NZFarmer North Island - 19 December 2023

December 2023

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A collaborative approach needed Industry leaders want to work in collaboration with the Government to address ag policies to meet the many challenges farmers are facing because of ever-changing rules and regulations. P10

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December 2023

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December 2023

NZ Farmer News 3

Updated all day at

Meet your new ministers The quartet leading primary industry

New agricultural ministers are passionate about changes to the rules. By Louisa Steyl.

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eviewing on-farm regulations will be a top priority for New Zealand’s new agriculture ministers, with changes to freshwater rules expected by Christmas.

National’s Todd McClay was appoint­ed minister of agriculture last week, supported by associate ministers Nicola Grigg (National), Andrew Hoggard (ACT) and Mark Patterson (NZ First).

Hoggard and Patterson are both immediate past presidents of Federated Farmers and active farmers.

McClay said the three coalition parties had similar policies when it came to the primary sector, and he expected them to work well together.

“We want to focus on outcomes, not rules,” he said, adding that he planned to establish a Rural Rule Review panel within his first 100 days in office, and wanted to “deal with the freshwater rules forced on farmers” by Christmas.

“I’m keen to roll the sleeves up and do what farmers do – get on with it.”

McClay is also minister of forestry, minister for hunting and fishing, minister for trade and the associate minister of foreign affairs.

Fellow National MP and Associate Minister of Agriculture (Horticulture) Nicola Grigg is also minister of state for trade and minister for women, and the two are expected to work closely with Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts and Associate Climate Change Minister Nicola Willis.

Hoggard will be doing a lot of juggling as minister for biosecurity, minister for food safety, associate minister of agriculture (animal welfare, skills) and associate minister for the environment, while keeping

Todd McClay

Nicola Grigg

Andrew Hoggard

Mark Patterson

an eye on his phone to help if anything goes wrong on the farm.

He believed people underestimated the importance of biosafety. “Our country’s economy is based around exporting to the world, so we have to maintain biosecurity.”

One of the first issues Hoggard wanted to tackle was developing a foot and mouth disease response plan.

He also wanted to look at the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare to make sure “we maintain world-leading standards, but in a way that’s practical”.

But his environmental portfolio was ­likely to take up most of his time in the

coming months, he said. “I think that’s what’s on top of most farmers’ minds.”

NZ First’s Mark Patterson farms beef and sheep at Lawrence and Waitahuna.

He felt honoured and humbled to be named minister for rural communities and associate minister of agriculture, he said.

Patterson’s first thought when he learnt of his appointment was that he wanted to visit the flood-damaged East Coast communities to make sure they were getting the help they needed, he said.

He would be going over every Cabinet paper with a rural lens to ensure rural communities weren’t being overlooked.

In his agricultural role, Patterson said he wanted to focus on “doing the basics well”.

“The goal is to get farmers thinking about farming, rather than politics as they have been doing.”

Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford welcomed the ministerial announcement.

“Our expectation of the new minister for agriculture is that he gets to work right away because there’s a lot that needs to be done to restore farmer confidence,” he said.

Langford felt McClay had taken the time to listen to farmers and to understand the frustrations and pressures they were feeling.

“You can see that when you look at the ­agricultural policy platform he put together for National. He really hit the nail on the head.”

Langford believes that Hoggard and Patterson – with their long grassroots histories with Federated Farmers – and Nicola Grigg – who comes from a wellrespected Canterbury farming family – would make a great team with McClay.

“I’m really looking forward to working with them to sort out the regulatory mess farmers are currently living with. We need to put in place some practical rules that will actually work for farmers.”

DairyNZ chairperson Jim van der Poel agreed.

“DairyNZ is advocating for changes to the Climate Change Response Act, freshwater policy, workforce legislation and the Resource Management Act (RMA) – and it’s reassuring to see some of these coming through in the coalition agreements.”

The agreements showed sensible planned changes to the RMA, National Policy Statement for Freshwater and a review of methane targets, in line with dairy and primary sector requests. They were a positive step forward for the farming community, he said.

“We congratulate Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his team, and look forward to meeting with the new Government and its ministers to discuss important issues related to farming.” ■

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December 2023

From the Editor Contents

KAI SCHWOERER/ STUFF

03 Ag ministers

Meet the new team working for rural New Zealand

10

Ag policies What our industry leaders want to discuss with the Government

13

Todd McClay Who is the man behind the ministerial portfolio looking after agriculture?

20 A wee issue

Researchers measure cow pee

28 No to plastic

Biodegradable seedling pots better for the environment

39 Help during disasters

Mobile community hubs a valuable resource

40 Tropical paradise

On the right track

Escape to luxurious Fiji

Contact us NZ FARMER EDITOR Sonita Chandar 027 446 6221 sonita.chandar@stuff.co.nz DESIGN Kwok Yi Lee Nina Weil Sam Davenport COVER PHOTO Tony Benny

Sonita Chandar EDITOR

I

t took a long six weeks of drawn-out negotiations and the ink has finally dried on the coalition Government agreement between National, ACT and NZ First. And much of the country, including farmers and industry organisations, let out a collective sigh of relief.

The mood is definitely more upbeat in farming communities. I have spoken to a number of farmers and many have said the same thing, “Thank God it’s done”. They now want their leaders to get busy and work with the ministers and fix some of the unworkable rules put in place by the previous government.

One farmer even made the suggestion that Labour was trying to close rural New Zealand down. No doubt there was a lot of that sentiment in the rural sector, where confidence reached its lowest point in recent times.

Industry leaders have also weighed in and, overall, seem happy with the coalition agreement announcements. They hope to sit down with the Government and work collaboratively to repair relations and work on challenges facing the industry.

Commonly, they say work is needed

HEAD OF REGIONAL & RURAL MARKETS Kate Boreham 021 279 5361 kate.boreham@stuff.co.nz

around freshwater planning, climate change as well as other important issues.

I expect the Government will soon be sending out invitations to these leaders for a sit-down.

The new Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay, may not be a farmer, but he grew up in a rural area, has hands-on experience working on the land and held the agriculture portfolio in the previous National government.

He gets it. He has been there and done that. He understands where farmers are coming from when they say rules are not workable. He understands confidence in the rural sector hit rock bottom. He has said he will work towards restoring that confidence so let’s hope he means what he says.

His three associate ministers are all farmers and they get it. They fully understand the challenges facing the industry because they face the same issues at home on the farm.

McClay and his associate ministers now need to listen and listen well and I believe they will. He says they know they have a turnaround job to do in the economy, starting with the rural community. Time will tell if the Government stands by what it says. Of course, it won’t please everyone all the time.

But when the time comes and the

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When the ministers ask for submissions, get out there and have your say. ministers ask for submissions, get out there and have your say. This is your industry and the future of your livelihoods, so do what you can to ensure it remains a viable, productive and profitable industry.

The festive season is upon us. I wish you all Merry Christmas, season’s greetings and happy holidays. I know you hard-working farmers still have to get out and feed your stock or milk your cows, but I hope you all find time to relax and eat a fruit mince pie or two. ■ Get in touch with us at nzfarmer@stuff.co.nz

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December 2023

NZ Farmer Letter to the Editor 5

Updated all day at

Council freshwater plan designed to kill farming in Northland

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he Northland Regional Council’s ‘mission statement’ is “Working together to create a healthy environment, strong economy and resilient communities”.

Right now, the NRC is completely undermining ratepayers by doing the complete opposite with its proposed Freshwater Plan Change, a discussion document which could have massively detrimental social and economic impacts on our community.

As a passionate Northland farmer, I urge all Northland farmers and lifestyle-block owners to read this document and urgently submit in opposition to the proposal.

NRC hasn’t even done cost analysis of this proposal, as required under Section 32 of the Resource Management Act. I have and the freshwater plan change would hammer the Northland economy by removing $275 million to $300m in income annually.

The trickle-down effect could be a cost of more than $1 billion to the region, a massive impact on towns and communities.

Why? Because the NRC is proposing a land grab without compensation.

Northland has approximately 617,000 hectares in pasture, cropping and horticulture.

The NRC says around 250,000ha of Northland farmland require stock exclusion, including the unprecedented banning of grazing on steeper hillsides.

Under the proposal, you can plant trees on ‘stock-excluded hillsides’, but most landowners can’t afford that cost, nor the cost of consent to harvest, and there’s no

Season’s greeting from down on the farm.

NICOLE MOORE

Have your say Letters to the editor are welcome and should be not more than 250 words.

If you have an opinion you would like to share or ideas for what you would like to read in future issues of NZ Farmer, get in touch with us at: nzfarmer@stuff.co.nz guarantee the NRC will grant consent.

The NRC also wants to force rural landowners to put new fences 10 metres back from each side of their waterways – an area 300% more than currently recommended nationally.

Again, you lose grazing and will not be compensated by the NRC for those costs, nor the ongoing lost income, nor the obvious devaluation of your increasingly unproductive property.

NRC prefers farmers to weed these areas by hand. We can apply to spray gorse and blackberry but landowners downstream can oppose that consent on what will become an NRC-created fire corridor that puts Northland at grave risk over summer. ■ Colin Hannah, Federated Farmers Northland president

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December 2023

6 NZ NZFarmer Farmer

Opinion

Flaws in freshwater policy targets An example of positive collaboration: Pine trees and poplars planted for erosion control and improved water quality on Andrew Stewart’s hill-country farm.

STUFF

Rangitīkei sheep and beef farmer Andrew Stewart says the new Government’s plan to ask regional councils to pause their plan processes is a good thing.

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ew Zealand now has a new Government. However, the legacy of the previous Labour government is still being felt in many parts of the country, including the provinces.

Councils have been caught in the crossfire between unworkable government regulations and frustrated farmers, and nowhere is this more evident than in the freshwater space.

I have had a long-term and positive relationship with our Horizons regional council farm management staff. Together we have worked hard and invested heavily in structuring our hill-country farm in a way that will work better with the environment and not against it.

This work has included whole farm mapping and analysis through the Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) programme, planting highly erodible

land in production forestry through the Afforestation Grant Scheme (AGS) and fencing off and retiring watercourses and areas of native bush wherever possible.

Despite this positive and productive collaboration, all this work is now in jeopardy because of Horizons’ requirement to implement the previous government's deeply flawed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM).

This counterproductive policy was imposed on regional councils despite many in local government questioning the stringency of the rules at the time, putting them between a rock and a hard place.

Unfortunately, Horizons now has to rush to implement these flawed rules in a very tight timeframe, which has led to a deeply concerning draft regional plan.

As it stands in the Horizons region, a farmer would have to make huge reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and E.

coli levels to meet the excessive new limits for freshwater.

Because of the rushed process, we have questions about the modelling used to determine the reductions that are needed, and the blunt measures may not actually properly target the issues.

But by Horizons’ own modelling and predictions, all this work could also be in vain anyway as the excessive targets may still not be reached, which would leave only one more “solution”– land-use change.

And if anyone is unsure exactly what that means, it’s potentially the death of hillcountry farming.

The sad irony in this situation is that solutions are already in motion. Regional catchment groups are thriving throughout New Zealand, and the Horizons region is at the forefront.

One of the best examples of this is the Rangitīkei River Catchment Collective

A resilient industry

Weaker prices and soft consumer demand are affecting the bottom line on farmers’ budgets so they will have to be prudent with spending, Kate Acland says.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairperson and midCanterbury sheep, beef and dairy farmer Kate Acland wraps up the year that was.

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he year is drawing to a close and many of us on the farm are keeping a watchful eye not just on the volatile livestock prices and the farm finances, but also the weather forecast, with El Niño promising drier conditions in parts of the country.

Here at Mt Somers Station, we’ve had a pretty good season so far. While we’re geared up for a long dry summer, conditions are still OK, and we’re hopeful that will continue over the coming months.

Favourable growing conditions for our sheep and cattle will be critical in providing some form of relief against the tough global markets. The soft Chinese economy, greater volumes of competing Australian red meat, and high on-farm inflation represent significant headwinds for farmers.

Farmers are familiar with adversity and change, but the last six years have seen us faced with a bow-wave of flawed regulations and rules. Although the election proved a relief for many on farms, it was shortlived as the reality of the financial situation means many don’t have the capacity to engage.

We’re looking forward to a collaborative and constructive relationship with the new Government and building a roadmap that steps through the things we need to achieve for the environment, in a pragmatic way and at a sensible pace, balancing environmental, economic and community needs.

The financial pressures we’re facing at

present make it more important than ever to get the policy settings right.

However, we shouldn’t forget that overall the prospects for our sector remain strong.

Globally, protein demand is expected to continue to rise and, after a recent trip to Europe, I am more convinced than ever that our sector is well-placed to meet the growing demand for grass-fed, naturally raised, red meat with a low environmental footprint that New Zealand is so good at producing.

I believe three factors are crucial if we are to leverage our competitive edge and capture further success on the global stage.

First, collaboration. It is vital that we take a whole-supply-chain perspective of the issues and opportunities facing the sector.

We’re working closely with Federated Farmers and DairyNZ to develop a joint roadmap on many agricultural policy areas, outlining where we need farmer-led action to ensure good environmental outcomes, what the regulatory framework could look like to support that, where we need research and where we need investment. We genuinely believe a united approach makes us all stronger.

Second, we need to continue investing behind the farm-gate, not just in tools and technology, but also our people.

Yes, our farmers want us to have a strong voice on advocacy and to champion them with the public. For both of these, having

(RRCC), which was established in 2017 by local farmer Roger Dalrymple and others as a way for the area to collectively manage the challenges and opportunities arising from the National Freshwater Policy and environmental changes.

This collective now covers an estimated 700,000 hectares of farmland, has more than 20 sub-catchment groups and covers the Whangaehu, Rangitīkei and Turakina river catchments.

According to the RRCC website, the group does monthly water testing at 88 sites within the catchments to show farmers and locals the results of their on-farm practice decisions. This includes taking water samples, eDNA testing and macroinvertebrate testing assessing what sort of bugs and insects live in the water.

Despite this incredible local work in capturing water quality data, councils like Horizons are not even bothering to consult groups like the RRCC before rolling out roadshows to consult on the proposed new freshwater targets. They haven’t even done modelling of the economic impact of the proposed new rules in their rush to meet the previous government’s deadlines.

This situation is playing out as regional councils rush to meet the timeframes.

I don’t know anyone, farming or not, who would not like to see improved water quality. To have any chance of improving national freshwater targets, regional councils need to engage with, listen to and empower farmers rather than dictate to them from afar.

This process needed to be slowed down and reviewed. I therefore welcome the new Government’s announcement that it will ask regional councils to pause their plan processes and that it will replace the Freshwater NPS. Farmers know we can improve our environmental footprint, but the draft plans that have come out around the country so far have clearly shown the folly of a flawed process. ■ Andrew Stewart and wife Kylie also run Rangitīkei Farmstay and The Mudder as successful diversifications on the family farm.

CLARE TOIA-BAILEY/STUFF

deep insights and understanding of our farmers and their farming systems is critical.

But we also hear from farmers about the importance of on-farm research and extension and the need for the sector to take the next leap in terms of productivity and profitability.

That includes in areas such as genetics through programmes like the B+LNZfunded Informing New Zealand Beef programme and research into facial eczema or parasite resistance. It’s also supporting initiatives such as Surfing for Farmers, AgriWomen’s Development Trust, Rural Leaders (Nuffield and Kellogg) and Safer Farms.

Finally, trust and respect in each other.

Rebuilding farmer trust is a priority for B+LNZ. We’re going through a strategy reset process at the moment to rebuild our organisation and make sure we’re giving farmers the tools they need to succeed into the future. With a great team supporting me, I’m looking forward to the next 12 months of collaborative work with and for farmers.

Regaining farmers’ trust for me is also about concentrating on our shared values

because, in reality, most farmers agree on most things most of the time.

We recognise the inevitability of change in farming practices. We also know enduring and successful change arises from farmerled initiatives, driven by innovation and a readiness to embrace new approaches. Now is the moment for genuine farmer-driven change, addressing farm-specific issues with sustainable solutions that yield tangible benefits.

So, as we head into the summer and some time off, let’s all focus on these three areas.

A unified sector is crucial, demonstrating to the public and government that we are ready for the challenges ahead. By embracing change, adapting, and leading where necessary, we can avoid the challenges of the past and showcase the resilience of our industry.

To every farmer, sector partner, and rural community, I’d like to wish you all a relaxing festive season. I’d like to think the sector has emerged stronger in the face of the challenges of the past year and we will go into 2024 better placed because of this. ■

December 2023

NZ Farmer 7 Opinion

Updated all day at

More normal rates beckon Economist Gordon Stuart, of financial services company Chaperon, has a look at the interest rates yo-yo.

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igher for longer has been the catchphrase over recent months regarding interest rates.

Could what goes up (interest rates) be followed by crashing back down? Maybe.

We have seen bond yields fall over recent weeks, which has provided some relief.

But what if we are witnessing a structural shift in the pricing of capital or interest rates, reversing trends seen over recent decades when interest rates trended lower?

Business models need to adapt.

You take out that trend and you get a different trajectory for asset prices, and asset prices that will be more critically dependent on near-term earnings.

The interest rate yo-yo Longer-term interest rates have moved up, then down but are still up overall.

The current level of interest rates is hardly frightening when you consider the 1980s. But the change over the past three years is the largest seen since 1980.

US 10-year bond rates touched 5% on October 23, 2023, before receding, and the NZ 10-year bond followed to 5.5%. Both are now trading slightly below these levels. Rising US rates strengthened the USD, causing the NZD to depreciate below 60 cents.

Both the US and NZ are running deficits and got through Covid by borrowing more and printing money.

Money was cheap at the time, with the NZ government borrowing at circa 1%.

The power has shifted to the suppliers of this funding being pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, banks and foreign investors. Investors are demanding more compensation for risk.

Interest rates are not the only influence on the business cycle, but are a major one. Getting rid of inflation means hitting growth, and one channel in which monetary policy operates is via asset prices. Low interest rates fuelled

asset prices. You need a really good story to escape the impact of higher capital costs. Some have remained immune.

US equity markets have been buoyed by the strong performance of the technology sector and stronger than anticipated economic activity. The NZX50 is not in the lucky camp, trading below pre-Covid levels.

Rising interest rates have increased the lure of a bank deposit. For retirees, a 6% return with little capital volatility now looks more attractive. Shortterm cash equivalents have also been attractive to fund managers. Term deposit balances at banks have risen more than $30 billion in the past year.

As interest rates rise, equity becomes tougher/more expensive to raise.

The cost of capital has jumped The market discount rate used to value the cash flows from both properties and equities comprises the risk-free rate and a risk premium that is specific to each investment or business operation. When interest rates rise, values come under pressure.

The risk premium is not constant, it changes with the market. Liquidity is a key component of the risk premium – private businesses are less liquid than public companies where shares trade daily, so private companies usually trade at a higher discount rate/lower multiple than public companies.

The direct impact of interest costs The Reserve Bank’s latest Financial Stability Report estimated that average dairy debt servicing costs have “increased from around $0.59 per kilogram of milksolids (kg/MS) two years ago to around $1.43 at present, with highly indebted farmers facing even larger increases”.

It is on track to hit $2 per kilogram.

The average breakeven dairy revenue per kgMS for the 2023-24 season is estimated to be around $8 so there will be a lot of red ink out there.

figure between those expecting to make more and those expecting to make less.

Few expect to make more. The culprit is not just interest costs, it is costs almost across the board, and lower revenue.

How long farmers can operate in this environment will be dependent on numerous factors, including indebtedness, access to working capital, cost structures and scale.

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We need a ruthless obsession across government helping to restore sensibility to business costs.

Gordon Stuart

We are seeing the consequence in the Crown Financial Statements, with corporate and other individuals’ tax falling markedly, driven by lower terminal and provisional tax.

A net 56% of agricultural firms expect to make less money over the coming year, according to ANZ’s Business Outlook Survey. That is a net balance

Pointing the finger A cyclical downturn in commodity prices and higher costs shoulder much of the blame.

They normally self-correct over time. Policies such as removing the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) minimum wage plus 10% requirement would help. Hawke’s Bay needs more support to get pipfruit back on its feet. We need a ruthless obsession across government helping to restore sensibility to business costs.

But that also ignores the bigger picture.

New Zealand’s and many countries’ business model for 30 years has been heavily influenced by a downward trend in interest rates, which created a northward trend for asset prices and wealth creation.

A more stubborn inflation dynamic has changed that and more normal interest rate settings beckon in a world where abnormal interest rate settings have driven many decisions. Recent market and interest rate price action has simply seen markets morph more towards reality, albeit with lots of volatility.

Local authorities have been no different. Higher interest rates are now exposing many.

The risk is that we will look to Wellington for solutions. The sharp uplift in business confidence in ANZ’s Business Outlook Survey points to hope.

Hope needs substance and businesses and farmers are better at that than politicians. ■

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December 2023

8 NZ Farmer Opinion

Adversity yields lessons for a better future Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Nadine Tunley looks back on an extremely difficult year for the sector.

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his year brought so much pain to so many people, especially our growers, so as the year draws to a close, many Kiwis won’t be sorry to say goodbye to the past 12 months.

The year began with the Auckland Anniversary Weekend storm and got worse by Valentine’s Day when Cyclone Gabrielle caused havoc across the Hawke’s Bay, Tairāwhiti Gisborne, Northland, Bay of Plenty and northern Manawatū regions.

I know many growers, their families and staff are still trying to recover emotionally and financially. It has been a very long and arduous road and our thoughts are with everyone still dealing with the aftermath.

On top of the challenges mother nature threw at us in 2023, there were the added and often unrelenting regulatory and compliance changes that the previous government wanted to push through before the election.

We’re hopeful the new Government will provide a more constructive and collaborative environment for growers to thrive.

The coalition oalition Government’s 100day plan provides us with some confidence, especially with its plans around the RSE programme, the cyclone recovery, repealing Fair Pay Agreements legislation, restoring 90-day trials, improving the quality of HORT NZ

regulation and focusing on infrastructure.

However, 2023 showed the unity and strength of the horticulture industry. I witnessed heartwarming camaraderie and collaboration among communities and wider New Zealand.

People often ask me why I do my job.

For me, it is because the horticulture sector is made up of people who come to work every day because they care.

Growers care about producing food that nourishes everyone and take pride in looking after the land that food comes from.

Our industry has remained resilient and steadfast in the face of adversity. Our ability to plan ahead, work together and back each other has underpinned our response to the various events throughout the year.

While rain washed away some crops in Pukekohe in January in just a few hours, the extent and degree of damage were significantly less than growers had previously experienced. That’s because, in the last 25-plus years, growers, councils and the wider

“

The Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan is a plan to ultimately double farmgate values by 2035.

Nadine Tunley

industry have worked to form the Franklin Sustainability Project and an Integrated Stormwater Management System for parts of Pukekohe Hill.

Then in February, immediately after and during Cyclone Gabrielle, growers, industry groups, district associations and Horticulture New Zealand sprang into action to help those suffering its impacts. I know of growers who used resources like helicopters and tractors to rescue people.

Some of those same growers had also lost everything – their crops, machinery, homes and all their possessions. We are all grateful for their selfless actions.

Following this, primary sector leaders got together to develop a plan to address immediate needs, as well as the long-term recovery of the affected regions. As the frequency and severity of adverse weather events increase, steps to mitigate or reduce damage have become even more crucial.

In early February, the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan was launched.

Two years in development, this document was the culmination of extensive consultation across the partners of industry, science, Māori and government.

It is a plan to ultimately double farmgate values by 2035 in a way that improves prosperity for our people and protects our environment along the way.

I know the horticulture industry stands

Hawke’s Bay horticulture was ravaged by Cyclone Gabrielle. Apples floated in vast expanses of water, fields of corn were flattened and strawberry rows destroyed.

PIERS FULLER/STUFF

ready and willing to continue to make a significant contribution to growing a prosperous and sustainable economy while ensuring food security for New Zealanders.

But to do so, we must first take care of ourselves and our loved ones. I am sure everyone is looking forward to seeing nutritious New Zealand-grown fresh fruit and vegetables on dining tables over the festive period. I know I am.

I am always very proud to be working for our growers and in this sector when the vibrant and colourful produce hits our dinner tables. This is a busy time for our growers.

We hope you all take some time to relax and celebrate the holiday season as we set our sights on a brighter 2024. ■

God is dead - the market’s killed him After attending a Grassland conference recently, soil scientist Doug Edmeades came away feeling uninspired and says bureaucracy is killing agricultural science.

T

he New Zealand Grassland Association holds an annual conference – this year it was in Rotorua. I returned home feeling empty. Nietzsche’s – a German philosopher – famous aphorism came to mind; “God is dead and we have killed him.” If I understand it correctly, and noting I am not a career philosopher, this metaphor means that “traditional forms of meaning have lost their authority”.

To understand the depth of my concern, we need to remind ourselves of a few things: First, pastoral farming is the biggest ‘business in town’. It should be front and centre of our thinking if we are pondering our economy.

The Grassland Association was established in 1931 to promote pastoral agricultural science. It provided a platform for scientists to discuss and, if necessary, debate, topical issues. Importantly, it encouraged farmers to become involved – it wanted interaction with, and input from, farmers, as reflected in its current strapline: “Fuelled by science, tempered by experience”.

In the early days the main science

contributors to Grassland’s activities were the old Grasslands Division of the DSIR and the MAF Research Division. These days, post the reforms, these organisations have been conflated into CRI AgResearch.

The Grassland Association and its associated annual conference have been very successful over many decades. Can you sense the BUT? This recent conference was science lite.

Many of the papers focused on science and farm policy, and other peripheral matters, rather than the meaty science issues of the day. The same was said of other recent conferences.

If these conferences are an accurate reflection of current science activity, then it is reasonable to say agricultural science in New Zealand is dead. The Grassland Association and its annual conference has lost its authority.

And we know who killed it – government agricultural science policy.

Since the reforms which began in the early 1990s, the government has slowly decreased its contribution to agricultural research, and indeed, the word on the street is that this will continue. The rot has

present. I guess this is not surprising set in. Their justification is that given that science today has the agricultural industries been commercialised and should be big enough politicised to the extent to fund their research that nobody, at least those needs. That is possibly inside AgResearch, dare true, but it does not speak the naked truth for extend to public-good fear of the backlash? research, which is the As one attendee “fuel” for grassland suggested to me, research. As recent AgResearch should be put Grassland conferences to rest or at least allowed show, the “market” has to die honourably. What a failed – to use, ironically, dreadful indictment of New one of the reformer’s pet Zealand’s pastoral industry phrases cited to justify Soil scientist Doug Edmeades and the once proud record cutting government R&D says the recent Grassland of its agricultural research – expenditure. conference showed a lack “Fuelled by science” indeed.

Two papers were of agricultural scientific And what about “… offered to the conference research is being done. tempered by experience”? by senior AgResearch Where are those farmers who staffers – they reflect are early adopters who look forward to the crisis. Given the pivotal role that new science and want to take it home to AgResearch plays in agricultural experiment with – to see if it will work? research, I was expecting some words Frankly, I would be reluctant to invite of leadership. Nothing. Just a jumble of farmers to a future Grassland conference meaningless management jargon. There given current trends for fear that they was no attempt to grapple with real issues would be bored to death. ■ confronting agricultural research at

December 2023

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December 2023

10 NZ Farmer News

Coalition policy announcements a good start Industry leaders are anticipating a more collaborative relationship with the new Government which will enable them to address challenges, writes Sonita Chandar.

A

g leaders from various sectors say they are happy with the new Government and the coalition agreement policy announcements in agriculture.

Given the opportunity, sector leaders say they would like to sit at the table with the Government and discuss those policies implemented by previous governments which they feel don't work for their sector or need further work around clarification and need to be replaced or amended to work. .

DairyNZ chairperson Jim van der Poel says the organisation was pleased to see the announcements reflect the changes DairyNZ has been advocating for on behalf of dairy farmers.

“The Government has an ambitious plan and we are looking forward to working with them on their priorities.

“Our initial conversations with the Government will likely revolve around the critical matters of climate change, freshwater policy and immigration concerns.”

He says DairyNZ and farmers need future policies to be clear, pragmatic and fair, and supported with practical solutions.

“We will continue our work with the new Government to ensure that our farmers’ voices are well represented to help achieve this.”

On climate change, DairyNZ is pleased to see the Government has committed to the split gas approach and will review the methane targets and science, But it would like the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) backstop removed as well.

“We also want to work with the Government as it establishes an Agricultural Emissions Pricing Board on an emissions pricing scheme that better supports the sector.”

Van der Poel says there is a need to get the balance right between environmental, economic and public interest. DairyNZ is keen to work with the Government on this, especially around freshwater management.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairperson Kate Acland says her agency is keen to sit down with the new Government to develop a plan for how to amend regulations that it has already identified in its agreements, including: a review of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management; its undertaking to review the methane targets based on no additional warming from methane; and reviewing the national policy statement for indigenous biodiversity.

“There are some other policy areas that were not part of the coalition agreements that we are seeking clarification on, including confirmation there will be no pricing of agricultural emissions; measures to address wholesale planting of farms into trees for carbon; and that the stock exclusion rules, and winter grazing slope rule will be amended, as well as removing the compulsory farm plan requirement for all farmers.”

Acland says there were several deadlines looming from the previous government which would have significant financial implications for sheep and beef farmers, including all regional councils notifying regional freshwater policies and plans

in 2024; new fencing rules for cattle in 2025 that apply to all flatland regardless of stocking rates; and the pricing of agricultural emissions in 2025.

B+LNZ will also be seeking clarity that there will be no pricing on agricultural emissions, asking for changes on the stock exclusion rules, and that farm plans should not be mandatory for all farms.

“The issue most on farmers’ minds at the moment is the need to pause the regional councils’ water planning processes because of the concerning draft plans that have been coming out in recent weeks around the country.”

The new Government has indicated this process will be paused and these rules reviewed, which was excellent.

It has also said the implementation of the biodiversity rules will be put on hold and revised, which is also great, she says.

Acland says research on the cumulative economic impact of the previous government’s environmental policies showed that its policies would have

Beef + Lamb New Zealand will be seeking clarity that there will be no pricing on agricultural emissions.

KELLY HODEL/STUFF

December 2023

NZ Farmer News 11

Updated all day at

Main: DairyNZ is keen to work with the Government, especially around freshwater management.

Horticulture New Zealand wants to discuss water allocation and storage, food security and climate change.

VANESSA LAURIE/STUFF

Inset: New Zealand’s pork producers are competing against significant volumes of cheap, subsidised imports.

ROSA WOODS/STUFF

significant financial impacts – even putting some farmers out of business, and significant changes were needed.

“It is the combined effect of all of these rules that was so disastrous and that is the reason so many rules need to be revised.

“Farmers are feeling overwhelmed by the raft of environmental regulation that has come out in recent years. We are looking forward to working with the new Government to get the balance right.

“We acknowledge that work needs to continue on improving the environmental footprint of our production, but we need to work in partnership in more practical ways that will achieve this.”

Horticulture New Zealand also wants to discuss water allocation and storage, food security and climate change.

Michelle Sands, general manager strategy and policy, says the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) and the interpretation of how land use consents attach to land are preventing the expansion of vegetable production and preventing crop rotation.

“Growers’ access to reliable water is decreasing, but the ability to consent water storage and augmentation is uncertain,” she says.

“There is a lack of recognition for equivalency for industry assurance programmes and the duplication of requirements and misalignment between market and regulation signals that seek similar outcomes.

“This is creating unnecessary inefficiency in the space of freshwater farm plans, climate change, food safety, social practice

and trade.

“This could be improved with clearer pathways for industry equivalence in law, and more generally, a clear alignment with international practice for assurance across the board.

“The current approach of piecemeal recognition is costly and creates unnecessary duplication.

“This leads to increased cost of operating and reduced production, lower turnover and reduced food supply, and increased price.

It also creates uncertainty, reducing the appetite for investment from growers.

“There is an urgent need for a National Environmental Standard (NES) Vegetables to provide a permitted consented activity path for vegetable production, with a certified Freshwater Farm Plan (FWFP) meeting good and best industry practice, certified with the New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP) Environmental Management System.”

There was also a strategic need for a National Policy Statement for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, to ensure the RMA was providing for this strategic value, alongside other nationally important values such as housing, drinking water, renewable energy, transportation and primary production.

For NZPork, previous policies have created uncertainty.

“Firstly, the issue of the continued and long-standing uncertainty over the changes proposed by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) to the Pig Animal Welfare Code,” chief executive Brent Kleiss says.

“The proposed changes are unworkable and unaffordable and could impact pig welfare and will drive farms out of business.

“They include an increase in the minimum amount of space provided to pigs and would make pig farming uneconomic for many pork producers and push the price

10-year-old Oliver got the life-saving rescue helicopter flight he needed thanks to

of local pork out of the reach of many Kiwis.”

He says farmers face high volumes of unrestricted and often discounted imported pork flooding into New Zealand, most of it produced under lower welfare and environmental standards.

“New Zealand’s existing welfare requirements for pigs are among the most stringent in the world.

“Imported pork also poses a biosecurity risk to New Zealand’s high health domestic pig herd.

“New Zealand continues to allow imports of pork from countries affected by diseases such as African Swine Fever (ASF).

“New Zealand’s pork producers are competing against very significant volumes of cheap, subsidised imports, mostly produced to lower welfare standards and often using practices that are illegal here.

“This issue has been further exacerbated by the elimination of tariffs of up to 5% on pork imported from Europe as a result of the EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement.”

Kleiss says the organisation recognises change is needed to the Pig Animal Code of Welfare and NZPork has submitted alternative science-based workable proposals to the Government.

“We believe a sensible and workable new code that takes on board these changes is needed, and an end to the current ‘limbo’ which sees pork producers unable to make decisions about investing in their farm businesses.”

However, he warns that if NZPork’s alternative proposal is adopted, pork producers will need support from the Government to transition and a manageable lead-in time.

“We would need support measures including relief from RMA resource consent requirements for larger housing units to accommodate more growing space, and support for research and trialling of new equipment.

“The incoming Government should demonstrate its commitment to high animal welfare standards, and local farming by subjecting imported pork to the same stringent standards that are applied to New Zealand farmers.”

Industry leaders are anticipating a more collaborative and constructive relationship with the new Government which will enable them to address the various challenges facing each sector.

And these needed to work so the rural sector was not only profitable and productive, but remained world-leading. ■

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December 2023

SPONSORED CONTENT

Making farms more efficient with the Internet of Things Internet-connected devices can make farms safer, more efficient and more productive.

I

ndustries across New Zealand are set to be transformed by the Internet of Things (IOT), as devices, appliances and tools connect online to talk to each other, exchange data and automate key tasks. As one of our biggest sectors, farming is on the cusp of major change as new technology makes farm life more efficient, safer and more productive.

Rosaria Weir, Head of sales for rural internet provider Farmside, knows all about the role technology can play in the farming sector. Having grown up on a dairy farm in Timaru, she now works with NZ farmers to boost their internet connectivity, introduce new digital tools, and bring the tech revolution to paddocks across the country.

“Over the past 15 years, the rural sector has really progressed,” she says. “One of the things I’m proud of is helping farms get better access to telecommunications and the great new products that can really benefit hard-working New Zealanders.”

The broadband provider has just launched a IOT device, the Farmside Asset Tracker, to help farmers manage and keep track of their key equipment.

The mobile GPS device enables farming businesses to monitor valuable assets in real-time wherever they are.

About the same size as a mobile phone, the ‘black box’ Asset Tracker can be attached to equipment such as trailers, generators, tractors, or quad bikes.

Ultra-tough and built for all weather, the tracker has a long battery life for longterm tracking and recovery.

Once activated, trackers can be monitored on a simple online platform.

The online asset management platform provides full visibility of connected assets and allows for customisable reporting, alert notifications, and reports on remote device health.

With a complete view of their equipment, farmers can improve

The tracker can keep an eye on assets by using the geofencing function.

Farmside's Asset Tracker helps farmers manage and keep track of their key equipment.

productivity and eradicate the lost hours spent accounting for key items. Items can also be geofenced to prevent them from being taken off-site without approval.

Weir says the tech offers a cost effective solution to farmers looking to keep tabs on their most valuable equipment.

“You can chuck one on a quad bike, a tractor, or pretty much anything,” says Weir. “One of the most common things they are used for is for tractors heading out to the back of a farm. Sometimes, they can be quite far from the house or place of business, but the tracker uses minima mobile signal, so you’ll always be able to pick up where it is.”

As well as providing extra security, the tracker can also have huge health & safety benefits.

“A lot of people use our trackers for health and safety reasons,” she explains.

“If a tractor has rolled, or there’s been an accident, the tracker will send through an instant notification that there has been a disturbance.

“Sometimes when accidents happen it can be hours before someone is found.

With this technology, there’s a safeguard in place; it’s massive from a health and safety perspective.”

The tracker can also be used off-farm to help farm owners manage assets on other properties.

“A farmer might have a boat at their holiday home, for example. With the tracker, they can keep an eye on it and use the geofencing function to let them know if it ever moves.”

The new technology arrives as Farmside looks to boost connectivity across the rural sector. Weir and her team in Timaru are on hand to help farmers

The tracker can provide extra security for equipment

fully embrace the digital future.

“Every farmer should know about these amazing products and how connectivity can help them work smarter,” she adds. “Our staff are ready to help you with new technology and make life easier for all the rural New Zealanders putting in the hard yards.”

Farmside prides itself on delivering excellent customer service.

Visit www.farmside.co.nz or in Butler Street in Timaru to give your farm a connectivity boost.

December 2023

Regional Roundup

McClay puts focus on farmers The agriculture minister is a champion of rural New Zealand and says he will work to restore confidence in the sector, writes Tina Morrison.

He says he learnt a lot from that experience about allowing farmers to get on and farm. “We want to support farmers, we trust and we back them,” he says.

The MP for Rotorua, whose electorate includes dairy, sheep and beef, kiwifruit and forestry industries, wants to champion farmers and the contribution they make to the economy, noting 80% of all goods exports come from the primary sector.

“We need to remind a lot of people and talk much more about the importance of farming to New Zealand because over the last six years, the last government didn't do that,” he says.

“They talked about farming as a problem and something they had to fix whereas actually I trust farmers.’’

McClay has also regained the trade portfolio, in recognition that it and agriculture are interlinked, but says changing the mood at home remains key.

“My focus is much more here at home than what we need to do overseas. We want to change the view of government, local and central, towards farmers.”

McClay says farmers have an obligation to meet environmental and climate change commitments but he prefers to work with them in partnership to find the most effective approach.

“We’ve seen a huge amount of regulation – rule change upon change forced on the rural community and rural economy over the last six years – and they’re struggling.

It’s no wonder that rural confidence and mental health is at such low levels. We want fewer rules and better ones.”

McClay is joined by three associate

N

ew Agriculture Minister Todd McClay may not be a farmer, but he grew up rural and is committed to championing the sector he feels has been given a hard time by the previous government.

McClay, the son of former National MP Roger McClay, first learnt to milk cows as a 10 year old at a rural Waikato farm, in the small settlement of Hoe-o-Tainui, east of Huntly. “I absolutely loved it and wanted to keep going back,” he says.

McClay worked on dairy, sheep and beef, and deer farms during the school holidays and aspired to be a farmer himself.

He applied for the agricultural training school Flock House in Manawatū but was considered too young at 15, so went to boarding school at Wesley College near Pukekohe which had a working farm.

Having earned some money after finishing school, McClay headed overseas and ended up working in agricultural politics in Europe, as chief of staff for Lord Henry Plumb, a UK farmer and former head of the National Farmers Union who became president of the European parliament.

ministers of agriculture outside border with additional regulations Cabinet – National’s Nicola further hinder trade.

Grigg, who was raised on McClay says the relationship the family sheep and beef needs investment before a farm in Mt Somers; NZ trade deal is considered.

First’s Mark Patterson, “It's very clear that the an Otago sheep and relationship with India has beef farmer; and former been underdone over the last Federated Farmers six years so nobody should president and dairy farmer expect we're going to turn up Andrew Hoggard of ACT. there and say – ‘Hello, there’s In comparison, the a new government here, we previous Labour-led think you’'re important, we Agriculture Minister Todd government had one want a trade deal, please’.”

McClay says farmers were associate minister.

India is the first country he given a hard time by the McClay says having plans to visit as trade minister, previous government. three minister reflects his to meet his counterpart and Government’s view of the “start the conversation”. significant contribution rural New Zealand McClay wouldn’t be drawn on whether the makes to the economy. He is confident Government was prepared to exclude dairy they can strike the right balance between from an agreement to get it over the line and practical on-farm experience and getting benefit other sectors like sheep farmers. the machinery of government to deliver.

Still, he noted that India was not far away “We've got a turnaround job to do across from being unable to produce enough dairy the economy and actually, it starts with to feed its own people. “They at some stage rural New Zealand,” he says. will be looking to the world for dairy protein The 55-year old says he will be strategic in and they’re more likely to look towards the his trade portfolio. countries that they have trade agreements The new Government has singled out with.”

India as a priority, a huge and growing But McClay says he doesn’t want to market where Australia has secured a trade become disconnected from his rural agreement ahead of New Zealand – albeit constituents by overseas travel or political one that excludes dairy, New Zealand’s life in Wellington. “Every now and then ... I'll largest export. roll the sleeves up and go back to Reporoa According to the Ministry of Foreign and milk cows, for no other reason than to Affairs and Trade, India’s average tariff on remind myself that, as important as the job agricultural goods is 34.4%, making the you do overseas or Wellington may seem, market uneconomic for most New Zealand you’re only there representing the people agribusinesses, and obstacles behind the who vote for you.” ■

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December 2023

14 NZ FarmerRoundup Regional

New crop growing trials Botanical trial sites across Taranaki will broaden the region’s food production, offer diversity and create resilience. By Catherine Groenestein.

M Pihama organic dairy farmer Janet Fleming is one of six triallists in Venture Taranaki’s Branching Out project growing medicinal plants and gin botanicals.

VENTURE TARANAKI

edicinal plants and gin botanicals are among the crops being grown in Taranaki in trials designed to help the dairy-dominant region diversify and become more resilient.

Six botanical trial sites are now growing a selection of gin botanicals angelica and liquorice, and medicinal ashwagandha and Calendula officinalis (medicinal plants).

The trials are part of regional development agency Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki’s Branching Out project,

launched in 2020 to broaden the region’s food offerings by supporting more diverse and complementary use of land, enterprises and products.

Pihama organic dairy farmer Janet Fleming, who is one of the botanical triallists, said she was excited about branching into complementary land use with the trials.

Fleming and her husband, Stephen, have been farming organically since 2004 and are in their sixth season of milking once a day, two farming practices considered outside the mainstream, she said.

“Getting involved with the botanicals growing trials aligns with our vision and provides an opportunity to test our knowledge, assess soil capacity and embrace stepping outside what we do well already, and continue our learning journey.”

North Taranaki landowner Rawiri McClutchie said he and his whānau, who are also growing a mixture of botanical and medicinal crops, were looking for financially viable ways to farm their land for generations to come, and to provide

From writing stories to helping farmers

Taranaki woman ditches journalism and finds passion in primary sector A field trip to Black Forest Station, on the eastern banks of Lake Benmore, led one journalist to swap her office for a job in the great outdoors. By Stephanie Ockhuysen.

J

essie Waite got involved with Young Farmers for a free trip to Black Forest Station but ended up finding her calling in the primary sector.

The 31-year-old works for Operational Solutions for Primary Industries (Ospri) as regional partner of extension services.

It’s not exactly where the Taranaki woman, with a diploma in journalism and no background in farming, thought she’d end up, but she loves it.

“There are so many opportunities depending on what your passion is.”

When Waite left high school she had no idea what she wanted to do.

She knew she liked writing, and she knew she liked people, so journalism seemed a natural fit.

A diploma in Journalism at Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (Witt) meant she could stay close to home and get a qualification more quickly than going to university.

Her first job was at The Stratford Press.

She was then offered a job in Oamaru, Not knowing were it was, she googled it.

“It was very much a rural community,

that’s where I joined Young Farmers, as all my friends were farmers.”

After a few years down south, she moved home.

A job came up doing admin for Taranaki Federated Farmers, which she thought would be a great opportunity.

“I think I got that job because of being involved with Young Farmers.

“It made me realise this is where I wanted to be.”

Waite worked there for four years and then decided she needed a new challenge.

That's when a job came up with Ospri.

“I had impostor syndrome, I thought I’m never going to get this job, I’m not qualified, I have no qualifications to do with anything in the primary sector, I’ve got a diploma in journalism. What’s that going to look like on my CV? But they hired me.”

Waite describes her role as one of farmer support.

She helps them with Ospri’s programmes to eradicate Mycoplasma Bovis and bovine tuberculosis and herd tracing for disease management.

“I’m out there helping farmers try to be more compliant and understand why they should do it.

“It’s about being a support and I think at the moment farmers need more support than they ever have.”

Waite said farmers were constantly worried about grass growth, milk production, staffing issues, income, the milk price, council regulations, government regulations, pressure from banks.

Farmers were resilient, but she didn’t think we should just expect this from

them. “They’re humans, they have the same emotional responses as we do to pressures, it hits them hard, and they’ve still got families to raise and staff who rely on them.”

As a young woman in the industry who did not come from a farming background, Waite said she’d had to put in more effort to gain farmers’ trust and prove herself.

But now they knew that she could help.

There were a lot of strong women in roles getting on with it and breaking down barriers, she said.

She hoped it would get to a point where women in the industry didn’t have to be celebrated – it was just the norm.

“I think it’s getting to that point, even through my time at the NZ Young Farmers we’ve got female chairs of the boards, and female leaders within the industry.”

She hoped there would be a focus on engaging with school kids about the opportunities the primary sector presented.

However, that was challenging because of the negative spin that was often put on farming.

“I think it’s a big challenge for farmers now to be careful about the messages they’re sending. Obviously, there are those frustrations and there’s a lot of stress, but you’ve got to be careful about what you’re saying because it’s not going to entice young people in.

“It’s not just about being on the farm, you’ve got rural bankers, fertiliser specialists, scientists, so people should take an interest in what’s happening in the primary sector because it’s vital to our country’s economy and our local economy.” ■

Jessie Waite got involved with Young Farmers because her friends were members, but it put her on a career path.

VANESSA LAURIE/STUFF

December 2023

NZ Farmer 15 Regional Roundup

Updated all day at

gain momentum “

We are also exploring opportunities to grow Maori medicinal plants ...

Rawiri McClutchie employment. “We think it’s an industry that has real potential for massive growth and for it to be sustainable. To me, it makes sense to grow these botanicals locally if the land and conditions are suitable,” he said.

“We are also exploring opportunities to grow Māori medicinal plants. It is really exciting times for us ... ” The botanical growing trials follow on from the sustainable crop rotation trials that began in July with the planting of garlic and faba beans in both North and South Taranaki. Garlic trials are also being held at eight Taranaki secondary schools.

The sowing and planting of other trials, including hemp for fibre production and the remaining rotational trial crops of kumara, sorghum and sweetcorn, were to be completed by the end of November. Other crops already growing with project support include avocados, kiwifruit, hops and limes.

Branching Out Project manager Michelle Bauer said it aimed to support the diversification of food and fibre value chains to increase resilience, create value-added farming businesses, develop new related enterprises, create new jobs and attract fresh revenue and investment to Taranaki.

“We’re thrilled to get started with growing botanicals at trial sites across South Taranaki, Stratford, New Plymouth and North Taranaki, and to be working with committed landowners of whānau, horticulturalists and dairy farmers, some of whom are organic.”

In the new year, there will be public open days at growing trial sites. Follow the Venture Taranaki social channels or email BranchingOut@venture.org.nz to register your interest. ■

Rawiri McClutchie, second from left, and his whānau aim to find financially viable crops on their land that will provide employment for generations to come.

“

I’m out there helping farmers try to be more compliant and understand why they should do it.

Jessie Waite

December 2023

16 NZ Farmer Sport Comment

2023, New Zealand’s ‘nearly’ year National Kiwi sports teams came close to clinching top spots but never quite made it, writes sports commentator Miles Davis.

The New Zealand flag was proudly on display at several major title finals but New Zealand sports teams just couldn’t seem to bring it home.

I

t was close but no cigar for many of New Zealand’s sporting outfits over the last year with several sides getting within touching distance of major titles.

Many negative nellies view anything other than the win as a failure but I don’t subscribe to that view. With only one spot available for a winner, surely that doesn’t mean all other teams/individuals are losers?

That’s not to say there aren’t those who deserve a bit of the old borax, but for today I’d like to focus on the positive, plus a look at next year.

The All Blacks Much maligned over the last year there weren’t great expectations for their World Cup campaign, but they really fronted up.

Their win against Ireland in the quarterfinal was a herculean performance that will long live in the memory. First or second was in essence decided by just one blow of a referee’s whistle.

2024 – With several veterans retiring, it promises to be a challenging year for new coach Scott Robertson. Much of the country felt he should have been the coach instead of Ian Foster so there’ll be pressure on him to produce results. I believe he is up to that

MONIQUE FORD/ STUFF

task and that NZ has enough talent to build a new, winning squad.

The Warriors One of the feel-good stories of the year.

From a dismal 15th in 2022 to going within a win of the Grand Final was an amazing turnaround. Andrew Webster’s appointment as coach proved to be a masterstroke as the Warriors gained the admiration of the league fraternity and captured the nation’s hearts. Up the Wahs!

2024 – The expectation is that the Warriors will kick on from last season and threaten the top of the table. Whilst I feel confident they will make the top eight, I have a nagging suspicion they will occasionally crumble under the weight of that expectation and get knocked out in the first round of the play-offs. I hope I am wrong.

“

The Warriors – one of the feel-good stories of the year.

Miles Davis

The Breakers Arguably a greater reversal of fortunes than the Warriors. From last in 2022 to second and a Grand Final appearance in 2023.

While the players obviously have the major say in affairs, let’s not ignore the influence of coach Mody Maor, who undoubtedly got the best out of his squad.

2024 – Currently, their form resembles that of 2022 and while there’s much of the season to go, the playoffs look a fair way away and the Grand Final a distant dream.

The Black Caps A mixed bag for most of the year, with some thrilling wins but also too many below-par performances. The highlight was their World Cup campaign. Starting with a hiss and a roar, there was a slight wobble before they steadied the ship and made the semifinals. No disgrace in losing to a top

Indian side on their patch.

2024 – With Bangladesh already having given the Black Caps a bloody nose, several of the NZ pace attack on the verge of their GoldCard, plus Pakistan, South Africa and Australia on the horizon, I can see more downs than ups on the menu.

Some others who deserve a mention: Ryan Fox. Not only in golf’s top 30 he is now no longer “son of”. Rather, Grant Fox is “father of”. The two Scotts, Dixon and McLaughlin. Two Kiwis in Indy Car’s top 3. The Wellington Phoenix. Both men’s and women’s sides are flying high as the New Year beckons. And, of course, the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Who would’ve thought that games of women’s football not involving the Football Ferns could sell out grounds around the country?

The one negative I want to throw in is the NZ Rugby. The national game is in poor shape and, in my opinion, poor hands.

Of one thing I am certain though. In 2024, New Zealand will continue to punch well above its weight on the international sporting stage. ■

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NZ Farmer News 17

Updated all day at

Fonterra backs wellbeing of rural communities The dairy co-operative is giving back to rural communities through its Hapori programme, which supports community initiatives that benefit everyone. By Steve Macmillan.

F

onterra is doing its bit for rural communities in need, with regional teams taking the lead in supporting worthy causes through the Co-operative’s Hapori Programme.

As numerous community groups and worthy causes struggle for funding and resources, the Co-operative is increasingly recognising the importance of providing support at a community level.

Shaheen Junge, Fonterra’s Community Engagement and Social Investment manager, says Hapori helps the business build relationships.

“That is important because it really does feel like our communities are coming together and genuinely trying to do good for each other, and it’s rewarding playing our part in that,” she says.

“There are so many great initiatives out there in the community and our support of the Rural Support Trust (RST) and wellbeing initiatives are important examples of embedding ourselves in the community because we are coming together for a common cause.”

Fonterra first partnered with RST in 2022 and continues to work together to

Fonterra volunteers in Waikato with Kura Kai during the cleanup after Cyclone Gabrielle.

identify ways to support rural communities to address mental health and provide resilience tools.

The relationship also helps bring remote rural communities together for collaboration dinners throughout the year, so farmers and the many collaboration partners can support each other in tough times and celebrate successes.

Junge says Hapori means community and kinship and the programme funded around $900k of initiatives in the ten regions throughout New Zealand in 2023.

Those areas to have benefited from a combination of volunteer resources, funding, wellbeing support and product donations include Northland, Auckland, North Waikato, South Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Central Districts Upper South, Mid-Canterbury, Otago/Southland.

The Hapori Programme was launched in

2019 and supports an array of initiatives and projects throughout regional New Zealand, from school and educational groups, to charitable trusts, sports clubs and local emergency services – along with a wide range of environmental, community and health and safety initiatives.

“We know it takes a village to help a community thrive, and a little support can go a long way.

“Our Hapori support is led by our regional teams, across our manufacturing sites and Farm Source stores. Our people are on the ground, connected to the communities they live and work in, and understand what type of support will have a lasting impact.”

In 2023, some of that work involved helping communities in need, following the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. In particular, the Waikato Hapori team got stuck in to help clean up siltation around Takitimu

marae and nearby housing so whānau could move back into their whares.

Meanwhile, the Trees for Survival charitable trust continues to benefit from Hapori through volunteering.

Trees for Survival was established in 1991 to grow and plant native trees along waterways and on erosion-prone hillsides and Fonterra now supports 22 schools across Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

In 2023, 448 students from 15 schools received volunteering support from Fonterra staff to help plant 12,162 native plants, while students at a further seven schools received and potted their first lot of seedlings in their new shade house.

Trees for Survival National Manager Phil Lyon is grateful for the support.

“It means we can educate hundreds of students on conservation through the planting days and our environmental education programme,” he says.

Along with the Co-operative’s partnership with the Rural Support Trust, Fonterra is also a premium sponsor of Surfing for Farmers this season.

The initiative provides farmers with an opportunity to connect with their community, make new friends and start important conversations around mental wellbeing. Surfing sessions are on a weekday evening at regional surfing beaches around the country, followed by a free BBQ and a yarn with fellow farmers and families. Find out more at surfingforfarmers.com.

Shaheen would love more farmers to try and catch a wave and says her team also welcomes rural community groups and organisations applying for funding – from $500 to $5000 – through the Hapori Programme to help with local initiatives in the regions. ■

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December 2023

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Spring pasture is lush, green and picturesque, but it doesn’t fool farmers, it can lack the nutrients, protein and dry matter, essential for dairy cows.

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December 2023

NZ Farmer 19 Forestry

Updated all day at

Demand steady from China for logs but challenges remain Scott Downes

C

hina is a key market for New Zealand’s forest industry with over 90% of our export logs sold there.

Log demand is driven by the real estate market which is suffering from Chinese Government reforms aimed to curb property speculation, as well as a general slow-down in the Chinese economy. The real estate market is a key driver for the Chinese economy providing approximately a quarter of their gross domestic product (GDP).

In mid-November the Chinese government announced a 127 billion USD stimulation package involving low-cost financing for urban village renovation and affordable housing programmes. The Peoples Bank of China will facilitate banks injecting funds in phases into the economy.

This is expected to trigger construction activity.

There is still a fundamental issue in that the Chinese population doesn’t see real estate as a good investment, as they don’t think values will rise. So, this may increase supply more than demand, which won’t improve value. At least the Chinese government is taking steps to create activity in this sector which is a good sign.

Demand for logs in China has been very steady this year with daily usage generally ranging between 60,000 and 70,000 cubic metres per day. Demand for logs used in

construction (as boxing framing for concrete pouring) is well down from a couple of years ago where 120,000 to 130,000 cubic metres per day was used during the construction season which reduced to 65,000 to 70,000 cubic metres per day during China’s hot sticky months of June, July and August when productivity slows down.

Demand for logs used in the furniture industry has held up better than logs used in construction. This includes good prices for species such as cypress and some eucalypts.

The At Wharf Gate (AWG) prices received for export logs by forest owners in New Zealand has varied due to fluctuations in the shipping costs and the strength of the NZD against the USD. Prices have increased in the last couple of months as inventory has dropped to very low levels and the Chinese market is starting to get concerned about log supply. There have been significant volumes harvested from the wind throw in the central North Island that occurred during cyclone Gabrielle. This supply will start to drop off next year as these trees come to the end of their shelf life as bugs and fungus set in.

The average log prices are now at the twoyear average but still $4 below the threeyear and five-year averages. ■

Demand for logs used in furniture, such as these eucalypts, has held up better than logs used in construction.

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December 2023

20 Research NZ Farmerand Science

Sensing urine AgResearch scientists are thinking outside the box when it comes to measuring Nitrogen in cow’s urine. Our Rural reporter reports.

I The urine sensor measured the volume and concentration of nitrogen and what time urination happened so an entire day of data was collected.

t was an experiment that used a somewhat different way of measuring the nitrogen content of cow’s urine and found plantain have to be at significant levels in pasture mixes to be effective in reducing N excretion.

The award-winning-technology developed by AgResearch will help farmers address the issue that has a big environmental impact. The acoustic urine sensors tackle the problem of nitrogen loss from the urine of cattle, which affects water quality and leads to emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.

The device attaches to the rear leg of dairy cattle to enable recording and identification of distinct sound patterns in “urination events”, including timing and volume.

Data from the recordings is analysed using technologies that include machine learning.

Dairy cows typically urinate 10–12 times per day with an average urination volume of two litres per event and an average equivalent urinary nitrogen application rate estimated to be about 600kg of nitrogen per hectare.

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“Our research has shown that the nitrogen load of an individual urination event is closely connected with daily urination frequency, the time of day and the volume of the urination event,” says AgResearch senior scientist Brendon Welten.

“This means that urination frequency and volume per event directly affects the amount of nitrogen deposited in urine patches on the pasture. Therefore, cows that urinate more frequently per day coupled with a lower volume per urination event tend to excrete lower amounts of nitrogen per urination event and so represent a lower risk to the environment.”

This knowledge has led to AgResearch developing the concept of an environmental nitrogen herd test to identify and manage cows based on urinary-nitrogen loss potential.

The concept is similar to routine herd testing for milk quality and production, with a service provider deploying the urine sensor technology on a dairy farm to provide an accurate estimate of an individual cow’s urination frequency and volume per event. This informs the urinary nitrogen loss potential of individual cows in the dairy herd.

“Once farmers have this farm-specific urinary nitrogen loss information of their dairy herd, this could be used in a decision support tool like Overseer to allow potential immediate benefits in reducing farm nitrogen loss relative to using a default model value. Furthermore, farmers can

December 2023

NZ Farmer 21 Research and Science

Updated all day at

output in cows then use it to make farm

by New Zealand dairy farmers management decisions, such as a new tool to mitigate farm as breeding and culling, nitrogen loss.” to move their dairy herd Lead scientist Dr Lisa Box towards lower nitrogen says the project differed loss potential and from previous studies in thereby provide the that it measured the cow’s opportunity to achieve N output throughout the sustained reductions day rather than by one-off (year-on-year) in farm spot testing. nitrogen leaching loss.”

“Spot samples of urine Recently, the are less useful because research behind you can only look at the sensor development concentration of nitrogen, was recognised when and at one point of the day Research lead scientist Lisa Box AgResearch’s Cattle but actually what happens said the urine sensors showed Urine Sensor team is that both volume and a significant amount of plantain won the Science and N concentration vary was needed in pasture to reduce Technology Award at the significantly through the Nitrogen in cows’ pee 2023 Kudos Awards in day so they’re not really Hamilton. representative of a day’s “It’s fantastic to have that recognition worth of nitrogen coming out of that cow in given over five years of development,” urine,” Box says.

Welten says.

To conduct the experiment, AgResearch “The benefits of these sensors are that engineers had to come up with a way to they are lightweight, simple to use and collect the urine and direct it through the low-cost. Their use can be easily scaled up sensors that were to be attached to each and requires no capital investment in farm of the 20 non-lactating cows that were fed infrastructure, with minimal effect on daily different, randomly assigned diets. Box farm management practices. also identified something farmers planting “Our current research is assessing plantain should be aware of. "Once you farm-level benefits of this concept on get plantain to 40% of the diet, cattle don’t farm nitrogen loss using case-study dairy drink any water from the troughs because farms linked with modelling funded by they don’t need to so if you’re putting stuff the Ministry for Primary Industries. We like zinc in the drinking water, you need are looking forward to the potential large to consider that they’re not going to be scale adoption of this concept in the future consuming it and find another way.” ■

AgResearch senior scientist Brendon Welten, says the sensors are lightweight, simple to use and low-cost.

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December 2023

22 NZ Farmer From the NZFarmer Team The holiday season is upon us and while farmers will still have work to do on Christmas Day, we hope you can relax and spend time with your families and loved ones. Thank you to our agribusiness partners and advertisers for your ongoing support.

From the team here at NZFarmer, we wish you all season’s greetings and happy holidays. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sonita Chandar, NZ Farmer editor

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Advertising NZ Feature Farmer 23

Updated all day at

Contract milking course offers valuable insights

H

aving a full understanding of what you're signing up for and going into a deal with your eyes open is important in any business undertaking and it's particularly relevant for contract milkers.

Dairy Training Ltd's free Contract Milking course will help anyone wanting to go into contract milking with budgeting skills to give them the best chance of success.

Contract Milking tutor Tania Burrows says the course will help participants assess whether it's the right job for them and also whether the contract they enter into is going to be financially viable.

Courses are run around the country with four planned for 2024 - in Ashburton, Gore, Whangarei and Feilding. Each one includes four in-person workshops (10am to 3pm) and two online drop-in sessions.

Areas covered on the course include • Building an understanding of how a contract works, including obligations and responsibilities for both parties • Assessing the financial viability of a contract milking or Variable Order Sharemilkers (VOSM) position • Knowing the top things that trip up contract milkers • Ensuring you are making money out of contract milking • How to assess different contract milking opportunities and make good decisions • Understanding the value of independent advice when negotiating a contract and being self-employed • Building awareness of issues and risks and how to manage and mitigate them Tania Burrows describes the courses as practical and very hands-on. The in-person workshops see contract milkers create a budget and learn what information is needed to do this and where to find it. Each session also has a guest speaker - from banking, accountancy, human resources and Federated Farmers.

"The examples we use in the courses are specific dairy farming scenarios," Burrows says.

She has been a dairy farmer with her husband for the last 13 years and says all the tutors have dairy farming experience - a key benefit with Dairy Training Ltd. The tutors can pass on not just knowledge but practical learning from their own on-farm experience.

Those attending the course will learn how to judge the finacial viabiliy of a contract. How to budget out a role and make sure they're not under capitilsed.

"Having the skills to get these things right at the start will avoid financial stress

2024 Contract Milking Courses ■ Ashburton (2 Feb, 16 Feb, 1 Mar, and 15 Mar) ■ Gore (13 Feb, 27 Feb, 12 Mar, and 26 Mar) ■ Whangarei (13 Feb, 27 Feb, 12 Mar, and 26 Mar) ■ Feilding (Feb/Mar, dates TBC)

Dairy Training Ltd’s free Contract Milking course will help anyone wanting to go into contract milking with budgeting skills to give them the best chance of success.

later on," Burrows says.

"There are so many factors that need to be considered when deciding if contract milking will be a good fit. It's important to understand the infrastucture of the job and whether the philisophies of the contract milker and the owner align. With the right knowledge from this course a contract milker can go into a job with their eyes wide open."

Aaron Passey, who has gone from contract milker to equity partner says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without being able to budget and understand contracts.”

Dairy Training Limited has been supporting farmers with training since 2002 and as a subsidiary of DairyNZ it has the best interests of the dairy industry at the core of everything it does. DTL developed this course in partnership with Federated

Farmers of New Zealand and DairyNZ. It allows those in the dairy industry to upskill with a range of options from short courses and workshops to full programmes for formal qualifications.

Courses are offered for dairy employees, self-employed farmers, and rural professionals to improve their capability throughout the industry. If you are in employment in the dairy sector there's a course that can support you on the pathway to business ownership.

Hamish Hodgson, manger at Dairy Training NZ, says the Contract Milking course has been developed as a micro credential worth 15 credits at level 5 through NZQA and is funded through the tertiary education commission.

"Dairy Training is committed to making high quality, practical training available to farmers around New Zealand, we develop

Upskill yourself and your team with free training From short courses and workshops to full programmes, we have a course for all stages of your dairy farming journey.

0800 467 769

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dairytraining.co.nz

our courses in partnership with farmers and industry partners to ensure we end up with a course that meets farmers’ needs," Hodgson says.

"Our business model is to provide credible and relatable training through experienced farmers who serve as tutors.

Leveraging access to government funding, our courses are both affordable and accessible for dairy farmers across New Zealand.

"We are pleased that we have been able to successfully develop a solution for an issue facing dairy farmers into a fully developed micro credential that can be delivered around New Zealand. Looking ahead, we are excited about continuing to develop further micro credentials and have already initiated discussions with farmers to identify and develop additional courses based on farmers’ needs into micro credentials over the next few years.

"Micro credentials are short programmes based on specific skills that allow us to maintain the credibility, consistency and access to funding that formal training allows but without needing farmers to enrol in long term programmes. Meaning farmers who are short on time can still access bite size bits of learning for themselves or their teams, while minimising labour shortages."

Other Free Dairy Training courses include: Progression Management: Improve how you interact with and manage your team, get up to speed with industry tools and technology, learn how to identify areas for improvement on farm, plan for a rewarding career and take control of your financial situation.

Business by the Numbers: Step through the process of preparing and monitoring accurate farm budgets to stay on top of farm finances. Have confidence in achieving longer-term goals such as self-employment or growing your farming business.

Write a Business Plan: Step through the process of writing a five-year Business Plan including clarifying your goals and determining how you’ll get there. ■

December 2023

24 Education NZ Farmer

Train to become a freshwater planner Massey University is tackling the problem of declining freshwater quality with a series of short courses online.

Massey University lecturer Dr Callum Rees, from the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre within the School of Agriculture and Environment, helps deliver courses and complete research on strategies to reduce the impact of agricultural management on freshwater.

F

reshwater quality is an important issue for many New Zealanders, and Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa Massey University supports this with its publicly accessible online short courses.

The courses, adapted to consider changing governmental legislation, are now available, with a new intake in February.

During 2020, in response to declining freshwater quality throughout the country, the government announced the Essential Freshwater Package.

Freshwater is a critical resource that we cannot live without, and neither can many of our native insect, fish, and bird and plant species. Freshwater is under increasing pressure from drinking and irrigation water supply schemes, loss of wetlands, climate change and run-off from urban and rural settings that can cause contamination.

A critical part of the Essential Freshwater Package is the Freshwater Farm Plans (FWFPs). FWFPs are a tool for farmers and land managers to identify the strengths and risks of their land and farming systems and help target resources towards actions that will achieve better freshwater and business outcomes.

These plans will help farmers continue to improve local waterways and are being progressively phased in across the country, beginning with the Waikato and Southland regions.

Massey runs Intermediate and Advanced Fresh Water Farm Planning courses to provide rural advisers and farmers with the skills and knowledge required to produce high-quality FWFPs. The government finalised FWFP regulation in June and these courses are updated yearly to be consistent with changes in rules and regulations.

The course co-ordinator, Associate Professor Lucy Burkitt, and lecturer Dr Callum Rees, from Massey’s Farmed Landscapes Research Centre (FLRC) within the School of Agriculture and Environment, deliver the courses and complete research on strategies to reduce the impacts of agricultural management on freshwater.

"The strength of our training course is that students gain an understanding of how water and contaminants move from the farm to freshwater,’’ Burkitt says.

“This is critical if we want to effectively target actions to achieve the FWFP and Essential Freshwater objectives of reducing risks to freshwater and bringing waterways and ecosystems to a healthy state within a generation.

“Now that the government has finalised the regulations, our courses and templates have been updated to reflect the new requirements. This means anyone taking our courses learns the relevant knowledge and skills required to develop comprehensive FWFPs and that they receive up-to-date, constructive feedback on how to improve their plans.’’

Rees said the courses focused on understanding farm systems and physical

Course co-ordinator Associate Professor Lucy Burkitt carries out a visual assessment of soil samples.

“

The development of each plan is well supported by live video conference tutorials.The courses attract a range of students, including consultants, farmers, regional council staff, and policy and regulation staff.

You can use the credits from our courses towards a postgraduate qualification.

Courses offer the opportunity to: ■ Upskill in Freshwater Farm Planning ■ Develop high level skills ■ Align with certification requirements ■ Gain postgradate tertiary level qualification credits Intermediate Course 11 weeks, online delivery Advanced Course 14 weeks, online delivery

Callum Rees

farm resources so that participants could identify their own farm’s strengths and risks, “and suggest sensible, realistic actions to help target resources towards achieving good freshwater and business outcomes’’.

“This includes understanding the local river or waterway context and inherent vulnerabilities associated with a particular farm,” he says.

The courses complement other professional development courses Massey offers, such as New Zealand Farm Systems, Intermediate and Advanced Sustainable Nutrient Management, Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Management and Farm Dairy Effluent, providing well-rounded training for participants to become certified Freshwater Farm Planners.

“The added bonus is you can use the credits from our courses towards a postgraduate qualification,” Rees says.

Massey’s environmental professional development courses The Intermediate FWFP course is delivered through online distance

The training courses give students an understanding of how water and contaminants move from the farm to freshwater, says Burkitt.

Rees says the courses suggest realistic actions to help achieve good freshwater and business outcomes.

learning and is intended to be flexible. It consists of approximately 100 hours of online study, including self-timed learning activities, the development of a desktop FWFP, which is assessed, and the support of live video conference presentations and tutorials.

The Advanced FWFP course equates to approximately 150 hours of work and is designed for blended delivery, involving three days on dairy, arable and sheep and beef farms and participants developing three FWFPs that are assessed.

Upskill in Sustainable Nutrient Management and Greenhouse Gas Management ■ Develop high level skills ■ Gain postgradate tertiary level qualification credits Intermediate Course 12 weeks, online delivery Advanced Course in Sustainable Nutrient Management 20 weeks, online delivery Greenhouse Gas Course 10 weeks, online delivery ■

Details of all short courses are listed on the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre website.

December 2023

NZ Farmer 25 Education

Updated all day at

Growing young minds Secondary school students across the country will be able to boost their agri learning through a new board game.

By Sonita Chandar.

S

tudents in secondary schools will benefit from a new board game developed to help build knowledge and understanding of food production.

The ‘Grow’ board game was officially launched at the Fieldays Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub and was expected to be available in schools in April. However, delays in production meant it was late arriving and wasn’t available until term 4.

Grow was developed as part of a joint initiative between Rabobank, Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University and the Agribusiness in Schools Programme.

The game was created to support learning by year 11 students studying National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Agribusiness.

It touches on all the major topics included within the agribusiness curriculum and provides students with a fun way to acquire and reinforce the course content.

Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris said the idea for the new game came about following discussions between Rabobank’s Upper South Island Client Council – a group of the bank’s clients from the upper half of the South Island who meet regularly to discuss the challenges facing the agri sector – and Lincoln University.

“Our Client Councils have identified long-term industry capacity as one of the key challenges facing the agricultural sector and, over recent years, our Upper

Main: A new board game has been developed to help build students’ understanding and knowledge of food production. Inset: Students from Motueka High School play the Grow game.

South Island Council has worked closely alongside Lincoln University to develop initiatives to highlight to school students the range of career opportunities within the sector,” he said.

“One of the topics that has regularly come up in conversations between our council and Lincoln University is the need for more resources to support learning about food production at the secondary school level and, as a result, it was decided the two parties would collaborate to develop a new board game which would help shine a light on the wide array of knowledge and skills required to run a successful farming operation.”

Charteris said both parties felt it was essential to align the content of the game with the NCEA curriculum, so they asked Kerry Allen and Melanie Simmons from the Agribusiness in Schools Programme to help with the design.

“After more than 18 months of development, the game is now ready to go, and I’m confident it will prove a hit with students and really help increase understanding of food production, as well as encouraging more young people to consider a career in the primary industries,” he said.

“Initially, the game will only be made available to schools who are part of the Agribusiness in Schools Programme but, if there is enough interest, there is also scope to make the game available to all secondary schools across New Zealand.”

Lincoln University student engagement manager Jaime Shone said the game focused on the financial, social and environmental aspects of food production and also incorporated elements of Mātauranga Māori.

“Up to six players can participate in the game, with all players initially allocated a piece of land and a sum of money before choosing if they wish to operate a dairy, sheep and beef, horticulture, viticulture or arable farming operation,” she said.

“Gameplay consists of players moving around a board and accumulating money, which then gives them an opportunity to purchase the required assets to operate their farm.

“Players must first successfully answer a question to collect an asset, and the first player to collect all the assets required for their farm wins the game.”

Shone said game questions related to a massive array of topics, including, but not

limited to, biosecurity, soil composition, waterways, key agri terms, biodiversity, biological processes, animal behaviours, weather patterns and agricultural production by region.

“In addition to covering all key aspects of the agribusiness programme, game questions also have significant cross-over with the content of the NCEA geography and science curriculums,” she said.

“And we expect the game will also get plenty of use from students studying these topics.”

Agricultural and horticultural science teacher Anthea Garmey from Motueka High School – one of the more than 125 secondary schools that received the games – said she’d used Grow throughout term four with her year 11 and 12 students.

“It’s a fantastic game and the students engaged with it straight away,” she said.

“Everyone really loves it and has learnt lots from playing the game. And the real bonus is that the content is all very relevant for their assessment.”

Garmey said game questions had prompted some excellent discussions among her students.

“There’s a lot of variety in the questions.

Some of them are quite challenging and this has led to some really good discussions among the students about potential answers.”

Agricultural science teacher Anita Taylor from Paraparaumu College – another of the high schools to receive sets of Grow – said students in her class had also really enjoyed the new game.

“I used the game with my year 11 students as revision before their agriculture exam, and it worked really well,” she said.

“The students found the questions quite challenging, but even the students who don’t often speak up in class seemed engaged and very interested in hearing the answers to the questions.”

Taylor said she’d also been using Grow with some of her year 10 students to give them a taste of the agricultural science curriculum. ■

December 2023

26 Advertising NZ Farmer Feature

How to manage that ‘right tree’

T

he frequent catch phrase of ‘right tree right place’ is agreeably simplistic but belies the complexity of the task.

Trees have diverse benefits, such as the preservation of biodiversity, wood production, carbon sequestration, provision of income, slope stability and soil protection, and enhancing water quality.

What communities want from forests will, and should, vary with local expectations, and their management within their landscapes should reflect those expectations. Maintaining existing forests and achieving a sustainable mixed land-use of pasture and trees will require skilled graduates who can manage forests in diverse landscapes.

University of Canterbury has the only School of Forestry in Australasia, which specialises in graduates trained to understand and manage forest systems.

The School of Forestry|Te Kura Ngahere offers a forestry science (BForSc) degree as well as a forest engineering (BE) degree.

Graduate expectations change and delivering what is desired from forests requires a nimble toolbox of new technologies and approaches.

The University likens a Bachelor of Forestry Science to a ‘highly applied biology degree’. It introduces students to the basics of forest ecosystem biology and ecology and then equips them with skills and knowledge to manage forests.

Some courses are specific to production forests, e.g., silviculture or harvesting, while others apply more to indigenous forests. Others apply more generally, e.g., management and marketing, geospatial

1st Year tree measurement field trip – Bottle Lake Plantation, Christchurch

Forestry postgraduate field work in a rare location – a harvest landing site in British Columbia, Canada

sciences, fundamentals of engineering, environmental forestry.

The programme continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s land managers. For example The School of Forestry|Te Kura Ngahere studies mixed-use biodiverse landscapes and is incorporating greater focus on teaching the afforestation and management of native tree species. Geospatial technologies, like LiDAR, are now

fundamental and widely used in inventory and the detection of pests and diseases.

The Forestry School also studies and teaches applications of advanced LiDAR, hyperspectral, and UAV photogrammetry processing and analysis, to provide appropriate tools to tomorrow’s forest managers.

Since being established over 50 years ago, the School of Forestry|Te Kura Ngahere continues to deliver strong

cohorts of capable graduates that are out there making a difference to forests in our national and global landscapes.

Students are attracted to the small class sizes and practical nature of the degree that includes plenty of shared experiences on field trips. After four years they leave and move into well-paid jobs, with great career prospects that allow them to work outdoors throughout the regions of New Zealand. ■

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December 2023

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Waipā ecological corridor links two mountains to help native wildlife thrive Dairy farmers, sheep and beef farmers, iwi and other community members are celebrating achievements in an initiative creating an ecological corridor in the Waipā district.

Dairy farmer Bush Macky with the duck pond created on his farm, surrounded by extensive planting.

T

he Taiea te Taiao project will link Maungatautari and Mt Pirongia by planting along the Mangapiko Stream and its tributaries, on farms and other properties. A wide range of other environmental work is also underway, including restoring wetlands and predator control.

“A key goal is to create stepping stones along the corridor that provide attractive stopping points for native birds and bats to rest and feed, mostly by planting trees. This will help increase wildlife numbers and biodiversity,” says project coordinator Bexie Towle.

The maunga (mountains) are more than 40km apart, so the whole community is involved.

Dairy farmer Bush Macky says it’s a project at the heart of the community.

“It’s so rewarding working with the hundreds of people and more than 20 organisations involved, including DairyNZ and dairy companies, to help native wildlife thrive and enhance local waterways.”

At the Mt Pirongia end of the corridor, on their farm Bush and his family have planted more than 15,000 native trees and plants. They created a duck pond surrounded by planting. “It’s a win-win.

We’ve added value to the community and our property. We’re seeing more native birds on our farm than ever before,” says Bush.

Dairy farmers Josh and Bayley Storey and family have planted more than 25,000 trees on their farm, adding to a remnant forest of Kahikatea and other native trees.

So far, more than 200,000 plants have been added to the corridor. Nine kilometres of waterways have been fenced to protect them and native trees planted alongside.

Erosion control and willow removal are also underway on the Mangapiko Stream. The corridor planting is regularly maintained, with weed control across 22 hectares. A comprehensive pest management programme includes trap lines and bait station networks on both maunga, and traps on private property.

Four iwi are closely involved in the project: Ngāti Apakura including Pūrekireki Marae, Te Ruranga o Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Ngāti Hikairo. Nine tohu whenua (Māori heritage sites) including pā, lie along the Mangapiko Stream, signifying the relationships between nature and people who once lived between the two maunga.

Poto Davies of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura says the iwi want the two maunga connected, first and foremost.

“Beautifying the Mangapiko Stream will enhance its mana. The stream is the veins of the land, and the whenua is important to us all,” says Poto.

Māori heritage sites alongside the Mangapiko Stream between Maungatautari and Pirongia are being protected as part of the ecological project. Tuna/freshwater eels are being monitored using mātauranga Māori methods.

Clare St Pierre, co-chair of the Maungatautari to Pirongia Ecological Corridor Incorporated Society, says it’s amazing to create biodiversity strongholds for birds. “We’re providing an environment for our iconic species so people can see them on their back doorstep.”

More than 20 organisations are involved in the Taiea te Taiao project including funders, sponsors and supporters. The Ministry for the Environment provides funding through the Freshwater Initiatives Fund for two employees and NZ Landcare Trust coordinates the project.

Industry good organisation DairyNZ

supports farmers in their work to reduce their environmental footprint and organises on-farm fieldays for the project. Fonterra, Nestlé and Open Country Dairy contribute funding to the project, and the dairy companies support their farmers with on-farm environmental work.

Ecological corridor a family affair The Storey family dairy farm is one of the stepping stones for native birds and bats in the ecological corridor from Maungatautari to Mt Pirongia in the Waipā district.

Josh, his wife Bayley and their extended family have planted more than 25,000 trees on the farm, adding to a remnant forest of Kahikatea and other native trees. They’ve removed willow and weeds from the Mangapiko Stream and retired some land from farming.

“Environmental work on our farm spans six generations – including my great grandfather Doug, my grandfather John, my father Doug and now me and Bayley,” says Josh. “As farmers, we want to do our best to protect the land and enhance native wildlife”. ■

For more information visit landcare.org.nz/ecologicalcorridor

December 2023

28 Sustainability NZ Farmer and Innovation

A viable alternative to plastic The Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme is doing even more for the environment through its use of biodegradable nursery pots for seedlings. By Steve Macmillan.

M

ore Kiwi innovation is adding to the progress of the Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) Programme.

Wilson & Ross has collaborated with Scion, a Crown research institute, to develop a bio-based biodegradable nursery container which will offer an alternative to the estimated 350 million plastic pots produced by New Zealand nurseries annually.

The creator of the product, Peter Wilson, says PolBionix is a bio-based biodegradable garden container for native seedlings.

That passion for native rehabilitation and revegetation began when he started working with Te Uri o Hau and Te Ārai Native Nursery in 2016. Now the founder is donating 5000 pots to Te Ārai nurseries, 5000 to KMR and 20,000 to Auckland council.

Wilson says he is pleased to be supporting a harbour restoration programme as significant as KMR, a sentiment shared by KMR Pou Tātaki Justine Daw, who believes the trial is an opportunity for bioplastics to remove plastic from the KMR supply chain over time.

Above: PolBionix’s Peter Wilson, KMR’s Justine Daw and Sesha Perkinson of Te Uri o Hau with the biodegradable pots.

Left: The KMR programme is shifting its focus to plant trees on steep land.

“The KMR team and our partners are working hard to improve environmental outcomes for the Kaipara Moana and this is another step in that journey. I am really pleased that an Uri-led nursery is leading the way with this,” Daw says.

Te Uri o Hau’s business development manager, Sesha Perkinson, says it is looking forward to the opportunity.

“KMR is such a significant and important

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area of mahi for us all and the more we can all combine to improve environmental and ecological outcomes within the Kaipara Moana catchment will make our collective kaupapa all the more effective.”

The pots will be used throughout the Kaipara Moana catchment. Planting teams and KMR field advisers will monitor the performance and ease of use of the pots.

Pots can last 12 months above ground

before biodegrading, with the biodegrading process starting as soon as soil is added.

When planted directly in the ground, the pot provides fertiliser for the plant as the pot biodegrades.

The pots are made from biopolymers and a bio-filler, with the biopolymers made from sustainably grown sugarcane, cassava and corn. Wilson says the bio-filler is from waste organic matter containing naturally occurring chemicals and nutrients attractive to microbes to eat.

“PolBionix is the result of four years of research in collaboration with Crown research institute Scion, and funding support from Callaghan Innovation and Auckland Council’s Waste Minimisation Fund.”

Scion’s portfolio leader for bioproducts and packaging, Alec Foster, says Scion is proud of its collaboration in developing the pots. “Such steps are key to reducing plastic waste and, as finalists in the 2023 Sustainable Business Awards, it shows how fantastic innovation can deliver positive impacts for New Zealand.

“Supporting the initiative aligns with Scion’s vision of a greener New Zealand, showcasing our dedication to innovative, eco-friendly solutions.

“Scion’s collaboration in transforming research and development into tangible, eco-friendly pots exemplifies our commitment to turning innovative research into real-world products for a more sustainable New Zealand.

“Wilson & Ross’s pioneering biodegradable pots mark a significant step in New Zealand’s circular bioeconomy, offering a sustainable and innovative solution to drastically reduce plastic waste in our environment.” ■

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December 2023

NZ Advice Farmer 29 HR

Updated all day at

Main: New Zealand has experienced some of the most extreme weather in 2023 and farmers need to plan for the unexpected.

Advice: Navigating extreme weather this summer Employsure’s employment advice manager, Hayden McKernan gives us his tips to plan ahead for adverse weather events.

W

ith 2023 bringing some of the most unprecedented weather events for New Zealand in a long while, it’s crucial for employers to factor this into workplace planning over the coming summer months. With El Niño predicted to hit our shores over the Christmas season, business owners can ensure both their business and their employees are well-prepared, should operations need to pause.

What do I need to know when it comes to closing my business or standing staff down due to an emergency or inclement weather incidents?

In New Zealand, we have an obligation

to guarantee hours of work to employees who have normal, established patterns of work. For these types of employment relationships, if an employer is impacted by weather events, then there’s limited scope for the employer to offset this burden by reducing the employee’s hours of work.

However, there are ways an employer can still operate to give them flexibility in adapting to emergencies and weather incidents, while prioritising safety.

An employer needs to first assess whether the impact on staff is short term (one or two days off work) or long term (reduced capacity for the foreseeable future due to lasting weather damage). For short term impacts, having contracts which contain shift cancellation clauses, will allow the employer flexibility when work can be offered, provided there was reasonable notice of cancellation given.

Alternatively, the employer may agree with affected employees, for them to take leave during this time or find alternative duties. Long term impacts of this usually result in the employer having to follow a restructuring or redundancy process to reduce staffing to more manageable levels, or re-deploy employees into less affected areas of the business.

How can I protect my team and business in the moment during these weather events?

Having an emergency plan in place to prepare for extreme weather will be worth its weight in gold, particularly if the work environment is outdoors-based or partial to being highly-impacted by extreme weather such as farming.

Encourage employees to get familiar with these plans and have appropriate contact details for the designated decision maker who can either deem it safe to work, delegate alternative duties, or direct them to stay home, depending on the situation.

Once the weather subsides, a risk assessment of the worksite should take place (checking for slips, uneven ground, loose/fallen branches etc) before employees are cleared to return to work.

What kind of preparation can I undertake to future-proof my business against weather events?

Having the right policies and plans in place is a good starting point. However, it is

equally important to make sure employees are familiar and engaged with this documentation, and the possible courses of action.

Having a variety of duties available to offer employees will safeguard an employer from having to compensate employees for hours that couldn’t be worked due to weather, although at times it’s not always possible for an employer to easily diversify its operations. Open communication, and fostering a culture of adaptability within the workplace will go a long way towards an employer being able to navigate these challenges. Often, employees who are familiar with these potential issues will be willing to come to mutually agreeable solutions. After all, it is in both parties’ interests to ensure the employment relationship remains strong and unaffected by these events. ■ Hayden McKernan is the employment relations advice manager at Employsure.

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December 2023

30 Equipment NZ Farmer News

Farming made easier A Taranaki farmer uses a mixer wagon to feed his herd and says that it makes a big impact on his farming system and provides a lot of benefits. By Steve Macmillan.

The 580-cow herd produces 490 kilograms of milksolids a cow and is fed a mixed ration through the feedpad.

A

Taranaki farming couple, Hayden and Bridget Goble, swear by the positive impact their Jaylor Mixer Wagons are having on their coastal Taranaki dairy operation.

The 2023 National Dairy Industry Award Share Farmer of the Year winners run 580 cows between mountain and sea and say the wagon is gold to their business – as are the exceptional service levels of Power Farming.

They use the Jaylor Mixer Wagons to feed their herd on a covered feed pad daily, putting maize, palm kernel, DDG and tapioca through it.

“We're getting about 490 kilograms of milksolids a cow and around 1400kg MS a hectare. We are milking in a 50-bail rotary, so it is a simple operation,” Hayden Goble says.

During winter, the herd grazes on pasture during the day but comes back to the covered feed pad at night where it

The Goble family have utilised a Jaylor Mixer Wagon for the past 10 years and say it is a vital tool on their farm.

has access to some hay, a bit of silage and maize.

“We have trained a lot of people with the Jaylor Mixer Wagon and find it a nice easy machine for people to operate because it's reliable and easy to maintain.

This is the fourth one our family have owned. We have traded one, but the two original ones are 10 years old and still on the other farms.”

The current model is in its second season and, impressively, the gear is so reliable that the family have never missed a feed because any mechanical problems are fixed within a day.

That is why Goble recommends dairy farmers consider moving to a TMR/PMR system.

“It's simpler than you think because all our minerals go in there and we do not have to dust paddocks or put minerals through dispensers. Cows are getting what they need every day and their nutrition is balanced with the grass so it is consistent each day.

“You don't have to ‘once a day cows’ and you can feed them continually throughout the year to maximise production. We are also saving time by not having to follow the cows home because we have them on Batt Latches

“

It’s nice having a system that’s consistent each year.

Hayden Goble so they can make their way out of the paddocks in their own time.

“This has given us an advantage through the winter. We can get cows off pasture to avoid pasture damage. And using the covered feed pad through the summer, we can feed them in here during the day, and they're out of the heat, so they're not getting that heat stress.”

Goble is clear on what he looks for in a good TMR in the ration.

“So we've got our bulk feed, so it's usually our maize or palm kernel to make up for what we don't have in pasture. And then we're looking to balance that out with the DDG for the protein and then

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December 2023

NZ Farmer Equipment News 31

Updated all day at

When pasture is in deficit, the herd is fed a mixed ration of maize, palm kernel, DDG and tapioca or a variety of combinations at different times of the year. Grass and silage are also mixed when required.

a bit of tapioca for a bit of our extra ME through the start of lactation to get them producing nice peak milk solids.

“With our stocking rate in spring we're not growing enough grass to fully feed those cows. So the difference is made up with the maize and palm kernel and balancing it with the DDG to get that protein percentage up. And then through the summer we are also putting in grass silage on the feed pad once the dry kicks in so, they're not having to work hard in the paddock to eat in the heat of the day.

“It's nice having a system that's consistent each year. We're getting consistent milksolids and then you're just optimising it by looking at feed prices and adjusting your system. And it's usually moving just a couple of kilos here and there to get that price of feed right.”

Having a predictable feed system has made it a lot easier for staff to learn, he says.

It takes him around three weeks to train someone fully to load up and feed out, and he has armed 10 people with those skills in the past couple of years.

Anywhere from 45 minutes to one and a half hours is required to mix and load up and get the feed on to the pad for the cows.

“If it's just the maize and PK, it's a lot quicker. If we're adding baleage or hay, it usually takes that extra 15 minutes and then feeding out on the actual pad takes about 10 to 15 minutes to whip around and feed out.”

Goble is also firmly focused on doing right by the environment by getting cows off paddocks through the winter to minimise the pasture damage.

“That allows us to capture a lot of the nitrogen from the urine and dung on the feed pad, which we can store and spread through the summer and autumn. We’ve been able to lower our stocking rate a little bit and get a bit more per cow. So that’s just taking away a bit of pressure also on the farm, by getting a bit more out of the cows instead of having more cow numbers. So that’s been good.

“And in the future, if there’s ever feed additives to mitigate methane and stuff, it’s simple for us to put in with feeding year round. It can be just bang it in overnight. We don't have to develop that infrastructure now. It’s all here. So if they develop some product that can mitigate methane, it can be added tomorrow.

It’s been something we've tried to keep ahead of the game, instead of waiting for regulations to kick in.” ■

Taranaki farmer Hayden Goble and his wife milk 580 cows on a 231 hectare farm at Tataramaika in equity partnership with his parents.

December 2023

32 On NZ Farmer the Farm

A passion for the business of butchering Georgie Moleta loves teaching other people butchering skills, and says you don’t have to be butch to do the work. By Kiah Radcliffe.

G

eorgie Moleta is not above getting her hands dirty.

It’s all part of the job. On any given day, she will either be working part-time for Fonterra, doing home kill for a family whose sheep goes by the name “Lamb Chops” or retailing custom-made sausages.

The Tākaka butcheress started her own business in 2015 and divides her time between that and her job at a dairy factory.

She started her butchery apprenticeship through the gateway programme at Golden Bay High School, working at local supermarket Fresh Choice, after her dad suggested she might enjoy it because she liked hunting.

She then moved to Nelson and worked under Philippe Gauthier at Philippe Butchery and Deli before finishing up her apprenticeship at Raeward Fresh in a team leader position.

And while there were a lot of jobs in Nelson, her heart was always in Tākaka, where her partner and house were.

After completing two years at Raeward Fresh, Moleta moved back to where it all began: Tākaka’s Fresh Choice.

“I thought because I’ve learnt all these

cool new things, I’ll be able to teach everyone back home all the stuff that I’d learnt, and then I came back here and nobody wanted a bar of it,” Moleta said with a laugh.

For them, their job was just to cut the meat and put it on the shelf. “I hated it.”

There was no passion behind being a butcher, so following her dad’s advice, Moleta opened her own business.

She started off doing home kill, and saved to buy “lots of machinery” to set up a dual butchery and home-kill business. Now, eight years later, she has her own apprentice, Maddy Holland.

Holland followed a similar path, starting in the industry through a programme at high school. Now she’s almost finished the first year of her apprenticeship.

Part of Moleta’s teaching focused on how to adapt to a small community. “We do a dual butchery because there’s not enough to do retail and not enough to do home kill. Adapting to the small town, you know, looking after your community, that’s something we pride ourselves on.”

When organising a customer’s home kill, Moleta likes to ask questions such as: Are there certain cuts of meat they eat more

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This was important, she said, as she could then best serve the customer’s needs, and it also put her retail skills to use. “We vacuum-pack it all ... so that they can just chuck it straight in the freezer.”

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Takaka butcheress Georgie Moleta, above right, and apprentice Maddy Holland on the job.

Moleta used to do all of this by herself before Holland became her apprentice.

It was a job that required tact, she said, especially when a family turns up with their “pet” and the parents tell their kids: “Georgie’s going to look after [the animal] now.”

“I’m just like ‘oh my god, they’re going to grow up and realise that I’m a butcher and be mortified’.”

Most of the time, though, Moleta said it’s “cool” to educate kids on the process.

Obviously, they did not want to see the “grim stuff”, but she could show them parts of her work. “They want to see what this is, and ‘oh, is that it’s heart?’ ” Moleta “loves” teaching, and co-hosted a workshop earlier this month with Golden Bay forager, homesteader and coach Annika Korsten at the latter’s butchery.

They covered topics such as how to cut up an animal, skin it and break it into usable pieces, as well as what parts of the animal will be tougher than others and how best to utilise different sections of meat. The workshop wasn’t solely about teaching women to butcher an animal, it was about bringing this skill to everyone.

Even though she loved teaching people, Moleta said she got nervous. She liked to “really explain” herself and could go “on and on” because she’s so passionate.

Some people could be intimidated, but there’s no need to be as it’s all about technique, she said. ■

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December 2023

OnNZ theFarmer Farm 33

Updated all day at

Top gong for Hunterville business at Rural Women NZ Business Awards The NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards was held recently and Honest Wolf co-founder, Sophie Hurley, claimed the top prize, as well as winning the Emerging Business category. By Kiah Radcliffe.

F

or the first time-ever, the Supreme Award winner at the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards came from the Emerging Business category.

Nobody was more shocked than Sophie Hurley, co-founder of Hunterville business, Honest Wolf, alongside her husband Sam, when she learnt she was the supreme winner at the ceremony in Christchurch.

Hurley had travelled down from their farm, Papanui Estate in Taihape, for the evening, having already been announced as the winner of the Emerging Business category in October.

Honest Wolf was launched in June 2020 as an online store selling ethical luggage and bags made from wool.

It had built up to a point where the couple were able to open their first flagship store in Hunterville in 2022 and now employ six employees in full-time and part-time roles.

Hurley said it was a surprise to win.

“Definitely there were some incredible women that I was up against, so when I went up to actually grab the award, I made a pretty terrible speech because I hadn’t really thought about what I was supposed to say.”

Applying for the business awards was not something that she would have put her hand up for, but it was a good learning curve for the business, she said.

There were many questions that Hurley was asked during the application process that she had not thought of before in the context of her business.

It was not in the plan to launch a business in the middle of the pandemic, but because they had all the stock in New Zealand, “everything was ready to go”, Hurley said.

And it felt like the right time to launch the business, especially with the emphasis on supporting local, she said.

“When we launched, we had a great response from the rural community because their stories were very similar to ours with the wool decline.”

Honest Wolf was created to help get a better price for the wool produced on the Hurleys’ farm.

Hurley said the business had grown “quicker” than they thought it would, but they have tried to balance it with the growth of their young family.

She said they don’t want to get ahead of themselves in the business.

“We want to make sure that every market we try and enter, every new product we bring out, is not rushed and done correctly.”

When asked how she balanced being a

The Category Award winners

Above: Sophie Hurley with husband Sam at the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards.

■ Supreme Award Honest Wolf – Sophie Hurley (Hunterville) ■ Emerging Business: Honest Wolf – Sophie Hurley (Hunterville) ■ Creative Arts: Botanic Press – Emma Hasler (Albert Town) ■ Innovation: Real Country – Laura Koot (Kingston) ■ Love of the Land: Nature & Nosh and The Bush Boardroom – Kylie Rae (Waikato) ■ Rural Champion: Target PR – Rebecca Greaves (Pongaroa) ■ Bountiful Table: Hayz At The Anchorage – Haylee-Chanel Simeon (Bluff) ■ Rural Health and Wellness Excellence: Katherine Wright Counsellor (Te Anau)

CLAIRE INKSON

Sam and Sophie Hurley, the founders of Honest Wolf, with one of their two children, son Harry, on their 5700-hectare sheep and beef farm in Taihape.

“

We want to make sure that every ... new product we bring out ... is done correctly Sophie Hurley

mother to two young children, living rurally and running a successful business, Hurley said that it was a shared goal of the couple’s to have their kids involved in their careers, when they can.

Balancing business with family was a theme Hurley saw on awards night too.

Honest Wolf had taken the couple on a journey they never expected. When launching their idea they had no idea that it would lead them to look at manufacturers in India. It was “exciting” to not know what could be next for them, Hurley said.

Hurley said they are looking into entering

the Australian market and there are a couple of collaborations with “big” New Zealand brands coming soon.

National president of Rural Women New Zealand, Gill Naylor said, “Honest Wolf is an excellent example of the innovation and entrepreneurism of rural enterprises and their responsiveness to changing times.

“In seeking a solution to declining wool prices at the time that plastic bags were being phased out, Sophie and husband Sam saw an opportunity to use their wool to create a sustainable alternative and Honest Wolf was born.’’ ■

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December 2023

NZ Farmer Health and Safety 35

Updated all day at

Staying safe on the farm

S

afety Alerts are a great way to learn from incidents that have happened on other farms. Ask yourself: Could this happen on my farm?

What do I have in place to prevent this from happening? How can I implement these lessons?

Good fencing practice One of two people working to upgrade a farm fence from a five wire to ten wire fence suffered serious injuries when a strainer post broke and struck him in the face.

The work team had planned the job before starting and also conducted a visual check but could not see that the strainer post was potentially unable to take the additional strain.

Under tension, the post broke below ground level, flew out of the ground and hit one of the employees – who needed to be transported to a medical facility for urgent treatment.

The farm shared the incident to raise awareness about what can go wrong on a fencing job.

The end assembly strainer post is the most important part of any fence.

If it’s weak, the whole job is at risk.

This article is part of the Safety Alert series, lessons from real life incidents that have happened on farm. They are part of Safer Farms’ Farm Without Harm strategy and action plan, which has been developed by the agriculture sector, for the agriculture sector.

A high number of injuries sustained while repairing farm fences can be avoided.

“

The end assembly strainer post is the most important part of any fence.

Safety Alert A takeaway from this example is to discuss what a good strainer post looks like, what could cause one to break and how you could identify the weaknesses.

You might have done this task many times before, but it is important to discuss how a fencer could be injured and how they, or the team, would react to a serious harm incident.

In this incident, the team responded really well and got the employee to a medical facility quickly. ■

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December 2023

36 Diversifi NZ Farmercation

PurePod partners with farmers for five-star stays By partnering with PurePod, beef and sheep farmer Richard Barnett says he’s been able to create another income stream that isn’t dependent on the weather. By Louisa Steyl.

W

ith its sweeping views of Port Levy Bay and native bush, the Barnett family know there’s something special about their Banks Peninsula property.

By partnering with PurePod, they have been able to not only share a secluded slice of their paradise with others, but also generate a second income, without huge capital or workforce investments.

And it wasn’t just the family who were getting something out of the partnership, patriarch Richard Barnett said: the surrounding community benefits from the visitors by providing services and meals.

“We’re pretty pleased with how it works for our property,” he said.

PurePod is the brainchild of Southland-born serial inventor Grant Ryan, who wanted tourists to be able to experience what they saw in the 100% Pure New Zealand adverts without having to venture to a back-country hut.

His solution was a glass box with little impact on the landscape, but it would take a couple of years of research and development before creating the current five-star, off-grid units that are now dotted around New Zealand.

As an aside, half of the founding shareholding profits from PurePod are funnelled into Ryan’s The Cacophony Project – a non-profit using high-tech tools to create a predator-free New Zealand by 2040.

The Barnett family’s Pōhue PurePod was the fifth to be set up. They had already been running a cottage on their 1800-hectare beef and sheep property, named Kaihope Farm, and a visitor suggested it would be a good location for a pod.

Barnett liked the idea of an additional income stream that wasn’t dependent

on the weather.

But it was a “slow burn”, he said.

Being situated an hour outside of Christchurch, the property fell under Canterbury Regional Council, which had its hands full with consents after the earthquakes.

PurePod handled the consenting process and the pod arrived pre-fabricated.

The family welcomed their first guests in December 2017 and besides a lull during Covid-19 lockdowns, “it’s been a bit hectic”, Barnett said, adding that they are fully booked this summer.

“The occupation rates have always surprised us.”

PurePod handles bookings, marketing and maintenance, which is ideal for the Barnetts, who run a busy family business with 8500 stock units over their high-country terrain.

For the most part, they were able to go about their business normally, but they tried to keep lambing and calving away from the pod, Barnett said. “Apart from that, they’re totally immersed in the farm.”

The family are, however, responsible for cleaning and maintaining a walking track to the pod and Barnett stressed that farmers involved in the project needed to understand that it was about putting people and experience ahead of money.

Barnett and his wife Clare are secondgeneration farmers on this land, and their children and grandchildren are also involved in the business.

When they became involved in the partnership, they thought it would be another asset on the farm if it was ever sold, Clare said. Or it could create an opportunity within the family for someone to take over the pod side of the farming operation.

PurePod chief executive Stephanie

Hassall also emphasised that collaboration was the key to the concept’s success.

She described it as a business partnership in the form of a lease.

The land used for the pods is usually unproductive but secluded, allowing guests to feel totally alone in nature.

The pods themselves offered “minimalist luxury,” Hassall said, and they’re in 12 locations around the country. There are no hairdryers, microwaves or televisions, because “nature’s putting on a show”.

They provided farmers with an easy entry point into tourism, which they could expand on with experiences like farm tours, she said.

Around the country, PurePods have an annual average occupancy of between 65% and 77%. Some have waiting lists for summer, while others are popular in winter for stargazing. ■

“

We’re pretty pleased with how it works for our property.

Richard Barnett

Above: Port Levy farmer Richard Barnett runs a sheep and beef farm called Kaihope Farm in the stunning location of Port Levy (Banks Peninsula) where he also offers PurePod escapes.

Right: The idea behind the huts was to give visitors a back country experience in fivestar accomodation.

December 2023

Updated all day at

NZ Farmer Diversifi cation 37

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December 2023

38 On NZ Farmer the Farm

Agriculture adaptation required to face climate shift, conference hears Decision makers must look to climate change impacts on rural communities further than the gate, conference told

By Maxine Jacobs.

F

arming needs to turn towards adaptation over mitigation as climate change continues to impact on the rural sector, climate advocates say.

Farmers, researchers, and primary sector industry leaders gathered in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) last month to discuss the developments of adaptation in rural Aotearoa and how much further the nation needed to go to prepare for the climate shifts that weren’t over the horizon any more, but on their doorstep.

The Adapting Aotearoa conference, led by Deep South Challenge, one of 11 National Science Challenges looking into issues facing New Zealand and how to tackle them, brought together the academics and the farmers to speak plainly about where the nation was at and what its trajectory was.

Its keynote speakers didn’t hold back when discussing the realities that farmers and their communities would be facing and the lack of support they were being afforded by decision makers.

Australian professor Lauren Rickards, who worked on the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change focused on the impacts, adaptations, vulnerability of Australasia, said there was a lack of a sophisticated understanding of the riskscape that climate change had brought to communities and the rural sector.

It couldn’t only be focused on temperature changes, Rickards said.

Researchers and decisions makers needed to look towards the impacts of climate change on rural communities and agribusiness further than the gate.

“We need to be expert in reading our riskscape, so as much as we have a search light and we are able to point it in certain directions, we’re not really getting the comprehensive view that we really need to understand the situation that we’re facing,” Rickards said.

“Farmers are not hermetically sealed, we need to look into this wider arena to understand the implications of climate change and so adapting agriculture requires far more than farm plans, we need a place-based, regional approach.”

This meant regional societal systems, roading impacts, transport issues, increases in costs, and increased struggles for workers – both off and on the farm – and the urban gaze that Rickhards said puts a film over the reality for rural communities.

International business journalist and climate advocate Rod Oram took a different approach.

He showed the conference how, globally, the nine geochemical boundaries of the planet were being breached – and quickly.

In 2009, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity and climate change were breached, according to the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Eleven years later, only three sectors remained in the “safe operating space”.

“We’re having this huge impact in terms of how we change land to bring it in to agriculture and the food we produce on land has all these multiple impacts,” Oram said.

Keynote speaker Rod Oram says the globe needs to work with nature, not against it.

“

We’re having this huge impact in terms of how we change the land to bring it in to agriculture.

This is the evolution of the planetary boundaries framework graphed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Rod Oram He urged the conference to question if agribusiness was working with nature, or against it.

“We were the last large land mass in the world to be settled by people only about 30 or 35 generations ago, yet we’ve caused one of humanity’s fastest descents from pristine to degraded ecosystems, and therefore, our huge opportunity and responsibility is to help nature achieve one of it’s fastest and fullest regenerations.”

In November, global leaders will meet for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where a full day will be given to the impact of agriculture and the adaptations needed to prevent and live with the continued decline of the planet’s health, Oram said.

“For the first time a whole day given over to the theme of food and agriculture, this very intense debate globally about how radically we need to change land use agriculture and thus the food we farm and consume is getting far greater prominence than ever before.” ■

Keynote speaker Professor Lauren Rickards speaks at the Deep South Challenge’s Adaption Aoteaora conference.

MAXINE JACOBS/STUFF

December 2023

Farmer OnNZ the Farm 39

Updated all day at

Mobile community hubs offer meeting place after disasters Nelson now has a mobile community hub providing support, communication and food after a natural disaster, as well as being a vehicle for education. By Warren Gamble.

A

s the floodwaters rose in Nelson, dazed residents made their way to a mobile community hub caravan at an emergency services cordon in

Nile St. “As soon as we opened it, people started gravitating towards it,” said Darren Crawford, Fire and Emergency NZ senior adviser, community readiness and recovery.

“They would say, ‘I don’t know why I’m here, and burst into tears’. It was a catalyst for emotions and next steps.”

During the floods in August last year, then-Nelson mayor Rachel Reese and Nelson MP Rachel Boyack worked out of the caravan, which had been brought from Canterbury, where it was being trialled for use in the aftermath of natural disasters and as a vehicle for public education.

Now, thanks to a community-driven effort, Nelson’s own new mobile community hub has been launched, one of a planned seven to eventually cover the top of the south, Kaikōura and the West Coast.

The long-term aim is to roll the programme out nationally.

Crawford approached Whakatū Rotary last year to see if it could help to get a caravan for Nelson.

Project manager Trevor Marshall and his Rotary team set to work. A big grant from the Mainland Foundation covered the bulk of the $130,000 cost, with the Whakatū, Nelson West and Nelson Rotary clubs also contributing funds.

The hub has a kitchen and a barbecue to provide food, water and hot drinks to community members affected by a disaster, as well as to emergency service crews.

Part of the caravan can be partitioned off to provide a private space for counselling and other support.

It also serves as a communications centre, with wi-fi allowing access to live information, and a whiteboard for public notices, and comes with a large gazebo to provide shelter.

It is also equipped with a first aid kit, a defibrillator and a fire extinguisher, and is powered by solar panels and generators so it can be self-sufficient.

Marshall said Rotary had a goal to help get mobile hubs stationed in Tasman, Tākaka, Marlborough, Kaikōura, Westport and Greymouth.

“It’s about support, food and operations,” he said. “They would have been perfect for the Pigeon Valley fires.”

The Nelson team made modifications to the Canterbury prototype, allowing the caravan to be taken to more remote, rural locations.

Crawford said the hub would not just be kept in storage between disasters, but would be used at public events to help drive safety and emergency preparedness messages.

“It's a way of helping build community

Whakatū Rotary project manager Trevor Marshall, centre, with Craig Davies, left, and Darren Crawford, of Fire and Emergency NZ, at the launch of the mobile community hub.

NELSON MAIL

resilience, getting people to understand what they need to do to be prepared,” he said. “Communities that have done that preparation work tend to recover a lot quicker.”

Boyack said disasters such as the Nelson floods, the Pigeon Valley fires and Cyclone Gabrielle showed the importance of having a meeting place where people could get help. “I’m really keen to see this roll out.” ■

“

Communities that have done that preparation work tend to recover a lot quicker.

Darren Crawford, Fire and Emergency NZ

Members of Whakatū Rotary with Nelson’s new mobile community hub.

CRAIG DAVIES

December 2023

40 Travel NZ Farmer

Exclusive Fiji

Vomo’s adults-only pool.

Fiji is home to some of the best luxury resorts in the world. Brook Sabin shares his favourites.

VOMO Fiji Vomo sits on an extinct volcano in the Mamanuca Islands, a stunning collection of golden isles northwest of Nadi.

While the resort is family-friendly – with an excellent kids’ club – it also has one of the country's best adultsonly zones at the end of the island, overlooking an island called Little Vomo.

It's called The Rocks and includes a sprawling infinity pool and bar where you can enjoy the sunset while soaking with your favourite drink.

Walking in here is like visiting an open-air spa. There are myriad relaxation zones with enormous day beds overlooking the pool. A waiter is in constant orbit, ready to serve whatever your heart desires.

See: vomofiji.com Likuliku Lagoon Resort This five-star resort looks like it's straight from the Maldives, with a string of overwater villas on the edge of a protected reef. The overwater rooms have a large bed with sea views and a bath set against a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the ocean.

If you're not overwater, you won't be disappointed. The beachfront bures come complete with a massive Balinesestyle daybed overlooking the lagoon.

See: likulikulagoon.com Royal Davui This adults-only private island has a series of celebrity-style villas tucked away in lush tropical bushes overlooking the Beqa Lagoon.

The resort sits on the south coast of Fiji's main island, near Pacific Harbour.

Most guests take the resort’s private plane (a small Cessna) to the Pacific Harbour Airstrip, where you then transfer to the island on a private boat.

After a welcome song, you'll be taken straight to your private villa, complete with two wings. The bedroom wing has a spa bath and plush bed. The other has a lounge and a mini-bar stocked with unlimited beverages and freshly baked cookies. Dividing the two wings

Likuliku has 10 overwater villas.

Royal Davui overlooks the Beqa Lagoon.

is a heated plunge pool overlooking the ocean.

The hotel has exceptional snorkelling just off its main wharf and a private sandbar a few kilometres away, used for romantic picnics. There, you'll find two chairs, an umbrella, a bottle of Champagne and a platter waiting for your arrival.

See: royaldavuifiji.com

Tokoriki has only 36 bures.

Tokoriki Island Resort This adults-only retreat is nestled in the Mamanuca Islands and has won too many awards to list. It's consistently Tripadvisor's top-rated adults-only resort in Fiji and has even been named one of the best resorts in the world.

Tokoriki has 36 bures and villas, all with indoor and outdoor showers. The opulent beachfront pool villas come complete with a private infinity pool overlooking the water, a cabana and a double day bed.

See: tokoriki.com Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa One of Denarau’s best options is Sofitel Fiji. The sprawling resort is set on 10.5 hectares, most of it taken up by the general hotel and its enormous lagoonstyle pool, complete with a water slide and splash play areas. There is also an exclusive adults-only ‘sanctuary’ known as the Waitui Beach Club. Breakfast and

The Waitui Beach Club is Sofitel Fiji’s adults-only zone.

dinner are served poolside, with sea views. There are also dozens of places to relax, including loungers, beachfront cabanas and a swim-up bar. ■ See: sofitel-fiji.com

The writer stayed at the various resorts listed courtesy of Tourism Fiji.

December 2023

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December 2023

42 Shopping NZ Farmer

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December 2023

Updated all day at

NZ Farmer 43 Shopping Mortgage Income Fund

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Beef farmers, if you could fence anywhere, how would you farm?

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December 2023

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December 2023

NZ Farmer 47 Markets

Updated all day at

Is Christmas cheer on the horizon?

VANESSA LAURIE/ STUFF

Rabobank’s take on the commodity market outlook for December.

Wild & Windy through to Christmas

N

iwa anticipates warmer-thanaverage temperatures are most likely for the east of both Islands until Christmas. The remainder of the country is equally likely to experience near-average or above-average temperatures over the same period.

Above-normal rainfall is likely for the west of the South Island. The north and east of the North Island are likely to have below-normal rainfall. The remainder of the country has a chance of below-normal rainfall through to the end of the year.

Most of the South Island is likely to have near-normal soil moisture through to Christmas except for the top of the South, which has a risk of below-normal soil moisture. The west of the North Island is likely to have either below-normal or nearnormal soil moisture. The remainder of the North Island is likely to have below-normal soil moisture through to Christmas.

What to watch ■ Niwa notes that El Niño conditions will continue through to Christmas.

■ Dramatic temperature swings are likely for the country, with warm air from Australia and bitter cold southerlies possible in short succession.

■ More westerly winds are likely over the next three months, which raise the risk of prolonged dry spells on both the top and east coasts of both islands.

Dairy: Hope ahead for Christmas?

There were some positive signs for Oceania dairy exporters in October, with commodity prices generally firmer. Oceania powder prices rallied more than 10% for the month on the back of less favourable milk production signals in New Zealand. Butter prices also firmed over the month, but cheese prices fell again in October as a weak US wholesale market dragged prices lower.

Grey clouds continue to build over the production outlook in New Zealand. For the key month of September, milk production was 0.4% below the same month last year on a volume basis (but higher on a milksolids basis). This means that the volume of production for the season-to-date is trailing the previous season by 1%. Challenging seasonal conditions in the North Island have been the culprit.

Some positive signs are emerging for dairy farmers.

In contrast, the milk production outlook in Australia has started the spring season in better shape and is translating into modest growth. For September, production was 1.5% higher than last year and is 1.5% higher season-to-date. Surprisingly, Victoria is a laggard for growth, with Northern and Western Victoria still trailing behind.

The outlook for milk supply offshore softens. US milk production has been in decline for the past few months, with a smaller herd driving the slowdown.

Nonetheless, the USDA has recently upgraded the outlook for the 2023 year.

Across Europe, milk supply growth remains sluggish. In key export regions in Europe, farmgate prices are showing signs of stabilisation.

What to watch Signs of El Niño taking hold - Every El Niño weather pattern is different. This makes it difficult to predict its impact on farming regions.

Beef: Back to average to finish the year After starting the 2023 calendar year close to the five-year average, North Island bull prices are set to finish the calendar year back close to the five-year average after reaching historical highs in April and May. With US import prices expected to slide a little further and any Chinese buying for Lunar New Year now potentially over, we believe NZ cattle prices will follow a normal seasonal decline to the end of the year.

NZ Meat Board weekly slaughter numbers show a general increase in slaughter numbers for the year-to-date, up 1%. Heifer

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slaughter is up 11% but cow slaughter is down 11%. Steer slaughter is up 9% but bull slaughter is down 6% for the first five weeks of the season compared to last season.

Beef export volumes dropped 7% yearon-year in September to 35,537 tonnes.

Volumes to China were down 28% to 12,230 tonnes, while volumes to the US were up 33% to 9284 tonnes. These numbers continue to reflect the strength of the US market and their declining cow slaughter, compared to the weak Chinese market.

Since August 2020, Chinese retail beef prices have traded in a band between CNY83/kg and CNY89/kg. Since July, prices have generally been trading at CNY81/kg to CNY82/kg, reflecting the weaker demand.

New Zealand beef export values have dropped 15% year-on-year to NZ$7.78/kg in September.

What to watch Brazil exports to the US - This year saw a large volume of Brazilian beef flow into the US in January to take advantage of the “other country” tariff quota. Brazil was the biggest supplier to the US in January. We expect to see a similar volume head to the US again next year when the quota year commences. Although this year it did not appear to have any great impact on volumes from other suppliers, it could potentially lead to some disruption in trade flows.

Sheepmeat: Prices to remain weak After holding on to the lowest price range in a decade for the past three months, lamb prices finally succumbed to the high volumes of Australian product and weak

demand in key markets.

Prices dropped below the 10-year range to the lowest level for this time of year since 2016.

Despite a lift in the last month following favourable rain in eastern Australia, Australian lamb prices remain at some of the lowest levels they have seen since 2015.

With no signs of a strong recovery in the coming months, and with continuing high volumes from Australia, New Zealand lamb prices are set to enter the higher supply periods of the new year with soft lamb prices.

NZ Meat Board weekly slaughter numbers for the first five weeks of the season show lamb production is up 3% on the 2022/23 season numbers. Meanwhile, sheep slaughter is 21% ahead of the 2022/23 season volumes. Although only a small portion of total sheep slaughter, hogget slaughter was up 13%. This increased volume of mature sheep on the market may reflect producers looking to reduce their flock size in light of reduced prices and restricted margins.

New Zealand sheepmeat export volumes for September increased 1.5% to 22,363 tonnes. Volumes to China were down 3% to 11,013 tonnes while volumes to the UK were up 35% to 1545 tonnes and volumes to the US were up 16% to 2158 tonnes - two of the stronger markets in a weak trade complex.

Reflecting the weak demand, Chinese retail prices for mutton have dropped to their lowest level since October 2019. The average value of New Zealand sheepmeat exports dropped 17% year-on-year to NZ$9.35/kg in September, reflecting the weaker demand.

What to watch * US demand - Typically the Easter period in the US is a higher consumption period for lamb. Although import prices in US dollar terms do not show much variation through the year, the US import volumes over the next couple of months will be an indicator of US consumer demand and whether the market is recovering. If so, it may be able to absorb some of the higher volumes from Australia. ■

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