Dairy News 25 Feb 2014

Infant formula manufacturers, exporters face Chinese scrutiny. PAGE 3 HIGH LEVEL PERFORMER

‘Faultless’ baler unwrapped PAGE 40

FORCED TO SWITCH

Dry prompts OAD milking PAGE 24 FEBRUARY 25, 2014 ISSUE 307 // www.dairynews.co.nz

BIG YES VOTE WANTED DairyNZ chairman John Luxton says a big positive vote will give it more authority to bat for farmers. PAGES 4-6

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

NEWS // 3

Baby formula facilities face Chinese scrutiny SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

INFANT FORMULA manufacturers and export-

Fastfood growth prompts cheese upgrade. PG.09

Pick-your-own biocontrol. PG.26

ers face crunch time next month as Chinese food safety inspectors arrive for an audit.

Accompanied by MPI, teams from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) will visit dairy farms, processing plants, warehouses and labs to certify each facility.

Regulatory changes introduced by the Chinese regime include requiring foreign baby milk makers to register with the authorities in China from May 1 before exporting product to the country. Re-labelling of infant formula cans is also banned.

New Zealand has at least 350 infant formula manufacturers, exporters and storage facilities and labs connected with the Chinese market.

Not all facilities will be inspected but the inspectors are expected to visit the 18 sites used

to manufacture infant formula powders.

MPI deputy director-general policy Deborah Roche says the audit is a ‘sample’ audit of New Zealand’s dairy production and regulatory system.

“Not all infant formula and general dairy manufacturers, stores, farms and laboratories will be audited. While some will be visited, it’s the system as a whole and the MPI’s management of the system that will be examined,” she told Dairy News.

MPI’s priority is to ensure the registration and audit process runs as smoothly as possible, so that New Zealand dairy and infant formula manufacturers producing for export to China, along with dairy cold and dry store operators in the export supply chain, are registered with Chinese authorities by May 1.

This is important to ensure businesses can continue to export product to China, says Roche.

Some small infant formula exporters fear they could be forced out of business if the Chinese inspectors find their businesses too small to adequately deal with future food safety issues.

At the recent New Zealand Dairy Products Symposium held in Auckland some small processors questioned MPI about the upcoming inspections.

One infant formula manufacturer, who declined to be named, says the inspections are good for the long term. “It will give Chinese regulators and consumers more confidence in our products and systems employed by major manufacturers.”

But the commentator quoted above, referring to an exporter who currently ships as many as 80 different brands of infant formula to China, told Dairy News the Chinese inspectors will “be nervous about why one small exporter is selling so many brands. They might allow such an exporter a licence to sell only a small number of brands”.

“Also, small exporters who have not invested extensively in food safety and traceability will come under the microscope.”

MPI says the registration and audit process applies to all countries that export dairy products to China, not just New Zealand. @dairy_news

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NEW WEBSITE TO PROMOTE NZ DAIRY

Strategic stocking key to managing dry.

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NEWS ������������������������������������������������������3-18 OPINION ��������������������������������������������� 20-21 AGRIBUSINESS �����������������������������22-23 MANAGEMENT �������������������������������24-27 ANIMAL HEALTH ��������������������������� 28-31 FARM DAIRIES AND EQUIPMENT �������������������������������������32-37 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS ��������������������������������������38-42

A NEW website launched this month will promote New Zealand dairy product among Chinese consumers.

The Chinese language website – www. nzdn.co.nz – is a joint venture between New Zealand China News Agency (NZCNA) and China’s largest news medium People.cn network.

It was launched in Auckland by Infant Nutrition Council chief executive Jan Carey and a senior Chinese journalist, Shusen Tan, at the New Zealand Dairy Products Symposium. Trade Minister Tim Groser spoke at the event.

NZCNA director Xi Jing says during the recent Fonterra WPC80 scandal, there were many rumours and false claims made on Chinese websites.

INC chief executive Jan Carey (left) and Chinese journalist Shusen Tan launch the new website.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

4 // NEWS - DAIRYNZ LEVY VOTE

Levy proposal maintains status quo – for now A small increase may be needed in 2016, says DairyNZ chief executive pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz Tim Mackle, but that would not happen without further farmer consultation.

“The reality is we are always trying DAIRYNZ WILL ask farmers to vote to maintain the levy at the status quo to use the levy as effectively as we can at 3.6 cents/kgMS – at least until 2016. so we try to maintain it in terms of cents per kilo and we have managed to do that in the last six years.

“It did increase What: Farmers vote on milksolids levy used to from 3.4c/kgMS to fund DairyNZ. 3.6c/kgMS at the When: May 1-31 last levy vote Why: The vote happens every six years and is required by government legislation.

(2008) and it had How: Voting via the internet, post, fax and at been 3.4c for the selected events such as the DairyNZ Farmers’ previous five years Forum on May 7-8. so we have had only Who votes: All dairy farmers, including sharetwo rates. milkers and dairy farm leaseholders, who produce milk from cows and supplied a dairy processor in “We are proposing the 2013/14 season are eligible to vote. to retain it a 3.6c/kgMS PAM TIPA

KEY FACTS:

as the annual because we think we can manage but we are only signalling that out to about 2016. Maybe at that point there needs to be another small increase. If that did happen then our board would go out and consult with farmers. They [the board] have the ability under the levy act to change that, but we would consult with farmers.

“So we are keeping the levy rate the same at 3.6c/kgMS and we are keeping the maximum rate, which is at 5c/kgMS. If anything the maximum rate is there to safeguard farmers. It can’t be higher than that – it is part of the Commodities Levies Act and the maximum rate is to be used in special circumstances.”

This could be a major biosecurity issue or a disease outbreak which demanded further action by DairyNZ. “That’s why the maximum rate is

there but for all intents and purposes it is the annual rate (3.6c/ kgMS) that is important.”

Mackle acknowledges one reason they are able to maintain that rate has been the growth in milk solids.

“We certainly are not going to shy away from that. We exercise good fiscal procedures to make sure we get as much juice out of the orange as we can that includes getting a lot of leverage from government – and we’ve done a lot of that in the last five or six years.

“We’ve increased that significantly particularly through the PGP programme. That is in its third or fourth year and is a $174 million programme over seven years. Fonterra is a big investor at $48 million; we are investing about $29m of levy money and

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there are a few other smaller contributors. Half of that $174m comes from industry sources including a couple of contributors like LIC and then half of it is from the Crown. So from an industry perspective, that has been a huge government partnership.

“So part of the reason we have been able to maintain our 3.6c/kgMS is because of milksolids growth and part of it is because we’ve been trying to exercise prudent use of the funds and part is because we have leveraged government funding as well.”

Farmer meetings THE MILKSOLIDS levy vote for DairyNZ will be held throughout May this year.

The levy is paid by all dairy farmers who supply milk to a dairy company and enables DairyNZ to continue its industry-good activities.

Voting packs will be received by May 1 and farmers can vote via the internet, post and fax until May 31. Voting will also be possible at the DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum in Hamilton on May 7-8.

All dairy farmers, including sharemilkers and dairy farm leaseholders, who produce milk from cows and supplied a dairy processor in the 2013-14 season (year ended May 31, 2014) are entitled to vote.

During the lead-up to the vote farmers can give DairyNZ feedback on how the levy is invested, the proposed annual and maximum rate and find out what is being delivered and planned by DairyNZ. A series of 40 local levy forums are being run nationwide starting in the Bay of Plenty on April 7 and concluding in Canterbury on April 11. Event details will be listed on dairynz.co.nz/vote, which is where all levy related information will be available.

DairyNZ directors and senior management will attend those events.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

NEWS - DAIRYNZ LEVY VOTE // 5

DairyNZ seeking big mandate DAIRYNZ WANTS a big positive

tainability and competitiveness of turnout on its milksolids vote to give New Zealand dairy farming. But the it more authority when it goes into funds also help attract government bat for dairy farmers on advocacy and funding and support, and add weight policy issues like the environment, to DairyNZ’s advocacy role.

“It is important to have the supsays DairyNZ chairman, John Luxton.

In the vote to be held in May he port of the dairy farming sector to get the levy continued but hopes for a bigger turnout it is also a reflection of what than in 2008 when 62% of farmers see as the value of eligible voters turned out that organisation and the and 75% voted to conwork it does,” Luxton says. tinue and increase the “The research and devellevy. This time DairyNZ opment that DairyNZ does does not plan an increase is seen by farmers as imporbut to continue the cur- John Luxton rent resolution for the next five years. tant. But also increasingly important “We would like to exceed the 2008 is the work by DairyNZ in the advoturnout and that is a very big chal- cacy and policy area on environlenge because often when you are mental issues which is an area that is looking at the status quo people don’t changing rapidly. The industry needs think their vote matters,” Luxton told to be able to speak with authority in Dairy News. “But it does matter to that area.

“We’ve got quite a science capashow the industry is solidly behind bility, a very good technical capability the work DairyNZ does.”

The levy raises about $60 million and we’ve got an economic resource enabling DairyNZ to lead activities which is important in being able to which enhance the profitability, sus- talk with government and local gov-

Major focus on competitiveness THE COMPETITIVENESS of New

ernment about the importance of the sector.

“It also shows we understand the science behind what we are doing and that we are meeting world-best standards. The levy raises about $60 million a year and we use some of that to attract additional support from government.

“We fund mutual research which is important to both government and the industry, often on a one-toone basis.

“So it is important the levy vote is renewed to keep a lot of that good work proceeding, as well as the consulting officer service and the involvement we have in tertiary education through the universities and the industry training organisation.”

This is the third milksolids levy vote. It is held every five years but only once before as DairyNZ. Under the Commodities Levies Act a majority of the industry votes are needed to impose a levy on all the players in that sector.

WANAAGTEMEENRT: M

Zealand dairy farming is more important than ever, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.

It will be a major focus of DairyNZ over the next five years, and a key component of how it directs the funds from the milksolids levy.

Mackle says there’s “a bunch of reasons” competitiveness is so important.

“There are more challenges in New Zealand as to how we farm; the way we farm our animals from a market perspective and also our footprint and how that will be managed through nutrient limits.”

That is a massive challenge and DairyNZ plays a key role. “That has been one of the big movers in the last few years in terms of resourcing the farmers’ levy but we can’t take our eye off the ball in terms of competitiveness.

“We have to focus hard on productivity and being competitive as well. We will be committing in the next five years’ levy to focusing hard on that competitiveness side.

“One of the big planks is growing more feed. The forage value side is a real

key and making sure we develop new systems complementary to that natural pasture growth we have in this country.”

Attracting staff will also continue to be a big challenge in competitiveness. “We know people will be a key, the economy is about to pick up so we should anticipate attracting good staff and good people will continue to be a challenge and we have to keep being relevant to people joining our industry.”

Mackle says he is proud of what DairyNZ has achieved with its farmers and partners.

But in his role there are two big challenges. “Our big challenge is delivering as much value as we can for farmers’ investment and any other leverage we get from government and other partners. That includes a lot of partners helping farmers farm better and not just ourselves.

“The second challenge is helping farmers see and understand the value of their investment. We are their organisation, we work for them, we represent them and they are investing significantly in us and they own our assets.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

6 // NEWS - DAIRYNZ LEVY VOTE

Where the money goes and how much PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

DAIRYNZ IS not just

out to get a tick for its levy vote; it wants to use the process to help its farm-

ers better understand their organisation, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.

The organisation will use every opportunity to explain to farmers its focus and performance in

the build-up to the vote to be held throughout May. Levy forums will be held throughout the country in April.

“This is about farmers getting a better understanding of us. In the long

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“If farmers understand more about what we’re doing and what we’re offering they are more likely to engage.

“And more importantly

Investment for every 100 levy dollars. Total forecast levy collected for 2013-14 = $61 million.

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a responsibility to help them get a better picture of how we are performing.”

Mackle doesn’t shy away from their efforts to get as high a participation in the vote as they can. They were proud of the 2008 voter turnout of 62% with a 75% vote for a raised levy.

“But we want to equal or improve on the turnout of last time.”

How the levy is spent: R&D 28% of levy Research and development to increase farm profit and productivity and manage the footprint is the largest part of the levy. It is almost a third, says Mackle.

Disease control 20% This is largely TB control. Sometimes farmers do not pick up the detail that 20% of their DairyNZ levy goes towards Ospri (which manages TBfree and Nait for dairy, beef and deer farmers), says Mackle. The dairy industry pays about two thirds of its TB commitment through the DairyNZ levy and about a third comes off the culled cow schedules. “The reason we have maintained that is because we believe it gives us far greater say and influence in the way Ospri operates the programme on our behalf.” DairyNZ is the largest shareholder in Ospri.

Industry advocacy and promotion 14%.

A big growth area for DairyNZ, particularly advocacy to regional councils, says Mackle.

DairyNZ’s water quality scientists’ team, which includes CRIs and universities, is equal to any in the country. “We need to engage significantly in these land and water plans from a technical perspective and have some real science grunt.

Consulting officers and demonstration farms 12%.

Mackle says a possible misconception is that the consulting officer ser-

vice takes a big chunk of the levy. But it’s only 12% and this also goes to demo farms across the country.

The consulting service is stronger than ever and has had some big wins.

Training, education and leadership 10% Much training goes on through the PGP. DairyNZ puts $1.5m into the Primary ITO and gets about $6m back from government. That subsidises training for farmers and workers.

Farm business management 5%.

The numbers for the dairy base will be towards 3000 by the end of this season which gives stronger critical mass. The more numbers, the more powerful the benchmarking for farmers, says Mackle.

Industry databases, indexes and publications 4% A big part is NZ Animal Evaluation Ltd (NZAL) which is a 100% subsidiary of DairyNZ and puts out all the breeding worths on the bulls. Genetic gains have been worth about $57/ha of annual farm profit since 2008. The gains have been through breeding companies supported by DairyNZ. Quality work environment 35% Helping farmers to manage staff, create the right environment and upskill and grow people.

Health and safety is to become more important.

Industry sponsorship 1% This is typically for conferences like SIDE and Farmers’ Forum in the North Island – DairyNZ felt there was a gap there – and Dairy Women’s Network. “The network is a very valuable part of our industry now,” he says.

Administration 3%.

The board required DairyNZ to benchmark itself against other organisations. “We are pretty happy with it. It is similar to other organisations, at the medium to lower end,” says Mackle.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

8 // NEWS

Dairying becomes consented activity ANDREW SWALLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

DAIRY FARMING in

Canterbury looks certain to become an activity requiring local authority consent under the region’s Land and Water Regional Plan now heading for enshrinement in law.

Dairy farms in Canterbury set to require consents from 2016.

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‘baseline’ so must apply for a consent for their operations by 2017 if in a red zone, or by 2016 if in an orange zone. In some catchment zones committees of local representatives may yet set lower limits. Selwyn-Waihora, which notified its plan on Friday [February 22] has set a 15kgN/ha baseline.

At meetings in the region last week Environment Canterbury representatives stressed that the consent application process would be made as simple as possible with the requirements spelt out. A key requirement will be a farm environment plan (FEP).

“I see the farm environment plan as one of the key tools to farming within limits,” ECan principal strategy advisor, Ian Brown, told a Lincoln University Dairy Farm focus day.

“The farm environment plan’s status has increased quite considerably in the final version and schedule 7 sets out what needs to be in it.”

He warned producers not to approach the FEP as a “tick box exercise” because if they did they would miss “the opportunities” the process presents.

Earlier in the week, at one of a series of Dairy NZ organised meetings on the plan, Environment Canterbury’s principal planning advisor Peter Constantine told Dairy News the council is prepared for the flood of consent applications the plan will generate. “Yes [we are], if people put in their applications in a timely manner,” he said.

Fonterra’s Matt Cullen, speaking at the LUDF

focus day, acknowledged “a large proportion” of farms will require a consent by the beginning of 2017.

“Farmers in the red and orange zones really do need to understand their baselines and how those are going to impact them…. It’s really important we position ourselves for change,” he added.

South Island Dairy Development Centre’s Ron Pellow explained how the plan is already impacting LUDF. “If we continue on the basis we are today we are going to overload our nitrogen baseline by about 16%.”

How LUDF intends to address that – it has already cut its nitrogen use for the season but is importing more feed as a result – remains to be seen, as do the sanctions Environment Canterbury may apply to such overruns.

One focus day visitor questioned the lack of a dispute process in the regional plan. “There are millions of dollars at stake here. Lawyers [will be] making a lot of money out of this.”

One contentious area already emerging is whether farms that used eco-n during the baseline period will effectively be penalised for having been environmentally proactive.Brown said ECan is aware of the eco-n problem, which effectively means former users will have lower nitrogen loss baselines than non-users, and it is “keen to work with industry groups on how to handle this”.

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The plan, now past the hearings stage and subject only to appeals on points of law, will require farms in red and orange zones – most of the region bar the high country – to apply for a consent if Overseer shows a nitrogen loss of 20kgN/ha/year or more between 2009 and 2013.

Most, if not all, dairy farms will be above that

IT WASN’T all policy at the LUDF focus day, with the usual update on ups and downs of the season’s production opening proceedings, and a session on fertility to finish.

“Nationally we’ve got this target of 78% incalf by six weeks and Lincoln’s hit it: woo-hoo!”

LIC’s Amy Burrell enthused to the crowd.

The farm’s conception rate, at 61%, a 6% increase from the previous season, was also “a fantastic increase,” she added.

The farm manager pointed to split management of the herd with particular attention to light and/or young cows throughout the season in a smaller mob making a key difference.

“Our heifers are 22kg heavier in February this year than they were last.”

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

NEWS // 9

The cow lights Fastfood growth up the economy prompts upgrade PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE COW has hit the jackpot again: dairy exports are forseen as rising an extra $2.7 billion this season, to a record $16.6 billion.

Also, MPI predicts an increase of $1.2 billion for meat exports.

MPI earlier forecast dairy exports of $13.9 billion for the year ending June, but is now forecasting a massive 19.5% increase.

This has promoted MPI to revise upwards its overall increase in the value of primary based exports, which includes seafood, horticulture and forestry. The new figure is $36.4 billion – at least $4 billion up on its original estimate.

The rise in dairy exports is attributed to constraints on some of New Zealand’s competitors but more especially the ongoing growth in emerging markets.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says the message is that it’s both a volume and added-value growth story.

New Zealand is continuing to add value to its primary exports, and other factors have worked in our favour this season, he says.

“We were fortunate on the back of the drought that the climatic conditions have helped farmers…. In this season we have had a kind autumn and winter with the result that milk volumes were up 5-7%.”

Guy says the China factor is big: the two-way trade is set to exceed $20 billion by 2015. It is currently $18 billion. He saw no sign, in recent talks with Chinese officials, of that bubble bursting, he says.

“One of them talked

about the fact that their food production has doubled in the last 35 years. But their population is 1.3 billion and… they will never be able to completely feed [them].

Fortunately New Zealand has a free trade agreement with China and that’s given us a huge advantage.”

And Guy points to the emerging markets of Peru, Taiwan, India and Russia as important to New Zealand.

But the outlook for next season is not so rosy. Dairy exports are expected to drop by $1.7 billion though meat exports are expected to increase slightly.

Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills says “global prosperity” is arguably the reason for the predicted increase in primary exports. For this trend to continue New Zealand must clinch more free trade agreements such as the TPP, he says.

“Better export performance benefits every New Zealander. You could say everyone is a farmer…. It also underscores the need for greater investment in science and research.”

FONTERRA WILL spend $32 million on its slice-on-slice cheese capacity at its Eltham site in Taranaki.

Work starting early this year is expected to be completed in mid2015.

The expanded plant will have higher capacity and improved processes to meet growth in global demand from foodservice customers.

Slice-on-slice cheese is used widely in quick service restaurants for products such as hamburgers and sandwiches.

Fonterra director of foodservice René Dedoncker says the upgrade will help grow its business in the high-value foodservice industry.

“Our foodservice business has grown 9% in volume over the past three years and the profitability of foodservice has increased 11% in the same period.

“We also achieved double-digit

Fonterra is upgrading its sliced cheese facility at Eltham, Taranaki.

growth in China where foodservice grew 28%.

“This investment in slice-on-slice cheese is in response to fast-growing demand in Australasia, Asia and the Middle East.”

International growth in cheese is being driven by trends in eating outside home, particularly in emerging Asian economies where there is a continued shift toward more west-

ernised diets.

Dedoncker says growing its foodservice business is one of Fonterra’s seven strategies and the cooperative has ambitious growth targets for the next five years.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

10 // NEWS

OCD full already for next season ANDREW SWALLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

THE ‘NO vacancy’ signs are up for next season at New Zealand’s secondlargest milk processor.

In a newsletter to suppliers earlier this month Open Country Dairy said it is “full to capacity with

our current commitments” and urged existing suppliers to inform supply managers of any anticipated additional milk supply if they had not already done so.

That statement was despite a new dryer coming online at OCD’s Awarua plant in Southland and the deadline for farm-

panel), it doesn’t’ “have any significant plans at this point” to further expand capacity or to build at OCD’s other sites such as Horotiu, Waikato and Moerewa, Northland.

“We have a number of sites we haven’t built on,” notes Margrain.

OCD has increased its forecast payout for the

ers to notify Fonterra of their intention to quit still being a month away.

“We’re doubling the size of the plant at Awarua and even with that we are full,” OCD chairman Laurie Margrain told Dairy News.

While the firm has a waiting list of suppliers for its three plants (see

season from an $8.20-8.30/ kgMS range to $8.40-8.60/ kgMS. Its first payment period ended October and was settled in December, and the balance of Nov-Jan payments after advances will be settled in March, suggesting the Feb-May period, which will be settled in August, will yield most of that increased

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forecast.

Margrain says a little DIRA milk has been taken from Fonterra this season but it’s too early to say whether any will be next season.

Fonterra told Dairy News DIRA demands from other processors do not have to be signalled until June 6 but if there is a reduced draw-down Fonterra’s capacity and contingencies will provide for that variation and it will be able to process all milk supplied.

As for what extra processing capacity Fonterra will have next season and what measures are being taken to avoid the dumping of byproducts seen this season, director New Zealand operations, Robert Spurway, says “a number” of projects, either recently completed or underway, will help “optimise processing capabilities”.

“These include optimisation projects at existing plants and the development of new facilities such as a new UHT site in Waitoa and an expansion of our cream cheese pro-

Laurie Margrain

duction at the Te Rapa site….

“In the event that we do need to dispose of by-product, we have a number of contingencies in place under consent from councils. The businesses and landowners that receive the by-products, under consent from council, include a mix of landowners, wastewater treatment plants, piggeries and calf rearers. We have about 30 sites that we can deliver excess byproducts to in Waikato, Northland and Taranaki.

More than half of these are calf rearers who use the by-product as feed.”

Under DIRA, Fonterra is obliged to take milk from all farmers meeting its supplier requirements.

Fonterra milk collection up FONTERRA’S MILK collection in New Zealand for January was up 7.3% compared to the same month last year.

This included a 7.7% increase for the South Island with 67million kgMS and a 7.1% increase for the North Island with 104 million kgMS, Fonterra reported in its January global update.

Overall for the first eight months of the season to January 31 milk supply was up 4.2% across New Zealand, with the North Island up 3.7% and the South Island up 5%. Rain through December and early January helped maintain milk production.

In a business update for NZ Milk Products, Fonterra says in the 2013-14 second quarter prices for products which contributed to the farmgate milk price (reference commodity products) were still increasing much higher than for other products (non-reference commodity products). Reference products were up 52% and non-reference were up 25.6%. The meant a continued margin squeeze for Fonterra’s non-reference products.

In response, in December the board used its discretion to keep the forecast farmgate milk price at $8.30/kgMS. This had a positive effect on EBIT in the second quarter, the update says. “This is a [rare] situation, and we will continue to monitor it closely.”

A further update on the farmgate milk price will be issued in March.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

NEWS // 11

Biofarming’s time has arrived – scientist work on dairy farms. It was hosted by the Te Arawa Federation of Maori pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz Authorities (Foma), with whom Magesan has worked closely on biological THE TIME IS right for biological farming.

It is two years since the first confarming to come into its own and build big momentum, says soil scien- ference, which attracted a lot of intertist Guna Magesan who holds a PhD est, but he believes the momentum towards more sustainin nitrate leaching. able forms of farming He believes in the has increased a lot in that future of biological farmtime. ing to the extent he has Magesan gave a pregiven notice on his job sentation in Bangkok last as a professor at Fiji year, and was astounded National University to by the response, with return to New Zealand to millionaires asking how focus on it fulltime. they could invest. This And he believes its Guna Magesan prompted him to make future is much tied up with the dairy industry. “At the end the move to work fulltime on biologof the day for New Zealand to succeed ical farming and he will return to New its international dairy market has to Zealand in April/May. He intends to resurrect the Centre be very well off,” he told Dairy News.

“For that we have to show that for Biological Farming Research we follow sustainable methods. And which was set up two years ago but biological farming is definitely sus- became inactive after he left New Zealand. tainable.”

“We have more than 100 biological Magesan was co-ordinator of the 2nd National Conference on Biologi- fertiliser companies in New Zealand. cal Farming Systems held in Rotorua If you are all individual you cannot last week with a mammoth 47 presen- make any steps forward. If you form tations over two days, many based on a cooperative you have big bargainPAM TIPA

ing power and you will definitely go forward.

“We want to have an association of farmers, Maori community, Government and funding agencies, industry, scientific community – all the stakeholders, then we will have more say.”

He has come across about eight scientists in CRIs who are interested in biological farming and similarly he knows of people who have left CRIs and have their own companies. “My job is to bring together a multi-faceted research project so we can look into water quality, health of animals, plants, distribution, marketing… we want to be a very big project with the Government.”

He believes it will be of particular significance to Maori because most Maori land is near water bodies.

“That’s why we want the Maori community be to part and parcel of this research project.”

Because Maori have a lot of land, and a particular affinity with the land, when they get involved “things will really move”. Magesan says today they “have the begging bowl” for research funding but believes in a few year they will be in the position to dictate what research needs to be done.

FURTHER STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY GUNA MAGESAN concedes biological farming does not yet have a proper definition but it’s a step towards sustainability.

“If someone is using say 100kg of urea or other nitrogen fertiliser, we suggest to them over five years to reduce it. In the first year you reduce to 80%, in the second year you come to 60%, then 40%, 20%... like that.

“In the meantime you give importance to your soil because most soils have about 5000kg of nitrogen per hectare. When we apply urea the soils use only the readily available nitrogen.

The nitrogen which has been in the soil, we are not using it. Our job is how to mine the nitrogen and other nutrient which is already available – how to bring it back.”

Vermicast and compost contain a lot of nutrients and there are methods to process it on the scale needed for dairy farms.

“And depending on the soil type and what crop you are growing, you need to mix and match what plants are required.”

Farmers are getting messages that if they don’t put on fertiliser their plants will die, Magesan says.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

12 // NEWS - AHUWHENUA AWARDS

Ahuwhenua finalists effective, PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE THREE finalists for the 2014 Ahuwhenua Trophy for Maori excellence in dairy farming were announced last week

by Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

Two of the three finalists are in Bay of Plenty – Putauaki Trust’s Himiona Dairy Farm, and Ngati Awa Farms’ Ngakauroa Dairy Farm – while the third finalist Te Rua o Te Moko

Ltd is in Taranaki.

The annual Ahuwhenua Trophy competition alternates between sheep and beef and dairy farming.

Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee chairman Kingi Smiler says all have reached a

high standard in their farming operations and in their commitment as kaitiaki (stewards) of their lands.

All the finalists have been innovative in putting together the organisations that run their farms

Ngakauroa Farm – Ngati Awa Farm NGAKAUROA IS located on good dairy farming country on the Rangitaiki Plains about 12km from Whakatane, close to Awakeri Springs, visible from the farm.

The farm was bought by Ngati Awa Group Holdings in 2008 and includes six Ngati Awa land trusts.

It was the first major asset bought

by Ngati Awa on settling its treaty claim in 2005. About 22,000 people affiliate with Ngati Awa. Ngati Awa Group Holdings own 51% of the farm; 49% is owned by the various trusts affiliated to Ngati Awa.

21% variable order Ngati Awa chief execusharemilker, Mike tive Enid Ratahi-Pryor says Learmond and his Ngakauroa Farm had been partner Donna Conowned by an Argentinian stantine farmer who offered it for “We entered sale by tender, Ngati Awa Ngakauroa and winning the sale. another of our dairy It runs 620 Friesian farms, Tumurau, to cows on a 186ha milking gain insight into how platform, milking through Enid Ratahi-Pryor a 40-aside herringbone shed. It aims they were performing against other to produce 240,000kgMS this year farms, and to improve the performance of the farms. We were pleasfor Fonterra.

The herd is owned by Ngati antly surprised they were a finalist,” Awa Group Holdings, and run by a says Ratahi-Pryor.

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Ngakauroa farm sharemilkers Mike Learmond and partner Donna Constantine.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

NEWS - AHUWHENUA AWARDS // 13

keen stewards – small trusts and whanau cooperating to create larger, effective commercial units, a model for the growth of Maori agribusiness.

“Maori farms always aim to be successful and profitable operations, but in doing this they do not compromise their commitment to key values such as caring for the land and their people.”

Smiler says Maori are significant players in the New Zealand economy, particularly in the dairy industry.

One Maori trust in Taranaki is Fonterra’s larg-

est supplier of milk in that province.

“It’s worth noting that 10% of the milk produced in the country comes from Maori farms. Maori are now processing and delivering their products directly to customers in the global market. Around the country I am seeing Maori take new and bold initiatives to improve their farming operations.”

The three finalists will undergo a second judging process to determine the winner, to be announced on June 13 at Tauranga.

In the second round of judging each of the final-

Te Rua o Te Moko Ltd JUST NORTH of Hawera, a Maori company Te Rua o

Te Moko Ltd runs 500 kiwi cross on a 170ha (eff.) milking platform. This is now into its fifth season, producing 190,000kgMS for the nearby Fonterra plant.

Spokesman Aaron Hunt says the farm is an amalgam of four Maori trusts plus a leased treaty settlement block, all combined for economic and environmental sustainability.

“Bringing the blocks together into one large farm means the company has been able to provide a better financial return for their 1100 beneficial owners. The land has always been owned by the local people but all four of the blocks had been leased to local dairy farmers and to AgResearch.”

The current 50/50 sharemilkers, Mike and Ruth Prankerd, are now in their second season on the property.

The 28-bail rotary shed is on the treaty settlement block and cannot be rebuilt until after settlement is completed.

Te Rua O Te Moko Ltd also runs a training operation for descendents of shareholders whose whakapapa (descent) runs back to the land, and for other young people. This is run by Land Based Training which last year graduated eight people who then got jobs on dairy farms. This year eight young people are in training.

Putuaki Trust – Himione Farm PUTAUAKI TRUST is relatively new in dairying, having bought Himiona farm in 2006. Until then they had been mostly in beef production and grazing dairy cows on their land near Kawerau. The farm is on the Rangitaiki Plains between Te Teko and Edgcumbe Their original land, 57ha, was barely economic but it was opposite Kokohinau marae and so was emotionally and spiritually significant. Himiona farm was surrounded by small blocks owned by whanau who are shareholders in the trust, but not all the blocks are side by side.

Farm consultant Peter Livingston says since 2006 the trust has acquired leases from these smallholdings and built up the milking platform to the current 177ha. Himiona farm now runs 570 Friesian-Jersey cross cows and is on target to produce 225000kgMS this season.

In previous seasons 35% of the cows have been milked once daily. OAD was adopted mainly to reduce the distance cows had to walk each day.

FIELD DAY DATES 11 March: Putauaki Trust – Himiona Farm 14 March: Te Rua o Te Moko Limited 19 March: Ngati Awa Farms – Ngakauroa Dairy Farm.

ists will hold a field day next month, open to the

The Ngakauroa Farm in Whakatane is one of the three finalists.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

14 // NEWS

Cheap seeds will cost farmers PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

FARMERS TRYING to

get a bargain with uncertified seed for pasture renewal might be buying themselves big problems, warns the DairyNZ-led Pasture Renewal Leadership Group.

Chris Classey, DairyNZ farm system specialist and group member, told Dairy News uncertified seed traders in New Zealand, are trading on the internet on Trade Me or similar.

“Farmers do look out for a bargain and the perception is that cheap seed is good seed because it is cheap. But it is not eco-

nomic in the long term,” he says.

Graham Kerr, also in the Pasture Renewal Leadership Group, says certified seed means you get what you pay for. “Certification is the independent quality assurance system run by AsureQuality that makes sure it’s both quality seed and actually is

the cultivar named on the bag.”

Sowing uncertified seed can be very costly, says Cathal Wims, also of the leadership group.

“Uncertified seed is often cheap per kg, but you don’t know what you are buying. Often it has a lot of weed seeds, low germination, or there may be

another reason why it has failed certification. If it goes wrong you have not only lost pasture production, you may have introduced problem weeds and you have to resow it.”

Glassey says there is a demand for uncertified seed and the demand is even larger in Australia “because pasture life

there can be so short from one drought to the next that farmers don’t invest in pasture for the long term, so they are happy to take any seed”.

“In New Zealand, that is not a valid strategy given the life of our pastures. If it is uncertified, buyer beware.”

But Glassey warns even certified seed may not meet the required standards and farmers should ask questions. He referred Dairy News to a sample of a seed analysis certificate for certified seed that showed it meets the minimum standards.

“So in this case even though it is certified seed it is showing the germination count at 60% in six days and 63% in 14 days. That is actually very low. It should be more like 90%. The endophyte grow-out test is also at 63% and some of the companies claim their minimum standard is 70%. It’s 98% pure seed but there is 0.7% weeds and 1.3% inert matter and it lists some of

Chris Glassey

the weeds in there.

“So that certificate is a warning that this particular line of seed isn’t particularly good.”

Glassey says farmers can ask for that certification for any seed they are buying. “Not many do, I would hazard a guess. But they can ask to see the certificate and determine if it’s been through the certification process and if it has, does it meet the standards that are normally set? (see sidebar) “I would say many of the reputable merchants out there, and retailers, are following the process of putting seed out there that meets minimum standards – but not all are.

“So to safeguard that you can ask for documentation to make sure you are getting what you are paying for. If it’s certified make sure it meets the high standards that have been set.”

KEY MESSAGES Make sure the seed is certified Use certified seed from a reputable supplier. This is seed produced under the New Zealand Seed Certification scheme that meets quality standards and is free of prohibited weed seeds. Germination, purity and endophyte certificates should be available, to check seed quality. For example for perennial ryegrass the germination should be 90%+, seed purity 99%+, and endophyte should be 70%+.

■■

Choose the correct cultivar(s) Seek good advice on what are the best grass and clover cultivars for your farm system and property. Key decisions when selecting cultivars include: species (eg perennial versus hybrid ryegrass), ryegrass ploidy (tetraploid versus diploid) and heading date, and white clover leaf size.

■■

Choose the right endophyte When buying ryegrass, endophytes (eg NEA2, AR37, AR1) are an important decision as they give the resultant pasture insect control. If you are unsure about what is the correct endophyte for your situation seek local advice.

■■

Check out our websites www.ruralnews.co.nz www.dairynews.co.nz

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

NEWS // 17

Cows in the spotlight as fert experts meet THE COW was in the

spotlight at the 27th Fertiliser and Lime Workshop last week at Massey University.

The workshop, ‘Nutrient management for farm, catchment and community’, attracted international and local experts who presented at least 80 scientific papers over three days. And 20 science poster papers were displayed – the science equivalent of speed dating.

Papers included international perspectives on nitrogen leaching and many ways to mitigate the problem – developing farm and catchment plans, the use of cow houses, and precision agriculture to reduce use of fertiliser.

Professor Mike Hedley, Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre, Massey, says the focus is on farms and targeting the ‘inefficient’ dairy cow. By grazing a large amount of grass which contains nitrogen, the cow later through its urine gives off far more nitrogen than the pasture can utilise.

“We heard from an Australian scientist Cam-

eron Gourley that over there they don’t have a model like [New Zealand’s] Overseer that allows you to account for that…. What we are doing is educating our farmers through the people who have done the Sustainable Nutrient Management Courses – who can run Overseer – to use the inputs efficiently with the nitrogen fertiliser they are using. We need to go one step further though, on farms that bring in a lot of feed and where there may be more nitrogen than can be deposited in the pasture.

“That’s where we are looking at the options of taking cows off to standoff pads or cow houses so that eventually effluent can be spread back uniformly on paddocks.”

Hedley says a lot of nitrogen is being wasted on farms especially in the dry summer months. “All that nitrogen is going on the paddocks in dry conditions – the grass can’t grow, and if we don’t get significant growth before winter then we are leaching.”

One of the big issues for Hedley is training people to deal with new environmental issues. He says people who went to university many years ago need to be retrained and

Massey is working with industry to meet these needs.

“Business managers in the agriculture industry want to come back and learn some science so that

they know how to manage people who are dealing with this. A young person coming through university these days is starting [to learn] about the environment.

Delegates at last week’s Fertiliser and Lime Workshop at Massey University.

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IN NEW Zealand there is a strong emphasis on dealing with N on a catchment-by-catchment basis. This reflects the variability of land classes and the soils.

DairyNZ is looking at expanding a trial it has been doing in the Upper Waikato River catchment to other parts of the country. The Sustainable Milk Plan (SMP) is intended to enable dairy farmers to change or reduce their environmental footprint.

Adrian Brocksopp, a ‘catchment engagement leader’ for DairyNZ, says the two-year-old scheme is yielding positive results.

“We talk to the farmer about his property and go through a questionnaire which leads into discussion points to look and see where the risk points are on the farm. Because you are investigating it and working it out together, the farmer comes up with the idea of how he’s going to develop solutions. Often we can back that up with evidence of an environmental and economic benefit and if you can get those it’s a win-win for everybody.”

Brocksopp says farmer reaction to the SMP has varied: some are engaged, others take time to see the benefits. But at the end of the process even these will say ‘That’s really good; I thought you were going to come here and tell me what to do. But you didn’t; you came and took an interest in my farm and helped me come up with solutions’.”

11/20/13 11:31 AM

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

18 // WORLD

Higher payout to help reduce Oz farm debt AUSTRALIAN DAIRY farmers are

getting more for their milk this season but the increased cashflow is going to paying off debt.

According to Dairy Australia’s Situation and Outlook Update report released this month, farmgate milk prices are up about 25% on last season and the global outlook for dairy, particularly in China, remains robust.

However, despite the overall positive trends, increased cashflow for dairy farmers is being directed to creditor payment and debt retirement, the report says.

Global dairy demand remains on

a steady footing despite pricing at near record levels, and production shortfalls in China and Russia have boosted import demand in those markets. Southeast Asia is showing steady growth despite local challenges, and exports to South Korea should benefit from the yet-to-be-ratified Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Australia’s milk production trails 2012-13 in year-to-date data and is expected to finish the year at levels the same or slightly lower than those recorded in 2012-13, due largely to ongoing issues from the challenging second half of the year.

Dairy Australia is forecasting milk production of 9-9.2 billion litres for the 2013-14 season, a contraction of between 0-2%.

“Poor weather has been a constraining factor, particularly in northern regions, as have lower in-calf rates and pasture damage,” says Norman Repacholi, commercial and research analysis manager at Dairy Australia.

“But as the season progresses, confidence will likely firm with the farmgate price and this will result in some production opportunities,” says Repacholi.

“Processors will attempt to adjust product mix to maximise returns where

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contractual arrangements permit, still, lower-than-expected production could mean delays in fulfilling orders.

“At the same time, producers focussed on Australia’s domestic market have not seen the same, if any, jump in milk price as those experienced by dairy producers in export focussed regions. They are also still facing cost pressures as a result of unfavourable weather or tight regional hay and grain supplies.”

Repacholi says Australian dairy heifer exports are still in high demand: live cattle exports are up 12% to about 85,000 head in the year to November

2013. China is the major buyer (79%) followed by Pakistan (10%) and Russia (4%).

A weaker Australian dollar is likely to cause a rise in the prices of fertiliser, fuel and grain prices.

“Australia’s supermarket milk and dairy spreads, volumes and values are remaining stable, cheese volumes are up, but discounting of chilled (block) cheeses has shown a slight decline in the total category value,” says Repacholi.

Australian dairy has been notable for the contest to buy Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) and a rush of other major transactions.

Walking the talk on breeding objective AUSTRALIAN DAIRY

farmers are being encouraged to join Australia’s ‘longest farm walk’ – a series of events intended to give farmers a direct say about the national breeding objective, expressed as the Australian profit ranking (APR).

Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) chairman Adrian Drury says the farm walks are running in all dairying regions during March.

“Each event will involve visiting dairy farms, looking at cows and discussing our breeding objectives and the type of cow that would best meet the needs of Australian dairy farmers into the future.

“Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion about the APR. The idea is to have a conversation with farmers to discover the traits important to the everyday business of dairy farming.

“Our goal is for the national breeding objective to be a true reflection

of the overall breeding direction for the country, from which individuals can pick bulls that meet their own breeding objective.

“We don’t expect everyone’s breeding programmes to be the same but it is really important that we get the big priorities right. That’s what the review process is about.”

The review process will also involve a large scale farmer survey, consultation with industry and scientific review, and the opportunity for written submissions.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

20 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Vote yes and support DairyNZ

MILKING IT...

Go for Green Ribbons

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER Amy Adams is calling for entries to the Green Ribbon Awards which “recognise outstanding contributions by individuals, organisations or businesses to addressing New Zealand’s environmental problems”.

No doubt many Dairy News readers would qualify, yet their environmental efforts all too often go unrecognised by the mainstream media and consequently general public. What better way of putting that right than persuading a top performer you know to put up his hand and be judged in these awards? Even if it takes a little twisting of the other arm to get him to do it!

Science, not emotion

NOTHING WILL ever please the Greens. Food safety watchdogs are to begin testing milk from Taranaki farms fertilised with oil and gas drilling waste.

However, the Greens are still unhappy. They call the practice pollution and say the new testing regime is too little too late.

A report by soil scientist Doug Edmeades, commissioned by Taranaki Regional Council, concluded levels of nutrients, heavy metals and soluble salts were similar to those in regular soil. But the Greens don’t want as bar of it.

Our message is simple: be guided by science not emotion.

Slow music lowers stress

A UK media report links a study by the University of Leicester that found slow music can mitigate stress in cows and increase the amount of milk they produce by 3% with anecdotal evidence from several

dairy corporations.

“In terms of music, in my 30 years working with dairy cows, I have found that music can be beneficial to the wellbeing of the cows, but it must be consistent and calming,” said Juan Velez, executive vice president of Aurora Organic Farms.

Slow songs were found to have a positive effect on lactation, while faster music like ‘Euro club classics’ made no difference.

The report suggested the findings could be attributed to the music drowning out loud mechanical noises consistent with a milking parlour.

Stinky and costly

OVERSUPPLY OF milk last spring is coming at a cost to Fonterra. Getting rid of rotting buttermilk, and the stench it’s causing for a South Taranaki community, is costing lots.

Fonterra is having to get rid of three million litres of milk by-product through a wastewater treatment plant in Eltham.

Media reports quote the South Taranaki District Council saying the cost of doing so, while changing processes to eliminate the smell, is up to $400,000 and still counting.

MAKE YOUR vote count; that’s the message from DairyNZ as it prepares to go back to farmers for another five-year levy mandate.

The industry-good organisation is not seeking to increase the levy, currently 3.6c/kgMS. But neither is it ruling out an increase in 2016 – after consulting with farmers.

DairyNZ’s farmer levy brings in $61 million annually. It goes into a wide range of activities, all designed to advance the cause of dairying and matching state contribution to R&D. The money is spent in priority areas DairyNZ believes will have the biggest impact, such as feed, environment, labour productivity, farm business and animals. Those big decisions are ultimately made by the DairyNZ board of directors on recommendations by its senior managers.

DairyNZ’s role is to use farmers’ levy money to ensure it generates maximum returns for them. This includes securing funding from other sources where appropriate to further leverage farmers’ spending and investments.

Historically, industry-good activities were undertaken on behalf of dairy farmers by the New Zealand Dairy Board. When Fonterra was created and the board was disestablished in 2001, it was agreed these industry-good activities should continue for all dairy farmers. This resulted in the creation of two independent organisations, Dairy InSight and Dexcel, acting as funder and provider of industry good until the formation of DairyNZ in November 2007.

The milksolids levy was introduced in June 2003 following a dairy farmer vote in May 2002, the levy being collected under the terms of the Commodity Levies Act 1990. Through this levy, farmers pay for much of the work done by DairyNZ. DairyNZ’s R&D is seen by farmers as important; so too is its work in the advocacy and policy area on environmental issues, an area of rapid change. The funds also help attract government funding and support, and add weight to DairyNZ’s advocacy role.

DairyNZ wants a big positive turnout for its milksolids levy vote to give it more authority when it goes in to bat for dairy farmers on advocacy and policy issues like the environment.

In 2008 62% of eligible voters turned out and 75% voted to continue and increase the levy. This year DairyNZ is hoping for a bigger mandate. With its good track record, one would expect farmers to turn out in droves to vote yes.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

OPINION // 21

Demand for dairy products: the China factor at play JACQUELINE ROWARTH

THE INFLUENCE of

China on New Zealand exports gets plenty of coverage in news media.

China is now New Zealand’s number-one export destination – $10 billion, up 45% from the previous year. Dairy products dominated with at least 46% of milk powder product exports going to China last year.

Both countries are keen that the relationship continues. For dairy products the outlook is extremely good. China has been increasing milk

that if the world wanted to increase milk production, it could.

China itself is not expected to be able to meet its increasing demand, at least in the timeframe investigated by the OECD (to 2022).

Slower growth has been attributed to reform of the production-processing chain “following the melamine crisis in 200809”. Smaller farms disappeared more rapidly than corporate farms came on stream.

The New Zealand Treasury reported last year that China’s dairy consumption growth will outstrip

of their feed.

Housing in New Zealand is not being proposed 24 hours a day 365 days a year. It is being proposed as a way of managing the interaction between cows and the environment. Production increases could

also help meet the China demand.

• Jacqueline Rowarth is professor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato. She spoke at the NZ Dairy Products Symposium 2014 at the invitation of the NZ China News Agency.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson meets Chinese consumers in a supermarket last year.

Treasury stated that based on the predicted growth in dairy products from New Zealand, calculated by Fonterra to be about 3% a year, New Zealand would be able to meet China’s demands. consumption as affluence increases (and refrigerators become affordable).

The world consumption figures are dramatic: 300kg milk products per capita per year are consumed by Scandinavian people, just over 100kg by New Zealanders. China urban consumption was 13.7kg in comparison to 5.2kg in rural areas. These figures indicate huge potential for growth in dairy consumption.

Estimates of the ability of various countries to realise the potential hinge on land, number of cows and production per cow, and it is the latter which clearly differs globally.

OECD and FAO data report that whereas Saudi Arabia harvests 10 tonnes milk/cow/year, US harvests about 9t, New Zealand is under 4t (ahead of China at about 3t and Chile at 2.5t.

Brazil is at about 1.5t.

Differences in length of lactation and level of feed (and labour) inputs are critical in these comparisons, but overall suggest

production between 2012 and 2021. Net importation of dairy products was predicted to increase by 60%.

Treasury stated that based on the predicted growth in dairy products from New Zealand, calculated by Fonterra to be about 3% a year, New Zealand would be able to meet China’s demands.

Although this news is good for the country, we are already hearing concerns from society about the impacts of ‘more cows and more supplement’.

There are also concerns from some industry personnel in New Zealand that moving into housing and feeding would mean losing our ‘natural’ advantage.

In America organic milk comes from cows with access to pasture at least 120 days a year and which makes up at least 30% of their diet during that time. The converse is that organic cows do not have to have access to pasture for 245 days a year and that even when on pasture supplements can be 70%

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

22 // AGRIBUSINESS

Mentors can see family farm to next level AN IMPORTANT challenge for all

family businesses is how to develop the capabilities of the next generation, especially if they are participate in its ownership and management.

To be effective, leaders in a modern business need to focus on three key areas: harnessing changes in technology, adopting best practice management techniques and more sophisticated systems to manage people as the business grows.

The transfer of such expertise between generations can be limited by the abilities of the current owners.

Emerging leaders often require insights and ideas not necessarily available from those who grew the business to its present stage. So it’s worth reflecting on the value of involving a mentor as part of a professional development programme.

Using a mentor offers subtle differences to the traditional approach to training. Effective mentors grow the people they work with by modelling desired skills and attitudes, ensuring accountability and setting clear performance expectations. This should be supported by their belief in the aspirations and capabilities of the person they are helping develop.

This independent approach is enhanced by frank but constructive evaluation. It involves transfer of skills through a combination of inspiration and education. This will ideally draw on their own experience as well as formal training to pass on new ways.

Involving a mentor in the transfer of the farming business to the next generation helps the transition.

Mentors encourage those reaching for new horizons to take responsibility for their own development and respond to challenges while supporting them to the next level. This replaces the traditional ‘teacher – student’ relationship with greater emphasis on collaboration. I have seen mentoring make outstanding contributions to developing the abilities of families in business.

Using external input recognises the reality that parents can only go so far in developing their adult children. There comes a time when it is better to rely on a third party to break through barriers. This can be vital to protect personal relationships while challenging

family staff to grow. It offers parents the opportunity to step back, observe and encourage.

The mentor role is similar to an apprenticeship, like a ‘finishing school’ that builds on all the development and education to date. Accompanied by participation in the right courses, conferences and exchanges with other businesses it can have a powerful impact.

Success depends on choosing the right person as mentor. Regardless of their academic or practical background, effective mentors need interpersonal and motivational skills along with credibility from achievements that inspire and challenge those they work with. Candidates could range from professionals supporting the business to friends, associates or industry leaders.

They need to be in touch with technology and best practice so they can show as much as teach their protégés.

I judge the quality of relationships within a family business as much by the calibre of their personal relationships as the effectiveness of their working relationships. This ability to separate personal and professional relationships is fundamental to generating the satisfaction and synergy that comes out of families working together.

It brings me great satisfaction to see the families I work with growing this way. It is a real credit to the parents as leaders in business that they invest in the right professional support to make that possible.

• Kerry Ryan is a New Zealand agribusiness consultant. www.kerryryan.co.nz.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

AGRIBUSINESS // 23

Farm sales up but prices ease TURNOVER IN farms grew 41.4% year-on-year for the three months ended January but the median price/ha eased 5.6%, latest REINZ data shows.

However, REINZ’s All Farm Price Index, which adjusts for farm size, location and type, was up 9.6%.

“The increase in sales volumes for the three months to the end of January is an indication of the positive mood prevailing throughout the rural sector,” says REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke. “Most regions are seeing solid demand for dairy, dairy support and sheep and beef properties.”

While grazing properties accounted for 42% of sales in the period, with 238 changing hands, dairy farm sales were the next most numerous at 127, or 23% of turnover, achieving a median price of $36,509/ha, down 4.6% on the $38,267/ha median for the three months ended December but up 2.8% on the $35,530/ha median across the 82 properties sold in the three months ended January 2013.

The median price movement appears to have been driven by some larger farms being sold in January, as the median size

of farm sold in the month was 138ha, with the range being 42ha to 495ha, compared to a median size of 123ha for the three month period. As a consequence the median price for the 25 dairy farms sold in January was just $22,634/ha compared to the $36,509/ ha median for the three months. Median production for the dairy farms sold in January was 639kgMS/ha.

The REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index was down 2.9% in the three months to January compared to the three months to December but up 7.8% compared to the period ending January 2013.

Breaking it down into regions, REINZ says the dairy farm market in Canterbury has plateaued with some syndicates selling to capitalise on development work, thereby releasing shareholders into the buying pool for smaller properties. Demand for the best properties in the region has been driven mainly by local buyers.

Meanwhile first farm purchasers have been extremely active in Northland where the market has become constrained by some vendors being subject to re-purchasing.

Waikato’s seen a strong market for quality properties resulting in strength-

ening enquiry in the lower priced categories, albeit with a hint of caution emerging with increasingly dry conditions.

Nelson/Marlborough’s seen strong enquiry for dairy support properties, suggesting a shortage of listings, while Southland’s seen steady demand for

dairy farms but a shortage of sheep and beef properties.

In Otago, sellers of dairy and dairy support properties in adjoining regions have “added strong momentum to the marketplace” for beef and sheep properties, with a shortage of listings.

More farms were sold this year but at lower prices.

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OVER 2000ha of dairy or potential dairy land is for sale in eastern Southland as Solid Energy looks to off-load farms acquired with a view to lignite mining the area.

PGG Wrightson Real Estate, selling the land, says it is for sale in one of the largest recent offerings of New Zealand dairy land.

The nine farms are all within a 5km radius circle between Mataura and Gore and range 33ha to 399ha. Three are dairy farms with 2015 cows and target production of 785,000kgMS between them this season. Two more properties totalling 550ha are described as “dairy conversion” (suitable for conversion), and the remaining four “dairy support” totalling 580ha.

“Two of the dairy farms border each other, so could easily be farmed as a 670ha single unit,” says PGW Real Estate’s Southland region manager, Andrew Patterson.

PGW Real Estate general manager Peter Newbold says demand for dairy land has exceeded supply in the past few months.

“As a mix of dairy farms and dairy support properties, this portfolio should create a positive response from farmers and investors looking to take advantage of the favourable current conditions for dairy produce.”

The farms are for sale by tender, individually or as a whole, closing date April 3.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

24 // MANAGEMENT

Tough season prompts switch PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

OTAKI SHAREMILKER Allen Cottle has

reduced milking to once a day (OAD) because of a ‘green drought’ in the area.

Cottle and his wife Janet farm on the Hautere Plains south of Otaki.

Though still commercially farmed in places, for 20 years it has become a place for lifestylers, with many large farms subdivided into smaller blocks. This is prompted by the area’s proximity to Wellington, where Janet works three days a week.

Cottle is a 50/50 sharemilker on his parents’ farm, running 300 cows plus replacements. The season has been somewhat tough, he says.

“We had an early dry spell and it’s been punc-

tuated by further dry spells, then just as things get dire you get a bit of rain. For the first time ever I’m on once-a-day milking because of the dry conditions. There has been quite a lot of rain in the rain gauge but there has also been a lot of wind – and it’s driving me crazy. It’s a season that’s annoyed everyone, holidaymakers especially, because it’s gloomy, windy, so you can’t go fishing and we’re not growing grass.”

Though tempted in the past to go OAD, Cottle could see it now as correct from a strategic point of view, but he wouldn’t do it permanently, he says.

With not much grass, going now to OAD will take the pressure off the animals and allow skinny cows to build body condition, he adds.

Cottle was born on this farm, bought by his grandfather and now owned by his parents who also owned a contracting business in the area. His parents now live at Kerikeri, where they now an orchard, while retaining ownership of the Otaki farm. For economic and family reasons they have always had sharemilkers on the farm.

Cottle completed a horticultural science degree at Massey University, worked in horticulture then went overseas for six years – to the UK and later Melbourne where he worked for Nike at its headquarters. He later transferred to New Zealand.

“I didn’t enjoy being indoors so I went farming. My first job was on a Landcorp property at Kapiro in Northland. It

Farmer Allen Cottle says he has switched to OAD because of the dry conditions.

was a new conversion and we milked 900 cows – baptism by fire. It was a good learning environ-

ment and you saw a lot of things, for example I saw two prolapsed uterus in one season, whereas I’ve

seen two here in the last 10 years. The experience and the training courses were excellent. A lot of it was

covering what I already knew having grown up on a farm. My father taught me well but it was good

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

MANAGEMENT // 25

to OAD milking winter milk about 130 cows and have always had a winter milk contract.

The three year average for milk solids is 124,000 and for us about 120,000 is a good year.”

All the cows are grazed on the 150ha property; only the young ones are grazed off.

The season has been punctuated by dry spells.

This year Cottle hasn’t grown maize, unlike past seasons. “We had such a good winter last year we didn’t use all our supplement so we started in quite a strong position and didn’t need to grow any.

I am buying in about 70 tonnes of maize silage this year,” he says.

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to have that formal training. Dad still has input into the farm and I’m often on the phone bouncing ideas off him.”

But the time with Landcorp was cut short by an offer to take over sharemilking the family farm.

“It was always my intention to go sharemilking – if I enjoyed it.” He started on the farm the year after the big Manawatu floods of 2004. This was the best production year the farm has seen – 128,000kgMS – mainly due to extra cows.

When he took it over it

was a bit run down, especially the fences, but then the Hautere Plain is river stone and digging post holes is no easy task. Only a crowbar enables you to dig a hole. Upgrading the fences is taking time.

Currently he runs 300 cows through the 30– aside, reasonably modern, herringbone shed.

“I have tried to milk a few more cows and the year when the payout was $7.90 we went to 320 cows but produced no more milk. I have done more milk with 295 cows. We

HAPPY STAFF KEY TO PROGRESS ALLEN COTTER has worked for wages most of his life and places huge emphasis on looking after his staff – a herd manager and relief milkers. It’s important not to ‘burn out’ staff because in the end it works against you as an employer.

“People are happy to work hard but there must be good financial and lifestyle rewards, and you must give them time off as well. We have three-day weekends every fortnight: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Two days is just enough time to recover but you don’t get to enjoy your time off with your kids.

“Staff are not just another widget to screw down for as much as you can get out of them for the least amount of pay. When staff stay long term and get to know the place it’s more efficient. If you have a new guy every year you’re forever training them just on the basics.

If they have been here for a few years they get into the swing of it.”

Right now Cottles and their two children are enjoying the farm, which lies within commuting distance of Janet’s work.

Succession planning has been discussed with his parents and opportunity to take over the farm may come earlier than planned. Then there is the option of expanding. There are few dairy farms in the area and the option to expand is possible but dollar-dependent.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

26 // MANAGEMENT

Pick-your-own biocontrol on offer ANDREW SWALLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

A SOUTHLAND dairy

Environment Southland’s Randall Milne (right) and Mataura farmer Cliff Bolger checking results of the leaf sucker.

farm hosted a field day with a difference earlier this month.

Focus of the day was control of clover root weevil and delegates had the chance to collect their

own sample of weevils, and with it, hopefully, a host of parasitic wasp eggs or larvae that would establish as an effective biocontrol of the pest on their farms.

Weevils infested with parasitic wasps were released at field day host farmer Cliff Bolger’s farm near Mataura in 2010 and

have since built up to the point where 70-80% of adult weevils tested were found to be ingested with the wasp prior to the field day.

Bolger says the decision to have 2500 wasp infested weevils released onto his farm was an easy one. “It’s been a great initiative by Environment

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“Chilean needle grass is the big one we’re concerned about at the moment. It got into North Canterbury [from Marlborough] a couple of years ago and it’s got the potential to establish in the drier northern parts of our region.”

Livestock can also harbour seeds for such weeds in their pelts so that’s another area to be aware of, says Milne.

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come through who said they weren’t in a known clover root weevil area so they didn’t take a pottle because they didn’t want to introduce the pest but otherwise farmers were really keen to take them.”

Milne says weevil damage to pasture – adults notch clover leaves while the larvae do the real damage destroying the root system – is widespread in the region now. Only the Catlins, a few coastal regions and the far west around Tuatapere are still free of it.

“It’s a very good hitchhiker on feed and machinery and things like that,” he notes.

“We’ve been monitoring it since 2009 and it’s very widespread now.

We’re finding it throughout the region.”

At the Waimumu field days a farm advisor had reported seeing it in pasture near Te Anau, an area previously deemed free of the pest, he added.

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Southland…. It appears to have been successful and I hope today everyone gets enough weevils.”

Environment Southland senior biosecurity officer Randall Milne says the only way to tell if weevils are infested with wasp larvae is by dissecting the weevil under a microscope. “You can’t tell by eye,” he told Dairy News.

Consequently before weevils are collected for redistribution a sample is taken and assessed for infestation. “We’re only harvesting weevils from paddocks where the wasp has built up in number too.”

At the Southern Field Days at Waimumu, shortly after the field day at Cliff Bolger’s, Milne and colleagues were giving away pottles of infested weevils to farmers calling at the Environment Southland stand. By early on the second day of the show all 107 had been snapped up.

“We had a couple

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

MANAGEMENT // 27

Good turns of the humble worm BALA TIKKISETTY

THE HUMBLE earth-

worm is worth its weight in gold when it comes to onfarm soil productivity and protecting waterways from the impacts of farming.

The common earthworm, brought here from Europe in the 1800s by pakeha settlers, improves the general condition of farming soils, reduces surface runoff of contaminants from pasture and prevents soil erosion.

These introduced earthworms are, in fact, essential to the development of fertile productive soil. They act as biological aerators and physical conditioners of the soil, improve soil porosity, structure, aggregate stability and water retention.

Earthworms also increase the population, activity and diversity of soil microbes, such as actinomycetes and mycorrhizal fungi. These microbes play a vital role in the supply of nutrients to pasture, digesting soil and fertiliser and unlocking nutrients such as phosphorus that are fixed by the soil.

Soils without enough of the right type of earthworms are usually poorly structured and tend to develop a turf mat or thatch of slowly decom-

posing peat-like material at the surface. Old dung and dead plant material lie about the surface. These factors can naturally inhibit pasture and crop production.

Lower producing grasses are often more evident than ryegrass on these types of soils as well.

Pasture growth is slow to start in spring and stops early in autumn.

Plant nutrients tend to remain locked in the organic layer and there is poor absorption of applied fertiliser. Plants roots in such soils are relatively shallow and pastures are therefore susceptible to drought. And, as indicated earlier, water runs off this type of pasture more easily rather than being absorbed into the soil, increasing water quality problems.

To help avoid these types of problems, soils should have a good diversity of relevant earthworm species.

The most common introduced earthworm in New Zealand is Aporrectodea calignosa, a topsoil dweller. This earthworm grows up to 90mm long and may vary in colour from grey to pink or cream. Another common introduced earthworm is Lumbricus rubellus, a surface dweller. Often found under cow pats, this earthworm will grow up to 150mm long. It is reddish-

brown or reddish-purple in colour with a pale underside and flattened tail. Aporrectodea longa live in burrows as deep as 2-3m below the surface.

Doing an earthworm count will let farmers know if they have enough of the right type. Counts should preferably be done late winter-early spring when soil moisture and temperature conditions are ideal. Counts can be done by taking out a 20mm cube of soil with a spade. Aim to have an earthworm number of between 30-35 in that cube.

If soils are scoring way below that there is a range of ways to increase their populations: ■■ Ensure soil calcium levels are near 7 as calcium promotes earthworm reproduction.

■■ Maintain soil pH at 5.8 – 6.3.

■■ Limit use of fumigants and other pesticides.

■■ Reduce ammoniumbased fertilisers as they make soils acidic.

Also, moist soils promote earthworm spread and activity and more will remain active in topsoil during summer under irrigation. Direct drilling and no tillage cultivation is another way to promote help earthworm numbers.

Use a mould board or disc plough rather than a rotary hoe. Cropping farms should include a phase

of pasture in their cropping rotation to increase organic matter returns.

• Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture coordinator at Waikato Regional Council. Tel. 0800 800 401 or email bala.tikkisetty@ waikatoregion.govt.nz

Earthworms improve conditions of farming soils.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

28 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Forward herd planning key to managing dry GARETH GILLATT

STRATEGIC STOCKING decisions

will be the key to surviving the summer, says a Northland dairy farmer.

Mark and Vicki Meyer milk 400 cows on their 190ha property northeast of Dargaville, in the northeast corner of an area farmers say is likely to go through its fifth drought in six years.

While much of the country has had a gentle summer with equal amounts of rain and sunshine, the west coast of Northland has been plagued by dry windy days. Little rain has fallen from October to February and dry winds have drawn out soil moisture.

Meyer says his farm is no exception: the property has had only 190mm in almost three and a half months. There

was 68mm of rain in November, 82mm in December, 40mm in January and nothing to the time of writing on February 14.

He estimates that pasture growth deficits for the farm sit at over 500kgDM/ha for the autumn period and serious rain needs to fall to prevent the herd from needing to be dried off early, not good when trying to improve reproduction.

In the 2004-05 season 20-25% of the herd the couple was sharemilking at the time was empty. To improve reproduction they put young stock and valuable older cows onto once-a-day (OAD) milking for the entire season. Only the strongest, most capable cows were on twice-a-day (TAD) milking through to December when they also went on OAD. The result is an average body con-

Mark and Vicki Meyer, Dargaville, say strategic stocking decision will be key to surviving this summer.

dition score of 4.0-4.5 despite dry conditions and empty rates of 6.7% in the 285-cow OAD herd from nine weeks of mating.

However, keeping condition on stock becomes difficult when faced with drought-like conditions and dwindling silage stocks.

Meyers feed only grass and grasssilage and he says that with the exception of a 15ha turnip crop, animals have access only to grass. “I try to run a low cost, low input system. I’ll only stick something into it if I can see it fitting in with the way I farm.”

Meyer intends to feed palm kernel next month if rain still holds off, but wants to be sure all his empty and cull cows have been removed.

“There’s no point putting supplements into something I’m not going to

keep at this time of year.”

They have used earlier pregnancy and herd testing to make their decision easier, all the cows being herd tested and pregnancy tested within a day of each other.

Empty cows were the first to be culled but as there were so few they were able to look hard at other cows to improve the herd’s overall performance.

Older cows, poor producers, cows with odd-shaped udders and cows with high somatic cell counts will be on the short list.

Empty cows were due to have gone off the property on February 20 and cull cows not long after. Meyers will decide in March, if no rain falls, whether to buy in PKE. While the cow’s production has largely held steady and the farm has

already gone past its 120,000kgMS target, Meyer says he has shifted stock from the TAD to the OAD herd and will dry off animals from there depending on body condition. “I mark cows I think are dropping condition while I’m in the shed checking them off at milking time.”

However, he says the pasture on his farm doesn’t need a whole heap of water to kick it into gear.

With a large amount of kikuyu on the property Meyers is confident 20-30ml of rain unaffected by wind will be enough to make pastures shoot off again. “Kikuyu doesn’t need much rain before it shoots away.”

Once that happens he will try to find a round long enough to allow rye to rejuvenate while being short enough to stop kikuyu getting too long.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

FEED / ANIMAL HEALTH // 29

Get more milk from maize silage contractor as there are still a few crops for sale in some areas. Don’t miss out on the proven benefits of feeding maize silage in the autumn; it’s simply the best supplement available.

Talk to your local Pioneer area manager, animal nutritionist or veterinarian for farm-specific

THE HIGH milksol-

ids forecast means most farmers are focused on extracting as much milk as possible from the current season. With pasture growth in many areas again affected by low rainfall, supplements will play a key role.

Maize silage is the best autumn feed for dairy cows. It is cost effective especially if grown on a home farm or run-off.

Maize silage is highly palatable and can therefore be fed in large amounts when required. Maize silage is a forage which creates pasture substitution.

Put simply this means if you feed a kilogram of maize silage drymatter to a cow, she will eat the maize silage and reduce her pasture intake. Feeding maize silage in the autumn allows farmers to build pasture levels while at the same time milking longer and lifting cow condition score.

Maximise your autumn milk production from maize silage by the following: Harvest at the correct maturity. The ideal maize silage harvest drymatter is 30-38%. Crops greater than 38% drymatter are more difficult to compact, resulting in a slower fermentation and higher losses at feed-out time.

Use a quality silage inoculant. Quality silage inoculants improve silage feed value and reduce storage and feed-out losses. Not all inoculants work. Ask for product-specific trial data.

Use a plant processor.

The aim is to ensure 99% (target minimum 80%) of the kernels are broken into at least four pieces.

This will allow the rumen microbes better access to high energy maize starch.

Where possible store maize silage prior to feeding. Research has shown that starch digestibility of stored maize silage increases as a result of the fermentation process1. Allowing maize silage to ferment one-two months before feeding will result in higher starch

availability than feeding a freshly ensiled crop. It is ideal to feed carryover maize silage from the previous season while your new crop ensiles.

Introduce maize silage slowly.

This is particularly important if you haven’t been feeding a grain source, as it will allow the rumen microbes time to adapt to higher dietary starch levels.

Feeding too much maize silage too soon can result in a lot of grain in the manure and/or digestive upsets.

Watch protein levels.

In the late lactation, cows require about 14% crude protein. For best milk production results, maize silage (7-9% crude protein) should be coupled with a good quality protein source (e.g. leafy pasture or high quality pasture silage, lucerne or a protein concentrate such as soymeal).

Make sure cows have adequate access to clean water. Dairy cows require 5-10L of water per kilogram of drymatter eaten.

This corresponds to a water intake of 80-160L per day for a cow consuming 16 kgDM. If you have cows spending lengthy times on a feed pad, ensure they have access to an adequate supply of clean water.

Add macro-minerals where necessary.

Maize silage is low in some macro-minerals (especially calcium, sodium and phosphorus). As the percentage of maize silage in the diet of a milking cow increases, it is more likely these will need to be supplemented.

If you haven’t planted a maize silage crop, or arranged to buy one, talk to your local maize silage

advice, or call toll-free.

Tel. 0800 746 633 www.pioneer.co.nz

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

1 Jensen, C.; Weisbjerg, M.R.; Nørgaard, P.; Hvelplund, T. 2005. Effect of maize silage maturity on site of starch and NDF digestion in lactating dairy cows. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. 118: 279-294.

Maize silage is a good autumn feed for cows.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

30 // ANIMAL HEALTH / FEED

Our cows are different ANDREW SWALLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

FORGET EVERYTHING you learnt at

college about rumen function: chances are it doesn’t apply to New Zealand cows because digestion of pasture is quite different

from a total mixed ration (TMR), delegates at one of the first of a DairyNZ series of FeedRight workshops were told last week.

“There’s a fundamental difference between grass-based systems and overseas where they generally feed total mixed rations,” Lincoln Univer-

sity’s Jim Gibbs stressed in his introduction to the 200 or so farmers and farm staff that turned out for the Ashburton event.

As the evening unfolded the panel of three wise men – Gibbs, DairyNZ principal scientist John Roche, and independent consultant Terry

Hughes – expanded on that, answering dozens of questions, slaying many a marketing myth and sales pitch in the process.

“Without fail in research here and overseas, when you add straw to the diet of a milking cow there’s either no change in production or it

goes down,” said Gibbs.

For example, a split herd trial in 2006 in New Zealand showed that offering 2kgDM/day of straw caused an “immediate and sustained” 3.5% loss in production. Even at a $4.50/kgMS

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payout and free straw, such a strategy would have cost Lincoln University demonstration farm $75,000 in lost production, he pointed out. “And of course straw isn’t free…

Feeding straw’s a very, very expensive hobby.”

Gibbs’ frustration that some consultants and feed companies still recommend straw to stimulate rumen function was clear.

“It’s a bit like a line from that Eagles’ song [Hotel California]: ‘They stab it with their steely knives but they just can’t kill the beast’!”

The ‘scratch factor’ of straw is just one of several stimuli to rumination and there’s no evidence of poor rumination among cows on grass-only or predominantly pasture diets, he stressed.

Watery faeces, another argument for adding straw, are just a consequence of the 100-120L of water/ day a cow can be eating in pasture. Straw will firm the faeces, but it also sits in the rumen for up to 72 hours taking up space that could be filled with rapidly digested, high quality grass that would add to production, he explained.

Monensin’s place as a rumen modifier also came under fire, as most research quoted in “glossy brochures” is derived from TMR systems overseas, and often extrapolated to dairy from rumen research in beef feedlots.

“There’s been some pasture work but at best it’s equivocal…. The high flow through a pasturebased rumen makes it extremely hard to keep that antibiotic in there.

“Typically there’s no benefit in milk production. It does have a slight benefit in bloat reduction but if you’re in a bad bloat situation it’s not going to save you.”

Even where 3kg/cow/ day of grain is fed there would be “very little dif-

ference” in rumen function so monensin-based products would still be of no benefit, he added.

“Over 6kg (of grain/ day), possibly. But that question’s not really been put to the test. If the rest of the diet is still pasture then the probability of a benefit is still low.”

Roche referred to a December 2011 DairyNZ Technical Series article he’d penned on the matter. “The problem is we don’t really know what diets produce a positive response to monensin.”

Probiotics were dismissed as additives for adult cattle, though Roche conceded a response could be seen in calves “if they’re struggling for some reason.” At present responses are “hit and miss” but as technology advances, better targeting may make their use more justified, he suggested.

Hughes said the big thing to remember with rumen microbes is that the population that endures is the one driven by the feed source.

Allowing time for the rumen microbial population to adapt is why feeds such as grain or fodder beet need to be introduced gradually, stressed Gibbs.

But while everyone would have heard horror stories of cows dying from acidosis on fodder beet, in practice cases are very few considering the tens of thousands now wintered on the crop, and largely within farmers’ control, he said. Transitioning onto the crop is a case of “painting by numbers”, starting at 1kgDM/cow/day and building it to a full wintering ration over a fortnight.

Transition to brassica, on the other hand, can be just three to four days as it isn’t so much a change of feed type from pasture, as managing the risk from anti-nutritionals such as nitrates and SMCOs, or lack of iodine.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

ANIMAL HEALTH // 31

Act early to maintain BCS, milk yield RESTRICTED PASTURE growth and milk

production occurs in many parts of New Zealand as a result of dry summers and irrigation restrictions.

DairyNZ says these events are unpredictable and vary in their timing, severity and duration. But their impact on milksolids production and farm profit can be minimised by acting early to implement proven strategies.

The aim of dry summer management is two-fold: to protect next season’s production and reproduction by getting all cows to body condition score (BCS) 5.0 by calving, and first and second calvers to BCS 5.5; and to maximise profitable milksolids production for the rest of the current season.

For summer-dry farms, as soon as feed demand exceeds pasture growth, the next season is in jeopardy as cow condition will be lost, especially the first calving cows in the herd.

Often the option to increase feed supply is taken before reducing cow demand.

However, the cheapest form of supplement is to dispose of known culls.

Milking young and thin cows OAD or 16-hour milking or dryingoff these cows should also be considered before starting to feed supplement.

For farms prone to summer dry, rarely does

the farm grow sufficient pasture to meet both cow demand and pasture cover targets for the autumn.

DairyNZ says even if there are periods of growth in January-February that exceed demand, this growth is usually required to build up feed cover to meet future cow demand. For most farms (excluding irrigated and summer safe) milking 80-85% of peak cows from January onwards does not result in low pasture utilisation (wasted feed) or less milk production – in fact more milk is produced as less feed goes to cow maintenance.

Feeding supplement to culls is expensive. If the known culls are disposed of, the rest of the herd is fed better and all the extra feed goes to milk production, not to maintenance as with culls. Where 20% of the herd is culled, the remaining cows can be fed 25% more, i.e. cows have more feed for milk production and cow condition.

Body condition at calving of first and second calvers has a major impact on their reproductive performance.

These animals need to be BCS 5.5 at calving. Cows in their first lactation need to be preferentially treated (OAD or dried-off early) as they are still growing.

Research shows that heifers suffer more BCS loss in summer. Keeping culls

puts more pressure on these animals.

In December calculate how many cows you can cull, making a conservative estimate of the number of empties. This will give you the number of cows you can cull for traits other than being late or empty. Cull on production worth, repeat clinical mastitis cases (normally three strikes and culled), high somatic cell count, three teaters, temperament, udder conformation and age.

There is a common belief that empties milk better than pregnant cows. However, this is not the case as reported by DairyNZ research in 2003 where they analysed the production from 154 iden-

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Dry summer management is about protecting next season’s production.

tical twin cows, one twin pregnant, and the other empty. Milk yield in the

pregnant cows was not less than the twin that was empty until 250 days

of lactation, after which the pregnant cows yielded less by about 0.8L/cow/

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

32 // FARM DAIRIES & EQUIPMENT

Larger-herd robot milking farm chosen in Oz RETREAT CREEK, a western Victoria farm, will install Australia’s second robotic rotary automatic milking system.

Dairy Australia group manager farm productivity and delivery, Chris Murphy, says Retreat Creek, owned by John and Clare Cotton, will become a partner farm for the FutureDairy project.

The robotic rotary technology was developed for the automatic milking of larger grazing herds

by DeLaval in collabora-

tion with the FutureDairy team, whose major sponsors for the Retreat Creek research project are Dairy Australia, DeLaval and the University of Sydney.

“Dairy Australia welcomes the news of the partner farm and it is pleasing to see the new robotic rotary is going to be at a Victoria farm as it means many dairy farmers will be able to observe how it works with larger herds of 600-800 cows and become familiar with the benefits,” says Murphy.

The development of the robotic rotary involved a private-public partnership, from concept to commercial reality in six years.

“The fundamental role of Dairy Australia is to support dairy farmers in building their businesses into profitable enterprises, and the robotic rotary system presents many opportunities,” Murphy says.

FutureDairy project leader associate professor Kendra Kerrisk says the

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the robotic rotary, once installed at Retreat Creek, will affect larger herd dynamics, voluntary cow movement, water and energy use, the impact on labour and lifestyle and farm financial performance, Kerrisk says.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

FARM DAIRIES & EQUIPMENT // 33

Electronics to assist monitor milk quality

Alan Henderson, Te Awamutu, says Waikato Milking Systems technology has brought efficiency gains to his milking routine and future proofed his shed.

USING

Smart milking gear clears path ahead ‘SMART’ MILKING

technology newly installed on a Te Awamutu dairy farm gives the business a degree of ‘future proofing’, says the supplier, Waikato Milking Systems (WMS).

Alan Henderson’s 180ha dairy platform, milking 650 cows, has a range of WMS products, centred on its strong, lightweight 60-bail Centrus rotary platform and milking machine. The other technology options Henderson chose were SmartECRs, SmartSpray and SmartWash.

And the milking system has been future proofed in the sense that a WMS SmartD-Tect – an ‘intelligent’ mastitis detection system – can be installed at any time.

Henderson says he went with Waikato Milking Systems because of the low weight of the Centrus platform which reduces maintenance costs, the simplicity and high performance of the milking plant, the durability of the products and the future proofing capability.

SmartECRs is an electronic cup remover system

that triggers an automated sequence of events during milking. The system’s software caters for a wide range of milking routine parameters and operators can tailor the settings to suit their preferences.

“SmartECRs make milking very efficient,” Henderson says.

SmartSpray, an automatic teat spray system designed specifically for rotaries, ensures optimal teat coverage and reduces the amount of spray used.

The system replaces the need for manual teat spraying and teat dipping.

SmartSpray is signalled by the electronic cup removers to spray soon after the cups have been removed. This ensures the udder is sprayed while the teat orifice is still open and typically in a sheltered area of the shed to prevent wind drift.

SmartWash is an automated wash system that ensures the milking machine is properly cleaned after each milking.

Programmable to manage any wash scenario, it enables farmers to meet hygiene standards and regulations.

LATEST STORIES EVERY DAY Get upto date news at www.ruralnews.co.nz

SmartD-Tect, described

by WMS as a breakthrough in mastitis identification technology, scans each quarter during milking and accurately notifies the operator of potential mastitis cases. The onset of mastitis can be identified up to four days before visual or clinical signs appear.

The WMS products integrate seamlessly with each other and with the milking system. Farmers can add as much technology as they want, when they want. www.waikatomilking. co.nz

ELECTRONIC engineering to help farmers is a reality for University of Waikato graduate Andrew Russell, reports his employer Lely Sensortec Ltd. His role at the animal management product company is R&D into new ways to electronically sense cattle herd health.

Notable among the company’s developments is a milk quality monitor for dairy farms.

“On a typical day I may be working on data analysis, or designing and assembling new prototypes,” Russell says. “Testing these prototypes is a highlight, during which we visit farms, talk to farmers and recreate real life situations.”

The former St Paul’s Collegiate student graduated Master of Engineering at Waikato University. He chose Waikato because it was close to home and offered a school leavers’ scholarship.

“Although engineering at Waikato University is relatively new, I think the degrees offered are as good as if not better than ones obtained from a traditional ‘engi-

Waikato engineering graduate Andrew Russell scans milk samples which will later be analysed, during a visit to a Waikato milking shed as part of his role at Lely Sensortec Ltd.

neering’ university.”

He says the main experience that stood out in his undergraduate degree was the opportunity to complete work placements as part of his study.

“Work placements are an opportunity to get a foot in the door and get some real life experience.

During my second work placement I worked here at Lely Sensortec. I

studied the effect of temperature on sensors and learnt how to calibrate against temperature effects,” he says.

Following undergraduate study, Russell received a masters scholarship from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, which allowed him to complete research into milk spectroscopy in collaboration with Lely Sensortec.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

34 // FARM DAIRIES & EQUIPMENT

A power outage will affect milking and leave cows with extended periods without milking.

Get real about power outages STORMS, FLOODS, heavy snow, slips, fallen trees, lightning strikes on transformers, washed out bridges, and even vehicles hitting poles can all cause power outages.

Occasionally major faults at substations or with transmission lines some distance away can cut power and may take a long time to repair.

So, where does a power cut leave farmers?

No electric fences Stock may push through boundary fences and stray onto roads, unsafe areas on the property, winter crops or silage paddocks, etc.

No pumps Access to clean water is a priority for stock and humans. Water contaminated with silt, ash, etc can be toxic to stock, so troughs may need to be emptied and cleaned. Stormwater will accumulate if drainage pumps don’t operate?

No milking Cows can tolerate extended periods without milking, but it is best to avoid delays if possible.

No refrigeration If milk already in the vat cannot be cooled to the required temperature you may have to use an emergency disposal method.

No hot water Milking machine cleaning and other operations may have to be Natural disasters cause power outages on farms.

WHAT TO DO WHEN CURRENT STOPS FLOWING CHECK THAT family and staff are safe and that they know there is a power cut.

Phone a neighbour to see if they have power. Remember, some cordless phones will not work in a power outage, so use a standard phone or cellphone.

If the neighbour has power, the fault may be on your property – perhaps a fallen tree. A quick check for obvious problems before phoning the power company could pinpoint the location and save time. Do not handle fallen cables.

Always phone the power company, even if your neighbours have already phoned. The company may not realise your power supply is also out. Also, if there is a widespread fault they will probably have an automated message telling you how long it will be before it is fixed.

If the power outage is likely to be lengthy, look at ways of containing stock and providing feed and water. Do you have generators? Should you hire one? If yes, do it right away.

Where cellphone coverage is available they can provide a great back-up to landlines. However, sometimes both the landline and cellular networks are out of commission.

changed.

No cooking or heating at any houses on the property, unless you have a standby generator.

A generator large enough to power the milking machine and ancillary equipment is expensive, but may be a good investment if your property is prone to flooding, snow or other power outages. Small generators that power domestic appliances

or small pumps start at about $500.

Something large enough to run the dairy including refrigeration could be $30,000. Generators can be hired from hire centres.

A gas oven or barbecue to provide heating and hot water will be a major advantage in a power outage, says DairyNZ. A wood burner or fireplace can also be useful for warmth, hot water and drying clothes.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

FARM DAIRIES & EQUIPMENT // 35

Is your farm ready for robotic milking?

AUTOMATIC MILKING systems (AMS) are

now available in New Zealand, but how is a farmer to know if this is an option for his farm?

According to DairyNZ, AMS requires broadband for remote servicing, and telephone coverage is essential so farmers are alerted to technical problems at the dairy.

Farmers also need to attend to alarms that can occur any time in 24 hours, it says.

The contour of the farm is critical. Experience to date suggests that walking distances of up to 1km presents few issues for cows.

“It is not necessary for cows to be able to see the dairy from all paddocks, but New Zealand farms are generally flat to rolling. As the land becomes steeper it is likely more intervention will be required. The ideal location for an AMS dairy is near the middle of the farm so walking distances are minimised, however the cost of installing services such as power will be higher with greater distance from road or current dairy.”

Installing an AMS means some labour changes onfarm. Automatic milking changes the tasks people are required to do, says DairyNZ. Many routine jobs remain, but the timing of those jobs is more flexible, it says.

“It is still necessary to fetch cows that don’t

BENEFITS FOR COWS IN AN automatic system, the cow choses when to get milked.

There is much less herding and forced movement to and from the paddocks.

Quarter milking should in theory achieve more even milking out as cup removal decisions are made on flow rate from individual quarters.

Farmers report less lameness and quieter cows.

There is no evidence that mastitis decreases for AMS but it should not occur at a higher rate than for conventional milking.

report for milking, set up paddocks for grazing, fill chemical containers, complete regular maintenance on the AMS, monitor reports and keep the AMS clean.

“It is no longer necessary to move the whole herd to the shed for milking or to put cups on cows.”

DairyNZ says automatic milking has exciting potential for owners managing multiple farms.

“Because of the flexibility in work routines and low physical demands of the tasks on an automatic milking farm, staff and work routines could be scheduled or staggered across farms, allowing for more efficient labour use and more ‘respectable’ hours of work. One person could be on-call to attend out-of-hours alarms for multiple sites.”

A higher level of skill will generally be required for automatic milking farms and good animal husbandry skills are essen-

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tial. Staff must be able to interpret information provided by the systems in order to make informed decisions regarding cow health and feeding levels.

The importance of people in the success of automatic milking operations should not be underestimated, DairyNZ says.

“Not all people will be suited to this technology. For those wanting to reduce the manual workload and spend more time on what matters most, like feeding, pasture management, cow health and reproduction, then this technology offers exciting potential,” it says.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

36 // FARM DAIRIES & EQUIPMENT

Milk cooling, quality closely related The more rapidly milk is cooled the better its quality when collected from the farm.

EFFECTIVE MILK cooling is a key determinant of milk quality, says DairyNZ. The more rapidly milk is cooled the better its quality when collected from the farm.

New requirements from MPI mean that from next season, milk must be cooled to 10°C within four hours of the start of milking and to 6°C within two hours of the end of milking. It would also need to be stored at or below 6°C. Subsequent milking would not be allowed to raise the blend temperature above 10°C.

Imagine if your milk quality was the last thing on your mind

Currently milk must be pre-cooled to 18°C or less before going into the vat. The milk must be cooled to 7°C or less within three hours of the end of milking and kept at or below 7°C. Subsequent milking cannot raise the blend temperature of the milk above 13°C. Milk is precooled through a primary or plate cooler prior to entering the bulk milk tank. Plate coolers are poorly utilised on many farms. They need to be properly cleaned and maintained to provide efficient cooling and prevent milk contamination.

A basic understanding of milk cooling systems can help farmers make informed decisions about their milk cooling components.

The benefits of selecting the right cooling system include: ■■ Reduce energy costs. Surveys suggest that milk cooling accounts for about 30% of the total energy costs of operating a dairy, so designing and operating an efficient milk cooling system can greatly reduce energy demand and shed operating costs.

■■ Ensure milk quality is maintained. Raw milk grows bacteria rapidly above 7°C, so it is important to cool milk to maintain milk quality.

■■ Milk can be pre-cooled before it enters the bulk milk tank. Pre-coolers remove heat from milk very quickly due to the large surface area available for heat exchange.

A plate cooler consists of a series of thin stainless steel plates. Water flows along one side of each plate while milk flows along the other. Heat is transferred from the milk to the water via the plate. The capacity of a plate cooler is adjusted by adding or subtracting plates. A plate cooler working well should cool milk to within 2°C of the temperature of the incoming cooling fluid.

M-series plate coolers are the most common type in New Zealand dairies and are available in single- and double-bank configurations. The M-series is designed to handle milk flow rates of up to 4500L/ hour.

Industrial plate coolers are more suitable in situations where milk flow rates exceed 4500L/hour. Industrial plate coolers are much bigger in size than the M-series and are designed for flow rates up to 12,000L/hour.

Flow rate of cooling milk The system should be designed for the peak flow of milk expected from the milk pump. A water flow matched to the milk flow will make the plate cooler system easier to size and make efficient use of the cooling water.

M-series plate coolers work most efficiently with a water-to-milk flow ratio of 3:1, whilst 2:1 or even 1.5:1 is adequate for the newer industrial models.

Available surface area The peak flow rate of milk expected from the milk pump will determine the type of pre-cooler (size of the plates) and number of plates required.

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Allow about 3mm per plate and gasket. If too tight the fluid flow will be restricted. Measure the overall thickness of the plates before disassembly. Never take the plates completely off the guide rails. Contaminants in either the water or milk that adhere to the plates will affect heat exchange capacity and reduce performance. Blockages to the flow can restrict flow over the heat exchange surfaces.

Check out our websites www.ruralnews.co.nz www.dairynews.co.nz

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

FARM DAIRIES & EQUIPMENT // 37

Farmers warned to watch milk temperature DAIRY FARMERS must monitor posed regulations has piqued farmers’ ing equipment in the lead-up to the their cooling systems to ensure they interest in replacing or upgrading cool- changes.

“These new requirements are based comply with new MPI milk cooling ing systems.

The company markets high-end sys- on international standards so it’s not requirements proposed for the 2015-16 outside the box. Farmers season, says GEA Farm Techmust use the time now to nologies.

“Farmers must use the time now check they have the right These require milk to be infrastructure in place to cooled to 10°C within four to check they have the right hours of the start of milking infrastructure in place to meet the meet the standards.”

The new specificaand to 6°C within two hours standards.” – James Houghton tions are part of MPI’s of the end of milking. It would drive to meet internaalso need to be stored at or below 6°C. Subsequent milking would tems such as its iConverter, and simpler tional standards, he is quoted as saying. not be allowed to raise the blend tem- systems such as its aquaChill direct milk “Everyone wins at the end of the day when high standards are met and mainchilling system. perature above 10°C. Says Hickson, “Not only do you tained.”

Currently milk must be pre-cooled Houghton is also said to be urging to 18°C or less before going into the vat. need a system that meets the new regThe milk must be cooled to 7°C or less ulations, but farmers looking to replace farmers to do their research if their within three hours of the end of milking their existing cooling systems could cooling gear needs upgrading. “There and kept at or below 7°C. Subsequent make substantial cost savings by utilis- are sometimes simple and low-cost milking cannot raise the blend temper- ing off-peak power tariffs and heat solutions so I would encourage them to look at all their options.” reclaim technologies.” ature of the milk above 13°C. Farmers also need to be aware of the Federated Farmers Waikato provinGEA Farm Technologies cooling division spokesman Greg Hickson says cial president James Houghton agrees, availability of extra water that is needed many farmers will not be able to meet says GEA. He is said to be urging farm- with some cooling systems. “With some the new standards, and talk of the pro- ers to assess and monitor their cool- resource consents the extra water may

not be available and that needs to be considered.”

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38 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Designed for locals, by locals ADAM FRICKER adamf@ruralnews.co.nz

AMID A flurry of new product releases

by Polaris last week was an ATV developed especially for farm down-under.

Polaris engineers in the US worked with their teams in Australia and New Zealand, consulted with farmers and tested prototypes on local farms, to come up with a product they say will cope with the unique abuse our farmers dish out to ATVs. They say the Aus-NZ ATV market is 85% farming, 15% recreational, whereas in other markets most ATVs are used recreationally.

The UTE 570 HD has some key features not found on the Polaris ATVs sold to the huge North American recreational ATV market, notably sealed driveshaft splines, greasable sealed ball joints and sealed suspension bushings; ‘HD’ features that will prolong the life of a machine likely to spend most of its life coated in mud and cow manure.

There are some obvious visual differences about the UTE, such as the seat backrest, the tipping tray with 180kg

capacity and the mirrors, indicators and horn. These are all features that farmers apparently told Polaris they wanted.

The UTE 570 HD shares many of its working parts with the new Sportsman 570 HD ATV. The new 567cc EFI engine, for example, which is up on power from the old Polaris 500. The new engine has heaps more poke and is more tractable up and down the rev range. It gives the UTE and Sportsman towing capacity of 556kg.

The two machines also share single lever braking, the ‘HD’ features mentioned above, the sealed front storage and racks, and the narrow seat and wide floor boards. The latter two are design features that reduce rider fatigue by reducing the angle of leg splay – a simple but effective consideration.

One feature the UTE has to itself, for now, is descent control, which gives far more control and engine braking than the average ATV, engaging automatically when riding down slopes off the throttle. This and other features developed specifically for the UTE will eventually be rolled out to more Polaris products in regions other than Australasia.

The new Polaris UTE 570 and hill descent unit (inset) fitted to the new ute makes steep country safer.

Standard on the UTE are an ondemand AWD system, electronic power steering, and independent rear suspension with 24.1cm of wheel travel. The launch ride was held in Australia on a purpose-built course with fast and slow sections, punishingly rough sections, water hazards and steep sections. The UTE soaked it all up with no problems

and despite being slightly longer than the Sportsman, it felt agile and well balanced with power to burn.

Polaris is excited by the potential of this ATV in New Zealand and to be fair it is a well conceived product that does everything well. Price point will be the key though. As Dairy News went to print, New Zealand pricing was yet

to be confirmed, but in Australia it will retail at AU$9995. The New Zealand 500cc ATV market is generally around the $15,000 mark, so if Polaris can land the UTE at $12,000 or thereabouts, they could have a strong contender for 2014.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 39

Machines to please crowds

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New equipment, including a new digger bucket, will be on show at the Northland Field Days.

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this week at Northland Field Days, says the event coordinator Meagan Edmonds.

At least 90% of available sites were taken by the end of January, and a record number of new exhibitors were due.

About 50 companies new to the show had signed for sites, says Edmonds. “There is more excitement about the event than at this time last year.”

High on the billing was the launch of a new tractor from one of the big names in farm machinery. Bryant Tractors will show models from the 125-165hp Fendt 500 series.

AGCO New Zealand (Fendt) manager Peter Scott predicts high interest in the tractors, spearheading this maker’s venture into the 100-200hp category.

One site will invite visitors to fire up a machine. Promoting a new digger bucket concept, Northland construction hire and digger bucket maker Ace Equipment will have its new Robur clamp bucket working.

This gies digger operators the functionality of a powerclamp without the need for any extra hydraulics, says attachment designer and business owner Clem Simpkin.

“People hire diggers with the buckets as attachments and then say ‘wow that’s amazing, we want to buy one’,” says Simpkin.

Edmonds says visitors looking for foods, ornaments and tools for the home will have a better time of it. A windbreak around the market area will shelter exhibitors and visitors from the southerly winds and dust that can be a nuisance.

And getting cash will be easy, says Edmonds, thanks to a four-ATM facility at the site. Event sponsors ANZ brought a portable four-ATM bank to Northland for the first time last year and they plan to do it again this year.

Early interest has also been strong in Northland Field Days five scholarships, says Edmonds. The committee is offering up to five scholarships worth $2000 to agricultural students from Northland.

Several people have already called asking for them.

“Everybody who’s called in seems excited by the prospect of these grants.”

Held in Dargaville, the Northland Field runs from February 27 to March 1. Free parking is available close to showgrounds with regular public transport running to and from the event.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

40 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Vari-chamber baler-wrapper ‘faultless on the hills’ A NEW variable-chamber baler-wrapper from McHale – the Fusion 3 Vario – uses a special bale transfer system that accommodates the variable chamber and quickly moves the bale to the wrapping system.

Notably, the new machine is “faultless on hills,” says Graeme Leigh, general manager of distributor Power Farming’s machinery division.

To create the Fusion Vario, McHale combined technology from its fixed-

chamber Fusion balerwrappers and its V660 Vario round balers, Leigh says.

The Fusion Vario produces straw bales of 0.7m to 1.7m diameter and silage bales of 1.1m to 1.45m diameter.

The Fusion Vario is said to offer contractors and farmers more versatility in the type of crops they can bale and wrap and the size of bales they can produce.

“The Fusion Vario was trialled in New Zealand while it was under development. It has proven to

be a consistent performer and its netwrap system is fast and reliable,” Leigh says.

“Some patented features give the McHale Fusion Vario speed and sophistication…. They include the high speed transfer system that has reduced the vertical distance the bale has to move to get to the wrapper. The transfer system is faultless on hills, which makes it ideal for New Zealand conditions.”

Former Cambridge contractor Frank Williams

took part in testing by McHale engineers on the prototype of the Fusion Vario. His company at the time, Langsford Contracting, used the new concept baler for a season as the engineers perfected it.

“A big part of the testing was transfer on hills.

Initially we had a bit of an issue on hills during a transfer but the McHale representatives made a number of modifications and fixed it to where it was very reliable,” Frank Williams says.

“The only other real

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issue we had was the netting system. They made a number of changes during the season and came up with a system we were happy with. It worked every time.” The new Vario is compact, reliable and easy to operate, he says.

Among its patented features is its tip roller, designed to handle the wide range bale sizes the Fusion Vario produces.

The wrapping ring can apply four layers of film to a 1.25m bale in 20 second and six layers in 30 sec-

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Patented technology in the McHale Fusion Vario offers farmers and contractors more operating flexibility.

onds. In normal conditions, wrapping is faster than baling so the wrapping platform is always ready to accept the next bale.

Standard features on the McHale Fusion Vario are the 2.0m five-tine bar pick-up, 15 knife chopper system with heavy duty rotor, drop floor unblocking, double drive variable bale chamber, and threebelt chamber with endless belts.

The maker’s iTouch control system uses touchscreen controls and shows images from cameras that show how the bale is being transferred and tipped.

The operator can choose to use the iTouch con-

sole in combination with a load sensing valve to make baling and wrapping fully automatic.

Leigh points out that the Fusion Vario joins McHales 2013-launched Fusion 3 Plus baler-wrapper that uses ‘film-on-film’ technology, to produce better silage than conventional balers and save operators time and money.

“By applying plastic directly onto the bale in the bale chamber, Fusion 3 Plus eliminates netwrap.

The plastic wrap applied in the bale chamber does not stretch, so more air is excluded from the bale, the bale is denser and the quality of the silage is better.”

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 41

Top fencers straining towards field days WITH AT least 450 exhib-

itors lined up and thousands of visitors expected, Central Districts Field Days has even more reason to celebrate as it marks 21 years.

Old favourites and new exhibitors will take part.

Chainsaw carvers will turn blocks of wood into works of art, the RNZAF will do aerial display and the Taste of Central Districts is sure to get taste buds tingling.

Competitions will include the Norwood Farm Machinery Centre tractor pull competition, Husqvarna woodchopping and the national excavator championships.

And competition will be fierce as top fencing contractors line up for the Goldpine doubles power fencing competition on Friday, March 14. This prompts fencers to hone their skills and display their abilities.

The Gallagher Shield (fencing) is up for grabs and current title holders Paul and Jason Van Beers, from Central Hawke’s Bay, will defend their title.

Contestants must erect 36m of five-wire electric fence, each of one 2.4m stayed strainer assembly and one 2.4m blocked strainer assembly with five wooden posts.

Both ends must be

clamped in parallel with a steel rod gate hung and latched at the stay end, and an electric tape gate on the other.

There will be 10 lines in which 20 of the North Island’s leading fencing contractors will perform.

Fencing contractors will be in action at the Central Districts Field Days.

The event starts at 10am opposite CDFD headquarters; the prizegiving will be on the Goldpine site from 3pm.

Central Districts Field Days will be held at Manfeild Park, Feilding, March 13 – 15.

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Noel and Eleanor Mortimer have been volunteer helpers at Central Districts Field Days since it began in 1993. Noel spends hundreds of hours making pegs and fences while Eleanor used to provide delicious baking for exhibitors.

Volunteers play key role THE COUNTDOWN to Central Districts Field Days has

staff working hard to ensure its smooth running.

Event manager Cheryl Riddell has for 18 years organised exhibitors, sites, competitions and everything between. She spends 11 months of each year preparing to turn the grassed area at Manfeild Park into a mini-town for a week.

“As soon as the marquees are down and the rubbish carted away, we are back at work organising the next event.”

Dedicated volunteers and staff work behind the scenes to ensure the event’s smooth running.

Volunteers pick up rubbish, mark out sites, drive forklifts, man the HQ and make deliveries. They also make deliveries to exhibitors and sometimes help a visitor carry purchases to the carpark.

“I believe we may be the only field days offering this service,” Riddell says. “Our exhibitors are grateful for this as it helps them make a sale if we can get heavier products taken to the carpark.”

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2014

42 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Stylish wheels lends class to collection WHAT DO Marlene Dietrich’s 1934 Cadillac town cabriolet and a Kubota L4600 utility tractor have in common? asks Kubota New Zealand.

How about a gull-winged MercedesBenz and a Kubota GR2120 ride-on mower? An 1895 Benz Velo (imported 1900) and a Kubota B7100 tractor?

Answer: they all earn their keep at the Southward Car Museum on the Kapiti Coast.

Southward has the southern hemisphere’s largest private car collection. Its classic vehicles and conference facilities attract the visitors to the famous facility on 4ha of grounds kept looking good by a fleet of Kubotas.

Property manager Alistair Beissel says over 31 years the museum has had 10 Kubota vehicles. The first tractor, a B7100, arrived in 1982.

The first ride-on mower, an FZ2100, arrived in 1992.

“We used to have classic mowers but one was always in the workshop so we were looking for a mower that could actually catch the grass. We tried numerous brands but Kubota fitted the bill, because of the high lift catcher, the build quality and the price.”

Beissel says a few hills on the property made the FZ2100’s fourwheel drive welcome and its reverse was also a pleasant improvement.

“At that stage green waste was free, so we backed it onto a trailer and took it to the dump. Now we mulch it.”

The FZ2100 lasted eight years, working year-round. They traded

Bernie Beissel (left) and son Alistair, property manager, Southward Car Museum.

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it for the F3560 in 2000,“to change from pick-up to having a flail deck to mulch the grass back in.” In 2007 they traded the F3560 for a F3680.

“We try to keep the gear modern and we get a good trade-in price.”

The latest ride-on is a 21hp GR2120 with hydrostatic transmission. It is a mulching rotary mower with no catcher to empty. It has variable cutting height from 25-102mm, and Beissel cuts at about 35mm. “The best thing is the turning circle, and it doesn’t scuff the grass. The technology is fantastic in such a little mower.”

The original 16hp Kubota B7100 tractor was replaced with a 17hp Kubota B1700 in 1998. Then Beissel

decided they needed a bigger tractor so they up-graded to a 46hp Kubota L4600. It has a bucket and can take a bigger mower on the three-point linkage. The L4600 has rollover protection and an optional sunroof. It’s 4WD with hydrostatic transmission.

“It’s easy to use, with plenty of grunt; I mow in the medium range.

We have a loader on the front and a silage clamp for picking up green waste. It has cut mowing time in half, and it’s comfy. I can happily sit on it for four hours a day.”

Maintenance on the Kubotas is done by Norwood Farm Machinery Centre in Palmerston North.

Tel. 0800 KUBOTA www.kubota.co.nz

cling is gaining pace, says Plasback, which recently achieved 3000 tonnes and expects to add 1000 tonne to its total this year.

Manager Chris Hartshorne says the scheme, in its eighth year, is attracting more farmers.

“The year we set up the scheme we collected just nine tonnes of waste plastic wrap. Over the past four years the rate of collection has increased steadily. We have now collected 3000 tonnes, and we expect to collect 1000 tonnes in the next year alone.

“Recycling is not a

flash-in-the-pan fad…. We have a network of professional contractors to collect silage wrap and a range of other plastic waste from farms, and we are looking at acquiring more balers to handle our increased volumes.”

Hartshorne says Agrecovery quitting farm plastic recycling recently will not reduce the national quantity collected, but should instead raise efficiency.

“There was some brand confusion in the market with two companies offering identical services. We have the capacity to handle all the farmers who were using Agrecovery. In fact, as our scheme grows, it becomes more effective because our collectors can make more frequent pickups.”

Plasback liners are now in all rural stores that for-

merly sold Agrecovery liners.

Environment Canterbury’s January 1-onwards ban on burning polyethylene silage and bale wrap – backed by a fine of $300 for a first offence and up to $1050 for repeat offences – comes with encouragement to recycle instead.

EC has moved early to ban burning, but other regional councils have bans pending and others are researching waste volumes on farms, Hartshorne says.

Voluntary, user-pays recycling is more effective than government mandated systems based on levies, he says. “We know voluntary recycling programmes, such as Plasback, are cheaper to run and more effective than systems that apply a levy to the cost of the product.” www.plasback.co.nz

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