Rural News 4 Dec 2012

arable research FAR highlights the need to do things just a little differently. page 30

animal health Conviction serves as a warning to the illegal tagging of cattle. page 38

Rural NEWS

farm science Joint venture with industry heavyweights set to boost Maori farming.

page 12

to all farmers, for all farmers

december 4, 2012: Issue 528

Kelly to bow out

www.ruralnews.co.nz

Politics mires Fonterra poll SU DES H KISSU N

LANDCORP CHIEF executive Chris Kelly says he will leave the state-owned business about mid-2013 and a search has begun for his successor.

Kelly (66) has headed Landcorp for 13 years. Though his contract will have run out, the board has asked him to stay on to see some major projects such as the Crafar project bedded down.

Kelly says it’s time someone else has chance to run the business.

He’s on other boards and hopes to do more work as a professional director. But he also wants to slow down and relax.

The advertisement for the job notes that Landcorp owns or leases 376,156ha, has 119 farming properties and 1.5 million stock units, making it one of New Zealand’s largest farming operations.

• Crafar deal done - p10

sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA’S BOARD election has become mired in politics and is distracting from the co-op’s business, says former director Mark Townshend.

The Ngatea, Waikato, farmer says the co-op is too important to New Zealanders and shareholders to have personality politics distracting the business.

Townshend retired as a board member in 2007 after serving two three-

year terms. He expressed dismay at the public debate among shareholders as they vote for three director positions.

After the divisive and lengthy TAF (trading among farmers) vote in June, the co-op continues to face questions on the share trading scheme. Some shareholders are also questioning retiring chairman Henry van der Heyden’s decision to stay on as a board member until mid-2013.

The election of John Wilson as chairman-elect has also divided sharehold-

ers. Questions are being raised about the candidate assessment panel (CAP), an independent committee vetting director candidates to help shareholders with the vote.

Townshend says the TAF process “somewhat by necessity, took longer to resolve than was ideal from a business focus perspective”. But it’s a good scheme for the co-op. It provides a solid springboard for new chief executive Theo Spierings to create value for Fonterra and its shareholders.

feds on the case Hamish Cave, recently retired president of Federated Farmers in Gisborne/Wairoa, recently got to clear out the Feds’ old building to ready it for sale.

In the safe he discovered a lot of interesting archive material, including this special and appropriately labeled suitcase used by local Feds on their trips to Wellington. It neatly takes an A4 document. Cave took it to the recent Feds’ dominion council meeting to show his colleagues some local history. Peter JexBlake has now replaced Hamish Cave as Gisborne/ Wairoa’s provincial president.

Townshend notes that the appointment process of Wilson as chairman-elect was apparently a strongly contested affair.

“A decision was made and now the new chairman John Wilson deserves to have good support for the next one-two years to stamp his mark,” he told Rural News.

On van der Heyden staying on as a board member, Townshend says “it’s a grey area”.

“John Wilson is publically stating that the board unanimously requested Ralph Waters and Sir Henry to stay on for a further six months through the TAF bedding-in process and for board continuity. From a business perspective this makes logical and commercial sense.

“There are arguments for and against a retiring chairman remaining on a board.

“It is a grey area but almost irrelevant in comparison to providing board continuity for an interim period.”

Townshend defended CAP. He sat on the CAP panel in 2007. He notes the 2012 panel comprised three independent members, one of whom is the chairman. Van der Heyden and Shareholders Council chairman Ian Brown are also members.

“I believe the process was balanced and provided one guide for voting shareholders. All reference checking on candidates was carried out by the independent chairman.

“Losing sports teams tend to be more likely to complain about refereeing decisions,” he says. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

news 3 issue 528 Six figures spent on pylon fight

www.ruralnews.co.nz

A N DREW SWA LLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

News ������������������������������ 1-19 World ������������������������ 20-21 Agribusiness ����������� 22-23 Markets �������������������� 24-25 Hound, Edna ������������������� 26 Contacts ������������������������� 27

TRANSPOWER HAS already racked up a bill of at least $298,000 in trying to get buffer zones for pylons built into district plans – and that’s just the external and legal fees.

What’s more, those costs have been incurred in submitting on only a handful of the 75 or so districts where it has infrastructure and intends to seek buffer zones. This is prior to two of the districts’ plans going through appeals in the Environment Court, as Western Bay of Plenty’s and Waimate’s (South Canterbury) are now set to do because of

Transpower objecting to these councils’ plans.

The costs, supplied to Rural News under the Official Information Act, break down as follows: external consultants, $186,767; legal (excluding GST and disbursements such as court filing fees),$111,212.

“We are unable to confirm the full [spending] on transmission line buffer corridor, district plan and appeal processes as many of these are still underway and the full cost will not be known until all district plans have been processed and any appeals have been worked through,” corporate communications manager Rebecca Wilson told

Opinion ����������������������� 26-29 Management ����������� 30-33 Animal Health �������� 34-39 Machinery and Products ������������������ 40-45 Rural Trader ���������� 46-47

Head Office Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122 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: subsrndn@ruralnews.co.nz ABC audited circulation 80,767 as at 30.06.2012

Nip and tuck for local government peter burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE LOCAL Government Amendment Bill which will bring major changes to the way local government operates is just days away from becoming law.

The bill last week passed the committee stage in Parliament, giving MP’s their last chance to have a say on the proposed legislation.

The bill puts tight controls on what councils can do. In particular, it says they must focus on local infrastructure, local public services, doing their regulatory functions well and minimising costs and rates increases.

It limits councils indulging in noncore activities.

The bill includes changes to make it easier to create ‘unitary authorities’ and to change boundaries in council wards to better reflect ‘communities of interest’ – a move that will benefit farmers.

The change in the ‘purpose’ of councils has drawn howls of protest

from councils and opposition parties and support from business and farming leaders.

The architect of the bill is Nick Smith, who in March unveiled the reforms in a paper ‘Better Local Government’. Smith says the bill reverses the expansive model of local government introduced a decade ago

by Labour and says it’s only the first phase of local government reforms.

“Local government is an incredibly important part of the economy and it is right and proper that the Government wants to ensure the sector is operating consistent with our plan to grow the economy, grow exports and provide more jobs. It would be negligent of the Government to sit back and not give any guidance to our 86 councils on what their job is and simply say ‘do whatever you like’,” he explains.

Smith says the bill is a part of the Government’s broader programme of reforms to try to reduce inconsistency and duplication in local government.

Rural News.

“We also do not categorise costs per ‘subject’ therefore it is difficult to differentiate what costs are related solely to this process, ie in some instances we have submitted on district plans for a number of areas, not just transmission line buffer corridors.

“However, there are some… costs we can clearly identify as being directly related to the transmission line buffer corridor process and I have provided these… for you.”

Landowners likely to be impacted by buffer zones under pylons have called for ministerial intervention in the matter (Rural News, August 21).

PKE concerns aired to MPI FEDERATED FARMERS has filed a report with MPI detailing fresh concerns about the palm kernel supply chain.

The report follows a trip to Malaysia in September by two Feds’ representatives, Mid Canterbury Grains section chair David Clark, and maize growers committee chair Colin Mackinnon.

“We were there for ten days and saw a number of facilities on an official tour, and took a private look at some too,” Clark told Rural News.

While he would not go into the detail of what they saw, some of the facilities and storage sites presented “serious opportunities for contamination within the supply line,” he says.

“There was the opportunity for PKE to enter the supply line which would be in breach of the Import Health Standard, we believe.”

Clark, Mackinnon and other Feds representatives met with MPI officials last week to discuss the content of the report.

“The MPI officials said they share Federated Farmers concerns regarding the observations made in Malaysia and are taking this very seriously and following due process to fully investigate the points we raised.”

Clark’s trip was funded by the Malaysian Government, Mackinnon’s by Feds.

They presented their report to the Grain & Seed national executive meeting in Wellington last month, where it was resolved it should be forwarded to the Ministry.

Peter Thomson, director of plants, food and environment standards, MPI, confirms the ministry has received the Feds’ report.

“MPI has undertaken to investigate, to clarify the context for what the visitors observed and whether it is relevant to assurances being provided to New Zealand. MPI understands that Malaysia supplies PKE for a number of uses and markets with differing requirements.” – Andrew Swallow • More on p4

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

4 news Just a cotton-picking minute!

FEDERATED FARMERS is asking MPI to put some hard questions to its Australian certifiers, after a consignment of imported cotton seed meal –certified as crushed – was found by MPI inspectors in Bluff to contain whole seeds.

“Can I stress this was not a biosecurity breach,” says Dr William Rolleston, Federated Farmers vicepresident and biosecurity spokesperson.

“It was caught at the border and I wish to thank the vigilance of the MPI and the Federated Farmers member who brought this to our attention.”

Nonetheless, the shipment “should never have reached our border,” he adds.

“The import health standard requires oilseed meal imported as animal feed to be crushed before shipment. This is to ensure it contains no viable seeds. It must also be certified by the national plant protection agency of the exporting country too.

“Biosecurity protection occurs at many levels and in this case, an important step has failed. It is concerning that it seems to be the Australian authorities who have let us down… MPI needs to ensure that we can all have confidence in each and every level of biosecurity protection.”

cern is the possibility that viable exotic weed species could hitchhike across the Tasman within this consignment.

“We are thankful MPI inspectors did pick up the discrepancy between the paperwork and the shipment.”

MPI has told Feds the consignment is being held in a MPIapproved transitional facility.

Rolleston notes the cottonseed meal is a by-product of a genetically modified crop and that under current law, import of viable genetically modified seed is not permitted, hence the requirement for seed to be crushed or otherwise rendered nonviable. “I have seen no evidence this [GM] cotton seed is a known threat to our environment. Of greater con-

Importing trouble?

OILSEED DERIVED feed imports hit nearly 1.4mt in the year to September despite a bumper season for grain and grass last summer.

PKE topped the heap at 1.349mt, with cotton seed meals a distant second on 22,900t.

The data has left cropping farmers’ representatives questioning the long-term wisdom of such trade, as many of them have silos still full of grain from last harvest.

Much of that grain is committed to merchants and, presumably, end users beyond that, but with only weeks until headers start reeling in this year’s crops, carryover stocks seem inevitable.

“This is unacceptable,” South Canterbury Federated Farmers Grain chair Colin Hurst said in his report to a recent section meeting.

“Farmers have sold this grain in good faith and expect the buyers to take delivery in a timely manner or make alternative arrangements.

The start of harvest is only six weeks away and arable farmer’s overdrafts are getting maxed out.”

Hurst told Rural News he believes the biggest problem is the reduced dairy payout forecast. That’s prompted a reduction in meal orders so processors are not using the volumes of grain they anticipated.

He declined to speculate as to whether compounders may have substituted cheaper imports for domestic grain contracted at higher values. – Andrew Swallow

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FONTERRA HAS dropped plans for pilot farms in India as it makes a third attempt to enter the burgeoning market.

The co-op’s $21 million project, for a 4000-cow pilot farm with the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (Iffco), is dead because the proposal was rejected

by Indian authorities. Iffco doesn’t own processing plants and this is believed have weakened Fonterra’s bid. In 2009, Fonterra parted ways with its Indian joint venture partner Britannia Foods.

An Indian dairy industry leader visiting New Zealand says Fonterra must change its strategy.

National Dairy Research Institute Southern Campus head Dr Satish Kulkarni says the co-op should partner with private companies and produce niche products.

Kulkarni last week told the Indian-NZ Business Forum in Hamilton that private processing of milk is growing rapidly, with companies taking over from cooperatives.

Therefore it makes sense for New Zealand companies to build partnerships with private processors, he says.

A Fonterra spokesman says the co-op will explore all opportunities in India including looking at established farms.

Since the Iffco deal it has been investigating options.

“But we have no concrete plans to establish farming operations at this stage,” he says.

Kulkarni believes Fonterra’s future hinges on making value added products in India.

He told Rural News that Fonterra must look at niche products, such as ghee or clar-

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“Ghee is currently produced in the Netherlands and exported to the Middle East,” he says. “Fonterra should look at teaming with private processors and [consider] such high value products. This is just one example.”

Fonterra last week opened its first office in New Delhi as part of its strategy refresh that identifies India and China as strategic markets. It has appointed Hamish Gowans general manager India.

Fonterra presi- Hamish Gowans dent greater China and India Kelvin Wickham says the opening of the Delhi office and Gowan’s appointment will allow Fonterra to better understand this important dairy market.

“India’s dairy industry is growing rapidly. With 20 million more mouths to feed every year and an increasingly affluent population, the demand for high quality dairy nutrition continues to grow at a rapid pace.

Annual dairy consumption is forecast to reach 180-200 million tonnes by the end of the decade.

“Today India produces about one sixth of the world’s milk and almost all of this is consumed locally.

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news 5

Confusion and counter claim as One Plan rocks on pe ter burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

CONFUSION, CLAIM and counter-claim – and fair bit of ducking for cover – is the order of the day as the saga of Horizons Regional Council’s controversial One Plan continues to make the headlines.

The battleground last week was the High Court in Wellington where the various parties to an appeal faced off in legal arguments to set a timetable for the appeals process, and to agree on what evidence was or was not admissible. Horizons’ lawyer challenged the legality of some of the appeal points by HortNZ and Fed Farmers, a move one seasoned campaigner described as the usual ‘argy bargy’ that goes on in such situations.

Horizons has decided to take a neutral stance – neither supporting nor opposing a move by HortNZ and Feds to get the Environment Court to consider an MPI report that farmers in the region face income cuts of up to 43% if the One Plan is enacted as it now stands. Fish and Game opposes this, others are neutral or supportive.

Meanwhile, Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon has held his line on the MPI report, again saying the scenarios don’t accurately relate to One Plan. Others have expressed frustration at Horizons being ‘hung out to dry’ on the issue. But sources in Wel-

Hort calls for realism HORTNZ CHAIR Andrew Fenton says One Plan sets a precedent which could escalate throughout the country.

He says while the plan may reflect good intentions, it’s been sidetracked by people who don’t have any practical understanding of farming operations.

“I certainly support minister David Carter in his stance in saying this whole plan is getting out of hand. What I would call bureaucratic red tape will put a considerable number of farmers out of business in the region. That means the economy and employment in the region will be affected.”

Fenton says the problem is that Horizons isn’t offering any practical ways of measuring run-off from land used by commercial growers in the region. He says if they could come up with something practical, growers would embrace it.

“I want to emphasise it almost slights the growing community as being irresponsible; in fact it’s quite the contrary. Growers have been more than responsible.

“The fact is they run under New Zealand GAP (good agricultural practice), including run-off, chemical use, nitrogen application… all those areas, yet the council has chosen to ignore all those things that have been in place for many, many years.”

lington paint a completely different picture. They say the MPI report is accurate and relevant and that Horizons is wrong.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has avoided getting too embroiled in the debate, simply stating that “infighting and drawn-out processes are not good for anyone”. “It certainly lends weight to the fact that we need to have a more consistent and supportive approach so we don’t get into

these divisive, drawn-out processes.”

Adams says the drawn-out legal battle at Horizons is not productive for anyone. “We have to find solutions that have a better basis of support, that are underpinned by science and good economics, and even if people don’t necessarily like them they can get in behind them and move on,” she says. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

Labour all over the shop SPEAKING AT a recent Federated Farmers national council meeting, Labour deputy leader Grant Robertson claimed Feds were overstating the problems in the Horizons region.

He criticised the farmer lobby for calling it ‘farmageddon’, and he claimed the economic impact of One Plan on farmers was a mere 1%. Asked

by Rural News what evidence he had for this Roberston said he wasn’t sure, but telephoned two hours later to say his figures were based on what he had

read in the Dominion Post.

Labour’s primary industries spokeperson Damien O’Connor also disputes the MPI figures, finding them “hard to believe”.

He insists MPI and Horizons should have reached some agreement on the economic impacts of One Plan on farmers.

He’s also concerned at the use of Overseer 6, the new version of this software designed to measure N loss.

“Farmers are claiming that under

Overseer 6 they will be deemed to be bad polluters, when under the previous Overseer 5 they were reasonable managers of N. These are technical issues I am not in a position to make a judgment on. Clearly the parties are talking past one another and the position is not healthy for the image of farmers, the rivers and for council’s management of this situation.”

O’Connor says there are some serious problems and someone needs to sort this out.

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FTAs vital in future TARIFFS ON horticultural exports are costing commercial growers on average $44,000 each – $10,000 more than two years ago.

This is revealed in a survey of trade barriers commissioned by HortNZ and the Horticultural Export Authority (HEA), which also stresses the need for more Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s), especially in Asia.

Horticulture exports earn the country just over $2.2 billion, but the survey shows the sector pays $241 million in tariffs to importing countries. Japan is the biggest market followed by the European Union, Australia and the USA. The report gives examples of some of the tariffs. These include kiwifruit growers paying 45% tariffs ($35 million) on exports to Korea. Squash growers pay 27% ($4.2 million) there also.

Simon Hegarty of HEA says FTAs are very important because they put in place a timeframe for removing or decreasing the tariff rates.

He says the more good quality FTAs

New Zealand can have the better.

“The leading market for horticultural exports is Japan, so an FTA with them would be significant for us. Korea is important but they have high tariffs so [we would like to see an FTA there].

India is another [market]… where horticultural exports are growing significantly and they have high tariffs.”

Hegarty says the ultimate gain for horticulture is the Doha round, but he says that looks to be going nowhere.

Next best would be regional trade agreements in a large group of countries and where a multilateral agreement is reached.

“On the plus side, we have good FTAs with Australia and China. We have made some progress over the years but we need to make more progress. If we can remove what we believe are unnecessary taxes from the products we export then… consumers [get] access to products. At that point the market determines what products get purchased without the interference of taxes or tariffs.”

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

6 news

Agriculture needs to win support of public – minister P E T E R BU R K E peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE FARMING sector is failing to win the hearts and minds of New Zealanders on environmental issues says Environment Minister, Amy Adams.

She told Federated Farmers national council (all the provincial presidents) that it’s no good farmers going down to the local pub, thumping the table and whinging about city folk and the media not understanding the issues facing the rural sector.

“I’ve been railing at you generally, and my own community, from my hus-

band up, for many years saying this: you are not helping anybody by grizzling to each other about it. Right now what scares me most when I travel around New Zealand and talk to business groups, is that sensible people – not the fringe element – are saying ‘when are you going to sort out those filthy farmers?’

“Now you guys can scoff, but we live in a democracy and democracy is about numbers.

Right now we are losing the battle for people in the cities to understand this stuff.”

Adams says farmers have to ‘front foot’ the

issue because if they don’t convince wider New Zealand that they are doing this stuff responsibly, they’ll never get buy-in to better use of water resources. “You have to show you’re on a path to doing this better and are taking water quality seriously.”

The starting point, explains Adams, is helping the public to better understand what the contaminant sources are in our waterways. Farmers need to show they are serious about dealing with environmental issues.

“The bulk of farmers are doing a good job to get this right, but there

are [some] who let the side down. Unfortunately the sector will be judged by the lowest common denominator. Given the public mood we have to be as hard on our own sector as anyone is.”

Adams says limits are coming on water quality and quantity and she has no problem with that. “[But] we must be careful to ensure those limits reflect that part of the problem each sector is actually contributing; also that those limits are sensible in respect of what can be done and that they are in a time-frame that is possible and sustainable.

“To have high qual-

ity debate on those issues there needs to be clear understanding about what’s contributing to what and at what stage.

“Secondly, what can be done to lift the bar to the best operating practices?

“Thirdly, [we need] understanding of the timeframes in which communities can expect to see some improvement in their water bodies.”

Adams says it must be understood that fixing some of the problems will take a long time – possibly several generations. But she’s positive about the progress being made and hopes the reforms she is planning to put in

rid of the last possum; the cost of doing that is huge.

We have to work where the gains are best and get 99.99% of people into the tent.”

Rolleston says while it’s easy to vilify farmers who don’t comply, in some cases there are genuine reasons. In many cases of mistreatment of animals the farmers involved had a mental illness and couldn’t cope.

“Farmers are the original environmental stewards and we have to grab that message back again because it’s sort-of been taken over by others.

While farmers are doing

their bit, the so-called ‘green team’ needs to talk more about the importance of the economy.

“We recognise that they go together; one doesn’t come before the other. People must recognise that farmers need profit to do those environmental projects.”

Rolleston says when a farmer spends $100,000 on dealing with environmental problems, the wider community doesn’t seem to recognise this. But if other community members had to spend that sort of money to meet an environmental goal it might be a different story, he says.

Amy Adams

place will help.

“I am not going to see our water quality deteriorate, but nor am I going to rip the guts out of our productive sector. We are

going to have a framwork and there must be some on-farm changes but we have to do it in a way that makes sense for those objectives.”

Yes Minister we agree – Feds FEDERATED FARMERS vice-president William Rolleston agrees with Adams about the problems of public perception.

He told Rural News the difficulty is that there will

never be 100% compliance by farmers, just as 100% of shoppers in New Zealand will never be honest.

“Farmers have a bellcurve response…. The reality is that negative

headlines sell newspapers and there is a group of people that pick those particular images. None of us like those images, but we can’t get rid of 100% of them, just as we can’t get

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COMPETITION The Canterbury A&P Association congratulates the finalists in the 2012 Mint Lamb Competition, judged for Best Overall Yield, Tender Tested at Lincoln University and then Taste Tested at the Canterbury A&P Show.

6 Months

4.50

Interest paid quarterly.

12 Months

4.75

Interest paid quarterly.

Place Entrant

Area

Breed

Total Pts

1st

Oxford

Romney

72.61

Hugh Taylor

2nd

William Feetham

Hastings

-

64.17

3rd

Murray Smith

Rangiora

Terfom

63.4

4th

Chris Medlicott

Waimate

-

62.85

5th

K, J & C Tomlinson

Amberley

Composite X

62.83

6th

Sarah Rodie

Amberley

Texel X

61.8

7th

Robert Gardyne

Oturehua

Texel X

61.35 60.73

8th

Jack Manera

Christchurch

Suffolk X

9th

Andrew Sidey

Hawarden

Texel/P.Dorset 60.69

BUFFALO/HB4243

10th Roger & Susan Hayward Cave

Texel X

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www.theshow.co.nz

60.43

William Rolleston

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

news 7 Promises of section 32 reforms ENVIRONMENT MINISTER Amy Adams says the quality of some councils’ section 32 analysis is ‘sub-optimal’ and she’s promising to put the acid on councils to lift their performance.

She told Feds national council that changes will be made to the RMA next year to force councils to prepare quality reports.

“Frankly I expect a lot better. I have seen cost benefit analysis prepared by regional councils that have no numbers in them. I have seen impacts assessments that say ‘well there might be some impact as there’s a land use change, but we think it’s outweighed by environmental benefit’. I am going to require a much higher level of discussion and debate and deeper quality analysis on that stuff.”

Adams says she wants councils to be open with their communities on the economic impacts of their plan changes.

“I want communities to be asking themselves [whether they] can improve water quality this way and [whether] at this rate it will impact regional GDP and jobs. Or if you can do it on this track and in this way and this time [whether] it will have this impact. I am not saying that because it has an impact you shouldn’t do it; I am saying ‘be a bit more analytical about the impact you are having and be more open with your community’.”

Adams is surprised that councils legally don’t have to prepare section 32 reports until after planning decisions have been made.

“In my naive little world you use options analysis and cost benefit analysis to frame your decision-making, not to find out about it after the event. It might seem a bit radical, but I am going to require them to have this stuff in front of the elected councilors – not just the officers— before they make their decisions.”

Adams says all this information can then be made public and the community can have more informed debate on what they do or don’t want.

Independent analysis demanded A SENIOR Federated Farmers member has called for an independent government body to play a role in preparing section 32 reports now being produced by local councils as part of their planning process.

Problems with the quality of section 32 reports were highlighted recently when one prepared by Horizons Regional Council for its One Plan was described by the Minister for Primary Industry as “woeful”. (Section 32’s are supposed to provide detailed economic analysis of costs and benefits of councils’ regional plans.)

But Feds’ Manawatu/ Rangitikei provincial president, Andrew Hoggard, who’s been deeply

involved in One Plan, says the section 32 reports need outside, independent checking. Any report

a role in either preparing section 32 reports or analysing those produced by a local authority.

“There is a wide range of skills in central government; departments such as MPI and MfE could play a role in either preparing section 32 reports or analysing those produced by a local authority.” commissioned by a council has to be treated with some skepticism, he says, because consultants might believe that unless they write what the council wants they won’t get any more work.

“There is a wide range of skills in central government; departments such as MPI and MfE could play

“I accept that central government shouldn’t be telling local government what to do. But the council could come up with the options and these could be given to the government agency to see that they’re robust; then it could come back to the council and hopefully they could make an informed decision.”

Hoggard says in the US a congressional budget office plays a similar role.

He also wants councils to produce simple executive summaries of major plans – something in laypersons’ language, so that elected councils can better understand what they are approving.

Hoggard says that, from what he’s heard, many councilors don’t have the time or knowledge to analyse plans properly.

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

8 news

Agriculture’s mythbuster in top flight PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

LACK OF societal understanding of what it takes to farm is one of the biggest threats facing New Zealand agriculture, says University of Waikato’s professor of agribusiness, Jacqueline Rowarth.

New Zealand is the

most urbanised country in the world with 89% of people living in ‘town’ – and they are influencing regulations through government, Rowarth said. Though our pork was farmed under strict animal welfare regimes demanded by the public, only 50% of pork consumed in New Zealand was our prod-

uct. Just under 50% is now imported because it is cheaper, she said.

“People here are making statements about what our farmers are allowed to do then buying products from overseas,” she said.

Rowarth made the comments during a function in Auckland to bust

some myths about agriculture — the first being that urban people did not appreciate farmers A recent survey showed about 60% of urban people believed if the rural sector was doing well, then the urban sector would be better off. However the rural people placed a much lower value on

urban people. “I am working on the rural people to ensure they understand the value of those who live north of the Bombay Hills,” she said.

“The myth of the urban-rural divide is something we should explode quickly,” she said. “All of us depend on each other and by all of us

Jacqueline Rowarth busting myths on agriculture.

working together we can make the progress New Zealand requires.”

Another myth was dairy’s contribution to climate change. “Dairy is really good in terms of greenhouse gases per unit of stuff we want to eat,” said Rowarth. “Dairy is actually better than sheep and beef – you have to eat them post mortem. Dairying goes on milking the cow for 7-10 years – and in New Zealand we get longevity of cows because we look after them. So per unit of energy, in terms of greenhouse gases, dairy is good.”

Rowarth says despite all the recent publicity on 100% Pure, a Lincoln University study showed only 5% of people think our river and lake water quality is poor, while another 7% think it’s not so good; but over 80% in New Zealand think it is good and improving.

“The Waikato in terms of nitrate runs at less than 0.1 milligrams of nitrate per litre. What is the River Thames [in England]?

Seven milligrams per litre, and they let the Queen float on it. Our most polluted rivers are twice as good as the average in Europe, North America and Asia.”

Another myth was that farmers were stuck in their ways. Despite the average age of farmers in New Zealand being 58, the average innovation index doubled from 1998 to 2008 for agriculture, forestry and

fishing.

Another myth Rowarth said was “people think our farmers are creaming it”.

“They are not. Rabobank has just done a rather depressing analysis telling how many dairy farmers are going to go to the wall because of the current payout – and they have revised it from 20% to more like 35%.” The Rabobank study showed that people who put in technologies were the most at risk because they were paying more for the investment.

Rowarth said another myth was that food prices were always rising. But the 2006-2011 food price indices showed a 27% increase in food costs in that time – including a much wider range of foods – and a 22% increase in incomes.

Production costs had increased 40% so “farmers are being squeezed”.

Supermarkets made a 17% return – the farmer made a 4-5% for dairy if they were lucky and 2-3% for sheep and beef.

Rowarth said New Zealand agriculture needed more cooperatives such as Fonterra. The meat companies and many of the vegetable and fruit growers were still fighting each other.

“We need strong cooperatives and if we don’t have strong cooperatives we are peasants – and in some areas the farmers are.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

10 news Deer farmers turn out for NAIT P E TE R BU R K E

NAIT REPORTS a good response by deer farmers to information workshops to prepare the industry for rules taking effect on March 1 next year.

Ten meetings in locations between Rotorua and Winton, Southland attracted, in some cases a handful, in others 70 farmers, NAIT chief executive Russell Burnard told Rural News.

“The response was pretty positive. There were lots of questions about how [NAIT works] and a few about why NAIT exists.

Mostly it was deer farmers trying to understand what the rules are, when they have to comply and how to comply. People want to understand the rules and they are engaging with us well. Many in the deer industry are already engaged because they own cattle. “ The farmers’ questions were

essentially no different from those asked at the seminars on cattle earlier this year – “when do I have to tag and in what time frame”.

The main differences for deer farmers were “visual identifiers” which are important to the deer industry and how these are linked into the NAIT system.

“A number of farmers won’t have scanners so they like to have, in addition to that, a visual tag they can use, linked to that electronic

tag. So when they are looking at their deer from a distance they can see the other tag.

“But the key is they still need the electronic tag which is mandatory. They can use the visual identifier as long as it’s bought from the electronic tag manufacturer. It’s what we call a ‘birth set’,” he says.

From March 1 deer farmers must use an approved NAIT tag if they wish to move stock off their farms.

McDonald’s lamb burger and lamb wrap could be launched overseas.

Mike Moore’s dream comes true PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF MUM, IT’S ALL DOWN TO YOU. AND US.

MCDONALD’S IS consuming about 30 tonnes of New Zealand lamb a week for the lamb burger and lamb wrap products it launched in August.

A spokesman told Rural News they are pleased with the reaction from customers.

“We’re excited by the thought of the lamb burger taking off overseas and yes, some major McDonald’s markets have shown interest in adding lamb to their menus.

“Whilst we can’t speculate on the success of lamb overseas we do know that New Zealand beef is regarded well by other McDonald’s markets. New Zealand supplies 30 million kg of beef to other McDonald’s markets around the world.”

To add lamb to the menu, McDonald’s partnered with Beef + Lamb New Zealand which endorsed the 100% New Zealand lamb products.

McDonald’s export-quality lamb patties are made using shoulder cuts. No mutton is used. The meat is sourced from North and South Island farms. Key suppliers include Silver Fern Farms, ANZCO and AFFCO. The patties are made at the ANZCO plant in Waitara.

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THE FINAL chapter in the saga of the Crafar farms sale was scheduled to unfold at the end of last week with Shanghai Pengxin due to take possession of the farms on Saturday (Dec 1). This ended just on three years of protracted negotiations, a series of high profile court actions and the Overseas Investment Office having to revise its report to the Government to get the deal through.

With the deal settled Landcorp becomes the owner of about 16,000 cows and replacement stock, plus plant and machinery. Landcorp chief executive Chris Kelly told Rural News that from December 1 they take over the administration of the 16 farms and will be paid a management fee for doing this. But Kelly says the sharemilkers on the farms will remain in these roles until May 30 2013 when their contracts run out.

“The receivers have employed a series of farm operations managers one of whom is an ex Landcorp employee whom we know very well. So these people are going to leave the receivers and join Landcorp immediately and will become permanent employees. They’ll continue to manage the farms on behalf of Landcorp, as opposed to the receiver which is what they have been doing.

“During the time between now and June 1 next year we’ll talking to all the existing sharemilkers on the farms and looking to see who would like to come over and join Landcorp. From 1 June we will take over direct management control and all the people will become employees of Landcorp.”

Kelly says all the sharemilkers will be offered the opportunity to join Landcorp, but as staff members not as sharemilkers. – Peter Burke

Rural News // december 4, 2012

news 11

Geraldine to Hamburg watch on venison pam tipa pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NOW WE’VE got NAIT, how can we push the tracking system to produce productivity and profitability gains onfarm and in the supply chain?

The RFID Pathfinder Group believes some advantages lie in high frequency technology, and is trialing pasture-toplate tracking of venison from Geraldine to Hamburg. MPI is co-funding the trial.

A mid-November briefing on the trial’s progress showed that 19 deer are being tracked from farm to distributor in Hamburg using UHF (ultra-high frequency), RFID (radio frequency identification) and an EPC (electronic product code) network – an information standard designed to operate globally across the supply chain.

Mark Rance, IT manager for ANZCO Foods and chairman of the NZ RFID Pathfinder Group, told the briefing the deer meat was then somewhere between Singapore and Hamburg. The trial was doing “smart work” with data capture such as temperature logging and GPS tracking.

Rance said others in the world are

also working on UHF RFID for animal identification. “We are part of what is known as the Cows (coalition of the willing) with members in Germany, Denmark and other places.”

This trial’s three main aims were evaluating the use of UHF RFID in animal tracking, the use of EPC in product movement and ‘blue skies’ thinking on what UHF could deliver on-farm.

“We are lucky to have the likes of DairyNZ, FarmIQ and NAIT on board.

They are looking at what could be used in the not-too-distant future,” Rance says.

The EPC network works on a process of steps and this trial has nine steps where tracking is recorded across the journey. The trial uses EPC compliant tags on the animals, the cartons of meat, the container and the associated GS1 standards for the identification of the different locations through the steps. Tracking those movements on the GS1 Hong Kong EPCIS is called Ez-Track. It also tracks the temperature and, by GPS, the container.

Grant Pugh, deputy chairman of the NZ RFID Pathfinder Group and managing director of Tracient Tech-

nologies, said when the Pathfinder group started looking at this technology in 2008 there was a lack of a commercially available UHF RFID tags. There were now a number on the market and the Pathfinder group wanted to test how they performed.

“There are several technological advantages UHF potentially offers. One is that you could read from a longer dis-

Chin Boo Soon, from BT9, spoke about the tracking system. tance;

that might open up new applications for farmers. You can read multiple animals at a time, because it has the ability to discriminate between many tags in a field at once, and it is very fast, so you should be able to read tags that are moving quite quickly and that’s important for mob animals like sheep and deer. That might offer some advantages in the future for farmers.”

They tested different scenarios such as skittish animals like deer and sheep moving down a race quickly, weighing, loading and drafting.

“We will be producing a report … at the moment we’re meeting our minimum requirements (NAIT) and in some cases exceeding our

Pathfinder requirements with something like 99.5% of readings.” More scenarios are being tested.

Rance said: “One of the things we believe UHF RFID offers over other technologies is its ability to integrate more seamlessly with the wide supply chain and the purpose of this trial is to show how that would work in practice.”

Rance described the tracking process from Downlands Deer in Geraldine, to transporting to the processor, processing, packaging and placing in a container, to the port at Lyttelton and onto a ship.

Chin Boo Soon, from BT9, described how the temperature of the cartons was being monitored in the container at sea.

Rance said the advantage of this system was more real-time information. For instance one carton was showing up warmer than the others; it may have a problem or it may have a sensor problem. But in conventional loggers you wouldn’t know you had a temperature problem until it reached the UK. Hypothetically you might decide to airfreight a carton to make up for the one seen to have a temperature problem. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

12 news

Farm flavour to science capability for Maori pam tipa pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW MAORI ‘enterprise internships’ with Industrial Research Ltd will have an agricultural flavour, says the gen-

eral manager of industry engagement, Gavin Mitchell.

The Hikohiko Te Uira Maori Enterprise Internship Programme was announced recently as a collaborative venture

between IRL, the University of Otago and the Federation of Maori Authorities, with the three Otago undergraduate and postgraduate Maori students hosted by IRL in Wellington.

“While IRL is a lot focused on advancing manufacturing, our work in the Maori sector is more encompassing,” Mitchell told Rural News.

“We’re building relationships with key partners to

provide access to the science system right across the board through primary value added manufacturing, environmental science and other areas.

“So this internship programme is to build capacGavin Mitchell

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“While IRL is a lot focused on advancing manufacturing, our work in the Maori sector is more encompassing,” ity within the Maori sector by exposing students to the impact of science at an early stage and getting them to think about the application of science in improving business outcomes – when they move out into the sector or should they stay in the science system, to be more aware of how to work with business.”

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THE INTERNSHIPS are among a series of intiatives announced recently to boost Maori farming. Others include: The Federation of Maori Authorities and the Maori Trustee join forces with heavyweights such as Fonterra, Zespri, Massey University, DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb and Landcare Research to focus on increasing the productivity of Māori-owned farm land. The new Maori Land Productivity Initiative, Te Kokiri mo te Whainga Hua o Nga Whenua Māori, is the private sector’s response to the Māori Economic Development Panel’s recommendation 17 to raise the productivity of Maori land.

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) held a special Sustainable Farming Fund round in August for Maori agribusiness, offering about $1 million of co-investment funding.

MPI upping its sponsorship to gold level for the 2013 Ahuwhenua Trophy BNZ Maori Excellence in Farming Award.

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

14 news Councils inconsistently consistent ENVIRONMENT MINISTER Amy Adams wants more consistent planning decisions by local authorities and wants them to be more efficient in their planning process.

She says the RMA framework is not that bad, but the way councils are delivering through that process is not what it should be and she’s planning change to the RMA to sort out the problems.

She points out that New Zea-

land’s 78 local authorities between them have 170 different planning documents, 78 regional plans, 78 long-term plans and 16 longterm strategies – then there are the other detailed planning documents.

“I would defy anybody, legally trained or otherwise, to be able to pick up these documents and figure out what you are able to do with your bit of land.

“The other day I received a

letter from someone who wanted to put a 4m2 extension on his deck. He had to go through a full notified-consent process and the deposit fee to the council was $7000 just for the resource consent.” The same planning framework covers such a project as it would a massive environmental project, Adams says. A simpler, more practical process is called for to deal with simple projects.

Legal definitions also need

reforming. Adams knows of a recent assessment of planning documents that revealed 123 ‘defined terms’ – but across the country there are 450 different interpretations of those definitions. “How can that make any sense?”

“It makes no sense and you can’t tell me that it’s good use of our resources to have the Environment Court arguing this stuff every single time it comes up.”

Fonterra rejects shareholder controls of boardroom SUD ESH K I SSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA’S BOARD is rejecting a proposal that will bar independent directors from choosing the chairman. It says a resolution to be tabled at the annual meeting in Hamilton in two weeks will “severely disadvantage the cooperative’s governance and decision making”.

Fonterra shareholder and former Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Lachlan McKenzie is seeking constitutional changes on board composition and election of chairman. He wants the board to have at least nine farmerelected directors and no more than four appointed directors. He also wants only the elected directors to choose the chairman.

His proposal comes amid concerns among Fonterra shareholders on board governance.

The board and Fonterra Shareholders Council are reviewing the co-op’s governance and representation. The board is keen to have an independent director from Asia to reflect its growing business in the region.

Fonterra says McKenzie’s resolution preempts the review. The council is also asking famers top vote against it.

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“The proposal suggests that elected directors can or should act differently from appointed directors. In fact all directors are subject to the same duties and responsibilities in law, including a duty to always act in the best interests of the cooperative,” Fonterra says. “If only elected directors were to appoint the chairman, it would be hard to attract skilled, quality professional directors to Fonterra’s board. This would severely disadvantage the cooperative’s governance and decision making.”

Fonterra has nine elected and four independent directors. Some shareholders believe the four independent directors backed John Wilson’s appointment as the new chairman, allowing him to beat another elected director, Colin Armer, to the post. Armer then resigned from the board.

Many large suppliers, including a dozen or so from the North Island, last month attended a packed meeting in Ashburton to air concerns to directors Malcolm Bailey, David Jackson and Wilson. Rural News understands several other current and former directors were present, including Armer.

McKenzie, who flew from Rotorua to attend, says while no formal motion or resolution was passed at the meeting, those present provided “a very clear message” to the board.

“These people are not muck-rakers. They have huge amounts invested in their businesses and they want the production and marketing arm of their business, ie Fonterra, to be highly successful. When a significant number of these people stand up and say ‘we have concerns, and these are the concerns we have’, it is the duty of the board to sit up and listen.”

McKenzie says those concerns centre on the governance culture, integrity and ethos of the board. While the message from the meeting was for the board to change its ways, shareholders “will have the power in their own hands when they receive voting papers,” he points out.

Voting for three positions on Fonterra’s board began last week.

Rural News // december 4, 2012

news 15

Environment is farmers’ first priority P E TE R BU R K E

FARMERS HAVE to lead the environmental debate, says Federated Farmers national president, Bruce Wills.

He told Rural News that environmental issues are the top priority of the federation and him personally. Notwithstanding discussions on the need for farmers to ‘step up’ on the environment, Wills warns it’s a ‘long term game’: progress is being made, but it will take time.

“This does require a mind shift and we need to remember that 30 years ago we had a government and a society telling farmers we needed more animals and we needed to clear the land. There were government incentives to do that.

“It’s now acknowledged the pendulum

swung too far when we cleared 940,000ha. In hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do. We have an urban-dominated population and an overseas market scrutinising our environmental performance far more vigorously than any time in our history. We’ve got to react and adapt to it.

We have a strong view at Federated Farmers that we have to show leadership on this thing and we

are trying our utmost to do this.”

Wills points out that farmers have to be far more sensitive to their environmental footprint.

He says the fact there is more intensification of farming now, especially in the dairy industry, means it’s important to get a balance between profitability and being able to farm for generations.

In some ways Wills has taken a bold move with his Bruce Wills

open support for environmental issues and his willingness to collaborate with those who have concerns about some of the impact of farming. However Wills says his own board and

members support this stance.

“It is encouraging for me to see how many farmers are getting behind this need to change attitudes on the environmental

impacts of farming and get on to do stuff. But there is a reality to this and that’s where we get a bit grumpy: this stuff costs big money.

In reality you are talking hundreds and hundreds

of dollars to get up to the standards where some people expect the farming ought to be on some individual farms and that’s not going to happen overnight.”

Walking the talk BRUCE WILLS not only talks the talk on the environment, he also walks the walk.

His farm, Trelinnoe in Hawkes Bay has won several environmental awards and Wills knows, first hand, what it costs in time and money to make environmental changes.

“This stuff costs money; I can speak from my own personal situation. I am lucky enough to have an interest in the environmental aspect of farming.

“We do a lot of it and it costs a lot of money. I live and breathe this stuff. What frustrates me is a lot of people I speak to outside farming expect these obligations to fall on farmers.

“They think it’s just the initial capital cost of doing it, but in fact it’s the ongoing opportunity cost of maintaining it. Significant areas of the farm might be tied up in reserves on hillsides or riparian planting,” he adds.

According to Wills, the ongoing maintenance and

management of this environmental work can’t be done unless the farm is making a profit.

“Without being unkind to the Department of Conservation, they have got management over 35% of New Zealand. Even they would admit the DOC estate is going backwards at an alarming rate because they simply can’t keep up with the maintenance because they haven’t got enough money,” he explains.

Wills says it’s the same for farmers and it could take generations to fix some of the problems. Farmers in the past were encouraged by the government to clear land and farm every inch of this land and it’ll take time to reverse that situation.

“Many of my members get a bit grumpy when they make these huge efforts – financial and personal – to do some of this stuff and many parts of society aren’t giving much recognition to the good efforts being made. That’s tough when you’re sweating money and tears to get this work done.”

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

16 news

Shareholders’ Council no vote advice slammed andrew swa llow

A RECOMMENDATION by the Fonterra Shareholders Council that

shareholders should vote against an annual meeting resolution on farmer director numbers has been slammed.

While Shareholders Council chair Ian Brown defends its recommendation, movers of the resolution question how the

council could have conducted a “careful review”, as it claims, without contacting them, their lawyer, or, seemingly, very many

Ian Brown, Shareholders Council chair.

farmers.

The resolution is proposed by Bay of Plenty

producer and former Federated Farmers Dairy chair, Lachlan McKenzie, and seconded by Takaka farmer and former Tasman Milk director Ann Jones.

Jones told Rural News’ sister publication Dairy News she’d spoken to all shareholders councillors in the South Island, after announcing the remit,

“We need to stick a finger in the dyke, urgently, to ensure we retain control.

“We’re already in excess of that and all those [Fonterra] independents are corporate people. When you look at the numbers of staff earning over a million dollars, you’d have thought we have enough

“If any proposed changes come out of the review, shareholders can be confident that no changes can be made without consultation and a 75% shareholder vote in favour.”

– Ian Brown

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and they were “right behind it”. However, after a nationwide councillors’ conference call, the voteagainst advice was issued on November 16.

“The council is concerned the resolution could serve to constrain the findings of the council’s and the board’s recently commenced joint governance and representation review and it would not be in the best interests of the co-op to pre-empt its findings,” Brown said at the time.

“If any proposed changes come out of the review, shareholders can be confident that no changes can be made without consultation and a 75% shareholder vote in favour.”

But Jones says that misses the point. The problem is that there is no protection for farmer representation on the board in the constitution as it stands.

Since Fonterra was formed the balance of the board has already shifted from 10 farmers and three independents, to nine and four.

Overseas the recognised maximum independent to member-elected ratio of directors on a cooperative’s board is 1:3, she claims.

of that sort of expertise on the payroll.”

Now that the resolution is on the table, she is urging all shareholders to consider it and use their vote, but she fears that ‘issue fatigue’ may be setting in, given all the politics surrounding Fonterra in recent months.

Ian Brown said the vote-against advice was neither hasty nor misleading nor an affront to shareholders’ democratic rights. It is every shareholders’ right to put forward resolutions but, equally, the council is duty-bound to consider resolutions and make a recommendation on them to shareholders, he says.

He’s adamant any change to the current nine farmer, four independents board would require a constitutional vote. “You cannot go to eight and five without 75% shareholder support.”

Even if the McKenzie/ Jones remit gets 75% support, Brown says council could still veto it under clause 18.1 of the constitution which requires 50% or more of the Shareholders Council to support a resolution for it to pass, as well as it clearing the 75% shareholder vote threshold.

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news 19

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Fonterra’s Anlene bone health check launched last year in Myanmar has scanned 50,000 people.

Fonterra eyes a slice of Myanmar’s dairy pie sudesh kissun sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND’S dairy industry is eyeing a slice of the burgeoning market in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

As the Southeast Asian nation of 56 million opens its doors to the outside world, Fonterra has appointed Myanmar-based staff.

The New Zealand Government is giving $6 million to build the country’s dairy farming capabilities through its aid programme.

Fonterra has appointed Prashant Pradhan as manager for the country known as Myanmar and Burma. He will lead Fonterra’s business development in the fast-growing dairy market, driving growth and exploring opportunities. This is the first time the co-op has employed its own Myanmar-based staff. Pradhan will be based in Yangon from 2013.

Fonterra ASEAN/MENA managing director Mark Wilson says Pradhan’s appointment will allow Fonterra

to better understand the opportunity in Myanmar for nutritional dairy.

“Myanmar has a population of around 56 million people and dairy consumption per capita is expected to increase as people in Myanmar increasingly look for high quality nutrition that supports the health of their families,” he says.

Wilson says the tourism sector is also growing fast, driving demand for high quality foodservice products from hotels and restaurants.

“Fonterra has already established a fast-growing consumer business, through distributor relationships, which has more than doubled over the last year.”

Last month Prime Minister John Key became the first New Zealand Prime Minister to visit Myanmar.

Following a meeting with Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, he announced the $6m aid.

The visit was largely symbolic to recognise Myanmar’s progress towards democracy. A military junta has ruled the country for 50 years but

general elections were held in 2010.

The generals changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar two decades ago but the pro-democracy movement opposed the name change. When US President Barack Obama visited the country earlier last week, he called it both names as a courtesy to both sides.

Fonterra in 2011 started selling high-calcium Anlene brand milk through a local distributor to retail outlets and pharmacies. It launched the Anlene bone health check the same year and has scanned at least 50,000 people to date.

Fonterra also supplies cheese, cream, butter and milk to bakeries, restaurants, and hotels. Pradhan says Fonterra has established relationships with key customers and industry partners through supplying dairy to Myanmar for the past six years.

“Our priority is to further build the supply of high quality dairy nutrition to Myanmar and explore new opportunities to expand the brands we offer.”

man will get $55,550, an increase of $550 and councillors $25,250, a lift of $250.

The salaries are fixed by a directors’ remuneration committee of six shareholders.

According to Fonterra’s voting papers, in considering its recommendation the committee addressed the market expectations and trends for director fees in New Zealand and overseas and the workload expectations of directors.

The committee believes it is important to set realistic fee levels and ensure skilled directors are attracted and retained. In 2010 the

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Modest pay rise for leaders FONTERRA’S NEW chairman is set for a 1% pay rise. Other directors and Shareholders Council members are also in line for a similar hike in fees.

Voting papers mailed last week ask shareholders to approve resolutions on remuneration to directors and councillors.

The chairman’s pay will rise by $4000 to $404,000. Directors fees will rise to $161,600 each, an increase of $1600.

Chairman-elect John Wilson is up for re-election this year. Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Ian Brown’s new salary is $90,900, up $900 from this year. The deputy chair-

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committee noted director fees in Fonterra were modest compared to other large New Zealand companies.

It says corrections were recommended in 2010 and 2011, “essentially returning the Fonterra fees to a level of equivalence with the market consistent with the fees at the time of Fonterra’s establishment”.

In light of the changes made recently, the committee believes fee levels are now at a generally appropriate level.

“Accordingly, the focus of the committee is to manage the fee levels to avoid the need for substantial adjustments year to year.”

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

20 world

Dairy trade’s cold war begins to thaw sud esh k i ssu n sudeshkruralnews.co.nz

US DAIRY exporters are a step closer to resuming trade with Russia.

The US House of Representatives this month approved legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia.

PNTR designation ensures all World Trade Organisation (WTO) members get equal trade advantages.

The US can now use WTO tools available to bring Russia into compliance.

The Russia dairy market has been closed to US dairy products for two years due to Russian insistence on certain dairy cer-

tificate statements and accompanying facility inspection requirements unacceptable to the US. US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) president Tom Suber says the PNTR is a significant step forward on the path to reopening one of the world’s largest dairy importing markets.

Jerry Kozak

“USDEC has been working extensively to help provide a firm basis for restoring access for US dairy exporters to Russia. More is needed beyond PNTR to achieve that goal but approval of PNTR is a vital piece of puzzle.”

National Milk Producers Federation chief executive Jerry Kozak hopes the

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Senate will also approve PNTR with Russia.

This will allow US exporters to re-establishing exports of cheese, butter and other products to benefit of America’s dairy producers, he says.

“This is a major market with solid opportunities for our industry and it is critical to ensure we have the same access to it that our competitors around the world enjoy.”

Russia is one of the largest dairy importers, buying about 440,000 t of milk powder, cheese, butterfat, whey protein and lactose in 2011 worth nearly US$2 billion.

The Russian market access issue is multifaceted, involving the separate but related complications of the dairy certificate, the 2010 for-

mation of the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and Russia’s accession this year to the WTO Early in the last decade, the US and Russia essentially agreed to disagree on dairy certification for US products. But in 2009, the Russian government informed US authorities that it would close its borders to US dairy if the two countries could not develop an export certificate that the US government would sign and a plant inspection protocol that Russian regulators would accept.

The two sides renewed certificate negotiations in earnest, but talks stalled and Russia formally closed the market to US dairy suppliers in September 2010.

US drought impact blunted a l a n ha r m a n

THE BIG drought in the US is lowering farmers’ income expectations, but bankers say crop insurance and higher crop prices will help ease the impact on bottom lines.

Perhaps because of this, a quarterly survey of agricultural credit conditions by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis involving 75 agricultural banks in an area covering all or parts of seven Midwest and Mid-South states found farmland values still rose in the third quarter.

The survey showed farm income and capital spending were down significantly year-on-year in the third quarter, but quality non-irrigated farmland values were up in most areas by between 1.6% and 5.9%.

Bankers in the survey said they expect land values and cash rents to continue to rise in the fourth quarter of 2012 with gains in quality farmland generally expected to outpace gains in ranch or non-irrigated pastureland in almost all regions.

In some areas, bankers reported 80-90% of their loans were covered by crop insurance. One banker noted that they require crop insurance on all operating loans.

An Illinois banker remarked “reduced crop yields due to drought will be offset by higher prices and crop insurance. We expect most farmers to come through in good shape.”

Some Illinois bankers noted most crops are sold the year after harvest in their areas, so farmers will probably come through 2012 in decent shape, but may struggle in 2013 even with a good crop season.

While farmers will benefit from crop insurance, many livestock farmers are facing increasingly high feed costs because of the drought. An Arkansas banker noted that “drought conditions have caused a herd reduction and a major increase in operating expenses for those remaining due to the costs associated with hay acquisition.”

An Indiana banker said the overall impact of the drought on the level of income for grain producers is going to be minimal.

“By the time the fall price is set on crop revenue insurance, our producers will see incomes near to slightly above spring income estimates,” he said.

The reserve bank said the severe drought has underscored the importance of crop insurance as a risk management tool.

Rural News // december 4, 2012

world 21 “America’s heartland has taken a beating from mother nature and the crop insurance industry is committed to servicing the nation’s farmers and getting indemnity payments into the hands of policyholders as quickly as possible,” he says.

Illinois crop insurance agent Todd Harris says while a crop insurance payout gives some peace of mind, it never compares to the financial benefit of a good harvest.

“These folks take a substantial hit

when they have to turn in a claim,” he says.

Illinois farmer David Andris says going out in the fields this year is a depressing experience with the disappointment of spending time and resources to get a crop into the ground and manage it over the growing season only to see if fail.

“It’s like digging a hole and then filling it in.”

Zacharias says some farmers live in parts of the country where

losses tend to be more common, while others live where losses rarely occur.

“What they have in common is that crop insurance gives them peace of mind to cope with the drought, but also gives them the guarantee for a chance to farm again next year,” he says.

The Federal Government also subsidises the farmer-paid premiums to reduce the cost to farmers.

– Alan Harman

E

IK AL UY FO UR

THE STRUCTURE and processes of United Nations climate negotiations are antiquated and unfair, and obstruct attempts to reach agreements, British researchers say.

In the process, the negotiations have turned into a job-creating growth area for agenda-based environmentalists.

Heike Schroeder from the University of East Anglia argues that the consensus-based decision making used by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stifles progress and contributes to negotiating deadlocks.

The findings come ahead of the 18th UN Climate Change Summit, which started in Doha on November 26.

Schroeder says delegations from some countries taking part have increased in size over the years, while others have decreased, limiting poor countries’ negotiating power and making their participation less effective.

Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, Schroeder, Maxwell Boykoff of the University of Colorado and Laura Spiers of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, argue that changes are long overdue if demands for climate mitigation and adaptation agreements are to be met.

They recommend that countries consider capping delegation numbers at a level that allows broad representation across government departments and sectors of society, while maintaining a manageable overall size.

“The UN must recognize that these antiquated structures serve to constrain rather than compel cooperation on international climate policy,” Schroeder says. “The time is long overdue for changes to institutions and structures that do not support decision making and agreements.”

Poor countries cannot afford to send large delegations and their level of expertise usually remains significantly below that of wealthier countries, she says. “This limits poor countries’ negotiating power and makes their participation in each session less effective.”

The researchers found that attendance has changed in terms of the number and diversity of representatives. The number of delegates went from 757 representing 170 countries at the first COP in 1995 to 10,591 individuals from 194 countries attending COP15 in 2009 – a 1400% increase. At COP15 there were also 13,500 delegates from 937 non-government groups.

Small developing countries have down-sized their delegations while G-7 and +5 countries – Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa – have increased theirs.

The study also looked at the make-up of the delegations and found an increase in participation by environmental, campaigning, academic and other non-governmental organisations.

“Our work shows an increasing trend in the size of delegations on one side and a change in the intensity, profile and politicisation of the negotiations on the other,” Schroeder says.

Some countries send large representations from business associations, local government or science and academia. For small developing countries such as Bhutan and Gabon most government representatives come from environment, forestry and agriculture.

AMERICAN FARMERS have this year collected at least US$2.6 billion in crop insurance payouts.

The Kansas-based National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) says the five crops most hit by the drought are corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans and pasture rangeland and forage.

NCIS president Tom Zacharias says the industry’s 5000 claims adjusters are working day and night to expedite claims from farmers.

ID

alan harman

Insurance helps US crop losses

K

Climate change talk-fest grows jobs for environmental activists

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

22 agribusiness

No spring in key producers price index THE FIGURES for the producers’ price index (PPI) for the September 2012 quarter have recently been released.

The PPI measures changes in prices of outputs that generate operating income and inputs that incur operating expense. The PPI differs from the consumers

price index (CPI) in that the CPI shows the overall price-level change for goods and services consumed by the household sector while the PPI measures prices relevant to the productive sector in terms of supply (output) and use (input).

The productive sector is generally made up of

institutions that are not households, e.g. farms, sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations, cooperatives, government and non-government organisations. As agriculture is a major part of New Zealand’s productive sector the results are relevant to all in the industry. However it is important to

note this is an overview and day-to-day oper-

ating expenses are not reflected.

The output PPI, representing prices received for all goods and services produced by New Zealand’s productive sector, fell 0.9% in the September 2012 quarter. This compares with a 0.3% rise in the June 2012 quarter. The latest fall was the larg-

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in dairy commodity prices will start to show though in the December 2012 quarter results.

The input PPI measures change in prices paid by producers for goods and services they use. In the September 2012 quarter, the input PPI fell 1.0%. This is the first quarterly fall since a 1.1% fall in the September 2009 quarter. The main downward contributions to the input PPI came again from the electricity and gas supply industries (down 15.0%), petroleum and coal product manufacturing (down 9.3%) and dairy product manufacturing (down 6.8%).

In the year to the September 2012 quarter, the input PPI increased 0.3%.

This compares with a 4.7% increase in the year to the September 2011 quarter.

The input price index for the petroleum and coal product manufacturing industry fell 9.3% in the September 2012 quarter, reflecting lower prices for imported crude oil. This is the largest quarterly fall since a 28.6% fall in the March 2009 quarter. For the year to the September 2012 quarter, the input price index for petroleum and coal product manufacturing decreased 0.7%.

This follows 10 consecutive annual increases.

• Francis Wolfgram, BA (Econ.), is an independent financial analyst with 15 years experience in financial markets, working for some of the world’s largest financial institutions. franciswolfgram@gmail. com

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est quarterly fall since the September 2009 quarter (down 1.4%). The output price index for electricity and gas supply (down 11.5%) made the largest contribution to the downward movement in the output PPI. This is the largest quarterly fall for electricity and gas since the December 2008 quarter (down 13.7%).

The next major contributor to the fall was the output price index for dairy product manufacturing which fell 10.0% in the September 2012 quarter, the largest fall since the September 2009 quarter (down 10.9%). Lower prices for milk product exports, mainly whole and skim milk powder, made the greatest contribution to the latest fall.

For the year to the September 2012 quarter, the output price index for dairy product manufacturing decreased 15.8%.

This is the largest drop since a 43.0% decrease in the year to the December 2009 quarter.

The third-largest contributor to the fall in the outputs PPI came from the dairy cattle farming index down 9.4%, which had its third consecutive quarterly fall.

The latest fall was influenced by the lower farmgate milk prices received by dairy farmers. In the year to the September 2012 quarter, the output price index for dairy cattle farming decreased 14.8%.

This is the fifth consecutive annual fall since the September 2011 quarter however recent strength

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

agribusiness 23

Attracting world dairy’s best and brightest pa m ti pa pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

A NEW graduate school of dairying based at Auckland University will be out to attract the best students from around the world, says the dean of science, Professor Grant Guilford.

The Joint Graduate School in Dairy Research and Innovation will get underway immediately, following the signing of an agreement just over a week ago between the university, DairyNZ, LIC (Livestock (Improvement Corporation) and AgResearch.

Guilford says a number of students already at Auckland University doing PhD or masters studies will join the school, but it will also recruit from other New Zealand universities and around the world.

“Ideally that will be from countries that have knowledge of pastoral agriculture,” he told Rural News. But he says they will also “take bright kids that don’t have that background and blood them

into New Zealand industry through the short courses we will wrap around our research programmes”.

The school will start next year with a minimum of 50 students, but wants to get to 100 as quickly as possible. It will span disciplines that contribute to sustainable productivity on-farm – such as genetics, agricultural technology and environmental science, through to those that add value beyond the farmgate such as food science and business.

“With the New Zealand farming scene, our farms are getting bigger and are merging. There’s been an ongoing intensifying struggle to find an appropriate number of kids from farms to handle the high-end tasks in the dairy industry,” Guilford says.

“For decades we have had to reach

From left, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle, University of Auckland vice-chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon, and LIC chief executive Mark Dewdney signing the agreement to set up a Joint Graduate School in Dairy Research.

out into the agricultural sciences broadly to kids from an urban background or internationally from universities we partner with. We anticipate that intensifying and part of what we hope to do is help address the talent difficulties for the dairy industry by getting ahead of that and creating a decent catch-

mentfor the dairy industry on this big urban campus.”

He says they will pack around their studies a range of short courses and experiences in dairying, to give students opportunity to see a role in the industry, and enable dairy organisations to spot talent.

He says there are a few other joint graduate schools at the university and they are always in areas where New Zealand has credibility.

These include coastal and marine science, and plant and food science supporting horticulture and aquaculture. He says top students are likely to travel across the world to attend the school both because of the university’s ranking and the country’s reputation in dairying.

Students can apply for a large number of scholarships already offered at Auckland. “We also anticipate the students will be written into the research proposals of AgResearch, the University of Auckland, LIC and DairyNZ and in that way support large numbers of students. The university will also use its skills in attracting philanthropic donations to help support the scholarship programme.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

Market snapshot

lamb market trends

Meat

North Island

South Island

c/kgCWT

Change c/kg

Change c/kg

Lamb - PM 16.0kg

Last Week

Last Week

-12

5.38

-10

5.23

Steer - P2 300kg

-3

4.25

n/c

4.00

Bull - M2 300kg

n/c

4.32

n/c

4.00

Venison - AP 60kg

-10

7.00

-15

7.45

BEEF PRICES Change

5yr Ave Last Year This Year

Last Year

c/kgCWT

Change

Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

-3

4.25

4.28

4.55

-12

5.36

5.48

7.76

4.32

4.32

4.62

PM - 16.0kg

-12

5.38

5.50

7.78

P2 Cow - 230kg

n/c

3.50

3.50

3.65

PX - 19.0kg

-12

5.40

5.52

7.80

M Cow - 200kg

n/c

3.40

3.40

3.55

PH - 22.0kg

-12

5.41

5.53

7.81

Local Trade - 230kg

-3

4.17

4.20

4.45

Mutton

MX1 - 21kg

n/c

3.20

3.20

4.70

P2 Steer - 300kg

n/c

4.00

4.00

4.30

SI Lamb

YM - 13.5kg

-10

5.23

5.33

7.81

M2 Bull - 300kg

n/c

4.00

4.00

4.12

PM - 16.0kg

-10

5.23

5.33

7.83

P2 Cow - 230kg

n/c

3.18

3.18

3.40

PX - 19.0kg

-10

5.23

5.33

7.85

M Cow - 200kg

n/c

2.95

2.95

3.20

PH - 22.0kg

-10

5.23

5.33

7.86

Local Trade - 230kg

n/c

4.18

4.18

4.25

-10

2.83

2.93

4.48

SI

1000s

$5.5

2 Wks Ago

n/c

P2 Steer - 300kg

NZ Slaughter

$6.5

Last Week

M2 Bull - 300kg

NI

North Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price $7.5

LAMB PRICES

c/kgCWT

$8.5

beef market trends

Change

YM - 13.5kg

Mutton

MX1 - 21kg

NZ Slaughter

Estimated Weekly Kill 2Wks Ago

NI Lamb

3 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

1000s

Estimated Weekly Kill Change

2Wks Ago

3 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

Cattle NI

+8%

29.8

27.6

23.1

29.7

-11%

Lamb NI

-21%

134

170

114

186

Cattle SI

9.9

11.1

9.8

9.0

-19%

103

127

133

190

Cattle NZ

+3%

Lamb SI

39.7

38.7

32.9

38.8

296

246

377

9.1

7.6

6.5

9.6

-20%

237

Bull NI

+20%

Lamb NZ

+47%

107

73

63

122

Bull SI

-13%

Mutton NZ

1.3

1.5

1.5

1.8

Str & Hfr NI

+7%

14.7

13.7

11.8

14.1

Str & Hfr SI

-8%

5.6

6.1

6.4

5.6

$6.5

Cows NI

-5%

6.0

6.3

4.8

6.0

$5.5

Cows SI

-14%

3.0

3.5

1.9

1.7

$4.5 $3.5 Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

South Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price $8.5 $7.5

5yr Ave Last Year This Year

$4.5 $3.5 Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

40

Sep

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

5yr Ave Last Year This Year

$3.5

Change

$3.0 Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Dec

Jan

Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

-1

1.33

1.34

1.95

1.72

NZ$/kg

-6

5.73

5.79

8.96

8.96

Demand Indicator - UK Leg Price

Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

£2.50 £2.00

95CL US$/lb

+3

2.22

2.19

2.06

1.55

NZ$/kg

+3

6.00

5.97

6.12

4.90

South Island 300kg Steer Price

$4.5

Nov

UK Leg £/lb

Export Market Demand

$4.0

Oct

Change

0 Aug

$4.5

This Year

300

Export Market Demand

20

North Island 300kg Bull Price

$5.0

Last Year

450

0 Aug

Last Year This

60

600

150

NZ Weekly Beef Kill 80

NZ Weekly Lamb Kill

750

Demand Indicator - US 95CL Beef

Last Year

£1.50 £1.00 Sep

This Year

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

$2.20 $4.0

$2.00

Last Year

5yr Ave

$3.5

Last Year This Year

Sep

Oct

Sep Nov

Dec

Jan

Oct

Nov

North Island 60kg Stag Price

Change 5yr Ave Last Year This Year

$9.0 $8.5

Dec

Jan

Feb

Feb

Procurement Indicator $9.5

$8.0

Change

This Year

$1.80

$3.0

Procurement Indicator

3 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

% Returned NI

-2%

98.1%

100.2%

89.3%

64.5%

% Returned SI

-2%

93.4%

95.9%

88.7%

63.1%

Procurement Indicator - North I.

2Wks Ago

3 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

% Returned NI

-0%

72.0%

72.4%

75.52%

75.9%

% Returned SI

0%

66.7%

66.7%

67.4%

70.5%

Procurement Indicator - North I.

90%

2Wks Ago

$7.5

110% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% Sep

Last Year This Year

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

80%

$7.0

70%

$6.5 Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

This Year

60%

South Island 60kg Stag Price

$9.5

Sep

Nov

Jan

5yr Ave Last Year

$9.0

This Year

$8.5 $8.0

Procurement Indicator - South I.

90%

Last Year This Year

80%

$7.5

70% Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

60% Sep

Nov

Last Year This Year

Oct

Nov

Change

Jan

Beef & venison prices are reported as gross (before normal levies & charges are deducted). Lamb & mutton prices are reported nett (after levies & charges are deducted).

Note: Freight is paid in the North Island but not by all companies in the South Island.

ANZ0672 - Agri RN 70x544.indd 1

105% 95% 85% 75% 65% 55% 45% Sep

Dec

Jan

Feb

Venison Prices

$7.0 Sep

Procurement Indicator - South I.

Last Year

Feb

Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

NI Stag - 60kg

-10

7.00

7.10

8.55

7.79

SI Stag - 60kg

-15

7.45

7.60

9.00

8.20

Rural News // december 4, 2012

news BEEF

price watch WOOL PRICE WATCH

DAIRY PRICE WATCH

Farmgate prices for beef holding firm

Indicators in NZ$

While some meat companies are signalling that they would like to get beef schedules down further, procurement competition is making this difficult. While North Island kill rates are still increasing so too is processing capacity. The latest figures for estimated kill rates show the cattle kill dropping back in the South Island.

Pressure on farmers has eased a little with some rain and better growth conditions over the last week or two. Drier areas in the eastern North Isand are still offloading but it’s more orderly and less panicked now. Many farmers have acted early and already dropped significant numbers and are now happier to wait. Overall farmgate prices for beef have a solid feel to them at present with stronger US imported beef prices are also helping to under-pin the market.

Coarse Xbred Indic.

-4

3.90

3.94

6.36

Butter

Fine Xbred Indicator

+1

4.72

4.71

6.61

Skim Milk Powder

Lamb Indicator

-

-

-

-

Mid Micron Indic.

-

8.57

-

9.21

US cattle numbers on feedlots reach record low The number of cattle placed in US feedlots for fattening dropped 13% in Oct. This is the lowest number of cattle placements for Oct since USDA records began in 1996 and is a reflection of soaring feed costs and severe drought. Placements are also expected to be tight in the coming months so there will likely be a decline in the number of cattle available for marketing towards the second quarter of 2013 (Steiner). This is when demand for the grilling season escalates and although NZ grinding beef does not compete directly with grain fed beef, gaps mean there will be a greater reliance on imported product which bodes well for imported price rises at this time.

LAMB

Change

08-Nov

Last Year

01-Nov

Wool Indicator Trends

700

CXI

FXI

Indicators in NZ$/T

600

Last 2 Wks

Prev. 2 Wks

Last Year 5119

-7

3982

3990

+23

4136

4112

4647

-8

4136

4143

4815

-9

4840

4849

4664

Whole Milk Powder Cheddar

Dairy Prices Trends

6,000

LI

Change

SMP But.

5,000

WMP Ched.

500 4,000

400 300 Nov

Jan

Mar

May

Jul

3,000 Nov

Sep

Coarse Xbred Indicator

700

Jan

Mar

May

Jul

Sep

Whole Milk Powder Price (NZ$)

5,500 Last Year This Year

600

4,500

500

Last Year

400

This Year

300 Sep

3,500 Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Overseas Price Indicators Indicators in US$/kg

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Overseas Price Indicators

Change

08-Nov

01-Nov

Last Year

Indicators in US$/T

Change

Last 2 Wks

Prev. 2 Wks

Last Year 3800

Coarse Xbred Indicator

-4

3.20

3.24

4.85

Butter

Lamb prices still under real pressure

n/c

3250

3250

Fine Xbred Indicator

-1

3.87

3.87

5.04

Skim Milk Powder

+25

3375

3350

3450

Farmgate prices for lamb continue to head south pretty rapidly.

Lamb processing space is fairly tight in many regions despite recent weekly lamb kill numbers dropping back. The ewe kill is now surging to take up the slack and contributing to the space issue. The latest week’s ewe kill was up nearly between 40 and 50% week on week and is nearly double the same time last year. With pressure on killing space expected to continue over the next few weeks, expect more downward movement for lamb prices.

Lamb Indicator

-

-

-

-

n/c

3375

3375

3575

Mid Micron Indicator

-

7.02

-

7.02

Whole Milk Powder Cheddar

n/c

3950

3950

3463

VENISON

Wool Indicator in US$

550

DAIRY Dairy prices in Australasia remain stable Australasian dairy prices remain fairly stable in US dollars per tonne.

Prices are trading in similar ranges from 2 weeks ago which has seen median prices remain hold steady. Milk production in both NZ and Australia is now past peak levels and is declining slightly. So far milk production in NZ is reportedly up 4 to 5% on a year ago, and Australian output is 2 to 3% ahead. The market will be watching closely just how well these high levels of production can be sustained. So far traders and handlers are not reporting that there are significant volumes of uncommitted stocks available despite high production levels to date. This bodes well for the market going forward and should help to under-pin prices. Overall prices at the GDT event last week remained generally stable with the weighted average price across all products up just 0.7%. But prices were mixed within this. Cheddar prices were up significantly by over 12%.

Skim milk powder and whole milk powder on the other hand were both down slightly.

SMP .But

4,500

450 400

WMP .Ched

3,500

350 300

CXI

250 Nov

Deer schedules also heading south As in the lamb market, venison prices are also shifting downwards at a fair rate of knots. This is generally typical at this time of year.

Companies are reporting plenty of deer flowing into processing plants as farmers try to get in before further price falls. Schedules are back 10-15c/kg last week to average $7.00/kg in the North Island and $7.45/kg in the South. North Island schedule prices have not dropped below $7/kg since August 2010. Expect further downward movement in prices through December.

Dairy Prices in US$/Tonne

500

Jan

FXI

Mar

LI

May

Jul

2,500 Nov

Sep

Coarse Xbred Indictor in US$

Mar

May

Jul

Sep

Whole Milk Powder Price in US$/T

4,000

550

Jan

500 3,500

450 400 350

Last Year This Year

300 250 Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Last Year

3,000

This Year

2,500 Sep

CURRENCY WATCH vs. NZ Dollar

Last Week 2 Wks Ago 4 Wks Ago Last Year 0.809

0.820

0.742

Euro

0.634

0.633

0.633

0.557

UK pound

0.512

0.510

0.509

0.480

0.75

Aus dollar

0.786

0.783

0.792

0.765

0.70

Japan yen

67.26

65.67

65.76

57.44

Jan

Feb

Last Year This Year

0.80

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

UK Pound

0.54 0.52

0.60

0.50 Last Year

0.56 0.52

Dec

0.85

0.816

Euro

Nov

US Dollar

0.90

US dollar

0.64

Oct

This Year

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

0.48

Last Year This Year

0.46 Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

30/10/12 4:45 PM

Rural News // december 4, 2012

26 opinion editorial

edna

Joy causes grief The latest very public and international outburst by Massey University scientist and environmentalist Dr Mike Joy has once again raised the issue of the speaking rights of people paid from the public purse.

There is no doubting Joy’s competence as an ecologist and his passion for cleaning up the environment.

The country needs people like him with passion to take a stand on issues. But when his comments drift outside his discipline and into another sphere, questions need to be asked.

It is one thing to say we need to improve water quality, but it’s a bridge too far to bag the nation’s entire image.

Sure, New Zealand may not be 100% pure, but by world standards we are pretty clean and there is a general willingness by farming leaders to get their members into line on environmental matters.

This sort of comment by Dr Joy has the potential to tarnish our primary exports and our tourism sector - the very things that earn the dollars that help pay for universities and the wages of people such as Dr Joy who work there. Destroy the primary industry and there’ll be more than a few academics on the dole.

It is a fine line, but it’s one that some academics, under the guise of academic freedom, use to freely and publicly voice their dubious opinions which they would not be able to do in the real world or even in the government sector.

There are those who say that academic freedom is a prissy little perk that has no place in the real world. But saying this too loudly would bring a roar from the university types that would easily drown out an angry Welsh rugby crowd – especially if Andrew Hore is playing.

The caveat on academic freedom is that statements must be factual and not exaggerated to gain headlines or to fuel attention-seeking egos.

People such as Mike Joy want farming to be contained within limits; not surprisingly farmers want Dr Joy, and his environmental-Taliban mates, to also operate within limits.

“No, there were no Hobbit scenes shot around here, but Edna can show you a pixie-eared mutt with some bad ‘hobbits’, that I’m thinking of shooting!”

the hound Strange bedfellows IT SEEMS the good folk at Soil & Health and Organic NZ are now avid royalists. After the recent royal visitors Prince Charles and Camilla departed these shores, a media release claimed Soil &Health is an “advocate for New Zealanders to have access to food fit for royalty”. Your old mate had to have a bit of a giggle at the thought of the wooden bicycle riders and alternatives of the organic sector – more associated with being anti-establishment – as a bunch of pro-monarchy supporters.

Save

Dr Kill-Joy

Do as I say

THIS OLD mutt never ceases to be amazed at the ‘100% pure’ effort that goes into international headline grabbing

by Massey University environmental science lecturer Mike Joy, Just days before Wellington’s world premiere of The Hobbit, Joy launched a scathing attack on the campaign depicting New Zealand as ‘100% Pure’. But your old mate guesses that as long as Joy keeps making media headlines he’ll continue his economic treason.

THE HOUND nearly choked on his dog biscuit when he read the latest Green Party economic policy gem. Only a few weeks ago the so-called economic genius and wannabeFinance Minister Russel Norman was proposing printing more money as an end to the country’s economic woes. Now ‘Red Russ’ reckons New Zealand should follow the lead of Hong Kong and restrict overseas buyers’ rights to buy houses here. Ok, but did any media ask Australian-born Norman if he owns a house here and if so should he not pay his foreigner tax on it? Or is this more ‘do-as-I-say, not-as-Ido policy’ from the Greens?

Protesteth too much?

IT SEEMS Fonterra-chairin-waiting Little Johnny Wilson is having a tough time convincing farmers and others that the decision to extend outgoing chair Henry van der Heyden’s term on the board is his and not van der Heyden’s. Even before he has got his tiny little legs under his predecessor’s desk, Wilson has had to do a very unlike Fonterra-thing and embark on a media charm offensive explaining the decision and dismissing speculation about van der Heyden’s ongoing control of the co-op.

0800 731 266

Just when this old mutt thought it was safe to close the closet door on academic stupidity, Waikato University academic Lynda Johnston goes and takes the ‘gay, red shirt award’ for ridiculous waste of public funding. Apparently, to mark her promotion to professor, Johnson recently gave a public lecture on how “gaypride parades and festivals transform the usually taken-for-granted heterosexual spaces of cities”.

Gee, that blows the Hound’s theory that too much public funding is being wasted on stupid, pointless university research projects – not!

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

opinion 27

Farmers in their prime are still cool about adopting innovation collaboration between farmers, scientists, agribusiness and policy: this is what the NZ Grassland Association has been encouraging and enabling for 75 years.

Improving innovation yet further will require not only encouragement of

farmers, but also targeted investment of the money the farmers already provide through taxes, rates, levies and their co-operative companies.

Proving the worth of new technologies on-farm will enhance adoption, and improved returns will

u

in

e weed

ip

er -

Th

Keep up with the latest stories from Rural News by following us on:

enable greater investment.

Farmers in their prime of life hold the key.

• Jacqueline Rowarth is professor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato.

She is also president of the New Zealand Grassland Association. www.grassland. org.nz

w

GET SOCIAL

farmers aren’t picking up new technologies as fast as was hoped, it might be something to do with lack of solvency or lack of apparent value. Certainly solvency is an issue for an increasing number of farms this year, as the Reserve Bank ‘fragility’ report indicates. But ‘lack of apparent value’ is also important.

Lissaman suggests “Farmers should be encouraged to invest in innovative practices and create the solutions, too.

It is these people who have helped make the Innovation Index in agriculture what it is. More encouragement will result in even greater results.”

The Innovation Index report states that ‘Innovation will require collective investment and long term commitment from many stakeholders, including industry bodies, research institutions, universities, business leaders, government policymakers and investors.’

The translation is more research and improved

JFM

should be regarded as a strength.”

Greg Muir, chief executive of TruTest, has commented recently that New Zealand farmers as a whole are adopting electronic tracking at a much faster rate than farmers elsewhere. Certainly there is regulation to encourage uptake, but the value becoming apparent is in improving individual animal management and hence production and farm returns. As returns improve, the ripples spread and adoption increases.

Research from the Netherlands involving at least 1000 farmers reported that younger farmers are more likely than older farmers to adopt innovation. How-

ever, this effect was shown to be linked with education, and in New Zealand education in agriculture is high. Of more relevance for New Zealand are the findings that farms with larger businesses (spreading fixed costs for innovation) and more solvency (to pay for it) are more likely to innovate. This suggests that it might be the older farmers who are in the best position to adopt new technologies successfully because they know their business and so are likely to pick appropriately.

Lissaman, who has experience with monitor farms and on-farm research trials, sees that it is the mature farmers who are the innovators and adopters in New Zealand.

“This is the group that has the confidence and money,” he says. “They know their knitting and new ideas and technologies should be tested with them to see if they have some real advantage on farm.”

The implication is that if

e ge n

AGRICULTURE – ALONG with forestry and fishing – is the top performer in the Innovation Index of New Zealand, according to research involving IBM and the University of Auckland. In the decade 1998-2008 the All Sector Innovation Index moved from 100 to approximately 108, but the primary sector topped 200.

This report came out in 2010 but received little coverage in the news media. Far more frequently we hear and read that “New Zealand’s potential will increase if we can get more rapid adoption of new technologies on farm”.

The ageing farmer workforce is often cited as a reason for lack of adoption.

However, as Warwick Lissaman, Blenheim farmer and vice-president of the Grassland Association points out, “The average age of farmers 20 years ago was 56.5, now it is 58.

But we are all living more active lives for longer.

Maturity and experience

s ce

198

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

28 opinion

The ‘real’ lucky country

ag twits Rural News’ irreverent and hypothetical look at what’s happening in the farming world

B RU CE W ILLS

NEW ZEALAND exports are more likely to grow if successive governments target a population of 15 million by 2060. It is that simple.

That is not my idea, but highlights a fundamental discussion we are not having about how big we ought to be and by when. It comes in a recent thought-provoking paper prepared for Business New Zealand by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research.

If we want to grow New Zealand into an agricultural superpower we need a larger domestic market to create and exploit the opportunities we create.

This report also recommends considering tax incentives or grants to encourage large, successful New Zealand companies to remain based here, instead of targeting all assistance to companies just starting out as exporters.

I can confidently say that, in terms of value and in terms of productivity, New Zealand farming is the star turn. Globally New Zealand agriculture is Hollywood and Wellywood rolled into one.

We are the hothouse, the benchmark and the Wall Street of global farming. I must ask why, that being the case, some Kiwis delight in telling overseas conferences or media what we get wrong, whereas I like to focus on what we get right. We get more things right than we get wrong and farmers deserve accolades for this.

New Zealand’s core competitive advantage is food and instead of armchair experts thinking finished products, we need to be thinking ingredients – meshing our ingredients within global supply chains so that it becomes ‘NZ Inside’. McDonald’s NZ is a fine example of what I mean, given that the value of primary exports it sends is only one third lower than the total export returns from the film and television industry.

ANZ’s latest Insight states “strong international demand combined with growing supply constraints are driving an enormous opportunity for agricultural trade.”

ANZ expects New Zealand, in 2012-2050, to sell an additional $500 billion-$1.3 trillion in agricultural exports. This is an

immense opportunity and the banks are beefing up their agricultural skills as they know this is the once and future secret of New Zealand’s success.

So what is holding us back?

Capital constraint is a major holdup – something more Kiwi savings would help with as that lessens our reliance on Belgian dentists and Japanese housewives.

We can also add a poor skills match between those leaving tertiary institutions and what employers actually need. Though we have growing urban unemployment we cannot fill vacancies on-farm: we have people with the wrong skills in the wrong locations.

We also face land-use conflicts.

We have reason to fear councils rushing blindly into setting limits based on flimsy analysis. I must make mention of Horizons Regional Council’s One Plan and urge the council to invite Landcare Research to present its findings.

Agriculture needs land and though it is a finite commodity, we are nowhere near maximising the full potential of New

Zealand’s millions of hectares of pasture.

The only thing we have to fear is our nagging self-doubt. The market determines best land use because New Zealand was built by those who believe in the word ‘can’. We must guard against becoming the country that can’t.

Water is a flashpoint about which there is too often ignorance and harsh words spoken about farming. But a positive is that the Land & Water Forum is pointing to a better future: we are on the same page and are engaged.

We continue to have problems with the RMA in trying to generate wealth – environmentalists also complain about the RMA – so maybe we need to have a closer look. We need to ask if the RMA remains the best policy instrument for New Zealand in the 21st century. The NZIER is in no doubt that it represents a blockage. One thing we know is that the world is going to demand 60% more agricultural output than was produced globally in 2007.

Are we the country of ‘can’? I believe we are.

The big issue is our relationship with the environ-

ment. If we overbalance on economic development, we destroy the environment and that costs us all; yet if we overbalance on the environment, we destroy the economy and that equally costs us.

Striking the right balance is important. With good management and good science we can do both: we can continue to improve how we interact with the environment, and we can grow the economy.

We can grow more jobs with a lighter footprint.

Government simply needs to spend less. We must focus on outcomes rather than process, and trust the collective wisdom of the community rather than the views of a distant judge.

We produce safe, quality food in a world that is crying out for more. We have great water nestled among some of the best scenery on earth. We are an educated and innovative people with an exciting future. We are a ‘lucky’ country.

(This is an edited version of the speech given in late November by Bruce Wills, president of Federated Farmers, to Federated Farmers national council, Wellington.)

Top Bleats view all jwilsonfonterra: Can I just confirm that any decision to keep @henryfonterra on the Fonterra board was mine alone. I alone, with Henry, decided it was an appropriate move! #clarifyingtheissues henryfonterra: I’m not very happy @jwilsonfonterra that you did not run this statement past me for approval before going public.

Please do so in future. #rememberthepeckingorder damienoconnormp: The ‘media beat up’ over the supposed strife between my leader @ dshearerlabour and that ‘other’ David is a direct result of Fonterra’s decision to implement TAF! #blameanythingontaf ianbrownshc: My shareholders’ council, which safeguards the interests of the Fonterra’s 10,500 shareholders, recommends that farmers don’t vote in favour of @lachiemackenzie’s proposal to safeguard shareholder control at the AGM. #ratherironicmove lachiemackenzie: Tell me @ianbrownshc is it just because it’s me pushing this proposal that you are not backing it? #whydoesnooneloveme ianbrownshc: In a word @lachiemackenzie: yes! #harshtruth

mikejoymassey: Any international media outlets wanting my views on how NZ’s an environmental dumping ground, with rivers fill to the brim with cow faeces and poisoned children lying dead in our lakes ring me 24/7 on 0800CRAP #callmekilljoy winstonfirst&last: Warning, warning…latest plans by this Govt on immigration will see foreign red communists infiltrating our country and taking over the place! #anotherasianinvasion rnormangreens: I hate to upset you @ winstonfirst&last old mate, but as a ginger Australian socialist and finance minister in the next Labour/Green/NZFirst coalition – that ship has already sailed! #scarythought

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

opinion 29 WRC’s blinkered approach not sustainable ALL NEW Zealand ratepayers – rural and urban – should be concerned at the lack of long-term vision of the Waikato Regional Council in the construction and implementation of Variation 5.

I have maintained for some years that their blinkered approach to minimising Lake Taupo water nutrient levels was not sustainable. This is due to a lack of consideration of the social and economic effects on landowners and their communities as the ever increasing farm costs rise to inevitably meet the now capped farm production and therefore farm income.

Furthermore, I felt I was a lone voice questioning whether sufficient, or any, consideration had been given to identifying what optimum water nutrient level is required to main-

tain a healthy fishery – probably the most important economic and social sector of the catchment.

It comes as no surprise – unfortunately, in view of the pain landowners have already suffered and are yet to experience – that credible parties are now claiming that Lake Taupo is “too clean for trout”.

This includes the anglers’ group Advocates of the Tongariro River, the Taupo District Council and DOC. They claim the fishery is in crisis: catch numbers down, smaller fish being caught than before, and licence sales [down] as much as 20% in five years as anglers bypass Taupo and head to Rotorua lakes for bigger limit bags. The fishery – estimated to contribute $70m a year to the local economy – was far from being the best trout fishery in the world, the

group says.

So concerned is DOC that, together with the other parties, it is about to launch a three-year study costing $108,000, to find out why the Taupo fishery has declined.

Whatever the outcome of the study, there is here a clear message for ratepayers, landowners and policy makers involved in land and water planning throughout New Zealand: beware regional councils with a blinkered approach which considers only the minimisation of nutrient levels in lakes and streams.

Insist that they investigate fully all the wider- and longer-term economic and social implications of their proposals, before you agree to cooperate.

Geoff Burton Taumarunui

A salty problem?

HAS ANYONE thought about salinity – the salt level in the soil gradually creeping up as a result of irrigation?

This has happened in Australia. There are extensive areas around the Snowy River Scheme that are now too salty

for citrus trees. This may happen here too where the climate is very warm in summer and where there is a high evaporation rate.

BD Hanson RD3, Marton

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Money better spent on border control IN RESPONSE to David Webb (Rural News, Oct. 23, ‘NAIT scheme misses the mark’), I agree the NAIT scheme misses the mark. However, my logic is different from what David Webb claims. Webb appears to overlook or discount the fact that many parts of New Zealand have a large feral population of goats, pigs and deer.

If he advocates tagging sheep to “protect agriculture from foot

and mouth disease”, then should we not also NAIT-tag these goats, pigs and deer?

I would define this as a mission impossible. In my opinion, the NAIT scheme for biosecurity risk is ambulance-at-the-bottom-ofthe-cliff mentality. Should foot and mouth enter NZ, we are all screwed. NAIT tags will not save us.

I believe a better spend of the money on NAIT would be beefing

up border security. The NAIT scheme has been dreamed up by shinybums creating unnecessary jobs and I believe it will have huge cost overruns for little gain.

I would expect more thought and logic from someone who heads the NZ operation of an Australian corporate advice firm.

I believe both you and NAIT have missed the mark.

Neil Butler RD8, Inglewood

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

30 management

Cultivation by rote wrong approach The Foundation for Arable Research began its series of summer field days recently with trials in South Canterbury demonstrated to growers and agronomists from across the region.

Andrew Swallow reports.

JUST WHEN you thought it was time to sell the plough, along comes a trial to make you think twice, such as the one at FAR’s South Canterbury trials

hub this season.

Plots of wheat established after ploughing are more-or-less weed free under all herbicide treatments, but those direct-

drilled or sown into min-tilled seedbeds are riddled with grasses in all but a few places.

“It’s the best trial you’re going to see all day,” FAR’s Nick Poole commented at the recent site field day.

However, the takehome message isn’t give

up the timeliness and work-rate gains of reduced tillage and “go back to ploughing”, he stressed.

Rather, it’s that sometimes there’s a need to do things a little differently, and to tweak techniques to the season.

“What this shows is we can’t keep applying more

and more herbicides, particularly if they are from the same family. Every now and then we have to take another option.”

A delayed harvest and late sowing, on May 8, put the chemistry under pressure from unusually high populations of ryegrass volunteers.

Chemistry comments

Wheat plots swamped with ryegrass volunteers in one of FAR’s trials.

THE ESTABLISHMENT technique trial is overlaid with a herbicide trial.

Commenting on the herbicide results, FAR’s Rob Craigie noted a reduced rate of Firebird (flufenacet + diflufenican) at 0.3 L/ha was “not quite doing it” under the heavy weed pressure, whereas 0.5L/ha “did quite a good job”.

A coded, yet-to-be-launched product in the trial gave “quite a bit of additional control, and we’ve seen that at the arable site as well. It’s quite impressive,” he added.

However, the coded product doesn’t

Decem Januar y ber/ Special

offer the broadleaved weed control Firebird does, hence the trial includes combinations with Quantum (diflufenican).

Firebird with Othello (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron + diflufenican) had done a better job on the grassweeds, but the take home message was that no one product was doing the job on its own, demonstrating the importance of sequences in weed control.

“And if you really are coming unstuck with grassweeds, the plough is really a very good rotational option.”

Faced with such heavy infestations even after herbicides, cutting for silage would be an option to prevent the weeds from seeding, he pointed out.

Ploughing would equally be an option. However, where plots had been ploughed the previous autumn it would be a mistake, as on those areas the traditional inversion tillage would likely pull the original weed seeds to the surface again where, despite having been buried for a year, most would germinate and possibly infest another crop.

“So how often should we plough?” Poole was asked.

His suggestion is to look at the length of the cropping rotation, and work out between which crops it would be best deployed, possibly resulting in a one-in-five, or

one-in-six approach.

The longer the interval between soil inversions, the greater the decay of the buried weed seeds.

However, some plant species’ seeds could lie dormant for years, if not decades, at depth, and growers should be wary of burying such seed, he warned. Better to leave it on the surface to germinate and then take it out – either with chemistry or cultivation.

“If you’ve grown a brassica and you’re going to grow more brassicas for seed in the future, the last thing we’d want to do is plough it down!”

FAR has trials underway looking at the viability of various weed seeds, notably some C4 grass species which pose problems in North Island maize, after various lengths of burial.

Rural News // december 4, 2012

management 31

Variable rate irrigation debate VARYING IRRIGATION volume as pivots or laterals travel over your paddocks can boost yield and save water, though how much depends on the season and variability of your land and crops, Massey University’s Carolyn Hedley explained to the FAR field day.

Studies of three farms with such systems over the past couple of years found up to 36% savings in water, and,

in most cases, increased yields when water volumes were tailored to soil type, topography and crop.

The saved water not only represented a cost saving on the irrigated area; it was then available to increase production on other areas of the farms.

“We know you can save water in many situations but there may be some sites where you might not get such a big

Tips to build resilience STICKING TO a system won’t make your cropping more resilient – if anything it will make it more vulnerable, FAR’s Diana Mathers told the field day.

“It’s not about sticking to a system: it’s about assessing what’s going on,” she stressed, while outlining an MPI-funded project on developing resilience in cropping systems.

Mathers presented a list which, while possibly sounding like statements of the obvious to many growers, is worth thinking about in the face of increased climate variability, she says.

Diana Mathers Soil management techniques can increase resilience by increasing organic matter, improving drainage and reducing compaction from animals or machinery.

More efficient resource use is more resilient resource use, and good use of information is essential. Running through ‘what-if ’ scenarios for the farm before an adverse weather event will increase readiness and speed of response in the real thing.

Farmers should also get involved in regulatory processes likely to impact farming.

“If you don’t, you might not like the decisions coming out the other end,” she warns, noting how readily antifarming protests grab the headlines.

saving: where there are no overlaps, no exclusion (eg races) areas, or particularly uniform soil… but in many situations you will get a payback in one or two years, five years, or maybe ten years.”

For example, on a pivot-irrigated dairy farm near Fairlie, South Canterbury, installing a variable rate system paid for itself in one season, thanks

Beware downsides of late ryegrass crops are more at risk, especially as some of the overseas-bred lines are particularly susceptible to the disease.

“If you get [disease protection] wrong you can expect a 75% yield decrease. Get it right and you can expect pretty much no disease.”

Chynoweth says Proline (prothiaconazole) is “really good” and it doesn’t matter which mode of action the partner product has, ether strobilurin or SDHI. “Proline is the best for blind seed, stem rust, and for killing endophyte, so make sure you talk to your seed companies [about endophyte safety] before using it.”

If wet conditions persist blind seed could become “a real concern”.

If so, use a triazole plus carbendazim at flowering, he adds.

LOOK BEFORE you leap into seed multiplication crops of late heading ryegrasses, says FAR’s Richard Chynoweth.

Such cultivars typically have lower seed yields and while breeders have worked to improve that in some cases, growers should do their homework and be aware of the other drawbacks of such crops.

For example, a major factor in seed yield is temperature and speed to maturity. Later heading crops typically mature in warmer weather, so produce lower yields.

“Later season cultivars obviously require more water too, which is something to think about when you’re calculating how much it’s going to cost to grow your crop.”

Stem rust also thrives in hotter weather, so the later heading

to a 28% water saving being diverted to other, previously unirrigated parts of the farm. Modifying a pivot or lateral works out at about $100/m she said, and electromagnetic (EM) mapping of soil to provide a texture map with which to programme the irrigator would cost about $60/ha.

While some research into measuring soil moisture content in real-time

– as the irrigator travels the paddock – has been done elsewhere, Hedley says such an approach has several disadvantages, such as knowing when to start irrigating.

“If the sensor is on the pivot you’ve got to run it dry before you start irrigating because you can only tell the soil moisture content as it passes over the paddock.”

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

32 management

Reflections on a Nuffield trip AFTER MONTHS jetting around the globe looking at other nations’ farms and industries, there’s no place like home, recently returned Nuffield Scholar and local cropping farmer Michael Tayler told the field day crowd.

“I haven’t found anywhere in the world that’s

as good to farm as South Canterbury, and North Otago of course,” he quipped, acknowledging the handful of growers from south of the Waitaki. “It’s only when you go away you realise how lucky we are.”

Grain prices here are relatively high, and crop

losses to droughts, floods, fires or plagues of pests rare. In the UK he’d met farmers harvesting wheat at 20% moisture, in Germany growers who lost swathes of crops to wild boar, and in Canada a grower who’d had gophers take out 100ha of Canola.

“It’s stuff we’d never con-

template.”

And those are just the natural pests. In Eastern Europe dealing with corruption is a way of life and in many places land is subdivided into postage stamp parcels as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union. One 10,000ha farmer he met had 7800

separate leases. “The paper work is ridiculous.”

Tayler’s talk steered clear of his study topic – new technologies for the arable industry – as he said his head was “still spinning a bit” with all the information, and he’d been advised not to discuss it until his report was

Michael Tayler

written.

However, he hinted there are “huge gains to be made” in precision agriculture, and that genetic

modification is “a whole debate we need to have,” in New Zealand. “Overall though I’m pretty positive about where we’re at.”

New barley fungicides on par so far TWO NEW fungicides in the FAR trials are performing on a par with the current standard mixes of Proline (prothiaconazole) plus Acanto (picoxystrobin), or Proline plus Seguris Flexi (isopyrazam), judging by disease scores in May-sown Tavern barley on the South Canterbury site.

“Both are giving good disease control so far,” noted FAR’s Rob Craigie.

However, plots have only been scored for scald and net blotch to date, and Seguris Flexi’s strength is on the later season disease, ramularia.

In the past two seasons work where that disease has dominated, with little scald pressure, Proline plus Seguris Flexi mixes have “given another yield kick” over Proline plus Acanto mixes, he notes.

Neither of the new products is commercially available yet.

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Getting their eye-in: growers and agronomists inspect FAR’s barley fungicide trials.

Rural News // december 4, 2012

management 33

Biosecurity starts at home A N D REW SWA LLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

Is your farm ready for a biosecurity incursion?

That’s the question Foundation of Arable Research chief executive Nick Pyke put to growers at the Foundation’s recent Southern Trials hub field day (see stories p30-32).

“I’d just remind you biosecurity doesn’t start and stop at the border of the country,” he said in a wider presentation about the sector’s interaction with MPI over the issue.

“Your farm is like the

Any incursion likely to impact growers will likely show itself on a farm first, and early identification and response can prove vital to nip potentially highly costly problems in the bud, he stresses.

“We don’t want it to be like varroa where by the time it was found it was so widespread they couldn’t do anything about it.”

While some incursions receive widespread publicity, and consequent widespread awareness, growers don’t necessarily get to hear about the low profile things, he warns.

going impacts with ongoing costs, to the worst case scenario, where a farm, or parts of it, could be forced to cease operating for a long time.

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For example, a population of the voracious brassica pest Great White Butterfly has established in Nelson.

Initially eradication wasn’t planned but during the past year the Department of Conservation has realised it might infest a native cress species which is nearly extinct, and now a plan to wipe it out, albeit with a modest budget, is in place, he says.

If it became widespread the pest could add considerable cost and risk to growing forage crops such as kale and seed brassicas.

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“Your farm biosecurity plan needs to address each of these possibilities,” he advises.

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“Any incursion likely to impact growers will likely show itself on a farm first, and early identification and response can prove vital to nip potentially highly costly problems in the bud.”

– Nick Pyke nation and there are pests, weeds and diseases you don’t wish to cross your border. You do have some influence in this area: it is all about monitoring and responding to risks.”

Pyke says the major risks growers can influence, if not totally control, are those from pests, weeds and diseases already in the country but not yet their farms.

“These may arrive on your property via machinery, in seed lines or on visitors’ equipment and clothing. Be aware, and set up systems to manage and monitor what is coming on to your property. These systems will also help protect you from potential new-to-New Zealand incursions.”

Machinery coming onto the farm can represent a risk, says FAR’s Nick Pyke (inset).

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

34 animal health K-Line Effluent TM

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Jeremy Davies has, arguably, two full-time jobs: one as a farmer, the other as a farm consultant in the Tararua district around Dannevirke.

Recently the two roles coincided with him hosting a Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day on Glen Elgin, the property he and wife Adrienne bought in 2004. It’s about 40 minutes east of Dannevirke with a 179ha home block and a leaseblock of 32ha. They run 1140 ewes including two tooths, 375 ewe hoggets, and 40 Hereford x Friesian cows mated to Simmental.

Davies was born in the UK and did an honours degree in agriculture at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, after which he went farming.

He’d been a farm manager for five years before his first visit to New Zea-

land in 1991. That was a short work experience trip, but six more followed he and his wife emigrated in 2004.

“We chose Glen Elgin because it has a reasonable rainfall. A third of the farm is strong limestone, the bulk of the rest of it is strong mudstone country. There’s a little bit of sandstone and all in all it’s pretty good.”

Another reason was the infrastructure.

“It has a good woolshed and concrete yards,a brand new set of cattle yards and the fencing was pretty reasonable. It also had a pretty good fertiliser history.”

He’d done some consulting in the UK and three years ago started a similar advisory role here, part-time, for Baker and Associates. It’s one he enjoys and it complements his farming, he says.

Not surprisingly, on his farm, he’s ‘numbers man’ and likes to have hard data for decisions.

“Because of my job and Glen Elgin’s size we do a lot more recording of livestock performance and consequences of what happens than most larger farms do or want to do… it takes up a lot of time, and with the consultancy as well as running the farm time can sometimes be an issue, but I feel it’s worthwhile doing it.”

In theory, it’s two days a week consulting, including sometimes facilitating seminars for BLNZ. He says farmer clients value his dual role, but admits that there are others who find this difficult. He believes there are benefits for both him and clients in that he picks up ideas which he can pass on, or in some cases use himself on Glen Elgin.

Hogget mating adds $56/ha

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A practice Jeremy Davies picked up in the UK was hogget mating and it’s one that he’s put a lot of effort into on his farm here.

It adds $12,600 to gross farm income, $56/ha to gross margin, and helps identify the most prolific sheep earlier.

“We use a cheviot as a ram over hoggets. We tried various breeds, terminal sires and Romney, over our hoggets but we just felt the lambing issues were compromising our hogget performance and that’s why we tried the cheviot: as an easier lambing option.”

As a smaller breed the cheviot makes it easier for hoggets to lamb. Last year he had 66% lambing from 352 mated at an average 42.5kg. Scanning was 102%.

The whole farm system is geared to take special care of the hoggets with close attention

Jeremy Davies’ hoggets in the yards earlier for a Beef+Lamb field day earlier this year.

to animal, in particular parasite control. When they are weaned they get a 5 in 1 vaccine, flystrike treatment and a drench. They are shorn six weeks before mating with further treatment before they go to the ram.

“We look after the hoggets well

and have adjusted ewe numbers to ensure than we can feed our mated ewe hoggets right through the winter. We also ensure that we have sufficient feed to set stock them onto in the spring. The whole management system is geared towards that.”

Rural News // december 4, 2012

animal health 35

Study finds orals best bet DRENCHING CATTLE orally offers a win-win in cost and efficacy, judging by new research by AgResearch.

The study, soon to be published in the international journal Veterinary Parasitology, found oral moxidectin far more effective than equivalent pouron or injectable doses.

While the advantage over pour-ons was expected, the edge over injectables wasn’t, says Dave Leathwick, one of the AgResearch scientists behind the work.

“Injectable macrocyclic lactones (the drug family which includes moxidectin, ivermectin, abamectin etc) are regarded as the gold standard when treating cattle parasites on a global basis,” notes Leathwick.

“Based on overseas data, I would not have been surprised if the pouron product was generally less effective than the other two routes as there are issues with drug penetrating the skin and animals either licking the drug off their own backs or their neighbours.”

What did come as a surprise “was that the injectable product performed no better than the pouron. In comparison, the much cheaper oral product reduced worm egg output by over 90%.”

In the study pour-ons reduced worm eggs shed in faeces by only about 50%.

The parasite surviving treatment was predominantly Cooperia, which on most of the 14 farms involved showed a level of resistance to the drugs.

However, this was not always the case and the presence of resistance does not explain the difference between the routes of administration, says Leathwick. Rather, the results are probably related to how the drug reaches the target worms.

Injections or pour-ons have to be absorbed into an animal’s bloodstream, and then re-circulated to be released into the gut tissue where the worms live. This is easier for an

injectable than for a pouron product, as the latter has to get through a hide, which has evolved to keep things out.

“This became obvi-

Dave Leathwick

ous when we measured the amount of drug in the bloodstream in the treated cattle. The levels were far higher in the animals given injections than in those treated with either of the other two routes.”

Despite that, the oral drench was still better at killing worms.

“We don’t know for sure why this is the case, but some recent overseas work suggests that the oral drug does not need to rely on absorption and transport around the body in order to reach worms living in the gut.

“Instead, the drug gets bound to material in the gut and passes directly to the organs where the worms live. It appears that this results in higher overall levels of drug reaching the target worms - hence higher efficacy.

“What we have already proven is that using drugs with higher efficacy against worms lifts animal productivity, while killing more worms by using an effective drench reduces the selection pressure for resistance to develop, promoting the sustainability of worm control.”

Leathwick says followup studies confirmed the findings are not unique to moxidectin and that other pour-on and injectable products are no more effective.

“The next steps are to repeat the study against different worm species and also develop techniques to measure drug concentrations in the tis-

sues where the worms live.”

It will take four to five years’ research to determine whether findings apply equally to all worm

species, and to assess the likely outcome in terms of effective worm control should farmers continue to use pour-on or injectable products.

From left: AgResearch technicians Chris Miller and Paul Candy collect faecal samples from trial cattle prior to drenching.

Rural News // december 4, 2012

36 animal health

Tips on electric collar use

WHAT ARE my thoughts on electric dog collars? Used correctly they are better than sliced bread.

Some people think they are cruel: the collar isn’t cruel, it is the idiot pushing the button that is cruel. Others think that they ruin dogs: they don’t ruin dogs, it is the person who ruins the dog.

It surprises me, the ignorance of many people. They think they can buy a pup, do very little with it as it grows, and then, when it reaches 6-12 months old, they take it to work, let it go, and expect it to know exactly what to do with stock. The owner shouts lots of words the pup has never heard in its life before, expecting it to obey something it doesn’t understand.

Because the pup is keen, knows nothing, and does everything wrong, the owner thinks: “I’ll get an electronic dog trainer – that’ll fix him”. When it arrives it is attached to the young dog who is then zapped every time he does something wrong. And the dog is ruined beyond repair.

Dog training is a skill you need to learn before you attempt to train a dog. Study the subject and watch an expert, not your mate and his unruly mutts.

You can’t train a dog with the collar. You must first teach him all of his commands, one at a time. Then spend time working a few sheep in the yards where you have control of the dog and the sheep – nothing can get out of hand.

This is what I do. Over a period of many weeks I teach my dog its commands. Some commands are learnt using sheep; some commands are taught without any, just me and the dog.

When she has a good understanding of each command I will work her on sheep, in the yards and in holding paddocks.

When that is going well we progress into small paddocks with a few sheep, and with a larger mob – no more than a hundred and in a non work situation, just me and the dog.

The young dog will have worn the electric collar, from time to time for a few hours, before I start actually using it. This allows her to get used to it: she doesn’t associate the sensation with the collar.

As soon as a dog knows the collar is where the reprimand comes from, you have lost your advantage forever. It will disobey without it, and only obey when wearing it.

My secret is, from the moment the young dog starts to work sheep, she is wearing the collar every single time for the next 4-6 months. She only wears the collar when working sheep, because if you leave it on the neck it will be rubbed raw – take it off!

My dog has been taught ‘stop’ and ‘come to me’ and they are the only things I correct with the collar at this stage. The dog must stop, and must come back, when I say. I use the collar to insist. Insist is not full voltage for five

Boon or bust: success with electric collars depends on the user.

minutes: insist is so low the dog doesn’t yelp in pain but happily obeys me. It is like giving the dog a prod in the ribs: ‘hey, remember me? Do as you’re told!’

I will use my training stick, body and voice to correct and guide the dog with other commands, not the collar. If you use the collar every time the dog does

something wrong you will turn it into a nervous wreck. You will ruin it!

And if you can’t control your temper, don’t get one.

• Anna Holland is teaching people dog training. For more information www. annaholland.co.nz or tel (06)388 1318 or annaholland@xtra.co.nz

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

animal health 37

Johne’s not notifiable in NZ A N D REW SWA LLOW

AS AUSTRALIA’S beef producers question the notifiable status of Johne’s disease in their country, a New Zealand expert on the disease says its unclassified status here is a good thing.

Hinrich Voges

“It was found notification was preventing reporting,” LIC vet Hinrich Voges told Rural News.

The disease was made notifiable in New Zealand in 1931 but was removed from the list in the 1990s.

Average age of onset in cattle is at five to six years, though infection with the causative bacterium, Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP), typically occurs when animals are calves.

“A small proportion become clinical at two or three years. That tends to be an indication of a high level of exposure,” says Voges.

Infection is spread in faeces with animals shedding large amounts of MAP for a year or two before the disease reaches a clinical stage.

Blood and milk tests are poor at identifying infection in young animals but as the amount of MAP being shed increases, the tests become more reliable.

“You might pick up one in six cases, at most, in young stock but as they progress to clinical you’ll pick up 80 to 90% with the blood test.”

Aussies beef about Johne’s AUSTRALIAN BEEF producers’ questions about the notifiable status of Johne’s disease have been prompted by an investigation into a positive test at Rockley Red Brahman Stud, Bajool, Queensland.

Queensland, and much of Australia, is classified as a Bovine Johne’s Disease (BJD) protected zone and the state’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry can order stock to be culled and impose movement restrictions under a national control programme.

Queensland DAFF announced its investigation early last week, prompting another stud producer, Don Lawson, Victoria, to question the disease’s status.

“The stigma associated with the disease is worse than any clinical effects of the disease itself,” he told Australian website, Beef Central.

Lawson reckons more cattle are lost to road kill, snake bites, or getting their heads stuck in trees, than to BJD. “The draconian regulations put in place to ensure jobs for the boys in the veterinary profession have brought havoc to the livelihood of so many families.”

Lawson was once forced to slaughter high-value stock following a positive test in his herd, but the slower, more reliable culture test (see main story) later revealed the first result to be a false positive.

Queensland DAFF says the herd at the centre of the current investigation “appears to have been infected for many years” and that there have been “substantial cattle movements between the affected property and other properties, including major stud and commercial cattle properties in Queensland and interstate.”

Producers with cattle from the affected stud were “strongly advised not to cull these cattle, as that could result in lengthy delays in resolving the risk of infection.”

Faecal cultures followed by DNA identification of the bacteria by PCR analysis are more reliable, but can take eight weeks and are considerably more costly.

Stress tends to trigger onset of clinical symptoms: wasting, weight loss, diarrhoea, and in dairy,

reduced milk production, leading to death.

“It’s a one-way road once they progress to clinical. If they do recover at all, they’ll invariably go down again.”

Clinical cases in beef herds are rare, probably because stock aren’t under the same production

stresses as in dairy herds, says Voges.

In dairy, a high proportion of herds are probably carrying low levels of infection but farmers are unaware of it, as it isn’t causing a noticeable problem. Incidence in the South Island is higher than in the North, with Can-

terbury being a particular hot spot.

“In the South Island probably 5- 10% of herds do have a problem.”

Voges says if herd owners or managers suspect they’re seeing cases, the first step should be to get affected animals tested.

“An important message too is that it’s not as simple as ‘test and cull.’

There has to be a management programme put in place to protect the calves.”

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

38 animal health

Agent pinged for tagging breach CONVICTION OF a senior livestock agent in Blenheim serves as a warning that illegal tagging of cattle will not be tolerated, says the Animal Health Board (AHB).

Richard John May, 66, from Seddon, admitted two breaches of the Biosecurity Act after he “helped out a mate” by attach-

ing three tags to a friend’s animals at the Blenheim public saleyard. The tags he used belonged to other farmers.

However, following a report from the on-site movement control and identification officer, an AHB investigation led to May being prosecuted for the incident which took

place in October last year.

May was convicted on two charges and fined $750 in recognition of an early guilty plea. He could have faced a fine of up to $50,000 and/or 12 months in jail.

AHB technical and farm services manager Stu Hutchings, says May’s actions were unlawful and

had the potential to create unnecessary risks for farmers and the TB control programme.

“This prosecution sends a clear message to people not to try to take shortcuts. We will continue to be vigilant and will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to follow proper proce-

dures which are designed to protect others.

“Fortunately, the majority of farmers in New Zealand realise the importance of complying with identification requirements to ensure disease management is effective in protecting their livelihoods and our reputation overseas.

Helping out a mate has landed a Blenheim livestock agent in hot water.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE NONE OF OUR HARD WORK IS WASTED

“The incorrect identification of cattle or deer can lead to a significant waste of resources if animals in a herd cannot be identified quickly and accurately.”

With NAIT tags now

mandatory too, Hutchings points out incorrect use of RFID ear tags remains a breach of the Biosecurity Act and offenders may also be considered to have breached the NAIT Act.

Ask for help best approach CALL SOMEONE if you’re having trouble caring for animals in your possession, says the Ministry of Primary Industries in the wake of a three Gisborne residents being sentenced for wilful ill-treatment and neglect of horses and cattle.

“If you are struggling to take care of your animals, speak up,” says MPI regional districts compliance manager, Ross Thurston.

“There are many people including your local farm representatives that can help and provide advice on managing your stock. Don’t leave it to the last minute when things can become unmanageable and animals begin to suffer.”

The Gisborne case resulted in a farming family being ordered to destock their property within a fortnight, pay vet costs, perform hundreds of hours community work, and, for one of the three who was a repeat offender, serve a five month home detention sentence.

Two of the individuals were also banned from owning or exercising authority over farm animals, including horses, for 10 and 15 years.

MPI says it encourages the public to report cases of animal ill-treatment to its animal welfare hotline, 0800 00 83 33. All calls are kept confidential.

“Our animal welfare inspectors cannot be everywhere,” says Thurston.

“The public, industry, and on-farm service providers also play a vital role to by reporting cases of animal illtreatment.”

Not notifiable in NZ

To get better lamb numbers, focus on the factors you can easily control – the diseases that can cause major losses like toxoplasma, campylobacter, and salmonella.

from page 37

Vaccination helps you to both protect your ewes and increase the number of lambs born.

A sheep performance vaccine plan for your farm will ensure you get the most benefit and most peace of mind.

Talk to your vet now about a sheep performance vaccination plan for your farm.

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SECURE LAMB NUMBERS. SECURE YOUR GAINS.

mastitis and/or antibiotic treated cows, for calf feed raises the risk of passing infection to calves, as does grazing calves with or close behind adults.

Putting them in the hospital paddock is also a bad idea, as is running a couple of calves in every paddock, as was common place in the 1980s, because every round calves will be forced to eat freshly soiled pasture.

“In the 1980s there was talk of Johne’s being out of control. I suspect that was why.”

The Johne’s Disease Research Consortium currently has a large-scale trial underway to understand risks better and develop management tools.

See www.jdrc.org.nz

Rural News // december 4, 2012

animal health 39

SECURE YOUR LAMB NUMBERS. SECURE YOUR GAINS.

ELE-00545-RN

How to plan for a successful season.

IF YOU LOST LAMBS LAST SEASON, IT MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO CAMPYLOBACTER.

Detection tools showing lots of promise HUGE OPPORTUNITIES are available with automatic heat and mastitis detection but they need to be understood better, says DairyNZ scientist Claudia Kamphuis.

Kamphuis told the recent BNZ Northland Dairy Development Trust annual conference in Whangarei that technology offered huge potential in staff attraction and retention issues in agriculture but there needs to be more understanding of how it can be used.

In a study of commercially available automatic heat detectors, Kamphuis found that some of the more effective models were detecting 90% of bulling cows.

“This is comparable with a top cattleman.”

The study looked at activity monitoring systems and camera based systems. It found that camera-based systems could pick up 90% of all cycling cows while motion-based systems detected between 62% and 89% of all cows in heat.

However, all automatic detection systems were more likely to provide false positives and the actual success rates of

cows varied between 34% and 76%.

“There is still a need for training with staff to deal with false positives.”

Kamphuis estimates that 100 dairy farms already have automatic heat detection systems installed but not all of them are getting the benefits of the systems.

“There still needs to be a lot of training in how these systems work so farmers can enjoy the onfarm benefits.”

While work has to be done to measure the longterm benefits of an automatic heat detection system, Kamphuis estimates that if automatic

heat detection was put into a system where heat detection was poor then it could increase heat detection by between 75% and 90%, at a cost of $8500$12,200 depending on technology used.

Uptake of automated mastitis detection systems is more widespread, and many more farmers have it on their ‘wish list’.

A 2008 survey found that 2% of New Zealand dairy sheds had installed a mastitis detection system.

A more recent DairyNZ survey of 42 farms that had a system found at least 16 of those surveyed were not satisfied with the system.

Campylobacter is present on 88% of New Zealand farms, and causes fetal loss, the birth of weak lambs with low survivability and abortions. In severe cases, some farms may experience abortion storms with losses of up to 70%. It is the most common infectious agent causing abortion in our sheep flocks, with 60% of sheep abortions diagnosed attributed to Campylobacter.

Kamphuis attributes this partially to the simplistic detection technology and partially to farmers’ training and expectations.

A 2010 survey found that systems could have a false alert rating of 310 cows out of 1000. Farmers with herds of 300800 cows were willing to accept 20 false alerts per milking regardless of the herd size.

Kamphuis is looking to research mastitis detection technology more deeply and hopes to come up with a study people can use to objectively judge the strength of several systems.

Vaccination is the only way to help prevent reproductive losses due to Campylobacter. Ideally, vaccination should be completed prior to mating, so you can time it in with giving Toxovax to maiden ewes. Ask your vet for more information.

Visit www.sheepvax.co.nz

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Study reveals best stand-off material WOODCHIPS ARE coming out as the best stand-off pad material but supply can be an issue, a study of Northland farms is finding.

DairyNZ farm systems specialist Chris Glassey presented interim results of a three-year-study examining the longevity and effectiveness of different types of surfaces on eight different stand-off pads in Northland at the Whangerei conference.

The study has found that of woodchip, post shavings and sawdust, woodchip lasted the longest and was least

likely to clog effluent drains.

However, the energy industry is using more woodchip to make fire logs and farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to guarantee supply.

Glassey recommends either spreading orders over the entire year or getting a signed agreement with the woodchip provider to try to ensure continuity.

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Most farmers see toxo as the biggest threat to their lamb numbers, and they’re right. But it pays not to overlook the risk of Campylobacter. Vaccinating for campy as well as toxo is one of those ‘must-do’s’ on the farm – and with good reason.

PREVENT ABORTION STORMS AND LOSSES, AND INCREASE LAMB SURVIVABILITY.

Rural News // december 4, 2012

40 machinery & products

Fieldays China visit rings locals’ bells GA RE T H G I LLAT T

A VISIT by NZ National Fieldays staff to China was so successful that the organisers of the country’s fourth-biggest agricultural show are planning to run a New Zealand-focussed event, says Fieldays commercial manager Nick Dromgool.

He and Fieldays chief executive Jon Calder in mid-November attended the Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair at the organisers’ request and so

impressed them that they plan to adopt a New Zealand theme in the next two years. The fair attracts 1.5 million visitors.

The organisers also suggested reciprocal links with Lincoln University and Waikato University and continued delegation visits to each respective event.

The Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair is held in the central-north western province of Shaanxi, 2.5 hours by air, southwest of Beijing. It is the fourth-biggest agricultural

Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair Exhibitors: 10,000 enterprises from 40 countries.

Attendance: 1.5 million visitors.

Location: Xianyang, Shaanxi, 2 hours south-west of Beijing.

Total Area: 60,000 m2 Date: November 20-24

⅓ ⅓ ⅓

Jon Calder

trade fair in China, covering 60,000m2. It is cosponsored by UNESCO, the World Bank and trade and agricultural government departments from Australia, Austria and Canada, and other countries.

Dromgool says though the relationship between the two events is still in its early stages, “this is a

first step in cementing a relationship to enable the transfer of knowledge. We see individual companies going to China struggle to connect with individual networks. What we’ve done, alongside Yangling, is get exposure to a complete infrastructure.”

Combined effort by New Zealanders invited to the show was behind the

concessions achieved at the event, Dromgool says.

And though he and Calder were invited as individuals they met representatives of Lincoln University and PGG Wrightson Seeds in China and decided to travel as a group to the fair.

They spent three days at the fair – where they spoke to Austrian and Israeli participants about cooperation – then seven days traveling in the province.

Calder has travelled to India with a New Zealand trade delegation and has just signed a memorandum with The Confederation of Indian Industry, the industry organisation behind AGRO TECH, India’s largest agricultural technology trade event.

National Fieldays Society president Lloyd Downing told Rural News he is thrilled with both developments, saying they result from a continuing push to

get Fieldays internationally recognised.

“My dream of Fieldays going global is finally happening. Eight years ago I was saying it needed to go global; now we’re starting to get some traction.”

Fieldays belongs to several international event organizations, e.g. the North American Farm Show Council and the European Farm Show Council. Downing says Fieldays can help export-

Lloyd Downing

ers set up stands at some international events. www.fieldays.co.nz

Shaanxi Province is in central north-west China.

Yangling District

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

machinery & products 41

Telehandler gives bite to bark TAKURA BARK and Compost recently bought its third Manitou telehandler – one of the first MLT 840 machines in Australia.

When Carl and Paul Power and Roy Saunders bought the Hervey Bay (Queensland) business nine years ago, a Manitou telehandler came with it.

They later bought a Manitou MLT 735, and when that machine recently came due replacement, the MLT 840 came up trumps, the distributor says.

Carl, who operates the machine, regards Manitou as the benchmark in telescopic handlers and has noticed significant advances in the new machine.The MLT 840 is the first of a new generation of Manitou machines designed for farmers and the first with a John Deere

One of the main tasks of the Manitou is loading bark into a hammermill for sizing to suit the various products. And it loads trucks and does general loading and unloading with pallet forks. The business also has a wheel loader for bulk work.

Telehandlers average about 30 hours per week in the Takura business,

and Carl aims to change them over at about 4000 hours.

The machines do not operate on the road, so only three of the five gears are used regularly. Carl prefers to use the transmission in manual rather than automatic mode, for greater responsiveness.

Tel. 0800 303 090 www.abequipment.co.nz

Operator Carl Power with the farm’s MLT 840.

Serious about Fencing!

engine. The move to John Deere coincided with the move to Euro 3B engines.

The John Deere engine brings higher performance -- 137hp and 180L/min. hydraulic flow for the MLT 840-137 PS. Carl says this machine

is noticeably better in virtually all aspects than its predecessor. In basic specification it has slightly more reach and capacity than the machine it replaces.

The cab is larger and the higher operator posi-

tion improves all-round vision. The joystick is mounted on the armrest – good for operator control on rough ground.

The Takura machine works with pallet forks, a 4m3 bulk bucket and a 2.m3 standard bucket.

The business produces potting mix, garden mulch and engineered soft-fall material for playgrounds. This is distributed between Brisbane and Cairns, and Takura has its own 40 cubic metre semi-trailer.

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Good for a laugh at Christmas THE NEW Zealand Cartoon Annual 2012 – a 100page collection of the year’s best political cartoons, chosen by 16 cartoonists from their 2012 body of work – has been collected together in this first-ever publication.

With a foreword written by Sir Bob Jones, the NZ Cartoon Annual 2012 is printed in full colour and is brimming with wit and satire. It also features a ten page special presentation of the caricature art of Dunedin-based Murray Webb.

The book is produced in time for Christmas and is bound to be a winner with Kiwis everywhere.

It will be great to have or

give as a present and a fun way to relive the events of the past year Compiled and produced by Edna creator Malcolm Evans, in association with his cartoonist colleagues and the Rotary club of Epsom, this is the first edition of what it is hoped will become an annual publication.

Produced in a first-edition print run of 3000, the NZ Cartoon Annual is marketed jointly in New Zealand by Epsom Rotary through the Rotary-Probus network, and David Bateman Publishing through retail bookstores.

All proceeds will go to charity.

And, as a special offer

for Rural News readers, Epsom Rotary will market the book via mail for $21.00 – including postage. The mail order address is: Epsom Rotary, P.O. Box 26155, Epsom, Auckland 1344 or people can order via email: epsomrotary@gmail.com

Contact your local rural supplies merchant or phone 0800 266 258

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

42 machinery & products

Tractor a key tool in dairy men’s contracting strategy A NEW Massey Ferguson 7624 Dyna-VT based on grass. We want to be a grass- will go back to cultivation.

Robert Cookson says it is the latest tractor is a prime mover in a large dairy- fed system and maintain quality. We ing operation with a contracting strat- work for a small group of clients whom in a long run of Massey Fergusons egy that contributes to getting silage we look after. We’re there within three owned by his family. They currently or four days when they want to do have a 7499, two 5430s and a 390. made when and where it’s needed.

They’ve only had the fullyspecced MF7624 for a short time, but say it complements their existing tractor fleet, particularly their Massey Ferguson 7400.

Cooksons, dairy farming in Waikato since 1926, now run a large operation including four dairy properties in Waitoa. They milk 2400 cows, with contract milkers employed on each farm, 11 fulltime and three part-time workers.

“This property started off as eight small farms which we’ve reshaped into one large farm,” Richard Cookson says. “We have our own cultivation and rolling gear and also do a bit of work where the cows have pugged paddocks.”

Richard runs finance, governance and human resources; his brother Robert is the operations manager.

Richard (left) and Robert Cookson have built up their dairying and contracting business by focusing on quality.

Now the company is taking on more contract work, focused on “We looked at a 7600 tractor and grass -- particularly mowing and bulk silage.”

During early season the Cooksons ordered the 7624 from there. We liked silage. “The strategy of the contracting is to add value to our business so we can use the Massey Ferguson 7624 Dyna- the layout of the cab and we’ve had a do grass silage and get it into a stack as VT with a loader wagon for grass silage, really good run out of the 7499, which quickly as we can to maintain quality,” as well as for ground work. Later on, it has done 1000 hours in the 12 months will be take on any jobs that need doing, we’ve had it,” he says.

Richard says.

“The 7624 just looked really com“In most cases the contracting is including stack work, and in autumn it

fortable and everything is user friendly.

The cab gives great visibility and it’s a much quieter tractor to drive. You can’t hear the engine noise.”

The Cooksons opted for the limited

edition model with full specifications, including the joystick controller. Robert says the joystick makes stacking maize much easier due to the forward-andreverse controls on the stick.

The 7624 has Dyna-VT (stepless) transmission, simple to operate -- no

shifting of gears, no jolts and no breaks in traction or power. The joystick makes forward-reverse shuttling and speed change convenient and easy.

Robert says the 7624 is ideal for loader wagon work because the position of the drawbars keeps the weight in close to the tractor. “All the specs make the tractor more userfriendly and keep our running costs down. That’s why we specced it to what we did.”

The 7624 is mainly driven

by Richard and Robert’s cousin, Stuart Colson, a selfemployed operator. He also likes the joystick and the location of the PTO and throttle.

“The joystick makes it a lot more comfortable to drive and it has good lights on it,” he says.

Richard says the 7624 is a key piece of machinery in their fleet.

“Our business is based on being nimble and adapting to the conditions each year. Because we’re a rain-fed system, we need to be able to be flexible. That’s partly the reason why we don’t want to take on too many contacting clients – we want to provide all of them a good service.

“We now have all-new tractors and new loader wagons. We want to plan well and make good decisions all the time.”

Rural News // december 4, 2012

machinery & products 43

NZ loggers see Canadian forest action LOGGING CONTRACTORS and staff of AB Equipment recently saw how one of the world’s fast-moving machinery makers adapts to change in markets.

The 38 visitors visited the Tigercat equipment factories and the Demo International Forestry Show in Canada. The factories included the company’s main plant in Paris, Ontario, noted for R&D, and giving a glimpse into the future of Tigercat products.

“It reaffirmed to me that no other forestry equipment manufacturer responds as rapidly to new or changing market requirements as Tigercat,” says AB Equipment’s Tigercat product manager, Mark Hill, who helped organise the trip.

Among the delegation were 14 loggers who collectively own one third of Tigercat machines in New Zealand and have bought at least one new piece of equipment in the last 12 months. Their wives were there too, since many are key members of their con-

tracting operations.

The best part of three days was spent was spent at the in-forest Demo International Quebec Forestry Show, the largest of its type held in Canada every four years. In addition to the full range of existing Tigercat machines on display and doing working demonstrations, a highlight of the event was the first public viewing of the all-new Tigercat 615C six-wheeler skidder, which goes on sale in 2013.

It offers a lighter option to the larger 635D and sparked plenty of interest amongst the New Zealand contingent. AB Equipment is studying the 615C with a view to selling it in New Zealand.

After being hosted by Tigercat for two dinners, including a cruise on Lake Ontario, the AB Equipment team reciprocated with a dinner at Niagara Falls for Tigercat personnel, along with some of their international customers from Russia, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina who had been part of the travelling group.

New Zealand contractors in the party comprised; Doug and Megan Anderson, Anderson Logging, Invercargill; Andrew and Michelle Pratt, King One, Tuatapere; Peter and Pat Roxburgh, Roxburgh Contracting, Milton; Jeremy Hayes, Dennis Hayes Logging, Milton; Dwight Miller and

Aaron Jarrett, D&A Logging, Outram; Paul and Jo Shuttleworth, Chunkys Contracting, Waihola; Michael and Michelle Wallace, Heavyweight Hire, Dunedin; Phil and Michelle Russell, Russell Logging, Oxford; Peter and Wendy-Lee Renner, Renner Logging, Rangiora; Anthony and Rak

Dempsey, Dempsey Logging, Turangi; Kevin and Debbie O’Malley, DK Logging, Ohope; Carl and Anna Rodgers, Fast Forwarders, Rotorua; Herb Adams, Adams Logging, Pukanui and Peter and Tim Mold, Mold Logging, Pukanui. They were joined

by AB Equipment staff and their spouses.

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HASTINGS Power Farming Hawke’s Bay 06 879 9998

GREYMOUTH Power Farming West Coast 03 768 4370

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NEW PLYMOUTH Ag Traction Taranaki 06 759 8432

CHRISTCHURCH Power Farming Canterbury 03 349 5975

GORE Peter Thompson Machinery 03 208 9179

Rural News // december 4, 2012

44 machinery & products

Reporoa ready to rumble TRACTOR AND truck drivers will try their skills on December 9 during the second running of the Reporoa Tractor Pull day.

“Last year was our first effort at running a tractor pull competition and this year it will be bigger and better,” says organiser and local identity Art Maandonks.

This year there are 35 entries, plus five modified tractors – including Brutus and Henry, both owned by Maandonks.

For the first time, there will also be a truck class with local bulk spreader drivers

keen to compete.

Associated with the event will be emergency displays by the police, fire brigade and St Johns Ambulance.

Entry is a gold coin donation and all proceeds will go to the Rescue Helicopter, there on the day if available. Adults’ and children’s entertainment will also feature.

The event is sponsored by Piako Tractors, Rotorua and will be held at the Reporoa Pony Club grounds East Road Reporoa, from 9am.

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‘Tiger Country’ guide could prove handy FARMERS AND forest owners are offered detailed information about doing earthworks on steep hills often prone to erosion -- the ‘tiger country’ that’s now home to our plantation forests.

The publisher, the Forest Owners’ Association (FOA), says tree harvesting in such country requires skilled roading engineers and operators who can construct low-cost, fit-for-purpose, roads, culverts and landings that meet environmental standards.

They need to know what works and what doesn’t work in difficult terrain and on a range of soil types.

Launching the ‘New Zealand Forest Road Engineering Manual’ and associated operators guide, Associate Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy said the manual is intended to “provide a one-stop shop for information on all aspects of the planning, design, construction and maintenance of unsealed forest roads.

“Road engineering is one of the most technically challenging and expensive parts of forestry. This manual documents best practice and provides all forest owners – large and small – with access to important information.”

The annual harvest is forecast to climb to 35 million m3/ year from the early 2020s. This could equate to 14,000km of new harvest access roads in the next 10 years, at a cost of about a billion dollars.

“The guidance on sediment control and erosion will be of particular value to these owners, and links nicely with the national policy statement for fresh water with a wider environmental impact view,” Guy said.

FOA transport committee chair Brian Pritchard said building roads through the bush was a core forestry skill, but in recent years harvesting crews have found themselves working more frequently in steep hill country.

“This has tested the roading and landing-making skills of forest owners and contractors at a time when council water quality plans have been paying greater attention to the run-off of silt and other debris.

“But to their great credit, forest owners and contractors have risen to the challenge. They have identified practices that have performed well under storm conditions in very difficult country. They have also identified those practices that don’t perform well. The manual and operators guide is the end result of this.”

Tel. 04 473 4769 nzfoa@nzfoa.org.nz

0508 747 040 www.towandfarm.com

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

Rural News // december 4, 2012

motoring 45

Performance no problem for Falcon

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ROUND BALEAGE TIPPER

a da m fric k er

HALVING THE capacity of the Falcon’s engine has made surprisingly little difference to the way the base-model Ford Falcon XT performs.

The power and torque outputs are down compared to its six cylinder cousins, but not by half: the 2L EcoBoost 4-cylinder produces peak power of 179kW @ 5500rpm and peak torque 353Nm @ 2000rpm, compared to XR6’s 4L 6-cylinder that produces 195kW and 391Nm respectively.

When you put your foot down the shove in the back is not as dramatic as the XR6, but it is more than adequate; the critical performance measure is overtaking time and the EcoBoost has good midrange urge to ensure safe overtaking.

Economy, of course, is why Ford dared to mess with the ageold recipe of big engine in a big car, and XT drivers will use an average of 8.1L/100km compared to 9.9L/100km in an XR6; worth the slight compromise on grunt.

The EcoBoost engine is part of the new wave of small-capacity, high-output engines that manufacturers are moving towards, getting their power from boost rather than cubic inches. This engine is a good example of the new breed and is powering a range of Ford vehicles worldwide.

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IT’S QUICK, IT’S CONVENIENT, IT’S EFFICIENT H NOW AVAILABLE AS A SINGLE OR DUAL UNIT H • Thick layers of plastic on bale ends provide superior protection against ground moisture and weather while stored.

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• Suitable for medium HP tractors.

• 3PL mounted (no front axle stress).

• Bale tipped in one easy movement.

• No need to reposition bale before tipping.

• Simply trip and flip.

with the smaller engine though, and in the Falcon it is the sound: the big-six exhaust note has been an integral part of the Falcon driving experience for so long it seems incongruous to hear a four cylinder when you floor it. However, only when you’re really pressing on it does the exhaust note become apparent, so good is the noise insulation in the engine bay, and if the male ego can take it, you do get used to the difference in sound after a while.

The ride in the XT is softer than

the XR6 but comfortable on long hauls and still well controlled. Handling in the current Falcon range is excellent, and with less weight over the front axle the 4-cylinder version is better balanced. If it had the XR6 sports suspension and tyres it would be a better handling car than the XR6 itself, but in XT form it is compromised by the fuel-saving tyres and standard suspension settings.

The EcoBoost is hooked up to the ZF 6-speed automatic transmission found in 6- and 8-cylin-

Intro

I70 Bale Shear The I70 Bale Shear is a radical, new method for feeding baled silage - anHeight (Closed) Height (Closed) innovation in agricultural machineryHeight from(Open) Height (Open) Tanco Autowrap. Finally, farmers have a Width Width complete system that delivers on safety, Length Length speed and reliability.

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No longer is there a need to cut plastic or net from a bale by hand. The I70 Maximum Bale Maximum Length Bale Length Bale Shear grips the outside wrap whilst Maximum Bale Maximum Diameter Bale Diameter splitting a bale in half. It can slice hay, Maximum Bale Maximum Weight Bale Weight straw, and silage bales with ease, while retaining the net or plastic wrap.

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Chopping the bale in half when loading into a feeder wagon produces more efficient mixing and causes less wear and tear on the feeder.

Since the automatic plastic grab and bale split requires just one standard hydraulic coupling, this bale shear is ideal for front loaders.

duc

der Falcons and shifts intelligently when left in ‘drive’, and more urgently when you slide the gear lever across to ‘sport’.

Equipment levels are good for an entry-level model, with Bluetooth included on the specification sheet. The XT Falcon is the plainJane version of the range but is still a good looking if somewhat conservative car.

RRP is $48,490 – good value when you take into account the fuel savings, which don’t come at a large cost to performance.

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

46 rural trader

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Rural News // december 4, 2012

rural trader 47 TUNNELHOUSES

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 

Minimise fuel theft

  

Easy and safe to fill and dispense Fully Compliant Bunded

Also manufacturers of Waste Oil Recovery Containers, SCR Stations for Adblue and Transportable Tanks Visit our website for a full list of products and features

        

 0800 766 737

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  

www.painfreeday.co.nz

Smart Fuel Storage

0800 473 226 www.sebco.co.nz

Proudly made in Ashburton, New Zealand

Bump up productivity and WIN! ChoiCe! WIN our ultimate draw in March and choose the ultimate prize for your farm Honda Big Red® MUV700

Buy COOPERS this summer and be in to win hardworking farm gear from Honda, Gallagher, STiHL and COOPERS. Every eligible purchase gives you multiple chances to win.

So get started today – with over $75,000 worth of prizes, it’s going to be a bumper season.

ThiS oR ThiS

a GALLAGHER Weigh Scale and Data Collector – TSi with 600mm Loadbars and SmartReader Electronic Tag Reader

a HONDA WB20 Water Pump

a STiHL MS391 Chainsaw with safety chaps ELE-00529-RN

and Electronic Tag Reader

PLUS in all three draws between November and February you could win:

a HONDA XR125 Duster® Farm Bike

$3 from every drum sold goes to supporting the Federated Farmers Adverse Events Network.

GALLAGHER® Sheep Auto Drafter with TSi Weigh Scale

1 of 30 COOPERS Drench Promo Packs

www.bumperseason.co.nz

• Participating products are ALLIANCE 5L & 10L, CONVERGE 5L and 10L, SCANDA Plain 10L, SCANDA Selenised 10L and 20L, MAGNUM 20L, BLAZE 5L, ZENITH Concentrate 5L and 10L, VANQUISH 10L and WIPE-OUT 11L. • Receive one entry per participating product purchased during promotion period. • COOPERS will donate $3 to Federated Farmers for every drum of participating product sold into COOPERS reseller during the promotion period.• Go to www.bumperseason.co.nz for full terms and conditions. • ®Registered trademarks. COOPERS is a divison of MSD Animal Health. BUMPER-349-2012.