Coast & Country News August

WINNER BEST ASSOCIATE NEWSPAPER 2015

MEAT MARKETING PAGE 6

TIRAU FIRE BRIGADE PAGE 9

WINNER BEST ASSOCIATE NEWSPAPER 2015

DAIRY PAGE 17-21

WEDDINGS PAGE 24

WINNER BEST ASSOCIATE NEWSPAPER 2015

RETIREMENT PAGE 30-31

SPRING FERTILISER PAGE 38- 39

AVOCADOS PAGE 42-44

August 2015 Issue No.180

Bay of Plenty & Waikato Farm, Orchard & Rural Lifestyle

Beautiful pests Their looks are undeniably stunning but the flamboyant peacock is such a successful breeder it has become a pest on many farms which is why property owners call in hunters Tony Newth of Auckland, Dave Barrett of Whakatane and Blair Anderson of Tauranga to control numbers – read about the innovative ways the birds and their feathers are used on page-4-5. Photo Tracy Hardy.

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 2

Uncertainty a primary factor For the primary industry, 2015 is a classic good news/ bad news year.

The kiwifruit industry has made a dramatic recovery from the devastation of the disease Psa-V, harvesting its biggest crop yet, with grower incomes averaging from $43,996 and $53,884 a hectare for green fruit to $73,890 for gold. (See page 3) Avocado growers, hard hit by dismal returns in the 2011-2012 season, are celebrating excellent orchard gate payments, despite last season’s record crop. (See page 8) Contrast that with the increasingly bad news for dairy farmers who in 2010 were enjoying returns of $8/kg and now face the possibility of a pay-out of $4 or lower.

Few salary and wage earners can comprehend what it’s like to live with uncertainty around incomes and the possibility that what they earn could be cut in half,

or in the case of Psa-V affected kiwifruit growers reduce to nil until their orchards came back into production.

Uncertainty is part of farming and orcharding – something generations have learned to live with. There’s so much beyond their control, from weather, to overseas economies, geo-political tensions and bio-security incursions. So they concentrate on what they can control such as the health and productivity of their vines, pastures and animals, but it doesn’t make it less stressful.

We talk about the resilience of those in the primary sector and it’s true, on the face of it, rural people are resilient and so are their industries – but it has to be questioned, at what personal cost does that resilience come?

Once again it’s time to look out for the emotional and psychological welfare of farming families, including farm owners, share milkers and farm staff, encourage them to talk about their concerns

or seek help from organisations such as Rural Support – visit www.rural-support.org.nz While satisfied kiwifruit growers gave quiet endorsement for the performance of their marketer Zespri at its AGM last month, it’s a safe bet there will be some tough questions asked at Fonterra’s next annual general meeting.

Some will no doubt be around adding value. Fonterra does have a range of value-added products, including infant formula, adult milk drinks aimed at helping reduce the risks of osteoporosis, butter and cheeses, including mozzarella made at Clandeboye.

However, so much of farmer income relies on the price of milk powder, bought and used by other manufactures to add value to their bottom lines – not the farmers whose cow produce it.

2015 still has a few months to run – time enough perhaps to turn it into a thoroughly good news year for the primary sector.

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Page 3

Zespri expanding to meet growing fruit volumes

China board

Zespri chairman Peter McBride says the members of the China advisory board – Sam Shih CEO of Pepsi China, David Mahon, founder and principal of Mahon China and Anning Wei, partner of the Gueva Fund and former director of Rabobank Agrifood Research – are all well respected and experienced in China and will provide strategic advice “on how we manage our risk and opportunities as our business grows”.

China, despite being the world’s biggest producer of kiwifruit (around 1.3 million tonnes a year), offers significant potential for Zespri, but selling there has not been without its problems.

Zespri has faced charges in China over import duties and more recently one of the companies it deals with, Dalian Yidu, has been investigated by Chinese customs.

The company accounts for less than five per cent of Zespri volumes sold in China and the investigation does not appear to relate to the import of Zespri kiwifruit.

Zespri is spending $2 a tray on marketing the new variety SunGold to boost demand ahead of rapidly growing fruit volumes.

Zespri Green: $6.01 per tray - $53,884 per-hectare Zespri Gold: $9.80 per tray - $73,890 per hectare.

Zespri Organic Green: $7.37 per tray- $43,996 per hectare.

Zespri Sweet Green: $7.08 per tray - $29,682 per hectare.

Zespri CEO Lain Jager says such are the complexities of the Chinese market, bringing on board people with a wide experience of doing business there makes sense.

Growth in China has been remarkable from less than a million trays in 2005 to 17.4million in 2015, making China the second biggest market for Zespri, close behind Japan.

Grower confidence

Just five years on from the discovery of the devastating vine disease Psa-V, most growers have returned to profitability and the industry has just harvested its biggest crop ever, which is now being sold worldwide.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc president Neil Trebilco says grower confidence and orchard values have continued to increase during the last 12 months.

“The main factors in this increasing optimism are the reduced effects of Psa and increasing orchard gate returns per tray, particularly for green.

“The increase in green per tray returns this last year has been driven by a combination of a substantial reduction in Hayward Green production in Chile, strong in-market pricing, plus low fruit loss on and off shore.

“Counterbalancing this, however, is the strong NZ dollar compared to the Yen and Euro.

This will likely impact returns in coming years. Heightened activity in kiwifruit orchard sales has continued and per hectare prices are continuing to substantially increase.”

Despite wide-spread industry optimism, Neil says there are some growers who continue to struggle with the impacts of Psa. “Therefore, it’s essential the industry remains connected and that growers know help is at hand if needed. The last 12 months has seen Psa progression slow, however it is important growers remain vigilant. A bad spring or high-risk weather event could cause Psa to progress and put growers under pressure once again.”

Kiwifruit growers had a taste of how that money is spent in the series of videos played before the start of the 16th Zespri AGM at Mount Maunganui.

Targeted at consumers in each of the company’s diverse markets, the

overall focus is on the health benefits of both green and gold fruit, served up with a strong dose of fun, particularly in commercials aimed at Asian consumers.

Competition for market share is not only from other producers of kiwifruit or indeed other fruit. It also comes from the vast range of foods and goods consumers chose to buy.

Creating excitement around Zespri kiwifruit and recognition of and loyalty to the brand is essential for the industry’s future.

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Zespri’s President of Global Sales and Marketing Dan Mathieson says 45 million trays of the new variety SunGold are expected be sold next season and that figure will rapidly increase to 60 million.

“SunGold will hit 27 million trays this season up from just over 10 million last year. As we gear up for rapid growth, we need to keep demand ahead of supply and that means investing in structures and people.

“We have rapidly expanded our team in China and also invested in more resources in Southeast Asia, Middle East and India, and in Latin American markets, and are currently considering strong investment in the USA towards the end of this year.”

A new office in Singapore is the global sales and marketing hub and headquarters of the Southeast Asia team.

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Zespri has established a global sales and marketing hub in Singapore, and a China advisory board in preparation for a dramatic growth in fruit volumes in the next few years.

Page 4

COAST & COUNTRY

Pest control with a They may be among the most beautiful birds in the world but their looks don’t endear peacocks to the farmers who own properties they graze on.

Three peacocks can eat as much grass as one sheep and, because they are rapid breeders, scores of the big birds can take up residence on farms.

Whakatane couple Dave Barrett and Mawera Karetai provide a free solution to the problem thanks to their innova-

tive business Feathergirl.

Dave and a team of experienced hunters cull birds for farmers who want them removed; and Mawera and Dave sell their plumage to clients throughout New Zealand and overseas.

“We started the business 10 years ago and are delighted at how successful it’s been,” says Mawera, who has a background in IT and business management, plus a strong interest in cooking and crafts.

“The free service we provide to farmers means they can get rid of pest birds

without using poisons, which has to be good for the environment; and we are able to harvest birds for meat and feathers. Nothing is wasted.”

Keen hunter

Dave, a silviculture scientist originally from Canada, and keen hunter and trout fisherman, decided 10 years ago he wanted an improved workfamily life balance.

With Mawera’s help, he founded Feathergirl and its associated pest control service, so now he gets to hunt and fish and work just two days a week as scientist.

It’s not just peacock and peahens Dave and the team hunt. They also shoot turkeys, lorikeets, rabbits, possums, hares and in the Manawahe area, wallaby.

Long-time friend, Blair Anderson of Tauranga often accompanies Dave when he’s harvesting birds.

“It’s a bit of a hobby for me but everyone involved takes what we do very seriously. We meet the farmers beforehand and talk about what birds they want removed, identify any safety issues and check out the location.

“When it comes to shooting the birds we do it in a way that is humane but doesn’t damage the feathers.”

Nothing is wasted from these peacocks and pea hens, with feathers removed for sale and meat for sharing with family and friends.

Peacock kebabs

Blair, who works full-time job running the Waimarino water sport and adventure park and conference facility business at Bethlehem, says it’s surprising how many peacocks there are on some farms.

“Sometimes we can harvest 70 birds from just one property.”

Blair says peacock meat can be cooked in a number of ways and his friends and family have come to appreciate the peacock and rabbit kebabs, which are among his specialty dishes.

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Hobbit quills and warrior headdresses images, feather fascinators and much much more.

“It gives us a real buzz and tremendous sense of pride to know that we are providing quality feathers which are being used in so many imaginative ways, at the same time offering a pest control service which is chemical free, and ensuring nothing from the birds and animals we harvest goes to waste.”

Mawera has become such an expert in cooking wild foods, she’s given many cooking demonstrations and written a regular newspaper column.

“Once the birds are brought in, we remove and grade the features by hand, then cut up the meat. What’s left goes to feed pigs so there Opotiki artist Fiona Kerr Gedson is nothing leftover.” created this piece from pheasant, Feathergirl export feathpeacock and turkey feathers supplied by ers around the world and Feathergirl. Photo: Jos Van De Laar.

Mawera is happy to help

Mawera says she and Dave are proud of the business they have established and delighted at the ways in which their feathers are used.

“The production company Three Foot Six involved with the ‘Hobbit’ movies used our feathers to hand-craft 4000 quills for the movies. The Maori warriors who challenged teams before the New Zealand Rugby World Cup matches had our feathers in their hair.”

Feather ties

Award winning artists, including Fiona Kerr Gedson of Opotiki and fashion designers, use Feathergirl feathers which are also in demand for wearable art competitions. The Feathergirl website features images of feather lampshades, feature ties, feather wreaths, feathers hand-painted with intricate

craftspeople learn to work with feathers. There are instructions on the website for painting feathers, making fascinators, wreaths, fishing flies, quills and even feather trees.

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Page 6

COAST & COUNTRY

Giving consumers reasons to buy NZ meats No product sells itself in the marketplace. You can’t just make something and then wait for people to line up at the door to buy it.

No matter how great the product is – be it a new burger, a fancy car or

an innovative service – the customers should know it exists and some good reasons why they ought to buy it.

The other part to all this, is the lurking presence of some competition.

Nearly every product or service has many competitors selling something the same or slightly different.

Take our export beef and lamb

industry. The competition is at many levels. Our meat exporters compete with each other in export markets.

Usually it’s on price, but other things come into it as well, such as reliability of supply and how much the exporter is willing to back up the product supply with promotion to go with it.

The next level of competition is beef and lamb from other countries. A variation on that is our grass-fed beef, versus the grain-fed beef from elsewhere.

On top of that, is the competition from the huge meat volumes of pork and chicken. The volumes of both on world markets are huge. Feed efficiency is high, as are reproduction rates.

Cellphone purchase

The competition doesn’t stop there. In the markets New Zealand supplies, people are affluent enough for some of the food purchase to be discretional.

They might want to buy a new cellphone instead of top of the range beef cuts for a few weeks.

So back in the context of our meat industry, we are not doing too well. Our meat exports are not well marketed.

That’s traditional. Back in the day the meat industry was controlled by British companies, such as Borthwicks. Whole frozen carcases were supplied to high street butchers through the Smithfield meat market in London. It was a true commodity trade.

Then the meat processors became New Zealandbased, cooperatives or private. The Meat Board introduced the rosette brand for New Zealand sheep meat and kept a fatherly eye on the industry.

The UK dominance in the export trade suddenly shifted to the Middle East and now China is our major sheep meat market. The US remains our dominant beef market.

Big question

So the dynamic has changed. Our exports need to leap out at the customers in the supermarket shelves of the world.

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The big questions are what the selling point is and who pays?

If it is the exporter, then expect it to be sold on the company brand with some mention of New Zealand. If it’s the broader industry, they expect to see New Zealand origin as the purchase incentive with some mention of the exporting company.

The current proposal is for a joint farmer and exporter-funded market promotion of somewhere between NZ$7m and NZ$8m.

It gives a kick-start to New Zealand identity promotion. Our attributes of a pristine environment and producers of safe, healthy food products are to the fore. (See story next page on Beef + Lamb promotion) That’s the strategy behind the Norwegian salmon industry, which is calculated a market leader to be emulated in the primary product industry for the returns it brings.

Norwegian salmon

Of course Norwegian salmon have it easy. Their government takes out an export levy dedicated to market research and promotion.

Here farmers contribute through the Beef +Lamb levy. There is perennial concern that while there is little doubt such marketing will be worthwhile in helping export sales, those returns may not finish up in the pockets of the farmers who contributed.

The alternative though is to relinquish the incredible selling points of our sheep meat and grass-fed beef in world markets and leave the opportunities and premium prices to the meat exports from other countries that, we can justifiably look down our noses at.

Rick Powdrell, Federated Farmers’ Meat & Fibre chair, is a drystock farmer from Te Puke.

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Pasture raised beef tempting Taiwanese diners A partnership between Beef + Lamb New Zealand and a restaurant chain in Taiwan is helping to open consumers’ eyes to the nutritional benefits of grassfed New Zealand beef.

to educate our customers, provide healthier choices and bring more awareness.

“New Zealand beef was not so common in Taiwan previously and we wanted to present people with a beef option that was safe, natural and healthy – and also tasted good. Consumers are very sharp and they know what they do and don’t like. People New Zealand prodcan taste the difference when they uct makes up more eat New Zealand beef.” than 80 per cent For Royal Host, New Zealand of the beef beef also offers continuity of dishes offered supply, as well as traceability and on Royal consistency of quality, taste and Host’s menu. safety.

The chain For B+LNZ, the long-standhas 14 locations ing relationship has resulted across Taiwan in some extraordinary and caters for marketing opportunities family dining in – such as a recent speparticular. Vice cial event for fans of President Shirley New Zealand beef, tied to Huang says local Images of cows grazing peacefully a competition run diners put a premium on open pasture are helping sell through Faceon safe, quality food, NZ beef in Taiwan. book. The so Royal Host values that New Zealand beef is such a positive option. winners learned how to cook a Kiwi-style steak, “In our menus, we include images of cows demonstrated by one of grazing peacefully on open pasture. New Zeathe restaurant’s chefs, folland grass-fed beef is low in fat and has lower lowed by a tasting of all cholesterol.” dishes on the Royal Host Beef + Lamb New Zealand has been working with Royal Host since 2008 and the partnership menu featuring grass-fed has been important in communicating what sets New Zealand beef.

“Social media is an New Zealand beef apart.

“With B+LNZ’s help and support, we are able important marketing

channel in all of our export markets,” says B+LNZ CEO Dr Scott Champion. “Our consumer Facebook pages, such as PasturePerfect in Taiwan, are great tools in helping to create awareness among consumers and engage them with our brand.”

“Facebook is massive in Taiwan.

Eighty per cent of the population is

on Facebook and individuals spend an average of 100 minutes on it daily. We’re a small island with train transport and, when we are on the train, that’s the time we check our email and Facebook. It’s an important marketing channel for us,” says Shirley.

Pasture perfect New Zealand beef is tempting Taiwanese diners.

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Seeking enterprising women Entries have opened for the 2015 Enterprising Rural Women Awards offering women who run their own rural businesses the opportunity to boost their profiles and gain recognition for their achievements.

“This year is very special as we have a lot of interest in the awards and we’re already fielding enquiries from women keen to enter,” says Rural Women NZ national president Wendy McGowan.

Last year’s supreme winners, Keri Johnston and Haidee McCabe from Irricon Resource Solutions, have come on board as sponsors.

They’re enthusiastic about the awards and want to encourage other women in rural businesses to have an opportunity to get the benefits that their business has gained since winning in 2014.

NZ Post is also a significant sponsor for the awards.

There are four award categories in 2015: • Love of the Land – for land based

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• Making it in Rural – for businesses that involve manufacturing or creativity.

• Stay, Play Rural – for businesses engaged in rural tourism or hospitality.

To enter the awards, women have to own and operate a small business with less than 10 full-time equivalent staff, based in a rural area. The business must have been running for at least two years. If in partnership, women must be an active partner of 50 per cent or more in the business.

Entries close September 18 and the awards will be presented at the Rural Women NZ national conference in Nelson on November 21. Each category winner will receive $1000 in prize money and a trophy, with a further $1000 going to the supreme winner.

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Confidence high in avocado industry The New Zealand avocado industry is in “an inspiring position” and its future is bright, says Ashby Whitehead, chair of New Zealand Avocado Growers Association and the Avocado Industry Council.

“The low production years are not quite as low as they used to be and the high production years are increasing.

Market management is more col-

laborative and now extends to other international markets, removing some pressure off the Australian market,” he says.

This season the industry harvested and successfully marketed its biggest crop ever, 7.1 million trays, and Ashby says that’s credit to “everyone involved in the industry from the CEO and team, to the growers, packers and marketers for their sterling efforts to make this season profitable”.

There’s a definite air of optimism among growers and confidence in the

industry long-term is also borne out by some large plantings of avocado trees in the Far North.

“This is on the back of the fact that the industry is in such a good place, fuelled by bigger crops, good returns and the raising of the profile of the industry by our CEO Jen Scoular and her team.”

The turn-around is impressive given the poor orchard gate returns many growers received in the 2011-2012 season. Ashby says the current greatly improved communication between exporters was pushed along by the learnings from that season.

Willing exporters

“Following the issues in the Australian market that season, growers urged exporters to work more collaboratively with the industry as a whole and exporters were more than willing to do so. NZ Avocado supported the initiatives to improve communication and planning, both in the export and the NZ market.

“The growers are seeing the benefits of the industry working more cohesively through better than expected returns for the record volume sold last season. There is also focused development by NZ Avocado and exporters of new markets outside of Australia.”

Increased production should not be a problem as Ashby says there is growing demand worldwide for avocados.

“Figures we have seen presented at overseas forums suggest that global consumption is increasing by 10 per cent each year whereas production is growing by three per cent. There is some further capacity in Australia and our other Asian markets, and the huge potential in India and China are yet to be seen.”

Go-Global

Last year the Avocado Industry Council joined the Ministry for Primary Industries in a new five-year Primary Growth Partnership programme called Go Global, to increase the productivity and capability within the avocado industry aimed to deliver significant additional returns for New Zealand. The industry has just completed its first year with PGP and is on track to meet its goals.

Future’s bright – Ashby Whitehead chair of New Zealand Avocado Growers Association and the Avocado Industry Council.

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 9

Big Three contest brigade fund raiser Hundreds of dollars in cash and prizes are child of volunteer fire fighter Gerome Bardoul. on offer in the Tirau Volunteer Fire Brigade’s “Tirau is very much a rural community with many locals enjoying hunting and fishing so we thought Big Three hunting and fishing competition. this would be a good way to not only raise funds but There are cash prizes for the heaviest and for the average weight deer, boar and snapper caught or shot between September 25 and 27. There’s also a free competition for children under 13 with prizes for the heaviest possum, eel and rabbit or hare.

Entries, which open on August 1 and close on September 15, cost $40 per person or $100 for teams of three.

Station officer Tristan Saunders says the brigade has held golf tournaments, raffles and barbeques in the past but this is the first time it has organised a hunting and fishing contest.

The event is the brain

also involve the community, including families.

“Entry isn’t limited to just locals though and we are hoping to attract hunters and fishers from the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.”

More sponsors

Prizegiving will be at the fire station in Okoroire Road after the final weigh-in at 1pm on Sunday September 27.

“We are inviting people to enjoy the afternoon at the station where there will be food and sport prizes as well as the category prizes.”

Tristan says the brigade is looking for more sponsors to donate prizes and support the event which will raise funds to help the brigade with the services it provides to the community.

The Tirau Fire Station moved from the town’s Rose Street to its current location in 1993 and has one fire truck and a first response vehicle.

with full uniforms, training provided and compensation for loss of wages while people are undergoing training.

It’s not too onerous as we are not that busy but it’s vital to our local community that we have the service here to respond to emergencies.”

For more information on the Tirau Volunteer Fire Brigade’s Big Three hunting and fishing competition phone Gerome on 027 777 2549 or Mac on 027 573 0330 or email Logan.charters-leahy@fire. org.nz

er Fire Volunte re truck u a r i T e s of th f their fi Member ured in front o aunders, Bryce pict an S d Brigade back left Trist rters-Leahy an rl a a m h o K C , fr h , n t e i a r a y, Log : Richard Sm r u b s ld Go ont an. n McLe isher, Fr David F llivan and Bria Su

First response

Tirau Volunteer Fire Brigade hosts a hunting and fishing competition next month.

“We have a memorandum of understanding with St John which doesn’t have an ambulance station in Tirau that our volunteers will be first responders in an emergency. All our crew are trained in first aid including CPR, and both our vehicles carry defibrillators,” says Tristan.

The brigade currently has 15 members but would like to recruit three to four more, especially people who can respond to day time call out.

“There’s a lot of support for fire brigade volunteers

Post-harvest sector welcomes increased crops turn helps other growers lift their performance “PGP investment into our industry has given the including the smaller orchardist, who will always confidence and opportunity to recognise the sighave a role to play.” nificant value we could return to the New Zealand economy, if we collectively drive our growth strategy,” says Ashby.

“It has provided resource to lift the industry to another level in the areas of research and development, supply chain, local market, marketing support and market access. PGP has been the catalyst that is bringing everyone together to move forward in MP FOR TARANAKI-KING COUNTRY the same direction having the same vision with real deliverables.

“It also engages us with much bigger sectors which also have PGP programmes, allowing us to share their A proud supporter of Rural learnings and expertise.”

Greater fruit volumes will be welcomed by the and Provincial New Zealand post-harvest sector, as the avocado industry provides continuity of employment for pack houses in the ELECTORATE OFFICE CONTACT: kiwifruit off-season.

“However, greater economies of scale need to be A: 25 Roche Street, Te Awamutu realised in order to increase supply chain efficiency.

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E: Kuriger.Teawamutu@parliament.govt.nz It should be noted that the highest crop ever, 7.1 milW: www.barbarakuriger.co.nz lion trays, posed no significant issues for harvesting or packing avocados.”

F: facebook.com/BarbaraKurigerMP The avocado industry is growing, but there will always be a place for smaller orchards, says Ashby.

Authorised by Barbara Kuriger MP, “We are sharing successful orchardists’ tools with Parliament Buildings, Wellington www.national.org.nz the wider avocado growing community, this in

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 10

Andy’s ‘on his bike’ 12 months after crash Andy Corles could soon be cycling round Coromandel roads on a special bike, little more than 12 months after being paralysed in a car crash.

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“A local couple have organised a bike for me so I can get around and get some exercise which will be great.

It’s yet another example of how wonderfully supportive this community has been to me and my family,” says Andy, owner and chef of the Castle Rock Café.

On July 1, 2014, Andy’s car rolled and hit a bank in wet conditions not far from Te Rerenga. The impact severed his spinal cord and in those few seconds life for Andy, wife Shelley and their daughter Maddie changed forever.

Andy’s prognosis was originally uncertain, as was the future of their Castle Rock Café, situated between Coromandel and Whangapoua.

That’s why shortly after the accident Te Rerenga School principal Anna Yates, who works with Shelley, created an online fundraising page and in its first week more than $8000 was donated to the family via the Givealittle website.

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Andy credits Shelley, Maddie, extended family and the local community with helping him recover both physically and emotionally.

“We were told by my medical team that six months after an accident like this many people sink into pretty deep depression. There have of course been bad days but I’d say I’m positive at least 90 per cent of the time; and that’s thanks to Shelley, my family and the local community.”

Survivor party

Locals haven’t forgotten the family and the Maddie enjoying Andy Corles and daughter survivor party put on by an. oce the on time out Shelley and her family to mark one year since the And Shelley and Andy are promoting time of the crash was very well attended them in person at shows, including the by the community. recent Tauranga Food Show.

While Andy can’t get back in the Despite the severity of his injuries, kitchen, the Castle Rock Café is in Andy’s progress and ability to use his good hands. His nephew Dyon Ross, arms has exceeded expectations and originally from Whangapoua, returned plans are now in place for more surgery from working as a to increase his ability chef in Melbourne to to use his hands. run the café last year.

“My thumbs don’t “He’s doing a work too well which fantastic job and is makes it hard to grip currently on holiday things. as we have closed the “When we recently café for the month of went back to see the July, opening again surgeon who operon August 4.” ated on my neck we found out more about New product the injury, including As well as concenthat one vertebrae trating on exercises was so badly damaged to improve his it had to be removed Castle Rock Café and that I have a plate movement and sauces, vinegars and and screws keeping strength, Andy has also preserves are used in my neck together.” continued to develop the café as well as sold There’s no denying recipes for the sauces and in its shop.

Andy and family have preserves the café is famous gone through an extremely tough 12 for. “We’ve just released a new chilli, months. “But there’s people a lot worse lime and coriander vinegar which has off than me and I believe there’s no got a nice ‘hit’ to it.”

All of Castle Rock’s special sauces, vin- point in sitting round feeling sorry for myself. If I do Shelley’s there to give me egars and preserves are available online a good wake-up call,” says Andy. from www.castlerockcafe.co.nz

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Chance to generate more cash-flow from calves Strong demand for quality Firstlight Wagyu beef is driving the company’s efforts to build dairy farmer support for the breed this spring.

Firstlight director Gerard Hickey says market demand for Firstlight grass-fed Wagyu is gaining momentum every year as the brand continues to quietly establish itself at the premium end of the beef market.

“We now have our own global sales force in place, with staff in the United Arab Emirates, California and the United Kingdom.”

The Firstlight Wagyu story of being absolute premium quality, antibioticfree and grass-fed is meeting strong demand among high income earners in the United States.

To meet that demand Firstlight Wagyu wants to get more dairy farmers to consider using the beef breed genetics through Artificial Insemination in cows not being mated for replacements this mating season.

Strong appeal

Gerard says the company’s offer of a guaranteed price of $150 per mixed sex of four-day-old calves generated from AI this spring with a guaranteed purchase will hold strong appeal as farmers look for means to make the most of their whole calf crop.

“We are keen to talk to dairy farmers who want to generate more cashflow and who may enjoy being part of an

exciting, established premium beef brand.”

Payment premiums are typically up to five times what calves would get as Kiwi-cross bobbies, with collection at four to seven days, and payment within 21 days.

The breed is gaining in popularity as a means of getting greater nonreplacement calf income, and has also been an option for farmers wanting an easy calving breed to mate with their first-calving heifers.

Synlait Farms was an early adopter of Wagyu genetics, opting to use Wagyu semen over an entire herd last season.

Gerard says Firstlight has started to gain a solid foothold in the highly competitive, top quality Los Angeles beef market, with premium supermarkets like Bristol Farms enjoying strong demand for the beef.

Best beef

“Not a week goes by when we don’t have buyers or consumers tell us this is the best beef they’ve ever tasted. It is easy to market a product as good as this,” says Gerard.

To add to the appeal of having higher value calves born next spring, Firstlight is giving dairy farmers who purchase Wagyu semen through Firstlight the opportunity to go into a draw to win a box of high value Wagyu steak.

“We are confident about the opportunities that lie out there in the market, and want to work with the dairy sector, giving farmers the opportunity to share in those opportunities,” says Gerard.

Accreditation for consultants Pastoral science company Farmax is giving rural professionals a chance to become accredited in the Farmax system with its new process launched at the company’s biennial conference.

The accreditation is offered free of charge to anyone interested in completing it.

“We often get people contacting us for recommendations on who the best people are to carry out projects using Farmax, and we will be recommending those

who are ‘elite’ accredited,” says Farmax senior technical specialist Julia Hoddinott.

“It’s a fairly stringent process with three levels of accreditation and a result of 80 per cent or greater needed to pass and progress onto the next module, but it encourages best use of Farmax, which ultimately leads to users getting the most out of the system.”

The bronze module challenges the participant to create high-quality biological pastoral

farm systems models in Farmax, while the silver accreditation focuses on the financial information in Farmax and how it can be used to complete basic financial analysis.

The elite module focuses on the ability to create different scenarios in Farmax to come up with practical options for the farm.

“The elite module also tests participants in their ability to present their findings in a professional report. It’s using the system at a consultant level.”

Firstlight Wagyu supply chain manager Peter Keeling with spring-born Wagyu calves.

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 12

Mowers designed for performance and safety CLAAS has introduced its award-winning Max Cut cutterbar across its entire range of Disco mowers and mower-conditioners, offering a total of 28 front-mounted, rear-mounted and trailed models with operating widths from 2.6 metres through to 9.1m.

Its flagship model, the CLAAS Disco 9200 frontand-rear mower-conditioner combination, was recognised with a prestigious European Machine of the Year award at the SIMA agricultural trade fair in Paris earlier this year.

CLAAS Harvest Centre Greenline product manager Luke Wheeler says the new models incorporate innovations which make everyday work easier. These include clearly marked setting indicators, Kennfixx

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hydraulic couplings, enhanced driveline with a redesigned headstock to facilitate hitching, and an optional hydraulic transport catch.

“These improvements were developed in close collaboration with customers throughout the world,” says Luke.

“The main focus was meeting their requirements for performance, efficiency, ease of operation, maintenance, transport, safety, reliability and longevity.

These are professional machines engineered to deliver a perfect result under all operating conditions.”

Wave-shape

The new Max Cut cutterbar features an innovative, wave-shaped design that allows the cutting disc modules to be set much further forward than the former P Cut cutterbar.

“In combination with the speciallyformed wear inserts, this creates an enlarged cutting area and ensures optimal cutting quality, efficiency and durability,” says Luke.

“In turn, the new inserts have different geometries that have been optimised as each pair of blades moves towards or away from each other.

“The cutterbar has an exceptionally high level of torsional flexibility thanks to a special bolting process that achieves the same strength of welded seams.

“The extra-wide cutterbar skids guide dirt and foreign material backwards and guarantees a clean finish, minimising wear and protecting pasture cover.”

The drive train of the Max Cut cutterbar is designed so that it can be run from 850rpm, reducing fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent.”

Max Cut also incorporates the proven quick blade change system and Safety Link safety module.

Breaking point

“In the event of a collision, the module shears at a pre-determined breaking point,” says Luke. “The cutting disc is held in the module by a bolt and cannot fly off. The module can be replaced quickly and easily and the mower unit is

therefore quickly ready for use again.”

Disco mowers are available in five operational variants. “The simpler Trend models are operated using the tractor control devices without a control terminal and can be incorporated into the tractor’s headland management.

“The optional individual lifting function is operated using a ball valve, which makes it possible Precision cutting to pre-select with the Max Cut the mowing units.” cutterbar.

Contour models incorporate active float hydro-pneumatic suspension. “This tried-and-tested suspension system ensures the mower is consistently suspended in relation to the ground, regardless of the position of the mower in relation to the tractor.

“This is made possible by large-volume pressure accumulators connected to suspension cylinders, which can be adjusted from the driver’s seat to suit conditions.

“Contour models are operated using the tractor’s control devices, with pre-selection determined via using the CLAAS Operator or other ISOBUScompatible control terminal.”

The three other variants, Business, Duo and Autoswather models, are controlled using either the Operator or Communicator II control terminals.

Function buttons

Because both terminals are ISOBUScompatible, mower functions can be assigned to function buttons on the tractor’s multi-function lever.

All Trend and Contour models are protected by mechanical break-back lock to prevent collision damage.

“If triggered, the mower unit moves backwards and up and is raised above the obstacle. To continue driving, the machine must be reversed slightly until the mechanical break-back lock is active again.

“By comparison, Business, Autoswather and Duo models are equipped with a hydraulic non-stop break-back lock, which enables the mower unit to swing back automatically without stopping.”

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COAST & COUNTRY

EPDM liner

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Remember when – and what – happened?

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Remember when we were kids, we left home in the morning with a fishing pole and a al irrigation, packet of sandwiches and were not expected effluent home until 5pm (or by dark).

meal was well on its way and you saw one TV programme before you went to bed – if you were old enough. There were no double incomes.

in the drains with our bare skinnedFieldays them and cooked NZ hands, Agricultural them Mystery on a sheetCreek of old corrugated iron nationwide over aPavilion hot fire, site afterPB30 boiling up some potatoes and carrots in an old billy to go with our eel feast.

Email : sales@cosio.co.nz And… we climbed huge macrocapa Website : http://www.cosio.co.nz trees and got stuck half way up. We eventually learned to leap out onto the ‘tree skirts’ and surf down the outside of the giants.

And… all the telephone lines were shared ‘party lines’, and Dad had to wait his turn to call up the shearers or stock agent when the line was not so busy.

Our number ended in a D, ie long-short-long as I remember it.

And… when we used to fight over the top of the silver top milk before it was all nuked by homogenisation.

And… you were expected to help everywhere and at anytime. It was all ‘hands to the pump’ so the work got done by the greater family.

And… an outing was to the Matamata Hot Springs with a picnic in the back of the car to spend the day with family and cousins.

There were no iPods, iPhones, PlayStations or devices – or “iAm” the most

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And… when we would play scrag on the football EVAfield forall longer morning tealife and lunch time at school, then

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school clothing.

And… when our a mutton and hung it Phone 09 820 0272 Faxdad 09 killed 820 0274 in a tree in an old sheet to ‘set’ before cutting it down into roast and chops to be consumed by the hungry 00 109 093 family.

Not to mention bags of potatoes grown in the crop paddock and carrots from Ohakune by the sack.

And… if you were naughty at school you got the cane. I always pushed the boundaries so there was little dust left in my woollen shorts by the time I left school.

Did it do me any harm? No. I probably needed those really strong boundaries.

And… when mum was at home cooking and cleaning, and when you got home from school the evening

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important person here – iPads, computers or broadband to fight with. I accept I could not now live without that technology, but man have we moved fast.

Since those days we have seen man land on the moon, something land on Mars and boats hydrofoiling for a whole race.

And… now children have all the toys, fuzzy boundaries and parents who have to drive them to school. Many are insecure in themselves, with asthma and allergies at endemic proportions.

‘They’ tell me the US is full of 30-40 year old blocking up the psychologist offices trying to work out a purpose for life and who they are.

So, what happened? Our generation have been some of the luckiest people on earth. We started with nothing and now have all the toys. We had clear boundaries and had to be self-starters

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TIRAU

Page 14

Expressway driving town’s bright future Tirau’s economic future is looking bright thanks to the Waikato Expressway and to the Auckland property market.

“There’s a feeling of optimism in the town partly due to the Waikato Expressway, which when it’s complete in 2017 will end just north of the town,” says Tirau i-SITE manager Garry Brunton. “[And] BP building a brand new station in the main street is also a sign of confidence,” says Garry, who believes skyrocketing Auckland property prices are also playing a role in the town’s rejuvenation.

“Tirau is a great community with very affordable house prices and much to offer people who enjoy the outdoors.

“Three of the country’s great cycle trails are close by, the Bay of Plenty beaches are just over the ranges, and it’s less and an hour’s drive to Hamilton and once the expressway is finished, not much more to Auckland.”

Garry says thanks to the internet and cellphones, many people can work from almost anywhere without commuting to inner city offices, making a more

rural lifestyle a real possibility.

The expressway will save time for those who need to visit the cities. The New Zealand Transport Agency’s website says: “The Waikato Expressway project will improve safety and reliability and reduce travel times and congestion on SH1 by delivering a four-lane highway from the Bombay Hills to south of Cambridge”.

Enjoy attractions

“As far as I’m aware there are no plans to bypass Tirau, so this will be the first stop once traffic leaves the expressway. The hope is that motorists will stop for petrol and then spend time in the town enjoying the cafes, attractions and speciality shops it has to offer,” says Garry.

The Tirau i-SITE itself is part of the attraction. It’s a corrugated iron building with a huge corrugated iron sheep’s dog head and inside an impressive mural and stained glass window depicting the area.

What’s even more special about the building, says Garry, is it was the community which created the unique complex in a move that’s typical of the can-do attitude of locals.

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The future’s bright according to Tirau i-SITE manager Garry Brunton.

When the South Waikato District Council was looking for a site to build new public toilets, land beside the existing corrugated iron ‘Sheep’ building belonging to John and Nancy Drake seemed to be ideal.

Can-do locals

The Drakes along with local businessman Henry Clothier believed the area should be used not just as public toilets but as a complex including an information centre, carpark and picnic area.

Their vision for a building in the shape of a dog to be constructed next to the sheep stirred local enthusiasm and work started in January 1998 with a team of volunteers working alongside local tradesmen.

The interior mural depicting local scenes was painted by Tirau artist Fred Luckman and in April 2005 a stunning

new stained glass window was officially unveiled.

The exterior shape of the dog’s head was constructed by local craftsman Steven Clothier, whose distinctive ‘Corrugated Creations’ artwork has been adopted by the town with many local businesses, the school and even and fire brigade featuring Steven’s art on their buildings.

Tirau is already a destination town thanks to its cafes and unique range of specialty shops including clocks and antiques, plus it quirky corrugated iron art.

The completion of the expressway should further enhance visitor numbers and new businesses, including a café and rural supply company, are moving into town in anticipation of the growth ahead, says Garry.

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TIRAU

Page 15

Rural women made their mark Eighty-six years ago, 45 women formed what was to become a very influential organisation for the then small community of Tirau.

It was in April 1929 that the women met in the Tirau Hall while their husbands were at the stock sales, to form the Tirau Women’s Division, Federated Farmers, says Frances Allen, whose mother was one of the founding members.

“The first dominion president of Women’s Division, Federated Farmers, Mrs Florence Polson, attended the meeting.”

Nationally, the organisation was just four years old, having been formed in 1925 at a Farmers Union Conference.

Frances says among the first decisions made by the Tirau division was to raise funds for a place to meet, and which would include rest and meeting rooms. Frank Rose Senior of Tirau offered a section in the town on which to build the rooms.

“They raised money through catering for lunches at the stock sales, making large ‘door stop’ sandwiches cut from loaves of un-sliced bread.

“Dances, cake stalls, and other projects were also held,” says Frances, who is today a member of Rural Women New Zealand,

The rooms Tirau Women’s Division, Federated Farmers fund raised to build is today a retail shop.

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the organisation which evolved from the original Women’s Division, Federated Farmers national organisation.

“Lots of people think it was called Women’s Division of Federated Farmers, but there was no ‘of ’ in the name. It was always Women’s Division, Federated Farmers,” says Frances.

Five years after fundraising began, the first Tirau Women’s Division, Federated Farmers meeting was held in the new rooms in February 1934.

In its early days, the building housed the local Plunket rooms, a library and was host to not only the WDFF meetings but also 21st birthdays, kitchen teas, flower shows and sewing classes organised in conjunction with the Tirau Women’s Institute. It was also the venue for young farmers and country girls’ meetings. The basement became a Scout, Guide and Brownie den.

By the early 1980s use of the building was decreasing and problems with persistent vandalism and the cost of cleaning and upkeep saw the WDFF sell the building, which is now the Christmas Heirloom Company shop.

Today’s Tirau Rural Women New Zealand’s group has only a small membership which meets in the local church hall. However, Frances, who has been a member for 61 years, says Rural Women NZ nationally is a significant organisation which has become a voice for rural women, and through its headquarters in Wellington, lobbies politicians on issues affecting rural families.

“We welcome new members to join Rural Women in Tirau,” says Frances.

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Place of many cabbage trees Tirau’s name means place of many cabbage trees and although there are fewer trees in the area now, it remains a symbol of the small Waikato town.

In pre-European times, kereru or native pigeon which gathered in large numbers to overnight in cabbage trees were hunted by local Maori.

In the 1860s European settlement began and blocks of land were sold to form what was originally known as Oxford, planned to become a large-scale city with its own cathedral. Such grand plans never eventuated and in 1896 the name was changed to Tirua.

Primarily a farming town, in recent years it has become destination thanks to Tirau’s unique mix of shops and cafes and distinctive corrugated creations, crafted by local artist Steven Clothier.

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TIRAU

Page 16

Tirau ideal location for new company When Maarten Bubbert brought a lifestyle block near Warkworth, all of its 40 gates needed replacing and the cost of the exercise stunned him.

“I figured there had to be a cheaper option; and as I had 25 years’ experience of working with companies in China I decided to check out the possibility of importing gates from there.”

Maarten sourced the gates he needed and it wasn’t long before other farmers were showing an interest. So five years ago the company Stronghold Trading Ltd

was formed to import and sell a range of galvanised gates, made to suit New Zealand’s climatic and farming conditions.

As the business grew Maarten began looking for a depot from which to distribute the gates, stock feeders, stock yards, fencing wire, pool fences and hardware he imports.

“Land in Warkworth and Auckland is just too expensive.”

In December the company bought an overgrown section in Tirau’s industrial area and began the earthwork needed to transform it into a depot and sales yard.

“Tirau is an ideal location for us as it’s central for transport and close to the Port of Tauranga through which 95 per cent of our imports come.”

Today, Stronghold has more than 70 products, including 20 different gates for sheep, cattle, bulls, deer and alpaca. “We have portable sheep and cattle yards which are ideal for lifestyle blocks or lease blocks. These are easy to assemble and the individual sections weigh just 30kg so can be handled by one person,” says Maarten.

The Stronghold range is now available through PGG Wrightson and Farmlands as well as direct from the company.

“We always have a wide range on hand, so there’s no waiting for stock to arrive in the country. However, we had so many orders at Fieldays it took us several weeks to dispatch them all.”

Maarten says Stronghold’s philosophy is to pass on the lower costs of its products to farmers. “We could make more of a mark-up but we’d rather people got a good deal from us and had money to spend on something else as well.

“We’re finding with our feeders, that because they are about half the price of others, farmers buy two instead of one.”

Stronghold has also begun importing 20ft container-sized cabin/offices adapted for accommodation. They have 75mm insulation Gavin Clothier and Maarten and double glazed windows and there’s even a Bubbert in Stronghold Trading Ltd’s bathroom model. new Tirau depot from where more “We used an accommodation container on than 70 different products our stand at Fieldays and were inundated with are dispatched. inquiries and orders.”

Laughter and lattes at café with ‘edgy’ name There’s a café in Tirau which serves laughter with its lattes, and aims to ensure customers leave happier than when they come in. It’s called the Bugger Café.

“We know the name is edgy, but most people get it – especially Kiwis, Australian and the English,” says the café owners Glenda and John Gourley.

“Some people won’t come through the door because of the name but that’s okay – everyone else really enjoys the experience,” says Glenda, who is an awardwinning food writer, former ambassador for Potatoes NZ and home economics teacher.

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would be called ‘Bugger’.

“I think John and I must be getting “I thought his idea was ridiculous. older ‘because we got to the stage where However, by the end of the journey we wanted to make a difference and put John had convinced me that Bugger a smile of people’s faces.”

Cafe would be a great name and that we The couple, who live on a rural propshould create a memorable, uplifting, erty near Tauranga, more than achieved fun experience.” that with their first Bugger Café at That was 18 months ago and such is Pipiroa on SH25 on the way to Thames, the success of their cafés that John and which decided them a second one in Glenda plan to create a franchised chain Tirau was a good idea. of uniquely New Zealand Bugger Cafes It opened on April 1 this year in the throughout New Zealand. heart of town in what was a former “I feel like I have come full circle back pub. The dark interior has undergone to teaching kids to cook and empowera complete makeover and is now bright ing them through working with our and light. It serves fresh, seasonal and as much as possible, local foods and coffee, a great staff of young people. We've got kids on apprenticeships and others and a large helping of laughter thanks doing cafe management and barista to photos, cartoons and quotes on the training. We hire for attitude and walls and even the ceiling. “We get train for skill. I love watching them asked all the time why we named our cafes Bugger. It all came about on a trip grow in confidence and self-esteem,” says Glenda.

By Elaine Fisher from Auckland to Tauranga when John commented about the string of cafes we passed – many of which seemed to be named after coloured animals.

“This moved on to a conversation about how we can never remember the names of cafes. I asked him what he would call a café. His initial response was ‘buggered if I know’. But then after no more than Glenda Gourley and Kennedy Grant of Bugger Cafe 30 seconds thought he Tirau love hearing their customers laugh. said, ‘If I owned a cafe it

DAIRY

Page 17

Sweet-smelling, chocolate brown game changer Declining nutrition in our food and chemical contamination are two closelyrelated issues impacting sustainability, writes Graeme Sait of Nutri-tech Solutions Australia in a lengthy article published recently by Acres USA. This is the second in a series of columns based on Graeme’s article, with the full version on our website www. kiwifertiliser.co.nz The industrial, extractive agriculture model has seen the constant removal of soil minerals and a loss of humus that helps to store and deliver those minerals. It is common sense to recognise every time we harvest a crop we are removing a little of 74 minerals that were originally present in those soils.

We replace a handful of them, in an unbalanced fashion, and we assault our soil life with farm chemicals that are proven biocides. When we have bombed the microbe bridge between soil and plant there is a price to pay.

A solution to climate change is to return some atmospheric carbon back to the soil as stable humus.

The plant suffers with less access to trace minerals that fuel immunity, and the animals and humans eating those plants are also compromised. It’s been suggested the food we now consume contains just 20 per cent of the nutrition found in the food consumed by our grandparents.

Chemical intervention

The immune-compromised plant will always require more chemical intervention, and repeated studies have demonstrated the cumulative effect of chemical residues in our bodies. This serious scenario is all about minerals and microbes, and they, in turn, are housed by humus.

It may seem like something of an oversell to claim the sweet-smelling, chocolate-brown substance that determines soil fertility could really pull us from the mire.

We can’t make more carbon. The number of carbon molecules present on our planet has remained constant since the dawn of time. This carbon is either stored in the soil as humus, the carbon-based life forms, or the atmosphere as CO2 – and it cycles between these three.

The problem is a great deal of the carbon that used to

be in the soil as humus is now in the atmosphere, thickening the blanket and trapping more heat.

The very simple and obvious solution is to return some of that atmospheric carbon back to the soil as stable humus.

Professor Rattan Lal is, perhaps, the leading scientist driving this humus awareness. He suggests an increase in organic matter in the top 150mm of the soil can effectively counter 30 per cent of man-made carbon emissions.

Soil biology

This is an extremely conservative estimate because carbon sequestration via humus-building happens at depths much greater than 150mm. The roots of plants release glucose, to feed the surrounding soil biology. Some of this glucose is converted to humus in the soil.

In this context, root depth determines the depth and scale of carbon sequestration in the soil. The fact is many plants have roots that extend much deeper than 150mm. Some plants roots extend well more than 30 metres into the soil.

A review of recent climate change science reveals overuse of the term ‘irreversibility’ in appraisals of our future.

If we constrain ourselves to the concept of reducing carbon emissions as our sole action strategy, this appraisal may be justified.

However, building humus in soil changes the game. A global increase of 1.6 per cent organic matter is sufficient to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere from 400ppm to below 300ppm, which effectively reverses global warming.

emissions reductions can’t do it solar panels can’t “clean coal” can’t forests can’t

soil carbon CAN!

DAIRY

Page 18

Ten-point plan for successfully rearing calves It is that time of year again. The ground is wet, the air is cold and there are calves being born every minute of every day.

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1. Colostrum. All calves must have access to at least three litres of good quality colostrum within the first 24 hours of life. A quick way to check if you have quality colostrum is by checking the thickness and creaminess of it.

2. Water. All calves need unrestricted access to clean fresh water, not only so they stay hydrated but also to ensure rumen development. Access to water will ensure calves eat more solid feed leading to better weight gains and faster rumen development and growth.

3. Milk. After the initial colostrum feed, use a quality calf milk replacer to ensure consistency of diet, reducing digestive upsets such as scours and optimising growth and development.

4. Shelter. Calves should be reared in a sheltered, dry environment.

5. Feed. Calves should have access to a quality starter feed and finishing feeds for optimal rumen development and growth.

6. Fibre. Make sure calves always have access to a quality fibre source like hay or straw. This will ensure early rumen development and prepare the calves for eating pasture later in life.

7. Coccidosis prevention. Make sure you use a solid feed with a coccidiostat in the ingredients list to prevent coccidiosis and improve weight gains in your calves.

8. Disinfect and clean. Make sure to disinfect and clean all calf pens and equipment prior to and throughout calf rearing to minimise any bacteria that may cause disease.

9. Growth. Monitor growth and development of your calves on a regular basis. If some calves are behind, you may pick this up on the scales or simply because they are off their feed before you notice any reduction in growth and development. Keep records and track individual calf progress.

10. Health and wellbeing. Make sure the health of your calves is paramount at all times as disease and other health problems can have long-term implications on the performance of your calves.

By following this 10-step checklist around the fundamentals of successful calf rearing you will ensure you give your calves the best start in life.

For further information or for nutritional advice around rearing your calves, contact your local Animal Health Technical Manager on 0800 100 123.

‘Landfarming’ guidelines released Guidelines for food producers and processors about how to ensure food safety and animal welfare after rocks and minerals from drilling oil and gas wells have been spread on land – including the practice known as ‘landfarming’ – have been released by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

MPI director of resource policy David Wansbrough says the guidance has been a collaboration between central and local government and industry groups.

“Everyone involved is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of consumers and the welfare of animals.

We even spoke to the

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farmers themselves who are proud of their ability to produce safe food and keep their animals healthy,” says David.

“The cornerstone of this work has been a detailed review and analysis of the New Zealand and international science by independent experts Landcare Research.

“The science tells us there is no risk to food safety or animal welfare if there is no grazing or harvesting until the level of hydrocarbons in the soil meet specified values.

“This isn’t about fracking or pouring oil on land. It’s about ground up rocks, mud and minerals leftover from drilling very deep holes

in the ground.

“Much the same as you would find if you dug a deep enough hole in your own backyard – mud, rocks, minerals and maybe some naturally occurring hydrocarbons.”

David says the hydrocarbons are at such low concentrations the risk is low – even immediately after being spread.

“We have set standards in the guidelines where we can be assured that there is no risk.

“We come into contact with low levels of hydrocarbons every day in soft drinks, coffee, vehicle exhausts, and barbequed food.

The guidance document is at www.mpi. govt.nz

DAIRY

Soil carbon levels are everything While carbon in almost any form is a benefit to the soil, it helps enormously if it is accompanied by the right ratios of nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorous.

Though these ratios are not set in stone, a target for carbon to nitrogen is 10:1, for nitrogen to sulphur is 5.5:1 and for nitrogen to phosphorous is 4:1.

This works out to an ideal carbon to sulphur ratio of 55 to 1, and a carbon to phosphorous ratio of 40 to 1 A more urgent deficiency to remedy is sulphur. Sulphur works at surfaces and boundaries making things accessible. As such it is the catalyst for most of plant and soil chemistry. For example, sulphur is what peels the sticky magnesium loose from its bonding sites in the soil. Without sufficient sulphur the plant may not take up enough magnesium even if it is abundant in the soil. This deprives the plant of sufficient chlorophyll to make efficient use of sunshine, and then there is a shortage of sugary root

exudates to feed nitrogen fixation microbes – which require 10 units of sugar to produce one amino acid.

Considering how common magnesium deficiency is in plants growing on magnesium rich soils (marine clays for example), we shouldn’t ignore sulphur deficiencies in the soil reserves. Many soils are abundant with magnesium, but without the 55 to 1 carbon to sulphur ratio needed for optimum growth plants can easily be magnesium deficient, poor in photosynthesis –and when they don’t make enough sugar they won’t have good nitrogen fixation.

One can amend sulphur in the soil in various ways. With chars or raw humates, both of which are deficient in nitrogen and sulphur, small amounts of ammonium sulphate (30 to 80 kg/ha depending on the case) can be helpful. But keep in mind this is a soluble chemical and only

so much can be absorbed by the soil’s carbon complexes and the microbial life they support.

Potassium sulphate might also be of use, but total testing often indicates an abundance of total potassium and more in soluble form interferes with magnesium uptake, which usually is counterproductive. Gypsum (calcium sulphate) is most commonly used for corrections, though only about 50 ppm of sulphur (0.4 to 0.6 tons/ha) can be absorbed by the soil in one application.

The problem here is sulphate tends to leach if there's too much.

That might be good if all it carried with it was magnesium, as not all soils are high in magnesium. But, what if the sulphate carries copper, zinc, manganese or even potassium along with it? Can we afford such losses?

If we try to keep soluble sulphur topped up at 50 ppm (Morgan test) by using gypsum mixed with compost or raw humates, gypsum probably will work beautifully and not acidify the soil.

It may take a few

Time for careful pasture management Winter has certainly arrived with vengeance.

In mid-July we were delivering silage to a client at Wairoa who had the first snow he’d experienced in 30 years on his farm.

Hard frosts through the Bay of Plenty quickly lowered ground temperatures to around six degrees and air temperatures into the minus. Grass, as we know, doesn’t grow in those conditions.

After a kind autumn with good grass growth, farmers now need to carefully manage the pasture in front of and behind their stock. With calving well underway, most farms are now fully stocked as cows grazed offfarm for the winter have returned.

Without careful management, problems with feed will occur in the second grazing round so tightening cows up and supplementing them with maize silage, good quality grass silage or hay and straw will help extend the round.

Obviously the best-quality feed should go to the milking herd to ensure those animals are fully fed.

If you haven’t already done so, check the quality of feed by taking samples from two to three bales of silage, tape them up again, and send the samples off for analysis. Once you get the results you will know exactly what benefit your cows will receive from the supplementary feed. Or alternatively make sure you buy feed from a supplier who will give you an analysis up-front, which is what we do.

Springers and dry cows do not necessarily need the top-quality feed, but care must be taken to ensure they don’t eat too much and bag up too tight prior to calving, creating issues with mastitis.

Whatever your farming situation, feeding stock adequately and good animal health is always the first consideration.

Applying nitrogen is a cheap form of supplying supplementary feed as it will promote grass growth when conditions warm up a little.

Many farmers may be reluctant in the current tight pay-out environment, to spend too much on fertiliser. If the budget allows, it helps to get some fertiliser on in spring to promote grass growth, in case predictions of a dry summer come true. This also applies to sheep and beef farmers as well.

Some of our clients are concerned that the water table is unnaturally low in their areas. They are reporting ponds, which are usually full at this time of year, are dry and we certainly didn’t get much rain in this part of the country in late June, early July. We’ll need a lot to bring the water table up so farmers need to be mindful of what might be ahead, weather wise.

For farmers at the moment it’s head down, tail up, working long hours calving.

However, as always, planning ahead for feed requirements is vital. We still have some silage and dry feed, including hay and straw, available from last season and will be making silage again in September.

years to build sulphur levels into the soil’s total desired levels, but patience is a virtue.

However, when the soil pH is already 7.0 or above, elemental sulphur becomes the input of choice. Elemental sulphur pulls oxygen out of the atmosphere as it oxidizes to sulphate and this lowers pH –which for alkaline soils is desirable.

Again, try to keep the soluble sulphur level around 50 ppm and gradually build this element into the soil reserves as humus building reactions.

Page 19

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DAIRY

Page 20

Growing more pasture to raise milk production essential The financial dilemma dairy farmers find themselves in, is only in part the result of reduced market returns. The other reason is the ever-increasing cost of producing a kilogram of milk solids, and that’s been ongoing for many years.

for Soils

For dairy farmers to remain solvent and retain their equity in animals and land, more milk solids must be produced from grazed pasture. This means growing more pasture, and there is the ability to do that on virtually every dairy property in the country.

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The maximum measured dry matter production, from permanent grazed pasture in this country, is 22,500kg in a 12 month period, an average growth rate of just over 60kgDM/day. Today 15,000kgDM/ ha appears to be the accepted norm from well managed properties, on high quality soils, in a favourable growing season.

The potential, therefore, to increase pasture production is significant, and the products and programmes to steadily lift performance are readily available. They have been available for more than12 years, and measurements from monitor properties show a steady upward incline.

Life below

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What grows above the ground surface is the visual manifestation of life and activity below. By stimulating soil life there’s a marked improvement in physical soil structures, which provides a number of benefits.

Plant roots have the ability to penetrate more than half a metre, harvesting nutrient and moisture from well below the normally accepted 100mm root zone. This ensures more even growth throughout the growing season, particularly so when the surface of the soil begins to dry.

Less nutrient input is required, which means fertiliser expenditure can be decreased, as plants are able to harvest more of the applied nutrient before it’s lost to groundwater.

With strong and abundant soil life, the speed of nutrient cycling increases. This means an increase in total dry matter production, as plants are continuously supplied with nutrient including nitrogen.

Extra calcium is usually required initially, to ensure sufficient is available for strong clover growth over

summer. The calcium content of clover leaf is higher than that of grass, often by as much as four times.

Free nitrogen

Clover, as well as fixing nitrogen free of charge, further reducing fertiliser inputs, is also more digestible and nutritious, which means animals are able to eat a greater amount in a day and grow or produce more.

Calcium in the form of agricultural lime is the cheapest nutrient available, and the money spent on generous amounts of this is when coupled with mycorrhiza and bacteria is more than offset by a reduction in nitrogen and other major nutrient inputs.

But perhaps the most encouraging aspect of feeding soils, and increasing life below, is the ability to both sequester carbon from the atmosphere and steadily increase the amount of humus in the soil.

As a rule of thumb the weight of pasture above ground is supported by an equal weight of soil life below. When soils are cared for and provided with the appropriate total nutrient packages, including beneficial fungi and bacteria, extra humus is formed and total pasture production steadily lifts.

The non-irrigated long-term Functional Fertiliser monitor property, based on monthly cage cuts, has increased pasture growth 23 per cent in seven years from 15,600kg to 19,200kgDM/ha. This has meant a substantial lift in milk solid production from pasture, with less reliance on bought-in feed.

For more information call Peter on 0800 843 809

DAIRY

Page 21

Ovine abortion – there’s a range of causes Vaccination to prevent abortion in sheep due to toxoplasmosis and campylobacter is well accepted before mating.

In spite of the use of these effective vaccines hoggets in particular can still abort, which is annoying given the effort required to get the stock to maturity. This challenge with abortion appears to be due to a range of causes, the more recognised ones are discussed below.

Neospora parasite

Neospora is an intracellular parasite that is the predominant cause of cattle abortions. Although dogs must become infected with neospora as an intermediate host, they are not clinically affected. Cows that have aborted due to neospora are more likely to abort again in their lifetime.

The life cycle in sheep is less clear and it is difficult to definitively identify neospora as the cause of hogget abortion. The disease usually presents as resorbing foetuses at scanning. No vaccine is available, although attempts were made a decade ago with a formulation in cattle which proved unsuccessful.

Leptospirosis risk

Leptospirosis has been implicated in outbreaks of hogget abortions, although it can also be present in non-aborting hoggets. Leptospirosis is a known cause of abortion in cattle. There is a real danger of human infection with leptospirosis from handling infected sheep and excellent hygiene should be applied at all times.

known, it is good husbandry to collect aborted foetuses and remove affected ewes regardless.

To reduce possible environmental stress, hoggets should lamb in sheltered paddocks with adequate feed (>1200kgDM/ha, 4 cm) and easy topography for lambing.

Collecting samples

There are other causes of hogget abortion, including those that have yet to be identified.

To improve the likelihood of getting information on the cause for the abortions, presenting fresh foeti for examination is crucial.

If foeti can’t be collected in a timely manner, storing the bodies in the freezer to prevent further decomposition is a good idea to help maintain tissue integrity.

Abortion due to toxoplasmosis or campylobacter can sometimes be diagnosed from visual examination of typical foetal or placental pathology.

A good vaccine history should also eliminate these as likely causes of a hogget abortion outbreak. Ultimately, submitting

appropriate samples for microscopic examination and other specific tests can be performed on the foetus to identify many of the above causes. It is often a good idea for your peace of mind, even if there is nothing else you could have done.

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Listeria is found in contaminated silage or spoiled hay. Infected sheep will quite often walk in circles – hence it’s sometimes referred to as ‘circling disease’. It is a common cause of abortion in cattle and has also been identified in sheep.

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Enforcement - not rules - is changing Farms may feel that the rules around effluent and water quality are constantly changing, but according to DairyNZ, it’s more a case of the interpretation or enforcement becoming stricter as the impact of not enforcing rules becomes clearer.

In many regions the rules have not actually changed. On its website, the industry good body has responses to a number of frequently asked questions about effluent and one of the most common asks about rule changes.

As knowledge around the relationship between water quality and land use has evolved, and as land use (eg urban growth, agriculture, and industry) has intensified, national government and regional councils have adjusted their rules accordingly.

A good example of this is Variation 6 in the Waikato Region; a requirement for water take consents had always existed but had not been effectively enforced until Variation 6 allowed it to.

All industries

It's not only about dairy farming – all industries (eg factories, mills, horticulture, sheep and beef, and dairy, etc.) will need to contribute to improving water quality relative to their impact.

Central government has made it clear they want to actively engage local communities to determine which water quality values to protect and what level or protection is needed.

Collaborative stakeholder groups are being formed from the different stakeholders in the catchment to work out the values and recommend limits. They will all then have to stick to the rules, not just dairy farmers.

Improved scientific understanding and increased research around the relationship between nitrogen leaching and water quality is the main driving force behind environmental rule changes.

There are many scientific projects looking at

options for farmers to reduce their nutrient loss.

Pastoral 21, Forages for reduced N loss, are examples of such projects. Their scope ranges from component aspects of feed, urine patch, and rumen plot research through to farm let and whole farm scale monitoring.

DairyNZ is involved with industry partners AgResearch, Plant & Food, FAR, Massey University, and Lincoln University to better understand the environmental and economic aspects of the farm system.

Improve understanding

The best thing farmers can do is to improve understanding of how their farm is performing environmentally and what the risks of this may be.

There are two ways to do that: through education and training, and through a system of measure/monitor/record.

Education or training could be about attending formal courses such as the ASL Nutrient Management courses, IrrigationNZ Managers Training etc.

It could also be informal such as reading DairyNZ resources or scientific articles.

Measuring, monitoring and recording are important to ensure farmers have accurate data for inputs and outputs of the system. It also ensures they have accurate data around the performance of effluent irrigators, irrigation systems, timing and placement of nutrients etc. These records help identify risks and make good business decisions. The DairyNZ Farm EnviroWalk is a great tool to identify risks on farm.

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ent budget, risks, etc) was before you started making changes. Then document what changes were made and when they occurred, with documented proof (GPS maps, receipts, contracts, photos, etc). This could be used to show how you are being responsible on your farm.

There is a risk if farmers don’t make improvements now that water quality will continue to decline in some areas, and consequently rules and regulations may be tougher. www.dairynz.co.nz

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Responsible farming

There are many changes which can be put into action that do not cost anything to implement.

Farming by using best management practices will have benefits to farm systems and the environment.

Overseer already assumes that you are farming this way, so it will not influence future impacts of policy change, but will show how you are being responsible on your farm.

Accurately define what your farm situation (nutri-

Game-changers of effluent compliance Given the low pay outs that farmers are suffering, now is a probably good time to talk about reducing costs.

From 35 years of farming, my observation about farm expenses is this: regardless of the system employed, a farmer’s highest costs have been wages and fertiliser.

Until now.

Complying with dairy companies’ and regional councils’ regulations is now a major expense. Think about what it takes for you to comply in the areas of water quality and effluent.

Effluent gurus (another expense) advise us to invest in different mechanical systems to deal with the build-up of solids and soil leeching.

It all sounds reasonable. Except many farmers can barely afford to buy the equipment, let alone run and maintain it all, which got me thinking. And travelling.

A year ago I visited England to assess a different system for dealing with effluent. This bio-scientific approach has been successfully used in the UK for over 10 years. I was impressed. But would this system work in New Zealand?

After returning home, I consulted with a team of scientists and technicians to study, and assess the biological activities of effluent, especially as they relate to the UK approach. I can tell you that their findings

are game-changing.

If you’re looking for a reliable and cost-effective alternative to expensive effluent compliance, then look for my articles. Over the coming months, I will look beneath the surface, to go into detail about where new and better science is leading us, and how we can do much better with our effluent at a fraction of the cost.

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WEDDINGS

Page 24

Quality and exclusivity in fashion Women who love beautiful things find them at Heaven & Home in the tranquil Te Puna Village.

“We are passionate about catering for women who love beautiful things and we stock wonderful fashion labels from around the world and New Zealand, focussing on the 40+ age-group,” says owner Julie Bourke.

Julie established Heaven & Home in 2008 after many years travelling and living in Europe, America and South America, honing her personal style and sharing fashion tips with other women.

Julie also designed and produced her own fashion label,

Your Home of Divine Fashion & Your Home of Home and Giftware

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She is sensitive to personal tastes, lifestyle and budget, and has a talent for styling women of any shape, size or age.

“Women who are tactile, who care about quality and expect exclusivity, are our customers. Whether you are looking for wearable ‘mother of the bride’, a pretty day frock or just that perfect smart-casual outfit, we have it covered.

“We have an amazing range of basics that tick the boxes to help

you create a smart wardrobe. In Heaven it's all about clever dressing and quality over quantity. Our experienced (over 40) sales team are happy to help you with all your fashion needs.

“I always keep the economic climate in mind and want to make sure my clients feel current in their clothing without being pushed into an expensive buy and that what they do buy is multi-tasking and personal to them,” she says.

Complementing the stunning fashions is the delightful homeware side to the store.

Wedding gifts, gorgeous throws, yummy soaps and room fragrances are just the beginning.

“The most exciting new component is our 'Forever Florist' with a huge range of silk flowers, topiaries and arrangements that you can buy or rent on a weekly basis. Perfect to enhance your home Women who care about quality and expect exclusivity at wedding time.”

Julie will deliver and pick-up for will find what they are you to take the stress out of this looking for at Heaven & busy event.

Home in Te Puna.

Traditional transport for special day

Ministry . Nineteen46

If you’re seeking an intimate, country wedding venue, why not consider The Coach House Café, located at the home of the Pirongia Village’s famous Clydesdale horses?

The charming café and function room reflects the look and feel of yesteryear’s farm surroundings, and offers an idyllic, peaceful location for your smaller wedding.

With bar facilities on-site and flexible, country-style catering options, Jill and Nick van der Sande and the Coach House team will take care of all food and dining requirements, enabling you to thoroughly

enjoy your special day.

The beautiful sight of an immaculate horse-drawn carriage is the perfect complement to a wedding.

“Evoke a true sense of traditionalism with our professional horse drawn turnouts available on-site. We offer a small selection of eye-catching and traditional carriages drawn to our very rare and elegant purebred Friesian horses or the ever-popular Clydesdales,” says Jill.

“Our unique turnouts are available nationwide.

Without doubt, this is the epitome of true elegance and we take pride in making dreams come true for brides across urban and rural New Zealand.”

To learn more about Pirongia Clydesdales and the Coach House Café, or to book for your wedding or function, visit www.clydesdales.co.nz

Pirongia Clydesdale’s horse-drawn carriages evoke the charm of yesteryear for modern brides.

Wayne Rush

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 25

Ancient volcanos created attractive cladding One of nature’s most destructive forces is responsible for the highly attractive cladding used on thousands of New Zealand homes.

Violent volcanic eruptions in New Zealand more than 1.3million years ago sent jets of pyroclastic gas tens of kilometres into the air. When that material fell back to earth, it travelled outwards at speeds of 600km/hr to 900km/hr up and over hills and mountains before finally cooling to form what are today known as ignimbrite rocks.

It’s a particularly rich deposit of ignimbrite near Matamata, which is quarried to form the building and paving material known as Hinuera Stone.

The quarry is a landmark along the main highway between the Kaimai Range and Cambridge.

Its tall rock face would have once been lapped by the waters of the Waikato River which, about 20,000 years ago, flowed north through what is called the Hinuera gap at Piarere, down the Hauraki Plains to the Firth of Thames. Over time volcanic debris in the river built up, causing it to turn sharply to the west near Maungatautari, creating the river as we know it today.

There are other ignimbrite deposits along what was the old river bed, but that at the Hinuera Stone quarry is of the highest quality, says Hinuera Natural Stone general

vate owners, and the quarry still continues to produce high-quality cladding, landscaping and feature stone.

It has an estimated life of at least Bishop’s residence another 150 years and skilled An abundance of timber and operators continue to slice away at relative shortage of stone suitthe ancient deposits, using modern able for building meant that techniques and not the drilling many of the North Island’s early and blasting which is how stone houses, churches and was originally removed. public buildings were More constructed of timber recently but in 1890 a house chainsaws of Hinuera Natural were used.

Stone was built in “Today Auckland. “It’s still we use a there today and hydraulic is the Catholic tungstenBishop’s residence tipped blade in Parnell,” says attached to Hinuera Stone’s a digger. The sales and markettungsten tips ing manager aren’t sharp, Kirsten but they spin Chisholm. as the blade It wasn’t revolves,” says until 1954 John. that the The 2.5 metre quarry began diameter blade commercial A 205m can make vertical operations. tipped hydraulic tu or horizontal cuts, It was n b gsten lade digger and is much quicker privately is used attached to than chainsaws. The owned from t to cut the st a he qua one cuts are so precise until rry. the northern end of bought by the extensively worked Fletchers in the mid-1970s quarry resembles a and operated as one of the Firth huge, two-sided building with group of companies. Nine years vertical walls and flat floor ‘paved’ ago the company was sold with deeply grooved stone. “We again to pristill have at least two more metres to remove from the lower level here,” says John. manager John Simpson who has worked for the company for more than 20 years.

ral colours range from fawn, to cream and turn terracotta or golden-brown when kiln-fired.

Pavers are made from a denser Dura grade stone which is seamless and has smaller, harder pumice clasts.

John says all aspects of quarrying, cutting and finishing Hinuera Natural Stone require special skillsets and the number of people with those abilities

is limited in New Zealand. “We have a staff of 11 and many have been with us a long time. We train people in masonry skills on the job.”

The quarried blocks of stone are brought down to the on-site workshop where they are cut to order, with diamond tipped wet saws. The quarry produces both split and sawn stone as well as pavers.

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Kiln fired

Hinuera Stone’s sales and marketing manager Kirsten Chisholm is impressed with the diverse uses of the stone, from building blocks to carved furniture and balustrades.

“The attributes and hardness of the stone varies depending where in the quarry it is taken from,” says Kirsten. The upper layer yields Vitric grade stone, which is varied in texture and feature clasts of pumice and enhance its appeal. Colours range from cream to buff and when kiln-fired, terracotta to golden.

Statuary grade is clear of pumice casts and is smooth with occasional grain and mineral veining. Its natu-

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 26

Fostering knowledge of food origins A new Papamoa business is taking the mystery out of food production and consumption, highlighting the journey from field to farm shop.

Owner Allen Smith in the produce area of the shop.

NZ Farm Shop is the project of Allen and Stephany Smith, former sheep and beef farmers from Gisborne. Among the many reasons Allen was inspired to start a New Zealand

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farm shop was to put ethics around food production.

“I want to tell the story of food and make that connection between producer and consumer.

“We want to talk about traceability, the origin of the food – where does it come from? What are the farmers doing to their soil?”

In 2010, he and Stephany – due to her hard work, Allen says – won the farming award the Ovation Supplier of the Year competition. They travelled to Europe as part of the prize, where the couple acted as ambassadors for the business and visited other farms overseas.

Along the way they came to the realisation that with rising costs against their farm business, they weren’t going to be able to add any value to their meat product. It confirmed a lingering feeling they’d had for a while; and as soon as they got home they sold the farm.

However, the trip did spur them to develop an idea that had been in the back of their minds, which was the farm shop. All produce sold in store is made exclusively in New Zealand, to give customers the confidence that what they are buying is local and nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits.

They’re also going traditional in the kitchen too, trying to put some of “Grandma’s recipes” in place and make it more functional than most.

“All the fresh stock that is on display will be the same nutrient-dense produce that will be used in all our baked and cooked goods which are produced in the kitchen, as well as jams, sauces, chutneys.”

Thanks to his understanding the dynamics of soil, which Allen calls this “living, breathing organism”, Allen is interested in ways to develop chemical-free meat and produce using his life-long experience in farming.

He’s hoping to share his knowledge with customers to enlighten them as to the background behind what they’re eating at the farm shop.

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 27

Dual answer for sun-damaged or aging skin Dual Fraxel is a revolutionary treatment for sun-damaged, ageing skin. Dual means it has two settings – 1927 for a superficial treatment for pigmentation, sun spots, skin tone and texture; 1550 for deep collagen stimulation, acne scaring, wrinkle treatment and deep pigmentation.

You can also have a combination of the both.

Years ago, to turn back the time with your skin, you had to have an ablative laser treatment. Your skin was taken back to a raw state, which required 10 to 14 days to heal.

In this day and age it is totally impractical for anyone to take that time out of their lives for healing. The Fraxel leaves enough of your skin intact that the healing is only a few days.

A good medical grade make-up can be worn during the healing phase so you can continue with your life.

The Fraxel laser uses microscopic laser columns to penetrate the skin treating only a fraction of the skin at a time, leaving the surrounding tissue untouched. This promotes accelerated

healing with healthier skin cells coming through.

The results are individual, depending on age, lifestyle, treatment settings, and environmental factors. The best results are with more than one treatment. Satisfied clients from previous years are now coming in for a one-off maintenance treatment to maintain their new skin. Our skin ages every day. The results although longterm, require a proper skincare regime, with maybe some maintenance treatments for the best long-term results.

All treatments are tailored specifically for each individual. It is safe and evidenced with extensive research, performed by one of the experienced Skin Centre nurses.

Rural Women turns 90 Rural Women NZ will celebrate its 90-year anniversary with a gala dinner at its annual conference in Nelson in November.

The conference programme includes opening speaker winemaker Peter Yealands of Yealands Estate, renowned for his ‘can do’ attitude and innovative thinking which has led to a number of world firsts in sustainable wine growing. Peter’s goal is to become the most sustainable winegrower in the world.

The winners of the 2015 Enterprising Rural Women Awards will also be announced during the conference.

The official proceedings begin at 3pm on Saturday November 21, but plans are for a pre-conference tour of the Abel Tasman Park on Friday November 20, and a visit to Nelson’s world famous market on Saturday.

Tours for partners include trips into the rural areas of Tasman district, including the Moutere and Nelson Lakes National Park. After business on Sunday there will be an opportunity to visit historic Melrose House, which was once owned

by Rural Women organisation.

For more information go to the website www. ruralwomen.org.nz, email enquiries@ruralwomen.org.nz or phone Rural Women’s national office 04 473 5524.

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Page 28

Family stories among most treasured heirlooms By telling the stories behind the names and dates, Jenny Rutherford The personal historian and founder of Life Story Books, crafts family stories, memories, photographs helps family trees hum with life. and genealogy into lasting family memoirs.

“I developed the business after collating and publishing my father’s memoirs,” says Jenny, who has recently returned home to the Tauranga area after 10 years in the South Island.

“I’ve always been a writer, and graphic design and photography had been my career, so it was a logical step to combine these elements and utilise a skill base I already had, with my love of history.”

When she opened her family’s photo suitcase, musty from years of neglect, Jenny knew instantly that delving into the past, and documenting family stories, was what she wanted to do for others too.

“It’s never too early to tell your story, but it can easily become too late. Every one of us has a story to tell and Life Story Books is dedicated to preserving this heritage.

“It has been said that our most treasured heirlooms are the memories of our family, so this is a wonderful gift for all members of the family and a lasting legacy of the past.”

Jenny says it’s a privilege to hear stories and compile them, along with photographs and documents into a

book for clients.

The process begins with an initial meeting to discuss the focus of the project, followed by one-on-one interviews.

“The interview is usually in your own home, in a relaxed and quiet environment. You will be talking with one interviewer who will also be recording the session. Three interviews of one or two hours will Memories of family are among cover a lot of the most treasured heirlooms. ground, and is usually enough to produce a heritage book of your life.

In some instances more time may be required, so each project is estimated after the initial consultation.”

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The value of additional titles on your farm should not be underestimated. The subdivision rules are always changing and I have recently been asked on more than one occasion “What will we be able to do in the future?” To that I reply, “Very little, if the current trend continues”.

Additional titles aren’t obtained only for the purpose of selling to an outsider. They can be a major benefit even for adjusting boundaries with a neighbour – if you want to do it your way. Council is increasingly giving itself power to even control the way you do a simple boundary adjustment.

The savvy landowners have always taken advantage of the rules, subdividing when they can and reaping the benefits of a flexible title situation when they need it. Whether you are planning to retire on the block, settle a family member or take a punt on a new venture separate from the balance of your property interests, separate titles are a must.

Most districts have changed their rules such that you can’t have more

than one house on a title now.

Having additional titles resolves this issue giving you much more flexibility in the future.

Hardly a day goes by when we don’t have to tell someone that the subdivision they want to do was outlawed recently.

So the clear message is subdivide and obtain the titles when you can, rather than be disappointed later on.

Don’t be concerned about having to pay rates on the additional titles over the years – there is a way around this as well.

A trend that we see growing, albeit cautiously, over time is that of transferable titles. This is already prevalent in the northern part of Waikato and Hauraki, and the southern part of the Auckland City (ex Franklin District parts).

It is also available in Waipa and the Western Bay of Plenty Districts. In this scenario you are

entitled, under certain conditions, to transfer a title or ‘right’ between owners whose land is well separated across the district.

This could well cautiously spread to other districts in the future, but it is clearly not favoured by some at present. However, this may be the way of the future and a valid reason to hold on to your titles if you can rather than sell out to lifestylers or neighbours now.

My advice to those who may want extra titles in the future is to utilise the current rules and don't hold out hope that things are going to get easier. They won't. If you don’t want to hear that your opportunity has slipped away, feel free to give me a call and discuss your situation without delay.

Brent Trail, Managing Director of Surveying Services, specialises in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

For further information call 07 838 1571 or email btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 29

Page 30

RETIREMENT

Place of comradeship and laughter

Tranquil and lovely surroundings are among the attributes of Te Kauwhata’s Aparangi Village.

Aparangi Village, Te Kauwhata, is not a place where retirement means you are old, says Jackie Long of the Te Kauwhata Retirement Trust Board.

“It’s a place of friendship, comradeship, laughter and compassion. Whether you are in the village or the care unit you will experience a genuine willingness of our team to make you feel valued, heard and important to them.”

As a not for profit trust Aparangi Village offers rental units and the ability to own your own house.

“Our rural setting sets us apart from many. Fresh

air and open space is an ideal setting where you can spend time enjoying the local and wider communities that we are only a short drive away from.”

Jackie says Aparangi Village offers more than just a service.

“We grew 43 years ago from a community desire to respond to their future needs and today we continue to serve that need. Family and friends are always welcome.

“Why not come for a visit and meet our great staff in the care unit and in the village? Glenda, Ashlee and Jackie at the administration centre are only too happy to answer your questions regarding the village’s affordable options.”

Sugar-free – a recipe guide on how to get there Giving sugar the boot is not always easy but the book called ‘Sugar Free’ is a great place to start.

It has more than 175 tasty recipes to help eliminate sugar deliciously, safely and thoroughly. The book includes a detailed plan to weight loss, improved appearance and an increase in energy.

It also includes researched-based advice for breaking the cycle of unhealthy sugar cravings once and for all.

Thanks to Exisle Publishing, Coast & Country has a copy of ‘Sugar Free’ to give away. To be in to win, email

your name and address, with ‘Sugar Free’ as the subject, to: elaine@thesun. co.nz Or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to: Coast & Country Book Prize, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than August 27. The winners will be announced in Coast & Country’s October issue.

Sugar Free is the complete guide to quit sugar and lose weight naturally.

RETIREMENT

Page 31

Barbara’s creative idea helped paint a town Barbara Wolfenden with some of her hand crafts on display at the Katikati Craft and Mural Centre.

Barbara Wolfenden is renowned for her creative ideas – some as small as beautifully decorated handbags; others so big they helped transform a whole town.

It was Barbara’s suggestion which led to the successful Katikati Open Air Art project, launched in 1991. She and husband Roy had been on holiday to the Canadian town of Chemainus, where a murals project had helped revive its fortunes after a hard times in the forestry, mining and fishing industries on which it relied.

“I was so impressed with

what Chemainus had achieved that I thought it was a project some New Zealand town could adopt, and then decided why not Katikati?” says Barbara.

At the time Katikati was suffering from a downturn in dairying and kiwifruit, and many of its shops had closed. There were plans for a main highway bypass (which still hasn’t happened) but locals believed there was a need to reignite a feeling of community pride and attract visitors to the town.

Barbara asked long-time resident Rendall Henderson, who she should suggest the idea to. “He said Joan Clarke and June Carlton – and his advice

Rural retirement has much to offer

Rangiura Retirement Village is set in the friendly rural town of Putaruru.

Longing for the freedom a retirement village can give but unsure of what to expect? Ellie Davies, Nicole Tidmarsh and the team at Rangiura Retirement Village can help.

“We can put your mind at ease and help you to start that new journey,” says Ellie, who is the village’s general manager.

Rangiura Retirement Village is set in the friendly rural town of Putaruru, within easy driving distance of Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua and Taupo – an area which really does have something for everyone.

Ellie invites you to view the purpose-built village complex which features 85 thoughtfully designed homes which offer increased privacy, added safety and a real sense of space – both inside and out.

There is so much on offer with

villa prices ranging from $189,000 to $259,000.

“Why worry about mowing that lawn, maintaining the exterior of your home or noisy neighbours?

Come and check us out and you can see for yourself what being retired can really mean.

“Don’t delay – call today for an information pack or to arrange for a private viewing of our wonderful homes and make that first step towards worry free retirement,” says Ellie.

couldn’t have been better.”

June had recently retired as art teacher at the Katikati College and Joan was very involved with the local art scene. Together with a group of other enthusiasts, they formed Open Air Art and began the process of commissioning murals and artworks in a project, which changed the face of the community and continues today.

Barbara played a mainly background role in Open Air Art, but was among the founding members of the Katikati Craft and Mural Centre, a co-operative of crafts people which grew out of the murals project.

Barbara’s handcrafts can be found, along with those of other local artists, at the Katikati Craft and Mural Centre in Katikati’s main street.

Page 32

RURAL DRIVER

Driving licence requirements for farmers and farm workers Having the right driver’s licence to use your farm machinery on the road is important for safety, insurance and avoiding heavy fines.

While you can drive any type of vehicle on private property without a licence, some must be moved between paddocks using public roads and most of those must be registered, including farm bikes and ATVs. DrivingTests.co.nz Darren Cottingham says if you don’t have the right licence or registration, the fines are $400 for the first offence and up to

$1000 for persistent offending.

“The minimum class of licence to be able to drive some farm machinery on the road is a learner licence,” says Darren.

“With a learner, restricted or full licence you can drive an agricultural tractor up to 18,000kg gross laden weight, or an agricultural tractor and trailer up to 25,000kg gross combined weight at up to 40km/h on the road.”

If you want to tow a non-agricultural trailer then you are restricted to 30km/h on a car Class 1 licence and need to get a heavy vehicle licence – Class 2 or higher – to drive faster.

Riding a motorbike means you will

need a Class 6 motorbike licence.

Darren says driving special vehicles on the road, such as harvesters, spreaders and pickers requires a W endorsement on your licence; forklifts require an F endorsement.

“If your agricultural vehicle has more than two axles you will need a Class 4 licence or higher,” he says.

“If you are transporting goods in a goods service vehicle weighing more than 6000kg, you may need a transport service licence. Call NZTA on 0800 822 422 to check.”

Foreign temporary workers with a valid overseas licence or international driving permit have the same rights as New Zealand licence holders for the first 12 months of their stay.

“Knowing your obligations around driver licencing will help keep you safe and free of fines when moving your farm machinery on the road,” says Darren.

For registration exemptions, check NZ Transport Agency’s factsheet and their agricultural vehicle guide.

To practise the Road Code theory test for free, visit

By David Tauranga www.drivingtests.co.nz

Wider interlock use would curb drink driving More than 2300 attempts to drink and drive have been prevented by alcohol interlocks since they were introduced in New Zealand.

Alcohol interlocks are like an in-car breathalyser and in 2012 became a sentencing option in the courts for drink drivers.

The latest issue of AA Directions magazine has investigated how well interlocks are working and figures show that as at May this year, there had been 2369 attempts by people with an interlock in their vehicle to drive with alcohol in their system.

The devices prevented the vehicles from starting.

“If not for interlocks there would have been thousands of times that a drunk driver was back out on the road putting lives at risk,” says AA Motoring Affairs General Manager Mike Noon.

The Directions article also reveals that, only a tiny fraction of drink drivers are being sentenced to the devices.

An AA research report found that in the first year interlocks were available, nearly 12,000 repeat or high-level drink drivers could have been sentenced to have to use one.

But of those near 12,000, barely 200 drink drivers were sentenced to an interlock.

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“In May there were just 270 interlocks in use in New Zealand.

That number is embarrassingly small. If we are serious about reducing the number of crashes involving alcohol then we need to be using interlocks much, much more.”

A Government review of the penalties for drink driving is currently underway and the AA wants all repeat and high-level first time drink drivers to be sentenced to an alcohol interlock. “We also want interlocks to be combined with more assessment and treatment of drink divers who have alcohol issues.”

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Page 33

Family’s cutting edge captions prove winners Adele Jonnart of Rotorua and her family admit to “going a little crazy” trying to come up with the perfect caption for the photo of a bike with a push mower instead of a front wheel, which was the Country Funny for June.

Mum’s suggestions are: ‘Slim and trim’; ‘The Nutter Cutter’ and ‘Humming Bum’. Adele’s Dad reckons suitable captions are: ‘Moa Bike’ or ‘Forkin’ hard work’.

Adele isn’t short of ideas either. She suggests: ‘The Deadly Treadly Lower Mower’; ‘A hands free haircut’; ‘Lose your flab to make lawns fab’; ‘A 2 in 1 to lose your bum’; ‘The Peddle Patch’; ‘The Trim Reaper’ and ‘Trimming kilograms away’.

Leanne Yetton of Pukekohe reckons the device is in fact: ‘New Zealand’s first version of the ride-on mower’.

‘Have bike, will mow,’ is the caption send in by Anne Emms of Tauranga while Beverly Hurst of Te Puke suggests: ‘Well dear, you did say you wanted a ride-on mower for Mother’s Day’.

Bruce Burnett of Rotorua can also see the exercise and economic potential of the bike: ‘Cutting cost’ or ‘Trimming the waist’ are his suggestions.

The winner of the Country Funnies book prize – ‘The Travelling Hunter’ by Vern Wilson, published

by Halcyon Press – is Adele Jonnart.

This month’s Country Funnies book prize is the ‘The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook’ from Exisle Publishing.

A Mediterranean diet is billed as a great choice for losing weight simply, without complex plans and tedious calorie counting. It’s a diet proven by generations and the traditions of people in the

Mediterranean for its great tastes and health benefits.

‘The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook’ is a guide to adopting this diet to help naturally maintain a healthy weight by eating foods rich in nutrients and low in fat, without sacrificing flavour.

It includes recipes for breakfasts, lunches, snack, main courses and deserts that everyone will love.

To be in to win ‘The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook’ email your suggested captions for the photo below, along with your name and address, and with Country Funnies as the subject to elaine@thesun.co.nz Or put these details and captions on the back of an

N NIE

S

C

FU

Y

O U NT R

gestions for Send us your funny caption sug book prize. our this image and be in to win

envelope and post to: Country Funnies, Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than August 27.

If you have a ‘Country Funnies’ photo, we’d love the chance to publish it and invite readers for their caption suggestions. Post your photos to Country Funnies, Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110 or email elaine@thesun.co.nz with ‘Country Funnies’ in the subject line.

‘The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook’ published Exisle Publishing is this month’s Country Funnies book prize.

Page 34

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FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 35

Improving pasture performance the aim The Government will invest $7.3 million during five years in an agricultural research partnership to improve pasture grasses and lift the performance of livestock farming, say Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

cultivars that will increase productivity, profitability and environmental sustainability of New Zealand’s pastoral farming systems.

Government funding is provided through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s research partnerships programme and will be matched by industry funding.

“This industry-led research is strategically important to New Zealand because it aims to increase productivity, profitability and environmental sustainability of pastoral farming, which is a large part of our agricultural sector,” says Steven.

“New Zealand has a strong primary sector. Just over half of our total exports

Pastoral Genomics is an industry-led research partnership between DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ, Grasslands Innovation, NZ Agriseeds, DEEResearch, AgResearch, and Dairy Australia, whose objective is to provide pastoral farmers with better forage

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of goods and services by value are primary products. We need to build on this strength with constant innovation, and by taking full advantage of our strength in agricultural technologies.

“The investment in this partnership is expected to boost sustainability of New Zealand’s pastoral farms and increase the value of exports by the sector, contributing to the Business Growth Agenda goal of increasing the ratio of exports to GDP for the benefit of all New Zealanders.”

The funding is a strong investment into one of New Zealand’s most important industries, says Nathan.

“New Zealand farmers are the best in the world, but we need to keep innovating and

investing in scientific research to maintain this. This kind of work will help us achieve our goal of doubling the value of primary sector exports by 2025.”

The partnership intends to use non-regulated biotechnologies, including genomic selection that does not involve genetic modification, to help progress breeding and commercialisation of high-performing forages for grazing livestock. The forage cultivars are expected to have improved nutritional content and be more resilient to drought and disease.

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Page 36

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Forest Quip Giant Wheel Loaders added to range

John Hansen, managing director of ForestQuip and Nick Walker talking to Reg Hedges (right) on site at the Fieldays.

Capital Tractors, Tauranga, have added a new string to their bow – Forest Quip Giant Wheel Loaders.

“We are very excited to be able to offer a range of Giant Wheel Loaders to our Customer feedback about Capital Tractor’s re-designed customers,” say Capital Tractors’ owners Reg showroom has been very positive. and Michelle Hedges, who have the sales grade steel for the chassis and booms, Kubota engines and service territory for the areas including and high-quality Bosch Rexroth components.

Whakatane, Rotorua, Tauranga and Coromandel.

The wheel loaders are known as ‘multipurpose “These loaders are so versatile and have many diftool carriers’ with options for hydraulic attachments ferent applications for orchardists, dairy and goat including hydraulic side shift forks, bale grabs, buckfarmers for use in their herd barns, as well as for ets, blades, hedge trimmers etc. beekeepers and more.”

The other big news for Capital Tractors is the near Capital Tractors started with a demo machine at completion of its parts showroom. the business in May, leading to the Fieldays in June, “This has been a real labour of love. After we where Reg and Michelle helped out on the Forest painted the floors, Robert, our Parts Manager, has Quip site. re-designed the showroom to a high standard and we “We had a fantastic time, met some awesome couldn’t be happier with the result. people, and have several demonstrations and sales “Our customer feedback has been very positive and underway as a result, so we couldn’t have asked for a new sales have been generated as a result, so much so, better start.” that we have engaged the part-time services of a new The machines range from 20 to 76hp, have fourstaff member to support this busy department,” say wheel drive and are for the customer who needs an extremely versatile, easily transported compact loader Reg and Michelle.

“Come in and see our upgraded showroom and that will take a variety of attachments for many check out our new range of Giant Wheel Loaders. applications.

We look forward to seeing you.”

The loaders are extremely well built, using high

EARTHWORKS

Page 37

Versatile operator has the digger to match skills Cliff Ford has been operating machinery since before he left school, and 20 years on the skills he has developed come in handy for a variety of earthmoving jobs, both large and small.

Club and runways for the Tauranga Model Aero Club.

His latest machine, a 13 tonne Hitachi ZX135 US, has a short swing radius, which means it can work in tight situations, including house sites. The digger also operates a mulcher, used to mulch vegetation including Ten years ago, Cliff established Cliff gorse, scrub, Ford Earthworks near Tauranga and is well woolly nightknown for his work on farms and in urban shade making areas. He was one of the key earthmovers short work of that helped with the TECT All Terrain what could be Park set up, and was involved with creating a very large tracks for the mountain bike, equestrian and time and motocross clubs. More recently he consuming has been sculpting the landscape to create task if done action firing ranges for the Tauranga Pistol by hand. It is capable of reducing even large gorse to mulch.

Cliff and his machine The mulcher carry out attached to roading work, Cliff Ford’s digger makes construct short work of farm races and drivevegetation. ways, prepare building sites, and arrange drainage and clear land in the Bay of Plenty area.

Cliff is the owner-operator and as well as undertaking his own contracts, works with other contractors on larger Cliff Ford Earthworks’ 13 tonne digger has a short swing radius projects, which require a range which means it can work in tight situations, including house sites. of skills and equipment use.

Flood protection work on-going The latest stage in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Rangitaiki Floodway project has been completed.

The floodway widening work is the latest step in the council project to reduce flood levels in the main Rangitaiki River, upstream of Edgecumbe to the river mouth.

It aims to relieve pressure on stopbanks along the Rangitaiki River and will direct more water down the floodway, decreasing flows down the main river.

“The project’s purpose is to make the Rangitaiki flood protection system more robust,” council rivers and drainage manager Bruce

Crabbe says. “This work will help provide more robust flood protection all the way down to below Thornton.”

There are still five stages to be completed.

Future work includes the section below the Matata-Whakatane highway, raising the stopbanks from the McLean Rd area to McCracken Rd, constructing a modified spillway to allow water to flow from the main Rangitaiki River into the floodway and designing the stopbanks with flatter slopes to allow farmers to work their land more easily.

Geotechnical strengthening work is undertaken as part of the project works and fencing will be

installed to restrict stock access to waterways.

Options investigations are continuing in conjunction with the design work to explore further improvements to the flood protection system and cater for future climate change effects. Further consultation with the community and affected landowners will be undertaken to discuss these options once they are further advanced.

The Regional Council has worked closely with landowners in the area throughout the project.

“We appreciate the patience and support we’ve received from landowners along the way,” Bruce says.

SPRING FERTILISER

Page 38

Robin Boom

CPAg MBSPC

Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant

Beware of bogus fertiliser claims Last month I attended a field day where a company was marketing a product claiming 34kg/ha of their product had the liming equivalent of one tonne/ha of agricultural lime.

When I asked how they can claim this they said they had soil test data to prove these light rates can lift soil pH after a few months.

Making such claims from a couple of soil tests is skating on thin ice. For a start, any trial should be multi-replicated and not just a single side-by-side plot.

Secondly soil tests are prone to seasonal variation, so taking soil tests at one time of year can naturally vary to another time of year, particularly soil pH which is likely to be naturally lower in summer/autumn and higher in winter/spring.

Also comparing short-term trials of a product which is calcium oxide (burned lime) based compared to calcium carbonate (normal lime) based is fraught with problems, as oxides can work very quickly neutralising an acid environment, whereas carbonates will be slower working over a longer period.

So theoretically 34kg/ha of an oxide based product could move the soil pH over a short period as much as 1000kg/ha of normal lime, but long term there is no way they are equivalent.

Higher cost

Once a product’s pH raising effect has been ‘spent’, or used up, it is over, whereas standard lime may take five to six years before it is all ‘spent’.

My issue is this particular product costs 50 times more per kilogram that normal lime and from its chemical analysis its neutralising value would only be slightly higher, so farmers are spending a lot of money for little value.

Anecdotal and spurious in-house soil test data done by the company itself should be treated with scepticism.

Another company promoting humates made the claim that a few kilograms of their humate was the equivalent of a tonne of compost. Again, this is a spurious claim.

For a start, a tonne of compost is likely to have 200kg of carbon which is much more than what is found in a few kg of humate, and it also has other

elements with typical NPK values of compost worth around $20-30 in each tonne which again a few kg of humate does not have.

If they were meaning ‘active’ carbon, however you define ‘active’, may mean humate is equivalent to compost, as soil microbes break down compost to make the 200 kg of carbon to become ‘active’ over time.

Response unpredictable

Humates may trigger a biological response with their soluble humic and fulvic acids, but biological responses are unpredictable. Mixing humates with other fertilisers, such as nitrogen, may improve their efficacy, but I use the word ‘may’ with caution as they equally ‘may not’. When it comes to composts, not all composts are the same. Generally the more leaf matter as opposed the woody material the compost is composed of the better.

Similarly not all humates are the same, with some being more soluble than others.

And not to let the major fertiliser cooperatives off the hook, they too have taken license when it comes to RPR fertilisers in recent years, knowingly blending inferior RPR types with good ones, knowing full well that the inferior product they blend in will take many years or even decades to fully work.

Not all limes, humates, composts or RPR products are the same and it can be easy to be misled by company rhetoric and sales talk and waste money on expensive products when there are better value options available.

Robin Boom CPAg, Member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists

Fertiliser code of practice 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/

SPRING FERTILISER

Page 39

Lime product addresses twin concerns One of the country’s largest maize contractors is reaping some strong returns after incorporating Rorisons RMD LimeMag and AgLime into its cultivation programme.

But before she started recommending it in the cropping programme, John Austin Ltd agronomist Lindy Bennett admits she was almost overwhelmed by the volume of soil testing data the company had accumulated over time.

“We had a huge amount of information but the challenge was to try and view it in a way that made sense to me; and to try and see any trends that we were getting in nutrient levels,” says Lindy.

On advice from a respected maize expert, Lindy loaded the data into a single spreadsheet that enabled her to determine any trends over time in critical soil nutrient levels across the 1000 hectares of land the company leases for maize cropping.

It is land spread literally around all four points of the compass within the Waikato and beyond, from Te Kauwhata in the north, down to Taumarunui in the south.

Potassium slide

The analysis identified a couple of concerning trends. The paddocks used for maize silage were recording a slide in potassium levels over time, along with their pH readings, something put down to the applications of nitrogen and potassium applied.

“The maize grain country that gets cropped every year tended to stay pretty stable for pH and potassium.”

She put the slide on the maize silage country down to the level of nitrogen

and potassium inputs.

The maize grain has the stalks and leaves incorporated back into the soil, maintaining nutrient and organic matter levels, while maize silage was harvested completely, removing with it the potassium applied for the season.

The spreadsheet analysis also identified a decline in magnesium levels in some soil types.

“Magnesium was something I never used to worry about until the decline became apparent looking at the spread sheet data.”

Twin concerns

It became clear to her LimeMag would address the twin concerns around pH and magnesium levels, so they started using the LimeMag 9:1 at cultivation time.

Four years on, Lindy continues to recommend using LimeMag and has some comparative basis for making her recommendation.

“We had found using another lime product the pH just was not moving as rapidly as we would have liked. We had the chance to compare it with Rorisons AgLime on a big 140ha block we took over, and the AgLime pushed up the pH by .3, while the other product did not move it at all.”

A peat block received where 9:1 LimeMag on the front half and AgLime on the back half, and the front half has increased by .5 and the back half by .4.

A pH shift

Lindy attributes the more rapid shifts in pH to the finer particles in LimeMag and AgLime allowing a rapid rate of soil absorption, and with that pH shift. It is also a shift that saw magnesium levels rise alongside pH.

Online help for dairy farmers DairyNZ has created a new online resource detailing the financial spending of top performing dairy farms, to help farmers cope with lower milk prices and set the industry up for a speedy recovery.

Economic modelling shows if farmers can decrease their potential loss by up to $1 per kilogram of milk solids this season they could recover from the low milk price three to four years faster.

DairyNZ general manager of research and development David McCall says one of the ways to capture this dollar is by spending on the right things and implementing good budgetary control of costs.

DairyNZ estimates the average New Zealand farm will lose about $150,000 to $200,000 at the current forecast payout for 2015/2016.

The average farmer could take a few years to repay this loss, but the top 20 per cent of farmers would be able to recover much sooner. This illustrates the importance of challenging your budget to improve your business, says David.

“This is where we can learn from the best, so we’ve created new online information to help show farmers where to prioritise their spend and how to make savings,” says David.

“Dairy farmers have asked us for more practical and specific data on which to benchmark themselves – we have listened to that feedback.

“We’ve pulled together in-depth budgets from a number of top performing farms nationwide with a sub $3.50 kg/ms cost of production. These top performing farms have honed their farm systems.

“Many of these farmers have learnt lessons from past downturns to build resilience. We’ve bottled that experience in a sense, by creating a new online benchmarking tool that will enable dairy farmers to identify areas for improvement.

“The information will show exactly where and how these guys are getting the most from their dollar. It is more than just the broad spend but a drill down into the detail with a break-

down on what items money is spent on.

“Any savings or efficiencies made will mean less money going into debt and consequently interest payments.”

To access the tool, visit dairynz.co.nz

“Basically we are using an efficient product that is doing two jobs at once for us.”

LimeMag application rates vary depending upon the company’s wide range of soil types, but typically may be applied at 1-3t/ha at cultivation time.

Further south on the light ashy soil of the Volcanic Plateau near Rangipo and Ohakune the company is also leasing land for barley, wheat and oilseed rape crops.

This “brown top country” has a pH of about 5.1, and a key focus is to try and lift both the pH and with that the fertility by using LimeMag in the process.

This is country still relatively new to cropping so significant levels of LimeMag has been invested into it, at a rate of about 12t/ha.

In the six years it has been cultivated it has moved from a starting pH of 5.1 to 6.1 and Lindy believes another couple of years will see it reach its full potential.

For Lindy, recommending LimeMag in the cultivation process means she has peace of mind the foundations for a good crop are laid down right from the start.

“If you get the basics done then you know it’s really just up to the weather gods.

It’s when you don’t do the foundation well you know you will have problems right from the start.”

Lindy Bennett of John Austin Contracting believes in the values of getting the basics right.

Your Maize Alkagrain Specialist Alka-Maize is a high energy, starchy concentrate feed suitable for feeding all ruminant livestock.

Alkagrain has a buffered pH of 8.5 – 9.5. This assists in maintaining a healthy rumen pH in the presence of low pH feeds like silages and from fast fermenting feeds like fresh grass.

It also greatly reduces the risk of acidosis which is normally a risk with grain feeding. This improves feed efficiency in the animal, increases appetite and improves long term health. It also allows higher rates of grain to be fed in the diet.

Alkagrain has 4.5 – 6.0% increased protein over traditional grains. It is unattractive to birds and vermin.

For all your Supplementary Feeds, please call our Customer Services Team on 07 872 0000.

HORTICULTURE

Page 40

Industry committed to best spray practice As winter ends and spring approaches, many conventional kiwifruit growers will apply hydrogen cyanamide to their vines in preparation for the new growing season.

This product plays a very important part in promoting bud break and assists with Psa-V control. It is an essential tool ensuring economically viable levels of production on kiwifruit orchards.

As an industry, we fully recognise our responsibility to the community and the environment.

Therefore, best practice spray guidelines have been developed with input from many different experts and organisations.

for Soils

and community spray action groups.

NZKGI acts as a spray complaints hotline for growers, affected neighbours and members of the public. Wherever possible, a NZKGI forum member gets in touch with the grower/applicator and affected neighbour to address concerns, establish key facts and whether a complaint is to be laid.

All complaints received by NZKGI are also forwarded to the regional council for

action. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council also operates a Pollution Hotline 0800 884 883 and receives complaints directly.

Each year there are more than 2000 applications of hydrogen cyanamide in the Bay of Plenty. Notably less than one per cent of these applications result in a complaint.

These complaints could have been avoided by following best practice advice. This includes: • Notify neighbours of spraying operations at least 12 hours prior to spraying.

• Check wind conditions before spraying. Do not spray if wind conditions are more than a light breeze – ie wind felt on exposed skin, leaves rustle.

• Use low spray drift technology – use Air Inclusion nozzles and Driftstop or equivalent to minimise drift.

• Use prominently-displayed signage to indicate spraying is taking place.

• Plant evergreen shelter on boundaries, especially road frontages. If there is no shelter, or the shelter is incomplete, a no-spray buffer of 30 metres is recommended to minimise drift onto neighbouring properties, including roads.

• Use bee-safe products.

There are two commercial operations that provide spray notification services to neighbours. They are Brian Bluck at email: service@spraywatch.com or phone 07 576 7770 and Victoria Hodge at email: victoria@seespray.nz or phone 021 134 6890.

These services are designed to ensure neighbours are notified of spraying and growers are encouraged to use them as proof of spray notification is also provided.

Pedestrians and motorists are warned when spraying is underway by yellow bags on letterboxes.

Yellow spray cones on roads also mark where spraying is underway.

These voluntary measures are a highly visible and effective way to warn road users spraying is taking place.

If you have any concerns about spraying, ring either the NZKGI or Bay of Plenty Regional Council Yellow-covered letterboxes are among the ways kiwifruit growers hotlines: NZKGI’s hotline 0800 232 505 and Bay of Plenty warn motorists and pedestrians that Hi-Cane spray is being Regional Council’s Pollution applied to their orchards.

Hotline 0800 884 883.

A Spray Action Group was established in 2009 with representatives from Zespri, NZ Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, spray contractors, community groups and other interested parties including rural posties. Since then, the group has met regularly to develop a number of key action points for the coming spray season. These include: • Best practice education for growers and spray contractors.

• Improved neighbour notification and better placement and greater use of spray notification signage.

• Minimal spray drift using low spray drift technology.

• Enhancement of spray complaint and noncompliance investigation and action.

• Proactive relationships between the kiwifruit industry, rural posties

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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.

Be sure to plant high-activity varieties for increased profits.

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Kauri Park, New Zealand’s largest supplier of Manuka plants, is now taking orders for 2015 delivery.

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See us on site M20 at the National Fieldays.

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We hold all certificates needed to meet Globalgap compliance.

We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect your crop with excellence.

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HORTICULTURE

Page 41

Local growers on HortNZ board Two Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers with wide experience in the industry have been elected to the Horticulture New Zealand Board.

John Cook and Mike Smith begin their term on the board at the HortNZ annual general meeting in Rotorua on July 28.

John has an extensive background in agriculture and horticulture, owning both a dairy and sheep farm, and has worked on and had investments in pipfruit, summer-

fruit and kiwifruit businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

He’s also a member of Zespri’s industry governance development programme, new variety steering group, and Green 14 product development group, and a member and founder of the Zespri ‘BIGTIK’ – or Bringing Innovative Growers Technology in Kiwifruit – committee. John has a diploma in agriculture from Lincoln University and was a recipient of a Kellogg Rural Leadership Scholarship.

Mike has been in the kiwifruit business for

more than 20 years, and has a background in dairy farming and the stock and station industry. He’s an alumni of the HortNZ Leadership Programme, a member of the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc Forum and the kiwifruit industry representative to the Horticulture Industry Forum. Mike is also chair of the Green Kiwifruit Growers Association and a member of the Bay of Plenty Young Fruitgrower Committee.

   

John Cook is a newly elected member of the HortNZ Board.

Citrus conference heads north

NZ Citrus Growers Inc will be holding its 2015 AGM and conference at the Turner Centre, Kerikeri on August 20 and 21, and citrus growers from all growing regions are invited to attend.

The programme includes technical and scientific sessions and field trips to mandarin and lemon orchards, and the Kerifresh Packhouse. Matt Watson of the ITM Fishing Show is guest speaker at the conference dinner at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell.

Keynote speaker for the opening session is Doug Edmeades whose topic is ‘Pseudo-science: A Threat to Agriculture’. Other sessions include an outline of Naval orange grade standards with Mark Loeffen; an address by Robin Nitschke on ‘Experiences of establishing and operating a grower co-operative’ and a session on biosecurity.

On day two, Wayne Hall will talk about new citrus varieties available in NZ followed by a marketing panel discussion on threats and opportunities for NZ citrus, and an update on the citrus research strategy.

Citrus flower moth insecticides is the topic for a Plant & Food Research presentation and HortNZ will also update growers on its work on their behalf.

Thanks to sponsorship, attendance at the conference is free to all NZCGI members, and nonmembers can apply to NZCGI to attend. Conference dinner tickets are available for $50 per person for NZCGI members and conference attendees but number are limited.

Registration closes on Friday August 7 at 5pm, contact NZCGI (info@citrus.co.nz) for a registration form.

Kiwifruit grower newly elected mem Mike Smith is a ber of the HortN Z Board.

Rising to the occasion

EMILIO’S TIMBERS EST1981

The minister of a small parish in the US was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building.

With all this on his mind he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and the substitute, who had been brought in at the last minute, wanted to know what to play.

"Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."

During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty.

“The roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we still need $4000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."

At that moment, the substitute organist played ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’

And that is how the substitute became the regular organist.

COSIO COSIO INDUSTRIES

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Enhances cane growth Increases production Larger fruit size Makes orchard warmer increases dry matter prior to picking

Comes complete with eyelets or can be hemmed with drawcord for pulling wire through. Custom made to your requirements.

Contact us for your nearest stockist.

Cosio Industries Ltd, P.O.Box 15014, New Lynn Auckland Email : sales@cosio.co.nz 27-33 Lansford Crescent, Avondale, Auckland Website : http://www.cosio.co.nz Ph 09 820 0272 Fax 09 820 0274

Page 42

AVOCADOS

Targeting grower returns and fruit quality Planning provides a powerful tool for efficient safe and effective orchard management, says Aongatete Avocados Ltd managing director Tony Bradley.

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“Using an orchard management programme gives avocado orchard owners a range of options for selling fruit with which to improve returns. Such options include access to the

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higher valued export and local market retail programmes.”

Food safety is a criteria for entry into those programmes and also to producing good quality and reliable fruit.

AAL operates food safe systems that gives buyers confidence in the quality of the fruit. The company also works to enhance the consumers experience with avocados by managing the time from pick to pack, and by operating good quality fruit handling systems.

“AAL has identified this fruit qualitycentric approach as a core value driving our orchard management systems.”

Experience in orcharding has enabled AAL to develop a robust and documented growing system targeting the higher priced markets and returns, as well as consistent quality cropping.

Consistency in product quality helps support the development of a good fruit experience at the retail level.

Improving efficiency on orchards, both through inputs and operations, improves orchard financial performance.

ALL operations manager Brien James says, “Through a modelled and planned orchard management system AAL been able to develop its on-orchard efficiency.

A focus on fruit pack-outs and size enables better net orchard returns while Avocados Ltd’s orchard to retail fruit handling systems operating a food safety system gives simplify growing for orchard owners. owners more fruit selling options.”

For land owners this means better of owning the land and to have comfort in knowreturns. Today there are greater pressures on maining they are producing good quality fruit into the taining a food safe system, more records need to be marketplace. held and there’s more paperwork and more rules to “Owners who want to do tasks on orchard are able operate under. to under our flexible orchard management contract.

Under a management programme AAL has develSuch flexibility gives owners peace of mind that jobs oped simple systems to manage this. Their systems are being completed on time and within a plan,” give owners more time to enjoy the good things says Tony.

AVOCADOS

Page 43

An avocado a day reduces desire to snack Research shows adding a few slices of avocado to your lunch will slash your desire to eat over the next three hours by 40 per cent, compared to eating the same meal without it.

A study, published in ‘Nutrition Journal’, focussed on overweight adults to see if avocado consumption helped them feel more satisfied and reduced their desire to eat in the following few hours.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in the United States conducted randomised single-blind crossover trials where participants ate a standard breakfast followed by one of three test lunches – one without avocado, one that included avocado and one where extra avocado was added.

The volunteers’ glucose and insulin responses were measured, along with their feelings of satisfaction and desire to eat over the next five hours. The study found those who added half a fresh avocado to their lunch reported a 40 per cent decrease in desire to eat again over the next three hours, and a 28 per cent decrease in the following five hours.

Feel satisfied

Participants also reported feeling more satisfied (26 per cent) during the course of the afternoon following their avocado lunch.

Satiety is an important factor in weight management because people who feel satisfied are less likely to snack between meals, says chair of the Department of Nutrition Dr Joan Sabaté, who led the research team at Loma Linda University.

It was also noted that though adding avocados increased participants’ calorie and carbohydrate intake at lunch, there was no increase in blood sugar levels beyond what was observed after eating the standard

lunch. This leads them to believe that avocado’s potential role in blood sugar management is worth further investigation.

Smaller waist

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The study was funded by the US-based Hass Avocado Board. New Zealand Avocado CEO Jen Scoular says there are many international studies underway to uncover the health benefits of avocados.

“Other research published in ‘Nutrition Journal’ found people who regularly eat avocados weigh 3.4kg less on average, and have waistlines around 4cm smaller, than those who don’t.

"Avocados are rich in monounsaturated (‘good’) fats and are a low GI (glycemic index) Market leading MarketStemShot leading StemShot AV-1 withAV-1 Stemgun with Stemgun Revolutionary Revolutionary capsule formulation capsule formulation food, so they will help you to or syringe combinations orapplication syringe application combinations Market leading StemShot AV-1 with Stemgun Revolutionary capsule formulation feel fuller for longer.” release ofrelease active of active • Sustained • Sustained or syringe application combinations Another reason avocado• Sustained ingredients ingredients to roots to roots release of active Delivers treatment quickly and quickly assists and with assists with • Delivers• treatment will help fill you up is they ingredients to roots rapid movement rapid movement ofquickly active ingredient of active ingredient into the into the Delivers treatment and assists with • 60% more 60% labour more efficient*, labour efficient*, • Adding avocado are packed with fibre. Half • root system root where system its needed where its needed rapid movement of active ingredient into the costmore effective, cost quick effective, and quick easy and easy labour efficient*, • 60% to lunch is more an avocado will provide more root system where its needed simpleand to use simple to use cost effective, quick and easy • Easy and • Easy than just tasty – it than 25 per cent of your daily of materials of and materials and • No preparation • No preparation Easy and simple to use brings health recommended fibre intake. Nomixing • of chemicals mixing of chemicals AV-1 is compatible AV-1 is compatible with with of materials and • StemShot • StemShot • preparation benefits too. "They’re an absolute pow- mixing of chemicals syringe treatments syringe treatments erhouse when it comes to • No maintenance of injectionofequipment injection equipment • StemShot AV-1 is compatible with • No maintenance syringe treatments providing your body with the nutrients it needs eachNo maintenance of injection equipment • visitreturn to trees visit to trees • No day. They also help your body absorb more nutrients• No return from other fruit and vegetables you eat with avocado,” return tothetrees based on the time * visit based required on totime mix,required fill and retrieve to mix, syringes fill and retrieve syringes • on*No the same size ontree. the same size tree. says Jen. * based on the time required to mix, fill and retrieve syringes Boosting your avocado intake is easy as this fruitonisthe same size tree. extremely versatile. You can add a few slices to your 0800 774 6290800 774 629 0800 774 629 www.omnia.net.nz favourite omelette, sandwich or salad, or eat them on www.omnia.net.nz *the science of growing*the science of growing www.omnia.net.nz toast at any time of day.

StemCap PC-1 is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, P8696. is registered to the ACVM Act 1997, P7450 StemCap PC-1 is registered pursuant to theNo. ACVM Act StemShot 1997, No. AV-1 P8696.

StemShot pursuant AV-1 is registered pursuant to theNo. ACVM Act 1997, No. P7450 "You can also blend them into smoothies or use StemCap PC-1 is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. P8696. StemShot AV-1 is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. P7450 them as a butter and oil substitute when baking or making desserts,” she says.

"Their creamy texture makes them perfect for mousses, ice cream and cheesecakes. Delicious and healthy!”

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(Source www.nzavocado.co.nz/ )

AVOCADOS

Page 44

From Bucharest high-rises to Apata and avocados For Andreea Misescu and her family, Bucharest now seems like another world. Romania’s capital city, with its high density high-rise apartment living and almost two million residents, is a far cry from Apata in the Western Bay of Plenty; population in the hundreds.

But the transition from Eastern Europe to a peninsula on the edge of the Tauranga harbour has gone well for Andreea, her husband Alin, and sons Alex (11) and Vlad (6).

Andreea is an accountant, but these days she can be found wandering among her 280 avocado trees, injecting them, applying fertiliser by hand and generally providing tender loving care. Pruning is now the next mission.

The Misescu’s orchard was well estab-

lished when they took it over in December last year, with some of the trees reputedly 40 years old, but it was suffering neglect.

Learning curve

Initially the workload was intensive but now that the spraying is contracted out, Andreea believes that she has things to a more manageable level, with more time to dedicate to her family.

It has been a steep learning curve, she admits. “We had nothing to do with farms or horticulture in Bucharest. We lived in the suburbs and we never had so much land there.

“But I like everything to do with growing avocados. There’s nothing on the orchard I don’t like. It is so different from what our lives were like before.

“We were in the communist era before

Andreea and Alin Misescu from Romania are loving their new life as orchardists at Apata. and everything in our city was concrete blocks and big apartment complexes. It’s so quiet here at Apata. Alin loves everything to

do with the sea so we’re really enjoying being by the water. We have a river on one side and the harbour just in front of us.”

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With Alin studying in Tauranga for a marine biology degree, the orchard work is falling on Andreea five days a week, in between dropping off and picking up their two boys from school. She says the assistance and advice she has received from AVOCO grower services rep John Cotterell has been tremendous and chairman of the export group’s grower relations committee, Hugh Moore, has been to visit them also.

“John has been here a lot of times. I am really happy with the help he has given and the knowledge he has passed on to me.

“I have had to learn everything about avocado orcharding. I knew nothing. So I am reading all the stuff that comes to my hand.”

With their first crop looming, Andreea and Alin are excited. Their orchard is not an early producer so they are expecting that the first pick will take place in September, with the main event in December or January. On the current fruit count, they are expecting about 7000 export trays and if they achieve this, they will be happy.

With their family’s orchard a ready-made soccer pitch and plenty of ‘posts’ around for the scoring of goals, brothers Alex and Vlad are also happy.

“Yes, we will be playing plenty of soccer,” Andreea says. “It’s what we like to do as a family and the boys are really enjoying having the space to do this.”

Fruit’s history dates to 1920s The first meeting of the NZ Avocado Promotion Committee (later the Avocado Promotion Association, and the forerunner of today's Avocado Growers' Association Inc and Avocado Industry Council Ltd) was held on February 11, 1980 but avocados had been in New Zealand for many years before a formal industry structure came into being.

In the 1965 California Avocado Yearbook, CA Schroeder of the University of California wrote that the first avocado was probably introduced in the Gisborne area by the late Charles Grey in about 1920.

In 1926 Charles' son, the late Len Grey received avocado seeds distributed by the NZ Department of Agriculture. Len wrote in the same yearbook: "My late father raised several of these seedlings and, after about 12 to 14 years, one tree began to produce fruit of good quality, which we marketed in Auckland for the first time in 1939." The fruit was well received, so the Greys decided to import a number of varieties from California. During the '40s trials continued until they had some 20 varieties.

The country's first commercial avocado orchard had been established. Selecting the most promising varieties, they began raising their own seedlings (mostly Mexicola) and by 1965 had around 600 trees. Main varieties included Fuerte, Nabal and Hass, with some Hazzard, Zutano, Hellen and Mary Martin. They found Hass a "good consistent cropper, with fruit of very high quality, and a tree which is compact and tidy in growth".

However, already the alternate bearing issue that still plagues the industry today was appearing.

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 45

PROUD LOCAL

MAIZE

Page 46

Twelve steps to successful maize establishment If you are planning to grow a maize silage crop this spring, now is the time to book your contractor and order maize supplies, including insecticide-treated Pioneer brand maize seed.

Following these steps will help you to achieve a high-yielding crop: Paddock selection: Choose your paddock as soon as possible and plan to carry out any necessary drainage work prior to maize crop establishment. Well-drained paddocks allow

Growing a high-yielding maize silage crop requires good preparation and attention to detail.

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earlier cultivation, improved maize establishment and better weed control.

Soil test: Soil core to the depth of cultivation - normally 150 mm and up to 300 mm on peat soils. Your local farm supply or fertiliser company representative can help you determine the right fertiliser and lime application programme.

Book contractor: Contact your local contractor to book in base fertiliser application as well as spraying out pasture, cultivation and planting.

Choose your hybrid: Some important factors to consider are: • Days from planting to silage harvest. See the Pioneer brand Maize for Silage catalogue 2015 for average planting and harvest dates for Pioneer hybrids in your area.

• High total DM and grain yield. Hybrids must have a high total dry-matter yield, as well as a high-grain yield to achieve maximum metabolisable energy yield per hectare. Grain yield is important as two-thirds of the energy in maize silage comes from the grain.

• High population adaptability. High plant populations are necessary to ensure high silage yields. All Pioneer brand maize silage hybrids have been fully tested for their adaptability to high populations and fulfil this requirement.

Make sure you order insecticide treated Pioneer brand maize seed well in advance of planting.

Spray paddock: Spray out paddock using glyphosate. Spraying out pasture reduces the number of cultivation passes required to achieve a desirable seed bed. It also eliminates pasture re-growth and reduces turf clods on the seed bed surface. This in turn enhances the performance of chemicals for weed control.

Apply base fertiliser: Fertiliser requirements will vary greatly depending on the history and fertility status of the paddock.

High fertility long-term dairy pastures, including those which have had a history of effluent application, may require no fertiliser while continually cropped paddocks or run-out sheep and beef farm pastures sometimes require capital fertiliser applications.

Cultivate seedbed: A well-prepared seedbed enables weed control chemicals and insecticides to give optimum results, enhances crop establishment and allows planting machinery to function more accurately.

Plant crop: Hybrid maize seed must be precision planted.

Choose a reputable contractor with well-maintained equipment.

Research has shown keeping the plant population up to the recommended levels will maximise maize silage yield.

Starter fertiliser: The soil test will determine the type and rate of starter fertiliser required.

Weed control: Pre-emergent herbicides (such as Roustabout) will be most effective if applied within 24 hours of planting. The type of post-emergent weed control herbicide used is determined by the type of weeds present. Seek specialist advice from your merchant, chemical company representative or Pioneer representative.

Check crop: Maize crops should be walked every two to three days during the early part of the growing season.

Keep an eye out for insect or bird damage, weeds and signs of nutrient deficiencies.

Nitrogen side dressing: Around four weeks after planting, conduct a deep N soil test to determine if additional nitrogen is required. Side dressing normally occurs around six weeks after planting when the maize is knee-high.

Urea is the most commonly used nitrogen product for side dressing. Methods of application range from broadcasting the urea just prior to rain to specific machines that knife the urea into the soil between the rows.

Growing a high-yielding maize silage crop requires good preparation and attention to detail so start planning your crop today.

By Robin Billett Regional Manager for Pioneer brand products

MAIZE

Page 47

Long term outlook fine – short term gloomy The long-term outlook for farming is optimistic but to get the value from future opportunities, farmers have to survive the short term situation, says Federated Farmers of New Zealand president Dr William Rolleston.

Just how farmers are feeling in the short term is demonstrated by the fact that pessimists overwhelmingly outnumber optimists in Federated Farmers’ new-season July 2015 Farm Confidence Survey, which has moved further into negative territory for both the economy in general and farm profitability.

The survey shows 28.2 per cent of respondents expect general economic conditions to worsen during the next 12 months and 42.9 per cent expect their own farm’s profitability to worsen during the next 12 months.

Other results include 38.5 per cent expecting to reduce on-farm spending during the next 12 months and 25.7 per cent expect to their farm debt to increase in the same period.

Perfect position

William says those results are not surprising given low farm gate prices and droughts.

However, he says there is good reason for long-term optimism. “The world population is growing with an increasing demand for high quality animal protein which we are in a perfect position to supply.”

Farming is cyclical and those who’ve been in the industry for a long time may be better placed than newcomers to survive the downturn, but the current situation is not easy for anyone and can led to mental health problems.

William says Federated Farmers, which launched a mental health campaign ‘Life’s a bitch’ three years ago, is aware a number of farmers are asking for help. “It is good they are doing so as talking about their concerns really helps.”

A little more understanding of farmer’s plight by urban Kiwis and environmental groups would be appreciated, he says.

Farmer spending A Federated Farmers and DairyNZ survey of New Zealand dairy farmers’ environmental investments, shows an estimated spend of more than $1billion during the last five years.

“The public will have to understand farmers will not be moving as fast on environmental investments now, with less money in the bank; but that is no

excuse for going backwards.”

The confidence survey shows the main factors influencing farmers’ mood include world dairy prices in the doldrums and Fonterra’s initial forecast for 2015/2016 of $5.25 per kilogram of milk solid, even though that is up $0.85 on its initial forecast the previous season.

With the Global Dairy Trade prices continuing to fall since the opening forecast was made and coming down 34 per cent since March, the forecast is looking more and more challenging. Most dairy farmers expect their profitability to worsen.

Farmers on the East Coast of the South Island experienced a drought last summer. Sheep and beef farmers have sent stock to slaughter early. That, and a higher than usual dairy cull cow kill, increased supply at meat processors and reduced schedule prices.

Production expectations, which were hit in January by the drought and by the low dairy payout, have also eased back further in this survey, although remain positive.

Dollar buffer

A silver lining has been a drop in the New Zealand dollar since April.

This should act as a buffer to weak world prices.

There could be a fall to what would be more of a ‘fair value’, given the 25 per cent fall in world commodity prices since March 2014.

Pessimism about profitability is reflected in farmers’ spending intentions. A higher proportion of farmers expect to reduce spending to levels of sentiment not seen since the Global Financial Crisis. The intention to close cheque books is especially strong

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weather, with 13 per cent, and industry among dairy farmers. specific issues, with 11 per cent.

More farmers expect to And a jump in concern about industry increase debt than reduce specific issues reflects farmer dissatisfaction debt. The support of banks with the performance of Fonterra and the will be important during meat industry. this challenging period.

Farmers’ highest priority for the GovernThe agricultural labour ment is regulation and compliance costs. market remains tight but More than 24 per cent either mentioned appears to have eased it generally or raised specific hot topics slightly since January. such as health and safety and the Resource Slightly fewer farmers Management Act. report it is harder to find As with the last survey, the overall results skilled and motivated staff.

New Zealand pasture fed meat finds mask both industry and regional variations, The biggest concern for favour internationally. with these are discussed in the report. farmers is commodity and The full July 2015 Report can be found farm gate prices, cited by at http://www.fedfarm.org.nz/publications/Surveys/ nearly 37 per cent of farmers. This was followed by regulation and compliance costs, with 17 per cent, the

By Elaine Fisher

Page 48

FOR SUSTAINABLE PROFIT

MAIZE

FORESTRY

New standards bring certainty The National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry will give certainty to anyone establishing or harvesting a forest in New Zealand, says Forest Owners Association chief executive David Rhodes.

Environment Minister Nick Smith and Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew say the proposed standard has been cleared by Cabinet and is open for public consultation.

All going well, it will become law in 2016.

“Rules in all regions will be based on the soil erosion risks posed by a particular class of land, rather than the region in which the forest is located.

“The forest industry is extremely proud of its environmental credentials, which will be reinforced by the new standard.

Instead of

fighting regional council red tape, we can focus on doing a great job in our forests,” says David.

Regional councils

“Regional councils have played an important role in developing the standard, which will make forestry a permitted activity on all land of low erosion risk. On land of high erosion risk, resource consents will be needed to ensure that the erosion risks associated with forest roading and harvesting are minimised.”

A spin-off from the NES will be the development of improved environmental management tools that can be used across the country. Already, refinements are being made to the national soil erosion risk maps that underpin many of the proposed rules. A national fish spawning calendar is being developed and a wilding pine spread risk calculator has been adopted.

David says praise for getting the standard to this point is due to the association’s environmental committee, led by its chair, Peter Weir.

Future focus for conference “Developing forest policy for a changing future” is the theme for the 2015 New Zealand Institute of Forestry conference at Te Papa in Wellington on August 10.

The task of this conference is to receive the reports of the five working parties, discuss and debate the draft strategies and policies, and make recommendations on the further development and implementation of a New Zealand Forest Policy.

The ultimate aim of the project is to produce a forest policy that will be accepted and used by all parts of the sector, and could help guide Government thinking. It is expected attendees will debate the issues and recommendations, and to influence further work on the policy.

To register go to www.forestry.org.nz

“Their persistence and sheer hard work with successive governments for nearly a decade has borne fruit. At the same time praise is due to Ministers Smith and Goodhew, who understood this is not about reducing protection for the environment but about finding ways to cut through needless red tape.”

Resource consents

Peter says the differing rules have made it difficult to manage forests in more than one region, or blocks that straddle two regions.

“Resource consents will no longer be needed to carry out forest operations that are done in the same way, every day, in those forests where the erosion risk is low. Nor will we have to participate in the ongoing churn of plan reviews in councils up and down the country.

“The NES will simplify forest operations, make it easier for us to comply with the rules and to build better training systems.

Everyone – forest owners, contractors and their crews – will know what is expected of them.”

The standard will result in the rules relating to forestry becom-

ing more detailed for activities like stream crossings, but will produce better environmental outcomes. There will also be a requirement for all land owners undertaking afforestation to take responsibility for any wilding conifer spread across boundaries.

“The development of the proposed NES has been greatly assisted by the hard work of the forestry team at the Ministry for Primary Industries, as well as the collaborative decision-making process.

“As with the national water policy, collaboration has resulted in a high degree of co-operation and cohesion among interested parties, with special credit due in this case to the input from and perseverance of Fish & Game and Forest & Bird.

“Thanks to this process, we believe the proposed standard will have the broad support of most stakeholders, including environmental and land user groups. Nevertheless, consultation with the wider public is important in order to get the widest possible buy-in.”

More information about the proposal, and how to make a submission, can be found on the MPI website.

Page 49

Page 50

COAST & COUNTRY

trades & services To list your rural event please email: julie@thesun.co.nz with Rural Event in the subject heading.

Tuesday 4 August

Tuesday 11 August

Discusses and investigates the farm system and farm related issues on the host farm, including current topics and upcoming seasonal matters.

It is an open forum that utilises the experience of all members in the group: 11am-1.30pm.

Contact Jamie Haultain at DairyNZ or website www.dairynz.co.nz/events

Learn how to better manage feed supply and demand, increase feed utilisation and enhance the value of the feed consumed. These workshops are free to attend, but numbers are limited. On completion you will be given a copy of the simple feed budget software demonstrated and supporting resources. Bring your own lunch. Spaces are limited. Please register your interest by using the link on Beef + Lamb website http://beeflambnz.com/

DairyNZ Te Kauwhata/Waerenga Discussion Group.

Thursday 6 August S

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B+LNZ Waitomo Farming for profit field-day.

Speaker and topics: WorksafeNZ – Nick Sicklemore – health and safety on farm.

SmartMaps and variable-rate spreading – latest from Ravensdown’s Primary Growth Partnership; Wicked weeds – Trevor James from AgResearch; B+LNZ – How sheep and beef farmers are leading the way in the environmental space; B+LNZ chief executive Scott Champion – Update on the referendum ’15 proposal. Afternoon tea provided.

1-3.15pm, Panorama Motor Inn, 59 Awakino Rd, Te Kuiti. For more information, or call Rob Macnab on 0273 203 185.

Friday 7 August

DairyNZ Waihi Whole Farm Assesment Discussion Group.

This farmer group discusses and analyses the host farmer’s system and management practices, in order to identify opportunities and solutions that meet the host’s future goals and objectives.

It also discusses seasonal issues and challenges that are affecting members. This Discussion Group is open to anyone involved in dairying or dairy related agri-business. Meet at 11.30 for lunch at 12pm Contact: Aaron Traynor DairyNZ or go to www.dairynz.co.nz/events

B+LNZ Feed budget workshop for sheep & beef farmers.

Tuesday 18 August

NZIPIM and Rural Professionals Meeting - Taupo.

You have the largest localised DairyBase project in the country right on your doorstep.

Come along to hear what findings there have been from analysis of DairyBase data for the 2013/14 season from around 50 farms in the coastal Bay of Plenty. This will include insight into the practices of high profit farmers. 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm Contact Wilma Foster of DairyNZ or go to website www.dairynz.co.nz/events

Wednesday 26 August B+LNZ:

Whangara Farms, 2070 State Highway 35, Whangara, Gisborne. Alongside meat processors Silver Fern Farms and ANZCO Foods, B+LNZ and McDonald’s New Zealand have established two sustainable beef integration programmes to demonstrate the key principles of sustainable beef production. Whangara Farms is one of the producers involved in this project. 9am-12pm. For more information Beef + Lamb website http://beeflambnz.com

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 51

Frank believes only best good enough for sausages Sausages should be made only from the very best cuts of meat, believes Frank Nagel, who grew up in Germany where sausages have a very special place in cuisine and tradition.

began featuring Frank’s sausages on their menus, and at Waharoa, in the delicatessen too. Frank included a phone number on the packaging and orders began coming in.

work for Two Little Boys, is responsible for preparing the ingredients for each new batch of sausages, following recipes created by Frank or his German chef Robert.

“It’s very precise,” says Sharon, as she carefully adds paprika to a Blue cottage mix she is preparing. It’s generally A course of events and increasing Sharon who, once the sausage mix demand led Frank and Sheryn to is complete, fills the sausage skins buy an existing sausage company The first New Zealand sausages too. just outside of he sampled just didn’t taste right Making sausages Frank’s way and it wasn’t long before Frank is not quick. Each step from was experimenting with making preparing the free-range meat his own.

– pork from Harmony Meats The former German interin Paeroa and chicken from national rugby captain and Turk’s Poultry in Foxton – is industrial chemist met his wife carefully executed from the Sheryn, who has a degree in blending of meats, herbs, food science and marketing, spices and fruits and vegetawhen she was working for bles, to cooking and smoking.

Fonterra in Germany.

The finished sausages are In 2005 the couple vacuum-packed and labelled returned to New Zealand ready for delivery to private to live on a lifestyle block, customers or for sale through while Sheryn was employed retail outlets including Farro at Fonterra’s Palmerston Fresh stores in Auckland, North research facility. selected New World SuperWhen their neighbour sold Sheryn and Frank Nagel of Frank’s Sausages, markets around the country the couple piglets Hokey Te Aroha, aim to change Kiwi attitudes to and Vetro Mediterranean and Pokey, Frank eventually what constitutes a truly good sausage.

Foods in Rotorua, as well turned them into handmade as online and from Frank’s Te Aroha called Two Little Boys sausages.

Sausages at Te Aroha. and it’s from one of two quaint So popular where the sausages blue cottages that Frank’s Sausages with friends and family that when Family life now operates. the couple moved to Matamata, “We used to attend the Tauranga The premises are equipped with Frank started manufacturing Farmers’ Market and I quite enjoyed industrial machinery to mince, sausages on a small scale from a it but with Frank’s Sausages to run mix, cook and smoke meats to converted laundry. and a lifestyle property to care for create a range of gourmet sausages.

A local restaurant and then the we found we needed more time to Sharon Bottcher, who used to Kaimai Cheese cafe at Waharoa spend with our two small children.”

Sheryn, who is responsible for the administrative and marketing sides of Frank’s Sausages, is also a business consultant, working two days a week in Hamilton.

It’s a busy life and not without its challenges but thanks to the quality and taste of their products, Frank and Sheryn are changing Kiwi attitudes about sausages.

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Sausages and meats cooling after being smoked at Frank’s Sausages, Te Aroha.

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COAST & COUNTRY

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