Rural News 22 November 2022

A united front!

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS are head ing in from top farming groups to the Government in response to its deeply unpopular agricultural emissions pro posal.

The goal is to form a united front

Out and about!

Mark Leslie has been in the top job role at Pamū for about eight months.

During this time, he’s been getting out to most of its 116 farming units. Leslie says it was very useful to talk to farm staff and really understand the challenges they are facing, which matches the challenges the whole sector is up against. He’s enjoyed the conversations with the teams which he says has highlighted the need for collaboration across the NZ agri sector.

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Going digital. See page 10.

and advocate strongly for farmers on emissions pricing. The leaders of DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb New Zea land (B+LNZ) and Federated Farmers have met to discuss emissions pric ing and reaffirmed a common posi tion between the three organisations. The farming groups claim it will enable them to move forward  together and

advocate strongly on behalf of farmers.

DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says a united voice on emissions pric ing  is the best way to ensure positive policy outcomes for farmers.

“All three organisations have reaf firmed nine core principles that we will all be raising in our submissions and through the He Waka Eke Noa

(HWEN) partnership,” he says.

Effectively the Government will be receiving three submissions from each of the organisations: One through HWEN, a joint one from the gang of three, plus each organisation will make a separate submission dealing with issues that directly affect their mem bers.

Feds Andrew Hoggard has already stated that “it will go hard”, while van der Poel has made it clear that “no deal is better than a bad deal” and that only a fair and reasonable system will be accepted for farmers.

Van der Poel says DairyNZ is com mitted to securing a fair pricing system for farmers and would like to see the Government revert to the HWEN rec ommendations put forward in May. He claims HWEN was designed as a whole farm system approach to reduce emis sions, meet targets and give fair recog nition and reward for planting farmers have done on their farms.

“We believe the Government’s sig nificant and unnecessary changes have undermined farmer confidence in the process and needlessly put the finely balanced, cross-sector consensus at risk,” he says.

“The Government’s suggestion it has given the sector what we asked for – with ‘small tweaks’ – is incorrect. The changes are significant and cut to the very core of the He Waka Eke Noa part nership.”

Van der Poel says NZ must reduce its emissions but it can’t drive blindly toward targets at all costs.

“We have to remember why we’re doing this in the first place. The Paris Agreement is about reducing global emissions, not just New Zealands.”

Nine  core principles will be raised directly with the Government, which include stating that the current meth ane targets are wrong and need to be reviewed and that targets should be sci ence-based, not political, and look to prevent additional warming.

More time needed!

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

DEMOCRACY BY stealth – that’s how a highly-respected dairy industry leader Ben Allomes is describing the present Government’s consultation with farmers over agricultural emis sions and other issues.

“It is overwhelming and unrealistic for us to be able to give honest demo cratic feedback on every piece of leg islation that they are working on the moment,” he told Rural News

Allomes, a former DairyNZ director, is calling on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to take the pressure off farm ers and give them more time to prop erly understand and digest the huge raft of changes that the Government is trying to push through before next year’s election.

He reckons the Government has got a massive number of things they want to achieve before the next elec tion and says most of these seem to be aimed at the primary sector. He says these include greenhouse gas emis sions, water quality, animal welfare and labour. Allomes says this is on top of farmers trying to deal with the uncertainties around Covid, such as disrupted supply chains and increas ing costs, all of which are creating an uncertain business environment.

“As well as trying to run our busi nesses, farmers are being asked to read massive documents and then give feed back,” he explains. “The problem is that so many of the proposed changes are very complicated and it’s not possi ble to draw up a simple one page sum mary of what’s involved.”

Allomes says he knows that farmers have to pay the piper at some stage and do their bit, but are less keen when it feels unfair, disorganised and unevenly balanced.

“To the point where we feel we

are carrying the load of society with untested science and unknown infor mation they are creating along the way, how can you genuinely feel consulted?

“How can you genuinely believe and trust what they are trying to do is absolutely good for us and society? In my view, some of the changes will result in perverse outcomes on our businesses, our communities and the environment.”

Allomes says, like many farmers, he’s changed his business massively in the last ten years to become more envi ronmentally sustainable, more socially sustainable, because it’s what we must

do. But he contends that it takes time and capital and is a long game with impacts way beyond the farm.

“As farmers we have to do our bit and I get upset when farmers try to defend the line of how we used to do things,” he adds. “We have to expect and demand change ourselves, because the way we farmed in the past is not fit for purpose for the future. But that new future, to many of us, does not seem fair and equitable and one that will serve future generations.”

Allomes says farming today is expo nentially much harder than it was 10 years ago. He says just to achieve what

he was achieving 10 years ago takes more head space and energy because there is more recording of compliance, labour, animal welfare and other issues. He says it’s also hard to get an accu rate read on some of the changes with different assessments of the changes being put out by lobby and industry groups.

Allomes believes the objective as a farmer is to produce good and sustain able food. He doesn’t hold to the view that NZ should be some sort of ‘food bowl’ for the world.

However, he says farmers get con fused when on the one hand they are being asked to reduce their emissions, when the Government suddenly wel comes and celebrates the arrival into NZ of 220 cruise ships. He says in the light of such contradictions and misin formation, farmers lose trust and get suspicious of change.

“It is overwhelming and unrealistic for us to be able to give honest democratic feedback on every piece of legislation that they are working on the moment.”

Ben Allomes is calling on the Government to give farmers more time to

properly

understand and digest the huge raft of changes it is trying to

push

through before next year’s election.

2023 Notice of Elections and Call for Annual Meeting Remits

Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd (B+LNZ) give notice that nominations are now open for B+LNZ Directors

Written remits for the 2023 Annual Meeting are now being accepted.

Under section 42 of the B+LNZ constitution, two electoral district directors will retire by rotation at the annual meeting. This year, George Tatham (Eastern North Island) and Andrew Morrison (Southern South Island) must retire by rotation but may stand for re-election.

Andrew Morrison has indicated he will be seeking re-election in 2023. George Tatham will be retiring after nine years as a director.

Nominations are being called to fill two Board of Director vacancies, one for each of the following electoral districts:

• Eastern North Island (ENI)

• Southern South Island (SSI)

The successful candidates for these director positions will also be appointed to the board of directors for the New Zealand Meat Board.

Remits are called for under section 12 of the Second Schedule: Proceedings at Meetings of the B+LNZ constitution. Remits are a matter that the proposing farmers are raising for discussion and resolution at the annual meeting.

All nominations and written remits must be made on the official forms. The official forms and information regarding the elections are available by:

• www.electionz.com/BLNZ2023R

• emailing iro@electionz.com

• phoning 0800 666 035

Remit forms are also available from B+LNZ at 0800 233 352 or enquiries@beeflambnz.com.

All nominations and written remits must be received by the Returning Officer by 5pm on Friday 9 December 2022.

Board of Directors and Annual Meeting Resolutions and Remits

Voting for the B+LNZ Board, annual meeting resolutions and remits (if any) will all be conducted at the same time.

Voting will be conducted by postal and internet voting, with voting papers being posted to all farmers on the B+LNZ electoral roll. The mailout of the voting packs is expected to be on Tuesday 14 February 2023. B+LNZ Board elections will close on election day and postal and electronic voting for company resolution and remits will close on the same date, Wednesday 22 March 2023 at 2pm.

Farmers can vote in person on company resolutions and remits only, at the Annual Meeting on Thursday 30 March 2023.

To be eligible to vote in the B+LNZ director elections and for annual meeting Remits (if any), a livestock farmer must, on 30 June 2022, have owned at least 250 sheep, or 50 beef cattle, or 100 dairy cattle. Voters must farm within the respective electorate to be eligible to vote for the Board of Directors and be on the B+LNZ electoral roll and meet the minimum livestock threshold.

To be eligible to vote for the annual meeting resolutions, farmers must be on the B+LNZ electoral roll and are not required to meet the minimum stock numbers stated above.

To check if you are on the electoral roll or to confirm your details, please contact B+LNZ on 0800 233 352. The electoral roll will close at 5pm on Friday 20 January 2023.

All queries regarding B+LNZ elections should be directed to the Returning Officer on 0800 666 035.

All queries regarding annual meeting remits should be directed to B+LNZ Chief Operating Officer, Cros Spooner, on 0800 233 352.

Warwick Lampp

Returning Officer – Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140 iro@electionz.com, 0800 666 035

Distance learning more likely in the future

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

MASSEY UNIVERSITY’S School of Agriculture and Environment head says in the future it’s likely that more students will do their degrees part time.

Professor Paul Ken yon’s comments follow the graduation of the first cohort of students who have had all three years of their degree study dis rupted in some way by Covid-19. Kenyon says despite these disruptions, he’s confident that these students have the same knowledge as those who gained their degrees pre Covid.

“Their marks certainly indicate this,” he told Rural News

Kenyon says this latest cohort of students have developed new skills and traits that will set them up for successful careers in the new digital envi ronment. He believes they have learned to be more self-reliant and independent because during lockdown they had to learn by themselves and are well set up for their future careers.

“In terms of the prac tical aspect of their degrees, this was only reduced a bit 2020 and 2021 and it’s now back to normal,” Kenyon explains. “But as with

all distance and external students block courses were arranged, so that they could complete their practical work.”

He adds that Massey students also do place ments on farms and orchards during their hol iday breaks to hone their skills and make them ‘work ready’.

Kenyon believes that, going forward, the trend towards distant learning will likely grow.

He says the cost of education is rising and it’s possible some stu dents will stay in their local areas, work in the ag sector and do their degrees part time. For

many students this will be a cheaper option.

He says Massey has always specialised in dis tance education and as a university was relatively well prepared for changes that were forced on it by Covid.

Meanwhile, this year’s top Massey Ag students were honoured at a spe cial ceremony recently. The top prize – the Wil liam Gerrish Award – was won by Adam Honeyfield, a Bachelor of Agribusi ness student from Tau ranga. He is majoring in rural valuation, grew up on a farm, and now works part-time for a rural val uation company in Tau

ranga while he finishes his degree.

Honeyfield says he was humbled to receive the award.

“I was quite surprised to be honoured,” he told Rural News. “It’s been a long journey for me –four years of hard work by distance, so it’s a nice way to wrap things up. The hard work has all paid off,” he says.

The other top stu dents were Ingeborg Smythe (Earth Science), Joanna Wood (Environ mental Science), Lachlan Barrett (Horticultural Sci ence), Erika Lilley (Agri culture) and Brooklynn Taylor (Animal Science).

Paul Kenyon believes students have learned to be more self-reliant and independent because during lockdown they had to learn by themselves. suzuki.co.nz

Fonterra welcomes DIRA report

SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA IS welcom ing key changes made to a bill before Parliament that will finalise the cooperative’s new capital structure.

The primary pro duction select commit tee released its report on the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) Amendment Bill, giving the green light to the coop’s new flexible share holding structure.

The bill will now go through a second and third reading in Parlia ment before it can be passed into law. Fonterra remains hopeful this can be done before the end of the year.

In an email to farmer shareholders, Fonterra chairman Peter McBride says the co-op is satisfied that it is moving in the

right direction.

“We are pleased to see the adoption of some of the key changes we advocated for in our submission,” he told farmers.

The most significant of these related to the potential for third par ties to take enforcement action against the cooperative for any per ceived breaches of the Milk Price oversight regime.

McBride says the select committee has rec ommended this provision be removed.

“We are also encour aged to see that some of our requested changes to the information disclo sure requirements have been reflected in today’s report.”

But he points out that some other changes pro posed by Fonterra were either only accepted in

part, or rejected by the committee.

McBride notes that the committee has rec ommended to retain new individual liability provi sions related to the Milk

Price oversight regime. However, they limited these in line with the defences Fonterra put forward in its submission.

“We are also disap pointed that the com

mittee did not support our request to remove the additional powers of direction for the Com merce Commission.

“It’s our view that the Milk Price regime is very

robust and independent already.

“We strongly object to any suggestion that our co-op or the individuals involved in the process somehow manipulate the

outcome.”

McBride says the co-op will continue to advocate on these points as the bill progresses. He thanked Fonterra farmers who made individual sub missions alongside the co-op and the Fonterra Co-operative Council during the select commit tee process.

He says Fonterra remains committed to implementing the flexible shareholding structure as soon as possible.

The DIRA changes were strongly opposed by other milk processors.

The primary produc tion select committee is chaired by Labour MP Jo Luxton. Members are Mark Cameron, Nicola Grigg, Steph Lewis, Anna Lorck, Todd Muller, Angela Roberts and Tim van de Molen.

Fonterra chairman Peter McBride says the co-op is satisfied that legislation is moving in the right direction.

The mission to save Mangaohane Station from pines

The 5,000 hectare Mangaohane station, just off the Napier Taupo highway, is up for sale by international tender. It winters around 40,000

stock units on a sheepto-cattle ratio of 2 to 1.

A group of NZ farmers and agribusiness people –calling themselves Farm ing Forever – has set in

PEEING IN THE WIND?

MIKE BARHAM says Forever

Farming is targeting urban as well as rural investors.

He says many people in urban areas don’t get a chance to go on a farm and see and enjoy rural life as past generations did. Barham adds that in his experience, when urban visitors come to his farms they love it.

“Wouldn’t it be great if a parent

train a plan to buy the station, which is esti mated to be worth in the vicinity of $45 million.

Heading the group is Hawkes Bay farmer

or grandparent bought a $250k share in this,” he told Rural News “What a legacy for them to be able leave their children or grandchil dren.”

Barham says his motives in setting up the syndicate is purely altruistic and that there is no finan cial gain in it for him. At this stage, he is personally paying all the legal and accounting cost of setting up

the syndicates.

and businessman Mike Barham. He told Rural News if the station was sold to an overseas buyer and planted entirely in trees it would be an “absolute tragedy for NZ”.

Barham says there are other stations that have been sold and ended up

being planted in trees. He says the plan is to get organised and put in a bid to the NZ owners and hopefully appeal to their social conscience to sell it to them.

“I am not opposed to trees on farms and there are properties that are suitable for this,” Barham

Barham says his motivation is based on what he’s seen around the country, where high quality farm land is being planted in pines.

He believes the Government should at least put an end to over seas buyers coming in and doing this.

“Some people are saying: ‘Mike you’re pissing against the wind –

you are going to save one farm’,” he adds. “I know I will save one farm, but I also know that I am going to get a lot of political support for what I am trying to do. We have to start somewhere to get the Govern ment’s attention.”

Anyone who wants to register their interest is asked to email: foreverfarmingnz@gmail. com

explains. “But Mangao hane isn’t one of these and if we lose iconic sta tions like this, others will follow.”

He says the prop erty has Olsen P levels of between 50% and 70% and is a beautifully set up property with great farm ing infrastructure.

“My aim is to make this farm financially viable for investors so they can get an annual return and hopefully over time a capital gain,” he says.

Barham says there’s been a sharp rise in the number of grazing prop erties being sold and planted for carbon credits and he believes it’s time to make a stand against it. He says buying Man

gaohane Station would mean keeping it farming livestock, as well as keep ing the towns and busi nesses that surround it strong and vibrant.

“Farming is the back bone of the country and we need strong live stock farms to earn those export dollars to feed the nation,” he says.

Forever Farming NZ has produced an Infor mation Memorandum and Expression of Inter est document for poten tial investors to view and consider.

Barham and his team are seeking investors to form a syndicate to fund the purchase.

The minimum amount required to join is $250,000.

A BID to stop a large, iconic sheep and beef station in the central North Island being turned into a huge pine plantation is underway. Peter Burke reports.

Something’s wrong with this picture…

“So

CUT LAND SALES TO

FORESTERS!

RESEARCH COMMISSIONED by Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has found almost two thirds of Kiwis oppose foreign companies buying New Zealand farms to offset their emissions.

The research, conducted by the company Curia, also shows that 54% of New Zealanders support a limit on the amount of fossil fuel emissions that can be offset with new pine forests.

The findings coincide with the release of a new independent report by Orme & Associates, commissioned by B+LNZ, which shows more than 52,000ha of land was purchased by forestry inter ests in 2021. This is a 36% increase on the previous two years, and up from 7,000ha in 2017 – far more than the 25,000ha a year of exot ics that the Climate Change Com mission has suggested are needed to achieve New Zealand’s climate change objectives.

B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says if the present rate of pine plantings continue it will cause significant economic damage to NZ’s red meat sector and rural com munities. He says of the 175,000ha of land purchased for afforesta tion over the last five years, about 134,500ha is grassland suitable for planting in forestry.

“If 100% of this suitable land was planted, B+LNZ expects this would lead to a decline of around 1 million stock units,” he told Rural News. “Equating to an annual farm production loss of $170 million at the farm gate and a cumulative pro duction loss of $540 million from progressive planting from 2017 to 2022.”

McIvor says downstream from the farm gate a further 44% of value is added from processing.

“At 2021-22 export prices, this equates to lost export receipts of $245 million annually and $775 mil lion from progressive planting from

2017 to 2022.”

Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard says that given the rate at which the carbon price is expected to continue to rise, his organisation and B+LNZ are calling for urgent policy changes including limits to be placed on forestry off setting within the Emissions Trad ing Scheme (ETS).

“New Zealand is currently the only country in the world to allow 100 percent offsetting of fossil fuel emissions within the ETS,” he told Rural News. “The European Union only allows 10 percent and Califor nia eight percent. Clearly, the New Zealand Government hasn’t woken up to this fact.”

McIvor says the two organisa tions are calling on the Govern ment to urgently work with them and other groups to develop and implement options before the effects on New Zealand’s food pro duction and on its rural communi ties become much worse.

Hawkes Bay farmer and businessman Mike Barham is behind a bid to stop Mangaohane Station being turned into a huge pine plantation.

Feds frustrated by new winter grazing rules

FEDERATED FARMERS

is “hugely frustrated” that new intensive winter grazing rules came into force on November 1.

The farmer lobby’s biggest beef over the new rules is around the non-existence of a longpromised “second path way” for farmers to comply without going to

the trouble and expense of resource consents. It believes the new rules, brought in as part of the Government’s Essen tial Freshwater package, may now force thousands

of farmers to apply for resource consent for next season’s winter grazing.

Feds spokesman, Colin Hurst, said there were supposed to be three pathways to compliance.

One was as a permit ted activity, for those at a really low environmen tal risk.

The second was to have been by way of a winter grazing module as

part of a Certified Farm Plan.

Hurst says govern ment ministers promised in March 2021 and again in April 2021 that the farm plan pathway would be available in time for winter 2022.

“Despite these prom ises, the alternative farm plan pathway is not avail able and is not expected to be ready for some time,” he told Rural News

The permitted activ ity pathway is available for farmers who can meet rules around protecting environmentally sensitive areas, not winter grazing too great an area, and not using paddocks sloping by more than 10 degrees.

Hurst says it is the slope stipulation that will be the trigger for many. He emphasises how gentle a slope 10 degrees actually is.

“New Zealand’s not a flat country.”

That leaves only resource consent but Hurst said that is a costly exercise that should only be invoked for “really risky” activities, not for normal practices.

“You’ve got to write out the application. And in our case, in Canter bury, it’s a $3,500 deposit – and it’s a 34-page docu ment,” he explains. “They do state that you should be able to do it yourself, you don’t need a consul tant. But that might not be the case for all farm ers.”

Hurst says Feder ated Farmers is clear that farmers should carry out winter grazing in a responsible manner and in no way encourages farmers to break the law.

But he says some

Southland Feds elected representatives don’t intend applying for winter grazing consents as they consider these to be a waste of time and money.

“This is a clear indi cation of sheer despera tion, and only necessary because the Govern ment has failed to deliver the promised alterna tive farm plan pathway.” Hurst adds. “I’m really conscious that we don’t want to be mucking up the environment, and if you’re reaching those per mitted activity thresholds, there’s no question you need a bit of oversight.”

He says that’s why the winter grazing module pathway was going to be really good. “It would have meant farmers sit ting down with their advi sors or some sort of tool to work through and doc ument how they would manage winter grazing as part of a farm plan.”

Hurst says that why Feds had requested the minister, several times, to hold off until the second pathway was available.

“We are just request ing a bit of a break,” he says. “Farmers are under a lot of pressure with all this stuff.”

Hurst also highlights the good job farmers have done in the last few years.

While a backstop of regulations was needed for the few who let the others down, he said farmers had actually jumped ahead of the reg ulations.

“We haven’t had too many issues. Farm ers have actually picked up and run with it and improved the whole situ ation. There’s been very few complaints.”

NIGEL MALTHUS

Fed Farmers Colin Hurst says the new rules will force thousands of farmers to apply for expensive resource consents for next season’s winter grazing.

BLNZ rejects Govt’s emissions plan

BEEF+LAMB NZ (B+LNZ) says it is deeply unhappy with what it describes as the Govern ment’s ‘flawed’ emissions pricing proposal.

“Like all sheep and beef farmers, we’re gutted,” says B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor. “The Government made fundamental changes to the He Waka Eke Noa recommended option. We have made it clear to the Government that B+LNZ will not accept a proposal which will disproportion ately impact the sheep and beef sector.”

McIvor adds that it is frustrating that after two years of hard work with other sector partners through the He Waka Eke Noa process, the Gov ernment rejected fun damental aspects of the partnership’s option.

“At recent meet ings with farmers, we have been urging them to direct their justifiable anger at the Government and make submissions,” he told Rural News

“B+LNZ has spent a great deal of time look ing at our strategy around emissions pricing. While we would prefer our emissions were not priced, the Government has already passed a law to do this from 2025, including entry for our sector into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).”

McIvor explains that the goal from the outset has been keeping agri culture out of the ETS, which would be crip pling for the sheep and beef sector and coming up with a credible alter native.

He also rejects criti cism of B+LNZ pushing back against the Govern

ment and refusing to con tinue participating in the HWEN process.

“We don’t believe that saying ‘no’ at this point will serve the sector. The Government has pro posed not to put agricul ture into the ETS but has

been absolutely resolute that emissions charges will start in 2025.”

He points to intensive winter grazing as a good example of the ‘disas trous’ results of the Gov ernment not listening to the sector over policy.

“We disagreed fun damentally with the Government on this approach, but they just steamrolled ahead. In these circumstances, we have to do all we can to get the best possible out come for farmers.”

He concedes that B+LNZ understands the concern among farmers over the emissions policy and says it is fighting hard to ensure that the impact on the red meat sector the Government has modelled doesn’t happen.

“The fight is taking place not just in consul tation on what a pricing system might look like, but also in related policy areas such as addressing the unfair methane tar gets and reforming the ETS so that it doesn’t drive unfettered affores tation,” McIvor told Rural News

“The Government’s emissions pricing pro posal is unacceptable in its current form. It will increase global emissions and mean Kiwis will have to spend more on food.”

McIvor says if farm ers have to pay for their

emissions, they should receive recognition for the genuine sequestration happening on their farms.

“We want to work with the Government to create sensible policy and programmes to help address climate change. We are proposing sensible changes to the Government that are good for the world and good for New Zealand farming.”

McIvor says NZ has a global competitive advan tage in food production, but the Government’s emissions pricing policy will structurally damage New Zealand, make ghost towns of some rural com munities and harm farm ing families.

“Reducing sheep and beef farming by as much as 20% is a losing strat egy for the world’s most efficient farmers and New Zealand.”

DAVID ANDERSON

BLNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says the Government’s emissions pricing proposal is unacceptable in its current form.

The young and the digital!

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

PAMŪ, AKA Land corp, reckons NZ is in the midst of a genera tional change and rapidly moving into a stage when digital will become some what the norm on our farms.

Chair Warren Parker says the challenge is get ting more young farmers, for whom digital is a way of life, into the sector, but at the same time making digital easy for older farmers to use.

His comments came at a function at Parliament in Wellington, where Pamū guests were treated to a taste of some of the new consumer products it has developed using sheep and deer milk. They also offered beef and venison options as well.

At the function, Parker noted that digital is just a major extension of trace ability, which he says provides proof of what happens on farm all the way through to the con sumer.

“We now have to prove we are reducing our agricultural emis sions, outcomes in terms of water quality and a whole raft of other fac tors demanded by the regulators.”

He says while there are tools available to measure all these inputs

on the farm, farmers have to spend endless hours inputting data into multi ple entities, which is time wasting.

“Their inputs don’t get separated into silos. So, when a farmer thinks about planting a riparian margin, they see them selves contributing to carbon sequestration, adding to biodiversity, improving their water quality and showing their customers that they are a good steward of nature.”

Parker says work is now being done to set up

a system whereby multi ple agencies can, with the permission of a farmer, access the data from

them rather it having to be sent to them and others. He cites technol ogy such as Block Chain

an example of an enabler for this.

He says, with modern technology, farmers

should be able to input data on their tractor or from other sensors on the farm. However, Parker does acknowledge that one of the road blocks to this is slow download speeds in many rural areas – something he says the Government and the telcos are trying to remedy.

“The idea of this rapid data capture is to give time back to farm ers, rather than taking it away, as is often the case today,” he told Rural News

“The key to this suc ceeding is greater col laboration right across the primary sector. Pamū doesn’t have all the answers, but we are happy to share our knowledge and get back ideas from farmers.”

“We now have to prove we are reducing our agricultural emissions, outcomes in terms of water quality and a whole raft of other factors demanded by the regulators.”

Pamu chair Warren Parker believes the move to digital will become the norm on NZ farms.

Woollen wall panels firing!

NZ strong wool that I have seen in a long time.”

WITH GOVERNMENT

backing, a New Zealand company has successfully developed a fire resis tant, acoustic wall panel for commercial interiors made entirely from strong wool.

T&R Interior Sys tems Limited (T&R) was founded in 1992 by Steven Thwaite primarily as a distributor. However, it has evolved to become a leader in interior solu

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says that the panels will pro vide a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to existing, predominantly synthetic products.

“Most existing acous tic products in are imported from overseas, so it’s great that a Kiwi company has invested to create this home grown product,” he

tions and R&D around acoustic and non-struc tural seismic systems. This interest in interior acoustics led the com pany into looking at wool as a material for acoustic panels.

Called Floc Panels, technical director at T&R Hedda Landreth told Rural News Floc Panels are directly fixed to a wall.

“But it’s made out of 8-10mm worth of pure strong wool. Think of it like an acoustic wallpa per.”

To meet New Zea land’s strict building and fire code standards, T&R spent two years of devel opment and refinement in which they came up with a brand-new, patent pending process to make the wool fire resistant up to Group 1-S. This is the highest classification achievable – without sac rificing its compostable, environmentally friendly characteristics.

“Burning Floc pro duces little heat, pro duces less smoke than synthetic fibres and results in a charred state where synthetics catch light and melt away from the flame.”

Campaign for Wool NZ chair Tom O’Sullivan describes T&R Interiors wool acoustic tile product as impressive.

“I would have to say this is one of the most exciting innovations for

claims. “Innovations like these will resonate in our export markets and help them maximise their earning potential.”

Landreth says the domestic acoustic wall covering market is esti mated to be worth between $35-50 million annually.

“Even if we could replace half of the current synthetic market we’re talking about a massive amount of strong wool. It’s down to us to ensure we do the product jus tice.”

Allied Market research has forecast the global market to increase by 6.3% to US$13.8 billion by 2031.

Landreth says that, in these early days, the pri ority is getting the panels moving in New Zealand, then expanding to export markets.

“We’re hoping that the New Zealand wool story and the traceability and properties of wool will make it a very attractive product overseas.”

T&R was awarded $303,200 from the Min istry for Primary Indus tries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) fund to accel erate pre-commercial development of the wool panels. The amount of wool used is expected to increase as new export markets are targeted by the product.

“This project with

LEO ARGENT

T&R is just one of 15 proj ects funded through SFF Futures to date that are aimed at re-energising our strong wool sector,” O’Connor says. “It com

plements our establish ment of Wool Impact, which is charged with driving innovation and demand for our strong wool.”

“Innovations like these will resonate in our export markets and help them maximise their earning potential.”

When burnt, the fire resistant Floc Panels produce little heat and less smoke than synthetic fibres.

Consensus call for rural healthcare

HAUORA TAIWHENUA

Rural Health Network has recently announced the “Christchurch Consensus”, aimed

at representing and achieving strong outcomes for rural communities and healthcare providers.

It was developed with the input of

steps we can take towards resolving it”.

At September’s conference, an Otago University research team presented to 400 attendees statistics showcasing that mortality rates for rural populations were 20% higher than in urban areas, with Māori outcomes over twice that of non-Māori.

The Christchurch Consensus represents the combined advice of New Zealand’s rural healthcare providers about how the Government’s Health Reforms can alleviate poor health outcomes in rural communities.

Detailing priorities and calls to action that target the rural workforce crisis, unacceptably poor health outcomes for rural Māori and access to and funding of services that are set up specifically for rural areas.

This includes boosting of training for a domestic healthcare workforce through a national rural health school and reviewing funding for PRIME and urgent care responses.

While the Christchurch Consensus aligns with the recently released Te

Pae Tata Interim Health Plan, it provides extra details and “the rural lens lacking in the Te Pae Tata report”.

“The Government is in the early stages of major health reforms with the stated objectives of providing equitable health outcomes for all New Zealanders,” Hauora Taiwhenua’s consensus document says.

“For the first time ever, rural communities are identified as a priority population in the Pae Ora Healthy Futures Legislation.”

It adds that “the time is right” to adopt new health strategies designed specifically by and for rural communities.

Stressing the collective and expert nature of the Consensus, Davidson says these were the concerns of rural health practitioners, and the solutions offered from their experience and the realities they deal with every day.

Hauora Taiwhenua has said that they are planning a full rural health group discussion in March/April 2023 to define a three-year plan.

Hauora Taiwhenua members who attended September’s National Rural Health Conference in Christchurch.

Hauora Taiwhenua Chief Executive Dr Grant

Davidson describes the Christchurch Consensus as “a clear and direct presentation on where and how the health system is failing rural communities and

LEO ARGENT

Grant Davidson describes the Christchurch Consensus as “a clear and direct presentation on where and how the health system is failing rural communities”.

Farmer stress mounts in the bay

An incorrect version of the following article was published, in error, in a previous issue of Rural News. Below is the correct version.

Rural News apologises to all those affected by the error.

FOR SOME Hawkes Bay farmers, the passion of farming is now becoming a liability and many are mentally burnt out with stress.

That’s according to a local consultant, who over the past two decades has been observing the changing mood of farm ers in the region. He says the effects of adverse cli matic conditions and increasing farm costs such as labour are start ing to bite for many farm ers and they are looking at the options of get ting out of the stress of farming. He feels there

are more farmers under stress now than ever before.

Through good support structures, some of these farmers are identifying that they are the frog in the beaker and they have to make change.

“They are saying ‘I don’t want to sell my farm, but for the sake of my health I need to change’,” he says.

Most of the farmers in this situation are in the 50 to 60 year old age bracket, who are strug gling with the raft of new regulations, whereas many of the younger farmers have good net works, can handle the paper work better and see the opportunities of the changes. But he says the older farmers are not keen on being a ‘desk farmer’.

“Some of these older guys are amazing farm

ers and all they want to do is farm. But they more progressively being drawn into their office desk which they are not natu rally good at anyway and

are just getting frustrated by paperwork and keep ing up to date with some of the changes. Many of these people were great farmers in their day but

are just stressed and frus trated with what they are now encountering,” he adds.

Many of these people are single owner opera

tors and haven’t got the resources to digest and understand some of the complexities of modern day farming.

Even some of the

young dynamic farm ers are at risk of stress too with rising costs and interest rates, especially if they are highly geared.

For some farmers, the lure of carbon farm ing and putting some of their land into forestry is real. Every time the carbon prices goes up by $10, the price of land has been going up by $2,000$3,000 per hectare.

“This creates an opportunity to either sell now, or lease out their land for a few years and see what happens to the price of carbon before making a final decision on what to do with their land.”

In the meantime, efforts are being made to help stressed farmers by organised events where they can meet and com pare notes with others and be made aware of positive options.

Many farmers are stressed and frustrated with what they are now encountering and looking at their future options.

Farming costs rising

land’s (B+LNZ) New Season Outlook 2022-23.

WHILE THE forecast for global sheepmeat and beef demand is gener ally positive, an increase in farm expenditure and inflation could signifi cantly reduce farmers’ margins.

This is according to Beef + Lamb New Zea

“With high market prices for sheepmeat and beef globally and a low New Zealand dollar, farm gate prices are relatively strong for sheep and beef farmers. Beef cattle pric ing in particular will drive revenue for 2022-23,” says B+LNZ’s chief economist

Andrew Burtt. The Season Outlook summary report states that with demand out pacing supply worldwide, even a slight decrease in export receipts will not stop returns from improving (up 27% for beef and up 20% for sheepmeat compared to the five-year average).

However, an increase in farm expenditure and inflation will reduce profit margins, with farm expenditure expected to increase by 3.4 % throughout the coun try for 2022-23 to average $535,000 expenditure per farm. Despite efforts to curb spending, the report says inflationary pres

sures will make it hard to keep costs down.

“With revenue similar to last season and costs creeping upwards, over all profit decreases. Farm profit before tax for 202223 is forecast to decrease 9.7% to average $181,100 per farm.

From 2021-22 to 202223, gross farm revenue is forecast to fall by $2,000 per farm, whereas total expenditure increases by $17,400 per farm.”

Burtt says a fall in farmgate prices and fewer lambs sold – due to lower numbers of breeding ewes and drought con ditions affecting growth – will impact sheep reve nue and the lamb crop for spring is expected to be down on last year.

“Snowstorms in early October also impacted lambing in the South Island, particularly for hill and high country farms. However, cattle revenue is expected to increase for 2022-23 thanks to strong farmgate prices.”

B+LNZ chief execu tive Sam McIvor says that despite strong demand and high prices, farmers are concerned about new cost pressures includ ing regulatory costs being created by the Govern

ment.

“The increasing costs on the horizon, together with the uncertainty around the Government’s proposed agricultural emissions pricing system and its impacts, are a double whammy.”

McIvor says that while farmers are used to adapting to challenges and are willing to play their part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the emissions pricing system the Government is currently consulting on disproportionately puts sheep and beef farmers and communities at risk.

“What is on the table is unacceptable. In addi tion to pricing some farmers out of business, it will also increase food prices, cost jobs and ulti mately reduce New Zea land’s export income. That is why we are ada mant that the Govern ment must make changes to what it proposed.”

The red meat indus try currently accounts for more than 92,000 jobs, which is almost 5% of the total national employ ment, nearly $12 billion in industry value added and $4.6 billion in household income, including flow on effects.

B+LNZ’s chief economist Andrew Burtt says increases in farm expenditure and inflation could significantly reduce farmers’ margins.

MPI to showcase support for sector at Fieldays

A wealth of information to help farmers and growers thrive will be available at Fieldays 2022, as the Ministry for Primary Industries showcases its support for New Zea land’s food and fibre sector.

A central focus at MPI’s Fiel days site - at Mystery Creek from 30 November to 3 December - will be our new On-Farm Support ser vices. Farming is a challenging and ever-changing business, and we are working hard, alongside our sector partners, to ensure that farmers and growers have the information and support they need to prosper.

MPI will provide on-the-ground support to help farmers and growers navigate requirements around cli mate, water, animal welfare and the environment.

During the Primary Leaders’ lunch, announcements will be made on the first projects by the Centre for

Climate Action on Agri cultural Emis sions and the Centre’s Joint Venture, which is a longterm partnership with industry.

Where to find us at Fieldays

Main MPI site: Pavilion, PD25 to 33

Careers Hub: E Street, site E30

Forestry Hub: G78 to 86,  corner of G Street and I Road

Protecting New Zealand from pests and diseases is another big part of our work, and we’re working hard to keep them out of Aotearoa.

Following an outbreak of footand-mouth disease in Indonesia this year, we have intensified our work at the border to protect New Zea land’s farmers and growers. Our site at Fieldays will highlight key bios

Planting the seeds for a brighter forestry future

Visitors to Fieldays will have the opportunity to learn about the forestry sector from 35 sector organisations and companies under one roof.

The Forestry Hub – a first for Fieldays - is a collaborative forestry sector site aimed at promoting to all New Zealanders that forestry is an important industry for both economic and environmental reasons, as well as employment.

At the hub, visitors will discover engaging experiences on forestry growing, climate change, wood products, timber construction, biosecu rity and biodiversity. There will also be a simulator on site so visitors big and small can experience what it’s like to operate machinery in a forest.

The hub is a collaboration between Fieldays and an advisory group comprising of Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service, Forest Grow ers Levy Trust, Scion, NZ Forest Owners Association, Red Stag, NZ Farm Forestry Association and Future Foresters.

The multi-billion-dollar forestry sector is a major employer in Aotearoa New Zealand, providing more than 35,000 people both year-round and seasonal jobs.

New Zealand has about 1.7 million hectares of productive forests around the country and is currently the world’s largest exporter of softwood logs.

Plans are also afoot, through Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Ser vice Industry Transformation Plan, to add more value to our forestry sector by processing wood materials in New Zealand, which in turn will create even more career and job opportunities.

Children are also encouraged to visit the Fieldays Forestry Hub, with the launch of the “Kids Grow a Great Tree” campaign.

ecurity protection efforts and what to look out for.

On show will be work that includes eradicating wallabies, to limit their economic impact

on farmers and growers, and the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, which aims to prevent infestations from overwhelming our unique landscapes.

We will draw attention to the signs and impact of wallabies and will emphasise how everyday actions by the public can help stop their spread.

Resources from Fisheries New Zealand will enable recreational fishers to take responsible actions to safeguard our fish populations. Tools, including the free NZ Fish ing Rules App, will allow fishers to ensure there will be fish today, tomorrow and for generations to come.

Look out for MPI’s popular temporary tattoos and the NZ Food Safety fridge sorting game, both making another appearance at Fiel days to consolidate key messages for younger attendees.

The latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries – an economic forecast for the year ahead - will also be launched at Fieldays.

Find your career in the food and fibre sector

Fieldays is partnering with the Ministry for Primary Industries to launch the Fieldays Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub, where attendees can learn about food and fibre career pathways and consider options on how to join a thriving sector.

Education providers and sector groups are team ing up to showcase the types of careers on offer for younger Kiwis and career changers.

The Opportunity Grows Here attraction campaign brings information about training, careers and job list ings within the food and fibre sector into one place, and continues to connect employers and employees.

The Fieldays Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub highlights the many varied roles and opportunities available within the sector – and many of those reach well beyond the farm gate. Food and fibre careers range from work on-farm, in science, technology, business management and logistics, to animal wel fare, marketing and research and development across New Zealand.

National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation says the hub is an important part of its mis sion to advance agriculture.

“As the southern hemisphere’s largest agricultural event we have a duty to help futureproof the sector through educating people on where the opportunities lie in food and fibre.”

MPI director-general Ray Smith says the primary industries have grown despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“New Zealand’s food and fibre sector is leading the nation’s recovery by keeping vital food and fibre flowing domestically and overseas. For the first time, annual export revenue reached more than $53.1 bil

lion, in the year to 30 June, 2022.”

The interactive hub will offer a hive of activities, including a virtual reality demonstration on pruning orchids and vineyards.

The programme also includes an Opportunity Grows Here Careers Trail for visitors to follow around the Fieldays event to explore career options and vacan cies, participate in an engagement series and view a jobs board detailing available food and fibre roles.

New Zealand has a proud history of producing high-quality, innovative, and world-class food and fibre products, with care for people and place remaining front of mind.

Explore the wide range of exciting career options at www.opportunitygrowshere.nz and visit the Fieldays Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub  https://www. fieldays.co.nz/attend-fieldays/explore/careers.

The importance of biosecurity to New Zealand will be a major focus at MPI’s Fieldays site.

Ngai Tahu conducting

What is expected to be the country’s largest and most comprehensive regenerative agriculture trial is gearing up to take place in North Canterbury over the next seven years.

Nigel Malthus reports…

THE TRIAL will compare two adjacent dairy farms, one using conventional farming systems and the other regenerative

or alternative practises, on Ngāi Tahu Farming’s Whenua Hou develop ment, just north of the Waimakariri River.

Named Te Whenua Hou Te Whenua Whitiora (The New Land, The New Horizon) the project was announced in August as

a partnership between Ngāi Tahu Farming, Ngāi Tūāhuriri (the Ngāi Tahu rūnanga of the area), and the Government, through

the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund.

A second ceremony in

late October announced eight external organisa tions which will help monitor and manage the trial, gathering data and assessing the science.

Ngāi Tahu Farming general manager, Will Burrett, told Rural News the trial would compare a 330ha conventional farm carrying 1,040 cows and the 286ha alternative farm with 940.

He says the farms are starting from an equal base. They were the same age, both developed eight years ago, in a very con sistent way, on land that was previously the Eyrewell Forest.

Burrett told Rural News that they were still working with ECan on necessary consents for the regenerative/alterna tive farm but would have it fully operational by June 2023.

He says 75% of the alternative farm’s pas ture would be planted in diversity species by Christmas and the remaining 25% postChristmas. This farm will feature a higher intensity blend of up to 19 species of grasses, legumes and herbs.

“Some of those are annual and some peren nial, so I’m so not expect ing all of them to last,” Burnett explains. “But there will be a base, a core composition of the perennials, that we hope will last. One of the things we will be moni toring through the trial is their persistence in sward.”

Secondly, the farm would use a longer round length and leave a higher residual, on the hypoth esis that it will lead to a

denser root structure and sequester more carbon dioxide.

“We’re running the hypothesis that it will enable us to build our soils faster than our current conventional system.”

Thirdly, it will use no synthetic nitrogen, but instead use organic sources of nitrogen such as fish-based fertiliser.

Burrett says the trial will test the practicality of that, hoping to show how it can scale up not just to Ngāi Tahu’s eight dairy farms but others across the South Island.

He says the proposed 2025 greenhouse gas emission charges, fresh water farm plans, com munity expectations and international consumer preferences are all chal lenging conventional farming systems.

“We look forward to assessing the scien tific and financial results we achieve through Te Whenua Hou Te Whenua Whitiora to help us inform a viable alterna tive farming system that enhances soil health, has a lower environmen tal footprint, reduces water use, promotes kai mahi wellbeing and is financially profitable, all while complementing mātauranga Māori.”

Ngāi Tahu Holdings chief executive Craig Elli son says alternative farm ing systems have not been researched at this scale or depth in New Zealand before.

“The pressures on Aotearoa New Zea land’s pastoral farmers are mounting and being part of the solution is the only way to progress into

major regen trial

by its shareholders to improve and protect land and water for future gen erations, those concerns are the same facing the sector generally.

Like most farm ers, he agrees that there are already regenerative aspects to conventional systems, such as rota tional grazing diverse spe cies and low tillage. But adds that the challenge is to push it further while maintaining productivity and profitability.

MANAGING THE SCIENCE

NGĀI TAHU Farming has signed agreements with some heavyweight research organisations to monitor the regen erative trial and provide the data.

It hopes this will validate regenerative and sustainable practices for all New Zealand farmers.

The $11.58 million programme will be supported by $8 million of government funding through MPI’s Sustain able Food and Fibre Futures fund, which will be provided directly to the organisations conducting the research.

They will look into all aspects of farming, including the impacts of regenerative agriculture practices on farm workers.

the future.”

Te

Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga chairperson

Tania Wati says mana whenua are pleased the project will focus on restoring and building soil health.

“We will have an expectation to see more

farming operations adapt ing regenerative processes to protect our whenua for future generations. It is time for change,” she told Rural News

Burrett adds that while Ngāi Tahu Farm ing had been challenged

A governance group will regularly assess prog ress through the trial and there will be regular pub lished updates.

Burrett is also look ing forward to collaborat ing with others, such as Alliance, who he says are also doing good work in improving the environ mental footprint of farm ing.

DairyNZ will monitor farm workers through a range of metrics including worker wellbeing, engagement, sleep and fatigue, and task diversity and productivity. It will monitor farm management and analyse pasture and animal productivity and economic performance. It will also model greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate leaching at farm scale.

Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research will look at water-use efficiency, measure root zone nitrate leaching, changes in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks, and nitrous oxide and methane emissions. Manaaki Whenua will also monitor plant species composition over time.

AgResearch will provide benchmarking and evaluation of the different farming approaches, across areas such as soil health, animal health, and the quality of meat and milk

Regenerative

produced. The AgriBusiness Group will assess assurance standards and consumer trends.

farming advocacy and support company Soil Connection will provide regenerative systems advice.

Ngāi Tahu Farming General Manager Will Burrett. SUPPLIED

Aerial image of Te Whenua Hou Te Whenua Whitiora trial’: photo credit JB Walter.

Farmer wins four-year legal stoush with council

TE ANAU Downs Station

owner Peter Chartres has won a four-year, $1 mil lion legal battle with the Southland District Coun cil (SDC).

The council went to the Environment Court in April, seeking an enforcement order to prevent any further indig enous vegetation clear ance on the station and also requiring significant remedial work. However, in late October, the court released a detailed 107 page decision declining the council’s application for an enforcement order.

Chartres welcomed the ruling clearing him

of unlawful clearances dating back to 2001, saying the council’s approach had been “over zealous”.

“These enforce ment proceedings are an example of the time and money that gets wasted when poorly drafted, unworkable rules are mis interpreted, implemented and enforced by local councils,’’ he told Rural News

SDC had accused Chartres of unlawful clearance activities dating back to 2001. However, it failed to prove that there had been any breach of the relevant biodiversity rules that applied since that time.

“This position was pursued despite the fact that the council had – on several occasions since 2001 – confirmed that vegetation clearance activities were lawful and compliant,” Chartres explained.

He added that during the course of the four day Environment Court hear ing, SDC was forced to concede that it could no longer prove that clear ances undertaken prior to 2017 were unlawful and –by the time the case had closed – it had abandoned this part of the case.

Chartres says he’d been required to present extensive and meticulous evidence to refute the

council’s claims, at very considerable cost, “Only to have most of these allegations abandoned by the council at the hear ing”.

He says his family had been treated “like criminals” for continu ing the long-standing and essential farming prac tice of clearing regrowth bracken, mānuka scrub and exotic noxious weeds from previously cleared areas of the station.

“The decision of the court vindicating our management of the sta tion also shows that the council has taken a heavy-handed and very unreasonable approach to these proceedings,” Char

tres adds.

He says he still felt disbelief looking back on the start of the legal battle, which started in September 2018.

“That when coun cil staff, accompanied by armed police and two ecologists, arrived unan nounced at the family’s homestead to exercise a search warrant to undertake an ecological investigation of recent vegetation clearances,” Chartres told Rural News

“The family is still extremely angry that we were treated like crim inals for continuing the long-standing and essential farming prac tice of clearing regrowth

DAVID ANDERSON

Peter Chartres, with his three daughters, Daniella (5), Lia (7) and Josephine (9) on Te Anau Downs Station

PROPERTY RIGHTS!

says he chose to free hold Te Anau Downs Station in 1982 to avoid the “progressive loss of grazing land to the conservation estate”.

“It was, and still remains, my under standing that the free holded area of Te Anau Downs was purchased from the Government as farmland, for agricul tural purposes,” Chartres told Rural News. “While large areas of regrowth bracken and scrub have been re-cleared to improve paddocks and grazing areas, exten sive wetlands, beech

bracken, mānuka scrub and exotic noxious weeds from previously cleared areas of the station.”

He added that clear ing regrowth indigenous and exotic vegetation is an ongoing, essential and large-scale management practice for Te Anau Downs— due to the rapid re-establishment of vege tation amongst paddocks and extensive grazing areas in this high rain fall area.

“Our family have never stopped farming Te Anau Downs Station and we consider the coun cil’s approach to indige nous vegetation clearance and the misinterpretation of its own rules and the law as a severe erosion of property rights.”

Chartres says it was particularly important to the family that the deci sion vindicated their

IN BRIEF

forest and other indig enous vegetation has been voluntarily retained and fenced out at our own cost – long before any rules came into play making this a legal requirement.”

He says his family’s intergenerational connec tion and deep commit ment to Te Anau Downs has been consistently disregarded and disre spected by the council, “despite extensive engagement during the revision of the District Plan and attempts to find a mediated resolution to these enforcement proceedings”.

stance that the farm development practices – which had carefully avoided wetlands and other significant vegeta tion – were lawful.

He believes the sta tion’s high-profile loca tion has meant that clearance of regrowth vegetation has led to reg ular complaints from Forest and Bird, a past Minister of Conservation and other environmen talists.

“The ensuing ‘trials by social media’ have been brutal,” he says.

Chartres says his family has called Te Anau Downs Station their home since 1925, with its farming history dating back to 1860. He added that around 78% of the original farm has been appropriated to the con servation estate without compensation.

UK FTA STEP CLOSER

NEW ZEALAND’S free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom are now a step closer with the passing of two Bills.

Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor says the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Legislation Bill and the Apple Transitional Export Quota Bill passed their third readings earlier this month. O’Connor says the two Bills will enable New Zealand to implement its obligations under the FTA and are necessary to bring the historic agree ment into force.

“This is an important milestone in our ratification process and in delivering future economic security for all New Zealanders,” O’Connor says.

“The UK FTA is one of the best deals New Zealand has signed, reflecting the close relationship between our two countries. It will provide unprecedented access to the UK market, eliminating all tariffs on New Zealand exports over time. Immediately on entry into force, 99.5 per cent of New Zealand’s current trade will be able to enter the UK duty free.”

O’Connor claims when fully implemented, the deal will boost New Zealand’s GDP by up to $1 billion, with New Zealand exports to the UK estimated to grow by over 50%.

Chartres now faces another fight with SDC over recovering costs, with the court reserving the question of costs, he but says he’ll be seeking recom pense. “Me and my family are extremely relieved with the court’s decision and will now be seeking to recover costs from the Southland District Council,” he told Rural News. “It has been an extremely stressful, time-consuming and financially draining battle for myself and my family.”

PETER CHARTRES

Te Anau Downs Station - Wetland below Big Hill

Pining for change!

OVER THE coming weeks, government officials will start going through the raft of submissions on their bosses’ proposal to tax farmers on agri cultural emissions.

What they will likely find is that very few farmers and primary industry groups are impressed with what has been proposed – judg ing by the outcry from rural NZ. The question is: Will the Government listen?

Damien O’Connor claims the Government and farmers are not that far apart and that with some tweaking and compromising it can all be fixed amicably. That seems a long bow.

Most farmers are very cynical when they hear this Government talking about consultation –especially when it comes to complex changes written by bureaucrats. The documents are long and complex and no serious attempt has been made by the Government to make the changes remotely understandable for the average farmer, whose livelihood and community faces poten tial ruin at the hands of the anti-farming lobby.

EDITORIAL THE HOUND

Former DairyNZ director Ben Allomes is on the money when he describes the consulta tion on the He Eke Waka Noa as democracy by stealth. Politicians and bureaucrats have all day to ruminate and create crazy policies; farmers have real jobs and are busy trying to keep the NZ economy on track – not destroy it.

Sadly, the opposition to the Government’s response by the Opposition has been weak. National is supposedly the farmers’ party. Right now they are certainly not acting like the farm ers’ friend with their fence-sitting tactics.

National, it seems, is conflicted and confused and is scared of backing rural for fear of losing the city vote. A warning to them – fence sitting can be painful!

Then there is the primary sector group He Eke Waka Noa. At last, it seems that they have woken up to the fact that cuddling up to the Government doesn’t always work. They will argue that, if they didn’t, the deal would have been worse. However, the old adage ‘if you sleep with dogs, you catch fleas’ may now apply.

In the last few weeks, they have hurriedly started to come out against the Government –led by Fed Farmers, who have shown some seri ously good leadership on this issue. But will it turn the tide in farmers’ favour? Highly unlikely. Consultation is not a promise of change and never has been.

New Zealand has traditionally been known as the land of the long white cloud. Now, it seems, it is destined to become the land of the tall green pine.

Interesting!

YOUR CANINE crusader notes that rural services company Farmlands recently announced a bumper profit of $17.1 million for the 2022 financial year. It also declared a $8.6m after tax rebate – the first return it has delivered to its shareholders in four years. However, word around the traps is that while the company might be doing better in a financial sense, it is losing staff faster than the Labour party is shedding popularity in the polls. According to chief executive, Tanya Houghton, the company is providing, “a great product range and pricing, specialist sector expertise and excellent customer service”. However, it appears Houghton and her leadership team’s ‘K-Martization’ of Farmlands – including enforcing weekend trading at many of its stores and pushing online shopping – has seen a number of its long-serving staff head for the door.

Job creation

A mate of the Hound’s pointed him to a snippet in a recent newsletter from Wairarapa ram breeder Derek Daniel’s Wairere Romney, which he found rather alarming. According to the newsletter, under the Government’s new ‘plain language’ legislation, every government department is going to have to employ a ‘plain language commissioner’ to ensure any information coming out of said government department is ‘understandable’ and that ‘officials communicate clearly with the public as part of a bid to improve accessibility for all parts of society’. Your old mate suggests this is a big ask, as how much information coming out of government is ever understandable? So now will we see more layers of government bureaucracy in the form of plain language police running around looking over the shoulders of all the public servants, checking on their language? The mind boggles.

Really, Rob?

A long-time Silver Fern Farm supplier tells yours truly that he and other SFF shareholders are less than impressed by a recent dictate from the meat co-op’s chair Rob Hewett. Apparently, Rob – “I don’t care where, as long as I am chair” – Hewett recently penned an email to SFF suppliers telling them to basically ‘suck it up’ and ‘get used to the idea of paying emissions for their livestock’ and this was the ‘reality of farming’. However, as the Hound’s mate says: What would Hewett know about the reality of farming and having to rely solely on the income a farm generates? He reckons with all Hewett’s various directorships and chairing of several boards and the amount of off-farm income he earns every year, he would have no idea of what the average, run-of the mill farmer thinks. A very fair point, this old mutt would have thought!

PRODUCTION:

Dave Ferguson Ph 027 272 5372 davef@ruralnews.co.nz

Becky Williams Ph 021 100 4381 beckyw@ruralnews.co.nz

REPORTERS: Sudesh Kissun Ph 021 963 177 sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

Peter Burke Ph 021 224 2184 peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

MACHINERY EDITOR: Mark Daniel Ph 021 906 723 markd@ruralnews.co.nz

AUCKLAND

WAIKATO

Want to share your opinion or gossip with the Hound? Send your emails to: hound@ruralnews.co.nz

Oh Canada!

Your canine crusader reckons the so-called lovefest between our very woke PM Jacinda Ardern and her equally woke Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau isn’t worth a pint of sour milk. That is especially in the case of the NZ dairy sector, where Canada still imposes high tariffs on dairy imports – even though it is a member of the CTPP trade partnership. This means that NZ dairy exports are effectively locked out of Canada. One would think if Ardern and Trudeau were such good, left-wing, bosom buddies – who even share plane rides together to UN talkfests – then they could negotiate an end to NZ dairy products being locked out of Canada. However, it seems – like most things our PM is associated with – she is all mouth and no trousers when it comes to achieving anything in the real world.

WELLINGTON

SOUTH

“That

Chalking up a legacy!

I TRUST this finds all things well with you at your place this week.

Life can get busy on the farm this time of the year, so be sure to not over-cook things! It’s a rather fascinating story from me today, for this issue of Rural News

I find it interesting to note how some are deemed to have contrib uted so much to their particular sport, they have duly been accorded the honorary title of “Mr” –like “Mr Cricket”, “Mr Golf”, or “Mr Tennis”. I read something in the media recently where former Aussie Test player Mike Hussey was referred to as “Mr Cricket”.

One of our own, the late Winston McCarthy was not only known as “The Voice of NZ Rugby”, but also by others as “Mr Rugby”. McCarthy had been a unique radio voice for rugby through the 1940s and 50s, with his last broadcast being the Lions final test of their 1959 NZ tour.

I understand how someone can earn that accolade with sport … I get that! But how about “Mr. Eternity”? How in the world would a person ever get given a title like that? Surely it would have to be, at the very least, a male equivalent of someone like Mother Teresa? Or perhaps a man widely-known and loved internationally, for all his lifetime research and work with those who have been through near death, or “out of body” experiences?

Nope, actually he was none of the above, not even close!

In 1884, Arthur Stace was born into poverty in Balmain, just west of cen tral Sydney. His father, mother, two brothers and two sisters were alco holics, his sisters were brothel operators. The family was well known to the law!

Young Arthur looked after himself, searching through rubbish bins for food, stealing bread and milk just to feed him self. He was made a ward of the state at 12 and landed his first jail time at 15. Any schooling was pretty much non-existent, Arthur struggled to even write his own name.

WW1 found him serving in France. He returned home to Aussie partially blinded in one eye, shell-shocked and suffering from the effects of poisonous gas. The future was very bleak indeed! From there, right through into the Great Depression, he slid further into alcoholism – finally drinking methylated spirits at just sixpence a bottle.

From the early 1930s, mysteriously

the word “Eternity”, handwritten in chalk in elegant copperplate text, started appearing on Sydney pavements. This continued for close to 36 years. It remained a total mystery for many years; nobody had a clue who was writing it.

Of course – as you can

imagine – with something like this, the media even tually jumped onto the story and helped build the intrigue.

Finally, mid-year 1956, the mystery was solved. The writer was none other than Arthur Stace.

He wrote that word in chalk more than half a

million times, and thus earned for himself the title “Mr. Eternity”. So, what happened? Well, God had come to him in the early 1930s and his life was power fully transformed. The “chains” were broken. There is no other answer! What is perhaps

more amazing still, when Sydney celebrated New Year’s Eve to welcome in the new millennium, as the smoke cleared from all the fireworks the word “Eternity” appeared up in lights on the Sydney Har bour Bridge for the world to see.

And that’s not all…

The word appeared again during the Opening Ceremony for the Sydney Olympics, September 2000.

Billions of people saw it through those two tele vised events. Wow, what an amazing legacy! Keep well and God Bless.

TAKE A

FARMER’S CHAPLAIN

Colin Miller

Emissions research a black hole?

some time but has mostly flown under the radar.

A GIANT black hole is emerging within the wider agricultural indus try. It has been there for

To date, it has sucked in over $200 million of industry and government money into its vortex, but

– as is the case with black holes – nothing has come out. Most of that funding will be lost forever and if the agricultural industry does not start providing

more critical oversight of emissions research spending, many hundreds of millions more will dis appear into oblivion.

The consensus now is that solutions to rumi nant methane emissions will not be market-ready any time soon; certainly not in time to help offset the Government’s pro posed tax on farm emis sions due to roll out in 2025. This has only prompted the black hole to expand. The Minis ter for Agriculture has recently announced another $338.7 million over the next four years to disappear, and the National Party is right behind them with big plans to drive further R&D investment.

After reviewing the catalogue of potential mitigation technologies being worked on, it is dif ficult to see any of them ever having a meaningful impact on reducing rumi nant methane in a New Zealand farm system. The two most-hyped technol ogies are the Bovaer feed additive for dairy cows and low methane sheep genetics.

The researchers behind these technologies have made bold claims about their potential: Bovaer has been shown to reduce emissions by 30% in Europe and AgResearch has identified a 12% variance between low and high methane breeding lines.

Finding a technol ogy with potential is a relatively low bar. How ever, turning that poten tial into a market-ready

emissions mitigation tool, which works and does not adversely affect the farm system is a different ball game.

The Bovaer feed addi tive works well in a barn system because cows can ingest some with every bite. NZ’s pasture-based system does not provide that luxury. Large quan tities of fresh grass will flush out any Bovaer you managed to feed your cow through finished feeding. Experts in this space believe it could take decades to solve this dilemma.

Fonterra is leading the research on Bovaer and was approached for com ment on their progress.

After initially agreeing to answer questions, they then backtracked and directed me to wait for an impending announce ment on the MPI web site. No announcement has been made at the time of writing, but read ing between the lines, Fonterra has given up on Bovaer.

The low methane sheep breeding program is being carried out by AgResearch on behalf of the NZAGRC. After 15 years of research there is still no evidence that these sheep will perform in a farm system over time in the same way they do in a controlled 3-month trial. There is

good reason to believe they won’t. Low meth ane sheep have smaller rumens, carry less body fat and tend to have dif ferent grazing habits, some research has indi cated they are selective grazers. These traits do not endear a sheep to a tough winter where feed is in short supply and of low quality.

Without doing longterm trials to assess the performance of the low methane flock over their lifecycle, we are still essentially at the con cept stage. No verifiable claims about the emis sions reductions of these genetics can be made. Any drop in lambing per centage, growth rates or survivability has a direct and negative effect on emissions.

Farmers’ money con tinues to flow into this program unabated, but answers and trial data remain scarce.

The NZAGRC’s Harry

STEVEN CRANSTON

Steve Cranston reckons it is difficult to see any of the potential mitigation technologies being worked on ever having a meaningful impact on reducing ruminant methane in a New Zealand farm system.

Large quantities of fresh grass will flush out any Bovaer you managed to feed your cow through finished feeding. Experts in this space believe it could take decades to solve this dilemma.

Sector united in its opposition

PRIMARY SECTOR part ners have signalled a united determination to advocate strongly for farmers on emissions pricing.

Earlier this month, the leaders of DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ and Fed erated Farmers met to discuss emissions pric ing and to re-estab lish a common position between the three organ isations.

DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says a united voice on emissions pric ing is the best way to ensure positive policy outcomes for farmers.

“All three organisa tions have agreed on nine core principles that we will all be raising in our submissions and through the He Waka Eke Noa partnership.”

The Government’s emission pricing proposal differs significantly from the He Waka Eke Noa

recommendations, which were designed as a wholefarm system approach to reduce emissions, meet targets and give fair rec ognition and reward for on-farm planting. The Government’s subsequent changes have needlessly put the finely balanced cross-sector consensus at risk.

“Our organisations are all united in our determination to get the best possible outcome we can and will continue to work closely together as we advocate for farmers,” says Beef+Lamb NZ chair Andrew Morrison.

Federated Farmers chair Andrew Hoggard said individual organ isations will continue to raise sector specific issues.

The current meth ane targets are wrong and need to be reviewed.

The methane price should be set at the min

RESEARCH A BLACK HOLE?

FROM PAGE 24

Clark declared himself unavailable for com ment.

After Bovaer and sheep genetics, the out look for the remaining mitigation technology contenders looks even more bleak. The vac cine does not work, the seaweed feed additive leaves toxic compounds in the milk and would require a large area of New Zealand’s coast line be turned into a seaweed farm to source enough product. No dairy farmer will ever be talked into spray ing out half their farm to replace it with low emitting plantain. Most of these research pro grams should have been stopped before they even started.

Farmers and politi cians are being hood winked by researchers who see a bonanza of research grants coming their way – so long as they can keep the dream of meth ane mitigations alive. The potential of these technologies is being magnified, while the

impracticalities ignored. Why investigate the drawbacks if it could upset the flow of fund ing? An independent audit of all emissions mitigation research is urgently required before this river of wasteful spending turns into a raging torrent. There is a place for emissions mitigation research, but often the best solutions are the simple ones.

There are significant emissions reductions available for farmers who get sheep and beef to target weights earlier, this can be achieved through improved man agement and breeding and can dramatically improve the efficiency of the farm system in the process. The early slaughter concept has not received one cent of industry funding.

I have one message for farmers, don’t get sucked in.

• Steven Cranston is a Waikatobased agricultural and environmental consultant and formerly Groundswell’s spokesman on farm emissions.

imum level needed and be fixed for a five-year period to give farmers certainty.

Any levy revenue must be ringfenced and only be used for the administra tion of the system, invest ment in R&D, or go back to farmers as incentives.

The future price should be set by the Min ister on the advice of an independent oversight board appointed by all He Waka Eke Noa partners.

The system must incentivise farmers to uptake technology and adopt good farming prac tices that will reduce global emissions.

All sequestration that can be measured and is additive should be counted.

Farmers should be able to form collectives

to measure, manage, and report their emissions in an efficient way.

Farmers who don’t have access to mitigations or sequestration should be able to apply for tem porary levy relief if the viability of their business is threatened.

We will not accept emissions leakage.

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“All three organisations have agreed on nine core principles that we will all be raising in our submissions and through the He Waka Eke Noa partnership.” Delivering

Break out the shorts, but keep a brolly handy!

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

WITH THE resched uled National Fieldays only a week away and the woes of Covid-19 largely behind us, the organisers are pushing a message of positivity for the rest of 2022 and beyond.

Building on the Fiel days Society’s themes of Innovation, Education and Globalisation, chief executive Peter Nation says, “Having made the tough decision back in March to postpone Fiel days because of the Covid traffic light settings back in April, we’re now near

ing the finish line and the delivery of a world class event.”

While there is still speculation about who will walk through the turnstiles at what is a busy time for the farming fraternity, like any event –if you do want to go, you will make time.

“It will be the samesame event, hopefully with a little more sun shine and no fog,” Nation adds. “For the last ten years, records show an average daily tempera ture of 21 degrees C, with a 30% chance of rain –so get your shorts on, slap on some factor 50

and maybe hide a brolly behind the seat of the car.”

Taryn Storey, Fiel days head of customer and strategic engage ment, says – as at early

November – around 94% of available sites had been allocated, compared to 2021. However, sev eral long-time previous exhibitors such as Toyota, AGCO and Farmlands

had decided not to attend – citing ongoing supply chain disruption and staff shortages.

Rural News hears that some exhibitors were dubious about taking part in two large-scale events within a six-month timeframe – as Fiel days 2023 is scheduled to return to its traditional June timing. However, Nation says they were approached by several large exhibitors who asked them not to give up on holding an event in 2022.

“There’s no doubt our event is a great way for friends and family to catch up again and maybe spend a little money on the exhibitors’ sites,” he adds. “By the same token, we are also hearing from exhibitors who are shift ing the emphasis from just business to welcom ing customers with light refreshments and saying thanks.”

Nation adds that alongside the general trade stands they have grown to expect, the 2022 event will see some introductions and expansions. The new Forestry Hub will bring together more than 45 exhibitors into one marque, showcasing the importance of this growing industry.

“Rather than just talk ing about shipping logs to China, raising aware ness of high-grade timber for structural and decora

tive use, furniture manu facture, as an alternative fibre source and beyond,” he explains.

Likewise, Nation adds that the expanded Careers Hub is set to build on current labour shortages throughout rural industries, show casing career paths for youngsters or possible avenues for those looking to make a career change.

“Meanwhile, the Health Hub recognises that access to rural medi cal services continues to be a major problem to those living in isolation or indeed any distance from the main centres.”

The Innovation Hub

will showcase clever ideas and products from a range of sectors, includ ing, dairy, forestry, farm management, animal health, genetics, horti culture and viticulture. This year, the 65 recently announced finalists will be competing for a share of $60,000 cash, ser vices and products that make up the prize pool. Entrants, alongside those from New Zealand, are represented by individ uals from Australia, the United States, Israel, Eng land and Ireland.

Fieldays is being held at Mystery Creek, Ham ilton, from 30 November to 3 December.

“There’s no doubt our event is a great way for friends and family to catch up again and

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National Fieldays is being held in the summer for the first time in its history.

Case IH new Fieldays sponsor

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

AFTER A short hiatus, New Zealand’s National Fieldays event is back –with a brand-new spon sor.

After a forced post ponement from its normal timeslot in June – the first in the event’s history – its return later this month will herald the arrival of a new pre mium sponsor, agricul tural machinery company Case IH.

“National Fieldays is a key date in New Zea land’s agricultural calen dar so we’re very proud to be supporting it and help ensure it can con tinue to go from strength to strength. The event is

a chance for New Zea land’s agricultural sector to come together and celebrate the dynamism and innovation of our

industry which has con tinued to thrive despite the recent challenges,” says Murray Grant, CNH industrial commercial business manager – New Zealand.

“Case IH and our deal erships have always been enthusiastic participants at National Fieldays. We appreciate what a valu able opportunity it is for meeting our customers face-to-face – something we haven’t been able to do for some time – and showcasing our latest machinery and AFS prod ucts to a local, as well as global, audience.”

Pete McCann, general manager of Case IH Aus tralia/New Zealand, says it’s another important milestone for the brand in the New Zealand market, following on from the dis tribution changes intro

duced by parent company CNH Industrial at the start of July.

“Bringing back inhouse the distribution of CNH Industrial machin ery in New Zealand was the start of an exciting new chapter for us,” he adds. “While this new sponsorship deal really caps off what’s been a great year and cements our commitment to this important and growing market. We look forward to this new partnership and working alongside the organizers to bring as much as we can to the event.”

As part of this year’s Fieldays, Case IH is also sponsoring a tractor pull, with Case IH trac tors involved in the event

General manager of Case IH Australia/New Zealand Peter McCann says the new Fieldays sponsorship tops off a good year for the company.

In a league of their own

WITH THE introduction of its VBP 7100 series baler-wrapper combina tions, KUHN believes that the heavy-duty built machines will offer con sistent high performance in all crop conditions

The company says these balers deliver large, dense straw bales or wellshaped, short crop silage bales with higher mois ture contents.

Noting that there is an increasing market of customers requiring a machine that can cope with a wide range of con ditions, they say that the versatility of the VBP 7100 series is suitable for all operations.

The European har vesting specialists also believe the machine’s well-shaped and dense bales are a result of fea tures that include the patented i-DENSE den sity regulation system for optimal bale start and baling pressure, which give the highest of den sities in straw. Up front, the 23-knife intake system intake enables a wide range of cutting lengths, while the optional twinreel film binding system allows more efficiency in silage crops.

Several key features are said to ensure maxi mum capacity and large daily outputs. These include the 3-tine integral rotor and an especiallydesigned crop roller for unrestricted crop intake.

The bale chamber uses a double tension arm for guaranteed bale start/for mation, higher densities, and quick re-tensioning. Meanwhile, a fast tailgate and rapid bale transfer system ensure high pro ductivity.

Despite its ability to produce high density bale packages, durabil ity is also addressed with a heavy-duty bale cham ber, rollers and driveline components. All are built within a heavy-duty machine frame and car ried on and extra-large tandem axle assembly fitted with oversize tyre equipment.

The VBP 7100 series consists of the VBP 7160 that produces bales of 80 to 160 cm diameter bales, while the VBP 7190 delivers packages from for 80 to 185 cm diam eter bales. Both models able to be equipped with the optional KUHN film binding system.

www.kuhn.com

Kuhn says its VBP 7100 series baler-wrapper combinations offer consistent, high performance in all crop conditions.

MF 5S Series wins award

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

MASSEY FERGU

SON’S MF 5S Series has scooped a Farm Machine 2023 Award for tractors less than 120hp at the recently held SIMA Show, in Paris.

Said to offer best in class visibility and an industry-leading 4m turn ing radius, the narrow steep-nosed bonnet lends itself to front end loader operations. The range also combines options such as front axle suspen sion, a high payload and greater linkage capacity to be a serious performer in the paddock and on the road.

The MF 5S Series

offers five models from 105hp to 145hp. Models come with the choice of Essential or Efficient specifications, which pro vide a range of perfor mance enhancing features to suit all types of farms and applications.

All models are pow ered by the AGCO Power 4.4-litre, four-cylinder engines with straightfor ward ‘All in One’ SCR technology. Transmission choice is the well-proven Dyna-4 or Dyna-6 con figurations. The tractors are also equipped with the Brake-to-Neutral fea ture, which disengages drive when the brakes are applied.

Ideally suited for loader operations, a

closed-centre high-flow hydraulics offers up to 110 litres/min. This is controlled via a multi-

function joystick, while the optional Visio Roof format provides a clear view of the attachment through the whole lifting range.

With Efficient models, a new armrest, as used in the recently launched

MF 8S range, houses the Multipad joystick that controls several func tions – including forward/ reverse shuttle, linkage and spool valves.

At the rear, a robust three-point linkage, offers lift capacity up to

6,000kg – 14% more than the previous models.

Meanwhile, up front and developed for mounting with the new suspended axle, the latest front link age is designed to inte grate with the optional suspended axle to deliver

3,000kg capacity.

Thanks to its impres sive 9.5t Gross Vehicle Weight, a 12% increase over previous models, the MF 5S can also safely carry and handle larger loads.

All MF 5S Series trac tors can be fully con nected with MF Connect telemetry option. This includes options such as a Geofencing function to improve logistics man agement and security, using alerts smart devices if – and when – machines leave or enter pre-defined areas.

Datatronic 5 also offers a Smart Farming Suite, with functions that include MF Guide auto matic steering, MF Sec tion Control and Rate Control. This can handle and manage up to 96 sec tions, three booms and five products.

The MF 5S Series, which offers five models ranging from 105hp

New flock managemement app to debut at Fieldays

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

BRITISH FARM manage ment software company

Herdwatch is launching its award-winning Flock watch app at Fieldays to service the New Zealand sheep industry.

Used by over 18,000 farms in the UK & Ire land, Flockwatch allows sheep farmers to manage their flock in a simple, easy to use app, reducing paperwork and allowing better management deci sions. Launched in the UK & Ireland earlier this year, the app is already proving to be hugely popular with over 3,000 flocks in the UK already using the platform.

According to well-known Youtuber, Cammy Wilson from Scotland, the Flockwatch app is essen tially an ‘all-inone solution’.

“It’s where I can input move ments, indi vidual sheep references and notes, register lambs against any par ticular sheep, and record details of any medication event including product details.”

Herdwatch was cofounded out of a farmerowned co-operative in Ireland back in 2014 and currently has around

18,000 users there and in the UK.

“We realised with the arrival of smartphones and other such devices that there was an oppor tunity to bring farmers on a journey to digitisa tion and to disprove the

assumption that farmers are com puter illiterate,” explains Mervyn Harvey, head of growth for the com pany.

“We have deliv ered a simple, easy to use and reliable app, which in a recent survey of over 1,600 of our members, showed that it saves farmers an average of three hours a week on paperwork.”

As in the UK and Ire land, NZ farmers can

manage their flock as individuals or in groups, record lambing and track ewe performance, record weights to track aver age daily gains and cap ture medicine records for farm assurance. There is also the ability to connect an EID Reader to scan ear tags and view an animal’s history or add records easily.

The system also allows users to map their farm to keep paddock records for nitrogen and other inputs. Meanwhile, users can also take advan tage of smart devices camera functions to record photos of individ ual animals or purchase receipts.

Harvey says, in prac

tice, users can use a smartphone or more typically a tablet-based device, mounted along side the handling race.

“Any data is saved directly to the cloud for future use, meaning any accidents involving devices, can still access that data at a later date,” he explains. “Meanwhile, multiple users can gain access to the subscrip tion, so that the whole farm team can see data as it is recorded, while also communicating task requirements amongst one another.”

Herdwatch chief exec utive and co-founder Fabien Peyaud says they are delighted to launch Flockwatch in New Zea

land to help local sheep farmers there make better and faster on-farm decisions.

“Flockwatch is as much about monitor ing flock performance as it is about compliance and helps sheep farmers manage their flock, indi vidually or in mobs, in a simple and easy to use app,” he explains.

“Up to this point, anyone who wanted to manage their flock had had very little to choose from, with most relying on pen and paper.”

Kiwi farmers are invited to look for them selves, with the offer of a 90-day free trial with no commitments.

www.flockwatch.com

Watermetrics provides the tools, the data, and the thinking to Irrigate with Excellence

A subsidiary of ADR, Watermetrics has expanded its field service capability and have invested heavily in the ever increasing need for Measuring, Monitoring and Managing water in the agribusiness sector.

We offer world class equipment and telemetry with a comprehensive suite of end to end solutions.

Ourfield operations and delivery team are nationally located nationally with recent additions in Dunedin and Timaru. This means prompt service for installation, servicing, verification and above all secure data delivery.

We are backed by a strong administration team supported by an IOT solutions team that provide customer driven solutions.

The agricultural world has growing demands for visibility in their use of water. Watermetrics has set out to deliver that visibility with a presentation of data that fits farm management and agronomy needs. Data is collected in 15 minute intervals and shown with sensible targets to minimise water use and still get best pasture and crop growth.

We can advise on how best to set these targets up in the context of agronomy management.

Flockwatch, allows sheep farmers to manage their flock in a simple and easy to use app, will have its NZ launch at Fieldays.

Seed drills get upgrades

THE LATEST Horsch

Versa KR includes several new concepts and ideas to offer a range of bene fits to users.

A major focus of the mechanical drill is the electrically-driven seed rate control on the coun tershaft. The SmartClip system offers maximum flexibility with tramlines that can be individually easily changed without tools.

Row spacings can be set at 12.5 or 15cm, with

seed dosage adjusted with a slide valve between the cell wheel and cam wheel.

Featuring a seed hopper of 900 litres capacity in

the base machine, this can be expanded in two stages to offer 1,500 litres. Implement control is taken care of by ISOBUS connection, using touch terminals for individual, personalised settings of the display options.

The DuoDisc double disc coulter, specially developed for the Versa series, has proven com ponents of the TurboDisc coulters and offers pre cise and even seed place ment.

Available with a rear toothed packer roller or trapezoidal ring packer, the latter is offered with 50cm diameter. This is said to be suitable for heavy soils. Meanwhile, the larger 60cm diame ter unit is intended for changing soils from light to heavy and with high load-bearing capacity requirements.

As an option, the Versa 3 KR can also be equipped with the WorkLight Pro

working light. This guar antees optimum lighting of metering devices and the machine when sowing – even when working in the dark.

In other Horsch news, the Avatar 12.25 SD gets new operating logic based on ISOBUS allowing easier set up, operation and monitoring technol ogy.

A newly devel oped seed tank holds 6,500 litres and can be ordered as a double tank, split with a 60:40 ratio, while the MiniDrill G&F can be selected as an option offering an extra 400 litres capacity to extend range – especially when sowing rapeseed or canola. This additional tank can also be used for other fine seeds, granules or slug pellets, allowing a total of three products to be applied in one pass.

It is offered with vari ous tyre widths and types from 520 to 900mm, or dual tyre set-ups. Ground pressure is min imised even in wet soil conditions and enables soil-friendly work, while double support wheels on the wings also ensure small tracks and the best ground tracking. This also maintains a 3m transport width.

Equipped with singlerow, single disc coulters and 25cm row spacing, the Avatar 12.25 SD lends itself to mechanical crop care, as well as to a wide variety of sowing con ditions such as direct sowing, mulch sowing, or into standing catch crops.

MARK

The latest Horsch Versa KR includes several new concepts to offer a range of benefits to users.

50-year career in farm machinery celebrated

DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

AFTER 50 years of work ing closely with farm ers and contractors, Paul Wilkins has been awarded the Tractor and Machin ery Association’s (TAMA) 2022 President’s Award for Service to the Indus try.

Paul is currently the managing director of Paul Wilkins Trac tors in Timaru, which is a retailer of Valtra trac tors and Krone forage equipment. The business is also the importer of implement brands such as Tubeline and Salford from Canada and Unia and Sola from Europe.

“Paul’s decades-long contribution to the ag machinery sector is a tes tament to his personal dedication to a very loyal customer base,” says TAMA president Kyle Baxter.

“His ability to form long lasting relationships has benefited both his customers and suppliers. It was a great honour to present this year’s award to Paul. It highlights his passion for agriculture and his willingness to go beyond the call of duty to support farmers when they need it.”

Originally from Ash burton, Wilkins spent 10 years selling farm machinery before he and wife Andria set up Paul Wilkins Tractors in Tima

rienced parts and ser vice team. The business is a real family affair, where Paul works along side staff, including his son Grant and daugh ter Debbie. Grant has been with the business for 36 years, starting as a mechanic, then head ing into sales, where he is now the manager. Debbie runs the office and leads our parts department.

“Product support and spare parts are the foun dation of the business,” Wilkins says.

it cannot be supported with good service. When we deliver a new tractor, our service manager goes with it to make sure the customer understands how it is supposed to operate.”

ru’s industrial suburb of Washdyke in 1978. He attributes the success of their business to a loyal client base and an expe

“We ensure our ser vice technicians have good training on the latest machines. We also maintain an exten sive range of spare parts, as a product is no use if

Initially the PWT busi ness sold Belarus tractors, later shifting to Same and Iseki as part of the Power Farming franchise in Timaru. They also sold Japanese-made Shibaura tractors of 60 to 80hp, until the NZ distribu tor for the brand pulled out, when they acquired the entire supply of spare parts and continue to bring in smaller Shibaura tractors.

Around 22 years ago Paul Wilkins Tractors

MARK

Tama president Kyle Baxter congratulates Paul Wilkins on his long career in the farm machinery game.

A fond farewell Fella!

IN A move that was always expected, wellknown German grassland machinery brand Fella, will soon be history in all countries around the world.

Factory sources sug gest that all grassland machines manufactured at the Fella plant at the Feucht, Bavaria from Q2 2024 will be finished with Fendt or Massey Fergu son branding.

With this decision, AGCO – the parent company of Fendt and Massey, which bought the 100-year-old German mower, tedder and rake maker in 2011 – aims to strengthen its two core brands. It has already invested heavily at the site and in new product

development.

“With the concentration of green fodder harvesting technology on our fullline brands Fendt and Massey Ferguson, as well as the ongoing investments, we are very well positioned to generate further significant growth in the future through our

exclusive Fendt and Massey Ferguson sales partners,” says Jürgen Linder, vice president distribution management Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.

The change at Fella follows a similar pat tern to that of the Lely grassland division, which AGCO bought at the end of 2017. In 2019, the Lely

name disappeared from mowers, tedders and rakes, and in March 2020, from round balers and loader wagons.

In other indus try news, 14 years after unveiling the prototype at the German EuroTier livestock show in 2008, the Dutch manufacturer Schuitemaker has called

full-time on its autono mous Innovado feeding robot.

Initially fitted with a 6.0m³ tub and a 60hp Deutz engine, the machine was able to cut silage from the clamp, load additional feed stuffs, mix the contents and then feed them. Over time, a more powerful

80hp JCB engine and a larger 8.0m³ tub machine was on display at Euro Tier 2014.

After eight years of field tests and more than 20,000 hours of opera tion, the first five com mercial versions were built in 2016, with Schuitemaker staff con fident of a bright future

for the autonomous feed ing system. The demise of the project appears to have begun following the merger of Schuitemaker and Veenhuis in 2019, when the focus switched to the main product lines of slurry tankers and forage wagons, leaving no room for Innovado in the product portfolio.

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

German grassland machinery brand Fella will soon be history around the world and is expected to be replaced by either Fendt or Massey Ferguson branding.

Getting better tabs on fertiliser applications

STOCKS AG has greatly extended the capabilities of its Fan Jet DUO spin ning disc granular appli cator.

The addition of its new TM (Twin Meter) Control Box with GPS Speed Sensor is said to allow precise control over the Fan Jet Duo. A pair of contra-rotating Fan Jet Plus applicators, running in tandem, are typically used to broadcast slug pellets up to a distance of 36m.

The TM control

ler features a 4.3” colour touchscreen, displaying application rate and for ward speed, as well as allowing section control and headland control. The system is also capa ble of variable applica tion rates in conjunction with an uploaded preci sion farming map, clearly shown in real time on the control screen.

The TM controller features a four-screen format, allowing the oper ator to switch between the home screen, parame ters screen, details screen and mapping screen.

Disc speed control

alters the disc speed and therefore, spreading width, for both or indi vidual applicators, while the controller automati cally reduces the appli cation rate to match disc speed with the use of its own GPS sensor.

Headland control enables operators to define the field boundary on the first pass around the paddock using the integrated mapping facil ity, switching off appli cation if the spreading width crosses an area/sec tion that has already had product applied.

The TM software also

allows the operator to create and store product application information, including the calibra tion settings for each new product, while a job creation and export fea ture makes it possible to record the application history of each field task.

Suitable for mounting to self-propelled sprayers or tractor front linkages, rear mounting on sprayer booms is not recom mended due to increased weight. UTV vehicles are also suitable, pro vided their electrical sys tems have a high-power output.

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

Are we doomed with digital?

AS AGRICULTURE con tinues its march into the digital age – where farm ers, paddocks machines and inputs are all inter connected – one must wonder whether an indi vidual or organisation

could wreak havoc if they broke into operating sys tems.

A hacker at a recent conference in Las Vegas demonstrated his abil ity to get the 1993 video game Doom to play on

a John Deere 4240 trac tor control console. This latest hack follows a ransom-ware attack on AGCO – the manufac turer of brands such as MF, Fendt and Valtra – in May, that affected pro

duction, parts support and invoicing for up to two months

John Deere, a leader in bringing digital tech nology to the farm, said the hack on its trac tor was restricted to one machine and didn’t pose any threat to the compa ny’s overall system. How ever, it is an embarrassing reminder that electronics remain vulnerable to out side interference.

Industry advisors point out that the JD company relies on what is considered outdated soft ware to run the onboard systems. Chief among these is Windows CE, that is licensed to OEM’s and will see support with drawn in 2023.

In a telephone inter view, the hacker (‘Sick Codes’) noted that he set out to investigate the vulnerability of the

whole food supply chain infrastructure, because nobody else was doing so. He was not reassured by what he found.

Although there appears to be only one hacker bringing this to our attention, his abil ity to run an early ver sion of Doom software on a consul that we are told is totally secure, suggests there may be an under lying problem. The fact that he was able to get around the software locks

installed by John Deere’s engineers should make any existing, or potential users, of such systems a little wary. As the dem onstration showed, entry into systems and code changes are possible.

Installing and run ning software that comes from the early 1990s, as does Linux and Micro soft CE, enables the less tech-savvy to visualise the age of the software upon which many systems rely.

Those same insid ers also claim that JD has incorporated open licence software into its operat ing systems and that by doing so it is contrac tually bound to make it public. Correct or not, it suggests that JD might be at risk of legal action for not comply ing with licence agree ments – most likely from those fighting for the

right to repair their own machines.

Of course, John Deere has been active in pro moting digitisation, but at the same time, defending the practice of restrict ing the repair of tractors to its dealers, refusing external, non-authorised access to farmers or DIY mechanics.

Yet, JD is unlikely to be the only company that has this sort of software at the core of its systems and other manufacturers must be watching devel opments with alarm.

Given that ‘Agriculture 4.0’ is being touted as the digital roadway to trans form farming into a datadriven and automated provider of food for the burgeoning population over the next decade, is it wise to place all our eggs in what appears to be a very leaky digital basket?

CRUSHA’S COMMENT

Mark Daniel

Global farm machinery sales remain buoyant

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

DESPITE THE challenges over the last 30 months, worldwide sales of agri cultural tractors and machinery have remained buoyant – albeit with dis ruptions of raw materials, components and short ages of staff.

In the nine months from January to Sep tember 2022, the market remained at higher vol umes than before the 2020 pandemic. How ever, industry sources are predicting that between the end of the year and into the first part of 2023, the sector is likely to be affected by inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.

In 2020, despite the ravages of the Covid pan demic that forced a halt to production activities and a slowdown of trade, transport and logistics, the world tractor market held up well, closing with an increase of 7.7% to 2,200,000 newly regis tered tractors.

In 2021, there was also a marked recovery, with increases in the United States of 10%, India 13% and Europe 16.6%. Mean while, China contracted as it still grapples with the Covid emergency and related restrictions, as well as a poor domestic economic situation. This all led to the agricultural machinery market glob ally growing by around 13% in 2021.

This year’s headwinds include the serious politi cal and economic crisis brought about by the war between Russia and Ukraine, major rises in inflation, rapidly escalat ing energy costs, the con tinuing difficulties with the availability of ferrous and plastic raw materials, as well as rising costs for logistics and transport.

Despite this, agricul tural machinery has main tained good sales levels, although they do appear to be coming under pres sure: In the nine months from January to Septem ber 2022, India reported production of 665,000

units – a drop of 2.3% compared to 2021. During the same period, the US market recorded 210,000 units, down 14.3% on 2021, but with a sales volume still higher than pre-Covid levels.

Meanwhile, the Euro pean market also seems to be suffering from the deterioration of the gen eral economic situation.

Total production was down 7.6% in the first nine months of 2022.

Germany has seen a drop in tractor sales of 7.4% of 23,400 units and France fell by 4.5% to 23,500 units. Both are still higher than the pre-Covid level of 2019.

Meanwhile, smaller markets such as the Czech Republic, Hun gary, Serbia and Croa tia showed a noticeable increase. The overall market trend confirms that the demand for agri cultural mechanisation, with the expectation that the market will quickly get back on track as soon as the economic situation improves.

Over the next decade, global agricultural pro duction is estimated to grow by 17% to meet the needs of a population that will increase from 7.8 bil lion in 2021 to 8.6 billion in 2031. This is tipped to be driven by China, fol lowed by India and the Asia-Pacific regions, while sub-Saharan Africa will also see its production capacity increase.

Increased yields are expected to lead to growth in grain produc tion and meat. Poultry grew by over 16% and pork by 17%. It is esti mated that world meat production will reach 377 million tonnes in 2031, to meet a demand coming mainly from developing and emerging countries.

There is also a sug gestion that there will be a move to autonomy in supplies, partly reducing dependence on the five big producers of China, the US, the EU, Brazil and the Russian Federation.

All of this suggests that world trade in agricultural

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machinery is expected to grow by around 6% between 2023 and 2026.

Despite the challenges over the past couple of years, worldwide sales of agricultural tractors and machinery have remained buoyant.

East Coast Expo is back!

THOSE WHO take the time to attend the pop ular two-day gathering can once again expect to come away inspired, invigorated and con nected.

Event manager Sue Wilson says Covid and its challenges had certainly highlighted the impor tance for farmers in being able to connect with other like-minded people.

“That certainly is one of the best things about the expo. Also having that opportunity to have those face-to-face interactions with industry innova tors,” she says. “The expo brings forward-think ing speakers that never fail to ignite conversa tions, sharing their valu able insights and breaking down barriers to help East Coast sheep and beef farmers make posi

tive changes in their busi nesses.”

It is celebrated as an opportunity for agri busi nesses to launch new products or release new research and technology directly to a target audi ence.

“All our exhibits must showcase agriculturalbased products or ser vices that are geared for the East Coast sheep and beef industry,” Wilson adds.

The line-up of speak ers is set to be released shortly, along with the

seminar topics. How ever, there are a few new things on agenda –including a cadet chal lenge on opening day of the Expo (Wednesday, February 22) and a sta tion challenge the fol lowing day. Both events feature teams of three that, while having a seri ous focus, will also bring lots of entertainment to the event. The popu lar working dog training demos are back and will feature on both days.

Trade exhibit spots have filled very quickly

with the regulars back again, but also a number of new ones, which is no surprise to Wairoa Com munity Development Trust chair Sefton Alex ander.

“Everyone is looking forward to an event with out the restrictions of Covid,” he says. “The past couple of years have been challenging, especially in isolated rural communi ties. This is always a real highlight on everyone’s calendar.”

Property Brokers rural and lifestyle area manager for Hawke’s Bay Mike Heard says the expo is the perfect fit to the com

pany’s nationwide pres ence across rural New Zealand.

“Our rural sector is under pressure from vari ous fronts at present and the opportunity to sup port local farmers and business is something we are very proud of at Property Brokers,” Heard explains. “Celebrat ing innovation, success ful business and sharing information will continue to keep us stronger and feeling supported.”

He says the company is “proudly provincial” and connected at the grass roots across New Zealand.

“The East Coast of the north island is a strong farming district, and we at Property Bro kers are also at the coal face. This year’s expo will be a great opportunity for our rural community to come together again, share ideas and showcase some fantastic examples of innovation.”

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Wairoa team lead Bryan McCavana says the expo is a great drawcard for people from throughout the region and further afield to come and network with others and do business.

“It’s a good oppor

tunity for our farmers to get off the farm, have a decent catch up with people in the community and have time to reflect about their own business. There are always quality speakers with innovative ideas, and the whole expo is well tailored to sheep and beef farmers’ needs.”

Adam Fricker, gen eral manager of Rural News, which is another key sponsor of the Expo agrees.

“It is nice to be involved again in such a positive event that offers up solutions, ideas and innovations to a sector looking for ways to adapt to rapid changes,” he says. “It’s a great forum for sharing and discuss ing ways to farm smarter. Farmers and exhibitors all seem to get real value out of the expo.”

For more information, tickets or anyone interested in having a trade exhibit at the expo, head to – www. eastcoastexpo.co.nz

Successful dog trialist and Tararua farmer, Guy Peacock demonstrating with his heading dog during the 2022 Expo will be back in February 2023 at the Wairoa A&P Showgrounds.

Fonterra Fund unit price slumps on back of capital restructure

played its part in subdu ing the price,” Shewan says.

FONTERRA’S NEW cap ital structure has been partly responsible for the slump in price investorheld units, the Fonterra Shareholders Fund (FSF) annual meeting heard last week.

Outgoing chair of FSF management company John Shewan told the meeting that unit price decreased 8.4%, from $3.71 in August last year to $3.40 on September 22 when Fonterra released its annual results. Since then, the price has dropped a further 10.9% to $3.03.

“How the implemen tation of Fonterra’s new capital structure might impact the unit price has

There was a sudden drop in the unit price towards the end of April and into May 2022.

This coincided with the release of the report by the financial and eco nomic consulting firm Castalia.

Shewan says the report contained a number of assertions that Fonterra did not agree with.

“The Castalia report asserted that protections for a fair milk price will be eroded and that Fon terra’s capital restruc ture will cause Fonterra’s Milk Price to increase,” he says.

“Castalia also esti mated Fonterra’s future

share price on the basis of possible dividends up to 2030 but appeared to assume that Fonterra has zero value at the end of 2030.

“Fonterra, as does the board of the manger, con siders this to be a mis leading approach to valuing Fonterra shares and FSF units.”

Shewan says Fonterra also strongly disagrees with the contention that the capital structure changes will increase its milk price paid to farmer suppliers.

Other factors also impacted the unit price.

Shewan says the unit price performance was also impacted by height

ened volatility in equity markets and the lower valuation of equity mar kets both in New Zealand and overseas.

“This reflects uncer tainty driven by infla tionary pressure, higher interest rates, geo-politi cal events and recession ary concerns,” he says.

He pointed out that the relative NZX50 Index has declined 12.7% over the same period.

The independent directors of FSF still

believe that the co-oper ative should have bought the Fund back, as part of its capital restructure process.

“I believe that the sequence of events and adverse impact on unit price since the May 2021 announcements shows very clearly why our con cerns were entirely jus tified.”

Instead of spending about $500m to buy the Fund, the co-op instead decided retaining the

fund and capping its size.

But the implementa tion of Fonterra’s new flexible shareholding cap ital structure has created uncertainty for unit hold ers and potential inves tors over what the impact might be on the unit price.

Shewan says this uncertainty may reduce as implementation of the new capital structure pro ceeds through 2023.

The Fund is currently capped at 107.4 million units and valued at $325m last week.

The drop in unit prices shaved off $93m from the fund’s market capitalisation, from this time last year.

Shewan has been replaced as chair by Mary-Jane Daly.

“The Castalia report asserted that protections for a fair milk price will be eroded and that Fonterra’s capital restructure will cause Fonterra’s Milk Price to increase.”

Outgoing chair of FSF management company John Shewan.

Will prices stay strong?

Dairy

DAIRY COMMODITY

markets were weaker again in October 2022. There were close to double digit falls in spot prices across the dairy complex. Growing con cern around demand dynamics in consumer markets is weighing on markets.

Sluggish imports from Chinese buyers is a key driver of the current price direction.

New Zealand milk supplies have contin ued to lag last season’s flow, with September 2022 production back by 3.2% YOY. Season-to-date supply is trailing behind the prior period by 3.7% YOY.

Most regions’ produc tion has been impacted by lacklustre spring. Some production may have been clawed back by

the time peak flows hit in late October.

Beef

FINAL PROCESSING

tallies are in for the 2022 season. Overall, the total number of cattle pro cessed was down 5.2% compared to the 2021 season, with lower num bers of prime beef, cows,

and bulls being pro cessed.

Steer and heifer slaughter numbers were anticipated to be around 1.5% and 5% lower YOY respectively, in 2022 – slaughter numbers peaked in 2021 off the back of increased bobby calf retention in 2019. The number of cows

processed was around 69,000 head fewer YOY –a strong milk price likely incentivising farmers to

retain more dairy cows. Meanwhile, the number of bobby calves processed

in spring 2022 (July, August & September) was 3% lower (52,000 head) compared to 2021.

The meat industry was expecting higher numbers of bobby calves to come forward for processing as

MARKETS & TRENDS 43

dairy farmers that supply Fonterra prepare for the introduction of zero onfarm euthanasia of bobby calves from 2023.

Sheepmeat

AS EXPECTED, the South Island lamb price peaked in September and moved lower through October, sliding to NZ$ 9.25/kg cwt at the end of the month. While the lamb price remains his torically high, it has

moved lower than the schedule for the same time in 2021 (lower by NZc 15/kg cwt).

The total lamb kill for the 2022 season was 3.1% lower than the previous season – around 560,000 lambs.

A turbulent economic situation in New Zea land’s key lamb markets – China, Europe, and the US – is flowing through to softer demand and export earnings.

gas prices brought prof itability back to man

ufacturers, with plant curtailments in Europe declining from 67% to 37% for nitrogen.

This represents a 45% recovery in site num bers since 2022’s energy price escalation and adds roughly 4m tonnes of urea back to the supply chain on a yearly basis. International prices are beginning to reflect this recent status change, but some regions show minimal price reduc tions. Baltic Sea urea spot prices moved from NZ$ 940 to 1,030/tonne to a range of NZ$ 910 to NZ$ 1,000/tonne during Octo ber, down 3% MOM.

Exchange rate

AFTER REACHING a year low of US$ 0.55, the New Zealand dollar slightly recovered by the end of October, trading between 0.55 and 0.58 against the USD dollar.

With expectations of another hawkish 75-basispoint rise from the Fed, US dollar strength is expected to continue in the short term.

Our 12-month forecast of NZ$/US$ 0.62 is below

the five-year average for the currency pair and well below longer-term averages.

Despite expectations of further RBNZ rate hikes, the NZ dollar’s association with com modity prices suggests scope for further down side in NZ$/US$.

We expect the US dol lar’s strength to turn around on a 12-month timeframe, allowing NZ$/ US$ to recover to 0.62 in 12 months.

SUZUKI.CO.NZ

Content supplied by Rabobank - Growing a Better New Zealand Together

Fertiliser REDUCED NATURAL

Matt King Party Leader

Steve Cranston Candidate for Waikato

Lisa shows how it’s done!

MONTHS IN the making and with endorsement from OSPRI, lifestyler champion Lisa Berthold devised and implemented a new biosecurity and traceability plan for the recent Carterton A&P show.

This ensured that cattle attending the event were adequately managed from a NAIT perspec tive and were ready for showing.

Lisa and husband Peter Holloway first moved onto a lifestyle block in the mid-2000s.

At first purchasing a couple of Highland cattle, they quickly became enamoured with the breed and started breed ing them. The couple eventually joined the Lifestyle Highland Soci ety in 2016 to promote the breed, with Lisa

becoming president in 2017.

Back in 2017-18, show ing of cattle came to a grinding halt when M. bovis was first reported in the country. To still have a show, yet prevent the mixing of cattle, the Wairarapa A&P asked Berthold to exhibit her herd solo.

That got Berthold thinking about a plan for the future of what would be needed to get ani mals back into the shows, while keeping exhibitors comfortable and secure.

She’d had been work

ing on the plan for sev eral months leading up to the recent show and had received the endorsement of OSPRI from a NAIT (National Animal Identi fication and Tracing) and TB-free perspective.

The first thing ani mals had to do on arrival was to make sure they were NAIT compliant and appropriately tagged. If they were not, the ani mals didn’t get off the

truck.

The next step was to marshal the animals to the wash bay where they were cleaned. Then, once removed from the (sub sequently disinfected) wash bay, they were taken to individual stalls via separate entrances (beef and dairy animals are processed via sepa rate entrances and wash bays).

All visitors to the pens

were required to walk through foot baths and not able to touch the stock.

Although it was her first time coming up with such a plan, Berthold felt confident in her abilities.

“In a way it was a new experience, but my back ground was as a senior security officer at Parlia ment for nine years,” she told Rural News

“A lot of our training

in that was secure deliv eries; it was always going through your mind what to look for; if there could be any threats. I had that mindset when I first went into it of what are the things that we need to be really serious about and how can we mitigate any problems.”

Berthold adds that the uptake to participate in the A&P show has been quite slow, with M. bovis and the cancellation of A&P shows for the last couple of years due to Covid.

“A way of encouraging people to return is to put precautionary procedures in place that ensure the animals are not in any danger of spreading dis ease,” she explains. “This is particularly relevant at the moment given the new strain of M. bovis identified in the Can terbury region and the

threat of foot and mouth disease entering the country.”

OSPRI’s vet and epide miologist Gillian Atikin son says it’s vital that biosecurity measures are in place for shows – such as the one held in Carter ton. She says it was very pleasing to see it imple mented so well.

OSPRI head of trace ability Kevin Forward says the NAIT Com pliance Requirements exceeded minimum requirements prescribed in the NAIT Act 2012.

“I commend Lisa on taking such a proactive stance to ensure good traceability practices at the show. There are a lot of lifestyle blocks in the Wairarapa and Wellington region and genuine inter est to understand what the obligations are and how they can improve their farming practices.”

LEO

A new biosecurity and traceability plan for the recent Carterton A&P show ensured that cattle attending the event were adequately managed from a NAIT perspective.

Mowers cut it for contractor

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

MARK AND Samantha Goodin operate Goodin Ag, a Taranaki-based con

tracting business that was started by Mark’s father back in 1979.

Operating from Rahotu, their sizeable fleet includes 22 tractors,

two harvesters and a total of around 100 machines.

However, it is still very much a family affair: Samantha deals with admin. Father Tom is a

full-time driver, sister Jeni helps out in the busy times manning the phones and organising drivers, while brother Chris runs the busy work

Offering a range of services to mainly dairy farming clients, Goodin Ag’s core operations are pit silage and baling. As with any grass-based business, mowers play an important part.

In the Goodin’s case, their association with Krone started back in 2004, having tried mul tiple brands that failed to handle the harsh local conditions, where rocks and undulations are common.

“The Krones are made of sterner stuff. In fact, we still run one of the original mowers bought back in 2004,” Mark

Goodin explains. Today the busi ness runs three frontand three rear-mounted Krone EasyCut mowers equipped with condition ers, with front and rear both running the same gearboxes and key parts, meaning parts stockhold ings are kept to a mini mum.

“Triples are too large for the size of the pad docks we work in and the obstacles we have to deal with,” he explains. “So, we run them as front and rear combinations, that work really well. We run conditioners because the weather is really shit around here, meaning we typically cut one day and bale the next, so faster drying times do really matter.”

Mostly making silage from grass, but also

encountering some Lucerne, the tine con ditioners are not ideal. However, given the small amount being handled, crops are mowed when damp to minimise leaf shatter.

Harvesting 1,500ha of bulk grass silage and mowing about 700ha of that area. The busi ness also covers around 2,500ha for baleage, of which about 1,500ha is mown.

The result is about 2,000ha being knocked over by the three pairs of mowers.

“While we’re not doing huge amounts, the rough terrain and rocks mean it feels like the mowers are doing more,” Goodin says. “But the Krone machines follow the ground well, so we can go just about any

where with them. I was surprised that our front mowers deal with the rough ground better than the rear trailing mowers we used to operate.”

If an EasyCut rear mower hits a rock, the breakaway system allows the machine to swing safely rearwards and if a solid object is encoun tered heavily, a shear pin beneath the cutting disc will shear to allow that disc to free-wheel, elimi nating any damage to the main gear train.

“The whole mower is designed to be simple,” Goodin adds. “The cut ting bed is comprised of multiple modules that if damaged can be quickly removed and replaced in the field, while I can also have the whole condi tioner out in about half an hour.”

Goodin Ag favour Krone mowers as they handle the harsh local conditions, where rocks and undulations are common.

SETTING INDUSTRY STANDARDS

Pottinger adds a bit of Italian

AUSTRIAN GRASS

LAND, cultivation and seeding manufacturer

Pöttinger has added to its product portfolio for arable farming – with the acquisition of Ital ian manufacturer Mater Macc Spa.

This will expand the company’s existing range of seed drills to now include precision seeding technology.

Based in San Vito al Tagliamento, in north ern Italy, MaterMacc Spa is known for precision, mechanical and pneu matic seeding technology, chopping machinery and other OEM components.

Pottinger says the Ital

ian manufacturer’s prod uct range, passion for agriculture, location and – above all – workforce complements and shows many parallels to its fam ily-owned business. It adds that the addition fol lows Pöttinger’s focus on finding new technologies for its established mar kets, while at the same time further developing existing technologies.

MaterMacc currently employs around 80 staff who – along with the fac tory premises – will all be retained for conti nuity, knowledge and experience. In the shortterm, the sales, service and spare parts net works supply will remain the same. However, it is assumed that Pöttinger

will contribute its distri bution expertise to make the combined product supply chain more effi cient.

In other Pottinger news, the recently released MERGENTO VT 9220 belt merger was voted FARM MACHINE 2023- Forage Harvesting, at the recent SIMA Exhi bition in Paris.

Awarded by a panel of experienced, trade journalists working for farm magazines, the jury praised the action of how MERGENTO collects the forage cleanly using the pick-up, while leaving dirt and stones on the ground, then cross-conveyor belts to transport the forage and deliver it into a wellformed swath.

75K SPRAYERS LATER!

CULTIVATION AND spraying spe cialist Amazone recently delivered its 75,000th sprayer unit.

It was a 36m-boomed, self-propelled Pantera 4502 that rolled off the produc tion line at the company’s Bramsche factory site, situated just north of Osna bruck in northern Germany.

The machine didn’t have to travel too far to its new owner, just a hop over the English Channel to a 1,350ha prop erty in the south-east of England. This is where sprayer will be put to work in a cropping programme that includes con tinuous winter wheat, marrowfat peas, rye and maize for both forage and grain.

Already a Pantera user since Sep tember 2015, the farm’s previous 40m-boomed 4502 clocked up 5,000 hours in seven years. Although the

farm owners looked at other self-pro pelled sprayer units on the market, they choose Amazone again.

They said that its narrow road width, 50km/h road speed and improved sus pension makes it ideal for work on con tract farms further away from home base.

“All of this, alongside excellent service from Amazone and our local dealer.”

Entering the sprayer market in 1969, the first Amazone sprayers were the mounted S range. These machines were available with tank capacities of 400 litres and 600 litres.

Today, the complete range of Ama zone sprayers are produced at a new, purpose-built assembly facility at 20ha site at Bramsche. – Mark Daniel

MARK DANIEL

markd@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW HOLLAND has released details of its T8 Series tractor with Raven Autonomy, dubbed the ‘next step’ in the develop ment of its precision and autonomous technology.

The T8 with Raven Autonomy enables a

farmer to monitor and operate the driverless T8 tractor from the cab of the combine harvester in grain carting situations.

The system enables a farmer to set a field plan, stage locations and adjust the tractor’s speeds and monitor location activity. They can also control the tractor pulling a grain cart

alongside the combine harvester as it offloads on the go.

The automated syn chronization of combine and cart saves grain spill ing during offloading. After the grain bin is full, the tractor will return to a predetermined unload ing area. The entire operation is completed without a second driver.

The intuitive system helps a farmer manage his or her fleet efficiently by tracking their combine harvesters’ coverage in real-time.

It also monitors trac tor and combine per formance analytics, fuel status and run time and real-time monitoring of all their machines’ loca tions. All the data is

backed up and stored on a cloud-based platform.

The new T8 with Raven Autonomy inte grates OMNiDRIVE, the first driverless agriculture technology for grain cart ing harvest operations. This was originated as an aftermarket solution and developed by Raven in 2019,

Given that the state of regulations on autonomy today is diverse around the globe, the manufac turer suggests that it cannot predict how reg ulations are going to evolve.

So, it is preparing for different scenarios – an approach that will allow it to be proactive as regu lations allow for market introduction.

MARK DANIEL

markd@ruralnews.co.nz

The system enables a farmer to set a field plan, stage locations and adjust the tractor’s speeds and monitor location activity.

The T8 Series tractor with Raven Autonomy enables a farmer to monitor and operate the driverless T8 tractor from the cab of the combine harvester in grain carting situations.

Rear blades ideally suited for multiple tasks

The RBT45 series has 3-way blade adjustment as standard.

– offering connection in a safe and timely manner.

markd@ruralnews.co.nz

KUBOTA NEW Zealand is expanding its range of attachments with the launch of the RBT45 Series, 3-Way Hydraulic Rear Blade.

Typically used for backfilling, landscap ing, levelling and grading tasks including form ing and maintaining farm roadways. The RBT45 series is offered in two options: the RBT4596 with a 2.4m blade, and the RBT45108 with a 2.7m blade.

Kubota product man ager for Land Pride, John Moloney, says the RBT45 series allows the company greater coverage with their range of hydraulic rear blades and providing options for tractors up to 125hp.

The RBT45 series has 3-way blade adjustment as standard. This allows hydraulic angle, tilt and offset, while also being compatible with the Land Pride Quick-Hitch System

An optional cushion valve protects cylinders and blade components during extreme impacts. Meanwhile, other options include rear gauge wheels to help achieve a uniform surface finish, side plates for holding dirt in and skid shoes for blade pro tection.

For tractors with a limited number of hydraulic outlets, an optional manual selector valve allows two hydraulic functions to be controlled with a single control valve on the tractor.

“The RBT45 Series formed mouldboard improves material flow and strength ensuring a smooth and consistent surface finish,” Moloney explains.

“The main pivot has a heavy-duty 10cm solid kingpin with a 2.5cm thick plate steel turntable, ensuring this blade will stand up to the toughest conditions.”

www.kubota.co.nz

MAJOR LINE-UP FOR AGRIQUIP

IRISH MANUFACTURER Major Equipment Intl Ltd has appointed Taranaki-based AgriQuip as its distribu tor of Major branded products in New Zealand.

AgriQuip supplies a network of tractor dealerships throughout the country, offering service and aftersales support in the North and South Islands.

“Major has a trusted reputation around the world for top quality, durable machines,” says Mark Hamil ton at AgriQuip. “The design and engineering of their grass-cutting range is just excellent. Our customers are always looking for hard-working machinery that can cope with New Zealand conditions and Major products fit the bill.”

AgriQuip will stock the Cyclone rotary shredder in working widths from 2m to 6.3m. Said to deliver the performance of a bat-wing or flail shredder, with half the fuel and power requirements, the Cyclone is ideal for grassland maintenance, vegetation manage ment and equally adept at clearing overgrown land.

In addition, the New Plymouth-based company will also provide a selection of Major Grounds care machinery including the Swift Roller Mower range, the Contoura mower for golf and sports grounds, and the CS Pro for Compact Tractors. www.agriquip.co.nz.

MARK DANIEL

ESCORTED TOURS 2022/23

"Hassle free travel for mature travellers’’

• FAR NORTH & BAY OF ISLANDS (4 spots available)

7 days, depart 17 September. A leisurely coach tour of the Far North including the new Hundertwasser Art Centre and day trip to Cape Reinga.

• EAST COAST & NAPIER (6 spots available)

8 days, depart 21 September A unique and exciting tour around the East Cape and return via the Northern Explorer train

• CHATHAM ISLANDS DISCOVERY

8 days, depart 20 October A special place for a safe and relaxing close to home all inclusive holiday.

• BEST OF THE SOUTH ISLAND

15 days, depart 22 November A spectacular trip around the many highlights of the South Island taking in the wonders of Tekapo, Twizel, Stewart Island day excursion, the Milford Sound and Queenstown. Overnight cruise on the Milford Sound

• NEW PLYMOUTH 'CHRISTMAS LIGHTS' 5 days, depart 23 December A Christmas get away featuring the magnificent light display at Pukekura Park along with some great sightseeing during the trip.

• WAIKIKI BEACH & HAWAII CRUISE

11 days, depart 25 May 2023 A 'Pride of America' cruise for 7 nights with a Waikiki highlights 3 day stop over including Pearl Harbor and Oahu round Island tour.

• TAHITI & SOCIETY ISLANDS CRUISE

10 days, depart 21 July 2023 Set sail on board

Le Paul Gauguin for an unforgettable journey to discover idyllic sands and atolls. Tour includes flights to/from Papeete.