Rural News 6 March 2012

nait registration What’s involved? Rural News editor Andrew Swallow finds out. page 34

keeping it simple Why it’s hard to resist Kawasaki’s Brute Force. page 45

Rural NEWS

Organics A trans-Atlantic pact has lessons for NZ, says OANZ’s Derek Broadmore.

page 18

to all farmers, for all farmers

march 6, 2012: Issue 510

www.ruralnews.co.nz

Enviro Report Act planned pam t i pa

NEW ZEALAND’s lack of an Environmental Reporting Act is an anomally and it needs to be sorted, Environment Minister Nick Smith told last week’s Landcare in Action conference in Hamilton last week.

Outlining four legislative priorities, Smith said we’re the only OECD nation without a statutory system of environmental reporting.

“This is significantly out of step with the importance New Zealanders put on the environment which is crucial to our industries and quality of life…

“I intend establishing a five yearly report that, for instance, rates New Zealand’s rivers from the cleanest to the dirtiest.”

This would record those which were improving or deteriorating to focus authorities on how they were looking after the resource.

To ensure independence and integrity reports would be done by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

Smith also intends establishing a “brains trust” or policy unit within the Ministry, with the Environmental Protection Agency the independent regulator and an Environmental Commission as auditor.

The next priority is improving

Exports safe – MFAT pete r burk e

AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS won’t be hit by impending staff cuts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), says Ministry chief executive John Allen.

Speaking to Rural News after industry bodies said they are keeping a close eye on the implications (see p6), Allen sought to reassure.

“We are continuing to resource our trade effort but we’ve said there are different ways that we can manage our representation. In Europe we believe for example that it’s possible to ‘hub’ more of our activity out of Berlin and Brussels rather than out of every single capital in Europe.”

Trade and economic growth continue to be a priority for government, and MFAT, he stresses.

In Asia, there is a ‘New Zealand Inc’ strategy, developed with all major primary producer organisations and other government departments such as MAF and NZTE. The strategy takes account of the total resource needed in a given

country –not just the diplomatic representation.

“For example, in India or some other post, it may be better to have extra MAF, NZTE or Customs staff to deal with issues. Or it may need more diplomatic representation which we would do.

“So what we are trying to do is rather than seeing it through a single organisa-

tional lens in those important markets we need to see it through an integrated strategy lens. The changes are all about giving us the flexibility to move resources for the benefit of NZ Inc.” This approach will ensure the right staff are in key diplomatic posts to deal with any ‘technical’ or trade issues which may arise – a concern raised

by some producer groups. “We absolutely understand the importance of particular markets to them. We also understand the need for flexibility and we want to be able to move resource around against business opportunity.

That’s what Fonterra and others want and that’s what this change process is designed to deliver.”

More: page 6

hard harvest Mark Scott reels in Italian ryegrass on a rare sunny day near Timaru last week.

Full story page 5.

to page 3

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

news 3

Strategy outlined

issue 510

www.ruralnews.co.nz

SU DESH KISSU N

Contacts ��������������������������� 8 News ������������������������������ 1-16 World ������������������������� 18-19 Agribusiness ����������� 20-21 Markets �������������������� 22-23 Hound, Edna ������������������� 24 Opinion ����������������������� 24-27 Management ����������� 32-37 Animal Health �������� 38-44 Machinery and Products ������������������ 45-52 vintage ���������������������������� 53 Rural Trader ���������������� 55

Head Office Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622

FONTERRA FARMERS will this week find out how TAF (trading among farmers) fits into the co-op’s new business strategy.

With questions on TAF still lingering, co-op chairman Henry van der Heyden and chief executive Theo Spierings are fronting up to shareholders in New Plymouth, Christchurch and Hamilton, the latter meeting on Thursday going live on Sky TV. Van der Heyden told Rural News Spierings will present a “strategy refresh” to shareholders.

“He will outline opportunities for Fonterra going forward and how TAF fits into that strategy... Farmers are asking where TAF fits into the overall strategy [and] it’s a fair question.”

Van der Heyden admits some farmers are “nervous” about TAF but he believes the strategy refresh will allay concerns. He says the co-op is listening.

Last week van der Heyden announced that Option 2, a Farmer Trust Custodian to hold legal title for shares placed in the shareholders fund, would be the one progressed.

No second vote veto A SECOND vote on TAF (trading among farmers) is not being ruled out by Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden.

However, another vote will only be held if the due diligence committee on TAF proposes major changes to the five preconditions voted by farmers two years ago, he says. That due diligence process is underway.

“Right now I don’t see the need for a second vote,” he told Rural News. “But if something comes out of the due diligence process and it is different to what farmers voted on,

The custodian will be owned by a trust controlled directly by farmer shareholders, but South Canterbury farmer and TAF critic, Leonie Guiney is not convinced that control is secure.

Because title is not held by the farmer, and the share’s asset value is transferred to the unit trust, though title remains with the custodian, under the Companies Act asset and investor rights

flow through to those unit holders, “the very issue we have raised all along,” says Guiney.

“Not only that, but since the MAF papers show that if Fonterra does not provide a structure that gives the investors their rights, the government will legislate to ensure they have those rights. It’s quite incredible [Fonterra] can keep boxing on like this.”

AFFCO SAYS livestock processing is continuing normally at its eight sites despite ongoing industrial action by workers.

The meat processor says it is determined to move industrial relations in the meat industry forward from the “archaic agreements dating back 40 years”.

Affco chief executive Hamish Simson says the Meat Workers Union is refusing to bring workplace agreements up to date.

Last week, the company issued an indefinite lockout of 776 workers throughout the country after it met union resistance to new provisions in its collective agreement around pay and working conditions.

The union reacted by calling a general strike and blamed Affco’s owner, Talleys Group, for the impasse.

But Simson says the strike has nothing to do with Talleys.

“It’s an issue within Affco that we need to fix if it is to meet the challenges of shrinking livestock supply.”

Smith unveils priorities at conference

Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122

from page 1

management of fresh water. Few realise how much our export earnings and energy industries depend on that fresh water system, he said, pointing out Government has committed more than $300million on cleaning up fresh water resources.

“There is increasing competition for water both in quantities and quality.” Farmers, electritcity generators, iwi, recreationalists were among those who wanted “a piece of the pie”.

“While our quality is good by international standards, we are seeing areas of deterioration particularly in low level catchments. One-third of our lakes and a fifth of our rivers have problems.”

Postal Address PO Box 3855, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140 Published by: Rural News Group Printed by: PMP Print Contacts Editorial: editor@ruralnews.co.nz Advertising material: davef@ruralnews.co.nz Rural News online: www.ruralnews.co.nz Subscriptions: fionas@ruralnews.co.nz ABC audited circulation 80,879 as at 31.12.2011

Clean Green report release A Government commissioned report on how primary producers can leverage off our clean, green image was to be released Saturday, Smith told the conference.

We should be aware of environmental sustainability’s potential in the market but be careful of not “overcooking the books” in terms of importance to our consumers.

“The truth is for our consumers, product price and food safety consistently rank ahead of environmental sustainability.”

There is increased pressure for drinking water during droughts and projections of dryer periods with climate change.

“The resource management framework is not working as efficiently as it

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the board and the council (Fonterra Shareholders Council) can decide on a second vote.”

The due diligence committee’s report will be presented to the board and the Fonterra Shareholders Council by June.

Federated Farmers Dairy is backing calls for another vote.

Last month a letter from Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Willy Leferink to van der Heyden expressing TAF concerns was leaked to the media. Van der Heyden says he found the leak appalling, as did Leferink.

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should - hard decisions around water management are not being made when they need to be.”

The current system imposes unnecessary costs; there is inefficient use of fresh water; and the time it takes to get

through litigation to get development projects underway is also inefficient.

Smith said it was clear that both central and local government had not made full use of the tools that had been available under the RMA. National policy statements and national standards are needed to beef up central policy direction. About half of NZ’s water catchments have limits set for water quantity but only a very small number have limits set on the level of contaminants.

Government has made some progress with funds for a national policy statement on fresh water, clean up funds for councils with historical problems, and an irrigation fund to make more efficient use of water.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

4 news

Fonterra farmers target Westland, Tatua SUD ES H KISSUN

FONTERRA FARMERS want raw milk supply to rivals Westland and Tatua stopped next year.

While Fonterra farmers are willing to supply raw milk under the Dairy Industry Regulations Act (DIRA) for another four years to other independent processors, they oppose continuing supply to the two small co-operatives.

In a submission on MAF’s proposed changes to DIRA, Fonterra Shareholders Council says Tatua and Westland should not be offered regulated milk beyond May 2013. It points out Tatua and Westland compete directly with Fonterra for raw milk supply and have been in existence for 98 and 75 years respectively.

“By any definition they have never been a ‘new entrant’, and their access to regulated milk is not consistent with the intent of regulation to provide an

entrance pathway for start up processors,” says the council.

It also points out that when Fonterra was formed, both Tatua and Westland received “a capital payment” from the

Tatua has told MAF restricting access to regulated milk on the basis of own supply rather than the presence or absence of a viable competitive milk market will be baseless and counterproductive.

The Shareholders Council welcomes this and suggests Fonterra farmers will accept milk supply to established processors to be phased down over four years. former NZ Dairy Board as compensation for establishing their own markets, therefore no further compensation is necessary.

The council notes that Tatua is a closed cooperative and has chosen to use regulated milk instead of seeking new supply. “Once again, this is inconsistent with the intent of the regulations to provide competition at the farm gate.”

It accepts that access to DIRA milk was never intended to be available in perpetuity. “We fully endorse this view and would... support the withdrawal of DIRA milk once a workable wholesale milk market was established...

We remain a long way from reaching that point and... must continue to rely on the pro competitive policies provided by the DIRA and Raw Milk Regulations.”

Westland agrees that limiting access to regulated milk to three seasons will be an incentive for independent processors to develop a sustainable business model.

However, it says the restriction should apply to all food producers and not just those sourcing milk directly from farmers.

MAF is proposing to remove DIRA milk from established processors in three years.

The Shareholders Council welcomes this and suggests Fonterra farmers will accept milk supply to established processors to be phased down over four years.

It proposes the 150 million litres entitled to each processor (at 50mL /year) be phased over a four year period ending in May 2016. It suggests an implementation model: 201213 season 50m L, 2013-14 season 45m L, 2014-15 season 35m L, 2015-16 season 20m L.

800 DIRA submissions received MAF HAS received over 800 submissions on proposed changes to dairy industry regulations.

Submissions were received from processors, farmers, Consumer New Zealand and food companies.

MAF officials are analysing submissions and once complete, advice will be provided to the Minister for Primary Industries, David Carter. The changes include reviews of Fonterra’s farm gate milk price setting, the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) raw milk regulations and the regulatory regime to accompany Fonterra’s

capital restructuring.

MAF says among submitters there is support for the three-year rule on ending regulated milk supply to established processors.

But many submitters preferred a sliding scale; that is, independent processors would receive, for example, 50m litres in their first year, then 40m L in their second, and 30m L in their final year of accessing regulated milk.

There was an overwhelming view established processors should not continue to have access to 50m L

for the next three years but should be either cut off immediately, or weaned off over the next three years, their entitlement reducing by a third each year beginning with the 2012-13 season.

The majority of submissions were concerned about the potential for shell companies or “virtual processors” to be set up, enabling independent processors to continue taking regulated milk beyond their three years or accessing more than their allocated 50 million L each season.

WILSON

Effluent Expo secures future SU DESH KI SSUN

STRONG INTEREST from farmers and exhibitors has confirmed another Effluent Expo at Mystery Creek, Hamilton next year.

Last week’s event, the second such annual expo, attracted 500 farmers and 40 exhibitors. Organiser and Waikato Regional Council agriculture adviser Kate Ody says the single theme format is an effective way of getting

exhibitors, she points out.

It also featured a range of seminars from industry experts on effluent issues.

AgResearch senior scientist David Houlbrooke told one seminar he had calculated the nutrient value of farm dairy effluent as $1.80/ cu m.

“Many thousands” of dollars-worth of nutrients were available for spreading on farms for promoting pasture growth.

ward, who says in light of increased community and iwi concern about direct effluent discharges to waterways, council is encouraging alternative disposal methods and only giving direct discharge consents under strict conditions.

“Land application does not require a consent as long as farmers follow our permitted activity rules,” she points out.

DairyNZ project

“The Effluent Expo allows the industry to focus on tackling effluent-related issues...

There is so much going on and it’s easy for farmers to get distracted.” messages across.

“The Effluent Expo allows the industry to focus on tackling effluent-related issues...

There is so much going on and it’s easy for farmers to get distracted,” she told Rural News.

While the dairy industry is the major focus, all livestock farmers are under pressure to protect water quality and last week’s expo included pork industry

But it’s important to manage effluent applications so the nutrients stay in the root zone, he stressed. Systems - including storage capacity – capable of delivering the right amount of nutrients at the right time are crucial. Soil type is a key factor.

Another seminar heard from WRC’s on-farm programme manager Natasha Hay-

manager for effluent services, Theresa Wilson, says many farmers attended to get advice on upgrading effluent systems and constructing effluent ponds.

“Being able to put farmers in touch with the four newly accredited effluent system design companies was a big plus, and our farmer guides to effluent pond design and construction were in hot demand.”

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

news 5

Weather wrecks ryegrass hopes e r ena m ccaw

Wheat worries mount

CANTERBURY ARABLE farmers’ hopes for a record ryegrass harvest have been dashed by prolonged inclement weather.

Many have had crops lying in swaths for over a month with seed beaten out by heavy rains and in some cases, hail.

Late last week long-range forecasts held little hope of reprieve with rain, dull days and low temperatures the order of the day to at least mid-March.

Federated Farmers Herbage Seed section chairman, Hugh Wigley, says he averaged just two days’ harvesting per week in February on his farm near Waimate, South Canterbury.

“It’s the same with everyone I talk to. It’s just unheard of to be still trying to do large areas of ryegrass at the end of February.”

The problem’s been exacerbated by late-flowering European cultivars grown for re-multiplication and “quick turnaround” for Northern Hemisphere use.

“It’s not helping the industry as whole.”

Nick Tayler, who crops 600ha north of Timaru, expects yield losses of 30-40% in the 50ha of ryegrass he still has to harvest.

“Fortunately we’ve already done 120ha. Early crops yielded well but we’re taking heavy losses in later-maturing European varieties, some of which

Wigley says besides having threequarters of his ryegrass still to take, his wheat is ready and he fears Hagberg falling numbers will be wrecked and it will start to sprout.

Many growers are taking wheat at 20% moisture despite the added drying cost, and any more rain could make harvesting particularly tricky for those on rolling country, he adds.

“Ground conditions are already soft. More rain will result in severe travel issues.”

South Canterbury United Wheat Grower representative, Colin Hurst, says local wheats are yielding well, at 10-12t/ha, but hail has robbed some of up to 3t/ha of their potential.

However, Farmers Mutual Group

had to be undercut. Over-all it’s a very average grass-seed harvest.”

Valetta farmer, David Clark, says mid Canterbury ryegrass crops looked magnificent in January but those harvested before the season turned sour still failed to deliver the promised bounty.

Cloudy, wet weather when crops were pollinating could account for the poor seed-set, empty glumes and resultant high dressing losses, he says.

Germination and seed loss are of concern in crops yet to be harvested.

While seed-extraction is difficult in wet crops, having to leave windrows for a long time to dry out results in losses from seed shatter.

After weeks of weathering, ryegrass straw - typically baled behind the combine harvester for sale to livestock farmers - is more suited to burning than baling, he adds.

Cropmark Seeds Ltd sales manager, Brent Stirling, says the late grass harvest is impacting on New Zealand’s ability to supply autumn markets such as Austra-

lia. “Companies which can’t supply seed within the next few weeks could miss out on a complete year’s sales,” he says.

“Some have sufficient stock to get them into the season but most topperforming novel-endophyte varieties sold out at the end of last year. Unfortunately these tend to be late-flowering perennials which this year, are still on the ground or only half-harvested.

Pastoral farmers could find domestic supply short this year.”

Stirling says early-sown annu-

representative, Mike Woods, says as of last week only seven claims for hail-damaged wheat had been received. “The picture is still limited but there doesn’t seem to have been widespread damage.”

Tayler’s dryland wheat yielded more than 10t/ha and he hopes for 12t/ha from his irrigated crops.

In Mid Canterbury Clark says wheat crops were showing little sign of deterioration last week, but continued poor weather could be a “game-changer”.

“Hopefully wheat will hold its quality, buyers and growers will deal with each other in good faith and there will be no undue rejection of contracted wheat.”

als yielded well and should be in good supply. Seed quality is good.

Some seed companies increased production area this autumn and may revise the acreage again in light of low yields this harvest, he says.

Stirling says harvest delays will impact on growers’ ability to drill new crops on time. Wet conditions would favour slug populations which in turn would adversely affect crop establishment. “We desperately need 10 days of good nor’west weather,” he says.

North Island progress not much better DIFFICULT HARVEST conditions mean the Manawatu/Rangitikei cereal and maize situation is “not pretty”, says Rangitikei farmer and Federated Farmers Grain vice-chair, Hew Dalrymple.

Yields are well down with the many unharvested crops dangerously close to sprouting, even before the weekend’s weather bomb.

“Because of a poor spring there was a massive range of planting dates and now, a massive range of yields. A few individual crops have yielded well but the average is poor.

“The best winter wheat yields I’ve heard to date are only seven to eight tonnes per hectare. Some cereal crops have yet to mature and should still be of reasonable quality but yield will be down.”

The on-going cycle of short dry spells followed by longer periods of rain, dull weather, cool nights and heavy dews has forced growers to harvest unfit grain which must then be dried at considerable cost.

Late sowing meant that in December - the month of maximum sunshine and

heat - maize plants had insufficient leaf cover to absorb the heat units required to ensure high yields. Persistent cold, overcast conditions further reduced yield, says Dalrymple.

The difficult harvest will likely dissuade mixed stock/crop farmers from sowing the same crop area next year but to concentrate on their stock operations instead, he suggests.

“I’m picking that more grain will have to be imported into the region this winter to satisfy local markets. Big users such as Tegal and Inghams already draw

most of their feed wheat requirements from Australia. This harvest and the possible swing away from cropping will not help that situation.”

Local demand for silage and grain supplements for live- Hew Dalrymple stock are depressed because of an abundance of summer pasture growth but Dalrymple believes longer term there’s potential for New Zealand cereal grow-

ers to increase sales to the local dairy industry.

South Island dairy farmers already use significant tonnages of domestic grain and North Islanders are “slowly but steadily” moving the same way, he notes.

In 2011 a group of North Island dairy farmers purchased a parcel of 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of feed grain through the international grain trader, Viterra.

Dalrymple says New Zealand’s arable industry needs to be better organised if it is to supply such large grain parcels.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

6 news

Sector bodies watching MFAT cuts p eter bu r ke

PROPOSED STAFF cuts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are being closely watched by the meat and dairy sectors.

Both industry bodies told Rural News they are hoping that common sense will prevail and that none of the 300 jobs to be cut will be made in overseas posts or in areas within MFAT which could affect the ability to maintain and grow key markets.

Simon Tucker, a former MFAT diplomat and now executive director of

the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) says he’s confident that the changes will not impact on MFAT’s trade policy capacity.

“Obviously trade agreements and better access for dairy products is a fundamental priority for us. The Ministry does outstanding work for us in this area,” he says.

Tucker notes this is the first really big change to the “New Zealand diplomatic model” and some questions have to be asked in this process, and answered, questions like: why are so many diplomatic posts in Europe when New Zea-

land’s trade is dominated by the Middle East and Asia?

Chairman of Beef &Lamb New Zealand, Mike Petersen, says he wants to know the extent and nature of the cutbacks before passing any final judgment on MFAT’s decisions.

“I think there’s one thing that’s quite unique to the meat industry in that we sell high value cuts and so we still need access to the affluent markets of the world. We still need Europe and we need the USA, and Japan.”

Petersen says BLNZ and the exporters have worked very closely with MFAT

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have with many countries.”

But while the ag sector is focusing on representation on the ground, other experts who know MFAT well say there is real risk with the cutbacks that good staff will be lost and the capability within the Ministry to handle trade negotiations eroded.

They point to moves to develop “specialists” within MFAT which could mean that there will not be people in every overseas post capable of dealing with immediate problems. The hotline to Wellington may get more use than in the past, it seems.

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to deal with a variety of issues in markets, such as labeling of meat and other non tariff matters.

Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie agrees with Petersen and says it is important to have MFAT staff in overseas posts to deal with “technical” issues which arise from time to time.

Ritchie says MIA is keeping a watching brief on the situation and will be interested to see which embassies close or are downgraded. “MFAT has played a big role in the growth of the meat industry and in the trading relations that we

©

THE GAP left in Beef&Lamb New Zealand’s board by Silver Fern Farms’ chief executive Keith Cooper’s resignation shouldn’t be a problem to fill, says BLNZ chairman Mike Petersen.

“We have talked about who might replace him and see no difficulty,” Petersen told Rural News.

“The Meat Industry Association (MIA) view the appointment as an important one and they generally welcome the opportunity to have input into BLNZ’s activities. I have no doubt that we’ll get a good replacement.”

Petersen says the process is for MIA to nominate a person which has to be approved by BLNZ. But he says he’s never seen a nomination turned down.

The appointment would take effect from the first board meeting of BLNZ – scheduled for May, after BLNZ’s March 24 AGM. Voting is underway for farmer directors from two BLNZ regions – the northern North Island and northern South Island. In the North Island incumbent James Parsons is being challenged by Kevin Robinson and Robert MacNab and in the south, the sitting director, Andy Fox is being challenged by Jeremy Rookes and Phil Smith.

Voting is by postal ballot or online and closes Thursday (March 8).

Cooper’s term as the meat industry representative on the board was due to expire in May.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

news 7

EDS moves on stock in streams P E T ER BURK E

THE PUBLIC, and fellow farmers, are quick to complain if stock, particularly dairy cows, stray into streams and waterways. But it seems many regional councils can do little about the problem.

The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) is considering going to the Environment Court to get a clear answer on what powers regional councils have to force farmers to fence streams under the provisions of the RMA.

ity’ as a result of a specific activity, we can take enforcement action under section 17. But when we are in these ‘grey’ areas it’s quite hard and the threshold is high,” he says.

The Southland Regional Council has a rule that limits the grazing of stock within 3m of a lake, river, stream or artificial watercourse when intensive winter grazing is being undertaken. This rule also applies to “significant wetlands”.

Environment Canterbury is moving to intro-

The difficult question remains as to how far up a catchment fencing rules might apply and whether it would just apply to intensively grazed parts of a farm or the entire farm.

But it seems EDS could probably save themselves the expense of a court case: the Ministry for the Environment told Rural News councils do have the power to make farmers fence streams under the RMA, but most simply haven’t incorporated this into their regional plans.

If these provisions aren’t already in regional plans it can take years for them to do so.

This is seen by local government as one of the weaknesses of the RMA because it does not allow them to respond to emerging issues in a timely manner.

The Northland Regional Council, which has been criticised for not taking action about cows getting in waterways, says it’s planning to begin reviewing its regional plan in June. Riaan Elliot says the present regulatory framework for dealing with such matters is very limited.

“Under the present rules any sort of enforcement action or trying to get farmers to fence their streams would be problematic. However, if it’s shown to be a ‘significant degradation of water qual-

duce additional and more stringent rules to keep stock out of waterways from June. The council’s director of resource management, Kim Drummond, says the new rules mean that intensively farmed stock or any stock grazed on irrigated land will be prohibited from entering natural waterways.

“There is a real focus in Canterbury of excluding stock from natural waterways in order to improve water quality,” he says.

The latest kerfuffle has prompted DairyNZ to issue a statement saying dairy farmers “are on board” in regards to riparian management. Dr Rick Pridmore says the industry has made it clear that it wants to see streams fenced.

“The public does not draw the distinction between beef stock and dairy cows grazed off the home farm. The reality is that when the public see cattle in a river or on an unfenced river bank, dairy farmers cop the flak from that,” he says.

If regional councils were to change their rules about fencing streams, they would likely get sup-

port from the dairy industry. Fonterra for example has given its farmers until next June to have their waterways fenced.

The difficult question

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

8 news

Transpower settles with pylon protestor - for now andr ew swa l low

AFTER SIX years of negotiations, lock-outs and threats of legal action, national grid operator Transpower has settled with one of the last South Canterbury farmers holding out for compensation

for upgrade work on lines crossing his crops.

“It’s taken some fresh faces and fresh ideas to come up with an amicable agreement but they’ve finally recognised even upgrade work can be quite disruptive to some operations,” Jeremy Talbot told

Rural News.

While Talbot wouldn’t reveal the detail of the deal struck, he says it’s a one-off compensation payment “along the same lines as the Otago one,” covering disruption to his family’s farm business while concrete foot-

ings of four pylons on the Roxburgh – Islington are strengthened.

The footing work follows a doubling of the line’s capacity, or “duplexing”, in 2008.

“For the time and effort I’ve put into this and all the meetings, the payment

is probably less than $5/ hour, but the principle has been established,” Talbot says.

“I just hope now, in light of the annual rental mentioned in the 1953 document, they see fit to play fair on that too, and not take another six years to

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sort that out, like it has this time.

“Until rentals and easements are established there is no way Government can even consider selling national infrastructure like this,” he adds.

“Two-thirds of the pylons in New Zealand have neither.”

Transpower says it won’t reveal the detail of individual deals however acknowledges a standard compensation package was agreed further south on the Roxburgh-Islington line.

“This one is in line with the rest of the landowners on that particular project,” spokeswoman Rebecca Wilson told Rural News.

However, the answer to Talbot’s continued calls for an annual rental remains no.

“There are no plans to offer rentals,” says Wilson.

It appears Talbot isn’t the last man standing on this issue in South Canterbury, as Wilson says there’s still “maintenance” to be undertaken “so our discussions with landowners will continue.”

As for what steps Transpower is taking to arrange easements and access terms elsewhere to prevent similar standoffs, Wilson says the grid operator has ongoing relationships with “its landowners” and some issues take longer to resolve than others.

Access attempt alert SOME BRANCHES of Federated Farmers are concerned grid operator Transpower is pursuing an alternative policy to negotiating access and easements on land near powerlines by getting rights written into council district plans.

An attempt to do that in South Canterbury’s Waimate District was thwarted in 2010 and last month Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers president John Scrimgeour warned of a similar move in Western Bay of Plenty District.

Such “Electricity Transmission Buffer Zones” which would limit farming operations 32m either side of the lines, are “solely designed to protect transmission line companies’ interests and circumnavigate individual easement agreements with landowners,” says Scrimgeour.

“Federated Farmers feels the width of the zones is excessive, as is the level of proposed regulation around them.”

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

news 9

One Plan bill continues to build p eter bu r k e

There is concern in the rural sector about the decision of Horizons Regional Council to essentially oppose some parts of its One Plan as finally produced by the Commissioners who heard all the evidence.

Two of the Commissioners, one a retired Environment Court judge, the other a highly respected planner, along with three HRC councillors made the final decisions in late 2010.

Federated Farmers, Fonterra and Horticulture New Zealand say they have no choice but to be involved in Environment Court hearings on some aspects of the One Plan because of appeals by opponents of the Plan as decided on by the Commissioners. Those appellants include Fish and Game, the Department of Conservation and Horizons itself.

Federated Farmers has set up a special ‘fighting fund’ to fight appeals through the Environment Court to effectively defend the document produced by the Commissioners. Feds says members could, at a pinch, have lived with the final document but say some of the opposing groups want the original notified version of plan that was thrown out by the Commissioners or amendments to it that the Commissioners did not accept.

This action by HRC, which has spent large sums hiring the independent commissioners, has been kindly described by some parties as ‘interesting’ and by others as bizarre. They point to a recent Environment Court case in Queenstown where the judge said public confidence in the council was ‘better maintained if it supported its earlier decision’.

Correction Contrary to Rural News’ report Feb 21, Horizons Regional Council says chairman Bruce Gordon was not on the bus when Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Willy Leferink commented about the region being the most regulated in the country. Gordon boarded the bus at its next stop.

Horizon’s chief executive Michael McCartney (inset) says it’s now for the court to decide on One Plan.

Some people are also concerned that one of the commissioners (an HRC Councillor) who adjudicated on the final plan, was on the council committee which decided the revised position on parts of its own plan.

But Council CEO Michael McCartney has defended this move saying ‘her presence on the committee was designed to ‘give consistency to council decisions’.

Despite these criticisms HRC is not backing down and is defending its decision to revise some parts of its own plan

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through the appeal process. According to McCartney, about 75% of concerns about the final plan have been resolved through the mediation process.

“The council position was that through mediation, it would support the ‘intent’ of those original decisions however there is more than one party arguing the issues. Once the mediation process is over and you can’t get consensus the parties call their expert witnesses to present their evidence to the Court which is where we are at now,” he says.

McCartney claims it is not uncommon that expert witnesses are at odds with the findings of commissioners which open the door for decisions to go to a costly Environment Court hearing.

He’s also defended the move to allow a current staff member to present evidence on behalf of HRC, despite the fact that the same individual prepared the submission on behalf of Fish and Game in 2007 on the One Plan.

McCartney says he has complete faith in the individual and that New Zealand is a small place where people have multiple careers.

“We are not anti-farming, we are not playing into anyone’s hands. We went into mediation with all the best intentions to reach agreement on different ends of the spectrum. We haven’t reached agreement on all matters so now it’s for the court to decide. In the mediation process we are just one of the parties,” says McCartney.

HRC says the One Plan is tracking to cost about $10 million. Some say that figure is conservative and that when the time and legal bills of all the parties are added up, the true cost could be in the order of $15million.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

10 news

Young Farmers’ rebuild going well BA RBA RA GILLH A M

SIX YEARS ago New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) as an organisation was in dire straits. But a merger with the flagship event, the National Bank Young Farmer Contest, in 2006, and a concerted effort to boost membership nationwide since, has turned the organisation around.

Today there are more than 1400 full members and about 100 clubs nationwide.

While “The Contest” is an event that attracts great interest each year and lifts NZYF’s profile, the organisation offers many more and less publicised events and activities, says Nicola Henderson, communications co-ordinator for NZYF. Prior to 2006 membership numbers had been steadily declining, but today that is very definitely not the case.

“We have many events now that are attracting great support, such as AgrikidsNZ for the 8-13 year olds which has 1200 members nationwide, and TeenAg which began in 2011 and already has about

380 members and about 20 school clubs nationwide; it’s numbers are just growing and growing.

“Something else we are now running is the Get Ahead Careers Programme which we’re contracted to run alongside DairyNZ and Beef&Lamb New Zealand. The programme started in 2011 and through Career Experience Days and the Field Mentor programme we have helped educate nearly 850 students from over 60 schools on the exciting and varied career opportunities in agriculture.”

Other programmes include the Rural Business Network which provides the opportunity for rural-based people in business on or off the farm to come together to grow their businesses through networking, education and learning with others in similar businesses to themselves. This programme is being piloted in the lower North Island and is to date attracting great interest.

National chairman Paul Olsen says the publicity around The Contest was significant

Latest Grand Finalist: South Canterbury sheep and beef farmer Andrew Scott, Cave, won the Aorangi regional final of the National Bank Young Farmer Contest last month to take the third of eight places available in May’s Grand Final in Dunedin. Pete Gardyne, Gore and Michael Lilley, Tasman, are the others already through.

in the turnaround in membership numbers, but says it’s thanks to these other initiatives and

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a lot of industry backing which has really helped NZYF gain some major momentum.

Returning to the family farm near Palmerston North after studying farm management at Lincoln University, he sought out the local club.

“You could count the members on one hand

but I thought it could be a good social network.

There were no real social things happening in the local rural community and you want something happening so you actually have time away from the farm.

“Every club has its own culture, its own activities.

We’ve got fencing which is

run on a regional basis and the winner goes through to the National competition; stock judging; photography competitions.

Debating is quite strong throughout some regions and then you’ve got your small bore and clay bird shooting.

“There are lots of hunting competitions and

prizes regionally. I think it’s just getting back to basics really, all that rural sort of stuff that used to be quite common I guess.

“NZYF did die off very much a few years ago but there is a pretty strong driving force there now from the staff and the members throughout the country.”

Tasman another Young Farmer club returning The growing interest in Young Farmers is reflected in the Tasman region, where a local club was formed last September by now club chairman Julie Webb-Brownlee and her friend Georgina Langford.

After growing up on her grandparent’s farm at Havelock, Julie moved to the region where she now milks sheep and does stock work on a local farm.

Just 19, Julie could see the benefits local club could offer and with Georgina they approached the NZYF head office who helped them get started.

“My friend Georgina and I thought ‘okay, we are going to do this and we have had a lot of support’.

“It’s been really great. I think the previous club stopped because no one was interested but since we started this in September interest is growing and we now have 12 members and people seem really happy it is up and running.

“At the moment we’re attending agricultural event days and doing volunteering and things like that, just trying to get our names out there. We haven’t got any big events planned; we really are just doing things within the club; but it’s a lot of fun. We have talked about holding a young farmers’ ball but Julie Webb-Brownlee and Georgina Langford. that’s still in discussion.”

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

12 news

Blogging off our lamb P E T ER BURK E

AN ATTEMPT to connect consumers of our lamb in Germany has seen two New Zealand farmers, one of whom is Ashley Cole, establish blogs on Beef &Lamb NZ’s (BLNZ) German website.

Cole and her husband run 5500 breeding ewes and 200 steers in the central North Island. It’s seriously steep country but the pair have used the latest research available to improve the profitability of their operation.

Now Cole, who’s been active in BLNZ’s farmer council, has taken on a role of helping to promote New Zealand lamb in the discerning and high priced German market.

Germans are known to look for information on the web and BLNZ has a specific site for the European powerhouse with a range of information about our lamb.

But the levy-body decided to go one step further and called for farmers to volunteer to become regular bloggers on the site to establish a strong relationship with consumers, based on the marketing adage “before you make a sale, you have to develop a relationship”.

Cole volunteered and sent in a copy of what her blog might look like and was immediately accepted. “I try to pick a theme that’s topical like shearing or something that’s happening at a particular time of the year. Something that’s simple and not hard to explain and something that can come with lots of nice pictures. The last one I did was on docking but I’m due to do another one shortly.”

She does a new blog about every four months and says her objective is to try and personalise the product on the supermarket shelves, enhancing its popularity.

“What I’m trying to put across in my blog is how we farmers care deeply about the product we produce. Right from the rams that we choose to the daily tasks we undertake with our stock to ensure that a good tasting, safe, healthy product is delivered on their table.”

It’s not all one way traffic and she responds to consumers who put posts on the website.

Getting feedback is exciting, she says, and as a result of her blog there’s the possibility at least one online consumer contact will visit their farm to meet face to face sometime this year.

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Central plateau farmer Ashley Cole.

Top cuts security tagged Outside of these times, it’s seen NEW ZEALAND lamb is so expensive and sought after in German as a meat for a family treat at home supermarkets some stores are secu- or at a restaurant.

In supermarkets New Zealand rity tagging it to prevent pilfering.

Nick Beeby, Beef and Lamb New lamb gets a fraction of the shelf Zealand’s manager of emerging mar- space of other meats, consequently, kets, told a recent Taranaki field day and because of limited budget, BLNZ that thanks to meat company positioning of New Zealand lamb as a luxury product, it now gets the same in-store protection as products such as gin and whisky.

“It’s now ranked the highest quality lamb in the market, even higher than domestic lamb. They think New Zealand lamb Neuseeland lamm: so good has a great taste, but it’s a its got security tags. niche meat with per capita consumption less than one kilogram. and meat companies have focused Lamb is predominantly reserved for on point-of-sale promotions such as special occasions such as… Christ- cooking demonstrations and tasting.

“We ask the people who sample mas and Easter.”

the lamb if they would like to take away a recipe brochure and we have a good success rate in giving these away. All the recipes are ‘inspirational’ with good photographs of the dishes to show lamb is a specialoccasion meal.

“The evidence we have shows when they taste the lamb they love the tender, mild taste of it and it prompts them to buy.”

A wide range of cuts are promoted; customers buy different cuts for different occasions.

As well as in store work, BLNZ and meat companies are using social media to promote lamb.

“Because it is such a premium product it’s an item that does get researched. We entice food bloggers in Germany to report on our lamb [by sending] them cuts to try.”

in brief Merino tour takes in 15 farms FIFTEEN NORTH and Mid Canterbury commercial Merino producers open their gates to their peers and judges later this month for Canterbury Merino Association’s third biennial two-tooth ewe flock competition.

First stop is Barcaldine, Waiau, 7.30am, March 22, touring south to finish at Dromore, March 23, before adjourning to Methven resort for prizes and dinner of Silere Alpine origin Merino.

The aim is to promote Canterbury’s commercial Merino flocks through competition, encouraging breeders to advance management skills and knowledge with a view to enhanced productivity and quality.

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BOP BFEA goes to Mamaku MAMAKU FARM owners Jim and Barbara Hitchcock and their sharemilkers, Rhys and Kim Meredith, have been named Supreme Winners of the 2012 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

At a Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA) ceremony on February 21, the Hitchcock and Meredith farming partnership also collected the Ballance Nutrient Management Award and the LIC Dairy Farm Award.

The Hitchcocks own Castlerock Farm, a 190ha dairy unit in the Mamaku Ranges near Rotorua.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

14 news

Grower meeting hijack attempted? bened ict colli ns

ou

tn

ow

Neil Trebilco speaking at the kiwifruit growers’ protest meeting.

THE ORGANISER of a kiwifruit growers’ protest meeting met what appeared to be an orchestrated response to his initiative at Te Puke.

Grower after grower stood up and attacked instigator and fellow orchardist Rob Thode, challenging his mandate to call a meeting, slamming his publicising of the event, lambasting the

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voting process, and alluding to him as a rat.

But despite those opening salvos, and a below expectation attendance of around 200, Thode’s motions raising concerns over PSA-v and Zespri, received support, albeit far from unanimous (see table).

Thode says his aim was to give growers an opportunity to air views outside of the traditional Zespri dominated forums, but it was clear this was a meeting many in the tight-knit kiwifruit industry didn’t want to occur and were keen to derail.

From the start KGI chairman Neil Trebilco ensured the meeting heard more than its fair share from the usual industry suspects.

He urged those present not to vote and repeatedly said the meeting was counterproductive to the industry’s good.

He also defended Government’s $25 million dollars’ funding and

championed the industry’s work with the banks.

Thode told Rural News he believes there was a coordinated attempt

by Zespri and Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated (KGI) to disrupt the meeting.

“Zespri and KGI attempted to hijack the meeting and influence people there but in terms of the vote outcome the people weren’t swayed by what they said.”

Only a couple of growers publicly questioned whether MAF and the government’s response to the PSA outbreak has been sufficient but Thode’s motion for a formal Commission of Inquiry into the PSA outbreak still received 70% support.

Thode says he is now trying to present vote results to Government but has had his request turned down by Prime Minister John Key and has not heard from Primary Industries Minister David Carter.

Ballot results Motion

Votes Yes

Votes No

Abstain

That Kiwifruit Growers demand that the Government acknowledge that Psa-V is a Biosecurity Failure.

92

38

15

That Kiwifruit Growers demand that the Government admit its responsibility for letting Psa-V into New Zealand and provide growers with appropriate compensation.

66

60

19

That Kiwifruit Growers demand that the Government acknowledge that the Psa-V incursion is New Zealand’s biggest ever agricultural disaster and immediately declare this an Adverse Event.

73

52

20

That Kiwifruit Growers demand an immediate Commission of Inquiry into the Psa-V incursion and New Zealand’s biosecurity.

101

29

15

That Kiwifruit Growers find unacceptable; Zespri’s failure to deliver a fair return to growers, Zespri’s huge failures in the Korean and Chinese Markets, and Zespri’s failure to properly manage its licensed varieties.

66

64

15

That Kiwifruit Growers demand that the Government immediately commission a full enquiry into Zespri and the structure of the kiwifruit industry.

59

75

11

The returning officer noted ballot papers were given to attendees on verbal confirmation that they were a kiwifruit grower. There was no verification of this. Some attendees placed more than one ballot paper in the ballot boxes. 145 votes were received

Rural News // march 6, 2012

news 15

Banks need to back growers pam t i pa

BANKS WILL need to support kiwifruit growers through a year to 18 months as they switch to Psa-V resistant varieties of gold kiwifruit, say growers representative Neil Trebilco.

Many orchards growing the gold variety Hort16 which have been devastated by Psa are likely to be grafting a replacement variety this winter – with their first crop from those vines in 2014.

“It won’t make sense for banks to foreclose at this time because the sales of that orchard will be quite low.

If banks are prepared to support them

for a year or 18 months, the likelihood is the growers will able to recover all the equity.”

Trebilco, who is president of New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc (NZKGI), made the comments as kiwifruit growers engage in a consultation period, with meetings around the country, on a three-year Psa recovery plan released by Zespri. It proposes a broad-scale release of a new gold variety, Gold3, over the next three years.

Zespri is offering growers two options for the release of G3.

The first is a commercial proposal where Hort16A growers will be paid

Independent reviewer appointed MAF HAS appointed David Moore, chief executive of Australasian strategic analysts Sapere Research, to conduct an independent review into how Psa entered the country.

The review will look at importation of kiwifruit pollen, plant material, fruit, nursery stock and horticultural equipment. Throughout the review Moore will report to MAF director general Wayne McNee, who says the review comes at the request of the kiwifruit industry body Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc (KVH) and the Minister for Primary Industries.

“The report will be provided to me by the end of April 2012 and its findings will be made public within an appropriate timeframe.”

MAF says it will make no further comment until the review process is completed.

$5000/ha to return their existing Hort16A licence.

The grower can then choose to join a commercial (closed) tender process, whereby the highest bids are successful.

The second option would offer all Hort16A growers a licence if/when they deem the timing to be right to re-graft based on their personal circumstances.

Under this option, Hort16A growers can make a fixed price bid (proposed to be $12,000/ha) for enough Gold3 licence to replace their existing Hort16A plantings.

Under both options a further 400ha of Gold3 are being released to give nonHort16A orchards an opportunity to buy Gold3 licences and diversify their growing portfolio.

Also, under both options, a deferred payment of 80% of the cost is being offered. Growers can repay the money when their orchards begin to produce again.

In addition, ZESPRI is proposing to release up to 200ha of Green14, a newly

commercialised (in 2010) sweet green variety, through a $3000 fixed price allocation.

Trebilco says there’s been a lot of grower uncertainly about what the release mechanism might be for the new G3 variety that’s “caused a lot of discussion”.

He says the “pathway to recovery” consultation “may settle some of that discussion” and options may be modified after grower discussion.

O’Neill new chief BIOSECURITY OPERATIONS specialist Barry O’Neill takes over this week as chief executive of Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH).

He replaces John Burke who was on a one year contract following KVH’s formation in December 2010.

O’Neill has significant biosBarry O’Neill ecurity knowledge from several years in senior management and leadership roles with MAF Biosecurity NZ, in New Zealand and overseas. He led MAF’s response efforts into a number of incursions including Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD) in 1997.

KVH chairman Peter McBride says O’Neill’s background matches the skillset and strategic leadership strengths the KVH Board requires to take the industry forward in the Spa-V environment.

Burke will keep working with KVH as an advocate to the banking and financial sectors towards re-establishing affected orchards.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

16 news

Tripod tanks’ days numbered GOT A tripod fuel tank?

Then best look into replacing it or you might not get it filled in future, fuel companies and farmer representatives say.

Manufacture of tripod fuel tanks stopped in 1996 and all fuel tanks of this type lost their HASNO

certification then due to their unsteady nature.

Fuel companies and authorities since have generally looked the other way on such tanks to give those who bought them around that date a reasonable period of use. But this is starting to change as fuel companies deem the tanks are at the end of

their ‘natural lives’.

Federated Farmers says its members report fuel companies pressuring them to replace the tanks or risk not having them filled.

The company behind fuel providers Northfuels and Southfuels is one making noises about the long-term viability of the

tanks. Sales and marketing manager Greg Cassidy says they have no immediate plans to stop filling these tanks but that point may be coming.

“It is my personal view that there will come a time when ERMA [the Environmental Risk Management Authority] says we can no longer fill

those tanks,” Cassidy told Rural News.

“I don’t want to be in the position where farmers are telling us that we didn’t warn them.”

While Cassidy says thousands of the tripod tanks are probably still in use and at least one or two collapse every year.

It is only a matter of time

before one falls on someone, he believes.

“The vibrations from the truck driving away caused a recently-filled fuel tank to fall down near Christchurch… It was just lucky nobody was on top of it or it didn’t hit the truck,” he notes.

A new 600 litre fuel tank costs $2000- $2500 and even used tanks

around $800.

Federated Farmers Grain and Seed vice-chairman Hew Dalrymple says farmers need to obey the law and should talk to their fuel providers if they have a tank which could pose a problem.

“Farmers are innovative people, I’m sure that this isn’t a problem with just one solution.”

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HELP RURAL communities survive and halt the migration north, says National MP for Rangitikei, Ian McKelvie.

In his maiden speech to Parliament last month the Feilding-based MP said one factor inhibiting rural growth is poor electricity supply limiting new cow sheds and irrigation schemes in some parts of his electorate.

“Rural New Zealand, its towns and its people are very important to our futures and we must endeavour to keep people living throughout our country...

“It is not in the national interest to push our population north, we must encourage people to live in our small rural towns and on our farms.

To do this we must carefully consider the ramifications of Ian McKelvie much of our policy making, as often small changes can improve the lot of those people dramatically.

“I refer particularly to the manner in which telecommunications, electricity, education, health, law and order and transport services are delivered to rural New Zealand.”

Lack of sufficient land use planning is one problem that needs addressing. Another is the hours some children spend on school buses. Two to three hours is not uncommon in his electorate.

He also stressed the need for investment in agricultural science and innovation.

“Agriculture in New Zealand has had a financial battering over the past decade and must be treated carefully or it could still fail us; it needs nurturing, not with cash but with sensible well planned policy...

“I want to make a plea for us not to encourage (through suspect policy) the planting of pine trees on land that can be used for food production – pine trees are difficult to eat. And they’re very difficult to get income out of as well.”

Rural News // march 6, 2012

18 world

Atlantic organics deal prompts plea pam t i pa

AN ORGANICS agreement between the USA and EU is a wake-up call to Government we are missing out on a $US60 billion global industry, says

Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (Oanz).

Chairman Derek Broadmore says funding cuts have left NZ organics treading water despite the potential of an industry which grew globally

by 10-25% per year over a 10-15 year period.

The US-EU agreement signed in February is a “milestone”, opening up those two markets to each other in ways that have not been seen before,

he says.

“They have been able to export to each other – but it has been quite complex.

Now they have mutually recognised their organic standards, it’s a whole lot simpler. It’s a big encour-

agement for their producers to find new markets.”

Broadmore says New Zealand is negotiating with the US over an “equivalence agreement” which is similar, but it is being pushed by

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Derek Broadmore

the Organic Producers Export Group, not Government.

“It’s a very slow process and doesn’t have a great deal of priority from the Government. Those are the sort of agreements which make trade in organics easier across the world.

“I think the Government should show leadership in having a clear policy on growing the organic sector. At the moment it simply allows the sector to exist.”

Broadmore says two forms of funding have been cut – for an organic advisory programme to assist farmers to convert to organics, and funding for Oanz itself, which is an umbrella group for 13 organisations.

“We’re now a completely voluntary organisation. As chairman I am trying to keep it ticking over [but]we can’t employ any staff; we’re hamstrung without any resources.

“We can’t do lobbying or networking with other organisations like Federated Farmers or

Meat and Wool NZ. All of those bodies we had relationships with which we haven’t been able to continue.”

Organics is growing in the wine industry, but across the primary sector it is “marking time”.

Broadmore admits organics growth has slowed globally since the global financial crisis (GFC), but still has “enormous potential”.

Figures from 2009 – the latest available and which Oanz would like to update but doesn’t have funds to do so – showed organic exports were worth $170 million – up from $32 million a decade previously. The domestic market was worth $315m.

“Estimates are New Zealand can feed about 20-25 million people – when you think there’s 6-7 billion people in the world we want to be targeting, in terms of income, the top 20-25 million.

“We should be out there promoting the best and most sustainable food to those high income people.”

in brief monsanto case dismissed MONSANTO SAYS a lawsuit brought against it by The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and others has been officially dismissed by the US District Court for Southern New York.

OSGATA and plaintiffs said they feared a patent-infringement lawsuit in the event the company’s traits happened to enter their crops inadvertently, for example, by cross-pollination.

Monsanto says the court rejected the lawsuit as OSGATA and the plaintiffs had engaged in a “transparent effort to create a controversy where none exists”.

The Court also held that there was no “case or controversy” on the matter as Monsanto had not taken any action or even suggested to take any action against any of the plaintiffs.

Market Data Every Week Check out the latest market data at www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/markets

Rural News // march 6, 2012

world 19 Aussie food report slammed by farmers

US red meat exports break all records A L A N H ARM A N

THE UNITED States’ red meat juggernaut is on a roll, setting export records for pork, beef and lamb in volume and value in 2011.

Latest data from the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) shows their combined value topped NZ$13.9 billion (US$11.5 billion).

Lamb exports hit 18,343t worth US$30.08 million, smashing the previous record set in 2006 when 13,934t valued at US$27.8 million was shipped. Compared to 2010, volume was up 72%, and value 46%.

Beef exports finished the year at 1.287 million tonnes valued at US$5.42 billion, shading the 2003

volume record of 1.274mt and easily surpassing the 2010 value record of US$4.08 billion.

Export volume was up 21% on 2010, with value up 33%.

Meanwhile pork exports totaled 2.255mt valued at US$6.11 billion, breaking the previous volume record of 2.052mt and shattering the value record of US$4.88 billion, both set in 2008. Year-onyear, volume was up 18% and value 28%.

“It is extremely gratifying to see all red meat exports reaching new heights, even with the various trade obstacles we still face across the world,” says USMEF president and chief executive Philip Seng, who believes the

best is yet to come.

“Demand for US red meat has never been stronger and we are wellpositioned to build on this success. Real opportunities exist for further growth and USMEF fully intends to capitalise on this strong momentum.”

The export return for each steer and heifer slaughtered was a record US$206.37 in 2011, up more than a third from US$153.09 in 2010. Beef exports equated to 14% of total production.

“We have greatly diversified our beef export destinations and by doing so we have eclipsed the level of exports we had prior to BSE,” Seng says.

“By building new markets and steadily reclaim-

ing the market share we lost in Asia due to BSE, we were able to approach the US$5.5 billion mark in 2011 – that’s one-third higher than the 2010 record, and a very significant achievement for the US beef industry.”

Exports to Japan surged 27% to 158,646t, while South Korea’s take grew 37% to 154,019t as the US took significant market share from Australia.

But Canada was the leading value market for US beef, up 41% to US$1.03 billion in 2011 as volume rose 25% on 2010 to 191,047t. Mexico took 4% more at 256,938t with the value up 20% to US$985.3 million.

Beef exports to the Middle East hit new highs

with volume up 30% to 175,181t while Russia took 27% more at 72,797t.

Lamb exports benefitted from strong results in Mexico, Canada and the southeastern Caribbean. USMEF says other emerging markets showing promise for US lamb include Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Panama and Costa Rica.

“While the industry is not large in size, US lamb has tremendous potential internationally,” Seng says.

“Chefs and other industry leaders around the world appreciate the quality of US lamb and recognise it as a premium product, so we have some wonderful opportunities for growth.”

A REPORT saying Australians are eating themselves to death and their food choices are a leading cause of environmental damage has been slammed by Australia’s National Farmers’ Federation.

The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) report makes an “urgent” call to Government to take responsibility for the crisis in the food system and establish a dedicated ministry of food with a Cabinet position to drive cross-portfolio efforts.

But the NFF says the report’s an attempt to weaken the confidence of Australians in the food farmers produce, and fails to acknowledge farmers’ work to ensure supply of environmentally sustainable, fresh and nutritious food.

NFF president Jock Laurie says farmers are producing high quality food in greater quantities, on less land, with less water and less impact on the environment than ever before. The report reflects the lack of understanding health professionals have about modern agriculture in Australia and how the industry operates, he believes.

“Rather than focus on the public health challenges associated with modern diets and lifestyles, they seem to have chosen to attack Australian farmers and attempted to weaken the confidence of Australians in the food farmers produce,” fumes Laurie.

“Australian farmers have been working hard to improve their practices, and have led the way in reducing our carbon footprint, with greenhouse gas emissions down by a massive 40% in the last 20 years.”

The agricultural industry invests A$1.5 billion a year in research and development to continuously improve practices and performance, he points out.

“On the ground, farmers occupy and manage 61% of Australia’s land, which means that we’re at the frontline in delivering environmental outcomes on behalf of the community and we are acutely aware of the need to deal with environmental impacts.” Most importantly, he says, the report fails to acknowledge the role Australian agriculture plays in feeding the world.

“Australian farmers produce enough food to feed 60 million people each year, so the statement in the report that ‘Australia produces more food than it needs’ is disingenuous.

“Of course we do – we export 60% of what we grow, providing vital export income for our economy.”

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

20 agribusiness

PDI a new ownership pathway?

PA M TIPA

CORPORATE-STYLE farm businesses are no barrier to young farmer career progression and offer a new pathway to the traditional goal of ownership, says the promoter of an innovative dairy investment fund.

However, others are not so sure.

MyFarms director Andrew Watters told Rural News the cost of dairy farms now means new pathways to ownership for young farmers must be developed, and new company Pastoral Dairy Investments’ (PDI) offering is an example of that.

And rather than overseas ownership,

Russell MacPherson

with 50/50 jobs becoming increasingly scarce it’s better young farmers have a shot at taking a 10-30% stake, he argues.

“We need new pathways…we will certainly be offering that through PDI –there’s an opportunity to buy a 10, 20 or 30% share in a farm.”

MyFarms will manage the farms for PDI which

PDI’s plans Pastoral Dairy Investments (PDI) eventually plans to buy eight to nine farms in the 600 to 1000 cow range, probably in Canterbury and Southland.

If PDI raises $75 million, they realistically could buy 6-8 properties in the next 18 months, says Watters.

“We will be purchasing new property, not existing farms in MyFarm’s portfolio,” Watters says.

“We will be buying land, plant,

shares and stock.”

It’s a good time to buy, he says, as “farm prices are off their peak and although they have come up a little bit, in terms of their value relative to earnings, it is toward the bottom end.

“In the past when milk prices have risen farm values have also risen: that hasn’t taken place as farmers apply excess cash to production than to property.”

The company will have cash

and will not be subject to Overseas Investment Office rules, making it “the first cab off the rank” for larger properties, where there is less buyer competition. But Watters says they won’t drive prices up, as they’ll only represent 2% of the market.

“We will show discipline in terms of not leading the market with our purchasing activity… I don’t think we’ll have a material impact given the size of the industry and the lack of sales in the past two years.”

Grant Rowan, left and Andrew Watters, Executive Director, MyFarm Asset Mangement LP, right.

launched a public share offer to raise $25m to buy eight to nine large dairy farms, mostly in the South Island.

itself, as a society, do we really want corporate farm ownership?

“New Zealand’s history is based on family farms,

moving from management to operating their own sharemilking/contract businesses will find opportunities within equity

“Family ownership will always dominate but there’s going to be more and more corporate ownership – better it’s corporate than overseas.”

PDI says its point of difference to other farm equity investments is the low level of minimum investment. At $20,000 ordinary non-rural Kiwis will have their first real opportunity to invest in dairy farms, it maintains.

But $50m from “coinvestors” is also being sought, and PDI says it’s keen for the farm managers it employs to invest in the farm. Farm managers will be able to use stock, plant and/or cash as capital for their co-investment and it will allow young farmers to use the farm as collateral for some debt.

But in Southland, one of the areas PDI is scoping for farms, dairy farmer Russell MacPherson says he personally believes New Zealand should ask

one family one farm.

Those farms are productive and there are very few environmental issues. If you own that land you are not going to do anything detrimental to that environment because you live in it and you have ownership.

“As a society do we really want to have what we have in England where farms are owned by absentee land owners?”

But Watters says the value of a 700-800 head farm is a big issue.

“Family ownership will always dominate but there’s going to be more and more corporate ownership – better it’s corporate than overseas.”

Federated Farmers Sharemilkers chairman Ciaran Tully says people

arrangements such as PDI. “However, there is a balance point between equitable returns to a ‘hands on’ farmer, and the dividend streams for ‘hands off’ owners.

This can create tensions between milker and owner when milk price is constricted and dividend streams are the focus of investors.

“For those looking at investing as an equity manager, careful scrutiny should be made of sunset clauses and the ability to grow their own businesses.”

A report commissioned by Feds Dairy Section, with support from DairyNZ, is looking into farm succession and will be finalised late autumn.

in brief farm sales up but prices ease LATEST Real Estate Institute data shows farm sales increased 61.6% (135 more farms) in the three months to the end of January, 2012 compared to the same period the year before.

Median price was $20,299/ha,

down $918/ha on the comparable period the year before.

Median price for dairy farms dropped to $34,298/ha from $37,045/ha for the previous three months.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

agribusiness 21

Business plans a common success factor Farmers are currently seeing high product prices and, in most cases, high productivity. As a result, profitability is above the long-term average, making this an ideal time to consider how you can maintain this profitability on your farm over the longer term.

Research shows that maximum on-farm opportunity is based on financial and business acumen not farm type, size, region or age of operator.

When we asked farmers what opportunities they were seeing over the next three years, 78% were looking to reduce debt, 68% want to improve farm financial performance and 63% want to increase farm production.

It’s clear farmers know the key to long-term sustainability is through increased productivity and profitability, and a significant number of farmers are achieving this.

are likely to reach your destination more quickly than if you are driving without one.

After speaking to hundreds of business owners about planning, it’s clear there is no right format for a plan, other than a format that works for y our business. However, having a plan that is documented, referred to and refreshed on a regular basis does seem to make a difference.

We consistently hear the process of planning is a beneficial exercise because it forces the

If you are driving with a map, you are more likely to reach your destination quicker than if you are simply driving without one.

So what are these farmers doing differently? One of the consistent themes we see with farms that are outperforming is they have a defined business plan which they measure their progress against via benchmarking and budgeting.

For many business owners, including farmers, the idea of a business plan conjures up images of lengthy documents or a bureaucratic compliance exercise designed to define success. It’s quite common for business owners and farmers to believe there is no need for a plan.

From my experience with commercial businesses, it is clear the business owner who has a clearly defined plan is the one most likely to achieve his or her goals. Which makes sense – if you are driving with a map, you

owners to actually define the objectives of the farm business and identify some tangible steps to achieve these objectives. In addition to this, having something that is documented allows for more meaningful conversations with advisers because everyone can see what it is you are aiming to achieve.

From a banker’s perspective, being able to see the long-term aspirations of your farm is also beneficial as it assists us to develop a banking solution that addresses not only your immediate needs but also helps get you closer to your achieving your long-term goals.

While writing the plan is a great first step, real success seems to come when the owners make an effort to review the progress against the plan and to measure what is work-

ing and what areas needing more attention.

Farmers have a unique benefit over their commercial counterparts because of the collabor-

ative, non-competitive environment they operate in. There’s a fair bit of transparency and a willingness to share information between farmers as

well as access to industry information that allows you to benchmark your farm performance. This information makes planning much easier as it

gives a good sense of what is achievable and helps track progress. Your industry association is a good starting point to source information about

your sector, or speak to your accountant or bank manager.

• Graham Turley is Managing Director, Commercial & Agri at ANZ

Rural News // march 6, 2012

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

 

 

  









  











  

 

 



 

 

 















































































































































































 









   

 

 

 























This Year

 

















Last Year



 

 

 























 











 









 



 

 





  























 







  

 











 















 

 









 

  

 











 

 

 



































  

 







 

 

 

























85%







  







 

  

 





 



 









 75%







  

















 







 





TRACTA38897-RN





























 

  



65% 

 

 

 



























   





 

‘HATUMA ARE NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT TODAY...

THEY’VE GOT THEIR EYES ON THE FARMERS OF TOMORROW.’ Dr Jayson Benge, Soil Scientist – The AgriBusiness Group

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Rural News // march 6, 2012 

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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    



  

 

 































  



 

  











  

 

 











 



 

  

































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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         US Dollar                                                                          

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

24 opinion editorial

edna

Never too good to do better You could almost sense the relief among Lincoln University Dairy Farm’s management team at the Focus Day held recently on the showcase 160ha irrigated property. As the article on page 36 of this issue relays, this season’s milk curve is tracking well above previous years’. It appears to be the result of the somewhat controversial “precision dairying” approach the team unveiled last autumn. That was immediately slammed by some as tinkering with what was, by anybody’s standard, an exemplary and highly successful simple system. And there is a danger in what LUDF has done. Some of the techniques it is now deploying could, if adopted without sufficient care, crucify profits rather than push them to the next level. Take raising target pasture residues post grazing, and using the mower to deal with any that the cows don’t get down to. The Lincoln team have managed to do this without compromising pasture quality, or becoming over reliant on the mower, but on a less disciplined, or less closely scrutinised operation, costs could balloon and pasture quality suffer, resulting in less, rather than more milk in the vat. Splitting the herd also has its risks, increasing staff workload and complicating management. There has to be a payback. LUDF believes it will come in conception rates through better body condition, and more production through less time off pasture. Then there’s the leap in nitrogen use which is tracking towards a total near 400kg/ha. The models might show it is all being used by the pasture being grown, but how much of it goes straight through the cow to land in a urine patch so heavily loaded with nitrogen that the grass can’t possibly use it? Yes, eco-n might help hold it there for a little longer, but is more going to end up as nitrous oxide and leachate long-term?

It will not be a good look if it does.

For all these risks, indeed, because of all these risks, LUDF’s management team should be congratulated for being prepared to push the envelope. Its old grazing system principles were well established. It was time to move on, if possible.

Some of the new strategy probably will prove to be a mistake. But other parts will likely stand the test of time and the risk for those attempting to make similar gains will be that much less, assuming they learn from Lincoln’s mistakes.

Perhaps the key points to make are that you’re never too good to get better, and that the jury is still out on what LUDF’s doing. After all production is up on most farms this season.

“It’s been a while since we heard from your mother!”

the hound KVH post puzzles

Food lists ludicrous

Former MAF Biosecurity deputy director Barry O’Neill’s appointment as head of Kiwifruit Vine Health caught your old mate’s attention. The announcement said he had significant experience of dealing with incursions, including Rabbit Calicivirus Disease. Isn’t the main aim of biosecurity to keep things out, rather than attempt to deal with them once they’re got in? And RCD rapidly became endemic, so that seems a strange example to use. Doesn’t bode well for Psa, does it?

Otago University’s Needn’t list left your old mate aghast. Life without honey, chocolate, crisps and muffins wouldn’t be worth living, yet these were some of the 49 foods the list recommended omitting entirely. Never mind dying of obesity, I reckon anyone following the Needn’t list would die of starvation; their food would be so boring they wouldn’t bother eating it.

Who funded this research rubbish? I do hope it’s not we taxpayers.

, T C E N CON & K C I L C

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Sunday Sun rises from NOTW’s ashes I hear from afar that Rupert Murdoch has launched a new paper, the Sunday Sun. Strange that, considering only a couple of months ago he called time on the regular Sun’s stablemate, News of the World, which also came out on Sundays but was the main paper caught up in the UK’s mobile phone hacking enquiry. Seems you can reinvent the wheel after all.

Happy Hound?

NZFSU hits its straps?

Are you old, female, with no kids at home and live in Northland? Or maybe the West Coast/Buller or Timaru/Oamaru?

Then according to UMR Research you should be one of the happiest people in New Zealand.

Your old mate’s demography and geography don’t match any of the above, apart from maybe the old bit. No wonder I get accused of being a grumpy bugger!

New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay announced a half year profit last week, which if your old mate isn’t mistaken, is the first time it’s been in the black.

Okay, a revaluation of stock was a key part in that, but with milk production up 51% at 83.2m litres it seems the operation is finally starting to hit its straps. Shame its now 86% owned by Singapore’s Olam International.

Now where’s the “New Zealand” in that?

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

opinion 25 ag twits Rural News’ irreverent and hypothetical look at what’s happening in the farming world Top Bleats view all mbaileyfonterra: I see no problem as a Fonterra director being firmly opposed to opening up our co-op to non-farmer investors. #staunch mbaileypdichair: Meantime, I see no problem as a prominent dairy farmer lending my name to an IPO wanting to encourage non-farmers to invest in the dairy industry. #mixedmessage leonieguineyantitaf: There you go!

Actual evidence that Fonterra directors are supporting TAF so they can cash in on outside investors wanting to wrestle control of our co-op from my cold, dairy farmer hands. #trojanhorse henryfonterra@mbaileyfonterra: Thanks Malcolm! I was having a hard enough time convincing farmers that TAF is no threat to their on-going control of Fonterra and now you go and lend your name to a listed dairy investment vehicle. #ourshareholdersarerevolting kcoopersilverfernfarms: To all my former, fellow BLNZ directors, your organisation is an out-dated, useless, cot-case and I want nothing more to do with it. I quit! #nohardfeelings mpetersenblnz@kcoopersilverfernfarms: Thanks for the heads up on your resignation Keith – not! I’ll lament your loss from the BLNZ board about as much as Julia Gillard will miss Kevin Rudd from around her Cabinet table. #goodriddance dcarterminofprimaryindustries: What happened? My first term was a doddle and everyone in the sector loved me. Now dairy farmers say I’m stuffing their industry and kiwifruit growers say I’ve rooted theirs too. #speakerjoblookingmoreattractive mikefayfarmer: As a well-known farmer, proud Kiwi , latter day anti-asset seller, former Swiss tax exile and non-Chinese person, the OIO, courts and NZ Government must accept my group’s bid for the Crafar farms ahead of the yellow peril from Shanghai. #keepitkiwi ckellylandcorp@mikefayfarmer: If your group are the self-professed white knights – pun intended – and saviours of NZ farmland from foreign ownership then why don’t you just offer a better price for Crafar farms than Shanghai Pengxin? #fatchanceofthat

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reaping what we sow

zespri ownership needs clarification

In our recent election, the combined vote for the ACT, Conservative, and United Future parties totaled 5.01% of the electorate vote (Greens 6.94%); and 5.87% of the party vote (NZ First 6.59%). As a result, the Greens have 14 seats in Parliament; NZ First has eight.

Individually, United Future without Peter Dunne (Ohariu) polled less than the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party. ACT without John

I was unable to attend the kiwifruit grower meeting in Te Puke (Rural News, February 21) but as a kiwifruit orchardist read the articles on the sector with interest.

There are two references regarding ownership which I think tend to mislead.

The article headed “Zespri hears concerns but defends record” (p12) describes Zespri as “a grower established and owned company” while on p13 NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc president Neil Trebilco states “Zespri was owned by growers who elected its directors”.

I understand Zespri has shareholders as follows: Shareholders without voting

Banks (Epsom) could not match the Mana Party vote.

The Conservatives, riding high on the urban antiDon Brash vote, polled well in Rodney, but no better overall than NZ First without Tauranga.

So, would it be fair to say that we currently have three one-man bands, where there is only room for one right wing party?

Don Blumhardt Ruakaka

rights; Grower shareholders whose vote is dictated by shares held and export class trays produced in a given period.

However, there is no cap on shares which can be held which means uneven linkage when voting.

In addition there are growers who are not shareholders of Zespri and consequently cannot vote on any issue. Neil Trebilco may have been more correct if he had said: “Zespri was owned by growers who elected its directors but not by growers who couldn’t elect its directors.”

Robert Jones Te Puke

Rural News // march 6, 2012

26 opinion

What’s really worth worrying about AS OWNERSHIP of farming businesses becomes more complex and the amount of money involved increases, clear understanding of the long term personal needs of the owners compared

to the business’s overall equity becomes more critical.

In a “mum and dad” owned business this is easy to identify. In this situation, what the business is worth is what the

owners are worth.

For larger-scale family businesses or companies where the shareholders’ equity in the operation significantly exceeds their personal needs, identifying and separating

Successful succession planning will protect the pot of gold you’ve been working for.

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individual wealth from the wider operation can be more complicated.

Why is this so important? I have been involved in a few assignments recently where lack of clarity about this has contributed to over-reaction to negative events in the business. This is especially common where those in their senior years perceive their retirement plan will be jeopardised if the business isn’t constantly performing to its potential.

Getting this right is also fundamental to enabling those who established a business to step back with confidence while allowing their fellow shareholders or succeeding family members to commit to new projects which can result in greater risk.

One strategy to manage this is to achieve partial separation of assets so the retiring generation can clearly identify and protect their share of the business – at least at a level sufficient to meet their retirement needs. This could include sole ownership of a portion of the enterprise so they have absolute control over nominated assets.

As a result, the risk to these assets can be minimised or eliminated by excluding them from bank securities, personal guarantees etc.

The overall organisation’s resources can then be viewed as comprising two distinctly separate portfolios.

The first is the portion that will be required to generate annual income and ensure access to capital for the personal needs of those nearing the end of their business life.

Accurate forecasts of the overall returns from the business will enable precise calculation of how much needs to be separated from the wider operation. The remaining assets can be managed

differently from a borrowing and investment point of view. They can be regarded as “venture capital” which could be exposed to higher lending levels or more risk without threatening the fundamental fortunes of senior stakeholders who have less time than younger participants in the business to recover from adverse events.

I have seen this approach used effectively in succession planning to allow more ambitious family members or shareholders to take a more aggressive approach to expansion or innovation.

Its real strength is that it offers reassurance for those stakeholders who want to be more conservative without acting as a handbrake of the operation.

If this strategy is combined with clear definition of the values, vision and goals of the business there will be better alignment between timing and selection of business growth opportunities. Most importantly it will mean more rational response to perceptions of personal threat or impact of challenging times on long term prospects for those who prefer to be more cautious.

Getting a sound view on what will be required to maintain lifestyle, health and happiness long-term is fundamental to building a structure that offers this type of sustainability. It takes time and proactive debt management. The big payback is that it avoids crisis reactions to what are in reality minor, manageable events that can otherwise feel as if a lifetime’s work is on the line, day in day out.

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

Rural News // march 6, 2012

opinion 27

Bringing about change People change behaviours when the rewards are right. These rewards can be economic and/ or emotional – but they have to be greater than the cost (including energy) of implementation of the change, and the cost of not changing.

Every farmer knows this.

They are the ones driving along boundary fences staring at the neighbour’s paddock and wondering what has been done and would it work on their place. They work with consultants and grill sales staff and field officers about potential gains associated with new products. They test new ideas and split paddocks to ‘see’. They go to field days, monitor farms and seminars to examine ‘innovations’.

farmer and family is that risk and stress are reduced with understanding of the costs and implications of action and inaction.

The point for the expert is that the costs and implications aren’t just for a small group of research animals or a crop or paddock – they must be

explained for the whole farm. While some of the benefits might not be monetary, the emotional benefits must still offset the emotional trauma in change. All of these factors impact upon the ability to change.

Enabling change in the future is a clear role for

the farmer-funded levy bodies and the consultants. Perhaps MAF could enhance the enabling with funding for an expansion of the consultant role, embraced within the Sustainable Farming Fund.

Integrating the research that is done by the Crown Research Institutes and

universities, appropriate to the region and farm system, to give a whole-offarm cost benefit analysis is real added-value. The next step, however, is to work with the farmer oneto-one to assist change – always remembering that if it looked possible on the neighbour’s place, it

would already have been adopted.

As for the farmers with their eye on the neighbour’s – an eye on the path ahead is recommended both literally and figuratively.

• Jacqueline Rowarth is Professor of Agribusiness, University of Waikato.

grown up in Dr Hamilton’s future. They have remained flexible and have adapted to an increased global demand for food, increased costs, falling returns, increased regulations and the vagaries of the weather. They have shown resilience – the positive behavioural adaptation in response to stress.

Many have embraced change and adopted innovative practices and technologies – hence the dairy

“Some of the changes affecting farming and markets will be technological and these in part can be foreseen; other changes, particularly affecting markets, are political and cannot be predicted… Many of these changes originate overseas.”

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In 1970, Dr W. M. Hamilton, then director general of the DSIR, said that in the future “some of the changes affecting farming and markets will be technological and these in part can be foreseen; other changes, particularly affecting markets, are political and cannot be predicted… Many of these changes originate overseas.” He went on to say that “as in the past, farming must retain its flexibility to respond rapidly to changing economic situations or changes in market demands.”

Current farmers have

conversions and use of supplements and irrigation.

To create greater change with those who are not in the lead, it must be recognised that the challenge of being both innovative and resilient is a very large one. Factors for continued increases in productivity are motivation, ongoing commitment and energy, upfront finance, acceptance of a greater exposure to risk, and overall, increased knowledge and understanding to facilitate changes required.

In psychological research, the primary factor in modifying risk and increasing resilience is other people and their ability to provide care, support, trust and encouragement. Family, community and peers are important. So are experts – the consultants and advisors.

The point for the

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

central districts field days 29

NZ’s biggest regional field days set to roll Manfeild Park and the rural town of Feilding are again getting ready to host tens of thousands of visitors at this year’s Central Districts Field Days – held from March 15 to 17.

Organisers say with more than 500 exhibitors from Australasia lined-up, there will be something for everyone.

“Our event caters for all types of farming, yet is still small enough to get around in a day,” says event manager Cheryl Riddell.

“But even great things can improve and even regular visitors can expect to see some changes this year from previous years.”

Manfeild Park’s entrances now have new lights and signage. People travelling to the field days will find them easier to recognise and locate.

Massey University has returned as the main sponsor.

“We are very excited about working closely with Massey University. We are proud to be partnered with a university that is helping New Zealand to retain its position as a world agriculture leader.”

Massey University marketing manager, Tracy Pleasants says Massey welcomes the opportunity of being the major sponsor

again in 2012.

“Massey looks forward to joining with the field days community to learn about and show the latest developments.”

Riddell says many businesses use the opportunity to introduce new products to the thousands of people who attend the field days each year.

Meanwhile, CASE IH is also back again to sponsor

the event and bring it to the rural community once more.”

Part of this year’s competition will be a Business House Tractor Pull on Thursday, March 1.

There are plenty of other events to look forward at the field days – with the Stihl TimberAcess, Central Districts Double Power Fencing Competition and the

the Tractor Pull event.

“With CASE IH’s support, visitors to Central District Field Days will be able to watch the incredible pulling power of some of the country’s most powerful tractors,” Riddell says.

“After the inaugural Central District’s Field Days Tractor Pull in 2010, then again in 2011 – it is great to be able to build on

The tractor pull competition is expected to be popular.

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Animal Health Board Movement Control Areas Falling levels of bovine tuberculosis in livestock have allowed the Animal Health Board (AHB) to reduce its Movement Control Area (MCA) in the central North Island this year.

The MCA reduction will affect 199 herds and is shown on the map below. All changes take effect from 1 March 2012.

The MCAs were introduced to manage the risk of TB spreading through the uncontrolled movement of infected cattle or deer into areas that are clear of the disease.

While the AHB will send personal letters to all farmers affected by the changes, it is important to remember that cattle or deer over three months of age must still pass a pre-movement test 60 days before moving, if the herd of origin is situated within an MCA.

Biosecurity Act 1993 Notice of Movement Controls for Bovine Tuberculosis

Schedule

Pursuant to section 131(2) of the Biosecurity Act 1993, the Animal Health Board Incorporated declares those parts of New Zealand listed in the Schedule to this Notice to be Control Areas for the purpose of limiting the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

Pursuant to section 131(3)(a) of the Biosecurity Act 1993, the Animal Health Board Incorporated gives notice that the movement of cattle and deer within the Control Areas is restricted and regulated to the extent of and subject to the conditions specified below.

Control Areas are listed below: Central North Island MCA Southern North Island MCA Tasman / West Coast MCA Marlborough / North Canterbury MCA Coastal / Central Otago and Pisa MCA Catlins MCA Hokonui MCA Detailed maps and information on the location of properties within Control Areas are available from the Animal Health Board, phone 0800 482 4636 or visit www.tbfree.org.nz/dcamap

Notice 1. Definitions In this Notice, unless the context otherwise requires: “Herd” means: a) A group of cattle, or deer, or cattle and deer, that is managed as one unit; or b) A group of cattle, or deer, or cattle and deer, that is kept within the same enclosure or behind the same fence.

“Herd of Origin” means the herd with which a cattle beast or a deer is, for the time being, grazing.

“Order” means the Biosecurity (National Bovine Tuberculosis Pest Management Strategy) Order 1998.

“Control Area” means an area listed in the Schedule to this Notice. Details of Control Areas are described in maps available from the Animal Health Board Incorporated.

2. Testing prior to movement from or within Control Areas 2.1 No cattle beast or deer aged 90 days or more may be moved: a) From any Control Area to a place outside that Control Area, or b) Within any Control Area from its Herd of Origin, or the place or establishment at which the animal is being kept to a place other than a place occupied by the owner or person in charge of the cattle beast or deer unless it has undergone, within 60 days prior to the date of movement, a negative test for bovine tuberculosis in accordance with the Order.

2.2 The restriction on movement in 2.1 does not apply where an animal is being moved directly to a place of slaughter.

2.3 Notwithstanding 2.1, an animal may be exempted from the requirement for a test in accordance with the Animal Health Board Operational Plan.

2.4 Where a herd is managed or kept on a property, or group of properties, which crosses the boundary of a Control Area, then the requirements to test cattle or deer described in 2.1 above apply to the whole herd.

This declaration takes effect from 1 March 2012.

Dated at Wellington this first day of March 2012 by William McCook, Chief Executive, Animal Health Board Incorporated.

General information Any animal moved in contravention of this Notice may be seized by an inspector or authorised person and destroyed, treated or otherwise dealt with, if it is reasonable in the circumstances to do so. The Animal Health Board Incorporated may also recover the cost of testing for bovine tuberculosis pursuant to the Biosecurity Act 1993 and the Biosecurity (Deer and Other Testing Costs) Regulations 1998.

Failure to comply with the requirements of this Notice may result in prosecution under the Biosecurity Act 1993. If convicted, an individual will be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding $100,000, or both. A corporation convicted of an offence is liable to a fine not exceeding $200,000.

Revocation The declaration issued on the fifteenth day of February 2011 in regard to movement controls for bovine tuberculosis and published in The New Zealand Gazette Notice No. 1027, page 371 on 17 February 2011 and in Rural News on 15 February 2011 is hereby revoked, with effect from 1 March 2012.

Summary of changes This declaration has the effect of revoking part of the Central North Island Movement Control Area.

For more information, visit www.tbfree.org.nz/dcamap to view our interactive map that shows whether you are in a Movement Control Area, Special Testing Area or Surveillance Area.

Simply enter any New Zealand address into the search bar.

0800 482 4636

Topographical information derived from LINZ and NZTA Crown Copyright Reserved.

Detailed maps and information on Control Areas are available from the Animal Health Board.

KingSt11033_RN_A

Rural News // march 6, 2012

32 management

Pasture project progresses science A unique pilot project aimed at improving technology transfer from scientists to farmers is underway at Massey University. Peter Burke reports Part of the project is to explore year-round use of such pasture, says Massey’s Peter Kemp.

together, but in this case it makes perfect sense. This is as much about the communication of science as it is the actual production science.

The idea for the study came when head

of the Institute of Natural Resources and Professor of Pasture Science at Massey Professor Peter Kemp was talking to his wife, College of Education researcher, Alison Sewell, about the chal-

lenges of getting farmers to learn more about research on the value of herb and clover pastures.

One thing led to another and finally a joint trial was initiated. The project is funded by the National

BUFFALO/HB3768

IN THE shadow of the sprawling Massey University campus, on the outskirts of Palmerston North, farmers and scientists cluster around an old tin garage which is doubling as a lecture theatre during an unseasonal shower of rain.

It’s the fourth and final field day of a pasture project that has an unusual, if not unique, element to it.

The ag scientists are explaining to the farmers the nature of the mixed herb and clover pasture trials to fatten lambs faster. Meanwhile a second group of researchers stand back, observing the interaction and making notes.

It seems highly unusual to have social scientists and ag scientists working

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Research Centre for Growth and Development (NRCGD) and Massey geneticist, Professor Hugh Blair who’s co-ordinating the project, says the aim is to study how farmers learn about new scientific developments.

Nineteen farmers from the lower half of the North Island have been participating in what’s been called ‘the farmer learning trial’. Hugh Blair says the idea is to find out how the fundamental science being carried out at Massey can ultimately be translated into business so there are more jobs and more tax for the Government.

“We’ve got to work out how to get our research out into the farming community. The fundamental question we are asking is ‘how do the farmers want the information put in front of them so that we can best help them change behaviour at their farm?’.

If our research doesn’t have an impact on the farm and doesn’t result in more exports then we haven’t done a good day’s work,” he says.

Blair says what’s different about this study is they are asking the farmers how they want to get the information with the aim of coming up with a model that will help other scientists transfer science and knowledge to farmers.

Kemp, says it all began when a trial was started to see if the herb and clover pasture mixes would work all year round.

“We’d done a lot of previous experiments of about two or three months long but of course farmers want to know how will this work on the farm all the time. So we decided to run

a trial for several years on finishing lambs on a continuous basis like a farm and finding how well the farmers adopted these ideas,” he explains.

Farmers who were either using the herbs already, or had declared an interest to do so, were invited to take part.

“They weren’t selected randomly. They were selected through a network of farmers we knew and some suggested others and that kind of thing. In the longer term I think we’d like to see these farmers take this message out to other farmers, per-

haps through field days and things on their own farms.”

Kemp’s fellow Massey professor, Steve Morris, has been following the weight gains of the lambs on the various plots.

“Initially the plantain and red clover mix has been in front and then as summer has gone on, the chicory and red and white clover has been where the animals have done the best liveweight gain.”

In mid February, lambs on chicory, plantain, red and white clover were growing at just under 300 grams a day.

Farmers’ perspectives The farmers I spoke to saw value in the exercise. Mike Will, a Romney breeder from nearby Waituna West, says while he’s not using the herb pasture mixes, he’s definitely interested. He says the system would certainly suit a lamb trader.

Angus Gilbertson, also from Waituna West, says the trial has been a good way to network with other farmers.

“It’s also been great to have access to the Massey guys that we don’t normally talk to at all. It’s slightly Rick Ashby. different to the normal field day when you’ve got seed reps, fertiliser reps and vets all trying to sell you something. This is more of an academic’s view of things and they’re not trying to sell me anything.”

Gilbertson says he’s learned a lot about grazing management of chicory and plantain and picked up many small tips from other farmers and scientists.

He believes the direct contact with scientists is really valuable.

“They’re learning about what we are interested in and the problems we are having farming in a real world and the challenges we have with tech transfer.”

Rick Ashby, Wairarapa, echoes Gilbertson’s comments, especially the networking with farmer scientists. “They know the theory and we know the practical.”

He has chicory and clover mixes as part of his strategy to combat the dry summers and hopes to mitigate problems with facial eczema.

For the 19 farmers, the four field days are not the end of the project. It’s planned they will continue to meet regularly, though probably not in the same structure as the trial.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

management 33

of tech transfer “The ones on the plantain red and white clover have only been doing 218 grams which is still very good, but the ones on the ryegrass with white clover have dropped back to 114 grams.”

That’s typical for this time of year, it being very difficult to get more than 120 or 130 grams a day on straight ryegrass pasture, although with clover you might get to 150 grams per day, he notes.

The herb pasture mix has been dubbed the ‘turbo mix’ after the local rugby team. With the trial still in its first year, Morris and his colleagues want to see how the mixtures perform over three years and, in particular, to check for persistency.

the project.

“The main things they are telling us is the relationships they are having with the science teams and the trust they have. They like the hard data and have great respect for the science team and ongoing nature of the work.”

Another important piece of feedback from farmers is that they feel that they can share their expertise with the scientists.

“While the science team has expertise, the farmers are now trying these ideas and are coming back with their expertise.

There is some really good dialogue going on between the farmers and science team on a whole range of topics.”

the science and can pass it on to others.

But the ultimate success of the project hinges on engaging more farmers.

As Hugh Blair puts it, “We have 19 on board – we only have 13,987 to go.”

How remains to be seen, but new information hubs or networks are

possibilities.

Kemp says while just four sessions with farmers were scheduled for the pilot project, it is planned to keep the farmer group together in some form into the future to gain further insight into the best means of technology transfer.

Two-way process: Massey’s Steve Morris (blue jacket) listens to farmers’ points.

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The trial is also looking at how much meat per hectare is produced on the pastures, with batches of lambs being killed to measure this.

Morris says an issue that farmers will need to consider is just how much of their land would they convert to such mixes and what class of stock they would carry, and when.

“In the spring the best class of animal is to have a ewe with triplets. In the autumn it might be ewe hoggets.”

Having the farmers involved in the project is proving of great value.

“This has changed some of our decisions because we hadn’t thought about everything. It’s great having scientists and farmers working together. But it is time consuming.”

Sewell’s work at the College of Education, Palmerston North, normally deals with children and student learning, so farmers are a bit outside the square, she admits.

She and other social scientists observe the interaction between the farmers and pasture science team and talk to the farmers after every session to find out their views on

The social scientists also act as a sort of a gobetween with the farmers and production scientists, picking up information from the farmers and relaying this.

“For example, the farmers have said after every session they want a one page summary which has been done,” she says.

Massey’s Brennon Woods is also part of the social scientist team observing the interaction. He’s interviewed all the farmers on their experiences of the project, with particular emphasis on how the pilot project could eventually be scaled up to a larger project on technology transfer.

Woods says there’s a lot of interest in what Massey is doing in this project, as it mimics ‘extension’ work which was common in the 1970s.

“There’s now a real gap in this area and this pilot study is a move in the right direction.”

One of the things that has struck him is the huge expertise of the farmers and the contribution they can make to science through their practical knowledge and also the fact that they start to ‘own’

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

34 management

Registration poses few problems andrew swa l low

WITH THE final piece of the National Animal Identification and Traceability (NAIT) scheme jigsaw in place – the legislation – I decide it’s time to bite the bullet and register our 10ha farmlet.

You can do this by

phone, but having a reasonably reliable radio broadband connection I opt to do it online. (We’re only 7km out of town yet there’s no broadband down the phoneline, but that’s another story).

First step is to create an account. Simple enough: title, name, address. The

address example amuses: an apartment in Wellington. Not going to find deer or cattle there.

Next question: what type of e-mail notification do I require? Slight hesitation. Options as to which changes to my NAIT account I wish to get e-mail notification/con-

Rural News editor Andrew Swallow (below) has registered his farmlet with NAIT. Tagging’s the next challenge.

firmation of. Seems an unnecessary detail. I opt for all, but think a default setting with users given the option to fine-tune or opt out of e-mails at a later date would make more sense.

Congratulations. I’m now a registered “PICA”.

Not sure what a PICA is. I guess it’s something like Person In Charge of Animals. Probably doesn’t matter. Just hope they don’t pre-fix it with “nose”.

As a PICA, do I want to create a NAIT number?

Not sure whether I should or shouldn’t. Out of

curiosity I click “Yes”. Aha, I did need to do this. It’s going to give the property a NAIT number.

Search by address. I find our place. Address is out of date – we were changed from RD4 to RD5 18 months ago but never mind – postie knows

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where we are.

Then a tricky one: choose production type.

Well, we finished some lambs last winter, had some dairy grazers before that, and now have a bit of barley and 15 beef cattle finishing. Oh, and the goats, but they don’t count because they graze for free, according to the goat people. So do I tick none, dairy, beef, venison, velvet, or trophy? Let’s go for beef. No idea if that’s right but it’s closest.

Do we have sheep? No. Pigs? No. Other (eg goats, alpacas)? Ah. So the goats do count. Yes.

Click on continue. And wait. And wait. Could do with a pop-up saying go make cup of tea. Eventually, after several minutes waiting for “animaltrace. nait.co.nz” to respond, I get our NAIT number.

All up, about 10 minutes. Pretty painless. But then come “Mid 2012” we’ll need to enter tag details of all cattle that are going to be here post July 1.

I expect that could be quite a chore if we have dairy grazers again.

Maybe those store lambs aren’t so expensive after all.

So far so good says scheme CEO AS OF last week 1600 properties had been registered with NAIT, says chief executive Russell Burnard.

“The Act was only passed two weeks previously so that’s pretty much as expected,” he told Rural News.

Exactly how many registrations will be necessary in total is “one of the imponderables of life”, he says, however NAIT’s estimate is 70,000.

“It won’t all happen by July 1, and that’s Okay. But we want full compliance as soon as possible.”

The target is to have full traceability – ie all animals tagged, including breeding stock staying on the farm – for cattle and deer by 2015. From July 1 this year any cattle moved off farm must be NAIT tagged.

Animals turning up at saleyards or works without tags after that date may either be sent back, or tagged with a NAIT tag, most likely at an extra cost to the supplier.

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Burnard says farms planning to graze dairy stock over winter need to talk to the supplier of the stock to ensure they are NAIT tagged, or they won’t legally be able to move them post July 1.

“We’re advising people to get the dairy farm to tag them (cows) before they go.”

Rural News // march 6, 2012

management 35

Yellow bristle grass control coming IT STARTED in Waikato, but unproductive pasture species Yellow Bristle Grass (YBG) has hitched rides and is now established much further afield, a recent field day near Matamata heard.

In the US and elsewhere it’s a crop weed, but here it’s competing in our pastures.

It’s already spread from Waikato to Taranaki and Bay of Plenty, and research on its climate preferences show it could potentially grow anywhere in New Zealand bar the Southern Alps.

Some Waikato paddocks which were ‘clean’ three years ago are now infested with bristly waving seedheads, each of which may contain up to 500 large seeds.

It is edible, and even quite palatable, but cows ingesting it as 25% of their diet produce 11% less milk

James says: “We have a cure, but not quite yet.”

He’s been working on YBG since early in its establishment as a pasture problem, and his first “Ute Guide” on it came out in 2006.

Spot spraying with glyphosate can be effective, but must be done before seed heads appear, and it’s not selective. It can just produce bare patches, which are ideal for already shed seed to establish in, he notes.

Bayer’s herbicide Puma S is suitably specific, but has yet to be registered for use in pasture. It also looks likely to have a 42-day non-grazing period if it gets registered, which will make rotation planning somewhat tricky.

Bayer is working on registration and doing pasture trials this summer.

James’ AgResearch colleague, Katherine Tozer, has been doing

than on a typical ryegrass and clover pasture.

If they eat the seedheads, and move to uninfested pasture, viable seeds are dumped as dung.

Even though it’s an annual, AgResearch’s Trevor James told the field day it takes some effort to get rid of it. In lush pasture it’s virtually unnoticeable until the seedheads appear, and then it’s too late. Seeds are shed a week after the bristles turn brown. At that stage the seed is immature, and will not grow immediately, but by the next spring it will, and aggressively, particularly in any bare patches.

When grazed, YBG can produce new seedheads in just 21 days, making prevention of seeding particularly tricky.

The Matamata field day was attended by around 50 farmers, many of whom have pasture already affected.

field research on YBG for four years, studying 39 paddocks on 12 farms.

She says the drought of 2008 increased the percentage of YBG considerably in following years, and since paddocks have consistently had 11-12%.

Tozer says she’s also found Summer Grass, another coloniser of bare patches, at similar infestations. It has the same diminishing ME levels over summer, and also contributes significantly to drops in milk production.

Farms badly affected by either weed can be forced to reduce stocking rate. If small patches are found, at present AgResearch’s advice is to fence them off and remove the plants, by hand if necessary.

While making silage may be a partial answer, the seed has been found to take three months to

sue edm o nds

Ute guide 2nd edition A revised edition of the Ute Guide to Yellow Bristle Grass, produced by the Yellow Bristle Grass Action Committee, is now available from MAF. It has photos to make sure what you find really is YBG, and not a lookalike, and clear instructions on how to cope with infestations, what not to do, and the tricky topic of pasture renewal.

be killed off in both maize silage and wrapped grass silage.

Optimum spray timing is about two weeks before Christmas when germi-

nation is complete but before too much, if any, seed has been produced.

Palatable, but not productive: YBG in a Waikato paddock.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

36 management

LUDF system tweaks set to deliver Management tweaks to tried and tested systems on Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) seem set to pay this season with the milk curve holding higher than ever before. But is it a honeymoon period? Andrew Swallow reports FEWER, BETTER fed cow looks set to deliver much more milk for little

extra cost on Lincoln University’s Dairy Farm this season, judging by a field

day late last month on the showcase irrigated Canterbury unit.

“We’ve changed some previously non-negotiable farm management prac-

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tices to achieve results that 12 months ago we thought were wishful thinking,” South Island Dairying Development Centre executive director Ron Pellow says.

“We challenged ourselves to increase efficiency without increasing our environmental footprint: in essence, to increase the profit we make from the resources we have available.”

Where historically the milk curve has dropped 9-11% per month by the end of February, this year it’s averaged just 4.4%.

So how’s it been done?

Where 680 cows were milked in one herd, 642 are being run as two, split into a mob of heifers (140) topped up with 90 low condition score cows.

Cutting the herd boosted average BW from 94 to 109, and the two mobs have helped finetune pasture management and pay extra attention to the cows that need it – heifers and lights.

“If the smaller herd hasn’t grazed down to residual we put the big herd in there next to get to residual,” says farm manager Peter Hancox.

“If they don’t get there, then we’ll put the mower in next time round.”

That mowing policy is also new – previously mowing was for silage only or exceptional circumstances. This year it’s used judiciously, usually pregrazing, on the occasional paddock where for whatever reason forcing cows to eat to target residual has been deemed to have too high a cost in lost production.

“In past seasons we’ve been hell bent on (making cows eat to) residuals.

This season we’ve got slightly more of a cow focus, to try to increase

their intake,” adds Hancox.

Besides dealing to residuals, pre-graze mowing is used to lift pasture drymatter content when it’s particularly low.

Combined, the two cases for cutting have lead to about 100 hours mowing to date: typically one in five, to one in seven

clover root weevil’s decimation of clover – down to 1-2% in most paddocks – saw use rise to 260kg/ ha. This season’s tracking even higher.

“It will get very close to 400kg.”

Dairy NZ productivity manager Steve Lee admits “that’s raised a few eyebrows” but is confi-

LUDF changes • 642 cows instead of 680.

• Split herd: heifers & lights/ main mob.

• Targeted mowing to boost pasture intake and quality.

• Residuals now 8-9 clicks: was 7-8.

• More N compensating for clover loss.

• See www.siddc.org.nz for more

paddocks per round.

“So we’ve gone from very low (diesel use) to not very much,” notes farm management consultant George Reveley.

Cut height, and more importantly, target residual, have also been lifted this season, but again it’s a case of from very low to not very much: 7-8 clicks on the platemeter to 8-9 clicks.

“We still want to graze paddocks down so they’re very tidy, grazing the clumps out to 70-80%,” stresses Reveley.

Another change is to shift cows promptly if paddocks get wet and dirty.

“We’ll clean it up another time. Previously we’ve tried to get that done pretty well right away.”

The other key change is more nitrogen. Last season compensation for

dent it’s being used efficiently, and won’t result in increased leaching.

“We grow about 640t extra dry matter a year compared to the average on this farm.”

The net result, with the herd eating more, higher quality grass, is 1254kg MS/ ha in the vat as of February 8, on a par with some of the top-performing herds in the region, and spending on track for the season target of $3.85 only a whisker ahead of budget at $2.91/kgMS. “We’re very close to the grain feeders... we realise we’ve still got places to go – our reproductive performance isn’t as good as them – but we’ve a lot of pride in where we’ve got to, to date.”

• More detail on LUDF’s management changes in Rural News’ sister paper, Dairy News, next week.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

management 37

Crop, hogget mating proves worth ga reth g i l lat T

NORTHLAND SHEEP and beef farmers Steve and Bruce Dill believe hogget mating and summer crops are essential for setting ewes up for better lifetime production.

The Dills manage 1138 ewes on their 493ha farm in the Kaipara Flats, an hour north of Auckland.

With 78% of the farm being steep, and in an

properly to avoid disappointment: where they missed one application of spray before planting, weeds grew at the same speed as the crop and reduced the gains.

“Don’t cut any corners… If you do then it’s going to really cost you.”

The Dills combine cropping with regrassing, helping boost pasture growth into the future.

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crop of $5268.

But even without that margin, Steve says they’d continue with the cropping.

“This is an investment in the future of the flock and the farm.”

The Dills combine cropping with regrassing, helping boost pasture growth into the future.

Kamo and Extreme ryegrasses are autumn-sown post crop with Kopu clover and plantain stitched into the grass in spring to make sure animals get good quality feed. ryegrasses are autumnsown post crop with Kopu clover and plantain stitched into the grass in spring to make sure animals get good quality feed.

Ewe lambs go onto the crop at 27kg in February and come off at 37-38kg before going to the ram.

Other lambs then go onto the remaining crop to be finished.

The crop has been very successful at helping the health of the sheep with facial eczema eliminated and faecal egg counts and pneumonia incidents cut right back (see p38).

They’re also now getting two-tooths to a breeding weight of 60kg.

Crop costs, at $16,832 for 12ha in 2010, are not cheap, they acknowledge, but part of the strategy, and to help cover that extra cost, has been to start hogget mating.

Over the past two seasons it’s proved profitable.

Of 220 ewe lambs put onto crop, 160 reached a weight of 36-38kg and were sent out to the ram on May 1. From these, 170 lambs were weaned at an average of 12kg, and finished over winter, earning the farm $22,100 – a net return after cost of

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area known for high facial eczema and pneumonia, keeping sheep healthy and minimising lamb losses has sometimes proved a challenge.

They’re focusing on getting bigger, healthier two-tooths to give ewes a better chance of having a long, productive life.

“We think it will have a massive impact on the ewe’s lifetime performance,” Steve told a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day held on their farm.

“Stronger two-tooth ewes should cope with animal health issues better.”

However, topography and climate mean midsummer pasture quality in the region isn’t good, and often comes with high quantities of fungal toxins and parasites.

The Dills’ solution has been to grow a summer crop of Titan, a rape/kale hybrid, to guarantee that sheep get the feed they need to remain healthy.

The crop, which was selected because of its aphid resistance and shorter adjustment period, was direct drilled into pasture for establishment.

While he’s a fan of notill sowing, he says it is essential to do everything

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

38 animal health

DIY FEC helps understanding START DOING faecal egg counts for your flock yourself to really get an idea of what’s going on, says Helensville veterinarian Mark Anderson.

While farmers are used to using egg count results, and using other signs to judge health of sheep and the right time to drench,

“Drenches are getting more and more expensive… If you can find a way to cut down on the amount of drench you’re using, do it.”

Anderson told a recent Beef + Lamb field day (see p37) that getting your own microscope and slides can potentially reduce the

number of times you reach for the drench gun.

“Drenches are getting more and more expensive… If you can find a

way to cut down on the amount of drench you’re using, do it,” he stressed.

Faecal egg counts should be taken from 10 individual samples of at least 10 different sheep.

Count the eggs inside frames on the slide and multiply by 50.

The range and the aver-

Eyes down on eggs: vet Mark Anderson looks on as farmers at the Northland field day do some faecal egg counts.

age are important but Anderson says it is not as important as what else is happening on the farm.

“It’s a management tool: it doesn’t replace your brain, it just gives you an extra bit of information. You still use climate; you still use your knowledge of the farm.”

Weather and pasture’s part in pneumonia GA R E T H GILL AT T

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HOT MUGGY nights and ryegrass pasture are key contributors to pneumonia in sheep, farmers at a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day in Northland were reminded.

Gordon Levet, Wellsford, a stud sheep breeder with over 50 years experience, has been involved in several studies by AgResearch scientist Reg Keogh examining the causes of pneumonia.

He spoke from the floor at the field day pointing out the studies suggest hot humid nights often result in higher incidence.

“It seems to hit on those hot humid nights when you just want to throw the blanket off Reg Keogh you.”

Warning signs include a reluctance to move, a running nose and flies around the face due to breath odour.

It can often be cured with a shot of long-acting penicillin.

The disease is most lethal in northern parts of New Zealand, especially in years of high humidity in late summer.

Prevention is far better than cure and Levet suggests getting lambs off flats or heavily sheltered areas and onto hills.

“The higher the better.”

Pasture can also be a factor and results from a survey conducted on Levet’s farm suggest animals fed alternative pastures like chicory and plantain often are more resilient than those that grazed on rye and clover mix.

In a 1998 study, 10 flocks of lambs were fed on different pastures, monitored and then had their lungs examined after they were killed.

More than 90% of lambs grazing on both pasture species showed lung damage but those off crops and clover showed virtually no physical signs of pneumonia, indicating nutrition without toxins helped lambs’ immune systems to combat the disease.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

animal health 39

Help your pup get started APPARENTLY THERE are a lot of Huntaway and Heading dogs that aren’t interested in sheep. Their lives are short.

In most cases it isn’t a dog problem, it is a person problem and it will be one of two scenarios: the trainer is doing something he/she shouldn’t be doing; the trainer isn’t doing what he/she should be doing.

Young dogs are similar to children in many ways. Some start doing things earlier than others.

It doesn’t mean there is something wrong with the late starters; they just need a little more time.

Or maybe all they need is a different approach to learning.

There is the occasional dog that will start going to work with you, instinctively know what to do, and when, and never put a foot wrong.

Stop taking it to work, wrap it in cotton wool and breed heaps of pups from it, because it is the exception.

I mentioned last month that some dogs are overwhelmed by work situations; and that I start all my pups quietly in the sheep-yards, one on one, and with no pressure. But if you do this and your pup still isn’t showing interest what can you try before sending it to a change of scenery and someone else?

Firstly, do not even start worrying before the pup is seven months old – it is only a baby.

Tie the young dog up safely (ie so it doesn’t hang or injure itself) in a relatively small yard with a few very quiet sheep and leave it there for a couple of hours. Make sure the pup is neither too hot nor too cold. The yard needs to be small enough that the sheep are only 3-4

metres away, but not so small that they are too close as this will scare and intimidate your dog rather than acclimatise it.

In the area that the pup is normally let out for exercise, build a small pen and put 3-4 quiet sheep in it. When the pup discovers them it can show an interest without the sheep or pup coming to any harm. You can leave it loose for a while, to run round the pen barking or eyeing the sheep but do keep an eye on things from afar. (Important – the pup is not in the pen with the sheep).

Try playing around in a big yard with a few sheep in a non work situation, using an older dog to demonstrate to the pup. Use a dog of the same breed – Huntaway with Huntaway pup, Heading with Heading pup. Initially keep the pup close to you on a long rope, just watching for a while, then drop the rope and see if it joins in.

Take another pup, one that has already started, into the yard with the sheep, and let both pups go. Have long ropes on each of them, so that you can gain control easily.

This is like children joining in on a game and often works.

Don’t try everything all at once, and don’t try every day - you will just get frustrated. Always have a long thin rope trailing behind your pup so that you can easily gain control when it does decide to start. Lastly, be prepared to wait; it will

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

40 animal health

Welfare angles among Ruakura work A central North Island discussion group of sheep and beef farmers recently visited Ruakura to find out how relevant current research is to their needs. Sue Edmonds reports.

MUCH OF the research in the Waikato is, perhaps understandably, more relevant to dairy farmers

than sheep and beef farmers.

But animal welfare issues cross all bound-

aries, as a Central North Island discussion group found out on a recent visit to AgResearch’s

Ruakura site.

Jim Webster, AgResearch’s team leader for farm systems north,

Docking: Just one of the welfare issues sheep and beef farmers need to be aware of, says Jim Webster (inset).

THE PROOF IS IN THE PREPARATION

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explains welfare organisations around the world spend $US200 million a year promoting their causes.

Meanwhile public perception of what can be seen as ethical food can move faster than the legal processes to back them up, he warns.

“New Zealand has huge advantage in this area, with its promotion of sustainability, environmental issues and animal welfare rules, but supermarkets around the world are now setting private standards, and we have to be seen to meet these.”

Webster says it’s firmly established that sentience (or possession of feelings) applies to animals too, and their quality of life is seen through the eye of the beholder: increasingly welfare’s not just about animal health, but feelings and naturalness.

Welfare issues for sheep and beef farmers to consider include: use of analgesia for castration; body condition; docking, he suggests.

Facial eczema is another area where Ruakura’s work is relevant to sheep and beef, with three strategies underway to minimise the fungal sporeinduced disease.

In conjunction with DairyNZ, a group of farmers, and some MAF Sustainable Farming Fund support, AgResearch is looking at liming as a tool to deter spore development; using architecturally loose pasture species to minimise dead material and consequent fungal build up; and variation and reliability of current methods of spore counts supplied to farmers.

AgResearch executive officer, Simon Lovatt, outlined some of the different work being carried out elsewhere by the CRI’s scientists which will be relevant to the non-dairy sector, including genomics

and resultant tools such as MyoMax. An interesting sideline he mentioned is AgResearch’s new wool/ polyester fabric for martial arts garments. It’s just as robust as the old double weave cotton fabric, but much more comfortable to wear and doesn’t absorb moisture/sweat.

AgResearch is also involved in the Pastoral 21 project; multi-faceted research focused on areas associated with environmental decline, such as emissions to water, extinction of species and erosion.

The day wound up with a rousing presentation by Christine Couldrey, who grew up in the Waikato, went overseas and learned a lot, and has returned to give back her skills to her home territory. She works in epigenetics, things which alter the expression of genes, and even the DNA sequence itself.

“The phenotype is the recognised shape and qualities of an animal, and has to date been seen as a combination of the genotype plus its environment. With the assistance of the recently developed SNP chips (which can now measure anywhere between 50,000 and 1 million genetic traits), we can now spot changes in gene sequences caused by environmental factors or nutrition in individual animals. While most of these changes remain with an individual, some can be inherited.”

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

42 animal health

TB controls eased in central North Island THE HARD work of TB vector control is starting to pay dividends across the Central North Island.

Last week the Animal Health Board announced a total of 2450 cattle and deer herds across the region Island have had their bovine tuberculosis (TB) movement control restrictions or testing requirements reduced.

AHB technical and

farm services manager Stu Hutchings says the reduction is due to falling herd infection rates and a strong focus on TBinfected wildlife control.

“This has been achieved through focused possum control and other wildlife surveillance to assess whether TB is still present in an area.

“However, it would not have been possible with-

out the help and co-operation of farmers,” he adds.

AHB’s revised TB control strategy aims to eradicate TB from wild animal populations, which will lead to even less herd testing in the future. Infected wild animals, particularly possums, continue to be the main carrier of TB and source of the disease in farmed cattle and deer.

The changes to the

movement control restrictions will affect herd owners in the northern tip of the Central North Island Movement Control Area (MCA) from March 1, 2012.

“The change to the MCA boundary will remove the need for premovement herd testing of 199 cattle and deer herds,” says Hutchings.

Of the 2450 affected

herds, more than 2250 will benefit from less TB testing due to changes in Special Testing Area policies in the North Island.

Hutchings says AHB is “proud to once again deliver some direct benefits to registered cattle and deer herds.”

Central North Island deer farmer Leith Chick, who has had his herd movement restrictions

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antibiotic use on farm will promote resistant bugs which subsequently infect humans.

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The work focused on MRSA CC398, a strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and suggests it probably

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types of acute infections, including skin and soft tissue infections, respiratory infections, and bacteremia (also called sepsis).

Researchers at 20 insti-

The fact CC398 originally came from a human is significant TGen’s team say their findings illustrate a very close link between antibiotic use on the farm and potentially lethal human infections.

MRSA is the cause of a variety of invasive skin infections that can quickly turn life-threatening. In 2003 a novel form of MRSA called CC398 emerged in livestock.

CC398 regularly infects US farm workers and others who come into contact with infected livestock with any of several

tutes, including TGen and the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, joined forces to study 89 genomes from humans and animals, including turkeys, chickens and pigs, spanning 19 countries and four continents. They found that the jump of Staph from humans to livestock was followed by the bacterium becoming resistant; first to tetracycline, and then later to methicillin – two important antibiotics for treating Staph infections.

“Most of the ancestral

Stu Hutchinson

revoked, says it’s a major step forward for TB control in the area.

“Farmers’ continued support and compliance with the TB control strategy has contributed greatly to the reduction in the Central North Island

MCA and changes to testing requirements,” says Chick. Affected herdowners will be notified of when their next test is due, or can visit www.tbfree.org. nz/dcamap to check if they have been affected by the changes.

Lamb survival findings

human strains were sensitive to antibiotics, whereas the livestock strains had acquired resistance on several independent occasions,” says Ross Fitzgerald of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who reviewed the paper for American Society for Microbiology journal mBio. “This implies that the bacterium picked up the ability to fend off antibiotics after it migrated into livestock.”

The fact CC398 originally came from a human is significant, says Fitzgerald, because it shows that infection is a two-way street.

“Intensive farming practices could promote the transfer of bacteria between different host species including humans to animals.”

Rachelle Hergenhan

RESEARCH AT the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) is shedding light on lamb survival.

Postgraduate work by Rachelle Hergenhan found ram breed and late pregnancy nutrition made no difference to the time it took lambs to suckle, but within breed there were significant differences between rams in terms of vigour of their progeny.

“There were high correlations between the vigour score measured for ram progeny groups and the time these lambs took to suckle.”

The findings suggest breeders could select rams for lamb survivability.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

animal health 43

Online conference seeks pain solutions P E T ER BURK E

Massey University’s Professor of Animal Welfare Science, David Mellor has just presented a paper to an international conference on laboratory animal science. Nothing unusual you might say, except that in this case Mellor and all the other participants were based at home or at work and not at the conference venue because this was a ‘virtual conference’.

in this area and says his paper was directed at widening the perception of what animals experience in a negative sense and what they can experience in a positive sense.

He says by understanding this, researchers can do more to minimise negative impacts on animals.

New Zealand uses animals widely in research and this is well regulated by the National Animal Ethics Advisory Commit-

“There was an opportunity for the participants to ask questions.

They did this by typing their questions and it comes out on your desktop and you answer the question verbally.”

It was organised by the Veterinary Bioscience Institute and LabRoots in the United States. Mellor says there is world-wide interest in the management and care of animals used in laboratories for testing procedures. The conference focused on looking at ways of minimising the invasiveness or impact of experiments on animals.

“For example if you are going to undertake a procedure that might cause pain, then you have an obligation to minimise that. You can’t do that unless you can recognise the animal is in pain. Some very interesting work is being carried out on rats and even sheep on the use of facial expressions to indicate whether these animals are in pain.”

Mellor is an expert

“There was an opportunity for the participants to ask questions. They did this by typing their questions and it comes out on your desktop and you answer

the question verbally.”

The advantages of the virtual conference are time, cost and low carbon footprint. But he says he missed the informal interaction that occurs at

David Mellor

normal conferences.

“But in a world of today this sort of conference will increase and organisers will find ways of setting up that ‘between sessions interaction’.”

THE PROOF IS IN THE PREPARATION

tee. But he says there is always a drive to do better.

“For example, in my paper I pointed out that whenever there is going to be a negative impact on an animal, there is a requirement to demonstrate that precautions and measures that have been taken keep that negative impact to an absolute minimum. What we can do better is keep on learning how animals perceive their world and how they experience it so we can better minimise negative impacts on them.”

About 60 scientists from nine countries viewed his presentation. He based himself at Massey University in Palmerston North because of its high speed broadband. He simply logged onto a website and at an allotted time began his presentation.

in brief Beef genetics conference BEEF AUSTRALIA says May’s genetics conference in Rockhampton is “a must” for producers.

The event precedes the national cattle expo, Beef Australia 2012, running May 6-7, with the expo running May 7-12.

The Bayer & Bioniche International Beef Cattle Genetics Conference programme features international experts and Australian industry pioneers, who will outline the tools and strategies to increase genetic improvement, as well as permanently and sustainably increase productivity of the national herd, say organisers.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

44 animal health

Mastitis incidence down – next year starts now p eter bu r ke

The overall incidence of mastitis in cows this year is down, a field day at the Westpac Taranaki Agricultural Research Station at Hawera last week heard.

DairyNZ’s Chief Scientist, Dr Eric Hillerton, says he believes that one of the reasons for this is that dairy farmers are learning from past mistakes and have taken on board good advice.

“Some people are saying ‘I’m not so tight on my expenditure therefore I can invest in mastitis control and get returns on that investment.’

“The other issue we are starting to face is that as mastitis is measured as a cell count it’s about the number of cells

“In terms of animal health one of a farmer’s biggest costs is drying cows off, which can cost about $20 per animal.” and the volume of milk, so there’s a dilution effect. If a farmers’ milk volume moves up 9% then there’s a likelihood that the cell counts will be down by a similar proportion.”

However Hillerton, who is an internationally recognised expert on mastitis, acknowledges that not all parts of the country have had it easy this year.

“We’ve got lots of grass, depending where you are of course. In Southland they would deny that they have lots of

feed, and in the Manawatu they tell us it’s been very wet.”

Well over 100 farmers turned up for the field day and DairyNZ says it is delighted at the response.

Hillerton believes the turn out shows there is a lot of interest in dealing with mastitis.

As the dairy season starts to draw to a close he suggests dairy farmers need to look at what issues they need to manage and consider animal health as a priority.

Dr Eric Hillerton centre talks to local farmers Pat Poletti and Annie Tapper

“In terms of animal health one of a farmer’s biggest costs is drying cows off, which can cost about $20 per animal.

That could be a quarter to a third of their animal health costs so it’s worth giving it some thought,” he stresses.

His key message to farmers is this: “Plan what you are going to do because what you do now is how you will set your cows up for next season. Understand what your problems are, and then look at the strategies that you can

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adopt to deal with these problems, and that means information and using the right information.

“As it’s an animal health issue, the advice only comes from your vet,” he adds.

On the day, local vet Aaron Chambers presented two case studies on how he’s been able to help farmers deal with major mastitis problems.

• More from the field day in Rural News’ sister paper Dairy News next week.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

machinery & products 45

Kawasaki sticks to KISS principle A dam F r i c k e r

When trikes and quads first appeared on farms they were primarily for all terrain transport – fairly basic and with moderate power.

In true Kiwi fashion, farmers have put these machines to a wider range of tasks over the years, for example towing, and the engine capacity has been increased to cope.

But with rising complexity and power has come higher prices – often more than can be justified if the quad is used largely to get people around the farm carrying a few tools. In such cases a two wheeler has until now been the more cost effective option.

Kawasaki have responded with a 4 x 2 300cc quad that does everything but tow the boat, yet only costs $6434

+ gst – the Brute Force 300.

Pukekohe dairy farmer Brian Gallagher, who was kind enough to host Rural News for a test day on his farm, has been buying Kawasaki for years now and was keen to compare the Brute Force 300 with his current ride, a 2006 KLF 300. Both quads are 4 x 2, but the new one is more sharply priced relative to the market than his old one was in 2006.

Price point will be a key to the Brute Force’s success.

The farm we rode on was moderately hilly with a few steep bits. Brian says two wheel drive is more than adequate for his needs, and the new

Pukekohe farmer Brian Gallagher (left) on the Kawasaki Brute Force 300 4 x 2. Kawasaki dealer Craig Brown is on Brian’s current ride, a 2006 KLF 300 4 x 2, which is still going strong

300 had no trouble with the hills and races we

tested it on.

At its heart, the Brute

Force has a liquidcooled 271cc single cylinder engine bolted to a fully automatic CTV transmission and centrifugal clutch. The engine features electric start with backup recoil starter and a balancer for smoothness. This unit is not of the massive power outputs we are now seeing from the big 800cc bruisers, but is more than fit for purpose and never felt underpowered around the farm.

Despite the competitive price, this quad doesn’t lack anything, with disc brakes up front, “bigATV” styling, and long travel suspension (double wishbone up front with 131mm travel and swing-

arm rear with 141mm travel). Some entry-level quads really feel cheap, but this one punches above its price point in terms of the way it goes and the build quality.

The ride was comfortable across heavily rutted ground, with only the occasional big jolt being transmitted to the handle bars.

Without the front differential and driveshafts of a 4WD, the curb weight is 243kg, rendering power steer unnecessary, and making for an easy handling quad. Towing capacity is still reasonable at 227kg (some farmers will no doubt exceed this, but that’s another story).

Practical features include a sealed front storage area that holds the equivalent of four halflitre bottles. This is where the tool kit lives. It also

has steel carriers that hold 20kg front and rear and have a number of tie-down points. Instrumentation includes speedo, odometer, clock, fuel gauge and coolant temperature light.

Both Rural News and Brian Gallagher were on the same page by the end of the ride; if your requirements are farm transport with that bit of extra carrying capacity, comfort and safety, the Brute Force 300 ticks all the boxes. And it’s the same price as a decent two wheeler.

If Brian’s old 2006 KLF wasn’t going so strong, he might have even bought one, and when time is up for the old girl, he will probably consider it, given his previous buying history.

In the meantime, he is looking at adding a Mule to the fleet. We’ll cover that in the next issue.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

46 machinery & products

NZ champion Taylor-made to excel! to ny h o p k i nso n

It was love at first sight when Malcolm Taylor visited New Zealand on holiday back in 1972.

“I still love the place,” he tells Rural News. “And the opportunities and challenges it presented to a young lad from Gloucester back then has helped me get to where I am today.”

One of those challenges – or opportunities – resulted in Taylor winning a national Ploughing Championship in 2010 with a reversible plough.

He went on to represent New Zealand at the World Championship in Sweden in 201, finishing eighth in the stubble and winning a bronze medal in the grassland section.

It was the now defunct Dairy Association, based in Morrinsville, advertising for staff in the UK that attracted Taylor back to NZ. And the day after he was married, in May 1973, Malcolm and wife Angela – along with his brother and wife, and 64 other couples – set sail for farm jobs in New Zealand.

The Taylors’ first job was working for a Tatua Dairy Company supplier for two years. This was

followed by bigger jobs, which eventually led them to sharemilking.

They bought their first farm in 1981 and moved on to their present farm of 104ha, adjacent to the Arapuni Dam in 1990. This was originally a sheep and beef property, which Taylor waited two years before converting to dairying. A further 80ha was added and they now run as two separate farms one with 36-bale rotary with a Jersey herd, the other with a 24-aside herring bone with a Friesian crossbred herd.

“We started in a golden era in New Zealand farming with butterfat in pounds and farms in acres and believing that nothing is impossible and we’ve had 40 glorious years.”

Since arriving in NZ, as well as farming, Taylor has also been involved in contracting starting with silage making and conventional bales.

“I have always liked machinery so contracting became a paying hobby.”

The business grew rapidly until he had eight tractors and was servicing 36 local farmers – just doing hay and silage.

Malcolm Taylor’s interest in ploughing started

Ploughing through the challenge of dyslexia.

seven years ago when he met Alan Wallace, who set him in the right direction.

Wallace was New Zealand’s first World Ploughing Champion when he won the title back in 1981.

“He continues to inspire me and acts as my mentor.”

Ploughing also activated long-held memories of ploughing with his father when he was 10 years old.

Angela Taylor started ploughing in 2005 and has won several qualifying events. “I think she got bored watching me.”

Her highest placing in a New Zealand championship was fifth in the stubble section.

Malcolm Taylor has only ploughed in competitions, never for cultivation purposes. He started ploughing with a conventional two furrow plough and competed at his first Nationals at Rotorua in 2004.

“I didn’t want to come last, so I felt I’d achieved by coming 18th out of a field of 23.”

In 1995, the World Ploughing Association invited reversible ploughs for demonstration purposes and in 1997 they became part of the compe-

tition. Each country sends one conventional and one reversible to the World Championships.

Taylor bought his first reversible plough in 2005.

In 2008, he won the New Zealand title and he competed at the World Championships held in Slovenia – finishing 14th.

“I took my own plough and I learnt as much as I could.” He has modified his plough and now only uses plastic mould boards.

Taylor, again, won the New Zealand Championships in 2010 and ploughed at the World Championships held in Sweden in 2011.

“This time I finished 5th overall, eighth in the stubble and a bronze medal for third in the grassland section.”

For the competition, he sea freighted his McCormick CX95 tractor and plough from New Zealand to Sweden. Following his success, Taylor then drove the tractor and plough from Gottenburg to catch a ferry in Norway to the UK, where he based himself at Nottingham where his son was working on a family farm.

Then he had a true “ploughman’s” holiday, spending seven months competing in the UK. Transport was expensive so he drove his tractor and plough to most events.

Taylor says his proudest achievement was to plough the “Five Nations” competing in England, Wales, Eire, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

“I especially wanted to compete in Scotland, Eire, Northern Ireland, as well

as Austria as that is where the best reversible ploughmen come from and I wanted to learn from the best.”

Malcolm Taylor

At Clinton in 2011, Taylor again won the Reversible Plough Championships and in September 2012 will be representing New Zealand at the World Championships in Croatia.

At present, his tractor and plough are in Inverness Scotland, where he last competed, and he will make arrangements to shift them to the World Championship site.

Taylor is on the organising committee of the Waikato Ploughing Association, organising and running the New Zealand Ploughing championships being held at Cambridge on April 14 and 15.

Malcolm Taylor will plough at the 2012 world champs in Croatia in September.

Overcoming dyslexia Three years ago Malcolm Taylor came to realise he was dyslexic.

This meant many of the challenges and problems he had encountered all his life suddenly had new meaning.

“I left school at 13 because I could not learn or be taught,” he says. “Things that I now know are just some of the myriad of problems faced by dyslexic people as they go through life.”

Taylor’s realisation of his problem came from an encounter with Laughton King who had written a book, “Dyslexia Dismantled,” explaining the world from the perspective of a person who suffers from dyslexia.

King’s book explained about people appearing bright, highly intelligent and articulate – but sometimes being unable to read, write or spell at grade level. They feel dumb and have low/poor self esteem – because they know the answers, but cannot put it on paper.

“Looking back, I realise that having dyslexia has helped and hindered me in the many things I have done,” Taylor explains. “Now owning, knowing and facing the issue has helped me put my life into a better space.”

Malcolm Taylor is now happy to talk about his situation and does what he can to publicise Laughton King’s book. One way he’s done this was while ploughing at the World Championships in Sweden he carried a sign promoting King’s book on his tractor.

PH 0508 726 726

www.sammachinery.co.nz

SAM, the name behind New Zealand farmers for over 50 years KingSt11009_RN_A

Rural News // march 6, 2012

machinery & products 47 Cleaner for both shed and environment

Aiming for perfectly-shaped bales Round baler manufacturer Kuhn says it offers farmers one of the most complete, efficient and reliable baler ranges on the market.

It says in order to offer a product matching farmer expectations, the new intake system – with cleaning hatch – already fitted on its round balers with variable chamber (VB OptiCut) is now also available on the fixed chamber models FB 2130

OptiCut 14 and FB 2135.

The variable chamber models VB 2160 and VB 2190 in OptiFeed version, as well as on all the balerwrapper combinations i-BIO, FBP and VBP, also have the new system.

These models are also equipped with a pick-up working width of 2.30m in order to collect increasingly larger swaths. This pick-up is standard. It is also fitted with a short crop roller of

diameter 18 cm. The manufacturer says this facilitates the forage flow and distribution over the pick-up width.

The intake rotor always benefits from the Integral Technology with two centring augers on both ends, but the star-shaped flanges now feature two tines instead of three to increase the intake capacity and thus limit clogging risks.

A cleaning system, by hydrauli-

cally controlled pivoting bottom, is fitted on these new baler versions.

The hatch located underneath the rotor pivots hydraulically (as well as the knives on the OptiCut versions), with monitoring from the tractor cab in order to evacuate forage rapidly.

Kuhn says this new feature is simpler technology for forming perfectly shaped round bales.

THE PERFECT MIX OF PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTIVITY & COMFORT EXPLORER3 85 – 100 – 110

DAIRY HYGIENE company Ecolab has launched Ecolab Concentrated Acids, meeting the challenge of handling large detergent volumes: handling and environmentally ‘friendliness’. Three concentrates are offered: Optimum2 Concentrate combines sanitising (free of quaternary ammonium compounds), with a mix of organic and inorganic acids that enhance detergency. It works over a wide range of water conditions.

Optimum Concentrate is a high-performance, acidic detergent sanitiser for cleaning milking equipment, especially difficultto-clean installations.

Klenz All-Temp Concentrate is a high-performance acid detergent QAC

Explorer models are designed especially for agricultural use, offering high power and torque over a wide range of speeds.

• Deutz 2012 series engines, 4-cylinder turbo, 4038 cc • B100 100% compatible • Transmission – 5 speed gearbox, 4 ranges x 2 powershift (40 fwd & 40 rev), with creeper and hi-lo

sanitiser for routine cleaning of stainless steel milking machines and farm vats.

Ecolab says it has worked to remove water from the formulations.

“This has resulted in using less water and energy during manufacturing, and less fuel when you transport the product back to your farm.

“The concentrated formula also means dairy farmers will handle 50% less product when manually dispensing.

For example, 75ml vs 150ml per 100L of wash solution. This will give greater control when carrying product to the wash tub.”

• Low fuel consumption • Hydraulic P.T.O with 4 speeds 540/540eco/1000/1000eco • Hydrostatic braking on all four wheels • Cabin and ROPS options

Forward/Reverse Power Shuttle & Powershift

IRON 110 – 112hp 4cyl Iron 110 features: • Cab suspension • Hydraulic 75 gear pump, 3 rear remotes & dedicated system • Transmission – 24 x 8 with overspeed

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ELC rear linkage, 6220kg lift capacity Hyd 4x4 & diff lock Fuel tank 180 Litres Tyres – F: 440/65R.28 R: 540/65R 38

IRON 115 – 127hp 6cyl

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Iron 115 features: • Hi-vis cabin c/w passenger seat • Cab suspension • Hydraulic 75 gear pump, 3 rear remotes & dedicated system

• 24/8 transmission, 40kph @ Eco engine RPM • ELC rear linkage, Hyd 4x4 & diff lock • Tyres – F: 540/65R.24 R: 600/65R 38

IRON 130 – 132hp 6cyl Iron 115 features: • Deutz 1404 V model features DCR 4 valve engine technology • Hi-vis cabin pass seat (cab suspension)

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WHANGAREI Bryant Tractors 09 438 1319

TAURANGA Capital Tractor Services 07 543 0021

GISBORNE Wilson Farm Services 06 837 0095

SILVERDALE Gatmans Mowers & More 09 426 5612

WHAKATANE Jacks Machinery 07 308 7299

HASTINGS Stortford Machinery Ltd 06 876 6012

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NEW PLYMOUTH Ag Traction Taranaki 06 759 8432

FEILDING Power Farming Manawatu 06 323 8182 MASTERTON James Trucks & Machinery 06 370 8240 BLENHEIM Marlborough Tractor Services 03 572 8787 NELSON Brian Millar Truck and Tractor 03 544 5723

NORTH CANTERBURY Northern Tractor Services 027 431 3404 POWER FARMING TIMARU 0272 810 042 GREYMOUTH 029 200 1202 GORE Peter Thompson Machinery 03 208 9179

Rural News // march 6, 2012

48 machinery & products

Reliable PZ mower gets makeover B E R N A RD LILBURN

KUHN PZ mowers have been around for 45 years, and the maker should know a bit about manufacturing them.

Just released to the New Zealand market is the PZ 960 triple drum mower, the latest in the 900 series.

For tractors of 100-150hp it can be combined with the front-mounted PZ350 F mower providing solutions for contractors and farmers.

Kuhn cites a “unique combination” of two large outer drums with two smaller diameter inners. A multi-function hydraulic control that enables folding of the units separately is fitted to the PZ 960 as standard equipment.

The PZ 960 comes in working widths of 8.40, 8.65 or 8.95m, and the cutting height can be adjusted steplessly without tools. Blade changes can be done in a few minutes, again without tools. Access to the drums is easy via hinged side and front covers.

All wear parts are easily replaced, and the unit with its Lift Control suspension is designed to shift rearwards when encountering an obstacle. The cover, of deformable plastic, springs back to its original shape without breaking if an obstacle is hit.

Tel. 0800 585 007 www.kuhn.co.nz

“New generation post drivers make fencing much easier”

Farming techniques are constantly changing, so you need gear that can adapt to all conditions. Fence-Pro design their post drivers so you can easily add options such as side mount units, augers or rock spikes later on. Then you can be assured that as your needs change, your post driver is still the best one for the job.

New free pasture management tool Pasture management – quality and quantity – has direct links to productivity, says LIC’s general manager of farm systems Rob Ford.

“With grass being the cheapest form of food, farmers need to be sure they are making the most of their supply.

“If you get that wrong, then your production will be suffering as a consequence.

“Often the most successful farmers, with the highest production, are the ones who are paying careful attention to how their pasture is tracking too.”

Ford says a new addition to the dairy farmer

a farmer a clear picture of their feed supply, and allows them to see what likely changes may be ahead, Ford says.

“They just need to add data from the last farm walk, and MINDA does the rest avoiding all the time normally taken to collate and interpret the data.

“They can quickly see how each of their paddocks are tracking, from shortest to longest, all compared to pre and post grazing targets.

“Then they can use this information to make decisions about which paddocks to graze next, harvesting silage, re-grassing, applying nitrogen, purchasing or feeding sup-

improve their herd’s performance, so it is a logical extension to provide farmers with tools to make it easier and more efficient to monitor their grass growth in MINDA too.

“Farmers want to manage every aspect of their farm operations; they trust MINDA to manage their herd records – now it does their land as well.

“This is just the first step for pasture management tools in MINDA, and it is an opportunity to give it a go, see how easy it is, and what value it can add, especially with both animal and land information in one whole farm management system,” Ford adds.

plement and culling cows or increasing numbers.”

MINDA Land & Feed Basic is the first of a suite of pasture management tools coming to MINDA, as the traditional herd management software moves to be a full farm management system.

Ford says the majority of New Zealand dairy farmers use MINDA to

A ‘Pro’ version will follow later this year with more enhanced tools for planning, forecasting and feed budgeting.

MINDA Land & Feed joins another recent addition to MINDA - MINDA Milk - on the new web-based platform at www.minda. co.nz.

Pasture management has direct links to productivity.

Give us a call today to see which model suits you best.

www.fence-pro.co.nz info@fence-pro.co.nz

0800 362 776

FENCE-PRO New Generation Post Drivers

co-op’s herd recording software, MINDA, makes it simple, with the recent launch of LIC’s new pasture management tool.

Known as MINDA Land & Feed Basic, the new feature is free for MINDA customers, with a simple tool for farmers to record their grass covers and create a feed wedge.

A feed wedge gives

Rural News // march 6, 2012

machinery & products 49

Mowers built to go the distance Tony H o p k inso n

When a farm mows about 1600ha per annum they need a machine that will go the distance. So when the owners of Jedburgh Station in Eastern Southland were buying a new mower the logical choice was a set of SIP Silvercut Double Mowers.

They are a Silvercut 300 Front Mount and a Silvercut 380 Back Mount and can be operated independently.

“They are simple, heavily built and easy to drive,” says station manager, Murray Kennedy.

The station covers 3300ha, 1800ha effective and carries 18500 stock units. They crop 100ha for winter feed, 70ha of silage and top the rest of the farm.

The biggest change is going from the previous mowers’ 3m cut to a mower cutting 6.7m.

“This set up with the front and a rear mower makes short work of a paddock,” says Jedburgh’s tractor driver Gavin Richardson.

He says with the centre pivot and hydraulic float system it makes it easy to drive and they are getting a tidy job even on real “gnarly” paddocks.

They are using a Valtra 191 tractor, 200hp, which has been an eye opener to Kennedy as they formerly used a 110hp tractor so the hours are well down and they are using a lot less diesel.

“It just goes to show that with technology in the new tractor and mower, while the initial cost is high we can save a huge amount in mowing and operating costs.”

This is the first SIP mower imported into New Zealand by Webbline and while at present not well known here according to sales manager of Webbline, Glen Malcolm, this will change.

“The company is based in Slovenia, part of the old Yugoslavia and is already a major player in the European harvesting scene.”

They export 85% of their production and produce some models of hay handling equipment which are re-branded for several well known European brands some already here in New Zealand. They manufacture drum and disc mowers 1.65m to 8.5m, tedders 4.0m to 8.15m and rotary

rakes up to 7.6m.

They also manufacture maize harvesting and manure spreading equipment.

“All SIP products are covered by a two season factory backed warranty, which gives assurance given the tough working conditions here in New Zealand,” says Malcolm.

Ideal for recharging In the past, finding the ideal solution for protecting expensive deep cycle batteries from excessive discharging has been a challenge.

This is because units automatically disconnect the load of low voltage disconnect (LVD) when the voltage has dropped to the disconnection point. When deep cycle batteries run down to very low power levels they can be difficult to re-charge without professional equipment and this may also reduce their serviceable life.

However, battery maintenance and battery power equipment specialist Projecta recently released two low voltage disconnect (LVD) units for fitting to auxiliary batteries, which are now available in New Zealand.

The 12V 30A Low Voltage Disconnect is ideal for 4WD vehicles, camper trailers and smaller caravan applications, while the 12V 50A model is designed for larger caravans and motorhomes. They are also suited for marine use.

The voltage detection on these new units is fully adjustable to best suit the application and multi-coloured LEDs provide a clear indication of the connection status.

Both the 30A and 50A units have potted electronics to prevent the ingress of water and dust, are compact in size and each comes complete with robust mounting points built into the housing.

The Projecta Low Voltage Disconnect units are available from leading automotive accessory and caravan/ motor home outlets throughout New Zealand under part numbers LVD30 and LVD50.

MS1189

Rural News // march 6, 2012

50 machinery & products Accolade for New Holland Combines The Combine Category of the recent Machine of the Year 2012 Awards has been won by the New Holland CR range of combine harvesters. These stateof-the-art machines boast Cursor Diesel power ranging from 8.7 to 9.8 litre Tier (Euro) 4 compliant engines, from 449 to 571 hp. These engines are fitted with the latest ECOblue technology resulting in claimed 10% less fuel consumption, and a faster throttle response. Road speed is stated to be up to 30km/h with engine speed of only 1600rpm.

Coming in 12m and 14m lightweight aluminum heads, soil compaction is reduced and to compli-

This new range continues to offer intelligent innovations that increase agricultural sustainability. ment this New Holland have developed for the CR range their SmartTrax system, which gives the added benefits of better traction and increased sideways stability. The triangle structure is said to reduce compaction by as much as 57% compared to wheeled harvesters.

With the new CR range of headers, New Holland has introduced the SuperFlex draper head specifically designed to match the high capacity CR Series Twin Rotor and CX8000

Series Super-Conventional combines.

Product specialist Greg Moore says: “Header designs play an important role in reducing harvesting losses. The new heads provide closer cutting and better flotation so every bit of the valuable crop is harvested.”

A patented rubber spring flotation system allows the 880CF head to follow contours more closely. Among the many new features in this new range of headers is a

shorter skid shoe design reducing weight and allowing the cutter bar to travel closer to the ground allowing the cutter bar to flex. A hydraulic centre knife drive system uses New Holland’s patented Synchroknife single gearbox mounted under the centre draper to drive both knife assemblies. This patented design neutralises header vibration, gives a smooth cutting action and distributes weight evenly.

The cutter bar draper headers are available in cutting widths of 30, 35, 40 and 45 feet. The two smaller heads have a single span plastic tine pickup reel, while the larger models use dual span reels

with plastic tines. New Holland president Franco Fusignani says: “This new range continues to offer intelligent innovations that increase agricultural sustainability. The latest CR range of Combines represents the ultimate harvesting technology and has set new benchmarks in terms of harvesting productivity and efficiency for our customers.”

There are many new features with this new range of headers and a visit or phone call to your New Holland dealer will reveal all the benefits the CR range provides.

More: New Holland NZ, www.newholland.co.nz, 06 3654920.

MS1238

Help to get machines right on track

Gerben Klungel, export manager Zuidberg Tracks.

On display at Waimumu were these tracks from Dutch company Zuidberg Westtrack. The tracks can be added to from most vehicles above 50 hp to turn the machine into a tracked vehicle.

“These tracks enable a farmer or contractor with the same tractor or machine to extend the working season by being able to work when ground conditions do not suit wheeled vehicles,” said Zuidberg Tracks export manager, Gerben Klungel.

They can be fitted to the drive wheels only ie harvesters, or to both axles for even more traction to drive over surfaces with a lower load bearing capacity earlier or later in the season.

The tracks are easily interchangeable with fitting and removal which can be done in a short time.

Machines do not require any major modifications.

“I believe a farmer should only take about 1 ½ hours to fit or remove the tracks to or from a tractor,” said Klungel.

With tractors the tracks are fitted directly onto the axle and with heavier combines and harvesters an adapter is put on the machine to carry the weight and the tracks are fitted to the adapter.

Tracks can be 30 cm to 92 cm wide and traction is increased with the tracks being self cleaning. Soil conditions are not damaged because ground pressure is reduced by up to 75 per cent so growth of crops is unaffected.

Tracks can also be custom made.

POA according to specifications www.zuidbergtracks.com NZ Agents: Schouten Machines Ltd, Gore Tel: 03 208 8059

Rural News // march 6, 2012

machinery & products 51

Investment in fuel tanks money well spent to ny h o p k i nso n

With the increasing refinements of today’s tractor and machine engines and the new world wide efforts to reduce pollution, Ed Harrison of Sebco fuel storage tanks believes the small expenditure on improved storage for diesel fuels is worth the expense.

“Farmers still using old steel storage tanks for diesel fuel run the risk of contaminating their fuel and causing expensive damage to the highlytuned engines in modern tractors.”

He states the inner surfaces of older tanks over the years, with accumulated condensation, have oxidised and deteriorated and the contaminants have found their way into the fuel causing expensive damages to today’s modern motors.

Sebco tanks are now six years old and well accepted by farmers.

They come in a variety of sizes to suit farmers and contractors. Self contained and available with their own power source they also have, in case of damage, their own bunding to stop fuel escaping to pollute the surrounding areas. They are fully lockable. Two new products were on display at the South Island Field

Days held at Waimumu.

Both have the same 500 L capacity tank and are able to be lifted by tractor FEL with a forklift or bale forks and loaded onto truck/ute decks and taken to the machines working in remote areas.

The tanks are lockable, have a water filter, venting cap and are supplied with 4m of delivery hose with nozzle and a pump with leads to be connected to a 12 volt battery or by a Euro plug to the tractor.

The first tank is for storing and carting diesel but the second with a different colour scheme, is for storing and transporting AdBlue, an exhaust additive to reduce pollution. Ad Blue is a high purity urea solution used in modern Euro vehicles in additional tanks positioned alongside the regular diesel tank. It is injected in a finely atomised form into the exhaust gases of all new model tractors. About 85 per cent of the emissions are converted by catalytic conversion to benign nitrogen gas and water which are not dangerous to nature.

It is injected at the rate of 3-5% of diesel consumption and is electronically adjusted to engine operating speed and temperature.

“At present there is limited distribution net-

Diggers ease flood damage Used to ease or stop flooding and water damage, as well as for water control, Ridder Diggers are able to dig surface drains and allow water to run off. They come with various options to suit different problems.

The machines consist of a rotating disc followed by a hanging skid shoe to form a channel for the water. The adjustable material discharge chute makes it possible to manage the spreading width with the cut out soil. All material is thrown well clear so there is no cleaning up needed Models suitable for tractors from 60hp to 100hp with options of right or left soil disposal and off set models are also available.

The hanging skid shoe comes in the shape of a “V” or with a flat bottom 8-12 cm wide. They can also be made to order. www.schouten.co.nz Price; Pictured model $7500.00 plus GST Tel; 03 208 8059

work for AdBlue and it is only available at depots so has to be collected which these new tanks are espe-

Ed Harrison of Sebco.

cially designed for.” www.sebco.co.nz POA 0800 473.224

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

52 machinery & products New subsoiler keen to make impression The benefits of soil aeration are known to all progressive farmers as a method to improve root development, soil composition, health and stimulate growth for grass and crops.

On the New Zealand Tractor stand at Waimumu was the Sumo Grassland Subsoiler (GLS) ideal for local conditions

with the larger model needing at least 135hp to operate efficiently.

Grant Reith, managing director of New Zealand Tractors which imports Sumo cultivation products, is the first to admit that while well known in the UK and synonymous with size and quality the brand is only now getting recognised in New Zea-

land for the same reasons.

“They make a range of products generally suited to the larger farmer and contractor.”

He reports the contracting scene here is changing as operators see the economy of scale with larger tractors and machines.

“As an indication last season I had 10 customers

with 500hp tractors and within 12 months I will have 20 customers with these large machines.”

In one pass the GLS will alleviate structural compaction in the root zone, consolidate and aerate the surface, removing and scattering any dead vegetation and surface debris. It leaves a soil environment conducive

to plant and grass growth, better able to stand the rigours of wet or dry weather.

The method is firstly a row of serrated edged discs on individually suspended arms cut through the surface. The depth they work is altered by a one bolt system. They are followed directly behind by the legs which can

easily enter the pre-cut soil. The legs have auto re-set as standard and have a two piece point on the shoe which lifts and fractures the soil. There working depth can be adjusted between 100-350 mm.

Then the full width packer with a diameter of 508mm rolls the land back down again. It has shark finned attachments which ensure surface soil aeration and act as a positive drive to the packer. Finally at the rear is a scarifying harrow which disturbs and removes any dead vegetation and scatters any

surface debris as well as covering any seeds broadcast in the process.

The depth the harrow works can be adjusted or lifted completely out of work when not needed.

A seeder can be attached to the machine which will broadcast seeds in bands behind each leg.

Price; Four leg Recommended 115hp, $22,700, Five leg Recommended 135hp, $26,000 Both prices are plus GST and include delivery anywhere in New Zealand.

Email nztractors@xtra. co.nz Tel; 03 308 7910

Future for wool press all good

MS1254

The wool press has not disappeared despite what has been spread around the traps, says, ICS Farm machinery managing director Ian Cowan.

After spending the past 20 years selling and servicing Lyco wool presses, firstly as the general manager of Lyco New Zealand and then as Master Distributor of Lyco products, Cowan has all the knowledge and experience required to manufacture the Dominator at his manufacturing facility based in Rangiora, North Canterbury.

A lack of supply from the Australian manufacturer of the Dominator wool press, who had taken over the product following the closure of Lyco Industries in Australia, is what prompted Cowan to start manufacturing the Dominator in New Zealand.

With so many Lyco machines in New Zealand he saw a need to continue supplying both spare parts and good quality new machines.

The ICS Dominator not only has all the attributes of the previous Lyco Dominator but has several improved features, such as fully automatic corner pinning ensuring contamination free bales, rear and front loading, and direct bale removal through the two opening sides. It is also easy to transport, fitting through standard doorways without any dismantling.

It comes fully assembled so can be wheeled into the wool shed and plugged into the wall socket, ready to use straight away.

Other improvements include increased horsepower from the electrical motor giving lower power draw, a fully enclosed bottom box giving shorter squarer bales, and faster cycle time.

“Demand has been high from both local and international customers; we have fulfilled orders from the USA, India, Sweden and Australia, and from our local customers who have been great in getting behind us with this venture,” says Cowan.

ICS Farm Machinery will continue to service all existing Lyco machines either directly from their workshop in Rangiora or through their network of existing service agents around the country. The ICS Dominator is sold and marketed through the existing stock merchants and most resellers previously appointed by Lyco, ensuring all customers continue to get the level of service they need and require.

Rural News // march 6, 2012

vintage 53

Harvesting just like grandad used to b e r nard l i l bu rn

Vintage machinery and tractor shows are increasing in popularity, and working ones more so, as people hang on to, want to experience or even reminisce on how things were done many years ago.

David and Jan Poppe of Vision Harvesting, near Maxwell, west of Wanganui have acquired some vintage harvesting and threshing machinery off a farm near Raetihi and instead of putting it in the shed, have put it to use.

“This is a dying art and is how my grandfather and father, years ago, had to harvest the crops,” David says. “It is important we preserve some of these activities.”

David and Jan had planted a crop of Awatapu oats, an older breed, near their base at Maxwell. Like many crops in the area this year, there was more “green” than normal, due to the great growing conditions for weeds with the wet summer. The oats have to be harvested when the seed head is still milky.

These then harden in the “stook” and the stalk dries out, enabling chaffing.

The Andrews and Bevan reaper and binder that David and Jan use is more than 100 years old and apart from getting clogged with the green in the crop, ran like the proverbial Swiss watch. They have had to replace the old canvas carriers and,

This Andrews & Bevan binder is still going strong after 100 years.

David and Jan Poppe put their vintage machinery to work.

with small modifications, have used plastic covers as the old canvas covers were slightly too narrow.

Of course, in original application, this machine was horse drawn and the drawbar had been modified many years ago to be towed by a tractor. David was keen to get one of his father’s antique tractors for the harvest to keep the authenticity, but logistics foiled that, so the newer Kubota tractor was pressed into service.

The tow behind harvester cuts the oats using a sickle bar knife, which fall on to the canvas and are then moved along the canvas, up and over where the machine ties the oats into bundles which are deposited on the ground beside the machine as it moves along. Remember that this machine was originally horse drawn, but I noticed the tractor Jan was driving, although slow, moved along at a what would be described “as a good clip” for a horse.

String is used to tie the bundles of oats. “Bale twine is unsuitable, and string has to be used and sourcing that can be challenging, especially in the

big balls we want” says Jan. After harvesting, the oats have then to be “stooked”, which is where the oat bundles

are stood on their ends to dry ­- a time consuming and labour intensive job.

David’s father, Graham, told me that when he started out contracting that there were as many as 10 people in the paddock doing the stooking.

The stooks consist of six bundles, and these are left to dry in the paddock for about a week to 10 days before being pitch-forked onto a wagon or trailer and

broad spectrum of agricultural work. Being a very good cropping area, a large amount of maize grain is grown, and this is one of their specialist jobs.

These two intrepid contractors are enjoying the experience, and have done their oat harvest like this for the past three years, reliving and keeping the past alive.

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then shed stored for about another month. Then the oats will be chaffed using the old thresher.

David says word of mouth has ensured a demand for the chaffed oats, and while he and Jan work very hard, it is also a labour of love.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

54 motoring

Kia’s Carnival comes to New Zealand A new variant of the popular 8-seater Kia Carnival people mover has been introduced to New Zealand to complement the existing super-luxury Limited, boasting a $6000 saving.

The new Carnival EX comes loaded with high

other features included in its standard specification are six airbags, electric rear quarter window operation, steering wheelmounted audio and cruise controls, front fog lights, electric heated door mirrors, remote central door locking with burglar alarm

equipment and comfort levels, with electric opening side doors, Bluetooth hands-free, dual zone climate A/C, plus reverse warning sensors and still represents extraordinary good value at only $45,990 plus ORC. Among the list of

and full electronic stability control.

Powered by the revised 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine the Carnival Ex delivers 202kW of peak power and 343Nm of torque, matched to a slick 6-speed sequential sports shift automatic transmission. Alloy wheels

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The new Kia Carnival EX is now available in New Zealand

and high power disc brakes all-round are also part of the exceptional package.

The Carnival EX also retains the highly praised modular seating system that includes removable mid seats and rear seats that fold down completely into the floor to provide a large flat cabin space.

“The Carnival EX is

aimed at those who want a well-equipped 8-seater that fits their family or business requirements at a more affordable price,” says Todd McDonald, general manager of Kia Motors New Zealand.

“By removing only some of the luxuries, such as leather upholstery, but retaining many of the popular items that customers

expect to see in a Kia, we have managed to create a very affordable and very desirable multi-passenger vehicle for the New Zealand market.”

Carnival has been one of the best selling people movers on the New Zealand market and the new EX 8-seater is now on sale at Kia dealerships throughout the country.

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Ford researchers, developing interior lighting in the 2013 Mondeo (called the Fusion in North America), considered the critical role lighting plays in relaying information to the driver.

According to the researchers, lighting works with design to create a balance of illumination that reduces eye strain and optimises driver-vehicle interaction.

Lighting in a vehicle is about space and dimension, explains Mahendra Dassanayake, Ford’s technical leader for design.

But there’s more to it.

“The brain does not see colour. What we call colour of light is actually a form of electromagnetic energy with different wavelengths.”

Certain levels or combinations of light trigger enzymes in the brain. Those enzymes cause emotional responses within the body – states we recognise as stress or calmness or happiness.

So it’s not your imagination – colour can affect how you feel. In fact, it affects everything from your buying choices to

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For example: There are shades of yellow that stimulate parts of the brain, bringing clearheaded, decisive action; Green, on the other hand, affects the nervous system, causing us to breathe slowly and deeply, helping the heart to relax by slowing the production of stress hormones; Red – arguably the most attention-getting of colours – likely will evoke the strongest emotions, be that passion or anger.

On the Ford Fusion in North America, the palette is ice blue, purple, blue, orange, red, white and green. The palette allows the customer to set and change each colour, depending on wants and needs.

With a seven-colour palette, customers have several options.

“We’re opening this up to let the customer decide,” Dassanayake adds. “It’s offering them a choice.” * *Colours available in New Zealand are still to be determined.

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Rural News // march 6, 2012

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TAIHAPE FARMER SAVED BY QUADBAR Emailed to me October 2, 2011.

Hello Stu, just a note to tell you that I fitted a quadbar to my bike only a month ago (purchased 24-8-11).

Last Saturday I managed to reverse (trying to unjamb the gear lever) over a sheer bank into a small creek and landed on my back on the other side of the creek with bike not having flipped but landing on it’s side.

There is no question that the quadbar has saved me from a serious injury, but more probably my life! Not only that, no damage to the bike, just a small tear on the sponge rubber. Yesterday I went to see an old mate who is home for a week from Burwood after six months wheelchair bound, and likely to be for the rest of his life, due to a pretty simple roll over. I asked him if he had any sort of roll bar. The answer was, of course, no, but that if he had, he wouldn’t be in a wheelchair today!

Stu, I can’t thank you enough for bringing these into the country and even though I complained at the time about the price, when you consider the easing of fitting it, it becomes very reasonable.

If you would like to have a yarn about this experience of mine (have some photos), give me a ring.

Footnote:Two farmers died in October from crush injuries – neither had a crush protection bar.

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