AUGUST 18, 2015: ISSUE 590 www.ruralnews.co.nz RURAL NEWS ANIMAL HEALTH Double honour for Massey veterinarian. PAGE 39 MACHINERY Des James: Sub-soiling pioneer leaves his mark. PAGE 43 MANAGEMENT Lower payout does not mean lower environmental goals. PAGE 31 TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS BACK ON THE SHEEP'S BACK? While some commentators are spreading doom and gloom about the low dairy pay-out, others such as KPMG’s global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot are busy talking up the success of other sectors of the primary industry. The meat industry, horticulture – especially kiwifruit are running hot at the moment. There is also lots of smart ideas emerging on how farmers can cut costs to improve the long term profitability of their operations. Sheep are very much on the horizon for the future as NZ looks to position its primary sector to take advantage of future opportunities. More on pages 6-7 TPP critics given serve NZ’S SPECIAL agriculture trade envoy Mike Petersen has given the Labour Party and others a serve over its clearly “political” stance and “ridiculous claims” about the Trans Pacific Part- nership (TPP) trade negotiations. In a detailed interview with Rural News on the TPP negotiations, Petersen has expressed disappointment at the Labour opposition’s apparent change of heart over free trade deals. “I am very disappointed the Labour Party has turned TPP into a political platform and broken what appeared to be a very constructive and bi-partisan position on trade,” he says. “However, I would like to think that when the deal is concluded and proceeds through the ratification process, this position will be reversed. There are enough rational thinkers on trade in the Labour Party to enable this to happen.” Petersen also dismisses critics’ claims that NZ’s negotiators will sell off the country’s sovereignty in an effort to sign up to the TPP. “I am close to the negotiations – without being directly involved – and I assure you our negotiators are not going to sell NZ’s sovereignty,” he said. “I would urge [the critics] to wait until the final deal is agreed before pass- ing judgement on these aspects and I believe that when the deal is completed the NZ public will be surprised at how good it is and how ridiculous some of the claims have been.” Meanwhile, Petersen believes if a deal is agreed, then he and others will need to turn around the public under- standing and perception of what the TPP will actually mean for NZ. He says this has been tainted by ill-informed scaremongering led by the likes of left- wing academic Jane Kelsey. “There is no doubt that, assuming we close this deal, one of my key roles, with others in the primary sector, will be to help the public understand the benefits for NZ. These are jobs, eco- nomic growth, wealth creation and a future for our young people.” • For the full interview with Mike Petersen go to pages 12-14 DAVID ANDERSON CAVIAR OF THE FUTURE GRASS-FED MEAT out of New Zea- land is the “caviar of the future”, says Stu Chapman, who stepped down this month as Elders NZ managing director after 21 years with the com- pany. Agriculture in NZ has a big future, says Chapman. “We are a food bowl, there is no doubt,” he told Rural News. “We must protect our biosecurity; we need to protect our borders and the fact that we are seen as a supplier of quality food through different parts of the world. “We need to make sure we hang onto that NZ Inc brand because we are not a low cost producer any more. “There are a lot of countries around the world that can produce that same product cheaper than us but we have a reputation as deliver- ing quality safe products.” Chapman says he can’t remem- ber the last time sheepmeat, beef meat and wool were well ahead of dairy, as they are now. The red meat sector in NZ has bright prospects. “Grass-fed meat out of NZ is potentially the caviar of the future,” he says. “So for me the sheep and cattle future looks extremely bright and exciting.” • Chapman steps down page 19 PAM TIPA [email protected]KEEPING RURAL WORKING. When you’re not working, you’re not making money. Which is why you need the right kind of insurer. FMG not only has the expertise to advise you on exactly what insurances you need, we also manage your claims in-house with our very own claims team and assessors. It means we get you up and running sooner when things go wrong – something else we’ve learned after working with rural New Zealand for over 100 years. Ask around about us, or call 0800 366 466. We’re here for the good of the country. FMG0055RNW
Transcript
AUGUST 18, 2015: ISSUE 590 www.ruralnews.co.nz
RURALNEWS
ANIMAL HEALTHDouble honour for Massey veterinarian. PAGE 39
MACHINERYDes James: Sub-soiling pioneer leaves his mark. PAGE 43 MANAGEMENT
Lower payout does not mean lower
environmental goals.PAGE 31
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS
BACK ON THE SHEEP'S BACK?While some commentators are spreading doom and gloom about the low dairy pay-out, others such as KPMG’s global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot are busy talking up the success of other sectors of the primary industry. The meat industry, horticulture – especially kiwifruit are running hot at the moment. There is also lots of smart ideas emerging on how farmers can cut costs to improve the long term profitability of their operations. Sheep are very much on the horizon for the future as NZ looks to position its primary sector to take advantage of future opportunities. More on pages 6-7
TPP critics given serveNZ’S SPECIAL agriculture trade envoy Mike Petersen has given the Labour Party and others a serve over its clearly “political” stance and “ridiculous claims” about the Trans Pacific Part-nership (TPP) trade negotiations.
In a detailed interview with Rural News on the TPP negotiations, Petersen has expressed disappointment at the Labour opposition’s apparent change of heart over free trade deals.
“I am very disappointed the Labour Party has turned TPP into a political platform and broken what appeared to be a very constructive and bi-partisan
position on trade,” he says. “However, I would like to think that when the deal is concluded and proceeds through the ratification process, this position will be reversed. There are enough rational thinkers on trade in the Labour Party to enable this to happen.”
Petersen also dismisses critics’ claims that NZ’s negotiators will sell off the country’s sovereignty in an effort to sign up to the TPP.
“I am close to the negotiations – without being directly involved – and
I assure you our negotiators are not going to sell NZ’s sovereignty,” he said. “I would urge [the critics] to wait until the final deal is agreed before pass-ing judgement on these aspects and I believe that when the deal is completed the NZ public will be surprised at how good it is and how ridiculous some of the claims have been.”
Meanwhile, Petersen believes if a deal is agreed, then he and others will need to turn around the public under-standing and perception of what the
TPP will actually mean for NZ. He says this has been tainted by ill-informed scaremongering led by the likes of left-wing academic Jane Kelsey.
“There is no doubt that, assuming we close this deal, one of my key roles, with others in the primary sector, will be to help the public understand the benefits for NZ. These are jobs, eco-nomic growth, wealth creation and a future for our young people.”• For the full interview with Mike Petersen go to pages 12-14
DAVID ANDERSON
CAVIAR OF THE FUTURE
GRASS-FED MEAT out of New Zea-land is the “caviar of the future”, says Stu Chapman, who stepped down this month as Elders NZ managing director after 21 years with the com-pany.
Agriculture in NZ has a big future, says Chapman.
“We are a food bowl, there is no doubt,” he told Rural News. “We must protect our biosecurity; we need to protect our borders and the fact that we are seen as a supplier of quality food through different parts of the world.
“We need to make sure we hang onto that NZ Inc brand because we are not a low cost producer any more.
“There are a lot of countries around the world that can produce that same product cheaper than us but we have a reputation as deliver-ing quality safe products.”
Chapman says he can’t remem-ber the last time sheepmeat, beef meat and wool were well ahead of dairy, as they are now.
The red meat sector in NZ has bright prospects. “Grass-fed meat out of NZ is potentially the caviar of the future,” he says.
“So for me the sheep and cattle future looks extremely bright and exciting.” • Chapman steps down page 19
KEEPING RURAL WORKING. When you’re not working, you’re not making money. Which is why you need the right kind of insurer. FMG not only has the expertise to advise you on exactly what insurances you need, we also manage your claims in-house with our very own claims team and assessors. It means we get you up and running sooner when things go wrong – something else we’ve learned after working with rural New Zealand for over 100 years. Ask around about us, or call 0800 366 466.
We’re here for the good of the country.
FMG0055RNW
www.agro.basf.co.nz
SHARPEN®, Kixor® and the X® logo are registered trademarks of BASFSHARPEN® is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act, 1997 No. P8391
Available from your local rural supplier or call BASF on 0800 93 2273
BSF0079 02/15 P
Now with a label extension, SHARPEN® also provides the bene t of nil milk residue, short withholding periods for grazing (2 days) and slaughter (14 days).
A reminder for maize growers!Sharpen®, when used with acetochlor, is also registered for pre-emergent weed control in maize. Details on our website
SHARPEN® IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HERBICIDE LAUNCHED WORLDWIDE IN THE PAST 20 YEARS.Mixed with glyphosate, SHARPEN® is a proven solution for rapid pasture burndown and glyphosate resistant weeds.
SHARPEN® is the only herbicide in New Zealand to contain KIXOR®, a unique and powerful active ingredient from entirely
new chemistry. It’s powerful enough to provide increased broad spectrum control of previously hard-to-control broadleaf weeds.
THE SHARPEST PASTURE BURNDOWN
SOLUTION
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS 3
HEAD OFFICE Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622
Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122
POSTAL ADDRESSPO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740
MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS ���������������������� 41-45
RURAL TRADER ������������ 46-47
ISSUE 590www.ruralnews.co.nz
Guy keeps the faith
FMG RECORDS ANOTHER PROFITNEW ZEALAND owned rural insurer FMG has announced an after tax profit of $26.7 million – its sixth consecutive profit.
“This has been another success-ful year for FMG,” says chief exec-utive Chris Black. “Making a profit and increasing reserves each year supports our growth model and puts us in a strong position to be there for clients when the unex-pected happens. Our reserves are currently more than double the minimum required by the Reserve Bank of NZ.”
Black says the result enables the company to keep premium increases to a minimum.
FMG’s pre-tax profit was under-pinned by an underwriting result of $7.9m and investment income of about $23m. It increased its share of the overall insurance market to almost 5% and the rural insurance market to 42%.
Blacks says because FMG is mutual, it has a higher sense of accountability in giving back to the rural community.
“We do this in many ways including risk-advice service and sponsorships… graduate pro-grammes and scholarships.
“In 2015 we partnered with the Mental Health Foundation to launch Farmstrong, a non-com-mercial rural wellness programme based on farmer insights and research to support farmers and growers on ways to ‘live well and farm well’. This initiative is differ-ent and timely.”
PRIMARY INDUSTRIES Minis-ter Nathan Guy says the agriculture sector remains in good heart despite Fonterra’s recently announced reduced forecast payout.
“This [payout drop] wasn’t par-ticularly surprising as it reflects the ongoing volatility in the international dairy price, but clearly it will have a significant impact on the dairy indus-try,” Guy says.
“Times will be a bit tougher for dairy farmers over the next few
months and it will have a flow-on impact in regional communities.”
However, Guy believes the low in dairy prices will be short-term. “The medium to long-term outlook for our dairy sector, and indeed all primary sectors, is very positive. It is expected to grow by 17% to more than $41 bil-lion over the next four years.”
Guy says impressive growth in the meat, horticulture and seafood sec-tors will help to offset any decrease in the dairy industry.
“For example, beef prices for New Zealand farmers have risen to record highs and horticulture exports are now worth over $4 billion. The NZ dollar is also around 25 cents lower against the US dollar than this time last year, which is helping all export-ers, and interest rates are low.”
Guy is adamant the dairy sector will bounce back. “Dairy farmers are resourceful and know better than anyone that it’s a cyclical business and always has been.”
Fonterra navel gazes
COULD FONTERRA have predicted the current downturn in dairy prices?
That’s the question the co-op board is looking into, doing more analysis of international markets to determine whether the downturn could have been forecast correctly, says chairman John Wilson.
He told Rural News that during the last 12 months the co-op found it “increasingly difficult” to forecast prices.
Other dairy companies around the world faced a similar problem. “I was in Europe recently and their two major cooperatives -- Arla and FrieslandCampina -- said they also have struggled to forecast.”
He says “unexpected significant events” also impaired their ability to forecast correctly.
Milk production in Europe boomed as prices rose; Russia’s ban on Euro-pean and Australian dairy products caused the global market to flood with milk; and supply/demand analysis in
China was affected by inability to get accurate data.
Wilson says Fonterra is keen to find out if the current downturn could have been correctly forecast.
Meanwhile Wilson says the growth in global milk production is slowing as low returns force farmers to milk fewer cows.
Growth in Europe for the year ending July 2015 was less than 1%. DairyNZ expects New Zealand milk production to be down 2% this season.
In the US, milk production varies
between the West Coast and Mid-West regions; milk production across the US is expected to grow 1.5-2% but the domestic demand is growing.
Wilson says the drop in produc-tion is pleasing in respect of commod-ity pricing. He expects less milk to help lift prices but cautions that the next six months will be crucial.
“A lot depends on weather condi-tions and how much milk is produced around the world,” he says.
Farmers worldwide are struggling to sell milk below the cost of produc-tion.
NZ farmers are looking at their farm systems -- looking to maximise pasture usage and buying less supplement.
While the global market is awash with milk, demand is varied across the markets, says Wilson. Demand in Middle East and Africa is significantly up while South American demand is down due to economic weakness.
In China, the world’s biggest market for dairy products, demand is soft as the country works through large invento-ries. “There has also been strong milk production in China in 2014.”
Fonterra chair John Wilson says the board is looking into whether the drop in prices could have been forecast.
OUTLANDER 500 DPS
YEAR UNLIMITED KM
WARRANTY3 ^
ENDS AUGUST 31ST 2015S A L E S E V E N T
INDUSTRY LEADING PERFORMANCE BACKED BY
INDUSTRY LEADING WARRANTY
FOR PRICING AND TEST RIDE CALL 0800 020 074*FINANCE OFFER ON SELECTED MODELS ONLY. AVAILABLE AT PARTICIPATING DEALERS*Ready to Ride Event ends 31st August 2015, eligible on MY13/14/15 units only. Terms conditions and lending criteria apply. Additional finance related fees may apply. Applies to Credit Contracts with a 24 month term, provided by MTF. Offer expires 31/08/2015. Available at participating authorised Can-Am Dealers on selected models only. Not available in conjunction with any other promotion. ^3 Year Warranty covers MY13/14/15 Can-Am Outlander & Renegade ATVs.
READY TO RIDE FINANCE DEALS
1/3 IN 24 MONTHS *
1/3 IN 12 MONTHS *
1/3 NOW *PAY
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
4 NEWS
$7.50 lambs wool contracts on offer
NEW BOSS FOR WNZROSSTAN MAZEY, global marketing manager at Turners & Growers, will take the reins as Wools of NZ chief executive next month.
Wools of NZ chairman Mark Shad-bolt says Mazey has good experience in the international marketplace and in dealing with growers. “So we are excited to have a young guy on board,” he says.
Mazey will relocate to Christchurch from Auckland with his family to take up the role on September 7. In addi-tion to his role at T&G, Mazey has held senior marketing and innovation roles at Zespri and Dairy Crest in the UK
where he has gained experience and established a successful track record in marketing quality NZ products glob-ally.
Mazey says, “WNZ as a relatively new entity commercially is headed in the right direction with a focus on adding value at both the supply and the market end. I can contribute posi-tively by increasing the WNZ focus on marketing, innovation and brand devel-opment with strategic partners.
“I look forward to the challenge and to meeting the shareholders, supporters and brand partners of this exciting young company.”
WOOLS OF NZ is open-ing its latest lambs wool contracts at $7.50/kg to all growers.
The company says pos-itive currency movements have contributed to the increased contract price – up from $7.15/kg on July 1 and $1.25/kg above Wools of NZ’s contract price last season.
“From my point of view, as a grower, this con-tract is very timely in what farmers need for profit-ability, and it is an indica-tor that if we get ourselves organised as growers we can influence the returns we get for growers,” Wools of NZ chairman Mark Shadbolt told Rural News.
“Passing on the ben-efit of the exchange rate is something new for farmers, and in previous models it would have been
sucked up by someone else before it got to the farmgate.”
He says the contract is open to all NZ wool grow-ers until August 31, 2015 for lambs wool 28-31.5 micron, produced in the 2015-26 season.
“This is a real and meaningful market-linked contract for lambs wool connected directly to products in the market where demand is growing alongside the price. The WNZ Laneve traceability and onfarm integrity programmes are all parts that assist our brand partners to grow their businesses,” says Shadbolt.
“This is not a copycat or procurement contract and I ask growers to consider the timing of the contract and the pricing points that distinguish WNZ as a sales and
marketing company.”Shadbolt says their
market, rather than procurement contracts, have shown a benefit to growers of about $1/kg for the last three years.
“That’s a good indicator of the progress being made in the market. As a wool trader you wouldn’t get that benefit feeding back to the growers.”
Shadbolt says the vol-umes are increasing each year and the volume this year is at a level where the company needs to open it to the wider industry beyond its shareholders to ensure it fulfils its con-tracts.
“That indicates there is a lot of demand for the product the lambs wool is made into and is a strong indicator that our market strategy – alongside our brand partners – is work-
ing well.”He says this contract,
offered under WNZ’s Laneve brand, reinforces the increasing importance of integrity products traceable back to farm of origin.
“It also endorses the value of our brand part-ner relationships and our marketing and technical capabilities.”
WNZ shareholders have had first opportunity at the contract and the company is now offering it to all NZ wool growers.
“The volumes required are significant and the support by shareholders has been very encouraging,” says Shadbolt.
Interested growers are encouraged to contact WNZ directly.
The $7.50/kg lambs wool contract on offer is $1.25/kg above last season’s price.
Rosstan Mazey
AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL FARM OR IRRIGATION STOCKIST PHONE 06 357 8562
WILSONwww.wilsonplastics.co.nz
WT10
Height 240mm
Width 325mm
Length 350mm
WT18
Height 240mm
Width 325mm
Length 510mm
WT10 & WT18 Protection
We have a range of fence hung troughs that are ideal for calves, sheep, pigs, horses and dogs. The WT10 (10 litre) and WT18 (18 litres) in particular have a patented design that has the inlet and ballfl oat on the other side of the fence rail for greater protection. The WT50 (50 litres) is also fence hung. All troughs come with a drain cap. We recommend 32mm decking rails.
WT50
Height 260mm
Width 460mm
Length 675mm
FENCE HUNG TROUGHS
Remote locations delivered EzyAs
NZ’s first depot-to-farm priority delivery service
DELIVERY
For advice and delivery 0800 99 77 33 milfordproducts.co.nz
New Zealand’s best range of culvert piping
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS 5
Catnaps not the solution to lack of sleep – expert
FARMERS CAN’T expect to take a short nap then immediately jump on a tractor and be fully func-tional, says a sleep expert.
Professor Philippa Gander, who’s spent 35 years researching the topic, says the brain doesn’t ‘switch on’ imme-diately after a person wakes up. It must take a series of steps, and up to 45 minutes may pass before a person is fully awake and functioning properly.
Gander says the sci-ence of sleep has got better and there is better knowledge of how impor-tant it is. The long-held belief that sleep is some-thing you can trade off when there’s a lot of work to do no longer stands.
“The main thing we understand is that when you have sequences of long hours you have to prioritise as much time as you can for sleep,” she told Rural News. “If you’re not getting enough sleep and you’re trimming sleep day after day, you’re get-ting progressively sleepier and less able to function properly.”
Doing that will impair a person’s ability to do any kind of mental or physical work and raise the risk of
making mistakes, Gander says. It’s important to pri-oritise sleep and perhaps to explain this to family and work colleagues so they understand the impact of sleep depriva-tion.
“The standard things are irritability when you haven’t had enough sleep and that if you can get a couple of good nights sleep in a row you will recuperate a lot. We have a body clock which is basi-cally a pacemaker in the brain. It is set up to make you sleep at night and it’s sensitive to light.
“So regardless of what pattern you are trying to work, your body clock is still trying to make you sleep at night. It’s activat-ing different brain centres to make you go sleep and to make you stay awake.”
Gander says peo-ple’s sleep habits vary; some function better in the morning and others are night owls. We sleep the heaviest from 3am to 5am; it’s much harder to sleep in the mid-morning because the brain is wired to keep us awake.
People get into sleep patterns and it’s often hard for them to go to bed at, say, 8pm and expect to sleep unless they are exceptionally tired.
The so-called ‘cat nap’ has some value, she says.
“The basic idea is that any small amount of sleep down to a minute will give you quite a lot of extra functionality, but in real-ity the longer you sleep, up to a point, the better you are.”
Plenty of sleep is not only important for making people safe to work on farms, but also bene-fits their general state of
A lack of sleep will impair a person’s ability and raise the risk of making mistakes, says Philippa Gander.
Available from Fonterra Farm
Source and RD1 stores
FEED QUALITY AND SILAGE TESTING
At Hill Laboratories, our Feed Quality and Silage Quality testing provides the information you need to ensure your stock receive nutritionally balanced feeds. Feeding stock with high quality pasture, supplemented with additional feedstuffs, ensures optimal animal health and performance!
SEA
L640
0RN
2
CONTACT US
07 858 2000 NORTH ISLAND
03 377 7176 SOUTH ISLAND
www.hill-laboratories.com
AN AGRIBUSINESS consultant and former banker, David Jones, says the so-called ‘dairy crisis’ is not ‘armageddon’.
He told Rural News that in the light of this banks will take a pragmatic view of the industry. Jones says this is not the first time the dairy sector has had stress, but it is the first time it has run across two seasons.
“The banks will look at the cash requirement of each individual busi-ness, the equity posi-tion and the balance sheet and will make a decision on the hold-ing cost of the business. It should be rec-ognised there’s going to be a very limited buyer market,” he explains.
“The banks will take a holding position with those clients prepared to work with the bank. But for clients who see them-selves as above having to work with the bank it will be quite a different story.”
Jones is starting to see a few of these relationships becoming stressed and says
it is a matter of keeping the communica-tions channels open and hopefully work-ing through problems.
“But sometime these problems will mean a sale of the property at the end of the discussions and for some farmers the only light in the tunnel will be the train
coming towards them,” he says.
“But no doubt the banks will take a pragmatic and considered view of how they support those indus-try participants [stressed about debt].”
Jones says the $8.40 payout gave a false sense of confidence to some dairy farmers. But a season with a sub-$5 payout and then
potentially a sub-$4 payout was always going to be a problem; some of these farm-ers will have to exit the industry.
Jones doesn’t believe there will be a lot of mortgagee sales and that the banks will try to work things through with clients. He says the present situation will dampen cap-ital gains in the agri sector.
“That is not a bad thing as the indus-try will focus on cash earnings to generate investment.”
NEW ZEALAND has become overly ‘dairy-centric’, according to the global head of agribusiness at KPMG.
Ian Proudfoot is trying to move the conversation away from the doom and gloom of the dairy sector and to focus more on the other pri-mary sectors performing well at present. He also wants people to look out 20 years and get a sense of the huge opportunities that will open up for NZ.
Proudfoot believes the fall-out from the present dairy crisis will not be as bad as many commentators are saying. He says while it will affect people directly involved in servicing the dairy sector, he doesn’t think the effects will be as drastic as some people suggest.
In long term, he says, the beef industry has the potential to be the biggest export category because
there is a bigger world market for it. He believes the time is now right to look at a vision for 2035.
“By that time NZ will be earn-ing $100b in export revenue. To me beef and veal is the biggest cat-egory and the dominant category,” he told Rural News.
The kiwifruit industry is sin-gled out by Proudfoot as having made a remarkable recov-ery, for example, the value of the Zespri model. He says the investment in G3 Gold
enabled this new vari-ety of kiwifruit to be com-
mercialised quickly, which helped turn the industry around.
Proudfoot says for the last two years KPMG has been putting out the message that farming systems, now deeply in debt, need flexibility in their systems to cope when times get tough. He says farmers who have developed good governance
structures and have thought about risk will
recover from any crisis better than those living
from hand to mouth. – Peter Burke
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
6 NEWS
Dairy not all bad Time to stop being ‘dairy-centric’PETER BURKE
*4.95% interest, no deposit monthly payments over 24 months. Credit, account opening and other eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and fees and charges apply and are subject to change from time to time. Finance products are only available to approved customers. Finance applies to new bikes only. Available at all participating authorised Honda Dealers.
Standard warranty conditions apply. Terms and conditions apply. Finance options available until 30 September 2015. Available while stocks lastwww.hondamotorbikes.co.nz/hondastoriesSEE MORE HONDA STORIES AT
I use this bike everyday, it’s my legs on the farm. The first thing I do in the
morning is get on the bike. Love my Honda
www.hondamotorbikes.co.nz
Talk to us about a finance deal today!
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS 7
Recovery a way off yetKPMG’s GLOBAL head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot believes the flow-on effects of the present dairy crisis could run into the next decade.
However, his key mes-sage to dairy farmers is not to put off decisions that inevitably have to be made and that it’s critical they talk with their advisors and bankers.
“When you say the aver-age breakeven point for a farmer is $5.50kg/MS, and we’re going to have two seasons going deep below that, we won’t get back to the $5.50 for the 2016-17 season, which we see as challenging,” he told Rural News.
“You end up looking at how long it is going to take for farmers to recover the equity they had in that business at the start of
the season just finished. Realistically you need a number of seasons above that long term average to recover that equity.”
Proudfoot says the pressure facing the dairy industry will force people to look at how they farm.
He says they will look at a wide range of oppor-tunities beyond dairy that may offer better and more profitable solu-tions – especially in parts of the country where environmental pressure is increasing.
He says many farmers are getting rid of low performing cows and this may put pressure on the price of cow beef, which is essentially a commodity product as opposed to prime beef. Farmers may also stop using PKE.
“I was in Ashburton recently and one of the
stories we were hearing was that arable farmers who had been highly focused on producing grain for the dairy industry for feed were starting to think a lot more widely about
what business they could be in.”
But Proudfoot says re-converting a dairy farm which may have cost sev-eral millions of dollars is probably not an option;
he says instead that farm-ers will do such things as culling cows early, rearing calves and perhaps buying in stock they can finish quickly, as a way of making extra revenue.
IAN PROUDFOOT can’t see how banks, in some circumstances, can avoid foreclosures, particularly where farmers were struggling to make ends meet on an $8.40 payout.
“It’s better for the industry that some of those hard decisions are made because what those operators could end up doing is putting the industry at risk by cutting corners that are unacceptable -- that cannot be cut,” he says.
But Proudfoot says the problems in the dairy industry are unlikely to put much downward pressure on land prices. International interest in buying land hasn’t gone away and he reckons investors are likely to consider a time horizon of 25 years, not two years.
Proudfoot has a word of warning – US dairy!
He says while European farmers have been vocally protesting about low dairy prices, it appears that the US is prepared to take lower prices as part of a long term strategy to get a bigger share of the global market.
Ian Proudfoot says farmers should be talking with their advisors and bankers and not delaying making decisions.
Kathy GoldRaglan
*4.95% interest, no deposit monthly payments over 24 months. Credit, account opening and other eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and fees and charges apply and are subject to change from time to time. Finance products are only available to approved customers. Finance applies to new bikes only. Available at all participating authorised Honda Dealers.
Standard warranty conditions apply. Terms and conditions apply. Finance options available until 30 September 2015. Available while stocks lastwww.hondamotorbikes.co.nz/hondastoriesSEE MORE HONDA STORIES AT
I use this bike everyday, it’s my legs on the farm. The first thing I do in the
morning is get on the bike. Love my Honda
www.hondamotorbikes.co.nz
Talk to us about a finance deal today!
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
8 NEWS
Fert co-op back from the brinkFERTILISER COOPERA-TIVE Ravensdown contin-ues to draw back from the financial abyss, as shown by its latest annual result and rebate announce-ment.
Only two years ago the co-op was on the financial brink, following a disas-trous foray into Austra-lia and other non-core investments led to it paying no rebate to share-holders and taking on $346 million bank debt.
However, in 2015 that debt has been cut to $6m and farmer shareholders around the country will receive a record rebate of $50/tonne. Ravensdown says a fully paid-up share-holder who applied 150t of fertiliser will receive a $7500 cash rebate in August, instead of the tra-ditional September pay-ment.
Chief executive Greg
Campbell told Rural News this year’s effort was no one-off result, but part of a planned strategy devel-oped in 2013.
“We have delever-aged the balance sheet and concentrated on parts of the business that add value to our shareholders. These [parts of the busi-ness] have to wash their own face, if you like.”
Campbell says Ravens-down remains a business focused on making finan-cial and social returns to its shareholders.
“We are not only sell-ing fertilisers to our shareholders, but also providing scientific and agronomic advice to help our farmers meet the ever-increasing envi-ronmental compliance demands imposed on them,” Campbell says. “We have invested heavily in this side of the business
and we have the highest number of nutrient advi-sors in the country.
“During the past year Ravensdown also built a team of local animal
health and agronomy spe-cialists; more certified nutrient management advisers now work for the cooperative than any other company. The envi-
ronmental consultancy is also expanding due to increased demand.”
Campbell says the co-op achieved its fer-tiliser tonnages target, which he claims have held steady vs the previous year and passed on price reductions throughout the year.
“Many products are at historically low prices, such as urea which is the lowest it has been for eight years.”
Ravensdown made $51.9m operating profit despite one-off costs of closing the Waikeratu
lime quarry due to safety concerns. Exiting the Ruralco joint venture with ATS, and the cost of two unsold Australian build-ings, also affected the bottom line result. After exiting all its losing Aus-tralian ventures, revenue for the year was down to $716m.
Campbell remains cau-tious about trading con-ditions that may affect fertiliser tonnages in the current year, but is con-fident the business and farming fundamentals are strong.
“No doubt dairy is
down, but other parts of the sector we have inter-est in, including sheep and beef, arable, horticulture and viticulture, are doing well. It is vital in tougher times that farmers engage with the team on nutrient budgeting, soil testing and animal or plant produc-tivity.”
Campbell says pastoral feed systems are still the most cost efficient model for livestock farming
Ravensdown will hold its annual meeting on Sep-tember 14 in Dunedin.
Ravensdown chief executive Greg Campbell says the co-op is focussed on making returns for its share-holders.
The falling value of the NZ dollar brings inevitable price rises.
TERYX 4 EPS HG2/4X4. Liquid-cooled 800cc.
V-Twin Power. CVT Transmission.
Four-seat, wide, stable chassis.
$22,604*+GST
*While current stock lasts.
KAWASAKISIDE X SIDES NO
BULL( (
ALPINE CLEARSPANBirdproofkitsetsheds
Phone now for your free brochure pack on
0800 428 453
BIRD PROOF Solid and robust Protects your assets Galv. box sec�on rafters Free delivery nationwide www.alpinebuildings.co.nz
“
BEET IS A COST EFFECTIVE OPTION - THERE’S NOTHING ON THE MARKET AT THAT PRICE. IT’S COST EFFECTIVE, IT FITS WITH OUR RE-GRASSING PROGRAMME AND WE’RE HARVESTING THE NUTRIENTS FROM THE EFFLUENT PADDOCKS.
JOHN VAN HOUT DAIRY FARMER, SOUTHLAND
“Sugar beet is a good source of energy. We milk virtually right through the year and in winter in the barn it’s an ideal feed. It helps with getting our average of 305 days in milk per cow.
We have the cows in calving condition before they dry o� and sugar beet helps us to get to that.
Yields range from 22 tonnes per hectare to 30t/ha. We start harvesting at the end of April and go right to the beginning of October. We feed it in the barn and on the feed pad.
Because of sugar beet’s high dry matter (DM) content at 24%, it is chopped before feeding to help with palatability for the cows. The milking cows get 2-3kg each per day from May right through until Christmas. The beauty of sugar beet is its high ME and DM content and the fact it’s more drought resistant. Its roots go down deeper and it hangs on better.
The cows love it. We put it in a mixed ration and they actually look for it. They dig through and it’s the � rst thing they eat.
At the run-o� we harvest the sugar beet at the end of April and then grow winter wheat on those paddocks, so you get another crop in. There’s no pugging and as soon as we harvest, if the conditions are right, we can sow the same day as harvest.” John Van Hout
SF SUGA™ is a game changer that can help you achieve substantial increases in production. Seed still available - contact Seed Force today on 0508 733 336 or visit seedforce.co.nz
TRA
CTA
5504
2
WE CANGROW & HARVEST IT FOR18-20¢/KGDM”
“
SF SUGA™
sugar beet
THERE’S NO BETTER 5-IN-1 TO USE AT DOCKING OR WEANING.
In a recent New Zealand trial, Multine® signifi cantly out-performed the competition by ensuring a superior immune response for Pulpy Kidney and Tetanus. So if you’re looking for a superior 5-in-1 clostridial vaccine, look no further than Multine. There’s no better 5-in-1.
In a recent New Zealand trial, Multinecompetition by ensuring a superior immune response for Pulpy Kidney and Tetanus. So if you’re looking for a superior 5-in-1 clostridial vaccine, look no further than Multine. There’s no better 5-in-1.
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS 11
No plans to suspend GDTFONTERRA IS brush-ing off calls to suspend its online dairy auction as a means of arresting the decline in milk powder prices.
The co-op’s manag-ing director global ingre-dients, Kelvin Wickham, says suspending GDT will not resolve the supply/demand imbalance in the world market.
“GDT has not caused low prices. Low prices are a reflection of the market which is currently over-supplied with dairy prod-uct while dairy importing countries face political, social and economic chal-lenges,” he told Rural News.
Calls to suspend the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction gained momen-tum on social media last week.
Federated Farmers Waikato president Chris Lewis called for an indus-try-wide discussion on whether GDT should be temporarily sus-pended until the market improved.
Lewis claimed GDT was a major contributor to the decline. “It’s been gamed by buyers and the price for that is being paid
by [the] New Zealand farmer.”
Temporarily suspend-ing the GDT was a “rea-sonable question” to ask, given the unprece-dented and volatile times the industry faced.
He was backed by New Zealand First leader Win-ston Peters. “Auctions are great in bull markets like the Auckland property bubble, but it is a terrible way to sell when markets turn ugly, as the record low price for whole milk powder indicates,” Peters says.
Fonterra stopped sell-ing milk protein concen-trate (MPC70) through the auction in March 2014, Peter says. “So the co-op has form in doing what we suggest, albeit, with a small product line.”
The calls to exit GDT come after Fonterra slashed $1.40 from its forecast for the 2105-16 season to $3.85/kgMS, two days after dairy prices fell 9.3% in the latest auction. It was the 10th consecu-tive fall on the platform, dairy prices falling to levels not seen in 13 years.
But Wickham says everyone must remember GDT has not caused the low prices.
Nearly all the product offered in the last GDT
event was sold to willing buyers, notes Wickham.
“There is a supply/demand imbalance and that’s what you’re seeing on GDT. Particularly, con-straints on demand from big dairy importing coun-tries (China slowdown and inventories, Russia import bans)… and milk supply continues to grow in Europe and US which is spilling over into soft global demand.
“We’re doing every-thing to move powder and other commodity prod-ucts into higher value con-tracts and higher margin products.
“And to those calling for GDT to be suspended, that’s not going to solve the supply/demand imbal-ance.”
However, Fonterra may be looking at making changes to GDT. Chief executive Theo Spier-ings said during a televi-sion interview that drastic changes to GDT may be required to support dairy prices. The record low prices on GDT were “below the bottom” and “absolutely not sustain-able.”
Fonterra is consider-ing significant changes to GDT, given that prices were now below the gov-ernment intervention
“We have to look at some more drastic think-ing on our GDT auction, because in Europe there’s a kind of a bottom cre-ated by governments, and we don’t have that, so we have to look at out-of-the-box solutions.”
Fonterra’s Kelvin Wickham says
suspending GDT will not resolve the current
supply/demand imbalance for dairy
products.
@rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnews
WOULD YOU PAY $1000 FOR THIS?$1000 FOR THIS?
Available in black or white.
SUZUKI.CO.NZ
WE WOULD.
Available in black or white.
WE WOULD.Trade in your dunger and we’ll give you a grand off a new Suzuki Trojan. If your old bike’s not holding up to life on the farm, trade it for one that will. Trojan is NZ’s Number one selling farm bike with a proven 20 year history of reliability and all the features a farmer needs. Your trade-in could be your deposit and you can pay the rest at 0% interest in two instalments – one in January 2016 and one in January 2017.
We pay $1000 minimum trade on your *functioning two or four wheel farm bike. Normal lending criteria apply, Interest rate 0% Documentation fee $335, PPSR $13 monthly account. First payment January 2016 of $2672; second payment January 2017 of $2672. Total amount payable including $1000 deposit or minimum trade $6343. Offer valid until 30 September 2015 or while stocks last.
& gear-box• Genuine Honda petrol engine• 10 models from 1800 to 5000 psi
ELECTROBLAST RANGE
ALBERTI HOT CLEANERS• UDOR ceramic plunger
pump• Heavy duty 1440 RPM
motor• 230 & 400 Volt• User friendly
www.aesblasters.co.nz
FREEPHONE 0508 78 78 78
Sales & Service dealers throughout New
Zealand
• 230 or 400 Volt 1440 RPM electric motors
• 8 models from 1600 to 5000 psi
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
12 NEWS - SPECIAL REPORT
Cars, not dairy, to blame for drag on TPP agreementIt appears that discord over car parts – rather than dairy products – hampered a clinching of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks in Hawaii earlier this month. Despite big strides towards agreement, no deal was signed. Rural News editor David Anderson asks New Zealand’s special agriculture trade envoy Mike Petersen what happened at the talks, whether a deal is ever likely and what this would mean for NZ.
CLAIMS THAT New Zea-land’s demands over better access for its dairy exports into the US, Japan and -- especially – Canada, sank any chances of get-ting a deal done at the recent TPP meeting are not correct, according to NZ’s agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen. He says a late disagreement between Mexico and its car manufacturing rivals the US and Japan meant the big crunch expected over dairy access never occurred.
Petersen says despite an improved offer of dairy market access, it was not enough for the NZ indus-
try to back a deal. And both the US and Australia, as well as NZ, were frus-trated at Canada’s offer, which protects its farm-ers with tariffs as high as 200-300% on some dairy imports.
Throughout the talks the US has been reluc-tant to open its consumer market to increased imports from NZ and Aus-tralia without offsetting gains for its dairy industry from a significant opening of the Canadian market.
Petersen says the last-minute intervention by Mexico on car parts meant the final haggling over dairy never even-
tuated. “If automobiles had have been resolved there is every chance they would have let the deal go through.”
No date has been set for trade ministers to reconvene to over-come the remaining dif-ferences, and Petersen believes it needs to happen in “weeks rather than months”, given the upcoming Canadian elec-tions and next year’s US presidential vote; delay caused by these events will make it difficult to get a deal.
Rural News Give us a rundown on how the talks in Maui worked, i.e. who
was leading the negotia-tions on NZ’s behalf and what was your role in this?
Mike Petersen The Maui talks were a TPP ministerial meeting. Min-isters only get together when negotiators believe progress has been suf-ficient for the ministers to follow the negotiator-only meetings. However, this meeting was still in two parts, where nego-tiators met for about five days before the ministers arrived; then the minis-ters try to settle the out-standing differences. Chief negotiator David Walker leads for NZ until
the ministers arrive, then Minister Tim Groser leads for NZ.
In addition to minis-ters and their negotiating teams, there are a huge number of other stake-holders in attendance, including farmer groups and representatives from both sides – some for and some against the talks.
For example, the Canadi-ans had about 20 advocat-ing for the talks and about 30 people in the supply management sectors who are protectionist and working to stop the talks.
My role is to work with the stakeholders from NZ and other countries to try to find some common ground, pass on informa-
tion and intelligence to the minister and the nego-tiators and offer advice where appropriate. Basi-cally I am a pain in the arse – niggling away and pressing to get the best outcome for NZ. I know all the main players now and I am well connected after having spent time on these things.
NZ special agriculture trade envoy Mike Petersen gives a full and frank account of the TPP negotiations.
2015 SHEEPMEAT AND BEEF LEVY REFERENDUM Beef + Lamb New Zealand works on farmers’ behalf to increase productivity and reduce costs through a range of activities.By now you should of received your voting documents. If you haven’t enrolled or received your voting documents, please call 0800 BEEFLAMB (0800 233 352). Postal votes need to be mailed by 5 September and all voting closes 10 September at 5pm. Find out more information at beeflambnz.com or call 0800 BEEFLAMB (0800 233 352). H
AVE
YOU
R S
AY
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS - SPECIAL REPORT 13
Cars, not dairy, to blame for drag on TPP agreementNZ had a few other
stakeholders there, but still only two from DCANZ including Mal-colm Bailey, two from Fonterra including John Wilson for the last two days, and one from Beef + Lamb NZ.
RN Is it cor-rect that the actual negotia-tions on dairy products never got to the table because inability to reach agreement on auto parts tipped over the talks before you got onto dairy?
MP Negotiations on dairy market access did get to the table and this was shaping up as the pivotal issue in the talks earlier in the week. Autos only came up in the last 36 hours and we were staggered at how big the gap was and how this was in effect the show stopper. No doubt if autos had been resolved, there would have been pressure on all countries to unlock dairy and complete the deal.
RN A lot of specula-
tion is that the NZ Gov-ernment will cave in on dairy concessions to get a deal done. Have you seen or heard any evidence of this? And do you see this as possible in an effort to get a TPP deal done?
MP The NZ Govern-ment is not going to cave in on dairy just to get a deal done. With the sector being 27% of our exports we must hold out for a deal we can accept. How-ever, for all the other negotiating partners dairy is an important political issue, but small in eco-nomic terms relative to other sectors.
We have moved from our initial position of tariff elimination for all products over time, to one of ‘commercially mean-ingful’ access. We are not defining what that is pub-licly, but will only agree to something that meets this aim.
RN Why are the Cana-dians so obstinate on free-ing up dairy? How much are they protecting/sub-sidising their dairy pro-ducers?
MP How much time have you got? Firstly, let’s be clear about our aspi-rations for Canada. This is not our target con-sumer market in TPP. Canada is one of the key dominos that needs to
fall to get better market access across the whole deal. So the big produc-ers in TPP (NZ, Austra-lia and the US) are keen to open access into Japan and the US; and for the US itself – Canada. If Canada is not prepared to open its market then the US will not open theirs and then Japan will not open theirs….
Canada has a supply management (SM) system for five sectors under which production quotas are issued to farmers. The market is assessed by the sectors themselves and prices to farmers are agreed to reflect a ‘fair return’ for their effort. The whole thing is under-pinned by huge tariffs on imports -- 200% and 300% – to make sure there are no products available to anyone who would like to buy from other sources at the market price.
So SM has three legs: control supply, set prices and restrict imports. It has created huge wealth for farmers, which they are desperate to protect. To supply milk in Canada you have to buy quota -- currently CN$30,000 per cow -- just for the right to produce.
Then farmers get paid at about double the world
price for milk and also don’t have to compete against imports. (People get arrested for smuggling milk into Canada!)
The value of the quotas has also been capitalised into the value of land, and along with the high value of cows, farmers there are very wealthy indeed and they want to hang on to it.
The justification by
Canadian farmers – and a valid point I acknowl-edge – is that there are no direct subsidies going to them. They benefit from cheap subsidised feed, often from the US, but the high incomes Cana-dian dairy farmers receive are paid for by consumers in the price of dairy prod-ucts, which is about twice world prices. Many con-
sumers are now rallying against SM as they realise the truth.
RN We often hear claims by Canadian and US dairy farmers that Fonterra is some kind NZ Government-owned entity and therefore NZ farmers are subsidised by the Government. Is this what many dairy farmers still believe in these coun-
tries? What is NZ (the trade negotiators, you, Fonterra, etc) doing to dispel this myth and put the facts about Fonterra and the NZ dairy indus-try?
MP Absolutely! I get this every day. Unfortu-nately, the myth is per-petuated by people who know the truth, but it
TO PAGE 14
The NZ Government is not going to cave in on dairy just to get a deal done.
Helping grow the countryFreephone 0800 10 22 76 www.pggwrightson.co.nz
Terms and Conditions: Offers and prices valid for dates specified or while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Some products may not be available in all stores but may be ordered on request. Prices do not include delivery, delivery is additional. Images are for illustrative purposes only.
CLiKZiN® Spray-On 20 L
LeaderRing Applicator SteelNormally $26.99
$2499Valid 1/8/2015 - 31/10/2015
Provides protection against the five key clostridial diseases in sheep, goats and cattle
The only product that provides immediate tetanus protection at docking
MULTINE® 5-in-1Plain500 ml
ASK IN-STORE FOR PRICING
SCANDA®10 L
Plain
$349Selenised
$359
LAMB VACCINE500 ml
Plain
$149Selenised
$155
NOW REGISTERED FOR USE IN LAMBS
AT DOCKING
Valid 1/8/2015 - 31/10/2015
Medium term (6 to 9 weeks) protection against blowfly strike on sheep
Oral combo drench for the management of internal parasites in sheep and cattle
$639
Cobalex 2000 B12 Injection500 ml
Selenium
$9999
CONVERGE®Cobalt and Selenium10 L
$549
PLAIN ALSO AVAILABLE FOR $94.99
Leader Ring DispenserNormally $64.99
$5999Valid 1/8/2015-31/10/2015
Oral combo drench for the management of internal parasites in sheep and cattle
$5
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
14 NEWS - SPECIAL REPORT
suits their argument. I spend probably 90% of my time correcting the myths about dairy in respect of NZ and Fon-terra. Many are now accepting our argu-ments as Fonterra’s market share slips to 86%, and with the growth in new entrants, but it is still a battle.
RN What are the benefits for NZ agriculture, and NZ in general, if we get a TPP deal? Can you give examples of new market access and/or breakdown of protection for NZ products if a TPP deal is signed?
MP I can’t go into detail here, as what has been agreed is being held tight by all involved because there is a key principle at stake: ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’.
We have a very good deal for NZ in nearly all areas apart from dairy, but any public debate and dissection of this part of the deal runs the risk of the offers being withdrawn. This is not just a NZ issue. However, the well-publicised offer that is meaningful is a reduction of beef tariffs to 9% over time. (Tariffs are currently 38.5% and revert to 50% under a safeguard provision if volumes are increased.) This is a saving for the NZ meat industry of about $70 million a year, I think. Probably more impor-
tant is that all the major beef produc-ing countries in TPP are on the same deal, which is a huge advantage.
RN How close do you think a real-istic TPP deal is from being achieved? Have you seen progress/movement in your time as a special trade envoy? Can you give examples of movement by countries in this time?
MP We are literally 98% there. If autos were resolved the deal would have been completed. There has been massive movement during my time of involvement, but of course the key market access issue for agricultural goods has been slow. These are always the hardest issues -- longstanding bar-riers that were always going to be last at the table. Newer issues like IP have moved quicker as well.
RN What timeframe do you think there is left to get a deal done?
MP We have only a matter of weeks. The Canadian election is on October 19 and its Parliament is starting the elec-tion process this week (Aug 4). Then we run up against the US presidential elec-tion. So we need this done now – and it is doable.
RN What do you say to all the nay-sayers and scaremongers like Jane Kelsey who claim any TPP deal is sell-
ing out NZ’s sovereignty and letting big businesses dominate the world and countries like NZ?
MP I talk with Jane a bit about this and we obviously have completely dif-ferent views. I am close to the negotia-tions – without being directly involved – and I assure you our negotiators are not going to sell NZ’s sovereignty. Equally they are not going to make pre-scription drugs prohibitive in NZ.
I would urge [the critics] to wait until the final deal is agreed before passing judgement on these aspects and I believe that when the deal is com-pleted the NZ public will be surprised at how good it is and how ridiculous some
of the claims have been.RN If you look at public forums on
TPP or letters to newspapers on TPP, 99% of the respondents parrot Kelsey’s claims. Do you see as part of your role the debunking of this view?
MP I have thought about this a lot. The online forums in every country are awash with views consistent with Jane Kelsey and others. I am not going to engage in these forums as I don’t have enough time. However, there is no doubt that, assuming we close this deal, one of my key roles, with others in the primary sector, will be to help the public understand the benefits for NZ. These are jobs, economic growth, wealth creation and a future for our
young people.RN Are you disappointed at how
most of the political opposition par-ties in NZ have made a political foot-ball of the TPP talks and stirred up public discontent over the deal? I am particularly interested in your view on how Labour has now gone down this track after years of bi-partisan support for free trade deals by the two main, big political parties.
MP I am very disappointed the Labour Party has turned TPP into a political platform and broken what
appeared to be a very constructive and bi-partisan position on trade. However, I would like to think that when the deal is concluded and proceeds through the ratification process, that this position will be reversed. There are enough rational thinkers on trade in the Labour Party to enable this to happen.
RN If the TPP is not signed can you give examples of what the cost to NZ agriculture and our economy could be?
MP We will miss out on the large market access benefits of lower tariffs. We will lose the ability to balance our trade in this region to provide alterna-tives to China.
This is about the future of NZ in Asia-Pacific.
Why the TPP is vital to NZFROM PAGE 13 If TPP is not
concluded we will still see bi-lateral agreements between the US and Japan and other countries that will place us at an incredible disadvantage. There is only a matter of weeks left to get
a workable TPP deal done, according to Mike Petersen.
PAID EARLY$60REBATE:
PER TONNE*
Being part of Ballance means you get a great return on your investment, when you need it.
Ballance’s rebate and dividends were paid into shareholders bank accounts on July 31st 2015 – that’s 7 weeks earlier than usual.
Not a Ballance shareholder but want to be? Call us now on 0800 267 266. (*includes rebate and dividend).
Fert co-op grows someFERTILISER CO-OP Ballance says its recent signings of at least 1000 new members has raised its shareholder number to 19,253.
About 1000 new members had also joined during the previous financial year and the chairman, David Peacocke, says the growth trend is pleasing, reflecting con-fidence in the co-op.
“This year our solid finan-
cial performance meant we were able to return some cash to farm-ers early, announcing and paying our rebate and dividend averaging $60 per tonne in the same week.”
The rebate, averaging $55.83 a tonne with a 10 cent dividend per share, saw a total distribution to shareholders of $76 million on July 31 – 94% of Ballance’s $81 mil-lion gross trading result. $54 mil-
lion was paid in cash.“The early rebate payment has
had a huge positive response from our shareholders, who’ve appre-ciated the injection of cash at a time when cashflow is limited,” Peacock says.
Returns to shareholders vary according to tonnages and prod-uct bought over the financial year; a fully paid up shareholder who
bought 100 tonnes received about $6000 this year.
To become a Ballance share-holder, a farmer must buy a min-imum 30 shares, at a cost of $243 at the current $8.10 valuation. He then forecasts annual purchases of fertiliser to calculate a fully shared quota.
@rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnews
PGW lifts earnings despite downturn
PGW CHIEF executive Mark Dewdney says the head-winds facing the dairy sector a ‘stretch’ of increasing this result in the 2016 financial year.
“Further improvements will be made within the business and we will continue to look for new growth opportunities.
“Given the current volatility in a number of markets, and the need to assess the likely impact of this on PGW’s clients, the company intends to defer providing a forecast for the current fiscal year until the annual shareholders meeting in October.”
HEADWINDS AHEAD
RURAL SERVICE trader PGG Wrightson has lifted annual earnings for the third straight year despite the dairy down-turn.
The company says the diversity of its business protects it from cyclical volatility in one sector.
For year ending June 2015, PGW recorded operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisa-tion (EBITDA) of $69.5 million vs $58.7m the previous year.
The company will pay a fully imputed dividend of 2 cents per share on Octo-ber 1, bringing the total fully imputed dividends paid for the year to 4c/share.
Total group earnings for the year reached $1.2 billion, slightly lower than the previous year.
PGW chief execu-tive Mark Dewdney says it’s a strong result given challenges facing some sectors of New Zealand agriculture for much of the year.
“PGW is not immune to the challenges being expe-rienced in some sectors, but the diversified portfolio of our agriculture business offers a degree of protection from cyclical volatility in any individual sector. “This is demon-strated by recently released Statistics NZ data that show dairy exports declining 24% in the same period that the value of fruit exports reached an all-time high, up almost 20% from a year earlier.”
PGW’s bottom line was also helped by improvements in operating performance by management.
The downturn in dairying affected sales. Demand was down for some of the company’s less profitable grain, fer-tiliser and supplementary feed, and this partly explains the flat revenue year on year. But Dewdney says despite the dairy sector challenge in the second half, results have improved in most of the individual business units.
“These results result from PGW having a clear strate-gic focus, highly engaged and stable staff, and the strongest product portfolio in the market, backed by deep technical expertise and a constant focus on building close relation-ships with our customers.”
The increase in operating EBITDA contributed to a net profit after tax of $32.8m, lower than last year.
Dewdney says last year’s numbers benefited from a low effective tax rate and non-operating gains that weren’t repeatable, such as the gain on the sale of its investment in 4Seasons Feeds Ltd.
Regarding the larger business units, operating EBITDA excluding earnings of associates for retail increased 7%, livestock increased 15% and seed and grain increased 19% year on year.
Mark Dewdney
VIR_
0587
_RN
Shaping the future of animal healthACVM No.s A9402, A99841. Data on file.
SMARTShot® is an innovative, easy and flexible long-acting vitamin B12 and selenium injection commonly used at docking/tailing to boost and maintain adequate vitamin B12 and/or selenium levels in your young, growing stock.
Less than 1.5kg live weight gain will repay your investment
Trials by AgResearch have shown that lambs treated with SMARTShot® had far greater live weight gains than untreated deficient controls
Even on farms with only marginal deficiency, significantly improved growth rates
Less injections, less labour, less chance of viral pneumonia, and less stress on your lambs
Choose to make the SMART choice. SMARTShot® to help maximise the potential of your lambs.
Your vet knows the science and benefits behind SMARTShot® and how it can add value to your farming operation. We entrust SMARTShot® to your veterinarian - your animal health expert.
FLEXIBLE TREATMENT OPTIONS
Choose the dose required depending on the fate of your lambs
0.5mL - inject all slaughter lambs at docking/tailing - lasts up to 4 months
1mL - inject all lambs at docking/tailing to be kept for 6 months or more - lasts for at least 6 months
Available as B12
only or in combination with Selenium
COST EFFECTIVE
Less than 1c/day in your lambs
Optimal B12
and Selenium levels for longer
Less injections
Less chance of viral pneumonia due to less yarding
NEW ZEALAND TRIAL WORK
Extensive New Zealand trials1
Proven live weight gains1
Improves B12
and Selenium levels in lambs, ewes, calves and adult cattle1
LONG ACTING B12
AND SELENIUM
NEW ZEALAND RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Developed for New Zealand farming conditions by AgResearch
Manufactured in New Zealand by Virbac Stockguard
Utilises world-first icroencapsulation technology
B12
will last for up to 8 months1
Selenium lasts for at least 180 days and in some cases has been shown to last for up to 240 days1
To help maximise their potential.
$
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS 17
More hot than clear air? THE COST BENEFIT
RULES FOR the use of drones (UAV) are inevitably tightening as they gain popularity, having evolved from remote control heli-copters to sophisticated work plat-forms – especially in farming.
Making the rules is the Civil Avi-ation Authority (CAA), which until recently laid down Part 101 guide-lines for safe operation: a maxi-mum operating ceiling of 400ft,
flying only during daylight hours and within line of sight, and stay-ing clear of other aircraft, people and property.
There were also ‘no-fly’ zones such as military areas, schools or within 4km of airports.
As the uses of UAVs have expanded, new rules applied from August 1 to enable operators to move outside the remit of Part 101 while maintaining safety stan-dards.
Part 102 requires operators be
certified by the CAA and demon-strate they can identify poten-tial hazards while operating, and maintain the highest safety stan-dards achievable.
The CAA will look case by case at each applicant’s request to oper-ate outside Rule 101 as the require-ments of, say, a Southland farmer wanting to fly over his property after dark will be totally different from a filmmaker wanting to fly over downtown Auckland during the day.
The CAA also recommends talking to landowners about the right to fly over their property, always better with mutual agree-ment. But if it is not granted, a pro-posal under Part 102 can be looked at by the CAA.
Steve Moore, general manager aviation for the CAA, comments, “the new Part 102 rule will give operators a much greater freedom to fly their machines and ensure the highest standards of aviation are met”.
A WORLD expert in precision agri-culture says there is much mis-placed hype about the use of UAV’s (drones).
Professor Ian Yule, Massey University, says while many people are talking enthusias-tically about using drones on farms, these have limitations and are not suitable or cost-effective, especially on larger farms.
A drone must stay within its operator’s line of sight and this is impossible on sheep and beef farms unless only a small area is being covered, he says.
While Massey uses small drones, its main focus is on the use of a hyperspectral sensor in an aircraft; this can do more things better and is more robust than a drone.
The larger sensor makes possi-
ble much more consistent results.“The problem with UAV instru-
ments at the moment is they are pretty simple and we know from experiments that if the light-ing conditions change then so do
your results. If you want to mea-sure pasture or a crop in two weeks time and the light condi-tions change then the UAV can give you a significantly different
result; that is an issue [compared to] the hyperspectral sensor.
“When you want to cover, say, a sheep and beef farm, you can’t do this with a drone; it’s much slower and it needs people on the ground
to operate it.” Yule says the drone is proba-
bly not as cost-effective as having a larger instrument in an aircraft. But the drone may have a place in
horticulture where the areas to be surveyed are smaller.
One advantage of the larger system is that a large amount of data can be collected on just one pass of the farm.
These look at nutri-ents, the amount of dry matter and the ME in the pasture.
“We can determine the amount of dead matter, whether an area of a pas-ture is under water stress; the sensor can tell us a whole lot of things. If you have, say, weeds in a crop or pasture we can under-stand because they have different spectra and we can pick that out and know it’s not ryegrass.”
Yule says with this technology one’s imagination is the limitation; it’s hard to get your head around the amount of information that can be collected.
PROFESSOR YULE says there is no use in having technology unless it can produce cost savings for farmers.
He believes the problem in New Zealand is simply critical mass and it probably requires a group of farmers to work together on technologies and develop the necessary professionalism to use them.
“The way we can develop value is by better identi-fying where we might apply fertiliser and potentially where we can reduce fertiliser use. We can better determine what products we should be putting on – and the seasons. All this could generate a signifi-cant return.”
Yule says the technology could be used to help redevelop land and provide data that may help determine the best species of grass or crop to grow. NZ generally is behind the world in applying remote sensing and in using satellites.
Has there been too much hype about drone use on farms?
Terms and Conditions: Valid while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Product may not be available in all stores but may be ordered on request. Prices do not include delivery, delivery costs are additional. Images are for illustrative purposes only.
Men’sPreviously up to $99.90
$69Women’sPreviously up to $89.90
$59
SwanndriUltimate Fleece Pack
KIDS’ FLEECE PACK ALSO AVAILABLE
Pack includes:
> Beanie
> Shearer’s singlet
> Tee
> Half zip pullover
> Dri-seat pants
ONLINE?CONNECT WITH US
WIN
FIND THE GIVEAWAY ADVERT ON OUR WEBSITE
ANSWER 3 SHORT QUESTIONS
AND BE IN TO WIN
HOW DO YOU
www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz
CAMBRIDGE FARM ROLLERS
Vee Ring Roller Seeder Drill with Vee bottom seed box, hydraulic clutch, ext. drawbar, ........................ $18,800 Special rollers made to order, Spare parts, Rings and Bearings. 26"dia rings ............................$90.0024"dia rings ............................$85.00 Ph: 0800-838 963
• All prices ex-Factory, Excl GST •Competitive freight rates to the North Island
NEW 10ft Roller with Extension Drawbar & Screw Jack $6900
AUSTINS FOUNDRY LTD 131 King Street, Timaru www.austinsfoundry.co.nz
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
18 NEWS
RMA delays hold back genuine ‘collaboration’ on water plans
REGIONAL COUNCILS are being hampered in using collaborative pro-cesses for water manage-ment plans by the absence of legislation, says Alastair Bisley, the chair of the Land and Water Forum.
He wants urgency in bringing forward the part of the proposed RMA leg-islation which deals with those collaborative pro-
cesses.A number of regional
councils have started to use collaborative pro-cesses to get agreements on water management in local catchments. But without legislative changes recommended by the forum, they still also have to go though a Schedule 1 process required under the cur-rent RMA. These carry their own ‘consultation’ requirements.
“So it adds to the expense and it means the collaborative process then has to be subjected to another completely dif-ferent kind of process,” Bisley told Rural News.
“People do these col-laborative processes because they think they produce the best out-come but then that out-come is in danger of being upset by a completely dif-ferent kind of process – so it adds to the cost and
decreases the certainty.”Bisley told the Horti-
culture NZ conference in Rotorua last month that using collaborative pro-cesses, as opposed to ‘consultation’, engages stakeholders directly and it makes them responsible for designing solutions to complex problems. Their interests are at stake.
“Out of that you get recommendations which are not just theoretical, they are tested in the cru-
cible of people’s practical experience, and recom-mendations which don’t just come from on high but from the very people who are going to have to implement them in prac-tice.”
With collaborative processes “you enor-mously enhance your chance of buy-in and implementation”.
“But the collabora-tive processes we sug-gested for local decision making are caught up with the wider RMA legislation which the Government has been trying to get up.”
The Land and Water Forum was given a man-date in 2009 to present the Government with a blueprint for better man-aging water resources and it produced a first report. It got its second mandate in 2011 and produced two more reports and now again in 2015 it has a third mandate, this time for three years.
The Government has made an important start to implementing recom-mendations, Bisley told the HortNZ conference. In 2011, immediately after the forum’s first report, it promulgated a National Policy Statement on Fresh Water Management. That provided a national framework but it lacked essential detail.
In 2014, in the light of further recommen-dations from the forum, the Government revised the national policy state-ment and brought in a
national objectives frame-work which set bottom lines and helped councils making plans to set objec-tives for water bodies from which the limits could come.
The Government has now given the forum a third mandate, for three years, divided into three parts. In the first, for which the forum has just six months, they have been asked to “tell us more about how to grow the economy while man-aging within objectives and limits”.
Bisley says he does not yet know what the forum’s answers will be because it’s still at work. But he picks it will urge the Government to imple-ment the recommenda-tions from earlier reports it has not yet got to and to do so soon.
Aside from collab-orative processes, they include recommenda-tions on integrated catch-ment management. “A lot actually lies with indus-tries and with regional councils. But there has
been little central guid-ance yet on how some of that stuff might be brought together,” he says. “Government has not yet addressed the rec-ommendations we made on allocation, and iwi rights and interests still remain to be resolved.”
The forum was now putting in some good thinking on the “systemi-sation of good practice”. This includes mesh-ing industry standards, some of which are global standards, and Govern-ment and regional coun-cil requirements. “And what needs to be done at the catchment level which may be important in managing flows and dis-charges of contaminants and how do we do this in a way which doesn’t place intolerable burdens on individual players.”
He says there is more to do on allocation, on which a number of “ter-rifically valuable recom-mendations” have already been made including how to give access to new entrants.
Land and Water Forum chair Alistair Bisley.
NOW READ IT ONLINE
READING THE PAPER ONLINE HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
■ BREAKING NEWS
■ MACHINERY REVIEWS
■ MARKETS & TRENDS
■ MANAGEMENT STORIES
■ COMPETITIONS■ AND MUCH MORE...
www.ruralnews.co.nz
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
NEWS 19
Elders’ top man to take time outSTU CHAPMAN started his working life as a dairy farmer in Waikato but after contracting lepto-spirosis he was advised to get away from cattle. That sent him to the other side of the ag sector – the com-mercial side.
He took up a job with Youngs Animal Health, a division of Grampion Pharmaceuticals, UK, starting as a sales rep and moving on to become sales manager in Welling-ton looking after 15 reps.
Chapman joined Elders in 1994 as general manager of operations, then bought into the business and became managing direc-tor. Elders had been pri-vatised locally by Elders Australia about 12 months before he joined and there was opportunity for man-agement to buy in.
“We reshaped the busi-ness in a big way and con-centrated our efforts on livestock, wool and finan-cial services,” he told Rural News.
“Before that they had the full complement of services and farm sup-plies stores. Those were sold off to Farmlands, which had previously been East Coast Trading. That gave them 24 stores in the North lsland; so that was the start of the growth in their farm supplies busi-ness.”
Chapman and Eric Spencer owned the Elders
NZ business until 2007. “At the time we were
doing a lot of live export and wool through Elders Australia. They decided they would like to take a stake in the business.
“About two years after that they had their own issues in Australia and we went through a tur-bulent time for about three years. But we came out of it ok and last year Elders NZ was sold 100% to the Carr Group in the South Island,” Chapman explains.
“I agreed to stay on and transition the business to the new owners; whether that would be one or two years, nobody knew.”
“Given they are rebranding [to Carrfields Ltd] and the Elders brand will disappear this month it was an opportunity to exit and Craig Carr will take over my role.”
A big change in agricul-ture Chapman has seen in his time with Elders has been change in land use from sheep to dairy.
Technology has been another big shift.
“The introduction of technology in the ag sector is growing day by day. With the broadband connectivity increasing in the rural areas, obviously technology has made rural people a lot more acces-sible and given them the opportunity to enhance their business through more information and technology,” he says.
as a director of Elders Primary Wool (to be rebranded CP Wool), NZ Yarns and the live export business which are all joint ventures.
He has also discussed opportunities elsewhere but intends “to take a breather over the next month or so, get some clear air and think about
what tomorrow might look like. I’m sure I won’t be short of anything to do,” he jokes.
MORE PAIN FOR AUSSIESAS IF losing The Ashes wasn’t bad enough, the British have also grabbed from Australia the record for turning a standing crop of wheat into a loaf of bread.
A Guinness World Record attempt was held on August 7 in a paddock near Ickleton, Essex, to try to better the time of 16 minutes 30 seconds set in New South Wales in 2013.
The British attempt led by Dr Tudor Dawkins harvested the wheat variety Skyfall. This was milled and mixed with other ingredients in a cement mixer, and the dough cooked in a gas-fired oven to produce 13 loaves in 15 minutes 27 seconds.
We await final confirmation of the record; there were reports of a lot of white powder being passed around during the event.
IN BRIEF
@rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnewsStu Chapman
THERE IS ALWAYS AN
MASTITIS WHEN TREATINGTO THE RULE EXCEPTION
VIR
-066
9_R
N
Shaping the future of animal healthRestricted Veterinary Medicine. Available only under Veterinary Authorisation.ACVM No 10884
Extended
treatment options
and simple milk
and meat
withholding
periods
When it comes to treating mastitis during lactation, PENCLOX® 1200 HIGH POTENCY MILKING COW is breaking more than just the rules, it’s quite possibly changing the game.
With the powerful dual combination of penicillin and cloxacillin in one syringe, New Zealand farmers are telling us we have reduced the need to have a number of different products on farm during the lactation as PENCLOX® 1200 HIGH POTENCY MILKING COW covers most cases.
Together with awesome cure rates, an extensive array of treatment options and simple milk and meat withholding periods, it’s plain to see why PENCLOX® 1200 HIGH POTENCY MILKING COW has become the exception to the rule.
Ask your vet about PENCLOX® 1200 HIGH POTENCY MILKING COW today. It may be an easy decision to change.
WHY USE ANYTHING ELSE?
Available in a carton of 21 syringes or as a large herd pack containing 60 syringes.
Your vet knows the science and benefits behind PENCLOX® 1200 HIGH POTENCY MILKING COW and how it can add value to your farming operation. We entrust PENCLOX® 1200 HIGH POTENCY MILKING COW to your veterinarian - your animal health expert.
Beef & venison prices are reported as gross (before normal levies & charges are deducted). Lamb & mutton prices are reported nett (after levies & charges are deducted).
Beef & venison prices are reported as gross (before normal levies & charges are deducted). Lamb & mutton prices are reported nett (after levies & charges are deducted).
QUALITY • INNOVATION • RELIABILITYCALL 0508 745 826 OR DEAN COCKS ON 021 935 499 OR HAYDEN MILLS ON 021 554 987
SUPER SERIES LINKAGE SPRAYER WITH MANUAL BOOMThe preferred sprayer choice for larger capacity linkage spraying plus the convenience of a manual folding boom.
NOBILI BE MULCHERCut grass and improve your soil by mulching, not slashing. Suited to medium horsepower tractors up to 65HP. Option of front or rear tractor mount and cutting height maintained by the rear roller (including reversible cab tractors).• 42-65 HP• 1800mm working width• Vineyards, grass and pasture
200L DIESELPOWER TRANSFER UNITIdeal for service vehicles and large capacity diesel refuelling requirements.• For on-site refuelling of skid steer
loaders, excavators and generators.• 40L/min 12V DieselPower pump• 4m hose & auto shut-off gun• Lockable pump cover & filling cap
$5,810FROM
$1,086.96K08N-125 +GSTLinkage Sprayer with 6m boom
• Upgrade to a 8m boom for just:
• Upgrade to a 10m boom for just:
• Upgrade to a 30m hose reel for only:
+$275 +GST
+$670 +GST
+$450 +GST
+GSTSQDN200-7 $100
MTA VOUCHER
WITH EVERY
200L DIESEL
TANK!All prices shown are excluding GST and subject to availability or price change
$7,038 +GSTBE18/06
SPECIAL RRP
800L
SAVE OVER
$1200SAVE OVER
$1000
HUSTLE IN FOR THE BEST DEALS!
NZ_RuralNews_Linkage_Aug15_b.indd 1 11/08/2015 10:31 am
NEWS PRICE WATCH
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
MARKETS & TRENDS 21
BEEF:. Slaughter prices for bulls and prime cattle in the North Island continue to firm as they become harder to source. Cows continue to keep processors busy and it is difficult to predict when the run will end. Strong slaughter prices will be enticing many dairy farmers to boost their cashflows. Local trade operators are also struggling to keep their plants full and prices here are firm also. In the South Island the short supply of local trade cattle continues to drive the market. Export prices are being dragged along for the ride. The number of cows being sold at prime auction or being sent to the works is notably up for this time of year, and prices are firm as processors compete to keep plants full.
INTERNATIONAL BEEF: The large number of dairy cows slaughtered this season as a result of the downturn is having a flow on impact in the beef industry. Cow meat is shipped to the US as manufacturing beef, and the large quantities shipped this year look likely to mean NZ’s beef quota to the US is filled. If quota is filled, processors will have to look for alternative options for manufacturing beef. Market diversification is an option, but prices in other markets are considerably less
than the US, which will result in a notable correction to farmgate prices. Processors are more likely to store product for the time they are unable to ship, until the quota renews on 1 January 2016. With Australia also likely to be stockpiling product as their quota is also going to be filled, this could see a large quantity of imported product available in the US in January. This has the potential to place US imported prices under pressure in January and subsequently NZ farmgate prices.
SHEEP: Lamb slaughter prices in both islands are finally showing signs of consistent weekly improvement. They are largely being underpinned by firmer contract pricing. In the South Island in particular, the majority of lambs are being killed on contract at present. In the North Island lamb numbers are still tracking above normal for this time of year. With bobby calves filling the lamb chains in many plants at present, this is taking the edge off demand. Reports suggest that September might see processors scrambling for lamb numbers, which will put more spark into prices.
INTERNATIONAL SHEEP: With the next season almost on us, sheep farmers are being cautioned by
processors not to expect much improvement to lamb prices. NZ’s two main markets, China and the UK, continue to underperform, and it is thought that recovery in both markets is still a way off. Large stocks which have plagued China for most of this year do not show much chance of clearing as Govt intiatives to clear grazing land
have resulted in a flood of sheepmeat hitting the market. This is likely to continue to adversely impact NZ prices into our peak production period next year. Significantly higher domestic production in the UK combined with declining consumption will also impact on lamb returns next season.
WOOL PRICE WATCH Overseas Wool Price Indicators
Indicators in NZ$ Change 06-Aug 30-Jul Last Year Indicators in US$/kg Change 06-Aug 30-Jul Last
THE FONTERRA Cooperative Support ‘loan’ to be made available to shared-up farmers shows the co-op is optimistic prices will come back, Fonterra chair-man John Wilson says.
“We don’t believe that will be in the too distant future so we are providing a buffer by dragging forward future higher milk prices to this period we are in now,” Wilson says.
Fonterra says it is supporting farm-ers in a simple manner with simple documentation and process, “to assist our farmers to buffer what is undoubt-edly extreme volatility that is knock-ing [them] around right now; we are uniquely placed to be able to provide that support over this time.”
All Fonterra share-backed farmers can apply for the support of 50 cents per shared-up milk solids for produc-tion for the season. This payment, interest free for two years, will be repayable when the farmgate milk price or advance rate goes above $6/kgMS. A first payment will be made in Octo-ber for June-December and will con-tinue until May. Payments will total 50c cents per shared-up milk solids over the season but will be phased from Octo-ber.
It will cost about $430 million and will be funded by one-off savings gener-
ated by changes the business is making – its ‘transformation project’ -- such as improving working capital.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spier-ings says global demographics long term still show a strong position for dairy. Fonterra still sees the ‘average’ milk price rising to $3500/t (whole milk powder) and, depending on where the NZ$ sits, $6-$6.25/kgMS as the normal level.
The co-op still expects an uplift throughout the season and though $3500/t levels “will take a while, our estimate is it will take 6-12 months,” Spierings says.
Wilson says looking at the history of volatility cycles they are comfort-able with interest free lending on the Fonterra Cooperative Support over the next two years. “If required beyond that we would impose a wholesale bank rate.”
Spierings claims dairy prices are way below intervention levels in Europe and “already below the bottom”.
Wilson says these prices are unsus-tainable for New Zealand farmers but, increasingly, prices globally are also unsustainable in other world regions. “They are now below intervention prices. While there is demand, the real-ity is we are expecting milk supply will start to tighten over the next quarter to half year.”
Spierings says the loans to farmers
will be funded solely by reducing work-ing capital via the transformation pro-gramme which will strengthen the balance sheet.
Wilson says the Fonterra Coop Support has been created by one-off gains -- “predominantly working capi-tal gains which strengthen our balance sheet so we are able to use that strength to pass a one-off to our farmers”. “This is different from what is also occurring in our transformation project which you will see reflected in our dividend announcement for the year ahead in September.”
Wilson says there are strong com-munication levels between Fonterra and the banks and strong support from banks for farmers. “We’ve got an opportunity to very simply pro-vide support for our farmers which reflects the volatility, which reflects how low these prices are vs where they have been historically, and also the fact they are at an unsustainably low point.
“This is putting some-thing in place which is simple to do but which leverages off the strength of our coopera-tive.”
A Fonterra Co-operative Sup-port schedule will be made available as part of the application process. The programme will be reviewed in Decem-ber.
FONTERRA CHAIRMAN John Wilson says from a Fonterra governance perspective and the way the cooperative manages its business, its balance sheet is strong.
He also claims it has strong treasury policies on interest and foreign exchange risk. “So our position is very strong,” he says.
Hedging is managed through careful foreign exchange (FX)
policy and everything is being run normally. “You will see that when the year-end results are released at the end of September; what our average exchange rate has been at the end of the year. And I think you will note at that time our trea-sury function performed very well in what has been a unique envi-ronment.
“We hedge in a very volatile environment, both for commodity
prices and FX; and across finan-cial markets and commodity markets generally we use a hedging policy to assist us to provide appropriate foresight in our forecasting for farmers and to manage the risk of volatility.”
Asked if they had rented ware-house space to stockpile milk powder as in 2008, Spierings says on the contrary they had had “an extremely strong July month
of shipments”. Spierings says the $500-
600m capital spending reduc-tion in the 2015-16 season will come from phasing new building and phasing offshore investment in farming, notwithstanding the essential investments needed to keep farms going in NZ.
He says they are in a strong position and there are no pres-sures on liquidity at the moment.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says the company is in a strong position and has no liquid-ity pressures at present.
John Wilson claims the loans available
to shared-up farm-ers shows the co-op is optimistic about prices
bouncing back.
B rent Boyce explains, after purchasing a new set of Cooper
A/T3’s from Tasman Tyre Treads; “My farm consultancy business typically means driving on-road over Takaka Hill (272 corners) 2-3days/week, Whangamoa or Hope Saddles for the rest of the week, and when I get to the farms, spending around 1-2hrs/day of 4WDing.
I’d normally buy regular tyres for around $1,310 a set, costing 3.05¢/km; the Coopers are only 2.34¢/km. This is a saving of $511.20 annually - I’ll bank that thanks! Apart from the money saved, I now spend a lot less time changing tyres. Plus they’re damn good tyres to drive on – I won’t be driving on anything else now!”
If you’re like Brent, and want to save money on your next set of 4WD tyres, contact Cooper Tires on 0800 MILEAGE or visit coopertires.co.nz to find your closest Authorised Retailer.
“81,123kms - I’ll bank that, thanks!”
Only available from Authorised Cooper Retailers call 0800 MILEAGE or visit coopertires.co.nz
Brent BoyceFarm Consultant
“I would’ve got another 2000-3000km, but today was the only day I could get into town over the next 2-3 weeks.”
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
AGRIBUSINESS 23
Aussie farmers hopes pinned on TPP
AUSTRALIAN FARMERS are throwing their support behind TPP despite last month’s failure by trade ministers to seal a deal.
NFF president Brent Finlay says it remains a firm supporter of the TPP as a key platform to drive increased trade and investment.
“A good agreement will greatly improve oppor-tunities for Australian farmers to sell products to markets we know are demanding high quality food and fibre,” he says.
If concluded, the TPP would be the world’s larg-est regional free trade agreement, the 12 coun-tries (800 million people) making up 40% of the global economy.
Negotiating the TPP are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zea-land, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. But the talks in Hawaii last month ended in a stalemate; access to dairy markets remains a sticking point.
Finlay says it’s impor-tant the final agreement
is a comprehensive and trade liberalising pact that benefits Australian farm-ers.
“NFF understands the ministers of the 12 coun-tries have made good progress during the talks this week; we recognise agriculture is always one of the most difficult areas to agree on.
“Good outcomes… for Australian agriculture from the TPP have always been the objective for the NFF; sustained commit-ment is required….
“It is disappointing a deal… has not been con-cluded, but NFF recog-nises the hard work of Minister Robb and the government officials in this challenging round.”
Robb, who attended the talks with his counter-parts, says big gains were made and a conclusion is within reach.
“We all went to Hawaii with the aim of conclud-ing and… we are definitely on the cusp.
“Most importantly the resolve remains to get this done.
“While nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, we have taken pro-visional decisions on more
than 90% of issues and during my involvement… this has been by far the most productive meet-ing at both ministerial and official level.”
Robb is confident the
TPP will succeed as the biggest regional agree-ment and the most impor-tant since the conclusion of the Uruguay round.
“From Australia’s per-spective we have made
significant gains in every area, including agricul-tural market access.” Only a handful of big issues are outstanding – automo-tives, data protection for biologics, dairy and sugar.
AUSTRALIAN TRADE Minister Andrew Robb says the TPP presents an opportunity for truly transfor-mational reform.
“The establishment of a set of common trade and investment rules across these 12 countries – with the prospect of others joining – will have a material effect in lowering the cost of doing busi-ness,” says Robb.
“This will support profound economic benefits -- growth, job creation and higher living standards, market access gains for our exports and services and a better investment environment.
One third of Australia’s exports of goods and services are to TPP countries and 45% of Australian outwards investment. Negotiations began in 2010.
Stretch your dollar further with Lely this season!
www.lely.co.nz innovators in agriculture
*Terms & Conditions apply.Deal applies for purchases between 1st August to 15th Dec 2015
RAKE IN MORE PROFIT WITH A LELY HIBISCUS• Unique shape of the Ro-tines picks
up the grass easily due to it's curved shape, preventing contamination.
• Produces evenly shaped swaths ensuring a gain in the harvesting process.
-1% INTEREST RATE* OVER 12 MONTHS
1% cashback on invoice amount.
Call 0800 535 969 NOW to find out more!
SUB-ZERO INTEREST RATE*
Trusted!
40 Years Time Tested“When kiwi Bert Hansen decided to invent a pipe fitting for farmers to join alkathene poly pipe together, his main focus was to keep it simple and make it last!
40 years on, and with over 100 million fittings in the ground, Bert’s pipe fittings are still simple to use, unquestionably time tested, but most importantly trusted by kiwi farmers!”
50mm Joiner
Hansen Easy Fit Poly Fitting 2009
An Original Hansen Advertisment1979
Bert’sOriginalToilet Valve1952
A Real Kiwi StoryIt was the 1950’s and Kiwi’s Bert and Dawn Hansen were building their house. Bert couldn’t find a reliable toilet valve, being an entrepreneur he invented one. This then lead Bert into developing a range of high performance Brass Foot and Check Valves. The design was patented and fast became the bench mark for industry standards and today the original design Bert created is used in a multitude of valves in hundreds of markets all around the world.
With the initial success of the Brass Foot and Check Valves, Bert and Dawn worked many long hours to keep up with supply. Their garage was the hub of their business with all the machining, assembling and packaging carried out there. In those early days Dawn remembers having to pack up the car and take all the fittings down to the railway station for distribution.
In the 1960’s the range was expanded further with Bert designing and manufacturing a range of Brass Quick Couplings. However by the early 70’s Bert and Dawn realised that plastic was the way of the future and re-developed the existing range of Brass Quick Couplings and Brass Foot and Check Valves in plastic. By the end of the 70’s Bert and Dawn saw an opportunity to add to their range and designed and manufactured a range of Nylon easy to use “Cold Fit
Pipe Fittings”. Back then this completely changed the way
Kiwi Farmers joined Alkathene pipe, “We had a few teething problems with the
original cold fit range, mainly around the single Barb being difficult to get past the hard pipe when it was cold and a 130kg farmer trying to tighten up a 25mm fitting with a 24” stillson on
a -5 degree Southland winters day. Those were some fun learning times but we got those problems sorted, we should have labelled the fittings “Kiwi Proof”.
In the mid 1980’s some more enthusiasm and ideas were injected into the business
when Carl Hansen (Bert and Dawn’s Son) arrived from completing his engineering trades. Within a short period of time, Carl’s experience in engineering and his desire to use the “right” technologies in manufacturing and materials added even more strength to the Hansen company.
Bert and the team didn’t sit still for long and in the late 1980’s it was decided Hansen would design and manufacture a range of True Fit Threaded Fittings.
With the Hansen range of products growing rapidly, it was time to move out of the garage and into its own manufacturing plant to start injection moulding their products. This move was a huge investment and there were many sleepless nights in the Hansen households. The move proved to be the right decision and it wasn’t long before Hansen products were being demanded from all over the world. The 1990’s saw the products develop a stronger following in New Zealand and Australia, with many of the original products having upgrades to high performance materials and the core ranges growing every year. “At one point it felt like we were adding fitting configurations every month” recalls Carl Hansen. In 1999 it was time for Hansen Products to move into even bigger premises. A building in Union East Street, Whangarei was found and the building underwent huge changes to house the manufacturing plant.
The turn of the millennium saw Hansen Products continue on the path of constant improvement; a sister company in Canada was established, Irripod was purchased, the Easy Fit range was updated and after much encouragement from the market our Full Flow Ball Valve was released.
2012 saw Hansen Products in-house Research and Design team develop several new products for release, the Level Alert Heavy Duty Tank Level Indicator, the Leveller Tank/Reservoir Valve, Superflo Piston Valve and the Maxflo Diaphragm Valve. At Hansen we believe the Superflo and Maxflo valves have become the next industry standard of High Performance Float Valves.
2013 Hansen released the Easy Fit Compression Fittings range designed specifically for joining Medium Density polyethylene pipe. In 2014 Hansen released the compact Fastflo Trough Valve & the ingenious Han-Tool used to determine which Easy Fit Poly or Compression fitting will fit your pipe.
2015 and Hansen Products is far from slowing down with the release of a number of new products.
All of these products have been designed for high performance whilst still staying true to Bert’s original philosophy of “Keep it Simple”.
After 60 years in business, Hansen Products is extremely proud to be a New Zealand owned and operated business. We are continuing to design, manufacture and distribute Pipe Fittings and Valves of the highest quality around the world. Hansen has built a reputation for providing high performance, easy to use, simple products that deliver our customers “Best Installed Value”. The winning formula that has been applied to the product range since the 1950’s has ensured a loyal customer following through the generations. With a range of over 1000 different products, loyal customers and a dedicated team, Hansen is poised for the new challenges ahead.
HansenInstoreDisplayUnit2009
find your local stockist at www.hansenproducts.co.nz/stockists.htm
Don’t just ask for a pipe fitting,ask for a Hansen fitting!
Trusted!
40 Years Time Tested“When kiwi Bert Hansen decided to invent a pipe fitting for farmers to join alkathene poly pipe together, his main focus was to keep it simple and make it last!
40 years on, and with over 100 million fittings in the ground, Bert’s pipe fittings are still simple to use, unquestionably time tested, but most importantly trusted by kiwi farmers!”
50mm Joiner
Hansen Easy Fit Poly Fitting 2009
An Original Hansen Advertisment1979
Bert’sOriginalToilet Valve1952
A Real Kiwi StoryIt was the 1950’s and Kiwi’s Bert and Dawn Hansen were building their house. Bert couldn’t find a reliable toilet valve, being an entrepreneur he invented one. This then lead Bert into developing a range of high performance Brass Foot and Check Valves. The design was patented and fast became the bench mark for industry standards and today the original design Bert created is used in a multitude of valves in hundreds of markets all around the world.
With the initial success of the Brass Foot and Check Valves, Bert and Dawn worked many long hours to keep up with supply. Their garage was the hub of their business with all the machining, assembling and packaging carried out there. In those early days Dawn remembers having to pack up the car and take all the fittings down to the railway station for distribution.
In the 1960’s the range was expanded further with Bert designing and manufacturing a range of Brass Quick Couplings. However by the early 70’s Bert and Dawn realised that plastic was the way of the future and re-developed the existing range of Brass Quick Couplings and Brass Foot and Check Valves in plastic. By the end of the 70’s Bert and Dawn saw an opportunity to add to their range and designed and manufactured a range of Nylon easy to use “Cold Fit
Pipe Fittings”. Back then this completely changed the way
Kiwi Farmers joined Alkathene pipe, “We had a few teething problems with the
original cold fit range, mainly around the single Barb being difficult to get past the hard pipe when it was cold and a 130kg farmer trying to tighten up a 25mm fitting with a 24” stillson on
a -5 degree Southland winters day. Those were some fun learning times but we got those problems sorted, we should have labelled the fittings “Kiwi Proof”.
In the mid 1980’s some more enthusiasm and ideas were injected into the business
when Carl Hansen (Bert and Dawn’s Son) arrived from completing his engineering trades. Within a short period of time, Carl’s experience in engineering and his desire to use the “right” technologies in manufacturing and materials added even more strength to the Hansen company.
Bert and the team didn’t sit still for long and in the late 1980’s it was decided Hansen would design and manufacture a range of True Fit Threaded Fittings.
With the Hansen range of products growing rapidly, it was time to move out of the garage and into its own manufacturing plant to start injection moulding their products. This move was a huge investment and there were many sleepless nights in the Hansen households. The move proved to be the right decision and it wasn’t long before Hansen products were being demanded from all over the world. The 1990’s saw the products develop a stronger following in New Zealand and Australia, with many of the original products having upgrades to high performance materials and the core ranges growing every year. “At one point it felt like we were adding fitting configurations every month” recalls Carl Hansen. In 1999 it was time for Hansen Products to move into even bigger premises. A building in Union East Street, Whangarei was found and the building underwent huge changes to house the manufacturing plant.
The turn of the millennium saw Hansen Products continue on the path of constant improvement; a sister company in Canada was established, Irripod was purchased, the Easy Fit range was updated and after much encouragement from the market our Full Flow Ball Valve was released.
2012 saw Hansen Products in-house Research and Design team develop several new products for release, the Level Alert Heavy Duty Tank Level Indicator, the Leveller Tank/Reservoir Valve, Superflo Piston Valve and the Maxflo Diaphragm Valve. At Hansen we believe the Superflo and Maxflo valves have become the next industry standard of High Performance Float Valves.
2013 Hansen released the Easy Fit Compression Fittings range designed specifically for joining Medium Density polyethylene pipe. In 2014 Hansen released the compact Fastflo Trough Valve & the ingenious Han-Tool used to determine which Easy Fit Poly or Compression fitting will fit your pipe.
2015 and Hansen Products is far from slowing down with the release of a number of new products.
All of these products have been designed for high performance whilst still staying true to Bert’s original philosophy of “Keep it Simple”.
After 60 years in business, Hansen Products is extremely proud to be a New Zealand owned and operated business. We are continuing to design, manufacture and distribute Pipe Fittings and Valves of the highest quality around the world. Hansen has built a reputation for providing high performance, easy to use, simple products that deliver our customers “Best Installed Value”. The winning formula that has been applied to the product range since the 1950’s has ensured a loyal customer following through the generations. With a range of over 1000 different products, loyal customers and a dedicated team, Hansen is poised for the new challenges ahead.
HansenInstoreDisplayUnit2009
find your local stockist at www.hansenproducts.co.nz/stockists.htm
Don’t just ask for a pipe fitting,ask for a Hansen fitting!
Still doing okTHE HOUND notes that many commentators and armchair critics are all down in the mouth about the prospects of agriculture and farming at present, especially because of tumbling dairy prices. However your old mate reckons there are still lots of people around the primary sector who are doing ok. A quick scan of the recent NBR rich list – for which you need at least $50 million to be included – revealed a number of names associated with farming and agri-culture: Green family, Talleys, Colin and Dale Armer, Alan Pye, Gallagher family, Cushing family, Skeggs family, Lowe family, Turley family, Harvey family, Forbes Elworthy, Jim van der Poel and Ian McKelvie, to name a few.
CheapskatesYOUR OLD mate sympathises with the plight of the country’s dairy farmers and how the falling payout is impacting their finan-cial stability. However, the Hound suggests that while moves by Fonterra to save money and help returns to its shareholders is for the most part a good thing, some of its austerity measures border on penny-pinching stupidity. One example is the way it treats farmer members of the Shareholders Council. Despite the fact these councillors regularly fly from all parts of the country to meet at Fonterra HQ in Auckland, the dairy co-op does not stump up for Koru club membership. And when the councillors arrive at Auckland airport they then have to take a bus into town for their meetings at Fonterra’s head office ‘gumboot castle’!
Green dilemmaTHIS OLD mutt notes that scien-tists have now developed a genet-ically engineered rice crop that could emit much less methane than normal rice. According to Nature Magazine, three years of field trials in China have shown that the cultivation of SUSIBA2 rice (GE) has seen a significant reduction in methane emissions and a decrease in rhizospheric methanogen levels. The maga-zine reports the GE rice offers a sustainable means of providing increased starch content for food production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation. So the Hound wonders if the Greens truly believe their own rhetoric about greenhouse gas emissions surely this means they will drop their opposition to genetically modified crops and welcome this GE rice.
Hello pot!THE HOUND reckons the Green Party’s former agriculture spokesman Steffan Browning is hypocritical in his recent attack on the appointment of the new boss of the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) Dr Alan Freeth. However, your old mate notes that though Browning and Soil & Health were quick to point out Freeth’s supposed conflict, they were less forthcoming about their own. Prior to becoming possibly the most ineffectual MP in NZ’s history, Browning was employed by Soil and Health as its spokesman, where both parties rabidly opposed GE technology being introduced into NZ. Here’s a question for Browning and Soil & Health: does a conflict of interest only occur when people don’t agree with your worldview?
“The neighbours don’t know whether to convert to beef or simply sell up and put the proceeds towards a deposit on a house in Auckland!”
FONTERRA IS losing control – control of correctly predicting the mood among commodity buyers and correctly predicting how dairy prices will fare.
The extraordinary statement by chief execu-tive Theo Spierings that prices have fallen “below bottom” reflects the malaise at the world’s largest dairy exporter.
The co-op’s 10,500 farmers will be wondering how something can be ‘below bottom’. And why the co-op’s well-paid management and analysts had no inkling of the impending disaster.
Fonterra-owned Global Dairy Trade (GDT) has been acclaimed a transparent system of determin-ing dairy prices; everyone sees how prices track at the two auctions every month.
Prices have tumbled for the past 10 consecutive auctions; futures markets were predicting price slumps.
Fonterra has conveniently deflected the cause of the current downturn to volatility. Frankly, Fonterra farmers are sick and tired of the hearing the word.
Yes, volatility is here to stay; so what? What is Fonterra doing to make sure our milk price remains competitive, they ask?
For Fonterra’s management it seems the ‘V3’ strategy has been paramount. Volume means grow-ing milk production volumes to protect its place in a growing market; value means extracting more value from every drop of milk by providing high value products and services to consumers and cus-tomers; and velocity means executing the strategy at speed. But this all comes across as meaningless corporate jargon.
Sure Fonterra needs to grow and be globally com-petitive; it has to invest overseas. But why should Fonterra farmers produce and sell their milk at half the cost of production while Fonterra spends bil-lions in overseas milk pools? Its suppliers in Aus-tralia are getting almost double the milk price right now.
The current forecast price is below many farmers’ cost of production. For two years Fonterra has been predicting recovery in prices within six months. Sadly, farmers are still waiting.
It’s obvious that Fonterra’s strategy is backfir-ing. Producing more milk and pumping more dairy products into global markets should not be the end game for Fonterra. It’s also required to look after its shareholders and ensure profitable returns to the farmgate; for the last two years, Fonterra has failed miserably.
There’s nothing the Government, politicians and farmers can do about global dairy prices; Fon-terra must get its strategy right in delivering the best returns to farmers. It must change its course.
Out of control
HEAD OFFICE POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740
SOUTH ISLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE:Kaye Sutherland Ph 03 337 3828/021 221 [email protected]
WEBSITE PRODUCER:Emily Gordon .......................... Ph 09 913 9621
RURALNEWS
ABC audited circulation 81,188 as at 31.03.2015
Rural News is published by Rural News Group Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of staff, management or directors of Rural News Group Ltd.
Fonterra’s refresh should start at board levelFONTERRA’S COMMIT-MENT to volume, value and velocity (growing volume and value with speed – also called Strat-egy Refresh) has been firm and appears frequently on the corporate website.
On March 29, 2012 the chief executive, Theo Spierings, explained that “strategy refresh was built on an in-depth look at the co-op’s strengths, social and economic trends as well as underlying pro-jections for a marked increase in global demand for milk”.
“Strong economic and population growth in emerging markets is driving a situation where global demand for milk is forecast to grow by more than 100 billion L by 2020, with New Zea-land expected to contrib-ute only 5b L of additional supply by that date,” Spierings said.
Shareholders have been reassured about the strategy at frequent inter-vals.
On September 25, 2013 the co-operative said it had “continuing confi-dence in its ‘volume and value’ strategy in its key markets. Looking ahead, prospects for the dairy industry and for Fon-terra look positive and its growth ambitions remain unchanged.”
On February 27, 2014 the chairman, John Wilson, said the higher forecast (over $8.00 that year) was good news for farmers and for NZ. “The increase reflects continu-ing strong demand for milk powders globally.”
Six months later he is on record as saying the decision to maintain the forecast farmgate milk price (at $6.00) reflected the longer term outlook for international prices for dairy.
These statements have underpinned farmer deci-
sions to invest in pro-ductivity – high breeding worth cows, supplemen-tary feeding, feed pads and shelters – ensuring envi-ronmental compliance and increased resilience during drought and flood.
But now sharehold-ers are being told there is oversupply, and though the current prices are unsustainable, Fonterra is doing everything it can to support farmers. The 50c a share temporary loan is the main initiative.
At the same time we have been assured by Fon-terra managing director global ingredients Kelvin Wickham that Fonterra is “doing everything to move powder and other commodity products into higher value contracts and higher margin products,” and that “demand will come back”.
Shareholder confi-dence is evaporating. Sup-pliers have voted with their feet and moved to new companies; social media is rife with com-ments and statements on the Fonterra website such as “nearly all the product offered on GDT this week sold to willing buyers” don’t help confidence rebuild. Who isn’t willing to purchase quality prod-uct at a bargain price?
But the suppliers are not happy that Fonterra is selling milk at below costs of production.
Creating a successful future from the current state will take a rethink of the strategy – and that will demand a fresh approach.
Shareholders have been promised this in the past by people campaigning to represent their inter-ests on the board, but well-intentioned new directors find themselves constrained once they are part of the Fonterra board of directors.
Fresh thinking requires a fresh start. If all direc-
tors stood for re-elec-tion this year, not just the three on rotation (John Wilson, Nicola Shadbolt and Blue Read), it could give them a chance to let shareholders know what they really think should be done. It doesn’t mean they wouldn’t get re-elected – it is important to maintain some corporate memory
– but it would allow free-dom of speech.
They might also explain their skills, abili-ties and competencies to create the new future. Part of this must be the time they are prepared to invest in Fonterra’s direc-tion.
The reward for being a Fonterra director is about
$200,000, reflecting that being a director is a ‘big job’.
Only a strong co-oper-ative will get us through – a co-operative that watches trends and boldly rethinks strategy in time to pre-empt a crisis, creat-ing value for shareholders with velocity in reaction.
Internal reorganisa-
tions and backroom staff-ing cuts are not enough; it is time to get real about governance and man-agement. Shareholders can show leadership by making the call.• Jacqueline Rowarth is professor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato. She is also a Fonterra shareholder.
GET SOCIALfacebook.com/ruralnews
twitter.com/Rural_News
ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/rss
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Subject to credit approval, fees, terms and conditions apply. Based on a 24 month Hire Purchase Contract. To approved Registered GST No holders for business purposes only on applications for Polaris Ranger ETX and Sportsman 570 HD models. Off er expires 30/9/2015. Polaris Finance is a program operated by De Lage Landen Ltd Company No 135515.
B&PIA01
04A
00
FROM 0 TO 0IN 63,115,200 SECONDS
$ FOR 6 MONTHS*
% FOR 24 MONTHS*
63 million seconds is a long time, 24 months in fact, and for each and every one of those seconds you will pay no interest on a new Ranger ETX or Sportsman 570. Not only that, with no deposit and no payments for 6 months, you won’t want to waste a second getting to your nearest Polaris dealer.
Full speed ahead to your Polaris dealer.
HARDEST WORKING. SMOOTHEST RIDING.
www.polaris.co.nz | 0800 440 290
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
28 OPINION
WOULD ANY tractor collectors and restorers among your readers like to have their machines featured in Classic Tractors?
This publication, read internationally, wants me to file stories on New Zealand farmers’ collections – post-1965 machines still working or restored.
Contact me at [email protected] or tele-phone 021 292 9609. Chris WebbAuckland
CLASSIC TRACTOR STORIES WANTED
Keeping NZ farming ahead of the rest
AS AN agricultural nation, New Zealand’s history in production farming traces back to when the early European settlers arrived on our shores in the late 1840s.
When establishing a farm, these settlers often found out the hard way
that our country’s terrain and climate can be harsh at the best of times.
Not until the advent of refrigerated ships at the end of the nineteenth century did our farmers start selling meat and dairy products to overseas markets. This caused huge growth in sheep and cattle
numbers, establishing agriculture as the economic backbone of our economy.
Fast-forward to the modern day farm and, from a global perspective, it’s apparent how different and advanced our agricultural structures are from those in the rest of the
world. This is partly due to the large part farming plays in our economic success, but largely to our farmers’ focus on animal health, environmental stewardship and innovation.
The removal of government subsidies in the early and mid-1980s also drove farmers to
reduce costs and focus on producing higher value products, where shown to be profitable.
Take dairying, for example: our early ancestors could never imagine cows could be milked robotically and that smartphone apps could be used to manage a farm. Yet
MARK ROSSthis is where we are heading. Traditional farm roles like milking are now a much smaller part of the day-to-day management of farms. This in turn frees up farm staff to concentrate on other farm and business management activities, such as monitoring the performance of individual stock and the whole farming system.
Dairying has embraced innovation and technological advancements. On the animal health front are rapid improvements in understanding the nutrient needs of dairy cows at various stages of lactation, then combining various feed ingredients and remedies to meet those needs cost-effectively. Many dynamic factors influence the health of dairy cows, including the application
of the most effective remedy at the right time and nutrient availability from feeds.
Animal health manufacturers are continuously researching new products to assist in maintaining healthy and high performing livestock. As a result the animal health remedy industry in NZ is world class, and many of our competitors envy our high performance.
As farming becomes more innovative and attuned to consumers’ demands, NZ will remain at the forefront. Our farming has entered a new era with greater use of technology, a change in what we produce and more scrutiny on animal health. • Mark Ross is chief executive of Agcarm.
Insect protection neededI SHARE Alain Jorion’s lament (Rural News Aug 4) regarding the threat synthetics have posed, and still pose, to wool in carpets.
As dairy farmers we are not directly affected by the above, although we have for many years chosen wool carpets.
Indeed it is ironic that Kevin Milne, known for batting for the underdog in the past, is now promoting synthetic carpet.
For over 40 years, our wool carpets had not been affected by the ravages of carpet beetle. However, new carpets in two different houses in the past 12 years have suffered significant damage, sometimes after only five years.
Regrettably, unless processes can be developed to protect wool from insect attack we will see more users choosing synthetic over wool.Alan Penney R D 1 Silverdale
@rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnews
Nutrition is the key to optimum performance.
ALL LIME IS NOT CREATED EQUAL
Help your cows fly through calving with Calcimate – the trusted, quality choice for calcium supplementation.
Purchase a tonne of Calcimate (40x25kg bags only) between 1st July and 31st October 2015 and you could WIN* a Chainsaw and safety gear prize package. Simply text ‘Calcimate’ and your full name to 226 to enter the draw or enter online at www.onlime.co.nz
*Terms and conditions apply. Visit website for more details.
GET THEM ACROSS THE ADVANTAGE LINE WITH
MC
D11
95
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
OPINION 29
Milk price query no attack on farmersIN JUNE I released information showing retail milk prices in New Zealand have risen at the same time as farmgate prices for farmers have halved.
I started watching this in 2011, when retail milk prices were rising rapidly and the Government told us the reason was our domestic market is tied to international prices. At the time, that sounded plausible.
So when the international milk price halved, yet our domestic prices continued to rise, I asked the Government what was going on.
It was a legitimate question. Milk is a basic commodity for Kiwi families and we want it to remain that way. No one wants to see higher prices putting parents off buying milk for their kids.
I’m still waiting – and still asking – for a straight answer to a basic question. Milk companies including Fonterra say it’s not their fault prices are so high. Supermarkets claim they are not to blame.
No one’s taking responsibility. Yet somewhere between farm gate and supermarket shelf there are markups. The mechanics behind
them are opaque and secret.
Sadly Rural News chose to portray this story as an attack on farmers.
In fact, my whole point was that farmers aren’t getting any extra for their hard work, while others appear to be cashing in.
“Clearly it’s processors and retailers who are creaming it, because NZ farmers are getting less,” I wrote in my press release. “Farmgate milk prices dropped from 73c/L in 2013-14 to 38c/L in 2014-15, while retail prices rose.”
To be written by Rural News as dragging up a non-story makes me feel it’s the same old people having yet another crack at a Labour Party MP. You should at least be professional and get the facts right.
To me, as Labour’s consumer affairs spokesperson, milk prices are a legitimate subject. In this role I’ve questioned why electricity company profits have continued to skyrocket when demand for electricity is falling. I keep similar tabs on supermarkets, petrol prices and banks. It’s my job to make sure Kiwis are getting a fair deal.
I also want to see farmers getting their
DAVID SHEARERdues, and NZ households being able to afford milk as a family staple.
There’s no value in sitting back and accepting monopolistic practices, secret deals and distortions in the market as being legitimate. • David Shearer is the MP for Mt Albert and Labour’s spokesman on consumer affairs.
@rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnews
David Shearer (left) talks with farmers.
The toughest petrol UTV in
its class
The most power diesel UTV in the world
62hp
• 14 inch wheels• Power steering• Full engine braking• Disc brakes front and rear• Bench seat for three people• Adjustable shock suspension• Quietest machine in the market• Electric self adjusting handbrake• Full all around independent suspension
A CAREFUL overall environmental strategy is paying off for a Northland drystock farming couple.
Janine and Ken Hames run 3000 Friesian bulls on Ewenny Farms, a 341ha drystock farm at Paparoa, 40 minutes southwest of Whangarei.
Strategic planning is a big part of developing and managing their business: repaying debt, improving the land and creating a legacy for future generations are medium and long-term considerations. When they bought the 226ha (eff ) home block in 1998 they made an overall development plan for capital investment, stock classes, stocking rates and matters affecting marketing decisions.
With moderate-to-low hills and a Waiotira clay loam, base slips and pugging were two especially big concerns. This eventually led to a shift in marketing policies and stock classes carried on the farm, Hames says.
They first ran 1500 ewes and Friesian bulls, then switched entirely to Friesian bulls after getting better returns from beef.
At first they bought bulls as weaners in late spring, carrying them through to carcase weights of 260kg. But the land was unable to stand the pressure of bulls in their final winter, causing pugging which limited production in subsequent seasons.
The couple revised their system:
instead of buying in animals in late May, they bought in June-August when they were lighter, to cut the impact on the farm during winter. Though this risked slower growth rates, it allowed the farm to increase turnover and improve flexibility, improving overall profitability.
The shift was largely in line with a more structured treatment of the farm, Hames says. Instead of treating the farm as a whole, they have established ‘land management units’ across the property, determining how each sector of the farm needs
to be treated. Worked out in a way similar to the calculation of variable spreading rates, land management units are bigger blocks of land treated differently depending on the season.
Hames took a highlighter to a farm map, ‘formalising’ something done intuitively by many farmers. He says this helps them plan for stock use across the farm, resulting in measurements which take into account the true economics of their stocking rates.
The property is broken into four intensive beef blocks, each seperated
into 1.1 ha ‘cells’. This allows running lighter stock classes, because it makes possible a faster stock turnover with less land resources. Stock water is the biggest issue for the property, Hames says. The Paparoa district is well known for being susceptible to dry conditions in summer and their 341ha drystock property is no exception.
Building dams – they now have three – has hugely increased water storage capacity, but Hames still takes no chances, carefully monitoring water usage and ensuring stocking
rates are lightest in December-March.He watches for leaks with two $300
water meters, which he says soon paid for themselves considering the volume of water that can be wasted.
“In January, 450 bulls were drinking 13,000L/day; if it went up to 21,000L I knew I had a leak or a broken ballcock,” he explains. “If you haven’t got water running into your farm you can’t farm.” While water shortages are the main environmental problem in summer, in winter they must cope with pugging and slipping.
The farm sits on a mixture of Waiotira clay and Waiotira gravelly clay and Hames says hills can be especially sensitive after big rainfall.
They continue planting poplars on hills, which thrive provided stock are kept away from new plantings; and they have planted 25ha in pines in partnership with one of Ken’s family who invested in the establishment and maintains the plantation.
All parties hope the returns from the trees will fund their retirement. “I didn’t have the capital when I was young so it was a way of getting the trees established,” Hames says.
An important goal is to build something to leave for their children to take on. And though many farming couples find their children don’t want to take on the burden of a farm, Hames says his daughter, though young, is showing a definite interest.
www.aviatorxpro.bayer.co.nzDownload the new Crop Solutions App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
CropSolutions
Accelerate crop performance!
BA
C14
03
Insist on Aviator Xpro in combination, from Bayer.
Hit scald and net blotch hard with an early dose of Delaro at GS31-32, giving you simple, cost-effective control. Applied 3-4 weeks later, at GS37-45, Aviator Xpro provides very effective control of Ramularia Leaf Spot. Applied as a programme these powerful fungicides, Delaro and Aviator Xpro, deliver class leading disease control allowing the ultimate performance from your barley crop.
Aviator Xpro applied during spring at GS32 and again at GS37-39 provides extremely effective control of Septoria Leaf Blotch. Later in the season exceptional leaf rust control results from the proven mix of Prosaro and a strobilurin fungicide at GS59-69. This Aviator Xpro & Prosaro programme is unbeatable in ensuring the health of your crop, maximising yields and ensuring an excellent return on your investment this season.
Wheat BarleyGive your wheat crop the best disease protection with the proven fungicide programme of Aviator Xpro and Prosaro.
For unbeatable disease control and yield in barley choose Delaro and Aviator Xpro.
Northland farmer Ken Hames is deter-mined to build something to leave behind for his children.
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
MANAGEMENT 31
COLIN GUYTON says for the first time since he’s been farming he didn’t receive a milk cheque in July, in common with almost everybody and a cause of stress and concern.
Dairy farmers must now keep an eye on others because some are vulnerable and may need help, he says. All the news he hears is nega-tive.
“There hasn’t been a lot of positive stuff. All we get is negative stuff at the moment, some about how long this downturn will last. You hear rumours that interest rates will fall and that would be a positive move.
“My gut feeling is they will come down more but it’s still going to be pretty tight. [We have to] sharpen our pencils over costs, which were getting a bit out of hand.”
Guyton says New Zealand farmers were the envy of the world with their low cost produc-tion. But he and many others installing feeding systems now have higher costs. He’s not sure what effect the present low payout will have on the dairy industry, noting that a sudden upsurge in the GDT price could see people go back to the status quo.
“But I think Fonterra’s policy on growth growth growth may be wrong. We need to be producing the right amount of milk for the right profitability.
“Fonterra slightly led us astray…. I’m not suggesting this was deliberate but we were told China is growing and there’s huge gap with no milk and the next ten years will be great. All of sudden we have a milk lake they should have been able to see coming.”
But Guyton is complementary about the response and communication he’s received from Fonterra on issues he’s raised with chairman John Wilson, who personally emailed a response to him and arranged for someone from Fonterra to talk to him.
COST CONTROLFalling payout does not mean lower environmental goals
THE LOW payout doesn’t neces-sarily mean dairy farmers will stop work on environmental projects on their farms.
That’s the view of Reporoa dairy farmer Colin Guyton who believes that many things can be done at no cost whatsoever.
Guyton, chair of Federated Farmers dairy section for Rotorua/Taupo, has, apart from a spell as a policeman, spent his life on his parents’ dairy farm and now owns his own dairy farm, 2km from Fon-terra’s Reporoa factory beside the Waikato River.
In this sensitive catchment, in the spotlight, Guyton and his wife Shelley are committed to running a sustainably profitable farm. He disputes the idea that the present economic struggles of the dairy industry will cause farmers to pull the plug on spending on environ-mental work.
“While there may be the odd farmer who says that, in reality there are things we can do that don’t cost money: lowering our stocking rate, better utilisation of pasture to avoid feeding PKE, etc. There is truth in the saying ‘it’s easier to be green when we are in the black’, but that’s not to say that farmers
haven’t done a lot over time and will continue to do so.”
Farmers in upper Waikato catch-ment are waiting to learn from Environment Waikato what new rules they will face on N leach-ing. Guyton and others in the EW region are watching what is happen-ing in Rotorua where Environment Bay of Plenty is imposing new rules making some farmers unhappy.
Guyton hopes his stakeholder group will influence the outcome in his area. “We hope the decisions will be sensible, to keep farming profitable and help the river. [That would be] the best outcome. We want both.”
He says he’s been told by DairyNZ that 647 sustainable plans have been completed in the Waikato catchment, probably covering most farms, he says.
And farmers have taken “5932 actions” aimed at improving their farm environment, debunking the unfair notion that farmers are doing nothing.
“Most farmers in fact have done a lot and spent a lot of money to try to do something positive. We are trying to get ahead of the rules and do something positive. We are better off to front-foot the regula-tions than be told what to do.”
Guyton was born on his parents’
dairy farm at Reporoa and did all his schooling there. After his ten years in the police his parents offered him a sharemilking role on their farm which he took. In 2002 he and Shel-ley bought their own farm.
They milk 560 Friesian cows on 218ha and last year produced 242,000kgMS.
They also have a 65ha (eff ) run-off on which they winter their stock and produce grass silage in summer. They milk in a 44-aside herring-bone shed. Guyton this year has employed a contract milker so as to devote time to Federated Farm-ers work.
Guytons joined the Tomorrows Farms Today project to benchmark themselves against other farmers, to see how they perform in profits the environment. They do well, he says.
“The main thing we did was reduce our stocking rate which is relatively low at 2.6/ha and we used less than 80 units of N. We are also keeping fewer replacements which is an environment gain.”
The farm operates as ‘system three’ and last year about 82% of its feed was grass. He uses some PKE but says the low payout may change that.
Also of concern to dairy farmers in his region are the new health and safety regulations.
www.aviatorxpro.bayer.co.nzDownload the new Crop Solutions App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
CropSolutions
Accelerate crop performance!
BA
C14
03
Insist on Aviator Xpro in combination, from Bayer.
Hit scald and net blotch hard with an early dose of Delaro at GS31-32, giving you simple, cost-effective control. Applied 3-4 weeks later, at GS37-45, Aviator Xpro provides very effective control of Ramularia Leaf Spot. Applied as a programme these powerful fungicides, Delaro and Aviator Xpro, deliver class leading disease control allowing the ultimate performance from your barley crop.
Aviator Xpro applied during spring at GS32 and again at GS37-39 provides extremely effective control of Septoria Leaf Blotch. Later in the season exceptional leaf rust control results from the proven mix of Prosaro and a strobilurin fungicide at GS59-69. This Aviator Xpro & Prosaro programme is unbeatable in ensuring the health of your crop, maximising yields and ensuring an excellent return on your investment this season.
Wheat BarleyGive your wheat crop the best disease protection with the proven fungicide programme of Aviator Xpro and Prosaro.
For unbeatable disease control and yield in barley choose Delaro and Aviator Xpro.
WHEN KATIKATI kiwifruit orchard-ist Sean Carnachan went to Europe in 2007 on a Zespri fact-finding mission it was the turning point in his under-standing of the industry in which he is a major player.
Today he has 16ha of covered kiwi-fruit: 10ha in Haywards and 6ha in G3 gold.
Before his OE in 2007, Carnachan was, he says, a typical grower moan-ing that Zespri wanted him to do this and that. He was disconnected from the market, he says.
“Having taken that trip to Europe and subsequently learned we have a lot more around the world, it opened my eyes to the market and its expectations of food safety and what the consumers require,” Carnachan told Rural News.
“You are talking to in-market people who are buying from Zespri. In the course of our travels we had an expe-rience in Venice on a water taxi. The operator, a young Italian, said his dad
had been a fruit trader for 25 years and that his father would only buy Zespri. He talked about the quality, food safety and all the other benefits and it just flowed. What an endorsement for the Zespri brand; I was gobsmacked.”
The Zespri story is a great one and the staff do a great job selling the fruit and the story behind it, Carnachan says. He is full of praise for Zespri bringing customers to New Zealand to see the industry in action.
“They do a marvellous job bringing customers to NZ in February, March, April and May and having them meet us growers. It’s great to hear what they have to say and understand their expectations of us. I enjoy hosting them and I am proud to showcase the industry.”
Carnachan says overseas visitors are impressed that growers’ houses are alongside their kiwifruit orchards. This gives them confidence about the food safety aspect of NZ grown kiwifruit.
A major issue Carnachan sees facing the kiwifruit industry – one he devotes much time to – is encouraging young
people to make a career in the sector. A stereotype perception is that every few years another drama will arise in the industry, such as PSA. People think this will happen again, he says.
“But if they understood our indus-try they’d realise these are just things we deal with. It’s part of running a busi-ness and no different from what a man-ufacturer faces regularly. All businesses have cycles like ours, but it seems we get more exposure than others.
“The result is that mum and dad say ask their kids, ‘why would you want to be involved in kiwifruit?’ They believe that PSA has written the industry off. That’s not so, we are more resilient than that.”
Carnachan has been working with his local college to show young people the employment opportunities in the kiwifruit industry. He says it’s widely recognised that before long the indus-try will face a serious labour shortage and the kiwifruit farmers of tomorrow have to come from the young people at school today.
“So it’s important to educate those
people in colleges around NZ, but more important locally because at the moment their mums and dads are not employed in the kiwifruit industry.
“The students’ careers advisors don’t know much about kiwifruit and about primary industries in general. They say ‘you are just going to end up a picker, a packer or a pruner and
that’s your lot’, but it’s wider ranging than that.
“We need to educate the kids that we have IT people, marketing people, specialists in soil science, etc. We have a whole range of skilled people in our industry. They need to understand it’s more than just picking and packing kiwifruit.”
FROM CADET TO TOP GROWERIN 1983 Sean Carnachan was named the New Zealand young horticul-tural cadet of the year.
He was working in the kiwifruit industry, but the competition was for young people right across the horticulture sector. As his wife Jo says, it was a big deal at the time because thousands of young people just like Sean were working in the sector.
His career began in 1981 when he started as a
cadet working in various local orchards. Two years later he was managing orchards and aiming even-tually to own his own kiwi-fruit block.
“In 1992, when the kiwi-fruit industry hit pretty much rock bottom, with property values low, we took the opportunity to buy our first orchard. We bought more land in 1995, 2010 and again in 2013.
“I was fortunate that when I started we were in
the development stage of the industry. We were flat out developing orchards and there was a good variety of vine and struc-tural work so I learned how to develop orchards.
“In the 1980s it became all about production and later it was about improving efficiency. I guess when there were cycles – and there are always cycles in farming – we have been in the right position to take the oppor-
tunity to purchase land.” Carnachan says he
escaped the PSa problem because we wasn’t growing any 16A fruit at the time and now has G3 and G9 fruit.
“I have tended to do the opposite of what everyone else does,” he explains. “I buy when I consider the property values are real-istic. And when times are good we have a strategy of surrendering debt and doing improvements in the
orchard because our cash-flows are strong.”
This strategy has paid off for Sean and Jo Carnachan, now among the largest and most successful growers in the region. But while success through smart decisions has come their way, they are future-focused on the industry, committed to improving the quality of their crop and helping create a labour force for the industry.
Grower’s OE tipped the scales
Sean Carnachans career in the kiwifruit industry started back in 1981.
Sean Carnachan’s orchard consists of 16ha of covered kiwifruit 10ha in Hayward and 6ha in G3 gold.
Terms and Conditions: Valid 1/8/2015 - 31/8/2015 or while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Product may not be available in all stores but may be ordered on request. Prices do not include delivery, delivery costs are additional. Image is for illustrative purposes only.
Men’sNormally $105
$85Women’s/YouthNormally $84.99
$6499
$20
The rst post-emergence fungicide spray applied
to the seed.
Systiva®, the only seed-applied formulation of BASF’s active ingredient Xemium® has unmatched mobility and systemicity offering a new level of reliable disease control.
PROVEN: New Zealand on-farm trials showthat Xemium® ( uxapyroxad) performs better on barley crops than other carboxamides previouslyon the market.
With continued uptake from the seed and soil depots, Systiva® continues to protect young plants and leaves as they emerge and grow.
BSF 0054 01/15 RN
Xseeding all expectations• Better protection against main seed
& soil borne diseases• No need for early fungicide application• Improved germination & emergence
• Stronger & longer roots• Better winter hardiness• More viable tillers per plant• Enhanced crop vigour in spring
Available from your localrural supplier or call BASFon 0800 93 2273Details at: www.agro.basf.co.nz
Xseeding all expectations
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
34 MANAGEMENT
Lamb productivity still depends on basicsACHIEVING HIGH lamb survival and growth rates to weaning is about matching ewes to their correct lambing paddock.
Using basic principles and knowledge farmers have of their farm, they can aim to maximise the performance of their flock to weaning. This is very important in a year in which covers are low and many ewes are going into lambing in poor body condition.
Most New Zealand farmers know whether their ewes are singleton or multiple bearing,
based on pregnancy scanning. Further, going into set stocking they know which paddocks have the highest covers and traditionally which paddocks grow the most grass in early spring. They also hopefully know which paddocks have in the past resulted in the highest lamb survival, based on previous pregnancy scanning and tailing data. Farmers could also identify ewes in very poor condition when giving pre-lamb vaccinations, if they have not identified these ewes earlier. Using the above information farmers
PAUL KENYONcan make informed decisions.
Ewe intakes are not restricted at lambing, and in lactation, when covers don’t fall below 1200kgDM/ha (4cm sward height) further intakes do not increase at very high covers.
The further covers fall below
1200kgDM/ha the
poorer ewe
and lamb performance will be.
Singleton bearing ewes and ewes with a condition score of 3.0 or above have some ability to buffer. Therefore these ewes are the ones that can be set stocked on paddocks with lower covers while multiple bearing ewes, especially poor condition ewes, should be prioritised to paddocks with higher covers and into those paddocks that grow more grass. Stocking rates with multiples are also important to ensure appropriate covers are maintained.
There will be paddocks that have traditionally resulted in higher lamb survival, whether that’s due to shelter, slope or some other factor. These are the paddocks that multiples, especially triplets, should be set stocked on.
Some farmers are also in the position to have crops like lucerne and herb mixes such as plantain and/or chicory and clovers to lamb on. Studies funded by Beef + Lamb NZ have shown that these can
improve ewe and lamb performance
to weaning with singleton
and multiple rearing mature ewes and singleton rearing hoggets. However, cover on these crops should not be grazed too low if the aim is to maximise animal performance and longevity of the crops.
Stocking rates are also important as ewes need to remain on these crops in lactation otherwise adverse health effects have been reported. In some environments these crops may not be ready at lambing.
Studies have shown that ewes can be placed on herb clover mixes that contain a high level
of clover post tailing and performance to weaning is also increased. Recently studies at Massey University have also shown that lambs at 19kg can be weaned early onto herb clover mixes and their growth to a normal weaning age was greater than those left on their dam under unrestricted ryegrass white clover feeding conditions.
Studies funded by BLNZ this spring at Massey University will include: 1) early weaning of lambs on herb clover mixes and lucerne under differing environments; 2) the impact of lambing twin bearing hoggets on herb clover and lucerne mixes, and; 3) can lambing singleton bearing ewes on herb clove mixes allow for early slaughter dates.
The group is also examining the impact of singleton ewe stocking rate and is re-examining the role of milk in early lamb growth with the aim of designing strategies to allow for early weaning. • Professor Paul Kenyon is a sheep specialist who heads Massey University’s Institute of Veterinary, Animal, and Biomedical Sciences.
Delaro is the new early season Barley fungicide for effective control of scald, net blotch and leaf rust. With the double combination of two powerful actives and excellent value for money, Delaro gives you more bang for your buck.
Insist on Delaro from Bayer.
More bang for your buck!
BA
C14
27LIVESTOCK ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBEREQUESTRIAN ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
Be part of New Zealand’s largest A&P Show, with over 3000 animals on-site and the chance to win your share of $100,000 in prizes.Discounts are available for exhibitors travelling more than 400km to compete.The Canterbury A&P Association is proud to host a Royal A&P Equestrian Event in 2015.
FOR PRICING / TEST RIDE CALL 0800 020 074 OR VIEW OFFERS AT CANAMOFFROAD.COM
*FINANCE OFFER ON SELECTED MODELS ONLY. AVAILABLE AT PARTICIPATING DEALERS
ENDS AUGUST 31ST 2015S A L E S E V E N T
INDUSTRY LEADING PERFORMANCE BACKED BY
INDUSTRY LEADING WARRANTY
OUTLANDER 500 DPS
COMMANDER 800 DPS SSV / OUTLANDER 500/650 ATV
*Ready to Ride Event ends 31st August 2015, eligible on MY13/14/15 units only. Terms conditions and lending criteria apply. Additional finance related fees may apply. Applies to Credit Contracts with a 24 month term, provided by MTF. Offer expires 31/08/2015. Available at participating authorised Can-Am Dealers on selected models only. Not available in conjunction with any other promotion. ^3 Year Warranty covers MY13/14/15 Can-Am Outlander & Renegade ATVs.
1/3 IN 24 MONTHS *1/3 NOW * 1/3 IN 12 MONTHS *PAY
YEAR UNLIMITED KM
WARRANTY3 ^
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
36 MANAGEMENT
Harvested sugar beet cost effective and high qualityTHE REAL cost of forages should be a key driver for a farm business; but to determine ‘real value’, buying decisions should be based on various factors, says SeedForce.
Quality and utilisation will help determine the true value of forages fed. Rather than buying on cents/kgDM, the quality (MJME/kgDM) and utilisation (as a %) of that feed should be calculated to highlight the true cost and expressed in c/kgDM consumed or c/MJME.
This will then allow all potential feed options to be compared on their specific attributes and the best option(s) selected that will complement each other in a mixed ration.
One of the most cost-effective, quality feed
options to consider is sugar beet.
Of the same species as fodder beet, sugar beet differs in its attributes. Bred specifically for mechanical harvesting, sugar beet is much more uniform in its appearance than fodder beet which has direct benefits for harvesting. While fodder beet can be harvested, this can pose issues such as excessive ‘harvest loss’, which can be directly attributed to plant uniformity and crown height.
With sugar beet these harvest losses are minimised, most notably in the topping phase of harvest. The bulb shape and size of sugar beet help ensure a cleaner harvest than fodder beet which are often varied in their size. The aim for any
mechanical harvesting of beet is to maximise returns by removing all leaf material but leaving the bulb intact.
The key benefits of harvested sugar beet are its consistent quality of 12MJME/kgDM and high utilisation – at least 95% -- regardless of conditions. Sugar beet can be a versatile feed option fitting into a range of feeding systems and timings. With low protein bulbs, it combines well with spring grass production and can be fed whole or chopped depending on your system. It can also be stored longer than fodder beet due to its higher DM%.
Many farmers are utilising sugar beet in their systems now as a high-energy source with
production benefits. Uses are varied, but typical uses are 5kgDM sugar beet fed during lactation in a
dairy system or higher levels fed out on pasture to dry cows or R2 steers balanced with high quality pasture. Its quality can substitute more expensive alternatives in a daily ration. Whether bought in or grown on farm, this flexibility is one of its key advantages.
Sugar beet also has the advantage over fodder beet of higher dry matter percentage, leading to harvestable yield advantages, transport benefits and longer storability. If grown
onfarm, rather than bought in, this has huge implications on cost as the higher the harvestable
yield the lower the cost/kgDM.
The logistics of cartage also improve with the higher bulb DM% for sugar beet; for example,
carting 30 tonne fresh weight of beet in a truck and trailer equates to 5.4 tDM for a load of fodder
beet at 18%DM vs 6.9 tDM of sugar beet at 23%DM – which is a 30% advantage for sugar beet in every load. The benefit is even greater if the sugar beet DM% is higher, which is common.
Sugar beet seed is still available for planting this spring and there are mechanical
harvesters in many regions nationwide.• SeedForce is an Australasian seed developer and marketer backed by RAGT Semences.
Sugar beet being harvested in Canterbury.
Many farmers are utilising sugar beet in their systems now as a high-energy source with production benefits.
The one variable you can control to improve profit
Woolover covers dramatically improve the
survival of new born animals
WooloverA N I M A L C O V E R S
Ph 03-354 4123 • Cell 027-434 1606 • Email [email protected] • web www.woolover.co.nzAVAILABLE THROUGH ALL LEADING STOCK AND STATION AGENTS AND VET SUPPLIES
®
• If you can get to them you can
save them• Cost effective
and practical• Easy to fit • Improves weight gain
ULTRA CALF COVER:
• Waterproof• Breathable
• Durable• Cleanable
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
ANIMAL HEALTH 37
FE’s spread encourages ram breedersSCIENTISTS ARE noting a geographic spread of facial eczema (FE) and urging ram breeders to start introducing tol-erance into their flocks, sooner rather than later.
AgResearch animal production sci-entist Dr Tricia Johnson and RamGuard testing service head Neville Amyes pre-sented a workshop to about 100 sheep breeders at this year’s Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics sheep breeder forum, held in Napier in late July. The annual forum is an opportunity for sheep breeders to interact directly with BLNZ Genetics and the scientists working in genetics.
FE affects sheep and cattle and is the result of ingesting sporidesmin pro-duced from the fungus Pithomyces char-tarum. The spores cause liver damage which directly affects production and can go on to cause photosensitivity. Spore production increases within leafy pastures in warm and humid environ-ments. Farmers can measure pasture spores and there is testing which picks up levels of GGT produced by the liver – a specific enzyme that indicates liver damage.
Johnson says FE is spreading, geo-graphically, and more farmers are facing production losses due to subclin-
ical effects such as decreased growth and or lambing percentages.
The forum presentation focused on the role genetics and genomic technol-ogy could play in predicting which ani-mals were likely to be more FE tolerant.
“Tolerance to facial eczema in sheep is highly heritable and genetic improve-
ment can be achieved using SIL breed-ing values,” Johnson says.
But it can take many years to breed animals highly tolerant of the spores and it’s not cheap to do, because of the testing involved. That test is called RamGuard: animals are subjected to low levels of the FE-causing spores,
before having their GGT levels tested. In this way breeders can select individ-ual animals showing the greatest toler-ance and make faster genetic progress.
Johnson believes more advanced genomic technology will allow breed-ers to ‘leapfrog’ progress towards FE tolerance, but testing will need to con-
tinue from that point.“Start now for the future,” Johnson
says. “Look at getting a little tolerance through your breeding programme now by buying facial eczema tolerant rams and get that through the maternal pop-ulation of your flock.”
But the effort needs to be ongoing, she says. It’s not a matter of using rams one season; FE needs to be added as a trait to the breeding programme and ideally it should be accompanied by RamGuard testing to verify progress is being made.
To achieve accurate genomic pre-dictions at least 1500 RamGuard-tested animals per sheep breed need to be gen-otyped using SNP chip platforms.
At least 3600 sheep have now been genotyped, but because of the 1500 per breed requirement for accuracy, only Romney predictions are consid-ered accurate at this point. Coopworth are well on their way, with 780 animals genotyped, and Perendale have made a solid start, at 360 animals.
“In the case of Perendales, breed-ers have initiated a programme to boost these numbers and are now Ram-Guard-testing over 300 per year,” John-son says.
Scientist Dr Tricia Johnson and RamGuard testing service head Neville Amyes at the recent Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics sheep breeder forum.
Protect your new lamb cropNOW is the time to review your
on-farm sheep measles programme
For more information contact your veterinarian, phone Ovis Management on 0800 222 011 or go to www.sheepmeasles.co.nz
24th July 2015:
Line of killed 72 lambs processed – 20% were
infected with sheep measles,8 were condemned!
www.powerfarming.co.nz
ROTAFLOW RO-M & RO-XLSPREADERSThe RO-M Easy Weigh model can be operated with the Kverneland Group Focus II terminal, IsoMatch Tellus terminal or any ISOBUS compatible tractor terminal. • UniqueRotaFlow
Contact your local Power Farming Dealer or visit our website
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
38 ANIMAL HEALTH
WAIKATO REGIONAL Council (WRC) says is con-cerned that proposed changes to the national plan for managing tuberculosis (TB) in cows don’t pay enough attention to the possibility of the disease being trans-ported into the region.
The comments arose after the council finalised its submission on the proposed changes.
WRC chief executive Vaughan Payne said the coun-cil recently extended for another year its rate collection for OSPRI, which manages bovine TB-related possum eradication.
“Yet the proposed changes to the national plan sug-gest a greater focus on [killing pests] in areas known to have TB, rather than continuing [eradication] in a wider range of areas,” says Payne.
“The council sees a high likelihood this approach will result in a withdrawal of OSPRI pest [kills]… north of Taupo.”
The submission also reflected farmers’ belief that TB was not prevalent in the region and that outbreaks may be the result of infected stock being trucked into or through the region.
Much more effort needs to go into making sure stock trucking is not putting Waikato at risk of TB, Payne adds.
“An effective national TB pest management strategy is vital… to limit production losses and the associated [costs] of the disease on our cattle and deer industries.”
Peter Alsop, OSRPI group manager says they are talking with WRC about their recent comments on the TB plan review and pest eradication in their region.
OSPRI will keep at pest eradication in Waikato during 2015-16, and appreciates the council’s funding on behalf of landowners, Alsop says.
“The outcomes of the review of the TB plan… are not yet decided. Consultation… closed on July 31 and feedback is now being assessed by the plan governance group (PGG). The new plan, once recommended to, and then decided by the minister, will apply from July 1, 2016.
Ram breeders welcome BSC BVsA BREEDING value for ewe body condition score (BCS) will be available to ram breeders by the end of September.
At last month’s Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics sheep breeder forum in Napier, SIL advisor Sharon McI-ntyre updated ram breed-ers on new breeding value traits now in the pipeline,
including one dedicated to BCS.
BCS is becoming an increasingly popular man-agement tool, because of the positive effect it has on so many key outcomes.
Studies show that a ewe’s body condition directly affects scan-ning percentage, lamb birthweight and sur-
vival, mothering ability, colostrum production and milking ability, lamb growth rates and weaning weights.
Until now, SIL has estimated feed costs for adult ewes on the basis of genetic merit for adult weight. Adding in BCS will improve this estimate of what a ewe will eat.
Over the past five years, about 50 SIL flocks have been submitting BCS data, some as a by-prod-uct of their involvement in an Ovita project look-ing at ewe efficiency. This data has allowed SIL to investigate the workabil-ity of a condition score breeding value.
McIntyre says the
breeding value is being developed in direct response to breeder feed-back that ewe weight does not fully describe all aspects of ewe size.
“Adult size describes one, but not all, aspects of a ewe that impact her production. BCS is a way of getting more informa-tion about adult size and
performance. It’s a quick, easy and low-cost tool.”
While scores can be recorded at any of four key management times – mating, scanning, lamb-ing and weaning – analysis shows there is a strong correlation between those scores. That means a par-
ticular ewe that has an above average BCS at one point in the year is likely to record an above average score at other times. This means breeders need only submit one BCS annually, ideally at mating time and alongside the ewe’s live-weight.
Ram breeders attending last month’s Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics sheep breeder forum in Napier had the oppor-tunity to participate in a practical workshop on body con-dition scoring, led by consulting veterinarian Trevor Cook.
NILVAX® protects your lambs for 16 weeks against the 5 key clostridial diseases, 4 weeks longer than conventional 5-in-1s.
The short-acting levamisole drench not only controls gastrointestinal roundworms and lungworms in the ewe, it also helps boost immunity and increases antibodies.
THE LONG.
THE SHORT.
Nilvax is the best thing to get your lambs off to a good healthy start and through to weaning.
Insist on NILVAX. Ask at your vet clinic or farming retailer.
01715_MSD Nilvax 280x187_RN.indd 1 26/05/15 11:02 am
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
ANIMAL HEALTH 39
A COLLABORATION between New Zealand sheep researchers and Chinese red meat producers will benefit both countries’ farm-ing systems, the academics claim.
Animal scientists from Massey University have recently been appointed expert consultants to the XinBao farm in China.
Professors Hugh Blair, Steve Morris and Paul Kenyon from the university’s Interna-tional Sheep Research Centre have been vis-iting China for the last 10 years, establish-ing relationships with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shihezi University staff and more recently XinBao.
On their most recent trip they visited the XinBao sheep farming operation on Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp’s property.
The immediate goals of this farm are to produce one million lambs annually from 500,000 ewes with year-round lambing, and to capitalise on co-products like methane from animal waste and electricity from shed-mounted solar panels.
During the visit the scientists designed a $400,000 research proj-
ect to collect baseline data, which will allow the assessment of pro-ductivity and profitability of any proposed changes to the farming system. Seven research projects are being developed over the next three-six months for which XinBao will contract Massey University’s
expertise in sheep production and education.
Blair says the rate of progress has been “incredible” by sharing knowledge between the two coun-tries.
“We are occasionally chal-lenged by New Zealanders who think we are giving away the coun-try’s knowledge in sheep farming,” he says.
“However, we believe the opportunities for NZ to collabo-rate in Chinese tertiary education and onfarm research provide major opportunities for NZ to learn, improve and share.”
Blair believes the benefits flow both ways. “We are discovering things about indoor sheep farming systems that might have a place in environmentally sensitive parts of NZ.”
As well as environmental bene-fits, he says there is huge economic
opportunity for NZ. “China is a sig-
nificant trading partner for NZ and anything we can do to improve our rela-tionship is benefi-cial. This includes research mentoring and collaboration.
“China will shortly be the powerhouse of sci-ence discovery: current projec-tions have China overtaking the US in 5-10 years. Massey wants to be part of that knowledge genera-tion, just as we have been part of Euro-centric knowledge genera-tion for the last 150 years.”
In April 2015, XinBao was granted $2 billion by the Chinese Government to help realise the vision of increased sheepmeat supply as part of its drive to sub-stantially increase national red meat production.
@rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnews
CLOSER NZ-CHINA SHEEP TIES
Double honour for Massey vetMASSEY UNIVERSITY vet Peter Wilson has been doubly honoured recently: he was awarded the Deer Farmers Association’s Premier Industry Award, and life membership of the New Zealand Veteri-nary Association.
Professor Wilson, from Massey ‘s Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, spe-cialises in deer nutrition, reproduction, welfare, disease and epidemiology, health and herd profiling of farmed deer and, more recently, mixed species farming.
He received the indus-try award for his out-standing contribution to the deer sector for 40 years. In its citation, the Deer Farmers Association described him as a pro-lific researcher and author and a man engaged with industry and the commu-nity.
“Peter Wilson stands tall in the history of the development and evo-lution of the farmed NZ deer industry, clearly in the advancement of deer health programmes, but equally in a whole farm system view based on pro-ductivity improvement and systems analysis.”
Wilson also has a long history with the NZVA. He
set up its deer branch 30 years ago and chaired it for 20 years.
The association has at least 2000 members and just seven current life members includ-ing Wilson. It says he has “done an exemplary job of leading the deer branch with vision, flair and wisdom”.
Wilson says he is hum-
bled to receive the hon-ours.
“It has been an excit-ing and challenging indus-try to be part of, but most satisfying is the privilege of working with outstand-ing colleagues, students and industry people who have contributed so much to my career, so this award recognises their contribu-tion as much as mine.”
Dr Peter Wilson
“We believe the opportunities for NZ to collaborate in Chinese tertiary education and onfarm research provide major opportunities for NZ to learn, improve and share.”
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
40 ANIMAL HEALTH
Calf rearing helps medic de-stressFOR LEN Pickett, working as a St John’s paramedic is the perfect complement to his “other career”, working as a commercial calf rearer, suggests the company that supplies him calf
feed – Fiber Fresh.Pickett has worked as
a paramedic in Taranaki for 46 years, and he and wife Diane 30 years ago began rearing calves to supplement their income and to help him
‘de-stress’ from his work.“I work for St John
four days on four days off, 12 months of the year. It’s a juggling act come calving time and we work long hours, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Working with the calves is totally different from St John and I’m able to de-stress by mixing with the animals.”
This year the Picketts are rearing 280 Friesian calves on their 9ha
property near Stratford. For them, the key
to calf development is what they feed them. After experimenting with different feeds last year and not seeing the same results they had in the past, Len decided to return to previously methods.
“We start the calves on Fiber Fresh and then later they’re put onto 16% pellets. I like to mix things around. After experimenting with a third feed last year, some of the calves ended up with laminitis. I can’t say for sure what caused it, but I’ve never had problems before. So this season I’m going back to what I know gets good results.”
Pickett says the
calves don’t have the opportunity to run free on the small property so nutrition is crucial.
“The calves get everything they need to grow with Fiber Fresh. We don’t have any major health issues in the shed and we find that calves grow well, develop large rumens and have nice shiny coats. Once they’re ready to go out in the paddock they’re already at 90kg and keep growing from there.”
The Picketts sell mostly through a stock agent, but they have some buyers come direct to them because they are impressed with their calves.
“Our stock agent has also commented that our calves are big and glossy and they put weight on quickly.”
Picketts have fed Fiber Fresh for 10 years; they say the calves are happy to get on it and easily adapt from there.
He plans no changes despite this season’s difficult economic environment. “We would never cut back on the quality or amount of food just to try and save a bit of money. This season we’re sticking to what we know works,” he says.
Len and Diane Pickett on their Stratford property
“Working with the calves is totally different from St John and I’m able to de-stress by mixing with the animals.”
OUR STORIES. OUR HERO.OUR HERO.
Bovilis® BVD has been tested and proven in New Zealand conditions against the potentially devastating impact of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD).
To give your BVD story a happy ending, ask your vet about implementing a vaccination-led programme with Bovilis BVD.
✔ Proven in New Zealand conditions for over 10 years
✔ Formulated for safety in pregnant cows1
✔ Improves fertility on farms with active BVD infection2
✔ Doesn’t cause a drop in milk production2
✔ Provides fetal protection for 6 months1
AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No: A8237 ®Registered trademark. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz NZ/BOV/0515/0005a
“I had heard of BVD, but I didn’t know what it was. So I presented three very poor animals for testing, and all three came back as being positive with BVD.”
Stephen Pound, Beef farmer, Mauriceville
“My advice is don’t be on your own with it. Go to your vet, put a plan in place and monitor that plan until you’ve completely fi nished with it.”
Ciarán Tully, Dairy farmer, Thames
1. Patel, J.R. et al. Prevention of transplacental infection of bovine fetus by bovine viral diarrhoea virus through vaccination. Arch. Virol. (2002), 147:2453-2463.
2. MSD Data on fi le.
To hear the full stories of how Stephen and Ciarán successfully tackled BVD go to www.bvd.co.nz
ELE-
0174
2-RN
WRITERS WANTED
Agriculture journalists with strong technical knowledge of farming wanted to contribute on a freelance basis for Rural News Group publications and websites.
●
Looking for people in the North and South Islands. Need to be professional and
reliable. Need to be handy with a camera and have a strong writing ability.
WHILE THE the world’s farm machinery industry is feeling it tough, sitting alongside an agricultural sector that appears to be in the dol-drums, it’s encouraging to hear one big company is looking to the future.
German harvesting and tractor manufac-turer Claas is betting large on Russia at a time when others are pulling back and out, as the country struggles with political unrest and record low oil prices.
The 3.8 billion euro company, already operat-ing a factory in Krasnodar, will spend at least 120 million euros (NZ$ 200m) building a second plant, with the capacity to take production to 2500 units per annum. Scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2015, the
combined site will be Claas’s fourth largest in size.
Catherin Claas-Muelhaeuser, who with her father Helmut (93), owns most of the Harsewinkel-located company, is backing the Russian expansion.
“Despite the current challenges in Russia, we are convinced about the future of Russia,” she says. “We believe there are great prospects for its agriculture, but it has a need for
investment in farm technology.”This comment makes sense con-
sidering Russia’s 122m ha of farm-land, only 60% effectively farmed. It uses mostly outdated machinery dating back to the Soviet Union.
“The no. 1 priorities for our growth are Russia and Ukraine, in that order, and they’re the reason for our invest-ment, despite the dif-ficulties,” says Claas KgaA chief executive Lother Kriszun.
He says those who are courageous and stay for the long run will be viewed pos-itively by potential Russian customers.
“We should also remember that Russia is not Putin. It is a large country on the European continent and we are sure the situation will normalise in due course.”
Less dead-timeCENTRE PIVOT mowers have a loyal following of customers who want to achieve high daily outputs and eliminate ‘dead time’ on headlands when mowing in lands.
The ability to mow on either side of the tractor cuts headland traveling time by as much as 15%, reduces the risk of soil contamination and swath disturbance and lessens soil compac-tion.
Two new machines from Kuhn, the 3.1m FC 3160 TCD and the 3.5m FC3560 TCD, use the company’s Gyrodine swivel hitch system to transmit PTO power from the tractor, while ensuring the shaft stays straight, improving reli-ability and reducing maintenance.
Available with either 540 or 1000rpm
input speeds, the unit also allows the tractor to make high speed turns under full power on headlands and get back into work quickly.
The FC series uses the Kuhn Opti-disc cutterbar with Fast-Fit knives, which combines with an adjustable suspension system and the headstock to promote excellent ground following characteristics. The mowers’ large diam-eter wheels optimise stability – particu-larly on hillsides.
The conditioner comes as a 560mm diameter unit fitted with free swinging steel tines, or a 240mm diameter roller unit for delicate crops, both offering high throughput with a choice of 780 or 1000 rpm speeds. www.kuhn.co.nz
Range: 30 Teat x 550 Litre .......................................$3595.0040 Teat x 550 Litre .......................................$3975.0050 Teat x 550 Litre .......................................$4315.0060 Teat x 750 Litre Tandem ...........$5895.0080 Teat x 1100 Litre Tandem ...........$9595.00
A combine, but not as we know it!COMBINE HARVESTERS are the final piece of the jigsaw in growing a suc-cessful crop. While Cyrus Hall McCormick is cred-ited with inventing the reaper in 1834 – and start-ing the mechanisation of cereal production – it took a lot longer to see the har-vester we know today.
The Sunshine Com-pany of Australia produced the auto header in 1923, about when Curtis Bros produced the first Gleaner. Massey Harris, Canada, produced the first self-propelled units in 1937, the first Claeys in 1952 and the Claas Herkules in 1953.
For the last 80 years look and layout haven’t been said to have changed much – until now.
In January 2016 The Tribine Company of Newton, Kansas, will start
making an innovative new combine design that will turn the look of the con-ventional combine on its head. Brought about by the vision of Ben Dillon over 15 years, the new Trib-ine harvester comprises a front and rear section which articulates through a central joint with 30˚
of lateral oscillation. The front half of the unit derives from an AGCO gleaner S77 rotary com-bine with the grain tank removed, and the rear unit is a 27 tonne capac-ity chaser bin. The latter is around twice the capacity of the largest conventional machines now in the mar-ketplace.
“The unconventional design will enable crop-ping farmers to realise greater profitability by reducing labour costs, having less capital tied up in machinery and reducing ground compaction,” the company says.
In use, the front part of the machine threshes and cleans the grain in the
normal fashion, powered by the 370hp engine; it then transfers the clean grain to the cavernous holding tank via a 30cm
diameter transfer auger. Chopped straw, chaff and MOG exit the rear of the front unit and are distributed back onto the ground by a pair of high capacity, hydraulically driven fans.
The system uses three hydraulic pumps to power the all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steer and unload-ing auger systems. The latter, located at the rear of the holding tank, uses a 7m long x 56cm diameter auger to discharge at 13.5 tonnes/minute to empty the tank in just two min-utes.
With an overall length of 10.6m and a width of 4.4m, the machine is no shrinking violet. Its artic-
ulation ensures great manoeuvrability and its steering has a crab steer mode. Extensive use of alumin-ium panels keep overall weight down, though the machine weighs 45 tonnes fully loaded.
This weight is carried on 1200mm wide tyres of 1800mm diameter and the company notes that the ground pressure exerted is less than conventional units due to the large foot-print of these tyres. It also points out that the com-bined weight of a con-ventional harvester and a 200hp tractor pulling a 27 tonne chaser bin far exceed the Tribine’s pay-load.
TOW AND FARMby metalform
TF
The Tow and Fert allows you to dissolve your own urea to reduce your
enabling you to apply multiple fertilisers or animal health products or herbicides in one application.
Talk to us about the cost reduction you can achieve right now.
REDUCE YOUR FERTILISER BILL AND GROW MORE GRASS
Call us for your FREE demo now:WWW.TOWANDFARM.CO.NZ
0508 747 040
THE CHEAPESTPASTURE
WITH TOW AND FERT.
FORM OF FEED.
Multi 4000ulti1200 Multi 1000M
NEED IRRIGATION?WANT EFFICIENCY?
CALL THE ONLY COMPANY THAT IS ACCREDITED IN EFFLUENT AND IRRIGATION DESIGN
Sub-soiling pioneer leaves his markRural News recently reported the death of Des James, the founder of James Engineering at Gore. Machinery editor Mark Daniel looks back on his time as one of the well-known faces of the New Zealand ag machinery industry.
LIKE MANY engineers, Des James’ early days were focussed on tractors.
He first made a living working as a contractor, breaking in virgin tussock in Southland, making land more productive, and working many hours on water schemes, pulling in pipes and cables for councils.
Running on a tight budget, Des did his own repairs and modifications and soon had local farmers bringing their machines to him for repair. So began James Engineering, at Maitland, and a history that made a lot of difference to a number of enterprises.
During his time pulling in pipes and cables, Des noticed that as the ground ‘healed’ the grass always came back particularly strongly around the trench. So he embarked on a journey that was to dominate his career: understanding what was going on below the soil surface.
In 1983 he built the first James’ aerator, following a request from Ian Sadlier at J.J.’s who had a request from a customer who wanted a more efficient aerator than he could then find in the marketplace.
After experimenting with the profile and the angle of the steel legs of the aerator, Des struck a combination that ensured the whole profile across the width of the machine was lifted, creating cracks and fissures, thereby removing compaction – particularly around the area of a plough pan that typically sits at 200-300mm below the ground surface. That configuration remains to this day.
The mechanics of the action is fairly straightforward: the cracking allows crop roots to go deeper searching for moisture, which was particularly useful in a
dry season; and it allows more oxygen into the soil profile. This encourages more microbial activity, which in itself ‘unlocks’ residual fertiliser in the soil.
Tests with the then Lincoln College and DSIR confirmed that soil aerating to a depth of 250-300mm was very beneficial and could result in increases in dry matter production of around 20%. Local trials in Southland showed a 21.7% increase over 15 months.
Over the years, James Engineering developed a number of additions to the original machine, such as disc and roller assemblies. The company also introduced mole ploughs and other soil working machines that improved soil profile.
A key to this development was regular attendance at regional and national field days which gave Des the opportunity to talk to customers and understand their needs, resulting in ‘tweaks’ to machines to suit particular jobs.
Around 2001 Des formed a partnership with his then workshop foreman Mike Key.
The latter eventually bought the business outright in 2004 and has carried on the traditions of the company’s founder – building rugged machines for the task and taking time to talk to customers to understand their needs.
In fact, between 2004 and his recent death just short of age 79, Des continued to attend Fieldays with Mike and his team and impart his wisdom on proceedings.
Many will remember Des touring the country in his one tonne ute. If the recent heavy rain is anything to go by, it looks like Des has moved upstairs and ‘loosened’ a few clouds.
Des James toured field days and shows up and down NZ with his trusty one tonne ute.
PO
W05
26A
Agrotron M600 Summit• 140hp 6.1L Deutz engine• 120L/min load sensing pump• 9250kg rear lift• Front and rear 100% diff lock
ASM• Cab suspension• 4 rear remotes
Agrotron M620 Summit• More horsepower (166hp)• Front suspension• 50 kph top speed• Front weight upgrade package
Pay for the Agrotron M620*We’ll upgrade you to the TTV620
Pay for the Agrotron M600*We’ll upgrade you to the M620
It’s easy really. It’s an upgrade. For free. You pay for an Agrotron M-Series tractor, and we’ll give you the next level of spec – for free.
Pay for a 140hp Deutz and we’ll give you the 166hp model; pay for the 166hp model and we’ll upgrade you to the 184hp TTV model. For all the details visit deutzdeals.co.nz or call your local Power Farming dealer, and get more bang for your buck.
DEUTZFLEXIFINANCE
ASK ABOUT
HIRE TO BUY
an upgrade. For free. You pay for an Agrotron MMM SS-Series tractor, and we’ll evel of spec – for free.
d ’ll
* Refer to current ‘no trade’ prices. ** 0% finance based on 30% deposit (plus total gst paid in month 3) and monthly payments for a 12 month term.Offer available for a limited time to approved applicants only. Terms and conditions apply.
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
44 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Hybrid car comes of ageFIRSTLY, IN my defence, I’m a 1970s petrolhead who knew his way around Cortina, Capri and Weber carburettors no problem, so a trip to the Toyota dealers to pick up a loan Camry Hybrid shouldn’t have been a problem.
But things didn’t start too well, literally. The dealer handed me the key fob: drive lever in park, foot on brake, push the start button – nothing! Same routine again, plus make sure the park brake was set, even put the seat belt on, same result – nothing. So I called over the smirking salesman who informed me “you’re not the first; the dash light says ‘ready’ so press the throttle and go”.
I knew that; I was just testing him.
Toyota has quite some experience of hybrids: at least 7 million such vehi-cles! The idea is a rela-tively simple one. Take a 4-cyl petrol engine and couple it to a perma-nent magnet synchro-nous motor powered
by a Ni-Mh battery and – depending on the sit-uation – use either the former or the latter to propel the vehicle.
In practice, the petrol engine produces 118kW and combined with the electric motor the power
output is 151kW. On the road this translates into get-up-and-go: 0-100km/h in only 7.5 seconds and, more interesting, 80-100km/h in just one second. This is a seriously good open road car.
But the main thing is
fuel consumption, which the factory claims is around 5.2L/100km. This is likely, as this driver achieved 6.5L/100km around town and on the odd 70-80km jaunt.
The other enduring impression of the Camry Hybrid is the smooth-ness of the transmission, with electronic control of the CVT unit that works so well with the HSD con-cept.
There’s no fuss, just a quiet linear increase in speed; and when the loud pedal is floored and the engine throws in some extra boogie it’s equally
smooth and the speed rises at a greater rate. A neat feature, not seen on other CVT style trans-missions, is the ‘B’ gate on the drive lever which activates engine braking downhill or coasting to a stop.
The handling is com-posed and compliant and, as expected, the car tends to understeer if pushed hard into tight corners, though it always feels safe and adjusting the throttle brings it back on line. The cabin is clean and modern and the seats are comfort-able and supportive.
The car’s bling list reads well: proximity key and push button starting, dual zone climate control and a well-thought-out 6.1 inch centre screen that covers the usual media interactions, Bluetooth and screen for a reversing camera that’s clear and logical.
Outside, the vehi-cle has clean crisp lines that don’t give any clues about the engine bay. The front aspect is good look-ing with its attractive grill and the vertical LED day-time running lights add a nice touch and a degree of safety.
So far so good, what
about negatives? Two key points are
probably in need of dis-cussion: towing capacity and price.
For serious towing the Camry Hybrid is proba-bly not for you; the braked towing limit is set at 300kg, so limits things to a small trailer or maybe a golf cart.
Pricewise the Camry GL as tested tips the dollar scale at $44,090+orc, compared to the standard GL version at $38,990 – a premium of $5100. Averaging fuel con-sumption at 2.5L/100 km less than the standard ver-sion (assuming petrol at $2.10/L in July) the hybrid would justify its extra cost over a 100,000km life-time.
The numbers would stack up sooner if the car was mostly used around town, but it’s not always about the money, and if you want a car that can punch out a 1000km on one fill this might be the one.
It’s safe to say the Camry Hybrid is far removed from any imag-ined tree-hugging, san-dal-wearing, goatee beard-sporting drivers. Hybrid has come of age.
DRAINAGE AND SOIL AERATION PAY BIG DIVIDENDSDon’t put good fertiliser on compacted soil which can’t absorb it. If your soil can’t support 15cm root growth and good worm population check for compaction. You could need aeration. In dollar terms, what would 20% production increase mean to your yearly turnover?
YOUR GREATEST ASSET IS THE SOIL YOU FARM. DON’T DESTROY IT!
MAITLAND RD5, GORE. PH/FAX 03-207 1837 OR 027-628 5695www.james-engineering.co.nz
• SOIL AERATION SPECIALISTS •
HEAVY DUTY AUTO RESET
MOLEPLOUGH
AERATORS
PRE RIPPERS
NOW AVAILABLE, 5 OR 6 LEG
MODELS
Call us on 0800 487 853 or visit www.hustlerequipment.co.nz
Chainless 4000FROM
$439/MTH
SL350 FROM
$209/MTH
SL450X FROM
$305/MTHSL700X FROM
$399/MTH
Chainless 2000FROM
$269/MTH
Chainless X5000FROM
$539/MTH
4YEARWARRANTY
*
2+2 YEAREXTENDED WARRANTY. *Order a Hustler in 2015 to receive an additional 2 years warranty for FREE (normally $600). Conditions apply. Finance subject to normal lending criteria, valid only at participating dealers. Call for more information
DEMAND NO CHAINS.
Own one of New Zealand’s most trusted balefeeders from under $7 a day*
If it’s the most versatile, reliable, efficient and quietest balefeeder you are after (or any of the above) that can feed out tight bales choose a Chainless balefeeder.
If you want a simple balefeeder to feed out loose round bales choose a chain type balefeeder. Hustler build the toughest, most reliable and trusted chain feeders
KATIPO 890 PACK ONLY $7,399 + GST
ADD THE PREMIUM OPTION PACK FOR JUST $950
KATIPO 1150 PACK ONLY $14,999 + GST
BONUS FOAM MARKERVALUED AT $1,495, FREE!
RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 18, 2015
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 45
Good gear key factor in record cropWARREN DARLING from Timaru knows a bit about growing barley, so much so he broke the Guin-ness World Record for the crop with 13.8 tonnes/ha in April, with crop harvested on January 23 this year.
Darling and his wife Joy farm 450ha of coastal land on the south side of Timaru and are dedicated cropping farmers who grow barley, wheat and canola. When they found out the existing world record for barley had sat at 12.2t/ha for 25 years they decided to give it a nudge.
Though breaking the record had needed a smid-geon of luck, Darling believed the planning cen-tred on three key areas: soil fertility, agronomy and climate.
Over the last eight years the Darlings have used a minimal tillage system largely centred on the business’s Great Plains Simba SL500 cultivator that uses a combination of discs, tines and rollers to incorporate previous crop residues back into the top levels of the soil profile, and thereby increase soil organic matter.
The work cycle for the crop is relatively simple with base fertiliser requirements taken care of post-harvest, and a single pass with the SL 500 to start residue breakdown. Any volunteers are taken care of with an applica-
tion of Roundup until the autumn, when drilling takes place with a Great Plains Centurion cultiva-tor drill.
The use of the SL500 followed by the Centurion helps reduce the number of passes and control the killer of all crops – com-paction. The effects of compaction are further mitigated by the use of a tracked Versatile trac-tor for the cultivation and drilling. Any post-emer-gence work with fertiliser or spray is done by a con-ventional tractor operat-ing on tramlines.
For the best agronomy advice Darling worked with his consultants, The Agronomy Group and The Exclusive Grain Group to ensure the seed best suited to the coastal location; fur-ther advice was supplied by Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Bayer Crop Science to get things just right.
A Vicon Geo-Spread spreader took care of vari-able rate fertiliser applica-tions, based on previously surveyed soil grid maps that gave an indication of the existing nutrient levels.
The weather played its part: good rainfall during the winter ensured plenty of soil moisture during the early growing season, and a hot dry summer brought the crop to maturity. Warren pointed out that “our coastal location gives
Warren Darling pictured with his Great Plains Simba SL500 cultivator.
F O R T I M AVA RI A B L E ROUND B A L E R
Features the EasyFlow Camless Pickup for quiet running and reduced wear and tear saving service and maintenance costs.
MultiCut System – new rotor gives increased throughput and superior quality of cut making bales that are easy to feed out.
Variable Chamber – for high density bales in silage, hay and straw.
rise to a large number of easterly breezes. These help keep the disease pres-sures down and give long cool nights during the grain fill period.”
With the crop grown, there came the harvest, a complicated part of the equation because it required Guinness proto-cols to be followed with JP’s serving as indepen-dent witnesses in the
paddock. Then crop sam-ples had to be sent to AsureQuality, Palmer-ston North, and confirma-tions given by SGS that all World Record rules had been met.
Warren and Joy were surprised the existing record had stood for 25 years, but in true Kiwi fashion, “they gave it a go, and knocked the bugger off ”.
www.powerfarming.co.nzContact your local Kverneland dealer for more information
FINANCEFROM
*Normal Lending Criteria &
Conditions Apply
JUMP OVER ROCKS & STUMP
WITH EASE!
Designed with a combination of tines, discs and rollers the CLC models serve as a stubble incorporator and primary cultivator.
300mm x 6 metre ................................ $410
400mm x 6 metre ................................ $515
500mm x 6 metre ................................ $690
600mm x 6 metre ................................ $925
800mm x 6 metre .............................. $1399
1000mm x 6 metre ............................ $2175
1200mm x 6 metre ............................ $3475
Joinerssupplied FREE with culvert
pipes
ALL PRICES INCLUDE G.S.T.
Bar Tires Grass Mulching Kit
Choose Performance That LastsThe Bush Hog® brand means superior performance now and for years to come. It was born more than 60 years ago with the famous Bush Hog® rotary cutters. From the very beginning, Bush Hog® TOUGH features were built into these machines. Many Bush Hog® mowers built 30 years ago are still on the job.
Canopy (not pictured)Our white canopy mounts directly to the roll bar (ROPS tube) to provide shade, comfort and protection from harmful UV rays.
Grass Mulching Kit Under-deck, bolt-on baffles capture grass clippings so specially designed mulching blades can shred them into a fine, lawn-feeding mulch.Working Lights Halogen headlights are easily angled from the operator’s seat and throw plenty of light for after hours mowing.Trailer Hitch Kit Easily bolts-on to enable you to tow a utility trailer or other tools and attachments.Anti-Scalping Roller Additional anti-scalp protection on discharge side is provided by this easily bolted-on roller. Recommended for use with mulching kit.Bar Tires Specially designed for maximum traction on hilly terrain or red clay and mud. Power Deck Lift (Not pictured) Electronically raises or lowers the mowing deck to your chosen cutting height. (Available on Professional Series only)**Accessories differ by model. See dealer for complete details.
Dealer Info:
SMILE. The grass needs mowing. Again.Our line of Zero Turn Mowers give you plenty to smile about. There’s the renowned durability andreliability that has made BUSH HOG® a legend for over 60 years. They’re perfect for commerciallandscapers and homeowners with large lawns and acreage. They’re built to last and easy tomaintain. They cut beautifully. And they’re a total blast to drive!
• Infinitely variable speeds from 0 to 14 MPH• 61 and 73-inch cutting widths with 7-gauge welded decks• 12-gallon fuel capacity• Deluxe high-back, vinyl covered full-suspension seat equipped with arm
rests and operator weight adjustment, lumbar adjustment and fore and aft adjustment• Dual Hydro-Gear® ZT5400 hydrostats with large, 9-inch cooling fans
deliver faster ground speed and superior responsiveness • Pivoting front axle to reduce scalping and deck wear• Deck is suspended from front axle to provide better contour following
and immediate response to high spots• 3-year commercial limited warranty. Lifetime limited deck weldment.*
PROFESSIONAL SERIES
*Engine Rated at 3600 RPM Per SAE J1940 Gross
MADE IN
USA
0800 38 44 50
0415
15C1
0927
44”, 52”, 61”, 73” cut
Just order your Dual Axle or Tandem Trailer NOW to avoid disappointment for June / July / August Delivery
~~Specialists in ATV Trailers ~~
NEW! 3600 x 1800 Dual Axle Calf Trailer
Also 3000 x 1500 Available
see Farmlands or ph 0508 805 801 working with farmers for 40 years
NEW! “Fence Mate” Fence Standard & Reel Carrier
on Duals for more traction, stability, flotation, towing power, versatility.
SMOOTH CUT WITH CLIC SOK2 DUALS
www.clicdualwheels.co.nz
Clic Wheel Systems Ltd, ROTORUA Phone/Fax 07 347 2292
Cretex™ TR
TROWEL GRADE EPOXY FILLER
Epotread™ SL250 EPOXY SCREED FOR ERODED FLOORS Non Toxic, Solvent Free Chemical Resistant Self smoothing, easy to spread Covers eroded & pitted floors
Incredible adhesion Rapid cure Chemical resistant Extremely hard in 6 hours
EPOXY FLOOR REPAIR
REGIS C O A T I N G S
ORDERS AND ENQUIRIES Ph:
0800 542 542 WEBSITE: RegisCoatings.co.nz
SIMPLE TO APPLY !
DOLOMITENZ’s fi nest BioGro certifi ed
Mg fertiliserFor a delivered price call...
0800 436 566
Happy BirthdayTo mark a birthday, retirement or any
milestone, give that special someone, something special - a personal cartoon portrait by
Edna cartoonist Malcolm Evans - $200 plus GSTSend no money - just email a few up-to-date photos of subject, with a note of details you’d like included, to; [email protected]
Or post your inquiries to; M. Evans, 39J Cape Horn Road, Hillsborough, Auckland 1041 . .
• Ideal addition to your block• Grow vegetables all year round and reduce your grocery bill• Very affordable and easy to install• Totally NZ made by family business making tunnelhouses for 30 years• Range of models from 2m to 8m long
How much is a life worth - it’s a small price to pay
LIFEGUARDS ARE FITTED FOR ONE REASONYOUR LIFE MIGHT DEPEND ON IT
Lifeguard is proving it saves lives. It is the only flexible CPD and the safest in the world. You can buy one today for $1,200 +GSTContact us on 0800 782 [email protected]
J. Scott from Canterbury says he has had many close shaves on his quad. Fortunately he fitted a LIFEGUARD and wrote to say it has more than paid itself off already.
DON’T BE TOLD YOU DON’T
NEED CRUSH PROTECTION
LIFEGUARD operating in
Sweden
SD-1825 with 1 collar ................$695.00SD-1225 with 1 collar ................ $595.00 SD-825 with 1 collar ..................$495.00Extra collars $375.00 – PRICES INCLUDE GST
GREAT VALUE
Up to 6 rechargeable waterproof collar units & remotes• Model SD-1825 – 1.6 Kms range (1 mile)• Model SD-1225 – 1.2 Kms range• Model SD-825 – 800 Metre rangeAll with Tone & Vibration options24 levels of correction – 3 year warranty
KEEP YOUR WORKING DOGS ON THE JOB
CRAIGCO SENSOR JET
P 06 835 6863 - www.craigcojetters.com
DEAL TO FLY AND LICE
• Cost Effective
• Complete Package
• Unbeatable pricing
• Performance Guaranteed
Free Range & Barn EggsSUPPLIERS OF:• Nest boxes - manual or
automated• Feed & Drinking• Plastic egg traysQUALITY PRODUCTS MADE
IN EUROPE OR BY PPP❖ A trusted name in Poultry Industry
for over 50 years ❖
SHEEP JETTER
Over 1000 units soldDeep penetrationTotal body coverage2.5 litres per sheep
NO ONE BEATSOUR PRICE!
Manufactured
in NZ since 1980
* Price includes Davey Pump & Honda Motor* Freight free to nearest main centre
• The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989• Quality construction and options• Get the contractors choice• Direct from the manufacturer• Efficient application and unequalled cost savings
• Weigh Platforms • Bale Mats • Comfort Mats for Wet & Dry Areas
• Utility Deck Matting
Phone: 0800 80 8570www.burgessmatting.co.nz
Rubber Safety Matting
Check out our websiteswww.ruralnews.co.nzwww.dairynews.co.nz
New Zealand’s leading rural real estate company
Licensed REAA 2008 Helping grow the countrywww.pggwre.co.nz
If you’re in the market to sell your property this spring, get in touch with New Zealand’s leading rural real estate company. From farm to lifestyle to rural residential, our national team of experienced locals are experts in connecting people with property.
Get listed, get sold. Bookings close 22 September.List your property today in New Zealand’s leading rural and lifestyle property magazine: ‘Property Express’.
Contact your local PGG Wrightson Real Estate expert today at pggwre.co.nz
A national team of locals, connecting people with property
