Manawatu Farming Lifestyles, December 2017

Manawatu

FARMING Lifestyles

December 2017 Edition

12,965 copies DELIVERED FREE to every rural delivery address in Manawatu

Government keeping an eye on the dry

The choice of farming

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Milking sheep and making cheese P4

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Has your grass got the guts to give your herd what they need?

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MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

December 2017

Film winners celebrated

The Manawatu Farming Lifestyles is published with pride by NorthSouth Multi Media Ltd, a privately owned

Winners of a short film competition highlighting issues surrounding waste reduction in rural and urban settings were announced recently.

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It was the first time the ’Taking action in reducing waste’ film competition, open to all early childhood centres, primary, intermediate and high schools in the wider Manawatu district, had been held.

Horizons Regional Council Enviroschools Manawatu facilitator Rowena Brown, along with Manawatu District Council solid waste and recycling officer David McMillan, proposed the film competition as a way to draw attention to issues surrounding waste.

The overall award winner was Manchester Street School for their short film ‘Paper Recycling’. Manawatu Mayor Helen Worboys presented the school with a certificate and $300 to put towards environmental initiatives.

Mayor Helen Worboys was impressed by the messages conveyed in the videos.

“These young people have shown a strong awareness about the need to care for our environment and I am very confident about that, the future, and their ability to improve and maintain a sustainable planet for everyone.”

Horizons Regional Council environmental educator Sarah Galley and one of the competition’s judges

said Manchester Street School’s entry was selected for its environmental story telling in a simple, factual and entertaining way.

Certificates and $100 cheques were also presented to Sanson School juniors for their ‘Rubbish: a journey through time’ entry in the What Is Waste? category; Sanson School seniors for their ‘Food Waste’ film in the Zero Waste Design category; and Manchester Street School for their film ‘Worms — the cycle of food scraps’ in the Zero Waste Project category.

“Waste minimisation practises in schools, centres and the community are one of the core areas within the Enviroschools’ programme supported by both Horizons Regional Council and Manawatu District Council,” said Ms Galley.

“Both councils were pleased with the quality of entries, showing how schools and centres already have strong waste practises in place.

“We hope their films show other schools how environmental initiatives are easy to implement and help to get children thinking about the themes while creating life-long learning experiences.”

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Government keeping an eye on the dry

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor has asked officials to keep a close watch on how farmers and growers are managing in dry conditions, as the hot start to summer affects soil moisture levels across the country.

“Farmers and growers in many of our regions are experiencing lower than normal soil moisture levels for this time of year and are planning ahead to manage stock, feed, and water if they don’t get some decent rainfall over the next few weeks,” said Mr O’Connor.

“Local knowledge is essential, and our Ministry of Primary Industry (MPI) analysts in each area work with their local farmers and groups to keep an eye on how climate conditions around the country are affecting rural communities.

I have asked them to be especially vigilant in reporting concerns over the next few weeks.”

MPI works closely with groups, including Rural Support Trusts, regional councils, local civil defence emergency management groups and other government agencies to gather information.

NIWA meteorologist Chris Brandolino says below normal rainfall is expected for most of New Zealand for at least the next 10 days with perhaps only localised exceptions.

“It’s distinctly possible that much of the country will experience below normal rainfall through to the Christmas holiday period and December temperatures are very likely to remain above average for all of New Zealand and the summer season as a whole.”

Particular hotspots are found across

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December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

Robin ‘Cookie’ Cooksey grew up in the township of Dargaville and often holidayed at his cousin’s farm at Awakino Point where he learnt the basics of farming from a young age.

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“Mustering sheep and crutching only lasted a few days so we never had the opportunity to get fit like a shearer would. It was simple back then but the whole 15 years that I was shepherding we only got $20-25 per fat lamb, now they get $70-120.”

Robin was into horses and played polo cross but it became expensive so he secured a job on a horse stud in Karaka and was there for nine years.

“It was a sheep and beef farm with a thoroughbred horse stud. Before the horses would go to the races we rode them around the farm for six weeks for

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pon leaving school at 16 he joined the navy for five years before leaving to get married and moving on to a farming career.

“The navy was a good experience and then I worked on dry stock farms for 15 years. They didn’t pay very well in those days and I had a growing family down in Pouto so we moved to Kaikohe to work on a Lands and Surveys block, and then to a Maori Trust farm,” says Robin.

“At Lands and Survey I was on a horse all day especially during my lambing beat. It was great wandering around on horseback with a dog running beside you.

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fitness. “I hadn’t ridden a racehorse before and I asked the owner what the first horse I rode had achieved.”

It was the Wrightsons’ three-year-old filly of the year which Robin says was a bit daunting. “I spent the rest of the day looking around the paddock for rabbit holes so I didn’t injure it. That horse won another cup and many more races — it was worth half a million dollars.

The owner let me open it up across the paddock one day. You could feel the power and understand why it won so many races.

“We spent most of our time getting the yearling horses ready. We would handle them as much as possible to get them used to people. They were probably more dangerous than the big horses because they are a bit wild until they calmed down.

“At one stage I personally owned seven horses. If you get one, they mostly need grass and a bit of hay, and exercise is important.

“They only need oats if they do major work, teeth checks, and their hooves need shoeing every six weeks.”

He eventually decided to try dairy farming and moved to the Waikato.

“I started as a worker and the next season became a manager so I must have worked well. We used to feed maize silage but just a taste — we didn’t know the benefits of supplements back then. Things have changed quite a bit.”

Robin worked on a hill country farm and

he utilised one of the first feed pads.

“They are a great invention as you don’t mess up the paddocks and save food wastage,” he says.

“Later in life I decided to bring the caravan to Pahi Holiday Park and work in the area as my mum is still in Dargaville.

Unfortunately my wife died so I finished the season and started relief milking.

“Relief milking is good because you milk the cows and go home. It gives you a bit of pocket money and stops you sitting around doing nothing. The sheds can be quite different with machinery, and each farmer has their own way of doing things. The biggest thing is learning where the paddocks are on each farm. It is important to be reliable and have an understanding of farm management and be useful to the farmers so they can rely on you when they need time out.

“When I am wondering around I kick the troughs and ensure no cows are in the drains or sick. You can train your eye and always check more than you need to. If you haven’t milked before, find someone to teach you — it is a good stepping stone into the industry. If you are good you can get plenty of work.

“I have a launch now and go out on the harbour and fish when I want a feed or to relax.

“Even for full-time farmers, it is important to get off the farm and have a break. Fishing is just one way to do that.”

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December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

milking sheep and making cheese

by Denise Gunn It was during a trip to Europe that Dave Chapman and Kirsty Silvester learnt how to milk sheep and goats.

Now the couple have their own milking sheep flock and are making cheese on their Woodville property.

K

irsty first began making cheese from local organic cows’ milk when Dave gave her a cheesemaking gift for her birthday in 2011.

“I really enjoyed it so I went to a couple of courses to learn more,” she said.

The following year the couple travelled to Europe to visit Dave’s daughter Cara.

“While we were there, we worked on a tiny

dairy farm in the north of Italy. I learned how to milk sheep and goats by hand while Dave did some building, scything and shearing with old-school clippers.

“We also took the animals out to pasture every morning and evening, just like Heidi.”

The Italian dairy farmers made their own raw milk cheese to a traditional recipe which started the couple thinking

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along similar lines. On their return home, Dave and Kirsty researched milking sheep and the New Zealand dairy regulations while taming their existing flock by feeding them sheep pellets.

Dave set to designing and building a

milking platform, and in the summer of 2013 they attempted to milk some of their Romney ewes. Kirsty successfully used the milk to make Feta, Halloumi and Ricotta cheese. The couple bought an additional block of land down the road

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MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

to build a small milking shed on. Kirsty designed a regulation-compliant cheesemaking room which Dave also built.

Close to 100 ewes, mostly with some East Friesian and Poll Dorset bloodlines, are now milked on the couple’s property.

Kirsty said the Poll Dorsets are great for short-term milk production as they have a short lactation period.

“We have crossed the East Friesian with Poll Dorset and they are milking very well. They are some of our top producers so far this year.”

As some of the flock suffered from sunburnt ears during summer, the couple began experimenting with breeding from black sheep to try and overcome this.

“The black sheep are good for sun protection, and this year some of our white lambs actually have woolly ears so that should help with sunburn.”

When the season begins in September the flock is milked twice a day, every day through to February.

“We have cut down since mid-October and we are currently milking once a day,” said Kirsty. During the milking season the day starts with feeding the lambs, salting cheese made the previous day, then milking which takes two to three hours.

“We take lambs away from any ewes that have more than two and raise them ourselves.”

When morning milking is completed, maintenance and other tasks are tackled, the flock checked, followed by more lamb feeding before evening milking.

“Every second or third day that changes because I will be making cheese or going to a market so Dave

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Dave and Kirsty initially learnt how to milk sheep and goats during a trip to Europe will milk on his own in the middle of the day,” said Kirsty.

“There are always all sorts of farm-based chores such as fencing, fertilising, cleaning, shearing, trimming feet, shifting stock and lambing beats.”

Kirsty has attended several cheesemaking courses to learn the art and is now holding regular courses.

“I am a teacher by trade so running cheese courses made sense from the start,” she said.

“I really enjoy that aspect of the job.”

Course attendees work in pairs as Kirsty takes them through the process step-by-step.

“So they do the whole thing, and then take their cheese home with them at the

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end of the day. It’s completely hands-on and fun.”

Kirsty said the key to successful cheese-making is being careful with time, temperature and hygiene.

Under the label Wild Bush Cheese, the couple’s product is sold at the Wairarapa Farmers’ Market, the Hokowhitu Village Market in Palmerston North, and a few selected retailers.

“The team at Organic Living in Terrace End, Palmerston North have a selection of our cheese in the chiller,” said Kirsty.

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December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

SETTING GOALS WITH

by Denise Gunn

After a season milking a number of Guernsey cows within their newly purchased herd, Tom and Jemima were hooked on the breed.

I

n 2013, the couple purchased the well-established herd which came with their 50/50 sharemilking position.

There were about 40 Guernsey cows included in the herd, as well as young stock coming through.

Jemima said they enjoyed working with the breed in their first season and continued to research Guernseys.

“After meeting with the New Zealand Guernsey Association and learning more, we decided to continue with the breed and make sure we bred Guernsey to Guernsey semen at AI. “Our Guernseys fight for top position

during herd tests against our crossbreeds. They are good producing cows which sit well within our herd.”

Dairying runs deep in Tom’s family with his father and grandfathers owning dairy farms. Tom grew up on the family farm in Galatea near Rotorua, before the family moved to Waikite, converted a property to dairy, and then bought a farm near Te Aroha in 2001.

“They grew the Te Aroha farm and milked around 750-800 cows,” said Jemima.

Tom and Jemima first met in 2007 while he was managing that farm.

Jemima said although she is not from

Tom grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Galatea a farming background. Tom has taught her everything about the industry from his own experiences.

Whilst managing the family farm, Tom and Jemima bought cows whenever possible. Following the purchase of their first 250-cow herd, they kept and reared

as many heifer calves as feasible.

They paid full grazing costs for excess numbers over their contracted amount.

In 2013 they went 50/50 sharemilking on the neighbouring farm for Bill and Tania Van Marrewijk. During the 2014/15 season, the Bebbington’s Guernsey herd

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MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

proved to be a huge hit with the couple placing third in the Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Industry Awards.

Three years later, the couple sold one of their rental properties. The proceeds from this, along with the large number of young stock coming through, enabled them to purchase another herd and move onto their current 450-cow sharemilking position near Ohakune.

Tom and Jemima, along with their three young children, are now into their second season of a three-year contract on the Ohakune farm. One full-time worker is employed and his wife helps with relief milking.

“We enjoy it here and are hoping to stay on a little longer than that.”

Tom said the farm, with a 160ha effective milking platform, is selfcontained apart from some palm kernel (280kgs per cow) bought in and fed over calving. Silage grown on-farm is saved for winter. Hay was also made last season.

Central pivot irrigators on the property help in the dry period but the couple have not used them yet.

The couple have found the central plateau winters very cold with the temperature around three to four degrees. There is little growth from late May to take-off in late October. Summers can be dry.

“In July the farm was under a few feet of snow for a few days so being able to manage these extremes is vital to our success during the season.

“We find we feed out during the winter months here, while back in Te Aroha we fed out maize and silage during summer due to no growth there.”

Tom said managing the winter is the hardest challenge due to always

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Jemima met Tom in 2007 when he was managing the family farm trying to save feed for calving.

“We have found as long as the cows are well fed, the cold does not seem to bother them.

“Once growth takes off with the warmer weather it is brilliant.”

The couple enjoy researching other practices and new technologies to continue improving their farming operation. Their efforts are paying off as last season the herd achieved a farm record, producing 153,000kgMS. “We hope to reach the same this season and would like to target 160,000kgMS on the all-grass system,” said Tom. Along with their long-term goal of farm ownership, the couple would

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like to look at other options with their Guernsey herd.

“We are currently exploring breeding a Wagyu and Guernsey cross for meat,” said Jemima.

“Having our own piece of land will offer us security and the freedom to explore farming in our own way.

“Whatever the future holds, we look forward to working in farming together.

“Working together on the farm each day is really something to look forward to.”

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10

December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

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REWARDING THE CURIOUS

Prompting quad bike ban Recent quad bike accidents causing serious injuries and expensive helicopter evacuations have reinforced the need for a prohibition on the use of quad bikes by primary industries services company OSPRI. From the first day of 2018, OSPRI contractors engaged in TBfree programme pest control and animal health testing work will be encouraged to opt for less dangerous forms of transport, as they will not be permitted to operate or ride on a quad bike.

“We want our workers to go home safely every day, and our focus is on reducing the potential for death or serious injury,” says OSPRI chief executive Michelle Edge.

“Quad bikes were involved in more than a quarter of all work-related farm deaths in recent years, with five quad deaths in 2016.

“Earlier this year an OSPRI worker was killed in a quad bike accident while working on a farm. For us, that’s one too many.

“We had a long-term harmreduction strategy in place that was recognised as industry-leading, and our measures indicated that quad-bike incidents and fleet had been steadily decreasing. Yet we were not able to change the fundamental design of the quad, monitor its use, or provide adequate protection for our workers following an accidental loss of control.”

In its work to eradicate TB from New Zealand’s wildlife and farmed animals,

OSPRI manages possum control and pest management work over 5.5 million hectares of New Zealand each year, undertakes almost 3.5 million TB tests and has eradicated TB from possums across 1.83 million hectares since 2011.

“Each year our people spend more than 300,000 hours in the field, often in remote and difficult terrain.

Getting that work done safely and efficiently is important to us, so providing for an informed decision was a major undertaking,” says OSPRI Health and Safety lead James Knapp.

“We recognise the usefulness of quad bikes, and understand the risk involved in change with any vehicle, but opting for safer alternatives to quad bikes was the only way to minimise this risk.”

OSPRI engaged service providers, reviewed all available research and worked in a consultative process to introduce these changes and enable time for those affected to adapt.

The company helps protect and enhance the reputation of New Zealand’s

Michelle Edge, OSPRI chief executive

primary industries. It manages the NAIT and TBfree programmes.

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Record lambing percentages

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

A record lambing percentage underpins a lift in lamb numbers, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Lamb Crop 2017 report.

Research by B+LNZ’s Economic Service estimates the number of lambs tailed in spring 2017 was 23.7 million head, up 1.9 per cent (436,000 head) on the previous spring. The average ewe lambing percentage for 2017 was 127.2, up 4.4 percentage points on last year and up 6.4 percentage points on the 10-year average (2008-09 to 201718) of 120.8 per cent.

This means 127 lambs were born per hundred ewes compared with an average of 121 over the last 10 years.

For spring 2017, a one percentage point change in the New Zealand ewe lambing percentage is equivalent to 178,000 lambs.

Andrew Burtt, chief economist of B+LNZ’s Economic Service, says the record lambing percentage and more lambs from hoggets offset fewer breeding ewes.

“The report provides further evidence of sheep and beef farmers doing more with less. North Island lamb numbers were a major factor behind the overall lift in the New Zealand lamb crop with growth of 4.9 per cent (551,000 head) to 11.7 million head. The average ewe lambing percentage for 2017 was 128.0, up 8.6 percentage points on last year.

“This was a record high, and was due to good climatic conditions and ewe condition at both mating and

lambing for most regions.

“After autumn and winter, conditions were generally good but wet, lamb growth rates were lower than normal due to a lack of sunshine, cool damp weather and more lambs. This has had a negative impact on lamb growth.

“On a positive note, there were no adverse weather events during lambing.”

In the East Coast and Taranaki-Manawatu, bearings and subsequent losses negatively impacted the lambing result. According to the survey, the number of breeding ewes declined 1.9 per cent to 17.8 million at July 1, 2017.

“The most significant decrease was in TaranakiManawatu (-3.6 per cent) in response to strong mutton prices and culling Andrew Burtt, chief economist of B+LNZ’s Economic Service of old ewes to take advantage of strong prices.” weight, which offsets an increase in The number of lambs available for total number processed. export processing in 2017-18 at 19.27 B+LNZ Economic Service’s Lamb million head is similar to last season’s Crop survey is drawn from its Sheep and 19.25 million head (+0.1 per cent). Beef Farm Survey, which covers a The tonnage of lamb produced is statistically representative sample expected to decrease slightly (-0.2 of over 500 commercial sheep and per cent) to a lower average carcass beef farms.

11

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12

December 2017 MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

ADVERTORIAL

The truth about plants and nitrogen

by John K Morris — CEO of Agrissentials

University of Oregon, Dr J. Fox has found that communication links between plants and nitrogen fixing bacteria are damaged when synthetic nitrogen is used. This leads to less nitrogen fixed naturally, increasing reliance on artificial synthetic urea. The more you use synthetic nitrogen, the more you will need to use synthetic nitrogen.

In essence, agro-chemicals are cutting the communication lines between the ‘host plant’ and the ‘soil biology’ — not a good idea; it is essential that plants and biology communicate with each other, that is how the natural system works.

Artificial nitrogen sales are increasing every year, but also increasing is the erosion of topsoil and pollution of both farm and environment with synthetic nutrient leaching. It’s amazing that the farmers accept carbon dioxide straight out of the atmosphere for free, hydrogen for free, and oxygen for free, but line up to purchase artificial nitrogen for big money. It doesn’t make sense.

Over every hectare on the planet it is estimated that there is approximately 30,000 tonnes of atmospheric nitrogen, completely natural, environmentally sustainable, which is fixed by both plants and micro-organisms and stored within the organic matter of the soil, ready for

plant uptake on request. Why wouldn’t you use this ultimate, free serving system? It’s a money saver.

Atoms — it is an astounding notion to consider that atoms are mostly empty space and that the solidity we experience around us is an illusion. When two objects come together — like billiard balls — they don’t actually strike each other, rather the negatively charged fields of the two balls repel each other.

When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at one angstrom (100 millionth of a centimetre) — your electrons and the chair’s electrons are implacably opposed to any closer intimacy.

All living matter is cellular — life cannot arise spontaneously, but must come from existing cells (at Agrissentials we see the future of fertilisers being targeted at the cellular level of plant life, then passing on through to the cellular

level of animals and people). Feed the cells the right frequency and they will do the rest of the job.

To make a ‘human being’, the first cell splits to become two, and then two becomes four and after 47 doublings, you have 10,000 trillion cells in your body and are ready to spring forth as a human being.

Every one of those cells knows exactly what to do to preserve and nurture you.

Each cell carries a copy of the complete genetic code — the instruction manual code for your body — so, it knows how to do not only its job, but every other job in the body too.

Every cell in nature is a thing of wonder. Even the simplest cells are far beyond the limits of human ingenuity.

When you eat, they extract the nutrients, distribute the energy and carry off the waste — when you drink alcohol, they all get pissed as parrots and fall over.

A cell is like a refinery in that it is devoted to natural mineral activity on a grand scale filled with interactions that appear confused and random, but clearly have some system to them. There is activity everywhere and a ceaseless thrum of electricity. You may not feel electrical, but you are. The food we

eat and the oxygen we breathe are combined in the cells into electricity.

Compare your genes with any other human beings and on average they will all be about 99.9% the same. That makes us a species. The tiny difference in that remaining 0.1% is what endows us with our own individuality.

Here at Agrissentials we are working as close as possible to Mother Nature, focussing fully on the soil, with our multi-mineral, microbial rich fertilisers, bringing health and vitality to the soil, the plants, the animals and the people.

Through the micro-organisms and the worms we are recycling and regenerating topsoil, keeping all productive units in top health and pumping. As the health of the productive unit increases, so will the health of the surrounding environment.

Get it right with Agrissentials Best on Earth Organx™ fertilisers.

Visit us at www.agrissentials.com or give us a call on 0800 THE KEY for a FREE INFO PACK, that’s 0800 843 539 to find out how we can partner with you to find a better way of farming.

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MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

WATER MATTERS

13

Dairy sector needs shakeup Dairy NZ’s strategic vision for the dairy sector has been criticised by Fish & Game, saying it is a decade late and the industry must act sooner to protect the environment and regain public support.

The unveiled strategy’s number one pledge is to protect and nurture the environment for future generations, and to lead efforts to improve the health and swim-ability of rivers and streams.

“Public patience has finally run right out and the corporate dairy industry is now trying to catch up and rescue its credibility,” says Fish & Game chief executive Martin Taylor.

“Dairy NZ is promising to develop a 50 year blueprint for sustainable land use by 2025 but it doesn’t go far enough. This is all too little, too late.

“The dairy industry has had a decade to come up with a blueprint for sustainable farming and land use and now the strategy is to wait another eight years to develop one.

“The reality is the present dairying model is unsustainable. Kiwis need action now and aren’t prepared to wait until 2025.

“Dairy NZ’s plan highlights the fact the industry is now acutely aware it is losing public trust and its social licence to operate.” Clean water was one of the election’s defining issues as voters expressed their anger about declining water quality and the loss of traditional swimming spots because of pollution.

“Dairy NZ needs to be much braver with its strategy and provide better leadership. A good place to start is by accepting a future based on fewer cows, less water use, less nutrient loading,

and producing less milk but with more added value.

“If they don’t do that, dairy will continue to be unsustainable. Cow numbers have grown astronomically over the last 20 years. Regions like Canterbury and Southland which weren’t traditional dairy areas are now among the biggest, with a combined herd size of over two million animals.

“This explosion in intensive farming has had a huge impact on the environment.

“It takes a thousand litres of water to make one litre of milk and to meet that sort of demand, more and more water is being taken from our waterways and aquifers.

“Canterbury is now using two thirds of all New Zealand’s irrigation take.

On its own, a single big corporate farm can use the same amount of water as a town does in a year.”

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Martin Taylor, Fish & Game chief executive

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“It is untreated, so that is another body blow for the environment.

“If corporate dairying is to regain public support, it needs to admit its present operating model is unsustainable. The sector has to stop resisting the need to reduce environmental impacts and commit to hard, measurable targets in the next year.

“Corporate dairying can only achieve this by working with environment groups, communities and the government to put these in place.”

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14

December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

Irrigation Matters with Clem Powell 100 IT’S NOT A TARGET

VISIT NAIRN STREET COTTAGE Open 7 days from New Year 12noon–4pm

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The mystery of hard hose irrigators Almost everyone will have noticed irrigation guns working in paddocks, which seem to move by themselves. Careful observation will locate a reel somewhere in the distance, which is retracting the gun via the pipe as a drag link and simultaneously layering the pipe onto the drum.

Hard Hose irrigators made their appearance in NZ some 30 odd years ago with Ferbo being one of the most common at the time. Since then various other brands, mostly Italian but also some French and even Australian, produced machines with ever increasing user friendly and efficiency targeted improvements.

The basic system consists of a wheeled chassis, with a reel set on a turntable on all but the smallest machines. A water turbine and gearbox powers the pipe and gun cart retraction and layering system to achieve a consistent and neat package when the run is finished.

As an advancement on this, computers are often fitted to give extremely accurate speed/application rates. An added bonus is that the finish time can be planned for, so a quick turn around can be achieved.

A unique version which Irri-Max Ltd have developed in conjunction with Ferbo Srl Italy is computer controlled Diesel Drive units for Dairy Effluent.

The lack of a turbine means blocking is almost non-existent and the drive is not at risk of stalling if low pressure occurs.

Also small pumps, irrigation booms, dribble bars, etc, may be used as the machines’ operation is totally independent of the pump performance.

The computer gives excellent control of the machine with the farmer able to set the application rate based on input of flow and width of spread. Optional GSM connection to cell or PC givers further control and monitoring options. These features have been utilised by absentee owners as well as farm managers. Any fault occurring also sends a message

to the user. Advantages of hard hose irrigators include linear application of irrigation and much more even than sprinklers, correctly specified so as to not need excessive pressure.

They can be an effective and reliable means of irrigation with some grease maintenance required.

Disadvantages include more energy required than pivot, a tractor to reposition and pull out pipe as well as a tendency for buyers and sellers to specify too small a machine.

Irri-Max Ltd have a free consulting service for basic systems. Phone Clem 027 599 9273.

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MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

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December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

LIVESTOCK ADVERTORIAL

The season for baleage Christison Enterprises is a small owner-operated business in Halcombe specialising in hay and baleage contracting.

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“We are an agricultural business that is focussing on providing the best customer service we can and pride ourselves on the quality of customers we have rather than quantity,” says owner Shaun Christison.

The company has been servicing the Manawatu region for a decade and, starting with just one round baler, Shaun has grown the business and machinery over the years.

“We have gear that is suitable for lifestyle blocks but also gear suitable for the bigger farms and can make either conventional bales for hay and baleage or big round bales.”

Shaun says that recently they have focussed on conventional baleage as they have found the convenience of these to be overly popular in the lifestyle blocks and ‘horsey community’.

“The conventional baleage means there is no longer a need to be wasting a big bale that you have in the middle of a paddock, perhaps waiting for your two to three cattle or horses to eat it while it rots away. Now you can feed your stock more precisely without the wastage.

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“All our gear is modern and just last season we bought a brand new conventional baler. It has been busy this year considering the amount of grass that has been around this area.”

From October through to early January baleage work demands most of Christison Enterprises time, and after

this Shaun is kept busy once again as the hay making season kicks off. During the winter months the business sells conventional hay bales and baleage, keeping the business active throughout the year. For more information: christisonenterprises@outlook.co.nz or call 021 833 545.

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MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES December 2017

DAIRY

Uncommon sense

0800 843 809 www.esi.org.nz

David Law, Managing Director of Forward Farming Consultancy

There is some big picture information in which I believe farming itself may be indirectly connected to the initial cause of this disease. My own experience connected to other biological scientists and specialist vets specifically working on this disease in Europe have led to this theory.

• • • • •

•

•

•

biology is generally associated with anaerobic bacteria; Effluent, good or bad, is spread on pasture; This feed, whether directly or after harvesting is fed to cattle; Clostridia, Botulism, Mycoplasma bovis are all anaerobic bacteria; Clostridia is generally present when anaerobic effluent is present in feed; A symptom of cattle with clostridia is the inability for the animal to suck water in the normal way. They lick at it instead; Nutrients from the rumen need water to transport around the body past the rumen; With the inability to physically drink adequate water, the animal effectively starves after the rumen; The animal is unable to fight disease;

• Mycoplasma bovis, which is always present takes advantage and becomes prevalent; • Mycoplasma bovis is generally present and associated with botulism and clostridia, • Testing for clostridia and botulism will, if present, confirm the origin of the Mycoplasma Bovis.

If this information checks out then we can treat the disease, manage it and prevent it in the future.

My vet colleague in Denmark stated that, after the death of hundreds of cows in Germany, anaerobic effluent is not irrigated to pasture anymore.

Of course, MPI have already made their decision and they seem to think differently — killing cows will definitely fix the symptom. David Law owns Forward Farming Biological Consultancy. Visit for more — forwardfarming.co.nz

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Mycoplasma bovis — is this a cause?

The following are a list of basic observations I have collected: • Dairy farm effluent is generally either anaerobic or aerobic; • Symptoms of anaerobic ponds are crusted and have an effluent pH below 7. The thicker the crust, the lower the pH; • Symptoms of an aerobic pond show lesser crust with a pH of the effluent above 7. The higher the pH over 7 the clearer the pond is of crust and sludge; • Both these bacteria types have exclusive competition, so as the conditions change further away from pH 7, either way, the bacteria which enjoy those conditions dominate; • Chemicals used in dairy farm cleaning, particularly chlorine, kill aerobic bacteria; • Good biology beneficial to animal health is generally associated with aerobic bacteria; • Bad and pathogenic disease causing

17

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December 2017

MANAWATU FARMING LIFESTYLES

WHEELS

Virtual practice for driving success

by Andy Bryenton

With top titles in the world of automotive gaming storming the Christmas gift wish lists, it’s little surprise that young Kiwi car enthusiasts know every twist and turn of tracks like Bathurst and the Nurburgring. But can this technology be taken down a gear from the world of racing to the world of daily driving? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ from the ACC, who have recently launched a virtual driving simulator of their own.

Rather than debuting the massive horsepower and empty tarmac of games such as Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo, this VR sim is designed to build practical driving skills for learners in real life.

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Because here’s the truth — while young Kiwi drivers are great at tests on paper, easily remembering the technical rules of the road, many are daunted by real practical tests behind the wheel.

It’s a high pressure situation, often described as more frightening than academic exams, and the new virtual programme seeks to remedy this.

“This is truly a world-first in driver education,” said ACC Road Injury Prevention Manager, Simon Gianotti.

ACC research says that the most difficult group of drivers to reach are males aged 18 and 19, and they’re also some of the most at risk of serious injury.

“We spoke to hundreds of young Kiwis and we know that many of them feel daunted by practical driving tests.

We also know drivers who are better at spotting hazards are safer drivers.”

The VR programme is designed to work with a headset which accommodates many popular brands of mobile smartphones — there’s no

ExperienceSuspension

Learner drivers can now access extra practise in the virtual world before test time

need to own an expensive PS4 or PC with a dedicated virtual reality interface.

Running on Apple and Android, the DriveVR immersive programme puts you behind the wheel of a test car in a typical Kiwi suburb.

You’re marked for such points as window and mirror checks, handling traffic, moving through intersections and more.

While nothing can replace real-life practise, this is an innovative step in the

right direction, allowing young learners a chance to brush up on their skills anytime, any place, without having a sometimes anxious mum or dad in the passenger seat beside them.

That confidence is sure to come through when the real driving test is sat, and, it’s ACC’s hope, translates into a more skilled new class of motorists on our roads.

Visit the ACC’s website to download a free copy.

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19

Transformation games

by Andy Bryenton

When they first said perhaps a decade ago, that the era of the four door sedan was drawing to a close, people laughed. As the hot hatch began to be slowly replaced with the micro-crossover SUV, disbelief was the order of the day.

As in fashion and art, the auto world carries a sea-anchor of memories and pre-suppositions. But the hour is at hand. Proof that the landscape has definitely shifted. No, we don’t mean the end of production for the Commodore and Falcon. Take a look at the current range from Nissan.

The people who brought us the Maxima, that consummate big sedan, the Pulsar, available as a hot hatch with a bonnet scoop that could swallow medium sized animals, and ancestrally machines like the Sunny and the 120Y have a very different offering on the forecourt for 2017. It breaks down like this. Perhaps the single best value for money supercar-thrashing sports machine on four wheels — the GT-R. Under that, a coupe which builds on a history stretching back to the Fairlady Z, and which would make some folks second-guess a Porsche. And afterwards

— it’s sports utilities all the way through.

There’s some very good ones, at that.

The Juke may not be everyone’s stylistic cup of tea, but the crossover market is all about pop art style. Then we have the best-selling Qashqai, the X-Trail, the Pathfinder and the big Patrol as daddy of the family.

The Navara ute finishes off a lineup that has no hot hatch, no sedan — and feels like there’s really nothing missing.

The shift has happened, we’re in the 21st century, and the car DNA has split.

Understanding this has allowed Nissan to create a range that caters to modern tastes with a spectrum of closely gradated SUVs for every niche, and left their car division free to fly into new realms of lateral Gs and tyre smoke wizardry. Yes, the 370Z is good fun. In New Zealand it comes in only one option, but that’s because you don’t put tomato sauce

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