ere’s a patch of wild da odils beneath the spreading oaks on a berm near my ga in Tauranga. Unremarkable, but kind of special to me.
ey’re my own Punxsutawney Phil – the Pennsylvania groundhog. If he leaves his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob and can see his shadow, the town gets six more weeks of winter. If he can’t, then Punxsutawney gets an early spring.
All the locals put on top hats and tuxedos and trek to Gobbler’s Knob to wait for Phil to emerge and give them a nod either way. Not sure of Phil’s success rate, but it’s still a weird but wonderful view of reality. Why do you need a seasonal clock, or calendar, or met service, if you have a tame ground hog?
My da odil patch is a much more pragmatic.
e patch is regularly scalped by the council mowing contractor. en, one day when I drive past, it’s not scalped. And the da odils stems have burst skyward.
e stems are signal enough, I don’t need the blooms to remind me Vernal Equinox has, or is
about to, arrive. Vernal Equinox – sounds like a distinguished matron from the country manor.
Of course she – Vernal that is - is the rst day of spring.
It’s a little complicated, because most of us celebrate, or observe, the rst day of spring on September 1. We like nice tidy three month blocks of seasons. But the spring equinox here in the southern hemisphere corresponds to Saturday, September 23.
It’s only twice a year the earth’s axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the sun resulting in equal amounts of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. ese are the equinoxes that happen in September or spring and again in autumn.
Either way, the da odil stems and dear ‘Vernal’ lift us all out of the winter gloom – out of the damp, the depression, the lethargy, the irritability. e brain gets a blast of serotonin – nature’s happy juice. And suddenly we are surrounded by new birth, new growth and new hope. Spring has sprung. I feel better already. I will send some of my da s to celebrate.
e sight of da odils usually means spring is around the corner.
A beacon of positivity, radiating an infectious energy. A living legend. ese are just a handful of terms used to describe Tauranga man John Barton.
John, or JB as he was known to many people, the brains and e ort behind Tauranga Youth Search and Rescue, passed away last month.
He had numerous coronaries since 2013 and open heart surgery in 2016.
“After a major heart attack during an angiogram a few months ago, they sent me home from Waikato Hospital because they can’t do anything for me,” John told SunLive reporter Hunter Wells back in 2022. Fast-forward to this week, and many people are sharing their memories of JB.
YSAR Trust CEO Steve Campbell says JB is a “legend in every sense of the word”.
“My journey alongside JB began during my time at the NZ Police in Tauranga, where we united our e orts in the realm of Search and Rescue.
“Together, we embarked on
countless searches and training missions, forming a bond forged in the crucible of shared experiences.”
Steve says JB was a beacon of positivity, “radiating an infectious energy that ignited our spirits and motivated us to always strive for improvement”.
“I remember vividly the moment that ignited JB’s passion for Youth Search and Rescue.
“It was during a regional Land Search and Rescue meeting in Rotorua back in 2004. A member from Hamilton Land
Search and Rescue returned from the USA, and red up about a youth development program in SAR. JB was captivated by the idea declaring, I remember; ‘We should do that in Tauranga’.”
And so began the journey of YSAR, and JB’s determination never wavered.
“JB’s passion was palpable when he interacted with students, sharing his SAR experiences and wisdom,” says Steve.
“With every story, he
New Zealand has no farms infected with the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis (M.bovis) as the joint Government and primary sector eradication e ort moves into its next phase.
Biosecurity and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced the milestone last month as New Zealand moves closer to a world- rst eradication of the disease.
e last known infected property in MidCanterbury has been destocked and declared disease-free, taking New Zealand to zero con rmed infections.
“Five years of hard work, sacri ce, and collaboration with MPI, DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb New Zealand have brought us to this milestone on the road to eradication,” says O’Connor said.
“I want to acknowledge the hardship which a ected farmers and families have felt during this time. I also want to thank the broader sector who’ve stepped up their animal tracing e orts, allowing us to move the programme on to a new
surveillance phase.
“Allowing M. bovis to become endemic was estimated to come at a cost of $1.3 billion in lost production in the rst ten years alone.
“At the height of the programme there was a peak of 40 infected properties across the country and today we have none.
“While we’ve had brief periods in the past where we had no infections, we still had possible cases being investigated. is is the rst time we’ve had no cases and no investigations.”
“In 2018 we announced the bold decision with our partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand to be the rst in the world to eradicate M. bovis from New Zealand to protect our national herd, Kiwi farming businesses, and our record export growth.
“We can’t say yet that we’ve reached eradication as we may still detect new cases in the future, but with no con rmed infection from our background surveillance since April 2022, we can be con dent that we are moving in the right direction.”
captivated their hearts, and they absorbed his teachings like sponges. Standing tall in stature, he carried himself with pride, waving the YSAR ag at every opportunity.”
Yet, beyond his SAR endeavours, JB was a dear friend who stood by Steve during one of life’s darkest chapters.
“A devoted husband to Judi, he often marvelled at her goodness and his luck in having her,” says Steve.
“A loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, he over owed with pride for his family.”
JB leaves behind a legacy etched in the hearts of his family, the YSAR community, and all whose lives he touched, says Steve.
Food producers struggling through six months of adverse weather are calling to support each other as winter sets in.
Statistics from the Metservice show in the rst ve months of this year, 1109.4mm of rain fell at Tauranga Airport. e historical average is 561.6mm.
Brent Mountfort admits for some, the prolonged drenching may simply be the nal straw.
BOP Federated Farmers president
“In the past, there’s been the feeling of ‘ok, we can handle this’ but if you add all the strain farmers have been under; Covid, new water regulations, the emissions scheme and now add a cyclone and ve months of rain, it adds up to a lot of stress,” he says. “I’m a positive
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He says the ground and waterways are simply unable to cope with the deluge.
“With silt and debris in the streams and drains, and the soil already saturated, there’s nowhere for the water to go.”
Adding to the nancial pressure, fence posts were washed away in an unexpected deluge and ten hectares of maize planted to feed his herd has been destroyed.
Paengaroa dairy farmer Darryl Jensen has low lying paddocks that normally ood twice in winter or in major weather events. So far this year, they’ve been underwater ve times.
Darryl has sent 150 cows o property to graze.
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“It’s unprecedented,” he says. “We’re halfway through the year and we’ve already had the same amount of rain we’d see in a year. It’s double the normal rainfall.”
“I wouldn’t normally have to do that at this time of year,” he says. “We do our best to create a resilient and self-su cient business but sometimes you have to change the plan. It’s an added expense but I needed to relieve the pressure on the land to prepare for calving.”
“It’s another nancial hit but I’m certainly not the only one su ering. I’ve also been told of other horrendous crop failures,” he says. “ is is when we need to keep talking to each other to cope with the stress. We call it ‘lean on the gate and talk to a mate’. Getting o property to put it out of your mind for a while is also important.”
Brent farms sheep and beef at Matata and agrees that those not coping need to reach out.
“When I was a townie, I’d listen to storms at night and think “oh, that’s a nice drop of rain for the garden’, but now I’m a farmer, I have a whole di erent perspective,” he says. “All I can do is encourage farmers to keep talking and if you’re in a good head space, keep an eye on your neighbours.”
e adverse weather has also had a signi cant impact on the Bay’s orchardists. NZ Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated CEO Colin Bond says ooding, hail and cyclones have reduced the crop size resulting in one of the most nancially unrewarding harvests in memory.
“Originally thinking 160 million trays of kiwifruit would be produced, the nal number for New Zealand production is more likely to be well under 140 million trays,” he says. “A far reach from 2022’s 175 million trays.” Colin says Cyclone Hale was particularly devastating, with many orchards experiencing damage from wind and hail either dropping the fruit or rubbing it, impacting on its quality and ability to be sold.
“ ere were also several cases of low-lying orchards becoming ooded for long periods of time which starved the plants’ roots of oxygen.
Unfortunately, there were orchards in Te Puke and Paengaroa area that experienced signi cant silt damage to their orchards from the associated ooding,” he says.
e reduced yield has put many kiwifruit growers under the most nancial pressure in recent memory.
“NKZGI will be keeping a close eye on cost increases for growers, especially as the rateable value for orchards gets revaluated.”
Help is also in place for farmers in the form of Rural Support Trust
(0800 787 254) Darryl says it’s the lifeline that farmers can turn to at any time. He took over the farm from his parents and despite the current stress, he doesn’t plan to leave.
“We’re happy farming. I think we have an attachment to the land,” he says. “I applaud people who can pass it down through the generations but it’s getting harder to do. Some of us will have to go cap in hand to the bank.
“It’s not nice to do but it’s the reality of farming and being at the mercy of nature.”
Extreme weather and the spread of disease has seen some North Island olive growers ditch harvesting altogether this season.
e country’s 300 or so olive farms have been crunching the numbers from harvest which runs from late March through to July.
Olives New Zealand executive o cer Emma Glover says heavy rainfall, low sunshine hours and Cyclone Gabrielle resulted in lower yields which will have ow on e ects for olive oil supply.
She says many smaller, hobby-type growers, who contribute to New Zealand extra virgin olive oil pool, have been hit hard this season.
“What we’re nding is because of wet there’s been a lot more disease in the trees pre harvest, so smaller growers just haven’t bothered harvesting this year.
“ e cost just wasn’t worth it for them when they had low volume of product - so I guess that’s where it’s
fallen out.It is really disappointing, but it’s been tough.”
Unfortunately, fungal fruit disease anthracnose has a ected around a third of local olive production, she says.
It’s seen as the worst disease for olive fruit globally, spreading easily in warm and wet weather - and rotting the fruit from the inside out.
“Anthracnose is one of the bigger problems.
“A lot of groves across the country, especially in the North Island, that have never seen it in the grove before, have got it quite badly and that a ects the fruit.
“Fruit that’s got anthracnose in it, it ruins the oil, so you can’t produce it.
“Oil that I’ve received to go get certi ed to be extra virgin olive oil is down on numbers probably about a third compared to last year at this stage, but I’m hoping there will be some late oil coming through.”
Emma expects consumer prices for olive oil to continue to rise while
Europe holds low volumes of oil and Australian growers report lower yields.
Monique Steel/RNZ
rough tragedy and tough times, one thing that has remained constant for Kelly Phelps is her passion for animals, hens in particular, and their welfare.
In the early 2010s, Kelly su ered a brain injury and couldn’t continue with her work in the world of banking.
One day she saw a Jamie Oliver programme talking about him rescuing battery hens in the UK.
“ at concept really caught my attention as I was already interested in hens and was breeding and showing Araucanas. e conditions under which caged hens lived in New Zealand was appalling and it gave me an idea,” says Kelly.
Kelly was looking at getting back into something after her injury, so she and her husband Blair rescued 20 caged hens and tried rehabilitating and rehoming them.
It really took o and Free as a Bird Rescue was established. Over the next few years they rescued thousands of caged hens from being culled at the end of their most productive laying period.
When rescued, the hens are wormed, treated for mites and other issues like being egg bound or infected injuries. ey occasionally have to be humanely put down. Otherwise they perk up when fed good high protein, meat based food
and allowed to forage freely and behave like hens.
“It’s a good feeling to see these girls come back to life and grow back their feathers. People are very supportive and love taking on these hens.
“ ey thrive in their new homes and often have another few years of laying left in them.”
Kelly wanted to train as a vet nurse and handed over the reins of Free as a Bird to someone else in 2018.
In April 2019, Blair tragically died in a motorcycle accident and Kelly didn’t complete her course. Covid-19 came along, and it was a di cult time for her.
“ e opportunity to take back responsibility for Free as a Bird came up and I took it, although I now do it on a part time basis.”
e New Zealand Animal Charity, Free Animals From Exploitation are always very supportive of the work Kelly is doing.
“SAFE were instrumental in the law change banning of caged hen farming, and I am proud that I have played a role in that process.”
Now Kelly works as a medical receptionist and rescues hens from colony, barn and free range farms when they are due to be culled.
“I do it on a smaller scale now, and we have many repeat customers who are invested in having these hens.”
Although there is an adoption fee for these hens, Free as a Bird doesn’t make any pro t. Kelly laughs at that concept.
“By the time we pay for quality food and vet care there is nothing left over. e adoption fee certainly helps, but Free as a Bird is de nitely a labour of love.”
Kelly uses the rescue as an educational platform and has worked with schools in the past.
Some newly rescued hens needing some TLC. Kelly breeds Araucana hens.
“One time, students adopted a rescue hen and we taught them how to care for them. e hens were then judged on Ag day on how well they had recovered.”
Protein is the key for growing feathers and egg production.
“Hens are omnivores, and they
need a quality, meat based feed, along with greens and any bugs they nd while foraging.”
As the saying goes “good food equals good production”.
Now Kelly is living with her new partner, who wholeheartedly supports Free
as a Bird, and helps with the rescues and animal care. With two horses, ve dogs, ducks, sheep and constantly changing hen numbers, the pair certainly have their hands full!
Be vigilant, is the message from Federated Farmers in the wake of rising rural crime.
Matamata branch chair Matthew Zonderop says thieves targeting farms have become more brazen and proli c over the past ve years.
“Motorbikes have been stolen while farmers are milking.”
Matthew, a dairy farmer at Te Poi, says “tried and true” items –chainsaws, quad bikes, electric-based power tools and electric fence unitsare most sought after by farm thieves. ese are targeted items, stolen to order and on-sold, he says.
It is not uncommon for thieves to strike in broad daylight, when a landowner is busy on the farm or home at lunch.
Petrol and diesel are also “hot items”.
On the road where he lives with his family, Matthew says vehicle was spotted in a neighbour’s paddock about 1.30am, with seats taken out and empty petrol cans on board.
Nothing was taken and the matter reported to police.
Matthew says he has even heard of calf-rearing trailers being stolen for use in irrigation of cannabis crops.
Contractors working on farm sites have also been “hit” for tools and materials.
Matthew says Rural Crime Prevention groups
have been existence for a number of years – akin to Neighbourhood Support in residential areas – and have stepped up to use social media platforms. e issue is country-wide, across all sectors of the industry, he says.
Crime prevention in rural areas is most e ective when it involves a partnership between rural people, police, local authorities and local organisations.
Keep in mind police may need to travel long distances to get to you.
Call 111 when you need immediate help with a life-threatening or timecritical emergency.
Some emergencies will need more than one service Ask for the service which is needed most urgently.
All emergency services have links to each other, and the rst service called will notify the other services if they are required.
For non-urgent situations, call 105 or visit your local police station.
If there’s no immediate danger or the incident happened a while ago then it’s probably not an emergency.
Farmers should have a detailed inventory of all personal valuables and household and business equipment, including model and serial numbers, inscriptions, and other identifying features. e police need to know the pattern of crime in an area.
Steve Edwards
Stokman Angus is busy calving and preparing for their annual yearling sale on September 20, where they will be o ering more than 100 bulls and 40 heifers.
Jake Stokman says there are good reasons for farmers to buy yearlings instead of two-yearold bulls.
“Firstly, they are cheaper.”
Raising two-year-old Angus bulls this winter averaged more than $9500.
“At our sale we averaged $5700 on 100 bulls, but there were 40 per cent of the bulls that sold for between $2200 and $4000.
“You also get more use with yearling bulls, as you get an extra breeding season out of them, and faster genetic gain as you can introduce newer genetics into your herd a year earlier.”
Jake says yearlings are usually fitter and more agile as they are still growing, and haven’t got all that extra weight.
“You just need to ensure they are well grown when you purchase them, and look after them
after mating season. ey mix in the herd better and are easier to handle than older bulls.”
Earlier breeding means the bulls are maintained at weights below their genetic potential and as a result, less stress on their skeletal structure.
“Our bulls are well grown and will average more than 500kg on sale day. ey are HD50k tested for more EBV accuracy, carcass scanned, fertility tested and are known for their docility.
“We concentrate on calving ease, short gestation, low birth, above average growth and adequate carcass traits. It’s all about balance!”
One New Zealand company has come up with a way to make shearing a little easier.
e need for a portable shearing/clipping machine that one could use on stock in the yards, prompted David Short from Manawatu to use his previous car building skills to invent the Handypiece in 2008.
e main bene t of the Handypiece is that you can work anywhere at any time with no mains power required, says a Handypiece spokesperson.
Features include: variable speed from 2600 – 3500rpm. “Dagging, crutching and trimming cows tails operate well at a mid-speed of 2800 rpm, while shearing can wind it all of the way up to 3500rpm.
“ e brushless motor means the battery lasts even longer as it is possible to crutch up to 300-400 sheep from one charge.”
Handypiece has a comprehensive website with details available on their advert on this page.
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Resource consent has just been granted for Ōmokoroa Country Club which promises to be one of the nest retirement villages ever built in New Zealand.
Residents are looking forward to moving in next February. Construction of 162 standalone villas will get underway in July this year. Developer Sanderson Group con rms presales have exceeded all expectations and many Villas have already been snapped up.
“We will be raising the bar as high as possible at the Ōmokoroa Country Club,” says director Daryl Scott.
“Combing all our previous years’ experience to ensure it will be the nest retirement village in the Bay of Plenty by some margin, and alongside our other Sanderson Group villages, will set the benchmark for the very best of Retirement living in the country.
“ ere’s huge demand for luxury retirement living and premium care facilities and we feel Ōmokoroa is the perfect location for our high-end approach.
“We wanted to make sure that every requirement was catered to and provide the ultimatwe retirement living experience.”
Peace of mind
In addition to the villas, Ōmokoroa Country Club will provide peace of mind for its residents with a full continuum of care being available including a wide range of care suite options as well as memory care in its dementia-friendly facility.
Its 1700m² clubhouse (one of the biggest in New Zealand) will house a bar, café, dance oor, billiards room, state-of-the-art movie theatre and library.
An exclusive 700m2 health spa will include a swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium, hairdresser and two specialist consulting rooms for beauty treatments and massage therapists. Residents will also bene t from motorhome parking and a hobby shed for those wanting to keep a hand in projects.
One of the jewels of the village will be the stunning Lakehouse overlooking the Waipapa stream which borders the site. oughtfully designed to blend in with the natural landscape and residents will be able to use the space to indulge in their favourite hobbies or meet friends for evening drinks and nibbles.
is will be an idyllic spot to unwind and watch the sun set across the lake and Kaimai ranges, a perfect end to a relaxing day. Sanderson Group is long-recognised as the leaders in high-quality retirement living, having developed Queenstown Country Club, Bethlehem Country Club, Tamahere Country Club, Bethlehem Shores, Ōmokoroa Country Estate as well as several other quality retirement villages across New Zealand. e Group are continuing to focus on the Bay of
Plenty and intend to raise the standard even further than their previous developments.
Scott says there’s strong demand from across the country but particularly from Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland retirees who want to enjoy a warm, relaxed coastal environment while still being an easy drive to main cities. “We are also seeing strong interest from prospective residents who are currently based in rural areas and are struggling with access to medical services due to roading issues in those areas, mainly Coromandel and surrounding regions.
“ is development will appeal to retirees who are looking to live independently in a safe and supportive village where residents can enjoy a sense of community and belonging.
“Ōmokoroa o ers wonderful lifestyle amenities including golf courses, bowls clubs, beaches, and extensive walking and cycling trails. e local Omokoroa Village extension is nearing completion to include café, retail space, medical facilities and a supermarket.
“In addition the new Ōmokoroa Town
Centre only a short walk from the village, is currently under construction and will host a range of shopping options.
“ e rst 60 villa sites are all prepped, grassed and ready for construction to get underway in approximately two weeks’ time,” Scott says.
“And we are continuing to plant the banks of the Waipapa steam to transform this natural asset into a recreational focal point within the village. Boardwalks will soon be built along this 400m stretch of river for our residents to enjoy.”
Renowned architects Warren and Mahoney have been engaged alongside landscape architecture specialists Rough Milne Mitchell to bring this project to life.
Scott says the new village is designed for active retirees who want to make the most of their new lifestyle.
“Public biking tracks are woven all around the edge of our property, and golf and bowls will be a big part of life here. We’re going to have our own golf driving range and putting facility on-site, as well as an international-size four lane bowling green and croquet lawn.
“We’re excited to create a really unique, warm, relaxed, very high-quality retirement option here in the Bay of Plenty. It will set a new standard of retirement living, well above what has been o ered before.” is will be one of the largest construction projects in the Bay of Plenty and Scott intends to use local suppliers wherever possible.
“Once the village is complete, it will provide long-term employment for more than 70 people. We’re proud to be part of this vibrant coastal community and we’re committed to supporting local businesses,” he says.
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extremely important to Paul.
Paul
Brought up on a Kaipaki dairy farm, the PGG Wrightson real estate salesperson initially sharemilked for his parents. He then ran his own dairy operation, leasing the family dairy farm and buying the adjoining block.
He expanded into hay and silage contracting for 15 years before becoming service manager for e New Zealand Grazing Company, negotiating grazier contracts for four years.
In 2011 Paul bought an established duck farm with a 70-cow dairy unit. He stopped milking in 2018 to dairy graze the land.
His move into rural real estate was prompted by a desire to return to regular contact with people and farmers and an eagerness to use his farming knowledge to help others.
Paul o ers rsthand experience, backed by a lifetime of practical farming with the skills and knowledge from owning and operating a diverse selection of farm properties and businesses himself. He has current market knowledge and access to the extensive rural network of resources, information and experience o ered by PGG Wrightson Real Estate.
Using his negotiation skills, Paul has successfully secured numerous farmer/grazier contracts and sees good communication as the key to achieving results.
Establishing trust and con dentiality with his clients and respecting the privacy of each person’s story and personal circumstances is
Paul sees being honest and upfront, listening to each person’s requirements and disclosing all information under real estate rules and guidelines as a crucial part of open two-way communication.
Specialises in RURAL& LIFESTYLE real estate throughout Matamata and the surrounding areas.
Specialises in RURAL& LIFESTYLE real estate throughout Matamata and the surrounding areas.
Specialises in RURAL& LIFESTYLE real estate throughout Matamata and the surrounding areas.
Specialises in RURAL& LIFESTYLE real estate throughout Matamata and the surrounding areas.
•Over 25 years experience
the rural sector
•Extensive local knowledge
• Over 25 years experience in the rural sector
•Over 25 years experience in the rural sector
•Results driven and client focused
• Extensive local knowledge
•Extensive local knowledge
25 years experience in the rural sector
•Results driven and client focused
• Results driven and client focused
For a honest, reliable and confidential chat about your real estate needs going into spring, give Paul a call to see how he can help you achieve your goals.
For a honest, reliable and conidential chat about your real estate needs going into spring, give Paul a call to see how he can help you achieve your goals.
For a honest, reliable and conidential chat about your real estate needs going into spring, give Paul a call to see how he can help you achieve your goals. PAUL
•Results driven and client focused
For a honest, reliable and conidential chat about your real estate needs going into spring, give Paul a call to see how he can help you achieve your goals.
PAUL KNUDSEN
476 5523 | paul.knudsen@pggwrightson.co.nz
www.pggwre.co.nz
Rural & Lifestyle Sales Consultant 027 476 5523 | paul.knudsen@pggwrightson.co.nz www.pggwre.co.nz
In November 2022, my son Jamie Fry, 24, headed o to the Northern Hemisphere for a few months, ignoring the comments of his nearest and dearest that he would be going back to back winters.
Like so many young people of his age, he had been locked down in New Zealand through Covid and was more than ready for his OE.
“Using my sister’s UK home as a base, it was great to experience a European winter and cold Christmas.
“ e English and European football seasons were in full swing. Hot chocolate around cosy replaces,
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enjoying Christmas lights before 10pm was a novelty, and you can’t beat a good Christmas market,” says Jamie.
Jamie went on three guided bus tours for people his age: 16 days touring the UK and Ireland during December, nine days touring Spain and Portugal in January, and seven days touring France and Spain.
“Although it feels really expensive when you’re paying upfront, your accommodation, transport, some activities, and many meals are included, so you can relax and not think too hard.
“ e guides are always really helpful and entertaining, plus they really know the tour routes and take you to hidden gems along the way.”
Tours have some early starts, requiring you to be up and ready to leave at 6am. ere is plenty of free time on o er and Jamie, who has travelled before, happily explored further a eld on his own.
e majority of the people on his tours were from Australia and they hadn’t been overseas previously, let alone a cold place, so their reactions were amusing! An unavoidable side to travelling in air conditioned buses with 40 other people is that illness usually features, fondly known as “ e [Tour company’s name] Cough”.
Jamie branched out on his own between bus tours and tted in France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Wales.
“I travelled to Europe by plane, often took Ubers from the airports to the city centres and then used the European train systems to get around.
“I dread to think how much money I spent on those journeys!”
In true Jamie style, his accommodation was usually booked last minute and he used booking.com carefully reading reviews before committing.
“I searched close to train stations, sorted cheapest to highest, ignoring the rst two as they were generally shocking, then read the reviews to make my decision.
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He swears he always had something booked for that night, but sometimes his travel plans were spur of the moment and the pressure was on to nd somewhere.
Jamie says that the freedom of travelling alone means you can linger in a place for as long as you like and explore away from the typical tourist spots.
“I’m interested in war history and went to Ypres in Belgium to see the war sites.”
“Switzerland. I was lucky to be there in the sun, with deep snow everywhere and the scenery was amazing with pretty, classic Swiss buildings. I visited First mountain peak and walked the metal boardwalk around it three times.
“Paris. Always an old favourite for me. I like to walk the streets without a destination and
immerse myself in the city with its character and old buildings, with Google Maps on hand if I get lost.
“Parts of city are o putting with rubbish and rats, but I love it.
“Scotland. Waking up to a magical snowy landscape in the morning. It’s so wild, rugged and untamed compared to the rest of the UK. e history of the Scottish clans and their bloody battles with the English is interesting, and of course they make whisky there.
“Spain. My rst time there and it was sunny apart from snow in San Sebastian. I felt Spain was very di erent to other European countries. e architecture is colourful with mosaics and patterns, terracotta roofs and carved wooden doors. It’s a vibrant country.
“Berlin. It isn’t the most
beautiful city I’ve been to but the sense of history and culture is very obvious. Landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate are instantly recognisable from faded old black and white photos.
“It’s sobering to think that decisions made behind the closed doors of Berlin’s buildings shaped the way the world is today.
“Ireland. Even in winter the beautiful countryside is green and lush. e Giant’s Causeway in Northern Island is spectacular.
“ e people are so generous and friendly and they love a drink!”
Jamie can’t decide which he prefers between bus tours versus making his own itineraries but concludes that bus tours are a good way to see lots of places over a short time and then you can go back under your own steam and explore places that appealed at your leisure.
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Who c a n yo u rely on to help make sure spring springs?
N-Protect makes every bit of spring nitrogen fertiliser count, boosting growth and reducing volatilisation losses. Talk to us about protecting your investments today on 0800 100 123
Ravensdown has received a delivery of New Zealand’s lowest carbon urea, signalling a major step in the co-operative’s transition to a low-carbon future.
e 2700 tonnes of urea from Saudi Arabia is SABIC AgriNutrients Company’s (SABIC AN) rst ever global shipment of low-carbon urea.
Ravensdown CEO Garry Diack says the collaboration with SABIC AN is key to supporting Ravensdown’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
“As pressure mounts for New Zealand farmers to lower greenhouse gas emissions from behind the farm gate, we are proudly working on their behalf right through the value chain to support them.
“SABIC AN’s innovative manufacturing techniques
for urea production have the potential to be game changing for the global fertiliser industry.
“We are excited to continue our valued collaboration with a company that has environmental goals and aspirations that are very aligned to our own.”
Leading independent testing, inspection, and certi cation
the use of the urea on pasture or crops does not change and the low carbon advantage is captured as a scope 3 (indirect) emission only. Ravensdown is discharging the shipment at Timaru Port.
“We continue to develop our 25-year relationship with SABIC AN, working together on future innovations to reduce the carbon footprint of the whole supply chain,” says Garry.
agency, TÜV Rheinland has con rmed that the urea manufacturing process produces 64 percent less carbon dioxide per tonne of urea than standard processing. While it’s manufactured using less carbon, the properties of the urea remain the same. is means emissions generated by
In welcoming Tony Carter to the Board, Ravensdown chairman Bruce Wills says Tony is one of New Zealand’s most experienced governors, known for his strategic leadership.
“With his extensive governance experience and commercial acumen across a broad range of sectors, Tony brings deep wisdom and foresight that will complement the existing collective skillset of the Ravensdown Board.
“Importantly, he also has a real passion and understanding of co-operatives, having led Foodstu s as chief executive and managing director for 10 years before embarking on his governance career.”
Tony said it was the co-operative element that initially drew him to the role, but he’s also looking forward to his rst Directorship in a primary sector organisation.
“Agriculture is such an integral part of New Zealand, from both an economic and cultural perspective.
“I’m excited to be joining the Ravensdown Board and having an opportunity to contribute to positive outcomes for New Zealand farmers and growers.”
Tony is currently chairman of New Zealand-owned technology business Datacom Group, My Food Bag, TR Group, e Interiors Group and the Skin Institute. Additionally, Tony previously chaired iconic Kiwi
Healthcare, for six and eight years respectively. He was also a director of Fletcher Building and ANZ Bank New Zealand for nine years.
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Over the years, Kiwi Fertiliser has encountered many cases of paddocks fertilised with whey from the dairy factories causing problems for soils, plants, and animals.
Growth rates have been around 25 per cent less than non-whey paddocks. at also means the health of the pastures is not optimal, weeds such as yellow creeping cress, have invaded, and milk fever has killed some cows that do not respond to conventional treatment.
It is unsafe to use these paddocks for springers, or colostrum cows. One of the issues is excess potassium. Of course, milk fever is a magnesium problem. One farm we know supplemented magnesium and calcium at double doses for an entire season, to keep the cows from dying.
So, what are the problems and how do we x them? e problem can only be solved by taking a soil audit that can be accurately interpreted and balancing the soil with the correct amount of required minerals.
By using the Perry Agricultural Laboratory tests and combined with manuals produced by Kinsey Agricultural Services, we can solve all problems caused. It appears that other soil test results cannot be interpreted accurately enough to e ect a solution. e main problem is the interpretation of pH. pH is the measurement of hydrogen ions. It is not an individual measurement of calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium levels.
All about the levels
Potassium can raise pH in the soil. (So too can Ca, Mg, and Na.) A ‘high’ pH can and often does cause consultants (including Fonterra personnel) to advise against applications of lime. Again, the thinking is not correct. e pH is NOT the problem, but how it is constructed IS the problem. Calcium is to blame for the high pH, so calcium cannot x it! Wrong! e interpretation of the soil tests the consultants look at is not accurate enough for them to arrive at the correct analysis and solutions.
So let us look at an example that
causes the problems above.
Looking at the graph on the Hill test, Ca, Mg and K are all in excess. According to this interpretation, adding Ca will not help solve the problem.
Interpreting the PAL soil audit, Ca is low, (less than 60 per cent,) Mg excellent, K and Na are excessive. So, the solution is to add Ca.
But how much? We need to consult the KAS manual and calculate how much Ca is required to raise Ca, and reduce K, and Na. e answer is lime at 3.4t/ha will serve that purpose.
ese calculations include the TEC of the soil, so are speci c to the soil covered by the soil test. In this regard, no one should look over the fence and copy what someone else has done. ey need to test their own paddocks to get the correct information for their problems.
But, what else do we nd out? Simply that when K in the soil is greater than Mg, Mg is blocked by K, hence the “incurable” milk fever in the cows. Just take this a step further. e pastures, animals, and the e uent pond will all re ect the health (or ill-health) of the soil.
For many maize and kiwifruit growers, the high cost of fertilisers last year will have made a huge dent in any pro t as they are both nutrient hungry crops. With a late frost followed by a wet and overcast summer as well as two cyclones, the weather was not great for these heat and sunshine demanding crops. Fortunately the volatility in fertiliser prices we have seen the past couple of years is declining as international prices are settling down.
Both fertiliser co-ops have dropped their prices on nitrogen products by 35 per cent with urea prices dropping from $1200/tonne to $800/tonne, and I would expect prices to drop even lower during the season. Looking at international prices from the Mundi Index, the price of urea peaked at around $900US/tonne back in April 2022, and is currently sitting around $300US/tonne, so has dropped down to a third of its peak price in just over 12 months. It is still however $100US/tonne dearer than what it was pre Covid. Sulphate of Ammonia has recently dropped from over $900/ tonne to just over $500/tonne, making it only $100 dearer here in New Zealand than what it was pre-pandemic.
e international phosphate prices are largely dictated by DAP, MAP and Triple Super, and these commodities have also been highly volatile. Pre pandemic, the international price of DAP traded around $300-400 US/tonne, selling in New Zealand for around $750-800/tonne, and like urea it peaked at over $900US/tonne in March/April 2022, but has since halved to just over $450US/ tonne. e co-op prices have recently dropped from $1800/tonne down to $1200/tonne, and I would expect further falls to occur through the season. Pre pandemic, the international price of rock phosphate ranged between $70-100US/ tonne, but is now sitting around $340/tonne
which is the highest it has been for the past 10 years by a long shot. So do not expect the price of superphosphate to drop any time soon. Both co-ops have kept their superphosphate price similar to what it was 12 months ago. Triple Super and MAP prices tend to follow the same trend as DAP, having come o their highs just over 12 months ago, so for hill country farmers triple super could be a good option to consider this season, although both co-ops are currently $200/tonne more expensive than some smaller importers. RPR pricing is more aligned to the international prices of phosphate rock, so like superphosphate is not likely to drop in the short term.
Pre-pandemic, the international price of potassium chloride (muriate of potash) varied between $200-300US/tonne. It sky-rocketed to more than $1100US/tonne April last year, driven by the Russia-Ukraine con ict, with embargoes placed against Russia and Belarus who together supplied large volumes of potassium to the rest of the world, with Canada being the other main supplier. Fortunately over the past 12 months the price for potash has been dropping, and is now just over $300US/ tonne. Both the co-ops dropped their price of $1550/tonne down to $1100/tonne this month, and I would envisage as they continue to sell stock these prices will ease further. With these lower prices, for high potassium demanding crops like maize and kiwifruit the fertiliser costs will not be such a bitter pill to swallow compared to last season.
e cost of testing the soil to nd out what it needs is still miniscule compared to the fertiliser costs, so
ensure you are not wasting money on nutrients not required, and seek independent advice.
Robin Boom CPAg MBSPC Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant
e primary reason clover is included in permanent pasture mixes is its ability to x nitrogen, an essential growth element.
Permanent pasture seed mixes used in the 1950s and 60s always contained clover, often two whites and a red, to ensure maximum performance. At that time, the best grazed pastures grew between 16,000kg and
17,000kgDM/ha annually.
e reason for red clover to be included was because it had a longer stronger stem than whites, allowing it to compete for sunlight in late spring and summer when high levels of pasture cover were recommended.
Many of the mixes contained six di erent grasses that included both annual and perennial ryes.
Di erent mixes were recommended for di erent geographical areas and classes of country; hence today’s multi species
mixes may be seen as a revisiting of earlier practises. e bene ts of clover, however, go a good deal further than just supplying nitrogen free of charge.
Clover, even mature clover, is more digestible and higher in energy than grass, particularly over summer.
Grasses go to seed due to a combination of sunshine hours and soil temperatures. In the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, it’s the rst week in November when soil temperatures reach 20 degrees.
In Southland that may occur a little later with soil temperatures still below 20 degrees, however, daylight hours are longer.
Seed formation is a natural survival process with synthetic N applications and short grazing intervals having limited bene cial e ect.
Provided there’s su cient soil moisture clovers thrive at the higher temperatures.
Well manged pure clover swards are capable of 18,000kgDM/ ha annually with most of that occurring over summer.
Being more digestible animals can eat more kgs of feed in their naturally allotted grazing times resulting in more rapid growth.
ose fattening lambs appreciate the value of clover dense swards, with lambs reaching target weight ahead of their competitors.
To grow young stock quickly a diet high in calcium is essential and clover delivers on that front as well with mature plants containing up to 2.5 per cent calcium, three to four times the amount in grasses.
A dense clover dominated sward during summer also provides shade reducing moisture loss.
Longer intervals between grazings have little impact on feed quality, with mature clover easily harvested for hay. Building a wedge of dense quality pasture is usually easily achieved by lengthening the grazing interval during November and December to a genuine 30 days by Christmas. December, based on many years of pasture monitoring, is the most reliable growth month in the year. By extending grazing intervals to 30 days by month end means
paddocks are grazed no more than three times prior to autumn rain arriving.
Because clover seeds proli cally, creating the soil conditions that favour its growth is all that is normally required with higher calcium inputs resulting in a steadily strengthening clover base.
Functional Fertiliser developed CalciZest, a lime-based product containing soft carbons inoculated with a proprietary mix of bene cial fungi and bacteria more than twenty years ago.
Independent measuring showed a doubling, by weight, of the clover content of treated pasture compared to conventionally fertilised properties. An application at any time will also improve physical soil structures allowing plant roots to grow deeper utilising moisture and nutrient from lower depths. With oil prices steadily lifting the cost of synthetic N products will increase and with depressed prices for meat, milk, and other commodities now is the best possible time to shift to a lower-cost, sustainable, no risk soil fertility model.
For more information contact Peter: on 0800 843 809.
We are now in the peak of the season with calving almost done and lambing well underway. In a normal year, this demand would be o set with good grass production, but not so this year.
In future years, I think we will all look back on the 2022/2023 season as a ‘discard’ season; one which threw up extraordinary amounts of rain and reduced sunshine.
Of late, the rain has thankfully diminished but the ground remains wet thanks to high water tables following the deluges most of the country has experienced.
is is evident in lower-than-normal soil temperatures with recent frosts which negatively a ects grass growth.
In e ect, farmers aren’t seeing the grass growth they would normally (hope to) see at this time of year. Rotations are being slowed in the hope that the weather will come to the party and there will be the upsurge in grass growth that farmers need to maintain cow and ewe condition and achieve production targets.
Yard - Paengaroa
• Rain Aug 1 2023 to date = 11mls
• Rain Aug 2022 = 102.5mls
• Rain Jan 1 2023 to date = 1104mls
• Rain Jan to Aug 2022 = 1089.9mls
• Avg Aug Soil Temp 2022 = 8.6*C
• Avg Aug Soil Temp 2023 = 9.2*C
Farm - Ohauiti
• Rain Aug 1 2023 to date = 32mls
• Rain Aug 2022 = 177.5mls
• Rain Jan 1 2023 to date = 2774.5mls
• Rain Jan to Aug 2022 = 1939.7mls
Some of the farmers I talk to are holding their own, growing just enough grass to keep ahead of the cows and feeding more supplements than they normally would in early spring. A number of farmers are going to need additional supplement
to get through but are holding back wanting to minimise cost and hoping pasture growth will surge.
My advice is to keep a focus on cow condition, and to feed whatever is required to maintain body condition, production and fertility for the upcoming mating season.
Now is the time to review and revise feed budgets and buy in good quality silage if that is what’s needed to meet production targets.
We will have a good supply of high quality grass silage available for purchase but I urge farmers to get in early.
Remember, from the outside every bale of silage looks the same, but the quality of what’s inside varies dramatically. In these challenging times it’s more important than ever to ensure that every dollar spent on buying in supplements is spent on the best quality available.
e recent announcements of reduced payout will be of concern to all dairy farmers. But it is worth noting that historically the payout has rebounded later in the season as other providers reach the end of their supply period. Hopefully that happens again and that the condition on our cows is such that maximum production can still be achieved to take advantage of any increases.
e time for shutting up paddocks for grass silage and/or for maize crops is also approaching and it is worth bearing in mind that grass silage should only be made from a genuine surplus of grass on the dairy platform. Your feed budget will clarify this for you, enabling you – if necessary –to purchase high quality grass silage while there are still good supplies available.
e latest o cial forecast is out, and NIWA is predicting a warm summer ahead.
For most of the North Island and the upper South Island, NIWA says to expect “unseasonable warmth and humidity”.
If correct, these El Nino conditions could spell an end to what is already shaping up to being a short growing season, reinforcing how vital it is to sit down now and plan your feed budget.
e end result of good planning is improved welfare – of you, your family and farm team, and your animals. We can’t directly in uence
control
the weather or what we are paid for what we produce, but we can exercise a signi cant degree of
to the welfare of all the elements which are critical to our lives and livelihood.
We are often asked – Is subdividing worth it in New Zealand?
Well, in our market, I can say that I have never seen a client lose value. Like everything, there is much more money to be made if
you research the market well, take specialist advice early on and, dare I say it – time the market right.
e biggest advantage to exploit is to gain consent and construct the required services for your new section while the market is quiet and property prices (and construction
prices and timeframes) have stabilised.
en you are ready to sell your section following the peak in interest rates. History tells us that in the following years, reducing interest rates fuel a big rise in property prices.
As a general rule of thumb, the selling price of a section or lifestyle block is made up of three components – it’s said that the value of a section can be made up of onethird land cost, one-third development costs and one-third pro t.
Many hands make light work when it comes to subdividing your property.
For those who already own the land, you are generally aiming to sell o some land that is vacant and otherwise non-productive.
erefore, the land cost can be relatively minor, providing the potential for maximum gross pro t.
If the subdivision is well planned and doesn’t destroy the ambience of the remaining property, the subdivision is not likely to impact too negatively on the value of your retained land.
So, nancially, it is mostly well worth it, and you could possibly double your investment if the project is managed well.
Subdividing is a complex process, requiring resource consent from your local council. Whilst numerous rules and regulations must be considered and complied with, a competent subdivision project manager can expedite the process for you.
Council will require the certi cation of a stable building site and the construction of safe access from the road. ey will also require connections to be established to water, power, stormwater, wastewater and the internet, as appropriate. is all requires tight management and regular supervision to avoid delays, potential rework and cost overruns.
With a competent project manager from an experienced specialist subdivision company behind you, all you need is patience, time and money. ere are indeed rewards to be reaped.
If you are considering subdivision either for pro t, or to perhaps provide some exibility in managing or exiting your farm or land holding, please feel free to give us a call.
A couple’s passion for farming, hard work, exibility and desire to get ahead is what made them standout when it came to judging the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.
Contract milkers Nicole and Kevin Oppert of Oppertunity Farming won the Central Plateau New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year 2023.
Due to entrants withdrawing from the Central Plateau Share Farmer category, Central Plateau Share Farmer entrants were benchmarked against the national average using collated data from the 10 other regions.
e Opperts are in their third season contract milking for Roger and Amanda Garland on a 178-hectare Taupo property, milking 560 Friesian and Kiwi cross cows. It’s their seventh season of contract milking overall.
Nicole was raised on a dairy farm and used to love farm life. After leaving St Peter’s School, Cambridge, she trained as a hairdresser until she found it too hard on her wrists. She then worked in retail and as an extra in Shortland Street.
“One day I just rang Dad and asked if I could come back and work on the farm and that was that - I became a farmer,” says Nicole.
Meanwhile Kevin had been brought up in town, but worked on the farm at St Peter’s School, while he studied there.
Nicole and Kevin knew of each other from their days at St Peter’s School and reconnected in 2012, via Facebook.
“I went to work on Nicole’s family farm for three years and I learned heaps. I realised I would like to make a career in dairy farming and one day run my own business,” says Kevin.
“We both love being outside and have a passion for working with animals and working on the land,” says Nicole.
Kevin worked on six farms before going contract milking. A self-professed hands-on learner, Kevin had always known he didn’t want to work in an o ce with his head in paperwork and books.
“ ose six farms were so di erent and each one taught me so much. ey varied greatly in topography, pasture management and feed inputs but I still managed record production.”
Kevin also entered the 2017 NZDIA Awards as Dairy Manager and he credits that experience for giving him a better understanding of his management techniques, which led to their rst contract milking position.
“I realised that farm ownership could be achieved by working hard with the right nancial strategies in place, and inheritance wasn’t the only way,” says Kevin.
ere have been challenges on their journey.
“Being so young when we started contract milking 600 cows, we found it di cult to get good, reliable and likeminded sta who shared our passion for hard work,” says Nicole.
Although either can do any of the farm work, the couple share it as they now have a young family, Kaleb, six, and Kaitlin, four. Kevin takes the lead with the milking and farm work, while Nicole takes the lead with the children, calving, raising 550 dairy beef calves to 90 kilogrammes, the book work and lling in where necessary.
“We had to go through everything in detail for the awards and write it down and explain what we do which was an interesting process,” says Kevin.
Both Kevin and Nicole are erce advocates of farming.
“Farming is a lifestyle, and we are excited to be bringing our kids up in this environment,” says Nicole.
ey are frustrated by the negativity towards the farming industry where “99 per cent of farmers strive for healthy animals and productive land and the one
per cent that don’t seem to be the ones that hit the news”.
Kevin would like farms to hold open days so the public can see how the majority operate and how great the lifestyle is.
ey see technology in their future farming endeavours and have many plans for when they eventually own their own herd.
“On our current farm we feed the cows really well, and they are healthy and high producers, but we are eager to use collars and see detailed record keeping as a valuable tool,” says Kevin.
One future option on the table is an
equity partnership with the Garlands, which they would consider as they enjoy working with Roger and they love the farm and its location. It o ers their children a few years of staying in one place, which is important to the couple.
ey would also consider a 50/50 sharemilking position if the right opportunity came up.
“Each morning is a morning closer to reaching our goal of farm ownership.
“Our family drives us to succeed even when times are hard, tomorrow is always another day!” says Kevin.
Colin and Maureen Binns met nearly two decades ago, both widowed and living and working in the Wellington area.
eir journey together took them to the Bay of Plenty where they have established a new life for themselves and have taken on the challenge of growing Black Perigord tru es, a “magical and mystical” fungus that is much sought after in the gastronomic world.
Tru es are edible spores that grow on an underground fungus from the Tuberaceae family. Traditionally in France and Italy, these elusive delicacies were hunted for by female pigs whose re ned sense of smell can sni out the androstenol in tru es, a hormone found in male pig saliva.
Nowadays dogs are trained to nd them.
Tru es are now cultivated all over the world, including New Zealand. eir very short shelf life, limited harvesting season and scarcity of growers means they command high prices.
Colin rst mooted the idea of moving to the Bay of Plenty as he had a house in Maketu and fancied a slower pace of life by the sea.
“I asked Maureen to come with me and she said yes, and the rest is history,” says Colin.
“However, after a couple of years, we’d got that property into shape and there was nothing left to do, so we wanted another project that let us use our love of growing and planting.” eir search led them to a 6.9-hectare property at Paengaroa near Te Puke. It had enough cultivatable at land to look at a new venture and a huge selling point was 3.9 hectares of QEII covenanted bush, with riparian rights to a pristine river winding through the property.
“I’m a keen conservationist and have been involved with
Forest and Bird NZ projects for many years, so to have the custodianship of this land was very special to me,” says Maureen.
New Venture
e couple considered lots of options that would work on only three hectares, including kiwi and avocados (but they need a lot of spraying), and ginkgos.
“We settled on tru es for several reasons,” says Colin.
Tru es grow around the roots of oak and hazelnut trees, both of which grow in New Zealand’s climate. e soil just needs lime added to create the perfect pH of 7.6 or higher for tru e growing. e fairly low maintenance venture has a two-month harvesting season in June/July and the tru es are in huge demand, commanding high prices.
“ e downside is that they take ve years to establish and each season you have no control over how many tru es grow,” says Colin.
During the wait, Maureen and Colin carried out considerable work on the property. ey targeted the persistent Californian thistle, brought sheep and chickens onto the land, planted beautiful gardens, and improved and maintained their covenanted bush.
ey kept a close eye on their tru ère, as the 212 oak and hazel trees grew and hopefully tru es were forming around their roots. Colin found their rst tru e in 2015.
Truffle season
Colin and Maureen play to each other’s strengths to manage their lifestyle business.
“I take the lead with the care of the land and stock, and Maureen takes the lead with organisation,” says Colin.
Maureen takes bookings for their tru e hunt experience and lunches where they showcase what tru es are, how
they are harvested and what products can be made from them.
“We don’t want tru es to be a mystery to people, we want to share how wonderful they are,” says Maureen.
Border collie Jed is an experienced tru e hunting dog which can smell tru es 20 to 30 metres away. He paws the ground when he nds one and is rewarded with a treat. Maureen kneels down and gently scrapes away soil to nd the tru es and harvest them without damaging them. Young Sam the spoodle is still in training but is enthusiastic about hunting for tru es.
e weight of each tru e, the tree it was under and the dog who found it, are recorded for every tru e and entered into computer records. Once washed, the tru es are speedily couriered, or hand delivered to eagerly waiting, mainly local chefs who often can have them on the menu that night.
“I love experimenting in the kitchen with recipes for tru e treats and products,” says Maureen.
Tru e ice cream, butter, salt, cheesecake, and tru ed olive oil are some of her products and she enjoys collaborating with other artisan food makers to source her ingredients. e pair have worked with a Wellington brewery over the past ve years on a range of tru e infused beers and are very excited about the continuation of that project.
with
Colin and Maureen acknowledge that the time is coming when they will need to hand on the custodianship of their special piece of land to someone younger who will share their passion to preserve it.
need to hand on the special piece of land to someone younger who
Chondroitin sulphate is classi ed as a Dietary Supplement in NZ but in Europe is available on prescription where it’s classi ed as “a symptomatic slow-acting drug for osteoarthritis”.
e drug classi cation then goes on to give speci c information:
“Chondroitin sulphate, used with glucosamine, is indicated to alleviate pain and in ammation from primary osteoarthritis. is supplement is reported to improve joint function and slow disease progression.’
What is Bettaflex?
• Bettaflex is a joint support formula to promote healthy joint cartilage function.
• Bettaflex has 400mg (per capsule) of high-grade avian chondroitin, 400mg of glucosamine and 100mg of BioSolve® bioavailable Curcumin (from turmeric).
• Try Bettaflex for 3 months and see for yourself. How can Bettaflex help?
BEST BUY!
$99.95 for 3 bottles free freight or 1 bottle for $36.95 plus $5.99 postage 60 Capsules per Bottle
• Chondroitin and glucosamine are building blocks of cartilage.
• Supplementation with correct levels can support healthy cartilage function and cartilage repair processes.
• New BioSolve® bioavailable curcumin helps joint function while gentle on the stomach.
• Research indicates that chondroitin is highly effective at 800mg daily.
John Arts comments:
“My latest Bettaflex formula includes BioSolve® bioavailable curcumin for faster results. The normal dose is 2 capsules daily but I recommend an initial higher dose for 1-3 bottles to saturate joint tissue.” John Arts, Founder, Abundant Health
Cautions:
(www.drugbank.ca/drugs/ DB09301)
I recently read a health store yer in my morning newspaper. One promotion was for a glucosamine based joint product. ere is no doubt that glucosamine can help joints. at is why I include it in my joint formula. But why is there no mention of chondroitin?
e company is a large international company that would clearly know about the bene ts of chondroitin.
What then could be the reason for not including therapeutic amounts of chondroitin? For that matter, why do most joint products sold in NZ have either no chondroitin or so little to have negligible impact on joint health? I think the answer is quite simple. Good quality chondroitin costs almost ten times that of glucosamine.
My preference is to have equal proportions of chondroitin and
glucosamine and for most people to start at a double dose. e standard daily dose of my joint supplement delivers 800mg of both ingredients while the double dose 1600mg each. is combined with fully water soluble, high bioavailability BioSolve curcumin (from turmeric) extract can quickly settle sore joints. I usually add Omega 3 sh oil rather than plant Omega 3 sources as only sh oil has EPA which is
profoundly anti-in ammatory. As an example, I have been helping someone for several years with sore knees caused by osteoarthritis. He is much more comfortable and mobile and feeling so much better about life in general. In his own words, “I have stopped limping and now telling everyone”.
John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut. Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions or advice contact John on 0800 423 559 or email john@abundant.co.nz
Join his all new newsletter at www.abundant.co.nz
e machine shearing skills of more than 100 Mongolian herders have recently been greatly advanced, following a ve-week visit from a New Zealand touring party which ran shearing training courses and demonstration events in several locations across Mongolia.
e trip was undertaken as part of the Share Mongolia Programme – an initiative set up in 2020 to introduce modern shearing techniques and equipment into Mongolia.
As part of the Programme, shearing training courses in Mongolia were rst trialled last year while four Mongolian herders also recently spent three months in New Zealand where they worked as part of shearing gangs across the country.
Rabobank agribusiness manager Paul Brough – who played a lead role in the formation of the programme – says the 12-strong touring party was
made up of a mix of Rabobank sta and farmers from across New Zealand.
“ e group included members from the Waikato, King Country, Taranaki, Marlborough and South Canterbury regions, with all attendees having signi cant shearing experience.
“About half of us attended the inaugural training (in Mongolia) last year, with the other half making their rst trip.”
e latest round of shearing training took place between June 10 and July 15, and was funded by the United Nations, the NZ embassy in Beijing and the Rabobank Community Fund.
To reach as many herders and as many regions as possible, Paul says, the team split up into three groups and carried out seven courses in di erent regions.
ey delivered seven ve-day courses to a total of 112 Mongolian herders in NZ.
In an era of uctuating property prices and economic uncertainty, Highmark Homes has emerged as a beacon of stability, o ering prospective homeowners a golden opportunity.
With their latest o ering of a brand new three-bedroom, 103m2 home starting at an incredible price of only $299,000, Highmark Homes is rede ning a ordability and value in the housing market.
“Our goal is to make homeownership accessible to Kiwis without compromising on quality,” says Highmark Homes’ managing director Ryan Hunt.
“We understand the challenges faced by new home builders in today’s unstable market, and we are
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For many right now, building a new home for themselves or as an investment may seem out of reach.
But with Highmark Homes, all you need to do is provide the land – a section on a farm, a generous suburban section with plenty of room in the yard, or a standalone section ready to build on.
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Going forward to mating and peak production after a dull and wet winter and calving is a time that will require much thought and, most importantly, timely decisions that are actually actioned.
For organic livestock farmers this is the key to a good season, many of the tools used by organic farmers are nding their way into non-organic farms. Often the comment is that organic farming does not allow the use of such and such, but from an organic perspective it’s more that organic farming removes the need for these interventions.
Stock heath in a season like this, where many farms seem to have low energy in the grass, animal health (intervention) and production can become costly, at a time when payout is also seemly challenged. Both production and conception performance are in uenced in the next
few weeks for this season and next - short term decisions having both short and long-term e ects.
health is critical
to production and performance. is is not about having enough intervention tools; it’s about having a robust system. Functional nutrition is not just about dry matter intake, it’s the value of functionality of the intake.
Low sunshine, high soil moisture and cooler soils alter this, and the lower range of diet choice the more this is evident.
e focus for organic/biological farmers is to ensure innate behaviours can be carried out, livestock are browsers and will get essential elements from a wide range of plants, if available. Herbal ley (diverse) pastures, shrubs, trees, etc.
A focus for most organic farmers is to ensure both the planting and access to these aspects of the farm. Look at any tree/shrub/hedge line and note the graze zone.
To assist the animals in this free choice, products are also made available, often in small containers (half 20 litre drums) - these are indicator drums. If it is all gone quickly, make a bigger drum available.
of lime our, dolomite our,
some mineral salts, humates, biochar, seaweed ( akes/granules/liquid), clays (zeolite/ bentonite) the essential thing is that these are separate - the stock chooses what they needand boy do they choose. is will change as needs are meet, demand changes as per weather, time from calving etc.
Good hay is, in my opinion, the most important product to always have available.
It can be in the exit race, in a trailer or in the paddock, as long as the stock can ‘indicate’, you can make the call to actually feed out rather than limited free choice. It might only be a few cows that take the hay - well they are the ones that need it that day.
Saliva production is a huge part of animal performance. I take it, you as a livestock farmer know how much spit a cow makes in a day. If not, Google it! e most important part of animal function, in my opinion.
Water quality is another area of importance often overlooked.
Is it worth paying a school kid or retired farmer to go round the toughs and keep them
ensure that ‘stray voltage’ is not impacting livestock in multiple ways. It does not matter if the shed is old or new, stray electricity has had impacts on many farms. One with a four year old shed, once tested and remediated, SCC dropped 200,000 and production went up 1 litre a cow a day.
e lost income was huge!
is can be caused by new equipment at the shed, poor earthing of an electric fence or placement (this could be on a neighbouring farm, a new transformer down the road. It can impact the milking area or the tough water system.
Imagine getting a ‘tickle’ every time you drink, this impacts intake and thus production.
To better understand this aspect, take a look at: www.strayvoltagetesting.net/ or talk to someone who has had a check/test.
I am yet to speak to a farmer post testing that was disappointed.
When planning the spring stored surplus feed regime ensure you include HAY, not just some form of pasture in some form of fermentation be it wrap, haylage, baleage, silage, ensilage or other product that is not
up to speck? that sun dried hay.
Another very important aspect is to
Observe stock when given the choice!
Stan Lincoln was brought up on a farm but became a diesel mechanic by trade as his father didn’t want him farming!
is led to a career as a machine operator in the earthmoving and forestry industries.
Stan and his wife Sue bought an eight acre block near Hamurana 29 years ago and built a house and developed the land. e eight acres works hard for them, and they produce their own hay and silage, rear calves and run a few sheep, despite the land around them closing in with smaller lifestyle blocks.
It also o ers the space for Stan to have a well-equipped shed and storage for his tractors and projects.
He is a member of the Rotorua Tractor and Machinery Club.
“I needed something with a bit more horsepower for tractor trekking with the club, and my dad’s old Ferguson 35 and my Farmall were too small,” says Stan.
Stan decided that his four cylinder
Nu eld 10/60 that he used for haymaking could be modi ed to take a bigger engine. He bought another 10/60 and using both tractors’ chassis and his engineering skills, made a new chassis that was eight inches wider with room for a six cylinder engine.
“I advertised for an engine and found a BMC Morris diesel truck engine. I had to pull it out of the truck myself and was pretty annoyed to nd out that it had no oil pressure and didn’t run too well at all!”
e project sat in the shed for two years untouched until Stan got over his grump and tackled it again.
“As a mechanic I knew about Nu elds, and I am very lucky to have contacts in the industry so I know people who can make almost anything or have the right machinery for me to use.”
He had to source Nu eld parts from all over, including England where he reckons you can “get just about anything if you’re prepared to pay triple the price of the part in freight!”
Stan put 10/85 stickers on the new hybrid Nu eld as the new six cylinder engine o ers around 85hp. It is used for making hay and trekking. Sue joins in by following the trekkers with hot drinks and a picnic lunch.
Stan has ve working tractors which he has done up, or as Sue describes the situation, “a dedicated tractor for each piece of machinery we own and use around the property!”
He also has a lot of spare Nu eld parts for sale after his build.
A revolutionary shadecloth silage cover is providing new levels of protection from bird damage to silage stacks according to Nigel King of King Contracting.
“In any year, birds can cause a signi cant amount of damage to maize silage stacks which leads to substantial degradation of the stack,” says Nigel.
“It was not uncommon to nd
the stack swarming with Pukekos, mynahs and sparrows and when you add up the cost involved in developing a stack of maize silagefertiliser, harvesting, stacking and covering – there had to be a solution.”
Nigel contacted his local Farmlands specialist, Lee Kennedy, who in turn talked with Vaughan Podbielski from Cosio Industries who recommended CoverTex Shadecloth Silage Covers which are designed speci cally to provide extra
protection against pest damage.
Birds do not like walking on CoverTex’s pest resistant HDPE netting which covers and protects the silage plastic.
e product is UV stabilised and has a seven year factory backed UV warranty and will not rust or rot.
Nigel says the CoverTex Shadecloth silage cover was the solution he was after saying “there hadn’t been a single bird on the stack since the c over was installed.”
CoverTex is manufactured in segments which make it easier to
handle. Gravel bags are used to ballast the CoverTex at the overlaps between segments and around the perimeter. e CoverTex cover holds down the silage cover eliminating the use of tyres altogether. For more information contact Cosio Industries on: 09 820 0272 or view their advert on this page.
e nation’s 12,000 dairy farms are feeling the pinch after Fonterra trimed its forecast milk payout for the current seson because of weaker dairy prices and demand, and in ation.
Federated Farmers arable vicepresident rains Andrew Darling says this will have a ow on e ect across the wider economy and to the arable sector.
e July AIMI survey shows sown and intended sowing feed wheat and feed barley crops are down six per cent and 15 per cent respectively on last season.
“ ere’s probably still a reasonable market for feed grain in the North Island but it’s hard to transport South Island grain up there at a reasonable price, especially in competition with Australian grain.
“It’s an expensive bit of water that splits our country in half, unfortunately.”
Sowings and intentions for malting barley - the barley used by our breweries - is up 77 per cent on the 2023 harvest but while that sounds impressive, the hectares involved
• Rolls up to 15m wide, therefore fewer joins which means less risk, faster installation and shorter good weather window required.
are relatively small (from 9105ha to 15,569ha).
Overall, 2023 harvest data showed that yields were up six per cent over the six malting/milling and feed crops and the area harvested, 96,022ha, was similar to 2022 (up one per cent).
e net result was a seven per cent increase in total tonnage compared to last season, the AIMI report found.
Feed wheat yields were up an estimated one per cent, feed barley yields up 11 per cent, milling wheat yields up four per cent, malting barley yields up six per cent, milling oats yields up 15 per cent and feed oats yields down two per cent compared to last season.
e estimated 2023 nal tonnage of milling wheat at 113,700 tonnes, is up 44 per cent compared to last year’s harvest “but we knew what was coming”, says Andrew.
“ e weather last year was r eally poor.”
Growers in the North Island and in Southland are looking forward to better spring conditions after a wet autumn and winter, says Andrew.
Traditionally rollers have been used for attening uneven ground, more speci cally for pre and post drilling consolidation to ensure good seed-to-soil contact and reduced moisture loss.
But this is all changing thanks to a revolutionary multi-use roller available from Giltrap AgriZone.
e Maxiroll, designed and manufactured by Danish company Dalbo, is a conventional roller which is easily adapted for seedbed preparation and ground levelling with the addition of a hydraulically adjustable cracker board.
e cracker board, with parallelogram eliminates lumping of soil and the system’s hydraulic weight distribution ensures 100 per cent even compaction of soil.
Available in working widths which vary from 4.5 to 9.5 metres, Giltrap AgriZone say demand from New Zealand farmers and contractors tends to focus on the 530 and 630 models.
e Dalbo Maxiroll is a three-point system roller
For farmers and growers considering planting natives, Restore Native founder Adam ompson says proper planning is essential to protect their investment.
“It’s site prep, it’s clearing weeds and stu out of that area. If you’ve got a rough face that might have gorse and blackberry and privet and these other things on it, they’re easier to control when it’s in pasture.
“You can spray those things and cut them, but it’s very hard to control those things after you put native trees in, as the same things that kill those things kill the trees. Planting the right density and getting the right trees per hectare in is also essential.
“People don’t understand that native trees, they need their mates, and they need to be reasonably close together.”
constructed around a heavy duty 150mm by 100mm steel frame carried on 400-60R 15.5 tyre equipment.
Each roller gang is suspended under the frame by the patented DuoFlex system which ensures the independence of each roller section through slots in the hydraulic cylinder attachment points delivering optimal contact across the full working width. Working in conjunction with heavy-duty spring assemblies, the Maxiroll’s hydraulic cylinders create downward pressure transferring at least 500kg per metre without impending the ability of the rollers to closely follow a variety of contours.
Most popular is a 5.3m or 6.3m Roller with unique DuoFlex system and an air seeder. With the option of mounting up to 10 di erent attachments, the Maxiroll system roller is able to perform a wide range of tasks from stubble cultivation after harvest to weed control in false seedbeds.
For more information on one of the most versatile, cost e ective rollers on the market today, see Giltrap AgriZone’s advert on this page.
At just 32 years old, Catherine Wilks is making an impact on the avocado industry at a global level.
e Tauranga resident has spent the last three years as the industry systems associate for NZ Avocado, and presented at the Avocado World
Congress in front of representatives from all across the globe earlier this year.
Catherine says delivering her presentation on arthropod pests of avocados grown in New Zealand was a “true honour”.
“ e audience included avocado industry experts, scientists, policymakers, and fellow professionals
from around the globe. A total of 1200 delegates attended the congress with representatives from 33 di erent countries.”
Catherine’s journey in the avocado industry began with a passion for agriculture and sustainable farming practices, which t in perfectly with her love for the “delicious and environmentally friendly” avocado.
“After completing my education at Massey University – a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Zoology and Physiology, I started my career with a focus on applied entomology at Plant and Food Research.
“I eventually moved into the horticulture sector for both kiwifruit and avocados
e avocado harvest season in New Zealand is about to begin.
e popular green fruit is typically harvested from September through to April.
During this time, enthusiasts across the nation have a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the delicious avours and incredible health bene ts of this locally grown fruit.
Avocados from New Zealand contain 19 vitamins and minerals and three very special nutrients – antioxidants to protect and repair, folate for safe natural baby development, and omega 3 for heart and brain health.
“Avocados are grown in the right way and harvested at the right time, making them better for the world and better for you,” says an Avocado New Zealand spokesperson.
“Renowned for their unique taste and unmatched versatility,
avocados have earned their place as a staple ingredient in countless dishes worldwide.
“What sets them apart is their ability to ripen into perfection right after being carefully picked from the tree. Despite the seasonal transition sometimes leading to limited supply, we are thrilled to inform avocado lovers that our avocados are now back in season and ready to be enjoyed.”
Beyond the delicious taste, avocados o er an array of health bene ts, making them a valuable addition to any diet.
“Avocados have become an alltime favourite in New Zealand, captivating taste buds and sparking culinary innovation across the country.
“It’s no surprise that Katikati has an avocado festival and Wellington even has its own Wellington Avocado on Toast awards.”
after returning to the Bay of Plenty, working for Euro ns.
“I was drawn to the potential of the avocado industry after attending some conferences and learning a bit about the industry, and then I was presented with an opportunity to join NZ Avocado in a more diverse role.
“I was interested in the AvoGreen programme that NZ Avocado manages, as this is a more sustainable approach to pest management with a structured programme in place.”
Catherine’s current role at NZ Avocado is allowing her to gain hands-on experience and specialised knowledge in avocado cultivation, production and post-harvest processes, which have led to opportunities for advancement within the industry.
She is also responsible for AvoGreen pest monitoring programme, which she says ensures “quality standards, managing compliance, R&D support, and reporting”.
“I also provide support to our valued avocado growers, and other industry stakeholders.”
Catherine says the feedback she received from her speech at the World Avocado Congress was “overwhelmingly positive”.
“Many participants expressed interest in the comparison of NZ and their own country.
“Although we have the same fruit, we have some very di erent (and some similar) practices to our neighbouring market competitors, and
e horticulture industry is celebrating the news that the Natural and Built Environment Act will support commercial fruit and vegetable growing in New Zealand.
“ is is a huge step forward for the horticulture industry as well as consumers of New Zealand-grown fruit and vegetables,” says HortNZ general manager strategy and policy Michelle Sands.
“HortNZ has advocated for more than six years to achieve this outcome. Having the NBA specify that the national planning framework must enable the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables is an explicit recognition of the
importance of food security.
“ is recognition will ensure that the growing of fruit and vegetables is a key focus in planning decisions across New Zealand.
“For years, New Zealand has taken food security for granted. However, Covid and more recently, a series of ongoing adverse weather events, have shown the country that we can have supermarket shelves empty of fresh produce.
“Fresh fruit and vegetables are fundamental to human health and wellbeing. It’s great to see this fact of life re ected in planning legislation that will in uence resource decisions across New Zealand for years to come.”
they were eager to learn from our experiences. e exchange of knowledge and ideas with other industry leaders at the congress was both inspiring and enlightening.”
Catherine says young people are bringing fresh perspectives and a “drive for innovation” across the avocado industry.
“ ey are quick to adopt and implement advancements in agricultural technology, contributing to increased e ciency and sustainability. e industry is very fortunate to have many experienced and knowledgeable people who have
been in the industry for a while and this provides an amazing opportunity for younger people to learn from this abundance of experience.”
On the current state of the industry, Catherine says although recent weather events have impacted avocado production in some regions, the industry is overall “optimistic” about the future and overcoming the recent challenges.
“ e demand for avocados and their incredible health bene ts is due to the fact that they are nutrient dense and contain at least 19 vitamins and nutrients, plus they taste great.”
National Party spokesperson for horticulture Sam U ndell says the level of migrant worker exploitation in New Zealand is going unchecked. But Labour’s Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Carmel Sepuloni, insists protecting migrant workers from exploitation remains a
priority for the government.
U ndell says investigations into migrant worker exploitation have fallen by 70 per cent, and requires “urgent attention”.
But Sepuloni says since 2018, there has been a 92 per cent increase in the number of interventions carried out by the labour inspectorate.
e role of the labour inspectorate is primarily to monitor and enforce compliance with employment standards, such as the requirements relating to the minimum wage, holiday pay, leave entitlements, wage deductions and record keeping.
Despite the increase in interventions, U ndell says there are “modern examples of slavery” in New Zealand.
“Labour has gutted our ability to investigate this.
“Last year only 12 per cent of complaints were investigated, a terrible indictment on the relevant minister, Carmel Sepuloni.”
On the low gure of investigations, Sepuloni says each case is “carefully assessed” before an appropriate and proportionate action pathway is identi ed.
“Where the Labour Inspectorate can and the breaches are minimal and unintentional, they work with the employers and employees to educate or resolve a complaint.
“ is means not every complaint requires an investigation. e Labour Inspectorate prioritises serious worker
exploitation, non-compliant business models, systemic breaches and where the law requires clari cation in the Courts to be e ectively enforced.”
According to Sepuloni, last year the Government undertook a review of migrant worker exploitation and has since implemented easier reporting tools and the Migrant Worker Protection Visa for workers to leave exploitative situations.
“We also recently passed of the Worker Protection Act to tackle lower-level exploitation before it becomes more serious, better equipping Immigration NZ and the Labour Inspectorate to do their jobs.”
e Government also increased the number of warranted labour inspectorate sta , to more than 100 in July 2023, up from 50 in July 2017.
Despite this, U ndell claims the problem is far from resolved.
“Workers can have their passports seized, be threatened and intimidated, and have their movement, communication, and living conditions controlled by employers.
“In response to written questions to Workplace Relations Minister Carmel Sepuloni, the extent of the problem has been revealed.
“Under resourcing has resulted in only 12 per cent of migrant exploitation complaints in the horticulture sector being reviewed.
“ ese shortcomings are having a devastating e ect on people’s lives. Migrants su er nancially, psychologically, and physically.
To report a breach contact Immigration NZ or phone 111 if in immediate danger.
Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers are staring down the barrel of another di cult growing season.
e recurrence of a warm winter poses yet another obstacle for growers whose fruit contributes to New Zealand’s largest horticultural export crop.
NIWA records showed June temperatures were on average 1.4 degrees higher than normal, which so far made it one of the warmest winters in 110 years.
Seasonal a ects
Bay of Plenty-based Fruition Horticulture consultant Sandy Scarrow says the winter is one of the warmest she could remember, which means the vines are not getting the required winter chilling. She says last year the region’s kiwifruit had a poor owering because of the warm temperatures, and this year the lack of chilling has been even worse.
Sandy says that potentially means orchards will once again nd fewer owers are set on the canes and it has a ow-on e ect throughout the season.
“We’ll just have fewer owers.
“If I give you an example from our orchard, typically we get 1.6 owers per winter bud which is the key indicator of how e ective the winter chill and other things you’ve done over winter, have been. And last year we got 1.2 owers per winter bud, so that was a 25 per cent decrease in your yield right from the start.
“It also impacts on the date of bud burst.
“Bud burst is likely to be later, so that condenses the whole season. I’ve been lying awake worrying about it.
“We saw the impact of what happened last year, and this year growers are tying in much more winter wood so there are much more winter buds to produce those owers, but again, that has an impact.”
Sandy says it means the canopy will be denser and could impact on fruit quality.
She says Western Bay of Plenty around the Katikati area has been particularly warm, with more eastern parts around Te Puke and Paengaroa getting some lower temperatures, but the lack of
winter chill was felt region wide.
Figures from kiwifruit marketer Zespri show the 2023 crop harvested in autumn is well down on past seasons because of a range of extreme weather events, including the warm winter, last frost, hail and Cyclone Gabrielle.
It expects to export about 136 million trays, a 20 per cent drop on number of trays in 2022. New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chief executive Colin Bond says he’s deeply concerned about the insu cient winter chilling, echoing the anxieties shared by fellow growers he had communicated with.
Further south in rain sodden and cloud covered Hawke’s Bay there is a silver lining to the conditions.
AgFirst Horticulture consultant Jonathan Brookes says such days are more preferred than cracking frosts.
“It’s interesting that a lot of people think about winter chilling and think about the fantastic winter days where there’s a big frost and a beautiful sunny day afterwards, but what actually ends up working best for winter chilling is low temperatures below 10 degrees, but above zero.
“So from a winter chill point of view, these horrible claggy wet days and nights that we’ve been having are actually adding to the winter chill.”
Pip and stone fruit growers in the South Island say their winter has provided enough winter-chill hours for their crops and there should be good ower numbers in spring.
Susan Murray/RNZIamadirectorofZ-Contracting-wearefamilyrun business,ourteamconsistsofthree,beingmyself,my sonandmybrother.
Ourorganisationhasbeenestablishedforover18 years.Ihavebeeninvolvedin applyingcropprotection programmeswithinthehorticultalindustrysince1966. Wespecialisewithinthekiwifruitindustry, We have theequipmenttosprayorchardswithour two Atomsprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing
IamadirectorofZ-Contracting-wearefamilyrun business,ourteamconsistsofthree,beingmyself,my sonandmybrother.
Ourorganisationhasbeenestablishedforover18 years.Ihavebeeninvolvedin applyingcropprotection programmeswithinthehorticultalindustrysince1966.
Wespecialisewithinthekiwifruitindustry, We have theequipmenttosprayorchardswithour two Atomsprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing
Our Atoms aresetupwithradarspeedsensors,this combined with fullyautomated sprayer controllers and three nozzle ringsenhancesapplicationef ficiency and accuracy.
We also useaquadbikeforstripweedspray applications.
Weholdallcertificatesneededtomeet Globalgap compliance.
Welookatallchallengestohelpensureweprotect yourcropwithexcellence.
NZKGI has been advised of a recent surge in burglaries targeting kiwifruit orchards in the Te Puke area.
Instances of theft include the misappropriation of diesel from frost fans, says a spokesperson for the kiwifruit organisation.
“ is is a timely reminder to keep your assets secure.
“We strongly urge you to maintain vigilance and promptly report any suspicious activities on your property or that of your neighbours to police.”
Suspicious behaviour can either be reported to your local police station or phoned in anonymously via the Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 line. Non-emergency information can be called into the police’s 105 number.
The smart way to Pollinate Kiwifruit:
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ere will be an immediate tari elimination for all kiwifruit.
After more than a decade, pen has nally been put to paper with the signing of the free trade deal with the European Union.
It was the rst order of business for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in Brussels last month, turning his focus to Europe after delicate diplomatic relations in China. It has been a long time coming, and last year marked the breakthrough for the free trade agreement that will eventually deliver billions of dollars of export savings.
Eventually, 97 per cent of New Zealand’s current exports to the EU will be duty-free, with more than 91 per cent of tari s removed the day the deal comes into e ect.
ere will be immediate tari elimination for all kiwifruit, wine, onions, apples, mānuka honey and manufactured goods, as well as for almost all sh and seafood, and other horticultural products.
Once fully in place, the FTA will deliver new quota opportunities worth more than $600 million in annual export earnings, with an eight-fold increase to the amount of beef able to be sold into Europe.
Duty free access for sheep meat has been expanded by 38,000 tonnes each year.
Red meat and dairy will get up to $120m worth of new annual export revenue on day one of the deal, with estimates of more than $600m within seven years. Quotas have been established for butter, cheese, milk powders and protein whey.
After tough negotiations over a number of years, Trade Minister Damien O’Connor concludes “it’s a bloody good deal”.
O’Connor says the NZ-EU FTA will cut costs and support exporters to grow and diversify their trade.
“It will provide signi cant new opportunities for our world-leading exporters of products such as kiwifruit, seafood, onions, honey, wine, butter,
second left, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, centre, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, second right, and Trade Minister Damien O’Connor in Brussels.
Jane
cheese, beef and sheep meat. is new access will help to accelerate our post-Covid recovery, while providing a boost to our regions as they grapple with the longer-term e ects of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Based on current trade gures, NZ will have the opportunity through combined FTA and WTO quotas to provide up to 60 per cent of the EU’s butter imports – up from 14 per cent last month.
“New Zealand producers are some of the most sustainable in the world and these credentials resonate well with EU consumers.
“New Zealand and the EU share similar values and a commitment to high labour, environment and animal welfare standards.
“ e NZ-EU FTA includes ambitious sustainable trade outcomes in a range of areas, including climate change, labour rights, women’s economic empowerment, environmentally harmful sheries and fossil fuel subsidies.”
e agreement was signed in Brussels by Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor and the EU Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, witnessed by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and EU President Ursula von der Leyen.
It’s anticipated that the NZ-EU FTA will enter into force in the rst half of 2024, once both parties complete the nal required legal steps.
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Māori kiwifruit growers have exported their rst shipment of kiwifruit to Hawaii and have become the sole suppliers to the Hawaiian market.
Māori Kiwifruit Growers chairperson
Anaru Timutimu says it’s the rst export shipment the group made since it was formed in 2017.
e group partnered with kiwifruit marketing cooperative Zespri, which managed exports to Hawaii.
From next year, however, the MKG would take over exports to the entire Hawaiian market, Anaru says.
Hawaii took about 77,000 trays of kiwifruit per year, he says.
But the Māori cooperative would apply to increase exports to 100,000 trays next year, he says.
e group would market the fruit at a Paci c arts and culture Paci c festival in Hawaii next year.
“Māori have genealogical connections to Hawaii, we are using that to put more energy into the market. Some of the promotional work will align with indigenous themes.
“We will use the Māori story.”
e campaign would be in line with Zespri marketing, but the group wanted to use indigenous elements “that gave it more pop”, Anaru says.
MKG and Zespri worked together this year, with Zespri sending the rst fruit of the season and the Māori cooperative sending the last containers.
About 10 per cent of total Zespri exports
are from Māori kiwifruit growers, he says.
e cooperative represented Māori kiwifruit growers from throughout the country.
Anaru says a collaborative marketing rule within broader kiwifruit export rules protected the industry against uncompetitive behaviour.
e Māori cooperative used this rule to market under their own name.
Māori growers often operated by themselves, but the cooperative advocated for broader industry involvement and for Māori to “look beyond the orchard gate” and be involved with, for example research and development, or in industry bodies, says Anaru.
Kiwifruit marketer Zespri is taking legal action to try to stop the unauthorised production and sale of its gold kiwifruit in China.
Zespri owns the rights to Sun Gold, or G3, and growers in New Zealand pay hundreds of thousands of dollars per hectare to grow it.
A grower took clippings to China and since 2016, the amount being grown there has been increasing - it is now believed there are more gold vines in China than in New Zealand.
In an update sent out to growers last month, Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson said a civil case had been led against two defendants involved with the unauthorised production, sale and marketing of the G3 fruit in China’s Intellectual Property Court.
Dan says it’s a signi cant step in
protecting the investment made by New Zealand producers in developing the licensed kiwifruit varieties - and also for its consumers.
Zespri’s latest assessment indicates there are now more 7850 hectares of the lucrative fruit planted in China. Recent law changes in China strengthened the intellectual property rights of the horticulture sector in China, says Mathieson.
He says changes to its Seed Law last year enabled action to be taken against those selling the fruit - rather than just growing it.
An Industry Advisory Council delegation is planning to visit China in the coming months to better understand the situation from orchard to market. e case will commence in mid-September.
Monique Steel/RNZ
Gold kiwifruit from Whiritoa Orchard, owned by the Māori Investments will be exported to Hawaii.
“It is an awesome vehicle for uplifting people, there are awesome career pathways in the kiwifruit industry.” e group exported fruit from the general kiwifruit pool and not just Māori growers, and the initiative therefore bene tted the entire industry, he says.
Anaru says the Māori cooperative bene tted by being the sole supplier to the Hawaiian market.
How do I use the shoots density report?
Hamilton hosted the 2023 EROAD Fleet Day this July, with veteran broadcaster and MC Stephen McIvor welcoming more than 800 eet industry experts and professionals from around the country to Claudelands Event Centre, all focused on road safety, sustainability and eet e ciency.
Former All Blacks Coach Sir Graham Henry headlined the event, sharing his leadership insights from coaching successful sides like Auckland, less successful sides like Wales, and ultimately the 2011 World Cup winning All Blacks. He asserted that, like coaches, eet managers need to nd good people, help them grow and learn from failure.
Fleet Day began in 2012 under the Reduce the Risk banner.
Waikato Regional Council primarily ran the event to improve driver safety in eets. In 2018, about 70 delegates attended the event and the seeds were sown for eet technology rm EROAD and the council to collaborate and grow the event.
Waikato eet tra c is signi cant. e freight and logistics industry employs more than 7000 locals, and 32 per cent of New Zealand’s freight movements travel through the region.
is heavy vehicle tra c shares the network with lighter vehicle eet tra c, such as tradies, business people and health workers.
e sheer volume of eet vehicles means eet managers can signi cantly impact transport issues. ChargeNet CEO Danusia Wypych told the
audience that around 50 per cent of new vehicles entering New Zealand are headed for eets, which may be critical for achieving the government’s Emissions Reductions Plan objective for zeroemissions vehicles to make up 30 per cent of the light eet by 2035.
Sergeant Steven Jones, road policing supervisor for Northwestern Waikato, stressed the ongoing e ort to reduce vehicle crashes and related harm on Waikato roads, with 38 deaths already this year.
To demonstrate the impact of crashing, organisers dropped a 2004 Honda Jazz from a 35-metre crane outside the arena. It reached 87km/h before smashing into the ground, shattering the windscreen, crushing the bonnet and shoving the engine into the cab.
Brian Yanko manages the New Zealand Police eet of almost 4000 vehicles. He told attendees that eet management is critical to police work, getting the right capability at the right time and in the right place. A well-functioning eet supports police o cers to work safely and e ectively even when they face high-pressure and dangerous situations, he said.
Waikato Regional Council’s road safety advisor Jenny Davis was at the rst event and remains heavily involved promoting road safety. She says so many people working together in transport is great but is even happier that eet operators are recognising and taking the safety of their most precious resource, their sta , seriously. Getting people home safely every day is the main priority.
People are our most precious asset
Vehicles cause the most harm in our workplaces
One of Te Puke’s busy roads will get a partial reconstruction to improve safety and make it more user-friendly.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s Projects and Monitoring Committee has agreed to spend $3.2 million, over two years, on No.1 Road. e work will include rehabilitating and widening two of the middle sections of the road.
unhappy with the condition of this road and the safety risks it brings, and so are we,” says Council’s general manager infrastructure group Cedric Crow.
“Widening it and redoing the parts that have reached the end of their life will be very bene cial for those who use No. 1 Road.”
Earlier this year, Council completed six weeks of works on the road to ‘hold’ the pavement over winter. is included heavy patching - digging up the uneven surfaces and laying asphalt – to improve safety and maintain the road as best as possible in the short term.
Initial plans were to rehabilitate the lower section of No. 1 Road in 2019 but decided to postpone the works until after Tauranga City Council had constructed the Waiari trunk watermain. e watermain project was completed in 2020. Councillors also approved work to lower the road at the intersection with Cannell Farm Drive, in preparation for future extension works to join the two.
e widening of the remaining three sections of road and the creation of a separate 3m shared pathway will be revisited after the rehabilitation works.
Currently, parts of the road are too narrow for the volume and type of tra c. ere are also sections where the road has reached the end of its life, causing problems for heavy vehicles using the road to access horticultural businesses.
So, maintenance is not going to be enough.
is announcement comes after residents raised safety concerns with the council in 2022.
At the time, Western Bay of Plenty District Council transportation manager Jim Paterson said council sta have been working with residents since 2016 and have changed the location of the 80/50km/h speed limit boundary to 950m south of Te Puke Highway intersection, through council’s speed limit bylaw review in 2020.
“We’re planning to go a little further and include other road improvements such as seal widening, drainage upgrades and road rehabilitation.”
Fast-forward to 2023, where plans are now in place to move ahead with upgrading the busy rural road.
“We know that our Te Puke community are
In June, Council applied for funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to subsidise the shared pathway but this was declined because there are currently inadequate funds available from the National Land Transport Fund, although funding may be available in the future.
“If we were to proceed with the full programme of work right now for No.1 Road, we’d have a funding gap of at least 50 per cent,” adds Cedric. Works are expected to begin this summer.
Sept 9-10
North Island
National Da odil Show, 1.30-4pm (Sat); 10am-3.20pm (Sun), Town Hall, Cambridge. See tinyurl.com/4kkv2t7v
Sept 10
E-waste Collection, 8.30am-1pm, Cambridge
Lions Market. See urbanminers.nz
Steam Day, 10am-4pm, Settlers & Steam Museum, 43 Robinson Ave, Rotorua, $10, under 16 free. Ph 07 345 9525.
Sept 11-24
Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival, Rotorua, including 3 free workshops, noon-2pm: Carving (Sept 12), Weaving (Sept 13), Moko (Sept 14). See aronuiartsfestival.com
Sept 16-Oct 1
Delight: Blossom in the Park, Waitakaruru Sculpture Park, Waikato, $15. See tinyurl.com/ynmh65vw
Sept 17
E-waste Collection, 9-11am, Cambridge High School. See urbanminers.nz
Sept 23-24
NZ Taxidermy Contest Display, 9am-3pm (Sat),
10am-2pm (Sun), Arts and Craft Centre, Taupō, $5. See tinyurl.com/y5zv4avt
Sept 28
Gardens of England,
7.30pm, talk by Carmel
Levick, Wintec classroom, Hamilton Gardens (Gate 2), visitors $5. Ph 07 855 3404.
Sept 28-30
Tauranga in Stitches Exhibition, 10am-3pm, Gate Pa Primary School Hall, gold coin. See tinyurl.com/yc7xakd
Sept 29-Oct 1
Orchids & More, 10am4pm (Fri-Sat), 10am-3pm (Sun), Mystery Creek Events Centre, $10 (under 12 free). Flower displays, plants for sale, free talks. See orchidsandmore2023. wordpress.com
Heritage Festival, ames, includes workshops on crafts of yesteryear. See thamesheritage.co.nz/heritage
Oct 1
E-waste Collection, 9-11am, 420 Albert Park Drive, Te Awamutu. See urbanminers.nz
Oct 1
Glen Afton Line Heritage Railway, every 45 minutes from 10am-3.15pm, Pukemiro Junction railway station, 12km.
Hobby orchid growers from around New Zealand will be carefully transporting their best blooms to the Mystery Creek Events Centre for the 10th National Orchid Expo at the end of September.
Expos are normally held every three years, each time in a di erent part of the country, but the organisers of Orchids & More decided to move the scheduled 2022 event to this year. “Hopefully people are feeling more comfortable about getting together at a large event,” says chairman of the organising team Keith Smart, a life member of the Waikato Orchid Society from Te Awamutu.
As well as orchids, there will also be displays by the Waikato Iris Society and the Waikato Floral Art Group, while vendors from around the top half of the North Island will be selling everything from rare perennials and indoor plants to specialist potting mixes and biological control solutions
for gardeners.
“We’ve been thrilled by the funding support and sponsorship that we’ve managed to attract,” Keith says.
“By keeping the door price as low as possible and o ering free oor talks we hope we’re paying it forward to our visitors.”
Among those giving free talks are Francine omas, an internationally renowned oral artist from Tauranga, Amy Roberts, owner of Villaleigh Garden and Nursery near Huntly, Chris ompson, owner of Bioforce (biological control), and houseplant specialist Mitchell Gellert. e programme will change daily.
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ere is also a lecture programme for Orchid Expo registrants that focuses on education. Speakers include Gael Donaghy, president of the Native Orchid Group, and Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids in California, one of the few living people who has an orchid genus to his name –Fredclarkeara After Dark, which he hybridized, is considered to be the rst almost pure-black orchid.
Coincidentally, an Orchids & More vendor, Lee Neale of Leroy Orchids was this year awarded the same honour when registering an orchid with the
Royal Horticultural Society and now has Nealeara Seeing Stars to her name. “Orchids & More is a chance for the orchid community of New Zealand to come together and celebrate their hobby – and it’s also a chance to share that passion with the general public who, we hope, may become equally smitten,” says Keith. “After the disruptions of the past few years, it’s nice to be staging an event that will put a smile on people’s faces.”
Orchids & More, September 29 to October 1, open 10am-4pm (FridaySaturday) and 10am-3pm (Sunday), Mystery Creek Events Centre, $10 at the door (under-12 free).
