Coast & Country August 2017 by Sun Media

August ˜°˛˝ Issue No.˜°˙

Western BOP PAGE 14-15

WHAKATANE

Matt Ryan, a DMS orchard manager, is part of a team which has developed a new app to aid in timely and accurate crop estimation for the kiwifruit industry – read his story on pages 6-7. Photo Elaine Fisher.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 2

Kiwis do value farming – survey shows In recent years farmers have felt increasingly undervalued – blaming the urban/rural divide for the appearance that the public doesn’t appreciate their contribution to New Zealand’s economy and image.

Brian Rogers Director/ Editor

Elaine Fisher Editor 07 928 3046

However, the latest data from Statistics NZ shows those perceptions may be wrong. Agriculture and farming scored a mean rating of 8.2 out of 10 for "important characteristics when deﬁning New Zealand" in the Well-being Statistics 2016 survey, in which nearly 9000 people gave their views. Topping the ratings were ‘freedom, rights and peace’ and ‘environment’, both 9.1, and just in front of farming, ‘people in New Zealand’ at 8.5. ‘History’ had a mean rating of 8, and sports 7.8, the annual survey shows.

Those results are at odds too with the general perception that New Zealanders see themselves as sports-mad. It could have been supposed that rugby and the All Blacks would be high on the list of how Kiwis define their country. However, it’s not the time to become complacent. The survey found that regard for farming as a key national characteristic increased with age. Those over 65 were more likely to rate agriculture and farming as extremely important when defining New Zealand - 40 per cent rated it 10/10. This compares with only 27.5 per cent of young people. Agriculture and farming featured in the top four most highly rated characteristics for European (30.6 per cent rated it 10/10) and Asian people (34.4). But Maori and Pasifika people tended to rate sport more

highly as a defining characteristic. Given the diversity of our cultures, and that today’s young people will be the decision-makers of the future, our primary industries have to win them over and that will include improving the industry’s environmental performance. That’s not always easy when faced with extreme events like the cyclones which caused extensive flooding throughout the Waikato and Bay of Plenty – the impacts of which are ongoing – see pages 8-9 Countdown supermarkets are working to increase their staff’s respect for and understanding of growers, says produce merchandise manager Steve Sexton – see page 10. They may have taken more than a century, but nature’s “waste management specialists” are finally here – helping clean up dung – see page 31. Elaine Fisher

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Page 3

Changing world means biosecurity a constant threat long way from its markets and we can’t be anything but excellent. We need to focus on value added.” Horticulture New Zealand president Julian Raine says Peter is an exceptional grower who has been involved in the kiwifruit industry for 36 years and during that time has taken a lead role on critical issues, including the battle against the vine disease Psa-V, for the benefit of all kiwifruit growers “Peter has shown effective leadership for growers and has steered the industry through two critical crises that could have destroyed the kiwifruit industry as it is today. He is wellrespected by growers, industry leaders,

and the government.” Very similar to the famous rugby trophy also known as the Bledisloe Cup, horticulture’s version was one of several cups Lord Bledisloe presented to New Zealand in 1931. In recognition of his services to the kiwifruit industry, Peter received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2013. Peter and his wife Gwen established a mixed orchard at Welcome Bay near Tauranga in the 1980s. Though they have retained the orchard, the couple now live at Nelson where Peter continues to enjoy growing plants, only on a smaller scale. Elaine Fisher

Peter Ombler receives horticulture’s Bledisloe Cup from the Minster for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy.

Peter’s outstanding leadership through one of the industry’s darkest times is among the reasons he was awarded horticulture’s premier award, the Bledisloe Cup at the Horticulture Conference 2017 in Tauranga. Today Peter is a member of the Biosecurity Ministerial Advisory Committee which provides independent advice to the Minister for Primary Industries on the performance of the biosecurity system. “We live in a challenging and complex world, especially in regards to growth in travel. We can’t continue to rely on the current biosecurity model.” Peter was president of New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated when the vine disease Psa was discovered in Te Puke in November 2010. He applied his considerable orchard knowledge to the search for solutions and was a calm voice in the midst of uncertainty surrounding the New Zealand kiwifruit industry’s future. The industry’s most lucrative gold kiwifruit variety Hort16A was particularly susceptible to the disease, with the result that vines had to be cut out and destroyed

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In response to the disease threat, Kiwifruit Vine Health was set up to address the Psa outbreak. Peter was a foundation member and its second chairman. He subsequently moved KVH from a Psa focus to acting for the kiwifruit industry on all biosecurity risks. “The Psa outbreak was a difficult time for th industry but as is often the case, those difficultie brought out the best in people and perhaps they brought out the best in me too. The relationships I made during those difficult times have become tru friendships which I treasure.” Biosecurity is not the only threat facing the horticulture industry, says Peter, who joined the kiwifruit industry as a Lincoln University graduate 36 years ago. “Food safety is another big issue and as growers, I know we don’t like compliance but we have to have rules as we can’t afford to get it wrong.”

Single desk marketing

During his presidency of NZKGI from 2008 to 2011 Peter was instrumental in retaining the kiwifruit industry’s single desk status. That’s an aspect of the industry structure he is also proud of. “The single desk marketing structure is a terrific model other sectors should look at closel and learn from. New Zealand is a tiny country a

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New Zealand must continually revise and strengthen its biosecurity systems in the face of constantly changing threats, says Peter Ombler, the orchardist who helped the kiwifruit industry recover from the impacts of the disease Psa-V.

Page 4

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Heifer a dream come true for Tayla Thirteen-year-old Tayla Hansen’s dream of having a pure bred Speckle Park heifer has been granted, thanks to the generosity of John and Jan Bellamy, owners of Below Sea Level Speckle Park stud at Ruawai in Northland.

Tayla, who featured on the cover of last month’s Coast & Country News, won the 2017 Royal Easter Show’s supreme Speckle Park bull trophy with M&M, a ninemonth-old bull she bought from John and Jan. “We invited Tayla to come and spend a few days with us during the July school holidays as we had a lot of embryo transplant Speckle Park calves being born from our dairy herd,” says John, who with Jan is impressed at Tayla’s talents for rearing and handling calves. Tayla’s aim is to breed pure Speckle Park animals and as much as she is attached to M&M, accepted she would need to sell him in order to buy a purebred heifer. However, when it came time for her to leave the Bellamy property there was a surprise in store. “I said to Tayla – well you better go and put calf number 292 in the trailer and take her home,” says John. “Tayla looked a bit stunned at ﬁrst and when it sunk in, burst into tears.” The calf, says John is “on loan” to Tayla so she can rear it ready for the coming show season. “This is not something we would do for everyone Are You a Small Business Owner?... but Tayla is a talented young lady who has a gift with animals and is a great ambassador for the Speckle Park breed. Conditions apply “To win the Supreme award at the Easter Show Require Short Term Working Capital was a real achievement,” says John who didn’t mind Require Liability Insurance that Tayla beat the bulls he Phone Stan and Jan were showing there. for an informal chat

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Spinal problems

Tayla’s mum Brenda says the family is extremely grateful to John and Jan. Tayla Hansen with her new Speckle Not only has it made her Park heifer, which is white but has dream come true, but also black points on her eyes, ears, having the calf has been a nose, and hooves. real boost for Tayla who is currently struggling with and has set up the need to wear a back brace for up to 20 hours a a Givealittle day to help overcome a spinal problem. page. “We are “Tayla has scoliosis of the spine which will only normally a get worse as she grows. The brace, which has been family where, if specially made for her, is the ﬁrst step in treatment you don't have which will probably include surgery when she’s about the funds for 18. something you “The brace is uncomfortable and in the ﬁrst few don't do it, weeks she was in quite a lot of pain. However, that so it was a big hasn’t stopped her carrying buckets of milk out to thing to ask her calf and caring for her animals as normal.” for sponsor-

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Tayla has another exciting prospect too - Jason Keays of "Fish Creek Farm", South Gippsland, Victoria has asked Tayla to be the handler for one of his Speckle Park heifers at the Melbourne Royal Show in September. “Due to the cost of the trip Tayla thought it would never be possible, being from a big family of four kids she didn't expect to do it. She thought it was too much to ask,” says Brenda. However, Tayla was advised to try for sponsorship

Tayla Hansen being ﬁtted ship, but we for the brace designed to help think Tayla overcome a spinal problem. has worked so hard to get where she is today and with the possibility of spinal surgery in a few years we feel this is something so amazing for her to do,” says Brenda. The link to Tayla’s Givealitte page is: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/taylasmelbourneshowfunds To ﬁnd out more about Below Sea Level Speckle Park go to www.belowsealevel.co.nz

Elaine Fisher

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 5

Manuka honey company seeking land partners One of New Zealand’s largest Manuka beekeeping operations is seeking more landowners to partner with it and earn revenue based upon the value of the Manuka honey produced. “It is only right that owners receive a share of the value of the honey harvested from their land and by doing so, be encouraged to retain their Manuka blocks,” says Paul and Sheryl Steens of awardwinning Steens Honey. “We are seeking landowners who share our philosophies and ethical standards of producing high quality raw Manuka honey in harmony with nature.” ‘Hive Tracker’ technology accurately records the location and amount of honey

harvested from each hive, providing owners with a report detailing the performance of hives on their land and a performance-based payment linked to the honey’s active properties.

Extensive monitoring

To maximise the active properties and value of the honey, Steens has an extensive monitoring and data programme which allows it to enhance timing and separation of ﬂoral types. This season the team has been bolstered with the appointment of a dedicated ﬂower monitoring analyst available for assessment leading up to, and during, the season. “And just as with livestock on pasture, the correct stocking

rates for bees on Manuka is vital for honey production,” says Paul. Steens analyses Manuka blocks to determine the optimum stocking rates per hive which ensures hive placement maximises honey production. In addition, Steens has developed an extraction process which removes 99 per cent of Manuka from the honey boxes, in effect harvesting up to eight per cent more than conventional techniques. This innovative thinking ensures that Steens’ land partners get more honey per hive on average than from other beekeeping companies.

Free to innovate

Steens Honey was founded by Paul and Sheryl Steens more than 35 years ago and is still owned and managed by the couple. Neither come from beekeeping families, something

Steens Honey won the ‘Innovation in Export’ Award at the 2017 Bay of Plenty ExportNZ Awards’ carnival themed evening. Pictured are Paul and Sheryl Steens and Dan Dear, sales and marketing.

they say has been an advantage because in the process of learning the art of beekeeping, they were free to innovate rather than be hampered by tradition. “Very early on we knew we wanted to produce quality natural honey which is raw, unpasteurised and minimally processed – the kind of honey we wanted our family to enjoy,” says Sheryl. “That means our honey retains its natural crystals and rich ﬂavour so eating it is like dipping your ﬁngers directly into the honeycomb.” Paul and Sheryl knew there was something special about Manuka honey back

in the 1980s when it, and the trees from which it was produced, were considered of little value.

Export award

They were among a small number of beekeepers to work with bio-chemist Dr Peter Molan of the University of Waikato whose research revealed the unique properties of Manuka. The company’s innovations were recognised in June when Steens Honey won the ‘Innovation in Export’ Award sponsored by Page Macrae in the 2017 Bay of Plenty ExportNZ Awards.

Page 6

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Applying technology to pin down ‘elusive’ figures It’s information vital to the planning of each new kiwifruit season, but timely and accurate crop estimates can prove elusive.

This is a problem with which Matt Ryan, in his materials to staffing and transport, and the figures are role as a DMS orchard manager, is very familiar and vital for Zespri too in the preparation of its marketing and shipping programmes. together with wife Tayah and friend Andrew Dunstan, has set out to find a solution. Cell phone coverage Through the trio’s company called LogicLabs, they Counting is a monotonous but vital job, with have developed an app which enables those counting buds, flowers or fruit in orchards, to upload informa- counters recording at this time of year the number of buds, then in spring, flower numbers, followed by tion in real time to ‘the Cloud’. From there it can be accessed immediately by post-harvest companies to help plan harvest and post-harvest operations. “Traditionally counting records have been paper-based which meant the information was not immediately available, and had to be fed into the system,” says Matt, who was driven to find a better way by the frustration of not knowing exactly how much fruit individual orchards would produce. There’s nothing wrong with the figures counters are recording, he says, but delays in accessing that information, and Matt Ryan, a DMS orchard manager, has been awarded the coveted at times the interpretation of Harry Frederickson Memeorial Award. the figures by orchards owners or managers, can distort their value. fruit. Counting is carried out in designated square “The data is seldom wrong but often an orchard metre sections of orchard bays. owner or manager will not accept what the figures With the LogicLab app, smartphones are used to are saying because they think there has to be more or upload the information to the Cloud as counting in less fruit than the figures suggest.” each sample area is complete. “We’ve kept the system simple and practical and Reliable estimates so far the feedback from counters has been positive. Matt says sending the raw data direct to postThe biggest issue we have faced is with cell phone harvest reduces the “human influence” and he coverage. In some parts of orchards, there is no signal believes will ultimately result in much more reliable at all – in others it’s very weak and can take a long estimates. time to upload the data. We are working on the It was DMS which commissioned LogicLabs to parameters under which we want the app to work develop the app and trial it on its orchards. offline – and then automatically upload the informaNow the first version has been refined, the comtion when there is network access again.” In summer, pany is happy for LogicLabs to share the technology dense orchard canopies can also restrict cell phone with other post-harvest companies, including Eastsignals. Pack, Apata, the Punchbowl Group, and the fruit testing company Eurofins. Orchard champion Matt says it’s a reflection of the unified nature of Matt attributes the DMS Orchard Champions the New Zealand kiwifruit industry that DMS has apprenticeship programme for helping him develop supported the sharing of the new technology, rather not just his app, but also enabling him to become a than keeping it for its own advantage. more effective orchard manager. “It’s of benefit for the whole industry to understand “Being able to apply my technical knowledge to as accurately as possible what volumes of fruit are practical experiences really helped me become a betlikely to be harvested,” says Matt. ter-rounded orchard manager.” DMS has formerly Post-harvest companies rely on crop estimates to acknowledged Matt’s achievements at the annual plan every aspect of their operations, from packaging ...continued

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Counting buds can be monotonous but a new smartphone app Matt Ryan helped develop may make it a little easier and more accurate.

continued...

DMS Staff Awards in July where he received the coveted Harry Fredrickson Memorial Award. This is presented to a DMS staff member who has made the greatest contribution to the company during the course of the year and acknowledged Matt as and “Orchard Champion” in all respects.

Outside skill sets

Venturing into the realm of app design is actually outside of the skill sets of Tayah, who has an honours degree in science, majoring in agriculture; Matt, with an honours degree in AgriScience and Andrew who has a degree in ﬁnance and economics. All studied at Massey University. “We don’t have IT skills so have outsourced much of that side of the development work,” says Matt.

His younger brother Patrick, studying at Victoria University in Wellington, has now added his IT expertise to the team. LogicLabs didn’t initially set out to develop a crop estimation app. Instead Tayah, Andrew and Matt had intended to produce an app to help growers plan spray programmes to control the vine disease Psa-V. It was with this idea that the trio were accepted into the Sprout Agritech Accelerator scheme which aims to advance promising agritech start-ups. “When we pitched our concept to our mentor, and said that DMS was also willing to pay for the development of a crop estimation app, he said concentrate on that ﬁrst, which was, in fact, very good advice,” says Matt. Now LogicLabs wants to see how

well the crop estimation app works for the postharvest sector before offering it to orchard owners and managers.

Freedom to explore

Matt says he will keep creating apps as he sees the need. “I have the freedom to explore and am encouraged by DMS to tackle problems here, which is the ideal environment for continual innovation – and the only way to be an orchard champion.”

‘King of bees’ contribution honoured While queen bees rule in the hive, the latest apiculture industry award has gone to one of the kings of the bee world. Dr Barry Donovan was awarded the Peter Molan Award for Excellence in Apicultural Science at Apiculture New Zealand’s annual conference in Rotorua recently. The award recognises outstanding contributions to science that advance the apiculture industry. Plant & Food Research’s Pollination and Apiculture team leader David

Pattemore says Barry has made an unparalleled contribution to the ﬁeld of bee taxonomy in New Zealand and is held in high regard globally. “Barry literally wrote the book on New Zealand bees.” Barry personally described 15 of our 29 native bee species and authored the taxonomic textbook ‘Fauna of New Zealand 57 – Apoidea’. He has retired from Plant & Food but continues to contribute his expertise to bee team projects as a consultant.

Elaine Fisher

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Ownership of unconsented weir yet to be established The Waikato Regional Council has yet to find out who constructed one unconsented weir its staff have found in the Kopuatai Peat Dome and local farmers would also like to know who owns it.

Enquiries any time: TOLL FREE 0800 77 00 70

Farmers near the peat dome expect winter flooding, but the March and April flood caused by cyclones Debbie and Cook were more extreme than normal, and many are questioning if changes to water management within the dome exacerbated the flooding Andrew McGiven, president of Waikato Federated Farmers, says not only was the flooding extensive, but pastures also remained under water for long periods of time. “Federated Farmers is trying to work with the Waikato Regional Council to establish the issues which could have affected the flooding and whether weirs in the peat dome made it worse. “Farmers in that area pay between $1520,000 in rates for the flood protection scheme and they are entitled to expect a certain level of service.”

and enquiries, including about weirs in the Kopuatai Peat Dome. “We’re working with the Department of Conservation and others as we make inquiries into the dome issues. “We are unaware of any weirs in the Kopuatai Peat Dome on the eastern side being installed recently. There is a weir on the eastern side of the ABCD Flax block which has been managed previously by DoC and WRC. The future management of this structure is under review.”

Action needed

Consent conditions

Andrew says it appears at least one weir within the peat dome is unconsented and if it had helped reduce the speed at which flood waters drained, then action needs to be taken. “If it was a dairy farmer who had done something similar, then council would be quick to take them to the Environment Court. We expect some consistency from council on this issue.” Karen Botting, Waikato Regional Council Hauraki zone manager, says the flood events have raised a number of questions

Standing flood waters on both sides of Paeroa Tahuna Rd, photographed on May 29, weeks after the departure of Cyclone Cook on April 14.

Regarding other weirs, Karen says council’s assessments to date have identified six co sented DoC weirs and one non-consented weir with unidentified ownership. “All the consented weirs were operating as per consent conditions. The non-consented weir is being checked out. The impact of all weir water levels is being incorporated into the Piako Scheme review to enable specific analysis of their impact on the flood events. The regional council also manages three weirs which were installed prior to the

Resource Management Act for flood prote tion purposes. “As part of the technical reports on the flood events, an assessment of the manag ment of water levels within the ABCD Flax block is being undertaken with DoC. “Meanwhile, we are preparing technical reports (one each for March and April events) providing detailed factual information on the weather systems that impacted the region, including rainfall, flow amounts and frequencies, as well as an assessment of how ‘big’ the events were. “These reports will provide the basis for more detailed assessments into how the Waihou, Piako and lower Waikato flood schemes performed during the March and April events. These assessments will aim to address many of the questions that are currently being asked by the community. “However, it’s important to understand that given the complexity of this series of events, as well as how the schemes were impacted, it is not expected that all additional information will be available until late 2017,” says Karen.

EX-DEM

Elaine Fisher

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 9

Prolonged flooding worst farmers have seen Capable. RELIABLE. AFFORDABLE.

In 22 years of farming on ﬂood-prone land, Richard Lovelock of Wiseman Rd, Waitoa says he’s never seen anything like the March and April ﬂoods which inundated 20 per cent of his farm this year.

dles them reasonably well because the ground is cool, and once the water drains, it comes away again. With these floods, even with water just two inches deep, the grass died.” Like other farmers in the area Colin wants answers. He’s part of a farmers’ group formed to keep pressure on the Waikato Regional Council to find out why the flooding was so “We expect floods in severe and prowinter but those floods longed. went higher and stayed Rumours abound, around longer than says Colin, about before.” the possibility of Up to 20ha of the illegal weirs in the Lovelock farm was peat dome, which affected and that led to may have added to selling off cows and damthe flood problems. aged pasture. “I was part of a “In the past, the group of five farmpasture has recovered ers who some time after flooding but this ago agreed to one time all that has come up weir being estabis weeds. I won’t do any lished in the flax re-sowing until summer block of the dome, because I don’t want to designed to stop waste money on seed it drying out and which might not grow.” The Kopuatai Peat Dome. reduce the fire risk, Richard is unsure if which made sense. “The water level behind the weir changes in the Kopuatai Peat Dome impacted on could reach 1.7 metres but the level should be dropped the severity of the floods but he does worry that with to 1.2 metres before an adverse event.” global warming, what happened this autumn could become the norm for future weather patterns. Chocked with weeds Colin Ladd of Whakahoro Rd, Springdale, was also Colin says the talk is that one weir, which has not affected by the floods. He has farmed in the area for been properly maintained, had chocked up with weeds “30-odd years”. “We expect flooding here from the Waitoa River. We and its water level may have reached as deep as 2.2 metres during the autumn floods. call it the gentle giant. It’s in the middle of the basin One of the roles of the peat dome, Colin says, is to between the Piako and Waihou Rivers and has a lower receive flood waters, and release them slowly back into gradient and so doesn’t flow as fast as the other rivers, the river, helping reduce its peak flow but it appears but the March and April floods are the worst I have that didn’t happen with the Debbie and Cook cyclone ever seen.” flooding. Around one third of Colin’s farm was under water Waters didn’t drain – he had to dry cows off early and move them to a runThe biggest problem for his pasture, says Colin, is off where they grazed on pasture previously set aside to that the flood waters didn’t drain away. “We normally make silage. Elaine Fisher get floods in August and September and the grass han-

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Fresh produce is ‘centre stage’

New Zealand fruit and vegetable growers are ideally placed to meet the growing demands among consumers for healthier foods, says Countdown's produce merchandise manager Steve Sexton. “We are seeing more focus on health and well-being. Customers want healthy, affordable food which is easy to access and fresh produce is centre

stage,” he told the Horticulture Conference 2017 in Tauranga last month. Freshness is top of the list of consumer demands, followed by price. Consumers also want the right produce in the right store; to feel they are shopping in a market, and that there is someone on hand to give advice if required. Steve says by dealing directly with growers, Countdown is able to reduce the time from farm to plate and ensure produce freshness.

farm visits. We take produce managers on-farm to show how hard it is to grow quality produce and this starts to build real respect within our team. We will extend this to include store managers and duty managers.” The ‘Odd Bunch’ promotion is not only proving popular with consumers but is also reducing food waste, says Steve. The promotion aims to market fruit and vegetables which are slightly misshapen or have minor blemishes. “Consumers like that we are being honest that the produce has got a few blemishes, and are championing that it looks odd Sustainable farmers but tastes great and reduces food “I am super passionate about waste while improving grower delivering as much profit back to returns.” the grower as possible. The grower The Odd Bunch promotion is takes the biggest risks and has the Countdown’s produce merchandise appealing to shoppers in highmost to lose so rewards should end stores who want to help the manager Steve Sexton addressing reflect this. Without sustainable the Horticulture Conference 2017 environment by reducing food farmers, we don’t have business. waste, and shoppers in lower end in Tauranga last month. That farmers are able to invest in stores who want a good bargain. their business, and develop new varieties and crops is Another project, which some within the supermarreally important to us.” ket chain though could be risky, has proved to be a Respect for the grower’s hard work and the produce resounding success, says Steve. they supply is also important, says Steve. “Free Fruit for Kids was run as a trial in one store, “I estimate we have 12,000 people working in but when we discussed rolling it out in all stores produce in our 185 stores and it’s a real challenge to some of the team worried what would happen if have them all passionate about respecting the prokids ran in and ate all the free fruit. We sat back and duce they sell. There is nothing worse than a grower thought about it and decided if the worst thing that seeing their produce disrespected in-store. happened was we were feeding hungry kids, that was not a bad thing. Odd Bunch “Now we give away 50,000 pieces of fruit a week “Our in-store teams are the last defenders of freshand we don’t ask growers to support us in this. It is a ness. We have improved our game but will take that true gift to the community from Countdown.” Elaine Fisher further over time. One tool to drive this home is The chain only imports produce when it has to. “We are currently (in early July) selling new season New Zealand oranges, while some of our competitors are still selling imported Australian oranges. The loyalty we show to our New Zealand growers is a lesson other retailers could learn from.” Direct trade with growers enables the maximisation of the value chain. “Seventy-five per cent of our produce is bought on a direct basis with growers. This is not new; some of our growers have been supplying us direct for 25 years.

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 11

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 12

Note-taking of the artistic kind She sits quietly, next to a very large and blank white board, off to one side of the stage. Then, as the ﬁrst conference session starts, Pepper Curry stands and begins writing on the board. Within minutes, words and illustrations ﬂow as Pepper captures the essential points of the address, creating ‘mind-maps’ which will serve as notes

for the audience. “I have no idea in advance what the speakers will be saying – it’s much better that I don’t have any pre-conceptions,” she explains. The technical term for Pepper is ‘live graphic facilitator’ and her skills were employed at the Horticultural Conference 2017 where she created mind-maps for several sessions, including the address by Steve Sexton, Countdown's produce merchandise

Pepper Curry – the live graphic facilitator in action at the Horticultural Conference 2017.

REE FELLERS BIG OR SMALL - WE DO IT ALL manager and the session on ‘Women in Horticulture’. It's one of the hardest jobs to describe to people who haven’t seen it in action, says Pepper. “As a graphic facilitator, I capture the key concepts from a meeting, speaker, or debate, and present them in a concisely-synthesised visual format. Some people refer to them as mind-maps. “Most people beneﬁt from visual cues and reminders of things they've learned. Graphic facilitation takes this to the next level by doing it in real-time, taking people's ideas and presenting them beautifully

in images that can be used later for communications and reference.” Graphic facilitation is the skill that has taken Pepper across New Zealand and Australia but it’s not all she does. Based in Kerikeri, Pepper has her own business called Pepper Curry Design. She describes herself as “a creative generalist, and specialise in common threads that connect all of my areas of work. I've spent years building skills in web and print design, as well as art”. Elaine Fisher

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LIFESTYLE FARMING

Having your farm in several titles allows you the ﬂexibility to develop or restructure. As councils around the region tighten their subdivision rules, the value of holding multiple titles comes to the fore. What might have been considered a routine subdivision a few years ago might now effectively be prohibited. Although, under the Resource Management Act, very few activities are actually 'prohibited' they effectively can be by virtue of the challenging and costly process that one has to navigate in order to seek approval.

Protective councils

Councils can be very protective of their district plan subdivision rules, often making it very hard

for people to apply for activities that are not speciﬁcally allowed under their rules. Activities that don't ﬁt exactly with the rules are termed 'non-complying' and face a more strenuous process.

Boundary adjust Whether you are a forwardthinking landowner who has taken advantage of the rules over the years and created additional titles as the rules have allowed it, or perhaps you purchased adjoining land that gave you additional titles, you are now in a commanding position compared to others. Most district plans still allow you to adjust boundaries between titles, change the size and position of titles, and sometimes even move them completely. In this region, Western Bay of Plenty, Waipa District and the old Franklin part of Waikato District all

allow subdivision rights to be transferred between properties under different ownership. The ability to 'sell a title' or 'subdivision right' is created by amalgamating existing titles together or sometimes by protecting ecological or other features of value to the community on the donor property. This can provide a source of capital for the donor while allowing someone that wouldn't have normally qualiﬁed to subdivide.

Lifestyle block Landowners who have more than one dwelling on their property often have an opportunity to subdivide a lifestyle block off containing the surplus house. This

Treating ‘sleepy sickness’ in ruminants The metabolic disease ketosis, also known as acidosis, is often seen in high production cows or cows on a poor diet. It’s also not uncommon in sheep and goats and is typically referred to as ‘sleepy sickness’. The prevalence of the disease will often vary from season to season and tend to be greater where multiple young are expected. Signs of the disease can be seen prior to birth but are more commonly seen in the first month after calving or lambing. Ketosis occurs when the dams’ energy source is compromised through a deficiency of glucose in the blood and body tissues, most notably the brain. In ruminants, glucose is produced from carbohydrates (pasture), and high production cows may well not be eating enough carbohydrates to satisfy their glucose needs, or the feed may be deficient in carbohydrates. There are two forms: Wasting Ketosis and Nervous Ketosis.

Clinical signs

In Wasting Ketosis, affected individuals may have a sweet smell about them, a decline in appetite, be very restless but have very low energy levels. Their head will tend to be hung low and may show signs of tremors or staggering. Their urine may smell like acetone, (nail polish remover). In Nervous Ketosis, the signs are more sudden and may include blindness, aimless wandering, and

strange tongue movements including obsessive licking. They may also walk in circles and bellow loudly for no apparent reason.

Treatment options

Ketosis is generally treated with an intravenous dextrose/ glucose solution and a monopropylene glycol/ glycerine based drench. This provides an instant energy boost that may be life-saving for mother and newborn alike. If the condition is critical and intravenous treatment is required, care should be taken when doing this as temperament can be unpredictable, even in a normally placid individual. If the combination of injectable and oral treatments is not enough to get the cow or sheep back to normal then there is probably a further complicating factor or factors; in which case it’s best to contact your local vet to assess.

situation often comes about when purchasing a neighbouring farm. With district plan rules constantly changing, landowners should keep abreast of the changes and take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves. These opportunities could increase your chances of controlling your destiny should

Page 13

your operational requirements change in the future. In my view, subdivision will only get harder as time moves on. If you are planning your future and wish to clarify any subdivision or boundary adjustment issues, feel free to give me a call. I am happy to discuss the situation with you to see if it is worth pursuing. Brent Trail, managing director of Surveying Services, specialises in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Coromandel. For further information call 0800 268 632 or email btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz

Page 14

WESTERN BAY OF PLENTY

David and Christine Mason have used their combined ‘off-farm’ skills to plan and develop a new avocado orchard at Tanners Point north of Katikati. David’s family has been involved in art, design, planning and architecture as far back as the family tree goes – and Christine has a science heritage. Lindsay Heard of Brenmark Hort. Consultants Ltd has worked with the couple since they began developing the orchard two years ago. He is impressed at David’s attention to detail and the way in which he has planned the positioning of the 800 young trees, shelter and irrigation to maximise the four-hectare site. “David and Christine are new to the industry but this is one of the most meticulous new orchards I’ve seen. Positioning of the shelter has been carefully planned to protect the trees from the westerly winds and the trees have been placed at eight by ﬁve spacings,” Lindsay says. He’s also impressed at how carefully Christine and David have cared for the trees. “At 18 months old the trees were in excellent health and will each produce one to two trays of fruit this coming season, increasing to two to ﬁve the following year.”

Avocado orcharding represents a signiﬁcant change of career for Christine and David Mason but it’s one they are enjoying. David inherited more than planning skills from his ancestors. He’s also a talented artist, which is an asset to his career in the graphic design and advertising industry. Christine is a BSc-qualiﬁed English as a Second Language teacher. While the couple are now living on the Tanners Point orchard, she commuted to Auckland to work three days a week. Previously the couple commuted to Auckland for work from their South Head lifestyle block until, encouraged by friends and avocado orchardists Ross

...continued

WESTERN BAY OF PLENTY

Page 15

New orchardists show miraculous attention to detail continued...

and Jill Fowler, they moved to the Bay of Plenty and bought an orchard. “We were looking for something which would provide an income as well as a rural lifestyle and thought avocados could do both. It was a good time to reduce my advertising workload as well,” says David. Christine and David ﬁnd avocado trees attractive and believe the industry has a bright future thanks to the industry structure and the increasing international demand for what is among one of the world’s most nutrient dense fruits. “We came very close to buying an established orchard at Tanners Point but missed out,” says David. Not long afterward, on a return visit to the harbour-side village, they saw a ‘for sale’ sign on a block of grazing land and within days had entered into an agreement to buy it.

Bankers on side

shelters. With the trees “on the burst”, the shelter cloth has now been removed. The support stakes will remain until October. The orchard had a problem with brown beetle – and Christine decided to undertake a pest monitoring course to learn what to look for, and it’s something she has enjoyed. “It’s certainly increased my observation skills,” says Christine, who also uses morning walks with their Labrador, Tanner, to keep an eye on what’s happening in the orchard. David runs his design and advertising business from a home ofﬁce and a hot desk with one of his largest clients in Mount Maunganui. Plans are to reduce off-farm work as the orchard revenue increases. He’s also responsible for weed control, the irrigation system and regularly mows the orchard and the roadside berm.

David and Christine’s newly developed avocado orchard is adjacent to the harbour-side village of Tanners Point, north of Katikati.

By January 2015 they had secured the land. Sheep scrum “We aim to do as “We have to acknowlmuch of the work edge the assistance of as we can ourselves. Andrew Cutfield, Farmline To reduce mowing, Manager for ASB Bank in we tried a trial with Tauranga. sheep in amongst the “He understood what we Young trees will produce some fruit trees – the trial lasted planned to do and was prepared about five minutes – they to back us with a mortgage when rugby-scrummed the trees. Sheep other banks were reluctant to do so,” are now safety-fenced into an area of says David. contour unsuitable for avocados.” With advice and guidance from Mike Darling of The trees receive a regular mix of hard and foliar Just Avocados, Lindsay and Ross, the couple began fertiliser and the mulch is treated to reduce the risk transforming the land from a run-down grazing of phytophthora, all based on Lindsay’s recommenblock to an avocado orchard. dations. A significant number of old fruit and ornamental Some fruit has been removed but the trees will trees had to be removed and the huge piles of mulch carry a small crop this year. As they grow, the aim is produced in the process provided an early resource to keep them pruned to a manageable height and a for the new trees. confirmation to allow light to the fruit. The land is flat to gently sloping and the couple decided not to contour it. Much to learn They cultivated the old pasture, adding much“We still have so much to learn and attend field needed fertiliser, including 30 tonnes of lime, and days when we can, plus take advice from those who sowing a slow-growing seed mix, before installing know so much more than us. the reticulated irrigation system and planting 700 “The possibility of hedge-row management, instead Hass on Zutano seedling trees and 100 pollenisers – of the traditional approach to reducing trees as they Zutano, Ettinger and Edranol varieties. crowd together, is the current hot topic of conversaPlanting pollenisers tion after a chat with the Just Avocado team,” says It was Lindsay who advised planting 10 per cent David. It’s certainly taken a large degree of outstanding of the orchard in pollenisers to increase flower set. When it came to planting, Mike Darling advised motivation to create a new orchard from a green-field David and Christine on planting methodology – site, while giving consideration to their close urban each hole received an application of sheep manure neighbours. and gypsum before the trees were planted. It’s been challenging but Christine and David have, by and large, enjoyed the experience of developing an Mike organised a team to help David, Christine, their three adult children and friends plant the 800 attractive orchard on land which offers views across trees. the upper Tauranga Harbour to the Bowentown The young trees were then protected by individual entrance. Elaine Fisher

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MAIZE

Page 16

The art of negotiation – and why it matters As an old friend keeps telling me, all we need is common sense and communication to solve nearly every situation. Common sense is not that common though these days, particularly as overregulation and control takes over every part of our lives.

Common sense could be deﬁned as the ability to make a reasonable decision based on logic and reasonableness. However, common sense seems to be washed away with bureaucracy and rules. Those who can hold onto their common sense will surely be the winners in these regulated torrid times. Effective communication is a lot

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harder. I see people with their heads down texting or emailing friends or clients without much success. The written word is great but you can also convey the wrong idea or slant on an idea.

Talk to them

Pick up the phone and call them, particularly if you are trying to make a deal of some sort. As issues come up you can discuss (not tell) them, cover off any new areas and resolve it. Then you can ask if you can send an email conﬁrming the verbal agreement rather than beating back and forwards with an email. ‘No surprises’ communication is also important and the best way is by talking. There might be some issues you need to cover off, but are lacking conﬁdence to bring them up. Qualifying your discussion may include saying ‘these are just ideas’, not statements, or ‘have-tos’. Apparently, we Kiwis are very literal and when somebody says something we often take it as gospel. The truth is that it is just another idea that you have put forward and people can agree or not.

Then you can go in again and qualify that by asking “So John, if you go broke how is that going to look and how will it affect your family” ... silence. In a way, you are cornering them and forcing them to think and take more responsibility for their thoughts and actions. It is when they verbalise a reply that they are shifting their resolve. This is a very powerful and effective way of communicating. Effective communication is the cornerstone of a good business person. It is the basis of making and closing deals by asking questions. Visualisation is also a key thing to think about and actually do. Sit down and quietly visualise how you are going to go through the transaction. What questions are you going to ask and what will your desired outcome be? How can you get your desired outcome when you don’t even know what you want?

Ask permission

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After a conversation that may include negotiation you can always ask their permission to follow up the discussion with what was understood by writing or emailing. The effect here can be quite outstanding. Ask! I see many people who lack the conﬁdence to ask for the detail let alone ask for the money. After your discussion you really need to ask if they want to buy your product or ask for the business. “Mr Brown would you like to buy our product?” Silence. You have asked a simple question so now stay silent until they answer yes or no. I have a saying – ‘the next to speak loses’. Do not ﬁll the silence after you have asked for the business. The time may feel like eternity but wait you must. Again the results can be quite outstanding. Asking questions and waiting for an answer is tough and not many have the courage to wait. It is a very successful negotiation tool. An example might go like this ... “John, if you keep spending more money than you earn, how is it going to look for you and your family?” Silence ... Stare at him and eventually he will cough and splutter with a reply which may be along the lines ... “I guess I will go broke.”

My wife often asks me “what are you doing?” and my reply is usually that I am thinking and visualising how the meeting will go, what questions I will ask, and what my desired outcome will be. You are basically practicing the communication in your mind and visualising the desired outcome.

Timing vital

Timing is everything. If the person you are trying to communicate with has their head elsewhere or they have a lot of issues going on, or it is late in the day, you are really wasting your time. Wait until they appear settled and receptive and start there. How you negotiate is paramount to your success in life. I was fortunate to get professionally trained thanks to the ASB Rural Team many years ago. The lessons I have learned are penned above. Improving your skills can have amazing outcomes in all aspects of your life. Common sense and effective communication are the key to a successful outcome. Disclaimer – These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Consulting. Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought. Don Fraser is the principal of Fraser Consulting and a consultant to the farming industry. Contact him on 021 777 675. A disclosure document is available on request.

MAIZE

Page 17

Cropping farmers to vote on levy

Cropping farmers are going to the polls in the next few weeks to determine the future of the Foundation for Arable Research, their levy funded research organisation. Under the Commodity Levies Act growers have the opportunity to vote to renew levy orders every six years. A 'yes' vote will ensure FAR’s continued existence and on-going contribution to the cropping industry, while a ‘no’ vote would result in the organisation being wound up, and all research and extension programmes ceasing. FAR Chairman David Birkett says voting papers are already out with voting closing on Wednesday August 23, and he’s conﬁdent FAR has the support of its grower base. “A grower survey last year conﬁrmed environmental compliance as the biggest concern facing arable farm businesses, and that this is just one area where FAR is expanding its capability to provide information to help growers. “Our farm systems focus has produced great results for growers in recent years, including successfully challenging the ability of Overseer to accurately estimate N losses from cropping systems.

This challenge resulted in plans to improve the model for cropping systems as well delaying its implementation as a regulatory tool by some regional councils. “Farm environment plans have been another success story, with FAR’s FEP template allowing cropping farmers to complete their FEP without the cost of a consultant. For Canterbury farmers, a FAR-led review of stubble burning, as part of the ECan air quality plan, contributed to ensuring stubble burning can continue in most areas in Canterbury.

Pest and diseases

“On-going involvement in managing existing and new weeds, pests and diseases has also been important. Biosecurity driven projects are helping prevent weeds like black grass and velvet leaf from becoming established in crops in New Zealand and supporting growers hit by the ban on growing peas after the pea weevil incursion in Wairarapa. “On-farm biosecurity research is also underway, and has identiﬁed the presence of herbicide resistance in weeds in a number of areas in New Zealand. FAR is now working with farmers to develop effective weed control options for these resistant weeds in order to protect our seed industry. FAR has also provided information which has delayed the

time until Diazinon is banned, allowing time for biological and cultural pest control solutions to be developed.” David says FAR also has good links into Wellington and has successfully leveraged funds from central government for numerous research projects, including more than 70 Sustainable Farming Fund projects in the last 16 years.

No levy change “We put a lot of effort into consulting, formally and informally, with growers up and down New Zealand, to ensure that our research and extension strategy matches the needs of their farm businesses. The referendum will have no impact on levy rates which are currently set at 0.9 per cent of sale value for all grain and herbage, amenity and open pollinated vegetable seed crops; 0.6 per cent of sale value for hybrid vegetable seed crops; $1.00 per 10,000 seeds purchased for maize; $10 per hectare for cereal silage. “This vote isn’t about change. Essentially we are asking our growers to vote to roll over the existing levy orders on arable crops, maize and cereal silage so that we can keep doing what we have always done, adding value to the business of cropping. Growers have the option of voting by mail or on-line. I encourage all growers to take the time to vote.”

MAIZE

Page 18

Maize part of farms’ winning formula

Maize was a winner at the 2017 Dairy Business of the Year awards, with the supplement an integral part of both the supreme winner and the runner ups’ farm systems. Supreme winners Sulzberger Farms Ltd, owned by Andrew and Sibylle Sulzberger and his parents Brad and Chris Sulzberger, and runners up, Okaihau Pastoral Ltd, equity managed by Joe and Jemima Foster, both successfully used maize silage in their award-winning systems despite running very different farm systems and input levels. The awards aimed to define, benc mark and showcase excellence in the dairy industry, celebrating successful businesses from all farm systems.

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Andrew and Sibylle Sulzberger of Sulzberger Farms Ltd, with the supreme trophy for the 2017 Dairy Business of the Year awards.

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Andrew Sulzberger, milking 320 cows on the 115ha Urenui farm in Taranaki, ran a low-input, forage-based system 2-3 farm, with 85.6 per cent of the cows diet pasture, and a further 6.7 per cent as home-produced forage. Growing five to seven ha of maize on farm to fi genuine feed deficits contributed to the lowest cos of forage consumed in the competition, at $173 t/ DM, and their low cost of production of $2.50 per kg/MS, also the lowest in the competition. Andrew says feeding maize silage is an excellent tool to get condition on cows. “We use it in autumn, straight after harvest, from early March until some stage in June when cows are near their target calving body condition score. We also use maize silage as a pasture management tool: it enables us to extend the autumn rotation and build pasture cover at the same time.” Runners up Okaihau Pastoral Ltd ran a completely different farm system to the Sulzbergers – a high input, System 5 farm – but their use of maize was

Joe and Jemima Foster, of Okaihau Pastoral Ltd were runners up in the 2017 Dairy Business of the Year awards.

equally as successful. The Fosters milk 1190 crossbred cows on the 368ha Northland farm and produced 1645kg MS/ ha in the 2015/16 season, much of that figur attributed to the use of supplementary feed and concentrates, and pasture consumed at 61.6 per cent. However, their competitive advantage was a high proportion of home-grown forage (94 per cent), helping to keep the cost of consumed feed low at $292/t DM and cementing their additional award for High Input Farm with the Best Financial Performance. They grow 80ha of maize on a dairy support land near the farm, feeding maize all year round but primarily from late summer to the end of mating, as a tool to best utilise pasture. “Maize is a reliable crop in the Northland area, it puts condition on cows and gives a good balance to the other feeds we use, and it’s environmentally friendly,” Joe says.

MAIZE

Page 19

Instantly assessing maize quality and constituents at harvest Contractors and farmers harvesting maize now have access to instant information about the exact quality and constituents of crops they are harvesting, thanks to John Deere HarvestLab and Constituent Sensing technology. Owen Jessop, branch manager for AGrowQuip Cambridge says the constituent sensing technology provides precise measurement of the starch, crude protein, sugar and acid detergent fibre, plus neutral detergent fibre of the crop within seconds. The HarvestLab sensor takes more than 4000 measurements per second while the crop is being harvested. From September, AGrowQuip will be running demonstrations of the technology fitted to a John Deere 8500 harvester and Owen invites contractors who want to see the advantages first hand to make contact to reserve a date for a demonstration on one of their sites. The systems are ideal for those operating John Deere 8000 series Forage Harvesters which can produce in excess of 400 tonnes of maize silage an hour. “The fact the results are available while harvesting means farmers or contractors have accurate information about the crop and information can even be sent, in real time, to an operations centre where decisions can be made about

HarvestLab sensor takes thousands of measurements per second. where to direct or use the crop,” says Owen. “The level of information available from these technologies is extensive and may seem beyond what some operators might think they need, but once they understand the data, the opportunities to use it to the best advantage of their businesses and clients, or farms, becomes obvious.” The HarvestLab sensor on the spout of a John Deere SPFH automatically takes thousands of samples for representative, accurate dry matter readings of the crop being harvested. Real-time moisture and yield information is shown on the GreenStar 2630 display inside the cab, along with readings for material throughput and crop yield per ﬁeld, hectare or trailer load. It is even possible to print a summary of this vital information for

company records or for customers with the optional on-board printer, providing an instant hard copy of the work done. Teamed with AutoLOC, 8000 Series SPFH automatically adjusts the length of cut based on the dry matter values gathered, allowing for optimum throughput and silage quality. Owen says the extensive information captured by the John Deere systems has implications beyond immediate harvesting. John Deere Constituent Sensing ensures higher silage preservation quality and feed cost control through less silage spoilage for higher farm output, including milk production optimisation, lower cattle illness rates, and energy production optimisation. Based on harvesting values, variety selections can easily be done for the upcoming season.

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DAIRY

Page 20

Three of the best from Duetz Fahr When Giugiaro, one of Italy’s ﬁnest, responsible for stunning creations like Ferrari, Bugatti and BMW designed the latest 6, 7 and 9 Series from Deutz Fahr, it was a given these tractors were always going to turn heads.

But looking past the stunning exteriors to what lies beneath demonstrates an understanding of engineering excellence, delivering efﬁciencies and positive numbers to the operational bottom line. The latest 6 Series tractors offer

Tier 4 engine technology in the form of a 6 cylinder, 6.1 litre format, utilising selective catalytic reduction and passive diesel particulate filter systems to meet emission regulations, while at the same time helping to deliver industry-leading fuel consumption figures. Three models, the 6165, 6185 and 6215 offer 165, 185 and 215hp respectively, and are matched to a choice of two transmissions. The new robotised change shift transmission offers five main speeds and six power-shift steps (30F+15R) or a creep option that offers 54 forward and 27 reverse

speeds. The standard layout offers a remarkable 17 choices in the main working range to allow ﬁne-tuning of speed to the work at hand, and combines with a 50kph ECO gearbox that allows leisurely roading at only 1447rpm, to save even more fuel.

Operator sets range

In operation, the RC shift system also offers three modes; manual, semi-auto, where the operator sets the range and the system moves power-shifts automatically depending on load for ﬁeld use, and fully-auto, where both ranges and

The Deutz Fahr tractors – epitomise excellence in design and engineering. power-shifts are changed automatically for road use. The alternative is the TTV transmission which offers step-less speed choices between 0.2 and 50kph, a choice of manual, automatic or PTO driving strategies, and the ability to set speed and load parameters to achieve outstanding in-ﬁeld and on-road operational economies. Completing the package is a new electronically controlled front suspension system which is centred around double acting hydraulic cylinders, and in use, delivers superior traction, unrivalled comfort and additional features such as anti-dive, anti-rise and system lock-out.

Ergonomic design

The driver is also well catered for with the latest maxi vision cabin package, a benchmark in terms of comfort and ergonomic design, now expanded from the larger models and offering common functionality for anyone running a mixed ﬂeet. Moving up the horsepower offering, the 7 Series sees the single model 7250 offered with the industry-leading ZFsourced, TTV transmission, which, like its 6 Series counterparts, offers step-less speeds from 0.2 to 50kph, and mates with the Tier4, 6.1 litre engine. Standout points for this unit sees a ﬁve per cent reduction in fuel consumption over previous models, and a torque output that remains constant from 1800 to 1200 rpm as the engine comes under load. This combination sets the benchmark for high precision and reliability while delivering cost-effectiveness and ease of use.

The Maxi Vision 2 cabin sees the introduction of a new dashboard layout, which combines with the right console mounted ‘I-monitor’ to keep the operator fully informed of machine status, but also to make pre-programmed choices for the likes of headland management, transmission settings and engine load factors. Part of the updated package sees a redesign of the engine hood to allow maximum view of any front mounted implements, which are becoming more prevalent in today’s cost-conscious times. This also offers the benefit of creating an engine fire-wall which is separate from the cabin body, and resulting in a quieter and cooler environment With large scale farmers or contractors in mind, the 7 Series tractors are supplied GPS ready, only requiring a receiver fitting to make the most of guidance technology to reduceoperational costs.

Twin turbocharged

Flagship of the trio is the 9 Series, and the 9340 which tips the scales at around 12 tonnes, hitting a maximum output of 340hp. Differing from the 6 and 7 Series, this prime mover still uses six cylinders, enhanced with a twin turbocharged 7.8 litre TTCD 7.8 L06, which meets Tier 3 regulations without the need for SCR or particulate ﬁlters. Standout feature is that maximum torque of over 1000Nm is delivered between 1600 -1200 rpm, and even at engine speeds as low as 1000rpm, over 90 per cent of maximum torque is available, thus guaranteeing the ability to deal with any tough spots encountered.

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DAIRY

Page 22

High performance farming with reduced environmental impacts We farmed in an era when the information from the major research stations, primarily that from Ruakura, was taken as gospel, and farming practices reflected our belief in its correctness. We were told that pasture was a total diet for dairy cows, and feeding a high-energy supplement was somehow seen as ‘cheating’. The justification of that attitude was that animals which were offered any feed eaten in preference to pasture resulted in less pasture being consumed, which was “inefficient”.

It was well-known that cows strategically fed molasses or meal in spring produced more total fat and protein, and the farmers indulging in such practices seldom took part in local discussion groups.

High production

It was usual for everyone to provide their current per cow production, and I recall a late-spring discussion group where the last to provide figures had significantly higher production, resulting in another round, as everyone factored in calf milk and anything else to justify a higher figure. The consequence of that was that everyone was required to produce their last milk collection docket to prove their figures were accurate, and numbers attending these sessions steadily dwindled. Peer pressure was, and remains, incredibly powerful. Looking back on those times is helpful in order to make sense of what, in reflection, appears bizarre behaviour. It resulted from a lack of understanding, particularly of the nutritional requirements of grazing ruminants.

Eat what is required

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They require primarily a mix of fibre, energy, and protein. And here’s the thing – animals offered sufficient of each will only eat what they require, and yet how much is offered of each is normally pre-determined by a model. All well and good, provided the information is correct, and yet the energy and protein component of pasture is changing by the minute in response to direct sunlight and temperature, and so it’s only by chance that a standard mix will be ideal. The fibre and energy requirement in cold wet conditions is best met by making sufficient high-quality hay available, and yet it is widely believed that silage is a more appropriate feed at that time.

Crude protein

Protein in pasture is nearly always measured by taking the nitrogen ﬁgure from a laboratory leaf test and multiplying by 6.25. That gives a crude protein ﬁgure which is usually accepted as total protein, and the supplement fed is calculated accordingly. Crude protein is not full protein. Pastures receiving regular applications of nitrogen fertilisers will be high in crude protein, or nitrate. Such pasture cannot

be digested by the rumen into full protein, and the excess nitrate is excreted by cows as a green liquid, containing semi-digested ﬁbre. Animals in this situation will be rapidly losing weight, and producing at a much lower level than can be achieved when sufﬁcient high-quality hay is available on demand.

Rapid weight gain

There are already available soil nutrient programmes that ensure not only more total feed grown in a 12 month period, but also signiﬁcantly more full protein and energy in the pasture, resulting in higher production and more rapid weight gain. Such programmes are just part of a fundamental shift in high performance pastoral farming where the focus is rapidly shifting to quality with a lessened environmental foot print. For more information contact Peter 0800 843 809.

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DAIRY

Page 23

Preparation vital when growing crops Once paddocks have been selected for growing animal feed crops such as maize, lucerne, fodder beet and other brassicas, soil tests should be taken as soon as possible to determine what nutrients are required, and this should be from 150mm depth samples. Lime should be applied as soon as possible, ideally half on top before being worked in and half on top after soil has been inverted. This will ensure some of the lime will be underneath the sod and some on the surface, although if your cultivation method involves mixing the soil up such as when using a chisel plough, it can all be applied on the surface prior to cultivation. As to the quantity of lime required, work on one tonne of lime to raise the pH 0.1 unit. Some crops such as lucerne ideally should have a pH of 6.3-6.5, whereas with most fodder crops aiming for a pH of 6.0-6.2 should be adequate.

Balance right

Also make sure the calcium:magnesium ratio is not too wide as heavy rates of lime (calcium carbonate) can cause a magnesium deficiency and you may need to apply some form of magnesium to keep the balance right. Maize is a very hungry plant for potassium, although if the paddock is an effluent paddock or has been used as a sacrifice paddock and has had a lot of dung and urine applied to it, the potassium levels may be adequate. But if the paddock has run out and been historically used as a day paddock or hay/silage paddock, chances are it will need a considerable amount of potassium applied to it (up to 600 kg/ha K) to grow a good crop. The amount of phosphorus needed for a maize crop is considerably less, and often just the P in DAP used as a starter will be sufficient if soil tests show phosphorus is adequate. If the soil tests are high in P, even DAP as a starter may not be necessary and you could use something like CAN at a lighter rate as a cheaper starter fertiliser. If soil tests show phosphorus is low, then apply phosphorus with the base fertiliser.

Boron essential

Boron is essential for most fodder crops and ﬁnding what the boron level is in the soil should be standard practice. Zinc is also necessary for maize, although most dairy farms where zinc has been annually given to stock for many years have got good zinc levels in the soil, but on continuous maize ground or on ex-sheep and beef country, zinc may be needed. Manganese is another trace element which can be important on peat soils in particular if high rates of lime are applied. Another factor to consider is the carbon level or organic matter content, as having good organic matter is important for soil biology, soil permeability and water retention. If it is low, using some sort of animal manure or compost material should be considered, giving particular attention to the carbon:nitrogen ratio in the compost/manure being applied as if this

and ascertain nutrient requirements on different soils in different regions. With some ﬁne-tuning Peter is hoping to grow a 50-tonne crop this coming season. Robin Boom, CPAg, Member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists, phone 027 444 8764.

Robin Boom

CPAg MBSPC

Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant

Peter Risi from Whitehall near Cambridge grew this 40-tonne crop of fodder beet this season. is greater than about 15:1. Additional nitrogen may be needed to circumvent a nitrogen deﬁciency if the compost/manure is applied at a high rate.

Salt needed

As for the amount of nitrogen to apply, there are nitrogen tools and deep soil nitrogen tests which can be taken, but generally, if the crop is being grown from an ex-pasture paddock, the amount of nitrogen needed will be

considerably less than for a continually cropped paddock. For fodder beet, salt may also need be applied, up to 150 kg/ha, depending on sodium levels in the soil as it is an important element for sugar formation in the bulb. There is still quite a few unknowns when it comes to fodder beet nutrition, with conﬂicting advice. My client Peter Risi from Whitehall near Cambridge grew a 40-tonne crop of fodder beet which is one of a number of crops being used by Plant & Food researchers around the country to try

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DAIRY

Page 24

Predicted lift in pay-out is good news The prediction of a lift in payout for next season of a further 25 cents per kilogram of milk solids can only be good news for farmers who have been struggling for the past several seasons, along with a tough start to the beginning of this season. It will be a welcoming lift, taking it to $6.75, and for fully shared-up farmers it could take it up to $7.20-$7.30 for this season. And on the subject of milking, the repetitive, instinctive tasks of putting cups on and off during milking is when many farmers do their best thinking and planning.

Crystal ball

It’s a time to toss ideas around and try to imagine what the season ahead will bring. At the moment having a very accurate crystal ball would really help with that planning because our weather patterns appear totally unpredictable. I’m hoping that, after all this wet weather we’ve had, it doesn’t then forget to rain and we end up with a dry spring and summer like last year. If that happens the swamp paddocks which are currently too sodden to get vehicles on to, could end up with cracking and drought-like conditions if they dry out too quickly. And with grass roots being only shallow due to being so wet, they will also suffer.

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Late last month we had to again use a helicopter to ﬂy fertiliser onto some of our paddocks because they were far too wet for trucks – it’s an extra cost we could have done without.

Feed shortage

Farmers with swamp land that got ﬂooded earlier in the year will be struggling to get pasture re-established and will need to manage grazing carefully to avoid pugging. The effects of that will show up during the second round when the pinch for feed normally comes on. Pugged and damaged soil will only make the shortage of feed worse. Farms on higher ground are probably not doing too badly, with grass recovering during a few ﬁne days after rain. However, the risk is also that because of the wet, grass roots are not very deep and shallowrooted pasture will suffer if conditions turn dry, same as with the swamp land.

Plan for the worst

Now more than ever, pasture and feed management will be crucial and as I’ve said so many times before – it pays to plan for the worst but hope for the best. Putting a crop of chicory, turnips or maize into badly pugged or sacrificed paddocks, even on farms where crops are not traditionally grown, would make good sense. Home-grown feed is always the cheapest and provides a back-up and the peace of mind that cows can be fed well all year. Deciding to do this can’t be left to the last minute as the ground must be prepared, fertiliser applied and seed purchased and sown by spring. The demand for supplementary feed is strong, even in the Bay of Plenty, and in some cases a handshake agreement between buyer and seller isn’t always staking up. Some of those who have the feed are selling to whoever turns up first – so it might be wise to pay a deposit to be sure of securing the feed needed. Weeds are among the few things which seem to benefit from wet weather and what’s more concerning is that evidence is emerging of apparent resistance developing among some weeds to chemicals used to control them. This will mean a re-think of application rates or need to alternate chemical use and even crop rotation to overcome the problems. Summer grasses are a big issue in the Bay of Plenty, especially in maize crops, because they not only compete with maize plants for water, but also are ideal hosts for bugs like the very destructive army caterpillar. So once again it’s expect the unexpected – and if anyone finds that accurate crystal ball – I’d love to know what it says. We are taking orders for bulk grass and maize silage for this coming season. So for top quality feed you can rely on, give us a call - Bill Webb today.

DAIRY

Page 25

Togetherness vital for our environment Despite my seemingly ‘bolshie’ views on a lot of things, I still get invited to sit in on farmers’ meetings. Over the past 15 years I have listened to a lot of ranting and raving, endless condemnation of ofﬁcialdom, moans about income and debt levels, and the unreasonableness of environmentally-focused organisations. I’ve read endless articles about how much farmers have spent on ‘trying to do the right thing’, which seems to have small effects on the environment, but reinforces the urbanite view that ‘farmers are rich, but mean with their cash’. During the most recent meeting I attended, I heard tales of woe about wool prices, chemical shortages, and the effects of the endless rain while trying to adequately feed thousands of animals. While often I sit there biting my lip in order not to burst forth about what I see as being done wrong, this time I experienced a huge wave of sympathy for all farmers.

Subsidies removal

I have been a ‘mini-farmer’ now for 20 years in the Waikato. During that time I have shared with the ‘proper’ farms which surround me the droughts, ﬂoods, animal ailments, water and feed shortages and other rural crises. It is my nature to follow research, the actions or inactions of bureaucracy and government, and watch the impacts on how farming is conducted across the country. My earlier experience of working for

Federated Farmers’ head ofﬁce and environmental issues at parliament has seen me helping to cope with human crises resulting from the 1980s removal of subsidies, the advent of the Resource Management Act and other fairly massive changes. Farmers are individualists. That’s why they farm, so they can do it “their way”. It’s not an easy life, coping with changing weather patterns, long hours, and a lot of hard physical work. Many are ageing fast. Society has changed a lot in the last decades, and farm kids don’t necessarily want to be farmers.

Horrendous debt

For urban kids, working on farms is a whole new way of being, and often a complete alienation from their former peers. For farmers, having to have paid workers who don’t necessarily just do as they are told is also a new ballgame. Their farms may be worth millions, but their debt levels may also be horrendous. And out there is a huge army of traders, advisors, professionals and consultants, not to mention the requirements of bureaucracy, all waiting to sell their wares and take farmers’ cash. And, it seems to me, that so much of what is being offered, or required, simply beneﬁts those doing the offering, and doesn’t help with the overarching major environmental problems at all. The way science is funded doesn’t help either. Short-term targets, little funding for different thinking, an overall squashing of ideas from those not part of the science fraternity, means that farmers are caught between a rock and a hard place over making changes which really would make a difference. Thus resisting change per se has

become the norm, and there’s an awful lot of cash being wasted on keeping it that way for as long as possible. It is so sad.

Put environment ﬁrst

With climate change creeping up fast, we’re going to get caught out. Unless some way is found for everyone, rural and urban, to really take on board what is happening to our environment right now, (maybe a new government or some real new thinking), and together do the different things that are needed, then farmers will go on feeling ‘got at’ and urbanites will assume that milk comes in plastic bottles from somewhere, and meat is that stuff in plastic wrap in supermarket chillers. Let’s get real. Put environment ﬁrst and cash last. Get some new thinking out, and some truth about what is being presented. We don’t have 80 years, or even 10 years, to start making progress. Both farmers and all those vested interests need to do some real investigating, sharing, and actually doing what will make our water safe, our soils viable, and our environment liveable for both humans and all other species. Otherwise we are all stuffed.

Sue Edmonds

Young Farmer elections NZ Young Farmers has re-elected Jason Te Brake as current chairman and elected newbie Hamish Best to the board. Jason works as a marketing executive for Miraka and is a qualified chartered accountant. Hamish competed in the 2017 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final and finished second overall. He works as a technical field representative for PGG Wrightson. The two are accompanied by social media expert and owner of Grass Roots Media NZ, Chelsea Millar from the Taranaki/Manawatu Young Farmer region and farm consultant Sam Waugh from the Tasman region. Both were elected last year. Nadine Huitema, PGG Wrightson animal nutrition technical specialist, has stepped down from the board. “I am sorry to see Nadine leave but am excited to see what this next group will do for NZ Young Farmers,” says CEO Terry Copeland. Exciting times are ahead as the new board will plan for the 50th anniversary of FMG Young Farmer of the Year, as well as developing a recently gifted deceased estate farm in Auckland, and integrating a strategy around talent attraction for the wider primary industry.

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EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

Funding focused on effective water use A grant of up to $50,000 from the Irrigation Acceleration Fund will see economic growth opportunities for the Bay of Plenty identiﬁed through a water study focused on effective water use and sustainable options for development in the region. The funding was announced by Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy at the 2017 annual Bay of Connections and Regional Growth Programme forum, where a refreshed Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Economic Action Plan was also released. Ministry for Primary Industries’ deputy director-general sector partnerships and programmes, Ben Dalton, says water is fundamental for environmental sustainability and economic growth. “A good water management strategy will ensure appropriate use of water and improved environmental outcomes in the region. Those who have access to water have a collective responsibility to monitor and maintain it for the beneﬁt of everyone, whether their use is for economic, environmental or recreational purposes. “Freshwater is an important enabler for economic growth and is the cornerstone of many key industries such as agribusiness, horticulture, Maori land utilisation and tourism. The study will support future growth in the Bay of Plenty.”

Freshwater Futures

Funding for the study ($50,000) comes from the MPI's Irrigation Acceleration Fund and has been matched ($50,000) by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Freshwater Futures Programme. Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and Bay of Connections Chairman, Doug Leeder says the study will hone into water at a 'granular level' looking at individual waterways and users to create a targeted action plan that addresses issues locally.

“The study will explore the current environment, including barriers and opportunities to ultimately equip the region with up-to-date information to ensure water is allocated and used as efﬁciently and effectively as possible. “Insights from farmers, growers, major landowners and industry representatives will feed into the study, ensuring the right people are involved early in discussions and well-informed investment decisions can be made.

Enabling opportunity'

“Water is an 'enabling opportunity' that underpins growth in the wider Bay of Plenty. Regional Council and others are already doing a great deal to care for the region's water quality and quantity. This study will build on existing work and knowledge to help shape our future. “Fresh water is a taonga (treasure) – it is the lifeblood of our natural environment and vital for the health of our community. It is also crucial to ensuring we can capture a number of other opportunities in the Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Economic Action Plan.” Doug says the study will also support and align with the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management discussions that are already underway in some local communities. The Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Growth Study was launched in May 2015, followed by the launch of the Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Economic Action Plan in October 2015. The refreshed Action Plan reﬂects completed milestones and new opportunities for the region. The Action Plan is regionally led and is supported by central government and represents a collaboration between local and central government, business, iwi and M˜ori. The implementation of the plan is overseen by the Bay of Connections with the support from central government's Regional Growth Programme. Regional economic development is a key part of the government's Business Growth Agenda.

EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

Page 27

Experts’ failure to look at big picture A great deal of respect is given to people who have accumulated letters after their name after spending time at a university. Research institutes utilise these taught skills and soak up our research budget studying specific problems in specific areas. However, I see some limitations in our farming research where so-called advances in one area are creating problems in another area. An example of this is that recently I met a scientist who had two PhDs in nutrition but knew nothing about soil. Most vets have vast knowledge of animal disease, diagnosis and treatment but have not been trained in soil science. This is not a criticism but an observation. Recently I spent time in Denmark with a senior vet and nutritionist focused on finding the reason for animal diseases, particularly in Europe. This is part of a treatment plan for farmers who can lose cows very quickly from clostridia and similar diseases like botulism.

the bugs which carry on out into our efﬂuent ponds which farmers are then encouraged to apply to the soil as fertiliser. Good efﬂuent containing healthy biology can then contribute to a healthy soil.

Damage to efﬂuent ponds

Another so-called advancement in science is the heavy use of chlorine in our cowsheds. In the past two years there has been a massive increase in its use and although scientists are denying it, this chlorine is doing massive damage to our efﬂuent ponds. The chlorine in alkaline, chloride of lime and liquid chlorine all produce residuals which upon entering the pond wipe out the beniﬁcial biology which are there trying

to make effluent a good fertiliser for the soil. This is not a theory. I am seeing it regularly as I am called to fix farmers’ effluent. Although it is obviously the go-to product to keep a farmer grade-free there has been no respect from educated experts on the effects outside their narrow vision. The next step is the sterilisation of our effluent and eventually sterilisation of our soil. Furthermore a soil with compromised beneficial bacteria will create an abundance of pathogenic bacteria which will eventually get to the feed which has grown in that soil. If only cows could talk, I’m sure they would have something to say about it. Amazing what you see when you look at the big picture.

Unbalanced soils

Dr Jorn Erri’s research has led him to the soil for answers. Unbalanced soil nutrients are leading to unbalanced feed which is leading to the inability for cows to naturally ﬁght diseases without the aid of vaccines and medicines to keep them healthy. A so-called advance in nutrition, which is a trend now beginning in New Zealand, is the use of increasing rumen bypass feeds to produce milk. In Europe this trend is well-developed and although this practise produces milk, Dr Erri says it is at the expense of animal health. Cows are barely completing two lactations under this system. He says nutritionists are treating a cow like a machine and by bypassing the rumen are not respecting the full nutrition that the bugs in the rumen need to complete their job to maintain a healthy cow and her immune system. The conditions in a cow’s rumen also dictates

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CALVING

Page 28

Focus on alternative protein threats Beef + Lamb New Zealand is leading a project to assess potential red meat sector responses to advances in the production of alternative proteins.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor says the organisation, on behalf of NZ sheep and beef farmers, wants to better understand the shifts in food and food production technology. This will include identifying the threats and, in particular, the opportunities for the sector and how to address them. “We want to distinguish hype from reality and have an objective view on what’s happening in the alterna-

tive protein space. “That will mean better understanding the technologies, business models and how quickly advancements are being made that could impact the NZ red meat sector.” Sam says the current view from commentators is that alternative proteins is being positioned as a premium product today

but that could change tomorrow. “For example, if the price to produce these foods comes down in the future it could have an impact on the likes of hamburger meat. That could be a risk for the sector, given a large percentage of NZ processing beef currently goes to quick-service restaurants.” Another part of the project will be to gather a

deep understanding of what consumers think about alternative proteins and their acceptance of them. “We want to understand their perceptions, choices and the trade-offs they might make in the future.” Beef + Lamb New Zealand will be reaching out to other organisations with food technology and consumer insight experience that have a deep knowledge and exposure to what’s happening in places like Silicon Valley and the Netherlands where protein alternative technologies and investment are being heavily focused today.

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the mud and protected from the elements. And if conditions are dry with limited pasture growth, your stock will have enough feed to see them through with minimal wastage.” Gary says Wilco Engineering is proud to manufacture products that last a lifetime on the farm. “We manufacture highly robust steel frames, made and fully galvanised in New Zealand, to ensure the best quality and performance. Our feeders are made by farmers for farmers.” Wilco has a variety of feeders to suit everyone’s needs for both in the shed and out in the paddock. The best-selling products include two or three wheeled mobile hay racks (with optional meal bins), sized from one to ﬁve bale capacity, as well as hanging feeders for the gate, fence or calf shed. Drum carts, skid feeders, palm kernel troughs and trailers are also part of the product range. “Our range of feeders make life on the farm easier and more efﬁcient,” says Gary.

CALVING

Page 29

Hands-free help for calving With difficulty calving affecting around five per cent of a herd each calving season, and being associated with approximately 50 per cent of calf mortality cases at birth, it is critical to both animal welfare and farm profitability for a farmer to have the knowledge and equipment to assist a calving cow if necessary. Cases of calving difficulties, or dystocia, can be reduced in the herd by carefully managing genetics and animal condition, but occasional calving problems are inevitable. To give cow and calf the best chance of health and survival the farmer is the first port of call to assess the situation and decide on the best course of action.

‘Secret weapon’

There are obvious circumstances in which veterinary assistance is necessary, but once a farmer has determined he can proceed with an assisted delivery without veterinary assistance, best practice states calving jacks or pulleys may be used in conjunction with ropes or chains to assist a calving cow. Whakatane agricultural engineering firm The Wrangler is best known for its flagship product, the Wrangler cow handler, but it also has a secret weapon when it comes to calving – the Wrangler calving attachment. The attachment is easily connected to the Wrangler frame and swivels so the cow can enter the crush. Once she is loaded and secure, the calving rope is attached to the calf’s front legs and, working with the cow and her contractions, and the existing Wrangler winches, the calf is gently but firmly pulled from the cow. Using the Wrangler calving attachment means the farmer has both hands free for calving assistance, with

The Wrangler calving attachment. no equipment on the cow getting in the way. The calving attachment is also ideal used on the Premier Wrangler as a mobile calving crush in the paddock. With cases of dystocia putting cow and calf health at risk, and consequently farm proﬁtability, the Wrangler calving attachment gives cows experiencing calving difﬁculties the best possible chance to make a full recovery, with a healthy calf.

Reducing dystocia

• Careful management and selection of genetics by using an appropriate sire to ensure heifers do not calve an oversized calf. • Ensure heifers have adequate nutrition in the prepubertal and post-pubertal phases of growth, and calve at 85 per cent of their mature body weight with a body condition score of 4.5-5.5 • Ensure cows do not have an excessive body condition score (>5.5), as fat deposited around the birth canal reduces the space within the pelvis. • Cows with milk fever (hypocalcaemia) can experience weak or absent uterine contractions, which can prolong birth and result in a dead calf.

Changes to Animal Welfare Act Forty-six new animal welfare regulations are to be developed this year, says the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy.

“Changes we made to the Animal Welfare Act in 2015 have allowed us to create directly-enforceable regulations. This has given the act more teeth, and creates more tools to deal with mistreatment of animals. “These 46 regulations include stock transport, farm husbandry, companion and working animals, pigs, layer hens and the way animals are accounted for in research, testing and teaching. “These follow the Young Calf and Live Animal Export regulations which we fast-tracked and introduced last year. “These regulations contributed to a reduction of more than 50 per cent in

mortality rates for bobby calves during the 2016 season.” Last year, the Ministry for Primary Industries consulted on 91 animal welfare regulations and received more than 1400 submissions from a wide range of individuals and organisations, all with different perspectives on animal welfare. MPI will now focus on having the next 46 regulations ready to be delivered by the end of this year and to come into effect before October 2018. The delayed lead-in time will enable farmers, processors, transporters and others to ensure that their systems are up and running before the new regulations take effect. The remaining regulations that were consulted on last year will be considered in a third package of work in 2018, for introduction in 2019.

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FERTILISER

Page 30

Economic impact of weeds exceeds billion dollars The true cost of weeds to New Zealand’s agricultural economy is likely to be far higher than previous research would suggest, according to a new study funded by AgResearch. AgResearch and Scion scientists worked with economists from Lincoln University’s Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit to review the available published research on the costs of weeds to New Zealand’s productive land (for the pastoral, arable and forestry sectors). That review reached a conservative overall estimate of $1.658 billion a year (based on 2014 costs). “The research on weed costs done previously used differing approaches, and the numbers were sometimes outdated or contained guesswork,” says AgResearch principal scientist Dr Graeme Bourdôt. “In addition, the estimate of $1.658b only covers the few weed species –10 of the 187 pasture weeds, some arable land weeds and forestry weeds – that have been the subject of research into their impacts. The focus has largely been on the loss of production. The substantial costs of weed control, such as the use of herbicides, was not always considered. “Given all of these limitations, the true cost of the weeds to the agricultural sector is likely to be much higher than the $1.658b estimate.” The study looked at the economic impact of some of the more

widespread and destructive weed species such as gorse, broom, yellow bristle grass and Californian thistle. “We also developed a dynamic approach for estimating the potential costs of weeds that have not yet realised their potential range in New Zealand, taking account of possible rates of spread, maximum geographic extent and changes in consumer prices for agricultural products,” Graeme says. “This dynamic approach applied to the Giant Buttercup weed in dairy pastures indicates that this weed alone would cost the dairy industry $592 million per year in lost milk solids revenue if it were to spread across its entire range over the next 20 years. “New Zealand has one of the highest levels of invasion by introduced plant species in the world and there has always been a shortage of information when it comes to their economic costs on productive land. “Knowing more about these costs is important to developing cost-effective ways to tackle weeds, and in quantifying the beneﬁts of research aimed at keeping us ahead of the game.”

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FERTILISER

Page 31

Waste management specialists finally arrive New Zealand’s early pioneers were remiss in not bringing ‘waste management specialists’ with them when they introduced farm animals to this country. “Sheep and cattle have been brought to New Zealand without the associated beetles which evolved to process their dung,” says Dr Shaun Forgie, director of Dung Beetle Innovations. Early farmers brought worms to help improve soil fertility, but overlooked the vital role dung beetles play in pastoral systems, he says. So now, more than 170 years since pastoral farming began in this country, dung beetles to process farm animal waste have finally arrived and Shaun says they have the potential to make a significant differ-

Dr Shaun Forgie, director of Dung Beetle Innovations, with beetles and their rather large dung balls at Fieldays 2017.

ence to the environment and farm systems. New Zealand does have native dung beetles which play a key role in decomposition in forests, but they are not able to utilise dung in open pasture.

11 species approved

Unlike the days of early colonisation, bringing new species to New Zealand is no longer easy. The first steps towards introducing dung beetles began in 2008 when the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Group was established by farmers and other interested parties with the objective of importing and releasing dung beetles to assist with the removal of pastoral dung of agricultural livestock. The group’s application to release 11 species of dung beetles in New Zealand was approved by the Environmental Risk Management Authority in February 2011, and a project to import and breed these beneficial insects was funded through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Farming Fund and industry partners. Landcare Research provided the science and technical support to the programme.

Increased pasture

Now farmers are able to buy dung beetles from Dung Beetle Innovations, which breed them in a special facility in Northland for release on farms. Shaun says research trials have shown that dung burial by the beetles increases pasture growth by up to 30 per cent and responses continue for more than two years after burial. “At any one time in New Zealand, five per cent of all grazing farmland is covered in dung. Roughly 600,000ha is wasted due to cattle dung.” Livestock avoid foraging around the dung in

an area about five times the size of the dung pat because it is repugnant to them. However, if dung beetles are present, they will fly to fresh dung, where males and females mate and build nests of dung balls in tunnels they form beneath the soil. The female lays eggs in each dung ball and between six weeks and six month later (depending on the insect species), a new adult dung beetle will emerge from the dung ball to begin the cycle all over again. The actions of dung beetles in burying dung increases soil nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and may reduce leaching and volatilisation of

nitrogen from animal manure. Infection of livestock by parasitic nematodes has also been shown to reduce by 70 per cent as beetles aerate the dung which desiccates nematode eggs. Eggs and larvae are also damaged or destroyed by physical abrasion during dung manipulation and consumption by beetles. Shaun says the introduction of dung beetles is based on sound ecological science and controlled by stringent regulations, so they are unlikely to become pests. To find out more visit www.dungbeetleinnovatiob.com

Elaine Fisher

Page 32

FERTILISER

Ruminants may yet be answer to carbon sequestration Green manure and cover crops are indispensable carbon-building tools. This is an integral component of a holistic approach, where we are striving to feed the soil while converting plant material into humus.

There is compelling new US research that cocktail cover crops may be very beneﬁcial. It has been found that certain combinations of plants involving cereals, grasses, brassicas, legumes and chenopods can trigger the release of phenolic compounds from roots, which have been shown to stimulate rapid humus building. Cocktail cover crops sponsor microbial biodiversity as each species tends to favour and feed speciﬁc groups of root organisms. The more diverse the plant species, the more varied the soil life; nature thrives on biodiversity.

Drought protective

The brassicas in the mix also discourage pathogens like nematodes and some diseases with their biochemical root exudates. Cocktail cover crops are strongly drought protective, as the great mass of roots involved exudes gel-like mucilage that can absorb 10,000 times its own weight in water. The trillions of bacteria around the roots also release a gel-like substance that provides them protection from predators and retains water. The late Jerry Brunetti cites a cocktail mix that has proven successful for North Dakota farmer, Gabe Brown, who has, in turn, been inspired by the innovative work of Brazilian agronomist Dr Ademir Caligari. This mix includes at least a dozen of the following species: pearl millet, sorghum, Sudan grass, proso millet, buckwheat, sunn hemp, oilseed radish, turnips, pasha, ryegrass, canola, phacelia, cowpeas, soy beans, sugar beet, red clover, sweet clover, kale, rape, lentils, mung beans and subterranean clover. This mix includes the desired mix of legumes, grasses, cereals, brassicas and chenopods. This type of farming may have its limits in the New Zealand context, but the principles apply. Think of facial eczema where the highest spore counts are found where the most mono-cultural practices occur. Facial eczema can be easily eliminated by balancing soil fertility. There is compelling research demonstrating the humus-building effect of no-till or minimum-till agriculture. Much of this comes from the Rodale

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Tillage modiﬁed

Every time we work the soil we disturb cellulose-digesting fungi and oxidise existing humus. Some favour minimum-till over no-till, as there is evidence of mineral stratiﬁcation over time in completely untouched soils. It makes sense that a combination of leaching and utilisation will see key minerals slowly move beyond the root zone. If we till from time to time, this negative effect can be countered. Proponents of chemical no-till systems claim reduced carbon loses by the use of chemical sprays. This is simply not true. The end result is always the same, with carbon levels falling to a common end point, regardless of the method employed. It is true that overtillage reaches that point sooner.

Practices encouraged

Intelligent grazing and other practices may have to be encouraged or incentivised to the point of legislative management. The dictionary deﬁnition of the word ‘science’ is ‘adherence to natural laws and principles’. Science involves learning from the perfect blueprint of nature, rather than the futile attempt at improving upon nature that has characterised most proﬁt-based, scientists’ endeavour. The Great Plains in the US captured more carbon and produced more biomass than any other region on Earth. This productive capacity was driven by huge herds of bison that moved into one area for a day, depositing massive amounts of urine and dung and created a seedbed with their hooves for improved germination of the diverse range of seeds present in their dung.

Leaf solar panel

In effect, they facilitated a cocktail cover. The herds tended to graze down to about 100mm before moving on, almost as though they were aware of the fact that the leaf is the solar panel that fuels photosynthesis. The plant pumps 50 per cent of its sugar into the roots, and 60 per cent of this liquid carbon is exuded into the soil to feed the microbes. The whole carbon-building mechanics of the pasture are impacted by the length of the leaf because the roots, which are being fed by the leaves, prune themselves back in accord with leaf size. If you have grazed too low, the root mass has reduced accordingly and you no longer have a carbon-building pasture. Researchers like Dr Christine Jones in Australia have conclusively demonstrated that correctly managed pasture has the most carbon-sequestering capacity of any crop. Ruminants may yet be the answer to carbon sequestration, but only if we learn from nature.

FERTILISER

Page 33

Census gathers primary production data The ﬁve yearly census of New Zealand’s primary industries is underway and up to 60,000 people are expected to complete the census forms, posted out in July. The main purpose of the Agricultural Production Census is to provide up-to-date and reliable statistics on agriculture and forestry. That information ultimately beneﬁts farmers and all New Zealanders as the data helps with policy and planning decisions at government, local body and industry levels.

Stats NZ carries out the census, which is fully funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Statistics are used to inform trade negotiations on issues such as increased access and lower tariffs; forecast work for the agriculture sector; prepare policy advice, including the potential effects of policies on primary producers; monitor the state of the agriculture sector and its contribution to the New Zealand economy; inform planning and investment decisions by central and local government and the private sector and fulﬁl duties and commitments to various international organisations of which New Zealand is

a member. Agricultural statistics are used by the farming and industrial sectors, government, researchers, and community groups. This year everyone involved in agriculture, horticulture or forestry takes part. It’s like doing the population census every ﬁve years and completing the information the census collects is so important for New Zealand that those involved in the sector are required by law to

complete the census. Stats NZ carries out a census every five years. In other years a sample of people in certain agricultural sectors are surveyed. The census questionnaire can be completed online or by filling in a paper questionnaire. Instructions are in the information pack sent out in the post. Stats NZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries keeps the information secure and confidential.

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RURAL DRIVER

Quality parts and workshop service Performance Diesels Ltd moved into a new purpose-built building in Rerewai Place at Mount Maunganui at the beginning of this year, after being in the same workshop in Macdonald St for 25 years.

The company specialises in the repair and maintenance of trucks and trailers and earthmoving equipment. Performance Diesels also holds a large amount of parts for Scania, UD trucks, Nissan diesel trucks and CAT truck engines. It is also a Castrol oil stockist and uses Castrol oils in the workshop. In the parts department are three specialist people who can look up and source parts for most Performance Diesels’ new makes and model of trucks and machinery. premises in Rerewai Place, Performance Diesels also carries power service Mount Maunganui. diesel additives and can recommend the correct Castrol oils for your vehicle or machine. “Performance Diesels are not just about diesel engines; we service and maintain complete trucks and trailers or a whole ﬂeet, from bumper to bumper. We also service and maintain excavators, graders, bulldozers or wheel loaders,” says parts manager Jason Gabel. The public is welcome to visit the new workshop at 1 Rerewai Place, Mount Maunganui or for more information visit www.performancediesels.co.nz

Details help match car and driver New Zealand’s love of SUVs continues to be fuelled with a healthy supply of 5-star-rated ANCAP vehicles. Audi’s new Q2, Q5 including SQ5 variants, as well as 4x4 variants of the Skoda Kodiaq and Cooper D variants of the new Mini Countryman have all achieved the top rating, but the scores and safety-assist technologies vary across the vehicles. “It’s worth noting that Audi has released a higher standard safety speciﬁcation version of the Q2 in New Zealand than in Australia, which may make it slightly more expensive, but better value for buyers in the long run,” says Stella Stocks, general manager – motoring services, New Zealand Automobile Association. The NZ version has a number of features that are optional in Australia but standard here including blind-spot monitoring, hilllaunch-assist, speed assistance – speed sign recognition and warning, following distance warning, reverse collision avoidance, and trailer stability control. All four cars come with Autonomous

Emergency Braking as standard, a crash avoidance technology which automatically engages the brakes of a vehicle when it senses a hazard within critical range, including pedestrians and cyclists. Drivers and passengers also fared well in the crash tests across all four vehicles, though when it came to child protection the margins were slightly wider. “Depending on what the main use of your car is, sometimes it’s worth drilling down into the detail behind the rating to ensure it ticks the boxes you want it to, and for the best price." The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme tests for the safety of vehicle occupants and pedestrians, as well as outlines the safety-assist technologies included in the vehicle. The full list of ANCAP’s vehicle safety ratings, other vehicle safety information and the speciﬁcations of the rated vehicles are available online at ancap.co.nz or rightcar.govt.nz. ANCAP is supported by all Australian motoring clubs, the New Zealand Automobile Association, the Australian government, the New Zealand government, Australian state and territory governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, NRMA Insurance and the FIA Foundation.

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 35

Tractor and orchard services company combine forces Capital Tractors, Tauranga has teamed up with Oropi Management Services to provide them with new SAME Orchard Tractors and a Berti mulcher for the coming season, putting in place a service and maintenance contract to allow for both busy and quiet periods during the year. “Being proactive and doing servicing and maintenance beforehand is much more economic than costly repairs at the most inconvenient time of the season,” says Reg Hedges, owner of Capital Tractors. “So we are delighted to have formed this partnership, which will have many beneﬁts for both parties in the coming years.” James Schoﬁeld, salesman for Capital Tractors, ran a training day for the OMS staff in July, with 12 in attendance to learn and gather tips on driving, maintenance, being proactive with repairs

and health and safety. “We have developed a check sheet for the drivers which will allow them to play an active role in the maintenance of the tractors they drive, thus avoiding repairs at a time they need to be using them.” Parts manager Robert Van Lonkhuyzen also played an active role in the training day, giving parts pricing and tips throughout. “Oropi Management is pleased to continue support of Capital Tractors which has been in place since the 1980s,” says Richard Russell, general manager orchard operations. “Capital Tractors had observed over time the multi uses of the tractors and recommended a mix of horse power tractors for

our ﬂeet. This has meant that we have been able to reduce our ﬂeet size. After a Q and A session with current drivers, one of the biggest issues was seat height and lack of room for legs. Seat height has been markedly reduced in both SAME tractors supplied, and by cleverly changing gear lever angles there is a feeling of spaciousness when operating these machines. Another comment was the versatility of a hydraulic top link, which was supplied with the mulching tractor.” Oropi Management Services Limited is a kiwifruit management company able to provide a wide range of grower services. “We are an organic registered contractor and fully independent.”

Capital Tractors held a training day for Oropi Management Services staff.

More frontline police on beat by November When I’m out and about in the community, whether that be at a local market, school gala or on a doorstep, law and order is consistently one of the key issues everyday Kiwis are interested in and want to talk about. Communities, particularly those which are more remote, want to know that they are safe, secure, and that help will be there if they need it. Earlier this year the government announced a $503 million Safer Communities package which has been rolling out over the past few months to reassure New Zealanders that an effective, efficient and well-resourced police force will be there when they need them. In July we welcomed the first of the 880 additional frontline officers to Police College where they will undergo their training to be ready to be on the beat by November. These police will be stationed across all 12 police districts and will boost the total number of frontline police by 10 per cent to ensure that 95 per cent of the population are within 25km of patrolling officers around the clock. Our new 111 caller location technology is already having a significant impact in the first two months it

has been up and running, allowing emergency services to see a probable location of a caller when they dial 111 from a mobile phone and enabling them to respond faster and more accurately to situations as they unfold. This new system has been vital in situations where the caller hasn’t been able to speak, has been cut off before the operator was able to get more information about the caller’s location or when the caller hasn’t known their exact location. There have already been cases where the system has been used to get help to an injured person on a farm, a motorcycle crash victim, people experiencing family violence and for a person who had spotted a house ﬁre in a rural area they weren’t familiar with.

Page 36

Yes

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

our winter N deals have turned some heads So lots of satisfied new clients with many having changed their approach in products they apply

To ensure soil and stock health, plus production is managed well, aim to consider the following prior to application Getting a comprehensive & accurate soil analysis (a basic test cheats you and

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Barriers are useful in protecting the Waikato’s lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater.

of stream bank erosion threatening paddocks and affecting water quality.

Eroding banks

Well-constructed and planted riparian margins beside water bodies form a barrier that can help to keep contaminants out. These margins - strips of land adjacent to the water-bodies – can, for example ﬁlter out contaminants such as sediments, bacteria and nutrients from farm run-off, especially those contained in animal dung and urine, as well as agricultural chemicals.

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Pathogens like giardia and cryptosporidium can cause water-borne diseases, which in turn can cause serious health problems, while nitrates and phosphates can also create health disorders both for people and stock, and contribute to algal growth. Besides cleaner water generally, an important beneﬁt of good riparian management is improved stock health because stock no longer get their drinking water from contaminated streams. There may also be reduced maintenance effort required for water systems that draw from surface water. Winter weather can place increased strain on the banks of farm waterways, increasing the risk

Some of our rivers, lakes and streams have eroding banks, silted beds, water weed infestation and reduced water quality, as a result of the way the land is used. Land management practices – whether related to farming, forestry, roading or horticulture – can cause soil erosion and a build-up of contaminants into watercourses. They include stock wading in water, poor cowshed effluent treatment, overgrazing, inappropriate fertiliser application, pugging and poor runoff control on cultivated land, and construction and use of roads and tracks which can all contribute to the contamination of water bodies. All of these practices can be managed to reduce the risk of generating contaminants. Good management of the banks of waterways, with an appropriate and well-planted riparian margin, can create that barrier between the farm system and the water body to help to reduce negative effects by stabilising the banks and providing a filter for contaminants washing off the land. Careful selection of the mix of species planted within riparian areas makes it possible to beneficially modify what’s happening with light, temperature, nutrient

and sediment loads, channel and bank stability, carbon inputs, and habitat for terrestrial species. Shrubs and trees with extensive root systems, which tolerate moist soil conditions and frequent silt deposits, are ideal for stream bank erosion control. They physically hold the stream banks together and some tree roots also protect the streambed, limiting the scouring effect of running water. Streamside vegetation provides shade which cools the water, improves dissolved oxygen levels, helps aquatic life and reduces the risk of algal blooms.

Spawning ﬁsh

Suitable plant species beside waterways also provide cover for spawning ﬁsh, and food and habitat for nesting and juvenile birds. Streamside trees can link areas of native vegetation together, extending habitat for native birds. Besides such environmental beneﬁts, riparian planting can also help a farm’s economic bottom line. Well-designed riparian fencing can be used to improve subdivision, help with mustering, and protect animals from drowning or getting stuck in wet areas. •Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture advisor at Waikato Regional Council. Contact him on 0800 800401 or email bala.tikkisetty@waikatoregion.govt.nz By Bala Tikkisetty

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Page 37

Welcome back to Braden

Award-winning electric gate Strainrite Fencing Systems’ new Activator Strap won the top honour in the International Innovation Award category at the 2017 New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays.

mation from distribution networks domestically and internationally. “We entered knowing we were up against some serious competition on a global scale. To win such a prestigious award really pays tribute to staff and their dedication and team efforts,” says Maurice. Fieldays received a total of 77 entries in this year’s Innovation Awards with 16 in the International Innovation Award category. NZ National Fieldays Society CEO, Peter Nation says the awards are about providing a platform to launch innovations to the next level in the advancement of the agricultural industry. “Every year we see some great innovations at Fieldays and the Activator Strap has real potential in the fencing industry. We’re really proud to have this platform to help Strainrite and all Innovation Award entrants go to the next level.”

Maurice Wooster from Strainrite Fencing Systems says the idea for the Activator Strap stemmed from many years of improving the widely-used Electric Fence Activator System. “One of our fencing specialists was setting up an electric fence gateway and was continually encountering broken fence activator installations. It dawned on him then that there had to be a better way.” From there the Strainrite research and development team designed and produced rapid prototypes for testing before coming up with the insulated strap that wraps around the gate post to create an offset for an electriﬁed wire to accept gate handle hooks. Judges were impressed with the simplicity of the design, which they described as a clever, well-designed solution with the potential for signiﬁcant time and cost savings, commenting that “it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done before”. Following their win of the prestigious award at Fieldays, Strainrite Fencing Systems have had enquiries from a new international cusDave Crooks from Strainrite Fencing Systems tomer, as well as sales with the Fieldays International Innovation and requests for inforAward- winning Activator Strap.

FROM

Braden Calder has re-joined the team at Jacks Machinery, Whakatane.

FINANCE*

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Braden ﬁrst started at Jacks Machinery in 1999, working for two years as a mechanic, then two years as a salesman. In 2003 Braden chose to pursue another passion, dairy farming. The ﬁrst two years were as a farm manager then he became a sharemilker for 12 more years, including seven years 50/50 sharemilking. As is quite often the case, the farm was sold to an adjacent farm holder at which point Braden made the decision to sell his herd and leave the industry at the end of season.

When Steve Jacks found out, he enticed Braden to return to a sales position at Jacks Machinery. So this year he attended the Mystery Creek Fieldays utilising his product and sales skills, and vibrant personality, rather than simply spectating. Braden’s area for responsibility for Jacks Machinery now covers Rangitaiki Plains, Galatea areas and out to Pongakawa. His tractor and machinery knowledge, not to mention that of the dairy industry, is a great bonus. Braden is family man with two children who also enjoys fishing, hunting and surfing. He has also been a coast guard volunteer for 17 years, including skippering the rescue boat and holding the vice-president’s office. Braden is now developing an avocado orchard, a project still to come to fruition. If you have any questions regarding farm or horticultural machinery, give Braden a call 027 422 4304.

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Eighteen years since he ﬁrst began working for Jacks Machinery at Whakatane, Braden Calder has re-joined the team, bringing with him a wealth of skills gained during his 14-year absence.

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Page 38

FORESTRY

Tallest trees at extreme altitude an unexpected find The ﬁrst ﬁeld campaign surveying Papua New Guinea’s lush primary forests from the coast to clouds has revealed the high mountain tops may house the largest trees recorded globally at such extreme altitudes.

The study - which involved The University of Queensland’s Dr John Dwyer and James Cook University’s Professor Michael Bird - was led by Dr Michelle Venter, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada.

“The study may force a rethink of what we know about the ideal environments for growing very large trees,” says John, a UQ School of Biological Sciences’ lecturer and CSIRO researcher. John led seven field expeditions in areas far from roads and villages, with the help of more than 70 field assistants from five forest-dependent communities, working on slopes of up to 88 degrees.

Forest biomass

They studied 195 forest plots in the rugged and remote Morobe province along an elevation gradient spanning from the coastal lowland forests (50m) to upper montane tropical forests (3100m). Unexpectedly, the researchers

found that the forest biomass had a major peak at altitudes of 2400-3100m, altitudes where forests struggle to reach more than 15m tall in other parts of the world. “Tropical montane forests are typically squat and gnarly,” Dr Venter said. “Current thinking is that tall mountains make small trees. However, we recorded more than 15 tree families with individuals growing 30-40m tall at extreme altitudes, which brings this assumption into question.” The tallest trees included a 41m high Nothofagus starkenborghii, one of the southern beeches whose ancestors dominated Gondwanan forests for millions of years. John says the researchers became excited when they

realised the unique climate conditions found on mountain tops of PNG were remarkably similar to those of temperate maritime areas known to grow the largest trees in the world “Think of the foggy mid-west coast of the USA, which boasts the epically large coast redwoods.”

World’s tallest tree

The world’s tallest known tree is a 115.8m (380ft) coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) found in California, and the second-tallest reliably measured specimen, is a 99.82m (327.5ft) mountain ash (Eucalptytus regnans) from the Arve Valley in Tasmania. Several Australian gums from Tasmania and Victoria are also

in the top 20 monument trees list. Coast redwoods occur in elevations up to about 920m, while the Australian mountain ash occurs in cool mountainous areas to 1000 metres altitude, considerably less than the PNG altitudes. Michael says: “Believe it or not, why and how trees grow large is still a topic for investigation and reasons for the persistence of large old trees are still not clearly known. “Large trees are susceptible to many interacting threats, from disease to climate change, and because of their size and age, they don’t adapt well to rapidly changing, human-modiﬁed environments.” The study was published tin the journal Global Change Biology

Incentive programmes help minimise deforestation Trees play a critical role in mitigating global carbon emissions and now a new study in Uganda shows that the cost of giving landowners a modest fee to refrain from cutting down their trees is substantially lower than the carbon-related costs that are incurred when trees are lost. Curbing deforestation in low-income countries, where most deforestation occurs today, is viewed as one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce global carbon

dioxide emissions. Incentive programmes may help minimise deforestation; however, their effectiveness is largely unknown, as some people may engage in the environmentally friendly behaviour without payment and some enrollees may simply shift their tree-cutting from land covered by the programme to other nearby areas. Therefore, to better understand the effects of such programmes, Seema Jayachandran and colleagues conducted an experiment in 121 villages in Uganda. Over the course of a two-year programme, landowners were promised 70,000 Ugandan shillings ($28 in 2012 U.S. dollars) per year for each hectare of forest in which they left trees unperturbed. Forest monitors conducted spot checks of enrollees’ land to inspect for recent treeclearing, and satellite data was used to measure overall treetop cover throughout the program. The average tree loss in the treatment group, which was offered the incentive, was four per cent about half of the nine per cent tree loss in the “business-as-usual” control group, the authors report. They found no evidence that enrollees shifted their deforestation to nearby land. An economic analysis of the delay in carbon emissions over the course of the two-year programme suggests that its beneﬁts are 2.4 times as large as the programme costs. Remarkably, the authors report that beneﬁts of the programme still outweigh its costs if landowners try to play “catch up” – by cutting down the trees that would have been lost over the course of the two-year programme – immediately once the incentives ended.

KIWIFRUIT

Page 39

Maori orchard transformational for communities Lifting skill levels and increasing the economic performance of Maori kiwifruit orchards is good not just for Maori, but the whole of New Zealand, as it will increase employment and help lift the nation’s export returns. There are environmental beneﬁts too,

he says. Maori owners take a long-term inter-generational view because typically traditional lands are not for sale, so close attention is paid to sustainability, including water quality, use of resources and the retirement of sensitive areas. Elaine Fisher

Pictured at the launch of the Maori Kiwifruit Growers Forum are from left Homman Tapsell, Doug Brown (NZKGI), Kiritapu Allan, Nikki Johnson (CEO NZKGI), Haki McRoberts, Lain Jager (CEO Zespri), Te Ururoa Flavell, Minister for Maori Development, James Wheeler, Marita Rancloud, Amy Porter (Zespri), Tiaka Hunia (chairman of the Maori Kiwifruit Growers Forum).

Maori kiwifruit ventures have the potential to transform communities and the lives of rural people by creating employment and boosting economic performance in the regions, says Tiaki Hunia, chairman of the Maori Kiwifruit Growers Forum. There is latent potential in much Maori land. “Some of the land suitable for conversion to kiwifruit orchards is currently growing maize at a return of around $1000 a hectare when it could return up to $100,000 and more a hectare from gold kiwifruit.” To unlock the potential of land suitable for conversion, and many existing Maori kiwifruit orchards, improved levels of education and training for Maori owners will be needed. Among the roles of the forum are to provide growers with opportunities to gain education and training to ensure their businesses thrive, Tiaki says. Ofﬁcially launched in June, the forum advocates for the interests of Maori growers and is a partnership between Maori kiwifruit growers, Te Puni Kokiri and Zespri. “The forum has two years to prove itself and we will be working hard on behalf of growers to do that because if, after two years, Maori growers can’t see its value, then there will be no forum,” says Tiaki. Education and training, particularly for young Maori, is a major focus but so too is providing Maori growers with timely and relevant data and information to support their decision-making, and increase returns. The forum represents Maori growers in all the major kiwifruit growing regions from Northland to Nelson. Green kiwifruit makes up the largest proportion of the crop from Maori orchards, but in line with the rest of

the industry, gold volumes are rapidly increasing. The growers represented by the forum produce around eight per cent of Zespri’s export production. “We want to see that grow to 20 per cent and more,” says Tiaki. Many Maori orchards are leased to individuals or post-harvest companies, but over time these will return to Maori owners so the lift in production will come partly from Maori owners managing their own orchards, and from new greenﬁeld orchard developments such as those at Te Kaha carried out together with investors who will eventually return the orchards to its owners. The forum is looking at where Splash Direct Maori are in the kiwifruit workforce, where some of the gapsPhone are, and what 2113 Main Road 07 573 6138 can be done to encourage and upskill more Maori Te Puke Email info@splashdirect.co.nz into roles right through the industry from working on orchards, to management, to marketing and ideally around the world as advocates, branding and marketing New Zealand kiwifruit. “There are gaps in education and training and we need super heroes as role model who will show young people that horticulture offers great career opportunities and that it is not just a seasonal job.” However, there are barriers to training, especially for those living in areas some distance from training providers. A solution may be to take the trainers to the students, says Tiaki.

Craig Bell Mobile 0272 931 268

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Phone 07 573 6138 Email info@splashdirect.co.nz

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KIWIFRUIT

Page 40

Importance of the RSE scheme for NZ During the ﬁrst week of July everyone involved in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme came together to discuss the scheme on its tenth birthday, to celebrate the success of the scheme, and to plan how it can grow and prosper during the next 10 years. It is one of the few labour mobility schemes that is recognised by the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation as being successful on all accounts. The important feature of the RSE scheme is that the workers do not immigrate to New Zealand. They go

home to the Pacific Islands, taking back the money they have earned in NZ and additional skills they have learned during downtime; skills such as welding, building and outboard repairs. The scheme’s importance to the Pacific was seen by the Pacific Island government representatives who attended the conference, including the Prime Minister of Tuvalu and key ministers and officials from the Pacific countries providing RSE workers to NZ.

Signiﬁcant beneﬁts

They made it very clear how valuable the RSE scheme is to the Pacific Islands. For example, workers from Samoa can, with just five months’ work in NZ as a RSE worker, earn more than three times the average annual wage in Samoa. The benefits to the families of the RSE workers, their communities and villages has been significant, with building projects, education and new skills learned. The NZ government was also wellrepresented at the conference with key NZ officials from the Ministry for Social Development and Immigration plus NZ ministers Woodhouse, Tolley and McClay. Not only has the RSE programme significantly benefited the Pacific, it has enabled the horticulture and viticulture industries to continue to grow. Today there are 135 RSE employers and each employer has developed a strong relationship with their RSE workers over the past 10 years. This has seen many of the employers contribute to the well-being of their

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workers’ villages. It has given the RSE employers the certainty to invest in the growth of their businesses. This has been seen best through the growth of horticultural exports which have increased by 40 per cent over the past two years.

Continued growth

The Government’s trade agenda 2030 will enable further horticultural growth, a point strongly made by the Minister for Trade, Todd McClay, when he addressed the conference. This will, in turn, reinforce the important of the RSE scheme as one of the labour supply options being used by the industries’ employers. Minister Tolley, when she addressed the conference, noted that reducing unemployment was resulting in a smaller pool of New Zealanders being available for horticulture and other industries. This too means the RSE scheme has an even more important role to undertake supporting continued growth. This will translate directly into more RSE workers being required for both the horticulture and viticulture industries. The conference looked to the future and how the RSE scheme can be improved and identiﬁed areas where, as an industry, we need to act: lifting employment standards across all employers, not just RSE employers who exceed minimum standards already, and making the scheme viable long-term in the Island communities. Our focus in the coming weeks will be to achieve these reﬁnements, ensuring that it will continue and grow for the next 10 years.

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KIWIFRUIT

Page 41

Outlook brighter for 2018 harvest Over the past three years there has been a race for kiwifruit packhouses to ensure they have enough packing and coolstore capacity to meet the extremely strong growth of the kiwifruit Zespri ‘SunGold’ variety which has proven to be so popular around the world says Hume Pack N Cool general manager of Operations, Piers Zajac-Wiggett. “With the expected volumes for SunGold reaching up to 80-90 million in the next ﬁve years, those in the industry have had to make some signiﬁcant capital investments to ensure they are able to pick, pack, and cool store the increasing volumes of this variety, as well as Hayward and other varieties,” says Piers. This has seen facilities race to build additional coolstores, which has also resulted in increased investment in people,

machines and technology to deal with the increasing volumes. However, this year has seen a real bump in the road on this upward journey. “It has been a challenging season for the kiwifruit industry with a year of unforeseen low volumes and high reject rates due to the three cyclones we experienced. “This bad weather brought signiﬁcant Take the hassle out of Growing Kiwifruit wind and rain which had an adverse and let us take care of your Orchard effect on the quality of the fruit. It came during a time of heavy investment and planning to meet the demands of the massive growth of this We offer Manage and Lease options which incur no fees and variety which has put lease options where growers retain all profits – not share!! ﬁnancial pressure Our Orchard Managers have experience with all aspects of on facilities.” We offer Manage and Lease options which incur no fees and New Varieties. Piers expects this optionswe where growers retainourall profits – not share!! Atlease Hume Pack-N-Cool are committed to maximising will see the indusgrowers’ returns. If you don’t think you’re getting the most out Committed to try suspend capital Our Orchard have experience with all aspects of your orchard thenGrowing talk toManagers us. Growerof Returns Take the hassle out of Kiwifruit projects as much New Varieties. and let as possible as it us take care of your Orchard Supporting the P: 07 549 1011At Hume E: grow@humepack.co.nz Prospect Drive, Katikati Pack-N-Cool we4are committed to maximising our weathers the storm community since 1984 growers’ returns. If you don’t think you’re getting the most out of this season and begins to look to of your orchard then talk to us. the return to normaland Lease options which incur no fees and Wemore offer Manage volumes next year. lease options where growers retain all profits – not share!! // P: 07 549 1011 E: grow@humepack.co.nz // 4 Prospect Drive, Katikati “Already we have hadhave experience with all aspects of Our Orchard Managers New Varieties. good winter chill units this year whichAtwill us up for Humeset Pack-N-Cool we are committed to maximising our growers’ returns. you don’t Committed to the 2018 season, and if Ifthis is think you’re getting the most out youraorchard talk to us. Grower Returns combined of with goodthen growing Kiwifruit being packed at Hume season, the industry should be Supporting the Pack N Cool during the 2017 season. back on track.” // E: grow@humepack.co.nz // 4 Prospect Drive, Katikati 549Drive, 1011 Katikati P: 07 549 1011 E: grow@humepack.co.nz P: 4 07 Prospect

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The joint Plant & Food Research - Zespri kiwifruit breeding programme will support a $3.5 billion increase in New Zealand’s GDP by 2030 and the creation of 29,000 jobs, according to a new economic report. This industry growth is based primarily on the success of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, which was released in 2011 from the breeding programme. The University of Waikato report concludes that without Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit the New Zealand kiwifruit industry would be less than half the size of its 2030 projections. “Our kiwifruit breeding programme is a true partnership between science,

industry and government,“ says Dr Bruce Campbell, of Plant & Food Research. “The long-term commitment by both Zespri and the New Zealand government in the kiwifruit breeding programme has allowed us to deliver a gamechanging new kiwifruit, for the horticultural industry and the nation. This is a great example of a NZ Inc investment focused on creating value by delighting consumers.” The kiwifruit breeding programme is funded through a partnership of investment by Zespri, the New Zealand government and Plant & Food Research. Research is conducted into

I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run business, our team consists of three, being myself, my son and my brother. Our organisation has been established for over 18 years. I have been involved in applying crop protection programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We have the equipment to spray orchards with our two Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing. I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run business, our team consists of three, being myself, my son and my brother. Our organisation has been established for over 18 years. I have been involved in applying crop protection programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We have the equipment to spray orchards with our two Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing.

community since 1984

Supporting the Supporting the // 4 Prospect Drive, Katikati 4 Prospect Drive, Katikati community since 1984 community since 1984

E: grow@humepack.co.nz //

breeding new cultivars, as well as protecting them from disease and pests, and optimising growing, harvesting, nutritional content and storage to ensure consumers can rely on a consistent product with every purchase. “The cultivar ‘Zesy002’, known to growers as Gold3 and marketed as Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, is the result of many years of research, not only the breeding of the cultivar but understanding how it grows and the best way to manage the orchard to produce a fruit that consumers will enjoy,” says Dr Kieran Elborough, general manager science new cultivar innovation. “Knowing our cultivars are a success on the international market is incredibly rewarding. This report demonstrates the value that our science can contribute, not only for growers but for the wider New Zealand economy.”

My Name is Neil Woodward.

E: grow@humepack.co.nz

Kiwifruit breeding brings economic boost //

Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, this combined with fully automated sprayer controllers and three nozzle rings enhances application efﬁciency and accuracy. We also use a quad bike for strip weed spray applications. We hold all certiﬁcates needed to meet Globalgap compliance. We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect your crop with excellence.

216 Pongakawa Bush Road Te Puke

To contact us: Phone: 021 907 621 E-mail: zcl@zanadu.co.nz

216 Pongakawa Bush Road Te Puke

To contact us: Phone: 021 907 621 E-mail: zcl@zanadu.co.nz

Page 42

HORTICULTURE

Emptying tanks to improve water safety Aquavac Water Tank Cleaning owner/ operator Roger Craig says his company promotes safe drinking water. “I don’t understand why people take the risk in having a dirty and often contaminated water tank. They wouldn't bathe or do their dishes in a sink with contaminated sludge in the bottom of it but many will risk drinking the water. They are often surprised at what is found at the bottom of the emptied water tank.” The sludge at the bottom can be up to ﬁve to six inches deep. It is made up of dust, dirt, leaf litter, bird and rodent droppings and even dead rodents or birds. “All these affect the quality of your water along with orchard sprays, ash and pollen which is a big issue as it sticks to the side of the tank and turns into a horrible slime from the water levels rising and falling in the tank.” Roger has noticed an increase in the testing of drinking water and results often indicate there is e-coli present in the tank which means the water is very dangerous for your health and the tank needs to be emptied and cleaned. Water ﬁlters can also become clogged and ineffectual in a tank which contains sludge. “We empty the tank and suck the sludge and any debris out, then waterblast the inside and vacuum until the tank is completely clean and looks like new.”

Clients are often surprised at what Aquavac Water Tank Cleaning ﬁnds at the bottom of their emptied water tank. If people haven’t had their tanks cleaned in the last two years it needs to be done for the safety and wellbeing of the people drinking the water. Roger holds his ‘conﬁned spaces’ ticket which is also a government requirement when entering a water tank.

US Air Force funding diamond-copper study Dr Fei Yang from the University of Waikato’s School of Engineering

has been awarded nearly NZ$250,000 by the US Air Force to research the heat transfer qualities of copper-diamond composites. A materials scientist and processing engineer, Fei says copper and diamond can enable very high rates of heat transfer, which would

make them ideal for computers and all devices that have graphic and central processing units. He says we’re continually asking our devices to do more and more and those machines are power hungry but can’t work to capacity if the units expand and overheat.

While diamond-copper composites have good conductivity, they naturally repel each other when heat is applied, but Fei thinks he has come up with a way to make the metal and mineral stick – called ‘wettability’, and the US Air Force funding will allow him to develop his idea.

AVOCADO

Page 43

Emergence of new marketer game changer for industry Pallets of avocados harvested at Ron Bailey’s orchard in Te Puke being loaded onto a truck for transport to Trevelyan’s Packhouse.

The emergence of the company Avoco four years ago rejuvenated New Zealand’s avocado industry, secured its future and put more money in grower’s pockets.

Diversiﬁed interests

The half-hour episode of Country Calendar explored how Ron and his family diversiﬁed their rural business interests after purchasing a Te Puke dairy farm on Rangiuru Rd in 1963. With the support of wife Shirley and extended family, he now oversees productive avocado and kiwifruit orchards as well as continuing to operate a 300-cow dairy unit. With family taking responsibility for various aspects of the overall farming enterprise, Ron has more time to take on active roles in the avocado industry. He has served as New Zealand Avocado Industry Council chairman and currently serves on Avoco’s Grower Relations Committee. Filming for Country Calendar coincided with a promotional video for Avoco and took place during the 2016-17 season when the company exported close to 2.9 million trays. Just over 80 per cent of its crop went to Australia, with the bulk of all shipments (63 per cent) supplying Australian supermarkets.

Ron Bailey says the emergence of Avoco has been a game changer for the avocado industry. the case,” says Avoco director John Carroll. “We’ll continue to service our priority Asian markets in a low crop year. The irregular bearing nature of avocados makes life challenging but we simply work with what we have and make adjustments to timing and volume.” With demand for fruit in Australia soaring and markets like Korea developing an appetite for avocados faster than anticipated, Avoco aims to ensure it’s well positioned to maximise opportunities when they present themselves in high volume years, says Avoco director Alistair Young. “We’d love for more growers to share in the beneﬁts that come from supplying a company that is focussed on connecting growers with the best customers all around the world.”

“AVOCO’s collaborative business model has lifted values for everyone.”

Asian consumers

Its remaining export volume was sent to Asia where consumers in markets like Japan, Korea and Singapore continue to discover new ways to include avocados in their diet. Avoco has adopted a lead role in Asian market development since taking 100 per cent ownership of the Avanza marketing brand last year. Although there will be fewer shipments to Asia this year due to a smaller national avocado crop, Asian markets will remain a focus for Avoco long-term. “Avanza provides a helpful market channel for New Zealand’s early harvest fruit and that will always be

TE PUKE GROWER , RON BAILE Y

There’s plenty of evidence to show how AVOCO’s collaborative business model has lifted values for everyone and made growers feel more secure about investing and planting again.

Nothing fl ashy. Just good old-fashioned teamwork.

www.avoco.co.nz

CC0817

That’s the opinion of Te Puke grower Ron Bailey who shared his views on the influence of Avoco on the industry during an episode of rural TV programme Country Calendar last month. He’s now encouraging more growers who are weighing up their supply options to seriously consider the benefits of supporting what has become New Zealand’s biggest export supply group. “It’s always been a case of evolution rather than revolution. The coming together of Southern Produce and Primor to create Avoco has strengthened the industry and growers are now benefiting from what was, at the time, a real game changer. “There were growers who took a ‘wait and see’ approach to the whole thing but there’s plenty of evidence to show how Avoco’s collaborative business model has lifted values for everyone and made growers feel more secure about investing and planting again. “I enjoy being part of a group that’s forward-thinking and results-focussed and being grower-led, Avoco always has the best interests of growers at heart.”

Page 44

AVOCADO

Social listen – new marketing tool The world’s population is aging but is also more connected than ever before, which is why New Zealand Avocado is focusing on engaging with consumers in the digital world says CEO Jen Scoular. “Fifty-ﬁve per cent of the world’s population live in cities and 55 per cent of the world’s population is in the Asia Paciﬁc regions,” Jen told the Horticulture 2017 conference in Tauranga. Consumers have become “over-connected”, with half the world population also having access to the internet, despite the fact that almost a quarter of those on the planet are over the age of 50. “Many older people are ‘connected’ because they want to see what their grandchildren are doing.” However, they quickly learn to use the internet and social media for other aspects of their lives, including what they buy.

Wearable devices

Understanding those and other dynamics are important in deciding where and how to market avocados she says. Not only are consumers connected, they are also more aware that eating habits directly inﬂuence their quality of life and increasingly people are wearing devices to monitor wellbeing as well as physical ﬁtness. “This trend is a win for avocados.” That’s because avocados are a nutrientdense fruit that plays a major role in healthy diets, contributing almost 20 vitamins, nutrients and phytonutrients. Also, avocados are an excellent source of healthy monounsaturated fats, are cholesterol-free and have naturally low

Jen Scoular, CEO of New Zealand Avocado. levels of sugar and sodium. New Zealand’s natural beauty and wonderful outdoors make excellent marketing images – to the extent that NZ Avocados uses images of snow-capped South Island alps shown behind lush avocado orchards. Despite the fact that avocados don’t grow that far south, the image speaks to consumers, says Jen. However, that beauty is not exclusive to New Zealand. Many other countries have similar stunning scenery so it’s vital New Zealand differentiates its own avocado story.

Detecting consumers

It’s also important to understand each market, and focus information accordingly. ‘Social listening’, says Jen is one way of doing that. Social listening is the process of tracking conversations around speciﬁc phrases, words or brands, and then leveraging them to discover opportunities or create content for those audiences. “Understanding what is said across the internet helps detect who your consumers are.” This method helped NZ Avocados discover that in Japan, consumers want to know about the beneﬁts of avocado in their diet and how to use them, but are not really interested in the story about how and where the fruit is grown. For other markets, the story of the growers and the environment where fruit is grown is important to consumers. Growing the local market has also been an important focus too and this has been enhanced by using the avocado character Ollie Avocado via social media, in television advertisements and in-store promotions.

Ollie selﬁes

~Avocado~

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“Shoppers enjoyed having ‘selﬁes’ taken with Ollie in supermarkets.” Competitions, including those for recipes, are also popular and an excellent ways to engage with consumers online. Social media and the internet also provide the opportunity to give detailed information about New Zealand avocados, including why avocados are not available year round. To explain this NZ Avocados has produced a video called ‘Where have all the avocados gone?’ It is vital, says Jen, for the industry itself to remain closely ‘connected’ to its consumers, able to react and adapt to changing trends. Elaine Fisher

AVOCADO

Attention to detail vital in spring With the avocado season about to start, now it’s all about getting the planning right, getting the jobs started on time and having a tree plan for the next few years. Despite the weather of late July, spring is underway. This means we are back into action on our avocado orchards starting the new growth season and moving into the next round of jobs. The very wet winter (and autumn) may require a good round of injecting. AAL will be starting this in early August and anticipate we will need a good round to have the trees in optimal condition for ﬂowering and fruit set. This time we inject just the sicker trees and those that haven’t wintered well. One lesson we have learnt is to inject correctly. This includes not only using a very good product (in our case we use only Hi PK) but also injecting using the Avo-jet spaced correctly and with the correct amount of ﬂuid. Recently AAL has moved to 15 per cent concentration solution rate at a 100mm spacing. The autumn results from both these actions were great, with very few trees needing to be injected in the spring. There are many theories about injecting but the tried and true method of one every 100mm is still the best. Also don’t follow a branch up and around. Try to go under it. Also put injections in all of the tree, not just some parts.

Planning for bees

are happy with and call in the bees. It can be quite easy to rush in, call the bees in early and end up with them working on trees and flowers in other orchards. Lastly nutrition. Start early, run hard and get the fertiliser on to get the tree growing, respiring and underway for the big demands over flowering. While many may feel it’s better to wait for soil temps to rise, you also need to balance it as it takes about four weeks for the fertiliser to be tree-ready and available for use across the soil profile.

Timing for fertiliser

The colder soil temperatures are the longer it will take and vice versa. In normal New Zealand climates (not the BOP) we would allow six weeks before we see the benefits of fertility applications. It is quite hard to get enough energy in the tree to grow the fruit fast and furious. Building reserves early gives a better long term impact over the high nutrient demands of flowering and early fruit set. Good tree activity during this time helps grow fruit earlier and faster. You also want to push flush at this time and good tree activity is essential for good results next year. Avocado growing is about getting the last 10 per cent right. Good attention to detail in key times is well worth the effort and early spring counts for one of those times. For more info on AAL growing avocado ring Toni Morrison or Brien James on 07 549 1809. Tony Bradley of AAL

Injecting is one part of it. Also fertiliser, spring pruning (if any) and planning for bees is timely. Don’t rush into getting hives in too early; wait for ﬂowering to be well under way. One approach is to count ﬂowers daily in a measured area. Log these and monitor the trend. As numbers increase, select the time you

WithWith newnew Health Health andand Safety Safety requirements requirements changing, changing, there there is aisreal a real demand demand on on farm farm & orchard & orchard owners owners to keep to keep compliant. compliant. Kyle Kyle from from Nexus Nexus Signs Signs hashas been been assisting assisting owners owners by by creating creating a very a very effective effective interchangeable interchangeable H&SH&S SiteSite SignSign tailored tailored to each to each farm farm or orchard. or orchard. TheThe signsign consists consists of separate of separate modules modules thatthat cancan be be updated updated as and as and when when details details or maps or maps change. change. It also It also features features areas areas in which in which staffstaff cancan fill in filland in and wipe wipe off temporary off temporary or new or new hazards. hazards. Signs Signs areare made made of Composite of Composite Panel Panel Board, Board, 1220 1220 X 800 X 800 withwith high high performance performance vinyl vinyl andand Laminate. Laminate. AlsoAlso available available is aiskitset a kitset withwith posts posts andand fixings fixings to keep to keep things things simple. simple. ThisThis H&SH&S Solution Solution hashas been been so popular so popular thatthat he he is rolling is rolling them them outout across across farms farms andand orchards orchards all over all over thethe Country. Country. Contact Contact Kyle Kyle @ Nexus @ Nexus Signs Signs today today to order to order yours. yours.

Nexus Nexus Farms Farms Ltd:Ltd: 62 62 College College Road Road Site Site Emergency Emergency Information Information

Nexus Nexus Signs Signs Orchard: Orchard: 62 62 College College RdRd Site Site Emergency Emergency Information Information

GPS Location: 176.944558, GPS Location: -37.978164 176.944558, -37.978164

Contact Details for person Contact in Details for person in This Site Address:This Site Address: Charge of this orchardCharge are: of this orchard are:

Te Rahu Farm Ltd Te Rahu Farm Ltd

Name:

220 Te Rahu Road220 Te Rahu Road Whakatane

Whakatane

3193

Cam Bierre Name:

While on Farm, all persons shall take all While takeon allFarm, practicable all persons stepsshall to ensure take all their takeown all practicable safety and the steps to ensure their own safety and the

Ph:

027 2999 Ph:239

027 2999 239

Position:

Manager Position:

Manager

AUTHORIZED AUTHORIZED PERSONNELPERSONNEL ONLY! ONLY!

safety of others. They shall carry out work safetyinofa others. mannerThey that shall will keep carrythemselves out work inand a manner all others thatonwill keep themselves and all others on

Nearest Medical Facilities:Nearest Medical Facilities: Remember the emergency Remember telephonethe emergency telephone Number for: Number for: Medical Centre: The Doctors Medical Phoenix Centre: The Doctors Phoenix Fire: Phone: 07 307 0586 Phone: 07 307 0586 Police: Police: Hospital: Whakatane Hospital: Hospital Whakatane Hospital Ambulance: Ambulance: Phone: 07 306 0999 Phone: 07 306 0999 Power: Power:

COMMON SITE HAZARDS COMMON SITE HAZARDS

Fire:

National Poisons Hotline:National 0800 764Poisons 766 Hotline: 0800 764 766

Treat all fences as live.

1. Remain calm

Treat all fences as live.

Notes

the yellow letterbox.

drains in some paddocks

have been trained

ORCHARD HYGIENE ORCHARD RULES HYGIENE RULES

- Covered footwear must be worn at - Covered all timesfootwear must be worn at all times

drains in some rotating paddocks platform, hazardous substance rotating platform, hazardous substance

- Slips, and falls - Effluent pipes may be hidden by grass - Effluent pipes may trips be hidden by grass

- Slips, trips and falls

in effluent area.

ACCIDENTS

- Report all accidents, including all-near Report misses all accidents, that couldincluding have resulted all near in an misses injury, that could have resulted in an injury, immediately.

-Vehicle movement – Motor bikes, tractors -Vehicle movement - Dust – Motor bikes, tractors

- Dust

and feed wagons

immediately.

- Accident Register is located in the- yellow Accident letterbox. Register is located in the yellow letterbox. - First Aider – Cam Bierre 027 2999 -239 First Aider – Cam Bierre 027 2999 239 - First Aid Kit is located in the Dairy- Shed First Aid in the Kittoilet is located cupboard in the Dairy Shed in the toilet cupboard

-Stock

VISITORS REPORT TO: CAM BIERRE VISITORSPHONE: REPORT027 TO: 2999 CAM BIERRE 239

PHONE: 027 2999 239

PLEASE REPORT ALL NEW UNIDENTIFIED PLEASE REPORT HAZARDS ALL TONEW MANAGEMENT UNIDENTIFIED HAZARDS TO MANAGEMENT

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PROVIDE FIRST AID, CALL 111

PROVIDE FIRST AID, CALL 111

EVACUATE WORK SITE IF REQUIRED EVACUATE WORK SITE IF REQUIRED

62 College RD Edgecumbe

PERSONAL HYGIENE This is a smoke free workplace

- Always wash your hands before eating - Always andwash drinking your hands before eating and drinking - Toilet facilities are located at the dairy - Toilet shed facilities are located at the dairy shed

Bas Overdevest

While on site, All workers shall take all practicable Whilesteps on site, to All ensure workers theirshall owntake safety alland practicable the safety steps to ensure their own safety and the safety

DATE AUTHORIZED AUTHORIZED PERSONNELPERSONNEL ONLY! ONLY!

Ph:

021 224 Ph:0732

021 224 0732

Position:

Manager Position:

Manager

THIS IS A MULTIPLE THISHAZARD IS A MULTIPLE AREA HAZARD AREA

of others. They shall carry out work in a manner of others. that will They keep shall themselves carry out work in a manner that will keep themselves

HAZARD DATE

ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLY POINT POINT

CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION - KIWIFRUIT CANES AND DEBRIS

and other workers or visitors safe.

GENERAL

- Do not perform any task, operate any machinery - Do notorperform deal with any any task, substance, operate unless any machinery you haveor been dealtrained. with any substance, unless you have been trained. - SPS’s must be available at all times.

ACCIDENTS

- SPS’s must be available at all times.

ACCIDENTS

- Report all accidents, including near misses- that Report could all accidents, have resulted including in injury, near immediately. misses that could have resulted in injury, immediately. - Make sure you know who your first aider is. - Make sure you know who your first aider is. - Keep your first aid kit in your work area at -all Keep times. your first aid kit in your work area at all times.

ORCHARD HYGIENE ORCHARD RULESHYGIENE RULES PERSONAL HYGIENE

- DUST

- Do not eat or smoke under the canopy.

CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION - NOISE - KIWIFRUIT CANES AND DEBRIS

and other workers or visitors safe.

- Never undertake a task if you feel it is unsafe. - Never undertake a task if you feel it is unsafe.

COMMON SITECOMMON HAZARDSSITE HAZARDS

DUST - SPRAY DRIFT / CHEMICAL SPILLS, - SPRAY DRIFT /-CHEMICAL SPILLS,

CONTROL GENERAL

- Always be aware of all hazards on the property - Always yoube areaware working of all on. hazards on the property you are working on.

Nearesttelephone Medical Facilities: Nearest Medical Facilities: Remember the emergency Remember telephone the emergency Number for: Number for: Medical Centre: Riverslea Medical Medical Centre: Cen Riverslea Medical Cen Fire: Fire: Phone: 07 304 9106 Phone: 07 304 9106 - MOVING VEHICLES - TRUCKS, TRAILERS - MOVING VEHICLES - BEES- TRUCKS, AND HIVES TRAILERS - BEES AND HIVES Police: Police: QUAD BIKES, SPRAYERS OR MOWERS QUAD BIKES, SPRAYERS OR MOWERS Hospital: Whakatane Hospital: Hospital Whakatane Hospital Ambulance: Ambulance: UNEVEN WATERWAYS OR STEEP / DRAINS / PONDS - OPEN WATERWAYS / DRAINS / PONDS Phone: 07 306 0999 Phone: 07 306 0999 - RABBIT HOLES, UNEVEN OR STEEP- RABBIT HOLES,- OPEN GROUND GROUND Power: Power: National Poison Centre 0800 National 76 47 Poison 66 Centre 0800 76 47 66

HAZARD CONTROL

- It is your responsibility to report all and health - It is and yoursafety responsibility related issues to report to your all and Supervisor. health and safety related issues to your Supervisor.

Persons entering this property must Persons comply entering with all this Health property and Safety must comply at Workwith Act all 2015 Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and its amendments and its amendments DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION DOAND NOTNOTIFICATION ENTER WITHOUT OF THE PERMISSION HAZARDS AND WITHIN NOTIFICATION OF THE HAZARDS WITHIN

the yellow letterbox.

- If you open a gate, shut it. All road- If gates you open MUSTabe gate, shut. shut it. All road gates MUST be shut.

- Open waterways (fenced off) and hidden - Open waterways - Dairy (fenced Shed –off) slippery and hidden surfaces, pinch-points, Dairy Shed – slippery surfaces, pinch points,

and feed wagons

4. First Aid Kit is located in the4.Dairy First Aid Shed Kit inisthe located toiletin cupboard. the Dairy Shed in the toilet cupboard. 5. Farm Manager is a qualified5.First Farm Aider Manager is a qualified First Aider

62 College RD Edgecumbe

Bas Overdevest Name:

- Always be aware of hazards on the - Always property beyou aware areof working hazardson. onFull theregister propertyisyou located are working in on. Full register is located in - It is your responsibility to report -allIthazards is your responsibility / accidents / near to report miss to allthe hazards Farm Manager / accidents / near miss to the Farm Manager

- Abide by the speed limit of 20Km/Hr, - Abide 15Km/Hr by thefor speed tractors. limit of 20Km/Hr, 15Km/Hr for tractors.

2. Contact the Farm Manager 2. Cam Contact Bierrethe as soon Farm as Manager possible Cam – 027 Bierre 2999as239 soon as possible – 027 2999 239 3. Move quickly to the evacuation 3. Move point quickly located to opposite the evacuation the vatpoint stand located at the dairy opposite shedthe vat stand at the dairy shed

farm safe.

Name:

- This is a drug and alcohol free property. - This isZero a drug Tolerance. and alcohol free property. Zero Tolerance.

- Do not perform any task, operate-any Do not machinery, performor any deal task, with operate any substances, any machinery, unlessoryou deal with any substances, unless you - Slippery / uneven surfaces and tracks- Slippery / uneven - Live electric surfacesfences and tracks – Do Not Touch. - Live electric fences – Do Not Touch.

in effluent area.

In case of any emergency, it isIn important case of any you..... emergency, it is important you.....

farm safe.

THIS IS A MULTIPLE THIS HAZARD IS A MULTIPLE AREA HAZARD AREA

GENERAL GENERAL Persons entering this property mustPersons complyentering with all Health this property and Safety mustatcomply Work Act with 2015 all Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and its amendments and its amendments - All people entering the property MUST - All people sign inentering and out.the property MUST sign in and out. DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION AND DO NOT NOTIFICATION ENTER WITHOUT OF THE PERMISSION HAZARDS WITHIN AND NOTIFICATION OF THE HAZARDS WITHIN

LIST OF NEW LISTHAZARDS OF NEW HAZARDS ORCHARD HEALTH ORCHARD AND SAFETY HEALTH RULES AND SAFETY RULES FOUND ON FOUND SITE ON SITE

Contact Details for person Contact in Details for person in This Site Address: This Site Address: Charge of this orchard Charge are: of this orchard are: Nexus Signs Orchard Nexus Signs Orchard

Farm HealthFarm & Safety Health Rules: & Safety Rules:

Cam Bierre

PERSONAL HYGIENE - Do not eat or smoke under the canopy.

- Always wash your hands after eating, smoking - Always andwash toiletyour breaks. hands after eating, smoking and toilet breaks.

- NOISE

In case of any emergency, itIn is case important of anyyou..... emergency, it is important you..... - ELECTRICITY - ELECTRICITY - PERGOLA WIRES AND PROTRUDING - PERGOLA WIRES AND PROTRUDING 1. Remain calm 1. Remain calm LIMBS FROM VINES LIMBS FROM VINES 2. Listen to your supervisor 2. Listen to your supervisor - SLIP, TRIPS ANDAND FALLS - SLIP, TRIPS AND FALLS - SECATEURD, LOPPERS, POWER AND - SECATEURD, LOPPERS, POWER 3. Move quickly to the Evacuation 3. Move orquickly Musterto point the Evacuation identified below or Muster point identified below HAND TOOLS HAND TOOLS 4. Ensure you stay together 4. with Ensure youryou group stayand together take others with your with group as youand go take others with as you go 5. Remember to take your Orchard 5. Remember Healthto and take Safety yourFolder Orchard Health and Safety Folder VISITORS REPORT TO:............................................PHONE........................ VISITORS REPORT TO:............................................PHONE........................ 6. First Aid Kit with Supervisor 6. First Aid Kit with Supervisor (This Contains the names of(This everyone Contains in your thegroup. namesWhen of everyone you getintoyour the group. musterWhen point you get to the muster point PLEASE REPORT ALL NEW UNIDENTIFIED PLEASE REPORT HAZARDS ALL TO NEW MANAGEMENT UNIDENTIFIED HAZARDS TO MANAGEMENT Check this list to make sure Check everyone thisislist accounted to make sure for) everyone is accounted for) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

- Always cover cuts or grazes.

- Cover mouth and nose if you sneeze.

- Only use designated toilet facilities provided. - Only use designated toilet facilities provided. - No rubbish is to be left on the orchard or placed - No rubbish in harvest is tobins/bags. be left on the orchard or placed in harvest bins/bags. - Appropriate clean clothing and enclosed sturdy - Appropriate footwear clean shallclothing be worn. and enclosed sturdy footwear shall be worn. - Any jewelery likely to be a hazard must be-removed. Any jewelery likely to be a hazard must be removed. - Where required clean footwear and sanitise - Where your hands required prior clean to leaving footwear andand entering sanitise Orchard. your hands prior to leaving and entering Orchard.

OPERATIONAL HYGIENE

- Grazing of livestock under the canopy is prohibited - Grazing of during livestock harvest under or at the spraying canopy times. is prohibited during harvest or at spraying times. - Animals must be kept away from harvest bins, - Animals including mustload be kept out away pads. from harvest bins, including load out pads. - Any risk of contamination to product must- be Anyreported risk of contamination immediately. to product must be reported immediately.

SICKNESS REPORTING

PROVIDE FIRST AID, CALL 111 PROVIDE FIRST AID, CALL 111

SICKNESS REPORTING

- If you are feeling unwell, report it to your supervisor - If you are before feelingitunwell, becomes report an issue. it to your supervisor before it becomes an issue.

EVACUATE WORK SITE IF REQUIRED EVACUATE WORK SITE IF REQUIRED

LIST OF NEW LIST HAZARDS OF NEWFOUND HAZARDS ON FOUND SITE ON SITE DATE

Full Hazard Register Fulllocated HazardinRegister H & S folder located in dairy in H &shed. S folder in dairy shed. HAZARD HAZARD CONTROL CONTROL DATE

EMERGENCY EMERGENCY ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLY POINT POINT

IN THE EVENT IN THE OF EMERGENCY EVENT OF EMERGENCY OR SPILLAGE OR SPILLAGE

Ph: 07 323 6608 M: 022 674 9339 41 Liverpool St, Kawerau kyle@nexussigns.co.nz MANAGER: BAS OVERDEVST MANAGER: BAS OVERDEVST PH: PH: IF ANY ONE IS HURTIF ANY ONE IS HURT

PHONE AMBULANCE: 111PHONE AMBULANCE: 111 Advise - Location, Number Advise involved, - Location, Chemicals Number involved, Chemicals

FIRE INVOLVED

PHONE FIRE SERVICE: 111PHONE FIRE SERVICE: 111 Advise - Location, NatureAdvise of incident, - Location, Type and Nature quantity of incident, of chemical Type and involved quantity of chemical involved

SPILLAGE INVOLVED SPILLAGE INVOLVED

Contain spillage, warn others, Contain advise spillage, H&S Manager warn others, if waterways advise H&S - Manager if waterways Land contaminated Land contaminated National Poison Centre National Poison Centre (03) 477 7000 (03) 477 7000

Ph: 07 323 6608 Ph: 07 323 6608 M: 022 674 9339 M: 022 674 9339 41 Liverpool St, Kawerau 41 Liverpool St, Kawerau kyle@nexussigns.co.nz kyle@nexussigns.co.nz

Page 45

Page 46

RURAL BUILDING & FENCING

Page 47

Protecting your land with a covenant As farms come under pressure to fence off more waterways, farm covenants are providing one means of achieving that while also adding to the property’s aesthetic and sometimes capital value. By far the most popular option for farmers seeking to protect ecologically-signiﬁcant land is the Queen Elizabeth National Trust which now claims more than 180,000ha of voluntarily protected land across the country, almost the equivalent area to Stewart Island. QEII acting chief executive Paul Kirby says interest from farmers and landowners in placing covenants on their properties is stronger than ever. The organisation is busy placing 120-150 covenants a year on areas of land, with 4300 covenants now registered with it. “There is also a wide variety of landscapes landowners may want to protect. It can be bush, but also archaeological sites including old pa sites, coastal areas and even bird habitats.”

Mount Maungatautari

Long-time Waikato farmer and conservationist Bill Garland is a leading light for farmers seeking advice and views on the benefits of placing land into a Queen Elizabeth Trust covenant. His own sheep and beef property on the flanks of Mount Maungatautari near Cambridge has five separate covenants totaling 40ha or 10 per cent of their farm covering wetland and hill country bush stands. It also includes land in the increasingly popular Maungatautari Ecological Island Reserve, an area enclosed by one of the country’s longest predator-proof fences that stretches 47km around the 3400ha enclosure.

While it is possible to place a covenant on your property using a council or Department of Conservation covenant, QEII is preferred by most farmers because of the support you get with it. That includes a visit every couple of years from the field officer to check the fences, offer advice on pest control and just see how the block is looking. QEII support can also include providing up to 50 per cent of the fencing cost, and often councils will provide additional funds for the covenanted land’s protection. Bill says having a covenant in perpetuity offers a lot of peace of mind to the landowner wanting to protect the bush that the protection will continue beyond their lifetime. “They are making a sacrifice to do this, and know that if the farm is sold or passed on, that protection will remain.”

Value debated

Whether or not a covenant adds value to a farm can be debated, depending upon site, district and scale, he says. “In some cases it will improve the farm’s aesthetic value by protecting what is deﬁned as an ‘outstanding landscape’, but may prevent subdivision in the future which you could argue actually detracts from its capital value.” But in some areas like his in the Waikato, having a covenant added to both aesthetic and capital value, bringing a valuable means of helping protect waterway catchments, and an appealing visual bonus. “It is also helpful that QEII offers some funds to help

with surveying the blocks into covenant titles, and with fencing costs for the blocks.”

Sensitive areas

Bayleys Taranaki rural agent Mark Monckton marketed a 120ha property on the Taranaki coast which includes 81ha of covenanted regenerating bush. He says it can be debated about how much value a covenanted title adds to a property, with some buyers putting more signiﬁcance on it than others. “But it does also often mean you have part of the farm already fenced off in more sensitive areas from stock. You do certainly get an improvement on larger hill country units with some of that tougher country fenced off. The assistance you get to fence these areas off is often a welcome bonus for doing it too.” The Taranaki region has something of a surge in farmer interest in covenanting

CUSTOM TRELLIS MADE TO ORDER Protecting sensitive areas can bring more than aesthetic beneﬁts to farmland.

bush areas over recent years. Sixteen new covenants were allocated to Taranaki in the 2015-16 year, out of a national yearly total of about 120. Paul Kirby of the QEII Trust says the popularity of covenants in the region have been buoyed by a supportive regional council that is encouraging landowners to protect their special environmental areas. A number of high-proﬁle farms throughout New Zealand also include QEII covenants upon them, including 2015 Ballance Farm Environment award winners John and Catherine Ford who protected 140ha of their Highlands Station south of Rotorua. “A few years ago people shied away a bit from covenants but they are quite commonplace now and farmers understand them better than they once did,” says Bill Garland. Richard Rennie

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 48

Female duo focuses expertise on lifestyle sales Two Tauranga-based real estate agents have found their niche in listing and selling rural/lifestyle properties. They work as a well-oiled, enthusiastic team. Sally Francis and Susan Northey, both Harcourt agents, believe they are the only female duo specialising in lifestyle properties in the Bay. Sally and Susan are both experienced agents having achieved numerous awards for their consistent dedication to getting the job done. They have a depth

of knowledge in selling lifestyle properties and have sold many in the greater Tauranga area. “Our clients love our enthusiasm, professional attitude and conﬁdent approach. We also understand the importance of social media; an area in which we excel,” says Sally. “We believe another strength is in our negotiation skills. We have successfully sold many lifestyle properties that other agents have not been able to. “We had one property which had had four different agencies over two years and had failed to sell. We successfully sold the property, enabling the owner to

Susan Northey and Sally Francis are lifestyle property specialists. move on,” says Susan. Susan and Sally have developed great databases and know the importance of maintaining strong relationships with their buyers and sellers. “We work so well as a team. Our clients get the depth of both our experience and knowledge and our friendly focussed approach means buyers are

comfortable – it just works. “I believe we complement each other,” says Susan, “and that is a plus for clients, to have two people working on their sale or purchase. Our communication with clients is paramount to our success. They always know exactly what is going on and what is likely to happen next.”

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Inadequate CoQ10 levels reduce energy output and this is felt as tiredness and often as muscle weakness. Our muscles, especially heart muscle, nerves and brain have very high CoQ10 needs and these can suffer if reduced by disease or medication. This is why statin drugs that reduce cholesterol can restrict CoQ10 by as much as 50 per cent. This can affect muscles, energy, mood and general motivation.

I recently spoke to a client who had experienced signiﬁcant muscle pain and stiffness while on statin cholesterollowering medication. After a month on high-grade CoQ10 the pain had completely gone. He could now take the medications without side effects. I recommend people on cholesterol medication take 100-200mg of

rapid absorption CoQsol each day. What makes CoQ10 special is its ability to carry electrons. This enables CoQ10 to move hydrogen electrons within your cell mitochondria to make the high energy molecules (ATP) which power our body. This ability to carry electrons also makes CoQ10 an excellent antioxidant. It can donate to free radicals their missing electrons, preventing them from stealing electrons leading to cell and tissue damage. In particular, it protects circulating LDL cholesterol from being damaged by free radicals. This is the ﬁrst step in the process of forming plaques that block arteries. There is some good research suggesting increasing CoQ10 can be helpful for people with neurodegenerative problems such as Parkinson’s or MS. I will generally add additional CoQ10 either as the patented CoQsol or my specialised MTQ10. Most people feel a real difference within one to two months. Give me a call if you need more information. John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions or advice contact John on 0800 423559 or email john@abundant.co.nz. Join his full weekly newsletter at www.abundant.co.nz.

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 49

The prize - a coping with teens book FU

“Can I please stay with you for a little while?” was the caption suggested by John Green and “I'm lost, please help me,” was submitted by Joan Marshall. For her caption: "Hey! Stop hogging the woolrest,” Sharron Ruiterman of Bombay wins a copy of the book ‘New Zealand Rugby Country – How the game shaped our nation’ by Desmond Wood, published by Bateman. This month’s book prize is ‘Engaging Adolescents’ by Michael Hawton, published by Exisle. “As parents of teenagers we all have another heart walking around out there and if they look like they’re in danger, our own hearts skip a beat.

That’s what comes of being attached,” writes Michael who is a registered psychologist with 30 years’ experience. This is a very practical and empathetic self-help book for parents navigating through their children’s teenage years. In simple and straightforward language, the author explains what helps teenagers develop personal control; how to sort out behaviours so you don’t overreact and provides a step by step guide to using a scripted approach to engage positive behaviour change. The book also features proven, practical methods of managing tempestuous teenagers. The author acknowledges it can be hard to confront and attempt to change teenage ‘Engaging behaviour but he also Adolescents’ by says parents and caregivMichael Hawton ers have a responsibility is the book prize to do just that – and their for August. teens will in truth one day thank them for it. Thanks to Exisle Publishing Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘Engaging Adoles-

N NIE

O U NT R

Young animals often appear to make no distinction between species – if they want to make friends or cuddle up for comfort they’ll do so as was illustrated by the photo of a piglet and lamb which was last month’s Country Funnies image.

cents’ to give away. To be in to win, email captions (as many as you like) for the photo below left and send with your name and address with Country Funnies as the subject line to elaine@thesun.co.nz Or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to Country Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 to arrive no later than August 19.

This photo of farm-yard friends was the Country Funnies image for July.

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COUNTRY LIVING

Camellia’s beauty on show in Rotorua Members of the New Zealand Camellia Society from all over the country will be gathering in Rotorua this month for their annual convention and it’s an excellent opportunity for Bay of Plenty locals to enjoy the beauty of the ﬂowers.

Camellias are a genus of ﬂowering plants popular for their colours and attractiveness. The New Zealand Camellia Society was formed 60 years ago to create a strong community around growers who are fond of the Genus Camellia. Their annual convention is an excellent excuse to bring that collection of people together and invite others to see what they do. This year, the event will be held in Rotorua from Friday, August 11 to Saturday, August 13. Every year the society holds this event in a different town or city, giving the members an opportunity to explore the gardens all around New Zealand. On the Saturday from 12pm-5pm, the show and awards will take place in the Novotel Hotel ‘Batten Room’. The show is a donation on entry. Competitive growers from all over the country are expected to come, alongside judges of high reputation. People outside the society can also participate

in the fun with novice classes open to non-members and new growers, with an opportunity of winning a trophy. Competitors may submit their entries on the Friday from 4pm-8pm and Saturday from 7am8.30am. Judging will be from 9am on Saturday. “During the event, we will have members wearing name badges. If anyone has any questions, we will be more than happy to help,” says society member Derek Beard. Stewards will also be available to assist if necessary. As well as a competition, there is also dinners on Friday and Saturday night at the Novotel that people can get involved in, an excellent opportunity to talk ﬂowers with the members and get to know the society. This event is open to anyone enthusiastic or curious about growing and tending camellias. For more information about the society and this event visit www.nzcamelliasociety.co.nz/national-show Bo Beaufill

A Reticulata Frank Houser Variegated camellia.

Miniature horses have made a big impact on Tracy’s life A passion for riding and caring for horses came to an abrupt halt for Tracy Beauﬁll when, as a teenager, she was thrown from a horse and required back surgery. Since then, she hadn’t found a way to involve herself with her favourite animal

– until she discovered miniature horses. “‘We all see these cute horses as we drive by, but the creatures are highly intelligent and thrive on challenges and human company,” says Tracy. In 2015 she bought her ﬁrst miniatures, Sam and Fox. She trained, groomed and took them to events. Tracy soon found there was a growing

community surrounding the small horses, and quickly became involved. In July 2016, she became a founding member of the Volcanic Miniature Horse Club, a Bay of Plenty based group with the purpose of bringing miniature horses out of the paddock. “The club is very different to others around New Zealand,” says Tracy. One thing the club strives for is to help children, often holding events where children can ‘adopt a mini’ for a day. “We realise there are kids in town who may never have the opportunity to have a horse, let alone handle one. This is very popular, and something the club is very proud of.” Tracy has found new interests and friendships within the miniature horse community and encourages anyone who is interested, with a horse or not, to get involved once the season starts again in spring. Volcanic Miniature Horse Club is looking for members. For more information, call Tracy 027 252 7638 or visit www.volcanicmhc.squarespace.com

Bo Beaufill

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Tracy Beauﬁll with Sam, her prize miniature horse.

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 51

Seaweed boosting bee health Using a seaweed-based product to boost bee health might seem a little unusual, but research is showing it works.

Bradley now running the day-today company business. Early in 2016 Tane and Clare met with Dr Mark Goodwin and Sarah Cross at Plant & Food Research to scientifically assess what beekeepers had been noticing in their hives. Tane Bradley of AgriSea NZ “This included fat bees, healthy says it was beekeepers themselves hives, increased production and who discovered the benefits of the increased brood. We have now company’s products, triggering come up with some really good trials and further research to find methodology. The trials began in the optimum levels of product that April 2017 and will run till mid bees require. July 2018 and we look forward to “Five years ago we noticed a sharing the results with beekeepnumber of beekeepers among our ers,” says Tane. clients and went out to talk to a The unique marine fermenfew of them to discover how our products were adding value to their tation process used in the manufacture of AgriSea Bee beekeeping operations,” says Tane. Nutrition products means they As a result of feedback from supply all of the 10 amino acids beekeepers, Agrisea began runessential for bee health. “In fact, ning a study to assess the optimum our products contain nearly all of concentration of AgriSea Bee the known 21 amino acids, plus Nutrition per litre of sugar syrup a complex range of micro and for bees at De Graaph Apiaries. macro nutrients, “The initial results are promisphytochemiing and point to 30mls per litre cals, probiotics, of sugar syrup being the optimum polysaccharides, concentration for increasing fatty acids brood at this time.” and vitamins. AgriSea is a 21-year-old Kiwi When added to family company sugar syrup, the with the second nutritional value of generation husthe feed is significantly band and wife increased.” team Tane and Thanks to AgriSea, Clare Coast & Country News has two prize packs to give away. The first is five litres of AgriSea is offering prize packs of its Bee Bee Nutrition valued at $100, ideal for a Nutrition product.

Research underway at Tahuna on a hive fed with AgriSea Bee Nutrition product. trial by a commercial beekeeping team or for a hobbyist; and the second is 20 litres of Bee Nutrition valued at $257, ideal for a commercial beekeeper. Both prize packs come with cammo hats too. To be in to win, name the Plant & Food scientists AgriSea has been working with to reﬁne its Bee Nutrition products. Send your answer, (state if you are a hobbyist or commercial beekeeper) along with your name and address to elaine@thesun.co.nz with AgriSea prize in the subject line, or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to AgriSea prize PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 to arrive no later than August 21.

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The face of melanoma - use the ABCDE rule Despite many advances in the ﬁeld of melanoma treatment there is no doubt that early diagnosis and surgical excision offer the best chances of cure for this potentially deadly disease.

looks like is a dark brown or black irregular-shaped raised mole. This may certainly be the case and a mole like this should be brought to the attention of a doctor urgently, but melanoma may also be pink red or even white, scaly or fleshy, raised or flat. Use the ABCD rule: Asymmetry, irregular Border, multi-Coloured or Working solely in the field of skin Colour different to all other moles and cancer diagnosis and treatment means that I see a lot of patients with concerns Dr James Spreadborough. large Diameter. But probably more important than all is to add the ‘E’. about a specific lesion. Often this lesion This stands for Evolution. is harmless and it is another area that gives me cause A melanoma is a tumour with cells growing out of for concern. control. This means that it will be changing over time. Early diagnostic features can be very subtle, even for If you add to this the fact that at least 70 per cent of the skin cancer doctor. At the Skin Centre we have melanoma presents as a brand new lesion then this diagnosed melanoma in lesions as small as 1.5mm thanks to advanced Dermoscopic Imaging Technology gives people something else to be aware of: a new, growing lesion – regardless of what it looks like. that looks for subtle changes. By Dr James Spreadborough The most common perception of what a melanoma

EXCELLENCE IN DERMATOLOGY

Page 52

SHEEP & BEEF

New tests for BVD and JD in herds CRV Ambreed has appointed a new laboratory to enable New Zealand dairy farmers to gain access to further information about BVD and Johne’s disease from their herd testing.

to investigate further,” says CRV Ambreed managing director Angus Haslett. Now, the extended service offered by Disease Research Ltd provides farmers with the option of follow-up testing of individual cows, ensuring properly informed management and control.

The herd improvement company has announced an exclusive arrangement with Disease Research Ltd, part of the University of Otago. New Zealand farmers now get their normal herd test information on Bovine Viral Diarrhoea and Johne’s disease but are now able to directly take that a step further with Disease Research Limited. “Currently, our herd testing provides New Zealand farmers with an initial positive or negative result for these diseases through an ‘alert’ service – it tells the farmer they may have an issue and need

Initial status

Dairy farmers are able to access this extended service and information by herd testing through CRV Ambreed. The service offers an initial status at herd level, through to individual cow testing at Disease Research Ltd. “We are very pleased to be collaborating with specialists Disease Research Ltd to offer this extended service to farmers,” says Angus. Disease Research Ltd is the southern hemisphere’s only USDAaccredited laboratory with the

CRV Ambreed Managing Director Angus Haslett has announced an exclusive arrangement with Disease Research Ltd.

ability to handle milk and serum samples. BVD is considered serious and widespread in New Zealand dairy and beef herds, with DairyNZ estimating annual losses for dairy farmers of about $127 million. Johne’s disease is an infection caused by bacteria that can affect all ruminants; it’s thought to cost the country between $40 million and $88 million in lost production each year. Tackling these diseases is an opportunity for dairy farmers around the world. “Here in New Zealand it is important for us as a company to help farmers manage animal health issues and this ties in well with our philosophy of ‘better cows, better life’,” says Angus.

Milk urea nitrogen

Farmers who herd test and herd record with CRV Ambreed will also soon be able to receive cow Breeding Values for Milk Urea Nitrogen (MUN). CRV Ambreed recently announced a genetic breakthrough around MUN. Using bulls from their LowN Sires team, cows bred for low levels of MUN are anticipated to produce less nitrogen in their urine, thereby reducing the impact of nitrogen leaching from pasture. The genetic discovery was entered in the Innovation Award at Fieldays in the Launch NZ award category. This category recognises agribusiness products being launched to the New Zealand market by small- to medium-sized businesses that have strong agricultural relevance.

SHEEP & BEEF

Page 53

Serenity is top performing Holstein Friesian cow Serenity by name and by nature – that’s the winner of the 2017 Valden Cow of the Year who not only impressed award judges, but also the crowds when she appeared at Fieldays in June. Okawa Tony Serenity EX2, owned by Tim and Jo Barclay of Okawa Ltd, Te Awamutu won the Cow of the Year title at the Holstein Friesian New Zealand Awards in Cromwell recently. However, she had earlier made an impression at Fieldays where, thanks to her quiet nature, she was happy to walk among the public to be patted and admired. “We’re very proud to win Valden Cow of the Year with Serenity,” says owner Tim. “It is common knowledge at home that she’s an exceptional cow, and for her achievements to be recognised on a national platform as the top performing Holstein Friesian cow in New Zealand is really something,” he says.

Four lactations

The Valden Cow of the Year title is awarded to any cow that has completed at least four lactations and is deemed to have contributed, or have the potential to contribute, to the breed on a continual basis. “We’re happy to have a cow such as Okawa Tony Serenity represent the Holstein Friesian breed,” says HFNZ general manager Cherilyn Watson. “She crosses the pedigree and commercial line nicely, with great conformation, while earning her keep on-farm and being successful in the show ring.” Serenity’s classiﬁcation score of EX2 shows she is very close to ideal conformation, and her lactation records speak for themselves.

May 1 in the year the competition is awarded and must have been born and bred in NZ with all production com-

pleted in NZ. A cow cannot win the Cow of the Year award more than once.

Serenity was a hit with Glenbrook school students at Fieldays. cent) protein and 421kg (4.28 per cent) fat over 305 days. Serenity is a successful show cow also, having most recently won the Holstein Friesian six years and over in-milk, best uddered, senior champion, and all breeds supreme About to be milked – Serenity and champion at the her owner Tim Barclay at Fieldays. 2017 Royal Easter Show in Auckland. She’s also had embryo transfer Further to this, she has found work done. success in the Semex On-Farm Coming from the well-known competition, winning the fourTahora T family, Serenity is in year-old Townson Lindy class in her sixth lactation, with her best 2012, the Conant-Acres Broker production to date completed as a Mature class in 2015, and third four-year-old. In this she proplace in the 2017 Comestar duced 10,650 litres, 361kg (3.45) Laurie Sheik Veteran cow class. protein and 363kg (3.4 per cent) Calculation of Valden Cow fat over 304 days. Her current of the Year includes production PW sits at 244 and LW 244. worth, protein breeding value, number of lactations, show 700kg milk solids results, Star Brood status, recogniSince her four-year-old lactation, tion for superior production, Serenity has consistently achieved daughter performance in producmore than 700kg of milk solids, tion indexes and daughter-proven with her best year as an eight-year- sons in AB. old – 9,819 litres, 327kg (3.33 per The cow must be alive as at

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 54

classiﬁed listings HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION Romantic, separate, selfcontained accommodation with a touch of luxury. Rural location 5 minutes from Hobbiton. Sleeps up to four. Continental breakfast included. Phone 021 0595 185

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situations vacant

TRAINEE MANAGER REQUIRED We have a position available for a trainee manager for a small Organic Kiwifruit Orchard in the Waikato. Experience would be helpful, but not essential as full training will be given. Only NZ residents need apply. This is a solid long term role for the right person. Email your CV to: organic.hort@xtra.co.nz

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trades & services

Waikato Environment Centre, Hamilton, $109. The ﬁrst of 12 modules that may be taken individually or together to complete a Permaculture Design Certiﬁcate ($1200). See www.envirocentre.org.nz Rotorua Botanical Society Field Trip, TECT Park (between Tauranga and Rotorua). Ph Graeme/Gael 07 570 3123.

email your listing to: elaine@thesun.co.nz with ‘Rural Event’ in the subject line.

August 4-6

Maintaining a Block, learn basic skills, Tirau, $250/ person or $400/couple. See tinyurl.com/ydc9zhm4

August 7

August 5

Helping Landowners Enhance

Organic Market Gardening,

their Slice of Paradise, talk by Elaine Iddon from Waikato Regional Council, 7pm, Moon Hair Salon, Coromandel town, gold coin.

9am-5pm, Pakaraka Farm, Thames, $140. See www. pakarakafarm.co.nz

August 6

Grow Your Own Microgreens

10am-4pm, Pakaraka Farm, Thames, $140 – combine this workshop with the one above and pay $250.

August 8

Living Sustainably, 6.30-

9pm, Katikati Resource Centre, $20. See tinyurl.com/ ycao5rxh

August 12 & 19 Garden Design, 9am-

3pm, Fraser High School, Hamilton, $85. See tinyurl. com/jxwolwf

August 13

NZ Camellia Show, noon-

BER TR TIM E

NT ME AT

August 24

Waikato Horticultural Society: Camellias, 7.30pm,

Hamilton Gardens (Gate 2). Visitors $5. Ph Carmel 07 859 0158.

Permaculture Design

Process, Waikato Environment Centre, Hamilton, $109. See www. envirocentre.org.nz

September 4

Restoring a Local Treasure:

August 19

August 26-27 to September 2

1200 Hinemoa St, Rotorua, $140. See pathtovitalityclinic. co.nz

Beginner’s Beekeeping, 9am-

Permaculture Design Course,

Cooking with Seeds, 2-4pm,

August 20

Jan Barnett (from Amore Roses) talks at 1pm at 415 Cameron Rd, Tauranga. Ph Judy 07 573 6525. Fruit Tree Open Day,

11am-3pm, Koanga Institute, Wairoa, free but please book. See www.koanga.org.nz/ guided-tours

August 21

Tauranga Orchid Society,

August 22

www.coastandcountrynews.co.nz

Bird. Contact secretary@ aongateteforest.org

McGregors wetland, talk by coastal scientist Jim Dahm, 7pm, Moon Hair Salon, Coromandel town, gold coin.

5pm, Novotel, Rotorua.

7pm, Wesley Church Hall, 13th Ave, Tauranga. Guest speaker: Sandra Simpson on Iran. Free.

PEPP ER

accommodation

Permaculture Principles,

LIST YOUR RURAL EVENT HERE!

Aongatete Forest Trust AGM, 7.30pm, Pahoia

School (between Tauranga and Katikati). Speaker Kevin Hackwell from Forest &

1pm, Katikati Community Centre (last day off-site), $80. See tinyurl.com/ ycw9v85u

Sept 4-15 Koanga Institute, Wairoa, $1900 (includes all meals). See www.koanga.org.nz

September 9

September 1 Daffodil Show,

11.30am-3.30pm, Campbell Hall, Canada St, Morrinsville, gold coin entry.

September 2-3

Plant Sale, 10am-4pm, Hamilton Gardens.

Native Plants and their

Medicinal Properties, 9am2pm, Fraser High School, Hamilton, $75.

September 3

Western Bay Camellia Show, 1-3pm,

Bob Owens Retirement Village, 112 Carmichael Rd, Bethlehem (Tauranga).

Rotorua Botanical Society

Field Trip, Galatea Foothills. Ph Sarah 07 345 5912 or 021 924 476.

Drawing Property Designs by Hand, 9.30am-3.30pm, with Trish Waugh, Whakamarama (near Tauranga), $65. See www. plentypermaculture.co.nz

September 9-10

Native Plant Balm-making Workshop, 9am-1pm, Fraser

High School, Hamilton, $85. See tinyurl.com/y7xrexxf

National Daffodil Show

(North Island), Showgrounds Events Centre, Gisborne.

Women’s Self-defence, 10am-4.30pm, Wintec, Hamilton, free. Register at tinyurl.com/y9ophrbe

Genetics’ role in which exercise is best

The role of genetics, and how it relates to people’s nutrition, exercise and health is an absolute game changer when it comes to Kiwis improving their lives, a leading New Zealand exercise expert says. ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie says the science of genetics has been around for some time, but the ability to measure it cheaply and easily is quite new. “Only recently have we begun to understand how important genetics is when it comes to people’s health. No longer is science saying what is best for everyone, but rather what is best for each person based on genetic make-up.” Richard says one of the world experts in the genetic ﬁtness approach, Dr Cam McDonald, recently toured NZ with ExerciseNZ, bringing the latest research to more than 250 exercise professionals around the country. “Health and exercise professionals can

now use tools to provide information on their client’s genetic make-up, and more importantly, what this means for their exercise, nutrition and general wellness needs. “The key thing is understanding different genetic-types respond differently and have different needs. So we now have the tools so that exercise and nutrition can be structured for optimum health in a way that is most enjoyable, based on a person’s genetic make-up.” Richard says some people are built for short-sharp bursts of energy and these same people respond well to a competitive environment. “Some people, on the other hand, need slower strength-based activities. There are others who prefer to work out alone and they may respond well to light weights or yoga, or moderate steady exercise.” “Genetic proﬁling tools provide detailed information that exercise professionals can then use to coach for better health and wellness outcomes.”

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS Left: Charlotte 5yrs, Katie Green 3yrs and Cooper 4yrs with Jack, their orphaned lamb in Rotorua.

Right: New addition to the team got a little bored which hanging around the paddock, Matamata.

Above: Indie, 3yrs with her cat called Eddie in Reporoa.

Jake 9mths old ta

king his ﬁrst steps

on the farm in Pu

taruru.

PRIZE UP FOR GRABS!

‘Who wants a kiss?’ Ava, 18mths posing with the two donkeys she visits every afternoon in Tirau.

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

Charlie 1yr in his wet weather gear, Hamilton.