Country-wide March, 2017

GROWING NZ FARMING

CASHFLOW KING

SIDE-BY-SIDES

Unorthodox strategies keep the bank manager happy.

WHICH ONE DO YOU CHOOSE?

A tale or

two to tell

Manawatu’s retired farm manager Gordon Jones chronicles his 40-year farming career. p75

$12.00

incl gst

March 2017

Country-Wide March 2017

THE DEER FARMER 1

OPS0004

“ If we lose the

overseas markets,

that’s the end of it.

That’s why I’m behind NAIT.” Keith, Beef farmer, Wairarapa

It’s no accident that our meat is world-class. It’s the result of hard work and no small amount of pride. Tracing stock history with NAIT is more important than ever. It helps prove our food is safe and keeps the markets wanting more. Next time your animals are in the yard, tag and register them to help New Zealand stay competitive. To learn more, visit nait.co.nz

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An OSPRI programme

Country-Wide March 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

Wool away

W

ith the World Shearing Champs on the backdoor step in Invercargill there was no way I was going to miss it.

For four days the massive indoor Stadium Southland was the biggest shearing shed in Australasia, probably the world.

The distinctive smell of sheep was picked up before even entering the stadium and inside it was humming.

Thousands of spectators came through the doors and extra seating had to be added. The 32 countries competing was a record for the championship with a number of teams entered in the machine and blade shearing, and woolhandling.

That didn’t necessarily mean there were six team members as Japan’s Shun Oishi represented his country in all three disciplines.

The foreign commentators added to the excitement especially a Welsh one who made it sound like a rugby test.

It was the perfect setting to catch up and talk to New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association president Jamie McConachie and discuss the future of industry training (see p17). With the association’s establishment of Te Ako Wools, shearer and woolhandling training seems to be back on track after several years of disarray. It is early days and a far cry from the tens of thousands

trained by Wool Board shearing instructors.

I was lucky enough to get on a twoweek course in the 1980s, based at the Burnham military camp. At first it was tough after a year of the good life as a Lincoln College student. With hot nor’westerlies blowing it was like a detox programme.

I never went beyond shearing on the family farm and half-a-sheep on an English farm I was working on. The shearing machine was portable with the solid drive shaft lying on the ground unprotected. British shearers shore differently to protect it, but I chose to ignore this and about the long blow, wool went up the shaft and buggered the machine.

Learning to shear taught me to appreciate how hard it is and how athletic shearers are.

Shearers used to live in rural communities and often made up half the country rugby teams. Now trainees tend to come from urban areas.

Wool prices may look bleak but hopefully shearing will still have a future, both as an industry and a sport.

Terry Brosnahan

NEXT ISSUE Country-Wide April includes: • INSURANCE – How do you decide what you need and how much of it.

• ANIMAL NUTRITION – What do you need in the way of feed to get through the winter and keep stock healthy. How the top farmers plan.

• IRRIGATION – Planning to install irrigation? How much does a sheep and beef farm need?

• REGIONAL WATER PLANS – Part three in the series focuses on Southland and Canterbury.

• FARM OWNERSHIP – More on how to get there without farm succession.

Got any feedback? Contact the editor direct: terry.brosnahan@nzfarmlife.co.nz or call 03 471 5272.

• TOWED AWAY – A vintage car investment goes sour and becomes a costly legal battle.

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More: p34

BOUNDARIES 6

Country fun at Owahanga Station.

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Guido Cousins discovers freedom camping US style.

HOME BLOCK West Coaster Gaye Coates has had enough of the rain.

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Andrew Bendall looks forward to sun in Central Otago.

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Suzie Corboy is settling in to her new house.

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Robert Carter takes succession to the river.

Old? Who’s old? Chris Biddles asks.

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Robert Hodgkins contemplates change with Brexit.

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FACTS 15

It’s a tale of two halves for store lambs.

NOTEBOOK

What’s on when and who’s doing what.

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BUSINESS Shearer training takes off.

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Illness is a greater threat than accidents.

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Lamb growth hinges on feed quality.

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Unexpectedly called home to the farm.

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Succession: Trust or company.

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THE DEER FARMER Flipped pakihi soils produce the goods at Cape Foulwind. 28

Contents

Crowning glories shine at sales.

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Buying barley proves money well-spent at Cattle Flat.

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LIVESTOCK Rob Kirk is a cashflow farmer in northern Manawatu.

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Downsizing reignites the Raineys’ enthusiasm.

Testing next-generation genetics.

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Genotyping with SNP chip tests a tool with meat quality. 46 Sub Editor: Andy Maciver, ph 06 280 3166, andy.maciver@nzfarmlife.co.nz

Country-Wide is published by NZ Farm Life Media PO Box 218, Feilding 4740 General enquiries: Toll free 0800 2AG SUB (0800 224 782) www.nzfarmlife.co.nz Editor: Terry Brosnahan, ph 03 471 5272; mob 027 249 0200; terry.brosnahan@nzfarmlife.co.nz Managing Editor: Tony Leggett, ph 06 280 3162 mob 0274 746 093, tony.leggett@nzfarmlife.co.nz Deer Farmer Editor: Lynda Gray, ph 03 448 6222, lyndagray@xtra.co.nz

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Country-Wide March 2017

More: p70 Stewart Morton tests the new technology.

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Gene talk: Screening the next generation.

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Trevor Cook sees a bleak outlook for coarse wool.

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Nitrate leachate lessons accumulate for researchers.

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Do you aspire to farm ownership?

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Lloyd Smith advises on the role of a good shepherd.

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ARABLE Mini-satellites put power in farmers’ hands.

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COMMUNITY

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ENVIRONMENT 59

Widespread engagement needed on water plans.

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Get a plan, environmental consultant Erica

SOLUTIONS The toll of drench resistance.

The emerald of Otoko is up for auction.

Councils in denial on plan effects, Keri Johnston argues.

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Rangitikei neighbours go to market.

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Alan Royal finds some tools to aid planning.

Cautious buyers are checking the details.

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FARMING IN FOCUS

TECHNOLOGY

Kirstin Mills keeps track by phone.

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ESTATE

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Denis Hocking takes a cheap trip into the trees.

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Van Reenan says.

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Woodsplitters on show at CD Field Days.

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Gordon Jones spent a life on the land.

Side-by-sides – the choice is yours.

Water: the Otago approach.

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Guido Cousins heads south to Florida for winter.

PLANT AND MACHINERY

YOUNG COUNTRY

How Rebecca Harper and Richard Greaves bought their farm.

FORAGE Chemical topping aids legumes on hill pasture.

More: p24

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More photos from this month’s Country-Wide.

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OUR COVER

More: p40

After a life on the land, Gordon Jones has put pen to paper.

Photo: Graeme Brown

More: p75

Country-Wide March 2017

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Out-takes

BOUNDARIES

The Clintons

Ila Falwasser hangs on tight in the children’s ram ride at the Aohanga horse sports and rodeo club meeting, held at Owahanga Station.

T

COUNTRY FUN

he children’s ram ride was a popular event at the Aohanga horse sports and rodeo club annual meeting in January.

Held each year at the coastal Owahanga Station, near Pongaroa, the day is a great example of country fun and hospitality at its best.

The day features flat classes, games and jumping for ponies and horses, including the traditional shepherds’ hack class and barrel racing, and a hangi available for purchase.

The ram ride for small children drew a

large crowd, as did the open steer riding.

The Whanau Horse Trekkers, a family group of riders and their horses, make the trek from Dannevirke out to the coast to participate in the Aohanga sports every year. This year the trekkers had to contend with gale-force winds and unusually wet weather for January, but it didn’t deter the hardy bunch.

The group usually stays on for the Pongaroa Horse Sports the following weekend and the trekkers boost the numbers at both sports meetings, helping keep the country sports days alive.

Drone investment leads agtech cash dive Venture capital investment in agricultural technology globally fell 30% last year, to US$3.2 billion from US$4.6b in 2015, despite a 10% rise in the number of investment deals completed, Californiabased Agfunder reports.

The decline outpaced a 10% fall in venture capital funding across all industries, led by the agri-food robotics, mechanisation and equipment category receiving just US$109 million, down 89% on 2015, while bioenergy and biomaterials investment was back 75% at US$123m.

Drone investment dived 68% due to the sector maturing, AgFunder suggesting drone technology was in a

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Sector maturity was blamed for the dive in investment into drone technology.

“trough of disillusionment” from an investor perspective, though advances in drone sensors and image analytics were expected.

The decline in bioenergy and biomaterials investment was blamed on lower oil prices and some bioenergy startups had switched focus to crop

When Bill and Hillary first got married, Bill said: “I put a box under the bed. You must promise never to look in it.”

And Hillary did so promise.

Through the entire 30 years of their marriage, Hillary had never looked.

But, on the afternoon of their 30th anniversary, curiosity got the better of her. She lifted the lid and peeked inside.

Inside the box were three empty beer cans and $81,874.25 in cash.

She closed the box and put it back under the bed.

Now that she knew what was in the box, she was doubly curious as to why there was such a box, and with those contents.

That evening, they were out for a special anniversary dinner.

After dinner, Hillary could no longer contain her curiosity and she confessed, saying, “I’m so sorry, Bill.

For all these years, I kept my promise and never looked into the box under our bed. However, today the temptation was too much and I gave in. And now I need to know, why do you keep the three beer cans in the box?”

Bill thought for a while and said, “I guess after all these years you deserve to know the truth. Whenever I was unfaithful to you, I put an empty beer can in the box under the bed to remind myself not to do it again.

Hillary was shocked, but said, “Hmmm, Jennifer, Paula and Monica.

I’m disappointed and saddened by your behaviour; however, since you are addicted to sex, I guess it does happen, and I guess three times is not that bad considering your problem.”

Bill thanked her for being so understanding. They hugged and made their peace.

A little while later Hillary asked Bill, “So why do you have all that money in the box?”

Bill answered, “Well, whenever the box filled up with empty cans, I took them to the recycling centre.” inputs, it noted. Meanwhile investment rose in four of the nine categories Agfunder monitored: Ag biotechnology by 150% to US$719m; farm management software, sensing and IT by 3.7% to US$363m; novel farming systems by 63% to US$257m; supply chain technologies by 3% to US$180m.

Country-Wide March 2017

Toasty toes

BOUNDARIES | TITBITS

Freedom camping US style Manawatu’s Guido Cousins discovered camping on private land is challenging in the United States.

No matter how isolated it is, the owner will be watching.

He had found a very quiet camping spot 200 metres off the road, hidden from sight, overlooking Lake Superior and by the number of spider webs traversing the drive it had not seen human contact for at least six months.

Not a minute after turning the interior lights off in the camper, headlights were coming down the drive to greet him.

A very heavy-set Michigan local came bearing arms rather than gifts and inquired about his chosen camping spot.

After informing him how “great” America is, he warmed up and invited Guido to his home, to spend the next

three hours conversing about politics and demonstrating different automatic rifles into the night sky. Guido was subsequently offered a room in the house and breakfast in the morning.

More on Guido’s travels p74

Cold feet should not be a problem for life members of the New Zealand Elk and Wapiti Society. At the recent 30th Anniversary celebration dinner life members present were each gifted a pair of emblazoned EWSNZ Life Member socks. The warm and woolly gesture was the idea of EWS member and elk farmer Tracey McLean, also the managing director of Sock Works. The Canterbury-based business is the largest manufacturer of woollen socks in NZ, and the main supplier to Farmlands.

McLean, a former accountant, started the business in 2001 after spying a niche opportunity for the manufacture and supply of sports socks, but over time has diversified the range. NZ and Australian Merino wool is used. It is shipped to Asia for scouring before being turned into socks in NZ. McLean, who also farms 500 elk along with husband Andrew in the foothills of Sheffield, has other clothing lines she imports and distributes.

Her latest venture almost ready for launch is Bezerk a new 100% Merino base layer apparel brand.

“It will be all about keeping the crazy outdoor types warm.”

Enviro-bureaucracy a national balls-up Sometimes we have to be careful what we wish for. Nobody wants a draconian policy that disadvantages them but sometimes such measures are the lesser of two evils. So it is with environmental policy in many regions across New Zealand.

Take Canterbury, for example: in the past two years ECan has spent $48.5 million on its water management strategy*. Farmers, their representative bodies, and others, have also forked out untold sums working with ECan to develop plans that fulfil central Government’s National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management in the region.

Cumulatively, the cost will certainly be hundreds of millions of dollars and possibly billions by the time it’s finished.

The detail demanded in every zone is mind-boggling and the process is taking years to complete with no guarantee of environmental success at the end.

It’s keeping scores of ECan staff, contractors and consultants employed, while farmers’ representatives, their industry bodies and other zone committee representatives commit countless hours working on plans that attempt to appease all parties.

NZ lamb left in dark by MLA Meat & Lamb Australia’s recent “You’ll never lamb alone” promotion left New Zealand in the dark – literally.

The two-minute-40-second clip features boatloads of various nationalities rocking up on our neighbour’s shores for a “barby” of lamb. Needless to say, we New Zealanders are not among them and the opening page satellite image of the country conveniently falls into darkness midway across the Tasman.

One wonders whether Beef +Lamb NZ would be so blinkered. See www.mla.com.au to decide for yourself.

Country-Wide March 2017

It would be easy to blame Environment Canterbury for this burgeoning bureaucracy, but it is only doing what was asked of it: asked by central Government, by way of the NPSFM and the RMA; and asked of it by way of submissions to the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan. The resulting process is an attempt to give Cantabs’ their collective cake and let them eat it.

Something much simpler, including nitrate caps on leaky soils and phosphate limits on steeper slopes, deployed nationally, would have stemmed nutrient losses sooner and saved billions in bureaucracy. Granted, some farms, in some locations and/or sectors, notably dairy on light land, would be marginally less productive but the impact on profitability would have been minor relative to other influences.

Importantly, the playing field would have been level across the regions. Such measures are a hard sell politically, and difficult because of the RMA, which is probably why our national leaders (or should that be National, capital N, leaders?) didn’t go there. But we’re all now paying the price, environmentally and financially, with our industry’s image continuing to suffer as a consequence. *ECan Annual Report year ending June 2016.

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HOLD THE RAIN, we’ve had enough

Gaye Coates Haupiri, West Coast

I

n most circumstances, the old advice to fill a gap in discussion with polite talk about the weather would set anyone on the right side of good conversation etiquette. But on the West Coast this summer, weather is a topic that is definitely offlimits if you want any well-mannered response.

Summer in our region seems to have sadly passed us by, presenting instead a challenging farming season, the worst in many farmers’ memories.

Since November, the weather has quite literally been ruthless and relentless with 1980mm of rain falling since the start of calving, most in the last three months.

Our boys returned from boarding school later in November. Between then and the end of January, they counted only five days when they saw some sunshine and on each and every day there had been at least some rain and on most of the days, incessant rain.

The days are cool, similar to late autumn temperatures, the ground squelches everywhere and there are pools of water lying continuously in places I have never seen in the 20 years of my living here.

Our soil is reasonably free draining and we can manage well with our usual weather pattern and reliable rainfall. But this summer, our pastures and our cows have shown that even on the West Coast, we cannot cope with sustained rain and lack of sunshine. The industry people out on the road all say this despairing

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weather has had an effect the entire length and breadth of the Coast.

The impact on pastures and production has been huge. Our milk production is down 7% on where we were this time last year. Many farmers are down 10% and more. The number of mastitis cases has risen significantly, with wet conditions and mud being influencing factors on this. The paddocks have become so soft that several times in a day farm vehicles become stuck. Some farmers say they now have to walk to get the cows out of the paddock. Opportunities to spread fertiliser have been hampered by the soggy terrain and when it has happened there is no need for a GPS to show where the tractor has been – the wheel ruts are a very reliable indicator.

Typically, summers on the Coast allow us to prepare well for supplementary feed needed to get through the winter. To date we have only managed to make about half of what we would have usually done by now. We simply don’t have the same

Typically, summers on the Coast allow us to prepare well for supplementary feed needed to get through the winter. To date we have only managed to make about half of what we would have usually done by now.

The toi tois have been blowing from the south west wind all summer - can only mean rain!

Trying to spread fertiliser in the liquid sunshine.

A swampy swede paddock.

surplus and we cannot get the machines beyond the gate to do it.

Our aim is to get our winter swede crops in by Christmas. This year, with the deadline of Christmas passing by and still no sign of water draining away, a whole range of implements were trialled in desperation to try and get the paddock ready for seeding.

A chisel plough won out as the supreme machine, seemingly performing miracles and transforming the paddock to a drained and workable piece of ground.

Racing against time and with the window of half a day without rain, the swedes were eventually sown on December 30.

Despite ongoing showers, fingers were optimistically crossed until the weather bomb low arrived in January like an unruly guest and dumped 260mm in one day of unwanted irrigation on top of the seed. Hopes for a good winter crop are now significantly less than the cautious optimism we had. Many of us now have to think very hard about feed options looking forward to the approaching winter and next spring.

Not many smiles are to be seen and people are feeling the effects of a lack of vitamin D, although this deficiency is obviously only minor. If it was severe then one of the major symptoms – forgetfulness – would mean I could not remember that yesterday was wet, or the day before that, or the day before that One West Coast farming identity is quoted as claiming this weather pattern is similar to that back in 1957 when it rained persistently until May. It then cleared “good” and the next 19 years were “cracker”. Here’s hoping, although a respite before May would be very welcome.

Country-Wide March 2017

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No winter, no summer Lake Dunstan with Pisa Moorings to the left, Cromwell to the right.

Andrew Bendall Cromwell, Central Otago

No winter, no summer – “typical seasons that is”. These were the words an old truck driver said his father had always told him and looking back we had an exceptionally mild winter for Central Otago.

We have now had two months of summer with a total of 130mm of rain, a good dumping of snow on Mt Pisa, a lot of nor’west winds, frosts in January followed by some very cold days, the odd true summer day. But with school back, wet and windblown tents packed away we may get some hot sunny days.

A quick farm update from November – 30 hectares of fodder beet went in three weeks later than anticipated but has done well, receiving three timely weed sprays and its fertiliser mix just on canopy closure, now it’s just keep the water up to it and watch it grow.

In mid-December 15ha of swedes went

Summer snow is gold.

Country-Wide March 2017

in. They also have done well, have just had their fertiliser application slightly earlier than normal. It was done to outgrow the fat hen as when you have vineyards all around you some spraying cannot be done or at least the risk far outweighs the benefits.

A new multi-graze brassica has been trialled this year with 5ha of raphanobrassica grown – a cross between kale and radish developed by PGG Wrightson Seeds. The plan for this is to graze lambs and calves on it over March and April consuming about 10 tonnes of feed and then shut it up and hoping for another 6t of winter feed. But time will tell.

All our new grass this spring has done well, we have a standard mix of “Shogun NEA hybrid rye grass with Weka white clover and Tuscan red clover”. Admittedly I have a bias towards the yellow bags of NZ Agriseeds but this mix has proved to do very well especially under an intensive finishing operation where high-quality feed is needed.

We have also direct-drilled straight Shogun into sprayed-out chicory/red clover stands with great success, with all these new grass paddocks really coming on just as all the young calves are eating more.

On the stock front, all the older cattle wintered have gone, with a brief analysis done on these with a consensus being that the variation of our results largely came from having such a diverse range of genetic capabilities within the cattle we bought.

Our R2 dairy heifers which were mated at good weights, will be pregnancy tested early February, so hoping for a good result of less than 5% empties.

The next line of heifer calves are all on, arriving three weeks earlier than normal due to us having a good supply of quality feed available.

The contracted Friesian bull calves are also all on and doing well, averaging more than 170kg at the end of January.

Lambs were weaned mid-December

Raphanobrassica at 40 days growth.

with any male lamb weighing more than 36kg getting killed and anything between 28kg and 35kg going to be finished on chicory as part of the Omega lamb project. For more details, go to: omegalamb.co.nz The first week of February is ram selling for the Headwaters rams that we run at Lochar Downs. During the week shareholders come and select their rams, going to both islands but predominantly the South Island.

The Lowburn Collie Club dog trials have just completed its 102nd event with 350 runs entered over the four courses. I ran a couple of heading dogs mainly as a donation to the club and I was there liberating on the class two short head and yard, but was humbled watching many open dogs do equally as poorly as mine.

A great couple of days and long nights was had by all.

But as I sat up on the top of the hill looking over Lake Dunstan, a lake created to provide water for the Clyde dam built in the early 1980s – which took out beautiful fertile river flats (Google it, it’s a great watch) – I watched boaties, jet skiers, fishermen and general holidaymakers enjoying the lake. I thought if only the Hawke’s Bay community could see how another community has embraced such a development and used it to enhance the already amazing landscape. It is truly a dam/lake for the whole community not just farmers.

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Heifers and their calves which were born in October last year.

New house, pity about the rain

Suzie Corboy Owaka, Catlins

After 29 weeks living in a caravan, parked inside a shed on the farm to protect me from the Owaka wind, I moved into our new house on January 3. It is great to have a lot more space to live and cook in, and obviously it is brilliant to be in a new house, though there is a bit more housework required than in a caravan.

The idea of a caravanning holiday will not appeal for a number of years.

The weather of the past few months will go down in local folklore. It was one of the best spells of weather over calving and lambing, which helped achieve the best lambing percentage I have had since I started running this farm and the wind stayed away most of the time during lambing and tailing, amazing.

We have paid for it though, with January being cold, very windy and we had 227mm of rain. I know lots of farmers would have loved that amount of rain, but it got beyond a joke, with wet paddocks and very few days suitable for spraying or spreading fertiliser.

In December we had the pleasure of being invited to and attending the wedding of our first employee at the lease farm at Milton. Stef moved on to new challenges in the North Island during September 2015 and we had not met up since, so it was great to share her and Andy entering the next stage of their lives together. It was also a reason to make us take time off and extend our holiday to four and a half days (the longest we have been away together since February 2012)

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as the wedding was just before Christmas so it would have been rude to not stay and celebrate Christmas with family in the North Island.

January was busy with weaning, mouthing and uddering ewes, and drafting lighter ewes for preferential treatment to get back up to mating weight, so it took until the last weekend in the month before we made time to go to Dunedin to spend money we don’t have, buying a few new pieces of furniture for the house.

“It is strange, but the harder I work, the luckier I get”

I thought I had plenty of grass from lambing through to weaning, so I was rather disappointed with my lamb weaning weights. In hindsight I probably had too much grass and lost a bit of pasture quality. Thankfully this has the positive effect that the 100 heifers with calves at foot spread through the setstocked ewes and lambs, are looking good, and hopefully will produce much better weaning weights of heifers and calves than last year, which wasn’t a year I wish to repeat. The less said the better. The only good thing was the beef schedule held up well, so when I killed

the heifers, after wintering them, we were well paid. They are farmed on the oncemated heifer system, so I didn’t intend to winter many.

I will have to admit defeat this season, with Paul getting more works lambs away than me at weaning, although mine were heavier and worth more. I don’t mind him winning occasionally and we both benefit from a good result, so I will let him have bragging rights this time.

February always seems to pass quickly with lamb drafting, dagging, drenching and all the other jobs that need doing at this time of year.

Along with this I will have to tackle the landscaping around the house, as the piles of earth and rock scraped off when digging the septic tank and clearing the foundations have been left as is, and are growing weeds and spoiling the view out of those windows that need cleaning. Just another job to add to my never-ending list.

I will end with my favourite saying from 2016, that I was told to use when people commented on how lucky I was building a new house and they made feel a bit guilty.

“It is strange, but the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

• Suzie Corboy farms 495ha in the Owaka Valley in the Catlins which she and husband Paul bought in 2011. For the past 21 years, they have leased 1434ha at Table Hill, Milton, which Paul still works, but the lease terminates in July.

Suzie Corboy moved into her new house on January 3.

Country-Wide March 2017

ow? ou kn Did y

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South Islander Bill Hamilton invented the jet boat on his Irishman’s Creek Station in the Mackenzie Country and in his Christchurch factory during the 1950s. The first jet-boat went up the Waitaki River in 1954. Hamilton was a self-taught engineer who also built a hydro dam, machinery and earthmoving gear.

Succession – going sideways

Robert Carter Kirikau, Taumarunui

It is said we have about five careers in our working life. So far I’ve worked on farms, in shearing gangs, as an electrician, a fault man, a linesman, a refrigeration engineer, a tourist jet boat driver, a machinery operator, a builder and a sheep and beef farmer to name but a few.

All of these disciplines have put us in good stead as farmers as we have been able to be adaptable and self-reliant in our business.

Time has marched forwards and I find myself in that zone where the next generation is on deck, capable, brimming

with youthful enthusiasm and ideas.

I’ve been doing the right thing and trying to find ways to promote myself sideways out of the way yet still be there for the team should they need me.

It’s a situation many my age must grapple with and I might say struggle too, as one spends the best years of your life working your arse off only to find that the right thing to do is to stand aside and encourage the next lot into your former place, just when things were starting to look a little easier.

So imagine my incredulity when a long-term acquaintance and friend phoned me a few months ago and suggested I might like to give them a hand in a new tourist venture on the Whanganui river, guiding tourists on jet boat trips. We used to do this as a sideline business before we went farming full time and so a process started with Maritime NZ to become re-qualified as a tourist jet boat driver and guide for Forgotten World Jet Tours Ltd. Forgotten World Jet Tours (FWJ) is a new company formed between Alan and Kerry Blackburn of Taumarunui Jet Tours and Ian and Rachel Balme of Forgotten World Adventures. (FWA) FWA run a

Forgotten World Jet Tours’ new jet boat Ongaruhe waits for passengers at the Mangapurua landing.

series of magic tailor-made tours on the disused Stratford to Taumarunui railway line using modified golf carts as the rolling stock.

FWA is our fastest-growing local business employing quite a few locals, delivering a unique tourist experience to our customers. The Blackburns and the Balmes saw the potential of combining the rail tours with river tours.

Alan Blackburn commissioned and oversaw the build of a completely new boat for the operation with features that make it an ideal craft for the job, such as front-loading, an aisle between the seating and a very grunty yet quiet GM V8 engine providing the chutzpah and urge required.

The boat is named after one of the main tributaries of the Whanganui, the Ongaruhe also a reference to the old riverboat days when the craft were named after tributaries. So I help out on an as-and-when-needed basis.

It is just magic, I get to meet some really nice people, share my knowledge gained from a lifetime living on the river and get to drive a beautiful boat as well.

It’s a hard job but someone has to do it!

The operation has a variety of tours but my favourites are the Lavender Farm run and the Bridge to Nowhere tours.

The Bridge to Nowhere tour run is the longest jet boat tour in the southern hemisphere, a 232km round trip taking eight hours start to finish.

The Lavender Farm run is shorter, about 60km but includes some kick-arse coffee and some time at a cafe on the upper reaches of the river. Come and see us sometime.

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11

HOME BLOCK | COLUMN

Contemplating advanced years

Chris Biddles Te Kopuru, Northland

How old is old? Te Atarangi Julie 97711 was old. In her 20th year with us, over her life she produced and reared 18 calves, never a bad one, in fact all very good, but mostly bulls. When I mated her again 15 months ago she was not old in health only in years, but the last eight months she struggled with her hips.

Like her mother a, lovely traditional Totara Hills cow, she lacked growth but was a wonderful maternal animal. Her mum was 15 when she had 97711. I did not enjoy sending 711 on that final trip a few weeks ago.

With 18 months before I become a superannuitant, I do not think I am old, just older.

In her 99th year Karren’s mum is old, very old. Last year marked 40 years since her husband died, a long time to live on your own. Never having a driver’s licence we have, over those years been her main source of transport and other than the last 18 months when she has lived with us, Rita lived since marrying in the same house in Te Kopuru.

We took her to Glinks Gully on the west coast on Auckland anniversary weekend. Rita has had a bach there for more than 70 years. She was pleased to see us get some good mullet in the net and as always commented, “you very rarely miss with the net”. A good-sized snapper on the surfcaster was a bonus.

The reason we have had Rita for the last 18 months is to allow her to see out her last days in a family home rather than a retirement home, which she was not keen on.

With heart and kidneys failing over the last year she has slowly got weaker and now requires a massive amount of help, mostly from us but slowly the health system is coming to the party and giving

12

Mixed age cows at Te Atarangi stud.

us some support as the last week has seen a massive decline in her health.

When do we make the decision that we can no longer provide the necessary care?

It would be nice if we did not have to make that decision but she is a tough old bugger and does not appear ready to quit.

Continuing the theme of old, we had a live-in carer two weeks ago so we could get away for two days to Tauranga for John Turner’s 80th birthday. A very progressive Angus president, it was JT who initially made the Angus Pure brand happen. The Sunday lunch was a great occasion in typical JT style with huge support from his family. He might be 80 but he is still very active in his new career as an orchardist and from all accounts still plays a pretty mean round of golf.

Ken’s final trip to Redhill cemetery was on the back of the farm truck.

Late last year we farewelled another old identity from Te Kopuru, Ken Lendrum, a true farming gentleman. In his 95th year when he died he had a pretty good innings.

Ken never married and lived all his life in the family home at Tatarariki just out of Te Kopuru. He had a very good Romney stud (Parawainui) that was only dispersed about 10 years ago. It was a wonderful funeral held at his home with nieces and nephews officiating and speaking.

Ken regularly had farm cadets who all got a good grounding in stockmanship and a great start to their farming future.

Ken’s final trip to Redhill cemetery was on the back of the farm truck.

By now you readers will be saying what a depressing bloody article this is. Probably best I don’t update on the weather then. I will say I have yet to use the swimming pool, it has blown a cool wind most of the summer.

We had a very good spring, made lots of hay and balage and kept much of the sand country shut up to use now as standing hay. We are weaning all but the older cows at the moment. The older ones will be weaned about the time you read this. All stock are in good condition with the cows having a fair bit of available “nutrition” on their backs.

The final word is again negative.

It was disappointing to see very few farming people recognised in the New Year Honours list. Is this because of the Government’s opinion of farming or is it because we do not promote our own?

Possibly the latter.

However I was pleased to see Laurie Paterson from the Waikaka Hereford stud in Gore become an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the beef industry. Laurie has done a huge amount for the NZ Hereford Society over many years on their council, has been their Hereford Prime chairman for about 16 years and a very strong supporter of Breedplan. He is also an all-round good bugger. Well-deserved Laurie.

• Chris Biddles and his wife Karren farm 1000ha on the Poutu peninsula.

Country-Wide March 2017

HOME BLOCK | UNITED KINGDOM

Wairere Romney two-tooths to be single-sire mated to Wairere rams and SIL recorded.

Change ahead with Brexit

Robert Hodgkins United Kingdom

Having spoken last time about being unsubsidised and how it is a rare thing in the United Kingdom I thought I would explain our subsidy system in a little more detail. My aim is to give you guys and girls a taste of sheep farming in the UK. At present, we are in fairly turbulent times with the British population deciding being members of the European Union is not for them.

As well as income from the farm (meat, milk or grains) most farmers in the UK also get government support in the form of two payments. One is called basic payment scheme (BPS) and is paid in a flat rate for every hectare you own, current payment is paid in euros and so its value fluctuates each year but is around £178 (NZ$309) per hectare, paid every year to the “active farmer” (an important point that we will touch on again later.)

The government also pays for an environmental scheme (countryside stewardship) that rewards you if you farm in such a way as to protect the environment. In effect the government will pay you an amount to compensate for the likely decrease in productivity you will suffer.

So you can get paid for putting field

Country-Wide March 2017

edges in wild flower mixes to help insects/birds etc. As one example, you could agree to not spray or throw any nitrogen around to protect and promote native grasses and water courses. This would be called GS2 (you can Google it) and pays $NZ165/ha.

This creates huge distortions, lets imagine farmer A has a good-sized owned farm around 200ha with a few buildings passed down by dad. They have other interests besides farming so the farmer puts it all into countryside stewardship and rents it out. His income for the year will be (very approximately) BPS: NZ$62,000 environmental payments: $NZ33,000, he then rents it to a grazer who depending on the area of the country will pay (lets go low end) NZ$150/ha so $NZ30,000 for rent.

Total income for that farmer is NZ$125,000 a year for doing nothing.

Here’s the real kicker. If he gets a good accountant he can set himself up as a “active farmer” because he “grows” a crop of grass every year for a grazier.

Now he is an active farmer/business he gets to put a lot of personal costs (car/ fuel,etc) through the business and reduce his tax burden. Another advantage is farmland enjoys a low rate of tax so he can pass on this money-making asset to

his offspring at a very low rate of tax. Of course, by doing this he can only rent out the farm on a yearly let, so no tenant invests in infrastructure, water, fencing, soil indices etc because there is no longterm commitment from either side. The farm declines into fairly poor heath, but hey, as you can see from the figures above rent is such a small part of your overall income that it really doesn’t matter too much.

But for a moment let’s assume farmer A is indeed a dynamic hardworking farmer, looking to expand. He is receiving NZ$94,000 in income before he does anything. This puts him in an extremely advantageous position when competing with leasing local land against people who receive nothing (a farmer who owns no land and leases everything – the grazer we mentioned earlier). Farmer A can pay more for rented land because of the money he is receiving on land he owns.

Now with Brexit happening and the country undergoing huge cuts in public services, hospitals being shut, police numbers falling etc, as soon as the UK population realise their taxes are paying out billions to farmers who hold millions worth of assets, and are paid tens of thousands of pounds to do nothing is likely to leave a sour taste for the general public, hence change is coming.

My personal view is BPS will be withdrawn but environmental payments will continue. As an industry I would guess-timate about a third of farmers are embracing the opportunity, using these next two or three years to streamline operations moving to easy-care/low-input sheep and monitoring their COP to the penny, investing in no-till or direct drills etc.

Unfortunately, at least to me, the other two thirds are doing a pretty good impression of an ostrich. Huge opportunities are just around the corner if you are prepared to tear up the accepted way of doing things (inside lambing, creep-finished lambs etc) and start judging your farm, not by what your next-door neighbours do but what your global competitors do.

Mixed age pure Wairere Romneys put to a Wairere tup, over wintering on stubble turnips being brought in for an iodine drench.

13

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FACTS

Tale of two halves for store lambs North Island s tore lamb

AGRIHQ ANALYST

3.00 2.75

Reece Brick

This variation led to buyers from the northern South Island venturing as far north as Hawke’s Bay to source store lambs.

$/kg

2.50 2.25 2.00 11-­Nov

11-­Jan 5-­yr Ave

Country-Wide March 2017

Last Year

11-­May This Year

South I sland s tore lamb 3.00 2.75 2.50 2.25 2.00 11-­Nov

11-­Jan 5-­yr Ave

With feed levels under pressure and access to water becoming a major issue for some, all local demand for store lambs disappeared, accumulating into a 30c/ kg liveweight (LW) fall in prices in early January.

Poor growth rates through spring and early summer only added to this situation, as fewer lambs were in a position to be finished, therefore drawing more numbers into the store market.

Fortunately buyers from other regions were quick to notice this trend, providing enough interest to prevent prices sinking any further.

For South Island vendors, all the stars appear to have aligned. Grass levels across nearly all of the island are well above

11-­Mar

$/kg

The store lamb trade has given plenty to talk about so far this season. The early months were slow going, ensuring consistency in what could be achieved by sellers.

Volumes moved picked up pace through December, however it wasn’t until after the New Year break before some serious variation was felt throughout the country.

At the lower end of the spectrum has been the eastern side of the North Island. Both the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay fell victim to Mother Nature, as rainfall evaded these areas for at least two months straight.

11-­Mar Last Year

normal levels and stations are generally carrying less stock than usual.

This has had the dual effect of limiting the numbers available for buying while also ensuring a firm and consistent stream of interest for any lines that are offered.

At the time of writing, the most recent sale at Canterbury Park had lambs largely making $2.50-$2.60/kg, a 40c/kg premium over anything traded through the Stortford Lodge saleyards in the Hawke’s Bay and 15c/kg more expensive than what was paid at the Feilding saleyards in the Manawatu.

This variation led to buyers from the northern South Island venturing

11-­May This Year

as far north as Hawke’s Bay to source store lambs, which is highly unusual.

The economics of buying from the North Island doesn’t stack up for those situated in South Canterbury and further south, ensuring the various on-farm sales to date have been well attended.

Results in recent weeks have ranged across $2.35-$2.55/kg at these, around 30c/kg firmer than any paddock sales in the North Island.

15

NOTEBOOK

World music weekend World music festival Womad NZ returns to New Plymouth on March 17-19, with artists from around the world, with headline acts including Ska legends, The Specials.

More? See www.womad.co.nz

Tall timber Farm foresters will gather in Feilding form April 6 to 10 for the annual conference of the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association.

As part of the conference delegates will visit established forest blocks on sheep and beef farms in the region as well as steep hill country gullies prone to erosion and coastal dune areas with sustainable land use plantings.

Speakers will include American forest scientist Professor James Trappe on mycorrhizal fungi in forestry and KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot on trends in global primary production.

Organising committee chairman John Dermer says “the theme is the challenge of diverse landforms and that suits the region”.

More? See www.nzffa.org.nz

A&P shows • Amuri A&P Show, Showgrounds, Rotherham, North Canterbury.

March 4. More? amuriap@yahoo.com • Rai Valley A&P Show, Carluke Domain, Marlborough Sounds.

March 4. More? www.raivalleyshow.co.nz • Wanaka A&P Show, Wanaka Showgrounds, Wanaka, Queenstown Lakes. March 10. More? www.wanakashow.co.nz • Cheviot A&P Show, Domain, Cheviot, North Canterbury. March 11. More? Facebook; Cheviot A & P Show • Mayfield A&P Show, Showgrounds, Mayfield, Mid Canterbury.

March 11.

More? mayfieldshow15@gmail.com • Kumeu Show, Showgrounds, Kumeu, Wesst Auckland. March 11, 12.

More? www.kumeushow.co.nz • Methven A&P Show, Showgrounds, Methven, Canterbury. March 18.

More? methvenshow@gmail.com • Hawarden A&P Show, Showgrounds, Hawarden, North Canterbury. March 18.

More? www.hawardenshow.co.nz Malvern A&P Show, Showgrounds, Sheffield, Canterbury. March 25.

More? malvernshow@gmail.com • Flaxbourne A&P Show, Weld Park, Ward, Marlborough. March 26.

More? www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/flaxbourne-show/ward

Farming’s future

Leadership training

The fourth New Zealand Future Farms Conference 2017 will be held at Palmerston North’s convention centre on March 14, 15. The conference addresses key issues for farmers looking into innovation, sustainability, the consumer and the future of farming. A postconference masterclass is also offered to farmers to enable hands-on guidance for onfarm governance.

More? See www.conferenz.co.nz/ futurefarms

Among Federated Farmers leadership courses this year is the Shining Under the Spotlight workshop designed to meet the needs of members who are already active in leadership roles, but wish to advance their skills.

The workshops, held on March 22-23, May 24-25 and November 22-23 look at how to run an effective meeting, deal with conflict, improve public speaking style, manage the media and build and sustain professional relationships.

More? Contact events@fedfarm.org.nz

Rural sports celebration

Harvest festival

Celebrate the gathering of the grapes at Marlborough’s Framingham Wines’ 2017 Harvest concert which kicks off at the company’s Renwick winery on March 10.

More? See www.framingham.co.nz/ concert.asp

16

Marking sporting excellence among New Zealand’s largely unsung rural athletes is the inaugural Norwoods New Zealand Rural Sports Awards dinner at Awapuni Function Centre, Palmerston North on Friday, March 10.

Double gold Olympic medalist Mahe Drysdale is guest speaker and Jamie MacKay is MC. The awards are sponsored by CB Norwood Distributors and presented by the New Zealand Rural Games Trust with Federated Farmers.

More? Contact James on 027 434 9090

Central Districts Field Days Central Districts Field Days boasts an exciting lineup of entertainment, including crowd favourite competitions: the tractor pull, the national excavator championships and the Central Districts fencing competition.

Manfeild, South Street, Feilding, March 16-18.

More? www.cdfielddays.co.nz

NOTE BOOK

If you have something you think might be suitable for the Notebook page please send it in a word document (.doc) to andy.maciver@nzfarmlife.co.nz along with any pictures as .jpg attachments.

Country-Wide March 2017

BUSINESS | SHEARING

NZ Shearing Contractors Association president Jamie McConachie at the world shearing champs in Invercargill.

TRAINING TAKES OFF Terry Brosnahan

A

fledging national training programme for shearers and woolhandlers has already signed up more than a third of its trainee target of 600.

The Shearing Contractors Association launched Te Ako Wools, a training provider, in June last year to fill a gap left when Tectra lost its contract with

the Primary ITO in 2015. Te Ako is a non-profit company 100% owned by the association and contracted by the Primary ITO to train shearers and wool handlers.

Association president Jamie McConachie said that by Christmas last year there were 250 new trainees for level two, three and four courses in shearing and woolhandling.

“It is an industry-wide, fit-for-purpose training scheme.”

The cost of a level two or three course is $400 and takes about nine months while level four takes 24 months. As well as holding block courses Te Aka works with individual employers and their staff’s training needs. Trainers visit staff in the sheds, reducing the need for them to travel to courses.

McConachie created a bit of a stir last year when he was reported in the media saying 35 was an age to exit the industry. The world champion New Zealand machine shearing team Johnny Kirkpatrick and Nathan Stratford are 46 and 42, respectively.

McConnachie said as far as longevity, it was not an industry to be in and the 600 trainees were needed to cover the natural attrition. There has been a heavy reliance on overseas shearers to fill shortages.

Some contractors have 25% of their gangs made up of foreign shearers.

The industry was under pressure from falling sheep numbers and low wool prices. More farmers were cutting costs by not second shearing. Drugs were also a major problem in the shearing industry.

McConachie said it was encouraging a number of new shearing sheds had been built. The association had an even greater focus on health and safety.

“We don’t want people going to work in sheds not fit for purpose.”

Te Aka was also looking at new opportunities such as e-learning and working with the Ministry of Social Development and Corrections on delivering training.

Seal of approval from industry Richard Gavigan Learning to shear sheep used to be something of a rite of passage. Sons of farmers (and a few daughters) and professional shearers along with some townies attended courses to earn a certificate. Serious shearers could work their way through the certificate’s learner, junior, intermediate and senior endorsements.

Shearer training is well-documented in Wool – A History of New Zealand’s Wool Industry (Carter and MacGibbon, 2003).

In the early 1900s shearers generally learned their craft on the job, and styles and quality of work varied greatly. Some schools taught shearing as manual training. From 1929 Massey Agricultural College taught shearing and wool handling in its sheep farming courses.

It was not until the 1950s that shearing courses began to operate with some coordination and buy-in from farmers.

Country-Wide March 2017

In 1953, the NZ Wool Board approached shearing legend Godfrey Bowen to come up with proposals for a national shearing programme. Bowen was employed and a new shearing service, funded by sheep farmers through the wool levy, was born. In his first nine months, Bowen gave 106 demonstrations and instructed 300 shearers throughout NZ. Attendances ranged from 80 in a woolshed to 1000 in a theatre and by the end of the season Bowen was exhausted.

At this point it was decided two-week shearing courses would be run at two central locations – Massey College and Lincoln College. The Wool Board paid all accommodation for learners, as well as costs such as transporting sheep to the training venues. A team of trained shearing instructors was established, with more than 30 instructors employed on a full or part-time basis.

The board’s national shearing scheme proved outstandingly successful, training

tens of thousands of shearers. After Bowen’s retirement the programme was headed by Robin Kidd and, later, Gavin Rowland, and was expanded to include training for wool handlers, classers and pressers. Apart from minor enhancements and modifications, it continued under a very similar format throughout the board’s many and sometimes confusing reincarnations.

The value of levy-supported shearing industry training never appeared to be under question by farmers, despite other board operations being downsized or discontinued.

Over 12 or so years, the shearing service was transferred from the board to Wools of NZ, WoolPro, Meat & Wool Innovation, Meat & Wool NZ, and finally to Tectra.

In 2009, wool producers voted to discontinue the wool levy. As a result, shearing industry training no longer

›› continues p19 17

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Country-Wide March 2017

BUSINESS | HEALTH AND SAFETY

Safety workshops Terry Brosnahan Farmers looking for loopholes in the health and safety legislation will be able to find them, but by doing so will be missing the point.

That’s the view of Hemi Morete, a director of Exigent, a company charged with delivering farm safety management system workshops for Beef +Lamb New Zealand around the country.

Farmers might get around the legislation with arguments such as recreational use rather than work-related, Morete said, but it was not just about complying with the law. It was about creating a safety culture and making the farm a safe work environment.

“If you are putting systems in place then it shows you are thinking about farm safety.”

More than 3000 people have attend the Beef + Lamb workshops which, along with the farm safety management system, were developed with WorkSafe NZ especially for farmers.

There had been a lot misinformation about the legislation and what farmers needed to do especially around hazards and recording systems. Most farmers’ obligations can be met by simply talking to people coming on to the farm and pointing out relevant risks.

Farmers can learn how to create a safety culture on their farms, how to involve staff to improve safety and learn what obligations contractors have.

The one-day workshops go through a folder which covers key terms and definitions, system contents, templates for safety registers and checklists. The folder is easy to follow and the system simple to implement. A WorksSafe representative attends the workshop to answer questions directly. The aim is to have an informal two-way discussion to debunk the myths and focus on what matters. Morete told an Oamaru workshop farm safety was all about risk management. Farmers are not required to mark each hazard. They don’t have to spray every rock or trough, just identify the risk. If there was no significant risk then there was no need to manage it.

“If you can eliminate a risk then good but most times you can’t so minimise it to a safe point.”

Farmers should engage with workers during the process and focus on the high risk, he said. Most 18-24-year-old males don’t stop to think about consequences.

Farmers needed to make them identify the hazards, assess the risks and think of the consequences.

The key message is SLAM: Stop, look, assess and manage. Morete said the folder

New Zealand almost had a clean sweep in the World Shearing Championships in Invercargill recently. Johnny Kirkpatrick (pictured) won the world machine title and teamed up with Nathan Stratford to win the teams title. In both events the shearers had to shear six full wool, eight second-shear and six lambs.

Scotland’s Gavin Mutch was second in the individual, Stratford third. Joel Henare won the woolhandling and with Mary-Anne Baty gave NZ the teams’ title.

South Africa won the individual and team blade shearing titles. Full results: www. worldshearingchamps.com and the workshop were enough to set farmers up with a system which will make the farm safer and compliant. The folder is 85% of the paperwork. The last 15% is farmers customising it for their farms.

He said don’t put the manual in the office and let it gather dust. Keep it up to date, make it a part of every-day business.

• More on farm safety workshops next issue

Competition a chance to learn Farmers shouldn’t let any concerns about the season stop them from entering their stock in the Country-Wide West Otago Two-tooth competition. Competition convenor Andrew Young says it has been a difficult season with rain and cold temperatures limiting pasture growth. In the past farmers had not entered if their stock were not in top condition.

“All farmers are in the same boat

so they should enter.”

Young says despite the climatic conditions the two-tooths he had seen looked in good condition and there was still about six weeks to go to judging.

He says the competition is a great chance to benchmark and learn. When Young first became involved about 30 farmers followed the judges, listening to comments and sharing information with

each other. The sponsors’ prizes for the overall winner include $1000 cash from Country-Wide, $2000 worth of Rohan perennial ryegrass seed and pasture management assistance from Agriseeds plus a $2000 soil fertility consultation from agKnowledge. Entries close on March 20. For enquiries and entry forms contact Andrew Young 027 2488200 or email zitayoung@gmail.com

›› from p17 received financial support from farmers and Tectra was bought by a small group of existing staff and established as a private company.

The new company was well-thoughtof by farmers, shearing contractors and others in the industry and continued to provide high-quality training, funded largely by the government through a

training contract with the Primary ITO. However, in 2015 Tectra lost its contract and went into voluntary liquidation and NZ shearer training fell into something of a void.

Pahiatua farm and for a local contractor during his Massey University holidays. His first job was a wool production officer with the Wool Board in 1989 and 15 years later bought a half share in a large contract shearing business in the Tararua district. After six seasons he entered a sheep and beef cattle farming equity partnership.

Country-Wide March 2017

Footnote: Richard Gavigan did his first shearing course at the end of his seventh form year. He shore on his parents’

19

BUSINESS | INSURANCE

Covering the bases in sickness Carissa Fairbrother We all know farming is a volatile business with seasons, prices and earnings changing significantly each year. Not to mention the risks and costs Carissa Fairbrother. involved protecting valuable income should the unexpected ever occur.

Managing risk is a key part of farming, yet what most farmers don’t realise is that they are far more likely to become disabled due to illness rather than accident. Of the 270,000 New Zealanders unable to work for a significant period last year, according to Statistics NZ more than 75% of them were prevented by sickness rather than accident.

The solution is not always just about ACC or a specific insurance product.

Instead ACC and insurance should be tailored to your own situation.

By lowering your ACC cost and tying this in with appropriate sickness cover, you are not paying maximum amounts for both.

No matter what sort of season you’re having, all bases are covered so you and your farm have sufficient income to continue operating while you are incapacitated.

Two types of ACC cover are available for self-employed business people, however many people have not heard of ACC Cover Plus Extra.

This cover is designed for self-employed people, such as farmers, to lock in their ACC benefit level and therefore the cost.

ACC Cover Plus Extra has been around since 2002, yet according to the Accident Compensation Corporation only 53,000 individuals have made the most of its benefits.

The major benefits of having ACC Cover Plus Extra are: • You negotiate an agreed level of loss of earnings and pay levies only for the cover you need.

• You then do not have to prove your loss of earnings at claim time.

The agreed amount gets paid in full, even if your business continues to generate income during your time

20

off or if you return to work on a parttime basis.

If your spouse works within your farming operation doing the books and receives income from the farm, they can be classified to an administration rate which reflects their level of risk versus paying ACC Cover Plus levies through a generic farming classification.

Note though – by lowering your ACC benefit amounts, your ACC fatal entitlements, such as a pay out on death, will therefore also decrease, so you must allow for this with personal cover.

It is important to get good financial advice to see what would work best for you and your farming business, as not one size fits all.

Now let’s look at income protection.

This insures a percentage of your income if you are unable to work due to suffering a continuous illness or injury for a period of time chosen by you. A common approach for many farmers is to fund a replacement worker to keep the business in operation.

It is important you implement an agreed value contract so you receive what you think you’re going to get in the

event of a claim rather than having to prove your earnings under an indemnity contract.

Generally you can insure up to 35% of the gross farm turnover or up to 75% of your wage. There are contracts on the market that will pay as well as ACC if you are an owner/operator, but will probably only pay for two years, some will pay until 65.

It is important to get good financial advice to see what would work best for you and your farming business, as not one size fits all.

About 40% of income protection claims specifically result from accidents, yet for some reason people do not see income protection as accident cover. There is no point paying for maximum ACC when income protection will have cheaper, more flexible benefits and cover accidents like ACC. In conjunction with ACC cover, it’s important to have a backup plan with key person insurance. If a key person suddenly becomes disabled and unable to work because of illness or injury, your farming business could quickly derail.

This type of cover can help fund the cost of replacing key people’s productivity in the farm by injecting vital cash to keep the farm ticking over. Once again, this type of insurance needs to be tailored to suit your farming situation.

• Carissa Fairbrother is a registered financial adviser at Rival Wealth. The information provided is of a general nature and not intended as personalised financial advice.

Country-Wide March 2017

Country-Wide March 2017

21

BUSINESS | LAMB GROWTH

Ewes and lambs on plantain.

Answers lie in feed quality Bruce McCorkindale A quiet revolution is gaining pace in the sheep, beef and deer sectors. Innovators are still experimenting and pushing the boundaries. However, there is now increasing adoption by mainstream farmers who are starting to realise that a change of mindset around some key parameters might be needed to keep improving.

What is it that needs to change and what are these guys doing?

Over the last couple of months, an AbacusBio colleague and I have been involved in a project involving a group of sheep and beef farmers scattered throughout Otago and Southland. We have been using Farmax to analyse many aspects of these businesses. One recurrent theme is that lamb growth rates are typically pretty good up to and around weaning, then they fall badly sometime in January and February, before picking up to modest rates again from March.

If you want the opportunity to further increase carcaseweights and the value of your lambs, without having to keep them onfarm longer, then something needs to change.

When you cut through all the noise the answer as to why this is happening, and therefore giving a clue as to what to do about it, is feed quality.

The interesting thing has been finding properties where average lamb carcaseweights are very good but when the kill data are analysed, their lamb growth rates still reflect the same pattern – they have generally masked it somewhat by having very good weaning weights.

When we dig into what has been happening a lot comes back to compromises made to grazing management through the spring on our traditional ryegrass and white clover pastures. It is very difficult to get everything perfect in the face of

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sometimes big seasonal variations and consistently produce clover-rich highquality pasture over summer.

By February typically the clover was less than ideal and there was a lot more seed head and tough stalky material, plus dead material, than is required to achieve high lamb growth rates. How did yours look at this point?

What if this pasture contained no grass – how would that impact on your ease of producing high-quality feed?

The challenge has been how to fix this and more particularly how to fix it in an economical way. Short-term summer crops will make a difference but the full cost of these compared to the marginal gains made has led many farmers to question their value.

What if we could create pastures that met all our seasonal requirements (eg: for lambing ewes) and maintained lamb growth rates over summer? Total drymatter production would need to be similar or higher but feed quality produced (ME) would be significantly

higher. What if this pasture contained no grass – how would that impact on your ease of producing high-quality feed?

The answer these revolutionary farmers are finding is – yes, we can.

The tool they have grasped and are finding new ways to establish and use is the only true multi-year, non-grass, nonlegume plant that we currently have in our arsenal – plantain.

Combined with legumes, it can achieve outstanding yields and outstanding levels of animal performance. While farmers may not be able to use thistle sprays over the paddock there is one set of herbicides that can be used which has unearthed another hidden advantage – these are the herbicides that only kill grasses.

Used a couple of times during the first three to four years of a plantain pasture, the grass herbicides provide an opportunity to deal to another major scourge of NZ hill country pastures – the reinvasion of browntop.

Browntop re-invasion, commonly from rhizome fragments rather than seed, is a significant driver of the decline in pasture quality both directly through low summer quality and indirectly because it results in a much lower clover content in pastures.

The real benefit of this new approach though is when you consider the cumulative changes that happen. As an example, let’s consider a 100-hectare farm annually growing 5ha of brassicas which is sown into new pasture every

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spring. The new pasture produces very good summer feed quality in its first year, better than average in its second year then around average for the farm in its third year.

On this farm, there is a maximum of 10ha of very good summer feed, with the rest reliant on good management of older pastures.

We would expect about 135kg/ha of additional LW gain through JanuaryMarch, about 60kg/ha additional lamb LW weaned and maybe a 5% boost to the flock lambing %.

• Bruce McCorkindale is a farm consultant with AbacusBio.

02045 WPABMCW

What happens if we now put in a plantain and legume pasture between the end of the brassica crop and before sowing into new permanent pasture? We will assume we can keep it producing well for four years, then sow into new pasture which now has two years of very good summer feed quality (due to low browntop and other grass weeds, plus high nitrogen levels from four years of high legume content) and one year of

better than average before declining to the average for the farm.

After a period of six years that is needed to build up to the full benefit, this farm will now maintain an area of 35ha of high-quality summer feed; it will also have highly productive spring feed with better feed quality in late spring that will deliver improvements to ewe and lamb weaning weights.

The additional cost will be the annual sowing of 5ha of the plantain mix plus one or two paddocks needing a grass herbicide application. How would benefit versus costs stack up? If we assume fertiliser use and pest control is much the same for either option, the additional costs will be about $180/ha for seed plus $120/ha for drilling plus about $190/ha to spray out the grass which all up will be about $3400 a year for our 100ha farm.

The benefits? Based on farmer experience we would expect lamb

weaning liveweight (LW) to be 3kg heavier, ewes at least 2kg heavier and post-weaning lamb growth rates at least 50g/day higher. How would this be captured onfarm?

It is likely the ewes lambing on the 35ha will have a very high proportion of their lambs sold at weaning then other lambs come on to the block for finishing over summer and autumn.

If hoggets or lighter two-tooth ewes are lambed on the block it is likely their lifetime performance will be enhanced through better weaning weights. So calculating the benefits is potentially quite complex but as a rough estimate we would expect about 135kg/ha of additional LW gain through JanuaryMarch, about 60kg/ha additional lamb LW weaned and maybe a 5% boost to the flock lambing %. At a $5/kg schedule that will add up to about $19,500 per 100ha.

The revolution is that the farm has gone from 10% to 35% of its pastures being capable of lifting animal performance to a much higher level and putting more money in your pocket. It takes a mindset shift away from pastures having to contain a grass and towards a focus of producing more units of feed quality than quantity.

“He’s not the money provider guy. He’s the benchmark guy and the ‘what do you think of this’ guy.”

Justin King, Brookwood Station, Takapau

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BUSINESS | SUCCESSION

Called home to farm Nicholas Allen Business Torque Systems Tim Mudford is excited about moving into the family villa with his wife Lynnea and two kids. Now a fifth-generation Tararua farmer, Tim was called back to the farm after the unexpected loss of his father. It’s been a tough transition, but Tim is optimistic – a confidence he puts down to good governance practices.

Tim looks forward to the villa’s extra space: “We can entertain people easier.”

“And it has a dishwasher!” Lynnea added, laughing.

The young couple also admit to feeling nervous. “There are a few tricky things to work out,” Lynnea said. “In many ways, moving into this house is symbolic of us taking over the management of the farm.”

Tim’s parents, Pete and Angelina, had run the farm for years. That was until Pete was unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain tumour and died a few months later, in 2014.

With no clear succession plan, documented procedures, or established governance practices, the sudden transition was difficult. Nearly three years later, the family is beginning to get control of the business again.

Tim and Lynnea’s long-term goal is to move off the farm, allowing Tim to pursue his passion: engineering. However, they also want to continue overseeing the farm in a governance role.

“We are trying to move the business

FARM FACTS • Location: Woodville • Area: 192ha • Cows: 360 Friesian Cross, wintered off farm.

• Farm dairy: 36-aside herringbone • Production: 120,000kg milksolids (2015) • Staff: Tim and two full-time

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from something that had no formal processes into something that is quite simple – so anyone can manage it – and we can help with the governance,” Lynnea said.

Tim’s parents moved into the family villa when he was 12. The house is filled with memories. The couple said it’s easy to feel the pressure of filling the boots left

by Tim’s parents.

Pete was a capable DIY person. He even built his own dairy platform – and a few for neighbours. “It was a lot of fun, helping Dad with building projects,” Tim said.

With a clear sense of what he wanted to achieve, Pete never stood still.

“He was always looking for ways to expand the farm.” Lynnea said. “He had a momentum. If an opportunity came his way, he took it.”

Having grown up on the land, Pete was a natural farmer.

“Dad was very much an old-school farmer who did everything on intuition,” Lynnea said. “Farmers like that can look at the cows or the pastures and just know things. Pete had been farming since he was in nappies and he had that ability.”

“He farmed for the love of it,” Tim said.

“He just loved pottering around.”

The farm was set up as a partnership between Pete and Angelina. True to his intuitive style, Pete didn’t have any governance structures or practices in place. Policies and procedures were never documented.

Pete didn’t keep record of important KPIs like pasture or stock health. “He didn’t even have a budget,” Lynnea said.

Surprisingly, Pete’s approach, coupled with a natural entrepreneurship, seemed to work, Tim said. “The bank manager said he ran a really tight ship.”

Then tragedy struck unexpectedly. In September 2013, Tim’s brother David noticed that Pete was acting strangely.

David, a medical professional, was concerned and took his father to the hospital. A short time later, Pete was

To help out his mum, Tim Mudford has spent three years back on the family dairy farm getting his head around the operation.

diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

It quickly became obvious Pete was no longer able to manage the farm. The family had a meeting to figure out who would take over. Hesitant to bring in someone they didn’t know, Tim and Lynnea were the only choice.

Tim and Lynnea were living in Tauranga at the time. Tim trained as a software engineer and was working as a web developer. Neither had seriously considered a career in farming.

“I have said, ever since I was a little girl, that I would never marry a farmer,” Lynnea laughed.

Nevertheless, they wanted to support Tim’s mother and decided to move on to the farm.

“When this came up, we just knew it was the right thing to do,” Lynnea said.

“It all happened very quickly. We quit the job, packed up the house and off we went.”

The couple arrived on the farm a few weeks later, in November.

Tim spent time with Pete, trying to learn about the farm. Impaired by the brain tumour, Pete struggled to convey information. “He was too far gone,” Tim said.

It was a difficult time. “He was really trying to show Tim the ropes, but he couldn’t formulate the words and he couldn’t quite make sense of things in his own head,” Lynnea said.

“No one expects to be taken out of the game suddenly. If you don’t write it down and it’s all in your head and something happens, then no-one can take over.”

Compounding the difficulty, Pete’s employee of 13 years had decided to move on. Tim had two months to glean information from the farm labourer.

“I was trying to learn stuff, but there was so much work to do.”

The farm labourer left and Tim entered survival mode. “I thought, I just need to continue on and learn the rest. It was a huge learning curve.”

With the death of Pete, the business

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Tim Mudford is hoping to get back to his passion of engineering and software once he and his family can set up the governance structure for the farm.

achieve two things. First, the couple wants to support Angelina and govern the farm. Second, Tim wants to pursue his dream of running an innovative engineering business.

“We came here because we wanted to help [Tim’s mum],” Lynnea said, “but Tim’s real passion is in engineering and computers. Technology is what he loves.”

Originally, Tim and Lynnea were unsure how they were going to achieve these two goals. “We knew where we

needed to go, but had no idea how to get there,” Lynnea said.

After attending the DairyNZ Rural Development Governance Programme, the family have begun implementing proper governance practices. “It’s all heading in a good direction,” Tim said.

Confidence is one of the key outcomes from the DairyNZ course. Tim and Lynnea are confident governance will help them achieve both objectives.

Angelina now has confidence the farm is being run well.

Angelina’s confidence is seen in her decision to move out of the family home. Angelina works with refugees in Palmerston North and now has the freedom to pursue a life outside of the farm.

That’s why Tim and Lynnea are moving into the old villa. Despite the few remaining obstacles, they have every reason to be excited about their future.

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reverted to Angelina as a sole trader.

Overcome with the grief of loss, she was not in a position to run the farm. “It was really tough on her,” Lynnea said.

Unprepared, Angelina struggled to make the decisions needed to run the farm. When Pete was around, Angelina had handled the accounts, rather than the management of the farm.

“She couldn’t offer Tim a lot because she didn’t know things on the level of detail Tim needed,” Lynnea said.

Nevertheless, Tim’s goal remained to support his mother. Tim filled in the gaps through Primary ITO and DairyNZ courses, and through the help of a farm consultant.

“The farm consultant has been the most valuable thing,” Tim said. “He has journeyed through this with us. He has become a friend — he is more than just an adviser.”

Under the guidance of the consultant, Tim began to get a handle on the business. Learning to manage the farm and the science of pasture management has given Tim confidence. It has also enabled Angelina to step back.

Three years later, Tim reflects on some of the things he wished had been in place before Pete’s unexpected passing.

Tim wishes the farm had been set up as a company with a board of directors, before his father’s death. He believes a board of directors would have been an invaluable support to everyone during the transition. Sharing the responsibility for decision-making would have given Angelina the time to focus on her family and space to grieve.

Likewise, Tim believes a board would have provided the support he needed during this unexpected succession.

Making decisions with others could have provided the guidance Tim needed in mapping the farm’s strategies, policies and procedures.

At the very least, Tim wishes there was a documented set of values, a purpose or vision, by which to run the farm.

Documented policies and procedures would have helped as he took over management of the farm.

Farm statistics and figures are another thing Tim wishes he had.

“Some recordings of anything would have been good,” Tim said. “Then we would’ve had something to benchmark our progress against.”

With the help of their farm consultant, the couple are making progress. Their goal is to build the farm to a point where it can run itself.

“Our roles will change,” Tim said. “We are hoping to leave the management role and step into a governance role on the board of directors.”

Tim and Lynnea’s plan to step into a governance role will enable them to

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

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BUSINESS | GOVERNANCE

Trust or company?

Anne Hardie More than 50% of farms in New Zealand are owned by discretionary trusts. Rural law specialist Ian Blackman expects there will be an increase in court cases because those trusts are often not correctly managed.

The BlackmanSpargo partner wrote the book Keeping Farming in the Family, A Guide to Succession Planning. He says he wrote it after dealing with cases of poor planning in the farming sector, and says one of the things that goes wrong is the people who set up the trust lose control.

He likened setting up a trust and then failing to administer it properly to leaving all the gates open on the farm.

The idea is right; the execution is not.

Normally the owners set up the trust as a vehicle for their estate plan. At that time they should include a memorandum of wishes, which is where they can clearly state their wishes for their assets, Ian says.

It’s important to use the memorandum of wishes as a guide for the trust, he says, which means the family needs to be in control of making those decisions. While he recommends trustees seek advice from

professionals, he says those professionals shouldn’t be included as appointors. In his firm, lawyers are only included as appointors in rare cases when the usual options are not available.

“You want to be able to make a decision as a family without giving the professional that power,” he says.

It’s also important the husband and wife, or whoever is setting up the trust, have a will as part of their estate and succession plan. Farming families should start early, he says, to ensure succession that caters for the parents financially and emotionally as well as treating the nonsucceeding family members fairly.

His preference is a limited liability company owned by a discretionary trust.

That structure allows the parents to sell shares of the farm to the succeeding child over several decades. This makes it affordable for the succeeding child as well as looking after the parents and providing for fair distributions to the non-succeeding children.

“Any attempt by a farmer to use a trust as the succession vehicle is, in most cases, destined to fail,” he says.

“The transfer of shares in a company

Rural law specialist Ian Blackman says farming families often lose control of trusts.

that owns the farming assets to the successor, over time, is clearly the best way.”

The process is achieved over decades and requires a plan and a commitment by the owner and the successor, he says.

“A lot of advisors in succession planning say ‘let’s (the whole family) get around the table and talk about it,’ but that is tantamount to saying ‘we need your permission’. The point at which parents ask for permission is the point at which they lose the plot.”

Instead, Ian recommends parents use advice from their accountant and lawyer, and input from the succeeding child, before putting together a plan they can put to the non-succeeding children.

This doesn’t mean the children should be entirely excluded from the process.

Ideally the family should have been talking informally about the succession plan from an early age so they all understand the process and the reasons for the decisions made, he says.

“It’s never too early to put the legal structures in place and talk to all the children about succession when they are young.”

When plans don’t go to plan Arnold Kelly thought he had worked out a good succession plan for the Maruia dairy farm he had bought from family.

He was one of three boys, who each bought a block of land from their parents.

By his mid-20s Arnold had bought most of the land from his brothers and leased the rest, so today the business milks 950 cows on 400-hectare milking platform with 300ha of runoff and bush.

While he followed a career in the police force, including being Ashburton area commander, he had managers and then sharemilkers to run the farm.

Right at the beginning, he set up a trust to protect the property for succession, well aware of the dangers of relationship property. It proved fruitless and when his marriage disintegrated, the rights of relationship property and years of lawyers’ fees eventually carved 70% off the equity. That was despite the trust agreement having a statement of intent

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with strategic goals that clearly outlined the desire for beneficiaries who put the work into the business to benefit the most from the trust. It was intended to enable children who showed an interest in farming to continue the business for future generations, rather than carving the business up for cash handouts.

He says his experience is a warning to others who are trying to keep businesses intact for succession, although he admits the experience hasn’t revealed a reliable alternative.

“I think there’s a place for trusts, but it needs to be future-proofed. It needs to be clearly spelled out that ownership is not with any of the trustees. I did courses on succession and thought I’d done my homework. But you get engrossed in your business and forget the big picture.”

It took six years to resolve the dispute.

Although an arbitrator was appointed by the Canterbury Law Society and there

was a three-day Arnold Kelly. hearing, Kelly says the goals of the trust were ignored and there was a lack of understanding of the farming business.

He is now updating the family trust and this time he plans to name an independent arbitrator. The trust deed will also include a timeframe to resolve any financial debate, and will clearly state the goals of the trust must be taken into account.

“There needs to be a clause to say the parameters of the Arbitration Act will be used and there should be a definite timeline put in place for resolution so lawyers don’t drag it out for their own personal benefit.”

He advises anyone contemplating setting up a trust to seek plenty of advice from experts and other farming families, to try to cover all bases in case a relationship or family dispute arises.

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FLIPPING SOILS Making most of old gold country

VELVET HEALTH

Chinese raise ranking P32

DEER | WEST COAST

Gavin Cederman in a flipped paddock where weaners are finished.

Flipped pakihi produces the goods Developing a South Island West Coast deer farm out of swamp, rushes and gorse is a long slow process as Anne Hardie recently discovered.

S

heep and cattle have proven to be useful tools for improving pasture on Landcorp’s Cape Foulwind farm, a deer operation that finishes progeny from 2800 Red breeding hinds.

Gavin Cederman manages the sprawling West Coast farm on the aptly named cape where not just wind, but rainfall adding up to 3.5 metres a year hammers the poor-draining pakihi soils.

It leaves it swampy and sour, growing just two tonnes of pasture a hectare between the gorse and rushes that cover the rolling country.

This was once rich gold-mining country, with mine shafts from that era still hidden below its surface.

Despite the challenges of the soil, developing chunks of this land enables the farm to finish all weaners well. It has been named in the top three places for Silver Fern Farms’ Plate to Pasture Awards

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for the northern South Island in the past two years.

Weaners are rotationally grazed on the 450 hectares of flipped land where diggers turned over about a metre of soil to break through the impervious layer of the pakihi and bring the sandy or stony soils to the surface. A patience game followed flipping as bugs and weeds thrived in the disturbed soils, but eventually the humus built up again and problems receded so today it grows about eight tonnes of pasture a hectare in mostly clover, rye and some plantain.

Another 400ha has been semideveloped by spraying and burning the brush, gorse and moss, then flying on cheap ryegrass, clover, plantain and lotus major by helicopter to get pasture established.

At the beginning, it has a pH as low as 4.2 and it initially takes four tonnes of lime a year to lift it enough to grow pasture rather than rushes, then

CAPE FOULWIND

dropping to one tonne a hectare as pH starts to improve. Beyond the flipped and semi-developed land lies the bulk of the farm in all its glory of gorse, rushes, moss, browntop and a smattering of other grasses where the 2800 breeding hinds graze most the year.

In the Cape’s climate, the gorse and rushes become valuable cover for fawns sheltering from the weather. It’s only when the fawns begin to grow and both mum and fawn need better grass that they move to the semi-developed paddocks where they graze through to weaning.

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Famine to feast Deer can be fussy eaters leaving seed heads and weeds.

And when the grass growth takes off in spring, the better paddocks on Cape Foulwind go from producing 5-6kg drymatter (DM)/day to 30-40kg DM/day.

Gavin says that’s when the cattle prove worthwhile. They include 250 Angus breeding cows with all progeny finished and more cattle bought in each year to manage growth as well as work the semi-developed country to improve the pasture for deer.

This year the operation bought in 600 R2s in a mix of bulls, steers and heifers as a short-term filler with the aim of sending them to the works in February and March – in time for the hinds and fawns to move into those paddocks.

While the cattle improve pasture, sheep bought in each year with lambs at foot control weeds such as ragwort that the deer won’t touch and this year 280 ewes

Semi-developed country Parex Ad Jan 2017.pdf on Cape Foulwind.

1 1/02/2017 12:36:07 p.m.

A lighter-weight weaner mob on a flipped paddock.

with 500 lambs are doing the job.

“I don’t plan to make much out of them but they’re doing a good job for us because the ragwort in the sandy soils just takes off.

“You need the cattle component for seed head, so we mainly use them as a tool.”

The objective is to finish the weaner deer well and as pasture improves, so are their weights. The entire weaner mob is close to achieving the June 1 target weight of 70kg liveweight (LW) compared with 50kg in the past and by October the top 10% are ready for the chilled venison market. Sending them off early depends on price, though, and with the fixed prices this season Gavin kept

more weaners on the farm while there was plenty of feed.Through the chilled period, yearlings leave the farm averaging 92kg LW and achieving between 50 and 53kg carcaseweight (CW). Gavin’s goal is to lift this to 55kg CW by feeding the fawns better on mum to increase weaning weights.

Gavin says the hinds are on marginal pasture, so they have to get them on to better pasture earlier. The cows are getting the paddocks ready for the hinds and then the cattle will come along behind the deer as well to tidy the pasture up because the semi-developed country is too rough and soft to get a mower over.

Fawning on the undeveloped country kicks in about November 15 and the fawns are tagged and drenched in February, then weaned pre-rutting to allow time to get the hinds in good condition for mating. At weaning, the youngsters are given copper bullets and split into mobs of about 300 that are grazed on flipped paddocks with a quick rotation. From weaning until they leave the property, or until maturity for replacements, the weaners are drenched every four to five weeks, when they are also weighed to assess whether they are on track to meet target weights.

At the beginning of June, the weaning

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mobs are drafted according to sex and weight, with mobs reduced to 200 animals and 50% of the lower-weight weaners then graze on rape crops behind wire, while the better weaners head to paddocks of autumn-saved grass.

DEVELOPMENT POWERS GAINS Last year was the first time the farm grew the rape cultivar, Titan, and Gavin says it performed well on the wetter areas, producing 8t DM/ha as well as being a cheap crop to put in the ground.

Weaners are introduced to the crop over two to three weeks and then given breaks catering for five to seven days as the staff of three – plus a full-time fencer and general hand – don’t have the time to move the breaks every day. By the time the weaners go to the next break, they have taken the rape crop from 4000kg DM/ha down to 1800kg DM/ha.

“The paddocks are huge with some of the fences 400m, so you don’t want to move those every day.”

Gavin says it is easier to give the deer a block and let them take the leaf out, then put the cattle in behind to take the stalk down.

Progeny from the beef cattle do that job, with both weaner deer and cattle fed a bit of balage to top them up, provide more fibre and make sure the crops last a bit longer. In the past two years, 50ha of crop has been sown for winter which also enables the farm to buy in younger cattle at lower prices and carry them through winter, rather than buying them postwinter when the price is higher.

Weaner deer wintered on grass graze 50ha that was locked up from the beginning of March to achieve a cover of 3800kg DM/ha by the end of May. Gavin has them graze it down to 1800 residuals, allowing the paddocks behind them time to recover and build up cover again.

Post-crop, paddocks are sown with 15kg/ha ryegrass, 3kg/ha mixed clovers and 2kg/ha plantain to get the quality of pasture to finish the deer. And the deer are thriving on it. Meanwhile, the hinds have to forage among the rushes, moss and gorse for their tucker and still achieve good reproduction, with 88% of first-calvers and 94% mixed-age hinds in calf. When they are scanned in June/July, any late calvers are sent to the works so

Transforming the landscape Landcorp began flipping swampy pakihi soils on its Cape Foulwind farms about 15 years ago and continued it for about four years, transforming the landscape into productive dairy farms and the deer unit now capable of finishing stock well.

The practice has been widely used around the West Coast since local Cape Foulwind farmers, Fred and Alex King, had a go at digging the land over with good results.

For the first few years following flipping, the dramatically disturbed soils can become an ideal breeding ground for bugs such as porina and manuka beetle, but eventually it builds up humus, the bug numbers dwindle and it starts growing pasture on a firm base.

“We’re getting enough topsoil that the bugs don’t like it so much and as the organic layer builds up there’s less spraying for bugs – we only spray 20% of the flipped country now.”

In summer, the flipped land on Landcorp’s Cape Foulwind farm is in danger of drying out too much now – a week of wind without rain and the pasture disappears – but in a rainfall ranging between 2.7m and 3.5m spread through the year, there’s usually enough moisture to keep it growing.

Today the flipped ground produces at least 8t DM/ha and each year it gets better, compared to the 2t DM/ha on unflipped ground.

Gavin has just started to crop some of the flipped paddocks by lightly cultivating it to smooth out the bumps and hollows created from flipping so they can use a mower to top pasture if necessary.

the herd finishes fawning before January.

The undeveloped paddocks haven’t been fertilised in about 15 years.

“It’s native grasses, browntop and couch, so it’s very cheap.

“It gets nothing and lives off nothing and still pumps out fairly good fawns.”

Gavin says the focus is now about getting enough semi-developed ground to get the hinds on it earlier and they are still developing it. About 85ha has been sprayed out to burn this year.

“We’ll probably get to 500ha of land semi-developed to give us what we need.”

Paddocks of semi-developed land are locked up in April for the hinds in mobs of 300 to 400 to move on to it from the beginning of June when it has about 4000kg DM cover. Paddocks of about

20ha get split into four breaks to cater for about a month, with each break grazed down to 1800kg DM/ha residual.

“It seems to work pretty well as long as you change the breaks at the right time and if you’re an hour late they know.”

Gavin says by the time they come back to that area it’s back to 2800kg DM/ha again and it’s paid off ten-fold because they haven’t touched the 380t of pit silage. They don’t have to worry about bouncing tractors around and making a mess.

“You go out there and they’re not pacing the paddocks because they’re full and content.”

When they go back to the undeveloped paddocks in October, they’ve got some grass.”

Weaners on flipped ground.

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the benefits of

potassium

are clear.

Optimise your clover growth for high quality feed.

Potassium is an essential nutrient for maximising clover growth, which provides a higher quality feed for your animals. We can help you make sure you’re getting the right amount of potassium for your farm – ask your Ballance Nutrient Specialist today.

Call 0800 222 090 to find out more or go to ballance.co.nz/potassium

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DEER | SALES

Crowning glories A three-year-old with an exceptional trophy head went for an exceptional price during the December and January deer sale season.

The Red stag from the Crowley family’s Tower Farms in Cambridge sold for $138,000, the highest price paid in many years, PGG stud deer co-ordinator Graham Kinsman said.

The next-best price of $80,000 went to Netherdale Deer in Southland for a stag with an outstanding traditional velvet head.

“It was an excellent velvet animal and its genetics will be used by the buyers to enhance overall velvet production,” Kinsman said.

Noticeable this season were two distinct buying streams. In the past there had been a tendency for buyers to seek out dual-purpose type trophy antler and velvet sires, but

Buyers were looking for trophy antler or velvet sires, not dual-purpose animals.

now buyers were looking for one or the other.

“It’s probably reflective of land use changes and the move away from smallsized operations to larger-scale farms in the foothills. It’s changed what buyers are looking for and they’re now prepared to look further afield to get what they want.”

They had also stepped up their base line expectations.

“Now any three-year-old that’s not cutting 7kgs doesn’t get a look in.”

The rise of syndicate buyers was also

evident and had pushed prices up, especially for velvet stags. In Southland, generally regarded as a velvet-breeding stronghold, there was almost a total clearance of the deer offered.

According to PGGWrightson deer sale price averages for the 411 Red stags sold ranged from $1900 to $15,283.

At the five elk/wapiti sales the top price of $18,500 went to Tikana Wapiti, Winton. Price averages ranged from $2800 to $7437 for the 144 sold.

lyndagray@xtra.co.nz

Few issues raised in Chinese velvet audit Lynda Gray Velvet processors and farmers can expect a tightening up in some areas following a recent audit by a Chinese delegation.

Initial feedback from the week-long Primary Industries Ministry-hosted visit in November last year was generally positive, Dan Coup, pictured, DINZ CEO said.

“There are a few things we’ll have to tighten up on but overall we see it (the audit) as a positive thing with China now treating velvet as a serious pharmaceutical product.”

Velvet had been classified as an agricultural by-product, which had created difficulties in trying to encourage its uptake by Asian pharmaceutical and healthy food product manufacturers.

But changing velvet’s status to the pharmaceutical category would boost its integrity and hopefully use, he said.

One of the feedback points to DINZ

32

from the audit team, via MPI, was their surprise at the absence of government control and hands-on involvement along the velvet harvest and processing chain. The red meat sector had inspectors and vets within processing facilities but there was no comparable personnel in the velvet chain.

Another point raised was the need for traceability so any issues with a particular delivery of velvet could be traced to the point of origin.

“We do have traceability systems but they’ll need to be tightened by processors and exporters.”

Temperature control of velvet along the supply chain was the other area needing some attention. Chinese regulations require velvet to be deep frozen to at least minus 15C. Coup said the numbers around the freezing temperature of velvet had perhaps not been communicated clearly

enough, and minus 15-18C was the acceptable range.

“We’ll be suggesting to farmers that if they have old freezers, now might be a good time to upgrade them.”

The velvet audit followed China’s move to introduce new rules to improve the integrity and safety of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) market. New Zealand velvet is a key ingredient in many TCM preparations and, as far as Coup is aware, is one of the first velvet suppliers to be audited. The exercise was not a traditional box-ticking type audit but more a fact finding “snap shot” visit to find out how the NZ industry works and the general regulations and procedures in place. As well as being briefed by MPI and other government agencies on the certification criteria for exported velvet, the delegation visited three farms to observe velveting, and some processer and exporter facilities.

Coup said the goal was to have the necessary changes in place by the start of the next velvet season.

Country-Wide March 2017

DEER | ELK AND WAPITI

t n e p s l l e w y e n Mo

Sisters Anna and Pip Ewing, and Charlie with grandson Harry, 3.

the farm, while the B mob go to elk and wapiti bulls and graze the western blocks.

Most of the hybrid progeny is offloaded before winter to Canterbury under an arrangement with Mountain River Processors.

A minimal number of weaners are kept over the 100-120 days of winter.

“It’s a big job to keep our young stock going and if we have a lot of weaners it’s a big winter.”

The steep country is deer fenced up to about 1532 metres although the hinds spend most of their time in the topdressed country that reaches up to 850m.

Given the hinds’ steep home terrain there’s minimal handling. Twice-yearly mustering for weaning and scanning is generally straightforward thanks to two helicopters borrowed from the Ewings’

Aspiring Helicopters business. On a good day a muster takes less than two hours.

“We wait until we have calm conditions. If we try to fight the elements things can get awkward. ” The Ewings, who have farmed Cattle Flat since the early 1970s, diversified into deer 20 years ago after a long and ongoing battle with footrot in the halfbred flock.

“It took us a while to trade out of sheep and generate the cash to get into deer. We never envisaged going as far as we have.”

In addition to the deer, 1000 cattle are run, some of which are finished and some supplied to Five Star. Sheep still feature, but halfbreds have been replaced with Romdales and the flock downsized to 2500 ewes plus replacements.

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Last year’s decision to buy in 200 tonnes of barley for pre-mating feeding of young hinds was money well spent, Charlie Ewing of Cattle Flat station says.

“We have had three to four dry years and last year we knew we had to feed barley to fill the gap. In my opinion the venison market was going to strengthen so it was important to get as many fawns on the ground.”

The move paid off with a pleasing conception rate, he said at a farm visit included in the Elk & Wapiti Society’s 30th Anniversary celebration.

Charlie, along with daughter Pip, run 6000 breeding hinds on the north and east-facing steep hill slopes reaching into Southland’s Harris Mountains.

It’s stunning and grand-scale farming country that stretches from the broad river flats of the west Matukituki valley to the mountain tops that neighbour the Treble Cone ski field. There’s little scope for sweating the details in such an extensive environment so management is kept simple and low cost. One example of the simple approach was at pre-rut weaning where the hinds were returned to the same block afterwards to help them settle as quickly as possible.

Another example was the home-brew copper sulphate and AgSalt mix fed adlib to hinds three to four times a year. A similar mix was fed to the cattle.

“It certainly does the trick.”

A and B hind mobs are run and mated in groups of about 200. The A mob goes to Red stags and graze the eastern side of

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33

LIVESTOCK | HILL COUNTRY

The cashflow farmer

In a demanding farming environment, Rob Kirk has had to adopt unorthodox strategies to keep his bank manager happy. Russell Priest reports.

Photos by Graeme Brown.

Rob Kirk with some of his multiplesuckled, early weaned calves.

N

ot that Rob is by nature your usual run-of-the-mill farmer anyway.

In a previous life when he milked 700 dairy cows in a less-extreme environment, he mated beef bulls (mainly Simmentals) to most of his herd, including the 15-month heifers. All the progeny were reared to about 100kg and sold as weaners for good money.

Herd replacements were sourced mainly from Taranaki in the form of an entire or part herd. None were reared on the dairy farm. Using this system Rob maintained he was financially $100,000 better off than if he reared his own replacements!

Rob has always believed in the existence of positive synergies between the dairy and beef industries and was Beef+Lamb New Zealand’s advocate on this topic for several years. It was no surprise therefore that when he decided to exit the dairy industry and buy a 600-hectare sheep and beef farm (Te Ohu Station) he would continue with this crusade.

Complex best describes the nature of the Kirks’ business. The complexity is partly brought about because of Rob’s inherent analytical nature and his

34

preparedness to investigate and adopt new opportunities.

Enterprise selection is based on taking advantage of the special features of the farm and its environment. These include its long, cold winters, its reliable summer rainfall, its beautifully structured, freedraining soils and its infrastructure.

Angus stud cows and R2 stud Simmental heifers.

Main points

• Ex-dairy, now running beef and sheep • Complex business focused on cashflow • Hand rears calves and uses cows to foster calves • Grows the weaner calves, finishes cattle and lambs • Contract-grazing weaner dairy heifers

Country-Wide March 2017

Dairy-beefing up the farm The reliable summer rainfall ensures a plentiful supply of feed over the December-May period lending itself to growing and finishing lambs and cattle.

The Kirks have taken advantage of this summer-safe environment by contractgrazing weaner dairy heifers as well as growing weaner calves multiple-suckled on Te Ohu or hand-reared on the Kirks’ Ashhurst farm.

Rob has drawn on his calf hand-rearing experience to rear about 800 weaners in the spring of 2016.

“I love the stockmanship challenge of rearing calves and after 40 years of experience I believe I know a thing or two about the subject,” Rob said.

“It’s hard yaka and I work from dawn to dusk and beyond some days but I get a lot of personal satisfaction from rearing calves.”

This year’s 1150 weaner calves are mainly Friesian bulls but 200 FriesianHereford bulls and heifers have also been reared. Four-day-old calves have been sourced mainly from local dairy farmers at an average price of $170 however some have been bought at four-day-old calf auctions.

One of the strengths of the Kirks’ calfrearing business is its flexibility. Weaned calves can be grown out to heavier weights and sold in the autumn if the 100kg weaner market is weak. However the Kirks’ cashflow dictates the numbers that can be carried through.

Nearly all the calves are hand-reared on the Ashhurst farm using a nonautomated, capital-extensive rearing The Kirks’ hunting hut in the Ruahine Ranges affords magnificent views of the Manawatu.

KEY STATS • Kirks’ Home: 36ha block at Ashhurst near Palmerston North.

• Te Ohu Station: • Where: 70km northwest of Palmerston North.

• Owners: Rob and Adele Kirk and family.

• Operations manager: Steven King.

• Area: 600ha (480ha effective).

• Elevation: 600-1000m asl.

• Annual rainfall: 1500mm.

• Annual snowfalls: 9.

• Contour: Rolling to steep.

• Soil-types: Volcanic overlaying sedimentary.

The Kirks’ second son Jarrod (on the left) and Te Ohu station operations manager Steve King vaccinating calves.

system. All milk is hand-mixed and the 1-2 tonnes-a-day of meal fed is handled in 30kg bags.

Windfall timber from Te Ohu was used to build the large rearing shed erected in three days by Rob, his brother-in-law

POHANGINA VALLEY

Country-Wide March 2017

35

and three friends. It features 16 bays each accommodating 12 calves fed once a day on milk and with access to clean water, hay and bentonite clay. Rob is an avid fan of the latter as a feed supplement and also of hydrated lime as a disinfectant.

“Bentonite is full of minerals, acts as an antioxidant and binds the calves up,” Rob said.

“Calves have a massive craving for it.

Newly arrived four-day-old calves make a beeline for it when they come off the truck.”

Diseases (rotovirus and cryptosporidium) are a constant challenge in the rearing shed and Rob maintains hydrated lime is the best disinfectant available to counter these and it costs very little.

Not only does it disinfect but it also dries up excrement left by the previous batch of calves and reduces the incidence of navel infection.

Rob does not advocate taking scouring calves completely off milk. Calves receive electrolyte for their first day of treatment along with 0.75 litres of milk and then return to their normal feeding regime.

He ran a trial identifying the worst blood-scouring calves within a group and followed their progress through to weaning.

Some of these calves were the first to reach 100kg within their group in spite of them being in the rearing shed longer than they should have been.

Rob maintains calf losses are a function of the number of calves reared in relation to the size of the rearing facility – the higher the stocking rate, the higher the losses. In an average year he would expect to lose less than 5%.

Rearing costs a calf vary between $120 and $180 depending upon the length of the rearing period.

Each calf consumes on average 90kg of meal and 0.7 of a bag of milk powder during the rearing process.

Angus stud cows and R2 stud Simmental heifers are mated to Angus bulls.

Most of Te Ohu is medium hill country.

Rearing gospel

Mainly Friesian bull calves were reared, however there were also some Friesian-Herefords.

36

Rob is a long-time disciple of Northland vet Basil Schouten and his 10 “demandments” for calf rearing.

These are: • A healthy herd.

• Early colostrum intake.

• Good housing.

• Early disease detection.

• Disease treatment protocols.

• Good quality electrolytes.

• Sodium bentonite use.

• Good quality meal/pellets.

• Good clean pasture.

• Good staff.

Country-Wide March 2017

The Kirks specialise in producing easy-calving Simmental bulls.

Wet-nursing the calves Trading export dairy heifers is another enterprise the Kirks have dabbled in since exiting dairying. This can be a risky business as Rob discovered a couple of years ago when he was left with 110 Friesian heifers with export credentials when the market collapsed.

His immediate thoughts turned to other opportunities this hiccup could create – the downturn in dairying meant there was little enthusiasm for these animals at the time.

With the beef market being very buoyant Rob decided to mate the Friesian heifers to easy-calving Angus bulls from the Camerons’ stud and foster additional calves on to them. Twenty carryover cows

which had not been sold the previous year were also multiple-suckled. These cows ended up rearing three batches of calves each (up to nine calves each) while the Friesian heifers reared between two and three calves each.

“It beats the performance of a traditional hill-country beef cow,” Rob said.

“These heifers weaned their own bodyweight by Christmas.”

Te Ohu is well set-up for fostering calves with its 180 paddocks and large haybarn where the initial fostering took place. Jason Hawkins, from Kimbolton, was largely responsible for this and for general animal welfare.

“Fostering calves is a relatively straight forward process,” Rob said.

“There were very few cows that would not accept foster calves.”

After birth the calf is removed from its mother and penned under cover with two foster calves. Calf feeding occurs twice a day for four or five days when the cow is brought in from the paddock and introduced to the calves. The cow together with her three calves is then placed in a small paddock and monitored to ensure all calves are feeding. Generally seven cows at a time go through the fostering process achieving a success rate of about 90%.

Once multiple-suckled and hand-reared calves transferred from the Ashhurst farm attain a sale value of $700 they will be sold to help fund the carryover cow purchases. Rob believes this will occur between May and July.

As was the case with hand-reared calves, rotovirus and cryptosporidium were the main fostering challenge. In an endeavour to mitigate these health issues next year Rob intends to foster older hand-reared calves (four-to-five weeks old) on to the cows. He believes this will significantly improve the survival rate.

A more positive outlook for dairying has prompted an increased demand for in-milk cows.

“Well-marked 120kg Friesian heifers are making $700-$850 at the moment whereas they struggled to make this as yearlings 12 months ago.

“I believe a lot of dairy farmers are sick of being in an austerity mode and want to start driving their business again and are prepared to spend.”

Rob took the opportunity in November to sell 50 of the heifers rearing calves to a dairy farmer which meant an early weaning (65kg weight) for the calves, a transition to meal and a substantial injection of cash into the Kirks’ business.

With so many cattle involved in their largely trading business cashflow for the Kirks is an ever-present challenge.

The Kirks run a small Simmental stud herd.

Country-Wide March 2017

37

Lambs are finished on chicory, clover and Moata pastures.

Soils suit wintering With its free-draining, well-structured soil and its ability to grow good root crops and a surplus of feed over the summer Te Ohu is ideally suited to wintering carryover cows from the dairy industry.

For a number of years the Kirks have bought large numbers of empty dairy cows in the autumn (March/April/May) and sold them a year later (February/ March) to dairy farmers as autumn calvers.

“If you don’t like bookwork or are not familiar with the LIC’s MINDA programme farming carryover cows and export dairy heifers is not for you,” Rob said.

Cows are generally bought accompanied by a “passport” with a three-generation pedigree and a breedingworth index. Immediately they arrive at Te Ohu they are put to work grooming the pastures which have often “got away” during the spring/summer growth spurt.

Winter arrives early in this part of the world prompting transitioning of the cows on to supplements. Favourable spring/summer growth enables heavy crops of fodder beet to be grown which is break-fed in situ behind a hot wire and supplemented with self-fed stack

silage. As an innovation Rob is going to try supplementing the cows’ diet with bentonite clay this year in an endeavour to stop them scouring.

Three-generation pedigree dairy bulls with high-performance genetics are naturally mated to the cows. Bulls are run with the more Friesian-type cows from June 10 and the more Jersey types from October 20.

In addition to his dairy and dairy beef-oriented interests Rob finds time to indulge in breeding a small number of Simmental and Angus bulls for his own use and to sell to dairy farmers.

A small flock of 600 mixed-age Highlander ewes and 200 in-lamb Highlander ewe hoggets are also carried mainly for ragwort control and generate about 1200 lambs. All but 200 of these are killed at an average weight of 17.5kg.

A small number of trading lambs are also farmed if Rob can see a reasonable margin in them.

The Kirks’ 600ha Te Ohu station was once part of a much larger station which occupied a large tract across the Ruahine Ranges to Norsewood on the eastern side.

From the very early days of settlement stock were regularly driven from one side

Spring-sown, direct-drilled chicory, clover and Moata pastures are used to grow lambs and weaners.

38

to the other. The station is now confined to the western side and borders Ruahine Forest Park at an altitude of about 1000 metres.

The higher country is very steep, subalpine and is grazed sparingly.

Deer are seen in abundance and were once trapped for sale to farmers. Today they are hunted by the Kirks and others who enjoy the hospitality of a small recreational hut airlifted into the ranges in sections. Views over the northern Manawatu and beyond on a fine day are to die for.

Te Ohu Station was bought by the Kirks

Stock wintered :

• 300-400 carryover cows.

• 50-60 Angus and Simmental stud cows and replacements.

• 25 stud R1 bulls.

• 120 R1 Friesian bulls.

• 600 Highlander breeding ewes.

• 200 in-lamb Highlander ewe hoggets.

Stock at January 24: • 602 beef and dairy-beef weaners.

• 92 dairy weaners.

• 337 weaner grazers (dairy heifers and Friesian bulls).

• 82 R2 dairy heifers.

• 47 R2 dairy heifer grazers.

• 39 nurse cows.

• 115 R2 Angus trading heifers.

• 37 Angus and Simmental stud cows.

• 10 R2 stud beef heifers.

• 13 R2 Simmental bulls.

• 7 service bulls.

• 590 MA breeding ewes.

• 180 two tooth ewes.

• 192 replacement ewe lambs.

• 865 home-bred finishing lambs.

• 6 breeding rams.

Cropping: • 12ha fodderbeet.

• 29ha mix of chicory, red and white clover, Moata.

• 300 bales of balage sold.

Country-Wide March 2017

Most of the soils on Te Ohu are volcanic ash overlaying much older sedimentaries.

from Rick and Rachel Pettigrew in 2005.

The Pettigrew family had farmed it since the 1920s.

While the hub of the Kirks’ farming business is at the top of the Pohangina Valley, about 70km north-east of Palmerston North, Rob and wife Adele live on a 36-hectare former dairy farm at Ashhurst where Rob has a calfrearing facility and does some cropping.

Operations manager Steve King runs the main farm using casual labour when necessary.

“We could employ two additional labour units and still have things to do,” Rob said when asked about employees.

Of the station’s 600ha, only 480ha is effective. Much of the ineffective area is covered in native bush and streams.

In conjunction with Horizons Regional Council the Kirks have developed a farm plan and are fencing off a lot of the bush and streams and planting poplars and willows on unstable areas.

Contour on the main part of the farm, which is divided into 180 paddocks, could be best described as flat/rolling to medium/steep. Annual average rainfall at the house at 600m is 1500mm. Snow is a frequent annual visitor with two or three falls interfering with daily management and another six falls of little consequence.

The beautifully structured Dannevirke silt loam soils interspersed with varying sizes of rocks are of volcanic origin and provide an overlay to the much older sedimentary soils.

High phosphate retention (97-100%) is a feature of the former soils so it is of great satisfaction to Rob that he has been able to elevate the Olsen phosphate levels into the mid-20s. Sulphur levels are more than satisfactory while soil PH is 6.2 on limed areas and 5.6 on unlimed.

In clover: Rob Kirk in some of the 29ha of chicory, red and white clover on the farm

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LIVESTOCK | HILL COUNTRY Weaner calves are reared on milk powder and pellets.

concern in downsizing. They had moved from a business farming 3500 stock units to one running 1200 and had paid more for the new farm than they received from the old. Making the new farm debt free was possible only because of the contribution of the 2300su that were surplus to requirements.

Ruth is in no doubt they made the correct decision. The move has invigorated them both as well as making it easier for her on the farm. She applauds Jim’s initiative to move.

Downsizing reignites enthusiasm Russell Priest Photos Graeme Brown At the ages of 53 and 57 respectively Ruth and Jim Rainey made the difficult decision to leave their beloved Kawhatau Valley hill-country farm for easier pastures 11km down the valley.

Ruth recalls vividly being told by a farming acquaintance that when you reach the age of 50 on a young man’s farm you start looking for options and you take the next best one.

This comment was based on his belief that at the age of 50 your motivation levels are still high and you feel you can

40

still do everything however after 50 the energy and enthusiasm drops off quite quickly.

“Ours was a young man’s farm,” Ruth said. “I wasn’t ready to move because I liked where we lived among the hills and in a house with a magnificent view however Jim was ready to go.”

They got wind of a 138-hectare easycontoured farm coming on the market further down the valley and in a flash, before it came to the attention of real estate agents, Jim was knocking at the vendors’ door successfully negotiating a contract.

Financial viability was their main

‘It’s a pity more farmers don’t get involved in some form of equity or share-farming arrangement enabling them to ease themselves out more gradually.’

Jim became a part-time fishing guide about 20 years ago when they were farming the hill-country block and was often away from the farm from dawn to dusk and sometimes overnight.

This meant Ruth’s workload on the farm increased which she didn’t mind, however her body was telling her she wasn’t getting any younger. The farm work hasn’t disappeared on the new block but it’s on a smaller scale so is more manageable.

Ruth believes farmers and particularly sheep and beef farmers find it difficult to make the decision to exit their farms so they become entrenched.

“They are apprehensive about what they are going to do when they leave,” Ruth said.

“It’s a pity more farmers don’t get involved in some form of equity or sharefarming arrangement enabling them to ease themselves out more gradually.”

Country-Wide March 2017

Key facts

Farming in an inspirational environment The main entrance to the Kawhatau Valley is near Mangaweka and across the Rangitikei River about 23km south of Taihape and 82km north north-west of Palmerston North. Dominated by spectacularly sheer white cliffs of mainly compacted mudstone and sandstone created over millions of years by the Rangitikei River as it winds its way from its source in the Kaimanawa Ranges to the sea, the area is one of the country’s bestkept secrets. This breath-taking scenery has been savoured by the Raineys for 25 years and while their physical address may have changed slightly in the last almost five years the aura of the area has not.

The Raineys’ move from their 3500su, 350ha hill-country farm occurred on March 1, 2012, and there have been few regrets. Their business was a relatively traditional hill-country operation running 2200 Highlander ewes docking

between 140-150%, producing store lambs and replacement ewe hoggets.

The cattle enterprise involved 70 Friesian-Hereford breeding cows mated to a Maine Anjou bull with the progeny being sold as weaners. Four-day-old herd replacement females (20-30) from the dairy industry were hand-reared. Calving was comparatively labour-intensive with cows being inspected twice a day and mothering-on of calves practiced if needed.

Breath-taking scenery abounds in the Kawhatau Valley.

JIM AND RUTH RAINEY: • Have farmed in the Kawhatau Valley for 25 years.

• Downsized from 350ha (3500su) to 138ha (1200su) about five years ago.

• Have few regrets – making the decision to move was the hardest part.

• Now farm in the lower end of the valley about 4km from Mangaweka.

• Ruth is heavily involved in local politics and community activities Business involves: • breeding and finishing home-bred and bought-in lambs • rearing and selling dairy-beef calves at 15 months • growing high-performance finishing crops Stock numbers and policies: • 750 Highlander ewes mated to Primera rams • 1000 homebred lambs finished • 1500 bought-in lambs finished • 70 mixed-sex calves reared and sold at 15 months • 150 replacement Highlander ewe hoggets bought Off-farm income: • Jim works part-time as a fishing guide • Share in a tourist lodge which Ruth manages • 25-year-old pine plantation (30ha) • Bach at Paraparaumu Cull ewes on Raineys’ flats with hills similar to what they previously farmed in the background.

Country-Wide March 2017

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Moving from the hills to the flats has worked well for the Raineys.

The new era Being in three separate blocks involving both the main trunk railway line and the Kawhatau Valley Road makes the Raineys’ new 138ha farm somewhat disjointed.

The majority of it is of flat contour however there is a 30ha hill block that is separated from the rest of the farm.

Originally consisting of one paddock, it has now been divided into four and is used as the hogget block.

“It’s quite convenient,” Ruth said.

“We can put the hoggets over there and more or less forget about them.”

The Raineys now operate a breeding/ finishing business. Where once their farm was too steep for cropping, Jim in particular relishes being able to grow

specialist finishing crops of plantain, white clover, chicory and lucerne. A small area of swedes is grown to feed the ewe flock during its last six weeks of pregnancy, while 8ha is leased to their second son Sam for a horticultural venture.

Driven by one of her many passions Ruth, with assistance from Jim, rears about 70 mixed-sex dairy cross calves – Angus, Hereford and Charolais crosses – each year on milk powder and pellets.

“The calves are about a week old when we buy them and they are excellent animals,” Ruth said.

“Being able to rear them in new covered yards this year has been a real luxury.”

Until this year the calves were wintered twice and finished as 2-2½-year-olds at 300kg carcaseweight. To avoid the expense of the second winter the decision was made this year to sell them as stores at 15 months, freeing up land to finish more lambs over the summer.

Highlander ewe hoggets (normally

High performance forages are an important component of the Raineys’ finishing enterprise.

A strong sense of social responsibility

Ruth Rainey tends to her roses in her impressive flower garden.

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Brought up on a dairy farm in a family of seven children by parents with a strong social conscience, Ruth Rainey upholds this strong ethos.

“My parents taught me that the more you put into a community the more you get back and it is so true,” Ruth said.

It is no surprise therefore that the name Ruth Rainey is well known in political and community circles in the Rangitikei/Manawatu/Wanganui area and beyond. She has boundless energy and likes to make things that benefit society happen.

The executive of Manawatu/Rangitikei Federated Farmers has been a beneficiary of her energy and expertise as has also the board of Presbyterian Support Central, Women in Farming and more recently the Rangitikei District Council.

Country-Wide March 2017

Diversification

A sample of Raineys’ cull ewes.

150) are bought from the Polsons, near Wanganui, annually and run on the hogget block before being mated as twotooths. None are mated as hoggets.

Primera rams are mated to the 750 Highlander ewes producing a docking percentage of around 140.

Weaning occurs at the end of November with 60-65% of the lambs going to the works off their mothers at an average weight of a little over 17kg. The remainder are finished on the specialist finishing crops as are another 1500 bought-in lambs. Lambs by terminal sires are preferred, being bought privately or through a stock agent at around 30kg liveweight. All finishing lambs are killed by the end of May.

Jim’s work as a part-time fishing guide is not the only means of supplementing the Raineys’ farming income. In 2001 they, in partnership with their fellow farming friends the Gorringes, established a business known as The Kawhatau Valley Walk.

For this the Raineys built a selfcontained house – The Green Trout – on their farm overlooking the Kawhatau River. The three-day walk covering about 42km passes through four farms with participants accommodated in converted shearers’ quarters and The Green Trout.

The walk is now more popular with cyclists and The Green Trout has broadened its client base to include fishermen, holiday-makers and weekenders. Meeting new people, many of whom have become close friends, has greatly enriched the Raineys’ lives.

When the decision was made to sell the hill country farm the Raineys decided they were not likely to be recompensed for The Green Trout so it was sectioned off with a view to selling it separately.

Some of Jim’s long-standing Australian fishing friends got wind of this and in order to avert the sale offered to buy into the business.

Today the Raineys are part-owners

Jim has been a parttime fishing guide for about 20 years.

of The Green Trout while Ruth has maintained her managerial and cleaning role. While it is not as convenient servicing the accommodation as it once was because it is now 11km up the road, Ruth still enjoys the interaction with the clients.

Establishing pine trees is not on the priority list for many hill-country farmers, however thanks to Jim’s parents the Raineys had the foresight 25 years ago to establish 30ha of pine forest at Himatangi which will provide a valuable income stream in the future.

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Geneticist Aimee Charteris, B+LNZ Genetics extension officer Max Tweedie and Horizon Farming’s Stuart Ellingham. The trio is part of the team behind the B+LNZ genetics sheep central progeny test on Horizon Farming’s Maraetotara block.

LIVESTOCK

Next generation genetics tested in Hawke’s Bay Horizon Farming’s Maraetotara block could be the United Nations of New Zealand sheep farming.

Lambs born on the Hawke’s Bay property this spring have sires from 11 different breeds. Horizon Farming has teamed up with Progressive Meats and Beef +Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Genetics to compare the performance of various terminal rams’ offspring under commercial farming conditions.

B+LNZ Genetics is shifting the focus of the central progeny test (CPT) to next generation sires, by testing progeny of up-and-coming rams selected on potential genetic merit, rather than relying on older sires with existing progeny.

The performance of each is being tracked by DNA and electronic identification (EID) for production and, ultimately, eating quality.

The resulting data will help increase the rate of genetic gain, allowing Progressive Meats to target more valuable animals with its farmer clients, help farmers choose the best terminal rams for their management system and provide breeders with direct feedback on their rams’ performance.

Horizon Farming’s managing director Stuart Ellingham says the joint venture reflects the shared values and philosophy of Horizon Farming, Progressive Meats and B+LNZ Genetics.

“None of us expect to get a different result by doing things the same way. The CPT is our chance to work together to show leadership,” Ellingham says.

“At the end of the day we’re not going to compete with chicken or pork (for productivity) – we need to have a focus on eating quality.

“This is a breakthrough, market-led approach. The real gravy will come when they have been processed and we have objective measurements and data.”

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The lambs are being monitored for growth rate, before being processed and measured for eating quality and yield through Progressive Meats’ grading system, including CT and, shortly, hyperspectral scanning technology. The results will feed into the SIL genetic evaluation model.

The terminal sires are Charallois, Il Defrance, White Dorper, Sufftex, Poll Dorset, Texel, South Down, Kelso Terminal, Focus Prime, Dorset Down, Anzco composites and sires that will provide links back to other CPT sites. The rams have been put across Maraetotara’s 1600 ewes.

The 400-hectare Maraetotara property is one of Horizon’s six Hawke’s Bay properties and is deemed ideal for this study. It is a terminal-only operation with the right number of ewes, good subdivision and infrastructure.

In addition to the 42 sires brought to the farm from terminal ram breeders around the country, 279 ewes were artificially inseminated to broaden the genetic linkages.

Ross Strong and Hayden Rees-Jones from Horizon Farming have managed the onfarm operation.

“When we were first approached we could see that getting that performance information could be a game-changer,” Hayden says.

“It’s not all about yield any more – we need to extend our thinking and that is what this is all about.

“It’s actually run really smoothly so far and I think that’s because everyone has realised how important this is. We all want to make it happen.”

One of the unexpected benefits has been the level of interest and engagement from the entire onfarm team.

“Aimee (geneticist Aimee Charteris) has had time for every individual person on site and everyone is getting a taste for it.

They can’t wait to learn more.”

Since 2002, the CPT has benchmarked New Zealand stud sheep flocks, delivering ram comparisons for meat production and maternal performance in relevant farm environments.

A review of the CPT in 2014 highlighted opportunities to help breeders and commercial farmers more easily identify genetics that would perform best in their environment, particularly hill country; increase the number and diversity of locations in which testing occurs; increase the number of rams tested and increase the connectedness of ram breeding flocks across the country to increase genetic gain.

B+LNZ Genetics general manager Graham Alder says the developments in the sheep CPT have been inspired by the positive experience of having commercial farms in the B+LNZ Genetics Beef Progeny Testing programme.

“Progeny testing can be improved and the speed of genetic gain increased by upping the numbers of rams tested on real-life commercial farming sites. This is an important part of our strategy for lifting the rate of genetic gain across the industry.”

Alder says technology is making an enormous difference.

“Even five years ago, extending central progeny testing to a commercial environment would have been a major challenge technology-wise. Developments in measuring and recording technology – by companies like Tru-Test and Gallagher, along with DNA parentage from Zoetis – allow us to run the programme in commercial flocks.”

The CPT is designed to provide vital genetic connections that broaden B+LNZ Genetics’ New Zealand genetic evaluation – the world’s largest across-flock, acrossbreed evaluation.

Traditionally, about 22 new rams were tested each year – 311 rams in total over 14 years, with lists published annually of the top 25 rams for each of several meat (terminal) and dual-purpose (maternal) production traits. Once fully implemented, the new CPT programme will increase the number of rams tested each year four-to-five fold.

Genetic merit is established by comparing how different rams’ offspring perform when lambs are run in identical circumstances.

It is likely the test will be expanded to include use of commercial carcase value from other meat companies.

Country-Wide March 2017

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LIVESTOCK | GENOMICS

The genetic taste test Anne Hughes Selecting on meat quality could be a reality for terminal sire breeders by this spring.

AgResearch senior scientist in the animal genomics group Shannon Clarke says a genomic test is being developed to predict which terminal sire rams are likely to produce offspring with betterquality meat.

Clarke says terminal sire breeders will be able to use genomic breeding values for meat quality to make gains on the heritable (and variable) traits of meat colour, marbling, pH and tenderness.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip genotyping can predict an animal’s eating quality through DNA testing at birth.

Prediction equations for the genotyping tool were developed by combining variants within the DNA with the known phenotype, using terminal sire progeny test flocks from Focus Genetics and AgResearch, and sires from Focus Genetics, Suftex and Kelso flocks.

Clarke says a low density version of the SNP chip will allow for earlier selection of terminal sire rams, most likely at a similar cost to the current price of parentage testing.

Ram lambs can be tested soon after birth, instead of having to wait for their traits to develop. To measure meat quality, it is the progeny of the ram that are measured.

“To get a phenotypic breeding value you need to wait for the animal to get older to observe the traits. Genotyping enables breeding values to be delivered prior to weaning, dependant on when DNA sampling has occurred,” Clarke says.

“It’s an early selection tool for meat quality, taking selection from a two-stage process to one. This one test will cover your parentage as well as a whole lot more.”

While the focus of this work has been on meat quality, the same test can be used for other traits breeders are selecting on.

Clarke says the SNP chip is now in the commercialisation phase and a test

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SNP chip testing is an early selection tool for meat quality.

provider needs to be found, but it should be available for use by spring 2017.

The project is one of six within the FarmIQ programme – a seven-year Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme, with industry funding of $65 million and $59 million from government. The industry partners are Silver Fern Farms and Landcorp.

‘It’s an early selection tool for meat quality, taking selection from a two-stage process to one. This one test will cover your parentage as well as a whole lot more.’

This PGP ends in June 2017. FarmIQ is working through how products or services created during the PGP will continue commercially.

Meanwhile, testing in the training flock is continuing to maintain accuracy and validation of the meat quality trait measurements.

The training flock includes sheep from Focus Genetics (FocusPrime and Texel), Kelso and Suftex breeders, who are working with AgResearch and Beef +Lamb New Zealand Genetics to ensure the enhanced parentage test for meat quality and other production traits is

implemented in the industry.

Breeding for meat colour, marbling, pH and tenderness could benefit farmers hugely if meat processors start paying a premium for meat quality, she says.

FarmIQ chief executive Collier Isaacs says the SNP chip will provide the next step for genetic improvement in sheep.

“FarmIQ is primarily interested in its application to improve sheep meat yield and quality, but the HD SNP chip, together with low density versions to enable low cost application, will also be used to improve on-farm production and disease resistance traits.”

Isaacs says the SNP chip is already being used as part of investigations into how genetics could be used to reduce sheep greenhouse gas emissions.

Genomic breeding values for meat quality will be more accurate for the terminal sire breeds used in the development of the SNP chip test.

At this stage, Clarke says the tool will likely be useful for breeds such as Suffolk and Poll Dorset, as well as the Texel and terminal sire breeds it was developed for, but not Southdown or Wiltshire.

She says the current testing group (Suftex, Kelso and Focus Genetics’ terminal sires) encompass half of all terminal sires produced in New Zealand.

The genomic calibration flock is designed around open composite terminal sires. Introduction of other breeds or composites could be possible in the future.

Country-Wide March 2017

LIVESTOCK | GENOMICS

CHIP TO SET THE STANDARDS Anne Hughes Manawatu ram breeder Stewart Morton is trialing SNP chip technology on some of this season’s ram lambs.

Paki-iti Farms planned to SNP chip test 100 Suffolk and Suftex terminal sire ram lambs for meat quality in January.

This will provide meat quality indices for sires before mating, helping with the stud’s own sire selection and providing additional data for buyers at ram selling time.

Paki-Iti Farms breeds Romney, Romtex, Suffolk and Suftex rams at Rangiwahia and Kimbolton.

Morton says new technology such as the SNP chip is important for the industry, but meat quality is only part of the picture.

“It will be important for some clients, but not for others and we have to recognise that in our breeding programme,” Morton says.

Lamb consumers need the best possible eating experiences, especially if lamb is going to shift from a commodity to a consistent high-end product.

However, the main drivers for commercial farmers, such as growth rates and high yield, can have a negative impact on taste and eating quality traits, Morton says.

‘We’ve lost sight of what a sheep has to do – it has to thrive and perform on hill country year after year.’

“There is a trade off, but the exciting thing about breeding is identifying those genetics that have the fast-growing traits, high meat yield and also have the best meat quality traits.

“That’s the challenge for breeders and the best way to do that is through the use of technology, such as the SNP chip.”

Whether or not such technology is going to help farmers earn more for lambs, Morton is unsure. Regardless of the financial rewards, he says meat

Country-Wide March 2017

Ram breeder Stewart Morton says technology can be a great tool to identify sought-after genetic traits, but the sheep industry can’t neglect the basics. Photo provided.

quality is something farmers will just have to strive for.

“Historically speaking it’s been very difficult to get a premium for the greater product.”

Development of the meat quality SNP chip was a FarmIQ project. FarmIQ is a primary growth partnership ending this year, which has received more than $50 million in Government funding.

Morton has no qualms about public money going toward such work, but he does worry the sheep breeding industry is losing sight of the basics.

“As more traits are added and performance is pushed by ram breeders, there are certain things that are being compromised around the basics of breeding, especially structural soundness traits such as feet.”

Morton says a Beef +Lamb New Zealand ram health and husbandry survey found the average culling rate of maternal ram sires is 25% and terminals 28%.

Of those, 30% were culled for feet problems.

He wants to see more research into identifying animals less susceptible to feet problems.

“We’ve lost sight of what a sheep has to do – it has to thrive and perform on hill country year after year.”

Other terminal sire breeders who spoke to Country-Wide, but did not want to be named, are not overly excited by the SNP chip technology.

One says breeders might be encouraged

to adopt SNP chip technology if their commercial farming clients start being rewarded for better tasting meat.

“If you’re getting rewarded for doing something farmers are very quick to do what the market requires.”

He says any tools to make selection easier are positive, but there are so many traits and qualities that breeders can test for and these tests are not cheap to carry out.

“We’re not being encouraged by the meat companies to produce better-eating quality meat.”

Another breeder says such technology means very little without added value at the processing end.

Such tools often end up being used for selling rather than selection.

“I have some very astute terminal ram farmers (as clients) and they are not interested until there is a visible payback on the kill sheet.”

FarmIQ chief executive Collier Isaacs says the benefits of using the SNP chip test will more than cover the costs.

“If the test gets out there cost effectively and breeders use it, the productivity gains over time will cover the investment,” Isaacs says.

The SNP chip can be used to test for all the other traits that breeders are selecting on, he says.

Isaacs believes lamb farmers will be paid for eating quality in the future, but says in the meantime the SNP chip test can save farmers time and money.

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LIVESTOCK | GENETICS

Screening the next generation GENE TALK

Sharl Liebergreen Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Genetics’ progeny testing model is proving popular with various communities of interest throughout the country.

There are now five next generation progeny test sites, with another in the pipeline.

The days of all progeny testing trials being performed only on research stations – in close proximity to scientists and research facilities – are gone.

Today, B+LNZ Genetics has only two hub sites, one in each island, forming the backbone of ram evaluation. The

Providing breeders’ flocks with linkage to other like-minded flocks – either at or via the progeny-testing sites – is a great reason to be involved. Linkage provides a way for new technology and recording traits or sires to be evaluated for further use in industry.

hub sites record the more-costly and novel performance traits, while the next generation sites concentrate on traits that are more immediately relevant to industry.

A new community of interest has formed around the trait, facial eczema, and a sixth next generation trial in the North Island looks likely. Facial eczema had devastating effects on many farms last year, with astronomically high spore counts affecting even the mosttolerant flocks. Spearheaded by a group of breeders who are already performancerecording for facial eczema, the highest

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priority at this point is identifying a farm site in time for mating this year.

Technology is the enabler for this progeny testing model. EID, automated drafting, genomics, DNA parentage and new software mean commercial farms are able to facilitate standard recording of important traits at high levels of accuracy. It also means research scientists and funds are more effectively deployed.

Genomics has had only moderate use at progeny testing sites, so far.

However, traits such as facial eczema are particularly well suited to the deployment of genomics. Used as a screening tool – to identify the right animals to be submitted to more costly or complicated parts of the trial – genomics can significantly reduce progeny testing costs.

The latest calibration of Sheep5K (the genomic tool for NZ sheep) can determine the facial eczema tolerance of a ram equivalent to having dosed 10 of his progeny with sporidesmin. Knowing this information up front significantly speeds genetic gain.

There is potential for the Facial Eczema Next Generation progeny test site to include other traits. For instance, internal parasites, pneumonia and dagginess traits could be trialled, alongside the facial eczema trait. Genomics will already be revealing the molecular potential for these traits for all trial-site rams, so extending the outcomes only requires a community of interest to come forward.

Of the 15 progeny test trial sites across B+LNZ Genetics’ beef and sheep research portfolio, 14 are on commercial farms.

The intent is to have commerciallyrelevant research, away from the laboratory benchtop or computer keyboard, while also demonstrating how new sheep and beef technology can be used by commercial farmers.

Building a bridge between research and the adoption of that research onfarm is an eternal challenge, but demonstration in commercial environments is gaining traction with farmers. Most breeders or breeding groups who submit rams to either the hub or next generation sites are invested and understand the value proposition of being involved.

Providing breeders’ flocks with linkage

Facial eczema had devastating effects on many farms last year, with astronomically high spore counts affecting even the most-tolerant flocks.

(connectedness) to other like-minded flocks – either at or via the progenytesting sites – is a great reason to be involved. Linkage provides a way for new technology and recording traits or sires to be evaluated for further use in industry.

All breeds and breeders are invited to express their interest in the progeny tests.

In 2016, rams from the following breeds were submitted: Charollais, composite, Coopworth, Corriedale, Dorper, Dorset Down, Finnish Landrace, FocusPrime, Growbulk, Highlander, Kelso Maternal, Kelso Terminal, Landmark, Perendale, Poll Dorset, Romney, South Suffolk, Suffolk, SufTex, TEFRom, Texel and Texel Suffolk.

Individual sire performance results are reported to each contributing breeder for use in their breeding programme. The progeny test information enables better future sire selection decisions, especially for traits that can otherwise be expensive to attain as individual breeders.

Early sire information includes growth and fleece data and, as the progeny test progresses, information which is more difficult to measure, such as maternal and carcase data.

Ultimately, it’s about getting all of this data into the SIL database for the generation of better, more-accurate breeding values and selection indices to benefit the whole industry.

Commercial farmers, in particular – who need to be identifying the best fit-for-purpose ram they can – should be taking advantage of the national progeny testing effort. Only then will the recent overhaul of B+LNZ Genetics’ progeny testing approach pay dividends for commercial farmers. These are exciting times.

• Sharl Liebergreen is B+LNZ Genetics technology and extension manager

Country-Wide March 2017

LIVESTOCK | ANIMAL HEALTH

Bleak outlook for coarse wool STOCK CHECK Trevor Cook The need for skills or capability changes constantly as technology or people’s needs change. There is not much place for photographic film developers now and I would not like to make a long-term investment in a company making music compact discs.

The same applies to anything to do with wool. Two factors operate in tandem to depress the opportunity for shearers.

The rapidly decreasing sheep population simply means there are fewer sheep to shear. At the same time the pathetic wool price is forcing sheep farmers to shear what sheep they have less and for breeders to select less and less for wool production.

Producing less wool makes it easier to shear less. In countries with crossbred sheep are any still selecting for wool production other than in New Zealand?

Everybody other than the consumers it seems can see what a great product crossbred wool is.

An ancient former television presenter promoting synthetic carpets as being special because they are made in NZ is galling to say the least, if not downright traitorous to those of us who see an industry collapsing despite it producing a quality product.

Is there an advantage for sheep to have a fleece? It seems sheep produce wool because they were selected to do so, not because they used wool as an adaption to living in the cold.

Country-Wide March 2017

Early sheep largely produced hair and it was when woollen fabric became a sought-after commodity that selection for wool began. That was thousands of years ago, which has left the world with woolly, haired, horned, polled, coloured, tailed, short-tailed and fat-tailed sheep.

So any production benefits of having wool are add-on’s because they were not part of the natural evolutionary path of the sheep.

If wool is the primary selection focus, there is likely to be a negative impact on prolificacy. Think of those years of selecting replacement ewe hoggets on nothing but their October fleece weight and what that was doing to the lambing percentage.

Think of those years of selecting replacement ewe hoggets on nothing but their October fleece weight and what that was doing to the lambing percentage.

Selecting on nothing but fleece weight increases susceptibility to internal parasites, so when thiabendazole came along in 1964 were the production responses really exaggerated because of the highly susceptible state of the sheep?

On the other hand shearing pregnant ewes in a window of 55 to 100 days of pregnancy increases the birth weight of their lambs.

This ought to increase lamb survival and any birthweight advantage is doubled by weaning. This is nothing to do with the evolution of sheep because

they are never going to lose their fleeces in winter unless shorn.

From a clinical point of view we see fewer multiple ewes with bearings if they are winter-shorn and we see fewer cast ewes in late pregnancy. In fact, fewer ewe losses altogether seems to be an outcome from pregnancy shearing. So is it economic to shear just to get these production gains? In flocks that lose a lot of ewes from these causes it probably is.

The pittance for the wool is very likely to tip the balance.

A huge amount of lamb shearing is done with an expectation of increasing lamb growth rates. There is no evidence it does this, but for warmer climes intuition says it must. Ease of shifting and less flystrike are reasons to shear anyway.

It is easy to spend way too much on managing wool without adding production value. Dagging, crutching and belly removals are done excessively in my opinion on many farms. Looking nice adds no value and it is too easy to be anthropomorphic in driving these interventions in ewes before mating and lambing. There is a cost, but where is the return?

The value of wool in the late 1950s in today’s money was about $65/kg. Farms and cars could be purchased with wool cheques. While there is no expectation that it could ever get back to near that, even about $10/kg would make a huge difference.

It seems we have given up on convincing the world what a great fibre coarse wool is in the quest to get better returns. The more lucrative market seems more likely to be in breaking wool down and using its components for all sorts of applications. That does not seem as exciting or fulfilling as putting woollen carpet throughout the White House, but who cares if it makes sheep more profitable.

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FORAGE | CHEMICAL TOPPING

BOOSTING hill pasture Energy made available to animals through forage drives performance. Sandra Taylor reports on a programme to use chemical topping to aid introduction of legumes into hill country grasses.

C

hemical topping is proving a cost-effective way of increasing the quality and quantity of pastures on uncultivable parts of Hamish and Annabel Craw’s Banks Peninsula farm.

The couple, who farm 422 hectares at Little Akaloa on the northern side of Banks Peninsula, have been trialling different chemical options to control poor quality native grasses and allow clovers to flourish and fix nitrogen (N).

While chemical topping is nothing new, they have been trialling new chemistry in conjunction with grazing management practices to build the legume content of the sward on their higher hill country. Effectively lifting the energy value – or ME (metabolisable energy) – of the pasture. This work is being carried out through Beef+Lamb New Zealand’s innovation farm programme.

Speaking at a recent innovation farm field day, Hamish says they are very aware that it is the energy made available to animals through forages that drives livestock performance and ultimately, the profitability of their business.

Several years ago they created a system using high ME legumes – namely lucerne and clovers – on their easy “point country” and it’s a system that is proving

very efficient. They are achieving average weaning-weights of 35kg from lambs off this country so are now shifting their focus to their middle hill country, knowing that improving the energy of the pasture would drive ewe lactation and pre-weaning growth rates in lambs grazing these areas.

“We weren’t satisfied with the legume content in our hill country pastures. They were dominated by poorer grass species and having seen the value of legumes on the easy country, we wanted to increase the quantity of legumes on our hill country,” Hamish says.

While mindful of the value of increasing the ME of their pastures, the couple also aim to lift the quantity of drymatter grown by three tonnes a hectare and believe this will be achieved by getting more legume-fixed nitrogen into the system.

Rather than just introducing new clovers, the couple wanted to promote the existing, naturalised clovers such as subterranean clover, by chemically removing competing, poor quality grass species and managing the legume to allow it to set-seed and regenerate.

Through the programme, the couple got the opportunity to work alongside scientists and agronomists to determine the best chemical options – including rates and timings – to control these

Short-term pain for long-term gain Hamish and Annabel admit that in a dry year when feed is short, spraying out pasture can be a difficult decision.

However, the long-term gains far outweigh this short-term pain. Having more clover in the system means more N is being fixed and this drives overall drymatter production.

Between 300 and 400kg of N is required to grow 12t/dm.

But quality is the most important factor and the total energy available in the sprayed treatment was 22,197 MJME compared to 13,658 MJME in the control area.

50

poor-quality grasses without harming the clover. In the first year of the three-year programme, the project team set up small trial sites and tested various chemical control options, specifically looking at a light chemical top, a heavy chemical top and grass eradication.

Grass eradication using Valiant (active ingredient haloxfop-p) emerged as the preferred option, so in year two, they continued with the plot trials looking at different rates of Valiant to determine the most cost-effective and effective grasscontrol option.

In year three, the chemical trial was upscaled to a hill country block and Valiant, applied at a rate of 500ml/ha, was used in conjunction with grazing management to allow existing clovers to proliferate.

In the first winter following a December spray, the Craws noticed a lot of clover in the ground and in the spring of 2015 had a clover-rich sward in the treatment area – exactly what they were aiming to achieve.

“Typically, in our environment, we start to lose pasture quality in November and December, now we are retaining that quality for longer and that is the key,” Hamish says.

At the start of the programme, legumes only made up 8% of the sward, by using Valiant they have pushed this to 30-40%, significantly increasing the ME. This success has given the couple confidence to carry on with the spray programme, although they admit that once they have sprayed the grasses out, the challenge will be to retain the clover at that 30-40% level. This is where grazing management comes in.

CHEMICALS VERSUS GRAZING While some hill country farmers are looking to build clover content in hill country by fine-tuning their grazing management to remove competing

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vegetation and allowing seed to set, the Craws have chosen to use chemicals to break down thatch that has built up over the years.

Unpalatable to stock, once that thatch is opened up and clover allowed to flourish, grazing management should be sufficient to keep the sward open and the clover content high.

With more N in the system, poorquality grasses become more palatable and this makes grazing management so much easier.

DRIVING PROFITABILITY As the energy content of the diet goes up so too does the profitability of the operation. Farm consultant Wayne Allen says higher-quality feed creates opportunities for growing and finishing stock – and this is becoming increasingly important on hill country farms.

Farmax models show an increase in pasture quality of just 0.5ME, would result in a 1.5kg increase in weaning weight, a 17% increase in lambing percentage and allow 50 more hoggets to be mated. On a 215ha hill country farm, this amounts to a financial benefit of $19,000. A 10% – or 5000kg DM/ ha – increase in N-driven drymatter production would allow 150 hoggets to be mated and progeny finished or 45 dairy cross trading cattle to be finished.

The combination of extra drymatter grown and improved pasture quality adds $43,000 to the bottom line.

This modelling is based on a 5000kg DM/ha increase in drymatter production, whereas the Craws are aiming to grow 3t/ ha more drymatter through their spray and management programme.

HILL COUNTRY HIGH PERFORMANCE The Craws run a high-performance hill country sheep and beef system, with their ewes consistently lambing about 150%.

Hamish Craw says they have identified the key drivers of profitability in their business as being their lambing percentage and weaning draft.

The lambing percentage is about getting the numbers on the ground and the weaning draft is about realising the genetic potential of their sheep and

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getting as many lambs away as early as possible on the higher early schedule.

This has a fly-wheel effect with more lambs off the property early in summer, feed can then be partitioned into capital stock so they are at optimum body condition going into mating which drives fertility.

Annabel says ME is the most critical factor in both lambing percentages and weaning weights, so like feeding high performance athletes, the focus is on providing high ME pasture species to maximise productivity.

For the Craws, who farm in a summer dry environment, this focus on feeding needs to happen in spring and early summer to make full use of available soil moisture.Wayne says for lambs to grow at 300g/day they need to be offered pastures of 1500kg DM/ha with an ME of 12.

As a rule of thumb, lambs growing at 300g/day are returning 35c/kg DM, compared to 29c/kg DM when they are growing at 200g/day or 22c/kg DM when they are growing at 100g/day.

High-ME forages such as clovers mean higher weaning weights, more lambs sold at the weaning draft and more feed available for other land-use options.

As their tenure as Beef + Lamb innovation farmers comes to an end, the Craws believe their hill country has more productive potential than they ever thought possible –“particularly in light of the pressure to finish stock on hill country”.

They say N is the key to unlocking this potential and the cheapest and most efficient way of getting N into a hill country system is by using legumes.

By using chemicals to control weed and poorer grass species, they allow existing, naturalised clovers to flourish and fix N improving pasture quality, quantity and palatability.

This autumn they intend broadcasting clover seed into pasture, although seeding rates are still being discussed.

Annabel says the clover will be inoculated to introduce fresh rhizobia with the aim of boosting N fixation.

Grazing management plays a big part in maximising the potential of the hill country and this includes removing stock in that critical summer period to

allow seed to set and careful grazing in autumn (preferably by cattle) to remove competing vegetation and allow the clover seedlings to come away so they are well established by late winter and spring.

In getting clover established, the couple stress the importance of breaking down thatch to expose bare ground.

Annabel says subterranean clover in particular needs bare ground to spread runners and stolons and peg down seed burrs while white clover needs room to root at the nodes. The strategic use of chemicals, combined with sound grazing management, means the Craws have clover-rich swards in spring to drive lactation, pre-weaning growth rates and ultimately grow more kilograms of lamb.

ME – WHAT IS IT? Livestock – like humans – need sufficient nutrients and energy to be supplied to the body to meet metabolic demands. These requirements are expressed as metabolisable energy or ME. The ME requirement for maintenance is the amount of ME that must be supplied to provide energy for essential body functions. If this energy is not supplied in the diet, it must be obtained by mobilising body tissue, predominately fat. ME requirements increase during pregnancy, lactation, growth, increased activity and during bad weather.

On hill country pastures, energy is typically the most limiting factor. Other nutrients such as protein, minerals and vitamins are usually present in adequate amounts – although protein is sometimes limited especially in poor quality, mature pastures. This energy deficiency may be exacerbated on hard hill country due to the energy costs incurred by increased grazing. Maintenance requirements on this type of country are higher compared to stock grazing easier country.

The addition of legumes into hill country pastures will lift the total ME of those pastures – providing more energy for stock performance – as well as fixing nitrogen.

Supplied by Beef +Lamb NZ

51

FORAGE | NITRATES

Leachate lessons accumulate Andrew Swallow The body of knowledge that will eventually feed into Overseer is growing rapidly, judging by a plethora of papers on nitrate and other nutrient losses presented at the New Zealand and Australian Soil Science Societies (NZASSS) conference in Queenstown.

Among the more striking for dryland farmers was Landcare Research’s work with cut-and-carry lucerne grown on 1.5-metre-deep lysimeters in the Taupo catchment. Jackie Aislabie, presenting on behalf of colleague Malcolm McLeod, said nitrate losses were little different to under ryegrass/clover managed in the same way, other than an initial spike due

Roshean Woods.

Lincoln PhD student Roshean Woods pours cow urine on to lysimeters as part of her forages for reduced nitrate leaching trial.

to cultivation which lucerne’s slower establishment didn’t mop up as effectively.

Aislabie said the work, which is ongoing with 24 similar-scale lysimeters, had resulted in Waikato Regional Council cutting the figure it allocated for losses from cut-and-carry lucerne in the catchment from 19kgN/ ha/year to 5kgN/ha.

“So cut-and-carry lucerne’s now some use in this [nutrient capped] catchment.”

Meanwhile AgResearch’s Emma Bagley presented research investigating how size and shape of urine patches influenced nitrate leaching, suggesting the protocol currently used in Overseer possibly overestimated losses. While she found size of urine patch did matter, shape – in Bagley’s work a square versus a rectangle – didn’t.

“There’s a strong industry interest in extending the trial to look at sheep urine patches [and] what the drivers are for lower N losses under sheep grazing,” she said.

Whether data for meat-and-wool flocks can be transferred across to those in the emerging ovine dairy industry is under investigation by Agresearch’s Natalie Watkins, among others.

Watkins commented that it’s often assumed ovine dairy will have a lower nitrate loss than bovine, but the data’s not available to support that statement yet.

Meanwhile, AgResearch

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colleague Diana Selbie presented research showing a net immobilisation of nitrogen in cow urine patches for 40-50 days after their creation on volcanic Waikato soils under dairy pasture for eight or 13 years.

However, there was no immobilisation where such soils had been under dairy pasture for 25 years. The eight and 13year pasture data supports Overseer’s assumption that 20-30% of urine N is immobilised by soil, but Overseer would underestimate losses from longer-term dairy pasture on such soil.

‘There’s a strong industry interest in extending the trial to look at sheep urine patches [and] what the drivers are for lower n losses under sheep grazing.’

“There are more questions around this than answers. It appears [these soils] behave quite differently,” she told the conference.

Several other papers looked at how nutrient loads following winter grazing of forage crops could be mopped up, such as work with oats or Italian ryegrass sown after kale, presented by Lincoln University’s Peter Carey. Oats reduced nitrate leaching 25% more than Italian

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Data showed nitrate and phosphate loads in the Manawatu River were significantly lower than those predicted by Overseer.

ryegrass, but the difference was largely due to better cool season establishment and growth reducing drainage compared to Italian ryegrass.

“This is the other part of the equation,” he said, highlighting the two-fold benefit of oats: increasing nitrogen recovery and reducing drainage at a critical time.

Meanwhile, work on Lincoln University’s Dairy Research Farm as part of the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching work suggests pasture species selection could slash nitrate losses.

Simulated grazing and urine application on lysimeters planted with an Italian ryegrass, plantain and white clover mix, or perennial ryegrass with white clover, saw 45% less nitrogen lost under the plantain/Italian mix thanks to its greater winter activity.

When lower urinary nitrogen content of cows grazing the mix – the equivalent of 508kgN/ha in a urine patch compared to 700kgN/ha in urine from cows on traditional ryegrass/clover mixes – was included, the reduction was 67%.

Presenting the data, Roshean Woods said there was little difference in dry matter yield between the forages, though second year data from the trial was still being analysed.

Losses under lucerne in the FRNL work at Lincoln, due to lucerne’s lack of winter activity, were nearly double those under perennial ryegrass/white clover, but it was noted in discussion that lucerne roots would, once established, extend well below the 70cm depth of the lysimeters used in the trial.

As such they should be able to retrieve nitrogen from greater depth and create a greater soil moisture deficit so the soil would take longer to wet and reach leaching point in winter.

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Overseer outputs not river inputs The figures Overseer generates for nutrient losses should not be read as the level of nutrients entering lakes and rivers, research relayed at the recent conference of the New Zealand and Australian Soil Science Societies (NZASSS) shows.

However, as some delegates and presenters noted, unfortunately this is often the way the numbers the nutrient management model produces are interpreted in mainstream media and even by some regional council staff.

Much of the disparity isn’t because of Overseer’s limitations, which are well documented and gradually being addressed, but because there are processes happening that reduce the leachate or run-off nutrient load beyond the 60cm soil profile which Overseer models.

“With nitrogen Overseer only models what leaves the root zone,” Massey University’s Lucy Burkitt commented during one of the discussion sessions.

“We know we’re getting nitrate attenuation in the sub-surface soil environment.”

Denitrification of that nitrate into nitrous gases in the subsoil was one probable reason why only about half of what was leached from the root zone in trials on Massey’s Tuapaka hill farm reached the stream, she said.

Phosphate loss was more complex, but again, levels recorded in streams did not equate to losses from the root zone.

“Perhaps we’re seeing some in-stream processing of P,” she said.

Massey colleague Ahmed Elwan, who

had presented data showing nitrate and phosphate loads in the Manawatu River were significantly lower than those predicted by Overseer, added to the discussion, saying previous work showed 30 to 75% of nitrate lost from the root zone never reached rivers.

However, predicting how much of that leached nitrogen would attenuate was complex and land use, soil type, and underlying rock all needed to be taken into account, something a model Massey has developed but as yet not published, could do, he said.

Ranvir Singh, a co-author on Burkitt’s paper, later echoed the importance of understanding nutrient behaviour across catchments so that high nutrient loss land-uses might be targeted where soil type and rock combinations provide high nutrient attenuation, and avoided where attenuation is low.

“It’s very, very important we understand these catchments to gain the productivity and reduce the environmental [impact],” he said.

For example, in Rangitikei, land is strongly reducing (denitrifying) so there would be minimal environmental gain from reducing nitrogen loss from farms there, he added.

“Could we map our whole country into different nitrogen use classes?

There’s an example of this being done in Denmark.”

Management of water use, and water courses, might also be tweaked to enhance attenuation processes and reduce nutrient levels reaching environmentally sensitive areas, he said.

53

ARABLE | PRECISION FARMING

Grower power comes from up high Reliable images from mini-satellites puts real-time information in the hands of farmers. Andrew Swallow reports.

S

atellite yield prediction was once the realm of superpower governments and multinational companies.

Today it’s within reach of regular farmers, a Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) and Potatoes New Zealand field day in South Canterbury was told last month.

Guest speaker Jim Wilson, a Scottish farmer and founder of precision farming specialist SoilEssentials, relayed how such technologies have raced ahead since the early days of yield maps in the 1990s when nobody knew what to do with them.

Companies such as California’s Planet

British R&D mission

Jim Wilson was in New Zealand as part of a five-person British Foreign and Commonwealth Office research and development mission.

Besides speaking at the FAR field day, he was presenting at the Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre’s annual workshop at Massey University, as were his fellow missionaries who did not attend the FAR day. The group also visited Massey, Lincoln and Auckland Universities, concluding with the third New Zealand UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Conference in Auckland, on February 13-14.

Since his first speaking visit to NZ, in 2000, Wilson said NZ’s research and commercial organisations have largely caught up with the UK and Europe’s and were now, in some cases, world-leading, though farm adoption of precision techniques was possibly still lagging a little.

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Labs now sell high resolution, near realtime imagery of crops for an increasing area of the world thanks to a flock of cheap – of the order of US$20,000-each – coke-bottle-sized satellites.

“For agriculture we want reliable images available all the time but traditional satellites would only come over once every 10 to 14 days and if it was cloudy – and sometimes it is in Scotland – you’d have to wait another two weeks for a picture,” Wilson said.

Consequently satellite imagery hadn’t been much help agronomically until now but daily pictures such as Planet Labs’, made possible by having more than 100 of their mini-satellites in orbit already and more planned, could change that.

Meanwhile the European Space Agency’s Sentinel one satellite constellation, a pair of bigger, more traditional vehicles, has overcome the cloud problem using synthetic aperture radar – better known as SAR – to gather images regardless of weather or daylight.

KEY POINTS

Precision pointers: • Yield maps a good start – ensure harvesters calibrated correctly.

• pH variability a quick fix with big rewards.

• P & K correction another possible solution.

• Quick payback on guidance systems.

• Within-paddock seed rate tweaks profitable, particularly in potatoes.

• Improved returns with remote sensing still a challenge.

Wilson said such images, integrated with drone footage from 50m above the crop, could drive yield models that would predict output and prevent “nasty surprises”.

Such improved knowledge would enable farmers to contract more, or less, of their crop with confidence ahead of harvest.

“It puts the power back in the farmers’ hands, and not necessarily in the hands of the multinational [crop merchant or processor] or government.”

Satellite images with drone footage from 50m above a crop, could drive yield models.

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Biofumigant response lacking so far

Scottish farmer and precision farming specialist Jim Wilson at the FAR and Potatoes New Zealand field day last month.

In potatoes, the data’s even more useful. A log of canopy size and ground cover over every square centimetre of paddock throughout the growing season can feed models predicting yield and tuber sizing, enabling better timing of burn-down dates. In some cases paddocks are sprayed off progressively in patches several weeks apart.

“We can extract an extra 10 to 15% value out of a potato crop for no more inputs by getting more of the crop in the high-value size bands.”

Remote identification of pest and disease outbreaks and even off-types in seed crops, are other potential uses of the rapid improvements in UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and satellite imagery becoming available, he added.

Meanwhile, technologies such as GPSguided auto-steer, commercially available for more than a decade now, had been a huge step forward. Even in wheat, the time, labour and fuel saved on 200ha by avoiding the 5% overlap typical of non-guided operations would pay for an autosteer unit within a season. In potatoes, with more intensive cultivation and a higher-value crop, the rewards were even greater.

But correcting soil fertility, or in extreme cases, simply not sowing unproductive areas, was Wilson’s starting point for precision farming.

Yield mapping revealed wheat ranged from 2 tonnes a hectare to 10t/ha in some paddocks and even in apparently uniform areas there was still substantial variation. Intensive soil sampling found pH accounted for 40-50% of the low-yield patches on his farm. A one-off variable rate lime application eliminated the problem.

Then they looked at phosphate (P) and potash (K), finding high levels in low-yielding areas due to historic overapplication relative to yield, but low levels in the high-yielding areas due to crop off-take regularly exceeding fertiliser input. Now fields are zoned for P and K application rates.

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Incorporation of biofumigant winter cover crops mustard and radish has made little difference to rhizoctonia stem canker or spongospora (powdery scab) in a FAR and Potatoes New Zealand trial in South Canterbury.

By January 16, rhizoctonia incidence and severity on underground stems was high and similar after all pre-crop regimes – fallow, or incorporated mustard, radish or oat cover crops. Seed was formalin-treated but no in-furrow treatments were used.

Despite the formalin treatment, seed-sourced rhizoctonia appears to account for about half the stem infection and was probably causing direct loss of developing tubers through constriction or severing of stolons, FAR’s Jen Linton said.

Plant and Food Research’s Sarah Sinton also said it was clear the spongospora infection came from seed, as opposed to soil, as root galls were “in a ring around the seed tuber.”

The trial is part of a three-year cropping history, soil physical quality and soilborne disease project with Sustainable Farming Fund backing. FAR chief executive Nick Pyke said a Lincoln University PhD student is investigating the compounds released from biofumigant crops, the concentrations required to get a disease control response, and consequent amount of biomass that would need to be incorporated for them to work.

“If it’s 10% wet weight then that’s a hell of a lot we’re going to need to incorporate to get a response.”

Biofumigant crops are a hot research topic worldwide as alternatives to conventional pesticides for soil-borne pathogens are sought.

SoilEssential’s recommendation is to test four samples per hectare for pH, because it can be so variable across a paddock, has a big influence on yield and it’s cheap to test. Meanwhile they sample and test P and K every 2-4ha.

“It’s a more-expensive sample test and does not have as big an effect on the crop if it is too high or too low. We try to target where we think the variability may be.”

Often that’s associated with old field boundaries and history such as stock camps, as well as yield difference due to soil type, aspect and slope.

Electro-magnetic (EM) mapping of soil texture is used to inform seed rate variation, higher rates being used on heavier soils due to lower establishment percentages. Slope aspect is also taken into account when setting seed rates as yields on north faces – the equivalent of south faces in the southern hemisphere – are typically 10% below those on flat ground or south faces, all other things being equal.

In potatoes, Wilson zones paddocks according to yield potential, planting about 20% further apart than the average within row spacing in low-yielding areas, and 20% closer than the average in high yielding areas.

“We change the seed rate to keep the output size distribution in the target band.”

Getting the calibration right With yield maps the entry point for most farmers to precision farming, Wilson stressed the importance of collecting reliable raw data, spending the time to set-up yield monitors correctly at

the start of harvesting each crop.

“You’ve spent a whole year growing them. It’s a real shame not to get the calibration right.”

With reliable data, companies such as his could then analyse it, building year-on-year maps by paddock and/or crop that lead to better management decisions.

“It can be amazing what a large percentage of a paddock is actually unprofitable to grow on. The quickest way to raise the average yield of the farm is to take the poorest yielding areas out [of production].”

Maize tweak adds $200/ha margin Reducing maize seed rates in routinely low-yielding areas of paddocks has boosted gross margin $200/ha, FAR’s Allister Holmes told the South Canterbury field day. The trials were part of FAR’s Transforming Variability to Profitability Sustainable Farming Fund two-year project which has been running since 2015 and has just been extended to three years.

“That’s a pretty positive start,” Holmes said.

Analysis of two potato paddocks in the project, one North Island, one South Island, found yield ranged from below 40t/ha to over 70t/ha within the 14ha South Island paddock. Closely associated with that was profit which ranged from over $10,000/ha off 5% of the paddock, to a loss off 4% of the paddock.

Autumn barley, the third crop included in the project, had just been harvested and the yet-to-be-analysed data looked “interesting”, Holmes said.

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PLANT & MACHINERY | ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES

Tokomaru dairy and deer farmer Alistair White found he and others who fill the number 4 or 5 jersey could not get into, nor sit comfortably in some models. This Polaris suited him well, but has since been replaced by a Can-Am Defender HD10 DPS.

Which side-by-side?

M

any farmers have voted with their wallets and decided a side-byside is a worthwhile investment. Their choice is usually guided by past experience and the influence of sales staff, as there appears to be little independent objective information on specific models. With 13 models available from Kawasaki alone, there’s a lot to take in. By running through a check list of requirements and features, suitable models can be shortlisted.

THE CHECKLIST • Passengers: Side-by-sides have from two to six seats and with many farming families including young children, three-seaters are popular.

• Deck capacity: Deck carrying capacities range from 180 to 550kg.

The tipping mechanism may be manual, hydraulic or electric. Gear commonly carried on the deck includes sprayers, calves and fencing gear.

• Towing capacity: Towing capacities range from 450 to 950kg. Terrain

and track conditions must always be factored in and erring on the conservative side is advised. Calfaterias, feed trailers, calf trailers, sprayers, K-line pods, harrows and farm trailers are among the items often towed.

• Engine: In general, petrol vehicles will be cheaper to buy, with lower engine repair bills. Diesels generally have more torque, are more dependable, have better resale value and run on cheaper fuel.

• Dimensions: Smaller models fit on most single cab ute decks, while the bigger models need to be trailered between farms. Smaller models are generally more manoeuvrable too.

• Safety: Much has been made of the safety of side-by-sides compared to quads. A significant effort has been made to make these vehicles as safe as possible, as evident by the range of safety features as standard or optional extras. All come with rollover protection. Seat belts are standard and must be worn to make these vehicles safer than a quad. Seat belt interlocks mean that without seat

belts coupled the speed is governed to around 20km/h. Different “speed keys” allow different maximum speeds, so inexperienced or even gung-ho drivers are limited to reasonable speeds. Side curtains are fitted to some models to contain the driver and passengers within the vehicle in the event of a roll over. Down-hill braking systems to prevent the dangerous freewheeling associated with continuous variable transmission (CVT) should be a must. Some models rely on pressure being applied to both brake and accelerator pedals simultaneously when descending hills to prevent freewheeling. While this technique is reasonably easily mastered, a more secure braking system is recommended.

Most dealers will fit an orange flashing light where road work is anticipated.

• Cabin space and accessibility: Both space in the cabin, and driver configuration vary, with some models being very constrained for bigger people. Access should be unimpeded because the driver may be often getting in and out for gates.

Tokomaru dairy and deer farmer Alistair White bought his first side-byside, a Polaris 800, some years ago. In shopping around for a suitable machine, he found the limitation of some models was their layout. On a number of machines he couldn’t fit his 190cm frame into comfortably. They were not easy to get in and out of, the side retaining bars dug into his hips, or the ergonomics were just not right. In some models there was just not enough room for his size 13 gumboots to operate the pedals comfortably. The Polaris was retired and replaced six months ago by a Can Am Defender HD10 DPS 1000.

• Off-road ability: If a high degree of off road capability is important, then a good start would be to check the following: – Two or four-wheel-drive: And whether 4WD is engaged manually or automatically.

– Front and rear diffs: Limited slip, or manual or automatic diff locks improve off-road ability, especially in slippery conditions.

– Suspension: Long-travel independent suspension with coil springs over shock

›› Continues after table p58

With 13 models from Kawasaki alone, there’s plenty to choose from. Finding the best model from the 15 plus brands on the New Zealand market takes a bit of research.

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Country-Wide March 2017

Table 1: Summary of supplied mechanical details and summary of carrying capacity and price data.

Seating

Deck Capacity (kg)

Towing Capacity (kg)

RRP $ + GST

CVT, Descent control,Hi/Lo range, Selectable 2/4WD, Auto locking front Diff.

3

454

907.2

16,564

Petrol; 799.9cc; Rotax V twin; EFI

CVT, Descent control, Hi/Lo range, Selectable 2/4WD, Auto locking front Diff, Power Steering.

3

454

907.2

19,434

CFMOTO U550 EPS

Petrol; 495cc; Single cylinder, 4 valve, SOHC.

CVT drive, Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock.

2

230

550

12,000

CFMOTO U800 EPS

Petrol; 800cc; V Twin, 4 stroke.

CVT drive, Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock.

2

230

550

14,500

Cub Cadet Challenger 500

Petrol; 471cc; Single cylinder; Hisun; EFI

CVT drive, Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock, Active downhill braking

2

160

545

13,912

Cub Cadet Challenger 700

Petrol; 686cc; Single cylinder; Hisun EFI.

CVT drive, Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock, Active downhill braking

2

160

545

15,651

Honda Pioneer 500

Petrol; 475cc; Single cylinder; PGM-FI Honda

Automatic, Electric shift, 5 Speed (1st is LOW) CW Rev, Selectable 2 & 4WD

2

180kg

453

17,386

Honda Pioneer 700 2P

Petrol; 675cc; Single cyclinder; PGM-Fi Honda

Automotive style, hydraulic torque converter, 3 forward gears, 2WD/4WD/4WD with front diff lock

2

454kg

680

21,734

Intimidator Diesel 4x4

Diesel; 1000cc; Kohler

CVT, 3 ratios. Final drive shaft driven. Electronic 4WD selection.

3

540

950

24,950

Intimidator Petrol 4x4

Petrol; 750cc; Kohler Fuel Injected

CVT, 3 ratios. Final drive shaft driven. Electronic 4WD selection.

3

540

950

21,950

John Deere X590

Petrol; 586cc; 32hp; John Deere.

CVT. Inertial clutch fully enclosed. Hi/Lo range. Selectable 2wd/4wd.

2

181

500

16, 263

John Deere XUV855D

Diesel; 854cc; 23hp; Yanmar.

CVT. Inertial clutch fully enclosed. Hi/Lo range. Selectable 2wd/4wd.

2 or 3

454

680

21,913

Kawasaki Mule SX XC (Big Foot)

Petrol; 401 cc; Single cylinder OHV; Kawasaki.

CVT, Forward/Reverse, Hi/Lo Range, Selectable 2WD/4WD, Dual Mode Rear Diff.

2

181

500

13,909

Kawasaki Mule Pro-FX

Petrol; 812 cc; 3-cylinder DOHC; Chery.

CVT, Forward/Reverse, Hi/Lo Range, Selectable 2WD/4WD, Dual Mode Rear Diff.

3

453

907

22,604

Kioti Mechron 2200

Diesel; 1007cc; 3 Cylinder; 22hp; Kioti.

CVT. Hi/Low range. Selectable 2WD/4WD and diff Lock

3

500

590

19,990

Kubota RTV400Ci

Petrol; 404cc; Single cylinder; Subaru EFI.

CVT with inertial clutch. Hi / Lo range.

Selectable 2WD / 4WD.

2

200

500

16,500

Kubota RTVX900 GP

Diesel; 898cc; 3 cylinder; Kubota.

Variable hydro Transmission. (VHT-X); Hi, Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD.

2

755

590

24,990

Kymco UXV 450i

Petrol; 443cc; Single cylinder; Kymco; 33hp EFI

CVT. Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock, Active downhill braking

2

200

550

14,339

Kymco UXV 700 LE EPS

Petrol; 695cc; Single cylinder; Kymco; 45hp EFI

CVT. Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock, Active downhill braking

2

190

550

17,382

Mahindra mPACT 750s

Petrol; 750cc; V Twin OHV; Kohler EFI.

CVT. Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD

3

545

950

19,991

Mahindra mPACT 1000s

Diesel; 1000cc; 3 cylinder OHV; Kohler EFI.

CVT. Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD.

3

544

950

24,991

Massey Ferguson MF500

Petrol; 471cc; Single cylinder; Hisun EFI.

CVT drive, Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock, Active downhill braking.

2

160

545

13,912

Massey Ferguson MF700

Petrol; 686cc; Single cylinder; Hisun EFI.

CVT drive, Hi / Lo range. Selectable 2WD / 4WD / Diff Lock, Active downhill braking.

2

160

545

15,651

Polaris Ranger 500 NEW MODEL

Petrol; 499cc; Single cylinder; EFI

CVT. Hi/Lo Turf Mode/2wd/4wd.

2

226

680

12,170

Polaris Ranger 570HD

Petrol; 570cc; Single cylinder DOC; EFI.

CVT. 4WDC Turf Mode, 2wd, 4wd EPS.

2

226

680

14,995

Tuatara 1100EFI

Petrol; 1100cc; 4 cylinder OHC 16 valve; 67hp.

Manual 5 speed, hydraulic clutch.

Selectable 2WD/4WD. Individually selectable diff. lock front & rear.

3

550

750

19,995

Yamaha YXM700

Petrol; 696cc; Single cylinder SOHC.

CVT; L, H, N, R; 3-way diff lock, 2WD, 4WD, locked. 4WD; shaft drive. All wheel engine braking.

3 or 6

272

680

From 20,498

Yamaha YXE700

Petrol; 708cc; Single cylinder DOHC.

CVT; L, H, N, R; 3-way diff lock, 2WD, 4WD, locked. 4WD; shaft drive. All wheel engine braking.

2

136

680

From 20,999

Make and model

Engine; Fuel; Size; Cylinders; Make

Transmission/Final Drive/ Engine Braking

Can Am DefenderHD8 Base

Petrol; 799.9cc; Rotax V twin; EFI

Can Am DefenderHD8 DPS

Prices are those provided by suppliers as at November 2016. They may vary from those provided from local dealers with specials, trade-ins, financing deals, and free extras.

Country-Wide March 2017

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›› from p56 absorbers allows for wheels to get good traction.

– Ground clearance: High ground clearance is an advantage in the bogs and bumps, but a disadvantage on the sides of hills where lateral stability is critical.

– Wheel size and tyre type: Bigger tyres usually get a better grip, do less pasture damage and sink less in boggy areas.

– Wheelbase and track: A longer wheelbase is better for climbing hills, but can be a disadvantage in bumpy country. A wider track gives greater stability, but again can be a slight disadvantage going through the humps and hollows.

– Engine characteristics: including power and torque.

– Turning circle: A small turning circle is an advantage in general farm use.

• Roadworthiness: The legal aspects of using side-by-sides on public roads is documented at https://www.nzta.govt. nz/vehicles/vehicle-types/quad-bikesand-atvs.

• Mechanical reliability: Warranty periods are from six months to three years and are an indication of the manufacturer’s confidence in the product. Objective information on mechanical reliability of the various models is scarce, so while this is often a major consideration prospective buyers can only learn from others’ experience.

Our local mechanic was working on one off a sheep farm when I visited recently. He described this model as suitable for an airport or golf course.

The chassis is of powder-coated electrowelded steel, which he believes is not heavy enough and rust would take its toll as the paint wore off.

The hand brake pads it needed cost more than $350 and there were none available in NZ. He made up two sets from car brake pads at a cost of $60.

The front drive shaft universals had flogged out and he was told that he would have to replace the complete drive shaft for $800. He fitted universal joints from a car at a cost of $40 each.

Anecdotal comments like this from reliable sources are worth noting.

• Driver skill level: Where inexperienced drivers are to drive the side-by-side, a governed engine or more

58

sedate model may be appropriate. The Kawasaki Mule 610 is governed to a maximum speed of 40km/h.

• Practical considerations: These features may be standard or optional extras...

– Tow bar: This should be standard but is not on all models.

– DC outlets: To run equipment like sprayers.

– Electronic fuel ignition: This generally means better cold weather starting, more responsiveness and better performance at low revs.

– Instrumentation: The basics include hour meter, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, and speedo/odometer.

– Winch: Some models have these as standard and can prevent the walk of shame.

– Adjustable suspension: This can be altered for load and terrain.

– Storage: Storage is found in every nook and cranny of these vehicles and it is all useful. It includes compartmental storage and racks.

– Lighting: Good headlights and working lights are essential after the sun goes down.

– Skid plate: Damage to running gear underneath a side-by-side can cost a lot more than a skid plate, so if you are fording streams or in boulder country these are an asset.

– Brush guard: This may save headlights from damage.

– Digital encoded security system:

Useful where the vehicle may be left in public.

– Indicators, mirrors and horn: Useful where the vehicle will be used on the road.

– Power steering: This is standard on many models and some with the more refined electronic power steering.

• Repairs and maintenance: Most service intervals are at 100 hours, while models like Can Am Defender have a 200-hour or 3000km service interval. Fixed-cost servicing, local mechanic servicing and onfarm servicing are options offered by some dealers and will influence the running costs. Availability and price of parts is important and can really only be assessed by asking dealers and learning from others’ experience.

Comfort: A range of creature comforts come standard or as optional extras, depending on the model. These include…

– Roof and front and rear windscreens: These are standard on some models and optional extras on others. Adding a roof and windscreens to some side-by-sides results in unreasonable noise levels in the cab, so this should be checked out. Models like the Tuatara have a roof rack as standard. A windscreen wiper is a useful addition to a windscreen.

– Air conditioned cab: At the top of the comfort range, the Kubota RTVX1100C has an air-conditioned cab with defroster and heater.

– Tilt-adjustable steering wheel to enhance the driving position.

– Radios feature in some models.

• Price: The price range for the models recommended as most suitable for dairy farmers in this investigation ranged from $12,000 to $24,991. The range in engine type and size, drive system, load and towing capacities, features and extras which come as standard, and reputation, is just as extensive.

So there’s lots to consider in buying one of these vehicles. Having a clear picture of your wants and needs will help to identify the most suitable candidates.

Before making the final choice, talk to farmers who own the models being considered, and those who fix them.

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ENVIRONMENT | WATER

Water: A different approach Part two of a series in which Country-Wide writers look at regional environmental plan changes around the country.

Lynda Gray Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) water plan changes came into force on May 1, 2014, after almost five years of consultation and discussion aimed at achieving long-term “recreational-level” water quality.

A different approach has been taken to other councils, with an effects-based rather than prescriptive stance adopted on how land can or can’t be used.

This means farmers can undertake any permitted activity so long as contaminant discharges in water after 2020 comply with nitrogen, phosphorous and E.coli thresholds specified in ORC’s Schedule 16.

The amount of nitrogen leached to groundwater is dictated by the zone in which a farm falls. Most of the region has a 30kg/ha limit but sensitive aquifer areas, such as Kakanui south of Oamaru, are restricted to 20kg/ha. Large lake catchment areas with high amenity values around Lakes Wakatipu , Wanaka and Hawea are further restricted to 15kg/ ha.

The sediment run-off rules came into force on adoption of the plan in 2014 but farmers have until 2020 to make the necessary changes to meet the water contaminant discharge limits.

Federated Farmers Otago president Phill

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Hunt says the plan has the potential to be the best in the country but also the worst.

The upside is the high level focus that lets farmers choose how and what land activities are undertaken. But that flexibility was also the downside because of the insufficient detail or guidance in practical terms on how farmers should enact the plan.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all plan which means farmers have to interpret the requirements for their own particular situation. It puts the onus back on the farmer to work out the details whereas a lot of the other council plans tell farmers

exactly what they have to have.”

Effluent storage is a perfect example; individual farmers have to decide what adequate effluent storage is whereas other councils state exactly what is required.

Hunt says there is also confusion about some of the key terminology underpinning the plan such as what defines a waterway and saturated ground.

It was important detail Federated Farmers hopes to clarify by working in partnership with the council. That relationship was in its formative stages but the goal is to define best practice.

“We also want to enhance the

Otago Water Plan (Plan Change 6a) How it works Effects-based, permitted activity approach to managing water contaminants that have a minor effect on the quality of a river, lake, wetland or aquifer.

Rules permit contaminant discharges including surface runoff, groundwater seepage or discharges from drains and races provided that: • after 2020 they comply with the thresholds for nitrogen, phosphorous, and E. coli specified in ORC’s Schedule 16 • they comply with rules on nitrogen loss to groundwater calculated using Overseer (Version 6) • they comply with sediment runoff conditions Rules include conditions on stock access to rivers; lakes and wetlands and make it easier to construct stock crossings and bridges.

Source: A guide to water quality rules, Plan Change 6A – Otago Water Plan, Otago Regional Council.

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environment rather than simply tick the boxes.”

He says the three-zone nitrogen run-off limits were low compared to other council plans but the result of interested party mediation.

He likes how the plan requires farmers to regularly update and revisit their onfarm management.

“It’s not based on a document and ticked boxes that can be filed in a bottom drawer. It’s about constantly revisiting what you do. It’s about everyone continuing to make an effort which will be of greater benefit to the environment.”

South Otago farmer and Otago Federated Farmers meat and fibre chair Simon McAtamney reiterates the plusnegatives of the non-prescriptive plan.

“I know that in some regions where the rules are prescriptive farmers are having to employ consultants and spend thousands of dollars to meet the requirements. We don’t have to do that which is good, but there is confusion.”

For a lot of sheep and beef farmers it’s not nitrate Phill Hunt. leaching that’s the issue but phosphorus and E. coli.

Farmers have been told they need to meet nutrient threshold numbers for these nutrients but many don’t understand the science behind the numbers or the practical steps to take if they don’t meet the restrictions.

“Farmers want to be confident that any system change they make will work.

Ultimately we don’t want to be forced to de-stock to meet the limits.”

His other concern is the complacency of sheep and beef farmers about starting to address and meet requirements of the plan.

“People have got to get out and start measuring so they have those baseline figures.”

ORC signalled in 2014 that farmers needed to start collecting water quality and nutrient data from then on so that if required they could prove in 2020 they were meeting the prescribed thresholds.

At a West Otago farming forum late last year ORC water quality scientist Rachel Ozaane said farmers should be working with an Overseer-certified nutrient manager to help them collect the right data.

It was important the data was accurate and included stock details, fertiliser history, supplements bought in and grown, crops plus irrigation and effluent.

Some of the region’s most degraded waterways are in South Otago due to the mix of rolling topography, regular rain and intensively farmed systems reliant on tile and mole drains

Testing times in South Otago Some of the region’s most degraded waterways are in South Otago due to the mix of rolling topography, regular rain and intensively farmed systems reliant on tile and mole drains, Hamish Anderson says.

The dairy farmer with experience in local and regional council, is the manager of the Clutha District water catchment quality management project.

A specific goal of the $82,000 Sustainable Farming Fund project is to help the district’s estimated 700 farmers achieve compliance with ORC’s 6A water standards by 2020 and 2025. So far about 110 farmers have joined, paying the annual $250 subscription entitling them to two water tests, participation in meetings and field days, and advocacy and assistance if needed.

“We aim to be neutral and nonthreatening. The idea is that if you have a problem you come to us first rather than the council.”

The key activity is water quality testing across eight catchment groups. The twice-yearly procedure is designed with time-poor farmers in mind.

“In the last round of testing we gave a farmer three hours which was plenty of time.”

A date is set for water sampling and each farmer member is phoned to discuss

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testing needs and the pick-up point for the prepared kit. Farmers have been shown how to accurately water sample and after testing at their designated compliance points return the kits to the pick-up point.

Sample analysis is undertaken by Watercare Auckland’s testing facility in Invercargill. Anderson brokered an initial price contract with them for 2016, which has been reduced by 10% for 2017 due to the volume of samples supplied.

The test results are back after three to four days and after recording are sent out,

the results of which are confidential to each farmer.

Two rounds of testing have happened, the first in autumn 2016 and the second in spring.

“We believe spring testing will give us a more accurate picture of water quality as the flows should be more reliable and less-influenced by dry periods followed by wet as is the case in autumn.”

The 2016 spring results revealed E.coli and NH4 (ammoniac nitrogen) are problem contaminants.

Hamish Anderson (right) and Sarah Piwari of the Clutha district water catchment quality project with packed water samples.

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“E.coli was through the roof but it was understandable given that stocking rates were at their highest, it had rained and been a cloudy month.

But it indicates there is a problem so the question is whether or not there is a way of mitigating it.

The fact that no farmers complied indicates to me that you can set rules which seem suitable for the standard

you want but nature doesn’t necessarily comply.”

Clutha Development also offers assistance with resource consent applications, an area causing much farmer confusion. Under the plan there are permitted activities – with conditions – regarding work in waterways, but at what point permitted becomes unpermitted and requires a consent

is not clear. Anderson advises farmers to go for a 25-year whole of property consent which works out cheaper on an annualised basis.

Some would argue that Clutha Development is delivering much of what ORC staff should be doing.

Anderson agrees and on this basis approached the ORC, without success, for funding.

Mt Aspiring station falls within a nitrogensensitive zone where the maximum permitted run-off is 15kg/ha.

Overseer oversights Overseer needs more work for high rainfall, high country environments, Randall Aspinall of Mt Aspiring station says, even though he thinks the Otago water plan is generally good.

“All it needs is clarity around implementation.”

Mt Aspiring station, in the west Matukituki valley 50km from Wanaka, falls within a nitrogen-sensitive zone where the maximum permitted run-off is 15kg/ha. That’s 5kg more than was originally notified in Plan Change 6A. The limit was raised from 10kg to 15kg after farmers including Aspinall appealed.

An upshot of the move was an ORCAgResearch project on Mt Aspiring station designed to check whether Overseer was sufficiently calibrated to the high rainfall conditions under native bush, pasture and winter forage crops.

“Our rainfall is around 2500mm whereas the highest Overseer is calibrated for was about 1400mm so it meant a lot of extrapolating was needed.”

Monitoring showed Overseer was significantly overestimating nitrogen losses.

“Looking at the one year of data suggested we’re around the 15kg mark but due to funding the second year of the trial was pulled but it really needed to happen so we had more data to work with.”

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Gavin Palmer, of ORC, says the objective was to see whether Overseer was fit for purpose in high-rainfall, nitrogen-sensitive areas and that measured leaching rates for nitrogen and phosphorus at the pasture site compared reasonably well with estimates from Overseer.

“In most of these high-rainfall, nitrogen-sensitive areas pasture is the predominant land use so we’re pleased that it gave us comparable results.”

However, measured losses at the forage crop site were much lower than those estimated by Overseer.

He says that was probably because one season of winter crop grazing was not long enough to capture total nitrogen deposits. A second year of measurement would give a more conclusive and useful result given that two-year cropping rotations were typical in the valley.

Consideration was being given on whether to run with the project again.

Aspinall believes the reliance of Overseer for nitrogen leaching calculations could be a roadblock to further tenure review in the high country.

The Aspinalls surrendered more than 7000ha through the tenure review process. It was predominantly ungrazed high-altitude country with low leaching rates.

“If we hadn’t been through tenure

review we’d be compliant under the rules but Overseer says we’re closer to 20 kg/N/ha even though we’re grazing the same number of stock on a similar area but own less land in total. It could make farmers think twice about tenure review.”

The reliance on Overseer 6.0 and later versions concerns Keri Johnston of Irricon Resource Solutions. The regular CountryWide environmental columnist, who has helped several individual and groups of farmers make submissions on council water plans around the country, says the use of Overseer in future could create big problems for Otago farmers.

“The issue is that Plan Change 6A was based on Overseer 6.0. Since then, Overseer has had significant changes made to it, which now produces greater nitrogen loss figures than Overseer 6.0 did. This means that despite nothing changing onfarm or in the environment, the permitted nitrogen loss figures in ORC’s plan are now much harder to meet.”

Palmer acknowledges there are some limitations with Overseer, particularly in the high-rainfall and/or nitrogensensitive areas. However, where there were concerns specific research had been undertaken such as the Mt Aspiring project. Underway was another study in the Kakanui-Kauru aquifer area to gain greater understanding of surface and groundwater interactions.

“We understand those concerns but there aren’t any other alternative models.

Ours is an effects-based plan and we have to model to measure that effect.”

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ENVIRONMENT | WATER

Widespread engagement needed Andrew Swallow Winning with ECan was the working title for this article but a farmer who helped his catchment reach an acceptable water and nutrient management compromise says such terms are best avoided.

“I don’t like talking about winning because that implies there are losers and some people, mostly urban, think farmers Roger Small are trying to put one over them already,” Colin Hurst, a leading farmer representative in negotiating a plan for the South Canterbury Coastal Streams (SCCS) catchment, says.

“You need to engage all people in this, urban as well as rural,” he said.

It’s just one of several tips that can be gleaned from the process he and the SCCS Zone Implementation Committee (ZIC) have been through in the past three years.

The SCCS zone includes the environmentally sensitive and ecologically valuable Wainono Lagoon and ECan targeted it as one of the first areas where it wanted to meet central government’s National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management (NPSFM).

Hurst, as the local Federated Farmers branch chair, was involved from the outset but despite his pleas to farmers from all sectors to engage in the process, it was only when a plan that would severely

Mind-boggling complexity The complexity of the nutrient limit setting process in the SCCS catchment is revealed in a report by Ned Norton and Melissa Robson who were contracted by ECan to lead the technical aspects of the SCCS and Selwyn-Waihora catchment plans respectively.

Their 175-page report, available on ECan’s old website at http://previous.ecan. govt.nz/publications/plans/sccs-limit-setting-report.pdf , summarises scientific data and assumptions used to develop and explore seven possible strategies for the SCCS catchment. The scientific data and assumptions are contained in more than 20 further reports. Norton is an ex NIWA scientist turned independent consultant and has now been contracted by ECan as technical lead in the Hurunui-Waiau zone.

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Regional plan pointers • Ensure your sector is well represented.

• Support and liaise with your representative.

• Avoid win/lose terminology: compromise is the key.

• Ask for more time if genuinely needed.

• Ensure science supports decisions.

• Simpler policies more efficient in long-run? disadvantage cropping and traditional sheep and beef farmers was about to be signed off that they really woke up.

That was largely thanks to the efforts of Roger Small, who, with a neighbour, had listened to the ZIC explanations and twigged what it would mean for his farm and future generations on the property.

“He marshalled the forces and organised almost a protest meeting at what was to be the formal sign-off of the plan,” Hurst said. “Because of that, good sense prevailed and we were given more time: not to change the nutrient limits [for the catchment] but to adjust how they were going to be distributed.”

Small says some farmers in the area had already engaged with the environmental process, but, like him, many hadn’t fully realised the implications of what ECan was proposing.

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Low-emitting farms should have the opportunity to intensify to some extent in future. “Otherwise you’re devaluing their land,” Roger Small says.

Alternative to Overseer sanctioned Questions about regulatory use of nutrient management model Overseer is another cause of procrastination when it comes to getting involved in regional nutrient management processes, especially as fertiliser co-operatives and others are now charging three-figure sums an hour to model farms, cropping farmer Colin Hurst says.

Hurst has been at the forefront of plans for the South Canterbury Coastal Streams (SCCS) zone.

“For a cropping farm it can take days to get the data entered and the bills run into thousands of dollars.”

Recognising that as a potential bottleneck for cropping and horticultural properties needing to apply for a consent to farm under the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan, Environment Canterbury has sanctioned use of a simplified online alternative for the Selwyn-Waihora zone and is considering its use in other areas including SCCS. Dubbed N-Check, it’s on ECan’s farmer portal on its website www.canterburywater. farm. Once registered – which involves receipt of an email verification message – a farm address can be entered and tick box questions answered to describe the farming operation.

The tool then generates a nitrogen-loss figure which, for the next five years in SelwynWaihora, ECan will accept as an alternative to an Overseer-generated figure.

“It takes 10 minutes at most and a three-year-old could do it,” FAR’s Dianna Mathers says.

The numbers N-Check generates assume good management practice and are taken from a table of Overseer results for certain crop rotation and soil type combinations, as generated in ECan’s matrix of good management practice.

“We found out they would be grandparenting nutrient limits.”

For some, that would have locked their farms into very low intensity systems, despite heavy soils in a relatively low rainfall area that could be farmed considerably more intensively with little environmental impact. Effectively the proposal devalued their properties.

‘Good sense prevailed and we were given more time: not to change the nutrient limits (for the catchment) but to adjust how they were going to be distributed.’

His advice to anyone going through similar processes is to make their own assessment of what regional council proposed plans will mean, or get an industry body representative or independent third party to do so, because council spokespeople may not spell that out.

“Be aware that there are pressures within councils to get these plans signedoff.”

Representatives from the dairy industry who were on the committees didn’t flag the implications for the drystock and crop sectors either, probably because the

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Colin Hurst.

original proposals didn’t disadvantage dairy so severely.

“You need to make sure you have strong spokespeople representing you from the outset and keep in touch with them. Also, make sure that your industry bodies such as Beef +Lamb NZ are in there supporting you.”

The feeling that it’s not worth getting involved because new science and Overseer versions keep shifting the goalposts is understandable, Small says, but plans will be put in place by regional councils regardless because they are legally bound by the NPSFM to do so. The key point is to ensure plans are flexible enough to adapt as knowledge of nutrient and water flows improves.

“We had to get around the fact

constant Overseer updates mean that even though you might not have changed anything on the farm, suddenly you’ve got new nutrient loss numbers being generated.”

Hurst also advises farmers elsewhere in the country to engage in regional council NPSFM processes early, either directly or by demonstrably supporting whoever is at the negotiating table on their behalf.

Otherwise, no matter how strong the individual at the table, there’s a danger other sectors’ interests will prevail, he says.

“The challenge is finding an equitable position. Dairy farms need to be given time to adapt to reduced (nutrient loss) limits but on the other hand low-emitting farms should have the opportunity to intensify to some extent in future too. Otherwise you’re devaluing their land.”

Ensuring your regional council is using the best-available science is essential, as is accepting that there will be uncertainties to work round, he adds.

“You need someone who understands the science and sometimes it pays to get a second opinion and check what the council’s people are saying.”

Hurst echoes Small’s comment that uncertainties and likelihood that limits and rules may change in future is a reason farmers put-off engaging in the process.

“It’s also because we’re practical rather than bureaucratic people and we just want to get on with things.”

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ENVIRONMENT | MANAGEMENT PLANS

Get a plan Lynda Gray Regional council water and nutrient plans coming into force around the country vary in what farmers are required to do to become compliant. But common to most is the recommendation or requirement – as in Canterbury and the Tukituki catchment in Hawke’s Bay – to complete a farm environment plan (FEP).

The thought of yet more compliance and real or online paper trails causes an involuntary roll of the eyes from many.

The process does require time and effort, but it leaves farmers with a plan of attack on how to meet current or future council regulations, AgFirst farming and environmental consultant Erica van Reenen says.

“It’s not a difficult thing to do. For the most part, the risks identified and how to manage them will be things that are already in your head, so it’s about getting it out of your head and on to paper or into a web-based system. It’s a great way of clarifying your own approach and ensuring the rest of your farm team understand what’s planned, and importantly, why.”

‘You could make a good dent in less than a day, but you’ll need outside input if an Overseer nutrient budget is required.’

The essence of the plan is an assessment of land and water resources, how they interact with farm management, and the environmental risks the whole farm system might generate. The plan part, is how to manage all of this, van Reenen says “A critical component of any plan is to identify the actions that are planned.

These should have deadlines and be specific enough so that anyone in the farm business can understand them. It could be, for example, planting 50 poplar

64

Environmental consultant Erica Van Reenan has helped the management team develop environment management plans to level three, which is the gold standard environment plan.

poles in the goat paddock in May 2017 around head of gully and along the farm track.”

As with health and safety, the time and money spent on preparing a plan is up to the farmer. Beef +Lamb New Zealand offers levy payers free workshops to meet council requirements. Canterbury farmers work through templates to produce a regulation FEP, whereas Tukituki catchment farmers in Hawke’s Bay use a farm environment management plan (FEMP) template. B+LNZ recently released an FEP template for Gisborne farmers and it’s likely Waikato and Southland will follow.

“I say you could make a good dent in less than a day, but you’ll need outside input if an Overseer nutrient budget is required,” she says.

A fertiliser company rep or independent consultant can help with nutrient budgets, so long as they understand the particular farm system and have completed their Advanced Sustainable Nutrient Management certificate. A full-noise environment plan prepared by a consultant could cost anywhere from $1000-$5000 depending on consultant input and the complexities of the farming system.

“Getting outside help will save time and give you confidence that obligations have been met.”

New online software Landbase, developed by van Reenen and AgFirst is another tool for farm environment planning. It can be completed independently or with help from a consultant.

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT Confusing and a turn-off are the same but different names used for an environment plan.

ECan require farmers to have a farm environment plan (FEP), whereas Tukituki farmers in the Hawke’s Bay catchment will need a farm environmental management plan (FEMP). For the sake of simplicity and reducing the irritation factor couldn’t regional councils agree on a single generic name?

Adding to the list and potential confusion is a land environment plan (LEP). Turi McFarlane of B+LNZ agrees it is confusing and says it’s important farmers realise that an LEP sits outside regulations.

“The LEP module is something that B+LNZ has run for some years. It’s voluntary and a great start for prioritising environmental changes needed but it won’t meet the regulations required

by ECan or the Hawke’s Bay regional council.”

lyndagray@xtra.co.nz

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ENVIRONMENT | REGIONAL PLANS

COUNCILS IN SWEET DENIAL Keri Johnston We all know sugar is not that good for us, but for me, the irresistible temptation of Whitakers milk strawberry chocolate is just too great and I consume several king-size cakes a week.

Last week, I decided I was going to quit sugar. I’m not really 100% sure what flash of divine inspiration made me decide to do it, but I did it. I have been sugar-free now for three days and according to my children, I am the grumpiest I have ever been and they were offering to buy me chocolate yesterday (with their own money I might add).

What has this got to do with anything, I hear you ask?

First, it’s about denial. Health experts have been warning us about sugar and its toxic effects on our bodies and growing obesity rates for years, but have we listened? No, we have not. It’s taken me years to realise that perhaps the reason for some (not all!) of my wiggly bits, pimply bits and brain fog were due to sugar when it should have been blatantly obvious what the cause was.

I was in denial. I love my chocolate so much that I was willing to overlook the obvious.

Just as the Otago Regional Council is also in denial about Plan Change 6A being a simple and permissive plan, and delivering good water quality outcomes.

Just as Canterbury is in denial that regulating to the extent they have will not have an effect on land values and people’s livelihoods.

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Just as Waikato Regional Council is in denial that its Healthy Rivers Plan will deliver its expected outcomes despite a rather large fundamental faux pas with local iwi meaning a large chunk of the catchment will have to be excluded from the plan.

‘Now, we face a plethora of regional plans, all with different rules and regulations, and to differing degrees, which is the result of wiggly, pimply, brainfogged people attempting to tackle a complex issue, and often without science and common sense.’

Equally in denial are all of those who have sat by and watched this happen –farmers who didn’t realise many of these plans were capping land use at current levels therefore eliminating the possibility of future development or being able to sell to the neighbour to develop.

Denial, denial, denial.

What has caused all this denial? We have known for years that land use intensification couldn’t continue at the current pace without impacting on water quality. Then wham, divine

inspiration – water quality was at the fore of everyone’s minds and there was an urgent need to do something about it.

Now, we face a plethora of regional plans, all with different rules and regulations and to differing degrees, which is the result of wiggly, pimply, brain-fogged people attempting to tackle a complex issue, and often without science and common sense. Please don’t get me wrong, water quality is an issue that we need to address, but rationally and scientifically.

However, the brain fog is now clearing – at least it should be – and the real effects of all of these rules and regulations is being seen. Otago’s plan is not very permissive at all. It is fraught with implementation issues and banks are putting significant pressure on farms where land value is being impacted due to nutrient rules. The key will be what happens now?

Supposedly after quitting sugar (and all the toxic effects have ended), you feel amazing, clear-headed, able to take on the world, as well as less wiggly and pimply. I’m hoping this will also be true for all the councils out there.

Now that the effects of sugar are clearing, will they take the opportunity to use their clear heads to take a step back and take stock? Will farmers realise they have to be involved right from the outset to ensure their needs and views are heard? Or will 2017 remain a year of denial? Only time will tell.

As for my sugar quitting exercise, I’ll let you know how it goes.

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ENVIRONMENT | FARM FORESTRY

CHEAP TRIPS INTO THE TREES Denis Hocking I hear regular good news stories regarding returns from farm woodlots and, as I have suggested before, it’s a tragedy more of our hard-pressed sheep farmers haven’t got a forestry back-up to support them through a pretty lean season.

I quoted $40,000 net per hectare for my harvest and I have heard at least two at $50,000/ha for 27 to 30-year-old radiata pine and never on the best land. I needn’t point out that these returns make sheep and beef farming look very modest.

But when I suggest to farmers that a woodlot might be a useful addition I still get the standard responses of – “too long-term for me” or “I can’t afford it”.

This lack of enthusiasm is confirmed by the very low new planting rates of recent years, the lowest since World War II. Well I agree there is not much you can do about the time factor, though the present log export market will pay good money for 20-year-old radiata pine and 15-year-old stands are selling very well as roundwood. However these may be fickle markets and certainly older radiata will give you better quality wood.

The “can’t afford it” excuse generally means the farmer hasn’t explored all the options. Subsidies are available in the form of the Afforestation Grant Scheme, but at $1300/ha this covers little more than establishment and you do lose 10 years of potential carbon. Its advantage is that payment is shortly after establishment.

However if landowners want to plant an area that was not in forest in 1990, or has not been officially deforested since, carbon sales can pretty much cover the

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costs of establishment and silviculture without a lot of downside.

It works like this. You register the new plantings as a post-1989 forest under the ETS. This gives you the right to claim the carbon sequestered and for the first 10 years there will be about 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestered, depending on your region.

The significance of the 200 tonnes is that this is the carbon that will not have to be repaid at harvest – provided you replant promptly. It is the so-called “carry-over carbon” that remains in the slash, stumps and roots on the site after harvest.

At present carbon prices of $17 this represents about $3400/ha and would be enough for establishment and most of the silviculture for a full pruned regime.

The significance of the 200 tonnes is that this is the carbon that will not have to be repaid at harvest – provided you replant promptly. It is the so-called “carry-over carbon” that remains in the slash, stumps and roots on the site after harvest. This will slowly rot away but the rot will be balanced by the growth of the next crop, hence the importance of prompt replanting.

If credit is given in future for the on-going sequestration of carbon in wood products, the HWP issue, then

it is suggested that 20 years of carbon sequestration could be available for the carry over. However don’t count on this as the average lifetime for harvested wood products ranging from newspapers to building materials is difficult to estimate and probably even more difficult to get international agreement on.

There is one proviso I should mention for this carry-over carbon. If your plantation was planted before 2008, when the Kyoto Protocol came into force, the carbon sequestered before 2008 will be deducted from the carry over. However this doesn’t affect new plantings today.

There are rules and regulations around this process and especially carbon assessment. MPI has tables for radiata pine’s average rate of sequestration for the various regions, plus national tables for Douglas fir, exotic softwoods (obviously excluding P. rad. and D. fir), exotic hardwoods and indigenous forest, also regional figures for average postharvest residue.

If you have less than 100 ha of forest you are required to use these tables, which, not surprisingly, are conservative.

Though conservative, if you have a below-average site they may be generous and certainly the exotic hardwood tables, based on E. nitens growth models are potentially very generous. If you have more than 100 ha. you have the option of having the carbon actually measured, at your cost.

So there are ways today of getting into forestry fairly cheaply, though the carbon credits will lag a bit behind expenditure.

From about 15 years production thinning can offer early returns from accessible sites. Another point to note is that some spaced poplar plantings do qualify as “forests” that can earn carbon.

So the burden of tree planting may not be as great as many think. However there are rules, regulations and fish hooks involved and I would recommend you work through a consultant familiar with procedures.

Country-Wide March 2017

TECHNOLOGY | TRACKING APPS

Keeping track by phone Kirstin Mills

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ometimes when my husband says he’s going on a 90-minute bike ride, he decides during the ride that it’s such a nice day he might do two hours or two and a

half hours.

In the past, this could cause friction because at exactly 90 minutes and one second I would worry he’d been hit by a car.

We used technology to come up with a solution – it’s a free iPhone app called Find Friends that lets me see where he is when he’s out biking. As long as he’s still moving I know I don’t have to call the local hospital. (And don’t worry, you can turn the app’s functionality on for specific activities and off again if you don’t like the idea of being tracked all the time.)

It also has other benefits, like the time my husband got so many punctures on a ride that he ran out of ways to fix them and called me to pick him up. I only had a vague idea of his location (because he only had a vague idea of his location) but Find Friends led me to him – it can give you specific directions to someone’s position.

It’s also a great app if you are worried about your child’s whereabouts – although obviously, your teenage children might be less than impressed with your ability to keep tabs on them.

People have to accept your tracking request, you can’t just put it on someone’s phone (well you could be sneaky and try, but I’m pretty sure any savvy teen would notice).

Even responsible teens might end up somewhere they feel unsafe and the Find Friends app could help you locate them or least keep an eye on their progress home. Or maybe you might have a loved one driving a long distance, you could also use the app for reassurance or in case of emergency (outside of coverage areas it displays the last location someone was in).

Another great use of the app is to do what the title suggests – find friends at something like a concert, festival or

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other event where there are lots of people about; just be aware that its tracking abilities can be variable and will depend on cellular strength.

I haven’t used the likes of Glympse or Family Locator, but they work the same sort of way as Find Friends. They are available for Android phones as well as iPhones. Family Locator lets you create circles for specific groups of people (family, friends, teammates, workmates).

Not only does it provide a real-time family locator, it also lets you chat with them for free.

The app can, if you wish, also provide real-time alerts when a circle member arrives at or leaves a certain destination; the aim being to prevent annoying “Where are you?” texts.

You might have a loved one driving a long distance, you could also use the app for reassurance or in case of emergency.

Sometimes you might be concerned about your phone’s whereabouts rather than a person’s. Apple has its Find My Phone and Android has Android Device Manager which not only lets you track your phone but can get it to play sound, display a message or be remotely wiped by you (if it’s been stolen).

Tracking apps can also be used to find lost or missing phones, but there are also specialist apps.

Cerberus is an Android app that lets you do the same things as Android Device Manager, but also takes pictures, screenshots and even record videos and audio, in order to identify a thief. It also provides a location history and a list of last calls sent and received.

The app can also be hidden so any thieves do not see it and delete it. The Prey app (for Apple and Android devices) works in much the same way.

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TECHNOLOGY | PLANNING TOOLS

Fail to plan – Plan to fail Alan Royal Okay – the holidays are over. It is time to get back into the planning and action mode. Here are some approaches and tools to set you going.

There were three sayings used as basic rules in the development of the monitor farm programme: If it’s not in writing it won’t happen.

Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I will understand (See bit.ly/Xunzicw for an explanation of origins).

I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who (from Kipling - bit.ly/ kiplingcw).

A Google search of these sayings gives a variety of comments on the application of their business and personal use.

These rules are simple but basic planning tool reminders. We are now fortunate to have free tools, available on the internet, to help put the sayings above into effect.

The tools described are robust and easy to use. I use them regularly in helping business plan development for individuals, business and community groups.

Items within the lists, called cards, can be dragged and dropped on other lists or reordered within lists. Individual cards themselves can contain checklists, images, attachments, deadline dates, coloured labels, and discussion notes from others who share the board.

One tool, Tricider at www.tricider.com, is described as “a web-based service that makes group brainstorming on any topic really easy. Quick, too, because it doesn’t ask you to register. Just enter the topic where it says

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‘What do you want to decide?’ and hit go. On the next page, you can propose a solution and add your name as well as your argument in favour of the proposed solution.

All of these appear in columns. Then others can be invited via email or Facebook to participate in the discussion.

Comments can be added too.

All in a simple and easy-to-understand interface.” Do a Google search on the keyword Tricider to get a feel for the power of this tool in group decision making.

Another tool is Trello at trello.com. It can be described as a workflow organiser.

A Trello board is a web page with lists on the page.

This gives you a bird’s eye view of your project. Items within the lists, called cards, can be dragged and dropped on other lists or reordered within lists.

Individual cards themselves can contain checklists, images, attachments, deadline dates, coloured labels, and discussion notes from others who share the board.

You can have as many boards as you want.

Trello cards are like digital sticky notes that are searchable, shareable, and come with reminders.

You can also create cards via email. To get an appreciation of how others use Trello go to YouTube and put Trello in the search bar.

No planning process is complete without a goal-setting process. The tools above are complementary to that process.

As a bonus, there is a useful free publication available titled How To Set Goals and Create A Vision For Your Future.

It describes goal-setting as “allowing you to take control of your life’s direction and also provides you with a benchmark that can be used to determine whether you’re making progress towards these goals, or whether you’re not”. The booklet has several checklists related to various parts of your business. You can download the publication from the link bit.ly/goalscw.

In summary, the above tools can help you decide what you are going to do, why you are going to do it, how you are going to do it, when you are going to do it and who is going to do it – and the cost of the exercise.

For a copy of this article, with active links, email Alan Royal at a.royal@paradise.net.nz.

Country-Wide March 2017

WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER

BARK OFF

Role of the good shepherd

We bought the farm

Rebecca Harper tells how she and Richard Greaves bought their Pongaroa farm p70

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FARM OWNERSHIP

THE Harder you work, the luckier you get In the first of a series looking at how to achieve farm ownership, Country-Wide writer Rebecca Harper talks about her and husband Richard Greaves’ experiences.

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easing hill country sheep and beef farms and shearing our own sheep for six years enabled us to save enough to enter an equity partnership and buy a farm in

Pongaroa.

We farm 550 hectares (effective) of hill country in Pongaroa and own 43% of the land, stock and plant.

When I met Richard, I was editor of the New Zealand Farmers Weekly. I lived in Feilding and had saved hard to buy my first house, with the help of KiwiSaver.

I have been an agricultural journalist for nearly 10 years and had the privilege of visiting some of the best farms and meeting the top-performing farmers in the country.

I love rural people and writing their stories. I have heard some inspirational stories

about people’s road to farm ownership and, although I know it has become harder to achieve the dream of farm ownership, I never accepted it was impossible, as I have heard some say. If it was easy, everyone would own a farm.

My family farm is in Hawke’s Bay and both my brothers have bought in. I always knew I would never live or farm there personally and am completely fine with it, as long as it stays in our family and I can visit my home.

Richard does not come from a “family farm”, but he grew up on farms his father managed and left school at 17 to attend Taratahi. Farming is all he has ever wanted to do.

He and his parents had formed a company and were leasing two farms in Pongaroa when I met him. Richard and his father shore all Ewes jump for joy at having a paddock shift.

their sheep – 6000 ewes every year – for the six years they leased, and his mum did the wool. The leases were profitable businesses and the boys put a large part of it down to doing the shearing. Richard does not love shearing, but it was something that just had to be done. When you’re leasing it’s a good use of time and a significant cost saving.

He also says keeping a tight rein on expenses and re-using and re-purposing material where possible was key to a successful lease.

During this time I left my job at Farmers Weekly, started my own freelance writing business and moved to the farm. I am lucky to be my own boss, do what I love and contribute a second income, while living remotely – thank you internet.

We started looking for the next opportunity as the leases were going to end.

We looked at every farm that came on the market that was remotely within a possible budget. We looked at places where the real

Networking is your friend We attended field days and seminars, we told everyone we were looking – friends, family, multiple banks, rural professionals and people at the pub.

At times it felt like the whole world knew our business but networking is so important.

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estate agent even warned that the house was “the worst he’d ever seen”. I didn’t care, I was willing to live anywhere, if it meant we got our own farm. And we saved hard.

I had bought my house well in Feilding and sold it for a good profit. We were aware of a quad bike park on the back boundary of one of the lease farms that was for sale and approached the owners. They agreed to a monthly grazing arrangement. With the money from my house we bought ewes and lambed them over there.

The fences were shot and I’m fairly sure some never came back out of the bush that covered most of the park, but it was another useful opportunity that made us money. I also apologise to the neighbour who had frequent visits to her stud ewes from our randy ram, who was determined not to stay within the confines of the quad park.

Richard Greaves with some of the new fencing started at Kaituna Farm.

Crunching the numbers Richard and I ran the numbers on every farm and scenario.

We considered buying something small first and supplementing our income with casual work and my income, leasing to buy and equity partnerships.

We were desperate to buy something, but not the wrong thing.

It had to be economic – we had saved so hard to get into a position to buy, the numbers had to stack up or we would be setting ourselves up to fail.

Numbers. We ran some numbers. We were sick of numbers and budgets. But someone told me that doing the numbers is never a waste of time and I’d agree now. We became pretty proficient at putting together a workable budget and presenting it to our bank manager –a good skill in my book. We got a good understanding of what was out there and what we believed was good buying, or not.

It all paid off, as the farm we ended up buying was suggested by someone at the pub, as he believed the couple might be looking at moving on. Cold-calling someone you don’t know isn’t a lot of fun, but in this case it was worth it.

We couldn’t afford to actually buy it until our leases had ended, as all our equity was tied up in the leases. But the farmer did not want to go through another lambing, so we agreed to lease the new farm for eight months, until we were able to officially buy the property.

That meant we had three lease farms for eight months. Every weekend was spent working at the new lease farm. Once again, it was hard work, but it was worth it because we knew we would get one farm that we owned,

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that we could live on. In order to make that deal work we were willing to lease, with an agreement to buy.

I should say that my parents and my brother are our equity partners. This was not always the plan, we had looked at many scenarios with outside investors, but it turned out that my family believed this particular farm was a good investment and wanted to go in with us to buy the farm. At this stage we have not been given anything, although my family are not chasing return on investment and they come to help at docking and weaning, which is obviously a huge plus for Richard and me.

The plan is that we will eventually buy the farm off the others. We only take half of the agreed salary for Richard.

We leave the other half in the business to build our equity so we can buy shares off the

others, and to help the farm out as we get up and running. I still work full time and my off-farm income was a selling point for our bank. I also help on the farm as much as possible.

We are really big on budgeting and regularly revising it using Cashmanager. We know exactly what our cashflow is at all times and we are still very careful about expenses.

We want to spend our money wisely and at this stage it’s all about fencing (we aim to double the number of paddocks), fertiliser and water.

We are so lucky and grateful to have the support of both of our families, we definitely wouldn’t be where we are without them, but we also worked hard to make the dream of farm ownership a reality and I believe we deserve this. As the saying goes, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

Ewes enjoy a drink while Penny the dog has a swim to cool off.

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FARM OWNERSHIP

Most new entrants are doing so through some form of equity partnership.

Words by Anne Hughes

DO YOU ASPIRE

to farm ownership?

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t is still possible to get some skin in the game of farm ownership if you are open minded to different options and have the patience to seek the right opportunity.

Rabobank national manager farm ownership options Brent Irving advises aspiring farm owners to develop skills, save money, build equity, network and keep your nose clean.

“New Zealand’s a small place. If you’ve got a good reputation in the district it’s easier to put a deal together,” Irving says.

He says there is no one recipe for entering into farm ownership, but most new entrants nowadays are doing so through some form of equity partnership.

“Land values are climbing and commodity prices are lifting, so you’ve got to look at different ways of getting into ownership.”

The amount of money needed to buy into an equity partnership varies depending on the Brent Irving – ‘If you’ve got a good reputation in the district it’s easier to put a deal together.’

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equity arrangement, number of investors and the size of the property.

“Sometimes you make the mistake of thinking you haven’t got enough money.

“Sooner or later you’ve got to look if there are opportunities around you with the capital you’ve got.”

An equity manager could have a share in the business and be paid a salary to run the farm. Alternatively, they may opt for a lesser share, buying the livestock and plant and leasing the farm from the business.

Once you get a foot in the door, some smart forward thinking can help position you to take the next opportunity to grow the farming business.

“A block might come up for lease, so you can get going again with that. Then another block might come up for sale and you’ve already got the stock for it on your lease block.”

Different people handle debt better than others and Irving says that is a consideration

THE WAY IN Investment scenario for entry into farm ownership: • $200,000 equity in rental house • $100,000 family investment • Raise extra capital by borrowing $200,000 against your salary (equity manager’s salary and possibly your partner’s off-farm salary) and using the farm as security if equity partners are agreeable • That gives you a total of $500,000 cash • The farm borrows $1 million • Partnership buys farm and plant for $3.3 million • Your stake is 21.7% as an equity manager

for banks when making lending decisions.

“For the majority of people, to get ahead they’re got to have a certain amount of debt otherwise it just doesn’t work.

“That’s the good thing about equity partnerships. Generally it’s a formula for not borrowing as much.”

Irving says that to be a part of a successful equity partnership, it helps to be a good team player.

The business also needs to be set up to be able to ride through the highs and lows.

“There’s not much better investment than land, as long as you don’t have to sell in a low.”

Equity partners need to share a common goal, have an exit strategy in place and understand what will happen if someone wants out.

In these situations it can be beneficial having three or four equity partners.

“If someone wants out and it’s not too highly geared the other partners might be able to buy them out.”

Rabobank has equity specialists around the country helping to connect investors through equity arrangements.

Irving says there is huge interest from a range of people – including managers and young farming couples wanting to get ahead and achieve ownership, aging farm owners wanting to see their hard work continued but not ready to sell the farm yet and even people working in the corporate world who have an affinity with farming or grew up on a farm and want to invest in land.

Some farm managers enjoying a successful, well-paid career are choosing to continue their management roles, but invest their capital to become an equity partner in a farm.

“They’ve learnt a lot of good stuff around governance. They bring those skills, go on the board and make suggestions as to running the farm.

“That’s their retirement plan effectively.”

Country-Wide March 2017

BARK-OFF Words by Lloyd Smith

The role of a good shepherd

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ecently I was asked by a young fellow starting employment as a junior shepherd: “If I want to become a good shepherd what important aspects should I be concentrating on?”

This caught me a little off guard and I had to take time to think of an appropriate answer – outlining the requirements and credentials necessary, yet encourage his enthusiasm and anticipation of becoming a good shepherd.

A shepherd’s primary role is handling and managing stock. To achieve this, one has to concentrate on becoming a good stockman (or woman).

You cannot expect to become a good shepherd without a good skill level and understanding of what’s involved in the handling and welfare of stock.

Stockmanship comes easier to some than others and there is no substitute for hands-on experience and learning from your mistakes.

A good employer or more senior work colleague should help with this aspect and point out the error of your ways, suggesting a more appropriate approach for next time.

No owner, manager or senior stockman should criticise or crucify a young shepherd for stock handling mistakes that are beyond their relative level of experience.

But it is also the obligation of the junior shepherd to find out where they went wrong and to avoid making the same mistake again.

Listening to advice and observing how experienced stockmen achieve successful results is essential to improve stock-handling skills. A good stockman can make a relatively difficult task appear pretty simple.

By the recognition and appreciation of potential problems and by appropriately positioning themselves and their dogs, stock movements can be achieved with relative ease.

Someone with less experience or ability can turn such a task into a stock-handling misadventure.

To be a good stockman requires a pretty good understanding of stock behaviour and their characteristics. This includes the ability

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to anticipate movements and reactions, assess the best position to run your dog from, the choice of dog to run (heading or huntaway).

A shepherd also needs to be able to assess the terrain, where the dogs and stock have to travel and identify any potential problems.

The ability to put your dog in precisely the right place to get the stock to move in the right direction requires a good level of control over your dogs. It is difficult to apply good stockmanship principles without having your dogs trained to a level that allows you to position them to where you can expect the appropriate response from the stock.

disposition, with the ability to relate and respond to others you have to work alongside.

If you cannot get yourself out of bed and struggle for motivation in the mornings, this is definitely not a career option worth pursuing.

Shepherding is all about early mornings, as this is the best time to work with stock.

You may be required to catch your hack and have it saddled, your dogs and pups off and exercised and be ready for a 4.30am breakfast.

A definite passion for working with all animals is required, as your role demands this.

THE ABILITY TO PUT YOUR DOG IN PRECISELY THE RIGHT PLACE TO GET THE STOCK TO MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION REQUIRES A GOOD LEVEL OF CONTROL OVER YOUR DOGS. Dog training is important, but does not always make a good stockman. I know of a few, not many, who are pretty good at training dogs and achieve good results, but they are not what I would label a good stockman.

Conversely, some very good stockmen often have a team of dogs capable of mustering and handling stock very effectively and efficiently, but their dogs lack the credentials to make successful trial dogs.

If you are going to become a good shepherd, stockmanship is a requirement and dog trialing is an extension of this.

Remember, you are employed as a shepherd. Your dogs are your tools of trade, allowing you to effectively and efficiently work stock.

Training is done in your own time or in the time allocated for such by your management.

Hopefully they are appreciative of your efforts to improve the standard of your working dogs and allow you the time to train, also providing you with the resources and advice to assist you to achieve better results.

Other necessary requirements for a shepherding role include a cheerful

There are some definite perks and rewards that appeal about a shepherding career, the best and the one that I have always enjoyed is the freedom and space.

You are not only working outdoors, but also out in the high, wide hills and in some of the cleanest air in the world, with the challenge of working your dogs to successfully muster and move stock.

You have the opportunity to view the rest of the world from the top of a hill at sunrise, abreast a good hack, surrounded by a team of dogs with a feeling of anticipation and excited by the prospect of what lies ahead.

How many people get the opportunity to start the day like this?

There are other attributes that are important whatever career you choose, but two points I would like to make are: • befriend the cook if you are lucky enough to have one. They are an integral part of station life and it is always in your best interests.

• strive to earn credibility and respect – these attributes cost you nothing, but gain you plenty.

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COMMUNITY | OVERSEAS

HEADING SOUTH FOR THE WINTER

Colyton’s Guido Cousins beside Seneca Lake, upstate New York.

Manawatu’s Guido Cousins headed off to Canada last year on his OE and working on farms. Now he has made his way into the United States before any immigration walls could be built.

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arly November last year and after a false start, I departed Saskatchewan, Canada, in my 1976 GMC Funcraft Camper, nicknamed Blue Bertha.

A novice mechanical error led to the home battery being rewired incorrectly, resulting in a fuse next to the starter motor burning out. This was the first of many lessons.

The cupboards were laden with rolled oats and thought of five months of adventure was exciting. The aim was to drive to Key West, Florida, the southernmost point of the United States, then back to Saskatchewan the following summer.

The first leg of my chosen route to Ontario, was around the southern shores of the great lakes which involved driving from Saskatchewan to Manitoba and then turning south into Minnesota, where kilometres became miles and litres became gallons. Welcome to America.

I had arranged, before departing Saskatchewan, to help out for 10 days at Vince and Heather Stutzki’s sheep farm in Paisley, southern Ontario. The 900 Rideau breeding ewes are in three flocks, lambing three times in two years with the lambing periods being February, May, June, September and November. With an average lambing percentage of 167% weaned, equating to five lambs every two years, prime lambs are delivered fortnightly through a value chain, at a target of 24.5kg carcaseweight. The markets are strong at $9/kg, with the long-term average being $8/kg.

Through summer the dry ewes are rotationally grazed on pasture, behind electric fencing, accompanied by a Pyrenees companion dog, to keep the coyotes and all other unwanted guests at bay, including Kiwis.

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A real opportunity exists within the sheep industry in Canada, with 50% of produce imported and an ever-growing Indian/Arabic community, who are accustomed to eating lamb.

The winter was late arriving thus Blue Bertha pushed a path north, with a new set of universal joints and a new water pump. To my disappointment, it did not improve the 18l/100km fuel consumption.

The sheep dairy industry is a growing sector in North America, because the milk has a high mineral and vitamin content.

Mike and Linda Thompson, who farm on the eastern shores of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, are only in their second season of milking sheep but are excited by the opportunities it presents.

The furthest north Blue Bertha got, was Combermere, about four hours north-east of Toronto, where I helped on an organic beef, chicken and pork property on the highest pasture land in Ontario. Their produce was sold direct through local farmers’ markets. The annual whitetail deer-hunting season was in full swing while I was in Combermere. A twoweek tradition, where hunters scour the

hillsides in gangs of up to 10, flushing the deer towards strategically placed hunters on vantage points. All guns blazing.

When I awoke in Blue Bertha to find the beer cans freezing the time had come to point the V8 south. I meandered through upstate New York, popping into the largest sheep and goat dairy in the northern hemisphere, near Ithaca. Managed by a Spanish-speaking American, it is run by eight Hispanics with no papers and no English. Hispanics are a key labour source for agriculture, much like Filipinos are to the NZ dairy industry. We will see what Mr Trump has planned. Taking in the sights of the Big Apple, a place that truly does not sleep, one could buy a Christmas tree at 2am, if one desired. For a country lad from Colyton, lingering in Times Square is an experience to behold.

I continued south, down the eastern seaboard and into the Appalachians, the home of the Great Smoky Mountains.

I spent a week in a weatherboard cabin, brown bear hunting and cutting firewood, staying with a contact I had been given while in Ontario – another example of the generosity extended to me along my journey south to Florida.

A cold northerly continued to push me south, through Lexington, Kentucky, the horse capital of the world, through Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital and onward to Augusta, Georgia, for a round of golf. I spent a week on a property in Georgia that was in the throes of converting from a peanut cropping farm to an all-grass, Kiwi-style cattle finishing system, to meet a niche grass-fed beef market. Ryegrass is grown in the winter and Bermuda grass in summer under centre-pivot irrigation.

After two months and 6000 miles on the road, Blue Bertha arrived in Key Largo, about an hour’s drive south of Miami, where I plan to spend six weeks repairing yachts, in exchange for free board and learning to sail. The Florida Keys is an archipelago linked by a series of bridges that extend about 100 miles south from Miami to the southern-most island, Key West.

Hispanics at work while the goats await their turn. In the 50-aside herringbone shed, the furthest 20 cups are configured for sheep and closest 30 cups for goats.

Country-Wide March 2017

COMMUNITY | LIFE STORY

A life on the land Cheyenne Stein After Gordon Jones’ 40 years in farming he has a tale or two to tell. Enough even, to write a book. Gordon’s self-published book ‘A farm manager’s story’ is an account of his farming career.

“There was such variation in what I experienced over the years and I thought that would be neat to write down for people to see how much farming has changed.”

Having a written chronicle of his life on the land to pass on to his children and grandchildren was also a driver behind the book.

The book chronicles Gordon’s career from his first job as a junior shepherd in Cavie Grange through his time of compulsory military training to his time at Smedley station. Over that time Gordon saw a lot of change in farming, particularly when it came to a shift in view of farming towards a business.

‘I learnt very quickly that the strength of any farm lies with its staff.’

“Along with the mechanisation of farming and all the scientific advancements these days, it’s been amazing to see the change towards farming being a business. But it always had to be really because at the end of the day if you weren’t making money you wouldn’t survive.”

Gordon recalled his early farming days where budgets consisted of money coming in at the end of each week and farm owners making decisions on where the money would be best spent.

Formalised budgets were non-existent on paper.

He did a book-keeping course and was taught how to budget.

“It made things that much easier and brought everything back into reality as to how management and financials were part and parcel of each other.”

One of Gordon’s favourite experiences

Country-Wide March 2017

Gordon Jones – One of his favourite experiences was being able to pass on his knowledge and years of farming to the cadets at Smedley.

was being able to pass on his knowledge and years of farming to the cadets at Smedley. He taught the second-year students stockmanship.

“Letting them make mistakes and showing them where they went wrong was great as they often had never had the chance to make a mistake...”

On the flip side, there were some memories Gordon doesn’t think of so fondly, but they taught him valuable lessons.

“I learnt very quickly that the strength of any farm lies with its staff.

“So it’s important to have a good understanding of your staff to help them progress and deal with the stress of working on the land.”

Gordon recalls one young man who worked for him who was struggling with long hours week-on-week during shearing and came to breaking point.

“I got a call from his wife one morning.

He had kicked her and the kids out the house so I high-tailed it over there and the first thing I did was apologise for not looking after him and noticing he was struggling.”

Communication, he said, is the most important thing when farming.

“Talking to your staff and management is so important; both to avoid staff burning out and also to give staff a greater understanding of the business.”

In one of his jobs Gordon was given copies of all the accounts after they had been paid to dish out to his staff, with the point of showing the team where the money went.

“All they saw was a few thousand sheep being sold for $40 a head, which was a lot of money to them. What they didn’t see was the amount of that big cheque that went on wages and other things. Showing them on paper made them understand the whole operation and feel a bit more involved in things. “ An accident involving a stallion ripping up part of his leg called an end to Gordon’s farming career and his enthusiasm for working with horses.

“I had about five months off work. I lost interest in the job at that stage. I was in my mid-50s and decided that was it.”

Gordon and wife Val then set up a business farm-minding for the next 12 years. They covered all over the country looking after Hereford studs, dairy farms, chicken farms and beyond, but that’s a story for another book Gordon said.

“I have done most things in the agriculture field. It’s a very fragmented lifestyle though, moving from one place to another.”

• If you could like to buy a copy of Gordon’s book, give him a call on 06 323 1204.

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AGMARDT scholarships

SOLUTIONS | FIREWOOD SPLITTERS

The Superaxe hydraulic log lifter.

Superaxe at Central Districts Field Days

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stablished in 1993 and exporting to New Zealand for more than 15 years, the Australian family owned company Whitlands Engineering designs and manufactures innovative and tough wood-splitting machinery under the Superaxe and Aussie Chopper brands.

A range of the company’s machines will be demonstrated at this year’s Central Districts Field Days, March 16-18 at Manfeild Park, Feilding.

Whitlands Engineering team is led by head designer and chief executive David Burder.

The philosophy is simple – ergonomic design, built to last, productive and efficient.

“We are industry leaders for a very good reason – we build the best machines for the best price,” Burder says.

Whitlands Engineering builds every machine from scratch onsite,

meaning stringent quality standards are maintained.

“We’ve been incredibly successful in NZ over the years, the market here understands quality and reliability.

Firewood is getting more expensive so it makes sense for people to split their own.”

The Aussie Chopper and Superaxe range suit domestic, farm and commercial operations. The ergonomic designs, including the hydraulic log lifter mean the operator can work all day with no stress on their back. Furthermore, all of the machines designed by Whitlands Engineering are compliant to Australia’s Workcover standards, featuring innovative safety solutions which greatly reduce any risk of injury.

Come down and say hello to the team at the Field Days site #034, or freecall 0800 702 701 or visit the website for more details www.superaxe.co.nz for more information.

Seven AGMARDT scholarships totalling $80,000 have been granted to agribusiness people undertaking leadership and governance training.

The scholarships are available for talented people who have the desire to grow their leadership or governance skills to take on future leadership roles within agribusiness and beyond, AGMARDT’s general manager Malcolm Nitschke says.

Scholarship winners were required to demonstrate commitment to ongoing learning through a comprehensive personal development plan and many have included both domestic and international high performance leadership courses specific to their individual skill development.

“We believe the success of New Zealand agribusiness will be driven by talented and inspired leadership.”

Scholarships were granted to: • Mark Brotherston from Tatua Cooperative Dairy, Hamilton.

• Dale Cook of Pinehill Farming, Patea.

• Megan Hands, Irrigo Centre, Darfield.

• Sarah Tait, PGG Wrightson Seeds, Methven.

• Caleb Dennis, Craggy Range Vineyards, Havelock North.

• Kristy McGregor, Federated Farmers, Levin.

• Eva Harris, Irrigo Centre, Christchurch.

This is the second time AGMARDT has awarded specific scholarships for leadership and governance training, and Nitschke says they will continue to be an annual event. Applicants were nominated by industry organisations or groups.

More? www.agmardt.org.nz

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Country-Wide March 2017

For more information contact your veterinarian, phone Ovis Management on 0800 222 011 or go to www.sheepmeasles.co.nz

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SOLUTIONS | ANIMAL HEALTH

The toll of drench resistance Q: What is drench resistance?

A: Drench resistance is when worm populations in an animal survive after a correctly-applied dose of drench.

The resistant worms then breed, passing their resistant genes on to their off-spring.

Over time – if practices remain the same – resistant worms make up an increasing proportion of the farm’s worm population –that is when you have a problem.

As that proportion increases, so does the cost to animal health, productivity and profit.

Q: Why bother about drench resistance?

A: Drench resistance costs money and creates an unfair legacy for future generations.

In the first instance, it makes sense to keep the older, low-cost drugs working as long as possible, because they are much cheaper: • Dual-acting drench = 7c-14c/lamb drench • Triple-acting drench = 20c-35c/lamb drench • Zolvix or Startect = 60c/lamb drench.

More costly, however, is the effect of continuing to use a drench that is not fully effective. You are wasting time, effort and money.

The next instalment in this series is a cost-benefit analysis that includes the loss of productivity that accompanies drench resistance.

Finally – and critically – the next generation of farmers needs to be left with drench choices that work.

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78

WS3150 Aussie Chopper shown here.

Q: How widespread is resistance in New Zealand?

A: Widespread in sheep and increasingly widespread in cattle.

Beef: A 2006 farm-based survey of 62 North Island beef properties revealed: • 94% of farms were resistant to at least one drench family • Of those farms, there was 92% resistance to ivermectin (“mectin” drenches), 76% resistance to albendazole (“white” drenches) and 8% resistance to levamisole (“clear” drenches) • 20% of farms showed resistance in at least two worm species • Cooperia (intestinal worms) were commonly resistant to ivermectin and albendazole • Ostertagia (brown stomach worm) resistance to ivermectin and levamisole was an emerging issue.

Sheep: A 2006 farm-based survey of 112 New Zealand sheep properties revealed: • High levels of drench resistance to all drug families • 25% of farms showed resistance to ivermectin, 24% to levamisole (clear), 41% to albendazole (white) and 8% to a combination drench of albendazole and levamisole • Specific problems identified were: • Ostertagia resistance to all drench treatment options • Cooperia resistance to mectin drenches • Trichostrongylus (black scour worm) resistance to levamisole • All worm species showing a resistance to albendazole.

In the 10 years since, we don’t know much about what has happened in sheep.

However, the cattle situation has got worse and we are now seeing resistance in the particularly nasty worm, Ostertagia.

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Q: I’ll wait until I see there’s an issue before I need to change anything.

A: Actually, you will have resistance on your farm long before you start to see a problem.

Then, it will often be a major event that makes resistance obvious. For example, a cluster of lamb or calf deaths late autumn, or a significant problem with worms in young lambs mid to late lactation.

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Q: If you suspect you already have drench resistance, what do you do?

A: Deal with facts. Find out what is happening on your farm.

Ideally, in the January-to-May period (when the most worm species are present in lambs), carry out a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT), alongside a larval culture. That will tell you how effective your current drench is.

Supplied by Beef+ Lamb NZ

Country-Wide March 2017

ESTATE | EAST COAST

Emerald of Otoko for auction

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arihohonu Station near Gisborne has been farmed by the same family since 1892 and today the 749-hectare property which is regarded as the emerald of Otoko and has above-average livestock performance for the area, is for sale by auction.

The station won the regional Hill Country Farm of the Year Award in 2012 and has been recognised by Ovation New Zealand for its consistent supply during the past five years.

Carrying nearly 7000 high-performance stock units, the station sits just 50km away from Gisborne on State Highway 2, where it is nestled in a sheltered basin with its own micro climate that delivers warmer winters and a good spread of rain.

In the past four years, Parihohonu has averaged 6800 stock units with a ratio of 62% sheep and 38% cattle.

Lambing percentages are high on this high-producing farm, reaching 152% across the ewes last year and 86% for the hoggets. Gross farm income worked out at $1015/ha, while farm expenses were $643/ha.

Country-Wide March 2017

James Macpherson from Bayleys says the station has been run extremely well by its owners, with the results and awards testament to their efforts over the years.

“The lambing percentage reflects their management, plus the sheep they run and the land. It’s beautiful land and it’s well farmed and the stock are well fed. It’s early lambing country and the lambs consistently grade well with good weights – the stock thrive.”

Parihohonu’s position is one of its assets; sheltered by the Makaretu hills from the south that also results in numerous quality springs for stock water, with several tapped for a professionally designed, comprehensive water system to most paddocks.

“It’s such a good farming area with a moderate climate and a spread-out rainfall, plus beautiful springs coming from the Makaretu hills. It’s exceptionally good water and there’s good creeks through the property as well.”

Most of the property has a northerly aspect with an appealing contour that includes large portions of easy-tomedium-contour tractor country.

Crops are regularly grown for both summer and winter feed then resown with superior pasture species. Underneath lies Gisborne hill soils with a good cover of black top soils above mudstone soils that are effective in retaining and holding moisture through drier months.

Forty-seven main paddocks average 15.5ha and road frontages on two sides allows good access into key points of the farm, with comprehensive farm tracking providing ease of access throughout the property.

A key area is the woolshed and a 1.8ha common area that is shared in a 50:50 agreement with the neighbouring farm which is part of the original, larger family property.

It’s a system that has worked well, with both farms using the large six-

stand woolshed and its 3000-sheep night pen and covered yard complex. An older four-bedroom cottage is on this common area as well as an older shearer’s quarters, hayshed, cattle yards and killing house.

Strategically located on the western portion of Parihohonu is a comprehensive set of sheep and cattle yards, while on the Makaretu Rd side of the property sits another set of cattle yards with a crush and weigh scales plus a separate set of sheep yards. Cattle loadout facilities are also placed beside State Highway 2, providing choices for ease of management.

A number of woodlots grow around the farm that are mainly smaller native and exotic woodlots, plus a 13ha stand of pinus radiata planted through the 90s.

About 25ha of manuka and kanuka exists in one paddock, plus scattered clusters around the farm and a number of beehives are making use of those areas.

Parihohonu Station has three homes and the main homestead is a sunny, four-bedroom house set in immaculately maintained grounds with an in-ground swimming pool.

Near this home is a two-bay implement shed with an attached high-stud helicopter hangar and workshop. A manager’s home at the west end of the farm has three bedrooms and is set in appealing grounds back from the road, while the third home with three bedrooms sits in an elevated position to overlook the farm.

“This type of farm is about low-cost farming. It’s about the grass growing.

It’s being farmed very well and it still has upside for someone because it’s one of those farms that can carry a lot of stock and then pretty well finish all the progeny.”

The station will be auctioned on March 3 and can be viewed at www.bayleys.co.nz/2750312.

More? Contact James Macpherson on 021 488 018 or Simon Bousfield on 027 655 8778.

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ESTATE | RANGITIKEI

Neighbouring Rangitikei farms An 828-hectare hill country farm in northern Rangitikei is for sale and the neighbouring 383ha Makohine farm is also for sale which could be combined into one large-scale productive sheep and beef breeding farm.

Taukopu is in a tightly held farming district 9km from Mangaweka and 29km from Taihape and features clean hill country with a mixture of contours ranging from 30ha of easy rolling to medium hills and steeper faces.

Pete Stratton from Bayleys describes it as a genuine hill-country farm with good soils and well set up with good access, high-quality fencing and reliable water.

“Everything has been done and it’s just a matter of farming it and enjoying it. It’s dominated by strong mudstone soils, has good fences, tracks and water

and the next door neighbour’s property has come on the market. It’s 383ha and very similar hill country – again with excellent fences and tracks and a tidy late-50s weatherboard home, so the two properties could run well together. It’s all in good heart with no real money to be spent on it.”

Taukopu winters 2800 ewes and 1400 hoggets as well as 155 mixed-age breeding cows, 50 R2 heifers and 125 18-month steers. In the past four years, ewes have averaged 130% lambing and the hoggets are lambed as well. Up to 1000 lambs are finished by the end of January with the balance trucked to a finishing farm. Beef cows average 90% calving and yearling steers are grazed from November to late July.

“Taihape has everything you need

including four farm service centres, schooling and great cafes. It’s only an hour from Feilding which is the major livestock selling centre in the lower North Island and only one-and-a-half hours from Lake Taupo, so it’s very central.”

Offers on Taukopu close on March 9. Its 2014 RV was $2.65 million and Stratton says most sales in the region are well above RV. To view Taukopu visit www.bayleys.co/3100051.

More? Contact Pete Stratton on 027 484 7078.

125 years a family farm A 227-hectare harbour-front grazing farm in Northland that runs beef and enjoys private sandy beaches is for sale by a family who have owned it for more than 125 years.

The Matakohe property flows along 2.3km of the Kaipara Harbour coastline and was first settled by the family in the late 1800s. Today, Ken and Heather Whitehead have fond memories of fish caught straight off the beach, sand castles and family picnics in their piece of paradise.

They run a beef grazing unit, finishing heavyweight Angus and Angus-Friesian cattle for the works and McDonalds’ market. The cattle graze on the predominantly flat to undulating and easy hill contour that has been well subdivided to a high standard and linked by an extensive track network system.

Plenty of tractor-friendly country can be used for hay and cropping, while

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about 10ha of the farm remains in kauri, puriri and manuka bush, with a further 2.39ha planted in radiata pines in 2004.

John Barnett, Bayleys country property specialist, says the property, which has three titles, has the ability to be farmed as a stand-alone unit, run in conjunction with another farm or as a dairy support along with all the lifestyle options it offers.

Infrastructure includes a two-stand woolshed, a large set of cattle yards, a lockable three-bay implement/hayshed, airstrip and a reliable year-round water supply.

The existing cottage built in 2002 is a mere 20 paces from the water’s edge and has all the home comforts as well as one of the best views possible. Barnett says the property also has numerous potential building platforms with spectacular coastal views to build a family home and use the cottage for a bed and breakfast business.

Tenders for the farm close on March 2 and the farm can be viewed at www.bayleys.co.nz/1200354.

More? Contact Barnett on 0800 COUNTRY (0800 268 6879) or 021 790 393.

Country-Wide March 2017

ESTATE | SNAPSHOT

Decisions are s l i a t e d e h t n i Anne Hughes Details can make or break a farm sale.

Due diligence is a time consuming, yet vital process that is growing in importance for cautious farm buyers.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural spokesman Brian Peacocke says increasing numbers of farm sales indicate improving conditions in the rural market, but a mood of caution prevails.

“This is evidenced by detailed prepurchase due diligence investigations and a level of concern amongst purchasers regarding volatility of income,” Peacocke says.

Due diligence is simply an investigation to ensure the property complies with legislative or local body requirements, that plant and machinery is in good working order and that the new owner would be able to continue farming the property as expected.

Peacocke says a farm information memorandum should cover most of what a potential buyer needs to know and most real estate agents will organise a LIM report as part of the due diligence process.

“In most cases people will make an assessment based on their own experience that they will be able to carry on existing land use or what needs to be done to be able to continue.

“They need to verify that to their own satisfaction.”

A typical check list for dairy farm sales will include compliance with the milk company requirements, such as providing milk tanker access and turning space.

Dairy farm buyers will also want to ensure milking plant and effluent disposal systems are up to scratch and if the farm has existing water use consent for the dairy shed.

If all these boxes are not ticked, the buyer needs to find out what it would cost to gain these consents or to bring the property up to a level of compliance.

Environmental mitigation, particularly

Country-Wide March 2017

protection of water quality, is adding to growing due diligence investigations.

New rules for Waikato farmers are still in the proposal stage, but the uncertainty created is already having an effect on farm sales.

Peacocke says buyers anticipate that what has been proposed will come into force in some way.

Waikato vendors will be required to provide nitrogen leaching information to potential buyers. This is generally easy to obtain for dairy farms from the companies they supply.

For dairy support, runoff or dry stock farms, Peacocke says the current shortage of suitably qualified nutrient analysts – to process the information needed to determine the nitrogen reference point – is a constraint.

“Collecting the information, then processing it through the Overseer model is a time-consuming exercise. Given the debate regarding accuracy of Overseer, there are credibility issues surrounding the outcomes from that programme.”

The worst-case scenario is that it can impact on the timeframe to sell a property and possibly the value.’

Submissions to the Healthy Rivers/ Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 (PC1) closed in March, to be followed by a hearing process.

In the meantime, Peacocke says many buyers looking at farms in the affected catchments may be more likely to hold off from purchasing until the implications become clearer.

“The worst-case scenario is that it can impact on the timeframe to sell a property and possibly the value.”

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural spokesman Brian Peacocke says cautious farm buyers require more detailed information before committing to a purchase.

Peacocke says the costs of due diligence vary, but ultimately it becomes the responsibility of the vendor and the real estate agent to make the required information available.

If questions are unanswered and there is any uncertainty, buyers are likely to walk away.

Costs related to tests, gathering information are usually covered by the vendor and their real estate company should have a check list of the information buyers require.

“You need all the information in place before you start marketing.”

Peacocke says the raft of compliance issues hitting the rural industry have been quite dramatic. As well as environmental mitigation, he says health and safety, methamphetamine contamination and water consents are creating even more questions for buyers.

“That’s business, hence purchasers are quite firm on the fact that the lack of information will delay the decision being made.”

aahughes@gisborne.net.nz

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FARMING IN FOCUS

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE WORLD SHEARING CHAMPIONSHIP

Machine and blade sheare r Shun Oishi

Blade shearers on the

stand.

The crow d at last m onth’s world she aring cha mpionship at Inverca s rgill.

her Mary-Anne Baty of New Zealand on way to second place in wool handling.

Shun Oishi of Japan.

New Zealand’s James Fagan.

Thomas Calldo (South Africa) works during the world wool handling heats.

Alexandra ’s 1 Morrell, re 1-year-old Charis presenting Swit competing against wom zerland times her en three age handling ch in the world wool amps Blade shearing champion South Africa’s Mayenseke Shweni in action.

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