Farmers Weekly NZ February 21, 2022

7 Fonterra vows to protect bobbies Vol 20 No 6, February 21, 2022

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Dovi wreaks havoc on crops Annette Scott

A

annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

RABLE farmers are fearing the worst harvest ever, as they desperately look for the sun to shine on

their crops.

The remnants of ex Tropical Cyclone Dovi have been the sting in the tail of an unprecedented wet season that has caused widespread damage to arable crops up and down the country, “We have certainly had a lot of wet weather, topped off by a significant flooding event for some that has been even bigger than the 2004 flood here,” Wairarapa farmer Karen Williams said.

“With 160mm of rain across December, 90mm over Waitangi weekend and then 150mm over the weekend before last, and that’s just on the plains, not what is coming down the river system, this flooding is a massive event.”

The Ruamahanga, the main river running the length of the Wairarapa, and several of its tributaries have flowed rampant over farmland, decimating harvest crops in their wake.

“There’s really bad damage on properties adjacent to the rivers, the biggest percentage of our harvest is done in February – timing couldn’t have been worse,” she said.

“Floodwaters tearing through crops just decimated them. Peas are stuffed, there’s extensive sprouting of crops across the board impacting on yield, quality and income – it’s not a great year.”

While the Ministry for Primary Industries and Rural Support

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LOSS: Andrew Fisher is expecting clover yields to be down 40% with heads disappearing into the foliage and sprouting happening.

Photo: Annette Scott Trust are in touch, she said the extent of the damage is yet to be realised.

Federated Farmers arable chair Colin Hurst says talking to farmers who have been around for a while, some are calling it the worst harvest season in living memory.

“Normally we’d be most of the way through harvest by now, but three weeks of continual rain held everything up and now many parts of the country were hammered by the remnants of the cyclone (Dovi),” Hurst said.

Only Southland seems relatively unaffected.

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Wheat crops are turning black in Mid and North Canterbury and there’s likely to be a shortage of good quality grain to turn into flour.

Hectares planted in wheat for milling were already down because of changes to buying arrangements and concern about a lack of competition.

Farmer feedback from Canterbury and flooded parts of the Wairarapa are that up to half, and in some cases all, of pea crops have been ruined.

He said reports to Federated Farmers are that crops grown for

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seed in Canterbury will be down on yield, with many also down in quality.

Many clover crops now resemble hay crops, with the heads disappearing into the foliage and sprouting of these crops happening.

“With the wet growing season yields were down even before harvest started, now it’s gone from bad to worse,” Mid Canterbury cropping farmer Andrew Fisher said.

“It’s been a double hit for all cropping farmers this season, with the lower commodity prices,

fertiliser more than doubling in price, the fuel hike, now at harvest the weather, but we are looking ahead to much improved contract pricing.

“Going forward we are looking positive for next season, that’s what we farmers do – look for the next positive.”

Drying space is at a premium and with sodden soil hindering the natural drying of seed crops, harvest is not going to be easy even as weather improves, Hurst said.

In Hawke’s Bay, sweetcorn, beans and squash harvest has been interrupted with beans hit hard with sclerotinia and water logging causing younger bean plants to die.

Maize crops in the Waikato and north Taranaki areas have been “severely knocked around”.

“The challenge now is to dry out what we can and salvage what is left of the harvest,” Hurst said.

Carrfields grain and seed trading manager Rodger Gundry said merchants are cautiously waiting for the result of a challenging harvest, expecting that quantity and quality of crops will be significantly impacted given the unseasonal wet across both the growing and harvest periods.

“We are all guessing what is happening out there,” Gundry said.

“We won’t know the full extent of the impact or what we will be dealing with until farmers get their products in store, then we can put together a game plan.

“What we do know is quantity will be down, but whether quality will be 100% or 10% affected is difficult to determine right now.”

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ON FARM STORY

26 Chasing a perfect shearing day An award-winning shearing couple, who spent their careers chasing the perfect shearing day, say there’s no greater feeling than finding your rhythm and getting into the ‘zone’, because that’s when the tallies start to happen.

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5 RubyRed kicks off season’s harvest The inaugural commercial harvest of Zespri’s new RubyRed variety signals the start of what may prove to be a record-setting crop for the year.

New Thinking ����������������������������������������������� 21 Editorial ������������������������������������������������������� 22 Pulpit ������������������������������������������������������������� 23 Opinion ��������������������������������������������������������� 24 On Farm Story ���������������������������������������� 26-27 Real Estate ���������������������������������������������� 28-38 Employment ������������������������������������������������� 40 Classifieds ����������������������������������������������������� 41 Livestock ������������������������������������������������� 42-43 Weather ��������������������������������������������������������� 45

9 More to resilience than science 20 Passion for farming goes a Te Mana o Te Wai – the vital importance of water – is a concept that’s central to the Government’s freshwater reforms but it’s important not to view it in isolation, Mavis Mullins says.

Markets ���������������������������������������������������� 44-48

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

3

No cheap entry to split-gas options Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz THE cost to run the alternative greenhouse gas (GHG) system for the primary sector now under discussion could cost the sector as much as $90 million a year.

The He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) split-gas emissions proposal roadshow is now well under way across New Zealand, with farmers having a chance to get under the hood of the two schemes presented, both likely to hit farm profits by between 4-6%.

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said the estimate of up to a $90m a year cost was “quite possible”, but was also one that had been fully imputed into estimates of what the respective farm based or industry-based schemes are likely to have on farm profits.

“There is no doubt, when you scale up the costs at a farm level to an industry level it does come to quite a big number,” Mackle said.

He emphasised neither the processor hybrid levy nor farm levy models were ever likely to be cheaper than the alternative option, that of being folded into the ETS. However, after 2030 this was likely to change.

As carbon prices continued to surge, and farmers lowered methane emissions in response to price signals from the HWEN

options, it was highly likely the cost of being in the ETS would well outstrip the cost of the alternatives.

Separating the split-gas approach from the carbon-based ETS scheme enables the primary sector to determine a price per unit for methane separate from whatever carbon is trading at.

It really is not about the price of methane itself, but about the job we are trying to achieve and the strength of the signal that price sends to farmers to shift behaviour.

Tim Mackle DairyNZ

“It really is not about the price of methane itself, but about the job we are trying to achieve and the strength of the signal that price sends to farmers to shift behaviour,” he said.

He said there would need to be an exercise in price discovery to determine what the trigger price of methane will be to ensure changes in farm emissions, while

still maintaining profitability.

A working group was presently exploring this subject.

Industry analyst Professor Keith Woodford has criticised HWEN on grounds that of the funds it raises by charging farmers for emissions, only $10 million a year, may be returned a year into emission reduction research.

In a recent column he maintained this was a trivial amount, given the pastoral sector’s $30 billion a year of export earnings.

“It is fair to say, we do not want too much of the income going into research, as we need to use it to be the ‘carrot’ to bring change in emission levels on-farm,” Mackle said.

The $10m investment into R&D a year still compares healthily to the NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, which is investing $48.5m over 10 years into emissions research.

Mackle confirmed all existing research areas will continue with their current funding and there are initiatives under way to study how to accelerate getting mitigation tools and techniques to farmers.

He acknowledged a sense among farmers at meetings that they were facing an increase in production costs whichever scheme they opted for and were the only sector unable to simply increase prices to cover that.

TRANSPARENCY: Tim Mackle makes no secret the proposed split-gas options will cost more up front than entering the ETS directly.

“But having said that, it is not uncommon in any sector to need to take these steps just to stay in the game,” he said.

Achieving a premium price under new constraints like lower methane could be difficult to achieve, given it was becoming a requirement for standard business practice as more food companies moved towards zero carbon policies and expected suppliers to do the same.

“But NZ dairy is attracting a premium, for a number of

reasons. Farmers are the only ones who cannot increase their prices, but a number of companies and all industries are facing costs in things like carbon credits to achieve this,” he said.

He confirmed he was getting the impression the majority of farmers are keen to land on a farm-based emissions scheme.

Some wanted to get there straight away, while others were prepared to work through an industry levy hybrid to start with, transitioning to on-farm emissions pricing.

Record first half result for Skellerup SKELLERUP has reported a record net profit after tax (NPAT) of $23.2 million for the six months ended December 31, in which both agri and industrial divisions achieved record earnings.

NPAT was up 19% and the agri division earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were up 9% to $16.7m.

Group revenue was up 10% to $150m and EBIT was up 18% to $32.4m.

Chief executive David Mair said dairy rubberware sales had increased, especially in the United States market.

Footwear sales were also up, notably in the home market, New Zealand.

But he said margins were down slightly from the impact of rising raw material prices and freight costs.

Operating cash flow in the first half was down 44% due to a planned increase in inventory to mitigate the impacts of covid-19.

“We increased raw materials

and finished goods in transit to our distribution centres to ensure continuity of supply to our customers,” Mair said.

“Net debt is up on FY21 yearend because of the acquisition of Talbot and investment in working capital and Skellerup’s balance sheet remains very strong.”

A record first half means an

expectation for a record full-year profit, now forecast to be in the range of $44m to $47m, compared with $40m in FY21.

An interim dividend of 7.5c will be paid, imputed to 50%.

Skellerup’s share price has risen 55% in the past 12 months to lie around $6.30 presently.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Calls for strategic carbon approach Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz SHORT-TERM land-use decisions risk the long-term future of New Zealand’s rural landscapes and communities, according to a green paper by former Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, however, some industry players are questioning parts of the paper’s content.

Managing Forestry LandUse Under the Influence of Carbon calls for a more strategic approach to planting trees and outlines policy areas for urgent investigation to address the issue.

It was released ahead of a workshop early next month involving stakeholders, including Forestry Minister Stuart Nash, councils, forestry interests, Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) and Local Government NZ. Yule said the paper outlines the risk that short-term decisions will make to the detriment of longterm land-use flexibility, rural communities and export returns.

They make a number of assumptions which we believe are incorrect and I think importantly don’t really acknowledge that we’re entering a very different environment, so they tend to be backwardlooking rather than forward-looking in terms of their report.

Phil Taylor NZ Forest Owners Association “Currently, increasing carbon prices in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) means carbon farming coupled with plantation forestry is in the short-term significantly more profitable than sheep and beef cattle farming,” Yule said.

THREAT: Former Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said the green paper outlines the risk short-term decisions poses to longterm land-use flexibility.

Lawrence Photo: Yule Community/Facebook “There is little national guidance to help local authorities stop swathes of productive sheep, beef and wool-producing farmland being converted to forestry, as the ETS currently allows 100% of fossil fuel emissions to be offset through forestry and councils currently have no available tools to place controls on the planting of trees.”

He said NZ has relied heavily on carbon sequestration through plantation forestry to meet its international obligations to reduce climate emissions, rather than actually reducing gross emissions from all sectors.

Ruapehu District Mayor Don Cameron, whose council is one of 16 councils, alongside Local Government NZ and B+LNZ that funded the research, said a more strategic approach is needed for planting trees to sequester greenhouse gas emissions to avoid long-term damage to rural communities and export returns.

“The Resource Management Act currently does not allow for a strategic approach to be taken to plantation or carbon-only forestry in the regions. The National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry also do not cover carbon-only farming,” Cameron said.

B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor said Government signals that it is considering policy changes to address the wholesale conversion of sheep and beef farmland into carbon farming, but its action has been too slow.

“We have been raising concerns for some time about the speed and scale of land-use change due to the unbridled ability of fossil fuel emitters to plant exotic trees on sheep and beef farmland for offsetting rather than reducing their emissions,” McIvor said.

“Our own view is that the Government needs to change the ETS because that is the legislation that is causing the problem.”

NZ carbon forestry operator Drylandcarbon general manager Colin Jacobs said to address one of the legislative problems, he wrote to Nash, Climate Change Minister James Shaw and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor in December seeking the removal of the ‘forestry pathway’ exemption under the Overseas Investment Act. He is heartened that Nash has publicly said he is looking to examine that (Farmers Weekly, February 14).

Jacobs would also like to see changes to the ETS, including introducing a new category that he says could help to address some of the unintended outcomes the scheme as it stands is creating.

One of those is the 50-year timeframe that defines the permanent category.

“That’s not permanent,” Jacobs said.

“If you plant something in the

permanent category you can leave it forever and never harvest.

That will lead to poor outcomes, especially if you’re planting species that only have about 100 years’ useful life as opposed to native forestry that can go on for thousands of years.”

Jacobs questions the idea raised in the paper that ETS averaging rules incentivise carbon-only planting.

“I don’t think it does,” he said.

“For averaging you have to plant and harvest your forest. You only get 16 years’ worth of carbon, so to get value you have to harvest the trees.”

He would like to see a longer rotation length category introduced on top of the averaging category.

“What averaging does … is that if you’re only getting carbon for 16 years, people are going to plant more and more land so they can get carbon for 16 years out of each hectare,” he said.

“If you plant one hectare and can get 30 years of carbon out of it and still harvest the trees and get the same outcome, that will stop some of those perverse outcomes.”

NZ Forest Owners Association president Phil Taylor, who will be taking part in the workshop on March 2, was cautious in what he could say because the association wants to participate in it in good faith.

However, he said while there were aspects of the report the association agreed with, there were also many that it either disagreed with or didn’t think accurately reflected a balanced view.

“They make a number of assumptions which we believe are incorrect and I think importantly don’t really acknowledge that we’re entering a very different environment, so they tend to be backward-looking rather than forward-looking in terms of their report,” Taylor said.

“Finding reasons not to do things rather than finding reasons how to do things and to look at optimal land-use and integrated land-use, there’s nothing in that kind of space.”

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

5

RubyRed kickstarts kiwifruit harvest Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz THE inaugural commercial harvest of Zespri’s new RubyRed variety signals the start of what may prove to be a record-setting crop for the year.

Initial estimates are 190 million trays will be harvested this year, up from last year’s record 177m.

The harvest of RubyRed for markets in Singapore, Japan and China marks the culmination of over a decade’s work finding a suitable coloured hybrid variety and will be followed by

We will be maintaining our local recruitment campaign and calling on growers to reach out to their own networks of friends and family to help.

Colin Bond NZ Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated

early harvest SunGold crop next month.

Zespri grower, industry and sustainability officer Carol Ward said expectations were the RubyRed would remain near last year’s relatively small 250,000 tray harvest, given the youth of plantings and time needed for plants to reach full cropping potential.

In they meantime, she said the industry was anticipating about 115m SunGold trays this season from a crop that had enjoyed a relatively good growing season overall.

Some isolated weather events have impacted districts in past months, including a severe wind event in the Opotiki district last October that resulted in some heavy losses for growers in localised areas, with some losing between 50% and 90% of crop.

NZ Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chief executive Colin Bond said recent heavy rain through the Bay of Plenty is likely to have a mixed impact on final kiwifruit sizes, while the heavy winds in the wake of ex Tropical Cyclone Dovi has caused pockets of wind damage in some orchards, thanks to shelterbelts

FIRST OF MANY: Zespri chief executive Daniel Mathieson (right) and orchard owner Gopa Bains look over the first commercial Zespri RubyRed harvest near Te Puke.

On the Fence right now ?

blowing apart or trees falling on canopies.

“There may also be some wind rub effect, but this takes a few days to become evident,” Bond said.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, avocados have taken a greater hit, with significant losses due to fruit being left on trees while growers waited for prices to lift.

Aside from the Opotiki event, he said this season had been a good growing season, with a better spring and good levels of rainfall eventuating.

He said growers are also nervously eyeing their staffing resources as crops ripen, as they once again try to fill the 6500-person gap left by absent backpackers.

“We will be maintaining our

local recruitment campaign and calling on growers to reach out to their own networks of friends and family to help,” he said.

“When you break it down, if we are about 6000 short, we have 3000 growers, so if each grower can get one or two people on board, we are there.”

Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) staff from the Pacific Islands are still on track to keep arriving in New Zealand, despite some disruption caused by the Tongan eruption, with a target of 14,400 staff expected nationally.

Normally about 2000 of them work in kiwifruit harvesting.

“I can honestly say there has been a lot of good work between industry and government, a lot of behind the scenes work

with reports that this is the best level of cooperation we have seen between industry and government officials,” he said.

In the meantime, growers are being urged to register as critical businesses and to ensure they are down for the close contact exemption scheme they are eligible for.

The scheme means workers who are vaccinated and asymptomatic close contacts of a case will be able to continue to work, as long as a negative rapid antigen test is returned prior to starting work.

“This is our third season working with covid now, we know our protocols can work and are confident we can get through this one too,” he said.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

7

Fonterra vows no calf left behind Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz FONTERRA will require that all non-replacement calves enter a value stream from June 2023 onwards.

It will effectively ban on-farm euthanasia of calves happening without humane reasons, to make sure every calf born is accounted for.

The value streams are dairybeef finishing, bobby calf collection for veal production and the petfood industry.

The new obligations for the 2023-24 season are foreshadowed in this year’s Terms of Supply notice issued to all suppliers.

Fonterra’s Farm Source director Richard Allen said 15 months’ notice is being given to assist a minority of suppliers who face big challenges in compliance.

He contended that most farmers would not need to alter their current practises.

Dairy farmers who calve at different times of the year, when calf collections are not operating, are irate with Fonterra’s move.

Autumn calvers in Northland is one sizable group that haven’t had collections running in all districts and will probably need to build larger calf barns and employ more calf rearers.

One said the likely cost to his business would be in the tens of thousands of dollars, just to retain animals that have no market value, such as non-replacement Jersey heifer calves.

“Calf rearing, if even up to 10 days and collection, requires skills and competence to avoid sickness and I will have to house 200 or more, instead of 80 at present,” the farmer said.

“Options like sexed semen and dairy-beef sires do not completely remove those types of calves that nobody wants to rear, so will the meat companies commit to killing these?”

He thought the backlash to

NOTICE: Fonterra’s Farm Source director Richard Allen says 15 months’ notice is being given to assist a minority of suppliers who face big challenges in compliance.

Fonterra’s announcement a couple of weeks back was rather muted because no farmer wanted to be identified as one who killed calves, albeit legally, humanely and properly.

Allen said there was no doubting the animal rights movement and its campaigns were influencing Fonterra’s customers and consumers of dairy products.

“We have surveys showing around 60% of consumers now put animal wellbeing in their food purchasing decisions,” he said.

“In the past five years there was a 90% increase in the number of food products using animal wellbeing claims.”

We have surveys showing around 60% of consumers now put animal wellbeing in their food purchasing decisions.

Richard Allen Fonterra Fonterra could not wait for public opinion to become an issue and force changes and needed to protect its leading position.

It had signalled a lead-in time and was working with meat

companies and interested parties and investing in research and development.

He said on-farm compliance would likely be self-certification for the 99% of farmers who are responsible and diligent, along with a follow-up of those who didn’t make returns.

Asked if this could have been handled in the Co-operative Difference incentive scheme, he said the critical nature and urgency of the issue warranted a minimum standard within 18 months rather than an optional extra.

Federated Farmers national dairy chair Wayne Langford said a small percentage of Fonterra farmers would be affected by the

new requirement, but their voices needed to be heard.

In the South Island late season calves beyond the pick-up times would be an issue, he said.

Fonterra was working with the meat companies and calf industry interests to increase the value of bobby calves.

It had put a stake in the ground and done what farmers regularly called for – “tell us what markets want from milk producers?”.

Those farmers adversely affected would get some grace time to make changes, he hoped.

Bobby calves returned a reasonable price to farmers and meat companies added the value.

“Those calves are not going to waste,” he said.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

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More to resilience than science Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz TE MANA o Te Wai – the vital importance of water – is a concept that’s central to the Government’s freshwater reforms but it’s important not to view it in isolation, Mavis Mullins says.

Mullins, a wool classer by trade but also a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, a businesswoman, landowner and someone who has held a wide range of governance positions, recently gave a presentation entitled Te Ao Māori and Agribusiness: Giving Effect to Te Mana o te Wai, at the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre’s annual three-day workshop, which this year was held online.

She told those taking part that it’s important to understand that nurturing and protecting all life, whether it’s water, soil, stock, preparedness for climate change or looking after the people who rely on the land, is all connected and should not be viewed separately.

If we start to silo of the ecology of things, the ecosystems, we (will) end up with unintended consequences.

Mavis Mullins MNZM To illustrate her point, she gave the example of the Te ĀtihauWhanganui Incorporation, which she chaired until recently.

Te Ātihau-Whanganui, one of the largest Māori land blocks collectively owned in Aotearoa, sits under the shadow of Mount Ruapehu, the land block winding its way down the Paraparas.

It covers about 40,500 hectares and carries just under 200,000 stock units, sheep, beef and dairy, along with about 3000 hives and some forestry.

LINKED: Mavis Mullins says it’s important to understand that nurturing and protecting all life, whether it’s water, soil, stock, preparedness for climate change or looking after the people who rely on the land, is all connected and should not be viewed separately.

There’s more than 9000 shareholders, with blocks of land incorporated by family members more than 50 years ago to protect against land loss.

She said those family members rely on the incorporation to not only provide economic wealth, but also personal health, spiritual health and wellbeing, to the people and to the land.

She said Te Āti Hau Trust is the charitable arm that works to support interests such as families, kaumatua, education and training and marae.

“But … in a business that is about safe food production, it is about having an external brand, (and) Awhi is our customer-facing brand,” Mullins said.

That brand includes mānuka honey, Ruapehu Angus, singlesource lamb, milk and wool.

Mullins says Awhi, which means to embrace, signifies how Te Ātihau-Whanganui sees not only its land and the activities

that take place on it but also the products produced from it.

She said with that in mind, about three years ago they started to work on a Taiao strategy “because as wonderful as the aspirations of Te Mana o te Wai are, it isn’t just about water”.

“If we start to silo the ecology of things, the ecosystems, we (will) end up with unintended consequences,” she said.

“I see a lot of that in terms of trees. I love trees, but sometimes the goals we choose have consequences that aren’t as holistic or as beneficial as we would have liked.”

Mullins said the Taiao strategy has high-level markers that centre on how life is connected.

She said as well as production, it looks at inputs, waste and waste management and continuing to improve through collective wisdom and creativity.

“It then comes down to farm systems, investment decisions,

value and innovation, because as has been noted, if you’re standing still, you’re going to get run over,” she said.

“We’ve got demands from our shareholders, past and future, that will not allow us to stand still because this is all encompassing, it is about whakapapa, it’s about ourselves as a people, our identity.”

She said that approach can help build premium brands that share rich cultural history and, as part of that, it’s important to respect sacred places and stories to ensure they are not lost.

There’s also pillars of health and wellbeing of people, which includes those who are part of Te Ātihau-Whanganui, its partners and consumers.

However, she acknowledges talk can be cheap so to make it a reality they’ve produced a 75page plan to outline a five-year strategy to make those goals a reality.

“To ensure that we put rubber to the road, we’ve also developed a five-year budget to (make sure) we are as prepared as we can be over all those elements for what’s coming our way,” she said.

“We’re serious about this and it’s something that’s over and above what best practice is required from industry or any compliance. This is our own planning.”

She said it’s going to require a lot of motivation because sometimes those goals are going to feel hard.

“But too hard is not an option when you’ve got 50-plus years of aspiration and expectation,” she said.

“When coming to our meetings, are the mokopuna (grandchildren) of these people, who we look to, to think, how are we going to ensure that they are going to have the right things in front of them?”

She appreciates the inclusion of Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) in new policy and while humbled by it, she has a warning.

“Please don’t cherry pick Mātauranga Māori,” she said.

“It’s a little bit like the ecosystem of everything. If you start cherry picking you take away, it diminishes.

“Those ancient practices, those ancient stories, they were there for a reason.

“We need to take care when we start to cherry pick which bits we want, which bits we like, which bits we think are going to work.”

She acknowledged the “amazing work” scientists are doing for the benefit of the longterm resilience and profitability of New Zealand agriculture, but said there are other parts of the picture that need to be considered.

“Te Ao Māori and Mātauranga have never really been applied in full effect to show the power that place and practice can have.

“It is about ensuring that it isn’t just all about the science, that there are other elements that can contribute effectively to our longterm resilience,” she said.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Fight for water access continues Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz OTAGO water users say they have no choice but to spend millions of dollars protecting their livelihoods from new regional council rules governing the taking of water.

The Otago Regional Council is replacing century-old gold mining permits with new resource consents, and while the process is proving taxing, lengthy and costly for water users, they say the alternative is losing their businesses.

The 35 users in the Lindis catchment have spent $900,000, plus uncosted time, securing 35year water consent, while the 700 in the Manuherikia have spent $1 million on consents and a further $600,000-plus dealing with council plan changes.

They are still going through the process.

Those in these catchments say they have lost faith in the council who they claim is being driven by ideology and little understanding of the implications of their policies on rural communities.

Lindis and Manuherikia catchment group leaders recall sudden, unannounced changes in council positions, selected use of science, a reluctance to engage with water users, misinformation, constant changes to council staff and a lack of appreciation about the implications of what they propose.

Both groups have invested heavily in scientific and economic reports, independent advocacy and legal representation to defend their positions.

It is now the turn of users in the Arrow, Cardrona and Taieri catchments to renew their consents.

Former council chief executive Graeme Martin has been assisting farmers and has little positive to say about his former organisation, saying staff and councillors lack knowledge and understanding about how farming operates and what it needs to function.

He said water users need to work together and with interested parties, but also take the initiative.

PRESSURE: Lindis Catchment Group chair Bruce Jolly says the council is under pressure from Environment Minister David Parker to complete its regional water plans, which also makes renewing consents arduous.

“The way forward is for users to propose a transition and solutions that fit the law,” Martin said.

Renewed consents have been caught by the reprioritisation of river values under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater (NPS-FW), which has demoted community and economic values behind in-river values, but users say there is too much at stake not to go through the process.

“It’s just consumed us but if you give up, you’re gone. You’ll never get it back,” Lindis Catchment Group member Alastair Rutherford said.

“We won’t give up,” Manuherikia Catchment Group chair Anna Gillespie adds.

“We don’t have a choice. Our only out is to sell the farm, but nobody is going to buy a farm in the Manuherikia Valley with this uncertainty hanging over it.”

Rutherford said the process has

become litigious.

“It’s so centred on court cases and winners and losers instead of an outcome that balances the environment, land, people and communities.”

Lindis Catchment Group chair Bruce Jolly says the council is under pressure from Environment Minister David Parker to complete its regional water plans, which also makes renewing consents arduous.

“Trouble is farmers have to fund it and those costs are horrific,” Jolly said.

He said consent holders must be united.

“The only reason ours worked is that the council did its best to fracture our community group, but we were strong and spent a lot of time getting farmers to agree what was acceptable and what was not,” he said.

Rutherford said Lindis water

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users acknowledged they had to make changes and offered concessions based on science and facts.

Ironically, much of that evidence was prepared by former council staff employees.

There was frustration groups such as Fish and Game have not acknowledged the concessions users propose to their centurylong water rights.

That included halving their water take, agreeing to a higher minimum flow of 550 litres/sec and a primary allocation of 1640l/ sec, and replacing inefficient water distribution and extraction infrastructure.

Fish and Game sought a minimum flow of 900l/sec and primary allocation of 1200l/ sec and having lost its bid in the Environment Court, took the case to the High Court, which it also lost.

It’s just consumed us but if you give up, you’re gone. You’ll never get it back.

Alastair Rutherford Lindis Catchment Group Rutherford said consent renewal began 20 years ago and required input from lawyers, hydrologists, fish scientists, landscape architects and economists.

Group member Robbie Gibson said the NPS-FW and council plan changes will make it difficult for other catchment groups to renew consents as Lindis achieved.

“It’s stacked against those other irrigators,” Gibson said.

“I can see how difficult it is going to be for these other communities.”

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

11

Water consent win for Otago farmers Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz LINDIS Catchment Group member Alastair Rutherford was planning to semi-retire from running The Point near Tarras in Central Otago until he saw the looming threat from the challenge of renewing his water rights.

Over 110 years, about 35 farmers have had the right to extract water from the Lindis River for irrigation and livestock water initially granted to gold miners, but then passed over to farmers.

But rule changes initiated by the Government and imposed by the Otago Regional Council (ORC) makes the renewal far more challenging.

He has devoted most of the past six years to ensuring new waterright conditions proposed for the Lindis River were workable.

“It’s just consumed me,” Rutherford said.

It has been a challenging process pitching environmentalists, interest groups, policymakers and farmers against each other.

“The misinformation from

the green movement, people lack understanding about their community, their country, their economy and how it works,” he said.

The Lindis River originates in the Lindis Pass and flows south to the Clutha River and then into Lake Dunstan, during which up to 40 farmers take water for irrigation and stock.

The vast majority of the river flows through an aquifer and during summer the aboveground flow disappears.

Initial discussion was around 450sec/l minimum flow, but suddenly and without warning, the council announced it was seeking a 750l/sec.

“There was no consultation. The council came to a meeting at the Tarras Hall and announced they wanted 750l/sec,” he said.

Their key weapon was science, they accumulated 40 years of data and community unity.

“Science is critical,” he said.

The value of investing in science paid dividends when a councilcommissioned study completed

by Wellington consultants,

instead of cross referencing local river behaviour to support their argument, referred to rivers in the Wairarapa and North Canterbury and did not seek input from affected Otago farmers.

The group’s chair Bruce Jolly accused the council of not following thorough due process, citing the example of the brief granted to an economic consultant, which he says was so narrow, that it was little more than a token study.

“It was written from an office in Wellington without any input from farmers,” catchment group member Robbie Gibson said.

“That really got our backs up.”

It’s shortcomings strengthened the local farmer’s case.

Another issue was an almost revolving door of council staff resignations, which required replacements to come learn and be current with the issues and decisions.

Ironically four former staff – including retired council chief executive Graeme Martin – worked for the Lindis Catchment Group.

Gibson said trying to

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COSTLY VICTORY: Tarras farmers Robbie Gibson (left) and Alastair Rutherford from the Lindis Catchment Group who have successfully secured new water use consent. engage with non-government organisations was difficult.

He said organisations such as Fish and Game were intransigent and have never acknowledged the concessions water users were making: having their watertake, closing inefficient races and changing the way water was extracted.

Eventually the council and they agreed to a 35-year consent, a minimum flow of 550 litres/sec and a primary allocation of 1640l/ sec.

Rutherford said Fish and Game continued to seek a minimum flow of 900l/sec and primary allocation of 1200l/sec and having lost its bid

in the Environment Court, took it to the High Court, which it also lost.

A minimum flow of 750l/sec would prevent water users from taking water for 70 days a year over summer, but at Fish and Game’s desired 900l/sec, it would have had sufficient water to access the upper reaches of the river for just eight days a year.

“We feel we’ve given away a lot, improved the water catchment and trout, which have lived here for a 100 years under the old regime, which will be much better off, but which never gets mentioned by Fish and Game,” Rutherford said.

12

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Opportunity in growing walnuts Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz NEW Zealand is crying out for more walnuts, posing an opportunity for an exciting emerging industry.

The practicalities and benefits of growing walnuts were shared by the NZ Walnut Industry Group (NZWIG) at a field day hosted

by Andrew and Jo Horsburgh on their Tunlaw Farm at West Melton, Canterbury.

Very much a family affair, the Horsburghs have been 20 years establishing their 47-hectare walnut orchard developed from barley grass, planting 18 kilometres of shelter, 4000 walnut trees and installing 64 kilometres of underground irrigation.

“Walnuts are an emerging industry, viable, sustainable, with good market prospects and very low carbon emissions,” grower and Walnut NZ co-op chair Andrew Horsburgh said.

“At the moment we are getting two tonnes to the hectare, but demand is there and we have aspirations to get four tonnes.

“Walnuts are yet to be proven in NZ, but we are getting there.

“At this stage the typical NZ orchard is small by international standards, but we expect to see more large orchards as the industry continues to develop.

“As growers we are learning off each other, we have learnt some things the hard way, like we pruned wrong, there are plenty of people to tell you what not to do.”

Walnut orchards have low inputs compared to many land-uses, and low emissions to the environment in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nutrient losses.

GHG emissions from walnut orchards are in the order of 1.2 to 2-6 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents per hectare a year.

This is similar to other low

most of whom have orchards in Canterbury, with a few in Hawke’s Bay, Wanganui and Wairarapa.

The group produces 350 tonnes of walnuts annually off 574ha across orchards ranging in size from 50-4000 trees.

A dry climate and good draining soils are preferable for walnut production, the reason Canterbury is home to a large fraction of NZ’s walnut orchards.

Commercial walnut growing started in NZ in the 1970s and by 1987 the NZ Tree Crops Association was on the hunt to find suitable cultivars to work in NZ conditions.

It’s going to be a highly profitable industry just waiting to get loose.

Dave Malcolm NZ Walnut Industry Group

POTENTIAL: After 20 years spent establishing their orchard, Jo and Andrew Horsburgh are excited about the emerging opportunities for the NZ walnut industry.

Photo: Annette Scott nitrogen input perennial crops such as grapes or apples, but typically lower than the annual arable or vegetable crop rotations, and much lower than moderately or intensively farmed livestock.

“We don’t have figures for sure yet, because the walnut industry is new, but based on the data we are using, it is reasonable to assume that walnut orchards will remove more CO2 than they emit,” Plant and Food researcher Steve Thomas said.

Consumer demand for the nutritional attributes of walnuts

is positive, with most of the NZ walnut harvest absorbed in the local market as kernel pieces, in shell, or as products such as walnut oil, flour, dukkah and walnut paste.

“I see a real future for walnut growing in NZ, the NZ market is crying out for more walnuts,” NZWIG chair Dave Malcolm said.

“There is export inquiry too, so the challenge is to produce more.

“Whether a dairy, sheep or beef farmer looking to diversify or an aspiring lifestyler, there’s an exciting opportunity in walnuts.

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“If we can get six tonnes off new varieties at $5 a kilogram it’s going to be a highly profitable industry just waiting to get loose.”

The one catch is you need to be in for the long-term, as walnuts take several years to come into bearing.

“You can expect small harvests from year six to seven, which will build up to full production at 1620 years,” he said.

“Then once you have got them you have got them for decades.”

The industry group, established in 2011 to assist growers to grow walnuts, has 80 members,

Trials unearthed some exciting new high yielding, reduced disease varieties with walnut tree specialist nurseries now based at Banks Peninsula in Canterbury, Nelson and Palmerston North.

“We are a new industry – an exciting emerging industry,” Horsburgh said.

“Growers and researchers have worked out the fundamentals such as set-up costs for establishment and orchard development, profitability, recommended cultivars, orchard management and suitable machinery for harvesting and processing.

“We have all the pieces of the puzzle in place, but there are still many areas for ongoing progress and improvement to reach full industry potential.”

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Data difficulties threaten trade gains The Government is considering greater protection for Māori data in trade agreements.

But will farmers end up paying the price if trading partners become less willing to open up their own markets in response? Nigel Stirling reports.

FOR five years the Waitangi Tribunal has been investigating the Comprehensive and Progressive TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP) to assess its consistency with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Its final report, released late last year, found the e-commerce chapter of the deal the Government had agreed with 11 other countries in 2018 had breached those principles.

Not enough had been done to ensure the protection of Māori data, especially data deemed mātauranga Māori, or relating to traditional Māori knowledge.

The tribunal stopped short of recommending a freeze on negotiations called for by the original WAI 2522 group of claimants who kicked off the tribunal’s investigation into the CPTPP’s predecessor agreement, the TransPacific Partnership, in 2016.

Instead the tribunal said the Government should continue to negotiate e-commerce provisions

in trade agreements in close consultation with Māori to ensure their interests were protected.

The publication of the tribunal’s report in November came at an awkward time for the Government.

In October, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the broad terms of a trade agreement removing tariffs on all of NZ’s major agricultural exports to the United Kingdom.

One Wellington insider said the Government had been reluctant to jeopardise a major win for exporters by foisting new demands on the Brits in the closing stages of the talks.

“Do you reopen agreed text to try and mitigate some of the things that the tribunal has said, and if you reopen text then you have to accept the risk that your counterpart will also reopen text elsewhere, and the agreement starts to unravel,” the insider said.

At the same time the Government was reluctant to ignore the findings of the tribunal completely.

The picture was further complicated a week before Christmas with news Australia had finalised their own trade deal with the UK. The insider said government ministers had made it clear they were not prepared to risk New Zealand exporters falling behind Australian rivals on the path to tariff elimination by making new demands in the UK talks.

However, that was not before consideration had been given to overhauling the agreement’s e-commerce chapter to address the concerns raised during the tribunal hearings, one source said.

“There were a lot of discussions among ministers. It was not a simple decision,” the source said.

In the end, the Government kicked the can down the road.

It is understood the e-commerce chapter of the final agreement, to be signed in London by Trade Minister Damien O’Connor in the next few weeks, largely resembles its CPTPP equivalent but with the addition of an early review clause

Data should be able to flow freely NEW Zealand would be swimming against the tide of international trade agreements if it placed restrictions on where foreign companies operating here could store locally-generated data.

Trade ministers from the G7 group of the West’s largest economies reiterated this in a statement on digital trade principals last October.

It stated that data should be “able to flow freely across borders with trust” and opposed “digital protectionism and digital authoritarianism.”

One former trade negotiator said countries NZ liked to compare itself to were removing impediments to data flow between countries.

“That is one of the issues with China wanting to join CPTPP … you have people saying there is no way China can meet these commitments because of the Great Fire Wall and you can’t get data out,” the insider said.

Yet that is what the Government is contemplating as it mulls the Waitangi Tribunal’s report.

The November report noted the Government was reviewing its digital trade policy.

It had established two Māori groups, Te Taumata and Ngā Toki Whakaruranga, to advise it.

Among Ngā Toki’s advisors is Auckland University

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law professor Jane Kelsey, a long-time critic of NZ’s trade agreements.

Some exporters fear the Government risks allowing its trade agenda to be hijacked by ideologically-driven activists more interested in derailing trade agreements with abstract legal arguments than protecting the interests of Māori.

“If we are not doing the right things as promised then we have got to deal with it, but I am not sure of the substance versus the rhetoric in a lot of this.”

But one source close to Ngā Toki said that view showed no sympathy for the Māori view of data as whakapapa and a taonga to be protected and controlled by Māori.

Continuing to sign trade agreements which allowed Māori data to be stored in offshore databases controlled by digital giants like Google or Amazon undermined those objectives which were considered by Māori to be fundamental to their rights to sovereignty and self-determination that the Crown agreed in the Treaty of Waitangi would be protected.

“There is a real shift that is happening and that poses political challenges for a variety of portfolios and certainly challenges for trade negotiators,” the source said.

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DILEMMA: Te Taumata chair Chris Insley said the economic gains from free trade with the UK were too important for the talks to be dragged out any longer by making new demands now. allowing either side to propose changes in the future.

“It will be for Treaty partners whether they think that is sufficient,” one insider said.

The Government’s approach has the backing of Te Taumata, one of two Māori bodies established to advise it on trade negotiations.

Te Taumata chair Chris Insley, a former chief executive of Te Arawa Fisheries, said the economic gains from free trade with the UK were too important for the talks to be dragged out any longer by making new demands now.

“In the long-term you need to advance those claims … but at the same time be mindful in these negotiations that the Māori people that own these assets, the ones that are looking for the jobs to be created on the farms, do not do anything to undermine the gains for them,” Insley said.

“Australia has got their deal done … if NZ takes another year or two then Australian producers of mānuka honey will get access to the fifth-largest economy in the world and NZ remains shut out and then at some point in the future Australian producers have got the march on NZ producers.

“That is why we are telling ministers to get on with it.”

But while the threat of being overtaken by the Australians appeared to have been dealt with, the Government still did not have a permanent solution for the Māori data conundrum, one insider said.

The issue would have to be tackled eventually with the Brits and again when negotiations resume with the European Union later this year.

“To be blunt, our trading partners are not that interested in helping us on this because they only see downside,” one insider said.

“If you have a data localisation requirement to protect Māori data that is a complication for British financial services firms and it is a cost that you are imposing on them doing business here.

“There is always the risk they will say ‘okay we can do those things, but you need to pay’ … whether that be market access or something else.”

One lawyer spoken to said the threshold for data deemed to be mataurangi Māori, and deserving special protection in trade agreements, was not clearly defined, potentially capturing vast amounts of data related to the Māori population, such as health data.

IMPACT: Any delay in signing a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom would give Australian mānuka exporters the jump on New Zealand producers.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Initiative rewards premium product

SOUGHT-AFTER: North Canterbury farmer James Thompson says he has been wanting a premium product range within the meat industry for years.

Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz ALLIANCE Group Ltd (AGL) has launched a Wagyu beef programme to farmers as it tries to capture greater value for its products.

The new programme has farmers offered a supply contract premium above the ruling schedule at the time of processing for qualifying stock that meets the requirements for the range.

Carcases must meet certain marbling, pH levels, fat colour and meat colour specifications to achieve the premium, which starts at 40c per kilo and ranges as high as $3 per kilo above the schedule price.

North Canterbury farmer James Thompson was one of the first in the country to supply Wagyu cattle to the programme and was happy with the results.

The 18-month cattle were killed in November at about 340kg carcase weight (CW), earning him a $2 premium above schedule.

“It worked out at about a $23/week return so we were pleased with that,” Thompson said.

He has been farming Wagyu for two and a half years, as well as supplying Alliance with Ile de France sheep for its Silere programme.

Thompson said he has been wanting a premium product range within the meat industry for years.

“The red meat commodity hasn’t served us well in the past and personally I think if there’s options like this – and there are other programmes out there, it’s good news,” he said.

Red Wagyu and Black Wagyu are different breeds of Japanese cattle, both known for their high intramuscular fat content and marbling ability.

Red Wagyu’s fat is described as more like olive oil, while Black Wagyu’s fat has a buttery nature. Both are high in good oleic acid and low in cholesterol.

He buys the Wagyu as 100kg calves from rearers, who grow them as part of the Southern Stations Wagyu (SSW) programme.

“They come in around mid-summer and we hold them for 18 months. For the programme they have to be above 270kg carcase weight (CW),” he said.

AGL is partnering with SSW for the Wagyu programme. SSW will market genetics from its established Australian-based Red Wagyu bulls to New Zealand farmers to inseminate suitable dairy or beef cows or heifers.

The DNA-verified weaned calves will be sold through SSW to approved finishers participating in the programme.

He said the cattle has to meet specifications in order to qualify for the premium available.

Meeting those specifications was also the biggest challenge farming these cattle because he could do all the work, but if the cattle did not meet the grade, he does not get the premium.

“The Wagyu programme won’t suit everybody, but it will suit some farmers who enjoy seeing cattle finished rather than sold because of drought,” he said.

“If they can be supplemented and finished through to a big weight, it’s nice to see the results.”

AGL general manager of livestock and shareholder services Danny Hailes said they had listened to their farmers after being told they wanted better opportunities with the beef they supply.

“This Wagyu programme provides our farmers with an opportunity to tap into the growing number of discerning customers around the world who are willing to pay a price premium for naturally-raised beef and attributes guaranteed by a brand they trust,” Hailes said.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

17

Fieldays still on despite uncertainty Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz ORGANISERS are forging ahead with plans to hold a physical Fieldays in June, despite the uncertainty hanging around event management with Omicron.

The pandemic forced the cancellation of other North Island field days events in Northland and Manawatū, but Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation is optimistic it will go ahead as planned on June 15-18 at Mystery Creek.

“The demand and planning is

well-advanced, but the complexity now is – and we haven’t made this decision – what will Fieldays look like for June or some other date?”

Nation asked.

That decision is still a work in progress.

“It’s a complex situation and we are planning for a physical event,” he said.

Nation said the Fieldays Society board met bi-monthly and the issue was regularly discussed.

He was thankful that the Government has revised and extended its event transition support payment scheme,

meaning Fieldays will now be covered in June.

That extension gave the event industry certainty, he said.

The announcement of phase two of Omicron means no change to planning because the Waikato region is still in the red light setting.

Under that setting, events have a limit of 100 people and Fieldays could not be held. If settings move to orange, it can.

Another challenge is ensuring the ticket holders are vaccinated when they enter Mystery Creek.

Everyone has to be verified when

HOPEFUL: While the pandemic forced the cancellation of other North Island field days events in Northland and Manawatū, Fieldays organisers remain optimistic Mystery Creek will go ahead as planned.

Organic access into China moves forward EXPORTS of New Zealand’s organic products to China could double within two years following an agreement between the two nations.

NZ has agreed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for organic product certification with China – a step that could open up the Chinese market for more NZ organic exporters.

It means organic products certified to MPI’s Official Organic Assurance Programme will be eligible for export to China and labelled as organic.

“The arrangement will support the growth of the New Zealand organics sector by providing increased export and import opportunities,” MPI manager plant, wine and organic assurance Marion Castle said.

“Exports of certified organic produce to China are currently worth $93 million and are likely to grow due to reduced compliance costs and the increased certainty and facilitation that the arrangement provides New Zealand exporters,” Organic Exporters Association chair Andrew Henderson said.

Association executive director Rick Carmont said certification of compliance costs for export to the Chinese market will no longer be significant and exports of NZ organic products to China could double within two years.

“There are many small

FORECAST: Exports of certified organic produce to China are currently worth $93 million and are likely to grow due to reduced compliance costs, Organic Exporters Association chair Andrew Henderson says. and medium-sized organic businesses with strong interest in exporting to China, but due to the cost of compliance they have been waiting for this new MRA pathway to open,” Carmont said.

“For example, under the present regime every organic dairy farmer who has milk destined for China has to be visited by a Chinese recognised

certifier every year. This will be phased out.”

He said implementation reflects an extensive amount of work by MPI, the Organic Exporters Association of NZ, and Chinese authorities.

“It’s truly been a joint effort to reach the stage of implementing the MRA. We’re excited at the prospects for our organic export industry.”

coming through the gate and staff are working on a system where vaccine passes are checked when tickets are bought and scanned on entry.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty sitting in front of us, both for the event itself and the planning of the event,” he said.

“We are trying to work within the framework we have been given and we’re trying to think about what June or some other date might look like.”

What will be critical is that if Omicron cases hit a spike in March as modelling suggests, and

whether it will then fall and revert to normal, he said.

Site construction and planning by site holders and the time it took for them to be able to do that was also being factored in.

It’s a complex situation and we are planning for a physical event.

Peter Nation Fieldays

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18

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Climate Commission to explain advice Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz THE Climate Change Commission is holding a Zoom session to let farmers know about the work it is doing to develop advice on agricultural emissions pricing.

Sally Garden, one of the commission’s principal analysts leading the work, said there are two separate but closely related pieces of advice it’s working on with respect to agriculture emissions pricing.

One is assessing how ready farmers are for farm-level emissions pricing.

That advice is something that it is required to do under the Climate Change Response Act. The other piece of advice is looking at what financial assistance, if any, participants in a farm-level pricing scheme should get.

The work looking at farmer readiness for farm-level emissions pricing is in two parts.

One is assessing whether primary sector climate change commitments, which are in the Climate Change Response Act, are being met.

DIRECTION: Climate Change Commission principal analysts Sally Garden and Phil Wiles have been leading the commission’s work looking into agricultural emissions pricing advice.

We’ve been looking at the progress reporting that’s been happening through He Waka Eke Noa … to understand whether those commitments are on track to be met.

Sally Garden Climate Change Commission “We’ve been looking at the progress reporting that’s been happening through He Waka Eke Noa, diving into that a little bit to understand whether those commitments are on track to be met,” Garden said.

“Then in terms of looking at

farmer readiness, we’ve built a framework for how we’re going to look at that and look at how ready farmers are for a farm-level system.”

She said the commission does not know what system the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) partnership will propose but the framework will help them assess it when that is confirmed.

“At the end of last year we did a lot of engagement, trying to make sure that the way we are proposing to approach it our framework was looking at the right things,” she said.

“We met with local government, rural professionals, NGOs, researchers and academics to test the way we’re going about it, to make sure we’re thinking about the right things.”

The commission is now starting to focus more on engaging with farmers directly to find out how

ready they feel for what might be coming their way.

Another of the commission’s principal analysts, Phil Wiles, said HWEN have been sharing a lot of their thoughts with the commission.

“So we’ve been looking at what they’ve been doing,” Wiles said.

He said everything the commission does is supposed to be independent and evidence based.

“That independence means we don’t just take their word as given, we take it, look at it through an independent lens, give our perspective on what we think of it and bring that into our advice,” he said.

He said usually they would work with sector groups like DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb but that’s not possible in this instance.

“We have to take a slightly different approach because we

need to be independent of He Waka Eke Noa, and they are members of He Waka Eke Noa, so we’re trying to go through different avenues to talk to farmers outside of that structure which already exists,” he said.

Garden said the Zoom session, on February 23 from noon to 1pm, is to let farmers know about the work that is being done and how it is being approached.

“We’re not at the stage in our work yet where we’re going to be able to talk about our findings or anything like that,” she said.

“It’s really talking about what we’re doing, why, what the Government has asked us to do, what are the sort of things we’re going to cover, where does our advice fit into the bigger decisions that’s going to have to be made.

“The Government is going to have to make a decision at

the end of the year about how agricultural emissions will be priced and our advice is just one piece of what they are going to have to think about when they make that decision.”

The two separate pieces of advice have two separate timeframes.

The work on what, if any, financial assistance scheme participants should get is meant to be delivered at the same time as HWEN. No decision has been made at this stage whether the April 30 delivery date will stay the same or will be extended a month to match HWEN’s new deadline.

The other piece of advice, around how ready farmers are, is due on June 30.

Registrations for the Zoom session can be made on the events page of the commission’s website.

Get ahead Breeding Guide Out Now of the herd A N N I V E R S A RY

0800 220 232 | www.samen.co.nz

New Zealand

AginED Ag ED

#

FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U PR EN E

Volume 93 I February 21, 2022 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined Are you a parent or teacher and want to receive AginED every week directly to your email inbox? Send us an email to sign up at agined@globalhq.co.nz This graph shows NZ Lamb exports (thous. tonnes)

Wool vs Hemp or Wool+ Hemp We have talked about the versatile and many valuable uses of wool before and we have also touched on the production of hemp in NZ. Now New Zealand Natural Fibres (NZNF) is researching development of a blended wool and hemp fibre for use in soft flooring and outdoor activewear.

To learn more about the five-year research programme that they are carrying out head to: https://farmersweekly.co.nz/s/ fw-article/project-to-explore-blendedfibres-potential-MCZM7C6LSDSZGDNK MD4NZLPGXQME?fbclid=IwAR1refMZT3 sIjCRrFsKxVxQtcWs77rguIA5kukmZabDIw8557oB8VRnn00

1

What is hemp?

Have a go:

Have a go:

2 What is hemp used for currently throughout the world?

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1

Do we grow hemp currently in NZ? If so, what do we grow it for?

2 What is the difference between NZNF and other hemp fibre companies?

3 What are some other products that NZNF are researching apart from soft floorings and outdoor activewear?

4 Why do they purport that the project aligns well with Fit for a Better World? (The government's food and fibre sector roadmap) 5 Do you think hemp is a product that could create industry and exports for NZ in the future? Why or why not?

The aftermath of the biggest volcano eruption ever caught on camera from space

1

How do January lamb exports compare to last year and the five-year average?

2 What time of the year do lamb exports typically peak?

3 What time of the year are lamb exports typically at their lowest?

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1

The NZ lamb kill for the season to January was 6.7% below year-ago levels. How would this affect lamb exports?

2 Exporters are being required to convert chilled product to frozen product due to shipping delays.

What are the benefits of frozen products?

PODCAST CORNER:

THE STORY OF ZQ WOOL WITH DAVE MASLAN https://www.buzzsprout. com/1087265/4101158-the-story-of-zqwool-with-dave-maslen Mark Ferguson from neXtgen Agri brings you the latest in livestock, genetics, innovation and technology. In this episode he talks with Dave Maslan from the NZ Merino Company. Dave works directly with many of the customers of NZM which are some of the world’s biggest brands.

Follow this link to watch a video that shows the Hunga Tonga Volcano erupted and what followed https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=sZZVVwqZ0rs The following link from WeatherWatch. co.nz puts into perspective just how big the eruption in Tonga actually was. https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/ content/tonga-size-of-eruption-putinto-perspective-x4-infographics

1. Do we have any active volcanoes in New Zealand? If so, how many are there?

2. How many volcanoes have erupted in NZ? 3. When was the last major eruption in NZ? 4. What is one of the longer-term benefits to land from volcanic ash?

(It is mentioned in the first video)

1 What is the purpose of ZQ wool?

2 When did ZQ launch and in what country?

3 Why does this program benefit both growers and consumers?

4 What is meant by ‘best practice’?

5 How many brand partners are thought to use ZQ wool exclusively for their products?

20

Newsmaker

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Award for leadership, passion and foresight Align Farms chief executive Rhys Roberts recently won the 2022 New Zealand Zanda McDonald Award, which supports talented and passionate young professionals in the ag sector. Colin Williscroft reports.

H

E MAY be chief executive of a company that operates seven farms, a market garden, a milk factory and a yoghurt brand, but Rhys Roberts’ pathway was one that has traditionally been followed by many in the dairy sector.

Roberts and his wife Kiri were Canterbury sharemilkers before joining Align Farms nine years ago as farm managers.

Then after a stint as operations manager, he was appointed chief executive in 2017.

He said the business has changed a lot from the time he and Kiri came on board.

“When we started there were two dairy farms, so I guess I’ve surfed the wave relatively well and grown with the business, which is great,” Roberts said.

“I’ve learnt just in time, I call it JIT (just in time) training, taken some pretty big gambles and dived in the deep end plenty of times.”

He said the Mid Canterbury company’s shareholders and board have been very supportive of the whole team in helping them grow.

“They let us get on with what we’re good at,” he said.

It’s a philosophy he believes in himself.

“People are critical to every business,” he said.

“We’re seven farms and 5000 cows, we can rattle off all the stats but most importantly, we’re one team.

“I’m a firm believer that the best people make the best farmers, so you’ve got to recruit well.

“Get the employment piece right, recruit the best people, then get out of their way and let them go and do what they want to do.”

His focus on building a ‘future workplace’ includes a market garden that helps feed his team through fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry and eggs from their farms.

All of the team are on flexible rosters and can manage their own schedules, choosing shifts that suit them.

That frees them up about 1000 hours combined a year, which they reinvest back into the community.

It’s that sort of foresight, along with his passionate and entrepreneurial approach to farming, including creating a significant difference to the company’s bottom line, which was highlighted by the judges of this year’s New Zealand Zanda McDonald Awards when naming Roberts the winner.

The awards, now in their eighth year, are usually a trans-Tasman affair, crowning an overall winner from NZ and Australia.

However, because of covid-19 restrictions, this year there is a winner from each country.

The restrictions also changed how the NZ competition was run.

Originally, the four finalists, Roberts, along with Restore Native Plant Nursery director,

GROWTH: Rhys Roberts has seen Align Farms expand from two farms to seven during his nine years with the company.

Photo: Johnny Houston beef farmer and mortgage broker Adam Thompson, Farmlands head of sustainability and landuse Katie Vickers and Beef + Lamb NZ national extension manager Olivia Weatherburn, were meant to spend three days in Martinborough.

The proposed agenda there included media training and farm visits, as well as a 15-minute presentation, followed by 45 minutes of questions.

Instead, the final came down to a Zoom interview made up of a 15-minute presentation on what the four finalists were passionate about and how they would like to influence the industry, followed by 35-40 minutes of questions.

Roberts, who went to school with Thompson and has met Vickers and Weatherburn indirectly at events, says his fellow finalists are all incredible leaders with easily identifiable strengths.

Once covid restrictions ease, the competition organisers hope to get them together for media training and spend time with leaders in the sector.

Roberts plans to take that a step further.

He wants to use part of his $10,000 training grant on a course that he would like to complete and devote the rest to get the other

HEALTHY: The Align Farms set up includes a market garden that helps to feed its employees.

finalists together for some sort of learning programme.

Covid permitting, part of his prize includes an all-expenses paid trans-Tasman mentoring trip to high-performing farms and businesses in both countries.

For Roberts, the focus will be on vertically integrated businesses like Align that are close to his heart.

“Those businesses that do that

Get the employment piece right, recruit the best people, then get out of their way and let them go and do what they want to do.

Rhys Roberts Align Farms do the pasture to plate, or grass to glass, model well,” he said.

“We’re pretty passionate about that and I’d like to go and learn as much as I can.”

He said because of NZ’s history in food production, the sector is in a good position to capture the world’s imagination when it comes to clean, nutrient-dense food.

Plant-based and petri dishproduced food will occupy a place in the food chain, but he’s not worried about that.

“We’re at the opposite end of the spectrum. We need to maintain that position by farming smart, farming with passion and farming with producing good food at the centre of our minds,” he said.

However, he says NZ food producers need to maintain their low cost of production.

“That’s an area that’s under severe threat in NZ at the moment, the cost to get to markets or enter markets is growing rapidly,” he said.

“Some of it will be transitory but some of those costs are going to be persistent, so we’re going to have to be smart farmers over the next four or five years to make sure that we maintain that low cost of production.”

He said while there’s been a lot of focus in recent years on water quality, the bigger issue for NZ globally is going to be carbon emissions.

“We need pristine, clear water – I’ve got no doubt in my mind that’s critical – but what’s going to hit us harder … because our (emissions) profile in NZ is so skewed compared to the rest of the world, is the carbon space,” he said.

“As a country we need to get more creative around capturing carbon, that’s right tree, right place, not blanketing every piece of land with trees, but it’s around getting agriculture to be an integral part of the carbon capture story.

“If we don’t get that right and (instead) use all this transitory offsetting of carbon, I think we’re going to miss the biggest opportunity that we have in front of us.

“Right tree in the right place is going to be part of the story, but more importantly we need to focus more on how to capture more carbon in our soils via pasture production.

“That’s the biggest challenge we’re going to face in the next 10 years.

“We should be focused on water quality locally because it’s our communities that count, but on the flipside our consumers around the world are going to be more focused on our carbon footprint.

“That’s what’s going to cause us grief in the global space.”

For now, Roberts wants to make the most of what winning the NZ Zanda McDonald award will bring.

“You see a lot of opportunities come past, but you’ve got to take them with your own hands. I’m realistic that it’s up to me now to take those opportunities, networks and connections and run with them,” he said.

“I’d also like to grow awareness of the award, it’s in the best interests of everyone to have a really thriving young farmer leadership award, so that we put wind under everyone’s wings and let them grow and succeed.”

New thinking

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

21

Defining the perfect sheep Growing pressure on sheep farmers over welfare concerns and climate change are demanding some shifts in what defines the ideal sheep. Richard Rennie spoke to AgResearch animal genomics scientist Patricia Johnson about her team’s work in trying to redefine sheep genetics in a shifting world.

P

ATRICIA Johnson likens the recent review she headed on New Zealand sheep and the potential to improve them through genetics as something of a “genetic warrant of fitness” for the species here.

“The work has really been a chance to reflect on where we are going with our sheep in NZ. After generations of breeding for more production, the industry is having to consider the complexities of breeding now for climate change and its impact,” Johnson said.

She acknowledges the significant and world-leading advances made in identifying methane inhibiting genetics in sheep.

However, Johnson is adamant more work needs to be done in dealing with the consequences of climate change that are coming to bear in the here and now, regardless of future methane reductions.

“For example, there is evidence that Manawatū is likely to become the new Waikato, with huge implications for sheep populations there. Suddenly diseases like facial eczema are going to become a problem in Manawatū,” she said.

Parasites like Barber’s pole worm that dislike colder areas are also likely to become more prevalent in non-traditional areas.

Another challenge is to determine what proportion of sheep should be Wiltshire-type self-shedders, or have a hairtype coat, given that type of animal is better suited to some environments that are emerging in NZ as a result of the changing climate.

Wiltshires have had a major surge in demand over the past year, albeit more in response to

lower wool prices and shearing costs than to climate change.

Other shedding or hair sheep breeds that could contain genetic promise include the US-sourced Katahdin, the Barbados Blackbelly, and the improbably named Cashmore Nudie, an Australian composite.

But bringing in new breeds to address one feature with genetics can impart a negative impact on other traits that undoes the new breed’s other good features.

“For example, New Zealand is the only place in the world that breeds for facial eczema resistance, any overseas breed coming here will not have that,” she said.

There is potential there for some cross breeding with the likes of a Finnish Landrace with their short tails, or the stubby tails of Texels and Dorpers.

Patricia Johnson AgResearch Sheep farmers seeking a new breed also face the tough task of sorting that breed importer’s marketing claims from reality.

“Historically, when new breeds came to NZ it was all very controlled, genetic merit was well-assessed before commercial release. Now it is a lot more ad hoc, often without objective evidence to back up claims being made,” she said.

A different future means consideration of traits like heat tolerance, but before you

can commence any genetic improvement there needs to be a better definition of conditions like heat stress.

“You can’t generate objective data until you have defined exactly what constitutes heat stress and how you measure it; an area AgResearch is also working on now. It certainly does not have to be extreme before animals modify their behaviour,” she said.

Farmers here are also only ending up with genetics from overseas breeds that have effectively been filtered down before arriving here. Thanks to strict biosecurity rules, breeds from regions, including America and Africa, cannot be bought directly into NZ. “So, we have the likes of the Katahdin from the US potentially coming here after a select number going into Canada, from there to Australia and only then from Australia to NZ,” she said.

“Those bottlenecks mean by the time they get here they have a narrow genetic base, as happened with Texels early on.”

Ethical aspects of sheep management, including tailing, are also competing for sheep genetic composition, as consumers scrutinise practises more closely.

MPI’s changes around tail length have already prompted a flurry of breeders measuring tail length this season, with longer tails a blight for increasing dags and flystrike.

“There is potential there for some cross breeding with the likes of a Finnish Landrace, with their short tails, or the stubby tails of Texels and Dorpers,” she said.

Similarly, non-body wool with bare belly and bare breech, both heritable traits, is demanding more breed focus.

A 1997 report proposed breeding

WELL-BRED: AgResearch scientist Patricia Johnson says sheep farmers have to deal with many unproven claims about new breeds’ suitability to NZ farming. sheep with a genetically stubby tail, with no wool on head, legs, belly or breech, but there has been little uptake from farmers.

Johnson said the ability to breed for shorter tails and eliminate wool from belly and breech brings some management advantages, as well as responding to climate change impacts like greater flystrike risk over summer.

“If we can show there are positives for you as a farmer, requiring less work, less shearing and less time, it means this is more than just a response to regulation,” she said.

With an assortment of more exotic sheep genetics available, the task in choosing which to include is also made tougher, given the

relatively small amount of data available on many traits.

“Sheep Improvement Limited is the repository for recording most breeds in New Zealand, but not all exotic breeds are recorded in the repository, or for some traits there is very little data recorded, for example, intramuscular fat.

It means we tend to have more marketing claims than we do objective data to back up those claims,” she said.

In the meantime, she is adamant the focus for sheep breeding needs to drill down into the here and now of coping with welfare and climate shifts.

“Adaptation to these challenges has tended to be underdone in New Zealand,” she said.

LISTEN UP A quick word in your ears please.

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22

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

EDITORIAL

Pining for a better future?

T

REES are good, right?

They sequester carbon and literally make the air we breathe.

But more and more voices are joining the call to hit pause on the spread of the tree of the moment, the pine.

You see, as we have a habit of doing, we’re after a quick hit and pines suck up carbon faster than most.

They’re also our main harvesting crop, which gives growers options down the track.

Pines are a great commercial crop and have a place here, but we don’t live in California and we have our own biodiversity issues to deal with.

So surely the best path forward is to take the long view – preserve our high country farming and incentivise more native planting.

Natives aren’t bad on the carbon front either and have the added bonus of being home to many other native species.

Local government and our industry groups recognise the issues we’ll face as our landscapes change.

Some of them have got together to back a report that outlines the negative impacts that massive land-use change will have on rural communities.

Of course, local governments are staring down the barrel of population decline and the corresponding revenue drop.

Changes in land-use and the makeup of farm businesses over the past few decades have already seen the closure of schools and the smaller hubs that anchor agricultural communities.

Maybe New Zealanders are fine with that change accelerating.

What seems more likely is that they’re more inclined to favour kauri and kōwhai over conifers.

Forestry Minister Stuart Nash says he’s committed to only allowing the right trees to be planted in the right places.

But with the carbon price topping $80 a tonne and expected to keep rising, the right place for a pine right now is everywhere.

That’s what the market is saying, at least.

Emissions reduction is vital, but that’s not the key point here.

It’s how we go about it and what that will mean for future generations that’s at stake.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Research should be fit for purpose I FOUND your Production

by Numbers article in your January 31 edition interesting. It introduces an AgResearch project which analyses differences in results from two different ways of calculating an animal’s age: the common chronological rendering and a geneticsbased one.

The article suggests that this effort has paved the way for quite a substantial amount of follow-up research.

That would involve a multigenerational (of animals) study of each of the four species (goats, sheep, deer, beef ) for whom data has been collected, but is undifferentiated between the species.

And while that data indicates that stressors,

including starvation, drought, and facial eczema, cause a deviation of the genetic indicator from the chronological age of an animal, it has yet to do this with specificity to the point in the life cycle at which that occurs, the effect of duration, or the differential impacts on each species relative to the gender of the animal under study.

One potential capacity is to see where the occurrence of a given stressor indicates the productive potential of livestock.

Author Richard Rennie notes, “Scientists believe the process of methylomics silenced critical genes in the unborn children when their mothers were stressed”.

So here, advancement in

the science of methylomic profiling promises substantial efficiencies in livestock farming.

But earlier in the article, we read that such cuttingedge science has resulted in chronological and genetic data sets “with a very high .97 correlation coefficient”, which implies the likely result of spending tens of millions and of the nation’s limited scientific expertise on such research can hope for no better than a .03% improvement in performance, to say nothing of needing to amortise the cost of such monitoring for livestock operators.

Woolly thinking? Overall, this nation should be careful how it allocates its modest

research funds.

Here, something which has superficial appeal as ‘cutting-edge’, pans out at face value to not show a respectable amount of promise to justify further pursuit.

So hopefully clearer heads will prevail, and a wise course be followed.

Jon Turner Rotorua

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

23

The great farming system debate Julia Jones

D

O WE really need to debate the value of regen ag or any other farming systems? My questions around debates are that they are based on the idea that there are strongly opposing views trying to persuade the other they are right, versus a discussion introducing multiple perspectives, where everyone can learn something new.

A recent debate felt quite onesided, it felt like the only people in the debate were those that didn’t believe in or were mostly against the concept of alternative farming methods. Talk became focused on the likelihood of failure rather than understanding the drivers behind it.

This got me thinking, is this actually a good use of energy and what does it achieve? I’m not implying we shouldn’t challenge or investigate, but when we do that, we should be doing it with the curiosity to learn, not to prove something right or wrong.

While we waste energy debating among ourselves, we take our eye off the ball with the consumer and the disconnected from the farming public, we forget about illustrating the value of what we do now and the benefits that come from the many ways we farm.

One of the core arguments was around economics and business success. It was implied those using alternative production systems or methods often

The

Pulpit

struggled financially. I managed a rural banking team for eight years, over this time I learned that business failure wasn’t production system related, it was business management and strategy execution related. Often these farmers would try lots of different methods in search of the elusive silver bullet to success. Their failure was poor management and poor execution; they simply weren’t good at running a business.

It’s important to keep it all in perspective. NZ is a foodproducing nation, we export 95% of what we produce, but we are less than 2% of the global food system. On top of this, we export to multiple markets which desire several different attributes in the food they consume. Then there are producers who are all different, they think differently, have different life experiences and very different drivers for why they get up each day to farm.

These differences will drive decision-making, strategy and different drivers. Not all methods of farming will be completely relatable to everyone, but that doesn’t mean they’re right or wrong.

CHANGE NEEDED: Julia Jones says one of the biggest challenges within the farming sector is the unwillingness to listen to others who do not share or support your point of views.

There is space for different kinds of production systems if they are making the environment better than it was, ensuring the wellbeing and respectful dispatch of the animals and the humans involved are well-cared for.

Let’s put our energy into creating positive outcomes rather than being obsessed with labelling and prescribing inputs.

While we waste energy debating among ourselves, we take our eye off the ball with the consumer and the disconnected

from the farming public, we forget about illustrating the value of what we do now and the benefits that come from the many ways we farm. We unfairly alienate those who are curious and wanting to learn new things and use new tools, rather than learning with and from them collectively.

We just need to be facing the same direction, travelling on the same road, but it’s totally okay to be in different vehicles and to be travelling at a different pace.

Keep an eye out The latest issue of Dairy Farmer will hit letterboxes on February 28.

Our OnFarmStory this month features the Eketahuna sharemilking brothers who took out the national Share Farmer of the Year title.

We also catch up with Taranaki farmers who have implemented sustainability practices on the farm and the couple behind Moo Mad Milking Services.

Watch On Farm Story - Telling the New Zealand story, one farmer at a time.

Julia Jones is head of insight at NZX.

Your View Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across?

The Pulpit offers readers the chance to have their say. farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Time to shut the smelter Alternative View

Alan Emerson

I’M BECOMING increasingly frustrated by the myopic concentration on agricultural emissions by both so-called environmental groups and some of our politicians.

Farming isn’t the problem and with some meaningful commitment to research, burping ruminants will cease to be an issue.

There are many other major polluters who seem to be able to exist and prosper with impunity.

The aluminium smelter is one.

I’ve spent the past few weeks analysing some of the news coverage of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter. It was mainly about how New Zealand needs it.

We don’t.

The smelter uses a lot of electricity, all of it hydrogenerated, it is clean energy. To compensate for that we burn fossil fuels to provide electricity for the rest of the country and it’s getting worse.

The Government is subsidising electric vehicles in an effort to be clean and green, yet burning

fossil fuels to provide the energy to charge those vehicles. That is stupid and counter productive.

The smelter was going to pack its bags and leave during 2024.

There’s now some doubt over that which is surprising.

To state my case, I don’t believe there’s any valid argument as to why the smelter should stay operating and the sooner it stops the better.

For a start, the smelter uses 13% of all the electricity we generate.

It is a major player at a time when we’re burning coal to provide electricity. In fact, as 18% of our power generation comes from fossil fuels, the sooner we stop the smelter the better. Stopping the smelter tomorrow would mean we wouldn’t have to burn three million tonnes of coal a year to produce electricity.

In addition, the price the smelter pays for power is ridiculous.

Forsyth Barr told us earlier in the month that it believed the smelter was paying just 3.5 cents a kilowatt hour, down from 5.5 cents previously.

I’m sure most farmers would love to purchase electricity for 3.5 cents a kilowatt hour instead of 10 times that amount.

The cry from the ‘keep the smelter’ crowd is that there are 800 jobs at risk if the smelter closes.

That argument is spurious.

We have record low unemployment now. Eight hundred jobs are nothing. We read

that the dairy industry will need 50,000 new workers in the coming years. If all smelter workers went on dairy farms, we’d still need another 49,200 for the dairy industry alone. The figures don’t stack up.

The world’s second-largest mining company, Rio Tinto, owns the smelter. It is a highly profitable company with profits going from $US33,781 million in 2016 to $US43,165 million in 2019. They don’t need subsidies from the NZ taxpayer. They don’t also need the millions of dollars in handouts successive governments have given them.

In addition, the smelter pollutes.

Just ask the residents of Mataura. A recent survey in Southland showed 83% of groundwater exceeded both drinking water standards and regional council guidelines for aluminium and toxic fluoride.

Tiwai Point’s reaction was to say that no one uses the groundwater for drinking.

Just imagine if the dairy industry came out with that excuse and why all of our environmental groups give the smelter a free pass, while castigating dairy is beyond me.

Finally, we are told that all of us are paying an extra $200 a year for electricity because of the smelter.

That $200 is huge for a family on the breadline who no doubt would feel humbled knowing they contributed in some small way to Rio Tinto’s $US43 billion profit.

So I would can the smelter

VIEW: Alan Emerson believes there isn’t any valid argument as to why the smelter should stay operating and the sooner it stops the better.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons tomorrow, but I wouldn’t stop there. The entire hydro market is a shambles and needs fixing.

For a start, Meridian supplies the smelter with power at below cost, then makes massive profits from the rest of us. It’s also been accused of spilling water to keep prices high.

Last year the big five companies posted a combined profit of $821 million, up from $653m the previous year. The Major Electricity Users Group, which includes Fonterra, accused Meridian of producing $3.5 billion in excess of the cost of capital.

Research by Consumer on the price of power showed that those who could least afford to were paying higher prices for electricity.

Prices in Northland are 40% higher than those in Auckland and

Masterton pays 15% more than consumers in Wellington.

All that tells me is that we’re all paying too much for electricity with the provincial, productive sector paying far too much.

It’s an easy fix for government.

Close the smelter, tell the people they will be $200 a year better off – and with reform of the energy sector everyone will be much better off. In addition, our companies will be more profitable and the economy will be booming.

Of more importance is that we’ll be saving the planet by only producing electricity from hydro.

Your View Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com

No point procrastinating over HWEN From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

I SUPPOSE I’d better give consideration to the farming topic of the time being, He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN), and the consultation over it.

If I sound reluctant, it’s because I am.

Not because it isn’t important, it is, but because I’ve become less certain of my own opinion and views over time.

And this stuff is hard.

It’s not what I signed up for when I turned up at Lincoln College, as it was known in 1978.

We were taught how to do weighty things like identify weeds and grasses.

Something that has stood me in good stead.

The other day I spotted a whole bunch of unusual grasses attempting to seed in a big patch

in my chicory paddock.

I grabbed a handful and brought them home.

I dug out my What Grass Is That? book by N.C. Lambrechtsen.

The first surprising thing was that in the front of the book I could see that I’d paid $2 for a new book at the Lincoln College bookshop. How did the bookshop, the publisher, the printer and poor old N.C. Lambrechtsen make enough money to pay the rent, insurance, rates, buy clothing, petrol and feed the family for a miserable two bucks a book?

Going through the identification key I had to dig back into the recesses of my brain to remember what a sheath, ligule and auricle might be.

I worked my way through the key to discover I now had Digitaria sanguinalis, or summer grass, attempting to take over my chicory paddock.

Those of you further north will know it well and now I’ve got its number, but unsure whether to trouble myself over its sudden appearance or not.

So, I went out and topped it just in case before its seeding made it even more of a problem.

Okay, I’m prevaricating over

this issue, so let’s get back to the business in hand.

Over 25 years of writing this weekly column, I’ve written about all sorts of issues and been reasonably sure of my ground and view.

I didn’t think it was a clever idea to get rid of a wool levy, but a majority disagreed, we got rid of it and last year I sold wool for a dollar a kilo.

Who knows if things might have been any better with a levy? Hard to believe they could have been worse.

I wrote that homosexual law reform was no big deal given it wasn’t compulsory, got plenty of hate mail and now it’s an accepted part of the human condition.

I pushed hard for a more rationalised and sensible meat industry. Nothing much happened, some foreign ownership has occurred but on the whole, under trying circumstances, it seems to be ticking along quite well. Good thing no one took my opinion into account.

As a sector we have been given an opportunity to produce an alternative plan so that we are not

brought into the ETS in 2025. The one thing we all seem to agree on is that would be a bad idea.

The HWEN climate action partnership is putting two options in front of us.

The first option is a farm-based levy system and allows on-farm sequestering and the second option is processors charge a hybrid levy.

If that decision is not complicated enough, my email box is now being bombarded with other groups’ thoughts and options on the options.

There appears to be a tension and differing perspective from the higher-emitting dairy sector to my own sheep and beef sector, which has a lighter footprint and more ability to sequester to the deer sector, which has an even smaller impact on emissions.

I’m just going to have to immerse myself into these matters, go along to the meetings or join by video, read and understand some of the alternative views and come to my own conclusion.

Even if my real desire is to take my Lambrechtsen key out into the field and do some serious grass identification instead.

PRIORITIES: Despite being distracted by identifying unfamiliar grass sprouts in-paddock, Steve Wyn-Harris reluctantly accepts that right now his time would be better spent on understanding the emissions pricing options being presented to farmers.

Your View Steve Wyn-Harris is a Central Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer. swyn@xtra.co.nz

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

25

Containing inflation won’t be easy Straight Talking

Cameron Bagrie

THE Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and other central banks have a battle on their hands to get inflation consistently lower.

Most central banks are charged with maintaining inflation around 2%.

For the 30 years we had inflation targeting, headline inflation has averaged 2%.

The headline inflation rate is 5.9% and still rising. Incomes are not keeping up.

Many, including the Minister of Finance, are pointing to inflation being a global phenomenon, driven by covid, border closure and supply chain disruption.

They are having an impact, but that overlooks many other factors.

Think about inflation on three levels.

Level one is imported inflation, or tradable inflation. It is up 6.9% on a year ago. The petrol

component of inflation has risen 30%. Strip out petrol and inflation is still 5%.

Freight costs, commodity prices, etc are higher. A perfect storm has hit international logistics, including supply demand imbalances, equipment shortages, increased demand for goods versus services, labour availability, port congestion, vessel delays and trade imbalances.

A lower NZ dollar, if sustained, as it looks like other central banks will follow the RBNZ and hike rates, while boosting rural incomes, will add to inflation pressure.

Level two is domestic demand.

Excess demand drives prices up.

There is no shortage of evidence to show the economy is operating with excess demand. The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.2%, far below maximum sustainable employment. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) referred to the NZ economy as “overheating”.

Construction costs are up 16%.

Rents are rising rapidly. Nontradable, or domestic inflation has risen 5.3%.

This is the type of inflation the RBNZ can more directly influence and will need to bludgeon.

Getting inflation down from 6%plus is not growth or asset pricefriendly.

Level three are structural factors that impact the trajectory for inflation over a long period.

Low inflation for the past 20 years has been assisted by technology, globalisation (outsourcing), diminished wage bargaining power of workers and demographics (people saving).

Worker shortages are intensifying and the wage bargaining power of employees is strengthening.

Population aging means this is not a temporary phenomenon.

Some disinflationary forces such as technology are still around.

But many are evolving.

Globalisation is being pushed back upon.

As baby boomers retire, many are starting to spend their savings, buoyed by recent asset price gains.

Think of the waiting list for an electric bike.

Worker shortages are intensifying and the wage bargaining power of employees is strengthening. Population aging means this is not a temporary phenomenon.

Other shifts include: •More redistributive aims of governments. That shift is necessary to improve inequality, but dividing the pie also requires more attention on growing it.

You do not make a bigger pie but simply add to business costs.

•Deteriorating capacity of the economy to grow without generating inflation. The labour market is the strongest recorded, jobs are ample, yet we have rising dependency with 54,000 more people on a benefit than two years ago. One in every nine people of working age is on a benefit and a rising welfare state. Strong demand amid weaker supply side capacity (fewer workers) adds more to inflation. School education attainment does not portray a positive outlook labour supply in the next decade.

ESG – the environment, social and governance – and integration of social responsibility into business models is welcome but is not free. The era of plundering resources for short-term gain is over.

Climate change is potentially adding to costs.

•An era of government dominance and rising debt. The tentacles of government are expanding, as is spending. The OECD recommended fiscal policy be tightened more rapidly to help ease inflationary pressure. The 2022 Budget is another big-bang one. More government spending will make the RBNZ’s job more difficult.

The bottom line is that outside a global deflationary shock (i.e.

China’s economy imploding), containing inflation will not be easy.

An eventual easing in covidrelated supply chain issues will help. Higher interest rates will target excess demand. However, many structural shifts will likely add persistence to the inflation story. Key questions are how much persistence and how heavyhanded are central banks prepared to be when battling such structural changes?

Your View Cameron Bagrie is the managing director of Bagrie Economics and a shareholder and director of Chaperon – helping businesses navigate banking. His views do not constitute advice.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

On Farm Story

Chasing a perfect shearing day An award-winning shearing couple, who spent their careers chasing the perfect shearing day, say there’s no greater feeling than finding your rhythm and getting into the ‘zone’, because that’s when the tallies start to happen. They spoke to Gerald Piddock.

BEING a top shearer means chasing perfection.

It’s about having a perfect day in the shearing shed where the wool flows off the sheep from the shearer’s blade.

Chasing that perfection has elevated Emily and Sam Welch to be regarded among the best in the industry. For Emily, it has seen her become a world record holder and industry role model for female shearers.

Successful shearers are mentally wired a certain way.

They’re all goal-driven people who are naturally competitive, Emily says.

You get to 200 and you think, 300 isn’t far away and you do it until you can get 300 a day, and you get addicted.

Emily Welch Shearer A shearer will compete and then analyse where they need to improve. They use their time in the woolshed in between competitions to hone their skills.

They are constantly setting and revising goals around daily tallies to try and better themselves.

“You go to work and you’ve got goals to work on and you find you’re living and breathing it.

It’s not too different to being a sportsperson,” Emily said.

FAMILY: Emily and Sam run Welch Shearing in the Waikaretu Valley, west of Huntly in north Waikato, on a farmlet with their four children, from left, Johnny, 10, Eli, seven, Eric, nine and 12-year-old Addison, absent.

ELITE: Emily and Sam Welch are regarded as two of the best shearers in the industry, with both tasting competition success.

Like other athletes, Sam says shearers get into a ‘zone’ when endorphins kick in and you get addicted to that kick.

“You’re after your rhythm to find that zone and once you’re in that zone, the tallies start to happen,” Sam said.

“You’re chasing that perfect day in the shed, which is very rare. You get moments where it flows and it’s easy, but most of the time it’s hard work, but you’re chasing the perfection of the best day.”

When you do get them, it gives you the motivation to keep going

to find the next perfect day, Emily adds.

Often it comes from a favourite shed during their run that gives them a large tally for the day and shearers use that shed as the place to attempt personal bests.

The couple run Welch Shearing

in the Waikaretu Valley, west of Huntly in north Waikato, on a farmlet with their four children Addison,12, Johnny,10, Eric, nine, and Eli, seven.

During the seasonal peak, they employ 45 people, including 18 shearers, shearing about 330,000 sheep every year, spanning as far north as Wellsford, east to Paeroa, west into Raglan and south into King Country.

Growing up on a sheep and beef farm, Emily was taught by her father Phillip Woodward when she was 20.

She thought it would be a good skill to know to better help out her father in the woolshed.

At the time, he was purchasing thousands of trade lambs every year, which he bought woolly and sheared them himself.

Emily also wanted to learn for practical reasons. If she came across a fly-stricken sheep, she could shear it herself and not have to get someone else to do it.

She remembers how tired her body was after her first full day of shearing, where she did 90.

“Mum wanted me to do some weeding and I was sitting under a tree and I said, I just can’t. It hurt so much,” she said.

“There’s nothing like learning to shear as a job. You only want to learn it once and every day you’re going to work and everything hurts and you’re so exhausted, versus in three years, your body becomes so much more conditioned that you can

On Farm Story

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

27

DIVERSIFY: The couple farm half of Emily’s parents farm and take over the remainder of it on March 1.

come home and function in the evenings.”

Her father took her to some shearing contests and she started competing, which she enjoyed.

Emily then had a stint in the UK where she worked as a shearer.

From there, it snowballed into a career.

“I started doing more and I got a job in New Zealand and I thought to myself, I’ll get to 200 a day so I can say, ‘I’m a shearer’.

You get to 200 and you think, 300 isn’t far away and you do it until you can get 300 a day, and you get addicted,” she said.

At the same time, she was competing and winning at the shows and that spurned her on.

“I then did well at the Golden Shears and people said, ‘why don’t you do a (world) record’. It just rolls on and there’s a new goal and another new goal – the next thing you know, you’re a full-time shearer,” she said.

More success followed when she set a new world record in 2007 for shearing 648 sheep in nine hours, along with both regularly competing in the competition circuit.

Emily was placed second in the Golden Shears’ senior final in 2007 and then in 2019, won the inaugural female competition title at the same event.

She helped instigate it following the success and popularity of the documentary She Shears, which she had a starring role in and was released the year before.

Her success and high profile in the sport has made her a role model, which took some adjustment to accept and use that platform in a positive way.

Emily now views it as a gift in which she can inspire people.

It has done great things for the younger generation, Sam says.

“We had a farmer come up to us at the Golden Shears and he congratulated Emily on the movie and said that his 14-yearold daughter idolises her and made her realise that she can go shepherding,” he said.

Sam also tasted world record success, breaking the two-stand record with shearer Stacey Te Huia in 2012. They shore 1341 ewes in nine hours. Sam shore 667 of these sheep.

Outside the competition circuit, Emily and Sam, along with shearer Tony Clayton-Greene – who were all working for the same shearing gang at the time – created their own company, Clayton-Greene and Welch Shearing in 2009.

Later, they bought ClaytonGreene out and became Welch Shearing.

You’re chasing that perfect day in the shed, which is very rare. You get moments where it flows and it’s easy, but most of the time it’s hard work, but you’re chasing the perfection of the best day.

Sam Welch Shearer

The Welch’s also farm half of Emily’s parents farm and take over the remainder of it on March 1. This will have them farming 200ha where it will be run as a commercial sheep and beef operation.

They plan to run the farm as a breeding-finishing farm, bringing in store lambs and finishing them as prime, as well as farming breeding ewes and running cattle as a grass management tool.

Running the farm means both will step back and play more of a coordinating role in the shearing business, organising the gangs and driving the vans instead of being in the shed doing the shearing.

“Once the gangs are settled into the work in the sheds and then the kids get on the school bus and you have that block in the day and the farming fits into it quite well, most of the time,” he said.

This new commitment, along with raising their children, means it is unlikely Emily or Sam will be back shearing competitively.

But never say never, Sam says.

“I hate the word retirement because it means you’re not going to turn out and do it,” he said.

“At the moment, we’ve got four kids and they are very sporty and I don’t want me clinging onto my sport to mean they won’t be able to play their sports,” Emily added.

While it brought about new priorities, they do at times miss the training, goal-setting side and comradery of competitive shearing.

Doing the circuit meant they were able to catch up with other shearers based elsewhere in the country.

“They become your second summer family,” she said.

With the country slowly opening up again, Emily says the industry needs to make sure the proper tertiary training was in place to support the next generation of shearers and wool handlers.

The school closures meant there was a large number of teenagers, both in towns and living rurally, who might not return to school and may look at shearing as a possible career option.

“People think that shearers have to be rural but so many are straight out of town; you don’t have to be (rural), you just have to have the right mindset,” she said.

That mindset was being a determined, competitive person with an attention to detail.

Emily says it is a sport and a profession where you get out of it what you put in.

“It’s on you, your attitude and your willingness to learn and push yourself to the next level,” she said.

DEDICATION: Emily uses her time in the woolshed in between competitions to hone her skills, setting goals with Sam in an effort to improve.

Boundary lines are subject to survey

Boundary lines are subject to survey

Maramarua 373 + 498 Monument Road

Options abound

149ha

For the first time to the market in 80 years, properties of this calibre are a rare commodity. Capitalise and grow on the current operation or diversify into other farming activities and seize the opportunities of this well located land. Bridging town and country, this 190 hectare (more or less) property is on three titles and has been developed and refined over the years to create an exceptional opportunity. Being sold in two pieces with 150 hectares (more or less) on the western side of road and 40 hectares (more or less) on the eastern side of the road. Open to a variety of uses, the property appeals to a cross-section of buyers seeking space and rural ambience, close to the city. Currently used for dry stock with the additional of a second three bedroom cottage.

With close proximity to Auckland and the Waikato, the property is a commuters dream. Don’t delay in viewing.

Auction (unless sold prior) 11am, Thu 17 Mar 2022 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton View 11am-12pm Tue 22 Feb Karl Davis 0508 83 83 83 karl.davis@bayleys.co.nz Lee Carter 027 696 5781 lee.carter@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2313079

SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

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Boundary lines are indicative only

Gisborne 104 College Road, Waerenga-a-Hika

Golden returns

24.5695ha

A lucrative opportunity to acquire a high-performing horticultural operation comprising of 24.5695ha (more or less) of high-yielding early crops and quality support infrastructure. Made up of 7.89ha (more or less) of licenced G3 Kiwifruit and 10.59ha (more or less) of predominantly export quality persimmon plantings, this block has undergone significant redevelopment over the past six years which have taken returns to a highly desirable level.

With overall presentation being immaculate, the exceptional location and highly fertile tile-drained silt loam soils, along with water consented from the Makauri Aquifer provide essential ingredients to produce early and exceptional quality fruits.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Wed 16 Mar 2022 10 Reads Quay, Gisborne View by appointment Jacob Geuze 027 747 3014 jacob.geuze@bayleys.co.nz Simon Bousfield 027 665 8778 simon.bousfield@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2752438

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BOUSFIELD MACPHERSON LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

Boundary lines are indicative only

Gisborne 161 Harper Road, Waerenga-a-Hika

Premium horticultural enterprise

22.8215ha

A substantial opportunity to take advantage of one of Gisborne’s premium orchards, comprising 22.8215 hectares of early maturing, high-yielding kiwifruit and persimmon plantings and quality infrastructure. Made up of 5.69 hectares of licensed G3 Kiwifruit, 9 hectares of persimmons and 2.52 hectares of mandarins this block has been set up and managed to produce significant returns. Having undergone redevelopment over the years the goal has always being to achieve exceptional results. Located in one of Gisborne’s highly sought after fruit growing areas, this is a significant opportunity and one that should be explored further.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Wed 16 Mar 2022 10 Reads Quay, Gisborne View by appointment Jacob Geuze 027 747 3014 jacob.geuze@bayleys.co.nz Simon Bousfield 027 665 8778 simon.bousfield@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2752463

BOUSFIELD MACPHERSON LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Flemington Te Maire Farm, 465 Tourere Road

Balance, fertility and carbon neutrality For the first time in over 100 years, comprising 1,038ha, Te Maire Farm is offered for sale in its entirety or options to purchase the top 419ha or 618ha bottom titles. Located only 25km south of Waipukurau in the Flemington district, Te Maire is a very well balanced farm wintering 8,000 to 8,500 stock units and boasts large areas of tractor contour, reticulated water, with a consistent fertiliser history. Plantations of Pinus radiata, poplar and willow (125ha registered in the ETS), provide the ecological balance and a carbon neutral status. Improvements include the five bedroom homestead, two further dwellings, two four stand wool sheds, an on farm airstrip, and strategically located sheep and cattle yards. For a business wanting to sell branded product to the market ‘Te Maire’ has the history, balance, and carbon status that could add value to the beef and lamb it produces.

bayleys.co.nz/2852856

Tender (will not be sold prior) Closing 4pm, Wed 16 Mar 2022 17 Napier Road, Havelock North View by appointment Tony Rasmussen 027 429 2253 tony.rasmussen@bayleys.co.nz Andy Hunter 027 449 5827 andy.hunter@bayleys.co.nz EASTERN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS REALTY, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

NEW LISTING

Kumeroa 926 Waituna Road

Talana Hill

660ha

Talana Hill is a genuine hill country property located in the renowned farming district of Kumeroa. The property has been meticulously and faithfully cared for by the current owners for 22 years and is set up for ease of management. The infrastructure is excellent, the property is beautifully presented and is a credit to our vendors.

The scale of the property gives options for both sheep and beef, or forestry with fantastic access throughout the property. The large character homestead has been beautifully renovated and, along with the modern 3-bedroom second dwelling, provides an outstanding level of accommodation.

Tender (will not be sold prior) Closing 4pm, Thu 24 Mar 2022 243 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North Paul Hofmann 021 084 60446 paul.hofmann@bayleys.co.nz Andrew Smith 027 760 8208 a.smith@bayleys.co.nz

Please do not hesitate to contact the agents for further information or to arrange a viewing.

bayleys.co.nz/3100406

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MID WEST REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008 EASTERN REALTY (WAIRARAPA) LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

Boundary lines are indicative only

Wellsford 115 Biddle Road

Ruawai 530 Tramline Road Low Input dairy with untapped potential Ruawai has long been considered a premium location for quality land in Northland and our vendor is offering this dairy farm with scope. Containing 129.4 hectare (more or less) and in six titles this flat and fertile dairy unit is located only 6km from the township of Ruawai. Currently, 260 Ayrshire cows are milked through the 30 ASHB cowshed with a three-year average of 58,310kgMS, with the best production of 66,049kgMS. Farm buildings include a range of handy sheds, a five bay implement shed, hay barns disused cowshed and more. Accommodation includes the four bedroom bungalow style homestead and a three bedroom workers cottage.

bayleys.co.nz/1020713

bayleys.co.nz

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Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 2pm, Thu 31 Mar 2022 84 Walton Street, Whangarei View by appointment Catherine Stewart 027 356 5031 catherine.stewart@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Farmer, lifestyler, landlord?

Set away from the crowds, yet only a short drive from Wellsford township is this 67-hectare (165 acres) former dairy farm, with multiple income stream possibilities. The farm's predominantly undulating contour has been subdivided into approximately 30 paddocks and linked by an extensive central race system. Other notable features include a three-bedroom & two-bedroom home (which currently generate over $33,000 pa), an all year round water supply, a set of cattle yards, an implement shed, threephase power, and much more. Currently being used as a beef fattening operation, this farm will suit those wishing to increase their current grazing capacity, or looking for a lifestyle change, or solid investment proposition!

bayleys.co.nz/1202896

67.426ha

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Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Tue 22 Mar 2022 41 Queen Street, Warkworth View by appointment John Barnett 021 790 393 john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

Puhoi 475 Ahuroa Road

Mid Canterbury 556 Lauriston Barrhill Road, Rakaia

Farm, lifestyle, subdivide!

Bathed in sunshine and enjoying spectacular rural views is this beautifully presented 23 hectare (57 acres) lifestyle grazing farm, with a resource consent to create an additional title. The property is extremely well established, with a four-stand woolshed, cattle yards, implement/hayshed, three-phase power and an artesian water bore. Use the woolshed "as is" or convert it or stylish rustic living, or a B&B opportunity, or build a new home in its place on your newly created title. The farm's old airstrip was one of the first to be created in the Puhoi area, where Tiger Moth top dressers would operate from. It now commands 360-degree panoramic views over protected established native enclaves, neighbouring farmland, and beyond - an ideal position for your dream home.

23.1524ha Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Wed 23 Mar 2022 41 Queen Street, Warkworth View by appointment John Barnett 021 790 393 john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Brackley Farm

31

2

Located in the renowned area of Barrhill, Mid Canterbury, this 235 hectare property shows all the attributes of diverse soils and irrigation, combining to produce a range of crops, specialist small seeds and vegetables. Supporting crop rotations, the grazing of capital stock and finishing winter lambs add to the various revenue streams capable from a property of this nature. Irrigation is sourced from an on farm bore and ground water consent, applied via pivot and fixed boom lateral irrigators giving effective coverage and application. A full complement of farm buildings, modern homestead and cottage.

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 12pm, Thu 31 Mar 2022 201 West Street, Ashburton View by appointment Mike Preston 027 430 7041 mike.preston@bayleys.co.nz Simon Sharpin 027 631 8087 simon.sharpin@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/5517632

bayleys.co.nz/1202900

Kevin Deane Real Estate

Morrinsville 180 Manuel Road Scope, Scale and Options

A Phenomenal opportunity to secure a large land holding so close to the major population bases, continue dairying, chickens, carbon, solar?

522ha – 8 Certificates of Title Multiple Purchasing Options Full Going Concern Available

Tender Friday 18 March 12.00pm (unless sold prior) View Tues 22 Feb, 1, 8, 15 Mar at 11am-1pm harcourts.co.nz/ML4592 Kevin Deane M 021 970 902 Kevin Parry M 021 244 4668 Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Rural market update Record prices continue for large scale hill country – 30% up year-on-year 2021 was a record year for large sheep and beef sales, with the highest median price per hectare equalling $10,300/ha for properties 200 hectares or more in size on a rolling 12-month average to 31 December 2021. This is up by 30% on 2020, representing the most significant year-on-year increase in 20 years.

2008 remains the peak year for large sheep and beef farm sales, totalling $1.6 billion. This was pre-GFC and driven off the dairy conversion boom that converted a million hectares of predominantly finishing country.

However, NZ’s pastoral sector is on a steady climb back to pre-GFC highs, with total sales value equalling $959 million for 2021, again driven off land-use change, but this time it’s carbon and permanent forest driving the change. This trend continues to accelerate into 2022 as the carbon price marches on. Our view is that we will see more land sold to carbon interests this year than any prior period, but more onerous regulatory hurdles are anticipated by 2023.

Keith Woodfords recent Farmers Weekly observations indicate that carbon units in private hands are worth a staggering 11 billion dollars. Forward carbon demand is predicted to exceed supply for some time yet, putting further pressure on the auction.

However, what is often left unsaid is that the great majority of hill country properties are not for sale and the balance sheets of these businesses continue to improve with or without a carbon market.

The current year-on-year revaluations only serve to further support hill country business models. Consequently, we expect to see demand for quality beef and lamb finishing ground accelerate; on a comparative basis, this ground looks cheap, particularly given the windfall with hill country revaluation gains.

Our commitment to the rural sector is long-term. For those considering an exit, make no mistake, we continue to see farmers wanting to buy pastoral hill country farms, particularly if it has a strong production history and the ability to finish stock. However, if you have an extensive hill country farm and no obvious farm succession plan in place, it might pay to review the chart below because when you look back over the last 20 + years, it would appear there is no better time than the present to look at your options.

We go to market with our Autumn Rural Outlook in the last week of March. We are accepting expressions of interest now for anybody wanting their property showcased across 75,000 rural letterboxes nationwide this autumn.

For rural and lifestyle property advice from a national team of committed salespeople, supported by our expert marketing team, right across New Zealand, call 0800 367 5263 or visit pb.co.nz.

Conrad Wilkshire, GM Rural for Property Brokers Ltd conrad@pb.co.nz

NZ Sheep and Beef Sales 200ha+ Median $/ha 12-months rolling to December 2002 to 2021

NZ Sheep and Beef Sales 200ha+ 12-months rolling to December 2002 to 2021 No of Sales

For those of us who have worked with the pastoral sector for a time and reflect on the last 30 years, we can say for certain that those farmers who took the long-term view and stayed with their assets have definitely been rewarded. It has not been easy; the current carbon influence is simply a point in time, no different to navigating competition from forestry in the 1990s, the dairy boom of the 2000s, and the post-GFC and environmental regulation that followed this last decade. However, whenever the music stops, it can take a long time to recapture the premiums attributed to significant land-use changes. Historically, the market typically reverts to the long-run return, and those keenly sought “land-use change” premiums evaporate.

Total Sales Values

400

$1,800,000,000

350

$1,600,000,000

300 250 200

$12,000 Carbon impact $10,000

$1,400,000,000 $1,200,000,000 $1,000,000,000

Pre GFC Dairy Conversion

$8,000 $6,000

$800,000,000 150 100 50

20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16 20 17 20 18 20 19 20 20 20 21

0

Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | 0800 367 5263 | pb.co.nz

$600,000,000 $400,000,000

$4,000 $2,000

$200,000,000 2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2025

PB054408

Waotu 110 Stringers Road Tender

Ready and established dairy opportunity A desirable 206 ha (subject to survey) dairy farm is an opportunity that you don't want to miss. This impressive dairy farm consists of a 50 bail rotary shed with an office and a penicillin room, features in shed feeders with a 16T silo and a backup generator. This rolling farm is very well raced, enabling great access to all locations of the farm. There is gravity fed water throughout with around 80,000L of water storage available. Not only does this farm have impressive infrastructures but it also has amazing housing. It has three houses available. There are two homes consisting of three bedrooms with a double garage in each and a four bedroom home with a garage, sleep out and a pool.

Of the 206 ha, around 179 ha is effective land. Currently, the farm has 10 ha in maize crop. There is a 3 million litre lined effluent pond which irrigates up to 50 ha of land. The location offers access to good schooling, great lifestyle opportunity and a supportive community.

Tender closes 4.00pm, Tue 15th Mar, 2022 (unless sold prior), Property Brokers, 29 Main Road, Tirau View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/TXR100255

Steve Mathis M 027 481 9060

E steve.mathis@pb.co.nz

Ongarue 1916 Ngakonui Ongarue Road Tender

Beauly "Beauly" could be considered one of the best sheep and beef farms in the district. The farm is 1,075.57 ha in total with 820 ha effective wintering 8,800su. It has a superb balance of contour as it gradually rises from the roadside to the top of the farm at a steady and easy grade. The farm mostly faces west so is sheltered and warm considering its altitude. All weather metal roads provide excellent connection to the centre of the farm and very good farm tracks flow on from the central points to allow easy movement of stock and machinery to the higher reaches of the farm. A solid and impressive fert history is indicative of the attention to detail. Good infrastructure supports the farm, with ample satellite yards, both sheep and cattle, a sound woolshed, covered yards, implement sheds, very good housing and there is plenty of outdoor recreational features to add to the enjoyment of this property. Helmets are essential for viewing.

Tender closes 4.00pm, Thu 3rd Mar, 2022, Property Brokers, 27 Hakiaha Street, Taumarunui View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/TUR101065

Katie Walker M 027 757 7477 Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

E katiew@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

Turakina 1159 Turakina Valley Road Tender

Hill country farm This 680 acre hill country property is well-located just 20 minutes from Marton and 27 minutes from Whanganui and has three titles with purchasing options available. The 274 ha farm can be purchased as a bareland block or with the separate 1 ha title across the road - where you'll find the spacious, four bedroom, 239m2 family home surrounded by established gardens and with attractive views down the valley. The contour of the farm ranges from easy to steep and is subdivided into 15 main paddocks and three holding paddocks using a combination of conventional and electric fencing with good 4-wheeler track access around the property. Farm improvements include a tidy three stand woolshed with sheep yards and 300 np, fertiliser bin, cattleyards and an implement / hay shed (on house title). This property would be a great step on your farm ownership journey or for your carbon farming portfolio.

Tender closes 4.00pm, Thu 10th Mar, 2022, 54-56 Kimbolton Road, Feilding 4702 View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/FR12349

Yvonne Forlong M 021 456 565

E yvonnef@pb.co.nz

Isla Bank 83 Baxter Road

The complete dairy package Property Brokers is privileged to be offering on behalf of the Taplin Family the complete dairy package. Firstly; The 323 ha dairy platform situated in the highly regarded Isla Bank district, providing a large scale operation of excellent shape on flat to easy contour within close proximity to the service centres of Riverton, Winton and Invercargill. Significant features include three quality homes, an upgraded effluent system with a 1,000 cow consent and a high percentage of new pastures and aeration over the last five years. Secondly; The 111 ha grass wintering run off, located approximately 16km south of the dairy farm on Waimatuku Bush Road. Proven history of harvesting silage and providing grass wintering for 780 cows and 320 yearling cattle. No transition diet, wintering at its best. The combined package has not been offered to the market before. Contact the vendors sole agents for this unique opportunity.

Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

For Sale From $11,950,000 + GST (if any) View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/IR88239

Wayne Clarke M 027 432 5768

E wayne.clarke@pb.co.nz

John Hay M 027 435 0138

E john.hay@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

LIS TI N G N EW

LARGE SCALE GREEN BELT FINISHING UNIT - 269HA Moroa Farm, 1630 Alfredton Road, Alfredton, Tararua District Moroa Farm is a very tidy, well-balanced and productive finishing farm of scale, and quality. Moroa neighbours the community-based Alfredton School and is within commuting distance to Masterton or Palmerston North. With an annual average rainfall between 1,100-1,400mm the district is generally considered "summer safe".

One third of the property are fertile flats to very easy contour, with most of the rest being easy to medium hill. This contour class allows flexibility of management including options for crops and intensive finishing systems. 250 hectares are considered effective grazing land. Moroa has been very well farmed, is well subdivided, has reticulated water and great access off two sealed roads. The family sized, sun-orientated four-bedroom home sits within a mature garden setting, featuring a large lawn, swimming pool and shelter trees. The farm buildings consist of a four-stand woolshed, sheep and as new cattle yards, large high stud four bay workshop / implement shed and two haysheds. The native bush reserve, tidy woodlots and spaced poplar plantings makes Moroa a beautiful property to farm with a lovely feel, energy and vibe. Moroa will be highly sought-after - don´t delay, call us for more information today! A detailed property report is available. Viewing by appointment .

Tender Closes 4pm, Thu 17th March 2022. Address for Offers; NZR, Level 1, 16 Perry Street, Masterton 5810 or via email by arrangement.

A RARE OPPORTUNITY - STRONG TINUI HILL COUNTRY WITH SCALE AND FURTHER POTENTIAL Annedale Station, 1543 Annedale Road, Tinui, Masterton Annedale Station sits proudly on the road bearing its name with a history that matches that of the early farming families of the Wairarapa. There are 757ha available for purchase, with around 587ha of this effective grazing land. Tinui township provides a primary school and community facilities with a strong and active farming community base. The land consists of fertile mudstone-based soils with around 95ha of easier hills and the balance being medium to steeper hill country. The access is excellent with two major laneway systems and an all weather road through the centre of the farm. The water supply is a combination of reticulated supply to half the 50 main paddocks, and dams. Improvements to the land include a beautifully sited 3 bedroom family home, with an adjacent 2 bedroom sleepout, grass tennis court and swimming pool, 3 bedroom managers house and multi-use implement and storage sheds situated close to the main home. The Annedale Woolshed is a fine example of late 19th century woolshed design and features a mezzanine wool floor, a NP1300 and several other unique design features. Annedale provides a rare opportunity to purchase a long established, strong hill country farm of scale, that still holds potential for further productive improvements.

Tender Closes 4pm, Fri 18th March 2022. Address for Offers; NZR, Level 1, 16 Perry Street, Masterton 5810 or via email by arrangement.

269 hectares Tender

nzr.nz/RX3119495 Blair Stevens AREINZ 027 527 7007 | blair@nzr.nz Dave Hutchison 027 286 9034 | dave@nzr.nz NZR Real Estate Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

757 hectares (STFS) Tender

nzr.nz/RX3122292

Blair Stevens AREINZ 027 527 7007 | blair@nzr.nz Dave Hutchison 027 286 9034 | dave@nzr.nz NZR Real Estate Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

36

Real Estate

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

NEWMAN FOREST LAND

FOR SALE

Newman Road Parawera, Waikato

SECOND ROTATION FOREST LAND IN ACCESSIBLE LOCATION

Newman Forest land is a smaller-scale, second rotation production and carbon forestry opportunity located between Te Awamutu and Putaruru in the Otorohanga District. A combination of good growth rates, moderate contour and cost effective cart distances lead to favorable returns over the first rotation. Identified as having 42ha* of post-89 forest land, Newman Forest land offers the purchaser the added ability to claim valuable carbon credits through future registration in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

NICE BREEDING & FINISHING BALANCE

152.3313 hectares See video on website

307 & 325 Murimotu Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei Located just 6km north of Hunterville, 27ha of alluvial flat & easy cultivated country at the front, has excellent lane access to the hills. The finishing country is connected to the local water scheme with the balance served by dams. A tidy 4 std woolshed and adjacent cattle yards are supported by various sets of satellite yards. Within a great community the property has two homes and is on the bus run to the well-regarded Hunterville primary. Open Days 2pm, Wed 23/2, bring own quad & helmet for led group inspection.

nzr.nz/RX3120797

Auction 2pm, Thu 17 Mar ’22, The Feilding Club, 25 Kimbolton Road Feilding.

Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

Deadline Offers:

Thursday 17 March 2022 at 4pm (NZDT) Wyatt Johnston Chan Singh

+64 27 8151 303 +64 27 767 7113

+ + + + +

51.76ha* freehold land Earn carbon credits via future ETS registration Proven productivity, moderate contour, existing harvest infrastructure Recreational appeal with expansive views 40km* to Kiwi Lumber, 107km* to Port of Tauranga

*Approximately Boundary lines are approximate only.

Arotahi Agribusiness Limited, Licensed Real Estate Agent REA Act

WELL DEVELOPED, 15KM FROM THE CITY 815 Main Drain Road, Rangiotu, Manawatu "Taonui" offers great soils, quality facilities and a location that has buses past the gate for Opiki primary and Palmerston North’s high schools. Milking times are short and compliance easier with the 60 bail rotary and a modern effluent system including a lined effluent pond. Comprised of alluvial Parewanui, Manawatu and Kairanga silts, 750 cows are split calved with a 305,000kgMS 3 year average. With two tidy family homes and cottage, it is rare to find this scale, so well located.

283.3267 hectares See video on website

nzr.nz/RX3153741

Tender Closes 11am, Wed 16 Mar ’22, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

SECURITY OF PRODUCTION 221 State Highway 56, Opiki, Horowhenua "Torunui" combines irrigation with favoured Kairanga soil types to provide production security, with 650 cows averaging 260,000kgMS over the past 3 years. Centrally located are the 38ASHB dairy and all farm facilities incl. the lined effluent pond, flanked by the two centre pivots. In the renown Opiki district, just 20km from Palmerston North, with primary & the city’s high schools buses running past the farm. Enjoy reliability of production, whatever your land-use preference.

204.0774 hectares See video on website

nzr.nz/RX3153793

Tender Closes 11am, Wed 16 Mar ’22, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

37

Accelerating success.

Your one stop shop for rural Real Estate

1

Get in touch with your agent today

Get in touch farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate with your agent today to list your property next to news that farmers read.

Oparau Farm Oparau For Sale ByFarm Tender closing Fri 4 March 2022 613 Pirongia West Road, Oparau Tender

Angus Robertson 027 4747 639

closing Fri 4 March

Warwick Searle 021 362 778

613 Pirongia West Road , Oparau

Contact your agent to advertise today.

Total Area of 694ha S.T.S

Total Area of

Estimated Post 1989 land of 476ha

Estimated Post

High Growth Region

High Growth

694ha S.T.S is currently 1989run landasofa sheep and Region Oparau Farm beef farming operation 476ha located in Oparau in the Waikato region. The farm is suitable for conversion to commercial forestry with both high rainfaill and high temperatures resulting in excellent growth rates in the region. Oparau Farm hasFarm a gross area of withand thebeef majority the arealocated beingatinOparau in the Oparau is currently run694ha as a sheep farmingofoperation grassland, or grassland with light scrub.

Waikato region. The farm is suitable for conversion to commercial forestry with both high Angus Robertson rainfall and high temperatures resulting in excellent growth rates in the region. Oparau Farm Forestry Sales Limited 0274747639 colliers.co.nz/p-NZL67017509 under the REAA 2008 has a gross area of 694ha with the majority of the area being in grassland, orLicensed grassland with Warwick Searle light scrub.

021362778

0800 85 25 80 farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

colliers.co.nz/p-NZL67017509

Forestry Sales Limited colliers.co.nz

Licensed under the REAA 2008

Accelerating success.

Dairy

Payout + Productive Dairy = Great Investment Tender closing Thursday 17 March 2022 at 4.00pm (will not be sold prior) (plus GST if any) 672 Ruawhata Road, Mangatainoka, Tararua

Land Area: 225.3618 ha (more or less)

Dairy farm

colliers.co.nz/p-NZL67017818

Two dwellings

Excellent infrastructure

Good location

Looking to invest or grow in the strong Dairy Industry? Colliers is proud to present to market this 225 hectare dairy farm located close to Pahiatua and boasting some of the best soil types in the lower North Island. Infrastructure and technology are forefront in this well-developed farm with a 54-bale rotary shed, auto cup removers, Protrack drafting and a 600 cow feed pad. This farm has the added benefit of not being subject to a “Horizons Intensive Land Use Consent” and has good consents for water and effluent through to 2033. Two sound homes and excellent shedding which includes calf sheds, implement and hay sheds completes the infrastructure.

If quality land and good location (35 minutes to Palmerston North) and proven productivity are key factors in your next farm purchase, then viewing this property is essential. For more information contact Rob or Jason.

Rob Deal 027 241 4775 rob.deal@colliers.com Jason Waterman 027 376 8313 jason.waterman@colliers.com

CRWAI Limited Licensed REAA 2008

colliers.co.nz

38

Real Estate

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

74 ha DAIRY FARM LEASE EXPRESSIONS ARE BEING CALLED FOR THE

LEASE BY TENDER

AN OPEN DAY FOR VIEWING WILL BE HELD ON THE 28TH FEBRUARY 2022

of a

74.0229 ha DAIRY FARM

where tender & lease documents will be available for all interested parties

Tenders for this lease will close by 11th March 2022 highest or any tender may not be accepted.

FOR A 3 YEAR TERM

This property is a fully operational Dairy unit supplying Fonterra

Address: 1563 Gilbert Road, State Highway 2, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt City 5018 This property comprises two dwellings and 18 aside herringbone shed in good order, recently installed above ground effluent storage tank, storage sheds.

The farm contour is flat to easy contour 64 ha undulating 5.6 ha with a non-effective area of 4.1 ha. This fertile small dairy unit is well tracked and fenced with good stock water to all paddocks, average rainfall is 2,400mm and is considered summer safe. The farm would suit milking around 200 cows and production achievable of 70,000 to 80,000 kgs milk solids.

For further information email

Mike Helleur • mikeh@tekau.maori.nz • 0272226650 RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

OPEN DAY

AONGATETE, BOP 329C Thompsons Track Kiwifruit, Views, Water!

21.91ha located in popular Aongatete. With resource consent approved to subdivide the property into two separate titles, approx 4.6can ha of young Hayward green kiwifruit vines and a further 3 - 4ha of developable horticulture land, the property presents a real value-add opportunity. The three bedroom and office home has amazing indoor/outdoor flow and boasts awesome views. There is an additional building, consented as a shed with office, kitchenette and bathroom, which could provide options to accommodate extended family or teenagers. Balance of land in grazing, native and exotic bush. pggwre.co.nz/KAT35560 PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

TENDER

3

3

AUCTION Plus GST (if any)

(Unless Sold Prior) 12.30pm, Thursday 17 March On Site

VIEW 10.00-11.00am, Sun 20 Feb 2.00-3.00pm, Wed 23 Feb

Sue McNeil M 021 748 200 E sue.mcneil@pggwrightson.co.nz Anton Terblanche M 021 324 702 E anton.terblanche@pggwrightson.co.nz

TAUMARUNUI Waitangi Access Road

TENDER

Plus GST (if any)

Waitangi Farms 818 hectares - Essential Viewing Closes 11.00am, Friday 25 March Magnificent sheep and cattle breeding and finishing property. To be offered in two lots. Waitangi 554 hectares and Beechwood 264 hectares. Can be purchased together. As soon as you enter this property you appreciate the work that has gone into this productive farm. Four houses, two woolsheds, ample farm buildings, laneway the length of the farm, good fertiliser history, very good water throughout. The vendors have planted numerous specimen trees over the past 40 years to add to this special farm.

PGGWRE, 57 Rora Street, Te Kuiti

VIEW 10.00-1.00pm

Tuesday 22 February & 1 March

Peter Wylie M 027 473 5855 E pwylie@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/TEK35555 Helping grow the country

Tech & Toys

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

farmersweekly.co.nz/advertising 0800 85 25 80

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Primary Pathways – Jobs, Education & Training

GENERAL FARM HAND WANTED

Live your dream job in this piece of heaven!

The ideal applicant will have strong organisational and time management skills and be an excellent communicator.

The farm also has a 55ha runoff attached with youngstock, crops and some winter grazing. On farm we grow our own maize, turnips, winter crop, and use some PKE. We run a system 2/3.

Signature Marquees & Covered by Canvas are sister companies based just outside Staffordshire, England. We are looking to recruit foreman and riggers to assist with our local and nationwide marquee operations as we go into 2022.

There are full time and seasonal positions available within our friendly team offering very competitive rates of pay, prior experience of the marquee industry not necessary. Main attributes required are to be hard working, self-motivated and willing to work outside in all weather, we can provide all essential training for our industry.

We carry out a wide range of work including weddings, parties, shows, festivals and corporate events with our extensive stock of clear-span and sailcloth canvas marquees.

Operating a modern fleet of vans and HGV’s up to 44t a driving license is preferred but not crucial.

Accommodation can be arranged.

Position comes with a new 4 bedroom home, ensuite bathroom, walk in wardrobe and spectacular views of the farm and surrounding area.

We are a family-owned business with 3 other farms in the Waikato and pride ourselves as excellent employers. You would primarily be working with the Operations Manager and working together to set budgets, plans and day to day running of the farm. As a farming group we provide excellent support, a safe work environment and encourage growth in our staff. We walk the talk!

Steve Hemmings 07730 624 753 marquees@coveredbycanvas.co.uk

Fundamental to our business are our core beliefs: • We look after the land/pasture/environment and leave it better for the next generation of farmers • Stock are cared for and healthy • Communication is key and people are valued • We are a compliant operation and invest in non-effective land for the future • We run a profitable and enjoyable business for all You must have a full driver’s licence, be drug free and be eligible to work in New Zealand and be available for interviews. Position available from 1 June 2022. Essential to have a current CV and up to date references.

All enquiries to Duncan@onebird.co.nz

STATION MANAGER NEAR WANAKA

High profile station management roles don’t come along too often, and new roles offering the job holder scope to influence and create impactful and sustainable change are even rarer…so if you’re a farming professional with a modern, sustainable and commercial focus along with the best of traditional animal management and handling experience, please read on.

Criffel Station is moving to the next stage of its development and is looking for a dedicated Station Manager to take on strategic, operational as well as tactical responsibilities.

Key strategic focus areas include: • Building a farm operation more resilient to climatic change • Ensuring the farm is socially sustainable into the future • Improving farm infrastructure • Improving disciplines within the business • Team member attraction and retention At a tactical level there’s the day to day organising of a 2000ha station with 300 ha of irrigated flats and downs and 1322ha of hill country and the rest a mix in-between.

With a large portion of the 11,468 SU deer in a mix of finishing, velvet and breeding operations, this is a role for someone with significant farming experience, ideally deer, who has the financial, management and planning experience to bring it all together with a focus firmly on the future.

Leadership in many guises is at the forefront of this role: • On farm it’s about leading from the front - growing and developing the skills of your team • For the business it’s about leading with others, engaging with key stakeholders in the business, from the farm team to key suppliers and our customers • And ultimately, it’s about leading for the future and making sure everything we do has the lens of the customer and the future across it.

WHANGAMARINO FARM MANAGER

Ag jobs at your fingertips Connecting rural employers and job seekers - follow Farmers Weekly Jobs on Facebook and view primary industry jobs first!

Contact Debbie on 027 705 7181 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz to find out more.

www.no8hr.co.nz | ph: 07-870-4901

In reward for your hard work, a fantastic homestead and tree lined grounds will be your new home.

The opportunity to work with a progressive team who will provide significant support and opportunity.

Please apply with up to date CV and references to recruitment@agfirst.co.nz using the reference Bull Beef Manager.

Applications close 5pm, 6 th March 2022

JOBS BOARD farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

Farm Assistant

Farm Work Foreman and Riggers General Hand Programme Manager Station Manager Stock Manager Tractor/Truck/Machinery Operator

*FREE upload to Primary Pathways Aotearoa: www.facebook.com

If this sounds like a future you might want to be part of then take a closer look: https://criffelstation.com

Applications close 6 March 2022.

Our clients are seeking a Farm Manager for their 360ha Bull Beef business in the heart of the golden triangle, 1 hour to Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga and 5 minutes to the growing Te Kauwhata.

The Farm Manager will be supported by 1 staff member to run an increasingly systemised bull beef operation.

The ideal applicant will: • Be hard working, honest with an interest in data management and performance recording • Be motivated • Be willing to learn and committed to continuous improvement and open communication • Have a desire to get in and manage a development project, which will include environmental improvement works.

Farm Manager

It goes without saying, that the not negotiables for our client for this role will be strong experience in a management role and the ability to effectively lead a team (there are currently five on-farm operational team members). It is essential that you have strong communication skills (verbal and written), financial planning and management experience. Some experience in farm industry compliance at a regional or industry level is desirable as is a working knowledge (and capability) across a broad range of information and communication technologies and intensive farming or research farming experience.Criffel has its eye strongly on the end-game. We are committed to a future that shows land and life, environment and commercial operations can co-exist and thrive. At our heart is supporting locals, communities and families.

Need more? Give Toni Trusler a call for a confidential conversation on 0275 998 909.

We are a family run contracting and farming business specialising in big straw and hay baling, silage and haylage production.

We are looking for employees to help us this coming season.

Start date is June and finishing the end of September.

We have accommodation suitable for males and females and are situated within one hour of London.

Please email Gavin & Liz gavin@blackwaterbalingltd.co.uk or telephone UK 077 0232 2203

All applications to: Richard Hemmings 07860 773 567 office@signaturemarquees.com

TRACTOR DRIVERS REQUIRED

Jw0110613©

One-year-old, state of the art, 54 bail Waikato Rotary shed with a Navigate drafting system, ACR’s, Auto plant wash and in shed feeding. We are looking for the right person with large herd experience, passion, drive, and the motivation to take the farm to the next level. They must have high standards, excellent pasture management skills, put stock and the environment first, show exemplary leadership skills and be a team player.

Looking to Work & Travel?

We are seeking a reliable casual farm hand for a 120 ha sheep and beef farm 10 minutes from Wanganui.

The job will include maintaining adequate power and water levels around the farm, repair fencing + maintenance, irrigation and other general farm jobs.

Skills in these areas are a must. Flexible hours.

Accommodation not provided.

Enquires to Harry Duncan on 0272323888

JW110623©

FARM MANAGER You have an opportunity, if you’re an experienced Farm Manager to join our great team in the Waikato. Farm is 303ha (250ha eff.) 680 cow, system 2/3 dairy unit. Rolling to steep (small percentage is steep) located close to the Waikato River just south of Cambridge.

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

JW110675©

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

*conditions apply

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz JW109661©

40

BIRDS/POULTRY PULLETS HY-LINE brown, great layers.

07 824 1762. Website: eurekapoultryfarm.weebly. com – Have fresh eggs each day!!!

DOGS FOR SALE SUMMER CLEARANCE SALE! Deliver NZ Wide.

Trial, guaranteed! www. youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

NAKI GOATS. Trucking goats to the works every week throughout the NI. Mustering available. Phone Michael and Clarice. 027 643 0403.

GRAZING AVAILABLE DAIRY HEIFERS, between Putāruru and Tīrau. Well subdivided farm on easy contour, with excellent water. Regular weighing and animal health checks.

Start date 1st June. Phone 027 711 3598.

HORTICULTURE NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp.

The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz

Got something to sell?

List it in the paper delivered to 77k+ rural mailboxes each week 0800 85 25 80 classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

A country lady who is seeking a likeminded gentleman. Standing at 5’5 with a slim build, blonde hair & hazel eyes. She is an outdoors lady, who enjoys fishing, tramping, cooking, travelling, gardening and spending time with that someone special.

To meet, please call & quote code 54

0800 446 332

Plenty of driveshafts available

Become self-sufficient

NZ’s finest BioGro certified

Quality Hereford cows available.

Mg fertiliser

Guaranteed incalf to Hereford stud bull.

For a delivered price call ....

Term starts April, (negotiable).

0800 436 566

No cost way to increase herd numbers. 50-200 available.

udly NZ Made Pro Since 1975

Call Mark for more info. 021 330 425

021 441 180 (JC)

OUTSTANDING LEASE OPPORTUNITY TAUMARUNUI

frigidair@xtra.co.nz

Taurewa Farm – 988 & 989 Hohotaka Road • Approx 6,000 su, 580 eff ha, 3 years from 01 May 2022 plus 1st Right of Refusal • Excellent mix of easy to medium hill with approx 150 ha cultivable

When only the best will do!

• 2, 3-bedroom dwellings, 4-stand woolshed with large covered yards plus outlying sheep yards

RAMS FOR SALE

• Good quality fencing into approx 41 paddocks

WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556.

WANTED TO BUY HOUSES FOR REMOVAL. North Island. Phone 021 455 787.

USED MAGNUM W O O D B U R N E R , preferably p100. Phone 06 879 7798.

WHAT’S SITTING IN your barn? Don’t leave it to rust away! We pay cash for tractors, excavators, small crawler tractors and surplus farm machinery.

Ford – Ferguson – Hitachi – Komatsu – John Deere and more. Tell us what you have no matter where it is in NZ. You never know .. what’s resting in your barn could be fattening up your wallet! Email admin@loaderparts.co. nz or phone Colin on 0274 426 936 (No texts please)

BOOK AN AD. For only $2.20 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section.

Phone Debbie on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@ globalhq.co.nz

• Reliable natural and reticulated water

BARLEY & WHEAT STRAW LUCERNE BALEAGE PEA VINE BALEAGE MEADOW BALEAGE

• First RO Refusal offers potential for longer term relationship with compatible tenant

Available in Squares & Rounds

Heavy duty long lasting

Phone Mark 0800 478 729 or Tracey 027 554 1841

QUALITY Feeds You Can TRUST

Ph 021 047 9299

To inspect please contact Zach Te Ahuru 027 4889109 or Lance Te Ahuru 07 8966390

JW0110527©

www.drench.co.nz farmer owned, very competitive prices. Phone 0800 4 DRENCH (437 362).

GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds.

Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten.

Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis.

Country Romance

Looking For & Selling All Farm Machinery Market Gardening Valuations Cropping Dairy Orchard Contracting Machinery Brokers Pukekohe Contact Ph Brian Healey 027 231 5913 healag@xtra.co.nz

SHARE FARMING OPPORTUNITY

DOLOMITE

Information pack with basic lease terms & conditions and proposal requirements available from Geoff Burton Farm Business Management, Taumarunui Phone 07 895 8052 • gtb@xtra.co.nz

MOWER MASTER 12HP, diesel, electric start, 50 ton Heavy duty construction for serious wood splitting. Towable.

Assembly required.

Splitter with hydraulic lifting table $4800

Splitter

$4200

To find out more visit

www.moamaster.co.nz Phone 028 461 5112 Email: mowermasterltd@gmail.com

Stay ahead of the rest Sign up to AgriHQ’s free upcoming saleyard notifications to find what’s on offer before sale day.

Choose which sale yards you want to follow and find out the number and class of stock being entered at the next sale.

Pests out of control?

No job too big, I offer efficient and confidential service.

CONTACT: 0275258321

Cost-effective pest control using the latest thermal equipment & technology.

I am an experienced hunter and ex farmer, I can get rid of the pests eating down your farm, disturbing your stock, and frustrating you and your neighbors.

farmersweekly.co.nz/enewsletters

After 17 years it’s time to say goodbye.

Thank you very much to my customers who have been with the Sock Lady since, or nearly all of the years, we have been operating.

And to those more recent customers, I have valued you all.

We started having the socks made in Rotorua, moved briefly to Christchurch, then onto Auckland where they are made today.

Special thanks to Bronwyn who has packed and sent the socks out to you since I moved to Australia to be closer to my sons.

Sowndra, who manufactures the socks will be taking over the Sock Lady and website.

I have found him to be excellent and fair to work with, as I hope you all will do.

Thank you to you all. a McLennan

Norm

CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP SALE

ONLINE ORDERS IN BY 15TH MARCH www.thesocklady.co.nz 027 823 6728 thesocklady@xtra.co.nz Merino Mid Socks Townies Singlets & Tshirts Tunics

$57.00

Sizes 3-5 6-8 8-10 11-13 14-15

$37.50

Sizes 3-5 6-8 8-10 11-13 14-15 Sizes Sm Med L XL 2XL 3XL 4XL 5XL

3 pair same size pack

2 pair same size pack

$42.50

each

$42.50

each

Sizes Sm Med L XL 2XL 3XL 4XL 5XL

Postal orders to: Sock Lady 26 Westminster Drive, Rotorua 3010 With product, sizes, postal address and payment.

JW110631©

ANIMAL HEALTH

GOATS WANTED

PERSONAL

See TradeME #2251190054 [For farmers and hunters]

LK0109558©

SHEEP

Sensor Jet. Deal to fly and Lice now. Guaranteed performance. Unbeatable pricing. Phone 06 835 6863. w w w. c r a i g c o j e t t e r s . com

HAULER CREW available for summer harvest.

Wairarapa area.

Phone 027 489 7036.

CHILLERS & FREEZERS

JW110668©

CRAIGCO JETTERS.

NATIVE FOREST FOR MILLING also Macrocarpa and Red Gum, New Zealand wide.

We can arrange permits and plans. Also after milled timber to purchase.

NEW ZEALAND NATIVE TIMBER SUPPLIERS (WGTN) LIMITED 04 293 2097 Richard.

HEALEY AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT

JW110592©

Electrodip – the magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides.

Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness.

Phone 07 573 8512 www.electrodip.com

WANTED

LOG BUYER

41

JW110486©

FLY OR LICE problem?

FORESTRY

JW0110622©

ANIMAL HANDLING

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

JW110669©

Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

•

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 21, 2022

Cattle For Sale

Gary Falkner Jersey Marketing Service Deliver your PH:stud 027 482 8771 or 07 846 4491

CAPITAL STOCK FOR SALE O/A RP & JE Sutherland Black Hills, Waikaka On 8th March 2022 at 2pm Carrfields have been asked to sell on behalf, a genuine line of capital stock ewes due to a change in farming practice.

A grand opportunity to purchase a high-performance line of breeding ewes.

On a campy, toxo and 5in1 programme.

A/c HAGAN EYRE LTD (Owned, bred by John & Sue Young)

COMPRISING/DETAILS: • 13x Holstein Frsn Aut calving M/A cows • 5x Holstein Frsn Aut calving in-calf hfrs – all from established 3-digit herd code • Fully ID, herd tested, due to calve 27/3/22 • TB C10, milk tested BVD free, whole 330 cow herd avg 515ms • All livestock can be viewed prior to auction – Turitea Rd, Otorohanga, Contact Brad 021 947 797 AUCTIONEERS NOTE: Our Vendors purchased the dairy farm and all livestock from well-respected Te Awamutu dairy farmer John Young and family. John has always farmed high performance dairy cows and our Vendors are selling just the strong Holstein Friesian cows as they only operate totally smaller structured crossbred cows.

High quality, bred by highly regarded sires and in-calf with valuable progeny. 3GPS provided.

PAYMENT TERMS: Delayed payment is due on 20th March 2022 – Immediate delivery

• 600 Rom & Border X Romney ewes

ENQUIRIES: Ben Deroles 027 702 4196 or ben.deroles@carrfields.co.nz Luke Gilbert 027 849 2112 or luke.gilbert@carrfields.co.nz Brian Robinson Livestock 027 241 0051 Vendor: Hagan Eyre Ltd Brad 021 947 797

• 450 1shr Rom & Border X Romney ewes • 640 2shr Rom & Border X Romney ewes • 630 3shr Rom & Border X Romney ewes • 550 4shr Rom & Border X Romney ewes • 330 5shr Rom & Border X Romney ewes ENQUIRIES: Hamish McAslan 027 281 0377 Alan Thompson 027 201 0410

JW110667©

• All dipped and crutched JW110681©

farmersweekly.co.nz

Also on

FULL CATALOGUE AVAILABLE from our Agents or on our website

JW0110637©

For further information contact our Noticeboard sales team on 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Sale Day: Tuesday 8 March 2022 AUCTION at Gore Showgrounds Viewing from 12pm Sale starts 2pm

ONLINE AUCTION Tuesday 1st March 2022 Auction starts at 7:30pm ONLINE www.bidr.co.nz

All enquiries to: Brian Robinson Brian Robinson BRLL Livestock Ltd PH: 0272 410051 or 07 8583132 Ph 0272 410 051

stock messaging to every farm letterbox nationwide with a weekly publication that farmers choose first for news, opinion, market updates and even their own advertising.

SELECT HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN AUCTION Autumn Calving Friesian content of herd

JW110678©

Detailsagents: available Enquiries to the sole marketing

Beltex X Ram Lamb Sale

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

Introducing Javier Roca GlobalHQ’s Livestock Sales & Marketing Manager I grew up on my family’s beef farm in South America and later pursued my career in livestock, first managing dairy farms and then working for a USAbased breeding company.

Attracted by New Zealand’s agricultural reputation, I moved to Palmerston North 15 years ago to pursue postgraduate studies in Animal Science. While working as a livestock researcher and data scientist, New Zealand became my homeland.

I am delighted to take over this new role and to be part of the team at GlobalHQ. I look forward to working with you to ensure that your advertising hits the mark with an engaged audience by using the platforms that GlobalHQ has to offer; whether that’s print, digital, or new media.

Contact Javier today on 027 604 4925, or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

– hybrid livestreamed auction

Sale consists of approximately 100 Ram Lambs sired by top pure Beltex Rams: • Beltex X Texel Ram Lambs • Beltex X Poll Dorset Ram Lambs • Beltex X Suffolk Ram Lambs This includes some ¾ Beltex X Ram Lambs.

All Ram Lambs are showing the unique double muscling and the higher yielding density characteristics of the Beltex breed.

Open Day: Monday 28 February 2022 at 133 Robinson Road, Glenham, Wyndham Viewing from 1pm – 3pm.

JW110601©

Ayrshire herd for sale, long established,

Outstanding genetics250&cows,potential to be one of fully recorded, early calving. the countries leadingAyrshire suppliers to in calf heifersof and Genetics yearlings the dairy industry for Jersey years come. details herd to milked OAD last 5Full seasons, available.

200 cows, early calving, fully recorded.

Glenrobin Stud

Callum McDonald PGGW 027 433 6443 Brent Robinson 027 206 4958 Michael Robinson 027 210 5977

ANNUAL NORTHERN BEEF WEANER FAIRS 2022 Vaccination Pass and Masks required at all Sales

50th ANNUAL WEANER FAIR A/c FJ Guy & Sons Omaunu Rd, Kaeo Thursday 3rd March 1:00pm start Comprising approx. 630 hill country Beef weaner Strs & Hfrs Enquiries to: Neil Miller 027 497 3492 KAEO ANNUAL BEEF WEANER FAIR Pupuke Rd, Kaeo Friday 4th March 12:30pm start Comprising approx. 1000 Beef weaner Strs & Hfrs Further entries & enquiries to: Neil Miller 027 497 3492 WELLSFORD WEANER STEER FAIR Monday 7th March 12:00pm start Further entries & enquiries to: Robert McLean 027 590 4829 KAURI WEANER STEER FAIR Tuesday 8th March 12:30pm start Further entries & enquiries to: Tim Williamson 027 511 7778 KAIKOHE WEANER STEER FAIR Wednesday 9th March 12:30pm start Further entries & enquiries to: Reuben Wright 027 284 6384 PERIA WEANER STEER, BULL, HFR FAIR Thursday 10th March 12:30pm start Further entries & enquiries to: Reuben Wright 027 284 6384 or Dan Sweetapple 021 046 0755 BROADWOOD WNR STEER, BULL FAIR Friday 11th March 12:30pm start Further entries & enquiries to: Dan Sweetapple 021 046 0755 Considering the near drought conditions Northland has experienced this summer, the reduction of beef herds due to tree conversions taking place in the Far North, these annual weaner fairs will have some outstanding lines of both traditional & exotic breed calves with Northlands renowned shifting abilities, giving purchasers the confidence of getting good quality, well-bred livestock.

On behalf of Carrfields we look forward to catching up with you at one of the fairs.

Livestock Manager Northland Robert McLean 0275 904829

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz Livestock Advertising?

Call Javier: 0800 85 25 80

JW110659©

42

Production last season 347kgs ms/cow, 1000kgs ms/ha, on rolling to steeper livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80 Livestock contoured farm, no meal, palm kernel or maize Noticeboard fed.

• Young replacement stock also available

Livestock Noticeboard

STORTFORD LODGE Wednesday 23rd February 11.30am BLACKWILL LTD, Ohuka, Wairoa • 400 2th Suftex Ewes • 325 4th Suftex Ewes • 325 6th Suftex Ewes • 200 6th Romdale Ewes • 250 4yr Suftex Ewes Top flock of Capital Stock Suftex ewes bred by top Tiriroa genetics.

Ewes in good forward order, consistently scanning 165% on steep Wairoa hill country.

Enquiries:

Neil Common 027 444 8745

Helping grow the country

USSHER CONTRACTING PLANT CLEARING SALE Thursday 3 March, 1.30pm 562 Earnscleugh Road, RD 1, Alexandra 2008 Claas 640 Tractor 7980hrs 50k Box, 2010 Claas 640 Tractor with Quickie Loader 7350hrs 50k Box, McHale 5600 Fixed Chamber Roller Baler with 23 knives 16,000 Bales approx, McHale 991 BE Bale Wrapper with Power Pack, Claas 3050 Mower, Claas 540 Tedder, Claas 65 Conventional Baler, Tonutti V12 Raptor Reel Rake with splitter reels, spare reels and tynes, Duncan Renovator Direct Drill 3m and harrows with spare parts, Simba 3B Discs 3m New Blades, Rata 5F Auto Reset Plough, Farm Chief Speed Discs 3m, Rata 203 Centre Fold 5m Maxi-til with spare points, Rata 904 3m Heavy Grubber with spare points, Kuhn 3m Power Harrow, Austin 3m Cambridge Roller with wheels & spare rings, 2 x Rata Bale Forks, McHale Soft Hands, 3 Point Linkage Leveler 3m, 2 x Lyndon Harrows 3m, Stephens 575 Round Bale Feeder, Raceway Tandem Trailer 8 x 4, ATV Trailer, Reese Agri Spred SNG 460 ATV, Rata Single Ripper, Farmgard Back Blade, MF 35 Diesel 4 Cylinder & Slasher Mower, Munro Top Dresser 16’ Box, 2 x Gas BBQs (4 burners), Sheep Loading Ramp Loadmaster, Run Through Spray Dip, Donalds Steel Wool Press Manual, Wool Table made by John Davidson Hawea, Fadge Holders, 2 x Stewart Electric Shearing Machines with Hand Pieces, Stewart Shearing Grinder, Milk Separator (very good condition), New set of original springs and shocks for 2016 Mitsubishi Triton, 2 sets Netting Fencing Strainers, Sundries including fencing gear, tools, dog kennels etc.

Approx. 300 Bales Meadow Baleage.

For more information and photos go to www.agonline.co.nz and click on upcoming sales.

The sale will be run under the current COVID Government requirements for livestock auctions.

Bill Ussher (Vendor) 027 434 1833 Dave Lilley (PGW) 027 591 6412 John Duffy (PGW) 027 240 3841

Helping grow the country

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

MANAWAHE WILTSHIRES

PRELIMINARY NOTICE WAIROA CATTLE FAIR

43

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

WILTSHIRE RAMS - PURE BRED 14 years farming and breeding wiltshires

Thursday 25th March, 11am PGG Wrightson will offer a top yarding of station bred cattle.

Including:

2 Tooth Rams $1500 + GST (14) Ram Hoggets $350 + GST Refer TradeMe listing #3475525847

A/c Rangimoe Station • 200 2 1/2yr Ang & Ang/Here Strs (x Waimaha & Marewa Stns) A/c Tangihau Stn • 200 1 1/2yr Ang Strs A/c Kouhauroa Station • 80 1 1/2yr Ang & Ang/Here Strs A/c Karamu Ltd • 40 1 1/2yr Ang & Ang X Strs A/c Shannon Stn • 40 1 1/2yr Ang & Ang/Here Strs Grand opportunity to purchase exceptionally well bred lines of Hill Country station bred cattle.

Ph Sharon 0275377157

MARCH DELIVERY Un-Mated/PTIC up to $1400 Gross 2021 Weaners up to $1100 Gross

STOCK FOR SALE 300 COOPWORTH 2TH BIG EWES 64kg

STOCK REQUIRED STORE LAMBS 25-33kg

150 VIC & RWB 1-2YR ANG COWS

CULL BEEF COWS

2YR STEERS 480-600kg

SAILS Tagging Reps

16MTH HEIFERS 360-400kg

Enquiries: Ian Rissetto 0274 449 347 | 06 838 8604 Mason Birrell 0274 967 253 | 06 838 7091

Please Contact

North Island Wayne Doran 027 493 8957 Harry Van De Ven 027 486 9866 Luke McBride 027 304 0533 South Island Richard Harley 021 765 430 Burke Patching 027 441 1515

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381 Helping grow the country

EXPORT WANTED ANGUS HEIFERS

A Financing Solution For Your Farm E info@rdlfinance.co.nz

JW110662©

FARMERS WEEKLY –February 21, 2022

SALE TALK I asked a supermarket worker to tell me where they kept the tinned peaches.

He said, “I’ll see”, and walked away.

Frustrated, I asked another worker and he also said, “I’ll see”, and walked away.

In the end I gave up and found them myself, in Aisle C.

Here at Farmers Weekly we get some pretty funny contributions to our Sale Talk joke from you avid readers, and we’re keen to hear more!

If you’ve got a joke you want to share with the Farming community then email us at: saletalk@globalhq. co.nz with Sale Talk in the subject line and we’ll print it and credit it to you.

MORRINSVILLE EMPTY COW SALES High Premium Paid For Young Empty Cows

Ram Lamb Sale

Morrinsville Dairy Complex Thursday 17th February 2022 and every Thursday thereafter Empty Cows 12 Noon Approximate tally of 300

Good milky Friesian, Crossbred & Jersey Cows.

Good demand for High BW Empties.

Clients are looking for good sound Young Empties.

If you are looking for good milky empties you should attend this sale.

Market Report

Elite Empty Cows $2000 - $2500 Top Frsn & XBD Cows $1300 - $1500 Good Frsn & XBD Cows $1000 - $1200 Top Jsy Cows $900 - $1050 Good/Medium Jsy Cows $700 - $850 Lesser Empties $600 - $700 Aut. In Calf Cows Good Frsn/Frsn X $1750 - $1900 Med. Frsn/Frsn X $1600 - $1700

Give your local NZFL Agent a call or for more details phone:

Darryl Houghton 0274 515 315

Hybrid Auction Sales streamed live via MyLiveStock

Blair Gallagher 021 022 31522 John Tavendale 027 432 1296 Hamish Gallagher 027 550 7906

Andrew Holt 027 4963 311

Simon Eddington 0275 908 612

Conditions apply

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard

Hosted on Bidr.co.nz

Stud Quality Heifer sale Monday 7th March 2021 - 7:30pm

Mt ● Mable Angus Stud Quality Heifers

● 22 Registered stud replacement quality heifers ● BVD Tested Clear, BVD and 10 in 1 Vaccinated ● Breedplan Recorded, DNA profiled and Parent verified ● TB Status C10 ● Herd completely free of known genetic defects ● All vetted in calf with calving dates detailed ● A cross section of Mt Mable families represented Hosted on Bidr.co.nz

Enquiries and inspection invited.

Kevin or Megan FRIEL

ph: (06) 376 4543 or (027)625 8526 kev.meg.co@xtra.co.nz

www.mtmableangus.co.nz

UPCOMING AUCTIONS

Tuesday 22nd February 1 pm

Punchbowl Ewe Dispersal Sale Poll Dorset & Poltex

Wednesday 23rd February

11.30am Penoak Farms Ltd Dairy Clearing Sale 7.30pm Walker Downs Shorthorn Female & Calf Dispersal Sale

Friday 25th February 12pm

Wagyu Purebred NZ Ltd Dispersal

Tuesday 1st March

7.30pm Hagan Eyre Ltd Select Holstein Friesian Auction Regular Livestream coverage of five North Island Saleyards Head to bidr.co.nz to find out more.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

44

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Mel Croad

Suz Bremner

Reece Brick

Fiona Quarrie

Hayley O’Driscoll

BEEF

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.95

6.00

5.05

NI lamb (17kg)

8.35

8.40

6.55

NI Stag (60kg)

7.75

7.55

5.45

NI Bull (300kg)

5.90

5.95

5.00

NI mutton (20kg)

5.80

5.90

5.00

SI Stag (60kg)

7.75

7.55

5.45

NI Cow (200kg)

4.30

4.40

3.50

SI lamb (17kg)

8.30

8.30

6.35

SI Steer (300kg)

5.90

5.90

4.60

SI mutton (20kg)

5.80

5.80

5.20

SI Bull (300kg)

5.85

5.85

4.60

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

4.40

4.40

3.50

UK CKT lamb leg

14.07

14.04

10.02

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 10.63

7.61

US domestic 90CL cow

9.00

9.34

6.92

North Island steer slaughter price

$/kg CW

7.0

$/kg CW

South Island steer slaughter price

10.0 South Island lamb slaughter price

5.5

5.0

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

4.5 Apr

Jun

2020-21

Dairy

Dec

Feb

Apr

Aug 2021-22

Apr 2020-21

Jun

Aug 2021-22

Last week

Prior week

Last year

Fertiliser

Coarse xbred ind.

2.70

2.67

2.08

37 micron ewe

2.65

2.63

30 micron lamb

3.05

2.88

NZ average (NZ$/t)

Prior week

Last year

Urea

1190

1190

637

1.85

Super

368

368

305

2.15

DAP

1345

1345

849

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT 500

$/tonne

$/kg MS

Feb-21

Apr-21

Jun-21 Aug-21 Sept. 2021

Oct-21

450 400 350

Dec-21 Feb-22 Sept. 2022

Feb-21

Apr-21

Jun-21

Aug-21

Oct-21

Dec-21

Feb-22

Close

YTD High

YTD Low

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

29.5

33.4

27.63

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

5.05

5.05

4.33

Auckland International Airport Limited

7.21

7.885

7.1

Mainfreight Limited

4.48

4.6

4.3

Spark New Zealand Limited

82.06

94.4

81.8

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

5.9

6.36

5.45

Ebos Group Limited

41

43.13

37.45 7.55

Contact Energy Limited

8.15

8.32

Infratil Limited

8.06

8.34

7.5

Fletcher Building Limited

6.9

7.44

6.28

Listed Agri Shares Company

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T) Nearby contract

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

4650

4600

4400

SMP

4050

4025

3760

AMF

6850

6085

6085

Butter

6000

5250

5250

Milk Price

9.60

9.51

9.23

500

$/tonne

Last price*

450 400 350

Feb-21

* price as at close of business on Thursday

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Apr-21

Jun-21

Aug-21

Oct-21

Dec-21

Feb-22

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

4800

450

$/tonne

US$/t

4400 4200 4000 3800 Mar

Apr May Latest price

Jun

Jul 4 weeks ago

Aug

400

5pm, close of market, Thursday Close

YTD High

YTD Low

ArborGen Holdings Limited

0.23

0.27

0.23

The a2 Milk Company Limited

5.74

6.09

5.31

Comvita Limited

3.5

3.78

3.32 13.1

Delegat Group Limited

13.41

14.45

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.64

3.78

3.5

Foley Wines Limited

1.49

1.57

1.45

Greenfern Industries Limited

0.23

0.25

0.205

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

1.45

1.45

1.3

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.235

0.26

0.22

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.03

1.38

0.99

PGG Wrightson Limited

5.38

5.76

5.05

Rua Bioscience Limited

0.45

0.53

0.435

Sanford Limited (NS)

4.7

5.07

4.46

Scales Corporation Limited

4.94

5.59

4.8

Seeka Limited

5.06

5.36

5

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

3.46

3.54

3.12

T&G Global Limited

4600

3600

Aug 2021-22

Last week

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES 10.00 9.50 9.00 8.50 8.00 7.50 7.00 6.50 6.00

Jun

2020-21

FERTILISER

(NZ$/kg)

Feb

Oct

5-yr ave

WOOL

5.0

Dec

7.0

7.0

6.0

5-yr ave

8.0 6.0

8.0

5.0

Oct

9.0

6.0

6.5

4.0

South Island stag slaughter price

11.0

9.0

7.0 $/kg CW

7.0

10.0

4.0

7.0 5.0

5.0

4.5

8.0

8.0

6.0

5.0

9.0

6.0

6.0

Last year

10.0

9.0

6.5

5.5

North Island lamb slaughter price

10.0

Last week Prior week

North Island stag slaughter price

11.0

$/kg CW

10.27

$/kg CW

US imported 95CL bull

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Renee Hogg

Deer

Sheep

Cattle

Sara Hilhorst

Caitlin Pemberton Ingrid Usherwood

2.86

3.01

2.82

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

13729

14293

13330

S&P/NZX 50 Index

12257

13150

11852

S&P/NZX 10 Index

11846

12725

11344

350 300

Feb-21

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Apr-21

Jun-21

Aug-21

Oct-21

Dec-21

Feb-22

13729

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

12257

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

11846

45

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

Analyst intel

WEATHER

Overview We start the week fairly settled today, with a ridge of high pressure lying over the country connected to a large high out to our east. The squeeze gets put on tomorrow though, as a cold front moves onto the lower South Island and an easterly airflow develops further north. The front weakens over the South Island on Wednesday and high pressure regains control. Meanwhile, easterlies remain for the North Island. Showers for the eastern North Island on Thursday, sunnier out west with those easterlies continuing, while the South Island is settled. Friday the high loses control and the weekend may see some frontal activity, although it doesn’t look all that strong.

14-day outlook The week ahead doesn’t really look to have anything overly defined happening as we move forward. We are mainly settled today, although an isolated shower is possible for the North Island. Tomorrow a cold front moves in further south, but it weakens as it moves northwards.

Wednesday to Friday is settled for the South Island, while further north an easterly airflow brings showers in the east. The weekend has easterlies fading for the North Island. Meanwhile, a front may bring some rain to the lower South Island. Next week could see a southeasterly airflow for the country, meaning cloud and showers at times in the east, drier weather out west.

I

Soil Moisture

Highlights

17/02/2022

Wind

Southerlies pushing up the eastern South Island on Tuesday may be a bit blustery for a time, as these winds reach the North Island on Wednesday; strong southeasterlies will likely funnel through Cook Strait. These winds then ease across Thursday and Friday.

Source: NIWA Data

Temperature

7-day rainfall forecast

Today and Tuesday are warm, although cooling down for the lower South Island tomorrow. Cool in the east on Wednesday, warmer out west.

Thursday through to the weekend sees a mix of temperatures; warmer in the west for the most part.

Isolated showers possible for the North Island today could be heavy in spots. A front moves onto the lower South Island on Tuesday, bringing rain mainly out west, with a few showers in the east. The odd shower for the eastern North Island on Wednesday, increasing Thursday, continuing Friday and Saturday.

The weekend sees some rain or showers for the South Island as a front moves in, mainly the lower half.

0

5

10

How good are prices really?

Highlights/ Extremes

20

30

40

50

60

80

100

200

400

Rainfall accumulation over seven days from February 21 till February 28. Forecast generated at 1am on February 18.

No extreme noteworthy weather to mention coming up. If anything, conditions are leaning drier than normal for some regions this week, although certain areas will see rain or showers, especially the eastern North Island and the West Coast/lower South Island.

Reece Brick reece.brick@globalhq.co.nz

F ANYONE had been told that they’d be getting more than $8/kg CW for lamb and about $6/kg CW for prime cattle any other season, you could guarantee they’d be over the moon. Yet despite all the money flowing from the processors into farmers bank accounts, it certainly doesn’t feel like the stellar season that everyone’s been waiting years for. There are numerous reasons why farmers aren’t brimming with confidence, which have already been well covered, but we’ll just look at inflation for this piece.

For simplicity’s sake we’ll look at the national inflation rate, though by all metrics input costs for the rural sector have shot up quicker over the past 12-18 months. The annual inflation rate got to 5.9% as of Q4 2021, the highest since the very start of the 90s, though it did briefly get close on either side of the global financial crisis. It’s widely predicted to read even higher on the next data release.

This is mostly a global issue, where the concoction of reduced production and therefore supply of almost everything post-covid has increased the cost of raw materials and these costs are finally starting to be worn by the end consumer at retailers.

Large countries printing swathes of money, widespread transportation issues and global political tensions are only making it worse.

Interestingly, even with prices shooting up recently, the past decade has been quite mild for inflation, which explains why interest rates were so low pre-pandemic.

New Zealand’s inflation grew by 19% from 2011-2021, whereas through 2001-2011 it was 31%.

When it comes to lamb, we are definitely having the strongest season for pricing after factoring in inflation. There’s been two seasons which started off stronger, 2011-12 and 2019-20, which were knocking around the equivalent of $9.10-$9.30/kg through December in today’s dollars. But both fell off rather quickly after that; the former due to export lamb prices becoming overcooked and collapsing, the later due to covid-19.

This time around there is a bit more longevity to prices and anything above $8/ kg going into autumn will be record-level pricing for farmers no matter which way you look at it.

Easily the worst seasons for lamb since the turn of the century were 2006-2008, during peak dairy conversion years. Back then lamb was mostly paying the equivalent of around $4.60/kg in the North Island and $4.30/kg in the South Island through peak season months. Even a 25kg CW cull ewe was only worth around $43/hd in Q1 2008, a $100 less than what you’d get today.

Everything these days is a step above usual for beef slaughter prices, but isn’t anything wildly different from recent years after factoring in inflation. During summer, prime cattle have usually made the equivalent of $6/kg or thereabouts since 2015, the only exception being last year where everything got pulled down by covid-19 issues.

Interestingly, even with prices shooting up recently, the past decade has been quite mild for inflation, which explains why interest rates were so low pre-pandemic.

Though you could argue post-2015 beef markets have been supported on-and-off by various anomalies, of which NZ has been well-positioned to take advantage. Initially prices jumped due to a significant drought in the US tanking their kill in the years after. Then China jumped onboard and propped things up, especially with their protein shortages from African swine fever and temporary blockades on Brazilian beef when mad cow disease cases appeared.

And recently the lack of competition from Australia, which has helped keep things humming.

In the bad old days of 2003-2013, the normal price for North Island prime in summer was $4.60/kg in today’s dollars, and almost 20c less again for the South Island.

Don’t let it rain on your parade.

Next time I’ll check WeatherWatch

Plan your day with WeatherWatch and get New Zealand’s most accurate rain forecasting available across the country, anytime.

DAILY FORECAST

www.weatherwatch.co.nz

46

SALE YARD WRAP

Boost in heifer numbers The Matawhero sale yards played host to just over 2000 cattle last Tuesday, as the first big yarding of mainly R3 and R2 cattle were penned. That tally was up 660 head on 2021 levels and leading the increase was a larger volume of R3 steers and significantly more R2 heifers.The increase in heifers was a cumulation of vendors selling large numbers for different reasons – one a farm sale, another a change in policy and the third offloading scanned dry heifers. That led to nearly 540 being offered, though demand, which spread across the country, ensured the extra volume was easily absorbed.

R2 Traditional heifers averaged 315kg and $2.94/kg, up from $2.41/kg the previous year, while exotic lines averaged 330kg and $2.71/kg. Prices for all main classes were up on 2021 results, though a slower start to spring meant weights headed in the other direction. R3 traditional steers averaged 490kg and $3.14/kg, up $110 per head, and R2 traditional steers were 335kg and $3.16/kg, with an increase of 33c/kg. This sale set a good benchmark for other yards to follow, given the high volume of a consistent type of cattle. The next big event further up the east coast of the North Island is a Wairoa cattle sale to be held on March 10, before weaner fairs begin at Matawhero at the end of March.

NORTHLAND Kaikohe cattle • Weaner Friesian bulls, 120kg, fetched $650-$570 • Weaner Speckle Park-cross heifers realised $3.34/kg • Better 2-year heifers traded at $2.85/kg and the next cut $2.60/kg • Boner cows held at $1.50/kg A lift in grass growth improved the market at the KAIKOHE sale last Wednesday for a 420 head offering, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. R2 steers mostly made $2.85-$2.95/kg though nice whiteface sold to $3.05/kg. Good weaner Hereford-Friesian and AngusFriesian steers, 160-190kg, achieved $3.90/kg to $4.15/kg and better heifers around 100-120kg, $500-$540.

Wellsford store cattle • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 370-430kg, firmed to $3.00-$3.08/kg • Well-marked R2 Hereford-dairy heifers, 317kg, improved to $2.68/ kg • R2 Angus bulls, 396-465kg, fetched $2.73-$2.80/kg Good rain kept tallies low at WELLSFORD last Monday with just 127 head presented. The single pen of R3 cattle offered contained three Hereford-dairy steers and weighing in at 541kg they managed $2.90/kg. Better R2 cattle were well-contested. Angus-Friesian steers, 266kg, managed $2.93/kg and Hereford-Friesian heifers, 352-396kg, held at $2.77-$2.81/kg. Weaner beef-bred steers and heifers, 189207kg, fetched $590-$690. Read more in your LivestockEye.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe cattle • Weaner crossbred steers made $535 • Weaner heifers achieved $375-$525 • Boner cows sold in a range of $1.38/kg to $1.92/kg, $640-$770 Prime cattle sold well at PUKEKOHE on Saturday 12th February. Prime steers made $2.66/kg to $2.87/kg, $1410$2120 and heifers $2.61/kg to $2.88/kg, $1225-$1460.

Smaller crossbred weaner heifers were bought for $3.00/kg to $3.12/kg, $375-$525.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Hereford-Friesian heifers, 323kg, made $3.23/kg • Prime heifers, 510-560kg, sold well at $2.94-$3.02/kg • Friesian cows, 522kg, managed $1.95/kg Prime cattle prices lifted 10-15c/kg at TUAKAU last week, Carrfields Livestock Karl Chitham reported. Steers, 610-680kg, returned $2.92-$3.06/kg and 500-560kg made $2.81-$2.94/kg. Red brindle heifers, 477kg, managed $2.90/ kg and 390-450kg cows, $1.46 to $1.64/kg. Ex-service bulls were well received, 700kg Hereford fetched $3.24/kg and 511kg Ayrshire, $3.01/kg. Around 225 store cattle were presented on Thursday. Most 300-400kg steers traded at $2.84/kg to $3.14/kg and heifers in the same weight range earned $2.77/kg to $3.03/kg. Hereford-Friesian steers, 210kg, fetched $780. Medium-heavy prime lambs returned $147-$173 on Monday, with lighter primes at $133-$141 and forward-stores, $108-$117. Light-medium store lambs traded at $56-$84. Medium-heavy prime ewes made $155$191 and light, $95-$128.

WAIKATO Frankton cattle 15.2 • R2 Hereford heifers, 271kg, topped their section at $2.84/kg • Weaner Hereford-Friesian bulls, 127-136kg, managed $490-$530 • Top boner Friesian cows, 525-635kg, firmed to $1.94-$1.97/kg PGG Wrightson’s 195 head yarding was well-contested at FRANKTON last Tuesday. R3 Angus-Friesian steers, 413kg, fetched $2.69/kg. R2 Friesian heifers, 263-311kg, earned $2.28/kg to $2.42/kg and 223kg options, $2.51/kg. Weaner Friesian heifers, 201kg, managed $570 and HerefordFriesian, 156kg, $540. Prime steers were limited and all 593-

644kg improved to $2.88-$2.90/kg. Boner cows provided the bulk of the 80 head prime section. Mid-weight Friesian and better Jersey, 515-516kg, fetched $1.83-$1.89/kg and Friesian, 476-502kg, firmed to $1.51-$1.59/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye. Frankton cattle 16.2 • Four R3 Hereford-dairy heifers, 427kg, reached $2.72/kg • R2 Angus-cross steers, 463kg, firmed to $2.76/kg • Better R2 Angus-Friesian and Hereford-dairy heifers, 400-415kg, realised $2.64-$2.74/kg Just over 160 cattle were penned at FRANKTON last Wednesday by New Zealand Farmers Livestock. R3 steers, 423-460kg, earned $2.61-$2.70/kg. Heifers made up the bulk of the R2 pens and Hereford-Friesian, 265-285kg, sold for $795-$800. Quality weaner Murray Grey-cross bulls fetched $510. Females provided most of the 36 head prime section. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 691kg, fetched $2.84/kg and well-marked 440kg, $2.83/kg. Boner Friesian cows, 611kg, pushed to $2.05/kg and crossbred, 514kg, held at $1.54/kg while anything below 500kg softened.

Three Speckle Park-cross steers, 520kg, were the only male representatives and earned $2.77/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

KING COUNTRY Te Kuiti sheep • Heavy prime lambs made $155-$160 and medium $127-$132 Good rain boosted the store lamb market at TE KUITI last Wednesday. Good heavy lambs earned $132, medium $104-$110 and better longer-term types $90-$94. There was a good line up of prime ewes and the top end achieved $156-$168 and the next cut $137-$155.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep • R2 Charolais-cross steers, 305kg, fetched $3.31/kg • R2 Charolais heifers, 314kg, collected $2.87/kg • Top ewes returned $157 Store cattle markets lifted at RANGIURU last Tuesday.

R2 Angus and Angus-Hereford, 381kg, traded at $2.83/ kg as Belgian Blue-Friesian, 351kg, made $2.85/kg. R2 heifers were mostly off-types and Murray Grey-Friesian, 310kg, realised $2.52/kg. In a small selection of weaners 12 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 130kg, made $510. Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 455-555kg, traded at $2.46-$2.52/ kg. Friesian bulls, 710-770kg, earned $3.10-$3.14/kg and Friesian cows, 502kg, collected $1.77/kg. The heaviest prime lambs made $148 and lighter types $116-$122. Store lambs traded up to $86.

Read more in your LivestockEye.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero cattle • Good-quality R2 Angus and Charolais steers, 400-470kg, achieved $1325-$1500 • Top R2 heifers traded at $3.00-$3.09/kg with the next cut $2.72$2.79/kg • Weaner Angus-Hereford and exotic bulls sold well at $725-$825 • Mixed-age Charolais-cross cows with calves-at-foot made $1110 per unit Buyers came from all around the country to the MATAWHERO cattle fair last Tuesday to contest a good offering of over 2000 cattle. Quality R3 steers were able to reach $3.15-$3.22/kg and 455-505kg Charolais-cross realised $3.23-$3.33/kg. The best of the R2 exotic heifers sold to $2.96/kg. R2 Angus bulls, 290-305kg, were secured for $3.03-$3.05/kg and better exotic $3.06/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye. Matawhero sheep • Store Wiltshire male lambs made $80-$96 and ewe lambs $108

• Prime lambs fetched $125-$159 Store lambs mostly consisted of males at MATAWHERO last Friday and the top end was able to reach $118-$127.50 and the balance $105-$110.50. Ewe lams traded at $89.50$110. A small number of prime ewes achieved $126 to $170.

Read more in your LivestockEye.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle • A handful of prime steers reached $2.98-$3.03/kg There was just a small number of cattle presented at TARANAKI last Wednesday. The heaviest and lightest line of R2 steers earned $2.83-$2.90/kg and the next cut $2.68$2.75/kg. Better R2 heifers traded at $2.40/kg to $2.57/kg though the balance typically sold in a range of $2.00/kg to $2.15/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye. Taranaki dairy-beef weaner fair • Better Hereford-Friesian steers, 140-205kg, made $600-$700 and 105-130kg, $500-$595 • Quality 191kg Angus-Friesian and ¾ Angus heifers reached $585 The market was solid at the TARANAKI dairy-beef weaner fair last Thursday. Enquiry has lifted for Friesian bulls and the average value lifted $100 to $565. Those above 200kg achieved $625-$660, 150-180kg $450-$590 and lighter types under 130kg were mostly $440. Nice Angus-Friesian bulls, 240kg, were secured for $675 while Speckle Park-Friesian and special entry Belgian Blue-Friesian weren’t far away at $655-$660. Dairy-beef heifers, 130-150kg, traded at $500-$520 and 110-130kg $360-$475. Read more in your LivestockEye.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford Lodge prime sheep • Heavy to very heavy mixed-age ewes held at $151.50-$176 • Light-medium to medium ewes fetched $80-$120 • Heavy mixed-sex lambs firmed to $159-$169 • Heavy ewe and ram lambs improved to $152-$153 Ewe throughput held at 1621 head at STORTFORD LODGE last Monday and traded at steady levels. Mediumgood to very good mixed-age ewes held at $122-$142.

Lighter types earned $75-$99. Lambs numbered just under 100 and the reduced volume firmed results. Good mixedsex lambs realised $136. Read more in your LivestockEye. Stortford Lodge store cattle and sheep • R2 traditional steers, 498-512kg, held at $3.05-$3.11/kg • R2 Friesian bulls, 342-392kg and medium condition, made $2.87$2.92/kg • Medium to good ram lambs lifted to $114-$133 • Good wether lambs sold for $104-$119 • Medium ewe lambs lifted to $107-$121 Buyers had more cattle to select from at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday and they sold on a solid market.

R3 beef-cross steers, 453-591kg, were consistent at $2.81-$2.92/kg and R2 Angus steers, 402-436kg, returned $3.26-$3.27/kg. Weaner Friesian bulls, 111-128kg, made $450-$480. Beef cows with calves-at-foot sold for $1505$1710 and Hereford-Friesian heifers with calves $1225 per unit. Lamb tallies were still low at 2100 and the market continued to firm. Light to medium mixed-sex returned $93-$102. Read more in your LivestockEye.

MANAWATŪ Feilding prime cattle and sheep • Top 112 ewes made $171 • Four Angus steers, 588kg, earned $2.90/kg • Six Angus cows, 552kg, received $2.38/kg A small yarding of sheep created a slightly stronger market at FEILDNG last Monday. Lambs were mostly medium to good and traded between $151 and $168. Ewes were more varied in condition and medium types made

47

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022

off that pace at $172-$175 while annual draft Perendale returned $170-$185. Five-year Perendale and Romney sold for similar values at $170-$185.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka store cattle • R2 Angus steers, 344-418kg, fetched $3.23-$3.25/kg • R2 Speckle Park-Friesian bulls, 438-481kg, made $2.91-$2.92/kg A large yarding of cattle at TEMUKA last Thursday had mixed results due to quality. R2 steers were mostly dairybeef and better Angus-Friesian, 374kg, earned $3.16/kg.

Well-marked Hereford-Friesian mostly traded 10c/kg either side of $3.00/kg. Fourteen R2 Angus heifers collected $3.20/ kg and dairy-beef options mostly returned $2.60-$2.70/ kg. Empty Friesian heifers over 380kg realised $2.22$2.25/kg and 330-360kg averaged $1.92/kg. The heaviest autumn-born weaner Speckle Park-Friesian steers and heifers made $765 and $690 respectively. Read more in your LivestockEye.

FULL TO THE BRIM: Matawhero yards played host to just over 2000 cattle at the monthly sale and buyers ventured forward from as far afield as North Canterbury. $128-$135 and good $145-$153. Lighter types traded at $79-$115. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 575kg, returned $2.86/ kg followed by a Hereford-Jersey, 490kg, which made $2.80/ kg. Angus and Red Devon bulls, 610-630kg, held at $2.96$3.00/kg. Two Friesian cows, 655kg, fetched $1.76/kg while 425-494kg earned $1.60/kg or less. Read more in your LivestockEye. Feilding store cattle and sheep • R3 Angus and Angus-cross heifers, 400-430kg, made $2.85-$2.90/ kg • R2 Angus steers, 430-485kg, sold for $3.15-$3.30/kg • R2 Friesian bulls, 310-400kg, were $2.90-$3.05/kg • Store male lambs averaged $122 • Store ewe lambs averaged $100 The 800 store cattle at FEILDING sold on a steady-toweaker market. R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 475-480kg, made $2.75-$2.80/kg, whereas 525-535kg straight-beef pens were $3.10-$3.20/kg. Well-marked 430-460kg R2 dairybeef steers made $2.85-$2.90/kg. A line of 370kg R2 Angus heifers went for $2.95/kg, but most were off types or poorly marked, and made $2.40-$2.70/kg at 290-385kg. Weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers, 150kg, sold for $530.

It was a mixed sale for the 13,500 store lambs. For male and mixed-sex lambs, heavies were $145-$165, good types sold for $130-$140, mediums were $110-$125, and the lighter lines mainly $85-$105. Ewe lambs got as high as $135 for the heaviest, with $115-$125 covering good lines, $95-$110 for mediums, the lighter sorts were usually $80$90. Read more in your LivestockEye. Rongotea cattle • Better R2 steers made $2.60-$2.70/kg and the next cut $2.42$2.45/kg • Top R2 heifers achieved $2.37-$2.45/kg • Weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers, 114-142kg, earned $330-$400 • Boner cows made $1.46/kg to $1.58/kg There was just a small yarding of cattle at RONGOTEA last Tuesday, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. Three-year Hereford bulls, 639kg, made $3.15/kg and Hereford-Friesian heifers, 555kg, $2.45/kg.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park cattle and sheep

• Hereford steers, 503-545kg, fetched $3.26-$3.30/kg • Speckle Park-Friesian heifers, 520kg, collected $3.20/kg • Heaviest prime lambs returned $208 Prime cattle markets recovered at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday after their previous drop. Better dairy-beef steers traded at $3.12-$3.20/kg and others were mostly a few cents either side of $3.00/kg. Traditional heifers, 510-570kg, earned $3.07-$3.14/kg and dairy-beef types generally returned $2.92-$2.99/kg. Almost all boner cows traded at $1.78-$1.87/kg. Angus bulls, 600-635kg, collected $3.12-$3.18/kg and a Piedmontese, 600kg, realised $3.32/ kg. The store lamb market lifted, and a small premium was paid for sex-drafted lines. Good mixed-sex lambs made $115-$126 and medium $98-$108. Prime markets held as good types realised $160-$175 and the best ewes earned $238. Read more in your LivestockEye. Coalgate cattle and sheep • Six R2 Charolais heifers, 451kg, fetched $3.30/kg • Angus steers, 500kg, made $3.21/kg • Heaviest lambs earned $220 There was a larger yarding of cattle at COALGATE last Thursday. Over 90 homebred R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers averaged 344-392kg and made $2.75-$2.81/kg, though some pushed to $2.89/kg. Hereford-Friesian steers of lesser quality matched the heifers. Prime markets held and most Hereford-Friesian steers traded at $2.98-$3.06/kg, as did heifers of same breed over 550kg. Angus and AngusHereford cows, 554-603kg, collected $2.28-$2.35/kg and others 10c/kg behind. Most store lambs were medium to good types which earned $111-$127. Prime lambs firmed as heavy types realised $180-$200. Medium to good ewes held at $120-$155.

Read more in your LivestockEye. Sheffield ewe fair • Two-tooth Border-Romney reached $252 Ewes sold to good demand at the SHEFFIELD ewe fair on Friday 11th February. Demand came from a mainly local buying bench and 2-tooths stood out. For PGG Wrightson, 2-tooth Perendale ewes sold for $210-$230 and Romney $230-$240. Crossbred lines featured Romney-Texel at $207$225, Romdale $200-$220 and Coopworth-Texel, $220-$225.

Two-shear Romdale and Romney made $240 and mixedage Texel $205-$252. Mixed-age Romney-Coopworth were

Temuka prime and boner cattle, all sheep • Prime heifers typically made $2.80-$2.90/kg though heavier types reached $2.95-$3.07/kg • The bulk of prime cows were traditional types which fetched $2.33-$2.37/kg • Better boner Friesian cows sold at $2.20-$2.30/kg • Top prime ewes made $258 A better-quality yarding of prime cattle firmed at TEMUKA last Monday. Top end steers lifted to $3.00-$3.10/ kg regardless of breed, and the next cut $2.80-$2.90/kg.

Bulls held and the top end achieved $3.00-$3.10/kg, while the next cut was around the $2.90/kg mark. Store lambs were predominantly whiteface and mixed-sex though some Romney were drafted into cryptorchids and ewe lambs. Heavy options collected $131-$141 and mediums $101-$114. Prime markets held as most lambs made $140$177 and medium ewes, $140-$157. Read more in your LivestockEye. Omarama and Tekapo lamb sale More demand than supply led to a pleasing market at the OMARAMA and TEKAPO fine wool lamb sales last Thursday. Canterbury buyers were very competitive, and prices were reported to be up $20-$30 on last year. Tekapo tallies dropped to 11600 though included some line sizes up to 800-920 head. Top pens of Merino wethers made $121-$127, medium $95-$116 and third cuts, $53-$86.

Merino ewe lambs sold to $91-$114 and the remainder made $52-$84. A pen of 918 Polwarth wethers reached $121 though two smaller lines made $130-$144 and the balance, $82-$100. Quarter-bred wethers sold from $96 up to $136 and ewe lambs $78-$115. Blackface mixed-sex traded in two cuts at $119-$137 and $91-$111 while two pens of Poll Dorset-cross returned $137-$158. Full results from the Omarama lamb sale were not available but a nice line-up of quarter-bred wether lambs from Glenfoyle Station sold on a strong market as the top cuts made $134-$143 and third, $118. Ewe lambs returned $111.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville cattle and sheep • Prime ewes earned $130-$154 • Prime two-tooth ewes made $90-$130 • Prime steers above 500kg realised $2.80-$2.90/kg • Boner cows above 500kg achieved $1.70/kg to $1.90/kg • Weaner Hereford-cross bulls and heifers fetched $400-$470 The prime lamb market eased at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday with heavy types back to $148-$167, medium $132$147 and light $120-$131. Top store lambs fetched $115$125, medium $100-$110 and light $70-$85. Coopworth 3-shear breeding ewes traded at $208 and 4-shear $190. In the store cattle pens, R2 Hereford-cross steers, 320-420kg, achieved $2.63-$2.74/kg and R2 Friesian bulls, 424-455kg, $1070-$1130. Weaner Friesian bulls, 146kg, were obtained for $360.

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48

Markets

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 21, 2022 NI BULL

NI LAMB

SI LAMB

($/KG)

($/KG)

($/KG)

5.90

8.35

R3 ANGUS STEERS, 490KG AVERAGE, AT MATAWHERO ($/KG LW)

8.30

3.14

$2.96-$3.08 high $121-$127 Merino wether lambs R2 Hereford-Friesian lights Top steers, 340-370kg, at at Tekapo fine wool sale Temuka

Store lamb market responds to the rain Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

T

HE store lamb market immediately responded to recent widespread rain with prices lifting at least $10/head.

AgriHQ senior analyst Suz Bremner says the North Island store lamb market through January was especially lacklustre both in price and numbers sold through the yards due to seasonal summer dry conditions.

But that changed overnight earlier this month when most of the country received up to 200mm of rain, for some areas the most significant rain in a year.

“As soon as the rain fell, store lamb prices went up to at least $10/head and in some cases more,” Bremner said.

As soon as the rain fell, store lamb prices went up to at least $10/head and in some cases more.

Suz Bremner AgriHQ She said the jump in price was greater in the North Island than the South Island, where grass growth has been better, prompting some Canterbury lamb finishers to source store lamb from as far north as Taihape.

Store lambs at a recent Fielding sale averaged 31kg and sold for an average price of $3.80/kg according to AgriHQ data.

At Stortford, lambs averaged 30kg at $3.85/kg.

Store lambs at last week’s Temuka sale averaged 28kg and sold for $3.88/kg and the Canterbury Park yarding averaged 26kg and sold for $4.08/kg.

REGIONAL: AgriHQ senior analyst Suz Bremner says the jump in store lamb prices was greater in the North Island, where grass growth has been better.

Delays to the South Island grain and cereal harvest has kept cropping farmers out of the market so far.

“It will be interesting to see where South Island prices go once they enter the market or whether they will pull more lambs out of the North Island,” she said.

The rain has been followed by warm weather encouraging pasture to respond, which is needed as lambs in many areas are not yet at target weights for sale to processors.

“The season hasn’t been great, so we need grass growth for lambs to put on condition,” she said.

The rain has underpinned an already positive outlook for lamb, and Bremner expects the number sold through sale yards to increase.

While parts of the country received too much rain causing flooding and other issues, in other parts it reversed successive dry summers.

The store cattle market has been slower to respond as pastures recover

REPORTS SO ACCURATE, EVEN THE LIVESTOCK TAKE NOTICE.

and farmers build up a store of suitable cattle feed.

She said the wet conditions have discouraged the purchase of older and heavier cattle, but at the Matawhero sale saw a lift in the price of rising two-yearolds.

The rain was perfectly timed for the weaner selling season, which begins in two weeks.

WeatherWatch lead forecaster Phil Duncan said in general most of the country is tending drier and should enjoy some warmth for the next few weeks, although most areas should still get regular rain.

Central parts of the country that have twice been hit by heavy rain events should get a reprieve with dry weather.

“We are at the time of the year when it feels like summer, but then we get periods when it feels like autumn,” Duncan said.

“But there is nothing dramatic on the horizon.”

ACROSS THE RAILS SUZ BREMNER

Gisborne’s Bell Road auction back once more THERE may have been a shift of location, albeit just over the road, but the Bell Road auction is set to breathe life again. The once regular and unique fixture on the Gisborne calendar has been resurrected under the new guardianship of PGG Wrightson agents Alex Chrisp and Cody Clark.

Recently retired agent Peter McGrannachan ran the auction from his property on Bell Road for 26 years, just a stone’s throw from the Matawhero sale yards. But the sales finished on November, 13, 2021, when he retired. Anything and everything has been auctioned over the years – from ducks to horses to pigs and all types of machinery – and it was a big success, drawing in good entries and crowds once a month.

Chrisp said they wanted to bring back the sale to continue to service the local community.

“It is more about providing a service to locals; we often get stock from small block holders. For the first sale this Saturday we so far have entries of pigs, cattle and sheep, as well as a few two-wheelers and some cattle scales,” Chrisp said.

“You never know what you might get and what could turn up on the day, but we do try and get people to register their entries before the sale.”

The sales recommence on February 19, but the focus is on future events.

“While the sales kick-off again on February 19, that sale will be more about getting the ball rolling again and then focussing on the second sale in a months’ time,” he said.

Clark will take over the auctioneering reins and while he knows he has some big shoes to fill, he is up for the task.

“It’s a great opportunity to take over from a guy that was a solid part of the community and also following in Dad’s (Neville Clark) footsteps is special too,” Clark said.

“He has always been a big part of these sales too.”

He is also looking forward to the variety of sales that the auction will provide.

“I’m happy to sell anything, though alpacas could be an interesting challenge if they ever came in,” he said.

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Matawhero Stortford Lodge

Coalgate Cantebury Park Temuka

At the frontline in the war on bovine tuberculosis

Jane Sinclair has remained stoic in a challenging environment. A veterinary epidemiologist for over 14 years, she has witnessed first-hand the steady retreat of TB throughout New Zealand.

In my role at OSPRI, my purpose is clear, to eradicate TB. I have trust and confidence in the structures and techniques we use, because from my experience they have been successful.

The TBfree programme is a national effort.

Farmer investment towards eradicating TB has been a long-term commitment that has helped fellow farmers and their communities manage TB outbreaks like the cases currently in Hawke’s Bay and Harihari on the West Coast.

I’ve always been curious about animal health and how disease spreads. I was a vet in clinical practice for 26 years, this was rewarding and challenging, it often meant jumping out of bed in the middle of night when calves needed assistance to be born.

Being involved in animal health you can expect a highly emotional set of circumstances. There are usually difficult and confronting conversations, public meetings or talking to farmers directly about a suspected TB outbreak and what’s coming next.

Over time I’ve become more resilient, sought advice, and help, to rationalise these stressful situations. What does comfort me is knowing we’re on the right side of the bell curve to deliver a TBfree New Zealand.

We do have sound, institutional expertise and now succession planning, but OSPRI can’t achieve this alone. In a period of great disruption on-farm with

multiple regulations, COVID-19, climate change, and Mycoplasma bovis, the menace of TB can’t be forgotten, and we need continued farmer buy-in.

The farmers I typically encounter now are often a generation which has never experienced TB or the implications. There is also a perception in some regions that TB is under control or never existed.

The reality is we still have to clear about six million hectares of TB infection cycling in the possums, the benchmark for our 2040 milestone to eradicate TB from possums – the main wildlife vector (transmitter) of TB to cattle and deer herds.

As the TBfree programme has evolved from containment to eradication, the principles of disease management still apply, surveillance and monitoring, livestock movement control, and possum control.

Like the COVID-19 response, OSPRI also uses whole genomic sequencing to determine where a disease outbreak started and spread to.

In the central North Island last year, we discovered an unexpected TB infection in herds. This mystery was quickly resolved thanks to genomic sequencing, which confirmed the TB was movement related (from another region) and not a re-emergence in local wildlife.

Each TB management case we undertake is different. Our approach can depend on whether the farmer has run a closed farm system or traded with multiple places and so has significant livestock movements we need to investigate.

Unfortunately, there is no effective vaccine like we have to manage COVID-19. But we do have the equivalent of the COVID-19 tracer App – it is NAIT; this provides critical information on where individual animals have been, for how long, and who they were in close contact with.

If you want to minimise the risk of introducing disease on your farm, NAIT is a good place to start. Because farmers are engaging more with NAIT we can now track animals with a higher

TBfree is an OSPRI programme

disease risk more effectively and test less often in low-risk areas with no possum related risk.

This is a natural progression as the TBfree programme has successfully reduced the number of infected herds over the past 20 years, and it’s creating more efficiencies around the allocation of resources and reducing costs.

If you want to minimise the risk of introducing disease on your farm, NAIT is a good place to start.

A real danger to TB eradication is perhaps more insidious. Hunters moving live pig or deer (or their carcasses) from the bush to areas, or farmland previously cleared of TB. This scenario poses questions about the level of infection in that immediate vicinity, and how we should respond.

Service bulls on-farm can be the source infection into dairy herds. OSPRI provides free tests to bull providers, but testing is not mandatory, and it relies on breeders/providers requesting tests.

Pigs have helped inform our long-term eradication strategy. They are a more accurate indicator of TB incidence in an area than sampling individual possums. Once TB has gone from the possum population and infected wild pigs and deer eventually die out, it’s likely TB will be eradicated completely from NZ. By 2026, we aim to achieve TB freedom in cattle and deer herds. This is a key milestone for the TBfree programme. If we succeed, the risk to cattle and deer herds from TB does not disappear.

The nearer we get to eradication, the harder it gets to see what’s left. We need to ensure possum populations remain at low, sustainable levels to suppress and eliminate disease spread. Only then can we prevent future reinfection in herds.

ospri.co.nz

0800 482 463

Notice of Movement Controls for Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) Pursuant to section 131(2) of the Biosecurity Act 1993, TBfree New Zealand declares those parts of New Zealand shown as Movement Control Areas in the maps published with this notice to be Controlled Areas for the purpose of limiting the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

Pursuant to section 131(3)(a) of the Biosecurity Act 1993, TBfree New Zealand gives notice that the movement of cattle and deer within the Controlled Areas is restricted and regulated to the extent of and subject to the conditions specified below.

Notice 1. Definitions In this notice, unless the context otherwise requires: Herd means: a. One or more cattle, or deer, or cattle and deer, managed as one unit; or b. One or more cattle, or deer, or cattle and deer, kept within the same enclosure or behind the same fence.

Herd of origin means the herd with which a cattle beast or a deer is, for the time being, grazing.

Order means the Biosecurity (National Bovine Tuberculosis Pest Management Plan) Order 1998.

Controlled Area means any area shown as a Movement Control Area in the maps published with this notice.

2. Testing Prior to Movement From or Within Controlled Areas 2.1. No cattle beast or deer aged 90 days or more may be moved: a. from any Controlled Area to a place outside that Controlled Area; or b. within any Controlled Area from its herd of origin, or the place or establishment at which the animal is being kept, to a place other than a place occupied by the owner or person in charge of the cattle beast or deer unless it has undergone, within 60 days prior to the date of movement, a negative test for bovine tuberculosis in accordance with the Order.

2.2 The restriction on movement in 2.1 does not apply where an animal is being moved directly to a place of slaughter.

2.3. Notwithstanding 2.1, an animal may be exempted from the requirement for a test in accordance with the TBfree New Zealand Operational Plan.

2.4. Where a herd is managed or kept on a property, or group of properties, divided by the boundary of a Controlled Area, then the requirements to test cattle or deer described in 2.1 above apply to the whole herd.

This declaration takes effect from 1 March 2022.

Dated at Wellington on 8 December, 2021.

Stephen Stuart, Chief Executive, OSPRI New Zealand Limited Detailed maps and information on the location of properties within Controlled Areas are available from TBfree New Zealand, freephone 0800 482 463 or visit ospri.co.nz/disease-control-map.

General Information Any animal moved in contravention of this notice may be seized by an inspector or authorised person and destroyed, treated or otherwise dealt with, if it is reasonable in the circumstances to do so. TBfree New Zealand Limited may also recover the cost of testing for bovine tuberculosis pursuant to the Biosecurity Act 1993 and the Biosecurity (Deer and Other Testing Costs) Regulations 1998.

Failure to comply with the requirements of this notice may result in prosecution under the Biosecurity Act 1993.

If convicted, an individual will be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months, or a fine not exceeding $50,000.00, or both. A corporation convicted of an offence is liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000.00.

Revocation This declaration of Controlled Areas for bovine tuberculosis hereby revokes any previous published declaration of Controlled Areas, with effect from 1 March 2022.

Summary of Changes This declaration has the effect of reducing the movement controls area for bovine tuberculosis in the Otago region.

TBfree is an OSPRI programme proudly funded by:

Disease Control Areas from March 1 2022 TB Disease Control Areas

Further information To view our interactive map that shows whether you are in a movement control area, special testing area or surveillance area, simply enter any New Zealand address into the search bar. ospri.co.nz/dcamap

Drone technology putting the heat on possums The TBfree programme is entering a critical phase with the goal of TB freedom in cattle and deer by 2026 fast approaching. OSPRI research is trialling new technologies which can assist with the challenge of finding those remaining infected possums, especially in remote, difficult to reach areas.

OSPRI is looking to be shrewder and more costeffective with our future TBfree operations.

Drone technology may have a role to play in possum monitoring and surveillance. In particular, we are interested to know whether drones with thermal cameras could provide effective monitoring data.

In 2020 we began trials, initially flying over caged possums to test whether we could ‘see’ them from a low altitude of around 60 metres and then later identifying possums that had been released within a caged area.

Results were encouraging, despite concerns that the heat signature of a small animal with thick fur would be almost non-existent.

Further trials have progressed with our partners Envico Technologies who have developed artificial intelligence (AI) software that can identify possum heat signatures as distinct from other heat signatures which may come into the camera frame.

This ‘machine learning’ is achieved through the laborious task of having a person manually

confirm an image is a possum from known data and log that with the AI software. Over time, as more images are processed, the software’s accuracy rapidly improves and eventually the human component will be removed altogether.

The next phase of trials will be to improve the calibration and ground truthing of data. We need to understand what the thermal camera is showing us in the context of total possum numbers – if we see 10 possums, is that all there are or is that 10 possums out of 50?

In early 2022, we are running trial flights alongside contractors who will monitor possum numbers using traditional methods such as leg-hold traps, chew cards and wax tags and we will compare results.

capture around 20 still images every second, so when we have drones flying for an hour, and eventually longer, the amount of data being gathered becomes huge.

However, the AI software is able to work through this at very high speed, discarding empty frames and rapidly identifying possums when they are seen.

We are still in the relatively early stages of this technology. But the goal of being able to accurately survey possum densities rapidly across large areas is proven feasible. It should, in due course, provide a very cost-effective surveillance alternative to current methods as the technology improves.

Dr Richard Curtis, OSPRI Research Manager

In addition, we need to upgrade the technology to drones that can fly faster for longer and cameras with a narrower focus that will be able to see into dense bush more clearly. The cameras

Support disease management These five steps protect your livelihood

1.

Tag and register your animals

2.

Test your animals as required

3.

4.

Complete and Record and confirm exchange ASD forms animal movements

TBfree is an OSPRI programme NAIT is an OSPRI programme

ospri.co.nz

5.

Update your NAIT account

0800 482 463