NZ sees light through cracks in world trade
NEW ZEALAND could benefit as countries with high barriers to agricultural imports reconsider them in response to United States President Donald Trump’s global tariff attack.
Protectionists around the world are rapidly reconsidering their policies as they line up to plead with Trump to drop tariffs against them, which he says are payback for trade barriers stifling US exports.
Strengthening trade ties to offset the impact from US tariffs is also now on the agenda for these countries.
Building a diverse range of markets is even more important today.
Mike Petersen Former agricultural trade envoy
Arch-protectionist France is reported to be considering dropping its opposition to a free trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur block of South American countries.
Twenty-five years in the making, the deal is opposed by French farmers concerned it will flood the EU with cheap Brazilian beef.
India, which a year ago blocked progress towards a deal to tackle a trillion dollars of trade-distorting
global agricultural subsidies at the World Trade Organisation, is now moving to fast-track trade deals with the EU and the US and last month reignited talks with NZ after a decade-long hiatus.
Adding to that momentum, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called for the 12 countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP ) trade agreement to explore with the EU ways to “promote free trade as a path to prosperity”.
Luxon expected this could initially include action to prevent export restrictions and ensure any tariff retaliation in a trade war is consistent with global trade rules.
A Wellington insider said working with the EU to safeguard global trade rules could have other positive spin-offs for NZ agricultural exporters.
Beef and dairy exporters were left unfulfilled by the access to the European market of 450 million consumers achieved in NZ’s trade deal with the EU in 2022.
At the time it was thought it would be a generation before NZ could hope to negotiate an upgrade.
However, sitting down again with European trade officials could provide NZ an opening for revisiting the agreement much earlier.
“That is a wonderful opportunity to re-open the market access component although it might be
Onenui Station rockets ahead
Sheep, beef and aerospace are in the mix for Ahuwhenua Trophy finalist Tawapata South. Since 2016 Onenui Station, at the tip of the Māhia Peninsula, has been home to the Rocket Lab launching range. Pictured are farm manager Logan McClelland, Tawapata South committee member Natalie Paewai, chair Lester White and committee member Corban Paewai.
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Alphapix Photography
WWI through a young farmer’s eyes
Young Gisborne farmer Alick Trafford survived World War 1 by the skin of his teeth – and so did his illicit diaries. More than a century later, his writings now tell a tale ‘Into the Unknown’.
FEDERATED FARMERS 11-14
We are on the cusp of crisis, says Daniel Eb.
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Photo:
Nigel Stirling MARKETS Trade
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Farmers Weekly is Published by AgriHQ PO Box 529, Feilding 4740, New Zealand Phone: 0800 85 25 80 Website: www.farmersweekly.co.nz
ISSN 2463-6002 (Print) ISSN 2463-6010 (Online)
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PRIORITY: Matt Doocey says the government is prioritising rural communities as part of Health New Zealand’s rollout of Integrated Primary Mental Health and Addiction Services.
News in brief
Champion appointed
Former Beef + Lamb New Zealand and NZ Meat Board chief executive Scott Champion has been appointed to lead the Foundation for Arable Research.
Champion has been involved with the NZ and Australian food and fibre industries for 25 years, holding leadership and governance roles in research, tertiary education and marketing. He has strong networks across agribusiness, government and other sectors.
Foot and mouth plan
Sheep and beef farmers will get to vote in support of their levy organisation joining the foot and mouth disease national Operational Agreement between the government and the agriculture sector.
BLNZ has been working with the government and other industry groups on a foot and mouth disease readiness and response plan. Negotiations on the agreement have been conducted as part of the Government Industry Agreement for Biosecurity Readiness and Response that BLNZ joined in 2018.
NZ shearers named
New Zealand Shears Open champion Toa Henderson will be joined by Te Kuiti’s Jack Fagan for the Wools of New Zealand Shearing tour, which will comprise at least six shearing test matches across four countries in the United Kingdom and France this year.
Henderson, who earned his place with his win in Te Kuiti on March 29, will be donning the black singlet and silver fern for the first time. This will be the third test series in a row for Te Kuiti shearer Fagan.
A royal show
For the first time in 15 years, the Royal Agricultural and Pastoral Show of New Zealand will return to Canterbury.
The Canterbury A&P Association will host the Royal A&P Show, from Thursday November 13 to Saturday November 15, as part of its 162nd show, in partnership with the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand.
Farmers hoping Tam is a drought breaker
HEAVY rain from Cyclone Tam could be enough to finally break the drought that has gripped much of the country.
The storm comes on top of the earlier low that hit the country in early April and saw as much as 5080mm fall across some dry regions – but miss others.
It will likely break dry-drought conditions for many, but perhaps not all in the western North Island, WeatherWatch’s Philip Duncan said.
The heaviest rain will be in the north of both main islands. For the North Island that is especially eastern Northland, parts of Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, all of Bay of Plenty and East Cape to Gisborne.
For the South Island it’s mainly the West Coast and Nelson, and especially the Tākaka/Golden Bay region.
“Rainfall totals in all of these areas varies, but 80 to 150mm is likely, with over 200mm in some locations if the rain lingers into the weekend.
“Western parts of the NI have
Continued from page 1
one to two years away,” the insider said.
Dairy Companies Association executive director Kimberly Crewther thought it too early to tell if market access for NZ dairy exporters to the EU could be revisited.
However, the European Commission’s recent “zero for zero” offer to scrap tariffs on US industrial imports in exchange for the US doing the same for
between 15 and 70mm so some places will miss out thanks to our mountains and ranges blocking the flow.”
Waikato Federated Farmers president Keith Holmes said if the maximum amount of rain forecast from the cyclone lands in the region, it would be a “blessing from the gods”.
He suspects some areas will get heavy rain while other might miss out.
We need some decent rain to get it moving.
“It’s a case of not counting our chickens before they hatch.”
The rain that fell in early April was patchy, with some areas getting less than 10mm and others receiving enough to see the beginnings of pasture regrowth.
While the recovery has been variable, the region is less at risk than it was before that earlier rainfall.
“There are patches that are truly serious and are doing some pretty drastic things like selling off capital stock and drying off the
European industrial goods indicated a potential shift in mindset by the EU in response to Trump’s tariffs.
“If it is possible on industrial goods why not agriculture?” she asked.
“The same arguments apply.”
Lockwood Smith, who as a former trade minister and high commissioner to the United Kingdom has plenty of experience dealing with European protectionists, said farmers would welcome lower tariffs on NZ
herd, which economically for those people is dreadful.”
Other areas have recovered well, and some are also in a green drought, he said.
In Northland, Federated Farmers president Colin Hannah said they, too, had varied rain. Areas such as the Bay of Islands received 250mm while places like Dargaville got only 70mm.
“The west coast – where they really needed it – got some, but not as much as they needed.”
The rain in early April softened the ground and he hopes this latest storm will have replenished water tables and soil moisture deficits.
“It will be welcomed.”
Hannah is part of the local civil defence team and sent out a warning regarding Cyclone Tam.
The region was expecting 130 kilometre per hour winds along with 200mm of rain in a short period of time.
He said farmers are accustomed to these types of weather events.
“Northland farmers – this is their life; they are used to it.”
South Taranaki District Council mayor and dairy farmer Phil Nixon said the recent rain hit some areas; the region still needs at least 100-
exports to the EU but he was wary of trade-offs.
These included CPTPP countries being asked to adopt the EU’s regulation-heavy approach to trade in exchange for improved access to its markets.
“What would be a shame would be to compromise CPTPP too much,” Smith said.
Former agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen travelled with Luxon to Delhi last month to help revive trade talks with India.
Market access gains still look
150mm to properly recover from the drought.
“Some areas had big amounts and some had smaller, but for us here on the coast, between Hāwera and Manaia, we got about 30mm.”
While it was a good gentle rain and it greened up the paddocks, a follow-up downpour was really needed to get the pastures growing again.
difficult, especially for dairy, Petersen said, but NZ’s negotiating position has improved since Luxon’s visit. Indian negotiators are now under more pressure to make progress after Trump announced a 26% tariff on imports from the country as part of his reciprocal tariff announcements on April 2.
“People are not sure what the trade environment looks like anymore so building a diverse range of markets is even more important today.”
“We need some decent rain to get it moving.”
He was hopeful that Cyclone Tam would provide Taranaki with the rain that it needs, despite it ruining the Easter holiday.
“I know it’s disappointing for people out there but for the good of the economy, we need that rain.”
This week’s poll question: Have your say at farmersweekly.co.nz/poll Should New Zealand challenge Donald Trump’s tariffs through official channels like the World Trade Organisation?
Gerald Piddock NEWS Weather
RAIN: North Island farming leaders are hoping this latest rain will be a drought breaker. Photo: Charlotte Curd Photography
Phil Nixon South Taranaki District Council
Onenui Station rockets towards recognition
AHUWHENUA Trophy
finalist Tawapata South, on the east coast, has a sustainable farming business surrounding New Zealand’s world-leading aerospace platform.
Since 2016 Onenui Station, at the tip of the Māhia Peninsula, has been home to the Rocket Lab launching range.
The lease to Rocket Lab has brought investment, income diversity, employment opportunities, scholarships, sports team sponsorships and innovation.
In 2024 some 13 Electron rockets were launched from Māhia and the running total is now over 50 since May 2017.
“Our ability to integrate traditional land use with cuttingedge technology demonstrates our commitment to long-term sustainability,” the Tawapata South proprietors said.
Onenui Station is sheep and beef farming on 1700 hectares of effective farmland within a total holding twice that size.
It is wintering 15,000 stock units, including 6000 breeding ewes, 600 breeding cows, replacements and trade cattle.
Productive flats total 350ha and the balance of 1350ha is medium to steep hill country, much of it exposed to the south.
During the past decade over 1000ha has been reclaimed from scrub with ryegrass and clover pastures.
Higher productivity has increased carrying capacity from four to nine stock units a hectare and annual gross income is now $300/ha.
The effective farm has 42
paddocks averaging 42ha, with a range from 15ha to 180ha.
On the flats there are 120ha of lucerne, and 20ha of brassicas are grown annually for lamb finishing before regrassing.
The Olsen P tests on the hills average 20 and on the flats 40, and the soil pH readings are 5.8 and 6.1 respectively.
Fertiliser application rates range from 200kg/ha for maintenance, up to 500kg for hill country development.
The farm finishes 75% of its sheep using lucerne and one-third
Our ability to integrate traditional land use with cutting-edge technology demonstrates our commitment to longterm sustainability.
Tawapata South
of its cattle, with the remainder sold store.
With 20km of coastline and diverse landscapes, Onenui Station has a comprehensive environmental plan that includes protection of waterways, coastal dunes and erosion-prone gullies.
Conservation over 836ha has been enabled by Ngā Whenua Rāhui funding from the Department of Conservation to protect indigenous biodiversity on Māori-owned land.
Coastal faces have been fenced off and natives planted, along with debris dams and protection of tūturuatu (shore plover).
The committee of management is five members including chair Lester White, and the farm has four staff, including manager Logan McClelland.
The policies of the proprietors include distributions of after-tax profit by way of one-third capital investment, one-third shareholder
distributions and one-third debt repayment, although Onenui doesn’t have any debt at present.
On-farm development must be serviced by farm income and in recent times that category has included new cattle genetics and a trial flock of Wiltshire ewes.
The aim is to have an efficient ewe flock with a consistent 145% lambing, a moderate size and good bone and facial eczema tolerance.
One target is 60% of terminal lambs to the works off mum and last season the achievement was 50% at 19kg CW.
Two thousand of the older and lesser type ewes are put to terminal rams and 4000 ewes to the Romney rams, to achieve 1800 replacements.
The Angus cow herd of 450 is bred to Angus bulls while 180 yearling heifers go to a low birthweight Angus bull.
The heifers must be 350kg LW before mating and they are generally averaging around 400kg.
The calving target is 90% across cows and heifers.
Steers are taken through to 400kg LW and sold as yearlings while cull heifers are sent to processing at 250kg CW.
Over the past 10 years Onenui has done 60km of new fencing and now has 120 paddocks with all the
cliffs and sand dunes retired from grazing.
Two new satellite yards and a main set of cattle yards have been built.
Farm bike access is by a system of tracks and since the start of Rocket Lab there has been a sealed road through the centre of the farm.
Within Onenui Station is Waikawa, Portland Island – 120ha used for lightly stocking sheep. Its history features Māori settlement, whaling, shipwrecks and a lighthouse with housing and a school. The lighthouse was relocated to the Wairoa River over 50 years ago after 80 years of service to shipping since 1875. Farmworkers visit the island about three times a year to tend to the stock, which is now taken on and off by private launch.
Some 25 years ago the Department of Conservation introduced the very rare shore plover, which is now endemic only to the Chatham Islands.
Onenui Station is a finalist this year in the Ahuwhenua Trophy for excellence in Māori sheep and beef farming, along with Whangaroa Ngaiotonga in Northland (featured in the Farmers Weekly of April 14). The trophy will be presented on Friday, June 6 in Palmerston North.
TO ONENUI AND BEYOND: The tip of Māhia Peninsula, Onenui Station, including Portland Island and the Rocket Lab launch base.
Photos: Alphapix Photography
Hugh Stringleman ON FARM Awards
CONSERVATION: Steep cliffs on Māhia Peninsula fenced off from paddocks on Onenui Station are subject to erosion and feature in the environmental planning.
Greener shipping may come at a price
Richard Rennie NEWS Transport
NEW Zealand exporters and freight operators appear to still be in the dark about the full impact of a global greenhouse gas fee to be levied on shipping companies.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has announced there will be a minimum fee of US$100 imposed for every tonne of GHG emitted by ships over certain tonnage thresholds, the first of its type imposed around the world.
With New Zealand the furthest of any country from its main export markets, the potential impact of such a fee could prove significant.
The goal of the mandate, known as MARPOL Annex VI, is to achieve the climate targets set
out in the 2023 IMO strategy to reduce GHG emissions from ships, estimated to account for 3% of
global emissions. Ships will be required to comply with a global fuel standard and
Naysayers wrong about India: QNZ
THE company spearheading efforts to gain a foothold for New Zealand lamb at the luxury end of the Indian market has hit back at criticism that the country is incapable of competing for supply with higher-paying Western markets.
Quality NZ (QNZ) sought to use the star power of its former Black Caps owners, such as Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum, to open doors in the cricket-mad country. But after more than a decade of trying, the marketing and logistics company and its exporter partner, Alliance Group, have made limited inroads with official statistics showing NZ’s sheepmeat exports to India have only once exceeded $3 million. Last year sales were just $1m.
The market was in the spotlight last month after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon succeeded in re-starting trade talks with India after a decade-long hiatus.
Luxon and Trade Minister Todd McClay talked up India’s potential for sheepmeat exports.
Behind the scenes, however, exporters doubt the market’s ability to perform even if 33% tariffs on sheep meat can be negotiated away.
They point to Australia’s lamb exports of just 50 tonnes to India last year – two years after its own trade agreement – as evidence the country can’t compete with higher-paying markets even without tariffs.
However, QNZ executive director Geoff Allott said those exporters are ignoring India’s potential.
“If NZ industries don’t believe that India will become a major trading partner for NZ
in the future then they grossly underestimate the growth rate and significance of India as a global powerhouse of the future.
“It would be beneficial to remind ourselves of the serious investment that went into China when that FTA was first agreed.”
Allott said 80% of the lamb served in India’s 370 five-star hotels comes from QNZ but the larger prize is the retail market.
“There has been no marketing in the country by the NZ industry in the 12 years that we have been there, and so why should NZ companies expect that it has a ready-made consumer segment that is willing to pay premium prices for our unknown products?”
By continuing to pass over India in favour of higher-returning North American and European markets, exporters risk shortchanging themselves later.
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register an improvement in ships’ annual GHG fuel intensity (GFI).
Ships emitting above the GFI thresholds will be required to buy remedial fuel units to balance out while those using zero or near-zero technology will receive financial rewards.
The IMO estimates shipping company payments will generate US$11 billion to $13bn a year in revenue from the fees, which will ultimately help pay for a transition to greener shipping technology.
Standards are expected to tighten up progressively to reach the organisation’s goal of net zero across the industry by 2050.
Sherelle Kennedy, CEO of Custom Brokers and Freight Forwarders, said it remains to be seen how great the impact will be on shipping costs in and out of New Zealand.
“It is not uncommon here in NZ that we do not know the full impact of such international
decisions until we are hit with the cost. We are often the last to feel it.”
Logistics company Kotahi’s CEO, Emma Parsons, said the company is keeping a close eye on how countries will apply the emissions levy.
“The levy is an industry mechanism to accelerate the transition to green fuels with the goal to reduce carbon emissions towards net zero by 2050.
“For example, our Maersk partnership includes a roadmap to explore green fuel initiatives in the decarbonisation of container shipping from New Zealand to the world.”
Globally, as world trade has grown, shipping emissions, as with aviation, have grown with it.
At present GHGs emitted by aircraft and ships are not imputed into NZ’s annual GHG emissions tally. If they were would add another 9% to the country’s total.
GDT prices continue rising to season end
Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Dairy
GLOBAL Dairy Trade prices have risen on the back of renewed demand from China for whole milk powder, anhydrous milk fat, butter and cheddar.
The GDT index rose 1.6% to 1285, its highest point since mid-2022.
WMP was up 2.8%, AMF up 2.1%, mozzarella up 5.4% and lactose a whopping 22%.
Butter continued its record run, up 1.5% to near US$7700/ tonne, well above its five-year average around $5000.
In the past two months butter prices have been the highest recorded since the GDT auction
platform was established, in 2009.
NZX dairy analyst Rosalind Crickett said Chinese raw milk production had fallen 8.3% to curb its declining domestic prices and that had led to a combined drop in dairy manufacturing output of 6.3% across January and February. Butter production is slowly increasing in the United States but February month-on-month production was down 7% and European butter consumption is also constrained, Crickett said.
The global milk supply continues to be soft currently across major regions, with products reportedly in tight supply.
FEE: New Zealand exporters are yet to learn the full impact of a green surcharge on global shipping companies.
Nigel Stirling MARKETS Sheepmeat
Milksolids levy adjustment
Effective from 1 June 2025
Following a comprehensive consultation, the Dair yNZ Board based its decision on formal feedback from lev y payers, the financial sustainabilit y of Dair yNZ, and the resilience of our sector The new rate allows Dair yNZ to continue suppor ting farmers in those vital areas that only industr y-good can, including to lif t profitabilit y and sustainabilit y through science and research, evidence-based polic y advocac y, and independent ex tension behind the farm-gate
Par ticipation is in line with the annual Board of Directors election turnout consul t a t ion e ven t s 12 1 588 by milk solids 1 8%
Striking the balance
Farmer Feedback Changes Coming
Six key themes arose during the consultation:
• The need for greater engagement, communication and extension ser vices
• A clearer picture on where the lev y is invested and return on investment
• Further efficiencies and commercial rigour across Dair yNZ
• More farmer engagement in shaping research and science priorities
• Higher degree of science translated into practical
• More coordination and partnerships to avoid sector duplication
This feedback will influence Dair yNZ’s work across:
• Farmer engagement
• Transparency around lev y investment and ROI
• Research and science programme
Last land of Waikato receivership on market
Richard Rennie NEWS Land
THE final tender date is drawing near on the remaining three Waikato properties that once formed part of the Ofsoske family farming empire, forced into receivership in 2023.
Receivers were first appointed to oversee an initial receivership order in April 2023 of the family’s operating company Fielden Farms.
Receivership documents at the time stated the move was prompted by the family’s failure to comply with a confidential agreement entered following mediation under the (then) newly minted Farm Debt Mediation scheme.
Receivers Colin Gower and Diana Matchett of BDO signed off their responsibilities in late 2023, formally concluding the receivership on May 31 last year. The initial receivership fee was $848,000.
The sign-off came after Mark Ofsoske, through a new entity, MarkO Farms, successfully refinanced a final settlement of the group’s debt with the BNZ.
MarkO Farms took back all operational control of the farms in December 2023. At that point the family owed $27.3 million in loans and overdrafts to BNZ. These were settled through a confidential deed
of settlement that had BNZ’s debt transferred to Sydney-based Global Credit Investments (GCI).
Contacted by Farmers Weekly, a spokesperson for the company said it does not respond to media requests.
Not a typical rural financier, GCI markets itself on its website as a specialist funder to emerging nonbank finance companies, and as a provider of funding solutions for midsized businesses heavy on physical assets.
Generally, it seeks first mortgage security on properties located in Australia, typically between $10m and $50m.
An industry insider pointed to the risks of opting for such unconventional funders, who will typically charge higher rates of interest than trading banks and take a tougher line on repayment diligence.
This February, 14 months after taking over the farm loans, GCI called in receivers on the family’s assetowning companies.
Mark Ofsoske had also been convicted for effluent offences by the Waikato Regional Council on his Tairua dairy unit in the mid-90s, and for offences between May 2010 and May 2013.
That charge had resulted in a $52,500 fine for illegal discharge into a waterway.
Bayleys agent Karl Davis said interest has been strong across all
six of the properties marketed. The remaining three to be sold are all in the Paeroa district, including one dairy unit of 103 hectares and a second of 84ha plus a small 6.3ha block.
Interest has been strong across all six of the properties marketed.
Karl Davis Bayleys
He is anticipating values will be upwards of $30,000 a hectare, which is consistent with other sales in the greater district.
The properties are being sold by tender, which closes on May 1.
Rural health roadshow to visit 12 communities
Staff reporter NEWS Health
ASSOCIATE Health Minister Matt Doocey will be part of a rural health roadshow visiting 12 rural locations across the country in coming months.
Doocey, who has responsibility for rural health and is minister for mental health, said the tour, which begins in Levin on April 16, aims to commmunicate with the public and health sector.
The Rural Health Strategy, published in 2023, sets the direction for improving the health of people who live in rural communities.
“We know access to health care within rural communities, or being supported to access care when required, are key issues for rural communities,”
Doocey said.
“That’s why I want to hear from our rural communities who are accessing health care services directly about what’s
working well and what’s not. I also want to hear from those who are working in rural health.”
Rural Health Roadshow locations and dates: Levin – 16 April; Wairoa – 1 May; Wānaka – 1 July; Oamaru – 2 July; Hanmer Springs – 7 July; Gore – 8 July; Tūrangi – 6 August; Kaitaia – 7 August; Hāwera – 23 September; Te Kuiti – 24 September; Greymouth – 30 September; Thames – 1 October.
WOUND UP: One of the remaining two dairy units along with a small bare block of land still being sold off from the Ofsoske family receivership.
From the Editor
Pushing for a better rural health system
Craig Page Deputy editor
IT IS encouraging to hear Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey is hitting the highways to gain some first-hand experience about the rural health sector.
Doocey, who has responsibility for rural health and is minister for mental health, announced last week he will take part in a 12-stop rural road show around the country, visiting such far-flung places as Wairoa, Gore, Kaitaia and Greymouth.
The road show, which started in Levin on April 16, is a follow-up to the government’s Rural Health Strategy, which was trumpeted as setting the direction for improving the health of people who live in rural communities.
The strategy was designed to address key rural health concerns such as improved support and access to services.
Doocey said the road show is an opportunity to hear from the public and
those working in rural health.
“We know access to health care within rural communities, or being supported to access care when required, are key issues for rural communities. That’s why I want to hear from our rural communities who are accessing health care services directly about what’s working well and what’s not, I also want to hear from those who are working in rural health.”
You could argue that such a hands-on approach from the government – and not just this one – is long overdue. Politicians are often accused of not canvassing the views of those people who are impacted the most by government decisions.
There should be more respect for the great needs here.
Weston Kirton Ruapehu
The failings of rural health have been well aired and solutions have been talked about by successive governments. In the lead-up to the last election, all political parties were quick to offer their solutions to the problems.
The 2023 Rural General Practice
Stocktake Survey found the sector was in a critical state and rural people were not getting equitable health services.
Rural New Zealand was short about 130 doctors, 39% of rural practices were not open to new enrollments and 24% offered
LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULT
no hands-on after-hours care. Staffing shortages, under-investment and an increasing burden on facilities continued to impede the recruitment and retention of healthcare workers.
It would be nice to think the situation has improved since that report was prepared but, sadly, serious issues remain.
Recently, Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton publicly voiced his concerns about the delay of a long-promised rural health centre in the region.
Concerns had been raised over the lack of movement on the project, which was first launched more than five years ago.
“One thing about rural New Zealand, it seems to be easy picking for the government to put these things on hold,” Kirton told a Local Democracy reporter.
“Our health statistics are far worse than our counterparts in other areas. There should be more respect for the great needs here. People expect to have basic health services.”
Within days of Kirton going public, Health Minister Simeon Brown had stepped in and directed Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora to prioritise and accelerate work on the health centre.
Brown deserves credit for reacting so quickly but it should not have taken a plea through the media to ensure a promised project is delivered.
The road show is an ideal opportunity for those with an interest in rural health to get in Doocey’s ear and make a case for an improved service.
Letters of the week Birds of a feather
James Meager Minister for Hunting and Fishing
IN EARLY April, farmersweekly.co.nz published an opinion by Alan Emerson under the headline “Feathers fly over duck destruction”. I wanted to thank Mr Emerson for providing the opportunity to set the record straight and lay out exactly the steps we have taken to resolve the dispute between Federated Farmers and Fish & Game.
First, it is undeniable that farmers and agriculture are the backbone of our economy, particularly in the South Island. Agriculture is our single-largest GDP earner and accounts for more than 80% of our exports. We are a government that backs our farmers 100%, and you have seen that time and time again.
This includes stepping in to fix the Resource Management Act so that Southland farmers don’t need to apply for a resource consent to keep farming lawfully. We will safeguard previously permitted discharges and provide certainty.
Unfortunately, instead of that helping to resolve the issue, since then, we have seen a series of escalating campaigns pitting farmers against fishers and game bird hunters.
But this is an absurd, false division. Farmers are fishers, and vice versa. Farmers provide access to some of the best fishing locations in the world, and Fish & Game carries out its statutory role to protect and enhance these fisheries for the good of all anglers. Of course, we should all be working together so that we can grow our economy so that we can protect our environment.
Farmers know this. They are our great conservationists. They maintain the access tracks and repair the fences and fill the community boards and provide the gear and do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to voluntary work in our outdoors.
I’ve met with both Southland Federated Farmers and Southland Fish & Game in Invercargill on this particular issue. At our meeting I gave Feds this message when it comes to the destruction of crops: Fish & Game assures me that it is simple and straightforward to phone up and apply for a permit to shoot and kill mallards impacting crops, and you do not need to wait for actual damage in order to do so. If anybody is hearing anything contrary to that I encourage them to contact me directly.
I have also approved an increase to bag limits on mallards in Southland and am open at any point to implementing summer shooting seasons, or any other measures to better manage the mallard population.
Finally, we will be looking at making improvements to Fish & Game this term. I encourage all licence holders, farmers, Southlanders and Mr Emerson to take the opportunity to have their say on any changes we propose.
This week’s poll question (see page 1): Have your say at farmersweekly.co.nz/poll
Should New Zealand challenge Donald Trump’s tariffs through official channels like the World Trade Organisation?
MORE than two-thirds of voters thought red meat returns would remain strong this year. “They will continue to be historically high, given strong demand signals in most of our markets and the short supply of stock we have here. Processors need to do a better job of managing their overheads and capacity,” one said. Another who voted yes thought this may be the end of the golden weather, though. “Yes for this season. But not for next.”
Of the 32% who voted no, the main reason for pessimism was the impending change to our rules over genetic technologies. “The non-GMO project verification is one of the fastest growing labels in the retail sector in North America.”
Last week’s question: Given the volatile global economy, do you think export and farmgate returns for red meat will hold up at their high levels for the rest of the season? No
The Eating the Elephant guide to: crisis
Eating the elephant
Daniel Eb
Daniel Eb helps Kiwis connect with farming through his agency Dirt Road Comms and Open Farms. His family farms in Kaipara. eating.the.elephant.nz@gmail.com
RAY Dalio (founder and chief investor of the world’s largest hedge fund) just dropped one hell of a LinkedIn post. He’s urging us to see the tariff madness not as some random occurrence, but as a symptom of something much bigger – “the breakdown of the monetary, political and geopolitical orders we rely on”. I’d add ecological order to his list, because rain is quite important too.
He’s referring to the “polycrisis”, a term academics use to say that lots of stuff is going wrong all at once. The polycrisis feels like an occupation of Parliament, cyclones, a pandemic, cost-ofliving crisis, state-on-state war,
supply chain breakdown and tariff madness all happening in the space of 15 haircuts.
If someone like Dalio is saying this stuff out loud, the jig is up. It’s time to acknowledge that the emperor has no clothes. The geopolitical and economic systems that have delivered 80 years of relative peace and prosperity are collapsing. We find ourselves on the cusp of deep, profound crisis. Which sucks.
It’s not nice to acknowledge that the world is changing around us. It leaves us feeling vulnerable, powerless and anxious. But Dalio, and more of us everyday, are done with pretending. We’d rather face reality and start the hard work of transforming ourselves, families, communities and businesses to meet the polycrisis and the new order that comes next.
Because that’s what humans do. We’re built to transform in a pinch. Despite what it looks like from here, the human story isn’t one of linear progress from fire to agriculture, steam and soon to the stars. Rather, our civilization turns in cycles at regular intervals (author Neil Howe argues convincingly that these happen about every 100 years). The defining part of this cycle is crisis – a point when nations and people transform fast, because they have too.
This is the stuff in the history books. The world wars, great plagues and religious schisms that recast the financial, political and social systems of the old order into something new.
REFORMS: Transformation through crisis happened in Japan in the late 1800s, after the arrival of Western gunboats abruptly ended centuries of isolationism. To remain independent, Japan initiated a series of rapid reforms.
Turning points like these are always painful. There’s no running from that.
We’ve been here before. Many times.
As someone who retreats into history when confronted with a confusing present, I see this story of transformation through crisis played out time and again. Here’s two of the many thousands of examples history holds for us.
The year 1920 was not a good one for Germany. The aftermath of World War 1 was a time of bloody political street fighting and economic meltdown. At the peak of the crisis, millions of everyday
Germans downed tools in unison to save their fledging democracy from yet another coup – ushering in a brief respite of peace.
Transformation through crisis happened in Japan in the late 1800s, too. The arrival of Western gunboats abruptly ended centuries of isolationism and technological stagnation, igniting the Meiji Restoration – arguably humanity’s most profound pivot (to date).
To remain independent, Japan initiated a series of rapid reforms that dismantled feudalism, centralised politics, standardised language, modernised industry and the military and made education freely available.
Turning points like these are always painful. There’s no running from that. These stories of victory and transformation sit atop stories
of loss and trauma that we in our era of comfort struggle to imagine.
The last great turning (from a Western perspective) ended in 1945 – barely within reach of lived memory today. My grandparents, parents and I have ridden a wave of prolonged economic growth and peace since then. There are no stories of surviving crisis in my family, so my default vision of the future is one like theirs – stable, safe and prosperous.
But acknowledging the reality of the “breakdown of the monetary, political and geopolitical orders we rely on”, means facing the truth that I’m not owed my default, quite-nice future. It doesn’t exist anymore and it’s our generation’s turn for a round of crisis and pain now.
Ideally, we’d accept a little of that pain and change ahead of the show. We’ve got plenty of great ideas that could turn a bad crisis into a less-bad crisis. But we won’t do that. Decades of inaction on climate change, unhealthy food systems and declining youth wellbeing prove that for us modern homo sapiens, the pain must come before the change.
I get it. This is super depressing stuff. As a dad, I feel that intensely. But the human story isn’t all moon landings and printing presses. Every step up was earned by people like us, who met the pain of crisis with the courage to do the political, economic and socially impossible.
Because that’s just what humans do in crisis. We get through it by building what comes next.
Alliance delivers on shareholder commitment
Meaty matters
Allan Barber Meat industry commentator: allan@barberstrategic.co.nz, http:// allanbarber.wordpress.com
ALLIANCE chair Mark Wynne told me last week that the cooperative is determined to deliver on its commitment to keep its shareholders fully informed on its performance and prospects as it faces up to the challenge of satisfying its banking syndicate.
Wynne and chief executive Willie Wiese have just completed a series of four webinars with shareholders, when they updated them on results for the half year and progress with the capital raise being conducted by Craigs Investment Partners.
While not being prepared
to divulge exact figures for competitive reasons, he said the performance is in line with budget and is forecast to result in a profit at year end in September.
In the interests of transparency, he communicates by video every two months and provides a quarterly update using a traffic light system, as distinct from actual figures, to illustrate how the co-operative is performing against four benchmarks: operating profit, cash and liquidity, revenue and operational safety. For the first two quarters of the financial year, all four benchmarks are green, that is on or above target. In particular the cashflow is much better and plant safety, measured against livestock equivalent units and hours worked, has improved.
The co-operative’s management has applied a huge focus to getting back to basics, notably an improvement in the speed of information to farmers from the market. This process has been made easier by the marked improvement in market conditions during the current financial year. Prices for beef and also recently for lamb from all markets, notably the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and even China, have been strong. This has enabled Alliance to improve its margins as well as paying
its suppliers more for livestock.
The livestock flow has been much more consistent than the previous year in spite of unusual weather conditions – spring dry in Hawke’s Bay and snow in Southland, followed by good conditions and grass growth.
Of course, none of this addresses the elephant in the room – the pressing need for new capital –although an improved financial performance makes it easier to convince prospective investors to put the money up.
Craigs has investigated all interested parties and a number of domestic and international investors are working through due diligence. Wynne anticipates being able to update shareholders on the potential options around the end of July.
He confirmed that last year’s loss – including the closure of Smithfield, which accounted for $51 million – had adversely affected the capital required to return the balance sheet to the required position. The initial amount sought was $160m, but this has now increased to a minimum of $200m that must be obtained by the end of the financial year at September 30. There are three possible sources of capital:
• Farmers are willing to invest
the total amount to retain full co-operative status, which is considered unlikely.
• Some kind of joint venture with an external party acquiring a percentage of the company, calculated on the basis of a valuation of the total business. This is possible, depending on the outcome of the capitalraising process, and a potential model is the joint venture between Silver Fern Farms Cooperative and Bright Foods, previously Shanghai Maling.
• The farmer shareholders decide to accept an offer to buy the company outright, which would almost certainly require a commitment to supply livestock for a specified period, although this would be difficult to enforce.
If none of these sources of capital eventuates, Wynne said it would be up to the banking syndicate to decide how to proceed. There are two possible scenarios for consideration, although for obvious reasons I did not ask him to speculate on what these might be, so they are entirely my own thoughts.
The first unlikely option is immediate closure, which would inevitably crystallise the banks’ losses, including massive redundancy payments and asset write-
downs, also making it impossible to sell any part of the business as a going concern.
The second, more likely, course of action would be to appoint a manager and agree a level of seasonal finance to enable the business to buy livestock and operate as a going concern while exploring potential buyers either for the whole business at a price the bank syndicate is willing to accept or, failing that, for individual plants or assets.
Alliance has been operating proudly as a farmer owned cooperative since its formation in 1948 and has fought its way out of potentially fatal financial difficulties before, notably after it had acquired the South Island assets of Waitaki international. That was because the banks were determined to impose a solution on the industry which would not involve them in massive writeoffs, while at the same time their machinations nearly sent AFFCO into receivership, after taking on Waitaki’s North Island plants. This time the banks may need to take a more responsible approach to how they manage a difficult situation.
Chorus will soon be retiring the aging copper network that has connected Kiwis for over a century. With a range of wireless and satellite services available, now’s a good time to look at your options.
FEDERATED FARMERS
Ngāi Tahu water claim a recipe for disaster
It goes without saying freshwater is vital for all living things.
Protecting water quality, and access, is fundamental for everyone.
Federated Farmers believes it should also go without saying that we all share that interest and responsibility equally.
That’s why we stepped in as an ‘intervener’, or interested party, in Ngāi Tahu’s recent proceedings in the High Court against the Attorney General.
Ngāi Tahu wants rangatiratanga over freshwater, including the right to make, regulate, alter and enforce decisions about how freshwater is allocated, used and managed.
It could well be that they would want to be able to charge royalties for the use of water – not just water takes but its assimilative capacity, or the ability to absorb discharges from all sorts of activities.
That means what they’re seeking will also have significant implications for land use and farm viability.
The Crown vigorously opposed this – and so do Federated Farmers.
While High Court declarations cannot force Parliament to act, Parliament might decide to implement any declarations made, including redesigning the freshwater
management regime and giving Ngāi Tahu greater say.
If the South Island tribe is successful, iwi in other parts of New Zealand will no doubt file similar claims.
No other party besides Federated Farmers represented farming and agricultural interests during the eight-week court case in Christchurch.
Involvement has cost us, and our members, hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and staff time, but we felt strongly we had to be there for farmers.
While I’ll never be able to summarise my 154 pages of written evidence down to a single page of newsprint, the core of what I told the hearing is simple: Ngāi Tahu have rights, but so do many others.
Colin
Hurst Federated Farmers vice president
While I’ll never be able to summarise my 154 pages of written evidence down to a single page of newsprint, the core of what I told the hearing is simple: Ngāi Tahu have rights, but so do many others. Their territory has a population of more than a million people.
Federated Farmers has around 5000 farmer members in our 11 South Island provinces.
The current framework for freshwater management is complex and has been developed incrementally, over a long time.
It accommodates, and balances, a diverse range of uses and interests in freshwater.
Billions of dollars are invested in food production systems, irrigation and family farms – some of them going back six generations.
Certainty regarding the regime for freshwater access and management are central to this investment, now and into the future.
Decision-making under the current framework is by democratically elected bodies or the courts, though Ngāi Tahu has been involved front and centre in all the lengthy processes and development of plans.
Otago, West Coast, Canterbury and Southland Regional Councils are implementing a planning regime with Ngāi Tahu that gets very close to ‘co-governance’.
Federated Farmers does not dispute there is significant degradation of freshwater quality in parts of the South Island, and farming intensification has contributed to that.
But under the existing regime, improvements are happening as ‘whole-of-community’ solutions gather pace in each catchment.
It takes time, and if it needs to be sped up, let’s negotiate that at the democratic forums.
We have to ask: what exactly does the iwi want to achieve that it can’t under the current regime?
The declarations, if granted, could throw a hand grenade into the middle of arrangements and protections carefully and painstakingly negotiated in every region.
The uncertainty created would be massive.
As I told the Court, it’s just too impracticable, and the impact on individuals, businesses and communities too large, to contemplate a complete redesign of the regulatory regime by Ngāi Tahu.
Based on my experiences with catchment groups and 20-plus years
L E A S I N G L A N D ?
of engaging in planning processes, my view is a regime that does not have ‘buy in’ from the community it seeks to regulate will never succeed.
Farmers can’t control yields, weather, prices of markets, so it’s important there is as much certainty about the regulatory framework as possible.
Banks would be unwilling to lend to farmers (or would hike risk margins for existing clients) if there’s a chance the regulatory regime could change overnight, or current permissions to use water could be revoked or significantly altered.
Justice Harland expects to release her decisions within months. Appeals seem likely, whichever way this goes.
Whatever happens, Federated Farmers has your back.
Colin Hurst Federated Farmers vice president
CLARITY: It’s vital for farmer investment – current and future – to have certainty over freshwater access and regulation, Colin Hurst says.
Young Gisborne farmer Alick Trafford survived World War One by the skin of his teeth – and so did his illicit diaries.
Alick was just 22 when, after “wrapping up the last of the farm jobs on Father’s list”, he left his family’s rugged bush block in Waioeka for a fight on the other side of the world.
Soldiers were not supposed to keep diaries but the young farmer was determined to record his experiences.
His entries, some written from rain-soaked dugouts on the frontline in France and Belgium, lay bare the brutality and ugliness, and his despair as mates are cut down. Many years into his retirement back on the farm, Alick asked his son Harvey to retrieve his diaries hidden in a ceiling cavity, and burn them.
Fortunately, Harvey disobeyed his father’s orders.
Alick’s grandson Ian Trafford, a writer and hiking guide now living in Mārahau at the top of the South
Island, turned them into a book.
Ian says his grandfather “had a love for words” and this shines through in Into the Unknown: The Secret WWI Diary of Kiwi Alick Trafford no 25/469.
“I kept his strong voice but also used my own words. I could say we both wrote this story, as if he were leaning over my shoulder,” Ian says.
“I would like New Zealanders to hear a story from a man who was
The rats are red hot, biting at any exposed flesh, usually starting with our ears. We are deathly cold in our saturated gear. We were wrong if we thought life could get no worse …
Diary entry from Alick Trafford, 22 May, 1916
a proud Kiwi but didn’t lie or use joviality to make things seem better.”
A diary entry from Alick on 22 May, 1916, Armentières, France:
“…Fat, bold corpse rats are king and live alongside the men, chewing on anything they can, alive or dead.
“We are moved to dugouts further along, closer to the most active German firing line – our new earth homes about the size of a dog kennel for four men to supposedly sleep.
“The rats are red hot, biting at any exposed flesh, usually starting with our ears. We are deathly cold in our saturated gear. We were wrong if we thought life could get no worse …”
There are also chapters describing the utter relief of leave, pretty French women with champagne, camaraderie, lazy days in England catching up with relatives – even if those weeks are during recuperation from a painful shrapnel wound.
But it’s soon back to heartbreak.
Like
Coming in from the front at Nieppe, Alick revels in the chance to “strip off my lousy clothes and sink into a vat of hot water”. To his delight his younger brother Ray, who serves with another unit, is in a bath just along from him.
“What a wonderful coincidence, just like the old times, washing our bodies in the gorge creek after a hard day felling trees. We make arrangements for this to be our future meeting place.”
Ray is tragically killed in action less than a fortnight later.
Ian believes farmers were well set up physically for WWI.
“They could already sling a rifle. They were around horses all the time at home, and horses were used so often during that war.
“They were used to being out in the bush, living rough, and their hides were tough as nails.
“So physically suited for war – but not mentally.”
The last chapters of the book are in Ian’s voice alone as he describes how Alick post-war is dogged by depression, and occasional outbursts of anger – symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, or shell shock as it was known.
BUSHMAN: Men like Alick Trafford were used to being out in the bush, living rough, and their hides were tough as nails.
Like so many who returned from WWI, he tended to bottle up his feelings and recollections. As Ian writes in the book:
He was now part of an uncomfortable generation of young men, aged and wise beyond their years, whose talk of war was intense and booming, but only in the echo chambers of their minds.
“Farmers dealt with their stress by working hard, getting their feet back in the dirt,” Ian says.
“But shell shock catches up with them pretty quickly. I mean he’s back on the farm, cutting trees down, burning logs, shooting animals for the family. He’s using a rifle, he’s using a bayonet to kill pigs.
“He’s walking back through fire-blackened stumps that are still smoking to get back to the homestead. It’s bound to bring up horrible memories.”
Nevertheless, with the love and support of his wife, Ivy Newman, he found some peace, Ian says.
“I’ve had guys ring me up and
say ‘thanks for writing that story. Now I think I understand why my grandfather seemed distant and quiet sometimes’.”
SILENT:
so many who returned from WWI, Alick Trafford tended to bottle up his feelings and recollections.
POETIC: Ian Trafford says his grandfather “had a love for words” and this shines through in Into the Unknown: The Secret WWI Diary of Kiwi Alick Trafford no 25/469.
Trading the corporate world for farm life
Those who argue for agricultural emissions reduction targets and other environmental gains shouldn’t expect farmers to shoulder all the costs, Ross Bowmar says.
“It’s not going to fly if all the expense is shifted onto the primary producer.
“Other parties in the supply chain have to pick up some of the regulatory cost,” the Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury meat and wool chair says.
As someone who spent years working in the corporate world overseas before returning to farming, Bowmar challenges the implementation of proposed on farm emission cuts.
Are companies prepared to accept a lower return on capital as a result of adopting these policies, or are they simply trying to greenwash and push the costs onto others in the supply chain?
Ross Bowmar
Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury meat and wool chair
“Are companies prepared to accept a lower return on capital as a result of adopting these policies, or are they simply trying to greenwash and push the costs onto others in the supply chain?”
Bowmar says costs of climate change action versus the potential for export customers to block access if New Zealand doesn’t step up is a thorny issue.
“The negative view, the one often championed by the proponents of needing to do all these activities, is that it’s our ticket to the game.
“If we don’t play ball, we don’t get access.
“The positive, constructive view is that on farm, we can do anything. We just need to ensure we’re getting paid for changes.”
He questions whether enough consumers at the till will be willing to pay a sufficient premium for lowcarbon goods.
“It’s easy to pay lip-service in surveys.
“As the saying goes, ‘everyone goes into the supermarket an environmentalist and they leave an economist’.”
Bowmar grew up on a sheep and beef farm in Southland, and despite all his years away from the province, still rolls his r’s.
He completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with first-class honours at Lincoln University and that led to a fully funded Master of Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University.
Then, for more than a decade, he worked for ADM, the largest agricultural processing company of plants in the world, across the US, Canada, Australia, and finally as the founder and head of the NZ operation.
“I was an agricultural commodity trader. The roles spanned everything from procurement, processing, logistics, sales across import/export and domestic markets.”
Five years ago, the opportunity arose for he and his wife Jess to run Redcliffs Station in the Rakaia Gorge – Jess’s fourth-generation family farm.
Bowmar says while he occasionally misses the regular pay checks, he’s loving being back on the land.
“It’s a great lifestyle. The kids are aged seven, four and one and there’s no real comparison between the experiences they get here on-farm and the corporate lifestyle.”
He’s been able to use skills picked up working for ADM as they make improvements to the 1935ha station,
which runs Merino sheep and Angus cattle.
“For all businesses, either small or the largest in the world, the principles are the same.
“You’ve got to be focused on return on invested capital, net margins, risk management, cost controls and how you’re going to grow to maximise opportunities to stay relevant. You try and ensure you’ve got good people around you.”
Ross and Jess recently opened Braided Point, a tourism accommodation business on the property, overlooking Rakaia River valley.
Jess’s dad, Willy Ensor, was Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury meat and wool chair in the late 1990s.
“He’s well known for his stint back then; he was heavily involved in the high country section when farmers were going through tenure review.
“Back in his day, they had to do all the phone calls in the evening. Modern technology has changed all that.”
Bowmar, also an Alliance Group director, is positive about meat and wool’s future.
The Government is streamlining the regulatory burden and global demand for quality protein will always be there, he says.
In addition, he is a director on EA Networks, which is pivotal infrastructure company for enabling the community’s prosperity.
“There’s still plenty of unrealised potential for hill country farms from genetic tools, AI, drones and precision fertiliser.”
Federated Farmers involvement is a no-brainer, he believes.
“The networks you create, and the opportunities you hear about, make it more than worthwhile.
“One small example – I ruptured
my Achilles tendon. I was able to find a really good guy to come and work on the farm through one of the other province’s meat and wool chairs.”
You get more out of Feds than you put in, he says
“If people don’t support industrygood organisations, the sector and the community are the poorer.”
BACK TO HIS ROOTS: Ross Bowmar (right), seen here with Federated Farmers national meat and wool chair Toby Williams, returned to the land five years ago so he and wife Jess could run Redcliffs Station in the Rakaia Gorge, Jess’s fourth-generation family farm.
Central Hawke's Bay 1041 Tikokino Road
246 ha with irrigation consents
In the heart of the Ruataniwha Plains, 10 km west of Waipawa, comprising approximately 140 ha of LUC 1 land, arguably some of the best cropping soils in Hawke’s Bay. The balance of the property comprises stony gravels which provide an excellent balance. Generous irrigation consents from three bores, plus a consent to store water from a permanent artesian stream are in place. Improvements include three homesteads, a large 1,750 m2 pack house, numerous implement sheds, hay barns and other storage sheds. A central all-weather track gives access to the pack house and working hub of the property. This property has been farmed by the same family for three generations Presently growing beans, peas and sweetcorn Exceptional yields of 25t/ha of beans achieved 2025 Over the years squash, onions, apples, a wide range of small seeds, maize and other cereals have been grown, with excellent yields achieved.
8 3 2
Tender closes 2.00pm, Thu 22nd May, 2025, Property Brokers, 98 Ruataniwha Street, Waipukurau
View By appointment
Web pb.co.nz/WR201410
Portas M 027 447 0612 E patp@pb.co.nz
Mike Heard M 027 641 9007 E mike.heard@pb.co.nz
Versatile breeding and finishing country
03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz
FARM FOR SALE IN AUSTRALIA
185 ACRES THREE BEDROOMS. Three Large Sheds, Cattle Yards. Dams, Permanent Creek. https://www.realestate.com. au/property-lifestyle-nswbrogo-700253528
LIVESTOCK FOR SALE
RED DEVON BULLS. Quality. Well grown. Waimouri Stud Feilding. Phone 027 224 3838. HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMPS,
WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556.
FOR SALE SHEEP SCANNING AVAILABLE SERVICING SOUTH WAIKATO. King Country, Ruapehu, Taupo, Taihape areas. Experienced operator. EID and Foetal Ageing. Phone 027 479 4918.
WHAT’S SITTING IN your barn? Ford, Ferguson, Hitachi, Komatsu, JD. Be it an excavator, loader or tractor, wherever it is in NZ. Don’t let it rust. We may trade in and return you a brand new bucket for your digger or cash for your pocket. Email admin@loaderparts.co.nz or phone Colin 0274 426 936.
What do you call a mischievous Easter egg? A practical yolker
Why do we paint Easter eggs? Because it’s easier than trying to wallpaper them!
I was going to tell you a joke about an egg, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Why did the Easter Bunny fail to deliver? He put all his eggs in one basket.
What kind of stories does the Easter Bunny like best? The ones with hoppy endings
What is a rabbit’s favorite game? Hide and peep
• What do you call a rabbit that tells jokes? A funny bunny
How do dinosaurs celebrate Easter? They don’t. They’re eggs-tinct.
How does a rabbit throw a tantrum? He gets hopping mad.
What did one Easter egg say to the other? Heard any good yolks today?
Why can’t a rabbit’s nose be 12 inches long?
Because then it would be a foot!
364 days of the year: Do NOT eat anything you find on the ground. Easter: Go and search in the dirt for candy a strange giant bunny left for you, kids.
Wednesday April 30, starting 11.30am
a/c AN & CL Taylor. 306 Kaimatarau Road, Rongotea, Palmerston North
Signposted from SH1 (near Oroua Downs) and from Rongotea roundabout
Comprising:
Case 5150 123HP tractor (10,600hrs) with bucket & forks; grader blade; Can-am 1000cc S/S; portable welder on trailer; calf feeders; Big Bear quad; Honda quad; trans-arc welder 330; post-hole borer; meal troughs; calf trailer with crate; Kverneland mower/conditioner; Walco 3.5 fertiliser spreader; CDax 600L x 2; silage grab; leveller; roller/seed box; 6m cultivator; subsoiler; harrows; 400L petrol-900L diesel combination tank; bench with vice; die set; hip lifters; calving jack; hydraulic top link; endless chain; trolley jack; small Wilson tank; alkaline puller; transport tray; reels and standards; alloy platform; pallet forks. Plus usual farm sundries. Terms are strictly cash (EFTPOS), unless an existing purchasing client of NZ Farmers Livestock. For more details and photos go to: website www.mylivestock.co.nz
Further enquiries to NZ Farmers Livestock agents: Emmet McConnell 027 443 7671 Matt Muggeridge 027 237 8661 Richard Trembath 027 499 3992
On A/C Jack & Gladys Stuart Friday 2 May 2025 11:30am
TAUPO WEANER FAIR
1100 Beef Br ed Calves
A/c Makahiwi Land Co
55 Simm X & 20 Charo X Steers 280kg
55 Simm X & 20 Charo X Heifers 260kg
A/c Dakota Holdings Ltd
30 Charo X & 20 S/Horn X Steers 280kg
30 Charo X & 20 S/Horn X Heifers 280kg A/c P & T Birkett
20 Ang Bulls 240kg / 10 Ang Strs 180kg 20 Ang Hfrs 220kg
A/c Pentire Deer Farm 25 Simmental X Steers 260kg
55 Angus Steers 180 - 200kg
20 Hereford Steers 180kg A/c R Farms
40 Ang & 10 Ang Here X Hfrs 200-230kg A/c Rangatira Farms
30 Ang Here Strs 260kg (Weaned 3W)
30 Ang Here Hfrs 245kg (Weaned 3W)
65 Ang Strs & 65 Ang Hfrs 180-250kg
Simm Ang X & 10 Ang Strs 230kg
Simm Ang X Hfrs 230kg
Peter Groves
Feilding Weaner Steer & Bull
Wednesday 30 April | 11.30am
We will be offering approx:
• 700 - Traditional Steers
200- Exotic Steers
100 - Bulls
Feilding Weaner Heifer
Thursday 1 May | 11 30am
We will be offering approx:
• 400 - Traditional Heifers
• 200 - Exotic Heifers
Annual Lines:
RD Silk - Tarata, Loch Linnhe Farm Ltd, Hillview Grazing Ltd, Kohi Lands Ltd, Okapua P/ Ship, Ohukia Station, Terawhiti Farming Co, Onawe Farm, F&S Pritchard, R Johnson, FJ O’Neill & Sons, V Donald, SJ Checkley
For more details please contact:
Maurice Stewart 027 246 9255 Tony Gallen 027 590 1711
Temuka Saleyards | Tuesday 6 May, 11.00am | A/C Four Peaks Dairy
Comprising:
91 Friesian / Friesian X Incalf Cows | BW 468, PW 594, LW 867
(BW’s up to 611, PW’s up to 953, LW’s up to 1498)
• 44 Friesian / Friesian X Incalf Heifers | BW 506, PW 483 (BW’s up to 647, PW’s up to 624)
Sale includes approx 15 contract animals:
Our vendors have sold their farm, and these elite cows and heifers come to auction
Four Peaks Dairy is a dry land dairy farm 12km west of Geraldine, converted the farm 15 years ago Four Peaks Dairy has been a grass based system Supplement has been used to fully feed the cows when required There has been no preferential treatment for these auction cows, and all have been run in 550 cow herds
1100 cows peak milked
Vendors have used nominated semen, with a focus on udders and capacity
Aim is to breed the most efficient dairy cows as possible
Herd has been G3 profiled for 15 years and young stock genomic profiled for past 3 years
Production Ave 480KgMS/cow, 1615Kg/Ha Herd BW 338, PW 361
All Inmilk cows are scanned Incalf to AI
Incalf heifers have been mated to AI and then run Jersey bulls Bulls out 24/12/24
Heifers that have held to AI mating date, will marked on sale day and shown in catalogue
Heifer liveweights are recorded in catalogue and average liveweight 26/3/25 was 459Kg
Carryover cows have been mated to AI as per mating then run with White Galloway and Hereford bulls
If you are in search of top quality dairy cows and heifers, we suggest you attend this sale
Online bidding available via BIDR Catalogues available on Agonline
Comprising:
• 16 Spring Calving Friesian Incalf Cows
• 27 Spring Calving Friesian Incalf Heifers
• 1 Autumn Calving Friesian Cow
• 6 MT Friesian Inmilk Cows
• 12 Rising 1 Year Friesian Heifers
• 6 Embryo Packages
This sale includes a well-balanced offering from within the herd providing a valuable opportunity to secure animals that suit both immediate needs and long term breeding goals
Three heifers sold last year have topped their new herds in their age groups
For anyone looking to introduce reliable genetics, expand their current herd or build a strong foundation for the future, this auction delivers an excellent selection of animals that are ready to make their mark
Payment terms for account holders, 50% in 14 days & 50% 20 November 2025
Catalogues available on Agonline or Bidr or for a hard copy call the auctioneer’s
For more information: Andrew Reyland (PGW
Key: Dair y Cattle Sheep O ther
Markets
South Island determined to claim calves
A difficult year for calf sales last year saw trucks loaded up for the journey north, but so far this year local buyers are holding on to their cattle.
AFiona Quarrie MARKETS Livestock
S AUTUMN progresses, so too do the calf sales around the South Island. It has been a busy couple of weeks and, while some yards have just had their first sales of the year, others are now all ticked off. Competition has been very strong at most sales amid higher schedules, good pasture growth in many areas and a shortage of R2 store cattle in the area. Last year was a difficult year due to dry conditions and this gave North Island buyers the opportunity to secure large numbers of calves from the South Island. Of course, the hangover of this was evident in the lack of R2 beef cattle floating about. There has still been some presence from the North Island at most calf sales, sometimes online rather than in person, but the local buyers have stepped up and made their message clear. This has played out in a positive way for vendors, and returns have been significantly up on last year, and even above expectations in some cases.
The third Cheviot calf sale of the
season was held on April 11 with a tally of 941-head. While this was a smaller number than last year, the combined total from the three sales of 3145-head was on par with the same sales last year. It would be fair to say they had a good day, which was a relief after the second sale, which experienced a softer market, particularly on heifers. At the March 28 sale, traditional heifers averaged 205kg and $850, or $4.19/kg.
North Island competition was present and the friendly banter was almost comical.
At the most recent sale, heifers were lighter again at 190kg but had lifted to $915 or $4.78/kg on average. On that day, traditional steers averaged $220 and $1180, or $5.41/kg while Charolais-cross at the same weight made $35 per head more as an average. Cheviot has one more sale calendared for April 24.
Further south, Coalgate got its first results on the board for 2025 on April 10. This sale usually produces smaller lines of well-
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grown calves and, due to better conditions, they were heavier than last year. Average per head returns were up $450 and $420 for Angus and Angus-Hereford steers and heifers respectively, which translated to an increase near $1.30/kg for both.
Buyers were mostly locals who were determined to keep the cattle in the South Island despite North Island competition being present and the friendly banter was almost comical. In the end, traditional steers averaged 250kg and $1240 while heifer values averaged 240kg and $1020. For various reasons, there were fewer calves at the first Canterbury Park calf sale on April 3 at just shy of 700-head. Competition was strong and buyers represented areas from Southland to the North Island. The traditional steer average managed to break the $5/kg barrier, if only by one cent, at a weight of 230kg, $1145.
Over on the West Coast the Ross and Whataroa calf sales were held April 9 and 10. For the second year in a row, the Ross calf
sale top price and therefore the Arthur Thomson Trophy went to a Haupiri-based vendor for their pen of Hereford steers, which fetched $1540. Heifer calves from the same vendor managed $1260. Further south at Whataroa, the bulk of steers traded in the $1200$1400 ballpark region and heifers with weight generally managed $1000-$1150.
Comparing calf sales in the AgriHQ database, traditional steer calf results in the South Island are $396 stronger than last year and $183 up on the next best year, 2017, when they averaged $1000.
For their female counterparts, the increase from last year settled at $321. This has meant a 50% increase for steers and 55% for heifers.
This has been good news for those running cows, a class of stock that has often been used as a tool to improve pasture for the ewe flock. Amid high costs and last year’s low returns in the sheep industry, it is not surprising to hear of adjustments being made to the stock ratio in favour of cows. To the vendors, you’ve earned it. To the buyers, may the schedule remain in your favour.
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Traditional beef calves @ South Isl. sales ($/hd)
FAMILY LEGACY: David Scott of Karangarua once again produced an excellent draft of calves at the Whataroa calf sale, a line-up his late brother, Robert, would have been proud of. The top draft of Charolaiscross steers fetched $1520, which earned David the Ivor Scott Challenge Trophy for highest price pen of steers at this sale.
Photo: Phil Manera, Hazlett
Cattle Sheep Deer
Weekly saleyard results
These weekly saleyard results are collated by the AgriHQ LivestockEye team. Cattle weights and prices are averages and sheep prices are ranges. For more detailed results and analysis subscribe to your selection of LivestockEye reports. Scan the QR code or visit www.agrihq.co.nz/livestock-reports
FRONT ROW SEAT: Buyers were eager to see the first pens of lambs go under the hammer at Feilding on Friday, April 11 when 17,700 lambs were yarded. There were 350-head in the pen and they earned $153.50.
Rain relief at long last – but what is next?
Philip Duncan NEWS Weather
AS AUSTRALIAN farmers and growers worry about their droughts getting worse, New Zealand has finally seen a significant break in the dry conditions that had really set in this year.
With the rain from ex-cyclone Tam before/during Easter on top of rain that fell in the first few days of April, I think it’s safe to say we’re seeing an end to drought conditions here in New Zealand.
Don’t take just my word for it, as the New Zealand Drought Indicator is now showing that all highlighted areas in meteorological “drought”, or the next stage down, which is “extremely dry”, have been removed from the map – and that’s before we even include the rain in places over the past week.
On a nationwide basis, Waikato and Auckland are the two remaining driest areas ... or at least they were. Some of these areas at the time of writing this column were still “very dry”, along with
the southern tip of Wairarapa. But I think we’ve turned a corner – and not a moment too soon with at least some mild weather still around to encourage pasture growth before we reach winter, which is still over a month from now.
Also, winters in New Zealand are about as “rock solid” as our summers are. By that I mean we don’t always have a proper one. New Zealand’s weather is often more like spring or autumn and I’ve argued for years that, from a weather point of view, we have four months of autumn, four months of spring, but summer and winter may both only be two months long.
I say this to bring some optimism to those who want more mild weather. We’ve certainly (so far anyway) had a significant reduction in frosts and major southerlies this year.
The reason for New Zealand’s lack of true cold so far? The high pressure zones over southern Australia extending their droughts. These highs are placed close enough to us to give us plenty of west to southwest changes, but so far their placement has limited true southerlies.
A cold snap last week brought some frost to the Deep South and a dusting of snow on the ranges – but temperatures overall around NZ have been warmer than average. That may well help explain the spike in facial eczema in the past couple weeks.
What comes next?
High pressure centred south of NZ moves through this week – which means we shift from a sub-tropical focus to a cooler/colder and showery change to start this short working week. The southern placement of this anticyclone encourages an easterly flow for many, making the west driest and by this Saturday/Sunday we should see that high east of NZ bringing a warmer nor’west flow.
Interestingly, next week almost the entire continent of Australia will be smothered by one enormous 4000kmwide high pressure zone and that may reach northern NZ next week with more dry weather – but it also means a return to west to southwest flows bringing western rain and southern cold changes, especially the South Island.
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WARMER: The first half of April was warmer than average in every part of New Zealand. Some parts of the South Island were more than 2degC above normal for this time of year.
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