trophy finalist
bee problems
From receivership to award winning. page 36
Selenium takes the buzz from bees. page 42
Rural NEWS
flying start New dairy company ahead of capacity target.
page 9
to all farmers, for all farmers
may 15, 2012: Issue 515
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Swine of a ruling a n d r ew swa l low
PIG FARMERS battling dismal returns fear a High Court ruling has condemned them to an even more uncertain future. It follows the High Court’s decision to uphold Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) import health standards for pork. While an appeal remains an option New Zealand Pork has already spent $1.4 million fighting the case. Pig farmer fears centre on the risk of fresh pork imports bringing an antiimmune response virus into the country and with it, Porcine Reproductive and
“The question we’ve still not had an answer to is where is the benefit to New Zealand in this? Surely you have to err on the side of caution.” Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS). In herds not previously exposed to the virus PRRS can kill 70% of piglets and increase abortions and still births. Production recovers post initial infection, but never quite to what it was. It’s endemic in all but a handful of pork producing nations.
Pork New Zealand has expert scientific advice from Massey University that if 3kg cuts of fresh imported pork are sold, as per the MPI’s new Import Health Standard, a PRRS incursion is likely within three years. MPI’s science, drawn from overseas experts, says it’s more like 1200 years,
Getting out: After 24 years in pig farming, Brent and Shar Youdale are packing up, forced out by rising costs and cheaper imports. More on page 4.
Save
0800 731 266
AGRICULTURAL DEBT repaid after the global financial crisis is rapidly being borrowed again, AgFirst consultant Phil Journeaux told a Waikato University seminar he hosted this month. Agricultural debt peaked at $47.8 billion in September 2010 and $1.2 billion was paid off to March 2011. But over the last 12 months farmers have borrowed back $1 billion. “The elephant is still in the room,” he said, referring to farm debt. “When you look at the percentage of debt, most of it is held in the pastoral sector and two thirds of our total aggregate is in the dairy sector. “That was causing serious problems up until a couple of years ago and it died away from public consciousness simply because incomes and moved up and we can repay our debt servicing.” With the milk price on the wane, this could be of concern. Journeaux says agricultural debt doubled from 1980 to 1990 then again from 1990 to 2000 – but since 2000 it has quadrupled. “There’s a close correlation between debt and dairy land value.” About 20% of farmers are carrying 80% of the debt. The average debt in sheep and beef sector is $159 per stocking unit “which isn’t too bad”. Dairy debt was more evenly distributed and at 6% interest rates averaged about $1.40/kgMS. The average equity in dairy is 59% which in a business sense “is ok but not particularly great”.
For more information see your local RD1 store, visit WWW.RD1.COM/rd1supercard or call 0800 731 266.
*
*Terms and conditions apply, see WWW.RD1.COM/rd1supercard for more details.
on fuel!
Customer Support Centre
pa m t i pa
Fuel up on super deals around the country with a simple swipe of your RD1 SuperCard, anywhere, anytime!
4c/litre
up to
if at all. As Rural News went to press, New Zealand Pork chairman Ian Carter, Oamaru, said a decision on whether to appeal hadn’t been made. “We’re trying to work with the Ministry to get a solution but we haven’t ruled out an appeal.” MPI maintains food waste disposal regulations will prevent fresh pork scraps reaching pigs, a potential PRRS infection pathway. Carter says that’s unrealistic, given the thousands of backyard pigs in New Zealand. “Just take a look on TradeMe.” Rules will accidentally or knowingly be broken, with people thinking they are doing the right thing recycling food waste through pigs, he says. Once one pig is infected, experience with post weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) shows such viruses spread nationwide within a few years. “There are only four or five pig farms that don’t vaccinate for PMWS now.” Vaccination for PMWS costs about $4/pig/year. PRRS vaccines would cost $8-15/pig/year and are unreliable owing to the constantly mutating nature of the bug. “The question we’ve still not had an answer to is where is the benefit to New Zealand in this? Surely you have to err on the side of caution.” MPI director general Wayne McNee last week told Rural News it would implement the new IHS but work with NZ Pork to ensure effective risk management relating to feeding waste meat to pigs.
Debt déjã vu
Email customer.service@RD1.com
WWW.RD1.COM