Rural News 21 November 2023 by Rural News Group

AGRIBUSINESS

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

NEWS

Stinging news from beekeepers. PAGE 18

NH finally unveils flagship combine harvester. PAGE 21

Sustainability question no easy answer. PAGE 11

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS www.ruralnews.co.nz

NOVEMBER 21, 2023: ISSUE 789

Fantasy vs reality? DAVID ANDERSON

NORTH OTAGO farmer Jane Smith is questioning the modus operandi of AgriZeroNZ – the industry and government partnership working to find a solution to reducing farm methane emissions. Smith, a founding member of the Methane Science Accord, claims the joint venture between government and agribusinesses – including Anzco, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms, Synlait and Fonterra – is

“signing cheques that farming can’t cash”. “While a focus on global research tools is commendable, the concern is that these companies may have blindly signed up to an expensive tick box in terms of their methane reduction goal,” she told Rural News. “There appears to be no modelling, no scientific rationale behind why and how a 30% methane reduction became their goal. There’s no econometric modelling of the implications that such a blunt reduction would have on our

livestock sector by 2030.” Smith believes the $165 million programme is a costly investment for taxpayers and the agribusinesses involved. She says the real cost to the sector and the economy may be the loss of livestock and a continued ‘landslide’ of low intensity farms to mass afforestation, if the focus remains on a 30% blanket reduction in the hope that new innovations can be found in such a short timeframe. “Given that the current suite of research tools are yet to be proven

in-field under extensive pastoral conditions that may prove difficult to be scalable and affordable between now and 2030,” Smith explains. “What we could be left with is an impractical 30% methane reduction goal – with the only option being a mass decrease in livestock numbers.” She adds this would be particularly hitting hard in the sheep, beef and deer sectors – along with low-input dairy systems, regen and organic operations. AgriZeroNZ partners are adamant they have no interest or involvement

SOUTHDOWN SHOWDOWN! Southdown judges John Murray, left, and Matt Chisholm discuss the merits of entry 512 on the first day of the 2023 New Zealand Agricultural Show. The ewe, which was the champion Southdown ewe last year, had twins this year and was entered in the Southdown Ewe over 30 months with lambs at foot class. She came away with a Reserve Champion ribbon. Owner Christina Jordan, of Willowhaugh stud, Blenheim, says there was a lot of competition with about 10 entries in the class this year – which she thinks was possibly a record – compared to five or six usually. The three-day show, recognised as the country’s largest A&P event, boasted a number of new attractions this year including a dedicated Wool Zone to showcase sheep and the many uses of wool and other natural animal fibres.

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in the regulatory space, nor believe that its 30% methane reduction target will influence policy making. However, Smith questions this and says that its “ambitious” goal could undermine current advocacy work within the sector, aimed at aligning current Climate Change Commission targets with more moderate sciencebased targets. “Crucial advocacy work being carried out by Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Federated Farmers is at risk here,” she adds. “This includes a recent study by Oxford University that showed that the current Climate Change Commission reduction targets (10% by 2030 and 24-47% by 2050) would in fact see methane effectively offset all expected additional warming from carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide from the entire New Zealand economy.” The study noted that a 15% of methane reduction by 2050 would see New Zealand methane contribute no additional warming. “To say that AgriZeroNZ and its 30% by 2030 reduction goal has no wish to unduly influence regulatory polices including methane reduction targets is naïve at best.” Smith suggests that some of the AgriZeroNZ partners may now regret having an unattainable target as their 2030 goal and they should be taking the time to reassess it on behalf of New Zealand farmers and taxpayers. “If it was my money I would be asking for a line of sight to a genuine cost/benefit analysis, not just hot air and headlines.”

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

NEWS 3

Headwinds hit SFF

ISSUE 789

www.ruralnews.co.nz

LAMB PRICE WEAK

NIGEL MALTHUS

NEWS ��1-11 MARKETS �� 12-13 HOUND, EDNA �� 14 CONTACTS �� 14 OPINION ��14-15 AGRIBUSINESS ��16, 18 MANAGEMENT �� 19 ANIMAL HEALTH �� 20 MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS �� 21-22 RURAL TRADER ��22-23

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SILVER FERN Farms is facing “a huge amount of headwinds”. However, the meat processor and exporter is telling its suppliers it remains on the right track – despite depressed market returns over the last couple of seasons. Senior executives, as well as board members from the co-op which owns half the processing company alongside Shanghai Maling, are currently fronting farmers in a series of 18 Supplier Roadshow meetings throughout the country. These started in Rotorua and Hamilton on October 17 and will end in Middlemarch on November 24. The message is that Silver Fern will stay the course as a supplier of quality meats – rather than fall back to the bad old days of meat-as-a-commodity – and the long-term trends are promising. Chief supply chain officer Dan Boulton told the meeting at Lake Hood, Ashburton, that it had been “a bloody challenging” couple of years, with the company and farmers all facing “a huge amount of headwinds.” Coming after four or five years of relatively favourable pricing, Boulton says they are now seeing very depressed market returns, which is translating into poor farmgate returns.

Silver Fern Farms Chief Supply Chain Officer Dan Boulton speaks to farmers at a Supplier Roadshow event at Ashburton. NIGEL MALTHUS.

Boulton believes it is “near” the bottom of the cycle – while acknowledging that the latest round of sheep meet pricing took another step down – and it was matter of working their way out of the cycle. “We clearly recognise that farmgate pricing is unsustainable where it is and we’ve got to get out of where we are today.”

IT’S STILL taking some farmers around the Northern Hawke’s Bay town of Wairoa twice as long to get to Gisborne or Wairoa because the bridge across the Te Reinga river is still not fixed. Wairoa mayor Craig Little, who is also a farmer, is frustrated at the delays in repairing the bridge, which affects farmers around the settlement of Ruakituri. Little told Rural News the journey

to Gisborne would normally take under an hour, but for large trucks and trailers it’s taking over two hours. “It’s coming up to Christmas and people in this community need certainty and they can’t see ahead of themselves because of the delays. They can’t carry on like this dealing with delay after delay.” Little says other farms now have road access, but again in many cases

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He added that mid to long term demand for protein is really strong. “Protein demand is going to double by 2050 and we’re only wanting two percent of that globally.” Boulton says that SFF’s “Plate to Pasture” strategy has not changed – despite some farmers thinking the slogan was the wrong way around, since the product goes from pasture

to plate. He explained that value starts in the market by understanding what consumers want. “Then how do we adapt and change our business and farming systems to make sure we remain relevant in that global context?”

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ON FARMGATE pricing, SFF sees more pressure on lamb than other meats. Lamb is predicted to track between about $6.60 to $5.80 through January, for South Island suppliers. However, questions from the floor showed some disquiet around returns; one farmer saying that fattening store lambs over winter was a major part of farming in the Mid-Canterbury district. He says current lamb pricing is making it very difficult and called for more certainty going forward. Boulton says they can only signal what’s going on in the market and the company was struggling to get customers to commit past January. “We can only go out to January. We’d like to go further out and give particularly those finishers more certainty around what they can pay for those stores.”

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detours are the norm and this is hard on farmers, their stock and the trucks going into rural areas. He adds that such detours are adding cost – especially to sheep farmers who facing much lower prices for their stock. Recent heavy rains hit the region in the past weeks and the main road south from Wairoa to Napier was closed for about a day – again adding to the stress of the local communities. This rain also hit townships and Little

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says more houses were red stickered. But for farmers like Little who spend time off the farm attending to other businesses, the weekends are not a time to relax. They are still busy repairing fences damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle and other events. “In my case it isn’t necessarily large areas of fencing that need to be fixed – often it’s smaller sections of a few metres and this is time consuming.” – Peter Burke

RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

4 NEWS

Fonterra rules out incentives to help farmers lower emissions SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA CHAIR Peter McBride says the co-operative isn’t thinking about offering farmers any financial incentives for lowering their on-farm emissions profile. He points out that Fonterra’s Scope 3 emissions target, announced this month, is a co-op wide target that will be achieved by building understanding and help-

ing farmers. “We are not thinking about incentives. The two bottom lines for me are that the measurement on farm needs to be more accurate and any incentive needs to be commercially justifiable,” he told Rural News. The co-operative is targeting a 30% intensity reduction in on-farm emissions by 2030, from a 2018 baseline, which will see it further reduce the emissions profile of its products. 86% of Fon-

“Farmers have always been able to adapt to change. I am confident that this target is achievable.” Fonterra Co-operative Council chair John Stevenson says it’s available to pass on farmer concerns and questions to the board.

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corrected milk) collected by the co-op. The co-op says the Scope 3 target has been triggered by growing sustainability ambitions from customers and financial institutions, along with increasing market access, legal and reporting obligations for dairy. Fonterra farmers say the target is achievable, but they expect support from their co-op to achieve it. McBride says the co-op and DairyNZ will help farmers learn from each other through events like discussion groups. He points out that the emissions profile among different farming systems and within farming systems are quite alarming. “If you see in the Waikato, farms that produce over 1200 kgMS, their emissions profile per kgMS is 8-18kg carbon equivalent. That’s massive. “So, what can farmers learn from each other?” McBride says people need to remember that this is a target. “We’ve seen progress made without any focus on it. So, when we focus on it and it’s in front of your mind, there are things that you can achieve.”

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Fonterra Co-operative Council chair John Stevenson told Rural News that the target is broadly in line with what customers and other processors have announced. “Farmers have always been able to adapt to change. I am confident that this target is achievable.” He also points out that Fonterra farmers will also want to understand the value proposition of making these changes. “Council believes that Fonterra will need to do more work in this area.” Stevenson says he’s encouraged that this is an intensity target which encourages farmers to be more efficient and productive. “This is something we wake up every day to do. Farmers will be looking closely for the arrival of new on farm and novel technologies that will assist them further with their focus on efficiency. Fonterra have invested farmer capital in novel technologies. “We will be looking for this investment to deliver.” He says the council is available to pass Fonterra farmers questions and concerns through to the board.

RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

NEWS 5

Farmlands going off the rails? DAVID ANDERSON

RURAL RETAILER and supplier Farmlands is being accused of going off the rails and shareholders are being urged to take back control of the cooperative. Long-time Farmlands shareholder and retail supplier, Banks Peninsula sheep and beef farmer Roger Beattie, believes the rural supplies company is lessening choice and increasing prices that farmer shareholders pay it for goods, due to the co-op’s current business model. Beattie told Rural News that Farmlands has told him it is making changes to the number

of items stocked in its stores – downsizing from 45,000 to 9500. “Cutting down from 45,000 items to 9500 lessons choice for farmers,” he claims. “Having less choice means there’s less competition, less competition means there is less pressure on keeping prices from rising.” As well as farming and being a Farmlands shareholder for 30 years, Beattie and his brother Ivan own Beattie Insulators, which manufactures and supplies wholesale electric fence products to farm stores in New Zealand. “Farmlands is Beattie Insulators’ largest customer, but in the last six

Shareholder and supplier Roger Beattie is questioning Farmlands’ current business model.

months our sales have dropped by half to Farmlands.” He questions if this is this because it is the only electric fence company that doesn’t pay ‘rebates’ back to Farmlands. Beattie claims the ‘rebates’ paid by suppliers to Farmlands (not to be confused with rebates paid by Farmlands to

shareholders in the co-op) gives the company an incentive to reduce competition and push prices up for farmers. “The bigger the rebate paid by a supplier, the higher the price charged to Farmlands in the first place. This only works if you lessen competition,” he says. “The chosen suppliers not only don’t have

as much competition, they sell more and are in a position to pay a higher rebate because they are selling more at a higher price.” Beattie believes this means the customer pays more and there’s more profit for Farmlands. “I call ‘rebates’ from suppliers to Farmlands a backhander/kickback

because it’s below the surface. It’s hidden from the shareholders and customers of Farmlands.” Beattie claims that the supplier rebate system run by Farmlands is “secret and insidious”. He believes that Farmlands has a “principal/agent” problem, which he reckons is often an issue with co-operatives.

“The ‘principals’ are the shareholders and the ‘agents’ are the executive,” Beattie explains. “If the incentives for the executive are not aligned with the shareholders’ rights and wants, then the executive becomes inwardly focused. This is what has happened with Farmlands.” He is calling for a ‘truly independent’ report commissioned by the chairman to look at the size and cost of head office, cutting down on the number of businesses that Farmlands operates and having a “sensible range and choice” of products. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

Changed needed to be the best FARMLANDS CHIEF executive Tanya Houghton admits that the rural retailer is making a number of changes to its business model. However, she told Rural News it is all aimed at making the co-op the number one rural buying group in the country. “The purpose of the co-op is to offer our farmer customers and shareholders the best value we can for the products they need,” Houghton explains. “The model we have been operating is cost heavy and unless we change how we buy prod-

ucts and deliver to farmers we will become obsolete.” She admits that Farmlands is making changes to the number of items stocked in its stores – downsizing from 45,000 to 9500 – but says this is not about lessening competition but getting better value for customers. “Scale is needed to buy stock at the best prices for farmers and scale means direct sourcing and providing better value for our customers.” Chief merchandising officer Chris Fisher told Rural News holding so

much stock was costing farmers. He gave an example of the co-op stocking 12 different types of mouse traps, which he says was clearly inefficient. “As a buying group we need to ensure that we offer our customers the best products at the best prices and to do this there needs to be some consolidation of stock.” Despite admitting that the co-op was consolidating its stock, both Houghton and Fisher say if a farmer wants a particular brand or product that is not in store, Farmlands can still secure it for them.

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“It just means that it may not be available instantly and the price will not be as good as the product in store,” Fisher adds. Houghton says data is used in Farmlands deciding which products to stock and at what stores. She added that the co-op had invested $90 million in software to help with making these decisions. “It is a more sophisticated and efficient way of buying and means we are offering farmers the products they want at the best prices,” Fisher adds. “It’s a mix of art and science

based on fact-sourced data.” On the subject of ‘rebates’ paid by suppliers to Farmlands, Houghton says this is no secret and all part of normal supplier and retailer relationships. She denies it means the customer paying more for products and bigger margins for the co-op. Houghton says the co-op will running roadshows around the country from December to March to better explain to farmers and shareholders its changing business model. – David Anderson

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

6 NEWS

Changes to Feds’ policy team will hurt farmers – warning GLENYS CHRISTIAN

ALL FARMERS will be worse off if planned reductions in Federated Farmers’ policy team proceed. That’s the view of Feds’ Franklin sub-provincial president Bruce Cameron, who says the bulk of people who aren’t members of the federation have no idea of the

work it does. “There are so many freshwater farm plans, biodiversity and agricultural emissions regulations. A huge load has come on and that’s required a huge amount of work,” he told Rural News. “If farmers lose the advocacy that the federation does dealing with regional plans, they will

really see the costs piled on.” Recently, Cameron was one of four farmers giving evidence to the Environment Court hearing into Waikato Regional Council Plan Change One (PC1,) where he says policy staff have worked late into the night and at weekends helping to put submissions together. “If anyone tried to put

2024 Notice of Elections and Call for Remits Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd (B+LNZ) give notice that nominations are now open for B+LNZ Directors. Written remits for the 2024 Annual Meeting are now being accepted. Under section 42 of the B+LNZ constitution, two electoral district Directors will retire by rotation at the annual meeting. This year, Martin Coup (Northern North Island) and Kate Acland (Northern South Island) must retire by rotation but may stand for re-election. Kate Acland has indicated she will be seeking re-election in 2024. Martin Coup will be retiring after six years as a Director. Nominations are being called to fill two Board of Director vacancies, one for each of the following electoral districts: • Northern North Island (NNI) • Northern South Island (NSI) The successful candidates for these Director positions will also be appointed to the Board of Directors for the New Zealand Meat Board. Remits are called for under section 12 of the Second Schedule: Proceedings at Meetings of the B+LNZ constitution. Remits are a matter that the proposing farmers are raising for discussion and resolution at the annual meeting. The B+LNZ remits policy and guidelines can be found at https://beeflambnz.com/about/corporate-documents. All nominations and written remits must be made on the official forms. Nomination forms and information regarding the elections are available: • visit www.electionz.com/BLNZ2024R • emailing iro@electionz.com • phoning 0800 666 035. Remit forms are available from B+LNZ: • at https://beeflambnz.com/about/corporate-documents • by emailing enquiries@beeflambnz.com • or phoning 0800 233 352. All nominations must be received by the Returning Officer, and written remits received by B+LNZ, by 5pm on Friday 8 December 2023.

Board of Directors and Annual Meeting Resolutions and Remits Voting for the B+LNZ Board, annual meeting resolutions and remits (if any) will all be conducted at the same time. Voting will be conducted by postal and internet voting, with voting papers posted to all farmers on the B+LNZ electoral roll. The mailout of the voting packs is expected to be on Tuesday 13 February 2024. B+LNZ Board elections will close on election day and postal and electronic voting for company resolutions and remits will close on the same date, Wednesday 13 March 2024 at 2pm. Farmers can vote in person on company resolutions and remits only, at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday 19 March 2024. To be eligible to vote in the B+LNZ Director elections, or for annual meeting resolutions and remits (if any), a livestock farmer must, on 30 June 2023, have owned at least 250 sheep, or 50 beef cattle, or 100 dairy cattle and be on the B+LNZ electoral roll. Additionally, voters must farm within the respective electorate to be eligible to vote for the Board of Directors. If you have previously received voting papers you are on the electoral roll and do not need to re-register. To check if you are on the electoral roll contact B+LNZ on 0800 233 352. The electoral roll will close for those who wish to vote by post at 5pm on Friday 19 January 2024, although new registrations will be received after that date (for online voting only). All queries regarding B+LNZ elections should be directed to the Returning Officer on 0800 666 035. All queries regarding annual meeting remits should be directed to B+LNZ Chief Operating Officer, Cros Spooner on 0800 233 352. Warwick Lampp Returning Officer – Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140 iro@electionz.com, 0800 666 035

Bruce Cameron believes all farmers will be worse off if planned reductions in Federated Farmers’ policy team proceed.

a case together themselves as an individual it would cost them over $200,000,” he says. “Not only would there be the considerable legal fees involved but other specialist knowledge would need to be called on which the federation could access.” While Cameron appreciates the $800-900 annual federation sub is a lot of money, he says “non-members can’t continue to ride on members’ coat tails and get the benefit of its work”. PC1 proposes that an area of 50 square metres or more of wetland would need to be fenced off, as opposed to the national standard of 500 sq m. “That’s the size of a double garage and in some cases the council wants a 10m setback for filtration which makes the area a lot larger.” He estimates that across the Waikato, if the Fed’s submissions are successful that will mean a saving of $150 million or around $30,000 per farmer. Additionally, if the

NOT JUST SAVING MONEY – FEDS FEDERATED FARMERS policy team staff reductions haven’t just been about saving money or reducing headcount, chief executive Terry Copeland claims. “We’ve also made some significant changes to the structure of our organisation to make sure we can deliver the best possible outcomes for our members with the resources we have.” Copeland told Rural News that as a result of the restructuring, its policy team would be reduced by 6.5 full-time employees (FTE) – with 3.5 being regional policy staff and three national policy staff. As four positions were already vacant this meant that only 2.5 FTE would actually be made redundant. “We are working through that process now with staff,” he says. “Federated

proposed 10m setback on permanent waterways is reduced to 3m that could mean an additional saving of $50m or $10,000 per farm. In Cameron’s own case he felt he was “all up to speed” already having four kilometres of waterways fenced off. However, if intermittent waterways were brought in – as the plan proposes – that would involve another

Farmers still have 23 people working in policy across the country. This is a large and well-resourced team.” Asked about what changes were planned to distribute the present workload amongst a smaller number of employees, Copeland says Feds was working with its provincial presidents, board, and staff to prioritise work in the policy team. “We will still be working on all the big things farmers expect us to be, but the reality is that we can’t do everything,” he says. “We’re also working with other groups like DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb NZ to see where we can get some efficiencies. We don’t expect most members to notice much of a difference in the service they receive from Federated Farmers.”

9km of fencing, estimated to cost around $230,000. He adds that when federation policy staff looked at his farm maps, they identified a further 5km of waterways which could require fencing, adding another $100,000. On top of this new water systems would also need to be put in. Cameron says the commissioners hearing the case are very engaged

and asking in-depth questions of farmer witnesses. “But it will be a very nasty surprise for a lot of farmers, even if we get a good outcome,” he says. “And this is only one plan, there are 16 more around the country to go. I look at what’s being proposed and see just how unrealistic and unworkable it is.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

NEWS 7

Meaty issues to tackle! peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE INCOMING government needs to take a pragmatic and practical approach to dealing with a raft of issues affecting sheep and beef farmers. So says Beef+Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor who is calling on the new government to produce a really good roadmap of its plans on a whole range of

Beef+Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor says the sheep and beef sector is in the midst of a challenging time.

which has led to stockpiles of sheepmeat and an imbalance of supply and demand.” McIvor says the beef situation is better, with growing demand and higher prices for this product, especially in the United States. He adds that on the home front, it was expected that onfarm inflation would ease this year, but it hasn’t and nor have interest rates. He says a real worry is the regulatory costs and regional and district plans that are being rolled out to comply with the National Policy Statement (NPS). McIvor says it’s an understatement to describe what some of the changes councils are putting forward as ‘aspirational’.

incoming government to put a stop on these until there is real clarity around the bottom lines of the NPS. He believes that the targets being demanded by some councils overstep the mark and what is wanted is a more long-term strategic approach, which will take time. “The objective should be to support farmers to change, rather than continuing to beat them with a stick all the time. Farmers are being squeezed from the top, the bottom and the side.” McIvor points out that farmers are not arguing about the direction of travel on environmental matters, but they want support and pragmatic and practical solutions.

ALSO, ON B+LNZ’s wish list for the incoming government is a focus on opening up new markets. This includes scoring new FTAs, with McIvor saying that NZ’s red meat sector currently faces more than $1 billion in non-tariff trade barriers.

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issues, including regulation, environmental matters, climate change, water, research and development. McIvor says one of the big criticisms of the previous government was its uncoordinated silo-type approach, which was very confusing for farmers. He told Rural News that its new laws and regulations did not come out in a proper sequence and a more integrated approach will lead to better outcomes. McIvor says the sheep and beef sector is in the midst of a very challenging time – especially in regard to the sheepmeat market. “It’s a combination of the economic situation in China and Australia liquidating its sheep flock,

OTHER ISSUES

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“Some of these plans are threatening the economic viability of our regions. It appears that some of the regional councils haven’t really considered the economic and social consequences of what they are doing and the pain they are inflicting on some farmers.” These plans are supposed to be completed by the end of 2024, but McIvor wants the

PETER BURKE

RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

8 NEWS

Streamline the silos – MIA PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

A TOP priority for the incoming National-led coalition government is to sort out the way regulations are formulated by various government agencies. That’s the view of the Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva, who says there is a lack of a coordinated approach to deal with issues. She told Rural News there seems to be a lack of consultation between government departments, which means that policy settings are disjointed and sometimes at odds with each other. Karapeeva believes this is just one of the systemic issues that causes grief to meat processors. “The new government

needs to have a good look at this issue and rationalise the silo approach to regulatory making.” Karapeeva’s comments come as government departments – along with industry groups – are preparing briefing papers for the incoming government, known as BIMS, or briefings to the incoming minister. These papers are compulsory for government departments, but other lobby organisations also take the opportunity to brief ministers and to state the issues they believe the government needs to address. Karapeeva says the MIA will be seeking clarification around environmental matters such as He Waka Eke Noa (EWEN) and how the new government proposes to take this matter

The meat sector wants the new government to streamline the siloed approach to regulatory making by government departments.

raising concerns about this for a long time and Karapeeva says some of the same problems complained about are still not sorted. “Some companies trying to apply to get in

forward. She says farmers need certainty and practical, cost-effective solutions. She adds that a big issue for the meat sector is around immigration matters. MIA has been

overseas workers but are finding the processing of visas is taking months. These delays make it impossible for companies to plan their season when they don’t know how many people they will

have working for them.” Another immigrationrelated issue of concern to MIA is having a ‘fit for purpose’ seasonal workers scheme – similar to the RSE arrangement that is available to the horti-

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10 NEWS

Unit holders finally smiling SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

AFTER YEARS of average or below-average returns, Fonterra unit holders received a record dividend in 2023. An annual dividend of 50c/share, topped up by a 50c/share capital return in October, took the total cash distribution to $1/ unit for the 2023 financial year. Fonterra Shareholders Fund (FSF) chair Mary Jane (MJ) Daly told its recent annual meeting she was under no illusion that the historical performance of the fund has not been satisfactory for unit holders. “However, it is pleasing to see Fonterra’s continued focus on its strategy is delivering value, and this has been reflected in the total

“It is pleasing to see Fonterra’s continued focus on its strategy is delivering value, and this has been reflected in the total shareholder return since the last annual meeting in November 2022.” shareholder return since the last annual meeting in November 2022,” she says.

Fonterra chair Peter McBride in discussions with Dunsandel farmer Murray Marshall.

FSF unit holders enjoyed a 36.5% return, compared to 23.6% return for Fonterra shareholders. In 2022 and 2021, Fonterra unit holders received total dividend of 20c respectively. However, in 2019, Fonterra

made a loss of $605 million and paid no dividend. The following year, it paid 5c in dividend. Fonterra units have had a rollercoaster ride on NZX. Over the past two years, it peaked at $3.85 in December 2021

before plunging to $2.75 four months later. Three months ago, the unit price again topped $3.85 before dropping to $3.15 last week. Unit holders get a dividend based on the co-op’s value-added business but have no

voting rights. Daly says the fund board has seen several positive steps by Fonterra over the past 12 months, “that demonstrates the greater alignment between unit holders and shareholders’ interests under Fonterra’s new flexible shareholding capital structure”. This includes Fonterra’s transparency on its resource allocation framework, focusing on disciplined allocation of milk and financial resources, and senior management being aligned to the delivery of value to shareholders and unit holders. Fonterra chair Peter McBride told the meeting that the co-op’s flexible shareholding capital structure has been in place since March this year and is working broadly as expected.

He noted the new structure was designed to give all shareholders a degree of choice with their shareholding, rather than the old model which was one of compulsion. “With farmers now having the flexibility to, at the top end, hold up to four times their milk supply, or at the bottom end hold as little as the equivalent of 33% of their milk supply, there is a significant level of discretion in their investment choices – akin to the choice you have as unit holders. McBride noted that the number of discretionary shares in the co-op has increased from around 250 million under the previous Trading Among Farmers structure, to 1.2 billion discretionary shares under the new structure.

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NEWS 11

Sustainability question no easy answer PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

ONE OF the most difficult terms to define today is sustainability. That’s the view of the of EU’s head of the Agricultural Directorate Wolfgang Burtscher, who was in NZ recently for talks with senior agricultural officials, including MPI director general Ray Smith. During his brief stay, Burtscher also visited farms in the Wairarapa and took part in a special forum organised by the EU Ambassador to NZ, Nina Obermaier – attended by EU diplomats, senior NZ government officials and agricultural leaders. Burtscher told Rural News in an exclusive interview that in addition to the broader aspects of environmen-

Wolfgang Burtscher, the EU’s head of the Agricultural Directorate, says there are trade-offs as to who and what is the most sustainable.

tal ecological sustainability, there is also an aspect of social sustainability that ensures farmers receive an income for their labours – as well as maintaining vibrant rural areas. He says there are trade-offs that need to be made and a question mark as to who and what is the most sustainable. “Just look at the example of who is more sus-

tainable – an intensive farmer or an extensive farmer,” he explains. “If you are looking at greenhouse gas emissions, maybe the intensive farmer is better because they are able to capture all the emissions in their stable. However, in terms of biodiversity, an extensive farmer who maintains the land and takes care

of their hedges or stone walls is more biodiverse. Now who is the sustainable farmer?” Burtscher adds that in Europe they have some certification systems where one is deemed more sustainable if they produce less greenhouse gases. But says other factors include animal welfare and biodiversity preservation.

“To some degree, both are right and that’s why I find this whole subject so challenging.” Burtscher says Europe has lost over five million farmers and he points out that the average farm size there is just 17ha. But he adds that people still have to eat and that’s why farming is so important to any country. Burtscher believes there is also more to farming than just producing food and while some farmers may just be producing for self-sufficiency, they still play an important role in keeping rural communities alive and functioning. “Competitiveness is not the only yardstick to measure the importance of farming.” Burtscher says that’s why the EU subsidises its farmers – because of the other benefits they bring.

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WORLDLY ISSUES AT THE forum, a number of issues facing farmers worldwide were discussed. These included environmental matters – especially climate change and the fact that productive land is being gobbled up for urban development. Another issue that drew much comment was the role that consumers and buyers of primary products play in determining aspects of farming systems and sustainability. Burtscher raised the issue of food security in individual countries – a phenomenon he says has arisen because of Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He believes this has raised the reputation and heightened the recognition of the important role that farmers play in society. Burtscher says while there is pressure for farmers to become more sustainable, the fact remains that they need to be fairly compensated for their efforts so that they can remain economically viable. “In the context of the Ukraine crisis and repercussions in Europe and in NZ, we have seen a huge increase in the price of energy and fertiliser and other inputs,” he explains. “These cost increases have led to increased food prices.” Burtscher questions whether farmers are being fairly rewarded for their products and reckons this is a role that governments must play worldwide to closely monitor what is happening in this area.

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

global agribusiness research analysts sharing market outlooks

12 MARKETS & TRENDS

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OCTOBER COMMODITY prices were generally firmer. Oceania FOB powder prices rallied more than 10% for the month on the back of less favourable milk production signals in New Zealand. Butter prices also firmed through the month, but cheese prices fell again in October as

a weak US wholesale market dragged prices lower. Grey clouds continue to build over the production outlook in New Zealand. For the key month of September, milk production was 0.4% below the same month last year on a volume basis (but higher on a milksolids basis). This means that the

volume of production for the seasonto-date is trailing the previous season by 1%. Challenging seasonal conditions in the North Island have been the culprit. The outlook for milk supply offshore softens. US milk production has been in decline for the past few months, with a smaller herd driving the slowdown. Across

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

Beef

NORTH ISLAND bull price rose a small but steady 2% over the four weeks to 27 October to NZ$6.15/kg. This rise in prices has been stronger than average for this time of year. Prices, after being close to average back in September, are now 5% higher than the five-year average. The continued rise in New Zealand prices may reflect the seasonally lower volumes of cows and bulls in the system and the desire of processors to attract numbers with the anticipation of

the US prices remaining strong. Total beef slaughter volumes for the full 2022/23 production season (ending 30 September) were largely similar to the prior period.

Beef export volumes for September were lower by 5% YOY. Volumes to China declined by close to 30%, and value dropped by a significant 46% compared to September 2022. How-

ever, shipments to the US jumped by 35% to 8,884 tonnes.

Sheepmeat

THERE WAS not much good news over the month of October for

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

MARKETS & TRENDS 13

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lamb prices. The slight lift in farmgate prices exhibited over September and into October had disappeared by the end of last month, with the SI lamb price dropping back down below NZ$ 7/kg on 27 October 2023. Farmgate prices are now 25% lower than this time last year and almost 20% below the five-year average when comparing the same week’s prices received. Lamb prices continue to hover at levels similar to 2020 – some of the lowest farmgate prices received over the last 10

years. Provisional export slaughter data for the 2022/23 season shows lamb slaughter (17.7m) was steady versus 2021/22 volumes. Sheepmeat export data reflects the challenging market conditions in China. Export receipts received were lower by 17% over the same period, driven by the weaker value of shipments to China and the US – down 11% and 15%, respectively, compared to last September.

Farm inputs

THE FARM inputs price structure in Q4 2023 will

have a heavy impact on farmers’ budgets next season. This is due to retailers’ procurement time frame, which can be several months long for some products. On the fertiliser side, we expect price stability with a small bearish potential for major overseas exporters, assuming the Israel-Hamas war does not disrupt supply chains or boost crude oil prices. For the next five months, we forecast international urea prices to be down 11% in US dollar terms compared to the period

between November 2022 and March 2023, with DAP prices down 26% and potash down 41%. This is a very encouraging outlook for farmers. However, currency and energy costs will adversely impact farmers’ input budgets. Meanwhile, the diesel terminal gate price is another headwind that will make operations more costly.

Interest and exchange rates

THIRD QUARTER inflation for New Zealand was lower than expected at 5.6% YOY.

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That compares to a consensus forecast of 5.9%, and the RBNZ’s forecast of 6% made in the August Monetary Policy Statement. So, after we had confirmation last month that New Zealand was doing better than many thought on economic growth, we now know that it is also doing better than we thought on fighting inflation. We’ve been saying for some time that we believe the OCR has peaked at 5.5%, but the futures market had been gradually pricing in more hikes.

The lower inflation figures saw the New Zealand dollar come in for

some punishment during October. The currency fell as low as 0.5774 after opening the month at 0.6004. The sharp falls in the New Zealand dollar and the continued high rates of net inward migration are providing support to the economy, even as individual consumers remain under pressure and New Zealand’s trade performance gradually recovers from its very weak position.

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

14 OPINION EDITORIAL

EDNA

Urgent action!

WHEN WE finally get a government (no agreement had been finalised at time of writing), the first thing the new administration needs to review is all the regional and district plans that are being rolled out across the country to comply with the new National Policy Statement (NPS). These are another of the disastrous regulatory reform grenades lobbed at the farming sector by outgoing Environment Minister David Parker – a man who will go down as one of the key reasons farmers comprehensively voted out the previous government. “Some of these plans are threatening the economic viability of our regions,” according to Beef+Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor. He adds that regional councils haven’t really considered the economic and social consequences of what they are doing and the pain it will inflict on some farmers. The incoming government needs to put a halt on the NPS plans until there is real clarity. Some of the targets being demanded by some councils overstep the mark and what is needed is a more long-term strategic approach. Federated Farmers says the NPS for Freshwater requires all 16 regional councils around NZ to have new freshwater rules in place by 2024. It points to the Otago Regional Council as an example, which has been first to release its draft plan under the new rules. “The national direction is so restrictive that Otago’s proposal requires a fertiliser cap of just 100kg of nitrogen per hectare (much less that the 190kg national cap) and a stocking rate cap of 2.5 cows a hectare in most catchments across the region,” Feds explains. “These requirements would completely undermine our rural communities and leave thousands of farming families across Otago first, and then the rest of the country, unable to make ends meet.” B+LNZ says the objective should be to support farmers to change, rather than continuing to “beat them with a stick” all the time. As Sam McIvor points out, farmers are not arguing about the direction of travel on environmental matters, but they want support and pragmatic and practical solutions. A major review of the new NPS should be a top priority of the new government’s 100 day plan, in an effort to clean up what should be forever known as Parker’s folly.

RURALNEWS TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

HEAD OFFICE POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 Phone 09-307 0399 PUBLISHER: Brian Hight .......................................... Ph 09 307 0399 GENERAL MANAGER: Adam Fricker ....................................... Ph 021-842 226 CONSULTING EDITOR: David Anderson .................................Ph 09 307 0399 davida@ruralnews.co.nz

“I was once trapped in a woman’s body eh – they had to do a caesarian!”

THE HOUND On to it!

MPI employs more than 3600 staff in 45 locations around the country and internationally. It also has a total budget of $1.1 billion for the 2023/24 year. So, it’s comforting to know that this agricultural powerhouse really knows its stuff. A mate of yours truly was tickled pink to read the following information in its advice to an update in the food regulations. In its discussion paper on proposed changes to The Animal Products notice: production supply and processing, MPI advised that: “Notice Reference Proposed amendment: Type of change: Reason for amendment 2 (3). Create a separate goat animal code: Update Goats are not sheep. They are different mammals.” Isn’t it comforting to know that the more than $1 billion spent a year on funding MPI is not wasted and that it recognises that ‘goats aren’t sheep’, but in fact are ‘different mammals’!

Not funded by NZ On Air

Over fat!

The Hound suggests that the new National-led government has plenty of scope to deliver on its – and coalition partner ACT’s – election promise of trimming the fat in the public service. The jump in the number of bureaucrats under the Labour government from 2017 is clearly evident in figures recently released by the Public Service Commission. This shows the number of Wellington public servants – excluding health and education workers – has increased by 7255 since 2017. That’s an increase of 35.64%. Meanwhile, the average public service pay was $97,200 which suggests that increase in the government’s annual wage bill in Wellington since 2017 has grown by $705 million. There’s also been an increase in the number of public servants in Auckland – growing by 2800 to 12,810 since 2017. Anyone suggesting there is no room for cuts here is delusional!

PRODUCTION: Dave Ferguson ................... Ph 027 272 5372 davef@ruralnews.co.nz Becky Williams ......................Ph 021 100 4381 beckyw@ruralnews.co.nz REPORTERS: Sudesh Kissun ........................ Ph 021 963 177 sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz Peter Burke ........................... Ph 021 224 2184 peterb@ruralnews.co.nz MACHINERY EDITOR: Mark Daniel ..............................Ph 021 906 723 markd@ruralnews.co.nz

Want to share your opinion or gossip with the Hound? Send your emails to: hound@ruralnews.co.nz

Still bludging!

Your canine crusader is astounded at the sheer cojones of webbased media company Newsroom and its wont to cadge funding off others. Not content with the $2,189,301 it got in taxpayer monies from the much maligned and highly controversial $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund (interestingly this is 10 times the amount of funding – at $219,000 – that the publishers of NZ Farmers Weekly sucked out of the PIJF) Newsroom has its hand out again. It is now asking its readers for $20,000 so it can fly its inanely boring and sanctimonious ‘columnist’ Rod Oram to Dubai to cover the annual world climate talkfest COP28. This old mutt can think of million things better to do with $20k than paying for this bicycle riding, pompous Pom delivering his ‘the end of the world is nigh’ sermons from the mount from Dubai.

Sheepish

This old mutt understands that a number of high profile sheep studs are unhappy with Beef+ Lamb Genetics’ recent push to include methane traits in sheep. Apparently, several of these studs have written to B+L Genetics asking where it got the mandate for using levy resources – and potentially compromising the world leading SIL database owned by stud breeders – to make this move. Sources tell yours truly that one ag scientist recently mentioned “off record” that while they felt uneasy chasing a non-productive trait, it was the first time in their career that research money was “falling into their laps and laboratories”. Ironically, B+L Genetics must have gotten wind of the breeders’ annoyance and suddenly and swiftly sent out a survey to sheep farmers asking what they thought about methane trait selection – albeit it a few years too late.

AUCKLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Stephen Pollard ......................... Ph 021 963 166 stephenp@ruralnews.co.nz

WELLINGTON SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Ron Mackay ................................. Ph 021 453 914 ronm@ruralnews.co.nz

WAIKATO SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Lisa Wise .................................. Ph 027 369 9218 lisaw@ruralnews.co.nz

SOUTH ISLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Kaye Sutherland .......................Ph 021 221 1994 kayes@ruralnews.co.nz

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Rural News is published by Rural News Group Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of staff, management or directors of Rural News Group Ltd.

RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

OPINION 15

Farming and rugby the winners! I WAS away up north over the big weekend a few weeks back. With the election on the Saturday and then the All Blacks up against our great rugby friends the Irish on the Sunday morning… wow, what a weekend! As the election results started to trickle in that night, I’m sure I felt a huge palpable sigh of relief ripple throughout our rural communities nationwide! With National having promised to “get Wellington out of farming” (finally some wisdom), that response was easy to understand. It has been more than tough being forced to swallow ideological nonsense from big-ego bureaucrats, coming at you through a firehose! Yep, we could put our head on our pillow that Saturday night with a smile on our face! And then we had the All Blacks. With some pundits predicting the worst – and many fans feeling we were going to need a miracle — the ABs surely stood up tall and delivered against the world’s No. 1 team. Indeed, it all added up to a rather supercharged weekend. And then it was on to the semi-finals. The pundits and the ABs fans, in general, seemed to be more buoyant and relaxed for this one. The ABs delivered ‘in spades’ like we thought they would.

FARMER’S CHAPLAIN

Colin Miller

And then to the final. Being a loyal Kiwi of course I was hoping it would go our way. But if not, then the Cup staying in the Southern Hemisphere would still offer a moment to savour. Especially so after hearing some ‘rugby expert’ up in the north predicted all Northern Hemisphere teams for the semis! Ten rugby world cups have been played now and it has only gone north just the once! That is indeed an impressive record. In general, I think the refs did a pretty good job. In the passion of the moment, we tend to forget they are humans, just like us. But like many others, I think it’s past time for the TMOs seriously have their wings clipped! Now, to mention some other “news” that strangely seems to keep escaping the headlines. Out of personal interest, recently I checked on the internet for some info: close to 15 Auckland beaches were closed, all deemed too contaminated and unsafe to swim

in. Wellington too, had several closed for the same reasons. Now if it was a farmer even indirectly responsible for just the one beach, can you imagine the media outrage? For certain, some of our big city politicians would get themselves positioned in

front of the cameras to spew out even more of their usual anti-farmer vitriol. Hang on a minute, I just had a random thought here. Now the Green Party is no longer in government, with all the extra time this allows, perhaps they could roll up their sleeves and

provide some hands-on help cleaning up all the slash from the forestry polluting our rural waterways and on our beaches! Yes, interesting days are up ahead for sure. We in the farming sector will be waiting and watching to see exactly how our new

government progresses with their promise to “get Wellington out of farming”. It has never made sense to me that Wellington has hammered our biggest and most effective export earner, especially when we have such huge debts and financial challenges.

Strange indeed! Once again, with all the turbulent stuff happening in our world, I am truly thankful to have my life anchored to an immoveable Rock! Take care and God Bless. • To contact Colin: farmerchaplain@ ruralnews.co.nz

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR METHANE INSANITY Only 80% of NZ sheep and beef farmers could sustain a methane tax when things were good. Someone should now factor in the decrease in gross returns from the recent slide in commodity prices for beef and sheep meat returns. Add to this the recent tripling of mortgage interest rates and cost of overdraft interest facilities, increases in fertiliser prices and redo the figures. Who knows, taxing temporary emissions of thin air (that we farmers recently extracted from the air), our Government might successfully bankrupt the entire NZ sheep and beef industry. I agree with The Methane Science Accord – taxing methane is: “Unscientific, unjustified and crazy economic insanity”. Dave Stanton Wellspring Farm Geraldine

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

16 AGRIBUSINESS

Record organic milk price SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA’S ORGANIC farmers received a record milk price of $10.80/ kgMS last season. It processed 85 million litres of certified organic milk in 2022-23. For the current season, Fonterra

is forecasting 105 million litres. The co-operative’s organic milk price has fluctuated over the years. In 2016-17 it paid suppliers $8.83/kgMS before dropping to $7.50/kgMS the following year. In 2019-2020, it broke the $10 barrier for the

first time. In 2020-21, the organic milk price dropped to $8.85/kgMS before topping $10.02/ kgMS two years ago. A Fonterra spokesman told Rural News that demand for organic dairy continues to increase with consumers continuing to prioritise health

and wellness, sustainability and animal welfare in their purchasing decisions. However, despite the preference for organic, affordability remains a barrier. Inflation and other economic factors are impacting spending on premium and discre-

tionary products such as organic. “Organic milk supply seems to be coming back into balance after surpluses across the USA and EU in recent years, which is resulting in increasing demand for NZ dairy.” Fonterra supplier

Fonterra organic milk suppliers received a record milk price of $10.80/kgMS last season.

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Adrian Townsend, who runs Durham Farms in Waipu, told Rural News that a higher milk price is always welcome and reflects the hard work and cost that goes into producing an organic product. Townsend points out that this was the first time that the organic milk price was decoupled from the conventional milk price – the price of conventional milk price decreased while the organic milk price increased. “This would be due to the increase in demand globally for organic milk, and a continued shortage of organic dairy producers,” he says. On organic milk price fluctuation over the years, Townsend says that a lack of price certainty and consistency is always a challenge for any business. “As operational costs are always there and with higher inflation, staff shortages, higher interest rates and extreme weather events become a real challenge, especially for small operators,” he explains. “Our approach is to minimise reliance on outsider suppliers with their associated costs and keep everything in-house, for

example growing all our feed on farm.” Durham Farm milks 240 cows. Townsend says moving to an organic operation was the right choice at the time. “For us, it was the best way to produce milk whilst looking after the land. “We are now going the extra step and making our farming regenerative. Over the long term, a regenerative approach to farming should also provide better resilience to climate change.” Durham Farm also produces branded milk for sale in Auckland. Townsend says this shows the demand is there and growing. “As such, we are looking to expand our dairy range to meet this demand.” Fonterra produces a range of organic dairy ingredients – wholemilk powder, skim milk powder, butter, pure milk fat, proteins and cheese – as well as a range of consumer milks, butters and cheeses. Its largest organic market is the US. However, the co-op also sells across NZ, Australia, Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea, Taiwan and South East Asia.

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

18 AGRIBUSINESS

Stinging news from beekeepers DAVID ANDERSON

NEW ZEALAND Beekeeping Inc (NZBI) is keen to let the incoming government know the concerns of the country’s beekeepers. According to Apiarist’s Advocate, a monthly beekeeping magazine, the industry body has drawn up a four-page public brief for the incoming government. This outlines changes NZBI wants from MPI to provide a “competent, legitimate and efficient” service to beekeepers. Representing mainly small to mid-size beekeepers, NZBI’s Apiculture Briefing conveys its analysis of the state of the honey industry as well as offering an agenda of five key recommendations. The briefing describes

the current state of the industry as “shrinking and economically distressed” due to a “destructive combination of industry structure and politics” combined with “poor regulatory management by MPI”. It also warns that the industry faces serious biosecurity risks. The beekeeping newsletter outlines that the brief points out how pollination is being adversely affected as hive numbers fall back. It also explains the leading reasons for the sector’s decline: honey returns below cost of production, larger firms squeezing smaller operators, and successive failures by government and industry groups pertaining to mānuka definitions and protections. The brief also illumi-

NZBI is keen to let the incoming government know the concerns of the country’s beekeepers.

nates the recent “boom to bust” of the honey industry and NZBI’s concerns around the governance structure of the American Foulbrood Pest Management Agency and

its opposition to Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) overseeing the agency. “AFB incidence is rising, as are levies, with steeply declining value

for levy money invested,” the briefing says. NZBI wants the new government to consider competing proposals to the 10-year Plan review that was recently lodged.

Another key concern for the industry body – which was established as an alternate national beekeeping body after the National Beekeeping Association and Feder-

ated Farmers beekeeping division merged to form ApiNZ in 2016 – is the too-frequent auditing requirements of Risk Management Plans for extracting and processing honey. The brief says audits of plants which are not running at that time are “abusive” and “operates against the public interest”. Meanwhile, NZBI describes biosecurity as “the big unspoken issue” of the industry. It concedes that while further incursions are inevitable, NZBI has little confidence in MPI’s biosecurity operation, which it says, “invests too little in border, and especially in vital pre-border checks, and places too much faith in its ability to respond once an incursion occurs”.

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

MANAGEMENT 19

New technology aims to boost emissions reduction effort just for New Zealand, but other nations as well. “We will use the portable chambers alongside the feed efficiency monitoring we already do, but there is also preliminary evidence in sheep that the measures taken in the cattle chambers may provide important insights on feed intake and efficiency as well as methane emissions.” She adds that NZ portable sheep chambers are

LEO ARGENT

AGRESEARCH IS claiming that new technology to measure bovine methane emissions will bolster efforts to reduce the climate change impact from livestock. Portable Accumulation Chambers (PAC) developed by the Crown Research Institute are designed to be transported by road to farms or central locations, where the cattle can be quickly and efficiently tested to see how much methane they emit. AgResearch claims these measures will help farmers understand what the climate change impact is from their herd and individual animals and assist in breeding lower emitting animals. Having used systems like this for sheep since 2015 to great effect, AgResearch senior scientist Dr Suzanne Rowe says this is the first time using PACs to measure emissions from cattle. “The cow walks into the chamber and we capture all of the gas that’s emitted from that animal for one hour. We then use this data to rank animals according to their emissions.” Methane is a shortlived (12 years vs. 3001,000 years CO2) but potent (25-30 times more so than CO2) greenhouse gas emitted by ruminant

now in use in other countries such as the UK and Norway, supporting their efforts to reduce farm emissions. “We are looking forward to trialling the portable cattle chambers overseas, particularly in countries where they have extensive grazing systems and don’t have the infrastructure such as fixed respiration chambers that we are fortunate to have in New Zealand.”

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Portable Accumulation Chambers (PAC) are designed to be transported to farms or central locations, where the cattle can be quickly and efficiently tested to see how much methane they emit.

animals such as cattle. StatsNZ end of year report for 2022 showed that methane emissions had dropped in 10 out of 16 regions between 20212022. With methane reduction targets included in climate change legislation, breeding low methane emitting animals is one way of achieving

reductions without cutting stock numbers or impacting production. Already proven in sheep, low-methane dairy cow genetics are expected be in the market in the next few years. The portable cattle chambers will provide further options on top of testing methods already in use, such as

fixed “respiration chambers” located in a facility in Palmerston North and require the animals to be transported there and spend extended periods in the fixed chambers. Welfare of the animals is carefully monitored and in the rare event they become stressed they are removed from the chambers.

The use of PAC’s and development of low methane genetics is part of a wider nationwide effort with partners such as LIC, CRV, Pāmu, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries to support farmers to reduce their emissions. Rowe says the chambers offer benefits not

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

20 ANIMAL HEALTH

Worms in cattle costly! CATTLE CAN be infected with several species of roundworms when grazing pastures. In severely affected immature calves, look for classic signs of parasitism - weight loss, profuse scouring, dullness. Cattle 18 months-plus are more likely to show depressed growth rates. But when these older cattle are under enough feed stress, they can show more severe disease too. Ostertagia Ostertagia survives across the range of NZ environments. Calves are most at risk – especially from late summer to early winter. Early infections in spring build summer larval numbers on pasture and calves become re-infected with increasing numbers of Type I

Ostertagia into autumn and winter. As calves mature to 12-18 months old, they start to develop resistance to Ostertagia. Stressed and/or underfed older cattle in late winter and spring can be at risk of Type II Ostertagia mass eruptions from the stomach wall. Cattle get sick fast, in as few as two days after such a diet change. Dramatic weight loss and death can occur before animals even start to scour. Treatment Good nutrition, plenty of low worm contamination feed and adequate drench inputs (per your farm system) in calves and R1s. In older cattle, good feeding and management is key. Well-fed, older cattle free of other health

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challenges rarely succumb to Ostertagia. Strategic drench treatments for R2 and adult cattle can sometimes be a good preventive measure. Common treatment times would be pre-winter and/or end of winter. ML/’mectin drenches are particularly effective at removing inhibited larvae. Injections are a good choice for R2 and older cattle. Calves/R1’s should be treated orally with drenches containing ML drench. Cooperia Cooperia live in the small intestine and is a common cause of poor performance in New Zealand calves. Cooperia can lay many eggs and larvae can build up quickly on pasture. It needs higher temperatures than Ostertagia to develop and are usually most troublesome in calves from late spring through their first winter. Calves are most at risk – especially artificially reared animals, intensively grazed in systems dominated by young cattle. As calves reach 12 months, they start to develop some resistance to Cooperia and faecal egg counts start to fall. The bigger and better-grown your calves, the faster they become immune. Very good calves shrug off Cooperia by 6-9 months. Meanwhile, poorly grown, stressed calves may still be susceptible at 12-15 months. Treatment Heavy Cooperia bur-

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dens cause weight loss, scouring and even deaths in calves, though each individual worm is not as nasty as Ostertagia. Many more Cooperia are needed to create the same level of disease. FECs in sick calves may exceed 2000+ eggs per gram. Cooperia oncophora has developed almost complete resistance to the ML/’mectin drench family. If you drench calves with single active injections or pour-on’s, many Cooperia can survive and make calves sick. Cooperia is also starting to show resistance to combination drenches;

don’t presume drenched calves are safe from infection. Spell pastures to reduce worm larval burdens; cross graze with other animals or adult cattle and feed crop or new pasture – these all help reduce your calves’ Cooperia challenge. Trichostrongylus Trichostrongylus axei, also known as Stomach hair worms (T. axei), can infect cattle, horses and sheep. Two other species of Trichostrongylus live in the small intestine. They are mostly a minor part of cattle worm burdens. T. axei can dominate

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outbreaks of clinical parasitism in autumn calves and in R1’s later in winter and into the following spring. Look for reduced appetite, weight loss and scouring. Eggs take at least 5 days to hatch and develop to the infective L3 stage, often longer. From ingestion of L3 larvae to egg laying adults in the gut takes around 3 weeks. This worm tends to be a ‘late bloomer’ in cattle systems, typically peaking on pasture and challenging yearling to 18 month old cattle in their second spring. Like Ostertagia it tolerates cool conditions and can survive frosts.

Older calves and yearlings, autumn-born calves are most at risk. T. axei larvae may peak on pasture as late as October. Undergrown young cattle may not develop strong resistance to this worm until 18-20 months. Treatment/prevention Good nutrition plenty of low worm contamination feed and adequate drench inputs (per your farm system) helps with preventing of this worm in calves and R1 cattle. Spelling pastures to reduce worm larval burdens; cross graze with other animals or adult cattle. Lungworm Dictyocaulus viviparus is the most common and problematic lungworm species in cattle. Signs usually start 2 -3 weeks after infection. Listen for rattly shallow breathing and a harsh cough. Calves lose weight, may appear tucked up and have a harsh coat. The best way to identify worms in faeces is larval recovery, not FEC. Treatment/Prevention Wean calves onto pastures free of very young calves the previous year or onto pastures thoroughly cleaned by other stock classes since. Don’t defer or miss early drenches for newly weaned calves if they’re grazing contaminated pasture. Lungworm almost never occurs in calves reared on cows and weaned in autumn.

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 21

New Holland finally unveils flagship combine harvester MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

FOLLOWING MUCH speculation, New Holland used last week’s giant Agritechnica event in Germany to finally show off its new flagship combine harvester. The range topping colossus is a twin longitudinal rotor design, powered by a 775hp, C16 engine, named the CR 11. The new combine was designed and will be produced at New Holland’s Center of Harvesting Excellence in Zedelgem, Belgium – building on the company’s current flagship combine range, which is topped by the CR10.90. The new combine is said to offer more productivity, close to zero losses, better and more efficient residue management and a significant reduction in downtime. New Holland says the overall objective is to reduce the total cost of harvesting to improve bottom line profitability. Key features include twin 24-inch rotors, a 20,000-litre grain tank and a 210 litre/second unloading rate. Setting out to create a zero-loss machine, designers devel-

oped a double cleaning shoe. The new Twin Clean cleaning shoe comes with two cleaning systems behind each other, with 2 upper sieves, 2 lower sieves, 2 clean grain augers and 2 sets of pressure sensors to measure cleaning shoe load. The system is fully automated to guarantee even cross distribution of the cleaning shoe, for maximum capacity at loss levels close to zero. A completely new residue management system comes with a new chopper and chaff spreader system. This is designed to ensure the best chop quality and even residue spreading over up to 60ft cutting width. A new automated de-slug procedure was designed to reduce downtime when a blockage occurs. This has an automated procedure to guide the operator through an unplugging procedure in a way that clears the combine in minutes rather than hours – without requiring the operator to leave the cab. Downtime prevention is also aided by the combine’s revised driveline simplicity. It has as much as 25% less drive components and with the elimi-

New Holland’s new CR 11 header in action.

nation of all chain drives. The CR11 comes with the new Intelliview 12 display and IntelliSteer guidance system, together with other essential precision farming functions, like Telematics and Remote screen viewing. Additionally, NutriSense is equipped with a NIR sensor. This monitors crop quality via the use of near infra-red light to analyse nutrients like protein, starch and oil contents, plus moisture levels and can create

handypiece ■ Ideal for shearing sheep, alpacas, goats and cow tails. ■ Variable speed from 2600-3500 rpm. ■ Latest brushless motor technology means minimal heat build up ■ 1400gms means 100200gms lighter than standard handpiece. ■ At 2800 rpm the 12-volt lithium battery will crutch 300-400 sheep or trim 400-500 cow tails. ■ Tough alloy switch box with auto rest fuse for overload or lockup – clips to belt.

maps of these for further agronomic analysis. The CR 11 is also compatible with a new 15m (50ft) draper header manufactured by MacDon for New Holland, adding to the overall productivity and field efficiency gains. Recognising the trends for reduced ground compaction in combination with transport width regulations, the CR11 offers a range of wider tracks and bigger tyres, up to 2.32m diameter in the case of the 900-65R46 option.

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 21, 2023

22 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS /RURAL TRADER

Simple, practical hay rakes MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

GRASSLAND SPECIALISTS Kuhn has extended its Gyrorake offering with the addition of the GA 8731+ and GA 9531+ models. Both models are described as “large width” semi-mounted rakes with central delivery. Simple and practical to use, the machines offer raking widths from 7.7– 9.3 metres. This makes them suitable for both

contractors as well as for medium and large farms wishing to increase throughput of round or large square balers and forage harvesters. Offering the ability to deliver adjustable swath widths from 1.4–2.3 metres, the GA 9531+ model uses 15 tine arms on its four metre diameter rotors. This allows operators to group two windrows of straw behind combine harvesters equipped with cutting widths up to 7.5 metres.

Utilising well proven features from the extensive Gyrorake range, the rotor drive features a double reduction via the Master Drive GIII gearbox. This has a proven record of robustness in all conditions. The GA 9531+ model features six wheels per rotor. This incorporates a tandem axle for superior ground following on all types of terrain – working in conjunction with 3-D articulation – alongside increased stability at

higher speeds. The rakes are designed to offer simple adjustment of the working or windrow width and the raking height – with the latter able to be done hydraulically. The Stabilift system locks the rotors in the windrow clearance phase, maximising ground clearance during headland turns. It also helps maintain a low centre of gravity and increased stability, particularly on slopes, while also locking the rotors during transport for increased safety.

Kuhn’s new Gyrorake GA 8731+ and GA 9531+ models are described as “large width” semimounted rakes with central delivery.

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a trailer, it will become an added cost in the switch to autonomy. Ultimately, the process still ties up a tractor. However, the German duo have devised a concept – still in the testing phase – whereby the autonomous unit is connected directly to a tractor by a drawbar and coupling system. Dubbed the Vehicle Transport System (VTS), disengaging the driveline of the 230hp autonomous unit during transport allows it to be classified as a towed implement on the road. An additional bonus

is that any rear mounted kit does not have to be removed for transport. This helps to reduce set-up and transport times, made easier as the system is designed to use standard hydraulic and electrical connections. On the road, the axles of the autonomous unit are controlled in a similar way to a force-steered trailer, with the two companies confirming that the concept has passed road stability and steering tests, with the short turning radius allowing easy negotiation of narrow field entrances. – Mark Daniel

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MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 23 ELECTRIC FENCING

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