Dairy News 26 June 2012

NZDL suppliers back Fonterra bid. Page 5

tip top’s tip

Why French Vanilla is the best ice cream.

Page 15

key boost for business Fieldays hype lifts sales.

Page 46

june 26, 2012 Issue 271 // www.dairynews.co.nz

time to bury the hatchet Leaders agree Fonterra farmers must unite after TAF vote.

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news // 3

Show of hands for unity SUDESH KISSUN Plenty to do while waiting for calving.

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FONTERRA SHAREHOLDERS on both sides

of the TAF (trading among farmers) debate agree on one thing – unity is paramount. After a long and debilitating consultation process, uniting the unsettled shareholder base is priority.

Speaking to Dairy News before the vote, former Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Blue Read noted both the co-op board and the council have to address the issue.

“It’s been a debilitating process and there’s has been a lot of conjecture. Once the vote is over it’s important for the shareholder base to unite for the sake of Fonterra. I expect the board and the council to take the lead on this.”

Read’s replacement, Simon Couper, who resigned abruptly last month over TAF concerns, agrees. “Unity is vital and after all that’s what the cooperative structure is all about.”

But Cooper is cautious on how the co-op should handle the issue. It’s up to the board, he adds.

TAF opponents hope a 30% ‘no’ vote will force a rethink of the share trading scheme. The Fonterra board and council will decide whether shareholders have delivered “a clear mandate” to proceed with TAF. Fonterra chairman Blue Read Henry van der

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings addresses farmers at a recent meeting.

“It’s been a debilitating process and there’s been a lot of conjecture.”

– Blue Read

Heyden says if the result is not deemed a clear mandate, the board will take a new proposal to shareholders.

“We cannot continue with the redemption risk hanging over us. The board will go back and reconsider. Sticking with the status quo is not an option.”

But whatever the outcome, van der Heyden agrees unity is vital. “It’s important everyone is on the same page after the vote.”

Former Dairy Board and New Zealand Dairy Group chairman Sir Dryden Spring is confident Fonterra farmers will unite. Spring, who supports TAF, doesn’t think status quo is an option. “With redemption risk Fonterra won’t be able to invest and it won’t be able to perform.

“Redemption risk is the biggest threat to Fonterra’s survival. I’m sure

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Fonterra farmers will reunite.”

TAF opponent and Ashburton farmer Eddie Glass also agrees shareholder unanimity is the key.

But he says if 30% of farmers vote against TAF, it should be taken off the table.

“We are staunch supporters of Fonterra and its cooperative model. That is the reason we are opposing TAF.” Glass says the board and council have to carefully consider the vote outcome before making a final decision on TAF. “For us unanimity is the key. If 75% of the shareholders vote yes, we will happily get behind them. But if 30% of shareholders say no, then it’s time for a rethink Simon Couper on TAF.”

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

4 // news

TAF mandate must be strong andrew swallow

AT WHAT percentage support from shareholders should TAF proceed?

Dairy News last week put that question to a range of industry representatives.

Their answers were largely in accord with chairman Henry van der Heyden’s comment that he’s looking for a much stronger mandate than the 50.1% minimum required by the ordinary resolution.

All but one said 70% plus, with one commentator suggesting 90% or more would be required to prevent significant fallout. But perhaps surprisingly, that figure didn’t come from one of the second TAF vote instigators, South Canterbury shareholder Leonie Guiney.

“In light of the fact this is a decision that converts Fonterra the coopera-

“One would have to say `good luck tive into Fonterra the majority farmerowned business with a 20% equity unifying traders and intergenerational partner, and converts the co-op drivers thinkers’!”

Federated Farmers Dairy chairman from a milk price focus to a dividend Willy Leferink says it’s not and share value focus, so much what percenta 75% threshold would age supported TAF in the be absolutely the minvote, as the proportion of imum,” she told Dairy farmers. “I think two out News. of three farmers should “Even then it’s rather be applauding it for it to difficult to see unity proceed.” going forward... It’s a But his main concern moot point really – if is that everybody eligiTAF goes through we are ble voted. “We don’t want no longer an organisation Willy Leferink people saying afterwards that exists solely for the collective benefit of farmers and their ‘if only I had known’.”

Leferink says Fonterra did finally on-farm returns.”

The best that can be expected if TAF provide enough information on TAF proceeds is a compromise between par- and the proposal’s objectives for ties with differing interests, a compro- shareholders to make a reasoned decimise which will ultimately compromise sion, and anyone who felt they didn’t have enough information “should have New Zealand’s GDP, she adds.

asked”. Leferink’s “two out of three” creates among members. Outside inveswas potentially the lowest percentage tor interests, and those of the market figure given to Dairy News. Christchurch maker, won’t be helpful either.

“In a falling market the market independent cooperatives and business maker will still be seekconsultant Alan Robb’s ing to make a profit. That was the highest. can’t be in the interests of He says in light of the farmers. They should get many concerns raised, out a nominal value, the Fonterra should proceed same as they put in.” with TAF only if the June Profit retentions and 2010 vote result of 89.85% a nominal share value, support is exceeded. “I rather than artificially think they need to get calculated value, is the 90%.” way forward, he says.

If a lesser vote is Leonie Guiney “The way the Fair Value accepted, he fears those unhappy with TAF will leave the cooper- Share is calculated is fundamentally ative, eroding its strength and efficiency flawed.”

A positive in the capital restructure due to fixed processing overheads and reduced volume. Even if that 90% man- is the move to three-year windows to date is achieved, he believes TAF will be buy-in/sell-out of the cooperative, he damaging to Fonterra as a cooperative adds. “There are some good points that because of the conflicting interests it have come in at the eleventh hour.”

‘Angry dissenters will emerge’ WAIKATO UNIVERSITY Institute for Business Research director Stuart Locke echoes Robb’s concerns about loss of suppliers, but has a different take on what would be an adequate mandate to proceed.

“Something 70% plus...There’s a danger a significant splinter group will be so bloody angry with the directors that something else will emerge... particularly if they’ve got strong leaders among them.”

Fonterra, and indeed New Zealand, needs “a really strong one on this,” he adds.

He believes if Fonterra is to be a cooperative that just produces and processes milk, then it doesn’t need TAF. But if it is to be a multinational with business interests downstream from primary processing, such as infant formula or ice cream for markets like China, Japan, and the EU, then it needs significantly more capital.

He challenges the board’s claim TAF is not about raising capital for expansion.

“If TAF isn’t about expansion, then what is it about? Why have they wasted millions setting it up?

“My personal view is that Fonterra is so important to the New Zealand economy that we need it financially strong and it needs to be able to expand into downstream processing and multiple joint ventures. To do that it needs a stable equity base.”

If shareholders are not supportive of TAF and expansion, then it may still grow but not at the same pace and it may be subject to a lot more competition, for example in China, where North American suppliers are making inroads, and domestic supply of commodity milk powders is “catching up quickly.”

Dutch cooperatives commentator Onno van Bekkum, who was

speaking at the International Cooperatives Conference in Wellington last week, says anything less than 75% support will make progressing TAF “difficult” and like Robb, says surpassing the 2010 vote would be the ideal.

“I fear a vote below the normal 75% would lead to protracted unrest. It would have been better if the Stuart board had taken a stron- Locke ger position on this. For such an important vote you want a strong backing.”

Just because much time, effort and money has been invested in developing TAF, that doesn’t justify progressing it if it’s backed by only a small majority, he adds.

“Regardless of the outcome of

the vote there will be work to do in terms of governance structures that need to be improved and confidence to be restored.”

Vote build-up blasted FONTERRA’S CLOSING plays ahead of Monday’s vote were blasted as inappropriate and misleading by some.

Labour Primary Industries spokesperson Damien O’Connor slammed chief executive Theo Spierings’ warning that Fonterra would go backwards without TAF as being “mischievous with the truth” and “misleading farmers”.

“I am concerned that in the week leading up to the June 25 vote, farmers will be confused by misleading and contradictory statements,” said O’Connor.

Second vote instigator Leonie Guiney was left “spitting tacks” by Spierings’ missive suggesting no-vote campaigners feared change, and was similarly outraged by reports of board members and councillors wooing large suppliers at invitation-only cocktail functions.

“I wonder how many million kgs of milksolids you have to supply to be invited to those?

There’s so much courting going on for a positive vote it’s totally undemocratic.”

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news // 5

Suppliers back co-op bid for processor andrew swallow

FONTERRA’S ACQUISITION of South Canter-

bury processor NZDL was last week (as Dairy News went to press) still far from a done deal, awaiting Commerce Commission clearance and confirmation that suppliers are on board.

Conditional agreement that Fonterra would buy the milk processing assets of NZDL was announced by receiver BDO on June 15, following the May 18 announcement that the formerly Russian-owned business was in receivership.

BDO said conditional on Commerce Commission clearance, the Fonterra deal would see

NZDL’s outstanding payments to farmers made in full.

“We strongly believe it provides the best possible outcome for farmers and indeed all key stakeholder groups in the company,” said BDO’s Brian MayoSmith.

Last week Fonterra told Dairy News it was still talking to suppliers about coming on board. It was also confident of the commission’s support.

Suppliers group chairman Robert Borst told Dairy News they hadn’t been paid for April’s milk or retrospective payments that were also due May 20.

Last week’s payment for May deliveries had only covered those made since receivership (May 18).

“It’s been very hard

on suppliers. You go from expecting a milk cheque which you use to pay all your wages and expenses, to nothing. For a lot of farmers, including myself, it’s put an additional strain on the business, not to mention the emotional stress.”

Borst confirmed the receivership and missed payments were effectively a breach of contract by NZDL so suppliers could choose to walk away from supply deals which, in some cases, were for up to five seasons.

However, the suppliers group is united and to date none have done so, he says.

“We’ve always known that as a supply group we’ve got to stick together.

Half the value of the busi-

ness [NZDL] is in the plant and land assets but there’s an equal value in the milk supply.”

Early last season (September 2011) NZDL lost a chunk of supply to Synlait when the 51% Chineseowned Dunsandel-based processor bought the remnants of another South Canterbury start-up venture, Oceania.

At the time about 20 supply agreements were said to be involved, however Dairy News understands not all switched to Synlait.

Borst says the loss of volume to Synlait would certainly have affected the profitability of NZDL which wasn’t at capacity this season, but whether receivership would have been avoided had they

Fonterra has signed a conditional agreement to buy NZDL, which is in receivership.

stayed he didn’t know.

“When the Russians didn’t spend the money on putting in an infant formula plant, that was really the downfall. The [5t/hr] plant’s just not big enough. It needs a specialist plant.”

The current supplier group involves 26 or 27 farmers with about 35 agreements.

The Commerce Commission says it expects an application from Fonterra

Labour fights DIRA Bill to the last peter burke

THE LABOUR Party is planning

to propose a series of amendments to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment (DIRA) Bill being deliberated in Parliament. This was revealed by Shane Jones speaking at start of the second reading of the bill this month.

In the next week or so the bill will progress through the committee stages and be considered by Parliament as a whole, where each clause of the bill will be scrutinised and debated and amendments proposed.

Already the bill has been considered by the primary production select committee which heard submissions from those for and against the new legislation. But the bill now before Parliament is largely unchanged from the original one although there are some ‘technical’ changes.

The first debate on the legislation took place recently with Primary Industries Minister David Carter leading the charge from the Government perspective. He refuted claims that the bill should not have been introduced into Parliament until the TAF vote was taken. He says this is because the

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bill does not require Fonterra to implement TAF, but simply provides the necessary legal framework for it to do so if that’s what farmers want.

Carter says the ‘fair value’ share provisions in the bill came in for criticism by some submitters at the select committee who claimed it was not appropriate for the Government to intervene in the share valuation of a private cooperative.

“However Fonterra is not a normal cooperative. Its dominant position in the market means that its share value has an impact on the overall efficiency of the total dairy industry. If Fonterra was to set its

share price at a nominal value this would clearly discourage farmers from exiting Fonterra and encourage others to enter, thereby impacting on the contestability of the farm gate milk market.”

Carter says it’s crucial the legislation is finalised to provide enough certainty for investors ahead of the proposed launch in November and to insure the continuing growth of an innovative dairy sector.

Shane Jones, who was on the primary production select committee, says despite the quality of Fonterra’s submission he was not convinced about what they had to say.

by the end of the month for clearance of the deal under section 66 of the Commerce Act. “In addition we will be investigating under section 27 of the Commerce Act the operational agreement Fonterra has entered into with New Zealand Dairies Ltd (in receivership) to keep the Studholme plant running through the 2012/13 milking season, or until a sale is completed,”

in brief Mackenzie dairy developers throw in towel TWO COMPANIES behind controversial proposals to develop large-scale housed dairy farms in the lower Mackenzie/Upper Waitaki Basin are reported to be going into liquidation.

Southdown Holdings and Williamson Holdings planned to run about 11,000 cows across two properties near Omarama, housing cows in free-flow barns for about eight months a year.

Their proposals sparked a storm of protest from environmentalists and tourist operators, despite detailed modelling by the firms showing their systems would have a lower environmental footprint than conventional systems.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

6 // news

Mere change in GDT auction a good result ANDREW SWALLOW

A MERE 0.5% drop

in overall prices in last week’s GlobalDairyTrade auction is being hailed as a good result by commentators given the previous sale’s 13% price jump and continued economic uncertainties.

“It’s good to see some sort of stability for a change,” BNZ economist Doug Steel told Dairy News. “It’s a reasonable result to have maintained most of the previous gain.”

Which way the sale would go was up in the air prior to the Wednesday morning auction, with firmer liquid milk prices in

the US suggesting a possible lift, but falling oil prices counteracting that.

As it was, skim milk powder (SMP) was back 4.8%, offset by a 2.7% gain

but further forward, into November and December, prices pushed up, which gives a sense that the market has reached the bottom or is close to

“It’s a reasonable result to have maintained most of the previous gains.” in whole milk powder (WMP), the two commodities averaging US$2,834/t and US$2,886/t respectively across all positions.

“From a contract periods point of view the short-term positions were down, probably as a legacy of the pressure from the southern hemisphere late-season supply bulge

having bottomed out.”

While continued volatility is “assured”, the implication is prices could firm towards the year’s end with the thinking being the southern hemisphere can’t possibly have such a good season as the one just gone, says Steel.

“The caveat on that [markets firming] sce-

nario is as long as the world economy doesn’t fall over in the meantime.” That would impact demand which to date has remained “pretty solid” despite the uncertainties.

“One concern is the recent drop in oil prices.

While that’s a positive on the farm costs side... we export between a fifth and a quarter of our dairy product to oil exporting countries.”

Weaker oil prices tend to decrease dairy demand from such nations and while it may only be a small decrease, it could be enough to tip the balance in supply and demand.

On the supply side there’s “still a surpris-

ing amount of milk” being produced in the US where cows are still being added to the national herd despite a recent rally in feed grains prices.

“It feels like the growth in US milk supply is a bit overdone and it should be softer... but it’s felt like that for a while. Of course they are benefitting from a weaker US dollar.”

Writing in ASB’s Commodities Weekly, US commentator William C Bailey also noted the increase in US dairy prices, “with butter prices reaching levels not seen for several months.”

The increase in Fonterra’s forward auction prices contrasts with pessimis-

Doug Steel

tic news from processors such as Danone which have warned Europe’s economic problems will hit profits, he adds.

“Reflecting the challenging marketing environment, the US government

reported that butter exports for January-April 2012 were 30% lower than the same period last year. Countering that trend, however, US cheese exports for the same period were 12% higher,” says Bailey.

result summary Overall: Down 0.5% to average US$3042 across 25,600t sold.

Whole milk powder gains most, up 2.7% to average US$2,886/t.

Skim milk powder is the biggest loser, down 4.8% to US$2,834/t.

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news // 7

Dairy growth plan under scrutiny ANDREW SWALLOW

AN INTERNATIONAL dairy industry consultant now based in New Zealand is questioning the sector’s growth agenda.

“There seems to be a production-atany-cost approach,” says Tom Phillips, who returned to New Zealand in November after 30 years working overseas: 20 years in Australia and more recently in the UK, France and Ireland.

“Overseas I was encouraging people to adopt New Zealand’s low cost pasturebased systems and I come home to find New Zealand is trying to be like everyone else. That saddens me,” he told Dairy News.

“Many discussion groups are now talking in terms of production per cow but there’s no relationship between production per cow and profit in this country, or any other that has a pasture-based dairy industry.”

Phillips was responding to Dairy News’ questions following his posting a blog (www.pasturetoprofit.blogspot.co.nz) littered with challenges to current practice and expansionist thinking.

“There is a limit to dairying growth in New Zealand. Where is that limit and how will we know what that limit is?” he writes.

“Growth is limited with a fixed finite physical environmental resource. New Zealand is a very small country with wonderful pristine natural resources but they are not inexhaustible...

“It is clear that dairy cow intensity (numbers of dairy cows and stocking rates) is linked to nitrate levels and nitrate leaching.”

While he acknowledges the link with water quality isn’t fully understood, assuming there is a link, “how can we continue to grow numbers of dairy cows without environmental damage?” he asks.

Better farm management and scientific breakthroughs may reduce impact and mitigate damage but he says he’s concerned “environmental research will not deliver any short term silver bullet answers.”

He also suggests some changes in water quality are inevitable due to shifts in industry structure and practice that have already happened.

“My major concern is farm profitability but I also think continued growth isn’t necessarily what New Zealand wants for the environment,” he told Dairy News.

Growth may be more cows and dairy farms, or increased production per cow and more cows per hectare.

“What I’m seeing out in the field is systems creep where nearly all people started with low input bases and for various reasons they’ve been encouraged or pressured to venture into higher feeding without fully analysing whether it’s the best way to go....

Cold kills 200 cows WESTLAND SUPPLIERS lost at least 200 cows to the June 6 cold snap.

The Greymouth Star reported 180 froze to death on Westland Milk Products director Barry Paterson’s farm in the upper Hokitika valley, while 20 were

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lost on fellow director Raelyn Lourie’s farm nearby.

“Our staff and neighbours made huge efforts to try to get the cows to shelter,” Paterson told the paper. “The few that were persuaded to move were the ones that were saved; the

cows that obeyed their instincts and refused to budge were the ones that died.”

Temperatures of -10oC with wind and freezing rain were reported at the time. Ministry of Primary Industries officials are investigating.

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A dairy consultant is questioning the industry’s move away from pasture-based systems.

“Once you’re into high input systems, things like animal health costs tend to escalate rapidly, it gets harder to get cows in calf, and the cost per litre or kg of milksolids starts to escalate dramatically.”

It also goes against New Zealand’s comparative advantage and leaves producers and the country increasingly vulnerable to volatile commodity markets for grains and proteins.

“World cereal production is sitting on a knife edge... you only need one country, Australia, Russia, Ukraine or the US, to have a drought and the price of cereals escalates dramatically. It makes our industry incredibly vulnerable and uncompetitive.”

Phillips is based at Massey University, working for the Massey/Lincoln joint venture set-up with DairyNZ and PGP funding, the Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management.

He says his weekly blog is a personal viewpoint on industry matters, and not necessarily that of the centre.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

news // 9

Ignore Asia at your peril SUDESH KISSUN

A LEADING banker says it would be a huge mistake for the farming sector to ignore Asia’s growing economic prowess.

ANZ managing director commercial & agri, Graham Turley, is shrugging off talks about China’s cooling economy, pointing out the country’s economy is still growing by 6% per annum.

New Zealand is lucky to have China as a major trading partner, he says.

“Ten years ago, we were reliant on the EU and they

are in dire straits now,” he told Rural News at the launch of ANZ’s privatelyowned business barometer for the agriculture sector during the National Fieldays.

Turley says a growing affluent class in Asia is providing growth opportunities for New Zealand businesses. Fonterra is looking to operate 30 dairy farms in China by 2020. Turley says several years ago Fonterra had few exports to China and now sends 20% of its products there.

“The emergence of an affluent class in Asia is

increasing more demand for fat and protein,” he says. “As producer of dairy and meat products we must maximise the opportunities Asia presents us.

“This growing middle class is only half the distance from our traditional markets. It will be a huge mistake if we don’t

focus and maximise those opportunities.”

While the focus remains on China, we mustn’t forget other Asian economies like Indonesia and Vietnam, he says.

The ANZ recently led a business delegation to Vietnam, where he notes companies are in a fledg-

ling state like in New Zealand.

Turley says the bank is also focussing in Asia with branches in 28 Asian nations. This is to help Australian and New Zealand businesses who are looking to Asia for growth. However, he warns doing business in

Asia is not easy as each country has different culture, dialects and business practices.

Graham Turley

YOU WORRY ABOUT YOUR CURRENT HERD.

Chinese firm set to offload two farms PETER BURKE

THE HEAD of the Maori trust seeking to buy two of the Crafar farms from the Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin says the negotiations are nearing a ‘crunch point’.

Hardie Pene, chairman of the Tiroa E and Te Hape B trusts, has been talking with Shanghai Pengxin for nine months about buying two of the former Crafar farms – Benneydale One and Two. The farms are located near Benneydale on SH30 between Te Kuiti and Taupo.

“The reason for our interest in these farms is they were originally traditional farm lands that belonged to our people and lost during the 1800s through land acquisition. We’ve made a number of attempts to recover the land, all of which have failed. It’s been a strategic objective of our trust to recover that land because of the wahi tapu (sacred sites) on these farms,” says Pene.

Pene says his trusts have given Shanghai Pengxin a memorandum of understanding and a sale and purchase agreement. Now they are at the ‘crunch’ part of the negotiation and need to formalise things and move forward.

“The Chinese have been cordial, in fact positive, in the discussions so far. They have made it clear that if we want the land there is a figure we would have to try to meet. I don’t expect them to give it to us for nothing; it’s purely a commercial arrangement. Unlike us they do not have an emotional tie to the land.”

Pene says the trusts are currently not involved in the dairy industry but have been looking at diversifying into it for some time. The trusts have the talent and business acumen to manage the farms if they can do a deal, he says.

“Our trusts own 10,000ha on which we run 80,000120,000 stock units. We provide the meat works with 3000 cattle and about 50,000 lambs each year.”

Pene says he would like to see a deal finalised as soon as possible.

Meanwhile a spokesman for Shanghai Pengxin says they’ve been having discussion with Tiroa E and Te Hape B trusts for several months over access to wahi tapu and on the sale of the farms.

Shanghai Pengxin spokesman Cedric Allen says as yet there is no undertaking to sell the two farms in question, nor has there been any discussion on price. But he says Shanghai Pengxin are amenable to a sale if the parties can agree on a price and other conditions. But it’s not a ‘done deal’ at this stage.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

news // 11

in brief A taste of farm life NEW ZEALAND Young Farmers have joined DairyNZ to create Get Ahead; a one stop career hub for young people considering a career in agriculture.

The Get Ahead Programme encompasses ‘experience days’ which raise 630-271 the awareness and encourage students to consider an agricultural career. These days focus on the supply chain story – it’s all

about how food gets from pasture to plate. To demonstrate this; students participated in twelve practical modules that focused on everything from animal genetics to marketing and exporting, herd management to pasture manipulation.

Approximately 1000 students attended the event held around the country over the past four months.

increase your profits...

...no bull

The new spray dryer at Waikato Innovation Park.

World’s smallest dryer eyes big business NEW ZEALAND’S first and only

independent spray dryer intended for product development is open for business.

The $11 million facility, funded mostly by Innovation Waikato Ltd, is the Waikato component of the Government-sponsored New Zealand Food Innovation Network.

Construction finished in late April – eight months from bare paddock to fully operational plant. It will be run

by NZ Food Innovation Waikato.

“We believe this is the fastest build of its type in the world,” says plant manager, Dave Shute, whose team have spent the past month commissioning and testing. The first fresh milk was converted to powder on May 25.

The commissioning went smoothly, he says. “I’ve been working in dairy factories for 20 years and we’ve probably had the smoothest commissioning process of any factory in New Zealand. Of course, our small size had a bit to do with this.

“We will spend the next month ironing out any small glitches we’ve

found and we’ll be ready to start processing our first product in July.”

Dairy Goat Co-op, Hamilton, intends using the plant and up to eight new Dairy Goat Co-op staff will work on site. The co-op needs extra capacity to meet expansion requirements.

“The Dairy Goat Cooperative’s commitment was a critical factor in creating the commercial case, and gaining government funding and approval to build the plant as a true private public partnership,” says Shute.

Dairy Goat Co-op chief executive Dave Stanley says the project is a winwin-win for those involved.

“Not only did our backing help the park get the project off the ground, it also provides Dairy Goat Cooperative with valuable extra processing capacity when our milk flow is at its peak.”

Shute says the cooperative’s commitment “gives NZ Food Innovation Waikato an excellent source of initial revenue while also allowing us the breathing space we need to get further customers on board.”

NZ Food Innovation Waikato is

looking for commitments from companies that want to research and develop new spray-dried food products in the pilot plant. It is talking with specialty milk producers and companies looking to spray dry fruit and vegetable extracts.

NZ Food Innovation Waikato offers potential for specialty milk producers, in particular, to innovate. The facility suits companies ready to scale up a new spray-dried product to commercial production.

Shute says the long-term strategy for the plant is to expand the spray dryer’s capability to make infant formula.

“We receive several calls each week from companies enquiring about our ability to process infant formula. Many of these companies are exporting to China, where demand for infant formula is exploding.”

Finance for the spray dryer came from Innovation Waikato Ltd debt and a Government grant of $3.95 million. Its capacity is one-half tonne/ hour, making it one of the smallest commercial spray dryers in the world.

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Be ready for NAIT by 1 July The National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme becomes mandatory for beef and dairy farmers, including lifestylers, on 1 July.

Come 1 July, if you are in charge of cattle but have not got a NAIT number, you will not be able to move stock off-farm.

You can still be ready before 1 July if you: • Get a NAIT number • Tag your animals • Register your animals with NAIT Once you’ve done this you’ll be able to meet the requirement to record movements of cattle in the NAIT system from 1 July onwards.

Deer join the NAIT scheme on 1 March next year. Deer farmers can also get ready and are encouraged to check what they need to do on the NAIT website www.nait.co.nz.

Get a NAIT number

Every person in charge of cattle and deer at a given location must register with NAIT and get a NAIT number.

A NAIT number is in addition to an Animal Health Board (AHB) number or dairy participant code.

The quickest way to get a NAIT number is via the NAIT website at www.nait.co.nz. It’s a straightforward process and takes less than 10 minutes.

Remember, any properties within 20km of each other where the same person is in charge of animals can be registered under the same NAIT number.

Also, have your AHB herd number or dairy participant code handy, as doing so will mean you can electronically view the tag numbers associated with your NAIT number in the NAIT system. This will make it easier to register animals and to record animal movements from 1 July.

Purpose of NAIT scheme

The scheme will provide lifetime traceability of individual cattle and deer, enhancing New Zealand’s ability to respond more quickly if there’s a food safety event or a biosecurity threat such as a disease outbreak. In a situation like this NAIT’s capacity to provide a rapid containment response would enable trade to resume more quickly with less economic impact for farmers and New Zealand.

How the NAIT scheme works

KingSt10786_DN_ADVA

The NAIT scheme is about who is responsible for stock on a day-today basis rather than who owns the animals. The NAIT scheme will link individual animals to the person responsible for them, and their current location.

This is done via the radio frequency identification device (RFID) ear tag in

Tag your cattle and deer

Newborn animals must be tagged with NAIT-approved tags within 180 days of birth or before their first movement off-farm.

There is a three-year grace period for existing stock to be tagged with NAITapproved tags unless they are being moved off-farm.

From 1 July 2012 tag all newborn calves with a birth tag. Use a traka tag for all existing animals to make them compliant to move.

The mandatory requirement for an official Animal Health Board bar-coded secondary tag ceases from 1 July 2012, but you should not remove these tags from existing animals.

You still need to use your AHB herd number or dairy participant code when ordering NAIT tags from your usual rural supplier.

Tagging exemptions

There are two main exemptions for tagging animals.

1. Calves less than 30 days old and going directly to a meat processor do not require NAIT tags as they are considered a low biosecurity risk and are not included in the NAIT scheme. For these calves continue to use the direct-to-slaughter tags currently issued by meat processing companies.

2. Animals which are considered by a farmer to be impractical to tag are also exempt from NAIT tagging requirements. This exemption only applies if the animal is tagged with an official AHB bar-coded primary tag and is being transported directly to a meat processor. For 2012/13 these animals will incur a levy of $13 per head (excluding GST) which will be deducted by the meat processor.

each animal’s ear and a central database which links each tagged animal to information about the person registered as responsible for it, and the location where the animal is kept.

NAIT tags can be purchased from your local rural supplies company.

Recording each time an animal moves from one location to another, and/or when the person responsible for it changes is how the NAIT scheme maintains lifetime traceability of animals. It’s necessary for this information to be kept up to date so the NAIT system can quickly provide details of where individual animals are and who is responsible for them.

Benefits of RFID technology

The RFID technology used by the NAIT system is an enabler for on-farm benefits for farmers who make a further investment in RFID systems in

Registering animals

From 1 July animals need to be registered with NAIT within one week of being tagged. Animals born after 1 July 2012 should be tagged within 180 days of birth. The registration process links animals to tags in the NAIT system so they can be traced.

If you’ve got a NAIT number you can register animals online now at www.nait.co.nz.

Recording cattle movements from 1 July

NAIT legislation requires that when animals are sent to a location which has a different NAIT number linked to it, or the person in charge of the animals changes, this needs to be recorded in the NAIT system. For example, when an animal is bought, sold, sent for grazing or sent to a meat processor or saleyard.

Animal movements to NAIT-accredited meat processors and saleyards will be recorded for you. For information about NAITaccredited organisations which can carry out some or all of your NAIT obligations, including animal movement recording, go to www.nait.co.nz. When an animal is received from a NAIT-accredited saleyard a movement still needs to be recorded.

Getting help

NAIT-accredited information providers will be able to handle many of your NAIT obligations for you. For a list of accredited information providers visit the NAIT website www.nait.co.nz.

addition to NAIT-approved RFID tags.

Potential benefits include: • automated drafting of animals that meet pre-defined conditions • accurate recording of production details about individual animals so it can be used to support management decisions, for example: regularly weighing animals to sell at optimum individual weight tracking treatments recording breeding information measuring milk production {{

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This additional investment is not mandatory under the NAIT scheme, but can potentially have significant benefits. High performance HDX tags will be more suitable for these onfarm activities.

www.nait.co.nz | info@nait.co.nz | 0800 624 843

The quickest way to get a NAIT number is via the NAIT website at www.nait.co.nz

Dairy News june 26, 2012

news // 13

New dairymen seek protection

N

EX

EN ER AT IO

Fresh Anchor milk behind gelato win

tion caused by the weather ‘bomb’ that hit the Taranaki and Wanganui on March 3. The storm caused at least 1300 claims from FMG clients and about $7m damage.

“FMG’s strong financial position and prudent reinsurance programme has meant the financial impact of the earthquakes and the weather bomb has been absorbed, with only a small impact on our financial results,” Black says.

FMG’s ‘A’ (excellent) credit rating by AM Best has been reaffirmed.

N G

Cafe manager Kris Goode with the award-winning Salted Caramel ice cream.

growth in all rural segments in the past year.

The client-driven advice-lead insurance model is proving successful for FMG.” In the last year: ■■ FMG grew its client base 8.5% to 55,500 clients with at least half a million policies.

■■ Gross written premiums increased 14% from $131m to $150m.

■■ Capital reserves increased 6% from $140m to $149m.

Challenges have included the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, and destruc-

T

CLIENTS NEW to dairying represent about 10% of new customers for rural insurer FMG which has announced an after-tax profit of $8.5m for the year ending March 31.

FMG told Dairy News dairy is its largest market sub-sector where it has a 48% market share. Across all rural segments it has a 41% share, making it the leading rural insurer, it says. Of just under 7000 new clients, about 10% were new dairy farmers or sharemilkers.

Chief executive Chris Black says, “We’ve experienced solid and consistent client

QUEUEING IS constant during summer outside Auck-

Kiwis give it a good licking THE NEW Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers Association was formed in 1927 and represents ice cream makers and associate members who supply products and services to the industry.

New Zealanders are among the world’s highest consumers per capita of ice cream, with Australia and the US. “New Zealand is world-famous for the quality of its dairy products, the result of a clean environment, year-round grazing on pasture, a technologically advanced dairy industry, and strict quality and hygiene standards,” the association says. “It is made from the best and freshest dairy ingredients available anywhere.”

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land’s Takapuna Beach Café and Store as beach-goers line up for gelato made with fresh milk. The café makes all its gelato on site.

The zany flavour of Salted Caramel gelato won the Takapuna Café the Supreme Award for Boutique Manufacturer in the 16th New Zealand Ice Cream Awards announced this month.

This is the third year it has won the award, last year for Coconut and Lime and the year before with Liquorice.

This year it also won the Sorbet category with its New Zealand Passionfruit and took wins with its vanilla and dark chocolate ice creams.

Café manager Kris Goode says the secret to gelato success is fresh ingredients, including Anchor Blue Top milk, and experimenting with flavours using fresh ingredients – in season if possible.

Owners Scott Brown and Jackie Grant researched gelato in Italy and Australia before opening the café four years ago. “The gelato machine is rolling most days,” Goode says. “A lot of people come here for the gelato.”

Takapuna supplies another Auckland cafe in its group of four – Café on Kohi, Kohimarama, which enjoys high gelato and ice cream sales.

Goode says gelato has less cream, therefore less fat, than standard ice cream.

Subject your farm to a thorough examination by calling Altum on 0800 784 674 or visiting www.altum.co.nz KingSt11113_DN_B

Dairy News june 26, 2012

news // 15

Top tip on best ice cream PAM TIPA

FRESH WHOLE milk

and cream from Fonterra farmers is a key to Tip Top winning this year’s Supreme Award for Large Manufacturer of the Year with its French Vanilla ice cream.

This is the top award in New Zealand, but Fonterra-owned Tip Top also took home 16 other accolades from the recent New Zealand Manufacturers Association Ice Cream Awards in Napier.

Tip Top uses about six to eight million litres

of fresh whole milk and cream to make 30 million litres of ice cream a year.

“A key essence to why we win awards consistently is our ingredients – fresh whole milk and cream – our quality processes and our very high level of ingredient mix,”

says Fiona Hyland, Tip Top’s general manager marketing.

“As well as the milk, where we can we use New Zealand ingredients – things like boysenberries from Nelson and the goody goody gumdrops come from Oamaru.”

about tip top TIP TOP is New Zealand’s leading ice cream manufacturer and a market leader in all categories. Among its brands are Trumpet, Jelly Tip, Choc Bar, Memphis Meltdown and Popsicle.

The 76-year-old company has been part of Fonterra since the co-operative was formed in 2001, and now has 420 staff.

Since Fonterra took over, Hyland says, there has been major investment in equipment and processes ensuring consistency in quality, a contributor to the brand’s award success in every category.

Also, large investment in research and innovation draws on generations of expertise within the company.

A key innovation is the ‘pizza board’ patented to Tip Top and so-called because it was designed

on the back of a pizza box. This enabled Tip Top to put large ‘chunks’ such as biscuits or hokey pockey in stick products such as Memphis Meltdown.

A key example is the Memphis Big Bikkie, one of the most popular Memphis products, says Hyland.

Tip Top manufactures under its own brands, e.g. Tip Top and Country Goodness, but also contract manufactures for Nestle and Heinz. It exports to Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Pacific Islands.

The Asian markets offer big opportunity, Hyland says. “To give you an idea, in many Asian markets the ice cream consumption is about 1-2L/ capita/year versus 14-18L/capita/year in the US, England Australia and New Zealand.”

As well as winning best-in-category for French Vanilla, Boysenberry Ripple and Low Fat Creamy Yoghurt (Strawberry), Tip Top’s innovation was rewarded in the open creative categories with a gold award for its Pear and Maple ice cream, and silver awards for Kapiti Chilli Chocolate and Raspberry ice cream, and for its Tropical sorbet.

The boysenberry and Creamy Yoghurt (strawberry) have won gold and best-in-category for three years in a row.

Vanilla is considered the pinnacle of ice cream awards because with no other flavours, it is judged on the purity of ingredients and manufacture. Tip Top’s entries are taken straight off the shelves, so they are exactly what the consumer is buying.

Hyland says they are

Fiona Hyland says fresh whole milk and cream is a key to Tip Top’s ice cream winning success.

particularly excited about the open creative category wins, chosen each year from an internal competition within its innovation team.

“A culture of innovation and quality is fundamental to Tip Top’s longevity and success, and our recent awards are a testament to the strength

of the Tip Top team and the love of New Zealanders for our products,” Hyland says.

From 37 companies there were 285 entries in the 16th annual ice cream Awards.

The judges awarded points for appearance, body, texture and most importantly flavour.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

news // 17

‘White gold’ will lose some glitter peter burke

MILK MAY well be ‘white gold’ to the New Zealand economy – as recently described by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) – but its glitter is likely to dim in the coming year.

So says MPI in its ‘Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries’ (SOPI) annual report. It forecasts a drop for 2013 in everything except cow numbers.

There will be slightly less milk solids

produced in the current record season which has seen a 10% increase. But next season the value of export returns will be down by about 9% and the payout to farmers will also be down.

Not surprising, says MPI deputy director-general Paul Stocks. “We’ve had a brilliant year for dairy production and that’s not going to happen next year.”

But Stocks is upbeat about the longterm outlook for sector, noting that after next season there will be a modest

The dairy industry at a glance

2011

2012

2013+

2016+

Cow and heifers in milk (millions)

4.68

4.82

4.93

5.17

Milk solids produced (million kg’s)

1 513

1 664*

1 657

1 768

Milk price (cents per kg)

760

608*

573

783

Total export value ($ millions)

13 169

13 904*

12 626

17 033

*estimate + forecast

2.2 % increase in milk solids production.

And the long-term outlook is good especially in emerging markets, he says. The risk of the dairy industry becoming too dependent on China has to be watched but he’s not too worried.

“Our productive sector is now much more finely attuned to the markets and the fact that we have a diverse set of markets to sell into mitigates the risk.”

He notes the emergence of India as an economic powerhouse which, unlike China, is traditionally a consumer of dairy products. Big opportunities exist in the ASEAN region and the OPEC countries, along with China, are New Zealand’s top market.

Stocks says some people tend to downplay the value of New Zealand’s milk powder, describing it as a commodity.

“But I don’t think our stuff is. People buy New Zealand milk powder because they can trust it. They get exactly what they ask for every time. They can trust

MPI deputy directorgeneral Paul Stocks says dairy’s golden run may come to an end next year.

the regulatory systems around it and that points to it no longer being a commodity.”

The MPI report raises the issue that as cow numbers increase, and with this a rising intensification of the industry, innovative ways need to be found to address environmental issues. But Stocks points out that the dairy industry is to New Zealand what other forms of industry are to other countries.

“When you are doing [dairying] on the scale we are, i.e. as a business, not as lifestyle, there are environmental impacts. Farmers and the community at large should be aware of that and the

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issue is, how do you manage that? It has taken the dairy industry a bit of time to catch up to the fact that their neighbours have a view on how the land and water around them is being used. Farmers need to care about it because their markets care about it.”

New Zealand must also remember the role the dairy industry plays in the beef industry, Stocks says. The dairy industry is as much a part of the meat industry as anything else. “Once the productive life of a dairy cow is done, it has one more task – to become part of the beef industry.” Cow beef is a valuable commodity, he says.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

18 // news

Allan Crafar still living on the edge peter burke

DISAFFECTED FARMER Allan

Crafar says bankers have driven his family out of the dairy industry.

Crafar, who this month attended the Ahuwhenua Awards in Auckland, leased the Tauhara Moana farm before it was taken over by the receiver and then returned to the trust. He told Dairy News he felt a bit strange being at the awards function.

He still resents losing his farms and says none of his sons is working in the dairy industry.

“The bankers just drove our whole family out of farming. In fact they are running around the country saying we’ve got to get young boys and entrepreneurs into farming. But they have driven a whole generation out of farming,” he says.

Crafar lives near Kinloch, just out of Taupo, which backs on to an elite golf course.

He has no job and doesn’t play golf. He’s sad that after 31 years he’s no longer part of Allan Crafar the dairy industry and still clings to a dream that he might get his farms back. He’s still trying to raise the money.

“The Chinese haven’t got it yet and while they haven’t got it were not going to give up.”

He says the longer he’s out of the dairy industry the less attractive it appears. He’s very critical of the urban community and ‘greenies’.

“The way they jump up and down.

Not one of them looks behind them when they get off the toilet to think where their effluent goes. The local

authorities could be served with abatement notices every day because they don’t know where the pollution is going. All they do is just put up a sign, ‘don’t eat the shellfish and don’t swim.’ ” Crafar believes the land he converted to dairying was of real benefit to New Zealand. “We saved a lot of the country from forestry by buying it and converting it. The farms we bought and converted would have been converted to trees and producing bugger all, not making much on carbon credits.”

Crafar says he’s been criticised for living on the edge, but says he was always told “if you weren’t living on the edge you were taking up too much room”.

Governor General Jerry Mateparae and Kapenga M chairman Roku Mihinui with the Ahuwhenua Trophy.

Grow sustainably THE GREATEST challenge facing

the dairy industry is how to grow sustainably, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.

He told the Ahuwhenua Awards gathering in Auckland, Maori’s “involvement in dairy farming has grown and will continue to grow. It will play a key part in addressing the challenge and opportunity for sustainable growth.

“DairyNZ wants to be part of that

journey with you, helping unlock that potential for better farm performance.

We see close alignment with our stated values, especially on sustainability and profitability and the importance of people.”

Mackle says the Ahuwhenua Trophy is important because it celebrates excellence in farming and provides an insight into how top farmers are performing.

More from Ahuwhenua Awards page 25.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

world // 19

‘Time for action now’ AUSTRALIAN FARMERS are welcoming com-

ments by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the need to improve global agriculture and food production. But it wants Gillard to show a similar commitment at home.

Speaking last week at the launch of a joint foreign aid programme for agriculture at the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Gillard noted agriculture needs “better agricultural productivity, more open trade, greater investment, innovation, research and development”.

NFF president Jock Laurie says the comments are as applicable to Australian agriculture as they are to global agriculture.

“The Prime Minister’s comments will come as no surprise to those in the Australian agricultural sector – we’ve been saying the same things for many years – but it is reassuring to know the Government is listening.

“Importantly, just as the Government has pledged to improve agri-

cultural productivity and food security in some of the world’s poorest countries, we need to see the same commitment to productivity and food and fibre production at home.

“The issues facing the global agricultural sector – the challenge of increasing production, the scarcity of valuable resources, the barriers to trade – are all the same challenges facing Australian farmers.”

Like their New Zealand counterparts, Australian farmers don’t enjoy Government subsidies and have to compete in the global marketplace against heavily subsidised EU and US farmers. Gillard has acknowledged this, says Laurie.

“We are only able to stay competitive by continually increasing our production through innovation and research and development. If we want to stay in the game, then we cannot take our foot off the pedal.

“And, if the Government is serious about Australian agriculture playing

a leading role in helping to ensure other countries have sufficient food, then they need to support this by policies that enable growth in our domestic agricultural sector.”

Laurie singles out policies such as strengthening biosecurity and quarantine systems; continuing

to invest in agricultural research and development to boost productivity; ensuring regulatory systems do not hamper the development of new innovations and technologies; and ensuring new Government policies do not add exorbitant costs to farm businesses.

“What we need is a long-term, strategic approach by Government to agricultural policy development, informed by the sector’s ‘Blueprint for Australian Agriculture’, to ensure we can meet the challenges and capitalise on opportunities,” Laurie says.

Jock Laurie

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Mercury find prompts infant formula recall

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ONE OF China’s leading dairy companies, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co, was this month recalling infant formula after excessive amounts of mercury were found, the China Daily reported.

It is believed the dairy giant’s growth could shrink to just 9% following the dairy safety incident, despite just posting half yearly growth of 137%, the Daily said.

The general administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, says the mercury was detected in several batches of Yili products during a check of baby formula products, the newspaper reported.

The company says all its other products were found to have normal mercury levels and it would find the cause of the contamination.

Food experts say the excess mercury could have come from the environment, water and/or animal feeds, says a report in the weekend edition of the China Securities Journal, a daily newspaper published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Meanwhile, the excessive level of mercury could be from the company’s imported whey powder, which is the main ingredient in making baby formula products, the newspaper cited the CMS as saying.

Although the company faces only limited costs stemming from the recall – the involved products only accounted for a small part of its portfolio – the incident will dampen consumer confidence in the company, the report said.

China’s consumer quality regulator examined samples from 715 infant formula products, covering all of the country’s formula producers, the statement said.

Yili was the only company found to have products contaminated with mercury, the statement said.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

20 // world

Danish co-op signs big China deals DANISH CO-OP Arla

Foods has signalled its intentions in China by signing deals with two leading dairy industry companies.

The co-op has indirectly become a share-

holder in Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd in a deal with the company’s single largest shareholder, COFCO Corporation. With Mengniu, it is establishing the ChinaDenmark Milk Technology and Cooperation Centre,

to provide expertise on milk quality, traceability and controlled milk production on farms. Using Mengniu’s sales channels, it is expanding the Arla brand to new product categories, giving Chinese

market leaders ■■

■■

Ltd China Mengniu Dairy Company ture ufac man ies idiar subs and its and distribute dairy products in China. It is one of the leading dairy product manufacturers in China, with MENGNIU as the core rse brand. The Group boasts a dive UHT ding inclu e rang product milk, milk beverages and yogurt, ice cream, milk powder and cheese.

Mengniu were the largest dairy company in China in 2011 in terms of sales volume and sales, and one of the top 20 global dairy enterprises as ranked by

■■

, Rabobank. As of December 2011 n the company’s annual productio the 2011 In . tons on was 7.05 milli company reached a turnover of $7.4 billion. The company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

COFCO Corporation is a leading grain, oil and food import and export group and the largest food and beverage company in China. The company is founded in 1949 and has featured on the Fortune 500 list since 1994. In 2011 d COFCO’s total assets amounte to $50B.

consumers access to more of its products.

Arla is spending $367m on a 6% stake in Mengniu.

It will nominate one director to the Chinese company’s board.

The deals will boost Arla’s total turnover in China five-fold by 2016.

Last year Arla’s total turnover there was $151 million.

Since 2005 Arla has sold mostly powdered milk products on the Chinese market, through a joint venture with Mengniu. Arla says it has decided with its partner to further develop its dairy business and extend this from milk powder to a range of dairy products.

Dairy consumption in China is growing faster than the nation’s rapidly increasing dairy

Arla chief executive Peder Tuborgh addresses Chinese dairy leaders at the co-op head office this month.

production.

At about 10% growth, the Chinese dairy market is expected to pass that of the US in 2020. This makes it crucial for Arla to gain a solid foothold in the Chinese market, says Arla Foods chief executive Peder Tuborgh.

“We are proud that China’s leading food company COFCO and most successful dairy company Mengniu have chosen Arla as their strategic business partner in China.

“These agreements will increase our exports

TM

to China significantly....

It will contribute to our cooperative owners’ milk price from day one, as we are able to add more value to milk that we otherwise would have to sell on the global bulk trading market where the profit [has been] lower historically.”

Tuborgh says reaching more Chinese consumers is a breakthrough for the Arla brand. “It will cement the Arla brand as a trademark for international quality, in powdered milk and other categories.”

China is one of Arla’s

five strategic growth markets – along with Russia, USA, Poland and the region Middle East & North Africa – where Arla works to create long-term growth opportunities.

“It is important for Arla that we continue our focus on developing our core markets in Northern Europe combined with long-term strategic investments on our distant growth markets, because that is where the biggest growth margins will be,” says Tuborgh.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

22 // OPINION Ruminating

EDITORIAL

Unity without TAF acceptable but TAF without unity isn’t

milking it...

Eager to talk

JOURNALISTS have been pleasantly surprised to find the current (and some ex) dairy industry top guns ready to take their calls over the last two weeks.

They were everywhere – television, radio farming shows, websites and newspapers – giving their two cents worth on TAF (trading among farmers). Fonterra called on a crowd of who’s who in dairy, to back TAF. Journalists can only hope this easy access will not fade now the TAF vote is over.

Absolutely beastly treatment of cows!

BRITISH actress Joanna Lumley is plumping for EU-wide rules to safeguard dairy cows, which animal-rights campaigners say are often kept tethered or without sufficient space or outside pasture, and suffering a poor diet and ill health.

The Supporting Better Dairy campaign hopes to mobilise a million consumers via a European Citizens Initiative – which allows the public to propose EU legislation – to push officials to improve conditions for cows.

Groups including WSPA, Compassion in World Farming and ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s say cows should be well housed and each animal have a certain space.

Ban tethers and allow access to the outdoors, with pasture grazing where possible; and animals should be allowed to express natural behaviour.

Suddenly he loves cows

PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL Mitt Romney posed for a roadside photo with a herd of grazing cows in rural Pennsylvania. He scooped ice cream for locals in a small Ohio town and served pancakes at a Father’s Day breakfast. All in the name of campaigning.

Romney called his fiveday trek across remote regions of presidential battleground states a journey along “the backbone of America.”

For Romney, rural areas, small towns and outer-edge suburbs like Brunswick, on the outskirts of Cleveland, are crucial to offsetting President Obama’s strength in urban centers.

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Prehistoric dairy consumers

IT’S OFFICIAL: dairy products have been around for at least 7000 years.

Prehistoric people in the African Sahara were making dairy products such as butter, yoghurt and cheese. This speculation, based on the identification of dairy fats on ancient pottery shards found in Libya, is the first to provide a definitive date for early dairy farming in Africa.

“What we’re beginning to know is that cattle were significant to early peoples,” says Julie Dunne, an archaeological scientist at the University of Bristol, UK.

THE TIME for fighting is over. By the time you read this, Fonterra farmers will have had their say on TAF (trading among farmers).

It has been a bitter and divisive campaign. Those opposed to TAF made their point passionately in the media. Fonterra, on the other hand, pulled out its top guns – current and former – to hammer home the benefits of the scheme and the dangers posed by redemption risk.

Greatly outnumbered by Fonterra’s PR and legal resources, those opposed to TAF pooled their resources and with the help of donations put up a worthy campaign. Their views on TAF and anxiety over losing ownership and control of the co-op resonated with some shareholders.

For Fonterra’s sake, it’s time for the fighting to stop. Firstly, the Fonterra board and the Shareholders Council must decide whether farmers have handed them a “a clear mandate” to proceed with TAF. If the ‘yes’ vote has not been decisive, question marks will hang over TAF. Fonterra cannot continue to operate with a shaky balance sheet with redemption risk hanging over it. Something must change and the Fonterra board must go back to weary shareholders for another round of consultations.

If the vote is deemed to be a clear mandate for the board and council, then everyone must get behind the co-op leaders.

Fonterra has a sound growth strategy in place. It is setting up farms in China and, given that a Danish co-op recently announced a major deal with China’s leading dairy processor, our co-op is seen to be on the right track. But a solid balance sheet is useless unless the shareholders are united.

Investing money in overseas markets is high risk. Therefore it will need to be done with a safe balance sheet, not one where share redemption causes money to wash in and out. At the same time a fractured shareholder base will damage Fonterra’s reputation overseas.

For Fonterra’s future a united shareholder base is vital. As the smoke clears from yesterday’s vote, all eyes will be on the board and council for leadership.

Unity without TAF is acceptable but TAF without unanimity among shareholders is not.

After all, it’s the cooperative spirit that makes Fonterra stand out from the rest.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

opinion // 23

The changing face of farming PRIMARY INDUSTRIES Minister David Carter opened the National Fieldays earlier this month.

He spoke about the changing face of farming around the globe: Our primary sector is

evolving at an ever-increasing rate. Farming today is very different from say, 20 years ago.

It is more challenging than ever. We must produce more with less, we must be more environmentally conscious, we must continue to improve the way we farm our animals and we must come to grips with growing competition from new markets.

There’s been a huge change in the way New Zealand’s goods are now positioned. Our brand has shifted to a higher cost, higher quality product aimed at a more discerning international consumer. Retailers are meeting this demand by being ethically and environmentally responsive.

And this plays to New Zealand’s strengths when it comes to primary production.

An innovative and prosperous rural sector is at the heart of our economic growth agenda.

The primary sector now makes up 71% of New Zealand’s total merchandise export trade - but not to the countries we once relied on.

The changing face of farming has paralleled a change in our traditional export markets.

The EU, the world’s largest economic trading bloc, faces major challenges as it deals with countries like Greece, Italy and Spain. The US can at

best be described as subdued.

In the past, this would have had a huge impact on New Zealand. After all, these were once our main export markets.

Though such markets are still very important to us, we are fortunate to have repositioned ourselves so significantly to Asia. China is now our second largest trading partner, with exports growing by nearly 40% in the last financial year, a stunning example of the success of our Free Trade Agreement.

As a nation that trades internationally for its very survival, we know the importance of market access for all our exports.

We are in talks with eight Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, with Russia, India and South Korea – striving to negotiate FTAs beneficial to all New Zealand exporters.

I have just returned from Russia where we are progressing free trade negotiations which began in 2010.

Two-way trade is currently worth about $700 million - but if a deal is reached, it will be Russia’s first international trade deal and our exports will grow significantly.

One of the things that stood out to me during my trip was how highly regarded New Zealand is internationally.

We are well known as producers of some of the

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best food in the world, at a time when food security is the world’s greatest challenge. The overarching challenge for New Zealand is to protect its reputation as a quality producer.

We need to play to our strengths and protect the

brand that sets us apart from our competitors.

New Zealand’s physical distance from markets is unique among developed countries and this presents us with a clear challenge.

No other country in the

OECD has such a striking combination of small size and remoteness.

But this shouldn’t be viewed as a negative.

As a nation whose economy depends on the powerhouse of our primary industries, New Zea-

land’s global focus must remain on maximising our reputation for producing high quality products, backed by integrity.

Our farmers and growers are among the world’s most innovative and efficient.

David Carter

They are fully embracing the changing face of farming. But we must continually strive to find ways to work smarter, to deliver greater prosperity and opportunity to all New Zealanders.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

24 // agribusiness

Volatility, planning and progress inputs. This is often exaggerated by farmers competing for these resources.

Conversely, when revenue prices fall there can be a compensating decline in farm input costs. This can offer opportunity for proactive farming enterprises

THOSE WHO have been

around a while know that one of the certainties of business life is change.

That has taken on a new dimension with the volatility of compressed business cycles accentuating positive and negative swings. An obvious example is the recent softening of dairy prices which has cast an unexpected shadow over 2013 and beyond.

Focusing on the real – rather than imagined – impact of such change is essential. This demands a robust approach to planning and budgeting: fundamental tools for getting attitudes right so sound decisions are made.

Farmers can be too quick to focus on movement in revenue prices

and too slow to measure the impact on profit margin.

In buoyant times the industry often assumes higher milk prices will bring automatic boosts to profitability. My benchmarking analysis suggests higher milk prices often flow through to cost inflation as suppliers factor perceived higher returns into prices for feed, grazing, fertiliser and other

declining interest rates will potentially reduce the impact of the current ‘headline’ change in farm incomes.

The primary drive during downturns must be to ensure the business is in the best possible posi-

Effective and timely budgeting is essential. to negotiate more competitive deals and find areas where they can cut fat, not muscle, to protect profitability.

A weakness of many farming operations is that they don’t focus enough on profit margins. For example, the combined impact of favourable climate, feed inventories, reasonable stock values, lower input costs and

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tion to capitalise when the inevitable recovery occurs.

This is all about identifying the right things to cut and the right things to continue. Careful thought must be given to maintaining stock quality, fertility, pasture species, people and infrastructure so false economies are avoided.

Effective and timely budgeting is essential to achieve this. Ideally it

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Global economic volatility demands a robust approach to planning and budgeting on farm.

should start with a sound business plan so the business owners and their advisors have a complete understanding of the key performance measures needed to deliver personal, business and career goals. This provides a dashboard to navigate by regardless of the changing business terrain.

Involving financiers and other stakeholders strengthens their confidence in the business and provides valuable feedback to enhance credibility of budget assumptions and likelihood of success.

It should be a businessas-usual process for every farming operation to break their longer term strategic plan into an annual plan.

This is all about what needs to happen today to achieve long-term goals.

If a strategic plan is about a destination, the annual plan tells you how quickly you are likely to get there.

I have for some years encouraged my clients to adopt this approach.

All the enterprises I am involved in operate with constantly updated budgets for at least three years ahead.

The first is for the current season built on a rolling update of budget projections combined with actual results as each month passes. This generates a monthly forecast of how the operation will track and is a real plus for cost control, performance monitoring and tax planning.

The forecast for the following year maintains awareness of the mediumterm outlook.

Copying this budget forward each year removes the hassle of having to start with a blank paper for each season. It’s simply a matter of rolling these two years forward and keeping close comparisons between them to ensure credibility.

The third year budget is a ‘status quo’ outlook.

This measures likely returns based on realistic long term revenue and cost assumptions similar to those used by financiers to evaluate lending propositions.

A key advantage of ‘status quo’ budgets is that they can be easily refreshed to measure the impact of long term

changes in trading outlook. They also enable quick assessment of new opportunity when growth opportunities or development propositions emerge.

Getting the annual plan signed off during the annual meeting of every farm business, big or small, has served my clients exceedingly well.

Collaboration between farmers, their financiers and other professionals working with credible short and long-term plans results in greater confidence, gives everyone time to react and most of all ensures the owners have a clearer understanding of their position and speed of travel.

There may be tough times ahead but I am ever conscious that the best years often result from pressure to keep a business light on its feet.

This is a positive beckoning those who embrace change and volatility.

• Kerry Ryan is a New Zealand based agribusiness consultant available for faceto-face or online for advice and ideas. Contact him at www.kerryryan.co.nz

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

agribusiness // 25

Maori trust rewarded for astute planning PETER BURKE

ROTORUA’S KAPENGA M Trust has won

the Ahuwhenua Trophy for a second time, taking honours for New Zealand’s best Maori dairy farm. In 2003 it won the

award for best Maori sheep-and-beef farm.

Kapenga M Trust headed off strong challenges from two other finalists: Tauhara Moana, Taupo, and Waewaetutuki 10 Wharepi Whanau Trust, Te Puke.

The trophy was pre-

sented by Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae at a gala awards ceremony in Auckland attended by at least 600 people.

The Kapenga M Trust dairy unit milks 998 Jersey/Friesian cross cows on 330ha. Since 2008 production has risen

Kapenga M Trust chairman Roku Mihinui with the Ahuwhenua Trophy.

from 241,442kgMS to 371,169kgMS though the herd has only increased in size by nine cows.

Awards chief judge Doug Leeder noted production for the current season was heading towards 400,000kgMS. “It is the very best of

in for the long haul MAORI HAVE a special place in the New Zealand primary sector because they do not farm for capital gain. That comment, by respected Maori businessman Kingi Smiler, came at the Ahuwhenua Awards presentation for the top Maori dairy farm.

Smiler, chairman of the Ahuwhenua Awards committee, says Maori need to be the best intergenerational farmers so they can provide sustainable yearly returns to their landowners.

“It is important we not only set best-practice benchmarks for what happens inside the farm gate, but also make sure we produce good products, have high productivity and keep building infrastructure.

“Maori need to understand those external factors that influence the markets and to see how they operate. There is a need for us as Maori owners to collaborate and partner together to make sure we can meet these challenges.”

Smiler commented on this year’s strong competition for the Ahuwhenua Awards.

“All this year’s finalists set a high benchmark for the whole of the primary industry. The task of selecting the finalists was difficult. We encourage those who did not make the final to build on this experience and to enter the competition in 2014.”

Smiler said the 600 tickets to the event were sold before the three finalists’ field days were held.

the benchmark group for this region and while this season may have helped this level of production, it requires astute planning and management,” he said. Leeder also praised the governance structure of the trust and its review of its deed of trust to ensure a rotation of

Young achiever’s secret recipe for success TANGAROA WALKER (22)

has won the inaugural Ahuwhenua Young Maori Trainee/Cadet award.

Walker, originally from Tauranga and now a lower order sharemilker at Kennington, Southland, admits to being goal driven.

He told Dairy News he wanted to be a lower order sharemilker by age 23 and a 50/50 sharemilker by age 26.

“People told me I wasn’t going to achieve it, but I’ve achieved lower order sharemilker with a year up my sleeve.”

Walker was in the ‘academy’ at Tauranga Boys College and was

“I have learned their the first prefect in the ways and how they got school to come from to where they are. I’ve the academy. That’s leapfrogged all their when he started his goal mistakes, doing in threesetting and decided to four years the sort of become a dairy farmer. things they would have “I’d looked at becomdone in 10 years. I’ve ing an electrician, an Tangaroa Walker also had good help from architect or a farmer. I asked my careers advisor what was the AgITO. I have the knowledge going to get me $200,000 under my and now I just need the experience. belt the fastest and he said ‘dairy I really want to achieve and people are giving me the opportunity to farming by far.’ ” He’s been on Toa Farms for two get ahead.”

Toa Farm runs 570 cows and and a half years and attributes his success to being around successful this season will produce at least people – especially pakeha, he says. 242,000kgMS – well ahead of the

target. He says the award will open up opportunities and convince the people in the equity partnership that he’s “got what it takes”.

Highly motivated Walker writes things down as he works and sets and reviews his goals weekly. He likes to mix and mingle and soak up knowledge.

“I’m a tree right; I blow in both directions – the Pakeha world and the Maori world. You have to be flexible or you are not going to grow. My roots in Tauranga are strong but I have learned to blow in the wind of the pakeha way and the Maori way.”

trustees.

Trust chairman Roku Mihinui told Dairy News he was delighted at the Kapenga M win, attributing it in part to their good working relationship with their farm supervisor.

“Also the foresight of

the earlier trustees who set a strategic plan in place.

I think having faith and confidence in ourselves, that collectively we were going to do alright, played a part in our winning of the award.”

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

26 // agribusiness / comment

Benefits of co-ops blue read

THE UNITED Nations

Long-time member of Westland Milk, John O’Connor (left) gets the honour of sampling the celebratory cake with Commerce Minister Craig Foss.

general assembly in December 2009 declared 2012 to be the International Year of Cooperatives in recognition of the contribution of cooperatives to global, social and economic development.

The UN called on gov-

ernments, international institutions, business and other stakeholders to support the development and growth of cooperatives worldwide, and invited all nations to form national steering committees to ensure a coordinated response. In March, 200 guests launched the New Zealand International

Year of Cooperatives in the grand hall at Parliament, hosted by the Minister of Commerce Craig Foss, with guest speakers including Rabobank global chairman Piet Moerland and the president of the International Cooperative Alliance, Dame Pauline Green, via video.

Here in New Zealand, producer cooperatives have functioned since 1871, when eight Otago dairy farmers joined forces, investing one pound each to start their own cheese factory. Today, the New Zealand Cooperatives Association has at least 50 members, some big businesses by New Zealand and international standards. Foremost is Fonterra, New Zealand’s only true multinational enterprise and the world’s largest exporter of dairy products. Foodstuffs, with its Pak’nSave and New World brands, and the farmer-owned meat processing companies Alliance Group and Silver Fern Farms, are also large business operations ranked among the world’s 300 largest cooperatives.

Others are quite small, found in a variety of sectors such as credit unions, banking, insurance, retailing, taxi companies and vehicle repair shops.

The scale and diversity of New Zealand’s cooperative sector means they play a key role in the daily lives of many New Zealanders. Cooperatives also make a strong contribution to the achievement of the Government’s economic objectives. Compared to other countries, cooperatives and mutuals are a relatively large part of the New Zealand economy – almost 10% of the country’s top 200 businesses, as represented by turnover. New Zealanders have embraced the cooperative model where members own and control their own businesses. The cooperative ethos suits the New Zealand psyche in many ways. The notion of self-help, cooperating, and sharing the profits is particularly strong in rural areas, where many farmers and townsfolk belong to sometimes four or five different cooperatives.

Recently our association commissioned a Horizon Research survey of at

least 1000 people. Among the detail that was reinforced is the importance New Zealanders place on the business values of honesty, integrity and ethical standards, which are core pillars of the cooperative structure. Unsurprisingly, New Zealanders overwhelmingly want to do business with companies that display these attributes.

Cooperatives typically put long term gain and business stability ahead of short term profits. This has helped cooperatives come through difficult financial times relatively unscathed, compared to many investor-driven companies.

But the word is not getting out there. Cooperatives often don’t perceive the need to communicate their successes any wider than their own membership, meaning the wider community remains uninformed. This is backed up by the Horizon Survey with at least 70% thinking there is insufficient awareness about the difference between cooperatives and investor-owned companies, and 60% would like to see universities, polytechnics, and our accounting and legal associations offering courses on cooperatives.

Consumers and producers are looking for entities they can trust, and where they can be confident of being treated well.

And the top 40 New Zealand cooperatives employ around 50,000 people.

By way of comparison, in the UK, long considered the home of cooperative enterprise, there are10 times the number of cooperatives, employing five times the staff of their New Zealand counterparts. But the combined turnover of the UK cooperatives is not even double the combined revenues generated in this country.

And a statistic I particularly like, as a dairy farmer, is that in farming in the UK, there are 446 cooperatives with a turnover of $8.5 billion. Compare this with dairy co-ops in New Zealand, which alone generated revenue of over $20 billion.

• Blue Read is the chairman of the New Zealand Cooperatives Association.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

management // 27

Pasture is enough... but is there enough grass?

I WAS interested in an article in the last issue of the Dairy News titled “Well-fed cows don’t need supplements” (Dairy News June 12 issue). It summarised information presented by DairyNZ scientists John Roche and Jane Kay at the recent DairyNZ Farmers Forum.

In their paper: Feeding the modern dairy cow – is pasture still enough? Roche and Kay concluded that: “Despite a greater capacity of the modern dairy cow to eat and produce milk, decision rules around the appropriateness of supplementary feeding have not changed.

Supplements will benefit milk production and reproduction when cows do not have sufficient pasture (i.e. grazing residuals are less than 1,500-1,600 kg DM/ha).”

Well-fed cows may not

could carry 2.6 cows/ha in an average year, 3.3 cows/ ha in the best year but only 2.0 cows/ha in the worst.

For a 140 ha farm this means that the ideal herd size varies from 280 to 460 cows (see figure 1)!

While the variation in total annual pasture proneed supplements but the reality is that it is very difficult to keep cows well fed throughout the entire season when you are relying solely on pasture.

Pasture production data (see Figure 1) from a typical Waikato dairy farm shows significant variability between seasons. The average total annual DM production was 14,552 kg/ ha/year but the range was 11,461 - 18,576 kgDM/ha.

Assuming an annual drymatter intake of 4.5 tDM/ cow and pasture utilisation of 80%, the farm

Supplements play an important role in filling feed deficits caused by fluctuation in pasture yield. They allow farmers to run stocking rates that allow them to harvest most of the grass in the best pasture-growing season without compro-

Keeping cows well fed throughout the season when you rely solely on pasture is difficult.

(including effluent paddocks) is in the range 10-16c/kgDM (see page 24 of the Pioneer® brand Maize for Silage catalogue 2012/13).

It gives good milksolids response rates. Trials conducted at the Waimate West Demonstration Farm

Table 1: Maximum, minimum and average pasture growth rates (9 year data).

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Average

25

16

30

57

75

60

63

47

29

19

26

29

Maximum

65

31

46

75

125

81

83

81

56

61

56

41

Minimum

12

1

16

43

53

50

29

5

6

2

2

15

duction is high, there are enormous variations in monthly pasture growth rates between seasons (Table 1).

As an industry, I think we underestimate the amount of time and skill required to successfully manage a pasture-based dairy farm system (see table 1).

mising production, reproduction or cow welfare when the grass isn’t growing.

Maize silage has many advantages including: It is cost-effective. The cash cost of growing maize on high fertility dairy land

in the 1997/98 season show response rates of more than 150g MS/kgDM can be achieved when maize silage is used strategically to fill feed deficits extending lactation in the spring or autumn.

It can be stored and fed

when required. By contrast many home-grown crops must be fed when they are mature regardless of whether the extra feed is required.

Roche and Kay’s paper demonstrates that feeding pasture is enough for

Automated Dairy Feed Systems Farmers invest in your farm with a PPP feed system; • Improved production • Improved animal health • Less on farm feed labour required • Peace of mind – you can feed your cows in wet springs and winters and dry summers

the modern cow. But will you have enough pasture to keep your cows milking at their genetic potential throughout the 12/13 season?

• Ian Williams is a Pioneer forage specialist. Email iwilliams@genetic.co.nz

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Nationwide installers and after sales backup – 7 days a week Figure 1: Pasture yield data from a typical Waikato dairy farm*.

Source: Data provided by Wayne Reynolds, Gordonton, Waikato.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

28 // management

Pasture persists despite drought, pests DROUGHT AND insect

infestation lead to a testing time for ryegrass pasture establishment in the upper North Island from 2004 to 2010, but lessons were learnt.

Some pastures performed well despite the conditions, the DairyNZ Farmers Forum heard.

Each pasture persistence competition winner,

for example, had new pastures performing well 5-8 years after sowing, AgResearch senior scientist Tom Fraser and Dairy NZ farm systems specialist Chris Glassey said in the presentation “Pasture persistence – what’s working”.

The workshop heard mean rainfall in the 2004 to 2010 summers and

early autumn was 17% lower than the average at Ruakura near Hamilton.

Insect pest outbreaks such as black beetle were more common and the AR1 endophyte, used for a high proportion of pasture renewal during this period, was susceptible.

With the upper North Island a potentially a hostile environment for rye-

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grass and white clover to thrive, lessons learnt showed following protocols will reduce the risk during establishment.

Endophyte selection The most appropriate endophyte for eachsituation depends on the level of insect challenge in that region. Tables 2 and 3 in the DairyNZ Pasture Renewal Guide (dairynz. co.nz/pasturerenewal) provide a summary of the expected insect protection from the range of

and provides better conditions for establishing white clover.

Cultivation also reduces deep soil compaction, disrupts insect populations and improves weed control.

Use certified seed All certified seed is tested for germination and purity. Always request a copy of the seed analysis certificate. Ryegrass seed infected with a particular endophyte will also have an endophyte viability

Weed control early in a pasture’s life is preferable as small weeds are easier to kill. endophytes available for diploid and tetraploid ryegrasses.

Planning Identify under-performing paddocks from farm walk records, cow grazing days, or daily milk in vat.

Use the DairyNZ Pasture Condition Scoring tool (see dairynz.co.nz/ pasturerenewal) to assess the status of each paddock. This allows you to build a time sequence for renewal. Identifying paddocks for renewal up to two years out allows times to fix drainage and soil compaction through cropping. Drainage and contouring are hard to fit in the narrow windows of opportunity each autumn and spring.

A lead-in time of 12 months or more gives more flexibility.

Do a soil test before renewal and correct any nutrient deficiencies White clover establishment Drill ryegrass using the drill’s main-seed box.

Drop white clover seed onto the soil surface from the smallseeds box in front of the coulters sowing the ryegrass.

Alternatively clover seed can be broadcast before covering seed with about 5 mm of soil using a brush or bar harrow.

Sowing ryegrass and white clover seed in the same coulter results in poor white clover establishment. Clover, should be sown at less than 10mm.

Cultivation before drilling or sowing after a crop is the most expensive option; however, it allows for incorporation of lime

test. The endophyte level must be 70% or greater, meaning 70% of the seeds contain endophyte. This information is printed near the bottom of the seed analysis certificate.

Weed control early in a pasture’s life is preferable as small weeds are easier to kill.

Grazing management New pastures require special management in Year 1. The aim is to improve seedling size before summer.

■■ Graze for the first time when new seedlings cannot be pulled out by hand, usually five to seven weeks after drilling. Replacement heifers (if available) are preferred but cows for 1-2 hours are also suitable ■■ Graze regularly (e.g. when pasture height reaches 10-15 cm), leaving a 4 cm stubble during the winter/ spring following drilling.

■■ As summer develops reduce grazing frequency ■■ Ryegrass pastures in the upper North Island face multiple stresses in summer such as moisture deficits, high temperatures and insect pests. Appropriate grazing management can reduce the impact ■■ Don’t graze new pastures severely (below 4 cm) in the first summer. Repeated grazings below this level for older pastures will not help persistence either.

See dairynz.co.nz/pasturerenewal.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

management // 29

Plenty to do while waiting for calving PETER BURKE

IT’S THE calm before the storm as dairy farmers wait out the next month or so for the start of calving.

But Manawatu DairyNZ consulting officer Abby Hull says there are plenty of important tasks to do in this ‘quiet’ period.

The main thing is for farmers to update feed budgets so they know exactly how much feed they have and its quality.

Some feed produced in the past season was of quite poor quality, she says “It’s important to update feed budgets and know what average pasture cover is wanted to calve down onto and what the targets are.

“Farmers should also be updating their financial budgets given the expected drop in payout.

What are their expenses?

The three big-ticket items are feed, fertiliser and wages. Farmers need to

look hard and see if there is anything they can do to save money.”

Hull says much effort has gone into making farmers aware of the value of having their cows in good condition coming into calving. She is seeing the body condition score (BCS) of cows in the Manawatu/Horowhenua as much better than last year. Not all herds will hit the target – BCS 5.0 – but most will be close.

“The closer calving

gets, the less opportunity there is for farmers to improve the BCS of their cows. One month out from calving cows will not increase their BCS so farmers now have a limited window of opportunity to deal with this issue.”

DairyNZ’s Abby Hull.

Hull says in Manawatu, pasture covers vary according to who’s had stock on their farms and

a farmer’s perspective LUKE RENTON is a contract milker on an 89ha dairy farm at Kairanga, just outside Palmerston North.

The property is adjacent to the Oroua river and can get pretty wet in winter. The farm runs 280 cows and the past season has seen bumper production – up 19,000kgMS to 101,000kgMS. For the last month Renton has done general maintenance on the farm, but his focus has been on improving cow condition.

“I’ve been prioritising mobs: one light one and a heavier one, and putting more feed into the lighter ones to get their BCS up. I’ve been feeding out maize

and grass silage. The BCS of the lighter mob is up from 3.5 to 4.5.

“We milked the heavier mob for an extra month but since they were dried off we have also lifted their BCS by half a point and hope to add another half point before they calve at the end of the July.”

This is Renton’s second season on the farm. Prior to that he was in Waihi.

He describes the two farms as ‘chalk and cheese’. “Here it’s flat, there it climbed 100m in altitude from front to back of the farm. It was very steep with free-draining soils. Here the soils are certainly not free draining.”

Renton is also working to get his pasture covers up. Currently they are sitting at about 2050 and he’s targeting 2200 by calving.

Last year he talked to a few people and decided to drop the cow numbers from 290 to about 280 and the net effect was a rise in production.

Dropping cows numbers took the pressure off the remaining cows and per head production lifted.

He says this move also reduced animal health issues.

Although last season he saw a lift in production, Renton is confident, all things being equal, that he can do it again and maybe add 4000kgMS.

Sharemilker Luke Renton is working on improving cow condition.

who’s had them away. Ideally farmers should have covers of about 2200 at calving. Farmers can also

use this time to orientate new staff to the farm. It’s a good time to get new staff settled in and well briefed.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

30 // animal health

New tool to manage mastitis A NEW dairy industry resource for managing mastitis and improving milk quality was unveiled last week by DairyNZ at the New Zealand Milk Quality Conference in Hamilton.

Known as SmartSAMM, the online resource

builds on the SAMM Plan (seasonal approach to managing mastitis) with updated information.

Senior DairyNZ scientist and technical manager for SmartSAMM, Dr Jane Lacy-Hulbert, says the new resource gives dairy farmers and their

advisors easy access to the complete industry-agreed knowledge about mastitis and milk quality.

“We’re pleased to be able to launch this new resource. The benefits for farmers and the dairy industry are huge: improved udder health

Infections rife during calving COWS ARE susceptible to infection during calving because their natural defence mechanisms are low. New infections occur and subclinical infections which have persisted through the dry period may flare into clinical cases.

High risk cows, e.g. induced cows and heifers, can be more vulnerable at this time to mastitis infections because their immune systems have reduced efficiency.

At calving the udder is often filled with colostrum and milk for relatively long periods without the flushing effect of being milked. Bacteria may enter the end of the teat, particularly if high udder pressure opens the teat end. They can then multiply and establish infections.

High numbers of environmental mastitis bacteria may contaminate teats, especially if udders are wet and in contact with mud and manure as can happen when cows and heifers are on the ground during calving.

Because of the high incidence of mastitis in the first month after calving, special care in this period will pay off.

Keep udders clean to prevent mastitis.

Calve on clean, dry pasture

and milk quality, time savings at milking, and ultimately improved production and profit.

“For farmers, SmartSAMM provides key tools and resources to help establish whether a problem exists, and if so what to do next and how to prevent it in future.

There are guidelines and key recommendations for managing mastitis during calving, lactation, drying off and the dry period.

“For advisors, the corresponding Technotes provide more of the science detail that sits behind the recommendations; we’ve tried to make this an all-you-need-to-know resource,” says LacyHulbert.

The SmartSAMM

Pasture or pads for calving should have minimal manure contamination.

If more than two pats of manure are present per square metre, it is not clean enough for calving cows.

Monitor the number of cases of mastitis occurring, especially in recently calved heifers. The number of clinical cases occurring within 14 days of calving is an indicator of pre-calving management Bring cows into the dairy as soon as possible to be checked for mastitis, and milked.

Do not leave cows standing in a paddock after calving dripping milk; bring them into the dairy. Check udders, milk them and disinfect teats with teat spray.

Cows dripping milk before calving may also benefit from being milked. Make

project is a collaboration of NMAC (National Mastitis Advisory Committee) with stakeholders and service providers responsible for

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sure their calf receives fresh colostrum once the cow calves.

Take special care with high risk cows.

Some are at higher risk of mastitis, in particular heifers, as they spend longer on the ground during calving and thus their teats have greater exposure to mud and bacteria. Any cow that has been induced or is sick is also at higher risk of environmental mastitis as its immune system is suppressed.

Take care with pre-milking preparation of udders. Special care should be taken at the first milking to fully clean and dry the teats, and check for signs of mastitis in the udder and foremilk.

Keeping udders clean helps prevent mastitis. Trim up tails and tail switches and remove hair on udders by clipping or singeing.

mastitis control and milk quality in New Zealand.

It is funded by DairyNZ and MPI. The source material has been adapted from Dairy Australia’s

Countdown Downunder and updated for New Zealand dairy farming.

The SmartSAMM website is now live at www.smartsamm.co.nz

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

research/animal health // 31

SOE’s on-farm achievements awe Fieldays visitors FORAGE, GENETICS, biocontrol and

animal health are all categories which featured in the on-farm achievements at AgResearch’s National Agricultural Fieldays stand.

“The biocontrol story is particularly good one,” says AgResearch chief executive Tom Richardson. “In 1991 we released a parasitoid wasp for the control of Argentine stem weevil, in 2006 we released another parasitoid, the Irish wasp, this time to tackle the clover root weevil. By 2017, when both the Irish wasp and clover root weevil are likely to be established in pastoral areas throughout the country, we estimate the benefits from the biocontrol agent at $150 million per year.

“And the biocontrol work is ongoing – we’re now looking at the possibilities of using it for giant buttercup.”

One aspect of AgResearch’s current work in forage on display at Mystery Creek was called “The Hidden Half” – the story of roots. Richardson says historically, forage plant breeding has been based on above ground research.

“Over the last 20 years, DairyNZ estimates that profits of dairy farms have increased $400/ha due to forage. For AgResearch to continue to enhance the value, productivity and profitability of New Zealand’s pastoral sector, we need to continue to improve our understanding of forages,” he says.

“Roots deliver nutrients to the plants, and if we can improve nutrient efficiency, that means less nitrogen and phosphorus is lost to waterways and that helps protect water quality. As well, deeper rooted plants have better drought tolerance.”

Maximising your animals’ potential through understanding their needs was another key feature on AgResearch’s stand.

This showcased the work of the Animal Welfare and Behaviour specialists, and showed how scientists are decoding heat signals to understand health, welfare and productivity using an infra red thermal imaging camera.

“Working with Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada and Massey University we have shown that the technology can be used to pick up, very sensitively, changes in eye

temperature that indicate pain and stress in cattle, sheep and deer, for example during painful procedures. More recently, we have realised its potential to assess other health and welfare states by development of automated image collection systems.

“We’re doing a significant amount of work in this area, and it will help position farmers to cope with increasing compliance standards around animal health, welfare and sustainability.”

Also featuring on the stand was Farmax, a soft-

ware tool used by dairy as well as sheep and beef industries.

AgResearch scientists originally developed the technology and the organisation retains a share in the business. Farmers visiting the AgResearch stand will be able to get a supply

A calf’s eye as seen by a infra-red thermal imaging camera being used to detect health problems in animals by heat sensing.

vs demand graph for grass growth over the year on their farm, and model the change in responses with

a change of inputs (eg increasing/lowering stocking rate/supplements/fertiliser).

AHB completes TB campaign THE ANIMAL Health Board (AHB) has completed aerial

possum control in the Kaimanawa Forest Park to protect nearby cattle from TB. AHB Northern North Island programme manager Brent Webster says the aerial operation, east of Lake Taupo, was completed on June 11.

“AHB contractors have done an excellent job of planning and undertaking this operation across 15,900ha of primarily native beech forest,” says Webster.

“Aerial control supports ongoing ground-based operations on local farmland. Ground control utilises hand-laid traps and bait stations to maintain low possum numbers and eventually eradicate TB from the area.”

By 2026, the national TB control strategy aims to eradicate the disease from wild animals – particularly possums who are the main carrier of the disease – across one quarter of the 10 million hectares of New Zealand’s TB risk areas.

Bovine TB has recently been identified in possums in the nearby Motuoapa area. The aerial operation was designed to prevent the disease from spreading through the possum population to farmed cattle and deer, putting at risk the $750 million generated annually from pastoral farming in the Taupo district.

Following the operation, contractors have been checking tracks and ensuring warning signs remain in place. This is a requirement of consenting authorities, such as the Ministry of Health. The AHB has also made every effort to inform hunters about the operation.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

32 // animal health Deosan managing director Kip Bodle (right) and national sales manager Matt Sheehy.

– PHOTO: Richard Cullwick

New teat sprayer targets mastitis A TEAT spray released last week in Hamilton is expected to “dramatically reduce” mastitis infection rates in dairy herds.

The chlorhexidine teat spray by dairy hygiene company Deosan will also help lower cows’ bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC), says New Zealand managing director Kip Bodle.

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TeatX is a more powerful version of Deosan’s original chlorhexidine teat spray, Teat-Ex. Its release coincides with DairyNZ’s SmartSAMM website launch this week, aimed at reducing the incidence of mastitis on dairy farms and improving milk quality.

“This is a great initiative and resource for the dairy industry and there is room for improvement. TeatX is a big part of the solution,” says Bodle.

A study on a large corporate South Island farm during the 2011-12 season is said to have shown the original TeatEx formula reduced clinical cases of mastitis by one third, saving the farm almost $200,000 (or $21 for each of the 9459 cows in the trial).

“While mastitis is multi-factorial, in this case there was a substantial improvement in teat condition which resulted in decreased BMSCC from 201,000 to 167,000 and 248 fewer clinical cases,” Bodle says. “This improvement was largely attributable to the swap from iodine to Teat-Ex. Our new formulation will deliver even better results.

“While farmers have traditionally used iodine-based teat spray products, we are noticing a sea change, with a large number now switching to chlorhexidine sprays,” Bodle says.

“Iodine is acidic and harsh on the cow’s skin whereas TeatX has a neutral pH which helps prevent teat damage in the first place. Less teat damage means fewer new infections and more profit,” he says.

Deosan says the price of iodine teat sprays has risen during the past year by $500/200L “within pockets” of the New Zealand market. Japan produces one third of the world’s iodine and the price has skyrocketed following last year’s earthquake and tsunami.

“There is a growing shift in the dairy market and our research indicates 30% of farmers now prefer to use chlorhexidine teat spray due to its ability to improve teat condition,” says Bodle.

Teat condition plays a huge part towards cutting BMSCC, Bodle says. “We know teat condition is a key issue in the prevention of mastitis. Chlorhexidine is just as effective at killing bugs as iodine.

“Teat sprays are vulnerable to shed chemical contamination and poor water quality which is a big issue in New Zealand milking sheds. Independent testing shows TeatX is the most stable compared to all other chlorhexidine teat sprays, remaining clear and in solution when exposed to residual chemical and water contamination.

Other chlorhexidine products are extremely vulnerable to precipitation, which can result in the active ingredient ‘bombing out’.”

The TeatX formula also enables chlorhexidine to penetrate soil and the oily layer on cows’ teats much faster than its competitors, Deosan says.

The new formula contains 33% more active ingredient than its predecessor and has 10% more emollient to ensure better teat condition. It is approved for use at higher dilution rates for later in the season to help farmers save money.

This July (North Island) and August (South Island) Deosan will offer farmers a free week’s trial of TeatX worth up to $250. www.teatx.co.nz

BETTLE9875I

reformulated version TeatX is the reformulated version of Teat-Ex. Deosan’s original Teat-Ex contained 0.45% chlorhexidine. Their new TeatX formula has 0.6% chlorhexidine and 10% more emollient for better teat condition. Teat sprays help prevent mastitis infections in dairy herds. A cow’s skin is pH 6.7 and chlorhexidine has a neutral pH7 which will not damage skin tissue. Iodine ranges from pH 2.5 to pH 3.5, said to slow wound healing.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

animal health // 33

A national mastitis control plan has been rolled out in the UK.

Experts meet on udder health UDDER HEALTH on dairy farms

remains a priority and the control of the infectious pressure of mastitis-causing pathogens is the key to improving dairy herd productivity. This was the conclusion of the recent 5th European Mastitis Panel (EMP) meeting near Bristol, southwest England.

Fifteen experts from seven European countries participated in a two-day workshop involving visits to typical farms and an exchange of expertise on the latest in mastitis control in Europe.

British dairy farming is mainly pasture based and rain quantity has a significant impact on grass growth and so on the quality and quantity of the main fodder for dairy cattle.

Despite the fact most herds calve year round, spring and summer milk production is increased up to 15%.

“Here, smaller as well as larger farms work profitably”, says Julie Macleod, market researcher at Dairy Co, a nonprofit consultancy servicing UK dairy farmers. “Input and management are the decisive factors and farmers are flexible and react quickly to changes in the milk market.”

The bulk of the milk is processed as fresh liquid (50%) and as cheese (28%).

During a visit to Robert Wiseman Dairies, Bridgewater, the EMP veterinarians saw how fresh milk is collected, processed and bottled daily. 500 million L of milk are bottled annually at this facility.

Effectiveness and sustainability are the main concerns of the company and as a result decisive measures are in place to reduce water, power and fuel consumption.

Since there is no public milk recording in the UK, veterinarian Dr James Breen works closely with the Quality Milk Management Service Laboratory. The EMP group visited the newly opened premises of Dr Andrew Bradley’s QMMS. Farmers can bring milk samples to the laboratory and get analysis results the following day, plus a veterinary interpretation of the data, giving information on the herd’s health status.

Also, the laboratory offers bacteriolog-

Lowering infections TAKING AS a starting point the management factors of this national mastitis control scheme in the UK, Professor Theo Lam, Utrecht University, the Netherlands, presented Dutch Udder Health research results.

The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of 18 different management measures and their positive effect on bulk milk and mastitis incidence rate. The Dutch found that post-milking teat disinfection and good nutrition have the best economic return on improving udder health.

Professor Sarne de Vliegher, Gent University, Belgium, pointed out that looking at epidemiology of different coagulase negative stapylococci species – whether contagious or environmental – experts will get a better insight into prevention of this pathogen.

Lively discussion developed on the relevance and cost-benefit of different herd management factors.

ical culturing of milk samples and offers serological testing for para-TB (Johne’s disease). Bradley also offers software for veterinarians and farmers to find the causes of mastitis and fine-tune herd management measures.

Veterinarian Chris Hudson spoke about mastitis research in the UK. The University of Nottingham is one of the most active institutes in this field doing many relevant studies. Adjacent to a campus shared with the agricultural faculty, the university also runs a dairy farm with 180 cows milked by robotic voluntary milking.

“Research conditions are very favorable here” says researcher Chris Hudson, one of a group overseen by Martin Green, Andrew Bradley and James Breen. All the scientists are somewhat involved in veterinary clinics.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

effluent & water management // 35

Good money lurking unseen in ponds stuart reid

ON SUNDAY last, I saw two large, sludgefilled effluent ponds on a Horowhenua farm. They hold about 3000m3.

But I was too slow to point out to the farmer that those 3000 tonnes of effluent probably contained about 2 t of nitrogen alone. Perhaps $2000 of fertiliser value and soil conditioner was just sitting there in mid June whereas we all know the best place for it is the top 150mm of his paddocks.

If I’d thrown 100 green $20 notes in those holes the message would have been obvious: your effluent pond is not a bank in which you keep your fertiliser funds indefinitely. In this case the stuff should have been on the pasture in the summer or early autumn. (Yes, you must store in during the wet season, but this stuff had been ‘overstored’ if you catch my drift. Ponds are just temporary stopping zones for effluent. I can’t believe the number of lost opportunities I’m seeing.

One of my field day interests is what other manufacturers are doing with effluent equipment.

The technology and literature on display is mainly focussed on, and highlights, small developments and improvements to the type of technology that did the same job, but

for smaller farms, about 40 years ago. Therefore you still see inefficient pumps in droves as well as masses of localised floating or bank-mounted pond mixers, and many irrigators where the applied

drive a car with no engine management computer, and your only telephone will probably be screwed to the wall in the hallway and have a crank-handle.

Now here’s an apology. When we wrote the

Your effluent pond is not a bank in which you keep your fertiliser funds indefinitely. amount is just guessed.

Never mind that these have seven speeds; the important part is how much they put on the ground, and whether this is less than the soil moisture deficit!

But the sheer mass of this equipment on display is hiding the fact that we have moved on from much of this technology of an earlier time.

Farmers will be blinded to the improvements simply because they have to search through so much of the old stuff to get to the new.

Even the regional council and DairyNZ photos and illustrations probably reassure and lead farmers to believe this older technology is the way forward (it sometimes still could be), but the newer developments and ideas are overwhelmed by the images of the older styles of thinking. There is much comfort to be had by choosing older, ‘safe’ technology, but if you think that way then you’ll still

new industry standard and code of practice for farm dairy effluent, we actually overlooked something I thought was an ‘assumed practice’ (thorough mixing). We placed a lot of emphasis on irrigators having good uniformity of distribution, and we also suggested the irrigated liquid quantity should be less than the soil moisture deficit. We slipped up especially by omitting to insist on your achieving uniformity in the mixture being irrigated. You may have the perfect irrigator, but if you feed it with ‘thin stuff’ from the upper pond levels (as a floating pump will do) and ‘thick stuff’ as the level falls, then you have bypassed our – even your own – intentions to apply effluent evenly.

(Also, I am forming the view that dilute mixtures are better for the pasture itself, and that the thicker mixtures probably are tougher for the field micro- and macro-organisms to handle.)

Frankly, we are seeing

too much emphasis being given to floating mixers located in one place in a large pond. You’d be surprised if you could see the underwater effect.

They will vigorously stir a local area but there will be quiet, dead spots hidden from your eyes.

This is where the solids and sludges will lurk, becoming underwater islands that will appear as the pond levels fall. Those sludge islands should have gone out through the irrigator. You might also think a tractor- or bankmounted propeller creating pond circulation is doing a good job. However you can’t see the effect under the water.

But try this test. Half fill a large pot with water.

Spread a handful of salt

Where have the solids gone...? Keith and Kim Riley’s effluent pond, Woodville.

(or clean sand, or rinsed coffee grounds) over the surface and stir until you have circulation. Stop stirring and watch what happens to the salt. From my experience, the pond

mixing game has to be greatly improved and I am not impressed with much of the equipment on offer. It has a high energy demand for mediocre effect.

Of course I believe our company has been doing it properly since 2006, but then I would, wouldn’t I. • Stuart Reid is managing director of Spitfire Irrigators, Upper Hutt.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

36 // effluent & water management

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Storage pond solves summer supply issues CUTS TO the supply of

irrigation water when the Tengawai River gets too low are no longer a problem on the O’Sullivan family farm. A storage pond now holds enough water for four weeks irrigation.

Tim O’Sullivan, Young Farmer of the Year for 2009, is an irrigation consultant and oversaw the development of the family farm’s irrigation system.

O’Sullivans have had a consent to take 103L/ second from the Tengawai River since the early 1980s.

The river has a mean flow of 1.2 cumecs, O’Sullivan says.

“During the summer, the Tengawai River flow is managed by ECan (Environment Canterbury) and if it drops below 500L/ second all consent holders are subject to a 50% restriction, with the supply being completely cut off at 400L/second.”

While the consent conditions protect the Tengawai River, they pose problems for the farm.

“We started irrigating in the mid 1980s with a single Roto-rainer and as we were on a run of the river system we were able to draw water from the river when it was above the minimum flow,” says O’Sullivan.

“For periods in each summer, usually during the autumn, it would be fairly common to be exposed to some sort of restriction of varying duration. One day you are irri-

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gating and the next day you are shut off and it’s quite difficult to manage the farming operation around that.”

The solution some 20 years on was to construct a 365,000m3 storage pond gravity fed from the river.

It’s filled at the consented rate of 103L/second when river flows are moderate, so that when the summer dry comes and the supply is shut off, the stored water can be used for continued irrigation.

The storage ensures reliability and works as a ‘bank’. With the volume stored providing a buffer, a flow of 165L/second is pumped from the pond, servicing 400ha. This is something that could not be achieved with the status quo instantaneous flow of 103L/second, O’Sullivan says.

“It gives us one month irrigation so we can stop drawing from the river and continue irrigating out on the pasture with that storage reservoir.”

While most storage ponds in Canterbury are limited to 3m depth, O’Sullivan opted to construct a deeper facility, 9.5m deep and lined with a 1.5mm plastic liner.

“If we were to build the equivalent volume in an earth pond, the potential losses to seepage were always going to be an unknown, and as we have a fairly limited water right we needed to ensure the water drawn from the river would be utilised effi-

ciently.

“With these deeper reservoirs you also have reduced surface area because of the depth. The alternative to this was building a large, flat earth pond about 3m deep with a footprint about 20ha; with a large flat surface, evaporation during the warmer months would also be significant.”

The automated control gate into the pond limits the incoming flow to 103L/ second.

“Our flow on the hour at any given hour is telemetered through and ECan has a record of what is being drawn from the river, so that enables complete utilisation as well as reducing the risk of exceeding our consented flow.”

When O’Sullivan converted the farm to dairying four years ago, it was set up with precision irrigation, including four centre pivots. Each centre pivot has an Aquaflex moisture probe beneath it to accurately assess what’s happening in the soil profile, and indicate when irriga-

Tim O’Sullivan

tion is needed.

“It gives some farmers a fast track education into soil moisture and how the physiology works. After a rainfall we’ll look at the graph. In a decent event it’ll come up to saturation and then drop away gradually to a trigger point which is when we start irrigating, and from that point on we’ll endeavor to keep between stress point and field capacity.”

By storing water and using centre pivots backed up with soil moisture monitoring, O’Sullivan has maximised irrigation efficiency.

“There’s no more efficient applicator for broad-

acre application than the pivot. On the whole, there’s generally still a bit of education and fine tuning needed of certain aspects of managing centre pivots.

“A key one is the irrigator’s speed, which obviously affects application rate and varies between differing soil types.

A second aspect is when to start and stop watering relative to rainfall events, but that’s where the soil moisture monitoring is coming in.

In five to 10 years, most irrigation systems will be managed by some system similar to that.”

View the clips at dairynz. co.nz/irrigation

caring for every drop DEVELOPING A plan to minimise the impacts of water restrictions is crucial. Short-term measures include planting crops in spring, using a longer grazing rotation, watering the better performing areas and reducing stocking rate.

Long-term options include looking at the system to ensure correct

water application depth and uniformity and ways to improve the system.

Five Canterbury dairy farmers, including Tim O’Sullivan, have shared their stories about how they use water well – thanks to technology, innovation, management, investment and experience.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

effluent & water management // 37

Million-litre pond delivers more than just consent requirements STARTING WITH a

clean slate on a new conversion has allowed dairy farmer Phill Everest to design an effluent system that easily satisfies consent conditions and exceeds the farm dairy effluent design code of practice.

A former sheep, beef and arable advisor (and in a dairy farming partnership for 18 years) Phill and his wife Jos are in their second dairy season on the 277ha Ashburton property.

Irrigated mainly by centre pivot, the farm has a 190ha dairy platform carrying 685 cows; the rest is dairy support. The farm is on heavy ground with a high water table so the effluent ponds are built above ground and are plastic lined. “The water table would be within 150mm of the surface and when we get a lot of rain, it’s probably at the surface in the winter,” says Everest.

“We have gone for a weeping wall design, out of Southland, and we pump into a 1 million L pond. We looked at doing tanks but what we’ve done was cheaper.”

The weeping wall removes the solids and the pond provides 34 days storage, though Everest

reckons it holds closer to 60 days storage. The ‘green water’ is recycled through the backing gate in the yard and finally injected into the centre pivot, making a 10% solution.

“Because it’s only water, it goes through the pivot without blocking the nozzles. And we have a little effluent irrigator so if we didn’t want to be irrigating, we can put it through that. Quite frankly, it’s a safety net; really, if I’m not irrigating, I don’t want to be using effluent.”

The main pivot covers about 94ha and has boom backs so the sprinklers can’t wet the ground in front of the wheels, minimising wheel ruts.

“What we’re concerned about is heavy soil and pivot ruts, so we sprinkle behind.

“We’ve also tried a few different wheel configurations, including some caterpillar tracks; they use them in the rice paddies in the US. We’ve got some duals on as well and I think they’re as good and a lot cheaper.”

The farm has Aquaflex soil moisture monitoring to ensure the irrigators only run when there is no risk of paddocks becom-

Phill and Jos Everest installed a new effluent system that exceeds consent conditions and the new design code of practice.

ing waterlogged, so nutrients in the effluent can’t leach down through the soil profile.

“There’s some sneaky technology around that I wasn’t aware of when we started but it became pretty obvious once we got going,” says Everest.

“We’ve put a plastic liner in the pond and GPS’d it so we can dig the pond out with a digger

(with GPS on it) and he won’t go through it.

“If I did it again, would I still build a million litre pond? Yeah, probably. But we’ve probably got more than we need. We’re satisfying consents by quite a bit but we’ve looked to the future in terms of the new code of practice and exceeded that by quite a bit too.” www.dairynz.co.nz/effluent

Working group on effluent THE CANTERBURY Dairy Effluent Working Group was formed in 2009, working closely with farmers on effluent management.

Since then, the group has supported industry standards and codes of practice and has taken part in initiatives to lift compliance, including regional farmer events, effluent training and development of resources for farmers.

DairyNZ, Environment Canterbury, AgITO, SIDDC, Federated Farmers and dairy companies Synlait, NZ Dairies, Westland and Fonterra are all group members.

Farmers looking for information on any aspect of their effluent system should contact DairyNZ or their supply company representative.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

38 // effluent & water management

Council hails compliance rate PETER BURKE

HORIZONS REGIONAL Council

environment committee chair Jill White says the region’s dairy farmers deserve a huge amount of credit for high level of compliance with environmental regulations. Horizons reports 83% of the dairy farms surveyed this season are fully compliant.

Farmers know better how important the environment is and how this benefits their productivity, White says. “Also, the compliance and rural advisory teams have been working closely with farmers,” she told Dairy News.

Rather than saying a dairy farmer is or not compliant, “they have offered help to make sure they are compliant. It’s

about giving advice and helping them understand how they can comply and to work with them in an educative way as well as the regulatory way,” she says.

White praises the efforts of Federated Farmers leaders in articulating their perceptions of what’s good for business and the environment. “It’s fair to say the relationship between farmers and Horizons has improved, resulting in significant progress on environmental issues.”

White sees the next big issue as nutrient management. The wider community is concerned about the health of local rivers, she says, but many recognise the problem is urban and rural, requiring a multi-pronged approach.

Federated Farmers Manawatu/Rangitikei pro-

vincial president and dairy vice-chairperson Andrew Hoggard says the region’s farmers deserve a pat on the back.

“I’m incredibly happy with the high compliance levels and it’s worth noting not all cases of significant non-compliance result from effluent entering waterways.

“A number of factors have influenced this result, including the more settled weather over the season, but it is still very pleasing.”

Hoggard lists other standout stats as: the number of abatement notices issued, down to 12 from 53 last season and 99 in the 2008-09 season; and the number of infringement notices issued, just 36 compared to 41 last season and 75 in 2008-09.

“It would be good

83% of farms surveyed by Horizons Regional Council complied with effluent management rules.

to get a breakdown of infringements having no effect, a potential effect and an actual affect on the environment. “[Farmers] found non-compliant should be talking to Horizons

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there has been a huge culture shift in the dairy industry, which is still happening. Overall, the vast majority of the region’s dairy farmers, 91%, deserve a huge pat on the back.”

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laurels, he says.

“There is still plenty more work to be done, but these figures should prove to naysayers that dairy farmers are taking the environment seriously. Their hard work and investment should be recognised more often.”

hard to measure MUCH HAS been written recently in mainstream news media about the failure of dairy farmers to meet basic environmental standards.

Dairy News has spoken to a number of regional councils, especially those in the major dairying regions. The statistics they supplied showed in some regions such as Taranaki and Manawatu overall compliance is high, whereas the statistics for Northland regional council, at just 38% compliance, don’t look good.

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staff or the Federation’s Manawatu/Rangitikei executive about how they can fix problems they may have. It is good to hear from Horizons that most farmers are doing just that when they are being inspected.

“In four short years

it’s impossible to draw accurate conclusions or comparisons. As one official pointed out, “Some councils survey all their farms, others conduct a sample, some do aerial inspections, others visit farms.”

The time of the year when the surveys are carried out will also affect the result and councils have different policies on issuing abatement notices or prosecuting farmers.

Courts are seen to take a dim view of farmer polluters, with fines of $50,000-$60,000 common.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

effluent & water management // 39

Handful of farm management uses GARETH GILLATT

WORK BY Re:Gen to

integrate more farm mapping and management tasks on smartphone includes partnering with Precision Tracking, TracMap and technology company NEC. Re:Gen chief executive Bridgit Hawkins said at National Fieldays that her company’s ‘hand-held’ platform for water and effluent measurement will soon be be complemented by fertiliser and navigation capabilities.

The new system will work with Precision Faming’s iPad/Android mapping system to put effluent and water information on the farmer’s tablet. It will also be able to share data with TracMap’s upgraded tracking system.

“We know a volume of effluent goes out and where, and that information then goes out to the Precision Farming system so that all the information is in one place,” says Hawkins.

This enables farmers to keep their nutrient use within limits set by local regulatory bodies, and it allows them to get the most out of their nutrient use.

“All these compo-

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rison’s new pond stirrer attracted a lot of interest at the National Fieldays.

“It is suitable for any sort of sump, square or round, and large ponds and tanks,” says the company’s principal, Seton Dalley.

The pumps, electrically driven, can be frame mounted or fitted to pontoons.

The stirrer is available in sizes 5hp, 10hp and 15hp.

It delivers through a right-angle drive so the effluent is driven out and around, ensuring even and consistent mixing.

Dalley says the stirrer reliably gives total mixing in ponds as big as 50 x 50 x 5m deep and says they are more efficient than standard stirrers.

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Bridgit Hawkins.

nents you need to have really good nutrient management,” says Hawkins.

“This allows you to bring it all together in one place.”

Re:Gen probes and sensors already use powered antennas to help information get into the ‘cloud’, but a further development is Re:gen’s work with Japanese technology company NEC to increase connectivity throughout New Zealand.

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“NEC is looking to build an M2M (machineto-machine/wireless and wired) platform,” says Hawkins. “This will enable things to talk to each other more seamlessly.”

Re:Gen has combined all the parts of their package and are running trials onfarm; a commercial product is expected soon.

Says Hawkins, “We still

have a little bit of work to do to make it robust and customer-ready. It should be ready for the market within one-two months.”

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

40 // effluent & water management

‘Use nitrogen wisely’

By Bala Tikkisetty

IT’S SENSIBLE to be cautious when applying nitrogen fertiliser to pasture during winter for a range of economic and environmental reasons.

Winter applications of such fertiliser are generally least effective for promoting grass growth.

Slow growth of pasture in winter and excessive drainage can result in nitrate leaching directly from fertiliser before plants can take it up. And any “excess” nitrogen can make its way to waterways.

So it’s important that farmers have clear information about the risks involved with winter

nitrogen applications on their individual properties.

A property’s nutrient budget, combined with a feed budget, helps farmers understand whether they are using too much or too little fertiliser. From there, they can potentially manage costs better and reduce their impact on the environment by working out a pragmatic nutrient management plan.

From a technical perspective, the key term to understand is the “response rate”.

This response rate is the amount of pasture grown in terms of kilograms of dry matter per hectare per kilogram of nitrogen (N) applied.

For example, when 20

kg N/ha is applied and an additional 200 kg DM/ha of pasture is grown the response rate is 10 kg DM/ kg N applied.

The response is dependent on several factors such as soil temperature, plant growth, soil moisture, the deficiency of available N in the soil and the rate of N applied per application.

The timing of N fertiliser application is a key consideration when it comes to ensuring nutrient uptake. It is good to apply nitrogenous fertiliser when the pasture cover is between 1,500 to 1,800 kg DM/ha. This ensures that there is sufficient leaf area for photosynthesis leading to good

pasture growth.

The impact on profitability of applying N is dependent on the utilisation of the extra feed.

Therefore, N needs to be applied to fill genuine feed deficits. Anticipation of feed deficits and application of N fertiliser four to six weeks in advance is critical to filling these deficits with quality feed and getting the best economic response from fertiliser use.

The best response to N fertiliser occurs on fast growing pasture, when other factors such as moisture and soil temperature are not limiting growth. Response rates also depend on the season and on the N application

Excess nitrogen can leach into waterways.

rate. In winter, at the same application rate, responses are lower and slower than other times of the year.

The response rate also declines when the application rate (single dose) is higher than 40 kg N/ha.

Nitrogen fertiliser reduces N fixation by clover by about one kg/ N/ha/year for every three kg N fertiliser applied. In addition, clover content will be further reduced if nitrogen boosted pastures shade the clover.

This effect is seen during spring.

The amount of N cycling in pastoral systems is greater than other nutrients and it is also more mobile than most other nutrients. This leads to the

potential for significant losses of N into the environment through leaching to ground water. Excess nitrate levels in groundwater will restrict the use of the water for drinking and can have other impacts on water quality. Groundwater nitrate moves laterally into streams and lakes where it can affect algae and plant growth, fish and other animal habitats.

Overall “N conversion efficiency” for a farm is calculated as a percentage of the total N in farm product divided by the total N inputs into a farm.

For a dairy farm, around 40 per cent is probably a reasonable score.

The progressive farmers, irrespective of farm-

ing types, are focussing on achieving increased productivity with an aim of minimising environmental impacts.

Efficient use of nitrogen from fertiliser and other sources is an important component of boosting productivity while minimising environmental impacts from farming. The bottom line is that avoiding or minimising N fertiliser application in late-autumn or winter reduces the likelihood of any direct leaching to waterways.

• Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture coordinator at the Waikato Regional Council and is available for nutrient management advice on 0800 800 401.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

effluent & water management // 41

K-Line Effluent TM

For efficient effluent disposal

Brian Nicholson

Trailer eases sprinkler moving chore A TRAILER rig of K-Line effluent sprinklers is easily moved and incurs less risk of hose blockages, says the developer Hi-Tech Enviro Solutions, Morrinsville.

The trailer carries six mounted sprinkers and a drag hose mounted behind, making it fast and easy for farmers to set up and carry K-Line

effluent systems, says Hi-Tech general manager Brian Nicholson.

“You can cover a significant area with 950m2 per sprinkler,” says Nicholson.

More sprinklers can be added at any time, to suit a farm’s particular need.

The purpose-built trailer allowed

the company to add a filter for easier sprinkler maintenance.

“With the filter system you can stop blockages hitting those nozzles and blocking them,” says Nicholson.

The trailers are available from dealers around the country.

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Effluent system training A NEW InfraTrain courses for contractors and designers of dairy effluent ponds is intended for people wanting knowledge of the new design standards.

The course is a joint effort by DairyNZ, InfraTrain New Zealand and Opus International Consultants.

Courses are running in five cities or towns.

InfraTrain chief executive Philip Aldridge says it will help meet rising demand on dairy farms for well-constructed effluent storage.

“An estimated 4000 effluent ponds will be constructed in the next five years as farmers upgrade their storage systems and increase Course dates: storage capacity. This practiHamilton: 26-28 June cal course suits people who Rotorua: 14-16 August want to service this growing area of business.”

Hamilton: 21-23 August (if Participants spend two sufficient numbers) days learning about conAshburton: 4-6 September struction and a third day Murchison: 18-20 September on pond design.

Opus International ConBalclutha: 25-27 September sultants environmental train-

ing centre manager Jonathan Mackey promises practical examples and expert guest speakers.

“Our course trainers have many years experience in this business and were heavily involved in drafting the recently released Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand ‘Practice Note 21: Design and Construction of FDE Ponds’. This is the first industry-wide good practice guidance document on FDE ponds.”

Successful participants will become part of a network of pond designers and/or contractors listed on the InfraTrain website. DairyNZ project manager for effluent Dr Theresa Wilson says DairyNZ will support trained individuals. www.nzweta.org.nz

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

42 // effluent & water management

Farmer sought for cow housing trial COW HOUSING pio-

neer HerdHomes is at work on a new design called Dairyard and seeks a farmer in Waikato or the Central Plateau to trial one.

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eight years”. A few standards must be adhered to to meet regulation and design requirements, says chief executive Hamish McMillan.

“These include: that little or no water is used, no additional labour requirement, easy and safe effluent storage, and cow comfort and storage of effluent is to be out of the weather to ensure maximum retention of fertiliser nutrients.

“The HerdHomes Dairyard has had great success in reducing the water usage and effluent storage required. Water usage can be as low as 11L/cow, which has a great impact on the volume of effluent required to be stored.

“Removing rainwater from the collection and storage of the effluent reduces storage capacity significantly as well as producing a better effluent product for spreading

on farm. A drier product has less risk of runoff across the soil and is a slower releasing product than liquid effluent meaning less risk of nutrient leaching.“ The current HerdHomes dairy yard meets these design standards but under current manufacturing processes is too expensive, McMillan says.

Variation in on-farm use also increases the risk regulatory standards may be breached.

The new design is said to remove this management risk at a far lower cost than the existing model.

The farmer wanting to trial the new Dairyard concept will need to be approved by all parties concerned and agree to allow regular monitoring work, says McMillan.

Contact McMillan on 021 706848 or hamish@ herdhomes.co.nz

in brief Sharemilker fined A SHAREMILKER, who admitted discharging effluent into waterways, has been fined $25,000.

Joel Townshend, Flemington, near Ashburton, pleaded guilty to two charges of during April and May 2011. Charlann Ltd, in which Townshend is a director and shareholder, also pleaded guilty to the same offences. They have been fined $17,000 in total, costs of almost $500 and told to pay Environment Canterbury’s investigation costs of a little over $3,000.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

effluent & water management // 43

Better flow to irrigators AGITATING AND

NuMedic’s new pond mixer at this month’s Fieldays.

mixing effluent in large holding tanks or ponds between applications can be improved by a new pond mixer designed

by Peter Reid, managing director of NuMedic, Rotorua.

The machine was entered in the Innovation Award contest at the National Fieldays.

As more Regional Councils require farmers to have more storage capability – so the applying of effluent to pasture only takes place during good weather – storage requirements have increased.

Hence the move to larger holding tanks, above or below ground, and larger ponds, preferably with concrete or plastic liners.

Settling in these storage facilities between spraying times brings new challenges, Reid says.

“Our new pond mixer, will mix the entire contents of any sized pond and, will ensure there are no dead areas in the pond.

This will add value to the effluent applied to the pasture.

The lower end of the pond mixer is angled downwards at 45 degrees to the vertical drive shaft and has two opposing propeller blades. The blades’ rotation can be changed from clockwise to coun-

ter-clockwise, stirring or drawing the material in, as opposed to only one direction with a single blade.

The entire lower unit can also rotate through 360 degrees. It is intended for mounting on a floating platform and to have a bottom guard to pro-

tect pond liners. It can also be fixed in position if required.

The mixer motor is 11kW through and is powered via a variable-speed drive to the propellers; the directional motor is 1kW. The mixer can be programmed to any configu-

ration to suit any type and sized pond.

“We envisage the propellers operating at an optimum 300rpm but a farmer can alter this to any speed he chooses to suit his pond,” Reid says.

Tel. 07 347 9974 www.numedic.co.nz

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DAIRYNZ IS on the look-out for new owners of wintering feed pads and loose-housed wintering systems in the Otago/Southland region.

The search is part of DairyNZ’s Southern Wintering Systems Initiative, a research project looking into farmers’ winter management decisions.

DairyNZ senior scientist Ina Pinxterhuis wants to bring together experiences from dairy farmers who have built a loose-housing system or a feed pad, and started using it in winter 2011.

“If you are in this category, we would like to interview you about why you decided to change your wintering management, how you chose the new system, who helped you with the decision making and how things have worked out,” Pinxterhuis says.

The findings will form a series of case studies of farmers using these systems to help other farmers who are considering a variety of wintering systems.

The Southern Wintering Systems Initiative aims to support decisions around winter management of dairy cows to achieve more profitable farms, good outcomes for animals and reduced environmental impacts.

It is a DairyNZ-led research project, with co-funding from the MPI Sustainable Farming Fund and Environment Southland.

For further information, contact Pinxterhuis at ina.pinxterhuis@dairynz.co.nz or phone 027 511 3545.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

44 // machinery & products

Space-age technology hits the road SMOOTHER GEAR

shifting on the new Kia K9 luxury ‘flagship’ model is one result of aviation technology adopted by this South Korean car maker.

The K9 is now on sale in South Korea and will be launched globally later this year.

(HUD). Used on advanced fighter jets, this projects vital data on to the windscreen of a vehicle, telling the driver the vehicle’s speed, navigational data, danger signals, and rear and side obstacles. And it warns when the vehicle veers off track.

The K9 has Kia’s first-ever telematics system Shift-by-wire technology activates the automatic transmission, instead of a mechanical shift. This is similar to flyby-wire systems used by aircraft makers on their latest passenger planes.

Kia says the K9’s gear shifting is “much smoother and we could see it used on other models in the near future”.

Other aviation technology on the K9 is a hightech ‘heads-up display’

Also new, Flex Steer enables the driver to select driving mode (normal, eco, snow and sport), each regulating the engine, transmission, steering and suspension to balance between driving comfort, performance and fuel economy. This gear is likely on other Kia vehicles, especially the SUV and Crossover, making them safer on dangerous surfaces, the company says.

Kia has released a technological tour de force in the new K9 flagship.

Adaptive cruise control automatically adjusts the car’s distance from other vehicles.

The K9 will be one of the first cars outside Europe to offer this.

The K9 has Kia’s firstever telematics system that enables drivers to

turn on the engine and air conditioning by smartphone.

The K9 has all-LED headlamps that automatically shift the angle and breadth of the units according to the direction and speed of the car, reducing blind spots.

Power comes from a normally aspirated V6 petrol engine with direct injection, giving the power of a V8 with the fuel efficiency of a mid-size sedan, the company says.

The top version of the 3.8 litre engine delivers 334hp.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

machinery & products // 45

Systems put farmers in control of own data GARETH GILLATT

FARMERS CAN automate data collection while keep-

ing records in their own hands with Smart Farm Systems monitoring tools and software.

The company has previously marketed, for example, monitoring of water trough levels, electric fence status and milk tank temperature. Now it has launched two tools for keeping a track of effluent disposal.

The TIM Plus system automatically monitors irrigator travel speeds, sending information back to the home computer.

The GPS capabilities of the system means farmers will be able to keep good records of exactly what volume of effluent is being applied in which location.

Sales and marketing manager Janet Brooker notes that the entire Smart Farm System hub is that all information

Janet Brooker

is held on farm and is owned by the farmer.

“Farmers can choose to plug the information into services such as Tracmaps if they want to,” Brooker says. “But essentially that information is held on farm.”

Information can be displayed as a graph for monitored sections, and text message alerts can be set up for system failures.

Tel. 0508 476 278 32767) www.smartfarmsystems.co.nz

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feeds about 20 million people around the world on top of our own population and has the potential to feed more, a University of Waikato Professor of Agribusiness Jacqueline Rowarth.

Speaking at the Food and the Environment seminar at the National Fieldays this month, she discussed the impact population growth, climate change and increasing regulation may have on the future of New Zealand’s food exports.

In the past few decades the world’s population has drastically increased, but not the amount of land used for farming and producing food, says Rowarth.

“It’s farmers and technology that are making the

difference.

“New Zealand is surrounded by other countries who all want our food, and we have the potential to help produce it for them.”

With the global population expected to exceed eight billion by 2050, she says global food demand will increase significantly.

“The question in New Zealand is: How can we produce more food? Do we have more land we can put into agriculture? Or do we improve the productivity of our existing farmland?”

Professor Rowarth says the answer lies partly in more efficient farming at home, through the application of new technology, and partly in assisting other countries to raise their food production.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

46 // machinery & products

Fieldays hype good for pam tipa

DAIRY FARMERS are changing the way they do business and it’s good for the National Fieldays, says Fieldays society president Lloyd Downing, a Waikato dairy farmer.

“After the drought in 2008 and the up-anddown movement of our payout... farmers started thinking ‘we need to put so much aside for machinery instead of spending the depreciation’,” Downing told Dairy News.

“So every year now they go to Fieldays to buy machinery. They probably could buy it locally... but they get into the hype of the Fieldays.”

Downing says good, sunny days helped turnout at this year’s event – the 44th. Gates closed on the world’s fifth largest rural

sector trade show with 128, 271 visitors in total.

The final day saw 30,292 gather at Mystery Creek, 40% up on the previous year’s Saturday. Overall attendance was 9% up on 2011, leaving exhibitors and organisers happy with the four-day effort.

Downing says confidence was high and feedback from exhibitors was good, with Hyundai selling 20-30 cars more than usual.

He says Northland company Milk Bar (calf feeders) told him Wednesday was its best day ever.

“Their equipment is so good it doesn’t wear out,” Downing says, amazed their sales keep growing.

He attributes it to Fieldays publicity.

“People always get hung up on how many people come through the gate.... [A good turnout] is

great for the organisation.

But it would be the same if only 60,000 people turned up as long as it was the right people.”

With four sunny days making the “grass look greener”, Downing says,

the last day was the biggest ever because “townies came out on a nice day”.

Some exhibitors complain they are only “tyre kickers” but townies buy other things such as power tools or jumper leads. He

knows some exhibitors work their sideline products on the Saturday to open urban wallets.

One exhibitor, whose primary product is meal

feeding systems, also sells dog kennels to capture the townie dollar and tractor exhibitors push their rideon mowers on the last day.

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area showing off domestic products and holding cooking shows, Fieldays “has something for everybody, but no sideshows”, Downing says.

Dairy News june 26, 2012

machinery & products // 47

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Competition winners FENCING AND tractor-pulling contests at National Fieldays as usual brought together New Zealand’s top contenders.

The Fieldays NZ Wire/Wiremark Fencing Championship, now in its 45th year, recognized as Best 1st Year winner: Jason Van Beers, Porangahau. Second Year winner was Jared Nicholson, Napier.

The Bill Schuler award went to: Brad Joines (Raumati South) 1; Jason Van Beers 2; Isaac Sage, (Palmerston North) 3.

Silver Spades: Shane Bouskill ( Waipawa) and Gordon Hansen (Napier) 1; Jeff Joines (Raumati South), and Matt Jones (Levin) 2; Paul Van Beers and Jason Van Beers (Porangahau) 3; Daryl Wheeler and Nick Liefting (Pukekohe) 4.

Golden Pliers: Paul Van Beers 1; Shane Bouskill 2; Tim Stafford (Marton) 3; John Steedman (Wanganui) 4; Matt Jones 5; Gordon Hansen 6; Nick Liefting 7; Tony White (Papakura) Winner, Top Quality fence, Paul Van Beers Friendly rivalry between competitors showed when Golden Pliers winner Paul Van Beers gave some of his cash prize to each of the bottom three placed entrants.

Results are awaited for Saturday’s Silver Staples competition, a new event open to young people up to 21 years of age and enrolled in agricultural based education.

Tractor pull competition results were: Best 1st Year entrant, Luke Ross; Brent Garrett Award, Iain Lillington; Weight Adjusted 1st, Andrew Bassett; Weight Adjusted 2nd, Iain Lillington; Weight Adjusted 3rd, Phillip Gill; Waikato Regional Weight Transfer 1st, Robert Fare; Waikato Regional Weight Transfer 2nd, Sam Osborne; Waikato Regional Weight Transfer 3rd, Iain Lillington.

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

48 // machinery & products

Flattered to be remembered THE YOUNG inventor of the 3Way Tool, Michael Jones, was “rapped” at the response to his return to National Fieldays this month, in the company of others displaying newly invented products.

“Fieldays is a neat opportunity for those wanting to bring new products to market, and it has worked for me,” he told Dairy News.

“I was delighted to see so many people I’d met during last year’s Fieldays and see their responses to my finished product.

“To be honest, I was flattered they’d remembered me. Everyone was supportive, although some were surprised I got the tool to market.

“I received plenty

of good-natured advice on how the tool can be improved, which showed how us Kiwis have a knack for inventiveness, although for the moment I’m happy to keep the 3Way Tool the way it is.”

exhausted, but came away with a tonne of great memories…till next year.”

Inconvenience launched the idea for the 3Way Tool “I was working on a house three storeys up,

“Fieldays is a neat opportunity for those wanting to bring new products to market and it has worked for me.”

Visitors were pleased to get a demonstration of how it works and its value over the normal four-fold rule.

“I was also able to tell them where they could purchase the product,” he says.

“When I got home after Fieldays I was

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when I realised my bevel and set square were in my van down the road. I knew there had to be another way. If necessity is not the mother of invention, laziness probably is.”

He had a passion for this tool being ‘made in NZ’ because so few builders’ tools are made here.

At first glance the 3Way 2.0 of folding rules, and he hopes it will revolutionise Tool might be mistaken for a normal four-fold rule, the way builders do angles but it has a link arm which and measure, making life easier and more producslides along one side to accurately measure angles tive.

Jones was in the final six 0-150°. A bolt secures the months of his apprenticeangle to allow the user to ship in 2010 when he hit instantly read the exact on the idea. angle for cutting. Slots lock in the primary 90° and 45° angles.

As the tool’s inventor and developer, Jones had a passion for finding a new and easier way.

“For a builder like me there is a reward in time and effort in using the 3Way. For the home handyman it makes a difficult job easy and replaces two Builder Michael Jones, inventor of the 3Way Tool, says his stall at the tools.”

Fieldays attracted a lot of interest.

His tool is version

Protect laptops against knocks ACCESSORIES FROM the likes of Havis and Infocase protect gear such as laptops or tablets from water and dust.

These add a “protective layer… improving their odds against the elements,” says Infocase spokeswoman Rachel McBeth.

“It’s no longer uncommon for outdoorsy people to take their computers with them on the road.

Rugged accessories give technology a better chance of surviving inevitable knocks, drops, splashes and spills.”

Targeted at the business user, Havis sells mounting hardware for vehicles, allowing positioning of Panasonic Toughbook devices in

cars, ATVs, boats or trucks.

“These docking stations provide the safest, most reliable mounts to keep computers in place when on the move. They’re being pushed to the limits by emergency services around the world.

The marine docking stations are designed to withstand jets of water from every direction – forces similar to those of heavy seas,” McBeth says.

Infocase sells cases, harnesses, etc, for mobile devices including iPads and other tablets.

“With the addition of an Infocase accessory, many ‘non-rugged’ devices gain a level of protection which elevates them to ‘semi-

rugged’ status,” says McBeth.

“This allows the user to take their technology into environments which might ordinarily be ruled out.”

She says the high failure rates of notebooks used in demanding circumstances are compelling users to look for better options. “A Panasonic-sponsored IDC study has shown that standard notebooks fail at a rate of about one in five [22%], with the top reasons for failure being drops, spills and fall-

ing objects. These threats to notebooks can be found in any office, let alone in more demanding outdoors workplaces.”

By comparison, Panasonic Toughbook ruggedised computers have a failure rate of just 1.5%. www.comworth.co.nz

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

machinery & products // 49

GPS map streamlines fertiliser drop AN UPGRADE to the TracMap farm nutrient management system allows farmers to order fertiliser and tell the spreading company where to put it – all at the touch of a button.

The system allows farmers to select – on a farm map uploaded to the TracMap system – the paddocks they want fertiliser

spread on, how much fertiliser they want spread, and what type of fertiliser they want.

And they can even add notes containing special instructions, says managing director Colin Brown.

That map then gets sent to the fertiliser company which can then send the product on individual trucks.

“Drivers no longer need to rely on finding a hand-drawn map at the

Lely dairy division manager Mark Brummel and centre manager Sam Anderson at the Fieldays.

Feed smarter PROGRESS BY Lely on its automated feeding equip-

ment includes a new Calm automatic calf feeder and upgrades to the Lely Juno feed pusher.

Lely centre manager Sam Anderson says the new calf feeder, seen at National Fieldays, can hold milk for up to 250 calves. They offer multiple milk settings, enabling the dairy worker to programme a calf’s milk volumes from the time it eneters the herd until weaning.

“There’s a metal flap that determines that when calf has had its quota the teat disappears and there’s no more,” says Anderson.

The Lely Calm feeder was the site’s newest product, but the Lely Juno feed pusher proved the biggest attraction for visitors. The Lely Juno has been running in sheds since 2008, minimising feed waste and getting feed to stock in a timely way. The new model has a proximity sensor to make sure feed gets eaten even faster, Anderson says.

“This one will move in with the feed so if there’s less feed it’ll move in closer and push it into bigger piles,” says Anderson. www.lely.com

cowshed or in the mailbox,” says Brown, who is expecting good take-up by fertiliser companies.

“Sixty five per cent of all trucks have the baseline TracMap system,” he says.

“We’re expecting that most of those will jump

over to this.”

Brown says the company will keep a record of nutrients and GPS-fitted travelling irrigators will soon be able to be included in the system.

Tel. 0800 872 262 www.tracmap.co.nz

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Dairy News june 26, 2012

50 // motoring

Ford’s focus on exhaust sound, sports design ‘ADDICTIVE’ EXHAUST sound and

muscular sports design distinguishes the ‘nextgeneration’ Ford Focus ST, previewed at the National Fieldays.

This high-performance car will be in New Zealand dealers’ yards in November 2012.

The range-topping Focus ST is true to ST model heritage, Ford says, offering “exhilarating performance and handling, plus the sound and appearance expected of such a car.

“The ST is the performance flagship of New Zealand’s Car of the Year – the all-new Focus,” says Ford New Zealand managing director Neale Hill. “We were excited to provide an early preview

of the ST at Fieldays and look forward to it arriving later this year.

“The new ST... represents an ultimate expression of Focus driving quality and performance and we are confident the new model will strengthen the reputation of Ford’s ST heritage and attract new fans.”

This will be the first

time Ford has produced one of its performance cars for a global audience.

The Focus ST is a product of Ford’s global Performance Vehicles group, which comprises Team RS (Europe) and SVT (USA) engineers, dedicated to devel-

oping and tuning products like the Focus RS, Shelby GT500 Mustang and Raptor SVT F150.

THE NEW Focus ST has a distinctive sports exterior whose functional and aerodynamic benefits differentiate the ST derivative from other models in the new Focus family, Ford says.

The ST has unique front- and rear-end designs, “muscular” extended rocker panels and “striking” new alloy wheels based on the classic Y-spoke ST pattern. This stands out at the front end, where the twin upper and lower grilles of the standard car are replaced by a prominent new one-piece design, the maker says.

The front spoiler is all-new, with a deep central splitter framed by small motorsport-inspired spoiler blades on either side, which sweep round and encompass the fog lamps. The spoiler blades are linked to the rest of the body lines through the grille structure reminiscent of the similar treatment in The new Ford Focus ST will be on sale here in November.

SafeCut

The award winning Krone SafeCut system effectively protects the cutterbar and discs from damage.

A shear pin breaks the impact, and the disc is lifted clear using a threaded pinion. The only part needed is a shear pin!

SAVE TIME AND COST

design stands out

Cut grass, not corners with EasyCut

At the heart of the Focus ST is a high-output derivative of the new 2L Ford EcoBoost four-cylinder petrol engine with 247hp/184kW and 360 N-m peak torque.

One of a new generation of smaller, high-efficiency, low-CO2 petrol engines from Ford, the 2L Ford EcoBoost is a light, aluminium design with high-pressure direct injection, low-inertia turbocharging and twin independent variable cam timing.

The engine deliv-

the current Focus RS model.

The front end is completed by details like the gloss black finish to the headlamp bezels, and the bold red ST badge on the one-piece grille.

The car has an integrated roof spoiler with a larger, more exaggerated design than the spoiler on the current Focus ST. It incorporates ducting to the rear screen and is integrated with the vehicle tailgate and roof.

The New Zealand preview car is finished in a new Tangerine Scream body colour.

“The Focus ST will be a serious driving machine for New Zealand,” says Hill. “The approach of form following function, blending sporting capability with impressive comfort, is a key part of the Focus ST and it has have remained true to that both inside and outside the vehicle.”

ers 10% more power and torque than the previous 2.5L unit, and uses 20% less fuel and emits 20% less CO2. Standard transmission is a 6-speed manual gearbox with more ‘sporting’ ratios matched to the engine.

Compared to the standard Focus, the ST model offers more including a chassis lowered by 10mm, a substantially different variable-ratio steering system, high performance brakes and unique suspension tuning.

‘Architecture’ upgrades

include a stronger and stiffer body structure, optimised front and rear suspension system designs, and new electric power assisted steering.

New ‘smart’ technologies in the car include advanced driver assistance, powertrain, chassis and active safety features.

Many, such as the Torque Vectoring Control system – which acts like a torque vectoring differential to enhance cornering stability and agility – have a direct impact on improving driving quality.

SQUARE DEAL. Turn your mountain of bales into square meals now. Square us up for it later.

With you all the way

Distributed by Tulloch Farm Machines DEALERS NATIONWIDE

0800 88 55 624 www.tulloch.co.nz

Use your smart phone to scan the QR code or type squaredeal.co.nz into your browser to reveal our balefeeder square deals.

www.squaredeal.co.nz NORTHERN 07 847 6923 CENTRAL 06 873 9154 SOUTHERN 03 434 0412

www.hustlerequipment.co.nz BAND11259-2

PEACH TEATS. The most natural feeding calf teat on the market.

The Peach Teat allows no more fluid to pass through it than a cow’s udder naturally would, allowing the calf to suckle more intensely than conventional technology. This stimulates the flow of saliva and improves the Ph-level in the stomach and leads to better digestion.

B

B

With traditional teats when a calf squeezes the teat most of the milk goes right back into the container.

available in three models to suit all feeders:

The Peach Teat’s unique patented internal collapsing flapvalve (A) holds the milk in the teat making it much more responsive to the calf’s needs.

It is designed to function like a real cows teat, moving all the time while the calf is suckling, never closing in its relaxed state. This means that the teat is self-cleaning and resists blocking.

Black threaded for screw-on or pull through

There is a milk opening on each side of the nipple (B), situated so that the crown of the nipple remains intact and the teat is leak resistant even when used at the bottom of a milk container. These openings also work as a second valve. calves feed better and do not stress or fidget and health problems, such as scours or pneumonia, are reduced.

Pink threaded for screw-on or pull through

Peach Teats are manufactured from a natural rubber specially developed to meet the needs of calf rearers, ensuring that the teats feel natural and comfortable to the calf, and will eliminate mouth ulcers.

Peach Teats will pull through, or screw-on, all standard calf feeders (C). Peach Teats can be used for tube or gravity feeding using any container with a hole size of 22mm (7⁄8”).

C

Peach TeaTS. Calves love ‘em.

Dream about feeding your calves...

Manufactured by Skellerup Industries

A

Pull-through on any feeder with a hole for the teat

GET OFF TO A GREAT START WITH CALVING. calving is a busy time and we’re ready to help you. From calf feeders and meal to calving aids and metabolics, we’ve got what you need to help things go smoothly. so visit your local RD1 store today.

Talk To us now abouT calving.

0800 731 266 │ www.RD1.coM