Coast & Country March 2017 by Sun Media

Bug man Ruud Kleinpaste says New Zealanders are “wusses” for not eating bugs – Read what he has to say about “Bugs in Our System” on page 6. Photo Elaine Fisher.

Young Grower PAGE 4-5

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Forestry PAGE 46-47

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Saved by a brand

It was late – very late. I was more than tired after a gruelling flight from Brussels, to Heathrow, to Hong Kong and now Tokyo. This was the second-to-last leg of a 2011 trip, which began little more than a week before in New Zealand and had taken me to Italy with a group of growers visiting kiwifruit orchards impacted by the vine disease Psa-V, which had recently been discovered in New Zealand. The subsequent trip to Brussels had been to see how New Zealand kiwifruit was marketed there and on the way home – I was visiting Japan to look at marketing too – all thanks to a trip organised by Zespri. However, so much travel in such a short time – and just a twoday stopover in Tokyo – raised the suspicions of the young customs officer, who couldn’t understand my accent when I tried to explain I was there to write stories about Zespri. With a stern look, he asked me to open my pack – no doubt sure he’d find something illegal in there. Instead, on top of my clothes was a bright

Kiwi Farmers Love Gypsum

Zespri shopping bag, given to me by the Brussels team. “Ah Zespri – Zespri,” he said, breaking into a grin. “Very good kiwifruit – very expensive kiwifruit, very good fruit. Welcome to Japan,” and even closed and zipped up my bag for me. I was both relieved and stunned. I had not realised how recognisable the Zespri brand was in Japan, nor its positive connotations for consumers, including a young customs ofﬁcer working the late-night shift. I sent a silent vote of thanks to the Brussels marketing team for a gift, which hastened my trip through customs, and I hurried to the exit and a taxi to my hotel. This month the Zespri brand celebrates its 20th anniversary and there are reasons for celebrations. In a small country so far from its markets, a young industry has invested in and launched a brand which has become one of the most recognisable and trusted in the fruit world, especially among consumers. Read the Zespri story on pages 24 to 26. The Zespri bag which saved the day. Elaine Fisher

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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Urban residents also responsible for water quality stories about what is happening in the rural sector, says Margaret. The New Zealand Farm Environment Trust is an independent entity, which seeks to promote leadership in environmental excellence and encourage the uptake of management

practices which both protect and enhance the environment and add value to farming businesses and communities. Read about the winners of the 2017 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards on pages 8-9.

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Doug Leeder, chairman of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (far right) with Suejane Brumby, Jason and Holley Perrin, of Brumby Farms, Waihi who won the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Environment Award. considerable work already done and continuing to be carried out by farmers and growers. “The challenges for this district (Bay of Plenty) will get harder, rather than easier.” The entrants in this year’s award and those who have gone before them, are the early adopters of positive change, he says.

“In the Bay of Plenty, 86 per cent of our rivers are swimmable but some of the worst quality water is in Auckland and after heavy rain it seem acceptable that some Wellington beaches are closed because of inﬁltration of sewerage into the storm water systems.” The debate following the February announcement of the Government’s target that 90 per cent of New Zealand’s lakes and rivers meet swimmable water quality standards by 2040 unfairly focused on the rural sector, Doug told those attending the Ballance Farm Environment Awards dinner in February 24. How to share the costs of implementing the Government’s water quality plans between local and central government needs to be debated, he says. Acknowledging that there is still much to do to improve water quality, Doug says more recognition needs to be given to the

Widening gap

Pride in sector

Today’s most proﬁtable farmers are those who have the strongest focus on the environment he says. Simon Stokes, of the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust says it is vital to build pride into the rural sector and share the positive stories of farmers and growers with other audiences. The Ballance Farm Environment Awards, administered by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust, aim to do just that, he says. Margaret Wright, judging coordinator for the Bay of Plenty Farm Environment Awards says she is concerned about surveys such as the one which showed nearly 60 per cent of respondents deemed farming to be one of the three main causes of damage to freshwater, with the others being sewage and stormwater, and industrial activities. What is overlooked, she says, is the impact of urban residents on water quality, and the waste they generate which goes to landﬁll. Farmer and growers who enter the farm environment awards are doing the right thing not only by the land but also by their industries, by showcasing the good

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Doug’s concerns are shared by Jim Hitchcock, chairman of the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards Trust who says the widening urban rural gap in New Zealand means few city residents know what is really happening on the land. “Those in the main stream media have little understanding of the real issues, but they inﬂuence people’s views of our sector. The majority of readers don’t want good news stories.” The Bay of Plenty and other regional farm environment awards are all about the good stories of what is happening on farms and orchards – stories Jim says need to have a wider hearing. Greg Delaney, General Manager at Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd says despite predictions of gloom and doom, farms will survive and continue to produce food in an environmentally and economi-

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Teacher-inspired high school horticultural career choice

A high school ﬁeld trip to a large greenhouse operation set Erin Atkinson on a career path she loves – and to winning the title of 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Grower of the Year.

“My seventh form agri-hort teacher at Pukekohe High School, Susan Stokes, encouraged my interest in horticulture and it’s largely thanks to her that I went to Massey University to study horticulture,” says Erin, who won the young grower title from ﬁve other entrants last month. In the close-fought contest, The 2017 Bay of Plenty Danni van der Heijden, 23, Young Grower of the Year from Trevelyan's Pack & horticultural industries for a new Erin Atkinson with her Cool was runner-up and Aaron challenge and, at the same time, boss and mentor Dr Sonia Wright, 26, from EastPack, was resolved to live in the Bay of Plenty. Whiteman, of awarded second runner-up. “So, I packed up and moved to Apata GROW. Erin, who graduated with a Tauranga where I knew only two or three Bachelor of Horticultural Scipeople, and was lucky enough to get a job in ence and a degree in business studies, worked the kiwifruit industry with Apata Group.” high school and university holidays in a glasshouse Today Erin is based in Te Puke as one of the comoperation. And when she graduated at age 21, was pany’s technical advisors, a role which is varied and employed there full-time, with responsibility for 150 challenging. staff. Her boss and mentor Dr Sonia Whiteman, who is general manager of Apata’s orchard management People and plants division, Apata GROW, says Erin’s job includes She later headed overseas working in England for wide-ranging roles that are constantly changing as a company growing microgreens, leafy vegetables, the season progresses. tomatoes, capsicums and cucumbers. “When I She oversees development and delivery of Apata’s returned to New Zealand I grew culinary herbs for technical transfer programme, is responsible for ona while, but knew I didn’t want to be a grower. I orchard compliance for Apata GROW clients, as well wanted to be involved in the technical side of the as acting as the Te Puke harvest manager and workindustry, working with both people and plants.” ing closely with members of the Apata team, drawing With that in mind, Erin decided to look to other ...continued

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Erin’s perseverance rewarded with young grower win

Entrants in the 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Grower of the Year are Aaron Wright, Danni van der Heijden, Nikesh Gurung, Hohepa Tatana, Erin Atkinson and Hamish McKain.

The 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Grower of the Year Erin Atkinson also won the tractor driving proﬁciency event run by Capital Tractors of Tauranga. continued...

on her considerable people skills and technical knowledge. Sonia is immensely proud that Erin is not only the third Apata employee in a row, but also the ﬁrst woman, to win the young grower title.

Persistence, preparation “The win is well deserved and I’d attribute Erin’s success in the competition to preparation, persistence and perspiration.” This was the second time Erin had entered and Sonia says Aaron Wright, she showed 26, from EastPack, persistence by was awarded entering again, second runner-up. put a lot of time into preparing for its challenges, and worked hard for the win. Almost as rewarding for Erin as winning the overall title is wining the tractor driving proﬁciency event run by Capital Tractors of Tauranga. “I can drive a tractor, but had never driven a SAME orchard tractor and mulcher, so before the competition I went to Capital Tractors, which was providing the tractor for the contest, and had a brieﬁng and a test-drive – and that certainly helped.”

Oppportunities

Now Erin’s focus is on the upcoming kiwifruit harvest, but also preparing to represent the Bay of Plenty at the prestigious NZ Young Fruit Grower and Young Grower of the Year events in August. As part of her Bay of Plenty prize, Erin receives coaching and mentoring to help prepare her for the nationals. “I can’t encourage other young growers enough to enter the regional contests, because the opportunities for personal development and networking are amazing.”

Likewise, Erin strongly encourages school students to consider horticulture as a career. To this end, she has assisted the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc in career expos, talking to students about the opportunities the industry offers. “So many young people think horticulture is about picking and packing fruit but, while that’s part of it, the career opportunities Danni van der Heijden, are huge.” of Trevelyan’s Pack Erin says possible & Cool is young careers include being grower runner-up. a scientist helping breed new plants, operating drones to map orchards, developing new on-orchard and packhouse technology including robotics, or being involved in marketing and ﬁnance. Elaine Fisher

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Kiwis ‘wusses’ for not eating bugs Tarantulas taste like crayﬁsh and are delicious cooked over an open ﬁre, says Ruud Kleinpaste – also known as ‘The Bug Man’.

like the clappers and the protein they produce is high quality, without much cholesterol.” Farming bugs for human consumption could mean less land and fewer resources needed to grow protein, and greenhouse gas emissions would be signiﬁcantly reduced.

“I felt a bit bad at first about eating a tarantula but the locals in South America had no problem finding several in the jungle. They removed the abdomen Circular system and singed the spiders over a fire, because the hairs But bugs, says Ruud, already contribute to our can be toxic, cooked the thorax and legs for about economies and environment in many other ways, as five minutes until they bubbled and we ate them – part of a circular system in which there is they were delicious,” says Ruud, who has no waste. It’s a system humans would do eaten bugs many times and believes they well to learn from, he warns. will be an important future food source for “Each and every one of us has got to humans. start taking responsibility for the environHe’s also eaten water insects, grasshopment. Our economic model is linear, not per and crickets. While eating insects is circular. Growth at all costs is not workan ancient and accepted part of many culing. We have to learn to live within our tures, Ruud says the aversion to consuming means for the health and future of our bugs among Westerners, including Kiwis, planet – it’s the only one we have.” is because we are “wusses”. Bugs work 24/7 to keep the environ“Kiwis call crayfish, crabs, cockles, pipi, ment going. “For example, bees pollinate oysters and mussels delicacies but these are Ruud Kleinpaste up to one-third of everything just slugs, snails and the spiders of the sea. we eat, including meat. “So what’s the difference between eating Insects are involved in seed spiders or snails from the land, as opposed to spiders dispersal, they also take care and snails from the sea? I don’t get that,” says Ruud, of waste.” who was MC at the 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Science is learning from Grower of Year awards in February. bugs too, using the amazing attributes of insects to devise new Insect protein systems of flight, solar power Best known in New Zealand through his radio and and robotics, among television work as an advocate for and educator in many other advances, the understanding and appreciation of insects, spisays Ruud. ders and other terrestrial arthropods, Ruud presented He seldom travels without his an address called ‘Bugs in Our System’ at the awards. bugs – a framed collection of New Bugs are much better converters of green food to Zealand natives, including a weta and a very large protein than sheep and cattle, say Ruud. It takes about two kilograms of feed to make one kilogram of centipede, which are examples of the bugs he doesn’t necessarily want on the menu – but does want to see insect meat, while to produce the equivalent amount prosper in their natural environment. of beef takes eight to 10kg of feed. Elaine Fisher “Bugs are easy to grow commercially. They breed

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 7

Protectionism versus truth-telling

First we had traceability, then sustainability, threatening our ability to sell overseas. Now we’ve also got protectionism, whatever that turns out to mean. One thing it is bound to mean is our export products will have to stand up to whatever overseas countries’ testing, or purity criteria, they choose to put on them. Today it’s the Russians banning our beef and threatening our dairy products. And I’m sure the United States will start coming up with impossible demands fairly shortly. The United Kingdom sheep farmers are already in full cry over lamb. To date we’ve relied on ‘Clean and Green’, ‘100 per cent Pure’ and the ‘New Zealand Story’ as our supposed proof of being beyond criticism. But as many will admit, all of those are only partially true, and the things we don’t want to think about are carefully swept under the rug.

Chemical fertilisers

As you will have realised from my previous articles, one such issue seems to be to be our ever-increasing use of chemical fertilisers, which are now growing quite a bit less pasture than 20 years ago. It’s not just less pasture to feed more cows, and not just the suspect source of at least one supplement used to make up the shortfall, but the steely determination among the science fraternity that what is being used now is the only way to grow pasture. I recently attended a seminar for rural professionals in the Waikato – they continue to invite me, so I go. Much of the session was taken up by a senior ofﬁcer from AgResearch expounding on all the 600 wonderful projects they were working on. And not one was focused on how to grow grass without all those chemicals.

I know some of these businesses would be very sceptical about AgResearch’s testing methods, having heard in the past how ‘science’ can be skewed. But to go on blindly ignoring any alternatives, and thinking our freshwaters are going to improve by ‘mitigation’ and spending more farmer money on structures and pasture renewal simply proves the 55 per cent of ‘commercial’ funding going into AgResearch, and other science public-private research projects, somehow prevents anyone from stepping out of line on chemicals.

Algal disaster

In the South Island we already have the Selwyn River – a dried up algal disaster from irrigation drawn down from groundwater, on soils that were never suited to feeding thousands of cows. Pouring on more chemicals and then washing them through porous soils has only one result – more pollution and less usable water overall. To return to where I started, if we can’t start working to show our cows, sheep and horticulture are produced using systems that can be openly proven to be sustainable, non-polluting, and good for our fully operative soils, then those countries favouring protectionism will ﬁnd excuses not to buy from us. They may well be covering up ghastly imperfections in their own systems, but that’s what protectionism is all about.

This is an opinion piece by farming and science writer Sue Edmonds. Sue Edmonds

Different ways

In Coast & Country News, month after month, there are small businesses offering different ways of growing pasture that don’t involve chemical N or superphosphate. They each have a loyal clientele, many of whom are greatly exceeding their district averages on pasture and milk production. So why isn’t AgResearch investigating how these systems work, rather than continually saying these are people wanting to make money, and their systems couldn’t possibly be better than their own beloved chemicals?

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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“We have a ﬂeet of modern trucks and experienced drivers, which means we provide cartage and spreading services to clients, including companies, farmers and growers, North Island-wide,” says Rhys Adlam of Huka Haulage. The company regularly transports product, often from the Port of Tauranga, for Kiwi Fertiliser and vemicompost for the large worm farm operation MyNoke based at Tokoroa. “We have ﬁve trucks that can

haul bulk and bagged fertiliser to farms and often work with helicopter and ﬁxed wing top dressing companies, which apply the fertiliser.” Huku Haulage has recently taken over the operation of the Nature’s Flame Truck, set up by Heather and the late Matt Purvis, original owners of Total Transport. The specialised truck is ﬁtted with a blower unit for delivering wood pellets to silos at schools

and businesses that use the product for area or water heating. “Every year we also send a truck to Marlborough for the grape harvest. The diversity of work we do means we have employment for drivers year round,” says Rhys. “Our drivers are skilled at not only on-road but also off-road operation of the trucks and as the public face of our business, they provide a friendly, competent service to our client.”

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“Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe are all active volcanoes and are monitored 24/7 for signs of eruption,” says the group’s chairman Adam Munro, who is regional hazards manager at Waikato Regional Council. “While the current risk is low, the unpredictable nature of volcanoes means they can erupt at any time. “The collapse of Ruapehu’s crater rim in 2007 and subsequent lahar is an example of the other types of problems we can experience with volcanoes,” says Adam. “These so-called blue sky events are why we all need to take public awareness and emergency planning for potential eruptions very seriously.”

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The group – made up of representatives from emergency services, the military, local councils, central Government agencies, civil defence, monitoring and science agencies, and utility providers – has developed a new strategy and work programme for developing public awareness about the volcanic threat and for planning over responding to an eruption. “People on or near volcanoes when they erupt can be injured by the likes of explosions, falling material, lava and lahars. “It’s important we educate mountain-users more about the warning signs of a sudden eruption and what they can do to protect themselves. “However, the ash cloud thrown up by an eruption also has potential to affect things like aviation, transport networks, farming, water supplies and people’s respiratory health.” The Central Plateau Volcanic Advisory group was established in 2008 following the March 2007 lahar event on Ruapehu.

DAIRY

Page 11

Overseer is not tool for benchmarking As the stranglehold of forcing farmers to limit their environmental footprinting tightens and the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regional councils wrestle with working out how to reduce contaminants entering waterways, science comes along with another anomaly that throws the environmental models out of the water – and this one is called attenuation. Attenuation is a word farmers are going to love and the anti-farming vegan lobby are going to hate. Attenuation throws the Overseer modelling, which some claim to be ‘the only game in town’ when it comes to predicting nitrogen losses into waterways, completely out of the ballpark by a country mile on many soils. I’ve never been in favour of using Overseer as a model for grandparenting where a farmer whose historical nitrogen losses are used for limit-setting, as it tends to reward the polluters and punish the good conservative farmers who farm with little negative environmental impact.

Free to use

Overseer has been funded by Ministry for Primary Industries, AgResearch and the two big Fertiliser co-ops Ravensdown and Ballance, and is a continually improving model for predicting “what if ” scenarios of nutrients leaving the root zone. Because most farmers are members of at least one of the fertiliser co-ops, and have also paid taxes that have funded MPI and AgResearch, this model should be free for all to use and not something farmers should be charged for using. In physics, according to Wikipedia, attenuation is defined as ‘the gradual loss of intensity of any kind of flux through a medium’. As far as nitrogen losses into ground water go, attenuation is the unaccounted disappearance of nitrogen through natural chemical processes such as denitrification, ammonification, absorption by clay colloids etc. And because of attenuation, the quantities of N leaching into the environment when the Overseer model is used is overexaggerated. At last month’s annual Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre Conference at Massey University, attendees were told of some work done by Massey University researchers Dr Ranvir Singh and David Horne in the Rangitikei

Robin Boom

catchment that what Overseer predicted was leaving the root zone, and what actually entered the waterways could be vastly different.

Contradictory models

As a rough guide they suggested on heavy silt loam and peat soils, attenuation could account for as much as 80-90 per cent of N lost from the Overseer model. On silt loams there was medium attenuation, which may account for 50 per cent of the total N, and on stony and coarse textured soils the amount of N lost by attenuation could be 10-30 per cent. A keynote speaker at the conference was Danish professor Brian Kronvang, who informed us of what had been taking place in Denmark for the last 30 years, where farmers have been forced to limit their farming operations based on environmental modelling. What the models for N leaching had predicted and how much actual N was being measured by monitoring were often vastly different. He said farmers had always been against modelling and were much more in favour of monitoring actual levels found in the water. As the models and the monitored hard data were contradictory, the last couple of years the models have been abandoned in favour of monitoring the nutrient levels in waterways.

Robin Boom, CPAg, Member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists. Ph 027 444 8764.

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Another interesting paper presented by Victoria University researchers promoted the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator approach. One site they looked at, the Massey University Tuapaki Farm, Overseer had predicted 8kg/ha N was lost, whereas the actual amount of N measured was only 2.37kg/ha. The LUCI model was more accurate for both nitrogen and phosphorus losses compared to Overseer. In my view Overseer is an excellent model for predicting nutrient losses from the root zone, but that is all. Using Overseer for grandparenting N losses, allowing bad polluters to continue being the worst polluters and penalising good farmers and restricting ST future CHOICE

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Page 12

Earthquake could hit feed prices The link between the November Kaikoura earthquake and feed prices for North Island farmers might not be immediately obvious – but there is one, and it could prove costly. The harsh dry conditions throughout the country, not to mention the February ﬁres in Hawke’s Bay, have accentuated what was already shaping up to be a shortage

of supplementary feed, which could mean some farmers will have to rely on feed from the South Island. Despite the ongoing drought in some parts of Canterbury, other areas in the region have enjoyed a good growing season so there is some surplus feed that may end up helping North Island farmer out – at a cost. Thanks to the earthquake’s devastating impact on the roading network, an extra 150km to 160km has been added to the

trucking route, which in turn means delivering the feed costs more. The summer in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato has again deﬁed the forecasters. Unusually, we’ve had almost constant equinox-type sou’westerly winds, right through the February. Together with temperatures up to 27 degrees Celsius, those winds dried up the 22ml of rain in for January. In fact the 20162017 summer has been more like the ‘drought-which-never-happened’ forecast for the previous summer.

Maize silage

Thanks to the fact that last summer was quite mild, we had some silage leftover but demand for it and new season’s supplements is growing. Already many farmers are on once-a-day or 16-hour milking, and focus must be on keeping cows well fed but at the same time not overgrazing pastures; easier said than done. As always in farming – it’s about thinking and planning ahead – not just for the here and now – overgrazing pasture diminishes them and allows the weeds to come away. But livestock must also be allowed to clean up the pasture so that when it rains there isn’t the dry residue to host facial eczema spores. Now is also the time for pasture renovation, especially in the naturally wetter areas of the farm. Get the grass seed in now – it’s better in the ground than in the bag in the shed being nibbled on by mice. The earlier pasture is established, the greater the beneﬁts; as the later its sown, the later it will get away and the less likely it will be able to grazed in autumn and maybe not until spring.

Barley straw

Barley straw is already in short supply. Less was grown because of reduced demand, thanks to the low dairy payout. And drought in the Hawke’s Bay means barley crops there haven’t grown as well, so anyone wanting barley

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straw this season may be in for an unpleasant surprise. At this point in the season, farmers have options going forward but it’s not the time to procrastinate. Feed budgets must be done in order to be prepared for winter. This includes closely inspecting maize, and winter crops to assess the yields. Because of the unusual weather, crops may not produce as much as expected. Crops could be two to four tonne of dry matter down which, for a 10ha block, could equate to a shortage of 20 tonne to 40 tonne of dry matter or 100 to 200 big bales of hay – this is the deﬁcit farmers could be looking to make up. Ordering supplements for the winter is vital to be sure of supply because now it is at its cheapest straight off the paddock to the farmer, as is arranging winter grazing. Leaving it too late to contact grazers could mean having to truck animals farther from home – adding even more costs.

Timely manner

Our aim is to help farmers out with the supplements they need but because many farmers wouldn’t commit to ordering in advance – we, and most other contractors, haven’t planted as much maize as in past years. We still have some available but not much. However, our maize crops are not looking too bad, but because of the cold wet spring we had to put in some shorter maturing varieties to get them off in a timely matter and they are struggling a bit with the dry conditions. Maize growing on sandy ridges is also showing some signs of moisture stress but those on heavier clay soils are holding their own. The news for sheep farmers isn’t good with depressed prices for wool and meat – but for dairy farmers, auction prices have been going mostly up – let’s hope that continues.

DAIRY

Soil carbon – you can build it or burn it – but it’s the very thing we rely on for our survival. Without it there is no plant growth as we know it, and as its being diminished less nutrient and moisture is available for plant uptake. Any reduction in soil carbon levels, due to it being a highly effective ﬁlter, results in a decrease in water quality. A check of soil tests taken during the last 20 years, along with the fertiliser that’s been recommended, will show whether more nutrient is being recommended now just to maintain soil nutrient levels. Is summer pasture production becoming a greater concern? It’s a given that at some time during summer there will be a hot dry period. It’s the way it’s been forever and due to the westerly ﬂow patterns the east coast is likely to suffer more than the west.

Page 13

This means an initial application of lime and the rule of thumb is 1.0 tonne/ ha/year and its best applied in latespring. Autumn is little late to get full beneﬁt, however there is a step that can be taken now in preparation for next season. An autumn application of Golden Bay dolomite provides essential calcium and helps with an upward shift in soil pH, which both aid clover growth.

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Dolomite is also an outstanding soil conditioner in its own right, which means rain infiltrates the soil more readily speeding the growth of autumn and early winter pasture. Damage caused by treading during excessively wet periods during winter is lessened. Dolomite, being primarily a magnesium fertiliser, is spread at the rate required to minimise calcium and magnesium-related metabolic disorders in spring. Experience during close to 30 years shows a rate of Increasingly difficult 25kg/ha of magnesium is sufficient to markedly reduce The issue is whether or not it’s becoming increasingly difficult to meet stock feed requirements from not only the number but also the severity of spring metabolic disorders in calving cows, regardless of soil pasture grown during that period. test numbers. There’s any amount of data from Ministry for the With dolomite containEnvironment, and councils throughout the country, ing 115kg of magnesium to show water quality is deteriorating and that it’s per tonne, an application closely aligned to the recent intensification of dairy rate of 200kg/ha-225kg/ farming. ha is an ideal addition But here’s the thing – it is under-grazed pasture Specialising in farm dairy design that soil organic matter and humus can be most rap- to the autumn nutrient programme, providing the idly built. It’s not intensive farming as such that’s the base from which to reduce problem – it’s just the way it’s being carried out. With a lifetime of experience designing and building nitrogen fertiliser inputs Accepting that as a fact, means intensive pastoral farm dairies, we’re well equipped to create a design that and initiate a carbon posifarming is potentially the saviour of water quality suits your exact needs, no matter what. tive farming future. and the environment at large. As pasture growth Our customised design process provides a choice of For more information increases so too can the amount eaten, resulting in options in shed styles, yard layout, plant room design extra dung deposited. And along with dead leaf and call Peter on 0800 436 and pipe work configuration. 566 (0800 4Dolomite). old roots, soil organic matter rapidly develops, and High cow flow efficiency everyone wins.

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But it’s got to be carried out without regular applications of fertiliser nitrogen. Farm consultants agree on this point because they inform me the amount being applied has declined from about 200kg/ha to 160kg/ha, but argue that without some nitrogen, pasture production immediately declines. Remove an essential component of any diet without replacing it and there will be a decline in performance. However, fertiliser nitrogen can be replaced and when this takes place there’s no reduction in annual pasture production; just a change in when it occurs. Naturally, early season pasture production is slower with less nitrogen applied. However, from early-November onwards there is a steady gain due to vigorous clover growth. It’s more nutritious and digestible than grass resulting in less animal weight loss and higher levels of production, often without the requirement for supplementary feed.

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Page 14

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And when walk-through cowsheds had that special smell and we cleaned up the yard by scooping the muck up with a square mouth shovel into a ‘konaki’ and then swilled the yard clear with buckets of water scooped out of the trough? We had small tractors towing big implements with a steel seat and no roof over or air conditioning. They had dodgy brakes and low horsepower. That tractor was started at 7am in the morning and worked all day to be put away at 6pm to do the same the next day. Remember when we worked all day on those tractors with no T-shirt or hat in the beating sun and we went black? And, the swish swash noise of the old Davies pump usually run by a washing machine electric motor as it pumped water day and night down the farm.

or the freezing cold days with no heater in the car and the “swish pause swish” of the vacuum-powered windscreen wipers struggling to give us clear vision.

Best clobber

And, when it was town day and we got into our best clobber and excitedly went into the local town, chatted to various suppliers, went to the stock firm to be greeted by our first name. There were very few people around and finally going to the tearooms for a well-earned cuppa and cake. Then to travel back out to the farm in the hot car with the boot and often the trailer overloaded with goods necessary to run the farm and house. And, when we had hot steaming porridge smothered with fresh cream or milk from the house cow, with brown sugar spread over it, which was followed by lamb chops and eggs and toast and jam and hot black tea for breakfast. Lunch at the house was often mutton sandwiches with relish and tomatoes jammed between thick pieces of fresh bread cut on a bread board with a large serrated Cheque books And, hot scones, ladled with butter and bright red jam knife. Tea was roast hogget with steaming hot potatoes and fresh greens from the garden followed by desert, for morning tea with scalding hot black cuppa tea. We paid the bills neatly with a cheque book and folded the which usually included bottled fruit from the orchard. papers and put them in an envelope, licked the stamps Slide pulsators and placed them in the mailbox with the flag up to go Ahh, the walk-through cowsheds where every cow had to the various suppliers. a name, and we knew which bale she would go into. When we would go out and call the horses, brush them, saddle them up, let the smelly dogs off and spend And, the “swish swash” as the slide pulsators let the air in and out over the top of the radio at full blast. There all day sitting in the skinny saddle as the horse picked were flies everywhere and the bang as we closed the its way around the hill faces while we dreamed away door after every cow as she ambled out to the paddock. and checked on the sheep and cattle, and the water Carrying scalding hot buckets of detergent filled water supply. Getting the Thermos of black tea out of the saddlebag to dump the cups in to clean them after milking; and the steam going out through the vacuum pump, which along with a pack of sandwiches packed in greaseproof made it rattle loudly and the big oily mess out the paper. Finding a spot to sit and contemplate life and back of the shed where the vacuum pump blew its oily eat. breath. The hot dusty roads that went on for miles as we Remember being allowed to watch an hour of fuzzy cooked in the baking hot car with no air conditioning black and white TV, then falling beneath the sheets exhausted, ready to get up to the rattle of the wind-up luminous alarm clock and to go and do it all again. Ahh, those were the days… Disclaimer – These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance. Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought. Don Fraser is the principal of Fraser Farm Finance and a consultant to the Farming Industry. Contact him on 0800 777 675 or 021 777 675. A disclosure document is available on request.

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Page 15

‘Drilling down’ into business brings benefits Glen and Donna Sparrow of Whakatane were 2016’s Bay of Plenty Share Farmers of the Year.

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“You have a very short time in which to tell the judges about all aspects of your operation and preparing for that makes you drill down and focus on what’s really important,” says Glen. The couple went through three separate judging processes, emerging winners of the 2016 Bay of Plenty Share Farmers of the Year.

likeminded people and learning about the challenges and advantages farmers throughout the country encountered. This year Glen and Donna are team leaders for the BOP Share Farmer of the Year competition and they are enjoying seeing how the awards work from another perspective. “It’s also an opportunity to meet, on a personal basis, the sponsors – many of whom are companies we buy goods and services from.”

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“It has been a great experience. We entered the awards to challenge ourselves and raise our profile in the industry and also open our business up to others to critique – and all of those aims were achieved,” says Glen, who highly recommends other farmers enter the awards. “There’s quite a lot of work involved in entering but it’s worth giving up a bit of hunting or fishing or shopping time to take part and gain the rewards entering brings.” Glen and Donna represented the Bay of Plenty at the national finals where they enjoyed meeting

Glen and Donna’s goal is to create profitable and sustainable sharemilking businesses that provide them with a good income and ensure financial security for their family. The couple, aged 39 and 36 with four children, is currently contract milking 450 cows for Craig and Marianne Hammond at Whakatane. The Sparrows say their strengths are their personnel and their focus on profit over production. “Focusing on profit increases your awareness of costs and stock requirements, ensuring stock are well cared for and in good condition. “It also means we use existing resources to their full potential, especially pastures.”

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Couple achieve farming goal through awards Bobby and Jade Millner have landed their ‘dream’ farming job, and they credit winning the 2016 Waikato Share Farmers of the Year title with helping them secure it. “We can’t speak highly enough of what the awards have meant for us,” says Jade, who with Bobby is coordinating the 2017 Waikato awards. “Next year we take up a new role on a 540-cow farm at Orini, which is just the number of cows we were hoping for. It’s a lovely flat farm operating a similar system to the one we are currently on and we are again going to be working with progressive, passionate farm owners.” The couple were approached about the position after they won the 2016 award. It was their aim to operate a sustainable, profitable and compliant dairy farm business that benefits all parties that most impressed the judges – and no doubt their new employer. “One of our strengths is our focus on low-cost

pasture first, as well as operating a sustainable and profitable business.” The couple, aged 28 and 27, is currently 50 per cent sharemilking 265 cows for Jim and Judy Barrett at Morrinsville. “Our strengths complement each other well and we take charge of our own areas while still consulting one another.” Bobby takes charge of livestock, farm environment, dairy hygiene, and health and safety while Jade – who is completing a Bachelor of Business majoring in accounting – is responsible for pasture, financials, human resources and calf-rearing. Last year was the first time they’d entered the awards, doing so to raise their profile, create a point of difference and gain feedback on how they can improve their systems and business. Their goal was to progress to a larger sharemilking position. “We want to build enough equity to allow us to be in the position to enter into an equity partnership or land ownership within 10 years.”

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Bobby and Jade Millner credit the Dairy Industry Awards in finding them their dream job. ity. Most people seem to share our Jade and Bobby have found this view that you concentrate on what you year’s co-ordinator roles for the Waikato awards challenging but enjoyable. can control and don’t overly worry about the things like the weather and “We had no previous experience of being on committees and it was a little the payout, which you can’t.” The Waikato Regional Awards overwhelming at first but we have such a great committee in the Waikato and everyone does their job really well. “We have 51 contestants across the three categories this year, which is great.” Jade says as well as the experience of competing in and winning the regional title, attending the national awards in Wellington was a highlight and an opportunity Proud moment - Bobby and Jade Millner the night they to meet not only won the 2016 Waikato Share Farmer title. other motivated farmers, but also Dinner is on March 10 at Mystery industry leaders. Creek Hamilton with the winners’ “The great thing about the whole field day on March 23. The National awards is everyone is so positive about Awards dinner is on May 6 at Sky City dairying. You don’t hear any negativConvention Centre in Auckland.

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 17

Win in award just ‘awesome’ Winning the 2016 Central Plateau Dairy Manager of the Year Awards has been “an awesome experience” for Leighton and Nicola Swan.

“A real strength at Wairarapa Moana is the support given, both in terms of professional development and mentoring. Mangakino is also a great community to be involved with personally.” The last two seasons have been productive, largely thanks to the fact that 40 per cent of “We have met so many people through enterthe farm Leighton maning at the regional level ages is irrigated. “We’ve and then taking part been fortunate to have in the nationals,” says irrigation, especially this Leighton, who with summer.” Nicola, is team leader The scale of the for the dairy trainee property and the ability section of the Central to move cows and feed Plateau awards. between the Wairarapa For the couple, Moana group of farms, to originally from Taranaki, achieve the best result, is entering the regional also a strength. Leighton Swan was awards has been an excelEntering the awards delighted to win./ lent way to meet locals also brought a new focus and get a feel for the to the couple’s long term community. plans. “The judging process challenged “Thanks to the awards we now have our goals going forward and helped us friends throughout the region and New focus on our long term plans, including Zealand, who we keep in touch with re-looking at farm ownership.” through social media.” However, Leighton says one of the Helping run the dairy trainee section many advantages of the dairy industry is of the Central Plateau awards is also an it offers a number of options, including inspiring experience. “The awards have being in a salaried management position attracted very motivated young people such as he currently enjoys. who are great to work with.” Central plateau Regional Awards Leighton, who has been in the indusDinner is on March 15 at the Energy try for 16 years, has spent the last three Event Centre Rotorua. The Regional seasons managing the 940-cow ManWinners’ Field Day is on March 29. gakino farm owned by the Wairarapa The National Awards dinner is on May Moana Incorporation. It’s the ﬁrst time 6 at Sky City Convention Centre in he’s farmed outside of Taranaki, his Auckland. home region.

White is the new butter colour Fonterra’s Research and Development Centre alongside its global ingredients business, NZMP, has developed a new white butter product to meet growing demand from manufacturers in the Middle East market.

Although Fonterra’s butter is renowned among Middle East consumers for its famous golden appearance thanks to grass-fed cows, a niche segment of manufacturers prefer white butter as a processing ingredient for their food products. These Middle Eastern food manufacturers have traditionally sourced butter from grain-fed cows, which

produce dairy products with a pale colour. Fonterra’s dairy foods category director of NZMP, Casey Thomas, says Fonterra seized an opportunity to respond to customer needs by developing a high quality white butter ingredient through an innovative manufacturing process which reduces the golden appearance of butter without impacting its quality. “While our yellow butter already sees great success in this market, we saw an opportunity to tap into this new area for customers to use in a variety of applications such as spreadable jar cheese, recombined cream cheese, and could soon be used in ice cream.”

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MAIZE & PASTURE

Bizarre to potentially devastating finds Faced with record numbers of international visitors this summer, Ministry for Primary Industries biosecurity staff have intercepted risk goods ranging from the bizarre to the potentially devastating for New Zealand’s economy and environment. Some of the unusual interceptions so far this summer include: • A chilly bin of live spanner crabs from Thailand presented to officers at Wellington Airport. • Fruit fly larvae in mangos found at Auckland Airport inside a suitcase from Malaysia jammed full of plant produce and other food. • Freshwater fish from Thailand found crawling with maggots at Auckland Airport. • Two brown marmorated stink bugs found during a search of a tent used by a traveller arriving at Auckland Airport from the United States. • Untreated spring water from Fiji believed to have healing properties. Known as miracle water, travellers have to pay for heat treat-

ment if they want to bring the product into New Zealand. MPI screened 684,407 air passengers for biosecurity risk in January, an increase of more than 10 per cent (64,121) from January 2016. It intercepted some 12,600 biosecurity risk items in January. Of these, 1,829 were undeclared. “The interceptions show New Zealand’s biosecurity system is holding up well in the face of huge numbers of arriving passengers, many of whom have little knowledge of biosecurity,” says Craig Hughes, MPI’s Manager North Passenger and Mail. “We did a lot of work last year to gear up for the busy summer, including employing nearly 30 new quarantine ofﬁcers. “Most of the new staff have been working on the search benches at Auckland Airport to check the baggage of passengers identiﬁed as high risk. “We’ve also introduced more staff to make biosecurity risk assessments of passengers at the airport. This, coupled with recent layout changes and a new x-ray machine for screening baggage, has allowed speedier processing and improved biosecurity.”

Milk price confirmed at $6 Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited has conﬁrmed the forecast Farmgate Milk Price of $6 per kgMS previously announced in November.

global analysts” Fonterra also announced that it would increase the monthly advance rates it pays to farmers. The advance rate for February, paid in March, has increased to $4.85 per kgMS. “Our conﬁdence in the global dairy market at this stage of the season, combined with the strength of our co-operative, has enabled us to increase the monthly advance rates more than we normally would at t h i s time of the year,” says John. Fonterra’s Global Dairy Update for February reported that the Co-operative’s New Zealand milk collections were showing signs of recovery. Originally expected to be down seven per cent for the season, the New Zealand collections forecast has now improved to a ﬁve per cent decline on last season.

When combined with the forecast earnings per share range for the 2017 ﬁnancial year of 50 to 60 cents, the total pay-out available to farmers in the current season is forecast to be $6.50 to $6.60 before retentions. Fonterra Chairman John Wilson says the Co-operative is conﬁdent that this forecast is at the right level, following the 75 cent rise in its forecast Farmgate Milk Price in November last year. “The global outlook for dairy remains positive. Since November, the global market for commodity dairy products has remained relatively balanced and we expect global prices to continue to hold or gradually increase over the back half of this season – a view shared by most

App for Hamilton Gardens The app contains images and text and is triggered as users move into the different garden spaces. When users enter a themed garden the app notiﬁes them that information on the garden is available through an audio signal, and visitors can either read the information on their phones or listen to an audio version. An iOS app is under development and garden staff say the next logical step would be to be able to listen to the commentary in other languages.

The million people who visit Hamilton Gardens each year now have an app available to help them get around the city’s number one tourist destination. The University of Waikato has worked with Hamilton Gardens staff to develop the Android app that provides information about the history and design of the themed gardens. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play store. It’s the work of staff from the Faculty of Computer Science, led by Associate Professor Annika Hinze.

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Page 19

Wool garments may reduce burns AgResearch scientists have been putting the heat on wool garments to see what level of fire protection they can provide to those in the armed forces or emergency services. With wool’s burn-resistant properties being well-known, AgResearch – working alongside co-funder Australian Wool Innovation and UK-based New Zealand company Armadillo Merino – has been exploring how wool base layer or “next to skin” garments respond to flame and intense heat, and specifically how absorbed moisture in the wool affects the flammability. “For those in the armed forces or emergency services a lot of the main

The autonomous or driverless vehicles and the likely impact of this emerging technology on the primary sector – and society in general – will be among the topics under discussion at MobileTECH 2017 in Rotorua from March 22-23. MobileTECH is the only event of its type in this region that brings together leading technology developers, engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators from across the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors under one roof. Now in its ﬁfth year, MobileTECH has ﬁrmly established itself as the major cross-sector technology event focusing on agriculture, horticulture and forestry industries. “The focus though of the conversation amongst leading tech developers, service suppliers and users has changed,” says Connex; Event Innovators programme manager Ken Wilson.

Early adopters

“We are no longer talking about early trials or the potential integration of innovations like advanced remote sensors, UAVs, wireless networks or cloud computing into day-to-day operations. “Instead, we now have ﬁnancial and operational data being shared by some of the early adopters of these technologies.” The Internet of Things (IoT) is a great example. “It’s evolved from the relatively simple RFID tagging and data tracking of cattle” says Ken. “IoT is now the backbone of a centralised system, tracking and analysing data from multiple sources right across the farm. Spark is now working with more than 100 farmers to install the Internet of Things systems into their operations.” KotahiNet is another company building a New Zealand-wide wireless network for the rural sector.

One of their earlier projects involved the installation of sensors in a Wairarapa olive grove. Real-time data and analytics assists the owners to better map growth rates, set spraying schedules and respond to critical events as they happen. A recent report from American-based BI Intelligence predicts IoT device installations throughout the agricultural sector will increase from 30 million units in 2015 to more than 75 million in 2020. On the average farm, the data points collected per day will also increase from 190,000 in 2014 to 4.1 million in 2050. “We are certainly getting better at collecting data. The major challenge now is what to do with it. “More connected devices and less human interaction will drive machine learning and automated systems,” says Ken. “New Zealand has had a good start. We already have a number of world-class companies, like Rezare, Agrimap, FarmIQ and Figured, which provide innovative data management software and tools for the rural sector. “The Ministry for Primary Industries also sees the value in data. They have set up the Farm Data Code of Practice to help safeguard farmers’ data and ensure data can more easily move between the different systems. “The Internet of Things and the use of collected data are just some of the big talking points at MobileTECH 2017 in March,” says Ken. “Never before has the technology and IT sector been so critical to the future success of New Zealand’s primary industries. This year we will, once again, have up to 300 industry and technology leaders discuss the issues impacting the future proﬁtably of the primary sector.” To ﬁnd out more about MobileTECH 2017, go to: www.mobiletech.events

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focus is on the outer garments, for obvious reasons, but here we have looked at the additional defence a base layer garment can offer,” says Dr Alex Hodgson, who has led the work for AgResearch. “One of the experiments we did was to test out how skin beneath a wool base layer is affected by ﬁre – using the skin from a pig carcass. “From this, we found evidence that wool garments could lessen the severity of burn injury as compared to standard issue base layers used by Police and military personnel in the UK.” Some of the work done by AgResearch scientists was presented at a conference in Melbourne recently.

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MAIZE & PASTURE

Olsen P test ‘could not accurately predict relative pasture yield’ The following is a quote from ‘Sustainable Nutrient Management in NZ Agriculture’ – the manual produced by the Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre and taught by Massey University. “Sinclair et at 1997 took the average curve and examined how good it was at explaining the relationship between percentage relative pasture yield and Olsen P values at 17 of the 19 sites.” The result shown in Figure 4.1.16 is somewhat sobering. “Sinclair et al 1997 concluded that Olsen P soil tests from farms could not accurately predict relative pasture yield. The data, however,

did show that when Olsen P values exceed 20, a near maximum relative yield can be produced.” The graph shows that on some soil types an Olsen P of 10 was giving 100 per cent relative yield and on other sites Olsen Ps more than 30 were not. “It was experimentally shown that yields on plots fertilised for six years with RPR (Perrott et al. 1993) were higher than predicted from the Olsen P tests values for those plots. It was found that on average after six years annual RPR application, Olsen values needed multiplying by 1.69 if an Olsen P response curve, generated using SSP, was to be used to predict yield.” If an Olsen P was 20; it needed to be multiplied by 1.69 – which would equate to an Olsen P of 33.8. “The reason for the under prediction of yield on RPR fertilised plots is that plant roots can access P that will be released from the undissolved RPR residue but this P is not extracted in the high pH 8.5 Olsen extract.” At a paddock scale on a hill country farm this spatial variation in estimating the representative Olsen P, a soil test can be as high as 40-60 per cent incorrect (Baird et al 1995). Farmers are managing multimillion-dollar enterprises. They cannot allow themselves to believe anything without investigating it further or even questioning what they are currently doing from another benchmark or paradigm. The most disturbing aspect, as many farmers have said to us, is research has been hidden from them and in some instances for more than 35 years. A number of farmers and growers have said: “If the regional councils, which are outside of agriculture, did not get involved, we would still be getting misled. What a shocking indictment on the industry”.

Six sheep for every New Zealander The total number of sheep in the country was down by a little more than five per cent between June 2015 and June 2016, reports Statistics New Zealand. Provisional figures show the number of sheep in New Zealand fell by 1.5 million, down to 27.6 million at June 30, 2016. “Between 2006 and 2016 the number of sheep reduced from just more than 40 million, a drop of about 30 per cent,” says Statistics NZ agricultural production statistics manager Stuart Pitts. “We now have fewer than six sheep for each person. This is down from 1982’s historic high, when there were more than 70 million sheep, or 22 for every person.” In the year to June 30, 2016, beef cattle and deer numbers also fell, but the number of dairy cattle remained steady – at 6.5 million. These provisional figures are from the 2016 Agricultural Production Survey, which Statistics NZ conducted in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries.

KIWIFRUIT

Page 21

MATT

Kiwifrtusit plan

Shelter Trees

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc chairman Doug Brown.

The kiwifruit industry is predicting its second largest crop ever this season, despite low winter chill, the impacts of a cold wet spring and the presence of the vine disease Psa-V. New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc Chairman Doug Brown says that overall the crop of both green and gold is looking better than it did pre-flowering. Last season Zespri exported 83 million trays of green and 48 million trays of gold New Zealand fruit, as well offshore production of 11 million trays of green and just over four million trays of gold. “The green crop this season will be down in volume but fruit size will be better than expected. It appears sunshine hours are also up by about 15 per cent on last year, which suggests improved dry-matter in both green and gold fruit which equates to improved taste and improved per tray returns. “Those combined factors should soften the blow of a reduced crop a little for green growers.” However, Doug says gold volumes are not as badly affected as green this season and fewer flowers has reduced the amount of flower and fruit thinning growers have had to do. SunGold volumes will continue to increase as more vines come into full production. “The season is looking more positive than first thought. Gold and green are looking better than they were pre-flowering. “The challenge for Zespri will be to keep all its markets supplied with Hayward green fruit, this season. We can’t turn markets on and off but must continue to supply them, even with a limited volume. However, because of that, growers should be rewarded through value with an improved per tray return.” Doug says that while the decrease in crop volume is not unexpected, growers continually face a number of factors beyond their control, including the weather. However, orchardists are increasingly becoming more professional and scientific in their management of vines which helps them cope with weather and disease issues.

The new gold variety G3 or SunGold still has a way to go before it reaches full maturity and as Zespri released another 400ha of SunGold licence in New Zealand last season with plans to release 400ha a year for the next three season,

volumes of that crop will continue to grow for some time. The 2017 kiwifruit harvest is poised to begin in mid-March, probably in the Gisborne region where the earliest maturing fruit is generally grown. Elaine Fisher

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KIWIFRUIT

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The Croplands Kiwiliner 2000 has been launched in a joint effort between well-established Te Puke spray company Splash Direct, and Australasian spray company Croplands. Splash Direct director Craig Bell says the companies started with a blank slate on the project, looking speciﬁcally at the operational demands New Zealand’s orchards and cropping methods placed upon spray equipment. “New Zealand kiwifruit orchardists are now starting to grow very heavily

fruiting crops, particularly with the new SunGold variety. “This places high weights on canopy structures, inevitably causing them to sag and lowering the space that sprayers have to operate when vines are fully fruited.” Lowering the sprayer’s profile therefore became a key focus for the design team, achieved with a low profile tank, lowered wheel placement and a focus on a compact profile. Reducing the trailer’s length by 500mm has also made it more

Croplands North Island, upper area sales manager - Greg Small and Director of Splash Direct - Craig Bell with the Kiwiliner 2000. The stability on sloped surfaces is manoeuvrable around confined orchard Ourheadlands. Atoms areWith set upcareful with radar speed sensors, this My Name is Neil Woodward. placement of also improved by the Kiwiliner’s wide combined with fully automated sprayeralso controllers and the sprayer’s wheels the Kiwiliner I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run three nozzle rings enhances application efficiencyfoot andstance of 1600mm at its narrowest tracks the tractor better around those point. business, our team consists of three, being myself, my accuracy. tight headland areas. Croplands area sales manager Greg son and my brother. 216 Pongakawa Bush Road We also a quadnow bikesits foronly strip 1350mm weed spray “Theuse sprayer Small also brought years of industry Our organisation has been established for over 18 applications. Puke between the ground and the top of the experience to the project, helpingTetune years. I have been involved in applying crop protection tank, and still provides ground clearance programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We hold all certificates needed to meet Globalgapthe design of the Italian sourced Fieni of 227mm.” compliance. fan unit to suit it specifi cally to NZ To contact us: We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We The reduction in height makes the kiwifruit canopy conditions. WeKiwiliner look at allthe challenges to help ensureon we protect Phone: 021 907 621 have the equipment to spray orchards with our two lowest profi le sprayer Its front delivery design ensures air your crop with excellence. Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom the market, reducing the risk of crop E-mail: zcl@zanadu.co.nz supply is clean and free of litter. Formula tractor which is also available for mulching damage that can result from protruding The pump system operates an ARBHS and mowing. spray lids. 170 brass diaphragm pump driven via Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, this The Kiwiliner’s tank has been designed My Name is Neil Woodward. a heavy duty centrifugal engagement combined with fully automated sprayer controllers and specifically for kiwifruit orchard applicaclutch. I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run three nozzle rings enhances application efficiency and tion, and its 12mm thick polyethylene There has been a focus on protecting business, our team consists of three, being myself, my accuracy. moulding contains no blind corners son and my brother. critical components like the fan, tank 216 Pongakawa Bush Road or angles that run the risk of trapping We also use a quad bike for strip weed spray and pump with heavy duty galvanised Our organisation has been established for over 18 chemicals during theTe mixing applications. Puke process. protection bars well placed to absorb years. I have been involved in applying crop protection “The tank tapers down into the sump, canopy post or stump impacts. programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We hold all certificates needed to meet Globalgap essentially integrating into it so even compliance. To contact us: The Kiwiliner’s main tank incorpowhen operating on a slope there is no We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We rates a 200 litre freshwater tank for hand We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect 907 621 lossPhone: of liquid021 for suction and delivery. have the equipment to spray orchards with our two your crop with excellence. washing, and to enable back flushing of “It ensures you are getting continual Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom E-mail: zcl@zanadu.co.nz spray before an operator maintains or Formula tractor which is also available for mulching delivery to the pump, regardless of and mowing. adjusts nozzles and hose connections. driving conditions.”

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KIWIFRUIT

Page 23

Achieving clean ‘stainless’ kiwifruit Traditionally high volumes of water per hectare, as much as 3000 litres, have been used on kiwifruit orchards for single or split passes to apply stain removal products, says Etec Crop Solutions Northern regional manager Pieter van der Westhuizen.

Key features from Du-Wett Stainless use are improved product coverage and deposition on kiwifruit skins, reduced water rates required, and fruit dries in almost half the normal time. “Du-Wett Stainless can safely be tank-mixed with stain removal products such as KiwiLustre and Lift-off. The unique chemical formulation of Du-Wett Stainless is not degraded by the low pH of acid stain removal products.”

“Although visibly drenching the canopy and wetting the ends of the fruit hairs, these high-water rates do not necessarily translate into effective deposition onto fruit surfaces.

Lower water rates

Skin surfaces

“The crucial aspect of stain removal is to achieve maximum deposition and spreading of stain removal products onto kiwifruit skin surfaces,” says Pieter. Du-Wett Stainless, a unique, acid-tolerant, super-spreader signiﬁcantly improves deposition and spreading of stain removal products. Du-Wett Stainless reduces the surface tension of spray droplets to enable mixtures to more effectively cover kiwifruit skin surfaces, thus allowing stain removal products direct contact with stains.

Stained kiwifruit. Photo: Etec Crop Solutions.

Pieter says bolstering a stain removal programme with Du-Wett Stainless also reduces the need for high water rates. “Best results are achieved at much lower water volumes of 500 to 1000 litres per hectare, meaning it’s possible to cover an area three to six times larger with a single tank. Lower water rates and improved spreading result in fruit drying quicker, so harvesting can start earlier. “To get the best from Du-Wett Stainless, ensure the sprayer is calibrated accurately for the appropriate target application rate per hectare. For heavily-stained fruit, a second pass can be made as a double pass application at 500 litres per hectare each way.”

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ZESPRI

Page 24

High quality, value for money option for kiwifruit growers When it comes to consistent, value for money, high quality hydrogen cyanamide, it is hard to look past Grosafe Chemicals’ Hi-break, says Grosafe Chemicals’ territory manager Garth Richter. For the last 18 years Grosafe has been servicing the kiwifruit sector with its Hi-break brand, and in more recent

times the Mount Maunganui-based company has expanded its range, catering to a wide range of growers’ chemical and foliar nutrition requirements. “Grosafe Chemicals’ Hi-break has played a key role in increasing kiwifruit yields, with its optimal level of active ingredient, it easily equals or surpasses its rivals in efﬁcacy and price. Grosafe Chemicals’ stringent quality control ensures that Hi-break meets

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industry standards, with millions of litres sold to kiwifruit growers as testament.” At this time of year there is a focus on kiwifruit water stain removal products, of which Grosafe Chemicals has two

Grosafe Chemicals’ territory manager Garth Richter has more than 20 years’ horticultural experience. – Kiwistainoff and ing growers and bringing them Kiwisheen. exceptional quality products at Kiwistainoff is a low market leading prices. foam lactic acid based Hailing from Zimbabwe, cleaning product that Garth has more than 20 years offers long acting stain horticultural experience in both removal. Kiwisheen is a growing and exporting, and has low foam calcium phosan intimate understanding of the phate based formulation complexities, requirements and commonly used on early challenges associated with comstart kiwifruit. mercial horticulture. “Both serve speciﬁc roles and at “Grosafe Chemicals is commarket leading prices they are very mitted to bringing growers high worthy products,” says Garth, quality, equal to, or improved who is the key point of call for formulations at affordable prices these products. to ultimately increase grower’s Garth joined the company in yields and proﬁt margin.” early-2016 with a focus on servic-

NIR technology helps fruit reach export grade It’s been described as “faster than a speeding bullet”. It’s the new innovative Near InfraRed technology at the Hume Pack-N-Cool in Katikati facility, which assesses the internal quality of a fruit within milliseconds without even touching it, and has resulted in maximising growers’ trays and returns. Hume Pack-N-Cool general manager of operations Piers Zajac-Wiggett says when the region struggled with poor dry matter results last season, the company was able, during packing, to recover more than 150,000 trays of fruit for its growers – all achieving the high Zespri standards. “Hume Pack-N-Cool is proud in the way it has worked with Compac’s Inspectra division. The results were far beyond first expectations, having increased the accuracy and application of the NIR technology, not only for the benefit of Hume Pack-N-Cool clients, but also for others in the wider industry. “This has resulted in big benefits for our growers because NIR technology can assess and segregate individual fruit into categories. To date dry matter has been the focus but further trials including segregation of internal colour of the gold fruit, enabling portions of lines of fruit to be exported earlier to market.

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NIR technology at Hume Pack-N-Cool is bringing big benefits to kiwifruit growers. “This year the possibility of segregating lines of fruit into medium and long-term storage are all possibilities being explored to maximise the fruit returns for growers. “Our aim is to be recognised as innovative visionary leaders in post-harvest and to inspire efficiency for the maximum benefit of our customers. “During the last three decades we have proven our ability to respond to a rapidly changing kiwifruit environment and we will continue to innovate into the future,” says Piers. “We will carry on exploring this technology for the benefits of the grower and the industry, creating a premium product for Zespri, and for the consumer – all part of “making Life delicious!”

ZESPRI

Page 25

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Zespri collaborative marketing manager Warren Young and Zespri CEO Lain Jager with Zespri branding – which has reached a 20-year milestone.

It was a completely new word, with no meaning in any language, but the fortunes of an entire industry rested on its success. The sceptics thought it couldn’t be done, but those who believed it could proved them wrong. Twenty years on, Zespri is one of the most recognisable brand names in the international fruit market and the company bearing the same name leads a highly successful industry.

Uproar over name

But in 1997 when the name Zespri was launched, it caused an uproar. Talkback radio went wild with comments; newspaper editors and cartoonists had a ﬁeld day. Most wrongly supposed the industry was re-naming ‘kiwifruit’ and failed to grasp the concept that Zespri was the name for the New Zealand brand of kiwifruit, not kiwifruit in general.

When the directors of the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board selected the word ‘Zespri’ from a number of possibilities, the industry was recovering from ﬁnancial and political turmoil. Peter Berry, who served on the New Zealand Kiwifruit Authority Board from 1985 to 1987 and on NZKMB from 1992 to 1996, well remembers the discussions around the board table over which of the brand names to choose.

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“We had employed an international company to research potential names. They put forward nine and Zespri was the one that appealed most to the board members. It had to be checked to ensure it didn’t mean anything offensive in other languages.” The events which led to the new brand began much earlier.

...continued

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ZESPRI

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How a name with no meaning came to mean so much continued...

In 1987 competition between exporters had become intense with undercutting and price bargaining onshore and in the markets. This coincided with a massive 4.6 million tray crop. The result was a drastic drop in grower returns and conﬁdence.

The NZKA, after much heated industry debate and consultation, proposed to dissolve itself, to end licensed exporters, and introduce a new single desk marketing organisation that had sole rights to buy and market New Zealand kiwifruit.

Doug Voss, today a Zespri organic kiwifruit grower, was the ﬁrst chairman of the Zespri Group Ltd in 2000.

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“Not everyone, especially the exporters, were in favour,” says Warren Young, who has been involved in the kiwifruit industry for decades, ﬁrst working for an exporter and then the NZKMB and is today Zespri’s collaborative marketing manager.

bankruptcy. However, many growers went to the wall and an estimated 18 to 20 per cent quit their land. By 1994 John was reporting a “mood of cautious optimism” and transformation as the debt burden eased signiﬁcantly.

Silent majority

Doug Voss served on the New Zealand Kiwifruit Authority Board from 1988 to 1991, was deputy chairman 1994 to 1997 and chairman in 1999, becoming the ﬁrst chairman of the Zespri Group Ltd in 2000, a position he held until 2003. He takes considerable satisfaction that the industry is grower-owned and the part he played in helping that happen. On April 1, 2000, kiwifruit growers became the ofﬁcial owners of Zespri Group Ltd, the single biggest kiwifruit marketer in the world and global category leader. “This industry was built on growers’ indomitable spirit, a self-help attitude and determination to overcome the odds and save ourselves from what has sometimes seemed like certain death,” Doug said at the time.

“But many growers came from the dairy and drystock industries and understood how producer boards worked. The referendum on the issue was a victory for the silent majority because growers gave a mandate for the changes,” In 1988 the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board was established and faced even more turbulent times. NZKMB chairman John Palmer described the 1992/1993 season as “the most difﬁcult in the board’s short history and a ﬁnancial disaster”. The board had a trading loss of $74.46 million and had overpaid growers. In addition, trade creditors and coolstores were owed $18 million. The board, under John’s leadership, negotiated with bankers in an effort to save the industry and growers from

Grower owned

...continued

ZESPRI

Page 27

Brand image for health, vitality, nutrition continued...

Optimism was high, the new variety Zespri Gold (Hort16A) was launched and plans for year-round marketing were in place. “There were times when it was tough, but we were surrounded by good people who shared the workload and had the good of the entire industry ﬁrmly at heart.”

Bold moves

Without the bold moves taken in the 1990s, including the single point of entry marketing and the Zespri brand, Doug believes the industry would not be in the strong position it is today. Another who was intensely involved in the branding process was communications manager Susan Robinson-Derus. Twenty years on, and no longer directly involved with the industry, she’s still passionate about New Zealand kiwifruit, the Zespri brand and kiwifruit growers. “It was just a name to begin with and it needed to become a brand into which people put meaning.” With a limited budget and resources, the Zespri marketing teams on and offshore began campaigns to raise the proﬁle of Zespri Kiwifruit. That included using brightly painted ‘Zespri’ VWs in Europe and young

Peter Berry was a member of the NZKMB board, which chose the name Zespri.

people on roller blades in supermarkets in Japan. Susan is full of admiration for the board members and growers who were brave enough to back the brand, and delighted at the ownership they took in it.

wear the costume, which was hot and uncomfortable, and the response was so strong we had to start a roster.” Today the name-withno-meaning has done more than gain proﬁle and premiums for the fruit which carries its label. It is associated in the minds of consumers with health, vitality, nutrition, fun and safe food – and they are prepared to pay more for a Zespri kiwifruit than those of its competition. For the industry in New Zealand, the brand has also become a focus for unity, a factor which helped with the recovery from the impacts of the vine disease Psa-V.

Thanks for the past 20 years The future looks great

Elaine Fisher

trevelyan.co.nz

America’s Cup

“We didn’t have a budget to be a sponsor of the 2000 America’s Cup challenge in New Zealand, but we offered street theatre, with people giving samples of kiwifruit, and the appearance of our big kiwifruit mascot. We asked growers if they would like to

Envy of other kiwifruit growers The Zespri brand and the Single Point of Entry status of marketing company Zespri International underpin the strength of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, says New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc chairman Doug Brown. Zespri is amongst the most recognised fruit brands in the world and it came about thanks to significant investment and research by the industry and growers. “Our brand and marketing structure are the envy of other kiwifruit growers worldwide. Year-on-year New Zealand growers are reaping the benefits of the brand in returns. In some cases this brand strength allows the price of Zespri Kiwifruit in international markets to earn a significant premium over kiwifruit from other countries.” The structure has not been without its challenges with many attempts to undo it, says Doug, but continues to have support of the vast majority of growers. “The structure returns profits to every grower in

customers, and consumers, also beneﬁt from the Zespri brand and industry structure because, thanks to strict quality controls governing growing, harvesting, packing, cool storing and delivery of the fruit to market, they can be assured of receiving a premium, tasty, safe product. Elaine Fisher

New Zealand, not just a small group of growers.” Doug says it concerns him there are still a small number of growers who are so self-interested they would put the SPE at risk for their own selfish needs. Without the SPE structure, all that would be achieved would be to drive the price of kiwifruit down. “The benefits of our unique industry structure are not just in the marketplace. Without a unified industry, many growers would not have survived the impacts of Psa-V. “I seriously doubt we would be in the strong position we are today had we not had an integrated co-ordinated response to the management of the disease.” Doug says New Zealand’s offshore

The brand which has become the envy of other kiwifruit producers gained recognition through innovative marketing worldwide. (Photo: NZ Kiwifruit Centennial Journal 2004)

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Page 28

COUNTRY LIVING

Walking the unique, wildly beautiful Tora coast

The Tora Coastal Walk takes trampers through a unique and wildly beautiful part of New Zealand.

Three days with no meals to prepare, no television and no cellphones – how idyllic is that? Very idyllic in fact, even though a fair amount of energy is expended on the Tora Coastal Walk through rugged farmland and along the remote Wairarapa coastline. That energy is more than replenished each evening with gourmet meals provided by hosts Kiri and James Elworthy, Amanda and Simon Bargh and Jenny and Chris Bargh – and all you carry is a day-pack – everything else is delivered to the next accommodation courtesy of the Rural Delivery drivers. Thinking Graham and I were in need of a little adventure, our family gifted us the Tora experience for our birthdays. I have to admit there were moments, trying to stay upright in gusts of 100km on exposed ridges on day one, when we wondered if the kids had alternative motives. However, we enjoyed the Tora Coastal Walk; an unforgettable experience that in the last 22 years has enabled thousands of Stony bay Lodge. Kiwi trampers to reconnect with the land and farming, and introduced just as many tourists to a unique and wildly beautiful part of New Zealand.

the farmland and realised other people would enjoy doing so too,” says Kiri, who is the host and provides the meal for the ﬁrst night at the Whakapata Cottage, which is 30 minutes from Martinborough. It was there we arrived around 5pm on a Tuesday evening to be greeted by Kiri, who had prepared a meal ready for us to cook. This included minted new potatoes, spinach, almond and cranberry salad, quinoa, corn and roasted red pepper salad, eggplant parmigiana, and barbequed wild venison, followed by sticky date pudding and butterscotch sauce.

Sweeping views

All of the ingredients for a hearty breakfast and lunch were also provided – indeed a 15.5km walk the next day was just what was required to burn up the calories. We were fortunate to have the cottage and walk to ourselves. There was another party a day ahead of us and for safety’s sake, Kiri gave us a twoway radio in case we needed assistance. The first part of the walk is relatively gentle – and on that day not too windy. However, that changed as we climbed to Stag Point. Despite the strong wind, we also climbed the Bugler –255m above sea level – to enjoy sweeping views to the Haurangi Ranges and ahead to the Pacific Ocean. The walk took us around five hours and we were very pleased to come down from the hills, out of the wind and walk along the coast road to the modern Stony Bay Lodge. Shortly after we got there Amanda and Simon Bargh arrived with afternoon tea, and dinner of Asian fish Private walk and vegetable For the Elworthy and Bargh families, parcels, coconut running the walk has provided a financial rice and Thai supplement to farming as well as enriching Window seat provides a welcome rest. crispy salad their lives through the people they meet. with peanut dressing, plus all the cooking instructions. The first private walk established in the North Island was the inspiration of James Elworthy’s mother Desert was raspberry and hazelnut brownie cake with whipped cream and raspberry coulis. Jane Elworthy. “She had walked almost every part of ...continued

COUNTRY LIVING

Delicious meals

Page 29

By the time we got there it was raining and becoming cold. However, we did learn some of Anne’s secrets to success and were impressed at what she has achieved.

Shearers quarters

It was great to arrive at The Shearers Quarters, the lovingly restored accommodation for our last night, hosted by Chris and Jenny Bargh. Once again afternoon tea was awaiting, as were hot showers and an outdoor covered area ideal for drying wet gear. That night we didn’t even have to turn on the stove – Jenny provided, from her kitchen, a delicious meal that included perfectly cooked mutton, stuffed mushrooms, roasted tomato tarts, crispy potato bake, baby carrots, plus gooseberry trifles for desert – all of Graham Fisher enjoys a stony seat on the beach. the recipes and more are in the ‘Tora Recipe continued... Book’, which I was very happy to purchase. The purposeThe final day is a four to five-hour walk back built lodge affords along another route, to the Whakapata Cotextensive views of tage. While my boots were comfortable and I the rugged Tora had no blisters, my left foot was painful and Coast, especially the wind was again blowing, so we took Chris enjoyable from up on an offer of a ride back to the cottage and the deep windowour car. seat and enhanced The Tora Coastal Walk is a wonderful way by a telescope. to experience the We watched with Wairarapa Coast. interested as locals We were probably harvested seaweed unlucky on the from the shore using first day to face Ready to cook - the first’ night’s a large eight-wheeled such strong winds, meal at Whakapata Cottage. tractor. which made walking, indeed staying Opua wreck upright, difficult at The next morning we elected the option of times. The views walking south to the wreck of the SS Opua, were nonetheless which ran aground at Tora Inlet, October 2, spectacular. 1926, when en route from Gisborne for WelIt’s a walk not lington. to be taken lightly In truth there’s not much to see of the wreck and is classified Unconventional launch vehicles now, other than a boiler – but Graham found as moderate to used by Tora Coast fishermen. among the stones and shells on the beach, a difficult, but is stainless steel fork, minus its bone handle, which achievable for those with a good level of fitness, used we will claim is a souvenir of the wreck. to walking and tramping, and much enjoyed by parOn the way to our next accommodation we also vis- ties of friends, families and workmates. ited Anne’s Garden and spoke to owner Anne Dodds, To find out more about the Tora Coastal Walk, go who has used biodynamic practices to create a to http://toracoastalwalk.nz/ Elaine Fisher flourishing garden in the harsh coastal environment.

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Page 30

Steps to helping joint health – Part 2 I was recently contacted by someone with osteoarthritis in her hands, feet and hips.

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After detailed analysis we made some changes to her diet and supplement programme. She was taking a supplement which combined fish oil and various antioxidants. While this product had many beneficial ingredients. the amount of active Omega 3 was lower than I recommend. We added my stabilised fish oil at 6000mg daily and higher doses of my chondroitin, glucosamine, and curcumin supplement. The results have been excellent. Her joints have much improved and she is especially thrilled with her feet, because these were starting to cause real problems. The key to improved joint health is being prepared to experiment and use a process of elimination. In this case she was taking Omega 3 – we just changed the doses. She was taking a joint supplement, so what we did was use different doses and combinations. There are many diet changes that can help arthritis. By far the most important are fats. Some fats are inflammatory and worsen arthritis. Some are antiinflammatory and reduce the inflammatory part of

arthritis. Others are relatively neutral. Animal fats are high in arachidonic acid, which increases inflammatory eicosanoids and tend to push the body to an inflammatory state. This is especially true for grain-fed meat and dairy. Fortunately, our predominantly grassfed meat and dairy has a more neutral impact on inflammation. As a rule I would use lean meat cuts and moderate dairy fats. In the next column we look at Omega 3 and Omega 6 and see the importance of maintaining a low ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3. If you have arthritis you should work to a personalised programme for best results. John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For personalised advice, contact John on 0800 423559 or email: john@abundant.co.nz Join his full weekly newsletter at: www.abundant.co.nz.

Puddle fishing’s surprised catch The rain is pouring down, and there, standing in front of a large puddle outside the pub, is an old man drenched and holding a stick with a piece of string dangling from it into the water. “What are you doing?” asks a passer-by. “Fishing,” replies the old man. Feeling sorry for him

the passer-by says: “Come in out of the rain and have a drink with me”. In the warmth of the pub, they sip their whiskies, and the good Samaritan can’t help asking: “So how many have you caught today?” “You’re the eighth,” says the old man.

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 31

Water filters are now ‘essential’ Farms and lifestyle block owners are coming under increased pressure to protect their families from water pollution, says Alan Jones of Arctica Pure Water.

unit, providing 99 per cent-plus protection. “We are often asked why we are cheaper than other water filter suppliers. Most are agents of other manufacturers. However, we purchase the required components internationally and in New Zealand, then make our units in our Tauranga factory, “Creeks, springs, dams and distributing straight to the rural bores used to be clean and sector with no middlemen,” says clear but with intensification Alan. and increased utilisation of the The pre-filter removes dirt, land, the quality of supply has sediment, and rust. They come changed. in densities – or microns – from “Giardia, cryptosporidium, and about 100 down to the more E.coli are now prevalent, plus usual five microns. the taste of the water has deteCarbon block filters are the riorated. Rain water had been workhorses of the system, regarded as safe, however bird removing algae, some bacteArctica Pure Water makes its filtrations units in its Tauranga poo and other waste off the roof ria and microscopic worms. factory from imported and New Zealand component. is a major polluting source.” Impurities such as chlorine, Alan says a few years ago, water chemicals, heavy metals and volfilters were hardly heard of. Now even problem. “We have a range of water filter atile organic compounds from agricultural previously clear town supplies are becoming options, from a basic three-stage design sprays are also absorbed, greatly improving contaminated. with pre-filter plus carbon block filters; the taste and safety of the water. through to a full four-stage system with the Arctica Pure Water can provide an effiAlan says carbon is one of the most absorthree or more filters and a final ultraviolet bent materials known to man; 500 grams of cient and reasonably priced solution to the

Irish wasp saves NZ millions An Irish wasp has saved New Zealand almost half a billion dollars, AgResearch estimates. The estimates also show the benefits of the introduction of the wasp by AgResearch to control the highly destructive clover root weevil are expected to continue at an ongoing rate of at least $158 million per year. The total benefit of the biological control programme from 2006 – when the imported wasp was first released in an experimental phase – through to 2016 is estimated to be at least $489m. This is based on reduced production losses on sheep and beef farms, and reduced use of urea fertiliser to compensate for damage from the weevil. “It’s a fantastic example of how our science is making a real and profound difference to our agricultural sector and economy,” says AgResearch science team leader Alison Popay. “It’s also a real success story in the continuing battle against pests on New Zealand’s farms.” The clover root weevil is an invasive pest from the Northern Hemisphere that feeds on clover. It was first detected in New Zealand in 1996, and such was the damage it could cause, a 2005 study predicted estimated that without control, the weevil could cut farm margins by 10 to 15 per cent. AgResearch started a research and development programme in 1996, and after testing to ensure its safety, the Irish wasp was cleared for release in

New Zealand in 2005. It spread around the country with releases by AgResearch, and as wasps were provided to farmers. The programme research and development costs have been about $8.2 million. The wasp injects its eggs in the adult root weevil, and the resulting grubs inside the weevil render it infertile. Once fully grown, the grub kills the weevil as it eats its way out. One wasp can kill about 85 clover root weevils. The wasp was so successful the team found it reduced weevil populations by about 90 per cent in monitored areas where the wasp is established.

activated carbon can give up to 125 acres of filtering surface. “A carbon block filter is essential in any safe filtration system, and should always be installed before an ultraviolet unit is used as the final protection. This kills any of the remaining organisms of bacteria and their spores. The unit needs to be sufficiently large for your consumption.”

Page 32

FERTILISER

Ancient Peruvian sea beds enhance NZ soils Ancient seabed deposits in Peru are providing fertiliser that will enhance New Zealand soils, says Kiwi Fertiliser Company managing director Ron Mclean.

Kiwi Fertiliser Company managing director Ron McLean is dwarfed by one of the massive 20M3 grabs used to unload fertiliser at the Port of Tauranga. Photos Chris Callinan. Ron’s company has recently taken delivery of a shipment of Sechura Reactive Phosphate Rock – and he was at the Port of Tauranga in February to see 2000 tonnes of it discharged for Kiwi Fertiliser from the MV Lolland.

Autumn top dressing

“This RPR fertiliser is the gold standard – the real McCoy of RPR. Its natural phosphorus is not acidiﬁed before it is spread on to pasture. “It is tested prior to loading in Peru and is above the minimum 10 per cent phosphorus and 30 per cent citric soluble criteria set for New Zealand RPR standards,” says Ron. “The shipment has arrived at the perfect time for autumn top dressing applications.” Because it is extracted from the ancient seabed in the Sechura region of Peru it also contains a lot of calcium, magnesium, sulphur and minor trace nutrients, which are all readily available to plants through the actions of soil life. Although the Sechura is not altered in anyway, Kiwi Fertiliser does add Brimstone 90 – an elemental sulphur – before application to the product to increase phosphorus plant availability.

Reduced leaching

“The RPR still has all of the colloidal clay attached to it.” Because it is a ﬁne, sand-like substance, Ron says the risk of leaching into waterways is reduced by up to 80 to 90 per cent.

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The MV. Lolland spent 22 days at sea to bring the product from Peru to Tauranga and the Sechura RPR was discharged in 26 hours from her holds by a giant grab that can hold the equivalent of a full truck-and-trailer load of material into the wharf hopper and from there into the trucks waiting below. ...continued

The analysis of Sechura RPR varies as is normal with any mined product. The latest Perry Lab data from February 9 shows: Nitrogen (N)

0.05 per cent;

Phosphorus (P)

11 per cent;

Potassium (K)

0.33 per cent;

Sulphate (S)

1.52 per cent;

Magnesium (Mg)

0.49 per cent;

Calcium (Ca)

25 per cent;

Sodium (Na)

1.6 per cent;

Boron (B)

ppm 6;

Manganese (Mn)

ppm 70;

Copper (Cu)

ppm 30;

Iron (Fe)

ppm 49;

Zinc (Zn)

ppm 90;

6.5

Liming value

FERTILISER

The MV Lolland discharging Sechura fertiliser at the Port of Tauranga. continued...

The shipment has replenish supplies into Kiwi Fertiliser’s stores in Te Teko, Te Awamutu, Marton and Havelock North. Supplies of high quality RPR fertiliser have been limited in New Zealand in recent months – and Ron says Kiwi Fertiliser is pleased to be able to source

high quality Sechura for its clients throughout the North Island. So strong is the demand, the ﬁrst two unit loads were dispatched immediately to a hill country beef farm near Wellsford.

Soil audits

“This product is ideal for hill country sheep and beef farms, dairy farms particularly in the Waikato, and in fact any soils in which crops are grown and show the need for phosphate application,” says Ron. “However, we only supply phosphate for soils which are shown, through our soil audits, to be lacking in P. Many soils in the Central Plateau regions of Putaruru, Tokoroa, Taupo, Broadlands, Rotorua and Tauranga retain a lot of phosphorus and show excessive P so they don’t need additional applications – but they do need other nutrients that are a higher priority and a better soil fertility investment than phosphorus.”

Laboratory tests

Chief Ofﬁcer Sergey Balagin talks with Kiwi Fertiliser Company managing director Ron McLean on-board the bulk cargo ship MV Lolland while fertiliser from Peru is discharged from the vessel.

Although the Sechura fertiliser was tested at its source, Kiwi Fertiliser has commissioned two further independent tests from laboratories in New Zealand and the United States so its clients can be assured of the exact percentage of P and other nutrients as well as citric and formic solubility tests.

Page 33

FERTILISER

Page 34

Healthy soils help ensure healthy waterways It is a fact that very few soil problems are intrinsic – most are due to the depletion or absence of diverse communities of soil microbes, says AgriSea New Zealand Seaweed Ltd general manager Tane Bradley. “Firstly, soil function is strongly influenced by its structure. In order for soil to be well structured, it Technical advisor Mark Powick and Paul must be living. Life in the O’Donnell examine the on-farm benefits of soil provides the ‘glues and Agrisea Soil Nutrition. gums’ that enable soil parto ensure healthy waterways is to have ticles to stick together into healthy soil. As rules tighten around pea-sized lumps called aggregates. environmental factors including “Well-structured soils with high levels compromised waterways, farmers need of biological activity are more producviable on-farm options.” tive with fewer inputs, less prone to One option leading the pack, Tane erosion and compaction and function says, is the use of bio-stimulants. “These more effectively as biofilters.” are naturally derived farm inputs that Tane says vigorous root systems and relationships with beneficial soil biology are effective in low concentrations and focus on the health and function of are essential for maximising the ability the soil. “The bio-stimulant industry of crop and pasture plants to obtain worldwide is growing at 12 per cent nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, per annum – this growth is driven by sulphur, calcium, magnesium and a a number of factors including science, wide variety of trace elements including consumer demand and environmental copper, cobalt, zinc, selenium, boron constraints.” and molybdenum. AgriSea New Zealand Seaweed Ltd “Many of these elements are essential is one such bio-stimulant producer for animal health as well as plant resistencountering significant growth. ance to pests and diseases. They also AgriSea is an award-winning family confer resilience to climatic extremes company and has been a New Zealander such as drought, waterlogging and leader in biological farm inputs since frost.” Plant function is enhanced when 1996. Manufacturing both liquid and these nutrients are obtained via natural solid biostimulants, AgriSea has a range microbial pathways rather than applied of products that can fit into any farm or in synthetic form, says Tane. fertiliser system. “The single biggest on-farm factor

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FERTILISER

Restoring beaten-up maize soil in three months We were given a challenge by one of our neighbours, who had a very poor maize crop. After all the bills – seed and contractors – he was left with enough money to sow an annual crop of oats and tama, which failed and he couldn’t get a single grazing off it. I was told by one of the contractor’s truck drivers: “The soil is buggered”. Well my response was: “You can’t blame the soil you guys have been running this for the last X number of years. It’s the way you treat it – it is not the soil’s fault”. Anyway the challenge – can I restore this soil within a three-month timeframe good enough to get a crop that will return or allow a breakeven return? First I wanted to know why the oats and tama had not grown. It appeared from a ﬁeld inspection the soil structure had been beaten to a pulp, as there was a lot of surface water lying around and this was not draining away even after a couple of days’ full sunshine.

Reams soil test

A Reams Soil Test, which only tests for nutrients that are plant available, showed nitrate-nitrogen and ammonium-nitrogen levels were none existent – at 2-6kg/ha when the desired level is 40-80kg/ha. The soil ERGs was very low – at 70 when it needs to be at 600-800cgs for cob ﬁll. This soil energy reading indicates how much energy is in the soil to allow for plant growth and fruit/seed production. The plant-available calcium levels were one-seventh of what they should be – at 400kg/ha, the desired level is 3000kg/ha. This low calcium level is going to restrict plant/grain weight and plant health. I also did an Albrecht-based soil test so I could get some trace mineral information but this information is secondary to the key limitations identiﬁed by the Reams Soil Test. So with this information we applied our fertiliser mix, which was a combination of compost four tonne/ ha and composted soil minerals, four tonne/ha. It was important to get the soil nitrogen levels up and the

soil energy and plant available calcium and to hold them there. This is why soil humus is so important and we must adopt carbon positive farming practices.

Biologica Biological Fertiliser Fertilisers Page 35

Minimum tillage

We did minimum tillage and waited until the soil was ready to be cultivated. We sowed a Corson Grain hybrid, and applied soluble humate granules with the 12:10:10 starter fertilizer – 300kg/ha plus 30kg/ha Soluble humate granules. This crop was sown on December 1 and things were getting dry, however with all the inputs we were conﬁdent of a good outcome. We retested the soil with a Reams Soil Test just to check we had achieved our target soil nutrient settings, this was done twice through the growing season. At the end of the season we harvested an 18 tonne green feed maize crop and we received 30cents/kgDM with only on 50ml of rain fall. Crops that were sown around the same time in the district and followed conventional, traditional fertiliser and soil management procedures produced nine to 11tonnes/ha and a couple of crops failed.

Identify limitations

The real answer in a situation like this is to collect as much on-farm information as possible to truly identify the limitations to the soil – in this case the soil had shut down due to the lack of organic, carbon-based inputs from a number of years of solely high salt index fertiliser applications. This soil is a marine clay that had extremely high magnesium levels, so as the soil dried out it became hard as a rock and therefore lost its ability to feed the crop growing on it. The dominant issues for this soil is calcium and organic matter. Three years later and this soil is now one of the most highly producing soils on the road and what it needed was organic carbon and some calcium – so compostbased animal manures and some serious TLC and microbial foods like humic acid seaweed and ﬁsh have made this soil into a highly productive yielder.

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FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 36

Stamp sales help wetland protection New Zealanders are urged to help protect wetlands that are not only crucial to the survival of game birds and other wildlife – but help humans survive natural disasters.

“Healthy wetlands are crucial in helping to minimise the impact of weather events like floods and droughts, which too many New Zealand communities are unfortunately rather familiar with. “We can do more to manage wetlands so they help to absorb and store excess rainfall. Even on the coast, And Fish & Game says one wetlands in the form way of helping protect wetlands of mangroves and tidal is by buying the 2017 habitat estuaries, can help lessen stamp. the impact of cyclones “We are asking people to and other storm events by make a relatively small investhelping to reduce storm ment that can potentially make surges.” a big difference if enough folk Hunters have been respond,” says Fish & Game making a big contribution chief executive Bryce Johnson. to wetland protection for The latest Fish & Game decades. habitat stamp was launched “Hunters play a sigon February 2 to mark World nificant role in protecting Wetlands Day. The theme of the and conserving New world wide day is “wetlands for Zealand’s wildlife habitat disaster risk reduction”. through buying the habiThe 2017 Habitat Stamp features the The 2017 Habitat Stamp – the tat stamps which are fixed California quail in a painting by Rotorua 24th in the series – features the to their hunting licences.” California quail in a painting by artist Jeanette Blackburn. Part of their licence fee – Rotorua artist Jeanette Black$3 in 2017 – goes towards burn, renowned for her wildlife and landscape works. wildlife habitat conservation with every game licence they buy. Buying a stamp is one small simple way the Weather events public can give direct support to habitat protection, The Game Bird Habitat Stamp programme was set and there are lots of choices available from NZ Post up to raise funds – from the sale of the game bird – from a $10 stamp up to $65 for the limited edition hunting licences, stamp collection and related products print, says Bryce. – for projects aimed at protecting and enhancing “We are delighted to remind people that since its wetlands and game bird and other wildlife habitat. launch, the Habitat Trust has distributed more than Bryce says this year’s World Wetlands Day theme $1.3 million, about $100,000 a year on average, in focuses on the role wetlands play where humans too grants towards various projects,” says Bryce. are placed at risk. Fish & Game wetland projects around the country

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are coming to fruition – such as the Para Wetland in the South Island. The largest remaining lowland freshwater wetland in Marlborough, the 122 hectare Para wetland in Marlborough between Picton and Blenheim, is well on the way to being returned to its original state.

Water ﬂow

The project, which includes creating areas of open water, is now about half completed. “The project has involved creating areas of open water, installing culverts to increase water ﬂow into areas, which have been opened up, and the planting

of native trees,” says Bryce. The Para Wetland is one of better examples of hunters doing conservation work and one that’s highly visible because it is beside State Highway 1 near the Picton ferry terminal. The latest project is in Northland, where Northland Fish and Game Council has worked with the Nature Heritage Fund and Department of Conservation on the protection of the Underwood Wetland. Northland Fish & Game purchased a portion of the Underwood Wetland from the Underwood farming family, in conjunction with the Nature Heritage Fund.

Gun lobby welcomes extra police funding

firearms holders. Funding for 880 more frontline “We sincerely hope that this cash police officers and an additional 245 injection will lead to improved intelsupport staff has been welcomed by ligence on criminal acts and a greater the Council of Licenced Firearms apprehension of offenders particularly Owners Inc. where stolen or black market firearms “This reflects the recommendation are involved. “Police have not had an that COLFO made to the Law and increase in targeted Order Select Commitresponse and preventee during their review tion funding for some on the illegal possesyears now. “The Prime sion of firearms,” says Minister’s backing of COLFO spokesperson these key elements to Nicole McKee. effective policing will “COLFO has rallied hopefully take the for more resourcing spotlight off the law to be afforded to NZ abiding firearms users Police so that they may and place the target combat crime where it firmly on the backs of will be most effective.” The Council of Licenced criminals instead,” says COLFO believes increased Police target- Firearms Owners Inc wants Nicole. The increased focus ing organised crime and Police to focus on illegal firearms. of Policing in rural gangs is a better use of areas is especially welcomed and “all resources than the current focus on eyes will now be on the Police”. over-policing law-abiding licensed

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

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Page 38

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Mass-scale automation farming’s future?

Of all the issues our planet is currently facing, the global food shortage seems to be the most urgent.

Having in mind the global population is going to reach nine billion by 2050, sufficient food – our single most vital need as living creatures – is going to be a global problem. Farming has already faced significant changes conceptually. Since there is little farmland available, farmers have to find other ways of producing more food on the same surface. Utilising whatever technology is available has become the go-to method of attempting to maximise both the farmers’ yields and profits. AgTech industry is coming up with new ways of turning farms into wireless machines aimed at maximising the potential of every acre. Enhancing crop productivity from the angle of investing in technology is also important because about 30 per cent of the world’s most widely spread cereal crops – such as wheat, corn and rice – have reached their genetic potential yield plateau. Investing in technology is the only way of getting some extra yields out of these crops.

Factory farms

The largest change coming to farming is the massscale automation that looks to be employed across various aspects of the industry; remote sensing, GPS, and data analytics devices all being added to farming equipment. Farms are becoming more and more like factories: tightly controlled operations for turning out reliable products, immune as much as possible from the vagaries of nature. Thousands of farmers worldwide are adopting new equipment to make their farming more productive; tractors and other machines that can map ﬁelds and drive themselves and various sensors which collect data like nutrient levels and soil moisture. It appears agriculture is set to join the other industries that will rely on workforces transforming into engineers for the robots that are automating their

former roles. Using advanced farm technology, farmers are able to accurately manage variations in the ﬁeld to grow more food using fewer resources and reducing production costs. Farm technology in the form of farm machinery, fertilisers and other agrochemicals, along with scientiﬁcally improved crops, results in a decrease of the number of people working on the land.

City-dwellers In 1900, about 41 per cent of America’s labour force worked on a farm; now the percentage is below two per cent. This effect is less visible in poorer countries, but the direction of travel is the same. The share of city-dwellers in the world’s total population reached 50 per cent in 2007 and is still rising relentlessly, yet the shrinking proportion of people living in the countryside is still able to feed the urban majority. Along with the development of improved farm technology, some other trends seem to continue into the near future. Precision agriculture will spread from its North American origin and become a routine in Europe and parts of South America, such as Brazil, where large arable farms predominate. And someone, perhaps in China, will work out how to apply precision farming techniques to rice to soybeans, maize and other crops. Information technology is taking over agriculture. Aiming to produce enough food to stop malnutrition, farmers are trying to ﬁnd the way to secure our future. It’s now in farmers’ hands to decide what their farms will look like. Will they really turn into open sky factories? Text sources: ‘The Future of Agriculture’: http://blog.agrivi.com Tanja Folnovic, agronomy expert and agriculture manager at Agrivi.

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 39

Helping orchardists prepare for harvest season With the start of the 2017 kiwifruit harvest just weeks away, wellprepared orchardists are calling on the experienced team at Bay of Plenty Tractors to service their tractors and equipment to ensure all are ready and reliable for the task ahead. Bay of Plenty Tractors managing director Gayne Carroll says the company’s decision a little more than two years ago to increase the size and scope of its presence in Te Puke is being appreciated by the local community, especially orchardists and farmers. “We saw a need for a retail branch to represent and support the sales and after-service care of the well-known brands of Goldoni

and Landini tractors in the Bay of Plenty region – and we have been growing, so now we have experienced teams in sales, parts and service. “We have a staff of nine, covering from Waihi to Te Kaha and even as far as the Waikato and Rotorua. Mark and Shaun look after the sales side of things while Glenn

Background: All lit up – Bay of Plenty Tractors’ premises in Jellicoe St, Te Puke, has become a bright spot in town.

co-ordinates the busy team in the service department, which has two ﬁeld service technicians providing an on-site 24-hour service if required.”

Health and safety

Gayne says new stricter health and safety regulations means all tractors and equipment used on orchards must meet safety standards. “It’s no longer okay to drive the old Fergie [Massey Ferguson tractor] out from under the shelter and use it to tow bin trailers. “All equipment must meet safety standards and if they don’t and there is an accident, the contractor and or orchard owner could be liable,” says Gayne. “Our service team is

clients conﬁdence they are safety-conscious and covered to be visiting their orchards. “Our parts department carries a comprehensive stock and once again we have the staff to assist our customers ﬁnd the parts they need, be it a nut and bolt or a complete engine.”

Orizzonti Mulcher

As well as the tried and true Goldoni and Landini tractors, Bay or Plenty Tractors also imports the Orizzonti Mulcher, capable of mulching everything

from grass to 100mm orchard prunings. “It is the premium European mulcher, leaving the finest finish. Our first shipment sold out, so talk to our sales team about grabbing one while they’re at indent prices for the coming season.” And Bay of Plenty Tractors’ premises in Jellicoe St, Te Puke, has become a bright spot in town in more ways than one. At night the premises are brightly and colourfully lit, inspired by buildings Gayne saw on a recent trip via Dubai. The team welcomes anyone to come view the facilities.

able to give tractors and equipment a safety check and make any necessary repairs, either on the property or by bringing them into our workshop – and we can usually get to an urgent job the same day,” says Gayne. All Bay of Plenty Tractors staff are trained in wider health and safety standards, giving

The Bay of Plenty Tractors’ team are from left Shaun Hurst, Brent Gunning, James Bayly, Hayden Riddell, and Gayne Carroll. Front, Josh Hawke, Damian Wharepapa, Glenn Paton, and Mark Saville.

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CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

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Joint effort to restore Hawke’s Bay’s lost wetlands Hawke’s Bay’s farmers, hunters and local authorities are working together to undo some of the decades of damage to the region’s wetlands and create more wildlife habitat. During the last nearly 200 years of development, Hawke’s Bay has lost nearly 98 per cent of its original wetlands. Fish & Game’s Hawke’s Bay regional staff are trying to reverse at least some of that damage with an innovative ﬁve-year plan creating wetlands and habitat that not only will encourage waterfowl, but offer habitat for threatened and endangered species including the Australasian bittern. Helping with the project are farmers, landowners, hunters, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, QEII Trust and the Department of Conservation. Fish & Game’s Hawke’s Bay regional manager Mark Venman says people are starting to realise just how many wetlands have disappeared.

Top priority

“With the loss of such a significant amount of Hawke’s Bays wetlands there is a need to restore drained wetlands or create new ones. During the last year our staff have been busy working with landowners to get the project moving.” Mark says the project is now Fish & Game’s top priority in the region. “We are now developing a five-year waterfowl enhancement plan focusing on providing habitat for waterfowl broods and creating connecting wetlands that establish habitat between our larger wetlands and shallow lakes.” Fish & Game Hawke’s Bay senior officer Nathan Burkepile moved to Hawke’s Bay last year and says the significant loss of wetlands hit him immediately. “While I was conducting aerial waterfowl population surveys in April last year, we flew over a large number

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of farm ponds. They had water but few waterfowl because they were utterly devoid of habitat,” says Nathan.

Clean stock water

“We have a chance to turn that around because with such a large number of livestock watering ponds, there is huge potential to create habitat for waterfowl along with providing clean stock water through strategic plantings and appropriate fencing.” The new habitat will help all waterfowl, including native species but Nathan says there is also an economic benefit to farmers. “This is a win-win situation for both farmers and waterfowl. Strategic fencing and plantings around stock ponds will not only establish habitat but also provide clean drinking water for livestock. “Research indicates providing clean drinking water will increase livestock weights by five to 25 per cent, which increases profits.” And farmers are showing an interest. During summer Fish & Game has been working with seven landowners to restore and create wetland habitat on their properties. The majority of these wetlands were previously drained and grazed, which required the blocking of drains and some land contouring to re-establish. Funding for these projects was provided through the Game Bird Habitat Trust, Hawke’s Bay Fish & Game funds, and the Wildlife Fund. Fish & Game says any landowners thinking of improving wildlife habitat on their properties should contact its Hawke’s Bay regional office for advice and funding help.

CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

Page 41

Contouring land to increase farm production Matt Hall has been around machinery most of his life. He learnt to operate tractors on a Gisborne farm in the late-1980s before heading overseas to Europe and America where he got a taste of the big gear even operating a Caterpillar D9H bulldozer in Montana, USA. Matt’s business M-P Hall Contracting has been operating for ﬁve years and Matt Hall of M-P Hall Contracting. he has now moved the family to the Bay of Plenty for that can be made more productive.” further opportunities. Being an owner-operator has One of Matt’s customers says he had an increase beneﬁts for the customers. in calf survival after the hill country was contoured. “When you deal with me, you know I will also be “There were no places for young calves to slip, trip or the one operating the equipment on your property, fall. The improved land has also seen an expansion no ‘middle man’, no place where instructions get of stock numbers, which is better for the farmer’s blurred.” bottom line.” Matt is passionate about his work and takes pride Matt also cleans and repairs dams, tracks, roads, in doing a good job. His specialty is land contouring installs culverts, carries out drainage work, does tree and hill country earthmoving. and stump removal, feedlot and forestry clean-ups. “There is still a lot of rough hill country out there All of the work is carried out with a digger and

‘Good thump’ got register working implement like this large silage tool. If you have a story to tell about this item, or a similar one, we’d love to hear from you. To be in to win admission This month’s History for two to Item is from the the WestWestern Bay Museum. ern Bay Museum email your memories The photo of this to: elaine@thesun.co.nz with ‘History item’ in the cash register from the Opotiki Museum subject line, or post to rung up some ‘History Item’, Coast & memories for Lesley Country, PO Box 240, Doran of Hamilton. Tauranga 3140.

This month’s History Item is from the Western Bay Museum in Katikati and there’s many a farmer who will remember using an There was a time when ornate cash registers were a feature of most stores and the photo that featured as the History Item in last month’s Coast & Country News brought back memories of those days for Lesley Doran of Hamilton. “In my ﬁrst employment I was a grocery shop assistant at McGougan’s IGA store in Waimana. I recall having to work the heavy keys on the till and the amount would show up on the ticket at the top of the machine. It was all pounds, shillings and pence until decimal currency came in. “Sometimes the money draw would get stuck and refuse to open, but a good thump in the right place usually got a result. “It was a heavy, cumbersome appliance which took pride of place on the wooden shop counter. “Every day it got a clean over to keep it bright and shiny. It was all part of the job to handle cash in those days, not like today’s world of supermarket checkouts and credit cards. Those were the days,” she writes. For her entry, Lesley has won admission for two to the Opotiki Museum.

bulldozer. Matt keeps things simple. There is not much the two machines cannot do, with the digger set up to multitask with different attachments. “One of my key strengths is my ability to tackle jobs other contractors won’t touch, efﬁciently and safely.” He has now expanded his work

operation to the wider Bay of Plenty but still spends time in Gisborne each year. Because he is often working out-ofphone-range, email contact works well for initial communication and Matt will return calls either that night or the next morning.

HORTICULTURE

Page 42

RSE employers role model for other primary sector employers Horticulture is growing. Exports grew 40 per cent in the two years from 2014 to 2016. This growth is supported by an increasing workforce made up of permanent Kiwi workers and seasonal workers. Research New Zealand recently released a report about this. The report conﬁrms horticultural employers are employing more New Zealand permanent and seasonal workers. The increased number of seasonal workers employed includes more Kiwis, as well as more Recognised Seasonal Employer workers, predominantly from the Paciﬁc Islands. The great advantage to New Zealand, as the report states, is the RSE

workers have increased the ability of the horticultural employers to employ more permanent and seasonal Kiwi workers. This has happened because of the dependability, enthusiastic approach to horticultural work, and high productivity of RSE workers. Not only has it encouraged the other workers to lift their performance, it has also result in a change to the way the employers conduct their business.

Expanding business

Of the RSE employers surveyed, 79 per cent said they had invested in new plant and equipment or planned to do so this year. And 78 per cent reported their business was expanding. The highest number of seasonal workers are Kiwis, with a little less than one-third of those Kiwis joining the workforce through Work and Income. So, Kiwis make up about 50 per cent of the seasonal workforce with the remainder of the workers, including the RSE Paciﬁc Island workers, being temporarily in New Zealand. Backpackers are an important seasonal workforce that essentially provide much-needed workers at critical times. It is now 10 years since the RSE scheme was established and what it has done during that time is give the horticultural businesses a stable and skilled workforce. That in turn has enabled the growth horticulture is now experiencing. It has also resulted in RSE employers supporting RSE work-

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Regular audits

RSE employers have become a showcase and role model for all other primary sector employers. It has also resulted in aspects of the RSE scheme being applied to Kiwi workers. There are more than 100 RSE employers in New Zealand and they account for most of the major horticultural companies. To retain RSE status these employers are regularly audited to ensure they meet New Zealand Immigration and Employment Law requirements. Using the RSE model, the industry is working to assist all horticultural employers to reach and maintain these standards. Organisations such as Master Contractors require their members

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to reach the RSE standards in these, and other areas. Our focus is to ensure all of our employers are meeting the required standards. Notably, the Research New Zealand report shows horticultural employers were focused on implementing the Health and Safety law changes and improving workforce planning to better utilise and support their workers. A stable, reliable and skilled workforce is vital ingredient for the continued growth of horticulture. The RSE scheme has greatly advanced horticulture’s ability to grow, and its overall adherence to best employment practice. The current goal is to ensure all horticultural employers meet the same standards as our RSE employers. Research New Zealand’s recently released report is at: www. immigration.govt.nz/documents/ statistics/rse-monitoringsurvey-2016_report.pdf

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EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

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The winds of change are blowing – what direction do you choose? A little more than four years ago I left the farm after 10 years of farming biologically. Some people thought to go in that direction you were brave and others thought you were just plain stupid. There is still a very strong feeling that to take away the dependance of high usage of nitrogen and more recently palm kernel would be devastating to many farmers. To even contemplate moving into organics for many would be inconceivable. While regulations stay as they are these farmers can rest easy and carry on managing their business unchanged. However, whether we like it or not, there is a wind of change blowing and early adopters to this change may well be better prepared for the storm that will inevitably arrive. We may well ﬁnd the way the majority of farms are run will change during the next ﬁve years. Enforcement of strict regulations are likely to be rolled out during this time.

System overhaul

High phosphate and nitrates in waterways are testament to a fertiliser system that clearly needs an overhaul. Whether it’s the farmers who apply it or the fertiliser companies which sell these nutrients, it’s obvious there is too much for the plants to absorb. If the plants can’t absorb these surplus nutrients then they end up polluting our precious water. So the regional councils have identified restrictions are needed to stop the surplus nutrients, by decreasing the amount applied in the future. The Overseer programme is the preferred system for measuring and managing this huge undertaking. This all seems fair, particularly from an environmental point of view. But is this scenario fair? Well, from my experience as a farmer, the biological approach showed a lot of difference from the chemical way. So are these two obviously talked-about systems so vastly different? I have found the more I look and observe, the more the chemical system doesn’t make sense. The more I watch and observe over time, the more I see the chemical system is the very practice that is actually leading farmers down the wrong road. The largest part of my work has been to focus on the end point of our business, the effluent pond. The obvious practice to manage effluent has been to tackle and manage effluent with machinery –solid separators, stirrers and weeping walls. The majority of farmers still think this way. There are even consultants that will advise farmers this is the only way to manage effluent. I have found the farmers with the biggest effluent problems, particularly crusting and solids, are heavy chemical fertiliser-users. In fact I can look at a heavily crusted pond and have a pretty accurate assessment as

to the fertiliser a farmer is applying and what his soil is doing. After studying the fertiliser and soil science available to us, I have deduced fertiliser companies have fabricated or left out some scientiﬁc facts which have led our farming industry down a problematic pathway.

Better avenues

If regional councils are now pointing the finger at farmers for their bad fertiliser practices I would suggest the fault lies with the advice given to farmers about the best fertilisers to use. I believe fertiliser choices can be improved and farmers do have better avenues to procure quality products. My research and observation, along with that of similar practitioners, indicates a biological approach demands a higher balanced pH soil which always shows increased microbiological activity. Microbes require the best possible conditions to digest food in a cow’s stomach. Science has shown higher pH is a factor here. The more food the microbes and enzymes digest, the less undigested solids end up in the pond. Again, the effluent ponds with the least solids always have a higher pH in the pond. Chemical fertiliser teaching embraces a pH in the soil of 5.8 to 6. My research has very simply shown this soil pH will produce a crusted pond and the lower the soil pH the thicker the crust on the pond. I would suggest a change to inputs that will lift the pH in a balanced approach will also lift your efficiency throughout your whole farming system. For more information, visit my website or arrange for me to visit you.

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EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION Free app for logging catch and enhancing ﬁsheries

Page 44

Kiwi anglers can log their catch and help create insight into fish stocks with New Zealand’s only free recreational fishing app. Fish4All, available on iPhone and Android, was developed by two Kiwi recreational fishing enthusiasts Tony Craig and John Murphy, who launched a pilot trial in 2014. Based on user feedback and with new business partner Katherine Short, Fish4All has launched a new version – including out of cell coverage data entry, allowing recreational fishers to record where, when and how many fish they catch and add more fish species to report against. “As well as being a great digital fishing tool, every time you log your catch, you’re also helping create greater insight

into New Zealand's fish stocks by building the data critically needed to manage our fisheries,” says Tony. With new business partner Katherine, Fish4All has also established the Fish4All Charitable Trust to manage and protect the data that is generated by users, ensuring it’s available exclusively by and for recreational fishing interests. “New Zealand has more than 600,000 recreational fishers who are mad about the sport. And we’ve got more than four million other Kiwis who don’t go fishing but would probably like to think that communal resource is being fished responsibly,” say Tony. “Fish4All is a way recreational fishers can enhance and enjoy their sport and help build a shared sustainable fishery for all.”

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EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

Waikato plan ‘heading for failure’ Unless the Waikato Regional Council changes its provisions, Plan Change 1 is heading for failure, and fresh water quality won’t improve, says Rick Burke, who is chairman of Farmers for Positive Change Wai Ora Waipa-Waikato – also known as F4PC. “Submission on the plan change close on March 8 and F4PC, plus many, many individual farmers will be making submissions calling for council to change aspects of the plan, in particular its grand parenting provisions,” says Rick. F4PC, which has aligned itself with Primary Land Users Group and King Country River Care and has more than 3000 members including drystock, deer and dairy farmers and market gardeners, is also critical of the plan’s reliance on the Overseer computer model as a way of assessing nutrient leaching. “Overseer is a great tool for giving farmers an indication of nutrient use and loss, but it was never designed as a regulatory tool. For instance, it doesn’t take into account overland water ﬂow following rain. Because of its variability, it allows farmers to game the system.”

Increased N use

The Waikato Regional Council’s plan is also having an impact in the Bay of Plenty, says Rick. “Some high users of nitrogen in the Bay of Plenty are believed to be increasing their N use now, in anticipation of similar restrictions to those in the Waikato coming into force.” By increasing their N inputs, they hope to avoid the impacts of any cutbacks in their permitted use under a grand-parenting model, says Rick. “You have to ask the question, is this a sustainable approach to improving water quality?” “The grand-parenting model is sending totally the wrong message to farmers and doesn’t encourage a collaborative approach to solving fresh water quality issues; in fact it has driven sectors apart.” F4PC also wants council to change the plan’s timeframes for farmer compliance from 10 to 30 years. “Ten years is too short a timeframe to give farmers

any certainty going forward. However, there must be reviews and robust, and measurable targets to achieve across those 30 years.” Rick believes drystock farmers have already carried out a considerable amount of environmental work but never formalised it into a Farm Environmental Plan, including retiring native bush blocks through the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, and some of this work has been carried out during decades. “In the Waikato 47 per cent of QEII conservation areas are on sheep and beef farms and 11 per cent on dairy farms.”

Farm Environment Plans

Sheep and beef farmers in the Waikato and other regions are in the process of preparing Beef+Lamb NZ Farm Environment Plans to help them comply with council regulations. Rick says many of the requirements of the plans have already been met and the plans will formerly record them. But Rick is concerned there could be long-term adverse impacts driven by the council’s plan changes. These include the possibility that rural communities could struggle to maintain vibrancy and prosperity when the regional economy stalls due to the impact of de-intensiﬁed land use required to bring about water quality improvement. F4PC wants council to act on a provision already in the plan, to use a sub-catchment model, involving farmers and rural communities in tackling water quality issues. F4PC proposes farmers in the sub-catchments of the Waikato and Waipa rivers to work together to reduce their environmental footprints, focusing on the four contaminants nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and E. Coli; and allowing the quality of streams that ﬂow through and nearby their farms to improve. This will, says Rick, be far more effective than what is currently proposed. “The biggest challenge for the WRC will be reducing nitrogen leaching into the waterways. It’s already being proven in Canterbury that by using grand-parenting to drive regulation; it has failed to reduce nitrogen into the waterways.” Elaine Fisher

Page 45

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Page 46

FORESTRY

Redwoods Treewalk lanterns create a magical atmosphere. Photo: David Trubridge.

“Come for a tree-top walk.” The invitation sounds simple but slightly intriguing and certainly does not do justice to the nighttime Redwoods Treewalk in Rotorua. The 30-minute, 553m long ecological walk has a series of 23 suspension bridges, which are slung between 22 large Redwood trees more than 110 years old. The land was returned to two local iwi Ngati Whakaue and Ngati Wahiao and is managed day-today by Rotorua District Lakes Council. Redwoods Outdoor Activity rent the site from the iwi and have speciﬁc regulations regarding the protection of the Redwood trees. The Treewalk was the dream of German-born and now Rotorua local and general manager of Redwoods Treewalk, Alex Schmid, who was inspired to develop an ecological treewalk after he visited the forest in 2009.

Treewalk Park assistant Karen Mather says the Redwoods Treewalk features a series of suspension bridges and decks, engineered around existing fauna and ﬂora. Ecological engineering means there are no screws, no nails into any of the Redwood trees; instead the trees have technologically-designed slings suspended from the redwood trees. “Each tree sling is capable of supporting four tonnes and the cables [also attached using slings] have a 12-tonne break rate. There are four wooden blocks around each tree at platform level to stabilise the platform.

Twelve metres up

“The walkways between the platforms go from six metres above the forest ﬂoor to a peak height of 12m up,” says Karen. The walk is open to anyone who can walk unaided – prohibited are prams, wheelchairs and children in

...continued

FORESTRY

continued...

The Redwoods Treewalk viewing platforms. Photo: Fritha Tagg.

backpacks for safety reasons. Any age can enjoy the walk and staff say they’ve had 18-month-old toddler and a 97-year-old gentleman, who both really enjoyed the experience. Adding to the experience in the treetops there are now 30 lanterns suspended high in the trees and 42 lights on the ground, which illuminate the Redwoods and ferns. Designed by world-renowned lighting and furniture designer David Trubridge, the lanterns were inspired by New Zealand native birds – the Miromiro (Tomtit), Ruru (Morepork) and Karearea (New Zealand falcon).

Wooden lanterns

The lanterns are made from a composite timber board, which is made from reject and waste material from the production of acetylated NZ Radiata Pine wood with a 50-plus year guarantee. Inside each lantern is a white dimmable LED light. The lanterns were built at David’s studio in Hast-

Location

The Redwoods Treewalk is located at Rotorua’s iconic Redwood Forest, 1 Long Mile Road, Whakarewarewa, Rotorua. GPS Coordinates: 38°09’18.97˜ S 176°16’32.92˜ E.

Safety & Accessibility

Accessible for most age groups, from two years old up anyone who can walk unaided can enjoy the Redwoods Treewalk – no prior training or safety harnesses are required.

Walk restrictions

• Visitors must be able to walk unaided. • Suitable from age two years up – or when they can walk unaided. • For safety reasons, this is not suitable for parents carrying babies in frontpacks and backpacks. • Visitors must have a reasonable level of ﬁtness to walk the entire 30-minute journey unaided.

Contact information

Page 47

ings, Hawke’s Bay, and sent to site flat-packed and assembled there during two weeks. They are attached to the trees using the same tree sling technology as the treewalk. “Since the lanterns were put up into the trees nighttime visitors have increased considerably,” says Karen. Within the first year they had 65,000 visitors with 21,000 visitors since January this year when the lanterns were lit up. The walk is open from 9am-11pm. The eco-tourism walk is the first of its kind due to its unique walkway construction, which uses ecological engineering to preserve the natural maturity of these 110-year-old giants and existing forest plants. Karen says they have plans for a new spiral staircase entry, designed by David, and they hope to have the new entrance finished later this year. Fritha Tagg

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Page 48

AVOCADO

Lift in Orchard Gate Returns predicted

Implements irect

The team at Just Avocados Ltd has completed a record season, marked by a number of significant milestones. The specialist avocado company exported more than 700,000 trays, enjoying an increased 15 per cent share of industry crop in what has been a record season of close to 4.8 million export trays. While there is much more work to do in completing the reconciliation of export sales and finalisation of the pool across March, indications are that Orchard Gate Returns will be significantly higher than pre-season forecast. “We are looking at a very positive outcome for Just Avocados’ growers on the back of a substantial increase in our share of the Australian retail chain space and a change in how Asian market programmes were tackled following the decision to exit AVANZA early last year,” says Just Avocados managing director Andrew Darling. With a bumper four million trays forecast for Australia this 2016-2017 season, careful attention to the fruit’s movement through the Australian supply chain and distribution system has been paramount.

In-market team

“There is no doubt that Just Avocados’ result has been enhanced by having our people on the ground in-market in Australia by way of our businesses Global Fresh Australia and JH Leavy & Co. Our inventory and pricing has been managed by our team with great discipline.” In Asia, Just Avocados’ Mr Avocado brand was rolled out for the ﬁrst time and enjoyed by customers in Japan, Korea and Thailand. Just Avocados also undertook collaborative activity with Freshmax to jointly serve customers in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. “The eventual market split for the pool will end up about 86 per cent to Australia and 14 per cent to rest of world markets, compared to an industry mix of about 84 per cent to Australia and 16 per cent to rest of world.”

Collaborative consultation

The 2016-2017 season has delivered its challenges for the industry with fruit quality issues needing close attention. “Fortunately, with some prompt collaborative consultation on causes and tactics to mitigate the quality risk, as an industry we came through without too much impact. “For Just Avocados, the issues experienced in the industry did highlight the beneﬁt of having recently

Just Avocados managing director Andrew Darling in the company’s Katikati packhouse on Woodlands Rd. employed an avocado specialist technical resource in Erica Faber, who joined the company in January,” says Andrew. While Erica’s role and focus as orchard productivity manager is on supporting Just Avocados’ growers to lift productivity and crop more consistently, she will be a vital asset in helping manage future quality risks. Along with increasing the capability of the team, Just Avocados has undertaken a number of signiﬁcant strategic investments in 2016 such as the purchase of Brisbane-based produce marketing and logistics company JH Leavy & Co and an upgrade of the site at Woodland Road in Katikati to include ripening and distribution services. “Just Avocados has all the bases covered and is in a strong position to deliver greater value to growers and customers. “There will be challenges for the industry in the upcoming lower volume season, however we are conﬁdent in the capability of Just Avocados’ fully-integrated service model,” says Andrew.

AVOCADO

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It’s injection time for avocado trees It’s that time again when avocado trees need injecting to protect them against Phytophthora root rot and getting the job done quickly, efficiently and on time is a key ingredient to maintain tree health, says Tony Bradley of Aongatete Avocados Ltd. “Using the Aongatete Avojet, we operate an injection programme across many orchards in the Bay of Plenty on behalf of their owners.

Many services

Avocado syringe.

“It’s just one of the many services we offer to make it easier for you to grow your crop successfully, while deciding how you spend your time – on or offorchard,” says Tony. AAL provides a range of leased and managed services, and also has the

teams to step in to help if there is pressure to complete orchard tasks. “Increasingly, time demand can limit an orchardist’s ability to get jobs done in a timely manner. If you run out of time or want to do other things, AAL is available in the background to step up and do the jobs on your orchards.

Orchard success

“Timing of tasks, such as pruning, spraying and Avogreen monitoring are recognised as being important to an orchard’s success so having the AAL team available will help you have a more successful orchard. “Our programme of stepping in when needed forms a core part of our production tasks. We want our clients to be comfortable that they are able to change their level of contribution to orchard management at any time depending on their plans. “For example, an overseas trip, or in the event off ill-health or changed life

Grower efforts on orchard to be rewarded The curtain has come down on another avocado export season with AVOCO and its growers playing a leading role in the supply of avocados to Australia and beyond.

“Australia overestimated their domestic crop this year, which meant that for the first time in a while e shipped fruit beyond the eastern seaboard. At the same time, we experienced a surge in consumer demand due to Australia’s run of hot weather.

Market opportunity

AVOCO growers were offered incentive payments to hold fruit on their trees for longer than normal this season to meet market demands. AVOCO, New Zealand’s largest avocado export group, handled about 2.9 million export trays in 2016-2017 – about 63 per cent of the industry’s total export crop. The bulk of all AVOCO shipments, at 83 per cent, was sent to Australia with the remainder packed under the AVANZA brand for health-conscious consumers across Asia. Final Orchard Gate Returns will be paid to growers in April after AVOCO completes its financial eview of the season. AVOCO director John Carroll says growers should feel confident their effo ts in the orchard would be rewarded after a season that ended a week later than expected. “We packed right into the third week of February this year as we had retail commitments to fulfil th ough to the beginning of March. Given the total volume and length of the season, this is a very acceptable outcome and one we believe will translate to extra dollars in the pockets of growers.”

Asian markets

The 2016-2017 export season kicked off at the end of August in the Far North, where the warmer climate means fruit matures a few weeks earlier than in the Bay of Plenty and Whangarei. Some of the earliest fruit harvested was packed for the Asian markets where demand for in-season New Zealand avocados is traditonally high during a 10-week supply period. This season was no exception, with 192,000 trays shipped to Japan between October and December – a 60 per cent increase on last year. About 70 per cent of growers’ crops were harvested by the end of December, enabling AVOCO to meet the strong retail demand for avocados coming out of Australia in January and February. AVOCO growers were offered incentive payments to hold fruit on their trees for longer to meet this high value period – an initiative John says AVOCO is likely to continue.

“Our key retail customers rely on us to fill the gaps the Aussies can’t post-Christmas so we always need a steady supply of fruit to make the most of this market opportunity.” While the fi e packhouses supporting AVOCO were able to fill their equired bin numbers most weeks, fruit quality issues affecting the whole New Zealand industry created extra pressure at times during the later half of the season. Wind rub was a major cause of high reject rates for some growers while fungal rot affected a small volume of fruit post-harvest. AVOCO’s technical team, led by Colin Partridge and Jerome Hardy, had investigated the fruit quality issues in an effort to understand their cause and determine what actions were most effective at controlling them. AVOCO director Alistair Young says the findings will be shared with the industry as part of a commitment to provide quality information on best practice to all New Zealand growers. “We’d encourage all growers to listen carefully to the quality discussions and recommendations that emerge.”

circumstances,” says Tony. Owners of many of AAL managed orchards rely on AAL to provide support and services when the orchardist is busy. Mowing and fertiliser spreading are other examples where AAL may do the task in the orchardist’s absence.

The AAL team has been working on avocado orchards for more than 15 years and has built a reputation for delivery of quality services to their orchards and achieving great success from top performing orchards.

RURAL DRIVER

Page 50

Chance to ride on racing circuit MotoTT and Playday host regular motorcycle track days at the Taupo and Manfeild motorsport parks with the next events at Taupo on March 10-11. The trackdays are designed to be a fun, non-competitive environment where people can enjoy riding their bikes in a safe environment and to practise riding skills. It’s a chance to go as fast or as slow as you like with no cars to worry about. MotoTT and Playdays trackdays are designed for qualified riders holding a NZ driver licence with a motorcycle class 6 category, an Motorcycling NZ-issued licence

MotoTT Playdays provide a non-competitive fun experience. or their overseas equivalents. They run four riding groups for riders to choose from depending on their experience and riding ability. Modern, purpose-designed road riding gear – a jacket, pants, boots, gloves and full face helmet

– is required to be worn and all bikes and riding gear must attend the free bike and gear check prior to go on track for safety reasons. All skill levels are catered for and there are prizes to be won. Food and coffee is available on-site and spectators are welcome. The trackdays sometimes get fully booked a week or two before the day. Spaces are limited and early preregistration to reserve a place is recommended. Pit garages with power are available at Taupo and Manfeild and can be pre-booked with the track owners directly or arranged on the day and can be shared with other riders. The Taupo & Manfeild Motorsport Park noise limits are 95db. To find out mo e, go to: The next MotoTT Playdays are at Taupo on March 10 and 11. www.motott.co.nz

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RURAL DRIVER

Mahindra SUV – versatile and value for money The new Mahindra SUV sevenseater is an ideal medium duty tow vehicle, which is great for around-town driving too.

tonne towing, ideal for escapes to the beach with the caravan or boat behind.

Backing camera

Around town, Andy found the upright seating gave a good view of the road and makes the car easy to get in and out of. He tried a few garden centre carparks where he used the rear view camera when backing up and the excellent steering made squeezing into tight spots easy. “It’s deﬁ definitely worth checking out when looking for an SUV or medium duty tow vehicle,” says Andy.

A couple of weeks ago, Transport Maintenance salesperson Andy Lawson picked up a Mahindra SUV seven-seater from the distributors in Auckland. He had the drive home to Tauranga and the weekend to get used to it and learn how everything worked. “It’s got most of the bells and whistles you’d expect in a new vehicle, Bluetooth, voice command, reversing camera, GPS, leather seats, modern 2.2 litre diesel engine, and bending projector headlights.”

Voice activation

Andy ﬁgured out the controls easily enough, he even got the voice activation and Pandora working via Bluetooth. “The drive down from Auckland was

YNZ10499_Kodiak_Non_PS_FP_FT_curves.indd 1

enjoyable; a good test for the cruise control and air conditioning. “It motored up the Kaimai Range effortlessly, the six-speed automatic makes driving easy. The leather seats and excellent sound system just top off the package nicely.”

Plenty of room

Andy’s boss John Vickers has even decided the Mahindra XUV500 is as good as his Range Rover, if a bit smaller. Andy says its great value for money at only $39,990 plus costs for the All-Wheel Drive version. There’s plenty of room for the family and 2.5

7/12/2016 10:51 am

Page 51

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RURAL BUILDING & FENCING

Tides once decided Opotiki A&P Show dates

There was a time when tides set the date for the annual Opotiki A&P Show, says show secretary Doug Wheeler. This year’s show on March 11 will celebrate 125 years since the first agricultural show was held in Opotiki – and setting that date was easy. However, Elegantly dress crowds at the says Doug, the Opotiki A&P Show of 1906. organisers of early events had to work closely with the Northern Steam Ship Company, which was the main transport link for the towns of the Bay of Plenty.

Police paddock

“Their ships brought from Auckland and Tauranga visitors to the show as well as judges for the competitive events. Prize money and goods as well as prizes were also supplied by Auckland merchants and suppliers. “Before the dates could be set the tide charts had to be consulted as to when the ships would be able to get in and out of the Ohiwa or Opotiki Harbour and allow a favourable timing to be established for visitors to the show,” says Doug. The first sh w was held on March 10, 1892, using the ‘Police Paddock’. “However, in the last century, a number of shows have not been held, principally in times of the two world wars, or epidemics, floods and other eather events. As a result, 2017 is the 118th show,” says Doug. Competitive ploughing events were popular with the local farmers and had been run for some years before

the formation of an Agricultural and Pastoral Association in the town. “It has been the input of the community in stallholders selling wares and products along with local community group demonstrating their skills that has revived the show,” says Doug. To celebrate the 125th anniversary plans are to showcase items of the type that could have been displayed or demonstrated at shows throughout the decades, and to contrast those with newer displays. Doug says a number of people have come forward to offer exhibits of old machinery, tractors, cars, bicycles, boats and smaller objects. A farming equipment show at “Plans are to group Opotiki in 1892. these items into periods of time and themes covering every decade of the show’s existence.

Period costumes “Visitors to the show are encouraged to wear costumes or clothing of a period of time.” Members of vintage car clubs and other motoring groups have been invited, as well as local collectors and operators of machinery. Space is available for a wide variety of exhibits both in action and as static displays. “Items do not have to be in pristine condition, but to be seen as working examples. We would like to encourage as many people as possible to bring along items for display.” The Opotiki A&P Show will be held at the showgrounds at the northern end of St John St on March 11 from 9am. Entry is free

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LIFESTYLE FARMING

Latest innovation in rat control New Zealand conservation company Goodnature has made another innovative move in the bid towards pest eradication by creating the revolutionary Automatic Lure Pump

for rats. The lure device enhances Goodnature’s self-resetting A24 trap by removing the need to check traps as often. The Automatic Lure Pump is the brainchild of Goodnature director and founder Robbie van Dam. “We developed these traps for the Department of Conservation, whose scientists told them that a resetting trap would enable vulnerable native species to recover in mainland islands,” says Robbie. “What limited the scale of those islands was the cost of labour to sustain constant control.” The Automatic Lure Pump is a twin-chambered foil pouch with the lower chamber containing long life lure and the upper one empty. A gas cell is activated in the upper chamber, which slowly pressurises during six months, causing fresh lure to extrude from the lower chamber across that time. It means the A24 trap is always attractive to rats throughout the period.

Reduced labour

Tested and endorsed by the Department of Conservation, the ALP combined with the Goodnature A24 trap reduces the labour maintenance cost of rat trapping by 90 per cent. “The Automatic Lure Pump unlocks the true potential of the A24 self-resetting trap,” says DOC predator expert Darren Peters. “It means with similar budgets we can protect signiﬁcantly larger tracts of forest and, crucially, recover our species. A trap’s only as good as its ability to attract and then act.”

less rats... and counting.

The lure-dispensing system reduces trap checks to just two per year, taking Goodnature’s constant rat control offering to a new level of ease – keeping your traps attracting the next rat rather than waiting for the trapper to return and refresh the lure. Bay of Plenty orchardists Geoff and Leny Leong were early adopters of the Goodnature Automatic Lure Pump when they switched late last year from static lure bottles, which required monthly trap visits to their A24 automatic trap network.

Twice a year

“When we installed our A24 network at the end of 2015 we thought a monthly visit to refresh the lures was pretty good,” says Leny. “But to only get around them twice a year now makes those monthly checks seem like a hassle. We would recommend the ALP to other orchardists.” Gary Coker of Rotorua Canopy Tours has also been impressed with the ALP. The award-winning adventure tourism business deployed the timesaving devices late in 2016 on their 200ha Goodnature network in the Mamaku Range. “They’re awesome. I came back past a trap I’d set a week earlier and it had 11 dead rats under it.” The Goodnature Automatic Lure Pump can be retroﬁtted into all A24 traps and is available as an individual trap consumable through Farmlands and PGG Wrightson stores. It now comes standard with the Goodnature A24 self-resetting trap.

Eleven rats were humanely killed at Rotorua Canopy Tours by the Goodnature A24 with Automatic Lure Pump.

A24 TRAP & COUNTER KIT FOR RATS www.goodnature.co.nz

W WITH NO

T AU

A new lure system is making pest control even easier for many New Zealand business owners.

Page 54

AT I U R E P CL

Available from:

www.goodnature.co.nz

LIFESTYLE FARMING

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Orange roughy fishery sustainable Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed certification of several orange roughy fisheries by the Marine Stewardship Council. “This is a great success and recognition for a fishery that was in real trouble in the early 1990s,” says Nathan. “A huge amount of work has gone into rebuilding this fishery over the years by industry and successive Governments. “To have it recognised as sustainable by an independent, international body is worth celebrating.”

Redi-Rock comes in many different textures that are cast in molds taken from real stone.

An exciting new construction product, called Redi-Rock, is now being manufactured in New Zealand and supplied by Bowers & Son Ltd of Te Awamutu and Otorohanga. Bowers & Son Ltd’s precast manager Michael Anstis says the blocks are manufactured at the pre-cast factory in Te Awamutu and can be delivered to sites anywhere in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and greater area. “You loved playing with Lego blocks as a kid, right? Then you will understand how Redi-Rock works. These one-ton blocks

WINNER of NZ Concrete Technology Award

interlock using a knob and grove, making them fast and easy to install using a small excavator.

Easy to design

“There are a variety of blocks in the Redi-Rock arsenal, which makes it easy to design exactly what you need for your next project. It’s simple to design corners, curves, tiered walls and walls with multiple setback options. You can also create free standing walls, columns and steps.

Multiple textures

“With Redi-Rock, you can choose from multiple textures that are cast in molds taken from real stone. The textures available are

ledgestone and limestone, which can also be coloured.” Michael says Redi-Rock creates a natural stone look, with strength and durability that can take on the heaviest of loads. It is low maintenance and stands the test of time.

Beautiful walls

Redi-Rock was ﬁrst produced in the United States back in 1999 and is now being used worldwide to create beautiful retaining walls, free-standing walls, entranceways, roading projects and much more. Bowers & Son Ltd is a familyowned business that’s been operating in Te Awamutu for 65 years, and in more recent years has expanded to Otorohanga.

MSC is an international non-profit organization, which recognises and rewards sustainable fishing practices around the world. The certification follows two years of review and assessment by an independent team of experts. Orange roughy is a deepwater species with the key fisheries in the Chatham Rise and to the north west of the South Island. In 2015 it was estimated to generate export earnings of more than $53 million with the United States being an important market.

Page 56

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Livestock staggers risk in late-summer and autumn Both rye grass and paspalum plants can cause similar neurological conditions – commonly referred to as staggers – as opposed to ‘grass staggers’ – which relates to low magnesium in livestock soon after birth. These two fungal-neurotoxin induced diseases can cause generalised tremors in all ages of cattle, sheep, deer, alpacas and horses. Ryegrass staggers occurs when animals grazing perennial ryegrass eat large amounts of a toxin, lolitrem B, produced by ryegrass endophyte, a fungus that grows inside the plant. This endophyte also produces another toxin that protects the plant from destruction by insects, in particular the Argentine stem weevil. Toxicity is increased as the animals graze lower; if they are forced to eat short grass they are more at risk of ryegrass staggers. Paspalum staggers occurs when animals eat seed heads of paspalum that have been infected with an ergot fungus. These can be seen as dark masses that are larger than the normal seeds. The clinical signs of these poisonings are similar and are usually seen when animals

are disturbed and forced to move. The initial symptoms are subtle head tremors and skin twitching. These can become more pronounced as head nodding, swaying, with a staggering motion that can become a stiff-legged, jerky walk and eventually collapse. Deaths tend to be accidental following injury such as drowning after a fall into water or being caught in fences.

Accidental injuries

Recognising affected animals and taking preventative steps against ryegrass and paspalum staggers is important to prevent accidental injuries. In addition, affected animals can show reduced production such as poor growth rates and reduced milk production. Both of these diseases are usually seen late-summer to early-autumn, in different types of paddocks. In contrast, ‘grass staggers’ – due to a lack of magnesium – is mainly seen in winter and spring in older cows and sheep. The key to treatment of both these diseases

is to slowly and quietly remove the animals from the affected pasture and to provide supplementary feed such as hay, silage or nuts. Anecdotally, treatments such as Nutrimol and Summer Tonic can be given to help affected animals. If removed from the toxic pasture and left quietly for a while, the animals will usually fully recover.

Re-sow pastures

Prevention is essentially stopping animals from getting access to affected pastures; avoiding hard grazing of ryegrass, and topping paspalum before the fungus can grow on the seeds. Longer term management would include re-sowing pastures using ‘safe’ endophyte grass strains, like AR37, which have an endophyte that kills weevil but does not produce staggers toxin. While common at this time of year, these neuro diseases are not the only reasons for animals to stagger. If you suspect your animals may be suffering from one of these diseases or something else, please contact your local vet clinic for advice.

New subdivision rules for Waikato and Franklin For some time now, since the Auckland Super City was established, two parts of the Waikato District have been operating under separate district plans. Confusing to say the least. Having been through a consultation phase during the last year or two, council is now into the draft district plan development stage with notiﬁcation of the new rules scheduled for later this year. The only thing certain is there will be change. Currently, the rural subdivision rules in each plan are quite different. The Franklin District Plan allows virtually no subdivision opportunities unless you are transferring a title from somewhere else in the ‘plan area’ or protecting a signiﬁcant ecological feature. Forty hectare lots are the minimum size for general rural lots. Under the Waikato Plan, lifestyle lots are still allowed to be subdivided off older titles that are more than 20ha in size. Ecological protection lots are permitted, but the number allowed and the size of ecological features required to be protected are different. There is no general rural lot size. Both plans allow for some boundary adjustment between existing titles.

Lifestyle lots

There is much speculation about how the new rules will pan out. Some are hope lifestyle lots will be allowed across

the whole district. Some expect the transferable title rule, currently available under the Franklin Plan, will be adopted. If I was a betting man I wouldn’t risk money on either. But I consider the lifestyle lots have more chance of surviving because they have a long history and Waikato District Council has traditionally been against the use of transferable titles. However, if lifestyle blocks survive the review I can only see them being allowed to be subdivided off larger lots – more than 40ha in original size. Waikato Regional Council has been pushing for larger blocks for some time and has, in the past, speciﬁcally requested a minimum 40 hectare block before a lifestyle block can be subdivided off. So my advice to those who need to subdivide for some reason, is to utilise the current rules in your particular area and don’t hold out hope that things are going to get easier. They won't.

Complex process

The new rules will come around fast now but you will have an opportunity to make submissions to them. It is an increasingly complex process, but worth being involved if you stand to be disadvantaged under the new rules. However, taking action now is by far the best approach. If you are interested to ﬁnd out what opportunities for your land might potentially be lost, feel free to give me a call and discuss your situation without delay. Brent Trail, managing director of Surveying Services, specialises in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Waikato, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty. For further information, call 07 838 1571 or email: btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz

SHEEP & BEEF

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Changing focus to profit, not production There’s a lot of learning to be done before drystock farmers get to the point where they realise, despite having made heroic efforts, it will take considerably more funds to get the farm ‘right’ – and yet the potential profitability wouldn’t be worth it. For Duncan and Michelle Brown that realisation dawned in 2016 about their 300 hectares farm at Pongaroa. So they sold that farm and are in the process of purchasing another. At the time we talked they were still waiting to take possession, due to a glitch in the ladder of farm sales and purchases the property had been caught up in. They’d been delighted to find their bank fully supported the move, given that they had proved themselves well able to run a profitable business on the old farm, and had appropriate support systems to be able to do the same with a new and bigger operation. However, in the interim they’ve kept busy, having been invited by family to take over the lease of a 600ha property at Kumeroa, near Woodville. This has now been re-organised, with a 50/50 sharemilker taking over the dairy block, and a manager employed to manage the drystock majority area. The 10-year lease for this big block was negotiated on a 1+3+3+3 year basis, to allow time for all the new farming arrangements to settle down, including their own new farm when they achieved possession.

Team approach

They described the farm they are trying to buy as ﬂat to medium hill country, of which half could be cultivatable. And they are obviously dying to be able to use

their last few years’ experience in running a farm business on a new property, using their team approach based on the best skills of each of them. We then discussed their three years’ experience using the GrowFARM systems on the Pongaroa farm, which they’d been introduced to when friends put them in contact with Brendon Walsh. At the time they’d suffered through a bad winter and then a drought, so help of the GrowFARM type was very welcome. This help had allowed them both to develop a true sense of running a business, looking at the big picture and being a manager. For Duncan, one beneﬁt had been a more conﬁdent approach to buying stock. He no longer feels pressured to take what is offered, but if it doesn’t match his current stocking requirements he can now walk away until more appropriate stock turn up.

Management assisted

They also have more systems to use, which has greatly assisted their planning and financial management. And farm market reports are now regularly studied effectively. The ProfitLIVE cloud-based systems they use helps them with analysing what and when to make changes. They do their seasonal plans to define profit periods and prepare for them, and effectively to cost the dry matter eaten at different times by different classes of stock to ensure all animals are fully fed, and all farm expenses are included in the gauge of profitability. The couple admitted that to make the commitment to working with a GrowFARM system, they’d had to be willing to change. For a team used to making decisions based on experience, they’d initially found some parts difficult. Having Brendon available on the phone for ideas and advice at all

Duncan, Amelia and Michelle Brown. times had been extremely useful, although it had taken them both time to get used to being expected to do a lot more analysis themselves before making decisions, when other ‘advisors’ used before had always suggested the answers.

Positive environment

Like other GrowFARM clients they very much enjoyed the positive environment in working with others of like mind at the regular regional and national get-togethers. And the focus on true profit, rather than the topical ‘margin’ systems they had used earlier. Overall, the Browns had fully assimilated and appreciated the GrowFARM methods and ideas to focus on profit – not production – on running a business, the benefits of setting targets, and planning ahead. They were busting to start using them on the new farm. Sue Edmonds

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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trades & services TO LIST YOUR RURAL EVENT please email: julie@thesun.co.nz with ‘Rural Event’ in the subject line.

March 3

Whakatane Harbour Care

Group Weeding Bee, 8am10am, bring gumboots and gardening gloves. Ph Gaye 0274 034 598.

Tarawera River Cleanup,

9am-noon, meet at Firmin Lodge, Waterhouse St, Kawerau. Ph Bob 027 230 2640.

Growing Gourmet Greens

in a Small Space, 6pm-8pm, Resource Centre, Katikati.

Tutor is Kings Seeds owner Gerard Martin. Details: tinyurl.com/zs8t8m6

March 4

Waiotahe River Talk &

Visit, 9am-5pm, gold coin (near Whakatane). Bookings essential. Email: whakatane@ envirohub.org.nz.

March 4-5

Native Plants & Their Medicinal Properties, 9am-1pm,

Fraser High School, Hamilton, $75. Details: tinyurl.com/ hom22r5

Plant Sale, 10am-4pm, Hamilton Gardens. Details: tinyurl. com/jl7ku6g

March 5

March 9

Rural Professional BCS

Assessment Event – Taupo. Become a Certiﬁed Body Condition Score Accessor & offer skilled, independent & consistent assessment meeting industry standards. Changes to the BCS programme have been made for 2017, only those who have not been previously certiﬁed need to complete an assessment. Visit: www.dairynz.co.nz/

Nukuhou Saltmarsh Care Group, 8am-noon, bait/trap line check and bird count (Ohiwa Harbour), free. Ph Stuart 07 312 4583.

Free entry. Horse and wagon rides, food, stalls, crafts and produce, music, Rock and Roll dancing, sheep shearing, home industries, helicopter and jet boat rides, show jumping and more.

Wandering Albatross & a US Habitat Restoration Project Talks, 7.30pm-9.30pm, Rotorua Arts Village, free.

Planting Day, 10am-2pm, 369 River Rd, bring gloves & water, plant donations welcome. Ph Hannah 07 323 6300.

Herb Awareness Week.

Feature herbs for 2017 are camomile, coriander, red clover and puha. Details: www. herbs.org.nz

NT ME AT

PEPP ER

forum exploring values, facts and futures, 6.30pm-8pm, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, Whakatane, free.

March 11

Kauri (Te Puke) with Rotorua Botanical Society. Details: tinyurl.com/h4zph2x

March 6-12

BER TR TIM E

Common Waters? A speaker

Otawa Forest Sanctuary

March 6

March 7

for sale

Opotiki A&P Show - 9am,

Kawerau Urban Food Forest

Back to Basics Herbal Medicine, 9.30am-2pm, Katikati

Resource Centre, $50. Details: tinyurl.com/znogzxk

March 11-12

Native Plant Balm Making,

9am-1pm, Fraser High School, Hamilton, $65. Details: tinyurl.com/ztpjjd2

March 12

Wild Edible Weeds & Green Smoothie Workshop, 10am1pm, Papamoa, Tauranga, $50. Details: www.juliasedibleweeds.com Soap Making, Creams & Ointments, 10am-3pm, Katikati Resource Centre, $85 (includes materials). Details: tinyurl.com/jcjjrrw 4 Mini Garden Workshops

& A Tour, 10am-2.30pm, Whakamarama (near Tauranga), free. Details: www. plentypermaculture.co.nz

trades & services

Bee Workshop, 9.3011.30am, Whakatane Community Gardens. Ph Justin 027 817 4150.

March 15

Planting a Seed, Growing a

Garden for Opotiki, 8.30am1pm, 25 Elliot St (youth club). Weeding and planting winter crops. Ph Nancy 07 306 0050.

First Aid for Adorable Animals, 7-9pm, Historic

Village, 17th Ave, Tauranga, $10. Bookings essential. Ph 07 5787054, Email: info@ holisticvets.co.nz.

March 15-18

Morrinsville Floral Festival,

Westpac Events Centre, adults $10, schoolchildren $2. Open 9.30am-6.30pm Wednes,day Thursday, Friday and 9.30am-5pm Saturday includes open gardens. Details: tinyurl.com/zazsqvo

March 18

Waikato Botanical Society

ﬁeld trip to Mt Tarawera, 8.30am-5pm, mediumhard grade and conﬁdence required. Details: tinyurl.com/ hnskrnd

How to Set up a Wormfarm

& Bokashi Bucket, 10am12.30pm, 12 Barry Ave, Whakatane, $30. Bookings essential. Ph 021 111 6304.

Wormfarm Workshop,

12.30-3.30pm, Historic Village, 17th Ave, Tauranga, $34.50 (includes kit). Bookings essential. Ph 07 577 7684.

My Backyard Garden

Project: Gathering Materials, 2pm-6pm, 6 Te Ngae Rd, Rotorua. The project aims to build organic edible gardens with families who have little gardening knowledge. If you have any unwanted compost, mulch or soil let us know. Email: brent@mixitlive.tv

March 18-19

Rotorua Walking Festival.

Details: www.rotoruawalkingfestival.org.nz

March 19

Hukutaia Domain Night

Walk, 7pm-9.30pm, near Opotiki, bring a torch and sturdy footwear. Ph 07 315 8293.

March 20

Waikato Orchid Society

Show, Hamilton Gardens.

Katikati), $150. Bookings essential. Email: titoki. education@gmail.com

March 22

March 27

Franklin Club, Station Rd, with guest speaker Women of all ages are invited to attend – bookings to Ph/Txt Marilyn 0274 799 121 or catering@bpwfranklin.org.nz

Waste, 7pm-9pm, Katikati Resource Centre, $20. Details: tinyurl.com/hk6s9bs

BPW Franklin dinner at the

Small-scale Organic Market Garden Open Day, 10am4pm, 430 Kaitemako Rd, Welcome Bay, Tauranga, free.

Beautiful Waters-Beautiful

Life, 7-9.30pm, Baycourt Tauranga, speakers and a ﬁlm.

Healthy Environments

Talk, Andy Garrick of Fish & Game, 7.30pm-9.30pm, Rotorua Arts Village.

March 23

Katikati Kaiway Tour,

5.30pm, meet Gilﬁllan Reserve, gold coin. Led by founder Jizzy Green. Details: tinyurl.com/hmehkef

Managing Your Household

March 31

Ask Us Workshop – North

Waikato. All you need to know about compliance. Keen to learn more about important industry rules and regulations? Get along to the ‘Ask Us: all you need to know about compliance workshop’ in Morrinsville. Industry experts will answer any questions in all things compliance and milk supply. Campbell Park, Thames St, Morrinsville 11am – 1.30pm. Phil 027 483 9820

Envirofest Autumn Harvest, noon-6pm, 6 Te Ngae Rd, Rotorua. Ph 07 343 1012.

April 1-2

Plant Sale, 10am-4pm, Waikato Horticultural Soci- Hamilton Gardens. Details: ety: Acers, 7.30pm, Hamilton tinyurl.com/gtxcwvv Gardens (Gate 2). Clive Pope talks about his Tamahere garden, $5 (visitors). Ph Carmen 07 859 0158.

March 25

FMG Young Farmer Waikato – BOP Regional Final At Castleton Park, 1346 Park Rd, Hamilton 8am – 5pm. Come along to watch & support the 8 regional ﬁnalists compete to qualify to go through to the FMG Young Farmer Grand Final. TeenAg and AgriKids competitions – a great day out for the whole family. Free admission. www. youngfarmercontest.co.nz/ regional-ﬁnals/

Free Home Composting

Workshop, 2pm-3.30pm, Taupo Community Gardens. Register: tinyurl.com/gqseptb

Bachs to Beautiful Homes

Tour, Taupo, $75 (includes dinner for 2). Details: www. bachestobeautifulhomestourtaupo.org

March 25-26

DIY Pallet Garden Workshop,

from 9am, Te Rangikaheke Kiripatea, Rotorua free, bring own tools. Email: terangikaheke10@gmail.com

Rongoa Maori Medicine Workshop, 9am-4pm, Aongatete Lodge (near

April 2

Pakihi Track, Urutawa (near Opotiki) with Rotorua Botanical Society. Details: tinyurl.com/h4zph2x The Great Pumpkin Carnival,

Hamilton Gardens, weigh-in from 10am. Details: thegreatpumpkincarnival.co.nz

April 2-7

Living with the Land,

practical and discussion modules on sustainable, holistic food production from a small block, Tirau, $750. Details: tinyurl.com/j82j9gu

April 7-8

Bay of Plenty Orchid Society Show, 10am-4pm,

War Memorial Hall, Te Puke, adults $5, children free entry.

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ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT or service here! Ph Julie on 07 578 0030 or email julie@thesun.co.nz

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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Caption the photo to win mortgage advice C “Containabull” written by Anne Emms of Tauranga is the winning caption for this Country Funnies image.

N NIE

Raewyn Dunning of Cambridge suggested two captions: “Had a ‘Blonde’ moment” and “Mooo! The sun is bright. I’ll put on my new shades”. “Everything is green around here, I don’t need to jump the fence” came from John Ludwig of Whakatane. “Wow! You really can hear the ocean” came from Shane Avison of Putaruru and “Going Green is a lot of Bull!” is the caption submitted by Lincoln Quarrie of Te Awamutu. Carole Wyborn of Katikati suggested: “You in there Doris?” The winning caption comes from Anne Emms of Tauranga – it’s “Containabull”. She wins a copy of the book titled ‘A New York Year – Twelve months in the life of New York’s Kids’ by Australian author Tania McCartney, illustrator Tina Snerling and published by EK Books.

N U O TR

A photo of a bull in a ﬁx amused Coast & Country News readers, prompting many to send in captions for the January Country Funnies competition.

‘Hammer that Mortgage!’ by David Tillman is the book prize for March.

Hammer Mortgage

This month’s book prize is ‘Hammer that Mortgage!’ by David Tillman. It’s a guide for New Zealanders who are planning to buy their first home, or who already own one – and in it the author explains how it’s possible knock thousands of dollars off your mortgage, and pay back the loan even faster. David writes from experience. He paid off his first house in just five years at a time when interest rates were more than 20 per cent, and for 12 years operated one of the nation’s largest mortgage brokerages, based in Christchurch. Despite the current house prices, David says home ownership is still the best option for most New Zealanders and, in easy-to-understand language, using real-life examples, explains how to eliminate debt faster than most people think possible. He even describes – in a chapter called ‘The Latte Mortgage’ how saving the cost of one $4.50 cup of

Caption be in to w this photo and in a book prize.

coffee a day could mean paying an extra $136.88 off a $450,000 mortgage per month, while reducing a 30-year mortgage to 26.37 years, and the total interest repaid from $521,000 to $447,000 can create a saving of $70,000. Thanks to David, Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘Hammer that Mortgage!’ to give away. To be in to win, email captions for the photo below left and send them with your name and address, with Country Funnies as the subject, to: elaine@thesun.co.nz Or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to: Country Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140.

Wool-it winners At least three Coast & Country News readers will have “happy feet” – and maybe even more people will if the winners of last month’s Wool-it competition choose to share their prize packs. For correctly answering that former TV One weatherman Sam was walking the Queen Charlotte Track when he used Wool-it to help his blistered feet, Bev Taylor of Drury, Alister Boyd of Hamilton and Catherine Cawte of Te Puke have each won a Wool-it Duo packs containing a 20g Calico bag plus an 18gm Soft pack. Created by Christchurch’s Katey Lane, Wool-it is a skin cushion of wool for blister prevention. Using the cleaned and carded New Zealand wool to save feet from blisters has caught on among trampers, sports people and anyone whose work involves hours of walking in boots or shoes.

Page 60

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS The workers May Ludlow, 9 and John George, 3. Te Kowhai, Hamilton.

May Ludlow ,9 and Sammie Richards, 9. Te Kowhai, Hamilton.

B PRIZE UP FOR GRA

Jpeg send your high resolutionor post Zoaties from Alive Foods, t line To be in to win a box of dia.co.nz with Country Camera in the subjec ranga. images to kathy@sunme y News, PO Box 240 Tau to Kathy, Coast & Countrdetails including Ăż rst name, surname, age s caption Each valid entry require plus postal address and phone number. (for children),

Missy the cow dog, Mooloo missy! Te Kowhai, Hamilton.

BFFs- May Ludlow, 9 and her Jack Russell Missy, 13. Te Kowhai, Hamilton.

Our two boys Beau Conwell (13 months) and Cody Conwell (4.5 years) hanging out with the chickens. Rotorua.

Haymaking at Tauhei in the middle of Summer. Hamilton.

Mackenzie & Scarlett enjoying country life on the orchard. Plummers Point, Tauranga.