Chris Lewis eyes DairyNZ board seat. UPGRADE YOUR MILKING SYSTEM?OB&DEL0577SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 ISSUE 502 // www.dairynews.co.nz Turn to page 1
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 ISSUE 502 // www.dairynews.co.nz COWSFRIENDLYCLIMATEResearch results PAGE 20 MOVING MUCK New manure scraper PAGE 27 Chris Lewis eyes DairyNZ board seat. PAGE 4 UPGRADE YOUR MILKING SYSTEM? IS I T T I M E TO IfSpecialistsUpgradeTalkdelaval.comtothe0800222228you’rethinkingabout automation, we can help you look at the full picture from rotaries to robots, not just one type of system. B&DEL0577 AHEADROADHARD Some Rai Valley farmers will have a really tough year of Charlesrecovery.Fergusson, Fonterra regional head PAGE 3
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SOME DAIRY farmers hit by the devastating floods that hit the top of the South Island last month will have a “really tough year” of recov ery, says Charles Fergusson, Fonter ra’s regional head for Canterbury, Tasman and Marlborough. “My team on the ground in Rai Valley are quite shocked at what they’re seeing on some of the farms in terms of the damage,” he says. “When you get shingle go through paddocks, it’s hard to feed your cows off that, so there will be challenges there.”Speaking to Dairy News a week and a half on from the emergency, Fergusson said Fonterra was still not collecting milk from five farms cut off by road slips. But given the scale of the emer gency, he said he was “really pleased withWhileprogress”.RaiValley, between Nelson and Blenheim, was by far the hard est hit by direct flooding, milk col lection was also badly disrupted in the Collingwood area of Golden Bay because of slips on the only road in and“Atout.one stage, we weren’t able to collect from 70 farms, 40 in the Collingwood area and 30 in Rai Valley. As of right now, we’re col lecting from about 65.”
NIGEL MALTHUS TO PAGE 5
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 NEWS // 3 NEWS 3-14 AGRIBUSINESS 15 OPINION 16-17 MANAGEMENT 18-19 ANIMAL HEALTH 20-21 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 22-23 EFFLUENT & WATER 24-29 Burning less coal. PG.09 Foliar feeding. PG.28 A herd to be proud of. PG.14
Volunteers from a group of North Canterbury farmers and Lincoln University “Handy Landies” clearing flood debris clogging fences in the Rai Valley.
Hard road to recovery
Fergusson could not give an exact figure on the amount of milk dumped but said it was relatively low volumes because it was fortunately early in the season, in a region that tends to calve and start milking later than“Andothers.one thing we ensure is that all of our farmers have got really good on-farm storage facilities in case they have to dispose of milk so it’s done in the safest manner pos sible.”Dairy farmer Geoff Spark, from Eyrewell in North Canterbury, led a group of seven volunteer farmers and eight “Handy Landy” students from Lincoln University for a week end cleanup in the Rai Valley and Canvastown district. Spark said they could see where water had topped deer fencing that was already quite high above the river level, and extended across the estimated 700m width of the valley. “It was quite incredible to see how high the water level had been across such a large valley. It is a miracle that more stock losses did not occur, considering the volume of water coming down the valley. Farmers acted fast to shift their animals to higher ground,” he said.“It’s not uncommon for them to have the odd flood but we talked to one farmer who’s lived there all his life and he said he’d never seen a flood quite like this. It was like three floods in one.” Over two full days the team covered seven dairy farms and one sheep and beef farm, clearing and reinstating fences, a stock underpass andOnculverts.onefarm they reinstated over 2km of the boundary fence with SH6, which had been largely wiped out from the flooding. “One fence line, you could only see the top 300mm of the posts, there was that much sand over it. “We fixed one farmer’s backing gate because one of our guys was a really good welder so that saved him from getting out a guy from town.” Spark said it was great to see the clear community spirit shining through as locals organised food deliveries throughout the district.
Chris Lewis says he hopes to bring a farmer’s perspective to the DairyNZ board.
“With exceptionally strong milk prices, dairy continues to play a critical role in New Zealand’s prosperity and overall wellbeing,” says van der Poel.“At the same time, farmers are also facing a number of challenges, including rising costs, staff shortages and challenging regulations.
“Our farmers are currently the most sustain able milk producers in the world but also know that to maintain that position they will need to continue to evolve.” Van der Poel says DairyNZ is in a unique posi tion to support dairy farmers with extension and research, and to advocate on behalf of farmers to influence future policy decisions.
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 4 // NEWS
DAIRYNZ BOARD chair Jim van der Poel says it’s a challenging but rewarding and important time to be part of the sector and its leadership.
SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews co nz
Tariff quotas under review
Ex-Feds leader eyes DairyNZ board seat
REWARDING ROLE
THE GOVERNMENT will review export quotas it allocates annually to milkAgricultureprocessors. Minister Damien O’Connor says this is to maximise export returns for New Zealand’s dairy industry.Access into a number of dairy export markets is controlled through tariff quotas, which provide access into a market for set volumes at a lower or zero tariff. Dairy export quota allocations are set each year by the Ministry for Pri mary Industries, and allocated to eli gible processors proportional to the milk they collect from farmers. To be eligible processors must collect at least 0.1% of New Zealand’s total milk solids.O’Connor says New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the United Kingdom and European Union pres ent new opportunities for New Zea land“Theexporters.newdairy quotas, which will become available under the recent FTAs, means it’s timely and prudent to take a fresh look at how we allocate dairy export quota,” O’Connor says. “I want to ensure the quota system is working well for everyone, that the value of quota is being maximised, and that opportunity is not being missed. “We’ve fought hard for our dairy exporters and secured improved access through these FTAs. I know our dairy industry is looking to take up the benefits under these agreements as soon as possible.”
FORMER FEDERATED Farmers leader Chris Lewis is seeking election as a DairyNZ director. Lewis, who milks 970 cows at Pukeatua in Waikato, believes he will bring a farmer’s perspec tive to the board. Lewis stepped down from Feds in July after a 17-year stint, which included chairing the dairy section and serving on the national board as the immigration spokes man.“During my time farm ing I have worked to improve the outcomes for farmers by being involved in the issues at the coal face,” Lewis told Dairy News “This is my primary reason for seeking elec tion as a DairyNZ direc tor. “Bringing a farmer’s perspective at board level has served me well in pre vious roles, developing strong governance skills that enable me to advo cate on their behalf and in turn adds value in the pri maryHesector.”says,with skills forged at Federated Farm ers, he always fights to enable primary producers to farm. “I am a proud farmer, and proud of everyone in our rural communities, and believe in doing what is right, no matter how hard the task may be in front of us.” With wife Caro line and children Olivia and Daniel, Lewis runs a 500ha farm – 360ha run ning cows and 140ha as drystock/arable business. He also owns a drys tock farm near Te Awa mutu in partnership with his parents. Lewis’ father Sam Lewis chairs the AffcoLewisboard.comes from an intergenerational farming family, active since 1863 in NZ.He was raised on a sheep and beef farm near Otorohanga, went dairy farming for the opportu nities via the farm cadet scheme and worked his way up to farm owner ship.“Existing key relation ships are so important in our sector, and I have developed these across local and central govern ment – and importantly farmers.“Mypassions and focus on the dairy indus try are people, fully staff teams, environment, RMA, biosecurity, profit ability, and a robust dairy strategy that will ensure that we have an industry we are all proud of and tell our stories strongly. “My bottom lines are economic, environmen tal, practical, sensible, and of course strong engage ment and relationships with comingstandtoagriculture.”ers/stafffarmers/sharemilkworkingacrossLewissaystheabilitylistencarefully,underwherepeoplearefrom,andhaving the courage to be forth right when needed, are qualities he values in him self.“Sometimes we need to challenge the status quo.”DairyNZ’s elected directors hold office for three years. This year, directors Elaine Cook and Tracy Brown are retiring by rotation.Bothare standing for re-election.Nominations from can didates should have been received by the Returning Officer by Monday, Sep tember 5.
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DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 NEWS // 5
“One farm we assisted lost 10ha of grazing paddocks to the river. That is a bigSparkloss.”said their group was really pleased to be able to assist fellow farmers.“There’s still plenty to do up there, but we gave it a bit of a nudge.” Spark thanked BNZ, Rabobank, Artisan Bakery Rangiora, Sheffield Pie Shop, and those that donated home cooked meals and baking to give to the locals. “It was a team effort.” Fergusson said another 10 people from the Canterbury Farm Source team travelled up last Monday morn ing to continue the cleanup under the guidance of the Fonterra emergency responseMeanwhile,team.Golden Bay Federated Farmers President Cherrie Chubb said it had been “a tough week to get through”. But she had high praise for the fourth-generation family-run local stock transport company Solly’s for “thinking outside the box” in get ting bobby calves out past a bad slip on Birds Hill, north of Takaka. The road was closed for a while then reopened only for light vehicles, so milk tankers and stock trucks could not get through to service the 40 dairy farms on the far side. However, Solly’s was able to orga nise a local truck to bring bobbies to the slip then used a light ute to ferry them through to Solly’s trucks on the Nelson side. The company owners Merv Solly and his son Ed declined to be inter viewed for Dairy News but through a company spokeswoman said they were “just doing what we usually do to serve our community,” and it was “just another day’s work”. Chubb said the district was recov ering but roading damage remained “an ongoing inconvenience” for some.
“Fonterra and the Farm Source team also deserve a shout out as they have been clearly working really hard to support their farmers affected by the flooding right in the middle of calving. The timing could not have been much worse. “Many farms will need some large machines to clear debris as well as considerable reseeding over areas left with silt deposits.
PLANT-BASED BEV ERAGES are expensive and provide only a small fraction of the nutritional goodness of cow’s milk, according to a new study done in Massey Univer sity.The study, published in the Frontiers in Nutri tion journal last month, assessed the nutritional profiles of a range of plant-based beverages, such as soy, oat, coconut, almond or rice drinks, and compared them to standard bovine milk. Researchers collected 103 plant-based products from supermarkets in Palmer ston North, New Zealand. The drinks were found to have much lower quan tities of the 20 nutrients measured, such as cal cium and protein, and were significantly more costly than cow’s milk. The study was carried out by Riddet Institute scientists, from Massey University, in Palmer ston North. The Riddet Institute is a Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE), hosted by Massey University, which focuses on fundamental and advanced food research. One of the study’s authors, Riddet Institute Professor of Nutritional Sciences Warren McNabb, says plant-based bever ages were often marketed as alternatives to rumi nant milks such as cow’s milk, and consumers could easily believe they were nutritionally inter changeable.Hesaysthe new research demonstrated they were not the same and in fact it was “nutri tionally risky” for con sumers with high nutrient demands like pregnant women and young chil dren to replace cow’s milk with plant-based prod ucts.“Milk, as a food, sup plies 49% of the world’s calcium,” McNabb says. “It’s one of the most important things about milk.”The independent study first surveyed the prices and nutrition labels of the products and then nutritional content was analysed in an exter nal accredited laboratory. Selected almond, coconut, oat, rice and soy products were tested for their mac ronutrient and mineral content.“One of the research ers noticed that on stor age you get a really thick layer of semi-solids on the bottom and then a watery layer on the top. He won dered what happened to the distribution of nutri ents with proteins,genatedlikemineralsfortifiedwereperingbasedmilk,parableonly100grangeofcow’swasbeforedidbasedtheandtheitshakingdoneFurthersedimentation.”testswerebeforeandaftertheproducts,andwasfoundthatmanyofnutrientslikeproteincalciumremainedinsedimentintheplant-beveragesifyounotshaketheproductconsuming.Thisnotthecaseforthemilk.Theproteincontentcow’smilkwasintheof3.3-3.9gperandMcNabbsayssoydrinkhadacomcontenttocow’swithallotherplant-beveragescontainlessthan1.1gprotein100mlonaverage.Mostplantproductsultra-processedandwithcalciumandwithadditivessugar,fats,hydrooils,hydrolysedflavoursorthick eners. Oat and almond beverages contained as little as the equivalent of half a cup of oats or six almonds in 250g of prod uct.The plant-based bever ages were often promoted as having no added sugar, but McNabb says milk also does not have added sugar.“Lactose (in milk) is also poorly converted to glucose in the body which means milk is quite low in what we commonly call ‘sugar’.”Hesays plant-based beverages have plant equivalents to ‘sugar’ that do convert to glucose in the“Andbody.that is why plantbased beverages often have a natural sweetness and don’t need added sugar. But they cannot be considered low in sugar.” McNabb says the argu ment for the alternatives being more environmen tally sustainable also did not stack up when con sidered in the light of how much product would need to be consumed to achieve the same nutri tional benefits as conven tionalWithmilk.some plant-based beverages you would need to have eighteen serves to get the same amount of protein, for example, as a single serve of milk. This comes at a much higher cost to the environment –and the wallet. But it was not all bad for the alternatives. McNabb says plant-based beverages do supply some nutrients that milk does not, such as fibre. “Our final conclusion was the plant-based bev erages and bovine milk were not nutritionally similar in any way.”
Can’t beat the goodness of milk
HARD ROAD TO RECOVERY FROM PAGE 3
Riddet Institute Professor of Nutritional Sciences Warren McNabb.
details on farm tanker tracks.”Shesays, from a trans port point of view, opti mising routes and using the latest emission tech nologies are important steps Open Country is embracing to make sure it meets climate change obligations.“Ourdairy industry is recognised as one of the most efficient milk pro ducers in the world in terms of emissions, so we need to make sure we all play our part in protect ing our reputation on the worldM2Xstage.”waslaunched at Open Country’s Awarua and Wanganui sites last year and was imple mented last month at its Waharoa site. The new platform has seen Open Country move from a more labour-inten sive, manual system to a digital platform that cen tralises all Open Coun try’s milk collection and transportChristiansdata.says every thing is now excesscommunicated.digitally“Driversloadanymilkvolumes into the system and the dis patchers back at the pro cessing site can see which trucks in the area have capacity to pick it up,” she “Thesays. system even gives drivers specific information about farm tanker tracks and the best and safest way to navigate them.”M2X keeps drivers informed. For example, they might have to turn left because it’s too dan gerous to turn right. “Or, there is a bridge ahead and if you turn right onto it, you’ll get stuck because there’s not a wide enough turning circle. Issues are avoided because all that infor mation is digitally avail able and it doesn’t rely on institutional knowledge,” says ofandforecastinghalvedthetry’sciencytransparencyAlongsidevolumesbasedmakeload,”capacitypassingarecanersdesignatedisfarm’stoHPMVpatchersallowstoingwhichognisestingtheyappantankerfarms.region’sturetry’scomputerssystemTheChristians.cloud-basedisoperatedfromatOpenCounheadofficethatfeaamapviewofthetankerroutesandOpenCountry’sdriversuseeitheriPadordownloadtheontheirphone,whichrefertobeforegetontheroad.ThesystemalsorecHPMVroutesallowtrucksweighmorethan45tonnestravelonthem.ThisOpenCountrydistoassessifantruckhascapacitypickupmilkandifthepick-uplocationononeofthespeciallyHPMVroutes.“Becausedispatchhaveamapview,theyseewherethetrucksandifthere’satruckafarmthathastotakeadditionalshesays.“Itallowsthemtoquickdecisionsonrealtimemilkandevents.creatinggreaterandeffiacrossOpenCountransportoperations,technologyhasalsothetimespentandplanningboostedthevolumemilkmoved.”
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Open Country national transport manager Ginny Christians says the technology ensures milk from suppliers’ farms travels the shortest distance possible to processing sites.
M2X director Krista McKay says as consumer demand grows for sus tainably produced food and fibre, the spotlight is not only on farmers, but on the entire primary industry to produce more from less. “M2X is a single platform that helps companies optimise trans port, increase efficiency and reduce both costs and carbon emissions “We believe it is a truly sustain able industry solution – a platform where carriers and enterprise cus tomers can work together to achieve and share the benefits of digital efficiencies and optimisation. “M2X is helping companies re duce their kilometres travelled and ease the impact of labour shortag es, while reducing the time animals spend on trucks, which has welfare benefits and reduces overall carbon emissions too. It’s a win-win across the board.”
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DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 6 // NEWS
"Hassle free travel for mature travellers’’
Technology helps tankers slash travel times by miles
THE M2X TRANSPORT Manage ment system offers solutions for carriers and enterprise customers across industries such as livestock, milk, forestry, bulk, dairy and general freight. Its software uses advanced optimisation to improve the ef ficiency of transport across the supply chain. The innovative technology won the New Zealand Trade and Enter prise, Most Innovative Hi-Tech Ag ritech Solution at the New Zealand High Tech Awards last month.
facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews Yvonne & Ben Lee 345 Guerins Rd, Cave, South Canterbury 03 614 3996 • lees@farmside.co.nz
Open
AN INNOVATIVE dig ital technology is help ing the country’s second largest milk processor streamline its transport operations.OpenCountry Dairy says it’s now moving more milk from farm to factory, while cutting tanker travel – saving fuel, time, and emissions.M2Xis a digital realtime transport manage ment platform connecting data across Open Coun try’s transport planning, dispatch and drivers, opti mising tanker routes at the click of a button. It’s now being used by over 250 Open Coun try drivers based at three sites – Southland, Wan ganui and Waharoa in Waikato.Open Country national transport manager Ginny Christians told Dairy News that drivers were excited to use the new technology.
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She says the technol ogy ensures milk from suppliers’ farms travels the shortest distance pos sible to Open Country’s processing sites. “It has already slashed tanker travelling distances by thousands of kilome tres,” she Christianssays.says M2X is also helping the dairy company meet its carbon emission reduction tar gets by making sure trucks are travelling the shortest routes from farm milk collection to pro cessing.“The system has cut our transport planning time in half. It can auto matically redirect trucks where they’re needed to collect excess milk, recog nise the High Productiv ity Motor Vehicle Routes (HPMV) and ensure the right trucks are on the right“Itroads.even provides tanker drivers with useful
JESSICA MARSHALL jessica@ruralnews co nz facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews
A2 Milk on road to recovery
strongly during the year driven by innovation. “Our on-market buy back of up to $150 million demonstrates effective capital management and the improved confidence we have in our strategy, execution and outlook.” In his report to share holders, a2 Milk Compa ny’s chair David Hearn wrote that it was pleasing to provide a more posi tive update compared to last“Ityear.was important for us to recognise in FY21, in light of the world chang ing as a result of the global pandemic, that we would need to develop new and strategiesappropriatetosucceed in the future, not by discard ing the foundations on which we have built past success, but by building on them and developing further to remain fit for purpose in this new envi ronment,” Hearn wrote. He added that during the year, both the com pany’s board and execu tive leadership completed a review of market, brand, product and recordedgestsharejectory,formance,resultedinventoryinvestmentstrategy,hebrandlyingconfidencemancegainingthatthe2022formulachangesyearegyingopportunities,distributionannouncanewgrowthstratearlierinthefinancialinresponsetointheinfantmilkmarketinChina.Hearnclaimedthattheresultprovedthatplansdevelopedunderstrategywerealreadytraction.“Thisyear’sperforprovesthatourintheunderstrengthofthea2waswell-founded,”wrote.“Ourrefreshedgrowthincreasedbrandandarenewedsettinghaveinastrongperimprovedtraclearmarketgainsandourstronbrandhealthmetricstodate.”
A2 MILK looks set to be recovering from last year’s profit nosedive. In its annual results, released late last month, the company announced revenue growth of 19% over the previous year to $1.45Thebillion.company’s net profit after tax was up 42.3% on last year to $114.7 million, and earn ings per share were up 51.8% to 16.5 cents. The 2021 financial year saw the company face uncertainty and volatility caused by the prolonged impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and a chang ing China infant nutrition market.This year, a2 Milk Company managing direc tor and chief executive David Bortolussi seems largely positive about the outlook for the company, describing the 2022 finan cial year as a successful one, “returning to double digit growth in revenue and earnings despite sig nificant headwinds”. “We are pleased with the progress that has been made in stabilising the business, refreshing our strategy and improving our execution,” he says. Bortolussi says that the company’s ‘significant increase’ in marketing investment led to fur ther gains in brand health metrics and market share delivering strong growth in the China infant milk formula business. “We are pleased with the transition of our Eng lish label product distribu tion to more exclusiveperformance-basedtransparent,andpartners.”
a2 Milk Company managing director David Bortolussi is positive about the outlook for the company.
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 NEWS // 7
He says the com pany remains commit ted to the Daigou channel, adding that the company has increased its direct engagement and market ing support. “We have maintained our brand leadership posi tion in liquid milk in Australia with increased loyalty and USApenetration,householdandourmilkbusinessgrew
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North Island AgFirst consultant Peter Livingston says the exceptionally wet winter is starting to have an effect on milk production.
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 8 // NEWS
FONTERRA SAYS its milk collec tions for July were 2.4% lower than July lastHowever,year. this represents only 25 of the full season forecast collection.
The grass situation around the central North Island is no different to other parts of the country. SYSTEMS
Enough rain, we urgently need the sun now!
PETER BURKE to get to that peak. Overall he says cow condition hasn’t been too bad because it’s been quite warm through winter and the Rotorua area didn’t get hit by the drought as badly as Waikato.Thisresulted in farm ers going into winter with a bit more supplement than those in the Waikato and Livingstone says this supplement has lasted quite well, until now. He warns that cow condition will drop off as the supplement gets used up. In terms of calving, things have again gone well, although Livingston says mating last spring got off to a slow start and six week in-calf rates, according to local vets, were down by between four and five percent. But he says the real issue for farmers is a tight feed supply.Livingston says the grass situation around the central North Island is no different to other parts of the quite“Icountry.gotoTaranakiabitandthey have got grass blowing in the breeze down there, com pared with us here, but it’s just water shaped like a leaf and coloured green. So until the sun comes out and we get that hard ened feed, things probably won’t change a heck of a lot,” he Dairysays.farmers are very focused on keeping their cows milking to capac ity and Livingston says they are quite positive –buoyed by the fact they have had a good payout and another good one is coming. But at the same time, he says in the back of their minds they are increasingly thinking about the rules and reg ulations and compliance changes that are coming through.“They are desperate to know how they might be impacted by greenhouse gas emission costs. Also, a little bit more about fac tors like what will happen down the track with nitro gen rules. But we are in a bit of no-man’s land at theInmoment.”essence, Livingston says farmers and others in the sector are wait ing to see where govern ment puts the goalposts on these matters.
Milk pick-up off to a slow start
MILKING
peterb@ruralnews co nz
“Extremely wet conditions were experienced throughout July, but milk volumes have generally been compara ble to the “Calvingprevious season.isinfullswingin the North Island, with the South Island starting in early August,” it says. In July Fonterra collected 19 mil lion kgMS. Season-to-date collections were 33.9 million kgMS, 0.6% behind lastNorthseason.Island milk collections in July were 17.2 million kgMS, 3.5% behind July last season. Season-to-date collections were 28.7 million kgMS, 3.8% behind lastFonterraseason. says the North Island expe rienced very wet conditions throughout July creating some challenges going into calving.Some pasture damage has been reported which will need to be recti fied over spring. South Island milk collections in July were 1.8 million kgMS, 9.7% higher than last July. Season-to-date collections were 5.2 million kgMS, 22.3% ahead of last“Althoughseason. a large variance in per centage terms, June and July collections typically represent less than 2% of full season collections,” it notes. “Central South had their wettest July on record, similar rainfall to what was experienced in June last season. “Lower South experienced favour able winter conditions supporting milk production and setting them up well for calving.”
WE NEED sun urgently, according to central North Island AgFirst con sultant Peter Livingston who says the exception ally wet winter – espe cially around Rotorua which has seen 1,100mm of rain in the last three months – is starting to have an effect on milk production.Hesaysthe rain has certainly put some pres sure on dairy farmers right now as they get into their second rotations of calving. He says they are starting to go into feed that is a bit less mature than they would like, so productivity per cow is struggling to get that bit of momentum we usu ally see heading into early September.“Wejust need some sun because the nutritive value of the grass is pretty poor and low in fibre,” Livingstone told Dairy News “The winter supple ment is starting to run out, so there is even less fibre and we are going to start to rely on an allgrass diet, probably from the first week in Septem ber onwards. If we don’t get some sun in the next few days, we are likely to go into September in a less than ideal situation,” he says.Livingston says milk production is not rising at the rate everyone would like it to. He says in the last couple of seasons, the region has had reason able August and Septem bers and cows were able to peak early. But Livings ton believes this year it’s going to take a lot longer
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DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 NEWS // 9
Westland Milk slashes coal use
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WESTLANDHOKITIKA-BASED Milk Prod ucts says it has reduced coal consumption by 20% last season compared to the previous year. The company, which is targeting carbon emis sions reductions of 12.5% by 2025 and 25% by 2030, will now review those interim targets after achieving a total reduc tion of 11,000 MT of coal. Westland chief execu tive Richard Wyeth says the reduction in coal use was a real rentlytoCoastproductionenergy-intensiveoptionsnottoindustry,decarbonisationcommittedfuture,’’ticwillsotoaabilitygotCoast,’’opendecarbonisationgetsrealistic,year,sustainabilitycarbonpany’sachievementcompany-wideinthecomtransitiontoalow-future.“AfterlaunchingourstrategylastwewantedtosetachievabletargiventhelimitedoptionstousontheWestsaysWyeth.“Ourstaffhavereallybehindoursustainstrategyandit’sstunningachievementachievethesetargetsquickly,however,wecontinuetoberealisaboutourgoalsfortheWyethsaid.“Whilewearefirmlytothe2037targetforthetechnologyachievethisiscurrentlyyetavailable.“WehavelimitedtodecarbonisefoodontheWestwithaconversionbiomassasfuelcurnotcost-effective
and requiring four-times the supply chain emis sions as Reductionscoal.’’ in coal use had been achieved by retiring energy-intensive drying equipment, energy savings brought about by better management of winter maintenance work, and better production planning.Co-investment along side the themilkindustry,factorylishedniesthe12assessmentstory,antryChinese2040settingcarbonitstryfirstpanyWestland2023.lishedprogressitsNovemberstrategytheemissionsexpectedsionsFundisingInvestmentGovernmentinDecarbonIndustry(GIDI)toreduceemisthroughheatlossistodrivefurtherreductionsinfuture.Westland’sfirstCSRwasreleasedinlastyearwithfirstfull-yearreportofagainstthepubinitiativesdueinTheresultcomesafterparentcomYilibecametheChinesefoodinduscompanytoannounceroadmaptoanetzerofutureby2050,targetsfor2030,and2050.ThefirstfoodinduscompanytolaunchannualcarboninvenYilihascontinuedforthepastyears.Thisyear,Yili,oneoftopfivedairycompaintheworld,estabthefirstnet-zeroinChina’sfoodthefirstnet-zerointhecountry,andfirsttwo“netzero based on an average herd size of 500 cows and a $9.00 payout, return per cow. lot of sense… more info go on a 500 cow herd $9.00 milk solid payout. Ingelheim Animal Health New Zealand Limited. Level 3, 2 Osterley Way, Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand. is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, used under licence. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. A007191. 2021 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health New Zealand Limited. All rights reserved. NZ-BOV-0012-2022. stock health, Together going forward.
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“One thing that the strategy and the action plan points our is ‘What are the most high harm areas that we need to focus on?’ firstly… and the second one is ‘How are we going to do this?’, understanding that it’s never been achieved before,” she says. She says the sector strategy is about the sector lining up on the issue of health and safety.
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 10 // NEWS
THE CHAIR of Safer Farms, a free health and safety resource for farm ers, says the sector’s new ‘farm without harm strat egy’ is designed to prevent decades of preventable harm.Lindy Nelson has been chair of the organisation since 2020 and says the sector-wide strategy is the first of its kind. Nelson told Dairy News the big issues in on-farm health and safety haven’t changed.Thestrategy identi fies five system enablers, looking at how changes can be created and four high harm impact areas. Those impact areas are: psychological risks result ing in diminished wellbe ing; vehicle-related harm; muscular stress and injury caused by livestock han dling; and hidden harms caused by exposure to agricultural chemicals and airborne risks. The psychological harm is top of mind for many farmers, Nelson says, arising consistently during consultation on the“That’sstrategy.not a sur prise to anybody and so that has huge detrimental effects in terms of what actually happens.” She says that while harm created by muscu lar stress doesn’t appear to cause many deaths, it is causing long-term dis abilities and lost time off work.“To me… if any person deserves a good retire ment, it’s a farmer and we’ve got these farm ers going into retirement carrying injuries they shouldn’t be carrying.” Nelson says there is still a lot of work to be done around the hidden harms triggered by things like agrichemicals and air borne risks. “As a farmer myself, I recognise we are good at noticing the conditions that affect our animals like getting pleurisy in the summer if they have to walk a long way on dusty lanes or spend extended time in yards, and yet we’re not recognising that these conditions also affect us, that that same dust and contaminants in our yards, is also doing us harm as well.
“It’s us saying we can’t leave farmers to do it. Yes, there are legal responsi bilities that farmers have to undertake in terms of health, safety and well being – that’s WorkSafe’s responsibility. But we’re saying, as a sector, this is about farming leaders supporting farming people to protect each other from preventable harm. “It’s our red line under the sector’s high harm rates. It’s us saying ‘Look, we don’t expect in going to work every day to pro duce food, which really nurtures people, we are not nurturing ourselves’.” She says the strategy seeks to unite farming leaders to end preventable farm accidents and pro tect“Whatpeople.Safer Farms will do is hold the vision for the sector, bring the pieces of the puzzle together through focus andNelsoncollaboration.”saysthe strat egy and action plan goes beyond the hi-visibility vests and helmets typ ically associated with health and safety. “It recognises that people are human and they’re going to fail, and ask the question how do we help them fail safely?” The emphasis, she says, is on supporting farmers to get health, safety and wellbeing right, and recognising that it takes a combined sec tor-wide effort to achieve zero harm.
JESSICA MARSHALL jessica@ruralnews co nz facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews Lindy Nelson, Safer Farms chair. it up!‘s ’HAKE For a limited time, we’re shaking things up with two new flavoured feeders! 4,695from+gst includingdeliverytostore Banana The OT50S, Single Axle, 500L, 50 teat feeder The OT60LT, Tandem Axle, 1000L, 60 teat feeder As you can see, there’s nothing vanilla about these cheery OT feeders. But be quick! They’re only available for order in limited numbers throughout September 2022. Terms and conditions apply. Promotion available from all good farm stores nationwide in limited numbers. Valid from 1st - 30th September 2022. strawberry
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1Following a third dose (annual vaccine) Bovilis BVD provides 12 months fetal protection. 2Interval between dose 1 (sensitiser) and dose 2 is from 4 weeks to 6 months. 3rd dose given as annual single dose. AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No’s: A011866. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Ph: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz Copyright © 2022 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.NZ-BOV-220700001
Rabobank senior agri analyst Emma Higgins says Lactalis’ sales growth was driven by major acquisitions. Get up-to-date news at www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz
THE RABOBANK report says the combined 2021 turnover of the Global Dairy Top 20 companies jumped by 9.2% in US dollar terms, following the prior year’s modest decline of 0.1%. “Supported by the recovery in foodservice channels after the initial Covid pandemic and continued strong retail channel sales, global dairy demand firmed during the course of 2021. “And this, combined with lower-than-an ticipated milk production growth in the main exporting regions and exceptionally strong Chi nese import demand, saw dairy product prices rally to elevated levels,” says Higgins. While 2021 sales were up, Higgins says that what is designated as dairy is becoming much more“Numerousblurred. product launches, dairy alterna tives from beverages, yogurts, frozen desserts, cheese and hybrid products have become more common in the product portfolio of Top 20 companies, making it more difficult to extract pure dairy revenues.”
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Lactalis cements top position
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 12 // NEWS
David Stevens Senior Scientist AgResearch Dawn Dalley Senior Scientist DairyNZ
FRENCHFAMILY-OWNED dairy company Lactalis has cemented its position as the world’s largest dairy company. That’s according to Rabobank’s latest Global Dairy Top 20 report. The report found Lac tilis’ turnover rose to US$26.7 billion in 2021 –an increase of US$4.7b or 16.2% on the prior year. Lactalis now sits well clear of second-placed Nestlé, from Switzerland, which recorded turnover of US$21.3b during the sameFonterraperiod.retained the sixth spot for the third consecutive year. Nestlé lost the top slot to Lactalis last 2020. Rabobank senior agri analyst Emma Higgins says Lactalis’ double-digit percentage sales growth SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews co nz
TURNOVER REBOUNDS was driven by big acqui sitions – KraftHeinz’s US natural cheese business and Groupe Bel’s Royal Bel Leerdammer, Bel Italia, Bel Deutschland, and Bel Shostka Ukraine. These purchases added a combined esti mated annual turnover of about US$2.1b to Lacta lis’ “Thisbooks.acquisition spree has continued into 2022 with the recent purchases of Australian-based Jalna Dairy Foods and Germanbased Bayerische Milchin dustrie’s (BMI) Fresh Dairy Division,” Higgins notes.Lactalis is owned by the Besnier family. It was founded in 1933 by Andrei Besnier; his son Emman uel Besnier is the current chief YiliAmericabasedswapping(turnovertoFrenchDanone,executive.anothercompany,climbedthirdplaceonthelistofUS$20.9b),placeswithUS-DairyFarmersof(US$19.3b).Chinesedairygiantremainedfifthdespite its acquisition of Infant Milk Formula producer Ausnutria which helped increase its 2021 turn over to US$18.2b, up from US$13.8b the prior year. Fonterra claimed sixth spot on the list for the third consecutive year with 2021 sales of US$14.8b, up by US$1.2b on a year “Duringearlier.2021 we saw Fonterra complete the sale of its two whollyowned China farming hubs,” says Higgins. The company’s dis posal of DPA Brazil and Soprole – plus potential changes in the Australianbased business – is still pending.“Despite the sales of its Chinese hubs, greater China remains an impor tant market for Fonterra – particularly for foodser vice sales – as do other countries in the broader Asia Pacific region,” says Higgins.Fonterra’s annual results for the 2022 financial year will be announced this month.
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Rowe to act as co-op CFO
THE BALANCE of global demand and supply continues to look very supportive for dairy prices, according to ASB economist Chandna Bedi. This is despite the softer run of Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auctions through winter, with flag ship whole milk powder process slumping 30% sinceASBMarch.issticking to its forecast farmgate milk price of $10/kgMS. But last month, Fonterra revised its milk fore cast range, citing several factors including shortterm softening in global demand and the general impact of inflation on purchasing pointrange.ofkgMSmilkFonterra’sbehaviour.new2022-23pricerangeis$8.50/to$10/kgMS,adrop25coneachendoftheThisreducesthemidoftherangefrom $9.50/kgMS to $9.25/ kgMS. Bedi says at this stage in the season, where uncertainty is heightened, that is an appropriately wide forecast range. She notes that the futures market price for 2022-23 currently sits just north of the new mid point at $9.35 “so there isn’t much in the new range and Fonterra’s com ments to rankle expecta tions”.“The recent down ward trend in global dairy prices is the driver. “Auction prices have softened since the season began in June, with Fon terra suggesting higher inflation has disrupted usual purchasing habits.” Bedi notes that while ASB is still retaining its $10/kgMS forecast for the season, there is some downside risk to that number.“Butwe expect the farmgate price for the season to end up well in the top part of the new guidance range.”
Fonterra also believes the longer-term outlook for dairy remains positive.
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Fonterra chief execu tive Miles Hurrell agrees, saying that the co-opera tive believes the longerterm outlook for dairy remains positive. The global produc tion remains tightly con strained: EU production is sharply lower as it winds down from its peak pro duction months, with the upshot that less milk has flowed on to the export market.Forexample, year to date milk powder exports out of Europe were down 20% as of the end of the second quarter. Bedi says it’s tough to predict exactly how the NZ season will shake down, but output was down 5.5% in July and mixed pasture growth points to weak production continuing over the first half of the season. Also, milk powder inventories in China have also started to come off their highs, just as a record heatwave is hitting local farmers hard and set to put further pressure on access to “Sufficefeed.tosay, global dairy supply is set to remain very, very tight over much of the season,” says“OnBedi.the demand side of the fence, we con tinue to expect global dairy demand to hold up relatively well, despite the headwinds facing the globalWhileeconomy.”weaker Chinese demand has been a fea ture of the market lately – helped by decent inven tories – Chinese growth forecasts are looking okay for the second half of the year and the con straints on local produc tion should see import demand lift, notes Bedi. “There is much prover bial water to pass under the bridge and plenty of risk to our forecast, but our punt is still that soggy supply and relatively resil ient demand should see auction prices regain much of their ground in the coming months.”
FONTERRA’S GROUP finance director Chris Rowe takes on the role of acting chief financial officer (CFO) from next month. He replaces current CFO Marc Rivers who is leaving the co-op at the end of this year. Rivers will move into the role of strategic advisor to chief executive Miles Hurrell from October 1 until his Hurrelldeparture.says that Rowe has worked for Fonterra since 1988, undertaking a number of commercial and finance leadership roles.“Chris is a highly compe tent leader, who has considerable knowledge of the co-op and the management of its physical and financial portfolios, as well as its mergers and acquisitions. “The recruitment process for a permanent CFO is well underway and I hope to announce the suc cessful candidate in the coming months,” says Hurrell.
Dairy prices tipped to rebound from winter slump
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 NEWS // 13
A SOUTHLAND Hol stein Friesian stud is real ising the farming dream of one generation, while securing the future of another.Scott and Maree Bixley, of Kaylen Hol stein Friesian stud in Tus sock Creek, moved their farm business from the Waikato six years ago. “Farming in the Waikato was tough, so a good friend farming in Southland encouraged us to come down ‘for a bit of a look’,” Maree says. They bit the bullet and today they are milking 350 cows on 142ha, with a 28ha support block next door; Scott and Maree are in an equity partnership with Scott’s parents, Rus sell and ScottLynda.wasbrought up in Pukekohe, the son of an accountant, and Maree on a dairy farm in Mara marua.“Dad always wanted to be a dairy farmer but decided to continue work ing as an accountant and still is today,” Scott says. With aunts and uncles dairy farming, Scott dairy farmed in the Waikato for some years. He and Maree 50/50 sharemilked 180 cows at Morrinsville, and then 50/50 sharemilked 410 cows at Otapiri. They then moved to a position in Kind ley Downs at Clydedale, where they 50/50 share milked 780 cows. “We went from 180 cows to 780 cows in two years,” Scott says. The original herd they bought was made up of Jersey cattle, but within two years they had sold the Jerseys and replaced them with Holstein Frie sian cows. During that time they bought cross bred animals which they later sold to a Southland farmer. Today, the herd is 70-80% Holstein Friesian. Maree says they decided to farm Holstein Friesian cattle because they are hardy, they have a good temperament, and there is a market for sur plus“Westock.are also looking for cows who do the job for us,” Maree says. “We are sitting at production of 190,000 kgMS but we want to do a lot better. We’ve had a few curve balls thrown at us since moving here, but we’re getting there.” Wet weather has meant pugging can be an issue, but the couple has commissioned work on a Smart Shelter, which will take the pressure off in spring.The Bixleys feed one tonne/cow through the shed and buy in baleage to feed in winter, rather than grazing crops. Calving starts on August 21, with around 80 replacements kept. “Any extra, we send up to China,” Scott says. “We also sell 50 beef weaners everyMatingyear.”starts on November 11; Scott is an AB technician, and they use STgenetics’ Chromo somal Mating Programme, while still picking their own“Webulls.use semen from STgenetics, World Wide Sires and Samen,” Scott says.Half the herd is bred from, while the rest is put to beef. For the dairy herd, they use sexed semen for the first fourfive weeks, followed by one week of conventional Holstein Friesian semen. After that, any returning cows are put to Belgian Blue or short gestation crossbred bulls from LIC for a final week. Scott says they have used Edg Rubicon-ET in recent seasons and have good daughters coming through.“We’ve also used bulls from the Maire herd, including Maire Oman Franklin,” he says. “We have twins who are retired now at 16-yearsold but have contributed hugely to the herd, with 26 descendants between them. Some of their daughters are by Frank lin.”When the Bixleys were selling the Jersey herd out, they put “big bull” Tomlu Oman DotsonET over “a pretty rubbish Jersey“Thecow”.result was an animal that grew and grew and ended up with full Holstein Friesian markings, and was built like a train,” Scott says. “She had daughters to Ladys-Manor Pl Sham rock-ET and createlitresreallymilkScottcomescapacity,twothatcowfantasticwithkinsfromgroupSupersire-ET.Seagull-Bay“Wealsoboughtaofin-calfheifersRogerandSueJen(MemburyStud)smalluddersandtemperament.”Scottsaystheiridealisabig,Holsteincowproducesthemilkofcows.“Wewantthelitres,andstrengththatfromabigcow,”says.“Wewanttofewercows,sowepickonudders,size,andcomponentstoanefficientcow.”
“We want to enjoy looking out the window at our herd and have a herd that, when people walk through it, say, ‘I want these cows’. We want a herd we can be proud of.”
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 14 // NEWS
A herd to be proud of
LOOKING TO the future, they would like to buy Scott’s parents out, and milk fewer cows. “We’d like to milk less cows while maintaining peak production,” Maree“Scottsays.and I are full time on the farm over calving and mating, with one full time staff member, so we’d like to make it easier.” The farm, JTK Farms Ltd, is named for the Bixleys’ children, Jayden (9), Tyler (7) and Katelyn (4). Kaylen is also an amalgamation of theirAndnames.Scott’s parents Russell and Lynda are looking to sell up and join them in the South Island. “Dad and I do have battles, him being an accountant and me being a farmer, but we both want to make money, have fun, and do the breed ing thing,” Scott says. “We’re setting up the business for the kids as well, to secure their future.” Scott and Maree say two people have had a big influence on them since they moved to Southland: breeder and Southland HFNZ Life Member Brian Perkins of Fernlea Stud, and STgenetics’ John Ban natyne.“Brian convinced us that our cows were better than we thought they were and encouraged us to enter the HFNZ- Semex On Farm Compe tition – which we did, winning the 2022 HFNZ-Semex On Farm Otago/ Southland Two-Year-Old class with Kaylen M-Leche Alice S1F,” Scott says. “And John has been there to help us shape the herd to our breed ing goals and preferences.
FUTURE PLANS Maree and Scott Bixley with children Katelyn, Tyler and Jayden. facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews 2023 Edna Calendar T: 09-307 0399 then press 1 to be put through to reception E: julieb@ruralnews.co.nz ORDER NOW! ❱❱ $25 including post & packaging ❱❱ 12 of Edna’s best cartoons ❱❱ 330mm x 240mm, spiral bound EDNA!! EDNA CALENDAR 2023 “You do realise Edna, if we start to float, you’ll be breaking the law banning live animal shipments!” “Break my New Year resolution? - no way – it must be the Aussie bushfires you can smell!” RURAL NEWSTO ALL FOR FARMERS HORTNEWS SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 87 9 10 11 12 13 1514 16 17 18 19 20 2221 23 24 25 26 27 2928 30 31 1 2 3 4JANUARYFEBRUARYNEW OBSERVED YEARS ANNIVERSARYANNIVERSARY
RABOBANK NEW Zea land has announced Chris Black as its new board chair.Black, who retired last year after 13 years as chief executive of rural insurance group Farm ers Mutual Group (FMG), replaces Andy Bor land who steps down in November.Rabobank says Black has considerable gov ernance and executive experience, with a strong background in rural insur ance, banking and invest ment observerBlackmanagement.willbeanatthenext Rabo bank New Zealand board meeting later this month and will formally join the board at its November meeting.Borland, who is man aging director of diversi fied agribusiness Scales Group, joined the Rabo bank New Zealand board in 2016 and became chair in April 2020. Announcing the changes, Rabobank Group’s managing board member, Berry Marttin, says the notice Borland had provided of his inten tion to step down would ensure a smooth transi tion for both the board and Rabobank’s New Zea land“Webusiness.arefortunate to have someone of Chris’s considerable experience in a mutual and coopera tive setting and a strong background in the rural sector joining the New Zealand board,” Mart tin “Isays.also wish to acknowledge Andy’s sig nificant contribution to our New Zealand board over the past six years. His in-depth knowledge of agribusiness and bank ing and finance has been of enormous value, and I want to thank Andy for his leadership of our New Zealand board since 2020.”Black, who is a char tered accountant, began his career in the public sector. He later worked in the financial sector, including at CitiGroup and UBS in the United Kingdom. Returning to New Zealand, Black spent nearly 15 years with Bank of New Zealand and its parent company National Australia Bank in a number of senior gen eral management, special ist risk, and merger and acquisition roles. During his 13 years as chief exec utive of FMG, Black over saw a significant increase in FMG’s market share and growth in its brand profile.Herecently joined the board of the two core entities at Southern Cross and was appointed chair of the Earthquake Com mission and a trustee of the Mental Health Foun dation. Black was pre viously president of the Insurance Council of New Zealand and on the board of the Insurance & Finan cial Services Ombudsman Scheme.
Fonterra’s chief innovation and brand officer, Komal MistryMehta, says the new start-up is an exciting opportunity to combine DSM’s world-leading expertise in precision fermentation science and technology with Fonterra’s worldleading dairy science and technol ogy.“With fermentation-produced
FONTERRA DSM JV Komal Mistry-Mehta,ChrisFonterra.Black “Our somatic cell count was sitting at 90,000”.it’stheSince150,000.installingiSPRAY4,settledat Automate your milking routine: GEA.com/new-zealand Andrew Pritchard - Taranaki, NZ Milking 420 cows across 2 herds 4 cross-fire pre & post spray nozzles Better spray coverage Continuous spray delivery Standardising your milking routine
FONTERRA AND global health company Royal DSM are estab lishing a new start-up company to produce fermentation-derived pro teins with dairy-like properties. The start-up is a next step in Fonterra and DSM’s long-standing joint development relationship, which started in 2019 to build a comprehensive understanding of how to use precision fermentation science and technology to produce proteins similar to those found in dairy.To date, this work has cre ated valuable intellectual prop erty for which Fonterra and DSM have filed patents. The new startup company will enable the accel eration of commercial product solutions utilising this intellectual property, while continuing to focus on further precision fermentation research and development. Fonterra and DSM are also collaborating to reduce on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by exploring applications for DSM’s methane-inhibiting Bovaer technology in the New Zealand pasture-based farming system.
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 AGRIBUSINESS // 15
Black to
proteins having a wide array of potential applications for custom ers and consumers, this partner ship aligns well with the co-op’s strategy to be a leader in dairy innovation and science. “By exploring the opportunities of nutrition science solutions, we can unlock the growth potential of our advanced specialty ingredi ents and play more boldly in this category.“Dairy nutrition will always be our core strength, now and into the future, and there will continue to be strong demand for our sustain able, pasture-based dairy. At the same time, we are conscious that preferences of some consumers are evolving, and we believe proteins produced with emerging technolo gies can work alongside our dairy products.“With continued population growth, there will be a role for both dairy and other sources of nutri tion in feeding the world’s popu lation – they offer choice and they are complementary.”
RabobankchairNZ
Subscriptions: Julie Beech Ph 021-190 3144 Production: Dave Ferguson Ph 027-272 5372 Becky Williams Ph 021-100 4831 Digital Strategist: Jessica Marshall Ph 021 0232 6446 Dairy News is published by Rural News Group Limited. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of Rural News Group Limited.
Farmers prefer a farm-level pricing system – one which gives them control to manage their own farm business and individ ual emissions profile. However they remain uncertain about what pathway should be taken to reach a farm-level pricing system: HWEN submis sions show of those that expressed a preference, 48.7% prefer moving immediately to farm-level pricing in 2025, while 34.2% support a gradual transition to farm-level from a processor-level system.TheHWEN proposal submitted to government apparently continues to have the unanimous support of all 11 primary sector partners.Butagrowing number of farmers are now worried that those tasked with finding a path forward have so far faltered and resigned themselves to conflicted compromises, while depart ing from their stated aims of enabling sustainable food and fibre production for future generations.
The HWEN preferred option presented to Government would see farmers pay individually by farm, in a scheme that sits out side the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
WHITTAKER’S DECISION to introduce te reo Maori on its milk chocolate pack aging is causing ripples in the political arena Greens’ co-leader Marama Davidson has been criticised for break ing cabinet rules when she posted images of the Whittakers blocks which have been branded with te reo for creamy milkMiraka Kirimi The post could arguably be seen as promoting a productsomething– that is a breach of the Cabinet ManualButDavidson isn’t hav ing a bar of it She’s not pulling her posts down, although she did edit them after a stern word from theIntroducingPM te reo Māori to its packaging, on the surface, should be a win for Whittaker’s choco late After all, it is one of the country’s two official languages But the back lash to the decision shows it is not so simple Some people are boy cotting the product Cow cuddles
She’s back!
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 RUMINATING
The Government has to make some decisions. Ministers could make wholesale changes and still call it HWEN. They will also make a call on whether on-farm sequestration will be counted and whether there will be a fertiliser tax.
A lot depends on how much sway the Greens will hold around the Cabinet table.
IRISH FARMERS could be facing the same fate as their counterparts in ingfarmersprotestshasmovecows,hundredscouldfarmsaEuropeanhighestnationalfarmsricultureemissionstheintocouldemissionsplanNetherlandsTheIrishGovernment’stocutagricultureby25%by2030drivemanyfarmsbankruptcyLikeinNewZealand,biggestcontributortoinIrelandisagIreland’s135,000produce375%ofemissions,theproportionintheUnionCuttingemissionsbyquarterwilldrivemanyintobankruptcyandforcethecullingofofthousandsoffarmersclaimInNetherlands,asimilarbytheGovernmentseennationwidebyfarmersIrishcouldsoonbetaktothestreetstoo
All eyes are now on Cabinet, which will decide whether to accept HWEN’s proposal or force agriculture into the ETS.
HWEN’s future WHETHER GROUNDSWELL is right or wrong that He Waka Eke Noa is toast, there’s certainly growing angst among farm ers about LeadersHWEN.oflevy-paying bodies maintain that HWEN – the Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership – is still on track. They are telling farmers that there’s no truth to claims that an alternative option to HWEN’s pricing scheme has been in the works for months.
Head Office: Lower Ground Floor, 29 Northcroft St, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Phone 09-307 0399. Publisher: Brian Hight Ph 09-307 0399 General Manager: Adam Fricker Ph 021-842 226 Editor: Sudesh Kissun Ph 021-963 177 Machinery Editor: Mark Daniel Ph 021-906 723 markd@ruralnews.co.nz Reporters: Peter Burke Ph 021-224 2184 peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
MILKING IT... 16 // OPINION
Milk choc in hot water
Wholesale changes to HWEN’s preferred option won’t go down well with farmers. Farmers are already agitating and rumblings are growing louder.Groundswell has added fuel to the fire by claiming HWEN is toast. If that turns out to be the case, farmers will feel hood winked by their leaders. Let’s hope common sense prevails and the Government lets the farm-level pricing proposal sail through without any major changes.
A NORTH Queensland farm is offering cow cud dles as a form of therapy Cow Cuddling Co is the creation of former busi ness strategist Lawrence Fox, who claims to have himself felt the healing power of the bovine touch In 2020, Fox was at something of a low point and working remotely from a friend’s farm when he discovered the power of cow cuddles “I was spending a lot of time with the cows down in the paddock before and after work, and even on my lunch break, just to get some sort of contact with anyone at that point in time And that was really helpfulSpending” time with his friends’ Brahman cows be gan to shift his priorities When Fox found out his friends had plans to breed their cows, he stepped in Irish dilemma
The Climate Change Commission has told Government that a pricing system for agriculture must be in place by 2025 and that the country cannot afford a delay.
EDITORIAL
Postal Address: PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 Published by: Rural News Group Printed by: Inkwise NZ Ltd Contacts: Editorial: sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz Advertising material: davef@ruralnews.co.nz Rural News on-line: www.ruralnews.co.nz Subscriptions: subsrndn@ruralnews.co.nz
A CANTERBURY animal activist who was forced to close her cow sanctu ary after authorities found animals in poor condition is buying animals again Some farmers have taken to social media to encourage fellow farmers not to sell stock to Jasmine Hubber, who was 17 when she opened ‘Til the Cows Come Home, near Cust, north Canterbury, in July 2017 to provide a ‘safe haven’ for rescued farm animalsAtone stage, she had about 200 cows across six grazing sites Many of them were sick or injured bobby calves or retired dairy cows, which were saved from stockfoundHowever,slaughterinspectorslargenumbersof“inpoorcondition”Fivemalnourishedanimalshadtobeputdownanddozenswerere-homedShewasn’tchargedbyMinistryforPrimaryIndustries
AUCKLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Stephen Pollard Ph 021-963 166 stephenp@ruralnews.co.nz WAIKATO SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Lisa Wise Ph 027-369 9218 lisaw@ruralnews.co.nz WELLINGTON SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Ron Mackay Ph 021-453 914 ronm@ruralnews.co.nz SOUTH ISLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Kaye Sutherland Ph 021-221 1994 kayes@ruralnews.co.nz • Printed by Inkwise • Distributed by Reachmedia
Damien
Shared successes with China
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 OPINION // 17
THERE HAVE been plenty of other shared successes over the past year. I’d like to briefly highlight some examples. The first is our agri cultural cooperation with China, which is longstanding and now spans a number of our major pri maryOursectors.Dairy Dialogue with China, for example, brings together govern ment and industry rep resentatives every two years to discuss opportu nities and challenges for both countries’ dairy sec tors. It continues to be an important forum in which to exchange views and stay connected, including during the pandemic. Along with agriculture, we also have regular dia logues with China on fish eries and forestry related issues.These primary sector dialogues are important strands in our relation ship, and cover signifi cant portions of our trade with China. These discus sions also provide us with the opportunity to dis cuss shared challenges for our primary sectors and explore ways that we can work together using our respective expertise to solveSomethem.recent examples include improving each country’s understand ing of changing regulatory environments, knowledgesharing to progress our respective climate change obligations, as well as dis cussing ways to improve biosecurity management practices.We’ve also developed exchanges at the techni cal Forlevel.example, for many years New Zealand has been involved in an experts’ working group with China focused on milk quality and safety issues.This year, we have also established a similar experts’ group for the red meat sector. The sectors covered in these sorts of exchanges are wide-rang ing, including for example equineThesehealth.kinds of pro grammes are hugely important for ensuring that New Zealand’s sys tems and standards are recognised and under stood by one of our key partners.I’dlike to thank all of the industry groups and companies who continue to support our agricul tural relationship with China. We look forward to expanding our coopera tion which underpins and supports our trading rela tionship.Onthe business and tech front, we’ve seen continued success too. And finally, a stand out in the agri-tech sector due to its reputation for innovative technology, Waikato Milking Systems has seen notable suc cess in China. Its milking rotaries are now found in multiple provinces across the country to meet the growing demand for high quality, reliable milking equipment.NewZealand has all along supported the expansion of our network of plurilateral trade agree ments to any economy that can meet their high standards. We have been pleased to see more trade partners expressing inter est in joining these initia tives.Whether representing New Zealand’s interests at the WTO, or negotiat ing, upgrading and imple menting our free trade agreements around the world, our job is to create opportunities for New ZealandUltimatelyexporters.ourgoal is to give you strong, trans parent trade rules and as many options as possible when it comes to export markets, to support your commercial decision making.Weare focused on resilience, and diversifi cation is one way to build up the resilience of indi vidual companies – and of the New Zealand econ omy as a whole – to with stand future economic shocks and mitigate risks. As a government we are focused on re-con necting New Zealand to the world, including China. facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews O’Connor
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor recently spoke at the China Business Summit in Auckland The following is an excerpt from that speech
To be in this special report contact your advertising representative now to promote your products and/or service to all NZ dairy farmers and sharemilkers. FEATURE: 4 OCTOBER BOOKING DEADLINE: 21 SEPTEMBER MATERIAL REQUIRED: 27 SEPTEMBER Contact your closest Sales Representative SPECIAL REPORTS MILK COOLING & QUALITY Dairy farmers know how vital it is to keep their sheds and herds clean and free from contamination. No one can afford to have their milk down-graded. Make sure your products are put in front of the nation’s dairy farmers by advertising in this report. Auckland Stephen Pollard Ph 021 963 166 Waikato Lisa Wise Ph 021-832 505 Wellington Ron Mackay .............. Ph 027-369 9218 Christchurch Kaye Sutherland Ph 021-221 1994
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FARMERS HAVE the opportunity to access the knowledge of some of their industry’s leading thinkers, in a new podcast series covering everything from grazing to gover nance. The Tune Up is pro duced by farm reporting software company Trev. Chief executive Scott Townshend says the pod cast series has provided an opportunity for Trev to tap into its network of respected industry lead ers, happy to share their knowledge.“I’msure everybody will recognise some or even all of the podcast guests. But for many of us, having access or the time off-farm to chat with these people is difficult so it’s great to be able to share their wisdom and insights with a wider audi ence.”The series is hosted by Trev director Will Burrett. He engages with the vari ety of guests during six episodes spread over the next six weeks. “As farmers we wear many different hats and are increasingly expected to wear more. We are food producers, people leaders, vets, biologists, soil scientists and electri cians. But what’s impor tant at the end of the day we are passionate about what we do,” he says. Episode one kicked off last week with a con versation between indus try analyst Julia Jones and Marlborough dis trict farmer Murray King, discussing consumers’ demand for greater trans parency in their food supply“Wechain. havebeen lucky to engage with people from across the industry spectrum, not only within and beyond the farm gate, but also in terms of sheer years of experience,” says Townshend.“Wehave the likes of DairyNZ chair and respected dairy figure Jim van der Poel talking about how grass will always be king in any Kiwi dairy system, through to farmer and Farm 4 Life entrepre neur Tangaroa Walker.” While largely focused on the dairy sector, the podcast series aims to provide insights that will be useful to farmers from all parts of the industry. Burrett says the pod cast series reinforced to him how fortunate New Zealand farmers are to be in an industry where people are so willing to share their time and knowledge to help the wider community grow. “For me there have been a lot of pearlers come out of the series,” he says.“Toquote Canterbury farmer Cameron Hender son who features on epi sode four, we want Kiwis to be proud of what we do. We’re a big part of New Zealand’s economy and a big part of New Zealand’s future and we really need to look after our brand just as much as looking after our own businesses.”
GrainCorp Feeds general manager Daniel Calcinai. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel will talk about how grass will always be king in any Kiwi dairy system.
“We are continuing to see the impact of a grain shortage, especially relating to starch-based feeds for this season,” says GrainCorp Feeds gen eral manager Daniel Calcinai. “There may be a few options available in some areas, but gener ally starch is short until next years’ harvest.” Starch is an important source of energy for dairy cows as it is quickly absorbed and enables rumen fer mentation so that pasture and other sources of energy are more easily digested.Thecompany has a few starch products available, but is being cau tious with offering, based on intermit tent international shipping. “To offset this starch shortage and poor pasture quality in many regions, we are seeing increased demand for fibre-based feeds, such as soyhull or oat hull, complemented with high energy bypass fats, such as polyfat,” saysEnergyCalcinai.is a critical requirement post calving. He advises farmers to include additional products in their feed blend to help maintain optimal rumen function to improve the effi ciency of converting feed to energy. “Tailoring your feed blend to meet the nutritional needs of your herd and to suit your farm system can provide a significant return on investment. “Using the right blend can also help in situ ations where high costsincreasingersshortfeedsstarch-basedenergyareinsupply.”Asfarmareseeingacross the board, it is becoming difficult to achieve a cost-effective balance between inputs and production. “It’s becoming more challenging to balance the increasing range of input costs while maximising the return on investment. Despite the higher milk price in the current market, the rising cost of milk production could still place pressure on the margin and the“Farmersreturn. who use feed planning and monitoring tools can maximise the margins more effectively in this volatile environment, by making pro active, fact-based feeding and farm management decisions, supporting the end goal.”
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WITH CALVING underway, dairy farmers are being urged to plan ahead, as feed availability is affected by global shortages along with slow and inter mittent international shipping.
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The Tune Up podcast series is accessible either as a video or audio pod cast available from the usual platforms. You can also head to www.mytrev. com to watch and listen.
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DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 MANAGEMENT // 19 Poorpaddockperforming Highpaddockperforming Maize yield tDM/ha 20 20 Less: Pasture production during maize cropping period tDM/ha 4 7 Equals: Total extra feed produced tDM/ha 16 13 Cost to grow and harvest maize silage1 $/ha 16 13 Cost of additional feed supplied $/kgDM $0.22 $0.27 Maize silage yield (tDM/ha in the stack) Yield 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Cost on low fertility paddocks ($kgDM)2 $0.40 $0.34 $0.30 $0.27 $0.24 $0.22 $0.20 Cost on high fertility paddocks ($/kgDM)2 $0.29 $0.25 $0.22 $0.20 $0.18 $0.16 $0.15 Table 1: Value of maize grown on low vs high pasture producing paddocks Table 2: Cost of maize grown on low v high fertility paddocks On-farm maize stacks up
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WADE BELL
MANY FARMERS are experiencing lower stored feed reserves on hand and some are consider ing growing or increasing their on-farm maize crop grown.It’snot uncommon for farmers to be able to grow maize silage that yields 18-24 tDM/ha for around 25-35 c/kgDM in the stack on paddocks that need renewing. Growing costs can be reduced even fur ther by growing maize in an effluent paddock, which can significantly reduce (or in some cases eliminate) fertiliser input requirements.Thisdrops the cost of maize to 18-25 c/kgDM. That looks pretty attrac tive compared to buying in alternative feed sources that can range from 50-100 c/kgDM. However, this analysis only tells part of the story when growing maize on farm, and there are other con siderations that can influ ence the return from your maizeFirst,crop.you need to ask whether the area you want to grow your crop on really needs renovat ing. The reason for this is that if the paddock is already high producing, the difference in the total extra drymatter produc tion gained by growing maize will be less, increas ing the cost per kgDM (TableFurthermore,1). you will have missed the long-term opportunity to increase pasture production by renovating the poorest performing paddocks on theSecond,farm. maize growing costs can be reduced sig nificantly if you can grow it on highly fertile effluent paddocks.Dairyeffluent typically has higher concentrations of nitrogen and potas sium, which maize can utilise to achieve maxi mum yields (12kg of N and 10kg of K per 1 tDM maize silage yield). With maize being a deep-rooted crop, it is perfectly suited to utilise this free source of nutrients and reduce the growing costs per kgDM (Table 2). Finally, while maize yield and costs are very important, so too is having flexibility around the timing of when you sow and harvest your maizeConsidercrop. maize hybrids that suit your environment and the nature of your seasonal feed supply and demand requirements.Forexample, being able to sow your crop three weeks later when pasture is growing at 64kg DM/ha/d, equates to 20 tDM of additional pasture silage from 15ha. Alterna tively, being able to har vest three weeks earlier could help you to bridge any autumn shortfall of feed you might have nor mally expected. Talking to your local Pioneer rep resentative will help you establish the best hybrid option for your location and on-farm requirements on farm. • Wade Bell is Genetic Tech nologies farm systems man ager. Contact him at wbell@ genetic.co.nz Wade Bell
NEW RESEARCH has confirmed bulls’ genetics play a role in how much methane they emit, high lighting the potential for farmers to breed low methane-emitting cows in theThefuture.news comes fol lowing the first year of a research programme run by major New Zealand artificial breeding compa nies LIC and CRV. The research, funded by the New Zealand Agri cultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC), measures methane emissions from the burps of young bulls set to father the next gen eration of New Zealand’s dairyResultscows.from year one, where the feed intake and methane emissions from 281 bulls were measured, found there is genetic variation in the amount of methane emitted after ane than the average. LIC chief scientist Richard Spelman says these results are a big step forward for the research. “The amount of meth ane a bull or cow pro duces directly relates to the amount of food it eats – generally speaking the more an animal eats, the more methane it will “But after account ing for differences in the bulls’ feed intake, we’re still seeing genetic vari ation in their methane emissions, proving genet ics do play a role. We have a sliding scale from bulls that are emitterslow-methane(lessthan18g of methane/kg of dry matter eaten) to bulls that are on the higher end (more than 28g of methane/kg of dry matter eaten). This is the variation we [wanted] to see and we’re excited to use it to our advantage.”
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RICHARD SPELMAN, LIC, says the next step in the research is to see if the genetic variation responsible for methane emissions in growing young bulls is replicated in their daughters.“Thisyear, in partnership with Pāmu, we will breed from bulls that we’ve identified to be high or low methane emitters. After their daughters are born, we’ll measure their emissions as growing yearlings and during their first milking season to ensure they’re representative of their fathers. This is where the rubber will re ally hit the road in our aim to offer farmers a low-methane breeding solution.”Pāmu chief executive, Mark Leslie, says Pāmu and Focus Genetics have an important role to play bridging the gap between science and commercialisation for the benefit of industry. “We are pleased to see such positive results from the first year of this trial. It is vitally important that the agri-sector continues to move forward on emission reduction initiatives, and this trial is an exciting further“Thisstep.trial fits well alongside the dairy beef Progeny Trial at Renown Farm and the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) Progeny Trial at Kepler, which rely on our longstanding partnerships across industry, plus the progress we have made developing breeding values for methane efficiency in our sheep programmes.”Thesecond year of the research is now underway with methane emissions being measured from approximately 300 young bulls from LIC and CRV’s 2022 Sire Proving Scheme. young bulls in the research help themselves to feed throughout the day. Inset: LIC chief scientist Richard Spelman
Although the research is in the early stages, Spel man says the results show promise to help farmers meet environmental chal lenges.“This methane research is a long-term project but it has the potential to make a real difference to farmers in the future by providing another tool to reduce their farm emissions. “New Zealand farmers are striving to meet the challenge of being profit able and sustainable, and research like this will help ensure reducing a farm’s emissions doesn’t have to come at the cost of reduc ing its resultsthetoit’sElzakkerPetericsfedproduction.”milkCRVgrass-genetmanagervansayspleasingseethatfirst-yearofthe
Do you know if your feed Find out at the NZFMA Fieldays DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 20 // ANIMAL HEALTH Make sure your feed is FeedSafe NZ accredited
Research looks at breeding more climate friendly cows
trial align with the com pany’s methane trial work with Wageningen Univer sity in the Netherlands. “The findings in New Zealand are a significant step forward in our work to develop tools to help New Zealand dairy farm ers reduce their emis sions. They give all of us even more confidence genetics can be part of the solution.”HarryClark, director of the NZAGRC, is equally pleased with these early results.“Breeding represents a long-term and cumula tive way that farmers can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Low-meth ane selection is now avail able to sheep breeders and the signs are positive that we might be able to deliver the same for the dairy sector,” he says.
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1. Svensson C, Hultgren J. Associations between housing, management and morbidity during rearing and subsequent first-lactation milk production of dairy cows in southwest Sweden. J Dairy Sci. 2008; 91(4); 1510–1518. BaycoxTM C is registered under the ACVM Act 1997 A009583. Baycox C, Elanco and the diagonal bar logo are trade marks of Elanco or its affiliates. Elanco New Zealand, 106 Wiri Station Road, Manukau, Auckland 2104. www.elanco.com | 0800 446 121. © 2022 Elanco. PM-NZ-22-0181
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 ANIMAL HEALTH // 21
madedecisionsBreedingeasy
AS THE Traits Other Than Production (TOP) and classification season approaches, farmers are eager to find out how their cows will score on a national scale of excel lence.Last spring, trained inspectors visited hun dreds of farms around New Zealand to assess the characteristics and traits of more than 32,000 Hol stein Friesian in-milk heif ers and cows. The classification system, which aims to improve the overall stan dard of type and con formation of the New Zealand Holstein Friesian cow, recognises each indi vidual cow’s functional strengths and/or weak nesses scoring 13 individ ual traits on a scale of 1-9 and grades her accord ingly with a Classification Award.Registered Holstein Friesian animals receive a classification award between70-90: Fair (7074), Good (75-79), Good Plus (80-84), Very Good (85-89) and Excellent (90+).To be eligible for an excellent award, cows must have calved at least three times, be in their third recorded lactation, and be at least four years of age.Allcows classified are also scored on a linear system for Traits Other than Production (TOP), given a score on a scale of 1-9 for 12 conformation traits, condition score, and an ‘udder overall’ and ‘dairy conformation’ score.Members classifying must submit all two-yearold heifers (pedigree and grade) sired by a Hol stein Friesian sire for TOP inspection as the data is important for the calcula tion of Bull theanimalthebreedingfarmersClassificationProofs.enablestomakebetterdecisions,asmoredataaboutanthatisrecorded,better.Classification
and TOP scores can high light strong traits, as well as weak traits that need to be considered when selecting bulls at mating.
It’s important to remember that when clinical signs are seen, serious damage to the calf’s gut has already occurred, reducing the calves ability to absorb feed and liquids, and opening a way for other bugs to cause infection. Even when the disease is treate d, the gut does not fully recover for several weeks, and appetite may be suppressed. Longer term effects may include poorer milk production at first Baycoxlactation1.TMCacts on intra-cellular stages during schizogony and gamogony (all stages). BaycoxTM C covers all developmental stages except oocysts and is effective against first-generation schizonts.
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TOP and classification scores are also valuable when marketing a heifer or cow; the figures can be printed in sale catalogues, providing a breakdown of individual traits, and allowing prospective pur chasers to get an accurate picture of the animal. Waikato dairy farmer and Holstein Friesian NZ board director Wendy Harker says there are multiple benefits to clas sification.“Classifying animals means more accurate breeding values are going into the system, especially now that udders are being taken into account,” she says.“It also means that breeders can trace the improvements in type, and the improvements from generation to gen eration. For me, classi fication is the only time I look at each individ ual animal in the herd and see what I need to improve in “Classificationher. also increases the value of the animal’s progeny, par ticularly when selling bulls and animals in the future.”Holstein Friesian NZ presents the herd owner with the highest aver age classification score for two-year-olds with the Sherriff Memorial Trophy at the annual HFNZ Awards.In2021, Belbrook Dynamic Vanessa EX6 (BWPF-02-38), owned by John and Robbie Wake lin of Belbrook Holsteins in Rangiora, classified EX6 at the age of 19 – believed to be the first EX6 classi fication in New Zealand history.Forthe 2022 TOP Classification season, HFNZ has developed and owns a new and exciting way to record farmer trait scores for two-year-olds.
Trained inspectorTony O’Connor classifies the Waipiri Holstein herd in 2021. will
MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews co nz “Loaders can be supplied in colours to match the base tractor, or of course in the standard grey/black format.” The new design is said to offer excellent forward visibility, with no structures above the top line of the boom. A Gator light utility vehicle made from recyclable materials. 0800 JOBE jobevalves.comVALVES •Ideal for Cattle Troughs •High •Side/BottomFlow Mount •Detach to •Compact/RobustClean •Ideal for Small/Low Demand •LowTroughsFlowve/Below Water Mount •Built in Check-Valve •Ideal for •Compact/Robust•Detach•Top•HighTroughs/TanksCompartmentFlowMounttoClean
FOLLOWING A four-year collaboration between global giants John Deere and Ford’s sustainable materials team, the duo set out with a goal of developing a proto type vehicle using waste streams converted into viable machine components. The project brief was to build a Gator light utility vehicle using renewable, recy cled, and recyclable materials. According to senior material engineer Keith Shanter, that was difficult because they had to work within the current framework of produc tion“Wetooling.weren’t going to invest in new tool ing for a product that won’t actually go to market, but we did everything we could to find sustainable materials that were suita bleInreplacements.”theend,the wide variety of differ ent materials used included soya beans for the roof and doors and seat foam. Flax and hemp fibre, wheat straw and maple wood were selected for interior panels and exte rior door panels are made from sugar cane with maize cob filler. A rice hull filler was used for the dashboard and the grab han dles are made from recycled fishing nets. Also water-sourced, the bonnet was made from plastic bottles pulled from the Mis sissippi river, while a storage compartment was made from ground coconut, adding to the list of surprising materials used to make this concept Gator.
GATOR MADE FROM RECYCLED PARTS
JD has no plans to take the concept to the production stage, but one component from this project that is in Gators pro duced today is a defrost louvre made from recycled tyres.
GERMAN FRONTEND loader specialists Stoll has recently intro duced the new ProfiLine FZ and FS Series loaders, the first of which are just landing in New Zealand. Following its longheld tradition of only using fine-grain steels for strength, stability and torsional rigidity, loader booms are constructed from a single piece of steel, cleverly folded to create the required sec tion, that in turn creates a void to house any level ling mechanisms within. The design is said to offer excellent forward vis ibility, with no struc tures above the top line of the boom. All hydrau lic pipes are mounted on the underside, that in turn allows mounting brack ets to be placed nearer to the tractor, resulting in greater lift Drive-inFeaturingcapacity.Stoll’sSystem,the FS standard and FZ selflevelling versions offer easy mounting and dis mounting of the loader at around two minutes, with the self-locking pins no doubt making the task easier.Designed for trac tors from 50 to 300hp, attention to detail sees the lower boom cross member mounted low and forward to improve visibility, while improved crowd/dump angles of 40 to 46 degrees at ground level and up to 63 degrees during lifting, ensure any loose materials are not spilled from buckets. A range of joysticks include the Base mechan ical option offering five functions, the fully elec tric Pro Control, with six features and the increas ingly popular Trac Con trol that integrates with the tractor’s own propor tional control units. Depending on model and configuration, a range of features include return to dig, return to parallel, working height restriction, weighing and a comfort driven damping system using oil or accumulators.hydrogenMeanwhile, further options include, Hydro Fix for single lever main hydraulic functions, Tool Fix for 3rd and 4th functions and Hydro Lock for implement locking and unlocking from the tractor seat. Distributed by Ham ilton-based Ag Attach ments, general manager Martin Gray says, “Cus tomers will see extra strength throughout the loaders, starting with bigger dimensions pins in all of the pivot points, bigger diameter lift and crowd rams and more material around key areas such as the ‘knee’ of the main boom. We are offer ing a key stockholding of models from 3.5 to 4.8 metre lift heights, 2.3 to 4.2 tonnes lift capacity, designed for tractors from 90 to 270hp. Loaders can be supplied in colours to match the base tractor, or of course in the standard grey/black format.”
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 22 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS Latest Stoll loaders offering greater capacity, durability
NATIONWIDE CROP packaging nomicallylectioncontinuesupportservice.moneybacksilagecountryardshipapprovedthepublic,”amongawarenesstodayticcyclecernedityworld-leadingtheyagriculturaltomersbacktheNathandevelopmentPlasbackandandicantbecomesscheme.farmjoinedProAg-WearpartsdistributorhasthePlasbackon-plasticsrecyclingBydoingso,itthethirdsignifdistributorofhaysilagenets,twineswrapstojointheschemein2022.ProAg-WearpartsmanagerWycherleysayscompanyjoinedPlastosupportitscusandthewiderindustryasworktoestablishsustainabilpractices.“Wehavebeenconaboutthelifeofagriculturalplasforsometime,andthereismuchmoreoftheissuefarmersandtheWycherleysays.Plasbackiscurrentlyonlygovernment-productstewschemeinthethatdealswithfilm.WycherleysaysPlashasinvestedalotoftobuilduptheir“Wehopethatourwillhelpthemtodevelopacolservicethatisecoviabletoour customers and provides more efficient processing of used silage wrap.” Plasback commer cial manager Neal Shaw applauds the leadership shown by ProAg and the other agricultural con sumables suppliers that have joined the scheme. “Now that ProAg has joined us, we have the support of the suppli ers of more than 90% of the stretch film and silage covers sold in New Zea land.“It sends a clear mes sage to the wider industry and government that this sector is serious about recycling and product stewardship.”Shawsays that the Ministry for the Envi ronment has set a target date of June 2024 to have a mandatory, industrywide product stewardship scheme in place for all agriculturalDiscussionsplastics.about the shape of that scheme are now underway. Plas back wants to ensure any levies applied do not sig nificantly increase the amount that farmers have to pay to cover the cost of recycling.“Plasback has shown that when farmers and suppliers directly cover some of the cost of col lection and reprocessing, it is possible to provide an efficient, cost-effec tive service. We want this model to be part of any future product steward ship scheme,” Shaw says. “Now that virtually all Kiwi silage wrap distribu tors are part of Plasback, we can advocate on their behalf and on behalf of industry bodies, such as Fonterra, that support our service.”
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 23
FORMER MANAWATU sheep, beef and deer farmer John Wycherley established ProAg in 2010. In 2018 ProAg acquired and merged with ag machinery parts supplier Wearparts. Today ProAg-Wearparts provides wear ing parts and crop packaging throughout New Zealand from their central base in Feilding and storage and dispatch centres in Dunedin, Christ church and Auckland. In addition to ProAg, the other companies that have become Plasback sponsors this year are Webbline and Integrated Packaging. Com panies that joined the scheme prior to that are Grevillia Ag Tulloch Farm Machines, Nutritech, Donaghys and Agpac. Shaw says as the pressure on farmers to deal with their waste plastic builds, some po tential recyclers may look to cut corners by col lecting loose plastic rather than use Plasback’s bin and liner system. This can reduce the value of the waste plastic to manufacturers because it is dirty and more difficult to deal with. “The bin and liner system we introduced to New Zealand almost 16 years ago works well, and the factories we sell to appreciate it. We don’t want to see the New Zealand get a repu tation for supplying low-quality recyclables.”
Plastics recycling service expands
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ProAg-Wearparts is the third major distributor of hay and silage nets to join Plasback on-farm plastics recycling scheme. New and Used stock available - Call NOW! North - Gerry Clare 021 245 4471 South - Jethro Boakes 021 513 368 www.webbline.co.nz
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 24 // EFFLUENT & WATER
MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews co nz facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews
Belgian effluent, manure and transport company Joskin is expanding its manufacturing capacity.
MOST TURALAGRICULmachinery man ufacturers are struggling with increased order books, reduced compo nent supply and increas ingThiscosts.plus a shortage of manufacturing capacity has led the Belgian efflu ent, manure and trans port company Joskin to expand its home base at Soumagne near Liege, as well as its other European plants.Commenting that capacity is not only being limited by floor space, but also the availabil ity of assembly staff, the company is planning to introduce more automa tion, alongside structured expansion outside of its homeBothcountry.strategies should lead to better overall quality, says the found er’s son Didier Joskin. “Despite the high invest ment cost, the result will be improved quality and production processes and, consequently, increased userThesatisfaction.”investment in Bel gium will include a duo of optical-fibre laser cut ters capable of cutting the thicker steel plate being used in heavier machines, with the ability to handle sheets of up to 4 by 2 metre dimensions. Addi tionally, the technology offers significantly higher processing speeds, almost no deformation of the sheet steel and a much lower energy consump tion.At the company’s Leb oulch site, south east of Caen in Normandy, plans are in place for a new 5,900m² extension, intended to house weld ing facilities, as well as an automated shot-blasting machine for larger parts that are currently difficult to process.Nearerto the home base, Joskin is planning a 15,700m² unit on a 6ha site at Esch-sur-Alzette in the south of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to create a factory dedicated to the assembly of large tipping trailers and muck spreaders, scheduled for construction in 2023. Elsewhere, at Trz cianka in Poland, the con struction of a 12,000m² buffer storage hall between the production and the galvanising pro cesses began in March, with an option to pur chase 9ha of adjoining land for future expansion.
Effluent spreading company expands to meet demand
Federated Farmers is welcoming a report describing water quality of South Westland rivers as pristine. Colin Hurst (inset)
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 EFFLUENT & WATER // 25
Feds back water quality report
Hurst says they already knew this, but the nitrogenmeasurablepracticeswhetherandheldWestlandwatersummariseGeographyUniversity’sSophieHursttosimplyinevitablyoftenitthemountainsenvironment.ince’stakeusedarestockblanket,caseFedsrationscience-basedadditionalcorroboisgreattohaveascontinuetoputthetogovernmentthatone-size-fits-allfencingregulationsimpractical.ThefarmingsystemsontheWestCoastaccountoftheprovterrain,weatherand“TheWestCoasthasveryclosetocoastmeaningwhenrains,riverssurgeandflood.Fencesaresweptawayandbecomeahazardriverandmarinelife,”says.DrSarahMagerandHortonofOtagoSchoolofsetouttotheexistingqualityofSouthriversfromdatabytheuniversityNIWAandevaluateexistingfarmingwerehavingaeffect.Theyfoundthatnitratelevelsinthe main waterways were very low – in fact, orders of magnitude below the threshold to be rated ‘excellent’, and thus “are considered pristine” in terms of nitrate nitrogen. Ammoniacal nitro gen concentrations were also very low and in many measurements there was no detectable ammoniacal nitrogen being below the method detection limit. Both lianasriversforthewerenitrogenammoniacalandphosphorusfoundtobewithin99%protectionlimitsspeciesforhighlandasanannualmean,definedbytheAustraNewZealandGuide lines.“Traditionally the riv erbeds are passively grazed and this report proves that passive graz ing should continue as it has for over 100 years,” saysTheHurst.Otago University researchers noted that due to the low intensity of most of the farms in the area (between Jack son’s Bay and Fox Glacier township), they often lack stock exclusion and fenc ing, “and in most cases, stock exclusion is imprac ticable”.However, there is a national requirement that beef cattle are excluded from lakes and wide rivers on low slope land from 1 July 2025 for existing farms regardless of stock intensity or effect on the waterway.“Likewe said last year, this is not mainstream New Zealand,” Hurst says. “This is a community like no other; an island on an island. They even gen erate their own electric ity with a run of the river generation scheme on the Turnball“DeleteRiver.the traditional image of stock grazing in a paddock from your mind. Picture expansive river flats, where you may see one or two head of cattle at a time. “What little stock there are, are doing a sterling job of protect ing the precious taonga of our native flora from imported weeds and pests.” Federated Farmers intends using the study in its continued advocacy on impractical and unnec essary aspects of the Essential Freshwater reg ulations.“Aswe say here at Feds, if you ask the people on the ground for solu tions, they will bring them. We will continue to do our best to get these solutions heard by those who make the regula tions,” Hurst says.
www.yardmaster.co.nz SHORE MOUNTED PROVEN #1 P UMPS & SYSTEMS range of products at: YARDMASTER® SHORE MOUNTED STIRRER • Using a 4-pole motor, the stirrer runs through reduction pulleys to do approximately 400rpm at the propeller • Standard Stirrer lengths of 7.5m and 9.9m • Slew angle adjustment • 7.5kW and 11kW options IDEAL FOR • Shore mounting • Large ponds • Safe service access With powerful agitation, safe service access and a proven record of reliability, the Yardmaster® Shore Mounted Stirrer has become the #1 choice to achieve a superior homogenous mix in effluent ponds and a key element of modern effluent systems. IRRIGATE CONFIDENCE.WITH IRRIGATION SYSTEMS REMOTE PRECISIONMANAGEMENTVRI BY LINDSAY
UNIVERSITY OF Otago research describing the water quality of South Westland rivers as pris tine, despite 160 years of river flats farming, is no surprise to Federated spokespersonFarmers.FedsfreshwaterColin
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Having a shore-based motor and a pulley drive to the main shaft means that any expensive componentry is located on land.
WHILE YARDMASTER shore-mounted stir rers have been around for a few years, health & safety compliance, inno vation and ease of main tenance has been driving this product to a market leading position. The point around health & safety is reason ably obvious when you conduct a risk assess ment of a shore-mounted system compared to a stirrer mounted to on a floating frame/pontoon within the pond area. With the ability to swing the shore-mounted stirrer back over land, any main tenance can be safely car ried out without going out over the pond area. Regarding innovation, the latest model of Yard master shore-mounted stirrers has a rapid instal lation method, using a mounting plate that is inserted in the concrete base pad, onto which the stirrer can be quickly and safely located with out the need for counter weights. Equipped with a winch system relative to the size of stirrer, to easily change the operating angle, they also feature multiple locating holes in the swivel plate, allowing adjustment on the hori zontal plane to where you wish to aim the stirrer. Recently introduced auto lube kits can also be installed, reducing need for manual maintenance. With over 60 years of amassed knowledge and experience, Yardmaster has deliberately stuck to a format that has held true to them, by getting the motor out of the liquid if possible.Having a shore-based motor and a pulley drive to the main shaft means that any expensive com ponentry is located on land. By contrast, sub mersible options, where motors are submerged in corrosive liquids, can see motor issues evolving into the need to replace the complete stirrer unit. Looking at main tenance more closely, besides the ease of access, the general construction of the Yardmaster units means there is very little to goShouldwrong.the propel ler hit a foreign object, the stirrer can be swung back to shore and the prop repaired or replaced. Drive belts will occa sionally need adjust ment as they wear and of course might need even tual replacement, all done easily, and importantly, over dry land. With 7.5m and 9.9m machine lengths, along side the options of 7.5kW and 11kW motors, the stir rer can be customised to suit any pond size, so Yardmaster would highly recommend you use a cer tified designer to calculate your pond size and use a certified dealer to match the stirrer needed to the pond size.
Shore-mounted stirrers safer, easy to maintain
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 26 // EFFLUENT & WATER
MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews co nz
Steer-X uses a sensor on the trailer that works in conjunction with the tractor’s load sensing hydraulic system and an ISOBUS connection. Using information on inclination and speed, the sensor transmits the ideal steering angle to the steering cylin der.The system is said to deliver numerous benefits including a wider drawbar steering angle, faster connection and less maintenance, alongside minimised lateral forces when cornering and reduced tyre wear. Additionally, the system can also provide greater driving stability when travelling at higher speeds or when undertaking sudden or evasive manoeuvres.
SOMETIMES LESS is more, meaning the need for technology isn’t always the answer, just a wellbuilt, simple machine to do a job efficiently.Therecently introduced Swift Blade from Hustler appears to meet this criteria, in the form of a basic front-end-loader mounted manure scraper for cleaning down feed pads, holding yards and dairy sheds. Featuring a robust frame with quick attach mounters for the front loader, allowing easy pick up and go, the heart of the machine is a 40mm thick, high-tensile SBR rubber blade that offers abrasion and impact resistance, while scrap ing the area cleanly. Said to have a working life of around three years in normal use, once worn, the blade can be flipped and hopefully deliver another three years of service. To accommodate different tractor sizes and a range of operating conditions, the blade height can be easily adjusted. With ease of use in mind, fold down support legs are positioned on either side of the machine to deliver easy pick up and drop off after an area is cleared. Measuring 2,600mm wide and 845mm tall, the LM260 scraper weighs in at around 205kg. www.hustlerequipment.com
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 EFFLUENT & WATER // 27
Hustler appears to meet these criteria, in the form of a basic, front-end loader mounted manure scrape.
MUCKY JOB MADE EASY
Cargos head to Fliegl
BACK IN May, Claas announced the cessation of its Cargos loader wagon production, citing falling or at best static demand, while optimists sug gested that the move would open the arena to other manufacturers to increase their market shares. Much to the relief of many users of the lime green wagons who prefer self-loading wagons over the more popular precision chop, delivered by self-propelled forage harvesters, it appears all is not lost. Fellow German company Fliegl has acquired the rights to manu facture and market the self-loading/ dual purpose wagons, initially under the same Cargos product name, but under the Fliegl brand name. Production will move from Claas’ Bad Salgau factory, releasing space for increased production of the Orbis row crop headers, to Fliegl’s site at Kirchdorf, near the Austrian border.The first wagons under the new branding are expected to be available in early 2023. In other Fliegl news, the compa ny’s new Steer-X, electro-hydraulic steering system, differs from other self or forced steering layouts, used to reduced turning radius and tyre wear, by removing the mechanical linkage to the towing tractor.
rights to manufacture and market the self-loading/dual purpose wagons, initially under the same Cargos. 0800 426 296 www.irrimax.co.nz REAL PUMPING POWER TO KEEP YOU OUT OF THE POO! Irri-Max diesel pump units have modular design to allow customising to your particular requirements. • Integrated Fuel Tank Chassis with levelling jacks • Modern Diesel Engines such as CAT, Iveco, Lombardini • Comprehensive control panels for safe use • Manual or Electric Throttle • Variable Speed Drive option to maintain constant pressure • Quality efficient pumps such as Ferrari, Rovatti, Saer, Southern Cross • Direct flywheel to pump shaft coupling- no energy sapping belt drives! • Full Parts and Service Backup • Preferred supplier to Klip Tank WHETHER DAIRY EFFLUENT, FROST PROTECTION, STOCK WATER OR IRRIGATION WE HAVE MODELS TO SUIT YOUR JOB
German company Fliegl has acquired the
■ They work synergisti cally with other nutri ents to the benefit of the plant. ■ They reduce fertiliser requirement by com plexing nutrients and helping to transport them to where they are needed in the plant. ■ They contain not only nitrogen but carbon and some like methio nine and cystine also contain sulphur. ■ They have a stimu lating effect on root growth which in turn allows for more effi cient absorption of nutrients from the soil. ■ They improve photo synthesis, resulting in higher organisms.beneficialefitsproductioncarbohydratewhichbentheplantandtherootdwelling
■ They also feed the ben eficial organisms living within the plant that help the plant in dif ferent ways including fighting off disease and plant eating insects. Enter Nitrosol, the brainchild of Dr Peter Kauzal, a veterinary scien tist who worked in Aus tralia fifty years ago. He developed this new gen eration liquid fertiliser by using a by-product of the New Zealand agri cultural industry with a good source of nitrogen, phosphorous and potas sium. He identified that the soil, and therefore pasture, plants and crops were lacking vital nutri ents, trace elements and minerals.Agricultural stock health was struggling in some areas due to the shortage of critical trace minerals that had caused problems, none more-so than the so-called “bush sickness” in New Zealand, due to natural deficien cies of cobalt in our volca nicKauzalsoils. strongly believed that the best way of providing the deficient minerals was through the pasture that the stock was grazing on, and so he went about develop ing a liquid fertiliser that could be sprayed onto the pasture and be rapidly absorbed by the pasture to stimulate good pasture growth, as well as provide the essential minerals that were in short supply. And so Nitrosol, a liquid foliar fertiliser was born. His includeddevelopmentaprocessto liq uidise and stabilise this by-product, at the same time introducing key trace minerals such as zinc, selenium and cobalt. He knew that the benefits for plants was greater than expected and had some thing to do with the use of hydrolysed protein. Later research into the benefits of foliar applied amino acids would help to explain the extraordinary results that were seen with the Recentlyproduct.wehave wit nessed a paradigm shift in the mindset of many farmers and growers, towards taking greater care of their soil biology in the knowledge that it is the sustainable path for the future, to provide more nutritiously dense food products for animals and humans.
• Bernard Kimble is the technical manager, Nitrosol Ltd facebook@dairy_newscom/dairynews
LINER SYSTEMS FOR DAIRY EFFLUENT AND IRRIGATION PONDS Freephone: 0800 454 646 E: W:info@containment.co.nzwww.containment.co.nz • Cost competitive • Utilise your existing site • Control contamination and gas • 20 year material warranty • Reliable seam testing • Proven performance • Full QA report 14 Waihou Street | Matamata Ph 07 880 sales@forsi.co.nzwww.forsi.co.nz9479 ● Iron, managanese & turbidity removal ● pH correction ● Effluent solutionsmanagement ● Waste water recycling ● Effluent recycling systems ● Irrigation filtration ● Car & truck wash recycling systems CUSTOMISED FILTRATION SYSTEMS FOR... IS WATER QUALITY AN ISSUE FOR YOU? A foliar fertiliser is applied directly to the leaves of the plant.
■ They stimulate plant growth and enzyme production and activ ity.
5. Ideal method for
LIQUID FERTILISERS are foliar fertilisers. A foliar fertiliser is a fertiliser product that is designed to be applied directly to the leaves of the plant. Although the first recorded use of foliar fertilisers was in 1843, this practice remained limited for Ayears.lotof research has been done on the bene fits of foliar fertilising in the last 30 years. It was noticed that applying syn thetic chemical fertilis ers like urea, phosphates and potassium salts etc could be absorbed directly by the plants and provide fertilising benefits, and that if this was done the amount of fertiliser could be reduced.Therewere limita tions as not enough was known about how to pen etrate the waxy cuticles of foliage or even why this occurred at all. Use of chelating agents such as cialmentalbeenoversolidtioning,ofthroughtoavailabilitycoldtionsthefoundmoreandagentsaminoyearsuseareenvironmentaltracebeenraaceticEthylenediaminetetAcid(EDTA)haveusedtoimprovemineraluptake,butconcernsbeginningtolimittheofEDTA.Inrecentthebenefitsofacidsaschelatinghavebeenproventhesearebecomingwidelyused.Foliarfeedinghasbeentobebeneficialinfollowingways:1. Whensoilcondisuchasdroughtorconditionslimittheofnutrientstheplantfromthesoiltranspiration.2. Reducesthewastefertiliserthroughleachrunofforvolatilisaasoccurswithmanyfertilisers.3. Reducestheriskoffertilisingthathasfoundtohavedetrieffectsonbenefisoilorganismssuchas
DAIRY NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 28 // EFFLUENT & WATER
Foliar feeding reduces waste of nutrients through leaching
BERNARD KIMBLE the concept of a little more often which reduces waste and improves soil health when formulated correctly.Foliar feeding is more targeted and thus more environmentally friendly than bulk soil applied fer tiliser.Inaddition to the fact that amino acids have been found to be very useful chelating agents for trace minerals such as iron and zinc, and com mercially synthesised amino acids like glycine (commonly used as che lating agents in some commercial foliar fertilis ers), research has shown that mixed amino acids have additional benefits, some of which are: ■ Attract moisture to the foliage to which they have been applied, which in turn assists with amino acid and other nutrient absorp tion. ■ They act as building blocks for proteins that are essential for plant growth and function.
earthworms and beneficial microbes such as nitrogen fixing4. Fasterbacteria.uptake of nutrients resulting in quick response especially when nutrient deficiencies are present. This could be due to low nutrient levels in the soil or conditions such as low pH that pre vents nutrient availability.
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With all of the complexities and busyness that come with calving, you want to be as prepared as you can, as soon as you can. Your local Technical Sales Rep and store team are there for you to bounce ideas off and to provide seasonal tips, calf rearing insights and to make sure you’ve got the right mix of products in time for the months ahead. We’ve also locked in pricing between now and the end of October on a wide range of products, from metabolics to feeding supplies. Visit for more info or to shop online
nzfarmsource.co.nz/calving
REAR THEM WITH CERTAINTY
