Coast & Country News September 2015 by Sun Media

WINNER BEST ASSOCIATE NEWSPAPER 2015

RECYCLING PAGES 6-7

BREAD ASYLUM PAGE 8

WINNER BEST ASSOCIATE NEWSPAPER 2015

MOTU HUNT PAGE 11

GET2GO PAGES 12-13

WINNER BEST ASSOCIATE NEWSPAPER 2015

KIWIFRUIT PAGES 34-35

AVOCADO PAGES 36- 38

DAIRY PAGES 45-51

September 2015 Issue No.181

Bay of Plenty & Waikato Farm, Orchard & Rural Lifestyle

Future focus appeals Craig Ward is happy to be part of the kiwifruit industry with its strong focus on the future. Winning 2015 New Zealand Young Fruit Grower of the Year Award is an added bonus. – Read Craig’s story and that of Hamish Gates of Pukekohe, the 2015 Young Grower of the Year on page 5. Photo by Elaine Fisher

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Page 2

No doubt animals are sentient I was surprised to learn that New Zealand is only the sixth country in the world to ofﬁcially recognise the ‘sentient’ character of animals.

Phil Rennie of Tauranga Vets points this out in his column about the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill 2015 – see page 48. Sentient is deﬁned in the Oxford Dictionary as ‘able to perceive or feel things’, and to me it is so patently obvious that animals have feelings and are perceptive that it seems weird this should have to be acknowledged formerly in law. However, doing so no doubt improves the status of animals in the eyes of the law and so enables welfare legislation to be

enforced in cases of abuse. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that the feelings of animals is not widely ofﬁcially recognised. During the 20th century there was a time when the medical profession believed human babies did not feel pain and babies were subjected to a number of procedures, including circumcision without pain relief. Any good farmer recognises contented animals are more productive and those most in tune with their livestock know intuitively when animals are unwell or stressed. Most farmers hate to see their stock suffer, which is among the reasons Bill Webb is hoping predictions of an El Nino drought are wrong – see page 44. It’s a hope we can all share, along with a wish for the Global Dairy Trade price to continue the

rise it began in August. Protecting animals is important, but so too is the quality of the other foods we produce. The international quality standards organisation GlobalG.A.P has applauded New Zealand’s apple and kiwifruit industries on being 100 per cent certiﬁed under its programme. That certiﬁcation covers not just food safety but how sustainably foods are produced, helping, says GlobalG.A.P’s CEO Kristian Moeller, to ensure the world can continue to feed its people – see page 10. Happy, active young humans are also healthier and among the advocates of helping them “come to know the power of the outdoors and physical activity” is Darren Ashmore, Hillary Outdoors Education Centre events manager – see pages 12-13 By Elaine Fisher

The winner of the book ‘Wildboy’ by Brando Yelarich, published by Penguin, is Luke Tomas of Oparua.

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COAST & COUNTRY

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NZ now better prepared for foot & mouth “I am much more conﬁdent than I was two years ago [about New Zealand’s preparedness]. A small outbreak could, in my opinion, be dealt with without too much trouble, but a more widespread one would prove seriously challenging and that is the case for all countries,” says Chris, whose Beef+Lamb portfolio responsibilities include animal health and welfare. In previous roles, he has worked as a veterinary epidemiologist for the UK government and, prior to joining B+LNZ, in animal disease surveillance and control for the former MAF in New Zealand. His comments about this country’s preparedness are echoed by Andre van Halderen, FMD Readiness Programme executive, in the Ministry for Primary Industries FMD publication ‘Viral News’. “Right now, we know that we’re much better prepared for the disease management component of an FMD outbreak. However there are still some very complex areas to be worked through, such as stock in transit, milk collection and the identiﬁcation of sites for carcass disposal.

Trade impacts

“There are also signiﬁcant areas still to be addressed, for example trade impacts, recovery aspects and compensation guidelines, testing of the operational plans, before we have a comprehensive and coherent NZ Inc. FMD plan,” says Andrew. There are two key learnings which are integral to the success of the programme, he says. The ﬁrst is working in partnership with industry. “Not only does this ensure we have access to the appropriate expertise, we’re also working together with a shared understanding to the same end and are working to have pre-agreed policies in place, so we’re ready to hit the ground running in the event of an FMD outbreak.” The second is a Programme Management approach. “This is essential if you want to ensure delivery.” Chris says the risk of a foot and mouth outbreak in this country is very low, but not zero. “The most likely way NZ could get an outbreak is through backyard pigs being fed meat which was ille-

gally imported from a country that has FMD – this is believed to be what happened in the UK in 2001. “For this reason, the industries have been seeking tighter regulation of the practice of feeding waste food to pigs and for the owners of all FMD susceptible species, including pigs, to be required by law to register with Ministry for Primary Industries’ biosecurity database, FarmsOnline. “Having better information on the location of livestock farms was a key recommendation of the Anderson inquiry into the 2001 FMD outbreak in the UK.”

Sufﬁcient level

A 2015 /16 work programme has recently been agreed by MPI and industry groups and part of this will be a project to deﬁne what level of preparedness can be considered sufﬁcient. “As with many things, preparedness for FMD is a trade-off between the extremes of being completely unprepared and investing huge amounts of resources into capability that may never be required.” Chris says getting this “baseline” capability adequately developed will be extremely important for the industries to see prior to them making decisions about whether or not to enter into MPI’s biosecurity responsibility and cost sharing scheme known as Government Industry Agreements. The 2013/14 FMD Preparedness Programme put a good number of “runs on the board” but all those involved recognise there is more to do. “Big areas that are a focus for this year and next include developing compensation and recovery arrangements and determining what can be achieved with other countries to limit the trade impacts that would occur following detection of FMD in New Zealand.

“For a highly infectious disease such as FMD, having data on movements of groups of animals between farms is much more important than knowing where any individual animal has gone, which is really only required for long incubation diseases such as BSE and bovine TB. A functioning eASD scheme could signiﬁcantly improve our tracing capability without the huge costs associated with ear tagging all other stock.” Should there be an outbreak of the disease, its impacts would affect farmers and wider rural communities so welfare and recovery projects are very much part of the planning. Chris says it is expected that the Rural Support Trust, Federated Farmers,

Young Farmers and others would be very active in supporting farmers and the communities. “The industry organisations like B+LNZ and DairyNZ would also assist, but their focus is more likely to be on the disease control effort and trade issues, which is where their expertise and resources would be more useful.” As well as Beef + Lamb, other livestock industry representative organisations involved with FMD programmes include Meat Industry Association, DairyNZ, Deer Industry New Zealand, DCANZ, NZPork and Federated Farmers, together with the biosecurity service provider AsureQuality.

By Elaine Fisher

Raising awareness

“The industries are looking at what more should be done to raise awareness of FMD, and biosecurity more generally, among farmers and the public.” There are also a number of biosecurity projects that are relevant to FMD underway that do not form part of the FMD work programme. A good example of one of these is the development and trialling of electronic Animal Status Declarations (known as eASDs), which are mandatory for all animal movements and are currently paper based. “This has the potential to provide centralised animal tracing data for species such as pigs, sheep and goats that are not part of the NAIT scheme.

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New Zealand is well prepared to handle a small outbreak of foot and mouth disease, but a widespread one would present challenges, believes Chris Houston from Beef + Lamb New Zealand.

COAST & COUNTRY

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Unexpected twists and turns of horticultural career Teaching English, numeracy, ﬁnancial literacy and life skills to people from the Paciﬁc certainly wasn’t part of the career path Ruth Underwood and Sandy Scarrow foresaw when they studied horticulture at Massey University in the 1980s. However, the women, now both owners and directors of Fruition Horticulture Bay of Plenty, are delighted at the unexpected twists and opportunities their careers as horticultural consultants have brought.

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They are especially proud of Vakameasina, the New Zealand Aidfunded programme their company runs, providing training for seasonal workers in the industry. “The programme, which we began as a pilot six years ago and now operate throughout the growing regions in both islands, really makes a difference to the lives of those who take part,” says Sandy. Ruth says social equity is important to the core value of Fruition Horticulture which is why taking on the training programme made sense. People from the Paciﬁc work in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, known as RSE,

which provides a skilled and reliable workforce for crucial harvest and orchard management work. The men and women who spend up to seven or nine months working here, do so to earn money to educate their children, improve their living conditions and support wider families. Many take the opportunity while they are in New Zealand, to learn new skills.

Never bored Ruth Underwood and Sandy Scarrow love their jobs.

Good work

“We have a team of educators throughout the country, and many say it’s the best job they have ever had. They say it’s doing good like working for Volunteer Service Abroad but you get paid, can sleep in your own bed and don’t risk getting tropical disease,” says Sandy. At a Vakameasina graduation ceremony, a spokesperson for the students said, “The money we have earned we will spend when we return home. What you have given us will stay with us forever...” a comment which touched all those involved in the programme. Vakameasina is a comparatively recent addition to Fruition Horticulture, the consultancy which provides specialist advice and technical services to the New Zealand horticultural industry. Fruition Horticulture grew out of the former Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and later Wrightsons consultancy services. Ruth, who grew up in Wellington, has been working in horticulture since 1986, starting out in Hawke’s Bay as a MAF advisor after graduating from Massey University with a Bachelor of Horticultural Science with ﬁrst class honours. “Even though I grew up in the city I was always interested in growing things and think a school ﬁeld trip when I was about 10 was probably a catalyst for my career. We visited a daffodil grower who gave each child a bulb to take home to grow. “As I got older I knew I didn’t want to go into landscaping or gardening but production horticulture did interest me, and it still does,” says Ruth, whose father David had interests in kiwifruit orchards.

‘Dig This’

Sandy’s father Eion was a gardening personality, broadcaster, author and well-loved for his long-running ‘Dig This’ television gardening show. Growing things was very much part of her childhood but Sandy didn’t follow Eion into amenity horticulture or television. She began work as a MAF Horticultural Advisory

Ofﬁcer in Whakatane after graduating from Massey with a Bachelor of Horticultural Science. The MAF horticultural consultancies they worked for was taken over by the nationwide company Wrightsons and when in 2003 it wanted to divest itself of that division, Sandy, Ruth and other consultants throughout the country leapt at the chance to buy the business and begin in their own right. Today there are three independent Fruition Horticulture consultancies, one each in the Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, and Nelson/Marlborough regions. All work together on projects and share common goals and philosophies. These include a focus on continuous improvement, high performance, holistic/goal focused advice, sustainability and improving the environmental performance of grower clients.

Holistic approach

Ruth and Sandy say taking a holistic approach to client advice is important. “Some of our clients are surprised when we schedule in holiday time for them as part of their orchard management plan, but time out is important,” says Ruth. They are impressed with the remarkable recovery the kiwifruit industry has made from the devastation the vine disease Psa-V caused. “Shortly after it was discovered in New Zealand I was part of a grower trip to Italy to see the impacts of the disease there and what we saw was terrible. I rang Ruth and said maybe we should be considering a career change.” They didn’t of course, but stuck by the industry and their clients, playing a role in helping with the come back from what looked like the brink of disaster. Together Sandy and Ruth, who between them have more than 50 years’ of horticultural consultancy expertise, say no two days are the same and they are fortunate in the wonderful team they have that enables them to do their work. Both recommend young people consider careers in horticulture and if consultancy appeals, to look for opportunities in the post-harvest sectors or with Zespri.

COAST & COUNTRY

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Industry’s vision for future part of its appeal Cover story

Kiwifruit is an exciting industry to work in and has a clear vision for the future, says Craig Ward, the 2015 New Zealand Young Fruit Grower of the Year. “The industry has a plan to grow and is constantly innovating. It’s never dull and there are always new challenges,” says Craig, who is Apata Grow technical manager. The 26-year-old won the Bay of Plenty Young Grower of the Year title in June and went on to win the young fruit grower title from three other regional ﬁnalists in Christchurch this August. He was also runner-up for the overall Young Grower of the Year competition, won by Pukekohe's Hamish Gates.

Tough contest

Winning the award is a tremendous conﬁdence boost says Craig. “I knew the competition was going to be tough, but taking part and challenging myself has shown what I can achieve.” It has also reinforced the wide opportunities horticulture offers as a career. The contest pitted Craig again young growers involved in pip, stone fruit and vegetable growing, and has given him the chance to

meet leaders from all sectors of the industry. It has not, however, tempted him to consider working in anything but the kiwifruit industry. “I enjoy my job, working with growers and the post-harvest sector, but know there are plenty of other avenues in the industry should I want a change.”

Worrying times

The outbreak of the vine disease Psa-V didn’t deter him from choosing to join the industry. “It was pretty worrying times working with growers who were facing losing their livelihood, but looking back, it is gratifying to have played some small part in the industry’s recovery.” Craig, who grew up on a farm and avocado orchard near Katikati, has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Horticulture from Massey University and a Post-Graduate Diploma of Agri-Science in Horticulture. He’s keen to encourage other young people to consider horticulture as a career and is a member of New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc future leaders’ programme. Through it and a Massey University initiative, he has spoken to students at schools and career expos about the opportunities the industry offers. Many students don’t realise the wide breadth of career possibilities. In addition to hands-on practical careers, there are

those in business management, marketing, research and development, technology transfer and more, he says. General Manager Apata GROW Sonya Whiteman says the company is proud of Craig’s achievements. “For me, Craig is the epitome of what the kiwifruit industry needs to have for its

future. He is a humble young man, who has grown in conﬁdence through this competition,” says Sonia.

Craig Ward of Katikati is the 2015 New Zealand Young Fruit Grower of the Year.

Pukekohe vegetable grower is country’s top young grower Hamish Gates from Pukekohe is the 2015 Young Grower of the Year, winning the national competition after being named the 2015 New Zealand Young Vegetable Grower in April.

Hamish, 24, who works for AS Wilcox & Sons in Pukekohe, says winning the national title is an honour given the standard of the competition. “I feel really privileged to have won the competition. The other growers are at the top of their game and it was a tough challenge, so I am proud to be able to take this

Hamish Gates is the 2015 Young Grower of the Year.

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that tested their essential industry knowledge and skills. Julian Raine, President of Horticulture New Zealand, says the competition demonstrates the high calibre of ability in the country. “We have come to expect an outstanding level of talent in the competition and this year’s ﬁnalists were no exception. The knowledge and skills Hamish showed throughout the competition clearly demonstrated his ability to succeed in this industry. He gave each challenge his all, and it was this commitment that helped him come out on top.”

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award back to Pukekohe. “I learned a lot from the competition and have gained a huge amount of confidence in my ability as a grower. Hopefully my success will encourage other young people from across New Zealand to get into this great industry. “A lot of generous support makes Young Grower of the Year possible. The competition really fosters young talent in horticulture and shows the value it adds to our industry,” says Hamish. The final phase of the competition saw five regional champions battle it out in a series of practical and theoretical challenges

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COAST & COUNTRY

‘Polluter pays’ approach to waste disposal By 2021, Western Bay of Plenty residents could be throwing away nearly 32,000 tonnes of rubbish annually – unless they upcycle their recycling. That ﬁgure is based on a University of Canterbury estimate that each person produces an average of 640kg ‘municipal solid waste’, multiplied by the region’s predicted 2021 population of more than 49,700 residents.

WBOPDC’s environmental solid waste team leader Ilze Kruis says the collection of waste and recycling in the region is guided by the ‘polluter pays’ principle which encourages everyone to reduce their waste. Council encourages recycling by providing free community recycling centres at Te Puke, Katikati and Athenree, and a green waste facility at Omokoroa. Last year 80,100 vehicles visited the centres dropping off 2370 tonnes of

materials including green waste, scrap metal, paper and cardboard, plastics and glass. Paper and glass account for the highest volumes or about 500 tonne per annum. The public, says Ilze, can be assured that “everything collected at the centres is being recycled in a responsible manner”. Metal goes to a metal recycler in Tauranga, paper and cardboard to Full Circle Tauranga and Reclaim Auckland. Plastics numbers 1 and 2 are sent to Reclaim Auckland while glass goes to OI in Auckland. Auckland is also the destination for used motor oil and all green waste goes to Tirohia for composting. “Council receives revenue for any metal, paper, glass and plastics that are sold. People disposing of green waste are charged a fee as council pays for the green waste to be transported to the composting facility. “Motor oil is recycled cost neutral to council. Household quantities of hazardous waste is collected for free but council pays for it to be disposed of correctly.”

Glass for roading

“Most plastics have a recycling value and although some products are recycled in other districts, the lack of volume in the Western Bay, the restriction of the recycling sites and viable markets to transport them to means it is too expensive for council to collect and transport all recyclable plastics from its recycling centres.” Among the products not collected in the Western Bay are polystyrene and domestic glass such as windows, and food grade plastics such as ice cream contain-

ers and yoghurt pottles (No 3 to 7 plastics). “Any items not accepted by the centres and rubbish illegally dumped are send to the transfer station at a cost to the ratepayer. We therefore try to enforce that no material or products are left at the centre that can’t be sent to a credible recycler.” Ilze says kerbside rubbish collection and kerbside recycling is not a council-run activity or service, but is carried out by private contractors on a pre-paid basis.

Ilze says the recycled products are used for different purposes. Paper or cardboard that goes Alan M through CHH/Full Circle otl goes to the Kawerau mill for the Wes ey, recycling co tern Ba -ordina yo tor re-pulping and recycling. makes g f Plenty Distric for the western Cardboard handled by ood use t of the re Council says th region of Reclaim in Auckland goes to an cycling ce e ntres. public egg carton manufacturer, while plastics through Reclaim are exported to China. “The exception here is Anchor non see-through plastic, which goes to an Auckland company and is made into bins and agricultural piping. “Glass is recycled into glass products, with some being ground into ﬁnes and used in bitumen mixture for roading. Doing the right thing: Leighton Bonnar of Katikati is a keen recycler who appreciates the ability to reduce the amount of waste going to landﬁll that the Katikati facility provides.

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 7

Keeping rubbish out of landfill “Our three community-based recycling centres allow the public, especially those who live rurally and may not have kerbside recycling services available, to bring their recyclables to the centres and keep them from going to landﬁll, being buried or burned on site.”

Public help

The public can help with the efﬁcient running of the recycling centres by recognising that these are recycling centres and not tip or transfer stations, she says. “They can do this by not bringing rubbish to the centres. We cannot recycle broken toys, polystyrene, nappies, bricka-brac, ice-cream containers and other food grade plastics, clothes and sports equipment. “People can help by bringing cleaned or rinsed and pre-squashed products with the lids and caps off, by ﬂattening cardboard and by sorting their recyclables and not throwing all the recycling in one bag.

“Please do not co-mingle products. The best thing about our centres is that product is separated at source which gives it more value and makes it recyclable. If pane glass mixes with bottles the whole batch becomes unrecyclable.” Council recycling centre staff are there to assist the public on what can and can’t be accepted, and to lend a hand where possible. “Please don’t abuse them if they refuse to take items that are not listed, even if they have a recycling triangle on it. They are just doing their job and want to provide a pleasant experience for everyone that comes to the centres. “They know that all unwanted items and rubbish discarded or hidden on site will need to be disposed of at the ratepayers cost. Staff welcome suggestions for improvement, but yelling at them because of your rates bill is not helpful,” says Ilze.

Popular council staffer Patrick Dunn is well known to Katikati and Athenree residents for his cheerful, friendly and helpful service at the recycle centres.

By Elaine Fisher

‘No Barriers’ pandemic approach Imagine a global pandemic that swept the world, killing everyone in its wake. Imagine if Great Barrier Island was the only place to be successfully isolated from the virus, leaving the 900 residents to re-build humanity. Awana Branch of Rural Women NZ will pose this scenario to four experts at the public ‘No Barriers – small island, big ideas’ panel discussion exploring pandemics on Saturday, September 12. The panellists, who will give insight into how such a pandemic would play out, include virologist associate Professor Lance Jennings, Civil Defence northern regional coordinator John Titmus, disaster researcher professor David Johnston and young adult fantasy writer Karen Healey. The panel will be moderated by well-known microbiologist, Dr Siouxsie Wiles. Also in attendance will be Civil Defence Minister and local MP Nikki Kaye, and the public is invited to attend – including people who don’t live on the island.

The event is not as far-fetched as it seems, says President Awana Rural Women Gendie Somerville-Ryan. The last major global pandemic in 1918 killed an estimated 20-40 million people and was notorious for its rapid onset and progression to respiratory failure and death. The highest number of deaths occurred in the 20-40 age group. Lance Jennings agrees. “The scenario is not entirely impossible. Isolating Great Barrier Island as a sanctuary is perfectly feasible.” If a pandemic did get out of hand, Civil Defence would take over much of the running of the country, including isolating communities to contain the virus he says. David knows the challenges communities face in times of disaster, having focused his research on human responses to natural disasters and crisis decision-making. “Communities can be amazingly resilient in times of disaster – especially without the interference of bureaucracy.” Karen will be discussing the “what ifs” including, what if the bad guys take over Great Barrier? What if a resident’s best friend tries to sneak onto the island?

What if the young residents decide to kill all the old ones? Gendie says the aim of the event is to make people aware of disaster preparedness through a scenario that will capture their imagination. “It is a free event and off-islanders are welcome. Be there and survive!” “No Barriers – small island, big ideas” will be held at the Great Barrier Island Sports and Social Club from 2.30-5pm on Saturday September 12. Dr Siouxsie Wiles will give a talk beforehand on superbugs from 1.30pm at the same venue, same date. Gendie says registrations for both is required. For more information or to register visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ events/1591802414441573/ Registrations can also be made by email; awanarw@gmail.com

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Preserving ancient art of sourdough There’s a kind of alchemy to making sourdough bread. Its success relies on invisible “forces” and the skilled hands of a master to create breads whose traditions date back thousands of years. Today, science has identified those seemingly magic “forces” as specific bacteria and yeasts which feed on flour and water, working symbiotically to make the dough rise and extract complex flavours and textures. Cold scientific fact, however, can’t dispel the mystique of the bread and its making. This is why Maurice and Helen Lees have founded Bread Asylum at Manawahe where French baker

Laurent Eudes and his “apprentice” Maurice create sourdough natural leavened breads in a specially built bake house. The idea of creating an artisan bake house began roughly 10 years ago when Maurice built a wood- fired oven on their attractive acre of land at Pokerekere Rd, Manawahe. It’s a true sanctuary, with a small stream that flows through the property’s garden, surrounded by well-established trees, a home, a studio and now the bake house. In this peaceful environment, it is the perfect place to practise, protect and preserve the art of making fine sourdough bread. The couple have lived between that rural home and England in recent years, and it was while over-

Bread Asylum at Manawahe specialises in sourdough natural leavened breads.

seas that they began to collect antique doors, windows and light ﬁttings from France, Europe and the UK with the intention of giving the bake house an agreeably aged look.

Bavarian builder

Thanks to the skills of a local Bavarian builder, Maurice and Helen have incorporated their collection in a charming building with the romance and character of Europe. Its arched windows are from an English Hotel and are at least 150 years old. There’s a beautiful front door from a house in Paris circa 1890. The roof is wooden shingles, and both the building’s interior and exterior has the look and feel of something which has stood there for centuries. Helen, an artist, and also the creator and founder of Tauranga-based show Tarnished Frocks and Divas, has used her creative flair to add the finishing touches to the interior of what must be one of the most uniquely designed bake houses in the country. Looks aside, however, it is a certified working bakery that meets all modern food safety standards and is where Laurent works to prepare and cook traditional sourdough loaves to be sold at local markets, including Rotorua, Whakatane, and Ohope, as well as four times a year at the local Awakaponga Hall market. The Bread Asylum also takes orders from Manawahe residents for bread, but doesn’t make sales direct from the bake house. “We aim to be an exclusive, niche market bakery and believe we may be one of very few, if not the only one in the North Island that handcrafts every loaf,” says Maurice.

In Laurent, Maurice says he has found a master baker with more than 30 years’ experience, who has worked for bakeries in London, Corsica, Switzerland and one of the most exclusive bakeries in Paris – so exclusive, in fact, its sourdough loaves were ﬂown daily to New York on the famous Concorde airliner while it was still in operation.

Spring water

One of the first things Laurent did when joining Bread Asylum, was to create a sourdough “starter” using organic flour, fresh pure water from a local spring, wild bacteria and yeasts, then allowing these ingredients to naturally colonise and begin the ancient process for which sourdough is famous. “Every sourdough in every location is a little different because of the wild bacteria and yeasts which are unique to that area,” says Laurent as he stirs the thick smooth starter, which will form the basis of his next batch of bread and all the subsequent breads he makes. The Manawahe starter is faithfully nurtured and fed by Laurent between each batch of breads. A percentage of the starter is mixed with flour, fermented and then kneaded by hand to form loaves, which are wrapped in cloths of raw linen known as “couche” and left to rise. The overall process takes about 36 hours. It is not just the great taste and long traditions of sourdough which captivate Maurice, Helen and Laurent - it’s also the health qualities of the bread. “I believe sourdough is the healthiest bread and that’s due to the long fermentation process,” says Maurice. By Elaine Fisher

French baker Laurent Eudes (right ) and his “apprentice” Maurice Lees of the Manawhe Bread Asylum.

COAST & COUNTRY

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COAST & COUNTRY

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NZ apples and kiwifruit 100% certified New Zealand is number one in the world for certiﬁcation by the international quality standards organisation GlobalG.A.P because its apple and kiwifruit industries are 100 per cent certiﬁed, says CEO Kristian Moeller. “New Zealand’s record is a real success story, which we could not have dreamed of when we started in 1997.” Today, worldwide 155,000 producers in 118 countries belong to GlobalG.A.P, up from 106,008 in 2010. South Africa is close behind

New Zealand for apple certification, followed by Italy, Netherlands, Chile and France, all with more than 60 per cent of producers certified. The United States has just over 30 per cent certification while Brazil, Argentina and Poland are between 10 and 20 per cent certified. When it comes to kiwifruit, Chile and Italy lag behind New Zealand for certification. Kristian says the organisation offers much more than certification. “The more incentives we can provide to producers around the world to adopt safer and more sustainable practices for all their products, the better this world will become.”

Global G.A.P’s objective is safe, sustainable agriculture worldwide and, says Kristian, that’s vital if the world is to feed its rapidly growing population, which is predicted to reach 9.6 billion people by 2015. “The world needs an international trade in food but it needs to be affordable and we must have safe, sustainably produced food. To meet our (world’s) needs, food production must increase by 70 per cent.”

Water scarcity

That increase may come at a cost including the depletion of natural resources. By 2030 it is predicted more than 50 per cent of the world population will be affected by a scarcity of water and 50 per cent of the world will need more food. Reducing food waste will go a long way to help feed a growing world as will empowering more women, especially in developing countries, to be involved in food production, he believes. Gathering data for certiﬁcation will become increasingly “pen free” in future as technology enables the real time capture of information from rainfall to spray and fertiliser applications, making it easier for famers to comply with standards. Farmers, says Kristian, have always worked the land with a long-term view. “They want to be sure the next generations have the same chance to live and make a living off the land. They preserve the land. They don’t want to go out of business because they poison their customers or lose their licence to operate.”

Safe food

However, consumers need reassurance that what they are buying is safe to eat and produced sustainably by farmers and growers who are committed to workers’ health, safety and welfare. Many of those demands are coming from what Kristian calls the “Youth Generation” of people moving to the cities, born in the digital age and demanding of change. Already 50 per cent of the world’s population lives in cities, increasing the disconnect between people and where their food comes from. These consumers are very demanding when it comes to safety, environmental and employment issues around food and

HIGHLANDER ACCOMMODATION BOP

Kristian Moeller, CEO of GlobalG.A.P says New Zealand is a success story for the international certiﬁcation organisation. producers who fail to live up to their high standards are ‘punished’ by consumer boycotts.

Produce standards

Global G.A.P’s beginnings go back to EUREPGAP, an initiative by retailers belonging to the EuroRetailer Produce Working Group to set produce standards. British retailers working with supermarkets in continental Europe become aware of consumers’ growing concerns regarding product safety, environmental impact and the health, safety and welfare of workers and animals. Their solution was to harmonise their own standards and procedures to develop an independent certification system for Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.). Over the next 10 years the process spread throughout the continent and beyond. Driven by the impacts of globalisation, a growing number of producers and retailers around the globe joined in, gaining the European organisation global significance. To reflect both its global reach and its goal of becoming the leading international G.A.P. standard, EurepGAP changed its name to GlobalG.A.P. in 2007. Today GlobalG.A.P. says it is the world's leading farm assurance programme, translating consumer requirements into good agricultural practice in a rapidly growing list of countries. Kristian Moeller, CEO of Global G.A.P, was among the keynote speakers at the Horticultural New Zealand Conference in Rotorua in July. By Elaine Fisher

Air passengers under increased scrutiny New biosecurity measures will be introduced by the Ministry for Primary Industries to make it tougher for air passengers to bring goods into New Zealand that could carry pests or diseases.

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The measures are the result of new biosecurity funding from the government’s 2015 budget. Expected to be in place by December for the busy summer season, the measures include the introduction of 20 more biosecurity detector dog teams, more x-raying of baggage and more targeting of passengers likely to be carrying risk goods. One of the plans is to use detector dogs to screen passengers much earlier than before in the arrival process for international passengers, says MPI Border Clearance Services director Steve Gilbert. “We’re keen to have dogs as close as possible to where passengers leave the aircraft. This approach will provide more opportunity to detect risk goods, particularly within hand-

held baggage, where passengers often carry fruit and other food.” Rising international passenger numbers is one of the reasons behind the new measures, he says. “Passenger arrivals are climbing three and a half per cent each year and continuing to grow. This growth is increasing the biosecurity risk to New Zealand. “Another reason is the heightened threat posed by Queensland fruit fly host material arriving in New Zealand. There has been an increase in fruit fly populations in Australia and the fly has been spreading into previously pest-free areas.” MPI recently recruited 42 new trainee quarantine officers and 24 trainee dog handlers to ensure it has sufficient biosecurity staff to introduce the new measures.

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Motu’s popular contest on the move The Motu Boar and Stag Hunt is on the move with the 2016 prize giving to be held at Matawai instead of the Motu Domain. Daryll Downer of the hunt’s organising committee says the domain has been a great venue for the past four years, but moving to Matawai, next to the Hard Drive Cafe, offers more facilities. “The new location is only 15km up the road from the domain and we’ll have power there, and be able to put up a marquee, as well as have the cafe close by. It will be good to have more shelter, as the weather’s never very kind in July.” This year’s competition, held from July 25 to 26, attracted 50 entrants who weigh-in what Daryll describes as an outstanding number of animals. “Usually we expect about a third of the entrants to weigh-in animals. This year there were 18 deer

and 16 pigs at the weigh-in which was pretty pleasing.” The annual event does attract hunters from outside the Motu region, but the majority are locals and the boar hunt in particular is appreciated by farmers. “It’s coming up to lambing and farmers who have a lot of pigs on their boundary are pleased if numbers are reduced through the competition, taking pressure of their new born lambs.” The competition has a strong family focus with a Big Little Three event for children in which entrants must weigh-in a possum, magpie and rabbit or hare. There’s a junior pig hunting contest for 12 to 13 year olds too. Weigh-in day has a number of novelty events including a possum throwing contest for children and pig carrying challenge for both men and women. Daryll says the contest is popular with women hunters too with local women among the major prize winners.

Competition results are: 2015 Motu Stag and Boar Hunt: Boar - Adult Section; First Christian Paenga

155.551lb; second Brodie Parsons 143.87lb; third Denver Palmer 143.36lb. Average Weight Boar: Allie Woodward 119.09lb. Best Jaw: Jenna Trafford. Mystery Weight Boar: Michael Kemp 103.7lb. Stag: First Mike Gebert 301.03lb; second Nathan Seymour 242.83lb; third Ben Skipper 235.45 lb. Average Weight Deer (includes hinds): Tapu Dixon 147.97lb. Best Stag Head: Nathan Seymour. Boar Kids Section: First Finn Henstock 66.04lb; second Monica Harnett 53.83lb; third Zania O'Neill 48lb. Big Little Three: First Pagan Waikari, second Savarnah Jones, third Brianna Edwards, fourth Haeora King.

Sevenyear-old HikurangiAnaru Niwha carrying a pig entered in the Motu Boar and Stag Hunt.

300,000 balers produced by French factory

CLASS Rollant 454 Uniwrap. balers, and then automatically adjusts the travelling speed of the tractor via the Isobus interface to ensure optimum performance. “For example, should the baler become overloaded, an auto-stop function switches off the power take-off shaft.” The factory, which employs more than 400 staff, has been extensively modernised and expanded in recent years. Improvements include the commissioning of a new assembly line in 2010 that allows the simultaneous assembly of 21 different baler types and models and a new cathodic painting shop in 2013. “Cathodic painting is the same technology used in the automotive industry,” Luke says. “Each part is dipped in ﬁve different baths to clean and prepare it for two coats of paint. The positively-charged panels are lowered into a negativelycharged dip tank that contains an electrically-conductive water-based paint. “The paint particles are spread evenly over the entire surface of the submerged parts to create a ﬂawless coating, even on parts with complex structures.” The parts then undergo two cleaning

operations to remove any excess paint before being dried for 45 minutes in a 200°C gas furnace. After cooling, the ﬁnal coat is applied before a second drying session. The fully-automated process comprises 70 trolleys, each capable of holding 1000 kilograms of parts, which move along 1100 metres of rail track. Despite its complexity, the entire process is carbonneutral and has remarkably low power requirements. CLAAS is recognised as a global leader in fodder harvesting technology, manufacturing an integrated line of forage harvesters, mowers, conditioners, rakes, balers and feed wagons.

plus GST

CLAAS has produced its 300,000th baler – a high performance Rollant 454 Uniwrap round baler/wrapper – at its state-of-the-art baler factory in Metz, France. The machine, which features a special finish, will be shown throughout Europe for the remainder of the year. Established in 1958, the CLAAS factory at Metz produces about 5000 Rollant fixed-chamber, Variant variable chamber and Quadrant big square balers each year. Group Product Manager – CLAAS Greenline, Luke Wheeler, says these machines are exported to more than 100 countries throughout the world. “Besides being used to bale a wide range of pasture and cereal crops, CLAAS balers are used to process more than 25 different crops,” he says. “These include baling cotton in South Africa, peanut stubble in USA, rice in Korea, flax in eastern Europe and hemp in Germany.” The factory has produced a number of innovations, including the single knotter featured in CLAAS square balers, the Fine Cut chopper unit found in the Quadrant 3200 and 3300 and the Power Feeding System found in all Quadrant balers. “Metz has also played a pioneering role in the development of CLAAS Implement Controls Tractor technology,” Luke says, “As its name suggests, ICT monitors the performance of towed implements, such as Quadrant 3400 big square

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Teenagers tied up in knots at challenge Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not unusual for teenagers to get into knotty situations, but Waikato college students had to employ plenty of teamwork to untie themselves from very tricky problems as part of the Hillary Outdoors Get2Go Challenge at Karapiro. Twenty-four teams of Year nine and 10 students from 12 local colleges faced a number of challenges during the day-long event in August, including how to untie knots while remaining attached to ropes. Teamwork, problem-solving and a fair amount of physical ďŹ&#x201A;exibility were essential to unknot the ropes and the teenagers obviously enjoyed the tasks, despite being â&#x20AC;&#x153;all tied-upâ&#x20AC;?. Other challenges were mountain biking, orienteering, canoe racing, a form of outdoor number bingo and learning to walk in unison on wooden planks Competition was intense among the teams taking part in the canoe event at manoeuvred by hand-held ropes. the Hillary Outdoors Get2Go Challenge at Karapiro. The event was co-ordinated by Darren Ashmore, Hillary Outdoors Education Centre events manager. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is the ninth year of Get2Go and to date around 14,000 children have taken part. We hold events across the country and the winning team from each gets to attend the national ďŹ nals at Great Barrier Island in December.â&#x20AC;? Teams donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know in advance exactly what the challenges will be on the day and at Karapiro Darren recruited members of local orienteering and mountain biking clubs to help. Andrew Howell of Wintec also had a number of polytechnic students design and set up other challenges, including the canoeing and rope events. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the events rely on team work and are aimed at encouraging young people to come to know the 1023E COMPACT power of the outdoors and physical activity. The level of activity is not set too high, but the challenges are UTILITY TRACTOR so designed that those who want to extend themselves STARTING FROM can easily do so,â&#x20AC;? says Darren.

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Knowing left from right Hillcrest High No 1 team won the top spot in the mixed premier category gaining entry to the Great Barrier Get2Go Challenge in December where they will compete for the national title. The schools taking part were: Hillcrest, Cambridge, Hamilton Boys, Hamilton Girls, Thames,

Hauraki Plains high schools; Matamata, Putaruru, Otorohanga, Te Kauwhata colleges, Raglan Area School and Waikato Diocesan. Get2Go is just one of a number of events Hillary Outdoors runs, including school holiday programmes based at its 43-year-old Tongariro Centre and its Great Barrier facility which opened in 2006. Darren says Hillary Outdoors other events include the Hillary Challenge 6hr Adventure Races for year 11-13 students and NavQuest adventure rogaines that are open to everyone, public included. To ďŹ nd out more go to www.hillaryoutdoors.co.nz and on the Facebook page www. facebook.com/hillaryoutdoors

Left, right was the chant as these students attempted walking in union during the Hillary Outdoors Get2Go Challenge at Karapiro.

ENGINEERING PERFORMANCE

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Time running out under current subdivision rules The Thames-Coromandel District Plan Hearings Panel has just finished a marathon series of public hearings on the Proposed District Plan. Following the release of the plan in December 2013 and the many subsequent submissions, there have been 11 hearings extending over a nine month period with 203 submitters appearing before the panel. I expect the final plan to be significantly different to that notified in many aspects, as the submissions covered almost every part of the plan. For this reason council decided early on that it would not operate under the proposed rules until the panel had made their final decision. This position will cease when the decisions are finally released in March. The significance of this date should not be underestimated.

From this time the new rules will be implemented. However, some decisions will undoubtedly be appealed to the Environment Court – a long complex process.

Outcome uncertain Once rules and policies are appealed, any application to council will have to ascertain which rules are valid and which may have little weight. That research and application will no longer be straight forward and the outcome will be perhaps uncertain. There remains a window of opportunity that many will take advantage of over the next six months but you will have to act quickly. Due to the number of submissions, nothing is certain. Even the rules that have not been challenged speciﬁcally could change due to argument over the plans,

policies and objectives. It is not unknown that a completely different rule pops out the end of such a process. In relation to rural subdivision rules we are expecting changes to the long established environmental lot rules where council has signalled its intention to allow these only in limited locations and number. This has been one of the major contributors to rural subdivision and a successful one in my mind – a new lot could be generated by protecting 5ha of bush or wetland.

consent that secures your rights under the existing rules without the need to take further action for ﬁve years. Then, if the new rules are by chance more allowing, you could perhaps take advantage of further opportunities down the track. If you have any plans for subdivision now or in the future I am happy to discuss the opportunities,

so please don't hesitate to give me a call. Brent Trail, Managing Director of Surveying Services, specialises in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Coromandel, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty. For further information call 0800 268 632 or email btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz

Lifestyle lot

Another commonly used rule is the 20ha average lots size which allowed a small lifestyle lot to be subdivided while leaving the balance in production. I am concerned that the regional council might be pushing for this average to be increased as they have in other parts of their region. My advice to landowners is simple: Sort out your subdivision plans now as it will never get easier. Firstly, obtain a resource

Solar-powered device reduces pool chemicals It’s a sure sign that spring in is the air when you see pollen settling on your pool, so now is the time to get into gear for summer and the upcoming swimming season. Having a Floatron in their own pool for nearly 20 years has made a world of difference to family life for Floatron company owners, Craig and Melissa Growden. The family has used the same Floatron in three different pools - from a small 20,000 litre pool up to their current 90,000 litre pool. One Floatron can treat a pool up to 150,000 litres. They have a passion for this product because their 10 year old daughter has eczema and allergies and suffers when swimming in chemical-laden pools, but she can swim in their pool all day long, with no skin or health issues at all. “I have used a Floatron for over 15 years now, and realised I wasn’t the only person who wanted an easy alternative to using chemicals.

“People are amazed to find a product that can save them so much time and money on their pools. The Floatron is a revolutionary solar powered water purifier for swimming pools, which replaces the need for chemicals by up to 90 per cent,” says Melissa. Developed by NASA to purify drinking water on space missions, the Floatron uses the same technology in swimming pools. It is a revolutionary solar powered water purifier that floats around in the pool and uses the process of ionisation to combat algae and bacteria in the water. “With a Floatron you swim in virtually pure water, with no taste, smell, or chemical effects (that means no dry skin, or red stinging eyes). You save so much time on pool maintenance, because you don’t have to add excessive chemicals, or frequently test the water. And, you save money too, because chemical usage can be cut up to 90 per cent.” The company also supplies Zodiac Baracuda Automatic Pool Vacuums which fit onto the vacuum point, and automatically clean the pool whenever the filter is on.

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It’s Matamata A&P show time

The Matamata A&P Association is holding its one hundred and second annual show on Saturday October 3 at Station Road on the town boundary.

The show is continuing with its strong tradition in the dairy section showcasing Jersey, Friesian and Ayrshire breeds. The calf club section is very well supported and provides an opportunity for budding young farmers to demonstrate their animal rearing and handling abilities. There’s also the dairy goat section which is judged in a similar manner to the dairy cows. Sheep dog trials usually attract a big crowd on the day, as do the equestrian events which are wellsupported with a large number of entries including the miniature horses which are particularly popular with the public. A full entertainment schedule is planned with side shows and plenty of food stalls. Once a year the Matamata A&P Show brings town and country together for a great day out. Entries for all events are open now and the schedule is available by emailing matamataa&p@gmail.com

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Remaining at home is a viable option Many New Zealanders are now choosing to stay in their own homes as they get older. There are also more and more

HOMECARE

Independence is vital to maintaining a quality of life.

pendent include; what adaptations options available to help to assist those to your home could be made such as people maintain their independence incorporating wet areas and wheelas their health needs change, says chair-accessible doorways and ramps. Miranda Smith, owner of Miranda “Take steps to ensure Smith Homecare. your home will be Determining what warm and comfortis available and what able – investigate if you the best options are can take advantage of can be difﬁcult. Age government subsidies Concern recommends available to help with that “thinking ahead home insulation. and preparing for “Inform yourself older age” is a sensible about what supports thing to do. will be available. To “It helps keep access publicly funded people in control of decisions that will affect Miranda Smith, owner of services, a needs assessMiranda Smith Homecare. ment is done by the local them and also helps to facilitate conversations with loved ones about what is important to them. “There are many beneﬁts to remaining at home. Our homes often contain important memories and for many it is a place to feel safe and secure. By remaining in one’s community it also helps maintain important social contacts,” says Miranda. “Things to consider when preparing for a time when our health needs increase and we become less inde-

Needs Assessment Services Co-Ordination.” Miranda says many people who are eligible to access funded services will receive some assistance with home-help and personal cares enabling them to remain living safely at home. There are also many private in-homecare agencies, such as Miranda Smith Homecare, which are able to provide individualised and tailored care packages, including live-in caregivers.

COUNTRY LIVING

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CARTAGE & TRANSPORT

Page 18

Bulk cartage among company’s servcies Johnstone Drainage and Contracting Ltd is well known in the Waikato and surrounding areas, for its earthmoving works and cartage of bulk farm supplies. “We have bulk truck and trailers, operated by experienced drivers well

Carting bulk farm supplies is among the services Johnstone Drainage and Contracting Ltd offer farmers.

used to on and off-road driving,” says Paul McAlpine. “We assure clients of reliable, personal and cost-effective services, and can transport fertiliser, palm kernel, aglime and aggregate and more throughout the greater Waikato, Bay of Plenty and, in fact, just about anywhere in the North Island clients want us to go.” “The company also has available a

transporter for the cartage of farm machinery and silage bales. “We are well known for our drainage and contracting work, but now want to expand awareness of our bulk cartage business. With our experience in the rural

sector we are able to offer the quality of services that farmers deserve. We are happy to talk to anyone about their current requirements and their future needs.” Farmers can contract the com-

pany directly to cart material, or Johnstone Drainage and Contracting will work with other contractors, including fertiliser spreaders, to deliver materials where and when they are required.

Intrepid adventures for Agri-students Bungy jumping, sky diving to testing the sugar content of apples and tracking kiwi is the ‘boots and all’ experience 37 intrepid university students from across the United States enjoyed as part of a six-week expedition and internship programme in New Zealand. Students from 14 universities, including Michigan State, George Washington University and University of Illinois, were involved in a study abroad programme organised by Massey University’s Institute of Agriculture and Environment and Centre for Professional and Continuing Education. Beginning the study tour portion of the trip in

Queenstown, with an overnight trip to the historic 100,000 acre high-country sheep station on Mount Nicholas, the students made their way up the country covering the Franz Josef glacier, the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, vineyards in the Marlborough Sounds, Tongariro National Park, dairy farms in the Waikato, and geothermal areas in Taupo and Rotorua. They then began their internships with agri-food industry and environmental leaders in the Hawke’s Bay, including the free-range chicken farm Bostock Organic, the Department of Conservation, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, premium global food manufactures GreenMount Foods and Fish and Game New Zealand. The trip concluded with an intensive block course at Massey University in Palmerston North where they could earn university credits by writing a series of case studies from the wool, wine and dairy industries they encountered along their trip. University of Tennessee Zoology student Hannah Hazelwinkel says the internship gave her “real-world” experience. “It was amazing to get to do conservation work and see what that was like. The highlight for me was tracking kiwi and pateke (brown teal).”

Students from the USA Study Abroad Programme at the Mount Nicholas high-country sheep station

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Farming entering new techno era As an agricultural nation, our proud history of production farming traces back to when the early European settlers arrived on our shores in the late 1840s. When establishing a farm, these settlers often found out the hard way that our country’s terrain and climate can be harsh at the best of times. Given this, many settlers preserved and worked hard to become self-sufﬁcient. Large sheep farms were mainly farmed by single men who could survive the elements, with the majority of farms focused on producing wool from sheep and fresh milk from dairy cattle for the local community. It wasn’t until the advent of refrigerated ships at the end of the 19th century that our farmers started selling meat and dairy products (such as butter) to overseas markets. This resulted in an exponential growth in sheep and cattle numbers, thus establishing agriculture as the economic backbone for our economy. Fast forward to the modern day farm, where the New Zealand agribusiness sector is focused on professionalism and innovation. From a global perspective, it’s apparent how different and advanced our agricultural structures are to those in the rest of the world. This is partly due to the large part farming

requirements of dairy cows at various plays in our economic success, but a stages of lactation. lot of it comes down to the focus our Then combining various feed farmers place in areas such as animal ingredients and remedies to meet health, environmental stewardship those needs in a cost-effective manner. and innovation within our farming There are many dynamic factors that systems. inﬂuence the health of dairy cows, The removal of government including the application of subsidies in the early and the most effective remedy mid-1980s also drove at the right time and farmers to reduce costs nutrient availability from and focus on producing feeds. higher value products, Animal health manuwhere these were shown Mark Ross is chief executive facturers are continuously to be proﬁtable. of Agcarm, the industry researching new products Take dairying for examassociation for crop protection to assist in maintaining ple. Our early ancestors and animal health. healthy and high-performcould never imagine that ing livestock. As a result the animal health in the future cows could be milked robotiremedy industry in New Zealand is world cally and that smartphone apps could be class, with many of our competitors envious used to manage a farm. Yet this is where we of our high performance. are heading. As farming becomes more innovative The reality is that traditional farm roles and attuned to consumers’ demands, New such as milking are taking a much smaller Zealand will remain at the forefront of the role in the day-to-day management of world. Our country has entered into a new farms. This in turn frees up farm staff to era of farming with greater use of technolconcentrate on other farm and business ogy, a change in what we produce and more management activities, such as monitoring scrutiny on our animal health. the performance of individual stock and the If the global world of farming could whole farming system. follow New Zealand’s example, then maybe, Dairying has embraced innovation and between us all, we will be able to produce technological advancements. On the enough extra food to meet the forecasted animal health front, there have been rapid demands of a growing global population. improvements in understanding the nutrient By Mark Ross

FTAs saving millions New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreements saved the sheep and beef industry $161 million in tariffs last year, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand. B+LNZ chief executive Dr Scott Champion says the increased tariff savings are a market access success story, enabling New Zealand to remain competitive on the global market and giving exporters the flexibility to viably sell products into more markets. The amount the sector saves is set to grow as tariffs continue to reduce and export volumes grow. While changing trade flows had some impact on last year’s figures, the decrease in tariffs paid and increase in tariffs saved is largely a result of the continued removal of tariffs negotiated as part of New Zealand’s FTAs – particularly with China and Taiwan. “As market access for our red meat products continues to improve as more FTAs come into force, and tariffs are further phased out within existing FTAs, those savings can only grow. And that benefits not only farmers, but all New Zealanders,” says Scott. “Continuing to work for better market access arrangements, that reduce the costs of exporting to the sheep and beef sector, is a key part of B+LNZ’s work.” Beef + Lamb New Zealand provides detailed analysis and information to the Government to support free trade negotiations as part of its advocacy work on behalf of sheep and beef farmers. New Zealand’s FTAs lower the tariffs facing the sheep and beef sector’s exports in many key markets, improving the competitiveness of those products. As a result of New Zealand’s current FTAs, the total tariff cost imposed on sheep and beef sector exports in 2014 was $161 million lower than it would otherwise have been. The sector’s export returns for the period total $7.7 billion, with the amount in tariffs paid falling from $331 million in 2013 to $326 million in 2014.

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Page 20

Makeover planned to enhance Overseer The owners of Overseer are establishing a new non-proﬁt company to manage, develop and license the farming decision support tool. Overseer is jointly owned by the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand and AgResearch Limited. The chief executives of the owner organisations have committed to a business plan aimed to signiﬁcantly enhance Overseer during the planned transition phase of three years and ensure a sustainable funding base. Users will see improvements in customer services (including improving the help desk), as well as the model’s maintenance and development. A formal quality assurance programme will be established and critical maintenance and testing work on the model accelerated. Funding for Overseer will increase substan-

tially to at least $2.25 million per year over the transition phase. Overseer has an important place in the success of agriculture in New Zealand. It is a world-class decision support tool which assists farmers and their advisers to examine nutrient use and movements within a farm system to help optimise production and improve environmental outcomes. All owners are committed to working together to see Overseer grow and improve. Overseer is a widely used strategic management tool that supports farmers and growers to improve performance and reduce losses to the environment through better use of nutrients on farm to support New Zealand agriculture. It is an online application which calculates nutrient inputs, transfers and outputs from individual farms based on information speciﬁc to that farm, producing a nutrient budget. This helps farmers and their consultants to examine farm-scale nutrient management

options to optimise production and minimise losses of nutrients to the environment. The use of Overseer in water quality management enables New Zealand to apply an effects-based approach to managing

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off-farm nutrient losses and as a result is stimulating innovation in the agricultural industry’s approach to improving nutrient management. For more information visit overseer.org.nz

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A code of practice for nutrient management with emphasis on fertiliser use, has been prepared by the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand. The code considers the use of fertiliser within the broader context of nutrient management and under this approach, a nutrient budget is the basis for developing a nutrient management plan. This code assists in achieving that, placing the planning within the context of a farm management system. While it is mainly intended as a guide for nutrient advisers and consultants, this code is also useful for land managers (farmers and growers) who want to know more about nutrient management planning and the best nutrient management practices for their production system. Wise nutrient management planning will enable land managers to demonstrate environmental care as they undertake production activities and aim to run a proﬁtable business. Additionally, this code will help land managers, consultants, regional councils and the public to have conﬁdence in nutrient management practices throughout New Zealand’s primary production sector. For more information go to: www.fertiliser.org.nz/

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Managing crop grazing to reduce leaching Research has shown that careful management reduces nutrient losses from winter-grazed crops. The recent results from AgResearch trials in South Otago, as part of the Pastoral 21 project, show that grazed winter forage crops contribute significantly to the risk of nutrient losses to water, but with careful management, sediment and phosphorus losses can be reduced during grazing. DairyNZ developer, Maitland Manning says strategic grazing and careful management of wet areas, such as gullies and swales in winter forage crops, can reduce losses of sediment and phosphorus (P) to surface runoff by 80-90 per cent. “Gullies and swales are where overland flow and seepage converge to form small channels of running water, which may then flow to streams and rivers. By minimising stock movements and soil treading damage in these areas, any rainfall and runoff that occurs is more likely to infiltrate the soil, reducing the amount of runoff and loss of sediment.

“Simple changes in grazing management of winter crops can result in huge beneﬁts for farmers as well as the environment.” Strategic grazing means letting cows graze the drier parts of the paddock ﬁrst and the wetter parts last. This usually means the cows start at the top of the catchment and graze their way downhill towards the gully or swale. The uneaten crop acts as a buffer to minimise the runoff risk.

Soil moisture

“If it needs to be grazed at all, the break nearest the gully or swale should be grazed at a time when the soil moisture content is not too high. “Back fencing as much as possible will minimise soil pugging and compaction damage, and will also help to reduce volumes of surface runoff.” Southland farmer Geoff Baldwin says he has noticed an improvement in sediment runoff since he has made changes to the way he winters his stock on swedes and kale at his Riverton property. “Wintering can be a mission here with wet soil, so anything we can do to mitigate sediment losses is beneﬁcial,” says Geoff. “We have identiﬁed and fenced off swales and we leave a three to four metre boundary along the fence line, which is kept in grass and not ploughed. Sediment is washed into the swales and settles in the grass, so sediment from the

Boost for mental health initiatives An extra 100 people will be trained to help Kiwi farming families access the support they need, as part of a one-off $500,000 funding boost for mental health initiatives targeted at rural communities. Health minister Jonathan Coleman and Primary Industries minister Nathan Guy announced the measures at this year’s Fieldays. “We recognise that some farmers are under considerable stress. The physical isolation as well as the uncertainties of being reliant on the land creates differ-

ent pressures to those living in an urban setting,” says Jonathan. “That’s why the Ministry of Health and Primary Industries have come together, with the support of the sector, to develop a work programme with local components linked to national coordination.” In collaboration with Dairy NZ and Beef + Lamb NZ, up to 100 support people will be trained to work for Rural Support Trusts, providing guidance and support to farmers around the country.

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Pastoral 21 Next Generation Dairy Systems is a ﬁve-year farm programme that aims to provide proven, proﬁtable, simple adoptionready systems that lift production and reduce nutrient loss. It is a collaborative venture among DairyNZ, Fonterra, Dairy Com-

crop is reduced. We always graze the crop in front of the cows so the swale is the last place the cows get to.” Management tips to reduce surface runoff • Work out a grazing strategy before putting up fences. Think about stock water sources, ie do you need portable troughs? • Use a winter crop calculator dairynz.co.nz/wintercropcalc to work out feed requirements to achieve body condition score (BCS) targets at calving. • Ensure cows begin grazing the least risky parts of the paddock ﬁrst to minimise the period of runoff risk. This usually means that cows should enter at the top of the paddock and graze their way down hill. • On-off graze any crop left in the gully or swale at a time when soil moisture content is not too high. • Fence off gullies or swales to provide as much of a buffer zone as possible. These initiatives can help farmers to manage soils, animals and forage crops during the challenging winter season so that they can optimise their businesses and reduce their environmental footprint. Visit dairynz.co.nz/p21 for more information.

panies Association of New Zealand, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and managed by AgResearch. The Pastoral 21 programme has been set up in four regions to address issues relevant to each area.

Page 22

RURAL BUILDING & FENCING

Farmers find it difficult – but thieves find it easy While most farmers are preoccupied with the price of milk at the moment, thieves are having a ﬁeld day of their own.

Farms are wide open to theft. Owners often don’t know when anyone has even been on the property until they ﬁnd items or fuel missing, says Roger Bull, Director of Smartway - Security and Technology. “We are being contacted on a weekly basis by farmers totally fed up with being ripped off. The number

of farmers losing stock, fuel, quad bikes, and other farm machinery is rising dramatically.” Smartway has a new weapon at their disposal now with their own GPS tracking product called CarTrack. “We have been testing this product ourselves for the last two years and found it to be an invaluable service where we can see exactly where our staff are at any given time, we know exactly how long a technician has been at a customers’ site and how long it has taken to drive there and back.” The GPS tracking devices can be connected to the ignition and detect when the machinery is turned on or off. Another one is the personal device which can be used to track a person or it has a magnetic device that allows it to track containers or secretly track packages of goods. It also has a panic button for personal safety so it has a lot of different uses. Alternatively there is the slim and compact one that allows protection of motorcycles and can even be connected to kill the engine remotely. “Installation time depends on the type of functions that are required but the overall peace of mind that comes with being able to track your property is immense.” Then there is an app for smart phones so

you can see where your vehicle or packages are when you, or they, are on the move. Other issues that Smartway is finding more popular now are the means of being alerted when someone has entered the property and the Smart Gate Alerts are filling that gap, especially when attached to a high definition CCTV System that is recording the driveways and implement sheds. They can be connected “line of sight” by a wireless data bridge across the farm so the cameras are streamed real time back to their home to keep a watch on the property. A new addition (for those that have a high point on their property) is a new PTZ camera. This allows the farmer to operate the camera when an alert is activated and zoom in - with its Infra-Red Laser the camera can see in the dark to areas up to 500m away. Smartway even have a demonstration truck that is set up like an American Movie Spy Wagon so you can see the cameras working at your property and know what you are buying before you part with any money. For more information on these products and more, or get a free demonstration at your farm, contact Roger at Smartway on 0800 93 63 63.

Smartway Security has a phone app which can track vehicle or parcel movements.

Sponsors on board with Morrinsville College fun walk Planning for the 100% Heathcote Appliances 14th Annual Morrinsville College Fun Run/Walk on Sunday October 18 is well underway with major sponsors conﬁrmed. This annual fundraiser, which consists of a 5km, 10km and a half marathon run/walk is always well supported by

locals and out of towners of all ages and abilities, says Adele Alsemgeest. “The Morrinsville College PTA organisies the event which attracts participants from all over the North Island. “Last year we had close to 600 runners or walkers and raised $15,000 for the school.

We are fortunate to have many businesses and locals that help out in many ways so are able to provide all the competitors with a fantastic event complete with a goodie bag filled with sponsors products and a certificate at the finish line and a chance to win some awesome prizes at the prize giving including prizes

for best dressed. “It is very encouraging to see so many people doing something healthy and energetic and also supporting Morrinsville College,” says Adele. For more enquiries email: funrun@morrcoll.school.nz or enter online www.morrcoll. school.nz

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Attractive fencing ideal for town or country Made from 100 per cent New Zealand grown, environmentally sustainable, high-grade pine logs, the BTD Interlock fence is manufactured by Beams & Timber Direct Ltd of Tuakau. This fencing system has been used in many subdivisions including those in Tauranga, Waiuku, Kamo, and New Plymouth, many of which stipulate that fencing must be post and rail. Well-known Cambridge fencing contractor Bryan Henry of Maara Grange Fencing has installed the BTD Interlock fence in the prestigious new St Kilda subdivision in Cambridge.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are delighted that homeowners in this subdivision have chosen our quality mortise fencing to complement their lovely new homes,â&#x20AC;? says Julie Fox, who with husband Graeme owns Beams & Timber Direct. Beams & Timber Interlock fencing is equally suitable for residential use, as well as farms, lifestyle blocks, equestrian centres, council parks and schools, and was recently installed at Tahuna School. The system is easy to install as all post rebates and rails are precisely machined to ensure a snug ďŹ t when slotted together. Julie and Graeme can also recommend experienced contractors in your area to install the fences and can arrange delivery nationwide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are now making gates to match our

Post and rail fencing from Beams & Timber is ideal for rural or urban settings.

fencing, in the same high quality timber, and can build wooden gates to customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual designs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were the ďŹ rst company in New Zealand to commercially manufacture this square mortise fence. Over the years we have invested heavily in processing equipment

and ďŹ ne-tuned the fence to make it, we believe, the best possible fence it can be,â&#x20AC;? says Graeme. The fencing can be left to naturally weather or can be painted or stained. To ďŹ nd out more, visit the new website: www.beamsandtimber.co.nz

Exxopolis offers a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;kaleidoscopeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of an experience at Tauranga festival performances from New Zealand, Like being inside a kaleidoscope including Trinity Roots teaming or on a spaceship are just two of up with four Irish performers in the reactions to Exxopolis, a giant, Motu :: Oilean (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, in both inďŹ&#x201A;atable, walk-in sculpture which languages), and the cabaret-style is making its ďŹ rst visit to New play Daffodils which has live Zealand. music. Several Kiwi The 1000 square performers have metre luminarium Exploring made shows (holding light the interior especially for like an aquarof Exxopolis. the festival, ium holds including water) is singers Julia landing on Deans, Taurangaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annie waterfront, Crummer from and Tama October Waipara 16 to (The Hard November Road), guitar 1 to coincide greats Warren with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Maxwell, Thomas arts festival, its Oliver and Louis only stop in the Bay Baker (Pass the Gat) and of Plenty-Waikato region. classical musicians NZTrio. The intensity of light within The festival is hosting the only changes with the cloudscape New Zealand appearance of outside so no two visits are the Hannah Sullivanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dance-theatre same.The Tauranga Arts Festival, piece Echo Beach (England), and which runs from October 22 to award-winning writers Christina November 1, features high-proďŹ le

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Lamb (a foreign correspondent who has covered Afghanistan for 27 years), surďŹ ng writer Phil Jarratt (Australia) and novelist Steven Carroll (Australia).

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Hang in there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a new day tomorrow There are lessons to be learned from the 1987 dairy pay-out crash. I was a dairy farmer during that period with modest debt and 170 cows.

I remember sitting in the ofďŹ ce during those blue days and trying to understand why it had happened and how we could go forward. Make no mistake, they too were extremely difďŹ cult times. Not only was there a low payout but they did not want us to supply and offered us $10,000 to cease supply through New Zealand Dairy Group. We soldiered on, and by Christmas they were asking for all the production we could produce, but the pay-out remained very weak. Getting through those difďŹ cult blue days, as I recall, included talking to our banker, our dairy company rep and other suppliers who were in much the same position. We did a budget and axed all non-essential expenditure. There were things we realised which helped.

Do better

Because we owned the farm, we owned the grass (the pasture). We were largely grassbased farming, we just had to do it better. We worked with rotation lengths of 30 days by Christmas, 35 days by the end of January and out to 40 days by April 1, and 100-day winter rotation. We immediately sold every animal that was not producing milk for whatever we could get for her, but we retained our essential

results. During the winter all livestock were back-fenced.

replacements. The sheep went from the house paddock and this became part of our dairy rotation. We immediately went to milking twice in one day and once on the second or three times in two days. Effectively we milked at the normal time in the morning, had a long day and had tea with the family, then milked after tea at about 6pm. The next day, we had a sleep-in, coffee at 11am and milked over the lunchtime, and that was it for the day.

Family time

Push bike

We were free to go out that afternoon and evening and do family things. It takes a bit of getting your head around, but our production never fell. We cut a lot of cost out of our business and did not need to employ relief milkers. It amazes me that this milking system has not caught on in New Zealand. I appreciate you feel a bit of a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;dorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; when you ďŹ rst do it, but once under way it is a great system. We realised our pastures had to be treated better and we tried to minimise pasture damage at all cost. During the winter we would graze the break for three hours, then pull the cows out of that paddock or behind a wire to stop the cows eating it to the ground, resulting in no tillering left and very slow photosynthesis. This simple little trick gave remarkable

We parked-up the three wheeler and I bought two push-bikes, which were used to get the cows. We carried a little spot-sprayer, which we used to do the weeds while the cows were walking out of the paddock. We found an old eye-dog which helped with our stock movements. We transferred our personal drawings to a separate account and once they were spent for the month that was it. We took the attitude that the cow could cut and carry her own feed. We made our own supplements and grew summer crops. We turned every dollar over in our hand, before we spent it. So, in summary, these times are similar to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;87 crash. That was 1987, and this is 2015, and nothing has changed. We have forgotten what we know. Key points are that if you own the farm, you own the grass, and are a grass farmer. To survive you need to minimise all outgoings, and your banker and your partner must be your new best friends as it is only with their support that you will survive. You must also remember that what goes up must go down, but similarly what goes down must come up. Hang in there and try to have a positive outlook. It is a new day tomorrow. Don Fraser is the principal of Fraser Farm Finance, and a consultant to the farming industry. Contact him on 0800 777 675 or 021 777 675.

Offering farmers savings on insurance costs In recognition of the current tight ďŹ nancial times many dairy farmers are experiencing, Farm Insure is offering a signiďŹ cant saving on new insurance policies. Farm Insure insurance specialists understand the effects a low dairy pay-out can have on a business and so are offering clients the chance to save up to 30 per cent on a new insurance policy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We realise the farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pay-out has decreased and we are giving them the chance to save their money,â&#x20AC;? says insurance specialist Ray Sheath, who spent 22 years in front line service with the New Zealand police force. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have built the business on trust and integrity. We give our clients every piece of documentation as a copy, as it relates to them and their family. The copies ensure total transparency. This feature was brought across from being in the police. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The best part of the job is being there for them at claim time and making their claim a success. It is not just a matter of selling them something, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about

being there when it counts,â&#x20AC;? he says. Farm Insure offers tailor-made insurance policies designed speciďŹ cally with farmers in mind and its experienced team can help clients prepare for the unexpected. They offer an assessment which gathers information and clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs, enabling them to tailor their advice to suit individual requirements. Covers available include asset protection â&#x20AC;&#x201C; buildings, plant and machinery and vehicles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and also keyperson type cover. An area of particular interest is ACC. Farmers pay high levies and many are not aware that there is an alternative way of structuring their ACC cover. The Farm Insure team can uncover whether clients paying their ACC levies protects them in the case of an accident. Many business people do not know what will happen to them or their business in the event of an illness as they may not be covered under ACC.

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FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Farm machinery service coast to coast Giltrap AgriZone is proud to be able to provide ‘coast-to-coast service’ to customers from Otorohanga to Bay of Plenty. The company is renowned for providing farmers and contractors with the very best tractors and farm machinery to suit their needs, and backing that with excellent after-sales service. “Our staff are experienced in operating machinery, familiar with agricultural practices and committed to customer service,” says Giltrap AgriZone group sales manager Ben Peters.

“Our dealerships in Otorohanga, Cambridge and Rotorua work closely together so our clients have access to a wide range of skills and knowledge. “An important point of difference is that Giltrap AgriZone Rotorua has a mobile parts and service van, which is operated by Logan Coffey, who is available to respond to Bay of Plenty clients’ service and parts needs on-site, which is vital during the busy harvest time ahead.” Graeme Wilson and Daniel Gibbs are sales staff based at Rotorua. Graeme’s area extends from Matata to Tauranga, while Daniel looks after clients from

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Matata to Opotiki. Giltrap AgriZone deals in premium brands such as Case IH, Kuhn and Lely, plus reputable New Zealand manufacturers such as Giltrap Engineering, Hustler, Fairbrother and Aitchison. “We have Case tractors from 25hp to 620hp, and complement these with harvesting and other machinery, giving clients a wide range of choice. We don’t deal in multi-brands, instead specialising in premium brands and we offer top-class after-sales service,” says Ben. Giltrap AgriZone is responsible for 30 per cent of all Case IH sales in New Zealand. The French Manitou brand of telescopic loaders now sold by Giltrap AgriZone is proving popular with large farming operations, which need more specialised lifting and loading equipment. From Europe comes the Sigma4 and the Prodig ranges of front end loaders and attachments including grabs and buckets. Giltrap AgriZone is privately owned and operated by Andrew Giltrap. The company is committed to servicing the Central North Island from coast to coast.

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 27

Trevor’s misbehaving led to a toasting For Trevor Mitchell of Tokoroa, Coast & Country’s June mystery item was easy to identify, but it also revived memories of another early electrical device which got him and some schoolmates into hot water.

is on display at the Morrinsville Heritage Centre. In his letter Trevor explains how the photo reminded him of an early room heater and the time, as a third-form boarding pupil at Wesley College, Paerata, he and some mates explored the former US Army military training camp at the back of the college farm. They found “The June mystery item an old electric room is an early electric toaster, heater with exposed coiled pre-dating later toasters that had elements. tip-down doors that tipped the “We cleaned it up a bit and bread over so that when the had it glowing on the big doors were closed again, the workshop bench. By midbread was ready for toasting night we had ‘borrowed’ on the other side.” some raw sausages from He’s right. The quite elabothe kitchen and with the rate device was in The mystery item for June was aid of some bent No 8 fact an electric toaster, which an early model electric toaster. wire, had them cooking

supplied the mystery item for August. Museum manager Barbara Dalziel says the device was invented in the 1970s and similar ones can still be purchased today. As a clue, it is ﬁtted to something else for ease of handling. If you know what it is you could be in to win a visit for two to the Morrinsville Heritage Centre. Send your entry to: elaine@ thesun.co.nz with ‘Mystery item’ in the subject line, or post to Mystery Item, Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than September 27. The winner will be announced in Coast & Country’s November issue. The museum, at 41 Canada St, Morrinsville, is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 12.30-4pm, and Saturdays from 9am-2pm. Identify this To ﬁnd out more, visit mystery item to be www.morrinsvilleheritagecentre.org.nz in to win a visit to the Morrinsville Heritage Centre. or phone 07 889 4190.

6100DH260 plus a LOADER

Environment award entries open Entry is now open for the 2016 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards and organisers are encouraging farmers and horticulturalist to consider taking part. The awards recognise and celebrate good farm practices which promotes sustainable land management through the annual contest now run in 10 regions throughout New Zealand. These are co-ordinated by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust which believes that positive role models and opportunities for learning are the most effective tools to improving farm practices. Being part of the awards is a stimulating, informative and enjoyable opportunity to benchmark your farm with other like-minded farmers in your region. All entrants go through a judging process which considers the entire environment that your farm operates within, with particular consideration to sustainable proﬁtability, environmental awareness, good business practices and social and community responsibility. To enter go to:www.nzfeatrust.org.nz/

on the up-turned heater.” However, the students were discovered by the school handyman – with the inevitable result being their appearance in the principal’s ofﬁce. For his entry Trevor has won admission for two to the Morrinsville Heritage Centre, which has also

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RURAL DRIVER

NZ made product is helping clear air we breathe A New Zealand-made product has eliminated more than 2000 tonnes of smog-inducing, nitric oxides (NOx) from the atmosphere in New Zealand since its launch six years ago. As international cities such as Paris, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur struggle to find ways to make their air breathable, including enforcing no-car days, IXOM New Zealand has established a nationwide network of outlets in partnership with GoClear manufacturer Ballance Agri-Nutrients. GoClear, a high-specification diesel exhaust purification solution, is used in Selective Catalytic Conversion technol-

ogy to remove nitrogen oxides from vehicle exhausts. It reduces harmful NOx in exhausts to harmless nitrogen gas and water vapour. Since starting to manufacture GoClear in 2009, farmer-owned Ballance Agri-Nutrients has now passed the 10-million-litre mark, thanks to its use by the major transport ﬂeet operators, including Fonterra’s 540-strong milkcollection ﬂeet. Scientists calculate this GoClear volume has removed 2000 tonnes of harmful exhaust gases from the air. “Nearly all diesel-powered trucks and buses imported into New Zealand now have to meet the international Euro V exhaust emission standards, and most of the big diesel-engine manufacturers

Dr Terry Smith, Process and Chemicals Manager at Ballance with the 10-millionthlitre of the product GoClear.

have opted for the SCR solution,” says Dr Terry Smith, Process and Chemicals Manager at Ballance. “As a result, the market for GoClear has grown every year in line with the arrival of new vehicles as local truck, bus and tractor ﬂeets are updated. These trucks and buses won’t run if the exhaust puriﬁcation solution is not used.”

Continuous supply

In the year to June, 922 heavy trucks were registered (23,001kg-max GVM). More than 80 per cent of these vehicles use SCR technology. To keep up with demand, Ballance Agri-Nutrients has invested $2 million in storage capacity to ensure a continuous supply. It has just completed the installation of two 250,000L storage tanks at its production site at Kapuni, Taranaki, lifting total storage on site to 600,000L. “Over the past couple of years as exhaust reduction solutions have been tried and tested we’ve seen a clear jump in the use of SCR technology to meet the oxides of nitrogen standards – it’s proving to be a successful and popular option. “Our new storage at our production site, coupled with the storage at our Timaru hub and product in the network at any given time means we have several months’ worth of contingency supply, should we need it.”

GoClear is manufactured by Ballance’s Kapuni urea plant in Taranaki, removing the need for an imported product. As the only SCR solution 100 per cent New Zealand made to IS0 22241 standard, GoClear eliminates issues relating to international supply chains and currency ﬂuctuations. It also removes the need for bulk importation of a product that has a high concentration of water – all in plastic packaging – whereas GoClear is transported in bulk carriers to more than 50 commercial fuel stops across New Zealand. “There is a huge health beneﬁt across the board,” adds Dr Smith. “By cleaning up truck and bus exhausts, GoClear is playing a part in reducing respiratory illnesses associated with the polluted air we breathe. The NOx it eliminates is a key element in the production of photochemical smog, with its associated breathing disorders and poor public health.” GoClear is distributed and marketed nationwide by IXOM, utilising existing fuel distributions networks, such as NPD, McKeown Petroleum, Z Energy, Caltex, Allied Petroleum and Waitomo Petroleum. GoClear is dispensed into a separate tank on the trucks, conveniently as drivers top up with diesel using their fuel cards. A mobile phone app is also available for free that shows where all the current outlets are located.

RURAL DRIVER

Page 29

Public’s chance to try grass autocross driving The Hamilton Car Club is offering the public the chance to take part in its Grass Autocross at Ruakura on September 6.

offer those keen on serious competition or families who want to enjoy the sport together.

Social events

“The event has the approval of MotorSport NZ and is run under its rules and covered by its public liability insurance. The Hamilton Car Club is afﬁliated to MotorSport NZ and those running the event and offering instruction are experienced rally and racing drivers.” To assist with organisation, Steve says anyone interested in driver training at the autocross day should register. Information and contact details can be found on the club’s website www.hamiltoncarclub. org.nz Steve says taking part in an event such as the grass autocross is a great introduction to the car club and under MotorSport NZ rules, people can compete in two events before becoming a car club member. The club welcomes new members and has much to

at the club’s own grounds through to events on public roads that have been legally closed and circuit based events. By Elaine Fisher

“We have social events too, like a recent drive with competitors going to speciﬁc points to take photos and bring back an object. It was good fun and especially enjoyable for families.” The club holds autocross events in November, December, February and March and monthly club nights at its Vale Road rooms which often feature a guest speaker. The Hamilton Car Club is one of the largest and most well established car clubs in New Zealand. With more than 300 members the club has current or previous members involved in many aspects of motorsport both within New Zealand and overseas. This includes circuit racing in HQs and RX7s through to NZV8s and wings and slicks classes internationally, and also rallying from clubman’s level through to international maraThe public can have a go at thon rallies. Recently car club driving on grass at the Hamilton members have started to make a Car Club’s Ruakura Grass name in the drifting scene also. Autocross on September 6.

“We welcome people to come along and have a go, and will have experienced drivers using club vehicles to teach people how to drive on grass, and then, if they wish have a go at competing,” says club president Steve Wilcock. “This is a great opportunity to experience and learn to handle loss of traction in a vehicle in safe conditions, rather than doing so unintentionally on the open road.” Retired Waikato Road Policing Manager Inspector Leo Tooman has assisted the club to secure the use of the venue at Ruakura Research Centre, thanks to the support of the Hamilton City Council and Tainui which owns the land. Drivers from 12 years and over can take part, but minors must have written permission from parents of guardians.

Rally drivers

Clubsport level events are organised by volunteer car club members and range in type from events on the grass

Clubsport The car club strongly supports the clubsport level of motorsport, giving both beginners and experienced clubsport competitors the opportunity to compete and socialise in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. “The nature of clubsport competition means that you do not necessarily need expensive machinery to be involved, and often more driving skills can be learned and fun be had in very inexpensive cars.” You don’t even have to be a driver to ﬁnd enjoyment in the car club scene, with many involved just for the social scene or getting involved with co-driving or organisation.

The Hamilton Car Club has a strong history in rallying and aims to run either a gravel or tarmac based rally event every year.

Page 30

EARTHWORKS

Katikati company now firmly back in growth mode The team at Fotheringhame Contractors Ltd have seen nothing but growth and opportunities during the last 18 months. The family run business, with a competent team of more than 20 employees, has experienced its share of difﬁcult times. This includes in 2011 when more than half the team had to be made redundant due to the dramatic decline in work because of the impacts on the kiwifruit industry of the vine disease Psa-V. Following that, director John Fotheringhame was diagnosed with cancer in 2012. However, since then the company has worked hard to get the staff numbers back up, keep customers happy and is striving to make the most of all opportunities. Based in Katikati, Fotheringhame Contractors is now the busiest it has been since John started it in 1996. Although they know current dairy economics will affect some

Fotheringhame Contractors has the skills and machinery to carry out a wide range of earthworks in both urban and rural areas. areas of the business, it is thriving in many other areas. Over the last 18 months the team has been particularly busy, working long hours, to ﬁnish stage one of a new subdivision in Katikati. Earthworks Manager Tom Fotheringhame suggests that now is the time for farmers, orchardists and lifestyle block owners to do any driveway maintenance, while the ground is relatively damp, as this

makes for a better end result. And Fotheringhame Contractors has the skills and machinery to carry out that and any other earthworks. In the last six months, to keep up with growth in demand, the company has employed three more experienced operators and purchased new plant and machinery, including tractors and trailers, excavators of various sizes, a bulldozer and a pad foot roller.

Moment in time not quite intended FU

N NIE

However, it does give Coast & Country readers the chance to win a book prize by providing amusing captions for the picture. The winner of the July caption contest (see left) is Colleen Russell of Tauranga who suggested, "How about a game of bull rush after our swing?" for the picture of a girl and a bull enjoying a swing. She wins “The Essential Lingo Dictionary of Australian Words and Phrases”. This month’s Country Funnies book prize is also from Exisle Publishing and is called the ‘Easy Paleo Snacks Cookbook’. We may not live like cavemen, but eating a diet more closely resembling that of our ancient ancestors is said to bring not only health benefits but flavour delights too. The ‘Easy Paleo Snack Cookbook’ is a great way to add variety to menus and broaden the culinary repertoire. The book has more than 125 recipes, many quick and easy, some especially popular with children and information on replacing hard to find ingredients, plus nutritional information.

O U NT R

Freezing a special moment in time is what photographers aim to do – but the moment captured in this month’s Country Funnies image probably wasn’t quite the desired one.

Caption this photo to be in to win a Coast & Country book prize. To be in to win, a copy of ‘Easy Paleo Snack Cookbook’ email captions for the horse photo, along with your name and address, with Country Funnies as the subject, to: elaine@thesun.co.nz Or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to: Country Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than September 27. The winners will be announced in Coast & Country’s November issue.

EARTHWORKS

Big Cat is ideal for Brandon Bank’s brand new 17.1 tonne excavator may be large but thanks to its compact radius, can operate fully on small urban sections, as well as in wide open spaces. Brandon, of Banks Contractors, had the quarter of a million dollar machine adapted especially to his requirements when he ordered the Caterpillar 314E CR from Japan in December. The 2015 model is one of only 15 in New Zealand and, unusually, is not fitted with a blade. “I specifically requested no blade as I do a lot of tight work and believe the machine can operate in these areas better without it,” says Brandon, who began driving diggers when he was 16 and has owned his own business for 14 years. This is the fourth Caterpillar excavator he has owned and it is the company’s reputation for producing rugged, reliable, efficient machines, backed by after-sales service, which has retained his loyalty. Thanks to its sophisticated computer systems, the Cat 314E can level ground to within millimetres of tolerance with its buckets. It can also operate a wide range

tight work situations

of attachments and hydraulic tools buckets can’t unintentionally including a rock breaker, mulcher, detach or the boom suddenly drill and a pole driver. drop. “The machine can drill holes up Brandon and his to 150cm in diameter and 26m excavator will travel deep. It can also drive poles for throughout the foundations or retaining walls,” says Brandon, who especially enjoys challenging projects and ﬁnding solutions for clients. Safety both for himself and those who work around him is very important to Brandon and the Cat 314E meets the Work Safe New Zealand regulations which come into force on January 1, 2016. This includes a safety cage around the cab, three mirrors and a rear-mounted camera for all-round visibility, and extra safety features Brandon Banks and his new brand Caterpillar 314E CR undertake designed to both urban and rural contracts. ensure tools and

“The Cloud” to protect waterways Crowdfunding is coming to the aid of New Zealand’s actually increasing their waterways thanks to an innovative environmental stocking rate. “Landcorp’s farm initiative supported by Landcorp. managers are the The Million unsung heroes – they Metres Streams show that good farm Project, set up management is based by the Sustainon sound ecologiable Business cal outcomes. They Network in recognise that it does collaboration take time but it’s defiwith Enspinitely worth it. People ral, is New like Ian aren’t scared Zealand’s first of it, or of putting in conservation Landcorp’s Dale Farm manager Ian crowdfunding the hard work.” Matthews (left) with QEII Trust initiative. People interested in Waiau representative Mark Sutton. Launched in getting involved in programme. Photo by Douglas Thorne. October last the Million Metres year, the project gives New Zealanders the opportuStreams Project can visit nity to contribute to the restoration of the country’s www.millionmetres.org.nz waterways. It has already funded almost 5km of riparto find out more, includian restoration work. The QEII National Trust is a ing details of current and field partner for the project, liaising with landowners, upcoming projects. buying plants and managing volunteers. Last month riparian planting was carried out along three tributaries on Landcorp’s Dale Farm, near Te Anau. The tributaries feed into the upper Whitestone River. Funded by 36 donors who contributed a total of $25,200, 1350 native trees – including manatu, makomako, manuka and kowhai – were planted by volunteers and Dale Farm staff. Dale Farm, is 2300ha property running deer, beef and sheep 20km from Te Anau. Farm manager Ian Matthews has a close and productive relationship with QEII Trust, working together to improve the water quality and biodiversity of the Whitestone River and the Waiau Catchment. The catchment, on the eastern edge of Fiordland, is Southland’s largest. QEII Trust Waiau representative Mark Sutton says the national planting project, and Landcorp’s commitment to it, was achieving impressive results. “It works. Most Landcorp properties, Dale Farm included, are already working towards being ecologically intact by fencing waterways. Not only that, Landcorp has retired a lot of land to prevent nutrient runoff getting into waterways, returning them to what they were in the past. “Landcorp as an organisation has embraced the concept and are leaders in demonstrating what can happen when you put time and effort in.” There did not have to be a “push-pull” relationship between productivity and environmental outcomes. “Landcorp have shown over the past 15 years that you can have the best of both worlds. They’ve managed to retire large of land areas near waterways while

Page 31

Waikato and Bay of Plenty to work and recently completed a two-week project building a sea wall at Kawhia, followed by a project on a farm at Pyes Pa and preparing a section for house construction at Omokoroa.

Page 32

EDUCATION

Girl-centred school fosters individual potential Parents choose St Mary’s Diocesan at Stratford because they want the best for their daughter and they value the wide range of educational opportunities in an all-girls setting, which fosters each individual girl to realise her potential, says Fiona Green principal.

Centrally located in the heart of Taranaki, girls are connected to the St Mary’s Diocdevelop their talents and skills. St Mary’s Diocesan has been nurturing Year esan family from their first day. Leadership “Small class sizes, passionate teachers and 9 to Year 13 girls for 101 years. and service opportunities allow every girl to high academic expectations sit alongside our “We are the only school in Taranaki values of respect, responsibility, perseverthat specialises in boarding, with great ance, service, and care, and reflect the girl-centred facilities. We offer unique special Anglican character of St Mary’s boarding options tailored to the indiDiocesan. vidual needs of your family, including “Our girl’s-only environment, family seasonal boarding for the farming comatmosphere and boutique boarding munity.” facilities all allow girls to discover who From physics to photography, St they can be. Mary’s girls excel across a broad range of “Help your daughter to realise her subjects and their academic studies are potential by selecting St Mary’s Diocesan complemented by co-curricular choices for her life-long learning journey.” as varied as young farmers’ club, kapa Boarding enrolments at all levels for haka and Glee, as well as traditional 2016 are now open. St Mary’s Diocesan St Mary’s Diocesan pastoral care and ‘Big Sister’ whole school sports and music events. invites parents to visit and enjoy a tour The school’s first class pastoral care and programme ensures new girls are connected to the of the facilities to discuss the boarding St Mary’s Diocesan family from day one. ‘Big Sister’ programme ensures that new needs tailored to suit their daughters.

Shaping young women’s lives for 130 years New Plymouth Girls’ High School has shaped and inﬂuenced the lives of young women since 1885, says principal Jenny Ellis. “Our vision, to develop educated, conﬁdent young women of outstanding character, is

timeless. It is the individual and collective contribution of many that makes it possible for us to enjoy and be a part of this very special school. “Our school hostel is a tremendous asset that has offered quality residential accommodation for our students. Scotlands Hostel provides a caring and supportive environment where students are encouraged to do well academically and participate fully in the sporting, cultural and social life of the school.” The hostel is the heart of the school and thrives on teamwork and the friendships made among the students of all nationalities. Features of life at Scotlands include a fee guarantee. From 2016 hostel fees are assured for the time your daughter is enrolled and a family guarantee also applies. The hostel has a warm, caring and secure environment with full access to school grounds and facilities for its 150 boarders

from Years 9 to 13. Homework is supervised by a trained teacher and there is an active and supportive extra-curricular programme. High expectations of courtesy and acceptable behavior are part of the school culture, which includes leadership opportunities and training and increased independence is encouraged at all levels. “The independence, maturity and lifelong friendships that boarding encourages are excellent foundations for adult life.” New Plymouth Girls’ High School is a school that works to ensure that the young women entering its gates will receive an education that enhances learning and is responsive to individual needs. “What we offer is a unique opportunity to be educated at one of New Zealand’s oldest, most prestigious State girls’ schools that is committed to the education of young women.

“I invite you to join with us on the next phase of your educational journey by making New Plymouth Girls’ High School your ﬁrst choice in secondary education.”

The values on which New Plymouth Girls’ High School was founded 130 years ago are as valid today as in 1885.

HORTICULTURE

Page 33

Increasing pasture without relying on N Well volatility may have done its worst, but dairy farmers’ need to grow grass is more important than ever this season. At a recent farmer meeting an accountant from a large nationwide accounting ﬁrm stated that for the last season the two most proﬁtable dairy farmers on his books were those that applied the least amount of nitrogen. In recent years the scepticism would have been rife, with a likely retort being that they were probably organic and milking 50 cows. However, more recently, we are hearing that an increasing number of farmers are actively seeking alternatives to fertiliser N dependency. While the assumption has been that regular doses of fert N will result in endlessly increasing pasture production, we have found no long-term whole farm research to back this up.

Less pasture

Rather, many are ﬁnding they grow less pasture than some years ago, and have taken to buying

in more supplement and grazing off to cover the shortfall. This has tended to mask where the continued high levels of production are actually coming from. At the start, when using fert N, there is a noticeable increase in growth, but as time and use go on, the users have found that it takes more and more N to get even the same result, and often this result steadily diminishes over time. What many don’t realise is that carbon is most rapidly sequestered under grazed pasture, and not just by forest cover. When soil life processes are working effectively much of that carbon is built into humus, and it is increased humus in our soils that is needed for increasing pasture production. The horribly low pay-out will, for most farmers, preclude all but the strategic use of high energy supplement, so pasture will be needed more than ever to keep herds well fed and producing. Using just fert

N and expecting it to do the trick won’t work, as other basic nutrients, such as calcium, will be needed to maintain growth and preclude infestations of pests.

Extra calcium

There are already long-term whole farm examples of steadily increasing pasture growth without reliance on fert N. Not only is growth increasing year on year, total annual production is at least the equal of any conventionally fertilised property. Applying extra calcium and lime, as soon as cows have calved, is a viable low cost alternative. The current soggy soil conditions won’t last and the hot dry will come again, reducing grass growth, particularly ryegrass. Clovers have a greater requirement for calcium than grasses, and better suited to hot summer conditions. Clover is also more digestible, which means animals can eat more kg, and produce

at a higher level. Strong healthy clover is also less affected by ﬂea and weevil, and recovers more rapidly from being grazed. Its ability to ﬁx nitrogen free of charge diminishes the requirement for autumn and early winter fert N applications.

Earthworms also get busy and create deep channels to hold moisture and allow nutrients to move downwards, so minimising drought effects. A product containing these good things is CalciZest from Functional Fertiliser. When applied in the 90 days prior to the end of December an increase in clover and total summer pasture can be expected. For more information call Peter on 0800 843 809.

Friendly fungi

Lime, with added soil-friendly fungi and bacteria, achieves more beneﬁts in less time and allows the calcium to be released faster, and the ‘extras’ rapidly assist what are already present to stimulate pasture growth.

Pruning right to promote tree health Getting out in the garden in winter lacks the appeal that a warm summer’s evening holds, but like it or not, the cooler seasons are the best time for pruning. Pruning promotes overall tree health. When trees are not maintained they can have a canopy that’s too thick or too low, or maybe it’s grown out of control and is interfering with spouting, fences, buildings or roofs. Vuk Mijatovic, from Arborcore Tree Services, says the reason why we prune in winter is because the trees have stopped their growing process and have gone into dormancy. “For example,” says Vuk, “deciduous trees such as oaks and plane trees lose their leaves at this time, so this is the ideal time to prune. When the pruning is done in winter there is a low chance of bacteria or fungal spores attacking the pruning wounds.”

When pruning, you look for things such as rubbing branches, broken limbs or damaged limbs, branches that are affected by disease, insect infestations, animal damage and dying or dead branches (dead wood). This is one of Vuk’s specialties, and he can help you with this. “Thinning is about cutting out all

dead, diseased, and injured parts of the tree to let in more air and light to help it grow,” he explains. “But the most important thinning prevents confusion of a plant’s structural line and enhances its health.” Arborcore Tree Services can give you advice on winter pruning or answer tree questions or issues that you may have. Give Vuk a call on: 021 024 52485.

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KIWIFRUIT

Page 34

Looking after plant health pays off in Psa-V environment Mike and Jenny Franklin are proud of Taurus Orchard in Katikati and rightfully so. Riding out the ravages of Psa-V by focusing on the health of their vines and producing a record final Hort 16A crop, Mike and Jenny grafted over to G3 in 2013, and were quickly back into production, and haven’t looked back. The Franklins, along with a good friend and silent business partner, purchased the 2.1 ha block in Katikati from Peter Hope. Peter stayed on as orchard manager but Mike and Jenny have now taken on a more active role with Peter’s help as orchard manager and horticultural advisor. “We also started using Agrizest about eight years ago on Peter Hope’s recommendation. It’s all about looking after the health of the plants,” says Mike “In 2013 our last crop of 16A produced 19,000 trays per hectare (even with Psa in the orchard), with size 32 fruit and an OGR of $235,000 per hectare and maximum storage incentives. Out of 190 orchards we were number one in the five out of seven criteria including fruit storage, reject rate and OGR.” When the first symptoms of Psa appeared in the Hort 16A in spring 2012 Mike and Peter

had made the decision to cut the Hort 16A out and graft G3 after the 2013 crop was harvested.

Good canopy

“I sprayed the G3 grafts with a knapsack sprayer of Biozest every 10 days and they just kept growing and growing. I’m certain Biozest gave us the push to get the leaders down by the end of November. Consequently, we had a very good canopy that ﬁrst year. Any new replacement plants will get the same Biozest treatment. “Our Psa management philosophy is to keep the plant as healthy as possible and reduce the stress factors. The vines just seem to be healthy as and so they’re looking after the Psa themselves. “We don’t apply any copper through the growing season. We haven’t had any exudate but we see a little bit of leaf die back and we just cut it out and seal it. It seems to work just ﬁne. “We put on several coppers in the winter. One to aid leaf fall and a clean-up round after all the leaf is off. We’re not adverse to using copper. But we don’t do it regularly and we prefer not to.

ing in Franklin work Mike and Jenny hard near Katikati. rc their Taurus O “We don’t girdle. Our crop had high TZG, good brix and ﬁrm fruit that stores well so we don’t see the need at this stage. Our storage has been very good for a ﬁrst year crop. Our G3 fruit was the last to leave the pack house.

Younger plants “We had very little leaf necrosis late in the season and we kept full foliage cover until we picked. I put the health of the orchard down to good soil fertility and irrigation management and we’ve had success with Agrizest year in year out and with the Biozest for the younger

plants. We also have soil moisture monitoring to ensure best vine health and a sustainable and justifiable use of water. “We did over 7,000 trays per ha first year on the G3. We were very pleased and this year we’re aiming at 15,000 trays, we want to build our G3 crop gradually because we don’t want to push and stress the vine. “We keep the canopy nice and open. With a more open canopy we continue to work in the orchard through November and December even when the fruit is soft skinned. By leaving lot of space between the canes you can continue to go through and do crush tipping and zero leaf pruning as required. “We’ll do a general fertiliser in late winter/ early spring we keep the level in the medium range. We’ve put the Hi-cane on early this year and our next sprays will be the Biozest and then our first round of Agrizest with epsom salts. We use two rounds of Thermamax for frost protection. We put on KiwiGuard every couple of weeks for bird protection prior to flowering and we usually mix that in with a very light foliar feed. We put Movento and Calypso on pre blossom. “We’d like to be more than a good producing orchard, we’d like to be right up there. We managed to be the top orchard with our last crop of 16A and we want to be that again with G3. We think we’ve got the right formula for this orchard.”

Ultraviolet visual spectrum used to repel birds from orchards A repellent which plays on the ultraviolet section of the bird’s sight spectrum is proving an effective tool for reducing bird damage to valuable kiwifruit crops. Avex works through gut reaction and colour recognition by birds to the treated areas and has one attribute in particular that is proving popular with users, says David Lingan from Etec Crop Solutions.

“The low toxicity of Avex means a re-entry interval to the orchard is not required, which is a major beneﬁt over competitor products. The active ingredient, polycyclic quinone is found in many plant tissues including perennial ryegrass, grapes and aloe vera.” Avex has US EPA approval. Avex works by irritation of the birds’ sense of taste and smell. It does this without

Agrizest

causing any harm to the birds. The effectiveness of Avex is proven with birds exposed to Avex rapidly developing a conditioned response to avoid treated crops. The visual deterrent is a colour in the ultraviolet section of the birds’ sight spectrum. Avex has proven to be particularly effective against sparrows, blackbirds, starlings, pigeons and other species, says David. When used at label rates with a rain-fast adjuvant such as Bond Xtra or Du-Wett WeatherMAX, Avex is proven to resist rain washoff and provide up to two weeks of

deterring birds, which helps protect newly-emerging buds. Birds may be observed re-entering the area but will usually move on again to ﬁnd another feed source. As new growth after an application of Avex is not protected it is important to re-apply 10 to 14 days later if bird pressure continues. Monitoring areas that generally have high bird pressure such as rows nearest to shelterbelts will often provide a good guide if a follow up application is required. Avex can be used on fruit, vegetable and arable crops but not within six weeks of harvest on food crops.

e Birds can caus signiﬁcant damage to s. kiwifruit crop

Do not use on export wine grapes or on edible parts of any crop that is to be exported or processed for export. It can also be used in noncrop situations such as parks, sports grounds and buildings.

KIWIFRUIT

Page 35

Acting responsibly and ethically for environmental sustainability As a result of the recent Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Review (KISP), the kiwifruit industry has adopted the following sustainability principle as a guideline for all industry activity: The New Zealand kiwifruit industry must act responsibly and ethically on all economic, sustainability, environmental, social and regulatory issues for the benefit of New Zealand kiwifruit growers and the wider New Zealand community. No longer is it sufficient to have the best quality product in the market. More is required. This is encapsulated in the kiwifruit industry’s sustainability principle. The need for principles such as this is demonstrated in a recent court case involving Fonterra where the company was fined $174,150 after pleading guilty to six charges related to its Edgecumbe plant for offences committed between September last year and April this year. Four of the convictions were for wastewater discharges from the plant entering waterways and groundwater through an irrigation system; the other two were for discharges containing fat and other waste from the plant that also entered waterways. Fonterra was prosecuted by Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Court disappointed

When sentencing Fonterra, Environment Court Judge Jeff Smith criticised Fonterra for putting productivity ahead of the environment. Notably, Judge Smith also criticised Fonterra for its

failure to lead by example. Judge Smith specifically requested that a Fonterra representative appear in Tauranga Court for the sentencing and advised the representative to tell his directors and senior managers that the court was disappointed “at the industry leader being flat-footed in this way”. He said the offending reflected a decision to “prioritise productivity over the environmental consequences of discharge”. Events leading up to the irrigation discharges involved common equipment failures that had “so often been covered by the court”, that he was shocked Fonterra was not using equipment such as cut-off devices. “Can I say that I am amazed – and I use the word amazed – that this did not occur 10 years ago when these issues were clearly highlighted by the court in a number of decisions. “Fonterra should be an industry leader, not a laggard, in regards to the adoption of appropriate technology to avoid environmental effects. I think there was a carelessness bordering on deliberateness not to spend the money on improving the systems,” the judge said.

train staff. This is a telling example that adherence to environmental standards is mandatory. The industry needs to take note, to ensure it acts responsibly and take all necessary precautions. The important point, in my view, is not the ﬁne, but the fact these discharges occurred into water that

families, pastoral farming and horticulture rely on. In the kiwifruit industry a similar occurrence could also affect the marketing and sales of kiwifruit. This is a salutary lesson to all of us. We therefore all need to strive to achieve the above stated sustainability principle. The views expressed are the author’s.

My Name is Neil Woodward. I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run business, our team consists of three, being myself, my son and my brother. Our organisation has been established for over 18 years. I have been involved in applying crop protection programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We have the equipment to spray orchards with our two Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing. Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, this combined with fully automated sprayer controllers and three nozzle rings enhances application efﬁciency and accuracy. We also use a quad bike for strip weed spray applications. We hold all certiﬁcates needed to meet Globalgap compliance. We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect your crop with excellence.

Rectify issues

Fonterra’s managing director of global operations Robert Spurway apologised saying, “We have not lived up to these standards and the expectations of our shareholders, the council and the Edgecumbe community in this instance is extremely disappointing. We can only apologise, commit ourselves to rectifying the issues and ensure they are not repeated.” He said work was under way to repair or replace some equipment and to

Bactericide helps in Psa-V battle The bactericide Kasumin is back in the Zespri Kiwifruit programme to assist in the battle with Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae (Psa-V). Kasumin has systemic properties and a unique mode of action. Kasugamycin, the active ingredient in Kasumin, is only active against bacteria and fungi in plants, and unlike streptomycin, it is not used in either human or veterinary medicine. Nor does it have any cross resistance to streptomycin. “Over four seasons of testing, Kasumin has shown that it is very effective in reducing the symptoms of Psa,” says Research and Development manager for Etec Crop Solutions George Follas. This year Etec is recommending that growers create a strong foundation to The battle against Psa-V is not their Psa management programme with over and the bactericide Kasumin an early application of Kasumin, as part can be used by kiwifruit growers as of a programme that includes alternative part of disease management. control options. George suggests making the first Kasumin application once there is sufficient foliage present to allow foliar uptake. “Apply when conditions that favour INDUSTRIES disease infection are anticipated, such as rain events, hail, wind damage or pruning.” “The Zespri Kiwifrut Vine Health programme allows for a maximum of two bactericides during the growing season and Kasumin can be used up until 21 days prior to flowering.” Kasumin is compatible in a wide range of tank mixtures with commonly-used plant protection products such as adjuvants, coppers and insecticides which provides great flexibility of application. It is rain-fast within two hours and it is recommended to tankmix Kasumin with Du-Wett to assist with thorough coverage or drift stop to minimise the risk of drift.

Growers Twine Ü 440 Denier, 5 ply, 3 strand polypropylene twine Ü UV stabilised with 5 year life expectancy in normal growing conditions Ü 2 kg spools (approx 1800m) Ü Re-useable twine for growing replacement canes on.

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Page 36

AVOCADOS

Promotion grows new market for larger fruit There is currently good demand for New Zealand avocados in Thailand, says export trader of JP Exports Ltd Darren Hughes. “Our export season started about one month earlier this year than in previous years. Our customers demand green, good quality fruit which we are air freighting. “Although there are extra costs involved when sending by air, the fruit arrives in great condition and our customers are happy as they have no quality issues. Our growers are seeing good returns for this fruit.” JP Exports has been exporting to Thailand for more than six years now and has seen the demand for New

Zealand avocados increase over this time. Last season, along with another New Zealand exporter, JP Exports carried out a promotion with one of the top supermarkets in Thailand. This promotion was made possible with the help of the Primary Growth Partnership funding. “The promotion helped our retail customer promote New Zealand avocados to the consumer via an active selling programme. The sellers handed out tasting samples and gave advice on how to ripen and when best to eat our avocados. Our customer saw increased sales of New Zealand avocados over the season and is keen to do another promotion this year.” Darren says Thailand is traditionally a small count size market. However, thanks to the promotion, there was a change in the consumers’

purchasing habits. “Our customer wanted to be different to all the other Thai importers and decided to promote the 25 count instead of the smaller avocados. Thanks to this promotion and our customer’s choice of wanting to be different in the market, we now have a home for some fruit that traditionally would go to Australia.”

a was part of JP Exports otion of New prom successful ther one of ocados toge . Zealand av s top supermarkets Thailand’ This active selling programme helped educate consumers about New Zealand avocados and resulted in increased sales.

Horticulture exports hit all-time high Horticulture is a top performing primary industry with export revenues of $3.897 billion, up $602 million from 2012. ADDLINE TRANSPORT LTD

That’s a total growth of more than 18 per cent growth in four years, says Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy, who adds that Stats NZ says fruit exports have hit an all-time high of $2 billion in the year to June 2015. “The outlook looks good as well. By 2019 the export revenue for horticulture is expected to grow to $4.536 billion, which works out to 16 per cent growth over four years.

“Crops with a rich history in New Zealand, such as pipfruit, continue to garner the rewards of innovation with improved productivity and new cultivations to meet the demands of consumers in new markets.” Newer crops to New Zealand also continue to succeed, such as avocados, which are aiming to triple their productivity and quadruple their returns from $70 million to $280 million by 2023, thanks to the Primary Growth Partnership they are involved in with the government. The government has an ambitious goal of doubling the value of our primary sector exports by 2025, which

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ﬁts in well with the industry’s goal of reaching $10 billion in value by 2020. “A big part of that will be improved trade access through new and existing free trade agreements. According to Hort NZ, export growers pay an average of around $38,000 each year in tariffs to other countries.” Nathan says a good recent success story is the FTA with Korea, which reduces tariffs that New Zealand growers and exporters face in this highly competitive horticulture market, especially for kiwifruit, buttercup squash, apple juice and cherries. Kiwifruit and buttercup squash exports to Korea alone account for around $55 million.

AVOCADOS

Mobile molecular testing for food quality AsureQuality and Ubiquitome have agreed to collaborate on trialling mobile molecular testing for applications in food and primary production sectors. The collaboration will leverage Ubiquitome's hand-held, battery powered real-time PCR device, the Freedom4. AsureQuality provides quality assurance from the farm right through to the supermarket shelf for producers, processors and Competent Authorities around the world. This includes involvement in animal disease control, pest management and surveillance programmes. “At AsureQuality we operate across a broad range of market sectors and we see a number of opportunities where the ability to deliver

accurate, sensitive and timely diagnostic information can add value to our customers,” says John McKay, CEO of AsureQuality. “The Freedom4 has seen a wide variety of applications including food safety testing and pathogen identiﬁcation. We are delighted to enter into a collaboration with AsureQuality based around the mobile molecular testing capabilities of the Freedom4,” says Paul Pickering, CEO of Ubiquitome Limited. “Timely and accurate diagnostic information is becoming increasingly important in our globalised economy. Our partnership opens up multiple avenues to unlock customer value and realise the potential of ubiquitous genomic information.” Ubiquitome is a New Zealand-based developer of handheld, cloud-connected real time PCR devices. The company's Freedom4 is the ﬁrst commercially available handheld,

battery powered device to offer gold standard real-time PCR performance wherever it is needed. AsureQuality is a commercial company wholly owned by the New Zealand government. It provides food safety and biosecurity services to the food and primary production sectors worldwide. Every day its experienced team of 1700 experts based at over 100 locations throughout Australasia, Singapore, Middle East and China works alongside customers in more than 40 countries to assure the safety and quality of food being produced for millions of people. Its skilled staff and extensive accreditations enable it to audit, inspect, verify and certify food safety and quality and management systems from the farm right to the supermarket shelf.

Pipfruit ‘guru’ wins Bledisloe Cup at the Horticulture New Zealand conference dinner in Rotorua. John started out as a trainee horticulture advisor for the Department of Agriculture in 1962. Even during this time he was considered by his peers as an industry guru. Today he is an internationally sought-after consultThe award was presented to John by ant predominantly working for the the Minister for Primary Industries pipfruit industry. Nathan Guy He has clients in Australia, Chile, Argentina, the UK, South Africa and Brazil. This gives him a vast pipfruit knowledge and an ability to think at new levels and give the industry a refreshing foresighted approach. He's had an article printed in every issue of the fruit industry magazine ‘Orchardist’ for 28 years… except one. “John’s contribution to John Wilton, winner of 2015 of the New Zealand horticulture industry Bledisloe Cup, with Minister the pipfruit industry has been enormous. Many for Primary Industries Nathan Guy.

Hawke’s Bay’s long-serving fruit industry consultant John Wilton is the winner of the 2015 of the New Zealand horticulture industry Bledisloe Cup.

individuals, businesses and indeed this country, have beneﬁted from his contribution, which truly covers a life time,” HortNZ president Julian Raine says. Other awards presented were the President’s Trophy to the Bay of Plenty’s Ian Greaves, and industry service awards to berryfruit scientist Geoff Langford and former HortNZ chief executive Peter Silcock. These awards were presented for the ﬁrst time.

Page 37

AVOCADOS

Page 38

Fluctuating volumes hinder market development Export leaders AVOCO are conﬁdent avocados will remain a top New Zealand export for many years to come but say ﬂuctuating crop volumes place an unhelpful handbrake on market development.

Data out from Statistics NZ showed the value of fruit exports reached an all-time high of $2 billion in the year to June, up almost 20 per cent from a year earlier. Kiwifruit was responsible for 59 per cent of fruit exports, followed by apples (28 per cent) and avocados (5.7 per cent). Driving this export growth is a

desire among consumers worldwide for healthier food. Last season, consumption of avocados in Australia, which is AVOCO’s most important export market, grew by 30 per cent on the previous year. A total of 3.2 million trays of New Zealand avocados were sold despite heavy competition on the shelves from Australian avocados.

AVOCO directors John Carroll and Alistair Young say international demand is growing for healthier foods, including avocados. The sales growth in Australia and in key Asian markets through AVOCO’s marketing partner AVANZA helped to uphold orchard gate returns to New Zealand growers during a record production year for the industry. In 2014-15, growers produced 7 million trays, with 4.5 million shipped offshore. AVOCO handled 2.8 million trays, equating to 62 per cent of the export volume. However, this year’s crop estimate is well down, reﬂecting the industry’s issue with irregular crop bearing. Avocados are considered a biennial crop, meaning volumes in some orchards ﬂuctuate from high to low each year. Early estimations suggest New Zealand will produce a total of 4.4 million trays, with 2.9 million for export.

Targeted promotions

AVOCO director Alistair Young says the shortage of fruit this season is a handbrake for exporters who, in recent years, had invested heavily in developing the markets. In Japan and Singapore last year, sales grew by 144 per cent and 80 per cent off the back of targeted promotions aimed at creating awareness of the health beneﬁts of avocados and New Zealand fruit being “in season”. Exporters were unlikely to reach the same level of growth this season due to the low crop volume. “That’s disappointing from a supply perspective because we have retailers in Asia especially who want to do more business with us after their experience

Revital 30 Avocado Blend

Fruit Logistica

After harvesting starts in the Far North near the end of August, fruit will start ﬂowing through to key Asian markets, starting with Japan. However before the ﬁrst shipments arrive, AVANZA representatives will kick off their 201516 marketing campaign by attending Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong – Asia’s leading trade show for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. AVANZA will operate a joint trade booth with US-based marketing partner, Mission Produce. AVOCO director John Carroll says staff will meet with existing Asian customers and let them know that, working together, it is AVANZA’s and Mission’s goal to offer a 12-month solution to the growing demand for quality avocados.

Avocados part of ‘Stop Diabetes’ movement

Experience the AVOCO advantage A new season is upon us and AVOCO is ready to export your fruit to the world. The expertise of our people and planning, coupled with our commitment to the industry and focus on the big picture, means you’re in safe hands.

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last year when avocado sales were a real growth product for them. “This year we’ll be shipping less and it’s an opportunity lost. The upside to this, however, is values will be higher due to the supply/demand imbalance.” Alistair added AVOCO would remain disciplined in its planning this season to extract as much value out of the markets as possible. “It was our disciplined ﬂow planning which helped to uphold values during last year’s record harvest and we’re all set to do the same again this year – albeit with less fruit.” It’s expected AVANZA, which is a marketing group made up of AVOCO and another exporter, will again handle 75 per cent to 80 per cent of avocado exports outside Australia.

The Hass Avocado Board of the USA has joined the American Diabetes Association in the national Stop Diabetes movement and has set a goal to help increase awareness among Latinos about the role good fats play in daily nutrition. The campaign will accelerate the conversation about ways to prevent, delay and manage diabetes through sharing the beneﬁts of eating good fats such as fresh avocados. The Latino community in the US is disproportionally affected by diabetes, with individuals nearly twice as likely to get diabetes as non-Latino whites. In honor of the association's 75th anniversary, the association and HAB are working together on national consumer outreach and developing new recipes and educational materials in English and Spanish for distribution through their respective platforms. Among other goals, the collaboration aims to promote awareness of healthful eating by increasing nutritious recipes and superfood information on the association's webpage, with a speciﬁc emphasis on the Latino community. "Though diabetes touches every community, the American Diabetes Association is increasingly prioritizing the elimination of health disparities like that found among Latinos," says Kevin L. Hagan, CEO of the American Diabetes Association. "We are focused on working with underserved populations to help them better understand what comprises 'a healthy plate'.

FORESTRY

Page 39

New forestry safety appointment A National Safety Director, Fiona Ewing, has been appointed to advance the work of the Forest Industry Safety Council. This is a key role in the recentlyformed council, set-up to lead safety culture change and to drive improvement in safety performance across the sector. Fiona has 30 years' experience as a health and safety professional in a wide range of industries including energy, engineering, construction, agriculture and forestry in the United Kingdom. Her most recent position was Group Manager Health Safety Environment

and Quality for Powerco. Her career began with the UK regulator, the Health and Safety Executive, where she worked in the Forestry National Interest Group. This involved working with the forestry industry to develop and implement best practice guidelines. FISC chair Dame Alison Paterson welcomed the appointment. “Fiona is a health and safety leader who has the practical capability, strategic skills and vision needed to pursue FISC’s goal of zero harm and I look forward to working closely with her.” FISC is a not-for-proﬁt organisation

that includes representatives of all those who can inﬂuence forest safety – forest owners, farm foresters, contractors, workers, unions, government and WorkSafe NZ. Establishing the council was a key recommendation of the Independent Forestry Safety Review Panel that reviewed forest safety in 2014. The council has been set up

with an establishment board. It is funded jointly by forest owners and the government. Fiona will start work for the council in early October, following an orientation period during which she will Newly appointed to the Forestry Industry meet many of the major Safety Council, Fiona Ewing has 30 years’ players in forest safety. experience in health and safety.

The challenges of the next decade Research tells us that where we live is changing. People are moving out of rural areas and into towns, so our urban areas are getting bigger. And what people need from their community is changing as our people age and the number of people working declines. We have the challenge of growing our economy, even though where people want to live might not be where the jobs are. We have more economic growth happening in the eastern and central parts of our region, which is creating jobs faster than the population is growing. We live in the region with the second largest Maori population in New Zealand, with about 35 iwi groups and more than 200 hapu. Over the next 10 years the Maori economy in the Bay of Plenty will change, as Treaty settlements give some Maori large physical assets and new opportunities to generate wealth. We need to make the most of our environment, but it’s a balancing act. Protecting our air, water and soil needs to happen while at the same time we make sure we’re creating a region where people want to live and where the economy can prosper. And we’re going to need reliable and affordable infrastructure if we’re going to succeed in making this the best region in the country. Because if we’ve got good infrastructure that’s well planned, it can increase productivity, provide services and improve our standard of living. So that’s what we’ve got to work with, but what are we going to deliver? Bay of Plenty Regional Council recently agreed on our plan for the next 10 years of work. Our Long Term Plan is now available for everyone to see on our website, in our ofﬁces or in your local library. It seems a long time to plan for, a decade, but it’s what we need to do if we’re going to get the best out of this region and make the most of what resources we have and address the Bay of Plenty’s big challenges. This is why we’ve decided on ﬁve community outcomes to work towards, where we’ll focus our efforts: • Water quality and quantity

• Environmental protection • Resilience and safety • Regional collaboration and leadership, and • Economic development. It’s a challenge, but I know that we’re up for it. And we want to work with you to do it. Because we’re thriving together. Mo te taiao, mo nga tangata.

PROFESSIONAL HARVESTING SYSTEMS

Office: 07 347 8344 s Fax: 07 347 8345 Unit 6, 1318 Pukuatua St, PO Box 525, Rotorua

MAIZE

Page 40

Growing barley a viable feed option GST – a taxing question for lifestyle blocks Purchasers buying lifestyle blocks are often confused about whether or not goods and services tax has to be paid.

Eric & Erna Cullen Agricultural Contractors’ a brand new Kuhn SD 4000 drillis ideal for sowing barley. Growing barley as a feed supplement may be It is designed for difficult conditions with its high and operating flexibility with seeding discs a cheaper, and in many areas, a more viable clearance mounted on an independent parallelogram frame. It option for dairy farmers this spring, has depth control wheels, a central pivot design and Venta System pneumatic precision metering with a say Eric Cullen of Eric & Erna Cullen large hopper capacity. Agricultural Contractors. Eric has more than 42 years’ experience in rural contracting and one of his biggest clients is well“Maize is a high-cost crop and in many regions, particularly around Rotorua, colder conditions mean known Bay of Plenty feed specialist company Bill Webb Feed Solutions. it doesn’t do as well. Fodder beat is also costly and “We cover the Central Plateau, and greater Bay of can be tricky to grow so I think barely is a crop farmPlenty regions, but if the job is big enough, will go ers should seriously consider instead. where ever clients need us. “Its yields may not be as high as maize, but it will “We also have a good understanding of the weather grow in areas maize won’t and produces good feed.” conditions and soil types in the regions, which is To ensure farmers have the opportunity to plant important in agricultural contracting,” says Eric. barley this spring Eric & Erna Cullen Agricultural The company has five tractors with access to more Contractors has invested in a brand new Kuhn SD 4000 drill, which as a triple disc system (one opening if required and the implements to carry out a wide range of cultivation, sowing and harvesting work. disc and two seeding discs).

Robert Dabb of Rural Land Lifestyle Sales of Fielding says most farmers and intending purchasers of larger farms will both be GST registered. “It is lifestyle properties and small farms where a grey area can emerge. For example, one party only may be registered. People considering such a sale or purchase are advised to obtain advice from their accountant or solicitor prior to entering into any binding sale and purchase agreement.” The company’s website, ruralandlifestylesales.com, has the following information to assist purchasers. The Compulsory Zero-Rating scheme came into effect on April 1, 2011. It provides that GST on a transaction involving the sale of land will be assessed at the rate of zero percent where: • that land is being sold from one GST registered person to another GST registered person (both parties must be registered for GST); and • it will be used for making taxable supplies; and • it will not be used as a principal place of residence. Even if the land forms only a part of a transaction between registered persons, the whole transaction will still be zero-rated. If a lease forms part of a transaction, it may also be zero-rated. Under this scheme both parties to a sale and purchase transaction need to be certain of the GST status of the other, to avoid any unexpected GST bills or penalties. However, a vendor may be registered for a purpose unrelated to the land being sold. For example, a GST registered plumber selling the family lifestyle block. On the face of it the vendor is GST registered. However, the question of whether or not a person is GST registered in the context of the supply needs to be asked. For example, if this lifestyle owner has not been making GST claims for inputs and outputs from the lifestyle block they may be deemed as not GST registered for the purpose of each of the supplies above, and therefore the CZR scheme can't apply and the schedules are ‘not applicable’.

The risks

Purchasers should be aware that if the transaction has been mistakenly zero rated, they may be liable to pay 15 per cent GST after it has settled. If, on the other hand, the transaction was not zero rated when it should have been, a purchaser may have remedies against the vendor under the agreement, but will not be able to get a refund directly from the IRD. Vendors will be most at risk if the agreement states that the purchase price includes GST. It will generally be good practice in relation to these agreements for a vendor to insist on the agreement saying “plus GST (if any)”, even though both parties may expect the transaction to be zero rated.

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MAIZE

Page 41

New maize herbicide also controls cutworm Growing maize just got easier with the launch of Cutter, the new combination herbicide and insecticide from Orion AgriScience. Cutter is applied with atrazine as the normal pre-emergent herbicide mixture. Cutter controls weeds, as well as providing the extra beneﬁt of cutworm control over the critical period of crop emergence.

The beauty of Cutter is that its contact insecticide action complements the insect control from insecticide treated seed. Because Cutter is sprayed over the soil surface it knocks down the cutworm that are present just before the maize emerges. This is important because insecticide seed treatments work predominantly through systemic activity where the insecticide is taken up inside the maize seedling. This means the insect has to start feeding on the

maize plant to ingest the insecticide. By knocking down the cutworm population just prior to emergence Cutter works in combination with the seed treatment insecticide to prevent damage to the maize crop over the critical emergence period. By applying the pre-emergence mixture of 3L/ha Cutter, plus 3L/ha Atraﬂow, it is now possible to control weeds and proactively manage cutworm problems. Furthermore, time and money is saved

because Cutter costs about the same as the leading acetochlor herbicide brands and it reduces the need for additional insecticide applications.

Cutting suggestion not so sharp When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it ﬁxed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of ﬁrst – the shed, the boat, making beer. Always something more important to me. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping

away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said: "When you ﬁnish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway." The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

CUTDOWN WEEDS CUTDOWN CUTWORM CUTDOWN TIME CUTDOWN COSTS Cutter™ controls weeds and cutworm in one hit. Apply Cutter with Atraflow™ (atrazine) as your normal pre-emergent herbicide mixture. Cutter will control weeds and protect your emerging crop against cutworm attack. It works perfectly in combination with insecticide seed treatments because it’s contact activity cuts down cutworm before crop damage occurs. Cutter saves time and money. By combining the herbicide and insecticide there is less chance of incurring the extra time and cost of a follow up insecticide treatment. Main advantages of using Cutter. • Controls cutworm across the entire field – even between the rows • Attacks cutworm before it ruins your crop • Less cost compared to separate herbicide and insecticide applications • Perfect complement to insecticide seed treatment

www.orionagriscience.co.nz For more information contact Orion AgriScience Ltd. Freephone: 0800 674 6627 ™CUTTER and ATRALOW are Trade Marks of Orion AgriScience Ltd. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. P8850 and P7775. Approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996 No. HSR100858 and HSR000534. See www.foodsafety.govt.nz for registration conditions. See www.epa.govt.nz for approval conditions.

Page 42

FOR SUSTAINABLE PROFIT

MAIZE

Page 43

New pest control “extremely promising” A Te Puke maize paddock infested with the pest plant Noogoora bur is showing signs of recovery after trialling of a new spray, and a feed and crop rotation regime, developed by Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Regional council was notified about Noogoora bur on the Bell Road property in 2006. Since then, biosecurity staff have been working with the owner to find a way of containing and eradicating the invasive weed, while keeping the 100ha of affected land in productive use. Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officer Andrew Blayney says that Noogoora bur competes with commercial crops. If it spreads to pasture it can be a problem because it’s toxic to sheep, cattle and pigs, and devalues wool when the burs attach to sheep.

Dormant seeds

“It’s hard to spray without damaging valuable crops as it can grow when the maize canopy is too high to spray over. It also takes a long time to eradicate because the seeds can stay dormant in soil for many years. “Noogoora bur originates from the Americas. It probably came to New Zealand in contaminated seed supplies. The seeds are easily spread by unclean farm machinery or stock movement.” In the past, maize grain was grown on the Bell Rd property and harvested well after Noogoora bur seeds had germinated, grown and set seed amongst the maize. That meant the risk of weed seeds being spread at harvest time was high. Side cutting in of fertiliser also seemed to be promoting Noogoora bur germination. Regional Council pooled funding with Waikato Regional Council and the Foundation for Arable Research and commissioned AgResearch to explore how Noogoora bur responded to different herbicides. They also explored what effect ploughing and silage storage had on seed viability and germination. Armed with new research, and an

understanding of the landowner needs, Regional Council staff developed the new solution that’s been trialled at the Bell Road property since 2014. It will soon be tested at other sites in the Waikato and Auckland regions. The new regime involves using a combination of pre and post emergent sprays that the research found to be effective for Noogoora bur. Fertiliser is still applied but it’s no longer cut in to the crop, so the preemergent barrier stays intact. Instead of growing grain maize, the owner now sows a short rotation of maize for silage that can be cropped before Noogoora bur sets seed. That’s followed by grass, which allows for easier Noogoora bur control later in the season, if it’s needed. Andrew said it’s early days yet, but initial results are extremely promising. “I’m conﬁdent that no Noogoora bur plants are reaching maturity and adding to the seed bank on the property. In past years, our contractors have had thousands of Noogoora bur plants to spray or pull. Last year our monitoring found just 12 plants and they would have all been destroyed at harvest time, before setting seed.” The cheapest and most effective way for landowners to control weeds is to keep them off their property to start with.

Biosecurity important

“Biosecurity at the farm gate is important. Landowners can protect their livelihoods by checking that any machinery moving on or off their property is clean and seed free. “A number of really serious weed species can be transported easily by farm machinery. If something looks dirty and has plant and seed material obviously attached, then don’t be afraid to refuse entry onto your property. It will save time and money in the long run – you never know what nasty species could be dislodged from the dirt and start growing on your land.” Further information about machinery hygiene and Noogoora bur is available at www.boprc.govt.nz/ pestplants

The pest plant Noogoora bur originates from the Americas.

MAIZE

Page 44

Fingers crossed we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get a drought +$< 6,/$*( 675$: 6833/,(6

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My big concern is that with a dramatically reduced pay-out dairy, farmers will also have to deal with drought. NIWA scientists are saying this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s El Nino may be as bad as 18 years ago, when widespread drought cost the country a billion dollars in lost exports. International guidelines indicate a 97 per cent chance of El Nino continuing over the next three months and a 90 per cent chance it will continue over summer. El Nino typically sees the west of New Zealand wet, and the east very dry. A drought on its own is bad news, but coupled with a pay-out below the cost of production, it could prove devastating.

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Welcome relief

There is some welcomed relief with Fonterraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s August dairy auction up an average of 14.8 per cent with whole milk powder up by 19.1 per cent â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at long last, some light at the end of the tunnel. With the likelihood of the pay-out at least holding or a possible lift, this is really good news for all of us in the dairy industry. But if we have the cold dry spring thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s predicted, farmers will not be able to make silage because the grass wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t grow enough to get a surplus. Worst case scenario, if spring is followed by a dry November and dry through to January, pasture will be in short supply and farmers will need supplements to get their animals through.

They must be able to keep as many cows as possible milking for as long as possible and have animals in good condition for mating and calving. Farmers are already slashing spending and this will hurt the wider rural communities too. We have had some feed orders cancelled because banks wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let farmers spend on buying in supplements. This is concerning and not just from our business point of view.

Quality feed

We certainly wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be growing as much maize as usual this season, but would urge farmers to consider buying what they can, even if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s less than normal, to ensure they can give their cows the quality feed they will need when grass gets short. Palm kernel is good for protein, but cows need the starch from maize silage as well. Maize is quite competitive in price if you work out the true feed values eg cost of PKE at $220 per tonne equals .27c kg dm and when you compare its feed value against maize, you could afford to pay $0.33 kg dm for maize in the stack by comparison. See the Pioneer website and check out â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Maize Silage the cost effective feed chartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to get the true comparison. You will be surprised www.pioneer.co.nz

Cost effective Your Agricultural Contractor in the Bay of Plenty and Beyond

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve even heard of farmers deciding not to grow their own maize this season, which is surprising because growing maize, especially on their

efďŹ&#x201A;uent paddocks, is a very cost effective option. I can understand that farmers have reduced spending dramatically and are making decisions based on the current predicted pay-out, but farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s need to keep an eye on the long-term effects of their current knee-jerk reactions as this could affect their recovery long after the pay-out lifts. They have to do what they must to survive but planning ahead is also vital because dairy cows are their livelihood. While cutting back on feed and fertiliser, and culling herd numbers is an option, using replacements to return to a productive herd when the pay-out improves will take time.

Hungry cows

While farmers need the support of their banks, I hope a lot of the decisions arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t being driven by bankers who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand the realities of farming and the absolute need to feed stock. Financial and weather-related pressures are hard enough on farmers but among the hardest is hearing cows bellowing at the gate because they are hungry. Then it becomes both an animal and a human welfare issue. Calving has all but ďŹ nished, however the temperatures have been quite cold. We have had quite a bit of rain, which was needed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; long may it continue. The low pay-out is now a certainty â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ďŹ ngers crossed the weather forecasters are wrong about a drought, but as always itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wise to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

DAIRY

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Quintessential Kiwiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; company confident in future

Page 45

DAIRY TECH

- ]Ă&#x160; " -/,1 / " Ă&#x160; Ă&#x160; 1/" / " Ă&#x160;-9-/ -

Inventing, building and delivering technology and systems which enable dairy farmers to milk more effectively and efďŹ ciently than ever is the aim for Waikato Milking Systems.

The conďŹ dence the company has in the industry is evident in the $13 million investment it has made in a new purpose-built complex on 1.6ha of land at the Northgate Business Park in North Hamilton. Founded 30 years ago as part of Alex Harvey Industries, Waikato Milking Systems later became part of Carter Holt Harvey. Today it is 100 per cent New Zealand owned by Tainui Group Holdings, Ng i Tahu Capital, Pioneer Capital and three members of the company senior management. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Waikato Milking Systems is a brilliant New Zealand story â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a quintessential Kiwi company with R&D in its DNA and with a strong global focus,â&#x20AC;? says Dean. The investment iwi has made in the company reďŹ&#x201A;ects the growing strength and development of Maori agri-business and in particular signiďŹ cant investment in, and development of, large scale dairy farms. Dean says the contacts iwi partners have internationally are also helping the company access new markets. Waikato Milking Systems is recognised as a global leader in dairy innovation with its knowledge and insight into the challenges faced by dairy farmers around the world, unlocking potential for innova-

tions which are evolutionary taking efďŹ ciency and effectiveness to new levels. Its systems are in demand around the world and the company has ofďŹ ces in the USA, UK, Australia and China. Recent installations include large-scale rotary milking systems in China, Russia and Latin America. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have always worked with farmers to reďŹ ne and develop new ideas. The only difference today is that farmer feedback comes from all over the world.â&#x20AC;? The company meets the needs of any farming type - from small family based farming to intensive 24-hour milking operations. It has 32 dealerships throughout New Zealand which are committed to delivering the uncompromising high-quality standards which Dean says are core to everything the company does. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Volatility isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t new to the dairy industry, worldwide, and farmers are, as a result, very resilient,â&#x20AC;? Dean says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They know they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exert a lot of direct inďŹ&#x201A;uence on such things as international geo-political tensions, the value of their respective currency or the weather â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but they can control whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening on their farms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our challenge, at Waikato Milking Systems, is to invent, build and deliver technology and systems which enable dairy farmers to milk more effectively and efďŹ ciently than has ever been possible before. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a challenge which motivates every member of the team.â&#x20AC;?

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION & AUTOMATION Â°Â°Â°Â°Â&#x201C;>Â&#x17D;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160;Ă&#x17E;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Â?Â&#x153;LĂ&#x160;i>Ă&#x192;Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x20AC;t A well designed, well constructed milking facility is crucial for a proďŹ table dairy farm business. Dairy Tech is a company providing dairy design solutions and construction integrity that withstands the increasing demands of dairy farm management.

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www.dairytech.co.nz

Opportunity to increase beef numbers The time has never been better to increase New Zealand beef numbers via our dairy herds by putting beef semen into suitable dairy cows using low birth weight bulls or their semen. Examples of suitable bulls are Angus, Hereford and Sale breeds. One of the present issues is the

inďŹ&#x201A;uence of the Jersey and Jersey Composite bulls and semen, which produce small bull calves with little value and are a potential animal rights issue over their euthanasing, despite the present guidelines. There is potential through sex selection of semen for replacement heifers to have a greater percentage of the herd available for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;beef crossâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; calves. Good quality beef genes need to be used to produce animal

capable of converting all feed economically and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible male selection semen could also be used. Bull beef has natural marketing opportunities in the burger market nationally and internationally, reducing the vulnerability of producing bulk commodity goods. Changing the emphasis to beef from dairy has the potential to balance our pastoral farming areas, socially, environmentally and economically. By Bill Coates of Ngahiwi Farms

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The dairy industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future is positive despite current economic headwinds, says CEO of Waikato Milking Systems Dean Bell.

DAIRY

Page 46

Everyone must compost to save the planet Graeme Sait of Nutri-tech Solutions Australia believes there are 10 solutions that must become government or personal policy to build humus in the soil – something he says is a climate change game changer. In this third in a series of columns based on Graeme’s article published recently by Acres USA., (the full version on our website www.kiwifertiliser. co.nz) we look at Graeme’s statement that declining nutrition in our food and chemical contamination are two closely-related issues impacting sustainability. Composting becomes standard practice wherever it is possible. On every farm, every council and in every home garden, we compost or add compost.

Composting involves the conversion of organic matter into stable humus, but it is much more than that. When we add compost to a soil it stimulates and regenerates the soil life responsible for building humus. We do not just add some stable humus to our soil with the compost inclusion, we triggered our existing soil life to build humus much more efﬁciently and rapidly. The single-most important breakthrough in the science of composting is the ﬁnding that the inclusion of six to 10 per cent of a high-clay soil to the compost facilitates the creation of a clay/ humus crumb where the humus created lasts for much longer in the soil. In fact, it remains stable in the soil for up to 35 years (compared to a bacterial-dominated compost, based on something like lawn

HiFLO PUMPS HiFLO PUMPS & IRRIGATION LTD

clippings where this ‘active humus’ is only stored in the soil for around 12 months).

Vital creature

Mycorrhizal fungi (known as AMF or VAM) become the most important creatures on the planet at this point in time. These endangered organisms, of which we have lost 90 per cent in farmed soils, produce a sticky, carbon-based substance called glomalin. It is now understood that glomalin, in turn, triggers the formation of 30 per cent of the stable carbon in our soils. This is massive – one soil organism could single-handedly turn things around. It is an inexpensive strategy to reintroduce these missing creatures to farmed soils. NTS, for example, has developed a mycorrhizal inoculum called Platform, where AMF can be effectively reintroduced for as little as $10 AUD per acre. Recent research has also demonstrated that compost has a remarkable capacity to stimulate both existing mycorrhizal fungi and introduced AMF, so our ﬁrst two solutions are inextricably intertwined (as are several of these proposed solutions). Protection of soil life, and their humus home base, becomes an essential strategy. There is little point in reintroducing beneﬁcial microbes with one hand and then promptly destroying the new population with the other.

Nurture workforce

GRUNDFOS ®

HiFLO PUMPS HiFLO PUMPS & IRRIGATION LTD

How did we lose 90 per cent of our AMF and seriously compromise cellulose-digesting, humus-building fungi in general? The use of un-buffered salt fertilisers dehydrates and kills many beneﬁcials, over-tillage slices and dices AMF and oxidises humus and we have often neglected to feed and nurture this important workforce. However, the single-most destructive component of modern agriculture, in terms of soil life, has been farm chemicals. Some of the herbicides are more destructive than fungicides in removing beneﬁcial fungi. Fungicides can sometimes take the good with the bad and nematicides are the most destructive of all chemicals. There needs to be legislation to regulate chemicals that are killing the

microbes that may determine our long-term survival. In an extractive model, where the soil is viewed as an inert medium in which the plant stands, this has not been a concern. However, as the science ﬂoods in, we are thankfully recognising the critical importance of the soil as a living medium and change is underway. A carbon source must be included with all nitrogen applications. If we investigate how we lost two thirds of our soil carbon, it becomes apparent that mismanagement of nitrogen is a major player. This is not just an issue relevant to loss of carbon – agriculture currently contributes 80 per cent of the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, which is 310 times more potent than CO2 in terms of its global warming side-effect. Here's how it works: nitrogen stimulates bacteria, because these creatures have more need for nitrogen than any other organism (17 per cent of their body is nitrogen). The bacteria seek carbon after this nitrogen feeding frenzy to balance out their unique 5:1 carbon to nitrogen ratio. In the absence of applied carbon, they have no choice but to target humus.

Regulate N

They would never choose to literally eat themselves out of house and home, but we give them no choice. The destruction of humus via the mismanagement of applied nitrogen is a major factor that can be easily addressed. This is no small thing. Research demonstrates that we lose 100kg of carbon for every 1kg of nitrogen applied over and above what is required by the plant at the time. Think of large applications of starter N, where a young seedling cannot possibly utilise that much nitrogen. We need to regulate N applications, to adopt foliar application of N (which can be dramatically more efﬁcient) and to include a carbon source with every nitrogen application. The carbon source offers an alternative to eating humus. This might include molasses, manure or compost but the best choice is NTS Soluble Humate Granules, a carbon-dense source of concentrated humic acid.

DAIRY

Page 47

Importance of soil carbon and the microbial bridge learned, and I have studied a long interview with her, published in the US Acres magazine, all about her ﬁndings on soil life and how she got there. I had never thought about what was not happening when soil has no plant cover, sometimes for quite long periods after ploughing, or when pastures have been overgrazed, leaving bare areas between the small green patches which are left. What is happening is that, without plants feeding carbon downwards, the soil life either dies or moves away. So when new plants are sown and are trying to get going, the underground troops just aren’t there to supply nutrients in plant available forms. Then these days along come copious doses of chemical fertilisers (not in plant available form), or even herbicides, which kill anything useful that’s left. And if we happen to be in the middle of a drought, the topsoil itself is liable to blow away. No wonder that the expected rampant growth can take a while to get going.

How many farmers, or gardeners, take time to think (or even know) what the plant cover is doing for the soil, as against the soil doing for the plant? I seem to read regularly that what we are doing to, and expecting from, our soils is destroying them, all over the world. The necessity to start thinking about building soils, rather than just using them is getting more urgent every year. But, you say, soil takes hundreds of years to build. So where would we start? That thinking is based on weathering of rocks for soil formation, but what we should be thinking about is building topsoil, which is done by plants and soil life, using the atmospheric gases of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Plants make the carbon through photosynthesis and feed it to their roots in liquid form as sugars. The symbiotic mycorrhizae and bacteria then feed on some of it, and repay the plants by feeding up nitrogen and phosphorus etc in plant available form. The plants grow and drop dying leaves, and this traps other material to decay, forming compost, and humus, and topsoil, with all that work carried out by the ever hungry soil life.

Soil life

plants alive during dry spells. Bare patches can also be created when wet soil is trampled by animals. The pugging can compress

the topsoil, forming hard pans at shallow depths, through which roots have difﬁculty penetrating, and soil life has difﬁculty reach-

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Carbon loss

My hero, and source of information this month has been Dr Christine Jones of NSW. People who have heard her seminars on her visits to New Zealand rave about what they

ing the surface. So when it stops raining… (More will be revealed in further articles in the coming months.) By Sue Edmonds

Apparently the carbon in the top few inches of soil is in a constant state of ﬂux, coming and going around and around, with most of it being lost back into the air as CO2. But it’s the stuff that manages to get carried down further which is the important element. Carbon is what is needed to create larger soil particles (aided by sticky glomalin from the mycorrhizae), and these create gaps which hold water, allowing roots to move deeper and deeper, taking carbon down with them, and the deep water keeps

PK / SILAGE BUNKERS

DESIGN – SUPPLY – BUILD

DAIRY

Page 48

What to do coming out of a wet cold winter Using a sulphate sulphur containing nitrogen product like Sulphate of Ammonia (SOA) can therefore be a better option than straight urea at this time of year. Ballance’s Phased N which is based on slow release I am not normally a great fan of artificial nitrogen elemental sulphur is better because of what it does to the soil and pasture long term, but it does seem to have one benefit over frosty to use going into the winter periods in that it has an anti-freeze like quality, giving than coming out of it. Ammo blends of SOA and pasture a greater resistance to frost burn which can urea/SustaiN from Ballance severely stunt pasture growth. or Ravensdown are a good Since it has been a cold wet winter, sulphur levels option for spring, providare likely to be low as soil microbes which mineraling some available sulphate ise the organic matter which contains most of the sulphur reserves in the soil are dormant and therefore sulphur from the SOA component. pasture responses to sulphur are likely. For straight SOA, some of the smaller fertiliser comSulphur deficient panies such as Fertco, Fert Sulphur is necessary for two of the important Direct, and Marsden International amino acids which make up proteins, cysteine and are currently up to $75/tonne cheaper methionine, and in a sulphur deficient situation, than the two big co-ops. applying straight urea is likely to result in a higher What also needs to be factored into level non-protein nitrogen component in pastures. Cows consuming such grass are likely to scour more, this though is the end of year rebates unable to utilise the nitrogen which is being excreted for fully paid up shareholders of the co-operatives which this past year was at higher rates in the urine and the milk will have elevated Milk Urea Nitrogen ( known as MUN) levels $60/tonne for Ballance and $50/tonne for Ravensdown, although this current which is a problem in milk processing, so an allseason they may not be as high due to round detrimental situation. the downturn in dairying.

The latter part of this winter has seen pasture levels drop lower than usual in many places as a pattern of frosts then rain has slowed pasture growth.

Robin Boom

CPAg MBSPC

Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant

Extra grass The cheapest extra grass one can grow over the winter/spring period however is from applying gibberellic acid. An independent trial in Northland this winter showed 30 kg/ha of nitrogen

grew 300 kg/ha of extra dry matter, the typical 10:1 response nitrogen gives. Whereas applying gibberellic acid at 9 gm/ha active ingredient on top of this grew an extra 600 kg/ha of dry matter, totalling 900 kg/ha using both urea and gibberellic acid. Gibberellic acid costs between $5-$14/ha depending on whose product you use, and working on these figures can be less than one tenth of the cost of artificial nitrogen per kilogram of dry matter. There is no negative environmental issue with gibberellic acid, and making plants grow faster when they are naturally slower growing enhances nitrogen utilisation by plants and reduces its concentration in the pasture itself which is a positive for both cow and environment at this time of year. However it needs to be ideally applied within five days from grazing a paddock and re-grazed within 45 days, or else the pasture gets too long and can start rotting at the base, and the benefit of the gibberellin is lost. The recommended period to apply gibberellic acid is from May to the end of September. At other times of the year plants should naturally produce enough gibberellins themselves for pasture growth. ROBIN BOOM CPAg, Member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists

Landmark for animal welfare issues Recently the veterinary profession welcomed the new Animal Welfare Amendment Bill 2015, which strengthens our country’s animal welfare laws. In this year’s Budget the government has allocated $10 million over four years to strengthen New Zealand’s animal welfare systems. The Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy has said some of this funding will go towards creating targeted education, bolstering MPI’s enforcement role, and managing the welfare of animals in a civil emergency. The veterinary profession is now working

closely with the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee and other key organisations, to develop new regulations under the codes of welfare. These regulations will set mandatory enforceable standards. NZVA president Dr Steve Merchant says the profession had signiﬁcant input into the Bill and now wants to ensure that regulations are clearly deﬁned to ensure compliance. Dr Merchant says that veterinarians, as the most trusted advisors to farmers, will also be supporting their farmer clients to comply with new animal welfare requirements “and can help to alleviate any worry or stress they may have about the changes”.

Last resort

MPI says that it will focus on education and monitoring to prevent animal welfare offences: “Animal Welfare Inspectors will help people comply with their obligations and MPI have said that enforcement action will remain a last resort. “Ultimately a combination of education, monitoring and enforcement will strengthen animal welfare messages and help to ensure we enhance our world class reputation in this vital area.” MPI’s deputy director-general Scott Gallacher summed up the need for high standards of animal welfare very well in a recently published opinion piece: “There's a lot at stake here. “We have to make sure our system is the best it can be because we know animal welfare matters – it matters to the animals themselves, and to all of us as New Zealanders because treating animals properly is part of our culture and how we deﬁne who we are.” Virginia Williams, the immediate past chair of the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee, put it into context in terms of recent global trends saying, “New Zealand is only the sixth country in the world that ofﬁcially recognises the ‘sentient’ character of animals.” Further information about welfare standards can be found at the following website www.biosecurity.govt. nz/animal-welfare.

DAIRY

Page 49

Healthy cows cheaper, more productive The current farming news certainly isn’t the stuff to make farmers chuckle, but one more positive piece caught my eye recently. The Veterinary Association wants to make our meat and dairy products even better, by getting farmers to move away from regular antibiotic dosing and doing it completely by 2030. Given the scary articles in recent months about growing resistance to antibiotics, whether dosed to people or animals, this is good news indeed. If we only use them in illness cases where nothing else will work, they’ll stay useful. At this point the vets don’t seem certain of how they can bring this about, but to me, one sure way would be to focus on animal health, and how to keep them healthy using natural products, without resorting to expensive and unreliable preventatives. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the business of knocking what vets are good at, which is most often being ‘the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff ’. And we are increasingly hearing that many are expressing a desire to stand at the top and help farmers to keep their animals healthy, so surely this will involve more natural products as tonics?

Manuka honey

And there are such products around already and their promoters aren’t all ‘snake oil salesmen’. I found one such small ﬁrm

recently, known as DairyCare NZ whose ﬂagship product is called Cow and Calf Formula. They have been selling products based on the aloe vera plant for many years, helping to heal sore places and sort out intestinal problems and mastitis. But some years ago they got together with Dr Peter Molan, he of the curative manuka honey fame, and inspired by information obtained from him found that if they added this honey to the tonic/ drench formula the results were better and achieved faster. A year-long sciencebased trial on 400 randomly mixed cows, with a ‘control’ herd of another 600, found that not only were mastitis and SSC counts hugely reduced, but they achieved an increase in milk production of 4.7 per cent. They also discovered that rearing calves just got easier and better too with 5ml daily doses in their milk, with little of problems such as scours, and much better and faster weight gains to weaning.

Impress banks

When turned into whole milk powder, the deluge of milk NZ produces doesn’t earn enough to cover production costs at present. So consider how many cows we’d need to produce just as much milk, if at least some of the national herd disappeared. And just think how having healthier cows, fewer vet bills, and less farm costs would impress the banks. Think it all sounds too good to be

true? Well you’d need to try using Cow and Calf Formula with your herd. For a 5ml dose per cow, administered either in trough or ‘dosatron’, or even through automated in-shed feeding systems, the cost is 9c/day/cow. And if any cows do look a bit off colour, you

simply drench those with 100ml/day for 10 days. These doses are after you’ve diluted the original product by 9:1, so it goes a long way. The website is dairycare.co.nz and you can talk to the staff or order online.

By Sue Edmonds

Page 50

DAIRY

Waipa dogs are better behaved Dog numbers in the Waipa district are increasing, but the number of dog-related complaints has dropped.

SIX YEARS ON AND BRIAN IS STILL SEEING GREEN The Growsmart® Precision VRI system installed on Brian and Jo Bosch’s dairy farm in the South Wairarapa has been saving them precious water and dollars since it was ﬁrst installed in 2008. The couple use the intelligent system to avoid watering the tracks, ponds and drains underneath their Zimmatic™ centre-pivot. The water saved by avoiding these areas is diverted to other areas of the farm, increasing their irrigated land area by approximately 10%. And after over six years of using the technology he’s pretty happy about the low maintenance requirements of the system hardware, “It’s just worked!” The Bosch’s are not alone in the great results achieved using variable rate irrigation. Trials show savings of up to 27% on dairy and cropping farms are realistically achievable. Why? Because Precision VRI controls every individual sprinkler allowing you to irrigate where it is needed. Find out how you could achieve great results like Brian and Jo by talking to your Zimmatic by Lindsay dealer today or by visiting growsmartprecisionvri.co.nz

In the 2014/15 year, there were 7513 dogs registered in the district – up from 7229 the previous year. During the year, council staff dealt with 2145 dog-related complaints and more than 1800 general enquiries. Complaints about wandering dogs rose slightly but complaints about barking dogs decreased. Most barking complaints received during the year were resolved quickly once owners were aware of the problem. There were fewer general aggres-

sion complaints about dogs last year, but a small increase in reported attacks. Council staff received 156 complaints about attacks, rushing or aggressive dogs. The number of dangerous dogs in the district decreased from 11 to eight. Dangerous dogs exhibit aggressive behaviour and by law must be neutered, kept fenced, and on a leash and muzzled in public. There are also fewer menacing dogs registered in Waipa – down from 64 to 62. Waipa District

Council’s policy is that all menacing dogs must be neutered. Menacing dogs are classiﬁed based on their breed or type, not necessarily because of their behaviour. Last year, 429 dogs were impounded in either the Kihikihi or Cambridge pound. Of those, 320 were claimed by owners who must pay an impounding fee, register their dog (if unregistered) and pay any micro-chip fees. Council put-down 58 dogs last year and rehomed nearly 50. Many dogs were cared for by council staff until new homes were found.

Royalty attends Fonterra plant opening His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands brought a regal touch to the opening of Fonterra’s new site at Heerenveen in the Netherlands. The King was given a tour of the site, talking with employees and seeing ﬁrst-hand how the partnership between Fonterra and Dutch cheese manufacturer Royal A-ware works. The 25-hectare site represents a signiﬁcant investment and is expected to give Fonterra costeffective, reliable and continual access to high-quality whey and lactose, to use in manufacturing high-value paediatric, maternal and sports nutrition products. Also in attendance at last month’s

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opening were Fonterra chairman John Wilson and CEO Theo Spierings, who says the site is an integral part of Fonterra’s long-term strategy for building global milk pools. “Our strategy is a good ﬁt with A-ware’s long-term vision, so it’s a win-win for both companies and it’s great to see the partnership come to fruition. “We have substantial intellectual property in manufacturing functional whey protein ingredients, and having a high-quality, highvolume source based in Europe will allow us to commercialise these innovations for our customers all over the world.”

Heerenveen consists of two plants side by side; A-ware’s plant produces cheese for its customers in Europe, while Fonterra’s plant processes the whey and lactose from A-ware’s plant, as byproducts of the cheese-making process. It is Fonterra’s ﬁrst wholly owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe, processing one billion litres of milk each year, and producing 5000 metric tonnes of whey protein and 25,000 metric tonnes of lactose annually. The partnership increases Fonterra’s ability to access a globally traded whey protein and lactose market that was worth more than NZ $2.7 billion in 2014.

DAIRY

Page 51

Quality calves supplement dairy incomes Producing good quality calves is providing dairy farmers with another income stream in the current low pay-out environment, says Dean Hansen of Hukaroa Station, which holds its annual Hereford bull sale on September 11. “The beef schedule is currently very strong with seven day-old calves selling for $400 each in late July. “Because of the reputation of calves produced by our bulls, we’ve received inquiries from calf rearers who want to know who purchases our bulls so they can buy calves from them, and be sure of the quality of animal they are getting.” Dean and Lisa will have 91 bulls for sale at the auction on their 520ha Te Kauwhata property and expect the numbers attending to be similar to last year’s 100. “There will be 14 two-year-old bulls and the rest are one-year-olds. If anything they are in better condition than last year, when conditions were very dry. We’ve had a bit more rain this season and that’s got the bulls off to a great start.” Temperament is high on the list of qualities Lisa and Dean look for in the

animals they breed. “Our bulls are pretty quiet, which is important for dairy farmers who have to bring them in twice a day with the herd and draft them out, so have to have animals they can handle easily.” On sale day the bulls will be in pens in the well set-up yards, where potential purchasers are welcome to walk among them for a close-up look.

All the bulls on offer are from registered cows, and have been semen and fertility tested, so buyers can be conﬁdent in what they’re buying. “We always enjoy sale day, with people arriving from about 10.30am to have a good look at the bulls before lunch and the auction. We have a barbecue afterwards too,” says Lisa.

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Ninety-one young bulls go up for auction at Hukaroa Station this month.

Internal parasites leading health issue for lambs One of the leading animal health issues with growing lambs is internal parasites, commonly known as “worms”. Uncontrolled infestations can have dramatic effects on live-weight gain. The three main types are roundworms, tapeworm and liver ﬂuke. Today I will only discuss roundworms which are generally the most important. To be able to maximise roundworm control, it is important to understand the basic life cycle. The adult worms live in the gut (abomasum or intestine depending on species) of the sheep, where they mate, and the females lay eggs.

These eggs pass out in the faeces where they develop, inside the faecal pallets, to the ﬁrst larval stage (L1). They then moult to the second larval stage (L2) and on to the L3 stage at which time they migrate out of the faeces onto the grass. Grazing sheep accidentally pick up the L3 (which is the only infective stage of the life cycle) which are swallowed and moult to L4 then a young adult stage inside the gut. The adults then mature to complete the life cycle. In New Zealand, usually the vast majority (~95 per cent) of the worm population is in the environment (eggs, L1, L2 & L3), and from eggs being shed to development of the L3,

it generally takes several weeks (Nematodirus are the exception to this). When the L3 are ingested by the sheep, it generally takes three weeks before eggs are shed in the faeces. The keys to good parasite control in lambs involve: • Good nutrition; well fed animals are always more resistant to parasites. • Genetics; genetically some lines are more resistant or resilient to parasites but this is a long-term strategy. • Minimise larval intake; through grazing management (low larval intake = minimal worm problems). • Drenching; regardless of management and genetics, chemical control is usually required to some degree. This will be discussed next month. Every property is different and requires a tailored approach, which should

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Effluent ponds reflection of soil management compliant effluent systems. Spending money in this area cannot be avoided. Unfortunately, compliance is only one of the effluent issues. Farmers also need to choose the most cost-efficient system to manage I’m sure the effluent comthe physical aspects plience officer could be more of effluent. Typical nervous than the farmer realises. advice involves a lot of I certainly wouldn’t volunteer for concrete, steel, propelhis job. lars, and the power to Although farmers are facing run it all. tough times and uncertainty, one Before you take thing we can be sure about: there the gut-wrenching trip to your will be no leaniancy for non withered money tree, we should look at that typical and expensive advice. Do we need to follow it? A heavily crusted Feed quality effluent pond After observing indicates cows are hundreds of effluent struggling to digest ponds throughout the their food efficiently. country, let me make a few comments: Effluent is a reflection of your

The appearance of a regional council car turning down your tanker track unannounced is enough to raise the blood pressure if you haven’t got your stuff together.

feeding system. When I see a heavily crusted pond, it tells me that the cows are not utilising their feed very well; they’re struggling to digest their food efficiently. Poor digestability gives me another clue: something is not right with the feed quality. The opposite is also true. Ponds with little or no crust invariably have a lot of natural activity in them. That’s the result of a feeding progamme that enables the cows to effectively process most of the food that’s avaiable to them. Another observation: We consistantly find that the physical appearance of the pond directly correlates to a farmer’s soil management techniques. Properly balanced soil conditions carry beneficial aerobic

bacteria. When these good bacteria are carried through the feed and into the cows gut, they assist the animal’s digestion. That means less undigested solids end up in your pond.

Good cycle

There’s more good news. When these good bugs do end up in your efﬂuent pond, they help break down the solids and they also convert the nutrients into forms that are more easily taken up by plants. That’s the good cycle. There’s also a bad cycle. When your soil is unbalanced, it forces the good aerobic bugs to go into hybernation. That means less good guys in the grass, less good guys helping your cows digest their food, and less good guys keeping your pond in a liqueﬁed, nutrition-rich state. In the absence of good bacteria, bad anaerobic bacteria will dominate. These bad bugs are the cause of the crusting,

sludge, and odour in your pond. In this short article, there’s no space for me to unpack the complexities that lie beneath the issues I’ve raised. But my point is this: to deal with the cause of your pond crust, you have to see the larger inter-connected picture. You need to analyse the wider system that feeds into and affects your efﬂuent pond. If you don’t, all you’ll end up doing is spending a lot of money merely treating the symptoms of your pond problems. And who can afford to do that?

Pond crust gone for 10th the cost?

True!

Horticulture property market continues to rise Since growers came to grips with Psa almost two years ago, kiwifruit orchard prices have increased steadily. Early in the 2014/15 season, values fully recovered levels set prior to the virus outbreak in November 2010. Last October, a 5.84ha gold orchard sold for nearly $400,000 per canopy hectare. Since then, prices have continued rising. In mid-May, a green kiwifruit orchard sold for close to $400,000 per canopy hectare. In late July and early August, two other green orchards sold for approximately $350,000 per canopy hectare. These sales are remarkable because the properties are 10 months away from producing any fruit, with no way yet to predict the 2016 harvest. Meanwhile, the best presented gold kiwifruit orchards have surpassed $500,000 per canopy hectare, already 20 per cent ahead of prices at the start of last season. By the end of the season, $450,000 per canopy hectare for a gold orchard, in fruit, was routine. Further underlining the strength of demand, a 20 hectare Paengaroa bare-

land block sold in July for $90,000 per hectare. Putting that into perspective, last November one of my PGG Wrightson Real Estate colleagues sold a 60ha Morrinsville farm for $80,000 per hectare for land and buildings, a national record for a dairy property. This was a state-of-the-art dairy farm in one of the country’s most soughtafter locations, supplying Tatua, the company with the highest payout. A bareland block suitable for kiwifruit development is now worth appreciably more. Orchard sales tend to drop away most winters and, although they have dipped slightly this year, values keep rising. More concerted sales activity should resume in October once the fruit sets and we can reasonably predict the subsequent harvest. However, new listings may not ﬂow. When growers can show return on investment of up to 20 per cent, even for orchards at these prices, they are not inclined to sell. Why would you when the alternative is to bank the money at current interest rates?

Orchard values may rise even further next season although that depends on many variables. Growers need to sell their fruit and, although the market is buoyant, caution underlies major decisions growers make. Minor glitches in the growing season or export markets could impede this growth in orchard values.

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Quadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; quest for individuality Pippa, Pia, Poppy, Polly and Peg are quintuplets who do everything the same â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sleeping, eating, wearing the same clothes and completing the same activities.

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Pippa, Pia, Poppy, Polly and Peg are the stars of the book â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Peas in a Podâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Tania McCartney and Tina Snerling. It is written by Tania McCartney, an award winning author, editor, reviewer and feature writer, and founder of the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature website Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Book Review. The drawings are by Tina Snerling an illustrator, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wear designer and graphic artist. Tania and Tina are the author/illustrator duo who created the bestselling â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;An Aussie Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and the recent â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tottie and Dotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; books. Thanks to publishers EK Books, Coast & Country has a copy of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Peas in a Podâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to give away. To be in to win, email your name and address, with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Peas in a Podâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the subject line

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aturday 29 August orua Kennel Assn Annual nformation Dog Show

orua International Stadium, Devon West, Rotorua Aug 29 & 30. 8.30am t. Exhibitors of all purebred dogs are played and judged by international national judges. An opportunity for ple interested in breeds and potential ers to come along and chat to ibitors about their breeds, learn the s and cons of each breed and whether y would ﬁt into your lifestyle and me. Please do not bring your loved ches along, as refusal of entry may nd. Gold coin donation entry $1. or sales only.

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m for BPW Education Scholarship/ sary Cinema. ‘Ricki & the Flash’. kets from Pukekohe Travel. Lee 09 1854, mobile 027 247 4865, email: ley.a.walter@gmail.com

uesday 1 September siness & Professional Women W) Franklin

conjunction with the Health Memory mpany offer Brain Fit for Life, a rse designed to build a buffer against ure memory loss. Ph Virginia 238 9430 or 027 229 1367, ail: vvwarren@ps.get.nz

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The workshop covers: What you gain from improved heat detection; Motivating others on the team to detect heats; tools & resources to lift performance. Complimentary BBQ lunch. Held 10.45am-1pm. For venue, ph Wilma 021 246 2147

Wednesday 23 September

Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin Dinner at Portobello Restaurant, Pukekohe, 6.30pm. Speaker: Jack Hobbs, curator Auckland Botanic Gardens. RSVP Noelene 09 238 1140; txt 021 148 0859; email: johnsuns@xtra. co.nz

Saturday 31 October Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin

Career ready workshop for young women (school leavers) on interview skills and planning a career 8.30am-1.30pm. Ph Fiona 021 022 97102, email: ﬁona@ sparrowhawkleather.co.nz

Sunday 1 November

Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin

Leadership Forum Oct 10 & 11. An opportunity to advocate, promote, inﬂuence, build your club, collaborate & lots more. Contact Jill Lawson, ph/txt 027 383 6789; email: bpwnz.pa@bpwnz.org.nz

High tea at Parkview Estate Retirement Village 2pm. Gloves, hats and pearls. Fundraiser for Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin Education Scholarship/Bursary. Lee 09 239 1854 or 0272 474 865; email: Lesley.a.walter@gmail.com

Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin

Dinner at Portobello, Pukekohe 6.30pm. Mothers & daughters evening. Speaker: Ally Allard – ‘Dress for Success.’ RSVP Noelene 09 238 1140; txt 021 148 0859; email: johnsuns@ xtra.co.nz

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Sunday 22 November Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin

Wednesday 28 October

and $618,000 in Ongare Point for 2017/2018, if these communities decide to go ahead with schemes. All the systems are subject to business cases, conditions and consents being obtained for new systems. Western Bay of Plenty District Council is the lead agency on these projects. Matata sewerage needs further investigation, however the budget has been retained to give time to complete this work. Overall council is planning to contribute more than $11 million to support district council small scale sewerage schemes during the next four years.

Education bursary/scholarship opens for women applicants with connections to Franklin District undertaking tertiary study. Ph Kelly 027 622 9866; email: kellyj@franklinlaw.co.nz

Saturday 10 October Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin

Bay of Plenty Regional Council has budgeted millions of dollars for reticulated sewerage systems around the region in its Long Term Plan. The relevant city or district councils are the lead agency for sewerage projects, and the regional council can provide a subsidy to assist in some areas. The budget includes $3.708 million for sewerage at Lake Rotoma, planned for 2017/2018, and $4.851 at Rotoiti for 2018/2019. Rotorua Lakes Council is the lead agency on these projects. It also includes $1.045 million in Te Puna West for 2016/2017

Wednesday 25 November

Business & Professional Women (BPW) Franklin Dinner at Portobello, Pukekohe 6.30pm. Speaker: Barry Holland, voice consultant. News and sports presenter for Radio Network. Ph Noelene 09 238 1140; txt 021 148 0859; email: johnsuns@xtra.co.nz

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Alyssa saying Sophie age three helping her miniature horse eat her dinner.

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PRIZE UP FOR GRABS! Pictures and details can be emailed (high resolution jpgs) to amy@thesun.co.nz “Country Camera” or posted to Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga. Please include a name, address and phone number with every entry.

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