Northern Farming Lifestyles, July 2013

Northern

Farming Lifestyles July 2013 Edition

33,400 copies DELIVERED FREE to every farm and rural delivery address from Albany to Cape Reinga

Laying the groundwork for successful drainage P10–11

THE GOOD NEWS...

See our advertisement and editorial

P14

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Horse-riding through New Zealand for air rescue Pages 8–9

Photo: Pete Langford

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July 2013 NORTHERN Farming Lifestyles

The Northern Farming Lifestyles is published with pride by NorthSouth Multi Media Ltd, a privately owned New Zealand company.

Phone: 09 439 6933 or 0800 466 793 • Fax: 09 439 6930 Email: info@thelifestyler.co.nz • Postal Address: PO Box 474, Dargaville Physical Address: Lifestyler House, 107 River Road, Dargaville General Manager: Deb Wright | 021 639 9633 Northern Sales Director: Kelvin Green | kelving@nsmm.co.nz Editorial: Paul Campbell Sheri O’Neill Rose Rees-Owen Andy Bryenton

Graphic Design: Gavin Bainbridge Jan Balcombe Paul Bakulich James Menzies

Advertising: Betty Willetts Glyn Parker

Production: Brenda Ilton

Farming Lifestyles Distribution area

Huge crowds at 45th National Agricultural Fieldays

by Denise Gunn

The 45th New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays has been deemed a huge success with 125,127 visitors attending the four-day event.

Shannon Toia

Accounts: Lesley Robinson | accounts@nsmm.co.nz Distribution: Laurie Willetts Website: www.farminglifestyles.co.nz

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The New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays drew a large turnout of visitors

New Zealand National Fieldays CEO Jon Calder said it was a very positive wrap-up to a great event that had seen a large number of quality visitors attending exhibitor’s sites.

“This year, as we celebrated 45 years of Fieldays, it was great to see such a large number of businesses making record sales and leads. The positivity evident across our exhibitors and visitors sends a strong signal that there is confidence and a buoyant mood across our agricultural and primary sector.”

Mr Calder said it is likely that the most significant results will continue long after the Fieldays gates closed.

Minister for Primary Industries, Hon Nathan Guy, officially opened the event which ran with a premier feature theme ‘Getting down to business in the global economy.’ As a premier sponsor the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) covered a hub in the main pavilion and presented seminars during the event.

Twelve finalists pitched their inventions to a panel of investors and business leaders at the launch of the Fieldays Innovation Den ‘Pitch for Investment’. The 12 inventors had received two weeks of intensive coaching and mentoring by Hamiltonbased entrepreneurship centre SODA prior to the event. SODA joined

forces with Fieldays to create the new Innovation Den, giving early stage inventors an opportunity to increase their knowledge to commercialise their inventions and learn directly from New Zealand investors.

Droidworx won the SODA Lift Most Viable Business award for an aerial robot carrying live-feed cameras that can monitor farms while the owner is at home. Rodney Sharp from the Kakapo Impactor won the Vodafone Best Use of Technology award for a safer postdriving system. And 12-year-old Patrick of Roskram of Matamata won the Best Pitch Award with his fencing tool Gudgeon Pro4in1. Patrick also received a personal invitation from Sir William Gallagher for an internship at Gallagher’s Research and Development department during his school holidays, along with a marketing pack from Vodafone.

Taranaki sharemilker Simon Washer took out the Rural Bachelor of the Year title as well as the People’s Choice award.

New Zealand’s National Agricultural Fieldays, held at Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton, is considered to be the largest agricultural expo in the southern hemisphere.

Next year’s event will be held from June 11–14.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

New road will boost Northland’s economy

3

by Paul Campbell

The decision to fast track the Puhoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance has been hailed an economic boon for Northland.

“This is stunning news for the people of Northland who know the importance of this vital trade and economic link to Auckland, the country’s largest economic hub. The project should now be construction-ready by 2014,” said Northland MP Mike Sabin.

Lodgement of the application for the Puhoi to Warkworth section with the

“Far from being a ‘holiday highway’, this is the umbilical cord to the North and is indeed a road of national significance.

“This project was clearly identified by the Northland Economic Action Group (NEAG) through our economic summits process as the most important single piece of infrastructure for the growth of the Northland economy.”

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected by the end of August 2013 with notification of the application by EPA anticipated to occur late 2013.

There is a public submission period of four weeks upon notification, and a hearing is likely to be held early to mid-2014. A draft decision followed by the final decision is required within nine months of original notification.

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“The government has been working with the Auckland Council’s Regional Development Operations Committee who were asked to make a judgment in relation to the consent process for the extension.

“It voted 16-4 for effectively fast-tracking the project through a government-appointed board, rather than dealing with it locally under a process open to Environment Court challenges, which could cause significant delays.

that $800 million per annum of the Northland economy drives out of the region on this road and of course tourists are increasingly driving north on it. This project will bring both enhanced productivity and safety as Northland’s economic engine gains further momentum, “ Mr Sabin added.

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Farmers of New Zealand operations manager, Bill Guest, says the organisation “more than welcomes the news that the Puhoi motorway north to Wellsford is to be fast-tracked.

“There is that much land being purchased as the impetus moves northwards, and this news means the benefits of investment will flow on at an ever-increasing rate into Northland.

There are already many people who commute on the road network to jobs in Auckland. And the road carries our rural production to markets. I can remember as a boy when Auckland was five hours away by road, Now we will be a little over an hour from Kaipara — that much closer to the huge Auckland market, with its significant motorway links further south. This is great news for the north.”

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July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

The guys who

get the wool away…

Marshall Guy, Golden Shears Junior champion 2013

by Sheri O’Neill

Olive Guy doesn’t appear fazed by her multitasking role as farmer, business owner, rouseabout, wife, mother and mother-in-law in a family that is bursting at the seams with gun shearers.

PUBLIC NOTICE - TREE REGULATIONS Trees close to powerlines can be dangerous. Falling branches can break lines, causing fire and the risk of electrocution. A person who touches a tree which is in contact with a powerline can suffer an electric shock. In high winds trees can damage powerlines and equipment, causing power failures and danger to the public.

The Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 (Tree Regulations 2003) were introduced to ensure that trees are kept away from powerlines to protect the security of the electricity supply and for everyone’s safety. The risk of property damage (e.g. from fire) is also reduced. Under the Regulations, trees must be kept clear of powerlines as shown here: The Growth Limit Zone is the minimum space surrounding any powerline that must be kept clear of trees and other vegetation.

The size of this zone depends on the voltage of the powerlines.

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For powerlinesSPANS spans UPTO up to 150M 150m FOR POWERLINES VoltaGe VOLTAGE 50kV

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GrowtH limitZONE zone GROWTH LIMIT Distance in any direction from any

Distance in any from any point on the direction lines or equipment point on the lines or equipment (d) 2.5m

Greater clearances than shown above are needed for lines with spans longer than 150 metres.

The Notice Zone extends one metre beyond the Growth Limit Zone. The Tree Regulations 2003 require that trees encroaching the Growth Limit Zone must be cut or trimmed to (at least) the outside edge of the Notice Zone.

liability and offences Northpower and tree owners must comply with these Tree Regulations 2003 or face penalties. Northpower is required under the Tree Regulations 2003 to advise tree owners of their obligations and the penalties for NOT meeting their obligations, i.e.

1. Tree owners who receive a Cut or Trim Notice are required to ensure that the tree(s) is cut or trimmed to outside of the notice zone in the time required by the notice.

2. Tree owners must also ensure that they advise Northpower of the time and location of this work at least three (3) working days prior to work being undertaken. penalties apply Tree owners who fail to comply with these requirements could be fined up to $10,000 plus up to $500 a day for a continuing offence. In addition, tree owners could also be liable for costs if Northpower lines or equipment are damaged by their tree(s). tree work to be done by Competent authorised tree workers Because cutting and trimming trees around powerlines is dangerous and potentially lethal, only electrically competent tree workers authorised by Northpower may do this work near Northpower Network Lines.

Unauthorised workers – including tree and property owners together with any equipment they may be using – are not permitted to come within four metres of any live powerlines nor to cut or trim any tree which has any growth within four metres of live powerlines, without written consent (from Northpower for Northpower Lines). tree surveys Northpower regularly inspects their network lines as required by the regulations and notifies tree owners of any identified tree problems. In all cases it’s the tree owner who decides the future of their tree(s) i.e. if the tree(s) is trimmed or removed. In some situations this tree work is done by Northpower at their expense. Call Northpower 09 430 1803 for more information regarding any charges for tree clearance work. more information This notice provides you with the information as required by the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003. More detailed information is available on our website www.northpower.com or by calling 0800 667 847. northpower limited’s electricity lines distribution network covers the Kaipara and whangarei Districts only.

F

rom their Kaeo farm where they run a Charolais herd, Olive and husband, Ross, supplement farm income with a contract shearing business. Each year they work the season in a run that takes them all the way up to Cape Reinga.

Life in the woolshed began some 25 years ago and it doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon now that their boys are shearing — Marshall, aged 16, Charlie, 17, Bryce, 19, Bevan, 21 and Lance, 23. “The

woolshed is still hard going but the work keeps our family together,” Olive says.

The Guy menfolk have always been keen shearers, collecting a swag of titles in recent years.

Leading the way in the sport shearing arena was big brother Bevan, who began the family’s successful charge on the infamous board of the Golden Shears taking out the 2009 Intermediate title.

Charlie soon followed with the 2011 Golden Shears Novice, Bryce the 2012 Golden Shears Intermediate,

Being a “shearer is

no different than being an athlete

”

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

and this year, young Marshall claimed the family’s first Golden Shears Junior title.

The annual New Zealand Shearing Championships in Te Kuiti has also been kind to the family, with their unprecedented successes — Bryce the first to take the Junior, Intermediate and Senior titles consecutively. In 2011 four of the five shearing titles were won by Northland competitors, the Guy boys were three of those — Bevan, the senior title, Bryce, the Junior title and Marshall the Novice grade. In 2012 Charlie and Bryce took out the Junior and Intermediate titles and also ranked number one respectively — 2013 Bryce the Senior grade, and Marshall, another Junior title.

“Their involvement has been great — the sport promotes quality and speed which adds to their performance and ability to get work as woolshed shearers. If farmers are happy, then contractors are happy,” says Olive, “and the boys get to rub shoulders with shearing greats David Fagan, John Kirkpatrick and new boy, Rowland Smith. It brings a whole other level to shearing.”

“Shearing is good old-fashioned hard work — sweat, sweat, sweat. It can be an eight or 12 hour slog, and even with youth on their side the boys struggle with back pain — but hey that’s just part and parcel of a shearer’s trade.” Olive says the difference today is that serious shearers make healthier lifestyle and well-being choices.

5

After main shear up north, the boys head to the King Country to finish the season. Then when all is done and dusted it’s time to head home for a bit of fishing, pig hunting and work on the family farm. In July Bryce and Charlie will join Bevan and Sam who have gone ahead to prepare for their four month shearing stint in Western Australia.

Marshall will stay behind, helping on the farm and completing a modern apprenticeship in machine shearing, as did his brothers. “All the boys did well at school but when they turned 16 they went straight into shearing — Golden Shears 2011 they’ve grown up in the Back row: Ross Guy, Lance, Marshall. Front row: Bevan, Bryce, Charlie woolshed.” Olive says shearers are one of the most travelled of the Guy crew and Olive says this, along with a changed tradesmen which is a side appeal to shed culture, makes for a very different workplace than in the vocation. Bevan, who began his earlier years. shearing OE at 15, travelled to America, Scotland, England, Ireland and Italy.

Family members, including niece and presser, Chelsea Rika, make up the bulk

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Charlie and Marshall Guy, Golden Shears Junior and Novice champions 2011

The shearing and farming lineage goes back to grandparents, Fred and Ngaire Guy, who met in a shed — shearer and gang cook. Ross and his father both earned their first herds shearing, and now Bevan and wife Sam, Bryce, Charlie and even Marshall have started building stock numbers.

“It’s really hard for the boys to break into farming with the price of today’s farms,” says Olive. As part of their succession planning, the Guys recently subdivided small blocks for their sons.

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July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Polocrosse in the Mid North…

The Zielinski clan continues a family tradition

by Cynthia Matthews

From near Kaikohe the Zielinskis — Rhonda and brothers John and Craig — are encouraging young people into sports riding, a mantle handed on from Bill Zielinski and the Mid North riding fraternity of the 1980s and 90s.

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The family live across the paddocks from one another on a 13 acre block.

It’s the base for John and Craig’s forestry operations, dry stock and calf rearing.

Alongside, off-farm worker Rhonda raises pigs and supplies pork to the families.

John and wife Carmen breed horses for polocrosse. Close neighbours into the sport include Rick Murray, horse trainer, and Bill Dalton who has provided a paddock for the grounds.

The Zielinski family moved north from Rotorua.

Bill Zielinski leased grazing land all around Kaikohe while

Rhonda Zielinski on her mare BM — “She is phenomenal”

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

wife Lynette ran the family business.

“Dad’s passion was encouraging young people’s interest in horses. He was always taking kids around to games,” explains Rhonda. Bill’s efforts and dedicated local volunteering resulted in Northland becoming a force nationally.

The Northland Polocrosse Ladies team took out the Nationals. At the time there were 45 clubs throughout Northland.

Rhonda began competing at thirteen.

“The families then are now those riders back into it and bringing their children along. We were all brought up together and they’re who I play with today.”

She married, travelled and was away from the sport for fifteen years

club’s annual award, the Lyn Zielinski Memorial trophy, and with the next generation saddling up the sport looks all set to continue in the Mid North.

Rhonda Zielinski and her two brothers live on what was their original family’s land on State Highway 12 on the way to the Hokianga. Rhonda and her husband farm pigs and graze horses as well as manage off — farm employment.

Craig and John Zielinski run dry stock and supply dairy grazing. (John became locally famous from stock car racing in the film ‘Kaikohe Demolition’.)

The Zielinskis are part of a close knit rural neighbourhood sharing a common interest — polocrosse. Across the road

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“although I never thought I wouldn’t ever play again!” In the interim many clubs amalgamated or disappeared, including Kaikohe.

Three years ago local rider Grant Loveridge was invited to showcase polocrosse at the Poutu Fun day.

Following this, John Zielinski played at the Semco club (Maungakaramea), met Rick, and bought a horse for polocrosse.

Enthusiasm was reignited. Rhonda’s first game back was with the Kaikohe team in Auckland.

“It felt like a bit of a reunion playing with the other riders again.”

The 35 Kaikohe club members together with Poutu’s now mean 100 competitors in the district. Rhonda’s five-year-old daughter Fern is riding, as well as nieces, nephews and their friends. Last year the juniors won the

Bill Dalton and his wife have set aside two of their paddocks for the grounds.

“It’s a family sport,” says Rhonda.

She remembers their dad coaching her brothers and herself. They learnt from about age 13, starting off on farm hacks.

The Zielinski’s became a gathering point for other young people who wanted to give it a go.

It all lapsed until three years ago when John bought a horse and the Zielinskis revived the sport again in the district. The next generation is now finding their way into it. Several farming families are coming along and are now playing away at other clubs as well as Kaikohe hosting visiting riders.

Rhonda has two children (horse and trail bike riders respectively) and she says it’s easier to juggle everything when the family shares the same enthusiasm.

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July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Horse-riding through New Zealand for air rescue

Photo: Pete Langford

At Island Saddle in the Crimea Range, Canterbury

by Denise Gunn

Horseman Pete Langford and his two Standardbred horses are nearing the end of a long journey covering the length of New Zealand, with just the final stretch remaining, through Northland to Cape Reinga.

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Originally from the United Kingdom, Pete’s love of horses began during a family holiday in a horse-drawn gypsy caravan when he was about five years old. Pete said plodding through the English countryside with a Shire horse pulling the caravan remains one of his fondest childhood memories.

A few years later when the family were living on a Welsh hill farm, his mother taught him how to saddle and bridle a horse, along with a few basic riding instructions. He remembers the feeling of freedom riding through the fields and observing the world on horseback.

Living in a big city for the next 20 years made it almost impossible for Pete to carry on riding except for a few horse treks now and then. All that changed when he moved to New Zealand, bought his first horse and was introduced to bush riding.

Photo: Pete Langford

Pete and his two Standardbred horses

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

Pete said since his ride in the bush, he longed to tackle a much bigger trip.

Healthy blood vessels

When the recession hit, Pete’s home renovation business suffered, his income dropped, and eventually his house was sold by the bank in a mor tgagee auction.

However, after talking to a friend about this turn of events, Pete realised he now had the freedom to fulfill his ambition to ride the length of New Zealand. He also decided to raise funds along the way for the various emergency air services’ trusts scattered throughout the country.

Today we want to look at the importance of maintaining good circulation by ensuring the walls of your blood vessels allow for good blood flow at normal levels of blood pressure.

After months of research, planning and mapping out a route, Pete set off from Bluff in November last year.

If blood vessels lose their elasticity they can offer greater resistance to circulating blood which requires the heart to pump harder to achieve good circulation.

Compare your blood vessels with a garden hose. The green plastic is supple allowing for flexibility while the white webbing provides strength. As the hose ages it becomes less flexible and may crack and leak. This is much like how free radicals damage elastin and collagen proteins causing stiffness and weakness in blood vessels.

The loss of elasticity and subsequent stiffening of major blood vessels is often caused by reductions in the function of elastic fibres or the cross-linking of supporting collagen fibres. This loss of elasticity is often a contributor to hypertension.

Primary Hypertension is the name for elevated blood pressure where there is no specific cause. Research does suggest that free radicals (oxidative stress) play a role in damaging blood vessels thus causing an increase in blood pressure. A paper published in Hypertension Research (Rodrigo, 2007) compared free radical activity in 30 people with primary hypertension compared with 30 healthy people. The study confirmed that markers of oxidative stress were significantly higher in those with hypertension.

Over the years I have observed many people improve their blood pressure using nutritional therapy. With diet we want to target foods high in compounds called polyphenols and vitamin C. I always add antioxidant supplement complexes that are high in grape seed OPC’s, high in vitamin C and other complementary compounds.

While results vary a lot, some people, especially those with slightly elevated blood pressure can notice a return to more normal levels of blood pressure. Give me a call if you need more information.

John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a Nutritional Therapist and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. Contact John on 0800 423 559 or email john@johnarts. co.nz. Join his weekly newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz.

For product information visit www.abundant.co.nz.

Photo: Pete Langford

Refreshment time at the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, Porangahau in southern Hawke’s Bay

He alternates the horses each day, riding one and leading the other, spending up to nine hours a day in the saddle and averaging a distance of 25km a day. Pete said both horses have tackled the journey barefoot with regular trims along the way.

“Hoof boots are used on tarseal and the rough bits,” said Pete.

Vet check-ups en route have ensured the horses have stayed in good condition.

“The horses’ welfare comes first.”

As the journey progressed, Pete has used local knowledge to find the best route forward. Offers of accommodation have flooded in and Pete has only had to use his tent on a handful of occasions.

The hospitality of the people Pete met has been a major highlight of his journey.

“I’ve met hundreds of awesome people.”

After the trio traversed the South Island’s high country, they were trucked from Blenheim to Picton, and boarded the InterIslander to cross Cook Strait. On reaching the North Island, the team were transported to Wainuiomata where they picked up the trail again, heading up the east coast of the North Island.

Pete has used a Gro-Pro camera to photograph and record most of the journey.

Each day starts early for Pete as he feeds the horses, breaks camp and packs all the gear. Then after a long day in the saddle, two hours at the end

of the day are required to make camp, feed, water and secure the horses, then attend to any repairs.

“Fatigue is a fairly common companion,” he said.

Following several days riding, the horses are given a couple of rest days.

Pete has only encountered a few problems on the journey. Getting lost and experiencing quicksand in the Rakaia River were at the top of the list.

When he’s had to ride on the roadside, he’s found 90 per cent of motorists have been respectful and willing to slow down to give him and his horses enough space. But Pete said this percentage was the opposite as he rode up SH16 to Wellsford with some hair-raising moments.

When the trio reach Cape Reinga and the ride is completed, Pete plans to settle back in Dargaville, find a job and somewhere to live.

“I’ll keep the horses and turn them out for a year to relax.”

Pete also plans to push for a network of trails for horses and riders throughout New Zealand.

“It would be easier if we (horses and riders) had the same access to our wide open spaces as trampers and cyclists.”

Donations to New Zealand’s emergency air services’ trusts can be made at www. freewitheveryhorse.com/donate.

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10

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Drainage a Problem

Laying the groundwork for successful drainage

by Andy Bryenton

Drainage is a relatively simple matter in urban areas — in an environment of concrete and asphalt it’s simply an issue of diverting water away from where it isn’t wanted, putting it out of sight and often out of mind. People often forget the situation which pertained in earlier times, when water from kitchens, washing, storms and even sewers was often simply sluiced down the middle of the street!

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SEPTIC TANK OWNERS

Times and technology have changed to make drainage a whole lot more hygienic, better engineered and more productive, but the challenges facing the rural landowner are still far more obvious, and more multi-layered than those which face the builders of urban homes. Chief among them is that drainage on the farm covers a whole variety of interlocking factors, all of which affect the ecosystem and the productivity of the land. Drainage in the rural sector, therefore, is a matter of smart water management — too little, and pasture and livestock suffer, as in this summer’s droughts. Too much, and the effects can be similarly catastrophic.

The first and most important factor of farm drainage, therefore, is the adequate drainage of pasture. Modern farmers are well aware of the implications of

waterlogging and the potential for fertilisers (including effluent dispersed by slurry tankers, for example) to run off into waterways. Pasture is the engine room of the farm, and a waterlogged pasture is more easily pugged up, harder to resow and regrow, and excess water fills the aeration space under the surface of the soil, ‘drowning’ the roots and tillers of feed.

Things to look out for include pooling of water on top of pasture, especially water which doesn’t evaporate or go away even on sunny winter days, a distinctive ‘rotten eggs’ smell coming up out of the soil, excessive pugging damage caused by relatively light livestock coverage, and of course the obvious tell-tale of feeder drains which can’t or don’t run, even after storms. A good drainage plan is essential, but it

How you can save money by keeping your septic system effective and healthy Septic tanks and multi-stage septic systems are delicately balanced environments. It does not take much to upset them. Common practice is to ignore the septic system until problems occur. Good and best economical practice is to always keep your septic system well maintained.

A malfunctioning septic system can become a health hazard.

When a system is not maintained or operated as a delicately balanced environment, problems occur.These problems include nasty odours, leach line blockages, untreated liquid rising to the surface, toilets gurgling and taking time to empty. At this stage your septic system is a serious health hazard to you and your children. Human waste produces faecal coliform bacteria, a source of viral and bacterial gastroenteritis as well as Hepatitis A and other diseases. Hepatitis can be a debilitating condition and cause long-term harm to children.

There are only three remedies.

One: stop using the septic system until it recovers.

This can take over a month and is not normally practical. Two: excavate your septic system and relocate it.This is very costly and time consuming, sometimes requiring new resource consents and different systems. Three: treat your septic system with Septi-Cure™ every six months.

Septi-Cure is Cost effective.

By far the most cost effective solution is to pour one litre of Septi-Cure™ down each toilet bowl every six months.This simple action will help keep your system working at top efficiency by reducing solids and scum. Instead of emptying your tank frequently, the reduction in solids and scum saves you expensive pump out costs.Your irrigation field and leach lines will become clear of slimes and blockages so nature can handle the gradual seepage and evaporation for you. When this is happening your system will be

operating effectively and not endangering you or your family’s health.

What is Septi-Cure™ Septi-Cure™ is a concentrated mixture of selected naturally occurring microorganisms.

These harmless tiny organisms live and multiply by feeding on waste material. When introduced to your septic tank system, they go to work straight away digesting waste material, reducing solids and scum, allowing your septic system to start operating to its maximum efficiency. As they progress through to your irrigation field they feed on the slimes that prevent seepage and evaporation. When seepage and evaporation return to normal, you have reduced the risk of contaminating groundwater and the environment as well as reducing the chances of infection for you and your family. Eventually, they get washed out of the system and have to be replaced to continue their work.This is why you introduce SeptiCure™ to your septic system every six months for maximum efficiency.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

11

Drainage a Problem is surprising that even in these times of GPS and satellite mapping, some people don’t know where all the drains on their properties run!

Pasture drainage is a costly but very necessary ingredient in the recipe for maximum pasture growth, so a good balance must be struck between the cost and the final benefit gained. The best place to begin is with a drainage plan drawn up by a seasoned professional, but don’t forget during this process that your land and that of your neighbours are part of a wider water table — a co-operative plan is always best, and shared information can mean less headaches for everyone in the long run. Your local council is sure to have resources on hand to help you with this kind of planning, as does the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Water management doesn’t stop with simply dispersing any excess which falls from the clouds. This summer has shown with brutal clarity that a good store of water is also worth its weight in gold, so now that the rains have come prudent farmers are working smart, with new

Finally, it pays to consider the drainage issues which exist much closer to home, because in the wet months the farm house itself is assailed by the weather too!

This is the season in which a robust water tank, pump and guttering system is really put to the test, and also the season during which your septic system has to handle the extra load, especially if, like many Kiwi tanks, yours combines ‘grey water’ and ‘black water’ in a single unit. dams filling up and new water catchment investments set to pay off in years to come. As dams fill with water, so too do effluent ponds — at a time of year when stricter regulations on the spreading of slurry mean that many applicators have one eye on the forecast and the other on the depth gauge of their ponds. Effluent is still a huge issue, environmentally and politically in the public eye, so many see the need for upgrades as inevitable, but savvy farmers have factored in the use of tankers to help manage their holding volumes with good results.

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methods; likewise, innovations in water storage, tank purification and guttering mean that these ‘backbone’ systems of home drainage can be inexpensively tuned up to handle the worst which nature can throw at them.

No matter what kind of drainage and water maintenance tasks you have to undertake this winter, there are plenty of experts you can turn to for assistance.

On these pages you’ll find a selection who have the experience, machinery and smart ideas to keep everything flowing smoothly, where you want it — and nowhere you don’t!

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12

July 2013 NORTHERN Farming Lifestyles

Hope is not a strategy...

How can you manage financial risk effectively?

Every time we buckle-up for a drive in our car, we face at least a faint possibility of something unexpected happening.

Putting on a seatbelt, following the road rules and controlling our driving speed are some of the many tools at our disposal to control the risks we face when we are behind the wheel.

The same is true for financial planning.

Creating a financial plan requires more than just identifying someone’s goals and objectives and putting an investment plan in place to achieve those aims.

It’s important; but equally important is identifying and managing any risks that may prevent someone’s financial plan from arriving at its chosen destination.

Some of the common financial risks facing you in retirement include: • A loss of investment capital, as it cannot be replaced by future salaried earnings • Longevity risk – accumulated savings

out

living

your

• The prospect of health insurance eventually becoming unaffordable For people who are working and have dependent children, one common risk is the impact that an unforeseen loss of income would have on a family’s quality of life.

Each of these risks has the potential to interfere with the success of a financial plan so, wherever possible, it’s important an appropriate risk management strategy

is put in place to mitigate that risk. Risk management doesn’t necessarily mean buying insurance, although this is often one of the options you can consider.

In general, risks can be controlled, retained or transferred. Choosing to ignore significant risks, or hoping that an identified risk doesn’t eventuate, is not recommended. You only have to look at the plight of uninsured homeowners in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes to be left in no doubt that “hope” is not an effective strategy for managing risk.

So, bearing in mind each of the above risk management options, let’s look again at some of those common financial risks we identified earlier.

In the case of the retirees who are unable to absorb periodic capital losses caused by fluctuating investment markets, a common solution will be to carefully control the level of investment risk taken.

in this account can be directed solely to the payment of future health expenses.

This approach would be considered an example of a risk that is retained by the individual, with the full costs to be met by them.

In the case of the couple who are working, the unexpected loss of income of the main bread-winner might arise from the permanent loss of a high-paying job due to a major health event, or perhaps an untimely loss of life. In these cases the identified risks can often be successfully transferred to an insurance company offering major trauma and/or income replacement insurance, or life cover.

To summarise, the most important thing from a risk management perspective is that once you have identified and quantified a potential risk factor, you will usually have at least one option at

Contributed by Spicers phone Leah or Sue on 09 407 7250 (Kerikeri and north) or Briar on 09 430 0345 (Whangarei and south)

your disposal to help mitigate the impact of this unwanted event occurring. If the potential risk is significant enough that it can seriously impact your future plans, then it’s generally not a good idea to just cross your fingers and hope for the best.

By implementing strategies to control, retain or transfer the different risks you have identified, you will ultimately be giving yourself the best possible chance of arriving intact at your chosen financial destination.

If you would like advice that takes into account your particular financial situation or goals, please contact Leah or Sue on 09 407 7250 (Kerikeri and north) or Briar on 09 430 0345 (Whangarei and south).

Longevity risk can also be effectively controlled by assessing the amount of income that can reasonably be generated by the available investment assets and establishing a sensible budget to live within this amount.

If health insurance eventually becomes too expensive and has to be given up, then an alternative approach might be to direct as much of the “saved” premium cost as possible into a designated bank account. Over time, the build-up of funds

Sue Richards

Leah Watson

Briar Burke

Briar Burke, Leah Watson and Sue Richards are Authorised Financial Advisers with Spicers. If you have any questions about this column or would like to speak to them about your situation phone Leah or Sue on 09 407 7250 (Kerikeri and north) or Briar on 09 430 0345 (Whangarei and south). DISCLAIMER: The information in this publication is of a general nature only and is no substitute for personalised advice. A disclosure statement is available on request and free of charge from Briar, Leah and Sue.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

A dog’s tail…

13

Attention Horse FloAt And Horse truck owners

A nees-up ina woolshed

WE DO

“Lookit tha pore littil beggars,” seda Boss. We was watchin’ that widescrean ina wool shed. It wuz ranin’ outside, but ona TV it was orl wite — Boss sed it wuz snow. Lookt bluddy cold ta me, eh?

Anyway, their wuz a hole lotta woolies trampin’ threw this snow stuff, an’ sum of them was disapeering cos it was so deep. Thas wen tha Boss sed wot he sed.

“Ya gotta beleeve it Dog. Theirs a lot ta bee sed about livin’ hear in tha winterliss north. We mite get a lotta rayn, but we don’t get a lotta snow, eh?

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Well, anyway readas, thats not orl I got ta tell you. Guess wot. Sharlene hada littil gerl last week! Yip. Tha Boss is a Dad, an’ I reckin he wuz wurried about tha sheep cos he’s gone all soft wile he wayts for Sharlene ana ankil bita ta come home.

We wuz ova tha run off wen Sharlene went ta hostipil. Her Mum, wot gives me extry tucker wen Boss not lookin’, wuz stayin’ hear ona proppitty, ‘cos Boss wuz consernd Sharlene mite go laborin wen we wuz away frum tha homested.

Shore unuff, Mum had put Sharlene ina ute an’ hed ta town without us. Sharlene’s doo home ina few days wiv that littil gerl. Thas good, cos Boss gunna need a day or to ta sraitin’ up tha woolshed enyway.

Ya see, wen he herd of tha ankil bita, Boss got ona fone ta tell ‘is mates. As yer no, tha lokil pub been closed fer renervashons, so nex’ thing ya no, ‘is mates are drivin’ ova tha kattil stop ata farm gate.

Their was the Plumba, Gazza, Chippa, Ray and Alby, even that ole naybor ofa Boss, Ruff Ralf. An’ ya gest it! Thay wuz loded up wiv a few crates an’ bottles. Nex’ thing ya now, Boss got tha jooce moosic TV ona widescrean, the barbecoo is bein’ stoked up, an’ it wuz orl on — as Ralf sed, “fer yung an’ old.”

Stay local, study at NorthTec SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT and HORTICULTURE In Northland there are many small rural communities who rely on the land to support their community and create economic opportunity.

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Well, Boss sed he wuz juss wettin’ tha ankil bitas hed.

Seemed a bit ofa weerd thing ta me. Why wood a littil gerl wanta a wet hed, an’ enyway, how cood we do that ina woolshed wen kid’s ina hostipal?

NorthTec offers people the opportunity to gain practical skills and knowledge by offering nationally recognised industry designed horticultural qualifications. The National Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3) has a nursery production focus and contains units that make up the Growsafe certificate for spraying.

It orl gotta bit much fer me, an wen Chippa started singin, an’ Boss started dancin’ roun’ with Ralf, an then tha Plumba startid burnin’ sum sossajis ona barbecoo, I rekind now I new wot they mean by ‘orl on fer yung an’ old.’

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Means win yer hava littil gerl, ya kin behave weerd. Anyway, wena Boss startid wobblin, an orl tha sossijis were gone, — I helpt their — ana beer run out, Ralf borried tha Boss’s kaittil truck, an’ cos’ he wuz only drinkin’ sarsprilla, he wuz tha safe driva fer orl tha blokes.

Boss juss slept ina old armcheer he uses fer footy on tha TV. I cerled up ona wool fadge.

Acterly, I reckin it mite be tha last nees-up wot tha Boss gunna have fer a wile. Sharlene an’ Mum ana littil gerl gunna be home soon.

Tell ya orl about it, nek time.

Cheers Billy

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14

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Fertility – to be or not to be

by John K Morris

One of our farmers who had been on our fertiliser programme for many years, entertained a discussion group on his farm which was led by an agro-chemical consultant.

There was a list of questions that our farmer had to answer and when they got to the infertility percentage, the farmer answered ‘none’. The consultant replied that he couldn’t go on without a number, so after some discussion the farmer reluctantly replied, ‘one’. In that area, the infertility percentage was as high as 25% at the time and as most farmers are trapped on the chemical treadmill, that percentage is most probably still rising.

The word fertiliser derives from the word fertile, which in the New Imperial dictionary states, fruitful, rich, abundant: to make fertile.

Now it’s blatantly obvious that the current agrochemical system is well off the mark on fertility and virtually heading in the opposite direction with the farmers paying heavily for animal sickness and infertility! Quote: ‘Lawes added sulphuric acid to

rock phosphate containing the mineral apatite, a calcium fluoro-phosphate. The resulting soluble phosphorus was able to significantly improve yields on a variety of crops at the Rothamstead Centre, and the superphosphate industry was born. Unfortunately, over decades of subsequent usage — it became clear that the solubilisation of fluorine also occurred in the process and this had the same effect as the other halogen sterilants, (chlorine, bromine and iodine) and over time — soil sterilisation’. (Source -1 www. cfsph.iastate.edu/BRM/resources/Disinfectants/ Disinfection101.pdf).

Fertility comes from food, via the stomach.

The more nutrient-dense the food the better it is recognised by the cells to build into energy, growth and production. What’s happening in the gut of

the animal and the gut of the human is the same thing that is happening in the soil, which acts as the gut or stomach of the plant. So, if you are bombarding your soils with acid fertilisers the soil gut will have a bad case of acid stomach and that will affect its performance, production and fertility. Also, compounding that is NPKs shortfall of all the other minerals that are essential for plant health and fertility. Figures out of the Waikato show empty cow rates in 1975 at 2.5–5.5%, in 2006 they were 5.5–7.5% and in 2011 17–25%. So, in the first 10 years from 1995 infertility doubled, then tripled in the next five years. That’s a 300% increase in fertility in five years — it’s ludicrous!

New Zealand agriculture has a magic opportunity to supply food to the premium markets of the planet and fetch top dollar returns. These premium markets call for safe, certified, nutritiously dense food, produced in an animal and ecologically friendly and sustainable way. The thing that is holding us back from these premium markets is agrochemical production, which has no chance of meeting any of the above criteria.

Agrissentials was set up twenty years ago to produce fertilisers that meet this growing, affluent consumer demand.

It all begins behind the farm gate, in the soil. Agrissentials have manufacturing plants in both the North and South Islands and representatives to cover these areas.

It is time to change — to produce top quality products — to increase the farms production and fertility — to be sustainable and protect our environment and all for the cost of our live, living, multi-mineral, microbial rich, natural fertilisers that do increase fertility.

To find out more about Agrissentials best on fertilisers phone 0800 THE KEY that’s 0800 843 539 today for a FREE INFO PACK or you can contact your friendly representative Ray Holland on 021 669 059 to find out how we can make your farm more successful.

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Generator sets available in open or acoustic units SERVICE, REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE OUR SPECIALITY Shaw Diesels Ltd, 13a Douglas Alexander Parade Albany, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Ph: + 64 9 414 7360 Fax: +64 9 414 7365 www.shawdiesels.co.nz

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

Gas & Tyre

brought to you by

A good investment plan

by Paul Campbell

Investment in a plantation forest provides something more than a mere monetary return.

Farmer Ric Martin recently harvested a stand of 22-year-old radiata pine on his Northland property, and says while the return was well worthwhile, there was also the knowledge the steep land use was sustainable and controlled erosion.

“And there was the carbon benefit, controlling greenhouse gases,” he says.

International demand for round-wood is projected to continue to grow, and

form a large part of Northland’s rural exports into the future. And that spells investment opportunities.

A study by Oregon based Resource Economics Inc predicted a shortfall of supply within the Pacific Region of 330 million cubic metres over ten years.

Chile, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are the main producers of wood from plantation forestry around

the Pacific Rim,and collectively their increased annual production in the past decade was predicted to be 30 million cubic metres.

It is worth noting then that if New Zealand timber prices have increased 5% per annum over the past 30 years, when world timber supplies were plentiful, what level of price increases can be expected over the next 30 years?

The majority of the New Zealand plantation forest industry is based on radiata pine and is likely to remain the main plantation in New Zealand.

15

SER V ICES

However there is an increasing interest in the use of exotic species capable of producing higher valued timber such as Douglas fir, various cypress and eucalyptus species and the Californian redwood.

Some New Zealand indigenous species are being established as well.

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We supply quality logs to mills and for export.

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Purchase any OmniSTAR™ signal on a section licence for just $650 and get 12 months peace of mind, increased driver comfort, greater efficiency and reduced input costs. For more information please call 0800 88 88 64.

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16

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Northern

FARM

Wheels July 2013

Battery additive

This legend just keeps getting better by our motoring correspondent

The word ‘legend’ is tossed about a lot these days, especially in the arena of motorsport.

Battery Revitalizer & Conditioner A lot of people in our Recharge Conditioning Program are getting 8 to 10 years out of their batteries. Just dose them when you buy them, treat them every two years and give them an overnight charge twice a year between treatments and eliminate the sulphation problem,

DO NOT RELY ON THE ALTERNATOR A car battery can be treated for around $5.

Available at :

0800 36 33 36 www.recharge.net.nz

Read the paper online www.farminglifestyles.co.nz YXR700 Rhino

Fuel Tank Capacity Final Transmission Transmission 4x4 System Ground Clearance Wet Weight

But there’s a select band of engineers, drivers, designers and innovators who truly deserve the title, and numbered among them must surely be a man who’s name is often seen at racing events, even though he’s long since passed on from this life.

California-born Mickey Thompson has given his name to a range of tyres and wheels geared up for serious competition and great looks, but few people know why the man himself was just such a legendary figure.

It begins with his quest for speed, and continues this day with those who carry on his legacy, crafting new technologies to win races and help

686cc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected beast makes this one the alpha Rhino.

Fuel Tank Capacity Oil Capacity Final Transmission Transmission

30 L Shaft drive Ultramatic® with engine breaking hi/lo/rev On-Command® 2WD/4WD and On-Command® front differential-lock 305 mm 540 kg with 30 litres of fuel

4x4 System Ground Clearance Wet Weight

$18,350+gst YZ450F

YFM450 grizzly

folks get more out of their machines.

Mickey was the first American to crack the 400 mile per hour barrier at the famous Bonneville flats, driving a car called the Challenger in 1960.

Kiwi Burt Munro would go on to make history on the very same track, but Mickey built Thompson and his team were at the cutting edge of tyre performance then, and the company which proudly carries his name still strives to break new ground today. On the 9th of July the manager of Mickey

421cc liquid-cooled, SOHC four-stroke single is rugged and powerful. Electric Power Steering system lightens steering for superior comfort and terrain ability.

15 L 2.6 L Shaft drive Ultramatic® V-belt with all wheel engine braking, H/L/N/R/P On-Command® 2WD/4WD, diff-lock 275 mm 287 kg with 15 litres of fuel

$12,600+gst

Engine Type Displacement Fuel Management Starter System Fuel Tank Capacity Transmission

Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4-valve 450 cc Fuel Injection Kick 6L 5-speed

YZ250F

Thompson’s New Zealand operations will be in town for a presentation at Gas and Tyre Services, talking about the latest in technology from the forefront of the offroad world.

YFM350 grizzly

The power-packed, full-featured Grizzly 350 Automatic 4x4 solid axle carries a lot of advanced Yamaha ATV technology in an affordable package. I Rugged and reliable 348cc

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14 L Shaft drive Ultramatic®, 1 reverse On-Command® 2WD/4WD 245 mm 262 kg with 14 litres of fuel

$9,400+gst Engine Type Displacement Fuel Management Starter System Fuel Tank Capacity Final Transmission

Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC, 5-valve, forward-inclined single cylinder 250 cc Keihin FCR-MX39 x 1 Kick 6.4 L Constant mesh 5-speed

4.99% $9,150+gst

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finance till the end of July TAP

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013 ADVERTORIAL

New paint technology peels away

17

method of painting, as well as some video footage of what can be achieved with this product.

If you want to upgrade your car’s look, but don’t want to worry about sanding, priming, base coating and airbrushing all Couriers, Plumbers, Up until now, painting your vehicle has been aCalling big decision. ‘for keeps’, then this is a must Chippies and Sparky’s!

Havepanels we got or thein tyre forany you. see innovation.

That salmon pink candy flake you your fenders, rims, fact ER-01 Ecovan thought looked so great at the hot rod part of your vehicle. And when you Callingpeels all Couriers, Plumbers, away, show might look amazing on your want a change, it simply Chippies and Sparky’s! $159 all Couriers, Plumbers, band-aid from Honda, but then again, if it didn’t you easier than ripping aCalling Have we got the tyre for you.

Chippies and Sparky’s! were left with big bill and a car which your arm and a lot less painfully!

Have we got the tyre for you. $169 was more an eyesore than eye candy.

The new technology forms a second $179 $159 from from It also took a professional with skin right over your original $169 $159 paint, $ $ 1 149 $179 39 to create thousands of dollars worth of airbrush and can even be layered $169 $179 Any equipment to do the job properly — camo, two-tone and fade effects. or at least a few hours of painstaking overspray can be peeled away, and as the paint naturally breaks at edges and masking up to avoid ugly overspray. from Now Dargaville Auto Electrical along the contour lines of your car, any $ 159 have discovered a new product which ‘extra’ just pulls right off windows or • Superior fuel Efficiency • Superior Durability they have brought to New Zealand — headlamps, for example.

• Cutting Edge Technology The website www.dipyourcar.com one which eliminates these issues. It’s effectively a ‘latex paint’, which wraps carries all the tech info about this new Fuel Saving The Ecovan is engineered to meet the needs of modern commercial vehicles with higher load capacity and a tread designed for longer life, deep grooves to give excellent braking on wet surfaces.

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The Ecovan is engineered to meet the needs The Ecovan is engineered to meet the needs Federal ER-01 Ecovan vehicles of modern commercial with higher of modern commercial vehicles with higher load capacity and a tread designed for longer 185R14 load capacity and a tread designed for longer life, deep grooves give excellent braking on To suit L300, Hiace,toEconovan, i-load life, deep grooves to give excellent braking on wet surfaces.

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18

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

FA R M W H E E L S

Taking the hard work out of a hard day’s riding

by Andy Bryenton

These days you’d never even consider buying a car without power steering.

Yet it wasn’t that long ago that even luxury supercars like the Ferrari F40 were designed and built without it. Now the same revolution is happening in a different automotive field — the world of ATV quads.

It’s one which is catching on, too, for a good reason. Farmers push their

quads to the limit (and sometimes deep into the mud as well) just to get through another day of hard yakka.

There’s no place for weakness in design or lack of power in the back blocks, and any advantage which can make a day’s work that little less gruelling is much appreciated.

FEnDt tractors

new styling and models technology leaders t 70hp to 396hp

Enter the Honda Foreman 500 — part of the Japanese manufacturer’s range of serious, no-nonsense rural ATVs, and sitting in the ‘sweet spot’ of weight and power for Kiwi farmers.

Bryant tractors ractors L LtD

38 Rewa Rewa Road, Raumanga, Whangarei, Phone: 09 438 1319 Murray 027 490 9379 Ivo 027 368 3920 rex 027 490 9826 E-mail: admin@bryanttractors.co.nz Web: www.bryanttractors.co.nz

*Finance terms and conditions apply. Subject to stock availability.

Pricing is subject to change. Promotion ends 30th September 2013.

With the addition of power steering this machine makes easy work of all-day riding, taking the stress and strain off the rider’s body and instead letting the tough chassis and suspension of the Foreman 500 take the knocks. Honda’s formula for the perfect ATV quad has been refined slowly generation after

XR125 Duster

generation, and the 2013 Foreman boasts more little innovations to augment its willing, reliable engine, massive load space and high ground clearance.

Bigger guards keep the mud where it should be — on the ground, not the rider. A powerful third headlamp lights up the dark on those early winter mornings.

And of course there’s that power steering system… one slice of modern tech you’ll thank Honda for after a long day’s work.

3

$ ,477 +GST

CTX200

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KaiTaianoRwood TRacTORS Redline FaRm machineRy Redline FaRm machineRy Kaitaia tRactoRs FaRm machineRy DARGAVILLE KAITAIA KAITAIAcentRe WHANGAREI DARGAVILLE Ph: 3266 Ph: 09 408 0670 Ph: 0670 09 438 4719 Ph: 09 408 Ph:0909439 439 3266

10,999

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FROM

+GST

For more information, visit our websites www.honda-motorcycles.co.nz • www.hondadeals.co.nz Kerikeri Mid North Honda, SH10, Waipapa, Ph 09 407 7736 Kaitaia Archibald Motors, 143 Commerce St, Ph 09 408 1900 Whangarei Planet Honda, 20 Port Road, Ph 09 438 9780 Dargaville Dargaville Honda, Jervois St SH14, Ph 09 439 1089 Warkworth Honda Warkworth, 10 Morrison Drive, Ph 09 425 9498

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

19

FA R M W H E E L S

New Ranger leads the way The world’s largest manufacturer of off-road vehicles has continued its lead with with the launch of a very wellreceived Ranger 900 XP. “Polaris Industries has added the new model to take the brand’s industry-leading Ranger off-road utilities and side-bysides to a staggering 16 unique models,” says Australia and New Zealand country manager, Brad Wolstenholme.

“Powered by a four-stroke, twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled 900cc ProStar engine, pushing out 60hp, the 900 XP boasts classleading torque and smooth power through the rpm range thanks to its dual overhead cam design and counterbalancing, not to mention electronic fuel injection.

“It also has a whopping 26.9cm front and 25.4cm rear suspension travel, ondemand true all-wheel drive and fourwheel hydraulic disc brakes with dual-bore front calipers. You have never been able to do more, and do it more easily, than with the 900 XP, which has a rear box capacity of 454kg and a towing capacity of a staggering 907kg.

“The model also comes complete with premium rims and tyres, a sliding seat and tilt steering, deluxe seats and a custom paint package. There is 30.5cm of ground clearance, seating for three and a stronger, higher torsional stiffness, chassis. It also has electronic power steering.”

hard-working, Polaris equipped it with a high capacity battery and new stator for 30 percent more electrical power to run more accessories at one time. The unit also features a new, easier to install winch mount for faster installation of one of the most popular accessories for a work vehicle.”

Also on the Ranger 900 XP extensive features list were new Lock and Ride Pro-Fit cab accessories. The cab frame features profile tubing, providing a 360-degree sealing surface for every cab component.

“Windshields, roofs, doors and rear panels follow the shape of the vehicle, locking directly into the cab frame’s precision contours. The completely redesigned cockpit fits three people more comfortably and offers classleading ergonomics.”

Ranger Diesel

Mr Wolstenholme added that to complement the ProStar engine, the Ranger 900 XP features a new, durable drivetrain built to handle this model’s higher horsepower. Storage is also important for work applications and it offers the most storage in its class.

“For easier accessibility, the new under-seat storage features flip-up access giving the operator increased and easier-accessible storage inside the cab.

Outside the cab, there is a new harder working cargo box featuring more tie-down points, easily-inserted box dividers and a smoother gate release. It has a wide range of accessories available for a variety of work applications. To ensure the unit is

Sports Roof and Half Screen not shown

The RANGER 900 XP is available in sunset red.

To book a test ride with your local dealer, visit www.polaris.co.nz.

Affordable Trailers Boat Trailers 10ft to 27ft boats | Box Trailers 7x4 to 12x6

162 Foundry Road, Silverdale Freephone 0800 162 500 Email sales@xpresstrailers.co.nz Mobile 027 228 8803

Wrack Auto & Aegis Oil have teamed up to service Northland With an exceptional product & service.

Check out the great range of Aegis products in our showroom.

209L of Super Tractor Oil Universal only $950 incl 20L of Truck Wash only $99 incl Chain bar Lube : Two Stroke & Outboard Oils Anti freeze : Brake Fluid : Motorcycle & ATV Oils Hand cleaner Xtra (With Pumice) : Kerosene : Long Life Organic Antifreeze : Super Solv Degreaser : Gear Oils Grease : Hydraulic Oils : Motor Oils : Transmission Oils Northland Distributors of: MS1420

Parts and Services

22 Rewa Rewa Road | 0800 326 987 | Email: boytd@norwood.co.nz Whangarei

Simon Millan – Whangarei millans@norwood.co.nz 027-618 3183

Graham Denize – Whangarei denizeg@norwood.co.nz 027-450 2757

John Field – Kaikohe fieldj@norwood.co.nz 027-497 9929

0800 497 225 www.wrackauto.co.nz 34 Gumdigger Place, Whangarei

20

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Dairying Soil Matters with Peter Burton

Why it’s a privilege working with farmers The wealth of this country is determined by the amount of humus contained in the top 25cm of the soil.

It’s often been said that weight for weight humus is more valuable than gold.

By increasing the amount of humus in the soil you significantly increase the amounts of both moisture and nutrients that are able to be stored

resulting in increased yields of higher quality. Quantity and quality come in the same basket. We could survive without gold however ancient civilisations have been destroyed as a result of the loss of the soil they relied on for their food.

Farmers are therefore the custodians of our future prosperity and having been able to provide them with both product

Cowshed alterations & repairs

• Heavy Duty Steel Bar Gates • Stockyard Gates • Backing Gates Drive Units • Top Gates - Circular & Rectangular • Head Bails Water Tippers • Drafting Systems & Holding Pens • Pipe, Steel & 47 Pipiwai Rd, Kamo, Whangarei - ph: 09 435 3152 Concrete Work email: info@nmi.co.nz - www.nmi.co.nz • Bin Covers & Re Roof Northland Metal • Cow Retainer Systems Industries Ltd. • Vet Platforms

NMI

ADR 500 Effluent Screening Plant

r All plant and pumps very low kW r Self cleaning screen r Self cleaning ponds

and advice over the last twenty one years is both a privilege and a pleasure.

Many people believe the next breakthrough in soil fertility will come as an additive, captured in a container that when added to ‘fertiliser’ will be capable of solving all our problems.

It simply won’t happen like that. Our knowledge will increase and significant new information will be discovered however the notion that a single product can be developed that will cure all the current problems, particularly those around soil and water quality is at best naïve.

The solution to the steady degradation of our soils resulting in increased Nitrate Nitrogen and other nutrient in our water will come as a result of a number of small steps being taken, and we already know several of them. We know that by improving the physical soil structure of pastoral soils total pasture production increases.

The spread of growth throughout the season becomes more even, and the necessity for the renewal of 15% or more of the total farm pasture each year steadily declines.

With improved soil structures humus is created more rapidly resulting in increased nitrogen able to be stored.

Plant roots are able to penetrate more deeply intercepting greater amounts of nutrient before it leaks into groundwater.

Less nutrient, particularly fertiliser nitrogen is able to be applied, and the

cost of production steadily declines.

The key to driving soil fertility through improved soil structures lies with increasing plant available calcium.

More readily available calcium increases earthworm activity and physical structures steadily improve.

At this time of the year increasing calcium by applying lime may lead to calcium/magnesium imbalances in animals calving or lambing in spring, however there is a natural product that when applied prior to spring markedly reduces the incidence of these problems while stimulating earthworm activity.

Golden Bay Dolomite contains 11.5% magnesium and 24% calcium, therefore a magnesium fertiliser, and when applied at 250kg/ha where magnesium is required has an unsurpassed ability to improve overall animal performance.

Dolomite by its very nature is also a powerful soil conditioner improving the ability of soils to drain more freely during winter while retaining more moisture over summer. This naturally occurring rock found only at Golden Bay provides a wide range of benefits, and with use of nitrogen already regulated in some areas now is an ideal time to start the process of improving soil health and reducing the reliance on expensive fer tiliser inputs.

For more information, please call Peter on 0800 436 566.

COVERED BY N.Z. PATENT APPLICATION No. 591985

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

Dairying HOOF TRIMMING SERVICES, EQUIPMENT & TRAINING

Hoof Print with Fred Hoekstra

Does your cow have the “Winter Blues”?

At this time of the year we trim quite a few cows that have been dry for five to six weeks. Most of those cows have haemorrhaging in their hooves. I was on a farm yesterday and the haemorrhage was quite severe. How can that be physical damage?

Those cows have been on soft ground for a long time and they are still showing significant haemorrhaging.

A cow’s hoof generally grows at a rate of 5 mm per month, which means that if the sole of the claw is about 7 mm thick the whole sole is almost completely replaced. Some farmers may think that if the corium (live tissue) is damaged before drying off, it may take a few weeks to heal up before it starts growing a healthy hoof because the physical forces have been minimised.

This may be true, but when you have a lame cow that has a major under run then it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks for the corium to heal and begin to grow healthy hoof to the extent that it is strong enough to be walked on comfortably without any haemorrhage present. If the cow is not lame to start off with then the corium should grow good healthy

hoof a lot faster, yet when you follow the haemorrhage down by making the sole a bit thinner, then the haemorrhage is still being formed 5 to 6 weeks into the dry period.

How can you explain that from a physical damage point of view? The evidence again points to the problem coming from the inside and the cause is more likely to be from diet and stress. A lot of the cows are on winter crops and for most that meant a major change of diet. The stress levels are also increased when cows are ankle deep in mud. They can’t lie down and be comfortable so they spend a lot more time standing.

Don’t underestimate the effect this stress has on a cow. I know that there can be issues from a management point of view but it still needs to be addressed and minimised as much as possible.

That may well need to be addressed at sowing time. Cows need a place to lie down other than the paddock where the winter crop is planted. If there is bad weather coming (and what winter does not have bad weather?) the cows at least can lie down and rest. If there are no dry, sheltered places maybe there should be an area left in pasture. I can hear some of you thinking that I am not realistic. Maybe I’m not, but we do need to look after our cows. Even if it costs money, we still have a moral obligation towards our animals. However, if you look after your cows, your cows will look after you. If you don’t look after the cows during the winter time, then you will pay for it later on in the year.

21

22

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Dairying Ross Livestock

Top Quality Hereford Service Bulls Available • Livestock Auctions • Paddock Sales Works Cattle • Woolsales Fertiliser Needs

Operating from Parua Bay All profits retained locally 1% of sales donated to charitable trust Contact Murdoch Ross (owner) 09 436 5828 or Mike Bryham (Buyer) 09 436 5691

email: rosslivestock@gmail.com

Read the paper online www.farminglifestyles.co.nz

Good land management is a long-term commitment

by Bob Cathcart, Land Management Specialist, Northland Regional Council

We have recently been reviewing some old soil conservation projects, works carried out 40 or more years ago, and one thing that’s clearly emerged is they’re not one-off tasks.

These are long-term projects that require ongoing management and maintenance to achieve the outcomes the landowner expects — and that ongoing commitment needs to be planned for.

Some of these old soil conservation projects began to have effect in months, and some took years before achieving

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their full benefit. Irrespective, the projects all require ongoing work to continue providing those benefits. It is not a matter of planting a tree or erecting a fence and walking away.

Good land management is a longterm commitment, which we’ve also seen illustrated through our involvement in distributing poplar and willow poles for controlling soil erosion and slips.

Landowners were encouraged to plant their poplar and willow poles more closely than would finally be needed because of potential losses, poles being knocked over by cattle or a few dying in dry years. Once the poles were well-established, it was expected that landowners would follow up with thinning of unwanted trees, pruning those that remained to ensure good growth form, vigour and stability.

Many landowners are managing and maintaining their trees well. They paced themselves, restricting the number of poles planted each year to what they could manage. Trees are pruned in late summer and autumn, when stock will clean up leaves and lighter branches, so the trees hold the land but don’t shade too much pasture. Some have even been able to fell poplars for timber.

New poplar poles have been planted to maintain land stability as the roots of the old trees die out.

Others landowners have done very little, now complaining that the trees are shading too much pasture. All the poplars and willows have been cleared from one particularly unstable piece of land, setting it up for some very active earthflows when the tree roots die.

The need for maintenance and ongoing management applies equally to some of the new projects we are promoting. Fencing streams to exclude cattle is not a one-off task. To be effective, the fences will need to be maintained, particularly in flood-prone areas, and weeds such as privet, gorse and woolly nightshade will need to be controlled. Riparian management is an ongoing project.

Let’s learn from these old projects and ensure soil conservation and water quality management projects are well maintained. Don’t under-estimate the work required to keep your environmental management projects doing what they are designed to do, whether they are effluent management systems, erosion control works or riparian management.

ON SITE DIESEL REFUELLING TM

ON-SITE DIESEL REFUELLING

Tony Noonan 021 279 5863 A/H 09 438 4485 E: tony.noonan@xnet.co.nz | 14 Kereru St, Maunu, Whangarei

Livestock

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

23

ADVERTORIAL

More reason than ever to use Starter “Plus” Dairy farmers in most areas of the country will be watching their cow’s health more closely this season thanks to the climatic challenge of a summer they would rather forget.

Many have experienced the late summer drought that severely affected pasture growth, and now coupled with low winter temperatures, grass growth may not be sufficient to get condition back onto those cows in time for spring calving.

This means that in many cases, cow condition will be lower than desirable and effective transitional management will be critical to prevent stressed cows falling off the metabolic cliff.

This is where Starter “Plus” comes into its own.

The need for Starter “Plus” to help bridge the energy gap, and provide calcium and magnesium, will be greater than ever.

Any method of preventing the nuisance of downer cows is hugely beneficial in reducing the time involved, cost of treatment, and loss of

production and reproductive problems associated with downers.

It is important that all animals are treated with Starter “Plus” as soon as possible after calving.

The benefits include reduced metabolic problems, appetite stimulation, and a quicker transition into full production. Starter “Plus” can also be used to supplement cows with reduced appetites because of illness.

The key to the success of Starter “Plus” is the type of ingredients providing the energy boost.

• MPG (mono propylene glycol) provides instant energy which is absorbed directly from the rumen.

• Molasses is then metabolised in the rumen to produce glucose which kicks in after the MPG. • Oil and By-pass fats which pass through the rumen into the small

intestine before being metabolised in the liver provide an energy kick 8–12 hours later.

Starter “Plus” is the original, proven, starter drench, with over 2 million doses sold since it was first brought onto the market. With a high energy content that translates into a low cost per mega-joule of energy and trouble free flow characteristics, using Starter “Plus” gives peace of mind with a smoother transition into full production.

POST PEELINGS DRY SHAVINGS WET SHAVINGS ** AVAILABLE NOW ** Only bulk container loads delivered

Ideal for wintering pads, landscaping etc.

Ph 0508 4 POLES (476 537)

EADON HIGHLAND FOLD FOR SALE

EADON Highland Cattle

Members of New Zealand Highland Cattle Society

www.eadon.co.nz

PEDIGREE HIGHLAND CATTLE | BULLS, COWS AND HEIFERS

Doug & Jenny Sheldon 108 Kanohi Rd, Kaukapakapa, North Auckland Phone 09 420 4065 / 021 938 641 email jenny.sheldon@xtra.co.nz

24

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Livestock ADVERTORIAL

A simple solution with clear results Just over a year and a half ago Matakohe farmers Sheryl and Peter Tonkin struck upon a solution to the problem of clogged filters, weeds and other nasties associated with their rural dams and streams.

Dam Weed Guard Keep Your Water The Best It Can Be • Are you having trouble with rubbish getting into your farm pump?

• Weeds building up on your water filter? • Algae blocking your water lines?

Dam Weed Guard

• Floats in your water supply (dam/creek) • Protects your filter from weeds & floating debris

Chlorine Tablet & Dispenser

• Prevents most algae build up & blockages

Stainless Steel Screen

• Filters your water supply

So well in fact that recently Sheryl and Peter have bought the business, diversifying their busy sheep and beef operation to now include the promotion and supply of the Dam Weed Guard to farmers, lifestyle block owners and other rural folk all over New Zealand.

FAR NORTH

BUILDING CENTRE Fencing Promotion FREE Beanie Fencing with every 4 coils

!

$78 +G

Battens 50x40 No1 1.1m

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A recent trip to the National Fieldays was a great success, with many farmers curious as to what the bright yellow

Sheryl and Peter Tonkin

and pink devices were all about — the Dam Weed Guard is usually a more modest shade of black, but for the big event they were dyed in vivid colours to attract attention.

Take a closer look at this great little local invention and you’ll see that it’s got all the hallmarks of a winning design — inexpensive, simple to operate, robust, and best of all, fit for its purpose in all kinds of environments. By taking in water from the cleanest, purest space in the dam, the Dam Weed Guard does exactly what it says on the box, guarding your pumps, piping and reticulation from clogging and costly repairs, while guaranteeing a flow of fresh, healthy water to sustain the life of the farm. Check it out in more detail at www.damweedguard.co.nz.

Your Calf Bedding Specialists

$1.0 +G

See instore for more deals.

Enquire about Farm Buildings

Sheryl and Peter were impressed with how the simple, floating device provided a neat and elegant ‘fix’ to their dam issues, protecting the water supply from fish, eels, weeds and algae. The addition of a purifying chlorine tablet keeps nasties at bay while the robust ‘no moving parts’ design can happily bob in the dam rain or shine, season after season without the need for extensive maintenance.

“The guard saves time on having to clean the filter out and stops weeds and fish life getting into the filter,” says Sheryl.

“It’s such a simple idea, but it works so well!”

Contact: Peter and Sheryl Tonkin P: 09 4317276 • M: 027 353 7274 • www.damweedguard.co.nz

Fencing Wire 2.50mm HT 25kg

The answer was an innovative little product invented by local man Gordon Speedy, who, in the best tradition of the Kiwi innovator, had developed the Dam Weed Guard without the multimillion dollar budget of a multinational company, to fit a need he saw on rural properties.

0

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22 Karamea Road, Mangonui, 09 406 0048 sales@fnitm.co.nz Promo Period: 1/6/2013 to the 31/7/2013

O R D E R T O D AY 0800 433 748

For all your livestock needs, contact your

local buyer

AreA

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After hours

Brett Innes

0274 743 041

09 423 8176

Gary May

021 971 502

09 408 0469

Brad nattrass

021 332 979

09 945 7293

Brady collinson

021 984 815

09 437 6663

terry north

0274 841 823

09 439 5902

Kelly Graham

021 341 817

0800 600 222

Freephone 0800 233 2669

northern Whangarei

russell collinson

021 726 153

09 437 6613

Freefax 0800 329 225

kaikohe

Murdoch Phillips

021 954 282

09 402 6944

Email lcs@affco.co.nz

regional manager northern northland kaikohe north southern Whangarei dargaville northern auckland

competitive prices | top service | premium markets

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

Livestock

at levels of around 440 cents clean at the very coarse edge and up to around 480 or more dependent on micron for finer fleece types.

Wool Perspective From Rob Cochrane GM, Procurement, PGG Wrightson Wool

Short supply drives prices upward Both the Kiwi dollar’s value against the US dollar and crossbred wool prices are currently at similar levels to where they were at this time last year.

However the greasy wool supply side of the ledger is distinctly different to last year when there was a large quantity of wool unsold. This was due to grower resistance to the previously low prices, and wool weights for Autumn shorn clips were very good due to the growing season.

Another major factor affecting growerowned wool stocks last year was that income levels from sheep meat were extremely positive, a vast difference from this season to date, allowing some growers the luxury of holding wool until a better market vibe was evident. Prices for all types improved substantially

BENMOHR

RED DEVON STUD

throughout the month of May and into early June this year with, for many types, increases of around 5% from one auction to the next common place.

Crossbred fleece prices achieved at the last auction prior to writing, were

THE ONE STOP ALPACA SHOP

S

For all enquiries please contact Jean & Alasdair McLaughlan 1817 Mangakahia Rd, Titoki

09 433 1170

The range of prices across all types, in my opinion, highlights the necessity for growers to ensure that every main line of wool they sell is fully tested to ensure maximum value is achieved.

The fine wool market has also enjoyed improvement of late with Australian brokers reporting good price increases across a range of types during the early part of June.

Similar to the supply shortage in New Zealand, Australian wool auction sales have recently contained only limited quantities and, in fact, during the week of June 3 to 7 a mere 23,500 bales

Group visits welcome!

Bed & Breakfast Alpaca Clothing & Gifts 107 Monk Road RD 1 Helensville website: www.waitakerealpacas.co.nz email: info@waitakerealpacas.co.nz ph 09 420 2185

were offered at auction, the smallest offering for approximately twelve months. Also similar to our situation, the Australian dollar has weakened in value against it’s US counterpart and, during the same week, dropped to below $US0.95 for the first time in more than 24 months.

Whilst the hype of a buoyant auction certainly gives growers hope, pricing of wool still has a wee way to go to inject solid belief back into sheep farming but, along with better prices anticipated for lamb meat next season, if wool prices can maintain their slow but sure improvements the industry may have a reprieve?

That’s my view.

Winter SALE!

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The smaller than previous quantities of genuine crossbred lambs wool offered (ie not long woolly hogget types) at the same sale returned prices of between approximately 430 cents clean at the coarser edge around 32 microns through to about 600 cents clean at the 27 micron end. Crossbred oddments sold to extreme levels with many lines returning very close to body wool prices, on a clean price basis.

25

Available in bulk, sling bags or 30kg bags.

High quality, heavy duty designs • Kitsets with durable treated timber, galvanised hardware & quality roofing iron • Skid mounted, relocatable, tow or lift • Paddock shelters ideal for calves, goats, ponies, donkeys, alpacas & other livestock • Easy assembly with step by step instructions

HMS253 - 3.6m x 2.5m Usually $2935 NOW $2795

HMS251GR - 5.8m x 2.5m Usually $4499 NOW $4250

KitSEtS DElivERED NatiONWiDE Freight FREE to your nearest freight depot!

Phone Dave for a price.

Gra nco Northland David Wordsworth P. 09 439 1742 F. 09 439 1725 M. 0274 983 836

0800 688 767

www.outpostbuildings.co.nz

Bridge Building & piling specialists Meet Your Local Wool Representative at PGG Wrightson Wool

We offer design & Build for Bridges including plans, permits, consents and construction.

Want to find the best way to market your wool?

Or see us to strengthen and repair your existing bridge to ensure safe access on your property.

contact: gHK piling

phone: 09 435 4443 Fax: 09 435 2469

Expertise is only a phone call away PGG Wrightson Wool Ltd handles in excess of 350,000 bales annually through its wool store network strategically positioned around New Zealand and its export company Bloch and Behrens.

address: 3 pipiwai road email: admin@ghk.co.nz Kamo, Whangarei Web: www.ghk.co.nz

Lance Paganini Malcolm Todd

Whangarei Auckland

027 5986755 027 5904831

26

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

What is biological farming?

The Reams Soil Tests, which test for plant available nutrients, are showing that our soils are depleted of the minerals needed to grow good quality food for ourselves and our animals.

Soil Test used in conjunction with an acid based soil test gives the farmer/grower a clear picture of the plant available nutrients and the total nutrients in your soil. Soil Foodweb testing is showing that our soils have little life in them and what life there is — is bacterial.

Bacterial dominated soils are good for pioneer ecosystems — which grow weeds and lichens. Weeds grow to re-vegetate the soil, to prepare it for more complex plants such as pasture and trees. If you want to grow pasture, your soil needs to be balanced between bacterial and fungal. If you want to

grow fruit trees, your soil will need to have more fungi than bacteria.

Trying to grow plants in the wrong part of the Successional Time Line (for example growing fruit trees in a 1:1 bacterial/fungal system better suited to pasture, or growing pasture in a bacterial dominated soil where lichens and weeds should be growing), will produce sick plants that get attacked by insect pests. Also, every time we spray weeds, we are putting our soils back in the successional timeline to where pasture/fruit trees are not designed to grow (opening them up to disease and insect attack). SEE TABLE ABOVE.

Bare Rock

Sour grasses Weeds

Bacterial

Pasture

Fruit trees Vines

Herbs Shrubs

1:1 Bacterial:Fungal

Mature Forest

Fungal

Pioneer Ecosystem

Climax Ecosystem

Standard agricultural agricultural practices keep sending system back towards “bare rock” eg. spraying, acid fertilisers, cultivation etc.

(Based on work of Dr Elaine Ingham)

We also need to re-inoculate our soils with the beneficial soil microbes needed to cycle these nutrients to the plants.

Environmental Fertilisers sell beneficial soil microbes and a lot of our fertilisers are inoculated with these microbes to start building the soil biology on your farm as you fertilise — to rejuvenate the soil biology and get them working again.

In biological farming we are aiming for soil microbes to cycle minerals to supply all the nutritional requirements of our plants. However, to take our soils which are depleted of soil life and the minerals needed to grow plants, to a level where the microbes are cycling the nutrients, we need to first nurture them. We need to supply nutrients in a plant available form that will not be readily leached by the first rainfall.

Biological Fertilisers Save money & protect the environment

Lichens

Soil Force / Soil Mag Phosphate & magnesium fertilisers that are readily available to the plants.

IF YOU ARE BUILDING IN THE COUNTRY AND WANT THE BEST

WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM AVAILABLE, CHECK OUT THE

BIOCYCLE 8000 FROM

bio YCLE

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TREATMENT SYSTEMS

BIOCYCLE SOUTH LTD Phone 0800 246 292 or 03 359 4443

One of the only Aerated Wastewater Treatment Systems designed to exceed all standards

Re-Charge / Nano-Cal / Multi-Cal Non-leaching calcium-carbon fertilisers.

email: info@biocycle.co.nz

Stock Primer – Mineralised Carbon Drench / Water Treatment Build immunity, suppress pathogens; e.g. Rotovirus, E. Coli, for as little as 4¢ per cow/day. Add to calf milk (1ml /L milk).

www.biocycle.co.nzfi Co na mp nc e ea va i

Fish Plus / Humus Builder / Cal-Phos / Activated Carbon Foliars & more The fast way to increase soil humus and biological activity – from $12 - $40 /ha Humates Increased water retention/ nutrient release – from $380 - $800/t Soluble Humate Granules Halve N costs – from $700/t

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REAMS SOIL TESTING The only test that shows what nutrients are available for plants.

CLAAS AXOS is everything you want in an everyday tractor and more. Its smart European design and engineering will ensure that your day is as productive and comfortable as it is long.

Competitive finance available

The CLAAS AXOS 320 ROPS features:

CONTACT US 0800 867 6737 www.ef.net.nz

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4.4 Ltr, 87hp engine

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Select the optional front end loader or PTO and AXOS becomes and even more versatile and efficient work platform - available in ROPS or Cab. Contact us today or see us at Mystery Creek, site #M62-68 and secure your order for spring. * ROPS only, FEL not included

CLAAS Harvest Centre www.claasharvestcentre.co.nz NORTHLAND Shane Powley Skip Edwards

021 460 803 021 460 802

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

27

Ask The Professionals THE

FITTER TYRES OF

TRUCKS, TRACTORS & MACHINERY For prompt service phone

Rob Butler

021 844 181 or 437 3936 PO Box 139 Whangarei www.walsholes.co.nz

WAL’S DIGGERS, HOLES & BOBCATS Serving Northland for 28 Years Diggers • Track & Wheel Bobcats with Tilting Buckets • Hiab Truck - 4 wheel drive • Tip Trucks • Landscape Rake • Holes to 1 metre diameter - up to 13 metres deep • Tree & Scrub Mulching • Vibrating Roller & Plate Compactors • All Grades Metal, Scoria & Topsoil • Pot Hole & Corrugation Removal • Concrete & Rock Breaker • Offal Holes • Trenching • Excavation • Retaining Walls

Ph/Fax 4373936 Mob 021 932 225

www.walsholes.co.nz

Driveway StabliSation

OFFAL HOLES

We will rotary hoe cement into the surface wet down and roll with vibrating roller.

from Henderson to Far North

Phone

Wal’s Holes Please phone for a quote

09 437 3936 • 021 932 225 and see it on our website

09 437 3936 or 021 932 225

www.walsholes.co.nz

Tank WaTer

Filling Cleaning Sanitising Leaky Tanks Repaired Health Board Approved

Wals WaTer services 09 437 3936

www.walsholes.co.nz

021 932 225 www.walsholes.co.nz

An extensively used phosphate for all farming types • P 10.25% (pH 8+) Calcium (26%), Silica (10%) • Negligible leaching and runoff (non water soluble) • Healthier, soil, plants and stock • High P availability = lower application rates • Help release fixed P • Excellent nutrition provided over 12 months • Blend with most ferts and lime

Why wouldn’t you use it? not just any Phosphate

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For more information on how our expertise can benefit you please enquire now and contact us today!

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28

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Animal Health & Nutrition

A shampoo success story For All Your Animal Nutritional Needs:

Answering a friend’s request for a soap to alleviate a pet’s flea allergy has grown from a garden shed hobby business into a full-time role for Northland woman, Jules Smith, who moved to Whangarei a few years ago for a change in pace from her busy corporate role in Auckland.

MOLASSES - CDS SYRUP - CDS/MOLASSES BLEND - PKE - DDGS - CANOLA MEAL - SOYABEAN MEAL - DAIRY BLENDS - MEAL - MIXES and MORE Phone Nutritional Services Ltd 0800 278 214

For competitive prices, prompt and reliable service

A new design, as a result of two years consultation with DOC! A better, more effective, light weight and easy-to-use trap that anyone can use!

For use wherever possums are present.

From the manufacturers of the DOC Series 100,200 and 250 Traps.

sales@trapinator.co.nz

Passes Nawac humane guidelines!

or ph 09 5794089 or stop in to our factory 7A Carmont Pl, Mt Wellington, Auckland

To place your order or request more information email

Wilco 2003 ltd Manufacturers of

Meal Feeders • Hay Feeders • Troughs • ATV Trailers • Motorcycle Trailers

Her business, WashBar, has led to the finals of this year’s Rural Women’s Business Awards, designed to celebrate entrepreneurial rural women and she has also won business awards.

“The business began when I was handmaking bars of soap in a garden studio and selling a few to pay for supplies,” said Jules.

“A girlfriend asked me to develop a soap for her dog who suffered dreadful flea allergies, so I did a little research and developed a soap for her which had impressive results.

“Then I did some research on the dog market and discovered allergies and problem skin are common issues. I realised I couldn’t make enough in my garden studio, so I found a manufacturer to produce my recipe in bulk and WashBar was born.”

Since then products have expanded to a range of coat care solutions for dogs and horses, and this month sees the release of a range of 100% Natural Dog Shampoos.

“Now you’ll be able to wash your pet with shampoo that is more natural than you can buy for yourself,” says Jules.

Late last year she convinced her husband Pete to wind up his agricultural fencing business and join WashBar fulltime. “It was such a relief to get him off those steep hills and behind a desk.”

Although she concedes that he now spends a great deal of time behind the wheel of a car looking after the 355 stockists across New Zealand as well as regularly flying to Australia now they are exporting there.

The couple have their sights firmly fixed on export growth so more travel is in the offing.

Horse & Hound Shampoo Bar

EZI Load CharIot

Hay & Meal Feeder

Palm Kernel Trough

Contact Gary on 0508 4WILCO (0508 494526) P 07 322 8196 • E wilco2003ltd@xtra.co.nz W www.wilcoengineering.co.nz

over a litre of shampoo in a solid bar made with natural ingredients helps clear mudfever & rain scald

www.washbar.co.nz for your nearest stockist

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

29

Animal Health & Nutrition The best ‘fuel’ for the farmer’s best friend Since the dawn of farming in New Zealand those in the rural sector have relied on their dogs for a variety of tasks — from the high country, where skilled huntaways muster the herds, to the bush where hunting dogs fearlessly lead the chase for boar.

In fact, there are as many jobs for a working dog as there are for the farmer himself, and that makes for a hard day’s work, often for no greater reward than a bowl of tucker and a scratch between the ears.

Farmers have come to realise that their dogs need good nutrition to work at optimum capacity, and in recent years science has proven the old adage true — you get our of your working dog what you put in. A handful of biscuits or the odd offcut or two are no longer the be all and end all of the rural hound’s menu, and at the forefront of development of a new breed of feed is 100 percent Kiwi owned company Mighty Mix. What began as a family effort to ‘fuel’ the hard-working dogs of a high country station during the harsh winter of 1992 has become a nationwide success story, with distributors all over New Zealand now stocking the specially formulated blend of whole

foods, designed just for the canine digestive system and physiology.

It’s all about the same natural inputs which make for healthy humans as well — quality ingredients which pack in a whole lot of energy.

The big difference is that hardworking dogs need more fat in their diet than we do. Farm dogs need plenty of readily metabolisable energy — up to 4,000 calories to the kilogram just to put in a full day’s work and remain in top condition. Some dog foods can’t provide this ratio, and hence dogs simply can’t eat enough in one day to remain on peak form.

Mighty Mix has been designed from day one to meet this challenge and exceed it — farmers who have made the switch have seen their dogs take on a ‘new lease of life’, helping boost their energy and helping them enjoy working alongside their owners on the land.

Pat’s Healing Centre www.animalherbs.co.nz A big range of Health Solutions for your animals, yourself and your family.

• Herbal formulas & Homeopathics • Himalayan – salt licks, fine salt • WashBar products – horses & dogs

• Orijen organic no grain dog biscuits • Animal Glucosamine powder • Consultations for all by appointment

Visit our Waipu clinic and shop!

Visit our website and buy online!

We courier to your door.

Ph 09 432 0820 Waipu We support the Natural Horsemanship Games

RICK PARKER Distributor for NORTHLAND rickparker@slingshot.co.nz 09 434 6790 027 440 4212 WWW.MIGHTYMIX.CO.NZ

Dog FooD ProDucts DELIVERY SERVICE TO FARMS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS OF NORTHLAND. BETTER FOOD GIVING BEST HEALTH AND FITNESS Call Rick Parker for information and supply Greenhouses – shadehouses – dairy herd shelters – calf sheds – nurseries – Garden centres – floWers

...if it needs protecting from the weather... call us first

...we are the professionals.

Ph 0800 Harford (427 367) www.taylorbuilt.co.nz Serving the North for over 25 years Geotextiles – erosion control – contractors and landscapers – shadesails – shadecloth – Windbreak

30

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Be my Guest

Bill Guest, Farmers of New Zealand

Dairy farming — a permitted activity?

Many New Zealand dairy farmers have made strenuous efforts to upgrade dairy farm infrastructure, in particular dairy effluent disposal systems, in the last three or four years, and are now looking forward to recovering some of the costs incurred.

make an effort to meet the industry goals, they will run the risk of not having Fonterra’s Volvo and Scania tankers coming on to their farms to pick up their milk. They will not only become a casualty of their own making, but also cause their fellow dairy farmers to incur even more compliance costs and environmental rules.

to sort out the issue of non-compliance, but Northland faced different problems to many other parts of the country, due to high rainfall, soil types and topography. There needed to be a collaborative approach to this effluent issue between the Regional Council and Fonterra.

Farmers of New Zealand employment agreements warn farmers and employees that where the Dairy Farm Manager is responsible under the terms of the employment agreement to ensure that the effluent system is maintained and operated correctly.

Dairy farming may no longer be a permitted activity, but become a discretionary activity throughout the New Zealand dairy industry

With Fonterra’s announced milk payout forecast of $7.00 per kilogramme of milk solids, there is still a risk I believe that due to a small number of non-compliant farmers, dairy farming may no longer be a permitted activity, but become a discretionary activity throughout the New Zealand dairy industry.

Fonterra and Dairy NZ will be introducing new codes of practice to meet the Food Safety & Health Act, effluent monitors, provide training courses, introduction of warrant of fitness programmes, nutrient budgets, soil profile reports, sustainable milk plans to ensure full compliance.

Some of these non-compliant farmers continually receive abatement notices due to untreated effluent being discharged to water and inadequate management e.g. broken or blocked pipes, sump overflows and lack of irrigator/pump maintenance. Last week at the Northland Effluent Improvement Project meeting attended by the Northland Regional Council, Fonterra, Dairy NZ, Farmers of New Zealand and other farming lobby groups, the message was very clear, the dairy industry aim is full compliance.

This will be nationwide. Fonterra’s definition of waterways is any drain or stream that permanently contains water 12 months of the year. This simply means keep all untreated effluent out of surface and groundwater, keep land applied effluent nutrients in the root zone to capture the nutrient and economic value, ensure all effluent systems are compliant 365 days of the year.

The Chairman of the Northland Regional Council last week said that he did not want the Regional Council to become the enforcement agency for Fonterra, that as long as the farmers met the Council’s requirements, it was up to Fonterra to enforce their own rules.

It is my view that if these minority of noncompliant dairy farmers consistently don’t

Chairman Craig Brown said that the Regional Council is making every effort

In Nor thland there have been approximately 30 noncompliant farmers who annually, continue to fail to comply.

The Environment Court has stated in a recent Court case, that dairy farm managers could be held legally responsible and be liable to prosecution for unlawful effluent spillages and any other legal action resulting from any breaches of the farm resource consent conditions, pertaining to the effluent system, resulting in substantial fines.

SERIOUSLY

CLEVER IDEAS

The Maxi-Trak QuaTro At present to increase the traction on a four wheel drive tractor ballast is added increasing the tare weight of the entire tractor, this increases fuel consumption and 2013 Fieldays demonstration reduces performance while increasing wear to tyres and tractor components and adding to ground compaction. Adding ballast to the front of a tractor while working on hill country decreases a tractors efficiency even further requiring the weight to be carried uphill against gravity and having to hold it back while descending downhill. We have recently had a break through and are now able to transfer load to the front wheels of a four wheel drive tractor.

In what is a world first we transfer load/weight from the implement that is being towed by allowing the drawbar to be able to move a pre-set amount. While it is attached to the front of the tractor ahead of the front wheels and above the centre of gravity at the rear e.g. top link or top of plough arms. As the draft force increases between the tractor and implement the load/weight increases on the front and rear wheels of the tractor.

Kalvin Singh — Inventor and company director For enquiries please email us at: kaltrack@yahoo.co.nz or Phone Kalvin on 027 472 2995

Dairy Farmers…

DOES YOUR DAIRY REFRIGERATION SYSTEM LOOK LIKE THIS:

Unreliable, running all day, costly breakdowns, using the old obsolete refrigerant gas?

After calling Active Refrigeration your refrigeration system will look like this

High performance, hot water heat recovery, reliable, cost effective.

Don’t hesitate. Call Active Refrigeration NOW for an on-farm assessment and obligation free quote.

It is now also an ideal time to get your refrigeration unit serviced to ensure optimum performance.

CALL NOW 24/7 Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

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design

install

service

maintenance

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

31

SERIOUSLY

CLEVER IDEAS

KELCO F60 DIGITAL PUMP CONTROLLER THE ULTIMATE IN VERSATILE & FLEXIBLE PUMP CONTROL

Insulating your home makes good sense Better than seriously clever Wrap up your home in NZ made polyester insulation Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau - Northlands largest and locally owned insulation company

FEATURES  Very simple to program  Multi-voltage operation  Displays pressure and set points  12 programmable timers built in  Powerful 40Amp solid state drive  30Amp primary pump relay  Dedicated 16Amp alarm relay  Detachable electrical housing  20Bar/290psi pressure rating  Suits pipes 25mm and larger  Accepts remote input  IP67 rated

Run by He Iwi Kotahi Tatou Trust & CBEC Thanks to funding from:

For further information on this unique pump controller refer to the editorial or visit www.kelco.com.au Distributed in New Zealand by

KELCO

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PRoDUcTS LIMITED

www.healthyhomesnorth.co.nz

And available from your local pump supplier!

Evolution of the Landplane Automatic Gate Release Timer

only $395+gst

✔ 60-70% reduction in lameness ✔ Up to 450 hrs labour saved per year ✔ Increases feed utilisation ✔ Releasing cows for milking (ideal for feedpads) ✔ Break-feeding or Holding back after milking ✔ One-off cost & Solar Powered ✔ 12 mth warranty, Excellent backup

Test version: Limited effectivness. Repairs some plugging, however soon abandoned due to problems with distracted cow when in vicinity of bull.

Free

Soil Temperature Probe When you mention this ad!

Final version: Excellent for clearing and levelling drain tailings, reduces hillside cattle ruts, repairs farm tracks and plugging, cost effective alternative to a scoop.

Not distracted by bulls.

Contact Newman Engineering 09 439 5065

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Rural Women

F or

32

ADVERTORIAL

Dorothy’s

Huge Winter Sale Now oN

A serious commitment

• Sleep-outs • Timber Sheds • Kids Playhouses • Built to order For Josie Scott, work as a celebrant is an

wiNter clothiNg Reduced from 20% to 50% off Blouses & jumpers 50% off whole raNge of coats aNd jackets iNcludiNg raiN jackets

all reduced

• • • •

slacks skirts tops aNd dresses

reduced

fleece tops & paNts

all 20% off

Hurry in now for first choice! if you’re escaping our winter send for our

Many designs Accessories All sheds include floors Zincalume or colour steel options

• • • • •

Package deals Layby available Priced from $995 Credit cards accepted Finance available TAP

pack right travel Booklet $5 plus self addressed envelope

From

Phone us on 09 438 4660

15 Neville Street Warkworth Email dorothyg@callplus.net.nz

sales@playhouses.co.nz w w w.playhouses.co.nz

phone 09 425 8608

sales@timb ersheds.co.nz w w w.timb ersheds.co.nz

Dorothy’s

Something making you ill? how do you know what food, drink or medication is upsetting you, or your child’s body, or indeed what will make you well.

Commercial grade Product $34.00

(Diabetics - asthmatics -allergies)

The yhn muscle tester helps, at home, supermarket or dining

Breast Self-Examination Aid

for all your lifestyle insurance requirements

absolute privilege. Being with a couple as they make the commitment of marriage or civil union, helping family and friends farewell a loved one, naming a baby, blessing a house that has been re-built after a fire — all these ceremonies and more are major milestones in people’s lives which she takes very seriously.

Each ceremony I am involved with is special and unique and so is written together with the people who are requesting it.

Some couples who are getting married have very clear ideas, others are not so sure — we meet and talk about what is important to them, their hopes and dreams, their likes and dislikes — and then I begin the first draft.

Funerals also need consideration and time spent.

careful

I encourage people to tell stories and share thoughts before beginning to craft the ceremony. A funeral can be conducted with or without a celebrant.

To be a Marriage or Civil Union Celebrant, a person has to be appointed by the Registrar-General.

If you are thinking of getting married and want to know who your local celebrants are you can find them on www.bdm.govt.nz along with the legal requirements.

Lastly, if you are looking for a celebrant — choose carefully!

Some important attributes for your special day are: flexibility, calmness, creativity, clear public speaking, and a good sense of humour and of course, organised.

“See for yourself” Uses visible, coloured light to illuminate blood vessels

www.yourhealthnaturally.co.nz Does not diagnose • No therapeutic claim • No radiation Get any abnormality checked out by your doctor

In t e ri ors Lt d

0800 222 164

Locations throughout New Zealand including Whangarei, Kerikeri and Kaitaia

www.crombielockwood.co.nz

16 Railway St Newmarket Auckland Phone 09 523 2240

www.ambhome.com

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

F or

Rural Women

33

Naturally experienced

by Nicola Skipper

With the current buzz for everything ‘green’, consumer confusion is rife due to skincare brands attempting to capitalise on demand through use of the word ‘natural’.

Regrettably many include only a tiny component of naturally-derived ingredients in their products and continue to rely on synthetic preservatives and chemical surfactants in skin and body care products and potentially hazardous heavy metals as pigments in cosmetics.

In the 26 years since Living Nature was founded in Kerikeri, the company’s philosophy and ethics have remained constant. Their commitment is to certified natural products — a leading light on the often confusing subject of skincare and beauty products.

The Living Nature mantra is ‘if in doubt, we leave it out’. Kerikeri Retail Store Manager Rhonda Olson says this means people can use their products with absolute confidence, knowing their extensive range is one of the safest available anywhere in the world, verified by skindeep.com, an independent global cosmetics safety database.

Rhonda says “What we don’t put into our products is really important — there are no parabens, phenoxyethanol, sodium laurel sulphate or synthetic fragrances.

Sometimes people are quite shocked when we talk to them about the dangers of typical ingredients in their current skincare range.” The Living Nature range utilises ‘hero

®

C LO S IN G D OW N S A L E !

60

OFF % EVERYTHING!

Next to Blah Blah Blah Café

99 Victoria Street, Dargaville • Phone 09 439 8726

BUTLER MULTI

High Performance Hot Water Heater

All your Hot Water plus room heating and a cooking top...

Multi Fuel, Power Saver!

N

ingredients’ from sustainably sourced New Zealand native botanicals, to create active and effective skincare that works in harmony with skin’s natural processes of regeneration and renewal. Their extensive range of skincare, hair and body care plus the mineral cosmetic range is endorsed

by Global Brand Ambassador, former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes.

To find out more about this iconic New Zealand company, visit the Living Nature website at www. livingnature.com, or visit the Kerikeri store, meet the team and check out the great instore specials including an exclusive, limited time offer on a Daily Skin Essentials pack — all your daily skincare requirements plus Living Nature’s award winning Radiance Night Oil, for just $99.

EW

ZEALAND MA DE

5 Allen Bell Dr, Kaitaia Ph (09) 408 2469 www.wagenerstoves.co.nz

Simplify Your Beauty Call us to book a complimentary consultation for our membership programs.

At Caci we simplify beauty. Our membership programs give you 12 months of individually tailored treatments so you can get the results you desire.

Save

We manage your treatment schedule along with a simple payment plan.

Plus, you will become a member of our elleca™ beauty rewards program.

BUY A DAILY SKIN ESSENTIALS SET FOR $99

Freedom™ Laser hair removal plan with a 2 year guarantee

Our membership beauty programs are:

SAVE OVER

$100

Amerase™ Appearance medicine plan to manage lines and wrinkles

Reformaskin™ Treatment plan to improve sun damaged and ageing skin

Caci Whangarei 110 Bank St phone now

0800 458 458

Only while stocks last.

Retail Store Skin & Body Therapy Clinic shop@livingnature.com Bull’s Gorge, State Highway 10, Kerikeri 64 9 4070113 F +64 9 407 4056

s sizes available

Leading labels • Huge range of plu

LIVING NATURE WHEN YOU 100% Natural. Uniquely New Zealand.

M o lly ’s Fa s h io n s

www.livingnature.com

caci.co.nz Open 7 days Monday - Friday 9am-5pm Saturday & Sunday 10am-4pm (Clinic closed Sunday & Monday)

*Conditions apply

34

July 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Northern Rural Marketplace A&S RepAiRS • Tractor Repairs.

• Farm Machinery Repairs.

• Any Welding Repairs — Pipework, Cattle Yards etc.

• Any Cowshed Revamps or Alterations.

Fully mobile — will travel throughout Northland

Allan

Phone 09 439 5460 | 0274 795 460 Quality Workmanship — Reliable Service

A

N DY M AC K AY CONTRACTING AGRICULTURAL & FENCING

Ph/Fax Andy 09 423 7339 or 0274 956 674

ATS

ProPerty Maintenance & rePair

Acraflex Dairy Wall Coatings

AFFCO LIVESTOCK Terry North

New or existing walls

Able to be applied between milkings during summer months

Colourcrete Dairy Floor Resurfacing System Suitable for repairing damaged dairy floors or slippery areas Bruce Cameron 027 498 8412 / 09 235 8263 AvOiD COSTLY PEnALTiES AnD DOwnTiME fOR LACTOSE EROSiOn in YOUR DAiRY ShED ™

2 YEAR GUARANTEE

LACTOGUARD EPOXY SYSTEM • Repair lactose/acid erosion to cowshed, dairies & vat stands • Strengthen concrete under heavy use & repair unhygenic cracks • No smell — low volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.) • Lactoguard coatings to all floors and walls for easy wash down.

Ph 0274 966 890 I 09 420 3392 I Email dene@allfloorprep.co.nz For more information see our website

www.allfloorprep.co.nz

Phone 09 439 5902

Mobile 027 484 1823 • Fax 09 439 1320

Anlyn Piling & Contracting Ltd Whangarei

Andy Payne

• Pile Driving & Drilling • Farm & Rural Bridges • Dams • Retaining Walls • Earthmoving • Drain Cleaning • House Sites • Races & Driveways • 12 T & 5 T Diggers • 6 Wheel Tipper • Bulldozer & Sheepsfoot We dig your dirt

027 543 7244

email: anlynpiling@value.net.nz After hours & Fax 09 436 2982

C&C Contract Electrical Commercial • Industrial Domestic • Dairy

• Fences & Repairs • Flooring Repairs • Decks • Kitchen/Bathroom Fit Outs • Wet Wall Lining • Water Blasting & Chemical Washes • Windows & Latches • Plus Much More

Phone Craig 021 440 634 09 439 6465

No jobRing tooAndrew small

Covering the Kaipara! Cell 0274 557 750

Home Theatre Setup • Residential Phone & Data New House & Renovation Wiring • Security Wiring Ventilation Fans and Rangehoods • TV Setup & Wall Mounting Multi-room/Zone & Source A/V • Light Commercial Electrical

Fully mobile — servicing the greater Whangarei area including Ruakaka and Russell FREE QUOTES

CALL BART 021 230 4140 REgiSTEREd ElEcTRician

Building of rammed earth homes

NOW AVAILABLE

Grader aNd aNd 12TONNe 12TONNe dIGGer dIGG IGGer er Providing Better Solutions For You

ALSO AVAILABLE

WOOd CHIP aNd SaWdUST FOr aNIMaL BeddING

Specialising in • Family Law Relationship Property; Care of Children • Property Buying; Selling; Mortgages • Trusts Law Family Trusts; Wills; Estates • Civil Disputes Property Disputes; Mediation; Litigation

www.coastlineecobuild.co.nz

11C Norfolk Street, Box 1801, Whangarei E: david@davidshanahan.co.nz

P: 430 0674

Diesel Teck

Qualified Mobile Diesel Mechanic.

Pre-COF’s. Servicing. Rebuilds. Repairs. Breakdowns(24/6).

Road Transport. Plant Machinery. Marine. Farm Equipment.

110HP 4WD Tractor and Slasher.

Phone now for pricing and bookings.

Dempster Digger s Ltd PH: 027 262 1848

A/H: 09 433 7325 www.dempsterdiggers.co.nz

More Milk

Better Health

Less Metabolics

Managing director

Free parking and we don’t run late

Neil Johnson P: (09) 438 4273

Joel Cleaver

021 125 9226

IES CONSTRUCTION LTD. • • • •

Bridges Farm buildings Feed pads Bins

BLOCK MOWING EARThWORKs DIGGERs TRuCKs BOBCATs +more

CONCRETE AND TILT SLAB CONSTRUCTION

PO Box 448, Kerikeri, 0245 • PHONE: 09 407 8784 FAX: 09 407 8770 • EMAIL: ies@concrete.net.nz

FARMERS – How clean is your water?

Would you drink the water out of your troughs?

Now is your best time to service your water system…

Give us a call and let’s check it out.

PHONE 09 438 9103 (24HRS) CALL FREE 0800 McQUINN

0800 627 8466 148 Lower Dent Street, Whangarei

www.mcquinnpumps.co.nz

dieselteck@hotmail.co.nz

& PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

• Lifestyle blocks • Homes & subdivisions

Bruce 021 557 344 | Jan 021 407 305 | 09 407 3033 jjscontracting@xtra.co.nz

phone 0800 4 DOLOMITE 0800 436 566 Bio-Gro certified

LANDCARE SERVICES • LANDSCAPING • POLE HOLES • 4 IN 1 BUCKET • ROTARY HOE • COMPACT ROLLING • TRENCHER

Dave Hyndman KAIWAKA P: 09 431 2302 M: 021 431 238

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs July 2013

35

Northern Rural Marketplace Make Your Life easier! use our services now!

Northland Laser Drainage Ltd Neil Carter Trading as

• Pipe & Steel Supplies • LTNZ Approved Workshop • General, Agricultural & Structural Engineering • Mobile Welding Services • General Repairs & Maintenance • 2 Ton Gantry Crane • Plate Roller, Profile Cutter & Press Brake • de-CRAP-it®, Landplane®, Serious Incinerator® • Field Rollers, Water Carts • Kumara Gear

Doug Wilson Manager Phone: Fax: Mobile: Email:

Newman Engineering (2004) LTD Ph 09 439 5065 Dargaville www.newmanengineering.co.nz

Specialising in Fertiliser and Metal cartage.

30 Tonne units available.

We cover your country!

09 430 2934 09 430 2936 0274 302 934 dougw@nrh.co.nz

Subsurface Drainage Specialists (Nth) All Services & Maintenance Available PO Box 1174, Whangarei Ph 09 434 7741 • Mobile 027 273 6865

1279 S/H 14, MAUNGATAPERE

MARGARET & JOHN BISHOP

Pat’s Healing Centre www.animalherbs.co.nz — We courier to your door!

A big range of Health Solutions for you, your family and animals

• Solutions for control of fleas, ticks • Himalayan Salt Lick with and worms with WashBar products, 80+ minerals Diatomaceous Earth and Flee Flea • Orijen Organic Dog and Cat • Herbal and Homeopathic remedies Food — no grains for you and your animals

Ph 09 432 0820

Visit our Waipu clinic and shop, or website to buy online

ALL horse fLoAt A s, truck At ruck & tr trAiLer rep irs And mAintenAnce repA + insurA nsur nce rep nsurA repAirs 100% nz mAde

QUALITY • INTEGRITY

RO O FING SP EC IAL ISTS

ph 09 239 1583

www.thoroughbredfloats.co.nz

ATV FARM BIKE MX SPARES INTRODUCTORY OFFER New Customers Receive 7.5% discount off RRP for all stocked items with this voucher at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi.

021 026 322 86 • jim@toproofer.co.nz

MX FARM BIKE SERVICE Receive 7.5% discount off RRP for standard service parts* with this voucher when you get your MX / Farm Bike serviced at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636.

Phone 0800 963 636

www.atvtyres.co.nz

www.atvtyres.co.nz Be quick – offer ends 31/7/13. Conditions apply.

*Conditions apply, offer ends 31/7/13

NORTHERN FARMING CLASSIFIEDS Reach 33,300 Rural Homes — Phone 0800 466 793

For Sale

For Sale

Animal Training Products

ATV MATS from $89 — Come in & see us at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres.co.nz. Be quick offer ends 31/7/13.

NEW YAMAHA FARM ATVs — 5.9% interest & 3 year warranty. Only at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi — phone 0800 963 636 & Yamaha MC Whangarei. Phone 09 438 0804. Offer ends 31/7/13.

DOG TRAINING Products – SportDOG remote trainers, Anti-Bark Collars and Containment systems. Trainers with up to 1.6 kms range and can work up to 6 collars. Completely waterproof and rechargeable. Call 0800 872 546. website www.innotek.co.nz

ATV SAFETY HELMETS — from $119 accessories from $15. The law has changed! Have you got yours? Come & see us at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres.co.nz. Subject to availability.

BACK 2 Wood Demolition. We buy & sell renovation materials. Servicing Northland — Auckland.

Specialising in Windows, Doors, Ranchsliders, Kitchens, Vanities, Roofing and More! Check out our website back2wood.co.nz or Phone 0800 10 98 77.

WEED EATERS & CHAINSAWS — GET 10% OFF STOCKED ITEMS at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres. co.nz. Be quick — offer ends 31/7/13.

WOODCHIPPER, FIELDMASTER VC-06, 1 yr old, hardly used. PTO shaft driven. Not suitable to requirements. Suit lifestyle property owner.

Can deliver to some areas. Purchased $4,700 June 2012 — asking $3,500 ono. Phone Noel 09 427 8209 / 027 238 1358.

BOAT TRAILERS, full range to suit 12ft to 27ft boats, very competitive prices and immediate delivery for most models now. Call us to discuss free on 0800 162 500 Xpress Trailers.

STOLEN QUAD-BIKES? — You won’t find any listed here, but you can pre-empt this kind of thing happening and protect your fuel too. Visit www.parabeam.co.nz or call 0508 727 223 for more information.

BOX TRAILERS, single and tandem axle trailers at very competitive prices, full range of sizes, 6x4 $1695, 7x4 $1895, 8x4 $2095, 8x5 tandem $2795, 10x5 tandem $3395, 10x6 tandem $3795 Ph 0800 162 500 Xpress trailers.

PLYWOOD H3 treated 2.4x1.2m $63 incl gst. Scooters Plywood 43 Commerce St, Whangarei. We stock a wide range of plywood including seconds marine, claddings for sheds.

Cutting service. Phone 09 438 6565 or sales@ scootersply.co.nz

CHAIN & SPROCKET KITS DIRT OR FARM BIKE. SAVE 10% off RRP If you get them fitted at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres.co.nz. Be quick — offer ends 31/7/13.

SINTERED BRAKE PADS — for MX and FarmBikes — from $39 at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres.co.nz WINDMILL WATER pumps by Ferguson Windmills Company. Phone 09 412 8655. www.windmills.co.nz. sales@windmills.co.nz

DIETERS DREAM Do you suffer from Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, or struggle Losing Weight? Bios Life Slim, is not a diet, but works on burning fat, even when you are sleeping. Medically proven. http://youtu.be/ TYpLj-0PnS8 Email: unincity4helen@gmail.com.

Phone 027 293 7157 NEED NEW ATV TYRES? GET 20% OFF RRP & FREE FITTING at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres. co.nz. Be quick — offer ends 31/7/13.

ATV SERVICE Receive 10% discount off RRP for standard service parts* with this voucher when you get your ATV serviced at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street Hikurangi Phone 0800 963 636 | www.atvtyres.co.nz. *Conditions apply, offer ends 31/7/13.

Energy Efficient DO YOU LIVE IN A WINDY SPOT? 3 phase wind turbines starting at $2,200 includes 450 watt turbine, 6m pole, charge controller and inverter, Batteries not included. Ring Colin at Windpower Waikato Phone 0274 831 041 A/H 07 843 7983 Email colin@windpowerwaikato.co.nz

Nurseries & Plants SUBTROPICA NURSERY. A wide range of subtropical fruiting and ornamental plants by courier throughout NZ. Bananas, cherimoya, casimiroa, kava, lucuma, pineapples and much, much more.

Visit www.subtropica.co.nz or catalogue $5 from Subtropica, Massey Rd, R.D.2, Waipu.

Services FURNITURE MOVING Around NZ or around the world.

Single items or house lots. Pro Packing, moving, insurance. Via trucks, containers, shared loads.

Ph 0800 496 753 www.worldmoving.co.nz.

“Experience & Advice You Can Trust”.

Travel NEPAL ESCORTED tour 13-29 Oct 2013. Incl fares, accom, 3-day mini trek, white water rafting, jungle safari. Optional add-on to Bhutan. Phone Skylark Tours 09 432 8065. www.skylarktours.co.nz NORFOLK ISLAND Jazz Festival Escorted tour 1-8 December 2013 incl fares, accom, some meals five jazz concerts and more. Phone Skylark Tours 09 432 8065. www.skylarktours.co.nz CARNIVAL OF VENICE Tuscany & Cinque Terre Escorted tour 27 February – 20 March 2014.

Incl Return fares ex Auck, accom, sight-seeing, all transport in Italy. Phone Skylark Tours 09 432 8065. www.skylarktours.co.nz

Farm Services FARM BRIDGES Phone Pat now 0800 222 189, visit www.bridgeitnz.co.nz. Bridge It NZ Ltd.

Water Services TANK WATER TESTING. Find out what harmful ‘bugs’ are present in your drinking water. Samples tested for Coliforms, a written report supplied and remedial actions suggested. Contact Simon at 09 422 9345 or at tankwater@xtra.co.nz.

Situations Vacant

Telephone Sales Representative Are you a sales professional with a proven track record? Do you find it easy to create a real connection with people? Are you passionate about growing local businesses with the help of a true community based media company?

If so, NorthSouth Multi Media’s leading farming and community publications would certainly benefit from your expertise, your commitment and your involvement.

We are currently seeking a full-time telephone based sales and customer liaison professional to help build our business across New Zealand. The role is based in our offices in West Melton.

You’ll need to be reliable, computer-literate and able to help our customers make the most out of their marketing — but most of all you’ll have a can-do attitude and a willingness to pitch in. Full training and the support of a nationwide media company will be provided to the successful applicant.

Apply now by emailing your CV to shaneh@nsmm.co.nz or by calling us on 03 347 2314

36

July 2013 NORTHERN Farming Lifestyles

FIELDAYS SPECIALS ENDS JULY 31st

RANGER 400 & 500 MODELS NOW STANDARD WITH ROOF, HALF SCREEN AND TOW BAR

$89RA0 EXT VALUE

RANGER 400 H.O.

$13,474 EX. GST* RANGER 500 EFI

$14,778 EX. GST*

LARGE CHASSIS RANGER MODELS

$1500

*

CASH BACK

ROUSE MOTORCYCLES LTD. 1 KING STREET, HIKURANGI. PH: 0800 96 36 36 KUMEU CHAINSAWS AND MOWERS LTD. MAIN ROAD, HUAPAI. PH: 09 412 8109 MAUNGATOROTO MOTORCYCLES LTD. 117 HURNDALL STREET, MAUNGATOROTO. PH: 09 431 8555 *Offer ends 31st July 2013 or while stocks last. Offer only at participating dealers. Large Chassis Polaris Ranger models include all 800 and Diesel models and excludes all EV, 400, 500, 900XP and RZR models. Models are shown with optional accessories.

www.polaris.co.nz