Coast & Country News - July 2024

Scraping by in the ‘50s

We didn’t have a fridge. We were the last family in the street to get TV. And we walked or cycled everywhere.

But we ate like kings. e basket was always bountiful. Because the old man was a blue-collar worker 40 hours a week and a huntergatherer the rest.

He provided in a way we can only dream of today.

afternoon hunting and gathering ventures. Dad would unravel a plastic pot scrub, ll it with mussels and dangle it deep in a tidal rock pool. An hour later we would pull it up and net the crays having a feeding frenzy on the mussel bag. Easy. We’d also pull in half a dozen greenbone — white creamy sh llets with few bones. Beat the hell out of snapper.

Kai moana

On a Tuesday morning I would take cray sh rolls to school for lunch. My mate, Brian Magnussen, was forcing down butterless Marmite sandwiches and I was hooking into cray sh wrapped in fresh white sandwich bread and drizzled with malt vinegar. Two or three of them — and we didn’t think anything of it. ere were also three or four cray sh legs to break open.

Lunches

School lunches were a joy in my family. Bless the old bird.

And cray sh rolls Tuesday morning because fresh bread baked overnight Sunday didn’t reach our 4 Square in time for school lunches.

So Mondays we took a couple of bob, or 20¢ in today’s money, to school for a pie and a cream bun - a sweet dough bread bun, split and lled with thick, sweet mock cream gloop, a splash of something red with the consistency of congealed blood, and dusted with icing sugar. ey were shockers.

I remember Rowena Snook would dislodge the big gloop of mock cream from the bun, eat it and throw the bun away. e crays were caught during our regular Sunday

On the way home with our kai moana we would shoot four or ve rabbits. ey would be stu ed with sage and onion, trussed and baked. Dinner that night and cold with a salad the next day. We ate splendidly. No TV, no fridge, no car — but bellies full with the best. And all it cost was e ort and enjoyment. e only bit I didn’t like were the foul, black, evil-smelling eld mushrooms we would pick. As big as dinner plates, vile, cooked in butter and eaten on toast. Texture and taste irrelevant. I hated them. It was the pungent stench that hung heavily for days. Where’s the enjoyment? ey grew in perfect magic circles that always intrigued me. And Dad would kick over the manky ones left behind, apparently to scatter the spores and start a fresh crop. And always at some point on those adventures, Dad would stop. And from the depths of his windbreaker he would pull a bag of Frisco Kiss to ees — always Frisco Kisses. Two and six they cost — 25¢ for a bag, which worked out about four or ve to ees for each of us. A good buy. He liked what he liked. And we liked what he liked.

So this family of six would eat very well for much of the week — until the bread started going stale again on Saturday.

While welcoming an exemption from a national programme to reduce methane emissions, a Waikato dairy farming leader believes those in the industry are acutely aware of the issue.

e government recently announced it would amend the Climate Change Response Act 2002 by January 1, 2025, to ensure agriculture does not enter the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

Federated Farmers’ Waikato Dairy Section chair and Matamata branch chair Matthew Zonderop says the sector is not shying away from the need to reduce methane emissions, but a “blunt instrument” was not going to solve the problem.

Extra tax

e Te Poi sharemilker says including farming in the emissions trading scheme would “open a real can of worms”.

While indications were that costs to farmers would have been be 95 per cent subsidised by government, Matthew says the “extra tax” would have still hurt the industry.

“Smaller herds would’ve been driven out of existence.”

He says farmers would have been forced to de-stock, with resulting sta losses.

Reducing dairy production would also leave New Zealand open to competition from “lesse cient” countries overseas.

Matthew says forcing farmers into the ETS would’ve been “a very big stick”, creating a situation where large corporate entities “played the system” by buying big forestry blocks to claim carbon credits.

Unique Position

ere is no easy solution to the issue, he says. “New Zealand is in a unique position as a pastoral-based economy.”

Dairy farming operates on such a scale here that housing animals in sheds and collecting e uent

for methane digesters – as happens overseas – is simply not an option.

Neutralising bacteria

However, Matthew says practical solutions being looked at include the development of a vaccine to neutralise bacteria that produce methane in cattle.

He says advances in breeding, with “more e cient” cows producing more milk on the same amount of feed is reducing methane emissions from New Zealand farms.

Other parts of their operation farmers are working on to mitigate the issue include di erent cropping options and smarter use of fertiliser.

Farmer mindset

To this end, he says the mindset of farmers has changed in relation to their cows’ diet.

“It is not just about production and pro t.”

While there has been opposition to past government schemes to curb methane emissions from dairy farms, Matthew believes farmers are coming on board.

“We know we don’t have a choice,” he says.

“To do nothing is not an option. We can no longer say that weather patterns haven’t changed.”

However, Matthew says this must be balanced with the potential economic cost to the country.

“ ere is nothing to replace agriculture. at’s the bottom line,” he says. “We are going to have to navigate as best we can.”

LIQUID JUST GOT SMARTER

Federated Farmers’ Waikato Dairy Section chair and Matamata branch chair Matthew Zonderop.

Police, Federated Farmers and local councils are urging stock owners to secure their fences following a spate of motor vehicle crashes involving wandering animals.

injuries or worse. You can only imagine the damage these hoofed animals could cause if they ended up on the vehicle’s bonnet and smashed the driver’s windscreen.”

Recent ACC data shows 16 motor vehicle livestock-related injury claims were led in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty district since 2019, costing taxpayers more than $215,000 in compensation payments.

Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter says in the past three months there had been four crashes involving vehicles hitting livestock, two in the Te Puke area and two on State Highway 29 heading up the Kaimāī Range.

Animal deaths

In each case the animals hit - a horse and three cowsdied, he says.

Wayne says this included police responding to a crash involving a car and two horses on Hereford Rd in Ōropi on May 6, where one of the horses died.

Wayne says there was the potential for livestock owners to be ned by the local councils or have their animals impounded if regularly found wandering onto the road.

Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty provincial president Brent Mounfort endorsed Wayne’s comments.

“Like checking your alarms, livestock owners need to regularly check their fences for any weaknesses and ensure their gates are security latched.”

Safety first

Brent, a sheep and beef farmer, also urges motorists to be careful driving on rural roads.

“If a car hits a horse

100km/h there is always the risk of serious injuries or worse.”

He says some animals are “quite crafty” and despite their owners’ best e orts they could attempt to escape their enclosures by jumping fences or taking advantage of weakened or inadequate fencing.

e latest ACC data obtained by the Bay of Plenty Times reveals 53 motor vehicle livestockrelated injury claims were lodged in the Bay of Plenty region between January 1, 2019, and May 21 this year.

He says the driver su ered minor injuries and did not require medical attention.

Among the other crashes was a collision between a car and a cow on Pukehina Beach Rd, Te Puke, on March 22.

e driver was not injured. e vehicles involved in the four crashes were written o , as once a vehicle’s airbags were deployed they were “too expensive to repair”.

He says animals wandering onto local roads and highways were a “signi cant hazard” and there was always a potential for serious injury and even fatal crashes.

Sheer luck

It was “sheer luck”, the drivers in those crashes were not seriously injured or killed especially when often these incidents happened in the dark.

“If a car hits a horse at 100km/h there is always the risk of serious

is includes 16 in Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty district costing taxpayers a total of $215,108 (excluding GST) during that period.

ACC stats

Of the 53 ACC claims in the Bay of Plenty region, the most prevalent primary injury cases (32 claims) were for soft tissue injuries followed by 12 for fractures and dislocations and compensation payments for those injury cases cost taxpayers a total of $995,109 (excluding GST) to help people recover.

ACC’s workplace safety manager Virginia Burton-Konia says ACC wanted to see a reduction in people being injured on our roads.

“Motorists, particularly on rural roads, need to be aware of the risks especially when driving at night.

Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter urged motorists to watch out for roaming animals and livestock owners to ensure they secured their gates and fences.

“We need to take a moment to slow down and be more aware.

“ e other onus is on farms to ensure fences are repaired and maintained to ensure animals are kept safely in their paddocks.”

Tauranga City Council animal services team leader Brent Lincoln says the council had limited enforcement powers in dealing with these incidents. Primarily it was a police tra c matter or a Waka Kotahi NZTA matter if any wandering stock was spotted on state highways.

However, stock owners were required to ensure their animals were secure at all times as under the council’s bylaws, the Impounding Act and Fencing Act, owners whose stock got loose were liable for a range of fees.

Near-misses

Western Bay of Plenty District Council animal services team leader Peter Hrstich says the council is aware of the Hereford Rd, Ōropi crash last month.

He says although this is the only incident of this kind the council knew of this year, there has been several reports of “near-misses” that usually happened at night.

Peter says council contractors responded to these calls, but more often than not the stock was no longer on the road when the contractors patrolled the area.

He says under the Impounding Act 1955, stock found roaming on the road could be impounded

but that was not a straightforward exercise.

“Mostly, livestock ends up on the road due to poor or inadequate fencing. Owners take a big gamble when they neglect this, and [take a] chance [of] their stock causing an accident which could result in serious injury or death.

“Stock owners must take proper steps to keep their animals secure to protect drivers and others using our roads.”

Mobile cancer scanner for rural NZ

ousands of rural and provincial New Zealanders will now receive cutting edge cancer diagnosis on their doorstep with the launch of the Southern Hemisphere’s rst mobile digital PET-CT scanner.

Mobile Health Group and Mercy Radiology have partnered to develop and build the brand new scanner-on-wheels, which will travel up and down the motu delivering cutting-edge, digital, cancer diagnosis where needed.

“ is is an absolute game-changer for patients living in provincial and rural Aotearoa New Zealand requiring state-of-the-art cancer diagnosis,” says Mobile Health Group chief executive Mark Eager.

“No longer will where you live dictate whether you can access a CT-PET scan.

“It will mean those living provincially will no longer face the disruption and cost of travel and days out of town to get to a major city for diagnosis, at a time when they are likely stressed and already facing ill health.”

e new $7 million mobile imaging unit, built in e Netherlands, will operate out of provincial and

rural hospital car parks, improving accessibility and removing barriers to health equity, especially among Māori who experience higher rates of cancer diagnosis.

“ ere has been a call to provide a mobile PET-CT service for several years to address the inequity of access to scans,” Mark says.

“While PET-CT imaging is becoming increasingly available in metropolitan areas, it is unlikely that a permanent xed installation will be available outside of larger urban areas, so this is a fantastic solution.”

Tauranga City Council’s animal services team leader Brent Lincoln.

When landowners commit to making changes on their property, it can set o a chain reaction of positive bene ts for the environment and wider community.

at’s why Bay of Plenty Regional Council partners with passionate individuals who want to make a di erence, writes BOPRC land management o cer Braden Rowson.

Getting started

It all starts with a phone call or email to your local land management o cer. ey’ll get to know you and your land, and provide access to support, planning advice and guidance, technical expertise and funding through an Environmental Programme.

An EP is a management plan, developed in

collaboration with you, that sets out actions that will help protect and restore biodiversity, conserve soil and reduce erosion, and improve water quality. An EP can help balance the retention of productive land with making good environmental gains that bene t everyone living in the catchment.

Partnership

Rick and John Burke of Pukekauri Farms are a great example of one of our long-term partners.

Over the past three decades, the brothers have been working to implement an EP designed to improve water quality on their farm.

Pukekauri Farms sits across the Te Mania and Waitekohekohe catchments, just 4km south of the Katikati township. Historically, Te Mania Catchment has had very poor water quality, with the 300ha Pukekauri Farms being one of the highest contributors of sediment and E. coli.

Rick and his then father-in-law Derry Seddon began this journey in

1984. Derry was the visionary and planted thousands of trees across the two blocks that make up Pukekauri Farms. Today, the results of those 30-plus years of planting are evident.

Following Derry’s passing, Rick’s brother John bought into the farm in 2015 to continue the hard work Derry had started. Today, the brothers have fenced o 63ha of existing native bush and riparian zones, planted 44ha of steep erosion prone slopes into natives, 24ha into exotic trees and developed eight wetlands.

As a land management o cer, it’s a pleasure to work with people who are so passionate about the work they do. Pukekauri Farms is a shining example of how landowners can balance environmental outcomes with productivity.

For many, it can be hard knowing where to start when it comes to making change, but we’re here to help. If you are ready to take that rst step, get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

BOPRC land management officer Braden Rowson

Pukekauri Farms sits across the Te Mania and Waitekohekohe catchments.

Project to show insights into exotic forests

A research project to capture an inventory of all exotic planted forests in New Zealand – to provide a valuable tool for commercial forestry decisions – was on show at the Scion’s stand in the 2024 Fieldays’ Forestry Hub.

Crown research institute Scion’s new value digital forests and wood sector portfolio leader Grant Evans says the aim of Forest Insights is to provide New Zealand’s forestry industry with powerful inventory information to make investment decisions easier.

Grant – who says the work “is about how we can utilise technology to better improve our industry as a whole” – reckons currently there are only fragmented data on pockets of tree species across New Zealand – “but nothing comprehensive”.

“ is is why we are trying to capture an inventory of exotic planted forests and trees in New Zealand. Forest Insights aims to answer: ‘What trees do we have? Where are they? And eventually, what can we do with them?”

e idea is the new, interactive tool – which is powered by machine learning and deep learning models – will provide forest owners, managers, and wood processors with an overview of the changing availability and growth of a range of tree species over time.

“So you’ll be able to go to a website and – for example – type in a particular species of tree and be presented with not only a satellite map of where they

are located across Aotearoa but also how much volume there is estimated for each species.

“ e aim of this is that processing plants, sawmills – all the industry in fact – can start saying: ‘ ere is starting to be a signi cant volume of X here and there is a good-looking supply so maybe it’s worth looking at investing in setting up a second or specialised processing plant’.”

It outlines the boundaries for stands of trees above 4ha and provides essential details, such as age class, area in production, and the number of stems per hectare.

“To do this, Scion’s Data and Geospatial Intelligence team have developed a deep learningbased model that can detect, and map planted forests using only aerial imagery.”

e AI model targets planted exotic forests and can map stands as early as two-three years after planting once a minimum canopy size is reached.

Although the model can identify multiple exotic species, the results for radiata pine are currently shown as this species currently makes up the majority of exotic forests planted in New Zealand.

To build the model, Scion’s Data and Geospatial Team collected and labelled more than 400km2 of aerial imagery – making it one of the largest datasets for highresolution landcover mapping.

Grant says the advantage of this model is it produces very accurate forest boundaries using only RGB aerial imagery. “ e model is also trained to work across imagery with di erent visual characteristics and resolutions. is allows us

to take advantage of the aerial imagery datasets that are regularly captured by regional entities and served by LINZ as a national aerial imagery basemap.”

Cyclone damage

e Forest Insights AI model had its genesis in trying to map the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle – but Scion has plans to provide the same data and for a wider range of trees for other regions. Signi cant ground truthing has taken place to help reinforce the accuracy of the model.

“ e rst areas mapped using the Forest Insights’ AI model included Gisborne and the Hawke’s Bay –areas that were severely a ected by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.

“ ese layers can serve as a snapshot of the forest before the cyclone and the team has repurposed the model to quantify the forest loss and windthrow damage in these areas using a range of imagery sources.”

e next steps for the team will be to combine the highresolution forest boundaries with LiDAR for the remainder of New Zealand to estimate attributes such as age class, stand density, height, timber volume and industry infrastructure like ports, processing plants and sawmills.

A digital ‘twin’

By partnering with LINZ to access their LiDAR data warehouse, the team aims to extend this approach to all regions of New Zealand. “In the longer term, we aspire to turn this into a national scale ‘digital twin’ of the productive

forest estate in New Zealand.

“ is would allow mapping and monitoring of our forests using remote sensing. To create the ‘twin’ we need regularly updated data owing into the model; the team is currently exploring this.”

Grant says as forests are a critical tool

in our ght against climate change, it’s important we understand how they will adapt under current and future conditions.

“Sensed data inside our digital forest can help us simulate the future and improve decision making in the forestry sector.”

Inta-Wood

FORESTRY LTD

Silvicultural Contractors

New value digital forests and wood sector portfolio leader Grant Evans at Scion’s Fieldays site.

Photo: Merle Cave.

Farming education science

CAREER PATHWAYS

It’s two years since Coast & Country News caught up with demonstration manager, Jo Sheridan at Owl Farm, Cambridge.

e dairy farm is a commercial venture at St Peter’s School and a well-known demonstration farm, which makes public all their statistics and spending, including their successes and mistakes.

Since 2022, the farm area has been reduced from 144 hectares to 130 hectares as some less productive land has been sold into residential subdivisions.

Cow numbers have been reduced from 410 to 350 for the 2023 season with new farm manager, Tony Alarca, at the helm.

Plantain

With the farm nestled alongside the Waikato River, nitrate leaching has to be addressed by Owl Farm, and they have to be ready for any rule changes that may be applied for farmers to meet water quality aspirations.

“As science is recognizing the positive impact that plantain is having on soil nitrogen loss, we are now into our fourth year of adding 4kg/ha plantain seed into any new, permanent pasture,” says Jo. e farm uses no tilling and in spring plantain is broadcast to establish in the pasture gaps of existing paddocks.

“DairyNZ research is already proving that there is one percent reduction in nitrogen leaching for every one percent plantain present in a sward.”

Paddocks that are to be planted with plantain need to be weed free rst as many weed sprays also kill plantain.

Plantain lasts for three to four years before requiring replanting and is reasonably cheap to buy making it a cost e ect way to mitigate nitrogen leaching.

“Plantain acts as a diuretic meaning the cows urinate more frequently, more diluted and more evenly spread over the paddock and the rye grass thrives on the nitrogen in the urine.”

Good plantain growth produces quality

feed over the summer, but growth slows in the winter. Jo says that the farm plans for that working on the basis that if plantain is ve to10 per cent of the pasture, they expect a reduction in feed available during the cooler months.

Calves and chicory

For four seasons, Owl Farm has been using a chicory based diet for their replacement calves. ree years were straight chicory and last year, Italian and red clover were added to the mix.

“On average, over a four year period, our calves put on 0.7 kilograms of liveweight a day. We utilize PK and grass silage to maintain growth rates during challenging summers, but that is lessening as we introduce variety to the

Plantain is a cost e ective way to mitigate nitrogen leaching.

Owl Farm demonstration manager Jo Sheridan. Photo: Catherine Fry.

Hei Whanake

pasture mix.” e Owl Farm replacement calves are bred using sexed semen from high quality cows with elite genetics. Calf DNA is tested at a genomic level to assist with deciding which calves to keep for the herd.

“We’ve seen results with our herd now being in the top three percent BW index in New Zealand.

“It would be hard for us to top that.”

Measuring CO2 on farm

After being approached by the University of Waikato, Owl Farm agreed to the installation of a carbon dioxide measuring station on the farm.

“ e placement allows measurement of CO2 emissions and soil carbon content from chosen paddocks as we carry on with normal farm management practices and summer cropping.” ree years into the six to eight year project, some data is already available, and Jo is utilizing it for science informed decision making.

“Using our normal farm management

practices, such as lessening soil disturbance and minimizing fallow periods for paddocks reduces loss of soil carbon.”

In four to ve years there will be substantial data available from this research.

Community and education

Owl Farm had their seventh annual open day in April 2024 and recorded more than 750 visitors, the largest attendance yet.

“ e majority of the visitors were town based families with kids. Ninety per cent of them had never been to Owl Farm before, 40 per cent had visited one to ve farms previously and 25 per cent had never been to a farm before.

“ is type of day is so important for people to connect with farming life. ere were activities around native trees, feed, nutrients and nances.

“Visitors could watch milking and we had animals to interact with.”

Returning to the events calendar was the Agri Skills and Education Day where the farm hosted Year 9 to 13 students from ve secondary schools who were studying agriculture.

Volunteers from WaiBOP Regional Young Farmers and Federated Farmers, St Peter’s Agri Centre, and several local rural suppliers and businesses set up farming skills activities and modules for the students to compete against each other.

“ e aim was to encourage students to enter the Young Farmers competitions and also foster good community ties with suppliers.

“It’s important to keep students that are studying agriculture and horticulture subjects engaged and connected with the industry, as they are the future of New Zealand farming.”

East & West Rail Tour - 5 to 14 November 2024

Embark on an extraordinary journey with the Glenbrook Vintage Railway as we traverse the North Island, immersing ourselves in history, breathtaking scenery, and the charm of lesser-travelled railway lines. Our fully escorted rail tour will take you to captivating locations such as Napier, New Plymouth, Ohakune and through the Wairarapa. Our exclusive tour train offers unparalleled views of iconic locations and scenery not seen by any other means of travel.

Highlights include: The award winning Taranaki Garden Festival, Napier’s famous Gannet Colony & the stunning Cape Sanctuary, and travel through historic towns like Martinborough and Greytown.

Visitors enjoyed interacting with the animals at the seventh Owl Farm open day.

More rail travel than any other NZ Rail Tour on the market!

Jo with the thriving calves.

Photo: Catherine Fry.

A builder who forged signatures and pretended to be licensed has been convicted and sentenced to six months of community detention.

Jimmy Carson, sole director of Carson Design and Co, was convicted for forging the signatures of licensed building practitioners on certi cates of design work for three buildings between September 2021 and July 2022.

Tauranga District Court Judge Greg Hollister-Jones considered the o ending to be “moderate to serious”.

Along with six months of community detention, Jimmy was ordered to pay a $2000 ne for providing false and misleading information.

Duncan Connor, Registrar of Licensed Practitioners, says Jimmy was fully aware of the consequences of his actions

and the impact it could have had on lives of his clients and on those whose signatures he knowingly forged.

“Carrying out restricted building work without holding an appropriate licence or being supervised by a licensed building practitioner is a serious o ence,” says Duncan.

“ e scheme ensures consumers can be con dent that they are hiring properly trained professionals to carry out or supervise restricted building work and I urge anyone engaging a builder to rst look them up on the public register.”

Licensed builders can promote their professional skills and behaviour in the building industry and show the public and potential clients that they meet a minimum standard of competency in their licensed area, he says.

e Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will not hesitate to prosecute

individuals who breach the act, and practitioners seeking to carry out restricted building work should do their due diligence and make sure they are properly licensed before starting the work, says Duncan.

“ ere was a high degree of premeditation in the o ending by Jimmy and he caused a signi cant breach of trust.”

e o ending was discovered in September 2022 when the Tauranga City Council telephoned the licensed builder whose name and signature Jimmy had forged to le a certi cate of design work.

Jimmy led certi cates for three properties in Mt Maunganui, East Taieri and Tauranga, forging the names and signatures of two builders using their licence numbers, address, and phone numbers.

He got those while corresponding with them about designs.

Granny flat rule changed backed Builder warning

Excitement is building among tiny home builders and enthusiasts after the announcement of a potential overhaul of the rules for granny ats.

Last month, the government announced a discussion document which looks to shake up the rules around building small structures.

e proposal includes changes to the Building Act which would remove the need for building or resource consents on granny at style buildings in certain areas.

Bryce Langston is a New Zealander who has amassed more than 4.5 million YouTube subscribers on his channel which looks at diverse ways people are building tiny houses around the world.

He got interested in this type of housing in his late 20s.

“I was watching the idea of home ownership move further and further away from me, and when

I discovered tiny houses, it was like this lightbulb went o in my head and it was this amazing thing whereby downsizing my home it became obtainable.”

Bryce says the changes are a step in the right direction.

“ is is a tremendously exciting development that I would love to see happen.

“It is going to clear up a lot of unnecessary red tape and make it a lot easier to increase the housing supply which we desperately need to do.”

He believes 60 square metres - the size which some councils would be required to allow without consent - was plenty of room to work with.

“You could have a comfortable home with a good-sized kitchen, a nice sized lounge, a nice sized bedroom, potentially even two bedrooms bathroom, without really needing to get too creative.”

Cherry Tree Rise, just outside Tokoroa in the Waikato region, is a beautifully appointed Lockwood cottage o ering charming accommodation for visitors. For rural property owners, adding secondary accommodation like this not only enhances their property but also provides a great source of income.

Hosts Jenny and Peter, looking for a change of pace after Jenny’s 30-year career as an intensive care paramedic, decided to utilise their four-acre property by adding a Lockwood cottage. is cottage, named Cherry Tree Rise for the cherry trees lining its driveway, is conveniently located near the Waikato River Trails and Cougar Park.

e cottage’s design is based on the Lockwood Vacationer, with modi cations to extend the living area. A soundproof cavity slider allows the twobedroom cottage to be split into two units, each sleeping four guests.

Both units feature a bedroom with a super king bed and ensuite, as well as a queen sofa bed in the living area. e Awanui Suite includes a full kitchen, while the Sakura Suite o ers a kitchenette.

Jenny takes great pride in creating a welcoming home

away from home, even providing catered meals by arrangement. She enjoys hosting people from diverse backgrounds and looks forward to expanding their Air B&B business. Cherry Tree Rise has already achieved “Superhost” status on Air B&B and has a Guest Favourite award.

e low-maintenance Lockwood construction is ideal for sta accommodation as well, so if you are considering adding value to your property, or need quality sta accommodation, see what Lockwood can do for you.

You can experience this lovely modern Lockwood home for yourself.

Book a relaxing weekend away at with Jenny and Peter at Cherry Tree Rise. www.cherrytreerise.co.nz

An outside view of Cherry Tree Rise.

An inside look of the cottage.

Mistletoe numbers grow

Mistletoe abundance has increased more than 3600 per cent over 22 years in Tikitapu Scenic Reserve at Lake Ōkāreka thanks to the e orts of volunteers and sta across multiple organisations.

Established in 2002, the Ōkāreka Mistletoe Restoration Project aims to increase population of two threatened semi-parasitic mistletoe species in Tikitapu Scenic Reserve, Rotorua, through animal pest and weed control.

Mistletoes are semi-parasitic shrubby plants growing on host trees. ey

have green leaves that photosynthesise their own sugars but rely on a host plant for water and nutrients.

White mistletoe, Tupeia antarctica, which has a threat ranking of At Risk - Declining, has increased through the lifetime of the Ōkāreka project from 218 to 8044 live plants in 2024 within Tikitapu Scenic Reserve.

Regionally threatened green mistletoe, Ileostylus micranthus, has naturally colonised the reserve and now numbers at 56 plants, up from zero.

Restore Native’s purpose is self-evident in the namerestoring marginal land to native trees - but founder Adam ompson is quick to add this isn’t simply the sale and supply of trees.

“We can provide full service from planning, preparing, supplying and planting followed by post-planting care.”

A farmer himself, Adam ompson says Restore Native’s goal is to partner with farmers to deliver a simple, cost-e ective outcome which enhances the environment and improves each farm’s biodiversity.

“We can take care of everything.

“ e biggest challenge most farmers have, in relation to marginal or riparian land, is not the desire to plant but the physical ability and funding to do that. Restore Native addresses both those issues head on, making it easier for farmers and other environmentally minded people to plant trees and restore land.

“Our Cambridge based nursery supplies conservatively priced trees that are t for purpose on farms across the North Island, backed up by the team’s knowledge and expertise which ensures that every purchase

and every planting delivers the optimum result.

“It all begins with an on-farm visit to understand the speci c challenges each farmer faces; these discussions then raise potential to tailor a service which meets individual needs.

“Whatever option the farmer chooses, they can be sure the service they receive from Restore Native will be simple, cost-e ective and multigenerational.”

Restore Native provides advice, expertise and supply of plants across the North Island with planting and maintenance plans in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Looking to plant native trees?

We’re specialists for trees on farms

Need trees? We grow a range of natives at our Te Miro nursery from locally sourced seeds.

Need planting? Our dedicated crew specialises in proper planting techniques.

Need pre/post planting sprays? Trees that are well looked after will thrive and our crew use specialist equipment and techniques to take care of all your needs.

Manuka | Kanuka | Cabbage Tree

Swamp Flax | Mountain Flax | Carex

Pittosporum | Mahoe | Kowhai

Ribbonwood | Laceback | Toetoe

Wineberry | Karamu | Tree Lucerne

www.restorenative.co.nz 021 724 181 Adam

Restore Native crew planting native trees on a hillside.

Native plantings to minimise erosion

e severity and frequency of weather bombs across New Zealand has heightened awareness of climate change, and the impact plantings can have to prevent or limit soil erosion.

It’s an awareness evident in increased enquiry and demand to one of the country’s leading native plant nurseries for plants suited for stormwater, wetland and stop bank plantings.

Established in 1996, Treeline Native Nursery has earned a reputation for producing quality native plants for regional and district councils, the Department of Conservation, subdivision projects, private landscaping, farm planting, community and landcare projects and the general public.

A second-generation business, Treeline Native Nursery was founded by Diane Coleman to address a lack of native plants for revegetation projects around the country.

e nursery is now managed by Diane’s son, Sam Edmonds and his wife Caroline. In the rst year the nursery produced 10,000 trees - this has grown to more than 500,000 trees per year.

Caroline Edmonds says with climate change and more weather events we are experiencing increased demand for plants which will

protect land from erosion from water incursion.

“A lot of thought is being put into the design and implementation of these projects with landowners and Councils utilising consultants, landscape architects and ecologists to improve the integrity of their land as well as the biodiversity.”

Treeline Native Nursery is

uniquely positioned to supply the range and volume of plants required for any project – from residential to the largest agricultural or conservation projects.

Located at Kaharoa, 20km north of Rotorua, the nursery is in a high altitude, high climate zone which has major bene ts for plant conditioning

ensuring the plants are hardy at time of delivery.

Whether you are after a few plants for your garden or lifestyle block, or extensive plants for a conservation or

project, they can supply the best suited plants, put you in touch with skilled planting contractors and deliver direct.

Growers of quality native plants

and

Treeline

Legalise your access right now

Last month in our article ‘Know your Boundaries’, we talked about boundary fences having been moved over the years on a handshake agreement.

We also talked about vehicular access sometimes being across a neighbour’s land. is has raised some interest and it seems that it is not uncommon.

by CP Lime

Like boundary fences being moved for convenience, access rights are often agreed upon with a handshake. All is ne at the outset, especially where the neighbours are relatives or good friends, but as time moves on and land is sold and purchased by others, those original relationships no longer exist.

Subdivision access

In such a case, the Courts may make a ruling.  Back to the practicalities of legalising your current access. If your handshaking neighbour is still around and you are regularly using the access over their property, then now is the right time to legalise that deal and have a ROW Easement registered over their title. You may need to sweeten the deal with a few loads of metal or a coat of tar seal, but often the convenience and ability to use that access for future development of your property will outweigh any costs.

Historical disputes

Access created in such a casual way is indeed far from a legal Right Of Way.  It is no more than a neighbourly good deed that can be withdrawn on a whim.

e crunch often comes when there is a need for maintenance, or perhaps you want to use such access for a subdivision of your property.

If it is not legal, it is simply not legal, and you don’t have any comeback on the owner of the land to allow you permanent access over their property to yours.

ere may be an exception where you are denied physical access to your land through some natural process involving land instability or erosion, or your title was de cient denying you access.

If you are involved in a historical access debacle, the road ahead will be less clear.  You should begin with a casual discussion to see if there is any desire to legalise the situation.  If you are not on good terms or they are reluctant to grant a legal ROW, then you will need to up the ante with your o er of compensation.  You need council approval to register a ROW on both titles and it is unusual for approval to be denied. However, there may be a construction upgrade necessary.  A local licenced cadastral surveyor will need to survey the alignment and provide a plan of the ROW. Easements for other purposes such as power and water supply require the preparation of a survey plan but do not require council approval. Please feel free to call us to discuss any access challenges that you are faced with. We’ll be happy to help.

Plans to combat prevalent bovine disease

A vaccine to prevent an infectious disease that costs New Zealand cattle farmers more than $190 million each year could radically improve the health of our cows and boost on-farm productivity, says Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard.

e Ministry for Primary Industries is backing a project that aims to develop a modi ed live virus vaccine against Bovine Viral

Diarrhea. e project will focus on developing an e ective immunogen that is safe to use on New Zealand farms.

New Zealand currently has three registered vaccines for BVD, with an e cacy rate of about 60 to 65 per cent. e current vaccines use the inactivated BVD virus as the immunogen. ey require a two-dose initial vaccination followed by annual revaccination.

Ways to improve farmers’ mental health

e temperature that greets you most mornings support that winter is here - but this is at odds with soil temperatures.

In the week starting June 17, we had an average soil temperature of 12.2°C. Contrast this to the same week last year when the average was just 7.4°C. at is one heck of a di erence and likely due to a limited number of recent frosts.

We have had similar rain this June with 124mls recorded to date compared to 139mls for the same period last year.

Even with the higher ground temperature the grass growth has slowed down. Many cows are o farm, e ectively on holiday (hopefully some farmers are too!) prior to calving.

Now is a great time to look at your feed budget and make sure

you have enough to keep yourself going throughout winter and a possibly dry summer. ere are still plenty of grass silage, hay and straw bales at the moment, so it is a good idea to purchase now for the future before stocks run low and supply and demand plays a part. We always say – hay in the barn is like money in the bank – it never hurts to have more than you think you will need!

is a great week to help us put things into perspective and seek help if we need it. If you need to reach out for yourself, or someone you know: www. menshealthweek.

co.nz is a good place to start.

Last month we had Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week. In the farming community we have always been aware of the constant and daily struggles, but it has only recently been brought into open public discussion. It really

On a more personal level I value getting o farm and interacting with other farmers in a social setting. I recently had the opportunity to play squash in the local Te Puke farmers tournament. While my playing ability leaves a lot to be desired, it was a lot of fun, a chance to blow some steam o and lower the stress level.

e Fieldays were another great chance to get o farm and

amongst it all. A highlight of the NZ farming calendar it is not only a great opportunity to catch up with farmers from all over New Zealand and talk about the past year and the year ahead, but it is also a time to see the latest and greatest in the farming world. Technology is advancing at a rate of knots and for NZ farmers to remain competitive we need to embrace change. Personally, I am excited about the use of drones in the agricultural sector. eir application for farming is already amazing and I can only imagine what is to come.

From an economic perspective the bite of high interest rates is really taking its toll on the economy, and the agricultural sector more so than any other given the higher margins applied. Every economist is trying to predict when the Reserve Bank is going to make its rst cut. Due to the under reaction to in ation two years ago they have had to make an overreaction to bring things under control. is all creates volatility, not exactly what the RBNZ is aiming for. All I can say is it the rst cut better be soon!

Fieldays provided a chance for people to get o the farm in June.

Back to the future

We were young, energetic, highly indebted, and determined to show that we could make stu happen.

Winter cropping, the norm for the previous generation of farmers taking on low fertility properties covered in browntop, was dismissed as old school.

“Hoof and tooth” was the mantra of the time and any suggestion that

fewer better fed animals might be bene cial was quickly dismissed by those at discussion groups.

e concept of all-grass farming was embraced, and short even covers were the sign of progress, however we also knew of a farming family close by doing things di erently.

ey were from Europe, their animals were much bigger, and they fed a lot more supplement, including molasses. ey weren’t alone, there

were a handful in the district focussed on fully feeding their stock.

Looking back

As our focus was high utilisation of pasture because that’s supposedly where the pro t was, ‘expensive’ supplement was somehow seen as cheating and those doing so didn’t attend discussion groups.

Our reference then became those also chronically underfeeding often well-bred and reared animals. Looking back, we sometimes wonder why we didn’t follow our instinct and reduce animal numbers and feed them better.

Operation

Cows, operators, families, and land were under stress resulting in youngsters brought up on farms opting where possible for vocations in towns and cities.

However, banks encouraged higher animal numbers as they were part of the total farm equity, and large factories were dependant on ever increasing volume to provide a payment to farmers that was just a little above that required to survive from one season to the next.

sold as pasture based, as distinct from grass fed.

One thing however won’t change and that is the reliance on clover as the foundation of our permanent high producing pasture.

Because clovers x nitrogen in response to an increase in demand from rapidly growing grasses and herbs, a negligible amount is lost to groundwater.

Exciting potentials

ere are cycles in all things and the future of dairying increasingly looks like smaller factories providing specialist niche high-margin market products.

To meet the quality standards and traceability farms may well shrink in size with fewer elite animals fed higher energy, bre, and full-protein rich diets.

Less synthetic nitrogen will be applied to increasingly diverse species pastures with products

And because it is under permanently grazed pasture that carbon is most readily sequestered, intensive dairying will be recognised as an environmentally desirable activity and will occupy high quality land close to major urban centres. e farms, along with the data necessary to support the above vision, already exist, and a return akin to that of the town-supply farms that existed in the 1960s and 70s almost certainly will re-appear. It’s an exciting future for those prepared to break from existing constraints. ere’s a lot to learn however for those that embrace the vision it’s a stimulating and thought-provoking process that can be enjoyed with an ever increasing support group.

Children of farming families will once again be proud of their family enterprise and keen to introduce friends to what is a genuinely exciting and rewarding lifestyle. For more information call Peter on: 027 495 0041.

Peter’s son helping with one his favourite occupations.

Peter’s son was always on hand to help out.

Urban growth resources

The quarry industry says a new GNS Science study, showing where rock and sand resources exist in five major centres, should kick-start planning nationwide to secure these areas to support New Zealand’s future development needs.

The Aggregate & Quarry Association CEO Wayne Scott says his organisation has worked with GNS and the Infrastructure Commission on the Securing Resources for Urban Growth Study which identifies potential sources of quarry materials in north and south Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Central Otago.

Now, he says, central and local government must ensure quarry resources are available to support hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and housing spend through coming decades.

Launching the study last month, Infrastructure Commission CEO Ross Copland noted that 30 per cent of the cost of civil construction came from quarry resources and when these have to be trucked 30km, the cost doubles.

with GNS to identify their own regions’ viable rock and sand resources.”

“I urge mayors, councillors, town planners, iwi and interested citizens in areas with already completed aggregate opportunity maps, to start using these as the basis of their future planning.

“Other regions should pick up the phone to GNS because much of the work has already been done.” Wayne says the maps don’t just identify quarry resources but looks at a whole range of factors including an area’s conservation values, biodiversity impacts, local demand, proximity to existing housing, iwi and community concerns and land with high farming value, before identifying where a rock or sand resource is worth confirming for future use.

Wayne says his organisation worked with GNS in Ōpōtiki in 2018 when the cost of the town’s proposed harbour development doubled largely because the nearest existing quarries were 100km away.

Finding local rock supplies helped make the project viable.

“Such benefits are now available in five centres around the country and other councils are starting to work

“As an industry, we want to identify and secure future potential pockets of high-value quarry resources and secure them so they aren’t over-taken by urban sprawl. This study is a potential turning point in how we best plan for all our future growth.”

Work being carried out on the Ōpōtiki Harbour Development.

Calls for farmers to grow own nitrogen

Most pastoral farmers in New Zealand already know that white clover (Trifolium repens) xes atmospheric nitrogen into plant available nitrogen via the symbiotic relationship with the Rhizobia bacteria in its nodules. However, what seems less recognised is just how productive this system can be.

An ancient system

Symbiosis is an ancient system and it’s more common that you might think. For example, the human gut and its microbiota share this kind of relationship. While the gut provides the right kind of environment

the microbiota develops our immune system and protects us against certain pathogenic bacteria and toxins.

In the case of white clover, the legume provides a stable environment and energy in the form of carbohydrates to the bacteria. In return, the bacteria provide nitrogen in the form of ammonia (NH3) for the host plant. Companion pasture plants like grasses bene t when the nitrogen-rich clover roots are naturally sloughed o , or when the protein-rich clover leaves are eaten by animals, then recycled into soil organic matter through their waste.

How efficient?

For white clover, it seems the

up to 90 per cent of the ammonia needed to make the amino acids, proteins and nucleic acids essential for their healthy growth and heredity. at’s a very e cient system, and a very natural, enviro-friendly source of nitrogen.

Research shows the average amount of clover- xed-N in NZ is 185kg per hectare per year (185kg/ha/yr), although it is claimed that the potential is greater, exceeding 250kg/ha/yr. So growing clover can certainly reduce the reliance on urea to

pasture growth. We just have to provide the clover plant with what it needs to do its job.

More clover

Observation tells us that clover enjoys fertile soil with good structure and healthy biology.

Using ag-research validated science, we can identify optimum levels or ‘zones’ for each of these factors which make an excellent guide for working out how to maximise clover growth.

Of course, pH is important too. In the case of clover, a pH around 6.2 seems optimum because trace elements become unavailable to the clover if the soil is too acid or too alkaline.

Soil structure and biology

By conducting a Visual Soil Assessment, we can check other factors like soil structure and soil biology for their suitability for growing clover. Developed by Graham Shepherd, this assessment examines soil texture, porosity, colour and smell, as well as earthworm numbers, the status of plant roots and leaves, and so on.

Firstly, we can test soil fertility. For clover, phosphate, potassium, sulphur, calcium, and magnesium are particularly relevant. is is because clover isn’t a ‘pushy’ plant – it’s not great at competing with companions like ryegrass when these nutrients fall outside an ideal zone.

Herbage tests are valuable for detecting de ciencies of trace elements like iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, cobalt, and molybdenum, all important nutrients for clover. For example, if cobalt is outside the optimum zone, the Rhizobia bacteria can’t produce leghaemoglobin, crucial to maintaining the correct O2 level in the clover nodule.

A shortage of molybdenum means the Rhizobia can’t make the enzyme reductase, used to x nitrogen.

Alongside VSA, soil biology can also be tested for its percentage of organic matter, the total organic carbon, and the carbonnitrogen ratio to check that they t into the ideal zone for growing clover.

So, to support clover growth, it’s simply a matter of checking that the plant gets what it likes: fertile soil with good structure and healthy biology. e Fertco CloverZone Programme focuses on supporting farmers to do exactly that by identifying the optimal zones for each of these factors, then designing a fertiliser programme to get the clover growing.

Dairy herd enjoying healthy clover-rich pasture.

The love of farming machines

Vintage tractor enthusiast

Derek Holm didn’t gain his love of farm machinery from a farming background but from his father, who sold Ford and David Browne tractors during the 1970s.

“When I was a child, we spent a lot of time at Aotea Harbour and I loved the David Browne tractor they used to launch their boats,” says Derek.

Derek has the perfect father-in-law in Paul Moroney, a retired electronics engineering lecturer and “very mechanically and electronically minded”, with his own collection of vintage machinery.

Derek saw a fully restored Massey Ferguson 135 and that got him thinking about restoring his own tractor. He started looking around to see what he could get, adamant it wasn’t going to have holes in its bodywork because he wasn’t con dent with panel work.

“For me it was more about taking it apart and getting it ready for a professional to paint.”

Derek acquired his rst tractor in the sweetest way when his wife, Gillian, with assistance from her dad, Paul, bought him one from the internet, sight unseen, for his 40th birthday. He laughs at the memory of receiving the 1958 McCormick International B250, a diesel fourcylinder 30hp tractor. It was painted in Ford colours of blue and black and had dubious panel work.

e B250 was considered quite ahead of its time, with a top speed of 26km/h, ve-speed gearbox, and disc brakes. ey were imported to New Zealand from the UK for general farm work.

“Paul and I put our heads together to see how we could tackle the project. My son, Travis, who was 6 at the time, was also very excited to get started.”

e family used to drive the tractor, and this enabled Travis to learn to drive a manual transmission, until it started falling apart and something

needed to be done.

A 10-year, three-generation project began.

“Previously, it has been used to launch boats and hadn’t been washed down and cleaned.”

ey found saltwater in the gearbox housing, sand in the starter motor and generator, and big rust holes in the metalwork.

It wasn’t too hard to get parts, but they did have to fabricate a new steering wheel and new panel steel was welded in.

Paul then sprayed the tractor in its proper international red.

e tractor is the family’s boat launching tractor and Oliver, Derek’s other son, enjoys driving it, but Travis now has a 1951 Allis Chalmers EB lined up as the next family project.

Derek Holm received his restoration tractor for his 40th birthday.

Photo: Catherine Fry.

Travis Holm was only six when the B250 restoration was started in 2013. Photo: supplied.

Fieldays pulls folk from all walks of life

Yes - Fieldays 2024 has come and gone. And once again – as always – the streets were a menagerie of people from all walks of life, enjoying everything New Zealand’s rural heartland has to offer.

There were the suit-wearers, probably from corporates, zipping through the streets to meetings.

There were the tidy-dressed folk wearing branded jackets and/or hats, possibly stand staff spending their lunch breaks perusing. Then there were the farming families from around Aotearoa with kids – even newborns – in tow enjoying a trip off the farm. The scruffy ones wearing beanies, shades and farm clothes having a geez and a laugh, and those scoping out their next purchase or researching for the next big project. Throw in the cockies just enjoying a visit, and those not buying anything just enjoying the sights, smells, sounds and all that

Fieldays have to offer. And then there was Jenny Spring, who this reporter bumped into outside the Zespri tent…

“Hello! I’m Jenny Spring – they say ‘I’m well sprung’ – from Eketāhuna!”

You know… that small rural settlement in the south of the Tararua district and ManawatūWhanganui region. The town at the eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges, 35km north of Masterton and a similar distance south of Palmerston North.

I know no one from there… now I do!

Because this bright, cheery, exuberant introduction became a good old chinwag between strangers – as these typically do at Fieldays.

Tauwhare beginnings

The larger-than-life octogenarian tells me she grew up on a farm at Tauwhare, which is actually not far from Mystery Creek, back in the 1940s.

But ironically enough – despite growing up

rural and marrying a man who ran a business in the rural settlement of Eketāhuna – 2024 is only her third visit to Fieldays.

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“I’ve lived in Eketāhuna for 48 years. I met my husband-to-be on Mt Ruapehu when I was about 28 and stabbed him with my eyes – he fell in love with me for some reason… we got married and had three children. He died nine years ago. And here I am – my surname is Spring and I’m springing all over the place!”

Why is the 81-year-old and grandmother-of-three at Fieldays?

“Because I’ve got a brother in Cambridge and he’s not well. I’ve come up to see him and to come to Fieldays – it’s my third time at Fieldays. I love rural things!

“I was brought up on a farm at Tauwhare. My father came out from England in the 1920s and met my mother, who was born in Greymouth. The rest is history… I’m the youngest of six.”

Jenny says Tauwhare has changed a lot since she was a little girl. “It was all farming back then. The people over the road, the Popes, they didn’t have a car so they used to come over and borrow my father’s. Once, Mr Pope came over saying: ‘My wife’s having a baby… you might have to take her to hospital’.

“My mother used to catch a bus into Hamilton – it was wartime and she’d always come home with a flounder from the fish shop for me as I was the youngest.”

Dairy farm conversion

What’s Tauwhare like now? “It’s more houses, more people but it’s still rural. My family’s sheep and beef farm is now a dairy farm. I’ve been up the drive in recent years – my father planted it with English trees which only cost £20 back in the 1920s and they’re still there. It means a lot to me to go back to Tauwhare.” I ask Jenny why so many different people go to Fieldays?

“Folk go to Fieldays most years because it’s in June when the cows are dry – and look at all the smiley people and all the fabulous stands and sights!”

It’s grown since 1991

Jenny rst visited Fieldays in

1991. Her second visit was two years ago – “nowadays it’s bigger”.

“My brother John used to be in the overseas pavilion looking after overseas visitors, and my nephew Philip Coles –a Waipa councillor – is in charge of volunteers. He’s a jolly good worker.”

What does she think of 2024 Fieldays? “Wonderful. I love everything you see – all the rural stu and the friendliness. I’ve talked to a lot of people today because I love talking to people.”

The perfect guard for riparian projects

Landowners undertaking riparian projects no longer need get frustrated by the time, e ort and costs involved in getting plantings to grow to maturity.

A Southland farming family has redesigned the typical tree planter guard to ensure young plantings survive – with no weeding or chemical spraying required.

“We started Garto because we had trouble getting trees to survive,” says Hugh Baird.

“It’s really easy and exciting to plant trees – but it’s really hard to get them to survive to maturity.”

Made from recycled plastic, e Garto Tree Protector is designed to funnel water to the tree base, eliminate weeds and grass growth around roots, shield from pest damage, shelter from wind – and it’s removable and reusable.

“ e guard’s shape lets no light in – so nothing will grow nearby – but it keeps moisture in, creating the ideal growing microclimate. What you’ll nd is the tree grows faster because it has no weed competition, it stays warmer and is moister.”

Manufactured in NZ from 100 per cent recycled NZ plastics, e Garto Tree Protector has a 10-year lifespan and is sturdy for re-use.

Hugh says the product is easy to use and better than current options. “Many products protect trees from pests but don’t protect them from weeds and competing plants. is means you have to repeatedly re-visit plants to weed or spray them with chemicals.

“ e Garto suppresses weeds all the time, meaning the tree is always living with no weed competition. You save labour costs of weeding or spraying. You save the cost of purchasing sprays - and your project is chemical-free!”

Hugh says landowners undertake riparian projects in stages.

“ e Garto is reusable - so once you have a set of

And that’s the charm of Fieldays – talking to lots of people you don’t know, chinwagging over the

and learning about new things.

guards you can work your way down a river or creek, planting a number of trees each season and redeploy the guards as required.

“Reduce the constant hassle of tending to young trees, so you can get on with more important things – like running the farm!”

Southland farmer Hugh Baird with the Garto Tree Protector - the ideal solution to cost-e ective, hassle-free tree-growing.

$59,900

Photo: Merle Cave.

latest rural innovations, products, technological advancements,

Fieldays is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event and the ultimate launch platform for cutting edge technology and innovation. It also gives people a chance to catch-up.

AI-driven walkover teat sprayer launched

A new walkover teat sprayer is designed to reduce mastitis cases and labour requirements in the dairy industry while optimising animal welfare.

Launched at Fieldays by GEA, in partnership with agricultural AI start-up AgriAI, the product is designed to reduce mastitis cases and labour requirements in the dairy industry while optimising animal welfare.

Mastitis is a costly condition for the New Zealand dairy industry, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses annually. According to DairyNZ, the average cost of mastitis for a herd of 300 mixedage cows is about $54,500 per year, or $180 per cow.

Proven to help

Teat spraying after milking has been proven to reduce the incidence of new mastitis infections by 50 per cent, says a GEA Farm Technologies NZ product manager Ben Morris.

“In 2022, GEA introduced the iSPRAY4 on-platform teat sprayer for rotaries, featuring four nozzles and utilising cross re spray action,

Described as a revolutionary product, the spraying is expected to transform dairy farming e ciency, animal welfare, and productivity.

rather than lateral spray, to cover both the teat barrel and teat end.

“Recognising that 70 per cent of cowsheds in New Zealand are Herringbone, GEA saw an opportunity to build on the success of the on-platform teat sprayer and develop a highly e ective walkover teat sprayer suitable for both rotary and herringbone cowsheds.”

GEA says the walkover teat sprayer is a gamechanger for boosting udder health.

“Equipped with advanced AI-driven camera technology, it o ers real-time udder tracking and timed sequential spraying, instead of break-beam sensors.

Sensor technology

“ is provides thorough coverage of both the front and back of the teats as the cow walks over the unit, regardless of her speed or how close the following cow is. ese features set it apart from other products on the market, ensuring superior teat spray coverage as cows exit the cowshed.”

e sprayer also includes advanced sensor technology that detects when nozzles need cleaning and automatically sprays water to ensure they remain unobstructed. Built entirely of stainless steel for durability and strength, it also features four nozzles and a cross re spray like the on-platform teat sprayer.

“ e development of this product is a testament to the collaborative e orts of GEA’s New Zealandbased Product and Technology & Innovation Teams, and AgriAI co-founders Benedict Johnson and Chris Scherman.

“It addresses the critical challenge of maximising milk quality and yield without compromising animal welfare. It reduces labour requirements during milking, ensures a consistent spray routine, and is easy to install and retro t as a standalone unit. Its unobtrusive design maximizes cow ow, and customers have access to remote GEA support.”

Biosecurity dogs touch base with growers, farmers

Scampering around the pavilion on leads, stopping and starting for new sights and smells, Spice and Lemon caught people’s attention constantly at Fieldays 2024.

ey also caught much admiration, pats and ‘thanks’ – not for their Mystery Creek visit but for their work at New Zealand’s border, keeping exotic pests and diseases from entering the country.

e day Coast & Country News roamed the pavilion it was the Ministry for Primary Industries’ biosecurity o cers June Kim and Tim Chen’s turn to look after the 11-month-old pups.

“ ese are biosecurity dogs –they’re not quite yet assigned working dogs. ey are puppies in training,” June says.

“From about eight weeks to one year, they go to our foster care –‘puppy walkers’ we call them. We ask these families to socialise them, take them to the mall, train station etc to get them used to all di erent environments, being in a crowd and among lots of people.”

From 12 to 18 months the pups start initial training to become

detector dogs – a 12-week course.

“ at’s when we start training them with odours – so they’ll look for anything with fresh produce, like fruits, meat products, animal products, plants products – so seeds, bulbs, fresh owers –anything like that,” June says.

eir workplace

e dogs will eventually work at

three major sites – international airports, the NZ Post International Mail Centre in Auckland, and at

ports around the country.

“At ports, when a cruise ship comes in the dogs clear passengers coming into New Zealand internationally to ensure there are no pests and exotic diseases crossing the border. So insects like fruit ies or

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs, which would obviously impact our biosecurity and our environment, which is our horticulture and agricultural industries.”

While the dogs’ work is far removed from Kiwi orchards and farms, June says it is very important to those businesses.

“De nitely – so we’re not a wall – it is a net. is means we cannot

POWERTARPS ARE NEW ZEALAND’S LEADING RETRACTABLE TARP SUPPLIER

stop every single bug or every single disease coming through but with the dogs’ noses and scent they catch the things we don’t that we miss through searching.

“We trust them to pick it up when people come through our borders.”

Once the dogs reach six months they undertake a trial at an airport.

“We see if they will travel the escalator, go through the crates and cope with the noise. If they pass, we bring them back at one year old to test them again. If they pass, we put them through behavioural challenges to ensure they are good with noises, etc. We constantly make sure they are used to the environment.”

We specialise in high quality, mesh and PVC covers to suit trucks, trailers and farm bunkers. All of our covers can be easily operated from the ground using a silky smooth cable system, eliminating health and safety risks.

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Fieldays visitor Mackenzie Basevi, 11, of Mangatāwhiri, meets ‘Lemon’ in the Pavilion. Photo: Merle Cave.

"With Calf Xtreme we proved we could feed more milk while amazingly lifting meal consumption"

-Ben, Tokoroa

"I stopped using Calf Xtreme for 2 seasons. But then my milk records showed the two years I had used Calf Xtreme were averaging 40kgms more than any other years"

- Rob, Canterbury

Enhancing production

Research indicates that accelerating growth in young calves results in improved tissue development in the mammary gland, paving the way for increased heifer milk production.

Probiotic Revolution encourages farmers to maximise early milk intake by using their potent probiotic, Calf Xtreme, to foster better calf growth.

In an ad-lib feeding trial, calves supplemented with a probiotic voluntarily consumed an additional litre of milk daily.

Otorohanga farmer Malcolm Reynolds rst trialled Calf Xtreme with three to four-week-old autumn-born calves fed six litres once a day. Within four days the grazing behaviour of these calves changed signi cantly compared to the control group.

to 80 per cent.

Chris Collier from Probiotic Revolution advised splitting the daily six-litre milk feed into four litres and two litres, adding Calf Xtreme to the two litre portion. e results were immediate, with Ashley Zwiers, who looks after the calves,

“ ey were up grazing grass and picking at meal within 30 minutes of getting their milk, whereas the other group was still lying down. It was a no-brainer to put the whole lot on Calf Xtreme.”

Due to the positive results from milk ooding into the rumen, many farmers have switched to once-a-day feeding earlier.

Even with twice-a-day feeding, bene ts have been demonstrated when milk rates have been increased.

At Zwiers farm in Tirau, Friesian calves have traditionally been fed 3 litres of milk twice daily since 2020, along with Calf Xtreme, resulting in the best heifers they’d ever raised.

Heifer milk production, compared to that of mixed-age cows, had risen from 70 per cent

Trust their pain relief at disbudding with METACAM

being surprised by the sudden rise in meal consumption when the opposite result was expected. Within a week, the night feed was increased to four litres. e calves easily handled the increased milk volume and are growing better than ever.

Chris Collier’s goal is to assist farmers in boosting growth rates of young calves, aiming for heifer milk production to reach 90 per cent of mixed-age cow production. He emphasises the importance of setting up the rumen for better digestion of hard feed before and after weaning, to calve heifers at heavier liveweights, resulting in signi cant increased heifer milk production.

Using METACAM 20 mg/mL Solution for Injection or METACAM 40 mg/mL Solution for Injection along with local anaesthetic at disbudding provides an improved, more comfortable experience for calves. Studies have proven that relieving pain with METACAM has an impact on the physiological, neuroendocrine and behavioural responses we can measure in calves undergoing this routine husbandry procedure.1,2,3 Critically, METACAM helps to mitigate the delayed pain that we know occurs once the effects of local analgesia wear off. Trust in METACAM at disbudding to give the calves in your care, the best care.

Calves fed six litres once a day were 155kg by mid-December.

Science revolutionising the prevention of mastitis

Building on their work in mastitis prevention, FIL, a subsidiary of GEA Farm Technologies New Zealand, is collaborating with Farm Medix to introduce innovative solutions to enhance milk quality, improve pro tability, and combat

Anti-Microbial Resistance.

“Over the past six years, FIL and Farm Medix have recognised and addressed the challenges farmers in New Zealand face with managing mastitis within their herds,” says FIL’s national sales manager Colin May.

Central to this initiative is Farm Medix’s in-house laboratory at the Waikato Innovation Park, the only facility in New Zealand solely dedicated to mastitis testing and prevention. Operated by a team of highly skilled microbiologists, including chief scienti c o cer Natasha Maguire, and supported by senior vet Jess Shelgren.

e scientists meticulously analyse milk samples from farms across New Zealand. rough advanced pathogen identi cation techniques, they partner with FIL to create targeted strategies, e ectively lowering somatic cell counts and reducing clinical mastitis. is scienti c precision distinguishes their approach, delivering bespoke solutions unmatched in accuracy and e cacy.

Farm Medix also export their products around the world.

Personalised support

e engagement of FIL’s 19 area managers is pivotal. ese dedicated professionals collect milk samples and collaborate closely with Farm Medix’s laboratory to developed customised mastitis management plans tailored to each farm’s unique needs and goals. is hands-on involvement ensures that every farmer receives personalised support, to help them to manage and prevent mastitis.

Stephen Begbie, a dairy farmer from Paeroa, credits FIL’s service and support for the signi cant reduction in mastitis cases on his farm.

“I had been grappling with a signi cant mastitis problem, the somatic cell count was spiking up and down, reaching as high as 380,000.”

Stephen decided to have his whole herd tested by Farm Medix after a discussion with his FIL Area Manager. Out of his 320 cows, 30 were identi ed as having Staph aureus. By segregating these cows from the rest of the herd, milking them last and supplying milk without the Staph aureus cows in the vat, he was able to reduce the somatic cell count from 380,000 to 85,000 in just one day. is intervention led to a signi cant reduction in mastitis cases over the last three years. Last year,

Stephen only had six cases of mastitis and by taking a selective approach to drying o , he only had to dry cow 10 per cent of his herd.

Stephen strongly believes in the value of lab testing. “It is a more e ective approach than herd testing, which only provides results on the day of the test. Lab testing, on the other hand, allows for ongoing monitoring and targeted interventions.”

Healthy herds

e cost savings from this approach have been substantial. Stephen estimates that he saved $2000$3000 on dry cowing last year alone because his cell count was so low.

He also notes that having fewer mastitis cows in the herd balances out other costs, such as treatments and additional labour.

Statistics show that mastitis control, including dry cow therapy, accounts for about 85 per cent of antibiotics used on dairy farms in New Zealand (source: DairyNZ)

Reducing mastitis, in addition to improving animal welfare, also helps the Dairy industry reduce emissions. Healthy herds increase milk production and reduce the overall footprint of dairy farming. A healthier cow translates to increased e ciency, decreased antibiotic usage, and less use of resources. is shift towards proactive health management enhances farm pro tability and mitigates on-farm emissions, aligning with New Zealand’s emission reduction goals.

An innovative feed product for calves

Fiber Fresh, based in Reporoa, has been manufacturing calf feed with its innovative forage feed product, Fiber Fresh GAIN for several decades.

Field trials comparing traditional meal and grain-based systems

with Fiber Fresh GAIN yielded impressive results.

Sales and marketing general manager Shannon Galloway explains the importance of diet in calf development.

“At birth, the calf is reliant on milk; when mature, it is reliant on pasture.

“ e rumen expands from 25 to 80 per cent of the stomach capacity. Important bacteria, protozoa, and fungi form in partnership with the diet; all developmental stages can be a ected by the diet of the calf.”

Fiber Fresh GAIN has proven to be exceptionally e ective in training the rumen to digest bre. Research shows that calves reared on Fiber Fresh GAIN developed rumens 18 per cent heavier than those on traditional feeds.

“A larger rumen is more ready for the transition to grass.

“Given Fiber GAIN is made from natural ingredients, it is a healthy solution to progress calves through the transition onto grass.”

e trials revealed that calves on Fiber Fresh GAIN reached the same weight (78kg) as those on traditional diets but with signi cantly larger rumen capacity and papillae development. is enhanced development allows for earlier weaning, saving farmers both time and feed costs.

“Fiber Fresh GAIN is so e ective at growing young

rumens that calves can be grass ready at seven – eight weeks.”

Beyond its developmental bene ts, Fiber Fresh GAIN supports sustainability goals with recyclable packaging and all-natural New Zealand ingredients. Fiber Fresh GAIN provides an e ective and a ordable option for calf rearing, combining scienti c research with practical and environmental bene ts for farmers rearing calves this season.

To nd out more, see Fiber Fresh’s advert on this page.

BIGGER GAINS LOWER COSTS

Fiber Fresh products are available from quality rural suppliers nationwide. PH: 0800 545 545 | E: sales@fiber-fresh.com | W: www.fiber-fresh.com facebook.com/FiberFreshFeedsForCalves

Hungry calves tucking into Fiber Fresh GAIN

The benefits of yard weaning

Farmers weaning calves are being encouraged to consider yard weaning as an alternative to paddock weaning.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s biosecurity and animal welfare senior advisor Will Halliday says Australian trials found yard weaned calves to be 15.3kg heavier after three months and had a lower incidence of respiratory disease than paddock weaned calves.

e trial also found that yard weaned cattle were easier to handle over their lifetime and were more likely to adjust quickly to feedlot or cell grazing systems, improving the chance of superior weight gain.

A farm trial carried out in Gisborne showed even more impressive results. Yard weaned Angus/ Hereford/Simmental cross calves gained 10kg over a six-and-a-half-day yard weaning trial compared to 0.5kg in paddock weaned calves.

All calves were around 140 days old.

Will says yard weaning involves keeping calves in dry yards for four or ve days after weaning and giving them access to high quality silage or hay (quality is important) as well as clean, fresh water.

To help socialise the calves, at least one person should walk through the yards at least twice a day without dogs.

He says calves between 180kg and 260kg should be allowed at least 4m square/head while smaller calves should be allocated 2.5m square/head. It is important calves are kept reasonably close together as this helps quieten them down.

Another farm trial in NZ highlighted the importance of providing good quality feed for the calves in the yards, as well as the on-going bene ts of running noticeably quieter more settled cattle.

0800 287 325 SealesWinslow.co.nz

Bonnie the Cow Animal Bedding and Herd Shelter Stand-Off Pad readily available, as well as Animal Bedding for Compost Barns

Bonnie the Cow Animal Bedding and Herd Shelter Stand-Off Pad readily available, as well as Animal Bedding for Compost Barns

Product available across Waikato, BOP and Central Plateau Delivered direct to you, when you need it

Product available across Waikato, BOP and Central Plateau Delivered direct to you, when you need it

Made using 100% recycled untreated timber for the health and

Made using 100% recycled untreated timber for the health and comfort of your herd.

Founder of

the Soil Sisters group in New Zealand, Fran Bailey, is an experienced PR and events consultant.

Having spent a decade in the UK working in wellness and regenerative

farming, she returned home in 2022 to continue her passion bringing people together on the land.

Growing up as the daughter of a dairy farmer and a nurse/holistic health practitioner, Fran was inherently drawn to regenerative

food systems and was further inspired after attending an agroecology conference while in the UK.

“At the conference, I was struck by the enthusiasm of a group of farmers who were dedicated to enhancing the nutritional value of food while promoting soil health and biodiversity on their land,” says Fran. is experience deepened her understanding of the connection between soil health and human health, and the importance of how food is grown and where it is sourced.

“At the time, UK farmers were being demonised in the media, but at the conference were a large group of farmers who really cared. I felt that farmers’ voices weren’t being fairly represented, so I made it my work to tell their stories.”

Upon returning to New Zealand, Fran was eager to create a platform for networking and

sharing knowledge (and food). She began by connecting with old friends and engaging with growers at the Waikato Farmers’ Markets.

Fran quickly found that a signi cant number of farmers and growers in New Zealand were equally committed to producing nutrient-rich food, with many using organic, regenerative, and permaculture practices.

Fran organised a gathering where attendees brought a dish made from their own produce, facilitating a space where people could share their stories and passion for growing.

Although not originally intended as a women-only event, the group consisted entirely of women, leading someone to remark that they were like

“Soil Sisters”, a name that has since become the group’s identity. e Soil Sisters now hold meet-ups every two months, organised by Fran and others in the group. eir recent events ranged from educational workshops to farm visits to lm nights, covering topics like composting, urban food forests, grazing, and polycropping - but always centred around good food.

“In the future, I would love to see Soil Sisters communities across New Zealand. Most of it is about social connections and learning from each other. But there’s a real magic that happens when we get together and put our hands in the Earth.”

e Soil Sisters meet regularly to listen to speakers, tour properties and attend workshops.

Photos: Sentient Imagery.

NZ Adventures continues to o er a range of self-drive 4x4 back country tours throughout the South Island.

e only mandatory stipulation is all vehicles on an NZ Adventures 4x4 Tour have all terrain-type tyres in good condition and a low range transmission tted.

Each vehicle is supplied with a radio so a commentary is available and two way communication is enabled, say Robbie and Connie Cricket.

All accommodation is in motels and meals are in restaurants.

e couple says the High Country Heritage Tour is on o er four times in a season, November, February and April as a six day and in March as a seven day.

“ is trip in whichever format takes

participants down the eastern foothills of the Southern Alps through sheep and cattle stations and DOC reserves and back country roads from Blenheim to Cardrona.”

ere are also a number of places available on some of these High Country Heritage tours in 2025, say Robbie and Connie.

e West Coast Explorer Tour is very di erent from the more easterly trips as it’s possible to get travelling over ve days from Hanmer Springs to Greymouth from the brown tussock lands of North Canterbury deep into the lush rainforests of the West Coast region, the couple say.

“46 South follows an imaginary line across Southland from the hill country and coastal cli s of e Catlins through the fascinating variations of central Southland and on into Fiordland before turning north to nish in Central Otago.

“Trax of Gold follows the old tracks of South Canterbury, North, Coastal and Central Otago to explore the pastoral and mining heritage of a beautiful part of New Zealand.

“Big Sky starts in South Canterbury and exploring the mountain ranges of the central south close to but di erently and in more detail than on either the High Country Heritage or Trax of Gold Trips. A very diverse trip from the mountains to the alpine basins all covered by a very big sky.

“ e West Coast Explorer, 46 South, Trax of Gold and Big Sky Tours are currently fully booked for 2025 but if you are interested in any of these tours we could email you an information Pack for 2026 as soon as the dates are set which will be in January 2025.”

For information, see the NZ Adventures advert on this page.

If you have a physically taxing job and spend long days on your feet, and su er from aching legs, it can be hard to get a good night’s sleep.

If your legs ache or feel restless and crampy you may have an underlying problem with varicose veins, even if they are not yet visible, says Dr Anuya Deshpande.

Varicose veins form when the valves in the vein wall become incompetent and blood pools in vessels near the surface of the skin.

“If you have any of those symptoms, or a rash, or an ulcer that won’t heal, it’s worth having an examination of your leg veins by a suitably quali ed doctor using ultrasound.”

Cosmetic & Veins Clinic’s founder and

e new machine that Dr Anuya uses in her clinic.

medical director Dr Anuya is one of New Zealand’s most quali ed phlebologists - the medical speciality of treating varicose veins.

She’s a fellow with the Australasian College of Phlebology and supervises the training of other doctors in the discipline, as well as treating her own veins patients at Cosmetic & Veins Clinic in Tauranga’s 10th Ave.

Having treated well over 5000 legs in the past 14 years, she says most of her patients all say something similar on one

A solution for restless legs for a good night’s sleep

of the their follow-up visits following treatment.

“So many people say they wish they had their veins treated sooner. Less discomfort, better sleep, more con dence wearing shorts.

“It’s a really satisfying eld to work in.”

Treatments are covered by many health insurers, some require referral.

For more information, see Dr Anuya’s advert on this page.

High Country Heritage can take people to a number of di erent locations.

They may be small, but they’re mighty.

Dung beetles are hard at work cleaning up three Katikati properties as part of a 10-year trial.

The insects are a self-sustainable, low-cost solution to one of our farming industry’s biggest environmental concerns: cleaning up livestock manure.

The idea to introduce them locally was proposed six years ago by the former head of Project Parore, Lawrie Donald, who saw research that dung beetles increase the rate of dung decomposition, improve nutrient cycling, bioturbation and plant growth, and suppress parasites.

native forest areas and their menu does not include the poo from grazing animals. In the majority of the rest of the world, dung beetles are present to turn the dung into the soil.”

Poo on the menu

“When early settlers brought livestock into New Zealand in the 1800s, no one was thinking about how to deal with the waste they produced,” he says.

“We have endemic dung beetles, but they live in

Cow pats can sit in a paddock for up to three months and create a ‘repugnance zone’ five times their size that livestock won’t feed near. Lawrie says bacteria and worms do a certain amount of clean-up, but the dung beetles are faster. They pair up and burrow beneath cow pats, making balls of manure deep in the ground to create their nests.

Part of the ecosystem

“They do it quickly and efficiently, improving soil permeability and reducing the levels of nutrient and E-coli run off into waterways,” says Lawrie. Internationally recognised entomologist and founder of Dung Beetle Innovations in Auckland, Dr Shaun Forgie, describes it as the 40-millionyear-old solution.

“Dung beetles are an essential part of the ecosystem,” he says. “The dire state of New Zealand’s pastoral environment is a classic example of not having the sustained services provided by dung beetles since the importation of livestock.”

It’s estimated the 6.5 million dairy cows in New Zealand each produce an average of 27 kilograms of dung a day. By the time you add in another 3.6 million cattle and 27.4 million sheep that’s over 100 million tonnes of manure each year.

“We breed the clean-up crew,” says Shaun. “The dung beetles have been bought in from similar climate-zones around the world like the Mediterranean, Southern Africa and Central America.”

Dung Beetle Innovations is now the largest breeding facility of its kind in the world, providing eight different varieties that range in size from 10 to 25mm.

MaryAnne and Rod Calver with Lawrie Donald at his property, Aberfeldy, just north of Katikati. Photo: Debbie Griffiths.

Dr Shaun Forgie - founder of Dung Beetle Innovations. Photo: Dung Beetle Innovations.

“ e largest of them are now among the biggest beetles in New Zealand. We call them paua beetles because of their colour. A pair of those can clean up two litres of cow poo in just two days.

“ e Mexican dung beetles are about 15mm, but the smaller varieties make up their size with sheer numbers.”

In 2020, six colonies of 1000 dung beetles were released on three local properties with the idea that they’ll naturally ‘go forth and multiply’.

Night and day

“In Katikati, we introduced two species of beetles that are active during the day and two during the night, so you have two shifts of workers.

“Each species has its own time of the year when it’s seasonally abundant which means a year-round presence of dung beetles,” says Shaun.

It will be around 10 years before the full environmental, ecological and economic bene ts are seen, but already one of the landowners, Rod Calver, is noticing the di erence on his 20-hectare beef farm, Aberfeldy.

“We’ve been focussing on riparian planting along the Tahawai Stream and we already can see evidence that the beetles are working on the cow pats. It will be some time before their numbers build up to the point where there are enough of these beetles to bury poo piles within a day or two throughout the catchments but they’re great at aerating the soil and improving the soil pro le.” at’s because the beetles burrow up to 60cm below the ground in clay but can reach a metre in regular soil.

Improving the soil

“In burying the dung quickly, they can help reduce the E. coli bacteria in the streams and decrease rain runo and phosphates to waterways,” says Lawrie. “ e tunnelling improves the physical structure of the soil which helps water in ltration, reduces surface ponding, assists fertilisers to enter the upper soil pro le and lowers the contaminants entering the waterways.”

For sheep and beef farmer Rick Burke, the dung beetles are another tool he draws on to reduce the environmental footprint of his 300-hectare property at the foothills of the Kaimais. About 20 years ago, he found that runo from Pukekauri Farm was contributing to sediment pollution in Tauranga Harbour and harming freshwater

tributaries. e only drinking access for stock was from waterways that were rated 2/10 for stream health.

With a philosophy of ‘farming for the future’, Rick set about redesigning the farm, planted trees, introducing troughed water and jumped at the opportunity to add dung beetles to the land.

“We couldn’t help being a bit sceptical but it’s amazing how the beetles spread through the farm attacking the cow pats and just working away,” he says. “I think the beetles are helping the biology of the soil, getting that nutrient transfer and making it more porous.”

His work is paying o with recent testing rating his streams 9/10 in terms of invertebrate and sh health.

“On the farm, every little thing to improve soil health and reduce environmental impacts is huge. If you think about it, we’re all grass farmers working to grow high-quality feed and the beetles are another tool to help with that.”

If you want to know more about dung beetles, visit: www.dungbeetles.co.nz

Dung Beetles hard at work.

Photo: Dung Beetle Innovations.

Cattle on the property. Photo: Debbie Griffiths.

Change required to operate in new industry reality

e New Zealand avocado industry is at a pivotal moment, with changing market dynamics and competition from other producing nations having altered the economics of our business.

e factors that many growers based their entry to the industry on have changed.

to ensuring the future of the industry through a relentless pursuit of change.

To secure a sustainable and pro table future from here, it is essential to innovate and adapt. Just Avocados was born out of innovation in 2010 and since our inception, we have dedicated our activities

At the time, with advances in growing practices, plantings and consumer demand, New Zealand avocado volumes grew and with packing facilities shared across kiwifruit and avocados they saw that at times the two con icted –avocados being the crop to lose out.

e founding strategy was to focus on avocado growers and create a dedicated, avocadocentric packing and exporting business. is commitment

has extended to other parts of the supply chain that the wider Darling Group business is involved in.

Expansion

With experience in growing and exporting, Darling Group managing director Andrew Darling expanded the capabilities of the group by acquiring Avoworks, an orchard services, management, and harvesting business; J.H. Leavy & Co. in Australia, a 100-yearold produce wholesaling and logistics business based in the Brisbane markets; and Zeafruit, a domestic marketer of avocados and citrus. With these businesses rounding out the orchard development and marketing ends of the supply chain; Just Avocados has become a one-

stop-shop for growers.

Although Australia may not be a future strategic market for New Zealand, when it is viable Just Avocados growers have the advantage of faster clearance once landed in market, up-to-date knowledge of market conditions, and control of the handling of fruit, including costs, through to the customer.

J.H. Leavy & Co. also serves as the hub for Darling Group’s international sales and 12-month supply strategy for avocados.

Sustainable brand

e branding strategy and model to deliver a consistent 12-month supply into Asia is another way the business has pivoted. is approach is essential for building a sustainable and relevant international brand

while also providing us with valuable insights into international market trends which help us pinpoint the best opportunities for our New Zealand avocado season. is has also given us insight into emerging channels which di er from the normal supply of class 1 avocados by the tray. We have innovated twoand three-piece packs over the years and began supplying bagged options last season. However, our ability to capture emerging opportunities is heavily in uenced by the governance of our industry.

Recent updates to the exporting rules in the New Zealand avocado industry are welcomed and aim to enable exporters to capitalise on greater opportunities in international markets and alleviate pressure on our domestic market.

Just Avocados began prepacking avocados for Hong Kong last season as a way to extract further value from this market.

Positive news for avocado growers

Avocado growers are rejoicing in the news that DMS’ packing price for the 2024/25 season will remain unchanged.

e news came out at the company’s annual Avocado Grower Awards Dinner on Tuesday, May 28.

DMS Progrowers avocados general manager Hamish McKain says more than 150 growers joined them for a delightful night out, celebrating some fantastic growing results for the 2023/24 season.

“It was a wonderful opportunity for Growers to come together, share experiences, forge new connections, learn a bit more about DMS Progrowers all while having a great night out. e focus of the evening was to focus on the positive in what was a challenging season for all.

“ e big news for the evening is that the DMS avocado packing price for the 2024/25 season would remain unchanged.”

Hamish says with all the challenges and changes over the past few seasons, it’s pleasing to

inform all avocado growers that DMS is here to support them.

“We are committed to avocados for the long haul. We have made a substantial investment in a brand-new state-of-the-art water blaster and bin tip.

“ e importance of taking care of fruit throughout the supply chain goes without saying. e addition of a softer bin tip and enhanced cleaning of the fruit through the water blaster will provide security around fruit quality and reduce the risk of pest incursions both onshore and o shore.

“ is innovation will help to

Doing things a bit differently in an evolving avocado marketing landscape

ese updates provide a framework for us to export a wider range of grades, accommodating international food service and processing programmes for example, and the opportunity to export earlier.

Pivotal role

True to our nature of doing things di erently, Darling Group played a pivotal role in proposing and advocating for these changes. We are strong proponents of greater empowerment for the commercial entities in the industry to extract more value from the markets for growers.

e market landscape has evolved as we had predicted in 2019; our markets are now lled with fruit from other producing nations, leading to lower price points and the business now revolves around scale, consistency, and cost management to ensure sustainable pro ts. Doing the same thing and expecting di erent outcomes is not working in any area of the business.

e challenge we face at the growing end is our inability to consistently produce a stable volume of avocados, which is quite concerning.

To develop our business in line with this, the wider group has invested in new technology, innovative growing methods, large-scale plantings with new genetics, high-density strategies, and streamlining of operations. We are sharing as much of this information with our growers as we can speci cally about new ways to grow, di erent nutrient inputs, and tools to understand pro tability.

With a commitment to innovation and a focus on every aspect of the supply chain, we are wellpositioned to continue challenging the status quo.

Challenge ahead for new Zespri boss

Jason Te Brake is the new chief executive of Zespri, taking over from Dan Mathieson this month.

Jason grew up in the Waikato, so Waikato Herald editor Dean Taylor has taken a trip down memory lane.

at was back in Years 7 and 8 days for the youngsters. en Jason headed o to Hamilton Boys’ High School and down the path of chartered accounting and nance.

It seems the lure of agriculture remained and that path has led to the announcement that Jason is taking over the reins of Zespri as its new chief executive o cer from July 1.

For me it doesn’t seem that long ago Jason Te Brake was a tall skinny kid from Arohena running around Albert Park with my son Ryan for a Te Awamutu Sport junior rugby side.

Early-life

With his dad Alfons coaching and mum Heather on the sideline giving support, Jason and a bunch of his Arohena mates teamed up with a few of the local kids and made a pretty good young team.

Outgoing CEO Daniel Mathieson is leaving Zespri to join Driscoll’s.

Zespri chairman Nathan Flowerday announced that Zespri’s chief operating o cer Jason Te Brake had emerged as the best candidate.

Di erent roles

Jason rst joined Zespri in 2020 and has held several roles including chief global supply o cer, head of New Zealand supply and commercial manager.

Before joining Zespri he held commercial, sales and marketing, and nance roles at KPMG, AFFCO, ANZCO Foods and Miraka.

“Jason is an outstanding executive with the strong commercial and stakeholder management experience we were looking for,” says Nathan.

“He has a clear strategic vision to help Zespri and the industry achieve its immense potential and the operational expertise to ensure we do so.

“He has done an outstanding job of leading our global supply chain and the New Zealand supply business as our COO and has also delivered exceptional results based on detailed planning and execution as the industry responded to the recent quality challenges and then reset to deliver a record crop this year.

“ ere is a signi cant and growing demand for Zespri Kiwifruit which will add real value to our

industry and communities. Zespri has a strong strategy in place as we pursue that, with Jason able to provide the vision and continuity as well as the knowledge of our industry to deliver on that.”

In the 2023/2024 season, Zespri supplied 164.2

Kiwifruit growers are the most positive ever seen at the start of the season, according to the head of the kiwifruit grower group New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers.

Chief executive Colin Bond says it’s been a great growing season, and apart from a few orchards still impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, most will return to making money this harvest.

Zespri has just released its forecast per hectare returns for the fruit being harvested now, and they were well up on last year, which for many was unpro table after an out-of-season frost ruined owers or young fruit.

Green growers have been told to expect between $75,000 and $91,000/ ha compared to the past

season of $64,930/ha.

e forecast price range for gold growers was $145,000 to $166,000, compared to the past season of $143,537/ha.

million trays of kiwifruit to consumers in more than 50 markets, recording a global operating revenue of $4.21 billion.

Jason says the opportunity to lead Zespri is an honour.

“I am hugely passionate and energised about the

“ is could be close to record returns for green growers, it won’t be a record return for gold.

“But certainly it’s a return to pro tability,

MyNameisNeilWoodward.

which would be welcomed from growers.”

Colin cautions it’s still early days in the harvest season, but signs are very good.

MyNameisNeilWoodward

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

and mowing

opportunities for the industry and it’s a real honour and privilege to be able to lead Zespri,” he says.

“ e kiwifruit industry has an outstanding track record of success, o the back of quality people, a world-class product and strategy, and a commitment to innovating and tackling challenges together.

“It is one of New Zealand’s great success stories and I am incredibly fortunate to be following in the

footsteps of, and working alongside, some of the industry’s outstanding leaders.

“My focus will be on leading the Zespri team to capture the signi cant demand opportunities in the market, on strengthening our supply chain and operational performance to maximise value in the market, and on ensuring we return as much of that value back to growers as possible.”

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.

216PongakawaBushRoad

TePuke

Tocontactus: Phone:021907621

E-mail:zcl@zanadu.co.nz

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.

New Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake.

From the Archives: Coulter(’s) Bridge

It was a little over 95 years ago, on Wednesday, February 22, 1928, that the present bridge over the Waihou River at Te Aroha was o cially opened. Until then it had simply been known as the new “Tra c Bridge”. Mr W. C. Lowry, Chairman of the Piako County Council suggested that the bridge henceforth be named “Coulter’s Bridge”, in honour of the then mayor of Te Aroha, Mr Robert Coulter - a much respected gure. Who would have thought that the construction would be so turbulent with a series of controversies including slander, construction errors, st ghts, and two subsequent court cases!

A new bridge

It was in 1919 that a proposal to replace the old timber bridge at Te Aroha was rst made.

is bridge had been constructed in 1910. Its carriageway was only 4m wide, there was no provision for foot tra c, only one line of tra c, and subject to high maintenance costs.

In 1925, a Government Commission was established to decide whether to widen the existing timber bridge or to replace it with a new one. e Commission recommended that a new bridge be constructed with the cost being met with a Government subsidy, the Te Aroha Borough Council and the Piako County Council.

e Borough Council then appointed Auckland based consulting engineers Jones

and Adams to design the bridge. Tenders were called and the bid accepted was from Willcox & Co. Auckland.

Court troubles

Just a few days before the o cial opening of the Coulter Bridge, Mr omas James, the man appointed by the Te Aroha Borough Council as their Clerk of Works, appeared in the Te Aroha Magistrates Court charged with assaulting Mr John Guiniven, the engineer in charge of directing bridge construction. Mr Guiniven in evidence said that he was bending down when James came up behind him and said “I’ll kill you”. He was struck twice with a piece of timber, was dazed, but got up. He then got James by the neck and fell on top of him but

Continues woes

James got up and threatened him with a shovel. It transpired that James and Guiniven had been in constant con ict since the appointment of Guiniven to the project.

As if that wasn’t enough, on the same day a related case took place at the same venue. Mr. William Lopdell, the contractor working for Willcox & Co. alleged that he had been slandered by the Clerk of Works, the aforesaid Mr omas James.

e Magistrate held that James’ depositions were not slanderous and the case was dismissed.

e woes continued - it was October 1927 that Mr omas James rst took

issue with the performance of the engineers and contractors.

An error had been made and one set of piles had been driven three feet six inches out of place. Mr Jones, claimed that Mr James should have checked the position when it was laid out. Mr James frequently took issue with the performance of the contractor during the construction period. Tens of thousands of people have crossed the bridge since its opening, all blissfully unaware of the multiple disagreements, assaults, and judicial interventions that befell the construction period. Happily the bridge keeps its secrets and continues to serve the Te Aroha community well.

Coulter Bridge as it sits in Te Aroha.

Mr Robert Coulter, Mayor of the Te Aroha Borough Council, speaking at the opening of the new Traffic Bridge on February 22, 1928.