Coast & Country News - December 2019

Seizing the opportunity December ˜°˛˝ Issue No.˜˙˜

Velvetleaf warning PG 6-7

Matamata dairy farmer Tracy Brown has been leading environmental change in her industry for nearly a decade. She holds many strategic roles within the industry, but she’s about to embark on another assignment – a Nuffield scholarship. To find out what she intends to learn and discover – for the benefit of many – on her overseas travels, see page 3. Photo: Catherine Fry.

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Page 2

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

What a year it has been

Welcome to our December 2019 edition, And well, what a year it has been. Never before has our primary industries witnessed such a demand for better sustainability and environmental outcomes for all operations that use the land.

www.coastandcountrynews.co.nz

The Government’s proposed freshwater policy is on the minds of many. And while agriculture has been taken out of the Emissions Trading Scheme – the five-year joint action plan between industry and the Government means there is still work to be done on this front.

Moreover the demand to ensure our precious resources are being restored and kept healthy for future generations is coming from all corners – from world leaders to our governments, to our consumers – near and far – that we painstakingly produce and sell our products to.

Yes change is in the wind, and it’s forecast to happen quickly, but I think the key takeaway is we have to look at it as an opportunity. That’s what Nuffield scholar and Matamata farmer Tracy Brown intends to do with her new Nuffield scholarship – see page 3.

Gypsum delivers Gold for Kiwi Orchardists

Katikati’s Rick Burke believes most farmers want to get ahead of the game in terms of upcoming legislation and environmental land requirements. He’s part of a Katikati group that believe the way forward is community-led individual catchment projects. Read about Project Parore on pages 4-5.

And many others in the primary industries are working towards achieving lighter footprints forward.

Farmer-turned-biological consultant David Law is part of a group leading a groundbreaking new trial that’s looking to prove synthetic nitrogen could be removed entirely from NZ’s farming system. Read more on this on pages 9 and 38. Columnist Robin Boom presents his take on futureproofing our food-growing ability on page 18. And many farmers attended the NZ Effluent and Environment Expo last month at Mystery Creek, to do their homework before making a considerable financial investment to improve their nutrient management and effluent systems. See pages 20-21.

One could argue those aforementioned are seeing the opportunity and taking it.

We wish all of our readers and advertisers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year – and we hope everyone enjoys some family time and a chance to unwind and step back from life’s everyday pressures.

Merle Foster

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Page 3

Scholar seeks international lessons with change at on-farm level and via strategic roles, Tracy understands both aspects.

She says NZ is already world-leading in climate change and GHG emissions.

But while NZ is making progress, Tracy believes looking outwards – or overseas – will give us more answers on how to move forward.

“I’m really interested in trade, and environmental work and sustainability.

So I want to gain international experience and see our NZ product in the marketplace and see what the emerging issues are for primary sectors around the world, and to see how other industries and countries tackle

environmental issues.” One topic she’s considering is defining sustainability from a trade perspective.

“I’m interested in how sustainability issues will affect trade in future. I’m also interested in how other countries and communities have been through big environmental change in a positive way so that communities are still vibrant and people still have economically-viable businesses – all while reducing their impact on the environment. I might have to look outside of agriculture to do this.”

Read this story in full at: www.coastand countrynews.co.nz

Merle Foster

Tracy Brown on her and husband Wynn’s farm - Tiroroa - near Matamata. Photo: Catherine Fry.

The current climate of rapid change in our primary industries needs to be taken up as an opportunity to position ourselves globally, rather than resisted, according to Matamata dairy farmer Tracy Brown.

And she herself is doing just that, with the newlyannounced 2020 Nuffield scholar – one of five announced at Parliament in early-November – planning to use her latest opportunity to gain insight into the policies and processes other countries are using to create positive environmental change.

“While I’ve been active in the New Zealand environmental space, this experience will enable me to gain the international networks and experience that will add to my effectiveness in the roles I have or will have in future,” says Tracy, who has been leading environmental change in dairying for near a decade.

She began her career 20-plus years ago, completing an agricultural science degree at Massey University then working for the NZ Meat & Wool Board’s Economic Service as an agri-economist.

She’s been dairy-farming with husband Wynn for 25 years and today is a director/shareholder of Tiroroa Farms Ltd, a 700-cow dairy farm near Matamata.

She’s also a multi environmental award-winner, chair of DairyNZ’s Dairy Environment Leaders Forum and Ballance Farm Environment Awards Alumni and a member of the Dairy Environment Leadership Group that oversees the Water Accord.

And she was recently appointed by Cabinet to the Essential Freshwater Independent Advisory Panel and elected by farmers to the DairyNZ board. “We are going through a really intense period in the dairy industry where there is a lot of uncertainty. But it’s also a time of opportunity as well. If we, as a country,

get this right – if we align our actions on-farm with a greater vision around a national food strategy, make things work in a way that we can continue to produce food while lowering our environmental footprint and maintaining profitability, we’ll also give hope to other countries around the world. People are looking to connect with a better way of doing things, they’re wanting to make good choices for the planet and they can do that by buying our food.” “[And] If we are at the forefront of changing consumer preferences hopefully this will add value and increase demand for our produce,” says Tracy.

Her and Wynn didn’t have a wake-up moment that jolted them into embracing sustainability practices, they’ve just farmed with the environment in mind since they began at Tiroroa. “I think it’s embedded in the way we are and the way we operate. It’s been a progression over 25 years of understanding and growing our knowledge and realising that we were on the right track – and what we felt was the right thing to do was in fact the right thing to do.

“As when we started off farming ‘sustainability’ wasn’t even a word used, now it is often over-used.”

The start of Tracy’s journey to her high-profile roles of today began when her and Wynn won a habitat enhancement award in 2001’s Ballance Farm Environment awards for a particular wetland habitat on their farm. “Following our Waikato Supreme Award I became involved in the Waikato BFEAs. It was at the height of dirty dairying, many people were anti-dairy and we were the only real dairy finalist at the National Sustainability Showcase.

“So we thought ‘what can we do to try and improve the industry’s image and also try to support other dairy farmers to farm in a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly way?’”

Various opportunities came up for Tracy to contribute off-farm. Now, having been involved

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The way forward With water quality, environmental health and sustainability of rural land increasingly under the spotlight, a Katikati group say the way forward is community-led individual catchment projects.

The pilot of a future blueprint is happening in the Western Bay of Plenty, which grew out of a Katikati sheep and beef farming family’s environmental work on their own land on Lund Rd. Project Parore is a community approach where everyone – farmers included – are doing their bit to improve the environmental and ecological status of their Te Mania catchment.

Managed by a group under the Uretara Estuary Managers Group umbrella, the project is being designed to serve as a template for fellow BOP catchments feeding the Tauranga Moana.

Rick Burke with his father-in-law Derry Seddon began the journey of redesigning Pukekauri Farms, a 350ha hill country property, in 1996.

Current UEM president Lawrie Donald knocked on Rick’s door not long after with a Farm Environmental Plan.

“We’d just bought a neighbouring farm,” says Rick. “And Lawrie said to me and Derry: ‘Hey guys, you’ve got a good chance to do some pretty neat stuff environmentally on your farm, so we took a blank canvas approach.”

Since then Rick has fenced off streams and created wide corridor riparian strips; reticulated the farm’s stock water; taken steeper country out of farming altogether; and planted 50ha in both native and exotic trees.

“This catchment had a real issue with sediment coming out of hill country,” says Rick. “There was no water reticulation, everything was fenced to the rivers. Stock relied on stream water, and I guess it was a mess,” says Rick. “The health of the streams wasn’t good.”

Rick’s main focus was mitigating against sediment loss and e.coli associated with stock in streams, and improving catchment biodiversity. “But it was also looking at the opportunities in terms of profitability on the grazing platform.”

This is crucial, says Rick, who believes while

Pictured when water monitoring started nearly two years ago at Pukekauri Farm, local entomologist Peter Maddison and farmer Rick Burke look at the in-stream health assessment of Te Mania.

BEFORE: A photo taken of Rick Burke on his farm in pre-1996.

AFTER: A more recent shot of the same area, with Rick again, in 2018. undertaking environmental work is invaluable – doing so must also ensure financial viability and positive outcomes for land use operations, such as farming. In 2014 Pukekauri Farm won the BOP Supreme Ballance Farm Environment Award.

Natural capital approach

Through his FEP, Rick took a natural capital approach – using the Land Use Capability classification system to split the property into land classes from 1-7.

“With LUC, once you get your head around what you want to achieve, it’s a really powerful tool for optimising land use,” says Rick.

Lawrie says the key is to treat your farm as an asset and analyse which part is the best place to spend money.

“You’ve got ask: Where can I spend $1 and get $2 back?

“In the past many people have bought a hill country farm and raced out and cleared scrub and gorse at the back – just to give themselves more grass – but productivity of the rest of the farm is not good anyway. So you really should concentrate on your best piece of ground first and build that up.

“Once that stops returning for every dollar you spend, you move on to other bits. That’s the mindset.”

Rick says Pukekauri Farms has focused on the “good bits of land” and

getting good farm systems going. “And it’s shown a huge return – we’re talking 35-40 per cent return on capital spend – if you get the formula right.”

After Derry passed away in 2015, Rick’s brother John came on-board as a partner and has continued Derry’s focus on the environment.

In 2017 John, Lawrie, Rick and a wider group said: ‘Hey if we can do this on this farm, why can’t we do it for the whole catchment?’” Project Parore was born.

Lawrie says the whole-catchment approach has been around since the 1970s and has recently come back in favour. “People just weren’t interested in this before. But the thrust that’s coming through from politicians, from everything from pest management to freshwater quality, recently has really pushed it.”

Rick says now is the ideal time for communities and farmers alike to take on a whole-catchment approach.

“There are tensions out there about freshwater with Kiwis calling farmers out about freshwater, part of that is social licence to farm.

“And we know regulations are coming from government, so we as farmers want to get ahead of the game. It has all come to a head now, so farmers are thinking: ‘This is real – so let’s get on and do it’.” ...continued

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Working together to improve catchments

continued...

Rick Burke, Lawrie Donald, and John Buke at Pukekauri Farm on Lund Rd, Katikati.

John says in 2017 a small group – Lawrie, himself, BOPRC land management officer Braden Rowson, and Katikati residents ex-Forest & Bird chair and entomologist Peter Maddison and Karen Smillie – got together.

Project plan

They put together a project plan, setting milestones and baseline measurements for Project Parore, and introduced it to the community in February 2019.

The aim is to achieve community-led ecological restoration and water quality improvement of Te Mania Catchment, with two main pressures being water quality and biodiversity/habitat loss.

Project Parore is named after the native herbivore fish, which previously abundant in Tauranga Harbour has seen habitat degradation lead to its decline. Increased numbers of this specie would signal the project’s success, say the group.

The catchment is 1300ha of small but steep land, which is versatile but has erosion-prone volcanic soils, with 28km of stream margins and 1.7km of harbour margin.

According to the group, 19 per cent of the catchment’s private land is protected – and land use is diverse from commercial to residential and recreational, with a very mixed primary sector.

Already the group has individual landowners taking their own actions towards environmental restoration; a Lund Road Care Group tackles pest control; a catchment-wide synoptic survey monitors stream health; and Ngai Tamawhariua hapu is the project kaitiaki.

And – in a NZ-first – four industry support groups – Beef+Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, Zespri and NZ Avocado – have signed a MOU to support the project.

The project will have workshops for four user groups – commercial farming; lifestyle and rural residential; rural industrial; and reactional – to consider strategies and action plans to address issues.

A key component will be creating a support team to coordinate development and implementation of action plans, says Rick. And the approach will focus on practical actions and regenerative management practices that landowners can apply to improve environment outcomes on their properties.

Recently, Project Parore was officially launched to the Katikati community, with those leading it reporting on consultation they’d undertaken and presenting the plan for the future.

“This was about saying thanks for the feedback we received and sharing our final aspirations for the project and the journey,” says John.

“In reality, the journey has already started. We’ve already got farmers down the catchment now that are undertaking work.

Scaled up

Rick Burke and UEM president Lawrie Donald conduct an in-stream health assessment of the Te Mania.

“Now we have to identify priority areas within the catchment and assist those landowners – whether they be farmers, orchardists our rural lifestylers – to do what they need to do to improve that area of the catchment,” says John.

They also want to get more community involvement – for example, schools taking on nurseries or land strips, and retirees lending a hand to weed and animal pest management.

And with 17 catchments feeding into Tauranga Moana, the group believe the work being done in their catchment could be replicated across the others.

“What we intend out of this is it will be scaled up pretty quickly,” says John, who with Rick is speaking at numerous events to encourage farmers to realise the power of this community-led approach.

For more information on Project Parore, email: karen.smillie@live.com Merle Foster

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Council encourages Despite its rather pretty name, there is nothing desirable about the weed velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti, commonly known as Velvetleaf.

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) out in the field.

This member of the mallow family is notoriously hard to destroy, and if left to spread will have devastating consequences on New Zealand’s arable farming industry, according to AgResearch senior scientist Trevor James.

He’s heading the Velvetleaf Action Group, which was formed in July 2018 using a $579,000 grant from The Sustainable Farming Fund, to complete three years of research.

Velvetleaf is fast-growing, and can quickly overshadow crops – some of which can’t tolerate a late herbicide application, says Trevor.

“Each plant can produce 20,000 seeds, which survive passing through animals, and can lay dormant in soil for more than 50 years,” says Trevor.

His team has adopted a two-pronged approach for understanding the plant.

“Firstly, we are growing plants in secure, contained areas at five locations across the country,” says Trevor.

This will determine, among other works with farmers to implement things, how far south it can grow a Farm Management Plan on and its tolerance to drought. infected farms. Currently, there are “Secondly, we are looking at 53 infected farms in the Waikato alternative crops, such as cereals, and one in the Bay of Plenty. where late herbicides can be used, and “If nothing is done and the plant it’s easier to find plants that have been establishes in New Zealand, we are missed,” says Trevor. looking at a 30 per cent loss to the arable AgResearch senior industry, and we will be unable to grow scientist Trevor James. maize on these farms,” says Darion.

Council on board Velvetleaf has been declared a pest plant “Once the land is infected, it can no in Waikato Regional Council’s Pest Management Plan, longer grow maize, and other uses must be found for giving the council power to direct and manage it. it, along with continued monitoring for velvetleaf,” WRC team leader for pest plants, Darion Embling, says Darion. ...continued

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farmers to be their eyes in the field continued...

Farmers are advised to check crops early, pre-Christmas, and adopt pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicide spraying.

Darion says maize is the biggest risk to velvetleaf establishing – because if not caught early enough, when the crop is young and low, it can grow to maturity hidden in 3m high maize, flower and go to seed.

It can then be passed from farm-tofarm on machinery used to cut maize, or travel in maize silage sold to other farms.

“We have had a very good response from most farmers, and some very positive results,” says Darion.

“Each farmer is responsible for reporting velvetleaf on their farm, and procedures for cleaning machinery that enters and leaves their farm are paramount.”

Darion hopes the Waikato infestation Waikato Regional Council’s team leader for pest plants Darion Embling.

has been contained. And he says a robust forward tracing system is in place, with a farm confirmed as having velvetleaf sees farms that received maize silage from it, or were visited by the contractor’s machinery next, are monitored.

Mike says many preventative steps can be taken on-farm that will not only deter velvetleaf from establishing, but also other invasive weeds.

Particular attention can be paid to the headlands where machinery has turned the most. “I recommend that all sidelands and headlands are sprayed with a pre-emergent herbicide including the active ingredient saflufenacil (Sharpen).

“Later, the headlands should be sprayed with postemergent herbicide including the active ingredient topromezone (Arietta),” says Mike.

Bringing in experience

Consultant agronomist, with previous roles at the Foundation of Arable Research, Mike Parker, has more than 40 years’ hands-on industry experience.

He’s been contracted to WRC to work with farmers and carry out farm inspections at identified at risk properties.

“I pay particular attention to around the cowsheds, silage stacks, gateways, sidelands and headlands of the maize paddocks,” says Mike.

Plants are pulled by hand, unless they have already formed seed heads.

These are carefully covered in plastic bags and contained before pulling. Plants are incinerated to destroy seeds.

Slattery, who is Waikato-based, is RCNZ’s lead on combatting velvetleaf.

“Our members travel from farm-to-farm so we’re working closely with the Ministry for Primary Industries, Federated Farmers and councils to maintain our ‘Keep it Clean’ machinery hygiene guidelines. We all need to work together to combat this pest.”

Images of unidentified plants can be sent to Waikato Regional Council, Foundation of Arable Research or AgResearch for formal identification.

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Weed management practices

He also suggests when farmers spray out grass paddocks, they leave a half-metre buffer at the fenceline and let the grass take over, eliminating bare land that will not be planted, and be open for weeds to establish.

“It’s the little details in weed management practices that can make a huge difference. We need to take biosecurity much more seriously,” says Mike.

Trevor says they need people to be really astute, for contractors to be trained “and for farmers to be our eyes”.

Rural Contractors New Zealand vice president Helen

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) flowers and leaves.

More biosecurity officers and dog teams on the ground An extra 51 quarantine officers and four new biosecurity detector dog teams will help protect New Zealand from invasive pests and diseases this summer, with our Biosecurity Minister saying it’s become clear further investment in biosecurity is needed as our global trade and tourist numbers increase.

“NZ’s flora, fauna and livestock are the foundations of our primary sector, rural communities and economy. Recent biosecurity outbreaks have shown the need to strengthen NZ’s protections against pests and disease,” says Damien O’Connor.

As a result he says his government has invested $21.6 million on top of $880 million they’ve committed during 10 years to eradicate M.bovis, $21 million to tackle Wilding Conifers and $6.8 million for response activities to eliminate fruit flies in Auckland to date.

Damien says in recent years NZ has experienced some of the busiest biosecurity summers on record. “We’re expecting another huge influx of international travellers this summer.

These new officers will give us more biosecurity protection at airports and ports. They will also bolster our defences for mail and cargo.

“And these additional frontline staff are part of our plan to make sure the exotic pests and diseases that could devastate our economy and wildlife have less chance of making it here in the first place, giving growers and farmers greater certainty about the health of their crops and animals.”

Biosecurity NZ recruited 101 new officers in 2019 – the first 50 graduated from training in August, and 15 new detector dog teams have also been trained.

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Trial to prove synthetic nitrogen not needed Just 21 days into a trial that is looking to prove synthetic nitrogen could be removed entirely from New Zealand’s farming system, significant results and early interest have encouraged its organisers.

The Total Replacement Therapy programme, implemented on Whakatane dairy farmer Alan Law’s farm, is a unique process that gets clover fixing nitrogen naturally – the way it used to happen – so synthetic nitrogen can be switched off and replaced with the natural biological process.

Spearheaded by biological farming consultant David Law, the ground-breaking TRT process is the result of a team of international specialists combining their expertise in soil biology, chemistry, agronomy and animal nutrition.

“Only 21 days into our first on-farm trial, we are seeing exciting changes occur,” says Alan Law. “Clover growth has increased dramatically, and we’ve started to see the pink colour that is present on clover root nodules when clover is fixing nitrogen naturally.

“The results will give us confidence and produce firm evidence that farmers can grow more grass with less synthetic nitrogen, at a lower cost.”

Alan says it’s an idea that may intimidate farmers, many of whom have high debt levels and are hesitant to make drastic changes to their farm system.

available that will prove farmers can survive without synthetic nitrogen, and grow more grass at a lower cost as a result, according to trial organisers.

Unsure of how

Trying something new

“Farmers can’t afford to take any risks with loss of production or feed,” says Alan.

“They may want to farm differently but are unsure what to do, when to do it, or how to do it.”

The Law family currently milks 850 cows on three farms, which includes land the family has farmed for 100 years.

“We feel a lot of pride and responsibility to look after the land, and with two sons sharemilking in the enterprise it will go to the next generation as well,” says Alan.

He bought his first farm in 1980 and has always farmed conventionally, using chemical fertilisers.

However, during the last few years he’s started making changes that will allow the family to farm more sustainably.

“Wendy and I are committed, loyal and proactive dairy farmers; you’ve got to keep your eyes open to new ways of doing things,” says Alan.

“We’ve cut our stocking rate back by 20 per cent on one farm, and for the last eight months we’ve voluntarily reduced our nitrogen use by 33 per cent. That led nicely into this change of system.”

Before agreeing to the trial, Alan stipulated that the transition period must not have any negative impact on the amount of pasture grown on-farm, or any negative financial impacts to the business.

The new programme also had to be in line with the farm’s average fertiliser spend.

In addition, every measurement relevant to government regulations going forward was to be monitored including greenhouse gas emission, water pollution, and carbon sequestering, as well as comprehensive pasture composition, worm population and soil structure measuring and testing.

By autumn 2020 there will be comprehensive data

A BOPRC meeting in mid-November was followed up by an on-farm discussion where interested farmers saw early trial results first-hand.

Forward Farming’s Gerry Strange and dairy farmer Alan Law, measuring trial results on Alan’s farm.

The wider team behind the trial – Forward Farming Biological Consultancy, Kiwi Fertiliser, Terragen Biotech and Full Circle Nutrition – presented their position to a number of Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff and farmers at a council-hosted meeting in mid-November.

Australian agronomist and animal nutritionist Peter Norwood presented the science behind their approach to around 30 attendees.

The meeting was followed up by an on-farm discussion where interested farmers saw early trial results first-hand.

For many years, farmers have been victims of an “addiction to nitrogen,” according to David Law. “When facing a feed shortage, the first thing they do is turn to synthetic nitrogen.”

However, Alan has had the confidence to try something new; not only for himself, but to become an example of catchment management for other farmers in the area and throughout the country.

Farmers interested in reducing the amount of synthetic nitrogen they use on-farm, and those interested in becoming part of the trial, are invited to contact the Forward Farming team.

• • • • •

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Forestry ‘not a threat’

With farmers becoming more concerned – enough to march on Parliament in midNovember – about increasing afforestation of productive farmland, often by overseas owners, the Government’s Agricultural Minister Damien O’Connor wants to set the record straight. Here is his opinion on the issue.

There’s some agitation out there at the moment about farming being under threat from forestry.

Much of what’s circulating is based on misinformation, so it’s time to lay out the facts.

We have 12.1m hectares of farmland in this country and 1.7m hectares of forestry. Under the One Billion Trees target the amount of forestry land would increase to 2 million hectares by 2028 and help us meet our climate change objectives. We had 2 million hectares of forest land in 2002, this would be a gradual redistribution that brings us back to that.

There is no Government policy that encourages high-value pastoral land to be planted in pine trees and there is no evidence of this happening.

Special benefits test

The latest Overseas Investment Office statistics show about 8800ha of farmland has been converted to forestry under the new special benefits test – that’s one-thousandth of New Zealand’s total sheep and beef land.

The Government is not subsiding whole farm conversions or allowing foreign carbon speculators to buy up farms and plant permanent forests for carbon credits. The streamlined rules for offshore investors only apply to production

Page 11

Waikato Mayoral Forum has new chair

Allan Sanson has been elected chair of the Waikato Mayoral Forum, which includes mayors and the regional council chair.

Two were nominated for the forum’s top job during a meeting in Hamilton in late-November – Waikato district’s

Allan Sanson and Hauraki’s mayoral newcomer Toby Adams.

Allan won the vote 5-3, with members acknowledging that he’s the longestserving mayor in the region and has previously held the chair’s role. Toby was elected unopposed as deputy chair.

SEE DEMO VIDEO ONLINE

Agricultural Minister Damien O’Connor says there is no Government policy that encourages high-value pastoral land to be planted in pine trees and there is no evidence of this happening. forests so talk that the rules are being gamed by offshore carbon speculators is wrong.

The purpose of the One Billion Trees Fund is to help farmers integrate trees onto their properties, which helps diversify their incomes while improving environmental outcomes.

Native trees

We want the ‘right tree in the right place, for the right purpose’.

The Government provides higher grant rates for native species over pine. Two-thirds of the trees established through the OBT Fund will be natives.

Despite what some might say, the Government doesn’t “hate” farmers and we’re not interested in destroying rural communities.

This Government is extremely proud of the ongoing high performance of our primary sector and we’re backing farming for the long term. We’re committed to working alongside farmers to get more value for what they do and step away from a volume-focussed approach that the last Government pushed.

We’re investing in the future of farming in this country. The $229 million sustainable land use Budget package is being used to boost farm extension and advisory services.

We’re working with and for farmers as shown by our recent agreement on agricultural emissions, our just-released skills work plan developed with the sector to attract the workers it requires, our $40 million of funding for projects to reduce emissions and improve farm practice, our efforts to eradicate Mycoplasma Bovis and our support of farm catchment groups to do the work they need to improve water quality and sustainability.

Balance

We need a balance of farming and forestry to meet our longterm challenges and we all need to support our thriving primary sector.

Damien O'Connor is the Minister of Agriculture, Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth, and Minister for Biosecurity, Food Safety and Rural Communities.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 13

Gates open to sheep milking industry Attendees at Maui Milk’s Open Day at Waikino Station didn’t just experience sheep milking first-hand, they heard of the opportunity and a suggested framework to be pioneers and convert to an ovine dairy operation themselves.

Waikino Station, which overlooks Lake Taupo, opened its gates on November 5 to potential sheep dairy farmers to see the operation in full swing and hear about the current programme direct from the Maui Milk team.

Everything from the finer points of milk production to genetics and breeding were covered.

But the day began with sheep milked in the station’s 64-bail shed under the watchful eye of onlookers from two viewing platforms.

Maui Milk chairman Paul McGilvary welcomed everyone to the site then general manager Peter Gatley gave some background on the operation. “This is predominantly a genetic programme.

We invest in imported semen and embryos, laparoscopic Artificial Maui Milk general Insemination, DNA parentage manager Peter Gatley. testing, electronic milk meters and data analysis. We do this so that commercial farmers don’t have to. The biggest influence on genetic merit will be their source of sires, and those rams are what we will supply.

“The aim is to have lambs increasing in weight by 200g daily.

This might not sound like much, but the goal is to get them weaned at 16kg, to be 50kg for mating and reach their first milking at 60kg, after lambing, in this cycle.”

In terms of grazing, Peter says they’ve Maui Milk chairman had a lot of success with lucerne Paul McGilvary. aiding their achievement of the target weights. “We do supplement lambs with pellets but the only hard feed during lactation is whole grain maize in feed buckets during milking.”

As with many Taupo-based farming operations, Peter says the balancing act of keeping within nitrogen levels was a challenge, but one well-addressed by the team.

Being so close the lake, cattle are used sparingly, and only to control pasture off the milking platform.

Geneticist Jake Chardon provided detail on genetic make-up of the lambs. “We bring in 2500 straws from French progeny-tested Lacaune sires each year.” This helps the team continue breeding lambs to the best milking potential, while improving other areas such as temperament and udder conformation.

ha would be $7560. Then Danone’s Leon Fung described his company’s relationship with Maui Milk, saying his team is keen to see the operation grow, naming the Waikino Station and any possible converters from here as “pioneers”.

A Q+A followed, focused on queries about grazing, genetics and whether

The Waikino Station milking shed is a 64-bail rotary with covered yards.

All photos: Matt Mortimer.

Jake also talked of Maui Milk’s journey to creating the Southern Cross breed by combining Lacaune, East Fresian, Coopworth and Awassi breeds – thought to be a world-first for sheep genetics.

“We’re delighted to have the Southern Cross officially recognised as a new breed by the NZ Sheep Breeders Association.”

Peter gave a rundown on conversion options, and what the team would consider from those keen to join Maui Milk as suppliers. He believes with many smaller dairy operations in the Waikato, there’s plenty of scope for conversions. Criteria includes location – the closer to Hamilton the better. Peter says ewes and rams are available and the preference was “for participants to have the ability to milk 700 ewes at a minimum”.

For ewes producing 300L at $3, this is $900 milk income per head – and with 15 animals per ha, equates to $13,500.

The comparative assumption presented was cows producing 400kgMS at $7 give a milk income per head of $2800. But with 2.7 animals per ha – the milk income per

a share float will happen – which the Maui Milk team says isn’t on the horizon. With the opportunity outlined, now it’s just a matter of who will throw their hat in the ring to take on the challenge. Peter says the first signings had taken place and several new suppliers are expected to be in operation Matt Mortimer by spring 2020.

Page 14

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

4WDs & ATVs

The manual making farm safety easy

Page 15

4X4 Trials to resume next month A fun day out for the whole family watching extreme 4X4 competition vehicles going head-to-head is returning next month, as Round 2 New Zealand Four Wheel Drive Association’s National 4X4 Trials rev back up on January 25.

Round 3 of the six-round competition is on January 26, with Round 4 on February 22, and Round 5 on March 14 and Round 6 on April 18.

The competition has several categories of vehicle modification levels that compete over the same hazards and are defined as ‘Classes’ in the competition rule book. Teams compete on a number of hazards with the aim to get as far

through the course without stopping or touching a hazard marker peg.

Each hazard is designed to challenge the driver, navigator and their 4X4 to the limit and often only a few teams manage to complete a hazard.

Teams that make it through the full course get a score of zero, with incremental points assigned to each set of marker pegs back to the start pegs, which are assigned 100 points. At the end of the event, the team with the least points wins.

“It’s a sport of finesse and precision and a true test of man and machine.”

To get involved, or to attend an event, see: www.nz4x4trials.co.nz

Liz Voorend, owner of Workable Farm Safety.

Liz Voorend decided to put her knowledge of farming and the law to good use and start her own company to assist farmers in navigating around the requirements for health and safety on the farm.

“I grew up on a farm and still do relief milkings at the weekends. I also studied law, and when talking to farmers realised that being busy people they didn’t have time to read pages of type written rules and regulations.

“So I decided to do the research for them, use the relevant information they required for farm safety and put it into an easy-to-decipher folder,” says Liz Voorend, who owns Workable Farm Safety.

Liz enjoys doing research so has no trouble sorting out the relevant information about health and safety, condensing it down and putting it in a language that is

easily understood.

“I put it in a template form, in a quality covered folder, so it stays clean, with different colours so it’s easy to read.

“I can sit down with the farmer and go through the manual so they know what’s expected for safety on the farm. It helps break down barriers between the farmer and the employee.

“Farmers have a lot of knowledge, so I always ask for their feedback and I’m always open to suggestions for improving the manual,” says Liz. She can also provide farm hazard maps, for visitors and contractors who come on-farm. The service is reasonably priced, and her clients so far have valued her practical approach to a complex subject.

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4WDs & ATVs

4WDs & ATVs

Page 17

CPD subsidy for quads still on offer Nearly six months since launching a workplace subsidy to help pay for a Crush Protection Device for quad bikes at work, ACC has revealed 129 Quadbars and 39 Lifeguard CPDs have been purchased using the scheme.

And another 84 customers are currently in the process of purchasing their CPDs and completing their application, according to an ACC spokesman, who says ACC is encouraging more businesses to take advantage of this offer to reduce the risk of injury or death at work.

The subsidy scheme was launched at Fieldays in June in a bid lower the statistics of fatality and injury involving quad bikes at rural Kiwi workplaces.

The announcement also came shortly after Worksafe NZ made

a policy clarification that it now strongly recommends a crush CPD be installed on all quad bikes used for work.

“Since the launch of the subsidy in June this year, sales of CPDs have grown 286 per cent compared with the same time period last year,” says the ACC spokesman.

“However, we’re aware many farmers still don’t know that ACC can help cover the cost, and we’d like to see a greater uptake of this subsidy.

“The devices we subsidise – the LifeGuard and Quadbar – are strongly recommended by WorkSafe and have been designed to withstand a quad rollover, providing greater safety to the rider, while having a limited effect on the performance of the vehicle itself.”

According to ACC, each year quad bikes are a major cause of death and serious injury with many incidents associated with accidental rollovers.

“On average each year five people die, and ACC receives more than 1000 claims for work-related quad bikes accidents, costing $12 million.”

Currently, Worksafe says the use of CPDs will not be enforced – although discussions on the potentially life-saving devices will be taken up by WorkSafe staff when visiting farms and other workplaces across the country as a part of their assessments activity.

And ACC says if WorkSafe changes their recommendations to include new CPDs in the future “we will review our subsidy and update the list of eligible CPDs”.

The subsidy offer is $180 per CPD with a maximum of two CPD purchases per business, and is targeted at self-employed and small to medium businesses in sub-sectors at the highest injury rate, which includes beef, sheep and dairy farming.

“This is approximately 15-30 per cent cost discount, depending on what product is chosen.”

The subsidy is currently available until June 2020. To find out more information about the CPD subsidy scheme, visit: https://www.acc.co.nz/

for-business/workplace-health-safety/ helping-to-buy-crush-protectiondevices-for-quad-bikes-at-work/

Merle Foster

Futureproofing our food-growing ability Food production worldwide has grown by and large on a par with the increase in human population due to implementation of modern agricultural practices, some of which have been environmentally destructive, and there is more and more pressure for farmers and growers to work their land more sustainably.

Robin Boom

CPAg MBSPC

Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant

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For the last 50 years New Zealand primary food production has been a kind of laissez faire industry, which has evolved to survive in the international marketplace unassisted by any government subsidies, competing in marketplaces where local tariffs disadvantage our products. The world has been awash with cheap food produced by large-scale factory farms, often heavily subsidised, as governments are loathed to see their citizens going hungry because food was too expensive for their citizens to buy.

Increased public pressure

There is increased public pressure for food to be produced sustainably with minimal environmental impact on waterways and with lower greenhouse gas emissions. With the world human population expected to be approaching 10 billion by 2050, being able to feed everybody while reducing environmental degradation is going to be problematic. If what climate change doomsayers are predicting is right, and the world gets two or three degrees warmer than now, sea levels rise significantly and there are sustained continental and intercontinental droughts, causing food and crop production, providing nutritious food for everybody could become severely challenging. Freshwater will be an ever-diminishing commodity, and many of the river deltas around the globe currently used for crop production such as the Mekong River delta in China and Ganges River delta in India/Bangladesh, where much of the world’s rice production occurs, will be salted by rising tidal surges, causing salinity issues.

Irrigation water in some countries currently relying

on it will either dry up or become too saline for crops to grow. The result will be desertification of agricultural land on a grand scale.

Maritime climate

Because of our maritime climate, NZ will be somewhat immune to prolonged droughts. Although with warmer temperatures, subtropical crop production will become more common in certain areas and we may see fruit such as pineapples, bananas and crops such as sugar cane being grown.

New Zealand should be part of the solution for feeding a hungry world, but with the barrage of environmental compliance rules encroaching upon us, the potential for producing food is in danger of being hampered. For instance, if we consider irrigation, currently more than 98 per cent of our freshwater from rainfall and snow melt, going into our lakes and rivers, and eventually flow into the ocean. We are blessed with abundant amounts of water coming off our mountains and hills, which if it can be stored will help futureproof food production in dry periods. Proposed irrigation schemes however are becoming more difficult to get over the line as government and regional councils acquiesce to pressure from environmentalists with concerns about nutrient enrichment of waterways and groundwater, particularly from nitrogen.

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Nitrogen caps

Nitrogen caps in various regions based on Nitrogen Reference Points produced by the Overseer model

could limit further intensification and dairy farmers and vegetable growers in particular could be forced to accept lower yields as a consequence of reduced fertiliser inputs. And expanding into environmentallysensitive catchments, even when the climate and soils are suitable for intensive horticulture, will become difficult. If new irrigation schemes were given a green light, pressure will be on for the land to be used for crops or livestock with the lowest environmental footprint, or to embrace what some call regenerative farming or restorative farming techniques.

Fruit tree and vine crops with dripfed irrigation are likely to become more common as their environmental footprint is lower than vegetable growing and intensive livestock operations.

One thing that seems certain is that there are going to be big changes in the way land is managed here in NZ; and with increased regulation, costs of production are likely to go up.

While the public is baying for greater environmental compliance, less food production will increase demand, and hopefully farmers and growers will receive a fairer price from what consumers are prepared to pay. How all of these dynamics will play out in the next 30 years will be interesting, as the way to increase food production to feed an extra three billion people on our planet is not to hamstring the productive capacity of good soils with burdensome regulatory compliance in my opinion.

Robin Boom, CPAg, member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists.

FERTILISER

Nitrogen research was waste of money About eight years ago MAF, Fonterra and the fertiliser co-ops started wasting $10m on nitrogen research.

I don’t know how far they got, but if it needs mitigating, nothing has changed.

This approach is attempting to preserve the status quo and as such is irresponsible. A quick look at urea history shows us why business as usual is important.

In 1979 the first shipment brought 16,000 tonnes into NZ. In 2016, it was 560,000 tonnes imported, and 260,000 tonnes manufactured locally.

That’s 820,000 tonnes. Now that’s a $39m business to be protected!

Now 2008 was a drought year, but a farm (NR) I was supervising increased production by six per cent.

We used 9kg/ha N. Most droughtaffected farms and a BOP Focus Farm decreased production by 15 per cent.

No quality

The BOPFF’s N usage was 191kg/ ha. That is 21 times as much and for what? Grass growth was very similar with 12,900kg/ha on BOPFF and 12,400 on NR. In 2009, NR was up a further 12 per cent; N was 36 units. The BOPFF was down eight per cent with 235 units of N. Pasture analysis N for NR in 2009 averaged 4.6 per cent. So, what is the big deal about applying nitrogen? When N is applied, farmers sees a visual difference, but that does not translate to quality. The cows need to eat more, but they can’t eat enough.

Not to mention digestion problems as reduced cud chewing allows undigested

grass to pass through their stomach’s system. The increase in growth lasts for two grazing rounds, then there are two rounds with decreased growth. Nitrogen carries other nutrients out of the soil.

Free nitrogen

There are 74,000 tonnes of free nitrogen above every hectare. Most farmers miss out on this resource because their soillife cannot capture it. To access this N, conditions apply. Appropriate calcium and magnesium percentage; available phosphorus and iron; cobalt and molybdenum.

It does not pay to turn the tap off, but gradual reduction works fine. Most (not all) dairy farms have too little Ca and Mg; too much P, adequate Fe; too little Co and plenty of Mo. Some of these nutrients are being applied direct to the animals and pastures.

That short circuits the natural systems and costs more in the long run with a never-ending list of animal health and reproduction problems. To capitalise on free N, get a PAL soil test through a Kiwi Fertiliser representative. They are competent biological and soil fertility consultants expertly trained by Neal Kinsey and others.

Soil carbon

Nitrogen can be sprayed on with buffering substances, usually fulvic acid. A carbon source such as biochar accompanies any solid fertiliser including nitrogen. If N is applied without C, bacteria, that have a C:N ratio of 5:1, have no choice but to consume soil organic matter to maintain that balance. Research shows that every kg of excess N causes the loss of 100kg of soil carbon.

Nitrate pollution of water, milk, land, pasture, animals and humans are symptoms of a degraded environment.

When are we going to stop doing what what’s not working and apply some simple common sense that really works?

Please remember, our nitrogen balance relative to production is the worst of any OECD country. Identify what drives profit; not production.

Page 19

Page 20

EFFLUENT EXPO FOLLOWUP

Expo offers ideas galore!

Every type of service, equipment and professional advice was at farmers’ fingertips at 2019’s NZ Effluent and Environmental Expo.

From effluent bladders, in-ground and aboveground storage tanks, solids separators, pond liners, weeping walls, yard-cleaners to muck spreaders, to pumps, irrigation set-ups, water tanks to earthworks, electrical services, water testing, machinery and engineering specialists, to scientific expertise and data analysis and much much more.

John Taylor of Invercargill with his velvetleaf detector dog ‘Rusty’ enjoying the expo.

It was all on show at 2019’s NZ Effluent & Environment Expo – and more importantly the products and services and professionals behind them were all at farmers’ fingertips, to aid them in tailoring their own effluent and environment solutions for their individual farm situation and budget.

Yes, it was two days’ of talking crap – but with farm effluent and environment projects usually requiring considerable financial investment, attendee feedback was the event was certainly worth it! Coast & Country News caught some of the action on day one.

Some of the machinery for attendees to get an up-close look at.

EFFLUENT EXPO FOLLOWUP

Page 21

Above: The TechniPharm site’s blow-up cow was very eye-catching.

Left: Rural Support Trust coordinator Wanda Leadbeater and helper Pauline McLeod ready to talk to farmers about their stress levels in the current farming climate.

Fonterra’s Lee Framp and Kiriana Keeys, and Wildlands’ Mya Gaby, ready to talk to farmers.

Waikato Milking Systems’ flood pump was positioned next to their stand, offering effluent and environmental farm solutions.

Flexi Tanks NZ had their range of flexible liquid bladder tanks on display.

New business AquaK NZ Ltd’s Chetan Thapar and Bruce Flowerday at their stand.

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 22

An extraordinary garden

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and expand in future if needed.

It’s a play on an ordinary colourful garden. We wanted to create a place that made people happy.”

One of her favourite sights is the large glass tulips, which are “planted” en masse.

“They are huge and are a really vibrant colour. They only occupy a small area of the garden, but they have big visual impact.”

Like a traditional garden, the sculpture garden is always changing and a new sculpture is added annually. It also has many rooms that get makeovers to keep to things interesting for visitors.

The glass sculptures are surprisingly robust and stand up to the elements very well with the region’s cold frosts and summer heat causing no damage, says Christine. “They need little maintenance and a wash with warm soapy water – just like your windows at home – keeps them looking their best.”

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NZ’s rugged landscape. A layering technique where strands of liquid glass are controlled to create pieces that evoke the look and feel of sunsets, volcanos, tidal mudflats and other aspects of the natural environment produce some of Lynden’s most recognised pieces.

The garden includes a gentle waterfall cascading over layers of coloured glass, glass flowers and plants, and some of NZ’s largest pieces of handblown glass.

Sculptures sit amongst native plantings, mature trees and natural hard landscaping – and, the living part of garden was created from a bare paddock by the couple.

The garden was awarded a ‘garden of significance’ status by the National Garden Trust in 2018.

Christine and Lynden came up with the idea to make the lava glass studio more of a destination. “It made sense for us to create a garden rather than add to the existing gallery, which sits on 10 acres, so we had plenty of space to build

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A kaleidoscope of colour greets visitors to Taupo’s Lava Glass Sculpture Garden.

Opened early-2014, the garden features more than 600 glass sculptures handcrafted by renowned NZ glass artist Lynden Over and his glass-blowing team.

Every sculpture is created in the studio adjacent to the garden, and some of the larger pieces like the rainbow, which 4m long by 2.5m high, and the glass tree, which is 2.7m tall, took months to complete, says Lynden’s wife and fellow artist Christine Robb, who oversees the sculpture garden.

Lynden comes from a family of artists, so completing a bachelor degree in applied arts was a natural progression. He trained at Whangarei’s North Tech, where he got bitten by the glass-blowing bug.

“Lynden found it exciting working with the fire, heat and liquid glass.

Taking his first dip in the furnace, he never looked back.”

Lynden’s work is inspired by

Thanks to Exisle Publishing, Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘Stop Talking, Start Influencing’ to give away. To be in to win, email captions for the photo above with your name and address to: merle@ sunmedia.co.nz Or put these details on an envelope and post to: Country Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 to arrive by December 15.

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 23

A&P shows’ new comp to lure more entries With country shows experiencing a downturn of entries in their show classes, the Royal Agricultural (A&P) Society’s Mid-Northern District Council has created an equestrian Accumulator contest to garner more interest.

The points-driven competition is not a new concept – but with 10 shows in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty participating, it’s something very worthwhile entering, says Mid-Northern District Council secretary Doug Lineham.

“There is no entry fee. Competition placings and points awarded at a show are entered into the Accumulator database. Accumulator points are recorded show-by-show against the rider/horse combination as they progress through the showing season,” says Doug.

Points awarded are 8 for first, 6 for second, and 4 for third place. No points are allocated for Supreme Champion, Champion or Reserve Champion.

Doug says each Accumulator entrant’s points are confidential and only disclosed at the final presentation show – this year Morrinsville A&P Show on March 7, 2020.

“Ten of the 13 MNDC shows are participating and have contributed towards an impressive Accumulator

Entrants in the Accumulator contest get to compete in all Mid-Northern District Council A&P shows.

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Mid-Northern District Council secretary Doug Lineham encourages riders to enter the Accumulator and compete at shows they haven’t been to before.

Doug says classes that qualify for the Accumulator are those in the Minimum Show Schedule on the RAS website.

“The combination of rider and horse declared at the first show must remain the same for the duration of the campaign. However, a rider may have more than one horse declared.”

Doug says although the 2019/2020 competition is a trial, it has already proved to be very popular at three shows this season.

“Associations have assured programme

organisers that if the response is evident, they will reinstate classes that may not have been well patronised in the past,” says Doug.

It is hoped the equestrian Accumulator can be a template for other specie competitions over time – such as sheep, alpaca, cattle and dog trials, for example.

And it’s envisaged when the programme is formally the finale could be held by a different show each season. “So watch Merle Foster this space,” says Doug.

prize pool with cash and merchandise on offer from generous sponsors.” First prize is $1500, second is $700 and third is $400, with product prizes up to 10th place.

“First prize is an incentive for every competitor – so come on riders, this is worthwhile competition – try another show you haven’t been to for a change.”

ENTRANCE FEE

Page 24

FORESTRY

Wood fibre’s role in low carbon future?

Trees can play a lead role in New Zealand’s transition to a low emissions economy, and this is reflected in a new request for research into innovative ways to use wood fibre, announced by Forestry Minister Shane Jones at the blessing of the new government forestry hub site in Rotorua last month.

Te Uru Rakau, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Forestry Ministerial Advisory Group have issued a ‘request for proposal’ – worth $250,000$300,000 – seeking a commercially-oriented report on viable opportunities for investment in biobased products and biorefinery processing technology. Investments must use wood and wood fibre and be internationally competitive. “We know about the ability of trees to absorb carbon and we’ve invested heavily in rapidly strengthening our forestry estate through initiatives such as the OBT programme and recent changes to the EMT. “These forests will act as a carbon sink in the short-to-medium term,” says Shane.

“However, they’re also vital to increasing wood and fibre supply during the next 20-30 years as we position parts of our of system to

manufacture a wide range of products that will help us adapt to climate change and meet our emissions target. We know consumers want alternatives to concrete, steel and plastic. In theory, everything that can be made from oil or non-renewable resources can be made from trees. The big question is one of commercial viability and how the big ideas can be made into reality.”

Shane says many countries have examined options for future reductions in emissions and defined a bioeconomy solution where forest products play a significant role. “Through this call for research, I’d like to see a report that will identify investible opportunities for production and manufacturing of high value, wood fibre-based bioproducts that will bring innovation and employment to our regions, and increase onshore processing of logs.

My own opinion on mineral deficiencies in this country We were fortunate to study at agricultural college under a veterinarian, who’d describe trace element deficiencies in farm animals then talk about the likely effects on humans. This started my lifelong interest in trace elements and the effect it had on animals and humans.

Moreover, I was able to experiment with my own 170 cows in the 1980s on the effects of minerals on that herd.

Let me say here at the outset, I’m not a doctor, nor am I qualified to advise on these matters, and you should seek your own advice. I’m am, however, able to

discuss my experiences and the logic that’s brought me to this point.

We know in horses, for example, if a mare is low in selenium the foal may be born healthy and dead within five days from ‘white muscle disease’ which is selenium deficiency. Could there be a correlation to cot death here?

In cows we knew we needed to supplement selenium prior to calving and mating for these reasons.

Selenium supplementation assisted

with proper cleansing of afterbirths, improved resistance to mastitis and much improved ability to get in-calf.

If you google selenium deficiency in humans it pops up for increasing resistance to cancer, particularly in men around prostate and improved mood and happiness. I’ve taken a selenium supplement much of my life.

I have increased PSA levels that are normal for my age. Given my family history, I was a dead-sitter for prostate cancer. When they did the scan there was nothing to be seen.

On mood, there was a grumpy old bachelor dairy farmer in Reporoa in the 1980s. They got him onto selenium supplements and his mood and attitude improved significantly. Selenium is called the happy drug down there. More recently, I’ve been putting a drop of liquid selenium in my wife’s porridge unbeknown to her and her persona has improved significantly!

New Zealand is widely deficient in selenium, yet we have the highest cancer and suicide rates in the world. Could there be a connection there? It is worth considering.

Should our medical system look at deficiencies and human health? If you try to discuss deficiencies and human health with doctors, they just laugh at you and say there is no research or evidence.

So, mineral deficiencies, particularly selenium, are widespread in NZ. We need to look no further than over the farm gate to see huge knowledge and supplementation in animals to prevent deficiencies.

If you start to think about it there may well be a correlation.

Apparently Brazil nuts are high in selenium, but you’d need to eat a huge amount to get a result. Most of these traces can’t be found in sufficient quantities in food, and so supplements is the only way. My footnote is to be very careful with selenium supplementation as only a trace is needed.

Disclaimer – these are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance. Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought.

Don Fraser is the Principal of Fraser Farm Finance and a consultant to the farming industry. Contact him on 021 777 675.

FORESTRY

Page 25

The complete harvesting package Between them, Cam Negus and Mike Cornwell, owners of Farmers Forestry, have more than 30 years of experience harvesting and marketing trees for farmers.

“We can do the complete job from harvesting the trees, transporting them off the property to marketing – and, then if the farmer wants us to, we can do the replanting during winter,” says Cam. “We have a fleet of reliable modern machinery that can cope with any sized job and we leave a clean and tidy site on completion.”

They also offer free quotes and an advisory service for farmers, such as when is the best time to harvest the trees – depending on market prices and pruning requirements to maximise farmer’s profits.

Although they harvest mainly pine trees there is also a market for poplar, Douglas fir and eucalypts, says Cam. “Poplar is sometimes used for

orestry Farmers F b, on the jo s. tree harvesting

pulp but if the logs are clean, six to eight metres in length and at least 20cm wide called SEDs – for Small End Diameter – they can command a good price,” says Cam. Farmers Forestry has three other sub-contractors they can call on for bigger jobs, and between them they have a combined 50 years’ experience. After felling and transporting the trees, if possible,

are taken to a local sawmill for milling. “This helps keep down costs for the farmer,” says Cam. Not restricted to harvesting trees on farms, Farmers Forestry can clean up any trees along the roadside that are causing problems for power lines. Covering the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, they offer farmers a complete harvesting package.

Preparation vital as more rural fires will occur New Zealand’s foresters are agreeing with the main recommendations coming out of a recently-released independent operation review by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council of the Tasman Fires last February.

But foresters say there’s nothing in the report that hasn’t been said before – and implementation is overdue. The review has made 12 recommendations to improve future fire responses.

The joint Farm Forestry and Forest Owners Association Fire Committee chair Sean McBride says the fire report is comprehensive and his associations look forward to helping Fire and Emergency NZ with their implementation.

“The report’s main message is that we can expect more such fires. It is a warning for all rural communities,” says Sean.

“It’s alarming to read in the report that so many people interviewed about the fire think it was a freak one and won’t happen again. That’s not the case.

“Climate change means the fire threat is increasing, dramatically in some areas.”

Sean says most forest fires start outside the forests and then invade them. The Tasman Fires, which was NZ’s biggest

wildfire in 72 years, was started when farmland was being cultivated by a contractor disc-ploughing a tinder-dry paddock in Pigeon Valley, and then it spread into forest.

The blaze burnt for several weeks, resulting in home evacuations and covered 2300ha of land.

Sean says forest harvesting crews in the area had stopped working “because they were following the Forest Fire Risk Management Guidelines, which showed the fire risk was too high to continue working. There needs to be a lesson taken from that”.

Sean welcomes the report recommendation for guidelines and requirements on heat and spark activities for work outside forests, but he says that doesn’t go far enough.

“We want to work with FENZ on some of the technology they’re looking at which can provide real-time and precise fire warnings to anyone who is working in or visiting the rural environment.

“The technology of apps and GPS, combined with sophisticated weather information, means a scale of warning activities can be delivered to anyone in the field with a smartphone.

“It’s obviously not the whole answer to fire preparedness and avoidance, such as not parking vehicles on long dry grass, but it is an easy way to get information of increasing risk throughout a working day to people who don’t have those monitoring tools themselves.”

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CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

Page 26

Earthwork rules to fend off kauri dieback Thames-Coromandel District Council is taking feedback on proposed new rules to manage earthworks near kauri trees in urban zones of the district, to help prevent the spread of kauri dieback disease.

“This decision and the new rules mean that earthworks within a kauri hygiene zone require a Kauri Dieback Disease Risk Management Plan to be prepared, approved by our council and implemented.

“The Environment Court also directed TCDC to consult with the community on similar rules to the urban zones of our district, which were The proposed rules would require not included in the DOC appeal. people carrying out earthworks “This is what we are now taking within a ‘kauri hygiene zone’ submissions on.” to obtain resource consent.

Outside a kauri tree’s A kauri tree’s ‘hygiene hygiene zone, earthworks zone’ is the area covered can be a permitted activity by its root system and is if standards are complied three times the radius of with and no resource the tree’s canopy. consent or Kauri Dieback Specific to New Risk Management Plan is Zealand, Kauri dieback required, says Laurna. is a fungus-like disease “The management that infects kauri trees plan requirements are of all ages and has comprehensive and ensure killed thousands in the any soil and organic matter last 15 years. It lives in from the earthworks are safely soil and infects kauri roots, contained.” damaging tissues that carry Laurna says to help explain the nutrients and water within the proposed rules TCDC, which is part of tree, effectively starving it to death.

Currently, there’s no proven cure or Signs of kauri dieback the Coromandel Kauri Dieback Forum treatment and nearly all infected – a community-led group fighting the on a kauri tree. kauri die. disease locally by providing advocacy and The disease is easily spread through soil movements education to industry groups and the public – is – for example, when soil is carried on dirty footwear, holding drop-in workshops around the district and animals, equipment and vehicles. It is present in in neighbouring areas. several sites on the Coromandel, including DOC’s Consultation workshops will run at Coromandel Hukarahi Conservation Area; on a DOC-managed on December 2, Thames on December 4, Hamilton land near Whenuakite; and at multiple locations on on December 11, Tauranga on December 14, and private land within the Whangapoua catchment.

Auckland on December 16. Marae consultation TCDC communications group manager Laurna workshops are at Matai Whetu Marae on December White says earthworks within a kauri hygiene 9 and Harataunga Marae on December 17. zone are already a restricted discretionary activity The proposed new earthworks rules for TCDC’s in the Rural, Rural Lifestyle and Conservation urban zones, and consultation workshop details, are zones of the council’s Proposed District Plan due online at: tcdc.govt.nz/s293kauridieback to an Environment Court decision earlier this year People can make a submission online, or download following an appeal to the Proposed District Plan a PDF submission form and return it to TCDC. lodged by DOC. Consultation closes 5pm on January 24, 2020.

Earthworks to extend popular Paeroa cemetery Paeroa’s historic Pukerimu cemetery connects generations of families in the area – and a new section to the facility will make room for generations to come.

The new section is to sit at the base of the current cemetery, on land that’s been long earmarked for this purpose.

Following a karakia performed by Rawiri Kauae Te Toki, to whakanoa the land in preparation for a new cemetery area, diggers, trucks and rollers have been hard at work in recent weeks.

By this Christmas, it’s expected new concrete berms for the placement of casket and ashes plots will be in place, along with drainage and improved internal

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road access.

Stage two of the project, which is scheduled for next year, will include planting, landscaping and a new ashes interment garden.

Established before 1855, the 6.57ha of land on the outskirts of Paeroa has long been a final resting place for locals and a haven of peace for the community.

Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams says the popular cemetery has been extended to futureproof the facility. “We know how important it is to keep loved ones close and with the recent growth in our district, we need to futureproof the cemetery to cater for everyone.

“This new section will not only enhance our visitors’ experience to

Pukerimu as an attractive place to visit, it will keep it viable for years to come,” says the Mayor.

Steve Wilkinson was born and bred in Paeroa but now lives in Hamilton. He’s a frequent visitor to Pukerimu, which he says will always hold a special place in his heart.

“As a large family, our whanau are scattered all over NZ, but Pukerimu brings us back to our roots in Paeroa. It’s always been a place of solace, of remembrance and of love.

“I will always appreciate the council work that goes into maintaining this treasured place,” says Steve.

CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

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With drier ground offering the ideal conditions to get stuck in to earthmoving work on the orchard, farm, lifestyle block or blank canvas, Colin Amrein’s team can get your job done to budget, plan and your satisfaction every time.

Owned and operated in Tauranga, Colin Amrein Contracting Ltd has been serving the local building and construction industry for 33-plus years, offering affordable excavator hire and efficient earthmoving services.

Today they do all types of work – whether it be rural, industrial or residential – from forestry

roading, demolition, river works, oxidation ponds, frost protection ponds, desilting ponds, house and shed sites, roadways, engineered filling to jobs needing rock breaker/stick rakes, mulcher heads and augers, to ripper picks and swamp matts.

“We have excavators with long reaches – from 6.5m reaches to 15.5m. We also have truck and trailers to cart metal, sand, pumice and topsoil. We have a bobcat on rubber tracks and mucker, loaders, rollers, bulldozers and much more,” says Colin.

He believes earthmoving and excavation requires attention to detail and a great deal of skill to be completed correctly. “As a result, we know the importance of matching the right machinery to the right job.

“And we’ve probably done the job you’re wanting before – so you can trust us to get it done right.”

“That’s why we believe we offer the finest earthmoving service in Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty,” says Colin.

To contact Colin Amrein Contracting Ltd, see their advert on this page.

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Page 27

AVOCADOS

Page 28

Measures strengthened for BMSB season Biosecurity NZ’s director of readiness and response John Walsh addressing the Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital excellence symposium. Photo Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media.

The number of countries posing a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug risk to New Zealand has been increased from 16 to 33, says Biosecurity New Zealand’s director of readiness and response John Walsh.

“We will now require importers to have higher risk goods from those countries fumigated offshore,” says John, which he told 80 people who attended the second Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital excellence symposium in Tauranga in October.

“BMSB is an unwanted organism of extreme concern nationally, and the Bay of Plenty in particular. In conjunction with a number of Government Industry Agreement partners, we are launching a new national 24-week surveillance programme.

The high season for BMSB detection in NZ runs until April 30.

“It is funded jointly by Biosecurity NZ and industry and will have 80 sites to conduct surveillance around the country, based on risk. We have three detector dogs trained and ready to go at the border and post-border and have a clear operational plan to guide response.”

Myrtle rust

While the aim is to keep BMSB out of New Zealand, John says windblown Myrtle Rust was now well established here. However, research work is continuing, assisted by $39million in funding during the next 10 years. Myrtle rust affects NZ plants including pohutukawa, Manuka, rata, kanuka, swamp maire and ramarama, as well as commercially-grown species such as eucalyptus.

John says researchers have found a couple of fungicides and wetting agents which, in laboratory

conditions, look promising for control around specific trees – but not in a large environment, so these need to be taken out into the field.

“Myrtle rust is now found at every location where we thought it might pop up and it continues to be a big concern. The key focus is the science programme.

“We’ve completed the first phase this year with 20 research projects including seed banking and understanding the disease impacts. Some programmes need to carry on with further research.”

Meanwhile, the establishment of a national pest management plan for kauri dieback had “hit a road bump” as funding was not included in the latest government budget, says John. “We’ve done a lot of work to get that back on track and a number of government agencies are working together to give fresh advice to Cabinet Ministers to get kauri dieback agencies up and running.

“I hope this work will see fruition later this year or early next year – but be reassured we are working very hard on that at the moment.”

Act up for review

Biosecurity NZ had recommitted to the Biosecurity 2025 strategy and was working with a steering group to rescope and reset the programme.

The Biosecurity Act is also up for review, says John. “It’s a large old act, which needs significant modification for challenges we are facing with biosecurity today – especially the increasing risks of movement of goods and people and climate change.”

John says a consultation package on what should be contained in the new act would go out to the public in the first quarter of next year. “I encourage everyone, especially the grassroots biosecurity community, to get involved.”

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AVOCADOS

Page 29

Eating healthy a life skill We are facing a healthy food crisis in New Zealand – we don’t eat enough healthy food.

A Ministry of Health study has found only 40 per cent of us are eating enough fruit and vegetables. The impact on our health and the cost of providing healthcare are extreme, particularly in terms of heart disease and obesity.

The impact of this is shown in research by KPMG that found obesity’s global economic impact is US$2 trillion or 2.8 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product each year.

We have two standout programmes that promote healthy eating among children in NZ. The first picks up on children being able to cook healthy meals using vegetables. Preparing a healthy and nourishing meal is part of the NZ curriculum for Year 7-8 students. However, a survey done by Massey University dietetic Masters students found only 13 per cent of teachers identified students as being able to plan and prepare a complete and healthy meal.

Vegetables.co.nz and the Heart Foundation have formed a partnership to change this. They’ve prepared resources to help teachers incorporate preparing vegetables into cooking classes. For more information, see: www.vegetables.co.nz For resources, see: www.heartfoundation.org.nz Second, there is the 5+ A Day programme that provides fresh fruit and vegetables to pupils in low-decile schools. This programme reaches 120,000 children each school day and provides 24 million servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every year. The programme is backed up by extensive curriculum resources.

Independent research has found 83 per cent of principals surveyed

said the overall health of their pupils would decline if this programme stopped.

Interestingly enough, seven out of 10 parents said the programme encourages them to provide healthy food at

A Ministry of Health survey has found only 40 per cent of Kiwis are eating enough fruit and vegetables.

home.

The impact of the two programmes as these children grow up will be profound. Getting into the habit of healthy eating and also being taught how to prepare healthy food will ripple throughout NZ and as a result, reduce what happens when we do not eat healthy food.

Health has always been good business for a variety of enterprises.

Now that is expanding into a rapidly growing consumer awareness of the need to eat healthy food. This is good business for those who grow vegetables and fruit. It is even better business for our country to have a healthier population with young people who can cook and want to eat healthy food.

The message to take home is eat healthy food, and tell your local Member of Parliament that both these programmes need continued funding support from the Government.

Avocado beer could appeal to those eating vegan diets Avocado, one of the most popular fruits around the world, has become an innovative ingredient for beer making. And avocado beer could become a new trend as it is 100 per cent vegan and is ideal to meet the wishes of millennials, according to an innaturale.com report on the Fresh Plaza website.

The report says avocado is not used exclusively for flavouring the beer as its pulp is used in the fermentation process. But the fruit, in addition to enriching the aromas and flavours of beer, gives the drink a very special creamy texture.

“There are different types of avocado beer and the recipe to make varies by manufacturer. Some manufacturers only use avocado in the fermentation process and others combine it with other ingredients, such as lime and cilantro, for example, which results in a more Mexican flavour.

“The result of this type of drink resembles guacamole.”

The report also states some brewers have combined a more roasted and concentrated malt with avocado pulp, creating a product that completely resembles a stout beer. “The flavour is stronger and it’s impossible not to notice this exotic fruit’s creamy texture and aroma in this type of beer.”

Here in New Zealand, the Mount Maunganui-based Rocky Knob Brewing Company has produced an avocado beer to showcase at the annual Avocado Expo at the Katikati A&P Show in recent years.

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AVOCADOS

Page 30

Bell peppers and avocados a NZ success A bell pepper nursery, which today also has one of the largest avocado farms in New Zealand on-site, is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Southern Paprika Limited started as a joint venture between Hamish and Robyn Alexander and the Dutch company, J.M. Levarht & Zn, according to Frank Levarht.

“In 1997, Theo and Huub Levarht went to NZ to discuss this venture,” says Frank.

“Back then, the project was begun in a 2.5ha glasshouse. This year-round cultivation was set up to provide the Japanese market with bell peppers in the winter too.”

Today, Southern Paprika Ltd is one of the top glasshouse horticultural businesses in NZ with 27ha all

cultivated according to the Dutch model, says Frank. “The company has grown into one of the biggest players in NZ. This was done with the help of Levarhts’ international know-how and experience. It has also become a knowledge partner for many global retailers. It has clients in NZ, Japan, Australia, and Canada, says Frank.

In 2015, Southern Paprika Ltd established an avocado orchard. “Of the total area of 400ha, 200ha are now planted with Hass avocados,” says Frank.

“This size makes us one of the largest avocado farms in NZ. The avocados are well-received by all our clients – those in Asia as well as the local NZ market.

“We expect to expand gradually in the coming years.”

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Avoco technical manager Colin Partridge, director Alistair Young, marketing and communications manager Steve Trickett, with Grower of the Year Kevin Hogan, director John Carroll, export manager Ted Thomas and technical representative Danni van der Heijden.

Two Bay of Plenty avocado growers have been judged Avoco’s top performers after back-to-back stellar production seasons.

Kevin Hogan of Whakamarama collected Avoco’s top Grower of the Year prize and was named Team Avocado Grower of the Year at the export marketing company’s recent grower meeting at Mount Maunganui.

Maria and Andrew Watchorn, orchardists in Omokoroa, also collected the evening’s other major trophy after being judged Grower of the Year for Primor.

Avoco is in its seventh export season after Team Avocado Trust and Primor agreed to pool their grower resources and jointly supply premium quality fruit to Australia and Asia. Every year it recognises growers for top production and export packouts, averaged during the previous two seasons.

This year’s recipients are no strangers to awards, with the accolades coming two years after they both received Grower of the Year prizes at a similar event. That year, the Watchorns won

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the overall top honours.

This time, it was Kevin’s orchard production figu es of 20.2 tonne/ha and packout rate of 73 per cent, averaged during two years, that nudged him ahead.

Delighted with the win, Kevin says his figu es simply reflect the fact his block is warm, shelte ed and fertile. “With global warming, there are very few frosts. But I try to keep on the ball as things can change very quickly in the orchard, so I don’t hesitate in responding to signs of bugs and phytophthora.”

A former senior constable in the Tauranga Police’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Team, Kevin bought the property in 2002 as a rundown citrus orchard and pine tree block.

Originally citrus

It originally featured about 70 citrus trees and an abandoned greenhouse. In his spare time, he planted 167 avocado trees and transformed the block into a high-performing orchard. Now semi-retired after four decades in the NZ Police, he’s focused on producing consistent crops on his home orchard and four other avocado blocks that he manages.

Kevin says he follows best orchard management practices and still relies heavily on advice from technical experts, including Avoco’s technical manager Colin Partridge and consultant Jerome Hardy.

“I always get soil and leaf samples done at the optimum time and then I follow the fertiliser recommendations. Everyone needs to comply with the recommendations from reputable consultants.

“Colin, Jerome and Danni van der Heijden in the technical team at Avoco are on the ball with their advice.”

Never stop learning

The Watchorn’s property at Prole Rd consistently produces a high quality crop every year, reporting production of 17.4 tonne/ha averaged in the last two seasons. Attention to quality and best practice has led to an export packout of 71 per cent.

The couple, who’ve been avocado orchardists for 15 years, believe there’s no formula for success, but agree benefits come f om having a passion for what they do.

Maria says the business of growing means you never stop learning. “I believe there is still so much to learn but we are always willing to be open-minded and absorb any new information fellow growers and the industry have to offer.”

Maria and Andrew’s approach to growing avocados has always been to set high standards, gather around like-minded people, then “go for it”.

“It’s all about being present, having a passion for what we do, having a drive to succeed and every day doing the very best we can.”

AVOCADOS

Page 31

The ‘to do’ list for before it gets dry I wish everyone a happy Christmas as we wait for the success of the flowering period, to see our flowers turn into fruitlets and grow to be avocados, and watch our next year’s income grow.

The present weather has hit with warm hot days that are growing our fruitlets into fruit for eating next year. It took a while in the spring to get good weather conditions. Now we’re on track to growing the new

growth to carry the flower for next year and to help supply energy to grow fruitlets.

Now is also a good time to push growth, and good amounts of nitrogen will help achieve that. Predictions are suggesting a hot dry summer ahead, so consider feeding early as growth tends to slow at higher day temperatures. Get the tree ready to fire up again in the early autumn.

Other than harvesting, we at AAL do very little work on the trees during the hot weather.

No chainsaw or pruning work as this can open the tree up to

Digger ready to tackle rural jobs Ben Pollard has been involved with a civil contracting business, working around the Bay of Plenty area for the last 12 years.

He decided to put this valuable experience to work and has started his own excavation company, Earth Tech Excavation.

“I have bought a 12 tonne Sumitomo digger and can now offer farmers any type of excavation work such as scrub clearing, experience in all forms of farm work, avocado terracing and pretty much any type of contouring work.

“I’ve had a lot of experience in civil drainage and earthworks for the last 12 years. And I would recommend the best time to get drains cleaned is in the summer, when the ground is dryer and before the winter rain comes,” says Ben, who owns Earth Tech Excavation.

With previous experience in excavation work he’s able to visit the site, consult with the client, discuss what kind of earthworks are required, maybe give some advice and then work out a quote.

Ben’s excavation work is always of a high standard and previous clients have always been very pleased with the results.

Earth Tech Excavation does rural earthworks.

Earth Tech Excavation is happy to provide a free quote on any work in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato areas.

Helen Wilson

severe stress and sunburn. Hold off any pruning until the autumn when the tree is in a better phase and has cooler temperatures and less impacting sun radiation.

Fertilise strongly this month as it could be the last chance until the next rain. Up until early-January we tend to get good growth and it is this growth that carries the flower and the fruit for the following years. It is also during this time that everyone who eats avocados in NZ is busy buying them

for salads in our Kiwi barbecue season and for plates for their celebratory Christmas social times.

Happy Christmas to you all and your families. It is always great fun at this time of year, as we sit around enjoying our break with our families and friends.

It is also a great time of the year to scoff avocados breakfast, lunch and dinner and anytime in between. Plus, it is the time of year that we get to reflect on the passion and enjoyment of growing avocados here in Aotearoa.

Page 32 LTRA-PRO FABRICS

KIWIFRUIT

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Businesses are jumping on-board a new campaign by pledging to play their part in efforts to prevent pests and diseases from getting Email : sales@cosio.co.nz into New Zealand, or helping to stop their Website : http://www.cosio.co.nz spread if they do get here.

Lastly, it’s about approaching biosecurity with the view it is everyone’s responsibility, that risk is best managed offshore, and they will actively engage with the Ministry for Primary Industries to support better biosecurity outcomes for NZ. Biosecurity Minister Damien O‘Connor as a nation that depends on trade and The first-of-its-kind iosecurity Business tourism, and a country whose lifestyle Pledge – to protect our country from pests is linked to our unique natural and diseases – was launched on October 31, environment, having a culture of with Fonterra, Auckland Airport, Goodman everyone taking responsibility for Fielder, Countdown and Mainfreight biosecurity is vital. throwing their support behind the project.

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Other widths avail on request. opportunities to support customers, staff, 2suppliers and biosecurity issues and risks, and opportunities to Cosio Industries Ltd, P.O.Box 15014, New Lynn,together 0640, Auckland stakeholders to understand the importance of biosecurity work in good faith to improve outcomes for : sales@c Email COSIO COSIO 27-33 Lansford Crescent, Avondale, Auckland and what good biosecurity practice looks like. businesses via quarterly biosecurity updates and alerts.

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Page 33

Katikati firm’s medicinal cannabis goal A new medical cannabis firm has built a world-class GMP growing facility in a building in Katikati, and is quietly positioning itself to make a significant impact on the New Zealand pharmaceutical market and local horticultural industry.

With two Medsafe cultivation licences to grow medicinal cannabis secured, Eqalis Research Ltd is poised to produce a range of plant-based pain relief products for the NZ

market. The building, built since Eqalis’ inception earlier this year, can control every aspect of the growing, cultivation, extraction, manufacture and distribution process of medicinal cannabis, according to managing director Greg Misson.

Major investors in Eqalis include Comvita co-founder Alan Bougen, largescale kiwifruit grower and BayGold founder Murray McBride, and Southern Produce director and Avocado Growers Association chairman Tony Ponder.

Greg believes that the deep expertise and experience among Eqalis shareholders covering horticulture and high value natural therapeutic products will be key to building Eqalis into a BOP success story which will include expansion into global markets.

Two licences

“Confidence in Eqalis is high; we are the first BOP medical cannabis firm to secure not one

but two growing licences, with the aim to improve the health and quality of life of New Zealanders suffering from chronic illness and pain.”

Alan says Eqalis has a solid foundation of clinical expertise.

“My passion has always been in the wellness area, combining the best in nature with science. This business model aligns with my values and I’m excited to be part of an industry that can help so many people.”

prepared for change in legislation due early-2020 to enable them to begin producing and marketing products.

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Greg says the BOP is renowned for its world-class horticultural industries, and its soils and climate are amongst the best in the world for production of cannabis products. “We’re developing a smart, sustainable industry in our region that will benefit all New Zealanders,” says Greg.

Eqalis has a global team of experts in the field of medicine, pharmaceuticals and horticulture.

Lead researcher Elizabeth Plant is one of NZ’s most experienced pharmacists, a government policy expert and senior contributor of multiple regional and national medical agencies. “It is important for Kiwis to know a huge amount of science goes into the growing

More swimming and less cleaning this summer Making memories this summer by spending more time enjoying your pool – not cleaning it – is easy, according to Floatron NZ owner-operator Melissa Growden.

and cultivating of medical cannabis to ensure it is safe and effective,” says Elizabeth. Eqalis says it is well

frustration in maintaining their pool, and were so amazed with the results and the simplicity that they knew they were onto something special,” says Melissa.

Fast-forward 23 years and Floatron NZ offers a range of pool cleaners She reckons the from the latest robotic Floatron swimming equipment with Wi-Fi pool purifier is “the and smartphone easiest way to keep your technology to pool clean” because it traditional suction reduces the need for cleaners and the evercostly pool chemicals, popular Floatron pool which can average from purifi purifi er.

“You certainly $500-$1000. can make pool care easy Her and husband and more eco-friendly,” Craig have used their says Melissa.

Floatron in three pools “The Floatron during the last 20 years, releases mineral ions and have used a range into the water which of different Zodiac help combat algae and cleaners too. bacteria. This allows “I was at university pool owners to reduce when I began selling The Floatron gives users a stress-free chlorine use up to 90 per Floatron pool purifiers in summer with easy pool care. cent.”

1996. This was after my See the product in person by calling into the parents were so impressed with the results of this Gateway Caravans business, at 2 Gateway Drive, solar-panelled device and how clean it kept our Whakatane. Or contact Melissa by viewing the family pool with minimal chemicals.

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RURAL HOMES & BUILDINGS

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Zero-waste tiny house The house is on wheels and can be dismantled and transported if necessary.

Page 35

xterior wash

Photos: Bridget Jochems.

Ian Swney is on a mission to prove that you can live with an almost zero-carbon footprint. He’s doing this by building a tiny home that’s completely off-grid. Ian won’t live in it himself but plans to run it as an AirBnB because it’s beside the nearlycompleted Te Aroha-Matamata stretch of the Hauraki Rail Trail.

is significantly less, there is less bulk and it will compost quicker.”

Also, water used from washing hands in the hand basin will run through the urine diverter, giving it a good rinse every time water goes down the sink.

Ian also put much thought into the building materials he’d use. “One big concern with a tiny house is there’s not a lot of air space, so you want to avoid using non-natural materials that may break down or somehow pollute the environment.

“I used ‘real’ materials, glass, metal and wood. I’ve got “I’ve re-modelled a house but a ceramic benchtop and this is the first time I’ve built real tiles, which will from scratch. I found Youtube still look good as they videos invaluable. When I age. I chose plywood required further advice, I’d for the interior as ply is ring my younger brother lower in volatile organic and my father who are both compounds. I haven’t builders,” says Ian. used any paint. I polished The tiny house has all the plywood with linseed amenities travellers might oil.” require, right down to a multiWith no electricity pronged phone-charger. on-site, Ian purchased a To get a good online review, transportable solar power Ian knows you need good beds unit and will get some and a good shower – so he’s panels. “It made sense to put two king single beds and have a structure for the a fully-enclosed 1m by 1m panels to sit on, so I’m shower in his tiny house. building a henhouse/ “I didn’t scrimp on bikeshed/toolshed. I’m mattresses. However, I was trying hard to do it able to make the bed bases mainly from recycled from offcuts from the house, materials.” it was painstaking and timeIan still has plenty of consuming but I’m into plans; a private outside zero-waste so it’s ideal to use shower is underway; leftovers as resources.” he wants to make Another item Ian didn’t The henhouse/bikeshed/toolshed is biofuel to utilise for scrimp on was the composting built out of pallets. cooking; and he toilet, which has a urine diverter. intends to set up “Urine doesn’t need to compost aquaponics for growing fish and vegetables. to be useful, it can be utilised straight away and so it Currently, the tiny house is positioned to get the best goes straight into the grey water, which will be used for gardening. Number two’s however need to compost views of the Kaimai Ranges, with it important to Ian to be able to see “Mount Te Aroha out the before they can be useful and the advantage of not picture window”. having urine mixed in with them is the odour Bridget Jochems

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Page 36

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Breeding easy-care sheep at Cambridge When Paul and Rachel Mudge took over 50 acres at Cambridge six years ago, they stocked it with Dorper sheep and experienced nothing but problems.

Footrot, flystrike and regular lambing issues became apparent, so they did their homework and changed the flock to Damara sheep. “I did a lot of research on Damara sheep and everything I learned has turned out to be true,” says

Rachel, who with Paul and two children Tate, 12, and Luciana, 9, live on the property and breed and sell Damaras.

“They are the ultimate easy-care sheep – no shearing, no crutching, no docking – and they’re resistant to flystrike. “They flock together well, which makes them easy to handle and they’re great mothers.

“They are intelligent too. There’s plenty that we like about them – as well as the lack of health issues that plagued our other sheep.”

Back then Paul also noticed they were the most expensive sheep on TradeMe.

“So we decided they must be worth breeding.”

The Damara is originally from Eastern Asia and Egypt. The breed then moved down to Namibia and Angola and for many years the sheep were in an isolated region of Namibia, thus have remained free from the influence of other breeds.

They put excess weight into their tail, which is similar to how a camel stores fat in its hump – this means their meat remains lean and is a healthier option to eating lamb and mutton.

“It was quite challenging to originally get a flock together; we bought ewes from all over the country,” says Rachel. “Now we have 70 ewes and three rams.”

To introduce more bloodlines into their flock, Rachel and Paul are bringing in 100 straws of semen from Australia. The sheep will have their cycles synchronised and be put up for Laparoscopic Artificial Insemination.

Rachel usually has more orders for weaned lambs than she can fill. They mainly sell to people on lifestyle blocks because they like the low maintenance nature of the breed, and the low fat meat.

And people come from all over the North Island to buy the sheep.

Despite the fact that Damaras are usually excellent mothers, there is still potential for something to go wrong with the mother-baby bond and so the take care of orphans here and there.

‘Moa’ was a twin who slid down a hill and under a fence as soon as she was born. “Mum wasn’t distressed about this. In fact, she appeared to think that she’d only had one lamb, so I decided to feed it,” says Rachel.

She milked the sheep to get colostrum for the first two days then fed the lamb a yoghurt culture she made herself. “Orphan lambs are prone to bloating after a large milk feed, which allows unfavourable bacteria to grow. You don’t get these problems with yoghurt.”

And so Rachel, a contract agribusiness consultant, and Paul, a Hamilton primary school teacher, now enjoy breeding sheep on their land, which also gives them more time with their young family. “Everyone asks us why we moved from Raglan. We love it here in Cambridge, we live in the country but are close enough for Tate to bike to school.”

Bridget Jochems

Tate Mudge, parents Paul and Rachel Mudge, and daughter Luciana Mudge, about to do some Saturday morning stock work.

Tips to keep your chooks cool during summer Summertime means sunshine and holidays – and just like other animals, chickens feel the heat too and need shade, says Chris Brook, who with husband Allan, run The Chookyard in Franklin where they stock premium feeds and needs for your poultry.

“Frozen food provides a refreshing and behaviourenriching task,” says Chris. “Seasonal fruit such as watermelon makes a great iceblock treat. And you can half-fill pet-food containers with veges – for example, sweetcorn – then top up to three-quarters with water

Freephone:

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or snap corn cobs in half and freeze.”

Chris says summer also means pests – so it’s time to clean and replace bedding in coops for prevention of lice and mites. “Keep a watch on your flock for signs of both. Fresh pine shavings with a few herb cuttings will help with any odours.”

An auto feeder and drinker can also make things so much simpler for a long weekend away. “With a little training you can be sure your girls are taken care of while you are away.

“And also suspend a whole cabbage up while you’re away – we call this a chicken piñata.”

The Brook Family wish all their customers a wonderful summer and a perfect New Year. “And don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re looking for chicken-themed gifts for the upcoming holiday season.”

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Page 37

The blasted blow flies return Two quite different fly species produce most of the blowfly strike in New Zealand.

Originally, it was the European Green Blowfly – more recently the Australian Green Blowfly has been the culprit.

The EGB is important because it is a parasite of temperate regions and can survive for most of the year in NZ. It attacks susceptible parts of the body, such as wounds, dags and urine-stained skin. It can complete its lifecycle in other food sources, such as road kill.

Although the eggs are readily killed by heat and the soil-dwelling pupae cannot hatch below 15 degrees Celsius, these flies can survive in the wide variety of climatic conditions found in NZ. The AGB in contrast does not need an ‘excuse’ to attack. It will lay eggs on a completely clean-fleeced sheep, with no wounds or dags – for instance, ‘shoulder strike’ in a clean sheep. However, the AGB is a tropical fly in origin and cannot survive and complete its lifecycle in such varied climatic conditions as the EGB. Typically, ‘tropical’ moist and warm conditions are required.

Damp wool

These flies normally start breeding in spring and reach epidemic proportions during warm humid weather. This is generally between November and March, although fly season can extend from OctoberJune. The blowflies lay their eggs in the damp wool and maggots can start hatching within a day and then start to eat the sheep’s flesh. Flystrike can occur rapidly, and sheep should be checked at least once-a-day in hot weather.

Best practice management is to have all sheep shorn and with clean bottoms in warmer months. This reduces the attraction for flies, which seek damp smelly wool in which to lay their eggs. Dirty bottoms are usually due to high worm burdens and/or changes in feed quality.

Well-nourished animals will cope well with parasites, as their natural immunity is strong. However, malnourished animals will succumb quickly and respond slowly to treatment. Bear in mind shearing alone is effective prevention for a few weeks, although shearing cuts and other wounds will attract flies.

Affected animals can be seen nibbling their wool, stamping their feet and twitching their tails before becoming depressed. Dark patches may also be seen on white fleece. Colonies of maggots may be difficult to find, so the wool should be systematically parted and checked.

Areas most commonly affected by flystrike are around the tail end, on the backline, on the belly where the feet touch when the sheep lies down, around the pizzle (prepuce/penis) in males, and between the ears of rams after fighting and head bashing.

Chemical prevention

Chemical prevention six weeks post-shearing is timely, as the wool length will hold the insecticide.

However, it can be applied earlier as required. Earlier treatment approaches involved organophosphate, or OP, dips and showers. But these rapidly became ineffective due to fly resistance. Current treatments involve using high-powered jetting races and Insect Growth Regulators. High-powered jetting races work very well, but if the sheep move through too quickly then the duration of activity may be reduced. IGRs work by interrupting the lifecycle of the maggot

fly strike is limited. It is now recommended that to control future resistance we should consider blowflies and lice separately and use different products for prevention and treatment of clinical cases. And please note: Long-acting products tend to have longer meat withhold periods, so for lambs approaching their finishing weights careful attention needs to be paid to the product used.

stages, preventing them from forming or casting their external skeleton.

In the early-2000s, resistance to some IGR products was identified in parts of the country.

Resistance is thought to have developed due to continued use of these sole products for all fly and lice prevention and treatment.

While these products are still effective for lice treatment, their use for prevention of

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DAIRY

Page 38

Isn’t it satisfying when a plan comes together?

It began 17 years ago with a passion, and a belief that more grass can be grown with less synthetic nitrogen.

As a dairy farmer, I was using 150 units of synthetic nitrogen and growing 14 tonnes grass/ha. Ten years later,

through a lot of experimentation and development, I was growing 19 tonnes grass/ha, using only 32 units of synthetic nitrogen.

All up, I had reduced my synthetic nitrogen use by 79 per cent and increased my pasture growth by 27 per cent. It’s a bold statement, isn’t it? But I did it on our family farm, and we are

in the process of doing it yet again – but in a dramatically reduced timeframe – through a unique and groundbreaking new programme we’ve called Total Replacement Therapy.

I left the farm in 2012 to enhance my passion, and I’ve spent the last seven years fine-tuning this process to get results quickly and efficiently.

New mission

My mission now is to regenerate the soils in New Zealand cost-efficiently and quickly, and to get the conditions ready for biology to activate change.

Total Replacement Therapy is the result of a team of international specialists combining their expertise in soil biology, chemistry, agronomy and nutrition.

The unique process gets clover fixing nitrogen naturally – the way it used to happen – so synthetic nitrogen can be switched off and replaced with the natural biological process.

We then introduce more biology and enhance their activity, which will help clover to replace artificial

nitrogen and reduce farmers’ reliance on synthetic nitrogen. But you can’t just go cold turkey with synthetic nitrogen; Total Replacement Therapy is a process with a set of steps that need to be followed.

Generally, we find that if you’ve been using a large amount of nitrogen there will be very little clover in your pasture, as synthetic nitrogen inhibits clover’s natural role of fixing nitrogen.

So the first, and biggest job, is to enable clover growth – before we can stop using synthetic nitrogen.

This is achieved by balancing the soil so the pH is ideal; there is a sweet spot where

clover likes to grow and natural biology starts to work.

Then, rhizobia – diazotrophic bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established inside the root nodules of legumes – work with clover nodules to take nitrogen from the air and into the soil via photosynthesis.

Soil conditions need to be ideal, but there is technology available that will enhance the speed of this change.

We can fix this

Our team is at the point where we are confident to enter a meeting fraught with worried farmers, who are unsure whether their business will survive changing regulations, and say: “We can fix this”.

We felt the only way we could make the point was to prove it; our confidence in the success of Total Replacement Therapy is based on actual experience.

Only 21 days into our first on-farm trial, we’re seeing exciting changes occur: clover growth has increased dramatically and we’ve started to see the pink colour that is present when clover is fixing nitrogen naturally.

We are confident the results from this trial will produce firm evidence that farmers can grow more grass with less synthetic nitrogen, at a lower cost.

And the benefits of Total Replacement Therapy also extend to reducing methane and leaching, as well as increasing water-holding capacity in the soil.

The reality is that things are changing, and farmers will be legally obliged to change their nitrogen habits.

And we can help in this situation without any upset to farmers’ profitability.

We feel we have an obligation to share our knowledge; the fruit of our wider team’s many combined decades of experience, research and trial work.

Total Replacement Therapy works, I have no doubt about that. But we are completing comprehensive monitoring – of pasture composition, worm population and soil structure, as well as regional council-sanctioned water and emissions testing – to ensure we can back up our claims with hard evidence.

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DAIRY

Page 39

What does ‘science-based’ actually mean?

Change is inevitable, and we are entering an era of unprecedented change with currentlyaccepted farming practices under review with widespread reform already underway.

Unfortunately, fundamental change doesn’t happen on a slow and steady basis, it’s nearly always abrupt resulting in major upheaval.

The change from horse-drawn transport to the motor car is a case in point. It was started by visionary and entrepreneurial people and initially met with fierce resistance from the masses.

The livelihoods of those supplying horses, along with tradespeople making and servicing carts and carriages were seriously threatened.

Ultimately, it’s about people and we love our routines and accepted ways of doing things – as we should. Too much change leads to the breakdown of communities with families under intense pressure.

Driven by observation

To answer the question posed, it appears that those asking for science to lead the way are those who have benefitted most from the structures that have operated during the last 30 years, and therefore most threatened by structural change.

Broadly, science is knowledge and everything we regard as fact will change. As we observe and measure, our knowledge changes, and science follows.

In agriculture, change has always been driven by observation in the field and with accurate long-term measures changes in farming practices have evolved.

Bill Gallagher was an engineer who, in the 1950s, saw the advantage in using electricity to control animals and developed the first electric fence units, and along with standards and flexible wire pasture management was revolutionised.

We are adaptable and when the requirement for change is accepted most knuckle down and get on

with the process that best suits the result desired.

To appreciate the soil fertility changes demanded by future standards it’s essential to know a little of the history of current practice.

Phosphate was first extensively used after the Second World War. A plentiful supply of high-grade lowcost phosphate was available from Nauru and Christmas Island and New Zealand soils required extra phosphorus for strong clover growth. Results were outstanding with pasture production of 17,000kgDM/ ha achieved and a ‘more rather than less’ mentality developed. In the 1980s the culture of excess phosphate, seen as ‘money in the bank’, persisted.

Capital fertiliser

Potassium provided further increases and banks readily provided money for capital fertiliser. Pasture responses to extra P and K steadily declined and when the ammonia urea plant in Taranaki opened in 1987, urea became the next big thing.

What started as a little to fill unexpected feed gaps and boost winter growth steadily grew to regular inputs throughout the growing season with more than 200kg/ha often applied annually to many dairy farms.

It’s interesting that total pasture production has not increased, instead pasture production is now between 14,000-15,000kgDM/ha in many regions, a 15 per cent reduction in the last 50 years.

There are, however, properties where grazed permanent pasture is regularly exceeding 18,000kgDM/ha per year. These properties are not dependent on fertiliser nitrogen and input seldom exceeds 30kgN/ha in a 12-month period.

Measuring of pasture growth has taken place monthly using the same methods traditionally used by MAF and therefore relatable to earlier measures.

With more than 15 years of continuous monitoring, and verified by farm production data, no-one argues the accuracy of the data, it’s just a matter of it being

outside the norm and therefore as yet not universally accepted.

Aside from the extra growth there are the benefits of lower cost, higher production, and less N loss that will be detailed in next month’s article. For more information, contact Peter on 0800 843 809.

Attention Farmers

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DAIRY

Page 40

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New Zealand is a country built on farming. Yes we are blessed with a benign climate, but the real reason we are the best food producer in the world is our people, and a tradition of innovation and adaptation.

It is the global demand for this food that’s helped us become the forwardthinking and well-developed society we are today. We produce enough food to feed more than 40 million people worldwide and these exports have allowed us as a country to afford high levels of healthcare, education and infrastructure. The simple fact is that the fusion of our farmers, our land and our drive for innovation is our international advantage, and we need to make the most of that to continue to succeed as a country.

Unfortunately, there has been a growing sense of concern within rural communities that this Government is completely blind to this reality and farmers feel their contribution is not valued.

Although we do not agree with everything in the Zero Carbon Act, National supported the Bill because we believe there should be an enduring independent Climate Change Commission to help provide certainty and stability for everyone to plan and respond. Business, households and consumers need to be confident that the advice and reports on any climate change policies are robust and transparent.

We put forward several changes to

make the Act more science-based and take into account economic impacts.

Unfortunately, every change National put forward in Parliament was blocked by New Zealand First.

Our proposed changes were: That the target for biological methane reduction be recommended by the independent Climate Change Commission. National believes the target in the Act of 24-47 per cent is too high and does not align with the independent science.

That the Act makes clear the stated aim of the Paris Agreement is for greenhouse gas reduction to occur in a manner that does not threaten food production.

To strengthen provisions that consider the level of action being taken by other countries and allow targets to be adjusted to ensure we remain in step with the international community.

To strengthen provisions for the commission to consider economic impacts when providing advice on targets and emissions reductions.

That the Act ensures the commission considers the appropriate use of forestry offsets, and has regard for the carbon sink represented by crops, riparian planting, and other farm biomass.

That emissions budgets be split between biogenic methane and carbon dioxide as recommended by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

That the Act includes a greater commitment to investment in innovation and research and development to find new solutions for reducing emissions.

Should we earn the right to govern in 2020 we’ll make these amendments in our first 100 days in office and ensure the Bill drives the appropriate longterm change while factoring in the wider impacts on the economy, jobs and incomes.

We support sensible and practical solutions to address climate change that do not damage our economy or drive up the cost of living and allow industries the freedom to grow and prosper.

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DAIRY

Wendy and David Harker with 18-year-old Socks, a pet cow descended from Wendy’s calf club calf six generations before. Photo: Catherine Fry.

‘If we look after them, they look after us’ Wendy and David Harker, of Westell Farm, Te Awamutu, both come from farming families that go back several generations. Their own home farm covers 240ha with two dairy sheds and they employ three staff.

They milk 440 cows, which are predominantly Holstein-Friesians with some Milking Shorthorns. Wendy has a passion for consistently purebred Holstein-Friesians, and takes the lead in the farm’s breeding programme.

In September 2017, the herd was fitte with SCR Monitoring Collars. Each cow wears a collar-mounted battery-operated device, with sensors that monitor her activity and send data to the nearest of three wireless base stations around the farm.

“The device monitors movement, and the pattern of the movement indicates whether the cow is walking, eating, ruminating or panting,” says Wendy.

If on heat, a cow has longer periods of activity and less time ruminating.

This data is graphed by the computer software and carefully monitored by the herd managers and Wendy.

“When we see the above pattern start, we know we have a 24-hour window for the cow to be mated,” says David.

All the cows are artificiall inseminated, by either David or the herd manager, who are trained AI technicians.

Wendy records the matings and calvings manually. Over time comprehensive reproductive data is built up for every cow. The system can also facilitate remote monitoring and the receipt of alerts on mobile phones.

“Because of the accuracy, we’ve taken around three weeks off our mating season in 2018,” says David.

All the cows are visually checked for health daily and “there is no substitute for that”. However, the system often alerts them prior to seeing the cows, if any are not very

A typical graph for an individual cow made up of data from an SCR monitoring collar. Photo: Supplied.

Socks the 18-year-old pedigree Holstein-Friesian wearing a SCR monitoring collar. Photo: Catherine Fry. active and potentially sick.

“We are able to treat them in earlier stages, and they recover in shorter periods of time,” says Dave.

Other useful data is knowing when a cow is overheated and panting or struggling to transition back into the herd post-calving. All the functions save time and are beneficial to the c ws’ welfare.

“Our cows aren’t just a number to us; if we look after them, they look after us” says Wendy.

The collar monitoring system has certainly helped with the Harker’s breeding goals and general welfare of the herd.

For Wendy, one disadvantage is if the system is ever down or she’s out of mobile phone coverage, she experiences withdrawal symptoms from being able to monitor her beloved cows.

Catherine Fry

Changes recommended for winter grazing The Winter Grazing Taskforce has made 11 recommendations to improve animal welfare in intensive winter grazing farm systems.

Agriculture Minister Damien Connor established the taskforce in response to concerns about the impacts on animal welfare resulting from some intensive winter grazing practices.

The recommendations include more work to understand and mitigate the long-term animal welfare consequences of intensive winter grazing practices, expanding knowledge of barriers to

adopting improved animal welfare practices, more active surveillance to ensure animal welfare standards are being met and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement the recommendations.

Damien says winter crop grazing is necessary in some parts of the country to provide enough feed for stock at a time when there’s not a lot of pasture.

“We must ensure farmers have the right tools and advice.”

An action group will now implement the recommendations.

Page 41

FEED MANAGEMENT/HAY & SILAGE

Page 42

The countdown to Christmas is on!

The countdown till Christmas is on. Lamb prices are looking good, averaging $9 per kg, which is an all-time high; and bulls are just tipping over $6 per kg.

So the sheep and beef guys are on a roll. It looks like dairying will produce mid $7 per kgMS – this indicates a good payout. Good news for these industries going into Christmas – and it’s certainly good for the rest of the community and related

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service industries too. The mad rush is on to get things done before December 25. For those growing turnips and maize crops it means getting weed spray on before the break and also a side-dressing of nitrogen.

Try to do this just before rain or before row cover and weeds get too big. If you do it too late the maize will be covering the weeds and the spray won’t get to them. Any spring-sown pasture should have been sprayed for weeds already.

If not, you’ll have weedy pasture.

Topping

Farmers should also be topping in front of the cows to cut that seed-flowering head off ryegrass and weeds, This ensures the next round is a good even cut or bite of quality pasture. Plus, this can provide room for eczema spores to get into the material, so try not to leave too much dead matter behind. Farmers need to be mindful that wet and hot humid weather can exaggerate eczema spores if too much dead matter is left behind.

The weather pattern could be leading into a weak El Nino or neutral phase.

So we may see increased temperatures and drier and warmer conditions in the east, and it could be slightly windier too. So we might get some hotter days, but we’ll also get some cooler days as well. We haven’t had a lot of rain in the last month or so.

We’ve had showers and bits and pieces but they haven’t amounted to a lot, so things will be slowly drying out. If we get hot scorching days leading up to Christmas, things might soon turn dry, so we need more follow-up rain.

Monitoring crops for white butterfly

and weeds is key at this time of year as well. To keep pests out you may need to do a follow-up pesticide or insecticide spray in early-January. Pests can certainly do a lot of damage.

Swede crops planted in November-December will need a weed spray at about the same time. You may think not much is happening on the farm – but the weeds don’t stop growing!

Busy roads

If you’re planning on making some hay or silage, book your contractors early, so they can have a break on the public holidays and know what days they have work on when they return. Here at Bill Webb Feed Solutions, we will close for the stat days but will still be contactable by phone if you require any feed on the working days. We’ll also be making hay by then, so get your orders in early and secure it straight from the paddock. This is the cheapest option as its removes double-handling, eliminating extra loading and delivery arrangements.

We also have straw and silage available now too.

Please, everybody to be careful on the roads over the summer season, especially with a lot of harvesting machinery on the roads in the Central North Island. This is their peak season unless we don’t get good amounts of rain in early December.

The team at Bill Webb Feed Solutions would like to wish Coast & Country News readers a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

We hope you all get a well-earned break. We need one!

Taking orders now for

Maize Silage

ENVIRO FRIENDLY FARMING

Page 43

Ditch traditional fert Farmers have to “move on” from traditional fertilisers and sprays, says Grant Paton.

Head of Paeroa-based Environmental Fertilisers, Grant says it has been proven that traditional fertiliser and spraying methods in the rural commercial sector are producing lesser results.

He says the equation is simple: Healthy soil produces healthy pasture and crops, which produces healthy animals and healthy people.

And he’s quick to point out that being environmentally-friendly is not about being a “mad treehugger”. There is a happy balance between traditional methods and biological fertilisers.

Pasture production has fallen 20 per cent in the last 20 years, says Grant. “And this will continue if we keep the status quo going.”

His knowledge comes from a lifetime in the rural sector, growing up on a family dairy farm near Matamata before majoring in soil science at Massey University.

Grant doesn’t see himself as any sort of fertiliser/spray visionary, simply learning by doing, starting out with a 44-gallon drum and a simple spray pump at Pukehina in the Bay of Plenty 25 years ago.

Since then he’s researched the subject in depth and spoken at various functions.

Grant says New Zealand soils have lost 50,000kg of carbon.

“It can’t hold nitrogen – a key to pasture and crop growth.”

Further, traditional fertilisers are “eroding” the essential elements

of the soil, says Grant, who read research material from the University of Waikato 15 years ago, comparing biological and conventional fertilisers, which showed 1000kg of carbon per hectare was being lost annually.

Because of this, he says the soil now can Environmental Fertilisers’ managing only hold an inch of director Grant Paton outside the company rainfall, making New headquarters in Paeroa.

Zealand farmland subject to “radical” and sprays BioGro-certified. flooding events. “Now everything is Grant’s products are tested on-site under stress.” in Paeroa, with different types Australia was having similar water of pasture and crops grown in issues in the past. Grant completed special tanks, alongside those using a biological fertiliser course traditional fertiliser and sprays. across the Tasman and says our Effective fertiliser/spraying neighbours are achieving positive programmes are not “one size fits results having taken on board “bio/ all”, says Grant. “The key is getting eco-friendly” methods.

With names like ‘Nature’s Nitro’, a programme to suit the individual Grant’s products contain natural farm’s needs, combining the ingredients which he says improve best of traditional and biological soil fertility, with a resulting products.” increase in pasture growth.

He would like to see a ‘bioThis means healthier animals, he regenerative’ agricultural centre says, with recent research showing developed in New Zealand to one-day-old calves from a herd provide national research on the 1 Railway St, Paeroa, PO Box 204, Paeroa 3640, New Zealand grazing on pasture grown with than people Telephone: 0800subject, 867 6737, rather Fax: 07 867 6068, Email: simply info@ef.net.nz biological fertiliser have twice the relying on work undertaken by www.ef.net.nz mineral density in their blood than private companies like his own. those from farms using traditional Grant says New Zealand farmers fertiliser methods. are making “subtle changes”, but Compliance of the company’s for real change to occur there needs operations is overseen by the to be a “national drive” in this Ministry for Primary Industries, with a majority of Grant’s fertilisers direction.

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“It is well-known that the use of RPR, or other Landco Fertiliser’s general manager Keith Jackson. non-water-soluble phosphate fertilisers, can reduce “Typically, there are water-soluble phosphates, phosphate loss to waterways by an extensive amount for example, superphosphate, or diammonium compared to superphosphate. phosphate, (DAP) and non-water-soluble “Hence, Landco Fertiliser is proud to have used phosphates, such as Reactive Phosphate Rock, known non-water-soluble forms of phosphate fertiliser as RPR, or guano. throughout its 12-year history, therefore limiting “Any phosphate that gets into a waterway can environmental damage.” be detrimental to the environment. However, characteristically, it’s the water-soluble phosphates that present the greatest risk of entering waterways via leaching and run-off.”

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Page 44

FARM VEHICLES, MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Thirteen tractors – it’s not unlucky!

Ngahinapouri dairy farmer Peter Butler has been restoring tractors for the last 15 years. It’s mainly a winter-time project as he milks cows the rest of the year.

Peter has to do a count-up to ascertain that he has 13 tractors. Ten Massey Fergussons and three Valtras. Eleven of these are now in good working order and two are currently being rebuilt.

Of the thirteen tractors, there are two

tractor

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240 Massey Fergussons; one was bought in Taranaki and one was brought from the South Island. And according to their numbers, they were built in England six months apart. “That was a surprise,” says Peter, who admits he’s loved tractors since he was a boy.

“And I’ve been driving them since I was six or seven. In those days you could do that and it was okay, it was normal.”

He’s currently working on a tractor that belonged to his wife Helen’s father.

Helen’s father bought the tractor new

Peter Butler says the motor is restored on this tractor, it just needs to be put back together. All Photos: Bridget Jochems.

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in 1962 and had to have it modified especially for him as he had only one hand. The throttle was put onto the left-hand side of the steering wheel so he could drive it.

“It may not look like it but I don’t have much to do to complete it; the motor has been fully rebuilt, it’s just a matter of putting it back together,” says Peter.

“I rebuilt it on the living room floor, whilst recovering from a knee operation.”

According to evidence and Helen, Peter has sophisticated mechanical

skills, gained from years of pulling things to bits and putting them back together, and does most of the mechanical restoration work himself.

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FARM VEHICLES, MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

continued...

Page 45

All operational tractors are used regularly.

“I can fix most tractors but not do the electronic work on the modern ones,” he admits.

Peter uses the 11 operational tractors regularly.

“The Massey 35X has the spray tank that we use to spray fish fertiliser on the vege garden, the Massey 240 has the hopper for Urea spreading, the 148 has the carry tray for calves and calf milk, the 245 has the attachment for shifting the effluent spreaders, and

the rest I use for odd jobs and just getting around.

“I like to drive the old tractors better than modern ones, I don’t need air conditioning or a radio.”

And he reckons it’s pretty difficult to choose a favourite.

“I guess I like them all or else I wouldn’t have so many.”

Peter says he really doesn’t have any regrets in life “except that I sold two of my tractors”.

“I sold them because I thought

that I had too many, but now they’re gone and some people would still say I have too many.”

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We might even throw a prize your way for a good yarn.

Bridget Jochems

New Taupo service centre for Norwood

Leading New Zealand supplier of farm machinery and farm equipment, Norwood, is expanding its nationwide presence with a new service centre opening in Taupo.

The new location at 13 Keehan Drive opened in early-November and is focusing on providing parts and service support for the region – however, it will be supported by the Te Awamutu sales team who will manage sales enquiries.

Norwood has 18 dealerships and two service centres spread across NZ, with each offering a range of equipment and brands specifically chosen to meet the needs of the farmers and contractors of that region.

And they represent some of the world’s largest farm machinery manufacturers, including Kubota, New Holland, MX and offer precision farming solutions.

Local dealer principal Craig Berkers leads a team of more than 50 throughout the Waikato and is excited about the support the new location will provide to new and existing Norwood customers.

“The central region is home to many lifestyle, dairy, forestry and engineering customers who up until now, have had limited local expertise to support their operations.

“We’re proud to be opening our new Taupo location, which will provide central North Island customers with convenient and professional parts, service and sales support.”

LOADER Craig says the benefit of dealing with Norwood OR MOWER is that you not only get the support of those in the ON ALL BX SWERIES Taupo region – “we have more than 50 staff in the Waikato and more than 400 nationwide”.

Those located in the central North Island can contact Marco Dubbeldam on 027 357 7872 for any aftersales related enquiries.

For sales related enquiries, contact one of the Te Awamutu based team: Bruce Doig 027 673 8888; Mike Thomson 027 443 7729; or Lindsay Ferguson 027 627 1730.

Craig says Norwood is looking forward to providing both new and existing centrally-located customers with an easy-to-reach destination for all their machinery parts, service and sales requirements.

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Page 46

FARM VEHICLES, MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

FARM VEHICLES, MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 47

Women take lead in farm safety pilot A range of health and safety initiatives – designed by women in farming – to help keep people safe on-farm are set to be piloted next year.

In recent months WorkSafe NZ, Rural Women NZ and Dairy Women’s Network teamed up to help turn around the high numbers of injuries and fatal incidents occurring on Kiwi farms. The agencies asked for women in farming in the Waikato and Northland to come together recently

The Capital Tractors team with one of 10 Limited Edition Black/Green Deutz-Farh tractors.

New orchard tractor range on offer for BOP growers Capital Tractors has some very exciting news for orchardists – just arrived is the new and improved Deutz-Fahr range of orchard tractors, with new specs designed to make it easier to get the big jobs done.

Managing director Reg Hedges says this range has been designed and modified during the last four years, and offers more driver comfort, including more functional lever positioning, lowered foot plates, and lowered seat height to only 750mm.

“This is one of the lowest in the industry and is especially important for green and red kiwifruit varieties.” Plus, the dealership will have 10 Limited Edition Black/Green Deutz-Fahr orchard tractors in a mixture of 80hp and 100hp. “Tractors will be numbered 1-10 and will be released for sale shortly,” says Reg. “So call us to get your name on the list for one of the new super smart and comfortable Limited Edition Deutz-Fahr tractors.”

Reg says Capital Tractors has also been working

hard behind the scenes designing a new logo for their business which incorporates the key colours of their tractor portfolio – Deutz-Fahr green and Kioti Orange. “This has started to be used in our advertising, and will roll out during the next few months,” says Reg. “But while we have a new logo we still have the same great staff, same quality stock, same fair pricing, and same first-rate workmanship.”

Capital Tractors is the Power Farming dealer for the Western Bay of Plenty and now also for the Whakatane and Opotiki areas; their friendly salesmen have been calling in to new clients to introduce themselves and the company and chatting to existing customers as well. They also have field service technicians in the area, available to repair and service at the customer’s premises.

“Our salesmen have been enjoying a great reception from customers and discussing how we can help support their business operation; we look forward to meeting more of you during the coming summer months,” says Reg.

to design health and safety initiatives fit for the farm. WorkSafe’s director of engagement and implementation Paula Knaap says almost nine in every 10 deaths in NZ workplaces are men. “We need to try something different to get our farms and farmers on board with safer practice. It is clear women on-farm are drivers for systemic and sustained change.” Each group had opportunity to take forward ideas to trial on their farms or wider farming community.

Page 48

TRAVEL

Two new high country tours of the south High Country Journeys’ two new fully guided tours are becoming extremely popular, with North Islanders heading down for one, while the other attracts past clients, says Ranfurly-based owner-operator John Mulholland.

The ‘South Island High Country Grand Slam’ is a seven-day/eight-night package that starts in Blenheim and takes in Molesworth Station, then winds through the North Canterbury high country, the Lake Coleridge and Rakaia River area then through the Mackenzie Country to Cardrona/Wanaka in Central Otago.

A small High Country Journeys’ tour travelling near Lake Heron.

“A lot of our clients are coming down from the North Island anyway, so it was a logical progression to offer them an option to do Molesworth on the way.”

The ‘Great Mackenzie Country and Central Otago Explorer’ is a six-day/five-night tour starting near Lake Ohau and takes in rugged tussock lands and majestic high country of the lower Mackenzie Country/ Lindis Pass and Central Otago area and ends in Cardrona.

“This option has some incredibly

stunning new tracks and is popular with past clients who’ve done some of our other tours,” says John.

“Keeping our tours smaller and using local farmstays whenever we can is one of the reasons they are so popular.”

John says the tours are an adventure and a holiday that combine fine hospitality in very comfortable rural farmstays, good food, farming tales, high country yarns and four-wheel-driving through stunning scenery with passionate local guides who really

know the country.

“You’re able to drive your own 4WD vehicle, or a hired one, and travel at a relaxed pace from station-to-station as part of a small personal group of vehicles, each with radio contact, accessing remote tracks – some only available to High Country Journeys.”

If you’ve ever wanted to see the back country and enjoy the iconic South Island sheep stations, the isolation and majestic scenery, in your own time, contact John.

See the real West Coast via 4WD Have you ever travelled the South Island’s West Coast? If not, you should call Robbie and Connie Crickett. They are owneroperators of the long-established NZ Adventures back country tours.

The West Coast tour changes quickly from tawny open grassland to lush green beech forest.

And even if you have seen the West Coast before, you won’t have seen what they show – in 4WDs off the beaten tracks.

“One of the great things about our five-day West Coast trip is it’s so different from our other offerings, which are mostly on the South Island’s eastern side,” says Robbie.

“This West Coast tour shows the difference graphically on day one as the route takes participants northwest out of Hanmer Springs and the tussockcovered vastness of Molesworth Station.

“Quite suddenly, the vegetation trackside changes from tawny open grassland to lush green of the beech forest.

“And the actual character of the trip changes as the dust becomes less and the tour becomes more intimate and about the immediate surroundings and sounds and smells of the bush.”

The West Coast Explorer has two overnights in Murchison, then one night each in Westport and Reefton before reaching Greymouth.

Robbie says there’s a real mix of interesting aspects to the trip – as it takes in historic and modern mining of coal and gold that the coast is so well-known for.

“But it also covers bushclad tracks that make this type of planned off-road adventure so much fun while still making the safety of all participating a priority.”

Participants bring their own or rental 4WD vehicles on tours – what’s needed is decent all-terrain tyres and enthusiasm to get out amongst New Zealand’s back country well off the hard-beaten tourist path.

WAIKATO/KING COUNTRY FOCUS

Work on your FEP

Aria farmer Anna Nelson on her and husband Munta’s 1100ha sheep and beef farm.

Anna Nelson is a firm advocate of farmers working on their own Farm Environment Plans, rather than leaving it solely to an expert.

Anna’s husband Munta Nelson completed the first FEP for their 1100ha effective sheep and beef property in 2007, which has been farmed by the Nelson family for 50 years. “Doing the plan yourself, or at least the groundwork, is part of the process of building a deeper understanding about the land you have. It also builds a sense of ownership, which means it’s less likely to get left on the shelf.

“Don’t get me wrong,” says Anna. “There’s definitely value in having someone external look over things. It’s always interesting to hear what someone else has to say, but there is real value in building your own plan.”

For the Nelsons, the FEP is a living document, and has been updated several times since it was developed.

“Reading the plan then throwing it in the drawer is a missed opportunity,” says Anna. “It helps us prioritise investment decisions about replanting, waterway exclusion and our hill country erosion control programme.”

Roughly one-third of their Aria, King Country, property is steep hill country; another third is rolling hills, which they use for finishing and high performance breeding, with the last third used primarily for finishing.

Well before FEPs were a thing, the Nelsons have been taking care of their land. A poplar planting programme has been in place for 20 years or so, helping to stabilise steep hill country; 20ha of regenerating natives has been fostered over many years, with another 3ha fenced off in 2019; and massive investment has been made in waterway exclusion in recent years, with 90 per cent of permanently flowing waterways on their property now protected from cattle.

“Rather than making the land fi fit the stock or system, we want to run the farm in a way that suits that land we’re on. It’s about farming to fit the land,” says Anna of her and husband Munta’s philosophy.

Waikato Regional Council is phasing in compulsory FEPs during the next seven years, with farmers and commercial vegetable growers with properties inside the priority one sub-catchment required to submit an FEP by March 2022. Properties within the priority two sub-catchment must present an FEP by March 2025, and priority three areas by July 2026.

Under WRC rules, farmers can put together an FEP themselves but a certified farm environment planner needs to approve the plan and submit it to council.

Page 49

Water solutions for home and farm To put an end to water quality or filtration issues at your place, talk to Waikato-based Purewater Products NZ. Operating for more than 25 years, they specialise in all aspects of rural water filtration and treatment, says owner Julie Cleaver. “This includes filtration both for residential/lifestyle and whole-farm systems.”

“Residentially, Purewater Products has filtration options at the kitchen tap and for the whole house. Julie says rural water filtration includes treatment of rainwater, bore, stream and spring water supplies. “For those on rainwater, we can offer advice on the best solution. As rainwater uses tanks for storage, we recommend an Ultraviolet Steriliser to eliminate bacteria and remove viruses.” Julie says in particular, E.coli is a risk on rainwater and other water supplies stored in tanks.

“This can cause stomach upsets.

Removing dirt and sediment is also vital – as is ensuring water is Giardia and Cryptosporidium safe.”

For bore and spring water, both for house and farm Julie recommends testing water first. “At Purewater Products we can remove Iron, Manganese and Nitrates, address pH and water hardness.”

Water supplies that feed farms often require filtration to meet Fonterra’s water testing standards. This testing can result in farmers incurring penalties and water restrictions, says Julie. “Ideally, treating water for potential and existing contaminants thus avoiding penalties is desirable.

“Our staff have experience in advising on filtration solutions to meet Fonterra water testing.”

Purewater Products offer a free site visit throughout the Waikato to offer advice and recommendations on water solutions. To contact, see their advert on this page.

Josephine Reader

Hard working engineering.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 50

classified listings curriculum vitae

CV’s THAT STAND OUT. Don’t let your C.V. get lost amongst all the others. Get the WOW factor. A C.V. For You can provide you with a personal and professional touch.

From scratch or update existing ones. Check out samples on www. facebook.com/acvforyou or Ph/text on 021 27 27 912.

for sale

PULLETS HY-LINE BROWN, great layers. Phone 07 824 1762 www.eurekapoultryfarm.weebly.com

house sitters

HOUSE SITTING WANTED, active retired couple. Farm or lifestyle blocks or similar. Ph Brian or Julie 027 206 1605

trades & services

National News online.... including business, sport, politics & more!

Major International & Regional News updates

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Download your free App now!

LIST YOUR RURAL EVENT HERE! email your listing to: merle@sunmedia.co.nz with ‘Rural Event’ in the subject line.

Dec 7

Crop Swap, 10am-11am, 14 Jocelyn St, Katikati. Veges, fruit, seeds, baking, books, eggs, etc all welcome. Ph 07 549 4522.

Dec 7-8

Iwitahi Native Orchid

Reserve Working Bee, Sika Lodge (near Taupo), accommodation cost includes meals. Ph Bill: 06 836 6735.

Vintage Field Days, 9am4pm, Model Barn, 57 Orongo Rd, Thames, $5/$10. See: vintagebarn.co.nz

Dec 13

Carols at the Quarry, Te

Puna Quarry Park, off SH2 north of Tauranga (rain day Dec 14).

Dec 20

Dec 29

Pick Your Own Lavender,

9am-5pm, 398 Marshmeadow Rd, Hamilton, $10/jar of flowers.

Dec 27

Gisborne Rodeo, 10am start,

Birrel St, Gisborne, $15 adults Ph Bonnie: 021 0877 6466.

Dec 28

Opotiki Rodeo, 10am-1pm, St

John St, Opotiki. Ph Jane: 07 315 5859 or 021 151 7553.

No dogs, no BYO.

Taupo Rodeo, 8am start,

Broadlands Rd, Taupo, family $30. Ph Raylene: 07 3496 075 or 021 806 752. No dogs, no glass.

Dec 30

Mercury Bay Emergency Services Summer Festival, 9am-4pm, Whitianga. See: tinyurl.com/yep6wzqs

Jan 1

Free Opera Concert, 7.30pm,

Whangamata RSA. See: tinyurl.com/ygww52l9

Jan 4

Food & Wine Festival, 9am-4pm, Tairua School. See: tairuawineandfood.co.nz

Jan 4

Waihi Beach Summer Fair, 10am-4pm, Wilson

Park, $2. See: www. waihibeachsummerfair.com

Jan 12

Picturesque Gardens,

Waikato Museum exhibition supporting the newest garden at Hamilton Gardens, free entry.

Vintage enthusiasts gather for show A show celebrating New Zealand’s pioneering past with displays of classic and not-so-classic trucks, vehicles, machinery and engines returns to Thames again this month.

Vintage Fields at 57 Orongo Rd, Thames, on December 7-8 will have more than 100 vintage cars, motorcycles, military vehicles, stationary engines, and trucks – old and new – on display at the event, which is held every two years.

Even the parking lot is worth a look reckons event organiser Jeremy Welsh, thanks to the classic car clubs and others that come along.

Hosted by the Model Barn, Vintage Barn and the Thames Lion Club, Vintage Fields is a casual get-together in the Coromandel countryside for vintage exhibitors and enthusiasts, says Jeremy.

“Food stalls are available, but some visitors bring their own barbecue and make a day of it.

Vintage tractors are among the Lots of people even many vehicles on display at come along in period Vintage Fields. costume,” says

Jeremy.“The exhibition changes daily. Exhibitors come and go throughout the weekend, so what’s on display on Saturday is typically different to what’s there on Sunday.”

Renowned New Zealand tractor enthusiast Edgecumbe-based Jim Richardson, who owns more than 300 tractors, is displaying a 1938 Silver King tractor at Vintage Fields.

Silver Kings were manufactured by the FateRoot-Heath Co beginning in 1933 in Plymouth, Ohio, and were initially called ‘Plymouth’, explains Jim. However, Chrysler Corporation sued Fate-Root-Heath to stop them from using the ‘Plymouth’ name, which at the time was a popular model of car manufactured by Chrysler, so the tractors then became Silver Kings.

“The first tractors off the FateRoot-Heath Co production line had three wheels, but, my Silver King is the lower, more stable four-wheeled version, and has a top speed of around 25m/hr, which was quite fast in its day,” says Jim. The tractor was lucky to avoid damage in the April floods that caused extensive damage Jim’s Edgecumbe property, because it hadn’t yet been transported to his home.

Old tractors are Jim’s passion, and he enjoys restoring them to their former glory.

While he made a few adjustments to get the Silver King running a bit smoother, it was largely in good nick when he bought it.

Apart from the Silver King and other tractors and vehicles on display, Vintage Fields visitors have the opportunity to peruse thousands of scale models of tractors, trucks and farm machinery in the Vintage Barn.

Entry to Vintage Fields classic and vintage day is free for exhibitors, and $5 per person, or $10 per car, with all proceeds going to the Thames Lions Club for local projects.

Josephine Reader

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Thinking of selling?

Stand out

from the crowd at the 2020 Avocado Food & Wine Festival List your avocado property with me in November to early January and have it launched at the Katikati Avocado Food & Wine Festival, a celebration of everything avocado, attracting over 5000 avocado loving visitors from all over the North Island!

The 2020 Avocado Food and Wine Festival is set to rock the Uretara Domain in the heart of the avocado capital - Katikati - on Saturday January 18th 2020. Entertainment on the day will include the Topp Twins, Kokomo and Caleb Cross.

So make sure your property stands out from the crowd and have it launched at the 2020 festival! I offer a specialised free marketing campaign tailored for avocado orchards, free entry into the event and a place under the shade in my VIP marquee stocked with cold water and lavish condiments - for any properties that list exclusively with me before the festival.

Contact Durrelle today for more details.

Durrelle Green - your avocado property specialist

027 949 3725

durrelle.green@eves.co.nz Licensed under the REAA 2008

Page 51

Page 52

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

The best of 2019 • Hay & Silage Medium square Bales

Coast & Country News photographers have traversed all over the Franklin, Waikato, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, King Country and Central Plateau regions this year, telling people’s stories of what they’re

doing on and with the land through the camera lens.

With this edition being our last for 2019, we’re sharing some of best snaps of the year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Moniek van Rossum with her milking goats.

Mulching

• Forestry Mulching & Gorse Mulching 2.5m Mulching head

Owen Pratt, with a Splash Orpington.

Peter Kelly in one of his mulched maize paddocks.

A Crank Up day tug of war.

ADNZ stud dog ‘Asher’ relishing country life.

Harvest time at Zealong Tea Estate.