Nelson Marlborough Farming December 2021

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December 2021

Seddon shearer wins again FROM page 1 smaller shows going saw him win in Blenheim just six days before taking out the top title in Christchurch.

The two circuit wins and now the Canterbury title are his only wins at the Open class’s A-grade level. He says he’s been “pretty focused” on the circuit in the past, with its variety of wool types, including the corriedales of Christchurch and the merinos of Alexandra, along with the more commonly contest crossbred strongwool of Waimate (longwool), Marton (lambs) and Pahiatua (second-shear).

With staff in the contracting run now over 20 at peak – with what looks like a tourism-class line up of woolsheds from the Clarence River across to St Arnaud, up to Arapawa Island - he decided against contesting the circuit this year.

But the form suggests a watch-this-space approach, with Angus being among the many deprived of Golden Shears opportunity when a Covid-19 lockdown caused the late cancellation of Masterton’s big annual event last March.

The ongoing pandemic crisis meant there were a few missing from Christchurch, where the Open heats were the third leg of the circuit, now in its 50th year and known as the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit, but it was still as tough as it gets. Just 14 of the 23 entered in the circuit this year made the trip, but in a field of 25 on the day Moore qualified from the heats in 10th place safely made it through the semi-finals to make the top six and win by 0.87 points. “A good day for Moore Sheep Shearing all-round,” he says.

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Hop scientist wins national award Jenny Nicholson

Ron Beatson enjoys a good beer and knows he’s biased in which ones he favours; those beers brewed with lots of New Zealand bred hops.

For 38 years he has worked as a hop research scientist at Plant and Food Research, based in Brooklyn, near Motueka.

He was recently awarded the Morton Coutts award at the Brewers Guild of New Zealand 2021 Beer Awards. The award was in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the New Zealand hop and brewing industry.

“It was a complete surprise on the night. It was kept very secret,” Ron says. “My wife was one of the ones who kept it quiet.”

He has led the research and development of hop breeding and genetics at the Plant and Food Research.

Plant and Food Research Group general manager for technology development, Kieran Elborough, says the recent expansion of the New Zealand hop industry in area and volume is in no small part due to Beatson.

NZ Hops chief executive Craig Orr says without Dr

Ron Beatson and his wife Linda at the 2021 NZ Beer awards.

Photo: Supplied.

Beatson’s work, we wouldn’t have the hugely popular and unique hop varieties such as Nelson Sauvin™ and the recently released Nectaron®.

Named in part after Ron, Nectaron® is one of the 16 specialty hop cultivars he has been instrumental in developing and releasing.

Growing up on a raspberry farm in Ngatimoti, Ron was interested in agriculture and horticulture from an early age.

“I was always naturally curious,” he says.

“You have to be if you want to be a scientist.”

After time in the USA study-

ing and learning about genetics and the procedures of hop breeding, he returned home with a PhD to work as a Plant and Food Research scientist.

His work developing new hops sees about 50 crosses completed each year resulting in about 2000 seedlings to plant in the field each spring.

From those, Ron says they are lucky if they get one new hop selection per season.

“You have to get all the different combinations of attributes right,” Ron says.

“And once you’ve found the right combinations in a plant there will be even more advanced trial testing.”

He says it takes at least ten years from doing a cross before the selected plant is ready for commercialisation.

“Our hops seem to be sought after by both domestic and international craft brewers because of their unique attributes in terms of the flavour components in beer,” Ron says.

While Ron can’t name a single favourite beer, he does enjoy Cassels “Nectaron® IPA”, Sprig & Fern’s “Crème of the Hop Nectaron® Pale Ale”, Golden Bear’s “Stormy Hazy IPA” and Townshend Brewery’s “Lazy Hazy IPA”.

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marlborough Marlborough FF calls for full rural representation Tony Orman Marlborough Federated Farmers has asked the Marlborough District Council to retain the status quo of three councillors in the Marlborough Sounds Ward for local body elections.

In a lengthy submission, the organisation “strongly opposed” the proposed changes as required by the local government legislation on representation review.

“In particular, we strongly advise against removing an elected member from the Marlborough Sounds Ward.

“We believe the removal of a member from this ward would not accurately reflect the isolated nature of the ward and its distinct interests and issues from within

the community.”

Marlborough Federated Farmers recommended Council retain the current representation structure (i.e. three Sounds ward councllors) with the only change to include the new Māori ward.

There was also a call for more transparency around the selection and appointment process for the Primary Producer Representative position for the select committees and a recommendation the Council consider that the Primary Producer Representative is nominated by the Marlborough Rural Advisory Group (RAG) and other primary industry bodies.

In the long term, Marlborough Federated Farmers recommended Council look at ways to safe-

guard the representation of rural wards.

“Council should look at ways to safeguard the representation of rural wards, as the view of rural ratepayers may be diluted as urban boundaries encroach into rural areas”.

Meeting Briefs: Soil Deficit Meat and Wool chairman Richard Dawkins reported that despite a very wet winter, soil moisture is now approaching deficit levels.

Plentiful feed is available, although stock may be a week or two behind their normal growth curve due to the wet winter-early spring. With adequate feed and a record schedule on offer, Mar-

White reported fertiliser has increased considerably in price, now $1300 per tonne for DAP. Dairy farmers are still struggling to find staff. It is difficult to get parts for tractors/implements and the price of steel has increased as well.

Seedling Shortage Forestry chairman Chris Dawkins advised that any landowner contemplating planting a significant area in trees next winter should get in early.

“NZ completely sold out of pinus radiata seedlings last winter, and planting contractors are fully booked,” he said.

NZUs (carbon credits) have risen to a high of $64 tonne.

At the start of the year the price was $35.

lborough famers will be looking forward to their first lamb drafts and getting animals killed, particularly with Covid disruptions potentially on the horizon.

Resilence Richard Dawkins said the isolation of the Sounds farmers due to the Kenepuru Road blockage had been confronted with cooperative work between farmers, Johnson’s Barge Service and Alliance.

“It’s a great story of collaboration and highlights the resilience and ability of the rural community,” he said.

Sheep and beef prices remain high due to limited supply, and demand from all markets is very positive.

Price Rise Dairying Section chairman Evan

Opinion: Govt has tied us to an unachievable target Stuart Smith Last week the Labour-led Government updated our UN Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, to reduce our emissions by 50 percent by 2030.

Currently our emissions are increasing thanks to the record amounts of dirty Indonesian coal we are burning at Huntly to keep the lights on.

A fifty percent reduction in nine years is impossible to achieve, even the Government realizes this and therefore will use international carbon markets.

National supports the use of international carbon markets, and you will remember that I advised

the Government to negotiate for an international agreement to formalise international carbon markets, in our National Plan for COP 26 which I announced last week.

However, international carbon markets should be used to establish an international price for carbon, which would establish a level playing field. This is important because industries are simply moving offshore to avoid high carbon prices, this does not lower emissions and often increases them.

Many environmentalists want to end aluminium production in New Zealand to lower our emissions.

While this would lower our emissions in New Zealand, it would likely increase global emissions Stuart Smith as production would likely be taken up in China where the energy required to produce aluminium would be generated by a coal-fired power station rather than renewable Manapouri hydro generation.

Or to put it another way, we would be able to appear virtuous, but would in fact be responsible for increasing global emissions.

It gets worse though as the Gov-

correspondingly lower life expectancy.

We only have to look at the impact of lockdowns which, while they temporarily drove down our emissions, the Productivity Commission’s research estimates this has led to the loss of 2 million Quality Adjusted Life Years, or QALY’s.

In other words, our life expectancy is projected to be shorter due to lockdowns. There is no free lunch here.

Unfortunately, there is a clause in the Paris Accord known as the ‘no backsliding’ provision, which means NDC targets can only get tighter, so effectively, the Government has bound us to a target we cannot meet without buying indulgences offshore.

We cannot ever lower the target to one that is remotely achievable. New Zealand will either miss our target or have to pull out of the Paris Accord.

The National Party supports climate action, but we will not sacrifice our businesses and our way of living on the altar of climate change.

ernment estimates the cost of this folly at $15 billion, which will, of course, all go overseas.

It is $15 billion that would build ten new Dunedin hospitals, is 17 times more than Labour plan to upgrade schools, or would buy 300,000 electric vehicles.

The truth is that we have no choice but to use international carbon markets as there is no existing technology that would enable these sorts of reductions. Our standard of living is only made possible by access to reliable and affordable energy, and for the most part, this comes from fossil fuels.

In New Zealand, we are blessed with significant hydro resources, and we will have substantial wind generation in the next few years, but that will not go anywhere near the 50 percent reduction target.

Some suggest we should just use less energy, however our life expectancy is tied to our standard of living.

If we decrease our energy consumption, that will lower GDP per capita, and that will lead to a

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marlborough Silt smothering Marlborough sounds seabed says fisherman Tony Orman Silt deposition from the hills above the Marlborough Sounds and tributary valleys such as the Pelorus and Rai, has been increasingly building up on the seabed for decades, says Pete Watson, Marlborough ex-commercial fisherman/diver and now self-described as an “ardent environmentalist”.

Pete Watson’s concern runs deep to anger, for in his opinion something should have been done decades ago to confront the growing aggravating problem.

He blames Marlborough District Council inertia for the inaction.

Over forty years ago, a study in

1980 painted a graphic picture of silt runoff after commercial forestry clear-felling logging.

The scientific paper (O’Loughlin) compared sediment loads between harvested (logged) forestry areas and unlogged areas, and showed sediment loads up to 13,000ppm from streams in harvested areas as compared to 30ppm in non-harvested - well over 400 times more silt in logged areas.

Dr Steve Urlich, who resigned in 2018 as Marlborough District Council’s environmental scientist to become senior lecturer at Lincoln University, in his 2015 study, listed 15 previous studies all identifying the increasing smothering

Peter Watson by silt-laden runoff.

It is a deteriorating situation as forestry run-off, in particular

from clear-felled forestry areas, results in rapid deposits of silt.

“Combine this with the faecal waste from extensive overallocated marine farming in low tidal flow sites and the impact has been deep.

“Once abundant sea life has declined as a result of council neglect and inertia. This sea life is a vital part of the health of the planet which many species rely on as part of the revolving food chain,” he says.

Pete Watson, who holidayed in the Kenepuru Sounds as a youngster and over decades has dived there, says the smothering silt and waste is not just centimetres deep, but in places, many metres

deep. He was concerned to read a recent comment by Marlborough Mayor John Leggett saying after a recent study that “there was nothing new in the report and that council had been aware of it for ten years”.

But Pete Watson says councils have been aware of the situation for over forty years.

He identifies the only two major influences to enter the Sounds since strict commercial fishing closures took effect in the 1980’s, as marine farming and commercial pine forests.

Meanwhile, procrastination only deepens the layers of silt on the Marlborough Sounds sea bed out of sight, out of mind, it seems.

Combating Chilean Needle Grass is vital

Deep Concern at Three Waters Reform lack of democracy

Tony Orman

Deep concern was expressed at the recent monthly meeting of Marlborough Federated Farmers about the lack of public consultation by government with its Three Waters Reform proposal.

Waihopai valley farmer Richard Dawkins said the by-passing of due democratic process was an “illusion of consultation.” Marlborough would in effect, be subsidising Wellington’s failure to maintain its water infrastructure. Upper Waihopai valley farmer Geoff Evans said the detrimental effects on Marlborough if government succeeded in ramming the proposal through into law, would be considerable. Evan White, Wairau Valley day farmer said when Three Waters had initially been put forward, he thought it a joke. “But now it’s no laughing matter given government’s dictatorial attitude,” he said.

Combating Chilean Needle Grass is vital, says Warwick Lissaman, chairman of the Chilean Needle Grass Action Group and Awatere farmer.

“Pushing back against the spread and reducing the infestation of Chilean Needle Grass is vital to all of us and the environment,” he says, and warns, “this pest plant is potentially as big an issue for those without it as it is for those who have it.”

Chilean Needle Grass is an invasive weed that is able to out-compete productive pasture grasses and take over large areas if left, particularly in dry environments such as South Marlborough. The main area in Marlborough is Blind River/Grassmere just south of Seddon, but there are patches of CNG found throughout Marlborough, even at Renwick and further up the Wairau Valley.

Warwick Lissaman says any complacent assumptions by farmers potentially undermine vital vigilance and detection of the pest grass.

“Change what you assume. The assumption is the mother of all stuff-ups.

Be quick to ask questions and get answers,” he advises.

The seed is spread predominantly through stock, people, vehicles and machinery. Stock feed such as hay is also how seed can be spread to new areas. Earthmoving machinery is a high spread risk due to the seed remaining viable in the soil for over 12 years, therefore dirty earthmoving machinery can carry contaminated soil.

Fighting Chilean Needle Grass in Marlborough is incredibly important, say local farmers.

Landcare Trust Nelson/Marlborough Regional Coordinator, Annette Litherland, is working with Marlborough District Council and the farmer-led ‘Chilean Needle Grass Action Group’ to engage farmers and assist with creating a strategy to control Chilean Needle Grass.

Chilean Needle Grass is a South American weed that invades dry-land pastures, and its sharp seeds cause blindness and deafness in animals and abscesses in sheep.

The weed was first discovered in Marlborough in the 1940s and has become an invasive pest, travelling across the region on sheep’s wool, machinery, and in clothing.

Of concern is that during last summer, Chilean Needle Grass was found in several new properties, ranging from the Waihopai Valley, Riverlands, Omaka, Taylor Pass and Seddon, says Liam Falconer of the Marlborough District Council.

“Anyone who suspects they have found Chilean Needle Grass should take a photo of it, record the location and email the council at biosecurity@ marlborough.govt.nz, or phone the council at (03) 530 7400,” he says.

A Smart Map is available on the council website with information on the status of the pest plant, where it has been found, photographs, and explanations of what can be done to deal with it.

Meanwhile, an export permit has been obtained to import a biological weapon from Argentina. The rust damages the leaves of the needle grass, reducing growth and biomass. It’s maximum effectiveness is in dry weather - good news for the drought-prone Marlborough east coast. When a couple of final tests on host plant specificity are satisfied, approval will be sought from the Environmental Protection Agency for its release in NZ, with likely release in 2022.

Warwick Lissaman says landowners must be not only vigilant but proactive in prevention of the needle grass’ spread. Constellation Brand’s NZ Limited’s Awatere Hills Vineyard have taken positive steps with wash-downs at each vineyard gate, washing down of all vehicles coming and going, steam cleaning of machinery and other measures.

Locally Owned & Operated

• GRASS HARVESTING • BALEAGE • HAY • PIT SILAGE • GROUND WORK • SPRAYING • AIR SEEDER DIRECT DRILLING • MAIZE PLANTING & HARVESTING • EARTHWORKS • CARTAGE

Contacts: Warwick Lissaman, Chairman Chilean Needle Grass Action Group 027 457 5041 Marlborough District Council Biosecurity team (03) 520 7400 or biosecurity@ marlborough.govt.nz

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livestock Dairy awards ready to kick off Sara Hollyman The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are ready to kick off once more with regional rounds of the competition due to be judged early in 2022.

The awards attract farmers from across the country, working in all levels of the dairy industry and are a chance for dairy workers to refine their skills and delve into their business.

Three award categories; share farmer, dairy manager and dairy trainee of the year give entrants the chance to challenge themselves, earn a regional or national title and share in substantial regional and national prize pools.

Kokotahi dairy milker Siobhan O’Malley entered the share farmer category three times with husband Christopher, winning the competition in 2017.

Siobhan says initially they entered to boost their CV so that when they went looking for new jobs prospective employers could see they were passionate about the industry.

“It shows you’re the kind of per-

son who strives to do better, follow best practice in the industry, that kind of thing.”

She says what they gained however, was totally unexpected.

“We got free advice on how to improve our business, how to progress, move forward and just do better.”

“We wouldn’t have gone back to enter three times if we weren’t learning each time.”

Siobhan also says relationships were formed with a great group of like-minded people, some of whom have outlasted their association with the awards.

Now farming 400 cows on 245 hectares in Kokotahi, Siobhan says every year they entered they gained invaluable learnings on how to grow a successful business.

“It’s absolutely worth entering just for the learning, obviously it’s cool to get recognition and prizes but every single time we entered we gained something else.

She says entering encourages you to pay attention to different aspects of your business from health and safety, through to human resources and environmental outcomes.

Entries to the awards close at midnight on December 1. Enter at dairyindus tryawards.co.nz

Slight renewal of interest The end of another challenging year, and no doubt we’re all looking forward to the festive season when we can have at least a few days with family and friends in readiness for whatever 2022 has in store for us.

I used to think a crystal ball would be handy for a preview of the future, but in hindsight it’s probably much clearer to look back! In the December 2020 issue I wrote, “Shipping delays and interruptions are creating frustration for exporters as container availability proves difficult and ports are congested. There also remains uncertainty around effects of the on-going Covid pandemic and, whilst it appears that many European mills are working to capacity, the outlook is still murky” Guess what? Not too much has changed. At the same time last year, many crossbred wool growers were holding their wool clips on farm or in broker or merchant stores, because the market was weak and prior lockdown had interrupted the wool pipeline from functioning with any normality. Similarly, several mid-micron growers, disillusioned by market fluctuation, were holding on to part of their

wool clips. During this calendar year, most grower-held wool stocks from previous years, have been cleared to the trade, however preference for the hard-core is to wait for substantial market improvement.

Unfortunately, our previously largest export destination, China, has drastically reduced its requirement for raw wool due to several reasons, none-theleast being decisions to reduce coal use resulting in closure of several manufacturing plants thus directly affecting our wool market. India as an export destination for New Zealand wool has become the major player over the past few months and whilst this may sound like a solution, from a wool processing perspective, wool market levels are constantly being challenged by increases in freight prices as shippers question the viability of visiting New Zealand ports compared to others nearer to departure port, offering a quicker turnaround and more lucrative though often backloading with empty containers.

More recently at the South Island auctions of 4th and 18th November, a slight renewal of interest from Chinese buyer representatives was evident with some of the poorer crossbred types improving in value, in comparison to earlier levels, and a handful of finer woolly hoggets wools also selling exceptionally well. Very

good interest was also shown for crossbred second-shear particularly those containing little or no vegetable matter contamination.

Most crossbred oddments also received enthusiastic responses from buyers.

Throughout the season mid-micron types have proved difficult to value, with demand fickle to say the least.

Whilst those measuring from around 24 microns or finer have generally experienced the best interest, the odd auction has seen the market sag badly only to rally again a couple of weeks later, and growers who resisted lower levels often recovered all the lost ground. Coarser midmicron types however have generally continued to struggle in the face of the limited Chinese interest.

This season’s final auction containing significant volumes of Merino wool, was that of 18th November in Christchurch with market prices following recent Australian auction trends. Good style wools with very good staple strength and low vegetable matter readings continued to gain solid support from exporters, with hesitancy shown towards those containing high vegetable matter contamination.

I take this opportunity to wish all readers a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2022.

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Taxing of farm sales & purchases I recently relocated from Auckland to Nelson. The move has broadened my practice to include a wide range of commercial and property matters.

My recent involvement with farm sales has shown me how the process can be overwhelming for either party, (particularly to those who are new to the farming industry).

I thought it would be beneficial to provide an overview and share some insights in respect of the all-important GST aspect of the transaction as this is often an area which can cause confusion.

Overview: There are a number of key GST considerations pertaining to the sale and purchase of a farm. When contemplating the application of GST, the basic starting point is that the supply of goods or services can be: - taxable – charged with a standard rate of GST at 15% (i.e. 15% GST is added to the sale price); or - zero-rated for GST – charged with GST at 0% (i.e. no GST is added to the sale price); or - exempt for GST. Supplies: Each of the different supplies may be broken down as follows: - A taxable supply includes any activity that supplies, or intends to supply, goods or services to someone else for a consideration (money, compensation, reward) but not necessarily for a profit.

- A zero-rated supply is a supply that is not subject to GST in certain situations. A rate of 0% applies to these supplies.

Compulsory zero-rating will generally apply to transactions involving the sale and purchase of land between GST registered persons, pro-

Mariam Matti

vided that the purchaser intends on using the land to make taxable supplies (i.e. the purchaser intends to use the land for a business purpose).

- Exempt supplies are goods and services which are not subject to GST. For example, the supply of residential accommodation is an exempt supply for GST purposes. As a result, GST should not generally be claimed on a property acquired solely for the purpose of providing residential accommodation. Similarly, GST should not generally be returned on the sale of a property that has been exclusively used for the supply of residential accommodation.

Taxing of Farms & the new purchase price allocation rules: Where a transaction involves the sale of mixed categories of assets, the tax consequences for assets in the different categories can be quite different. For example, a sale and purchase of a farm will often comprise of two categories (or supplies) for GST purposes: - The farmhouse and curtilage an exempt supply for GST purposes; and the balance of the land – zero rated for GST if both the purchaser and vendor are registered for GST and the purchaser intends on using the land for taxable supplies. The new purchase price allocation rules apply to

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But that’s the way we have always done it

sale and purchase agreements entered into on or after 1 July 2021 where the sale comprises a ‘mixed supply’ of certain types of property (as shown in the example above). The new rules require vendors and purchasers to reach agreement regarding the allocation of the purchase price to the different supplies (i.e. both parties will generally be required to make the same allocation of the total purchase price across the different assets being sold).

The application of these rules should be addressed by the parties as part of their entry into an agreement for the sale and purchase.

Key takeaways: - Before signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement it is important for the purchaser and vendor to confirm their GST status at the outset. If both the purchaser and the vendor are registered for GST, and the purchaser will use the land tomake taxable supplies, then the land transaction will be zero rated for GST purposes; - Consider and obtain advice in respect of the purchase price allocation rules and consider obtaining a valuation to apportion the purchase price between the different supplies; and - Ask your lawyer and accountant to review and check the Agreement.

- Get professional advice.

Talk to us: If you would like more indepth advice call Pitt & Moore on (03) 548 8349, and ask for Mariam Matti, Anissa Bain or Clare North.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is of a general nature and is not intended as legal advice. It is important that you seek advice that is specific to your circumstances.

Anna Bensemann

you upgrade the tank or the disposal field to meet current design Just because you have always been standards for onsite wastewater allowed to do something does not disposal. For a water take they may mean you will not need a resource require that you meter how much consent for that activity in the fu- water you are taking and provide ture. Activities to the use of the the results to ensure you are comcoastal environment, a discharge to plying with your allocated volume land, air or water, a water take for of water. irrigation, or the use of the bed of a Resource consents for these acriver may require a future consent tivities are also subject to a duraif a Regional or Unitary Council tion, meaning they expire within change the rules. a certain timeframe. The longest Rules change because every ten this timeframe can be is 35 years, years councils are required to re- however often this time frame is view their regional plans that reduced. In the example of manage these activities. In a septic tank system, many the process of revising these modern systems are only plans a Regional or Unitary guaranteed for 15 years. At Council may identify an enthat point council requires vironmental effect that reyou to renew your consent Anna quires new rules to manage. so an investigation to ensure Bensemann If the result of the review proit is functioning correctly cess determines a new rule is to be can be undertaken. Section 20A imposed, which may remove the of the RMA does not apply to land permitted activity status from the use activities or buildings which activity, people who carry out the are established before a rule change activity have six months to seek a comes into effect, and these activiresource consent. This time frame ties have existing use rights under applies only from the date the rule another part of the RMA. becomes operative in the plan and Because you have always been alis set out in section 20A of the lowed to carry out an activity, does RMA. not mean it is ok to continue, at Some rules have legal effect from least not without some considerathe date the council notifies them tion of the way the activity is carfor public submissions, but if you ried out, and what best practice have been operating legally under methods are available to achieve old permitted rules, you can con- a better environmental outcome. tinue to operate until the rule be- When your council notifies a plan comes operative. Only once opera- review or change make sure you tive does the six-month time fame check how a rule change might afto seek a resource consent apply. fect you to be sure you can carry Through the resource consents out the activity the way you have process Council may require you always lawfully done. to change the way you carry out the Anna Bensemann, Senior Planner activity. Using the example of a sep- Baseline Group Marlborough, tic tank system, they may require anna@blg.nz or 03 578 7299

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Forage crops to drought-proof your farm Andrew Ritchie The Top of the South Rural Support Trust is running a series of workshops to assist farmers both financially and practically with the effects of drought.

Greg Sheppard of Sheppard Agriculture Ltd facilitated a recent event in Seddon attended by local farmers.

He said that although the previous two year drought was officially over the area regularly suffered from a lack of rainfall, and the aim of the workshop was to help farmers to make their farms more resilient and able to ride out the effects of living in a dry environment.

Jeremy Oswald of Osgro Seeds spoke about the goal of growing forage crops to even out the periods of low production after the spring flush of growth and the period leading into winter after the autumn rains.

“Crops may be for a variety of uses such as tupping, lamb finishing or wintering dairy cows. The most expensive crop is a poor crop, so planning and timing are crucial. Yield and fertility are key elements.”

Paddocks may be sown in forage crops because they are runout or being overrun with weeds. It is important to do a soil test to

Jeremy Oswald of Osgro demonstrates the growth deficits of the seasons. Photo: Andrew Ritchie. establish fertiliser requirements.

Lime takes time to work, therefore it is essential to plan the application well in advance of establishing a forage crop.

This is particularly important when looking to prepare the land for longer term crops such as lucerne.

Spraying out to deal with stubborn weeds should be undertaken well in advance of sowing to allow for a further spray to take place if necessary.

Weed spraying after crop establishment involves more expensive chemistry and care must be taken when horticultural crops

We have trimmed the prices to bring you some plucking good deals

are nearby, such as grapes.

The decision to direct drill or to cultivate will depend on the amount of trash on the surface, the need to conserve soil moisture.

The important goal is to provide a firm fine seed bed allowing maximum soil contact with the seed.

To grow a 10 to 15 tonne crop of kale will require 300kgs/ha of DAP. It may be advantageous to split the application.

If the paddock is coming out of a lucerne crop the soil may contain up to 150kgs of residual nitrogen.

Pests such as slugs can be dealt

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with by the application of slug bait at sowing time.

Instead of using a shotgun approach for insect pests such as organo phosphates, some of the new chemistry such as Mavrik Aquaflo that is friendly to beneficial insects should be considered.

Research at when deciding which crop to grow it is important to establish a reasonable sized platform, for example 20 to 30 hectares of lucerne would be enough to work into a whole farm system.

Lucerne is a long term crop, deep rooted and can easily persist for six to eight years, although one farmer present had experienced

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problems with red gut if stock was left on the crop for more than three days at a time.

Red clover will persist for two to three years and produce lamb growth rates of 300gms/day.

The main problem encountered with red clover was weed control mainly of thistles. Herbs such as chicory, plantain and clovers produced good weight gains and will persist for two to three years, again weed control can be a problem.

As an ideal drought crop, oats was suggested, likely to produce six tonnes/ha and easy to establish owing to the large seed. Forage barley was recommended as a good lead-in crop for lucerne.

Fodder beet produces a very high quality feed and is very high yielding, but the cost of establishment is high and must be done properly to ensure a successful crop.

Bred in Australia, Raphno was suggested as a useful alternative fodder crop.

It is a cross between rape and kale and takes 56 days to maturity. It will grow all year round, is very palatable and will tolerate five grazings.

In conclusion, Jeremy came back to his initial comments urging farmers to plan their action well in advance.

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32

December 2021

Farming

Motoring

NELSON

I

MARLBOROUGH

I

WEST COAST

motoring

Dressed to the nines Country MOTORING with Ken Strungnell

Recently I got the opportunity to spend some time with a very ‘well-dressed’ Triton GLS, or Black Diamond as it is advertised.

Bought at retail for $46,995 there was a further $40,000 of equipment and fitting charges spent on it.

The purpose of the owner was to allow it to “go anywhere”.

Well, I’m not sure it’s amphibious [no, it’s not] though my trip through mud and deep water and across wide deep ditches as well as steep shingle tracks proved it to be very capable, and despite its height was not ‘top heavy’ So the GLS Triton comes well equipped and this brand-new 2021 version, the last true Mitsubishi Triton, is a great example of what can be achieved on a well-sorted chassis.

Quick review: The Mitsubishi GLS includes most safety devices like radar cruise autonomous braking, trailer sway control [important with up to 3500 braked kg’s behind the 1990 kg ute weight] blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and surround cameras [birds eye view] that display the outside of the vehicle from above showing obstacles near to it, with audible and flashing visual warnings on the 8 inch central screen.

A six speed auto gearbox complement the tip tronic gear selector.

Android Auto and Apple Car play can be used for most phonebased functions including satellite navigation, which strangely

isn’t embedded in the infotainment suite. I still use a small nonsmart phone, [I have a 6.5 inch smart phone, but find it too clumsy and hard to pocket] so always take my six inch screen Tom Tom on test vehicles.

This means it gives exact comparisons such as true speed compared to the Speedo readout.

Triton runs at 98km/hr when showing 100. Of course it also has frontal, side and curtain airbags, ESP, ABS, EBD, and traction control.

This works in conjunction with the Super Select Auto gearbox from the Pajero that provides 4WD on demand at speeds up to 100km/h.

The gearbox offers High range, 2H then 4H at up to 100km/hr, then 4HLc [Locked centre diff] and finally Low range in only 4LLc. Other than full time systems, such as the Amarok, this is unique to the Triton and has some real benefits both on and off road Tritons class-equalling tray capacity has a tailgate that would benefit from some load assistance.

Utes are bought for their carrying capacity and the 955kg it is rated at is only 45kg less than the 1000 kgs claimed in the Hi Lux and Merc X Class.

The sole power plant, a 2.4 litre turbo diesel 4 cylinder 135kW 437Nm, provides the go and it is well up to the task, Well documented is the smooth on-road ride with standard road oriented rubber, I was keen to find what difference the 33 inch Maxus Razer Mud and Snow

Mitsubishi Triton GLS. tyres made.

They are still quiet and the ride is smooth, though pushed into corners at the same speed as the standard set-up finds both minor squeal and some body roll. That was to be expected as the vehicle sits 60mm higher on a 50mm lift and the extra height of the tyres at 10mm.

The rolling diameter makes a difference too, as my portable GPS showed 100km/hr is also 100km/ hr on the Speedo. So that’s a 4km/ hr increase over the production model.

Off Road is really the reason for the modifications to make the vehicle a ‘go anywhere’ machine.

Added most obviously to help the ute breath is a snorkel with front and rear diff breathers.

The powder coated black ARB Bull Bar has side guard protection and rear side guard incorporated into the bumpers.

Also, the side steps that always weak points on any ute have been replaced with rock sliders [a 50mm alloy bar covered with a flat alloy step].

Full under-body protection for

radiator sup and diffs is fitted, as are 8000lb recovery hooks [in red].

On the front bar is a 10,000lb rated winch with 50m of synthetic rope for safety and twin spotlights that can be used with or without main beam. A high gain antenna also mounts on the bar mated to a GME radio that hides behind the dash with all functions performed on the microphone hand piece.

Also fitted is a colour-coded rear canopy with triple doors over the wellside area that has a sprayed on lining.

Heavy duty seat covers, moulded rubber footwall trays and weather shields complete the conversion.

First up was deep water crossing, with the Triton wading depth increased from 600mm to 800 thanks to the body lift and the snorkel.

The major benefit comes in flowing water, as the body is significantly higher the current has less effect on the side of the vehicle.

Also, with the cabin set higher, water ingress is likewise reduced in deeper water.

Though the truck waded well through a shingle base stream I feel deep soft streambeds would still need to be checked thoroughly.

Onto a deeply rutted muddy track. There was just no hesitancy, the Razer rubber tenaciously gripping both the surface and providing traction from the knobbly sidewalls.

I was very impressed with the lack of mud thrown up on the flanks of the Triton, suggesting little wheel spin.

So exiting the mud was via a deep ditch that you drive into then up and over it.

Usually this is taken at an angle using the supple suspension and the Active Traction Control to stop bodywork contact with terra firma.

No problem here as the approach and departure angles, as can be seen in the attached image, have increased markedly. I tried to use the app on my phone to work it out exactly and think on this conversion the front is now 31 up from 28 and rear, with a towbar fitted, is 26.

Although I only had the truck for five days it was enough to show what a huge difference in capability the changes make, if serious off road driving on or off farm is contemplated.

The drawback; my wife felt it was ugly as she thought it looked unbalanced. She also said it was more difficult to enter and alight from. Still, I liked it mostly for giving me an understanding of what can be done to an already good and capable vehicle to make it even better.

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34

December 2021

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MARLBOROUGH

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WEST COAST

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Farming NELSON

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MARLBOROUGH

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December 2021

Notice Board

WEST COAST

35

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