MANAGEMENT
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
ANIMAL HEALTH
Selecting genetics will improve beef herds. PAGE 26
Clever sprayers will ease workload. PAGE 31
Fodder beet a ‘game changer’ PAGE 29
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS APRIL 17, 2018: ISSUE 651
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Merino concerns PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz
THE SALE of Icebreaker to a United States company could leave the New Zealand merino production industry with too many eggs in one basket, says Federated Farmers high country industry group chairperson Simon Williamson of Glenbrook Station. The US company VF Corporation, which has bought Icebreaker, also owns another major Merino apparel company SmartWool NZ, he told Rural News. Williamson says the two compa-
nies probably add up to a big chunk of where NZ Merino Company (NZM) wool goes; he doesn’t have a figure but estimates it could be about 60% of their Merino wool production. “We once sold all our wool to Europe, but that all came to a crashing end and if you rely on one market too heavily everyone gets very complacent.” However, NZ Merino Company chief executive John Brakenridge says the figure of about 60% to the two apparel brands “is wildly inaccurate and shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the industry”.
“The NZ Merino Company works with over 50 different local and international brands to deliver value back to our growers in the form of sustainable, long-term supply contacts, such as the world-first 10-year forward contract with Icebreaker,” he says. “Federated Farmers would be better suited supporting businesses like NZM in our endeavours to promote natural wool fibre and the building of markets, particularly the opportunities for the wool industry when considering the negative impact synthetics are having on the world.” Williamson thinks “there is a lot
of stuff to go under the bridge” with the Merino industry. “They’ve got two brands that up to now have been competing with one another and now they are both owned by the same company; how do they intend to create a difference? They are all owned by VF Corp.” He says it may work out when it becomes apparent what they intend to do with the two different brands. “Will they make Icebreaker into an in-house sports activity type thing and smart wool outdoorsy type stuff? I don’t know; they haven’t come up with that yet.” Williamson says there are challenges ahead to work through for the whole Merino industry. “It is not only the sale; I think it has been coming for a while.” Icebreaker has been buying quite a lot of wool for some time out of Australia, as NZ can’t supply all the Merino wool needed, Williamson says. “Wool production in NZ is still dropping with the drop in all sheep numbers including Merino. But also with tenure reviews high country farmers are shifting to other breeds. The Australian market production is also half what it used to be.” • More on Icebreaker sale page 13
Winter is coming The snow begins to settle near Springfield, where State Highway 73 rises into the Southern Alps foothills. Farmers throughout the country were having to deal with the first big southerly storm of the year, last week, which brought snow to about 400m in Canterbury, closed the Desert Road and brought down trees and power lines as far north as Auckland. RURAL NEWS GROUP
PULL YOUR FINGER OUT GETTING CROPS sown and harvested and other farm work done this year could be in jeopardy unless the Government moves quickly, warns the group representing agricultural contractors in New Zealand. Businesses wanting to place overseas workers in jobs not on the Government’s skills shortage list must go to Immigration NZ (INZ) with an Approval in Principle (AIP) request. Rural Contractors NZ says its members who are seeking overseas workers are still waiting on the AIP applications to be assessed or allocated. RCNZ wants to bring in 325 farm machine operators this year. President Steve Levet says INZ is making it difficult for employers to hire skilled overseas labour. Rural contractors need seasonal labour up to six months a year, he says. “The Government is shagging us around something chronic about this AIP,” Levet says. “The guys we require are highly trained on the machinery they are using.” Levet says pay rates are about $20 an hour and each machine is typically worth up to $500,000. “The Government seems to think you can just pluck someone off the street to fill these positions.” Levet says rural contractors would prefer to take on local workers, but there simply aren’t the numbers around, particularly in small rural communities. • Labour worries - page 7
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