Northern Farming Lifestyles, March 2013

Northern

Farming Lifestyles March 2013 Edition

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

Brothers take top honours at Dairy Industry Awards

The best fishing around

Lighthouse link to early dairy pioneers P6

P3

P32

P14

Horsemanship Games Pages 26–27

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March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Northland’s shearers top contest

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 (dw@nsmm.co.nz) Editorial: Paul Campbell Sheri O’Neill Rose Rees-Owen Andy Bryenton

Graphic Design: Dave Stevens Gavin Bainbridge Emily Stevens Jan Balcombe

Advertising: Betty Willets Carolyn Jones Tai Clark

Production: Brenda Ilton

by Paul Campbell

Northern Farming Lifestyles Distribution area

A new shearing champion has emerged from the 53rd Golden Shears in Masterton with the winner, 26-year-old Rowland Smith, who hails from Ruawai, donating his $3,000 prize to help fight cancer.

Managing Editor: Allan Mortensen (am@thelifestyler.co.nz) Accounts: Lesley Robinson (accounts@nsmm.co.nz) Website: www.farminglifestyles.co.nz

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Marshall Guy, fourth brother in his family to win a Golden Shears championship

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After his win he told the crowd “it’s not for the money,” and bolstered the shearers’ cancer research fundraising to over $11,000 from donations and other gifted prizes.

Smith, whose mother died of cancer, justified his TAB favouritism after winning eight other finals in the six weeks leading into Shears week.

In another first for Northland, a 15-year-old from Kaeo became the

fourth brother in his family to win a Golden Shears championship.

Marshall Guy won the Junior final, emulating the efforts of Bevan and Bryce who won the Intermediate finals in 2009 and 2012 respectively, and Charlie who won the Novice final in 2011.

Marshal was first to finish the five sheep final, taking 7min 39.588sec, and four points ahead of 18-year-old Mataura shearer Kahn Culshaw.

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Brothers take top honours at Dairy Industry Awards It’s been all about family at this year’s Northland Dairy Industry Awards, the annual showcase of talent in our region’s most talked about primary industry.

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

and Angelea Fleming. They entered the awards for a third time, embracing the opportunity for internal evaluation of their farm management and business.

“We also enjoy the comradeship it brings meeting like-minded people, along with the competitiveness of the contest,” say the McKenzie’s. “One of our strengths is our low environmental impact by having sustainable systems. We also enjoy farming in a partnership, farming profitably and loving what we do.”

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Left to right, Tim, Marcelle, Ian and Murray Douglas

With brothers Ian and Tim Douglas taking out the competition’s coveted premiere award and couple Niall and Delwyn McKenzie announced as Northland Farm Managers of the Year, the 2013 awards ceremony put the spotlight on families working the land.

It was a first time win for Ian and Tim, who equity manage a 300ha family farm they are shareholders in, along with their parents, Murray and Marcelle Douglas.

From an early age the pair have been involved in farm management, but it’s only in the last three years that they have been part of an official partnership with their parents.

“We are stronger together than we would be apart, and as the root of success in any business is the people we have a real emphasis to grow people within our business,” say Ian and Tim. The pair put some of their success down to a solid business plan with good systems and financial monitoring. “This gives a consistent return for all stakeholders and allows for growth.”

It was the first time the brothers, aged 28 and 29, had entered the awards and, as well as the win, they won five merit awards. They plan to grow the business

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3

4

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Songs from the saddle

by Sheri O’Neill

Neil Hersey will be familiar to many for his recent television appearance in Hyundai Country Calendar’s ‘The Last Ride’, which followed Neil and a group of fellow riders to the Far North’s Aupouri Forest for a wild horse muster and featured his performances of original country music compositions.

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eil agrees the episode, which screened on TVNZ’s Channel One last September, has put him in the public eye: “It stirred up a bit of dust, alright!”

Neil and partner Betty Smith live on Hidden Valley Ranch at Pataua North, where Neil runs a few horses.

But most of his time is tied up with his music, which he describes as “country with attitude.”

He first went to Aupouri to muster the wild horses 25 years ago after answering an advertisement, and says for him nature and music are closely connected.

“I got my first horse aged six and my first guitar four years later, but I didn’t start writing songs until I was in my late thirties, and it was the wild horses that triggered it. I wrote my first song, ‘Aupouri Angel’, on that first muster. It

For many years Neil toured with friend and fellow musician John Grenell, playing everything from woolsheds to major clubs, and although he is still kept busy with regular performances, either solo or with regular band mates Sid Limbert, ex-bass player for the Waratahs, and guitarist Dave Maybee, these days he prefers not to be away from home too long.

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horses are descended from the very first horses to arrive in New Zealand.

“In the doco it was put across as legend, because there’s no verification, but according to Maori up there it’s fact.

They arrived in Te Rawhiti before they arrived anywhere else.”

Born in Whangarei and growing up on a farm in what is now urban Kamo, Neil says that half the time he was supposed to be in school he was on a horse.

“After leaving school I did a carpentry apprenticeship, and I’ve been everything from a commercial fisherman to a firefighter since, but I should’ve been a cowboy.” His mother was born and raised on the Canadian prairie, and Neil grew up listening to her stories. “She wasn’t allowed to drive a four horse team to town until she could drive through the barn without hitting anything.”

Neil hasn’t been back to Aupouri Forest since ‘The Last Ride’ was made, but has kept in touch. “I’m keen to get back up there as soon as I can. There was a really good foal drop in the spring and the horses are looking great.”

For more information about Neil and his music: http://www.neilhersey.co.nz was, and always is, an emotional hayride for me, going up there. I come back every time with more music.”

His experience with the Far North herd resulted in a position on a Department of Conservation committee set up in the late 1980s to decide the fate of the wild Kaimanawa horses of the Central Plateau.

Neil and John Grenell became passionate advocates for New Zealand’s wild horses, and helped set up the original New Zealand Wild Horse Charity Trust.

“John and I were both into horses; he bred appaloosas, and I had quarter horses.”

Early efforts to ensure the welfare of the Kaimanawa herd led eventually to the formation of the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust (now Kaimanawa Heritage Horses). Whereas the Kaimanawa herd is managed by the Department of Conservation, the Aupouri herd is protected and managed by the private ownership of the forest. Neil says these

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March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Lighthouse link to early dairy pioneers

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Des sums up local affection for the lighthouse: ‘When the Trust asked me why I should get the job to fix up their lighthouse, I said because it wasn’t their lighthouse, it was mine — I’d already had so much to do with it’.

Ex- Dargaville Lion, Dave Webb, also has fond memories of a 1987 working

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he lighthouse is one of the last survivors of the era of timberbuilt New Zealand lighthouses and a major Kaipara icon, built of local kauri in 1884 to guide shipping through the treacherous Kaipara Bar, a duty it performed until the mid-1950s when the harbour was closed to coastal shipping.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013 “They’d break out of the ti tree and there’d be a Jersey herd grazing lovely dairy pasture.”

Noel still farms at Mt Wesley, and until recently his herd retained some bloodlines of Charles Hilliam’s first breeding stock, shipped through the Kaipara Heads and unloaded at Aoroa in 1902.

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During the boom years, coal was shipped from Newcastle, Australia, to fire the boilers for the timber mills, back loading on the return voyage with a load of timber. “And then the farmers needed it, of course, for the dairy factories,” Noel says.

Until electricity was widely distributed, the lighthouse gave safe passage to the boats delivering West Coast coal to fuel the chain of factories which had sprung up around the Kaipara from Helensville to Tangowahine.

Facing page: 1884 lighthouse and buildings.

An aerial view of lighthouse centenary celebrations 1984.

Above: Noel Hilliam with grandfather’s gum left over from buying the farm.

bee: ‘We’ll never forget that weekend; it comes up again and again’.

Dargaville farmer and local historian, Noel Hilliam, was a committee member of the Northland Historic Places Trust during the early years of lobbying for the lighthouse’s preservation, and says that Kaipara farming communities have good reason to honour the lighthouse and the crucial function it performed.

“The lighthouse is remembered for its aid to shipping during the boom kauri timber years, but it also gave safe passage for ships carrying essential farming supplies. Without it there would have been no farming in those early days.”

After the timber exports gave way to gum and the gum was exhausted in its turn, Kaipara, once the busiest harbour in New Zealand, became a backwater.

“My grandfather used to say, they bled the district dry, took all the money and built Auckland,” says Noel.

But some who remained saw the agricultural potential in the blackened stumps and dug over gum land — among them, Noel’s grandfather, Charles Edward Hilliam, who came out to the Northern Wairoa from Bloodsfold Hall in Lincolnshire

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Originally a wagoner and gumdigger, he bought land at Mt Wesley and with backbreaking perseverance removed the stumps and brought peat and sand into pasture.

“People called him ‘the mad Englishman’,” says Noel, adding that they changed their tune when he made a success of it.

“The last coal boat came through the Heads around 1947, when the harbour was formally closed as a port of entry.

After that, everything came and went by rail.”

Today, the lighthouse stands as a venerable beacon to the difficulties of those days, despite its isolation attracting large numbers of visitors to make the eight kilometre journey from Pouto Point by foot, quad bike or four-wheel drive.

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March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

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H

e scored 200 points out of the possible 375 followed by David Kidd from Helensville who scored 186 points.

Contestants competed over six categories; agri-growth, agri-business, agri-sports challenge, agri skills challenge, speech and questions with Ian scoring well in each.

“Being an all-rounder is important, but you also have to be quick on the

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He competed at the Northern regional final in 2012 placing second, just missing out on going to the grand final and says “hopefully I can put Northland on the map as historically we haven’t done so well.”

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

Ian demonstrating his chainsaw skills at the regional finals.

He hopes to expand his farming business with his two brothers, Tim and Rodger.

They lease land capable of holding 400 cows, they equity manage a 1000 cow farm for their parents and they have 50% shareholdings in a 700 cow farm in Brazil with his youngest brother Rodger as managing director.

They aim to grow their business in Ian’s previous experience in restaurants Brazil to 3500 cows helped him in the head to head cooking challenge and winning the “We all have different ideas and competition would give the brothers collectively we pooled our skills and a boost. resources together. We have all grown Before farming, Ian studied tourism up on a dairy farm so we have a solid and hospitality in Australia and has background and knowledge in farming.” travelled to 50 countries picking up work His partner Rowena is also involved in along the way. the administration side of the business.

“My favourite place was the San Blas islands in the Caribbean — home to the Kuna Indians with such a different way of life.”

“

Hopefully I can put Northland on the map…

”

As well as working in hotels around the world he was a restaurant manager at Gordon Ramsay’s maze in Melbourne.

“In the end I got tired of working long hours for someone else and wanted to set up my own business.”

He returned to Titoki and talked with his younger brothers.

ker HooContracting

Ian is also the newly appointed chairman of the Young Farmers Club in Whangarei and had to compete against fellow member Jamie Lang at the regional finals.

“We get on pretty well,” said Ian, “I taught him everything he knows, so it wasn’t much of a competition,” he joked.

He will be competing against Tim van de Molen from the Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Aaron Passey from the east coast with the other regional finalist yet to be named.

He is excited for the competition which will be similar to the regional finals but spread over three days.

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9

Whangarei

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

10

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

by Rose Rees-Owen

Tomato growers in Aratapu, 10km south of Dargaville, Gurcharan Singh and Manjit Kaur Sood supply cherry and berry varieties to supermarkets under the Progressive Enterprises’ banner to outlets all around New Zealand.

Since moving to Northland in 2007 they have been so successful that they are expanding their business and are currently building their fourth plastic house which will cover 2400 square metres.

There are around 6,000 tomato plants per house giving an estimated total of 24,000 plants once the fourth house

is complete and Gurcharan says he is the second biggest producer of cherry tomatoes in New Zealand and one of two growers who produce the berry variety trading under Rasila Produce Ltd. “Progressive has the rights to the seed — so no one else in New Zealand can produce them.”

New Zealand made

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Inside their twinned plastic houses littered with hydroponic tomato plants it’s easy to misplace location and get transported somewhere a few degrees warmer, perhaps Peru or Northern Chile where cherry tomatoes originated from.

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Phone 0800 946 837 www.wintergardenz.co.nz All prices include gst. Delivery is additional.

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Gurcharan Sing and Manjit Kaur Sood their daughter Sonia and their grandchild Simranjit

Using hydroponics, they grow all year round although Gurcharan says production is greatest in the summertime.

Water supply did not come easy however and the first eight bore holes that Gurcharn tried to sink were unsuccessful but fortunately the ninth worked out.

He has gone on to dig a pond with a two million litre capacity and is in the process of digging a 16 million litre pond. He also has 16 tanks on site holding 25,000 litres each giving the family the ability to withstand a drought in the region.

Gurcharan Singh and his family emigrated from the Punjab region in the north of India in 1988 after visiting New Zealand and deciding that life would be easier.

While he worked in a government department in his home country he says he has always had a green thumb.

“I used to help my father grow crops, mainly sweet corn, wheat and sugar cane.”

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Call Phil 027 436 5445 A/H 436 5442

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013 The family originally settled in Auckland where Gurcharan tried to gain a mechanically orientated job, however after a stint fruit picking and working in a factory he landed a job in a greenhouse which sent him down the path of becoming a horticulturalist.

11

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He began growing tomatoes for his business in 1997 and after struggling with land prices in Auckland, they moved to Aratapu.

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“Everybody is very friendly and welcoming here. My grandson, Simranjit, loves it so much he wants to stay here while his parents go back to India for a wedding.”

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While they may grow on a large scale it’s a family business with all members, including the grandchildren, helping out.

“Gardening is my hobby and my passion — I’m in here seven days a week and sometimes nights, I love it.”

Sales@innotek.co.nz For a free brochure call Gurcharan Sing and Manjit Kaur Sood with their daughter, Sonia, grandchild, Simranjit and their staff

0800 872 546

• Anti-bark training collars • Containment systems

www.innotek.co.nz or Ph 0274 935 444

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The Soods are extending their farm adding on two more houses.

He employs 14 local workers in the summer when production is at its peak picking a couple of tonnes of tomatoes every week.

Not only do locals buy their produce from the supermarket but many make the effort to stop at the Soods and buy a big bag.

“They say our tomatoes are the sweetest,” says Gurcharan’s daughter,

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Sonia, who was, very appropriately, wearing a ‘no paparazzi’ t-shirt when visited.

“Whenever my parents go on holidays I look after the business. I enjoy it and I learn so much from my dad, he is the best dad in the world. I hope I will be successful like him.”

Northland Bulk Haulage Ltd Specialising in

Bulk Cartage • Fertiliser Lime • Aggregate Silage Bales Contact Shane

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Maize for feed security • Maize silage gives you security of feed continuity through adverse weather conditions and maintains cow condition

undersowing — Duncan envirodrill • Fix your drought damaged pastures to improve winter growth Phone

graeme 0274 763 499 or 09 439 6546 Phone Peter 0274 902 942

12

March 2013 NORTHERN Farming Lifestyles

HydroTech Moves North HydroTech Drainage, with its head office in West Auckland, started some 17 years ago with the basics and has since developed into New Zealand’s largest drainage maintenance company. Based on the number of contracts, staff numbers, growing vehicle fleet and the availability of world leading technology, HydroTech has undergone development that causes people to offer commendations for their excelling in business.

While HydroTech have for some years worked within the North, they have again expanded by winning a substantial Whangarei District Council contract, causing HydroTech to set up a new office in Whangarei.

Lead by Company Directors Alan and Phil Hopkins and ably assisted by Branch Manager Lincoln Amosa, HydroTech in support of the local community has surrounded itself with local suppliers and employed local staff.

To date, HydroTech have received many accolades from the Council and the community for their high calibre of work.

Building up a fleet of specialist vehicles and employing excellent staff HydroTech are committed to delivering the best service to the Council and the community.

Sticking to their main abilities of drainage, HydroTech have imported superior technology in support of locally developed plant. Being innovative, the HydroTech brand is highly visible and respected.

HydroTech has imported plant such as the RECycler, remarkable hydroblasting/vacuum equipment that can recycle water all day if required, which causes less pristine water to be used from the reservoirs, less vehicles on the road, less waste taken to landfill, smaller carbon footprint and reduced costs to the customers. HydroTech is the only drainage company in New Zealand with RECyclers in their fleet.

In support of the RECycler, HydroTech have Combination Units which are hydroblasting and vacuum units in one, reducing the requirement for multiple vehicles on the road, reducing costs and minimising the amount of waste taken to landfills.

Added to that superior technology, HydroTech offers hydroblasting and vacuum trucks supported by their drain CCTV mobile command vehicles and highly skilled and trained staff. Again, using the best of equipment and trained technicians HydroTech offer a wide range of drain CCTV services.

Being innovators, HydroTech have developed a wide range of equipment and services to meet or exceed the needs of their customers, such as building equipment to clean the Puhoi tunnel, and building a trimaran, which carries CCTV equipment to camera drainage systems, and much more.

Working within the commercial and domestic markets, HydroTech can unblock drains, find out what is causing the problems, clean out culverts, and vacuum out all forms of liquid waste including animal waste. Using their aquablasting equipment HydroTech can clean concrete to a high standard.

HydroTech has perfected the techniques associated with hydro excavation, a safe and reliable technique of using water to locate underground services. Potholing and slot trench cutting are among the tasks that hydro excavation is excellent for. This method of locating underground assets is widely used on the broadband development throughout New Zealand, and HydroTech has used it to good effect across the entire country.

Recently, HydroTech has added pipe lining and refurbishments to their arsenal of services. Using superior overseas designed and built technology, the first of its type in New Zealand, HydroTech can reline a variety of pipes using the Alphaliner technique involving glass fibre reinforced material and the EX liner that is PVC pipe. Both of these techniques save costs relative to the mechanical digging up of pipes and offer up to a 50 year life span. This is outstanding technology.

Many times people buy a house only to find that the underground drainage system is in need of repair. There is one instance where repair costs of $13,000 were imposed on a new homeowner. Obtaining HydroTech’s pre purchase house drainage check can prevent all this.

HydroTech is delighted to be based in the North, and like elsewhere in New Zealand it will expand its services to meet or exceed the needs of the Northern market.

This advertorial is an introduction to HydroTech. You are encouraged to contact us and we are willing to discuss the complete range of services we offer. Take a look at the HydroTech website www.hydrotechdrainage.co.nz and please do not hesitate to give us a telephone call to discuss how HydroTech can help –

The new Whangarei Office and part of the HydroTech fleet

INNOVATORS IN DRAINAGE - HERE TO OFFER SOLUTIONS

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

A dog’s tail…

Any Shape, Any Size, Anywhere!

Sum things never change “Well, there ya go Dog. Whaddaya rekin?”

Yep, it’s me Billy BC back again an’ I gess I’m a bit gobsmakt. See, Boss an’ his gerlfrend Sharlene have come back froma Feel Daze. They reckin they hada reel good time, an’ sez tha wether was so good, they had swim ina Dargyvill swimmin’ pool.

froma Feel Daze wiv sumthin a bit moor konstructiv this year. Mos’ times he has a hole lotta stuff wot just rusts away unner tha woolhsed. Sumtimes he hasa clearout and give’s it all to his mate Alby, who runs tha St John’s auction over in Mungy.

Boss musta red my mine, becos he sed: ”She’s a trade off Dog. Tha swimmin’ pool is fer Sharlene, ta make this place a bit more like a famly home.

Tha tracta’s ta make mor munny. Wen wear not usin’ it, gunna hire it out on koomra kontract.”

But I guess ifa swimmin’ pools comin, it havta be hear ta stay eh?

“Gawd,” I thort, wot happind fer tha Boss to make sensible invistments ata Feel Daze?

Thena Boss put downa brosha, ‘an he giva bitofa snigger. Uh oh, I thort.

Wot’s Boss onto now.

The Gazza swung down froma truck.

“She was pritty choyce too Dog. It was blimmin just about emtee. No one else wus swimmin’. So Sharlene wusn’t embarrissed ‘cos she’s prignint eh? Juss like we hada private pool.”

That brings me ta tha Boss agin. Win he askt me wot I reckin, he’s sittin’ ona woolshed steps wiv a big glossy brosha. It’s got big pichers of swimmin’ pools, an’ Boss is lookin’ ova tha front paddick.

“Ya see, Dog, Sharlene reckins we kin move tha fence fifty feet. Ta extind her gardin, and stick one of these pools ina ground.”

I give Boss a bitofa Eye (‘cos that’s wot I do ona farm) an’ felt like askin’ wot’s rong wiva dam where I goes fer me swims. But I spose Sharlene’s not gunna wanna swim wiva eels eh? They get ina dam frum the creek wot fills it.

Anyway, seems Boss come back

That’s win I herd a big veehikle commin’ ova tha cattilstop.

Boss stood up, and we went roun’ ta the top ofa driveway.

Well, I stopt in me traks. There was Gazza, froma truckin’ kompiny, sittin ina cab, an’ behind ‘im ona tray, was tha biggist, reddist, ginorrmiss tracta ya eva seen!

Tell ya readas, I was rilly gobsmakt this time.

“Ya fergot this ata show.” He give tha Boss a big packit, an I hada sy of releaf.

It hada label with ‘super autamatik remote controlled gate opena’ writ on it.

Fibreglass | Concrete | Residential | Commercial Above & Below Ground | Repair | Renovation

Call now for your FREE QUOTE Mike Lodge 021 508 383 Whangarei 09 459 6049 A/h 09 407 3430 e. poolsbydesign@xtra.co.nz www.mayfairpools.co.nz

Good ona ya Boss. I new ya’d get sumthin’ fer una tha woolshed.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Eh?

Read the paper online

www.farminglifestyles.co.nz

Heh heh.

TokaToka ConTraCTing Bulk Fert Cartage & Spreading We supply and cart crushed & non-crushed limestone

“Whaddaya reckin Dog?’ seda Boss.

Well, wot I reckind is tha bluddy Fonterrer payout musta bin werth getting’ ifa Boss kin afford a giant tracta AN’ a swimmin’ pool.

All enquiries welcome – FREE QUOTES John Dreadon 09 439 2211 or 021 273 2571 Kevin Dreadon 09 439 2995 or 021 273 2572

WHANGAREI

Specialising in transporting farming and agricultural equipment throughout Northland

Contact 021

443 951

Ph 09 437 1003 • Fax 09 459 1276 • dispatch@tractatranz.co.nz Email baz@tractatranz.co.nz • www.tractatranz.co.nz

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

Locally owned and operated

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

13

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

OFFAL HOLES

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

www.walsholes.co.nz

09 437 3936 or 021 932 225

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Tank WaTer

Filling Cleaning Sanitising Leaky Tanks Repaired Health Board Approved

Wals WaTer services 09 437 3936 021 932 225 www.walsholes.co.nz

14

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

water filtration treatment solutions & Anolyte electrolyzed water

Better management for precious rural resources The rural industry, like every industry in the modern New Zealand economy, relies on the efficient use of resources to succeed. While other trades use concrete, electricity and steel, one of the most important resources for farmers is water — but to use it effectively, those in agri-business have to have accurate data at their fingertips.

That’s where Number 8 Systems come in — a local company with a name based in the ‘do anything’ attitude of the Kiwi farmer, and a level of technology that’s light years ahead of tape, twine and baling wire. Company owners Andrew Llewelyn and Ade Kloeten started the business in 2007 to develop an effective water pump monitor system, and from day one all of their products have been tested on Kiwi farms.

Water delivery.

158 lower dent st whangarei 09 430 0395

Call Simon now

0800 710 000 • WHANGAREI •

DIESEL & DIRT LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES p: 09 434 7777 e: reid.ltd@vodafone.co.nz SH14 Maungatapere, RD9, Whangarei 0179

Andrew Llewelyn and a PumpGuru installed on a life style block in Patumahoe.

From this initial device — the Pump Guru, an electronic monitor which protects pumps, detects leaks and faults and sends detailed information wirelessly to the farmer — the Number 8 repertoire has grown to encompass some of the smartest hardware found on farms. From tank levels to the logging of bore water usage, and from monitoring of silo feed levels to wirelessly controlling systems across the farm, Number 8 do

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From

$299 Aquatica Eco-Smarte Multi Spray Handshower Set If you have a mains-pressure hot-water system, changing to a low-flow shower head could cut your hot-water bill considerably. So choose your showerhead carefully. This Aquatica model is recommended by Consumer NZ and most “well-liked” in their survey for its “good effectiveness and comfort) as well as a seven litre per minute water use rate” (www.consumer.org.nz). Available from Plumbin.

RRP $269.99. www.plumbin.co.nz SHOWERS | VANITIES | TAPWARE | TOILETS | BATHS | LAUNDRY WHANGAREI - 09 430 0981 - 33 SOUTHEND AVE ALBANY - 09 448 1095 - 9 COWLEY PL NEW LYNN - 09 830 2097 - 33 WOLVERTON ST M-F 8.30 - 5.00, Sat 8.30 - 4.00, Sun 10.00 - 3.00

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*Not in conjunction with any other offer, conditions apply. While stocks last. Offer ends:31/3/13.

Cell phone based pump control Automatic leak detection Text message & email alerts Tracking your water use online Resource consent logging Complete on-farm control networks

Call Andrew: 021 1870 580

andrew@n8s.co.nz www.number8systems.co.nz

it all. They can even help you track the input of rainwater to tanks!

Data from a vast array of devices is displayed via the internet for Number 8 Systems’ customers, with support for tablets and Smartphone’s. And for those out of 3g coverage, ‘bulletproof’ SMS text message support is also available.

In the modern farming environment it’s more important than ever to know just how much water (and other resources) you are using. By adding tried and tested monitoring devices it’s possible to isolate faults and increase efficiency. For example, the Pump Guru is able to detect a leak the size of a pinprick, potentially saving thousands of litres of water.

With the necessity of recording bore water flow for resource consent, many farmers are considering digital monitoring and control for their operations. There’s no better time to talk to Number 8 Systems about a bigpicture approach across the whole farm — they can even visit you to formulate the perfect plan and revolutionise your efficiency for the future.

Kerikeri Water Supplies Covering Kerikeri and surrounding areas

call James

09 407 4433 Mobile 027 452 1450 Phone

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

15

COOL CLEAR WATER

Experience tells for water systems With drought now with us, efficient water reticulation is paramount. With over 50 years experience and a massive range of fittings and valves, the Hansen range of products has become synonymous with quality and reliability for Kiwi lifestylers and farmers.

“We are continually geared towards listening to the needs of end users,” says Director of Sales and Marketing, Steve Sharpe.

“This has allowed for an evolution of new, exciting and dynamic products that provide solutions for both small scale lifestyle setups right the way through to large scale heavily planned systems — and always embedded with a strong sense of what will benefit the end user. Hansen’s range of solutions is comprehensive and can be trusted.”

Hansen’s newest innovation is the Leveler valve. Designed to reduce wear and tear on pumps and systems as a whole, the ‘dual level’ valve is installed inside the tank and operates in such a way that the pump only switches on when the tank level is low, then switches off as soon as it’s refilled again thus reducing pump ‘cycling’.

For all your bulk water needs

• Whangarei district and all coastal areas

the range to use for connecting your pipe to get the water moving around your property.

They’re super easy to install, proven to stand up to New Zealand’s harshest weather conditions and with a massive range in sizes 15 to 50mm, there’s one for every situation.”

“Perfectly suited to Low Density Poly Pipe, Marley Enduro Flex and a range of thin wall irrigation, rubber and suction hose, this is

For more information about Hansen Products and to view product tips and videos, visit: www.hansenproducts.co.nz

• Swimming pools

Andrew 021 714 660

• Tank cleaning and sanitizing

Health Board Approved Drinking Water Right to Your Tank 7 days

After hours: 09 438 7141 • water2go@hotmail.com

“So the Hansen Ball Valve and Check Valve is hand tested using both air and water before leaving the factory. The full flow Ball Valve’s smooth open and close action reduces system ‘water hammer’ and allows for easy, reliable start/stop flow control within your system. Add to that the easy access Check Valve (commonly called a non-return valve) and you have a system that ensures your water flows only in the direction you intend it to.

“Hansen has built a solid reputation for quality and none more so than the 30 years proven success of the Easy Fit Pipe fittings range.” adds Mr Sharpe.

• Experienced operators

HOUSEHOLD WATER DELIVERIES

He said certain critical points in water systems need flow control and isolating.

“Hansen’s high performance Superflo Trough Valves and Maxflo Trough/Tank Valves provide the ideal solution for ensuring stock get the water they need with high volume flows. The Superflo’s unique Slipper Fit piston design helps prevent ‘stuck valve syndrome’, resulting in no more overflowing or empty troughs. The soft close of the Maxflo eliminates water hammer in either clean or dirty water applications

• Free quotes

ARE YOU BUILDING OR RENOVATING? Go GAS… you won’t regret it! Phone 438 0192 for a free quote.

Gas Water Heaters

Solar Water Heating

Gas water heating is always a winner. No more cold showers and no waiting for the cylinder to heat up.

With a gas water heater you can rely on a continuous flow of hot water, whenever you want it.

Capturing your slice of the sun’s FREE ENERGY. Approved agent and installers for solar water heating systems.

Our Certified Craftsmen Gasfitters/Plumbers will ‘SUPPLY, INSTALL & CERTIFY’

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Corner of Poto St & Porowini Ave Whangarei

www.gasworksandplumbing.co.nz

Mon - Fri 7.30am-5pm

PH 09 438 0192

If you’re reading this, then so are your customers Advertise today. Phone 0800 466 793

Providing Water System Solutions for over 50 years

HEAVY DUTY TANK LEVEL INDICATOR

Check Tank Levels at a glance

Rapid Refill 180 lpm Trough Valve

Create Reliable Tank Connections Isolate & Control System Flow

Valve Closes at Maximum level

Valve Opens at Minimum level

Effective pod based Irrigation & Effluent systems

Protect Your Pump

Massive Refill 570 lpm Trough/Tank Valve

Dependable Threaded Connections

The foremost for Poly Pipe Connections

Quick Connect/ Disconnect for Servicing Tap into existing pipe lines easily

HAD0010 1302

Prevent System Back Flow

As seen at the 2013 Northland Fieldays

Proudly Kiwi Owned and Operated Since 1958

16

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

March 2013

COOL CLEAR WATER NORTHLAND FARM WATER SOLUTIONS

FOR ADVICE, DESIGN AND INSTALLATION SALES AND SERVICE

Farm Water Schemes • Trenching Effluent Disposal • Water Pumps NO JOB TOO SMALL

STEVE VINSON 021 931 300 A/H 09 436 3306 Email: sandjvinson@xtra.co.nz

Pure water — better living Dave Airey and his fiancée Vicky Rowlands are at the forefront of the push for better, healthier water in Northland, and their company Aqua Filter Products Northland, has established a reputation for reliable technology and great service.

While Aqua Filter Products provide a variety of products for homes and industry, one of the Northland branch’s key strengths is in working with rural people to tailor-build cost effective systems.

“Many farmers are pleasantly surprised by how inexpensively we can treat raw water from tanks, bores, rivers

DAM WEED GUARD NorthlaNd

On-Site Service SalES • INStallatIoN • SErVICE Water Filters

UV Systems • 3-4 stage

Water treatment

• remove Minerals • Soften Water • ph adjust • high Volume Sediment removal

Water tank Cleaning

Call dave on

022 402 1964

A WINNING INVENTION TO KEEP YOUR WATER THE BEST IT CAN BE FOR YOUR STOCK

and streams,” says Dave. “Because of demand, we are now manufacturing our own three to four stage UV and filtration units in New Zealand, made for the Kiwi environment and “Screen filter now fitted with stainless steel mesh” Kiwi water regulations, with a couple of real benefits new to Winning invention - 1997 Northland Field Days + Ribbon the market.”

• Floats in your water supply (Dam/Creek) The first step often involves testing the water at source, and • Protects filter from weeds & floating debris identifying how best to make it safe and pure. A check for • Prevents blockages & algae build up with bacteria, sediment and minerals leads to a custom-built plan a chlorine tablet dispenser with modules to sterilise bacteria, filter out varying grades of sediment, and multimedia systems to deal with common problems such as hard water, iron and manganese.

“Any issues with your water can be resolved and what’s left is simply great tasting, healthy water.”

Dave points out that it’s not just people who benefit. Dairy Screen Filter Floating DAM WEED GUARD farmers know healthy cows produce more milk and that good SPEEdY CORPORATION • 56 Springs Road Rd 9, Whangarei health begins with good water. Neutralising threats like e-coli P 09 434 6884 M 021 264 8055 E speedycorporation@xtra.co.nz means less bacteria in the tank and a bigger payout.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

Hybrid vigour strengthens this hardy breed

17

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Feed pads Breeding any animal at a high level has its challenges as well as its rewards.

With the popular Progressive Red Devon breed of cattle enjoying a resurgence among Kiwi farmers, existing breeders have taken the opportunity to strengthen their bloodlines for a better future.

At a meeting of Progressive Red Devon Breeders in March 2007, members decided to upgrade their herds with ‘fresh new blood’ from as many places as possible. The first call went out to South Island breeder John Squire, who manages one of New Zealand’s largest Progressive Red Devon herds.

“We asked if he could send us six bulls and six heifers, two years in a row,” says Maungakaramea Progressive Red Devon breeder Lee Fulton. “He did this, and the most amazing new genes came through our herds in quick succession. We wanted height and length and weight for age, and last but not least milk. Since that infusion from the South Island many of these things have changed for the better!”

Fellow breeders Gavin Cooper and Andrew Wearmouth’s herds were put on an artificial insemination (AI) program, under Mr Cooper’s supervision. Semen stock preserved scientifically 20 years ago from a prized bull named G10 was brought out of storage and utilised, providing excellent results.

“Gavin also did some searching in Australia and came to us with Barnstaple cattle, there are some interesting results from these too,” says Lee. “The weights for age are clearly improving — the

PROGRESSIVE

most recent ones being a 2½ year old Progressive Red Devon achieving 720 kilos, and an 18 month old weighing 590 kilos.”

The shorter ‘dumpy’ cattle have gone, and are being replaced with good size and hybrid vigour. With that comes very smooth calving, and easily managed calves landing well on their feet. It’s a great season when breeders can proudly claim “100% live calves born”.

The dairy crossbreds are interesting and in demand, especially from small block owners, and at this stage Progressive Red Devon breeders’ biggest challenge is how many bulls they can supply. With demand heating up for the fine, marbled meat of this breed, expect to see more red cattle in the fields of Northland soon!

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18

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

‘Life without eco-N’

Dr Bert Quin, fertiliser and soil fertility consultant

According to Ravensdown, only about 500 dairy farmers — only 5% of the total in New Zealand, and the great majority of them in Canterbury and Southland — were using their eco-N spray.

Probably 50 at most were using Ballance’s granular version of DCD (dcN).

The total number of users was not increasing significantly. Even if all these 550 were using eco-N or dcN frequently enough to achieve say a 50% reduction in N losses from pasture (mainly from urine patches), that means

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that the withdrawal of DCD for total-paddock application will result in at most an increase of 2.5% in total N losses from dairying.

Given this, it is reasonable to ask what other techniques could we adopt to bring about the same, or preferably far bigger reductions in N losses to the environment?

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Well there are plenty, but a lot of them will have even less cost-benefit advantage to the average dairy farmer than eco-N had. A lot is being said about the advantages of using stand-off pads to limit actual grazing time, and enable more excreta to be collected from the pads for even irrigation and/or mechanical spreading. However the true on-farm costs of running this system have not been adequately investigated, especially for small-medium farms. As well, initial trial work has indicated a 10% reduction in milk production is possible. In my view, if you want to go down this path, you might as well go all the way to a full cut-and-carry system.

I prefer to look closely at how we can improve the full-time grazing system we have, which is what gives us most of our international competitiveness. To do this we have to look at where the individual N losses are coming from, and decide what we could do, if anything, to reduce them. There are two main sources.

The first is fertiliser N. By far the most widely used is granular urea, because of its cost per kg N, and the handling and spreading convenience resulting from its high 46% N content. DAP, with 18% N and 20% P, is the next biggest source. It is a scientific fact that, in any one application of urea, less than half the N applied actually gets taken up by the pasture. Some say this doesn’t matter because the rest gets incorporated into soil organic matter. Sure, some of it does, but only to replace N that is being lost from organic matter as a result of mineralisation.

It is not a net accumulation of N in the soil, because soil organic matter, including the N in it, reaches a plateau within a decade or

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so after conversion to dairying. Directly or by replacement of older soil N, at least 50% of the applied N is being lost as a combination of ammonia volatilisation, nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide greenhouse gas emissions.

We can reduce this loss to under 20% simply by applying the urea as a fluid or slurry to which urease inhibitor such as nbpt has been added. The same increase in pasture yield can be achieved with literally half the application rate of N. In addition, the net cost to achieve the required increase in DM is reduced, so it’s a win-win for the environment and the farmer. There are alternative ways of improving the efficiency of urea, but in my view none of them match fluidisation with nbpt addition for costefficiency. Plus, nbpt is very quickly ( a week or less) broken down to plant-nutrient forms of N and P. Fluidised urea (mixed with other nutrients, and additives such as gibb acid, can be easily applied using helicopters with specialist buckets, fixed-wing aircraft fitted with tanks and specialised booms, tanker trucks or Quinspread-technology trucks fitted with ‘Fluidators’ to turn solid urea into a slurry and spread with semi-encapsulated spinners. All this technology exists right now — just look up www.groupone.co.nz for a list of operators.

The other big source of N loss from dairy farms is the urine patch (and to a lesser extent dung patches). Reducing N losses from urine patches was of course the primary aim of eco-N. The fundamental problem with eco-N is that, at any one time, only about 2-5% of any paddock is affected by urine in which much of the urine is still present as urea or ammonium. Once it has been converted to nitrate — in the North Island, typically in one to two weeks — applying eco-N can’t help. It is only where soil temperatures are low enough in late autumn through to spring for DCD to survive, and hold the N in ammonium form much longer, that it is cost-effective to use.

OK I’m biased, but I think the only solution to this one, short of totally changing the type of forage we use for grazing, is to fit cows with the ‘Taurine’ device. This small inexpensive device uses the raising of the cow’s tail (to urinate or defecate) to trigger the release of a small amount of inhibitor into the affected area of pasture. A combination of DCD and nbpt works best, but even nbpt by itself reduces N losses considerably. Also, if DCD was included, this would not be a problem for animal intake in most areas, because cows avoid eating excreta-affected areas for a week or more, by which time the DCD (and nbpt) would be largely degraded, except in cold conditions. Hopefully, there will now be sufficient funding made available for farm-scale scientific assessment of the ‘Taurine’ device.

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Northern

FARM

Wheels March 2013

C’est la SUV

by Andy Bryenton

Peugeot’s new 4008 is a late entry into the small-SUV market, but as the saying goes ‘good things come to those who wait’. Part of a very successful ongoing partnership with Japanese auto giant Mitsubishi, the 4008 manages to achieve what few cars in this highly competitive part of the market can — it makes four wheel driving look fashionable. with eminently practical Japanese engineering, is available for less than $40,000 — and that’s for the achingly stylish Allure model, complete with all the leather, chrome, gadgets and sense of occasion you’d expect in a luxury European car.

Like the 207CC then, this is a Peugeot designed to be seen in. But it’s also highly competent for the school run, towing the boat, or even getting its wheels dirty off road, thanks to the tough ASX which it’s based on. And the prestige of a proper Euro badge has never been so affordable.

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While other attempts at this formula have met with limited success, the 4008 does what some of its Teutonic rivals don’t. It actually looks good — and not just in the high street. The competent underpinnings created by Mitsubishi’s technical wizards provide some serious off-the-beaten-track ability, outclassing poseurs in the small-SUV class which balk at slightly damp lawns.

And just look at the styling. This is no rebadged ASX (the ‘donor’ car from which the 4008’s DNA is sequenced), but a stylistic exercise in its own right,

with a bold floating grille design trimmed in chrome, distinctive 18 inch alloys, and a side profile cleverly manipulated by the addition of rear window appliqués up to the d-pillar and slightly shortened front and rear overhangs. Peugeot’s designers have come into their own in recent years, with results like the immensely covetable RCZ, and with the 4008 they have created a smallSUV which may be the best looking in its class.

Equally important is the price. All this Gallic flair and charm, coupled

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20

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

FA R M W H E E L S

A commanding performance from this updated UTV

by Andy Bryenton

Off road vehicle manufacturers have not been slow to capitalise on the niche in the market between the trusty farm quad and the redoubtable working ute.

In recent years the rise of the UTV or ‘side by side’ off roader has been meteoric, with these rugged little machines finding a home in many barns and sheds across New Zealand.

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options and tough choices — so it’s time to up the game. Can Am have stepped up to the challenge with the 2013 Commander XT, and they’ve introduced a suite of extras which add something new to the UTV experience — comfort.

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be the full leather and chrome Range Rover, but comfort is important for a hard day’s work. Tackling rugged trails and deep mud can tax even the toughest driver, so Can Am have gone all out to remove some of the strain, fitting ergonomic seats, a clever throttle control system and power steering to their latest offering.

There’s no strain on the power train either — the Commander’s big 85hp 976cc Rotax V-Twin has the torque to conquer all kinds of terrain, even with the UTV fully loaded. It’s acclaimed as one of the most reliable engines on the market, and that low-revving lope is one of the reasons why. Another is the intelligent, computer controlled iTC system which smoothes out throttle response. When bouncing over roots and rocks a misplaced tap of the toe no longer elicits wild revving.

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The jewel in the crown of the Commander XT is its power steering system, however. The Dynamic Power Steering (DPS) system works in tandem with Can Am’s visco-lok differential to deliver smooth response up front, and a remarkable sensitivity of feedback, keeping the driver in contact with those big Maxxis 27 inch tyres as they do their work.

So, the new Can Am UTV brings something new to the table in its 2013 iteration — not just power, load space and a ton of options, but driver comfort too. It all adds up to a machine which lets you work hard all day, and leaves you with the energy to play hard when the working day is done.

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Mailleux MX100 SR. 3rd Service to fit TS100A, T6020

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

21

FA R M W H E E L S

Sportsman and Ranger a winning combo

Maungaturoto & Districts Rotary

FARM MACHINERY AUCTION *** 23 March 2013 *** Auction Starts 10am, Viewing from 8.30am 1920 SH1, Kaiwaka - Ample Off Road Parking Lots of Farm Machinery items for sale, including • Tractor Mounted Water Blaster — As New • Iseki 2160 4WD Tractor with Rotary Hoe — Great Condition • Prattley Sheep Handler — As New • Hooper Tandem Disks — 3 point linkage — Good Condition • John Deere 550 Round Bailer — Good Running Order • Broomwade Compressor — Levelling Bar • Two ride-on Lawn Mowers — Good Condition • Suzuki Quad Bike and Bike Trailer • Vanguard 16 hp Generator 8KVA • PTO 300 litre Fertilizer Spreader • OTHER ITEMS - FAR TOO MANY TO LIST! SAUSAGE SIZZLE AND COLD SOFT DRINKS AVAILABLE ALL PROFITS TO ROTARY SUPPORTED COMMUNITY PROJECTS Any enquiries to Dave Prankerd 09 431 4440

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Polaris Industries has announced Field Day specials on their Sportsman ATV and Ranger side by side models.

Right now customers can buy a Polaris Ranger Diesel for $19,995, excluding GST. With a towing capacity of 907kg, on demand true all-wheel drive, independent rear suspension, a tipping dump box, 680kg of load capacity, and three seats, Polaris says now is

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the time to tow more, carry more and seat more with the Polaris Ranger Diesel.

The 4x4 ATV Polaris Sportsman 400 H.O and the top-selling automatic 4x4 ATV Polaris Sportsman 500 H.O. are now available for only $8,691 and $9,560, both prices excluding

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GST. With their characteristic smooth Sportsman ride and a long list of distinctive Polaris features including Polaris variable transmission, independent rear suspension, on demand true all-wheel drive, four wheel disk brakes and sealed front storage, the Sportsman 400 H.O and 500 H.O. represent great value.

These offers end on April 30th, or while stocks last. Contact Polaris on 0800 440 290 or visit www.polaris. co.nz

Case IH JX1100U CAB 4WD With PeArson 20-36 LoADer With 3rD serviCe; onLy LLy 800hrs. sAve on neW .....................................................$69,000 sA Case IH JX85 + FeL .........................................$35,000 GoldonI star 100 orChArD trACtor With LoADer .....................................................$49,000 Massey FerGuson 165 GALvinise AL ALvinise D WheeLs, hyDrAULiC WinCh ...............................................$7,500 BrevIGlIerI Green 150 estA stAAte stA te MoWer .........$2,000 2009 dunCan eCo-seeDer DriLL ..................$20,000 FIeldMaster tM270 toPPer MoWer ............$6,000 FIeldMaster tM200 toPPer MoWer ............$2,500 Krone 80/80 BiG PAC P k sqUAre BALer reFUrBisheD .....................................................$50,000

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22

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

FA R M W H E E L S

Introducing the ‘Swiss army quad’

by Andy Bryenton

Honda have been crafting memorable motorcycles for decades now, and they’re a huge name in ATV quad bikes as well. With an engineering department larger than some rivals’ whole companies, you can be sure that the lessons of all those years are ported directly into each new Honda model.

The TRX420FM is no exception — a true all rounder designed from the ground up for ease of use and practicality. It’s a

hard ask to be all things to all people, but this 420cc workhorse manages to cover a whole lot of bases with a smart

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range of options, allowing the potential owner the ability to set up their TRX exactly how they need it.

Novice rider with a small lifestyle block?

Keep your TRX cost effective by selecting the tough, no frills 2wd model, or cut down that learning curve with a handlebar mounted clutch less electric gear shift.

Really into the rough stuff? Choose EPS power steering and selectable two or four wheel drive for all those farm chores. There are six models in the range, with interchangeable options and extras galore.

It all works because the base platform — the backbone of any TRX setup — is designed to be bulletproof.

Honda’s engineers have fitted a tried and tested OHV four stroke single cylinder, a design which comes from a long sequence of Honda DNA. Coupled to a tough 5 speed box with reverse, this provides ample power across all kinds of terrain.

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In the United States the TRX420FM is sold as the ‘Rancher’, and enjoys the distinction of being ‘America’s top selling ATV’. When you consider the vast differences in terrain across the continental U.S. — mountains, swamps, grasslands, forests and even deserts — it’s a great testament to this machine’s versatility.

New Zealand may be a little smaller, but we ask a lot of our quad bikes, on and off the farm. Selecting a tool which is set up specifically for the jobs you need to do makes sound sense — and with options to spare, you’re sure to be able to find a TRX420 load out that suits your lifestyle.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

23

Ask The Professionals Warkworth Rentals & Property Management

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• Property Management • Casual Letting • Comprehensive Tenant Screening • Quarterly Inspection • Competitive Management Rates

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Not your average range of stoves Far north based company Wagener Stoves have been warming up Kiwi homes for over 30 years with a range designed for New Zealand families and conditions. Company owners Barry and Ngaire have recently installed one of their own Butler Multi stoves into their new home as part of their power saving solar/wetback system and it’s working out wonderfully.

Their remote ‘off the grid’ Kiwi bach also called for a stove which could not only provide warmth, but also all their hot water requirements. The Butler Multi does all this and more. Lovely long hot showers are a much appreciated luxury by all who stay and of course there’s also the satisfaction of oldfashioned home cooking right off the stove top.

The Butler Multi is the only modern day ‘chip heater’ designed and made in New Zealand.

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production run) through the Butler Multi, to the flagship CookTop Wagener with its robust, classic design, each Wagener fire is crafted to last. At the very top of the range sits the Wagener Fairburn Cooker, designed to be the heart of your home.

From hard working farmhouses to ecofriendly homes, and from DOC huts warming weary trampers to modern family kitchens and lounges, Wagener Stoves offer a unique style and tried and trusted products to heat your home and your hot water and cut your power bills too.

• It is recommended to desludge your system every 3–4 years • Add Biozyme the enzyme booster to your system • Avoid using bleach or disinfectant around sinks, drains and toilets • Use Biozyme to clean kitchens, toilet, showers and basins • Avoid using garbage disposal units • Avoid flushing pads or nappies into the system • Use Biozyme to keep the soak holes, trenches and lines unblocked

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

Dairying in New Zealand as well. Cows don’t seem to get lame from it like they do overseas but it is very important that we treat cases here because it can turn into a major issue. When you see a case the best thing is to take a photo and email it to us, make it dry with a paper towel and spray it with tetravet. Repeat this treatment in about five days.

Hoof Print With Fred Hoekstra

Are foot baths beneficial?

It is also a good idea to walk the herd through a foot bath with formalin. In this case it needs to be a bath and not a mat because the liquid needs to get up onto the skin above the claw. A mat can’t do that.

How many of you use hoof mats or foot baths?

What are you trying to achieve with it and how helpful do you find them? You may say that you are trying to harden the feet and find that it is very effective, and I would have to agree that footbaths can make cows feet very hard — especially when you use formalin. But does it minimise lameness?

Scientific trials haven’t shown any evidence of that. There is no proof that hard hooves minimise lameness. If you believe that lameness is caused by physical forces then you should be very surprised. Consider this, our soldiers in the army wear proper army boots rather than sneakers. The army boots can handle the rough landscape much better than sneakers. If you harden up the hooves then they accordingly should be a lot more hard wearing, and therefore be able to cope with their physical environment better resulting in less ‘stone bruising’ and white line disease.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. How can you explain that?

If you have been reading my articles then you probably know what I am going to say. Our experience is that we can go to a farm where the hooves are really soft and yet there is very little haemorrhage in the hooves. Then we go to farms where the hooves are very hard to the point where it almost feels like we are cutting concrete and yet the hooves display much more haemorrhaging.

How can you explain that from a physical damage point of view? The reason is that it is not physical force that causes the problem. The problem comes from the inside out rather than from the

outside in. The live tissue (corium or quick) is unhealthy and this is where the haemorrhage and defects develop from.

So no matter how hard you make the hooves if the corium is unhealthy you will still end up with lame cows. I would argue that if you have lame cows you are better off to have your cows on soft feet instead. Soft hooves don’t penetrate into the wound the same and therefore are more comfortable for the cow. So why do you want to harden the hooves? It only makes hoof trimming a harder job.

Craig Mann AgriculturE ltD

Apart from that you don’t need footbaths or hoof mats. You will have better experience if you use that money to buy a bunch of flowers for your wife!

Foot baths should only be used as a disinfectant for things like footrot and Digital Dermatitis. Many of you may not know what Digital Dermatitis is — that is why I have included this photo with this article. Digital Dermatitis is an infectious disease in the skin above the heel bulb of the claw. This is a big problem in Europe and America.

Cows over there are very lame when they have it. Digital Dermatitis has arrived

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But it’s horsepower of a different kind which has seen him recently expand his repertoire of skills, constructing a freestyle equestrian area on his property just outside of Dargaville.

Doug Hanley is used to handling major horsepower With five horses living on his property as ‘part of the family’, days of solid work, made possible by the having somewhere for them to exercise power of his specialist machinery. The and train was of paramount importance. finished arena will be a dry, sandy space Accommodation for four full-sized perfect for training horses, giving them horses and one miniature was also a much needed exercise and allowing his requirement, and so Doug set to work family to grow their equestrian skills, with his usual can-do attitude, building right in the ‘back yard’. stables, a hitching rail, and embarking Most pleasing of all, the experience on the most ambitious project of all Doug has gained now means he’s able — turning an empty paddock into a to offer the same service to other horse professional class arena. owners across the region. With just one That’s where his skill with the big company taking care of everything from digger came to the fore — Doug reckons levelling to filling to post boring and that to replicate the large 24 by 44 metre fencing, costs can be kept down and a arena with three pens would take seven perfect finish guaranteed.

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Horsemanship Games Young Kaipara equestrian in the spotlight Barge Showground’s Whangarei Sunday April 7th

Tori Murray-Elley and her horse Redinka will be doing two inspirational spotlights at the Northland Natural Horsemanship Games, showcasing the skills and talents which have taken her from the Kaipara to the competitive world stage.

Two years ago Tori graduated as a junior instructor in Parelli Natural Horsemanship from the Parelli Centre in the USA. The Parelli method of equine training differs from other techniques, in that it emphasises a connection between horse and trainer based on communication and ‘natural equine behaviours’.

Pat and Linda Parelli developed the method, beginning in 1981, and have achieved success with horse lovers in many nations.

Tori returned home to Dargaville to teach in Northland and further afield after completing her course, and has had the chance to participate in competitions at the highest level.

From November 2011 until the London Paralympics she was an assistant to Canadian Paralympian equestrian Lauren Barwick. This experience gave her a greater understanding of the importance of putting the relationship first, and building a foundation before moving on to specialisation in competition.

Emphasis on quality Wild River Equestrian Supplies is a vibrant Northland business based in Dargaville.

Tori’s aim with her spotlights at the Games is to inspire people to keep improving their relationship with their horses, and to show where that can lead.

As Pat Parelli himself says — “People realise this is what they’ve been looking for in all their relationships. It’s balanced with love, language and leadership in equal doses. The programme and the horse give them a living model so they can practise and become fluent in their abilities in all relationships, not just horse relationships.”

Tori will be spotlighting two riding styles. She and Redinka will demonstrate a more relaxed style, such as can be seen in Western riding or pleasure riding. She will also spotlight a more formal style of riding that would be used in an English competition arena.

Tori Murray-Elley and her horse Redinka

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competitive horse background and enjoy meeting and supplying my goods through the horse industry. We also design and import our products to meet our customers’ specific needs.

“This month we offer special deals on synthetic 1200 DN mesh lined combo rugs or 18oz canvas combo rugs, wool lined or unlined. Instead of the RRP of $279, we are offering them at $140.”

Contact Shannon at Wild River Equestrian Supplies: matt_shan@xtra. co.nz or 027 412 6629.

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Junior Parelli Professional A well equipped stable and tack room will make for a happier horse and rider.

Owner, Shannon Breed, has a long association with things equestrian, and is a familiar face at horse events around the district. She will be at the Horsemanship Games at Barge Showgrounds in Whangarei on April 7, and will welcome visitors to the company’s mobile trailer.

“We sell a wide range of equestrian products with the firm emphasis on

top quality at an affordable price,” says Shannon. “Our range includes horse covers for all seasons, leather bridles, diamante crystal brow bands, Blazer wool show rugs, and much more.

“We currently market our products through attending horse events, with our purpose-built trailer shop as well as by Internet and email, and we offer a swift courier service. I come from a

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Gas & Tyre

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Forestry Report

NORTHERN FOREST PRODUCTS

by Gary Leslie

Chinese New Year is past and this was followed by an immediate correction in log prices, upwards, and this despite a massive increase in China log inventory during February (from 1.8 M M3 to 3.1 M M3 in five weeks).

This latest US$3.00 JAS increase across all grades, coupled with a steady exchange rate, shipping costs on an even keel and the widespread summer dry, is making this season one to remember for woodlot owners and for all the right reasons. Export prices are uncharacteristically high with A-grade nudging $120 at most North Island ports.

It really is a case of making hay while the sun shines. With the fantastic ground

conditions extending the harvest window, logging crews are being established onto sites that in a normal March would be too risky due to environmental risk or the prospect of excessive roading costs.

If you are still contemplating harvesting your woodlot this autumn, there are contractors available.

So what is underpinning steady increases in log export prices this summer?

China needs wood for their growing

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economy. Traditional volume from Russia has declined. Recent supply from North America is expensive and more so as the USA economy gains some traction.

New Zealand has demonstrated it is responsive to meet increases or decreases in demand, a bit like a tap. NZ has wood surplus to requirement with forest growth far exceeding domestic demand and the flow of these exported logs moving out of NZ is turned on and off very effectively by price, as unsophisticated as this may sound. This is how our export log market works and increasing prices this summer is simply turning on the tap. Record export volumes from NZ of 1.2 M M3 per month have resulted.

How long will the current strong prices last?

Unregulated markets like logs will tend to over-correct and under-correct in supply/ demand and price. Because underlying demand for logs is strong fundamentally, I don’t see an over dramatic price collapse on the horizon. Historically the tap has been turned off with clinical precision by a series of sharp and brutal price reductions.

With collapsing log prices, export volumes soon drop along with forest owner faces and industry morale. But I don’t see this happening in the next few months due to underlying demand. The correction that is coming, to whatever extent, hopefully modest, will probably occur MayAugust 2013.

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I like the single-seller model because it works and full credit to the dairy industry, kiwifruit industry and whichever other industry can achieve legislative regulation supporting the trading desk of their primary producers. Unfortunately for forest owners, anyone can fill a ship with logs, send it offshore, and call themselves an exporter.

Irrespective of the market conditions, these many exporters are competing to sell their shipload of logs at the receiving port. The log buyers have sophisticated communication networks and when the buyers talk and co-operate more effectively than the sellers, guess who wins? The effects are even more dramatic when an oversupply situation occurs and log inventories build on New Zealand ports.

To begin with, NZ ports can store less than one month’s supply of logs at current export levels. Add to this the fact that once a tree is cut the log has a shelf life of about 12 weeks, less in a humid environment.

Exporters are forced to ship their inventory to keep logs fresh and to make room for more, so the first thing to cave in is the price. This is followed shortly after by the forest owners’ morale as they stop

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While we are talking about markets, let’s look at the question that begs to be asked. “Why doesn’t NZ Inc. export logs under a single-seller co-operative model, similar to the way Fonterra markets milk, with all forest owners as ‘cooperative’ shareholders?”

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brought to you by achieving some co-operative benefits to forest owners. You can find out more by visitinghttp://www.forestvoice.org.nz The second tranche of pre-1990 NZU’s are being released faster than flys from a fruit bowl and with a face value of $1.50 each most of us are parking them under the fruit bowl, prepared to wait for as long as it takes for prices to go up. From a forest owner perspective NZ has nothing to lose by bailing from the Kyoto CP2 (second commitment period) as Europe has a low view of NZ forestry and the latest blow was the removal of the ‘fast-forest fix’. Like all other markets, carbon prices are driven by supply and demand. As a result of NZ withdrawing from Kyoto, the New Zealand Emissions Unit Register have confirmed that New Zealand will be barred from trading in almost all Kyoto credits generated under the second commitment period. As far as

29

SER V ICES

I’m concerned that’s good news for forest owners who have had limited success converting NZU’s to AAU’s and trading these internationally at prices that exceed the local market for NZU’s. On the other hand, NZ emitters have been ploughing international markets to purchase Kyoto sanctioned carbon credits and meet their emission obligations for less than 20 cents each. The removal of seemingly limitless numbers of internationally derived Kyoto generated carbon credits from the NZ emissions trading scheme should force NZ emitters to offset with NZU’s so forest owners be patient and wait.

If you have any comments or questions then email enquiry@nfp.co.nz Gary Leslie is a forest owner and proprietor of Northern Forest Products Ltd, specialising in harvest management and log marketing since 1999.

Fred’s Bobcat

harvesting and lock the forest gate. Finally along come the transporters to collect the harvesting contractor’s machinery being repossessed by finance companies because the contractors have no work. No one can argue that an unregulated manyseller model is a good model for forest owners or the supporting infrastructure.

So for me the single seller model for the forest industry is a ‘no-brainer’. Log supply and price could both be more effectively controlled but can this ever be achieved in NZ Inc? I don’t think so. The best opportunity NZ ever had to establish a single-seller model for the forest industry was when the NZ Government was the largest forest owner through the New Zealand Forest Service (NZFS), and the big two private forest owners, New Zealand Forest Products (NZFP) and Fletcher Challenge, were indebted to the Government for its generosity (by this I mean they were benefitting from significant subsidies and would be good listeners to new ideas put forth).

and export log prices were exceptional relative to today. The potential existed at this time, in the 1970s and the 1980s to easily legislate a single-seller structure for log exports with all forest owners coming on board. That’s because there weren’t many forest owners and the NZFS held all the aces. However in 1987 the NZFS was disestablished, and the progressive sale of New Zealand’s forest assets in following years to an array of mostly foreign investment entities, many of these log export competitors or log export customers themselves, spelt the death knell to any realistic prospect of a meaningful singleseller export or marketing model in the forest industry. Why would a forest owner come into a single-seller structure if their primary goal in investing in NZ forests is to secure cheaper wood? The only way I can see the forest industry in this country form a meaningful single-seller co-operative model is if forest ownership is nationalised and that’s not going to happen, or not in my lifetime, but stranger things have happened.

The NZFS did control log exports in the beginning of our relatively young radiata pine export log trade — they had the surplus logs. Logs went to Japan initially and then Korea emerged as a key customer

There is currently a forestry levy referendum under way and it runs until 29 March 2013. All qualifying forest owners can vote on whether a 27 cents/tonne levy should be compulsory for the purpose of

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March 2013

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Farm awards highlight good news stories companies, some of our beef farmers are implementing similar measures.

The cash surplus from which such work is funded is a lot less on beef farms so progress will be much slower, but farmers are doing what they can.

Some meat companies, who have contracts with very demanding European supermarket chains, are offering a premium for sustainably produced meat.

We challenge the others to follow suit and help grow that cash surplus.

by Bob Cathcart, Land Management Specialist, Northland Regional Council

Bad news stories tend to dominate the media, so it’s a rare occasion that we hear about farmers who are doing all the right things to protect water quality.

The reality is there are lots of good news stories happening around our region’s farms, and that was reinforced for me again when judging this year’s finals of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards for Northland.

I won’t spoil the surprise — the

awards evening isn’t until 27 March — but I can say that some of our primary producers are making great strides towards minimising their environmental footprint.

They are but the tip of a large ‘iceberg’ of good practice — farmers, foresters,

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orchardists and growers who are implementing good practice measures developed and promoted by their industry sector groups. We need to recognise and celebrate these achievements.

We have dairy farmers who take pride in their fenced streams, carefully managed effluent spray systems, and no-pugging grazing policies. They have created wetlands through which paddock runoff is filtered to remove sediment and nutrients. Their fenced drains have not needed cleaning for over ten years and their cow’s shelter from the sun under strategically planted shade trees.

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

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I am not saying there is no bad practice out there. There are some farmers who are letting their side down rather badly, tarnishing the reputation of the whole industry. But instead of concentrating on them, let’s recognise and promote the good ones, setting a standard to which others may aspire.

If you want to see what the top farmers are doing in practicing financially, socially and environmentally sustainable farming, come along to the various industry field days. The Balance Farm Environment Supreme Winner field day (date to be advised) is well worth a look, as are the days run by Beef and Lamb New Zealand and by Dairy NZ. These field days are an opportunity to hear directly from farmers — and their families — who are making a difference through their good practices, and these are truly good news stories.

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A new innovative and easy way to clean your spouting and downpipes to prevent leaves and debris from clogging up your stormwater system. Collect rainwater, and divert dangerous runoff from entering into our precious waterways.

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Richard Campbell, Director Mobile: 021 732 240 PO Box 4174, Kamo, Whangarei, Northland Fax: 09 435 0658 FREE PHONE: 0800 367 933 email: nvc2012ltd@gmail.com

Are you looking for WoRKeRs accommodation/Bach/RentaL oR just anothe o anotheR famiLy home?

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Phone anytime WoRK: 09 435 7285 moBiLe: 0274 874 188

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

31

FIELD DAYS FOLLOW UPS Records tumble at Field Days

Field Days Results

With more than 25,000 through the gates, the Northland Field Days is on track to setting new records, especially once the receipts are fully counted by exhibitors.

The tractor pull celebrated its 21st birthday with Shane Phillips wining the main competition on Thursday and Mark Phillips won the hotly-contended 21st birthday Champion’s race on Saturday.

Visitor numbers were up by 1,000 over last year’s event, and according to major exhibitors, the punters were in a mood to spend.

“When all our paper transactions are translated into completed contracts, then we are looking at the Field Days event generating somewhere in the region of three to four million dollars in business in the foreseeable future,” said one agricultural service exhibitor, who asked not to be named for commercial reasons.

“For that reason you can be assured we will be back here next year.”

Visitor numbers were boosted on Saturday, when 11,000 came to the show, enjoying 25 degrees, cloudless skies and plenty of free entertainment including tractor pull, lawnmower races, dog trials, logger sports and quad bike contests.

It was in sharp contrast to the boisterous winds and weather which closed the event early last year.

The huge crowds also spilled over into an economic boom for Dargaville and regional accommodation and other service providers.

“We were packed out with visitors all over the place, including many exhibitors and some were even in tents,” said Parkview Motel and Dargaville Campervan Park and Cabins operator, James Brackenbury.

“In fact you couldn’t get accommodation at any price, unless you had managed to stay privately somewhere.”

Farmers of New Zealand operations director, Bill Guest, said the overall quality of exhibits seemed a major success factor.

Keep Your Animals In

Alan Van Hartigen won the open quad skills competition with Megan Browning taking out the ladies competition.

“The quality of exhibits and the marquees have improved dramatically over the years and with reports of returns to these people in good revenues generated, well then their efforts deserve to be rewarded.”

Field Days President Lew Duggan says plans will begin immediately for next year’s event, which will be held from Thursday February 30 to Saturday March 1, to work in with regional field days in Gore and Fielding.

“The 2014 field days will be bigger and better than this year’s event,” he said.

“The committee is working on some really exciting changes. I can’t wait for next year to roll round.”

The ANZ Bank and More FM took out the bank and business house competitions when the gates opened last Thursday.

Prizes and giveaways at the event included a motorbike and a wide variety of farm-related produce.

Offer valid until

Kaiwaka Suzuki 1916 State Highway 1, Kaiwaka

Warkworth Motorcycles 22 Whittaker Rd, Warkworth

(09) 431 2123

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1st – “We’ve got it covered” 2nd – “Team Sowry” 3rd – “Team Red”

New Entrant Matthew Sandford

1st – Shane Phillips 2nd – Debbie Martin 3rd – Steven Hansen

Main Draw

Bank Team Entry Winner ANZ Business Team Entry Winner

21st Previous Contender 3–Legged Race

MoreFM Carl Phillips Memorial Trophy

1st – Mark Phillips 2nd – Robbie Yates 3rd – Greg Dassler

Debbie Martin

DARGAVILLE FIELD DAYS – MARCH 2013 We would like to thank our clients and all those people who visited our site.

Also we wish to congratulate Mary Lewis, the winner of the $500 NZ Refining Shares donated by our Wealth Management Division.

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Field Days organisers and exhibitors also gave away thousands in prizes each day. Joe Danher from Tamaterau won the Thursday gate prize of $4,800 Chris Longville from Warkworth won prizes worth $2,800 on Thursday and Sarah Bird from Dargaville won prizes worth $1,600.

TOP CONDITION with Kibbled and Whole Maize from Grainco.

Karl Bow was named the logger of the day in the Northland Loggersports event.

The Montana team took out the team event, relegating last year’s winners Paniora Logging to second and third place.

you mentio

Muck Spreaders Kotte Garant Slurry tankers Strautmann Hopkins

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Office/Parts/Service: 06 354 2813 Machinery Doc Ltd Sales: andrew Hopkins 027 486 2642 Dave Robbie — Whangarei Email: strautmann@hopkinsfarming.co.nz 021 851 372

32

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Fishing, Hunting Outdoors The best fishing around Some of the best game and saltwater fishing in the world is right on Northland’s doorstep with the Bay of Islands offering a close-to-home break — and a pause from drought problems.

Summer catches have been good. The clear waters coupled with the low level of commercial fishing have the result of offering plenty of bountiful fishing.

Blue Sea Charters Eddie Brookes is a ‘one stop shop’ when it comes to Bay of Islands know-how.

“When you contact us you will be dealing directly with the owners of the Blue Sea fleet — myself or my wife Marjorie. We have extensive knowledge of not only the Bay of Islands fishing conditions, but also the local Pahia and Russell accommodation, attractions, and activities. We can help you plan your overall Bay of Islands fishing break.

“We cater for the novice who dreams of catching a big game fish, the tourist who just wants to enjoy snapper fishing and the experienced angler who is after a world class fish.

“Captain Andrew McKinnon welcomes you aboard Skipper Jim — the snapper catcher ideal for all fishing people, including family groups with small children.

“The boat has been purpose built by a fisherman to catch fish. Enjoy the stability of a catamaran, which has a comfortable lounge and spacious cockpit, with GPS and fish finder.”

TOP QUALITY NZ PILCHARDS Also squid, mullet, mackerel, berley & bonito.

Look for the Salty Dog brand in a bait store near you.

SALTY DOG BAIT Sole catcher & supplier of NZ Pilchards

Above: A marlin hooked up.

Right: Blue Sea’s boat, Splash.

Eddie says all tackle and bait are provided but customers are welcome to bring their own.

“We target snapper and all reef fishing around Nine Pin, Cape Brett, Middle Reef, Bird Rock, The Capstan, Black Rocks and Whale Rock.

Marsden Cove Fishing Charters

Ph (09) 433 7002 Email: saltydogbait@xtra.co.nz

South ISland tour 2013 ~ May 8—25 Experience the Best of the Beautiful South Island in Comfort!

Inclusions: • Dinner, Bed and Breakfast in quality hotels • Flight to Christchurch • Deluxe coach travel and full commentary • Cook Straight Ferry Crossing • Tranz Alpine Train Journey • TSS Earnslaw Cruise & Dinner • Milford Sound Boat Cruise and Picnic Lunch

• Albatross Colony Information Centre • Larnach Castle • Lunch at the historic “Tophouse” • WOW in Nelson • 4 x two night hotel stays Price Per Person: Share twin nZ $3,600 Single room nZ $4,590

Phone: 09 426 5504 or 09 377 5576 Email: info@bayescoachlines.co.nz www.bayescoachlines.co.nz

The other Blue Seas boat is the 36-ft Splash, under Captain Shane Shepherd, and the vessel is a tournament fishing record holder.

See NZ Fishing News article December 2012 issue (pages 118‑122).

Call

www.marsdencovefishing.co.nz www.facebook.com/MarsdenCoveFishing

“Go to our website now to download the itinerary and booking form”

Phone 027 492 2824

Photo courtesy: Professional Skipper Magazine

Blue Sea FISHING CHarterSS d s n a l s I f o y Ba

The best game fishing for marlin, tuna and shark is right now — between December and May — while salt water fly and light tackle fishing is good year round for trevally, yellowtail, kingfish, kahawai, grouper, snapper and John Dory.

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Weather permitting, we travel at 26‑30 knots — getting you there faster, allowing more time to fish.

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“Skipper Jim is licensed for up to a maximum of 10 anglers on board and we pick up anglers from Paihia and Russell Piers.”

Blue Sea Fishing Charters operates out of the Bay of Islands on New Zealand’s East Coast.

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NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

Be my Guest Another discovery of bovine TB in a dairy herd at Awanui near Kaitaia has far reaching ramifications for the Northland region and New Zealand stock control systems as a whole.

At a recent meeting between the Northland region Animal Health Board committee and senior officials a resolution was passed unanimously that concrete action had to be taken to re-establish Northlands hard earned TB free reputation, which has been shattered by these outbreaks. This includes destruction of the infected herd and strict quarantine measures.

The TB outbreak was identified earlier this month, and at the time of writing, Animal Health Board officers are at the affected farm area discussing action.

while TB testing over a 10 kilometre radius was moved from a three year cycle to annually.

Northland regional health board committee, during deliberations on the matter were unanimous with the use of the phrase; ‘elimination, elimination, elimination’ and it is my view this is the only remedy to restore Northland’s much valued and prized TB-free status, something achieved by dedicated farmers over more than a quarter of a century.

He says further laboratory analysis is being undertaken. If TB is not found, it indicates the disease is unlikely to be present in local wild animal populations.

At the time the outbreak was discovered, infected cows were withdrawn from milking and animal movement in the area was curtailed,

The situation is being overseen

by TBfree New Zealand and Frank Pavitt, the Northern Central North Island regional co-ordinator for the Animal Health Board reports that around 350 possums and other wild animals in the surrounding area have been examined since the infection was detected and that none have shown signs of TB on initial inspection.

However, several more animals in the Awanui-based infected dairy herd have tested positive to TB and will be removed from the herd as soon as possible. I am of the view, as are my fellow committee members, that these animals must be destroyed and buried on the property.

We do not support these animals going into the AFFCO freezing works or any other meat processing complex.

33

Bill Guest, Farmers of New Zealand

Mr Pavitt was at Awanui this week and reported that with the very large percentage of positive reactions in the herd that the whole situation was under ‘active robust and effective management.’

He also said all past movements to and from the infected herd are being investigated and traced. Livestock now located on these properties are being tested and he said TBfree New Zealand

We appreciate the “ co-operation of farmers and landowners in allowing our TB testing and wild animal control contractor access to their properties

”

cattle and deer testing contractors have been out in force to identify any signs of the disease in other herds.

Several herds in Northland require further investigation, with some possibly infected. Further testing in the next week will confirm if the disease has spread from the original herd to others within Northland.

‘We appreciate the co-operation of farmers and landowners in allowing our TB testing and wild animal control contractors access to their properties,’ said Mr Pavitt.

TBfree New Zealand staff were also at the Northland Field Days to speak with farmers about the infection and its response to the situation.

From the point of view of Farmers of New Zealand, there needs to be much stricter controls involved in TB protection. At present, it is possible for infected stock to be used in ‘combined’ herds, where there is a leeway factor of some 20 percent, where stock from a C1 classified herd, the low TB rating, can be included in a herd of C10 cattle. We are calling for a much stricter regime, which in the past has been rebuffed by the AWB — we suspect because of vested interests among the farmers involved.

Where there is an incentive to make money from the sales of stock, there is maybe less incentive towards the paperwork involved. These TB infected cattle almost certainly came into Northland by truck. We can only hope that the introduction of electronic tagging — the NAIT programme — will finally tighten this loophole up, for the safety of the entire industry.

34

March 2013

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs

Northern Rural Marketplace Acraflex Dairy Wall Coatings New or existing walls

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Colourcrete Dairy Floor Resurfacing System Suitable for repairing damaged dairy floors or slippery areas Bruce Cameron 027 498 8412 / 09 235 8263

Anlyn Piling & Contracting Ltd

Phone 09 439 5902

027 543 7244

Mobile 027 484 1823 • Fax 09 439 1320

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

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p. 09 401 1706 | bobflorist@xtra.co.nz 107 Broadway Kaikohe | www.bouquetsonbroadway.co.nz

C&C Contract Electrical Commercial • Industrial Domestic • Dairy

Phone Craig 021 440 634 09 439 6465

TREE SERVICES

Building of rammed earth homes

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

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P: 430 0674

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www.bioslifesystem.com • Email helenslifestyle@gmail.com Contact Helen 09 433 8411 or 027 293 7157

Implements irect for tractor attachments visit us online

PH 0800 733 355

Galvanized Towbar BUY ONLINE $195 Inc GST

www.implementsdirect.co.nz

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

Neil Johnson P: (09) 438 4273

Dempster Digger s Ltd PH: 027 262 1848 A/H: 09 433 7325 www.dempsterdiggers.co.nz

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*Post hole borers *Box Graders *3 pt Scoops *Concrete mixers *Wood Chippers DEMO VIDEOS AND MORE

Free parking and we don’t run late

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

THE BLOCK MOWING & PROPERTY MAINTENANCE For all your earthworks Diggers, Trucks, Transporter & Bobcat hire Horse Arenas • House Sites • Subdivisions • Pole Holes • Roading • Driveways • Footings • Drainage • Rocks

We specialise in • Small Lifestyle block mowing • Large lawns, sections, subdivisions, • New equipment (John Deere) • Do your paddocks need TOPPING? or general tidy up • Catcher available for house lawns • Enquire now for your earthworks or general tidy up

Phone: Bruce 021 557344 | Jan 021 407305 | 09 407 3033 jjscontracting@xtra.co.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

IES CONSTRUCTION LTD. CONCRETE AND TILT SLAB CONSTRUCTION • • • •

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

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“Moving the earth for you” • Truck & Trailer • 12 Tonne Digger • BoBcaT • augers for hole Drilling

general earThmoving suBsoil Drainage suBDivision DevelopmenT meTal carTage farm races BuilDing siTes

Servicing Waipu, Maungaturoto and the wider area.

Ph Murray 021 330 248 a/hrs 09 432 1742

NORTHERN FaRmiNg LiFEsTyLEs March 2013

35

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

• 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

Northland Laser Drainage Ltd

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

Specialising in Fertiliser and Metal cartage.

30 Tonne units available.

We cover your country!

MARGARET & JOHN BISHOP

Redan Auto Electrical

Neil Carter Trading as

Subsurface Drainage Specialists (Nth)

BATTERY & AIR CONDITIONING SPECIALISTS

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Windy Ridge ContRaCting

Positrac with tilt bucket, rippers, rake, laser etc • Driveway/race rejuvenations, calf shed clean out • Rock removal, retaining walls, section/paddock clearing, shaping, levelling, sowing

Phone Colin 09 439 7266 ~ Mob 021 882 857 • Round Bale Hay and Silage • Medium Square Baling • Conventional Baling • Cultivation • Undersowing • 8 Tonne Tip Trailer • Mulching • Fencing

CES 027 477 1510 (20+yrs experience)

TURFWORKS NORTHLAND

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Servicing the Kaipara and Whangarei Districts

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

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Property Maintenance

Nurseries & Plants

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 30/4/13.

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 30/4/13.

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.

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 30/4/13.

FREE QUOTES given for servicing your driveway, section clearing, rubbish removal, post hole boring, and more. With over 5 years experience Fred’s Bobcats can provide you with efficient honest service at a good rate. Phone Fred 09 430 6978 or 027 246 4385.

GREENHOUSE FOR Sale. The best greenhouse in NZ. See us at the Northland Field Days — Site 267a for specials and new designs! 10 year warranty.

Call us at Palmers Gardenworld Whangarei on 09 430 4070. Or visit www.wintergardenz.co.nz.

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.

SINTERED BRAKE PADS — for MX & FarmBikes — from $39 at Rouse Motorcycles, King Street, Hikurangi. Phone 0800 963 636. www.atvtyres.co.nz.

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.

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.

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 30/4/13.

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.

HOOPER DISCS — Hooper super giant 5 aside discs, sandblasted and painted, all new bearings.

2 sets available, from $ 4250 + GST. Phone 021 228 5229.

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.

TRACTOR PARTS new & used huge range for McCormick, John Deere, New Holland, Massey Ferguson, Ford, AgSpares Whangarei 0800 788 788.

TRACTOR SEATS Full range, for cab & non cab tractors. Seat pans from $59+GST Suspension seats from $149+GST www.agspares.co.nz 0800 788 788.

TRACTOR TRAY, Galvanised frame, tidy condition, 1950x1000 22mm pins $450+GST AgSpares Whangarei 0800 788 788.

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 30/4/13.

WINDMILL WATER pumps by Ferguson Windmills Company. Phone 09 412 8655. www.windmills.co.nz. sales@windmills.co.nz.

Farm Services FREE DELIVERY Northland wide for new or used tractors and implements. Specialising in smaller machines for Lifestyle and Horticulture Blocks.

Package deals to suit your needs. TT Network International 09 406 0435 or 027 496 4565 Email: ttnetwork@orcon.net.nz.

Wanted WANTED LATE model tractors, any condition, Cash paid, Phone AgSpares 0800 788 788.

Travel CARNIVAL OF VENICE, Tuscany & Cinque Terre.

Escorted tour 27 February — 17 March 2014.

Incl fares ex Auck, accom, sightseeing, all transport in Italy. Skylark Tours 09 432 8065 www.skylarktours.co.nz.

GET TO the fishing spots fast in a new, comfortable 12.5m Cat. Half and full day charters available plus game fishing. For more information see our website www.marsdencovefishing.co.nz or Phone Wally Browning 027 492 2824.

NIUE ISLAND — Escorted tours 6 — 13 July 2013 or 3 — 10 August 2013; incl airfares, accom, four ½-day tours & great optional extras. Skylark Tours 09 432 8065 www.skylarktours.co.nz.

NEPAL ESCORTED tour 14 — 28 Oct 2013.

Optional add-on to Bhutan. Incl fares, accom, 3-day mini trek, white water rafting, jungle safari. Skylark Tours 09 432 8065 www.skylarktours.co.nz.

RUAKAKA KAYAKING. Paddle in sheltered estuary, suitable for families. Hire from $15 single, $25 double, per hour. 2.5 hour guided ecotours available. Bookings: 09 432 8668.

Water Services BULK HOUSEHOLD water deliveries. For fast, friendly and reliable service, Phone water2go, 09 438 7141 or 021 714 660. Free quotes and WINZ quote available.

Work Wanted CONCRETE PADS, shed floors, feedout pads, house floors, driveways, footpaths, concrete cutting and drilling, retaining walls, paling fences, excavation work. Waipu, Ruakaka, Whangarei, Mangawhai & Langs Beach. Phone Mark 027 443 3130 or 09 432 0107.

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

Wanted

36

March 2013 NORTHERN Farming Lifestyles

$1000 FREE ACCESSORIES

*

AWD Mode Turf Mode

POLARIS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION INDEPENDENT REAR SUSPENSION

ON-DEMAND TRUE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

TIPPING DUMP BOX

UNLOCKING REAR DIFF

RANGER 400 H.O.

• 29 horsepower 455cc High-Output Engine • 454kg Payload Capacity • Lock & Ride Cargo System

Only $13,475 Ex. GST RANGER 500 EFI

• 32 horsepower 498cc Engine • Electronic Fuel Injection • 567kg Towing Capacity

Only $14,785 Ex. GST

$500 FREE ACCESSORIES

*

POLARIS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION

KG 165/680 ROLLED INDEPENDENT REAR SUSPENSION

ON-DEMAND TRUE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

ACTIVE DESCENT CONTROL AND ENGINE BRAKING SYSTEM

ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION

TOP CARRYING / TOWING

SPORTSMAN XP 550

• 549cc 4-Stroke SOHC Engine • Anti-kickback Steering • Lock & Ride Cargo System

Only $11,735 Ex. GST SPORTSMAN XP 550 EPS • Electronic Power Steering • Superior Ergonomics for your comfort

Only $13,040 Ex. GST ROUSE MOTORCYCLES 1 KING STREET, HIKURANGI. PH: (09) 433 8471.

MAUNGATUROTO MOTORCYCLES LTD 117 HURNDALL ST, MAUNGATUROTO. PH: (09) 431 8555

KUMEU CHAINSAW & MOWER SERVICES MAIN ROAD, HUAPAI. PH: (09) 412 8109.

*Offer ends 31st March 2013. Offer not available with any other promotions. See dealer for details. Accessories fitted are for illustrative purposes only.

www.polaris.co.nz Lifestyle Farmer Polaris NZ Free Accessories Ad 210x297mm.indd 1

2/27/2013 2:30:03 PM