Coast & Country News - May 2019 by Sun Media

Hunting on horses with hounds is one of the oldest sports in existence, dating back to early-European history. The sport was introduced in New Zealand in the 1860s – and today it is alive and well in the Waikato thanks to current Huntsman, Lauryn Robertson.

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Kiwifruit PG 14-17

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The Cambridge-based Waikato Hunt pack is in his hands. Read about his passion, knowledge and care for his Waikato pack of harrier hounds on pages 4-5. Here Lauryn is pictured with ‘Brax’ and ‘Beggar’, new whelps from the 2019 season litter. Photo: Catherine Fry.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Refresh, reflect, plan A rural contractor I know keeps telling me his motto is: ‘Proper planning prevents pitiful performance’.

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And with May being a quiet-ish time on the farm, when the cows are usually out (if you don’t have autumn calvers) it is probably an ideal time to take a step back, take stock of things and do some planning. Mid-harvest may not be a good time for reﬂection for kiwifruit growers – maybe once the fruit is off the vines – but for avocado growers the start of a new season is timely. I myself get caught up in the busy-ness of day-to-day life but I also believe that personal and business development is critical to success. With the primary industries facing constantly-changing conditions to grow premium products, get them to market and into the hands of consumers – here and abroad – you can’t take the current situation for granted. So take some time – whether it be on-farm or off-farm – in a quiet place to really think about your objectives, your business goals, and what you want to achieve in life. There’s a lot happening in the primary industries, and this edition is packed full of passionate people doing innovative and courageous things on and with the land. Twenty-eight-year-old Moniek van Rossum has a passion for goats. She’s currently herd manager on a dairy goat operation in Roto-o-Rangi, near Cambridge. See her story on pages 6-7.

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On pages 14-15, NZ business journalist Rod Oram talks about how kiwifruit marketer Zespri is capable of taking a lead role in transforming part of the global food system to becoming more sustainable – for both our country and internationally. On our avocado feature – pages 19-21 – there’s autumn jobs on the orchard to tackle as well as talk of how growers can improve their performance by revisiting their management practices and orchard inputs including optimum spray programmes, to improve fruit quality. The efﬂuent and irrigation feature covers the kiwifruit industry’s new water strategy, and how The Owl demonstration farm in Cambridge is one of 12 farms across New Zealand taking part in an 18-month project to understand how changes on-farm to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may impact a farm’s proﬁtability and productivity. See pages 46-47. And on page 50 a DairyNZ research co-ordinator explains a three-year research project getting underway this coming season to examine the human, animal and production impacts of milking three times in two days. You could also now plan your trip to Fieldays next month – see page 23-29 for our preview of what and who will be there, and why it’s an event not to miss. So enjoy some downtime this month – but don’t forget to Merle Foster keep planning.

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Finding labour for the future tions to be considered region-by-region and industry-by-industry. “A key recommendation was where there are no Kiwis available, or no Kiwis available who want to work, there should be consideration under the Temporary Work Visa to turn this into Mike Chapman. a pathway to becoming a NZ Citizen on the basis there is a need for that

The industry body representing horticulture in New Zealand is calling on the Government to seize the opportunity to radically reform our country’s vocational sector so it will pull more people into adopting a work-ready mentality at an earlier age. Horticulture NZ recently made this plea in their submission on the Reform of Vocational Education after the Government announced earlier this year it proposed to overhaul the sector. The move comes as NZ’s apple and kiwifruit industries struggle to ﬁnd workers to harvest their fruits here in the Bay of Plenty and in the Hawke’s Bay. On April 15 the Ministry of Social Development declared a labour shortage for the BOP kiwifruit industry and extended the Hawke’s Bay’s declared labour shortage. The BOP declaration runs to May 27 – with NZ Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated estimating a shortfall of 3800 workers at harvest peak in mid-April. Last season the BOP kiwifruit industry was 1200 workers short at peak of harvest.

person and we haven’t got that person in the local community, so let’s ﬁll the gap,” says Mike. “The great thing is the Government has put this review and this reform out simultaneously and is now able to link them together. Mike says changes to TWVs is a short-term Band-Aid for now “but changing the Vocational Education system is a long term solution”. Read Mike’s HortNZ column on this topic on page 17. Merle Foster

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Horticulture NZ chief executive Mike Chapman says part of the solution to ﬁnding a larger workforce for future harvests – which for kiwifruit is expected to keep increasing in size – is in vocational education. “The important thing to note is this is a reform. A reform is a revolution and we have the potential to really change things up. So what we’re saying to government is: ‘Hey, this is a fantastic opportunity’.” HortNZ doesn’t believe the Vocational Education system has been serving industry, learners or the community as well as it should have. “What we do is let people coast through secondary school and develop a ‘couch-drug’ culture and once they get into that you’re never going to get them into work,” says Mike. “We think we should be looking at a Swiss or German system where vocational training starts really early on, as part of a dual education system that combines on-the-job training with formal education. We’re talking intermediate students – Years 7-8.” In their submission, HortNZ says NZ’s horticulture industry is in a rapid growth phase with signiﬁcant skills shortages. “At least 26,300 new, well-trained people are expected to be required by the horticultural sector over the next 10 years, and the proposed VE reforms will be crucial to horticulture reaching its potential value for NZ. In addition, the future workforce for horticulture must include a much greater proportion of young Maori.” Mike says part of the VE reform should be developing wider whole sector workforce development strategies that not only address industry training needs but industry-by-industry and region-by-region work in partnership with Government to meet labour and skills needs of each industry, including horticulture. “A workforce development plan can start way back at intermediate/early secondary school with voca-

At least 26,300 new, well-trained people are expected to be required by NZ’s horticultural sector during the next 10 years. Photos: Elaine Fisher tional training, linking people to employers. “This is because we’ve found there’s no point saying to someone older: ‘We’ve got a great career in horticulture, here’s a course you should do’. Where’s the employment? You’ve got to link the employer with the student, and link the training with what the student and the employer need. So it’s got be employer/learner centric.” “[And] It doesn’t really matter what career they end up in – if we get them, and get them started with whatever career/industry it might be, they’re on that continuum. And we need our vocational training systems, including our universities, to offer things that are very relevant and also ﬂexible – so perhaps you do it on the weekend, or online. We’ve got to rethink the way we do everything in terms of VE.”

Struggling Mike says all horticultural industries are struggling with labour shortages – whether it be for full-time staff or temporary workers – and this is impacting on growth of industries. “If you don’t have that surety of labour, you can’t grow. I know from talking to apple and kiwifruit growers it is impacting on expansion plans – because for such plans you need land, water and labour.” In a separate submission to the Ministry for Business, Employment and Innovation’s consultation on a new approach to employer-assisted work visas and regional workforce planning, HortNZ stated the rules need to be more ﬂexible, with special considera-

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Life with the Waikato

Huntsman Lauryn Roberston and the Waikato Hunt’s harrier hound pack ready for action. All photos: Catherine Fry.

The heart of every New Zealand hunt is its pack of harrier hounds. While Masters, Huntsmen and members come and go, hounds endure – with the bloodlines from many generations still within the pack. The Cambridge-based Waikato Hunt pack is in the hands of the current Huntsman, Lauryn Robertson. Lauryn moved from the Mahia hunt in 1998, and has a genuine affection for his 42-hound pack – 17 couples, plus four couples of upcoming puppies – combined with extensive knowledge about their care and breeding. The original Waikato Hunt pack was somewhat cobbled together in 1891, using hounds from other already established NZ hunts.

There are three hound colours – tricolour, which is black, tan and white; blue speckled, which has French origin; and lemon, which is mainly white or piebald. It’s also a colour Lauryn doesn’t particularly like!

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“Good bitch lines are the backbone of any hunt and when you get it right, you keep going with that line,” says Lauryn. All harrier hound breeding is coordinated through the NZ Hunt Association. Hounds must be registered in the stud book, which has now “gone technical”, and the database is online. Lauryn brought two bitches and a dog with him from Mahia, and has procured hounds from other hunts. His favoured blue speckled hounds make up a high percentage of the pack.

Performance

Colour is only aesthetic though, and it is other traits that inﬂuence a hound’s performance for hunting hares. “I’m looking for four traits – nose, noise, drive and body type,” says Lauryn. “I want light, athletic hounds for the terrain and conditions we hunt under.” Hounds hunt for three seasons before being used for breeding, and hounds not displaying required qualities are not used in breeding programmes. “Every year I watch the performance of each individual hound during hunting season and plan breeding from there. I’m looking for consistency in ability and temperament.” Lauryn works in conjunction with other hunts to import hounds from overseas to diversify and strengthen the NZ harrier hound bloodlines.

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hunt harrier hounds continued...

The Waikato hounds live in mixedsex, 30m by 15m enclosures. When a bitch comes into season, eagle-eyed Lauryn separates them from the pack for the duration. If he wants to breed, he puts the dog to them about 10 days in. About six weeks into the nine-week gestation, Lauryn moves the bitch to her own pen and ups her food intake and adds milk to her diet. “I watch really closely for when they are about to whelp,” says Lauryn. “I want to be there for births, as some mothers don’t manage well and need help.”

around. Any injury or health issue is picked up quickly. He knows every hound by name – and can tell you their pedigree too – and notices any changes in behaviour, condition or temperament. “Social structure is important and I can’t let a hound be the main boss,” says Lauryn. “I move them into another pen if I see any antisocial or bossy behaviour starting.” They all clearly respect Lauryn, vying for a pat and a treat. One verbal command from him and within seconds the whole pack has responded.

Birth

Harrier hound ‘Tazz’ shows good hunting ability and has lovely type.

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Hygiene and good feeding are paramount in the early days after the birth. Lauryn leaves the mother to her job but is in close attendance, scrupulously cleaning out the whelping pen, and providing milk and mince for the busy mum. The puppies have a slurry mix of milk and mince added to their diet at around four weeks. Weaning doesn’t start until around nine weeks, when Lauryn starts to take over care and gradually removes the mum. “I don’t believe in weaning early, I let the mum do her job.” You won’t find a skinny pup at the kennels. They are plump, well-wormed and lively – and Lauryn believes that is the best start they can have in life. At around six months, after learning human ways from Lauryn and puppy walkers, the pups join the main pack to learn the pack ways. As long as they Functional Fertiliser Functional Lauryn with ‘Ya’, “a very tidyFertiliser hound” and one can keep up and behave, supplies nutrient of the first pups fromfull an imported UK hound, supplies full nutrient puppies can hunt from 12 Functional Fertiliser Sherston, from High Peak Harriers. packages based on months old. packages based on supplies full nutrient Often only one litter a Functional ®Fertiliser ® packages basedfull onnutrient year is born at Waikato, supplies but the hunts regularly packages®based on swap puppies among ® themselves.

The hounds are fed around 70 per cent red flesh and 30 per cent biscuits, and Lauryn varies feeding time. “I don’t want them anticipating a regular feed time and making a noise in advance, so I surprise them every day.” The pack goes on regular training runs during the off season, but between the end of March and mid-July, they are hunting two or three times a week – and life is full on. Lauryn has a very successful showing record with hounds he has bred, and the Waikato Hunt is proud of his achievements.

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Herd manager Moniek van Rossum with the yearling goats. All photos: Catherine Fry.

Twenty-eight-year-old Moniek van Rossum has brought her dairy upbringing, her passion for goats, and her sound academic background to her role as herd manager on a dairy goat operation in Roto-o-Rangi, near Cambridge.

followed by a Masters in Agricultural Science, majoring in both plant and animal science. Netball also featured strongly in her life, with the 1.94m athlete enjoying a stint as a goalkeeper with the Southern Steele squad. “I loved that combination of study, training, and relief milking,” says Moniek, who has remained a plant and forage research technician at Lincoln University.

Her parents are Dutch immigrants, Piet and Winy van Rossum, who came to New Zealand in the mid-1980s, enticed by the opportunity to become full-time dairy farmers. Through Dutch contacts in the country, they were soon dairy farming in Morrinsville, where Moniek was born in 1990. They moved to an equity partnership in Southland, where land was cheaper, and “ﬂatter like Holland” for her mum. “I grew up immersed in farm life and was relief milking from the age of 12,” says Moniek. She went on to study for a BA in Agricultural Science at Lincoln,

Netball

Her netball abilities resulted in an offer to play semi-professionally for Loughborough Lightning, England. But she found the change to training and playing full-time unfulﬁlling. “After doing some travelling, I went to where my family had come from in Holland, and ended up working on a dairy goat farm in Lelystad.” It was here that the ﬂuent Dutch speaker fell in love with goats. “They are so friendly and much easier to handle compared to cows. ...continued

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for dairy goats continued...

“Most is made into baby milk powder and exported overseas,” says Moniek. The 42ha farm and 75ha run-off produce almost all the feed required. Plantain, lucerne and rye grass are grown for fresh cut-and-carry feed. Maize is grown for silage, and bailage and conventional hay is made. “We buy in brewer’s grain, maize grain and molasses. Feeding is very controlled, and plentiful, which gives better health all round.” The staff do two pasture Friendly goats swamping herd manager cuts every day, each yielding Moniek van Rossum. five tonnes fresh weight of green cut-and-carry. During the peak, 3.61L of milk per goat per Roto-o-Rangi day is the average. A good dairy goat will produce After a year in Pukeatua, she now works as herd 125kgMS per annum through its three to five years manager on one of two KDG Farms at Roto-o-Rangi. in the herd. Moniek, overseer John Knowles, and three other staff, run the 1100-goat operation there. The herd Farm ownership goal Farm owner Alistair Kirkby is a practising vet, and is mainly Saanen goats, with some Toggenburg and regularly visits Roto-o-Rangi to carry out all de-hornAlpine Cross. ing, vaccinations and general vet treatments himself. Based on herd testing results, the top 100 does are Goats are susceptible to many health issues and are artificially inseminated in February, generally with kept under cover permanently in large poly tunnels imported semen. The farm’s 50-strong billy goat contingent runs with the rest of the does for a couple and one new purpose-built shed, with outdoor play of months. areas available. Extractor fans clean the air, and the goats are on a “Goats have a five-month pregnancy and kiddeep bed of untreated wood shavings. ding occurs from July to August. Any empty goats Moniek would love to own her own dairy goat continue to be milked, and low milk producers are farm and is exploring options to grow her equity for dried off. “The high milk producers maintain both health and buying into the NZ Dairy Goat Co-operative. She’s inspired by the achievements of her mother, Winy. milk production and we continue milking.” “After dad passed away, she continued to run Kids remain with the does for 12 hours. Around 35 the Southland farm alone and now has five dairy per cent of the doe kids are kept, but the billy goats platforms down there. She is an amazing business and does from the lower-producing mothers are sold for kid meat. woman and I really look up to her.” Daily milking is labour-intensive, taking three With her mum’s mentorship, her own determinahours at 5am, and two-and-a-half hours at 2pm. tion, and many of the original dairy goat farmers starting to retire, Moniek’s dream is within her grasp. “We run a rotary, 62-cup shed, and all our milk goes to the Dairy Goat Co-operative. Catherine Fry “The farming is completely different, with more to do and much more labourintensive.” A homesick Moniek returned to New Zealand in 2014, and took up a “fantastic opportunity to put her degree to use” as a trainee dairy farm consultant. “While I enjoyed the work very much, computer life was not for me. I love being out on the farm.” Eager to work with dairy goats again, Moniek moved to the North Island for employment, where the majority of dairy goat farms are found.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Restoring biodiversity Biodiversity ranger Duncan Mackay volunteered for three years with the Karioi: Maunga ki te Moana project, before taking a 24-hour-per-week paid position with A Rocha Aotearoa NZ.

This is a partner organisation working with hapu, landowners, other non-government organisations and community volunteers, to restore biodiversity on the mountain – or maunga – and around the town of Raglan. The long-term aim is to restore Karioi Maunga as a seabird mountain. The project is funded by private donations, grants, Waikato Regional Council, WWF-NZ and the Department of Conservation. Duncan’s role is varied, ranging from education to trapping, track maintenance to monitoring species, all of which means he has plenty of reason to spend hours up on his beloved maunga. “Trapping is probably a bit of a grisly part of the job,” says the 30-year-old. “But we are talking about invasive pests that are destroying our natural ecosystem.” The 1300ha of DOC land and 500ha of hapu land on Mount Karioi, the familiar ‘Sleeping Lady’ mountain of Raglan, has around 1000 active traps on it. “We catch all sorts of predators including rats, mice, weasels, stoats, possums, hedgehogs and feral cats,” says Duncan.

Feral cats

The feral cats are caught live and taken to the vet to be euthanised. This is because nearer the town domestic cats sometimes enter the traps and they need to be freed safely. Duncan is not afraid to discuss the controversial subject of domestic cats being one of the largest threats to native birds. A cat lover himself, he looks for solutions.

Checking a feral cat trap in the Raglan bush. All photos: Catherine Fry.

“For an older person, a cat often helps with loneliness and provides companionship. “The cat should be neutered, vaccinated, well fed, kept in at night, and wear a collar to reduce its chances when hunting.” Duncan makes special ruff collars that are bright yellow, have reﬂective edges, and loud bells. He sells them at the vet clinic in Raglan and his own cat ‘Tequila’ wears one at all times. “The combination of colour and noise makes it very hard for a cat to hide and stalk prey. My cat has gone from catching several birds a week to catching several a year.” Duncan has a Controlled Substances Licence and doesn’t shy away from the subject of 1080 either. “Nobody agrees with poisoning paradise, but everyone agrees we have to save paradise and that is currently the best option. ...continued

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Many reasons to have passion for Karioi The project is rolling out forest bird counts, and people are reporting more and more forest birds on the mountain. Duncan spends time educating students and taking groups onto the mountain. Under the Manaaki Ao Earthcare Project, NCEA credits can be obtained through trapping.

Surfboards and trees

On top of his ranger work, Duncan works 32 hours a week making surfboards, finds time to surf, and still Duncan Mackay heading out for a surf at manages to grow native trees. Manu Bay, Raglan. continued... On his three-acre lifestyle “If this statement empowers someone to block just outside Raglan find an alternative; that would be worthhe’s planted 2000 trees, and while.” is planning to build an ecoFive years ago, a remnant population of friendly home on the land. Grey-faced petrel, or Oi, was found nesting Currently, he lives close in the bush just outside Raglan. Duncan and to the surf beach at Raglan, the team are very excited about the discovery and has shade cloth-covered and are actively monitoring and protecting structures all over the the colony. garden. Each one houses “Historically, the maunga would have had seedlings of native trees, thousands of pairs of these taonga – highly sown from donated seeds, prized by Maori – birds nesting on it,” says and all at different stages of Duncan Mackay and Duncan. development. These seed‘Puss’, the cat, wearing her lings are given away, used BrightCat ruff, designed Oi chicks in community planting and by Duncan as a bird “In fact, Karioi was a seabird mountain, riparian planting. catching deterrent. with 11 different species of seabirds literally “I think holistically about living in every habitat from the beach to the the ecosystem; what I affect, affects everything else. mountain top. “I see myself as a janitor; I mop up and lock up, but “Last year we had seven Oi chicks, and this year I can’t control the ecosystem.” we have around 18 active burrows with potential To find out more, see: www.karioimaunga.co.nz chicks in them. This is the start of a very long-term Catherine Fry project.”

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Emma joins friend in Young Farmer final A 24-year-old Te Awamutu vet, who’s just been named Waikato/ Bay of Plenty FMG Young Farmer of the Year, is one of only six woman nationally to ever qualify for the contest’s grand ﬁnal since it began in 1969.

And Emma Dangen will compete alongside her good mate Georgie Lindsay, who’ll represent the Tasman region in the grand ﬁnal – the ﬁrst

time in the contest’s 51-year history two women will be competing. “Georgie is a good mate. It’ll be neat to attend grand final together,” says Emma, who grabbed her regional title in late-March, saying: “I’m speechless. It’s been a massive day” as she received a standing ovation from a crowd at the Matamata Racecourse. Emma is also the first woman from the Waikato/BOP region to make it to the grand final since Louise Collingwood in 2004. Emma’s journey in this year’s Young

Farmer contest began by entering and winning the Waipa Skills Contest late last year – now she’s won the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Young Farmer of the Year contest she’ll compete in the FMG Young Farmer of the Year grand final in Hawke’s Bay in July. One of five siblings – with brother Tim Dangen this year competing in the Northern regional final – Emma grew up grew up on a farm at Muriwai Beach on Auckland’s rugged west coast. She’s competed in three regional finals of the contest – placing fourth in 2016, and second in the Taranaki/ Emma Dangen completing a cow Manawatu classification assessment, with regional final assessor Danyel Hosto, at the last year – and Waipa Skills Contest – winning says winning the contest has this contest enabled her to compete and win Waikato/Bay of Plenty always been a FMG Young Farmer of the Year. dream of hers. “I’m really excited. This has always been a dream of mine. My brother encouraged me to enter because his boss Simon Hopcroft won the grand final in 2004.” Contestants in the Waikato/BOP regional final in late-March had to tackle a series of gruelling modules, including a fast-paced agri-knowledge quiz. “We had to develop an international marketing pitch for a NZ smoothie product and construct a roadside stall to sell vegetables,” says Emma.

Emma Dangen and her parents Robyn and Lyall. “We also had to assess the weight and age of dairy goats and determine the annual income from each doe. I really enjoyed that module.” Emma’s parents Robyn and Lyall, her brother Tim, who farm together at Muriwai northwest of Auckland, and her fiancé Chris Poole were in the audience. Emma won $12,000 worth of prizes, including an XR150 Honda farm bike. She also won the innovation prize and the award for showcasing food production. Emma’s worked as a vet in Te Awamutu since January, after completing a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at Massey University. She lives with her fiancé on a 750-cow dairy farm at Pirongia. Contract milker Josh Cozens, 30, who represented the region at the grand final last year, came second. Sophia Clark, 30, who’s a 50/50 sharemilker and a forage agronomist with PGG Wrightson, placed third. She won the prize for outstanding leadership, and the award for championing environmental best practice. Apprentice engineer Isaac Billington, 23, was named the most tech-savvy contestant.

FORESTRY

Page 11

Carbon average accounting welcomed Recently-announced reforms to the Emissions Trading Scheme are being welcomed by foresters, with one industry body chair saying carbon average accounting, where a forester is not penalised for harvesting so long as they replant, will encourage farmers to plant out land in forests. Farm Forestry Association chair Neil Cullen says carbon average accounting will allow foresters to harvest “without a concern that this will result in a cash-ﬂow problem for them” because the reform reduces ETS compliance costs. Forestry Minister Shane Jones and Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced the second set of changes to the ETS in late-March as part of broader reforms to make the scheme ﬁt-for-purpose. They believe the changes will see 89 million more trees planted in coming years and an extra 45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide stored in NZ’s forests. The introduction of averaging accounting applies for all forests registered from January 1, 2021, and the option to use the new accounting method for all forests registered in 2019 and 2020.

Long-term view

Shane says by taking a long-term view of the amount of carbon in a production forest, averaging means forest owners will be able to trade more carbon NZUs at lower risk, and not have to worry about ﬁnding units to repay at harvest. “It’s essential the ETS provides the right incentives for forestry over the long term so we can deliver on our One Billion Trees programme as well as our commitment to taking action on climate change and supporting transition to a low emissions future. “We’ve heard from the forestry sector about the need to make the ETS simpler while increasing the incentives to plant trees – simpler accounting for the carbon stored in trees will make a positive difference for anyone considering investing in forestry.” Shane says the timing of this decision – as 2019’s planting season is about to get underway – is important for forest owners. “They can now go ahead with planting this year knowing they can choose the new system and we hope this provides the certainty they’ve

changes, while we develop the mapping instrument over the longer term.” James says the changes are among overlapping policy levers aiming to strike the right balance between production and protection. “We need clean water and reduced greenhouse gasses. We also need food and employment.” The Forest Owners Association

Forestry Minister Shane Jones believes the ETS changes will see 89 million more trees planted in coming years. been seeking as a sector. We expect to make further decisions soon on the details of averaging accounting, and whether forests already in the ETS can transition to averaging.”

Making system simpler

Neil says making the system simpler to understand is also crucial. “I know it’s a complex system, but it needs to be understood by a forester or a farmer without having to go on a course. “If it’s too complicated, a landowner will do something else, or nothing. The end result is regional investment opportunities are missed and rural communities are less wealthy. ” James Shaw says Cabinet has also agreed to several operational changes to streamline the ETS process for forest owners. “We’ll improve the emissions rulings process where applicants can get an assessment of their land prior to investment and enable the use of a mapping instrument to make applications even easier. “These proposals work together: the improved emissions ruling process will be in place once the legislation

president Peter Weir says the changes give much-needed certainty, especially in the context of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report and the forthcoming report back to Ministers from the Interim Climate Change Committee. “The critical thing to make a revised ETS work is that there is political will behind it.”

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SHEEP & BEEF

Page 13

Taste Pure Nature in US Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s pilot rollout of its Taste Pure Nature country of origin brand campaign in California is offering very encouraging results so far.

of building the brand’s proﬁle and understanding of NZ’s farming systems in California and the US “to hit the ground running highlights just how receptive our target market is for NZ beef and lamb”. The target audience is a consumer group identiﬁed through two years of indepth research, dubbed the The brand launched on ‘Conscious Foodie’. The Taste Pure Nature brand campaign March 21 and 162 articles Nick says Conscious featuring in Times Square in New York City. had been written about it by Foodies care about the the end of the month, with tive advantage,” says Andrew. provenance of their food; potential media impressions of The campaign’s main goal is to 125.2 million. Plus, in-market paid raise awareness and drive preference they want to know it was raised ethically and as naturally as pospromotion has begun with digital for NZ grass-fed beef and lamb. sible; and they want to build advertising telling the story of NZ’s B+LNZ is working with three experiences around their food. naturally-raised, grass-fed beef and NZ export and marketing compa“Our research shows where food lamb to tens of thousands more nies to develop plans that leverage aligns with their personal values, people. Taste Pure Nature in their brandthese Conscious Foodies are willing B+LNZ’s Chairman Andrew building efforts in the US market: to pay a premium. That, combined Morrison says they’ve seen the The Lamb Company that has Silver with them wanting food to be success similar ‘country of origin’ Fern Farms, ANZCO and Alliance raised in the most natural way posbranding initiatives have had for as shareholders; First Light; and sible, makes these consumers the key competitors “but the reality is Atkins Ranch. ideal target segment for NZ beef none of them can replicate the way Angus Pure and Coastal Spring and lamb.” we farm here in NZ”. Lamb has also been granted a Taste Pure Nature’s California “With consumers rightfully licence to use the Taste Pure Nature rollout is a pilot to fully test the taking more of an interest in the brand resources. way their food was raised or grown, B+LNZ’s general manager market brand in-market, and could be Taste Pure Nature gives us the development Nick Beeby says while scaled up across the US and more international markets if successful. vehicle to leverage NZ’s competithey’re taking a long-term view

Shepherds vie for win

Two shepherds from the Gisborne region and a shepherd from Oamaru in the south are vying for 2019’s Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer for(HSWA) Sheep and| Beef alongside. afety at Work Award Act 2015 nd Workplace Management Regulations The three finalists(HSWA) are Kristy afety at Work Act 2015 | Maria Roa, aged 20, of us Workplace Substances Regulations | TumoanakotoreNgati Maniapoto, Ngati 2017 Apakura; nd Management Regulations ances and New Organisms Act 1996 i-Whakairioratia Harrison-Boyd, us Substances Regulations 2017 | aged 23, of Ngati Porou, Whanau a(Hazardous Tuwhakairiora me Te Whanau a zardous Substances ances and New Organisms Act 1996 and Taane-nui-a-Rangi Rotoatara Hubbard, )zardous NoticeHinekehu; 2017 | Agricultural Compounds Substances (Hazardous aged 23, Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Pahauwera, Tainui, edicines (ACVM) Act 1997 | Transport ) NoticeNgati 2017Pakapaka, | Agricultural Compounds Ngai Tahu, Ngai Tuhoe. ource Management Act (RMA) 1991 | edicines (ACVM) Act 1997 | Kristy works as a shepherdTransport on Iwinui Station near | Quality assurance ource Management | Tolaga Bay. TuAct is a (RMA) shepherd1991 at Whareopaia Station s| |Quality GlobalG.A.P. nearassurance Tolaga |Bay. And Taane is a shepherd on Caberfeidhaudit Station|| near Kurow, northwest of Oamaru. s| Industry | GlobalG.A.P. Lead judge|Peter Little says it’s never an easy task to ket requirements | Industry audit select finalists given the pool of young Maori, who are ket requirements making great progress in their careers in agriculture. “Training by the finalists has helped them establish themselves in good jobs and provide an excellent platform to progress to senior positions within the industry.” Peter says the farming sector needs talented, motivated young people “and this award is about recognising their achievements thus far, but also showcasing to other young people the great career opportunities awaiting them in the primary sector”. The shepherds learn their fate when the senior Ahuwhenua Trophy is announced on May 24.

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KIWIFRUIT

Transforming the global food system New Zealand’s kiwifruit marketer Zespri is capable of taking a lead role in transforming part of the global food system to becoming more sustainable – for both our country and internationally. That’s the message business journalist and author Rod Oram gave in his talk on global sustainability trends and opportunities for our kiwifruit industry to Priority One members at Mount Maunganui on March 19.

the biosphere recover is circularity Giving an overview of how the – we need to be able to unmake planet is faring in the face of everything we make. human activity, what is “I don’t mean a bit of happening in terms of downcycling…but in sustainability and NZ’s fact to be able to re-use current situation, he all natural resources also talked of what and crucially all Zespri could take the human-made lead on. resources – the He complemented compounds we’ve Zespri – saying since created, some very the brand launched toxic – we need to in 1997 it has able to deal with really come to life, those down to parts overcome adversity per billion. such as the vine“So we maximise the killing Psa-V, and in 22 resources that were there years has developed into and minimise pollution a truly global system for and damage we’ve caused. kiwifruit, holding a remarkThis is simply working with able record of innovation. nature – not against it.” The audience were talked Rod says so much of what through the incredibly NZ business journalist and author Rod we do has a negative impact complex biosphere, which Oram talks about global sustainability is responsible for all life on trends and opportunities for our kiwifruit on nature. So how do we transform and turn inside out the planet, and how we’re industry to Priority One members at everything we do, so we’re destroying its health – which Mount Manganui. All photos: John Borren. giving the biosphere a chance will in turn affect our ability to recover? to live, grow food and survive. The enormous challenge is about a radical re-inven“We know where we’re heading on climate change tion of the food system so when we do agriculture – if we keep pushing past 400ppm of Co2 we’re in we’re helping nature regenerate, says Rod. deep trouble…and one of the most notable things And this is where Zespri comes in. “I think Zespri about these [biosphere] boundaries is phosphorus is very crucial in this – because you’ve really excelled and nitrogen flows, which are entirely because of the at working with all the people you need in your way we use artificial fertiliser on the ground to grow organisation both here and abroad – whether it be food. They are really serious breaches. scientists, or those in orchards, in labs, in markets “Land-use change is another agricultural issue, and and in business. so is biodiversity loss…that is our biggest breach.” “There’s a very strong sense of culture in the Zespri Rod says Co2 emission from cars and burning coal system that’s developed inside Zespri and the counto generate electricity are causes “but in aggregate, try. And a very defining character and attitudes of agriculture has the largest negative impact on that the kiwifruit system and its people in that process. biosphere – on our life support system”.

Anthropocene

Discounting ice on the globe, 75 per cent of land is actively managed by humans. “And humans, in our activity, move more of the earth surface than forces of nature.” This is dubbed the Anthropocene – the ﬁrst time in 4.5 billion years on the planet a living organism – which happens to be people – is the biggest cause of planetary change. “Trying to turn this around is one of our monumental challenges,” says Rod. “And while we can already see where research and development and business investment might take us with electricity, transport, building and infrastructure – this type of work is only just beginning to emerge in agriculture.” Rod says the most important concept to helping

Truly global system “And, above all, for developing that into a truly global system for kiwifruit, and Zespri’s remarkable record of innovation…then all the way out into the markets.” Rod says Zespri also holds a remarkable record at primary distribution level “of having a share of global revenue that’s twice the share of the actual volume of kiwifruit. That’s testament to the power of Zespri”. “So I suggest the integrated, fast-evolving system that’s been developed here can meet this challenge – of trying to transform just a part of the global food system.” Rod can’t see Zespri straying far from Kiwifruit – “and it doesn’t need to”. “Kiwifruit is wonderful in that it still has lots of ...continued

KIWIFRUIT

Page 15

Giving Zespri ‘sustainable’ food for thought continued...

attributes to breed or be developed and health factors that can be proven with studies. “But the horticultural system around it – that is where changes could come. I’d hope particularly around regenerative agriculture. And that’d be the very important and distinctive contribution Zespri could make. Essentially, offering consumers the goodness of regenerative kiwifruit.” Through this, Rod says Zespri could help urban populations reconnect with natural food pro-

Rod Oram points to plumes on a New Zealand map – highly likely to have come from sediment washing into waterways from agriculture practices in regions near the Cook Strait.

ains the

od Oram expl listen on as R e. rs be em m e n ospher Priority O state of the bi duction. “I’m being whimsical, but you can help them practice circular economy principles such as composting food waste and biodegradable packaging, making soil for their local regenerative food systems. “To have biodegradable packaging for kiwifruit to be sent off to other parts of the world, and when it degrades in those other

markets it then becomes soil in the local food environment.” Rod says it’s about leading from the front. “I’m utterly convinced Zespri has that leading capability and ambition and the ability to build on these very big issues over the next 10 years or so. “And take a huge step forward and make a real contribution

to this global transformation in agriculture.” Zespri’s chief innovation and sustainability ofﬁcer Carol Ward says Rod also spoke to the Zespri board on his visit “because sustainability is a priority for us and we’re trying to get our head around what that means”. “We have a role to play in terms of developing a sustainability strategy, building our actions and our work plans, setting our objectives and targets, and monitoring our progress. “So Rod has given us food for thought on the role Zespri can play in terms of building its sustainability journey, not only for its produce but for NZ and globally. I’m incredibly excited.” Merle Foster

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Zespri’s new head office in Mount Maunganui has three levels and can accommodate 340 staff.

340 Zespri staff. Featuring activity-based work zones spread across “Sustainability is one of our major priorities at Zespri four work neighbourhoods, the new building also and it was important our new building reflected this,” offers more than 180 carparks – including 90 undersays Dave. ground parks – to help reduce congestion on local “Visitors to the new building will notice a range of roads. features like our smart exterior facades which help IRRIGATION AND WATER STORAGE PLANT AND CROP A dawn ceremony in late-March, wherePROTECTION kuia and reduce the need for temperature control, our energyFIRESTONE EPDM pond liners. MICRONET is a white 15-20% shade fabric MICRONET kaumatua from local hapu and iwi blessed the new efficient occupant sensor lighting and solar panels on designed to create a controlled microclimate for For horticultural irrigation, water building to ensure it would be a safe andcrop welcoming roof, rainwater and plants. Air andthe water permeable allows collection storage, technology and pond liners.and waternatural movement.plumbing fitting environment, was attended by almost 150 staffwatering and and airefficient 20 year Firestone Warranty on EPDM liner Available in 2 metre and 4 metre widths. installations. local industry stakeholders. “We’ve also made sureapproved the range of timbers our conFROSTGUARD FROSTGUARD spunbonded low have the Environment Choice NZ Zespri’s acting chief people officer Dave Courtney non woven tractors have used Contact us for nationwide cost polypropylene fabric available in 16gm2 and says the new head office marks an important step installers Council certified, and tick or are Forest 30gm2. Alsoin air and water permeable allowing Stewardship starting a new chapter in Zespri’s story. natural air and water movement. the carpets are Environment Choice NZ or Cradle to wide. Other widths avail on request. “Today’s a really special day not just for2 metres our Zespri Cradle certified. Cosio Industries 15014, Lynn, 0640, Auckland team but for the broaderCOSIO kiwifruit industry,” said DaveLtd, P.O.Box hasNew invested more than $40 million in the Email : sales@c COSIO 27-33 Lansford Crescent,Zespri Avondale, Auckland INDUSTRIES on April 8. design, build, fit-out and furnishing of the new Website : http://ww Ph 09 820 0272 Fax 09 820 0274 “We achieved some great things in our old office and complex, with the second phase of the building’s have some fondThe memories from our 23 years there, construction to commence shortly. This is expected to Professionals Choice including the way our industry came together to work be completed by the end of the year with an official through some challenging times, but we’ve clearly opening of the new building to occur in early-2020. outgrown it. White Reflective Ground INDUSTRIES “Our new office provides a fantastic and modern Next phase working environment that connects us both with Ultra-Mat provides 75% light reflection and is specifically made by The next phase of work includes final demolition manufacturer. Complete with full -UV protection EPDM liner the significant kiwifruit growing region of the Bay ofand therespected previousEuropean 1970s-built head office and constru conditions. Ultra-Mat prevents weeds and stimulates growth of plants tha of Plenty, but also with our global markets who are tion of an additional wing to house several meeting high light reflection for optimum yield. represented in the names of some of our new meeting rooms featuring the latest interactive technology and another qua Sizes available rooms,” says Dave. a demonstration TheWhite neighbouring council1.1m 120gms/m2kitchen. ULTRAMAT Woven, 3.3m , park 4.15mwould 100gms/m2 ULTRAMAT Whiteand Woven owned also be redeveloped landscaped, The Profess Industry hub providing another green space for the local community For the best value in growers solutions, contact : The new office would also act as a hub for the kiw to Cosio enjoy.Industries Ltd, P.O.Box 15014, New Lynn Auckland fruit industry, bringing together Zespri teams who had “We’re lookingCrescent, forwardAvondale, to the completed 27-33 Lansford Auckland. build- Email : sales previously been working at three sites across Tauranga ingPhcomplex beingFax a space 09 820 0272 09 820that 0274our community can Website : http:/ and fellow industry organisations New Zealand Kiwienjoy and that the whole kiwifruit industry can come fruit Growers and Kiwifruit Vine Health, which have together in to celebrate future milestones and entertain ground floor offices in the new building. visiting government, trade and media delegations,” Dave thanked everyone who was involved in the says Dave. 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Reforming vocational education in NZ Consultation concluded recently on the Government’s proposed Reform of Vocational Education.

sion on the Reform of VE, said bold design moves need to be made so that industry and learners have a key say in what is provided and by whom.

It was launched as polytechnics across New Zealand were struggling to remain financially viable. There are a number of reasons for this situation, but central to it is how VE is funded and what structures are set up to deliver vocational training. For horticulture, I think one of the key failings of the system is that the needs of industry are not the key determinant of what vocational education is provided. The industry voice has been lost in the complexity of funding rules and competition between industry training organisations and polytechnics. We now have the first opportunity in decades to address this imbalance and move to create a vocational training system that is fit for the growth and expansion of horticulture. HortNZ, in its submis-

Simple problem

Across all industries there are labour shortages and the situation is not getting better. Labour shortages are starting to impact economic growth and, if the trend is not arrested and reversed, the economic situation will worsen. The problem is relatively simple: we do not have enough entry-level workers to sustain NZ businesses. Entry-level workers can go on to develop more relevant skills and lead businesses. It is where careers start. Throughout NZ there is either a lack of New Zealanders, or those available are not interested or able to work in the jobs available. Being ‘work-ready’ starts at school. We do not prepare our young people

to enter industry in occupations that not only suit them, but will also give them a happy and long-lasting career. We all have different skills and motivations. The trick is to harness and develop those skills and motivation well before students leave secondary school. There are programmes to do this. But in many cases, these are add-on programmes and not seen as mainstream.

last until the end of May. “While we’re pleased our attraction campaign has increased the number of visitors who’ve shown interest to work in the industry, we’re likely to require more workers to pick and pack at season peak. “As a first priority, we’re calling on people who live in close proximity to orchards and packhouses to roll up their sleeves and join us.” Those from further afield are recommended to secure accommodation first. The estimated labour shortfall could total 3550 in the BOP. Last harvest the shortfall was 1200 vacancies. Potential employees can find information on employers, job types and rights at: www.nzkgi.org.nz Overseas visitors are encouraged to visit the Immigration NZ website.

Read this column in full at: www.coastandcountrynews.co.nz

Driver’s licence

One of the biggest impediments to school leavers getting and keeping a job is having a driver’s licence, so they can drive to work or go directly into truck driver training, for example. If getting a driver’s licence was part of the school curriculum, then the majority of students leaving school would have at least one necessary skill. A driver’s licence is particularly important for rural jobs and where there might not be suitable public transport.

My Name is Neil Woodward. I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run business, our team consists of three, being myself, my son and my brother.

Visitors step up to pick fruit Some relief to this harvest’s labour shortage has come from visitors to New Zealand applying to vary conditions of their visitor visas to work in the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay, which have both declared labour shortages. The BOP labour shortage declaration runs to May 27. By April 16, New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated conﬁrmed 250 people had been accepted for a Variation Of Conditions to visitor visas and a sharper increase in applications was expected in following weeks. About 230 people successfully applied for a VOC in the BOP during the declaration period in 2018. NZKGI CEO Nikki Johnson says more than 18,000 seasonal workers would be required to pick and pack the fruit this season – with peak harvest to

For at least the last decade, neither the industry training organisations nor the polytechnics have received sufﬁcient funding to run industry-tailored programmes that reach back into the start of secondary school.

Our organisation has been established for over 18 years. I have been involved in applying crop protection programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We have the equipment to spray orchards with our two Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing.

My Name is Neil Woodward. I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run business, our team consists of three, being myself, my son and my brother. Our organisation has been established for over 18 years. I have been involved in applying crop protection programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We have the equipment to spray orchards with our two Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing.

Our Atom combined three noz accuracy.

We also u applicatio

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Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, this combined with fully automated sprayer controllers and three nozzle rings enhances application efﬁciency and accuracy. We also use a quad bike for strip weed spray applications. We hold all certiﬁcates needed to meet Globalgap compliance. We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect your crop with excellence.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

AVOCADOS

Page 19

Solid OGR delivered in challenging year Last month Avoco’s 800-plus avocado growers received their Pool Statements and ﬁnal payments for the 2018-2019 season. The OGR was expected to come under pressure due to costs associated with salvaging an export season impacted by rots, wind rub and the consequences of advanced fruit maturity that led to disappointing packouts for growers across the industry. But a ﬁnancial analysis revealed enough upside to reward growers for their continued support. It’s been six years since fruit marketers Southern Produce and Primor Produce joined forces to form Avoco and export their combined supply of avocados to Australia and Asia. Since then, Avoco has established strong relationships with Australia’s largest supermarket businesses, ensuring its growers can make the most of opportunities across the Tasman by supplying both retail and wholesale markets. The company has also led the way with ongoing market development in Asia, where fruit is marketed under its highly regarded Avanza brand.

Weather the storm

Avoco marketing and communications manager Steve Trickett says the company’s scale and proven business model meant it could “weather the storm” and successfully navigate its way to the end of what was a “rocky” season for fruit quality and crop size. Export volumes fell short of preseason estimates by around 20 per cent due to the challenging growing season and harvest period. Western Australian supply was also greater than forecast and ran much later, adding to the pressures faced by NZ exporters in the Australian market at critical times. Generally inconsistent fruit quality throughout the season meant Avoco invested heavily in repacking in Aus-

tralia to ensure only the best quality avocados reached retail customers. “We had anticipated that these costs would impact the OGR but pleasingly, we’ve secured a ﬁnal return for growers that illustrates how supplying Avoco’s network of premium customers across Australia and Asia can hold up the value of their fruit,” says Steve. Last season, Avoco exported 1.87 million trays, or 63 per cent, of the industry’s export volume. Next season’s NZ crop will be larger, but not the ‘bumper’ harvest earlier predicted. Early estimates suggest the total industry crop will be up somewhere between 20-25 per cent, resulting in an indicative forecast volume of between 3.5 million and 3.8 million trays. To ensure the viability of next season’s export crop, Avoco is re-examining fruit handling processes at every step in the supply chain, starting with growers, and working with staff across the six packhouses supplying Avoco to improve fruit quality.

their performance by re-visiting their management practices and orchard inputs including optimum spray programmes. “It’s essential that we respond to these challenges with proven orchard management strategies and commit to research to learn even more.” Avoco has delivered growers another rewarding OGR.

Quality the priority

Within Australia, Avoco’s importerhandlers located in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria are further reﬁning their integrated clearance processes and operations to ensure the most efﬁcient clearance and delivery timeline possible from port to warehouse, helping mitigate quality risks associated with fruit age. Industry body NZ Avocado Industry Ltd is also making fruit quality a priority and is collaborating with Avoco’s technical and quality team to ensure planned research and trial project work being undertaken is harmonised and not duplicated. With Chile wanting to export avocados to Australia and many Asian markets now highly competitive export environments – due to increasing awareness and popularity of avocados – Avoco and its growers need to adhere to orchard management best practice more than ever to preserve quality and secure premium values, says Steve. “To unlock our potential as an industry, we’re asking everyone – including our growers – to step up and improve

We’re taking a close look. Why? Because quality matters. AVOCO is taking a close look at every step in our supply chain to improve quality and returns. From the orchard to the packhouse, to shipping and in-market handling. Our fruit needs to arrive to our customers in world-class condition.

We’re all in this together, every step of the way. avoco.co.nz

CC0219

New Zealand’s avocado export leader, Avoco, has delivered a solid Orchard Gate Return at the end of a season marred by fruit quality challenges and signs of increasing global competition.

AVOCADOS

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Those autumn jobs on the orchard Autumn is well on its way, and with cooler nights we see growth rates slowing and trees setting themselves up for winter months. Now is a good time to get your soil and leaf test

taken and be looking to adjust your soil nutrient proﬁle to the ideal levels. If your soils are well outside a nutrient target range adjusting them in incremental stages is better than signiﬁcant

applications at any one time. I tend to adjust the soil nutrient over a longer period of two to three years. At this time it’s timely to review your tree health and consider a round of injecting using the Avo-ject programme. An autumn injection round tends to set the tree up better for the tougher winter months, which in turn means your trees are in their best state for spring and the pre-Christmas rush. The best results comes from doing this task correctly. At Aongatete Avocados Ltd, we’ve learnt that the correct spacing of 100mm apart is the best. Quality control is a good thing in this task. Consider lime applications at this time as well. We’re also using gypsum to improve soil conditioning and tree health.

Improved calcium levels will also help with fruit quality, however delaying to late-winter/early-spring will also be good timing. I talked about pruning last month and again as we head through winter months it is timely to review your pruning programme. Pruning every year is essential; consider 30 per cent canopy removal as a target. It’s difﬁcult when there is fruit on but this will have a two-fold impact. Better growth for the following year and better fruit sizing for the fruit remaining. Pruning every year also helps the tree have the best chance for return cropping. Otherwise, it’s time to sit back enjoy the last of the warmer evenings. For more information on pruning and injecting, contact Sam at AAL by phoning 07 549 1809. Tony Bradley Aongatete Avocados Ltd

Avocado autumn action plan

Soil and leaf sampling are taken so fertiliser programmes can be tailored to ensure optimum nutrient levels and tree health. Nutrient deﬁciencies and poor reserves will translate into declining tree health and poor fruit set.

during the wet, winter months when roots battle against the high pressure of Phytophthora. Control should not only be chemical but also cultural, which will result in healthier roots more resistant to PRR and a soil environment where it is suppressed. Cultural methods include application of organic matter and soil supplements to stimulate microbial populations and activity.

Preparing for spring plantings

Pruning

Looking ahead in the avocado calendar, there is flower induction, flower initiation and bud development. Starch accumulation is also occurring, preparing the tree for the upcoming demands of flowering and fruit set. The main orchard priorities for the next quarter are as follows.

Soil and leaf sampling

Make sure you have taken soil samples, completed your soil corrections and prepared your land for planting well before your planting date draws near.

Phytophthora root rot control

Crop load, nutrient deﬁciencies, environmental stresses and the demand on reserves for ﬂower development can cause a tree to be more susceptible to diseases and could be the trigger for decline

WHAT’S YOUR HARVEST STRATEGY?

Autumn signals the start of pruning. Besides controlling tree height and improving light penetration into the canopy, pruning also ensures more consistent return crop by balancing the productive and vegetative canopy. Open canopies also ensure better spray penetration and coverage and also less favourable conditions for fungal pathogens.

Fungal rot management

Control is most effective by using an integrated approach of cultural, chemical/biological and nutritional management tools. Disease results from interactions between a pathogen, a susceptible host and suitable environmental conditions. Changes to any three components accelerate or suppress fungal diseases. The most effective control method of fungal disease is prevention – and disease management therefore relies on cultural, biological, and chemical methods. Pruning, orchard sanitation, ensuring optimum tree health, following proper harvest procedures as well as copper sprays are all part of managing the disease cycle. THE DISEASE TRIANGLE

• • • •

Optimise Optimise Optimise Optimise

harvest efficiency tree health return crop market returns

Talk to us about how we can optimise your orchard’s potential.

John Emett

Kyra Fielden

Orchard Management and Grower Services (Northland)

Grower Services Representative (Bay of Plenty)

027 476 9087 john@justavocados.co.nz

027 257 5028 kyra@justavocados.co.nz

@justavocados info@justavocados.co.nz www.justavocados.co.nz 07 549 3027

AVOCADOS

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Beetle could threaten NZ avocados An unwanted pest ﬁrst found in New Zealand in four Auckland areas on February 20 could pose a serious threat to our country’s avocado industry. And that’s why Biosecurity New Zealand is asking the public to report any sign of the wood-boring granulate ambrosia beetle. According to Biosecurity NZ, while it’s unclear how the beetle arrived in NZ, the evidence to date suggests it may have been in the country for at least two years. “The beetle is regarded as a serious pest overseas. It is known to

feed on a wide range of broadleaf trees, including horticultural species such as avocado, and can spread fungal diseases,” says Biosecurity NZ biosecurity surveillance and incursion manager Brendan Gould. Biosecurity NZ is currently assessing the potential risk from the beetle to NZ, says Brendan. “We need to know if NZ has a wider population, which is why we are asking the public to report any possible sightings.” The beetle resides under bark, making it difﬁcult to detect. Brendan says a tell-tale sign is distinctive protrusions of frass – compacted sawdust – from bark

entrances and branch dieback. Brendan says ofﬁcials are working with local authorities to identify the extent of the spread, including inspecting known host trees and placing lured traps around the detection sites. Biosecurity NZ has also directed the removal of infested oak trees at one of the sites. The beetle is native to tropical and subtropical East Asia. It’s

The granulate ambrosia beetle.

been found in many areas in the world, including Africa, the USA, Central America, Europe, some Paciﬁc Islands, and most recently in Queensland in Australia. Anyone who believes they’ve seen the granulate ambrosia beetle – or any sign of frass on trees – should take a photo and call Biosecurity NZ’s exotic pests and diseases hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

that look like toothpicks. They are caused by the beetles pushing frass out of tunnels bored into the trees. Other symptoms include sap oozing from the tunnel

Leap into a horticultural leadership journey If you think you have what it takes to be a leader in the horticulture industry and want to upskill, it might be time to look at applying for this year’s Horticulture New Zealand Leadership Programme. “It’s extremely popular and it’s survived the test of time,” says programme founder Sue Pickering. The programme is now in its 18th year. Designed for potential or current leaders in the fruit and vegetable industry, participants will primarily, but not exclusively, be growers or their The 2018 participants with directors Sue Pickering, employees, or those from organisations Professor Tony Zwart and Patrick Aldwell. closely associated with growing. The course is open to New Zealand we have places for 12-18 people.” citizens or permanent residents who show a willingness Sue says there is also 12 scholarships on the table for to assume responsibility in grower or industry affairs, entrants. and who demonstrate leadership potential. “If you get one of these scholarships all of your fees “The whole idea is to provide awareness, knowledge and accommodation is paid, the only thing you have and skills, conﬁdence, and networks to play an importo pay for is the travel to and from Christchurch and to tant leadership role in horticulture, whether that’s in and from Wellington.” business or industry level,” says Sue. For more information and to apply, visit: “We run it in three phases: Phase one is a residential at www.hortnz.co.nz and search ‘leadership’. Lincoln, phase two is an individual project, and phase If you have any queries on the programme, phone three is a three-day residential down in Wellington, and Sue on 021 938 825.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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Fieldays is the place to grow ideas Autumn usually offers downtime on dairy farms – if you’re not calving you can finally get to some of those projects you’ve put on hold during busier times. Maybe last season you encountered an issue you want to solve before the upcoming season. Or there’s farm maintenance that needs seeing to. If so, do your research first – and the best place to do this is at Mystery Creek next month. Fieldays is on June 12-15, 2019 – and it is the ultimate research tool for agricultural and horticultural projects, big or small. Are you thinking of investing in a new underpass? Purchasing a new quad bike? Diversifying into kiwifruit? Buying a new chainsaw? Building a new dairy shed – or altering a calf shed? Investigating the need and payback of a new irrigation system? Or just need some new hose clips or joins? From wet weather gear right through to top-of-theline latest technology milking plants, which signal a hefty investment – it’s all there on-site for four days next month. Fieldays offers the chance to see new equipment and resources in action, you can meet the people who design, make and sell the stuff. Usually most brands have their top-selling trusted gear plus their latest innovations on show and in action. If you want

you want to see at your own pace. So make a list of exhibits to see, download the app and get to business planning your research trip. Last year 131,868 visitors went through the gates to peruse 1059 exhibitors – and $30 million in sales revenue was achieved. Some people come away with a shopping bag, some with a new vehicle or digger or a new loading ramp. Others come away with ideas and inspiration. From the get-go – 51 years ago – Fieldays has always been a place to

grow ideas. It’s the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event and the ultimate launch platform for cutting edge technology and innovation. And whether you’re from in town or out in the country, Fieldays has something for everyone. The lifestyle sections now showcase spa pools to ovens to new cookware and spices for those who have backyard or indoors projects too. So get along to Fieldays to research and grow ideas and projects of your own. Tickets are at: https://fieldays.co.n

Above: The Izusu customer test track at last year’s Fieldays. Potential buyers peruse the heavy machinery area at Fieldays 2018. a robot-driven cow barn you will find one with cows in it – showing how it works. If you want to test-drive that new ute – you can do it on a muddy, slippery, customer test track. You can go between brands and negotiate price-tags or designs. You can meet that person you’ve been hassling over the phone for the last six months about your faulty equipment. You can find brands you’ve never heard of before selling equipment you’re keen to use to solve woes back home on-farm. You can meet fellow farmers or growers who’ll honestly tell you what they think of the gear – as they’ve got it at home or used it in their last shed. At Fieldays you also have four full days to peruse what

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The basics on Fieldays Whether you go every year – or you’re going for the ﬁrst time in 2019 – you need to know the basics.

This year Fieldays is on from Wednesday, June 12 to Saturday, June 15, at Mystery Creek near Hamilton – so book time off work now! From the latest agricultural technology and groundbreaking innovations, to shopping, competitions and demonstrations, live shows and tasty food prepared by some of New Zealand’s top chefs, the event promises to showcase the best of our country’s primary industries. Fieldays tickets cost $30 per adult for general admission for one day. General admission for one day for a child – aged

five-14 – costs $15. Children aged under five gain free entry. There are many different routes and modes of travel to and from the event, so check out: https://fieldays.co.nz/visitor-info You can also download the Fieldays app. With it, you can create your own schedule to visit favourite suppliers or view favourite events. You can receive push notifications via the iBeacons on-site, pin to the map where your car is parked, find your friends and check the weather. All without going round and round in circles and losing time on the ground! This is downloadable for free on Android, and iOS, and is available in five different languages – English, Chinese, French, German and Spanish.

Slowdown in NZ economy Fewer jobs and opportunities are on the horizon for hardworking Kiwi families as New Zealand faces a looming slowdown in the economy.

The simple fact is this. Labour inherited an economy growing three to four per cent year-on-year, but the Government has squandered that momentum with poor policies, more taxes and wasteful spending. A weaker economy means less money in the Government coffers for core services like health and education, and less money in your back pocket. Labour’s solution? More taxes. Westpac’s employment confidence survey shows workers are less confident, while ANZ’s business confidence survey has dropped to a net negative 38 per cent expecting the economy to deteriorate. Businesses have become gloomier about the economy and their own prospects and the Reserve Bank now says it may cut interest rates to support an economy that is slowing considerably. This should be a real warning sign for the Government, but they continue to dismiss evidence that their policies are putting our economy at risk. It’s time for the Government to focus on policies that help NZ to get ahead and prosper instead of discouraging enterprise and putting roadblocks in the way of our innovators and entrepreneurs.

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A case in point. The nowcanned Capital Gains Tax would have taxed people saving for their retirement, investors, small business owners, farmers and people living on lifestyle blocks. In fact, tax ofﬁcials advised the Government 15 months ago that our small companies, start-ups and innovators were better off without a CGT. In December 2017, Inland Revenue ofﬁcials told the Government that the absence of a CGT in NZ was advantageous to start-ups. Keeping the barriers to innovation low, and making it as easy as possible for Kiwis to start a business, create jobs, and build industries, are the pillars of growth that the government should continue to support. People who take risks with smart ideas and build something bigger than themselves shouldn’t be discouraged. Other anti-growth policies adopted by this Government include a fees-free policy that failed to deliver any additional students; an ideologically-driven ban on oil and gas exploration that fails to reduce emissions but devastates the Taranaki economy; a regional slush fund with no real accountability; higher fuel taxes; restrictions on foreign investment; and introducing union-friendly labour reforms. National has a proven track record as competent managers of the economy. We believe Kiwis should keep more of what they earn and that Government has a responsibility to spend tax dollars carefully and in a way that delivers results.

FIELDAYS ® PREVIEW

Speed and accuracy 3DGPS has radically changed the way P3 Earthworks can do its job.

P3 Earthwork’s 3DGPS in action.

“It allows us to be pretty thorough and pretty accurate. It’s accurate to within 20mm,’” says P3 Earthworks’ Chad Empson. But what is it and what does it do? Well, 3DGPS allows P3 Earthworks and its excavator operators to see more than they can from their seat. “It allows us to sit in the machine and not have to check heights – there’s a full 3D model of the job inside the machine,” says Chad. This means much more accurate digs, and plenty of time saved. “It allows us to be very precise with our excavations – and also pretty quick. “We’ve been using it for about three years,” says Chad. “It’s working pretty well or else we wouldn’t still be using it!” P3 Earthworks keeps up with the latest technology relevant to the ﬁeld, and Chad says the 3DGPS is one of the best. “We have modern equipment in our excavators that allows us to be very precise and very quick with our excavation and helps us eliminate guesswork and get it right the ﬁrst time. “The 3DGPS provides accuracy, speed, and timesaved, which allows us to keep on track and on budget for our clients.” For more information, or to get in touch with P3 Earthworks, search ‘P3 Earthworks’ on Facebook.

A hub full of rural career ideas With nearly all primary industries in New Zealand battling with staff shortages, taking your youngster along to Fieldays this year could help them consider a job in a rural setting. Whether part of a school group, or just accompanying mum and dad, the Fieldays Careers & Education Hub 2019 will be the ideal place to stop. The hub is an opportunity for students 15 to 18 years of age to interact with career-focused agricultural exhibitors in one of the most signiﬁcant events in the Southern Hemisphere. The setting provides a unique and fun envi-

P3 Earthworks

ronment where students can participate in an education programme, meet providers and learn more about careers in a fun and interactive way. On show will be 18 interactive exhibitors representing the breadth of the industry, 30-plus primary industry experts wanting to talk to students, and a new one-hour education programme and trail. So stop by the Careers and Education Hub to speak with career champions, take part in exhibitor challenges, participate in interactive activities, or chill out and enjoy the free Wi-Fi.

P3 Earthworks

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FIELDAYS ® PREVIEW

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Making farming easy the goal at Fieldays At Fieldays 2019, TechniPharm invites farmers to visit the latest developments of innovation with an aim to make farming easy. With “compliance this and compliance that” everywhere, making farming easy is a great way to focus on what really matters – that is simply the business of farming and producing great meat, milk, food crop or fibre, says Technipharm group CEO Harmen Heesen. “As with everything else in life there are enough challenges – and its often a great relief to know there are solutions and people to assist to make the production process safe, faster, easier and compliant. “TechniPharm’s focus is to ensure we do everything we can to make the initial contact, ongoing engagement and delivery and support as simple and effective as possible.” Harmen says Fieldays is a great way for the Technipharm team to connect directly with their clients and discuss to understand how they can help best. “At this year’s Fieldays we’ll have all of our experts and some smart systems on-site to help us determine an infinite solution for you. “The TechniPharm Infinity systems are designed to give you not only a matched to purpose solution, but also a way forward in case your situation changes – for

your next handler is totally matched to your needs.” For dairy clients, safe and stressfree hoofcare and handling and farm automation, like teat spraying and yard washing with related water and time savings, are high on the list, says Harmen. “The environmental systems we offer in full nutrient capture for efﬂuent storage and pumping is a must-see!”

The Infinity Handler and Yard system at Twin Oak Angus in Te Akau is being used in this shot to semen test bulls with the Infinity Highflow 260 instance, our iBeef and iDairy brand guarantee gives you a guaranteed trade in price on the day of purchase. “This guarantee not only gives you scope to grow or change, but also provides peace of mind by knowing your purchase on the day is always a safe one. “For our beef and sheep clients at Fieldays we’ll have a range of animal handling equipment solutions, including our new Infinity Handler builder, ensuring

Get an international edge Learning how they do things in distant countries or networking and connecting with international exhibitors, brands and businesses is all possible at the upcoming Fieldays in Hamilton. From June 12-15, 2019, Mystery Creek becomes a place not only to catch up with Kiwi mates, businesses and products but somewhere you can meet international buyers, exhibitors and visitors. Last year exhibits included massive trade sites set up to represent countries – including Korea – right down to indoor stands with representatives from countries and organisations such as the British High Commission. For those coming to NZ, it offers the chance to learn why our farming practices, systems and agritech innovation is highly regarded around the world. And for Kiwi farmers it offers opportunity to connect with international buyers, exhibitors and learn more about agricultural and horticultural industries in different countries. Fieldays’ International Business Centre is specially designed to facilitate exchange between NZ agribusinesses and international buyers. Here, the Fieldays team with government export and trade agencies are on hand to answer questions about local and international exhibitors and help connect NZ agribusiness and international delegations. So learn more about agricultural and horticultural industries, products and businesses on a global scale this June.

“we make farming ezy”

This year Technipharm is also launching a new product in water treatment. “With a decrease of antibiotic use worldwide and an increase in unwanted pathogen in water bodies and systems, this new product will create some signiﬁcant interest for all farmers using water in their food production systems. “We look forward in seeing you on our usual sites – on the corner of F and J streets, north-side of the Pavilion.”

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FIELDAYS ® PREVIEW

Finalists named in No.8 wire awards The 2019 Fieldays No.8 Wire Art Award will be hotly contested with two past winners, four recent place-getters and a previous People’s Choice Award recipient among this year’s ﬁnalists.

The annual award, managed by Waikato Museum and partnered by rural supplies co-operative Farmlands, showcases the value, versatility and symbolism of No.8 wire – or 4mm gauge – through the creation of artworks made from this iconic material of Kiwi agriculture. Twenty-ﬁve artworks by 23 artists have been selected by the award judge, University of Auckland Associate Professor Linda Tyler, to be exhibited from May 11-June 9 at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop.

“This exhibition really showcases the versatility of No.8 wire as a material for making art,” says Linda. “This year’s entries show how it can be braided, twisted, tied, wrapped, woven or just left in coils as it comes, and be expressive of both strength and delicacy, energy and line.” Finalists include past winners Jill Godwin (2017) and Dagmar Elliott (cowinner in 2014), as well as Fiona Clark (runner-up in 2018), Gaye Jurisich (runner-up in 2017), John Mulholland (third in 2017), and Bev Goodwin (third in 2018). The 2018 People’s Choice Award winner, Ricks Terstappen, is a

double ﬁnalist in 2019. The winning artworks will be announced at an awards ceremony on May 10. The overall winner will receive $7000, while second and third placegetters will receive $1000 and $500 respectively from the NZ National Fieldays Society Inc. Society president Peter Carr will award the Fieldays President’s Choice Award, and visitors to the exhibition can vote for the People’s Choice Award. “It’s fantastic to see the talent among this year’s ﬁnalists and we look forward to seeing the masterpieces they have created for this year’s competition,” says Peter. A past entry in the No.8 Wire Art Award contest.

Jill Godwin, 2017 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award winner with her work ‘The No.8 Wire Lettering System: Fences versus Walls’, has been named a ﬁnalist again this year.

Try being nice to people In this fast-paced life of endless issues and constant pressure, it seems many people resort to being sour and grumpy. It seems like an infection. Many of us get pushed around in our businesses or at the workplace and the result is to go home grumpy, blaming everyone else – and it infects all those who surround you. It’s like everyone has to drop to the lowest common denominator. I know when I took issues home to my wife, she told me: ‘Don’t tell me, tell them!’ and it works. If you’re feeling out of control or pushed around, verbalise it on the pushers. Tell the perpetrator and you’ll feel empowered and less grumpy.

Something pleasant

And if you can muster up the energy and attitude, try being nice to people. The effect will amaze you. I was recently in a difficult and protracted negotiation and was having considerable difficulty getting the result I needed that was the best outcome for them. So I paused and said: ‘Do you realise you’re a very nice person who has everyone else’s interest in mind except your own?’ There was a long silence and I got the shift that was essential to the situation. People just want to be accepted and valued. They just want someone to say something nice to them, value them, accept them, talk to them, listen to them…the list goes on. Living our beach lifestyle, we say ‘Hello’, smile and generally look out for everyone. When the 09ers arrive from Auckland that all ceases until they find their way back over the Bombay. Most don’t acknowledge you, let alone say ‘Hi’ and are generally downright grumpy. I’ve found in family negotiation or contract issues being nice and giving a little has remarkable outcomes. ‘Leave something in it for the next person,’ I say, instead of screwing every last cent out of the deal.

Best painkiller

As a commercial landlord, I ﬁnd the best painkiller for tenants, who you want to pay you money every month, is to be nice to them. Drop off a box of beer or take the girls in the ofﬁce coffees when you get yours. And dare I say, unhappy wives often live with grumpy husbands! Many learn being grumpy all the time gives them a measure of control, but it’s the wrong control and works in the short run, but not long term. So, why not have a little talk to yourself and stop being grumpy and try being nice for a change? Watch people around you smile and become happier and more friendly. Try it in business or at the coffee shop. Most coffee barristers and retail assistants are on minimum wage and we treat them appallingly. So try being nice to them for a change. 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 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.

FIELDAYS ® PREVIEW

Boost your water Hydro Boost has developed a simple to install system to improve water quality. It is proven in the treatment of water which is high in iron and manganese. It takes the red-brown water which is high in iron, or black-brown water, high in manganese, and makes it crystal clear and safe to use without the risk of staining. Hydro Boost is highly effective in breaking down solid crusting of effl ent ponds to allow for free flow of effluent to paddocks Through regular use of Hydro Boost, pasture quality is improved during dry periods. The product has undergone thorough testing in field trials and results can show as quickly as five days after insta lation, while also reducing the amount of irrigation required. When the unit is installed in a stock water line it has been known to contribute to improved animal health. Energised water in feeding troughs has proved to reduce mortality rates in broiler chickens and increases feed conversion rates in weanling pigs. The unit is easily installed on existing water lines and unclogs old lines, extending the life

expectancy of valves, pipes and spray equipment. So how does it work? As water passes through the Hydro Boost unit a low frequency radio wave energises the water which in turn alters the exterior structure of every water droplet. Hydro Boost stimulates the electrochemical activity of water molecules, preventing the formation of scale and dissolves minerals normally contained in water. The energised water increases nutrient uptake, water viscosity and enhances root system development in plants. It is available to fit pipe sizes from 40mm – 300mm in diameter.

Page 29

Tickets are on sale and the app is downloadable Tickets to the 51st National Fieldays – on June 12-15, 2019 – are on sale. And the app is ready to be downloaded. So what are you waiting for? Going on sale in late-April, people can now purchase tickets from the Fieldays website at $30 per adult for one day, $15 for children aged five-14 for one day under-fives enter for free; and a one-day family pass for two adults and three children – costs $90. A four-day pass for adults costs $100, and a four-day child pass – for those aged five-14 – is $50 per child

Gates to Fieldays open 8am-5pm from Wednesday, June 12 to Friday, June 14 – and, from 8am-4pm on the last day of Fieldays, which is Saturday, June 15. The Official Fieldays 2019 App can now be dow loaded too, from the iTunes and Google Play stores. Fieldays has made significant changes to the Fielday App for both iOS and Android versions, so it’s advised you have updated version of the app on your phone. To find out more information, see: https://tickets fieldays.co.nz/tickets/ Or: https://fieldays.co.nz/ap

CALF REARING

Page 30

Revolutionising calf-rearing

Probiotic Revolution is sourcing a very powerful probiotic it believes can revolutionise calf-rearing, according to company founder Chris Collier. The secret to Calf Xtreme is the combination of 11 powerful ingredients delivered at a very high dose rate, says Chris. “Traditionally, calf-rearers have largely used probiotics to help control disease issues,” says Chris, who says they’ve seen outstanding recovery from disease challenges such as Rotavirus – but he also wants farmers to use Calf Xtreme to grow calves faster from a very young age. “The whole reason why we advocate using a high rate of milk to young calves is that it lifts future heifer milk production.” In a university of Illinois trial researchers got 10 per cent extra milk protein from calves that were initially fed a high rate

Vinegar products

compared with conventionally fed calves. “In this trial they made sure the two groups calved down at the same liveweight and they concluded that the result was from faster growth of calves in their ﬁrst ﬁve weeks.” Chris says many farmers still restrict milk intakes to young calves to avoid scours and early wean onto meal. But he and his team like to set up meetings with calf-rearers and farmers to explain why their product helps reduce nutritional scours. They’ve had calves being fed 10 litres on twice-a-day feeding and 6-7L on once-aday. Even with the high rate of milk, farmers notice extra grass consumption, says Chris. “Our product is helping achieve this, so calves are weaned earlier without a postweaning check.”

Nine-month-old calves raised on Calf Xtreme.

Give calves a good start Giving calves the best possible start to life will set them up to become valuable productive assets in future. According to DairyNZ, heifers that reach target weights make successful milking cows and growing them well starts from the day they are born. To make sure things go right from day one, here’s some general tips from DairyNZ on calf-rearing. All calves, including bobbies, must receive adequate fresh colostrum within the ﬁrst 24 hours of life and should be fed colostrum, or a colostrum substitute, for at least the ﬁrst four days of life. Always handle calves gently and with care. Do not allow anyone to throw, hit or drag a calf at any time. Electric prodders must not be used on calves. Calves that are not with their mothers must be provided with shelter so they can stay warm and dry.

Calf pens must be ﬁt for purpose and well maintained. Bedding areas must be comfortable, clean and dry, with adequate ventilation but draft-free at the calf level. Exposed concrete, bare earth and mud are not acceptable.

Calves should be fed at the same times each day to minimise stress. Always ensure your calves have access to plenty of fresh water. And make sure to feed calves adequate quantities of good quality feed so they rapidly achieve weaning weight with a well-developed rumen.

CALF REARING

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Bobby calves – ‘time is right for change’ Growing demand for transparency around animal welfare has seen the dairy industry’s approach to bobby calves come under the spotlight recently.

This scrutiny is likely to continue as consumers and the public condemn the practice, which sees unwanted young calves – around 1.8 million in 2018 – sent to slaughter. Ministry for Primary Industries ﬁgures conﬁrm that bobby calf slaughter numbers have been trending upward since the early2000s. Julie McDade.

Reputation

The risk to the New Zealand industry is all about reputation, says Greenlea Premier Meats’ business development manager Julie McDade, who spoke about the zero bobby calf movement at a recent Beef + Lamb NZ ﬁeld day in Taneatua, Bay of Plenty. At the ﬁeld day, Julie asked farmers to put themselves in the shoes of an urban American consumer and view our bobby calf process through their eyes. “How does this look in terms of animal welfare and sustainability? “The groups I speak with about this issue, get it. It’s an area of risk for both red meat and dairy, and I believe farmers are open to addressing the problem,” says Julie. “Not that long ago, induction was commonplace. At the time change was proposed, people threw their hands up in the air and thought it was an impossible challenge to remove this practice. But the industry has now moved away from it.

Around 1.8 million bobby calves were sent to slaughter in NZ in 2018. “Change didn’t happen overnight. [But] I think the same is possible with bobby calves,” says Julie. DairyNZ Bay of Plenty regional leader Andrew Reid agrees, saying that the industry recognises the importance of the issue. And although DairyNZ doesn’t have a position on zero bobby calves, Andrew says: “The time is right for change”.

Intentional breeding

Julie believes intentional breeding programmes using sexed semen are likely to be part of the solution. “Using female-sexed semen to produce replacement calves and high genetic worth semen to produce more bull calves will reduce the number of unwanted calves. “Partnerships between dairy and sheep and beef farmers, and farmers moving to hybrid systems

that includes both dairy and red meat production, will also be important.” But Julie is quick to point out there is no magic bullet to ﬁxing the problem, and that the solution would look different for each and every farm. “Don’t try to solve the problem for the industry,” she told farmers at the ﬁeld day. “Solve it for yourself, on your patch.”

Different options

While there’s currently no regulatory or industry self-imposed deadline for moving to a zero bobby calves, Julie says there is evidence that some farmers are changing their practices. “There is no single solution, and the ultimate resolution to the issue of bobby calves is likely to involve a number of different options.”

Josephine Reader

Page 32

COUNTRY LIVING

Consistent fishing with good hauls There’s been a bit of a glitch in the weather recently, resulting in the cancellation of a few trips – but prior to that, we would have to say it has been the best summer for years.

New Zealand. Most of them have been doing this yearly trip together for the last 34 years and have experienced A recent five-day charter had mixed conditions but managed to do a range of fish- fishing all over the country. Generally, we’ve had consisting from harbour fishing, inshore and offshore reef fishing – and everyone enjoyed a ent fishing with good hauls day bluenose fishing trip near Mayor Island as well. They caught 14 bluenose during a three-hour period plus five gemfish. The rest of the afternoon was spent at Mayor of snapper and kahawai. Anchoring on the sand in Island successfully fishing for snapper. The crew were from various places around about 25 metres of water has been working well. With the darker, cooler mornings we’ve also been going out further to Motiti, fishing on the edge of the kelp for snapper. The results have been nice size, excellent condition fish. Trevally have been pan-sized in the 35cm-40cm range. They fight really well for their size and add some excitement to the day. Kingfish have been caught as well – rats have been

the norm up until recently when the size has increased. Lately, we’ve been getting some really good specimens. Barnaby Cooper had never been ﬁshing before and even though he was feeling a bit seasick, he managed to catch a 10kg Kingﬁsh and wind it in by himself!

Vinny Haynes with two blue maomao.

Recently, the kitchen staff of a cruise ship enjoyed a ‘day off’ on the water.

Dexter Cooper, aged 10, with his snapper.

Roger Togiato-Kingi is proud of this beautiful Kingﬁsh he caught.

COUNTRY LIVING

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Sparky’s family to grow The cute Wagener Sparky was born in January 2012 and now happily resides in hundreds of homes throughout the country. “He has won hearts all over New Zealand in situations as diverse as high country huts, sailing yachts, tiny houses, mobile homes and even converted railway carriages,” says Ngaire McClure of Far North-based Wagener Stoves. Sparky was designed to be a little bit of fun, says Ngaire. “He’s built of solid 5mm steel, is multi-fuel, has a stovetop cooking surface and can be top or rear ﬂued. “He was born 505mm high but pop the log box base under his legs and he has a growth spurt up to 795mm high.” And with a bit of ‘genetic’ engineering he can even grow top rails as an optional extra. “He’ll chuckle away, keeping you warm

and cosy while he boils your kettle for a nice hot cuppa or cooks a warming pot of soup or stew,” says Ngaire. If Sparky is a little small for your home then big brother Leon is just the answer – with his similar good looks and powerful 16kw18kw heat output with 3kw wetback option. Both Sparky and Leon are also available in colours to suit your décor – choose from shimmering rose and sky blue or the more subtle metallic blue and moss green. “And we’re excited to tell you a new wee sister to Sparky and Leon is nearing her due date, and will be the answer for so many of you in restricted clean air zones, who have not been able to take Sparky home. “Sparky CA is coming very soon – she’s sweet, petite and will be clean air-approved.”

New enhanced formula

The Wagener Sparky suits many different types of homes throughout NZ. Abundant Health

Helping with arthritic joints – Part 2 Many who contact me with joint problems have already tried joint health supplements with little or no success. We make what appear to be minor changes in dosages and within a few months most have significant benefits. Most joint supplements are heavily weighted towards Glucosamine Sulphate. The reasons are some of the original research into supplements that can help joints was mostly focused on glucosamine. A second reason could be that glucosamine is relatively inexpensive. Older-style formulations typically have something like a 4:1 ratio of GS to Chondroitin Sulphate. The most recent research shows the most effective compound is actually chondroitin but glucosamine is also important. I started experimenting with different ratios of GS to CS. I found a 1:1 ratio had a huge impact on joint health. I later started to review the scientific literature and found there were many studies on the benefits of CS. It is also worth noting CS is available as a prescription medication in more than 20 countries. On the basis of this research I re-formulated my joint supplement so a daily dose has 800mg of CS, 800mg of GS and 200mg of a 95 per cent curcumin, from turmeric, extract. In most cases I start people on a double dose delivery 1600mg of CS and GS and 400mg of 95 per cent curcumin. Scientific evidence is helpful in understanding disease processes – however the real test is whether some-

thing actually helps people. I spoke to a client recently who experienced significant improvements in her thumbs and knee after only eight weeks on higher doses. Next time we’ll continue this discussion and look at more benefits CS has on cartilage function. For more information, give me a call or email: john@abundant.co.nz. You can read my all new newsletter at: www.abundant.co.nz John Arts is a qualified nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health. Contact John on 0800 423 559. To read more, go to: www.sunlive.co.nz

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Page 34

COUNTRY LIVING

Accountancy extends services to Rotorua Accountants Bay of Plenty Ltd has some exciting news concerning the expansion of their business and accountancy services.

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able to offer the same expert accountancy services in Rotorua. “For all my working life I’ve worked in an accountant’s office and qualified as a chartered accountant through studying at night school. Accountants Bay of Plenty Ltd was formed eight years ago to cater for “We’ve just finished successful negotiaa growing client base in the BOP area. tions for buying the well-established “We offer all types of accounting firm of Rotorua accountants, Gordon services including taxation, computer softand Reid,” says Trish Patterson, who is ware, business advice and GST returns,” director of Accountants Bay of Plenty says Trish. Ltd, which is part of Accountants Another of their services is payday Hawke’s Bay Ltd. “Their [Rotorua] clifiling for employers, which is filing ents will be integrated with our existing employees PAYE tax each pay clients and both of the partners will instead of monthly. stay and work for us.” Accountants Bay of Plenty Trish has had more than Ltd’s motto is ‘real people, real 30 years’ experience as a solutions, real results’. They chartered accountant and has value their clients and like to expert business advice for the keep up-to-date with the busimodern world. She’s excited that the business will now be Accountants BOP Ltd’s Trish Patterson. ness of the financial world.

Bitten but not shy of studying eels As a child growing up on an Irish farm, Eimear Egan was bitten by an eel that lived in her family’s drinking well.

“I was traumatised by it for years,” says Eimear. “It bit me several times.” Now a NIWA freshwater ecologist based in Hamilton, she’s studying eels and what makes them tick. Her team has secured a grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fund for a three-year

project to enable her to do “some very exciting research” on both longfin and shortfin eels. Both species spend a portion of life in marine and coastal environments. Once adults reach sexual maturity in freshwater they migrate to the western Pacific Ocean to reproduce. The larvae are transported by ocean currents back to NZ’s coastline where they develop into glass eels, at this stage up to 7cm long. The marine phase of their life cycle is mysterious. Eimear’s team will study the ear bones of glass eels to learn about

their spawning locations and larval oceanic movements. “Longﬁn eels are only found in NZ, and according to the NZ threat rankings, they’re at risk and declining. Currently, we don’t really have a good understanding of their early life history including locations of spawning grounds and larval migration routes. “We don’t know if numbers of glass eels making it to NZ are affected by processes happening during their marine life. We’re going to use some quite novel methods to help ﬁll in these knowledge gaps.”

www.facebook.com/KineticElectricalRotorua

...continued

COUNTRY LIVING

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Growing emotional resilience in kids Canberra. Nicky is an educator, speaker and author/illustrator of children’s books. She’s passionate about promoting emotional resilience in children and raising awareness of mental health issues.

O U NT R

N NIE

Olivia and her dog ‘Barkley’ are inseparable. He’s her sidekick, her partner in crime-ﬁghting — they’re the perfect pair. But then, Barkley dies and Olivia is heartbroken.

Gradually, however, she realises that Barkley wouldn’t want her to be unhappy for the rest of her life. So she comes up with a clever plan to get her happiness back. The book is written by Devon Sillett and Nicky Johnston. Devon is a former radio producer-turned writer. Born in the US, she now calls Australia home and has loved books as long as she can remember — so much she even married her husband Matthew in a library. Devon teaches in the writing department at the University of

‘Saying Goodbye to Barkley’ is the book prize for May.

Thanks to Exisle Publishing, Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘Saying Goodbye to Barkley’ by Devon Sillett and Nicky Johnston to give away. To be in to win, email captions for the photo below and send with your name and address with Country Funnies as the subject line to merle@sunmedia.co.nz Or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to Country

Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 to arrive by May 20. Winner of March’s Country Funnies is Sophia Clark of Waharoa for her caption: ‘Did you hear

about the wooden tractor? It wooden go!’ She wins a copy of the book ‘Spirit: A book of happiness for horse lovers’ written by Anouska Jones.

Examining eel ear bones part of job continued...

That’s where examining glass eel ear bones comes in. “Ear bones can tell us so much information about the environment a fish experiences on a daily basis. Each day they add a layer of calcium carbonate which is almost like keeping a diary of their lives. “They tell us about their growth, spawning and hatching dates, chemistry of the environment they live in, their diet and movement. And because of that daily layer we can potentially figure out what routes the larvae took to get to the NZ coastline.” The team will use a couple of techniques to learn more about NZ’s eels. The first is microstructure and involves polishing the ear

Dr Eimear Egan, eel earbone detective. Photo: Stuart Mackay.

bones by hand until the daily rings become visible. “Then we can interpret distinct rings – or check marks – that coincide with when the larvae first feed and when they change from larvae into glass eels. We can measure distance between rings to figure out daily growth rates, we can count rings to estimate age and date larvae hatch.” The second technique uses chemistry to estimate temperatures the larvae have experienced at sea. Eimear also hopes analysis of eel tissue using compound specific stable isotopes of amino acids will help pinpoint where in the western Pacific Ocean the larvae might have come from.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Durrelle Green along with professional assistant Anna Hume, are your local rural property marketing specialists. Find out what their clients have been saying! A big thank you to Durrelle and the Green Team, also the team at the auction rooms. Together they got us a result we did not even hope to achieve and it would not have happened without their expert guidance. Well done EVES. Durrelle is loud and never wastes a minute. She has awesome, inspiring energy, confidence and is literally ‘on the run’ working day and night. No one could have got more attention for the property and the sale came from her database of nurtured prospective buyers. Vendors do not get ‘pampering’ from Durrelle, they get results! She runs things in her own unique way trust her, it works. We would definitely recommend Durrelle to anyone thinking of selling. - Ann and Bob, Orchard Owners

Our family were looking for our special slice of paradise in the Western Bay of Plenty. Durrelle went above and beyond to help us, always putting us first. She gained our respect from day one, her classic Kiwi vibe and character was a welcoming change. With her cute dog Charlie in tow, her distinctive bright green Jeep and her red band gumboots, she’s as much a part of Katikati and the surrounding areas as the Kaimai ranges! We are all extremely grateful for her and Anna’s efforts and highly recommend their services to anyone looking to buy or sell. Durrelle has a wide range of contacts, knows the area better than anyone and she has a vast knowledge of avocados and orchards. If you want to get serious and find a house or sell, talk to the Green team!

- Carl Bullivant & The Dreschlers, Orchard Buyers

Contact the Green Team to make sure your property stands out from the crowd!

FERTILISER

Page 37

How to free frozen phosphate reserves Often when we soil test, we ﬁnd two or three times the phosphate required for good plant growth. Within six weeks of application, about 75 per cent of applied soluble phosphate is lost. In fact, the Commonwealth Scientiﬁc and Industrial Research Organisation – known as the CSIRO – estimate AUS$10 billion of applied phosphate now lies locked up in Australian soils. Phosphorus has three negative charges. This means it is strongly

vine crops, there is little reason to use water soluble, super-unstable phosphate fertilisers. You’re much better off using a slower release phosphate source like Sechura Reactive Phosphate Rock – or RPR. If phosphate is needed for a spring ﬂush, then apply the slower release inputs six weeks beforehand. There’s a US Department of Agriculture study, where triple-super was compared to rock phosphate in order to contrast P release during a 13-year period. RPR won hands-down. Another major problem with water-sol-

Year

1100 kg/ha

330 kg/ha

1 2 4 6 8 10 12 13

Hard Rock Phosphate 0 111 89 73 55 47 38 34

Triple Super 38.5 11 9 8 6 5 5 <4

The table shows an equivalent application of phosphate units as Rock Phosphate hugely out-performs acid phosphate. The inactivity in year one was on alkaline soils. This does not occur on acidic NZ soils with sulphur added. Rock Phosphate is a cheaper way to build P in the soil. attracted to cations with two or more charges. When it bonds to these cations, it becomes insoluble and no longer available to the plant. In soils with a pH above 6.4, the casualties of this pairing are both calcium and phosphorus. Calcium and phosphorus are two of the key minerals for the most important process on the planet, photosynthesis. In more acidic NZ soils, the triple negative P binds with minerals like iron, manganese and aluminium.

Improving management

The ﬁrst step in improving phosphorus management is choosing the most suitable phosphate fertiliser. If you’re dealing with a 100-day crop, where you need an immediate phosphate hit, along with some nitrogen to kickstart root growth and vigour, then DAP/ MAP has a role. But you need to buffer the acid burn with humates and counter the lockup. If you grow pastures, orchards or

uble phosphate is the extreme burning potential of phosphoric acid.

Root surface

Many will be familiar with the evidence of acid burn on roots of young crops. Mycorrhizal fungi are similarly affected. They’re massive fungal root extensions involving a network of ﬁlaments attached to roots. The ﬁlaments increase root surface area at least ten-fold, so everything the roots are offering is multiplied many times. This hyphal “root” offers greater access to nutrients and moisture, while constantly releasing supportive biochemicals to nurture its host. Root knot nematodes are unable to coexist on a plant colonised by mycorrhizal fungi, or AMF. The hyphae also release mild acid exudates, which break the bond between locked up calcium and phosphorus, and then transport them to the plant. The least mobile of all minerals are phosphorus and zinc. They do not go into soil solution and

must be retrieved by the roots. Fungal extension allows much greater access to these nutrients. Finally, AMF produce a sticky, carbon-based substance called glomalin. Glomalin is the triggering mechanism for humus building in soil. Thirty per cent of all organic matter is created by the stimulatory power of glomalin. But we have lost 90 per cent of our AMF in agricultural soils across the globe. A major contributor to the demise of AMF, is unbuffered acid phosphate. Acknowledgements: Graeme Sait, NTS.

FERTILISER

Page 38

Researching where cadmium is going attracts cadmium, causing accumulation over time. Adam says research has discovered that although high, cadmium levels have begun to plateau across the region – it is this process he’ll investigate. “The soils are well below their cadmium-carrying capacities, and we’re applying a lower rate of phosphate, so where is the cadmium going? We’re testing theories that it either leaches into ground water, has a higher uptake into Adam, who holds a BSc (Hons), plants and animals, or is washed PhD Birmingham, is leading away with topsoil due to the an international team of high soil erosion rates.” researchers in conjuncTesting will occur out tion with Lincoln and in the field and back Otago universities, and in the labs using a will work principally technique called stable in the Waikato/Bay isotope analysis, which of Plenty regions, and uses two stable cadon a smaller scale in mium isotopes, Cd-110 Taranaki and Canterand Cd-114. bury. “The ash soils of Cd-114 is more the Waikato/BOP region enriched in soils treated have one of the highest Dr Adam Hartland. with phosphate fertilisers. cadmium contamination This difference allows the levels in the country, so researchers to determine the source of we’re concentrating our research in any cadmium found in samples. these areas,” says Adam. In year one the team will test groundCadmium is a toxic and bio-accuwater, lakes and rivers in catchments mulative metal. Research has already of pastoral and native bush land. In established it passes from soil into the second year the investigation will pasture, which is eaten by animals, and a low level enters the human food chain. measure levels in aquatic organisms, fingerprinting the cadmium that’s present, “Waikato Regional Council has been and whether it’s an issue for our aquatic measuring cadmium levels in soils for ecosystems. Findings will be published decades, as high contamination could for the benefit of the public, iwi, induspotentially lead to land use issues,” says try and regulators; and data will be used Adam. While a small amount of natural to upgrade existing NZ industry tool for cadmium exists in soil, application of managing cadmium, CadBal. phosphate fertilisers causes weathered

University of Waikato senior lecturer of geochemistry, Dr Adam Hartland, has secured a Ministry of Business Innovation and Enterprise’s Smart Ideas grant of nearly $1m for a two-year project investigating the leaching potential of cadmium in soils across the region.

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Page 39

Extraordinary results from lime trail For the last four years I’ve been conducting a lime trial on Piquet Hill farm at Te Akau. It began as a Beef + Lamb NZ and Farmer Initiated Technology Transfer trial, which ran for 12 months to investigate what farmers called a ‘sweetening’ of pastures following lime applications. The trial site was very acidic (pH 5.1) and lime was applied to 2m2 plots at four rates – 1.25 tonnes per ha, 2.5 tonnes per ha, 5 tonnes per ha and 10 tonnes per ha, over four replicates. Grazing height, dry matter production figures using pasture cuts under cages, pasture species changes, brix measurements, dissections and soil and feed laboratory tests were performed to try and identify the cause of improved pasture palatability. From the first year’s results, the only time of year the feed value in terms of ME, crude protein, digestibility etc improved with increasing rates of lime was autumn, after a drought. There were, however, huge DM production increases with increasing rates of lime, from 20 per cent at the lower rates up to 50 per cent at the highest rate the first year. There were also notable pasture species changes with more ryegrass and clover species and less weeds as lime rates increased. As the FITT trial only ran for a year, Rorison and Avoca Lime companies continued to sponsor this trial to see how the effects would continue. This winter the trial stops after collecting four years of data. What the results have shown is the effect of lime keeps improving over time; and for the third year, the highest rate of lime grew on average 93 per cent more DM than the control plots. Also the soil test changes

have taken several years to fully come through. In the first year, the pH on the 10 tonnes per ha treatments only lifted from 5.1 to 5.6, the second year to 5.8 and last year to 6.1 which is where you’d expect this rate of lime to be, since every tonne of lime should lift the pH by 0.1. These results fly in the face of a lot of historical lime research, which showed average increases in pasture production of eight-12 per cent from lifting a soil pH of 5.1 to 6.0, such as the graphs found on page 6 of Doug Edmeades’ ‘Fertiliser Review’ Issue 40 in Spring 2018 or that found on page 7 of the Ballance North Island ‘Grow’ publication Autumn 2018. One reason for such a phenomenal response is this site had very high available aluminium levels, which is toxic to some pasture species and inhibits root growth. This site is also prone to summer droughts, so with lime being able to mitigate the aluminium toxicity, root development would have improved, giving greater drought resilience. Also these roots will have been able to exploit previously untapped nutrients in the soil. Within three weeks of lime being applied to the plots, the farm owner could visually see responses under the cages, to lime which also suggests a biological response; and the whole nitrogen cycle and nutrient recycling would have got a massive kick-start. The graph below shows the total DM production figures in the trial’s first three years. The table above shows pasture species changes from point analysis data after three years, highlighting improvements in ryegrass and

Pasture Species

Ryegrass

Sweet Chewings White Vernal Fescue Clover

Subterranean Lotus Clover Minor Sp

Weeds

Control

1.25 ton

2.5 tonne

5 tonne

10 tonne

clover hits and lower ‘native’ grass species and weeds with increasing rates of lime. What is interesting is the dominant native grass – sweet vernal – was present in equal amounts over all treatments. Assuming the lime cost $30 per tonne, an application by plane cost of $65 per tonne and cartage cost of $25 per tonne, the cost per kg of DM over three years was just under $0.05 at the lowest rate of lime up to just more than $0.10 at the highest rate. Where lime is applied by truck instead, and application cost drops to $20 per tonne, the overall cost per kg of DM drops to under $0.03 at the low lime rate to just more than $0.06 for the high rate, which is very cheap DM. Because the limed pasture has a higher legume base, the fattening and milking value for stock grazing this pasture also improves. However, I should stress these results are speciﬁc to this site, and such impressive responses shouldn’t be expected everywhere with pH levels around 5.0. It also raises the prospect of, rather than just lifting the soil pH to around 5.6 on hill country, possible economic gains getting it closer to 6.0 on some hill country properties. This year the trial sponsors will have a ﬁeld day to further discuss the results, where attendees can see for themselves the differences in pastures between the various plots.

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CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

Ensure stock enjoy comfortable trips As the beginning of June approaches and many farmers move farms to new jobs for the upcoming season, this is often when herds have to travel to new pastures as well.

According to DairyNZ, preparing stock for transport ensures a comfortable and safe journey for cattle, reduces effluent on public roads, and ensures the animals arrive at their destination fit and healthy. To ensure good welfare outcomes for your cows, here’s some essential tips to get them to their destination safely. If within four weeks of calving date, travel should be less than two hours. It’s also crucial to stand off stock before travel – because keeping effluent off public roads is the responsibility of all people involved in transporting stock. Even though most stock trucks are fitted with collection tanks these can overflow very quickly, especially in wet weather. Stand stock off green feed for at least four hours – but for no more than 12 hours. A grazed out paddock or stand-off pad are better options because concrete surfaces can contribute to tender feet and aren’t good

for lying down. Continue feeding silage, hay or straw during stand-off, especially for lactating cows or prior to long-distance journeys. If cows are not fully dried off, ensure cows are milked close to when they go and apply sufficient teat spray to fully cover all teats. And help load your stock – this will ensure they’re loaded with minimum stress and maximum efficiency. And contact your vet, transport operator or processing company if you’re unsure whether an animal is fit for transport. For more information, see: www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/transporting-stock

Road damaged for two years receives fix-up A section of road damaged near Waimana, in the school bus and local traffic. the Eastern Bay of Plenty, just on two years “Since the April 2017 flood, sections of ago in the April 2017 flood event should the road have had to be narrowed with be open by May after extensive work to cones and orange mesh fences where repair it. the road shoulder has been completely As part of a joint Bay of Plenty eroded away. Regional Council and Whakatane “The next flood could easily be the District Council project to provide one that then takes the road itself safer road access for local residents, the away. To ensure that doesn’t happen section of Lowe Road has received six we’re working together with the weeks of repairs work. regional council to reinstate the road BOPRC flood recovery project manshoulder and strengthen the river bank. ager Paula Chapman says the section was Work has involved realigning the river badly eroded in the April 2017 flood channel to provide a working area for Work underway to repair the event and scoured away to such an extent repairs, then significant work to bench section of Lowe Road, near that the road surface itself was impacted. the river bank up to road level, before Waimana, which Tauranga repairing and resealing the road. “The Tauranga River runs alongside River runs alongside. Lowe Rd in several places and during the Paula says benching and stabilising the April 2017 flood event, it eroded the banks, putting the riverbank back up to road level would have required a road at risk in several places. This was one of our high lot of rock material. priority repair sites and part of the $11.47m budget we “We’ve been stockpiling that on-site for some weeks have set aside for the 2018/2019 year,” says Paula. now, so our thanks go to local users who were being WDC transportation manager Martin Taylor says the inconvenienced by additional truck movements.” rural road was an important link between Waimana and Martin says they hoped to have the road fully reopened communities up the Matahi Valley and was used daily by the road by the end of April.

FARM VEHICLES & MACHINERY

Page 41

Reminder of need for safe loading ramps WorkSafe is reminding landowners that all stock loading ramps should be fitted with an automatic brake winch system to prevent unwinding after a farmer was recently fined $33,000 for an incident that took place on his property two years ago.

WorkSafe investigation found the ramp handle could dislodge from the winch shaft and that no automatic brake system was in place for when the ramp was being lowered. WorkSafe’s Head of Specialist Interventions Simon Humphries says the worker who was injured had spent almost a month in hospital and was unable to work for nine months following the incident. “The safety of workers can’t be In October 2017 a truck driver left to chance and this worker has was left with a skull fracture and lifelong vision and hearing impairsignificant head injuries after a ments as a result of a farmer’s stock loading ramp used to unload substandard equipment. sheep from a truck fell on him “Take the time to check your when its winch system failed. gear and if you have any concerns, In a decision released by the engage a competent engineer to Dunedin District Court last take a look and get things tidied month, Palmerston based farmer up before your next truck arrives.” Robert Kirk Ashton was fined WorkSafe has issued a technical $33,000. The farmer also paid bulletin for owners and users of reparation of $40,000. All loading ramps need to be safe to use. mobile stock loading ramps availThe court concluded the farmer able at: worksafe.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media/ had not ensured the 250kg-300kg stock loading ramp he owned was without risks to any person and a stock-loading-ramps/

Bug prompts changes to machinery import rules The Ministry for Primary Industries is seeking feedback on plans to introduce stricter import requirements for vehicles and sea containers. Biosecurity New Zealand spokesperson Dr Cath Duthie says the changes are intended to make it harder for the brown marmorated stink bug to establish in New Zealand. “The invasive pest is continuing to spread throughout Europe and the United States. The proposed new measures will help stop bugs from Brown hitching a ride to NZ.” marmorated Proposed changes include extending stink bug. the list of countries that have requirements to treat vehicles, machinery and equipment imports before they arrive in NZ. At present, 18 countries have pre-treatment requirements. The proposed new list will increase to 33 countries. All imported cargo related to vehicles will need to be treated offshore, including sea containers. In the past,

only uncontainerised cargo has required treatment before arrival. MPI also intends to refine some of the offshore management requirements under the existing import standard for vehicles. Cath says MPI has also worked with the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to get measures that are aligned, making it easier for traders and shippers to comply. MPI increased its border checks of arriving vessels at the start of this year’s stink bug season. It also introduced tighter rules for importing vehicles for a number of countries. So far this season – to the end of March – border officers have detected 123 live stink bugs. Details of the proposed changes are at: www.mpi. govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations The consultations are open until June 3, 2019. The public can email feedback to: standards@mpi.govt.nz

FARM VEHICLES & MACHINERY

Page 42

Man and tractor trek into retirement Brewis Newland, 68, was born and bred on a Pirongia dairy farm, but his family moved to 100 acres in Otorohanga in 1961.

The Newlands had a Fordson Major E27N tractor when Brewis was growing up and he loved the distinctive Ford

tractor blue as a child. He used to make wooden tractors, and remembers driving the Major from as early as 10 years old, pulling the silage trailer as his father fed out. In 1968 his father encouraged 17-year-old Brewis not to farm, but to do a mechanic apprenticeship at Birch Motors in Otorohanga. After qualifying, Brewis went back to

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“It was known as a bonzer cab and was one dairy farming and sharemilked for a of the first types used as safety frames.” 13-year period. He returned to the world It is quite fitting that Brewis and a tractor of engines and oil, and spent 23 years with he’s maintained all its life should end up Giltraps of Otorohanga. retiring together. The 3000 lives with four Since 2004 he’s collected five Ford tractors other restored Fords in a four-bay shed on of his own. One of his favourites is a 1970 Brewis’ property. Ford 3000. Retired life is pretty active, as the pair Brewis was working at Birch Motors when attraction enjoy regular trekking with friends at the this particular tractor was sold from new, Tales of ‘Pet’ Tractors & Machinery alike Otorohanga Vintage Machinery Club Inc, and he serviced and maintained it regularly which has a strong membership of around throughout his years as a mechanic. 100 enthusiasts and collectors. The Ford 3000 is also In 2013, when the 3000 became surplus to requirebrought out for the Otorohanga Christmas Parade ments, the owner approached Brewis to buy it. each year. “I drove it home that very day,” says Brewis. “It was Catherine Fry in original condition but good order, just a couple of oil leaks.” Brewis stripped the three-cylinder, 45hp machine back completely, and replaced some parts with aftermarket parts. It was repainted with the traditional Ford tractor blue on the bodywork, and Ford tractor grey for the wheels. This particular 3000 had been factoryfitted with dual wheels, which was quite unusual in 1970. “It helps with traction and stability,” says Brewis. “This particular tractor pulled a three tonne silage trailer for contractors during the summer.” Another feature was the factory-fitted cab around the driver.

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New Zealand facilities that deal with imported cargo – which includes tractors, heavy machinery and equipment – can now face ﬁnes for breaking biosecurity rules. On April 15 Biosecurity New Zealand ofﬁcers were handed the power to issue infringement notices to transitional and containment facilities for actions that could allow invasive pests and diseases into NZ. Biosecurity New Zealand team manager of freight and mail Chris Denny says any individual or company that operates a facility without a registered operator, or who fails to comply with the operating standards for that facility will now be considered for an infringement notice. “One area we will be paying particular attention to is the movement

of uncleared goods, including sea containers, without correct authorisation. This type of non-compliance poses a critical risk to biosecurity.” The infringement fee for each offence is $400 for an individual and $800 for a corporation. Chris says the infringement notices will be primarily used to address relatively minor breaches of the Biosecurity Act. “They send a strong message about the importance of biosecurity and will deter people and organisations from breaking the rules “As in the past, Biosecurity NZ can prosecute if our officers find major failings.” Under NZ’s biosecurity rules, imported cargo must first go to an approved transitional or container facility for inspection, where necessary, and other checks.

FARM VEHICLES & MACHINERY

Bidding on rare beauties Hundreds of people from near and far converged on a family farm in Ngarua one day in March to witness, purchase or pay tribute to the outstanding John Deere tractor and machinery collection belonging to the late Neil Houghton. Since his passing in 2016, Neil’s family had taken their time to decide what to do with their father’s legacy. Sons Reece, Brent, Torrey, Stafford and Darryl Houghton explored several options. “We talked to museums, we looked at setting up a museum ourselves, but we decided to go to auction,” says Reece. “Dad spent 30-plus years collecting, restoring and rebuilding these machines, and they were driven and used. He loved sharing them with people and we wanted that to continue.” Torrey spent four months working on the machines to get them in shape. Reece and Brent came on board six weeks before to help set up what would be a memorable day on March 9. Last November Alastair Beer, of Alastair Beer Auctions, began marketing the 165 items, which included a rare John Deere L tractor. “This was the best quality auction of this type I’ve ever seen, and certainly the most items sold at one time,” says Alastair. He commends the family on their organisation of the event. The auction day on March 9 had a carnival atmosphere, with food trailers, bunting, John Deere memorabilia, and a row of portaloos. Their planning was spot on, with an estimated 350 people turning up, and around 200 cars parked in the front paddock. “We had a couple of bidders from overseas, some from the South Island, and there were some serious collectors there,” says Alastair. “There were also people bidding live online, competing in real time with the bidders physically at the auction.” The family bought back six of their favourite items themselves, the John Deere 70, G, L, B, 1020, 2020, a number of stationary engines and ice cream maker,

Collectors enjoying the large display of John Deere machines. All photos: Catherine Fry.

Page 43

There were many tractor and farm implement lots on display in the paddock at the Houghton family auction at Ngarua.

along with the Lilliput caravan. “The Lilliput was Dad’s tractor trekking caravan, it was pulled behind a John Deere 2020,” says Reece. “He was a very active member of the Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club Inc, joining them on treks and other outings.” Reece says the family is happy with their decision to offer the pieces to the public. “It was a real thrill seeing young guys buying them as the ﬁrst tractor for their own collection.” And so, Neil Houghton’s legacy will live on through the next generation of machinery lovers. Catherine Fry

A John Deere 2020 tractor and the Lilliput caravan used on tractor treks.

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Page 44

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Trace element testing pre-calving is key With the end of the ‘zinc season’ close at hand, it is important to check your herd’s copper reserves. Zinc competes with copper for absorption at the gut level, which may lead to very low copper levels in May when zinc supplementation ﬁnishes. Variation in supplementary feed offered further complicates the situation. Many farms adopt quite different supplement feed plans to ensure stock are fed adequately. For instance, in recent years large amounts of palm kernel in the diet have tended to lead to high copper levels in some herds. However, this is not always the case – especially when the level of palm kernel fed is ﬁt for daily maintenance energy requirements, as

opposed to being an additional energy source for weight gain. To optimise productivity cattle should have some trace element testing done pre-calving. Liver biopsies provide the most accurate information, as it is a direct measure of the amount of copper stored in the liver. Samples from five-six cows are usually sufficient to give an indication of the herd copper levels. Alternatively, blood tests can be taken from eight-10 animals, providing a ‘snapshot’ of copper levels in the blood on the day of sampling. Deficient animals can be easily identified this way, however the results do not provide any information on the amount of copper stored in the liver – so herds close to deficiency may appear normal on blood tests, and hence the need for increased copper supplementation will not be detectable. Remember the young stock too, as these animals have high copper requirements for growth and development.

Variation of supplementary feed can further complicate copper levels.

Century farms being celebrated The New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards committee in Lawrence is busy preparing for its awards dinner this month, with 40 Kiwi families to be formally honoured for their signiﬁcant achievement in farming their land for 100 years or more. Chairperson Karen Roughan says application numbers for the awards reached 50 this year “but for various reasons some families have decided to hold off receiving their award until next year”. “The last time we reached this number was in our inaugural year in 2005,” says Karen. Award recipients will visit Lawrence on May 24-26 to join in celebrations. Families attend a welcome function on Friday night and an awards ceremony on Saturday evening, with 300 people

expected to attend. During the day a town and farm tour has also become increasingly popular. There are seven sesquicentennial awards this year recognising families who’ve been farming their own land for 150-plus years. Land that was distributed under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act in 1915, allowing returned servicemen to be granted farmland, is also starting to ﬁlter through, says Karen. “We feel very privileged to be able to recognise the contributions these families and their forebears have made to NZ’s agricultural industry and economy.” Launched in 2005 by the late Russell Brown, the programme’s purpose is to capture and preserve family history which might otherwise be lost. Families submit narratives of their farm history, copies of photographs and supporting documents which are archived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, ensuring all records are kept in perpetuity.

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Wellbeing on radar for young farmers New research from New Zealand’s biggest study of its kind has found farmers aged under 35 want to invest more in their wellbeing.

thirds reported a wellbeing issue had contributed to one of their worst on-farm accidents or injuries in the last 12 months. Farmstrong spokesperson Gerard Vaughan says having such a large response, with close to 900 taking part, the survey shows wellbeing is deﬁnitely on the radar for younger farmers. “They are the future of farming and despite the ups and downs of the industry, there is so much they enjoy about it. Knowing 84 per cent of women and 74 per cent of men are saying they want to invest in ways to improve their wellbeing is really pleasing.” Thinking strategies to deal with ups and downs of farming, how to be happy, people and communication skills, and staff management were the topics younger farming men expressed a high interest in learning more about.

Workload, fatigue, relationships, sleep and time off-farm are some of the main wellbeing challenges facing younger farmers today. The milestone study, commissioned by rural wellbeing initiative Farmstrong, found 64 per cent of younger farming men and 77 per cent of women reported at least one wellbeing issue had a large impact on their life. The research also reinforced the link between wellbeing and risk of injury/accident. Two-

Subdivision still possible in rural Waikato Since advertising their proposed District Plan in mid-2018, Waikato District Council is still working through the many submissions received. So, it’s business as usual for subdivisions in the old part of Waikato.

Boundary adjustments between neighbours, and adjustments in size and location of multiple adjoining titles, can be applied for along with subdivisions that protect qualifying ecological features. This proposed District Plan, integrating the Franklin and Waikato sections, is long overdue and the outcome is still impossible to predict. My advice is if you have any interest in subdividing a title of more than 20ha in size in the Waikato Rural Zone, now is the time to move. The notified rules still allow this, but don’t be complacent – in time this will change, and, before you know it, you may only be able to subdivide if you have more than 40ha to start with. Council is still to notify the initial submissions and call for further submissions, so you can still be involved in the process. Being involved is the only way to have any influence over something that will shape the future of your district. If you’re interested to find out what opportunities might potentially be lost or gained through this process, feel free to give me a call and discuss your situation without delay. 0800 843 809

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With the major change for the old Franklin portion of the district, applications have slowed to a trickle in this area while people await new rules to be ratified. In this area it’s been possible to use a transferrable title to gain a subdivision, but the new rules propose to drop this ability. Any development here at present is more likely to result from protection of ecological features such as wetland and stream margins. So, if you have these features on your land you may qualify for subdivision. If the new rules are ratified through the public submission process, Franklin owners will have the same opportunity as their peers situated within the original Waikato District area – but only if they haven’t Brent Trail, managing director Fertiliser of Surveying Services, specialises Functional subdivided in recent years. However, with such a Functional Fertiliser in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Waikato, significant change, I can’t see council being open to this full nutrient Coromandelsupplies and Bay of Plenty. For further information, call 0800 supplies full nutrient 268632Functional or email: btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz until at least the public submission process is finished Fertiliser packages based on packages based on and any submissions against this rule are resolved. supplies full nutrient Functional ®Fertiliser ® The current General Subdivision Rule is proposed to packages basedfull onnutrient supplies continue and be extended over the entire new district. packages®based on Under that rule, a lifestyle lot of about 1ha can be cut ® off many older titles exceeding 20ha in size. However, don’t sit back if you currently comply with For For application by by application this and wish to have some flexibility with your land For application by groundspreader or aerial in future – I fully expect this rule will eventually only groundspreader or aerial groundspreader or aerial For application by Functional Fertiliser allow titles of more than 40ha in size to subdivide. And this may happen sooner than you think. At the supplies full nutrient groundspreader or aerial last round of rule changes Waikato Regional Council packages based on was pushing for the minimum subdividable rural block ® to be set at 40ha – and I fully expect them to push www.functionalfertiliser.co.nz www.functionalfertiliser.co.nz www.functionalfertiliser.co.nz harder for it this time around. The Future of Farming 0800 843 809

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Meanwhile, women expressed a high interest in nutrition, how to be happy, self-conﬁdence, self-worth, self-compassion, thinking strategies to deal with ups and downs, and exercise. They also reported higher levels of issues that had ‘large’ or ‘greater’ impact on their wellbeing compared to men, and the effect was more pronounced for female sharemilkers and contract milkers. Several younger farmers during in-

depth interviews identified “two years of drought” and “terrible wet weather” as a source of significant stress. Gerard says the research and findings have provided rich data for better understanding younger farmers’ needs. “Farmstrong will increasingly include within its wellbeing initiatives, stories, tips and resources on the topics that younger farmers said were of highest interest.” See: www.farmstrong.co.nz

EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

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Water strategy underway for kiwifruit Bringing all different participants in the kiwifruit industry together to acknowledge the importance of its growth is behind the move to establish a new Water Strategy for kiwifruit, says an industry body leader. New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated has initiated the strategy’s first meeting, with chief executive officer Nikki Johnson saying the topic of sustainable water use has never been more pivotal. Nikki says you need access to water to develop new orchards – and the focus in the industry is increasingly turning from cut-over to establishment of new ‘greenfield’ orchards.

“What we’re seeing now, with the release of additional licence for Zespri Gold G3 kiwifruit, is the establishment of new ‘greenﬁeld’ orchards, which is reﬂection of industry growth.”

Water availability This is due to Zespri’s intention to continue releasing SunGold licence hectares out to 2022, subject to annual review, and Zespri advises that current demand forecasts support releases of up to 700ha per year. “In order to meet Zespri’s growth targets there must be new development of land for kiwifruit – therefore it means water needs to be available to achieve that.” Nikki says water availability is “potentially a constraint on the ability of Zespri to meet its growth targets in the next 10 years” – meanwhile water policy implementation is occurring across the country. “You’ve got national policy statements on fresh water and with the change in government, there’s a change in focus – then there’s this drive of implementation of water policy at a regional level.

to sustainably access the water we need but to do it in a way that’s not going to impact in the environment around us. “We need to establish a high-level objective and then work through what things we need to contribute to make sure that happens.” Nikki says the strategy will likely collect data on how many kiwifruit growers are NZKGI chief executive ofﬁcer irrigating and to what extent, Nikki Johnson. “what our nutrient footprint is and the impact it’s having BOP focus – if any – on the environment and any other Nikki says the Bay of Plenty will be a focus considerations that fall into that too”. due to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Nikki says NZKGI is now looking to set Water Quantity Plan Change 9 and Plan up subgroups and working groups on broad Change 12 – and its move into catchment areas identiﬁed as important in the water plan changes. strategy “to ensure we’re doing work that is “Currently, this is a critical policy issue for needed”. growers and the kiwifruit industry, particuIt’s anticipated that some subgroups will larly in the BOP. involve research and data, upskilling growers “So the purpose for wanting a strategy is so and the public, and contributing to policy we understand what our target is for water use in the industry – as we want the industry development. Merle Foster “We have multiple regions across NZ at different stages of their regional policy process. So as an industry, we need to understand where each of those regions is at – and what the tensions are and where we need to be in terms of leadership positioning for the industry for each region.”

Water storage investigation on way for the Mid-North

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A government investment of $18.5 million into community water storage in the MidNorth is being welcomed by IrrigationNZ. IrrigationNZ chief executive Elizabeth Soal says access to reliable water can make a vital contribution to local communities, economies and can signiﬁcantly aid job creation. “If done the right way, with sound technical, environmental and stakeholder guidance, water storage and well planned irrigation infrastructure can lead to very effective and

efﬁcient use of water for the beneﬁt of all.” Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Economic Development Minister David Parker say the $18.m will be invested to help investigate and – if feasible – construct community-scale water storage and use options in Kaipara and Mid North. The ministers say they’ve backed the largest PGF investment to date in water due to what a more reliable water supply could bring to the region, which is up to $150m in increased

horticulture earnings per year and 1150 jobs created. “The region is vulnerable to droughts and ﬂoods, so better access to water will give landowners greater options to utilise land, develop new markets and maintain and grow a skilled workforce. It’ll alleviate pressure on surface and groundwater resources, and reduce sedimentation as land use shifts towards horticulture. It’ll also mean better access to water for use on Maori-owned land – a key objective for the PGF.”

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EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

Page 47

Farm trials explore ways to cut emissions The ﬁrst of 12 farms across New Zealand to take part in an 18-month project, to understand how changes on-farm to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may impact a farm’s proﬁtability and productivity, has released its results.

And DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says one clear message from the work is every farm is different “and there isn’t a ‘one-size-ﬁts-all’ package of changes that every farmer can use”. “But they can learn from these case studies to compare against their own farm and see what might be possible,” says Tim.

Know your numbers

“The other clear message is to measure, or estimate, biological greenhouse gas emissions – to know your numbers – as that is the first step to knowing how to manage them.” New Zealand’s ruminant animals’ methane emissions make a substantial contribution to total NZ greenhouse gases emissions and the global warming that our emissions have contributed to so far, according to DairyNZ. Most methane is emitted when cattle burp. Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is emitted from soil when urine, faeces and fertilisers are broken down by microbes in the soil. Tim says the Partnership Farm Project’s aim was to model and apply practical measures to see how to adapt NZ’s highly efficient pastoral farm systems to meet the country’s climate change goals. “The outcome of this project is important to helping us understand the impact of making improvements or changes to how a farm operates in order to reduce emissions and nitrogen leaching.” The project farms model 44 different farm systems. The Owl demonstration farm in Cambridge released its results in lateMarch – the first farm to do so. Tim says farmers who took part in this project are now looking closely at the changes that have been recommended to them to decide whether they implement these on-farm. DairyNZ chief On Owl farm, one change executive Tim involved reducing feed use and Mackle talks on lowering the stocking rate. This GHG emissions. is expected to result in a 21 per cent increase in profitability, a 14 per cent reduction in nitrogen leaching and 13 per cent reduction in GHG emissions. Mitigations modelled on the partnership farms fell into three categories: farm management changes, infrastructure investment, and retiring or planting land. When selecting a package of mitigations suitable for each farm, options from all three may be chosen together. “The results of this project, and the huge amount of data we are still compiling, reinforce the complexity of the challenge we face as a sector,” says Tim. “Mitigation options vary depending on the farm system and the region. To see nationwide reductions in GHG emissions we need a specifically designed package of changes for each farm. “This is why DairyNZ is supportive of customised Farm Environment Plans, which recognise the differences between each farm and factor in a holistic systems approach to recognise efforts across GHGs, water quality, biodiversity, and financial sustainability.”

Government support critical

Tim says it will be critical the Government supports adequate training and capability of rural professionals as part of a low emissions transition plan. “Expert advice must be available to help farmers understand what improvements or changes they could make to the way they run their farms that will make the biggest difference to their total emissions. It will take years to build up to that level of capacity. “We’re also hopeful that as the use of Overseer spreads, more farmers will be increasingly aware of their current emission levels, which can provide useful benchmarks for improvements. “What this work in the partnership project highlights is largescale reductions will rely on the development of a new workable technological solution well in advance of 2050.

Owl farm manager Louise Cook.

“We’re aiming for a slow-release inhibitor compatible with the NZ farming system to be developed by 2050, and this could achieve a 30 per cent reduction in methane. “We must continue our investment in research and development to pursue that option or our ability to cut emissions will be limited. “Leading efforts for our sector to reduce our greenhouse gases is part of our Dairy Tomorrow sector strategy,” says Tim. “Above all, Dairy Tomorrow takes a holistic approach which means managing GHG emissions is part of a broader set of challenges including water quality, people, animal care, and critically, ensuring we have proﬁtability and resilient farming systems that underpin our ability to resolve these challenges.”

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Page 48

DAIRY REFRIGERATION

Milk cooling the final tick Chilling your milk is the last critical step in production of a premium product, from the farmer’s point of view. Waikato Milking Systems’ milk cooling manager Craig Gibbons says ensuring milk cooling is fast, efficient and compliant “is the final tick to all you’ve done to this point”. “Chilling milk has always been a priority for farmers, but the new regulations provide clarity and consistency. In essence, milk temperature must reach six degrees Celsius within six hours of start of milking or two hours of completion – and be held at this level, without freezing, until collection. And there are some real motivations for ‘getting it right’. “Bacteria grows rapidly in raw milk above seven degrees Celsius, so an inefficient system can cost

you in grades and in power usage as milk cooling accounts for one-third of a dairy’s energy costs. “If the milk is above the minimum industry standard your processor can also refuse to pick it up, leaving you with the issue of disposing of it.” Craig says refrigWaikato Milking Systems offers a comprehensive eration is a key range of quality refrigeration products. element in ensuring milk is cooled and plate coolers to snap chillers, ice stored at the correct temperature. banks, water and vat chillers. “Achieving that comes down to the “It’s relatively easy to retroﬁt a right plate cooler and right chiller new system and an on-farm assessoption for the size of your herd and ment from our nationwide team dairy. will ensure your dairy has a system “Waikato Milking Systems has which futureproofs your complia comprehensive range of quality ance and production into the refrigeration products ranging from future,” says Craig.

Snap chilling that’s easy to install and reliable If you are looking for a better, more efﬁcient secondary way to keep your milk cold, Tony Lovett from Independent Refrigeration Ltd can help.

transformer because they are really efﬁcient to run. “The refrigeration cycle creates heat,” says Tony, “and there is an opportunity to recover this heat for your plant wash”. The icebanks rely solely on water, and Tony says he is proud Their ice banks exceed new of the fact they do not require legislation requirements, and have glycol. been engineered with simplicity “Glycol is a chemical and has in mind, says Tony. a shelf life, meaning it has to be “The ice is made in an insulated replaced every few years,” says tank, and at milking time that ice is used to snap chill the milk, Independent Refrigeration Ltd’s ice Tony. “It is expensive, can leak and will entering the vat at around six banks easily meet the new rules. cost you money. Glycol refrigeradegrees Celsius,” says Tony. tion units require big compressors to achieve required “Snap chilling easily meets Ministry of Primary temperatures, and have a high electricity demand and a Industries’ new regulations. “They are easy to install, they are reliable and all you shorter life span. “Our icebank cooling system can work for herds need is water.” from 100 to 1000,” says Tony. For more information, “We can install an icebank between milkings, withor to talk about installing an icebank on your property, out disrupting your operation,” says Tony. visit: www.independentrefrigeration.co.nz “There’s no need for expensive upgrades to your

Page 49

DAIRY

Page 50

Researching a 3-in-2 milking regime A three-year research project to get underway in New Zealand’s upcoming season will examine the human, animal and production impacts of milking three times in two days.

The DairyNZ-led research is funded by a $499,536 grant from the Sustainable Farming Fund and a further $306,914 of co-finding from DairyNZ. Research co-ordinator DairyNZ scientist Paul Edwards says that increasing

flexibility at milking time has been looked at before, as early as the 1950s and more recently in the 1980s, but very little research has been undertaken in modern farming systems. Recently, the only research in this field has focused on once a-day milking – and Paul says different milking intervals are used mostly as a tactical response to on-farm conditions. “This research will give farmers the information they need to make decisions about a more strategic use of a three-milkingsin-two-days milking regime. “People are increasingly interested and asking questions about how they can maximise the effectiveness of different milking intervals and they want to know what they are getting themselves in for. “I’m excited about the research because it has the potential to make a big impact,” says Paul. The first year of the study will focus on learning from farmers already using three-in-two and a farmlet trial at Lincoln University Research Farm, where four different three-in-two scenarios will be tested. One group will be milked three times in two days for the whole season. Two groups will start the season milking twice-a-day, with one group moving to three-in-two milking on December 1; the third group will move to three-in-two on March 1. Finally, a control group will milk twice-a-day the whole season.

DairyNZ scientist and research lead, Paul Edwards.

“We’ll be gathering data about the impact on milk production, body condition, animal behaviour, pasture production and grazing management,” says Paul, and key data will be reported fortnightly on the DairyNZ website. Analysis in year one will focus on measuring the impact on farm productivity and production. In year two this will expand to piloting three-in-two on commercial farms, including measures to evaluate the human impacts on moving to a three-in-two milking system, says Paul. The last year will focus on modelling to predict outcomes in different flexible milking sc narios. Years two and three will also see the co-development of resources and events with farmers

to share project learnings. “We want to have been able to test all combinations of three-intwo during the research, and then we anticipate using the data to refine existing models to predict outcomes of different scenarios, like what if a farmer wanted to go once-a-day during calving – to reduce work at a busy time – then go twice-a-day through peak lactation, then three-in-two through mid-lactation and once-a-day near dry off. “Ultimately, the research is about trying to improve the sustainability of the farm system, particularly for staff and increasing the attractiveness of the industry to make it easier to attract and retain quality people,” says Paul. Josephine Reader

Forum offers future perspectives of farming If you want to learn more about what the future holds for New Zealand’s dairy sector, a Farmers’ Forum this month could offer some answers. The DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum for the central North Island this year is in Rotorua on May 24, with the theme: ‘Future perspectives... local and global impact’.

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The event, which is free to levy-paying farmers, will offer inspiring speakers, snapshots of the latest dairy science, practical hands-on workshops, and a chance to catch up with mates. Speakers include Robotics Plus Ltd’s chief executive officer Dr Matt Glenn, who will talk about develo ing robotic and automation solutions for the global agri and horticultural industries. Matt has a PhD in molecular biology. NZ Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Mike Petersen will speak about where the world is heading and what this means for the sector. And DairyNZ’s principal economist Graeme Doole will discuss domestic opportunities – and factors affecting the future of dairying, specifically in the Bay of Plenty, as insights from an economist. There will be four workshops to choose from: Our people our future – future farm systems that are more people friendly; feeding for profit – are you making money from milk or milk from money? This discusses success factors for profitable feed usage; resilient businesses have more options – capital gain can no longer be relied upon for future wealth creation. Look at what is being achieved by top performers in our region; and dairying in a better landscape – gain a deeper understanding of the connection between various regional council expectations and robust science, and how this helps drive farmer behaviour change to farm within limits. Science snapshots include HME ryegrass – progress towards proof of concept; forages for reduced nitrate leaching – nitrogen – against the odds – high production with low environmental footprint; fertility herd and breeding worth – finding new traits to improve cow genetic merit for fertility; tightening up our belch – how to reduce our methane emissions; plantain – cool herbs, not spices: plantain-based pastures for production and environmental benefits To register or find out more, see: www.dairynz co.nz/events/bay-of-plenty/dairynz-farmers-forum2019-rotorua/

DAIRY

Page 51

Proactive versus reactive farming I read an article before Christmas which asked: ‘Why are farmers so despondent?’

Although, by all accounts the season was looking great, I felt this was a very onedimensional approach to the challenges farmers face each season. One good season does not erase the uncertainty farmers have had to contend with since 2008. Pre-2008, the milk payout was set in May and it was guaranteed. Farmers budgeted with this in mind. However, in 2008 that all changed. The milk price was set at a very respectable $7.50 kgMS in May, but in November Fonterra dropped the payout to $5.50 kgMS. For our family, that meant a $400,000 loss in income. And because farmers had always been guaranteed what was forecast, many had already spent or committed that money, and then found themselves in debt. Since then, any extra money has gone toward paying down that debt. Farmers now have little confidence in milk payout forecasts, and coupled with effluent and waterway compliance issues, nutrient budgeting, Mycoplasma bovis and the weather even the most seasoned, optimistic farmer can find themselves beaten. So, how do we survive in a future of uncertainties? The most practical way to survive is to be smart.

increase cow numbers and be short of feed in summer. To produce milk a cow has to maintain its body weight for one year. If you increased cow numbers by 70 and fed a maintenance level of 12kgDM per cow per day, that’s 840kgDM. Multiplied by 365 days is 306,600kgDM. And at an average maize silage price of .32c kgDM that’s $98,000 of feed those 70 cows will consume just for maintenance – and that’s before they start to produce any milk. Alternatively, that amount of feed in the stack would cater for 430 cows at 8kgDM per cow per day for 90 days. To be proactive you need to plan ahead – and, now is the time to start looking at next season. The largest proﬁt window is July to December, so the number one priority is to get cows to a body condition score of ﬁve before calving so they’re ready to perform after calving. An important part of looking forward is making structured decisions and being proactive and planning to survive – not just hoping you’ll survive. For more advice on farming smarter, give us a call. David Law is the managing director of Forward Farming Biological Consultancy.

False economy

A lot of farmers fall into the trap of false economy. If you cut back on feed, fertiliser, trace elements or dry cow therapy you create a reactive, rather than proactive, business model – and, as a rule, reactive business models cost a lot more in the long run. Here’s a few examples. If you reduce your fertiliser, the farm will stop growing grass and you’ll be forced to buy in feed. If you fail to utilise what’s already on-farm and have a too-short rotation length, you’ll also end up buying in feed to ﬁll these gaps. So if you do need to buy feed, make sure it’s not rubbish. There’s a big difference in the quality of feed available, although comparable in price, and sellers should be open to it being tested. Grass silage, although touted as a great feed, is one of the most expensive around due to the extra costs of baling and wrapping. At .45c/kgDM, you may be better off to spend your money on feed that increases cow performance. It’s a tough ask of a cow to calve and be ready for mating six weeks later. Without a good trace element and feeding programme she won’t be in good enough condition to calve, milk and cycle. If she doesn’t cycle, farmers are forced to use Controlled Internal Drug Release – known as CIDRs. There’s a $1000 difference in value between an in-calf cow and an empty cow; a small fortune when it’s multipled by a number of empty cows. Also, watch stocking numbers. On a farm with 430 cows and enough stored feed to get the herd through a drought, you’re better to keep numbers static than Authorised Dealers Authorised Dealers

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DAIRY

Page 52

The secret of truly successful farmers The last two springs have been excessively wet In prolonged periods of wet weather animals will cause a mess, that’s inevitable. in most regions, resulting in slower overall The choice is whether to make a big mess in growth in part due to treading damage. a small area by conﬁning stock, or a smaller

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mess over a larger area by dropping the fence and providing animals with more space. There’s no correct answer, which is one of the truly endearing aspects of farming. The only report card that matters is the one we set and mark for ourselves. The consequence of treading damage is slower growth due to too much water and too little air in the soil. Ideally, soils are 25 per cent air and 25 per cent moisture. This means the spaces between soil particles are sufﬁciently large enough for excess moisture to drain freely and for air to enter from above, with carbon dioxide and other gasses to be released back to the atmosphere. Soil is a living breathing organism and when air is squeezed out and ponding results, pasture growth is signiﬁcantly reduced – not just at that time but often for several months while natural recovery takes place.

Wet winter

In the regions that endured a wet winter and spring, all farms were short of leafy digestible pasture in spring – however, some fared better than others.

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if a wedge of feed is to be pushed ahead. Long pasture is excellent winter tucker and initial recovery after grazing can be quite astonishing.

Back fencing animals, where practicable, increases speed of pasture re-growth after grazing. People often want a simple recipe, however it will be different for each operator in every district. Often the amount of land area grazed on any day in winter is as little as one per cent of the total available area. A client with a grazing property in a warm coastal situation successfully maintains a winter grazing interval of 50 days, or two per cent of the total Growth data farm area. Winter crop on hand furThe growth data for regions is availther alters the equation, however that is able and a spreadsheet can be put easily factored in. together that contains pasture covers, Many people may argue most farmers animal requirements, along with avail- already plan well in advance, yet very able supplement. It takes some initial few have any idea of the amount of work, and a season or two of fine-tun- pasture grown on their own property ing, however once in place it becomes in a 12-month period, or how to calan invaluable resource. culate daily maintenance requirements A number of dairy farm clients use for different classes of stock. this tool, along with cow conditionAside from the obvious financial ing, to determine their drying-off benefits of planning feed requirements date. Sheep and beef operators using several months in advance, the value the same system are able to decide in that comes with knowing that regardadvance how many animals they’ll be less of in all but the most extreme able to fully feed through winter. situations, winter and early spring is As soil temperatures drop pasalready in-the-bag. Functional Fertiliser Functional Fertiliser ture growth slows and the intervals supplies For morefull information, call Peter on nutrient supplies between grazings necessarily lengthen 0800 843 809. full nutrient Functionalbased Fertiliser packages on on packages based supplies full nutrient Functional ®Fertiliser ® packages basedfull onnutrient supplies packages®based on ®

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On some properties animals had largely retained their condition throughout winter and spring animal performance was little changed from that experienced after a ‘normal’ winter and early spring. Although animals tell part of the story, it wasn’t just the most highly stocked that had lighter animals and lower-than-expected overall performance. The difference between the two groups was almost entirely due to the amount of pasture built during autumn and pushed ahead into winter, with top operators accurately calculating their feed requirements for up to six months ahead.

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DAIRY

Page 53

Now is a good time to tackle maintenance We have had a bit of rain since the last edition of Coast & Country News, so things are greening up and farmers can look forward positively.

Next season’s milk payout is looking good. The latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries is indicating that exports are up more than what they expected; it’s shaping up to be a good year for sheep, beef, dairy and horticulture going forward. With a wet start and a dry end to summer, it’s predicted grass grub numbers could be up so everyone needs to keep an eye out. Farmers can just dig a bit of soil and count the number of grubs found and make decisions from this. The army caterpillar could also be around the corner as new grasses get put in. This caterpillar also easily tackles lucerne and hickory and brassica crops too. Recently there’s been talk of how plantain can reduce nitrogen from cow urine and how the plant’s roots also lock more nitrate into soil, preventing runoff into waterways. The Tararua Plantain Project, involving upper Manawatu farmers, has recently secured funding through the Sustainable Farming Fund. We’ve done crops of plantain and red and white clover before, which make quite good stands of feed for cows. It’s also a bit more drought-tolerant and produces less nitrogen than perennial ryegrass – as does lucerne. So plantain and lucerne could be worth considering – it could be ideal to plant next to water-

season considering the weather and conditions. We’ve got a bit of demand for feed, as people replace the feed they fed out

in the last 6-8 weeks while it’s been dry. We still have some quality bales of silage available as well as plenty of hay and straw available.

ways to reduce nitrate leaching. Farmers will still be focusing on pasture renovation, fertiliser dressing will be going on and it’s a good time to get any lime requirements done now while the ground is not wet and there’s not as much wind as in spring and the truck can get around. Keeping spray drift or lime dust to a minimum will keep your neighbours happy! If there is going to be an issue, please warn them – let them know so they can get their washing in or go out for the day. Farm maintenance should be looked at now while it is nice and dry. Get farm tracks and drainage - that get wet during winter and spring - ﬁxed up before wet weather arrives. Most herds will be on once-a-day now so it’s an ideal time to focus on maintenance – tackle those projects you haven’t got to while you’ve been busy during the season, but remember to take a break too. Having time off will recharge the mind and the batteries. Our maize harvest has ﬁnished – it was a reasonable

Kiwi deer milk on show at restaurant awards An opportunity that saw New Zealand deer milk feature on the menu of a prestigious restaurant awards night in Asia recently is being called a win by those who farm the animals it came from. ˜ e deer milk from P°mu – the state-owned company historically known as Landcorp – and was made into a panna cotta for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, at the Wynn in Macau, on March 28. P°mu’s business development manager Hamish Glendinning sets the panna cotta creation has been invaluable exposure for the product in the Asian market. “Asia’s restaurant scene is very competitive and for P°mu deer milk to be on the menu at their annual awards menu is a real coup.” Hamish says P°mu worked with food service

company Eat ˜ e Kiwi, which supplies premium NZ products in Asia, to secure the spot on the menu. “˜ ere is arguably no better venue or event to showcase the unique properties of deer milk, than at one of the region’s most prestigious restaurant events. “To be on the menu at this event is a measure of the growing interest in P°mu deer milk, especially from chefs who want to work with new and exciting ingredients.” Following the launch of deer milk in NZ and Australia, P°mu is in early stages of developing Asian markets in partnership with Eat ˜ e Kiwi. “We’re taking a cautious approach with a select number of chefs, but the inclusion of deer milk at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards is a real boost for the proÿ le of our product on the international stage.”

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KIWIFRUIT PLANTS for 2020 season. G3 and green varieties grafted to Bruno root stock. Zespri registered. Grown in greenhouse by experienced horticulturist. Phone 027 429 6090. LASERS FOR SALE, two to choose from. One classic older beach boat, perfect for cruising around the harbour/lake $1,000 ono.

Another highly spec’d Laser, former national champs boat. Been in storage for several years. Heaps of gear, several sails and spares. Also a complete Radial rig and sail, never used. Would suit aspiring racer as this boat has plenty potential. $5000 ono. No beach trailers. Both Lasers in Tauranga. May deliver in BOP-Coromandel. Ph 0274 996 747. PULLETS HY-LINE BROWN, great layers. Phone 07 824 1762 www.eurekapoultryfarm.weebly. com

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LIST YOUR com/yxsm3l43 RURAL EVENT May 10 Matariki Lecture, 6pm, HERE! email your listing to: merle@sunmedia.co.nz with ‘Rural Event’ in the subject line.

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Coromandel Town Seafood

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May 4-5

Plant Sales, 9.30am-4pm, Hamilton Gardens.

May 9

Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award: Judge’s Floor Talk, 1-2pm, ArtsPost,

May 13

Farm Organic Certification

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May 11

Workshop, 9am-3pm, on a dairy farm near Matamata, $60. See: tinyurl.com/y35fyorm

May 16

Matariki Lecture, 6pm, Mil-

Garden Design, 9am-3pm

(two weeks), Fraser High School, Hamilton, $89. See: tinyurl.com/y8xx4ctc

May 11-June 9

Fieldays No.8 Wire National

Art Award, Waikato Museum, Hamilton, free. See: tinyurl. com/yy6qyj6m

May 12-18

Fungal Foray, Awakeri, East-

ern Bay of Plenty. For anyone interested in fungi. See: www. funnz.org.nz

lennium Hotel, Rotorua, free. See: tinyurl.com/y42qccl4

May 18

Worm Composting Workshop, 1pm-3pm, Waihi Beach

Community Centre, $34.50. WBOP District residents only. See: tinyurl.com/ y4p4mg82

Waikato Horticultural

Society: Garden Design, 7.30pm, Hamilton Gardens Gate 2, $5. Ph Carmel 07 855 3404.

May 24

Matariki Lecture, 6pm, Arena Suites, Baypark, Tauranga, free. See: tinyurl. com/yyl3ovp8 Breakfast with the Birds, from 5pm. Overnight stay includes dinner, night walk in Aongatete Forest (near Katikati), dawn chorus and breakfast, $40 (suitable for 10-plus years). Email: events@ aongateteforest.org.

May 23

May 25

Southwell School, Hamilton. See: tinyurl.com/y599tayz

Community Gardens and

Matariki Lecture, 6pm,

Home Composting Workshop, 1.30pm, Taupo

Waikato farm consultant-turnedauthor Ross Hyland describes his new book ‘Our Land Our People – In search of farming excellence’ as “a culmination of the years spent among New Zealand’s farmers and is a snapshot into the lives of a few”.

NT ME AT

PEP PE R

Ross Hyland at his rural Waikato home.

BER TR TIM E

May 26

Miranda Shorebird Centre

AGM, 10am, guest speaker Professor Mick Clout on kakapo recovery. High tide 12.30pm. See: www.mirandashorebird.org.nz Bonsai Workshop, 2-4pm, Bunnings, Te Rapa, Hamilton, free.

Eastwoodhill Arboretum, near Gisborne,

has free entry for the day. See: tinyurl.com/yyzq9ym4

May 31

Arbor Day Planting, 10am3pm, Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park, Hamilton. See: tinyurl.com/y5kyzzf4

Farming excellence within NZ

‘Our Land Our People – In search of farming excellence’ is written by Ross Hyland.

1.30pm, near Turangi, free but registration essential. See: tinyurl.com/ycnl6x6n

Ross grew up in Thornton, Bay of Plenty, in a farming family, turning his own hand to dairy farming, sheep and beef, deer, and forestry as an adult. He has a Diploma in Valuation and Farm Management, and moved into farm consulting in the late-1980s. “I was part of some great farming projects around the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne,” says Ross. Many around the Waikato will know Ross as the radio voice behind the advert for Seales feed mill, urging people to “get over to Morrinsville”. Ross grew the business during 17 years from the late-1990s, to become the extensive Seales Winslow business in Morrinsville, Whanganui and Ashburton. When he sold the business, Ross turned to high proﬁle agricultural consultancy and governance roles. These included principal advisor to Lincoln University and advisor to the Meat Industry Excellence Group. “While I was working in these roles, I noticed a rise in negativity towards farming in this country,” says Ross. “Whereas I was meeting some great people, who have all made tremendous

contributions towards their communities and New Zealand agriculture.” It was his collective experiences over the years, and meeting these farm owners, that triggered the idea to write a book on the positive side that he had witnessed first-hand. Ross spent two years journeying around the country, interviewing and photographing 24 families he had identified as having an inspiring story to tell. The 160 beautiful photographs illustrate the magnificent and often harsh landscapes that our farmers work with. “Of course once I started interviewing, stories I didn’t know came

Ross Hyland reading his book ‘Our Land Our People’ in the company of ‘Luigi’.

out; some historically interesting, others sad and moving, and some just hilarious.” Ross took care to cover many aspects of farming, including a Maori Trust, two Landcorp/Pamu properties, beekeeping, dairy, beef, sheep, deer, and a vineyard. “All of them are honest, hardworking people with a real sense of faith and integrity,” says Ross. “Many have diversiﬁed, allowing several generations to make a living on or from the property, rather than diluting assets upon succession.” The book is a journey from the top of the North Island to Fiordland in the South Island, capturing stories reﬂect the tenacity and the ‘can do’ attitude of the country’s extensive farming community. ‘Our Land Our People – In search of farming excellence’ is available in all good bookstores or email: ross@rosshyland.co.nz Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘Our Land Our People – In search of farming excellence’ by Ross Hyland to give away to one lucky reader.

To be in to win, email your answer to the following question, with your name and address with ‘Book Giveaway’ as the subject line to: merle@sunmedia.co.nz Question: What area of the Bay of Plenty did Ross Hyland grow up farming? Or put your answer on the back of an envelope and post to Coast & Country News, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 to arrive by May 20, 2019. The winner will be announced in our July edition. Catherine Fry

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 55

MASSEY FERGUSSON GLOBAL TRACTOR RANGE With the new Global Series, Massey Ferguson has taken the concept of a utility tractor and re-engineered it from the ground up to meet the needs of present and future farming. On offer in this power bracket is an array of build specifications, options and accessories, all designed to help tailor your machine exactly the way you need for your farming operation

4700

5700

6700

• 4707 & 4708 ROPS • 74 & 82HP • 12F X 12R Synchro shutt transmission • 65lpm Hyd flow • 3300kg rear lift

• 5709 & 5710 ROPS • 92 & 102HP • 12F X 12R Synchro shutt transmission • 92lpm Hyd flow • 4400kg rear lift

• • • •

6711, 6712 & 6713 ROPS & Cab versions 112-122 & 132HP 12F X 12R Synchro shutt transmission 92lpm Hyd flow • 5200kg rear lift

5700SL MASSEY FERGUSON MID RANGE Our 5700SL Range consists of 5710, 5711, 5712 & 5713 all with the 4.4L AGCO Power engine which delivers power and performance while maintaining maximum efficiency. These Massey Ferguson transmissions are renowned for their outstanding robust reliability with smooth and effortless operation, offering completely clutchless control via the left-hand Power Control lever or those on the right-hand console or armrest, as well as on convenient loader joystick controls.

5710 • 100HP

5711 • 110HP

5712 • 120HP

5713 • 130HP

Transmission 16F X 16R Dyna4, clutchless power shuttle, 100lpm hydraulic flow, 5400kg rear lift. The MF 5700 SL Series tractors are designed specifically to provide optimum handling ability with the MF Series loaders. The perfect combination.

MASSEY FERGUSON HAY & FORAGE TOOLS MOWERS, CONDITIONERS, TEDDERS, RAKES, ROUND BALERS, SQUARE BALERS

DM Series Mowers & Conditioners Working widths 2.82m to 3.85m

DM Series Mowers out front Mowers & Conditioners Working widths 3m

TD Series 3 point linkage tedders Working widths 5.2 & 6.6m

TD Series trailing turbo tedders Working widths 7.7m 10.2m

Thames Street, Morrinsville Mike Kitching Glenn Greay Todd Hewitt

07 889 7055

021 735 665 021 862 169 021 945 817

RK Series Mounted Rakes Working widths 3.6 & 4.5m

RK Series trailing 2 & 4 rotor rakes Working widths 5.8m to 12.5m

1840 Coventional Baler (center feed)

RB Series Round Balers RB4160V Patented Constant Pressure System (CPS) Hyrdroflex control (HFC) on drop floor Std with 13 knives Large greasable bearings Variable chamber up to 1.6m

490 Te Ngae Road, Rotorua Mike Rogers Tony Johnston Ian Pilcher

Bale size 356 x 457

2200 Series Large Square Balers Bale size 800 x 900 Bale size 1200 x 900 Bale size 1200 x 1300

07 345 8560

021 998 819 021 349816 021 908 123

Full Range of Quality Farm Machinery I www.piakotractors.co.nz

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 56

Crowd enjoys Crank Up Day Engines spat and hissed while tractors reverberated and many heads went under bonnets at Crank Up Day in Katikati on April 7. Hosted by the Tauranga Vintage Machinery Club on Michael Cooper’s property, this year’s event pulled folk young and old to see the magic of many old engines come alive. Everything from a huge bulldozer

Right: Eden Cave, aged 1, tries out a smaller tractor from Des Farrelly’s collection.

to tractors, water pumps, shearing machines, to log splitting equipment was on show, with a few classic cars added to the mix. Western Bay Museum volunteers were showing event-goers how to braid rope and make butter, TVMC member Des Farrelly took children for tractor rides – and a big crowd put their muscles on the line to try and beat two different tractors in two tug of wars. Photographer Merle Foster captured all the action. Above: Katikati siblings Jackson, Delta and Blake Stevens enjoy a tractor ride around the event.

Above: Tauranga Vintage Machinery Club president Larry Williams and a huge crowd behind him try their luck against a tractor in a fun tug of war.

Above: A crowd of young and old enjoyed Crank Up Day in Katikati. Left: Western Bay Museum volunteers Jocelyn Pannett and Bobbie Gillespie make butter the old-fashioned way.