Signs point to fat profits for sheep and beef
SHEEP and beef farmers are forecast to have a profitable year with export values strengthening, but turmoil in the global trade system is being closely monitored.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand released its Mid-Season Update last week, and the average farm profit for 2024-25 is forecast to be $106,500 – nearly double last season’s $56,400 – but still below the five-year average.
Chair Kate Acland said improved global market conditions are encouraging but challenges remain, particularly with United States President Donald Trump following through on his threat to place tariffs on key trading parters China, Canada and Mexico.
“We’re keeping a close eye on that, and it seems there are new developments coming out daily on that one. So right now all we can do is watch and see.
“But we do know that tariffs will be a concern for US farmers as well. They are big exporters of red meat, so it’s going to be a concern for them.
“But any sort of uncertainty will create volatility, and that could impact these results.”
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay is also keeping a close eye on the global trading environment, noting a social media post from Trump that
Continued page 3 Bryan Gibson NEWS Sheep and beef
blanket tariffs are on the way for all agricultural imports to the US.
“Our exporters are very resilient because of the free trade agreement network we have around the world. They are quite diversified, but it is clear tariffs will harm if they are put on New Zealand.
“I spent this week talking to a handful of trade ministers from like-minded countries about what their views are and where they are, and there is a sort of resolution growing amongst many of them.
“We’ve got to find ways amongst us to continue to bring down barriers and trade more, to give more certainty to our exporters.
“But certainly, if President Trump was to put tariffs on agricultural exports from around the world into the US, it would have an impact upon New Zealand.”
Despite these concerns McClay said it’s fantastic that sheep and beef farmers are likely to enjoy a profitable year.
“This is very encouraging and very, very positive for our sheep and beef farmers,” he said.
“But it’s more than that. It’s rural New Zealand, working hard and helping to dig the New Zealand economy out of some of the challenges we’ve faced.
“And I think that what we’re seeing here on the sheep and
Henderson’s picture perfect performance
Whanau and family of new Golden Shears Open champion Toa Henderson, front row third from right, pose for a selfie taken by Toa’s wife Phoebe, after he became the first first-time Open finalist to win the prize in 15 years.
Photo: Shearing Sports New Zealand
Main trading banks show increased appetite for rural lending.
Bex and Ben Trotter always had farm ownership in mind and are now stamping their name on the strawberry industry.
Disgruntled shareholders move to replace Bremworth board.
12
A coming of age for regenerative ag in NZ, writes Daniel Eb. OPINION 17
EDITORIAL
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News in brief
Pāmu profit
PĀMU has produced net profit after tax of $62 million for the half-year to December 31. A continued focus on performance alongside reducing overhead costs, a gain in livestock volume and valuations and stronger-than-expected market prices for dairy, beef, and lamb all contributed to this positive result, Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said.
Velvetleaf spread
Three new velvetleaf cases in the North Island have been traced back to the purchasing of contaminated maize silage or machinery brought on farm.
The new infestations on dairy farms in Ōtorohanga and south of Auckland is a reminder for farmers and contractors to make sure their machinery is clean and know the origin of their crop feed, North Island velvetleaf coordinator Sally Linton said.
Apple demand
Strong demand for premium apple varieties helped T&G Global declare an operating profit of $12.7 million in 2024, compared with a loss of $45.6m the year before.
Group revenue was up to $1.36 billion, of which apples contributed $860m, some 63% of the total. The net loss after tax of $10m was an improvement on the 2023 loss of $46m.
Miraka change
Karl Gradon has announced he will be stepping down as Miraka chief executive officer for personal and family reasons. Miraka chair Bruce Scott said much of Miraka’s recent growth and success during the past three years was due to his leadership and efforts resetting the business for future success. In the interim, chief operating officer Richard Harding will assume leadership responsibilities as acting CEO.
US tariffs could stoke fire under meat
WHILE they are not exactly jumping for joy over the latest escalation in United States President Donald Trump’s trade war, meat exporters say tariffs against Canada and Mexico could further stoke already red-hot imported beef prices in the US and boost returns for farmers in New Zealand.
But dairy exporters warn that any openings created by new 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and a further 10% tariff on China, confirmed by the US President last week , could be outweighed by the hit to global growth from an allout trade war.
The odds of a global trade war escalated when Canada, Mexico and China retaliated with tariffs of their own against US exports, and Trump promised a new wave of reciprocal tariffs against most of the US’s trading partners next month.
Trump also said he was ready to hit all agricultural imports into the
Continued from page 1
beef farms is going to flow through not only rural communities, but actually it’s good for people living in towns and cities. It is going to be more money pumped into the economy at a time when everybody desperately needs it.”
The update forecasts lamb prices will reach $155 per head this year, up 20% from last season and 9% above the five-year average.
Mutton prices are expected to rise to $90 per head – a 70% increase on last season. Cattle prices are projected to hit record levels, with an all-beef price of 618 cents per kg, 16% higher than last season and 20% above the five-year average.
But while farmgate returns will improve, Acland said costs are still stubbornly high.
US with tariffs from April 2.
“Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them,” Trump told members of Congress on Wednesday.
“Whatever they tax us, we will tax them.”
Dairy Companies Association of NZ executive director Kimberly Crewther said without more detail it is impossible to assess the impact of a global reciprocal tariff and even whether NZ exports would be included.
“While revenue has improved, farm input costs have risen 33% over the past four years, meaning profitability is still below long-term sustainable levels.”
Farmers were also still worried about the regulatory environment.
“Farmer confidence is slowly recovering, but regulatory uncertainty around climate change, freshwater and other policy issues continue to weigh heavily on their minds,” Acland said.
McClay promised the government would not be imposing any regulations that hit farm profitability.
“I want to be really, really clear: this government is not going to make decisions, whether it comes to the way that we meet environmental standards or emissions production, that close
Meat exporter ANZCO’s general manager of sales and marketing Rick Walker agreed.
“It is just too early to tell which direction this is going.”
More predictable was the impact on record US beef prices of tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico – both significant sources of young cattle for finishing on US ranches and feedlots.
Some 1.2 million so-called feeder cattle crossed the border from Mexico last year, and 150,000 from
Canada. Canada supplied a further 620,000 cattle ready for slaughter.
Altogether Canada and Mexico accounted for a third of all beef imported into the US.
“The obvious knock-on is it makes a tight US beef market even tighter,” Walker said.
Crewther said US tariffs could help stem a flood of subsidised Canadian milk protein concentrates which had been threatening to undermine a billion-dollar market in the US for NZ exporters.
Retaliatory tariffs against US exports by its North American neighbours and China also presented some limited opportunities for NZ companies in those markets.
Mexico (US$2.47 billion), Canada (US$1.14bn) and China (US$585m) were the US’s top three dairy export markets last year.
Opportunities to displace the large trade the US does with Mexico in skimmed milk powder would be limited by the country’s import quotas, however. Likewise for Canada for cheese and butter.
“We are generally restricted into Canada,” Crewther said.
“Some of the out-of-quota tariffs are hundreds of percent.
“There will be disruption and re-adjustments in trade flows. Exporters will need to navigate their way through this in the coming months with the potential that the policies are still evolving from both the US and other countries.
It is just too early to tell which direction this is going.
Rick Walker ANZCO
“But overall a situation with a build-up of tariffs globally will not benefit anyone because it will have that chilling effect on growth.”
Crewther said tariffs were not the only threat from the escalating trade war.
If Trump follows the policies of his first presidency he will respond with hundreds of millions of dollars of subsidies to cushion the blow for US farmers from tariffs against US exports, which could further depress global prices.
This week’s poll question: Have your say at farmersweekly.co.nz/poll Are you confident your farm business will be profitable this year?
down farms and send jobs and production overseas.
“We’re not going to do that because it’s not right for the New Zealand economy. It’s not right for rural New Zealand.”
TRUMPED: BLNZ chair Kate Acland says challenges remain, particularly with US President Donald Trump following through on his threat to place tariffs on key trading parters China, Canada and Mexico.
Nigel Stirling POLITICS Trade
NEW WAVE: The odds of a global trade war escalated when US President Donald Trump promised a new wave of reciprocal tariffs against most of the US’s trading partners next month. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
NZ keeps close eye on new China beef moves
Nigel Stirling MARKETS Sheep and beef
ASHOT across the bows of China’s major beef suppliers has left some New Zealand exporters wondering if their plants could be targeted next.
Beef from seven processing plants in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Mongolia has been banned by Chinese customs authorities.
Chinese officials gave no reason for the import bans.
It is just over two months since China’s Commerce Ministry announced an inquiry into a possible link between falling profitability among the country’s beef farmers and a surge in imports.
The probe came after complaints from Chinese farming groups that a doubling of beef imports between 2019 and 2024 had slashed their profit margins from 20% to -12%.
The ministry said it would consider restricting imports if they were found to have caused or were likely to have caused “serious injury” to Chinese farmers.
It said the probe would focus on the three South American countries targeted in last week’s plant bans as well as imports from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
It is a case of panicking slowly.
ANZCO’s general manager of sales and marketing, Rick Walker, said the bans had all the appearances of a warning shot to the largest global exporters to watch their step in the Chinese market.
“The investigation that is underway is about the Chinese government showing the domestic
industry that they are supporting them and willing to consider measures to ensure that they are not being unfairly treated by the impact of imports.”
Walker said while China is New Zealand’s second largest market for beef exports, NZ beef makes up just 7% of Chinese beef imports compared to the 70% accounted for by South American rivals.
“If they are trying to send a message of support to their industry then they are hitting the right part of the world at the moment.”
Still, exporters and the NZ government will be watching closely for any signs they could be targeted, Walker said.
“We have got our people there and they are keeping their ears to the ground and hopefully we can get an early warning if something is to hit us in the face.
“It is the same sort of situation as with Trump.
“It is a case of panicking slowly and understanding it and being aware of it and not being
willing to completely disregard it.”
Although in decline due to increasing demand for beef from the US, China remains NZ’s second
IMPORTS: ANZCO’s general manager of sales and marketing Rick Walker says while China is NZ beef’s second largest export market, NZ beef makes up just 7% of
NZ Merino says ZQ farms cleared of deliberate abuse
Neal Wallace NEWS Animal welfare
AN INVESTIGATION initiated by New Zealand Merino has concluded that animal welfare abuse videoed during shearing last year did not occur on any of its ZQ-accredited farms.
Two of the farms featured in the footage captured by an animal welfare activist for the group PETA were NZ Merino-accredited ZQ farms, but an investigation by independent auditor Control Union concluded that “neither featured in the scenes showing deliberate abuse”.
NZ Merino chief executive Angus Street said Control Union reviewed all available footage, conducted face-to-face interviews with the growers and other witnesses, and completed a full inspection of their properties.
“It is important to note that much of the footage released by PETA has been wrongly attributed
to ZQ properties,” he said. Two breaches of ZQ and its Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) procedures were identified on the two featured properties for
Butter prices head for the skies
Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Dairy
BUTTER prices have continued their record highs on the Global Dairy Trade platform, up 2.7% to US$7577/tonne.
That is the highest price recorded for butter since the beginning of the GDT auction platform in 2009 and is equiva-
lent to about NZ$13.50/kg wholesale.
Anchor butter is selling for just under $10 for 500g in New World supermarkets and Westgold 400g is $7.99. The butter offering volume on GDT was down nearly 40% compared with March in 2024 as Fonterra has already sold forward at high prices in nonGDT channels. NZX head of Dairy Insights
not meeting expected standards of training and supervision of staff and contractors, minimising stress and best-practice animal handling.
These farmers have been temporarily suspended.
“As per the ZQ and RWS requirements, the investigator has prescribed corrective measures to be addressed within 30 days.
“Growers cannot be readmitted to the ZQ programme until these corrective measures are completed to the satisfaction of Control Union.”
Street said the auditor found the farms were well maintained, sheep were in good condition and there was no evidence of mistreatment.
Both growers have cooperated and produced plans and procedures to prevent future breaches.
As part of its response to the PETA allegations, NZ Merino conducted 52 spot inspections of ZQ farms, after which 35 corrective actions were issued.
The majority involved issues with documentation and record keeping, with 26 closed either on the day of the inspection or immediately after.
Cristina Alvarado said worldwide production of butter is down and demand and consumption are high.
“European countries are usually sellers of butter, but their prices
SUPPLY: The butter offering volume on the GDT was down nearly 40% compared with March in 2024.
are even higher than those in NZ, so buyers have turned to GDT,” she said. Buying demand was strongest from the Middle East, followed by Europe and China.
Much of the footage released by PETA has been wrongly attributed to ZQ properties.
Angus Street NZ Merino
There are nine pending, which must be resolved within 30 days.
“This is consistent with expectations and with historic audit results.”
Street said the assessment confirmed the majority of growers provide training to staff and contractors on animal welfare and ZQ programme requirements.
Meanwhile the Ministry for Primary Industries’ director of compliance and response, Glen Burrell, said its investigation into the claims is continuing and staff are speaking to a number of people.
The GDT price index for the first March auction fell by 0.5% and the price support for butter and skim milk powder, up 0.6%, prevented the index from falling further.
Cheese was also in demand, up 7.9% for mozzarella and 1.1% for cheddar.
The main downsides were whole milk powder down 2.2% and anhydrous milk fat down 0.3%.
NZX dairy analysts said the average price paid for WMP was US$4061/tonne, keeping a solid $4000 floor under the current NZ farmgate milk price forecasts of $10/kg milksolids.
Chinese beef imports.
largest market, taking $838m of NZ beef exports in the 10 months to October, according to Statistics NZ.
Rick Walker ANZCO
AUDIT: NZ Merino chief executive Angus Street says the auditor found the farms were well maintained, sheep were in good condition and there was no evidence of mistreatment. Photo: File
Banks rediscover appetite for ag loans
Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Finance
THE main trading banks have shown an increased appetite for lending to the rural sector with better access to further capital, better terms and better customer lending margins for some farmers. That is the welcome assessment of one of the loudest critics of rural lending policies and high bank margins over the past five years, specialist rural broker NZAB.
NZAB director Andrew Laming said the better bank appetite nowadays is isolated to those clients with medium to strong credit profiles and those who have presented their business credit really well.
Reasons for the thaw may include better fundamentals in the dairy industry, lower interest rates and perhaps some spillover from the Parliamentary Finance Committee inquiry into banking competition.
Laming is not prepared to credit the $10/kg farm gate milk price forecasts with the banking turnaround, comparing that very welcome payout level with other inflation-adjusted seasonal payouts.
“The last five years have averaged $9.09 inflation adjusted. So, it’s good, but not massively better than average.
“Also, the sheep and beef sector, while improving, still has a wee way to go yet before we can say that we are back on track.”
Instead, he said, the main difference is that banks are competing for agriculture and business lending because home lending growth is well under the long-term average.
Laming said this is a substitution effect because banks want to continue to drive profits and the big housing section of their portfolio is not growing as intended.
“They are driving lending growth through agriculture and business and the competition results in better outcomes for borrowers,” he said.
“What happens when the economy swings back into gear and housing gets off the canvas?
“It is not hard to envisage a swing back to the easier and less capital-intensive home loan borrowing.
“Farmers are inter-generational in their thinking and with their investment decisions, and they are used to the ups and downs of commodity cycles.
“However, their investment
Agriculture still needs the banks to address lower equity propositions for young farmers...
Richard McIntyre Federated Farmers
horizon is decades in length and volatility of credit appetite (all in or all out) is simply not a good match.”
Agricultural borrowers can use this period of better loan availability to engage professionally
ISOLATED: NZAB director Andrew Laming says the better bank appetite nowadays is only for those clients with medium to strong credit profiles.
with the banking competition.
“They can interact quickly with the banking market, get swift outcomes and the best possible rates and terms.
“Ensure your strategy and resultant capital structure is fit for a cyclical credit appetite so you don’t get knocked out of bed at the bottom.”
NZAB has a range of funders alongside the main banks to assist with refinancing and expansion plans.
Federated Farmers spokesperson on finance Richard McIntyre welcomed the NZAB assessment of
more bank appetite for medium to good debt.
“Agriculture still needs the banks to address lower equity propositions for young farmers who are starting to invest in animals, plant and land.
“Perhaps this is the time to push banks into where we want them to be, instead of pricing margins for high risk and actually taking no risk at all.”
McIntrye is hearing of farms selling at higher values and now that interest rates are lower banks appear to be keen to finance farm purchasing and business expansion.
Meanwhile, McIntyre said the resignation of Adrian Orr as the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will present an opportunity to reduce bank margins on agricultural lending.
“He drove the ultra-conservative requirement for banks to hold more capital against farm lending.
“His requirement has been onein-200-years financial crisis, which is twice the requirements around the rest of the world.
“That has added huge financial costs onto farmers, up to $720 million a year.
“We are looking forward to the new governor taking a more sensible policy approach,” McIntrye said.
Fonterra drops Anchor carbonzero certification stamp
FONTERRA has removed the Toitū carbonzero certification from its Anchor specialty milk after choosing to move away from using carbon credits to offset the emissions produced in creating the milk.
The range includes Anchor Organic, Anchor Protein+, Anchor Calci+, Anchor Zero Lacto and Anchor Silver Top. The news
comes after One News reported Fonterra had dropped the certification on its Simply Milk range.
The Simply Milk range was re-branded with a focus on donating 10 cents a bottle to social supermarkets.
Fonterra Oceania director of marketing & innovation Renée Milkop-Kerr said Anchor had moved away from the use of carbon credits in 2023.
The milk’s packaging was changed in January 2024 and the certifi-
cation ceased in February 2024.
“The global legal and regulatory environment relating to green claims, and use of carbon credits to offset emissions, has and continues to evolve at pace.
“Fonterra seeks to balance consumer demand for more sustainable options with best practice in relation to offsetting and related claims. Accordingly, Fonterra decided to move away from its use of carbon zero claims due a lack of consumer understanding,” Milkop-Kerr said.
The milk was launched in November 2020 following the launch of the Simply Milk certi-fication in July. The milk was part of the Toitū carbonzero certification programme, which saw Anchor procure carbon offsets from three projects approved by Toitū.
The three credit projects support native forest regeneration in Kaikoura, New Zealand, a windfarm in New Caledonia, and a solar energy installation in India.
Consumer NZ investigations leader Rebecca Styles told One
News that it had been surprising to see Simply Milk change.
“It’s a big pivot really. It feels like an abandonment of green claims on products.”
Simply Milk’s packaging changed on-shelf in December last year despite its certification running through to 2026.
According to Toitū Envirocare’s website, carbonzero certification is time limited, and continuous improvement must be demonstrated to continue to be certified annually.
Gerald Piddock NEWS Dairy
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Olive branch emerges from Gabrielle debris
Richard Rennie NEWS Forestry
HEALING and collaboration are casting a more positive light across the country’s easternmost province as it works to ensure forestry and farming can continue to co-exist in its precarious environment.
Gisborne District Council (GDC) mayor Rehette Stoltz said she noted a lift in the community’s spirits last June after traumatised residents had recovered from licking their wounds and picking up the pieces of their lives.
“They had been trying to get their bearings, there was a lot of anger, and the forestry industry received a lot of that.”
She likened the initial response, and subsequent stages of anger and sadness, to a grief cycle that demands time to heal.
But looking forward, she sees a period of closer collaboration and co-operation between GDC as regulator and forestry companies in dealing with the region’s “wicked problems” of forestation
and farming on fragile hill country.
“We have just had a recent trip to see the realities of what the companies are operating in and appreciate the work they are trying to do. It is difficult.”
She does not shy away from the GDC’s need to issue enforcement notices to companies including Aratu Forests, cognizant that the $100 million spent cleaning up forestry mess is a nationally borne taxpayer cost, not just a regional burden.
The challenge is how to
help
forestry thrive but not at a cost to the environment.
Rehette Stoltz Gisborne mayor
“The prime minister has said we need to sort this. Government wants to see marked improvement, with clear expectations. The challenge is how to help forestry thrive but not at a cost to the environment.”
She welcomes government efforts to set national standards,
but cautions “we are not the rest of NZ”.
The recent formation of the region’s Transition Advisory Group has parties that may have been yelling at each other via media two years ago now around the table. They are looking hard at how land use transition can occur realistically in Tairāwhiti.
That includes the creation of Land Overlay 3B. This follows up on the ministerial inquiry into land use that recommended erosion-susceptible land be returned to permanent forest. This is something the 3B plan will identify across about 60,000 hectares of the most susceptible land.
She expects its impact will be less than six years away.
Stoltz has also pushed Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson on issues facing investors and farmers with such land.
For foresters there is the risk of facing thousands of dollars in carbon liabilities if they remove forests from those susceptible areas and do not replace them.
“It is not unreasonable to look at
RECONCILIATION: As community grief passes over storm damage, Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz is looking forward to a period of reconciliation and constructive solutions with forestry operators.
what can be done about that. Not everything needs to be cold cash.”
She said the GDC accepts the problems facing Tairāwhiti are issues that will take a generation to repair and right, but she has taken heart from some small wins so far.
“On Boxing Day we had a heavy rain event. We got debris on the beach, but hardly any of that included cut logs.
“We do want to acknowledge the work to date by companies like Aratu, and we want to work constructively with them.”
Aratu set on creating greener Gisborne forests
Richard Rennie NEWS Forestry
ADOPTING new forestry practices has Gisborne’s Aratu Forests doubling down on efforts to have a lighter footprint on the region’s fragile soils, while also remaining a viable, valued employer in the region.
Along with Ernslaw Forests, Aratu has been operating subject to enforcement orders aiming to lift the standard of forest management and operations across its 25,000 hectare estate.
Some of that estate contributed to significant downstream property damage during Cyclone Gabrielle, including its challenging Te Marunga forest near Tolaga Bay.
But company CEO Neil Woods said alongside the significant remediation work his company undertook to put property damage right, it was already well into establishing industry-leading best practices.
“As a company we did not come out of Gabrielle unscathed, with about 10% of our forest area lost, and as high as 13% in some places,” he said.
The company’s pre-Gabrielle efforts to construct roads to above industry standards in the tough country were proven during the 2022-23 weather events, with no evidence they had contributed to downstream debris and damage.
But he freely acknowledges the forests themselves were a different story, one the company has so far spent over $12 million locally trying to put right. At present
it still has six crews in its estate committed solely to remediation work, rather than commercial felling.
One of the worst affected landowners in Tolaga Bay was iwi-owned Paroa Station, where over 90% of its valuable flats were inundated with dense debris material.
Aratu’s environmental manager, Richard Powell, said early engagement with the owners and acknowledgment of the problem, along with constant communication since, has seen the mess entirely cleared up.
Aratu provided equipment for the clean-up and funds for the massive fencing repair job left in its wake.
AgFirst farm adviser Peter Andrew said 95% of the trees washing over Paroa Station had been standing trees, not cut timber debris.
He is conciliatory towards Aratu and its efforts to make things right.
“They purchased a forest estate
Aratu Forests CEO Neal Woods says the region will need assurances from central government on support for forestry companies retiring land, including the removal of carbon liabilities if pre1990 trees need removal.
that was in a poor state, and the likes of Aratu have been told for the last 30 years by the council, ‘You must plant this land in pines.’”
Woods acknowledges his company and others operate in the knowledge there are many more trees in Gisborne’s back country still vulnerable to tipping over and creating future debris events.
He said Aratu felt like a possum in the headlights in making felling decisions after Gabrielle.
“If we cut and they fall in waterways, it’s a bad outcome. But every year they remain in that country, the risk of them coming down in the future grows.
“The reality is we are going to have to break a few eggs to make the omelette. The only time you can significantly make a difference is at harvest, in terms of what we do next with that land or what you plant on it.”
But to ease that ongoing impact, Aratu has adopted a higher standard than now required for
debris removal. This includes using aerial and artificial intelligence tech to break up harvest sites into “green” zones of low debris, through to “red” zones requiring more clearance.
That debris is trucked to sites graded to construction site stability standard, with material placed well back from edges. Sites are well trenched, to handle water runoff that would otherwise destablise the debris piles.
New plantings can include putting poplar poles alongside trees in gully bottoms, and oversowing shallower slopes with clover and grasses.
Aratu is also awaiting the installation of its first debris trap, a Swiss design used there for catching avalanche rocks but proven successful in debris capture during flood events.
Woods is also welcoming work done to identify the region’s riskiest country, known as Land Overlay 3B. It will identify land best returned to natural vegetation
and debris deposit sites.
The likes of Aratu have been told for the last 30 years by the council, ‘You must plant this land in pines.’
Peter Andrew AgFirst
cover and include both farming and forestry land totalling about 60,000ha.
But Woods and Powell acknowledge the fine line companies are walking between environmental mitigation and economic viability.
They said central government must also play a role alongside the local council in dealing with the issues of land retirement, and the ability of that land to earn carbon and biodiversity credits.
• Richard Rennie travelled to Gisborne with assistance from Aratu Forests.
REMOVAL:
SKID: Aratu environmental manager Richard Powell on a timber felling site featuring newly constructed, higher spec skid
Govt to bankroll 30 more PhD students
Neal Wallace NEWS Education
THE government is investing $20 million over the next five years to support an extra 30 PhD university students.
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti said the new university programme will help prepare the PhD students for careers in science by building stronger connections between research and industry.
“New Zealand’s PhD programmes are excellent at preparing students for a career in academia,” Reti said.
“What they are not doing is giving students the skills to use that cutting-edge science to grow Kiwi businesses.”
The new applied doctorate scheme will be hosted by the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Otago and Massey University, in partnership with New Zealand’s science, innovation and technology industry.
“This scheme will equip PhD students in science, technology, engineering and mathematic subjects with the practical skills they need to apply their knowledge to real-world problems
within ambitious businesses, alongside their core advanced research skills,” Reti said.
The number of PhD university students studying agriculture, horticulture and environmental subjects in New Zealand has fallen below 200 and is declining.
Data from Massey University shows that in 2024, 112 doctoral students studied agriculture, horticulture and environment subjects, numbers which had declined after peaking at a 10-year high in 2019 and 2020 at 176 in each year.
In 2021 there were 151 doctoral students, 134 in 2022 and 126 in 2023.
For general science subjects,
Massey had 431 doctoral students in 2024 and 491 in 2023.
Lincoln University has similarly had a reduction in doctoral students in the past decade, from a peak of 95 in 2016 to 55 in 2022, the last year for which data was provided.
In 2016 there were 70 doctoral students studying agriculture, 19 environmental studies, two forestry and four horticulture and viticulture.
In 2022 44 were studying agriculture, five environmental studies and six horticulture and viticulture.
Professor Paul Kenyon, Massey University’s Head of School of Agriculture and Environment,
said the university has noticed a gradual shift from production-only based research.
That shift in research has been into areas of agribusiness, horticulture, plant science, animal and plant genetics, environmental and earth sciences and animal welfare-focused research.
“This research is conducted to support farmers and growers by helping to improve their productivity and profitability while also ensuring we meet current and future societal expectations of a sustainable food system,” said Kenyon.
Research funding generally must align with funding body expectations, and this is driving many of the postgraduate programmes.
The variety of topics researched is often broad.
“Many PhD projects within areas such as the natural and physical sciences, food science, veterinary science and genetics would also involve research relating to the primary industries.”
Research in the areas of humanities or business may also include aspects of the primary industries either separately or in collaboration with sciences.
Kenyon said Massey’s numbers of PhDs were increasing steadily until 2019-2020 when restrictions on international travel started to
impact numbers with zero to low numbers of new students until 2022.
This will have flow-on effects for at least three years.
“Many Massey PhD candidates are international students, and the impact of those years is still being reflected in the current data.
Many PhD projects within areas such as the natural and physical sciences, food science, veterinary science and genetics would also involve research relating to the primary industries.
Prof Paul Kenyon Massey University
“However, we can also see signs that a recovery is taking place and Massey’s postgraduate student numbers are returning to precovid-19 levels, though it may take another year or so to regain the full complement.”
Current PhD topics include research related to pasture management, yield, soil bacteria, environmental effects of nitrate leaching, farm product quality, animal performance and food product quality and processibility.
Ag losing out on higher degrees
Neal Wallace NEWS Education
JUST 1.4% of the 10,205 tertiary students in New Zealand undertaking doctoral studies in 2023 had agriculture, environmental and related studies as their predominant field of study.
Despite the primary sector’s economic importance, the number studying in this area of research is declining.
In total just 190 doctoral students undertook agriculture, environmental and related studies, a category that includes subjects in the fields of agriculture, horticulture and viticulture, forestry, fisheries and environmental studies.
Katrina Sutich, the group policy manager at the Ministry of Education, said the number of students undertaking doctorate studies in agriculture, environmental and related studies in 2023 fell below the 1.5% average for the 2014 to 2023 period.
As a percentage of all doctoral studies over that period, the range was between 1.2% and 1.8%.
“Study in other fields may also contribute to New Zealand’s primary sectors, for example, in biological and chemical sciences, and in veterinary studies.
DROP: Katrina Sutich, the group policy manager at the Ministry of Education, says the number of students undertaking doctorate studies in agriculture, environmental and related studies in 2023 fell below the 1.5% average.
This equates to 185 students, not 190, but the Ministry of Education rounds the numbers hence the difference. Also, a PhD student completes their study over multiple years, therefore, there is an overlap of students ending and starting their courses.
From 2014 to 2020 there were between 210 and 235 doctoral students studying agriculture, environmental and related studies, but from 2021 numbers fell below 200.
The most common subject for doctoral studies at NZ universities were social and culture at 2115 students, which includes subjects such as political science, human society, law, justice, language, religious studies and sport and recreation.
“Studies in other fields such as in engineering and related technologies may also benefit the primary sectors by contributing to development of technologies used for food processing for export purposes.”
Of the 2023 students, 80 were domestic and 110 were international and they were enrolled in a least one course that was classified within the agriculture, environmental and related studies domain.
There were 110 studying agriculture, five viticulture and horticulture, 15 forestry and 55 in environmental studies.
Natural and physical sciences, which includes mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemical, earth and biological sciences, attracted 2090 students.
There were 1555 health doctoral students, 1535 in engineering and related industries, 825 in management and commerce, 540 in information and technology and 470 in creative arts.
PREPARE: Dr Shane Reti says the new university programme will help prepare the PhD students for careers in science by building stronger connections between research and industry. Photo: Pexels
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How Henderson closed in on Golden Shears
TOA Henderson didn’t get much sleep in the two weeks leading up to the Golden Shears finals in Masterton.
Each night he would sit up to 1am watching footage of previous Open Finals.
“I didn’t want to get into the grand final and not know what to do,” he said, relaxing at his Kaiwaka home in Northland with wife Phoebe and children Te Aketa, 5, and Te Waanga, 4.
On March 1 Henderson became the first first-time Golden Shears Open finalist to win shearing’s top prize in 15 years.
He took the title by a two-point margin from David Buick.
The achievement had been a goal since he was a youngster.
“It’s a dream come true,” the 34-year-old said.
“I had watched Rowland Smith, John Kirkpatrick and David Fagan all holding the trophy and I told
my wife ‘I’m going to do that one day.’”
Henderson’s family were involved in the shearing industry and aged 17 he headed to Western Australia, where for the next eight
years he worked in shearing sheds.
On returning home, he refined his craft and at the 2023 Golden Shears thought he may have been ready to push some of the
All the Golden Shears winners
Staff reporter PEOPLE Skills
RESULTS from the 23rd Golden Shears International Shearing and Woolhandling Championships held in Masterton from February 27 to March 1:
Golden Shears Open final: Toa Henderson, Kaiwaka, 1; David Buick, Pongaroa, 2; Casey Bailey, Riverton, 3; Angus Moore, Ward, 4; Nathan Stratford, Invercargill, 5; Brett Roberts, Mataura, 6. Golden Shears Woolhandling Open final: Joel Henare, GisborneMotueka, 1; Tia Potae, Harataunga, 2; Pagan Rimene, Alexandra, 3; Vinniye Phillips, Taumarunui, 4. Transtasman Shearing test (12 sheep – six merino, three
long wool, three second-shear): Australia – Daniel McIntyre, Jamie Boothman, Nathan Meaney, 210.991pts beat New Zealand, Leon Samuels, Jack Fagan, Chris Vickers, 233.402pts.
Transtasman Woolhandling Test: New Zealand, Pagain Rimene, Ngaio Hanson, 348.24pts beat Australia, Tiffany Collins, Alexander Schoff , 352.72pts.
PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit final: Paerata Abraham, Masterton, 1; Angus Moore, Ward, 2; Gavin Mutch, Scotland-Dannevirke, 3; Justin Meikle, Oamaru, 4; Axle Reid, Taihape-Waipawa, 5; Casey Bailey, Riverton, 6.
Golden Shears Senior final: Bruce Grace, Wairoa-Napier, 1; John Cherrington, Oamaru, 2;
Tommy Stevenson, Ruawai, 3; Laura Bradley, Papatawa, 4; Aiden Tarrant, Mapiu, 5; Cody Waihape, Gore, 6.
Golden Shears Intermediate final: Ryka Swan, Wairoa, 1; Kaivah Cooper, Napier, 2; Lachie Cameron, Pohangina, 3; Sarah Bryant, Arohena, 4; Hamuera Henderson, Kaiwaka, 5; Tomos Jones, Dolwyddelan, Wales, 6.
Golden Shears Junior final: Paddy Hudson, Hokonui, 1; Tye Meikle, Oamaru, 2; Joseph Scahill, Mayo, Ireland, 3; Tamati Dennison, Kurow, 4; Tom Clarkson, Martinborough, 5; Trent Alabaster, Taihape, 6.
Golden Shears Novice final: Hunter Wigglesworth, Marton, 1; Ben Solomann, Taupo, 2; Angus Monk, Masterton, 3; Jess
guns, but that was not the case.
With a new focus, Henderson developed a reputation for the hours spent travelling throughout the country to contest shearing competitions.
On occasion he would drive six or seven hours from Kaiwaka to Hawke’s Bay to compete and then drive home, often with his father, Mike, alongside.
It paid off. Last season he was the No 1 ranked Open shearer with 11 wins in 16 finals.
In February he won both the Otago Shears and Southern Shears, to give him 37 Open final wins in New Zealand.
Henderson said he was very relaxed going into the final.
“I went into a mindset, I was relaxed, I had a V (drink) and some water and away I went.”
The final went as he hoped and his 2.13 point win surprisingly comfortable.
He dispatched his 20 sheep in 16min 15.779sec, eight seconds quicker than eight-time finalist and local Wairarapa hope David Buick.
Third was Riverton shearer Casey Bailey, a runner-up last year with Marlborough shearer Angus Moore fourth, Southlander Nathan Stratford fifth in the final for a 12th time, and Mataura shearer Brett Roberts sixth, also in his first final.
Two-times world individual woolhandling champion Joel Henare claimed his 11th consecutive Golden Shears Open woolhandling title, beating 2023-2024 New Zealand representative Tia Potae, 2019 World Championships representative Pagan Rimene and 2024 senior winner and now firstyear open woolhandler Vinniye Phillips.
The Australian shearing team of Daniel McIntyre, Nathan Meaney and Jamie Boothman beat the New Zealand team of Leon Samuels, Jack Fagan and Chris Vickers in the Transtasman shearing test, repeating their victory from Katanning, West Australia, last October.
A New Zealand team of Rimene and Ngaio Hanson won the woolhandling test.
Gooding, Featherston, 4; Charlie Kjestrup, Weber, 5; Cody Hall, Hawera, 6. Women’s Invitation: Laura Bradley, Papatawa, 1; Lydia
Thomson, Rangiora, 2; Kate Donald, Scotland, 3; Pagan Rimene, Alexandra, 4.; Emma Kendrick, Feilding, 5; Cushla Abraham, Masterton, 6.
EMERGING TALENT: Lucy Elers of Mataura added the senior woolhandling title to the junior title she won just 12 months ago.
Photo: Pete Nikolaison
Neal Wallace PEOPLE Skills
NEW CHAMPION: Golden Shears Open champion Toa Henderson with his wife Phoebe. Photo: Doug Laing.
Bremworth board takeover bid mounted
Neal Wallace NEWS Food and fibre
AGROUP of shareholders disgruntled with the performance of carpet manufacturer and retailer Bremworth is seeking to replace the board.
The group, representing 11.5% of issued capital, wrote to the board on March 1 outlining concerns about the company’s declining financial performance and seeking a special meeting to vote for new directors.
The group is nominating agribusiness leader Rob Hewett as chair along with three directors, Trevor Burt, Julie Bohneen and Murray Dyer.
The Bremworth board has countered that it has the support of major shareholders.
One of the group’s concerns is the failure to grow sales of woollen carpets since the company in July 2020 stopped selling those made from synthetics.
It also has concerns about Bremworth’s financial performance, citing its half-year
result, which revealed its cash position has deteriorated $24 million in six months on stagnant sales, and increased its loss after tax to $8.1m.
Revenue has nearly halved from $148.1m in the 2018 financial year to $80.3m last year, with carpet revenue, not including wool trading, reducing from $123.7m to $57.1m.
Bremworth recently settled an insurance payout of $42m from claims associated with Cyclone Gabrielle and has launched a strategic review that could include selling the business.
The shareholder group said the 2600 shareholders need to decide who will lead the company into the future.
In a statement, Bremworth said there has not been any prior engagement with the group and it has not put previously nominated directors for election.
“As previously announced, the board is progressing with a strategic review of Bremworth’s ownership structure, with the aim to solicit an attractive offer for the acquisition of the company and to unlock value for shareholders.”
The board claims that Hewett, currently the chair of Woolworks, could have a conflict of interest as it has publicly stated interest in acquiring land from Bremworth. Hewett responded that shareholders have raised concerns about the company’s performance and likened its performance to a “10-year-long train smash”.
SFFF stumps up $11.7m for salmon venture
Staff reporter NEWS Aquaculture
PLANS to expand salmon farming and use deeper water in the ocean have moved forward following an $11.7 million investment through the government’s Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Agriculture, and Trade and Investment Todd McClay confirmed support for the salmon farming project, which is expected to create an additional sector-wide $500m of salmon exports by 2035.
The government will coinvest $11.72m over five years from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund as part of a $29.3m programme led by New Zealand King Salmon.
McClay said the joint project will look at ways to expand salmon farming around New Zealand including in deep water while continuing to meet environmental obligations.
“The Future Salmon Farming Programme will prove the viability of open ocean farming for the King Salmon species to make New Zealand a leading global supplier for this high value product.
“It will also drive innovation, allowing
fish farmers to maximise productivity and profitability and get a better return for their product.”
Across its five-year duration the programme is expected to provide the blueprint for substantive and sustainable salmon farming growth in NZ, especially within new open ocean environments.
Last year New Zealand King Salmon gained approval to establish an open ocean salmon farm in the Cook Strait. It followed a nine-year resource consent and consultation process for the Blue Endeavour open ocean salmon farm.
The farm, the first of its type for the King Salmon (Chinook) fish species, will be located 7km off Cape Lambert in the Cook Strait and comprise 20 circular pens. It will be less than 12
hectares in size and, when fully operational, could produce 10,000 tonnes of chinook salmon a year.
New Zealand King Salmon chief executive Carl Carrington said having the open ocean aquaculture site at Blue Endeavour is a big responsibility.
“While we are confident it will be successful, there will be some significant lessons learnt along the way. This funding partnership will enable us to share these learnings and build industry and investor confidence.”
Carrington said for the company to achieve its goals it must prioritise collaboration – with industry, government, iwi, suppliers, customers, communities and beyond.
“The rewards for New Zealand of getting this right are significant,” Carrington said.
He said the group has support from at least 35% of shareholders, who are also worried the insurance payout will be swallowed up by business-as-usual activities.
Hewett said how a new board would change the businesses direction would become apparent once they had access to all information, but one observation
Red meat export returns surge in January
Neal Wallace MARKETS Production
THE current resurgence in red meat values has been graphically illustrated by a 28% increase in export values in January worth $927 million, according to Meat Industry Association figures.
Beef exports were the star performer, increasing 6% in volume to 38,788 tonnes and 36% in value to $409m.
Lamb export volumes were steady, but returns for the month were 22% higher at $359m.
Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said the sharp increases reflected strength across all major red meat markets.
The most significant market was the United States, with total exports up 64% year on year, followed by China, up 10%, the United Kingdom, up 58% and Canada, up 89%.
As previously announced, the board is progressing with a strategic review of Bremworth’s ownership structure.
Bremworth board
is that Bremworth has not controlled its costs.
He said the group has access to manufacturing and marketing experts who will drive change. Responding to claims of potential conflict of interest, Hewett said there is a welldocumented process that he would follow.
The current board consists of George Adams (chair), John Rae, Paul Izzard, Katherine Turner and inaugural director emeritus Grant Biel, who has been with Bremworth since 1964.
The company said it has identified $5m in annual savings and last month announced it had commenced a strategic review including seeking a buyer, which has revealed interest from offshore and domestic parties.
STAR: Beef exports were the star performer in January, increasing 6% in volume to 38,788 tonnes and 36% in value to $409m.
The growing importance of the US market was illustrated in the fact it bought $277m in lamb and beef for the month, just ahead of China at $276m.
The UK took $60m of beef and lamb, Canada $41m, and the Netherlands $33m, a 9% increase.
“The US is a strategically important market for our beef exports and a growing high value market for our lamb exports,” Karapeeva said.
Sheepmeat export volumes were steady for the month at 35,220t compared to last January but were back 20% to the European Union and 24% to the US.
This decline was offset by increases to China, up 7%, the UK up 9% and Malaysia, up 107%.
Higher sheepmeat returns were driven by a 44% increase from China at $134m and a 53% increase from the UK, $50m. Returns from the EU fell 1% and the US by 10%.
Exports of beef to China
were down 14% by volume and 4% by value, this was compensated by robust growth in North America. The US took 24% more in volume at 16,743t but increased in value by 73% at $194m.
Exports to Canada also increased significantly, up 56% in volume at 2499t and 121% in value at $28m.
“In the US, beef production remains steady, but demand for imported lean beef has increased due to lower domestic cow production,” said Karapeeva.
Exports to Japan declined compared to last January, were steady to Taiwan but there was a strong recovery in exports to Korea, which were up 37% by volume and 66% by value.
Fifth quarter exports increased 22% to $159m driven by a sharp rise in tallow exports to the US.
Tallow exports for the month were worth $34m, followed by casings and tripe, $30m, and edible offals $26m.
REVIEW: Bremworth recently settled an insurance payout of $42m from claims associated with Cyclone Gabrielle and has launched a strategic review that could include selling the business.
GROWTH: Last year New Zealand King Salmon gained approval to establish an open ocean salmon farm in the Cook Strait. Photo: ScaleAq
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New prof has major plans for micro food
PROFESSOR Munish Puri is an expert in growing food on a small scale –on a micro scale, to be precise.
The newly appointed RiddetAgResearch chair in alternative proteins creates what he calls “cell factories” to produce essential molecules. These molecules can then be used to grow food, or serve as food ingredients delivering targeted nutrition like healthy fats, beneficial enzymes or essential proteins.
The post is jointly funded by two research entities undertaking innovative research in food science, AgResearch and the Riddet Institute. The joint professorship aims to strengthen New Zealand capacity in the fastgrowing cultivated-food industry.
Puri works from a joint food science facility at Massey University in Palmerston North, where both the Riddet Institute and AgResearch share a collaborative workspace equipped with comprehensive laboratory and pilot food plant facilities. He holds a PhD in Industrial Biotechnology and is a pioneer in alternative proteins, precision fermentation, and cellular agriculture. Puri comes most recently from a role as
Associate Professor in Medical Biotechnology at Flinders University in Melbourne.
He said his mission is to innovate, develop and deliver sustainable and nutritious foods that will shape the future of the global food industry. These new food systems will not compete with conventional agriculture but will complement existing production, providing diversification and resilience to the sector.
Bioprocessing uses non-genetic
NEW ROLE: Professor Munish Puri has taken up a new advanced science role in New Zealand, appointed as the inaugural RiddetAgResearch chair in alternative proteins. Photo: Supplied
approaches to manipulate microbes to create novel highvalue nutraceutical products for food and medical applications.
The starting point is a cell.
“It could be a mammalian cell, a microbial cell, a plant cell or a fungal cell,” Puri said.
“We use the cells and grow them in a contained environment to get specialist products recognised as super foods and next-generation foods.”
He said promising results can be achieved using naturally occurring
World record Hilux muster rounded up in Kingston
Gerhard Uys PEOPLE Community
A TOTAL of 1440 Hilux owners gathered in a paddock at Fairlight Station in Kingston on March 2 to smash a world record that had been held by South Africa for more than 15 years.
The previous world record was set in 2010 by the Four-Wheel Drive Club of Western Cape, South Africa, with a gathering of 495 Toyota Hiluxes.
GWD Toyota Queenstown branch manager Tim Duggan told Farmers Weekly they came up with the idea to smash the world record 18 months ago.
Duggan said Laura Koot, who runs Real Country Farm, a farm experience for townies, serves as one of GWD Toyota’s brand ambassadors.
The airstrip on Fairlight Station, where Real Country is based, provided the ideal location for the event.
“She was a massive part of it,” he said.
Koot said the day was successful primarily because of “incredible local volunteers and the Hilux community”.
“It is very overwhelming and amazing. I am proud to be part of it”.
Duggan said the initial plan was
to open gates at 12pm, but when people began arriving at 9am they decided they couldn’t let them wait.
A steady flow of Hiluxes kept arriving until just before 2pm, he said.
The oldest Hilux he saw was a 1982 model, with the newest one a Hilux a client had picked up four days before, Duggan said.
“There were even ones that
didn’t go that people were bringing in on trailers, just so they can be part of it and have their vehicle there. There were people from the North Island,” he said. Duggan said Toyota New |Zealand was on board with the event and that there have already been hints of a followup record attempt, or that “some of the North Island guys might try and challenge it”.
yeasts, microalgae, and fungi.
“Nature is a rich reservoir of these resources. We bring them to the lab, and screen them to get specific microbial cells rich in proteins, smart fats, and other macro molecules and essential micronutrients.”
Puri said the technique is not actually new. It has been used for decades to manufacture vaccines, and scientists have also been producing an enzyme called chymosin for cheese production since the 1980s, to replace the need for rennet from calves.
“We have already been producing pharmaceuticals like this. The best example is insulin for diabetes.”
The technology requires specialised equipment and infrastructure, and research staff.
Puri has hired research officers and post-doctoral scientists and is currently recruiting three PhD students. New bioprocessing equipment is on order.
In Palmerston North, Puri will focus on producing proteins and “smart fats”. He will be developing new nutritious foods, in collaboration with the food product development team at the Riddet Institute and the Emerging Foods project team at AgResearch.
He said proteins are always being talked about, but protein is not the only molecule that can be grown in the lab.
“We can also produce smart fats, polysaccharides, vitamins, carotenoids, highly nutritive oils. This is the advantage of the technology.”
The technology is currently costly and time-consuming, but
Puri anticipates a future where it will provide a much-needed source of food. The new foods will not only need to rival conventional food nutritionally, and in the sensory eating experience, they must also deliver on price. One day they will.
The next food frontier needs to unfold here.
Prof Munish Puri Riddet-AgResearch
Australia and New Zealand are currently lack scaling up capacity; countries such as Singapore and the United States are already leading the way in production facilities. But New Zealand’s reputation for premium produce will be a huge advantage in the marketplace.
“The next food frontier needs to unfold here. We need advanced equipment, skilled talent, and strong industry engagement to drive innovation and position New Zealand as a leader in this micro-environment of alternative proteins.”
Puri said these new foods will not only meet the growing consumer demand for nonanimal sourced food, they will also address the malnutrition in countries with limited agriculture.
“In Australia and New Zealand we have abundance – we are blessed with food choice and availability – so perhaps these foods won’t be consumed here. They are likely to be exported and will boost our export revenue.”
Richard Wyeth to take the reins at Synlait
RICHARD Wyeth has been appointed CEO of Synlait He joins the company on May 19, having previously been CEO at Westland for four years.
Tim Carter will remain acting CEO until Wyeth starts and then return to his role as CEO of Synlait subsidiary Dairyworks.
Synlait chair George Adams called Wyeth a “seasoned, tested, and highly regarded CEO in New Zealand’s dairy industry”.
“Synlait is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to benefit from Richard’s extensive experience growing companies in our sector. He has positively transformed dairy companies, and we are excited he is joining Synlait.”
Prior to working at Westland, Wyeth was CEO at Taupō-based dairy company Miraka. He also helped establish Open Country Dairy and held management positions with Coca-Cola Amatil and DB Breweries before that.
In 2013, Richard was awarded a Prime Minister’s scholarship, which enabled him to study at
ON BOARD: Richard Wyeth will join the Dunsandel-based dairy company in May.
the INSEAD Business School in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Wyeth said Synlait’s fundamentals are strong. “The fact it’s now on track to return to profitability, after overcoming a list of challenges, reflects exceptional capability within the team. I’m looking forward to getting to know Synlait’s farmers and staff to build on, and support, the turnaround story, which is already underway.”
THE GATHERING: It took almost five hours for the 1440 Hilux utes to enter Fairlight Station in Kingston to break a previous record for the most Hilux utes gathered in one place. Photo: Supplied
From the Editor
First shots fired in Trump’s trade war
Bryan Gibson Managing editor
THE tariffs that United States President Donald Trump has been threatening to apply to Chinese, Mexican and Canadian imports have become a reality, with 25% being added to all imports.
Unsurprisingly, the S&P 500 had a panic attack and dropped sharply soon after the tariffs came into effect.
Canada responded instantly by targeting key US industries for tariffs, and even included the electricity it supplies to northern US states in its statements.
Maybe even more alarming was Trump’s missive on social media that warned of broad tariffs on all imported food products, from any country:
“To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!”
Given our red meat exports to the US rose by 13% to a value of $232 million last year, that’s a worry.
The US beef herd is at historic lows and one wonders whether burger shortages might change the tune of the trade hawks.
The majority of the beef that the US imports comes from Canada and Mexico, and 2024 was a historic year with imports growing 23%.
And, as some industry watchers point out, the US’s food production sector has increasingly been built around feeding the world, not just its domestic population.
The recent policy to end funding for much of US foreign aid is estimated to have taken US$2 billion away from farmers, who supply the food that USAID distributes across the globe.
During Trump’s previous term in office, he placated farmers affected by the tariffs he imposed by simply paying them subsidies.
By 2023, US$19bn had been given to farmers to make up for lost export income.
It’s still difficult to predict how all of this trade turmoil might affect New Zealand food exports.
If Trump goes ahead with blanket tariffs on all food imported into the US, we’d have to make up that margin elsewhere.
There’s word some exporters and trade officials have already factored a 10% tariff into forecasts.
With the European Union also in Trump’s tariff sights, there could well be a global realisation that, as with defence and
LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULT
security, new alliances are a necessity.
What will be really interesting is seeing how much this affects US consumers.
Big retailers like Target and Best Buy have already said that prices will rise for US consumers.
The supermarket bill will be higher by the time you read this, some analysts say.
If the price of beef proves too steep for enough US consumers, could that lead to them deciding the price of this trade war is too steep as well?
What will be really interesting is seeing how much this affects US consumers.
Ironically, when China shut its wallet during the pandemic our push for trade diversification saw many more products directed to the US.
Our strong trade deals with the United Kingdom and the EU provide some stability, and may provide even more value should they become victims of Trump’s tariffs as well.
But even if we aren’t directly affected, the inevitable inflation and slowing of the global economy will hit business confidence.
Markets hate uncertainty, so when there’s turmoil many businesses simply put off big investments until they have the confidence that they’re going to pay off.
That’s not a recipe for success.
Letters of the week
GE Bill does farmers no favour
Trina Upperton and Steve McManus Ōhaeawai
AS SMALL-scale Northland farmers, producing world-class, grass-fed beef, my husband and I need to express our dissatisfaction with the pushing for the Gene Technologies Bill by the National Government and Dr Shane Reti, Northland MP, holding the science portfolio.
Our advantage in being a small country situated far from its export markets needs to rely on its reputation for first-class quality food that can be trusted to be nutritious, flavoursome, environmentally sound and ethically produced. NZ cannot compete with the likes of Argentina or China for scale of production but the niche market we have for clean and natural food attracts a price premium.
Our current regulations around exclusion of hormone growth stimulants and genetically modified organisms in food and the environment, exacting antibiotic withholding periods and outstanding natural genetic-selection breeding programmes are world class and should not be compromised by allowing gene technologies to enter the food chain and the wider environment.
Overseas examples sadly have shown that regulations do not protect consumers, neighbours, growers or the environment from unintended consequences such as the over-use of herbicides on food and super weeds developing. The responsibility for action often depends on the victims of gene pollution rather than the polluter.
“Northland, naturally” simply states its superior status for discerning consumers. If you don’t believe this to be important, ask yourself why so many food producers positively label their products “GMO free”. As primary producers we are appalled by Dr Reti’s support for this Bill, which does not protect or support Northland nor Aotearoa New Zealand’s food producers.
Room for improvement
Nora Voorden Waikato
I’M WRITING in response to an article written by Federated Farmers meat and wool chairperson Toby Williams, “PETA campaign a disgraceful hit job” (Federated Farmers, January 20).
I agree with him on many points except when he claims “farmers have incredibly high animal welfare standards and caring for their animals seriously”.
That I disagree with. I’m in the Waikato and would estimate 50% of farms do not provide shade for their stock. It makes a mockery of New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Act.
I challenge any of those neglectful farmers to try it for one day – stand in the full sun with no option to head for shade.
Are you confident your farm business will be profitable this year?
This week’s poll question (see page 1): Have your say at farmersweekly.co.nz/poll
A majority of voters thought New Zealand should leave the Paris Agreement, with many believing it was nonsensical for a small emitter like New Zealand to be involved.
Others, however, thought it was vital for retaining trading partners and it was simply the right thing to do.
Last week’s question: Should New Zealand withdraw from the Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas reductions? No
Best letter WINS a quality hiking knife
Send your letter to the Editor at Farmers Weekly P.0. Box 529, Feilding or email us at farmers.weekly@agrihq.co.nz
A coming of age for regen agriculture
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
IHAVE a disclaimer to make right up front in this piece: I was part of the Underground Festival steering committee and provided media and comms services.
I spent two days in a North Canterbury paddock talking farming recently.
In many ways, Underground Festival – New Zealand’s first festival of soil, food and farming – was like any other farming event. A bunch of people who love life on the land gathered to look into holes, reflect on the season and talk for two pints about the weather. That said, there were a few
departures from convention at Underground worth an article.
The first was clear right at the gate. I put the average age of the 300-plus attendees at around 45. At a time when the average sheep and beef farmer is pushing 60, it was refreshing to see so many young people fired up about a life in farming – often with their families in tow. It gave me a lot of hope to see them.
The second thing I noticed was the intentional celebration of food, alongside farming. Instead of the standard fare of hot chips and conference catering, we all sat down to a closing feast of regeneratively raised beef, lamb and local sides.
We sipped a superb hazy pale ale, while listening to the arable farmer talk about the specific barley crop it started as. There was a bit more space for the “soft side” of farming too. More than a few times, speakers teared up when talking about the pain of loss on the farm, or the joy of seeing animals and people thrive on the land.
Make no mistake about it, this stuff matters. This is the “culture” in agriculture – the human side of food and farming that we are losing amid the supermarket shelves, algorithms and ultraprocessing of the industrialised food system we find ourselves in.
This stuff might be hard to measure, but if you’ve ever felt a pang of grief for the many kids who don’t know where food comes
from these days, you know what it feels like to lose a bit of that culture.
In designing specifically to savour great food, and give space for farmers to talk from the gut about what it took to grow it, the dining tables at Undergound struck me as the kind of place where we might revive a culture that respects food, farmer and land.
The last thing that stood out about Underground was the programme itself. I’d encourage you to take a look. Usually, we think of farming as the combination of a specific range of elements and acts. It’s about how soil, the weather, plants (usually grass), animals, machinery, regulations, finances, inputs, nature and people come together to grow food and fibre.
But across its panels and workshops, Underground pushed the limits of that description of farming. In two days, I ambled from a hands-on soil workshop into a talk about the link between soil, nutrition and mental health.
Next was a discussion about farming’s role in the regenerative economy and financial system of the future.
From there it was an agroforestry workshop, a panel on how local supply chain innovations like mobile abattoirs can grow communities, a conversation about farming’s role in rebuilding the health system, a discussion about on-farm renewable energy generation and a session on Hua
Parakore – a Te Ao Māori approach to food and farming.
In my Nuffield report, I argue that farming should be viewed as a public good. Like healthcare or education, I see farming as one of the great pillars on which we build a thriving nation.
When it’s well designed and properly invested in, farming has the potential to positively impact everything from public health to economic growth, conservation, race relations, childhood development, geopolitical security and more.
I believe that farming’s future lies both in the well-trodden definition we’re used to, and in these emerging frontiers. To see these two pathways for farming sit side by side was to glimpse what our food and fibre sector might one day become.
Above all, Underground was a signal that New Zealand’s regenerative agriculture movement is growing up. We’re past the “define regen” debate (with the likes of Ecological
Outcome Verification now in place on hundreds of Kiwi farms).
Agri businesses and the Ministry for Primary Industries are investing in the space, our overseas customers are moving in this direction and farmer-tofarmer networks are taking root across the country.
The regenerative movement is finding its feet as a place to respectfully push the boundaries of what farming is and can do – for farmers, citizen eaters and for the land itself.
It is emerging as a place where we can revive a food culture based on respect for land and farmer. It’s becoming a place where our young people can grip for themselves that deep sense of purpose that comes from stewarding land and feeding others.
It was fitting that my conventionality-adjacent dad not only came along, but was able to look past the composting toilets and smattering of hemp shirts to glimpse a regenerative farming future too.
Sheep, sheep and more sheep, or maybe not anymore…
In my view
QUINTESSENTIAL New Zealand: Red Bands, jandals, kiwifruit, pavlova, sheep, utes, No 8 wire, pies ... hmm, did I say sheep? Well they might be at the moment, our cute, fluffy, bouncing bundles of joy. Now transport yourself into the future and think about our country with no sheep. Silence. No maa’s and baa’s, just acres upon acres of forestry plantations, bush blocks and urban areas.
Goodbye lambos, goodbye sheep dogs, goodbye shearers. No sheep means no wool, our precious fibre. No Swandris, no school uniforms, and Merinos gone.
But wait, does that mean no more iconic shearers in their black singlets, no Fred Dagg, even Footrot Flats forgotten? I can’t bear to imagine our country like this. But if we don’t do something to halt the reduction of sheep numbers, this image will be in New Zealand’s not too distant future.
Sheep numbers in New Zealand are rapidly declining. What was once known as The Land of the Long White Sheep is now facing the bleak but real possibility of no sheep in the future due to sheep farming no longer being economically viable.
Back in 1982, NZ’s peak sheep year, there were roughly 70 million sheep in NZ. Right, but let’s put this in perspective: In ’82 there
were 3.156 million people in NZ, meaning there were a whopping 22 sheep for each and every single person who lived in NZ. It was a common running joke that there were more sheep than people.
The sheep number has declined dramatically, which is a real concern for the industry and NZ’s economy. As of 2024, there were only 23.5 million sheep in NZ. This means the sheep tally has dropped by roughly 45 million in the past 45 years. This is a reduction of 1 million sheep every year, and if this trend continues (which is highly likely), in 20 years sheep will be a rarity.
Let’s take a deep dive into why sheep farming is no longer economically viable and why sheep numbers are declining so rapidly. Since the introduction of synthetics and later the reliance of companies on cheap imported materials, the value of wool, our precious fibre, has declined dramatically. Back in NZ sheep farming’s heyday, wool was valued, precious and used to make countless garments, carpets and other such necessities.
In 1982 the price for strong, unwashed wool was $2.50/kg. This would be equivalent to $12.05/ kg today. Compare this to the current wool price of $3.80/kg for
equal product and you begin to see the decline and how this can drastically impact farmers.
The constant decline in the wool price is contributing to the reduction in sheep numbers across New Zealand. Farmers who are financially in the toilet have to sell their sheep farms and the land is then converted into forestry blocks, beef farms and runoffs, bush blocks and even urban areas, as our cities creep further and further out into the country.
I don’t know about you, but I would be lost without my sheep and I would definitely suffer over winter without my 100% woollen carpets and insulation. I grew up with sheep and in fact, in direct contradiction of the discussed trends, my flock has grown over 500% in the past 15 years!
My brother and I breed and raise lambs every year. Our sheep get shorn once a year and my brother gets the wool carded.
He spins it into skeins, to later use for knitting and crocheting. We sell the lambs to be slaughtered for lamb meat.
I also use some of our sheep for community engagement, taking them to agriculture shows and school events, where they act as advocates of sorts for their species. These are just some of the things
that sheep can be used for, and in response to the low wool price and clip, other farmers have come up with new initiatives to supplement their farming income and allow them to stay on the land and keep their sheep numbers stable. Some farms are switching to dairy sheep and bringing this fairly new industry to New Zealand, while others are taking on the more crafty aspects with creating and selling woollen crafts at local farmers markets. Organisations like Wool in Schools are promoting wool and its uses to primary schools, in an attempt to educate from the ground up around the important place wool has in our lives.
Major New Zealand companies have begun to switch to exclusively using wool in their products, which is helping to support the wool industry and in the future increase the wool clip price.
So let’s do something about it, let’s continue to raise awareness for sheep and their integral part in our lives and live to see the Land of the Long White Sheep once again.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES: The regenerative movement is finding its feet as a place to respectfully push the boundaries of what farming is and can do – for farmers, citizen eaters and for the land itself, says Daniel Eb.
Olivia Kelly
Olivia is a Year 13 pupil at Kaipara College in Helensville. This piece was written as part of her Level 3 English assessment.
COMEBACK: Kaipara College pupil Olivia Kelly says we need to raise awareness of sheep so we can enjoy living in the Land of the Long White Sheep once again.
Sweet dreams lead to the ideal lifestyle
Olivia Caldwell PEOPLE Horticulture
HEN Bex met
WBen, she told him straight off the bat she would be having four children and she wanted to own a farm one day, too. He didn’t back off, and not even a decade later Bex and Ben Trotter have achieved their dream.
The Trotters opened Red Bridge Berries near Wānaka in 2020, after buying 135 hectares in 2018 that they predominantly used to fatten-up bulls.
“We were both in corporate jobs for years. But we have always been like we want to buy a farm, then this came up. Financially we had to keep our other jobs for a while,” Bex said.
“I was travelling a lot with work and always in the back of my mind I thought a strawberry farm would be really cool. Growing up in the Bay of Plenty there was always strawberry farms and lots of pick-your-owns.”
The farm is one of few strawberry farms south of Christchurch, despite the hot summers being perfect for growing.
Bex is from a dairy farm and Ben was brought up in Southland on a sheep and beef farm. They both agree there has always been something missing in their other jobs.
Just six years on and they
supply the lion’s share of Wānaka and Queenstown restaurants, Nadia Lim’s business farming label Royalburn and McGibbon’s, and that have recently signed a contract with Foodstuffs too.
The challenge of making Red Bridge a success hasn’t been simple.
“When we moved here, I wondered why there is nothing like it so we did a trial run in our garden, then we bit the bullet.”
That trial run was a mere 30,000 strawberry plants, which got picked out within a week of pick-your-own. This was a good indicator of things to come.
The following season they brought 40,000 more and now they are up to 100,000 strawberry plants in a variety that is top secret.
The farm gets roughly 25,000 people through that “close the gate” sign and the kids are always there watching, picking and collecting the berries – Florence, 5, Edward, 4, Arthur, 2 and William, two months.
“We didn’t know anything about growing strawberries, we learnt it all on YouTube,” said Bex.
“We watched that for, like, six months straight. And to be fair, not anyone could do that.
“Ben has an exceptional skillset around growing, he is a walking dictionary for growing and chemicals and he is known for that skillset.”
The strawberries are what’s paying the bills, in comparison
Always in the back of my mind I thought a strawberry farm would be really cool.
Bex Trotter Red Bridge Berries
to the 1000 cattle they have been running since buying the farm.
The farm offers customers strawberries at $16 a kilo when picked or $14 for 500 grams out of the punnet.
The $3 entry fee probably averages out in terms of the strawberries taken from the plants by the over-stimulated pickers.
“Locals are a bit more respectful, but in the busy season the tourists go for it and eat as much as they
can. It is sort of what we signed up for in PYO.”
Bex said the fruit industry has a lot of wastage and it has been one of her goals to mitigate this on their own farm.
“You probably have 20% of your fruit as seconds. For us, we don’t believe that there is a perfectshaped strawberry that goes into a punnet.
“Our punnets have various sizes of strawberries and you may get misshapen strawberries. We are trying to educate our customers that they may not all look good, but they will taste good.”
Every berry that isn’t sold is frozen, freeze dried or made into the new strawberry balsamic vinegar, which has been flying out the door.
The strawberry plant they
use has a higher sugar count than the strawberries found in supermarkets, but a much lower yield. Where most commercial strawberry businesses operate at approximately a kilo off each plant, they reap around 400 grams.
The couple have recently taken on a commercial herb-growing business which covers 200 square metres. Under the brand Alpine Fresh they sell to restaurants and supermarkets.
With four children and a much bigger workload than their previous lives in the office, it’s worth the work, they say.
“We have sucked it up and we know it’s not forever. These kids, though, are farm kids. They come out with us and we love that. We want them to be part of our family and not shipped off to pre-school.”
BERRIES: Bex and Ben Trotter with Florence, 5, Edward, 4, Arthur, 2 and William, two months.
Call for action on Southland duck crisis
As if Southland farmers haven’t had a tough enough year, they’re now dealing with a plague of ducks hammering their winter crops.
Wyndham sheep and beef farmer
Ben Dooley says he’s been seeing up to a couple of thousand Mallards at a time on his 250ha farm this summer.
“The constant rain and flooding last year were incredibly challenging for farmers down here, but they also created perfect spring breeding conditions for the ducks.
“Our duck numbers are out of control this season – they’re everywhere.”
Last month Dooley discovered one of his swede crops had been decimated by a mob of Mallards.
“They came through and absolutely annihilated one of our winter crops just as it was just coming out of the ground.
“Despite all the rain last year, we actually got our crops in the ground in pretty good time, but we still go hammered.”
Of the affected area of crop, the ducks left only about 15% of plants.
“We often lose about 20% of the plant numbers by the time we get around to grazing anyway, which isn’t a bad number. That would leave us with 64,000 plants per hectare, with good, big bulbs,” Dooley says.
“This year we were left with only about 12,000 plants per hectare in that area.
“That’s a massive hit on the number of bulbs we’ll have to feed in winter.”
Federated Farmers Southland is
now calling for urgent changes so farmers can get duck numbers under control – and quickly.
Dooley, the organisation’s local meat and wool vice chair, says farmers have virtually no options for control that are legal.
“We can apply for a permit to shoot to scare, but that’s just ridiculous.
“No one bothers applying for that – they apply for a permit to shoot to kill and then get given a permit to shoot to scare.
“But there’s no point because the ducks just come back.”
I think that, at least here in Southland, we should be able to shoot them any time of year, without a hunting licence.
Jason Herrick Federated Farmers Southland president
Dooley’s view is farmers should be allowed to shoot ducks at any time of year when they’re feeding on crops, especially when crops are just emerging.
“When ducks are on our crops when the plants are most vulnerable, you shouldn’t need permission to kill them, so long as you’re only targeting those ducks on your crops.”
Federated Farmers Southland president Jason Herrick agrees farmers need more options.
“Southland has seen an explosion of ducks. Lately I’ve been looking up
and seeing the sky blackened with Mallards flying overhead.
“They’re not only hammering our crops, but they’re also causing massive issues in our waterways with E. coli.”
He asks why Southland hasn’t been allowed summer weekend shoots, like what’s happened in parts of Canterbury.
“Canterbury has a weekend shoot in summer, so why can’t something like that happen down here in Southland?
“We seriously need a cull and designating a summer weekend shoot would really help reduce the population.”
Herrick says Southland Fish & Game need to urgently reconsider their bag limits for the coming shooting season.
“All Fish & Game have done is increase the per-day limit after the opening weekend.
“That means opening day is 50 ducks per person and then you’re allowed 15 per day from then on.
“That won’t make even a tiny dent in the population – the limit needs to be much higher.”
He echoes Dooley’s view that a permit to scare ducks away is pointless.
“That’s a waste of time because if you were going out to shoot to scare, you’d be out there all day long. They’ll just keep coming back when you’re not there.”
One simple answer, says Herrick, would be to simply reclassify Mallards as pests.
“They’re 100% a pest. They’re
decimating our crops and having a huge impact on water quality.
“I think that, at least here in Southland, we should be able to shoot them any time of year, without a hunting licence.
“I’m not saying that should happen nationwide, but it’s the only real way I can see us getting this problem under control down south.”
Dooley is just one farmer who knows this all too well.
After losing some of his swede crop completely, he decided to resow the area in kale.
“Well, that kale crop is now null and void,” he says.
“Ducks came back and wiped it out again.
“It’s only 2.5% of my crop area, but it’s now had $2500 per hectare spent on it – compared to my normal crop cost of about $1600 – and I’m still going to get nothing off it.”
MALLARD MAYHEM: This winter swede crop of Ben Dooley’s was eight inches high and growing nicely before the ducks annihilated it over a five-day period.
Maize insights to help growers maximise returns
Federated Farmers is spearheading a new initiative to ensure maize growers have the latest information to make smart planting and harvesting decisions.
“Last year was a complete disaster for the maize industry,” Federated Farmers arable chair David Birkett says.
“The price dropped from around $650 a tonne to $350 and it was clear a lot of growers lacked current market information.
“They weren’t aware there was a big overhang of grain from the previous year, nor that demand had dropped away.
“That sparked Federated Farmers to pull together all the big industry players to work on getting useful and timely data out to the growers.”
A new maize industry report will go out to growers twice a year, with the first one going out last month.
Each report will stem from a maize industry discussion involving representatives from
Federated Farmers, importers, the Feed Manufacturers Association, Contractors Association, seed companies Pioneer and Corson, the dairy sector, and seed companies such as PGG Wrightson.
“That pan-sector gathering will provide up-to-date market and pricing insights, which we’ll then send to growers,” Birkett says.
“Our August report will mean growers have information before they plant, and the inaugural report we sent last month is timed so we know what’s in the ground, and what sort of carryover of grain there is.
“Growers can then decide whether they harvest for grain or silage.
“If the grain market looks bad, but dairy is on the up, and there’s dry conditions in dairy provinces, silage might be the better bet.”
Under the infrastructure and storage heading, last month’s report noted short-term gas supply for grain drying is secured for this season, and industry stakeholders continue to work on long-term
solutions. Storage capacity appears to be in a good position this year, reducing last season’s logistical challenges.
Other insights covered a market overview, pricing and import, dairy sector considerations and some ‘looking ahead’ comments.
Birkett says maize crops are a very important component of the agriculture sector.
“Around 80% supplies the dairy sector but maize is also key for our poultry and pork industries,” he says.
Growers need to take into account competition from maize imports, particularly from South America.
“The driver for Federated Farmers is getting the best information we can to growers to help them maximise their returns.”
market and pricing insights.
The price dropped from around $650 a tonne to $350 and it was clear a lot of growers lacked current market information.
David Birkett Federated Farmers arable
Pest control to benefit from visitor levy funding
News that wilding pine, deer, goat and wallaby control work will get funding from the international visitor levy is welcome – and totally appropriate, Richard McIntyre says.
“Wilding conifers are a plague on some of our most iconic landscapes and the more-than-a-million wallabies in New Zealand destroy native tree saplings and tussock, not to mention farm pasture,” McIntyre, Federated Farmers’ pest management spokesperson, says.
“Goat, pig and deer populations are booming in many parts of the country.
“Federated Farmers’ pest survey
last year showed these feral animals are costing farmers at least $213 million a year in control costs and damage.
Any farmer will tell you that a pest problem that isn’t dealt with today tends to be exponentially worse in future years.
Richard McIntyre
Federated Farmers pest management spokesperson
“A huge part of our tourist industry is based on our stunning natural environment, so it’s right that some of the visitor levy goes towards pest control campaigns.”
The Government recently announced $3.35 million from International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) revenue will enable extra wilding conifer control in Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago this financial year.
Tourism features that will benefit from the work include the Molesworth Recreation Reserve, the Ashburton Lakes area and Skippers Canyon in Otago.
Another $3.5 million over three years will be added to budgets for deer and goat management in national parks and popular visitor areas.
The Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme will get an additional $1.5 million over three years for work to stop the spread of wallabies into iconic landscapes.
Tourists, people on working holidays, and some students and workers coming to New Zealand have been paying an IVL since 2019.
The IVL was raised from $35 to $100 in October last year.
Annual IVL revenue is forecast to
increase from $44.9 million in 2023 to more than $150 million at the new $100 levy rate.
McIntyre says with that revenue increase Federated Farmers would want next year’s pest and conifer control share from the fund to be at least three times this year’s.
Feral pest and wilding conifer control efforts in New Zealand are, at best, holding the line, he says.
“In many districts, we’re losing the battle.
“Any farmer will tell you that a pest problem that isn’t dealt with today tends to be exponentially worse in future years.”
INFORMED: David Birkett says it’s crucial for maize growers to have up-to-date
chair
The secret to sharefarming success
Setting up a strong communication structure with the farm owner is crucial for succeeding in a new contract milking or sharemilking role, says Federated Farmers national dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
McIntyre says starting a new position is an exciting step, but it’s important to lay good foundations from the outset.
“For anyone going contract milking or sharemilking in the coming season, firstly, take a moment to celebrate that – it’s a very exciting progression in your career.
“Now you need to focus on starting out really well, which means putting in place some structures so you’re in the best position to succeed.
“One of the most important aspects of a successful sharemilking or contract milking arrangement is setting up a strong communication structure with the farm owner.
“You need to know how they would like their communication, in what form, and how much detail,” McIntyre explains.
A great way to achieve that is through regular monthly meetings or reports, he says.
These ensure farm owners are always aware of what’s happening on their farm and provide an opportunity to discuss concerns before they become serious problems.
“No one likes surprises, and if you can give them a good early warning of potential issues, that’s really important,” McIntyre says.
“Also, have a process for bringing up issues as they arise. There’s always a power imbalance between a farm owner and a sharemilker, and it can be awkward bringing up small annoyances.
“But if you address them early, they don’t snowball into big problems.”
McIntyre advises both parties ask at each meeting: ‘How are things going?’ and ‘Is there anything you’d like me to do better?’
“That just provides a chance
for both the contract milker or sharemilker and the farm owner to address minor concerns in a constructive way before they become major issues.”
McIntyre joined the Federated Farmers Podcast recently to share a step-by-step guide to due diligence before taking a contract milking or sharemilking position, and how to start the season on the right foot.
Another piece of advice is to avoid working so hard that you burn out.
“Managing your workload effectively is so important, because you need to be able to perform at your best throughout the season,” he says.
“I remember when I first started, the milk price was really low, and I couldn’t afford to hire any relief staff. I did about six months without a day off.
“Yes, it saved money, but I reached a point where I wasn’t making the
- Rober t Har ding
best decisions, and it probably cost us more in the long run.”
Taking regular breaks and ensuring you have enough support staff is critical for maintaining energy levels and making sound business decisions.
You need to know how they would like their communication, in what form, and how much detail.
Richard McIntyre Federated Farmers dairy chair
McIntyre also strongly recommends the sharefarmer and farm owner share the cost of a farm advisor.
“That way, the farm advisor is clearly working for both parties equally,” he explains.
“They can help identify and resolve
issues in a fair manner, ensuring the relationship stays on track.”
Having a neutral third party involved can be incredibly helpful, particularly during difficult times.
“In any business arrangement, you’re going to have times when things are running smoothly and times when it’s more difficult,”
McIntyre says.
“A farm advisor who works for both sides helps manage those relationships and find solutions.”
It may seem obvious, but simply being easy to work with is another key factor in long-term success, he says.
“I’ve seen some of the best sharemilkers struggle because they weren’t easy to get along with,”
McIntyre warns.
“Issues will arise in any agreement but handling them in a reasonable and professional way makes all the difference.”
McIntyre also strongly encourages
using Federated Farmers’ industryleading agreements.
“Federated Farmers contracts are considered the gold standard because they’re developed with input from both sharemilkers and farm owners.
“I’ve seen many agreements written by other parties, and they often focus heavily on the sharemilker’s obligations while being vague on the farm owner’s responsibilities.
“If something goes wrong, they don’t provide clear guidance on how to manage the situation,” McIntyre says.
Sharemilkers and contract milkers who join Federated Farmers also gain access to expert legal advice and support.
Additionally, members can receive discounts on agreements and employment contracts, as well as support from Federated Farmers’ elected representatives.
NO SURPRISES: Richard McIntyre says setting up regular meetings or reports between the farm owner and sharefarmer can help address any issues before they snowball into big problems.
Throwing herself into the deep end
Push yourself to take on an extra challenge and other doors often open, Bridie Virbickas says.
The Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty sharefarmer chair is happiest out on the farm at Otakiri, near Edgecumbe, with her cows, springer spaniel dogs and team of three staff.
“Happy people, happy cows, dogs enjoying themselves in nature –nothing better,” she says.
But Virbickas is also committed to helping others in the industry, and that’s led to growing involvement in governance roles.
Encouraged by her mum Linda, and Fonterra milk supply director Lisa Payne, the Bachelor of AgricScience graduate put her name forward for Fonterra’s governance development programme in 2020.
“It was a really good experience – I learned a lot.
“And having that qualification opened doors to other things.”
Virbickas followed up by completing her Institute of Directors finance and governance essentials course, then threw her name in the hat for the hotly contested DairyNZ associate director roles.
“You get alongside the eight directors and contribute to board discussions and decision-making, but without voting rights.
“You’re not someone tucked away in a corner listening in – they want your feedback as a dairy farmer.
“It was a really interesting year to be on the board with the change of CEO, and the He Waka Eke Noa debates.”
As next steps, Virbickas joined AgRecovery as a foundation trustee and was elected to the Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty executive as sharefarmer chair.
“I’m a fourth-generation farmer and mum and dad have long been Feds members.
“It’s an organisation that tries really hard for farmers, so it felt like a natural thing for me.
“There was no question of ‘would
I do love my cows, but I really love connecting with people too. Feds has given me a platform to extend that.
Bridie Virbickas Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty sharefarmer chair
I join?’, more ‘how can I get in there and be involved?’,” she says.
“Federated Farmers is a goldmine of really good people. I like the connections and friends I’ve made nationally, including on the meat and wool side.”
Virbickas has helped smooth waters in a couple of Bay of Plenty sharefarmer/farm owner disputes and is pleased that Feds’ workshops on managing sharefarming risks have been drawing good turnouts.
She led the workshop at Awakeri
on February 13, with about 40 farmers present.
One of her key messages was to look for ‘alignment’.
“There’s a lot of focus on making the economics of it work for both parties – and quite rightly so.
“But just as important is the relationship, including alignment of farming ethos.
“For example, if you’re a sharefarmer whose style is highinput, and the farm owner is a really low-input farmer, it’s not going to gel.
“Plenty of new candidates also go into sharefarming from a farm manager role, with their eyes on making more money.
“They overlook the fact they don’t have their four weeks’ annual leave and sick leave, and that they’re going to have to pay relief milkers to get time off.
“They need to do their homework to make sure they’re not ending up
STEPPING UP: For Bridie
there was never a question over whether she would join Federated Farmers, rather how best she could help the organisation.
working harder for the same amount of money.”
Virbickas’ first job after university was for Ballance Agri-Nutrients as a fertiliser rep, then North Island team leader for the farm sustainability team.
It was a great learning experience using Overseer to help farmers with nitrogen leaching but it was largely an office job “and I felt like a caged animal”.
When the manager of one of her parents’ smaller farms left suddenly, she put her hand up, even though it felt like being thrown in the deep end.
“Fortunately, it was mid-season. Mum and dad didn’t need to panic about finding a replacement and I had six months to find my feet before my first calving.
“It was a massive change but I loved it.”
As contract milker, Virbickas has been front and centre as the
farm expanded to a neighbouring property, growing from 270 cows to 850.
Replacing two 22-a-side herringbone sheds, a new 50 bail rotary is being built next to the feed pad.
“It’s going to change my life!” Virbickas says.
Another way she’s been able to stamp her mark is by planting trees, to enhance the environment and encourage more of the rare bitterns from the nearby Tumurau Wetland to visit the farm.
“That sort of thing really excites me,” she says.
Buoyed by her governance role with Federated Farmers, and once the new cowshed is built, Virbickas is next looking to stretch her wings in governance roles off-farm.
“I do love my cows, but I really love connecting with people too. Feds has given me a platform to extend that.”
Virbickas
Receivership dairy farm
103-hectare (more or less) dairy farm located in the heart of the Hauraki District with quality and quantity of infrastructure and a proposed subdivision already underway this property presents a compelling strategic business investment Whether it is an easy way to get into your first farm or adding a farm to your portfolio you can't help but be impressed with the infrastructure already in place The farm offers easy access with a good central race system Improvements include a 34-aside herringbone dairy shed, plus over 600sqm of additional shedding Good quality council drinking water is provided to the farm Accommodation includes two dwellings, as well as two additional accommodation options in the form of a converted cowshed and a American barn Only 3 2km away from the Paeroa L&P bottle, this one you don't want to miss! Call us today bayleys co nz/2630036
Cambridge 640 Brunskill Road
Fantastic farm, fantastic location
Often sought but seldom found, this 149 hectare (more or less) grazing property in the popular Cambridge farming district of Te Miro is a highly sought after commodity The property's neat paddocks with a robust fertiliser history run off a metalled central race, fenced by well-maintained deer and seven wire post and batten fencing The property has previously been run as an extensive dairy heifer grazing operation but is currently running approximately 350 beef cattle and 100 breeding ewes A lovingly renovated four bedroom Hinuera stone home, three bay concrete floor lockable shed, three haybarns, woolshed, deer shed and the option to lease a 5ha neighbouring property complete the rural package bayleys co nz/2316504
3 ha
For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty (unless sold prior)
3pm, Fri 28 Mar 2025
Bayleys Hamilton, 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton
View 11am-12pm Tue 11 Mar
Karl Davis 027 496 4633
karl davis@bayleys co nz
Sam Aislabie 027 429 5410
SUCCESS
Troughton 027 480 0836
Maraekakaho 719 Aorangi Road
Tahara Farm - 308 ha of prime farming land
Tender
For the first time in 118 years, this exceptional 308 ha property, Tahara is being offered to the market by our retiring vendor. Located just 35 km west of Hastings, in the renowned farming district of Maraekakaho, this property is currently operated as a highly productive intensive cattle and lamb finishing farm. With over 250 ha of flat to undulating land all in superior pastures, Tahara is extensively subdivided into 28 main paddocks with conventional fencing, all serviced by a central laneway for ease of stock movement and access The excellent reticulated water system throughout the property has enabled it to carry in excess of 600 cattle and up to 1500 trade lambs Accommodation is provided by a modernised homestead set in mature, well-kept grounds, offering encompassing views over the property. A threebedroom cottage and shearers accommodation provide ample staff housing or secondary income opportunities
Fairlie
13% + ROC - Central South Island dairy opportunity
This exceptional opportunity to invest in a highly established and high performing dairy operation of this scale is truly rare. With a strategic blend of approximately 465.74 ha freehold and approximately 289.48 ha leasehold land, the income potential is significant, underpinned by strong equity returns driven by the leased land
The 2024 season results show the units combined had a peak number of 1822 cows and a production of 806,632 kgMS. The farm is on track to produce 830,000 kgMS in the 2025 season. This is the perfect investment for those looking to enter or expand within the dairy industry, offering impressive financial returns and long-term environmental sustainability.
Tender closes 2.00pm, Tue 15th Apr, 2025, Property Brokers, 306 Saint Aubyn Street West, Hastings View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/PR175763
Mike Heard M 027 641 9007 E mike.heard@pb.co.nz
Jared Brock M 027 449 5496 E jared@pb.co.nz
For Sale $22,000,000 + GST (if any) View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/AR198210
Jason Rickard M 027 245 8495 E jason.rickard@pb.co.nz
Scan for more
415 Kirihau Road
Property Brokers are pleased to offer for sale this stunning 89.47 ha dairy farm with subdivision options, pending final council sign off.
Situated just 13 km from the picturesque coastal township of Oakura and only 6.5 km from the Taranaki Green School this property is ideally positioned for both farming and lifestyle opportunities. Currently operating as a dairy farm, this property also boasts breathtaking views that make it perfect for smaller grazing blocks or lifestyle blocks, with each of the 5 lots offering access to those spectacular views.
Accelerating Success.
Large scale grazing close to Invercargill
Property Brokers is privileged to bring to the market this unique large scale grazing property within proximity to Invercargill city and well positioned to some of Southland's most productive dairying land. Comprising of flat to easy contour essentially rectangular in shape with the original land holding of circa 400
fully developed with excellent lane access and a more recent addition of circa 119 ha north of the Titipua stream being semi developed The farm has recent history of dairy grazing and comprises of 59 ha winter crop with approximately 100 ha of new pastures over the last three years. A large family homestead overlooks the farm supported by a full range of farm buildings.
3048 Taihape Road, Hastings, Hawke’s Bay Tender closing Wed 9 April 2025 at 2pm (unless sold prior)
Land Area: 704 792 ha (more or less) Sheep & Beef breeding and finishing
Multiple dwellings + impressive infrastructure
Situated in the highly regarded farming district of Otamauri in the Hawke’s Bay is a rare opportunity to secure a trophy property with all the attributes that are often sought but rarely found Hafton Station comprises approximately 704 79 hectares of prime land offering a great balance of contour, favourable soil types, solid fertiliser history, quality water and impressive infrastructure Nestled in prime position the spacious four bedroom homestead provides a lodge style accommodation. The property benefits from years of investment enabling our vendors to profit from a high performing farming system
Hadley Brown 027 442 3539
Mabel Bush 410 Woodstock Road
Premier semi retirement block in sunny Nelson
$2,280,000 (incl GST)
• Grandstand views across the Waimea plans to the Bay from a totally private position.
• Spacious and well maintained homestead with extended family or AirBnB configuration.
• Stunning setting amongst established trees and easy care garden with inground pool and spa.
• Only 15 minutes from the Richmond service centre, less than 30 minutes to the airport.
• On rural reticulated water scheme.
• Rolling land contours, run on organic principles for last 15 years, fully deer fenced boundary.
Viewing By Appointment
At 2800rpm the 12v lithium battery will crutch 300-400 sheep or trim up to 400-500 cows tails
■ We customise cables for lifestyle shearers
processes before voting closes at 2pm on Wednesday 19 March.
it comes to transporting prized trophy stags, Woodleys port delivers unmatched care expertise.
urpose-Built Delta Stock Crates – Designed pecifically for the safe and secure transport of rophy stags
Experienced Drivers – Our team has extensive experience in deer cartage, ensuring your valuable animals are handled with the utmost professionalism Reliable & Stress-Free Service – We understand the importance of your investment and take every step to ensure a smooth journey
Choose the trusted name in deer transport Choose Woodleys Transport 0274 326 773 | tops@woodleys co nz
MAIZE SILAGE FOR SALE
EARLY SOWN. Kairanga area. Inspection welcome. 20 hectares available. Phone 021 102 8852.
HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMPS, suitable on high headlifts. Low energy usage for single/3-phase motors, waterwheel and turbine drives. Low maintenance costs and easy to service. Enquiries phone 04 526 4415, email sales@hydra-cell.co.nz PUMPS
daily with minerals included. Phone 027 483 0856.
HORTICULTURE
NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp. The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz
LEASE OR EQUITY SOUGHT
ENTHUSIASTIC SHAREMILKERS SEEKING lease or equity in Waikato/BOP. Dairy or drystock. Please phone Jeff 021 1708 511.
MOWER MASTER WOOD SPLITTER
AUCTIONEERS
be livestreamed on our MyLivestock Online Platform See
RAMS FOR SALE
SOUND TERMINAL SIRES
Suffolk Southdown X and Southdown rams for heavy lambs. Suit ewes or hoggets. $300 - $600. Phone 021 133 7533.
HILL COUNTRY 2-tooth Perendales. Quality sires. Good wool and easy care lambing. $300 - $600. Phone 021 133 7533.
WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556.
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.
To be held at the
Linton Station Homestead Friday 21 March, 2025, 2pm
Please indicate attendance to aamcgmemorial@gmail.com
On Farm Lamb Sale
Okare Station, 226A Okare Road, Wairoa
Thursday 13th March
Commencing 11am
• 7500 Romney Crypto Lambs
• 2500 Romney Ewe Lambs
Freshly shorn, homebred Romney Lambs. GAP Accredited
30-45kg weight range. Lambs will be sexed and drafted to suit all intending purchasers. 1.5% rebate to purchasing agents.
Light lunch and refreshments available
Allow 1 hour from Wairoa.
Further enquiries
Daryl Fergus 027 209 2787
A Russian woman married a Canadian gentleman and they lived happily in Toronto. However the lady was not very proficient in English, which was not a problem at home as her husband was a fluent Russian speaker. The real problem arose whenever she had to shop for groceries.
The first time she went to the butcher to buy chicken legs she didn’t know how to make her request. In desperation, she clucked like a chicken and lifted up her skirt to show her thighs.
Her butcher understood and gave her the chicken legs.
The next time she needed to get chicken breasts. Again she didn’t know how to say it, so she clucked like a chicken and unbuttoned her blouse.
The butcher understood again and gave her some chicken breasts.
The next time she wanted a leg of lamb, so she got down on all fours, made a ‘baa’ sound and pointed to her leg. The butcher realised straight away what she wanted. Then she needed to get sausages. She thought long and hard about how she could describe sausages, and then realised that the best way would be to take her husband with her.
After all, he spoke English.
FOR SALE
Male & ewe lamb s 30–38kg
300 Ang steer calves 250–270kg
R 2 yr Ang & Ang x steers 380 –430kg
R 2 yr Exotic beef x Hfrs 350 –400kg
R 2 yr beef & Fries bulls 360–450kg
R 3 yr Ang & Ang x steers 520 –550kg
info@dyerlivestock co nz www dyerlivestock co nz Ross Dyer 0274 333 381 A Financing
Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook nzsheep.co.nz/poll-dorset-breeders
ELITE IN-MILK AUCTION
HIGH INDEXED FRIESIAN/ FRIESIAN CROSS HERD & IN-CALF HEIFERS
A/c Awhitu Valley Farms Ltd (Andrew & Liisa Hamilton) Thursday 20th March 2025
DAIRY LISTINGS WANTED! Carrfields is actively looking for more herds and heifers to market on your behalf.
We have orders to fill RIGHT NOW! UPCOMING AUCTIONS
Matamata Sale Yards Dairy Pavilion Start Time: 11:30am will be available for online bidding
COMPRISING:
175 x Friesian & Friesian Cross In-Calf, In-milk Cows
BW340, PW452, LW707, RA99%, DTC from 10th July
Mated to a mixture of both Sexed Semen and Premier Sires, tailed with Hereford bulls.
A low 6% empty rate, all R3yrs back in-calf. Herd Tested 9th Jan, 25.42Ltrs/cow, 2.23Kgs/MS/cow – SCC 131,000 PWs up to 1045 LWs up to1462 System 4 with PKE (800kgs/cow)
TB C10 – The cows are BVD Bulk Milk tested and Lepto Vaccinated
60 Friesian & Friesian Cross In-Calf Heifers
Genomic Tested, BW412 PW391, DTC from 10th July. Synced to sexed semen Kiwi Cross bulls, tailed Jersey.
AUCTIONEERS NOTES:
This second-generation elite herd has been bred for 35 years. Farmed on a challenging property on the Awhitu Peninsula.
A system 4 herd, these cows have plenty more potential. Production for January was 15% ahead of last season.
On target for 575ms/cow this season. Cows will be presented in great condition to milk on.
PAYMENT TERMS:
Deferred payment due on 15th April 2025
DELIVERY:
Immediate delivery after the sale
CONTACT:
Carrfields National Dairy Co-ordinator Paul Kane 027 286 9279
Thursday 20th March: Matamata Saleyards – 250 High Indexed Frsn/FrsnX In-milk Herd & Heifers
Friday 28th March: Canterbury, Tahora Farms – Stud Dairy,75 Lots, Party at the Polo Sale
Wednesday 2nd April: On-Line via Bidr Stud Dairy, 50 Lots, Autumn Celebration Sale
Thursday 3rd April: On-Farm Bay of Plenty – Mixed Breed In-milk Herd, Heifers, Calves, Machinery
Monday 7th April: Kaponga Saleyards 130 x 2-8yr Frsn/FrsnX/Xbred Herd
Tuesday 8th April: On-Farm Palmerston North – 149 x 2-8yr High Indexed Xbred Herd & I/C Heifers
Wednesday 9th April: Dannevirke Stud Dairy, 60 Lots, Kohitiata & Edenmore
Friday 11th April: Hawera, Paige Dairies Stud Dairy, 50 Lots, Welcome to Waiokura Sale
Monday 14th April: On-Line via Bidr Stud Dairy, 40 Lots, Lodore Ayrshires
Contact your local Carrfields Livestock Representative, or visit www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz to view our current listings
Milk & Cream Cans • Garden Tools
• Atlantic Petrol Bowser
• BP Petrol Bowser
• Vintage One Gallon Glass Jar
• Petrol Pump
• Assortment of Farm Implements
• Honda CT110 Farm Bike • Vintage Pedal Junior Cars • Stationary Engines
• Large Europa Sign
• Mobile Milking Machine
• 2x 6x4 Trailers
• 1x Farmall Cub Lo-boy Tractor
• Small Spray Unit
• Assortment of Vintage collectables
• Large selection of Vintage telephones & irons
• And much
A summer of busy saleyards
Five-year averages at several yards were overtaken as the weather kept its thumb on the scales.
EVERY summer is a little different for store lamb throughput in saleyards, depending on the climatic conditions around the country and markets. With a decreasing ewe flock, the worry is that there will be far fewer lambs in the yards.
So, what has happened?
This summer has been dry for some parts of the country and even now, most areas are glad to see some autumn rain. But then, that’s summer. Early on, Hawke’s Bay was feeling the heat and in the last four sales prior to Christmas over 20,000 lambs passed through Stortford Lodge. These were mostly dispersed through Waikato, Taupō, Dannevirke and eventually Gisborne. Paddock sales saw unit loads of lambs travel to the South Island too.
Vendors from the east coast were also busy sending lambs to Feilding through November and into December and throughput at those yards in the last sale of November and the first two of December were all above the fiveyear average for those sales and added up to 36,358 head.
The high numbers at both Stortford Lodge and Feilding put demand under pressure and there were some price corrections through December. At Feilding, the average sat at $86-$88 for
most of the sales while Stortford Lodge dropped to $83 at the same average weight. Both yards experienced a slight lift in returns at the last sale of the year when yardings were smaller.
There were no records being set in the South Island, however, and lambs came forward at expected levels.
Conditions were dryer than preferred for a short time, but the second half of December delivered some moisture.
For most of that month, the average return for lambs managed to hold slightly above $100 per head.
The holiday period will be remembered for some time as a wet one. Most areas managed to see the sun for Christmas itself before the heavens opened and New Year’s was a washout. This took a lot of pressure off farmers as the grass started to take off. It proved to be the quietest January in AgriHQ history for store lambs at Temuka, at just 6100 head for the entire month. There was a $7 jump in returns for the first sale of the year, but the market only climbed further and by the end of January, the average return for lambs at Temuka was $126.
Hawke’s Bay also captured the holiday rain, and the market made a miraculous recovery, up $26 per head on average while lambs were only 1kg heavier. This enticed more lambs out the following week, which softened returns slightly. The big difference at
The holiday period will be remembered for some time as a wet one.
the yards was the gallery, which was now predominantly local and stayed that way throughout the rest of summer. There were a few more significant tallies on the cards for Stortford Lodge, consignments from Taupō contributed through February, and by summer’s end there had been 36,676 lambs sold through the yards. If it had felt busy, that’s because the five-year summer average for these yards sits at 24,000.
In strong contrast to Stortford Lodge, Temuka has had the quietest summer for store lambs in the past five years. Throughput is only marginally
Stortford Lodge Feilding Temuka
behind the summer of 20222023 but it is more obvious after last year when 40,000 lambs were yarded at Temuka over the summer months.
The slight lift at Feilding pre-Christmas was followed by another $12 lift in the average return at the first sale of 2025. This occurred on a large yarding of almost 12,500 head which
matched tallies for previous years. For the remainder of January, store lamb tallies at Feilding have exceeded those of the same sales in 2024 and by summer’s end, the total store lamb throughput reached 83,300 head. This is a good 5000 more than the five-year average.
The question now is, how many lambs are left?
Total summer store lamb throughput
Fiona Quarrie MARKETS Livestock
OUT ON A HIGH:
The last store sheep sale of summer was hot at Feilding and buyers weren’t banking on forecast rain. The ewe lambs from Taihape made $114.
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
AUTUMN IS HERE: The annual autumn beef cattle sale at Coalgate offered 1141-head of mostly R2 traditional steers and heifers. Photo: Phil Manera, Hazlett agent
| February 27 | 646 cattle
Temuka | March 3 | 885 cattle, 5444 sheep
Charlton | February 27 | 2108 sheep
Lorneville |
monthly subscription to AgriHQ’s LivestockEye gives you the data and insight you need to buy and sell with confidence.
Customise your selection and access everything in one convenient platform: myAgriHQ.
Weather
Those lazy, hazy days of little summer
WHERE does the name Indian summer come from? Turns out people have been asking this question for well over a century.
In the early 1900s a lexicographer (someone who compiles dictionaries – and yes, I had to look up what that meant) named Albert Matthews wanted to figure out where the term originated.
Albert worked in Boston, Massachusetts and in 1902 he wrote a piece titled The Term Indian Summer. He researched vast amounts of United States literature and the earliest mention of Indian summer he could find was from 1851.
Later research showed the term, used in its current sense, was used earlier. American-French writer J Hector St John de Crèvecœur (now that is a name!) discovered it was used most likely in 1778 in an essay written in the US and not discovered until the 1920s.
One theory is that the late
summer was nicknamed “Indian” because it was first noticed in areas inhabited by Native Americans. It meant a “spell of warm, dry, hazy weather after the first frost” – in other words, when autumn should’ve started but it still feels like summer.
Another explanation of the term might be that the early Native Americans chose that time of year as their hunting season.
Here’s a quote from the National Weather Service, basically the US version of MetService: “This seems reasonable seeing the fall [autumn] months are still considered the main hunting season for several animals. Also, the mild and hazy weather encourages the animals out, and the haziness of the air gives the hunter the advantage to sneak up on its prey without being detected.”
So it’s certainly “a little hazy” trying to work out the precise origins.
However there’s more than one saying for an extended summer. How about an “Old women’s summer”?
In Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Lithuania and other European nations the term
“Altweibersommer” (Old women’s summer) is used and a small variation of that is used in many other European nations, translated as “Old woman’s summer” – plural and singular.
In South America they describe a late summer as basically a mini summer that follows.So in southern Brazil, across Argentina, Chile and Uruguay it’s known as “Veranico”, “Veranito” or “Veranil-
lo” (literally, “little summer”).
Being southern hemisphere it ties in with New Zealand but their description of a late summer appears to be later than ours – happening late April to midMay. It’s known as “Veranico de Mayo” (“May’s little summer”) or as “Veranito de San Juan” (“Saint John’s little summer”).
This is how March is tracking in a nutshell – we have an Indian
WARM: Cooler autumn nights and mornings are certainly in the air, but March is looking warmer and drier than average.
summer (except maybe the lower South Island), and by that I mean milder, drier, calmer weather is more likely than not.
Yes, cooler autumn nights and mornings are certainly in the air, but March is looking warmer and drier than average.
Next week I’ll take a deeper dive into where the rain clouds have gone – and how soon they might be coming back.
Proven performance —why farmers are choosing Insulmax® for their homes
Farmers are used to battling the elements, but that doesn’t mean they should have to battle the cold in their homes. Many older farmhouses across New Zealand lack proper insulation, making them hard to heat in winter and expensive to keep warm.
For Southland dairy farmer Henny, this was a familiar issue. Having grown up in Europe, he was well aware of advanced wall insulation methods commonly used overseas. When he saw Insulmax® advertised in New Zealand, he immediately recognised it as a proven solution.
“This technique has been used in Europe for a long time—filling up wall cavities with insulation. When I saw it here, I knew it would be a good idea.”
That decision has paid off over more than a decade.
A long-term investment that works
Henny first insulated two of his farmhouses
with Insulmax® back in 2010. The results were immediate.
“The occupants noticed a big difference straight away. The house held heat better, and it was just a more comfortable place to live.”
Years later, when insulating another property, he had the Insulmax® team check the original installations using thermal imaging.
“We found that all the insulation was still completely in place after 10 years. That gave us the confidence to go ahead and do more homes.”
Since then, he has insulated multiple farmhouses, improving comfort for workers and family alike.
Warmer, drier, healthier homes
Beyond just warmth, the insulation has reduced moisture and improved overall home health.
“One of our homes had issues with dampness and black mold, especially on the colder side. After insulating the walls and adding a heat pump, the problem disappeared. The tenant, who had mild asthma, said it made a huge difference.”
With better insulation, heating systems work more efficiently.
“You notice the difference immediately—the house holds heat so much better, and we don’t have to run the heat pump as long.”
The fast, non-invasive solution
For Henny, Insulmax® has been the most practical insulation solution available.
“The team was great—professional, efficient, and tidy. The installation process was quick and completely non-invasive.”
“No need to rip off wall linings like with traditional insulation methods. They just drill small holes, fill the walls, and then patch and paint the exterior. You wouldn’t even know they’d been there.”
Compared to other insulation methods that require major renovations, Insulmax® is a cost-effective and hassle-free alternative.
A smarter way to insulate rural homes
For farmers looking for a proven insulation solution that’s efficient, durable, and noninvasive, Insulmax® is the trusted choice for rural properties across New Zealand.
With CodeMark certification and a 50-year durability guarantee, it’s an insulation system you can rely on.
Philip Duncan NEWS Weather
