NZFarmer North Island - 3 December 2024 by NZFarmer

P3 Strawberries always in demand at Christmas P10

Hamming it up for Christmas

Although some people prefer to sit down to a lamb roast on Christmas Day, ham is versatile and a ﬁrm favourite of Kiwis who will munch through more than 1000 tonnes during the festive season. But, before it hits dinner tables across Aotearoa, a lot of work goes into raising pigs for the market. Read the full story on page 6.

MANJA WACHSMUTH

ANZ bucks big bank trend by not setting dairy emissions target

Banking

Rob Stock

ANZ has decided to remain the only one of the big four Australian-owned banks not to set emissions reduction targets for its dairy sector loan book Banks are trying to reduce the climatedamaging emissions they ﬁnance through making loans to businesses, but while Westpac, BNZ and ASB have set emissions intensity reduction targets for their dairy lending, ANZ says it can’t see a clear reduction pathway for the dairy sector.

“At the moment, we’re not setting a dairy target, and the reason is that we don’t see the pathway clearly for our dairy customers to reducing emissions,” said ANZ’s New Zealand chief executive Antonia Watson ANZ’s stance comes as MPs are conducting a banking inquiry, probing topics including how bank climate policies are affecting their willingness to lend to farmers, who complain banks prefer to funnel the bulk of their lending into urban home loans.

It also comes as Westpac, BNZ and ASB have all set 2030 reduction targets, angering New Zealand farmers by setting tougher emissions intensity reduction targets in New Zealand than their Australian parent banks have set for Australian dairy farm lending.

Last week, Stuff revealed Westpac aimed to reduce the emissions intensity of its dairy loan books in Australia and New Zealand by 10% by 2030.

But as Australian farmers are currently far higher emitters, the bank’s targets allow them to continue producing more CO₂-equivalent emissions per tonne of milk in 2030, than farmers in New Zealand do today.

BNZ was taking a similar 10% reduction line, and while ASB has set a target, its parent bank Commonwealth Bank of Australia has not done so in Australia, saying the Australian agriculture sector was

“essential” for Australian food security and the ﬁnancial health of regional economies, though it had tilted its lending away from less-productive, higher-emissions regions.

Federated Farmers protested the different trans-Tasman bank targets, saying the Australian-owned banks were “unfairly targeting Kiwi farmers”.

Both ASB and Westpac have defended their dual target stance.

Aidan Gent, ASB’s general manager of rural banking, who is a part-owner of a dairy farming operation, said: “Our focus is on support for New Zealand farmers within the context of the New Zealand environment, supply chain and the strong starting point we have.

‘‘This makes comparison with other countries’ glide paths less meaningful.”

He said more 80% of New Zeal exports were going to countries with mandatory climaterelated disclosure regimes proposed or in force.

Westpac said its different targets reﬂected “different starting positions”, with New Zealand being more efficient today.

“The targets are at portfolio level, rather than for individual farmers, and are for an improvement in intensity rather than absolute reductions,” it said, explaining after a backlash from farmers last week.

Research gave it conﬁdence the targets were “achievable based on current best practices and technology”, the bank said, adding its targets were similar to rd McIntyre, Federated Farmers’ dairy chairperson, said: “Kiwi Farmers wake up every day trying to ﬁnd ways to get better and be more efficient.

“The problem is that there are no current emission reduction technologies that are commercially viable for pastoral farming.”

Like the other big banks, ANZ has been collecting imate-related data on borrowers, however, said: “We feel like a bit more data needed before we’ve got the conﬁdence to seek something that’s achievable.”

VANESSA LAURIE/STUFF

The multinational companies taking New Zealand dairy had signed up to achieve net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, he said.

The ASB target aligned with New Zealand dairy industry targets, and was based on the Climate Change Commission’s ‘Demonstration Path’ developed to achieve New Zealand’s emissions budgets fairly and equitably

ANZ in Australia published its climate disclosure in November saying it would be “premature” to set a target as there was “an absence of a widely accepted Paris-aligned pathway for Australian agriculture”, and that the availability and quality of emissions data made it hard to accurately estimate its ﬁnanced emissions.

And, it said: “The availability and quality of emissions data remains a challenge and impacts our ability to accurately estimate ﬁnanced emissions.”

ANZ’s New Zealand chief executive Antonia Watson appeared before the banking inquiry in October to answer questions about the bank’s high profits, and its climate policies.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF

Dairy farmers in New Zealand are not impressed by big banks treating Australian and New Zealand dairy farmers differently when setting emissions reductions targets.

Sonita

027 446 6221

sonita.chandar@stuff.co.nz

Kwok

Nina Weil

Rachel Trevelyan

Sam Davenport COVER

HEAD

Kate

021 279 5361 kate.boreham@stuff.co.nz

Ham or lamb?

Sonita Chandar EDITOR

For me, there is something about a ham on the bone that really kicks off the Christmas festive season.

A roast leg of lamb no longer does this for me. Let me explain

Living on a farm, we are lucky and have access to lamb and eat it often But a couple of years ago, the kids asked if we could do something else I decided a roast lamb was no longer a special meal to eat on Christmas Day as I could have one anytime of the year and we do

So it was out with the roast lamb and in with Beef Wellington. It was something different and something new for the Christmas dinner. And delicious to boot. Using Gordon Ramsay’s recipe, it was a meal that everyone in my family pitched in to prepare.

This year, one person in my family wants to go back to a traditional roast lamb, but the rest of us are not so keen

One thing is for sure, though – there will be ham Many Kiwis will buy a ham for Christmas, with nearly 1000 tonnes of it sold during the period. And why not? It’s versatile, can go a long way and there are so many ways to enjoy it – hot or cold

In comparison, more than 200 tonnes of lamb legs are sold in Woolworth’s supermarkets alongside 7.6 tonnes of turkey, a less popular option. Foodstuffs North Island sold about 300 tonnes of lamb leg and 83 tonnes of turkey in the lead-up to Christmas Day.

While ham might be the more traditional Christmas meat of choice, a survey by Retail Meat New Zealand showed that about 34% of respondents prefer lamb on Christmas day, while 33% preferred ham.

There’s not much in it. One thing that lamb has in its favour, though: it’s guaranteed to be home-grown

The same unfortunately cannot be said for pork. According to data from NZPork, New Zealand is facing a signiﬁcant inﬂux of imported pork, much of it from countries that permit pig farming practices illegal in New Zealand and, in some cases, have herds affected by African Swine Fever (ASF).

That is concerning.

Between January and September this year, imported pork accounted for nearly 62% of pork consumed in New Zealand. In 2023, we imported a total of 66,686 carcass weight equivalent tonnes (CWE) of pork.

In comparison, local pig farmers produced 41,099 CWE tonnes of New Zealand-born and raised pork.

New Zealand’s pig welfare standards are among the highest globally. NZPork has been a strong advocate for Government action to create a level playing ﬁeld, urging that imported pork should be held to the same standards as locally produced pork.

But how do you know if it’s homegrown or imported? Labelling, we are told, is often confusing as it is imported then packed locally. Current labelling allows prominent New Zealand branding on products made from imported pork, with the country of origin noted only in small print. Only those pork products that carry the 100% NZ Pork label are guaranteed to be home-grown.

My message here then is this: times are tough for everyone Support New Zealand farmers and buy only those products grown here at home.

It has been a busy few months on the farm, with calving and mating, and lambing – and now cropping and

harvesting along with shearing. The holiday season is just around the corner.

But many of you dairy farmers will still have to get up and pull on your gumboots and head out to milk on the day, tanker drivers will still be collecting milk, and factories will still be processing. Sheep and beef farmers might also have to head out on the farm to do a few jobs while working off a big lunch.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, we hope you ﬁnd time to relax and spend time with your families and eat a fruit mince pie or two.

Thank you to our readers, agribusiness partners and advertisers for your ongoing support: we could not do this without you. From the team here at NZFarmer, we wish you all ‘Season’s Greetings, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’. – Sonita Get in touch with us at nzfarmer@stuff.co.nz

Banking inquiry lacks teeth

Economist Gordon Stuart, from Chaperon, takes a look at the banking inquiry.

Voltaire said judge a man by the quality of his questions, rather than his answers. The select committee banking inquiry has lacked teeth, and in particular quality questions. That is not surprising.

Few if any politicians understand banks Banks are massive, diverse businesses that are required to report under complicated and difficult-to-understand international accounting standards. Like all large corporates, they are adept at reporting their “spin” or case in their own best light. To ﬁnd the right questions to ask, we need to look to the notes to the accounts for the four big Aussie banks. Yes, “it takes a robber to catch a thief”.

The key issue is why are proﬁts so high year after year, and volatility of earnings so low?

Bank proﬁts have surged in the past 30 years, rising at a compound growth rate exceeding 8% annually since 1991 The New Zealand economy has averaged around two-thirds of that growth rate. Bank proﬁts have become a bigger share of the economic pie, and the money mostly ends up overseas

The recent reporting season was notable for how solid and strong bank proﬁtability has been, despite the difficult economic climate. Some of this can be

put down to sound management But it also raises a question. Banks charge a margin for taking risk. Sometimes they will be caught and lose money The margin reﬂects the price of credit risk. But how much risk are they actually taking? It appears not a lot if you deep-dive into their statutory accounts.

The four Aussie banks’ combined impairment expense totalled only $287 million or 3% of their combined net proﬁt before impairments totalling in excess of $9 billion. However, impairments are mostly provisioning for future potential loss, like a provision for bad debts. At two banks, there were no bad debts in the last two years from the wider business sector. A detailed analysis of losses is needed. Questions need to be asked – are capital requirements too high and are credit

“

The Reserve Bank’s best intention of trying to make banks safer by holding more capital has scored a huge own goal.

Gordon Stuart

models too conservative, resulting in banks over-estimating loss given default, and therefore over-pricing risk/return?

How has regulatory capital setting impacted New Zealand’s productivity?

The Reserve Bank’s best intention of trying to make banks safer by holding more capital has scored a huge own goal. Banks have simply lent more into the low-risk weighted housing market at the expense of the economy’s productive side. Lending has been diverted from business and farming to the less productive housing. The change in the composition of boards and senior management over time reﬂects this, as does the loss of grey hair at the frontline. It has become increasingly difficult to source working capital for growth, or, simply

put, slower business and farming growth equals lower productivity for NZ Inc.

Divisional analysis shows 50% of proﬁts are coming from business, agri, corporate and institutional

Despite making up a much smaller part of all the four banks’ balance sheets than personal lending/house mortgages, an analysis of the divisional cost to income ratios shows business, agriculture and corporate net interest margins are much higher (lending base rates have margin already built in), and the operating expenses/staff costs servicing these customers are much lower than personal banking. The diversion of resource to personal lending has led to lower customer service levels.

Banks are making excess alpha returns versus the risk they are taking

A basic principle of ﬁnance is that you need a higher expected return if you are taking on more risk. It is why expected returns on an equity portfolio are higher than one comprising bonds or cash.

The same applies to companies that are cyclical and move with the economic cycle, as opposed to sectors that offer more stable cash ﬂow, such as utilities.

The 2024 OECD’s Economic Survey of New Zealand noted: “These four large New Zealand banks generated an average shareholder return of 15% after tax over 2018-2022, compared to 7% for small New Zealand banks, 13% for large banks in Australia, and 11% for their counterparts overseas (RBNZ, 2023); the risk-adjusted return gap appears to be even higher.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

Do you know where your

It surely tops the turkey, and by a margin, the roast lamb. The Christmas ham is hard to turn down, but what work goes into it before it hits your Christmas dinner table?

By Eve Hyslop.

Whether it’s the glaze that tingles your tastebuds or a cut straight off the bone, the Christmas ham is hard to turn down.

Around 500 tonnes of ham is bought by Kiwis in Foodstuffs’ North Island supermarkets, while Woolworths sell more than 400 tonnes of ham nationwide during the Christmas period.

About 110 tonnes of Christmas ham is sold by small goods producer Leonard’s over the Christmas and holiday period. In comparison, more than 200 tonnes of lamb legs are sold in Woolworths supermarkets alongside 7.6 tonnes of turkey – a less popular option. Foodstuffs North Island sells around 300 tonnes of lamb leg and 83 tonnes of turkey in the lead-up to Christmas Day.

While ham might be the more traditional Christmas meat of choice, a survey by Retail Meat New Zealand showed that around 34% of respondents prefer lamb on Christmas Day, while 33% preferred ham

When it’s not honey glazed with a side of roasties and a summer salad, you’ll also often ﬁnd ham in Boxing Day sandwiches, on the side with Christmas dinner leftovers a cheeky sliver as a late-night snack or, criminally for some, on a Hawaiian pizza with pineapple.

While it’s enjoyed by Kiwis right across the country, few know what work is done to get that ham onto their Christmas dinner table.

Hamish and Angela Cottle run a 370-hectare farm, Highgrounds, near Timaru with sheep, cattle and, since about 12 years ago, pigs

Hamish’s parents, John and Cheryl, have also helped farm the property 1989, and in 2007, Hamish returned overseas to make it a family venture. Adding another family to the business meant they needed to ﬁnd an additional income to support two families and farm successfully. That’s where they found free-range pigs to be the best option.

They began by sending just 12 pigs a week to processing and have since upscaled to sending some 130 to 140 each week, or about 7000 a year

Their operation runs on a batch farrowing system, shifting the free-range pigs across the farm every three weeks over a ﬁve to six-year rotation.

Batch farrowing means that the sows farrow within a period of about three days and once the progeny are up to weaning age, the entire group are weaned at the same time.

Once weaned, the progeny are then raised on an area of about 100 square metres per pig for 10 days to two weeks to help them establish a new base. The pigs are then released into a 2ha paddock, where they will spend

three weeks, before rotating to another paddock.

The Cottles have found plenty of beneﬁts to the batch farrow system, particularly for soil fertility as the pigs are always being farmed on clean ground due to the three week rotations.

With sheep and cattle also across their 370ha farm, the Cottles plant the paddocks where the pigs had been with crops This utilises the fertility created by the pigs as they root up or cultivate the ground while also removing any grubs or pests

“Because they are free range, we like them to display their natural behaviours so when it’s wet and soft, they do root the ground a bit. They’re rooting the ground for grass, grubs and things that

be misleading,

can be pests.

“Then we’ll utilise that fertility that the pigs have left behind and grow either a catch crop and cut it and put in the silage pit, which will, in turn, feed the cattle or sheep over winter. Or we’ll put a paddock of rape or kale to fatten the lambs.”

The pigs’ feed is a specially formulated diet based upon their age which is put together by a vet. “We’ve got eight different diets that come onto the farm, whether it be a lactating diet or a dry sow

diet, or starter, grower, finisher, presale,” Hamish says. The feed is delivered to the pigs through a minimal waste system, which trickles onto a tray after a pig has touched it with their snout. Every time a feeder is filled, it is moved so the whole paddock is utilised. The formulated feed helps the fertility of the soil as well, so the feeders are moved every time they are filled so the feed can be spread across the paddock.

It’s hard to beat a Christmas ham and it’s even better when you know it’s raised and produced right here in New Zealand.

The labelling

some pork, bacon and ham products

supermarkets that have a reference to New Zealand can

Kleiss says. The above labels can reliably ensure a consumer about the origins of the product they are buying NZPORK

The standards which local pig farmers must follow need to be applied to imported products, says NZPork chief executive Brent Kleiss NZPORK

Christmas ham comes from?

The specialised diet ensures the pigs are cared for, fed well and ready to go to market. Hamish says a pig ready for market will have the right fat balance, among other features.

“From a farmers’ perspective, we want to maximise the return from the animal. We don’t want too much fat because fat affects yield for the butcher.

“I look for something that’s well ﬂeshed and looks like it has a bit of fat cover, but not too much.”

The Cottles are the sole supplier to Neat Meat through the Harmony brand which distributes their pork in the likes of sausages, pork chops and of course, Christmas ham.

Neat Meat also provides to My Food Bag, where you’ll ﬁnd the Cottles’ ham in the likes of a Christmas hamper, with a ‘Highgrounds’ sticker.

That sticker means a lot more than just staking their claim. It meant they were proud to provide Kiwis with New Zealand farmed pork, something which supermarkets lacked.

Around 38% of pork consumed in New Zealand is actually from Kiwi farmers,

while the other 62% is imported.

“That’s where we’d like to see a bit more of a level playing ﬁeld,” NZPork chief executive Brent Kleiss says.

The animal welfare code is set to a high standard for New Zealand farmers; however, such requirements overseas are not as thorough

“It makes it very hard for our producers to offer something on the shelf alongside another product which is cheaper because it doesn’t have to adhere to those standards,” Kleiss says.

While a larger quantity of overseas pork is sold on New Zealand supermarket shelves, it wouldn’t meet New Zealand’s welfare code.

“We’d like to see the same standards applied to imported products to make sure that consumers know that they’re getting something produced under good welfare and good environmental standards,” Kleiss says.

The inconsistent standards raise concerns about a possible outbreak of African Swine Fever, which has spread across Europe. This could impact New Zealand’s high herd health, Kleiss said, so there needed to be safeguards in place from the Government.

To support New Zealand farmers, Angela encourages those who are in a position to, to choose New Zealandraised pork.

“I’m a big advocate for trying to get people when they go shopping to just check the labels because sometimes it’s not very clear and if you’re in a privileged position, it’s about choosing food that’s growing here and supporting New Zealand pork farmers who sometimes do it tough,” she says.

An unclear label could mean the pork was processed in New Zealand, but raised overseas, so it was important that shoppers turned over a product to check the origin even if it had a New Zealand label.

“We’d really like the Government to work with us to have a closer look at the labelling so that consumers, when they go to the supermarket, can clearly identify where their bacon and ham comes from,” Kleiss says.

SolarWater Pumps

Solar water pumping has always made environmental sense, nowitalso makes ﬁnancial sense!

We specialiseinsolar waterpumping solutions for livestock on remoteareas of farms.

We stock surface pumps,borepumps, floating submersible pumps and mobile pumping solutions. We can pumpupto200,000litres per dayorupto300 metres in height

For more information,contact Steve...

Angela and Hamish Cottle are proud to supply consumers with New Zealand-grown pork and hope that there will be a larger push toward the distribution of local pork alongside clearer labelling. DICE SALES

The worms are turning

Soil scientist Doug Edmeades says science and technology, as well as embracing new ideas, will help farmers in the future.

Isense the worm is turning. By that, I mean there is a noticeable change occurring.

For years, we have been told by environmental lobbyists that this time we cannot rely on science and technology to get us out of the environmental mess we have made for ourselves. I disagree.

Exhibit One in my argument is Steven Pinker’s excellent book Enlightenment Now. The ﬂyleaf neatly summarises his position: “Enlightenment ideals are furiously opposed by religious, political and cultural pessimists who insist that Western civilisation is in terminal decline.”

He makes the case for progress based on reason, science, humanism, citing myriad facts and ﬁgures in support of his arguments. These data, he argues, show that, thanks to the Enlightenment, all of civilisation, not just the West, is better off in terms of health, prosperity and wellbeing, and indeed, most measures of success.

At the risk of being repetitive, the longest-running experiment in soil science commenced in England in 1850. Initially, they grew about one tonne of wheat per hectare. Over time with newvarieties, better weed and pest control and fertilisers, yields increased. Today, that same hectare of land produces 10 to 12 tonnes.

The so-called Green Revolution is an interesting subset of the Enlightenment. Beginning in the middle of the 20th century, Norman Borlaug and co-workers in Mexico, Pakistan and India bred new, high-producing cultivars of wheat and rice which turned these countries from abject

poverty to net exporters of these cereals, so important to meet their dietary needs. It is estimated that a billion people were spared from poverty. But we do not need to go overseas to ﬁnd current examples of the application of science and technology. There is a quiet revolution underway in the New Zealand dairy industry.

Historically, the key to the success of this industry has been based on outdoor grazing, year round, on clover-based pastures. This was our competitive advantage, so much so that there are some today who claim that this is, and should be, our marketing bottom line – free-range dairy cows grazing clean green ‘natural’ pasture in a clean environment

But this vision of utopia needs to be challenged. Indeed, I ﬁnd it challenging, but if we are to be true to the Enlightenment principles, we must confront and learn

The crucial role of vets

The head of Animal Health NZ at Boehringer Ingelheim, Paul Fitzpatrick, says the veterinary sciences play a vital role in the agricultural sector

As a nation built on our farming roots, New Zealand’s economic success is deeply connected to the health of our agricultural sector. With export revenues from this sector expected to reach $58 billion by 2025, it’s clear that the wellbeing of our production animals is not just important – it’s critical. Yet, the strength of this vital industry hinges on a pillar that is under increasing pressure: ourveterinary sector. The role ofveterinarians,veterinary nurses, and technicians goes far beyond caring for sick animals. These professionals are at the frontline of ensuring our agricultural sector remains robust, safeguarding not only animal health, but also food security, biosecurity and ultimately, our national economy.

However, the challenges confronting the veterinary profession, particularly in rural areas, could potentially have a serious impact on the agricultural sector if they lead to a sustained decrease in service and provision One of the most pressing issues is the shortage ofveterinary staff, a challenge highlighted in a whitepaper we developed in

partnership with the New ZealandVeterinary Association (NZVA) and the New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association (NZVNA).

The paper, titled Taking Animal Health Forward, underscores the high levels of burnout and mental health pressures within the profession, driven largely by excessive workloads and insufficient staffing.

Rural practices face a speciﬁc challenge of encouraging new graduates, many of whom come from large cities, to move to the country. Staffing for the future will be a crucial part of the puzzle to building resilience in the animal health sector, and agriculture as a whole.

Kevin Bryant, chief executive of the New ZealandVeterinary Association (NZVA), sets this out clearly: “Workforce and business sustainability have been identiﬁed as key challenges facing the veterinary industry Building great and ﬂexible workplaces is one of our key opportunities.”

His words reﬂect the urgent need for strategies that attract new talent to the profession while keeping the skilled professionals we already have. It’s not just about staff numbers. The perception of

“

We do not need to go overseas to ﬁnd current examples of the application of science and technology. There is a quiet revolution underway in the New Zealand dairy industry.

Doug Edmeades

from our mistakes. We must accept that our current dairy model is leaky. It leaks nitrates to the ground water and surface P runoff to waterways.

We must accept that all-year grazing can create problems, especially pugging on heavy soils. We must accept that pasture production and utilisation decline when soils get waterlogged and we now know that animal production and welfare is often compromised by the demands we are placing on the modern dairy animal.

None of these factors should be seen as reasons for abandoning the dairy industry. No sir – that is the old-fashioned Luddite’s “solution”

This is where I get excited by the developing herd home revolution. It provides an Enlightenment solution to a multitude of modern-day problems in the dairy industry. It is called progress and

“ The role of veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and technicians goes far beyond caring for sick animals. These professionals are at the frontline of ensuring our agricultural sector remains robust.

Paul Fitzpatrick

we should be supportive of those who are paving the way.

Nitrate leaching arises because when an animal urinates it puts a large dump of N onto a small area of soil, far too much for the soil/pasture system to cope with. The result is that the nitrate in the urine is leached to the ground water. Housing animals inside reduces this problem by ensuring that the N in the urine is captured in holding tanks and can then be irrigated onto the pasture at a rate that the soil and pasture can cope with.

Cut-and-carry systems result in better pasture utilisation avoiding over and under gazing and thereby optimising pasture quality. Indoor housing improves animal welfare and, I am told, is easier on both the animals and staff Yes it does involve an initial large capital input to build the infrastructure but this it needs to be remembered, is offset against by the signiﬁcant increase in animal production, some say by as much as 50 to 75%.

The leaders in this industry fret about what today is called the social license to farm and therefore reject that the northern hemisphere practice of all year round indoor farming because it smacks of industrialisation.

They are developing a hybrid model which captures the best of both worlds. When conditions are favourable, the cows are allowed outside, but return “home” after grazing. This is sometimes referred to as duration-controlled grazing and it has already been found that this can reduce N leaching by as much 50%.

Other futuristic management ideas are being developed, such as allowing cows to have free range, to come and go from paddock to home as they please. I will not be surprised to see these new ways of dairy farming being widely adopted in the future. And ﬁnally, the big worm of GE is turning. At last, we will be able to harness this new powerful technology to improve our environmental, social and productivity aspirations.

veterinary work also needs to evolve. Too often, the critical role veterinarians play in protecting our economy from biosecurity threats and providing consultancy is overlooked, including by farmers who are under their own pressure to bring down costs.

Alack of understanding affects veterinary nurses and technologists particularly strongly – both inside and outside the profession. Laura Harvey, president of the New ZealandVeterinary Nursing Association (NZVNA), points out: “Embracing the skills that veterinary nurses and technicians bring to the table can help take our industry forward.”

Her insight highlights the importance of recognising and leveraging the full scope of skills across the veterinary team to build a more resilient sector.

There is no silver bullet to take animal health forward; we need to take a multifaceted approach. We must create working environments that prioritise the wellbeing ofveterinaryprofessionals,provide them with the support they need, and ensure that their contributions are properly recognised and rewarded. Additionally, we need to grow the understanding of the value delivered byveterinary professionals to the success of NZ Inc. To address these challenges, we need to go beyond talk and take real action. In our whitepaper, we’ve identiﬁed recommendations for industry, government and training organisations, and we’ll be working actively alongside the NZVA and NZVNAover the coming months and years to make that happen.

At Boehringer Ingelheim, we are committed to working alongside our industry partners to ﬁnd sustainable solutions. We cannot afford to wait; the future of New Zealand’s agriculture – and our economy –depends on it.

Are strawberries Kiwis’

Horticulture

Madeleine Powers

Whether it’s on the top of a pavlova, in an Eton mess, dipped in chocolate or on their own, strawberries are sure to feature as part of most Christmas spreads.

Sally King, executive director of Strawberry Growers NZ, says there’s a lot of nostalgia associated with the summer fruit.

“They form part of the traditional Christmas food for us.”

Pick-your-own berries are still very popular, and King says it’s a great way for kids to see where berries come from.

“Almost every family has a strawberry picking story.”

The summer strawberry season has got off to a good start and production is back to normal levels after a shortage of plants saw lower than normal production last season.

About 6500 tonnes of strawberries are grown each year, with domestic sales accounting for about 90% of sales.

Berries are a very soft fruit and are difficult to export, but King says NZ strawberries are popular on the South East Asian market.

The season is extending with covered crop growers providing fruit from September through to May, but the bulk of production and sales is still associated with the Christmas holiday period and height of summer from November to January

Most strawberries are still grown in the ground, but more are being grown hydroponically on table top now.

King says growing on table top means growers can control for the weather, extend the growing season, and it’s less labour intensive.

King says there are more than 100 varieties of strawberries with most coming from US states Florida and California.

The most common varieties grown are Camarosa, Ventana and Monterey.

About 65% of strawberry plantings are in the Auckland region, followed by 15% in Waikato, with the rest grown in the Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū/Horowhenua, Northland, Nelson, Marlborough,

Canterbury and Southland. King says buying strawberries locally is great for consumers as the berries are sweeter, fresher and the ﬂavours are deeper when sun-ripened.

The majority of strawberries in Waikato are sold to consumers at the farm gate or at the local farmers markets.

Jen Wilkinson is the market manager of the Hamilton and Cambridge farmers markets. She says this time of year is busy for farmers markets and the arrival of fresh berries is part of the reason.

Waikato family-owned strawberry growers Kane’s Strawberries are a ﬁrm favourite with market-goers.

Every weekend there’s a queue of 60 to 80 people before the market has opened for their strawberries, says Wilkinson.

She says their berries sell out so fast they have to drive the truck back to the farm to pack more strawberries,

sometimes doing two trips for one market. “It’s a full-blown operation,” says Wilkinson.

The Kane family is in the midst of the busy season, with early starts for picking and all hands on deck.

Right now is ‘king’ strawberry time, says farm manager Emma Kane. The conditions are perfect for growing and the strawberries are bigger, juicier, and sweeter. It’s the best time to buy.

Emma and her partner Hayden run the farm while Emma and Hayden’s mothers help run the shop and the stall at the farmers markets.

It’s the couple’s third season running the business which Emma’s parents started in 1992. But over summer the whole family helps out.

Kane’s isn’t a large strawberry producer. The Leamington farm is only one hectare, but that’s the way Emma Kane likes it.

As you get bigger you lose control of the quality, and it’s the quality that’s most important to their business.

“We’re hands on, we’re really strict on quality.”

She says they want to give their customers “strawberries that they’ll love” so they keep coming back.

The Kane family has been selling strawberries for more than 30 years and they’ve got generational customers now.

“A lot of kids back when mum and dad started bring their kids now.”

With strawberries, it’s all about ﬂavour. Kane’s strawberries taste like strawberry jam, sweet with a depth of ﬂavour.

Emma says the secret to the superior ﬂavour is that they’re grown in the ground.

While many strawberry growers are turning to table-top hydroponic systems because it’s easier to harvest and control

Pick-your-own strawberries is a popular summer activity for families.

ADELE RYCROFT/STUFF

It’s strawberry season and growers are busy picking and packing strawberries for farm shops, markets and stores across the country. STUFF

favourite summer fruit?

for weather, Emma says Kane’s wouldn’t want to change

“We believe that strawberries grown on the ground taste better.”

There’s now many strawberry varieties available too, but Kane’s has stuck by traditional variety Camarosa.

“Some varieties might be higher producers but we go for ﬂavour,” says Emma.

Customers also like that their strawberries are free of chemical sprays.

For the past 10 years the Kane family has been following a “biological spray programme” using only organic sprays through the growing season.

Kane’s also uses a brand of recyclable plastic containers that are made in New Zealand from recycled plastic.

They’re more expensive, but they want to do their best to reduce waste.

“We want people to love our product and come back and take some to friends.”

“That’s the best form of advertising, word of mouth.”

And how does the Kane family prefer their strawberries?

“We like Eton mess, that’s how we like them.”

Wilkinson attributes the hype about Kane’s Strawberries to their superior ﬂavour.

“Everybody’s heard of them,” says Wilkinson.

Also selling strawberries at the Waikato Farmers markets is A2 milk company Jersey Girls.

The company branched out into strawberries and raspberries last year, and Wilkinson says it’s going well for them.

“I’ve seen them sell out every Sunday.”

Then there’s Tauwhare Berry Farm, who offer a wider range of berries including blueberries, boysenberries, raspberries and blackberries.

They also do real fruit ice cream and chocolate dipped strawberries.

With Christmas just around the corner, more and more Kiwis will be looking to make the most of the summer berries while they’re available.

Wilkinson says the weekend market before Christmas is the busiest Last year customers started queuing for strawberries at 6.30am.

“I’ve never seen a queue that big in my life,” says Wilkinson.

“It didn’t actually get any smaller.”

DELIVERED STRAIGHT GET THE LATEST D ON FARM STORIES TO YOUR INBOX

Kane’s strawberries are grown in the ground in raised beds More growers are turning to table-top hydroponics for ease of growing and control of weather conditions

Strawberry grower Emma Kane says they focus on quality and growing strawberries their customers will love CHRISTEL YARDLEY/WAIKATO TIMES

A sign of the tough economic times Regional Round-up

Meat The Need has pulled the plug on its annual The Big Feed telethon this year, citing the economic climate.

By Sonita Chandar.

With increases in the price of groceries and interest rates, the cost of living is hitting more Kiwi families than ever before.

According to Stats NZ, the cost of living for the average household increased 3.8% in the 12 months to the September 2024 quarter, according to ﬁgures released by Stats NZ recently. This followed a 5.4% increase in the 12 months to the June 2024 quarter.

Meanwhile, inﬂation – as measured by the consumers price index (CPI) – was 2.2% in the 12 months to the September 2024 quarter, following a 3.3% increase in the 12 months to the June 2024 quarter.

The largest contributors to the increase in the cost of living for various households were interest repayments, rent and utilities increases.

In October, the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate to 4.75%, leading to banks immediately dropping their interest rates

In late November, the Reserve Bank once again cut the official cash rate 50 basis points to 4.25%. Banks immediately followed again, cutting mortgage interest

rates which will help households.

A foodbank survey last year showed more and more people were turning to charities for assistance, with the majority citing the cost of living crises as the reason for them asking for help. Demand for foodbank assistance had risen 165% more than before the pandemic.

More than half a million people are now being supported by foodbanks, but there is still a growing need. The survey found that a third of the monthly recipients were seeking help for the ﬁrst time citing cost of living, unexpected bills and unemployment among the reasons for assistance.

Foodbanks rely on donations to keep the shelves stocked, which is where Meat The Need is lending a hand.

This farmer-led charity, founded by Motueka and Golden Bay farmers Siobhan O’Malley and Wayne Langford, has been tackling food insecurity since its inception in 2020. To date, Meat The Need has donated more than 3 million mince meals and 1.4 million milk meals to more than 130 foodbanks across New Zealand.

In 2022, the organisation made history with The Big Feed, the country’s ﬁrst rural telethon, raising the equivalent of 1.2 million meals. While 2023’s telethon raised fewer meals – 700,600 milk and

mince meals – it continued to support families in need nationwide.

“The Big Feed will not be held this year,” Meat The Need general manager Zellara Holden says.

“We’ve made this decision carefully, taking into account the economic climate and the costs involved in organising such a large event. Right now, it’s about ensuring that every dollar we receive goes directly towards helping those in need.”

Holden emphasised that the charity has adapted its approach to continue making an impact.

“Instead of The Big Feed, we’ve focused on initiatives like an online auction and, in partnership with the Dairy Women’s Network, held long lunches around the country. These events not only raise funds, but also help us engage with a broader community.”

Looking ahead, Meat The Need is gearing up for a busy holiday season.

“This December we’re collaborating with Silver Fern Farms to promote their Pure Burger range, with $1 from every bag sold going directly to our cause,” Holden says.

“The need is ever-increasing, and we’re continually evolving to reach wider and more diverse audiences. Whether it’s through community events or creative campaigns, our mission remains the same: to make a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most.”

You don’t need to be a farmer to help –every little bit counts.

To donate, go to https://meattheneed.org/

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF

Environment

Madeleine Powers

AWaikato community has banded together to restore waterways and biodiversity in their catchment.

The Piako Waihou Catchment Trust was established in 2022 to support the restoration of the Piako Waihou catchments.

The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main river systems which drains the Hauraki Plains.

The catchment was once a vast area of ﬂoodplain forests, and includes the Kopuatai peat dome globally signiﬁcant wetland , and the world-renowned shore-bird feeding grounds in Miranda.

The trust is the formal entity of the Piako Catchment Forum.

The forum began in 2016 with a planter, a teacher and Waikato Regional Council staff member “sitting around a bar leaner in mid-2016 in Morrinsville” with the goal of uniting the community around our waterways.

Since then, the forum has gone from strength to strength and has held community events, industry gatherings, planting days, as well as setting up projects and building relationships with industry, councils and iwi.

Waikato dairy farmer Johan van Ras says there’s “a good range of people from the community” involved in the trust.

“When you do this and you’re open, you learn from your community and they learn about farming.”

He says catchment groups are about coming together to solve problems, rather than working in isolation.

“Farmers don’t want to stuff up the environment A lot of people just don’t know where to start or how to do it.

“It’s just having a cup of tea and talking about where ourvalues align.”

Johan and Kylie van Ras own and operate Waiorongomai Valley Farm, a 66 effective hectare dairy farm with their family, northeast of Hamilton.

The family bought the farm in 2010, and spent the ﬁrst years there getting the farming business running well.

Catchment community united around water

Planting waterways with grasses helps to stabilise the banks and keep the water cool for the native fish species.

Van Ras says he has always cared about “doing the right thing” for the environment, but adds it costs money to do that, so you have to work on generating income for starters

Above: The rare Australasian bittern or matukuhūrepo is a key indicator species for the catchment group

“We had to have a proﬁtable business ﬁrst. You have to spend money on things that are going to make you money.”

Stock health is a main priority for the farm business, but they are also dedicated to improving environmental outcomes, balancing sustainability with proﬁtability.

The family won the Waikato Ballance Farm Environmental Awards in 2021, which recognises farms leading the way in implementing sustainable farm practices.

Van Ras is a dairy environment leader

ThevanRasfamilyhasfencedoffa4.5ha wetlandareaontheirfarm,plantingitinnatives. JohanvanRassaystheyhaven’tlostany productivityasaresult.

for Dairy NZ, as well as being involved in the Piako Waihou Catchment group.

In 2019, they were able to retire 4.5ha of land that was often too wet to graze, planting more than 8000 native plants in its place.

With some support from Waikato Regional Council and the One Billion Trees Fund, they developed a thriving wetland area, where they are also doing pest control, which van Ras says is critical for the wildlife.

As well as their wetland, they have

planted sections of their drains or waterways in sedges and native grasses.

Van Ras has had eDNA testing done in the water and says his streams are “ﬁrst order streams”, which means the stream has no tributaries.

If you can make a difference here, the impact can be huge, he says

Doing eDNA testing is one of the ways the trust engages with landowners

There are two species of eel or tuna in his waterways, as well as other native ﬁsh.

While he hasn’t seen any yet, he hopes that the rare Matuku-hūrepo or Australasian bittern will one day be found in the wetlands.

The bird is a key indicator species for the Piako Waihou catchment group which van Ras is part of.

MatthewVare says the bird is the perfect indicator species for the group.

“... they move across the landscape, their habitat has a large range and requires a landscape view.

“If we can show they’re coming back and starting to do well, it’s probably a really good indicator that we’re starting to link things up at a catchment scale.”

A farmer’s guide to resilience

Otago’s Jack Cocks says the word has a different meaning for farmers than the usual dictionary deﬁnition. By Eve Hyslop.

Traditionally, to be resilient means to withstand or bounce back from adversity. But for farmers, Jack Cocks says it means instead to thrive in the face of adversity.

That’s the Otago farmer’s approach to life on the farm and he knows all too well that from adverse weather events, economic struggles and many dedicated hours of work, adversity is a constant in all farmers’ lives.

“It’s not bouncing back, because adversity is always going to be there. We need to do better than bounce back We need to be able to thrive in this state of constant ﬂux and adversity,” Cocks says.

His learnings came not only from work on the farm, but also from a study through the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme and his recovery from a life-threatening brain aneurysm.

Cocks says he was initially reluctant to share his story as he felt what others had gone through was more difficult than his situation. He says they may have lost a loved one or have battled cancer.

While those circumstances were adverse in their own right, it didn’t disregard what Cocks had gone through himself.

In 2013, he suffered a brain aneurysm which would put him in hospital for eight months, followed by 15 surgeries over the next six years. Constant rehab would follow that and a lifetime of learning to thrive in the face of adversity.

“I was pretty good at understanding my wellbeing and pretty good at keeping myself connected. Then through that Kellogg project was when I realised the importance of purpose.”

With a range of studies on how general members of society faced resilience, Cocks saw the need for a farmer’s view.

Through the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme in 2021, Cocks undertook the study How Resilient Farmers Could Thrive in the Face of Adversity

He found that current resilience literature related to farming focused on climate and ﬁnance, so to understand the more social and emotional side of resilience, Cocks met with and interviewed ﬁve farmers or farming couples who had all faced different adversities in their lives.

One farmer had faced depression brought

on from an eight-year period of drought, another had farmed through a succession of climate challenges, and one couple had faced adversity in Africa before emigrating to New Zealand and experiencing economic troubles once they had settled.

Another couple faced challenges with family farming succession, and one other farmer had lost their partner to cancer.

“It isn’t just about having a resilient farming system or resilient farming business, but how you can be resilient as a person,” Cocks says

Through the study, he found three things that were most important to farmers; purpose, connection and wellbeing.

Purpose is the ‘why’; the reason for farmers’ persistence through challenges and why they did what they do best.

The farming couple who had emigrated to New Zealand dealt with the low dairy payout in 2015 and 2016, while facing potential bankruptcy alongside the murder of family members back home.

After a random act of kindness from a stranger on the side of the road, the couple were soon provided with the hope to realise their purpose of creating a future with

Otago farmer Jack Cocks

Johan van Ras owns and operates Waiorongomai Valley Farm, northeast of Hamilton. The family’s milking platform is 66 effective hectares, with 4ha of unproductive land developed into a thriving wetland area that is now attracting a range of native species. CHRISTEL YARDLEY/WAIKATO TIMES

certainty, and reﬁnanced to get back on track.

Connection is the ‘who’, which relates to friends, family and communities which farmers rely on to stay connected and have a sense of belonging and encouragement. It could be as simple as a ‘drought shout’, a place for one of the interviewed farmers to connect with others dealing with the same adversity. Or it could be moral support from sport, school or business communities

For the farmers, wellbeing relates back to things that make them well and happy, like exercise, gratitude, celebration and enjoyment of the little things

For Cocks, he practises gratitude to enhance his wellbeing by writing down three things that went well in his day, a method

Shearing runs in her blood

A Northland shearer is used to shearing big numbers, but is equally comfortable with smaller flocks on lifestyle blocks. By Steve Macmillan

For a Northland woman brought up around the shearing sheds of Te Taitokerau, a career with a handpiece was an obvious choice.

Woolsheds and shearing run through the veins of Courtney Flower’s family. Her dad Kevin was a shearer and her mum Theresa a rousie.

So, in 2014 at ag set off for Australia, where she earnt learner stand.

By working her way around the countryside shearing solidly for six months at a time, her technique was quickly honed.

She worked in shearing gangs on both sides of the Tasman for seven years straight befor tiring of living out suitcase.

His farm runs high-country merino sheep and cattle.

that has been widely used internationally known as ‘Three Good Things’. It’s a method that has been proven to essentially rewire the brain to subconsciously look for things during the day that have gone well.

Cocks says that humans have had an engrained negativity bias since the stone age as a survival mechanism. The method would encourage a focus on the positive parts of the day, rather than the negative.

The method also allows him to follow one of Farmstrong’s key messages from former All Black Sam Whitelock: “Find out what works for you and lock it in.”

“It’s that question: ‘When I’ve been really happy and well, what’s been going on in my life?’ And then just make that part of your every day,” Cocks says.

“That’s especially hard when you have not been doing much shearing for a while and you forget to take it easy because you are just used to going hard when you are doing the bigger numbers.”

While she has clocked 400 sheep in a day, a solid average daily challenge is around 280 to 300 shorn. learning her was physically mentally hard, is glad she took the plunge and headed to Australia with a couple of rousie mates years ago

She now restricts her workload to shearing parttime around Northland as part of Danielle Boyd’s gang, Boyd Shearing

Courtney Flower grew up in a shearing family so it was a natural choice for her to choose it as a career

She lives on a 12-hectare block with her partner at Tangiteroria, midway between Whangārei and Dargaville – in between juggling sons Western, 2, and Jaxson, 3.

In fact, Jaxson is often riding side-saddle with her as she makes her way around the North – particularly when she is attending to the needs of lifestyle block owners in the wider rural fringes of Whangārei and Dargaville.

“When I am not working in the shearing gangs, I tend to cover Whangārei Heads, Pīpīwai, Purua, Maungatapere, Mangakāhia, Waiotira and Dargaville. Jaxson loves coming along and checking out all of the farm machinery,” she says.

The biggest challenge she faces after a break from shearing big numbers consistently is gently easing back into her workload without blowing her wrist out.

“We would generally work from 7.30 until 5pm and I would head straight home and sharpen all my gear, dinner and go to was fresh for the following day.

“I really like the industry and the freedom and I enjoyed the travelling and the fact it is good for your ﬁtness Once you learn the techniques, it is like riding a bike – it’s like muscle memory.

Back in New Zealand, she says the main shear is from November to January and the secondary shear from mid-April to mid-July. “We also have a lot of Kumara store lambs around Dargaville and Ruawai around August and September, but I try and keep my hours to two full days a week with juggling the boys. And I generally focus on the lifestyle blocks on the weekends ”

She believes with so many Northland sheep and beef farms being planted in forestry, her skillset will be in strong demand with lifestyle block owners as the years roll on.

“I encourage lifestylers to have me do their sheep twice a year to keep on top of ﬂy blow and because the sheep do better when they are shorn. All they need is some yards for me to do the job.”

Tangiteroria shearer Courtney Flower with her son Jaxson, who often accompanies her on her weekend shearing runs STEVE MACMILLAN

Beekeepers need to work together

New research shows beekeepers need to drop their competitive behaviours and unite to suppress varroa mite.

By Madeleine Powers.

Beekeeping can be a solitary and busy job, and sometimes competitive. New research from Biosecurity New Zealand shows if beekeepers can get past competitive behaviours and barriers to communicating, they can learn from each other and work together to suppress the varroa mite disease.

Biosecurity NZ principal scientist Dr Richard Hall was part of a team of researchers involved in ProjectVarroa

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) operational research project involved interviews and focus groups with 40 leading beekeepers ranging from hobbyist to commercial operations.

The research aimed to harness the knowledge and experience of beekeepers so it could be shared more widely

Hall says there’s no hope of eradicating the mite, but the research shows if beekeepers work together, the disease can be suppressed

“Asingle gravid [pregnant] mite is capable of producing an entire population, so it’s about suppression,” Hall says. “It is likely that almost all hives will have one or two varroa.”

With the apiculture industry announcing it plans to double honey exports to $1 billion by 2030, it’s even more crucial that beekeepers ﬁnd ways to tackle the disease.

Hall says despite there being management tools available, the mite continues to impact hives and honey production

MPI and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research’s annual colony loss surveys show that since 2021, the varroa mite (Varroa destructor) has been the leading cause of colony death in New Zealand, with 6% of colonies dying from the disease every winter.

The mite was ﬁrst detected in New Zealand in 2000, and is now found throughout the country. If not controlled,varroa can seriously undermine a bee by feeding on its body tissues and spreading bee viruses

Left unchecked,varroa can spread throughout a hive very quickly, cause parasitic mite syndrome and the eventual death of the colony.

Hall says beekeepers sharing information and experience with each other is crucial to managing the disease.

Using material from focus groups, researchers were able to determine some of the best practice management tools beekeepers use to manage varroa. They also identiﬁed some of the barriers preventing better management.

One of the key management tools available to beekeepers that Hall says is “very important” is monitoring. It’s one of the three Ms that make up best practice varroa management, according to the research, alongside miticide (chemicals to kill mites), and mechanical measures.

Hall says regularly monitoring, including knowing how many mites are present in a colony, is vital so that you know when to take appropriate action

Some beekeepers rely on checking the bees with the naked eye, but Hall says this is risky. “You can’t rely on just looking at the bee with your eyes. They hide on an adult

honey bee between the segments.”

Bees can cope with a small number of varroa mites, but by the time you can see them with your eyes, it’s too late

Hall says beekeepers relying on the visual check would beneﬁt from taking the extra time to use an alcohol wash, sugar-shake or CO₂ injection to check forvarroa.

Biosecurity NZ say the best methods to monitor forvarroa are drone uncapping, ethanol/alcohol wash, sugar-shake and natural mite-fall. Miticide treatments are also important.

Hall says beekeepers invol in the study recommended using a mix of miticide treatments (chemical or organic) as well as mechanical methods, such as robbing screens and mesh ﬂoors, so they were effectively “throwing a bunch of treatment strategies at it”

It’s important that beekeepers use treatment methods correctly and don’t “cut corners” when applying miticide treatments.

Part of the project was about understanding the barriers to better management ofvarroa.

to prevent re-invasion. Drifting bees can reintroduce mites to neighbouring hives, as well as the movement of equipment and bee hives. “If there’s lots of hives that can increase the challenge.”

Competitive behaviours between beekeepers can also prevent them from sharing information and timing varroa management to better suppress the disease.

“Communication does beneﬁt everyone,” he says.“If there’s a co-ordinated approach to varroa, everyone reaps the rewards of that.”

Hall says beekeepers’ busy schedule can be a barrier for not taking a more co-ordinated approach with other beekeepers in the area.

“It brought to light the key issues that make varroa management challenging,” Hall says.

While some beekeepers may work in a team, for many, “they’re out there alone with their hives” and he says it is an “isolated enterprise”

Hall says this doesn’t help when it comes to collaborating with other beekeepers

Spring is a particularly busy time. With beekeepers entering pollination season and splitting hives, there’s “lots of activities going on”.

He says many struggle to put time aside to have these sorts of discussions, which is why he hopes the research will be shared widely. “Sharing, having discussions will ultimately beneﬁt the management ofvarroa in New Zealand. We’re hoping it will get others thinking.”

MPI recently published an article sharing the research ﬁndings in Surveillance, the Biosecurity NZ free quarterly magazine. It hopes the article will become a resource for managing the disease in future. The information has also been shared through industry meetings, and by word of mouth.

Dr Richard Hall is a principal scientist at MPI and was one of a team of researchers involved in Project Varroa.

Catchment groups get biodiversity boost with eDNA water testing

A funding programme has enabled kits to be supplied across New Zealand so discoveries can be made about the impact of restorative efforts. By

FEve Hyslop.

rom a simple cup of water, farmers and iwi across the country can ﬁnd out what animals and plants live in and around their waterways.

It’s done through environmental DNA water testing kits, which can detect tiny traces of genetic material left behind by animals and plants in waters and soils.

The kits are being supplied to 10 iwi, hāpu and community groups across the country to explore the impact of their restorative efforts within their waterways and help inform future efforts.

With the help of sponsor Wilderlab, the Environmental Protection Agency has put $100,000 of funding toward the kits through its Wai Tuwhera o te Taiao programme.

The Ahuriri catchment in Canterbury is one farmer-led group that has been supplied with three of the kits, which will provide the group with a baseline picture of the catchment’s biodiversity.

“If we do the kits now, we can determine what species are present so when we do a restoration project or a planning project we can compare any changes two, three, ﬁve or 10 years down the track, keep a record and determine what things have worked and what haven’t when it comes to on-farm choices,” catchment project manager Bridget Pringle said.

Once they group receives the results in January 2025, it aims to identify future focus areas for restoration, improve understanding of the water quality and protect the unique values of its high-country catchment, like its unique ﬁsh species.

For many years the group had carried out chemical monitoring for the likes of nitrates and phosphorus, but they were missing speciﬁc data on biodiversity, Pringle says.

“We’re looking at celebrating our unique species of ﬁsh that we have or identifying certain plants or invertebrates that tell us the water quality is really good when maybe the chemical parameters don’t necessarily tell that story.”

The bignose galaxias is one unique ﬁsh species that is found in the Waitaki River catchment across several locations in the Mackenzie Basin.

The Ahuriri catchment area spans about 170,000 hectares with 1300 kilometres of waterways.

With a sparse population and a lot of area to cover, Pringle said the community was grateful to receive the funded kits so it could continue to protect species like the bignose galaxias.

The high-country environment of the catchment meant a small change of inputs in the waterways could tip the balance of the ecosystem health much quicker than that of lowland waters, Pringle says.

This made it important for the group to understand what species were within their catchment and how they could manage their waters to protect them. This could include removing barriers to the ﬁsh passage so they are able to access other areas of water or reducing inputs in areas through on-farm mitigations.

Pringle says it was refreshing to focus restorative efforts on-farm toward the biodiversity of their waterways to complement the group’s more traditional efforts toward water quality.

“There’s a really uplifting aspect to this,

where we can use these kits to show that there’s really good species diversity, these unique species don’t exist anywhere else and it sort of quantiﬁes the value of the waterway,” she says.

“You’re able to celebrate more of what’s actually there to get away from the traditional parameters.”

To continue those celebrations, the kits would also advise the group on where improvements could be made to further protect organisms in the waterway.

“If there used to be a species there and it’s gone, that’s a big problem. That’s where you could use that information to direct your efforts on-farm.”

Such efforts would include soil moisture

monitoring,variable rate irrigation, reduction of fertiliser inputs, riparian planting, fencing stock away from critical source areas and waterways and changing management of winter grazing practices.

Pringle says the likes of the tourism industry also had a part to play in protecting waterways in the catchment, particularly around the Waitaki and Mackenzie Lakes.

“It’s also forthe widercommunity,so we can identifyotherareas that maybe impacted bya lack oftoilets in particular we see impacts of that along lake edges and stuff,”she says.

“So it’s bringing all the parts of the picture together and trying to get a more uniﬁed approach to outcomes when it comes to water quality.”

One inconsistency of the kits was that they could record animals that lived outside the catchment area. It meant a bird that lived outside of the catchment could drop a feather as it ﬂew by, or even DNA from animal meat in dog food.

“They’ve found kangaroo DNA in Wellington, and the DNA is from dogs eating pet food made in Australia out of kangaroos and then the dog poo has ended up in the waterway.”

While there was no way to work around this DNA being found, Pringle says all results are corroborated with data and information in the area to ensure accuracy.

“Like any scientiﬁc data, you can’t just look at the data; you have to consider the inputs and potential inﬂuencing factors.”

Although it was obvious there were no kangaroos in the area, the results still had important implications for the Wellington region.

“It’s a cool, amazing thing that tells us that in Wellington, there’s dog faeces ending up in waterways That’s a problem, so that’s something to ﬁx.”

The Ahuriri catchment group was thankful for the support it received from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Wai Tuwhera o te Taiao programme and the experts at Wilderlab, Pringle says

The Ahuriri catchment is a farmer-led group that had initially bought the testing kits to test their efficacy and has since been funded with three more from the Environmental Protection Agency BRIDGET PRINGLE

The group has been collecting water quality data for some time now, so the biodiversity data from the water testing kits will provide it with a more well-rounded picture. BRIDGET PRINGLE

The Ahuriri Valley is a glacial valley on the eastern side of the Main Divide of the Southern Alps ANNABEL ANDERSON

The bignose galaxias (also known as Galaxias macronasus) is a fish unique to the Ahuriri Catchment and the group hopes the eDNA kits will help inform their efforts to protect it

Feds celebrating 125 years

Federated Farmers is marking a milestone in serving New Zealand farmers both in policy decisions and behind the farm gate.

By Eve Hyslop.

The rural banking inquiry, the ﬁght against the ‘Fart Tax’, the disbandment of He Waka Eke Noa, the establishment of QEII National Trust to protect special nature areas and a roadblock against the capital gains tax to save farms about $3000 to $6000 each.

Those are just a few of the changes that Federated Farmers has been a leading force behind.

That force began with one North Island dairy farmer back in 1899 which has led to many important policy wins for New Zealand’s agricultural sector, all thanks to Federated Farmers being the farmer in the room.

“Federated Farmers is all about developing collective solutions for farmers and being that voice in government So much of our job is actually just being the farmer in the room,” Richard McIntyre, chairperson for the Federated Farmers dairy industry group, says.

Where did they start?

It was one North Island dairy farmer, Thomas Portland Smith, who took the ﬁrst step toward a united front for farmers. On September 18 1899, Smith saw the need for a voice for farmers and went on to establish the New Zealand Farmers’ Union (NZFU).

The NZFU gave farmers a space to navigate complex government policies and negotiate collectively for better pricing and fair land management rules.

The union soon became a prominent advocate for farmers and its ﬁrst national conference was held in 1902

It wasn’t long until Canterbury sheep farmer Henry Acland sought to promote the interests of sheep farmers by establishing the New Zealand Sheep Owners Federation in 1910.

The aftermath of World War II saw the NZFU and the Sheep Owners Federation join in 1945 to create Federated Farmers

Today, Federated Farmers stands as the largest policy group outside of government, committed to advancing the interests of farmers and supporting rural communities in and outside of government policy.

It’s a legacy that Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is proud to be a part of. He ﬁrst stepped into a leadership role on the dairy board in 2014 and became president in 2023. “Bringing together New Zealand’s different farming groups into one strong and united voice is no mean feat at the best of times,” Langford says.

From banking to roading, Langford says Federated Farmers has been there as an advocate for all farmers.

“We’ve been there with farmers through it all: the booms and busts of farming, different political cycles, market downturns, signiﬁcant land use change, and the removal of subsidies.

Where are they now?

Toby Williams has been the Federated Farmers chairperson for meat and wool for almost two years now, and says the roots of New Zealand agriculture largely began with our woolly white friends.

“Our country is built off the back of a sheep. Numbers peaked in the late 70s, early 80s when there were around 50 million ewes.”

That increase was partly a result of a large purchase of wool made by the United States

during the Korean War in an effort to bolster their strategic stockpiles. This resulted in the largest wool boom in New Zealand’s history with prices tripling overnight to as high as 144 pence per pound, the equivalent of about $52 per kg today.

Since then, wool prices have fallen to about $3 per kg, and the nation’s sheep population is no better. In 2019 StatsNZ reported that sheep numbers decreased by 53.6% since 1990, from 57.9 million to 26.8m.

That number had decreased down to 23.3 million for the year ending June 2024 according to Beef + Lamb NZ’s annual stock number survey, due to land use change, drought and cash ﬂow concerns.

That meant from 1990 to June 2024, sheep numbers have declined by 59% from 57.9m to 23.3m.

Williams says this number would only continue to decline with the continuation of land use change and governmental policies and framework unfavourable to agriculture.

He Waka Eke Noa was one framework which Federated Farmers initially supported before it became clear that farmers would be left out of pocket with unrealistic emission targets, Williams says.

“We’re really proud of the fact that we were able to change from initially supporting it when it became very clear that it was going to send our farmers broke and out of business.”

Much of the work done by Federated Farmers is behind the scenes. However, that doesn’t mean that their work is all behind closed doors, Williams says.

When Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the North Island’s East Coast, Federated Farmers was one of the many rural groups who lent a hand. About $300,000 was raised in May to go toward fencing equipment to make a start at rebuilding damaged farms.

This month, that fencing gear will be donated to 236 farmers, a project close to Williams’ heart as a Gisborne local.

The sector was obviouslyvery different 125 years ago, but even in the last 20 or 30 years, David Birkett, arable chairperson for Federated Farmers, says that a lot has changed. It’s the scale and efficiency which have increased due to mechanical innovation and technology, he says.

“The ability for someone to run a farm that’s 200 hectares, it’s quite easy to run as a single unit whereas in the past, that would have been at least a two-person operation.”

Alongside the rise of innovation, Birkett says that research undertaken by the likes of Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) has played an important role in the increase of yield sizes and more efficient arable farming.

King yields were just a small part of the picture for Birkett considering his place at Federated Farmers’ table. The small wins were some that would make a big difference.

As for the last 20 or 30 years, the biggest milestone in Birkett’s opinion was the collaboration within the industry.

“There was quite a ‘them and us’ divide

between seed companies and farmers We work a lot closer together now We’re actually front-footing a lot of the issues before they happen, rather than dealing with them once they’ve caused a problem.”

The awareness that no one group could move forward on their own has helped achieve that, Birkett says. “[Farmers] can’t exist without seed companies, and seed companies can’t exist without us If one of us isn’t performing well, then the likelihood is the other one won’t either. It’s just that recognition that we are essentially one of the same when it comes to an industry.”

McIntyre’s role has not only been as an advocate for dairy farmers, but also to be a farmer in a room full of the likes ofvets, politicians, policymakers or those with a high level of education.

“Everyone adds value, but the key thing is that the voice we bring as farmers to the table results in a far better outcome than it would if it were a bunch of non-farmers deciding what’s good for farmers.”

McIntyre has held the Federated Farmers role of chairperson for dairy for about three years now and has been involved in the organisation since 2013

His three years on the board have reminded him of the work needed to improve the outcomes not only for the dairy farmers of today, but also those who would come after.

“It’s your role for a set period of time and then you give it back It’s been a really big thing for me to try and improve the function of the dairy council through the advocacy that we do, ensuring that the dairy cow welfare code, for example, gets to a good space,” McIntyre says.

An order in council in 2001 to make a change to the 1937 Sharemilkers Act was one particular milestone that strikes a chord with McIntyre due to the greater protection it gave for up-and-coming sharemilkers.

It meant that for sharemilkers who farmed fewer than 300 cows, bottom lines were imposed on their contracts to ensure there would be greater opportunities for career progression. McIntyre says that before the order, sharemilkers on a smaller farm were often paid less than minimum wage.

Now, the Sharemilkers Act states that they must be paid 21% of the income derived from the production of milk including costs.

“It was quite a momentous shift because

too often you’re starting a job, you’ve signed the contract and then ﬁnd yourself in a pretty bad ﬁnancial state and then leave the industry.”

McIntyre says the order has strengthened share milking into what it is today, as a catalyst for progression and growth in the industry which he says is unique to New Zealand’s dairy landscape.

Where are they going?

The progress made by Federated Farmers has stacked up, but there is still more to be achieved considering a struggling economic climate and looming emission reduction targets.

The arable sector’s greater connection to international markets is growing in importance, allowing farmers to understand where their seeds and crops are going and what requirements they must keep pace with.

“Previously, growers just worried about the fact they had a contract and weren’t too worried about where that seed went once it left their property Now they need to understand where it’s going, who the buyers are and what are the buyers doing,” Birkett says.

The improvement of SCIS has been a leading factor in fostering this connection and holding New Zealand’s place in the international arable market to see greater returns for growers.

While agriculture is no longer a part of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and He Waka Eke Noa has been disbanded, Williams says the agricultural sector is still doing its bit for the environment, but it needs to be done at a practical level.

“We want to improve our waterways, we want to include more native planting in retired areas of our properties, but it was the speed at which they were wanting to go and the lack of sensibility around some of those rules that caused consternation and stress amongst farmers.”

The uptake of native plantings, fencing off of waterways, protection of land and heritage sites through the QEII National trust, the encouragement for more workable freshwater farm plans, catchment groups, greater accessibility to agricultural products like methane inhibitors and research to understand agriculture’s emissions proﬁle are a few examples of what’s being done in the agricultural industry to reach our emissions targets.

“Especially on the East Coast, we’re seeing farmers look at their properties and go ‘How do I make it better?’ Maybe they’ve taken over from a parent or grandparent but our perspectives are different,” Williams says. However, it is ﬁnding a balance that is essential, Williams says, to ensure farmers are able to adhere to rules and regulations while remaining proﬁtable and efficient in their farming practices.

“We need to analyse these rules to make sure they’re not going to be costly to the farmer who can’t afford to do anything any more and they’re better off selling up.”

Finding that balance has meant a more open attitude has been adopted by Federated Farmers, McIntyre says.

“I’ve seen a shift in my time within Feds for us to be far more collaborative and less confrontational with a more progressive attitude.

“It’s not just about saying no to any potential change. It’s about understanding everyone else’s perspectives and trying to ﬁnd a way forward.”

Alongside that, McIntyre sees a greater avenue for industry representatives to work together to create better outcomes for the farmers who allow their work to be done.

“We’re funded by farmers so we’ve got to ensure [that money] is used as efficiently as possible in order to generate the best outcomes for farmers. It’s ensuring that we work for the betterment of farmers rather than in competition or conﬂict with each other.”

The New Zealand Farmers’ Union with founder Thomas Portland Smith, centre. FEDERATED FARMERS

Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the group presents a united voice for all farmers from all sectors.

The station with a supermarket

Eve Hyslop

Royalburn Station’s story has been taken one chapter further with the opening of a gourmet supermarket, stocked with the produce grown from its own farm.

The supermarket has taken the place of Queenstown’s Raeward Fresh and has been rebranded to McKibbon’s by Royalburn owners, farmers and foodlovers Carlos Bagrie and Nadia Lim.

While Raeward Fresh Queenstown would shed its brand, the former owners Jono and Jess Ettema would still remain part of the story as partners to the business.

The name McKibbon pays homage to the ﬁrst person to farm Royalburn back in the 1880s, William McKibbon.

“Our ultimate goal is to bring the love back to food, it’s kind of that food experience, sampling and showcasing some of New Zealand’s best producers,” said Bagrie.

Aside from being “obsessed with good food,” Bagrie said that he and Lim took on the business venture with other producers in mind.

“If we want to encourage and promote farmers, we actually need to ﬁnancially help them sell their product.

‘’That’s where a supermarket can really come into its own.

“If we can support other small producers along that journey, that’s the icing on the cake.”

Bagrie says the supermarket will essentially be the Raeward Fresh business as usual, except with an extra push to get the story out about New Zealand’s best farmers and producers.

“There’s some amazing orchardists and produce growers. They’re small, good producers so sometimes they struggle getting ranged in a big supermarket.

‘‘That’s kind of where the independence can really provide some value.”

The supermarket would somewhat be an extension of Royalburn’s Farm Shop in Arrowtown which was converted from a quaint old shed.

It sells the same award-winning lamb, eggs, beer,vegetables, oils and honey

that would be seen in the new store.

With another store, it meant the station would have to acquire the help of a few more chickens and ensure their butchers’ blocks would make the cut.

“There’s certainly more lamb being produced for the supermarket, so our butchery team is gearing up for that

‘‘I can imagine that there’s going to be a great deal of demand for more hives and more chickens.”

Aside from Royalburn’s produce, Bagrie says that there would be a range of other products like condiments, desserts, dairy, cheeses, beer and wine.

“Our goal is that a customer could go in and organise their breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.”

With the help of those other producers, Bagrie says they hope to give more volume to the farm-to-fork idea.

That would include everyone from locals to visiting tourists hoping to taste the best New Zealand has to offer

“A lot of tourists come to New Zealand and they want to experience the very best of New Zealand …

‘‘If they’re out of town looking for a really nice and interesting shopping experience, I think that’s what we can provide.”

As for how they’ll tell that story,

that would be “high on the agenda” for McKibbon’s

For now, Bagrie hopes they can make their produce accessible to everyone, by allowing luxury products and affordable pricing to co-exist.

“If McKibbon’s can bring back the love of really high-quality food, then I think we’ve nailed it.”

conﬁdent in the cut of meat they would take home to the kitchen

“We want people to be able to come in and ask questions and leave with knowledge and conﬁdence that they can put together a really lovely dish,” Bagrie says.

As Raeward Fresh did, the supermarket will also have a cafe and butchery.

That meant shoppers could speak directly to the butcher and feel

As the festive season begins, Bagrie says they expect their supermarket to be “crazy busy” with plenty of people looking for their Christmas lunch and dinner ingredients and seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Produce

Nadia Lim is a co-owner of Royalburn Station and a celebrated chef The station’s produce includes the salad leaves grown here.

From left: Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie have teamed up with Queenstown Raeward Fresh owners Jess and Jono Ettema to launch a new business venture – McKibbon’s by Royalburn.

The Royalburn Station Farm Shop, in Arrowtown, carries products from Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie’s farm as well as others from food producers around New Zealand. DEBBIE JAMIESON/STUFF

24 NZFarmer SheepandBeef

‘Think outside the drench gun’

Opinion

Andrew Stewart

Drench resistance has become a hot topic on New Zealand farms this year. Much has been written about strategies that can be used behind the farmgate to try and slow down the effects of this problem.

But what about new products and technology being developed around the world that look to try and offer effective new ways of reducing parasite burdens?

While there is limited investment by global companies in the research and development of drenches for sheep and beef animals, there are still individuals and companies working on and investing in ﬁnding new ways to treat the internal parasite problem.

Wormwise, funded by Beef + Lamb New Zealand, is our New Zealand resource centre for ﬁghting drench resistance and has some amazing resources that all farmers should take the time to read.

There is also a section on alternative solutions for treating internal parasites which showcases what might work and what might not.

A good example of something that has been trialled with limited success is apple cider vinegar, which trials have shown does not reduce the parasite burden in sheep.

In the category of “might work, but needs much more study” is the use of condensed tannins from plants such as willows, poplars, sulla, lotus, sainfoin, dock and even herbs such as chicory.

On many farms, ours included, sheep and cattle show a strong appetite for willow and poplar leaves and branches

Could it be that this desire comes from the ingestion of tannins which in turn provides the animals with relief from parasite burdens?

Trials have shown that animals grazing plants with high condensed tannins have improved lactation, growth, trace element status and reduced parasite burdens.

Maybe farmers that are about to reach for a drench gun could instead reach for a chainsaw and provide stock with some tree fodder rich with condensed tannins?

There is certainly reason to be hopeful in this area, we just need to be braver with our thinking and measure the results.

Another product that has reached commercial production is called BioWorma This is a form of fungi which

is fed as a supplement to a grazing animal.

The fungi are able to reduce the development of larvae in dung and inhibit their movements, but in its current form it’s costly to apply and realistically only suitable for lifestyle blocks and application to horses.

What this product does offer is more hope as it is a commercially available product that has been proven to help reduce parasite burdens.

Further trial work and development could well lead to cheaper and easier applications for sheep and beef farmers.

One of the most interesting research projects being conducted in the United States is the use of so-called crystal proteins derived from the common biocontrol agent Bacillus thuringiensis

(Bt) to reduce parasite burdens. Crystal proteins are already used in the bioinsecticide market globally where they are employed to control speciﬁc plant insect pests. Scientists have discovered that when some crystal proteins are used to target worm species such as Haemonchus contortus, also known as Barbers Pole, there can be a dramatic reduction in egg counts as a result.

Trials have shown that orally administered crystal proteins have reduced FEC burdens by up to 96% in lambs.

Their research papers go on to state “it is anticipated that as the research continues Bt Cry (Crystal) proteins will have the potential of being established as a new therapeutic treatment against GIN (Gastrointestinal nematode) parasites in sheep and goats.”

So, while it may seem to many that we are running out of time and options to ﬁx this problem, there is still some light at the end of the tunnel. It’s clear that what has worked so well over past decades will no longer work heading into the future. But with brave thinking backed by solid science, we can still ﬁnd ways to combat this massive problem.

Farmers have long challenged the status quo – we just need to start thinking outside the drench gun.

Andrew Stewart is a fourth generation sheep and beef farmer in the Rangitīkei region. He and wife Kylie also run Rangitīkei Farmstay and The Mudder as successful diversifications on the family farm. He writes regular columns for NZ Farmer/Stuff.

Next phase of campaign launched

Marketing

Rural reporter

Launched in 2019, the Taste Pure Nature was developed in partnership with meat processors and farmers as part of B+LNZ’s Market Development programme to promote the sustainability of New Zealand grass-fed beef and lamb to target groups of international consumers.

The Taste Pure Nature programme demonstrated the power of our farmers’ story and the impact that can be achieved through targeted investment in global markets.

The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA), in partnership with the Government, has launched the next phase of the Taste Pure Nature campaign in Shanghai in the presence of Minister for Trade, Hon Todd McClay, and New Zealand Ambassador to China Grahame Morton.

MIA independent chairperson Nathan Guy led a delegation of red meat sector senior executives to Shanghai for the China International Import Expo, a key feature in the trade calendar.

“We are world-leading in quality and have some of the most nutritious beef and lamb produced here in New Zealand,” says Guy.

“We’re excited about this initiative in China, which will ensure our beef and lamb remains at the forefront of Chinese consumers.

“I thank Minister McClay for the New Zealand Government’s commitment to this important programme that will support the goal to double export value over the next 10 years. It’s great to also have Beef + Lamb New Zealand onboard and continuing to play a role in this next phase of Taste Pure Nature.

“With collective ownership across industry and support from the Government, we can expect to stabilise our market access in China for the good of the wider economy.”

This next phase will focus Taste Pure Nature’s efforts on key markets within China, with a three-year proof of concept programme that aims to shift buyer preferences for NZ beef and lamb by focusing on New Zealand Inc marketing, nutrition, grass-fed veriﬁcation

and attributes, and traceability.

“Having MIA lead this work on behalf of meat companies will ensure the Taste Pure Nature campaign is company-driven and market focused, aligning with and supporting our members’ in-market activities in China.

“This shift allows meat companies to be more closely aligned to the Taste Pure Nature brand with collective ownership for an NZ Inc approach in a market where we are facing increasingly

stiff competition. The red meat sector is a key contributor to the NZ economy, generating $10 billion in export revenue last year.

“We have a diverse export strategy, with exports going to over 110 countries every day.

‘‘However, China will always be a key market and has a vital role to play in enabling the sector to play its part in supporting the Government’s ambitions for New Zealand.”

MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva, AFFCO group sales and marketing manager Derek Ramsey, MIA independent chairperson Nathan Guy, Silver Fern Farms chairperson Anna Nelson, Minister for Agriculture and Trade Hon Todd McClay, Alliance global sales director James McWilliam, and ANZCO Foods general manager China Ambrose Cheung at the launch of the next phase in the Taste Pure Nature campaign in Shanghai, China.

Drench resisitance in stock has been growing over the years and solutions need to be found.

Doing the heavy lifting

Opinion

Beef + Lamb NZ chairperson Kate Acland says farmers are doing all they can to meet targets for emission reductions.

Over the last couple of years, Beef + Lamb New Zealand has been leading the conversation around the scale and pace of productive sheep and beef farms being converted into carbon farms.

We were the ﬁrst to commission analysis that conﬁrmed the scale of the land-use change occurring. We’ve also been talking with the Government about coming up with a fair and practical framework where a productive sheep and beef sector sits alongside New Zealand playing its part to address climate change.

I believe the opportunity exists for farmers and farming to be the solution to many of New Zealand’s challenges.

Recently, we’ve seen another report by the Climate Commission presenting more scenarios for large-scale afforestation of our hill-country farms so the country can meet its climate targets.

With farmers facing weaker farmgate returns, high on-farm inﬂation and interest rates, it’s little wonder many farmers are feeling under pressure heading into Christmas – although possibly better than last year We’ve seen farmers viliﬁed for making tough decisions and planting their farms in trees. But in times like these, tough decisions are sometimes necessary, so rather than attack the individual, we should be looking to change the narrative and our own mindset.

As a country, we have an issue of how we’re going to meet our international commitments for emissions reductions. When you couple this with current low proﬁtability for hill-country farming, it’s easy to see why so many jump to the solution of replacing sheep with trees.

This means we’re arguably climate neutral With the targets currently in place, we’re being asked to do the heavy lifting for other sectors which isn’t fair – understandably, many farmers are reluctant to consider making further reductions or using methane mitigation technologies.

However, if the policy settings were right and methane mitigation technologies were successfully commercialised, it could be possible for farmers to make reductions in excess of ‘warming neutral’.

Rather than facing a price, if farmers could gain credits or be rewarded for reducing their emissions – as a number of other countries do – that could be a game-changer.

We’re told that meeting international emissions targets might require spending millions on overseas carbon credits – which is illogical when the opportunity exists to reward farmers who choose to use technologies to make signiﬁcant cuts right here in New Zealand.

This is an opportunity to maintain and grow our position as the one of the world’s most emissionsefficient food producers, gain improved market access or market position, while also helping New Zealand meet its global climate targets.

We hear there’s a biodiversity crisis, yet 25% of the native vegetation that exists in this country sits on private land on sheep and beef farms.

Much of this land isn’t farmed, it can’t or won’t be cleared, and some farmers have placed this land in perpetual covenants so it will be there for future generations. But this land carries a cost, it’s fully rateable, and often carries debt with little or no income returned.

There are farmers running extensive weed and pest control and trapping operations, at their own cost and for little ﬁnancial gain – because it’s necessary. Many farmers, if they had the funds, would do more. This is a public good.

Recognising and rewarding the biodiversity that sits on private land would mean it’s enhanced and protected for the beneﬁt of all New Zealand. We need a rethink on biodiversity. Making it an asset for farmers will secure it as an asset for all of the country.

Dose

Rather than displacing hill-country farming, farmers can provide the solution by incorporating trees within our farms on less productive areas, helping New Zealand to meet many of its international commitments, while providing a diversiﬁcation option that complements a hill country farming operation.

We know the bulk of our sheep and beef farms aren’t contributing additional warming due to the short-lived nature of methane, the emissions reductions we’ve already made and the sequestration from existing vegetation on our farms.

New Zealand’s native biodiversity sits alongside our iconic hill-country farming landscapes as one of our biggest strengths – it draws tourists and supports billions of dollars of industry. And farmers hold the key to all of it.

New Zealand’s opportunity is to celebrate our farmers – to enable, empower and reward them to do more at what we’re already good at – protecting our native biodiversity, incorporating trees within our farms and producing emissions efficient food – and maybe even rewarding farmers for doing the heavy lifting for the rest of New Zealand’s emissions.

Our opportunity as farmers is to be ready, with a mindset that sees the opportunity.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairperson Kate Acland says sheep and beef farmers are being asked to do the heavy lifting in reducing emissions.

CLARE TOIA-BAILEY

Collaboration is necessary

Opinion

The new chief executive of Horticuture New Zealand, Kate Scott, says collaboration among sectors is needed to achieve our goals.

As I reﬂect on my ﬁrst month as chief executive of Horticulture New Zealand, I’m struck by the passion and resilience of our growers.

Across the country, I’ve met people who rise to the challenges of the industry with determination and a remarkable ability to adapt, despite facing circumstances often beyond their control.

This resilience is the backbone of horticulture and a testament to the character of those who dedicate their lives to growing fruit and vegetables for Kiwis and our customers overseas.

At HortNZ, a highly capable but small team is working hard on behalf of growers to navigate challenges and seize opportunities.

The sector is dynamic complex and diverse, with massive potential to grow

sustainably and deliver value – not only for growers, but also for New Zealand as a whole.

Yet to unlock this potential, we need tell our story better. The complexity and diversity of horticulture can sometimes obscure the critical role it plays in the economy and our communities.

Collaboration is key. A united voice across the sector is essential to driving success, fostering innovation, and overcoming obstacles.

I’m excited to contribute to this effort, working with a dedicated team to support a vibrant, thriving horticulture sector that continues to feed New Zealand and the world.

I want to acknowledge the work of m predecessor, Nadine Tunley, who has lai a strong foundation for HortNZ.

Under her leadership, the organisation has built a solid platform for growth and collaboration, and I am grateful to have inherited an organisation in such great heart.

The horticulture sector is wellpositioned to help New Zealand achieve ambitious goals. This was brought home to me recently when I attended the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated gala dinner.

It was a great reminder of the foresight and hard work that has

Vege prices

propelled the kiwifruit industry to global success. It also highlighted the broader opportunities for horticulture to contribute to the Government’s objective of doubling New Zealand’s export value over the next decade.

The Aotearoa Horticulture Action has set an equally ambitious goal to double the farmgate value of horticulture 2035.

Achieving this will require not only hard work, but also ingenuity and a shared commitment to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Climate change, land-use diversiﬁcation, and sustainable growth are just a few areas where horticulture has a critical role to play in securing New Zealand’s future prosperity.

As we look ahead, HortNZ is committed to supporting growers in every way we can. This means advocating for their needs, championing their successes, and working to ensure that horticulture remains a vital part of New Zealand’s economy and identity.

To all our growers and the communities they support, my best wishes for the festive season ahead.

I acknowledge that this is a very busy time for many growers. I hope growers take some time to relax and celebrate the holiday season as we set our sights on 2025.

And to all New Zealanders, enjoy the nutritious fruit and vegetables on your table over the summer break.

could soar without workable regulations, says report

Production Eve Hyslop

The price of broccoli could reach as high as $9 a head if a clearer and more workable regulatory pathway for vegetable production is not provided by the Government

The warning comes from a new report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), which said that fresh vegetable prices could soar if vegetable production was cut by 20% as a result of proposed regulations to reduce nitrogen run-off

Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) commissioned the report by NZIER to understand the economic impacts from proposed regional freshwater farm plans, as a response to the Government’s reassessment of its freshwater management framework.

The report found that if vegetable production was to be reduced by 20% to reduce nitrogen run-off, prices could also be bumped up by 20% or even 100%.

According to principal economist Chris Nixon, the way regional councils have interpreted and translated the National Policy Statement for Freshwater (NPS-FM) could severely impact vegetable production and lead to sharp vegetable price increases.

The NZIER report and HortNZ say there needs to be fit-for-purpose regulations to make vegetable growing a national priority.

“Without swift adjustments, key crops like broccoli could become signiﬁcantly more expensive, underlining the need for targeted reforms that support both environmental freshwater goals and the affordability of healthy food in New Zealand,” he says.

“

Healthy

water and access to healthy vegetables are both nationally important and we think achieving them both should be made a priority.

Michelle Sands, HortNZ

both should be made a priority for New Zealanders.”

To ensure vegetables remain affordable and therefore accessible to all New Zealanders, the Government needs to make commercial vegetable growing a national priority and establish a National Direction Policy for Vegetables, Sands says.

“While the Government is moving to change freshwater regulations, we encourage it to move further and faster to safeguard the small but irreplaceable commercial vegetable sector to provide a secure supply of affordable healthy vegetables.”

The report considered three options, that the country follows the current NPS-FM, a National Policy Direction for Vegetables is established, or there is reduced government involvement in targeted outcome setting.

It found that a National Policy Direction for Vegetables was the best option as it would achieve a wider range of government priorities and balance the costs, beneﬁts and trade-offs that need to be made. It would protect the vegetable growing industry with speciﬁc regulations and guidelines to make commercial vegetable growing a national priority. That is provided that growers meet Freshwater Farm Plan requirements such as nitrogen leaching and sediment discharge reduction.

More than 80% of vegetables grown in New Zealand are sold and consumed domestically and the country could not import enough vegetables to meet the population’s needs, says Michelle Sands, HortNZ’s general manager of strategy and policy

“For New Zealanders to have a secure supply of healthy and reasonably priced vegetables, we need ﬁt-for-purpose regulation.

“Healthy water and access to healthy vegetables are both nationally important and we think achieving them

HortNZ’s approach would look to improve water quality across catchments through a balance of nitrogen run-off reduction regulations and other hydrological interventions such as restoration of wetlands.

Because most growers have industry certiﬁcation under good agricultural practice (GAP) schemes, Sands says that they are prepared to meet freshwater farm plan requirements.

Kate Scott says Horticulture New Zealand needs to work with other agricultural sectors to achieve targets

Bird flu and the threat to New Zealand

Opinion

AgResearch chief scientist Axel Heiser looks at the lessons for New Zealand from the avian flu outbreak in the United States.

The first detection of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu or H5N1, in dairy cattle in the United States earlier this year sent shockwaves through the global agricultural community.

Those shockwaves were felt in New Zealand, where one in every four export dollars that New Zealand earns is generated by dairy; forcing our Government and industries on to the alert for the potential arrival of the disease on these shores

HPAI has long been viewed as a threat to wildlife and poultry farming, but the virus’ leap into cattle is a critical shift that ramps up the threat level for New Zealand and its livestock industries. It hammers home the need forvigilance, strong biosecurity measures and preparedness to respond to its arrival.

What happened in the US?

In March, HPAI was conﬁrmed in several US dairy herds, marking the ﬁrst time the virus had been detected in cattle worldwide The initial infections occurred in Texas, likely through spillover from wild birds to cattle. The virus then spread between herds via

infected animals, contaminated feed and potentially shared equipment and milking systems. Cases were soon reported in other states, including New Mexico, Kansas and Ohio

Affected cows showed a range of symptoms, including reduced feed intake and lethargy, respiratory distress, decreased milk production and abnormal milk (sometimes resembling thick colostrum), and fever and dehydration.

While most infected cattle recovered within two to three weeks with supportive care, some herds experienced increased death rates. Testing also revealed that some cattle tested positive for HPAI without showing clinical symptoms, highlighting the virus’ complexity.

What does HPAI mean for New Zealand’s industries?

Although HPAI has not yet reached New Zealand, the US outbreak demonstrates its potential impact if it were to arrive. For dairy and livestock farmers, the risks extend beyond immediate animal health to broader economic and operational challenges.

HPAI could result in signiﬁcant losses in milk yield and quality in infected dairy herds Symptoms such as respiratory distress and reduced feed intake would impact growth rates in beef cattle, sheep and deer, leading to potential delays in reaching market weight or breeding readiness.

The virus’ adaptability raises concerns about possible impacts on animal welfare and long-term productivity.

While pasteurised dairy products are safe for consumption, and repeated testing has shown that pasteurisation eliminates the virus, public perception often drives market reactions.

International buyers may impose bans or demand additional testing, creating delays and uncertainty for farmers reliant on export markets.

Containment measures, including quarantines and movement restrictions, could limit the ability to transport livestock and products. For dairy farmers, disruptions to processing plant operations could lead to logistical challenges in managing milk surpluses.

Detection, surveillance and response: New Zealand’s preparedness

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) leads New Zealand’s preparation and response to biosecurity threats like HPAI. The focus is on early detection, effective containment and support for farmers to manage and reduce risks.

Farmers are urged to report unusual symptoms in livestock immediately, particularly if multiple animals are affected.

symptoms such as coughing.

Learning from the US outbreak

The American experience offers several valuable lessons.

First, wild birds remain the most likely source of infection for livestock. Protecting feed and water sources from contamination is critical.

We also know that a few US dairy workers contracted mild cases of HPAI after close contact with infected cattle. This underscores the need for hygiene and protective measures when handling animals The American outbreak conﬁrmed raw milk as a high-risk product forvirus transmission.

AxelHeisersaysavian influenzaisathreatto wildlifeandpoultryfarming, butthevirus’leapintocattle rampedupthethreatto NewZealand’slivestock industries.

Any sudden deaths or unexplained health issues in birds or livestock should also be reported to MPI.

Farmers are also encouraged to practise strict on-farm biosecurity such as limiting animal movement (with good tracing), avoiding mixing mobs from different locations and preventing nose-to-nose contact with neighbouring livestock.

Herds should be monitored for signs such as reduced milk production or abnormal milk consistency; lethargy, fever and decreased appetite; and respiratory

Kiwi farmers can reduce their risk by regularly cleaning and disinfecting vehicles, equipment and footwear, restricting farm access to essential personnel and enforcing hygiene protocols. Farm staff should be trained to recognise early signs of HPAI and report any suspicious symptoms to a vet or MPI immediately. Culling or scattering wild birds can increase the spread of HPAI.

New Zealand’s isolation and strict biosecurity have kept HPAI at bay, but the US outbreak is a reminder that vigilance is essential By maintaining robust detection, surveillance and response systems, the country’s livestock sector can protect itself from this emerging threat.

FarmSafety

Watch for bird’s nests in tractors

Farm machinery operators are being advised to check engines for bird’s nests, following a tractor ﬁre which damaged the vehicle.

Safer Farms, which has shared the incident in a safety alert, has warned that some birds can build nests very quickly, so engine bay checks are advised even following a lunch break.

Safety alerts are real-life documented incidents and key lessons which have been provided by farmers, and condensed into one-page handouts that managers can use in safety discussions with their teams.

In this case, the farmer shared that “a tractor caught ﬁre recently on one of our farms”.

“This was likely caused by a bird nesting in the engine. Fortunately, no-one was injured as a result

“Starlings can build a nest in 20 minutes. In spring, operators need to be extra-vigilant with pre-start vehicle checks to ensure ﬁres do not put our operators and machinery at risk.”

Birds are known to nest in engines or exhausts as these can be warm and accessible locations. The dry combustible nesting materials can ignite when the engine is started and operated.

Rural insurers frequently issue warnings about the risk of birds nesting in engines.

Insurer FMG has revealed that nesting birds account for around $700,000

worth of tractor ﬁre claims each year, with most occurring between September and December.

From 2017 to 2020, the company dealt with 142 tractor ﬁre claims resulting from bird’s nest – 38% of all tractor ﬁre claims. This safety alert can be used in toolbox meetings to talk to farm staff about:

■ Wherever possible, leaving tractor and machinery covers open to discourage nesting. This will also remind operators to check engines before starting them up.

■ Checking engine bays, even if the machine has only been left for a short time – such as a lunch break.

■ When inspecting oil and coolant levels, checking for nesting material around the exhaust, turbo manifolds, radiators and all areas where ignition may be possible.

■ Ensuring tractor cabs are equipped with a suitable ﬁre extinguisher that is within test and fully charged.

■ Calling for help in the event of a ﬁre and taking reasonable steps to extinguish it. However, while explosion risk is minimal on diesel-powered machines, no-one should put their safety at risk trying to put a ﬁre out

■ Wiping up any surplus engine or hydraulic oil around the tractor as this can increase the chances of ignition.

To view the safety alerts, visit: farmwithoutharm.org.nz/safety-alerts

Birds can build nests in tractor engine bays quickly so farm machinery should be checked regularly to prevent a fire from breaking out

30 NZFarmer EmploymentNews

The team at Peninsula takes a look at how you can put measures in place to keep staff injury free.

Farming injuries can be devastating and life-threatening, ranging from dangerous interactions with animals or accidents with vehicles to psychosocial risks

The agriculture industry accounts for about a quarter of incidents of serious acute harm in New Zealand, despite only 6% of people in the country being employed in this sector, according to WorkSafe, the government body responsible for regulating health and safety.

Peninsula New Zealand’s advice team shares some tips on how employers and business owners can improve health and safety outcomes on their farms.

What are the most common types of accidents that take place on farms in New Zealand?

Falls, muscular stress from moving objects, animal bites and vehicle incidents are, unfortunately, regular injuries that occur on farms.

Vehicle incidents are particularly deadly

Four farmers were tragically killed in quad bike accidents across New Zealand in a three-week period alone in August 2024

While farming is a rewarding profession for many, long working hours, exhaustion, isolation from family or friends, and stress are other issues that take their toll when left unresolved.

What is a notiﬁable event?

WorkSafe deﬁnes notiﬁable events as serious injuries, illnesses or accidents that happen to someone while they are working for you, or as a result of work

How to improve health and safety on your farm

carried out by your business. If a notiﬁable event occurs, you are required to notify WorkSafe, a requirement outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, known as the HSWA. This is the main law that governs workplace health and safety in New Zealand.

There’s an online form on the WorkSafe website that can be used to notify WorkSafe when there’s a notiﬁable incident However, if there’s a death, they need to be notiﬁed over the phone immediately on their 24/7 line. The number is 0800 030 040.

The person conducting a business or undertaking, or PCBU, is responsible for ensuring that WorkSafe is notiﬁed as soon as possible after becoming aware of a notiﬁable incident.

A PCBU has speciﬁc legal responsibilities to meet their duty of care to employees or any other workers it directs or inﬂuences, such as contractors, and ensure the working environment and any work activities are as safe as is reasonably possible.

Takeaproactive approach to maintain milk production: manage nutritionand heatstress.

The quantity of milk that cows produce candropoffover summer. We look at how farmers can avoidproduction losses over thisperiod Fonterra Veterinary Programme Manager Mike Shallcrasssays understandingthe lactation curvecan helpfarmers optimisemilk production strategies.

“Everycow's productionpeaks early in theseason anddeclines later. InNew Zealand, seasonal calving causes farm productiontofluctuate.Summeroften sees asharperdropthan thenatural lactationcurve duetofactorssuchas driergrass andlower metabolisable energy. You canmitigate this with higher ME supplementary feed, asummer crop or summertolerant pasture mix, or planned deferredgrazing. The keyto success is having aplan, so you aren’t scramblingfor supplement or having to make do with lowerquality feed.”

“Anothercause of invisible milk loss, especially in theNorth Island, will be casesofsub-clinical facial eczema. Depending on the severity of disease, cowscan lose between 0.1and 0.3kgMS/ day,and thatdropinproductiondoesn’t recover once facial eczemaseason

How can business owners, employers and managers create safer work environments for farm workers?

Although accidents do happen when working in high-risk industries like agriculture, many farm accidents are preventable if the right policies and procedures are implemented and followed.

Before anyone begins working, conﬁrm that your workers know how to do their job safely. Check in with them regularly to identify issues before they escalate. By communicating and consulting with your staff often, taking into consideration their concerns, you’ll create an environment where people feel comfortable coming forward to raise issues or ask questions.

Hold training sessions often, whether it’s to teach staff about new machinery or processes, or to offer refreshers about existing ways of working. Share information about workplace health and safety guidelines at the same time. It’s wise to

Heavyvehicle incidentsareoneofthe regularinjuriesthat occuronfarmsand canresultinserious injuriesordeath.

ends. Monitor sporecountsand test the efficacyofyourzincsupplementation to minimise the impactoffacial eczemaon production.”

“Thereisalso heat stress to consider Heat stress affectscows by reducingtheir eatingand milk production.The DairyNZ website is agreat resourcewith guides for mitigating this. Thereare more options than only plantingtrees or building a herd home, thereare simplemanagement changes such as changing milkingtimes to avoidanimals walking or standing in theyardatthe hottesttimes of the day. However, reducing milkingfrequency can increase somatic cellcounts, so manage this first.”

Milk Quality ImprovementVisits

Fonterra Farm Source offers free milk quality improvementvisits for its suppliers andproduces an annualFarm InsightsReport, specific to each farm. The Co-op’s Milk Quality Improvement team will work with farmerson-farmtoassess practices andmakerecommendations on improving milkingefficiency.

“Milk Quality Improvementvisits can be instrumental in enhancingmilk production,quality andefficiency. We areseeing agradual reduction in somatic cellcounts with farmershavingmade practical changes on-farmover time such as reducing over-milking, better teat spraying,and improved teat condition

consult with in-house or external trainers when planning and running these sessions to make them as useful as possible.

Assess workplace hazards routinely and proactively to keep them under control.

Health and safety checklists are an effective way to do this Once they’re identiﬁed, undertake regular reviews to ensure risk minimisation controls are still effective; complacency can be dangerous when it comes to safety.

Implement effective internal reporting procedures, with a speciﬁc focus on incidents and near misses, to prevent them reoccurring. Comprehensive and robust reporting and recording systems, including accessible records and reports, are the backbone of any safe workplace.

Seek professional advice for your farming business to check that you’re meeting your obligations when it comes to workplace health and safety. After all, every worker has the right to return home safely after their working day.

Keep your milk flowing

This is allgreat forreducing mastitis incidenceand improvingproduction,” saysMilk Quality ManagerTerry Playle, whois part of Farm Source’s On-Farm ExcellenceMilk team.

Terry sayswhileenvironmental conditionsgenerally improveon-farm over summer with less mud and manure contaminatingudders, farmers must still manage high-riskareas to minimise bacterialload and prevent infections.

“Generally race and paddock conditionswillimprove butcan stillhave effluent build-up on feed pads andentry/ exit races, whichneeds to be managed and scrapedregularly. Effective teat sprayingwithproper emollientlevels and coverage is amustfor reducingnew mastitis infections. It’sayear-round practiceofmonitoring thevolume usage percow and achieving full coverage of all teats.”

Terry advisesfarmers and theirteam to regularlyassess teatcondition and avoid over-milking,which is acommon contributor to teat enddamage

"There's no increaseinmastitisrisk from alittleunder milking, butwaiting forthe last cow to fully milkout can result in realover-milking damagetothe rest of therow." ■

Fonterra DairySuppliers canbook their free milkquality servicevisit through their localFarm Source store or visit nzfarmsource.co.nz/ milkquality

ADVERTISEMENT

Education and Training Raising the next generation of farmers

Some young people go to university, others head straight into the workforce, and many travel overseas. But for the young farmers in Growing Future Farmers (GFF), they take to the farm to trek the hills, train their dogs and work amongst animals.

Growing Future Farmers offers a two-year on-farm training course to students who take part in practical and theoretical skills through regular jobs on farm and NZQA qualiﬁcations. They’re also supported by a farm trainer, a student success adviser and a tight-knit farming community

The programme allows students who have the academic skillset from school or high school to learn more of the practical skills it takes to work on a farm, chief executive Wendy Paul says.

“The intention of where it started was to make sure that there’s a pipeline of good, well-skilled young people coming into the sector, particularly the beef and sheep sector.”

Aside from the more intentional learning concept, Paul says the programme simply creates “bloody good humans”.

“My favourite part of it is that last transformational experience that takes them from a sort of timid or shy, introverted young 16-year-old and by the time they graduate, they’re very conﬁdent young people.”

GFF offers a point of difference to a traditional working farm experience, with a clear distinction that their young people are students, not employees.

Considering the high-risk environment of a farm, Paul says it is important the students are given space to comfortably make mistakes and learn the lie of the land.

“There’s a big learning curve from health and safety ensuring you understand those risks on-farm. You can’t understand that unless you get some practical, real-life skills and wisdom from farm trainers and the team.”

For the first three months, the students are eased on to the farm through observations, intensive vehicle training, first-aid training and practical baseline skills. Beyond that, they gradually become more proficient until they are ready to enter the workforce at the end of the second year

The programme started with just 10 students in 2020. For the 2025 season, about 130 young farmers applied for the scheme and 88 have been accepted, so more trainers were needed to accommodate the growth.

While Paul was delighted to see so many applications, she says it was disappointing to have to turn down so many promising young farmers.

GFF sent the call out for more farm trainers in October this year, and recently closed applications after an exciting response, which will see 30 new trainers welcomed.

Trainers are one-on-one with the students throughout the two years, involving them in their on-farm team with support from student advisers.

The programme beneﬁts the trainer as much as it does the student, Paul says.

Farm trainers can learn more about their own operation when teaching a student, which could lead to enhanced farming techniques, better health and safety, and overall increased efficiency on the farm.

The trainer and their team could reap the personal rewards as well, Paul says.

“Most shepherds don’t necessarily have people to train or mentor, so they take on a bit of a leadership role and by virtue of that, it raises the culture on the farm. It’s rewarding, they’re nurturing somebody’s future.”

career pathway that may not be that traditional, intergenerational pathway.”

Paul expects interest in the programme to grow as young Kiwis start to seek alternative lifestyles in the outdoors and in the environment

“I anticipate it will grow as a real advantage on so many fronts; to get out of the city, and for those in a more rural background to set themselves up in a

The programme takes on students aged 16 to 20 and the training includes NZQA courses one day a week and practical training in the yards, on the four-wheeler or behind the stock four days a week.

Placements are available in 14 regions, with free course fees and a weekly sponsorship allowance.

Education

Eve Hyslop

Growing Future Farmers gives students a real on-farm experience in an environment where they can comfortably make mistakes. BLACKHAWK/GROWING FUTURE FARMERS

An overwhelming interest in applications from students for the 2025 intake required GFF to call for more trainers.

The GFF programme provides students with two heading pups and subsidised clothing, gear and equipment to get straight on to the farm. BLACKHAWK/GROWING FUTURE FARMERS

The forestry industry is looking to a virtual-reality tool developed by crown research institute Scion to help train new forestry recruits.

Industry leaders are working with Scion to adapt a prototype VR tool for their forests, so new recruits can learn the crucial skill of thinning, without the risks of a real environment.

The tool teaches new recruits how to make crucial thinning decisions through immersive virtual-reality simulations of forests, supplementing on-site training.

Trainees who put on the virtual-reality headset ﬁnd themselves in the middle of a realistic New Zealand production forest. The trees are based on physiological-based models of Radiata pines.

Forestry company Rayonier-Matariki Forests say they are “hugely impressed” by the tool Scion is working to customise the tool for the company, which is responsible for more than 110,000 hectares of forest nationwide.

Rayonier-Matariki Forests quality manager Fraser Field, who is part of the development testing team, says he “immediately fell into training mode” when he tested the tool.

Last year, Rayonier built its own VR process for entry-level workers, but Field says this is a “huge step forward”.

“We will be able to build a virtual forest with sizes, features and characteristics speciﬁc to our own conditions ” Field says the company will modify and improve its training practices to incorporate Scion’s VR, including training for NZQA unit standards.

“I have lots of ideas now about how to extend the use of this tool in training.”

Scion developed the tool as part of the Virtual Thinning project funded by Forest Growers Research’s Precision

Forestry training uses virtual reality

Silviculture Programme. Forest Growers

Research (FGR) is an industry-owned company that facilitates and manages research and development for the beneﬁt of the forest sector

Scion portfolio leader Grant Evans says the tool combines science, technology and “gamiﬁcation”.

“We’re using fundamental science – what we know about the physiology of the trees –with VR technology and gamiﬁcation which is making it more engaging.

“This simulation is based on real-world attributes and we’re able to generate scenarios that really enhance ﬁrst stage training or decision-making.”

Evans says the tool makes training

as connecting it to other software like geographic information system operator ArcGIS.

Scion forest management scientist Lania Holt says Scion is now working with the industry to ensure the tool can reﬂect their forests.

“Companies are looking for realistic scenarios Ultimately, where they want to go is to take the prototype and combine assets with industry in a way that depicts the forest based on their data.”

Holt says the work through the Precision Silviculture Programme has led to a prototype that has allowed synthetic data to be created and used.

A tool like this could improve thinning processes and health and safety. It could also allow training in a broader range of scenarios than the conditions in accessible forests on any given day.

FGR’s Precision Silviculture Programme manager Claire Stewart says the tool ﬁts with the programme’s aims of digitising, mechanising and automating forestry tasks to make them more efficient and safer.

logistically easier given travel is not needed, and mistakes made in virtual reality aren’t reﬂected in real forestry blocks.

“VR has been around a long time in entertainment Now people have started to see the real applications,” Evans says Levels can be created to make choosing which tree to thin easier or harder.Variables can be changed to adjust stocking rate, tree species and age, and there’s decades of tree bioinformatics available to draw on.

The current focus is on variables that impact log quality and forest value such as sweep, branching and broken tops Evans says industry leaders engaging with the initial prototype have already identiﬁed further applications and extensions such

She says the tool could help trainees understand complexities without the immense pressure of a forest environment and help them understand the economic value in forests.

The technology also paves the way for teleoperation of the future and sets the foundation for how these technologies will need to work, she says

“Thinning is one of the most critical tasks within the life of the forest It’s where you can add or subtract a lot of value,” Stewart says.

“There are many other tasks in the forest beyond thinning that would beneﬁt from this training – pruning, establishment tasks, surveillance and monitoring, harvesting and processing.

“We are fully committed to exploring new interactive and digital ways of training and attracting the workforce.”

Precision Silviculture Programme manager Claire Stewart uses the VR headset while Scion portfolio leader Grant Evans observes. SCION

Madeleine Powers

National Fieldays Society develops school environmental programme

Grant Madeleine Powers

Waikato Regional Council has granted New Zealand National Fieldays Society $40,000 towards developing and delivering an environmental education programme.

New Zealand National Fieldays Society is a not-for-proﬁt organisation committed to supporting the advancement of agriculture in New Zealand.

The society owns Hamilton’s Fieldays event and Mystery Creek Events Centre, a 114-hectare property that serves as the home of Fieldays, the society’s head office, and an event venue.

The education programme will be delivered to four local primary and intermediate schools, and builds on previous education programmes the society has run.

Janine Monk, community and sustainability executive for the society, says the programme will continue to work with Ōhaupō, Rukuhia, Kaipaki and Tamahere Model Country Schools in the surrounding district.

The programme ﬁts well with the society’s three pillars of education, innovation and globalisation, and the values of the society’s board, says Monk

“They believe in giving back to the community and the environment.”

As well as the education programme, Monk is responsible for delivering on the

society’s wider suite of environmental and sustainability initiatives, which include a gully restoration programme, predator free groups, eDNA testing in the waterways and sustainability for the Fieldays event

She says the education programmes are a great way of bringing the community

Janine Monk says they will work with businesses and organisations to deliver workshops for schools

Theprogrammemay includehelpingschools tosetuppestcontrol programmes.

together and are one of the ways they “bring the town and the country together.”

Along with the participating

JanineMonkhasbeenthe communityandsustainability executivefortheFieldays Societyforthreeyears,and saystheboardiscommitted togivingbacktothe community.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/ WAIKATO TIMES

schools, the programme works with NZ Landcare Trust to run workshops for the schools. Local businesses Hamilton Airport, Tieke Golf Estate as well as iwi and councils are invited along to events and hui with the idea of “bringing everyone together”. Monk says while the programme is in the early days of development, it will be designed to work in with the school curriculum and will focus on activities encourage critical thinking, novation and sustainability.

Some of the activities might involve helping schools to set up predator control, learning about renewable energy use on farms, doing water quality testing, and adopting a local stream to learn about waterways Monk says she hopes to be able to have a stand for the programme at the Fieldays event so they can “showcase what the community can do for the environment when they work together”.

have that vessel where we can reach a big audience.”

As for their target audience, she says the school children “want more”. “They love it. They’re so passionate, they love the science, and they care about the environment.”

The society’s past education programmes had inspired one teacher to start her own environmental programme with her classes, Monk says.

Right:

What’s on ...

● December 2-6:

Dairy Hoofcare Institute

Advanced Hoofcare Course, various locations

This course is aimed at those who are serious about minimising lameness on their farm through gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the contributing factors, as well as becoming competent in the technical aspects of hoof trimming.

Info at dairyhoofcareinstitute.ac.nz

● December 3:

Dairy Women’s Network

Twilight She Loves Golf, Western Bay of Plenty

Come and join the Dairy Women’s Network for “Bubbles & Bash”.

Info at dwn.co.nz/events

● December 3: SMASH

Spotlight On The System, Poroti

Hosted by farm owners Greg and Janelle Imeson, who milk 181 cows on their 75-hectare (eff) property, in a split-calving, OAD system.

Info at smallerherds.co.nz

● December 4: DairyNZ

Mitigating Nitrogen For Improved Water Quality and Reduced Environmental Footprint

Join us on farm at Massey University Dairy 4 with Dr Ranvir Singh, an associate professor at Massey University, and DairyNZ environment specialists to see the latest trials across the Lower North Island.

Info at dairynz.co.nz/events

● December 5:

Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Fit For Farming webinar series

The Whole Story’s Fit For Farming webinar series is designed to support farmers in being physically ﬁt, appropriately fuelled and mentally strong to meet the unique demands of farming.

Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● December 5 and 6: DairyNZ

Farming Sustainably While Maintaining Proﬁt, Waimakariri and Rangitata

Understanding how healthy waterways, soil health and

management of nutrient losses impacts both sustainability and proﬁtability is an important part of setting your farm business up to be future ﬁt.

Info at dairynz.co.nz/events

● December 5: SMASH

Spotlight On The System, Kerepehi Hosts David and Sarah Rawnsley 50:50 sharemilk 360 cows on their family’s 152-hectare farm.

Info at smallerherds.co.nz

● December 10: DairyNZ

Improving Soil and Stream

Health While Maintaining Proﬁt, Northland

Understanding how healthy waterways, including management of sediment loss and bacteria contamination impacts both sustainability and proﬁtability is an important part of setting your farm business up to be future-ﬁt

Info at dairynz.co.nz/events

● December 10 and 11: MPI

Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Project ﬁeld day, Hawke’s Bay and Otago

This project is exploring nitrogen management options in a dryland setting with a range of forage brassica species.

Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● December 11: B+LNZ

Central Canterbury Farming

For Profit and Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective field day Integrating biodiversity value into intensive farm systems with Emeritus professor David Norton. Info at beeflambnz.com/events

● December 11:

Dairy Women’s Network

Revive To Thrive: Dress To Impress You, webinar In the ﬁnal webinar of the Revive To Thrive series, join personal stylist Melissa Munnik as she helps you embrace body positivity and self-acceptance. Info at dwn.co.nz/events

Learn Grow Go

● December 12: B+LNZ

Wormwise For Cattle, Feilding

Hear the latest in worm management strategies for cattle grazing systems, including practical examples of changes other farmers are making.

Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● Dec 12 B+LNZ

FeedSmart workshop: Optimise Your Pasture Performance, Hawarden

Learn how to assess quality of feed, estimate metabolisable energy and take home some key resources in a supplied toolkit. A great workshop to equip yourself with more knowledge as we head into a potentially dry summer.

Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● December 12: SMASH

Spotlight On The System, Lepperton

Event host and farm owner Tim Bonner is in his eighth season milking 205 cows on 72ha (eff), aiming to achieve 83,000 kilograms of milk solids this season.

Info at smallerherds.co.nz

● December 12: DairyNZ Farm System Changes To Reduce Nitrogen Losses While Maintaining Proﬁt, Southland and Otago

Join DairyNZ at Morﬁeld Dairies with farm owner and Agribusiness Consultants’ Ivan Lines and fellow consultant Allison McDonald, to explore farm system changes that will sustain proﬁtability, while further reducing N-losses.

Info at dairynz.co.nz/events

● December 13: B+LNZ

Growing Great Lambs workshop, Waiau

This workshop will focus on what to do with your lamb crop coming up to weaning, and how you can inﬂuence growth rate post weaning. Beef + Lamb NZ aims to give farmers in-depth knowledge of the key drivers of lamb growth rates.

Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● Primary ITO

Primary ITO will be running several courses with various levels and topics, such as Manage Milk Harvesting, Livestock Feed Supply and Demand, Manage Feeding, Report Farm Production and Benchmark Performance and Assisting with Operating Dairy Effluent Management Systems, Various dates and locations. Info at primaryito.ac.nz

● Rural Support Trust

Surﬁng For Farmers, Ohope Beach

Everything is locked and loaded for season eight.

Info at surﬁngforfarmers.com

● DairyNZ

Building A Productive Workplace For Increased On-farm Efficiency, various dates and locations

Making the most of different on-farm practices and technology can have a big impact on workplace productivity and efficiency to make the job easier and reduce stress for people in the industry.

Info at dairynz.co.nz/events

Registration is essential for many events. Check out the various websites for more events

NZ moving away from total reliance on pine?

Scott Downs Director of sales and marketing for PF Olsen

Radiata pine has often been touted as “the world’s best second best timber”. Not the leader in any one category of timber qualities, but consistently rates in the top three for stability, ease of machining, ease of nailing and glueing, ease of treating etc. Indeed, pine is like a drug for many sawmills, once you get on it, it is very hard to get off it. Forest investors like pine as we know how to grow it in New Zealand better than anywhere else in the world. Also very important for investors, we know how it grows. So, we can predict growth rates in different parts of the country that enable investors to have conﬁdence in predicted cash ﬂows from carbon sequestration and timber harvest.

But the lower grades produced for harvesting radiata are getting harder to sell. The China construction market is in a doldrum that is unlikely to improve in the next few years. When you drive around China now, all the cranes that were busy before Covid times are sitting idle. The Chinese government’s reigning in of speculation in the real estate industry and the increased debt levels means this market has fundamentally changed. House prices have dropped dramatically. The furniture and plywood markets are faring relatively better, so the higher grades are more sought after.

The industrial logs are difficult to sell. India has been developing for a long time and this market is again available to New Zealand suppliers due to the change in methyl bromide log fumigation rules.

However, the Indian market won’t have the same infrastructure and ability for large scale construction like the Chinese produced.

The emergence of biofuels and production of resins etc from wood waste has the potential to use this lower grade material.

Research into redwoods, cypress, and totara is leading the charge on biodiversity. We are also currently getting premium prices for cypress, blackwood and some eucalypt species. These are predominantly used in the manufacture of furniture.

Many large corporate forest owners are now mandating a certain percentage of

species alternative to pine in their estate. Pruning pine trees is again becoming more common, due to the price differential for appearance grade timber. It also helps differentiate our pine for the timber grown all over the world. We can’t compete on stiffness as species grown in other countries will have the advantage there. And remember, many other countries had their equivalent of NZ’s 1BT fund to encourage afforestation. Even with recent planting, there is still less exotic forestry in New Zealand today than there was 20 years ago. Farmers looking to plant forests on their less productive sites should consider a range of species options. There are many factors to

consider, cost, survival and growth (allowing for climate change as well), marketability etc.

Many small blocks of pine were planted in the rush in the 1990’s with often little thought to access. Some of these blocks are now not financial to harvest due to increased costs of building roads and harvesting logs. In hindsight these blocks could have been planted in highervalue species This is important to consider when planning planting now Many farms can be improved with the addition of forest woodlots with little to no reduction in stock numbers. But they will benefit from improved cashflow, erosion control, biodiversity, improved water quality, etc.

Farming +Forestry =Farming for thefuture

New strategy for sector

By Heather Chalmers.

the largest radish and white clover seed producer in the world and a major player in grass seeds, contributing to exports in excess of $270 million per annum.

Outputs from the arable sector are also vital to the $35b livestock industry, through seeds for pastures, grains and other inputs for animal feed.

Anew arable industry strategy aims to provide cropping farmers with the skills, quality assurance and infrastructure needed to achieve future growth and proﬁtability.

Arable farmers are the unsung heroes of New Zealand’s primary sector, contributing more than $2 billion to the economy through their production of grain, high-value seed and an increasing range of other crops.

In addition to growing cereals, such as wheat, barley and oats, New Zealand is

New Zealand’s arable growers manage complex farming systems, often with a wide range of crops grown in rotation, usually in combination with livestock.

Called Future Fields 2030, the New Zealand Arable Production Growth Strategy is a collaboration between the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), Federated Farmers’ Arable Sector Group, United Wheatgrowers and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

It was launched at FAR’s CROPS ﬁeld day at its Chertsey Arable Research Site near Ashburton.

The strategy considers how arable growers’ businesses, and the sector overall, might be strengthened and better equipped to identify and pursue high-

value opportunities into the future.

During the strategy’s development, the initial focus was identifying potential new crops for the arable sector. However, it became clear that arable growers were already managing complex crop rotations and, with support from entities such as FAR, continually upskilling to enable the growing of new crops.

Future Fields 2030 builds on the sector’s base of agronomy-focused research and extension, adding three priorities: building skills for success; standards of excellence; and enabling infrastructure.

The third tier involves identifying infrastructure opportunities on and offfarm. This includes exploring machinery pools/syndicates to reduce production costs, addressing infrastructure gaps on-farm and opportunities for investment off-farm in arable transport, storage and processing infrastructure.

Building skills includes everything from improving ﬁnancial literacy to evaluating value chain opportunities beyond the farm gate, enabling arable farmers to connect with food innovators, start-ups and existing food businesses

Standards of excellence involves identifying and verifying the production and environmental assurance standards required to provide customer conﬁdence and build preference for New Zealand arable growers and their products.

FORSALE

HIGH PRODUCTION DAIRY UNIT

•Situated just west of Palmerston Northcityisthis outstanding 440 cowdairy unit.

•The farm features averygood layout with amix of Kairanga Silt Loam and Te ArakuraSiltLoam soils.

•There is aboreatthe dairy that is consented forstock and domesticaswellasirrigationofupto70Ha.

•The dairy is centrallylocated and has amodernelectronic milkingplant,and adjacent to thedairy is afeed pad.

•There is agood arrayofsheds,including anear new large lockablemachinery shed, aloafing barnthat also has auto calf feeders, atractor shed, and aselfcontainedflat.

•Our Vendorsare retainingtheirhome, but thereare some lovely sitestobuild one of your dreams.

•Your chancetoown this high performingunit.

ForSalebyTender closingonthe 12th of December,2024

CallLes to inspectand discuss your optionson0274 420582.

GREATFIRST FARM

•Situated in theFeildingareaisthis excellent smalldairy farm

•Consisting of amix of freeholdand leasehold land,totalling 80Hathat is fully irrigated.

• Facilities includeone personrotary cowshed, extensiveshedding and avery good feed pad and calf rearingarea. Alongwithtwo family homes on separate titles

• This farm currently formspartofa large family business, and as our Vendorsare retiring,thisisyour chancetobuy

• Rarely do youget achancetoown top qualitylandina sort afterlocationwith good facilities

Call Lestoinspect anddiscuss your options on 0274 442-0582.

FAR chairperson Steven Bierema says the foundation is pleased to support the Future Fields 2030 strategy. “This strategy is crucial for ensuring that our growers are equipped to meet emerging market demands and is directly aligned with FAR’s commitment to driving research and development to enhance farmer proﬁtability and sustainability.”

Federated Farmers Arable Industry

Group chairperson David Birkett says the strategy “will enable growers to better capture future opportunities and develop more autonomy within their businesses”

The strategy has set timelines and measures for delivery through to 2030, with funding sought from levies, industry and government.