Guardian Farming | September 2019

Farming GUARDIAN

September, 2019

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GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL COMMENT

INSIDE

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PAGE 11 EXPLANATION TIME

RURAL REPORTER

Despite historically high product returns over the last year or two, particularly in the red meat sector, farmer confidence is low.

Federated Farmers’ latest new season farm confidence survey shows that farmer confidence continues to decrease in a trend evident since July 2017.

Over the last two years, lamb, mutton and venison prices have hit record highs, while dairy prices have steadied at more profitable levels.

In the last three years, the survey showed the number of dairy farmers making a loss has dropped from 60 per cent in July 2016 to 14 per cent in July this year, reflecting the recovery from the dairy downturn.

So it’s not farmgate and commodity prices that are weighing on farmers’ minds.

Instead it is concern about climate change policy and the Emissions Trading Scheme - issues that hardly rated a mention a decade ago – that are now at the forefront.

These policies will likely impact on farm production – particularly for dairy farmers – and there are also fears of it driving widespread land use change, especially from sheep and beef to forestry and what that will mean for farming and rural communities.

This is in addition to farmers’ perennial concern about regulation and compliance costs.

Farmers face a raft of issues including soil and water quality, biosecurity, climate change, changing diets and uncertainty over Brexit and export trade.

At the same time, a growing rural-urban divide means many consumers don’t understand the complexity of producing food in a sustainable way.

Farmers feel that they are not being recognised for their work to date to improve the environment, both in the use of precision technology to control inputs like water and fertiliser, as well as the protection and creation of on-farm biodiversity.

Media, trying to grab viewers’ attention in a busy online space, are also quick to highlight the poorest performing end of farming, while ignoring the many positive stories of farmers that have gone well beyond what is required by regulation.

With the goal posts constantly changing and a belief amongst many farmers that they are being set unfair and sometimes unrealistic targets, which are not being replicated in urban centres, it is no surprise that farmers’ confidence is languishing.

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Growing the best beer Just as Marlborough grows the best sauvignon blanc wine grapes in the world, the South Island’s arable land produces malting barley sought by the world’s top beer makers, say Dunsandel growers and maltsters Doug and Gabi Michael.

“We need to be proud of that and we need to make sure the whole world knows about it”, say the couple who now have beer makers from around the world knocking on their door wanting their product.

The Michaels started Gladfield Malt 15 years ago when they saw an opportunity to supply high quality malt into a niche market that was otherwise being supplied by multi-national giants and foreign markets.

“We were very lucky with our timing coinciding with the growth of the craft beer movement both here and overseas.

We like to think we have and are continuing to grow the local arable industry by creating new markets for New Zealand malting barley growers which

RURAL REPORTER

Heather Chalmers

would otherwise have been swallowed up by overseas suppliers,” Doug Michael says.

The Michael family have been growing malting barley for five generations, but Doug became dissatisfied with being a price-taker and started looking at options to add value to his high-quality crop.

His passion for growing things and engineering, combined with a desire to be the master of his own destiny led to the building of the Gladfield’s specialty malting plant.

Just as Doug was formulating his new venture he met Gabi, from Brazil, at the Ashburton races.

A qualified veterinarian, Gabi was brought up on a cattle station mustering cattle

on horseback and was visiting for work experience and to learn about New Zealand farming.

Despite Gabi then speaking only limited English, the two hit it off.

They later married and have three children Isabel, Fred and Trevor.

The couple say they have complementary skills, with Gabi’s Brazilian vivaciousness

making her a natural choice for the role of sales and marketing manager.

Initially, the Michaels did almost everything themselves, including growing the barley, marketing and making malt using second-hand malting equipment transported to their farm from Leeston.

While the big malt producers weren’t particularly interested in supplying the

local craft beer market, small independent breweries though they had to source their malt overseas to get a quality product.

Doug convinced a few key brewers to try out his locally-produced malt, with early customers including Emersons, Harringtons, Renaissance and Three Boys.

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From page 3 Since then the Michaels have invested millions of dollars in a new malt plant, roasting house and on-site testing laboratory to provide a consistently quality product as well as the range of malt types sought by buyers.

The roasting house enables Gladfield to produce about 30 different malt types, including biscuit malt, chocolate malts, manuka smoked malt and lager light malts.

Beers featuring Gladfield malts now cover a wide variety of styles, from wheats to stouts.

“The roaster was a huge jump forward. Big breweries don’t use a lot of roasted, coloured malts and craft brewers love them, but they are a very small market,” Doug says.

“As soon as we could supply a full range of malts our market took off and we had the cashflow to look at making an ever greater range.

“We found a gap in the market and are supplying products that were never made in New Zealand before.

Not only are we creating new markets overseas, we are meeting the needs of domestic users that would have overwise have to source imported product.”

The malting process causes the harvested barley grain to germinate, before stopping it at a precise time.

Key steps in the malting process are: Steeping – the grain is prepared for germination by taking on moisture.

Germination – the germ starts to develop and changes inside the grain.

Kilning – used to halt the germination activity.

Roasting – to add complexity

“

To grow barley in the Canterbury plains is a huge privilege.

It is one of the few places in the world where the growing temperature is just right, with sunny cool days for the growing stage and hot windy summer days for ripping

and flavour to the malt.

While initial sales were to craft breweries and home brewers in New Zealand and Australia, they now sell around the Asia-Pacific region.

They also supply the big breweries certain product lines.

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Gladfield Malt now have a team of more than 20, including part-time, full-time and contracted staff.

Having long since outgrown its own supply, Gladfield now receives malting barley from more than 100 growers

throughout the South Island, but predominantly Canterbury.

The arable regions of the South Island are the best in the world for growing malting barley, based on its soil type, climate and geographical

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“To grow barley in the Canterbury plains is a huge privilege. It is one of the few places in the world where the growing temperature is just right, with sunny cool days for the growing stage and hot windy summer days for ripping.”

Not only has Gladfield helped grow the arable industry, its innovation and

malting technology has helped New Zealand brewers and distillers get a foothold on the world stage. New products such as manuka smoked malt and specialty coloured malts produced by Gladfield have allowed New Zealand brewers and distillers to receive international acclaim and create an export market.

In contrast to the Michaels’ family-owned plant, the global malting industry is otherwise dominated by multi-national businesses. New Zealand’s only other malting plant at

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Marton is owned by Malteurop Group, the world’s biggest malt producer, which operates 27 sites in 13 countries.

Gladfield opens new export markets each year.

“Brewers and distillers all around the world love our malt as they quickly realise the high quality and consistency that we produce.

“I keep telling our customers it’s not Gladfield, it’s our proud and loyal growers who put a lot of effort into growing good crops,” Gabi says.

The Michaels have fought hard to create the Gladfield brand and to get customers to recognise the higher quality of New Zealand malts, but says it’s been a constant battle to try and drive up the value and return for the grower.

“You need to remember that we are competing against giants both in New Zealand and abroad who don’t want us here for that exact reason.

We must be flexible, innovative and nimble on our feet to make a difference and that’s exactly what we have done.

We are proud farmers ourselves and it is hugely satisfying knowing that with Gladfield in the market we have made the big guns lift their game,” Doug says.

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The best line of malting barley

By Heather Chalmers Barrhill mixed cropping farmers Les Maw and son Grant have taken top honours winning the Gladfield Shield.

Gladfield Malt award the shield each year for the best line of malting barley grown by one of their contracted suppliers.

The Maw family of Creeside Farm have grown malting barley for Gladfield Malt for about five years.

They also grow wheat, barley, process peas, grass seed, white clover and seed potatoes.

Grant Maw says that malting barley is sown in autumn and has the advantage of being one of the first crops harvested, in about midJanuary.

It is only the third time the shield has been awarded, with previous winners Nigel Greenwood and John and Debra McLachlan, both from Lakeside, near Lake Waihora/ Ellesmere.

There is fierce competition for the sought-after shield

PGG Wrightson Ashburton grain trading manager Stuart Watt (left) with the winners of the Gladfield Shield for the best line of malting barley, Barrhill mixed cropping farmers Les Maw and his son Grant.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

not just between individual farmers, but also the different districts throughout the wider Canterbury and North Otago regions that supply the crop, say Gladfield owners Doug and Gabi Michael.

Gladfield’s procurement and agronomy services are managed by PGG Wrightson Grain, with grower numbers and support continuing to increase.

“Our growers share the

same passion and pride that we do, and we want to recognise the extra effort they put into producing a top malting barley crop,” the Michaels say.

When selecting barley for the Gladfield Shield, several

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factors are used to select the top grain for that season.

Firstly, the grain must be clean of any defects that can affect its final quality.

This means no skinned grains where the husk has been partially or wholly removed.

No growth split in the grain indicating moisture damage to the ripened grain prior to harvest and finally no pre-spout or field sprouted grains.

The barley must have a good test weight, low screenings and a nitrogen level that meets quality parameters.

“Even with these tight criteria, we often still have a long list of barley lines to choose from so the next thing that we look at is the grains germination characteristics and how it performed in the malting process,” Doug Michael says.

The final selection is usually limited to a select few barley lines evaluated by the trained eyes of maltsters and quality personnel on site who give each barley a rank.

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End of the road for Fairton pelts Silver Fern Farms has confirmed it will close the Fairton pelt house and consolidate pelt volumes at its Finegand site in Balclutha.

All 44 people processing pelts at the Fairton site have been presented with redundancy, as well as work options at other Silver Fern Farms sites in the region, said GM Operations Mark Leslie.

Silver Fern Farms will continue to operate the Fairton farm as it looks to future options for the site.

“We understand this decision will have a significant impact on our 44 people working in the Fairton pelt house,” he said. Four staff preparing pelts at Pareora, in Timaru, are also affected.

“We let our people know that we appreciated the professional way they went through this consultation process, that we value their skills and welcome the chance to retain them at our other sites.

“We have set up a resource centre to assist our people with decisions around their employment. We have roles available for them at our other sites, should they wish to take them up.”

Silver Fern Farms has investigated alternative further processing options for pelts with others in the industry.

Silver Fern Farms will continue to operate the Fairton farm as it looks to future options for the site.

Continued low sheep numbers and a depressed global market for pelts means the proposed closure of the Fairton pelt plant is not surprising, but still a shock for some workers, Meatworkers’ Union Canterbury branch secretary Bill Watt said.

“The cost of running Fairton was exacerbated by it

“

We have set up a resource centre to assist our people with decisions around their employment. We have roles available for them at our other sites, should they wish to take them up

being a big, old plant with one small section still working.

“It was a shock to some of the workers. It’s never a nice thing to happen,” Watt said.

With pelt processing the last main activity at Fairton, following the closure of sheepmeat processing in 2017, Watt said he believed “that will be it,” for the plant.

“The lamb kill in the South Island has dropped dramatically, so you lose that economy of scale.”

A Meatworkers’ Union delegate would assist workers and Silver Fern Farms was also offering support to the 44 people at Fairton and four roles at Pareora affected by the proposed closure.

The meat industry was short of workers, so there were likely to be job opportunities

at other nearby plants Anzco Seafield near Ashburton and Alliance Smithfield and SFF Pareora at Timaru.

“A lot of these people have worked in that pelt department for a long time, so it is not only a change of where they work, it is a change of lifestyle,” Watt said.

“Fairton used to be a vibrant part of the Mid Canterbury economy and you walk around now and it is an old empty site and it is really sad.”

At its peak, Fairton had three chains and more than 700 staff, including management and supervisors, Watt said.

A global downturn in the pelt market was reflected in Light Leathers at Washdyke, Timaru saying last month that up to 35 redundancies

were likely as it faced the prospect of phasing out the manufacture of finished deer leather for the luxury export market.

Anzco Foods Canterbury site manager Darryl Mackenzie said it would welcome approaches from meat industry workers interested in jobs.

“We are currently advertising for a range of roles for the new season. We’d encourage anyone interested in roles to get in touch with the site directly or they can register their interest on our careers website careers. anzcofoods.com,” Mackenzie said.

Earlier this month, Anzco Foods was advertising for process workers for its Seafield plant including work on

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the slaughterboard, further processing departments, as knifehands or packers and in the coldstore and co-products departments.

Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers’ meat and wool chairman David Acland said the loss of jobs was disappointing and showed the importance of agriculture in providing downstream processing and servicing jobs.

“It shows how inter-linked we all are and is symptomatic of the decline in livestock numbers.

“It is sad for Fairton to finally come to an end as it has a lot of history for the district and a lot of people have worked there and have connections with the site,” said Acland, of Mount Somers Station.

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Deer farmers seeing seasonal return

By Heather Chalmers Deer farmers are starting to see a return of the seasonal venison price increase that has traditionally occurred in spring each year.

This follows an unusual 2017-18 season, which saw venison prices climb steadily from January 2017, before peaking in October last year.

Deer Industry New Zealand chief executive Dan Coup says the return of the spring peak hasn’t come as a surprise, but he hopes that the peaks and troughs in the seasonal price curve will be less marked than in the past.

This is because of the industry’s success in developing year-round markets for chilled venison.

“Last year was a real anomaly, with late August schedule prices $2 a kilogram more than now. This was partly driven by a gold-rush from United States petfoodgrade products, which reached $6 a kg – a level that couldn’t be sustained,” he says.

The average price for petfood-grade products has

Venison finishers at Waihi Pukawa Station, near Tokaanu.

Deer like these can once again expect to attract a price premium if they are ready for processing in spring for the chilled venison market.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

since fallen to around $3.50 a kg, accounting for about a $1 a kg drop in prices paid to farmers.

“The average farmgate venison stag price on August 19 was $9.06 a kg. If we put 2017 and 2018 to one side, this is about $1.50 a kg ahead of where it was in the previous five seasons,” Coup says.

“As we move into September and October, prices for venison animals for chilled season supply are expected to firm

further, by around $1 a kg, depending on the contract the farmer has with their venison marketer. Then, as we move through November – all things being equal – the marketers expect prices will ease again.

That’s your normal seasonal price curve.”

Coup says markets and prices are unpredictable and – as with the petfood spike -sometimes obscure long-term drivers of demand.

“One of the most important

of these, year-in year-out, is the spring market for chilled venison from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and elsewhere in northern Europe.

The price premiums paid for supply during this period normally make it worthwhile for some farmers to have stags ready for processing from August through to early November.

“This is quite dependent on their farm system. For instance, whether the farm has early growth genetics, early pasture production or is likely to dry-out early in the summer.”

He says one of the industry’s successes is that it has built a preference for NZ farm-raised venison in this premium market.

In the past the European chilled market favoured feral or wild game and venison from other countries, so maintaining supply is important for the industry’s long-term future.

“If there’s another goldrush, we will of course bank it, but the main focus of marketing companies and DINZ is to maintain European

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chilled season demand while building year-round demand elsewhere,” Coup says.

“Our Cervena venison programme in North America has succeeded with this to the point where the United States is now our largest chilled venison market. That programme is now being expanded into Canada.

“In northern Europe, in the face of centuries of tradition, we are pioneering the sale of Cervena venison as a summer grilling item as part of our Primary Growth Partnership programme, Passion2Profit.

Individual exporters, with DINZ support, have also developed useful markets such as Scandinavia.”

Coup says the premium petfood market is still a useful outlet for offals and manufacturing grades of venison, albeit at prices that are more sustainable for customers.

Other important elements in the prices paid to farmers include Asian co-products like blood, pizzles, sinews and tails, all of which are enjoying strong demand.

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ORGANIC FEATURE

Growing naturally Willowmere Organic Farms is situated in Hororata at the base of the Canterbury Foothills.

It originally started life as a sheep farm but by 1995 it was a fully certified organic farm under BioGro New Zealand Standards.

The farm is owned by the Hicks family and their aim as it was then it is today, is to provide natural healthy produce to consumers, while maintaining environmentally sustainable farming practices.

John and Trish Hicks have retired from the business and Kelvin, their son now runs it.

He has continued the vision and has broadened the produce range grown.

From fresh market produce such as carrots, potatoes, beetroot and broccoli to grains, buckwheat and

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both green leaf barley and green leaf wheat.

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And the vision for the future – to be a market leader in organic production.

To give consumers ready access to organic produce all-year round.

To have that produce marketed and displayed and sold at a realistic price.

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Farming

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Preparation essential in a busy market Spring is always a highlight of the rural property calendar.

This year, spring in our region is shaping as particularly busy.

Plenty of farms are coming on to the market, across all land use types, and for those who are motivated to purchase and well prepared, a broad selection of properties will be available.

In contrast, August is usually the slowest month for farm transactions.

However, more farms in our region were sold than in any other August in recent years.

That indicates the level of activity in the market already, which can be safely predicted to build as spring progresses.

Buyers are out there and they will have a wide range of farms to view.

A good mix of sheep and beef, dryland arable and dairy properties are for sale.

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Calvin Leen

PGG Wrightson Real Estate

within 10 kilometres of Ashburton; a 451ha dryland arable farm, long held in the same family, in Waitohi; a versatile 490ha Cave farm currently operating as a mix of arable and intensive cattle fattening; and a 150ha irrigated property run as an arable finishing operation, with a substantial herd home and consent to milk 360 cows, also in Cave.

Judging by the way the first of the spring marketing campaigns have started, rural property salespeople will be busy over the coming weeks and months.

Plenty of potential buyers are making themselves known and are looking closely at the opportunities on offer.

As with anything, those

who are well prepared are more likely to succeed.

First and foremost, that means making sure of your bank finance.

For any farm you are looking at, do your sums before you do anything else.

Include expenses, tax, drawings and capital expenditure.

If you do that and can show the bank that your business

plan will still generate enough surplus cash to enable you to repay a percentage of your total debt, your banker should be on-side.

That essentially makes you a qualified buyer, which is a distinct advantage in the spring rural property market, giving you a greater chance to achieve your business objectives, in what promises to be a busy few months.

Calvin Leen is Mid-South Canterbury and North Otago Sales Manager for PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

www.guardianonline.co.nz

11

About time for an explanation Let’s be very clear about what taxing gross methane emissions will cost New Zealand farmers.

Currently the cap on carbon units is $25 a tonne. Farmers will receive a 95 per cent free allocation.

Both of those concessions are only because of NZ First’s political influence.

After the next election all bets are off and you can be assured the cost of carbon will increase and the free allocation will reduce.

Currently the Emissions Trading Scheme is being sold on the basis that it will cost farmers one cent a kilogram of milksolids and three cents/ kg of lamb.

The Productivity Commission have publicly stated that the carbon price must rise to $250/t to be effective.

The multi-national forestry speculators are relying on such a price for carbon sink subsidies.

The taxpayer will not pay for free allocations for very long.

That equates to $2/kg/MS

David Clark

President of MC Federated Farmers

or $6/kg of lamb.

Per kilogram, not per head.

Put that in your budget and see how long you will be farming for.

Make no mistake, the ETS will serve the Government agenda well, turn up the carbon price dial and farming will become uneconomic, in my opinion.

Implementing the Zero Carbon Bill and ETS are Acts of Parliament requiring consultation, select committees and a vote by Parliament.

Changing the rate at which the ETS is charged is a regulation only requiring a majority vote in Cabinet.

Think about that for a bit.

So the problem this creates for all of us, long before any ramping up of the carbon

price or scaling back of the free allocation percentage is the impact this legislation will have on viability and risk and our ability to gain long-term mortgage funding.

I expect banks will incorporate sensitivity analysis into their appraisal process, either up front with the farmer or in the back office when making lending decisions.

The cost ranges I have provided are not pie in

the sky wild guesses, they are figures contained in current legislation, proposed legislation and publicly available government documents.

The cost imposition ranges from an annoying, but ineffective tax to financial devastation of the New Zealand agricultural sector.

No industry or sector of the economy would have a future with such liability resting on a majority vote of Cabinet

following the whims of the government of the day.

It is time for this Government to front up with a clear and simple explanation.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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Farming

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Are you ready to irrigate?

Thank goodness for the later July and August rainfall events. Winter until then had been more like spring and soil moisture had fallen to surprisingly low levels.

Not to the point as becoming a limiting factor to growth, but.

Early winter had insidiously reduced soil moisture levels to unusually low levels.

Following a rainfall on May 31 water use slowly lowered soil moisture to halfway to “stress” levels.

With no rainfall until 30mm or so around July 19-20and clear sunny days with some temperatures reaching 20°C. While soil moisture was being depleted at only 0.40.5mm/day, over 42 days of June and July this was such that by the middle of July soil moisture was heading toward the stress point.

The only limiting factor to reaching stress point in the middle of winter was day length.

Hence the insidious (stealthy) reference to water

Tony Davoren

use by crops and pasture.

Rainfall on and since July 19 has been sufficient to raise soil moisture to field capacity (Full Point) and maintain higher soil moisture content.

We appear to be back into another “warmer, drier” period and soil moisture is tracking toward stress point again – the difference this time it is nearly spring.

At current rates of soil moisture depletion (crop water use) of around 1.21.5mm/day and without rainfall, soil moisture on the lighter soils (the example in the plot) stress will be reached around September 13-14.

So, are you ready to go (irrigate)?

Have you done that winter

irrigator maintenance before the irrigation season starts?

All those simple matters for all travelling irrigators (eg roto-rainers, Turbo-rain, pivots and linears) need some basic maintenance: Grease, grease, grease those moving parts like the pivot swivel, worm drives, etc.

Check driveshaft covers and safety stickers (that health and safety stuff) Check hoses and wire rope

PHOTO SUPPLIED

for damage especially if the wire rope in particular wasn’t wound up at the end of the last season Check drag hoses you left in the paddock for animals and nests Check tyre pressures and tread integrity, tighten wheel nuts and check wheel shims on pivots Check oil levels in gearboxes Service the diesel motor

driving the generator or hydraulic pump on irrigators (change hydraulic oil and/or filter if necessary) Check electronic controls and clean out any spider webs and other rubbish - is the battery charged (and holds a charge) or is a new battery needed?

Have any leaks been fixed – like at the centre seal on roto-rainers, at pipe flanges and boots or drop pipes/hoses (on pivots and linears).

Does your pressure gauge on the irrigator or at the headworks function correctly?

Has the sand trap on pivots and linears been emptied (if you don’t have a ground reachable flushing valve.

So are you ready to go?

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

www.guardianonline.co.nz

13

14

Farming

www.guardianonline.co.nz

A real risk of falling behind the rest of

By Heather Chalmers Farmers have joined calls from scientists and experts for a mature national conversation about genetic modification, saying New Zealand risks falling behind the rest of the world on the issue.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne says no-one is suggesting New Zealand rushes into genetic modification overnight, or that it is the answer to everything.

“But discussion at government level on progressing measured debate and a review of our current rules appears to be moving at a glacial pace. We need some acceleration.”

“We’re all agreed climate change and our international commitments on greenhouse gas reductions present big challenges to our economy and way of life, but we’re currently sidelining a potential major tool that could help farmers tackle ruminant methane and excreted nitrogen,” Milne says.

“It’s bordering on ridiculous that our current laws on GM have forced AgResearch to go to the United States to simulate the sort of growing conditions found in New Zealand as they trial the properties of genetically modified high metabolisable energy (HME) ryegrass.”

Genetic technologies could also be

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AgResearch principal scientist Dr Greg Bryan says forage scientists have been conducting experiments in the US to find out whether its new potentially environmentally sustainable grass

– one that strikes a balance between reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, greater tolerance to drought and farm productivity – will perform in the field in a similar way to how it performs in controlled environment studies.

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“The ultimate goal of the US phase of the research is to conduct realistic rather than simulated animal nutrition studies so we can evaluate whether the grass might have the potential environmental benefits such as reduced

www.guardianonline.co.nz

15

of the world – the great GM debate to further our knowledge.

“They’ve learned that gene editing can help us achieve our traditional breeding targets around sustainability and nutrition much faster. That means consumers get more healthy whole foods sooner. Growers gain greater ability to fight pests, cut chemicals and delight the global market with innovative new products.

Communities get options to keep their horticulture sector thriving in the face of climate change and pressure on the environment.

“The technology is very different.

Gene editing offers game-changing capability well beyond earlier GM tools. It allows breeders to make precisely targeted changes to a plant without introducing any foreign DNA. Those changes are the same as those found in nature. You can’t ‘test’ for gene editing because it leaves no trace,” Hughes says.

In August, panel of experts set up by New Zealand’s Royal Society recommended an overhaul of the regulations and an urgent need for wide discussion and debate about the controversial technology.

Expert panel co-chair Dr David Penman says there is a need to move on from a black and white view of “GM or not GM” – to a much more nuanced view that recognises a wide range of

AgResearch is conducting field trials of its genetically modified high metabolisable energy ryegrass in the United States. Current laws mean the trials can’t be carried out in New Zealand.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

methane emissions and reduced nitrogen excretion that our modelling suggests it will,” Bryan says.

Plant and Food Research chief executive David Hughes says gene editing is emerging as a real option in facing some of the world’s biggest challenges in food production, medicine, conservation and climate change.

“Today, Plant and Food breeds only 100 per cent GM-free fruit, vegetables and grains. We have never developed GM foods for commercial use and industry does not fund us to do so. Yet our discovery-focused teams routinely use gene technologies

applications of the technology, some of which may be more acceptable to New Zealand communities than others.

While there have been international summits on the use of gene editing, it was important that New Zealand develop its own view, Penman says.

No review of gene technologies have been carried out in New Zealand since the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification held in 2001 and the subsequent amendments to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (1996).

The panel chose to consider the implications of the technology using scenarios in three areas: healthcare, environmental pest management and primary industries.

Co-chair Barry Scott, Professor of molecular genetics at Massey University, says that for all three areas they heard views for and against the use of gene editing.

“In the primary industries, comments on the benefits of using gene-editing technology included that it could provide a useful tool for supporting competitive advantage and for protecting New Zealand’s flora and fauna.

“There were concerns about unintended consequences, a need for better understanding of the relevant genetics, and that use of gene-editing

technology would compromise the New Zealand brand and any ‘GM free’ competitive advantage.

“In healthcare, there was an appetite to consider certain therapeutic geneediting applications as long as it was safe and negative side effects are reduced or mitigated. Applications should improve wellbeing and be focused on solutions to health issues.

“In pest control, there was some appetite to consider gene drives for pest management if the benefits outweighed the risks. However, there were concerns over unintended consequences of removing species and around the risks of gene-edited pests finding their way back to their native countries.

“The panel would like to see a legal and regulatory system in New Zealand that is more future-proofed and ‘fit-forpurpose’ by being easier to navigate, having clear and consistent definitions, and providing a better basis for assessing the risks and opportunities of particular applications of gene editing rather than focusing on the geneediting process itself.

“There is also an urgent need for a wide and well-informed discussion across New Zealand’s diverse communities about their preferences for application of gene editing, in order to inform any regulatory change,” Scott says.

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Farming

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Keep High Country on the high street

By Philip Todhunter, High Country Accord Trust

chairman of the

Last week Allbirds opened their first bricks-and-mortar store in New Zealand.

Shoes made from wool!

The same shoes our prime minister gives as presents to other world leaders.

Allbirds, like another New Zealand high street label, Icebreaker, have been a great success story.

They both take New Zealand Merino wool and turn it into an amazing product loved by consumers around the world.

A lot of NZ’s fine merino, and good meat too, is grown on High Country farms that stretch from Southland to the top of the South Island.

We think of this countryside as iconic, and it is.

But alongside the postcard scenery is a lot of immensely hard work, tradition and stewardship of a precious environment that goes back for many generations of the families who live there.

Proposals currently being considered by the Government are seeking to change the way

this land is farmed.

This could have adverse effects not only for the families who have carved out a living in this challenging landscape but for NZ Inc as well.

A lot of the High Country land is Crown-owned and leased in perpetuity to farmers.

In exchange for rent, and weed and pest control, farmers have farmed and improved these lands for the Government and all New Zealanders since the 1940s.

Over this period High Country stations has been transformed in a way that sees productive farming, conservation and other beneficial activity combine.

Farms like Balmoral Station, near Lake Tekapo, prove this.

Here, pastoral farming happens alongside weed and predator control, plant research, and public access – as shown by the tens of thousands of people who come through Balmoral’s farm gate every year to visit the famous Mt John Observatory smack bang in the middle of the farm.

The Government’s

legislative review proposes to end tenure review, the process by which some High Country land could be freeholded in exchange for other land permanently returning to the DOC estate.

Farmers can live with the ending of tenure review – most leaseholders have never gone into the TR process anyway, for a variety of reasons.

But they are deeply concerned that, over time, the new proposals will also place increasing restrictions on the conditions attached to pastoral farming of High Country land.

These will be restrictions that could go well beyond what is already in place via the RMA and what’s proposed in the pending national policy statements on indigenous biodiversity and fresh water.

While the emphasis on biodiversity is undoubtedly well intentioned, the economic viability of these farms must also be maintained.

You can’t be green if the farms are in the red.

Management of land is

complex.

Prescribing for certain outcomes by removing farming is simplistic and misguided.

The fantasy of a gigantic conservation park where once there were viable farms is just that – a fantasy.

It’s unaffordable, unrealistic, and frankly insulting to the families who work so hard to keep the High Country free of pests and weeds and in good shape for this and future generations.

Good policy needs to be informed by the facts.

The High Country Accord Trust has commissioned an economist to assemble, for the first time, a detailed statistical picture of the High Country economy.

When this data is available, it will be shared far and wide with news media, officials, politicians, researchers and others.

And farmers are also working with experts like University of Canterbury professor David Norton, whose innovative thinking on integrated farm management

plans shows how farming, conservation and biodiversity can work together.

Rampant wilding pines are choking our native grasslands, and rabbits, feral goats, wallabies (not the easilycontrolled rugby sort), and other introduced animals cause damage to our ‘postcard country’ too.

Keeping these marauders at bay, and maintaining the production of the world-class merino and meat products enjoyed by city-dwellers here and overseas, are the High Country famers and their families.

Now’s the time for pragmatic, sensible policy to ensure this connection between the High Country and the high street is preserved for future generations.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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Farming

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COUNTRY ROADS FEATURE

Bi-Turbo a tow-happy beast There’s no substitute for cubic inches, so the saying goes.

Well the 2019 Ford Wildtrak Bi-Turbo tends to make a lie of that saying, and the new 157kW/500Nm Bi-Turbo diesel engine and ten-speed automatic passed the towing test with flying colours.

While the standard Ranger Wildtrak mirrors are a decent size, if you were towing a large boat or caravan on a regular basis you would probably want to fit extended-arm side view mirrors for an even better view of following vehicles.

At hook-up time, the rear camera is a godsend thanks to the grid lines which illuminate on the screen and allow you to align the tow ball perfectly with the trailer hitch.

Once the trailer is attached the grid lines disappear, which makes reversing the trailered boat onto a ramp or up a driveway much easier.

The electric power steering of the Wildtrak has enough sensitivity at the helm that you can precisely manoeuvre the trailer where it needs to be.

The diesel certainly notices a big load and needs a few more revs to get rolling but once under way the plentiful torque and close ratios mean progress is as smooth as you could want.

Hill starts are never a problem with this rig, thanks to the Wildtrak’s hill launch assist which automatically engages when a gradient is anything more than three degrees, preventing the vehicle from rolling either forward or back.

The system will automatically engage when the driver presses the brake pedal, bringing the vehicle to a standstill, and the sensors detect that the vehicle is on a slope.

The Wildtrak’s active cruise control provides greater regulation of uphill

END OF SUM and downhill speed and allows the driver to concentrate on ensuring the combination stays within the lane.

This outstanding feature definitely makes long distance towing a great deal less stressful, but even on a short urban run it should prove more than worthwhile.

The kerb weight of the Ranger Wildtrak is 2239kg.

So by adding 400kg of human occupants, plus 80 litres of fuel, that leaves around 480kg for whatever payload of luggage and provisions you might want to load into the tray, before hitting the vehicle’s legal GVM of 3200kg.

So for those diehards who still reckon there’s no substitute for cubic inches, the Bi-Turbo Wildtrak more than proves otherwise.

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www.guardianonline.co.nz

Recycling in a changing world If you’ve ever travelled through any airport, you know about that spot in the security line where, if you have a bottle of water or any other liquid, you have to throw the bottle away even if you haven’t finished your drink.

It’s a nuisance. After getting through the security check, you’ll then pay airport prices if you want another bottle of water.

And now San Francisco International Airport is about to take waste reduction to another level by no longer allowing restaurants, vendors or vending machines to sell single-use plastic water bottles on airport grounds.

Travellers who want to take water with them on their flights will have to bring their own bottles, or purchase a refillable aluminum bottle to fill up at an airport fountain.

San Fransisco is making this move to ban plastic water bottles as part of an airport plan to reduce overall landfill waste and energy use over the next two years. Will we follow suit?

Time will tell.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Sheryl Stivens

Reduce your waste.

Recycle clean sorted products.

Compost food and organic waste and make healthy soil.

Keep recycling depots clean and free of household rubbish and

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Does ‘compostable’ plastic really break down in your home compost bin, and what does it leave behind in the soil?

A two-year-long experiment will look for answers.

As concerns grow about micro-plastics ending up in our bodies, on our coasts, and in our food, there is a push to understand what packaging will – and won’t – break down fully in our garden composts, and whether it leaves behind any toxic contaminants.

There’s a conundrum faced by backyard composters around New Zealand: does ‘compostable’ plastic really break down in an ordinary home compost bin, and what does it leave behind when it does?

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Those slimy mung beans that nobody ate may still be enclosed in their proudly ‘plant-based, compostable’ plastic packaging after six months in the worm bin.

This is despite their ‘environmentally friendly’ claims, raising questions about what the remnants are doing to the soil, microbes, plants and worms.

But home composters may feel they have little choice

but to run an uncontrolled experiment: chuck an item in, and see what happens.

Since compostable plastics can’t be put in the recycling system, lest they contaminate other plastics, trying to deal with them at home may seem preferable to sending them to landfill.

Crown-owned research institute Scion has won a grant of just under half a million dollars from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund, some of which it will spend running a two-year experiment studying how various kinds of ‘compostable’ plastic and paper degrade - both in homelike composting environments,

and fancier, higher-heat commercial facilities.

The end results of Scion’s experiment will be used to create labelling standards for New Zealand-made compostable plastic - though people still won’t necessarily know whether overseasmade products labelled ‘compostable’ or ‘home compostable’ will break down completely in New Zealand’s climate.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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The challenge of self-belief Not sure when it happened, but I can’t help thinking I have become one of those people who now get referred to as an old fart who does nothing but talk about the past.

I think if we take a good long hard look at ourselves in the mirror, I’m sure some of you out there will see the same thing.

I remember quite a number of years ago now I had an elderly aunt visit and it was great to see her at the time, but all she talked about was the past, which was great but I guess we all get, (if we are lucky enough to live long enough) to that same stage in life when more is behind you than in front so instead of looking so far forward we start looking back!

What brought this on you may well ask.

Well in the past couple of weeks I have met up with a young guy who seems to have endless energy and life has so much to offer looking forward into the future.

This young lad has great faith in his ability to go

Chris Murdoch

PROPERTY BROKERS

forward in the dairy industry and put everything on the line for his future.

I really do take my hat off to him and wish him every piece of luck in the world.

But it did get me thinking about myself and where my life was at.

I asked myself did I ever have that much self-belief in myself when I was his age?

I guess I did but maybe not quite the drive this young lad has.

I then started to think why do we look back to be able to predict the future.

A lot of what life ends up giving you is past luck and past hard work and to succeed in today’s environment you need quite a lot of both.

Timing is everything!

I was lucky enough to be born in a period where I never had to go to war, when cellphones and computers were only seen on black and white television with Maxwell Smart on the Get Smart TV programme.

But my generation did get hit hard with the 1980s downturn and many of my

We don’t just say team.

We promise it.

age group were literally put off the land with only enough money to buy a very average house in town.

Those that managed to hold on till the early 1990s survived and went on to be top operators in their chosen professions, be it farming or whatever.

What I don’t like about

where we are today is the world talking about an economic recession.

The last one we saw was 2008.

This so-called recession came out of the blue and only really lasted six months or so.

The one in the 1980s lasted five to six years.

If it does arrive, how long will it last?

We are in a good spot I believe if it does actually arrive, but it worries me that this government has no idea about how hard this will affect the average person in the street.

There seems to be very few tools in the tool box to help us through.

But what the hell do I know I’m just an old fart talking about the past.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof.

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24

Farming

www.guardianonline.co.nz

Saving agricultural soils

POLICY STATEMENT

Urban expansion means loss of good agricultural soils around our towns and cities: should we do more to protect highly productive land?

Mary Ralston

PHOTO SUPPLIED

FOREST AND BIRD

It’s great news, although well overdue: the government has made a move to protect our best soils for food production from urban expansion.

A draft National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land proposes a nationwide approach for protecting the most productive agricultural soils.

About 14 per cent of land is categorised as highly productive; most of this is the flat land surrounding our biggest towns and cities where traditionally much of the fruit and vegetables for that city was produced.

This land is highly valuable for urban expansion and associated infrastructure: roads, roads and more roads.

But it is exactly the land we need for growing local food

to save the need for roads and transportation, which saves fossil fuels and reduces emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Growing locally also means greater security of food supply in times of crisis such as earthquakes and floods, it offers good local employment and fresh local produce.

Around Christchurch we see the flat, highly productive land in the vicinity of Halswell and Lincoln going under a sea of houses and ashphalt, and the wonderful Marshlands area of vegetable gardens and orchards has all but disappeared.

In the Auckland area, more than 200 growers have sold to developers in the last 10 years because of rezoning and subdivisions.

This is a terrible waste of highly productive land.

Saving soils for current and future productive purposes can provide other benefits: more open space, scope for biodiversity restoration, improved freshwater and air quality, and recreation opportunities such as walking and bike paths.

Under the most significant parts of the proposed changes, regional councils would have to: Not allow development on highly productive land unless it is to meet shortages.

They will have to back this up with long-term costbenefit analysis and also consider alternatives to the development; Make maps of land that is “highly productive” based on a set of specific rules; Change district plans to give more protection to useful

land and prioritise its use for primary industries, such as farming and horticulture; Change rules to avoid fragmenting productive land.

Minister David Parker said that the National Policy Statement introduces a clear and consistent policy that councils must follow when making decisions on land use.

“It proposes that councils be required to ensure there’s enough highly productive land available for primary production now and in the future, and protect it from inappropriate subdivision, use and development.

“Councils would need to do a full analysis of alternatives, benefits and costs when considering whether urban expansion should be located on highly productive land used for

The National Policy Statement is part of a discussion document Valuing Highly Productive Land available on the Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries websites.

There will be a two month consultation period and the Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries will be holding hui and public meetings throughout the country.

Details will be published on the Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries websites.

Consultation closes at 5pm, October 10, 2019.

growing food and vegetables and for other primary production.”

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof.

www.guardianonline.co.nz

BULL SALES FEATURE

25

Focus on Herefords The Nithdale Polled Hereford Stud was started over sixty years ago by Rosa Peacock’s father Charlie Tripp at Nithdale Station near Gore.

In 1991, soon after Rosa and Graham took over Orari Gorge Station from Charlie, the decision was made to move the stud in its entirety to Orari Gorge Station.

The stud has now been at Orari Gorge Station for nearly 20 years and logical decision was made to rename the stud Orari Gorge Herefords.

Charlie Tripp’s original main objectives are still the focus of the stud to-

day; to breed structurally sound cattle with good conformation, constitution and high fertility.

The stud heifers are run with the commercial heifers from weaning through to their first calving at two years old.

Much of this time is spent on the hill to keep them fit for calving in a mob of nearly 300, which creates a lot of selection pressure.

Females have to get in calf at 15 months, calve unassisted and get back in calf every year.

They have to wean a good calf, with

poorer mothers culled each year. regularly through their lives.

The cows are made to work through They are all scanned for muscle and the summer cleaning up pastures to fat at 13 months of age. maintain pasture quality for fattening We also take scrotal measurements stock and then after weaning they go then as this measures early reproducout onto the tussock country with the tive maturity. commercial cows for the autumn and All the bull calves are run as one winter at around 2000 to 3000 feet, mob from weaning right through to frequently subjected to snow. our main sale in June at 20 months.

Orari Gorge Herefords have been This helps improve the accuracy of performance recording for over 50 their EBVs and helps make accurate years with rigorous culling for struccomparisons between animals with ture, conformation, fertility, milk, none getting any favourable treatment. growth and carcass values.

It also ensures an efficient, predictaWWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ All progeny are weighed at birth and ble and reliable product.

Formally known as Nithdale Herefords

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS Established 1947

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS HEREFORDS ORARI GORGE WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS

WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ Formally known as Nithdale Herefords Established 1947

55th ANNUAL BULL SALE WEDNESDAY JUNE 5th 2019 at 11.00am ORARI GORGE STATION, GERALDINE Formally known as Nithdale Herefords The main objectives of the herd have always been to focus SALEEstablished BULLS INCLUDE SONS OF 1947 on breeding functional, structurally sound cattle with good conformation to meet today’s market. Running over 100 bulls in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle scanning, Body Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE herd ensures highly accurate data.

ORARI GORGE PATTON 150051 ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025

Our 250 stud cows are run with our 400 commercial cows on steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from weaning to calving. Snow is a frequent problem, challenging the Hereford longevity and soundness. As early adopters of Breedplan EBV analysis, we have over 25 years of records to show steady progress to benefit all our clients from lowland to High Country.

ORARI GORGE OHAU 140143 ORARI GORGE NAPIER 130133 KOANUI BRITON 4260 MONYMUSK GALLANT 10089

INAUGURAL SPRING SALE OF YEARLING HEREFORD BULLS th ORARI GORGE STATION, GERALDINE 55 ANNUAL BULL SALE WEDNESDAY 5 2019 at 11.00am FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18JUNE AT 11AM ORARI GORGE GORGE STATION, STATION, GERALDINE ORARI GERALDINE SALE BULLS INCLUDE SONS OF

55th ANNUAL BULL SALE WEDNESDAY JUNE 5th 2019 at 11.00am ORARI GORGE STATION, GERALDINE

thherd have always been to focus The main objectives of the

on breeding functional, structurally sound cattle with good conformation to meet today’s market. Running over 100 bulls in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle scanning, Body Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE herd ensures highly accurate data.

KAIRURU IRONSIDE 11047

SALE BULLS INCLUDE SONS OF ORARI GORGE PATTON 150051

ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025

Our 250 stud cows are run with our 400 commercial cows on steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from weaning to calving. Snow is a frequent problem, challenging the Hereford longevity and soundness. As early adopters of Breedplan EBV analysis, we have over 25 years of records to show steady progress to benefit all our clients from lowland to High Country.

ORARI GORGE OHAU 140143

ORARI GORGE NAPIER 130133

All bulls born on the property and DNA tested for sire and defects.

The main objectives of the herd have always been to focus KOANUI BRITON 4260 ORARI PATTON SONS 150051OF SALE bulls testedstructurally negative forsound BVD and EBL with and vaccinated against IBRBULLS andGORGE BVD.INCLUDE MONYMUSK GALLANT 10089 on breedingAllfunctional, cattle good All bulls fully recorded and 11047 registered on Breedplan.

KAIRURU IRONSIDE conformation to meet today’s market.

Running over 100 ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025 PATTON All bulls below breed average for birth weight and above breed ORARI averageGORGE for calving ease. 150051 bulls in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle ORARI GORGE OHAU 140143 ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025 scanning, Body Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE SOME OF THE BEST MARBLING IN THE COUNTRY VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME herd ensures highly accurate data.

ORARI 130133 BALANCED TRAITS = MAXIMUM PROFITABILITY ORARI GORGE GORGE NAPIER OHAU 140143 • FERTILITY • STRUCTURE • BREEDPLAN RECORDED • CARCASE SCANNED • TB STATUS C10

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• SERVICE & SEMEN TESTED • BVD TESTED & VACCINATED • ALL BULLS HYPOTRICHOSIS FREE Our 250 stud cows are run with our 400 commercial cows KOANUI BRITON 4260 ORARI NAPIER 130133 03 692 GORGE 2853 | Email rosa@orarigorge.co.nz ORARI STATION, TRIPP SETTLEMENT ROAD, GERALDINE, on Rosa steep, tussock over 3000ft from weaning Graham and Rosa Peacock | TelGORGE Graham and Peacockhigh | Tel 03 692 2853 | Emailcountry rosa@orarigorge.co.nz SOME OF THE BEST MARBLING IN THE COUNTRY Robert and Alex Peacock | Tel 03 692 2893 | Email robert@orarigorge.co.nz VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME = MAXIMUM SOUTH CANTERBURY Robert and Alex Peacock | Tel 03 692 2893 | Email robert@orarigorge.co.nz BALANCED PROFITABILITY MONYMUSK GALLANT 100897991, NEW ZEALAND. ORARI GORGE ROAD, GERALDINE, SOUTH CANTERBURY 7991, NEW ZEALAND. toTRAITS calving.

Snow is a frequent problem, challenging theSTATION, TRIPP SETTLEMENT WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ KOANUI BRITON 4260 Hereford longevity and soundness. As early adopters of Graham and Rosa Peacock KAIRURU IRONSIDE 11047 • FERTILITY • STRUCTURE • BREEDPLAN RECORDED • CARCASE SCANNED • TB STATUS C10 • SERVICE & SEMEN TESTED • BVD TESTED & VACCINATED • ALL BULLS HYPOTRICHOSIS FREE

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Robert and Alex Peacock | Tel 03 692 2893 | Email robert@orarigorge.co.nz

26

Farming

www.guardianonline.co.nz

Monitor mobs give an accurate picture

By Heather Chalmers The value of setting up a monitor mob over lambing was reinforced at a recent Central Canterbury Farming for Profit evening seminar at Coalgate.

Farm system scientist Tom Fraser says farmers generally don’t have good information about what is going on in their flocks and while many farmers are happy with their scanning percentages, not so many are satisfied with their tailing percentages and weaning weights.

“For farmers to focus their management, they need to get an accurate picture of where and when the problems occur within the flock.

“Generally, we don’t have good information about what is going on in our flocks,” Fraser said.

Monitor mobs generate a wealth of information and Malvern farmer Richard Friedman and Mt Somers farmer Murray Harmer shared their experience of running monitor mobs in 2018 and the information they gained from the exercise.

Both will be running monitor mobs again this year.

Richard Friedman (Malvern Hills) Last year Friedman took a group of ewes (as they ran through the gate), separated them out and monitored them closely after lambing with a particular focus on lamb growth rates.

By weighing the lambs regularly, he found the lambs grew at 350 to 380grams/day for the first four to five weeks, but then growth rates fell away quickly.

Last year this drove a decision to wean early.

This year he will run a monitor mob again and have a red clover paddock to help drive lamb growth rates between five weeks and weaning.

Murray Harmer (Mt Somers) Harmer set up a monitor mob, selecting 200 mixed-age twin-bearing ewes.

These ewes, which were in two mobs, were set-stocked at 12.5/ha.

Harmer recorded everything; tagging and weighing the lambs at birth, recording ewe and lamb wastage and lamb growth rate.

Pre-tailing growth rates were 350 to 380g/day.

Weighing pre-weaning showed the lambs were still growing at 350g/day, but then growth rates tapered off in the four weeks before weaning.

The lambs were skim drafted at 95 days.

Harmer said two or three of these ewes were growing their lambs at 400g/day, which was

worth $20/week to him.

There were growth rate differences between the two mobs, reflecting a difference in pasture covers.

During a snow storm, Harmer brought in four or five lambs from the monitor mob and discovered that the ewes had faulty udders and while the lambs could survive on limited milk during fine weather, they couldn’t in cold weather.

Harmer will be running a monitor mob again this year – hoping to identify why some ewes can grow their lambs at 400g/day and others don’t.

Setting up a monitor mob To set up a mob, Fraser recommends selecting a reasonably accessible paddock or paddocks and a representative sample of twinscanned ewes (although single and triplet-bearing ewes can be used) – preferably mated in their first cycle.

Set-stock the ewes at the normal stocking rate and at the normal time.

Over lambing, this mob needs to be checked once a day and information gathered about

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ewe and lamb deaths, assisted births and other relevant information.

A sample number of lambs (50 is ideal) should be weighed at docking, at mid-lactation and at weaning.

While it is preferable to weigh the same lambs – these can be identified with a tag or raddle – it is not essential.

Fraser suggests using bathroom scales placed on a flat board to weigh the lambs.

A person can hold the lamb and the weight of the person subtracted from the total weight.

The ewes should be body condition scored at setstocking, at tailing and at weaning and if possible, at mid-lactation.

Pastures should be assessed at the same time as the ewes are body condition scored and lambs weighed and be given a simple one-to-four or oneto-five rating, with one being rubbish pasture and five being rocket fuel.

An estimation – or measurement – of pasture masses should also be recorded.

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www.guardianonline.co.nz

27

No room for Septoria complacency Resistance keeps up pressure on yields UK and Europe cereal growers have once again felt the sting of Septoria resistance, but New Zealand has the opportunity to learn from their bitter experience.

That’s according to Andy Bailey, Global Fungicide Expert and ADAMA UK Technical Specialist.

Andy visited New Zealand as a guest of ADAMA NZ in 2017 and again in 2018 to share the Northern Hemisphere’s experience with industry influencers, distributors and growers in key areas including Mid Canterbury.

Speaking recently about results from the UK and Europe 2019 wheat harvest, Andy says there had been; “a load” of Septoria (speckled leaf blotch) about.

“Control programmes have just run out of steam in some situations. So, we’ve seen a lot of Septoria on upper leaves.”

An advocate of ADAMA’s multi-site Phoenix® Fungicide (Phoenix), to help fight resistance in Septoria, Andy says he has had a consistent message for growers looking to protect both their yields and existing chemistry. And that holds equally true for New Zealand.

“If you don’t have a multisite in a programme, it’s very, very obvious, because the Septoria just marches up the leaf layers.

Septoria infected wheat.

Andy Bailey, ADAMA UK Technical Specialist for Fungicides.

“Phoenix should always be the first thing in the tank for Septoria.”

Andy says in the UK this year a drier start to the season led some growers there to be more than a little complacent about the potential Septoria threat.

He says a wetter second half of the season quickly brought them back down to earth.

He says a protectant approach and the assumption that Septoria is always present will always beat a curative approach hands-down.

“It’s a worsening situation here. I could say alarming.

I think though, generally, if you do everything right, you can still control Septoria.

But that means you have to

keep ahead of the disease and get the timing right.

“The key timing for me for the use of Phoenix in wheat fungicide programmes is the T1 application.

“It’s a contact protectant and we need to put that in early in a programme, so we’re on the front foot.

“Keeping leaf 3 clean is essential for maintaining full yield potential as the crop reaches maturity. And we also have to be mindful that the current single-site chemistry is under a lot of pressure through insensitivity and resistance to Septoria.”

Andy warns that the new and emerging chemistry in the UK and Europe is also single-site.

“So, it’s still going to be

PHOTO SUPPLIED

PHOTO SUPPLIED

open to resistance.”

“Fungi are incredible at mutating.

“Ultimately, if you’re using single-site acting fungicides, resistance will develop and it will develop over a period of time depending on things including disease pressure, and how many times the fungicides are sprayed.

“There’s certainly a very strong argument for using multi-site chemistry going forward from an efficacy and resistance management point of view.”

Phoenix (Phthalimide – Group M4) has folpet as its active ingredient, which works against Septoria at a cellular level using a multisite action.

This inhibits spore germination and cell division, and reduces energy production in the mitochondria.

There is currently no known resistance to folpet anywhere in the world. It has the additional benefit of not inhibiting DMI uptake, ensuring their speed of action and their efficacy.

Phoenix also came to the rescue of barley growers impacted by Ramularia.

The 2018 New Zealand label approval for Ramularia control threw a very welcome lifeline to growers who at the time had been reeling from yield losses of up to 30 per cent.

Andy, who has described Ramularia as “chemistry breaking”, says the “massive” disease has put growers on notice.

Caused by the fungus Ramularia collo-cygni, the acceleration of its resistance initially put the industry on the back foot.

This despite recent experience with Septoria.

“We’ve had DMI chemistry for many, many years and DMIs worked against Ramularia. Suddenly now, for whatever reason, we reached a tipping point and control has gone really quickly.

On top of this strobilurin control of Ramularia lasted hardly any time, so control options are limited.”

As with Septoria, Andy cautions that application timing is critical for optimal Ramularia control.

If only one spray of Phoenix is being applied for Ramularia control, then T2 is the optimum timing for it.

This ensures that leaves 2 and 3 are protected. For best results though, and because we are still learning about the disease cycle, Andy advocates a programmed approach.

We’re actually achieving even higher levels of Ramularia control when using Phoenix at T1 and at T2.”

ADAMA’s recommendation is to partner Phoenix with Bolide® or other triazole chemistry as an excellent solution for Septoria and Ramularia control.

Bolide is an all-rounder DMI fungicide, featuring an innovative combination of epoxiconazole and prochloraz.

It is taken up via the stem and foliage and translocated upwards and outwards, providing some protection for new growth.

Andy says industry specialists, scientists, plant breeders and agronomists globally will be continuing to monitor resistance closely as they are aware that it is a problem that is definitely not going away.

Like Andy, ADAMA NZ warns against a “silver bullet” mentality that relies on the hope of new chemistry or cereal breeders with new varieties delivering solutions.

Daren Mabey, ADAMA NZ Commercial Manager, continues to urge wheat and barley growers to be proactive in fighting resistance.

Next to extreme weather, he says it is the biggest threat to yields and the industry itself.

“Growers here need to act to protect the remaining efficacy in existing and even future single-site chemistry.

“It’s absolutely an imperative.”

For more information on how to futureproof your resistance management strategy with ADAMA products, contact your local technical advisor or visit www.adama.com Advertising Feature

e a ur ton ri Yo ers ula l rn am tro co r R on fo c

PHOENIX or bust.

ÂŽ

Septoria and Ramularia can devastate crops and cripple businesses. With resistance to established modes of action growing, the only effective approach is a proactive one.

Start early and apply PHOENIX tank-mixed with existing SDHIs and DMIs such as BOLIDEÂŽ in your fungicide programme. PHOENIX is your innovative, multi-site protectant that will help you win the resistance battle!

Simply. Grow. Together. www.adama.com HC AGR0251

Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997 No. P9257. See www.foodsafety.govt.nz for registration conditions. Approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996.

Approval No. HSR101068. See www.epa.govt.nz for approval controls. Adama and Phoenix are registered trademarks of an Adama Group Company.

r fo ria ow la N mu Ra

BOLIDE The Multi-Tasker ®

Cover all your bases with a single product Providing a broader spectrum of control than other DMIs on the market, BOLIDE is the fungicide cereal growers have been waiting for. With its powerful combination of two GROUP 3 DMI fungicides this all-rounder offers ultimate infection protection.

Trials have proven BOLIDE’s effectiveness against Septoria and Ramularia. And when combined with PHOENIX® – our multi-site protectant – it will strengthen your resistance management strategy for years to come.

Choose innovation – choose BOLIDE!

Simply. Grow. Together. www.adama.com HC AGR0254

Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997 No. P9339. See www.foodsafety.govt.nz for registration conditions. Approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996.

Approval No. HSR101152. See www.epa.govt.nz for approval controls. Adama, Bolide and Phoenix are registered trademarks of an Adama Group Company.

30

Farming

www.guardianonline.co.nz

Achieving the best outcomes It has been a privilege to represent Mid Canterbury - Ashburton and Selwyn Districts for the last three years.

These three years of learning and experience, as well as attending an Institute of Directors governance course, has enabled me to bring effective, considered decision making to the ECan table, which I wish to continue doing.

I am standing for reelection because not only have I genuinely enjoyed my first term, I feel I have made a very positive and real contribution.

I understand politics and how to engage in processes to achieve the best outcomes possible in what, at times, are almost no-win situations.

A number of achievements stand out for me after my first term at ECan. Through the Canterbury Water Management Strategy portfolio, I’ve led the Selwyn River recharge programme, advocated for the review of Ashburton River consents allowing time for consent holders to make the best of the tough flow regime that comes into play in 2023 and achieved the statutory acknowledgement of the Hinds Drains working group recommendations.

This farmer driven project provides both environmental and production outcomes that are truly collaborative in their genesis and outcomes; the epitome of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.

Through the Hazard and Risk portfolio I am the ECan nominee on the Canterbury Group Civil Defence committee, and at present I am the deputy chair.

This has given me the opportunity to work with both the Minister and the Civil Defence Ministry in

RE-ELECT

“

John presenting Kaiya Ford with her St John Grand Prior Award.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

“

A vote for me will ensure continuance of good, sound judgement and genuine understanding of the issues that face us

providing input into what the new Emergency Response Ministry will look like, and the processes and systems that sit under it.

In the past few months, I have been appointed chair of the Performance Audit and Risk Committee.

This committee provides the public face and reports on the finances and levels of service of ECan.

We have, as a council, agreed that we need an independent member on this committee to assist us with driving best practice, both in identifying and mitigating risk but also in driving financial performance.

This is all part of an ongoing conversation with senior management as to how we control costs, and therefore things such as rate

Our rural and urban communities have a symbiotic relationship relying on each other. We therefore cannot have extreme views of each other’s worlds, but need to work together to take us forward

rises, and look at continuous improvement in the organisation.

Our biggest challenge in the next term is legislation coming out of Central Government.

We have real fears for what might be included in the NPS Fresh Water, compliance expectations and RMA changes.

It is not just the volume of change that is coming at us that is of concern, but the short time lines that may be attached that will not allow for just and smooth transitions if significant change is mandated by Government.

As a third generation dairy farmer from the Leeston area I am well aware of the implications of what we impose on the rural community, and work for all constituents to mitigate the impacts.

Like many I am also aware of what it is like to receive M. bovis NoD, and the hell of working through that.

I am married to Karen and we have two children, one studying nursing, and the other in the New Zealand Army.

Our family has a strong community focus; in particular with St John Ambulance, I am a qualified paramedic, my wife is an Emergency Medical Technician, and our children are now operational volunteers.

John.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

I believe that the combination of my three years at ECan, 32 years on the road as a volunteer ambulance officer, and life time in rural communities has given me unique insight into environmental management issues and the process and impact of these on both the community and individuals.

A vote for me will ensure an informed and steady hand remains at the council table, representing and advocating for Mid Canterbury.

Authourised by John Sunckell, 100 Caldwells Road, Leeston Advertising Feature

JOHN SUNCKELL ECAN 2019 ‘Working together, taking us forward’ Facebook: John4ecan Phone: 027 424 3006 Website: https://john4ecan.wixsite.com/ecan2019 Authorised by John Sunckell, 100 Caldwells Road, Leeston

www.guardianonline.co.nz

RURAL CONTRACTING FEATURE

31

Oliver Brothers branching out Oliver Brothers Ltd was established in January 2000 when Gary and Steve took over from their father John.

John had operated in the area for 15 years as well as supplying shingle to the local farmers.

The company started off with a small yard in Winchester, South Canterbury, and in 2003, with the continued expansion, the company bought and moved to a threehectare property in Earl Road, Geraldine.

This property continues to be developed as the company grows.

Having this large site with its own workshops enables the company to do its own maintenance and engineering on site when required.

In December, 2012, Gary resigned to explore other avenues and Steve has retained all of the staff.

In January, 2015, Reg Cavill (Digger) joined the team as operations manager, bringing with him a wealth of experience having worked for local companies.

“

Our highly experienced multi skilled team, fleet of specialised vehicles and link with the community make Oliver Bros one of Canterbury’s most trusted contractors

SPECIALISING IN DAIRY FARMS & MAINTENANCE Feed pad 2014.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

In 2016, the dairy sector faced a significant recession and Reg and some staff had to be released.

However, Reg still assists with day-to-day work and advises when and where

body councils andIN sub DAIRY Canterbury’s most trusted SPECIALISING FARMS contractors. contractors.

OurMAINTENANCE highly experienced Call us for expert advice & multi-skilled team, fleet and for more information

required. Oliver Brothers Ltd are diversifying into civil and construction work to broaden their workload into the future.

This allows them to work with large firms, local

of specialised vehicles and link with the community make Oliver Bros one of

about our services. Check us out on Facebook.

Advertising feature

SPECIALISING IN DAIRY FARMS SPECIALISING IN DAIRY FARMS AND MAINTENANCE & MAINTENANCE

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Office Phone 03 693 7457

Locally Owned & Operated

E-mail: oliverbros@farmside.co.nz