28,850 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast. January 2013 INSIDE Canterbury Farming 03 347 2314 Page 11 A dead fish lead to career training horses Page 18 Award-winning innovation helps build a brighter future for Canterbury Page 14 Irrigation reduces New Zealand’s fire-risk CONTACT US Global agricultural commodity prices look set to escalate to record levels this year, and probably well into 2014, but the return of agflation is likely to cream off some of the benefits to New Zealand producers. Agflation, the flow-on effect of inflated agricultural prices on other economic inputs, resulted in food riots and political instability in under-developed countries in 2007-2008 as sky-rocketing food prices dragged other costs up with them. Agricultural prices crashed in the second half of 2008 before beginning to climb again in 2009 to reach a new peak, higher than 2008 levels, in 2011. The 2007-2008 scenario is repeating itself this year, though greater stockpiles of food world-wide are expected to prevent a repeat of the political instability, allowing poorer countries to switch back from meat proteins to staple grains like rice and wheat, which are about 30% cheaper than they were at the 2008 peak. The new surge in prices is driven by the widespread drought in the United States, Russia and Brazil, all big food- producing countries, in the Northern Hemisphere summer of last year, which have Agflation to bite into farmers’ 2013 income by Hugh de Lacy slashed global production of feed grains by around 30%. The causes of the 2007- 2008 round of agflation were primarily the quickly rising cost of oil, and the diversion of vast quantities of arable production in developed countries to biofuel. “In general terms agflation’s benefitting us positively,” Andrew Burt, the chief economist for Beef and Lamb New Zealand’s Economic Service, told Canterbury Farming. “I hesitate saying that given what farmers might be seeing particularly in lamb prices at the moment, and last year being so remarkable in terms of the drop in returns. “We are involved in a market that is benefitting from agflation, but we’re not seeing the full benefit of the returns back to New Zealand because of the appreciation of the New Zealand dollar over other currencies,” Burt said. After threatening to top US85 cents earlier in the month, the Kiwi was by mid-January fluctuating just below US84c. The service forecasts it to remain at these levels throughout the year. Burt said farmers should be careful “not to assume that prices will continue to rise as rapidly as they have. “And from a purely New Zealand exporting perspective they need to be careful about the relative strength of the New Zealand dollar eroding those higher market values.” Hiking production to take advantage of the combination of higher export prices and record low interest rates was something of a double-edged sword given that “sheep and cattle, or any animals, are costing about twice as much to buy as they did a few years ago.” The main beneficiaries here of rising global agricultural prices will be beef farmers, already enjoying overseas returns that are at record levels. With feed grains, particularly corn, in short supply, overseas feedlot finishers are at an added disadvantage cost-wise compared to New Zealand grass-feed producers. The same applies to dairying, with Fonterra chief executive Theo Speirings forecasting last month that prices in its GlobalDairyTrade auction, which have risen 17% since August, will continue to rise in the first half of this year. Fonterra has raised its forecast payout to its producers for 2012-2013 by 25% to between $5.90 and $6 per kilogram of milksolids. A further 1.1% rise in the auction price this month may add 25c to that forecast. “On the lamb side, things are a bit different,” Beef and Lamb’s Burt said. “Prices got a bit elevated a couple of years ago but now we’ve seen a correction in the United Kingdom and Europe generally, but mostly in the UK and Ireland. “They had a very tough and wet winter last year, and that’s slowed down their growth rates and ability to finish lambs. “I can’t say what that will do to prices but their supply is delayed coming onto their markets. “That’s a short-term situation versus the longer- term broader one that, as grain and food prices increase, they end up spurring investment,” he said. Farmers needed to be aware of the downside potential for volatility, especially in the second half of this year. International bank Rabobank this month said that, despite this year’s historic low levels of production and high prices, global agricultural markets are expected to shift from a squeeze to a surplus, particularly for grains and oilseeds. This is likely to increase the danger of flow-on volatility in other agricultural commodities. Are you looking for a tough shed? You may not want to hang a tractor from your shed, but it would be nice to know you can! • Custom designed for you up to 80m Clearspan • Specific to your site and your requirements • Compatible with your existing buildings • Steel, timber and/or concrete construction Station Street, Leeston / www.structurewise.co.nz / Ph 03 324 3392 ™ Registered Master Builders StructureWise DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
Transcript
28,850 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast. January 2013
INSIDE
Canterbury Farming
03 347 2314
Page 11A dead fi sh
lead to career training horses
Page 18
Award-winning innovation helps build a brighter
future for Canterbury
Page 14Irrigation reduces New Zealand’s
fi re-risk
CONTACT US
Global agricultural commodity prices look set to escalate to record levels this year, and probably well into 2014, but the return of agfl ation is likely to cream off some of the benefi ts to New Zealand producers.
Agfl ation, the fl ow-on effect of infl ated agricultural prices on other economic inputs, resulted in food riots and political instability in under-developed countries in 2007-2008 as sky-rocketing food prices dragged other costs up with them.
Agricultural prices crashed in the second half of 2008 before beginning to climb again in 2009 to reach a new peak, higher than 2008 levels, in 2011.
The 2007-2008 scenario is repeating itself this year, though greater stockpiles of food world-wide are expected to prevent a repeat of the political instability, allowing poorer countries to switch back from meat proteins to staple grains like rice and wheat, which are about 30% cheaper than they were at the 2008 peak.
The new surge in prices is driven by the widespread drought in the United States, Russia and Brazil, all big food-producing countries, in the Northern Hemisphere summer of last year, which have
Agfl ation to bite into farmers’ 2013 income
by Hugh de Lacy slashed global production of feed grains by around 30%.
The causes of the 2007-2008 round of agfl ation were primarily the quickly rising cost of oil, and the diversion of vast quantities of arable production in developed countries to biofuel.
“In general terms agfl ation’s benefi tting us positively,” Andrew Burt, the chief economist for Beef and Lamb New Zealand’s Economic Service, told Canterbury Farming.
“I hesitate saying that given what farmers might be seeing particularly in lamb prices at the moment, and last year being so remarkable in terms of the drop in returns.
“We are involved in a market that is benefi tting from agfl ation, but we’re not seeing the full benefi t of the returns back to New Zealand because of the appreciation of the New Zealand dollar over other currencies,” Burt said.
After threatening to top US85 cents earlier in the month, the Kiwi was by mid-January fl uctuating just below US84c.
The service forecasts it to remain at these levels throughout the year.
Burt said farmers should be careful “not to assume that prices will continue to rise as rapidly as they have.
“And from a purely New Zealand exporting perspective
they need to be careful about the relative strength of the New Zealand dollar eroding those higher market values.”
Hiking production to take advantage of the combination of higher export prices and record low interest rates was something of a double-edged sword given that “sheep and cattle, or any animals, are costing about twice as much to buy as they did a few years ago.”
The main benefi ciaries here of rising global agricultural prices will be beef farmers, already enjoying overseas returns that are at record levels.
With feed grains, particularly corn, in short supply, overseas feedlot fi nishers are at an added disadvantage cost-wise compared to New Zealand grass-feed producers.
The same applies to dairying, with Fonterra chief executive Theo Speirings forecasting last month that prices in its GlobalDairyTrade auction, which have risen 17% since August, will continue to rise in the fi rst half of this year.
Fonterra has raised its forecast payout to its producers for 2012-2013 by 25% to between $5.90 and $6 per kilogram of milksolids.
A further 1.1% rise in the auction price this month may add 25c to that forecast.
“On the lamb side, things are a bit different,” Beef and Lamb’s Burt said.
“Prices got a bit elevated a couple of years ago but now we’ve seen a correction in the United Kingdom and Europe generally, but mostly in the UK and Ireland.
“They had a very tough and wet winter last year, and that’s slowed down their growth rates and ability to fi nish lambs.
“I can’t say what that will do to prices but their supply is delayed coming onto their markets.
“That’s a short-term situation versus the longer-
term broader one that, as grain and food prices increase, they end up spurring investment,” he said.
Farmers needed to be aware of the downside potential for volatility, especially in the second half of this year.
International bank Rabobank this month said that, despite this year’s historic low levels of production and high prices, global agricultural markets are expected to shift from a squeeze to a surplus, particularly for grains and oilseeds.
This is likely to increase the danger of fl ow-on volatility in other agricultural commodities.
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Canterbury Farming prints material contributed by freelance journalists, contributing columnists and letters from readers.
The information and opinions published are not necessarily those of Canterbury Farming or its staff. Canterbury Farming takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers.
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Tax changes will help protect conservation values on private land
We are surrounded by stunning landscapes which provide habitats for our native species.
As Conservation Minister I am privileged to see fi rst hand the great work the Department of Conservation does to protect the areas it administers.
But not all of our environment is in the care of DOC, much is on private land and landowners do a lot of work to protect these special areas.
One such group is our
farmers. To my mind farmers seem to attract more than their share of criticism about the way they manage their farms and the environment, but I believe the majority are good stewards with conservation work being a normal part of their farm management.
I am convinced that this will increase over time as the National Government is committed to removing tax disincentives to encourage more conservation work on private land.
The Taxation (Livestock Valuation, Assets Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill had its fi rst reading in the House by Revenue Minister Peter Dunne late last year. I have welcomed the Bill which provides for expenditure on conservation planting and particularly riparian planting to be tax deductible.
Our water is a precious natural resource and contaminants entering our waterways are of concern to us all.
The legislation will extend the current law which presently deals with the planting of trees for certain purposes, to allow an immediate deduction for expenditure on the planting of plants or trees in order to mitigate the detrimental effects on our water from the discharge of farming or agricultural contaminants.
In many cases there will be
a number of ways to achieve a particular conservation goal, for instance, reduced nutrient discharges from a dairy farm could be achieved by a combination of stock holding/feeding out arrangements, riparian planting, stream bridging and effl uent management systems.
This change will take effect once the Bill has been passed. Long term I hope that farmers and other private landowners and the
environment will benefi t from this change.
Currently one way landowners can have conservation assets protected is by selling their land to the Natural Heritage Fund. Last year the fund purchased 5.6 hectares of land on the Miranda coast off the Firth of Thames to create a new scenic reserve to protect the area’s chenier plains, native plants and species such as the blue duck.
The land will be managed
by DOC as a scenic reserve. This is a great result for the land owner and the public who can now visit this wonderful area of natural beauty.
I believe that conservation is the responsibility of all New Zealanders.
The Government takes this responsibility very seriously. The introduction of new tax laws will help us all play our part in preserving conservation assets and help as retain what makes New Zealand special.
We are lucky to live in what I consider to be the most beautiful country in the world, showcased by our unique natural environment.
Chenier plain at Miranda
3January 2013
From the MinisterHon David Carter, Minister for Primary Industries, Minister of Local Government
This month’s weather has been a real mixed bag — we’ve had everything from fl oods in the south to muggy weather up north, and of course nor’westers here in Canterbury.
The conditions have seen our region transform from a healthy spring/early summer period of lush green pasture growth, to tinderbox dry conditions ramping up the fi re danger in the province.
And this, as we know, has hit some Canterbury home owners very hard.
As farmers we are used to dealing with the elements, but it’s in times like this that water use and water storage becomes all important. New Zealand is a country blessed with water, but as we know here in Canterbury it doesn’t always fall in the right place at the right time.
The National-led Government is committed to doing something about this.
As a rural-based exporter, New Zealand must make a conscious effort to trap and store rainfall when we have a lot of it, for use when dry conditions demand it.
When National came into government in 2008 we promised to accelerate economic growth through better water management, and we are delivering.
The provision of $400 million from the Future Investment Fund to support the construction of well-designed irrigation schemes, along with the $35 million Irrigation Acceleration Fund, have huge potential to unlock prosperity for New Zealand’s primary industries.
And this must be done sooner rather than
later. In doing it right the fi rst time around, we will reap the rewards of these irrigation schemes for at least the next 100 years.
Approximately 620,000 hectares of land across New Zealand is irrigated.
As Minister for Primary Industries, I want to see more areas of New Zealand reliably irrigated and I’m pleased that discussions are already taking place with promoters of schemes in the Wairarapa, Marlborough, Otago and here in Canterbury.
Water use and infrastructure is one of a number of priorities on the Government’s plate for 2013.
Getting back to surplus by 2014/15 is a key goal.
Although the global fi nancial environment remains stormy, National has a steady hand on the wheel.
Getting back to surplus means we can start repaying debt, reducing New Zealand’s vulnerability to overseas lenders, and building a buffer against future shocks.
Throughout 2013 we will continue to build a more competitive and productive economy, we will continue to deliver better public services and we will continue to rebuild our second largest city.
The Christchurch rebuild is the biggest economic undertaking in New Zealand’s history. While our city will look very different, it will be a vibrant, new, and great place to live and visit. I look forward to being part of the progress as the new Christchurch takes shape.
So, 2013 is going to be another busy year. I look forward to working with you and I wish you all the best for the year ahead.
The situation was simple, a very close friend has a ten acre block that had got away on her and she needed stock to control the growth, the terrain a little too rough for hay making.
A quick phone call to a mate and the process was launched, the theory being that a couple of farmers would be contacted and about 30 to 40 of the ‘second cut lambs’ would be loaded onto a borrowed trailer and dropped off.
Several weeks passed as the pasture went to seed and suddenly it was Christmas and the whole project came to a staggering halt. No sales yards operating and simply nothing happening
We watched as the pasture turned to standing hay and then dried up as the nor west winds sucked out every last drop of moisture.
At last the phone call to say 40 lambs, crutched, drenched and dipped were to arrive.
They were of a composite type and had just come off their mothers.
We had been very vigilant about stringing netting around the ‘house area’ as that was to be eaten down fi rst. Water supplies were installed and everything was ready.
The fi rst lesson is that lambs straight off their mothers will try to get out as close to the gate they were delivered to as possible, in the hope they’ll fi nd their way home.
When you are looking at a very fi t lamb
with just enough Texel blood to give it the no neck and wedge shaped front, you know their ability to push and advance is the total envy of the Auckland Blues forward pack.
Rounding them up and putting them back with the others fell on whoever was fi rst to discover them — the neighbours, concerned parents and of course the lady of the property.
To say that they were fl ighty is a total understatement. After all the only time these sheep had met up with humans they had their tails cut off, their ears clipped, and for the males other treasures were removed and then humans took them away from their mothers, threw them into a smelly dip and then dumped them into a paddock miles from home. Yup, they didn’t trust humans.
That means that rounding up six or more escapees involves stealth and cunning otherwise they’d end up anywhere from Arthurs Pass to Sumner.
Thankfully with the passing of time they are starting to quieten down, and with the help of hurdles, timber and whatever else that is lying about, most of the holes are blocked.
Suffi ce to say that lambs from large farms being introduced onto a small holding can be about as much fun as kicking stones when you are wearing jandals.
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It is also a great reason to stay at home after a year of travelling to Wellington and the rest of the country as Labour’s representative for primary Industries. With the kind help and advice from neighbours and friends the berries were ready a few days after Parliament went into recess.
Predictions of a great season encouraged all local commercial growers to grow, pick and harvest with the help of irrigation, great staff and modern machinery. Nothing new and just like a lot of other horticulture and primary producers. While a hot Christmas was
O’Connor CommentsWith Damien O’Connor, Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture
Nature always dictatesbest knowledge and improved technology, nature and the uncertainty of climate means nothing can be guaranteed for most of New Zealand’s primary industry participants. As a politician it was a timely reminder of the daily challenges facing farmers. While in some areas large scale irrigation projects reduce the risks to production and income, ultimately the weather will continue to rule our future success in farming.
It could be climate change or it could be seasonal variation but regardless of the reasons, uncertainty will always be part of rural Kiwi economy. Our ability to plan for sudden change and adapt for it will determine the future fortune of the New Zealand economy because our export income is still driven by primary weather dependent production. Unfortunately fewer and fewer Kiwis appreciate these challenges and will continue to seek money for consumptive infrastructure at the expense of our rural infrastructure such as roading, education and health services.
Our collective rural responsibility is to fi ght for the resources to maintain production, or everyone will suffer in the long term. The present National government seems to have also lost sight of the challenges and pressures of our vital rural economy and communities. Time for them to wake up before too many choose a lower risk urban lifestyle and consume rather than produce wealth for New Zealand. Then the weather really won’t matter to anyone because we won’t have a viable economy or future.
benefi cial for sweet fruit, the warm winds in the New Year proved to be less benefi cial. Inspite of liberal irrigation the drying forces of nature are hard to combat. The fruit stopped growing and berries shrivelled on the vines. The result was a severe reduction in total production which upset everyone’s estimates, contracts and budgets. We were lucky because we are small growers with a small hit but the bigger you are the harder the fall, as the saying goes.
These are the realities of farming and primary production. The newspaper stories of great prospects turned quickly into a reality of disappointment for many growers. Regardless of the
I am fortunate enough to have a small bit of land with our home where boysenberries are planted. Christmas break from Parliament conveniently coincides with harvest time so the change has to be as good as a break.
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My point of viewAllen Cookson
your health for 2013
More recently I suffered a relatively minor domestic injury. My wife drove me to our rural nurse, who, as well as administering top class fi rst aid, examined me thoroughly. He decided I should go to Christchurch Hospital. A mysterious infection and very low blood pressure persuaded the medics there to put me into intensive care. They soon got me right.
These experiences leave me intensely thankful that I live in New Zealand at this time. One expects nurses’ professional training to provide a good bedside manner. My perception was that staff examining and treating me cared beyond the call of duty. The ongoing monitoring of my condition for possible internal injuries or malignancies is just one sign of this.
I was somewhat surprised at the quality and range of treatments available at Grey Base Hospital. By fl ying in specialists from as far as Auckland, the health system can provide many
treatments in the isolated West Coast community while enabling family and friends to visit patients
without enduring long journeys over sometimes treacherous mountain passes. Truly our health system must be one of the best in the world.
Minister Tony Ryall can be proud of what is being achieved in one of the most challenging portfolios at a time of fi nancial stringency. The contrast with his hapless colleagues in the education portfolio is striking.
But how long can we maintain this wonderful level of health care? Standard and Poors credit analyst Kyran Curry says
2012 was an eventful year for me with hospitalisation after two accidents. A tramping accident ended in spinal surgery. After several months unable to split wood or lift things I am almost back to what I was before the accident. In my disabled interim I discovered the bounty of true friends who offered all sorts of assistance.
New Zealand’s total age-related spending on health, pensions and aged care was expected to rise from 14.4% of GDP in 2010 to 29.5% of GDP in 2050. Standard and Poors projects that government debt burdens of most advanced economies could reach unsustainable levels of more than 300% of GDP in the next 40 years. Much of this is due to an increasing proportion of elderly.
If the ‘boomer generation’ population bulge works its way through and
“These experiences leave me intensely thankful that I live in
New Zealand at this time… My perception was that staff examining
and treating me cared beyond the call of duty”
we maintain a steady state economy with present life expectancies and an average fertility of about 2.1 children per female, we would end up with 25 to 30% of the population over 65.
Any other scenario will almost certainly be disastrous. Looming over
us are increasing rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity-related accidents, not to mention foetal alcohol syndrome and
epigenetic drug damage. There is an urgent need for politicians to develop preventive polices for these problems.
6 January 2013
Money TalkW ith Andrew W yllie
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This month I want to quickly recap on last year and then consider the outlook for this year, specifi cally for the New Zealand equity market.
New Zealand equities were outstanding in 2012, with the NZX50 Gross Index returning over +24% for the year. This compares with Australian Equities where the Standard & Poor’s ASX200 Gross Index returned +20.3% (+15.0% in New Zealand dollar terms) and international equities, as measured by the World MSCI Gross Index, which returned +15.8% (+9.4% in New Zealand dollar terms). In comparison fi xed interest returns, as measured by the ANZ ‘A rated corporate bond index’, were 6.33%.
Equity markets were particularly buoyant over the last six months of 2012, especially after United States and European central banks adopted a ‘do whatever it takes’ policy stance to support economic recovery. Markets have in turn adopted the attitude that these statements will support equity market valuations. However, we are still of the view that economic risks remain. The major change from a year ago is that investors are now more complacent about these risks.
Investor complacency coupled with the re-rating in equity markets also translates to lower expected returns for 2013. In our view, New Zealand equity fundamentals are still supportive of positive returns but these gross returns are more
likely to be in the +8 to +10% range. Corporate earnings also have to be delivered otherwise lower returns could result.
Having said that, while we believe caution is required, investors are still being well rewarded to wait for earnings recovery. Many locally listed companies continue to pay strong dividend yields well in excess of cash/term deposit rates. For example the NZX50 forecast average gross yield for 2013 is 6.5%.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has again lowered its near term growth expectations, pushing its forecast pick-up in economic activity into the second half of 2013. This is a refl ection of delays in the Christchurch rebuild although recent releases indicate the rebuild is at last beginning, as also can be seen by driving around the city. Fletcher Building’s share price has certainly refl ected some of that positive building data, in recent weeks.
Investors seeking income are still expected to provide support for low risk equities for most of 2013, as income oriented investors have found it increasingly diffi cult to generate suffi cient income from cash and bonds. Bondholders who have recently received redemptions of high yielding bonds will be well aware that they now face reinvestment at much lower rates. The fl ow of new bond issuance has also reduced.
There is also potential for low term deposit rates to support investment in equities. A signifi cant period of cash infl ows to banks followed the recent fi nancial crisis allowing them to meet higher core funding ratios as required by the RBNZ. Now with so much cash around, and these ratios well covered, banks are potentially likely to reduce rates which may result in some investors switching into equities.
If you would like to confi dentially discuss your investment requirements please give me a call.
Andrew Wyllie is an Authorised Financial Adviser with Forsyth Barr in Christchurch. To contact him about Portfolio Management, fi xed interest or share investments call 0800 367 227 or e-mail [email protected]. To fi nd out more about Forsyth Barr visit www.forsythbarr.co.nz. This column is general in nature and should not be regarded as personalised investment advice. Disclosure Statements are available on request and free of charge.
Happy New Year to everyone! It seems like only last week that I wrote my fi nal column for 2012. A great period of warm weather over the festive season has been well received by anyone lucky enough to be on holiday.By this time of the year most of our new year
resolutions will have been cast aside. However, there are a number of issues which we should all resolve to do or not to do as the case may be to put our legal affairs in order. Some are:-
1) Everyone should have a valid up to date current will. It cannot be stressed how important it is to have a will. Many will not have reviewed theirs since the introduction of the latest version of the Property Relationships Act which has had a major impact on wills.
The penalty for not having a valid current will is that your estate will be
distributed in accordance with the Administration Act and there are many people who would not want that to happen. The rules in the administration are arbitrary and not always fair to the parties involved.
2) At the time of reviewing a will, it is a good idea to execute enduring powers of attorney for both care and welfare, and property. These documents remain
Resolutions
in force if the person making the power of attorney has an illness or an accident which affects their mental ability. If there are no enduring powers of attorney and the property has to be sold or a bank account closed, it is necessary to apply to the Court for an order to do whatever is required. Needless to say, applications to the Court are expensive and the main people to benefi t are the lawyers involved.
3) Look into medium/long term estate planning. Ask yourself where you want to be in ten years’ time and set up to achieve those aims. There are a number of organisations and companies who will gladly advise you on the advantages and disadvantages of your proposals.
4) If you are contemplating entering into a relationship make sure you enter into an agreement before cohabiting or getting too serious with your other party with a view to preserving your assets in case the relationship does not work out. An agreement should not be regarded as greed or selfi shness but purely as an insurance to cover the preservation of assets
should the relationship fail. Few of us would buy a new home and not arrange insurance on it before we move in. This author is of the view that your relationship is more likely to break down than your house to burn down.
5) Never ever enter into a guarantee to guarantee the debts of a third party unless you are fully prepared to assume responsibility to the creditor for payment of the debt. The creditor does not have to exhaust its remedies against the original debtor. It can take action against the debtor or the guarantor as it sees fi t. I have seen many guarantors upset at having to pay the debt of another when it appears to them that the debtor has escaped paying the debt.
So be advised the legal world is a mine fi eld of pitfalls for the unwary. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and a laid back attitude can be very costly for the people involved.
This article has been prepared by Bessie Paterson, a Partner with Ronald W Angland & Son Solicitors, who may be contacted on Tel : 03 349 4708 or [email protected].
Years of experience lie behind the agricultural trailers and associated equipment that bear the Marston name on many New Zealand farms.
The family-owned Marston Agricultural Services business was was founded in the UK in the 1950s and today has risen to become one of the market leaders in the field, fully supported by a dedicated export department, an in-house design team and an after-sales and spare parts service that reaches across the globe.
At it’s heart is a purpose-built 20 acre site in Lincolnshire which includes a weighbridge and test track where all new prototypes are put through their paces.
In Canterbury, the Marston ACE range of monocoque body — or bathtub — farming trailers, marketed by Greendale-based Gough Agritech Ltd, has been well tested and improved since its inception over 50 years ago.
The monocoque body is fully welded
with a 4mm floor and 3mm pressed sides with vertical body supports. All models are sprung tandem axle and the chassis is manufactured from RHS rectangular hollow section material as opposed to channel material for increased strength.
The 8-16 tonne capacity units in the ACE range are all fitted with lights, inspection ladder and hydraulic brakes. A choice of axles is available dependent on use and requirement. Options include an hydraulic tailgate, grain sock, full silage options, roll-over tarp, rear drawbar with electrics, and flotation tyres, to name a few.
Gough Agritech delivered a new 11T trailer in early December to a happy Barrhill customer.
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Still breathing. Still buying things. Some still holidaying. Many of us having taken shelter from inclement weather, when not being detained by fl ooded rivers, land slips and rockfalls. In other words life is a breeze, when 100km/hour nor’westers are not stripping branches off the eucalypts. That is when the weather fi nally settles down to normal.
Down our way the past couple of months has been involved fi ghting weeds and getting extra stock to control pasture growth. But in my own patch the weeds are winning. The sheep are doing their best to beat rapidly seeding pasture.
Thought about haymaking — just as things look like drying out, down comes the afternoon thunder storms. The climate down southern NZ is going tropical. Today, January 10 is clean up day in parts of Canterbury, Otago,
Southland and the West Coast. Flood level alerts were given for midday as the main river catchments spilled excess water under clear blue skies down onto the east coast fl ood plains.
Some of us septuagenarians may be excused if we hark back
to the days of predictable dry sunny summers which started on time in December after steady spring rains, phasing into damper autumn prior to winter snows which came on time for the opening of the diesel powered ski tows with the clip-on nutcracker belt attachments. Oh happy times when we spent more time on our backsides sliding down slopes minus a ski or two.
At least the seasons were more or less predictable, or seem to be so, than the era of climate change. Although in earlier days of having cut my teeth working on farms and high country stations, and in spite of modern weather forecasting, I have a lot of sympathy with the modern day property owner trying to fi gure out the best way to manage his/her property to fi t in with current weather patterns.
Sure irrigation is a big help in trying to maintain adequate soil moisture content, but when temperatures, precipitation and wind go feral there is not a lot the farmer can do about it. We may have to think
about unheard of alternative crops and animals.
Perhaps banana, tea or cocoa growing in the north. Or sugar cane, coconut palm and buffalo grazing in parts of Westland and Southland. After all nikau palm does well in the Buller area.
Foresty is a good alternative with a range of species that can grow in all sorts of conditions.
Down our way there is considerable angst about wilding tree infestation, particularly in the high country around the lakes district. The main problem is they are mostly exotic
conifers. They are said to blot out iconic landscapes, which did not have much growth on them in the fi rst place, except areas of remaining snow tussock which has missed out on the spring burnoffs for several years. The remaining native shrubbery mostly consisted of tea tree, kanuka and matagowrie on suitable sites. Some colonies of mountain beech struggle to survive in wetter patches of the western foothills as well as subalpine indigenous shrubs which can be protected against invading exotics. However exotic shrubbery, such as sweet
briar, will rapidly colonise areas not subject to heavy stocking in dryer areas such as Central Otago. And on the bare slopes hawkweed (mouse ear hiericium) has become established in many areas. The main debate is whether wilding trees could be benefi cial for slope stabilisation, a source of woody energy and possible commercial grade log recovery if properly managed. This debate is ongoing.
However, whatever happens with changing weather patterns, it does not seem to affect tree growth very much.
The world has not endedthe Mayan calendar has ended. the United states and the world is about to fall over the fi scal cliff. But we are still on planet earth. still eating.
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Ashley leading of her mounts following a training session.
Above: russel McKay overseeing a training session.Below: Ashley McKay up close and personal with one of her mounts.
A dead fish lead to career training horses
As a young man Russell McKay was big into catching trout and avoiding work.
One afternoon a mate passed by his favourite fi shing spot and Russell offered him a fi sh — his mate said no, and then offered him a job in a racing stable.
That was the beginning of a very successful career as a jockey and then trainer of top line thoroughbreds.
Admitting that horse racing is extremely addictive, Russell has tried to leave the profession several times but just can’t let go.
He was brought up in Southland and spent most of his adult life in the south but has since brought his operation, family and accent up to Mid Canterbury where he is based at the Ashburton Race Course.
A wry smile will cross his face as he tells you that he is basically lazy which is why he put on a bit of weight which lead to him giving
“…his wife works shoulder to shoulder with him and two
of his daughters have followed him into the game.”
up competitive riding, but you know that hard work and Russell McKay are far from strangers.
Sure, it’s a life style that may disguise the amount of hard work that goes into running successful stables, but a life time of success doesn’t come from sitting on the couch!
His enthusiasm is brilliant.
The Southland accent under playing his love for the sport and the enthusiasm he has for it.
Perhaps the most noticeable sign is the fact that his wife works shoulder to shoulder with him and two of his daughters have followed him into the game.
He launched Lisa McKay’s career by taking her on as an apprentice, and she has been followed by the youngest daughter, Ashley.
Lisa is now working and
riding for a Christchurch stable, but Ashley has her feet fi rmly planted in the family business.
The two obviously work extremely well together with Russell ensuring that Ashley has the right rides for her style of riding, and in many ways is her rock.
Suffi ce to say the McKay family will be the envy of many rural families who would love to have a
small family business that works like clockwork.
With around a dozen horses in work, there’s plenty of scope for the McKay family to co-ordinate, but I understand the really interesting moments come when both girls are racing in the same race, Lisa riding for another stable and Ashley for the McKay stables. Just who does their Mother yell out support for? The answer is both!
12 January 2013 WAter
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Irrigation IssuesIrrigation IssuesDr Tony Daveron
Has summer come and gone? Let’s hope notThe week before Christmas and through into the second week of the New Year brought fi ne–sunny–hot (even)–windy weather to complement the earlier cooler growing season. One hoped it would last longer than through the early barley harvest. This week one wonders if summer will return.
2012 departed 16 days ago and so hopefully the cool/cold wet weather that ends the second week of January doesn’t hang about. The pre-Christmas week and since have been blessed with much hotter and drier weather. Some areas have had the odd helpful rainfall — like 25-40mm on Boxing Day, on the second day of the New Year and again this week when up to 60mm of rain fell in parts of North Canterbury. For some, the latter of these rainfalls have been welcome and taken the pressure off what had become very demanding irrigation. Whenever full leaf area coincides with the longest and hottest days, like we have had in the weeks enveloping the longest day on 22 December, the result is real pressure on irrigation and irrigation systems.
For cropping farmers the Boxing Day and New Year rainfalls made the fi nal irrigation decision for some crops — early perennial ryegrass, autumn barley, kale and rape seed and some process peas that were needing a last little water. The best and most effective irrigation was delivered — uniform rainfall at a rate the soil could infi ltrate and ended the pressure on irrigation schedules.
It has taken most of the growing season for any serious irrigation to be required.
For example, the soil moisture record in Figure 1 demonstrates the easy growing season in 2012. Other than a small 30mm irrigation back in late November, irrigation (the ▌bars) wasn’t required again until mid-December and then in earnest from late December. There was so little demand for water to transpire by the pasture (mostly because of low air and soil temperature and lack of solar radiation) that the subsoil moisture (▬ and ▬) showed very little movement during the growing season until the third week of December. Since then there has been a steady decline in sub-soil moisture as the pasture supplemented its demand for water from the sub-soil.
Figure 1 is not a rosy picture for the pastoral irrigators. The soil moisture record shows, that despite a system capacity of 5mm/day, December and through mid-January has been so demanding that irrigation has started to ‘struggle’ to keep up on centre pivot system. It has been much worse for rotational irrigation systems, particularly those on lighter low water holding capacity soils. While
they also enjoyed low irrigation demand for most of the pre-Christmas growing season, it has been the opposite since. They have struggled to keep up and up to early this week were about ½ of an eight to nine day round behind — that is while they had just irrigated — the same paddock needed to be irrigated again in four to fi ve days (NOT).
For cropping farmers, irrigation is now a pick choose operation. Pick when you irrigate and what to irrigate. The rainfall this week will have put paid to any irrigation requirement for all but the latest ryegrass (probably),
clover, wheat, spring barley, early radish or brassica type seed crops and most seed pea crops. That doesn’t leave much in the rotation to irrigate. Wouldn’t it be great to have a simple, easy to use trading system where some of the left over annual volume could be used by some who needs it for the rest of the season (wishful thinking)?
To stress the crop demand for water, daily water use for a wheat crop is plotted in Figure 2. Not until late December, near the end of the growth cycle, did the daily water use leap to and above the 5mm/day barrier. In most seasons the 5mm/day barrier is broken back in November (around Christchurch show week) when the wheat is about to boot or come into ear. Not so this season.
Here’s hoping the rainfall this week is just an interlude and not a precursor. We do not need harvest to be ‘stuffed’ about like 2012, so a return to the previous three to four weeks would be welcome. Of course, that wish unfortunately for pasture irrigators will require head down ‘……’ up and keep irrigating.
Figure 1. soil moisture record for pasture on templeton silt loam soil in mid-Canterbury
Figure 2. Daily water use (mm/day) for a winter wheat crop on Chertsey silt loam soil in mid-Canterbury.
13January 2013WAter
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Mean temperatures in Canterbury were +1 to +1.8deg above normal, which is signifi cant. Both day time maximums and night time minimums were warmer than usual. Sunshine hours were above normal by 5-10% near the coast and 20-30% further inland. Rainfall was near normal in North Canterbury, 60-80% of normal in Mid Canterbury, and 30-50% of normal in South Canterbury.
In the tropical Pacifi c conditions remain mixed and rather confused. There is no clear trend towards either El Nino or La Nina, although in the fi rst half of January we have seen some measures trend towards La Nina, bringing with it the more traditional El Nino to La Nina transition weather pattern of westerly wind fl ows and warmer drier north westerly events for Canterbury. However, there is no clear indication that a full blown La Nina event is underway,
and every reason to expect a predominantly neutral pattern in the next three months at least, with no signifi cant infl uence of the Southern Oscillation (El Nino or La Nina) expected.
With no clear El Nino signal to affect the climate over the next few months, our broad expectation for rest of the summer and autumn season is for near normal conditions overall. However, previous spring/summer seasons with a similar atmospheric background have tended to show some marked month to month contrasts, with extremes of very dry and very wet months tending to balance each other out over the longer season. Temperatures may oscillate with some cold periods and some warm spells.
As we move through the second half of January we expect to see a reduction in westerly airfl ow over the South Island, with anticyclones becoming dominant, bringing
December was a milder and sunnier than normal month which brought anti-cyclones as frequent visitors to the South Island, often lingering overseas to the east, and bringing long periods of settled weather. However, there were also spells of westerly airfl ow with dry north westerlies alternating with rain bearing south westerly changes.
regular but brief cool southerly changes, and long periods of north easterly winds with mostly sunny skies. Anticyclones should remain dominant in February but may track further north, allowing light westerly airfl ow over Canterbury which can often bring very dry sunny conditions. March and April may see south westerly airfl ow
increase with temperatures perhaps a little cooler, and maybe increased rainfall.
At this stage our further outlook for the late autumn and early winter (May to July) is for normal to above normal rainfall, temperatures normal to a little cooler than normal, and sunshine hours a little below normal.
Rainfall Temp. Sun Airflow
Feb Drier than normal
Warmer than
normal
Sunnier than
normal, possibly
very sunny
More anti-cyclones
Mar
A little wetter than
normal
A little cooler than
normal
Near normal
More south-
westerlies
Apr
A little wetter than
normal
A little cooler than
normal
Near normal
More south-
westerlies
May Near normal
Near normal
A little cloudier
than normal
Reduced westerlies
Forecast - Canterbury
14 January 2013 WAter
Irrigation reduces New Zealand’s fi re-risk
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The growth of on-farm storage ponds, particularly in Canterbury, has benefi tted rural fi re-fi ghting crews in New Zealand by providing additional sources of fi re-fi ghting water, says IrrigationNZ Chief Executive Andrew Curtis.
“These ponds hold thousands of litres of water and
farmers and irrigation schemes are the fi rst to make water available when a rural fi re starts,” says Mr Curtis.
Irrigation schemes throughout the country have also initiated fi re-fi ghting measures of their own. North Otago Irrigation Company, for example, introduced 20
IrrigationNZ says the fi re risk from extreme temperatures being recorded on both sides of the Tasman has been eased in New Zealand by irrigation infrastructure.
fi re hydrants into its irrigation scheme allowing fi re-fi ghting trucks from the Waitaki Rural Fire Authority to refi ll within seconds.
Irrigation also lessens the risk of fi re by maintaining green buffer zones in rural areas that previously were
primarily dry land. Towns and cities surrounded by irrigation such as Christchurch, Gisborne, Napier, Martinborough, Ashburton, Invercargill and Blenheim have benefi tted.
“Green grass doesn’t burn. Irrigation produces vegetation that is less susceptible to fi re and ignites more slowly. Irrigating farmers are closely
monitoring their fi elds at this time of the year as they apply water so they’re often the ones who spot early fi res.”
“Irrigation can’t remove fi re risk completely but the growth
of irrigation infrastructure and schemes throughout New Zealand has defi nitely made fi re-fi ghting water more accessible,” says Mr Curtis.
Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay,
Wairarapa, Nelson, parts of Canterbury, Otago and central Southland had less than half their normal rainfall last month. These areas include the main irrigation centres of New Zealand.
“Irrigation can’t remove fi re risk
completely but the growth of irrigation infrastructure and
schemes throughout New Zealand has defi nitely made
fi re-fi ghting water more accessible”
15January 2013
Demonstrator in the North Canterbury region
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Venison updateFirst off all I would like to wish all deer farmers and their families all the best for 2013. As always we say let’s hope this year will be better than the last one!
purchase some signifi cant quantities of venison products along with edible offals and bones.
It has taken a lot of hard work and perseverance to get this underway in China but I can certainly see some rewards coming for the perseverance.
I think some business’s in New Zealand think that you can travel to China and set up business with them easily but I can assure you this is certainly not the case.
It takes a lot of hard work, mutual trust and of course a lot of heartache to get up and running with the Chinese people.
by Ian stewart of Mountain river
Unfortunately there is nothing really in the pipeline to say this year is going to be better than the last.
The world I must say is in a state of fi nancial disarray especially for some of our trading partners in Europe.
Exchange rates at the moment are as high as they have been for some time now and I don’t think anyone really knows how it will end.
Here are some comparisons from one year ago up to the present time.
One year ago — Present timeUS Dollar — 0794 0.844 (+6%)
Euro — 0619 0.637 (+3%)
60kg Stag — $462 $386 (-16%
300kg Bull — $1277 $1185 (-7%)
15kg Lamb YM — $108 $72 (-33%
Wool Price — 590 441 (-25%)
This does not paint a pretty picture at all for all sectors of the New Zealand Meat Industry but like we have done many times before we have no option but to try and ride it out.
I understand the even the dairy industry has its own problems as well.
Huge losses from the major meat companies last year proves what I am saying is certainly not a fallacy.
While I have started this article as all doom and gloom I am pleased to report that
there are also some positive things happening in the deer industry as well.
For my mind the biggest positive for us is with China as they are now starting to
While there has been some political issues along the way I believe it has taken our company seven to eight years to start seeing some positive results like we are seeing presently.
Where to from here with China is hard to say at the moment but sometimes when I think about what could evolve over the next few years I get goose bumps.
Another positive is with the co products like bones, blood and offals along with other items like tongues and cheeks etc.
It appears at the moment that every other part of a deer is now becoming saleable whether for edible or pet food consumption.
China of course is a major player in the purchase of the deer co products I have just mentioned.
A lot of these products have not got great value at the moment but in saying that we have seen some signifi cant gains in the past 18 months.
Already these gains are now part of the schedule being paid to you so there are some positives out there as well.
Ian Stewart
16 January 2013 Forestry
Forestry Market Report
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The wilding pine sagaMike Prosser is a spraying
contractor in the town of Fairly. He operates both ground base spraying as well as aerial work. His clients consist of plains as well as high country farmers. However these latter cockies are now aware of another pest they have to contend with, namely wilding pine.
They are aware if left the ‘imminent invasion’ will be catastrophic. In the past they have attempted to curb this hidden invasion by felling the older seed trees which are dotted around the hillside. But their attempts has simply aggravated the situation by scattering the seeds as the felled tree rolled down the hill, resulting in small (but ever growing) pockets of young pine.
So at the moment they are addressing two types of wilding problems. The first is to
dessicate dense patches of pine without harming the pasture, but probably more important is to eradicate the seed trees, stopping any further invasion.
Mike has come up with a plan to fit a spraying wand to his Robbie and with one of his special brews give each of these seed trees a ‘squirt’ not only killing the tree but also inhibiting the germination of seeds.
Both Mike and his hill country clients certainly have the right idea, and that
is to get in and treat these problem weeds now because procrastination would be the worst thing to do at this time.
Well done Mike we’ll come back in a year or so to see how you have tackled this problem.
Joke timeA kiwi who had been
living in Tasi for the past 10yrs returned home for a visit with tales of wonder from our friends across the ditch.
He explained that everything was up market over there, even the grocery store was different. He went on to explain that when you go past the veggie section a beautiful aroma of a cut salad can be smelt. He went on to say that in the meat section you can smell the steak and onions cooking on the barbecue, and when you pass the pharmacies all you can smell is a variety of after shaves. But he did admit that he doesn’t buy toilet paper there any more.
As we start another year the news from log markets can generally be described as positive. There is a very definite upswing in demand in the domestic segment which one assumes is based on earthquake rebuild projects. In the export segment and in particular with the big mover of volume, China — supply has not kept pace with demand, inventories have fallen against expectations and prices are under upward pressure.
In the last round of customer visits just before Christmas, I found the general mood of sawmill owners was positive. Demand has definitely trending upward. There remains a focus on the outdoors segment in fencing, decking and the like, but framing lumber is also starting to move.
As might be expected when the market sandpit grows more want to play in it. Therefore for the moment at least, there are just enough toys to go around and price fighting between the participants has remained a key component of the play. We would therefore not expect
overall prices to move upward in the meantime.
However we are seeing more preparedness to negotiate over specific segment areas like longer and larger logs which suggests a level of vibrancy not seen in the last five years. All in all we can say 2013 looks like it should produce good demand and supply demographics in this key segment for the region’s forest growers.
Within the export markets China continues to dominate, with our other key destinations of Korea and India pretty much following the lead. Quite against expectations inventories across most key China ports have continued to fall. This is the direct consequence of reducing supply of both log and lumber from the Pacific North West. NZ and Australia continue to pump about 1 million cubic metres per month in to China.
Overall inventories are falling much closer to 2 million cubic metres or two months’ consumption and the PNW region is not expected to increase supply for the next two to four
months. As a consequence Douglas fir log prices are starting to move upward, dragging Radiata with them.
Due to lack of local market, pruned logs have continued to increase in supply to China from NZ. Prices have not been wildly exciting, but having a volume market for this key value grade has and will continue to be important. However there is a cautionary note with China starting to resist increase volume in this sector. This suggests we have reached saturation point until manufacturers and end users can grow the Softwood clearwood market further.
Shipping has been providing some positive outcomes lately with rates softening slightly as demand is outstripped by supply for those plying the Southern Hemisphere. Some commentators are suggesting the current levels cannot last with some shipping companies operating at below cost. However in shipping I have learnt it is difficult to sort the bull from the balderdash so anything could be true. For the moment at least most are saying they expect shipping rates to firm Q1 2013.
And if it were not for the blessed US$/NZ$ exchange rate, it would be quite good fun to be a forest owner at present! One is left to wonder why someone up there in the corridors of power does not pull the curtain strings a different way some days as the unfavourable exchange rate continues to strip millions of dollars off the bottom line for our land based commodities sector.
And so it is despite this one key negative the log trade appears destined for a pretty good year. Key indicators are certainly suggesting Q1 and Q2 should be positive at the very least. Thus it is has never been more timely to remember the only way forward for climate, country and the planet is to get out there and plant more trees… please!
17January 2013Forestry
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How to increase MINERALISATION of Dairy Effluent?Treat the dairy effluent by introducing Treat the dairy effluent by introducing Dairy-Kleen™ SHOTS into the effluent holding system. When dairy effluent is treated with Dairy-Kleen™ SHOTS the benefits will continue throughout the whole ponding system through to its application onto land establishing and enhancing the necessary biological activity within the soils.necessary biological activity within the soils.
What is Dairy-Kleen™ SHOTSDairy-Kleen™ SHOTS is an easy to use all-natural heavy duty powdered formulation developed for the treatment of animal effluent. Dairy-Kleen™ SHOTS contains billions of tiny beneficial micro-organisms which are harmless to humans, animals and the environment. These micro-organisms bio degrade the animal micro-organisms bio degrade the animal effluent and continue to rapidly develop throughout the whole process.
Stricter New Zealand legislation surrounding the management and control of dairy effluent in the NZ dairy industry has resulted in increased volumes of nutrient rich effluent being collected from dairy sheds, feed pads and holding areas for application onto land and pastures. The application of land and pastures. The application of dairy effluent is now common and offers both environmental and economic benefits. In many cases these benefits are not truly being UNLOCKED. Effluent management is a real science and when managed correctly it can save thousands in correctly it can save thousands in inorganic fertilisers. One of the real secrets’ of UNLOCKING the maximum nutrient potential of Effluent is MINERALISATION.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT?Poorly conditioned effluent may be more hazardous to the environment, and when irrigated to pastures may not produce the maximum nutrient potential for uptake by grasses.
BENEFITS AND SAVINGS: The major economic benefit of good The major economic benefit of good effluent management is the ability to utilise effluent to reduce inorganic fertilisers. While the nutrient value in effluent may vary for a number of reasons, when MINERALISATION occurs:
- - The potential fertiliser value increases.- The uptake by grasses and crops also
increases.- The environmental risks are reduced.
Easily Control and Enhance Effluent ManagementATTENTION: FARMERS
Tel +64 3 3440307 Fax +64 3 3440308 Mobile 0274 782 065
phonephone 0800 100 325 0800 100 325
Separating the wood from the trees
Peter Clark writes...
this forest stream has harvested plantation forest just metres from its banks
In one recent example, work undertaken by NIWA to develop a Rivers Environments Classifi cation (REC) has been applied by PF Olsen to help manage rivers and streams in the forests it manages.
The REC is a spatial dataset that classifi es all river segments according to a variety of factors that infl uence their primary physical state.
With over 2,685 km of streams to look after in all the forests PF Olsen manages and 1,058 km within our Forest Stewardship Council Certifi ed estate, Kit Richards, PF Olsen’s Environment Manager could see an immediate potential for application of this dataset.
“One of our challenges is that we constantly acquire, at short notice, new forests
to manage on behalf of clients” says Kit. “We may know nothing much about the streams within the area yet our harvest planners may have to prepare initial estimates and concepts for planning and budgeting. By linking our Riparian Management Rules to the stream classes, through our Forest Information and
Planning System (FIPS), we can immediately understand some of the likely constraints. We can then generate the rules that contractors will have to follow for the stream categories in an area they are working in and present these on harvest plan maps and prescriptions.”
As well as providing a framework for PF Olsen’s
New tools help manage rivers in forests
riparian rules, the system also enables analysis of the variations between the types of river systems we have to manage in different regions.
In more recent times the Department of Conservation has developed a spatial model that relates data from the national freshwater fi sheries database to the REC system to create the Fresh Water Environments NZ (FWENZ) system.
This can provide predictions of probability of occurrence of native fi sh including threatened species within stream sections. This information too is very helpful to PF Olsen managers when planning operations.
this is sample of a chart from the rivers environments’ Classifi cation database
Staying connected with science developments often provides opportunities to innovate in ways not fi rst envisaged by those who initiated the science.
18 January 2013
FIND OUR OFFICE AT 15 Hanworth Ave PO Box 11-090 Sockburn, Christchurch 8443
OR CONTACT US ON P. (03) 349 4977 / 0800 463 946 E. [email protected]
AM I LIMITED TO THE DESIGNS THAT LAING HOMES OFFER NO
AM I LIMITED BY SIZE NO
IS THERE A BUILDING GUARANTEE YES
FIND OUT MORE
Award-winning innovation helps build a brighter future for CanterburyOn February 22, 2011,
the building industry in Christchurch and Canterbury changed forever. The devastating earthquake which rocked the region did more than just cause untold damage to property — it meant that a complete re-think of building practices was in order. The solutions which have sprung from this crisis have implications far beyond the Christchurch CBD however, and farmers in Canterbury are already seizing the opportunities which change brings.
At the cutting edge of this new thinking is Laing Properties, a family-owned Christchurch business driven by innovation and fresh ideas. As proud Cantabrians themselves, Grant Laing and his team set to work devising a real solution for those who had lost their homes. The answer came from the two great strengths of the business — construction arm Laing Homes and transport arm Laing Building Relocators.
With over 50 combined years of building relocation experience inherent in his team, Grant has overseen the relocation of over 2300 buildings. Since 2001 Laing
Homes have constructed more than 280 transportable homes, entrusting them to the capable hands of Laing Building Relocators to deliver them to waiting customers. This adds up to a wealth of practical experience, and a smart solution for the Canterbury rebuild which has implications for the wider construction industry — and for the rural sector.
Laing Properties set out to fulfill customers’ needs with a new range of modern, lightweight and affordable relocatable homes. The result has exceeded expectations across the board, and has been embraced by farmers as a winning innovation.
“This is an ideal solution for people with a red-stickered house who don’t want to shift away from where they live but need a new house,” says Grant. “It is also an ideal opportunity for anyone who is considering building a new house on a section in the city which is not part of a subdivision.”
Laing Homes have found that what works rebuilding a city is also of key interest in the countryside.
Farmers have taken a keen interest in a building system which is flexible, modular, relocatable and inexpensive, because such a system is perfect for the changing needs of agri-business. Accommodation requirements can shift from season to season, and Laings have the ability to place homes neatly and quickly where other building companies struggle to go.
The benefits of a Laing Homes relocatable building begin with price and practicality, but flow through to other areas of the building process. For example, resource consent and building consent paperwork are all taken care of by Laings, taking the stress out of construction for their customers. For those who require accommodation now, time is also a huge factor — whether they are displaced by the quake or in need of a home for sharemilkers on their farm.
“Compared with building a conventional house, the client saves at least three months inconstruction time,” Grant says. This couldn’t be more pertinent for the rural sector, as farmers often need to act fast to keep
pace with economic and environmental changes. Innovations such as the use of Metrapanel — a prefabricated modular building system complete with insulation — means that not only is construction complete well within schedule, but the finished product is also tough and robust enough to withstand the sometimes less-than-gentle farming lifestyle.
Laing Properties have always put customer satisfaction at the forefront of their business philosophy, and finding ways to help those affected by the 2011 earthquake can be seen as an expansion of the way in which they have always gone the extra mile to ensure a job well done. It’s not just steel, timber, bricks and mortar which make a great reputation in building
— it’s a can-do attitude and fresh thinking.
This attitude is right in line with the core values of Kiwi farmers, so it’s no surprise that Laing Properties enjoy a solid reputation in the rural sector. Through the years Grant and his team have learned exactly what farmers expect from the building professionals they choose, and they aim to exceed expectations.
In the time-critical and ever-changing world of rural business and employment it’s important to be able to offer cost-effective, readily available accommodation fast. Laings’ catalogue of architecturally designed transportable homes tick all the boxes to help farmers manage their accommodation needs — they are rugged and
durable, smartly appointed and affordable, and able to be deployed with no fuss almost anywhere.
With proven results behind them and fresh ideas for the future, Laing Properties are trusted by rural professionals from large agri-business corporations to small family farms. Some have even come back time and again for their fourth, fifth or sixth Laing home!
If accommodation for your family or your employees is an issue you need to address, Grant Laing invites you to come and pay him a visit. You’ll find friendly advice and a portfolio of options to choose from, as well as a wealth of ideas to make your farm — and your home — a better place to live.
Grant and Polly Laing with a Laing Homes smart house
19January 2013
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Harpers Rd, Loburnbut you can still contact us on ph 03 313 6056
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Check out our new websitewww.donclarke.co.nz
and register online for our new delivery service
Making the leap into e-commerce
Kevin and Teresa Orchard purchased Don Clarke Canvas and Saddlery from Don himself in 2004, and over the years they have enjoyed growing the business and meeting new people in the equestrian world. Unfortunately damage to their Rangiora premises led to the need to shut up shop in late 2012, but a little lateral thinking has seen the Orchards take their business in a whole new direction.
Catching onto the current trend to ‘mobilise’ and engage with a tech-savvy public, Kevin and Teresa have made the move to e-commerce, providing a range of equine services direct through the internet.
They’ve also moved their base of physical operations to their home in North Loburn, with a delivery service speeding products out to North Canterbury customers.
Combining a new-look website with smart-phone friendly Facebook and Trademe portals, the new, e-based Don Clarke Canvas and Saddlery offers great deals on horsefeeds and supplements, clothing giftware and more. The Orchards also specialise in the repair and manufacturing of horse rugs, tack and canvas and leather goods to make sure you have all you need for your horse, whether on the farm or at the show.
Damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake of 2011 has been the catalyst for a shift to cyberspace for a popular local equestrian business. The two most common chronic muscle problems are
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) and Fibromyalgia (FM). Both FM and PMR are autoimmune diseases and result in muscle pain but that is about where the similarities stop.
PMR mostly affects those over 60 and common symptoms are stiffness and pain commonly around the neck and shoulders especially in the mornings. Around 20% of people with PMR also develop Temporal Arteritis. This is caused by infl ammation of the major arteries which pass through the temple causing vision problems and even blindness.
The major medical therapy is the steroid prednisone which blocks the production of infl ammatory cytokines usually with a rapid reduction in symptoms. Many recover in a year or so but others have this for an extended period or fi nd that it recurs after a period of remission. People on statin medicines need to be aware that these can exacerbate PMR symptoms which is why I invariably add CoQ10 to those with PMR who take statins.
Nutritional therapy complements the effects of prednisone by reducing immune system production of infl ammatory chemicals. We add a wide range of antioxidant and anti-infl ammatory compounds to assist energy production and to lower infl ammation. Serious fatigue
is a feature of PMR and increases in energy is often the fi rst benefi t people feel from nutritional therapy.
FM is a lot more complex. These are often referred to as FM syndromes as they involve other problems especially Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There are relatively few medical treatment options but the most common are tri-cyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline taken in single evening doses to treat both pain and insomnia.
FM is more diffi cult to treat with nutritional therapy as it is not a simple infl ammatory problem. It appears that muscle mitochondria are damaged by free radicals which impair muscle fi bre function which reduces energy and causes pain (M. Cordero et al, 2010). I have found people get real benefi ts from intensive multi-antioxidant therapy including CoQ10, OPC, resveratrol and many others. I always add broad spectrum vitamin and minerals and often high dose MSM before bed to help with muscle oxygenation. Curiously, as with PMR people with FM often notice an improvement in energy before any reduction in pain. Give me a call if you need help.
John Arts is the founder of Abundant Health Ltd. You can contact John on 0800 423 559 or email [email protected]. You can join his weekly newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz. For product information visit www.abundant.co.nz
Common Muscle Problems
20 January 2013
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ownership of horses, or in other words, syndicates.
Like many such things, his major syndicate grew out of a few conversations with people who knew that he had become a successful trainer.
He says two things have happened, fi rstly there’s a raft of new people coming into the industry and secondly, just as big a number of people who had been part owners have decided to come back.
Ben agrees that the timing is great with fewer options for people being offered at the yearling sales leading to a better quality of horses up for grabs — horses that don’t have the right breeding simply not making it to the sales.
When the subject of dumb questions comes up Ben is very quick to endorse the fact that there isn’t such a thing.
He quietly smiles with the warmth of the sun and says that’s how people learn.
While his partner Renee has had a career with thoroughbreds, and is still suffering from injuries sustained from a fall while training a jumper, Ben is harness racing through and through.
He loves being in Mid Canterbury simply because of the people, the location and the climate.
His new property is very horse friendly with lots of shelter and shade for those that aren’t in serious work
mode, while his main focus is at the race course proper.
To sum Ben up, he’s so laid back that he’s almost horizontal but you know that behind that totally relaxed façade is a man who knows exactly what to do to get the most out of a horse and that he and hard work are bosom mates.
Perhaps the best way of describing him is that if you were ever to drop his name into conversation, the reaction is always a very positive one whether it’s from a harness racing person or someone who is involved with the gallops.
So his biggest buzz? Sharing the successes of his owners whether it is one person or a group of 20 or more. one of Ben’s horses at rest
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the bruising happens because of external force then why do they look so similar? If they were caused by standing on stones then I would expect a much more even pattern over the whole claw. Sometimes I clean the wall of the claw with
my grinder just to see what symptoms can be found there. In the second picture you can see some haemorrhage in the wall of the claw. How does it get there? If you look at this evidence, it is hard to argue that those bruises are caused by the physical causes that so many people believe.
I appreciate that disproving one theory doesn’t prove another. So, I can’t say that this evidence is conclusive, that it is diet that causes
the problems for those cows, but I can say that there has to be a problem with the corium (live tissue) on the inside of the claw. Especially if you see sole ulcers
As we now are in the holiday season it may be a good time to think about food. Food for cows, I mean! There is still a lot of discussion on whether or not diet has an effect on hoof health. If we think about the many different ways our human bodies can react to various foods and the outward symptoms we observe, then it is not illogical to also think that our cows can present with physical symptoms that are indicative of dietary imbalances or intolerances.
I am a strong advocate for the inclusion of a greater amount of straw in our cow’s diet. One of the main arguments I encounter with this suggestion is that straw would substitute grass and therefore minimise energy intake and subsequently reduce milk production. I am not a nutritionist, but I would like to explain what has infl uenced my thinking based upon my regular observations of the cows’ feet I deal with. With this evidence you can make up your own mind whether or not diet has an impact on hoof health.
We trim around 15,000 cows in a year. This is a
combination of preventative and curative trimming. Out of those 15,000 cows there may be a handful of cows that show no haemorrhage at all; so, therefore, most cows in New Zealand have haemorrhaging or bruising in their hooves. Admittedly, in some of those cows you have to look carefully for the haemorrhage but, nevertheless it is there. The interesting thing is that most cows have the same pattern of haemorrhage where the main
bruise is in the spot where the sole ulcer is shown on the cow in picture 1. The sole ulcer in the picture is just an advanced stage of a normal bruise. If
Does diet affect hoof health
example 2
example 1
in claws, as shown in the photo, when the cow in question is a beef cow! This animal doesn’t even know what a stone looks like. It doesn’t get pushed over tracks, doesn’t have to stand on yards and isn’t under stress. So, if it is not physical force that caused this problem, and the young lush grass had nothing to do with it, then what caused this sole ulcer?
One other thing I want to mention is water. Cows would do much better if they had plenty of access to water. Often when they leave the paddock for milking they don’t have any water available until they get back into the paddock. That is way too long, especially on hot days. I wonder how it would go if there were single drinking pots in every stand on the platform in the cow shed. It would be a good way to get cows onto the platform and may even work better than meal. I would be very interested in receiving your feedback on this topic.
Nitrogen fertiliser can be useful when used strategically in small quantities to manipulate early spring and late autumn pasture production. Its regular application throughout the growing season as a replacement for nitrogen supplied by clover can only be temporary.
Nitrogen fi xed at no cost by clover is highly effi cient as it is held in organic matter and released on an as required basis to maximise plant growth when climatic conditions dictate.
Fertiliser nitrogen is expensive and excess use results in a decline in soil carbon particularly in the top 30cm of the soil. It is soil carbon that stores both nutrient and moisture with each kilogram of soil carbon able to hold four kilograms of moisture.
Total carbon measures from two farms near Edgecumbe, one implementing a ‘biological’ soil fertility programme based on CalciZest and DoloZest, the other a conventional fertiliser nitrogen driven programme show the property using a CalciZest/DoloZest based programme has 34,700kg of extra carbon per hectare in the top 30cm of the soil.
With each kilogram of carbon able to hold four kilograms of soil
water there is an extra 138,800 kg of moisture available for plant growth. This helps make sense of the observations that properties using high rates of nitrogen dry out more quickly and are slower to recover after rain.
A change from a conventional system where regular fertiliser nitrogen is applied to a far more effi cient system growing up to 20 — 30% more pasture using minimal fertiliser nitrogen can be introduced seamlessly over a three-year period.
An application of Golden Bay dolomite at 250kg/ha (depending on soil test and production data), is normally suffi cient to meet the annual magnesium requirements of intensive dairy production, start the process of improving physical soil structures, deepening the root zone and markedly improving animal health.
No longer can pastoral farmers and their representative organisations claim that as generators of much of the country’s wealth they are somehow not responsible for a decline in water quality.
Clean fresh water is a right enjoyed by all New Zealanders, and as the water we have is the only water there is, even free title to land does not give farmers the right to allow an increase in nitrate nitrogen, or any other minerals, to be carried in the water draining through their soils.
For more information call Peter or Coralie on 0800 436 566.
Jon Morgan in an article in The Dominion late last year claimed that nitrate nitrogen was the ‘elephant in the room’ with regard to water quality. It is and will remain so until it is recognised and accepted that excessive use of nitrogen fertiliser brings about a steady decrease in total pasture production.
24 January 2013 DAIry
Ashburton Contracting Limited
P 03 308 4039A South Street, AshburtonW www.ashcon.co.nz
For a free no-obligation quote callKerry Bartlett (Jacko) on 0275 746 803
We work from start to finish to design and construct an effluent pond to…• Save you time and money
• Give you environmental protection• Reduce the risk of effluent non-compliance
• Be more effective in utilisation of nutrients and waterLiner options include Clay, GCL and HDPE
Control without chemicals – dockDr tim Jenkins
The two main problem species of dock are broad-leaved dock Rumex obtusifolius and curly dock R. crispus. They are closely related species and can cross breed. Their strategy as opportunist and persistent weeds is effective — they produce lots of seed (potentially tens of thousands per shoot) and establish a large
perennial taproot that can create replacement shoots.
Compaction and poor drainage can lead to greater dock problems. Acidic soils can also be linked to dock; this is at least partly related to compaction issues. High soil nitrogen status or possibly low soil potassium levels may also increase
the relative competitiveness of dock.
Dock seeds can survive in the soil for over 50 years and can also pass through the digestive tract of livestock just fi ne. Dock seed tends to fall close to the parent plant but transport by animal, waterways, infested hay, and even silage and effl uent, can mean easy spread to previously clean areas.
Dock seed can take advantage of bare ground quite quickly so it is important to avoid bare ground in pasture as much as possible. Grazing too low or stock trampling and pugging should be avoided if possible. Repeatedly harvesting for silage can also provide the openness in pasture for dock to get established.
Docks shed seed mostly in the late summer and through to winter. Seed on a plant can vary widely in maturity, size, seedcoat thickness and level of dormancy and so a wide variety of longevity in the soil will result allowing the progeny of one individual to take advantage of bare spaces in the vicinity over the next month, year, decade and beyond. Prevention of docks going to seed will
below the soil surface for curly dock and 7.5cm or 10cm for broad leaved dock can also commonly occur. The great news is that physical control of dock often does not need to involve digging or pulling roots as deep as many people think. Grubber control to 10cm even of many large established plants is often suffi cient.
If the crowns of plants and fragments of higher roots are buried, they can regrow stems
forking of such plants may need to be to 20cm depth to suitably reduce chance of regrowth.
Physical digging of dock plants including their roots is much easier in moist soil than dry soil. A fork can be used to loosen the roots while hand pulling to reduce the effort required. Grubbing is a less back breaking approach and plants can be pulled and removed afterward.
Crowns and upper roots left on the soil surface can regrow even in reasonably dry conditions. Furthermore dislodged plants that have already established fl owers may be able to set seed. So unless the weeds are to be manually removed from the area, early management (at least topping) is advisable to reduce seed set risk and some repeated cultivation possibly followed by a good smothering crop may be required.
Dock can build up in horse paddocks as the horses avoid grazing it. Sheep are better than cattle at controlling the weed too so they can potentially be introduced to help management. Pasture topping can help reduce seed set and vigour of dock. It can be important to control dock at least by mowing in fi eld boundaries and isolated compacted areas to reduce seed spread to cleaner areas.
reduce the dock seed bank for the future. Dock seeds can germinate at any time of year but mid spring and late summer are peak periods of germination.
In just over one month a new dock seedling can establish a taproot that is capable of regenerating shoots
Broadleaf dock quickly takes advantage of bare ground competing with crops and reducing feed value of pasture
if the existing shoot is removed. Control of young seedlings with just two or three true leaves is much easier than if the plants have been allowed to establish a deep and sturdy taproot.
Regrowth from the ‘colla’ of the plant 1cm below the soil surface is rapid and expected. Regrowth from less than 4cm
even from depths of around 20cm. Later cultivation of the underground stem can result in regrowth from greater depths than observed from true roots of dock. The underground stem parts can be distinguished from true roots in that they have obvious nodes on them and are lighter in colour. Digging or
25January 2013
Wool PerspectiveFrom Rob Cochrane
GM, Procurement, PGG Wrightson Wool
WooL
Minimise Risk.Maximise Return.
Freephone 0800 946 000 Helping grow the country
Doug McKayPh: 027 432 6910
Peter McCuskerPh: 027 432 4926
Rob LynskeyPh: 027 591 8454
Chris MunroPh: 027 436 2603
Contact a PGG Wrightson Wool representative today:
Minimise Risk.Maximise Return.
KA
1200
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As an Elders Primary Wool client you can expect great service from a nationwide team of wool experts who will support you with the advice and expertise to deliver improved returns for your sheep business.
• Specialist advice for merino, mid-micron or cross-bred wool• Elders is the world’s largest broker of greasy wool• No marketing levies
Talk to your local Elders Primary Wool Representative about maximising the returns on your wool clip.
MORE RETURNS FOR YOUR WOOL WITH ELDERS
www.eldersprimary.co.nz
CANTERBURYMark Greenlaw 027 227 8898Roger Fuller 027 683 6993Tim Black 027 600 5067Grant Andrew 027 481 6219
WOOL BUYERS
TO DISCUSS YOUR REQUIREMENTS, ON FARM - IN YOUR SHED:
Rakaia River North - Don Kars 0274 500 769Rakaia River South - Gavin Crump 0274 316 555
Good tone to wool marketAt the time of writing the
fi rst wool auction sales for 2013 in New Zealand had just been completed in Christchurch and Napier, along with the fi rst week of auctions in Australia held in Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. All auction centres reported a good market tone as prices were at least equal to or higher than the closing rates of December.
New Zealand wool auctions witnessed increased activity from Chinese buying interests on January 10, with those buyers appearing keen to purchase a range of fi ner crossbred types, pushing prices higher by around 5% compared to the December 19 auctions. A generally low supply of wool catalogued (particularly in South Island catalogues) also assisted buyer urgency, resulting in very good clearances and stability of pricing for many of the ‘bread and butter’ types, including crossbred fl eece, despite expectation of larger quantities to come onto the market within the next few weeks.
A few lines of fl eece wool measuring 40 microns or coarser were more diffi cult to sell than those measuring fi ner, signalling that these types may struggle when the major weight of similar types do come onto
the market during later January through March. Many of the fl eece lines catalogued were beginning to show the effects of the very good lambing season experienced with poorer tensile strength and the instance of cotting more prevalent than during late 2012.
In general terms, preparation standards were reasonably good from the appearance of the ‘grab samples’ on display for buyers to assess, however, and as is often the case at this time of the year, a number of laboratory test results, accompanying the ‘grab samples’ removed from bales, may have been fl attering, particularly when assessing visual wool colour.
The fi rst reasonable quantities of lambs’ wool offered for the season were greeted with enthusiasm by the exporting trade and competition was healthy for most of the types on offer, dependant on micron, staple length and vegetable matter.
(A key factor to determine price is the necessity for a lack of vegetable matter contamination given the types of fi nal product manufactured using soft lambs’ wool. Tested vegetable matter readings above 0.1% may mean a discount in price, however if the reading is 0.4% or above then price will defi nitely be affected).
A number of crossbred lambs measuring 28 to 29.5 microns realised between approximately 510 and 530 cents per kilogram clean, with a handful of fi ner types pushing through 565 clean. Short Halfbred and Corriedale lambs’ wool, in the 24 to 25 micron range, received prices exceeding 760 cents per kilogram clean.
With wool production continuing to fall in New Zealand due to land use change, and a distinct lack of any stock-pile of greasy wool held by either growers or exporters, one would think that prices should at least fl at-line if not improve, depending of course on any outside infl uences such as violent currency fl uctuation or unexpected disasters which may occur.
Trade shows highlighting the attributes of wool products are currently underway in the northern hemisphere and the Campaign for Wool also continues to highlight those attributes and create more awareness of wool. Marketing is a priority for all involved in the New Zealand wool sector and PGG Wrightson Wool, through its exporting and marketing arm of Bloch and Behrens is always exploring new opportunities with progressive manufacturers who create ranges of well sought after products using wool supplied by our companies.
2013 is the Chinese Year of the Snake so let’s hope the wool market can slither its way upwards! That’s my view.
sold bales branded for scour
26 January 2013
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