Dairy Farmer August 2019

Herd Health Effects on Productivity August 2019

Incl $8.95 GST

Health & happiness Golden Bay farmers balance small farm with wellbeing

Unpredictable weather poses challenges

The dripping voice of reason

Global demand for dairy is healthy

AUGUST 2019 Editor

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Herd Health Effects on Productivity

Incl $8.95 GST

August 2019

COVER Golden Bay farmers Ben and Renee Riley run the local gym and their farm.

Health & happiness Golden Bay farmers balance small farm with wellbeing

Unpredictable weather poses challenges

The dripping voice of reason

Global demand for dairy is healthy

22

www.farmersweekly.co.nz ISSN 2624-0939 (Print) ISSN 2624-0947 (Online)

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DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Contents NEWS 17 Food waste cuts bite Cutting food waste will have economic implication back to farm level 18 Eliminating waste Fonterra aiming for zero packaging waste

ON FARM STORY

8 Small-scale farming Golden Bay farmers Ben and Renee Riley run a small yet profitable farm

22 Unpredictable climate Inglewood farmers Mike and Chris Gyde farm under the shadow of Mt Taranaki

FARMING CHAMPIONS

7 Guest column Tim Mackle

34 Dairy champion Katie Milne

THEME 53 Herd health

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SPECIAL REPORT 40 SIDE 66 Trees for riparian planting

REGULAR FEATURES 32 At the Grassroots

GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of advertising revenue to the Rural Support Trust. Need help now? You can talk to someone who understands the pressures of farming by phoning your local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254.

38 Industry Good 46 International news 48 Research 50 Technology

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GUEST COLUMN

Don’t kill the cash cow DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle is calling on the Government to revise its 2050 methane reduction target in the Zero Carbon Bill to one that does not put New Zealand’s world-leading dairy sector at risk.

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IWI dairy farmers are world-leading producers of low-emissions milk.

We have a reputation for sustainability and we want to keep it that way.

While we are committed to playing our part in the transition to a lowemissions economy alongside the rest of New Zealand it must be done fairly and consider the science as well as the economic impacts.

There is more in the Zero Carbon Bill that we agree with than we disagree with but we have serious reservations about the Government’s proposed 2050 methane reduction target of 24–47%.

We believe it goes well beyond what science requires and will put a huge strain on our economy.

The impact for rural communities and the wider economy could be huge.

There was also a lack of robust analysis of the implications for dairy farmers.

This is a fundamental issue, given the significant role of the dairy industry in the NZ economy.

DairyNZ estimates a cut of up to 50% in methane dairy farmers’ total profit could reduce by between 33% and 42% across the 2030-50 period.

That is a substantial loss of income and is more than 10 times higher than the cost of $2500 a farm estimated in the Government’s analysis.

The impact for rural communities and the wider economy could be huge.

DairyNZ is calling for the 2050 target to be reduced to up to 24% depending on circumstances and regularly reviewed while the science remains unsettled.

We also want farmers to get recognition for their planting as a way of offsetting

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

emissions. Farmers are putting a lot of effort into planting on their farms, which have water quality, biodiversity, biosecurity and greenhouse gas benefits.

Policies must see farmers getting recognition for this as every bit helps.

This figure reflects a fair-share reduction in methane required to stay below the 1.5C threshold and is broadly in line with the analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and other climate scientists.

We believe our position is an ambitious but fair approach that is informed by science and that is supported by Fonterra and its Shareholders’ Council, Miraka, Synlait and Tatua. Every ruminant must also carry an equal share of emissions reductions., ie beef cattle, sheep, deer and dairy cattle must all be required to make the same reductions.

DairyNZ will be there to support our farmers through the transition to a lowemissions future and has been engaging with the Government on farmers’ behalf.

Last month the Government’s Interim Climate Change Committee recommended agriculture be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme for five-years, until a farm-level pricing mechanism is constructed.

We have opposed this recommendation.

We are firm in our view that bringing agriculture into the ETS at the processor level is a blunt instrument that amounts to little more than a broad-based tax on farmers before we have the knowledge, support and tools to drive the practice change that will reduce emissions.

Instead, we have joined with 10 other farming groups such as Federated Farmers, DCANZ, FOMA and Beef + Lamb to launch an alternative to manage agricultural emissions: He waka eke noa – our future in our hands. This commitment is an unprecedented, sectorwide proposal to work constructively and collaboratively with the Government, Maori and iwi to make real and

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says the Government’s proposed 2050 methane reduction target will put a huge strain on the economy.

meaningful changes at the farm level to reduce emissions.

What’s really positive about this proposal is it doesn’t just identify a problem – it provides a clear path forward and a way for the primary sector to work with the Government, rather than just impose regulations. There is a real and tangible five-year work programme to build an enduring farm-level emission reduction framework and help farmers and the wider rural sector provide real options to reduce their footprint.

The dairy sector already has a commitment in our Dairy Tomorrow strategy for all farms to have farm sustainability plans in place by 2025 and we are continuing to invest heavily in science, research and innovation to help our farmers make the best decisions for their circumstances. Working together will achieve more change than not.

Dairy in NZ has changed and innovated over the last 30 years and will continue to do so into the future. We can do this if the settings and support are right. We’re on the same journey as the rest of NZ and DairyNZ is there to support our farmers to maintain our world-leading sustainability and competitiveness status. n

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ON FARM STORY

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Ben and Renee Riley with their dog Pepper. They run a small but profitable dairy farm at Golden Bay as well as running the local gym. Photos: Tim Cuff

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DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Keeping it simple

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Golden Bay dairy farmers Ben and Renee Riley are proving a small farm can offer big payback. Luke Chivers explains.

ET’S face it, farmers have been worshipping at the altar of productivity for too long.

“More production doesn’t necessarily mean more profit,” 35-year-old Ben Riley says.

“It’s more about keeping your costs low.”

Ben and wife Renee milk 110 cows on their 38 hectare farm at Rockville in Golden Bay. The farm is System 2 and they are adamant a small farm doesn’t have to mean less value so focus on profitability rather than production.

They focus on maintaining a grassbased system and looking after pastures, particularly through winter and spring to sustain quality.

“More work and more cows don’t always mean extra dollars,” Ben says.

“If you keep expenses down, which we do using a mostly grass-based system, then the cost of producing each milksolid is far less than if we were pumping extra feed into the system.”

The new Federated Farmers Golden Bay dairy chairman is proving small-scale farming can be lucrative by keeping it simple. Taking a grass-based approach works well, suits the farm and its location.

“It was the approach that my father used and it’s tried and tested,” he says.

Dairy“It’s Farmer Ad_86mm x 210mmthrough +5mm copy.pdf starting to come in the 1 industry again, that simplicity, just

focusing on grass utilisation and keeping a really close eye on costs.”

And it seems to be working.

“Even in those low payout years, sort of two or three years ago when we were sharemilkers, we were still paying our mortgage principal,” he says, which was better than the industry average at the time.

“So, our system is very resilient and we’re always going forward not backwards. That’s the goal, anyway.”

Ben is involved in DairyNZ’s DairyBase, which analyses farmer financial information and compares it to industry standards, helping farmers access information they need to make effective farm management decisions.

“We enter all our farm data and it benchmarks us against other nearby farms,” he says.

“In that system they show a farm system which is simple and consistent will more than likely have the most profit long-term.”

The couple are open about their finances and what they do. Just last month they held an open day as a way of sharing that knowledge.

“It’s not a competition, we can learn from each other and the first step in that is sharing what we do and why we do it.”

Ben has long been passionate about rural New Zealand, having grown up on the farm. It has been in the family since 20/05/2019 11:41settled though it was sold the area was outside the family in the late 1950s.

“One of the family sold it to a worker and he had it for 20 years until the farm came back up for sale in 1978 and my dad David purchased it back and it’s been in the family ever since,” Ben says.

Anyone who knows the Rileys knows dairying is in their blood. Returning home was always on the cards for Ben and so, too, was the goal of owning his own farm.

He’s a fourth-generation farmer.

Leaving school in 2001 he did a building apprenticeship and worked in the industry for nine years.

“I loved the farm but my parents were definitely keen for me try my hand at something else for a while,” he says.

“Building was sort of what I needed at the time – something that was different to farm life – and having another practical skill is now really helpful.”

Continued page 10

FARM FACTS n Owners: Ben and Renee Riley n Location: Rockville, Nelson n Farm size: 38ha, 36ha effective n Cows: 110 Jersey n Production: 2018-19: 38,000kg MS n Target: 2019-20 40,000kg MS

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Ben and Renee worked as managers then 50:50 sharemilkers on the family farm before taking it over last year.

Ben still does building and for eight weeks over autumn works for a local building firm.

“The cows are on once-a-day by then so I go off after milking each morning and do about seven hours a day,” he says.

“Having that little bit of extra income comes in handy.”

Renee was raised in Greymouth and

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went to college in Nelson but insists she was never really a townie.

“The primary sector wasn’t that foreign to me,” Renee says. “I had quite a few connections in the Bay and, funnily enough, my mum was raised on the property next-door to where we are now.”

Being a keen sportswoman throughout her schooling, it was only natural she continue in that field.

“The one thing I wanted to do was help people.”

Renee trained at Christchurch‘s Institute of Sport and got an exercise prescription diploma and worked at a large gym and in retail in Christchurch but found she didn’t really enjoy working in the gym.

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DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

ON FARM STORY

More production doesn’t necessarily mean more profit.

Ben Riley

lose weight didn’t sit well with me.

“I enjoyed retail more and thought I should get some life-experience before I took on something bigger.”

In 2004 she met Ben, who was building in Nelson. They did nine months in Australia but returned to look after the family farm while his father was away.

Renee had intended to work in retail while Ben worked on the farm but decided to help Ben instead. It was her first experience working on a farm.

“We did eight weeks over the summer and I loved every minute of it from milking to driving the tractor. I learnt how to do it all,” she says.

“By the end of it I was asking when we could move here.”

So in 2011 they moved to Rockville and married in 2012. Their move coincided with his father’s retirement, which gave them the chance take the driving seat.

They managed the farm for three years before becoming 50:50 sharemilkers in 2014. Last year they bought it and have been running it as a duo ever since, milking 110 cows twice-a-day, while raising their three children, Zoe, 10, Millie, 8 and Lydia, 5.

It is inland from Golden Bay, bordering the northwest Nelson Conservation Park, which Ben describes as flat country prone to high rainfall. They also have a 10ha support block about 25 minutes south.

Last season they achieved production of 38,000kg MS, which was down on budget because of drought. This season they are targeting 40,000kg MS on a mostly grass diet with a small amount of hay and balage made on-farm.

“We try and keep our round fairly short and target about 26 days and we top paddocks to keep on top of the quality,” Ben says.

Excess grass is locked up for balage and they make about 50 bales and 1400 small bales of hay on the milking platform. On the run-off they make 100 bales of balage and 70 medium square bales of hay for winter feed.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Renee, a qualified personal trainer, is kept busy running Bay Fitness, the gym she established in 2011 when they moved to the area. She helps on the farm whenever she can.

Supplementary feed, such as palm kernel, is bought only in the case of bad weather.

“Generally, we farm only with what we can make here,” Ben says.

“We’re trying to refine our model and keep things consistent. When you do this you know what your costs are and what your production is going to be.”

They target farm working expenses of about $2.30/kg MS. About 65 cows are wintered off the farm at the run-off while the rest stay home.

They move the herd the old-fashioned

way and walk them the 25km there and back.

“It takes about four to five hours each way but there’s not a lot of traffic so it’s not so bad,” Ben says.

They return just before calving begins on August 8.

“Calving just that little bit later makes a big difference,” Renee says.

“It gets quite wet over winter then it is good for a while and gets wet again in September. We have had an amazing

Continued page 12 11

ON FARM STORY

The Riley family has always milked Jerseys and Ben and Renee continue that tradition with the exception of one crossbred to remind themselves why they don’t milk them. Ben puts up a break fence for the herd.

autumn with really good grass growth and nice, warm days. It hasn’t really been cold.”

Ben checks the herd up to four times a day and with only 110 cows to calve, eight calves in a day constitutes a big day.

“If the calf is up and about, strong and feeding then we will leave them with mum but if it is a cold, wet and miserable day then we bring them in,” he says.

“Because there is just the two of us we like to keep it simple and as easy as possible. We tend not to get overworked during this time of the year, which is great.”

They aim to keep 27 replacements and keep them inside for four weeks feeding milk and muesli until weaning at 80kg or about 10-weeks-old.

The calves remain on the platform for the first year then are moved to the runoff where they are remain until May the following year when they return as in-calf heifers.

“In June each heifer is teat sealed by the vets as a preventive measure,” Ben says.

“Heifers can bag up a few days before calving and their udders start dripping.

By teat sealing we can generally stop any infections during that first lactation.

We have found that if a heifer doesn’t get mastitis after her first calving then 12

she stays healthy throughout.

“Training and milking a heifer is no fun at the best of times and the last thing you need is a cow booting wildly at you during treatment.”

Their herd is made up of Jerseys, except for one crossbred to remind them why they don’t milk them, Ben says.

“We have always milked Jerseys here. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“Jerseys suit the land as being lighter.

They don’t cause as much damage as other breeds. And they have a nice temperament and are efficient converters of feed into milk and especially fat, which is what we are getting paid for now.”

Mating begins on November 3 and AI runs for four weeks. Cows then run with an Angus bull until January 15.

“We don’t do anything different with AI but this is something we will look at improving.”

Ben’s idea of a perfect cow is one with longevity, good fertility and low somatic cell counts. They are also looking to increase the stature of the Jersey so the herd is slightly bigger.

Renee pitches in on the farm whenever she is needed and so do the girls, who help out during calving and hay-making and occasionally help milk though they are still young.

But away from the farm Renee, a qualified personal trainer, is kept busy running Bay Fitness, the gym she established in 2011.

“I usually work at the gym from 9am to 3pm and then again in the evenings so it is not full on full-time.” Renee says.

“I like to be available to help when Ben needs it because he supported me in getting this all going. Working as a team and good communication ensures we do what needs to be done in both places.”

The idea originated after noticing a need in the Rockville area. Bay Fitness is part of their effort to diversify their farming operation.

“When we got here I quickly realised there was nothing in the way of strength training in this side of the Bay.” She initially offered health and fitness courses at the local play centre, running a few circuits for the mums there to get them used to the idea.

“No one had really done anything like that before.

“Initially people didn’t even know what a dumbbell was,” she laughs.

Renee started with two nights a week at the school gym and that developed into also offering some personal training from the garage at home.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Keeping the farm system simple means the family can spend lots of time together. Millie, Ben, Lydia, Renee, Zoey and their dog Pepper in the hay barn.

The venture quickly grew.

Four years ago Renee moved the business out of her home garage into a local 150-year-old town hall she has since converted into a fully equipped gym, Bay Fitness, offering everything from one-onone training to group classes and health coaching.

Had it not been for Renee’s numbereight wire ingenuity the hall would’ve likely been demolished. It was hardly used. Now it is part of the social fabric.

“People are certainly surprised to see a gym in the middle of nowhere.

“My main purpose for starting it was

to get as many people as possible moving.”

She says in a small community everyone needs to contribute with their skills. And so her skill was fitness. And it’s been recognised.

Renee’s efforts have already won her numerous awards, including Exercise NZ’s small group trainer of the year and community excellence for fundraising efforts totalling more than $20,000 toward mental health, among others.

Renee also runs online programmes through a computer application, dubbed PH360, giving users individual,

scientifically proven advice on ways they can improve their wellbeing.

“People are getting more into taking care of themselves.

“It’s about making them feel comfortable to be able to come into the gym in whatever state they’re in.”

Bay Fitness members range in age and occupation from farmers and their spouses to other members of the Golden Bay community.

“We make sure we gather around and pick each other up.

Continued page 14

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August 2019

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13

The farm is a System 2 and feeds only grass, balage and hay and a bit of palm kernel if needed.

“In fact, I don’t think I could’ve kept the gym going for the past eight years without the support of the community.

“That’s what I love about rural living – it’s the people. It’s just a big family, really.”

Ben suggests that’s, in part, because of the isolation experienced by many on farms.

“You’re alone quite a lot and you don’t get out too often.

“Plus, weather is a big thing. You know, when you’ve had a drought or terrible spring and it’s pretty tough, you can get pretty down.”

But they believe farming communities are getting better at connecting with one another. The gym is also a social hub where there community can get together and socialise.

“Well that’s what I’ve noticed in the past year or two,” Ben says.

“It’s a slow churn,” Renee says. “But I’d like to think that as a community we’re moving in the right direction.”

Most of the stress experienced by farmers is sparked by uncertainty, anyway, they say.

“At the moment farming is going pretty good. It’s not a bad dairy payout.

14

“But there’s so much unknown in the market – from carbon changes, water quality and on-farm compliance – and these are the biggest things farmers are facing.”

That’s what I love about rural living – it’s the people.

It’s just a big family, really.

Renee Riley Hence their farming model.

Part of the reason for their focus on keeping their operation simple is to give them more flexibility.

“I love being my own boss, not have anyone tell me what to do. I can do what I want, when I want.

“If I want to go fishing for a day, I can.”

It also allows the couple to spend more time with their children.

“For the kids to grow up on the farm they get to enjoy all the things that we used to when we were young.”

And maximising profit safeguards them against on-farm requirements costs, often fuelled by the urban view of agriculture, Ben says.

“You do feel like you’re under the gun a bit by the public and the media and you don’t feel like you’re given a fair chance.

“I think a lot of it is that the public is misinformed about what agriculture is actually doing, particularly with the environment.

“Some people think we’re all just greedy farmers, making a killing and ripping off the environment but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says.

“We’re not making a killing; we’re not ripping off the environment.

“We are trying to sustain it and go forward and do riparian planting. We need more media stories, not hyping us up but showing what we are doing and talking about our finances as well.”

The reality is farmers get zero return from planting up a stream or putting

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

ON FARM STORY

Ben takes a bale of hay to feed out to the heifers.

a stock underpass under a road.

“It costs us money.”

Primary industry revenue reached $45.7 billion for the year to June 2019, growing 7.1% on the previous financial year, he says.

“Our sector is the main earner for the country.

“A bit more recognition would be good to see.”

But he admits shifting that perception is a tough task.

®

“As farmers we need to work more closely with environmental groups so they understand what a realistic target on-farm is.”

Renee says the sector needs more environmental projects, like Farming 2030, asking people, particularly those with environmental backgrounds, about how they could run their farm more sustainably.

The project, initiated by neighbouring dairy farmers Wayne and Tyler Langford,

is a chance for the community to try some ideas on a farm, such as reducing herbicide use and minimising waste.

The couple say their next steps are to grow their on-farm profit even more in the hope of opening another gym in the Golden Bay area.

It’s a modest goal but that’s just how they like it – simple. n Video link: bit.ly/OFSriley

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my life. By putting Allflex collars on cows “ It’swe’vesimplified outsourced a management component of the farm.

We don’t have to worry about heat detection anymore or have someone appropriately skilled in that, in the milking shed every day. The collars pick up the cows on heat and then they’re automatically drafted out, All we need to do is get someone to AI the cows. I wish I’d done this years ago.

RICHARD MCINTYRE, 50:50 SHAREMILKER, HOROWHENUA

“

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MARKET OUTLOOK

Food waste cuts may bite farmers STEPHEN BELL

S

O, THINGS are bouncing around a bit on the moneygo-round.

The Global Dairy Trade index had a bit of a recovery last month, putting milk powder prices back above $3000 a tonne and predictions for Fonterra’s seasonal milk price are doing a ping pong either side of $7.

All seems rosy, then, on the finance front but farmers still face a lot of unknowns.

Input costs are going up and there are new charges coming for just about everything. DairyNZ has set the Mycoplasma bovis fee at 2.9 cents/ kilogram of milksolids. It might not seem much but all these things eat away at a farmer’s income.

Similarly, the average cost of inclusion in the Emissions Trading Scheme is estimated to be about $1500 a year for each farm. But remember, that’s with a 90% exemption.

By the way, Farmers Weekly, delivered free to every farmer every week, is running a series on farmers who are cutting emissions and maintaining profits.

Just how much compliance with various new regulatory charges will cost farmers is also a big unknown and is likely to vary from farm to farm.

It’s not just the cost of the levies that have to be taken into account but also the cost of doing things on-farm like installing new infrastructure that has to be paid for.

And on top of that farmers have the worry of wading through the political and perception issues surrounding what they are doing.

For instance, we have a pretty low intensity pastoral dairy industry in the main. Some people advocate indoor housing for cows as a way of reducing environmental impacts and improving animal welfare but others object to such moves, labelling them factory farming.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Cutting food waste is an issue getting more attention.

What’s a farmer to do. Well, you make your decisions and take your chances.

Everything you do will be applauded by someone while someone else accuses you of being an environmental vandal. You can’t win.

And the argument about genetic modification and editing is still going. It’s unlikely to be resolved in the near future but at least the Government says it wants the issue on the agenda and is keen to get a debate going.

If people start chucking less stuff out then that could suppress demand.

Again, there are those who believe this technology is an economic saviour that will also clean up the environment by cutting water and chemical use while others say it will be financial suicide for exporters and create Frankenfood.

So, who’s right?

That’s likely to be too simplistic a question to ask about an issue

with so many social, economic and environmental complexities. I doubt even a genius can come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.

One issue emerging from the debate about how we feed a growing world population while saving the planet is to address food waste.

Now farmers might think it has little to do with them. What happens once food reaches retailers and gets into people’s homes is neither here nor there.

Many dairy products have longer shelf lives than more perishable goods, think back to the butter mountain and the European Union’s intervention stocks of milk powder, but it’s still an issue.

And it’s one with big implications.

Estimates generally put waste at about 40% in developed countries.

Supermarkets, sensitive to finicky customer demands, tend to chuck out lots of stuff as it reaches its so-called expiry date though food experts say it’s still edible long after that.

There’s regularly talk in New Zealand farming circles of increasing production – getting more from less is a phrase oft heard.

But if people start chucking less stuff out then that could suppress demand. If supermarkets sell more and waste less then they don’t need to buy as much.

Now 40% is a lot of food but cutting waste won’t happen overnight. It will be a gradual process, as much about changing attitudes as anything else, such as convincing people a piece of fruit with a skin blemish is okay to eat.

It’s an issue that hasn’t had a lot of attention though it has been mentioned now and then.

It’s been quantified and like other issues facing the planet will get popular attention so those who govern us are likely to eventually catch on and do something about it so waste reduction could become an economic factor at the production end of the equation as well as something happening at the eating end. n

17

NEWS

Waste not, want not LUKE CHIVERS

O

N THE day the country went plastic bag free Fonterra pledged to have to all its packaging re-usable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

The dairy giant is also aiming to cut the amount of solid waste going into landfills to zero by the same year.

The targets are global.

“This is not only the right thing to do but has also become increasingly important as more and more consumers are choosing products that are environmentally friendly,” its sustainability head Carolyn Mortland said.

“We export 95% of our local production to more than 140 countries so our supply chain is complex and there’s different infrastructure in each market.”

New Zealand has its own challenges, she said.

“Auckland is currently the only city with the facilities to fill glass bottles.

“For glass to be a more sustainable alternative to plastic, bottles must be reused several times before recycling.

“Moving heavy glass back-and-forth to Auckland for cleaning and re-using would use a lot of emissions.

“We’ve certainly looked into it but without a well-developed nationwide system to sterilise and fill bottles for reuse at scale it’s not viable.”

About 90% of Fonterra’s products sold in NZ are already recyclable and that is now the aim worldwide.

But Mortland said the remaining 10% is proving difficult.

“It’s things like yoghurt pottles, plastic straws and foil seals on drinks.”

In NZ and around the world households and businesses are grappling with the challenge of how to deal with waste. The world generates around 3.5 million tonnes of plastic and other solid waste every day – 10 times the amount of a century ago, according to the World Bank.

And about a third of all food produced is lost or wasted.

Mortland said the co-op will maintain standards of food safety and quality.

“Packaging can also extend the shelf-life of a product and therefore reduce food waste. So, it can be a balancing act.”

18

Fonterra aims to have all its packaging recyclable, compostable or re-useable by 2025.

About 90% of Fonterra’s products sold in New Zealand are already recyclable but the remaining 10% is proving difficult, the co-operative’s sustainability head Carolyn Mortland says.

There are already innovative recycling partnerships in place, including with Future Posts, which recycles milk bottles into fence posts that can last up to 50 years.

“We also have a partnership with Sky City turning our milk bottles into their shampoo and conditioner bottles.”

Fonterra also recycles its biological waste, including turning leftover milk into calf and pig feed.

Its pledge was made as the Provincial Growth Fund invested $40m on crowdsourcing ideas to reduce plastic waste.

The funding will be used to invest in projects that convert waste into materials and products useful to businesses and consumers.

Projects that can get under way by 2020 will be a priority.

The Provincial Growth Fund will invest in a range of approaches as long as they have further value to businesses and consumers.

The initiatives will need to create more jobs in regional NZ and have potential to be scaled up or replicated in other locations over time.

For years NZ has been sending its waste offshore, Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said.

But countries, such as China, have started refusing to take NZ’s waste.

“Tonnes of plastic, fibre, organic materials, e-waste and construction materials are currently going to landfill as waste,” Sage said.

“If more materials are recovered and reused here in NZ we can help our economy shift from its current take, make and waste approach to one that designs waste out of production.” n

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NEWS

M bovis hero Hay has done it before TIM FULTON

N

ORTH Otago vet Merlyn Hay, lauded for discovering Mycoplasma bovis in New Zealand, says most vets could probably have found it.

Most are trained and supported to identify and follow-up unusual infections.

But Hay is relieved she found the cattle disease.

“I’m pleased I didn’t miss it, that’s for sure.”

Hay said she, like her peers, has the benefit of advanced testing and diagnostic tools. Thanks to that training and support she recognised things weren’t right. It was then a matter of going through the right steps.

Actually, Hay has found unusual diseases before.

In 2004 she found another cattle disease - gangrenous ergotism – an infection so rare most veterinarians have seen it only in textbooks.

It has turned up in NZ a couple of times since.

But M bovis is likely to be her career benchmark.

Judges at the Primary Industries awards said Hay left no stone unturned until the cause of the sickness was diagnosed.

Hay’s nominator for the Outstanding Contribution to the Primary Industries Award said she saved the primary sector millions of dollars.

With the discovery of M bovis she had the rare veterinary experience of finding an exotic disease causing severe infection on a working farm.

In July 2017 Hay was working for Vetlife Oamaru on a Van Leeuwen Group South Canterbury property. Of the 380 dry cows due to start calving there more than 200 calved with four-quarter mastitis. There were 35 cases of mycoplasma arthritis, all of which were from a lactating cow group in the barn.

There were about 100 cases of mycoplasma mastitis from the lactating 20

Outstanding Contribution to Primary Industries 2019 winner Dr Merlyn Hay and her husband Andrew Dickson with Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Federated Farmers President Katie Milne. cows out of the barn and they generally had one or more quarters affected. More than 100 calves were euthanased for what appeared to be a congenital infection.

Hay was not satisfied she had found the underlying cause of the unusual and distressing symptoms.

The nominator, who the organisers declined to name, said her work was even more remarkable because M bovis had not previously been found in New Zealand and was not among the highprofile diseases vets are expected to keep an eye out for, such as foot and mouth disease.

If Hay had not been so tenacious and vigilant and it had been months or years later before M bovis was detected, NZ farming would probably have been forced to simply manage the disease as farmers in other countries do.

While it was later discovered M bovis had entered NZ as much as 18 months earlier there was no doubt Hay’s detection in July 2017 means there is a good chance of eradicating the disease, the nominator said.

“Arguably, Dr Hay has saved the NZ primary sector millions of dollars and potentially enabled our country to achieve something no other country has

managed – to rid itself of this disease.”

One of the judges said Hay’s discovery gave a whole new meaning to going the extra mile.

“She didn’t have to do what she did but the country is better for it.”

Hay said she has not played a significant part in the nationwide M bovis response, other than continuing her usual duties helping clients with the disease as a senior vet.

The disease has complex epidemiology and there were others well-equipped to study that, she said.

Like farmers, she is very hopeful it can be eradicated but didn’t want to venture a view on whether that is realistic.

When Hay found gangrenous ergotism she was working for Invercargill Veterinary Services. She found the disease on an Invercargill dairy property and then in five more herds belonging to Veterinary Services’ clients. Other cases were thought to have been diagnosed in south Otago.

The disease, caused by a fungal toxin found in ryegrass seed heads, results in severe hind limb lameness, which progresses to gangrene and severe sloughing of the skin and tissues around the hoof. n

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ON FARM

Chris and Mike Gyde, with a pet cow, farm at Inglewood where they run the Gydeland Stud and milk 270 cows.

Photos: Ross Nolly 22

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Plenty of TLC on upland dairy Farming under the shadow of Mt Taranaki can pose numerous challenges for an Inglewood couple who never know what the weather will do. Ross Nolly reports.

W

EATHER is an unpredictable element for most farmers over which they have little control and for Taranaki farmers Mike and Christine Gyde never a truer word has been spoken.

The Gydes run their Holstein-Friesian Gydeland Stud milking 270 cows on the Inglewood farm nestled against the Egmont National Park about 400 metres above sea level.

Their weather patterns are unpredictable but the one certainty is they usually have to cope with copious rain.

“On average we receive 4.5 metres of rainfall but there’s such a steep fall that it generally doesn’t hang around in puddles.

It’s a quite broken farm with a lot of runoff through many creeks and streams,” Mike says.

“Up here you need hardy, robust animals to handle the weather conditions.

Even if we don’t get snow down on the farm, if it’s snowing on the mountain then HFS ad SCNosode HDD 210mmWx86mmHwbleed.pdf 1 it’s always cold here but you have to learn to farm around it.”

Farming in challenging weather means they have to be on the ball in their management, especially for animal health and welfare. They run their 190ha farm with no extra staff so are full-time, hands-on.

The couple are no strangers to adverse weather as they both grew up on Taranaki dairy farms.

Mike and his family moved to a farm at Inglewood when he was seven so he grew up milking cows and driving tractors. He attended Inglewood High School but left at 15 to help on the farm and stayed.

“I have always loved working with the animals and being out on the farm so doing something else wasn’t really in the picture,” he says.

I did enjoy tinkering around with mechanics and myself and son Aaron still do that on-farm with our equipment.”

The daughter of sharemilkers, Chris grew up in Opunake with a love of animals and the outdoors.

“I never had a career path in mind but from the get-go I loved the farm and 23/07/19 10:25 AM lifestyle,” she says.

Chris was working at a local

FARM FACTS n Owners: Mike and Chris Gyde n Location: Inglewood, Taranaki n Farm size: 190ha, 170ha effective n Cows: 260-280 cows including crossbreed and 190 registered pedigree Holstein-Friesian n Production: 2018-19 115,000kg MS n Target: 2019-20 124,000kg MS

supermarket when they met.

“Our cousins got married and I was a bridesmaid and Mike was a groomsman and we have been together ever since.”

They married in 1988 and have three children, Aaron, 22, Hayley, 21, and Abbey, 15.

After a few stints of sharemilking they went 50:50 sharemilking for Mike’s parents Barry and Mary.

Continued page 24

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ON FARM “That farm was a bit small and milking only 150 cows so they decided to sell it and buy a larger farm,” Chris says.

“Mike and I went into partnership with them in 1993 and we have been here ever since. When Mike’s dad decided to semi-retire and step back we bought their share.”

Eight years ago they bought a 60ha neighbouring block on the park boundary taking the farm size to 190ha. The back part of the farm is used for grazing because it is too far for the cows to walk to the shed.

Four years ago they replaced their old 20-a-side shed with a 30-a-side herringbone. It now takes 90 minutes to milk instead of three hours.

“Neil Chesterton helped redesign our new cowshed and videoed our cow flow.

We installed sliding gates and changed the yard so the cows were walking uphill rather than down because walking downhill is harder on a cow’s feet,” Mike says.

“We milked the heifers once a day and kept them handy to the shed. As a result their hooves grew two millimetres in three

to four days due to not having to walk on hard surfaces as often. Our paddocks are often very wet and coming out onto the

hard race with soft hooves is very hard on them.”

The Gydes milk two herds split into

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Speckle Park can also throw red coloured animals.

This Friesian-Speckle Park is named Hazelnut.

The calf pens are ready to go for this season’s calves. Chris and Mike use chips made from the trimmings of trees felled on their farm.

different age groups. They have 100 of the youngest cows and heifers in one mob and the rest in the other.

“We’ve had a really good season and our in-calf heifer live-weights are well over the 500-520kg mark. Some are around 560kg. We weigh them monthly and if any are struggling then we separate them and give them a bit of TLC,” Mike says.

“Last season we had 25 heifers out grazing with my brother-in-law as he was short on numbers and he did a great job with them. It just took the pressure off.

“The last couple of seasons have been quite tough.

“We were quite fortunate because we weren’t that badly affected when the last drought hit right after the wet. We were dry but our altitude moderated it with heavy dew.”

Last season the herd averaged 460kg MS a cow to produce about 115,000kg MS from 250 cows. This season they are targeting 460kg MS a cow and produce about 124,000kg MS. They run a System 2 and rely heavily on grass so have to ensure they keep the quality up, which they achieve through grazing and rotation.

Any surplus is made into silage and hay and they usually make 600 bales of silage but this season they had a grass surplus and made 800 bales and some hay.

“We’re now making extra silage as

DAIRY FARMER

Continued page 26 August 2019

25

Speckle Park cow Cruze calved a few years ago and wandered into the cowshed to be milked on her own. She has been a part of the herd ever since.

insurance for the increasing number of dry summers. We can also use it to supplement feed in September and October because we don’t usually get good grass growth until October,” Mike says.

The only bought-in supplement is a blended feed mixed with minerals fed in-shed. They feed 1-2kg but will increase that to 2-3kg if the season is not a good one.

The weather requires them to take extra measures when

rearing their calves during spring and that extra care always pays dividends.

Before calving, which begins in the first week of August, the herd is divided into five mobs of 50 to take the pressure off the animals and eliminate a great deal of pasture pugging. It also simplifies the task of getting the cows in for rotavirus vaccinations.

“About eight years ago we had a rotavirus outbreak. The stress was terrible. It was a tough battle. We got onto it immediately and were lucky to lose only a couple of calves,” Chris says.

“The vet gave us penicillin for any sick calves and we hydrated the affected calves with electrolytes three times a

Mike takes feed to the yearlings. Silage and hay are the only supplements grown on the farm.

26

day. Ever since then we’ve vaccinated the cows.

“It is fairly costly but worthwhile.”

The cows are vaccinated three weeks before calving. Each mob is individually vaccinated because the vaccine lasts only four to six weeks. Farmers are now allowed to give the vaccinations, which helps lower the cost. The cows are then brought home to calve.

“Some feel that it’s not worth vaccinating heifers because they may not produce replacement calves but we vaccinate them for extra protection,” Chris says.

“We bring the calves born to the heifers into the calf shed so vaccinating

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

ON FARM

Up here you need hardy, robust animals to handle the weather conditions.

Chris and Mike grew up on Taranaki farms and never wanted to do anything but go farming.

Mike Gyde

gives us the peace of mind knowing that those animals won’t infect the replacement calves.”

They raise 60 replacement calves as well as 20-30 bull calves, which they sell as 100kg weaners.

Five-years ago they built a new calf shed to house every calf.

“The old shed was just about falling down around our ears so we decided to wipe it, start from scratch and design it the way we wanted,” Chris says.

“It had to be a decent size, have optimal flow and be situated beside the cowshed so we could take the warm milk directly to the calf shed in the milk trolley.

“Due to the weather we need a good shed to house our calves. The old one was too small, it was old, leaked, and draughty. We needed concrete paths so we wouldn’t have to plough through metal with the milk trolley.

“We’re planning to be here a long time so the investment was worthwhile.

You always have to remember that your replacement calves are your future livelihood.”

The shed is designed to allow plenty of airflow and ventilation. When it’s cold and wet the shed can be shut up or opened up to let the sun stream in on fine days.

Calves usually stay on their mothers for the first 24-36-hours depending on the weather. They are always fed gold colostrum and warm milk from day one.

“We tube the calves that won’t suck to ensure they get that colostrum. We milk our colostrum cows last so that their warm milk goes straight into the feeder for the calves,” Chris says.

Excess colostrum is stored as a biosecurity measure so they don’t have to buy milk, which makes the farm a virtually a closed unit. They plan to stay like that for the foreseeable future.

The calves are fed three to five litres twice a day along with ad lib muesli and chaffage. Trubond Sodium Bentonite is used to help prevent scouring. The bobby

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

calves are fed for six days to ensure they are strong and healthy.

When calves are brought in they are put into five mobs to prevent disease spread. They stay in inside for about eight weeks.

“When you farm at this altitude you need to use lots of TLC. It always pays off in the end,” Mike says.

“If the pens hold up well we’ll keep them inside for as long as practically possible. If we put them out and the weather turns then we have to rush them back inside. Our heavy rainfall and

wind can be pretty tough on them.”

The farm has smaller paddocks for the calves to graze during the day. As they get older and more capable of coping with the weather, they are left out for longer periods. If the weather deteriorates the shed dividers can be taken down to allow all the calves to come inside.

The 2017 season was a nightmare with continuous rain. Having a couple of sheds on the farm was a godsend and they were able put calves inside when needed.

Continued page 28 27

ON FARM They also used their most sheltered, hedged paddocks.

“One spring was so wet that we checked the cows every 2-3 hours to make sure no calf had been born into a puddle of water.

Shelter is a key factor. If you can take that calf away and get it inside it takes the stress right off it,” Mike says.

“I once went out to check the cows and calves at 5am after it had snowed all night and saw three calf heads sticking out above the snow near a downpipe. The poor little things had huddled up together and fallen down the downpipe. We rushed them inside and warmed them up, fed them and they were good as gold.”

Calves are weighed every 10 days to monitor their growth and they aim to wean at 80-100kg. Any slower-growing calves, even if they are 80kg, are pulled back and fed for longer.

The weaned calves are weighed and split into two mobs of similar weights.

They stay in those mobs until they are an even size.

“We have found if they all go into one mob the younger ones often don’t do well,” Mike says.

“That TLC adds up in the long run. It results in healthy, robust calves that grow into healthy robust cows. If you’ve got time to do it you’ll receive the benefits.”

We milk our colostrum cows last so that their warm milk goes straight into the feeder for the calves, Christine Gyde

Mating begins on October 20 for the heifers and though they have been put to AI in recent years they used a Jersey bull last season but are planning to go back to AI this season to keep the genetics up.

AI begins on November 1 and runs 6-8

Not a bad view from the office but farming under the mountain can pose climate challenges. The Gydes get 4.5 metres of rain annually.

weeks. Mike is an AI technician so does a run in the morning and his own herd at night. He doesn’t rely solely on BW in breeding selections so works closely with LIC to help with matching.

“I custom mate about 100 of my best cows so doing them in the evening gives me more time to pick bulls for each one,” he says.

“We are looking at udder, conformation and a bit of breeding worth. I just put it all into Custom Mate and it works it all out for me.”

The rest of herd is mated to bull of the day and the tail enders and any cows they do not want to keep a replacement from are mated to Hereford or Speckle Park.

They have used Speckle Park bulls for about 10 years because they are small and easy-calving but they grow fast after the first couple of weeks.

“We’re milking one at the moment.

She’s out of a Holstein-Friesian and in her fourth season,” Mike says.

“After she calved she just walked into the shed so we put the cups and she has been going strong for a few years now.”

Chris says their Speckle Park cow milks

reasonably well and does about 350kg MS. “But by February/March she decides she’s done her bit and starts to slacken off.”

Over the years they have had contract cows that have produced bulls for the LIC Sire Proving Scheme. This season they have six contract cows nearing calving.

“Our two best bulls came from contract matings and went through the LIC system. Gydeland Excel Inca S3F was in the Premier Sires for four-years and Gydeland GB Firestorm S3F was among the potential bulls for a year. We have another four waiting for their proofs to come through and are working their way through the system,” Mike says.

“We’re not in it for the glory. We’re in it because we love seeing the heifers and cows coming through.

“It’s no good having a high-producing cow that doesn’t last long in the herd.

You need all of those other traits like production, BW, udders, temperament and type coming through. That’s why I custom mate because it picks up a lot of the desired characteristics.”

They herd test five times a year, which

gives them an outline of how each cow is producing.

“Size is an important requisite up here.

We need solid, robust animals. We do work on our BW too, which is sitting at 90-100,” Chris says.

“Our milk tests demonstrate the higher BW cows are generally the highest producers. However, some of the high BW cows have physical traits in the minuses so it’s a balancing act.”

Their cows are smaller than average but are probably up in the top 5% for BW. “You don’t have to farm big animals for them to be good producers,” he says.

“The last thing you need on a farm that receives 4.5m of rain are big, heavy animals pugging up your paddocks. Big animals also take more feeding, especially during the cold weather.”

With the farm boundary on the park they often hear wildlife. The Conservation Department does predator control for the rare whio (blue duck) in the waterways next to the farm. The Gydes often walk the tracks to the whio with the DOC staff and have been given the privilege of releasing ducks into the park.

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They have contracted with DOC to do extra predator trapping on their land and will install 35 traps.

“The traps have monitors that send an alert to your phone when they’ve been triggered.

“So we’ll only have to reset traps that have gone off rather than checking the entire line. It’s been very interesting working with DOC on the whio project,” Mike says.

“The monitors are going to make things much easier for us. As well as knowing which traps to reset it will eliminate the task of having to pull a two-week dead carcase out of a trap.

“It’s lovely hearing the birdlife up there,” Chris says.

They plan to continue breeding top genetics to gain better results.

“Everyone is always looking for the perfect cow and it’s not always easy but if you keep at it you will achieve her eventually,” Mike says.

They are also looking to do more farm maintenance and development, increase production and continue to streamline their management. n

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NEWS

Tough competitors RILEY KENNEDY

J

AMES Robertson made history when he became the youngest person to win the FMG Young Farmer of the Year title in Napier last month.

He took the title after three days of theory and practical tests.

“It’s actually incredible. It was three intense days. It’s unbelievable. It feels like a dream,” Robertson said.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to win this title.”

Robertson, one of seven competitors, had to complete several agri challenges including sitting an agri-business exam.

He won prizes worth $75,000, including a trip to Ireland in September.

Robertson, who grew up on a Waikato dairy farm, recently completed an ag commerce degree at Massey University and now is part of Fonterra’s business graduate programme,

in the trade strategy team.

“The opportunities in the agrifood sector are endless, even if you live in the city. You just have to be passionate.,” he said.

The two-year programme is made up of four six-month placements in teams around Fonterra.

“The graduate programme has provided me with some great opportunities to gain exposure across a wide range of business functions, on-farm sustainability, new ventures, business model, innovation, start-up incubation and currently global trade.

“Balancing the learning from each placement alongside development opportunities internally and externally within the co-operative has been a steep learning curve.”

His involvement with Young Farmers began in high school where he started the Teen Ag club and in 2013 he was in the Hamilton Boys High School team that won the competition. n

The FMG Young Farmer of the Year grand final winner James Robertson, with partner Megan Robertson, works in the trade strategy team at Fonterra.

Tapanui trio win AgriKidsNZ A TRIO from Tapanui in west Otago beat 60 other students from around New Zealand to take out the national final of a hotly-contested competition.

Shamus Young, 13, Archie Chittock, 12, and Flynn Hill, 12, from Blue Mountain College won the AgriKidsNZ grand final in Hawke’s Bay. “We’re so excited. It’s an awesome result. We’ve been doing a lot of study in the lead-up to the final,” Chittock said.

Students competing in teams of three tackled a range of challenges testing their practical and theoretical skills.

Modules included livestock breeding and genetics, farm safety, fuel storage, healthy soils, an agri-sector quiz and a race-off.

“Our favourite module involved checking the sprockets and fitting the chain onto a two-wheeler Honda farm bike,” Young said.

Seth Jones, Zane Brown and Sam Henwood, from Kamo Intermediate in Northland took out second place. Ruby Giera, Lachlan Rooney and James Clark, from Mt Somers Springburn

30

Flynn Hill, Shamus Young and Archie Chittock from Blue Mountain College won the AgriKidsNZ Grand Final.

School near Ashburton, were third. The award for competitor of the year went to Ben Cairns from Limehills School in Southland. n

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

“IT’S A VITAL COG”

“PROGRESSIVE”

“PIONEERS” “DEDICATED” “ WE ALL BENEFIT FROM THIS INDUSTRY ”

Behind New Zealand Dairy See the video at JohnDeere.co.nz

TRACTA_JND61994_NZ_DAIRY_DF

The dairy sector employs 46,000 workers with 34,000 full-time equivalent employees on farms and 12,000 across 35-plus dairy processing plants.

AT THE GRASSROOTS

Dairy delivers better way of life for all DairyNZ principal economist Professor Graeme Doole says the dairy industry makes a huge contribution to the economy and people.

E

VERY New Zealander is better off today thanks to the nation’s dairy cows – and that’s no exaggeration.

We will continue to be better off into the future, too, because of this important sector and its powerful links to the overall wellbeing of New Zealanders.

The nutritional benefits of dairy to the human body as part of a balanced diet are factually documented.

Dairy is also central to many of our culinary cultures – from crumbly cheddar and smooth brie to ice cream, yoghurts and butter for baking or on toast with marmalade.

What might not necessarily be as readily understood is the way the dairy sector helps provide many of the things Kiwis say matter to them.

As we look at what makes life good and what can make it better I want to cast light on how dairy works with every drop of milk to help improve our lives, from helping pay for the goods and services we value to helping reduce the price of others, including imported items.

At the same time dairy farmers, who are such innovators and are so responsive to the signals they receive, are improving their environmental practices, be it fencing and riparian planting to protect waterways, installing upgraded effluent systems or working to reduce greenhouse gases.

They are also playing a key role in communities nationwide as they work

32

together to address issues with water quality.

Dairy is closely intertwined with the entire economy, contributing in so many ways to higher living standards for New Zealanders.

Quite simply, the healthier the country’s economy the better the quality of our lives, both now and into the future.

The dairy sector will earn NZ about $17.5 billion in export revenue this year and is set to top that next year.

That is greater than the revenue accruing to the forestry, meat, and wool sectors combined.

The entire economy benefits through dairy’s spending directly by dairy farmers and dairy companies buying from businesses across the country and indirectly.

To give insight into how dairy is linked to better standards of living for Kiwis, dairy injects the equivalent of $3500 a person.

That $3500 could buy everyone in the country two regular sized, flat, white coffees every day of the year or about 30 litres of petrol every week.

Dairy significantly helps fill the Government’s tax coffers, too, providing more money to pay for the essential services that help to improve people’s quality of life – education, hospitals, social security and welfare, police and so forth.

In the 2018-19 year we estimate dairy farmers paid about $0.5b in taxes.

For the 2019-20 year they will likely pay even more.

Professor Graeme Doole says Kiwis have a lot to thank the dairy industry for.

Dairy also delivers for regional government with rates and other charges helping pay for local infrastructure and services.

Last year farmers alone paid more than $200 million in rates.

The dairy sector employs 46,000 workers – that’s the entire population of Timaru, Canterbury’s second largest city or more than all those living in Upper Hutt.

On-farm there are 34,000 full-time equivalent employees and 12,000 across 35-plus dairy processing plants.

Dairy sector employment has grown faster, at 3.1% a year, since 2000 than the rate of national job creation of 1.8% a year, boosting rural communities.

Not bad credentials really. n

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

KINGST_858_DF_B

Improve herd fertility. In-calf 3 days earlier*

*Hawkins (2007) DCV Newsletter. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No.A9374 © Virbac 2019

DAIRY CHAMPION

Finding reason is key to Feds role

West Coast dairy farmer Katie Milne became Federated Farmers president in 2017. Her aim is to make sure farmers get a fair deal.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne wears many hats but first and foremost is advocating for farmers to ensure they get a fair deal. Tim Fulton reports.

F

EDERATED Farmers at its best can be “the dripping voice of reason”, president Katie Milne says.

Entering her third and final year as head of the organisation Milne has come to see how much it is expected to read the mood, sort and feed information and sometimes make a stir.

Two years ago Milne stepped up to become the first female national president. She has shared responsibility for biosecurity, rural health, walking access and local government liaison plus sole charge of international trade, workplace health and safety and liaison with Rural Women NZ. Milne says her original goal was just trying to make sure farmers got a fair deal all the way.

As president she’s often one of the first to take a call from power-brokers.

“And that’s when you realise this is a very powerful and well-respected role and that people understand you’re going to be the dripping voice of reason a little bit and that you’re going to have a fair view to put forward and that you’re going to probably know the expectation of the country.”

Sometimes people expected Feds to be clever, forceful and constructive all at once.

Diplomacy is the way to go at times but at other times a rocket does the job.

Milne often finds herself reminding policy-makers of the nuances of being a farmer – and sometimes pointing out cock-ups.

“Whether it’s looking at new water policies or whatever you like, if we’re coming in hot or raising some issues it’s

because of the implications for the rural communities that they effect.”

Some officials describe new regulations or other impositions as just a cost of business and suggest farmers should get over it and move on.

You build up these networks and you start to know how the system works properly then you walk away and leave it, to have nothing to do with it. It doesn’t seem like a very sensible thing.

It’s the wrong approach, she says.

“I think there’s a misconception out there in the halls of power that you can just keep throwing things at farmers and they just cope.

“Well, they’ve got a bloody job, for one.”

The born-and-bred West Coaster finds there’s nothing better for explaining farming issues to officials than having the chance to properly get her hands in the dirt again.

“As I’ve said multiple times, there’s nothing like a good little kick from a

heifer in spring on the forearm to remind you that the job is pretty biological.”

Most regulators genuinely want the best for farming but everyone needs to keep sight of the big picture, she says.

“People aren’t setting out to upset farmers and get stuff wrong but sometimes they just don’t know what they don’t know. And they have no ability to look through our rural lens at what the implications are. It’s our role to help them do that, to either change the policy or get it to a place where it’s less of an issue for government or ourselves.”

She appreciates it when officials come calling, whether it’s for advice or a headsup.

“People would never ring me about things they’re not going to come in and have a chat about officially but it might be look, you’re getting an email tomorrow or something’s embargoed etc.”

It’s better than being kept out of the loop and she finds the courtesies create mutual respect.

“At the same time, if I’ve got an issue that I don’t think they’ve addressed properly I can pick up that phone and go ‘look, this doesn’t go down well for these reasons – and this is something you should consider’.”

The advice doesn’t always get taken on board but sometimes parts of a conversation do.

Her Feds tenure has been dominated by the response to Mycoplasma bovis and an industry-wide push to improve Nait compliance.

Milne has criticised the Ministry for Primary Industries and other agencies for failing to make reforms more workable.

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DAIRY CHAMPION advocacy and doesn’t appear to relish the end of her three-year term as president next year.

“It is interesting. You build up these networks and you start to know how the system works properly then you walk away and leave it, to have nothing to do with it.

“It is interesting.

You build up these networks and you start to know how the system works properly then you walk away and leave it, to have nothing to do with it. It doesn’t seem like a very sensible thing.

Milne is just as comfortable on the farm milking cows and feeding calves as she is being in a boardroom championing farming causes.

Some of the institutional problems go back years. OPSPRI was going to assess some years ago why farmers’ adoption of Nait was poor. Sadly the job was put in the on-hold basket and the delay was compounded when OSPRI had a change of chief executive in 2014.

Still, everyone had a hand in making the Nait system work. Electronic readers on trucks could help, she says.

“We still do have areas that are blackas for connectivity but again, if you’re loading animals onto a truck and then, when that truck gets into coverage it fires 36

the data off, how magic is that? And the technology is out there and about.”

The other traceability gap is the linkages between the Nait database databases and other entities, like LIC’s Minda system. Farmers lost confidence in Nait as a result.

“I’ve been told there were issues. Well, that’s hardly a farmer’s fault but they’ve entered the data and expected it to be done because they’ve been told they can do it that way. You’ve got no oversight of whether it did or didn’t happen.”

Milne enjoys the to-and-fro of Feds

“It doesn’t seem like a very sensible thing. I have people asking me what I’m going to do because they still think I’ve got something to offer. But I haven’t had a full-time chance, really, to think about what the future holds.”

What she does appear certain of is that stepping away from Feds would free up a hell of a lot of time.

The job takes her away from home much more than she would like. She’s now home mostly at weekends. When she took the role she asked partner Ian Whitmore, daughter Andrea and son-inlaw Simon if they could manage the farm without her.

“Before I stood for the Federated Farmers presidency I said to the team you can’t count me on for anything more on the farm if this comes off.”

That forewarning was justified as her role has often demanded her attention even before she became president.

Her 125ha West Coast farm went once-a-day milking after the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake when Feds duty called her away from home for three weeks to lend a hand in North Canterbury.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Katie Milne, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and consultant Steve Maharey at the inaugural Primary Industries Summit at Te Papa last month.

“It was a critical time of the year,” she says.

“We just put everything on once-a-day here, middle of mating, boom, we just did it.”

The family milks 220 cows at Rotomanu near Lake Brunner and is in the top 3% nationally on genetic merit, doing just under 400kg/MS on about 100 effective hectares – close to what the farm did under a twice-a-day regime.

“Farming’s all about the right inputs at the right time,” she says.

“It speaks volumes about that what comes out in solids is all about what you put down their throats. If you think you are going to put less down their throats on once a day or whatever, no, keep

putting down as much as you can. And if they’re genetically capable, they’ll do it for you.”

Milne is also a director of Westland Milk Products, which farmers have agreed to sell to Chinese company Yili.

So it might not just be her involvement with Feds coming to an end.

“While Feds will definitely fall by the wayside … Westland, of course, that might be a different kettle of fish in a couple of months as well,” she says.

“So I might find that I have nothing to do.”

Outside agribusiness Milne encouraged more sustainable farming with the Lake Brunner Catchment Project and played a leading role in the

Milne enjoys the to-and-fro of Feds advocacy and but is not looking forward to the end of her three-year term as president next year as she has much more to give.

creation of the Lake Brunner Community Catchment Care Group.

She has also served as a volunteer firefighter, on the executive of the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa and run a local contracting business.

She has run up quite a resume, a body of work recognised with the Dairy Woman of the Year and Rural Woman of Influence titles in 2015.

Plenty of people have asked her if she would consider a career in politics next, like so many Federated Farmers leaders before her.

“A few have had a go, haven’t they? I haven’t thought about it. I know I’ve been asked. I haven’t had a serious think about it at all.”

In the meantime, agri work keeps calling.

“It is hard. I’ve had the whole day at home today and I’ve just realised I’ve hardly stepped outside the door.”

The thought reminds her to go check some pest traps before dark.

She treasures her home time, especially when she’s feeding calves.

If she’s lucky there’ll be time for a walk in the bush (the farm alone includes 29ha of native trees), kayaking on a nearby lake or a flight somewhere with Ian. “I do like to get outdoors and walk in the bush.

“I used to get on the lake a lot but I haven’t done a lot of that this year. We do a bit of flying an old ’73 Cessna which can take us away overnight or even just for the day.” n

INDUSTRY GOOD

Disbudding, do more than the minimum Jacqueline McGowan

DairyNZ animal care team developer

F

ARMERS should be proud of the progress they’ve made in providing pain relief for their animals and disbudding is a great example.

The dairy sector is committed to ensuring the disbudding process is as pain-free as possible for calves.

I know this first-hand because in the animal care team we work closely with farmers.

From October 1 all cattle must be given an effective local anaesthetic before disbudding or dehorning.

But the good news is most farmers won’t need to make any changes.

If their calves don’t already get a local anaesthetic, their disbudding service provider will start using it in October.

The challenge now is supporting the

Farmers who do their own disbudding must be trained by a veterinarian to administer a local anaesthetic.

38

From October 1 all cattle must be given a local anaesthetic before disbudding or dehorning under the new animal welfare rules.

The good news is most farmers won’t need to make any changes.

15% of farmers who disbud their own calves.

To continue after October 1 farmers will need to be trained by a veterinarian to administer a local anaesthetic.

I appreciate these farmers need a method that is easy to learn and numbs the horn buds quickly and reliably because they won’t get as much practice as disbudding providers and they need to fit disbudding around other farm work as well.

Vetlife, a veterinary practice in the South Island, has been researching the bleb-block method of administering local anaesthetic as an alternative to the traditional cornual nerve block.

The ease of administration and the faster onset of the bleb-block method

with DairyNZ might be a good option for farmers who disbud their own calves.

It’s positive to know farmers increasingly want to do more than the minimum for their calves.

That’s because while local anaesthetic must be used, it numbs the horn bud for only about two hours.

And most farmers know calves feel pain for four to six hours after disbudding and are tender for even longer.

For many years anti-inflammatory drugs were the only option farmers had to extend pain relief beyond the local anaesthetic. Anti-inflammatories are very effective but are not cheap.

I’m excited to see new options, such as a topical anaesthetic, that dramatically extend pain relief and cost about $1 a calf.

It’s worth farmers talking to their disbudding provider about what options are available so they can continue to do the best for their animals. n

MORE:

www.dairynz.co.nz/technical-series

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Ambreed

lownsires.co.nz Phil Beatson CRV Ambreed Head Geneticist

SIDE

Helping others helps Check out the neighbourhood the next time you consider a farm investment Hauraki Plains farmer Conall Buchanan advises his peers.

Tim Fulton reports.

C

OMMUNITY-MINDED dairying pays for itself many times over, farm owner and social investor Conall Buchanan told the South Island Dairy Event

in Invercargill.

Buchanan is comfortable mixing in a crowd far from home, despite being a notable figure on his local patch.

One of his forays a few years back was developing a dairy venture in Chile, where he saw the usefulness of a tight-knit community up close.

Outwardly, Chile is always a promising place to farm with spectacular soils, temperate climate and reasonable land values.

But it was more than a commercial transaction for Buchanan and his wife Rowena, who ventured over there with young children.

Increasingly, the Buchanans understood the importance of a local village or town to surrounding farm businesses.

In most parts of the country the nearest settlement is a good indicator of the character of the local people, he said.

Some villages and towns have a thriving liquor shop near shabby houses, surrounded by junk and people who are tied up in themselves and generally unhappy.

In contrast, most villages have a thriving church and well-kept houses and streets. In those places people seem to have confidence in themselves and their community.

He saw the shops and churches only as an outcome of the people’s character.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the happiest farm staff also seem to keep the tidiest, best-run farms.

“It’s pretty obvious where people preferred to live,” he said.

“That preference was reflected in land value and in the quality of life of farmers, staff and others. It was definitely reflected in the ability to attract high-calibre local and potential staff.”

The relationship between town and country living standards and attitudes in New Zealand is not quite as clear cut but the same principles apply and caring for a community pays in all sorts of ways.

Buyers are more reluctant to invest in less attractive places to live and work.

That lowers property demand and makes it harder to sell land. A depressed area also tends to struggle with staff recruitment and retention and probably needs more investment in farm security.

The Buchanans progressed through the sharemilking ranks to own an 800-cow dairy farm, as well as a 330cow sharemilking platform. They have

The Buchanan farm at Paeroa where they milk more than 800 cows.

Farmer and social investor Conall Buchanan says investing in the community contributes economically as well as creating a greater sense of general wellbeing.

generational ties to the general area but are self-starters, using multiple sharemilking jobs to build capital while contributing to the industry and their community.

Buchanan is a past national chairman of Federated Farmers sharemilking section, a founding member of Fonterra Shareholders’ Council and spent three years in Chile starting a dairying company that now runs 40,000 cows.

The couple have held a number of community roles in the Hauraki Plains area, including a major role in creating a maritime spatial plan to protect the health of the Hauraki Gulf. Buchannan became involved when he realised farmers could potentially be marginalised from a decision-making process, despite farmers in the area contributing more than $2 billion of milksolids to the national economy from 500,000ha of catchment.

“The plan we produced brings together actions that will make a real difference for a highly productive and populated piece of NZ maritime area,” he said.

“Importantly, because of the group that put it together, the consequences of the actions in the plan consider all the groups involved. Because of this it is much more likely to work.”

While it is important to contribute to

farmers a community for economic reasons, the extra effort can also create a greater sense of general wellbeing.

That creates a ripple effect, typified by determination to support local and do the decent thing.

Doing the decent thing as a farmer includes setting reasonable or good wages and ensuring the same for living conditions.

Pride in personal behaviour and in farm standards is also important and so, too, is taking the time to support local events and causes.

The Buchanans fenced and underplanted stands of kahikatea on their farm and at about the same they got involved with the Enviroschools movement at their local primary school. As the school developed that concept they grew seedlings, which five years ago inspired an annual open day where pupils go out and under-plant kahikatea stands other farmers have fenced off. The school plants about 500 trees a year and about eight stands are now in place.

Without the new planting the mature

stands would eventually have grown too old and died out.

Now, as the understory grows, there is a noticeable increase in the number of native birds visiting the area.

“While there are other factors involved in that, it is very rewarding for the young kids to see some real change happening,” Buchanan said.

The long-term goal is for most landowners in the area to fence their stands, whether the school is involved or not.

The Buchannans looked at Enviroschools and saw how it could create links in a community, just like farming could.

“It does need a motivated teacher to drive it but their job is so much easier if there is support from others in the community.”

The school and its supporters found sponsorships, donations or other financial contributions can be powerful, particularly if a few entities or businesses work together.

“There is a lot of sense in farms having an annual budget line for community good and either allocating that ad hoc or pooling with other farms and making a combined larger sum regularly available.”

Many farmers play active roles in their wider communities – often without much

fuss or fanfare – but sometimes the work needs to be better recognised for the sake of the benefactor and the industry.

Off-farm owners should chip in too, of course.

“If you don’t live in your farming community or are part of a corporate structure I encourage you to support the rural community in a tangible way. That may be with money or with practical actions. It is good for the community to be aware of that support, as it shows you value the place and the people.”

As a farmer, the benefit usually goes well beyond the feel-good.

“Being an integral part of our communities and being involved in environmental and regulatory discussions, when the opportunity arises, ensures that our voice is heard and that our voice has the credibility to be listened to and considered when there are decisions that aren’t ours alone to make.” n

The Bucahnans are involved in the Enviroschools movement at their local primary school. The school plants about 500 trees a year on local farms.

SIDE

NZ looks solid in target TIM FULTON

D

AIRY demand and global consumption over the next five years look healthy, dairy analyst Earl Rattray says.

The world consumed about 650 billion litres of all types of milk in 2018, of which New Zealand produced about 21b litres, he told the South Island Dairy Event.

Three-quarters of the growth will occur in south Asia, which is mostly closed to trade through tariff restrictions or other regulations.

However, NZ will continue to target about 400b litres of accessible consumption in more open nations.

Based on population growth, income growth and consumption patterns, a best estimate of 1.5% a year compound

In those importing countries the cost of milk is a lot higher than the cost of producing in exporting countries. Even though milk is a relatively expensive item for Asian consumers, producing it locally is generally not profitable.

In China, milk production is expensive, largely because of the cost of feed.

“China cannot feed its people and its livestock,” Rattray said.

“And it’s the same situation in all of Asia –very low-yielding cows still requiring a fair bit of feed and often still under-fed.

It’s a very expensive production system.

“The gap between local production and consumer demand will only grow.

“It is forecast domestic industry will produce only about a third of the milk the region needs over the next five years,” Rattray said.

“There’s a 6.5b litres deficit or 1.5b litres per year that’s going to have to be filled by somewhere if the normal trend continues.”

Indonesia is an example of the deficit.

It has 260m people and very low dairy consumption but is growing quickly.

Consumption per person was now, on average, about 14kg of milk equivalent across all products.

It produces about 600m litres of milk and consumes about 3.5b litres,so it imports 82% of its milk to bridge that gap.

Thailand, which has the most developed dairy industry in southeast Asia, has a 52% supply gap and is falling behind in its ability to supply its own people.

Across the rest of Asia, the China gap is

growth in the markets that matter to NZ adds up to another 31b litres of milk to be consumed.

China will account for at least a fifth of the growth and there will also be growth in the United States and Europe, where cheese consumption is rising even though fluid milk sales are falling.

“Young people in Europe, they say they don’t want to eat meat. Well, guess what, they’re eating cheese.”

Nevertheless, both the European Union and the US have production surpluses and are major exporters. The other big sphere of interest for NZ is southeast Asia.

Excluding China, the region has 650 million people and low dairy consumption, averaging about 20kg a person.

“They’ll be consuming another 2.5b litres and China another 7b litres over the next five years.”

The ongoing risk in the balance of supply and demand is the ability of Europe to turn on milk production.

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August 2019

markets China cannot feed its people and its livestock.

And it’s the same situation in all of Asia.

35%, Vietnam 75% and Malaysia 90%.

Import dependency doesn’t simply mean NZ can keep shipping more bags of whole milk powder or skim or drums of AMF. But, because of the need to import product, milk in Asia is essentially manufactured or reconstituted in factories rather than delivered from farms. As a result Asian producers have excellent branding companies with sophisticated manufacturing.

But a manufacturer in Thailand, for example, has to weigh the cost of buying milk at 50-60c litre equivalent for milksolids against buying it off the world market for 40-45c, depending on whether it is skim milk AMF, whey power and vegetable fat.

“You can see the pressure that’s on those manufacturers and they absolutely prefer to use imported milksolids for any application that they can substitute into solid form.”

That is despite tariff regulation and other protection for local industry.

Retail affordability is also a big factor, he said.

“They haven’t got a huge population that can pay $6/litre equivalent. Most people are still on very modest incomes but dairy nutrition is very important.”

Rattray predicts growth in demand for fresh, pasteurised milk in Asia will probably absorb all the extra growth in domestic production.

“Everything else is going to need to be filled with imported milksolids.”

Worldwide, the ongoing risk in the balance of supply and demand is the ability of Europe to turn on milk production.

In 2014, when the world was swamped with traded milk, Europe increased production by 6b litres – a production lift of 4%.

The US was a lesser risk because it consumed most of its production while Asian manufacturers will continue to struggle with a shortage of local supply – and relatively high domestic production costs.

“They cannot utilise local milk at the cost of production from most of what they produce and they’re going

Dairy analyst Earl Rattray says the outlook for the demand of dairy products and consumption is looking good for the next five years. to continue to demand imports.”

Rattray has held roles including the external monetary policy adviser to The Reserve Bank, chairman of the Dairy Companies Association, director of Fonterra and of the New Zealand Dairy Board. He has been closely involved with Canterbury Grasslands, a large-scale international dairy farming company in NZ and the US. n

Globally, about 650 billion litres of all types of milk were consumed in 2018, of which New Zealand produced about 21b litres.

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43

SIDE

Troubles and things to treasure at SIDE

D

DairyNZ senior team leader Bruce Thorrold says today’s farmers are better equipped than ever to face challenges.

AIRYING is at a critical point on the way to a secure future, an industry leader says.

“We’re still in this transition between unrestrained opportunity and sustainable business,” DairyNZ productivity strategy and investment leader Bruce Thorrold told farmers at South Island Dairy Event.

He warned farmers they will soon face a crackdown on mud and animal welfare.

“I want to alert you to a likely campaign against wintering coming up,” he said.

Thorrold elaborated on the pressures of farming with a talk called Shaping your Future.

It is easy to see why dairy farmers feel like they are doing a lot of work for little reward, he said.

“After two decades of unconstrained growth and increases in land and cow prices that turbo-charged optimism and business expansion, it’s all got a lot trickier Thorrold listed worries including static or solid milk prices that are only around the long-run average. Increasing costs and capital repayments are making cashflow tight.

Farmers also feel threatened by the prospect of interest rate rises,

Proven Product. Best Spread.

environmental constraints including water quality regulations and greenhouse gas policy.

They are also losing out to Mycoplasma bovis and it is hard for virtually everyone to attract and keep staff. In the meantime land and cow values are dropping and so are the number of farm sales.

Through all this we have a long history of adapting to new challenges.

“It’s hard to exit if you want to.”

Experts are pointing out that animal foods are a thing of the past because all the protein people will need will come from a lab, some GE yeast or a soybean.

“And while the public’s own view of dairy farming isn’t overly negative or that different from their view of other industries, it feels as though there is little affection or respect for dairy farming.”

The good news is that dairying has felt cornered before. Sixty years ago dairy farmers were the poor cousins of farming and most people predicted the industry was doomed when Britain joined in the European Economic Community (a forerunner to the European Union) in the early 1970s.

In the 1980s dairying was thumped by economic deregulation and the 1990s brought a long grind of low prices.

“We’ve had volatility of milk price in

the last decade. But through all this we have a long history of adapting to new challenges.”

On the up side, dairying still has the most profitable land use at any scale in the country and the industry has achieved that by innovation in science and on-farm clear-thinking, sharing of problems and knowledge and sheer hard work.

Thorrold says today’s farmers are better equipped than ever to face challenges.

The factors in their favour include knowledge of how to make money from pasture-first dairy systems, despite not getting premium prices. Farmers are also adept at using profit to service debts and allowing time for repayments and restructuring.

The industry also has some megatrends on its side, like growing world demand for dairy products.

At the same time, it os becoming clear that producing alternatives isn’t that easy.

The producers of Perfect Day, milk made from yeast, had pivoted from producing whole dairy foods to milk proteins for the ingredients business.

That is an irony given the flak dairying gets for being a commodity business.

Dairy ias also getting some certainty on environmental targets, such as the Government proposing a split gas approach to greenhouse emissions.

“A 10% methane target by 2030 is doable. It simply means we have to have 10% less feed – we’ve got 10 years to make sure we can do it at low or no cost.”

Longer-term greenhouse gas targets and tree-planting for offsetting are less certain but the industry has research in the pipeline with feed additives, GE

ryegrass and vaccines aimed at providing options.

New Zealand is now a world-leader in low greenhouse gas intensity dairying but the industry will have to maintain that status in the face of technological improvements from the feedlot sector.

NZ dairy is also doing in-depth research on water quality, winter cropping, N input management and off-pasture systems. As a result, farmers have more options in the pipeline with plantain, catch crops and better farm infrastructure. The country also has a high standard of animal welfare, which helps to firm consumer confidence in NZ products.

It is concerning to see land values readjust in recent years but farmers exiting the industry will continue to create opportunities for others to enter.

“Farmers continue to be endlessly innovative in getting the best out of the technology and finding new ways to improve performance – and sharing this knowledge is still a big part of the dairy farming culture,” he said. n

Dairying still has the most profitable land use at any scale in the country despite the increasing challenges, rules and regulations farmers face.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

45

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Breakthrough offers hope

S

CIENTISTS say they have made a breakthrough that could be a crucial step in the introduction of cattle tuberculosis vaccine programmes.

Researchers have developed two candidate skin tests for cattle they say can distinguish between animals infected with bovine TB and those that have been vaccinated against the disease with the BCG vaccine.

The vaccination of cattle against bovine TB is forbidden under international and European Union law because it is not possible to distinguish between a vaccinated and infected cow.

The next stage is to evaluate the tests in field trials to a level conforming to World Organisation for Animal Health standards.

If all goes well, the test could be available to use in five years – depending on policymaker’ willingness to let farmers use it.

Further, regulatory issues including demonstrating their safety and effectiveness will also have to be

NOT YET: It could be five years before farmers can vaccinate cattle for bovine tuberculosis. addressed before the diagnostic tools can be allowed to be used as part of TB eradication programmes.

Such studies are already under way in Britain and India.

The tests have been established by teams headed by Professor Glyn Hewinson and Professor Martin Vordermeier, of Aberystwyth University,

First herd size fall this century THE average size of a dairy herd in Britain fell last year for the first time this century after farmers increased culling rates in response to prolonged dry weather.

Analysis of almost 2000 herds by dairy consultancy firm Kingshay revealed the average number of cows on a dairy farm in the year ending March 2019 was 205, down three compared with the previous 12 months.

This is the first drop since 2000 when the average herd size was 118, after culling rates rose by 2% to 29%, as farmer’s trimmed numbers to cope with forage deficits.

The report reveals the increasing influence large dairy businesses have on total British milk production with numbers of cattle in the biggest herds bucking the overall trend and continuing to grow.

The 60 herds that annually produce

46

more than 5m litres of milk increased by an average of 17 extra cows last year and contributed 14% of total British milk sales.

“Higher-output herds are less reliant on grazing so the summer drought had less of a negative impact than in loweroutput herds,” Kingshay senior farm services manager Kathryn Rowland said.

Their contribution helped the average yield a cow rise from 8172 litres to 8352 litres in the most recent set of results, despite the dry conditions in summer 2018.

The largest producers also tend to benefit from a more stable milk price and greater efficiency savings, which allowed them to make a margin of £2120 a cow compared with £1287 for herds producing up to 0.5m litres/year.

Kingshay said there are significant savings to be made for many producers by reducing cattle health problems.

while working at the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency.

They were created by an international team of scientists from Ethiopia, India, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States.

Hewinson said the development of so-called Diva tests – diagnostic tests to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals – is a potential major breakthrough.

That is because a Diva test working alongside a cattle vaccine could allow farmers to separate TB-positive animals from uninfected animals in the field.

“It would be wonderful if either of these tests succeeds in bringing about significant improvements in the control of bovine TB globally.

“Such a development would represent the culmination of a great deal of work by dedicated and talented scientists from around the world and a significant step forward in our efforts to control this disease,” he said.

Vordermeier said development of the Diva tests is a crucial step in the implementation of cattle TB vaccine programmes.

“Without such tests, traditional test and slaughter control strategies could not be pursued alongside vaccination nor could vaccine efficacy and disease prevalence be effectively monitored in vaccinated animals in countries where such control strategies are unaffordable or societally not acceptable.” n UK Farmers Weekly

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

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RESEARCH

An application for funding for research into plantain has been stymied for lack of future value.

Plantain research funding refused TIM FULTON

A

GOVERNMENT agency has rejected an industry bid for about $8.5 million to fund plantain research because it won’t create transformational farming change.

DairyNZ, with support from PGG Wrightson and Fonterra, applied to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for money to study plantain’s effects on nitrogen leaching, product composition and waterways.

“The application was turned down.

We will continue to carry on work at a reduced level of activity while we seek further investment,” a DairyNZ spokeswoman said.

It wants just over $8.5m from MBIE’s Partnership Fund over seven years.

“Whilst the proposed project partnership was targeted at a critical need for New Zealand it did not strongly represent an area of growth or future value,” the rejection said.

MBIE views plantain research as an important tool in protecting existing value rather than one developing future value and growth.

The work is very worthy but not a great fit for the stated policy objectives, the ministry said.

“The outcomes would be to protect the existing sector productivity, which has real and significant challenges, rather than driving transformational changes 48

that contribute to sustainable economic development.

“The project was viewed as core business for the primary sector. In that way it does not diversify the investment portfolio as intended by this scheme.”

It is important, necessary and useful work but a poor match for the investment signals.

An MBIE webpage says the partnership scheme supports high-quality research aimed at increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of NZ’s economy.

It’s designed to strengthen ties between research organisations and research users, particularly industry, by supporting them to establish a long-term research programme.

Partnership members determine the research they do so the research is driven by an industry or sector’s needs. Partnerships focus on longerterm research that supports a whole sector rather than just a single firm or organisation, the ministry says.

“This reflects the rationale for government investment where research time frames and outcomes may be too uncertain for full investment by private investors but where the rates of social return are potentially very high.

“This Government has a strong desire to diversify the portfolio of research, science and innovation investments. In 2018 partnerships will only fund highly innovative research with potentially transformational impacts that contribute to sustainable economic development through:

Plantain cultivar developers like PGG Wrightson’s Agricom with Ecotain rely on research to show the efficacy of their product. Agrimcom’s Glenn Judson at an Ecotain field trial site in Canterbury.

• Growing emerging, high-tech, knowledge-intensive sectors; • Developing technologies that radically improve resource efficiency or reduce environmental impact of or render obsolete an existing resource use; • Transitioning to a low-emissions economy by 2050 and; • Ensuring a rich and protected environment.

About $3.7m a year of partnership funding was to be invested in the 2018 investment round, committing up to $25.9m over seven years.

After the 2018 funding round Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods was to consider how to invest future funding to support a wide range of sectors and contribute to the Government’s priority areas.

Partnerships must include at least two sector partners or a sector representative body and at least one research organisation.

Applicants could be an industry or a research organisation or an entity specifically set up to represent and manage the partnership. n DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

RESEARCH

Lepto study wants people

A

THREE-YEAR leptospirosis study led by Massey University is looking for people who have the disease.

Leptospirosis can cause sickness and death in animals and is a common workplace hazard.

It can transfer to humans through direct or indirect contact with infected urine or contaminated water, resulting in anything from a minor flu-like sickness to admission to hospital and long-term illness.

The use of protective equipment does not necessarily prevent infection.

The study will try to address gaps in leptospirosis knowledge that will inform control strategies by identifying risk factors, sources and paths for human infection.

It will recruit 150 incident cases over 18 months including patients from general practices, hospitals and through medical officers of health.

Principal investigator, Associate Professor Jackie Benschop says the ultimate goal is to reduce the increasing burden of the disease in New Zealand.

“Two-thirds of patients are hospitalised, many suffer long after infection and numbers are increasing.

“The use of protective equipment does not necessarily prevent infection, animal vaccines do not cover all strains and it is popping up where people had previously thought it would not.”

It is putting an unacceptable burden on New Zealanders in agricultural industries and rural communities.

“We and others have been doing a lot of work on the infection but with this study the focus is on those ill with the disease.

“We aim to provide an improved evidence base for policies and practices to lower the incidence and health consequences of leptospirosis in NZ and contribute new knowledge about this globally important, emerging health hazard,” she says.

“Direct benefit will occur through the reduction in incident cases, a more productive workforce and potentially provision of information to reduce livestock infection and identification of new animal vaccine candidate strains.”

The study will seek to understand existing and emerging environmental paths by employing molecular tools, genomics and modelling from other disease studies. That will include a study of risk factors, infecting species and sources of infection.

“We have observed that the demography of patients is changing.

“Our pilot work suggests the disease patterns are changing with more rodent sources and environmental pathways, including flooding, becoming increasingly important in disease transmission with more women affected as well as more patients employed outside of the traditional high-risk occupations.”

Leptospirosis can cause disease and death in animals and long-term illness in humans.

Massey University Associate Professor Jackie Benschop will lead a leptospirosis study.

Traditionally the disease is thought to infect pigs, sheep, cattle, goats, rodents and possums but cases have been found in animals not previously considered as carriers such as domestic cats, alpacas and horses so they, too, will be investigated for decisions to be made about widening vaccine targets.

“Our environment is changing, the disease is changing with it so we must keep studying it as these changes occur to understand the developing risks,” she says.

The $1.2m study is being done with Otago University, the Environmental Science and Research Institute, doctors and in several Massey University departments including the Centre for Public Health Research and the Fundamental Sciences Institute. n

TECHNOLOGY

Tracking tool boosts

T

HREE years after its release GrainCorp Feed’s online milk monitoring and forecasting tool, Tracker, is helping dairy farmers exceed average

production.

Tracker uses the latest in data analytics combined with nutritional information to give accurate predictions on a farmer’s average daily milksolids, including percentage of milk fat and protein.

Tracker also gives live feedback on milk quality including somatic cell count and milk urea when that data is available.

That gives farmers invaluable insights into a herd’s nutrition, GrainCorp Feeds technical support manager Ken Winter said.

On average Fonterra suppliers on Tracker are up 6.35% with an average increase of 6866 kilograms of milksolids a farm compared to non-users.

Winter says there’s more compelling evidence of Tracker’s impact for farmers using it for more than four seasons.

“An average Tracker user increases milksolids by 27,000kg in the first season of using the online tool through better utilisation of feed on farm,” he said.

“In fact, Tracker users who install an in-shed feed system while working closely with the GrainCorp Feeds team to make their system more efficient can achieve as much as a 40% production increase on their previous season.

“However, the most convincing evidence is when we look at Tracker users who have used the system for four to five seasons.

“The numbers show these dairy farmers consistently perform at a higherlevel season after season.”

But averages alone don’t give the full picture of what Tracker users can achieve.

“While a 10% increase in production might not sound huge it’s actually a major boost to a farmer’s bottom line.

“For instance, 300 cows doing 480kg MS/cow increasing production to 528kg MS/cow adds 14,400kg MS or an additional $86,400 of revenue based on a value of $6/kg MS.” Winter says a farmer’s biggest challenge in lifting production, even more than the weather, is around farm infrastructure 50

Waikato farmer Murray Steele has not only increased production through the use of GrainCorp’s Tracker but has improved cow reproduction, in-calf rates and animal health.

An average Tracker user increases milksolids by 27,000kg in the first season.

Ken Winter GrainCorp Feeds

and contour and the farmer’s own ability.

Ensuring any production gains are profitable is paramount, he said.

Waikato farmer Murray Steele farms 600 cows on 203 hectares at Cambridge and has used an in-shed feed system for 18 years while using Tracker for the past two seasons.

Steele says the two elements working together have helped improve cow reproduction, in-calf rates and animal

health and create an advantage when it comes to analysing his overall farm costs.

“We’ve achieved a 7.2% empty rate and 78% six-week in-calf rate with our production ahead 10,000kg MS this year to date,” Steele said.

We use Tracker to primarily analyse the daily inputs of what our animals are harvesting.

“It puts a monetary value on whether it is advantageous to change particular components of what the cows are being fed on an individual and daily basis, making an important difference to onfarm costs.”

That helps him focus on profitable decision-making rather than feeding for productivity.

Steele is now looking at fine-tuning so his cows perform to their genetic capacity.

Since having the focus on refining his approach he has seen his herd’s health as measured by average body condition score improve considerably.

Richard Flynn, a Hauraki Plains

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

output farmer milking 400 cows on 120ha, has a relatively new in-shed feed system and has just completed his first full year on Tracker, spending his first season with the feed system getting the cows used to it.

“We have used this season to focus on getting the highest quality feed that was going to complement that grass that we had,” Flynn said.

Tracker gives him an indication of what is coming so he can be proactive and tweak his feed before shortfalls occur.

It has had a farm-wide impact and the information on Tracker means he can set targets easier.

That has resulted in his farm being 38.5% up in production.

“The production gains we’ve made this season alone have paid for all the feed and the installation of the system with some added profit at the end as well,” he said. n

Richard Flynn who farms on the Hauraki Plains has used GrainCorp’s Tracker for one season and has increased production 38.5%.

TECHNOLOGY

Stanley joins Network

E

NTHUSIASM for a digital future is a key asset Auckland tech enthusiast Sophie Stanley feels she can bring to the Dairy Women’s Network as the newest member of its board.

“I’ve worked with the Dairy Women’s Network in the past and have always admired what they are doing in the community to support women in the dairy industry,” she said.

“I thought it was an organisation I could add a lot of value to and opportunities like this don’t come along that often.”

Stanley, 32, felt her youth and enthusiasm for a digital future are the key assets she will bring to the role.

“Having led an agtech company in the United States for the last two years I bring experience from the technology sector with agile and design thinking and also have international experience working with farmers in the Midwest.”

She said her experience travelling as a Nuffield scholar, where she researched social media in the agricultural sector, highlights the importance of community and good use of technology but stresses the importance of face-to-face connections.

“Used well, technology should be leveraged to enhance knowledge, community and connection but real

I thought it was an organisation I could add a lot of value to and opportunities like this don’t come along that often.

Technology enthusiast Sophie Stanley has joined the board of the Dairy Women’s Network.

human interaction remains very important.”

Network chairwoman Cathy Brown said Stanley has a strong understanding of strategy development and execution.

“Her digital knowledge will be an asset as the Dairy Women’s Network tells the story of the amazing women who work in the industry. We look forward to having Sophie on the team,” she said.

Stanley spent a year as an associate director on the Rural Leadership Consortium board after travelling overseas and has worked extensively in the banking and technology sectors.

“I feel excited to join a team who are committed to enabling transformational change in agribusiness, particularly with women,” she said.

“The agricultural sector has long been a passion of mine and I believe that grassroots organisations such as Dairy Women’s Network provide so much value to their members by providing a community and access to tools and knowledge that can help them thrive.”

In 2013 she became one of the youngest Nuffield scholars.

She joined cloud software company Figured in 2014 to build the vision for its cloud-based agri-accounting software, spending four years helping grow the company that included moving to Omaha, Nebraska, to launch the business in the US. n

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HERD HEALTH

Winter grazing must not jeopardise animal health

T

HERE is no place in modern farming for winter grazing practices that compromise animal health and welfare, Veterinary Association chief veterinary officer Dr Helen Beattie says.

“The time has come to transition away from winter grazing practices that result in poor animal welfare for livestock.”

Intensive winter grazing is commonplace and can lead to poor animal welfare and environmental damage, particularly during prolonged periods of wet weather.

“We need to take a second look at these practices and, when animal welfare isn’t protected, find solutions that rectify this safely,” she says.

Poorly managed winter grazing can lead to livestock standing knee-deep in mud without adequate shelter.

In many cases these practices are in breach of the Animal Welfare Act, which requires the physical, health and behavioural needs of animals to be met.

Those needs include proper and sufficient food and water, adequate shelter and the chance to display normal patterns of behaviour.

“For intensive winter grazing to meet these needs, dry, sheltered areas with adequate lying space are required, as is access to fresh water and also adequate nutrition.

“A monoclonal forage crop diet in late pregnancy is not likely to adequately meet all dietary needs,” she says.

“When the ground underfoot is wet and muddy, cows lie down less than they might otherwise choose to and sometimes this is not until they are exhausted.

“If an animal is unable to lie down, rest and ruminate it is not expressing natural behaviour.

“As we begin to experience more rain and cold weather farmers need to be particularly aware of the risks these practices pose to livestock.”

Ideally, farmers should plan ahead at

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Poor intensive grazing practices can compromise animal health and welfare.

Animals must have shelter, access to food and water and be able to lie down.

Veterinary Association chief veterinary officer Dr Helen Beattie says intensive winter grazing can lead to poor animal welfare and production and environmental damage. crop planting time,so they can reduce the risks to their livestock and the environment during crop use.

Farmers should consider winter 2020 now and how to approach all future use of crops, given this grazing practice will be under ongoing scrutiny.

While using a winter crop can be a successful way to feed stock, including achieving weight gain, body condition score by itself is not a good metric to judge the overall health and welfare of an animal.

Beattie has advocated strongly for a national, pan-sector solutions working group to be formed.

“This approach was very successful in working through the challenging issues of inductions and bobby calf welfare,” she says.

A collaborative approach is needed to help farmers through a fair and just transition away from winter grazing practices where these practices compromise animal and environmental health and welfare.

Winter grazing practices need not compromise animal health or welfare.

“Where there are negative outcomes, solutions need to be sought that are practical and do not have unintended, negative consequences.

“The sector should help farmers navigate through an issue that has effectively been endorsed for many years.

“We need for there to be a team effort to help farmers where this is required,” Beattie said. n

53

HERD HEALTH

Farmers can draw on whole-of-system knowledge about wintering to manage crop selection and set-up, establishment and grazing.

Paddock selection and consideration of crop a pivotal to minimising animal welfare issues an

Think of the cows for winter health TIM FULTON

T

RY looking at winter grazing from a cow’s point of view, DairyNZ senior scientist Dawn Dalley says.

Wintering cows on crop in the South Island requires attention to detail and farmers are urged to be particularly careful about wintering in the era of good management practice (GMP) regulations.

“To achieve the dairy sector commitment to be world-leading it is important to view wintering from a cow’s point of view,” Dalley says.

Given Government and public interest in crop or paddock-based winter grazing the adoption of good animal welfare and environmental wintering practices must become a priority for farming operations.

By failing to meet GMP standards the industry might continue to come under increased scrutiny from consumers and the public and local and central government.

The result is likely to be unnecessarily stringent, prescriptive regulations around winter cropping and farmers will lose their social licence to farm the way they want.

Dalley urges farmers to check body

54

condition score and the weather more carefully in winter because it might be a tell-tale for the effectiveness of a system.

Science can help graziers measure cow comfort and wellbeing and maintain feed quality and performance targets and minimise environmental impact, she says.

Dalley recommends a documented winter management plan include a plan B to provide dairy cattle with a comfortable, drier lying surface. One option is to fence off wetter areas of a paddock and graze only during dryer periods and regularly move the back fence.

The reality is bouts of rain reduce lying times on most soil types so removing cows from the crop paddocks might be the only Plan B for creating drier lying areas. Plan B areas might include a grass area left under the most robust shelter belt on a farm, a drier paddock elsewhere on a farm or a paddock with a drained slope for cows to access.

Forty percent of farmers now have some sort of paddock facility and about 22% of them have a roof. That indicates a strategy beyond the usual Plan B. Dalley says the past 10 years have seen significant investment in research to address the wintering challenges by farmers in southern areas.

The research took a systems approach to ensure change to wintering practices

DairyNZ senior scientist Dawn Dalley says adopting good crop or paddockbased winter grazing practices as well as good animal welfare and environmental wintering practices is a priority for farmers. does not have negative effects on other parts of a farming operation.

To achieve a world-class animal welfare standard when wintering, farmers can draw on whole-of-system knowledge about wintering, allowing them to manage crop selection and set-up, establishment and grazing.

In the lower South Island, the Southern Wintering Systems Initiative monitored six different systems – crops, pasture and silage, wintering pads, free-stall barn, Herd Home and loose-housed barn with

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

480RE86X210

and grazing management are nd environmental problems.

sawdust from 2010 to 2014.

The study found paddock selection and consideration of crop and grazing management are pivotal to minimising animal welfare issues and environmental problems.

To comply with GMP in winter a farmer should consider using whole herd body condition score (BCS) to proactively manage feed and set up mobs for differential feeding.

Researchers found herd average BCS is not a robust measure for successful wintering.

Body condition score range and the percentage of cows not achieving the target is more informative.

Weather also had a major impact on lying times in grazed systems.

Cows were observed lying as little as three times a day during a Southland snow. The number of short lying bouts is a good indicator of how comfortable cows are on a particular surface, the Southern Wintering project found.

To highlight the importance of good

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Wet winter conditions can pose huge challenges for grazing, especially when flooding occurs.

wintering Dalley refers to a 2018 study “The welfare, health and productivity of dairy cattle managed in muddy conditions.”

Researchers found herd average BCS is not a robust measure for successful wintering.

Senior AgResearch scientist Karin Shutz, who specialises in animal behaviour and welfare, took the latest research to provide an overview of the impacts of cattle kept in muddy conditions.

She found there is abundant evidence wet and muddy conditions have negative effects on the welfare, health and productivity of cattle, including:

• Severely reduced lying times, which can lead to chronic stress and immunosuppression; • Reduction of quality and quantity of sleep; • Reduced production; • Increased risk of mastitis and; • Increased risk of lameness.

Schutz found, when given a choice, cattle clearly avoid wet and muddy surfaces to the extent they choose to lie down on concrete, a surface they normally find unpleasant, rather than in mud. The changes in behaviour seem to be largely driven by the moisture content of the surface, she said.

Exposure to cold, wet surfaces might increase metabolic requirements and create poor hygiene conditions, leading to a higher risk of infections.

A shelter with a dry, soft bedding area for all cows to use simultaneously improves animal welfare by reducing the impact of bad weather and wet and muddy underfoot conditions, the study found. n

HERD HEALTH

Southerners target a quick drugs cut TIM FULTON

A

N INNOVATIVE attempt is being made to cut use of all antimicrobial treatments by 20% in New Zealand agriculture by the end of the 2020

season.

Vets and farmers depend on antimicrobials to manage animal health and welfare but their use is coming under growing criticism as a contributor to a global rise in antibiotic resistance in humans.

A three-year project in Southland and Otago involves farmers, vets and focus groups confronting one of the country’s most pressing animal health challenges.

The group, supported by the Sustainable Farming Fund and coordinated and led by VetSouth research project and tech team leader Debbie McCorkindale, initially spent a year developing 12 strategies designed to cut drug use.

VetSouth Winton clinical strategy executive director Mark Bryan told the South Island Dairy Event the aim is to determine the most effective approaches and encourage other farmers to pick them up in the 2019-20 season – the last year of the project.

The project’s effectiveness will be measured not only by reduction in use but also the practicalities such as simplicity of design, economic benefit or impact and any negative consequences.

“We have a lofty goal of reducing antimicrobial use by 20% by the end of 2020 season,” Bryan said.

The project is already helping farmers develop novel approaches outside typical veterinary or consultant thinking. Some are simpler and easier to apply than others but the farmer groups generally communicate their ideas more simply and effectively than vets and farm advisers, he said.

Bryan singled out mastitis therapy – prevention of mastitis using dry cow antimicrobial therapy – as the area of 56

The Veterinary Association wants to eliminate antimicrobial use for animal health and welfare by 2030.

VetSouth Winton clinical strategy executive director Mark Bryan said the industry has a lofty goal of reducing antimicrobial use by 20% by the end of the 2020 season.

greatest concern and also the area of greatest opportunity.

There are fewer good reasons than there used to be for farmers to use such treatments to prevent mastitis, he said.

They had frequently been recommended to prevent infections over the dry period but most cows in a typical NZ dairy herd are uninfected at dry off.

The rationale of preventing infection seems questionable, particularly now that

effective teat sealants are available, Bryan said.

Antimicrobials are regulated in NZ and most other countries for both human and animal use.

Bryan, Veterinary Association board member and its antimicrobial resistance committee chairman said the drugs have improved animal health and welfare immeasurably, made milk and meat production more efficient and generally helped with leaps in food production.

But there are good reasons for regulated use.

Globally, about 80% more antimicrobials are used in agriculture than for humans. The more often we use them the greater the risk of developing resistance he said.

Agriculture has come to be seen as the single greatest threat to increased resistance.

In 2015 a growing awareness of the risks came to a head globally.

“Antimicrobial resistance has always been with us but it has steadily increased to the point where currently in the United States two million people are infected with resistant bacteria every year and 23,000 of them die.”

Confronted with those figures social media started to clamour for something to be done.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

We have a lofty goal of reducing antimicrobial use by 20% by the end of 2020 season.

Mark Bryan VetSouth

A 2016 report suggests that by 2050, 10 million people will die annually from resistant diseases. Infections could be fatal at childbirth, for hip replacements, a simple cut or injury or even a chest infection. This burden will fall disproportionately on poorer nations.

Responding to public concern the association developed an aspirational statement that by 2030 NZ will no longer need antimicrobials to maintain animal health and welfare.

It did that to front-foot increasing calls to control use in agriculture.

Though there is little evidence agricultural use contributes directly to human resistance, the association’s specialist antimicobial group wanted to take a leadership position for the profession and agriculture, he said.

To determine drug use here the association researched agricultural antimicrobial use globally.

It showed NZ is the third lowest user of antimicrobials for agriculture across all the countries it measured, after Norway and Iceland.

Zinc bacitracin, used almost exclusively for pigs and poultry, makes up 40% of use.

The product was used nearly exclusively in pigs and poultry.

The dairy industry contributed the next largest amount, mainly penicillins.

Bryan said the level of awareness among vets and farmers increased noticeably after the association launched its statement.

By focusing on reducing dry cow therapy in dairy cows, large steps can be made toward a significant reduction in use. n

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PROVEN INCREASE IN PRODUCTION Increases milk solid production by an average of 4.2Kg MS per cow1.

HERD HEALTH Studies in New Zealand show BVD can cost about $70,000 annually for an average-sized infected herd.

It pays to control BVD Controlling bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is vital to avoid its damaging effects on dairy herds’ health, reproductive performance and productivity. DairyNZ developer Samantha Tennent explains.

M

ANAGING bovine viral diarrhoea should be an important part of farmers’ biosecurity

measures.

Failing to do so can be costly.

Studies in New Zealand put the cost at $110 to $180 a cow or about $70,000 annually for an average-sized infected herd.

Sub-fertility, abortions, reduced milk production and calf diarrhoea and pneumonia are common symptoms of BVD infection.

However, the symptoms can look similar to other diseases so testing is essential to confirm its presence.

To control BVD you must identify each animal’s status and: • Remove any persistently infected (PI) animals; • Prevent any new PI animals being born on or introduced and; • Ensure incoming PI-clear animals are not transiently infected (TI).

PI animals are formed when naive, not immune to BVD, cows become infected in the first four to five months of pregnancy, producing a calf infected with BVD for life.

PI calves often have poor immunity and appear ill-thrifty – growing more slowly than expected – but some appear normal and enter the herd.

58

with DairyNZ

DairyNZ developer Samantha Tennent says BVD diagnostic tests are highly accurate.

TI animals are those temporarily infected with BVD. Ensure you work with your vet through each of these steps.

1. Define BVD diagnostic tests are highly accurate. A simple bulk milk screening test to look for antibodies is a good place to start.

2. Assess In: Cattle coming onto the farm, including their foetuses. People, equipment and vehicles coming onto the farm.

Out: Heifers and carry-over cows grazing off-farm, including heifers returning pregnant.

Contact: Avoid cattle contact across neighbouring fences.

3. Act Take action to create a control plan, which could include the steps below.

Test incoming animals including bulls and calves born onto the property for the virus and cull any PI animals identified.

Make sure bulls have been fully vaccinated before arrival.

Vaccinated animals should still be tested to confirm they’re not PI. Vaccinate cows and heifers to protect them during their pregnancy and vaccinate bulls used for mating.

Change management practices to reduce the risk of exposure. For instance, put outriggers on boundary fences.

4. Monitor Regular monitoring is essential to detect any incursions early and minimise their impact. n

MORE:

Get more BVD information and resources at dairynz.co.nz/bvd and check out THE biosecurity information and Biosecurity WOF at dairynz.co.nz/biosecurity

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

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HERD HEALTH Jason Grant owns two very different farms but uses the same policy for herd health to achieve results.

Two farms but one policy works well

J

Two farms can often tell very different stories but one Canterbury couple is getting consistent results using the same system on both their farms. Samantha Tennent reports.

ASON and Anna Grant are reaping rewards after implementing a new dryoff policy on both of their Canterbury farms.

The farms are very different with very different herds.

One farm at Fairlie has 1000 Jersey cows and the other, at Rangitata, has 720 Friesian cows.

The Rangitata farm is 200 effective hectares of flat, irrigated land. It was converted nine years ago and has a planned calving start of August 1.

The Fairlie farm is in its fifth season since converting.

A few years ago Grant was talking to a local farmer who got someone independent to body condition score his herd.

He felt both he and the contract milkers running the farms could benefit from recording and using body condition score information so contracted Brenda

60

Lynch of Dairy Condition Monitoring who visits the farms four times through the season.

“She stands on the vet stand during milking and condition scores every cow.

There’s no disruption for the team,” Grant says.

“When she’s finished she sends the report and it goes into MINDA. It’s very easy.

“Having someone independent come in is great. When you’re working with the cows all the time it can be hard to see changes in the herd.”

The herds are body condition scored pre-mating, February, April and midwinter to ensure they are on track.

However, they do monitor the herds between scoring and do not hesitate to put anything that is tracking behind on once-a-day (OAD) milking.

Grant uses the information from the February scoring to determine if any cows should be put on OAD milking.

The trigger is any mixed-aged cow with a BCS 3 and heifers at 3.5 or less.

The OAD cows are run in a separate mob.

The Grants do not make any significant changes to their feeding but the reduced pressure from milking OAD helps lift cow condition.

The entire Jersey herd goes on OAD most seasons when they drop to about 1.5kg MS a cow.

“The OAD herd does less walking and is under less stress and, as a result, we notice that sometimes the Jerseys lift production once they go on OAD,” he says.

“They don’t gain condition on OAD quite the same as the Friesian girls but it still helps them put on a bit or maintain their score.”

Grant says the cows that go to OAD from the scores in February tend to milk longer than they would have if they had remained milking twice a day.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Focusing on cow condition has led to significant increases in fertility and production in the herd.

Production works out the same if not better for many cows and we get the condition on them.

“Putting them on OAD takes the pressure off and they start to put condition on again,” he says.

“Production works out the same if not better for many cows and we get the condition on them.”

The April scores help with their dryingoff policy. Any mixed-aged cow scoring 3.5 and calving in August is dried off at the beginning of May. Any first calving heifers calving in August at condition score 4 or below are also dried off at the beginning of May. Drying off the rest of the herd depends on the season.

Feed and other factors play a part but there is no compromise on when light cows are dried off.

They feed grain through their inshed feeding system at various times throughout the season, mostly to boost energy and assist with cow flow.

They do not customise feed for the cows with the Protrack system though fat cows will have theirs turned off. They try to use every blade of grass possible on

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Canterbury farmer Jason Grant uses an independent consultant to body condition score his herd throughout the year and uses the data to determine milking frequency and drying off. both farms. Palm kernel and balage are fed in the paddock and as soon as they have pregnancy tested the empty cows are sent off farm.

The mid-winter scoring provides a gauge for how they are tracking. They target BCS 5 at calving for the mixed-aged cows and BCS 5.5 for the heifers.

With their diligent focus on cow condition they have managed to reduce the herd spread, the scores fit in a tight range and there are not many cows below their targets.

The farm policy is to get as much milk in the vat as possible without putting the cows at risk so body condition is a key driver in decision-making.

Emphasising condition has led to significant increases in both farms sixweek in-calf rates. They have seen an 8-10% improvement on both farms and

have significantly fewer empty cows to cull.

“It’s a big plus, giving us the opportunity to tidy up the herds. They’re good herds anyway but it was noticeable this year having to find cows to cull.”

Having better reproductive performance means they can keep fewer replacements.

Grant recommends farmers put some focus on cow condition, particularly around dry-off.

“It speaks volumes. We have two different farms with two different breeds of cow and we’re seeing the same results on both.

“It’s a great management tool, a good way to get an idea how things are going.

“There is a cost involved but the gains we’ve got out of it definitely make it worthwhile.” n 61

HERD HEALTH

Lameness in the herd Most lameness in herds is either footrot, white line disease or an injury to the sole of the hoof.

LIAM BAWDEN

L

AMENESS is an unfortunate issue all farmers will come across every year.

It is one of the most important animal health concerns affecting both productivity and welfare and can have a significant impact on the mental health of farmers.

What should you aim for?

Herd incidence, the total number over the season, of lame cows in New Zealand can range from 4%-64%.

In reality, for a large herd 10% or less is what you should aim to achieve.

Smaller herds should aim for less than 7% and small, once-a-day milking herds even less again.

So, if you are getting more than 10% there is room for improvement and if you are getting more than 25% it is safe to say there is a major lameness problem, with a significant economic and welfare cost.

Farm check: Do you have a protocol for detecting, treating and recording lame cows on your farm?

Do you know accurately how many lame cows you get a year?

At a $6 payout, every lame cow costs

62

about $320 if she is producing 1.5kg MS before the lameness occurs.

Lame cows produce less milk and are more likely to be late getting in calf or culled.

The emotional cost on staff is extra and those who have been involved with high herd lame cow incidence will know this all too well.

Our responsibility as an industry to meet the welfare needs of animals and to ensure our consumers see how seriously we take welfare is more important now than ever.

It is important to remember cows are prey animals and do not readily demonstrate signs of lameness until pain levels are significant so treatment should be immediate and effective, as stated in the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare.

The cause of lameness is often multifactorial.

Infrastructure, such as shed and race design, surfaces and a multitude of management techniques all come into play when looking after hoof health.

If there is room for improvement on your farm a discussion with your local vet is a good place to start, especially before committing to large capital expenditure on lameness prevention.

Senior production animal vet Liam Bawden from the Vet Centre says farmers should aim for less than 10% lameness and less than 7% in smaller herds.

Most cases of lameness in our pasturebased system are a consequence of hoof wear.

When a hoof sole wears faster than it grows the result is a thin sole.

This thin sole, especially when soft, is prone to injury such as bruising or penetration, particularly from stones on concrete.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

If the hoof is subject to horizontal pressure like pushing, twisting and turning the sole separates from the hoof wall at the white line, resulting in white line disease.

Hoof wear occurs at different rates depending on the distance cows are walking and how much pressure they are under when walking or in the yards.

Most lame cows will have one of three issues: 1. White line disease – The most common form of lameness in most instances and is a symptom of pressure. In some cases, infection can track into the joint, causing swelling and chronic lameness that require amputation by a vet.

2. Sole injury – Common in heifers, particularly at the start of the season.

Sole injury is caused by trauma to the sole resulting in a bruise or sharp object penetrating into the sole, which can abscess. Stones on concrete are a major contributor. Thin, soft soles are predisposed. It is important to differentiate because an abscess or under-run hoof is treated differently to sole bruising.

3. Footrot – An infection between the two claws from trauma, usually a small stone. It usually requires antibiotic treatment. Always check for a stone.

Diagnosing and treating lame cows correctly is vital for a fast recovery and training is therefore imperative.

It is important to recognise very few cases, apart from footrot and digital dermatitis, will need antibiotics.

For most types of lameness the most important parts of treatment are removing under-run hoof walls or soles and taking weight off the claw with a hoof block. Every lame cow should get pain relief using an anti-inflammatory

A small stone can cause footrot, which is an infection between the two claws, caused by trauma.

Footrot after the stone has been removed is painful and needs proper treatment and care.

injection. Talk to your local vet about which anti-inflammatory options are most suitable.

With the new season under way there is a great opportunity to make the most of a clean slate of hoof health. It is important all staff are aware of the importance of hoof health and how management plays such a large role. Any way we can reduce wear will reduce the number of lame cows.

Key points for prevention: • Select paddocks in a manner that does not result in two long walks a day; • Allow cows to move to the shed without pressure (bat latches are great for this); • Allow cows to move through the shed without pressure – this takes patience.

If a cow’s head is up she is under too much pressure; • Cows should have at least 3.5m2 on a

short-term feed pad and 1.5m2 in the yard to move freely. Try splitting the herd if space is an issue; • Keep stones off concrete and; • All staff need to be on board.

Digital dermatitis is an emerging disease. It is caused by a bacterial infection and usually presents as a red, raw area at the base of the dew claws between the heel bulbs. It spreads from farm to farm via moving animals so a closed herd is the best way to prevent the disease. Early on, a topical antibiotic works well for treatment.

White line or sole injuries can get this infection, which makes treatment very difficult.

Talk to a vet if you think you could have digital dermatitis in your herd. n Liam Bawden is a senior production animal vet at the Vet Centre in Northland.

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HERD HEALTH

Kiwi covers warm American calves TIM FULTON

F

ROM covering Kiwi sheep to warming American calves, David Brown has it wrapped.

The former sheep and crop farmer started Woolover out of his Christchurch base in the early 1990s, tapping drystock demand.

These days he does most of his sales to American calf rearers.

United States dairy farmers do yearround town supply for the nation’s 350 million people. Meeting demand is a tight-run thing for the country’s 10 million cows.

By 10am each morning New York City has secured nearly every drop farmers can give for the day, Brown says.

Calves encounter brutal weather, down to 10C to 20C below freezing at times.

The woollen covers breathe, releasing condensation that would otherwise freeze and endanger the animal.

The covers are fitted with a velcro strap under the tummy.

Brown likens wearing a cover without a strap to wearing a heavy jacket without the zip done up.

“That’s where the other products fall down, because they’re just like a bloody raincoat on the back of a calf,” he says.

“I know I’m pushing my own barrow

Canterbury farmer David Brown developed the Woolover calf cover to keep young calves warm in winter. but the design of ours is quite unique and it’s the wool that’s doing the work – its ability to breathe, provide warmth and cover the vital heart/lung area.”

Brown’s biggest calf cover customer in the US, Barron, in northern Wisconsin, is America’s largest private calf rearer, housing 6500 head in individual polydome hutches.

The Woolover’s biggest client is Barron in West Wisconsin who are America’s largest private calf rearer housing 6500 head in individual polydome hutches. Temperatures can get down to -8 degrees at night.

Barron’s a well-tuned affair.

“The Mexican staff arrive at half past one in the morning – women on that farm – they have the calves fed by three and then they’re home to get the kids off to school and they come back at one o’clock in the afternoon to feed them another meal – hot milk.”

It is a rigorous environment for a

It’s the wool that’s doing the work – its ability to breathe, provide warmth and cover the vital heart/ lung area. calf but the covers do their job, Brown said.

“Last night, if you were in one of those polydome hutches, the temperature would be -5C and it might even get down to -8C. “But at two o’clock in the afternoon it could be plus seven.

“Here’s where the calf cover comes in, like wearing a Swanndri night and day, you’ve regulated that temperature.”

The Woolover Ultra calf covers are green, layered with a waterproof membrane. The extra weight gain from covers amounts to an additional 47lb of liveweight over 64 days. That gain is an average of 46% above the industry norm expected of calves in heated barns, where some animals have respiratory problems because of stale air.

Brown says when aligned with the correct feeding regime calf covers help capture calves’ genetic potential.

The company has three sizes of calf cover – small for Jerseys, medium for day-old Holstein Friesians and large for a four-week-old calf needing extra protection from the harsh American winter and spring.

Virtually all the covers sold to the US are regular mediums, roughly the size of a

The Woolover calf covers helps keep young calves warm and cosy and are known to help increase the growth rates. two-day Friesian calf.

Brown admits to the odd hiccup with cover designs over the years, including the calf launch.

“We thought ‘oh, that’ll be a piece of cake’. But cows rejected a white-coloured prototype.

“I went whimpering back to WRONZ and the guy who would have known the problem had died only a few days before.”

Brown’s original contact, Ian McFarlane

suggested putting peroxide in the mixing bowl with the scour to take the smell away. He also suggested using natural coloured wool.

“We did both of those things and since then we haven’t had any issues.”

Brown originally had the covers evaluated by North Dakota State University, at Fargo. Decades on he still uses the university’s data just to remind farmers it’s the wool that’s doing the work. n

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Kurt and Tanya Phillips run Landscape Essentials in Hawera which produces 50,000 plants for the Taranaki Regional Council’s riparian management programme.

Photos: Ross Nolly

Nursery supports farm greening

I

A Hawera nursery is doing its bit for the environment raising thousands of plants for dairy farmers and the riparian management programme. Ross Nolly reports.

N JUNE it is common to see Taranaki farmers on the road with their utes and tractors loaded to the gunwales with hundreds of native plants.

The plants will go along the margins of farm waterways as part of the Taranaki Regional Council’s award-winning riparian management programme.

Almost all, 99.5%, of Taranaki’s dairy farms now have a riparian plan.

The programme began in 1996 and more than 4.3 million native plants have been supplied to landowners.

This year 500,000 native shrubs and trees were supplied to farmers at cost and in 2020 the council aims to supply 600,000.

The council supplies such a vast number of plants at such an economical rate with the help of Landscape Essentials, run by Kurt and Tanya Phillips, in Hawera. They have been supplying the riparian programme for several years.

They bought their 0.81 hectare property in 2005 to start a nursery. They began small with just a few lines and focused on supplying wholesale plants.

Their first council contract was to produce 400 broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis) plants.

Four-years ago they bought a tractor.

Until then they were producing 15,000

66

plants a year, manually shovelling 15 cubic metres of potting mix into a waisthigh potting bay.

“We certainly didn’t need to go to the gym,” Tanya says.

“When we doubled the amount of plants to 30,000 we needed a truckload of potting mix per week. It got to the stage where we figured we may as well get a tractor instead of employing someone to shovel it.”

They now produce 50,000 native plants for the programme and employ two fulltime staff.

“We usually trial a line of 100 plants to see how they work for us to ensure we can successfully grow them before putting in a tender for 500,” Tanya says.

“We built up a rapport with the council and demonstrated and that we could reliably supply them with quality plants.

“Not every council in New Zealand has a riparian planting scheme. Taranaki is very blessed to have such a well-run, established programme.

“Farmers in other regions have to approach nurseries for their riparian plants. Those nurseries have no certainty of sales or the ability to upscale their plant production without the certainty of a council taking those plants off their hands.”

In July the council supplies growers with a plant list of the species it will

promote to farmers. With it being such a long-running programme they know the best species to supply to individual farmers for their unique environmental and climate conditions. Suppliers such as Landscape Essentials tender for the contract and are given the results in August.

“The tender process is nerve-wracking but you get used to it. If you know that you’ve supplied good-quality plants at a good price before it does give some peace of mind. But a 10 cent difference can be the deciding factor in winning or losing a contract,” Kurt says.

“We’ve gone from supplying 400 plants to 50,000, which we believe is due to the relationship we’ve built with the council and their knowledge that we can reliably supply them with the plants we’ve tendered.”

The council puts a small margin on the plants to cover its costs so farmers to get their plants at a 500,000-plant wholesale rate.

Once a tender has been accepted the council pays 25% up front and the rest at the end of the season. The Phillips get about 80% of their income in one month so have become very good at budgeting.

“Our nursery system provides full-time work for the entire year. It’s not seasonal.

You can’t hold on to good staff if you can’t provide them with stable work. Our

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

SPECIAL REPORT contract work makes it easier to maintain that kind of staff level on a small block,” Kurt says.

Kurt and Tanya appreciate their friendly bank manager and their bank’s revolving credit. Wages have to be paid and as each weekly truckload of potting mix costs $3500, costs quickly adds up.

“Now that we have two full-time workers we need to keep contracts rolling in to guarantee that we have enough product for the next 12 months. We take it very seriously,” Tanya says.

“We have a young guy who’s just starting out in his career and we want to ensure he has a stable working environment to give him a good start. Our other full-time staff member is a mum with two children and we want to support her and her family.”

Horticulture and agriculture are seasonal and cyclic. For Kurt and Tanya the next three-months is all about propagation. When they are finished propagating they never want to see another broadleaf cutting. It is a similar feeling for farmers who are always pleased to see their last cow calve.

“We do our propagation then we’re onto potting then it’s weeding and maintenance and ensuring our plants make it through the summer,” Kurt says.

“The last job is the deliveries and then we’re back to the start. For 10 months of the year we’re absolutely flat out but not much happens during summer so that’s when we have a bit of down time.”

The Phillips always strive to improve efficiency. They have recently shifted from using bags to plastic pots. When they have a smaller, not so well-rooted plant, they can carry four pots at one time instead of just two bags. The pots are easier on the staff and more time-efficient to use.

“It sounds simple but it doubles our efficiency, which is important when you’re producing large numbers of plants,” Kurt says.

“We’re always looking for those little gains that actually translate into large time and efficiency gains. It’s about making it easier on the staff too so that they aren’t knackered at the end of the day.”

They have tried biodegradable pots but they break down too fast, which makes

them unsuitable for transporting plants.

Plastic pots might not be as environmentally friendly but are reusable and all those plants going into the ground are environmentally friendly.

“It’s all a bit of a balancing act and trade-off. We do ask farmers to return as many pots to us as possible. The pots are made from 100% recycled plastic and if we can recycle them again that’s even better.

“We had 10,000 returned last year. If there was a viable biodegradable option now we would change to it,” Tanya says.

They must supply 50cm tall, bushy, well-rooted plants. Loose-rooted plants will not survive when farmers put them in what can be quite harsh environments.

“The plants need to be strong due to the sheer amount of handling they undergo,” Kurt says.

“They get handled several times during delivery until the farmer has time to transport them across the farm and get them into the ground.”

There are set time frames that must be

Continued page 68

Notice of Election - DairyNZ Board of Directors - DairyNZ Directors Remuneration Committee Invitation for 2019 candidate nominations – three positions available In October, two elections will take place for DairyNZ Incorporated – one election for two farmer-elected directors for the Board of DairyNZ Incorporated and a second election for one member of the Directors Remuneration Committee.

Registered levy-paying dairy farmers are invited to nominate candidates to fill these three positions.

All farmers paying a levy on milksolids to DairyNZ are eligible to stand for either election. An information pack outlining desired criteria and nomination requirements for the positions can be obtained from the Returning Officer.

Nominations must be received by the Returning Officer by 12noon on Thursday 5 September 2019.

Elections If more candidates than the required nominations are received, elections will be carried out by postal and internet voting using the STV (single transferable vote) voting method. Votes will be weighted by annual milksolids production. Voter packs will be posted on 23 September 2019 to all registered DairyNZ levy payers, with voting closing at 12noon on Monday 21 October 2019.

The DairyNZ Annual General Meeting will be held in Hamilton on Tuesday 22 October 2019. Election results will be announced at the meeting.

For further details contact the Returning Officer as below.

Anthony Morton Returning Officer – DairyNZ Incorporated 0800 666 045 iro@electionz.com

Kurt and Tanya in one of their greenhouses with seedlings destined for riparian plantings on dairy farms.

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

1 Dairy Farmer

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SPECIAL REPORT

Kurt and Tanya Phillips bought the 0.81 hectare property in 2008 to start a nursery.

Eco-sourcing seeds locally is a priority for the Phillips because they know plants growing in the area are robust and hardy and their offspring will be too. Flax seeds being gathered for germination.

adhered to and 99% of the plants must be potted before Christmas. Kurt and Tanya know which plants must be planted at set dates to meet their May delivery deadline.

They often need to have plants growing before the council tender is released to meet the volume needed.

“In early June we do broadleaf cuttings even though we won’t see the tender until after we’ve finished them in August.

We can’t do broadleaf cuttings in August but it’s a plant that we can get out in a 12-month growing period. Our flax (Phormium tenax) seeds will be up, tubed and prepped well before we contract,” Kurt says.

“If the contract comes in and they only want half of what we’ve grown then we have to hope we can sell the rest through the nursery or cut our losses, ditch them and move on. At the end of the day it’s a perishable item with a limited shelf-life.”

Eco-sourcing (local) seed is a priority.

They want to ensure their seeds come 68

from local trees that are genetically disposed to being hardy from growing in exposed conditions. By collecting seeds from an area with many parent trees all thriving in the same conditions it is likely their offspring will have the same genetic traits.

The Phillips recently collected karo (Pittosporum crassifolium) seed only 100m from the beach. They know those plants must be tough and hardy to have grown so strongly in such an exposed position.

“Council land officers visit farmers and give them advice on the correct plants to purchase. They’ve also developed excellent workbooks on Taranaki’s different ecological zones. The council has put a huge investment into the support structure around the riparian planting scheme,” Tanya says.

“The Taranaki scheme has been going for so long that we’re seeing measurable improvements. Farmers are now seeing the ripple effect of the burgeoning wildlife on their farms. It’s nice to see results because it is a long process to make a change and it’s nice to be part of it.”

The riparian planting programme is a large part of their business but they know it can’t last forever and they will need to find other avenues when it ends.

Most building, infrastructure construction and resource consents require some form of environmental planting plan and they have some large contracts due to come in over the next few years and are working hard to maintain a profitable business.

But they are also looking outside the local market and are supplying plants for the Transmission Gully motorway in Wellington. Their business strategy is to

It’s nice to see results because it is a long process to make a change and it’s nice to be part of it.

Tanya Phillips

grow slowly but steadily.

“We’ve had opportunities to go huge but there’s a lot of risk involved and if we don’t get a contract we could be in trouble and we have a responsibility to our staff,” Kurt says.

“Every year we’ve increased production and we can’t see that stopping any time soon.

“It’s great to be part of a scheme that is planting up our waterways and building wildlife corridors from the mountain to the sea.

It’s very labour-intensive but also very rewarding because you can look back and see what you have achieved for the day.”

They says it is great see that farmers are thinking about the environment and not degrading it.

“They realise that there is nitrate runoff from farms and want to do something about it,” Tanya says.

“Trees are the perfect thing to capture that nitrate run-off, grow really well, keep our rivers clean and cool them down.

This is much better for all of the creatures in that aquatic environment and the surrounding terrestrial life.” n

DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

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August 2019

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Luke Chivers and Stephen Bell those commodity prices will continue to stay up unless we coN A global environment ordinate and collaborate our sales characterised by increasing efforts. uncertainty the primary “And farmers must still work sectors are continuing to hard to make sure they get a good deliver, Agriculture Minister profit.”

Damien O’Connor says.

Despite economic and political Joined by 100 farmers and uncertainty affecting world industry leaders at the National markets, New Zealand’s returns Fieldays O’Connor launched have remained solid and though the latest Situation and Outlook there is continuing risk it report for Primary Industries is offset to some extent by the weak (SOPI) produced by MPI. dollar.

“It’s great news across the sector “This export performance with headline figures showing by NZ’s primary sector producers continued growth.” is all the more impressive Agricultural exports have CHALLENGING: Primary industry risen considering the weakening export revenue is expected to $7.5 billion in the last two global jump by more than 7% this year Minister Damien O’Connor told years to $45.6 billion, Agriculture economic environment and industry leaders at the National but returns are expected to Fieldays when he attended with Ardern. soften the high degree of uncertainty Prime Minister Jacinda his year before growing again, creating tensions across O’Connor said. international markets,” MPI Export returns for primary director-general Ray Smith to sustain growth in dairy produce in the year to June export We are moving into revenue global economic growth 30 are said. despite constraints on expected to be $45.7b. expectations, rising protectionist challenging economic However, given the uncertain milk production growth,” The report also predicts a Smith sentiment and uncertainty slight international backdrop said. caused environments and trade fall in the coming year before

by Brexit, United States-China and despite strong export “NZ’s current run of export returns start climbing again, is being kicked around trade tensions and outbreaks to performance the downside success over the past two of reach $48.5b in 2023. risks years African swine fever. like a football. to the forecast are heightened has occurred despite a rising “Horticulture has continued But the bigger concern for over the next few years. sense of uncertainty in global to be the star performer with NZ is their potential impact its Production and returns are markets. on focus on the customer resulting consumer demand in Britain, in expected to fall slightly Damien O’Connor “This is in part because the in the its success,” O’Connor said.

America and China. next year before resuming products we trade in haven’t Agriculture Minister “The meat sector is solid and been “We are moving into is moderate momentum in directly affected so are and likely to continue that way the in part challenging economic given medium term in meat, dairy because the NZ dollar has the challenges in China with and fallen environments and trade is their horticulture. over the past two years. being pork production. continue supporting export kicked around like a football,” Sustained Chinese and “However, these issues do “We’re also seeing aquaculture returns.

O’Connor said. southeast Asian demand is provide an increasingly uncertain grow which is a real positive.

“Strength in prices supported “Our sector shouldn’t assume supporting strong prices and backdrop to the otherwise “But farmers can’t assume by an increasing proportion anything and will need to the weak dollar is expected of positive outlook.” to higher-value products is expected

I

1

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One last word …

C

ONGRATULATIONS to freelance agricultural journalist and Dairy Farmer contributor Samantha Tennent who is in the United States attending the 2019 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sam, a member of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators, was nominated

by Dairy Farmer and is one of 10 agricultural journalists from around the world selected to attend the Alltech Young Leaders Award for 2019.

The award is open to IFAJ members under 35 from guilds around the world. As one of the recipients she will participate in a unique, two-day boot camp that includes leadership training and support in journalism for writing or broadcasting assignments.

They also attend the annual IFAJ congress during which time they will hear speakers from various organisations and embark on several farm tours.

74

Sam did a veterinary technology degree at Massey University where she fell in love with dairy cows. Based in Palmerston North, she works as a developer for DairyNZ and has written for several publications.

She is looking forward to learning about dairying in the US and how their systems operate and compare to New Zealand farms.

“I’m really excited about the fact that this trip is all about agriculture and will cover so many different aspects of the industry.

“It is isn’t every day that you get the opportunity to visit and study farms overseas so I am really looking forward to seeing how they do things.”

She is also keen to work with a mentor and learn from their experiences as well as connecting with other agricultural journalists from the around the world.

“I am excited to expand my network internationally and hope to find some mentoring and support to develop my writing skills further.

“I expect it will be full-on but at the same time, hugely rewarding and an amazing experience.”

No doubt we will hear about some of the farms she visits when she returns so keep an eye out in the next issue for those stories.

Calving is in full swing on most farms and social media reports suggest many started earlier than usual. There must be something in the water because there have been many reports of twins being born and in one instance one farmer had four of his cows calve and three gave birth to twins.

Twins in dairy cattle aren’t rare but there seem to be a lot of them this season. Triplets or course are even rarer with the chances of a cow carrying triplets about one in 500,000. And the chance of a cow giving birth to three live calves is about one in two million but no doubt, as there is most seasons, one farmer will experience the joy of triplets – a bit like winning Lotto really. n

Sonita Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz Follow us: @DairyFarmer15 Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz DAIRY FARMER

August 2019

Dairy Diary

Proudly brought to you by Farmside

August 2019 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday 1

August 5 Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries Action on Ag emissions - Carterton public info session. Carterton Events Centre 10am-noon, Info at www.facebook.com/ MPIgovtnz/

5

August 5 Ministry for the Environment and Ministry 6 7 for Primary Industries 8 Action on Ag emissions - Palmerston North public info session.

Palmerston North Conference Centre 5.30pm-7.30pm. Info at www.facebook.com/MPIgovtnz/

August 6 Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries Action on Ag emissions - Auckland public info session.

5.30pm-7.30pm Info14 at www.facebook.com/ 12Karstens Auckland13 15 MPIgovtnz/ August 7 Ministry for the Environment and Ministry for Primary Industries Action on Ag emissions - Nelson public info session. Rutherford Hotel 10am-noon. Info at www.facebook.com/MPIgovtnz/

19August 12-13

20

21

22

National Science Challenges Our Land and Water Symposium | Kia Mauri Ora te Whenua - Te Papa, Wellington Our Land and Water is the National Science Challenge that delves into how we can restore land and water while also producing value from these taonga. Come and be a part of the solution at the Our Land and Water Symposium, Kia Mauri Ora te 26Whenua. Info at www.

27 ourlandandwater.nz 28 29 August 14 Dairy Women’s Network North Waikato - Coffee morning catch-ups. Join us for a coffee catch-up on the second Wednesday of each month. Come and have some free time for yourself and connect with others. Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events

DAIRY FARMER

Friday 2

Saturday 3

4

August 15 Dairy Women’s Network Talk to Todd – Mob tallies and milk feed data – Connecting the dots. Join Farm IQ software at 1pm Thursday August 15 on our Facebook page for Talk to Todd, the spring webinar series. The second live chat in the series will cover monitoring production, data partner, keeping accurate records of cows contributing to the vat and the FarmIQ dashboard – one-stopshop for9farm key performance 10 indicators. Register 11your interest at our Facebook event so you don’t miss it: facebook.com/ events/695149427590420. Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events August 21 DairyNZ Waikato autumn calving group – south Waikato. We discuss the challenges of managing mastitis in autumn-calving herds and what role race design and maintenance play in udder and hoof health. 16 Info at dairyevents.co.nz.

17 18 August 27 DairyNZ Breakfast on us – Tatuanui. DairyNZ and industry supporters are running a series of free cooked breakfasts around Waikato for dairy farmers. Info at dwn.co.nz/events.

August 28 24 25 DairyNZ23 Breakfast on us – Te Rahu. DairyNZ and industry supporters are running a free breakfast. Come to this event near you. Info at dairyevents.co.nz.

August 29 DairyNZ Breakfast on us – Kio Kio. DairyNZ and industry supporters are running a series of free cooked breakfasts around Waikato for 30 Info at dairyevents.co.nz.

31 dairy farmers.

DairyNZ Mid-calving catch-up. Various dates and locations. We know calving is a hectic time of year. If you can only join us for part of the event, please don’t let this stop you from attending altogether. Info at dairyevents.co.nz

We know rural because we are rural www.farmside.co.nz

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BURGESS FARM

THE NEVADA

BLUEPRINT

WINTER

2019

EFFLUENT MANAGEMENT

Keeping it simple is the key to success nevadagroup.co.nz 0800 464 393

CONTENTS

Located in Sanson, Frank runs a 250ha sheep and beef farm with approximately 400 Winter Dairy Grazers cows.

2

Frank Collier Success Story

3

PTO Stirrers & Hydraulic Options

4

Nevada Slurry Tankers

6

Nevada Electric Stirrers

8

Slurry Tanker Rainwave Unit

9

Layflat Hose & Pump Kits

10

Nevada Finance

11

Nevada PondBoom

12

Nevada Rainwave Drag Hose System

14

Remote Valve Switch & Slurry Tanker Components

15

Nevada Fertigator

TM

TM

TM

TM

“It’s a good way of doing it. Taking solids out is unnecessary” Frank Collier OHAKEA

nevadagroup.co.nz

Running a feedpad, and separating out the solids was a time consuming daily process, and Frank was looking to maximise efficiency and cut down costs, so he contacted Nevada. Now with a 6 million litre pond, TurboStir 7000 PTO stirrer and electric pump, he wouldn’t look back. Here’s his story…

Tell us a bit about your farm and how you were managing effluent before?

It’s a sheep/beef farm mainly trading in lambs and we’ve had a feed pad that we used to feed angus cattle on, and we’ve since changed that and we are now wintering up to 400 cows for approximately 13-14 weeks on a concrete pad. Before that we used to separate out the solids out with a solids separator. It took a long time so we decided we wanted to put a big effluent pond in, 6 million litres, and be able to pump straight into there.

Buying the Nevada pond stirrer has enabled us to do that, and then we can pump all the effluent out. We found the separator high maintenance, extra work and it didn’t get the best results from the effluent.

What made you choose Nevada?

I rang Nevada with a severe crust problem. Nevada wanted to put a stirrer to the test, and it cleaned the pond perfectly. I had my doubts before they came as to whether it would do it. It was a breeze. It’s less time consuming. The separators took a long time to process, we were scraping out every day, and collecting all the effluent, so it was costing money that way. It’s [effluent] much easier to deal with. Now we can just put it straight into the pond, and we don’t have to worry about it until we pump it out to spread at the other end.

What would you say to other farmers looking to improve their effluent management?

We’ve got a 7m one [pond stirrer] which is great.

I wouldn’t go any shorter than that when you’ve got a reasonable sized pond. I think it’s a good way of doing it, taking the solids out is unnecessary.

This seems to be working well.

POND

STIRRING

Hundreds of Farmers can’t be wrong!

Nevada Pond Stirrers are NZ's Best!

When choosing a stirrer, you want to get the model that will give you the most stirring ability for the size of your pond. That is why we offer four models plus the option to extend. No matter what the size of your pond is, we have a model to suit.

FARMERSTIR 6000 5.5 metres long, with quick crank angle adjustment.

This is our most popular stirrer.

TURBOSTIR 6000 6.5 metres long, with hydraulic angle adjustment. Very powerful, and a popular choice for contractors and farmers with larger ponds.

TURBOSTIR 7000 7.4 metres long, with hydraulic angle adjustment. This is the “king” of NZ pond stirrers, ideal for contractors and very large ponds.

Top Deal - Only

Top Deal - Only

Top Deal - Only

+ GST

+ GST*

+ GST

$6,990

0800 464 393 Hydraulic drive front mount option available for stirrers

$7890

$10,350

nevadagroup.co.nz PTO Stirrer extensions available – add an extra 4 metre reach! Amazing!

*While stocks last.

3

NEVADA

SLURRY

TANKERS

Meeting the demands through constant improvement Nevada 12000 Litre Slurry Tanker The NEVADA 12,800 litre tanker is the product of continuous improvement. It is large enough to be efficient and small enough to be safe!

With the Huge chassis and running gear, the chunky tapered draw bar incorporates a 10 leaf suspension spring to dampen shock loading. Parabolic cantilevered suspension on the 100mm braked tandem axle allows for faster travel speeds and a smoother ride…

Amazing actually.

The rear wheels have a self steering system, which makes it a dream to operate and makes minimal pasture damage is what Nevada owners say is incredible.

Vacuum for the 12,000 tankers’ large 200mm suction autofill arm is provided by the all-new ballast airinduction 13,500 litre per minute pump. This is a huge breakthrough for longer life pumps.

Nevada Slurry Tankers range is from 6,000 Litre units, up to 36,000 Litre units.

The list of features of these great Nevada tankers are huge! The team at Nevada can offer Zero deposit deals and Lease to Buy in some cases… Discuss these with the Team, as these machines don’t sit around for long!

Nevada slurry tankers receive the highest level of corrosion protection in the industry. Not only are they hot-dip galvanised inside and out, the tank is further coated with a clear coat for ultimate defense and easy cleaning.

We also have a near new 12,800 Litre model available Enquire now for finance options and a deal with this unit.

0800 464 393 4

nevadagroup.co.nz

Reliable and Affordable...

Guaranteed!

Single Axle

Tandem Axle

Tridem Axle*

• Options for manual fill or autofill arm

• 10,000, 12,800, 14,600 and 16,500 litre models

• NZ’s best value large tanker

• Massive 200mm suction

• Large 200mm autofill arm standard

• Large wheels

• Massive fast loading vacuum pump

• Brakes on both wheels

• Self-steering on rear wheels (optional for 10,000L)

• Optional drawbar suspension

• Suspension drawbar

• Options for tyres

• Galvanised double corrosion protection

• Brakes on all wheels

• Steering on 2 axles for easy driving

• Galvanised double corrosion protection • Our most popular tanker, 12,800L

• 18,000 to 37,000 litre sizes

• Large autofill suction.

• Brakes on all 6 wheels • Galvanised double corrosion protection

View one in action online!

sales@nevadagroup.co.nz 5

NEVADA ELECTRIC

STIRRERS

How to best manage solids from feed pads and dairy sheds...

The purpose of any solids management system is to collect the effluent and apply it to land in a way that is friendly to the three ‘P’s: • People – Less exposure to effluent; less labour required; easy un-complicated • Planet – Retains nutrients for plant growth; less processing (lower carbon footprint) • Profit – High nutrient value for better crop growth; lower capital cost; lower operating cost The best way to achieve a high ‘3 P’s’ score is to manage effluent as one product:

Collection & Storage If your feedpad or yard has the correct slope, then floodwashing with recycled effluent is best practice.

Greenwater for floodwash can be decanted off the effluent pond - no separation required. Using a floating suction pipe and allowing the pond to settle the water decanted is perfect for floodwashing.

The secret to effective floodwashing is fast dumping to create a wall of water that collects the solids and carries them straight to the pond. A stone trap is advisable wherever stones are present but is not essential.

Stirring Effective pond stirring is key to the success of the system. The stirrer must be shore-mounted and create a strong horizontal thrust across the pond, bringing the solids into suspension.

6

Nevada Electric stirrers are ideal as they have the powerful Typhoon™ propeller which is capable of mixing large ponds. The angle and depth adjustment help ensure the whole pond is thoroughly mixed prior to pumping. If electricity is not available, a tractor powered stirrer can be used. Nevada have a range of stirrers and extensions for every situation.

Pumping & Irrigation The homogenous mixture can be pumped successfully with a solids-handling progressive cavity or centrifugal pump. These can be electric, tractor driven, or diesel powered.

Irrigation of whole effluent can be through the Nevada Rainwave™ drag hose system, traditional travelling irrigators or stationary rain guns.

Slurry tankers are another excellent method of applying effluent to land. No effluent passes through a pump, and effluent can be applied to the whole farm.

This makes best use of nutrients for maximum profit.

Managing effluent as one product will achieve the highest 3 ‘P’s score when compared to solids separation systems.

Whether it is a new installation or upgrading an existing system give the Nevada guys a call for free advice.

0800 464 393

SUCCESS

STORY

Marc Feather WAIRARAPA

“At last….

A stirrer that works!”

When Marc Feather from Feather Holdings rang Nevada for help with stirring their pond, he had good reason to be skeptical.

He had already tried a number of stirrers and none of them worked. After hearing how good Nevada stirrers work, he agreed to buy a Nevada stirrer on the condition it made a significant difference to their pond within two hours! It did this with ease!

Feathers’ have a large scale farming operation near Taupo. The effluent from 2,000 cows is collected in the lined storage pond and pumped to pasture using a progressive cavity pump.

The pond had an accumulation of sludge, and weeds were growing on the crust. In fact it was as green as the paddocks.

11.00am

BEFORE

A Nevada Turbostir 7,000 with a liner protection kit was put to the test, and within minutes it was obvious it would work. By the end of the day the pond was thoroughly mixed and ready for pumping.

Nevada recommends regular stirring. By decanting off the liquid without mixing, the sludge problem will be compounding. Regular mixing ensures all the nutrients reach the pasture for maximum return on investment.

5.30pm

AFTER

sales@nevadagroup.co.nz 7

NEVADA

RAINWAVE™

Make Better use of your valuable, nutrient-rich effluent Every tanker owner must know about these…

• Far superior to splash plate spreading • Ideal alternative to dropper booms • Large droplet size, so very minimal wind drift • Better nutrient use

Stainless steel spout

• Gentle low-pressure rain pattern • Better for the environment

Selection of nozzles

• Less pasture damage • Low application depth (1-10mm)

Ingenious self-drive mechanism

• Safe tractor speeds (less than 7km/h)

Fast, Easy mounting

• Very even spread pattern

• High volume (100m3/h - 200m3/h) • Low maintenance

Fits most makes and models of tankers

• Handles thick slurry (up to 20% solids) • Can be retro-fitted to most slurry tankers

Retro-fit to your existing tanker!

0800 464 393 8

nevadagroup.co.nz

LAYFLAT

HOSE &

PUMP KITS

Quality layflat hose imported... Direct to you!

Layflat Hose & Couplings Nevada import and stock good quality PU and rubber layflat hoses and Storz couplings.

These are the best quality from Europe and Australia‌ Direct to You! Available in 75mm, 102mm, 125mm, 150mm sizes.

Effluent PTO Rovatti Pump Kits* Model TL2

Model TL3

For up to 105,000L/h.

For up to 168,000L/h.

Top Deal - Only

Top Deal - Only

+ GST

+ GST

$6,790

$8,190

Chopper models also available. *PTO Pump Kits come with Driveshaft, Rubber Suction Hose and hard faced lubrication seals for longer life. *Prices vary depending on model chosen. Standard lending criteria, terms and conditions apply. Lease to own prices include GST & are based on a 5yr term.

sales@nevadagroup.co.nz 9

NEVADA FINANCE LEASE TO OWN How it works...

1. Pay No Deposit.

2. Pay lease monthly amount only for 60 months (shorter terms available) 3. Claim GST amount each month as you go.

4. Simply pay the 20% Residual balance (or Refinance balance) at the end of 60 months.

5. When the residual balance is paid, the machine is yours!

10,000 litre Autofill Tandem Axle Slurry Tanker with steering axle

8200 litre Manual Fill Slurry tanker

Special from

$1,069

$538

+ GST per month

+ GST per month

12,800 litre Autofill Tandem Axle Slurry Tanker

TurboStir 6000

From

$1,159

$141

+ GST per month

• Hire options • Hire purchase options

+ GST per month

• $0 deposit lease to own options • We’ll trade your old slurry tanker!

Nevada RainwaveTM Draghose System 400m reel + 3ptL Rainwave Spreader + PTO Pump TM

From only

$951

+ GST per month*

0800 464 393 10

nevadagroup.co.nz

Pricing valid for Spring 2019. All finance subject to normal lending criteria. Please enquire for all details and Options. (Nevada working with UDC and Marac finance.)

NEVADA

PONDBOOMS

TM

Make your pond safe with a Nevada PondBoom TM

Heavy duty trolley system for Yardmaster & Doda pumps – large rollers for easy rolling.

Easy Winch System Servicing and maintenance is quicker as the pump can quickly be retracted and then deployed again from the safety of the shore.

Galvanised heavy duty frame 7m & 9m models available.

Nevada PondBoom™ Drums Manufactured using corrosive resistant polyethylene, for a lifetime of use.

Nevada flat hose stays flat and unobtrusive when not in use.

sales@nevadagroup.co.nz 11

NEVADA

RAINWAVE™

Amazingly Simple...

And Simply Amazing!

Nevada Rainwave™ Drag Hose System If you are looking for a Drag hose system, or a Fast easy way to empty your Effluent ponds... Then look no further than the simple and effective Nevada Rainwave™ Drag Hose system.

The secret is the unique Low Pressure Application unit for effluent. It allows larger drops to be spread to reduce wind drift as well as increasing the amount of nutrients reaching down into the soil.

These are absolutely ideal for farmers with large effluent ponds or multiple farms.

They are quick and easy to use. They have an even spread and are ten times faster than a traditional irrigator.

The Nevada Rainwave™ spreads faster, further, and more evenly with up to 15 meter wide spread.

It is no wonder these have become an effective alternative for farmers for applying their effluent to land.

Different pumping system options are available to suit your requirements.

The Nevada Rainwave™ Drag Hose system has high quality TPU European layflat hose. It has a massive 600 psi burst pressure, 20 tonne tensile strength, with five times more abrasion resistance than standard rubber hose.

The Hose reel is hydraulically driven and comes with up to 600 meters of 100mm hose per spool.

Additional spools are available for more hose as required.

A 3 point linkage system connects the Rainwave™ to your tractor. Spreading effluent becomes a breeze!

0800 464 393 12

View one in action online!

nevadagroup.co.nz

“We saw something that looked better, and we gave it a go”

Thomas Scheres WAIKATO DAIRY FARMER

Benefits of Rainwave™ The Nevada Drag Hose system is ideal when you want to empty your effluent storage very quickly.

A mobile option, pump straight from storage and spread over multiple areas of the farm, and even over multiple farms without the limitations of fixed, inground piping. It’s also ideal for farms who don’t have power running to their storage for an electric system, or for use in wet seasons where using a tanker is not possible.

• Far superior to splash plate spreading • Ideal alternative to dropper booms • Large droplet size, so very minimal wind drift • Better nutrient use • Gentle low-pressure rain pattern • Better for the environment • Less pasture damage • Low application depth (1-10mm) • Safe tractor speeds (less than 7km/h)

Nevada Drag Hose

102 and 127mm diameter.

3.3mm-4.0mm wall thickness.

17bar max working pressure (250 PSI).

42bar burst pressure (610 PSI).

13,800 – 17,900 kg (in tonnes) tensile strength.

Hose Reeler

Galvanised frame. 3 pt linkage mount.

Optional hydraulic guiding arm.

Removable spools

Rainwave™

60-300m3/hr. Application depth from 1mm. Includes swivel joint to unkink hoses.

Galvanised and stainless steel. 15m wide spread (21m for double RainWaves™)

Pumps

From 80 – 300m3/hr.

• High volume (100m3/h - 200m3/h) • Very even spread pattern • Low maintenance • Handles thick slurry (up to 20% solids)

RainwaveTM Packages starting at

$49,900 + GST

Includes PTO Pump, Hose & Reeler + 3PTL Rainwave Unit* *400m of 100mm hose

sales@nevadagroup.co.nz 13

Nevada Remote Valve Switch The remote valve switch lets you switch between one irrigation line to another (or bypass back to the pond) without turning off the pump.

This is made possible with use of a soft close switching system eliminating any potential pressure spikes.

It’s so simple - just activate it from your mobile phone!

Features:

Top Deal - Only

$3,260

• 75mm Y Valve.

+ GST*

• Powered by a 12 Volt battery.

• Free app download for IOS and Android phones.

• No internet connection required.

• Remote valve switch can be controlled by multiple mobile devices.

• Allows one person to operate a drag hose system.

• New Zealand made.

Slurry Tanker Components Imported from Europe, direct to you!

Multi-purpose pvc suction/ delivery hose

Hillside Spreader

Long 150mm 200mm lasting + GST + GST flexible per meter per meter hose 3 & 5 metre lengths available.

Side Discharge Spreader Kit (for hillsides) 6"

Galvanised Spreader Plate

Quality Italian-made piston valve with O-ring gasket, for inlet and outlet FROM ONLY shut-off. (6" or 8") + GST Bar sold separately.

$119

Uniform spread pattern. Attaches to a 6” female coupler.

$246

ONLY

$295 + GST

Battioni Air-cooled Vacuum Pump MEC 9000 Heavy Duty Italian Vacuum Pump.

0800 464 393 14

$239 + GST

Manual brass gate valve

$595

Quick attach coupler

Trough Cleaner Kit Mounts on any tanker with a 6" flanged port. used for small suction duties such as cleaning troughs.

ONLY

ONLY

$595 + GST

Heavy Duty 6" galvanised coupler with quick attach mechanism. Ideal for slurry tankers.

ONLY

$332 + GST

Battioni Air-cooled Vacuum Pump $5,190

$4,300 + GST

Agri-84 Heavy Duty Italian Vacuum Pump.

14,800L/min.

$7,590

$7,300 + GST

nevadagroup.co.nz

Includes Delivery

NEVADA These Low Application pods are Excellent for spreading effluent onto hillsides and sloping terrain. The robust Nevada EFFLUENTFertigator™ SYSTEMS metal gun is especially built for Effluent. With the wide 70mm base and quick easy Camlocks, maintenance is If you need to spread dairy effluent over a large area with a A 'NO-BRAINER' minimal!.... So quick, so easy! controlled application rate, the Nevada Fertigator™ is for you!

Nevada are experts with The Fertigator™ is a portable effluent helping farmers sort their irrigation solution, manufactured in New Zealand especially for local Effluent questions. farming conditions.

TL2-85 ROVATTI PTO PUMP KIT • Capacity up to 105,000 L/hr

When effluent Peter from Waikato needed help that would you can say Spreading straight from the pond or sump, get all components for his system goodbye tohis common irrigator issues liketogether, run-off, he ponding, and worked it out with the team at Nevada. groundwater contamination. Simply connect with your pump and drag and the away you go! of his existing Peterhose, had seen improvement

• Suction pipe with strainer • Drive shaft

irrigated pasture…. So it was a “no- brainer” to install further lines.

An affordable effluent irrigation Nevada provided all the gear for Peter to install… solution online!

So quick,-SoOrder easy!

$

• Hard-face lubricated mechanical seal

ONLY

Top Seller! Only

• Suits most 6,650 $545 traveling irrigators and rainguns +GST

+ GST

Effluent Hydrants – Easy to install!

EFFLUENT HYDRANTS Only

Only

$129

Only

$439

+ GST

$549

+ GST

+ GST

Only

$199

Only

$187

+ GST

+ GST

End of the line hydrants End of line hydrants

2-way hydrants 2-way hydrants

3-way hydrants 3-way hydrants

S hydrants

S-bend hydrants

Healthy Effluent Ponds with Nevada Pond Bugs!

10

• • • • • • • •

Trusted for Safety & Reliability

Nevada are Accredited Effluent Designers

Reduces pond crusting Maintains pond capacity Improves the nutrient value of pond effluent Reduces odour Approved for use on organic farms Enables cows to graze pasture sooner Improves soil biological health Helps reduce greenhouse emissions

2 x Buckets

$595 + GST

Includes Delivery $318+gst for 1 Bucket

sales@nevadagroup.co.nz 15

Hydrants

PondBoom

Solids Spreader

*Terms and conditions apply. Nevada Ltd endeavors to ensure that the information presented in this publication is accurate and current. However, we do not accept any liability for errors, omissions, or outdated content. Nevada Ltd reserves the right to alter specifications, components, design and prices, at our discretion and without notice. Other conditions may apply. All material and information presented in this publication is copyright 2019 Nevada Ltd. All rights reserved. All prices exclude GST unless stated.. Special prices are for a limited time or while stocks last.

nevadagroup.co.nz 0800 464 393