Dairy News 22 November 2011 by Rural News Group

Key calls for responsible approach to farming. Page 7

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November 22, 2011 Issue 259 // www.dairynews.co.nz

Changing of the guard Henry van der Heyden to go in 2012 . PAGES 3-5

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

fonterra annual meeting // 3

No new TAF vote sudesh kissun

FONTERRA SHAREHOLDERS will not get

Greenpeace protests fail to deter PKE user. PG.12

Reading what your cows are saying. PG.23

another vote on the co-op’s controversial proposed share trading scheme –TAF. However, Fonterra management is looking at options where share ownership will stay in the hands of shareholders. Under TAF, shares sold by farmers will be owned by a custodian. Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden says the board will stick to the mandate given to it by 90% of farmers who voted on supporting TAF (trading among farmers) last year. “As long as we can deliver on that mandate, there is no need to go out to shareholders for another vote,” he says. Van der Heyden faced several questions from shareholders on the scheme at last week’s annual meeting in Whangarei. Most wanted to know why the board wasn’t keen on another vote. But van der Heyden says the TAF proposal includes “99% of the detail as we outlined prior to that vote”. He agreed that most shareholder concerns are mainly around transfer of share

ownership to a custodian. “Some shareholders are concerned that farmers won’t hold legal titles of shares they place with the Shareholders Fund,” he told the meeting. “It’s proposed that a custodian will hold legal title to those shares. The custodian is a 100% Fonterraowned subsidiary. “From our perspective, ownership remains firmly with farmers because you own Fonterra. But not everyone is seeing this the same way. Let me just say that the board acknowledges these concerns.” Van der Heyden says Fonterra needs permanent share capital. “We simply can’t run Fonterra to its full potential, and achieve the best returns for farmers, with money washing in and out of the balance sheet. “In good times, such as we’ve enjoyed recently, it’s easy to think permanent capital is not necessary. “It’s easy to put redemption risk out of your mind when there’s growing supply and a high payout. But things can always change quickly. And, as the Maui gas pipeline showed us, a nasty event may be just around the corner.” He assured shareholders 100% control and

ownership will be just one of the many things that will be thoroughly reviewed by a special due diligence committee of the board. This committee is headed by independent director John Waller. Other members are David Jackson, Nicola Shadbolt, Jim van der Poel and John Wilson. “It’s being advised by some of the country’s best brains in accounting, tax, legal, financial market and co-operative issues,” says van der Heyden. Other steps in the process include amendments to DIRA, which are expected to be introduced into Parliament in the first or second quarter of next year. Van der Heyden says once the due diligence committee gives the green light, the board will recommend to the Shareholders Council to support implementation. Before voting, the council will have undertaken its own review – which will be supported by its own advisors. Van der Heyden says if the council votes in support, the board will then pass a formal resolution for TAF to take effect from specified dates. “At this stage, we are tracking towards late 2012,” says van der Heyden.

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Weeping wall brings joy to effluent management. PG.30

News ��3-11 agribusiness �� 12 opinion �� 14-15 Management ��18 Animal Health �� 20-23 Effluent & Water Management �� 24-33 Machinery & Products ��34-38

NEW FONTERRA chief executive Theo Spierings says the co-op is looking at the viability of a custodian to hold shares under TAF. Answering shareholder questions at Fonterra’s annual meeting in Whangarei last week, Spierings acknowledged “the genuine concern” on the legal title of shares resting with the custodian, known as the locked box plan. “The question is who holds the key to this locked box,” says Spierings. “Do we need that? We are looking at how the legal title can be returned to farmer ownership.” Spierings says Fonterra management is looking at options and will go back to farmers in the middle of next month. “Before Christmas we will have an

answer for you on the other options.” Spierings says it is new for him to see the co-op’s capital base unprotected. “We have to protect out capital base.” On his vision for Fonterra, Spierings talked about the ‘two Vs – volume and value’. While the co-op aims to add value to New Zealand milk, he says it has to also look at milk pools around the world. Apart from New Zealand, Fonterra sources milk from China, Latin America and Australia. According to Spierings, world milk production will jump from 700 billion litres this year to 860 billion litres by 2020. At the same time, New Zealand’s milk supply will grow by 3 billion litres. “This means we have to look at milk pools around the world.”

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

4 // fonterra annual meeting

Gent confident in future FORMER FONTERRA

director Greg Gent is confident the co-op will continue to be a major player on the international dairy market. Gent says New Zealand is not Fonterra’s key market and it has to shine in the international markets. “We are only 10% of Nestle,” he told Dairy News. “Out there in the international market, we are competing with the big boys. And we have to remain a major global player.” Gent – who along with chairman Henry van der Heyden – joined the Fon-

terra board at its inception 10 years ago, says it was time to step down. “Ten years is a long time,” he says. Gent spent 18 years as a dairy company director – including chairman of Northland Dairy and then chairman of Kiwi Dairy after it merged with Northland. Van der Heyden says Gent is “one of the best farmer directors” he has served with. “Greg’s understanding of the global dairy business is very good. He also always put the dairy industry and Fonterra before his interests. This is always

easier said than done.” Gent received a stand-

ing ovation from Fonterra shareholders at its annual

meeting in Whangarei last week.

Shareholders vote to give the directors a pay rise.

directors in for a pay rise FONTERRA CHAIRMAN Henry van der Heyden Outgoing director Greg Gent received a standing ovation for his services to the dairy industry from shareholders at the Fonterra annual meeting in Whangarei last week.

New and old faces make the cut In the Shareholders’ Council elections, the following were elected: ■■ Ward 16 - Rotorua, Greg Mitchell ■■

Ward 22 - Central Taranaki, Noel Caskey

■■

Ward 25 - Northern Manawatu, Ellen Bartlett

■■

Ward 26 - Hawke’s Bay ,Sandra Cordell

■■

Ward 31 - Mid Canterbury, Charles Whitehead

■■

Of these, Noel Caskey, Sandra Cordell and Charles Whitehead are new.

In the eight other Council wards where elections were due, nominees were elected unopposed. The Councillors in those wards are: ■■ Ward 1 - Northern Northland, Terence Brocx ■■

Ward 4 - Southern Northland, Simon Couper

■■

Ward 7 - Coromandel, Dirk Sieling

■■

Ward 10 - Te Aroha, Graham Hallett

■■

Ward 13 - Matamata, Grant Wills

■■

Ward 19 - Taupo, Phil Butler

■■

Ward 28 - Wairarapa, Philip Palmer

■■

Ward 34 - Eastern Southland, Lloyd McCallum

Former Fonterra director Harry Bayliss and current director Nicola Shadbolt in discussion at the annual meeting.

is to get a 27% pay rise. The co-op shareholders passed a resolution, at last week’s annual meeting, boosting his salary from the current $315,000 to $400,000. Shareholders also agreed to increase Fonterra director fees by 14% to $160,000. They will also receive allowance for board committee membership. Fonterra director remuneration committee chairman Rodney Wilson says market expectations and trends for director fees – both here and overseas – were taken into account when setting the new fees. “The committee believes it is important to set realistic fee levels, having particular regard to the broader market to ensure skilled directors are attracted and retained on the board,” he told the meeting. Wilson says the committee also looked at market trends and believes Fonterra director fees are “modest” in comparison to other New Zealand companies. The committee also increased the fees of Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Simon Couper by 12.5% to $90,000. The council’s deputy chair will now get $55,000 – an increase of 25%, while councillors’ fees remain unchanged at $25,000. Fonterra shareholders also approved a new budget for the council. Independent director John Waller was re-elected for another term.

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Fonterra annual meeting // 5

Van der Heyden’s reign as Fonterra’s white knight to end FONTERRA CHAIRMAN Henry van der

Heyden is to step down next year. Van der Heyden says he will ensure a smooth transition for the new chairman to take over. His departure will mark the end of an era for Fonterra. The co-op last month appointed a new chief executive Theo Spierings to replace Andrew Ferrier,

who led the co-op for eight years. Van der Heyden says the board has been discussing leadership issues for the past two to three years. “We felt it was appropriate for me to step down in 2012,” he told the coop’s annual meeting in

Whangarei last week. Van der Heyden assured shareholders he will not take his mind off the job during the next 12 months. He noted that Ferrier left the co-op on a high note after announcing a record financial result. “I know we are $1.50/ kgMS behind last year right now, I will be putting pressure on management so that we can

Henry van der Heyden

deliver a similar result.” Van der Heyden is the third director exiting Fonterra’s board during the next 12 months. His threeyear term expires at the 2012 meeting. Greg Gent retired at the annual meeting last week. He was replaced by David MacLeod, Taranaki. Independent director John Ballard will leave in May. He will be replaced by outgoing Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris. Van der Heyden says Norris is available to take up the post in May and Ballard has accepted a board request to stay on for another six months. He paid tribute to Ballard who joined the board in 2006. “He brought a valued global perspective and insights into consumer businesses based on his extensive corporate experience in Australia.” Van der Heyden says securing Norris’ services was great for the co-op. “Ralph is an outstanding New Zealander with a superb international track record at the highest levels of business.”

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TARANAKI’S DAVID MacLeod has made history in more ways than one following his election to the Fonterra board. He doesn’t own a dairy farm, he’s chairman of the Taranaki Regional Council and he’s the first Maori to be elected to the board. MacLeod, 43, who hails from Hawera, has many local business interests including being on the board of the Parininihi Ki Waitotara Incorporation – a Maori investment company that manages 15 dairy farms – and is a director of Port Taranaki. However, it’s his role as chairman of TRC that has networks around the country buzzing, with some suggesting it may be a conflict of interest. But MacLeod says this is not so and believes it’s an advantage. He says he’ll remain as chairman of TRC. “I think it brings a clear experience that is valuable. “Obviously dairy farming in New Zealand has its own issues as regards to environmental sustainability. I’ve been on the TRC for more than 12 years and that sort of experience brings a valuable point of view to the

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board table,” he told Dairy News. MacLeod says while TRC has environmental problems like other regions; it’s got a reputation for sorting out these issues with different parties in a positive and pragmatic way. He believes the big issues facing Fonterra are its ability to obtain the volumes of milk it needs to hold its market share and to be strategic about how this is done. He also sees the need to get the best price for product and also the need for the company to improve its connectiveness – both locally and internationally. “Fonterra is a great company, but unfortunately there’s a large segment in society that give us a hard time. It’s the tall poppy syndrome. “They think that all dairy farmers in New Zealand are multi-millionaires. But most critics don’t appreciate that a lot of the money coming into the dairy industry is going straight back out into local regions,” he says. MacLeod says the more successful Fonterra is – the more successful New Zealand will be.

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news // 7

Key wants responsible farms peter burke

John Key says there

needs to be a balance between encouraging agricultural production and protecting the environment. Speaking at Federated Farmers National Council meeting in Wellington last week, he said while the country had an obliga-

tion to take opportunities the agricultural sector provides, everyone must act in a most environmentally responsible way. “National is committed to creating the right environment for farming to grow and become more productive, but in a responsible manner,” he says. Key also touched on the benefits of what he called

‘well-designed water storage and irrigation systems’. “Irrigation increases the productivity of our farmland, protects against droughts and takes the uncertainty out of water flows for farmers and recreational users. Water storage is good for the environment and allows for the replenishment of aquifers.”

Key also used the speech to launch National’s trade policy and spoke about the importance of agriculture in any agreement negotiated by New Zealand. “I can assure you that any government that I lead will walk away from any trade agreements that exclude our principle export interests.” Key emphasised the

Feds demand equity FEDERATED FARMERS president Bruce Wills says it

is tough forcing higher standards on dairy farmers, when other farmers further up a catchment allow hillsides to erode putting nutrients into water. Addressing the Feds’ national council meeting in Wellington last week, Wills says it’s frustrating, when farmers are expected to reach a much higher standard than what is expected of business, councils or of the wider community. “Water is a catchment issue and solutions need to be community focussed. We are heavily involved with the Land & Water Forum and are pleased by the proposed Environmental Reporting Bill.

“We all share the environment. For farmers, it is our front and back office. It’s also the place we call home.” Wills wants all farmers and Federated Farmers to be respected for finding solutions, rather than conflict. “It is about finding sensible outcomes rather than focusing on problems.” He says the vast majority of farmers embrace the right to farm, but also know they have an obligation to the environment. “Every farmer I have ever spoken to wishes to make a reasonable living for themselves and their family. They also have a desire to leave their farm better than when they found it,” he says.

value of government led trade missions saying they played a vital role in opening doors that businesses alone could not do. He pointed out that much of the huge growth in the Chinese market was due to these missions. Key promised that in the next three years, his government, if elected , would lead 28 such missions to New Zealand’s major trading partners including Australia, China the US and Japan. Finally, the Prime Minister stressed that any ETS relating to agriculture may not go ahead in 2015 as planned if other trading partners had not made further progress with their climate change policies to reduced emissions. Key told delegates that while his party was on record as planning for the gradual phasing in of the ETS in 2015 and was committed to reviewing this in 2014. “If elected, National

John Key at the Federated Farmers National Council meeting last week.

will not impose a liability of an ETS on farmers unless there are practical technologies to deal with emissions,” he explained. “It is not fair to tie the hands of our agricultural producers when their competitors do not face similar regimes, and the ability to reduce emissions is simply does not exist.” he says. Key’s speech was not his normal jovial off-thecuff missive. He appeared somewhat tense delivering

a carefully crafted appeal for the rural vote At the end of his speech, he stayed to answer questions on such issues as rural roads, the role of Landcorp and the RMA. However, the mainstream media pack was not there to hear about trade policies, but to question him on the ‘Epsom tea party’. This eventually led Key refuse to answer questions on the topic and abruptly leave the press conference.

production fall expected peter burke

MILK PRODUCTION is starting to fall nationwide, despite what appears to be a surplus of grass. But DairyNZ’s principal scientist Dave Clark says this phenomenon is not unusual for this time of the year. For example, per cow production in Waikato dropped in October from 2.5 to 1.5kgMS/cow. A similar slide is reported in Manawatu/ Horowhenua where seasonal above-average rainfall is noted. DairyNZ’s team leader there, Scott Ridsdale, says 140mm of rain fell in October – 40mm more than

last year. Half way through November 70mm has fallen when the average this month is just 80mm. The rain is preventing farmers from planting crops or making silage, and what silage is being made is poorer quality and lower energy, Ridsdale says. The nature of the season is a challenge for farmers to maintain pasture quality. “The poor quality feed is one reason we’re seeing a drop in milk production. This is not affecting cow condition, but it is limiting the amount of live weight gain. I’m not sure cows are losing weight, but they’re certainly not putting on any extra weight.”

Clark says what’s happening now occurs after a good spring and in effect it’s a double whammy. “The ryegrass is going to flower and then to seed and that’s dropping pasture quality every day effectively. “Then you’ve got increasing temperature which is causing leaf structures to lignify which means the feed is less digestible for the cow. It’s difficult to get away from what’s happening over the next couple of weeks.” The lack of sunshine, particularly evident in Manawatu, is helping rather than hindering the situation. This might be slowing

growth and slowing the lignification of the grass and neither is bad. Clark says often at this time of year farmers start to get short of feed, but ironically the quality of the available feed is actually quite good because it has more leaf than stalk. Ridsdale says farmers should now be setting up for December and January. “That means concentrating on pasture quality over the next four weeks. What you don’t want is cows eating stalks left over from previous grazings. It’s better to top those pastures over the next months to make sure of really good quality over summer.”

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

8 // news

Jon Calder

New Fieldays chief rarin’ to go TONY HOPKINSON

JANUARY 9 cannot come quick enough for the newly-appointed National

Fieldays Society chief executive Jon Calder. That’s the day he starts his role at the Mystery Creek site and he is looking forward to the job and

the challenges it will bring. “I grew up in the Waikato and after attending school, college, university and starting my early business life - it is where I

want to be,” he told Dairy News. Calder has an MBA and post graduate diploma in management studies from Waikato University. He has held management roles with Freedom Air, Eagle Air and Air New Zealand and is currently the central region manager with New Zealand Bus, based in Auckland. His wife Karina is from the Waikato and they have two children Olivia 6 and Jack 4. He and his family have been regular visitors to Agricultural Fieldays. Calder believes he will bring team leadership and sound commercial skills to the role. “The New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays is the flagship event, but I see a lot of potential

for the total site and especially the Events Centre. “I’ll be working with the board to develop strategies and then leading our staff and volunteers to make them happen.” Calder believes that everyone has a part to play and if you treat people with respect you can get them all going in the same direction. National Fieldays Society president, Lloyd Downing has great expectations of Calder’s appointment. “We’re pleased to have Jon on board. There are many challenges and opportunities ahead and I’m confident he can lead Mystery Creek Events Centre through any difficult times and onto the next level.”

TPP set to boost dairy FONTERRA IS welcoming Japan’s decision to join TPP

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(trans pacific partnership) trade talks. Japan is a large dairy market for New Zealand dairy products, but exporters face substantial barriers to trade at the moment, says Fonterra group director for supplier and external relations Kelvin Wickham. “We see a high quality outcome for dairy as a crucial part of Japan joining the TPP,” he says. “The Asia-Pacific region is already a major market for Fonterra and is expected to be a major growth area for us in the future.” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Japan’s Kelvin Wickham policy of joining TPP multilateral talks during a meeting with US President Barack Obama at the APEC leaders meeting in Hawaii this month. The proposed TPP pact now includes nine countries - the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Chile and Peru. Any new applicant must be approved by these countries. The TPP goal is to complete a detailed framework in 2012. Fonterra says a comprehensive agreement covering all sectors had considerable potential to liberalise dairy trade to meet the existing and quickly growing demand in the TPP member countries. “We applaud the efforts of the negotiators in making significant headway with the TPP discussions and look forward to their early completion,” says Wickham. Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills says a TPP would transform New Zealand agriculture. He says Japan joining TPP negotiations supercharges the TPP’s overall potential. “Japan is the world’s number three economy and our fourth largest export partner. The potential is huge because the TPP would involve half of our top ten export partners including three of the top four.

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

10 // lic annual meeting

LIC chair defends database stoush Outgoing LIC chair Stuart Bay has defended the genetic cooperative’s on-going stoush with industry-good body DairyNZ over database ownership issues. The disagreement stems from recommendations made in the 2008 Anderson Committee report on the future of animal and farm recording. However, in his final chairman’s address, Bay had a flick at both critics of LIC’s stance and DairyNZ for making the issue public. “Our strong prefer-

Stuart Bay

ence is to keep the matters in-house and to seek a way forward,” he told shareholders at last week’s annual meeting in Hamilton. “We are continuing to work with DairyNZ to resolve this in a way that

makes sense for farmers and LIC shareholders.” Bay told the meeting that its shareholders had built the cooperative into a successful business that delivers significant value for LIC customers – both on-farm and as shareholders. “It is the provision of these products and services that has provided the dairy industry with major benefits and points of difference to the rest of the dairying world. These productivity improvements generate tens of millions of dollar value each year

for farmers and this industry good is a by-product of the commercial success of the LIC cooperative business model. “ The key Anderson Committee recommendation was the transfer of the 46 core data fields from LIC to DairyNZ. “The committee recommended a business case be created to determine the costs and benefits of their recommendations for farmers and the industry,” Bay told shareholders. “To date, LIC does not believe a compelling business case

Leader in farm automation LIC’S FARM technology business

is flourishing with orders for 100 systems in the last quarter. Chief executive Mark Dewdney told shareholders, at last week’s annual meeting, with the advent of rural broadband, the co-op’s focus is moving to delivering “more value to farmer customers, more frequently, anywhere, anytime, on any device”. He says Protrack, the automatic animal drafting system, had a great year with orders exceeding 100 systems in the last quarter. “Our focus over the last six months has been to ensure we deliver on our promise through the installation process as well as maintaining high levels of support and service for existing Protrack customers. “At over 850 systems nationally, we are the leader in in-shed automation in New Zealand and now have an install base that is big enough to sustain more investment in product development and sales and operational support.”

Herd recorder MINDApro uptake also increased, from 3,300 users in 2006-07 to over 9,000 - about 85% of all dairy farmers. Around 1,850 LIC customers now use its electronic yellow notebook equivalent – MINDA Mark Dewdney Mobile. With rural broadband arriving soon, LIC needs to move the focus of information software program to the web, says Dewdney. “MINDAMilk has been launched and new pasture measuring and forecasting and Reproduction management applications will be rolled out shortly. “Our Innovation Farm at Rukuhia is starting to play a significant role in many of these developments and I’m pleased to say it’s also now performing well as a commercial farm.” He says LIC has invested $5million on a re-engineering project to introduce new technology and auto-

mation into its GeneMark lab. Its goal was to improve result accuracy, speed up the processing time and automate a large number of processes that were previously manual, Dewdney added. “The team at GeneMark has done a great job over the last 24 months to validate and integrate the new DNA technology software, improve work processes, and improve customer service and satisfaction. LIC has also completed the development of a new Tissue Sampler unit in partnership with Allflex. “We are planning on growth year on year in our Diagnostics product range, and uptake,” says Dewdney. “To ensure we are able to meet the growth and customer turnaround time expectations, we have commenced a major upgrade of our lab information management systems.”

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has been presented to, or endorsed by, dairy farmers.” He also accused Waikato Federated Farmers of breaking into print prematurely without obtaining a ‘full understanding’ of the issues. “Effecting the transfer requires a change to the LIC Constitution which needs the support of a majority of LIC sharehold-

0800 745 297 – lisac@ipnz.co.nz

He said this was not acceptable to the LIC board. “The commercial database belongs to LIC shareholders – who are a subset of 14,500 DairyNZ levy paying dairy farmers. Not all farmers who pay a levy to DairyNZ have invested in the development of the LIC commercial database or the data fields that are sought by DairyNZ.”

Breeding heifers for Fonterra farms LIC IS working with Fon-

terra to support its international farming ventures. Its Genes on Legs programme signed up 88 farmers this year to use LIC-sexed semen to breed heifers for sale to Fonterra. The heifers are exported to China where the dairy co-op has three commercial farms. LIC chief executive Mark Dewdney says this

initiative helps Fonterra, grows LIC and provides a mechanism for farmers to increase their genetic gain and generate additional income from sales of heifers. “The outlook for growth in dairying around the world, combined with concerns of price volatility for inputs, is increasingly raising the profile of grazing and pasture based

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ers and to DIRA – which needs the support of the Minister of Agriculture,” Bay added. “LIC board’s intention was to seek shareholder support at this annual meeting. However, DairyNZ advised they would not support the shareholder consultation required for a vote unless we agreed to their tabled proposal in full.”

dairy farming. LIC is well positioned to grow as this trend gains momentum through the supply of genetics and advice,” he says. LIC’s future focus is on expanding its distribution throughout the world, he says. “We are involved in a number of interesting initiatives with Fonterra, Agria and New Hope. Our existing agents in many countries, and some new potential partners, I expect a number of these will come to fruition over the next 12 months and will translate to further sales and profit growth from our international business.” LIC says its international business delivered another strong result for the 2010-11 season, exceeding budget targets. Sales volumes exceeded 750,000 straws for the first time, which helped offset the negative impact of higher exchange rates.

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

12 // news

Greenies flicked by PKE user sudesh kissun

GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS hoping to put dairy

farmers off palm kernel expeller (PKE) by chaining themselves to boats should think again. Reporoa farmer Alan Wills, a keen PKE user, has cancelled his membership of Greenpeace, rejecting its assertion that the New Zealand dairy industry is responsible for the growth of the palm oil industry in Asia. Wills normally feeds 500kg of PKE or PKE blends annually to each cow. But in tough seasons when pasture is limited, each cow can get up to one tonne of PKE. He sees PKE as a by-product that the New Zealand dairy industry is re-cycling through our cows to help keep production going during ATING OPER R OVER FO IN NZ EARS 15 Y

through periods of poor pasture growth. That is a huge benefit to us and the wider economy, he says. “Prior to it being used as a stock food, it was dumped on uninhabited

and there’s not much that doesn’t get recycled here,” he says. But Greenpeace is taking its protests too far, says Wills. “We cancelled our Greenpeace membership when they started

“We cancelled our Greenpeace membership when they started chaining themselves to ships.” coral atolls around Malaysia and Indonesia,” he told Dairy News. “So it’s organic and we make good use of the product.” Wills rejects Greenpeace’s claim that New Zealand dairy farmers are driving palm oil industry in Asia. Dairy farmers respect the environment and our use of the byproduct is not the driver of any deforestation, he says. “My wife is a greenie

chaining themselves to ships.” Wills has two farms: a home farm running 500 cows on 182ha and 300 cows on a 105ha adjacent property. He has used PKE for seven years. Cows on 300day lactation are fed PKE in spring if pasture growth is poor and again through summer. Some maize is also used in autumn, with PKE to boost starch levels.

Reporoa farmer Alan Wills.

Wills has no animal health issues using PKE. He rejects biosecurity concerns about the feed. “We have well-trained people protecting our borders and

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FONTERRA IS losing

ing the premium ingredients business and forging another top executive. strong customer partnerAndrei Mikhalevsky, ships. managing director global “We wish him well for ingredients and foodserthe future and thank him vice, is leaving the dairy for his contribution to giant to take up the top Fonterra,” says Spierings. job at US dairy co-op, Fonterra says its direcCalifornia Dairies. He will tor of global formulated leave Fonterra at the end foods Alex Turnbull will of this year. act in the position while Mikhalevsky joined a formal recruitment prothe cooperative five years Andrei Mikhalevsky cess is underway. ago to manage its preCalifornia Dairies is the state’s largest mium ingredients business globally. Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says dairy co-op. It produces 43% of the CaliMikhalevsky has done a great job lead- fornia’s milk and is owned by 450 farmers.

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But he admits 2008-09 was a learning curve for the industry. “It was a oneoff event, the product was new and there were lessons learnt by all players.” A drought followed by a reduced payout, triggered

Mikhalvesky resigns

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I trust what they allow in is safe.” Wills buys PKE from J Swap, Matamata. “They are well organised with a big fleet of trucks and generally get to us within 48 hours.”

by the global financial crisis, forced some farmers to walk away from PKE and maize supply agreements which had them paying more than the spot price. The drought also spiked demand for PKE and companies were struggling to meet demand. “It was a difficult time for everyone. They were struggling to supply those of us on contracts. As we went into the drought we had a profile of using nearly a unit load a week but that became difficult for them to maintain as the demand pressure came on. But we have worked through that and the situation is a lot more stable now and working well.” Wills also sees PKE as part of sustainable farming. He‘s not a big fertiliser user. PKE becomes part of the nutrient management mix via effluent and cows excreting on paddocks.

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

14 // OPINION Ruminating

EDITORIAL

Keeping the buggers honest

milking it...

Milk dress coming

Storm in a tea cup?

IF PROOF was needed that political coverage in New Zealand borders on the inane and trivial, the media furore about the supposed ‘cup of tea’ tape between PM John Key and ACT’s John Banks takes the cake. Two weeks out from polling day the political hacks – instead of analysing pollies’ proposals for tax, welfare, trade, agriculture and superannuation – were wasting hours on what may or may have not been said by Key and Banks over their fatuous cuppa. Milking It is unsure whether this conversation was recorded legally or illegally and frankly doesn’t care. But we reckon only one occupation – journalist – rates lower in voters’ estimation than politician. No wonder! Meantime, while Keys’ and Banks’ political opponents tried to cash in and join the media melee demanding the tape be released, guess who got no coverage of their policies, and whose names were kept high by the media spotlight? That’s right: Banks and Key were all over the media while Labour, Green and even media magnet Winston paled to grey. Political journalists – give yourselves a collective uppercut, or as the younger generation say these days: epic fail!

MASS PRODUCTION of dresses from milk will begin next year and companies are already linking for a piece of the action. German designer Anke Domaske, designer of an awardwinning new textile made entirely from milk, has so far only used the fabric to make dresses for her own MCC fashion line. But next year Domaske has plans to begin mass production. Called ‘Qmilch,’ the milk dress drapes and folds like silk, but can be washed and dried like cotton. Germany’s Textile Research Association says this sustainable fiber that could revolutionise the clothing industry.

Sour grapes?

THE DEPARTURE of Andrei Mikhalevsky, hand-picked by former chief executive Andrew Ferrier to head its global ingredients business, will raise eyebrows. Weeks after Theo Spierings took over from Ferrier, the USbased Mikhalevsky has announced he’s leaving. Was Mikhalevsky interested in the top job at Fonterra and is now leaving in protest after missing out? Whatever the reason, his departure gives Spierings the opportunity to hand pick a key member of his management team. Will he look to Europe for Mikhalevsky’s successor? Watch this space.

Green bad apples

A FEW bad apples can hurt you. Greens’ leader Russell Norman last week discovered this the hard way. Norman and the Greens love bagging farmers for poor water quality in rivers and lakes. What they fail to acknowledge is that most farmers look after the environment. Only a few drag the whole industry down. Maybe last week’s incident involving a Green Party member, who without the knowledge of the party’s top brass, defacing National billboards will help the Greens grow up. A few bad apples spoil things for everyone, Mr Norman.

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ISSN 1175-463X

WE ARE – again – at that moment in the electoral cycle where we get to choose who will be in Government for the next term. Unfortunately, election campaigns nowadays seem to be dominated by the trivial and the banal – photo opportunities, engineered slogans and staged television debates – rather than any real contest of ideas. This year has been no exception, with more airtime and newspaper space wasted on what may or may not have been said in a surreptitiously recorded conversion; than given to cover the different political parties’ views on monetary policy, taxation and the economy – to name but a few. It is hard to blame politicians from being clichéd and superficial when our fourth estate is even more clichéd and superficial. Despite all the campaign sideshows, noise and fluff, this election is an important and one. Rural New Zealanders are increasingly becoming marginalised; as population dictates that politicians chase votes and the favour of urban communities. However, the sector’s vote should not be taken for granted or dismissed as unimportant. While there are a myriad of political parties out there competing for our vote; the reality is that it comes down to a choice between a Government either led by Labour or National. All the other parties – despite their claims – are just bit players. They are merely cling-ons who will only get a tiny part of their policies adopted if in coalition with one of the major parties. Rural voters need to weigh up the policies of the two major parties and see how this will impact on the farming sector and New Zealand. Voting is not a perfect science, but a balancing act. Labour’s proposals to introduce a capital gains tax, an emission trading scheme and the reintroduction of union-based wage bargaining, along with harsher environmental regulations and more generous welfare benefits that will likely be part of its coalition deal the Greens seem a pretty tough sell in the country. However, National doesn’t have it easy with rural voters as well. While its less tax mantra and delay to introducing an ETS to agriculture are more welcome; its plans for partial privatisation of some state assets is not universally popular in either town or the country. MMP also means taking into consideration potential coalitions and how different parties might work together. The party vote is the most important. Rural voters should consider their electoral choices carefully and wisely – as previous generations have shed blood to afford us the privilege.

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

opinion // 15 BW all about lifting profit DON BLUMHARDT (Dairy News, November 8) should know better. As a LIC shareholder councillor he was privileged to be involved in the process of seeing the BW system evolve and have elements fully explained by the scientists identifying the purpose, principles and statistics that support the changes in BW. Readers need to be reminded that the New Zealand dairy industry’s breeding objective is to identify animals whose progeny will be the most efficient converters of feed into farmer profit. It is not about the protein to fat ratio. It is about the difference between the cow and the current 1995 base cow. The 7 BV values are the summary of complex feed and economic considerations. For example if all parameters are held constant and a cow produces 1 kg more fat – then it will earn the farmer $1.76 more profit. Or if it produces 1 kg more protein then it will earn the farmer $8.21 more profit. Do that for

every BV and we will get the true difference in the BW of that cow and the base cow. In summary, a cow with a BW of $200 will derive $200 more profit than the 1995 base cow during her lifetime and those of her daughters. The same applies to the sire. Therefore a dam with a BW of $100 and a sire of $200 should derive a daughter capable of producing a $150 profit more than the current average base cow. There are numerous factors and calculations performed to derive the current 7 BVs. For instance; the Live Weight BV consolidates the feed cost to grow a calf foetus, grow the born calf to an in-calf heifer, the energy cost needed to gain her mature weight during her first lactation and maintenance throughout subsequent lactations. In simple terms, it determines the amount of profit deliverable from a given amount of feed, the ubiquitous 4.5t dry matter. At that time the 1985 average cow would produce 174

Fonterra compo FONTERRA HAS farmer support to seek compensation of production loss caused by last month’s Maui gas pipeline leak. An online poll on www.ruralnews.co.nz found 84% of respondents support compensation for the co-op. Eight percent opposed compensation. The rest say they don’t care. Visit www.ruralnews.co.nz for this week’s poll.

ONLINE POLL Do you think Fonterra should stop collecting milk from suppliers who constantly breach effluent management rules? ●

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kg fat, 133 kg protein generating revenue. Added to that is the revenue from bobby calves and her final cull value when she exits the herd. In 1985 4.5t of DM at 10.5 MJME would have yielded 47,250 MJME needed to keep our cow alive [LW cost] for a season and derive income from

milk, Protein$ + Fat$ +/- Volume charge$ + bobby calf$ + cull$ etc and generated about $1,200 of income. At that time the opportunity cost of 1 MJME was 2.5c. Put another way, 47,250 MJME produced 307 kg of MS or 14.6 kg DM/kg MS Today, our average cow will produce 194 kg Fat, 154 kg Protein

and 198 kg Lactose. At a $7.00 payout will generate $2443 income from milksolids. Gerard van Beek Whakatane (abridged)

New Zealand dairy industry’s breeding objective is to identify animals whose progeny will be the most efficient converters of feed into farmer profit.

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

18 // management

Feeding the right supplement DURING THE last few years, there has been a rise in the number of in-shed feeders being used on New Zealand dairy farms. This method of feeding cows has a number of advantages in terms of convenience, low wastage and the ability to control per cow intake of concentrates. Feeding the right supplement through your in-shed feeding system will ensure you maximise milk returns and supplementary feeding profitability. Processed maize grain is an excellent choice. Maize has a higher energy content than other grains

as well as many other commonly available concentrates. It can be used to increase cow energy intakes, delivering more milk, more milk protein and faster condition score gains. Recent information

published by DairyNZ shows that milk production is determined by the amount of energy a cow eats, but the composition of the milksolids she produces is affected by the type of supplement fed3. When cows are fed a starch or sugar-based sup-

plement, they produce more milk protein. When cows are fed a fibre-based supplement, they produce more milk fat. Since milk protein is worth two to three times more than milk fat, starch and sugar-based supplements will deliver more milk revenue than fibrebased supplements. As well as containing more energy than other concentrates (e.g. dairy meal, other grains), maize grain has advantages for rumen health.

Feed

on the age and production level of livestock and the amount and type of other feeds in the diet. General recommendations for cows are: Feed a maximum of 30% of the total drymatter intake as maize grain. Start at lower rates (e.g. 1kg maize grain per cow per day and increase feeding rates gradually over 7-10 days). Feed a maximum of 2.5kgDM maize grain in a single feed. Feeding rates will be lower in diets that

Figure 1: Typical Concentrate Energy Content1, 2

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Ian Williams is a Pioneer forage specialist. Contact iwilliams@genetic. co.nz. 1 Feed values taken from Holmes et al. 2003. Milk Production from Pasture, Massey University, NZ. 2 Palm kernel extract feed value from Kolver E. 2006. PKE – Economically priced supplement. Dexcelink Autumn 2006.

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Fat

Protein

PKE

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$510

Barley

$675

$780

Maize grain

$800

$920

Table 1: Estimated milk revenue from feeding 1tDM of different supplements fed through an in-shed feeding system3

It has a high starch content, but virtually no soluble sugar. Maize starch is less rapidly broken down in the rumen than other starch types. This means there is a lower risk of acidosis (grain overload) when feeding maize grain – compared to other grains (e.g. wheat) or high sugar feeds (e.g. molasses). Maize grain feeding rates will vary depending

contain other sources of carbohydrate (e.g. other grains or meals, molasses or high sugar or starch by-products). Maize grain is an ideal supplement for pasturefed calves and young stock promoting rapid rumen development and excellent liveweight gains. Processed maize grain can be purchased as required, from most local grain companies. For more information

3 Adapted from Roche and Hedley, 2011 Supplements – the facts to help improve your bottom line. DairyNZ Technical Series July, 2011 p 6-10. Assumes grazing residuals of 1,500-1,600 kgDM (7-8 clicks on RPM). Responses decline when residuals are higher than 1,600 kgDM (i.e. cows are better fed). For a full list of assumptions see http:// www.dairynz.co.nz/file/ fileid/37671.

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

20 // animal health / nutrition

Humates add to good grass growth WHILE NOT classing his farm as organic, Andrew Fraser believes what you put into the soil is what makes the grass grow. He has always used reverted phosphate products and for seven years has added humates to his fertiliser and feed. Andrew and his wife Clare farm in an equity partnership with Andrew’s

Andrew Fraser

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and grow 17ha of maize annually which is fed on the pad from April-September. “We also use the feed pad for holding cows on wet days because when it gets wet here it really gets wet.” Fraser employs two full time staff and casual staff early spring. The dairy has automatic cup removers. Last winter for the first time Fraser sent 225 cows to Hawke’s Bay believing the season would be very wet. This proved correct and he was well satisfied. “It worked out well. They were away 10 weeks and came back in excellent condition as well as giving us here a little more room to move.” When feeding cows on the feed pad he adds some

of Fertco’s Mineral Boost, PKE and 50gm/cow/day of humates. And he adds humates 8% by weight to his bulk fertiliser. “I’m convinced adding it to the mix helps the fertiliser work better in the soil and it makes plant roots go deeper.” Fraser says adding humates to the total feed ration has many benefits including improved cow condition, fewer cleaning problems or metabolic troubles, and better cycling enabling him to further shorten the calving period for the following season. “The farm has a low cell count – all part of feeding our cows better.” www.humates.co.nz Tel: 027 275 5949

Transport stress on animals TRANSPORT TETANY

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parents David and Glenis on both sides of the Pokuru Road, west of Te Awamutu, on the slopes of Mount Kakepuku. The farm has 313ha and 285ha each side of the road and a 56ha run-off 3km away. “Our total farm is a third rolling and the balance flat and has three road underpasses, two river bridges and one road crossing to get stock to all paddocks,” says Andrew. The 840 FriesianX cows are milked in a 50-bail rotary. He runs a split herd system with the younger cows (2- and 3-yrold) getting a better start away from bullying older cows at feed time, drinking and in the yard. They have a feed pad adjacent to the dairy shed

is a metabolic disease that occurs during or immediately after a long journey. Affected cows show signs similar to hypomagnesaemia or grass staggers. While some respond to treatment if administered early, this disease is complicated by the stress of transport and is difficult to treat. The survival rate of cows that lie down is generally poor Well-fed cows in late pregnancy are at greatest risk, but recently calved and lactating cows are susceptible and young stock can also be affected. Cows in the final weeks of pregnancy and early lactation are under stress from the metabolic demands for milk production, and the added stress of transport increases the risk of disease.

The exact process, whereby otherwisehealthy cows are affected by this condition, is not well understood. High cortisol levels due to transport stress and dehydration are thought to alter mineral and metabolic balance, and blood levels of magnesium, calcium and phosphorus fall.

Increased sweating during transport and loss of saliva may also contribute to the imbalance The clinical signs of transport tetany are similar to grass staggers: restlessness, excitability and aggression, teeth grinding and staggering. Abortion may occur as a complication.

Risk factors ■■

Body condition – fatter cows are more susceptible.

■■

Stage of pregnancy – cows in late pregnancy are more susceptible.

■■

Over-feeding in the hours immediately before transport.

■■

Duration of travel without food and water available – longer journeys have higher risk.

■■

High environmental temperatures during transport – factors such as over-crowding on trucks, and poor ventilation exacerbate the problem.

■■

Unrestricted access to water and exercise immediately after arrival.

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

animal health / nutrition // 21

Protein digestion and metabolism in cows.

How much protein do cows need in summer? john roche

THE PRINCIPLES of profit-

ably supplementing cows during the summer are similar to those recommended at other times of the year. Cows should only be supplemented when there is insufficient pasture or crop to maintain an ideal grazing rotation (i.e. long enough for the pasture to grow three live leaves and/or pasture residuals are less than 3.5 cm (7 clicks on the rising plate meter or 1,500kg DM/ha on the winter formula). However, the type of supplement required may be different in summer to that required in other seasons. The unique point of discussion about supplementary feeding in summer tends to be around cow requirements for protein. Pasture protein concentrations tend to be less in summer than in spring and autumn. This problem has been exacerbated in recent dry summers in the North Island and can also be a problem when water restrictions are imposed in irrigated regions. Coupled with this, many of the feed supplements used on dairy farms tend to be low in protein. However, protein supplements tend to be very expensive; therefore it is important to assess if there is a genuine need for protein supplements before making the decision to purchase. The likely need for supplementary protein in summer will be evaluated in this article. What is protein? The lean body mass of an animal – the muscles, organs, intestines – consists mainly of protein and water. Although cows have an available store of energy in fat, there is

Decision to feed supplements THE DECISION to feed supplements in summer should be the same as at other times of the year – to maintain adequate rotation lengths and pasture residuals • Energy is the first limiting nutrient in summer in most circumstances • Protein is rarely limiting in New Zealand during summer • Nutrition models suggest that a protein deficit is unlikely to limit production until dietary crude protein is less than 12% DM (e.g. when low protein feeds are more than 50% of the diet) Determining the requirement for supplementary protein is difficult because it involves many factors. As protein supplements tend to be very expensive, the requirement for additional protein must be clear and the response profitable.

very little protein available from these stores. Therefore, cows need a constant supply of protein from their diet. Nutritionists use multiple terms when referring to protein. True Protein is the feed fraction that is digested to amino acids in the small intestine and absorbed. In dairy cows, true protein reaching the small intestine is a mixture of feed protein and microbial protein (i.e. protein contained in the micro-organisms that have passed from the rumen). True protein reaching the small intestine is referred to as Metabolisable Protein. This is the protein fraction that is important for tissue repair, growth and production. The protein referred to in dairy cow nutrition is generally Crude Protein. Crude protein is a measure of the amount of nitrogen (N) in a feed (Crude Protein = 6.25 x N) and reflects a mixture of true protein and Non-Protein Nitrogen (nitrogen containing compounds that do not contain amino acids: e.g. urea). Because all protein contains

nitrogen, and because the rumen micro-organisms in a pasturebased diet utilise nitrogen and not protein, it is an effective indicator of nitrogen availability for dairy cows. Approximately 90% of protein in pasture is available for degradation in the rumen (Rumen Degradable Protein), but much of this is not degraded as it passes from the rumen too quickly. This is available to the cow as Undegraded Dietary Protein or Bypass Protein in the small intestine (see figure). Is protein important? All animals require protein for the repair and maintenance of body tissues. Growing animals need additional protein for muscle and organ development. Meanwhile, lactating cows require additional protein for milk protein synthesis. In addition to this, rumen microbes need a source of nitrogen (i.e. crude protein) to maximise the digestion of feed in the rumen; low dietary crude protein levels will reduce feed digestibility, DM intake and milk production.

How much protein does a cow need? Common recommendations of protein requirements are simple: • 18% crude protein in early lactation, • 16% crude protein in midlactation, • 14% crude protein in late lactation, and • 10-12% crude protein when dry. Although good rules of thumb, these recommendations are not correct for pasture-based systems. In reality, cow requirements for protein are much more difficult to determine than these simple rules indicate. Requirements depend on many factors. For example: • Energy status of the cow – cows losing body condition require more dietary protein to maximise milk production than cows gaining condition • Milk production level – higher milk production results in a greater demand for dietary protein • Metabolisable energy (ME) content of the feed – cows offered high ME feeds require higher levels of dietary crude protein (see Table 1) and, in particular, rumen degradable protein • The amino acid makeup of the protein – some supplements result in a deficiency of particular amino acids • Ambient temperature – heat stressed cows expend energy trying to cool and, so, are less likely to require protein supplements for milk production. Where a lack of protein is limiting production during hot weather, bypass protein becomes more important • John Roche is principal scientist animal science at DairyNZ.

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

animal health // 23

Reading what your cows are saying TONY HOPKINSON

KEENAN SYSTEMS

Kavanagh say “Cows never lie; they tell the truth and it is up to farmers to recognise what the animals are telling them and do something about it.” There is a difference between looking and seeing – farmers must act. Many animals can be 20% sick before they start to show signals to the farmer. Kavanagh outlined several points farmers should look for. Most variations in cow health can be found by looking at several groups of just 10 animals. “When more than 10% vary from normal, something needs to be done,” he says. Too many farmers look at the average, not

the variations, and don’t appreciate that by strategically feeding the bottom 10% they can raise the production average a lot. “The important question farmers must ask is ‘why the variation?’ “The Keenan feed system does not have to be high input, but strategically used to reduce the variations of certain animals.” Many European farmers are changing by eliminating all-possible variations to reduce the large wastage under their present regimes. They are focusing on cow health and slowly changing their long entrenched attitudes on housing and feeding their animals.

Vet Martin Kavanagh explaining cow signals at a field day at Matamata.

Family farm ROSCREA FARM has a milking platform of 73ha (eff.) with some adjacent land used for young stock and to grow maize and silage for the milking herd. It has been in the family since being bought by Belton’s grandfather. “We also buy in extra maize silage if needed as well as PKE, soy meal and straw,” says Belton. The farm has used the Keenan system for three years.

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has been running seminars called ‘CowSignals’ – studying the “universal body language” of cows and what it can tell farmers. The company’s vet and animal health consultant Martin Kavanagh has run such seminars in Europe (east and west), UK, Scandinavia and now Australia and New Zealand. Geography and culture may differ, he says, but dairy farmers can all understand that ‘cow language’ is the same around the world, Kavanagh says. He has worked 15 years as a vet in Ireland, beginning with Keenan Systems in 2007. Fifty farmers at a field day at Simon and Jo Belton’s Roscrea Farm at Te Poi, near Matamata, heard

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

24 // effluent & water management

Pondering the pond PETER BURKE

DAIRY FARMERS must carefully research and plan the size and type of any new effluent storage pond or tank they propose to build, says DairyNZ farm advisor Logan Bowler. DairyNZ seminars in the lower half of the North Island have explained in detail the steps farmers should take, and specific issues they should know, before signing for the building of a pond or tank. A ‘pond size calculator’ – not guesswork – should

determine the size, Bowler says. This model gives good answers; farmers should not try to manipulate this to get the answers they’d like.

and pump breaks. If they are poor do something about it.” Incorrect measurements can result in too small a pond. On aver-

A pond size calculator - not guesswork - should determine the size. “You shouldn’t use industry averages for your farm. Farmers should go out there and do their own measurements. Measure how much water is used in the shed, the application depths of the irrigators

age 20% of pond capacity is lost to storage because some sludge at the bottom cannot be removed, so there needs to be a 10% buffer on the top. Farmers must also know their soils and

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capacity for absorbing effluent during different seasons. These vary from farm to farm and even on a farm. With all technical details worked out, decide who will build the system and the pond, and get someone knowledgable, Bowler says. The DairyNZ/IrrigationNZ accreditation for effluent system design offers some guarantees if an accredited supplier has done the work. He advocates farmers make a formal contract with the supplier. “It’s a no-brainer that guarantees a costly project.” Focus on water conservation, i.e. minimise the amount water going into the pond. “Water reduction makes common sense environmentally and dollar-wise. We should use only what we need. If we

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Effluent pond design is crucial.

minimise pumped water we save money re storage. That’s where all the grief is: the number of days

farmers have to irrigate out of a pond onto their paddocks in a manner that’s compliant.”

To reduce excess water from a pond, divert roof or yard water into a storm water system.

Check council rules CHECK YOUR local council’s rules before starting effluent works, says Logan Bowler. Though farmers know the basic rules on effluent management, e.g. not discharging effluent into water, and have regional council rules on their radar, some farmers don’t know much about their district councils’ rules. Bowler says he didn’t know all of them until he started detailed research. “I’m not sure farmers are aware of some of the rules, in particular

Logan Bowler, DairyNZ

those relating to buffer zones,” he says. The rules vary depending on whether an effluent pond or tank is being built. Some may need a building permit, some a consent. Identical effluent storage ponds or tanks may have to meet one set of rules in Horowhenua,

another in Manawatu. This point drew much discussion at a recent seminar at Rongotea. Robert Burnell, farming near Foxton, was surprised at a lack of consistency in district plans. The take-home message for him was to do his homework.

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

effluent & water management // 25

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of their consent have been fulfilled.” Cater’s farm this year received an ‘excellent’ compliance grade for the first time from the Horizons Regional Council, in contrast to a ‘marginally compliant’ 12 months ago. By the end of 2010 his resource consent was due for renewal, prompting him to update his effluent pond storage system. Working with staff from Horizons and DairyNZ, Carter was able to establish the correct sized pond for his farm. He now has 2700m3 storage, allowing him to cope with Eketahuna’s high rainfall.

“I’m pleased I made the change. Greater storage has increased my irrigation area from 20ha to 40ha,” says Carter. “One recommendation I would make it ‘get as much information as possible from the guys at

Horizons and DairyNZ’. They have seen heaps of different systems and processes so they can provide good advice about what could suit you.” Horizons’ annual dairy monitoring began early September.

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stakeholders in the Tararaua district are working together to help farmers improve environment practices. DairyLink brings together representatives of Horizons, DairyNZ, Federated Farmers and Fonterra. One farmer who has benefited from DairyLink is Allan Carter, Eketahuna. DairyNZ lower North Island regional leader Scott Ridsdale says DairyLink is giving farmers such as Carter access to more workable and consistent information. “One example of this collaborative approach is the compliance checklist we encourage farmers to use, so they can check their effluent systems. “The checklists, available on the DairyNZ website, are designed to help farmers go through their systems to ensure all regulations are met and the administrative conditions

2/3/10 3:41:24 PM

Dairy News November 22, 2011

26 // effluent & water management

Auto filling prevents slurry tanker overload A SLURRY tanker made

by Buckton Engineering is “well accepted by dairy farmers,” the company says. “We have added several improvements and modifications to make this a top machine,” says principal Eric Buckton. The auto filling system is improved and there is a protection against over filling to protect the

vacuum pump, also used to pressurise the tank for emptying. The tank has an increased angle to help draining. The auto filler is set up with a suction pipe into the effluent pond and has a wide flange. The filling nozzle is lowered into this and the suction system is activated to fill the tank. When filled the arm is raised and spread-

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ing can begin. Once the auto filling system is set up on site the tank filling and emptying is automatic. The tank holds 12000 L. Most filling and emptying can be done without leaving the tractor seat. The outlet is at the bottom of the tank so no material remains between loads and the vacuum pump has been mounted

Consider your dairy effluent as a resource not a waste. BioRemedies product can harvest that valuable resource giving you the farmer the full nutrient value of that resource. Helping control the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium and magnesium used. With more control over the nutrients from the pond you can then target the growth of your pasture. Beat the headache of effluent control before more controls are put in place. Don’t let your farm be classed as a ‘Dirty Dairy Farm’ because of pond odour. BioRemedies can improve the value of the effluent you now spray on your pasture, along with improving the value we can also help reduce the odour from the pond. Increases in production can be measured when you harvest the milk, you can see the milk yield in the tanker dockets on a daily basis.

lower for optimum PTO angle. The machine has a standard exit nozzle and with a special nozzle can spread material on sidings not usually covered by spray systems. Contractors want to turn around as fast as possible so it will be more economic for the client and farmers wanting to get a job done, Buckton says. The use of a slurry tanker and pond stirrer allows effluent to be taken to all points of a farm – no limitations from delivery line length. Heavier amounts of

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

effluent & water management // 27

Basic errors let industry down sudesh kissun

REGIONAL COUNCILS say basic errors

by farmers are hindering 100% effluent compliance in the industry, as seen in the conviction of four North Island farms over effluent management breaches. BoP Regional Council is concerned the need for farmers’ environmental compliance is falling on deaf ears. Three cases in Tauranga District Court this month related to pollution reaching waterways. Water management manager Eddie Grogan says the prosecutions show dairy farmers must be far more vigilant about about effluent irrigation systems. Glenholme Farm and director Paul Atkinson were found guilty of discharging effluent onto land. The effluent flowed into a watercourse that ultimately leads to the Nukuhou River. Both will be sentenced next month. Warneford Farms Ltd was fined $26,000 for discharging effluent onto land and is required to provide an effluent management plan to the council and install irrigator monitoring. Allan Titchmarsh was fined $24,500 for breaching an abatement notice on dairy effluent discharges. The effluent had flowed into farm drains discharging to the Kaituna River. Titchmarsh was also ordered to produce an effluent management plan that specifies his obliga-

tions as a farm manager. Titchmarsh’s conviction followed the related prosecution of his company Kaituna Pastoral Farms for discharging effluent. It was fined

Following helicopter monitoring by the council in November 2010 a ground inspection was carried out at the Gregan property. This showed effluent from a holding

“We want to achieve 100% compliance but we can’t get ahead if a minority of farmers keep making basic errors and ignoring their legal responsibility to protect waterway.” – Eddie Grogan $40,500. Grogan says in the past year the council has noted an increase in compliance issues on BoP dairy farms, especially with travelling irrigation systems. “These are prone to failure and need to be maintained and placed carefully, well away from waterways.” The prosecutions are a blow to industry partners working hard towards 100% compliance. DairyNZ, Fonterra, Federated Farmers and the council are together providing farmers with resources including workshops and advice. “We want to achieve 100% compliance but we can’t get ahead if a minority of farmers keep making basic errors and ignoring their legal responsibility to protect waterways,” says Grogan. In the Hamilton District Court, an Otorohanga farmer was fined $50,000 over unlawful dairy effluent discharge offences, while his herd manager faced fines of at least $10,000.

pond was deliberately being siphoned to a nearby paddock and ponded in large volumes. Waikato Regional Council staff also found a large, recent overflow from a second holding pond. In March 2010 a Fonterra contractor had seen a “river of effluent” overflowing from a storage pond and running down a hillside at the property. The prosecution was based on the discharges in March and November. Judge Melanie Harland found these discharges did not comply with the council’s effluent management rules, so contravening the RMA. Terence Gregan, a trustee of the Gregan Family Trust, faced three charges over both incidents, and herd manager Shane Rodgers faced two charges over the November incident. Both pleaded guilty. Judge Harland acknowledged there was no direct discharge to waterways but said the real concern was the pros-

and complaints manager Patrick Lynch says the mismanagement of dairy effluent is seen by the court as serious offending and exposes farmers to severe penalties. “We were particularly concerned about the deliberate nature of this offending. It is disappointing to see a case like this when the dairy industry, as a whole, is working so hard to manage farm effluent responsibly and in light of the improved compliance results that we have been reporting recently.”

pect of nitrogen from the effluent leaching into groundwater and ultimately affecting surface water health. She found the overall effect of the offending on the environment was “moderate” and that it was impossible to say exactly what long-term damage would occur. “Nonetheless, the effects of discharges of dairy effluent which may result in leaching to groundwater are by their nature invisible and cumulative.” WRC’s investigations

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

28 // effluent & water management

Good irrigation demands training INCREASED COMPETITION for water has the

efits the wider community and individual farms. It makes pasture grow better, provides more feed which is easier to manage, and ensures systems are

whole community looking at how irrigators use water, says DairyNZ. Good irrigation ben-

simpler to operate and less prone to breakdown. DairyNZ says to irrigate well, farmers must apply the right amount of water at the right time to get

maximum growth. “Apply too much water and it drains away below the pasture and leaches out expensive nutrients; leave it too late and the

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The process has has various different groups consulting extensively, and giving valuable feedback. “One concern is whether more irrigation and farming intensification could adversely effect local waterways, particularly the Hurunui River,” says Ryan. The river is valued by many people, including local communities, iwi and recreational users. A key issue is taking account of social and economic matters, alongside environmental and cultural concerns. To date, different scenarios have modelled the implications of more development in the catchment under different land use and irrigation scenarios. “This work suggests existing farm management practices and continued improvements by land and water users will achieve the proposed water quality targets.”

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or good pastures vs poor pastures) and develop a plan to best minimise the impacts of water restrictions,” says DairyNZ. “Anyone responsible for the overall irrigation system must understand and work within the conditions or rules set by the irrigation scheme or regional council, which govern the supply of water.”

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

effluent & water management // 29

Success assured if you aim high CATHRYN REID

THE CODE of Practice and Design Standards for Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE) sets out clearly the methods for effluent system design. The code’s six main objectives include capturing all FDE, and spreading it evenly and at a depth to maximise uptake by the plant, keeping FDE within the designated area, operating the system safely and complying with all regulatory requirements. With a new or existing effluent system, we need to be able to show we are achieving those objectives. What do we need to check, test and document to be able to show compliance? Start with the application of FDE on paddocks. Do we know accurately at what depth we are applying FDE and how many kg/ ha of nutrients are being applied? A regional council may regularly ask as both figures are usually part of the council’s rules. If you need a consent to apply FDE then it will outline these figures. If FDE is a permitted activity in your region there are still rules that must be complied with. The application depth needs to be measured in

the paddock. Allow your travelling irrigator to travel over containers laid across its path. Use about 20 containers: the more you use the more accurate the result. Measure the depth in each container then calculate the average. But examine all the figures: a large difference between the outer and inner figures will show you are not spreading the effluent evenly. Aim for application uniformity 1.25 – the ratio of the average of the top 25% of depths to the average of all depths. Study this further if your figure is above 1.25. Each council sets limits for nutrients applied/ha/ year – normally kg nitrogen/ha/year, including what is applied as fertiliser and what is applied in FDE. The fertiliser figure can readily be found from your fertiliser order, but what about the nutrients in the FDE? An effluent sample kit can be ordered from Hills Laboratories. It contains everything to sample effluent: full instructions, chilly bin, slicker pads and a courier bag to send the sample to them. The results will give you the nutrients

applied in a range of effluent depths. Using the depth figure you obtained from your irrigator paddock test you can easily see how many kg/ha of nutrients you are applying and then add this to your fertiliser figure to get the total. This must not exceed the limits set by the regional council. Usually councils only have limits for nitrogen.

With regards to animal health, levels of potassium (K) are equally important. Effluent sampling should be done several times per year as FDE characteristics change throughout the season because of variations in feed content, milk production rate, number of times milked per day, animal size, lactation cycle and water dilution. Next check the methods in place to avoid overapplication. This is clearly

visible from a helicopter and often referred to as ‘crop circles’. Irrigator monitors will eliminate this problem. They are designed to automatically stop the pump when the irrigator stops moving or is moving too slowly. This can happen at the end of a run, a burst hose, broken wire rope or the anchor has pulled out. The monitor should be able to automatically turn the pump off and advise the oper-

ator. If the pump is not turned off automatically the risk remains. In conclusion, always aim for best practice. A dairy farmer’s aim should be to produce the best quality milk. We need to think the same way about effluent systems. If you aim for and achieve best practice, compliance will automatically be achieved. www.numedic.co.nz • Cathryn Reid is a director of Numedic Ltd.

Firestone EPDM Geomembrane sustainable, future proof and environmentally friendly storage solutions. • Widths available from 3m up to 15m, therefore fewer joins.

• Design assistance and volume calculations available. • Material warranty from global company – Firestone Building Products.

• Nationwide Firestone trained installation contractors. • Future proof – dependable performance, 50 year life expectancy even when exposed, 20 year Firestone material warranty. • Over 120 million square meters installed worldwide. • 30 years in the NZ lining business. For your nearest installation contractor call

0800 109 093 or 021 280 7266 Email: vaughan@cosio.co.nz www.cosio.co.nz Authorised importer and distributor of Firestone Building Supplies

Turn your EFFLUENT into Fertiliser and save $$$! Reduce solids by up to 50%! Reduce cost of handling solids and capital investment! Biological activity reduces smell! Pond-Eater is a biological degrader of solid waste such as cow dung. Pond-Eater is an easy to use option as it is washed into your effluent ponds through existing systems straight off your milking platform. Pond-Eater is a low cost system requiring no capital investment, easy for staff to use and costs as little as $10 per cow per year. Pond-Eater is available from Biological Solutions and selected distributors.

Biological Solutions Ltd 4a Cargill Place, Richmond, Nelson. P: 03 5449851 F: 03 5449852 E: info@biosolutions.co.nz www.biosolutions.co.nz

Dairy News November 22, 2011

30 // effluent & water management

Weeping wall brings joy to industry NEIL KEATING

RX PLASTICS’ ‘weeping wall’ effluent liquid/ solids separator is hitting the spot with the industry, says designer Tony Atwool. Effluent separation doesn’t come much simpler than the weeping wall, with resulting economy, he told Dairy News. The company launched the ‘wall’ this year at National Fieldays, taking lots of orders during the event, then another goodsize batch soon after. “We were blown away by the response frankly,” Atwool says. Since then at least many more have been ordered, the demand coming from effluent

Plastics for an economical solution in plastic, for supply to resellers, chiefly the emerging effluent system design industry. The requirement was to cheaply separate effluent, the liquid going to pasture via small-diameter pipelines and pumps – no lumps blocking pumps or spray nozzles. To RX Plastics that meant finished liquid able to be irrigated via the company’s popular K-Line ‘pod’ system. Atwool says they quickly discovered “there is no such thing as standard dairy effluent”. “No two farm effluents are the same. The makeup depends on grazing management, the type of feed, and milking duration. These alter the quantity

system designers, the emerging force in the industry. During a visit to Britain last month Atwool saw some of their systems struggling. “They’ve used wooden weeping walls for about 30 years…. But now all eyes are on New Zealand, because we have such density of cow population.” Dairying has for years used weeping walls to separate liquids from solids. But they’ve been timber, and prone to expansion/ contraction that altered the size of the gap that determines what solids get ‘scalped’ from the liquid, and what get past. “And the key to success is maintaining the gap,” Atwool says. DairyNZ asked RX

of fibre present, and the water/solids ratio. “But we set a ‘rule of thumb’ for the crucial weeping wall dimension (the gap between the elements, which retain the solids) – 4mm for the products of direct hosedown, and 8mm for scrapings from feedlots and barns.” Still, it was tricky to float a standardised product to the industry, Atwool says. “We got it down to a parameter of one panel/drying bed/100 cows as a minimum. It does take other calculations, of course, but that was a starting point. “Then came the question, do we fabricate [each unit from moulded parts] or mould the whole thing? We opted for fabricating

New! ADR 500 Effluent Screening Plant

COVERED BY N.Z. PATENT APPLICATION No. 591985

Weeping wall, which separates effluent liquids and solids. Left: Tony Atwool

and settled on three standard gap sizes: 4, 6 and 8mm.” Early on, RX Plastics was involved in two farm installations and monitor-

ing these. “One thing is clear,” Atwool insists. “The greater the area of weeping wall, the better the result will be.”

The systems working confirm to Atwool that a 4mm gapped ‘wall’ works well with the K-Line system. www.rxplastics.co.nz

Our reputation is spreading

Pluck’s can adapt our ADR 500 and twin pond effluent system to work with your current effluent set ups, keeping your upgrade costs down.

All plant and pumps very low kW Self cleaning screen Self cleaning ponds Effluent is clean enough to be pumped into a pivot system if required Screens out everything bigger than 1 mm

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

effluent & water management // 31

Pond mixer causes a stir A REVOLUTIONARY new propeller attached to the new Nevada Dairy Nutrient Solutions TurboStir pond mixer is astounding users with its efficiency in moving and incorporating material in effluent ponds. “This is a specially-formed, three-blade propeller proven in Europe that needs lower tractor horse power and really mixes the material before it is applied to pasture around the farm,” says sales manager of Nevada, Clayton Thomas. Boat owners and ship owners have long known that differences in pitch can make to power delivery and fuel efficiency by having the correct propeller to do the job. This is the experience and technology that has been applied to this propeller. Nevada Dairy Nutrient Solutions are now supplying their two models of pond stirrers with these improved propellers. They can homogenise the strongest surface crusts due to the improved mixing performance of the three blade propeller. “Both models need a lot less tractor horsepower, saving fuel while doing an improved job.” There is no need for oil or a high-maintenance seal, as the shaft has treated wood slide bearings. They are impregnated with oil under high pressure. This allows the slurry to enter the bearing aiding lubrication and cooling the shaft at the same time. Thomas says they have a minimum life span of at least five to 10 years. The TurboStir 6000 pond mixer model has a 6.4 m reach with a hydraulic top link to adjust the angle into the pond. It has welded U-profiles on the shaft offering greater

Reduce the Risk! Fit a TracMap monitor to your Travelling Irrigator System.

Nevada pond mixer in action.

strength and stability when travelling or when using larger tractors. They can be supplied with optional wheel kits. The FarmStir 5000 model 8 suitable for farmers has a reach of 4.6m and has an easy to use manual link for adjusting into ponds. Both machines have a plate to protect the propeller from touching the bottom of the pond. Nevada stirrers have strong frames, bearings that can cope with almost anything and propellers that really mix to provide material that is easy to spread around the farm. www.nevada.co.nz Nevada 0800 278 6006

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

32 // effluent & water management

Junior moo loo is here A NEW yard scraper fits an ATV for cleaning smaller areas and confined spaces unsuitable for tractor mounted models. The Junior Moo Loo scraper has a 1400mm blade. It fastens/releases with one pin to the headstock permanently fitted to the ATV. Weight is 40kg. The unit is developed

and made by Whatawhata Engineering (2009) Ltd and sold by Heads and Tails Dairy Solutions. “We are developing other products for the headstock such as an electric fence carrier for reels and standards,” says Heads and Tails manager Rex Green. The scraper has a

simple lever to raise the blade when reversing and

there is a simple chain hitch to hold the blade up when travelling. It can be used for feed pads and cow yards for holding cattle. “It’s ideal for cleaning underpasses where tractors cannot travel. Some farmers leave the blade beside the tunnel for cleaning when needed

rather than taking it back to base,” Green says. The scraper is strongly made and the ATV will lose traction if it hits obstacles, rather than bend any part of the scraper. Price $1270+gst. Extra headstock for other ATV: $210+gst. Tel. 027 824 0007

Good water use guides TWO NEW DairyNZ guides are available to help dairy farmers to help them use irrigated water efficiently. “There are significant financial and farm system incentives to use water effectively and the Guide to Good Irrigation parts 1 and 2 aim to help dairy farmers fine-tune their irrigation systems even further,” says DairyNZ developer-productivity Steve Lee. “Efficient irrigation is at the heart of many dairy farms, particularly in Canterbury, with significant financial benefits to use water as effectively as possible. They’re paying a huge amount of money to apply it, so there is no advantage in wasting it.” Lee says when capital costs of an irrigation system of around $4500-$5000/ha are calculated, the average 230ha irrigated Canterbury dairy farm can invest just over $1m in irrigation infrastructure. “Depending on which scheme a farmer uses, annual costs for irrigation water can vary between $200-$700/ ha for their water to be delivered.” He says without including labour costs to manage it effectively, an average farmer can be running an annual bill of between $46,000 - $161,000 just for water alone. “It makes sense to care for every drop.” Canterbury is estimated to have 400,000ha of irrigated land, including dairy, horticulture, arable and other pastoral farming (sheep, beef and dairy support farms). Dairy farms in total make up around 212,000ha of irrigated land in the region.

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

effluent & water management // 33

Fertilise wisely to protect water By Bala Tikkisetty

WITH THE advent of warmer weather, farmers have been busy either putting fertiliser on or preparing to do so. It’s important fertiliser is used wisely to avoid unnecessary spending and potentially negative impacts on water quality. If too much fertiliser is applied; or put on in the wrong place or at the wrong time, this important resource can become a contaminant – polluting groundwater and promoting algal growth in waterways. Before buying fertiliser, farmers should look at their nutrient budget and talk to their fertiliser rep about the issues involved to ensure they only apply enough to grow the pasture or crop needed. This will help minimise both the impacts on the economics of the farm and the surrounding environment. Importantly, if farmers don’t already have a nutrient budget, they should ask their fertiliser rep or consultant to prepare one for them. There are significant potential risks involved with fertiliser application and some specific strategies farmers can use to help avoid these problems. Nitrate leaching Pasture plants need nitrogen (N) for healthy leaf growth. But N is an extremely mobile nutrient. If more nitrogenous fertiliser is applied than plants can take up, the excess N ends up leaching down through the soil into groundwater and/or running-off into surface water bodies. An important reason for inefficient N cycling in grazed pastures is the deposition of nitrogen, by the

grazing animals in concentrated urine patches. The amount of N that is deposited is generally much greater than can be taken up by the plants in the urine patch areas and excess N can be lost through leaching. These losses are likely to be highest during periods with excess rainfall and low soil temperatures that limit pasture growth and N uptake – that is autumn, winter and early spring. Dung patches may also contribute, but to a lesser degree, as dung consists mainly of organically bound N that is released slowly. Farmers can reduce the amount of N leaching from pasture by: • Avoiding fertiliser application when plant uptake of nitrogen is low, such as when soils are saturated, during heavy rain, colder periods and when soil temperatures are low; • Applying fertiliser in split dressings; • Ensuring farm dairy effluent is applied to a large enough area; • Adjusting fertiliser policy for effluent irrigated areas to account for the nutrient value of effluent; • Standing cows off pasture during wet weather and capturing the effluent for later application; • Using fenced wetlands and wellmanaged open drains Phosphorus run-off Phosphorus (P) behaves differently to N because it binds with the soil and only dissolves slowly in water over time. This means it doesn’t readily leach to groundwater, but it can still pollute waterways through surface run-off and soil erosion. For this reason, a higher amount of P nutrient comes off dry-stock farms than nitrogen due to soil loss through

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Bala Tikkisetty

either hillside erosion or on stream banks. Dairy farms can also contribute large quantities of P – especially in hilly areas. As is the case with nitrate leaching, farmers can reduce the amount of P running off pasture by ensuring they don’t apply phosphate fertiliser when heavy rain is forecast. Large nutrient surpluses can hurt the environment and mean a waste of farmers’ hard-earned cash spent on fertiliser. Conversely, a nutrient deficit may indicate that a farmer is mining the soil’s nutrient reserves, a situation that cannot continue indefinitely and will eventually compromise pasture production. By establishing a nutrient budget and having a nutrient management plan in place, this will identify what needs to be done on an individual farm to maximise production, minimize losses and protect the quality of our waterways. • Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture coordinator at the Waikato Regional Council.

K-Line™ Std Naan 5022

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KLIPTANK™ Effluent Above Ground Storage Tanks are a patented modular fully lined tank, with capacities of up to 3,000,000 litres and more that will meet your local authority requirements for the storage of effluent. Our tanks are delivered flat packed to your site for efficient assembly. Kliptank solutions also available for wine, molasses, aqua culture, drinking water, irrigation and fire fighting.

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

34 // machinery & products

Maize planter ahead on precision A NEW Väderstad planter, called Tempo, rapidly and pre-

cisely plants maize, corn and sunflower. The machine, developed over five years, was launched last week at Agritechnica, Hanover. Production will begin early next year. The Tempo design stems from the largest research and development project the Swedish family-run business has ever done, says the New Zealand distributor. The result is “one the most of innovative seeders of recent times.” Vaderstad says maize, corn and sunflower differ from grain in the way they achieve optimum yield potential: the seeds need to be planted at only 8-10/m2, evenly spaced and at a specific depth for optimal emergence. This the Tempo does with great precision, the maker says. “We see enormous opportunities in Hungary, Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia”, says Lars Thylén at Väderstad. “Countless” field trials were done there. New Zealand buyers are also likely to appreciate the results of this exhaustive testing and development, the company says. To minimise vibration at high outputs (created by high forward speed) the row unit is designed with trailing gauge wheels, connected to a walking tandem. This ensures a smooth ride of the row unit and thereby a true depth precision of the seeds. To ensure optimal seed-to-soil contact the row unit has a press wheel directly after the seed tube. A Vaderstad designer, Gert Gilstring, says the new metering and delivery system supports pressurised seed transport, making the planter insensitive to slope, vibration and speed. Earlier this year a Ukrainian farmer, Sergei Doktorov, planted 333ha of corn and 110ha of soybeans with the Tempo. The planter’s capacity made it possible to plant 120ha of corn in one day. A CB Norwood (i.e. Vaderstad) Globetrotters tour in July visited the farmer’s operation two hours south of Kiev and the group saw for themselves the results of these planting trials. Even at high speed the seeding operation was promising, the company says. Doktorov had been curious about how the Tempo would cope with speed and accuracy. The seed depth placement was on average 5.2 cm and the variation less than +/- 0.3 cm. “The result was far above our expectations”, says Doktorov.

Tel. 06 356 4920 www.vaderstad.co.nz www.vaderstad.com/tempo

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• 1500l capacity • 12m rear folding fully hydraulic boom with wing lift • 5 section Auto rate computer ISOBUS computers available • 130l/m comet diaphragm pump • Hydraulic adjustable boom height • Superior boom suspension design • Hub service operation centre with access ladder • High volume infinitely variable twin turbo mixer agitators • Auto filler with suction hose

• 800l capacity • 14m rear folding fully hydraulic boom with wing lift (12 metre also available) • 3 section electric controls • 100l/m Jacto piston pump • Hydraulic adjustable boom height • Superior boom suspension design • Large capacity mechanical agitator The master of fine Fertilisers • Auto filler with suction hose

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

machinery & products // 35

Higher intake good for density higher intake capacity in the new McHale F5000 baler series gets top mention by its Irish manufacturer who last week launched this new range of fixed chamber balers at Agritechnica, Hanover, Germany. The New Zealand distributor is Power Farming Group. McHale marketing manager Paul McHale says the new F5000 balers “have higher intake capacities, more chopping options, higher bale density, lower running costs, smoother drop floor operation, better controls, make 10% higher density bales and have better operator comfort.” “Our aim is to simplify life for the operator, and deliver a machine more reliable and easier to maintain. “After testing various types of pickup we decided all the F5000 machines would have 2m galvanised high-intake pickup. And for more difficult short grass the F5500 and F5600 will be fitted with a five-tine bar pickup system. We estimate this will give 25% better ground cleaning and 25% more crop transfer.” The F5000 line up consists of 3 models: The

F5400 non-chopper baler. The F5500 15 knife chopper baler and the F5600 fully automatic, load sensing, 23 knife machine chopper baler. Pickup reel and chopper are mounted for flotation on undulating ground. New (optional) is a small-diameter, high throughput crop roller for the F5000. This helps to level out uneven swaths and can increase baler throughput. On the F5500 and F5600 the knives can be raised and lowered from the tractor cab. And on both machines the operator may upgrade the chopper unit to a selectable knife system. On the F5500 this gives three options: 1) engage and chop with a bank of 8 knives; 2) engage and chop with 7 knives or; 3) if the need is for fine chopping, engage both knife banks. Chop length with option (3) is about 65mm. Likewise on the F5600 the operator can choose to engage and chop with a bank of 12 knives or a bank of 11 knives. For fine chopping, engage all 23 knives (chop length about 46mm). For monitoring chop quality on the F5500 and F5600: 1) the control box

shows the knife working pressure, and 2) sensors monitor the distance between the knife tip and the rotor spine. Any changes activate an alert. All machines use the maker’s drop floor unblocking system – simple, effective and run from the tractor cab, Paul McHale says. The F5000 range can make bales 10% more dense than earlier machines, in a 1.23 x 1.25m bale chamber with 18 rollers. A new netter allows adjustment of net tension using a variable pulley. This netter has stepless tension adjustment to ensure best net usage and bale shape and 180-degree wrap around on the rubber feed roller, eliminating any net slippage during feeding. It handles net rolls 1300mm wide x any length. On the F5400 and F5500, net can be adjusted by moving a handle on the machine. On the F5600, net adjustment can be controlled from the control box in the tractor cab. Three control boxes are offered, notably on the F5500 a ‘Wizard Control Console’ with a four-digit display showing all the machine’s functions.

The McHale F5000 baler has a 2m galvanised high-intake pickup.

There the operator can see floor position, knife pressure, knife and tailgate position, net feed, voltage supply and lube alarm. “This is a user-friendly box giving great function-

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ality and visual displays,” Paul HcHale says. The F5600 also has an ‘Expert Plus Control Console’ which, combined with a load-sending valve, is capable of automating tailgate opening and clos-

ing. The operator can also adjust the net and density from the tractor cab. If the machine is equipped with the selectable knife option, knife banks can be selected from the tractor cab to get the required

chop length. A graphic display constantly shows knife pressure and position, tailgate position, net feed status and lubrication alerts. Tel. 021 190 2362 (NI) or 021 975 533 (SI).

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Dairy News November 22, 2011

36 // machinery & products

Cutting, blending ‘sure to please’ neil keating

FEED IS cut and blended – not mixed and ground – in new Supreme highvolume feed processors, distributed in New Zealand by Tulloch Farm Machines. This feature is common to all Supreme mixers. And so confident is Supreme of satisfying its customers that it offers a 12-month money-back guarantee – alongside the customary warranty. This offer is made subject to the buyer completing a basic questionnaire about his requirements, and Supreme’s approval. It is also based on a cash price (excluding finance charges). Supreme has been busy. First came its recent 1600T model (41.9m3, twin vertical screw, tandem walking-beam axle); then the

more recent 800T – half the capacity of the larger mixer and adding versatility to the maker’s lineup, points out Tulloch sales manager Nick Gillot. The 800T (21.3m3 capacity) has twin vertical screws and a tandem walking-beam axle in common with the bigger model. Also available are the 700T (18.4m3) and the 900T (24.1m3). The 900T is 530mm wider than the 700T at 3.12m. The 900T is 100mm higher at 3.22m. The 800T at 21.3m3 is lower than both the 700T and 900T at only 2.95m and is 3.02m wide. Their respective lengths for 700T, 800T and 900T are 6.15m, 6.4m and 6.93m. Also new with the 800T is the option for a plastic conveyor which runs quieter than metal versions. The vertical screw on all Supreme models has

a patented design that ensures high performance in mixing time and feed quality, Gillot says. Parallel flighting reduces mixing time while thoroughly blending the ration. Supreme uses high quality, durable components. Maintenance is said to be minimal and, when it is needed, access is easy. Tel. 0800 88 55 624 www.tulloch.co.nz

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THREE NEW tractor pulling events are an extra draw to this popular motorsport. Tractor Pull NZ will run a standalone event (not linked to any other show) Dec 11 at Reporoa. The organiser is Reporoa Lions, as part of a gala fund raiser for the community. Entries on the day cost $40 per driver.

To page 37

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Dairy News november 22, 2011

machinery & products // 37

Bale wrap won’t be stretched THE RISK of stretching plastic wrap on bales during handling is said to be non-existent in the design of Hustler’s 2012 model Mega Softhands bale loader/handler. A “refined contoured design” eliminates pressure points on the bale. So there’s no stretching which can lead to mould. Other design refinements make for an easily used and durable machine, the company says. These include:

Beefed-up pivots with added gussets to overcome stress. This enables a rating of 2 tonnes. And with the ‘tall hands’ two bales can be handled at once. The main chassis is reinforced with solid nudge bars to eliminate unnecessary flex. Better paint preparation and finish on a sandblasted base, with higher quality paint. The decals last longer, even when rubbing against other bales during stack-

ing or loading trucks. Three-position adjustable hands handle rounds and squares with reduced wrap stretch. Equaliser bar for preci-

From page 36

A special attraction will be a local super-modified tractor, Brutus, owned by Art Maandonks. A second new, standalone event will be run January 14 at Matakana, north of Auckland. And a new contest on January 28-29 at Edendale, Southland, will run concurrent with Edendale Vintage Machinery Club’s annual Crank Up of vintage tractors, machinery and traction engines. Tractor Pull NZ says ‘official’ tractor pulling events at the South Island Field Days, Waimumu, at Hawera, and at Central Districts Field Days, Feilding, will continue

as qualifying events for the national finals during National Fieldays at Mystery Creek, June. Each of the new contests will have three divisions: pre-1985 tractors, standard tractors and big, noisy super-modifieds. Each tractor is weighed for a rating resulting in a ‘level playing field’ for different machines. During the pull each tows a weight-transfer machine to prevent jerking and damage. “The secret to tractor pulling is choosing the correct gear to start in and getting the tyre pressure correct for maximum traction,” says Vaughan Coy, Tractor Pull New Zealand.

Game-changing irrigator Spitfire irrigators’ new VSR irrigator

changes the travelling irrigator scene for the application of animal manure, says maker Stuart Reid. “It retains wetted widths to 50m and uses a fully rotating boom with varying speed during the rotation to ensure an even application pattern. “Ratchets, pawls and reciprocating components have all been replaced by a cunning, simple chain drive and oval gears, and clutches are huge hex nuts and sockets for long life. “The front wheel is self-steering and has a runaway brake (a blade that drops into the soil to prevent the machine from running down hills when hose loads are too small). “All these new functions allow you to avoid the cost of a separate irrigator monitoring ‘buggy’ and greatly reduce non-compliance risk. They are an integral part of the machine itself, with no radio link.” Tel. 04 586 3411. www.spitfire.net.nz

Price $3999+gst Tel. 0800 487 853 www.hustlerequipment. co.nz

MULTICUT R

More smoke

sion bale control and operator safety.

TA RY

Reduced Maintenance Costs!

No expensive drum to rebalance and considerably less flails & bolts mean substantial savings on parts & servicing.

MULCHER

Fast Ground Speed!

Compared to a flail drum mulcher that demands a slow groundspeed for effective results, your GMM Rotary mulcher has a faster ground speed that will ‘slash’ your mowing time in half!

4 ... gobbles gorse

Cheaper to Run!

Rotary system requires less power than flail drum mulchers. Users have consistently reported fuel savings of up to 20%

itely using less “The GMM is defin so running a 3.0m diesel and I’m al to my previous GMM compared er” - Farmer 2.3m drum mulch

“It is great to see such a well built, heavy duty machine, that will do a variety of tasks. We’re tired of light weight gear, that doesn’t stand up to our conditions. I wanted a machine to tackle rushes, maize stubble, and callies, as well as top my pasture; now I have got one” - North Island Farmer

...mulches maize

...pulverises prunings

“It’s a great machine without a doubt. I would never go back to a flail drum for mulching – ever!” - Contractor

“Most impressive the way it tack les our Kikuyu; I started out with a good old Flailmaster slasher years ago … since then I have had a hay mow er, and then a traditional mulcher. -Now I’ve got a Flailmaster again!! It is interesting to see how things come in a FULL circle” - Northland Farmer

...rids rushes

... K.O’s Kikuyu

...prepares premium pasture

Dairy News November 22, 2011

38 // motoring

Ford crossover in ‘titanium’ A NEW Euro-made crossover is now arriving on Ford dealers’ yards: the Ford Kuga, available in a range-top ‘Titanium’ edition priced at $53,990 (RRP). “A great performancedriving experience here in time for the summer holidays,” says Chris Masterson, marketing manager Ford New Zealand. “The Kuga is popular in Europe. In New Zealand it will be hard to beat. It’s an attractive, well-designed and fully capable crossover.” The Ford Kuga is based on Ford’s C-car architecture used in the Ford Focus. It has a proven powertrain and full-time AWD, the maker says. “It’s perfect for drivers looking for style, presence and AWD. Driver assistance technologies

standard in the Ford Kuga include electronic stability with anti-rollover mitigation and ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution.

design and integrated trim colours highlight the instrument panel and door trims. Seating is for five adults. Second row seating

The Kuga’s high seating position, intelligent AWD option and large stowage volumes make it attractive. Its style and charisma are typical of Ford these days, the maker says. The Kuga’s high seating position, intelligent AWD option and large stowage volumes make it attractive. Exterior features are practical: ‘liftgate’ tailgate has separate access via micro switches to either the upper section only or both sections together. Kuga interior has fine Napoli leather and gloss finishes. Colour-matched details of the interior

has a 60/40 split and folds flat. Underseat storage beneath the second row and further storage under the floor of the luggage compartment offer maximum practicality. A luggage compartment sill height of 758mm helps loading of heavy items. Luggage capacity is 1355 L in two-seat mode; the enclosed luggage space is 360 L. Power comes from a 2.5 L turbo I5 petrol engine (147kW 320Nm) through a

5-speed auto transmission. Fuel use is 10.3 L/100km, using the combined fuel consumption figures and a figure of 244 g/km of CO2.

New ‘Rangie’ snapped up RANGE ROVER fans are said to

have snapped up New Zealand’s first allocation of the Evoque. The compact luxury off-roader will have a choice of three engines, two body styles, three design themes and options and accessories. Price is from $79,990. “We presold [lots] of cars from a couple of examples flown in for Rugby World Cup promotions,” says Gary Upson, the Land Rover brand manager. “Other buyers have ordered customised options on vehicles arriving in the coming months. It has been a successful launch.”

Evoque is the smallest, lightest most fuel efficient Range Rover ever, with sub-130g/km CO2 emissions and outstanding fuel economy.

4WD gives all-weather, all-surface capability with Land Rover Terrain Response. Luggage stowage includes a tow hitch-mounted bicy-

at s us lday e e Se al Fi 37 C n tio C35a N ite S

cle carrier. Handling is helped by the maker’s MagneRide. The vehicle comes with all-turbocharged powertrains, petrol and diesel, with six-speed automatic transmissions, and, for the first time in a Range Rover, the option of 2WD (front wheel drive to customer order only) as well as 4WD. The engine, transmission, drive and design theme combinations available are as follows: TD4 diesel 110kW 6-speed auto 4WD; SD4 diesel 140kW 6-speed auto 4WD; and Si4 petrol 177kW 6-speed auto 4WD.

BUCKTONS MUCK SPREADER

W NED EL

MO FOR

2011

SEEDING AND RE-SEEDING

Latest European Spreading Technologies

PNEUMATICSTAR-PRO

Three sizes 9-12-20 cubic metre Hydraulic Rear Gate Clear Front Panel for Checking Load Buckton Quality Workmanship New Zealand Made Overrun Clutch for Machine Safety Optional tire sizes Optional Hydraulic Jack on smaller sizes

Hooked tine at work rejuvenating existing pasture. Tine pressure can be adjusted hydraulically.

Simple calibration and accurate seeding from central seeding unit.

Supplier of Slurry Tanks and Pond Stirrers ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL EFFLUENT HANDLING SYSTEMS!

Dealers Nationwide

R I NG NOW!

0800 88 55 624

www.tulloch.co.nz

BE001

Stronger tine and the parallel linkage to give more floatation.

For more information Phone 07 533 1259 or 07 533 1417 Fax 07 533 1560 RD9 Te Puke or see your dealer

For the farmyard and the backyard

t a e R G as

Great range of Christmas gift ideas at your local RD1 store now!

GiFt iDe

3yea8rs

6 STaTiOn SWing SeT WiTh hOrSe anD FLying Saucer • 2 x swings, glide ride, slide, rocking horse and flying saucer • Length: 5.61m • Rugged construction • Assembly required

nixOr™ SPOrTS PrOSerieS ScOOTer

5ye+ars

• Folding scooter • Supports a maximum weight of 100kgs • Accessories not included • RD1 recommends approved safety gear be worn at all times

rD1 cOunTry chaOS JigSaW PuzzLe 1,000 Piece

• New Zealand made • Printed on high quality gloss art paper • Entertaining and challenging

W # 243305

499

PeDaL TracTOr WiTh FeL anD TraiLer • Perfect for the budding farmer • Chain driven pedal tractor with a front end loader and trailer

3ye+ars

Siku JOhn Deere TracTOr WiTh FrOnT LOaDer • Comes with a working front loader • One of Siku's most popular models • Scale 1:32

# 244740

SmarT inSecT kiLLer 6W # 237891

# 243612

399

TaTTOO Tee

n’S

• 100% combed cotton • Generous fit • Funky New Zealand inspired design • Available in black • Men's sizes: S-XXL

# 239681

+ Free 3 x

hanD WagOn 70L

OS 5 cOmPTh $22.9 WOr

# 243431

149

• Fast and effective control of summer flying pests • Coverage area up to 30m2 • Extractable bottom collection tray for easy cleaning • For indoor use only

® ic Tui OrgTan 40L

• Make light work around the backyard • Push, pulls and tows with swivel handle • Easy release dumping tray with tipping facility • Pneumatic tyres • Dimensions: 1.15m L x 0.5m W x 0.47m H (approx.) # 242270

# 243307

FamiLy POOL 5m WiTh SanD FiLTer PumP*

Dream hammOck

• Galvanised steel wall • Includes 4-step ladder • Water capacity 19,500L when 80% full • Includes 12" sand filter drum, uses 25kg sand (not included) • Dimensions: 5m W x 1.24m H • Image may differ from the actual product

• Powder-coated metal tube • 100% polyester, UV protected shelter and cushion • Includes sun shade umbrella • Supports a maximum weight of 120kgs • Cushion size: 200cm L x 74cm W • Available in beige

# 241181

1,999

$ # 238804

349

*All swimming pools less than 1.2m above the ground and with a water depth exceeding 400mm are required to be fenced in accordance with the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987. Ladders should be removed when not in use. Seek further advice from your local council.

Order online at:

Products with a W can be ordered online

Offers valid November 1 to November 30, 2011 or while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Some products may not be available in all stores.

64 STOreS naTiOnWiDe – aLL WeLcOme, nO JOining Fee customer Support centre 0800 731 266 email customer.service@rd1.com

FOr The FarmyarD anD The BackyarD