Dairy News 12 April 2016

TOP SHAREMILKERS

Reliable water supply brings joy. PAGE 4

Farming goals set PAGE 29

POSSUM HUNT TB fight goes on PAGE 27

APRIL 12, 2016 ISSUE 354 // www.dairynews.co.nz

WONDER WOMAN

Rebecca Keoghan oversees seven Landcorp farms, is a director of Westland Milk, plays in a brass band and has her own farm. PAGE 30-31

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

NEWS // 3

Wide raft of helpful measures on offer PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

Nathan Guy addresses farmers at the launch last week in Morrinsville.

PHOTO: DAIRYNZ

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HELPING FARMS through this tough patch, and making sure long term they keep their lowcost advantage when the upturn comes are key focus areas, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy. He announced $175,000 funding for dairy systems change towards effective use of pasture at a Morrinsville forum last week. A brochure was also launched outlining measure available to help farmers.

Guy says farmers in general are doing what they talked about at the seminar.

“They realise they can’t control the external factors like the weather, the exchange rate and what’s happening in Russia and China, or the Europeans producing a bit more milk. They are things outside of our control,” Guy told Dairy News. “What they can control is inside the farmgate.”

About 90 farmers turned up at the Morrinsville event where DairyNZ chairman Michael Spaans and the Bankers Association were among the speakers.

“I launched the brochure ‘Readying the Dairy Sector for Future Growth – Combining Efforts to Support Farmers’,” Guy said.

“There is a huge support out there for dairy farmers and we have collectively worked with DairyNZ, the Bankers Association, Federated Farmers, Dairy Womens Network, etc, and pulled together all this information into a one-stop shop.

Now farmers will understand all the support that is available.”

While the medium-long term outlook for the sector remains strong, dairy farmers are doing it tough. The event and the brochure are to remind farmers they are not alone.

“We can come out the other side more productive and successful than ever,” Guy says.

“We are doing everything we can to help farmers through this period of volatility, making sure farmers are focused on doing their line-by-line review in cashflow analysis, working with their accountant and banks and focusing inside the farmgate on growing and harvesting grass efficiently,” he says.

A “wonderful” opportunity is being offered by

Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand -a one-hour free consultation as a health check on their businesses.

“I am keen that farmers take up this opportunity to get an independent professional having a look at their books. They can then have a good discussion with their banks to make sure they are supporting them through this period of volatility which I think we will see for the best part of 2016.”

The Government allocated $800,000 in last year’s Budget towards the MPI Farming Systems Change programme. A key focus is looking at ways to boost the performance of farms by learning from the strongest performers.

As part of this about $175,000 has been allocated for an independent provider to do an in-depth study of innovative low cost, high performing farm systems, Guy says.

MPI will firm up in the next few weeks who will be the external party to do the study, he says. It will link with nine farms now shown on the DairyNZ website, with working expenses below $3.50/kgMS. “So it will be an in-depth study taking 6-12 months looking at how these farms can be profitable long term, focussing back on growing grass, harvesting it efficiently and putting more milk in the vat,” he says.

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forming the dairy value chain. For example, mozzarella cheese at Clandeboye that used to take six weeks to process now takes six hours.

It talks about initiatives under the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) including seven in the dairy industry; several look at onfarm profitability. One is entitled ‘Reducing reliance on imported feed’ – a SFF programme looking at sustainable dairy grazing.

“Last year we also announced $500,000 to support rural mental health. Supporting this is Dairy NZ’s Tactics programme, Farmstrong and Rural Support Trusts in action around the country,” Guy says.

“Sharemilkers are finding this season very challenging and are being supported by the $1.5 million SMASH (smaller milk and supply herds) initiative -- Smaller Herd Farmer Businesses which helps dairy farmers, particularly those with smaller operations, to make the best use of their resources. Forums and regional conferences have reached around 2400 attendees so far.”

Commenting on a report from ASB last week that European milk production was slowing, he said he was about to travel to Europe for an OECD ministers’ conference and will get a feel for what is happening there.

“They are coming into their spring peak so it will be interesting to see,” he says.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

4 // NEWS

WA farmers bucking trend MADELEINE BRENNAN

WEST AUSTRALIAN milk production is booming on the back of its higher farm milk price of more than A$7/kgMS. The latest Dairy Australia milk production figures for the month of February show a 13% increase on the same time last year and 6.5% growth since the start of the 2015-16 financial year.

“That’s solid growth, by and large the result of farmgate prices,” says industry analyst John Droppert.

“Not necessarily so much now, but in the last few years there have been many contracts at higher prices with strong competition for milk supply and those in turn have stimulated production.”

Droppert avoids generalising about different prices across Australia but he estimates for West Australia (WA) it is A43c-55c/L. “There’s a fair bit of variation, but around A50c/L (about A$7/kgMS) and over is a good price compared to Victoria and it’s pretty good historically for WA.” He said the farmgate milk price had been reasonable in WA this season and the one before. “Sustained pricing drives growth,” Droppert says.

He said the WA market has recovered well from the days when milk was trucked across the Nullarbor Plain at a high cost.

“The aim of the game a few years ago was to secure the milk supply and so the three companies operating there were competing for a scarce supply,” he says.

“That’s when there were good prices long-term; three year contracts were being offered.”

Contrast that to the south-eastern states: Victoria experienced a 3.3% drop in production vs the same time last year.

“It was a bigger drop than I expected,” he says. “The milder weather might have been expected to moderate things a bit but a lot of the decisions already made can’t be undone and a lot of farmers short of feed are budgeting on a lower milk price than they might have hoped for.”

With dry conditions lasting through the next month, he didn’t expect the March figures for Victoria to change dramatically.

“The fall in Victoria is largely climatic but also highlights the southern states’ increased exposure to international markets,” he says. “We hope some closer-to-average rainfall will help to put feed in front of them going into winter.”

Despite a dry month, Tasmania production was 2.2% higher than the previous year.

Nationally, production was down 1.5% on the same time last year. Year to date the nation’s dairies have produced 6.98 billion L (down 0.7%).

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Kokoamo dairy farmer Matt Ross outside his second dairy shed added in 2012.

Irrigation brings joy RICHARD COSGROVE

“IRRIGATION SAVED this com-

munity!” is how Fraser McKenzie describes the impact of water on the Waitaki District.

McKenzie, independent chairman of the Waitaki Irrigators Collective, was hosting a tour of the various types of irrigation schemes operating in the district as part of the 2016 Irrigation New Zealand conference and expo held in Oamaru.

Visitors stood at the top of Kokoamo Dairy farmers Matt and Julie Ross’s farm admiring spectacular views of the Kakanui Mountains and Waitaki River valley surrounded by lush green paddocks.

The Ross’s say the ability to have a guaranteed reliable water supply was an eye opener for them after farming elsewhere in the district and struggling with drought.

Buying their own farm near Duntroon in 2005 after four years of sharemilking, they have used irrigation to develop it and a neighbouring farm bought in 2012, to the point where they milk 1700 cows and produced 886,000kgMS last financial year from 580ha.

With a reliable irrigation supply, the Ross’s felt a weight lifted of their shoulders, giving them the security to

invest and develop the farm.

As dry land farms, their farms had only supported a couple of husband and wife teams; now they support ten full time staff. From the flow-on effect of all those extra families in the district the local schools are now expanding.

Local businesses are doing better in an area that was desolate and struggling in the 1970s and 80s before irrigation began.

The skills these families bring into the community also have additional benefits. Ross says his lawyer and surveyor have added value to his farm and to the whole community.

Sharemilkers of the Year in 2007, the Ross’s also believe in succession planning for the farm, not just for the family.

With this in mind he fenced a 4ha wetland and planted 100,000 natives in it and now monitors the water quality of the water going in and out. With 2000ha draining into this wetland the outputs are consistently half of the inputs going into it and it is teeming with freshwater crayfish.

The Ross’s champion good farming practices, saying you need to farm well; they have always prioritised the environment in their farming. Their extensive tree plantings for shelter challenge the generally held opinion that dairy farms are just big square

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With the glimmering Waitaki River in the background, dairy farmer Rueben Allan farms 1500ha of what was once a dry land sheep block near Ikawai. Some 350ha of mostly hill country is irrigated and Allan is working on consent to irrigate another 700ha.

Because of the size of the farm and the challenging topography Allan practices 16 hour milking for his 2000 mostly Kiwi Cross cows. This works out as three milkings every two days and saves stress on the cows.

Producing 850,000kgMS a year Allan, believes he can strike a balance between dairying and the environment.

A hi-tech effluent system, maximising water efficiency, developing wetlands, fencing creeks and planting lots of natives minimise the impact on the environment.

Alan believes the 12 staff working on the farm have strengthened the community. Children from 12 different cultures now attend the school he attended, this diversity benefitting the district immensely, he says.

Elizabeth Soal, policy manager for the Waitaki Irrigators Collective, says irrigation has brought an extra $580 million into the district. This has forever changed a district that was once struggling to survive.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

NEWS // 5

Glimmer of light but keep toughing it out pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

THE SLIGHT lift of 2.1%

in the GlobalDairyTrade price index last week -- against expectations of any increase -- was a tiny glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, commentators say.

But it shows prices are still just flatlining along the bottom.

Economists are debating whether recent data show a slight slowing in production in Europe, but Rabobank warns that while European production growth will slow it won’t drop, requiring the world market to find a new price balance.

Farmer representatives advise their peers to keep toughing it out, probably for another season or even two. And remember, they say, after any downturn in the business world an upward trend follows.

Kevin Bellamy, Rabobank’s global dairy strategist, says the market outlook will remain weak throughout 2016, but with more upward pressure on prices heading into 2017.

Global dairy commodity US dollar prices have continued to stumble along a market floor largely determined by the level of EU intervention support, he says in the bank’s quarterly dairy report.

The short-term outlook remains

RABOBANK OUTLOOK ■■

European production growth will slow but not fall, requiring the world market to find a new pricing balance.

■■

The 2015-16 season production in NZ will be higher than expected due to increased summer rainfall.

■■

US farmgate prices are likely to move down in response to weakening trade balance and growth in inventories.

■■

China production forecasts for 2016 have been cut.

■■

Production continues to contract in Argentina and Brazil.

■■

The current season will be mostly break-even for Australian producers, and margins will be tight.

pessimistic. In the face of a cripplingly long price trough entering 2016, production growth in the world’s milk production regions has continued to slow.

“Looking forward, the news is by no means all bad for the dairy industry,” says Bellamy.

“With the exception of Brazil—gripped by the worst recession in a generation—Rabobank sees dairy consumption continuing to grow in Asia, as well as in the US and EU.” Rabobank expects that, throughout 2016, slowing production growth will be matched by slow but steady consumption growth in most main export regions.

Westpac senior economist Anne Boniface says their view is that prices are likely to remain low for another few months yet. They are likely to bounce around current levels, and that was seen in the latest GDT. Westpac has noted recent comments about European milk production slowing.

“If you seasonally adjust the numbers it looks like they have come off a bit. But we interpret those with a lot of caution partly because a lot of those numbers are revised and they can often be

revised upwards.

“It is early days yet but for the last month there have been preliminary signs of a slowing in growth.

“But we are very cautious; there is a long road yet because obviously there is a lot of supply still sitting there.

Even if milk production is slowing, that doesn’t mean prices are going to improve any time soon.”

For next season Westpac is forecasting $4.60/kgMS. ASB is maintaining its 2015-16 and 2016-17 milk price forecasts at $3.90/kgMS and $6/kgMS, respectively.

Economist Nick Tuffley says in the latest GDT, whole milk powder prices rose 1.5%, continuing their very gradual recovery from the sharp drops over January and February. The whole milk price increases were concentrated in the neardated delivery contracts, hinting at potential price pressure as the peak of NZ’s season recedes.

Skim milk powder prices were flat.

ASB expects dairy prices to gradually trend upward over the coming season as NZ and European production respond to the current low prices and as Chinese import demand recovers.

Federated Farmers

dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says there is mixed commentary out there on the future.

Some are predicting improvement towards the end of the year, others are looking towards at least another tough season followed by another tough but slightly better one.

“I am playing cautious and planning on two rough ones.”

Fed’s national dairy vice-chairman Chris Lewis reckons the latest auction shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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“But till we get there, we need to slog it out for a bit longer,” he says.

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map for success.

“This downward cycle is not exclusive to the dairy industry or wider primary sector. It’s the nature of business and from every downturn it’s likely there will be an upward trend in the making.

“We need to keep positive and hang in there till it comes.”

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

6 // NEWS

Dairy district faces the payout squeeze PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE MAYOR of a disTararua District Mayor Roly Ellis.

trict where dairying is a big part of the local economy says he’s starting to see

problems resulting from the downturn.

Roly Ellis is mayor of the Tararua District with four major rural towns: Dannevirke in the north, and Woodville, Pahiatua and Eketahuna in the

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south. Fonterra has a large factory at Pahiatua. Tararua District towns also have farming related businesses such as agricultural machinery.

Ellis says the area’s 350odd dairy farms account for much of the money circulating in Tararua, including the farms’ cashflows and those of the businesses that service the farms.

But the downturn has changed this, he says.

While the district is not big in the national scheme of things – about 3% of NZ’s cows graze the region versus 34% in Waikato -towns such as Dannevirke are dairy dependent.

“Dairy farmers aren’t spending huge amounts in shops or the agricultural service businesses. I walk the towns about every three months to find out what’s going on and talk to the shopkeepers and agri service businesses. I have been a farmer myself and was a rural drought coordinator here between 2007 and 2010 and I’m a trustee of a big farming enterprise so I keep my ear very much to the ground.”

Ellis has not so far heard of any dairy farm-

ers forced to sell up but he and his council are closely watching what’s happening. His biggest worry is the predicament of sharemilkers, especially lower order ones. They are vulnerable and it’s with them that some of the problems are now showing up.

“What has happened all over the world -- and I have seen this in Britain where I have farmed -- is that you go through the highs and lows and when you get highs everyone gets wonderful ideas about what it’s going to be.

“In fact the dairy farmers haven’t had a check like this for years and years and they have suddenly realised they now have to become more efficient.

Efficiencies are going to come in, I am absolutely sure of that. People who have been spending liberally until now are suddenly facing this check in what they can do.”

Ellis says this has happened in the sheep and beef sector and farmers now better understand where the dollar has to be spent. It hurts like hell but farmers then go on to look at different ways of running their businesses.

KEEPING RATES LOW TO HELP ratepayers in the Tararua District, including farmers, the council has passed a resolution to keep any rate rise below 2%, says mayor Roly Ellis.

It’s a far cry from rate rises up to 9% as proposed by some councils, he says.

Tararua District has made a point of bringing key infrastructure up to standard, now about 18 months from completion.

Ellis says over the years the council has become more efficient and doesn’t envisage cuts to community groups, as signalled by other councils.

He points out that with interest rates so low this may be a good time to spend money on capital works.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

8 // NEWS

Politics out, i SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

Matt Herbert and Brad Markham at the field day.

MOVING FROM the corridors of powers in Australia to the hill country of northern Waikato can be daunting for anyone.

But for Brad Markham (35) and Matthew Herbert

(26), the career change was well thought out and they are enjoying being part of an industry feeding the world.

Their efforts have paid off, with the pair winning the Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmer of the Year award.

Markham, a former political journalist and

Herbert, a political staffer, met in 2008 while working for rival Australian media outlets.

Markham grew up on a dairy farm in Pukekawa in northern Waikato.

In June 2014, they decided to become dairy farmers and moved to Pepepe, 30km west of Huntly to contract milk

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THE 2016 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Manager of the Year, Hayden Kerr (26), wants to inspire others to do well in the industry.

He is a manager on the 270-cow farm his parents, Craig and Janine Kerr, own at Rotongaro, near Huntly; he won $14,000 in prizes.

“I am a fast progressing and results driven young farmer, wanting to inspire other young adults to do well in the industry,” Kerr says.

He entered the dairy trainee competition in his first season dairy farming in 2013 and was placed in the top six. “I found it a great way to measure my skill level and Hayden Kerr help me assess what I needed to learn as a trainee before moving on to a farm manager role.

“Now, as a farm manager I have gained confidence in my skills and have a plan of where I am going in the industry and how I am going to get there. Also, the networking I have done since entering the awards has been beneficial in sourcing knowledge and resources for my progression.”

Kerr says working for a family business with a small herd had enabled him to be hands-on and involved in all areas of the business.

The former motorcycle mechanic now plans to progress through sharemilking or an equity partnership to farm ownership.

Jacob Jenkins (22), a second-in-charge, was runnerup in the dairy manager competition, winning $8000 in prizes. Third place went to Paeroa farm manager David Rawnsley (36), who won $4500 in prizes.

The 2016 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Trainee of the Year, James Doidge (20), won $7765 in prizes; he is second-in-charge on a 500-cow property owned by Stuart and Kim Muir at Aka Aka. He entered the awards once before to gain experience. “I thought the judges’ feedback would benefit me and it would help me become a better dairy farmer.”

He left school aged 16 to enter the dairy industry and worked for Muir for two years before having to take time off to recover from an accident. He returned to Muirs’ farm last year.

“My farming goal is to progress through the industry until I can buy cows and go sharemilking, while I save money to buy a farm.”

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

NEWS // 9

in with calving and cows modifying them to be more relevant to a contract milker.

They do monthly cashflows, entering actual spending. “This way we can closely track how we’re progressing and find any major variances,” Markham says.

Small things like paying bills on time, switching electricity providers and taking advantage of prompt payment savings also help.

“We also stock up on items when they’re on special, like filter socks and rubberware; we bought our wet weather gear for next winter when RD1 had a two-for-one sale in the summer.”

Farmers who turned up at the Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Awards field day.

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They use social media to connect with other farmers and share knowledge. Twitter is used to post photos and videos showing the New Zealand dairy industry and rural life in a good light.

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“When the NZ dairy industry was getting hammered after TVNZ’s programme on the treatment of bobby calves, we posted videos of our happy calves getting scratches and pats in the paddock,” Herbert says.

“We have an unwritten policy that no ‘bad’ photos are posted on social media.”

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sharemilking position by the 2018-19 season.

“We’ve actively chosen to be dairy farmers.

We’ve career changed and haven’t just fallen into this career by default.

We’re passionate about our animals and about being a part of a system which feeds people across the world,” Markham says.

To move a step closer to their 50/50 sharemilking goal the two men will move to a Taranaki farm in June.

They will contract milk 380 cows through a 54-bail rotary with ProTrack for Andrew and Vanessa Dwyer.

Markham says they plan to start building their herd by buying young stock.

Markham and Herbert’s budgeting skills were also noted by the judges who said it will provide a very good base for their growth.

They use DairyNZ budgeting templates,

O

to dry off herds early,” Herbert says. “But if you dried off after 250 days in milk and the cows could go on and milk for 280300 days, that’s a loss.”

Body condition score (BCS) is also key; Markham and Herbert aim for a body condition score of 5.0 to 5.5 during calving.

Markham told a field day at the farm recently that they were drawn to dairy because of progression opportunities.

“An opportunity came up for us to move over here,” he says.

“We believe in the dairy industry if you work hard you can go places -- build a multi million-dollar business in your lifetime.

You can’t do that in many other industries.”

They now aim to operate a financially and environmentally sustainable dairy business in the region’s top 10%. They also want to secure a 300-cow 50%

A FFER P AV R AIL IL AB O LE F N OR LY

260 cows for Markham’s brother Lee. The 92ha (eff) farm comprises flat, gently rolling and steep contours; Markham and Herbert milk 260 cows and are on track to produce 100,000kgMS this season, 7000kgMS more than last season.

Split calving means calving is done late March and early July. Herbert says this means both of them are always on the go, mating and calving throughout the year.

Split calving has also imposed a steep learning curve on the duo.

“We have been here two years; we have done four calvings, four matings and four lots of raising calves. While some say split calving is for the clinically insane, it has been a great experience for us.”

The farmers’ key goal is to achieve more days in milk for the autumn herd.

“When the payout’s low farmers find it easy

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

10 // NEWS

Botulism cloud now on far horizon A CHINESE business that makes infant formula in New Zealand says the false botulism scare of 2013 is disappearing from the minds of China’s consumers.

Evergrande Dairy vicegeneral manager Wei Min Yu says NZ’s clean green image and pasture-fed grass milk is held in high

esteem by Chinese consumers.

Evergrande is the majority shareholder in South Auckland-based Evergrande GMP Dairy, makers of the Cowala brand milk and infant formula.

Yu says Fonterra’s reputation is gradually bouncing back and he expects

the co-op to be back on top within two years.

Yu, here on a trip with Cowala infant formula retailers, says Cowala infant formula was launched in China 16 months ago.

Over 2.5 million cans of powder worth $158 million have been sold. Yu says the company will exceed sales

targets this year.

Meanwhile GMP Dairy has become an official partner of the NZ team to the Rio Olympics later this year.

GMP believes that in becoming an Official Olympic Partner, its Cowala range of products will help promote high quality and trusted pow-

der-based nutritional formulas produced from NZ’s green and natural pastures.

NZOC chief executive Kereyn Smith added that GMP’s partnership with the New Zealand Olympic Committee is significant, just four months from the Olympic Games.

“Our commercial partners play a hugely impor-

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Wei Min Yu, Evergrande Dairy, China.

tant role in ensuring our athletes at Rio 2016 have the resources and backing to compete at the very highest levels. GMP’s support is a real boost to our team’s preparation.

“In addition, GMP

has confirmed its support through to the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and we are looking forward to working with GMP over the coming two years,” she says.

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milk price futures and options contracts.

Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says the contracts won’t be for everyone, but this will give NZ dairy farmers a risk management tool that makes their businesses less susceptible to large price fluctuations.

“It will put us on a more level playing field with most of our international competitors who already have this sort of tool available to them,” says Hoggard.

“Price volatility within a season is extremely difficult to address because production is based on a biological system, so having certainty about the price you will receive at the end of the season will remove a lot of pressure for dairy farmers.”

Hoggard urged dairy farmers interested in the NZX milk price and futures options contracts to get professional advice.

“While it will provide farmers with certainty on price there’s always someone on the downside when futures are traded. Farmers must get sound independent advice so that they’re aware of how this approach changes their risk profile and what this might look like for them at the end of the season.”

NZX has formal approval from the Financial Markets Authority and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for its proposed futuers trading, expected to launch next month.

NZX head of markets Mark Peterson says this is a milestone in commodity risk management for NZ’s agricultural sector.

“With 95% of their product sold overseas, NZ dairy farmers are highly exposed to the global dairy market. They have few tools available to help them manage milk price risk which leaves farmers at a disadvantage to their overseas counterparts in the US or Europe, who have access to a wide range of risk management tools.

“Although futures and options contracts will not be suited to everyone, they are a key step towards building a meaningful risk management culture.”

Once the contracts are available for trading on NZX’s derivatives market, all parties will be required to trade through an NZX broker.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

12 // NEWS

EU quota removal one year on STEVE SPENCER

AT THE end of March

came a significant anniversary in Europe which hardly rated a comment in the international dairy media, so great has been the change in the global dairy landscape in that time.

It was one year since the removal of EU milk production quotas, but few European dairy farmers were lighting candles on birthday cakes in celebration.

Quota removal has quickly unleashed pent-up production capacity, and now farmers -- those same ones -- are lamenting bit-

terly to their governments in Europe that they have themselves expanded too fast -- and that the governments should fix the problem.

Sounds like Euro agripolitics, right?

While removing quotas has kicked off a gradual reshaping of Europe’s dairy supply chains, it will

take much longer for the culture of farmer leadership to embrace market realities and walk away from the shroud of government protection.

Back to history The quota was a regulated, strictly enforced cap on milk production that applied to each and every farmer in all member

states of the EU. Milk quotas were put in place (as in some agrifood sectors) in April 1984 as a ‘big brother’ action to protect the EU dairy sector, and to help avoid large product purchases by the European Economic Commission in the event the industry over-produced.

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by angry farmer groups in many countries, might lead a casual watcher to think this was a change made at short notice.

But the removal of quota was agreed back in 2003 as part of a gradual deregulation process to slowly wean the EU industry off regulation – particularly the type that affected the market -- and to reduce the size of the EU’s support budget.

There was a serious ‘industry’ built around quotas themselves.

Quota rights were bought and sold between farmers in many regions of Europe, specialists advised on the quota market, and many farmers built up hefty capital investments in the market access ensured by the quotas.

A long notice period was necessary so that the quota removal wouldn’t create major compensation lawsuits. Time will tell.

Planning for expected increases in milk supply was underway many years before the final days of quota in March 2015.

Major dairy companies made large investments in additional manufacturing capacity in commodity milk powders and cheese, and they added capacity to improve the economics of making infant formula, specialised milk powders and other functional ingredients – all with an export focus.

All has not gone to plan The expected growth in Europe’s milk output since March 2015 has been far greater than expected with the perfect storm of strong grass growth, low feed-grain prices and milk prices that have held up better than logic might suggest.

The strongest milk output has come from a limited number of regions where herd expansion and grass growth has been easiest.

Just three of 28 EU member states – Netherlands, Ireland and Germany – were responsible for two-thirds of the growth in milk supply in the second half of 2015.

The effect of adding the surge in Europe’s milk to an already over-supplied world market – given the retreat of China and the shut-down of the Rus-

Steve Spencer

sian market – is delaying the timing of a substantive recovery until sometime in 2017, although steady improvements will begin in the second half of 2016.

Of course, quotas weren’t the last vestige of protectionism. While export subsidy payments are no longer in play, intervention buying remains and is in full swing.

The European Commission is standing in the market at present to buy skim milk powder (SMP) and butter to take surplus product off the market.

The government-owned SMP stockpile will probably reach at least 270,000 tonnes by the middle of this year.

Import tariffs are also still in place, limiting access to the EU’s market.

Environmental outcomes remain a major focus of the agricultural policy regime, including regulation of farm impacts and emissions, which will cap output.

Regulations such as those applied in the Netherlands limit phosphate fertiliser discharges on farms (tied to cow numbers on individual properties) and in that country will force a contraction in herds over the next year.

But we’re only in the early days of a new era.

The landscape and culture will gradually evolve. Longer-term challenges for farmers as the EU market becomes more volatile will be more complex.

Smaller, traditional higher-cost dairy farms may struggle to cope in that environment.

It is expected that the output from such farms will gradually contract, allowing room for expansion in lower-cost regions where flexibility in scale and productivity are afforded.

• Steve Spencer is a director of the Victoria dairy consultancy Fresh Agenda.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

14 // NEWS

Pathway pilot turns lives around PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

A NEW leadership training and coaching course for rural women has passed an evaluation with flying colours.

The Pathways Programme, the result of a joint venture between the Agri-Women’s Development Trust and the Dairy Women’s Network, was described as “very successful” by AgResearch senior social scientist Dr Neels Botha in his evaluation report on the programme.

It was designed to help women lead change within their own businesses and communities while identifying their own skills and strengths. AgResearch was engaged to evaluate the course and present data at conferences and in journals.

Nearly 30 women have completed the programme in the last two years.

The first two-day AgriWomen’s Development Trust training module was held in Hamilton, followed by six months of coaching and mentoring, then by another two days of training. A South Island course has also been held.

“From the gathered evidence it is clear

that the first Pathways training session was very successful,” Botha says in his evaluation.

“It achieved its purpose of building participants’ confidence and capacity to take the next step in leadership.... The second training session was very successful because it achieved its purpose: participants were more self-aware and had improved their communication, influencing and persuasion skills.”

Botha was overwhelmed by the

positive comments of participants.

“Pathways has turned my life around,” says one.

“I had lost so much of me.

Now I see the leader in me, I see the strengths I have to offer. I see those strengths in other women as well, and I am inspired to help [those strengths] bubble to the surface in others also. I am calmer and more quietly self-confident to handle situations.

I have faith in myself, in my own abilities, or that I will seek help where I may.

I have also made amazing connections with other

ABOUT PATHWAYS The Pathways Programme was a collaborative venture of the Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT), Dairy Women’s Network and AgResearch and was funded by DairyNZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Pathways instils confidence in leading change within business and at a community level, identifies skills and strengths in participants and gives them a sense of self as a leader, as well as teaching influence and communication skills.

After a gap in the sector was identified, the programme was designed specifically for women in the business of dairying by AWDT, using Dairy Women’s Network research into the needs of dairy women to influence and lead change.

In addition to two leadership workshops held six months apart, the Pathways Programme includes three coaching and mentoring sessions in between.

powerful women.”

Another woman referred to “the skill of being aware of where I am in terms of selfdevelopment and aspects of leadership and readiness to lead. I realise it has to start with my own self-awareness, communication and behaviour. I have been big on personal beliefs but can now pack skills in communication and leadership behaviour around it.”

Botha says Pathways provided women in dairying with a unique opportunity to equip themselves for leadership on- and off-farm.

“This hands-on course is practical but builds upon evidence of what works in practice. The coaches and presenters are farming women who have very successfully supported other women to become effective leaders. If you really want to become an effective leader Pathways can do it for you.”

Botha says the Pathways programme was more needed in hard times, such as the dairy downturn.

“Lifelong learning and empowerment are important issues for all farming women, and

courses like Pathways, which address these important issues, are even more important, and needed, during difficult times,” he says.

“They enable women to respond to, and bring about, change in effective ways.”

Agri-Women’s Development Trust executive director Lindy Nelson says the dairy farming sector went through rapid changes because of drought and payout drops during their time in the programme.

“The women were willing and able to apply new learning from the programme and navigate and lead change onfarm and in their communities,” she says. “This will build more resilient farming businesses and communities.”

Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) chief executive Zelda de Villiers says the collaboration complemented the DWN philosophy of leadership by doing.

“Pathways provides leadership opportunities for dairy women when they step up to be regional group leaders or co-leaders, conference committee members or module presenters,” de Villiers says.

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“We offer a lot of training to our leaders in the form of teaching hands-on practical skills like presentation, facilitation, event organisation, marketing

and social media. When this training is combined with a course like Pathways their leadership skills are enhanced.”

Funding is being sought to run the course again.

Convenor to join board TE KUITI farmer Alison

Ferris has become the first Dairy Women’s Network regional convenor to be elected to the organisation’s board.

Ferris, who with her husband Nick farms 500 dairy cows at Rangitoto, Alison Ferris King Country, will attend her first board meeting this month.

A group of convenors wrote to the board saying one of the network’s 70 regional convenors should be there representing members, Ferris says.

“That was accepted and the convenors voted on who should serve in the position. The point of this is that the convenors work at grassroots level so it’s good to have one on the board.”

Ferris was made a regional group convenor in 2014, having joined the network at its conference that year.

Her speciality onfarm is human resources and health and safety. So in 2015 she spoke about human resources at network meetings in the North Island.

Ferris, a qualified teacher, met her husband in her native UK in 2006 and followed him to New Zealand.

She worked in the family’s Rangitoto Dairies calf shed for six seasons. She is raising three daughters: Lucy (7), Emily (5) and Molly (3). She teaches one day a week at Rangitoto Primary School.

Dairy Women’s Network chair Justine Kidd says the idea of a group convenor representative on the board came from sport, where this works well.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

NEWS // 15

Infant formula the Oz standout star LAURIE WALKER

INFANT FORMULA

and nutritional products are the flavour of the month for Australian dairy processors, outperforming all other dairy categories in the last 12 months and generating headlines with news of shortages and strategic manoeuvring by major producers.

Strong demand growth has left suppliers playing catch-up, with reports of local shortages and sales restrictions throughout Australia in 2015.

A series of strategic partnerships and investments suggest companies have taken notice and are betting heavily on continued growth in this market segment.

Supermarket figures indicate that sales of infant formula grew 37.1% by volume and 45.3% by value for the 12 months to January 2016, illustrating the increased diversification within the market, as niche, higher-value product ranges have gained market share.

By way of comparison, chilled fresh milk and chilled cheese sales increased by 1.5% and 1.0% in value respectively over the same period.

Sales restrictions limiting the number of cans purchasable in a single transaction remain in force, prompted by community concerns over shortages in supermarkets.

The issue remains controversial, with many attributing domestic retail shortages to growth in private parallel exports to East Asia and Southeast Asia, where concerns regarding local food safety have created a strong preference for more trusted international brands.

Lack of data makes it impossible to say to what extent parallel exports have driven demand for infant formula. But since there is little change in Australian fertility rates, total birth numbers or apparent consumer trends, it appears that domestic consumption has not caused the increase in demand.

Recent trade liberali-

sation efforts may soon reduce the importance of parallel imports, as agreements such as the China Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) and the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) come into effect and Australian producers gain greater access to key markets in the region.

Several processors including Tatura and Murray Goulburn have already received visits and certification from the CNCA, China’s food standards body -- a necessary precondition for direct supply to China’s retail market, and more look set to follow.

Fonterra has also recently announced its acquisition of an 18.8% stake in Chinese infant formula manufacturer Beingmate, after an announcement of a joint venture between the two companies centring on Fonterra’s existing Darnum milk processing plant.

The surge in demand for infant formula has seen a flurry of activity in the sector over the last six months, as processors and manufacturers seek strategic partnerships with companies with experience in nutritional and supplementary health products. Recent examples include the five-year partnerships of Blackmores/ Bega Cheese and Bellamy’s/Fonterra Australia, announced in September and November 2015 respectively.

Murray Goulburn announced two separate supply agreements in March this year, partnering with Mead Johnson Nutrition and Indonesia’s Kalbe Nutritionals to increase its exposure to East Asia and Southeast Asia markets. These helped give rise to Murray Goulburn’s plans to increase supply with a new processing facility in Koroit, with an annual production capacity of 45,000 tonnes.

For comparison, Australian supermarket sales of infant formula in the 12 months to January 2016 totalled about 16,000 tonnes.

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growth in the wider region and ongoing high fertility rates in key developing markets suggest that demand fundamentals will remain strong.

At a time of flat domestic growth and depressed

global prices for bulk commodities, exports of infant formula look likely to feature heavily in companies’ growth plans.

• Laurie Walker, is an analyst with Dairy Australia.

Australian dairy processors are looking to send more infant formula into China.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

16 // NEWS

‘Let’s unclog the Red Band channels’ PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

FEDERATED FARMERS Dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard

Andrew Hoggard questions whether Fonterra is

truly representing New Zealand values and culture and highlighting the iconic elements of farming in this country.

He told Dairy News that he has a feeling that Fonterra in the last few years

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has drifted away from the values the Dairy Board used to espouse and which dairy farmers could relate to. The ‘NZ feel’ is somehow missing from Fonterra, he says.

“An example I have used a couple of times is that I saw Fonterrabranded clogs. A few years ago at the networkers’ conference the theme was

at their jobs, but those things are the extra value we must have in the business – core, solid home grown talent.”

Hoggard’s comments echo the sentiments of others in the dairy and wider agribusiness sector who have expressed concern at Fonterra’s poor performance as a communicator.

“When you have people who are not born in New Zealand it can be hard to articulate New Zealand values, the New Zealand story.” orange. To me, as far as New Zealand is concerned, the colour is black and the footwear is Red Bands,” he says.

Though Hoggard supports Fonterra in its hiring the best people in the world for particular jobs, he says these people also need the skills to connect with the people they are serving – the shareholding dairy farmers of the cooperative and the NZ public.

“When you have people who are not born and bred in NZ it can be hard for them to articulate New Zealand values, the New Zealand story, the history of the country and its people and cultures. It doesn’t mean they are crap

Hoggard says he would like Fonterra to be NZ’s brightest and best graduates’ first choice when they look for employment.

“My question is, are we doing enough to encourage and build home grown talent?

“My brother and sister are in agriculture related jobs that are not onfarm.

But both of them, having been born on a farm and [understanding the farming context], have a passion for the NZ dairy industry which they take into their jobs.

“That passion for the industry is invaluable and we need to do all we can to develop home grown talent with empathy with our dairy farmers.”

RETAINING TALENT ANDREW HOGGARD is hoping Federated Farmers, at its annual conference this year, will discuss in depth the way forward for sharemilking.

He says sharemilkers are being badly hit in the current dairy crisis and he hopes a better way can be found to keep these talented people in the industry.

“When I started as a sharemilker, the volatility we see today wasn’t quite there. So usually you knew when it was going to be a poor season and you structured the farm based on that.

“We need to see if we can do anything better in the sharemilking agreements that helps manage things with high volatility.”

Hoggard says if a better solution can be found, the industry should go with it.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

18 // NEWS

Danone expands plant

Danone’s $25 million blending and packaging plant under construction.

FRENCH DAIRY giant Danone is doubling its infant formula production capacity in New Zealand.

Its subsidiary Danone Nutricia NZ is spending $25 million on a blending

and packing ‘mega facility’ at its Airport Oaks plant in Auckland.

“The $25 million expansion of the Airport Oaks facility signifies the growing importance of

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our NZ operation as an important supply point for the domestic and Asia Pacific markets, and the growing demand for early life nutrition products in key markets,” says Cyril Marniquet, NZ operations director for Danone Early Life Nutrition.

The Airport Oaks facility will include a new gravity blending tower and canning lines, in line with Danone Nutricia’s worldclass quality standards. It will also include an innovation centre to launch new products and packaging for the Asia Pacific region.

The Airport Oaks site investment also allows Danone Nutricia to employ more people as it prepares to meet the growing global demand for early life nutrition products; it employs 400

people in NZ. The Airport Oaks site will continue to make Aptamil, Karicare and Cow & Gate ranges for domestic and international markets.

In NZ the company has 60% share of the category.

The original NZ brand Karicare has a leading 46.6% share of all category sales in this market, growing year on year.

Karicare and Aptamil are key brands for the Australian business, also growing share and sales in that market.

Danone has been expanding in NZ; in 2014 it acquired the Suttons and Guardians companies.

This added a nutritional spray drying facility in the South Island and blending and packing facilities in Auckland.

FORMULA BRAND EXITS CHINA DANONE NUTRICIA is axing its sales to China of Karicare, a baby formula brand caught up in Fonterra’s 2013 botulism contamination scare.

It has stopped supplying the New Zealand-made Karicare infant formula to China.

It recalled some types of infant formula sold under the Karicare brand in 2013, after Fonterra’s botulism bungle -- a false alarm about deadly bacteria in its products.

Danone has since sued Fonterra for lost sales, and the two companies have been in arbitration in Singapore since February.

Danone said it would keep selling Karicare in Australasia, but would develop its other two baby formula brands, Aptamil and Nutrilon, in the Chinese market.

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Organics on the rise THE NEW Zealand organic sector has grown by at leastI

11% per annum since 2012, according to the 2016 New Zealand Organic Market Report.

Domestic organic milk sales are increasing rapidly. In the first six months of 2015 organic milk had 5.8% of the total white milk market, and nearly all the growth in the milk market was in organic milk sales.

The average size of organic pastoral farms has decreased from 346ha in 2012 to 192ha in 2015. The land area under organic livestock production has declined by 55% since 2012.

The growth is driven by consumer demand in NZ and overseas, following a worldwide trend showing no signs of slowing, says Brendan Hoare, chief executive of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ), which commissioned the report.

“Certified organic is a sustained global shift in consumer behaviour and NZ stands to benefit immensely,” Hoare says.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

WORLD // 19

European co-op eyes US cheese market EUROPEAN DAIRY

co-op Arla Foods is joining forces with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) to set up a cheese plant in the US, the world’s biggest cheese market.

In their first collaboration ever, the two farmer-owned co-ops plan to look into building a plant to make premium cheddar.

The joint cost will be US$58m of which Arla covers 20% (US$11.6m).

A third of the cheese bought by US consumers is cheddar. However, very few brands there make cheddar using the highest quality available milk -without growth hormones or artificial ingredients.

“Together with Dairy Farmers of America and

eight of their farmers, who will supply the raw milk, we will explore the opportunities for premium quality cheddar under the Arla brand,” says Arla chief executive Peder Tuborgh.

“Adding cheddar to our US portfolio will make us more attractive to the retailers and help increase the sales of our European products made from owners’ milk.”

DFA president Rick Smith says it is pleased to be linking with Arla.

“Arla and DFA share the same passion for providing the highest quality products... [sourced] from dairy farmers who employ sustainable and transparent farm practices.”

PINPOINTING THE GROWTH TARGETS THE US market is one of six growth regions pinpointed in Arla’s strategy ‘Good Growth 2020’.

The goal is to become a top 10 player in the retail cheese market by growing its business beyond the deli section into the dairy aisle, where 92% of US cheese sales take place.

A newly launched big bet in the dairy aisle is Arla branded cream cheese, which has no artificial growth hormones, artificial ingredients or flavours.

“US consumers are increasingly looking for food products they can feel good about serving and consuming from a better-for-you standpoint,” says head of Arla Foods USA, Don Stohrer Jr. “This is exactly the position we have created for the Arla brand with its authenticity, transparency and great taste. It’s an attractive position that doesn’t now exist in the US dairy aisle or the cheddar segment. Our expectation is that the new cheddar products will create a halo effect for the cream cheese and other Arla branded products.”

The joint venture will be owned 70% by DFA, which also holds the management role, 20% by Arla and 10% by the eight farmers who supply the milk. Thirty people are expected to be employed.

On-site construction will begin later this year, to start producing in the autumn 2017.

The partners will build on a production site in western New York State where the eight farms supplying the raw milk are located. The farmers are members of DFA and will supply about 70,000t

of raw milk annually, to quality standards similar to Arla’s programme Arlagården.

The US market has a quota regime that imposes limits on Arla importing European cheddar.

A third of the cheese bought

by US consumers is cheddar.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

20 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Small glimmer in long tunnel

MILKING IT...

Gone bananas THE LATEST plant product expected to lead a retail revolution in Colorado, US, isn’t green — it’s yellow.

Trying to make up for poor sales of cow and soy milk, WhiteWaveFoods, Denver, is stocking its Colorado, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio stores with a devious concoction -- banana milk.

Sir Bananas, the product’s cute moniker, is a blend of 2% milk and banana that boasts 7g of protein per serving. It’s also available in a chocolate banana flavor, for those who prefer milk other than in its natural state.

Reprieve for full-fat?

Hi-tech from Pakistan

FOR YEARS you’ve been told to go for skim over full-fat dairy. Even the latest dietary guidelines for Americans urge people to avoid full fat, and following this lead, school lunches contain only low-fat milk or no whole milk at all, even though they allow chocolate skim milk with its added sugars.

But large population studies into possible links between full-fat dairy consumption, weight and disease risk are now questioning that advice. And some research suggests people who consume fullfat dairy weigh less and are less likely to develop diabetes.

THE LATEST in wearable technology is being called the ‘fitbit for cows’.

A startup called Cowlar is making a tracking device to be worn by cows and buffaloes, and the creators claim it could help farmers increase their milk yields by as much as 15%.

Cowlar’s website says the product uses motion sensors to track the cow’s activity and core temperature, and relays that data via the cloud in text messages to farmers so they can better detect disease. It also allows monitoring when the animals are in heat.

Cowlar is based in Pakistan, where outdated agricultural techniques drag on average milk yields compared to more highlydeveloped countries.

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Leaping for joy A VIDEO showing Swiss cows’ delight at being let out to pasture after a long winter has struck a chord worldwide, attracting massive viewing since its posting to Facebook last week.

The Pfister family’s cows in Bözen, Aargau, are shown jumping and leaping as they get to pasture for the first time in five months under sunny spring skies.

“It’s one of the most beautiful moments in a farmer’s year,” the family wrote under the video.

Non-farmers love it too: the video has had 1.2 million views and nearly 22,000 ‘likes’ since last month.

No surprise to farmer Reto Pfister. “We just wanted to amuse ourselves and our friends, nothing more,” he told journalists.

A SMALL light is visible at the end of the tunnel: milk production is showing signs of easing in Europe. One year after the abolition of quotas it seems the low prices are now hitting European farmers.

However, there are mixed messages coming out of Europe.

The European Dairy Farmers Association believes production will not ease anytime soon because dairy farmers have been lifting production, despite low milk prices, to get a return on their investment.

Milk production in Europe for the 12 months to December 2015 rose 2% over the previous year; Fonterra expects this growth to slow to 1.5%.

There is now talk in the EU about limiting what farmers produce. The European commission has been meeting to discuss voluntary measures for each country, effectively to reinstate supply quotas to limit production. But it would be voluntary: each country would have to cut production on its own terms -- and some would baulk.

Before the quotas were abolished, major European dairy companies spent up large on extra plant to make commodity milk powders and cheese, and they raised their capacity to improve the economics of making infant formula, specialised milk powders and other ingredients – all with an export focus.

Fonterra, like other dairy players worldwide, underestimated the growth out of the EU. Europe’s milk output since March 2015 has been far greater than expected with a perfect storm of strong grass growth, low feed grain prices and milk prices better than logic might suggest.

The strongest milk output has been in a few regions where herd expansion and grass growth have been easiest. Just three of 28 EU member states – Netherlands, Ireland and Germany – cranked out two-thirds of the growth in milk supply in the second half of 2015.

Fonterra’s optimism about a drop in European milk production isn’t shared by the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings; it predicts that continued growth in European milk production to ramp up exports will further delay a recovery in global milk prices until beyond the end of this year.

Along with all this goes weak demand, mainly due to subdued Chinese buying and a Russian embargo on major western dairy exporters.

But for New Zealand farmers, the last two Global Dairy Trade auctions will have brought some relief.

European farmers at last show signs of waking up to the reality of low milk prices. There is light at the end of the tunnel; we just don’t know how long the tunnel is.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

OPINION // 21

Biosecurity will improve from data protection MARK ROSS

NEW ZEALAND’S

economy and environment are constantly at risk of threats from pests and diseases, as demonstrated

by Auckland’s recent Tau fly incursion.

Even with ample investment in biosecurity and pest management, we undoubtedly face threats from increasing numbers of tourists and imported products. Changing weather patterns also have their part to play in this predicament.

The government does a fine job in reducing the risk of new pests entering the country, but the Ministry for Primary Industries concedes there is no such thing as a zero risk in biosecurity. Without closing borders and wrapping ourselves in a bubble, even the best systems cannot detect or stop every harmful pest.

A rapid response is crucial if an exotic pest is found as it must be eradicated or contained from spreading. Critical to this is finding products that can achieve the desired result. Immediate access to these products is essential to protect our native biodiversity and agricultural production.

The environment and our economy have been harmed by recently established pests like the varroa mite, Psa, theileria and Chilean needle grass which are spreading throughout the country.

The varroa mite spreads a deadly virus which wipes out bee colonies and was one of the main causes of bee loss in NZ. Psa, first identified in Japan in the 1980s, was detected in the Bay of Plenty in November 2010.

Since then the disease has spread widely, infecting over 1600 kiwifruit orchards.

So the spotlight is on biosecurity for protecting NZ’s economy and agricultural production. The government and the science

community agree that new approaches and improvements to existing tools are needed to protect the environment and economy from harmful organisms.

There is a very simple solution. By encouraging companies to research and produce new products, new threats can be managed and harmful pests can be contained. This can be done by extending data protection on innovative products from the present five years, to 10 years.

Doing this will aid biosecurity planning. It will also bring products with ‘softer’ chemistry -- or less hazardous properties -to the market. The spinoff is that risks to human health, non-target organisms and the environment will be diminished. Use rates and the number of applications would also be reduced, as would the potential for resistance.

Many products with ‘softer’, more environmentally friendly chemistry could be introduced into NZ to replace other products which, having been reassessed by the Environmental Protection Authority, would no longer be available for use or would soon be removed from the market.

An estimated $50 million is spent annually on developing innovative products for the agricultural sector. But companies are reluctant to over-capitalise in R&D when there is limited or no protection for the end product. With enhanced data protection, this spending would increase.

As a supporter of innovation and research, the Government needs to do more to encourage manufacturing companies to develop products to tackle potentially crippling pests and diseases.

Implementing 10 years data protection would enhance the means we have to eradicate harmful organisms by encouraging the introduction of modern, innovative and potentially lower risk sci-

ence and health technologies into NZ. • Mark Ross is chief executive of Agcarm, the industry asso-

ciation for companies which make and distribute crop protection and animal health products.

Your dairY is the most important machinerY on farm.

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An increasing number of tourists and imports bring greater risk of biosecurity breaches.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

22 // AGRIBUSINESS

Dairy women urged to step up leadership PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

IN TOUGH times people

need to look to leaders, says Jo Finer, Fonterra’s general manager of New Zealand industry affairs.

She is urging other women to step up to the challenge of leadership and spoke on the issue at a three-day workshop for Dairy Womens Network (DWN) regional convenors in Wellington last week.

“Getting through these

values”.

A barrier to stepping up to leadership is that women often doubt themselves.

“Sometimes it is often us who hold ourselves back, thinking we don’t necessarily have the confidence or ability to do it.

Sometimes guilt as well, particularly if women are mothers and don’t want to be taking on the leadership role for fear they are not dedicating enough time to family.”

For Finer, the Global

Zealand’s dairy exports in 1992 when she joined the dairy industry on a graduate training programme.

She worked her way up through the business, spending time in operations, managing laborato-

ries and leading Fonterra’s global food safety and regulatory functions, to her current position where she leads relationships with industry organisations.

Finer admires DWN for helping the dairy indus-

try build capacity by training industry leaders at the front end of the dairy value chain.

“They are leaders supporting leaders, and doing a great job of it,” Finer says.

Jo Finer, Fonterra

“Getting through these tough times is about that personal grip.” tough times is about that personal grip, about reaching deep within yourself for that resilience and realising that in tough times people need to look to leaders,” she told Dairy News.

“So it is a great opportunity for women to stand up and show there is a way forward and show that things will turn and become positive.

It is matter of ‘gritting’ through those tough times essentially, and taking the opportunity to be leaders and take others along that pathway.”

At the workshop Finer spoke about her personal leadership journey, some of the highlights and challenges. She hoped to provide inspiration through the present tough dairy times.

Brought up on a Manawatu dairy farm and then involved in sharemilking, Finer has been in the value added side of the dairy industry for 24 years.

Through challenges she says she has learnt “that need for a bit of patience, tenacity and staying true to yourself and your own

Women’s Leadership Breakthrough Programme she completed in 2012 was a huge catalyst for change.

The DWN also supports the leadership programme by awarding the Dairy Women of the Year and attending the awards event. Filer will be master of ceremony at the awards dinner for the DWN conference on in Hamilton on May 4.

“A real point of change was going through that programme, discovering my key drivers and personal values, and developing some really good leadership tools. I focussed on differentiating myself, exploring every opportunity that came along, and being open to new challenges,” says the mother of three teenagers.

Finer has no doubt the skills she learned as a mother have also played a part in her career.

“You develop patience, tenacity and coaching skills when you are a parent. You bring that capability to your profession.”

Finer became involved in adding value to New

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

AGRIBUSINESS // 23

‘Product fingerprint’ helps hunt for healthy new foods FONTERRA RESEARCHERS have

Raman confocal image.

made a breakthrough chemical imprint for the dairy industry.

Their latest development uses Raman spectroscopic imaging to reveal

the “product fingerprint” in food structures, which could speed up product development and help in the hunt for healthy new foods. This is the first use of this technology by the dairy industry internation-

Fonterra manager, food structure design, Christina Coker, says the researchers’ work is a “major step forward for new technology development, being able to know where your components are sitting in a structure so Fonterra’s manufacturing operation can get the properties they want and for new product development”.

The innovation will help researchers know more about the makeup of the food structures they are studying and the chemical interactions of any additions and changes. And this can happen in near-real time, much like Fonterra’s milk fingerprinting breakthrough, which won a national innovation award last year.

“A day doing this is worth months of trial and error,” says Coker of chemical fingerprinting.

The result is the culmination of six years research by Fonterra

senior technical officer Elizabeth Nickless, supported by colleague Dr Steve Holroyd and professor Keith Gordon’s team at Otago University, and the University of Auckland, which has the only Raman instrument in the country.

It was also made possible by advances over the past couple of years in high-resolution imaging.

The spectroscopic technique builds on traditional confocal laser microscopy and analyses the distribution of chemical bonds to give a clearer, unprecedented picture of structures and interactions in samples.

The confocal process uses lasers to create high resolution images with depth. The Raman spectroscopy, named after Indian physicist Sir C. V. Raman, analyses vibrational, rotational and other low-frequency modes to clarify the picture even more.

Baby formula helps grow returns CANTERBURY PROCESSOR Synlait has reported

al sulphur and lime in one granule that grows more pasture both and by being retained in the soil over winter the fine elemental owth.

growth on the shoulders r Ballance Nutrient Specialist, isit sustaingain.co.nz

ally, the co-op believes.

Research was supported by the Transforming the Dairy Value Chain Primary Growth Partnership, co-funded by MPI, Fonterra, DairyNZ and others in the industry.

Contains SustaiN

a net profit of $12.4 million for the first half of 2016.

Last year the company’s half year result was $0.4 million. It says the big profit rise results from increased nutritional sales in canned infant formula.

“We’re glad to deliver a solid result for the first half of FY16,” says chairman Graeme Milne. “Our significant investment in customer and product development, people, plant and operating systems in recent years is beginning to transform our earnings.

“Our core strategy is to partner with leaders in the infant formula and adult nutrition industries. These half year results demonstrate the early success of this strategy and we’re pleased with our pace of execution.”

Nutritional product sales for the period were 7498 MT, a 155% increase on HY15’s 2946 MT; this accounted for 16% of total sales volumes in HY16.

“The result we’re expecting is an almost fourfold increase in canned infant formula sales in FY16, compared to FY15. Concurrently, by the end of FY16 we will have strengthened our balance sheet by restructuring our working capital requirements and repaying debt.

“This position provides a base for potential further capital expansion,” says Milne.

Managing director John Penno highlights the success of Synlait’s partnership with nutritional customer The a2 Milk Company.

“As the sole manufacturer of their fast growing a2 Platinum range of infant formula, it’s a good example of a strong customer relationship providing a positive return to our bottom line,” says Penno.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

24 // AGRIBUSINESS

Genetics more relevant with p A NEW Zealand dairy farmer who has farmed overseas and worked with some of the largest dairy genetics organisations now heads World Wide Sires in New Zealand.

Hank Lina’s dairy career began in the 1980s with the NZ Farm Cadet Scheme, and after a gap year in the Netherlands he returned to Waikato to work as a herd manager for three years, progressing to contract milking then joining Livestock Improvement as its Otago regional officer.

For ten years he has worked with Maffra Herd Improvement and NZ Genetics in Australia, been an AI consultant in Ireland and acting general manager of a large dairy operation in Missouri, US, before returning to NZ as a CRV Ambreed regional sales and service manager.

He was appointed World Wide Sires’ NZ general manager late in 2015.

Lina spoke to Dairy News about why he’s working for a US company and what its genetics have which others don’t.

Dairy News: What drew you to head a US genetics company?

Lina: World Wide Sires was formed in the US 45 years ago and is now one of the largest distributors of dairy genetics around the world. It’s owned by two of the largest farmer owned AI cooperatives in the world – Select Sires and Accelerated Genetics -- operating for 50 and 70 years respectively 51,000 farmer members and sales exceeding 19 million straws.

World Wide Sires has been in NZ for at least 30 years so we’re part of the

industry. I believe now, with the volatility we’re seeing in dairy payout, that the company’s genetics have more relevance for Kiwi farmers than ever.

I believe the big player in the genetics market has hedged itself into a one-size-fits-everything position in breeding worth, limiting the amount of choice for NZ farmers.

We’re saying there is another way which will help you reduce headcount and improve production.

Dairy News: Are you challenging breeding worth (BW)?

Lina: Breeding worth tends to be the currency for dairy breeding in this country but it’s not the only way to judge great genetics.

Hank Lina believes breeding worth is not the only way to judge great genetics.

Many farmers with moderate to high BW herds are saying they’re not seeing this translated into milksolids, fertility, longevity or strong, functional conformation.

They quite rightly ask why herds producing well over the national average of 370kgMS have low to very low BW. Most of our customers produce well over the

national average and they focus on what works best for them which, nine times out of ten, is very good type (capacity, legs, feet, udders and moderate stature) transmittable

components and fertility.

BW is a measure of profitability but it’s not the only measure. The measure that speaks most loudly to farmers is what they see in the paddock, in

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

AGRIBUSINESS // 25

h payout up and down Dairy News: In 2005 the Dexcel Holstein Friesian strain trial found that high BW cows of predominantly NZ ancestry were more profitable than high BW overseas bulls across the range of pasture based systems. What’s your response?

Lina: The issues identified by the strain trial originated from the influx of European and US Holsteins which occurred a decade earlier and which weren’t suited to an allgrass low-cost system.

The environment couldn’t be more different today than in 2005.

We now have five production systems and I doubt the 2005 trial results have any relevance for farmers today using systems 3 to 5.

The fact is our industry is evolving rapidly and these new systems require a different type of cow.

Dairy News: There was also a perception, at the time of the strain trial, that overseas genetics tended to be large, were not fertile and wouldn’t last in commercial herds. What’s your response?

Lina: Since the 1970s the focus of the breeding programmes in the US was milk production and type – North American cattle becoming the highest production and type cattle in the world.

As with most things in life, however, great focus and progress in one area often leads to a loss in another and by the 1990s the extreme focus on production led to larger cows and a slow but steady decline in cow fertility.

This concerned the US AI industry and at the end of the 1990s decisive action was taken to make a radical change in sire selection towards a more balanced and highly fertile animal.

The US industry listened and responded.

Today the patronage of farmers around the world confirms that they know World Wide Sires genetics are proven to be amongst the most fertile in the world in both daughter fertility and semen fertility. We are also delivering a more moderately sized animal which calves easily

for a healthier lactation of high milksolids. The end result is more profitable herds.

Dairy News: Isn’t World Wide Sires “just for breeders”?

Lina: A lot of breeders around the world rely on our genetics but so do thousands of commercial farmers.

Our genetics are purebred and pedigree but no farmer would argue against the need for this.

Right now, on many Kiwi farms, farmers are telling us they are concerned that they can’t rely on the outcome of crossbred to crossbred breeding. All farmers understand hybrid vigour but there is growing concern that this has been lost and you will see a lot of crossbred herds with huge variation in size, colour and production.

Farmers are asking what the answer is, and we’re saying we’ve got the solution – highly profitable sires which will address and correct those issues.

Put as simply as possible, mating a smallerthan-you-like crossbred cow over one of our moderately sized Holsteins or perhaps a larger Jersey bull (with all the goods) will give you a heifer that’s closer to the size you like, looks more like the kind of cow you like and milks more like the kind of cow you like. That’s just the first crop.

Lina: No, we are not really interested in a race or competition with our competitors. If anything, the big players probably need us as much as farmers do. I think it is sad that the two big players are using each other’s genetics and have narrowed the gene pool to the point

where it is nigh impossible to mate your cows without an inbreeding report – all for the sake of high BW. Our intention is to let every dairy farmer in NZ know there is an alternative that can work for them as well if not better.

Imagine that BW was

Dairy News: Are World Wide Sires’ sires proven or genomic?

Lina: Our offering includes daughter proven bulls and genomically selected bulls. With at least 30,000 males and 35,000 females used as genomic predictors, we have the world’s most accurate genomic predictions, with reliabilities for Holsteins exceeding 70%.

The current Holstein genomic database includes at least 825,000 females and 170,000 males – the largest genomic database in the world with a staggering 10,000+ new animals being tested every month.

Dairy News: Are you challenging the big players in NZ’s dairy genetics?

B&DEL0026C

the vat and in their bank balance.

delaval.co.nz

the ‘Boeing Dreamliner – the greatest plane ever built’ – and World Wide Sires was the ‘Airbus A380’. Would Boeing be telling the world that the A380 was inefficient, too large, usually too white and wouldn’t last? No of course it wouldn’t be, because just like cows here

in NZ there is more than ‘one way to do it and do it well’.

Dairy News: Many farmers are reviewing their farming systems to get through this downturn. What’s your advice?

Lina: Many years ago when I was a farm cadet

my boss told me “when the payout is high, produce more, and when the payout is low, produce more”. This doesn’t always mean increasing the herd size and buying in feed.

If there was ever a time to reduce stock numbers and increase per cow production, it’s now.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

26 // MANAGEMENT

Maori farm wins top enviro prize A WELL-MANAGED

dairy and forestry farm owned by Maori Incorporation Parininihi ki Waitotara (PKW) is the supreme winner of the 2016 Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The award was presented to PKW Farms’ farm manager Matt Kelbrick and farm supervisor Roger Landers at a Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA) ceremony on March 31.

The team behind PKW’s No.2 Farm in the Ohangai district also won the Massey University Innovation Award and the WaterForce Integrated

Management Award.

PKW owns 20,000ha of dairy land and other business interests including crayfishing,

with 30ha of pines in gullies and on steeper land.

Kelbrick was employed as manager in 2014, with

“Biodiversity on the farm reflects PKW’s long-term view of land guardianship.” forestry and commercial property.

BFEA judges said PKW clearly takes “immense pride and passion” in its business.

Located east of Hawera, PKW’s No.2 Farm is a 159ha property milking 325 cows on a 100ha milking platform,

Kaponga farmer Roger Landers also joining as PKW dairy farm supervisor. In that year the business built a new effluent system and a 60-bail rotary dairy.

BFEA judges said this well-planned upgrade combined with Kelbrick and Rogers’ management

has helped the farm to 32,000kgMS of extra production with only five more cows.

This season the farm is targeting 140,000kgMS from a system 3 regime.

Its infrastructure allows for expansion and growth of production, the judges said, and the “outstanding use of new technologies” ensures long term sustainability.

“The inclusion of an in-shed feeding system and brilliant management has seen production increase dramatically. The foundation is set for this property to keep pushing for greater things and maintain a great level of production.”

PKW farms farm manager Matt Kelbrick and farm supervisor Roger Landers.

Biodiversity on the farm reflects PKW’s long term view of land guardianship. All waterways are fenced and small areas of the farm are being retired and planted with natives.

Judges said the passion shown by Kelbrick for this farm and for agriculture in general was

“inspirational”. They also applauded the working relationship between the two men.

“Matt and Roger are not afraid to challenge one another to strive for excellence. Matt’s passion for the farm and animals is infectious and this motivates others around him to meet goals and

behind our farmers for 40 years

targets. They have a close working relationship with the wider PKW group and strive to be the best in what they do.”

A BFEA supreme winner field day will be held on PKW Farms LP No.2 Farm. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

see rex butterworth’s story at www.pioneer.nz www.PIONEER.nz

0800 PIONEER (746 633)

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

MANAGEMENT // 27

Possum kill to target bovine TB AN AERIAL possum kill is planned

for the southern Rimutaka Ranges in September, another step in eradicating bovine tuberculosis from New Zealand, says Ospri (formerly Animal Health Board).

The proposed TBfree operation is supported by the Department of Conservation, and community consultation and public meetings are scheduled to determine the exact size of the control area, water supplies and exclusion zones.

The proposed area includes the East Harbour Regional Park where the Eastbourne Forest Rangers have been killing possums since 1933, and the Orongorongo Valley, where community groups such as the Moa Conservation Trust have worked hard on voluntary possum kills. The wider southern Rimutaka area has not been treated by air before.

The farming region of South Wairarapa on the eastern fringe of the southern Rimutaka has a history of TB in cattle herds going back 30 years, and the link with tuberculous wildlife is well established.

Possums are the main ‘vector’ (transmitter) of TB among cattle. Possum sur-

Rugged terrain is difficult country in which to trap possums: GPS navigation equipment will be used to ensure accurate drops of 1080.

veys in 2008 by the Animal Possums will be targeted Health Board (now Ospri) in an aerial operation in and more recently by Landthe Rimutaka Ranges in September. care Research found TBinfected possums in the DOC says the conservation values of forest park.

Ospri, which manages the TBfree the area, including lowland forest and programme, aims to eradicate bovine threatened bird species, make southern TB in livestock by 2026 and in wildlife by Rimutaka an important target area. It is 2040. To eradicate bovine TB, possum used extensively by walkers, runners, numbers need to be kept extremely low trampers and hunters and the owners of the park’s network of huts.

– one to two possums in every 10ha.

DOC Kapiti-Wellington operations manager Rob Stone says the operation will knock down the possum population and will slash rat and stoat numbers. Among the species to benefit are rata, kiwi, kakariki and NZ falcon. Possums, stoats, ferrets and rats, wreck the

habitat that supports these native birds.

Large rata trees dominate the forest canopy in the Orongorongo Valley. “These ancient trees are seriously threatened by possums which show strong preferences for browsing this species,” says Stone.

Kiwi have been re-introduced to Rimutaka Forest Park, but protecting them against mustelids requires constant control work.

Rugged terrain is difficult country in which to trap possums. GPS navigation equipment will be used to ensure accurate drops of 1080.

OSPRI’s chief operating officer, Matthew Hall, says aerial drops achieve fast and accurate kills, and groundbased control has benefits for protecting kiwi and other native species.

The effectiveness of the operation will be monitored via a survey of wild pigs in the area. The absence of bovine TB in captured pigs will guide the next steps in the TB eradication scheme.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

MANAGEMENT // 29

Winners on track to achieve goals Ravensdown and Primary ITO. Winning the 2016 Southland/Otago Dairy Manager of the Year competition may be the recognition Wayne Ashmore (31) needs to take the next step in his dairy farming career.

Ashmore, who won $8000 in prizes, is farm manager for the Otautau, Southland dairying Fortuna Group, on its Glenarlea Farm, milking 930 cows.

He has worked for the group for eight years, progressing from herd manager to farm manager and now plans to become one of the group’s farm supervisors, overseeing a few of its farming operations.

“The group has a wealth of knowledge and due to its size we are able to try new things.”

It was Ashmore’s third tilt at the awards, to step outside his comfort zone and network with likeminded dairy farmers and rural professionals.

Gore herd manager Ann Linton (24) was second in the Dairy Manager competition, winning $5000 in prizes, and Invercargill farm manager Sam Hodsell (23) won third place and $4000 in prizes.

The 2016 Southland/ Otago Dairy Trainee of the Year, Chloe Mackle (23), has “big dreams” to own farms where she can train school leavers, upskill people and provide an enjoyable workplace.

“As a junior I was fortunate to have employers who saw the importance of setting a solid foundation for my future. I would love to be able to help others [this way].”

In dairying since 2012, she is herd manager for Abe and Anita De Wolde on their 500-cow property at Heddon Bush. Hers was a first entry. She won $5525 in prizes.

She says the farm has a culture of continuous learning and a focus on people development, hence her studies through Primary ITO and her entry.

“I wanted to rub shoulders with likeminded people and to further my dairying career.”

Runner-up in the Dairy Trainee competition was Gore farm manager Joshua Best (23) who won $3550 in prizes, and third place went to Winton second-incharge Hamish Dempsey

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THE MAJOR winners in the 2016 Southland/Otago Dairy Industry Awards, Callum and Hanna Stalker, have adapted their business to remain on track to achieve their farming goals.

Their win as regional Share Farmer of the Year was announced at the Southland/Otago Dairy Industry Awards dinner last week.

The other big winners were Wayne Ashmore (2016 Southland/Otago Dairy Manager of the Year) and Chloe Mackle (2016 Southland/Otago Dairy Trainee of the Year).

Callum (32) and Hanna Stalker (30) are 50% sharemilking 680 cows for Ben and Bev Verhoeven at Otautau and won $13,870 in prizes.

Their goal is to continue to build equity through their livestock; they say they are strong on adaptability, especially in the current low milk payout climate.

“We can adapt the business to ensure we are still on track to achieve our goals. We and our farm team and farm owner have complementary skills and we are all working towards the common goal of running a profitable and sustainable business.”

The Stalkers entered the awards for a second time to analyse their business and benchmark it against others in the industry to gain improvement.

They have been in the industry about six years; Hanna worked for LIC after completing a BSc/BBS Agriculture and Marketing from Massey University.

South Otago lower order sharemilkers Mathew Korteweg (28) and Catherine Tate (27) were runners-up in the Share Farmer competition, winning $8500 in prizes.

Seaward Downs lower order sharemilker Mike Henderson (32) was third and won $6000 in prizes.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by Westpac, DairyNZ, DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy, New Zealand Farm Source,

(22), winning $1300 in prizes.

The Southland/Otago Dairy Industry Awards winners’ field day will be held at Otautau on April 19.

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Southland/Otago Share Farmers of the Year Callum and Hanna Stalker.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

30 // MANAGEMENT

Director, farmer, musician; this girl loves a challenge She’s a director of Westland Milk Products, Buller Holdings and her own dairy farm, and she plays in brass bands; and in her real job she’s in charge of seven Landcorp farms on the West Coast. Reporter Peter Burke went to meet the amazing Rebecca Keoghan.

IT’S FAIR to say Rebecca

Keoghan is ambitious, focused, determined and goal orientated. She wouldn’t be where she is now without these qualities and rather like rust she doesn’t seem to stop.

She was born in Invercargill 39 years ago, then at age 18 studied medical science Otago University, majoring in haematology and metabolic disorders. Then there followed a stint in a private laboratory in prestigious Harley St, London.

After the OE it was back to Invercargill where she rejoined the local brass band and fell in love with a fellow musician,

Nathan, manager of a forestry operation in Southland. Together they headed to Australia, enjoying the culture and fun of Aussie life.

Then they got a call from Nathan’s parents to run the family farm near Westport, a place she’d never been.

The family farm – they now own it after five years managing it – is only 120ha carrying 200 Jersey cows which produce 81,000kgMS. But the cows have a high BW and are in the top 5% in New Zealand. With Nathan committed to running the farm, Rebecca took her impressive list of qualifications in search of a job in Westport.

“When I arrived on the coast I didn’t know what I would do with my degree because there a not many labs on the coast,” she told Dairy News.

“I worked at PGG Wrightson for a short time and then at the cement company Holcim as a laboratory manager.

I knew nothing about cement but a lot about chemistry so it was fine and eventually I ended up as operations manager.

In all I spent eight years at Holcim but with it closing I looked for other leadership opportunities and was surprised when this position came up at Landcorp in the middle of last year and I got it.”

Her role is business

manager for three dairy farms, a machinery syndicate and a dairy support platform at Cape Foulwind and two dairy farms near Reefton – challenging but in tune with her desire for a strategic leadership role.

She admits when she arrived on the West Coast she knew zilch about dairying, but Nathan has helped teach her practical skills about dairying.

Keoghan’s other role is to be the ‘face’ of Landcorp in the community. Landcorp is a big employer, keen to recruit local people to work on its farms. It has just set up a scholarship programme which offers

Rebecca Keoghan on one of the Landcorp.

two young people $2000 a year for three years to gain an agricultural

qualification at a tertiary institute. And they get paid holiday work. All this

is to showcase Landcorp as an employer worth considering.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

MANAGEMENT // 31

‘Happy people work well’ THE SEVEN farms Rebecca Keoghan has responsibil-

ity for vary in size: the largest run about 1200 cows each on 490ha platforms and produce up to 400,000kgMS, the smallest one has 700 cows and produces 320,000kgMS. All have modern rotary sheds and onfarm technology including Minda and MilkHub. Keoghan spends much of her time in her office and on the road but technology enables her to know in real time what’s going on at all the farms.

“Landcorp has fantastic online systems which you must have because of the distance between the farms which are scattered around the country. We have Lync calls with video calling; without my being there I can see what my farms are doing via the technology in their sheds – what time they start and finish milking, what the cows are doing, somatic cell issues, and quality and cleaning issues.”

But Keoghan makes a point of visiting each farm at least once a week.

The West Coast has its own farming challenges, notably heavy rain: downpours of 40ml in a morning are not uncommon and it all adds up to 2500ml annual average rainfall. Not much irrigation is used.

The rain raises questions about where and when to spray effluent on paddocks. Landcorp has a sophisticated data gathering network giving soil moisture, temperature and rainfall to help make accurate decisions.

In the aptly named Cape Foulwind area one farm, Tram Road, a newer conversion, is near the coast and unlike the others in the area has less organic matter and sandy soil which the strong winds dry out in January. To help this farm deal with the dry and to reduce the need for supplements, Keoghan says they have planted 82ha of chicory this year on the three farms.

“We have had plantain before but we are focusing on chicory at the moment because it has high ME. It’s got long root structures and with sandy soil it has worked extremely well. It does have a short life although you can run it if you like for two or three years. We got in excess of six grazings on it from January until now. In contrast to last year we haven’t had to purchase imported feed to maintain production and cow condition, and haven’t had to dry cows off early. We don’t do fodder beet, we only grow kale and turnips moderately here, but the soils don’t have enough organic matter. We grow rape really well and that’s our winter crop.”

In her early months in the job Keoghan focused on matters that would increase profitability and reduce dependence on supplements. That meant setting appropriate stocking levels, lifting production per cow and per hectare and getting back to the basics of good pasture management. To that end she has hired a consultant to get some ‘independent’ advice.

There has also been a focus on environmental issues to limit nitrogen and sediment leaching into waterways on the farms. About 123km of waterways have been fenced and riparian planted in keeping with Landcorp’s policy of being a good corporate citizen. Local environmental groups have been encouraged to help with some of these projects and this has drawn a positive response from the community.

For a woman and to some extent an outsider to the dairy industry, running a male dominated business would seem a formidable task. But Keoghan says this hasn’t been a problem.

“They have all been fantastic. They challenge me if they want to, but they are receptive to [ideas for] our safety culture and how we drive profitability on the farms. The boys are proud of what they do onfarm and I am extremely proud of their progress. We have received a number of environmental awards and the staff are happy; happy people work well.”

Cape Foulwind is a far cry from the glamour and prestige of London’s Harley Street, but taking every opportunity Keoghan has made a fulfilling career for herself and a big contribution to her company and the local community.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

32 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Polled genetics set for release A WIDER selection of high genetic merit, hornless cows will soon be available from CRV Ambreed, whose polled bulls will be released to the market once they produce semen in 2017.

Ten years in development, the polled product line is intended to address concerns about animal welfare, farmer safety and the cost of de-horning. The work has gained momentum over the past three years.

R&D manager Phil Beatson, says the beauty of polled genetics is that it’s controlled by a single gene: an animal needs only one copy of that gene – they are heterozygous for the polled gene – to be polled.

“In breeding we have to breed bulls that have two copies of the gene, i.e. they are homozygous,

in some homozygous polled progeny. The law of averages says two or three,” he says.

CRV Ambreed already has access to overseas homozygous polled bulls through its global network, but many farmers still want highindexing New Zealand genetics proven in NZ farming systems and environments.

“In Europe they are increasingly asking ‘should we be dehorning animals?’ and they’re using genetics to safely manage this. There’s some talk that by 2025 it may be illegal to dehorn animals in Europe. If that happens, NZ could follow suit and we need to be prepared,” he says.

CRV Ambreed’s polled bulls will be guaranteed for having two copies of

Phil Beatson, CRV Ambreed.

for polled. When we breed heterozygous bulls with heterozygous cows there’s a one-infour chance of getting a homozygous polled, twoin-four of heterozygous and one-in-four of a homozygous horned animal from those matings,” Beatson says.

“Then when the homozygous bull is bred to horned cows, all of the

progeny will be polled.”

The aim is to make sure the polled progeny are also high indexing: CRV Ambreed is aiming at 220+ BW. Beatson says five heterozygous cows and five bulls have been identified with that criterion.

“We’ve been undertaking embryo transfer and we’re confident that will result

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ANIMAL HEALTH // 33

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“WE DRAFT them off as we milk, then when we’ve finished milking the rest, we just bring them back onto the platform and dry cow them.”

Wait a moment, did I hear that correctly? If so, you’d better stop right now and think about that.

Dry cow therapy costs a lot of time and money. So your doing it ‘the way I’ve always done it’ may no longer be best practice or give you the best return on the spending.

The goals at drying-off are, first, to shut down milk production and seal the teat canal as quickly as possible and, second, to use a treatment that treats existing infections and reduces the risk of new infections in the dry period and at calving.

Review and consider these key steps in your drying-off: Production level at the point of dryingoff ■■ This is one of the most common problems we see.

■■ Cows to be dried-off should be producing 5-12L/day. This refers to each individual cow, not the average of the group, and is achievable even in high producing herds. Drying-off at production levels less than 5L/day decreases the effectiveness of treatments and increases the risk of residues at calving.

■■ Never use ‘skip-a-day’ milking to assist drying-off. This adversely affects the cow’s ability to produce an effective teat plug for the dry period.

Application of treatments ■■ Don’t try to do too many cows in one session, and ensure you have sufficient staff present to make the job easier and quicker; when people no longer want to be there it is likely the quality of the job will rapidly decline.

■■ If teats are dirty they should be washed and dried prior to milking, not just prior to treatment. By doing this, the dirty wash water will be gone by the time you treat the teat.

■■ Cows should be treated as soon as possible after cups come off. On average, the teat canal takes 20-30 minutes after milking to close and seal, so if

that has already occurred and you break that seal open again to treat cows, it will not re-form properly, thus leaving the teat at much higher risk of infection.

■■ Carefully sterilise each teat end prior to infusing a treatment -- this step is critical. Keep rubbing the teat end with an alcohol soaked teat wipe or cotton bud until no more dirt appears on the teat wipe afterwards. If there is dirt left on the teat end at the time of infusion, there is a high risk of introducing that material into the teat.

■■ After infusion, massage antibiotic dry cow therapy up into the udder.

■■ If you are following with a teat sealant, re-sterilise the teat end prior to infusion – this is important.

■■ Infuse the teat sealant, but do NOT massage up into the udder. You want the teat sealant to remain in the teat which is where it does its job.

■■ After treatment, thoroughly cover all teats with teat spray. This is very important as the treatment process will likely delay the closure and sealing of the teat canal.

■■ Ensure the treated cows are clearly marked; an unmarked dry cow reentering the milking herd is a recipe for disaster.

After dry-off ■■ Allow the cows to move quietly to a nearby clean paddock. Have feed already available in the paddock so that cows do not immediately lie down; remember that teats are likely to take a little longer to close and seal and will remain at a higher risk until they do so.

■■ Do not run the cows, or walk them too far or truck them away for at least a few days after treatment. The teat sealant is likely to need a little time to settle and form into position in the teat.

■■ Monitor the cows for a few days after drying-off (this is usually easily done while feeding them.

Drying-off is your investment in the next lactation; make the most of it.

• Rod Dyson is a veterinary surgeon and mastitis adviser with Victorian consulting company Dairy Focus.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

34 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Practical tools to prevent lameness

Dairy Australia has launched a website to help farmers monitor the number of lame cows in their herds.

LAMENESS IS estimated to cost Australian farmers at least A$250 for each cow that develops the problem and can greatly reduce cow comfort and longevity.

To help farmers pre-

vent and detect lameness in their herds, Dairy Australia has launched a website with a range of practical and easy-to-use resources. It includes the Healthy Hooves lameness scoring system which

PRODUCTIVITY PROTECTION IN A TUBE

enables dairy farmers to monitor the number of lame cows in the herd.

Dairy Australia program development manager Erika Oakes said that by regularly scoring their herd, farmers will be able to assess their current lameness level and set a target for the herd, while assessing what changes need to be made onfarm to reach the target.

“Lame cows are harder to get in calf, have reduced milk production and lower body condition scores.

Putting effort into preventing lameness is far better than waiting until cows need treatment,” Oakes says.

“We have developed a simple lameness scoring system for our Australian conditions to help farmers prevent lameness and detect issues early.”

The Healthy Hooves 4 step lameness scoring system (pictured) uses

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Scoring should occur at least once a month.

It should be done at a time when the whole herd can be assessed. Ideally this can be done as the cows are walking out of the dairy after milking.

Score cows on an even, hard, non-slip surface.

Look at the foot placement, arching of the back and bobbing of the head to determine the level of lameness.

Record how many cows score 0 and 1.

Any cow that is a score 2 or 3 should be recorded and cut out for treatment as soon as possible.

Benefits of regular scoring Monitors the effectiveness of your lameness prevention plan Allows prompt detection and treatment of lame cows Improves cow comfort, herd health and milk production.

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different aspects of the cow’s movement to detect levels of lameness including stride length, walking speed or evenness, back position and head position.

The website presents short videos that show how to lameness score, including some examples to test how well you score different cows. Other videos cover other aspects of prevention, treatment and management of lameness such as tracks, cow flow, examining lame cows and treatment of common foot problems.

A full colour lameness scoring poster is also available to assist with training staff to use lameness scoring and can be downloaded online or ordered via the website.

Visit healthyhooves. dairyaustralia.com.au for more information.

■ BREAKING NEWS ■ MACHINERY REVIEWS ■ MARKETS & TRENDS ■ MANAGEMENT STORIES ■ COMPETITIONS ■ AND MUCH MORE...

All the latest stories and more at www.dairynews.co.nz

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

MATING MANAGEMENT // 35

Getting cows in-calf quickly GETTING COWS in-calf quickly is the

key to achieving a good calving pattern, says DairyNZ. Heat detection, pre-mating heats and bull management are key ingredients for a successful mating. Getting these right will benefit the farm’s submission rate and six-week in-calf rate.

The easiest way to spot cycling cows is to do pre-mating heat detection.

Use tail paint to pick out cycling cows. Use one colour tail paint to start, then a second colour as cows cycle and lose their tail paint. Within two weeks about half the cycling cows will have been identified. At three weeks, cows with the original colour are the noncyclers.

Calculate the herd’s pre-mating cycling rate using the InCalf book for the percentage of cows showing signs of heat before mating begins. If cycling is less than 75% by 10 days before the planned start of mating, heat detection has not been fully effective and/or there are too many non-cyclers.

At that stage it is time to seek advice and consider which options are available to improve heat detection during AB (artificial breeding) and treat noncycling cows.

Heat detection The best heat detection starts with careful planning, good observation and the effective use of detection aids.

Being able to interpret cow behaviour and other signs is critical, along with good record keeping and training for those doing heat detection.

Calculate the herd’s pre-mating cycling rate using the InCalf book for the percentage of cows showing signs of heat before mating begins.

Start by reviewing the farm’s heat detection skills: does everyone know what to look for in detecting cows on heat? Then, decide which combination of aids the farm will use (tail paint, heat mount detectors, activity meters and heat synchronisation).

Tail paint

Ambreed

Tail paint is an inexpensive and effective way to detect cows on heat.

Apply tail paint to all cows just before the start of mating. Touch it up at least weekly and check for cows with rubbed or broken tail paint during milking.

Re-checking tail paint for rub marks immediately before each cow’s insemination will avoid inseminating cows not on heat.

To help identify cows not yet inseminated or those only showing weak signs of heat, reapply a different coloured tail paint to recently inseminated cows once other cows no longer try to mount them.

Heat mount detectors Heat mount detectors can be particularly effective on farms with lower skilled staff checking cows on heat, and when used with paddock checks for heat.

Applied to the cow’s backbone, the detectors will become brightly coloured and easily recognised. Again, heat mount detectors should be applied just before mating starts, then monitored for activation and removed at insemination.

Until the end of the AB period, the

Tail paint can be used to pick out cycling cows.

detector should be replaced after insemination, when the cow is no longer being mounted. Regularly replace any heat mount detectors damaged or coming loose.

Have the bulls organised Good bull management ensures they are well adjusted to their environ-

ment before mating. Move bulls to the farm two to three months before they are required for work. Buy bulls from the same mob and split them into two teams to rotate them (half resting, half working) to reduce fighting. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

36 // MATING MANAGEMENT

Jersey bulls make strong comeback LIC has now had top five Jersey bulls on the Jersey RAS list for the last three consecutive evaluations.

LIC’S JERSEY Premier Sires bulls have topped the national Jersey ranking of active sires (RAS) list, released this month.

LIC has all of the top five bulls. It also

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has eight of the top 10 and 11 on the Jersey RAS list (15 rankings total). Of the 11, nine are new graduates which “illustrates the change in LIC’s momentum,” the company says.

Malcolm Ellis, LIC.

“In these economically challenging times for dairy farmers, LIC’s Jersey Premier Sires bulls offer exceptional quality and value for money,” LIC Jersey bull acquisition manager Malcolm Ellis says.

“As a dairy farmer myself who is passionate about farm profitability, and particularly at times like these, I want farmers to have the confidence that Jersey Premier Sires will give them the best value, at around $19 in the cow for a 400-cow herd for the average farmer.

“The Premier Sires liquid semen is the most cost-effective way to provide genetic gain to our farmer- shareholders.

They can be confident the majority of the industry’s top Jersey bulls are now within the LIC Premier Sires team,” Ellis says.

LIC has now had the top five Jersey bulls on the Jersey RAS list for the last three consecutive animal evaluation runs.

The RAS list ranks the bulls from all the companies that provide inseminations to dairy farmers nationwide. The latest list was released

on April 2. The list is administered by DairyNZ. LIC will hold Jersey field days for farmers to share the latest information, give updates on its Jersey breeding and explain related aspects including LIC’s new oncea-day selection index.

There will be seven field days in five regions: Northland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu and the West Coast. The first is in Taranaki on April 12 and the last on May 3 on the West Coast.

Ellis says LIC had improved the performance of its Jersey bulls a lot over the past five years.

“We have brought a return-to-basics mentality to our breeding scheme, with emphasis on strong, deep cow families; our bulls are graduating from that. We have made a fundamental shift in quality and we will continue to develop that.”

Ellis says the many new graduates appearing on the RAS list confirms that LIC is focussing on the right things in its breeding programme. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

JERSEY RANKINGS ❱❱ The top five bulls on the Jersey RAS list are all new graduates in the current season, from LIC’s Sire Proving scheme. ❱❱ The top bull on the Jersey RAS list is LIC’s Chardonnay Frankie, with a breeding worth of 270. Breeding worth is the expected economic ability of an animal to breed a future replacement.

EZ Heat takes the heat out of picking heats.

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Protrack EZ Heat™ is the simple, fast and efficient way of spotting standing heats.

Working with Protrack Vantage® and Protrack Vector® – so it works with rotary and herringbone – the EZ Heat camera spots activated or missing heat patches and automatically drafts the cows for further inspection and AB.

The system is reliable. Farmers using it who have carried out their own heat detection as a check have, after a season, relied entirely on EZ Heat for their heat detection.

It helps you identify non-cyclers and allows you to extend AB and reduce live bull use.

And, best of all, it saves you time, reduces stress and lets you get on with what you’re meant to be doing. Milking.

To find out more, talk to your FSM or call 0508 Protrack (776 872).

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

38 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Are we making the right connections?

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

THE MOBILETECH

conference at Rotorua was heralded as a showcase for emerging technologies and a forum to bring together designers, innovators and early adopters.

The key to the new technologies is the ability to be ‘connected’ to the outside world; but though history shows New Zealand is an avid embracer of new ideas – predictions are that 3.75 million Kiwis will have mobile internet connections by 2017 – the likelihood is that infrastructure development will not keep up with demand.

Craig Young, chief

executive of the telecoms watchdog TUANZ, referred to surveys showing that 81% of people use the internet regularly and 80% buy online. But though 54% of typical NZ small-medium businesses have online presence, only 22% are set up to do business on their websites, and only 9% use social media to promote their products or services.

NZ needs better, more reliable broadband connections, said Young, noting that 13% of the population, and 23% of rural businesses, are still outside broadband connectivity, though they will benefit from the next stage of the Rural Broadband Initiative (a further $100 million is earmarked for Phase2 and

David Walker, Spark.

$50 million is set aside to deal with known rural blackspots).

Part of the problem seems to be Kiwis’ rapid uptake of new technologies and the way user habits are changing, said Young, referring to the ‘Netflix effect’ which brought its viewing over the internet to NZ in 2014: average data usage soared by 42% to current

rates of around 96Mb per household per month.

In the same vein, David Walker, agribusiness manager for Spark NZ, looked at key mobility trends impacting NZ global business.

Though connection speeds are rising, connectivity remains the leading disruptive problem for businesses today, he said. The arrival of 5G is likely to mitigate the problem, with speeds of up to 1Gbps, but it is not expected to launch until 2020, if worldwide standards are ratified in 2018.

There are concerns about the money available to introduce the technology, and an even greater problem is a skill shortage in the sector.

Better and reliable broadband will boost technology useage, says TUANZ.

Only 1% of devices around the world with capability are connected, Walker said, but he sees a future in which the use of such devices will give realtime insights into typical farm performances. The information gleaned shows tangible benefits and allows users greater understanding of their businesses and helps them make informed decisions earlier.

Tony Walters, of Waiuku, near Auckland,

is using the latest 4G connectivity to monitor soil moisture, temperature and rainfall information to make decisions on fertiliser application and crop growth.

Over three years the business has grown its milksolids production by 40%, from 80,000 to 110,000kg, and Walters predicts that in 2017 this will have risen to 125,000kg from 250 cows.

By utilising the data available, feed costs have

been reduced from 15 to 12kg of feed per 1kgMS, supplement costs have been reduced by $10,000 per year and wastage by $9000.

One thing is for sure: those with a good memory will remember that the iPhone was introduced in 2007, just nine years ago, and we’ve come a long way. What might the next nine years bring – a fully ‘connected’ farm? @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

Tech developers should first talk to farmers MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

FEDERATED FARMERS Dairy chairman and Manawatu farmer Andrew Hoggard recently addressed the MobileTech Conference on ‘The Networked Farm’ and ‘What Farmers Really Want’, if they are to invest in technology.

He urged industry developers and retailers to engage with farmers before they developed products, so as to bring to market products that are relevant, not just an extension of the designers’ wish-lists.

He mirrored previous speakers’

opinions that farmers will buy ‘whys’, not ‘whats’, in respect of technology.

He also questioned the market research by higher tertiary educators and was disparaging about a driverless vehicle displayed by Massey University site at Central Districts Field Days. He saw it as “an over-expensive toy for dairy situations”. Automated quads or UTVs -- already proven in farming -- could be more cost-effectively automated, he says.

Hoggard brought his farm up to speed with technology by his ‘No 8’ mentality and research, then bought gear via TradeMe, E-bay and Dick Smith. He has connected his dairy shed to his farm office via modems,

routers and wi-fi and now looks at real- but costly when they get it wrong. time statistics on yields, cell counts, Cameras connected by wi-fi give an rationing and drafting. But he still has overview of the farm, good for security and keeping an eye on to solve heat-detection, workers, though some which is high on his have worked out where wish-list. to stand idle out of the Hoggard, a straight cameras’ arcs of vision, talker, has developed rather than finding a farm manual which something to do. could be accessed online Hoggard plans to by all farm staff. It lays bring all his farm online out policies, procedures (perhaps using solar and ‘how to’ stuff that power), will set up more minimise ‘how-do-Iwi-fi hotspots to cover do-this’ telephone calls. Andrew Hoggard Contents include basics, e.g. how to set greater distances, and expects to learn up the milking plant to start milking the art of computer coding to write his -- primary school stuff perhaps, own software.

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He challenged developers: “My internet enabled smartphone is my greatest tool; I can use it to open apps or use social media like Viber to communicate with my staff onfarm without the need for expensive radio telephone systems”.

“I need to be able to do more with my phone and I don’t need an expensive tablet to carry around with me. I need more useful apps to work on my phone, the holy grail being automatic measurement of pasture mass before and after grazing, for effective feed management -- no doubt done by a [driverless] vehicle.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 39 Offset drawbars have the potential for up to 10% more output in large areas.

If you want some on the side MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

TO COMPLEMENT the recently

introduced trailed mower conditioners with centre pivot drawbars, grass harvesting specialist Kuhn has announced the launch of three new models with offset drawbars.

The Kuhn FC 2860, FC 3160 and 3560 TL machines offer mowing widths of 2.67, 3.1 and 3.5m respectively, and the choice of roller or tinebased crop conditioning units.

Why the need for offset or centrepull drawbars? Without doubt centreThe offset drawbar can operate on either side of the machine.

pull machines have the potential for up to 10% more output in large areas because they can operate on either side of the tractor, just like a reversible plough.

By contrast, offset drawbar machines can only work to the right side of the tractor, but cost less.

The new units offer the same key features as the centre-pull units, with Gyrodine swivel headstocks taking care of any PTO problems, even in tight turns, and the Optidisc cutterbar using irregularly spaced discs to achieve crop flow and clean cutting.

A gear-driven conditioner drive-

line is protected by the Posiguard safety system in the case of foreign objects, and offers the choice of two speeds for best conditioning effect.

The conditioner is also fitted as standard with adjustable swath doors for different following machines, but also has the ability to spread to the machine’s full width if required. This is said to promote faster wilting and in most cases can avert at least one following tedder pass.

The machine has extra-large tyres for lower ground pressure and to reduce sward damage, particularly on damp ground.

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DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

40 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Tractor not just a good looker MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

TRACTOR DESIGNS

have come a long way: compare today’s machines with the favourites of yes-

teryear like the MF 135 or the Ford 4000.

Nowadays these workhorses of the land have more exterior curves than Marilyn Monroe, and interior finishes that would make automobile makers

Valtra T234

cry.

One such ‘modern’ tractor, the Valtra T234 from AGCO, recently won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award for 2016, competing against 5200 entries from 57 countries judged by 41 independent design professionals from around the world.

The Valtra T4 series, resulting from seven years R&D, is the first of a new

generation in which technical innovations and a whole new look are brought together.

The clean exterior lines look good, and underlying

design work has focused on usability, ergonomics, safety, durability, serviceability and, ultimately, the productivity of the machine.

Incidentally, fourthgeneration Valtra have also won international awards including Machine of The Year 2015. www.valtra.com.au

Kubota raises its game OVER THE last few years Kubota has indi-

cated it intends to become a major global player, and its 2015 results seem to confirm things are under way.

With a change to its fiscal year to end in December 2015, the final nine months showed sales of $US11.024 billion -- an increase of 9% over the same period in 2014.

Export revenues rose significantly in North America from sales of compact tractors, and in Europe sales of tractors, construction gear and engines increased, though farm implements “stagnated”, the company said.

Mechanisation increased in Asian countries, e.g. tractors and combines in Vietnam and China saw increased combine sales as the government reinstated subsidies; but sales in Thailand dropped because of a prolonged drought.

For the year 2016 the company is forecasting a rise in revenues of around 3.6%, driven by expansion in North America, Europe and Asia. – Mark Daniel

Kubota’s global sales are on the rise.

Safety just got easier THE NEW Health and Safety at Work Act has put the spotlight on employers or organisations to ensure they identify risks they or their employees are likely to encounter daily, so the launch of an online app called Onside will be of interest to many.

The app allows farmers to develop their own Health and Safety Plan by working through prepopulated lists of potential risks, overlaid on a satellite map of the property.

The system saves time and allows farm staff or visitors to be aware of risks and how to manage them, to reduce incidents and improve farm safety overall.

Contractors or visitors will need to be encouraged to sign-in on a smartphone as they cross a virtual

‘geo-fence’ -- typically farm boundaries -- and will then be advised of risks and asked to

acknowledge them.

New risks can be updated by the farmer in real-time and visitors can

report any new risks via their smartphones. All information is cloudstored -- no paperwork -- and offline capability applies in areas of poor cellphone coverage.

The technology allows users to map boundaries of the enterprise, uses photos rather than written descriptions to show known risks, and allows users to access instructions for emergencies in real-time.

Farmers and industry experts in health and safety contributed to the development and technology partner Jade Software wrote the app. It has huge potential in a complex, but necessary part of a modern farm.

A free trial is offered for the month of April. www.onside.co.nz

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 41

Duals avoid that oops moment MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

GUY SMALL’S lifestyle

block sits on the slopes above Ramarama, south of Auckland, and its 1.5ha is home to alpacas, goats, chickens and ducks.

Small likes to keep everything neat and tidy, so two years ago bought a Kubota BX2360 23hp tractor for slashing, topping and rotary hoeing and, using the tractor’s frontloader, shifting dung piles left by the alpacas.

Though the tractor has lots of power, Small decided that, with much of the farm sloping, the tractor at times felt a little unstable, a problem to be solved before an accident occurred.

A visit to the 2015 National Fieldays got him a set of Clic SOK dual

wheels and tyres that extend the footprint of the rear wheels laterally, promoting stability and improving traction.

The Clic product mimics the duals found on normal farm tractors: there’s a spacer ring between the original inner and the new outer wheel, and eyebolts and tensioning rods clamp the two wheels together.

Fitting or removal is done by driving the inner wheel up onto a wooden block, fitting the dual and tensioning the tie bars by means of an overcentre clamp which locks everything together.

Since their arrival and fitting last July the duals have stayed on the machine. Small says they give a more comfortable feel on slopes and improve stability and safety.

Their use has opened

up areas of the property inaccessible with only a single tyre set-up.

Says Small, “The system wasn’t cheap at around $1900 for the wheels and tyres, but you

can’t put a price on safety or the satisfaction of avoiding that ‘oh bugger!’ moment.”

For more information visit www.clicdualwheels. co.nz

Guy Small says dual wheels give a more comfortable feel on slopes.

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WITH DARK evenings not too far away, the new Probe 2 lamp from Narva might just be the thing to keep in the ute, farm UTV or tractor.

This slimline cordless LED lamp has high light output, will run for up to five hours from one charge, and can be charged via the mains adapter from 12v vehicle sockets or even via a micro USB cable.

A large moulded rubber grip makes the lamp easy to handle, and the construction includes a shatterproof polycarbonate lens and a casing fully sealed that meets the IP66 rating.

The latest SMD LED technology used in the lamp produces a smooth, broad light output with high intensity and brightness. End-mounted LEDs light up tight spaces as does a conventional torch.

The lithium-ion battery has a long shelf-life with no memory effect, enabling recharging at any stage during the discharge cycle; red and blue LED indicators show the level of charge. Buy from automotive outlets.

DAIRY NEWS APRIL 12, 2016

42 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Bobby dazzler SUV continues to impress MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

INTERESTINGLY, ON

my first visit for a look at New Zealand in 2001 my first hire car was a Rav4, picked up at Christchurch for a whistle-stop tour of Canterbury to Southland and back in three days.

Fifteen years later the latest generation Rav4 is a long way from the short dumpy vehicle that reminded me of English girls – short with a wide rear end.

First impression is the size of this SUV: quite large and inside plenty of room, which is a good thing as this Welshman has also got wider and

deeper over time. The seats are comfortable and supportive with good side bolsters to stop you slipping around, although the seat back might be a little low for taller pilots.

Entering the vehicle is a breeze as the GXL offers keyless entry and start/stop; so approach the vehicle, leave the key in your pocket, grab the handle and it’s open; press the brake pedal and the start button and a lively 2.5L, 4-cyl offering 132kW springs into life.

The six speed automatic works as you’d expect and moves between speeds with little detection and fuss, with manual selection if so chosen.

On the move the car reminds one of an enthusiastic terrier that seeks to please; it has a nice engine note and picks up speed at a lively pace in normal or sport mode. The overriding impression on 50km trips around central Waikato is “that trip didn’t take too long”, although the spirited driving only ever managed to return around 10L/100km.

Over all types of terrain – smooth state highways to rural farm tracks for a look at the maize harvest – the car coped well, with great traction at all times and plenty of ground clearance irrespective of the conditions.

Equipment levels are as you would expect from

Toyota: the dashboard is dominated by two large roundels for speed and engine revs, split by a 4.2 inch colour multifunction display showing trip, driving economy and power split functions.

In the centre console is a 6.1 inch colour touchscreen controlling the high spec audio system, and a rear view camera system with moving grid lines, but lacking the satnav system fitted to the Limited version.

Elsewhere technology abounds in the GXL, in standard features such as auto headlights and windscreen wipers which worked as they should.

Upgraded cruise control

The latest generation Rav4.

uses radar to offer an adaptive function and keep a safe distance to the car in front, and to flash up a warning of an impending collision with a vehicle crossing your path. Also, a lane departure warning nudges the steering back on course, and there are blind-spot warnings in the folding rear-view mirrors.

In the rear seats the feeling of space is carried

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From an aesthetics point of view this car in Blue Gem finish is a real bobby dazzler, as they say in NE England. It’s not difficult to see why the Rav4 is the most popular SUV in NZ; it looks good, is capable on or off road, is sporty and most of all fun to drive. www.toyota.co.nz @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

50th year milestone TOYOTA

Put the minerals they need in the molasses they love!

over, and in the rear load space, although there are no ‘midget’ seats the load space is useful and comes with a security tonneau cover and a multi-purpose cargo net.

The seating upholstery is practical and there is nice detail on the leather covered dashboard and steering wheel, which is contrasted with nice stitching.

RECENTLY celebrated 50 years of operating in New Zealand, marking this by planting a puriri tree at its national customer service centre in Palmerston North.

The NZ native tree was chosen for its longevity and sustainability, reflecting the values of Toyota NZ. In its early days the company assembled vehicles which arrived from Japan in CKD (completely knockeddown) form at plants in Christchurch and Thames. These included household names such as Corolla, Corona, Hi-Lux, Lite-Ace and Hi-Ace, many of which remain on NZ’s roads to this day.

Local assembly ceased in the late

1990s, after the Government removed import tariffs. The business made its Thames premises its vehicle operations centre and all other locations were centralised in Palmerston North.

In the past year TNZ has achieved marker leadership for the 28th consecutive year, selling about 27,000 vehicles such as the Corolla, Hi-Lux and RAV 4.

Chief executive Alistair Davis commented “being market leaders for over half our time in NZ certainly reflects a job well done and is a huge achievement; and the fact that one in four vehicles on NZ roads is a Toyota represents a good 50 years work”.

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ReGen Water is a smart phone app and website that uses actual soil moisture, soil temperature, rainfall, ET and weather forecast data to send daily irrigation recommendations directly to farmers.

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