Rural News 20 December 2022

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

Carbon credit conundrum

CLAIMS BY the Government that farmers will now get ‘full credit’ for all scientifically robust on farm carbon sequestration are wrong.

That’s the belief of Waikato-based farm consultant Steve Cranston – a long-time critic of the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) proposal and plans

SLAVISH RUBBISH!

HORTICULTURE NZ’S chair has hit back at claims that RSE workers are being treated like “slaves” and that ill treatment of them is “systemic”. Barry O’Neil reckons the issues raised are being blown out of all proportion and rejects suggestions that industry is not complying with the strict conditions laid down for the employment of RSE workers. O’Neil says the RSE scheme is very hard to get into because of the strict compliance conditions that employers must meet.

– See more page 11

to tax on-farm emissions. Cranston says – despite a recent government announcement that recognition of on-farm sequestration will be a core component of its work to reduce New Zealand’s agricultural climate emissions – it will still exclude the vast majority of on-farm sequestration.

“This is due to a poorly understood and almost never mentioned addi-

tionality clause,” he told Rural News “I would estimate this clause to affect around 80% of the total sequestration currently happening on farms.”

Cranston says the ‘additionality clause’ refers to active management over and above base-level sequestration.

“To put it into practice, if your farm has a stand of pre-1990 regenerating

native forest sequestering 6.5 ton CO2 per/ha, HWEN will ask you to ensure it is fenced and employ pest control. They will then award an additional 0.5 ton CO2 per/ha for this ‘active management’,” he explains.

“However, what the HWEN partners have not explained to farmers is that 0.5 ton is all that farmers will receive, they will not get acknowledged

for the full 7.0 tons per hectare that this stand of trees is now sequestering.”

Cranston claims that the Beef+Lamb NZ’s ‘know your numbers’ emissions calculator has only served to further entrench this deception.

“There is no mention of the additionality clause anywhere in that calculation,” he adds. “Farmers have been putting areas of trees into the calculator and thinking that they will receive credit for the full amount.”

Cranston reckons that there will be some “very upset farmers” when HWEN eventually gives them the actual numbers after factoring in the additionality clause.

“This clause is not based on science or IPCC guidelines; it is a political decision by this government to limit the amount of sequestration available to farmers to offset their emissions tax,” he adds.

Cranston says regenerating native forest meets the IPCC definition of ‘additionality’ because, at some point in time, farming practices changed that allowed this forest to regenerate.

“Farmers have every right to expect full credit for regenerating native forest, something they will currently only get pennies on the dollar for,” he claims.

Cranston believes that industry groups are being negligent in not telling farmers what exactly the additional clause actually means.

“Beef+Lamb and DairyNZ are obligated to front up and explain to farmers how much legitimate sequestration will still be excluded under the HWEN proposal.”

DAVID ANDERSON

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ISSUE 766

China-watch for meat sector

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE MEAT Industry Association (MIA) says it is closely monitoring the economic situation in New Zealand’s major export meat market, China.

Chief executive Sirma Karapeeva told Rural News that China is a worry with Covid-19 lockdowns and the economic fallout from these. She says China is a very big market for NZ meat and it all depends on who you talk to as to how severe the economic slowdown in that country is likely to be.

“It is concerning and we are watching the situation closely and looking at what we can do to mitigate some of that risk,” she says.

Karapeeva points in particular to the significant reduction in sheep meat exports to China in the last several months.

She says from what they can tell from the statistics available, there has been an increase in beef imports to China from Latin America.

INFLATION FACTOR

MEANWHILE, KARAPEEVA warns that worldwide inflation will likely have an impact on NZ meat exports as people tighten their belts.

“This may see fewer people going to restaurants, which is a discretionary spend, and this will impact on the food service sector where a lot of our high value products are sold,” she told Rural News

Karapeeva says the meat industry is hoping that the impact of inflation will not be so severe when it comes to food.

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This, she believes, suggests some product substitution is occuring as China looks to manage a tightening economy and ensure that people have access to product.

But while the situation in China is of concern, Karapeeva says there are some positives to note – in particular the increase in sheep meat sales to the USA. This market has traditionally been a manufacturing beef market with lamb somewhat on the outer with American consumers.

“But this year the USA has been increasingly taking quite bit of high quality chilled lamb,” she adds. “That is probably because consumers there are

reconnecting with lamb and are starting to appreciate the quality aspects –as well as the environmental credentials that sit behind NZ lamb products.”

Karapeeva says Americans are seeing lamb as a healthier alternative to beef and other proteins. She cites this as a really good example of market diversification playing its part and helping meat companies place product in different markets depending on the need and what else is going on.

Overall, she believes the meat industry has had a reasonable season despite all the challenges it’s faced – including labour supply, logistics and shipping delays. Karapeeva adds that, contrary to what some predicted, the problems haven’t been that bad. The other good news is that there is strong global demand for protein and she says NZ has to make the most of that.

Imported semen ‘likely’ culprit

THE MINISTRY for Primary Industries says imported semen remains one of the possible pathways for the bacterial disease Mycoplasma bovis’ entry into New Zealand.

Simon Andrew, director M. bovis Programme, says they are still investigating likely transmission routes.

“We’ve not identified any live M. bovis in testing of imported semen to date, but it is one of the possible pathways,” he told Rural News

At a recent primary production select committee hearing, MPI director-general Ray Smith noted that the new incursion on a mid-Canterbury farm earlier this year was worrying.

He said it was picked up through bulk tank milk testing.

“It most likely would have come through semen,” Smith told the committee.

This prompted ACT’s Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Cameron to claim, “After much speculation, this is the first time that the MPI has openly admitted that imported semen is the likely culprit for the most recent incursion of M. bovis”.

Cameron told Rural News that if imported semen was such a risk, the question is why it took until July 2022 for proper Import health standards to be in place.

“The initial outbreak occurred back in 2017 and had a huge impact on the industry. It caused enormous stress and anxiety for farming families and the financial and emotional toll on farmers cannot be underestimated.

“If there was a risk of imported semen bringing another strain to New Zealand then standards needed to be in place much sooner,” he says.

“Farmers can’t afford another outbreak.

“ACT hopes that the current cases in mid-Canterbury are contained as MPI have said they are and that all the stops are being pulled out to

ensure there isn’t another incursion.”

Simon Andrew told Rural News that the import health standard for bovine germplasm was strengthened to further reduce the likelihood of viable M. bovis in imported bovine germplasm.

The current import health standard for bovine germplasm came into force on August 25 last year with a transition period to 25 April this year.

“New Zealand’s standards for the import of bovine germplasm are among the strongest in the world,” Andrew says. – Sudesh Kissun

The NZ meat sector has seen a significant reduction in sheep meat exports to China in the last several months.

Primary exports do it again!

AGRICULTURE MINIS -

TER

Damien O’Connor is talking up the latest figures, which show export returns from the primary sector year topped the $53 billion mark this year – an 11% increase on the previous year.

O’Connor described the result as outstanding and says it all happened in the face of global turmoil and uncertainty. The news came in the December report of the Situation and Outlook

for Primary Industries (SOPI), which produces quarterly updates on how the sector is tracking in terms of export receipts. It also provides commentary on this and the issues the sector has faced and could face in the coming year.

The report was unveiled recently at Fieldays before a group of industry leaders and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) officials. It shows that the dairy industry was the main contributor to the increase. This was up by

SOME CHALLENGES AHEAD!

WHILE THE numbers look good and there are positive signs, there are also some headwinds.

The SOPI report singles out the weak NZ dollar as a significant contributor to the good result, saying this has helped offset some of the recent lower prices for our products.

It points to a slowdown of the global economy due to inflation pressure, the Russia/Ukraine conflict and China.

The latter is a big worry because it accounts for a large percentage of our exports.

The report notes that China’s goal of containing Covid-19 appears to have come at a significant economic expense – especially in the second quarter of 2022. It says mobility restrictions have

depressed demand and affected supply chains.

On the other hand, it says there are signs of an improvement in shipping times and port delays.

On the home front, the report picks up on the impact of erratic La Nina weather patterns and the affect this has had on pasture growth and in turn milk production. It also highlights its severe impact on the horticulture sector, which has seen crops ruined by floodwaters and caused delays in the planting of other crops such as maize.

Another big concern is the sharp rise in farm expenses.

The SOPI report notes the farm expenses price index has increased by 15% in the year to the end of September 2022.

All of this, it would appear, will see farm profits reduced in real terms in the coming 12-months. For meat there are pluses and minuses. MPI says weaker purchasing power in key markets is likely to put downward pressure on prices as consumers adjust their budgets to the global economic downturn. It notes that sheepmeat and beef prices are already starting to weaken, but adds that with global meat supplies running tight, this may prevent a substantial fall in prices.

The news for dairy is better with the outlook for the coming year good and a suggestion that with the warm weather, pasture growth is picking up and milk production may do the same.

DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel

says the latest SOPI report shows that NZ still relies on the agricultural sector for its wealth.

He pointed out the significance of the fact that more than 80% of NZ’s export earnings come from the ag sector and, despite the challenges in front of the sector, its contribution continues to grow and be the major contributor to our export earnings.

Van der Poel says dairy exports make it possible for Kiwis to buy cars and medicines and all the items that people take for granted. He says if wasn’t for the dairy industry the country would be a very different place.

“People don’t connect the dots and realise this,” he says.

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a massive 15% on the previous year to $22 billion and expected to increase by more than a billion in the coming year.

Another big contributor was the meat and wool sector, with export returns up by 18% to just over $12 billion on the previous poor season.

However, in the coming season, MPI is only forecasting a mere 1% increase. Overall, horticulture exports rose by just 2% to $6.7 billion –with a modest 5% rise expected next year. Forestry exports remain at about the 2021 level.

O’Connor claims that accelerating NZ’s export growth is a major cornerstone of the Gov-

Are you hitting your target market?

ernment’s economic recovery plan, and says the report shows further evidence that this plan is working.

He added that it’s comforting to know there is strong demand for food and fibre, keeping NZ’s economy better positioned compared to others.

“I think at the time when it is hard to shift a lot of our product, it’s a classic example of moving up the value chain and selling to consumers who want to connect with NZ.”

O’Connor admits people are uncertain as to what the future might hold for them, especially if they are hearing some of the advice from our customers offshore about how they want the food they eat produced. He claims that NZ is going to have to step up and reduce farm emissions to meet the requirements of our customers.

“That is the reality that we face and we do have to look forward and change, despite the fact that it can be difficult depending on the nature of a farm and the systems it is running.”

Meanwhile, the report points to further uncertainty and disruption –geopolitical or climatic.

t

R h y t h m o n y x & s a m c u l l e n

J o n T o o g o o d ( S h i h a d )

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor pictured with a copy of the 2022 SOPI Report.

Govt emissions plan will lead to loss of production and leakage – DCANZ

ENTER FOMA

THE DAIRY Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ) says it’s disappointed at the Government’s response to the He Waka Eke Noa partnership proposal.

Executive director Kimberly Crewther says the Government’s proposal is fundamentally different to what He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) put forward. She says DCANZ has raised concerns about how the changes made are pushing a system that achieves a reduction by cutting dairy production.

“In our view, [the proposal] holds a very strong risk of emission leakage, being counterproductive to the global emissions reduction outcomes that we are trying to contribute to,” she told Rural News

Crewther says the agricultural sector had worked hard to come to a consensus, which took into account a broad

range of considerations. This included taking advantage of the opportunities that exist in NZ and managing the risk of undue economic impact on rural communities –

especially if that involves cuts to production in NZ.

Crewther says DCANZ believes the data set the Government used in its modelling has produced a grossly inaccurate result

for the dairy industry.

In its submission, DCANZ says, rather than achieving emissions reductions by cutting agricultural production, which is what the Gov-

ernment is proposing, a better approach would be to incentivise the uptake of new tools and practices that reduce emissions. It believes such a move would maintain the

FARMERS CONFIDENCE HITS RECORD LOW

NEW ZEALAND farmer confidence –which was already at low levels – has plummeted further and now sits at an historical low.

According to the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey — completed late last month — farmer confidence is significantly down on the

previous (September) quarter. The net confidence reading slumped to -71%, from -31% previously.

Rabobank says this net confidence reading is the lowest in the 20-year history of the survey and far exceeds the previous low of -45% recorded amid the dairy downturn in 2015.

The survey also found that the number of farmers expecting conditions in the agricultural economy to improve in the coming 12 months had fallen to 4% (from 12 % in the previous quarter), while the percentage expecting conditions to worsen rose to 75% (up from 43%).

THE FEDERATION of Maori Authorities (FOMA) which represents Māori interests on HWEN is hopeful of a positive response from government.

FOMA chair Traci Houpapa says she’s confident that at the end of the day, pragmatism, goodwill and common sense will prevail and that a good outcome will be achieved for the HWEN partners.

She says FOMA signed up to HWEN because it knows that climate change is a significant issue and matters for Māori, NZ and the world.

“FOMA has certainly positioned Māori in terms of levies, resources, investments, governance, sequestration and the pricing modelling which are outstanding and are on the table now for open discussion on how we might develop them,” she says.

Responding to criticism of the Government’s response to the HWEN proposal by the Māori Trustee, Dr Charlotte Severne, Traci Houpapa says the fact that Māori may disagree is no different to Pakeha.

“I could well ask Pakeha farmers, when are you all going to agree?” she says.

positive contribution of NZ dairy to global food systems.

DCANZ also wants the Government to fully commit to a farm-level system from the outset through the removal of the processor-level backstop.

“As well, we want certainty to farmers as they

A total of 19% anticipated that the agricultural economy would remain stable (down from 44% previously).

Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris says farmers from all the sectors are now significantly more pessimistic about the prospects for the broader

transition into a pricing system by capping levy prices for the first five years and ensuring they are set at the minimal level required to fund incentives, sequestration, research and development, and administration,” Crewther says.

agri economy – with a cocktail of concerns weighing heavily on farmer sentiment.

“As with recent surveys, rising farm input costs and government policy were the two major reasons cited by farmers with a pessimistic outlook for the year ahead,” he says.

PETER BURKE

Federation of Maori Authorities chair Traci Houpapa

Uniforms and phone coverage an issue for rural policing

NEW UNIFORMS and reliable phone coverage are among the support rural police officers require.

That’s according to the results of the Rural Police Enhancement (RPE) Project. According to documents obtained earlier this year under the Official Information Act, NZ Police identified a number of ‘opportunities’ during the project for rural policing to be improved.

Those requests included rural specific training, support for rural policing families, special equipment for rural vehicles (e.g. emergency lighting, trauma kits, and winter tyres), and uniforms suitable for rural conditions.

The current police uniforms are not suitable for wet weather and rural officers are requesting shirts that don’t glow in the dark, the project results state.

New Zealand Police Association president Chris Cahill says members of his organisation have long questioned the practicality of the uniforms they currently wear, with many rural officers requesting more practical trousers.

“However, it remains important that the uniform is practical and serviceable while also maintaining a profes-

sional look,” Cahill says.

The RPE was commissioned in March 2021 by Deputy Commissioner Glenn Dunbier to ensure rural policing is both “fit for purpose and responsive to changing rural needs”. It was also designed to improve how NZ Police could enable and equip rural officers.

The results of the RPE

were used to influence a new Rural Police Model, which was approved in March 2022.

“The new model has been designed to enhance and support existing practices by clarifying, defining and agreeing our operating model,” says Dunbier. “It is not introducing an entirely new way of working.”

The results of the RPE come after the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a review, Policing in Small Communities, which identified 41 recommendations to improve small community and rural policing in November 2021.

The IPCA identified that while officers usu-

ally received specialist support for matters like critical incidents and family harm when it was needed, in the more remote locations, “officers were occasionally left to fend for themselves with investigations that specialists should have handled”.

Cahill says the role of a rural police officer has

always been challenging, with a wide range of communities covered by rural officers.

However, he says, with the changes in the nature of rural communities, officers are seeing issues previously seen as ‘big city problems’. These include unemployment, drugs and gangs, Cahill explains.

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East Coast Farmers

According to the 2021 Federated Farmers and NZ Police rural crime survey, out of 1200 farmers, 52% said they had been impacted by crime. Most crimes reported in the survey were livestock theft, agricultural vehicle, small tools and fuel theft, poaching, cannabis growing, and methamphetamine manufacturing.

The survey claims drug-driven crime is having a growing impact on rural areas, with addicted criminals searching out items to sell for cash and manufacturers using remote rural properties.

One thing that has come out of the RPE and is being implemented under the Rural Police Model is the introduction of a new National Rural Inspector position.

Cahill told Rural News that given the importance of the role rural officers and their families play in policing, the introduction of the new role has merit.

“But for it to be meaningful there have to be clear lines of communication from rural officers to this position and, more importantly, National HQ and districts have to listen to the issues raised through the position and address the concerns that are identified by the rural officers and the whānau”.

Cahill adds, however, that it’s important to give the new model and the Rural Police Enhancement Project a chance.

22-23 February 2023

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The Police Association says rural policing has always been challenging, with a wide range of communities covered by rural officers.

JESSICA MARSHALL jessica@ruralnews.co.nz

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The signs look ominous!

SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

PRICES FETCHED by New Zealand’s primary produce are facing clear downward pressure as economic conditions deteriorate offshore.

BNZ senior economist Doug Steel says the signs are looking more ominous.

However, he believes strong balance sheets, thanks to several years of strong commodity prices, should help farmers navigate a looming recession.

Steel points out that over the past six months global dairy prices have dropped 19%.

Offshore lamb and mutton product prices have fallen by varying amounts and as much as 27% while world beef price indicators are down 23%.

The news is also bad for the forestry sector: overseas log price indicators are off 26%.

“These are hefty falls, in short order, even if from generally strong starting points,” Steel adds.

In recent weeks, a firm bounce in the New Zealand dollar is causing more grief for commodity prices in local currency terms. Steel says the strengthen-

ing of the NZ dollar is a little unusual.

“Not in the sense that a rising NZ dollar is denting local prices, but rather that the NZD has lifted when many primary product prices offshore have been under downward pressure. Movements in global risk appetite appear to be a key reason for this.”

Steel says the health of the world economy is of considerable importance to NZ’s primary sector.

“After all, it is the marketplace for the vast bulk of our primary produce.

“When the world is doing well economically, we see stronger demand for our primary products and prices tend

to lift. In contrast, when the world struggles, we tend to see demand soften and prices dip.

“It has been with some trepidation, then, that we have continued to highlight the softening in the global economic outlook through this year. Global economic growth forecasts are still being progressively revised lower.” Global recession is increasingly being talked about. Recession is expected in the US, UK, and EU, says Steel.

“Inverted yield curves – a situation where short-term interest rates are higher than longer-term interest rates

– are a signal of recession ahead.”

He sees three main reasons why global economic growth is under pressure, namely: aggressive tightening in monetary policy from a large range of global central banks, as they fight high global inflation; weak activity in China as a result of Covid; and the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine including the considerable uncertainty it has created.

Steel adds that global recessions are usually not good for primary product prices.

“And this episode is shaping up as being no different. It is true that New

Zealand’s exports have been solid –strong even – through 2022 to date.

“Indeed, in the calendar year through to October, goods exports were up a hefty 15.8% compared to the same period a year earlier.”

He also adds that NZ farmers have seen episodes like this before and no doubt they will see them again as the ebb and flow of commodity and financial cycles continue.

However, a positive this time around is that we head into a softer looking world economy following a period of previously low interest rates and generally strong primary product pricing (albeit with generally rising costs).

“This sees primary sector balance sheets generally looking stronger than they once did which will help navigation of any further global turbulence ahead.

“Of course, there are many moving parts. As always, we need to stay alert to changing market conditions and adjust plans, budgets, and forecasts as and when new information deems it necessary.”

NZ’s primary product exports are facing clear downward pressure as economic conditions deteriorate offshore.

2022 - the year in review

As 2022 draws to a close, many farmers will be looking for a fresh start in 2023. Many rural people feel that the past year was a difficult one where they were constantly under the gun. In this retrospective, Leo Argent highlights some of the highs and lows of another year in the rural sector.

January

Meat and horticulture industries push for access to qualified overseas personnel to meet staff shortages as businesses cannot operate at full capacity, resulting in lost profits.

Despite some holdouts, Covid-19 vaccination rollouts are in full swing with most rural workers vaccinated.

Numerous first quarter reports show positive outlooks for the primary sector, particularly beef and dairy. However, with the war in Ukraine affecting supply lines, inflation, and increasingly unpopular government poli-

cies it is unlikely that the report’s findings are still accurate.

February

Despite other gatherings being restricted due to the Omicron outbreak, HWEN consultations go ahead, with Beef+Lamb NZ (BLNZ) and DairyNZ saying that the Government would otherwise implement the ETS without consultation with farmers; come the release of the final plan in October, many find that is exactly what happened.

Shipping delays continue due to backlog from Covid-19 and lack of personnel.

Despite disruptions due to Covid-19, meat prices hit a record high of $10b in 2021.

Russia invades Ukraine, sparking an ongoing war, wreaking havoc on supply lines and causing numerous knockon effects worldwide.

Flooding on the West Coast causes significant damage to communities and pasture. Following on from last year’s July floods, this creates significant pressure to future proof and to recoup losses.

March

Overseas workers entering New Zealand

are now only required to self-isolate rather than go through MIQ, allowing more people to enter the country and alleviating some of the worst staff shortage problems.

Three honey businesses across New Zealand merge together to form The Mānuka Collective. In conjunction with a reduction in hive numbers this consolidation of resources serves to boost the quality and prestige of mānuka honey.

Omicron prevents many field days and shows throughout the country.

The UK and NZ sign free trade agreements,

removing tariffs on beef and lamb and boosting flagging dairy exports; July sees another FTA signed with the EU. With diesel costs threatening the regions’ profitability, the Chatham Islands seek new, sustainable methods of producing electricity, such as wind and solar.

April

The Land Transport Amendment Act 2022 comes into effect giving a rebate to electric/hybrid vehicles and imposing extra tax on vehicles that don’t meet the new standards; with most, if not all, utes integral to farm operations falling into the latter category, this

results in the derogatory naming of “the ute tax”. Extreme weather events batter the country, with storms and flooding on the North Island’s East Coast contrasted with drought in Southland.

Covid-19 outbreaks in China cause major disruptions to international

The West Coast was again hit by flooding early in the year.

supply lines. The Chinese government aims for a zero Covid strategy that will further disrupt business and trade throughout the year.

The New Zealand Meat Board celebrates its 100th anniversary, with chief executive Sam McIvor saying that the board’s responsibilities will now include administering FTA quotas with the UK.

May

After reports emerge of abusive behaviour and practices by certain employers in the RSE scheme, Damien O’Connor releases a statement condemning the ill-treatment of Pacific workers by “shoddy operators”.

A new welfare code for pigs draws harsh criticism from those in the pork sector who say,

while well intentioned, it will instead lead to thousands more piglet deaths and bankrupt pig farmers – who had little input on the proposed changes.

June

A Queenstown Angus bull sells for $81,000the top price of the bull season and the second highest price for a bull in South Island history.

HWEN submits its

farm level emissions scheme to the Government.

Despite uncertainties as to the finished plan, BLNZ and DairyNZ tentatively put their support behind the submission.

National Fieldays is postponed from its usual June dates due to uncertainties around Covid and instead scheduled to be held in early December.

July

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network is launched in Wellington, consolidating nine previous groups into a larger, unified organisation.

Federated Farmers suggests the Government extends the first home withdrawal scheme from Kiwisaver to cover farms and make it easier for sharemilkers to purchase homes.

Biotechnology company Pictor Ltd unveils a new diagnostic test for Johne’s disease, claimed to be able to save the dairy industry up to $90 million a year in lost production.

Government and industry bodies are on the lookout for foot-andmouth disease after isolated cases are found in New Zealand and encourage vigilant NAIT and traceability compliance.

The wettest July in NZ history. Numerous crops are damaged and livestock management is made more difficult by muddy paddocks.

August

A new FTA agreement with the EU is agreed that remove tariffs on 91% of goods sent to the EU – New Zealand’s

fourth-largest export market – including kiwifruit, wine, onions, and seafood – increasing to 97% within seven years. While the Government touted the agreement as a big political win, with big wins for some agriculture and horticulture groups, the meat and dairy sectors were not overly happy with the deal.

Under the new EU FTA, NZ claims exclusive rights to the name mānuka honey. Combined with March’s formation of The Mānuka Collective this brings NZ honey’s prestige to new heights.

Government announces $1.6 million of funding over five years supporting secondary school agriculture and hort sciences.

September

Massey University announces, with govern-

ment funding, the country’s largest regenerative agriculture trial over the next 7 years.

Silver Fern Farms says that with a new transport management system they will be reducing travel kilometres, saving fuel costs and improving animal welfare.

Government announces new regulations to protect land used for fruit and vegetables – a rare moment of harmony between government and industry in a fractious year.

October

Despite opposition from MPI and farmers regarding the economic losses, the Government says live cattle exports are to be banned, starting in April 2023.

ASB gifts a farm worth $150m to Mount Albert Grammar School for farming education.

The Government announces new funding initiatives for the chronically understaffed rural health community.

November

Te Pae Teta interim health plan is released; while rural communities are able to determine their geographical areas as localities, there is disappointment that ‘rural’ is not named as a priority population.

Rural News reports on increasing costs, adverse climate, short staffing and burnout driving many farmers to retire or consider retiring.

After multiple delays, new winter gazing regulations come into effect this month, despite discontent from industry bodies as to the difficulties of acquiring resource contents in the new regulations and alternate pathways.

April saw the introduction of the muchhated ‘ute

In June, the HWEN partners submitted their proposal for managing on farm emissions to the Government.

An

horticultural

New strategy launched to boost Maori agriculture

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

A STRATEGY designed to increase the prosperity of Māori agribusiness was recently unveiled at Fieldays

Ruataki mo te Taurikura, Embracing Change for Prosperity, has been developed over the past 18 months by Nga Pouwhiro Taimatua, the Māori Primary Sector Forum. This was set up to provide strategic advice to, MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) on how best grow the Māori primary sector economy.

The advisory group is chaired by well-known Māori agri-business leader Traci Houpapa and comprises a number of Māori leaders in the sector, including the chief executive of Horticulture NZ, Nadine Tunley. MPI director general Ray Smith says the 26 page document is designed to support Māori, whom he says are a driving force behind the food and fibre sector and are vital partners for a prosperous future.

The report notes that the Māori agriculture forestry and fishing asset base was worth $23 billion in 2018 and that 22,500 Māori are

employed in these sectors. The report says the challenge and the purpose of the report is to unlock the potential productivity of the Māori asset base.

Smith says Māori agribusiness is a big thing in MPI and already there are some big platforms in place to support Māori. He says Ruataki

THREE IN A ROW!

A HIGHLIGHT of the launch of the strategy was seeing all three Ahuwhenua trophies on display.

mo te Taurikura is about doing much more for Māori agribusiness. The report singles out three areas which will be the focus for the coming 18 months.

These involve partnering with other Māori and government agencies to provide more integrated services and informed policies that reflect the

It’s the first time all three have been displayed at once since the horticulture trophy was contested for the first time in 2020. The Ahuwhenua trophy competition is designed to recognise the top Māori farms in dairy, sheep and beef and horticulture and is rotated around these on a three year cycle.

About 70 people, including the Minister of Agriculture, the head of MPI, Māori and pakeha agribusiness leaders, past winners of the Ahuwhenua trophy and the Young Māori Farmer, attended the launch.

Past winner of the sheep and beef trophy in 2015 and Chair of the Ahuwhenua Trust Management Committee, which runs the competition, Nukuhia Hadfield, spoke about the significance of having all the trophies together for the first time.

She told the gathering that the Ahuwhenua competition gives Māori farmers a great platform to put themselves forward and to share their experiences. She says simply by entering the competition they get the benefit of benchmarking and feedback from a very experienced judging panel. Hadfield says such advice is invaluable in helping them set their future strategic direction.

She says becoming a finalists and winner allowed she and her husband Bart to grow professionally and validated a lot of what they were doing.

“It gave us confidences to grow and expand our business and at times took us out of our comfort zone but in the end we are all the more resilient for it,” she says.

challenges and opportunities for Māori: investing in new products, services and supply chains that Māori can capitalise on and MPI providing services to meet the aspirations of Māori.

“We have a range of people on the ground now and we will be putting more on the ground in the coming year.”

Smith says as the director-general of MPI he has a duty to protect Māori interests in the food and fibre sector and have a dedicated plan to protect their interests.

Houpapa, who chaired the group which produced the document, says the new strategy is exciting and a major step in the way that MPI

will align its services, resources and funding to Māori. She says the way that government agencies target service delivery to Māori is very convoluted, challenging and complex.

“Sometimes Māori have said this is too hard and we will do it without you. But now MPI have stood up and said while we have done some great

things – we want to do better,” she says.

Houpapa says Māori are significant producers of food and fibre and are smart, innovative people. She says as a result of the report, she expects to see a greater awareness within MPI about the needs of Māori.

Houpapa says it provides opportunities for MPI staff to get out into the regions and catch up with Māori to better understand their needs and get the resourcing they need. She says the result will be better and more appropriate policy.

Associate Minister of Agriculture Meka Whaitiri who championed the development of the strategy says it is all about acknowledging the amazing Māori agribusinesses that already exist and giving them the opportunity to share their Māori experiences.

She says Māori are unique in that they cannot sell their land and have to make do with what they have. She adds that in many instances the land they have is not as good as that which was confiscated by the Crown.

Traci Houpapa says the new strategy is a major step in the way that MPI will align its services, resources and funding to Māori.

Nukuhia Hadfield (left) and Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri picture with the three trophies at Fieldays.

Hort boss hits back at RSE critics

HORTICULTURE NZ’S

chair has hit back at claims that the RSE workers are being treated like “slaves” and that the ill treatment of them is “systemic”.

Barry O’Neil, a kiwifruit grower since the 1980s, has worked for both MPI and Kiwifruit Vine Health. He says the issues raised are being blown out of all proportion.

“I reject a number of the accusations being made and am very concerned about suggestions that industry is not complying with the strict conditions laid down for the employment of RSE workers,” he told Rural News “I have yet to find accommodation that I would categorise in the bad territory.”

However, O’Neil does concede that in a scheme of 19,000 RSE workers there will be one or two individuals who will not meet the standards. But he says the Labour

Inspectorate has been very quick to identify those who break the rules.

O’Neil adds that the RSE scheme is very hard to get into because of the strict compliance conditions that employers must meet.

Rural News was recently told by a major grower that the conditions are so strict and the cost of meeting these so high and time consuming that they avoid employing RSE workers where possible. Others have said that the problem is anything but systemic and that certain individuals are making accusations to benefit their own particular causes.

O’Neil points out in a number of cases the RSE workers themselves decide how many of them will be in a room. He says they come from environments where communal sleeping arrangements are common. “Often RSE workers prefer to be in rooms where there are others, rather than being

on their own.”

He adds that employers generally give RSE workers an opportunity to have a room of their own, but

that they seldom take up this offer.

“We have got to remember that this scheme has been reviewed by the World

Bank and judged as the best mobility seasonal labour scheme in the world,” O’Neil says. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

Hort NZ chair Barry O’Neil says the issues raised about RSE workers’ treatment are being blown out of all proportion.

Challenges will bring real focus and fun to expo

THE TWO new cadet and station challenges at the 2023 East Coast Farming Expo will certainly inject plenty of fun into the event.

However, there is a serious side to the competitions, with event manager Sue Wilson saying it’s all about teamwork.

“Teamwork on a farm is vital,” she says. “The AonAgri Cadet Challenge and Fergus Rural Station Challenge both demonstrate how advantageous it is when teams work well together.”

The Cadet Challenge is open to cadets from the various training farms around the region –including Growing Future

Farmers and Waipaoa Station Cadet Training, as well as ag students from high schools.

It’s a “rustic MasterChef” style challenge that will see each team bone a joint of meat, cook it and plate it for a panel of judges.

The Station Challenge focuses on weighing and crutching sheep and is judged on time and style.

“Farming isn’t just about the physical work,” Wilson explains. “Maths and the ability to use technology is required as well.”

For Rob Fergus, of Fergus Rural, it was a perfect match for the Wairoa, Gisborne and East Coast based agri-

WHAT: East Coast Farming Expo

WHEN: February 22-23, 2023

WHERE: Wairoa A&P Showgrounds

MORE INFO: www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz

business firm, to step up and support the Station Challenge.

“We deal in livestock, environment solutions, farm supervision, and cover a broad range of services through the rural community,” he says. “This is a great way to support our local community.”

Fergus adds that rural health and wellbeing have long been a focus for the

company.

“It is getting harder for people to source funding, so if we can step up and support them,

we are happy to do so. We have a strong team here at Fergus Rural with a good culture and real family values.”

He believes the Expo is important to the wider farming community and, given the current climate, vital that’s plenty of pro-

motion of jobs, opportunities, innovation, and encouragement of new people to the industry.

Aon’s Sandy Tawake says it is always a highlight to meet young cadets as they wander through the event.

She says it is important to encourage the next generation of farmers in as many ways possible.

The new challenges are just one exciting component of the two-day East Coast Farming Expo, which includes the latest in innovation, dog training, demonstrations, inspiring speakers, exhibits, products, services, and connection for beef and sheep farmers.

Red is best – research!

plant-based products promoted as meat alternatives.

MEAT DELIVERS more of the essential protein building blocks compared to a plant-based alternative.

That’s the findings from a human clinical trial done for the Pasture Raised Advantage research programme to explore the health and wellbeing benefits of eating pasture-raised beef and lamb as part of a balanced diet, compared to grain-finished beef or a plant-based alternative.

The project, which involved researchers at AgResearch, the University of Auckland, Massey University and the Riddet Institute, shows that red meat is probably a better source of protein for the body than highly processed

In this first of two clinical trials, 30 participants aged 20-34 years were fed breakfast on four different days and their blood, digestive symptoms and mood were monitored for four hours immediately following the meal.

Breakfast was a burrito that contained a single serving of a different protein each day; pasture-raised beef, grainfinished beef, lamb and a plant-based alternative –served in random order to each participant across the four days.

University of Auckland’s Andrea Braakhuis, who heads up the team of nutrition scientists responsible for the study, says they measured the nutrients in the blood of

the participants.

It saw a significant difference in the type and

amounts of amino acids that come from the digestion of the protein of red

meat compared to the protein of the processed meat alternative.

“Amino acids from red meat were of greater biological value and better

WE BROUGHT THE FMG SPOT CHECK ROADIE TO TOWN.

THESE RESULTS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU.

FMG and Melanoma New Zealand recently visited rural locations around the country with the FMG Spot Check Roadie, sharing life-saving information and giving FREE skin cancer spot checks. Thank you rural New Zealand for booking out every stop on the roadie, here are the surprising results.

Melanoma New Zealand checked 759 spots. Of those spots, 113 suspicious lesions were identified and referred for further analysis that’s 15% of all the spots checked. 14 potential melanomas were referred on for clinical review. Check out the stat map to see how many families now have the information they need to act. It just shows how important it is to keep up to date with your skin checks. To find out more, head to fmg.co.nz/mnz or go to melanoma.org.nz/book-a-consultation.

absorbed by the body,” she says.

AgResearch senior scientist Scott Knowles says the new generation of plant-based meat analogues are formulated to mimic the taste and basic nutrient composition of meat. But he says very little is known yet about their nutritional quality and health benefits.

“Plant-based alternatives are produced very differently from pasture-raised livestock and they’re marketed as having advantages in environmental footprint and sustainability,” Knowles explains. “Those credentials are still being scrutinised. However, we know for certain that NZ farmers are producing a highly nutritious food in one of the most efficient production systems in the world.”

Research has shown that red meat delivers more of the essential protein building blocks for humans compared to plant-based alternatives.

Good riddance!

IN 2009 former coach Sir Steve Hansen coined the infamous phrase “flush the dunny” after the All Blacks gave a poor, yet winning performance against Italy.

Many in the rural sector would happily recycle Hansen’s notorious words to describe the past year in farming as it quickly comes to an end –2022 has been a frustrating year.

Throughout most of this year, primary product prices have been relatively strong and have helped buffer farmers from the explosion in on-farm costs and growing red-tape. However, as the year nears its end, they now face clear downward pressure as economic conditions deteriorate offshore.

BNZ senior economist Doug Steel describes the signs as looking “ominous”.

He points out that over the past six months, global dairy prices have dropped 19%, offshore lamb and mutton product prices have fallen by as much as 27%, while world beef price indicators are down 23%. Meanwhile, a strengthening New Zealand dollar will cause primary producers more grief with commodity prices.

Poor immigration settings and a refusal by government and officials to make it easier to employ overseas workers has left many farmers and growers grossly understaffed. This has created a ticking time bomb in the sector, with numerous crops left unharvested and the potential of huge mental health issues as overworked staff face burnout.

The much hyped and vaunted ‘industry response’ on farm emissions mitigation was largely torn up by the Government late in the year. This left industry groups red-faced and impotent –with their supposed advocacy on behalf of farmers clearly shown not to have worked.

Levypayers, many of whom have long questioned the advocacy work of industry groups, are angry and upset. All the while, the sector’s lanyard class – who infest social media and have no skin in the game – keep lecturing farmers that ‘they know what’s best for them’ and keep parroting silly government demands. This only proves how just outof-touch and divorced from real farmers these parasitic, ticket-clipping oxygen thieves really are.

Meanwhile the Government has kept on with implementing many unworkable regulations, that may look good at the United Nations, but clearly do not make sense or are impossible to apply on farm. Take the new winter grazing rules or the proposed biodiversity regulations as just two examples.

Despite these challenges, farmers and growers have kept on keeping on. However, most will not look back on 2022 with any affection and look forward to changes coming in 2023.

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“I’m still trying to make the lights work on last year’s tree!”

THE HOUND

Bad taste!

THIS OLD mutt hears that even Wall Street is now taking a pessimistic stance on plant-alternative foods.

Commentators believe this is because – despite the rampant anti-meat push by some – plantbased foods are no less expensive than other proteins. It seems that share prices in makers of fake steaks and plant-based meat alternatives are dropping fast and the money men are getting twitchy and bailing out. Barclays has cut its ratings on both Beyond Meat and Tyson recently, saying “the worst is yet to come” as consumers shift their purchasing habits in favour of less expensive proteins and other food. Shares of Beyond Meat are down 77% for the year, while the share value of alternative-protein company Tyson are down 24% this year. Your old mate suggests that fake meats are not only a bad imitation of the real thing, but also not the money spinner many thought they’d be.

Shotgun alley?

THE HOUND reckons the decision by Fieldays to hold the event in summer turned out to be a bit of a fizzer. Not only were the number of exhibitors down on the amount who were usually there, but so was attendance. This year’s total crowd size was estimated to be only around 75,000 – compared to the 130,000 or so who normally turn up to Fieldays in June. In fact, one exhibitor reckoned the crowd was so sparse they could have fired a shotgun down one of the roads and not hit anybody! However, according to Fieldays CEO Peter Nation, the low number of attendees meant it was all about “quality not quantity”. One wag told your old mate that Mr Nation appeared to be channelling the hapless lawyer Denis Denuto from the Aussie cult movie ‘The Castle’, claiming it was all about the ‘vibe’ rather than facing the reality!

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Whoops!

YOUR CANINE crusader understands that late last month in Southland, Beef+Lamb NZ chair Andrew Morrison – on what was described as a thinly disguised re-electioneering round – held two separate invite-only meetings for farmers on agricultural emissions, with scientist David Frame in tow. Apparently, the first meeting was for all the “troublemakers” who have challenged B+LNZ. Then the second invite-only meeting was – as told to yours truly – “for the compliant farmer robots, who don’t ask questions of the messiah and his mothership”. According to the Hound’s source, this would have worked out well for Morrison, until the ‘troublemakers’ meeting went an hour longer than planned and as they were walking out the more compliant farmers were walking in.

Awkward!

No s#*t Sherlock!

UNDER-FIRE Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has now conceded in a recent media interview that, “The Government hasn’t been stellar at communicating its message to the farming sector”. The Hound reckons this blindingly obvious admission would have to be the understatement of the decade. Meanwhile, the jungle drums are also beating that his near 30-year political career may be soon coming to an end – either by design or default. Although reluctant to confirm he’s pulling stumps on politics, in the same piece when asked whether he’d be keen to stay in government should Labour remain in power after next year’s election, O’Connor said, “That’s in the hands of the Prime Minister.” Actually, it will be in the hands of West Coast voters who may very well give him the elbow next year and save Jacinda the job.

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Emission pricing proposals are dogs!

WHILE THE Paris Agreement is often cited by those opposing emission pricing, they have failed to note that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol have similar requirements.

The objective of the UN Framework Convention is the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations within a timeframe that allows ecosystems to adapt, to ensure food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

Under Article 2 of the Kyoto Protocol, each party is required to implement policies and measures such as the promotion of sustainable forms of agriculture. Also listed is the reduction of methane emissions from waste management and fossil fuels, but no measures are required for reducing emissions from ruminants.

Under the Paris Agreement there are two relevant obligations with regard to food production. In the preamble the parties to the agreement recognised, “the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse impacts of climate change”.

Food security and hunger are international obligations for which we are well placed to contribute. Our unique temperate and maritime climate makes us more resilient to the adverse impacts of climate change in producing food than most other countries.

Again, in Article 2.1(b) is the obligation to foster low greenhouse gas emissions in a manner that does not threaten food production.

In summary, NZ farmers should do all they reasonably can to reduce emissions without being forced to reduce the area of pasture and livestock numbers.

The point that has been missed is that these same international obliga-

tions are embodied in the purpose statement of our Climate Change Response Act 2002. As such, the meaning of the rest of the Act “must be ascertained from its text and in light of its purpose and its context”, in accordance with the Legislation Act 2019, giving the purpose statement special importance.

In contrast, the Government proposes that the primary consideration is ensuring emission reduction targets are achieved and that other factors such as socioeconomic impacts are only secondary considerations. If there are no approved mitigations, targets can only be achieved through reducing food production. If the Government persists with this approach, they face the risk of judicial review on the basis that it is inconsistent with the purpose of the Act, that a “target” is something to aim for rather than to be achieved at all costs.

That is the fleas part of the story. Now for the dog that is the HWEN proposal.

Farm-level reporting is hugely complex in that it requires reporting of all livestock tallies, weights and production as they change throughout the year – including all purchases, births, sales and deaths.

Not only does that involve farmers in a lot of reporting. It also involves the regulator doing a lot of auditing and enforcement, the costs of which will be levy-funded by farmers. That in itself will force some farmers to the wall.

If and when mitigations are approved, the levy rates will have to be high enough to incentivise farmers to uptake the mitigations and to fund the incentive payments. An increase in levy rates will be required, resulting in more financial hardship.

Good on Federated Farmers in taking on board these matters in their submission and calling for a pricing system that only incentivises mitigations so that food production and emission leakage are not threatened. Meanwhile, DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ

and the HWEN partnership have merely rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic in spite of being told the ship has sprung a leak.

Are they being advocates for farmers or will they provide the Government with a foil to deflect farmer submissions?

The role of emission

pricing should be confined to only incentivising mitigations as submitted by Federated Farmers.

This approach by no means gives farmers a reason to do nothing in response to the climate crisis we face. It is an approach we can take to our markets and use in trade negotiations with

pride as it is entirely consistent with our legislation and international obligations.

• Graham Pinnell is a retired Cambridge drystock farmer and has faced judicial reviews as a member of two Crown regulatory agencies.

@rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

GRAHAM PINNELL

Graham Pinnell believes that no regulatory barrier should be placed in the way of the market driving further improvements in emission intensity.

Going off script not always bad

THE CHRISTMAS season is certainly upon us; ready or not, here we are!

Again, it’s been quite a year, with all the usual ideological nonsense getting shoved down the farming community’s throats. One would think we are the country’s big-

TO ALL

gest losers when it comes to the economy, the way we get so shamefully treated. Whatever happened to common sense?

I thought it fitting to tell a story, hopefully to put a smile on your face for a moment. Or perhaps to lighten up a little and unwind a wee bit! I

have a couple of variations of this story in my files, which can easily happen with stories like this. I will piece it together as best I can.

One particular year the annual children’s Christmas Nativity play had a totally unscripted moment most of those

present said they would never forget. The children were well rehearsed by their teacher.

One of the boys, though well liked, was not as quick to learn as the other children. He was kind of a little uncoordinated as well, plus he was the biggest kid in the

class. He often simply got left out of games and other kids’ stuff. But he was eager to be part of the upcoming Christmas play.

The teacher chose him to be the innkeeper, after all, the innkeeper could be seen as a bit of a villain in the Christmas drama! With no long sentences to memorise, she thought she could coach him to ably fill that role.

Well, the big night finally arrived! The time came for Joseph and Mary to make their appearance, Joseph tenderly guiding the heavily pregnant Mary right up to the innkeeper’s door. Joseph knocked loudly on the door.

Enthusiastically swinging the door open; “What do you want?” asked the innkeeper, staring straight ahead.

“We’re looking for somewhere to stay tonight” Joseph replied. “Well, look someplace else. You can’t stay here –the inn’s full,” responded the innkeeper in his best gruff voice.

“Please. This is Mary, my wife, and she is expecting a baby. She needs a place to rest where she will be protected from the cold,” Joseph pleaded.

A blank pause that lasted too long followed, and for the first time it seemed the innkeeper had forgotten his lines.

“No. Begone,” a prompter whispered from the

wings, twice.

“No. Begone!” said the innkeeper, finally copying the prompt.

Sadly, Joseph and Mary wearily turned to go, but then the innkeeper really forgot his cue. He just stood there in the doorway watching the very disappointed couple leaving. His mouth was now open, his brow creased with concern and his eyes unmistakably filling with tears!

Totally unscripted, he called to the young couple, “Don’t go, please! Come back! Wait, you… you can have my room!”

A few thought maybe the innkeeper had let the team down.

But most folk present there that night thought it was the most Christmas of all Christmas plays they had ever seen! Somehow it captured the true spirit of Christmas like many others hadn’t.

And yes, some still spoke of that moment years later.

That story has been told and retold to children and grandkids many times over.

That’s it from me for the year. I have enjoyed the journey and special thanks to those of you readers who have emailed or spoken with me. Be sure to get some family time and of course some serious R & R. No one can stay wound too tight for too long and get away with it.

Talk again in ‘23… God Bless.

FARMER’S CHAPLAIN Colin Miller

Beefing up technology helps to lift cattle breeders’ profits

BULL BREEDING business Rissington Cattle Company is turning to the latest technology to help beef farmers lift profitability.

The Hawke’s Baybased company has invested in Vytelle Feed Efficiency Testing technology, enabling it to capture information about individual animal intake which allows them to lower the cost of production, as well as emissions.

Rissington managing director Jeremy Absolom says the intersection between business and sustainability is one where Rissington thrives. He says the company has also transformed the traditional selling model of their bulls to a unique partnering model to advance their business and formed strong relationships with customers who have become extended family.

Not only do the Absoloms continue to grow the Rissington Cattle Company as a business but caring for the environment on which they operate has become a priority.

Rissington director Ben Absolom points out that the technology involved in farming has “come on in leaps and

bounds”.

At the heart of this technological revolution is trying to make change for beef farmers and help them to be more profitable in an environment that’s only becoming more challenging.

The late John Absolom, husband of Star and father to Ben, Jeremy, Daniel and Willie, revolutionised the cattle market in New Zealand by importing frozen Simmental semen in the 1970s and embryos from

Canada in the 1980s. After seeing composite breeds of cattle and the research behind them overseas, John realised there was huge potential for this back home in New Zealand.

“They were breaking ground as they did it,” Daniel explains.

What was seen as one of the biggest gambles ever taken in the stud cattle business in New Zealand in the 1980s is now noted as the moment where the industry changed. Auction-

ing the resulting cattle from the embryos fetched record prices and introduced the idea of widening the gene pool to New Zealand farmers.

Today, it has given farmers the chance to plan ahead with a selling model and unique genetics. The brothers have continued to innovate and change.

Jeremy says the Absolom family were one of the first to develop a land and environment plan spanning more than 20 years.

They acknowledge the need to work in harmony with the land for its sustainability.

“Every generation has done a huge amount of work to leave [the land] in a better state than they took it over.”

Bob Cottrell, a longtime customer of Rissington Cattle Company and family friend, sees the Absoloms as “continuing to follow in some of the kaitiaki values of early Māori, in terms of looking after the land and rivers”.

Cottrell believes that the land is in a very good state for the future generations of farmers and businesspeople to come.

The importance of existing harmoniously with the land is not lost on Ben, Jeremy nor Daniel.

“The land and the business have to be working in unison,” Daniel believes.

They recognise the impact of their decisions on the generations to come, and respect what those have done before

them. For Ben, he hopes that his children will one day head up the Rissington Cattle Company and continue its legacy.

The Rissington story was featured in Can-Am’s original series ‘Livin’ The Land’, released at the National Fieldays.

The ‘Livin’ the Land’ Can-Am Original Series is a collection of cinematic, short films that takes a never-before-seen look into what drives the next generation of farmers to live off the land and their story.

SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

Rissington director Ben Absolom says the technology involved in farming has “come on in leaps and bounds”.

This rear discharge spreader provides precision manure spreading management. Unique technology of the shredding rotor and spinning discs provides a precise application of manure.

XCEL 1250 MUCK SPREADER

UK crop farmer sings a different tune for his NZ counterparts

NEW ZEALAND’S arable farmers have been challenged to do things differently.

British champion of regenerative agriculture

Andy Cato recently provided the keynote address at the Foundation for Arable Research’s (FAR) annual Expo.

Cato is internationally known as one half of the electronic music duo Groove Armada, and his visit as guest international speaker at the FAR CROPS 2022 event was an aside to the band’s eight-concert tour of Australia and New Zealand.

But as a co-founder of the British-based Wildfarmed movement, Cato is also a spokesman for a farming philosophy that prioritises soil health and biodiversity above yield. He grows crops without the use of herbicides, fungicides and pesticides.

Cato is also the first Englishman to be awarded the Chevalier de L’Ordre du Mérite Agricole – the French equivalent of a knighthood for services to agriculture. His original 100ha farm in Gascony, where his farming journey began, was recognised as the most innovative farm in France when awarded the prestigious Lauréat National de l’Agro-Ecologie 2020.

Describing his journey in agriculture, Cato con-

cedes he had a “very very difficult” few years starting out.

The soils on the Gascony farm held only 0.5% organic matter, having exclusively grown maize for 80 years.

“Basically, I did a Sri Lanka,” he said – a reference to the Sri Lankan government’s disastrous 2021 attempt to convert the country’s agriculture to organic by banning artificial fertiliser overnight.

“It was a chemical farm and I turned off the chemical tap and I didn’t really have a plan to put in place of that. And it all went wrong,”

Cato explained. “The soil I inherited was much better at growing weeds than crops.”

Broke and “close to despair” he then discov-

FACING COMMERCIAL REALITY

NOW BACK in England on a 295ha farm in Oxfordshire, Cato says the Wildfarmed project is about “a society-wide education programme” that everything starts with the soil.

Farmers joining Wildfarmed sign up to a protocol that avoids bare soil and a variety of ‘cides. It encourages species-rich cover crops, diverse pasture mixes, bi- or poly-cropping, and integrating animals wherever possible. It has now grown to about 50 farms, selling stoneground flours and breads through about 500 outlets – including Marks and Spencer.

“What we’re trying to do is open the door to system change.”

ered the writings of Sir Albert Howard, the British botanist whose fun-

However, Cato says regenerative farmers have to face commercial reality.

“We’re trying to go down the High Street and tell a complicated story about soil health in a very noisy world and trying to compete with food that is artificially cheap.”

He adds that the challenge lay in getting the message to a population that was largely urban.

“A lot of them are concerned about biodiversity loss, a lot of them are concerned about climate change. But very few people have made the link – that actually how we grow our food is absolutely critical to those questions.”

damental message in the 1940s was that nature works by having a diver-

Cato says his journey has involved some compromises, including accepting the distribution network in order to get into supermarkets and accepting the current system of land ownership despite the inherent entry barriers.

Some Wildfarmed members host young livestock farmers who couldn’t otherwise afford their own land.

“We realised there’s a danger in saying ‘I can’t solve everything so I’m going to solve nothing,” Cato explains.

“Actually, what we can try to do is improve the soil and the ecosystem and someone else can focus on the other stuff.”

sity of plants and animals in the same place.

Cato tried a variety of

no-till methods such as drilling seeds into rolled cover crops, or into frost-

sensitive cover crops that die back to allow the desired crop to grow through.

Using horses to work the fields – after a visit to Amish farmers in the US – Cato realised they didn’t have the power to drill through a rolled cover crop. However, he successfully tried broadcasting seed into standing cover crop, then rolling it.

Using livestock to graze the fields led to what Cato called an “epiphany” about weed control.

“We accept that weeds will appear because of certain things and it is logical that they disappear for the same reasons,” he added. “Actually, seeing that was an absolute breakthrough for me, that gave me faith in biology in solving our problems.”

However, Cato realised once he was successfully growing “a lot of lovely grains” of high nutritional content that no-one placed any value on that.

“Coming into the food system from outside it was just weird that the only measure was tonnes, not quality.”

They started making their own flour, then baking bread, and finally opening a farm shop.

“We even had French people queuing for an English person’s bread, which was possibly a first.”

NIGEL MALTHUS “We accept that weeds will appear because of certain things and it is logical that they disappear for the same reasons,”

Andy Cato, a regenerative crop farmer from the UK, addresses the crowd at the recent FAR CROPS 2022 event at Chertsey. NIGEL MALTHUS

NAIT compliance vital

FARMERS WHO don’t keep accurate NAIT records put others at risk and can hinder efforts to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis.

That’s the claim of M. bovis programme director Simon Andrew.

Currently, there are six active confirmed properties with M. bovis infection and a Controlled Area Notice (CAN) in place for the Wakanui area in Mid-Canterbury.

Andrew says most of the infected properties will be cleared by early next year and M. bovis eradication remained ontrack.

But he adds that it’s vital all farmers used NAIT properly.

“In our tracing work, we have identified some poor NAIT practices, which is disappointing,” he explains. “Good NAIT records allow us to track any infection

NAIT RULES

● NAIT animals born on farm must be tagged by the time the animal is 180 days old or before first movement off farm – whichever comes first.

● NAIT animals must be registered within 7 days of tagging, or before their first movement off farm –whichever comes first.

● The Ministry for Primary Industries is responsible for ensuring compliance with the NAIT Act, while OSPRI runs the NAIT system.

● Penalties in the NAIT Act, increased the maximum penalty tenfold to $100,000 in late 2019.

quickly, whereas poor records slow us down and heighten the risk that other farmers’ cattle are exposed to M. bovis.”

Andrew says things have come a long way thanks to the hard work of farmers and the wider farming community.

“However, as we approach the end of another year, it’s timely to encourage farmers to do the right thing.”

Andrew says incomplete NAIT records had

resulted in farms being placed under movement controls, which may not have been the case if animals were properly accounted for under the NAIT system.

“Farmers should be aware that, where necessary, the M. bovis Eradication Programme will refer those with poor NAIT records to MPI’s compliance team for investigation.”

MPI’s national manager of animal welfare

FLEXIBLE WEANING

WEANING TIME is looming and farmers are encouraged to consider a number of factors when deciding when to wean, rather than sticking to a specific date every year.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s senior advisor biosecurity and animal welfare

Will Halliday says lamb weaning dates should be flexible depending on the season and the market.

“No two seasons are identical so being flexible about weaning dates can be a powerful tool,” he explains. “It is important to be monitoring stock condition, feed quality and quantity and market prices to inform the decision about weaning dates.”

Halliday says the goal at weaning is to maximise profit from lamb sales and ensure ewes’ target body condition score is met, so next year’s production is not compromised. He adds that a number of variables should be taken into account when deciding when to wean. These include the age, weights and growth rates of the lambs, ewe condition, feed quality

and availability now and over the next three months, the cost of supplements, animal health status of both ewes and lambs and lamb prices, both store and schedule.

Halliday says growth rates peak when lambs are between three and six weeks of age.

However, he adds that growth rates can stay high in late lactation provided lambs have plenty of high-quality feed available to them.

“By eight weeks, lamb growth rates are generally declining with very little growth benefit coming from the ewe’s milk.”

However, Halliday explains that lambs weaned before six weeks cannot make up for lost milk by consuming more pasture.

“And lambs weaned before eight weeks will typically grow slower than lambs left on their mothers, unless high quality forage is available,” he says.

“This means that if lambs are within 2-3kg of sale weight, they will reach this weight faster if left on the ewe.”

tunnel houses

and NAIT compliance, Gray Harrison, says NAIT use had improved, but more work was needed.

“When a person in charge of animals fails their NAIT obligations, they potentially put the whole sector at risk,” he

claims. “There has been improvement with registering animals after they have been tagged, but I’m concerned there appears to be a belief that this obligation starts and finishes with the person who has animals born on

farm.”

He says farmers who have NAIT animals on their property, that were not born there, must ensure they are tagged, registered, and have had their movement recorded into the NAIT system.

“Not doing this could make you liable for an infringement or court prosecution if those animals remain unregistered and/or not recorded in a movement,” Gray adds.

“We’ve had some serious cases before the court this year involving hundreds of unregistered animals, resulting in thousands of dollars in fines. The consequences might seem severe, but they’re a drop in the ocean compared to what it would cost to this country if this disease –M. bovis or something similar – gained a foothold in New Zealand.”

Harrison adds that anyone unsure about their NAIT obligations should reach out.

“There is plenty of support and information available through our partners at OSPRI.”

Incomplete NAIT records have resulted in farms being placed under movement controls.

Made in NZ

Te Pari Products

Made in New Zealand is a feature that looks at the wealth of design and manufacturing ability we have in New Zealand making innovative and cost-effective products for the agricultural sector. This week we take a closer look at Te Pari Products, catching up with global sales manager Jeremy Blampied.

Q - When was the company founded, by whom and why?

Te Pari was founded in Palmerston North back in 1980, when the French

family decided there was a better way to dock lambs and designed and

manufactured their first docking iron.

Q - Where are you located? Is it single or multiple sites, and how many people are employed?

Te Pari is a global business employing over 130 people. Our headquarters and all our manufacturing is based in Oamaru. We have sales and distribution centres in Melbourne Australia, Minneapolis and Minnesota in the US and Perth in Scotland.

Q - What are your key products and which markets do they serve?

Our key products are cattle and sheep handling equipment for farmers and ranchers globally. These are sold direct to the customer in our four main markets – NZ, AUS, USA and the UK. The range includes cattle crushes, automated sorting equipment, yards and loading ramps, while our sheep equipment includes

handlers and auto drafters. We also sell automatic dosing guns, weigh scales and other animal management products.

Q - Are your products unique? If so, what are the key benefits?

We are the only supplier that manufactures handling, dosing and data recording equipment that can bundle it all together as a single solution. Many of our products have patented IP that fully integrates with one another. This leads to a seamless operator experience, delivered from one supplier. In the case of our Taurus Automated Cattle Sorter, this is the only completely automated system on the market globally. In regards to research and development, the fact that we deal directly with our customers means that we receive much better feedback on our products, allowing us to address any issues quickly and re-engineer appropriate changes.

Q - Looking at an everevolving market, what changes have you made over the last few years, or what will you have to do moving

Businesses

forwards?

We strive to innovate and continually improve products and our manufacturing processes every day.

On the product front, our relationships with the end user makes improvements happen more quickly. In the last 6-12 months, we have introduced the new Lenta Cattle Crush Range, new steel-stepped cattle loading ramps and the Racewell JR manual sheep handler, alongside many other products. On the manufacturing side, we continue to install more robotic and CNC machines, that allow us to deliver consistent quality and output.

Q - What has been the company’s greatest success since its formation?

We believe that two areas contribute to the company’s success. Being 100% family-owned and operated in NZ means all our staff are treated like family and in return, go above and beyond to look out for one another and – importantly - our customers. Since we manufacture complete systems,

we are only a phone-call away for the customer to get anything they need.

Q - In contrast, what has been the biggest “Oh Bugger” moment or the steepest learning curve?

Thankfully, we haven’t had any as throughout Te Pari everything is carefully considered, planned and reviewed. Trials and testing are made in-house and then on-farm with customers. This means that when we decide to go ahead with a product, we have complete confidence that it will be a great fit for its intended use.

Q - Where do you see the company in the next three, five and ten years. What changes do you foresee to keep relevant and grow your business?

The demand for our products continues to grow globally, so we expect to see a growing team and customer base in these markets.

To support that, we’ll have to continue to expand and invest in our manufacturing facilities here in NZ, as we are committed to NZ manufacturing.

All of Te Pari’s manufacturing is carried out at its Oamaru base.

2023 upgrades for Jaguar

FORAGE HARVESTING manufacturer, Claas recently announced several improvements to its JAGUAR 900/800 forage harvesters.

These include the introduction of a newly developed GPS steering guidance and an automatic reel speed adjustment system for pick up headers.

All 2023 delivery models will be available with the CEMIS 1200 operating terminal, which incorporates the newly developed GPS Pilot automated steering guidance and Cemos Auto Performance machine optimisation systems.

Guidance and optimisation systems are activated via a simple, two-step process using

the CMotion control lever. After turning and entering the next track, the operator activates the steering guidance system and accelerates up to operating speed.

A second push of the button activates the Cemos Auto Performance function to takes control of ground speed and engine output according to crop flow.

“In simple terms, ground speed is reduced

when the volume being harvested increases, while engine output is reduced if the volume harvested decreases,” explains Claas Harvest Centre product manager – Jaguar, Luke Wheeler.

Claas claims the system can improve throughput by up to 7%, while reducing fuel consumption by 12%. The manufacturer’s proven Auto Pilot, sensor-based and Cam Pilot, camera-

based guidance systems and the Cruise Pilot, automatic speed control system, are also available.

2023 pick-up header fronts can also be specified with automatic reel speed adjustment and automatic lubrication systems. Introduced in 2021, the optional hydraulic drive enables the reel speed to be matched to ground speed independently of the speed of the intake auger.

This means the rotational speeds of the pickup reel and intake auger can be matched exactly to the prevailing harvesting conditions for more consistent crop flow and higher throughput.

This is said to be particularly important when harvesting high yielding crops at low speeds or vice versa.

Studies in the US have shown the new hydraulic drive can increase

throughput by up to 13.7%, compared with the existing mechanical constant drive, in heavy harvesting conditions.

“If the ground speed or the set chop length is changed, the speeds of the pick-up reel and intake auger are automatically matched to the prevailing conditions,” Wheeler adds.

“This results in an even more consistent crop flow through the harvester, especially where there are frequent and significant changes in swath thickness. If necessary, both speeds can also be adjusted manually from the cab by the operator.”

Pick up headers can also be equipped with an optional automatic chain lubrication system on the left-side drive of the intake auger and reel.

Meanwhile, Claas has also announced the introduction of a new flagship model for its Jaguar 800 forage harvesters. Already established in the North American market, the 880 is powered by the highly efficient MercedesBenz OM 473 LA six-cylinder 15.6-litre engine, with a maximum output of 653hp.

Equipped with Stage IIIa/Tier 3 emissions control technology and the Dynamic Power engine management system that automatically adjusts the engine output to load, delivering fuel savings of up to 10.6%

The Jaguar 880 can also be equipped with the MCC roller corn cracker with a sawtooth profile or the MCC Shredlage cracker for efficient processing across a range of chop lengths.

VARIPACK PLUS BALER SERIES

• Integral rotor for maximum throughput

• Auto controlled rear door and stroke end cushioned ram for fast unloading cycles

• Camless EasyFlow pick-up with w-lined tines and a minimum of moving parts

• Roll chute is standard for easy net refill

• Precision cutting system for smooth cuts

• Automatic grease applicator and oil lubricator

• Variable bale diameter: 0.8 - 1.65m / 1.90m

For more information call us on 06 370 0390 www.tulloch.nz

Dealers located nationwide

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

Claas has announced several improvements to its Jaguar 900/800 forage harvesters.

The KRONE Varipack is specifically designed for baling dry material. Varipack combines straightforward engineering with high throughputs and densities.

Invest in longevity and quality. Invest in the best.

Pictured: Varipack V 190 XC Plus

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.

For full details Phone

New telehandler extends reach

MANITOU GROUP used the recent Eurotier International animal farming event to launch its new MLT 850-145 V+ telehandler.

This is the fourth in the NewAg XL range, which already includes the MLT 841, 1041 and 961.

Offering a lift capacity of 5 tonnes and a working height of 7.6 metres, the new model is said to be targeted at large farms and cooperatives – as well as the food industry and the recycling sector. The MLT 850 is ideal for loading bulk cargo, cereals, wood chips and silage, and is also perfect for handling straw bales and big bags.

With its 5-tonne

SPRAY UNITS

www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

Honda GP200 Motor

• 40 Bar/580 PSI

• Flow Rate 41L per min

• Comet APS41 Diaphragm Pump

• 5D Suction Filter

• Pressure Regulator & Return System

NORTH ISLAND: 23 Mahinui St, Feilding. Ph 06-323 4181

SOUTH ISLAND: 35 Wilkin St, Waimate. Ph 0800 625 826

capacity, high-capacity attachments and a high hydraulic working speed, the MLT 850 is said to offer the best work rate in its class – up to 18% more than its competition. The model offers more than 600Nm of torque, with a pull force of more than 9,160 daN (+20% com-

Free Range & Barn

pared to the competition).

The high movement speed provided by the 200 l/min LSU pump is complemented by a bucket breakout force of over 8,670 daN (+32% compared to the competition). To optimise efficiency, a HighView camera is installed on the boom head – making it possible to monitor the trailer fill level directly from the cab

The M-Vario Plus continuous variable transmission, allows the machine to be adjusted to suit every need, using a choice of comfort or dynamic modes and maximising the output of the 141hp engine.

Taking design detail

from existing NewAg XL range models, the cab is spacious and quiet with sound insulation. This limits the noise level to just 69dBA.

It is also positioned higher than the lower capacity NewAg XL models to maximise visibility. The large roof grille with its angled slats and the optional Safeview dual cameras complete these innovations for a 360° view around the machine on the dashboard display.

Access to the cabin is via the two ‘Easy-Step’ steps, combined with the under-door lighting makes getting in and out even safer, day or night.

The MLT 850 NewAg XL also comes as stan-

dard with JSM Autopower (available with the M-Vario Plus transmission).

This automatically adjusts the required engine speed to the hydraulic movements controlled via the JSM, reducing fuel consumption and operator fatigue.

Manitou suggests that the latest innovations used for the MLT 850 offers the lowest total cost of ownership in its class, at 8% lower than the competition. Fuel consumption is said to be around 20% lower than the competition, which the company suggests a saving of around $10,000 over annual usage of 2,000 hours.

To help achieve a reduction in cost of ownership, the MLT 850 is fitted with Stop & Start as standard. This switches off the engine when the machine is at a standstill and restarts it as required. The hour meter is therefore based on actual hours worked, thus spacing out maintenance with an oil change every actual 1,000 hours and increasing the machine’s residual value.

An automatic lubrication system is available as an option.

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

The MLT 850-145 V+ telehandler has a lift capacity of 5 tonnes and a working height of 7.6 metres.

Australian

Red Centre

TITAN HYDRAULIC CRUSH

Hydraulic powered & parallel squeeze

• Control console with levers & storage

• 3-piece side gates

Vet access gates at rear

Hydraulic Power Pack (worth $3,750) WAS $34,750 NOW $29,750 +gst

CLASSIC CRUSH

Old model - save $3000!

3-piece side gates

• Anti-skid rubber floor

Reliable & proven C1000 headbail WAS $15,750 NOW $12,750+gst

LENTA MS1 VETLESS CRUSH

Great entry level cattle crush!

• 1-piece side gates

Rear handle for headbail control

• Steel tread plate floor

WAS $10,000 NOW $9,000+gst

USED RACEWELL HD3 SHEEP HANDLER

Fully serviced in the Te Pari factory!

3-way auto weigh/draft

• Iconix Loadbars & FX21 Weigh Scale

• End tilt for animal access NOW $13,500+gst

USED TE PARI CATTLE MASTER CRUSH

For sale on behalf, located in Napier

• 3-piece side gates

• Parallel squeeze

Offside drafting handle

Left-hand operation POA call 021 198 5103

TITAN MANUAL CRUSH

Old model with parallel squeeze

• 3-piece side gates with integrated EID reader (worth $2000)

• Integrated loadcells (worth $2500)

• Light use on demo WAS $30,400 NOW $23,900+gst

LENTA HOOF CRUSH

Make hoof inspection easier!

Vetless model

• Overhead winches for support straps

Wopa front hoof blocks worth $1350

WAS $14,250 NOW $12,250+gst

CATTLE GATES

Most common sizes in stock

• Made in NZ by Te Pari

Heavy duty hot-dip galvanised steel

• Anti-bruise oval cattle rail

CALL FOR SIZES

15% off all in stock

USED RACEWELL HD3 WITH TRAILER SYSTEM

Fully serviced in the Te Pari factory! Portable with easy to use trailer

• 3-way auto weigh/draft

• Iconix Loadbars & Te Pari T20 Scale WAS $17,750 NOW $16,750 +gst

RACEWELL JR SHEEP HANDLER

Great entry level sheep handler!

• Side tilt with rear access flap

• TruTest ID600 Load Bars (worth $1500)

Pneumatic push button controls WAS $17,250 NOW $16,000