Destination of NZ Venison Exports be, but is predicting a 12 months end Feb. similar price to last year. Euro Zone USA Others As always the 12,000 currency factor, in 10,000 particular the NZ/ 8,000 Euro, is a key driver 6,000 of schedule price. It’s 4,000 hovering around .65, which is 44% higher 2,000 than when venison -‐ 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 hit the $10/kg mark in 2008-2009.

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made processing slower than with farm-raised animals. Processing of feral deer was kept completely separate from farm-raised deer and the carcases and cuts were kept in a designated chiller for feral product. The end product, mainly standard cuts, was sold under a separate brand to European customers. “The feral market is an easy fit for us as supply dovetails into when farmed supply numbers are lower.”

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DEER | WEANERS

Weighing in on weaner growth Lynda Gray Paying greater attention to the detail of weaner weight and growth patterns with EID is helping turn out heavier weaners sooner at the Nicolson family’s Ida Valley farm. The more inquisitive and technologyled approach is part of an Advance Party project investigating the potential to increase winter liveweight gains. Cam Nicolson says he didn’t think there was much scope for improvement and is happy to be proved wrong. In 2015, the first year of weighing, the hybrid weaners gained 13.6 kg (115g/day) over winter. The average slaughter date was October 20 and carcaseweight 53kg. Last year the winter weight gain was almost 80% more, at 24.3kg (184g/day). “We came to the conclusion that every kilogram of liveweight pre-winter was worth about $6/kg in 2015-16 because of

the abrupt schedule decline at the end of the chilled season,” Cam says. The winter weight gain improvement has been driven by tracking and analysing growth rates at a mob and paddock level. Using a Tru-Test XRS wand the breed – hybrid or Red, liveweight, estimated carcaseweight based on a 54% dressing; daily weight gain, and the paddock from which the weaner has come from is recorded against each EID tag. “We’ve been able to see when most of their growth occurred, what mobs did better and on what paddocks.” In some paddocks underperforming and deficient soils have been picked up, a classic example being the anklehigh young grass on which weaners were losing weight. Soil testing showed potassium levels far exceeded sodium levels and was corrected with a fourtonne dressing of lime over two years.

Advance Party membership has given Cam Nicolson the confidence and motivation to put EID technology to productive use.

Key Facts • Cam and Amy Nicolson • Stuart and Jan Nicolson • Ida Valley, Central Otago • 2017 wintered stock • 2,050 mixed-age ewes • 750 hoggets, includes 500 mated • 400 Red hinds • 50 hybrid weaners • 16 Wapiti bulls • 30 18-month composite heifers • 25 weaner calves “There’s no way we would have picked that without monitoring, but that’s the beauty of EID.” The Nicolsons have wintered weaners on turnips and grass for several years but were keen to trial another forage option.

‘We wanted something other than fodder beet because it costs a lot to grow and it’s a big risk without a pivot for watering. We thought kale would be a good option because it has a high ME.’

“We wanted something other than fodder beet because it costs a lot to grow and it’s a big risk without a pivot for watering. We thought kale would be a good option because it has a high ME. ” Last year a 6.5t crop of Coleor kale

Country-Wide June 2017

The 2016 born fawns weaned 77kg at the end of April.

IDA VALLEY

Weaner average daily growth over winter on the Italian ryegrass and turnip crop was 215g/day last year. The estimated 7 tonne crop cost about $180 - $200/ha.

for weaners, Cropmark’s Richard Moate says. Under good conditions it’s an 11-13% MJ/kg/DM and 142015 2016 2017 18% DM crop. Unfortunately the Weaning & pre-winter 67.2 70.7 78 Nicolson’s 2016 crop was stressed May (kg) due to dry conditions and this increased the neutral digestible Post-winter weight (kg) 80.8 95 fibre (NDF) level. Av winter daily growth 115 184 “The higher the NDF the lower weight (grams) the ME and the longer it takes the Av slaughter date 20 Oct 14 Oct animal to digest the plant.” Av carcase weight (kg) 53 56.14 The Kestrel being grown this year is probably a better option for deer on dryland. lucerne balage. The Nicolsons are now “The only negative is that snow will keen to see if selecting for bigger hinds knock it over whereas Colear handles it will influence weaner growth. better.” “We’re looking for bigger hinds that we Turnips were ideally suited to hope will produce bigger-framed weaners predominantly dryland conditions. to hang more meat on.” “They’re a bulb so there’s not the For the past two years 70 R2 hinds have same risk that NDF levels will increase been bought and mated to hybrid spikers. dramatically.” The first progeny are on the ground but He said crop testing before feeding to it will take up to five years to assess the weaners would take the guesswork out benefits or otherwise of the move. of MJ/kg/DM, NDF and yield levels, and Otago Advance Party facilitator Simon would be a good basis from which to Glennie says dry summers in the Ida feed budget. Valley make it hard to put much more weight on weaners but the Nicolsons have progressively increased pre-winter weights. “Our thoughts are that it is better to put on weight if possible when feed is cheaper in the summer but the climate doesn’t always allow that. We’ll watch with interest to see whether all deer can be killed in the chilled period.” Cam says the project will be nailed once a 200g/daily growth average is achieved.

Weaner performance

WEANER-FREE

was grown and fed with lucerne balage. Although a great filler, end-of-winter weaner weights were disappointing achieving a 90g/day average. This year’s 7ha of Kestrel kale, which cost about $250-$280/ha to grow, will be fed to the 400 hinds as a maintenance supplement. The turnips and Italian grass crop works out about $180-$200 to grow. It’s direct-drilled in the third week of January following a double spray of glyphosate and a 100kg/ha dressing of Superior20. The crop is strip-fed, with no back fencing, to mobs of 100 weaners with

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Intensive weaner finishing is an important income stream but not so this year. Instead, spurred on by strong store prices, 210 weaners were sold in April. It’s left the Nicolsons more or less weanerfree over the winter, apart from the 50 hybrid replacements. Although it will create a slight blip in the weaner winter growth project Cam’s not complaining and is looking forward to a less-intensive break fence shifting winter. The excess turnips and grass will be grazed by hoggets, 500 of which have been mated. Hogget lambing is something new and a prospect Cam is approaching with an open mind. Country-Wide first visited the Nicolsons in 2013. Since then stock units have decreased from 6500 to 4200 and the hind herd and number of weaners finished halved due to the expiry of neighbouring lease land.

KALE ISSUES Why didn’t the Nicolsons’ weaners grow as well on kale? Kale can be a good wintering crop

This year the Kestrel kale will be grazed by the Nicolsons’ hinds.

In-fawn hinds will be in high demand this winter, following on from strong weaner deer sales in autumn.

DEER | WEANERS

Strong prices lift breeding numbers Anne Hughes Consistently strong venison prices are motivating deer farmers to lift breeding numbers. High Peak Station weaner stag prices exceeded $7/kg, with one pen earning a record per head price of $500. Demand was equally strong at the annual Mt Arrowsmith and Taihape sales and for weaners sold privately on farms around the country. Almost 1500 weaner stags and hinds were sold over two days at the annual Taihape weaner deer sale in early April. New Zealand Deer Farmers Association Taihape branch chairperson Andrew Peters says prices were similar to last year – with equally high demand, but much heavier animals on offer.

The guys that are into breeding now and have weathered a lot of poor years are in it for the long haul and most of the breeders around here are increasing their hind numbers.’

The heaviest hybrid stags earned $5.44/ kg, making a per head price of $462. The top stag price per kilogram was for the Peters’ Red stags of $6.95/kg or $358/ head. The heaviest hinds made $5.33/kg or $430/head. The highest per kilogram price for hybrid hinds was $6.61/kg ($350/head). Peters says the straight Red hinds were keenly sought after for breeding, with one line making $6.40/kg and another $6.41/kg. At the completion of the sale buyers were still looking for weaners, reflecting the shortage of livestock in the deer industry. Despite high demand and great prices, Peters says it’s business as usual for deer breeders as they head into winter. “But the guys that are into breeding now and have weathered a lot of poor years are in it for the long haul and most of the breeders around here are increasing their hind numbers.” The Peters have been increasing their own herd through breeding for a couple of years. Peters says it takes time to breed

numbers up and it is hard to source good breeding stock to buy in. He says deer farmers have had five years of good venison values and it’s just getting better. “We’re not getting the fluctuations in the schedule value throughout the year as we used to. That’s because there’s more product being sold chilled and more diversity into the markets. “At the moment overseas demand is outstripping supply. With prudent and clever marketing that situation should be able to be maintained, which is a really good situation to be in.” Carrfields stock agent Derek Mickleson says the Taihape sale was attended by a few new buyers, with most of the deer selling into the Waikato, Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu and the odd small line going to Taranaki. “They bought with a margin in mind. They haven’t overstepped the mark in my opinion,” Mickleson says. “They are buying good quality animals and will make a margin.”

›› Eager buyers in South p31 Andrew Peters chairs the Taihape branch of the New Zealand Deer Farmers Association and says a more consistent venison schedule contributed to another good weaner sale for Taihape breeders.

The average stag price was $6.04/ kg, just eight cents up from 2016, but a better growing season this year helped farmers grow weaners out to heavier weights. The heaviest weaner stags entered this year averaged 84.8kg – 13kg more than last year. Hybrid hinds were up to 81.25kg this year, 13.5 heavier than 2016. “That’s a massive difference. The only reason for that is grass,” Peters says, who farms at Taihape with wife Pam. Peters says Red weaner deer are catching up to hybrids for liveweight, thanks to genetic progress and breeders targeting stags with good growth rates.

Country-Wide June 2017

DEER | DRENCH

Work in progress Lynda Gray The deer industry is still searching for an animal health company to partner in development of a deer-specific Dan Coup: Demand combination but no response. oral drench. Approaches have been made to potential manufacturers with no positive response, the sticking point being the likelihood of generating sufficient financial returns from the niche-sized deer industry, Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) CEO and DEEResearch director Dan Coup says. “The need and want is there but animal

health companies are not responding.” However, research over the past two years commissioned by DEEResearch had answered some previously unanswered questions about appropriate dose rates for the various active ingredients. Results from trials by AgResearch scientist Dave Leathwick had indicated short-term extended exposure to an anthelmintic at lower dose rates was possibly more effective than a one-off dose. Now he was looking at whether a mini bolus could deliver such a treatment. “We realise that a bolus is not a preference for deer farmers but if it proves to have greater efficacy, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages we would look at pursuing it.”

A fawn being drenched. The search is on for a deerspecific combination drench.

He said a stop or go decision around a mini bolus would be made at the end of the year. “We are optimistic the work will deliver something efficacious and practical for deer farmers, but don’t want to give people unrealistic expectations around timelines. Even if we can develop a good product, getting it approved and registered by government can take months or even years.” DEEResearch is a joint venture between the deer industry and AgResearch. DINZ contributes about $400,000 each year towards projects. Coup says about 25% of the research budget is directed at animal health research, which includes parasitism.

EAGER BUYERS IN SOUTH Eager buyers from North Canterbury to Wanaka gathered at the South Island’s on-farm weaner sales. Mt Arrowsmith Station in the Ashburton Gorge offered 219 hybrid stags and 223 hinds for sale in late March. Top selling stags made $6.72/kg for a pen of 71 stags averaging 65.5kg. Stags weighed on average 67.41kg and sold for an average of $6.22/kg. Top price for hinds was $6.14/kg for a pen of 106 averaging 65.5kg. Average weight for hinds was 66.14kg and the average price was $5.80/kg. The High Peak Station weaner deer sale in the Rakaia Gorge on April 6 saw 875 weaner deer offered for sale to keen buyers from North Canterbury to Wanaka. Top price hybrid stag price was $7.36/ kg for a pen of 86 stags averaging 62.5kg. Red stags reached $7.30/kg for a pen of 95 stags averaging 63kg. Hybrid hinds reached $6.66/kg for a pen of 96 hinds averaging 57kg and the top Red hind price was $6.31/kg. A pen of 34 hybrid stags weighing 71.5kg sold for $6.99/kg - a record per head price of $500. Deer specialist with Peter Walsh and Associates, Max Bensemann, says prices at the South Island sales were slightly

Country-Wide June 2017

Andrew and Pam Peters are gradually building hind numbers through breeding on their Taihape farm.

higher than anticipated. Bensemann says the prices were driven by the amount of feed available during autumn and the high demand for traditional livestock. He says supply contracts are working well for venison finishers, many of whom have very good feeding regimes set up to finish deer at deadweights of 65-85kg this season. “Breeders have had a lot better couple of years, but this year was exceptional. “Good on them for hanging onto their hinds.”

Most weaner deer are sold privately on-farm, with buyers this year paying $5-$5.50/kg earlier in the season, Bensemann says. With pregnancy scanning of hinds starting in June, surplus in-fawn hinds will come up for sale in June and July. Bensemann says they will be hard to find this season, with fewer farmers exiting the deer industry and some retaining more hinds to lift breeding numbers. At this stage, he is expecting in-fawn hind prices to range from $550-$600.

LIVESTOCK | ONFARM

TWO-TOOTH CHAMP CHANGES TACK

Farm employee Matt Waite (left) and owner John Herbert look after 7000 stock units on the 650ha West Otago farm.

John and Tracy Herbert are the fifth generation to farm West Otago’s Marama. The winners of this year’s Country-Wide West Otago two-tooth competition have a reputation for turning out well-grown ewes. Lynda Gray reports. Photos by John Cosgrove.

canning in mid-July will be a day of reckoning for John Herbert. “I’ll be nervous. I see it as a benchmarking day. It reflects how management has gone over the last six months and is a great yard stick of how feeding and breeding is going.” This year will be an especially tense time given his recent decision to change breeding tack. Marama’s 4600 Perendale mixed-age ewes have typically scanned 175-178% and lambed 138-143%. They perform well in the challenging hill and gully West Otago farm but John wants more; in particular 10% more at lambing and in lamb carcase weights. “That’s my goal and it doesn’t sound a lot but I’m struggling to find how I’m going to get there.” Working on the theory that ‘nothing will change if nothing is changed,’ the decision was made earlier this year to get some hybrid vigour going by introducing Romney genetics. The first steps were taken on April 20 with three Romney rams and 20 leased Romney ram lambs put out for one cycle with the mixed-age ewes, and eight Romney rams with the two-tooths at 1:80. John’s ability to turn out well-grown ewes was acknowledged in winning this year’s West Otago two-tooth competition sponsored by Country-Wide. Judges were impressed by the evenness, overall look

and constitution of the 820 Perendales entered. John agrees a combination of feeding and breeding makes a topproducing ewe but is unsure by how much feeding helps express genetic potential. “Some say that 90% of breeding is feeding…but I don’t know if that’s the case and it worries me sometimes that I don’t know the answer.” However, feeding well, especially over winter is crucial in setting ewes up for what can be a delayed and cold spring on Marama. This year from mid-June until early August every animal will be on 60ha of crop. It’s a policy followed primarily to maintain ewe liveweight, but has the secondary benefit of keeping hooves off water logged paddocks and therefore in better shape for spring grazing. The winter crops of choice are swedes and chou, but this year, for the first time, 5ha of fodder beet is being grown. John admits he’s not convinced that sheep farmers can justify the expense of growing fodder beet. It was sown with cattle grazing in mind but with the decision made to keep cattle out of the winter mix the ‘B’ mob of terminal-mated ewes will

get it. The cost of seed, spray, fertiliser and cultivation/drilling is estimated at $2566/ha, almost four-times the cost of chou at $650/ha, and more than three times swedes at $716/ha. “A fertiliser rep once told me that for half the price you can get two-thirds of the crop from chou and swedes and I believe there’s an element of truth to that.” Growing winter crops can be addictive, John says, which is understandable because it builds fertility and makes wintering easier. The downside is it leaves less grazing for the spring crunch. “We’re south-facing and it’s a huge limiting factor, especially in early spring and if we go into summer without enough leaf cover it takes a long time to recover.”

Tracy and Jo hn Herbert are the fifth generation to farm Maram a which was originally bo ug great-great gr ht by his andfather in 1873, a Gab riel’s Gully goldfields sh opkeeper. Photo by Ly nda Gray

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The Herberts won the 2017 Country-Wide West Otago two-tooth competition which included $500 cash, $2000 in ryegrass seed and management assistance from Agriseeds and a $2000 soil fertility consultancy package from agKnowledge.

Managing stock and crops Through trial and error, stock and crop management that works in with the typically long winter and late spring growth profile has been introduced. One of the more recent examples is the early spring 60-80kg/ha application of Ammo31 on the 100ha of younger and higher-producing paddocks. “It works better in colder temperatures than urea so it gets us through the first month of spring.” Another example is introduction of Winter Star a tetraploid annual ryegrass lasting for about 10 months. Last year it followed a crop of summer turnips. The lighter ewes and hoggets each got three grazings, and 110 bales of early balage was cut. This year 10ha went into an older, runout pasture and will supplement nicely what John describes as an “average” crop of swedes. Winter Star is relatively expensive to grow, at about $345/ha for seed, fertiliser, spray and cultivation but he’ll probably stick with it.

“If it keeps helping us out over the spring and speeds up our crop rotation we’ll grow it.” Sheep management has been developed to suit the exposed and south-facing farm, and skewed to look after those that contribute most to farm income – the twinning ewes. After drafting at scanning they’re more or less ad-lib fed on winter-saved paddocks from the beginning of August, whereas the single-lambing ewes stay on crop up until lambing. “I take the pressure right off (the twinning ewes). They get shifted every two to three days and balage to suit.” Over lambing, which starts on September 15, there is an open-paddock policy where the gates are left open in three to four adjoining 5ha paddocks. “It gives the ewes more opportunity to seek out shade and shelter. I know it makes some farmers nervous but it works for us.” Ewes are shorn twice a year between Christmas and New Year, and in early

June at a cost of about $7.50. “We also pay $3.40 to shear lambs. There are years that I can’t justify it but the big side-line benefits are better quality wool and improved stock health, such as no cast ewes during summer. It also means we don’t have the cost of prewinter crutching.” Sheep selection is based on the identification and retention of highfertility ewes. “Basically the ewes are a twin, and by a twin ram from a twin (ewe).” Two-tooths which scan a single lamb get a single nick in the ear. Those that scan a single in subsequent years get a right ear tag and are drafted into the terminal-mated ‘B’ mob. “The flaw with the system is that I can end up keeping twins from a ewe that goes on to have a single so it’s not completely fool-proof.” Also destined for the ‘B’ mob are twotooths with poor conformation; fine, short wool; and wool rot, which is usually an indicator of flystrike.

Marama hill and gully country.

About Marama • John and Tracy Herbert • Marama • Heriot, West Otago • Sheep breeding, lamb finishing with some young cattle finishing and/or heifer wintering, depending on seasonal conditions. • Area: 650ha (550ha effective plus 91ha in Pinus radiata and Oregon woodlots) • Wintered stock 2017 • 4600 Perendale ewes • 1150 replacements • 120 dairy heifers (contract grazing from October until end of May)

Country-Wide June 2017

MARAMA

Matt Waite was employed in June last year and has become a valuable team member.

Opportunity to expand Buying 161ha across the road in February last year; increasing stock units from 5000 to 7000 and taking on a permanent employee has taken the Herbert’s farming business to the next level. The extra land was an unexpected opportunity that John was initially lukewarm on, being keener to build equity with more investment in commercial property which is a nonfarming income stream and interest he enjoys. However the Herberts realised there were several advantages. At a practical level it was easy because the land was directly across the road and no extra machinery, capital or infrastructure was required. Also, it would fit in well with succession should any of

John and Tracy’s children Dylan (14) and twins Ellie and Josie (12) choose to go farming. Matt Waite was taken on in June last year. He has a dairying background and a great attitude. “It’s working out well. He’s a big part of our business and his skill set is growing.” Taking on Matt means John can spend more time off-farm, a more frequent occurrence since his election to the Clutha District Council last year. Incidentally the 161ha was bought off Jeff McKenzie, a former West Otago CDC councillor. “The joke in the district was the sale was made on condition that I stood for the council.”

Taking on Matt also means John can help out on the home front when Tracy is working shifts at Ribbonwood Country Home, an aged care facility in Tapanui, and the family can take more regular holidays. “It’s given us greater flexibility and a better work-life balance.” Achieving the Holy Grail – a ewe which raises two early finishing 18kgCW lambs and clips 6kg of wool – is the five-year plan. But, like most farmers, John says he’ll probably set his sights on another goal. “Ultimately what we want to be is profitable and have things sorted so that our kids have the opportunity if they choose to have a crack at farming.”

Key Points: • Minimal animal health expenditure at $4/su which includes dipping, scanning, lambing expenses, tailing, conveyor, drench/vaccines, vet, minerals, tags, drenches and vaccines. • Mixed-age ewe scanning: 175-178% • 2017 GFI $112/su • 2017 lamb weight 17.5kgCW • Wool weight 5.2-5.6kg

Lambing (ewes mated/ lambs weaned)

2012

2013

2014

2015*

2016**

141

138

140

135

*followed the 142% scanning of 2T **includes 1300 ewes bought in February 2016

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On par on the farm Although not especially good at playing the game John uses golfing analogies to explain his overall approach to farming. “I don’t get hung up on how much better or what my neighbour might be doing. That’s a bit like worrying whether or not you’re playing as well as someone else at golf. In farming you have to find your own swing, do what suits while not forgetting to hit the ball.” For John that’s meant following through with his sheep breeding goal by selecting and breeding from high-fertility sheep. “It’s six kilometres from our back paddock to the woolshed so they’ve got to be able to travel, forage and bounce back from adversity.” Another golfing analogy is always looking ahead to the next hole, which is the same as looking ahead to the next year in farming to make positive changes. A recent example is the changed shearing and mating management following a 142% scanning from two-tooths in 2015. The result led to investigation of likely causes and after ruling out toxoplasmosis and campylobacter was put down to the off-farm winter feeding on fodder beet during which the hoggets lost liveweight. “That to me is proof that what you feed or how you manage 12 or 18 months before really does affect performance.” A change in two-tooth management, which has been continued since, managed to turn the tables. Shearing was brought forward by three weeks, teaser rams put out for five weeks rather than 17 days, and the ram-to-ewe ratio dropped from 1:100 to 1:80. The payback was a 28% lift in scanning.

The Herberts’ award winning two-tooths.

Reflecting on sheep farming.

Flexi factors

More than 90ha is planted out in Pinus radiata and Oregon mainly in unproductive gullies.

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Cattle are the flexi factors at Marama. Most years dry beef heifers are bought in autumn, wintered on crop and sold in spring when the cash flow is especially welcome. However, they’re readily dropped if weather conditions aren’t favourable. “In 2015 we had a bad spring so didn’t buy in any cattle. Last year we bought land but didn’t have enough feed to take any on.” This year none have been bought due to the high prices. Instead 125 dairy heifer calves are grazing from October until the end of May. “I like to keep things flexible although we could do with more cattle because we’re practically all ewes.”

Having a good supply of hay is essential on Marama.

Trees in the gullies More than 90ha of Marama is planted out in Pinus radiata and Oregon. John’s father Peter started planting the unproductive gully areas back in the early 1970s as part of a retirement and succession plan. It was also a way of keeping staff busy over the winter months. The retirement thinking played out perfectly with the initial plantings netting more than $700/ ha. John has continued with planting primarily as a way of beating back the gorse in gullies. “I’ve beaten a weed with a weed. Pinus radiata grows quickly and is relatively cheap to establish.”

John Herbert’s five year goal is a twin lambing ewe clipping 6kg of wool and two fast-finishing 18kg carcaseweight lambs.

Having said that the pruning and thinning can be a burden and is inevitably due in the cashflow-tight years which is making John think about where he’s at with trees. “They’re a growing asset but does it make sense to keep spending to maintain them in the hope of getting more? On the other hand I’ve spent 30 years growing and looking after them. I need to take advice on what to do.” One possibility he plans to investigate is a joint venture with an investor who plants and looks after the trees. Country-Wide farm forestry columnist Denis Hocking says there’s probably no better time to harvest.

“The prices across the board are good from pruned logs, structural logs and even round wood and export prices are holding up remarkably well.” But a decision to harvest had to be made taking into account the risk factors such as weather, changing markets and the availability of logging crews. A forestry joint venture was a good idea so long as it was backed with a sound legal agreement. “I don’t think that they’re as popular as they should be,” Hocking says. Possible turn-offs were the long lead time until harvest. “They’re not at as liquid an asset as livestock.”

Cold-comfort grazing

Much of Marama is steep and southerly facing.

What are the best pastures for a cold spring environment? Gordon Scott PGG Gore encouraged John to grow Winter Star. “He’s getting a six to eight-tonne crop compared to three to four for a normal pasture so it’s much more winter active,” he says. The other advantage is the double opportunity for weed control by spraying before and after the crop. Choosing earlier-heading perennial grasses was another option but the risk was having no good-quality grass for lamb finishing. “It’s always a juggling act and there’s no easy answer.” Agriseeds agronomist Alan Harvey says an early-sown autumn annual or hybrid ryegrass such as Shogun is probably the best bet. “It sits at the top of the Forage Value Index and is the only five-star grass in the 12 month feed category,” But in cold and wet country careful grazing management is needed. “You need to use a lower stocking rate and if there’s potential for pugging you don’t want to be break feeding it.”

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LIVESTOCK | ONFARM

Keeping beef cattle

cool

Manager Tom Savage with weaner steers

Hereford-Shorthorn cattle - breeds noted for their calm disposition - are at the heart of operations managed by the Savage family on Poututu Station, north-west of Gisborne, Russell Priest reports. Photos: Joanna Higgins-Ware. Lush green pastures dotted with lots of red and white cattle are a pleasant change from the black tsunami that appears to have swamped the Gisborne area. However, for those who know Otoko’s Tom Savage the presence of these coloured cattle on his family’s Poututu Station is no coincidence. Temperament is his number one selection criterion so it is no surprise the station runs two breeds well known for their quiet disposition – Herefords and Shorthorns.

Country-Wide June 2017

“There’s no doubt the Angus people have done a great marketing job and I take my hat off to them but the truth of the matter is that once you take the hide off there’s very little difference in the product underneath,” Tom says. And with his first placing in the cross-bred section of the Steak of Origin Competition in 2015 Tom has proved his point. He’s working with animals that are compliant and a pleasure to handle and in his predominantly Hereford herd

infused with a bit of Shorthorn – his ideal breed cross. Management practices on Poututu are kept as simple as possible while achieving high levels of performance particularly in the cattle. Very few supplements, if any, are fed and no crops are grown – essentially the station is all-grass. The large cow herd is able to maintain pasture quality over much of the station during the spring flush providing quality feed for lambs and finishing cattle. Some areas are

OTOKO

Key facts

• Poututu Station • Owned by three families – the Savages, the Coxes and the Griggs. • Situated 46km north west of Gisborne. • Covers 2215ha (2113ha effective) • A cattle and sheep breeding and finishing business. • Includes four QEII covenant blocks (47.5ha). • Stocking Rate: • Cattle stock units: 12,034 • Sheep stock units: 7942 • Total stock units: 19,976 • Cattle-to-sheep ratio of 60:40 • Stocking rate: 9.45su/effective hectare.

deliberately “let go” to provide winter feed for the cattle. The station runs a low-cost operation. Farm working expenses are well inside the top 10% for their farm type in the area driven largely by low feed, wages, vehicle and freight costs. Feed costs are kept low by the largely allgrass system. All stock work is performed on horses and very few vehicles are owned which explains the very low vehicle expenses. A low ratio of labour to stock units (1:6500) is the main reason for the very low labour costs. Poututu Station – about 46km north west of Gisborne – is a 2215-hectare (2113ha effective) sheep and cattle station owned by three families; the Coxes of Auckland, the Griggs of Christchurch and the Savages of Gisborne. It is managed by Tom Savage and overseen by his father David. Tom and his wife Linda have three children Tami (27), Caitey (25) and Zoe (21). His wife Linda is head teacher at a Gisborne school as well as running the Savage household. They and part-time cook Maggie Stanners, two shepherds and the shareholders all work harmoniously to achieve a common goal. Poututu’s reputation as an employer and as a training ground for young agriculturalists is legendary. Tom has no problem filling the two shepherds’ positions.

Heifers are calved as three-year-olds.

Mixed-age cows achieve a 93% calving.

• Tom plays his cards close to his chest. Despite some gentle arm twisting from us he wouldn’t give up any financial figures out of consideration for the station’s shareholders. - Editor

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Large cow herd beefs up the bank balance

Left-to-right: Shepherd Keiran Short, Manager Tom Savage and his daughter Zoe.

A large herd of around 820 HerefordShorthorn breeding cows is at the heart of the station’s business and with a cattleto-sheep ratio of 60:40 the former are responsible for a large part of the income. The high cattle ratio has also enabled the station to reduce its labour force. “When we first came up here we ran a lot more sheep requiring a staff of seven and now there are only three of us.” A high ratio of cattle is farmed because he and his father preferred cattle. They were more profitable than sheep, required less labour and were a lot “kinder” on the pastures particularly during a drought. Bulls go out on November 1 with the heifers and November 15 with the mixed age (MA) cows for three and a half cycles. Tom believes an in-calf female is better than an empty one and says any late calvers generally calve earlier the following year. With a 93% calving one can hardly argue with his philosophy or his management. He also maintains that because steers are finished at about 30 months and heifers not mated until they are two the late calves catch up with their earlier-born contemporaries anyway.

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Country-Wide June 2017

Most of the heifers take the bull early and achieve a slightly lower calving percentage (90%) than the MA cows. Sorting out the cow-mating groups is not difficult. About 170-180 Hereford cows are sorted into a mating group before calving and later joined with five Shorthorn bulls. All other cows go to Hereford bulls in mobs of 180-220 (foursix bulls). The overall bull-to-cow mating ratio is 1:43. “We used to use a mating ratio of 1:38, however since we’ve gone to the lower ratio we’ve had fewer bull injuries.” Wet-dry cows are not removed at calf marking but receive a distinguishing ear tag and go to the bull. A lower-thanexpected pregnancy rate may require some to be retained but if not they are killed. An in-house research project looking at the repeatability of cows being wet-dry suggested that while the cows were all getting in calf, on average each cow was only rearing one calf every two years. Cows are cast-for-age at nine years immediately after weaning and kill out at around 290kg carcase weight (CW). Further culling of the cow herd generally has to be done to reduce numbers and is based on structural soundness issues such as bad feet, weak udder ligaments, distended teats, eye cancer and pregnancy status. Cows spend the winter cleaning up pastures in readiness for spring growth. Calving paddocks are shut up in June after being groomed by the cows. Calving starts with the heifers around the middle of August followed by the cows in late August. “We have few calving problems however if a cow does lose a calf it is not difficult to mother on a foster calf.”

Zoe Savage loves working on the farm while finishing her commerce degree.

Bull selection is based on a high 600-day-weight estimated breeding value, red pigmentation around the eyes and good structural soundness. Animals must be well-muscled, of moderate frame size, have a good spring of rib and show excellent temperament.

Hereford bulls are bought at auction from Peter Humphries (Wilencote Herefords) and Shorthorns from the Mortons at Kati Kati. A one-metre-diameter fossil of a shell millions of years old.

The finishing component Weaners are carried through two winters on grass with the steers being killed in December/January at an average age of about 28 months and weight of 320kg. “When they are ready to go we get rid of them however if we strike an early drought they may be killed down to 280kg. We use them as a safety valve.” Heifers are selected primarily on weight and structural soundness but also on dark eye pigmentation. Cull heifers are killed as R2s at the beginning of the new financial year (beginning July 1) at about 220kg CW.

Recently weaned steers.

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Ewe hoggets are mated to Suffolk rams.

Higher lambing sought The station winters 4800 ewes which were pure Romneys until two years ago. To increase the lambing percentage Tom has introduced some Coopworth blood via Coopworth-Romney rams from the St Ledger stud at Tiniroto. The intention is to stabilise the flock at 50% Coopworth and 50% Romney. “We got an immediate response of 800 extra lambs when we introduced the Coopworth genetics so that’s a good start. Long-term we hope to move our lambing percentage from 138% to 145%.” Five-year ewes (990) go to Suffolk rams on February 20, MA and two-tooth ewes (3800) to Coopworth-Romney rams on March 15 and ewe hoggets (1520) to Suffolk rams on May 1. Hogget selection is based on weight and this may be as low as 35kg after a difficult spring/summer. Generally 70-76% of the hoggets get in lamb producing about 800 lambs. Five-year ewes are mouthed before lambing. Those with low mouths (generally about 300) are lambed in one mob and sold with lambs at foot before docking, freeing up a paddock for flushing R2 heifers before mating. Those with better mouths are lambed, taken

Some of the easier country on the station.

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through to weaning and sold to Tom’s brother next door as six-year-olds. For the last two years ewes have been scanned for foetal numbers and those with singles are lambed on the steeper country at the back of the station. Because of the threat of facial eczema during summer/autumn the sheep are run on the higher country at the back of the station. Few clinical cases have ever been recorded. Ewes are rotated in mobs over the winter on the steeper/higher country then set stocked two weeks before lambing and left to their own devices. Weaning normally takes place about November 20 when some blackface lambs may be killed off their mothers. The station’s aim is to finish as many lambs as possible however this is very weather-dependent and killing weights can vary from 16-19kg. If feed is abundant no blackface lambs will be drafted off their mothers but will be retained and taken to heavier weights. Most will be killed by Christmas. If feed is in short supply lambs may be killed down to 16kg or even sold on the store market. MA ewes are shorn at the end of October with lambs at foot. Two-tooth ewes are shorn at the end of February and five-year ewes in May. One of Poututu’s Hereford herd sires.

A view across Poututu Station from one of its highest points.

Healthy animals Tom adopts a proactive approach to animal health. Liver fluke is endemic on the station necessitating the treatment of all animals. Cows are injected with nitromec (kills all three stages of liver fluke) and copper and receive an annual seven-in-one and BVD vaccination. Weaners receive two, seven-in-one vaccinations, a copper injection and five drenches post weaning through to early spring. Ewes are drenched at docking and again before the rams go out. Lamb

drenching occurs at docking, ewe shearing, weaning and every three weeks thereafter until they leave the station. Most finishing lambs are gone by the end of March.

Happy staff Once they land a job there many staff don’t want to leave. The very low ratio of labour to stock units suggests the shepherds Keiran Short and Matt Cooper work very long hours at certain times of the year which Tom is grateful for.

Station’s objectives A mob of ewe hoggets.

• To continually improve Poututu for future generations. • To provide an excellent annual income for all the owners. • Be an excellent employer with a reputation for developing future farming leaders. • A place where people want to work.

Country-Wide June 2017

Shepherd Keiran Short and companions ready for a day’s mustering.

Station feaures Poututu Station ranges in altitude from 330 metres at the house to 760m with 30% of its contour being easy and 70% steep. Very few flat areas exist however one paddock is harvested for hay which is stored in a shed on-site and only fed out in emergencies. Like most of the east coast hill country around Gisborne the soils have a sedimentary base with an overlay of volcanic ash from central North Island volcanic eruptions. Soils on the flats are based on alluvium. Soil Olsen phosphate levels range from 22 on the easier country to 10 on the steeper back country. PH is in the ideal range from 5.7 to 5.9 and organic sulphur levels are 5-7.

Farm hacks are bred and broken in on the station.

Average annual fertiliser applied over the last three years has been 450 tonnes of superphosphate (213kg/ha) which is slightly above maintenance. Norwesterlies result in very high evapotranspiration losses plunging the area into drought very rapidly, as occurred over a five-week period earlier this year. Water is a vital commodity. At least one and up to three dams filled with water from springs and creeks are present in each of the 58 paddocks. Creating a sustainable farming environment is a priority for the station owners. Four QEII covenants totalling 47.5ha have been established over the last 19 years and more will follow. Small areas (16ha) of Acacia Melanoxylon, Redwoods, Lusitanica and Eucalypts have also been planted in the last seven years to control erosion and provide future farm timber. Erosion is an ever-present threat on Poututu. “After Cyclone Bola we could almost

Soil profile showing a black layer of ash (topsoil) overlaying sedimentary material.of years old.

ride from one end of the station to the other without opening a gate,” Tom says. Several areas covered by the Gisborne District Council’s overlay plan have been dealt with using poplar poles, forestry reversion and fencing.

Tom Savage with an unusual concretion of sedimentary material.

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LIVESTOCK | ANIMAL HEALTH

Dr Stu Hutchings: TB programme achieving goals.

Solid TB plan backs healthy beef The goal of eradicating bovine tuberculosis from New Zealand is within sight and progress is steady, OSPRI programme design leader, vet Stu Hutchings says. The health and vitality of New Zealand’s beef stock is plainly visible with a flick through the pictures in this magazine. But behind the shining coats and impressive physiques of our best stud bulls and thriving weaners is an animal health success story. NZ’s TBfree programme has come a long way since its first iteration in 2003. The goal of the current programme, which came into effect on July 1, 2016, is biological eradication of bovine tuberculosis. The feasibility of achieving that goal by the middle of this century has been proven, with

freedom from disease in cattle and deer by 2026, and in possums by 2040. When the new TB Plan came into effect on July 1 last year, it was working off a solid base. In the five years from 2011, the three-pronged approach to the disease – possum control, TB testing of cattle and deer, and stock movement control – had eradicated TB from 1.6 million hectares of NZ, ahead of schedule, and brought the number of infected herds from 432 herds in 2003 down to 43 in January this year. Of those, only 13 are beef herds. Driven by solid research and implementation, the programme was well ahead of schedule. Most importantly, the feasibility of TB eradication was proven, and the new

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Massey University is home to some of the most specialised and highly trained veterinarians in the country. The revolutionary work pioneered by Massey Vet School is transforming the lives of thousands of cats and dogs here in New Zealand and is contributing to the health and happiness of animals around the world. Advances such as 3D printed titanium implants for injured animals and groundbreaking cancer treatment for dogs are a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Massey Vet School team. By leaving a gift in your Will to the Massey University Vet School, you’ll be helping support research and discovery that changes animals’ lives. Contact Kylie Gibbard on 021 328 787, or email her at k.gibbard@massey.ac.nz TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO MAKE A DONATION, VISIT FOUNDATION.MASSEY.AC.NZ OR SPEAK TO YOUR LAWYER ABOUT LEAVING A GIFT IN YOUR WILL.

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plan could now get on with the work of maintaining the areas that were free from disease while preserving momentum towards achieving eradication with targeted TB testing and pest control. What’s more, the programme has become more efficient and can achieve its goals with less funding from government and industry. The TB Plan Review that produced the current plan recommended a more targeted approach to focus the programme’s testing of animals and control and surveillance of possums – the main vector carrier of the disease. The risk factors for TB are associated around location – a farm’s geographical position in relation to nearby wildlife, previous herd history of infection in farm stock, and the risk associated with the number and type of movements that occur. So for a herd located in an area without wildlife risk, with no history of TB and only moving stock from the farm to the slaughterhouse, the risk factors for TB are low. Another key to the success of the programme is best-practice case management – the ability of TBfree staff and contractors to manage infection currently within a herd. Effective case management – the thorough investigation of the source of infection, regular testing of the animals in the herd, and slaughter of disease reactors to remove residual disease – is critical for achieving the goal of freedom from

Control and surveillance of possums – the main vector carrier of the disease in New Zealand is part of the TB eradication programme.

disease in livestock in the next 10 years. Yes, there will be infections along the way, but a falling number of infected herds over time is proof of good case management, and works in combination with effective wildlife control to significantly reduce levels of possums. The combination of onfarm TB testing and meat-plant surveillance is another plank in the programme strategy. The testing regime employs a skin test to monitor the reaction of a cattle beast to disease indicators, while routine postmortem inspection at the meat plant can help detect obvious signs of infection. It’s a safe and well-proven method. While no biological test is perfect and a few false-positive results will inevitably occur, the blood test can help differentiate other causes of a positive reaction. This negates the false-positives, and if a positive response to the blood

test is returned, an animal is treated as potentially infected and slaughtered, and a post-mortem examination at the meat plant is done to confirm if infection exists. The TB programme is a great example of a successful animal health and disease management plan on a national scale which brings economic value to our agricultural industry. At its foundation, it is a sound collaborative partnership between the government and primary industries, based on good science and practical implementation that combines large-scale pest control and on-farm disease management. And as we make increasingly good long-term progress towards eradicating bovine tuberculosis, OSPRI, the primary services organisation that manages TBfree and NAIT, reminds beef farmers its programmes represent great value for its funders by helping protect NZ’s reputation in international markets for excellent animal health.

Factors for TB include location, such as a farm’s geographical position in relation to nearby wildlife. The number of infected herds has been brought down 432 in 2003 to 43 in January this year.

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LIVESTOCK | ONFARM

Omapere farm manager Lloyd Brennan with the trust chairman and Ngapuhi elder Sonny Tau.

Farming in trust Hugh Stringleman Long-time Northland farmers have applied their skills to a re-purposed Maori-owned farming and forestry trust near Kaikohe. Omapere-Rangihamama Trust (ORT) runs the slowly expanding Omapere Farm, as more land is cleared of gorse and brought into production alongside the Ngapuhi taonga, Lake Omapere. Manager is Lloyd Brennan, formerly 25 years at Landcorp Rangiputa and Omamari, assisted by head shepherd Brookes Cooper, who was a 13-year Landcorp veteran, and general hand Paul Albert, a Kaikohe local. The sheep and beef farm was a finalist in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ahuwhenua Trophy for Maori-owned sheep and beef farms. At the field day in April, Brennan made reference to the training and experience he and Cooper received with Landcorp, saying it was harder now for young people to gain basic skills and qualifications before landing their first farm jobs (see accompanying story). ORT employs 18 staff in total on the farming side of its operations. It has a dairy conversion on the Rangihamama ancestral lands south and west of Kaikohe, more than 300 hectares of forestry, an apiary joint venture, a forest nursery lease-out, a shale quarry and some housing for rental. Since 2007, under new leadership, ORT has strived to bring the whole 2000ha back into production under local ownership. At present ORT owns about 55% of the shares, the rest being held by the Te Tumu Paeroa, the New Maori Trustee, as a result of voluntary sale of shares or

compulsory acquisition of uneconomic shares from hapu owners in the 1960s. The ORT board of trustees, headed by Ngapuhi elder Sonny Tau, has a 12-year strategy to buy back all the shares with proceeds from farming and forestry, to be able to deliver more benefits to the present-day 3500 shareholders. Over the past 10 years ORT has distributed $15 million to the people and infrastructure of Kaikohe. In recent years the Omapere drystock farm profits have paid for some of the conversion costs and inputs of the dairy farm, first milked in 2014 in time for two subsequent poor payout seasons. Production on the dairy farm is now about 190,000kg milksolids (MS) annually, or 900kg/ha, above average for the far north. Trustees now expect it to be profitable and sustainable, delivering long-term dividends to ORT.

Omapere farm now carries about 7000 stock units, 27% sheep and 73% cattle at a stocking rate of 8.6/ha. It has grown to 902 effective hectares, although about 200ha remains under conversion from scrub to pasture, has low soil fertility and poor pasture species and weeds, mainly gorse and rushes. Therefore, while it is now 170% larger than the mean farm for class 4 North Island hill country (Northland-WaikatoBay of Plenty), its stocking rate is lower by 16% and gross revenue/ha is down 13% compared with the mean. The enlarging farm area spreads expenditure, which at $717/ha is 11% lower than the benchmark mean. Gross farm revenue was $935,000 in 201516 and farm working expenses were $500,000. Debt is low because the trustees will not offer lenders any security against land, but the BNZ did participate in the dairy conversion. Debt servicing was only 3% of gross farm revenue last financial year, profit before tax was $258,000 and the return on capital 5.5%.

Debt servicing was only 3% of gross farm revenue last financial year, profit before tax was $258,000 and the return on capital 5.5%.

The farm was valued at $4.5m and the livestock and improvements $1.3m. Large Omapere Farm delivered a creditable $407/ha earnings before interest, tax, and rent, which was the same result as the class 4 NI farm mean, as surveyed by Beef + Lamb New Zealand.

OMAPERE

Omapere farm finishing cattle.

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Putahi maunga on Omapere farm has great significance for Ngapuhi. It also has the new farm water storage on the lower slopes.

Focus dairy beef bulls Omapere Farm has a sinking lid policy on Romney ewe numbers, because of poor sheep returns and its fading infrastructure. Under manager Lloyd Brennan from 2013 and an expert farm committee, the policy shift has been toward finishing dairy-beef bulls. Ewe numbers have fallen to 1100, plus 440 two-tooths and a similar number of hoggets. Up to 500 Friesian bull calves are bought each season between November and May at three to eight months of age and then sold prime at up to 600kg liveweight between May and December, at 21 to 27 months. Carcase weights have averaged 315kg over the past two seasons. At balance date the farm carries about 1000 bulls, 80 Angus cows and 80 heifers. Heavier rising two-year bulls are wintered on the free-draining volcanic soils, mainly at the westerly

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end of the 6km-long farm which curls around the southern shore of Lake Omapere. The limited area of those soils, capable of handling the heavy cattle during winter, mean bulls are put on a highgrowth path to ensure some are finished and processed before late winter/early spring. No supplements are fed and maize crops were grown and removed by contractors as part of the pasture development programme. The all-grass feeding regime needs two nitrogen applications on improved pasture, late autumn and late winter. Angus cows have been mated with Murray Grey bulls in recent years and their bull calves are kept entire and go into the bull finishing system, while surplus heifers are finished to 4 00kg liveweight (LW), at about 18 months. Temporary electric strings are used

Farm scholarships would be offered to descendants of shareholders from next year, Omapere Rangihamama trustee Colleen Bermingham-Brown says.

during winter and spring to manage cattle with daily or two-daily breaks. This helps extend the rotation length, maximise pasture growth and minimise pugging damage. The cattle go on to three or four-day shifts during summer and autumn. Cows spend most of their time on the undeveloped areas where the pasture quality is poor. Sheep are grazed on rotation and set-stocked during lambing. Ewes are terminal-sired and no replacements kept. The number of lambs weaned has averaged 130% over the past four seasons. They are generally grazed on areas where infrastructure had not yet been established for the planned efficient cattle systems. After weaning, lambs were grazed on the bull finishing areas, with the aim to have half of them gone by Christmas and the balance by the end of February. Brennan says replacement fencing is

Lake Omapere boundary was permanently fenced off in 2006-07, including riparian zones of native planting that average 50-70 metres and in some places up to 200m in width.

mainly two hot wires rather than the full seven-wire post and batten ones that were deteriorating. Boundary fences are maintained to a good standard long Lake Rd, which runs through the spine of the farm, and along the old Kaikohe-Okaihau railway line, now converted into part of the Twin Coasts Cycle Trail. The accessibility of Lake Rd and the cycle trail mean that most of Omapere Farm is on public display and with a large number of shareholders resident in Kaikohe, the trustees, farm committee and farm staff members get plenty of questions about land use policies. The main one is “what are you doing about the gorse,” Brennan told the Ahuwhenua Trophy field day. Everyone involved with Omapere Rangihamama Trust was committed to the policy that land improvement by way of weed clearance, subdivision, water, cultivation, capital fertiliser and lime, and then grass sowing had to be sustainable. “Once budgeted and approved, development must be completed and that

land never allowed to revert again, so the progress may appear to be slow, visually,” he says. Livestock now have access to water troughs over 80% of the farm, with dams in other areas.

“..most of Omapere Farm is on public display and with a large number of shareholders resident in Kaikohe, the trustees, farm committee and farm staff members get plenty of questions about land use policies.”

A second pumping station was recently installed along with four 30,000-litre tanks, increasing the capacity to meet demand for more bulls. The ORT trustees and its shareholders are determined not to go backwards with

the environmental footprint of farming. “We are always looking to present an edge commercially, socially and environmentally,” trustee Dr Te Tuhi Robust said at the field day. The trust has made commitments to the health of Lake Omapere and other waterways, including the Waihoanga stream, the only outlet of the lake, all natural habitats, and to achieve net negative carbon emissions. Omapere farm was well ahead of the national goal to have all waterways and intermittent waterways fenced off from stock access by 2020. The lake boundary was permanently fenced off in 2006-07, including riparian zones of native planting that average 5070 metres and in some places up to 200m in width. Unfortunately not all the other lake riparian farm owners had done the same yet, trustees said. The farm also contains Putahi maunga, holding the oldest burial caves for Ngapuhi chiefs. This and other burial sites, wahi tapu and sites of significance had been fenced off and in some cases vested as Nga Whenua Rahui.

At Lawrence on Vet LSD®

(Mt Hilton, Hawarden)

GET THE FACTS Flock A Vet LSD® Treated 1000 ewes tailing 120% = 1200 lambs Flock B: 1000 ewes tailing 112% = 1120 lambs Difference Flock A vs. Flock B = 80 lambs The extra 80 lambs Flock A has at a value of $85 per lamb = $6800 Take out the cost of the Vet LSD® treatment for the ewes in Flock A: $6800 - $280

• At Lawrence is again turning to Vet LSD® as his trusted drench solution this winter, developed locally for farmers’ ewe health needs. • The numbers behind Vet LSD® convinced At there must be something in its formulation that works. • After nearly 30 years farming At says Vet LSD® is one of only two products that have delivered tangible results in ewe health. • Lambing losses are lowered and lambs born full of vigour.

= extra $6520 income For more information or to purchase Vet LSD® please contact your local vet clinic or visit us online www.vetlsd.co.nz

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Growing workforce from within Omapere Rangihamama Trust intends to offer scholarships for training in agriculture and apiculture from 2018, across all relevant diplomas and degrees. For the past five years it had offered scholarships in mainstream education, but it now saw the need for primary sector training and was getting specific applications, trustee Colleen Bermingham-Brown said. “We had intended to grow our farming workforce from within, but proved to be a challenge. “Some of our people who would want to be farm workers are challenged by the health and safety requirements.” ORT chairman, Sonny Tau, was more forthright. “Some of our young people cannot pass the drug tests before starting work,” he said. The topic became a lively one at the Ahuwhenua Trophy field day when Omapere Farm manager Lloyd Brennan, who has 30 years experience in the north, said the days were gone when a young person could be hired off the street for full or part-time farm work.

ORT has more than 300 hectares of forestry, an apiary joint venture, a forest nursery lease-out.

“They must have basic training and skills, with the certificates and licences. “I am talking about driving licences, Growsafe certificates and other qualifications required by health and safety regulations.” Brennan said Primary ITO was the logical organisation to provide training but he believed it did not have the coverage and commitment needed in the Far North. “People think farming is a simple game and they can just jump on a bike. “But we can’t just grab someone

off the street and chuck them in the deep end.” Farm consultant William McMillan, who does work for the Federation of Maori Authorities and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, said a “coalition of the willing” was putting together a Maori primary industries training programme. It would target Maori students in Year 12 and 13 and “make them aware of the broad range of opportunities across the sector, and point them into career pathways that suit their aspirations”. The coalition was being led by DairyNZ, McMillan said.

Proud of your plants? NIWA is doing a nationwide study to discover what makes the best riparian projects. We want to know about as many riparian projects as possible – where they are located and a few other details. Help us give you the knowledge to make the best riparian management decisions possible by taking our 5 minute survey Go to www.riparian.niwa.co.nz or visit site PC39/41 in the main pavilion at the National Agricultural Fieldays June 14–17

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LIVESTOCK | GENE TALK

High octane genetics Tim Byrne and Bruce McCorkindale

magine you’ve got a choice between two cars. One is the latest model of a big brand with all the accumulated engineering advances the manufacturer has built-in to keep ahead of the competition. The other is older but it’s been tuned up a bit to include a NOS kit that injects a shot of nitrous oxide into the engine. This kit ramps the horsepower up to eyepopping levels for a few moments, but, once it’s gone, you’re back to basics until you go back for a recharge so you can do it all again. If the event you’re contemplating is a quarter mile drag race then you’d probably go for the NOS-kitted rocket ship. You might win that event but the vehicle might have a few other shortcomings compared to the other highly engineered vehicle. The latest version from the big brand will have technology that improves its fuel efficiency, braking and handling, safety and comfort, will have longer service intervals to reduce running costs and produce more power from the same size engine. This might be a better vehicle for long-term use. This accumulation of engineering advances in the latest model also holds true in a modern ram or bull from a flock or herd that has a history of genetic

selection for traits with proven economic value. Like the modern car which when cruising at 100km/h has a lot of power in reserve whenever you want it, the modern ram or bull, or more importantly their offspring, brings genetic capability that allows you to unleash higher performance whenever the environment and management conditions allow; in a way, good genetics provides some insurance, through the potential to unleash higher performance. Hybrid vigour on the other hand is a bit more like the NOS-kitted classic.

If the event you’re contemplating is a quarter mile drag race then you’d probably go for the NOSkitted rocket ship.

It gives a great boost to some things but may bring some less-desirable attributes as well. Typically, hybrid vigour boosts traits with the lowest heritability such as lambing percentage and lamb survival. Depending on the breeds chosen, it may introduce negative characteristics in traits such as feet, wool, or body size/shape.

Choosing modern high-merit terminal sires to mate with high merit maternal ewes will produce more lambs with greatly enhanced capability.

Using hybrid vigour is like putting a NOS kit on top car with all the accumulated engineering.

It is important to remember that hybrid vigour is the boost above the average of the two parents. If the genetic merit for, say, lamb survival is quite low in the ram, then the hybrid vigour effect might not be enough to bring the in-field lamb survival up to being equal with the genetic merit from the ewe. So, hybrid vigour is no longterm substitute for selection for higher genetic merit. The accumulation of engineering advances is required. The modern ram or bull, bought to keep replacements from, does quite a bit more than your latest car purchase – the ram or bull you buy today is contributing not only to this years’ performance but also to the performance ability of your sheep flock or beef herd for at least the next five or 10 years. Your annual ram or bull buying decisions are your way of aligning and future-proofing your business so you have the genetic capability to capture opportunities. This does not mean you rule out taking advantage of hybrid vigour – if you choose modern high-merit terminal sires to mate with high merit maternal ewes then you will produce more lambs with greatly enhanced capability. Sort of like putting a NOS kit on the latest model of a big brand with all the accumulated engineering. • Tim Byrne and Bruce McCorkindale are AbacusBio consultants.

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LIVESTOCK | STOCK CHECK

When a drench programme fails Trevor Cook A barrage of topics seem to have come to the fore in the last month or so that deserve comment. One very close to home was a drench test result that was passed by me. That is, a test to see which drench families work on a farm. It was disastrous in that all families failed badly and even the combination products failed. By failing I mean that the best was removing just less than 80% of the worms present. The prompt to do the test was lambs dying not that long after being drenched. Poor liveweight gains must have been occurring but was not the prompt to investigate. The approach to what advice to give to this farmer was a process rather than a solution. But what this result did to me was confirm the necessity to put in place drench use practices that preserve the potency of the products we have. I have been harping on about doing this for years and of late I have been losing enthusiasm and have been choosing to not present that challenge. When faced with the situation of the farm with the status described above I am inclined to promote the need to manage worms in a sustainable way. For that farm the current policy cannot carry on. The new family products are not going to be the answer.

So, the future for this farmer is going to be very different because a key tool for keeping sheep healthy is no longer available, as a consequence of how that tool has been used.

So, the future for this farmer is going to be very different because a key tool for keeping sheep healthy is no longer available, as a consequence of how that tool has been used. I was on a farm recently that had just bought empty dairy cows as a cattle trade option. Their state would prompt most

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The developing sheep milking industry has benefitted from a change in the rules governing importation of sheep genetics.

farmers to give them a drench. They were extremely light but presuming they could stand long enough to eat a mountain of pasture they will probably be a very profitable trade. I could not believe that a few days before seeing these cows they were in a milking herd. While many, if not most dairy farmers are doing a good job with welfare and the environment, it is cases like this that destroy that industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s credibility. The relative isolation of farming protects such poor management from uneducated or unsympathetic eyes. But farmers sharing what I was seeing were concerned with the state that they saw and were almost embarrassed to acknowledge the profit that could be made from animals that were on the edge of being viable. Beyond this case, the bad rap dairy is getting is not fair, yet poorly challenged. Just as the problem with failing drenches on the farm is the result of actions taken over the last 40-plus years, environmental contamination has occurred since farming began. But unlike drench resistance, actions are being taken on farms that are improving the environment. But that will take time. A totally unrelated topic, but one for which regulations have a big impact, is the extraordinarily rapid loosening of rules governing importation of sheep genetics. Over two years there has been an almost reversal of policy, which can only be the outcome of influence by some big players.

Sheep milking has been the big benefactor, but others have been able ride on the coat tails and bring in previously untouchable European sheep genetics. There have been reassurances that there are no risks, but not enough for the Australians who have closed their borders to New Zealand sheep genetics. I had always presumed new genetic tests could be used to confirm any particular imported sheep (or its semen or embryos) did not carry scrapie or was not capable of getting scrapie. This disease does not occur in NZ and has been one of the diseases behind earlier restrictions on imports. In April I was able to read the import documentation for a shipment of Texel semen that was to be put into a local flock. The Scrapie-freedom part was a certification that the sheep flock from which the semen came in the United Kingdom had no recorded cases of Scrapie in the last seven years. This is a totally unreliable way of assessing if a disease exists in a flock. Who is making the observations? How is that status confirmed? It is easy to say a disease does not exist on a farm by not looking for it. There was no record of any genetic tests that would give reassurance of the disease-free state of this semen. Our freedom from a raft of diseases seen in other countries is something that we are very proud of and grateful for. I just hope we are being vigilant enough to keep these diseases out.

54 The man behind PGGWrightson Seeds’ forage brassica breeding programme, Andy Dumbleton.

FORAGE

New brassica brings bundled benefits Andrew Swallow What do you get if you cross a kale with a radish? Jokers in the industry might answer “a kalish” or perhaps a “rale” but this is no joke – the result is a brassica that looks to have a lot going for it as a forage species: improved yield, multiple grazings, and better insect and disease tolerance. Scientifically it is known as Raphanobrassica and PGG Wrightson Seeds has the first of what could be a string of cultivars on the market under the trademark Raphno. The cultivar is called Pallaton and after farm-scale trials last year, about 230 properties have crops this year ranging from a few hectares to 50ha. Raphno regrowth after two grazings on light dryland in South Canterbury.

Fifteen of those 230 crops are being closely monitored and the overall scale of the release is such that should any problems arise they can be investigated in a timely manner, PGW’s specialist brassica breeder Andy Dumbleton says. Trials last year and the year before, across six dryland sites in Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Canterbury, saw Pallaton outyield Goliath at both first and second cuts/grazings, with a 14% drymatter advantage overall. One probable driver was better water use, trials at Ashley Dene having shown Pallaton to have 38% higher water-use efficiency (yield produced per mm of water used) than Goliath.

‘We think it’s a great fit for the sheep and beef market. You can plant it and graze it when you want it, rather than being driven by plant maturity.’

Soil moisture testing with neutron probes found water uptake by Pallaton to be similar to rape so the visibly greater drought tolerance is “all about the water-use efficiency,” rather than deeper rooting from Pallaton’s “parsnip-like tap root,” Dumbleton says. Whether the species has a place in Southland, where conditions are cooler and water stress a rarity, is

Club root risk Club root, caused by the fungus Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a notorious soil-borne disease of brassicas. Favoured by moist, acidic soils, infection causes bulbous, deformed roots with impaired water and nutrient uptake, slashing yields. Resting spores remain viable in soil for decades and non-crop hosts such as shepherd’s purse mean once infected, paddocks are rarely rid of the disease. Besides biosecurity to prevent transfer of infected soil between paddocks and farms, control is limited to liming, which reduces infection, or use of tolerant cultivars, if available. Even then, yields are not what would be achieved without the disease present.

being evaluated this year, but club root tolerance could be a trump card over other brassica options for the far south. Dumbleton is quick to temper the club root tolerance claim with a caveat that it is only tolerance, not resistance, and successive Raphno crops in club root prone country (see panel) could lift inoculum to the point where the disease does become a problem. However, Pallaton’s tolerance includes the Aparima strain of the disease, which is widespread in Southland and it should be sufficient for worthwhile one-off crops to be grown where non-tolerant brassicas would succumb. Grazing can start from as little as 50

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Ideally this is how much to leave after each grazing, Pallaton breeder, Andy Dumbleton says.

“Parsnip-like” tap roots and improved water use efficiency mean the new brassica’s more drought-tolerant than rape, PGW’s Andy Dumbleton says.

A central North Island crop trial of Raphanobrassica.

days post-sowing, making as many as five or six grazings possible in a season, though Dumbleton says the ideal time to take the first bite is at about 70 days. “At 50 days you’re probably cutting it a bit short because at about day 50 its growth just takes off.” If the feed’s not needed at 70 days post-planting there’s no harm in letting it grow to 120 days, he adds. “That’s why we think it’s a great fit for the sheep and beef market. You can plant it and graze it when you want

it, rather than being driven by plant maturity.” Left to grow unchecked Raphno will grow to about two metres so longer grazing intervals may result in plants becoming too tall for lambs. Regrowth is best if main stems aren’t completely stripped of leaf petioles but even when reduced to bare stumps Pallaton’s shown a remarkable ability to recover, Dumbleton says. “It does have this strong regrowth ability. A prime example was a seed

Breeding history PGG Wrigthson Seeds and Plant and Food Research, through their joint venture Forage Innovations, certainly aren’t the first plant breeders to cross radishes (Raphanus spp) with brassicas. In the 1970s the Scottish Plant Breeding Station at Roslin found Raphanobrassica resisted clubroot better than five species of Brassica napus, most likely swede cultivars and there are references in plant breeding journals to “Rabbage”, the product of radish crosses with cabbage strains of brassica. “The first Raphanobrassicas were probably bred in the 1930s,” Dumbleton says. “In Europe they’re using them as cover crops now.” Not all Raphanobrassica hybrids are fertile but duplication of genes to produce amphidiploids A doubling-up of the chromosomes – a similar structure to restores the fertility of initial crosses. a tetraploid – with 36 chromosomes can restore fertility, as has been the case with Pallaton (see graphic). “Getting fertility back into the crosses was one of the big challenges. In the early days of our breeding programme we had a lot of sterility issues.” Even with those overcome, a couple of promising cultivars also fell at final hurdles four or five years ago, hence PGW’s gradual release of Pallaton. Now Dumbleton’s working on producing Raphno cultivars with optimal grazing times earlier and later than Pallaton. A scientific paper detailing the development of Raphno will hopefully be available late this year, he says.

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production paddock at Lincoln. It was harvested at the end of March and by August there was 4-5 tonnes drymatter/ha which was used for grazing ewes.” However, as with all forage brassicas, the end of August is its use-by date as after that it will run to flower, quickly losing palatability and quality. Fertiliser requirement is similar to other forage brassicas, 200kg of DAP at sowing followed by a little nitrogen after each grazing being typical, Dumbleton says. “I’m a fan of giving it 20-25kg of urea post-grazing, especially if you’re able to irrigate it or rain’s forecast. It’s just a sprinkle but if you’re repeat grazing you could be back in there with livestock in 40 to 50 days and you have to be careful of all the nitrogenrelated issues.” That said, they have encountered a situation where a crop starved of nitrogen had very low protein content and lamb performance suffered as a result. Animal performance is being measured on a commercial scale this year to see if generally positive results from small plots are replicated across paddocks with thousands of lambs. Dumbleton says during the breeding programme they expected feed quality would be between leafy turnips and rape, rape being the best, but farmer feedback is that quality appears more on par with rape and lambs have been doing 300g/ day on it. Thanks to its radish parentage, Pallaton’s less prone to damage from sucking and biting insects such as aphids and larvae of cabbage white butterfly and diamondback moth. In PGW trials it was found to have 32% greater tolerance to aphids than forage rape. Seedlings are still susceptible to the likes of nysius and springtails so insecticidal seed treatments will still be needed.

FORAGE | RAPHANOBRASSICA

Growers’ first impressions benefits Three first-time growers of Raphanobrassica asked about the crop were all positive about its potential. Dan Burke, who manages Glencoe Run near Herbert in Otago for EGL Pastoral, says it’s been very easy to grow, with no bug pressure. With only enough seed for three hectares supplied, he finished the 4ha paddock with Spitfire rape, providing a growth and palatability comparison. “They seem to love the Raphno’: they never looked at the Spitfire until they were locked on it.” Direct-drilled into sprayed-out pasture on rolling hill country at 420 metres altitude in late November, it grew 3925kg DM/ha by February 8 when they put 300 lambs on to it. After a month the lambs had averaged

Lambs on their second grazing of Pallaton in South Canterbury in March.

Pallaton Raphno growing amongst wilting forage rape cultivars in a dryland trial in Culverden, North Canterbury.

180g/day liveweight gain, and that would have included a couple of weeks adjusting to the feed, Burke pointed out. “I’d expect them to be doing double that for the next couple of weeks.” He planned to shut the paddock up in early April for a couple of months’ regrowth before winter grazing, most likely with replacement heifers. In future he said he’d like to try sowing Raphanobrassica with Italian ryegrass to buffer that gut adaption period. At Cave, in South Canterbury, Herstall Ulrich sowed a light 3.5ha paddock with Raphanobrassica on October 24. “Even though it’s a light paddock we were a month later drilling it than I would have liked because there were still wet spots in the low-lying parts of the paddock.” To graze it he divided the paddock into four with flexi-net and rotated a mob of 200 lambs around the quarters. By early March half the mob had gone to the works and the other half were on their second round. Lamb growth rates were “right up there at 250g to 280g/ day” which was better than the 200g/day lambs on lucerne did during the same period. “But whether it’s economic to grow as an annual alternative to lucerne I’m

The flower of Raphanobrassica.

Key points • Radish x kale hybrid. • First graze at 50-120 days; similar intervals thereafter. • Palatability and quality on par with forage rapes. • Cumulative yield 14% ahead of Goliath. • Drought, club root, and sucking insect tolerant.

not sure. As an alternative to rape we’d certainly have to look at it.” In the same situation rape would have given one grazing and that would have been it, he added, whereas the Raphanobrassica had gone a second round despite a dry spell. He planned to shut the paddock up for winter feed once the lambs had gone. “We gave up growing rape years ago because in a good year it grew a heap of feed that you didn’t need but in a poor season when you really needed it, it wouldn’t do.” At Winslow, Mid Canterbury, Ken McNally sowed 3ha of Raphanobrassica under pivot irrigation on October 17, with 2ha of Titan rape as a block in the middle to fill the 5ha paddock. There was little to choose between the two species at the start of the first grazing, on December 30, but ahead of a second grazing in March it looked like the Raphanobrassica had 30% more regrowth. Despite no applied nitrogen after 100kg/of Cropmaster 20 (19%N, 10%P, 12.5%S) at sowing, high nitrates meant they were having to keep lambs off both species but the first grazing had seen 800 lambs average 216g/head/day through to January 23 when they were taken off. “It takes them time to adjust so you could probably say at their best they were doing over 300g liveweight gain a day. I’m certainly keen to grow some more on a bigger scale once there’s more seed available.” andrewswallow@clear.net.nz

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ARABLE | PRECISION CROPPING

High yields and no nutrients lost Andrew Swallow Tuning fertiliser inputs to yield expectation is established practice in cropping but Methven farmer Craige Mackenzie’s able to go several steps further in terms of justifying his inputs. Since 2008 he’s been researching, testing, and in some cases adopting, the latest technologies on his 200-hectare arable unit and neighbouring 300ha, 1100-cow dairy unit. “For three growing seasons we know we’ve had no water leave the root zone therefore we’ve had no nitrates go to groundwater,” he told the inaugural Lincoln Hub Agtech Showcase in May. Mackenzie was one of four speakers during the afternoon session of the Showcase and outlined his vision of where precision farming will take the industry. But before any farmer shells out on such technology, they need to get the basics right. “If we don’t do the basics right, we’re screwed,” he said, putting up an aerial photo of a wheat crop in the United Kingdom with a uniform grid of lodged patches across it. The cause was probably farmyard manure spread unevenly in one direction pre-sowing, then nitrogen and other fertiliser applied from tramlines running at right angles. Equalising such extreme fertility variation over short distances would be difficult, but sorting broader variations in fertility within paddocks, notably pH, phosphate and, to a lesser extent, potash, is often the place to start with precision farming, he says. Substantial variation isn’t unusual due to changes in soil type, historical spreading practices, field boundary

Sensors on Mackenzie’s sprayer guided variable rate Moddus decisions on ryegrass last summer.

changes, and stock transfer of nutrients. Sampling soil across a paddock in a grid pattern using GPS co-ordinates creates a nutrient map which can then be used to inform application rates. Typically such sampling services cost $25-$50/ha depending on range of nutrients analysed. That can be repaid in fertiliser savings and/or yield increases in one year alone. Areas that regularly yield under expectation will have had excessive nutrients applied year after year, so inputs can be cut without jeopardising yield. Meanwhile, high yielding areas may actually be limited by lack of a particular nutrient as year after year the crop’s used all the nutrient supplied as fertiliser and more, mining the soil to the point it’s at sub-optimal fertility levels. Applying more to these areas should be repaid in improved yield. Finding spreaders capable of variablerate application, either as a contract service, or to buy and set-up for your own use, isn’t hard these days, Mackenzie says. “The tricky bit is making sure your software is compatible so the spreader can work off the information you give it, but again, there are plenty of people who can help you with that sort of thing now.” Those include the business he founded and now runs as a joint venture with PGG Wrightson Seeds, Agri-Optics, but also the two main fertiliser co-operatives and several other organisations, he says. Available water capacity of soil is another driver for yield variation across paddocks. Irrigation is the obvious answer, but how much to apply, and where? Mackenzie uses GPS-linked electro-magnetic (EM) scanning to identify textural and soil depth changes across paddocks. That information guides where to place soil moisture probes, which in turn inform variable rate irrigation equipment as to how much water can be applied without risking drainage. On the cropping farm alone he has 35, but four or five should be sufficient under most pivots, he suggests. That would cost about $10,000, and retro-fitting a 400-metre pivot (50ha assuming fullcircle) with solenoids and software to spatially vary irrigation volume comes in at about $40,000, though there are ways to reduce that.

Moisture sensors under the crop determine just how much water is needed in each zone of the paddock.

Key points • Precision vision • Technology becoming mainstream and affordable. • Profit per hectare, off every hectare, the driver. • Sustainability and accountability also key. • Difficulties transmitting bulk data disappearing. • Crop sensors coming of age. • Variable rate application hardware increasingly accessible. • Drones no longer toys but tools. • Science, trade and farm collaboration essential.

“The industry standard figure is about $100/m of pivot upgraded.” The average water saving from case studies of variable rate installations is 32% to date, he notes, so, depending on water costs, payback on water savings alone can be just two or three years and increased yields can cut the return period to just a year. “There’s hardly a paddock in Canterbury that doesn’t have enough variation in the soil to justify variable rate irrigation.” Increasingly there’s an environmental case for installing such technology too.

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“With rights come responsibilities,” he told the Lincoln AgTech Showcase audience, alluding to the responsibility irrigating Precision farming pioneer farmers have to Craige Mackenzie. ensure the water they use isn’t wasted or contributing to environmental issues such as nitrate leaching. “Personally I’m not worried about regulation because I think we should always be ahead of the regulation and shaping it, not reacting to it.” Another technology he’s been making work on his farm for several years is scanning crops using six GreenSeekers mounted on his sprayer – one for each section of the boom. The electronic eyes pick up subtle shifts in crop colour and density to produce Normalised Difference Vegetative Index maps, which in turn are used to vary inputs such as fungicides and plant growth regulators. For example, on ryegrass seed crops this year Moddus (trinexapac-ethyl) rate ranged from 1.0L/ ha to 2.5L/ha across the paddock, based on NDVI readings. “In some places it took the yield from what would have been virtually zero without the variable rate, because the crop would have matured too early, to 2500kg/ha. At $2.50/kg that’s a massive difference.” Mackenzie believes use of such spectral imaging is about to take-off, literally, with the advent of relatively cheap drones capable of carrying sensors and,

in some cases, even applying inputs. At their simplest level drones can pinpoint problem areas in paddocks for agronomists to inspect on foot. More sophisticated sensors recording hundreds of spectral readings with every pass can identify crop or pasture quantity and quality. Such applications have uses across the industry, in cropping, dairy, sheep and beef, even in the high country and the conservation estate. “We could use drones to map where all the wilding pines are, then send them out to spray them.” Historically, a headache with all imagery has been the transmission of the massive files it creates to someone capable of converting it to onfarm recommendations, but even that obstacle looks like being overcome in the very near future with the availability of LoRa devices for under $100. Standing for Low Power Wide Area Network, they use multiple frequencies simultaneously to transmit data securely to hundreds, or even thousands, of other LoRa devices. “I believe this is going to be an absolute game-changer. Connectivity is the key to where we’re going to go with all this technology,” Mackenzie told the Lincoln Showcase. But there’s another key to getting farmers to take up new technologies, and that’s profitability. “We need to be profitable because if we’re not profitable, we’re not going to make the investments needed. It has to be sustainable, financially and environmentally.” And on his own farm, he’s adamant it is. Wheat yields on his lighter soils have lifted from 7t/ha to 10-12t/ha and output on higher-yielding areas has edged up

About Mackenzie Craige Mackenzie chairs the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand and, with wife Roz, has picked up many farming awards over the years, including the top title in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards nationally, the Gordon Stephenson Trophy. In 2016 he took the farmer award in the Global PrecisionAg Awards, presented in St Louis, Missouri, and he was recently elected to the board of the Global Farmer Network, one of four farmer representatives at the top table of the non-profit advocacy group promoting trade and access to agricultural innovation and technology. On the farm crops include wheat for seed, feed and milling, grass seeds, and various forage and vegetable seed crops. The property is 315m above sealevel, near Methven, and gets 900mm/ year of rain on average, topped up with up to 220mm irrigation. too, for little if any extra input: it’s just better targeted. Meanwhile the greater certainty of success with all crops and the traceability the technology brings means he’s able to get a wider range of growing contracts, especially for high-value seed crops. That traceability and accountability precision farming technology can bring is important for the country as a whole, he says. “For example, we grow 65% of the world’s carrot seed in New Zealand. If it’s not sustainable, and we’re not able to show that, then we’re not going to have the ability to grow that in future.”

Harvest staggers home Headers across the country were still snatching remnants of crops as CountryWide went to press. Here, Jeremy Talbot takes Sanette barley near Temuka, South Canterbury, on May 6. “It was the 16th of February when we were last in here,” he said, reflecting on a decision to take wheats first and leave the barley for later. Regrowth and sprouting in the ear was sprayed off by helicopter late April prior to putting the duals on his 1980s JD1085 to grab the last of it. “It’s a lot lighter than our T670 Hillsider which is our main header.” Federated Farmers’ Arable chairman Guy Wigley said the sticky end to arvest hit spring barley and some speciality small seeds in particular, but wheats taken before March’s mud were exceptional.

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“Grass seeds were well above average too but winter barleys were generally disappointing.” Delays in sowing, exacerbated by the Canterburywide burning ban after the Port Hills blaze, meant next year’s wheat yield prospects were already down and time had run out for some crops, such as oilseed rape. “That’s going to have a knock-on effect on our rotation in 2018/19.” Meanwhile in the North Island, cyclones Debbie, Cook and Donna have played havoc with maize harvesting. Feds’ Bay of Plenty Arable chairman, Colin Mackinnon, said some farms had lost half their crops and were resorting to ensiling what grain that could be salvaged. Even in Waikato, as of May 12, they had only a quarter done with yields

back to 10 tonnes where they should be getting 12t. Feds’ maize section chairman, Hew Dalrymple said: “It’s a shocker. Yields are down 15% and possibly more and conditions are appalling even for silage. There are bogged tractors all over the show.” Dalrymple said it would be “a year to forget but one we’ll remember for all the wrong reasons”.

PLANT & MACHINERY | FEEDING-OUT

Cattle at Richard Vant’s United Kingdom farm receive virtually no cereal-based feed with all starch provided by waste root crops that help keep wintering costs low.

Bucket beets feed costs A simple root-pulping feed-out bucket which has allowed one United Kingdom beef enterprise to massively cut feed costs may be a valuable asset on Kiwi farms. Nick Fone and Terry Brosnahan report.

rowing on store cattle is a marginal business at the best of times, especially when it involves pumping tonnes of cereal-based feed into animals to bring them up to the required weight. But a number of years ago a British producer found a way of making it a whole lot more profitable – by feeding waste vegetables and sugar beet. Richard Vant farms in partnership with his cousin Robert at Riggshill Farm, close to Ashford in Kent. While the total area extends to some 280 hectares, much of that is rented pasture spread throughout the marshes and chalk downland of east Kent. Because this extensive grazing doesn’t tend to be the most productive land there is a heavy reliance on other forages to get cattle up to the target weight of 400450kg for sale. “Back in the distant past, we used to take animals right through to finishing weight but the poor-quality pasture meant that a lot of extra feed was required to do this,” Vant said. “Now we operate a policy of buying in weaned heifers and steers at six-to-seven months of age and sell them on a year or so later as heavy stores.” Predominantly Belgian Blue crosses are

sourced from a single supplier and one or two make it through to finishing weight for the farmhouse table and the local pub – The Plough at Stalisfield. “By keeping back a couple we get to keep a close eye on the finished product to make sure we’re doing the best possible job. But the key is the genetics – quality is no accident.” The young animals are overwintered in sheds at Riggshill Farm and fed a mix of home-grown haylage and waste potatoes, parsnips or sugar beet. “We’re after the cheapest possible source of energy that will grow the animals on at a good rate but won’t push them overfat,” Vant said. Using waste spuds and parsnips he can generally overwinter each animal for about NZ$100/head. But the key to this system has been a simple but critical piece of kit – a feed-out bucket capable of chopping and pulping roots. The Vants used to run a Bomb bucket that had a grid positioned at the end of its feed-out auger to chop roots as they were discharged. Simple as this was, it had a tendency to block whenever the inevitable stone got into the mix. Understandably unblocking it quickly became something of a chore and Vant started to look out for something more suitable.

When spuds were fed whole Richard Vant would lose at least one steer every six months.

He found the solution with a company KW Farm Services who were advertising a feeder-chopper bucket. “The design seemed right. With a pair of spring-loaded rollers at the discharge spout any soft vegetable matter gets pulped but stones just pass through.” Designed like many other such buckets, a single hydraulically driven auger runs in the base across its full width. This propels material to the left-hand outlet where it passes through two hefty steel rollers driven by a duplex chain coupled to the auger itself. “It’s beautifully simple and in four years all we’ve had to do is change one bearing. To begin with we had an issue with roots spilling out as they began to shift to one side but KW provided us with

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some pre-cut steel spill-over plates and we just welded them on.” Throughout the year the bucket is used for a range of other tasks. Hoggets overwintered on stubble-turnips get topped up with sugar beet as food becomes scarce towards the back end of winter as do the ewes prior to lambing. Then when it’s drilling time the spring pressure on the rollers is released and the bucket is employed to load the farm’s drill with beans. In terms of the bucket’s effectiveness in doing its core job Vant reckons it’s has paid for itself time and time again. “It tends to pulp roots more than chop them and the cattle love it – we can definitely get more feed into them, which is what it’s all about. “More importantly, since we’ve had it we haven’t lost a single animal to choking.” When spuds were fed whole they would lose at least one steer every six months. “In that way the bucket paid for itself straight away.”

Coupled to a JCB 536-60 Loadall, the KW Engineering feed-out bucket pulps potatoes, parsnips and sugar beet for Riggshill Farm’s 300-400 growing beef cattle.

Updates

A three-metre, double-auger bucket.

The side feeding chute on a bucket.

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Since Nick Fone wrote his story Richard Vant has switched to a bigger bucket and a double auger. He found the cabbage leaf which is light and fluffy will often ridge. He is now using a lot of cauliflower stalks and cabbage leaf waste which he gets virtually free. Less sugar beet is used as it is too expensive. Parsnip and potatoes cost about NZ$56 (£30)/tonne. They are now running 350 ewes and lambing them. They bought in Mule ewe lambs and sold the lambs at foot. Last summer he got the cattle away at 450kg LW. Vant said the old bucket required little maintenance apart from replacing some bearings and grease. Bob Wright from KW Farms said a 2.3m bucket with a free-running roller, bottom roller driven, twin auger (for antibridging) which would go straight into a shipping container sold for NZ$10,458 (£5600). About eight buckets were sold to a NZ farm engineering firm about a year ago, he said. The firm wanted to make the KW machine under licence, to get over the patent rights, because compared to the other type it was dearer. “I tried to explain that our system was easier to drive more reliable and could cope with stones.” • NZ fodder beet buckets used lifting crops from the paddock.

ENVIRONMENT | AERIAL NO-TILL

No pray needed if spray done right Heli-cropped kale on North Island hill.

Heli-cropping or aerial no-till carries little risk if the guidelines are followed, proponents say. Andrew Swallow reports.

o-called “spray and pray” cropping of hill country hit the headlines recently with mainstream media reporting it as a new and environmentally risky practice. But is it? Murray Lane, who was involved in research proving the concept more than a decade ago, says if executed well the practice carries little risk, environmentally or agronomically, with considerable reward. And the fact he and others were researching the practice in the early 2000s shows it’s nothing new.

‘A good operator will keep the spray entirely within the paddock and be able to spray around trees if need be. There’s no need for them to be killed like in the picture used in the recent media reports.’

That work, conducted over four sites and three years, was initially reported by Meat and Wool New Zealand in 2005, and revamped in a paper presented at last year’s New Zealand Grassland Association Hill Country Symposium, in Rotorua. The NZGA paper concluded hill country cropping and pasture

renewal by air was economically and practically viable. Little wonder then that Lane, and others, say the “spray and pray” term isn’t appropriate. “It’s pretty reliable. Usually if there’s a failure it’s because the farmer or contractor has failed to follow one of the steps.” Lane’s preference is to call it helicropping, or aerial no-till. Success with it starts with site selection and soil testing. At the very latest, soil tests should be taken in the autumn before the intended block will be sprayed so lime, if necessary, can be applied in time to soak in and lift the pH before spring. A helicopter contractor capable of doing the job well also needs to be lined up in good time. Ideally they’ll have lowdrift spray capability to keep the burn-off to the target area, and a small hopper spinner for seed and slug pellets as well as a large hopper for fertiliser. “A good operator will keep the spray entirely within the paddock and be able to spray around trees if need be. There’s no need for them to be killed like in the picture used in the recent media reports.” Leading up to spraying the target area should be thoroughly grazed to remove dead material, before allowing a 15001600kg drymatter (DM)/ha green cover to develop. “You may need to lightly set stock the block to hold it around that until the weather’s right and the helicopter contractor’s available,” Lane says. The cover is important to ensure a good kill of the old pasture species and

Key points • Heli-cropping brassica • Careful site selection – work around erosion-risk areas. • Soil sample and correct pH autumn prior to spray-off. • Book an experienced, well-equipped contractor well in advance. • Hard graze over winter, then manage spring cover to 1500-1600kgDM/ha at spray-off. • Spray-off, sow and fertilise on same day. • Include protection from slugs, springtails and cut-worm. • Nitrogen side dressing 3-4 weeks after sowing. • Monitor and protect from pests. • Manage grazing to minimise run-off risk – top down; portable water; off-slope area available in case of extreme weather etc.

shelter germinating seedlings from wind and sun. It also acts as a mulch, suppressing weed growth and retaining moisture. “The day the Roundup is applied is the day soil moisture loss stops.” However, the dying pasture also provides an ideal haven for slugs so broadcasting pellets with seed is essential, as are insecticides in the burn-off spray to take out springtails, cut-worm and nysius. Immediately after seeding, the main fertiliser application, based on the previous autumn’s soil test and yield expectation for the crop, should go on. “Applying 400 to 500kg of DAP per hectare will ensure the crop and build fertility for the pasture or whatever will follow.” An available supply of phosphate near

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the seed is a key contributor to crop establishment success, hence the need to apply promptly post seeding, he adds. If contractor and farmer are organised, spray-off, seeding and fertilising can all be done the same day. “The real benefit is the soil is never bare.” The pasture residue protects soil from raindrop impact and erosion is much less likely than in a cultivated site. Soil structure and water infiltration rates are also unaffected by the crop establishment process. “This is aerial no-till.” But while erosion at establishment is much less likely than under cultivation, that does not mean crop should be sown everywhere. Use knowledge of farm slopes, soils, and planned stock utilisation of the crop to brief pilots to avoid spraying areas which could become erosion-prone when grazed. Assuming no delay in crop emergence, a side-dressing of nitrogen, typically about 100kgN/ha (~220kg/ha urea) should be spun on three to four weeks after sowing. Lane says a herbicide may be applied then too if a potential weed problem is identified but because soil’s not disturbed and crop cover is rapid it’s rarely necessary. Thereafter it’s just a case of keeping an eye on pest levels, notably white butterfly and diamond back moth, and protecting the crop if necessary. As for the risk of erosion when the crop’s grazed, be prepared to take stock off steep country should it get too wet, Lane says, and avoid pugging at all costs. “You can’t do anything to recover ground from pugging on steep faces so you have to take ownership of the potential problem to prevent it happening. Run fewer, preferably lighter animals and be prepared to move them if a storm’s forecast.” The following crop or pasture should also be established as soon as possible post grazing. Lane says he knows of one farm that heli-crops rape on hill blocks that takes two grazings off it over summer, then before a final autumn grazing, broadcasts a pasture mix into the standing crop so the seed’s trodden in and the pasture establishes by spring. “The risk with that approach is very, very low.” If helicopter operations are coordinated as Lane suggests costs will be comparable to conventional establishment techniques and besides the immediate benefit of a crop which can provide a high quality feed at a time of need, often on country that couldn’t otherwise be cropped, the process also paves the way for introducing improved pasture species.

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The Telford paddock after grazing with pregnant dairy cows.

Treading effect Even in the absence of erosion due to run-off, a significant amount of soil can be pushed downhill by grazing, research by Lincoln University masters student Veronica Penny and colleagues shows. The work, which was with dairy cows on a 3.4-hectare section of a 6ha cultivated paddock cropped with kale at Telford, Otago, in winter 2015, was presented at last year’s New Zealand Grassland Association Hill Country Symposium (see www.grassland.org.nz). It found a linear relationship between degree of slope and amount of soil movement on slopes of up to 25% (14 degrees). On steeper gradients there was rapid soil movement but the relationship between gradient and soil transport became unpredictable due to cattle forming tracks across the faces. During 44 days of grazing, 56% of the research area had a net soil loss and while the average loss was just 0.1mm, half of the eroding area lost over 1mm of soil. Penny points out these rates are about 10 times greater than erosion via overland flow under best management practice, as shown by previous research at Telford by Orchiston et al. They’re also way higher than typical soil production rates of 0.03 to 0.08mm/year, so the long-term sustainability of such practice is doubtful. Erosion due to treading was most severe on convex areas of the paddock – shoulders of slopes and knolls – and would likely have been sufficient to reduce

Veronica Penny’s research revealed how much soil is moved downhill due to cattle treading.

future production off such areas. “Where they cultivated the field after the trial you could see the subsoil coming through on these areas,” Penny says. As for the lesson to be taken from the research at farm level, Penny says try to avoid cropping steep hill country if possible, particularly convex and hummocky areas of paddocks. However, if there’s a positive to be taken in terms of “spray and pray” it’s that such techniques avoid cultivation. Penny says from her research and published work elsewhere, she’d expect cultivation to cause soil transport rates greater than twice that under grazing, even without any increased erosion due to exposure of bare soil to rain and run-off at crop establishment, or when re-working after grazing.

The Telford, Otago, kale crop used in Penny’s research.

ENVIRONMENT | AERIAL NO-TILL

Aerial established kale on forest cut-over.

Second scientific opinion AgResearch’s David Stevens says if best practice is used then the term spray and pray isn’t appropriate to describe aerial broadcast crops. “The result’s a lot more assured than praying and we’d like people to realise that. The concern really is about how we utilise these crops.” There’s plenty of advice on that too, particularly in Southland and Otago where grazing steep slopes with cattle in winter has long been a concern. Stevens says minimising the environmental risk starts with careful planning of the areas to be sprayed and

‘You might leave an uncropped margin down the side of the paddock, or not spray off the steepest areas to provide your standing hay. If these run across the slope they’ll provide an extra buffer against run-off.’

sown. A buffer between slopes and water courses needs to be left and the greater the slope and area of crop, the greater the buffer needed. Lane (see main article) suggests if long slopes are to be cropped then leaving regular, unsprayed buffer strips across

the slope should be considered. Besides helping catch any sediment movement, they’ll make putting break fences in to get good utilisation of the crop much easier too, he says. Gullies or swales, even if dry most of the time, shouldn’t be sprayed out or sown either. Stevens says leave enough unsprayed so that if they do flood in winter there’s still a buffer between them and the crop. If it’s anticipated the crop will need to be supplemented with a fibrous forage at grazing that needs to be built into plans too. Supplement placed through less-steep areas of crop during summer can save animals trailing back to feeders during winter, or standing hay could be built into the system. “You might leave an uncropped margin down the side of the paddock, or not spray off the steepest areas to provide your standing hay. If these run across the slope they’ll provide an extra buffer against run-off.” Back-fence and set-up a portable water source so stock don’t have to walk back to troughs, and always start grazing furthest from any water courses or gullies, he adds. The last break to be fed should be the strip that borders the buffer zone at the base of a slope. “That way there’s always some standing crop to help catch any sediment that might run-off.” Stevens’ colleague at AgResearch Invermay, Tom Orchiston, showed such measures cut sediment loss about 80% at Telford compared to a similar catchment

The result’s a lot more assured than praying, AgResearch agronomist David Stevens says.

where kale was grazed from the base of the slope upwards. While that work, which was part of the Pastoral 21 project, was on crops established by cultivation, the same principles should be applied to aerial notill crops, Orchiston says. “Keep stock away from those critical source areas (swales, gullies etc) as long as possible.” A final report on the Pastoral 21 work at Telford, authored by Orchiston, Monaghan, Laurensen and Dalley, has been submitted to the New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Science for publication later this year. An interim report by Orchiston et al was published by the Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre in 2013.

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ENVIRONMENT | AERIAL NO-TILL

Aerial no-till success depends on the slope and the type of soil.

Good practice not consent needed Terry Brosnahan Aerial no-till practices on hill country are sustainable if farmers follow good practice. AgriSeeds North Island East Coast area manager Paul Shaft has worked with farmers developing hill country for about 30 years and never had a major problem with erosion. A “new practice” of spraying out steep hillsides for cattle winter feed grabbed urban media attention at the start of May because environmentalists say it caused erosion and needed to be regulated. Usual suspects including Fish & Game say the practice is leading to muddy rivers and want regional councils like Horizons to make farmers seek consent for the practice. Aerial no-till has been around for decades and had people like Shaft bemused by urban media’s recent “discovery” of it. Shaft said there was a lot of science and technical expertise behind the practice. The key with aerial no-till was good management practices from site selection through to grazing. Sowing rates should be maintained to keep weeds out. Good soil fertility along with good pre and post weed control gives a well-established crop. Many farmers spray out a paddock in spring then fallow it over summer so the seed can be sown early autumn for better establishment before the rains come. The plants have deeper roots so there is less chance of erosion. Placing water troughs on top of the hill so stock don’t walk up and down, fencing off steep slopes and gullies all help. Some farmers start grazing from the top of a hill so any runoff is caught by the remaining crops. Horizons land manager Grant Cooper said aerial no-till didn’t meet the definition of cultivation and clearance under the council’s One Plan. There were rules for slopes of more than 20 degrees, but only for vegetation clearance and cultivation. Vegetation was more scrub and trees.

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Aerial no-till practice was increasing but not widespread in the region and council staff were not specifically looking out for it, he said. If a stream or river was running brown it could be existing sediment in the waterway or banks. Cooper said if the vegetation was taken off slopes 20-33 degrees at any time of the year there was a risk of erosion. There was no excuse for farmers not knowing about good management practices.

There were rules for slopes of more than 20 degrees, but only for vegetation clearance and cultivation. Vegetation was more scrub and trees.

Cooper said council staff were working with Beef + Lamb New Zealand and attending field days to speak about erosion. With dairy farming, horticulture and

urban sprawl gobbling up flat and easier country, pastoral farmers were looking to develop higher country to finish stock or feed breeding animals. With the cost of aerial no-till ranging from $1000-$1500/ ha, it was no wonder farmers were keen on the practice. Rangitikei farmer and district councillor Angus Gordon was quoted in the media saying soil and pollution from spray and pray was potentially ending up in the Rangitikei River, that he didn’t believe farmers were managing the process well. Gordon told Country-Wide he was referring to steep class 7 land with slopes 45 degrees or more. With any technique farmers tended to grab and apply it willy-nilly, he said. He had never used it and had not witnessed major erosion, but had seen problems on slopes with newly established grass. A lot depended on the landscape and the soils, he said. If it was on slopes less than 20 degrees, the aerial no-till meant no cultivation like direct drilling and was great. Farmers were chasing diminishing returns the steeper they went, he said. How steep is too steep for aerial no-till?

ENVIRONMENT | REGIONAL PLANS

Manawatu River passing through the Manawatu Gorge. Horizons recognised that perhaps their plan may not be 100% correct, that managing within freshwater limits has its challenges, and it was being pragmatic in implementing the One Plan.

One plan to rule them all Keri Johnston In September 2016, Fish and Game and The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) took Horizons Regional Council (Horizons) to court for its implementation of its One Plan. Both Fish and Game and the EDS consider the plan was not being implemented lawfully, particularly when dealing with resource consents applications for intensive farming and dairy conversions, and because of this, the plan’s freshwater quality limits would unlikely be achieved. They claimed Horizons was going too easy on farms, allowing high levels of nitrogen to be discharged, and were taking into account the effects on farmer’s financial returns. They claimed this should not be taken into consideration. Horizons mooted the plan at the time as being a “one stop shop” for managing the Manawatu-Whanganui region’s water, air and land. However, it was highly contentious and took 10 years of consultation, legal battles and re-writes before it was eventually signed off in 2014. One of its big issues was the use of the Overseer model – the fact that it changes regularly, however, plan limits did not. A major overhaul of the Overseer model occurred part way through the One Plan process increasing modelled nutrient losses considerably and despite pleadings from those in the know, the

target for the plan remained the same. Last month, the Environment Court sided with Fish and Game and the EDS. So, what does this mean? In a nutshell, it means councils will be required to give effect to their plans to the absolute letter of the law. From my reading of the situation, Horizons had recognised that perhaps their plan may not be 100% correct, that managing within freshwater limits has its challenges, and it was being pragmatic in implementing the One Plan.

It will lead to more red tape and lengthier processes in the long term as far more information is going to need to be provided with any future applications for consent.

They were still on track to achieving the required nitrogen reductions under the plan and water quality monitoring was showing improvements. They may not have been totally on the straight and narrow in getting there, but it seems the outcomes would have been the same. So now Horizons has been forced to temporarily halt the processing and approving of consents. This will result in uncertainty for applicants and inevitably

increased costs as the council comes to grips with the decision. It will lead to more red tape and lengthier processes in the long term as far more information is going to need to be provided with any future applications for consent. Being unable to take into account financial considerations, any consents granted from here on will be subject to harsher conditions and timeframes for reducing nitrogen discharges. It will also have national ramifications. Other councils will be reading the decision closely, and the same effects can be expected to be experienced around the country – more red tape, lengthier processes and potentially harsher consent conditions as no other council will want to be accused of “going easy” on farmers. In Horizons’ defence, being the first regional council to tackle water quality and nutrient limits at any sort of scale, was ballsy, but someone had to go first. They have acknowledged their mistakes and that science is not perfect, but at the same time, have never lost sight of the end goal. Perhaps a plan change to remedy things would have been a better approach, legalising the processes they were carrying out. The court decision effectively takes away council’s ability to adapt to the situation before them – the plan is the plan, and that is it – One Plan to Rule them All, forever, the end. • Keri Johnston is a natural resources engineer with Irricon Resource Solutions, Timaru.

Country-Wide June 2017

ENVIRONMENT | FARM FORESTRY

Coastal afforestation forms a backdrop to this Himatangi dairy farm.

Playing in the sand pit Denis Hocking After spending increasing amounts of time over recent months helping get a New Zealand Farm Forestry Association annual conference organised, the rest of April was always going to be spent playing catch-up, with rather little attention being paid to the finer points of trees and forestry. Judging from feedback, the conference was well received and enjoyed, but then you might expect the complaints to take longer and a more devious route through to the organisers. I discussed some of the conference content in April, especially the planned visit to the dramatic erosion system of Goulter’s Gully. Attendees were certainly impressed – “expletive, expletive, I didn’t realise there was such massive erosion outside the East Coast”. Another uncommon land form that the conference focused on was the coastal sand country, a distinctive feature of the south Taranaki bight and a land form I am very familiar with. The day started at the foredune of Santoft forest, a protection/production forest established in the 1950s to protect the more inland farm land from the encroaching sand. Santoft wasn’t the first of the coastal forests, that honour goes to Tangimoana and there was scattered tree planting for dune stabilisation from the late 19th century. Amongst early planters was the Railways Department, trying to stop sand drifting on to the Foxton line. One of their plantations remains as a fragment of State forest just south of Himatangi. Subsequently Sir Leonard Cockayne, in a 1911 report, suggested extensive protection/production afforestation to stabilise the coastal sands. In broad terms, coastal afforestation has been a notable success. The threatening sand has been turned into profitable forests, characterised by easy access, cheap all-weather logging, good wood quality and few tree health problems. Perhaps the only negative is the comparatively low productivity,

Country-Wide June 2017

especially the first 200-300 metres back from the foredune. And so back to this foredune which is the key to stabilising the sand. Marram grass is the traditional tool but increasingly the native spinifex grass is used along with the other native sand grass, pingao. Ernslaw One which has the cutting rights to Santoft and Tangimoana is required to contour, replant, fertilise and generally maintain 30km of foredune in front of these forests. At the back of the foredune Acacia sophorae and C. macrocarpa dominate, with the former now almost a weed. But we pay a price here. Local botanist Vivian McGlynn told the conference attendees about the natural plant communities that occupied the ephemeral hollows and water bodies of the original, very dynamic land form. These species are now very much threatened, and not just from the stabilisation and cover of these protection forests but also from increased nutrient levels in run-off into remaining sand country wetlands. The ecology is changing and not just with foreign invaders: nutrient-responsive natives such as raupo are becoming more dominant. But more than natural ecology is changing in the sand country, as elsewhere. The conference party moved on to the large Dalrymple property immediately behind Santoft. This is on the “Motoiti phase” dune land – younger dunes that probably formed under scrub cover and characterised by relatively low dunes and extensive flats. The Dalrymple brothers, Hew and Roger, have taken a traditional, extensive sheep, beef and forestry property and subjected it to a very high tech makeover.

Extensive levelling and contouring of the sands, a process only possible with the dampening/stabilising influence of irrigation, has allowed a remarkable range of crops and livestock finishing under more than 30 centre pivot irrigators. But forestry is still a major land use at around 20% of this property, providing shelter and diversification. There were discussions about relative returns and in the current market forestry appears to be pretty competitive without the need for extensive up-front capital. My property was the last stop for the day and this is on the older, “Foxton phase”, dune country – generally much higher dunes that are thought to have formed over standing forest and had to be high enough to engulf mature trees. Travelling down SH1 south of Sanson you see the smaller dunes and more extensive flats of the “Motoiti phase” dunes north of Foxton and then the higher dunes and generally more restricted flats of “Foxton phase” dunes south of the Manawatu river. Levelling Foxton dunes would, I suggest, need a very ambitious dairy farmer and an $18-plus payout, so I am happy to keep them in forestry and in recent years that has paid very well, with the 40-45% of sand dunes all being in forest. Of course the other features of interest for farm foresters here are mature stands of various alternative species. It still amazes me what a wide range of species will grow on this country, always with due recognition of micro-sites needs and effects. So next time you cruise down SH1 through the Manawatu and Horowhenua, spare a thought for the land forms you are traversing and the on-going importance of forestry in this sand country.

TECHNOLOGY | EMAIL

This Boomerang will always come back Alan Royal

here is a humorous old Australian hit song called My Boomerang Won’t Come Back. A You Tube version is at goo.gl/8GmzGR. As a matter of interest, you are privileged to be able to watch this video, as it was banned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation – because it was regarded as racist, even though it’s been around since the 1960s. The description and reason for the ban is available at goo.gl/tF2jSs. Why do I mention this (apart from giving a light-hearted start to this article, to get your attention) before describing an excellent Gmail app called Boomerang? This app makes certain, with many options, your message (it is boomeranged) will come back to your Inbox, when and how you decide. The Boomerang app for the Chrome browser is available at goo.gl/VrfU3. Immediately above the link on that page are buttons for downloading the app for Firefox, Safari and Opera. Boomerang has an extensive help and troubleshooting page at goo.gl/8muuK. With Boomerang, you can write an email and schedule it to be sent automatically at a predetermined time. Just write the messages as you normally would, then click the Send Later button. It has a calendar picker or text box that understands language like “next Monday” to tell Boomerang when to send your message. Boomerang can remind you if you need to make sure you follow up an email request, if the message is not opened, or if you don’t get a reply within a certain time after sending a message. You can select to only be reminded if nobody replies, or over a range of times after sending. This way you will never forget to follow up with people. If you want a clean Inbox, but don’t want to lose track of important messages, you can use Boomerang to take messages out of your inbox until you actually need them. Just click the Boomerang button when you have an email open, and 68

choose when you need it again. Boomerang will archive your message. At the time you have selected, Boomerang will bring it back to your inbox, marked as unread, and to the top of your message list. Have you ever, on the spur of the moment, remembered that you need to do something some time tomorrow or in the future? With Boomerang, you can write an email at any time, and have it arrive exactly when you need to be reminded – say sometime the next day, next week or next month. All new Boomerang accounts come with a free 30-day Trial of Boomerang Professional. Try it before you decide that you want to subscribe. Credit card information is not required to get started. If you don’t choose to subscribe to one of the paid subscriptions at the end of

the 30 days, you can continue to use the free Basic plan as long as you’d like. The pricing plans and features can be viewed at goo.gl/HfVAR. Part of Boomerang is an inclusion called Respondable, visible in the lower right corner of your Gmail compose window. It tells how likely it is you’ll get a response based on a number of different factors. If you click on the tool, it will open up with details about the email you’re working on and will adjust as you continue typing. With the help of Respondable, you can see features that contribute to writing a good email. The free version has limited but useful features. Boomerang help above includes Respondable help For a copy of this article, with active links, email Alan Royal at a.royal@paradise.net.nz Country-Wide June 2017

TECHNOLOGY | MAPPING

Mapping the world Kirstin Mills If you don’t own a drone or a GPS device, Google Earth provides lots of tools to map your farm, house or ... well, anywhere you want. Google Maps lets you gauge sunlight, measure distances and figure out directions – all from the comfort of your computer. Let’s say you need to know what sunlight is like on part of your property at a certain time of year, or you’re buying a new house and want to know if it gets the evening sun. Using Google Earth on your computer you can check out the sunlight. But first, make sure “Terrain” is checked on the left-hand panel. Then go to Tools>Options and in the Terrain box, change the elevation to 1.5 (this exaggerates the terrain a little). Close the Options box and go to the place on the map you want to assess for sunlight. Click on the sunlight icon. That will bring up a bar at the top of the page, which is a little fiddly to use. Click on the magnifying glass with the “–” symbol, to zoom the time slider out and skip forward or backward in bigger chunks. Click on the magnifying glass with the “+” symbol to skip in smaller chunks (as small as a minute). You can click on the arrows at each end to move backward and forward, drag the marker manually or click the small arrow beside the “+” magnifying glass to automatically move forward. You can also tilt the view up so you can see the sky (using the tilt circle in the top right – the one with the eye in the middle.) With the sky showing, when you run the slider along you can see stars in the night sky or where the sun is at a particular time of day. It’s a useful tool to see where and when the sun rises and sets at different times of the year. You may also wish to measure distance. Let’s say you have a paddock you want to know the length of. Flick on the ruler icon at the top of Google Earth (fifth from the right). Click once at the bottom of the paddock you want to measure and then again at the top. It will give you a distance. It will also give you a heading in degrees that you can use to work out direction (eg: 0 degrees is north, 90 degrees is east, 180 degrees is south and 270 degrees is west). You may want to share the location of a specific part of your property with someone else or maybe you want to send the exact sports ground your son is playing at to his grandparents. Whatever it is you are measuring, click on the polygon icon (third from left). Ignore the box that pops up (don’t close it) and go to the area you want to map and click in each corner. After the fourth click you’ll have a rectangle. Go back to the box and name the area and click okay. It will now display in the left panel. Right click on it and choose “Save Place As”. Save it to your computer. You can then send that file to anyone else to open in (they can use File>Import in Google Earth to do this). Another great mapping resource is Walking Access Mapping System (WAMS), which can be found at: www.wams.org.nz/ wams_desktop/index.html. It is an online system that uses geographic information system (GIS) technology to display publicly accessible land, and lets you plot points and measure distances (and you can save maps and print them). Country-Wide June 2017

Image above shows the night sky in Dunedin in summer (Jan).

This shows how to name a mapped area.

Image right shows a playing field mapped (the white rectangle) and the process of saving it to your computer.

Image above shows a yellow line on the paddock being measured and the results. Image right is the button you click on bring up the sunlight bar. This shows where to find the polygon tool.

This is the sunlight bar you use to change the time of day and year. 69

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WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER

Tautane:

Special place, special people

DOG TRIALS

A test of sheep and shepherd p74

Doing the homework on that new job Country-Wide June 2017

RECRUITMENT Words by Anne Hughes Recruitment specialist Brent Paterson says people can become stagnant in their roles if they are not continually growing.

DOING THE HOMEWORK

ob seekers need to demonstrate experience, outline their career goals, carry out their own due diligence and then make the most of a new career opportunity from day one. Job applicants spend a lot of time compiling their CV and cover letter, but they should also be doing their homework on the property and its ownership or management team. Brent Paterson from Rural Directions Recruitment & HR says it is important to work for someone with a brand you are happy to be associated with. “Job applicants can ask to speak to referees to find out more about the person and/or company they are considering working for – whether that be a former employee, a stock agent or someone else who has worked closely with them.” From the moment you land your first onfarm job you need to focus on learning the craft of farming and continue building on those foundations, Paterson says. He strongly recommends new entrants to the industry find a mentor – ideally someone who has already gone through similar career paths, with similar values, who is willing to share what they have learnt. Deciding when to move on and take the next step can depend on what you have learnt and your career goals. A mentor could offer good advice. Paterson says people can become stagnant in farm roles and stay too long. Typically, you might stay one or two years in your first shepherd or shepherd general role, then longer in each position as your career advances. “Farming changes really quickly. Techniques change and unless you’re

continually growing you need to be mindful of people passing you. “Our industry was historically about getting people and locking them in for life. Employers have changed their mindset.” Staff turnover to some extent can be good for farm businesses, bringing in new people with different experiences to take a fresh look at the operation. When it is time to look for the next career step, don’t get too hung up on job titles. Paterson says the job description is the most important thing – this demonstrates what you will be doing, what will be expected of you and the skills and knowledge you can gain. A job description is also important when applying for jobs, so you can demonstrate to

DOES YOUR BOSS KNOW YOU’RE READY TO MOVE ON? The more you communicate with your employer about your career plans, the better. Brent Paterson says being open about your plans to start looking for a new job might not go down well with every employer, but if you have a strong relationship you should keep them in the loop. Such honesty could even create opportunities. Your employer might be thinking of buying a farm down the road and want to hire you as manager, especially when they hear you are ready to take a step up in your career. Paterson says when it is time to hand your notice in, consider the situation from the employer’s point of view. “If you can possibly give someone more notice than what is in the employment agreement, you should.”

prospective employers what you have done and the skills you already have. “Validating what people have done is what we’d like to see more.” A job application needs to be 100% accurate with no spelling mistakes or typos. Ask someone to proof-read your application for you. Paterson says the application is your only chance to get to the next stage. “Our job is to look for holes and people with the least amount of holes go through to the next stage.” Outline your own development plan – what you hope to get out of your next role and where you ultimately aim to be. This demonstrates you are organised and professional. If you make it to the interview stage, the first impression is vital. “People make a decision on you in the first 20 seconds, but it is what people see at the interview that is their expectation of you going forward. “You have to be able to live up to it.” Applicants shouldn’t be afraid to promote themselves and demonstrate skills and strengths. Likewise, it helps to be honest about the areas you need to improve on. If you are missing out on jobs, ask for feedback and how you might improve your chances. “The most important thing is to understand why you missed out. It could be as simple as being too nervous at the interview and you might need a bit of coaching.” If you are offered the job, don’t jump at the chance without being sure it is the right career move. “Once you’ve done it it’s hard to get it out of your CV,” Paterson says. “You just need to demonstrate what you learnt there – you might have learnt what not to do.” If you do take the job, make the most of the opportunity from day one and constantly review your progress. Formal reviews are necessary, but an annual review is often too late, Paterson says. “Once you’re in the job turn up on day one knowing what you want to learn and how this job is going to help you get there.” The basics of punctuality and good communication are still important. Professional farm management positions on large farms can be very demanding. Technology is there to help, but Paterson says this is becoming such a big part of the job that people are losing focus on the fundamentals. “It’s getting blurred by reports. Farming’s tough and there is a lot of pressure times. Fundamental values still define a good farming operator.”

Country-Wide June 2017

TRAINING Words by Rebecca Harper Managers Matt and Claire Smith with their children Penny and Ben.

Special place, special people

att Smith knew early on in his farming career that he wanted to manage a large-scale property – and the windswept coastal Tautane Station

fits the bill. Running 28,000 stock units, managing four full-time staff, and dealing with challenging climatic conditions is tough enough, but add students in the mix (Tautane is leased by Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre) and you’ve got to be a special sort of person. Tautane managers Matt and Claire Smith are relishing the opportunity, if a somewhat unusual situation, to run a commercial property that must stand on its own two feet, but with education at the heart of everything they do. Matt went to Telford Rural Polytech and

Taane Hubbard and the view looking south from the farm. Taane was a student who is now employed full time as a shepherd.

Country-Wide June 2017

Claire is a trained vet nurse. The couple met in 2008, have been married for eight years and have two children Ben and Penny. Starting out working on stations around Hunterville, Gisborne and Wairarapa, Matt became a stock manager at Kumu from 2006 to 2009. His association with Taratahi began in 2009, when he became the block manager at Glenburn Station, before moving to another Taratahi property, Mangarata Farm, in 2010. The couple moved away from Taratahi in 2011 when they went to manage Brooklands Station in Alfredton. In 2013 the opportunity arose for Matt to fulfil his dream and manage Tautane, when Taratahi secured the lease. “It was always a goal of mine to manage an iconic property and I jumped at the chance.” Matt says the students are both the most enjoyable and most challenging part of his job. “The student side is really challenging and you have days when things are not going to plan and it’s frustrating. But you have to look at the bigger picture. Seeing where they have come from and where they are now, like Taane (Hubbard, who is now employed fulltime as a shepherd at Tautane), and seeing them walk on stage at graduation, you get satisfaction out of that.” Claire also has an important role to play, taking care of the pastoral care for students while they are on Tautane. “Apart from working, it’s about learning how to live

“THE STUDENT SIDE IS REALLY CHALLENGING AND YOU HAVE DAYS WHEN THINGS ARE NOT GOING TO PLAN AND IT’S FRUSTRATING. BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE.” together as a group, being able to look after themselves and eating properly.” Many of the students are not only green to farming when they first arrive at the station, they’re also leaving home for the first time. Each day one student stays behind and spends time with Claire baking, making lunch and getting dinner organised. When asked where he sees himself and Claire in 10 years, Matt says the next step would be to have a financial stake in a property. “We’re thinking about growing equity and opportunities that are out there – we’re always looking for opportunities. “I enjoy scale, the challenge of scale, having young staff around me. Growing up I have always wanted to manage bigger places, the next step now is for some financial involvement.” Matt also oversees the young stock manager of the three Taratahi farms in Hawke’s Bay, a role he is enjoying. 73

Hamish Parkinson, competing with Shake and Check, is one of almost 300 dog trialists competing at the North Island and New Zealand championships.

DOG TRIALLING Words by Anne Hughes

A trial of sheep and shepherd

t pays never to be too confident on the dog trial course. A rogue sheep, disobedient dog or a misjudged command can turn a winning run into a crash course within seconds. Hamish Parkinson reckons he’s got the same chance at the New Zealand dog trial championships as the almost 300 other competitors having a crack at this year’s titles. Hamish and his huntaway Shake head to this year’s competition as defending zig zag huntaway national champions. Poverty Bay hosts the 2017 Tux North Island and New Zealand championships at Whangara, up the coast from Gisborne. The week-long event starts on May 29. Despite already winning his first national title, the 28-year-old King Country farmer says anything can go wrong, or right, on the day. “Anything could happen. Getting to the top’s not as easy as getting to the bottom,” Hamish says. “It’s you and three sheep and they’ve all got their own brain.” Hamish and Shake earned 12 qualifying points at dog trials within the King Country during the season. Six points are required to qualify for the NZ championships. Hamish has also qualified to compete with heading dog Check – the pair earning eight points within King Country. There are always a few nerves before a run. “If you know your dog’s working for you and you’ve got confidence in them, you don’t get as nervous. “Not as much as if you’re thinking ‘shit, what’s he gonna do today?’ ” That’s part of what makes Hamish and Shake’s partnership successful. “He just tries to work with you. He doesn’t try to fight you.” Depending on how well eight-year-old Shake comes out of winter, Hamish says this could be the dog’s final trial season.

“The focus is on going to the nationals and trying to defend the title before he gets too old.” Hamish’s dad Bruce – who has already won three NZ titles – will also be competing at Whangara. Hamish says there is some friendly rivalry between the two, as he tries to catch up to his father. He enjoys the chance to get out and about during dog trial season, catching up with friends and seeing what dogs other people are breeding. “You’re always looking for the next dog to breed from.” Hamish has a couple of young dogs coming through to start trialing next season. Depending on the dog, he won’t usually trial them until they are three-years-old. Trialing a dog for the first time can be surprising, never knowing how they might react to new pressures and the different environment. “A huntaway can go out and not even bark. “It’s like going to school for the first time I suppose.”

The landowners were keen to help a young person into farming. Hamish and his parents gradually bought sections of the farm, plus another 200ha block (in a single paddock) that had been destined for forestry. The farm is now 600ha in total, owned by Hamish and wife Katie in partnership with Hamish’s parents, who are still farm managing at Raetihi. The farm is 100% hill country, running breeding ewes and cows. Lambs are all finished onfarm and calves sold as yearlings. Hamish has completed a fair amount of development already, with just some more scrub-cutting required. He still does some casual work for extra income and to give his dogs more work, also supplementing his income by breaking in and selling horses. Hamish and Katie are expecting their first child – a baby girl – in late June. Taking on his own lease was a bit nerveracking, but Hamish enjoys being his own boss and leasing helped him build equity through livestock. Working for himself can be stressful

‘If you know your dog’s working for you and you’ve got confidence in them, you don’t get as nervous.’ Hamish grew up on a farm near Raetihi, entering his first dog trial at about 10-yearsold with an old huntaway he was given. He learnt a lot about working dogs from watching his father and a long-time head shepherd on the farm. His dad looked after Hamish’s dogs while he was at boarding school, then Hamish worked as a shepherd and head shepherd on stations around Taihape. In 2011 he saw a lease block advertised at Owhango, just south of Taumarunui and decided to try farming for himself. Hamish had to do a fair amount of casual work at the start, just to earn some wages.

at times and forces him to think more carefully when making decisions, but it was a step worth taking. The NZ dog trial championships are hosted alternatively each year between the North and South islands. The South Island championships were in Otago in early May. The North Island and NZ championships run from May 29 to June 3. The top seven runs in each event (zig zag hunt, straight hunt, long head, short head) determines the North Island results. Those top five competitors then compete in the runoff (finals), with the combined score from both runs deciding their NZ championship placings. Country-Wide June 2017

What next. A huntaway bitch awaits her next command.

BARK-OFF Words by Lloyd Smith

Bad habits

made, not born

n earlier columns I explained the steps I take to train both heading dogs and huntaways, so this month I thought I would mention some problems encountered and factors not directly related to the dog and sheep that can influence the outcome of your training programme. They are external factors relating to a dog’s preparation for training and making sure it is in the right frame of mind to be trained. This starts early, with the 8-10-week-old pup, and is why I prefer to rear and handle my own pups as opposed to picking one up from someone else. Early steps related to handling and making the pup submit are about gaining respect and response and establishing a good bond, which is never quite the same if not done, or done by someone else. These are necessary to ensure problems and confrontations can be resolved and an amicable relationship maintained, otherwise the training programme will fail. I’m not saying it isn’t possible and practical to train a dog reared by someone else, but your results will be directly related to the level of beneficial handling before you acquire the pup or young dog and your ability to get that dog to respond to, and respect, you. There are three main aspects that influence the outcome of the training programme. The first and most important is us – the trainers. We play the major role and largely determine the success or otherwise. It is too easy to blame the dog for problems encountered and for our own short-comings. A promising young dog under a good trainer’s guidance can realise its potential and that should be our goal. But the same dog in poor hands can end up being just another statistic. The second is obviously the calibre and quality of the young dog we are training. Its nature, trainability and natural stockhandling skills play a major role and significantly increase the chances of success

Country-Wide June 2017

over a young dog deficient in these areas. The third important aspect too often neglected is the sheep we train on. When you are training and attempting to gain compliance with newly taught commands, quiet sheep play a major part in success. They let you ensure your dog conforms to instruction, which then allows you to reward it for doing so, therefore avoiding confusion. A common problem is dog owners attempting to train their young dog before it is ready. The dog needs to demonstrate a good desire to work before training commences. When training your dog on stock, every command you teach and make it conform to takes away a certain amount of confidence.

If you teach several commands in a short time you can diminish a dog’s confidence to a level where they exhibit reluctance or even a refusal to work. If you teach several commands in a short time you can diminish a dog’s confidence to a level where they exhibit reluctance or even a refusal to work, which is contrary to what you are trying to achieve. This is because when you are training on stock any pressure the dog is feeling directly relates to the stock, leading to the reluctance to work. Before training on stock starts you need to build a good level of confidence where the dog demonstrates a genuine desire to work. You can then teach commands that might lower their confidence a little but because you have a good base there is still plenty left

to keep them focused and keen. Remember, training is a step-by-step process where each step should logically follow the one before. Take your time and monitor your dog’s attitude and commitment. I am often asked how to deal with a variety of bad habits that have been allowed to develop and consequently got to the stage where the dog’s owner wants to find a solution. The best way to manage bad habits is to not let them develop in the first place. Dogs are not born with bad habits, we let them develop and then have the problem of dealing with them. The solution to these is the stage of puppy-young dog training where they learn to recognise and respond to the tone of your voice. This is a very important aspect of training introduced, when your pup is at the 4-6-month stage, by using the “Growly Voice” any time you need to correct a misdemeanour on the pup’s part or whenever their behaviour is unacceptable. It’s also important to recognise and reward good behaviour and progress made with a kind, reassuring voice. This way your young dog learns right from wrong by the tone of your voice and learns to respond accordingly. There are times when the Growly Voice needs to be re-enforced to gain compliance otherwise it can become ineffective. Respect, manners and a good bond are the attributes essential to maintain a healthy relationship with your young dog and these are the qualities that also provide the basis for solving any problems encountered. 75

COMMUNITY | SOUTH AFRICA

Elevated diversity Jackie Harrigan Surrounded by mountains at 1250 metres elevation in the Western Cape Witwatersrand region of South Africa, conditions are perfect at Laastedrif for pip fruit and vegetables needing winter chilling, but the altitude makes the crops susceptible to frost at the crucial flowering and fruit-setting period. Three generations of the Cillie family have produced apples and pears at Laastedrif, near the town of Ceres, an area synonymous with apple and pear production in the Cape. After Rossouw Cillie’s great grandfather Petrus Cillie (known as Piet California) was sent by the government to California in the late 1800s to learn about apple production, the family and neighbouring farmers built a sizable industry by capturing water for irrigation from snow melt off the surrounding mountains. Piet California was the first producer licensed to export fruit to Europe in 1885. But for Rossouw the 1990s proved challenging, buying his brother out, then facing frost-induced fruit losses four years out of five. “The business was on its knees and the bank was circling, saying we couldn’t go on, but I convinced them to lend me money to buy another property and give me one year to turn the business around.” From that brave move Cillie has built a sizable enterprise, with a turnover of 220-250 million rand (NZ$22-25 million), earning him the South Africa Ag Writers’ Farmer of the Year award in 2013. Geographical and product diversification, adding value and cooperative marketing have been the keys to business growth. Laastedrif Farming now has 20,000ha in total, producing pip fruit (apples and pears), stone fruit

Adding value by processing into consumerready products: carrot sticks, julienne carrots and beetroot, cauliflower crumble, squash spaghetti, pumpkin tagliatelle, broccoli florets.

Five men and their shotguns.

(apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches), and 800ha of process vegetables yearround – onions, carrots, pumpkins and butternut squash, potatoes and sweet potato, beetroot, swiss chard, broccoli and cauliflower, onion seed and 2000 Merino ewes. Areas are also set aside for crop rotation and wildlife. Fruit and vegetable production is spread across seven farms through specific micro-climates suited to each variety. Three properties at sea level at Elands Bay produce 600ha of vegetables in sandy soils under pivot irrigation. Further from the coast a property with a slightly cooler climate suits other vegetables while farms on the plateau suit fruit and vegetables requiring winter chill for sweetness. The Laastedrif “mother farm” 220km from the coast is the highest at 1250m and is flanked by another slightly loweraltitude farm. Forty kilometres away, the Morceau property next to Ceres where the fruit is processed is owned 60% by 147 black shareholders alongside the Cillie family. Each shareholder has had more than five years of service with the business and alongside this 65ha vegetable property, the company is building a retirement centre for older employees. The last property in the dry Klein Karoo region, is warmer and drier, suiting pumpkins, spinach and brassicas and is home to large wildlife and the Merino sheep herd. Gemsbok, black wildebeest, eland, zebra and springbok graze the veld and the company is working to preserve habitat and increase numbers of the endangered riverine rabbit. The vegetable supply chain is kept as short as possible – straight to market or supermarket from the farm. Some are further processed at the Laastedrif plant where vegetables are packaged into smaller serves and into cubes, florets, and chunks for daily delivery of shelfready supermarket products. Making supply easy, regular and consistent with consumer-ready products is a win for both the producer and supermarket, Cillie says. Adding value by further processing has been a focus recently, with the development of products like carrot sticks and balls and squash spaghetti. Plans are afoot to can the beetroot in the future. Second-grade products are packaged

Rossouw Cillie with a factory employee and beetroot.

Farm facts • Laastedrif Farming, Cillie family, • Producing year round vegetables, apples and pears, seasonal peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots, Dohne Merino fine wool and Karoo lamb. • 20,000ha (324ha stone and pip fruit, 741ha vegetables) across seven properties

in bulk for fresh markets to be sold into the ‘informal market’ where locals set up roadside stalls and sell a range of fresh veges at much reduced prices. Laastedrif Farming has supply contracts with numerous South African supermarkets for shelf-ready products and with agents for European supermarkets for the longer shelf life vegetables and fruit. Meeting quality assurance standards is a big commitment, but important, Cillie says. The enterprise employs 800 staff swelling to 1200 at the height of the season. While mechanisation has increased the area under production by 50% and reduced the workforce by 30%, Cillie is wary of putting people out of jobs, saying it’s about making better use of people by training and upskilling them. Employees are paid 40% above the minimum wage, and he encourages training and qualifications and provides housing, pre-school education and a primary school on the farm, alongside a healthcare clinic with nurse and a library for children and adults to access books. Under the government’s Black Economic Empowerment initiative the business is also looking outside the farm for opportunities for workers to be included in ownership. The local fruitgrowers co-operatively own Ceres Fruit Growers, where all the fruit is washed, graded and packed and workers have also become 10% stakeholders. • Jackie Harrigan travelled to South Africa for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists congress, with support from NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists and AGMARDT. Country-Wide June 2017

COMMUNITY | DUCK SHOOTING

Dawn breaks over one of the many ponds at Romani on the first day of the duck-shooting season.

A longstanding affair with waterfowl One man and his dog.

Both barrels.

Words and pictures, Sarah Ivey Nestled in the heart of the Rangitikei, just south of Hunterville, is Romani, a 750-hectare sheep and beef property that plays host to thousands of waterfowl on its plentiful ponds throughout the year. This year marked the 39th annual opening weekend shoot held by the

Romani Duck Hunters’ Association, which all started when a bunch of young shearers had their feet in the fountain at London’s Trafalgar Square. They decided they’d better schedule a regular catch-up to ensure they didn’t lose touch. Over the years the ducks and wine bottles have been tallied up, and on both accounts the weekend has been a success.

Richard and Lindy Horrocks, as well as the next generation of Sam and Sarah Horrocks, host 40 guests from around the country, all of whom have a penchant for fun and ensure they return every year. The port is plentiful, the blokes don’t mind the woolshed floor and the women do more than just cook the meals; a rare event indeed.

Calling the ducks.

Old-time maimai provides an ideal refuge.

Country-Wide June 2017