Coast & Country - September 2018

Most octogenarians prefer slower lifestyles – but not Mercury Bay 81-year-old Ron Cooke. Developing a passion for horses at a young age, he’s had an incredible show jumping career spanning more than 40 years, and taken on most equestrian jobs. Now he’s passing his knowledge to young riders who are keen to learn, like granddaughter Sirya Smith, aged 10. Read Ron’s story on pages 8-9. Photo: Sharon Wright.

Se e d s o f Su c c e s s PAGE 6-7

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Sh e e p & B e e f PAGE 15-17

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Co u n t r y Li v i n g PAGE 26-29

Av o c a d o s PAGE 52-53

Ma i z e PAGE 41-43

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

When biosecurity means business Spring is in the air. Winter’s doldrums have disappeared, but it’s still a bit wet. Although the extra daylight hours have got most energetic and eager to enjoy the outdoors.

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Farmers should be through the initial onslaught of calving by now, and growers will be past winter pruning. But the growing season is upon us.

Our maize feature, on pages 41-43, captures varieties and services on offer.

And iconic seed business, Kings Seeds, is gearing up for the busy springtime.

The business turns 40 years this year – so we’ve taken a look what remains tried and true, but also how varieties, growers, food trends and biosecurity rules have changed on pages 6-7.

In fact, biosecurity seems to be high on the agenda in many sectors.

On page 4 we highlight how the Mid-Northern A&P Show circuit will have no dairy or beef cattle – or calves – in a move to support the dairy industry’s fight against Mycoplasma ovis.

On page 5 we update readers on the Kiwifruit Claim group filing a cross-appeal over the court ruling which found the Ministry for Primary Industries negligent in letting vine-killing disease Psa-V into New Zealand in 2009 – and why.

Kiwi Farmers Love Gypsum

Another biosecurity development is MPI has introduced tighter import rules for vehicles, machinery, and equipment, to prevent the brown marmorated stink bug arriving in NZ – see page 45.

Plus, the Environmental Protection Authority has approved use of the Samurai wasp in NZ in the event of this stink bug invading, but its use comes with conditions – see page 50.

Also this month, New Zealand’s largest avocado exporter, Avoco, is sending the fruit to China under its Avanza brand for the first time. See page 53 to find out which consumer they’re targeting.

On page 48 a University of Auckland researcher is advising NZ’s kiwifruit industry to fast-tracking its shift towards biopesticides as consumer demand for residue-free produce is on the rise.

One of our roving reporters, Maddison Brown, shines a spotlight on dairying in France via her overseas travels, on pages 24-25. And we talk to a couple promoting frugal living on pages 26-27.

They utilise every inch their backyard very smartly to live off their own land and avoid the supermarkets as much as possible.

So there’s plenty of food for thought on how we utilise the land – but also how biosecurity plays a big part in the success of our primary industries.

Merle Foster

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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Danni brings Young Grower title back to bay Danni ‘deserves her hard-won victory’

The 24-year-old – who works as a technical advisor for Avoco in Tauranga, where her role includes techA “fantastic” young avocado grower has brought nical support, data analysis, mapping, research, and 2018’s Young Grower of the Year title back to the Bay avocado nursery support also won finance, innovaof Plenty. tion, and speech awards.

As regional BOP champion, Danni van der Heijden Runner-up was Lisa Arnold from Hawke’s Bay, clinched the title after a day-long gauntlet of horticul- while third place went to Central Otago’s Hamish tural challenges, testing her skills and knowledge to the Darling. limits – against six others – on August 22 in Napier.

“It’s really great to have won, and bring the title back to the BOP,” says Danni, who continues the streak of BOP women taking the national title, following Erin Atkinson’s victory last year.

“I was convinced to enter by both Erin and some colleagues, and I’m very glad I came back.

“This is a wonderful industry and a great career; it’s diverse, there’s lots to learn, and you can see the results of your work every day. I love what I do, and I’m thrilled to have won.”

Alongside practical and business modules, contestants took part in a leadership panel discussion on sustainability, and delivered a speech to an awards dinner of more than 200 people, where they spoke of the future of horticulture as we strive towards a carbonzero future.

“We can remain static and get left behind,” Danni said during her award-winning speech, “or as an industry we can innovate, develop new technologies, and thrive”.

Danni van der Heijden says horticulture is a wonderful industry, offering great career opportunities.

Young grower winner Danni van der Heijden.

Danni van der Heijden competing in Napier.

Horticulture New Zealand president Julian Raine says the competition aims to foster excellence in young people in horticulture, and all finalists perfectly embodied this ideal.

“Danni is a fantastic young grower, and an excellent representation of the talent both in the BOP and NZ as a whole. “ ith such a great crop of finalists, and more regions joining the competition, I’m hoping to see even more next year. This was a hard-won victory, and Danni deserves it.”

The competition is run by Horticulture NZ and supported by Horticentre Charitable Trust.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Sidestepping tradition to support dairy industry Next month starts a new season of A&P shows – and 11 Mid Northern region shows have cancelled their dairy and beef cattle sections, while some will offer ‘calf club’ with no calves – to support the dairy industry’s fight against Mycoplasma ovis.

The tradition of showing dairy and beef cattle will not be seen this year at local A&P shows.

But there could be more pet goats and lambs to see.

The Royal Agricultural Society – the A&P society of New Zealand – Conference in Wellington in June was briefed by Government, Ministry for Primary Industries and other officials about the threat of M. ovis.

RAS voted at their AGM not to blanket ban anything but leave decision-making with each A&P committee, which have since made their calls for their upcoming shows. Matamata A& Show president hil est says his committee – including four members who regularly show cattle – have made a tough decision to can dairy cattle and goat sections at their October show.

“Our show is the first off the block each season and while I haven’t spoken to other A&P Committees, I’m guessing a lot will follow suit.” ut hil is hopeful his show’s traditional drawcard may be re-instated next year, depending on how eradication procedures for M. ovis are progressing.

“This year the calf club competition will proceed but without calf entries, so youngsters can still enter their pet goats or lambs.”

“We’re hoping we’ll be able to reinstate them next year, with a bit of luck,” says hil, who says it’s the association’s way of supporting their community’s rural dairying industry.

He says the Matamata show usually has 15-20 dairy animals on-site – not a huge number but still a big attraction for city folk. “Many city people come to see a cow being milked or a calf because often it’s their only window into what rural life is like.”

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may look a little bit different due to the impact of M. ovis, says general manger Cara Ferris.

“However, we’re taking steps to ensure the prestige of ‘showing’ carries on while finding ways to connect our community through the best event we can.”

Cara says while the beef section is cancelled, the dairy section is running an on-farming judging competition with prizegiving on Saturday. “All animal schedules will be available end of August.”

Cara says a new feature this year is a high-powered seminar looking at the dairy industry, with announcements on the topic and speakers to come soon.

“We also have calf club happening with open invitation for lambs and kid goats – and our poultry section may have an egg/chicken challenge.

“Our school programme will show youngsters parts of the rural sector they wouldn’t normally see, including a closed herd coming in to demonstrate milking for our children’s total farmyard experience.”

Meanwhile, Te Aroha A&P Show, on November 3, has cancelled its dairy and beef cattle showing plus calf club. aihi A& Show, on November 10, won’t hold dairy or beef cattle showing but will accept pet lambs and goat entries to its ‘calf club’.

Cambridge A&P Show, on November 24, will not run any cattle or calf events. ut organisers say all is not lost “as we’re going to aim to run a lamb day for the kids “This, we hope, will be well supported.”

Te Kauwhata A&P Show, on December 8, is not hosting dairy or beef cattle or calves, but children can bring goats and lambs to calf club.

Paeroa A&P Show, on January 12, 2019, has cancelled all cattle and calf events. Organisers say they feel it is the best interests of the rural community. “ orses, goats are to carry on as usual though.”

Rotorua A&P Show, on January 26, 2019, has cancelled its dairy and beef cattle sections.

Tauranga A&P Show president David Harricks says his show – on January 13 – won’t have cattle competitions but hopes to host an exhibition of cattle of one stud.

Katikati A&P Show president Louellen Davies says her show on February , 2019 has heeded advice from Federated Farmers that overall it would be most sensible not to hold dairy and beef competitions.

Louellen says the move is a blow for the Katikati show “but think we have to err on the side of safety”.

Te uke A& Show, on February 9, 2019, isn’t holding dairy or beef cattle competitions, or calf club.

Morrinsville A&P Show, on March 2, 2019, had not clarified if its dairy events will go ahead or not, before this publication went to print.

Merle Foster

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www.functionalfertiliser.co.nz Kiwifruit Claim chair John Cameron is calling on the Government to accept the High Court decision which found MPI negligent.

The iwifruit Claim group has filed a cross-appeal over the igh Court decision which found the Ministry for rimary ndustries negligent in letting vine-killing disease sa- into New ealand in 2009, which devastated the kiwifruit industry.

This comes ust after the Crown recently appealed the igh Court decision that found M negligent.

The igh Court decision, released on une 29, partially upheld a claim by the iwifruit Claim group of 212 growers for damages over the sa outbreak in 2010 but did not uphold the claim by the group’s second plaintiff Seeka, saying post-harvest operators were one step removed from the direct harm suffered by growers so were less closely connected to the conse uences of ministry negligence.

Now, the Crown, on behalf of M , and the iwifruit Claim group which represents the 212 growers and Seeka will have to wait until later this year or early2019 when the Court of Appeal will hear both the Crown’s appeal and the iwifruit Claim group’s crossappeal at the same time. n a statement, dated uly 24, 2018, M says: “The Crown appeal seeks to clarify the scope for government regulators to be sued in negligence”.

M also added it considered the igh Court finding “has the potential to significantly impact on the Ministry’s biosecurity operations”.

Now iwifruit Claim group chairman ohn Cameron is calling on the Government to accept the comprehensive igh Court decision which found M was responsible for the sa outbreak, saying growers have been left with no choice but to cross-appeal after the Crown decided to appeal following its loss. “ e were gutted with the Government’s move to appeal, it was devastating to growers.

“Enough is enough it’s time for M to accept full responsibility. The sa incursion caused significant losses to many growers and others and could easily have been avoided if M had done their ob properly.” ohn says his group’s cross-appeal challenges the decision that the Government did not owe a duty of care to Seeka as a post-harvest operator.

“Seeka suffered massive financial losses during the sa outbreak, and if we are successful liability will escalate considerably,” says ohn. “ t will also confirm that M was negligent when they failed to inspect the shipment of banned kiwifruit plant material, infected with sa, when it arrived from China.

“M told the court that inspection was re uired under the iosecurity Act and under their own regulations, and admitted they failed to inspect the package.” ohn says his group is unaware of any other instance where M has admitted to being responsible for a biosecurity outbreak when they had the opportunity to prevent its entry. “ sa was a known pest and M had regulations and protocols in place to ensure it didn’t come into the country. “ t was proven and admitted by M in court, that they had failed to follow their own rules and performed multiple acts of negligence which meant sa was allowed to be brought into the country.” ohn says if M had been careful and followed their regulations, like the Australian biosecurity agency did, sa would not have entered N .

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“This is not a case of expecting the biosecurity system to prevent every pest incursion from happening, this is a case of where M ’s actions let a known pest into the country. “They could have stopped it and did not.” ohn says growers were in tears when the igh Court decision came out. “ e’ve had to fight a long and expensive battle to finally get some accountability for what happened.

“These growers are not getting any younger, and since the claim was filed in 2014, at least three claimants have died. owever, it is our understanding the estates of these claimants will still be pursuing their claim.”

And the group remains committed to fighting the Government and M for growers to be properly compensated for the losses caused, says ohn.

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Growing success at an iconic seed business Ask any home gardener and it’ll be more than likely they’ve laid their gloves on a packet of ings Seeds, which is celebrating 40 years of supplying a myriad of varieties to greenfingers up and down the country.

Owners Gerard and arbara Martin say it was 19 8 when founder oss ing, with wife Glenys, set up a herb nursery at home in Avondale, Auckland, and began selling plants before realising a real demand for herb seed nationwide.

The first ings erb Seeds catalogue was produced in 19 9 with 24 pages listing herbs and owers, eight gourmet vegetables and 1 0 herb plants.

“Ross used to work at Yates in their seed vault. He perceived they were selling owers and vegetable seeds but not herb seeds,” says Gerard.

“So he started growing herb plants from home. The first year he grew 000 parsley plants they sold out.”

“The second year he discovered it was easier to send seeds – rather than plants – around the place. “ t took off from that point he kept adding more and more varieties other companies weren’t offering at the time the weird and wonderful.”

Gerard says oss’ customers were home gardeners all over N . “ e really had a point of difference. And the ings kept it simple making their own packets and spooning seed into them, which we still do today.” n the early-1980s, as the ings started a retail shop on Great North d which became an landmark with its uni ue Tudor-style building full of dried owers, potpourri, essential oils, gifts, seeds, plants and mail order seed business is when Gerard, a grower himself in Auckland, would meet oss.

Wholesale pricelist

The Martins moved to evin, with Gerard growing cut owers and producing bulbs and small plants.

“From buying seed from oss we became friendly.

“Years later the Kings were looking at retiring and we thought it was good opportunity to pick up a business and run with it,” says Gerard. n 1999 the Martins moved the business from Avondale to Katikati in one weekend – and discontinued the retail side. ith a background in ower growing, supplying N markets for 10-plus years, Gerard and arbara focused on mail orders.

“One of the very first things Gerard did was create a wholesale pricelist. That encouraged more growers to buy in economical uantities,” says arbara. n 1999 their customer database was about 90 per

Gerard and Barbara Martin are celebrating 40 years of Kings Seeds. Photos: Merle Foster. cent home gardeners. “Today our biggest customer group, by a small margin, is commercial growers,” says arbara. “ hat feel is we’ve had a really loyal group of home gardeners, who have decided they can be uite successful at growing varieties with our seeds.

“So they’ve nearly crossed the line into being commercial growers. They’re small growers that fre uent farmers’ markets and such venues selling their produce.

“This group has moved from being a home gardener, who simply does it for pleasure, to a small grower making a living out of it.” ut arbara says their actual type of customer has ...continued remained.

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Evolving but still filling the packets by hand continued...

“They’re still probably 35-60 years of age. And the gender-balance is quite even.

“What we’re trying to do, moving into internet activity, is to attract that younger gardener. Because in the end our loyal loving gardeners are an aging population.”

Staffing has gone from the Martins to nine permanent staff, two casual students, and a few extras during the busy spring-time. And a massive evolution is the way the packet is printed.

“It was manual process – now we have machine,” says Barbara.

In 1999 Gerard says the internet was still in edging stages. “The database we inherited was simply order forms from the year before in seven banana boxes.

“We didn’t have emails. A lot of orders were faxed,” says Gerard. Every mail pile was a thick wad of orders.

“The first year we sent out our catalogue in 1999 we hand-addressed every single envelope.”

behind the Northern Hemisphere – so you can get a feel for trends.

“Then I have a look at our range to see if there are gaps to plug.”

More compliance

Gerard sources varieties via existing supply networks overseas. “I look what they’re offering; and whether the plant is permitted entry to NZ via M ’s biosecurity rules.

“We have to ensure each seed variety is compliant and meet the standards; and they’re suitable for growing in NZ. We want to make it easy for people to grow, so people enjoy success.”

Gerard says it’s getting harder each year to comply with biosecurity rules.

“There’s just more and more hoops to jump through, much of my time is spent working out compliance.”

And there are varieties the Martins

Virtual shop

“Today our database has more than 50,000 people – the catalogue is printed at the printers, plastic-wrapped, labeled and dispatched without us even seeing it. In fact, our customers see it before we do.”

The Tudor-style King’s Herb Heaven shop in Auckland.

Today 95 per cent can’t get into NZ due to biosecurity of orders are made via the Kings Seeds rules. “All [imported] varieties have website –‘mail’ orders only trickle in.“I to be recorded on the NZ Biosecurity like to think of it not as mail order but internet shopping – because we’re now a Index before you’re allowed to import them. If they’re on the index there may virtual shop, open 24/7,” says Barbara. be conditions they have to meet. SomeThough a few faxes and cheques still times suppliers can meet these rules, arrive.

Varieties offered are kept between 900- sometimes they can’t,” says Barbara.

Gerard says it’s extremely hard to get 1000 – but Gerard alters offerings as new varieties listed on the NZ Biosecuthings go in and out of popularity. rity ndex. “The Ministry for rimary “ oss’ first catalogue was primarIndustries have made it very hard. ily herbs with a few gourmets. Then “First you have to pay a deposit, then he developed a ower section,” says arbara. ried owers were a big deal in prove there’s an advantage of having the plant here – it can’t be just because it the 1980s. “They really dropped off.” looks pretty, there has to be economic Today microgreens have ‘wow factor, benefit. as do edible owers, culinary herbs and “Then you have to satisfy the Departheirlooms. “We’ve had microgreens ment of Conservation, all regional since 2002 and organic varieties since 2000,” says Barbara. “And we’ve brought councils; you’re required to send a letter out to all iwi in NZ, about 500, and in a wild ower section.” gain their approval. They’re entitled to So how does Gerard decide what to object. You also have to prove it won’t be include? “We look at what’s sold well, a weed. So Gerard says NZ seed importand what hasn’t. I’m always perusing ers don’t try to add new varieties to the overseas catalogues. We’re a season

These spoons have been in use to measure seeds for packets since the early days of Kings Seeds.

armen unlop and illie o immons still fill seed packets by hand – just like 40 years ago. index. “It’s just not economically viable. So no new species are coming in.”Gerard says the index also omits many varieties already present in N . “ hen M created this index in 1998 the list wasn’t complete.

There’s something like 50,000 species in NZ but the list only comprises of 36,000. So a big band of plants weren’t put on the index, instead deemed to be foreign plants at that time, you now can’t import despite them already being here.”

And today where food comes from, organic choices, clean eating, food sustainability and supporting local business can factor in to how gardeners choose seeds.

Spray-free and no residual chemicals are in favour too. lus, organics have changed. “ ack in our early days organics were seen as a ‘greenie’ movement; now it’s much more mainstream,” says Barbara.

The future The Martins say: “ e want to continue growing but not at an exponential rate that means we Merle Foster loose contact with our customers”.

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A lifetime around horses Mercury Bay man Ron Cooke’s show jumping journey started as a young boy.

“My father was a blacksmith and horse dealer, and I spent plenty of time following him around as a lad.

“I wouldn’t get out of the way, so he gave me a go at riding and I never looked back,” says the 81-year-old, who now devotes his time to training young riders at Mercury Bay Equestrian Academy.

With a show jumping career that spans more than 40 years, Ron says all he’s ever wanted to do is work with horses. “There’s not much to do with horses that I haven’t done.”

As well as being a successful show jumper, Ron has been an international dressage judge. He’s trained other riders, bred horses and been a horse dealer. He’s also played polo and been a rodeo rider.

Ron was fortunate to train with some of the big names in show jumping as a youngster and this cemented his love of the sport.

A memory that sticks in Ron’s mind isn’t one of his achievements on the international stage, rather a record-breaking jump he made in Auckland when he was in his early-20s.

“In about 1963, I broke the Auckland high jump record with a jump of 6ft 3.5 inches [189cm],” he says.

Shortly after that, Ron was selected as a member of the New Zealand show jumping team that competed in the North Island against a visiting Australian team. hile Andrew hite and Telebrae were the first show jumping team to represent New Zealand at the Olympics in 1960, trans-Tasman competitions were more common at the time because the cost of getting horses and riders to international events, says Ron. Show jumping and eventing is much different now than it was when Ron started out, and that’s a good thing he reckons.

Career highlights

The professional era, and support from organisations like the Sports Foundation, make the expensive world of eventing more accessible for riders, says Ron.

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Retired international show jumper Ron Cooke, teaching his granddaughter Sirya Smith, aged 10, to ride.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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Ron passes on his passion for show jumping

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plans to slow down. The passion for horses that’s used equipment that he’s accumulated over driven him since he was a young boy sees him working the years, which he sells to riders.

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The octogenarian now trains young riders at Mercury Bay Equestrian Academy, which he established five years ago when he moved to the Coromandel Peninsula from Auckland.

“This is what I do now. I want to pass on my knowledge and make good riders better.”

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was working on reacted to another colt and lashed out, giving him three broken ribs.

That would have been bad enough, but a couple of weeks later Ron had to attend a sale on behalf of a client and getting there by car was absolute misery, he says.

“I travelled in the front seat, which was down as at as it would go, and felt every stone and bump we drove over that day.”

Just some of Ron Cooke’s ribbons from his days competing.

He’s got more stored away in bags.

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“A lot of good riders of my era got stuck because they simply didn’t have the money needed to compete. Riders covered their own costs back then.”

Ron supported himself by learning the blacksmith trade from his father and is an experienced farrier.

“I’ve never made a hang of a lot of money out of it,” he laughs. “But I’ve been doing something I enjoy all my life.”

One of the highlights of Ron’s breeding career was producing stallion Hi Tensile, which went on to be part of the Japanese show jumping team. It was a real experience transporting Hi Tensile and 15 other horses to Japan by sea, recalls Ron. As well as the highlights, there have been difficult times including many broken bones.

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Ron Cooke puts 18-year-old Aimee Harnett and her horse through their paces.

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Ron Cooke with one of his favourite saddles he used for competing during his show jumping career.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Wind farm proposed for Kaimai Ranges A 24-turbine wind farm – some with blades up to 207m high – has been proposed for the northern end of the Kaimai Ranges, near Paeroa.

Kaimai Wind Farm Limited has lodged resource consent applications with Hauraki District Council and Waikato Regional Council for the wind farm, which will cover 1304 hectares bordering Rotokohu Rd, Paeroa, and State Highway 26 at Tirohia.

Applications will be processed jointly by the two councils. Resource consent applications lodged with HDC are for the

proposed construction of 24 large-scale wind turbines.

Seven of the turbines would be 180m high – to the blade tip standing upright – and 17 would be 207m high.

Other proposed structures include a substation, two lattice transmission towers, two overhead powerlines, and 18.9km of on-site roading.

Earthworks will include 900,000m3 of cut material and 113,500m3 of engineered fill. t is estimated ,000m3 of finishing aggregate will be needed for on-site roads.

Some will be obtained from off-site, how-

ever two on-site quarries are also proposed to supply roading material. The main site access is proposed to be from the south – from Wright Rd, which comes off Rawhiti Rd – and turbine parts are proposed to be transported from Tauranga, through Matamata-Piako District, to the site. Rotokohu Rd may also be used for other materials.

Meanwhile resource consent applications to C are to authorise specific aspects of land use; removal of vegetation, earthworks, to permit the discharge of surplus soil and surface water associated with the construction phase of the

project and culvert upgrades. The company has requested the resource consent applications are publicly notified, which means there will be an opportunity for community feedback via written submissions.

Notification will occur once all further information requested from the applicant has been received, according to HDC. Once notified, hard copies will be available for inspection - in C offices and libraries in Ngatea, Paeroa and Waihi. Those considered directly affected by the proposal will be notified of the applications by post.

Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga says it’s still very early days and his council needs to ensure the information received from the company is complete and technically robust before notifying the community and asking for feedback.

“We understand there is a high level of interest in this project and we’ll make sure people have every opportunity to give us feedback on this proposal when the time comes.

“Details of how and when you can do this will be advertised, on our Facebook page, and posted on our website,” says John.

“We’ll also provide regular updates on the applications’ progress and details in relation to the hearing as they come to hand.” t is likely independent commissioners will be appointed to decide on whether or not the application is approved, says John. Find out more at: www.hauraki-dc.govt.nz/services/resource-consents/ kaimai-wind-farm-project/

New ‘helping hand’ for farmers A new service, to spread skills and knowledge across the primary sector, is aimed at helping busy farmers.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Climate Change Minister James Shaw launched the Extension Service Model – which will be rolled out during four years by the Ministry for rimary ndustries, with million from Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures – late-August.

“We’re not starting from zero on agricultural extension, which is where knowledge, technology and tools are shared with farmers to improve their farming systems,” says Damien.

“There are a range of good extension programmes underway, but there is opportunity for us to play a stronger role in partnering with industry to support better coordination and targeting of services that focus on sustainable and profitable farming.”

James says the initiative will support farmers to achieve greater sustainability and value in their operations, “which can help lift water quality, improve biosecurity and help meet NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions targets”.

CHICKENS & POULTRY

Page 11

A chook feeder with great safety features There is an old saying: “You never regret buying quality” – and Grandpa’s Feeders are definitely uality.

“Our automatic chook feeders are made from galvanised steel and have been designed so the feed stays clean and dry, out of reach of birds and rodents and always accessible to the chooks which tend to lay more eggs if they have ‘on demand’ feeding,” says Alla Kirkham, who with husband Mark owns Grandpa’s Feeders at Whakamarama.

The feeders were designed by Mark’s father in 1995 and in 1999 they took them to the Fieldays for the first time. hat started off as a hobby has now become a business. To keep up with demand the feeders are now made in a factory, instead of on the farm.

Grandpa’s Feeders are designed with a deep tread plate so the chooks can comfortably stand on it so the hopper opens and feed is available. The hopper is sloped so the feed is pushed forward and a grill, which moves down as the hopper is emptied.

“There is no chance of the feeder jamming so the food is

always owing. The opening is ust large enough so the chooks can’t get in and become trapped. There are side guards to prevent them from sneaking a feed without stepping on the tread plate.

“If others step off, the lid will come down on them, which is also why we have a deep tread plate. “These features make the feeder much safer,” says Alla.

Grandpa’s Feeders are ideal for small numbers of chooks and there are now several commercial free range poultry farms using them.

To accompany the feeders, they’ve recently designed a reliable automatic drinker that provides clean water on demand for poultry.

A chook using the reliable Helen Wilson automatic drinker.

Chooks using the feeder made from galvanised steel.

Add some eggs and character to your backyard When Fiona Vincent was a young girl she can remember helping her grandad feed the chickens at his place and from that she has developed a love of chickens.

until eight years.

Everything produced on the poultry farm is sold such as: fertile eggs, one-to-five-day-old chicks, 12-week-old pullets and roosters for breeding.

The poultry breeds are kept in separate runs to ensure the purity of the breed “I have always had and all have access to house chooks and when outside pasture we had the opportunity at different times to buy Poultry Valley of the day. & Lifestyle two years Heritage breed ago, we jumped at the chickens don’t need chance,” says Fiona. a lot of care and add Originally the business was near Tahuna and Fiona, Silver Dorking chickens is one of the many heritage some character to the with husband Bruce, breeds you can buy from Poultry Valley & Lifestyle. farmyard, says Fiona. shifted it to their piece of land at Waiuku.

“We wanted to preserve the heritage breeds in New Zealand. The Ministry for Primary Industries has stopped chickens being imported into New Zealand because of the risk of disease.

“We breed blue, black and white orpingtons; gold, silver, blue and buff lace Wyandotte’s; silver Dorking; barred Plymouth Rock; Welsummers, which is a breed from Holland; leghorns and light, buff, speckled and coronation Sussex chickens,” says Fiona.

Fiona describes the heritage breeds as “pets that lay eggs”. They produce an egg every 26 hours or six times a week and have a break in the winter to give their bodies a rest. The optimum laying age is 18 months to six years, and they can live

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LIFESTYLE FARMING

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Ensure you write what you mean to say incorrectly for years – or, in some cases, our entire life.

So make sure you write what you mean to say with this word-nerd’s guide to unscrambling the English language, titled: ‘Word to the Wise – untangling the mix-ups, misuse and myths of language’ by New Zealand author Mark Broatch.

The useful reference untangles the mix-ups and misuses of language so you can ensure you’ve got the word you’re looking for, whether it’s ‘taught’, ‘taut’, ‘tort’ or ‘torte’.

Whether you’re tweeting, writing an essay or drafting your magnum opus, commonly confused and misused words can hamper your communication.

Even the best wordsmiths can find themselves tripping over words that are commonly misused, mixed up or misspelled. Most of us have suffered the embarrassment of suddenly discovering we’ve been using or spelling a word

N NIE

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ith definitions, examples of how to sharpen up text and improve your writing, a list of useful social media abbreviations, and a rundown on unusual plurals, this engaging look at the often bizarre and frustrating English language has got you covered.

‘Word to the Wise’ will help you get your word use straight, whether you’re writing a book, blog, email or text message.

Thanks to Exisle Publishing, Coast and Country News has a copy of ‘Word to the wise’ by Mark Broatch to give away.

To be in to win, email captions for the photo to the right and send with your name and address with Country Funnies as the subject line to merle@sunmedia.co.nz Or put these details on an envelope and post to ‘Word to the Country Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 to Wise’ is the book prize for arrive by October 19.

September.

The winner of the July Country Funnies

caption is Lynn Pinkerton of Te Awamutu for her caption: “May the force bee with you”. She wins a copy of the book ‘My grandfather’s war’ by Glyn Harper and Jenny Cooper.

Keep an eye out for ketosis this calving or lambing The metabolic disease ketosis – also known as acidosis – is often seen in high-production cows or cows on a poor diet. It’s also not uncommon in sheep and goats and is typically referred to as “sleepy sickness”.

The prevalence of the disease will often vary from season to season and tend to be greater where multiple young are expected. Signs of the disease can be seen prior to birth but are more commonly seen in the first month after calving or lambing.

Ketosis occurs when a cow’s energy source is compromised through a deficiency of glucose in the blood and body tissues, most notably the brain. In ruminants, glucose is produced from carbohydrates (pasture). High production cows may well not be eating enough carbohydrates to satisfy their glucose needs, or the feed they’re consuming may be deficient in carbohydrates.

There are two forms: Wasting ketosis and nervous ketosis.

Phone: 07 362 8433

Affected individuals with wasting ketosis may have a sweet smell about them, a decline in appetite, be very restless but have very low energy levels. Their head will tend to be hung low and may show signs of tremors or staggering. Their urine may smell like acetone, similar to nail polish remover.

Signs of nervous ketosis are more sudden and may include blindness, aimless wandering, strange tongue movements including obsessive licking. They may also walk in circles and bellow loudly for no apparent reason.

Ketosis is generally treated with an intravenous dextrose/glucose solution and a monopropylene glycol/ glycerine-based drench. This provides an instant energy boost that may be life-saving for mother and a newborn alike.

If the condition is critical and intravenous is required, care should be taken when doing this as temperament can be unpredictable even in a normally placid individual.

If the combination of injectable and oral treatments is not enough to get the cow or sheep back to normal there is probably a further complicating factor or factors; in which case it’s best to contact your vet to assess.

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Page 13

Plan ahead or lose subdivision opportunities Rules relating to subdivision are always changing – sometimes in a major way.

So, if you’re managing a block of rural land you should keep abreast of the rules. Too often we have people wanting to do what their neighbour did five of 10 years ago and we must disappoint them.

Currently, there are major plan changes underway in the Waikato and Coromandel and minor tweaks are always on the go. In the Coromandel landowners recently lost the ability to subdivide with the average size of the resultant blocks being more than 20ha. They’re now fighting in the Environment Court to get that rule back.

In the Waikato a recent announcement has opened opportunities for those in the old Franklin council area and carried forward existing subdivision rules

in the original Waikato area. However, don’t be complacent if this offers you opportunities – it may not last long. What we can see, as with Coromandel, is the final rule following council hearings is not what was advertised or requested in submissions.

There’s been a huge shift towards directing lifestyle living into enclaves in villages or the outskirts of towns. Typically, these very small blocks, more residential in nature, are too small for some. Simultaneously, other rural subdivision is being eliminated completely or limited to very large blocks. While this is understood in relation to large tracts of arable land, there is a place for subdivision on less productive land – it is claimed small blocks can have a higher productivity than some pastoral land.

By planning ahead, and taking advantage of past rules, many of our clients have established multi-

ple adjoining titles. This brings many opportunities to change the shape and size of these titles.

Most councils allow some form of boundary adjustment. This provides a huge advantage when you need to raise capital for a purchase, settle an independent family member or dispose of a house on-farm.

I don’t see this trend being reversed in future, short of an uprising by landowners. My advice is to consider your options and plan ahead now. Otherwise, if your circumstances change, and you want a smaller farm or some exibility with your titles, you’ll be forced to sell up and move.

If you’re planning your future and wish to clarify any subdivision or boundary adjustment issues, feel free to give me a call. I’m happy to discuss the situation to see if it is worth pursuing.

Brent Trail, managing director

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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SHEEP & BEEF

Spring Angus sale coming up “Our Angus herd was established by in 1997 in Waikite Valley, 25km south of Rotorua, and though we are recent to New Zealand Angus, my family has been raising registered Angus in Montana for more than 90 years,” says Sherrie Stokman, who owns Stokman Angus Stud with her husband, Mark.

ling bulls, and 35 autumn-born 18-month-old Angus heifers.

Every bull in the sale is above the NZ average for self-replacing and Angus Pure Indexes, says Sherrie. “Our programme focuses on using semen from the highest genetic proven bulls we can source, as well as using a few of our top yearling bulls and sourcing what we feel are some of the best genetics in NZ, for our clean up bulls.

“We want quiet maternal cows

that calve easily, have moderate birthweights, but still be above average for 400-day and 600-day weights as farmers are still paid by the kilogram.

Sherrie says they’re slowly bringing in marbling “but don’t want to lose our other positive traits”.

“We’ve also focused on breeding quiet cattle, and they are a pleasure to handle, whether we are tagging calves or working with the bulls,” says Sherrie.

Helen Wilson

“And the cattle are grazed up to 2900m in elevation, and in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit,” says Sherrie.

Currently, the Stockmans are calving 270 registered cows, 70 autumn calving commercial Angus cows, and fattening around 500 head of Angus steers and heifers.

They’re completing a sale barn on the farm – and will hold their ninth annual spring yearling Angus sale on Wednesday, September 19, this year.

They will be selling 85 year-

The annual stock number survey conducted by B+LNZ’s Economic Service shows 3.7 million beef cattle with beef production continuing to grow.

The largest contributor to the increase in the number of beef cattle was a lift in weaner cattle in Marlborough-Canterbury, which was driven by younger cattle being retained by beef breeders.

The research shows the impact of Mycoplasma bovis on sheep and beef farms has been mixed.

Beef+LambNZ economic service chief economist Andrew Burtt says the analysis reveals a younger ewe ock as farmers retain more hoggets for future production. The number of breeding ewes fell in all regions of NZ – and by 2.1 per cent overall.

Sheepmeat and beef levies to increase Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Board has increased sheepmeat and beef levies following support from farmers.

From October 1, the sheepmeat levy will jump by 10 cents to 70 cents per head and the beef levy by 80 cents to $5.20 per head.

This is 0.4 per cent of the average slaughter value for prime steer/ heifer, 0.7 per cent cull dairy cow, 0.7 per cent of lamb, and 1.1 per cent of

mutton over the last three years.

Additional levies will be invested in the international activation of the Taste Pure Nature origin brand, and the Red Meat Story, helping lift the sector’s environmental performance and reputation; telling the ‘farmer story’ better; and strengthening B+LNZ’s capability to address biosecurity risks. Almost 63 per cent of survey respondents backed the increases.

Stokman / Heather Dell Sale

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NZ beef production continues to grow New Zealand’s beef cattle herd increased by 1.9 per cent during the last year while the decline in the sheep ock was slowed by a lift in hoggets as farmers responded positively to strong prices and good grass growth leading into winter, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand.

Page 15

“The number of breeding ewes decreased 3.5 per cent to 8.3 million in the North Island, while South Island numbers dropped 0.8 per cent to nine million.

“The decrease largely re ects farmers taking advantage of strong prices for mutton. There was also a preference – particularly in the older farmer demographic – towards less labour-intensive livestock options to sheep.”

Conse uently, the national hogget ock is up on last year. “Hogget numbers increased 2.5 per cent to 9.1 million, largely from Marlborough-Canterbury where ewe hoggets were retained to replenish declining ewe ocks, and trade lamb purchases from Southland due to dry summer conditions.

The lamb crop is expected to be down 3.8 per cent to 22.8 million. This follows a record lambing percentage the previous season and a smaller breeding ewe ock but moderated by a lift in lambs from hoggets mated.

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SHEEP & BEEF

Page 16

Responding to global trends and driving efficiency is critical The red meat sector is well positioned to build on its $7.15 billion contribution to the New Zealand economy, says Meat Industry Association chairperson HARVESTING &Loughlin.

John

discerning about how their food is produced, and where it comes from, and NZ’s almost exclusively free-range grass-fed production system is a key point of difference that we need to better capitalise on, says John.

Responding to the challenge of plant-based meat substitutes like the Impossible Burger – which Air NZ Across the industry – at farmer, recently began serving on some ights processor, marketer and government – is also something the industry is levels – there is investment in initiaworking on, says John. tives to drive better economic returns, improve market access, deliver better MIA chair John Loughlin. Farmers are more aware of these ethical eating trends than ever before, environmental sustainability and address and a bigger focus on environmentally-sustainable the challenges of changing consumer eating trends. farming practices is evident.

“The industry is working more collaboratively In May Beef+LambNZ launched ‘Taste Pure than ever and we have shared aspirations for better Nature’ a global brand to underpin red meat exportoutcomes,” says John. ers’ marketing programmes and increase the demand But one of the biggest challenges the industry faces for premium NZ red meat. is increasing the profitability of the red meat sector “‘Taste Pure Nature’ will help overseas consumers sustainably, says ohn, because eroding profitability understand the unique characteristics of our has created an economic imperative for sheep and product. It helps tell New Zealand’s red meat story,” beef farmers to transfer land use to dairy, forestry or says John. other industries that have offered better returns.

Unlike other sheep and beef producing countries, “There has to be a balanced approach to economic and environmental sustainability and that is what the more than 90 per cent of sheep meat and 80 per cent of NZ’s beef products are exported, so responding to industry is working towards,” says John. global trends as well as driving efficiency within the Protecting access to existing markets like the industry are critical to the future success of the red United Kingdom – New Zealand’s biggest sheepmeat sector. meat export market – and accessing new markets Josephine Reader through favourable free trade agreements are critical, says John.

While lamb exports hit a record high of $369 million in May this year, MIA and Beef+LambNZ have recently appointed London-based Jeff Grant to work alongside other NZ industry and government representatives to safeguard our access to the UK following their exit from the European Union.

“We have a two-pronged approach. Not only will Jeff focus on managing the potential threat of Britain’s exit from the EU, he’s also charged with creating the opportunity to expand beef sales in the EU and Britain,” says John.

A global trend toward ethical food consumption means consumers are more

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SHEEP & BEEF

New research looks at lamb gene markers A new research project will examine the feasibility of growing lambs with more intramuscular fat.

fat level, it sends a different market signal. “Farmers will respond to market premiums and in the longterm we could see certain lamb finishers using certain breeds or lines of lambs for certain markets – if the Gene markers that are known to price is right.” in uence intramuscular fat levels are Partnership in this project between the focus of the industry-led breeders, farmers and processors is research project that has attracted a really important, says John. $174,400 grant from the Sustainable “Farmers need to have confidence Farming Fund. in what we’re doing if they are to Southdown breeders, Romney and implement change and Alliance has Texel breeders, incoln niversity already shown a willingness to differand Alliance Group are also contribentiate on the basis of eating quality. uting to the project. “ aving breeders, farmers and Professor John Hickford from ambs with higher levels of intraprocessors in on the ground oor of Lincoln University will lead muscular fat can be slower-growing, this research ensures it’s geared toward the research team. but could also attract a premium price what the industry wants.” because they produce better eating The first two years of the research will investigate five quality meat, says John Bates, who spearheaded the specific gene markers in more depth to assess which funding application to the Sustainable Farming Fund have the most effect on intramuscular fat. This work on behalf of industry representatives. builds on previous research by incoln niversity. ntramuscular fat is in uenced by feeding systems, “ e know that these five genes in uence intramusmaturity and the genetic makeup of the animal. This cular fat. This research will focus on quantifying what project aims to identify which animals will produce level of intramuscular fat gain can be made using a higher levels of intramuscular fat with optimum feedparticular gene marker. ing systems, says John.

“Then the second half of the research will focus on “What we hope the research will quantify is exactly economic analysis to identify what economic benefit which gene markers best in uence intramuscular fat is needed if farmers are to supply lamb on the basis of and to what level. increased intramuscular fat.” rofessor ohn ickford from incoln niversity will “New Zealand’s farming system is geared toward producing lean lambs that grow quickly and that’s how lead the research team, which will capture data from 3500 lambs – Southdown, Romney and Texel – based farmers are rewarded. A move away from this model on properties around Canterbury. Research results needs to be economically viable for farmers, processors will be published at the project’s completion, which is and the industry as a whole. expected to take four years.

“If farmers were to be rewarded on intramuscular Josephine Reader

Page 17

Ahuwhenua Trophy up for grabs Maori sheep and beef farmers can now enter the Ahuwhenua Trophy, Te Puni Kokiri Excellence in Maori Farming Award for Sheep and Beef, for 2019.

Trophy Management Committee chairman Kingi Smiler says NZ’s Maori sheep and beef farmers are doing great things on their land “and the competition offers a great opportunity to showcase their efforts to their peers and others in the primary sector”.

“Many Maori farmers are leading way in developing and implementing longterm sustainable practices on their land as kaitiaki, as well as embracing new technologies.” Kingi says it’s important the wider community understand this and there is no better way of doing this than by entering the competition.

“All those who enter gain significant benefits. Their farms will be udged by a panel of experts who can give them invaluable feedback which will help them improve and grow their businesses.”

Entries close December 14. To enter, see: www.ahuwhenuatrophy.maori.nz

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Page 19

A woolshed with Art Deco origins The house structure remains largely intact, with only the kitchen changed to suit shearing operations.

Nestled at the brow of the hill, overlooking the feijoa orchard and goat paddocks, sits the oneyfield family’s Art ecostyle house-turned-woolshed.

Colin oneyfield and his wife Glenda bought the elcome ay farm in 1989 alongside Colin’s father. They decided to run sheep on the farm and so it needed a woolshed.

“The guy that originally ran the whole block had sectioned off this block and he put a house on then; the house came from town somewhere,” says Colin.

“There’s a cylinder in there from about 19 4 it’s an old Stucco 19 0s-19 0s house,” says Colin “ e decided when we came here, for us to rent it we had to do it up, and for us it wasn’t worth it.

“At that stage we would have made double the amount out of wool than we would renting it…it would of cost us about five grand to do up, which was a lot of money then.”

Realising the cost of renovating the house outweighed the benefit, Colin decided to re-purpose the abode into a woolshed. “ e ripped up the oor and changed

The holding pens against the house-turned-woolshed, where sheep come out the shoot.

the kitchen around and put some yards inside with grating and then it was a shearing shed! “ t still has the fireplace in it, we didn’t take out a lot, we ust renovated it so we could work in it… we left the toilet and bathroom in and moved the kitchen.

“There’d be three bedrooms that are pens and the lounge and kitchen has been split up for a working area like shearing and catching pens,” says Colin.

The old house was given a third life and originally was used to shear more than 1200 sheep. Colin says the shearers en oy coming to use the shed because it’s uite cool inside because of the concrete walls.

Colin used to shear all of his own sheep but keeping himself busy with cows and fei oas these days, he outsources the shearing. “ e had a shearer here called Simon ose that did his one-millionth sheep in our shed,” says Colin. The woolshed has stood the test of time and also doubles as a bathroom and kitchen facility for the backpackers Colin gets in to help with picking the fei oas.

Colin says he wouldn’t have done anything differently with the shed if he could go back.

Maddison Brown

This Art Deco house-turned-woolshed is on a Welcome Bay farm.

Before

he house’s fireplace remains ne t to the shearing quarters. Photos: Maddison Brown.

After

Page 20

DAIRY

Weather, crops, and bills...

We are not getting a lot of rain but it’s consistent, which means water tables are up and it doesn’t take much for it to get really wet underfoot. But it’s the opposite to part of Australia, the US and even Europe, which are really dry.

However, there is talk of higher temperatures here this summer – weather scientists suggest we’ll get a light El Nino pattern. Everyone is focusing on how we create crops that can grow in drier conditions, how we get used to more-frequent rain events – and, how we need to be planning for this.

I suppose they’re talking about climate change?

Early-September we’ll start preparation for our maize planting and grass harvesting, if the ground has dried out enough. Farmers need to be thinking of paddock selections, how many they’ll take out of rotation, organising someone to test soil and getting drainage or clean-up jobs booked in with contractors – before it turns dry and you want to push the ‘go’ button.

For cropping, chicory needs to be in early – as soon as they get onto the ground. The earlier, the better – especially on drier farms. This pays dividends.

Turnips

Turnip crops need to be in early-mid October, to be ready early-January. But if ground conditions won’t let them they could sow a sorghumtype crop early-late November.

Another rural contractor has gone into receivership in the BOP – that’s two here in 12 months. So times are still tough for farm suppliers, contractors and services. Years of hard times for farmers are still filtering through.

This is a reminder that contractors need to know what their costs are; including their replacement costs, depreciation, repairs and maintenance, and downtime. They need to factor all of these into their price structures because they are

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all true costs. Nobody seems to take downtime into account, but when you’re broken down and paying wages, work’s not getting done, and farmers are grumpy at lack of progress, you’re tracking negative. So it’s a cost. And you need a back-up plan.

Also, payment structures to rural businesses is averaging 8.3 days late for small businesses. Last year it was 8.8 days late. This still means many aren’t getting paid on the 20th. So they’ve got a shortfall – and it becomes a vicious circle. If they can’t pay their bills because they haven’t been paid, somebody else is not going to get paid etc. Cash ow is king for small businesses.

Wrong signal

Fonterra was paying its suppliers 90 days late at one stage. They’ve now corrected this – which is great because it just sent the wrong signal.

And only 50 per cent of small businesses went into credit through the year. So the statistics aren’t great All should have overdrafts planned into their financial equations to cover shortfalls and be able to pay bills on time. Otherwise, it hurts somebody along the line.

So once again; proper planning prevents pitiful performance. And remember it’s a business partnership – support those you hire, which provide a service in your time of need. If you’re loyal and pay your contractors on time they’ll be loyal to you.

Farmers seem a bit more confident for now but their biggest concerns are regulations and compliance costs, followed by pests/biosecurity. Another is regional councils not monitoring some farms for pollution. A Forest & Bird report found half of NZ’s regional councils aren’t annually monitoring ef uent compliance on each farm.

Freshwater advocate Annabeth Cohen says nine seriously non-compliant Waikato farms hadn’t been inspected for more than 10 years.

Take control

It seems the councils are tough on some but are missing out others. It’s concerning some can slip under the radar – especially when others are investing huge money into lining ponds, building storage etc.

The public are becoming aware that we need to take control and start looking after our environment or there won’t be much of one left. With farmers now milking cows and washing ef uent off the yard, it demands food for thought – where is that going? Is it contained, controlled or treated properly? Take some ownership – for the sake of our environment.

We’re currently working through our costings for maize silage and they’ve increased a bit as the price of fuel is up and road users are going up early October; so all those costs are starting to filter through.

Farmers can now expect an increase on anything that has to be carted or involves machinery; contractors, for example.

DAIRY

Page 21

Build cows’ selenium reserves for mating New Zealand soils are low in selenium, iodine and cobalt. But these minerals are important for mating, with most farms now using supplements, say Trina Parker and Jen Ross at BEC Feed Solutions.

New advances in selenium are at the heart of their work. They say new research of dosing with sodium selenite/selenate, used in NZ, suggest only about 20 per cent is bio-available. And cows are likely to be deficient in this vital mineral for successful breeding.

Farms using the Selisseo Mineral System, which monitors milk and blood levels, and Somatic Cell Counts, have seen incredible results, says Trina.

“This is not hyper-dosing, it’s dosing with the right mineral form at the right amount,” says Trina.

Farmers have used selenium for years, yet empty rates and health issues, primarily SCCs and mastitis, appear to be increasing, says Trina.

With about 85 NZ farms using Selisseo – in its fourth generation bioavailable form – to date, the most notable results are around mating, says Jen Plus, high submission rates, less returns to service, tight calving spreads, and lower-than-average empty rates are common.

“More days of milk is something every farmer strives for,” says Jen. “Effective selenium supplementation is the key to immunity and improved reproductive performance.”

The best time is to start with Selisseo is four weeks pre-calving. The next best time is now – to allow selenium reserves to build for successful mating and conceptions to occur. This will help to get cows in-calf and stay in-calf.

Jen says dosing with inline water systems is easy. “Selisseo doesn’t interfere with other inline water minerals and can be added to current regimes.”

Selenium, iodine and cobalt are important for mating – using the Selisseo Mineral System can improve mating results.

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Page 22

Debating the best soil testing depth for pastures In last month’s column I discussed how soil tests should be taken, and soil sampling depths. From what I can ascertain, New Zealand is the only country worldwide where a 7.5cm depth sample on pasture is the standard.

Last year I was invited by a fertiliser company based in Chile to do a series of talks to pastoral farmers there on phosphorus fertilisation. In this particular part of Chile, the soils are volcanic, much like the better soils of the Waikato and Taranaki regions where dairying has been dominant; and they too have deep rich topsoils with high phosphate retention characteristics, so like our soils they are very P

responsive in their natural state.

For more than 25 years I’ve advocated taking 10cm samples, which is what Australians recommend for their pastoral soils, and it was good to find the Chilean Agricultural Department also advocating 10cm sampling on pastoral farms, which I think better represents the zone where grass and clover feeder roots scavenge for nutrients rather than 7.5cm.

However, I met Professor Dante Pinochet, based at Valdavia University, who is a world expert of phosphorus and he advocates doing a 20cm sample.

He maintains good pastures have feeder roots going down to this depth, so his students agronomists are doing 20cm samples on Chilean farms. An invigorating debate on what was the best depth to sample was had between myself, Professor Pinochet and a soil scientist from the Chilean Department of Agriculture.

Root zone

Over there, like in NZ, the standard phosphorus test is the Olsen P test, and for a 10 cm depth sample, the optimum level to aim for is 20, whereas for a 20cm sample Professor inochet aims for an Olsen figure of 10. This is because when phosphorus is applied to the soil surface, on most soils it only moves about 1cm, so a deeper soil test will result in a lower phosphorus reading.

From historical NZ research, it was found the optimum Olsen figure for most soils when doing 7.5cm samples is 25, which lines up with Chilean research once you account for the different soil depths. However, potassium and sulphur levels may increase with depth as these leach through the soil. And when considering things like aluminium toxicity and acidity, these increase with increasing sampling depth. This is why I believe, for pastures, a 10cm depth gives the best picture of what is going on in the

root zone.

Although most people in the fertiliser industry only look at six elements in the soil, plants need 16 elements to grow and animals need 17. It’s important to also consider the organic matter or carbon levels in the soil, nitrogen, boron, copper, manganese, zinc, molybdenum and aluminium levels, and this is one reason why I’ve been sending my soil samples to Brookside Laboratories in the US, which has been doing these comprehensive tests for nearly 70 years.

When looking at micronutrients, it’s important your advisor understands all of these extra elements if they’re going to be tested for and what the optimum levels should be. Some laboratory graphs I’ve seen for these micronutrients are way out and shouldn’t be used as guidelines.

Soil testing

Most farmers and growers get fertiliser company reps to do their soil testing, but this can become problematic because the advice given will be slanted towards the particular avour of products that company sells. And find there are often marked differences between the cost of nutrients from various fertiliser companies for similar products. Much advice given to farmers unfortunately is un ualified, incompetent and costly; and I have many clients who’ve paid dearly by listening to salesmen when it comes to fertilisers. Soil testing is the cheap part.

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Carbon in the form of humus works as a filter. Soils with steadily increasing humus have excellent physical structures, encouraging plant roots to fossick at greater depth, extracting nitrate and phosphorus before they reach groundwater.

Extra clover in the sward doesn’t necessarily result in higher milk urea levels.

The concentration of N in plants is at the highest during the rapid growth phase. With the onset of maturity most of the nitrates turn into full protein.

So, pastures not grazed until maturity contain less nitrate-N. Thus less urea is deposited in urine by grazers, resulting in lower nitrate-N losses. Pastures with higher levels of protein also contain more energy, and milk solid production and animal weight gains increase.

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Environmental considerations will be at the forefront of soon-to-be implemented regulations.

And as with all major change, it’s likely the pendulum will swing too far in favour of the environment before returning to reality.

This is particularly so when dairy and beef herds are seen as having an environmentally negative impact; and Overseer regards all nitrogen as equivalent, whether applied, fixed naturally by clover, or direct from the atmosphere.

Animals should not be regarded as having a negative impact. They should be seen as the catalyst that ensures carbon from the atmosphere is stored in the soil as humus. If that seems an outrageous claim, please view Alan Savory’s Ted Talk on desertification.

Without grazing, much of New Zealand would rapidly revert to low-fertility grasses and weeds before reverting to scrub and bush. emoving sufficient atmospheric carbon dioxide to minimise climate change is only achievable by sequestering carbon in soil under grazed permanent pastures.

It is rapidly growing plants that have the greatest demand for carbon dioxide. t powers their growth and, because for at least nine months of the year rotationally-grazed pasture is actively growing, carbon dioxide is being removed.

The grazing process encourages regrowth and the treading action helps mix dung and dead grasses, stimulating the biological activity necessary to incorporate it into the soil and store as humus. Humus is what remains of organic matter after it has been fully digested by soil life, and it stays in the soil indefinitely. This re uires nitrogen and the best is that fixed naturally by clover.

Pastoral soils contain between 5000 kg/ha and 15,000kg/ha of nitrogen in the top 25cm, and it’s not the shortage of N, but the availability of it for plant uptake that limits pasture growth.

Plant uptake is only a small fraction of the total soil-held N, and most is recycled. Clovers in a well-managed sward can comfortably fix all the N re uired.

The urea content of animal urine is extremely variable, with research from

the 1970s showing a range of 0.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent. The notion that all the urea in urine stays concentrated in the area in which it is deposited is also false, with data from here and overseas showing the soil/plant benefit from urine is likely to be two-five times larger than the actual area covered.

The only reliable leaching figures are from the concentrations of Nitrate-N in water taken from below grazed pastures. Trial work by Functional Fertiliser on a farm using only clover to create N showed a 70 per cent reduction in Nitrate-N compared to a neighbouring property applying urea regularly throughout the season.

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DAIRY

Page 24

Dairying in France

DAIRY DAIRY TECH TECH DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND AUTOMATION SYSTEMS DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

Coast and Country News journalist Maddison Brown has been travelling in Europe. Here, she tells the story of a young Frenchman’s family dairying operation.

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Atop a picturesque hillside near Lyon in France lies Clément Rivoire’s 90-hectare family dairy farm.

Situated 900m above sea level on steep terrain and plummeting to temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter, dairying for this young Frenchman varies greatly from any in New Zealand.

Clément, a 29-year-old farmer who spent one year working on a dairy farm in New Zealand works alongside his semi-retired parents Christian and Anne-Marie Rivoire on the family farm.

Recently purchasing two neighbouring farms and increasing herd numbers to 85, they farm a traditional French breed beef and dairy cross called Montbeliarde, which is famed for excellent cheesemaking milk. A hands-on farming approach, calving year-round and cows being kept inside every night and 24/7 during the winter keeps the young farmer busy around the clock.

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“We milked 71 cows today, but on average we milk 75 to 80. In total we have 85 cows including the dry cows. We always have some dry cows, and with calves we have 50 heifers,” says Clément.

“Mostly in France to make milk we use Friesian, the second breed is Montbeliarde because it produces less milk but a bit more milk solid and also a lot more beef. We use this breed because we can use it for beef as well. Montbeliarde has about 400kg of meat, which is a lot more than a Jersey.

“We crossbreed a part of the herd with Charolais and we sell the calves at one month of age to the market. e sell the male for 00 N 840 and the female for 0 N 8 ,” says Cl ment. French farmers are paid by the litre of milk, with bonuses

Clément Rivoire next to his horizontal milk vat.

Photos: Maddison Brown.

for milk solids resulting in calving year-round being necessary. A brand-new purpose-built barn takes pride of place on one of the three farming blocks, complete with an ef uent tank capable of holding 4. months’ full-time ef uent, an indoor grain silo and milk vat, freestyle stalls complete with a rubbercovered foam mattresses for comfort, a feeding area that is easily accessible by tractor and a large calving pen allowing cows to have additional space without being separated from the herd when calving.

“We have a very windy place, so ventilation in the barn is very easy, that’s why we built a wide barn – 1800m2 in total – the cows come inside between November 1 and 15, and go back outside around April 1. But this year it was too cold,” says Clément.

“Most barns are like this now [rubber matting] because if you are not very clean with your straw, you can have more mastitis problems. Since we’ve had our new shed we’ve only had five or six mastitis cases in one-and-a-half years. Our average [somatic] cell ...continued count is under 100.

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Page 25

Producing milk famed for French cheese-making

continued...

To be paid the full price in France you have to be under 250 SCC – and after three times of being over 400 they will stop picking up your milk,” says Clément.

His vat stands horizontal – as required for the milktruck driver to measure the level of milk from top at pick-up.

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“Also because we keep the vat inside for the winter, because it is too cold, it is easier to keep a horizontal one inside than a vertical one,” says Clément.

Newborn calves are kept in a separate room within the barn, then transported back to the old stone barn where they live on fresh straw until they are six months old and the weather is warm enough for them to be paddocked during the day. They’re mated at 18 months old – and at any one time they have around 50 heifers of varying ages, says Clément.

Spending one year living in NZ with his wife Mathilde, Clément utilises many techniques he learnt while working on a dairy farm in Southland.

“We leave the calves with the mother for twothree hours then we drench and tube them, which is something I learnt in New Zealand…it is working well,” says Clément. The cows are fed a combination of grass, silage, wheat, barley, and alfalfa to produce protein – all of which they grow on-farm. During winter, rapeseed and soy are added to the cows’ diets to increase protein intake. Since cows are kept inside 24/ during winter, all ef uent is held in large holding tanks and spread during summer months.

“We try to buy the least food as; and we spread the ef uent ourselves with a tractor and a tank,” says Clément.

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Clément Rivoire admires his herd, calling each cow by name.

Purpose-built barn

The purpose-built barn is complete with mechanical guides for milking, which direct the cows to allow for one-man milking. They milk in a perpendicular formation rather than in herringbone, which Clément says is around the same square meterage but allows for 12-aside milking. Each time a cow is milked their teats are cleaned with a disinfectant foam, which helps reduce mastitis.

“During winter they are dirtier than outside, so it is better if we clean the teats. We are penalised if they find faecal matter in the milk, so we don’t want that to happen,” says Clément.

Looking to the future, Clément intends to renovate one of the original 150-year-old farm houses as a family home.

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COUNTRY LIVING

Frugal is the new wealth Katikati couple Jizzy and Mike Green are passionate advocates of the sustainable lifestyle.

Living primarily off what they grow in their own garden, utilising a ‘need not want’ mantra and using renewable sources of energy, the pair want to share their story to encourage others to live more sustainably.

“I’ve just done a sustainable workshop in Waihi, and I always say: ‘The greatest potential you have to be sustainable is to grow’ It doesn’t matter if you have only a 3m2 garden, you can grow vertically, you can start with purchasing an old kiwifruit bin and you can grow in it,” says Jizzy. “ e put in 1 solar panels five or six years ago, we were already grid tied then…during the day we use what we are generating, what we don’t use goes back into the grid.

“During the summer months our power bills

are $10-12.” After 15 years at the property, their self-proclaimed ‘haphazard’ mature garden provides most of their food during summer months, with more than 60 trees and plentiful vege beds on 950m2, the garden feels like a place anyone could call home. “ herever we’ve been ’ve always put in extensive gardens, but we’ve never stayed long enough to reap the benefits so this is the longest we’ve been in one space,” says Jizzy.

“In the warmer months 70-80 per cent of what we eat we grow, in winter months it is a lot less.

However we’re still eating from our summer garden because we produce so much food in the warmer months that we fill our pantry with preserves. And we have a decent-size freezer and use the dehydrator,” says Jizzy.

Mike and Jizzy live sustainably in all aspects of their life, having a large, three-bin composting system, solar power and recycling.

y Green nd Jizz arden. a e k i M vege g in their ddison Brown.

Ma Photos:

There’s still much to see at Matamata show Matamata A&P Association is hosting its 105th show on Saturday, October 6, at Jellicoe Rd, just on the outskirts of town.

And while not being able to continue its strong tradition of showing dairy cattle or dairy goats, due to risk of spreading Mycoplasma Bovis, it still promises to bring town and country together for a great day out.

“Unfortunately, this year the show won’t be continuing

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Equestrian events also attract a large number of entries and onlookers at the Matamata A&P Show.

its dairy cattle or dairy goat sections due to the M. Bovis outbreak, but we’ll be looking forward to the future to hopefully hold these sections again,” says Matamata A&P Association president Phil West.

“The calf club section is also unable to hold the calf section but pet lambs and pet goats will continue and hopefully be well supported.”

Phil says the show provides an opportunity for budding young farmers to demonstrate their animal rearing and handling abilities.

“Other popular activities include the sheep dog trials, which usually attract a big crowd on the day.”

Phil says the equestrian events also attract a large number of entries and onlookers alike and the miniature horses are particularly popular and exciting to watch.

“A full entertainment schedule is planned this year with more children’s entertainment like mini jeeps, chair-o-plane, pony rides, face painting, music etc, plus plenty of food and trade stalls.”

The Matamata A&P Show is on October 6 at Jellicoe Rd, Matamata. Entries for all events are open now and the schedule is available by emailing: matamataaandp@gmail. com

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 27

Couple share their passion for sustainable living Jizzy also helped to commercialism. “ t’s as he compact found ‘Boomerang Bags’ though it’s imposed on eautifully ac yard garden o in Katikati, where a group you. e get told what we through s of volunteers create recyneed, but they are actually and garde to the sleepout n shed. clable shopping bags from ust wants,” says izzy. donated material. The bags Their property is surare stationed at locations rounded by fruit trees, a around the town and free decision that was made to to the public to use. increase privacy in their “We’re very passionate suburban home. about sustainable living “ e didn’t know about if we need something we permaculture when we ascertain whether it is first started out but after a need or a want. f it’s did a year’s course in available in shops for say permaculture and we saw how 00, we think ‘let’s see how everything except the garden shed fitted into the we can create it ourselves or buy it secondhand’. permaculture design structure,” says izzy. izzy says we are constantly bombarded by all this “We’d like to do it all over again on a smaller

scale, and to focus on being even more efficient ” izzy also runs workshops on ‘Saving

Sea Turtles one T.Shirt at a Time’ and ‘Frugal is the new Wealth’ around the ay of lenty.

Maddison Brown

Graham relishes working in bouti ue company Multi-award winning rural and lifestyle real estate sales consultant Graham eaufill brings his talents to etterbox ealty td.

The company’s exibility in operation and commission rates, and its emphasis on personal service, are in tune with Graham’s own ethics and beliefs.

He also relishes working for an independent bouti ue real estate company that is not sti ed by corporate restrictions or bound by franchise fees. “ hen etterbox claims to put clients’ interests first, it does ust that,” says Graham.

“The company has taken ‘own interests’ out of the e uation.”

The amount of financial e uity left to a client Graham

at the end of the real estate process is a key focus. etterbox ealty td has the ability to add huge dollars to a client’s bottom line.

Commission and fees can be one of the major concerns of a real estate transaction.

Home sellers are often led to believe that commission is not negotiable, and in some cases this is correct. Some companies have stringent policies around commission percentages, and won’t negotiate.

“You’re well within your rights to discuss negotiating commission percentages with a real estate agent,” says Graham. etterbox strives for transparency, encourages discussion and is keen to provide clients with a ‘whole picture’ outlook eaufill.

from the start.

Choosing the right agent is imperative because it can ultimately affect a client’s financial gains, says Graham.

He says his 13 years’ industry experience and in-depth market knowledge, make him one of the most successful and trusted agents in the region – and is renowned for his balanced and fair approach. orking under the etterbox brand and backed by the company’s commission rate of one per cent plus GST on properties more than 2 million, Graham serves the Taupo, Tauranga and aikato districts.

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 28

Plenty of double hook-ups and some triples On Sunday, August 12, the reef fishing in the ay of lenty was running hot. eather conditions were perfect so skipper Scott headed out to one of his favourite spots anticipating targeting some nice winter tarakihi.

deck, calls for the gaff and chilly bins uickly filling. Tarakihi were definitely the avour of the day with a gurnard, some snapper and a surprise catch of a small hapuka. The guy who caught that fish had been told by a friend to use trout

ow and behold someone had beaten him to it and they were happily anchored up, catching fish. ‘Oh well, there are plenty of options’ thought Scott, so they carried on to the next mark in about 0m. Anchoring up, the lines went over the side loaded up with tasty tuatua and s uid.

Everyone hooked up on fish straight away, which caused an excited buzz around the boat.

There were sinkers hitting the

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for bait for hapuka, so he brought some out to try. To everyone’s surprise he was successful.

The fishing is definitely improving in the deeper water and the tarakihi are moving shallower. There were plenty of double hook-ups and some triples as well.

Sally Evans with a triple catch of tarakihi.

o we need an export standard for our manuka honey introduced a robust scientific definition for exported The Government wants to hear from manuka honey producers and consumers on N manuka honey to safeguard the industry from cowboy operators and protect N ’s trade reputawhether the honey produced and tion. “The next step is to consider options for manuka honey sold in N . “Consultation gives sold in New ealand should meet everyone the opportunity to have a say on the similar re uirements to exported impacts, benefits and costs of the proposmanuka honey. als on all parts of the sector, “says

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Agriculture and Food Safety Minister amien O’Connor says in ecember 201 the Ministry for rimary ndustries

amien, who launched the consultation at Apiculture N ’s conference in lenheim last month.

“The N apiculture industry is an important contributor to the primary sector both directly and as an enabler via pollination.

“The manuka honey industry is worth nearly 180 million to N , although it’s not known what portion stays in the country and this consultation will also help us to better understand that.”

Submissions can be emailed to: Manuka. oney mpi.govt.nz by pm on September 1 , 2018.

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 29

A school where every girl can fulfil her potential New Plymouth Girls’ High School prides itself on providing quality education for young women throughout Taranaki and beyond.

New Plymouth Girls’ High School principal Victoria Kerr.

There’s a wide range of sporting and cultural opportunities available, and the school campus is set within 11 hectares of attractive grounds and offers superb hostel living on-site.

Principal Victoria Kerr says the school is built on traditional values with innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

“We have a proud history of academic excellence and a proven record of outstanding achievement in sport, visual and performing arts, vocational pathways, and cultural pursuits.

“We promote lifelong learning, and ensure students identify and follow their passions and achieve to their full potential,” says Victoria.

“And we offer a unique opportunity to be educated at one of New Zealand’s oldest, most prestigious public girls’ schools.”

Victoria says the school’s vision is to create confident young women of outstanding character.

“Each young woman will have the opportunity to discover and develop the necessary knowledge, skills, values and character to enable her to fulfil her potential.

“Our school is large enough to have great opportunities yet small enough to care and develop each of our girls as a unique individual,” says Victoria.

Neonicotinoids come off retailer’s shelf One of New Zealand’s biggest gardening retailers is to phase out supplying products containing neonicotinoids in its 82 stores nationwide from November 1.

Mitre 10 NZ’s announcement follows an in-depth review, which began earlier this year, of pesticides containing neonicotinoids believed to contribute to bee decline: imidacloprid, thiacloprid and clothianidin.

CEO Neil Cowie says his company has considered at length the information available and has made the decision in keeping with the company’s commitment to addressing matters of the environment.

“The welfare of bees and the wider environment is very important to us at Mitre 10,” says Neil.

“As the country’s biggest home improvement and garden retailer, we take our duty to be socially responsible very seriously and always strive to do the right thing by our customers, communities and the environment.”

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Victoria says NPGHS students consistently achieve exceptional results in national ualifications.

“NZ Scholarships and Outstanding Scholarships are awarded to students across many subjects each year.

“We welcome your girls to come and join our family.”

Page 30 More funds for 1B trees: Government’s goal to plant more trees to create sustainable jobs and address climate change has a $240m boost.

Forestry Minister Shane Jones says the One Billion Trees programme has a new grants programme and partnership fund to get more trees in the ground and provide training and employment opportunities. New grants will provide funding to landowners for cost of planting and establishing trees and regenerating indigenous forest.

FORESTRY

Looking at alternative species A report on alternative plantation forest species is now available on the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association website, detailing the characteristics of a wide variety of tree species that are suited to steep erosion-prone land and which have root structures that may better resist landsliding after harvest.

The report was written by Dean Satchell, of Sustainable Forest Solutions, and contributes to present industry considerations of how to lessen the vulnerability of trees now being planted for harvests decades in the future.

Farm Forestry Association president Neil Cullen says that land and forest managers are lacking in this sort of information for steep, erosion-prone, terrain.

“This report identifies the considerable amount of research still required, but does go a long way to provide guidance on the options for landowners preparing resource consent applications to plant or replant land

now zoned Red under the new National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry,” says Neil.

Dean Satchell says owners of red-zoned land who wish to clear-fell need to provide regional councils with evidence that significant adverse environmental effects can be minimised. And those landowners should consider an erosion-mitigating forest cover on replant.

“This report provides information on best practice, identifies the gaps in knowledge and sets the scope for the future to improve environmental outcomes from plantation forestry on steeplands,” says Dean.

Neil says NZ needs more forests on steep hill country to mitigate erosion where pastoral cover isn’t enough.

“However, we need the right species, the right rotation lengths and the right harvesting strategies for the best environmental outcomes,” says Neil.

“Forestry is the best land use for erodible hill country, but best practice changes over time to meet the expectations of society and increasing severity of storms.

“An intense downpour that hit recently harvested and replanted sites in Tolaga Bay

resulted in slash mobilization, which made news headlines and has impacted very negatively on the forest industry’s social licence to operate.”

“This report lists a variety of alternative species available that could drive different harvest practices and improve environmental outcomes.

“It’s up to industry to be proactive and ad ust their practices to re ect what society requires,” says Neil.

“This report suggests alternative regimes and or species will be required now, which will accumulate evidence over time that significant adverse environmental effects can be minimised with best practice.”

Forest Owners Association president Peter Weir says the report is timely, since industry experts are “engaging in finding effective ways through forest management and research priorities to build more resilient forests and more resilient communities”.

The report can be found at: www.nzffa.org.nz/farm-forestry-model/why-farm-forestry/ trees-for-erosion-controlsoil-conservation/ report-trees-for-steep-slopes/

FERTILISER

Page 31

Helicopter application offers optimum spring grass growth Farmers are realising the advantages of spreading fertiliser by helicopter, according to Chopperworx Ltd’s Carl and Sharron Thurston.

“The spinner at the base of the fertiliser bucket ensures the product is spread more accurately and consistently than other forms of applications.

“Helicopter application removes the problem of compacting that happens with vehicles driving through paddocks and allows application when the ground is waterlogged.”

Chopperworx Ltd is a family-owned business, operated by Carl and Sharron, which covers the Central North Island, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.

“Carl has had extensive experience as an agricultural pilot working in Tasmania and New Zealand,” says Sharron.

“He’s also done a wide range of com-

with the outcome,” says Sharron.

Chopperworx is able to carry out large or small jobs and is exible enough to work in a range of environments including loading from fertiliser bins, concrete pads or one-tonne bags. They’re able to apply liquid or granule fertiliser.

Sharron says with a lot of rain still expected before spring, now is the time to secure a date for fertiliser spreading ensuring optimum spring grass growth.

Along with fertiliser spreading, Chopperworx do weed spraying, frost protection, aerial surveying, and lifting Chopperworx is able to carry out large or small jobs. items such as beehives. mercial work overseas including live powerline work and mining support in Africa and the acific.”

Being relatively new operators, they have a small client base so can respond to a client’s application request promptly to ensure clients gain optimum spring growth.

“We have a high commitment to safety and customer service and it is important that our clients are 100 per cent happy

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Be ready for the upcoming season With spring just around the corner the fertiliser spreading rush is about to start. So it’s time to look at what you need to do to help yourself and Beck Helicopters get organised for a seamless spreading operation, says CEO Alan Beck.

“Firstly, get in early with your order.

On average, we take out 100t a day, and so forward-planning is crucial to enable us to aggregate orders,” says Alan.

“And remember, an Iroquois drinks about $10 per minute of fuel, so if we’re ferrying needlessly, then this will cost us – and ultimately you – more money.

So work in with your neighbours, if you can, to save.”

After placing your order, Alan advises to send in a map of the farm with the areas shaded that need application, along with the rate and tonnage.

“We are now required to keep track of where all fertiliser goes via GPS – so there’s no more stuff in the water.

“And please mark in all wires and other known hazards to protect yourself from a wrongful death prosecution.”

Recently, Alan attended NZ’s annual aviation conference and received the Directors Individual award for outstanding leadership in relation to his Down To The Wire programme, designed to remove or lower dangerous wires

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Beck Helicopters CEO Alan Beck. for ag pilots working low level on spreading operations.

“Your own former Federated Farmers National Board member, and Meat and Fibre chairman, Rick Powdrell from Paengaroa way, was heavily involved with helping me get it started,” says Alan.

“And I salute Rick for potentially helping to save many pilots lives.

“His immediate endorsement gave it credibility – and today we have 32 ambassadors, including the likes of Dick Smith and Richie McCaw, spreading the word on dangerous wires and their deathly consequence.”

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Page 32

FERTILISER

Fertiliser company fined for plant’s sulphur dioxide leak allance Agri-Nutrients has been fined 82, 00 for an unauthorised discharge of contaminants, namely sulphur dioxide, into air from their fertiliser

manufacturer plant in Mount Maunganui. allance pleaded guilty to the charge, which relates to an incident on May 22, 201 , where a build-up of fumes

The Ballance Agri-Nutrients plant at Mount Maunganui from the air. were discharged into the air in the form of a 20m- 0m gas cloud.

The build-up was caused by a lack of communication during staff handovers about a change in process settings, which prevented gas from being properly extracted. This led to fumes bypassing the treatment system, and drifting towards Totara St beyond the property boundary.

Those exposed to the gas cloud suffered temporary effects ranging from a metallic taste to difficulty breathing.

Two people needed to be hospitalised, with one of them exposed to the discharge while walking along Totara St. udge avid irkpatrick re ected on preventative measures allance has introduced since the offending.

“These really only serve to indicate what might have been done earlier to ensure that such discharges did not occur,” said udge irkpatrick. e also considered two previous

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prosecutions relating to the same fertiliser plant for similar offences in 1999 and 2014 were aggravating factors in this case. ike the previous offences, this case involved shortcomings in allance’s operational and emergency processes and temporary health effects to people at and near the site. ay of lenty egional Council compliance manager Alex Miller says things like sulphur dioxide and uoride can have significant effects on both the environment and human health “so it’s critical commercial operations that generate these contaminants are well managed”. “ hile this event was an accident, caused by a series of fundamental errors at the fertiliser plant, with a main road on one side and the hareroa community behind on the other, the fact that more people were not affected was a matter of good fortune rather than good management.”

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Proof of any system lies in the actual farming results I had the privilege last month to travel to St Louis, Missouri, for more study under Neal Kinsey.

This course and the one prior were represented by attendees from 11 countries. One item on the agenda was the comparison of split soil samples sent to Perry Agricultural Laboratory and various other laboratories.

The object of the exercise was to compare recommendations that would apply to the two tests of the same soil. The first soil had excess magnesium, which can be removed by applying calcium carbonate if calcium is deficient.

Test results

The A test showed it was deficient and subsequent calculations showed 1700kg/ha of CaCO3 be applied while the other test showed it was in excess.

Consequently, none would be recommended or applied, and crop and animal health would be compromised.

Neither test showed the need for magnesium. However, phosphate, as measured as P2O5 by both labs, showed 1344kg/ha on the PAL when 270-560 was excellent. So Phosphate was extremely excessive. Corresponding figures from the other were 1kg/ha P2O5 when the range was 22-56.

Phosphate was still needed. This is typical of circumstances in New Zealand where phosphate has been over-applied.

Alternative results in total showed CEC, pH, organic matter, P, Ca, Mg, potassium and zinc.

More comprehensive

The PAL test was more comprehensive; adding nitrogen, sulphate, boron, iron, manganese, and copper. It also showed TEC, not CEC. In a second split sample sent to another lab, the only nutrients not replicated by that lab were nitrogen and sodium. However, the maths used to create a recommendation spelled out other differences: 730kg/ha of CaCO3 and 170kg/ha of sulphur were required to correct calcium and magnesium and therefore soil structure, microbe habitat, water holding ability and drainage characteristics of the soil when using the PAL test.

With the comparison, 150kg/ha CaCO3 and 400kg/ha of sulphur should be recommended but weren’t.

Even if they had been, they would have been out of kilter by 580kg/ha CaCO3 and 230kg/ha sulphur. The actual recommendation was N-85, P-55, K-55, S-10 with 0.5kg/ha zinc and 0.6kg/ha copper. This would not produce superior yield or quality results, nor would

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there be any improvement to soil structure, or carry-over for the next crop other than excess phosphate.

Using a third example, PAL results showed 900kg/ha CaCO3 was needed. None was recommended by the other lab. When crops of soybeans were grown, the other lab’s side harvested 55 bushels while the PAL side yielded 85 bushels/acre.

That is an increase of 54%. Some benefits of the recommendations based on the PAL test will continue for up to three years.

From the above, it’s easy to claim the Albrecht method doesn’t work. All you need to do is send your soil samples to the wrong consultant, fertiliser company or lab; but more commonly, all three. We also attended an agricultural conference at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in the Monsanto Room.

It doesn’t take a lot of thought to work out who is funding whom, does it? Meanwhile, in California, on August 10, a Jury ordered Monsanto to pay US$39.2 million in

compensation and US$250 million in punitive damages to non-Hodgkin lymphoma sufferer, Dewayne Johnson, who used Roundup as a school caretaker.

His lawyer Brent Wisner said: “ e were finally able to show the jury the secret, internal Monsanto documents proving that Monsanto has known for decades that glyphosate and specifically oundup could cause cancer.”

One down – at least 4000 more cases to go. The moral of the stories is it’s too easy to prove something does or doesn’t work using trials. Proof of any system lies in the actual farming results.

Page 34

FARM VEHICLES & MACHINERY

Drawn to the dirt sport Tauranga’s Ben Thomasen and Dyson Delahunty have both been drawn to the ‘dirt sport’ since a young age – and they’re not doing too bad at it.

Ben started off-road racing in 2012 when looking for events to race his UTV, which was uncommon in the sport at the time as very little people knew what they were.

Dyson started racing in 2011 at age 11, beginning in the sport’s junior division.

Now, both boys race Polaris UTVs and are serious contenders in the New Zealand Off-Road racing scene, with Ben winning multiple NZ titles and Dyson not far behind him.

Dyson used to stand on the sidelines watching his parent’s race, now the tables have turned. “I’ve grown up riding dirt bikes and uads since was five, and four-wheel-driving, so naturally I was drawn to the dirt sport,” says Dyson.

“My dad builds my cars and he’s a big inspiration to me. He gets as much joy out of me racing as if he would racing himself. I always try to do my best for him as he likes to see a car that he’s built on top.”

Ben’s background is oddly similar, but in motocross.

“I was drawn to off-roading as it’s the closest thing to motocross except on four wheels..

“I have great support from my family and friends. It’s probably our favourite way to spend weekends, travelling the country and racing.”

Both boys are supported by Polaris NZ and have been factory drivers for the corporation for the last few years, being given different cars to race.

Ben Thomasen is currently second in S class of the NZ Off-Road racing championship. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

And both have won titles in both UTV classes – the U class, a stock standard no-turbo class; and, S class, a fully-modified turbo class.

Dyson races in U class but switches to S class during longer racers, while Ben is full-time in S class.

Both boys repair their race cars any spare moment they’ve got. Most conversations between Dyson and his dad are about what they’re going to do next to the car. “ spend at least 40 hours fixing and or prepping my car between races,” says Dyson, who is a building apprentice.

“I’m pretty lucky my boss allows me to have a fair amount of time off when it comes to my racing.

Ben, who is managing director of Thomasen Transport, says prep time varies as Polaris quite often prep his car. “But if it’s a smaller event I’ll do it. I spend on average two days working on my car and packing before events,” says Ben. “ do find it is hard finding the balance of work and racing but to me racing is relaxing time and my whole family loves the time away.”

The off-road racing championship starts around March with the final held abour weekend. en is currently second in S class, and Dyson is sixth in U class.

Ben says the love of driving keeps him competing.

“There’s nothing better than driving an enduro track in the forest, using all the knowledge you’ve gathered over the years to put a 250km-plus race together and also the family time and seeing them all enjoy it.”

Dyson says you just can’t beat the adrenaline rush.

“And you can’t beat the sense of achievement after completion of a long enduro race.” Caitlyn Houghton

s, of is sixth in U clas Dyson Delahunty cing championship. ra the NZ Off-Road

Ben Thomasen putting his years of learned knowledge into action. Photo: Caitlin Houghton.

FARM VEHICLES & MACHINERY

Page 35

Page 36

EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

Get advice instead of legal action Dairy farmers are being urged to seek advice about ef uent management from accredited experts by Waikato Regional Council following two separate convictions of farmers in Reporoa and Otorohanga last month.

manage his ef uent, however, he did not source good advice.

“The system didn’t have the usual safeguards and this discharge was the outcome. We strongly urge farmers to work with accredited dairy ef uent designers to ensure their systems are fit for purpose,” says Patrick.

One week later an Otorohanga farmer was convicted and fined a total of $57,000 for discharging dairy ef uent into the At Rotorua District Court in environment. early-August, Judge Melanie In this case, Judge Melanie arland convicted and fined ella Harland sentenced farmer Gary Ridge Farms Limited $41,850 for lackler in the amilton istrict discharging volume of dairy A robust anda large spacious crush,Court. offering superior Judge Harland noted the ef uent from a eporoa farm and Resource Management Act “has support and comfort for the animal. into Mangatete Stream. been in place for 2 years”, and WRCdesigned estimated approximately Specially to provide a safe andhas been ample “simply put, there 4 0m of dairy ef uent had been time for farmers in this region to lost into the environment functional facility forinthe farmer when get to grips with the rules”.

November 2016 – the equivalent According to WRC in September hoof care is necessary.

Easy and safe to use. of 17 truck-and-trailer units full of 2017 it was alerted by a member of ef uent. The volume was such that the public to a usually clear stream it was detected 8km downstream at running green and smelling of Lake Ohakuri. ef uent. Council incident response The prosecution was brought by staff tracked the contaminated WRC after being contacted by a member of the public who reported the Mangatete Stream was “ owing green with ef uent”.

A subsequent investigation found an ef uent irrigation pipe had been disconnected.

Ef uent had then Features include syphoned from the pipe by virtue of gravity during a 14-hour period, Self catching head-bail owed across a short distance of land and intohead-bail the stream.

Full walk-thru WRC investigations and incident Self-locking hand winches with folding handles response manager Patrick Lynch, the incident was completely Fully says hot-dip galvanised avoidable. “The farmer had invested heavily in attempts Gas-spring anti-kick back to bar

Cattle hoof care crush,

stream some distance to the lackler property, finding two separate sources of contamination.

An abatement notice was issued to the farmer and a further inspection carried out in November.

This inspection also found a significant area of ponded ef uent that was a risk to groundwater.

Patrick says the council is very grateful to the person who contacted them with accurate and timely information about the stream.

“This enabled us to respond promptly and track the source of the contamination,” says atrick.

“WRC takes breaches of the RMA very seriously and will use all of the regulatory tools available to us to bring about positive behaviour change.

“For those few farmers who continue to let their own industry down, this fine sends a very clear message that unlawful ef uent discharges into the environment will not be tolerated.”

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A robust and spacious crush, offering superior Cattle hoof care crush, support and comfort for the animal.

Specially designed to provide a safe and Type-L from Ekochute. functional facility for the farmer when Features include hoof care is necessary. Easy and safe to use.

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Page 37

Capturing and storing effluent has just become easier mproved all round ef uent capture and storage has ust become a lot easier, according to says Harmen Heeson, group CEO of TechniPharm.

“Liquid storage bladders have been used around the world for nearly 60 years. They are mostly square or rectangular and cannot store uid higher than 1000mm unsupported.

“The corners are weak points A rolled out FL and solids can accumulate, EXIT creating less storage space and u e ready to re ANK R 2000 cei e ef uent. blockage,” says Harmen.

By eliminating the corners it improves the efficiency and strength of the unit; it can be stored higher, reduces the footprint and simplifies the earthworks.

TechniPharm, through its manufacturing and global supplier, has come up with a clever solution where farmers can now store ef uent higher

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Page 38

EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

The perfect system for a healthy water tank Clean water is vital for healthy living – and Tank Vac has the perfect system for guaranteeing this for people who use rainwater.

“Anyone collecting rain water off a roof needs to ensure that the water is clean before being used,” says Warren Agnew, from Warkworth, who is the sole distributor for Tank Vac systems.

“The debris from the roof, such as bird excrement, dust and pollen, collects on the bottom of the tank creating a sludge – ideal for bacteria to breed.”

Warren says this is where most households siphon their water from. “Most tanks have the over ow at the top so the newest freshest water coming into the tank is being wasted while the older is being used,” says Warren.

The Tank Vac needs no power, requires no maintenance

as it has no moving parts, is better than ultra violet and will last a lifetime, says Warren.

“The system goes inside the tank, across the base and when the tank starts filling up the old stale water and sediment at the bottom of the tank is siphoned off at eight litres per second, leaving the new, fresh oxygenated water.”

Easy to install, the Tank Vac system doesn’t require a technician to install it – any home handyman can do it.

“The system was developed by engineers at Waikato University and microbiologists at Auckland University of Technology and gives protection from giardia, salmonella and cryptosporidium which all cause stomach upsets,” says Warren. “Tank Vacs should be in all water tanks.” Tank Vac is made in Auckland and is available nationwide.

Helen Wilson

Clouds on the horizon Everything is changing so fast it is frightening.

of a very long ‘bull run’. Property prices have increased, share markets are up, lots of people are borrowed to the hilt, and interest rates being low have also fuelled speculative More people, more borrowing. Our personal debt as a nation is demand on goods and serfrightening. vices, more pressure, more John Key saw the writing on the wall and stress and more mental got out of politics while he was ahead. He’s health issues. We’ve been cautioning us to be careful as there are some a sleepy hollow for decades “clouds on the horizon”. We’re seeing – plenty of space, plenty of private lenders offering high interest rates food, not too much pressure to attract funds to lend at even higher rates.

– but that has gone forever.

The growth largely fuelled by immi- Remember when Provincial Finance and all those other lenders failed? That’s not that long ago either. gration is a bit like a ponzi scheme.

Some of the bigger economies are borrowed up to More people, so we need more houses the hilt too. China has some headwinds ahead. The for them – now we need another United States is fully debted, offering tax cuts with no 20,000 builders and the beat goes on.

But, I really set out to talk about how additional income to replace it. Then there’s Brexit, trade wars, change of guard around the world and the financial outlook is changing. ’m it could get very grumpy. The share market could a crusty old rural banker who studied fall rapidly setting off a major correction. You can economics to a moderate level. We’ve go online and see the ‘wise’ suggesting the ‘bull run’ been up and down about five times is over and it is time to tidy-up our portfolios. The in my business lifetime – that’s about every 10 years. We are nearing the end banks seem to be pulling back with their lending and it appears there are a lot of people out there with too much debt. I recently saw a budget for a 900-cow dairy farm including a lot of debt servicing returning the owners a paltry $20,000. All of that effort and risk for $20K. It does not stack up.

On the positive, NZ is in a strong position to avoid being blown over. We have modest debt, we export food and can feed ourselves reasonably well. If it gets tough and the tourists all stay home NZ will see very quickly how they are dependent on farming. We are, however, an exporting nation and very dependent on the world wanting our product.

So, what can we do to strengthen our positions? Cut back on non-essential expenditure and build some cash reserves into your business. Take a realistic view of your business and seek help if you feel you may be at risk.

Life and farming is a risky business, it is just how you see and manage those risks that matters.

So times are a changing. We’re nearing the end of a long “bull run” and the “wise” are telling us to heed their warnings. The world is at full stretch. We’re fortunate to live in NZ where we’ll weather the storm better than most countries. But please, shore up your own balance sheet and be aware.

Disclaimer: These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance.

Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought. Don Fraser is principal of Fraser Farm Finance and a farming industry consultant.Phone: 021 777 675.

A disclosure statement is available on request.

Soil Pond

Grass

Cow

EFFLUENT & IRRIGATION

Multi-use blocks that save waste Helping the environment while delivering a new product to consumers is how Counties Ready Mix came up with ‘BigBlocks’.

“When we assessed how much concrete was going to waste we knew we could do something better, for both the company and the environment,” says Paul Tuapola from Counties Ready Mix. “So development of our interlocking mass concrete blocks marketed as ‘BigBlocks’ was a logical step.”

The Auckland ready mixed concrete industry produces about 50,000m3 of leftover concrete per year and a lot ends up in landfill, says aul.

But Counties, known innovators in the concrete market, found their answer in making BigBlocks.

“It allows us to quickly dispose of waste concrete freeing up our trucks, which means all our customers get fresh concrete every time, while we’re preventing waste concrete from going into landfills and we end up with a product we can sell at very competitive prices.”

Based in Drury, Counties has developed three sizes of BigBlocks starting from their small 0.5TN block, the standard 1.1TN block and a large 1.65TN block.

글 BigBlocks have a range of uses – including feed bins and dividing walls.

“It’s just very large building blocks, and at 800mm high, walls are quick to install with minimal joints.”

Counties Ready Mix has supplied thousands to the rural sector for feed bins and dividing walls.

Scrap steel merchants and industrial processing plants install the product because it provides a solid concrete wall at more than half a metre thick, which can take the abuse of loaders and large fork hoists. “We’ve supplied BigBlocks to most of the North Island, with enquiries now coming in from the South Island,” says Paul.

BigBlocks are also a popular choice for retaining walls and barrier walls. “We’ve developed engineered solutions for many applications, which makes it easy for the customers. We also provide a 3D layout of the structure so the customer can visualise exactly what they’re going to get. “And our BigBlocks can now be lifted and placed using a set of certified lifting chains. No more waiting for a set of special block lifters.”

Futureproofing your farm effluent system is key In 2016 the Shaw family purchased a fullyirrigated 120-hectare dairy farm located within walking distance of the home farm and bounding their 80ha run-off.

The new farm had “everything except an ef uent system which comprised a hole in the ground requiring a contractor to come in every few weeks to clean

Jim Shaw with Farm Manager Oscar Smit in front of the 3.5m litre pond which gives them 100+ days of storage.

Page글39

it out and irrigate onto the paddocks around the cowshed,” says Jim Shaw. “As a consequence those paddocks were saturated with ef uent.”

Jim says they needed a system that would take in a much bigger area of the farm “and would give us 100 days of storage”.

“We were mindful that – at some point in the future – we could bring our 80ha runoff into the milking platform.

“This would enable us to milk 200 more cows, so we needed an ef uent system which would futureproof the farm,” says Jim Shaw.

The new Hi-Tech Enviro system comprises of a 7.5m shore-based stirrer, multi-controller, 25hp close-couple impellor pump and King Cobra, which irrigates to 30ha of the farm.

“This is a one-man unit so everything has to be easy to use and efficient,” says im.

“The multi controller monitors performance, issuing an alert to anything unusual and the King Cobra just gets on and does the job; no hassle. “We’re really happy with the entire system.”

글

Page 40

WINNER of NZ Concrete Technology Award

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

MAIZE

Researching breeding N out of animals airyN is leading a seven-year 21 million research partnership project aiming to breed cattle with less nitrogen in their urine. airyN geneticist Mark Camara says the research could reduce sector-wide nitrate leaching by 20 per cent.

“One of the key commitments of the airy Tomorrow strategy is to ‘protect and nurture the environment for future generations’. “ ight now, a team of researchers is making good on that commitment by investigating the role of genetics in reducing nitrogen in cows’ urine. “If we can breed dairy cows that excrete less N in their urine, we can reduce the amount of N reaching our waterways. That’s good for farming and good for our environment.”

The research involves thousands of cows on farms around N . Scientists are developing breeding strategies and estimate an expected reduction in N leaching could be potentially up to 20 per cent. Mark says previous research has shown that, in dairy cows fed N-rich diets, milk urea levels and urinary N rise together. “ ut this environmental correlation doesn’t necessarily mean that cows with genetically-low milk urea that are fed the same diet as typical cows will have low urinary N. “And if this ‘genetic correlation’ doesn’t hold up, selecting for low milk urea won’t reduce urinary N.

Breeding Worth traits

“ n addition, we don’t know if reducing urinary N would compromise other reeding orth traits through other, unfavourable, genetic correlations or improve them through favourable ones.”

Mark says verifying these genetic relationships isn’t easy. “ t takes many measurements of urinary N, milk urea and other traits on related cows to separate the environmental and genetic contributions to these relationships.”

To take these measurements, a high-tech gadget developed by Ag esearch is attached to free-ranging cows. It channels their urine past a sensor and records the time, volume, and nitrogen concentration of every urination. airing direct urinary nitrogen data with indirect measurements such as milk urea and applying complex statistical models can then estimate the genetic correlation between milk urea and urinary nitrogen.

Page 41

Multiple reasons to choose maize The era of using Palm Kernel Expeller in large amounts is over, due to the introduction of the Fat Evaluation Index by Fonterra on September 1 this year.

Now farmers have the opportunity to explore feed options such as maize silage, which has additional financial and environmental benefits, says ioneer ay of lenty regional manager obin illett.

Robin says maize can be fed in high amounts. “Maize silage can safely be fed at high rates in periods of large pasture deficits without significantly affecting the FEI.” lus, maize is locally-grown, making it

free from biosecurity risks associated with imported feeds.

Maize can be stored for long periods of time and fed when needed without a deterioration in quality.

“A well-compacted, sealed silage stack covered with a high- uality cover can keep maize silage for three or more seasons.”

Maize is also an excellent cow conditioner, with DairyNZ research has showing maize silage to be an excellent feed for putting weight on cows toward the end of lactation.

Another reason to choose maize is because it drives milk production. “A number of New Zealand’s leading dairy farmers are producing more than 00kgMS/cow/year on pasture and maize silage,” says Robin.

“And maize is cost-effective. Most N

Do you need to rebalance your FEI?

dairy farmers can grow maize silage crops yielding 18-2 t M/ha for 11-1 c/kg M in the stack.”

The product is also environmentally sustainable, with maize silage fed on a feed pad a key way farmers can reduce nutrient losses.

“And maize feeding rates are exible rates can be altered to keep pasture residuals at optimal levels.”

pioneer.nz

Environmental impacts

“ f it’s high enough, we can use milk urea as a predictor trait. f it’s not, we’ll have to find another way,” says Mark.

“For farmers to get credit from regulatory bodies for reducing urinary urea through breeding, we’ll need to quantify the environmental impacts.

Therefore, this programme will also upgrade the Overseer model used by regional councils to monitor environmental compliance.

“This upgrade will be based on data from studies that monitor nitrogen leaching from farm-scale trials to determine how low-N genetics interacts with alternative pasture plants and crops that also impact urinary nitrogen levels.”

The Government has granted 8.4m via M E 11. m is from airyN farmers’ levies and the balance from C Ambreed and Fonterra.

(Source: Inside Dairy, July 2018).

Are you ready for the FEI? Add maize silage to your feeding mix today.

Maize silage is a reliable, high yielding and high energy supplement that can help fill feed gaps, extend lactation, put condition on cows and can be stored on farm for when you need it. It also helps reduce urinary Nitrogen losses and can help you rebalance your FEI levels. Now is the time to plan your feed for the coming season.

Make sure you don’t miss out.

For more information please call 027 273 0497 or visit us at www.pioneer.nz.

The AgResearch urine sensor in action.

Photo: Brendon Welten, AgResearch.

Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase, which are part of the labelling and purchase documents. ®, TM, SM , Trademarks and service marks of DuPont, Pioneer or their respective owners.

MAIZE

Page 42

High demand means farmers need to order early Spring is approaching – the weather is warming up, the days are getting longer and grass is starting to grow. And farmers are starting to think about how to improve production while minimising costs.

Japie Jordaan of Jordaan contracting Ltd says with the recent high cost of palm kernel, maize has become the preferred food supplement for most.

“It’s not too late to place your maize order with us,” says Japie.

“But due to a huge increase in demand for maize this season it is wise to plan well in advance and get your

maize order in, to avoid disappointment and higher prices later in the season.”

Japie says if you want to grow your maize on-farm this season, get in touch now.

“JCL can provide the whole service from planting to harvesting. We have our own harvester to ensure maize will be harvested at the right time

without any delay.”

Plus, JCL has bought a new Bergmann loader wagon, which has a big capacity and can chop and weigh the crop simultaneously. “This wagon is doing an amazing ob with fine chopping the grass as short as 35mm.”

And they’ve purchased a second Goweil round baler-wrapper, which makes the best bales

Japie’s ever seen.

“This baler can replace netting around bales with plastic for a better quality product. All of our customers have been very happy with the quality of the bales they’ve received from this baler.”

JCL’s team has also worked hard in winter to get their eet serviced and in excellent condition for the busy season ahead.

JCL’s new Bergmann loader wagon has a big capacity and can chop and weigh the crop simultaneously.

What this zero-emissions target actually means If there were a list of sectors feeling the pain of an over-ambitious Zero Carbon Bill, our primary industries would be near the top. Last year our new Climate Change Minister, James Shaw, delivered New

Zealand’s national statement to the annual United Nations Climate Change conference. He announced to the rest of the world that we had a total commitment to becoming a net-zero emissions economy by the year 2050. This was not a matter of negotiation. “You can’t negotiate with the climate,” he said.

There was an insatiable desire to be first, fast and famous, but it wasn’t coupled with any detail or definition of what ero Carbon looks like in practice.

Only now are we starting to see serious economic analysis in relation to this commitment.

So what does the analysis say? The headline comment is that: ‘Yes, we technically could do it’. Where I think it starts to come unravelled is when you start to understand what this zero-emissions target actually means.

Economic modelling paints a grim picture with all scenarios showing economic growth slowing, costs on households rising and a carbon price soaring to a level that would see steel production close their doors, our farming families see the value of their asset massively impacted, as they stare down the barrel of costs of up to $200,000 per farm, and land use change from farming to forests on a scale not seen before.

Is this what the Minister really had us imagining when he simplified the issue of climate change down to a single concept of a net-zero emissions economy?

We need to be sensible here. Do we see a world without milk, meat, steel and aluminium? Or do we just see a world where NZ imports the product but exports the jobs and economic opportunities to countries that do the exact same thing in a far less sustainable way?

Todd Muller is the National Party spokesperson on Climate Change.

Read this column in full at: www.coastandcountrynews.co.nz

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MAIZE

Page 43

Good relationships enhance maize silage value Pukehina dairy farmer John ‘JC’ Cameron is a highly respected, successful farmer in the Bay of Plenty but not, in his own words, a “technical guru” when it comes to his maize crop.

such as account managers, ultimately know exactly what the farmer is dealing with, and can advise accordingly. “At the end of the day, Barry’s superior knowledge of the industry through his experience with different companies means he knows what

Many farmers aren’t – and that’s why having a maize seed company sales representative they can trust is important.

JC and his VPMaxx brand seed account manager Barry Smallridge have been friends for many years – but it’s only been four years since they started working together in a professional capacity.

“The action of the maize or ‘scratch factor’ against the rumen wall stimulates the cow to ruminate, resulting in improved cow health, which is re ected in production and cows cycling,” says JC. “It has become an important factor when determining how maize compliments our operation.”

The Bay of Plenty can be a dry area, so Barry recommended VPMaxx hybrid VP577, which is tough and consistent for silage and grain.

JC says that the people working on the ground,

John ‘JC’ Cameron with his maize stack.

the trial blocks are doing,” says JC. “The recommendations he gives me is paramount to the success of my crop.” Barry says this is why VPMaxx

is a valued partner to farmers.

“Leave the technical issues to us, while you get on with the work on the ground.”

The world of proteins, but not as we know it I recently attended a Protein Tech conference, which covered the unknown world of ‘alternative proteins’, and whether New Zealand should be leaping into it.

Apparently veganism is becoming the ‘proper’ diet for millennials, while baby boomers plod on with their animal meat and cow milk. But like everything, some want a ‘bob each way’ and call themselves exitarians. This means vegan all week and expensive cuts of meat in the weekends.

However, a number of billionaires are in favour and the likes of Bill Gates are pouring money into the research.

So what do these alternative proteins consist of? Apparently proteins exist in a wide variety of plants, insects and their larvae, fungi, and something weird called ‘heme’ which is cultivated in yeast. Turns out the Impossible Burgers re uired a Genetically-Modified yeast, so I don’t see our Government getting enthused any time soon.

And with some you can create nonanimal meat, and others in the form of so-called ‘milk’ are already on our supermarket shelves created from almonds, soy, coconut and rice.

The US and EU are already demanding these be called something else, so there’s probably new noun names on their way.

NZ organisations are already looking at new forms of protein, including Landcare which is studying mushrooms and other fungi, plus the potential to farm huhu grubs, with getting Maori involved on their extensive land holdings.

But do all these proteins contain all the animal created amino acids etc which we know are in our usual red meat and milk? Apparently there are nine which are indispensable for humans and some need to pass through an animal gut to reach us.

We’re eating less red, and more white meat, and some of the ‘milks’ have much lower levels, apart from soy.

We already have sheep being milked in NZ, and apparently their milk has much more protein than milk from goat and cow. But almond, coconut and rice milk are deemed to have so little they’re ‘not suitable as a complete milk replacement for children under five by FAN .

Unfortunately, science funding in NZ is ‘competitive’ rather than ‘collaborative’ which makes getting our act together over the best way to move probably a bit difficult.

So DairyNZ and Beef+LambNZ aren’t panicking yet, although the threat isn’t going to fade completely from NZ. We’re already telling the world our meat and milk are ‘pure’ and ‘safe’ and supposedly sustainable. This will ensure a lot of our current markets still want to buy from us. But maybe we should also be stressing those animal-produced amino acids and how much of the alternative greens we need to eat to make up for them.

What we weren’t told then, and probably the millennials don’t realise now, is the necessity of having animals tramping over our pastures and some crops, and what the soil life needs from them to do their specialist duties to make that pasture grow.

My personal concern over growing

masses more crops instead of animals is the soil life will be regularly disturbed, and current overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides will get even worse.

The 800,000 tonnes of urea, and the copious use of glyphosate are destroying the natural methods of soil and plant procreation now. We could end up unable to grow either plants or animals. What do we eat then?

Sue Edmonds

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CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

Page 44

Construction works halt Ford Road fishing Road access to Te Tumu Cut – and access to fishing is closed for six months as construction works restores 00,000m3 of freshwater ows into Te Awa o Ngatoroirangi Maketu Estuary on every tidal cycle.

Ford oad access to Te Tumu Cut and Maketu Spit is now closed until ecember 20, with ay of lenty egional Council apologising for the inconvenience to fishers as its delivers the 1 m aituna iver re-diversion pro ect that was first called for by the

community in 19 9. “ e know the area is popular with fishers and we’re really sorry for the inconvenience. ut this pro ect will benefit them in the long run with improved facilities, estuary health, and kaimoana habitat,” says O C aituna catchments manager im de Monchy.

Ford d is scheduled to re-open in time for Christmas fishing, but the Ford d boat ramp will remain closed until construction work is completed in une 2020. hite-baiting in Ford’s Cut will also be affected until une 2020, due to restricted water ow and stopbank access throughout the construction period. ell d boat ramp will remain open throughout the construction period. im says existing levels of boat access through Te Tumu Cut also known as the aituna Cut will be maintained once the pro ect is complete. e says ood protection levels will also remain the same for properties in the aituna Catchment Scheme and Maketu township.

The aituna iver re-diversion pro ect includes creation of an 800m long new channel to carry fresh water from the river, through a new enlarged diversion control structure and down a widened Ford’s Cut, into the estuary. Existing stopbanks will be shifted and upgraded. ro ect details are at: www.boprc.govt.nz/kaitunarediversion.

Ford Road access to Te Tumu Cut and the lower Kaituna River is now closed until December 20.

Paeroa gets fast, new flood gates New mechanised ood gates installed on State ighway 2 at aeroa will enable aikato egional Council to provide full ood protection to the community faster.

The gates manufactured in the and being installed ad acent to Criterion ridge, which crosses Ohinemuri iver will work early-October.

C auraki one manager aren otting says the gates replace stoplogs, which re uire 10 staff up to 90 minutes to put in place to provide full ood protection.

“The logs have been very effective, but as a result of this pro ect the community will be protected much faster. t’ll take two staff ust minutes to close the gates.

“As part of this 900,000 pro ect, we’ll also put in footings over the next couple of months to enable the gates to open and shut at the ick of a switch.”

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FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 45

New rules for imported vehicles and machinery

The new rules came into force this month – from September 1 – which is also the beginning of the stink bug season.

“Imported vehicles and machinery pose a high biosecurity risk, as stink bugs hibernate in nooks and crannies during the Northern Hemisphere winter,” says MPI facilities and pathways manager Paul Hallett.

Paul says MPI’s new Import Health Standard for vehicles, machinery and equipment – in place until April 30, 2019 – has a big focus on Japan following biosecurity issues earlier this year with contaminated vehicle carriers.

There are also new restrictions on imports from many European countries, recognising the spread of stink bug through this part of the world.

Non-containerised vehicles

“One of the big things is making it compulsory for treatment to take place offshore for non-containerised vehicles and machinery sourced from affected countries.

from the United States and Italy.

“We simply don’t want to run the risk Used imports from Japan will need to of having contaminated cargo enter NZ be both treated and cleaned offshore waters,” says Paul. as part of an approved system during “The new standard also covers new vehithe season. cles from Japan. In the past, we’ve focused on used vehicles from this country. New New and used imports vehicles can be easily contaminated if they All other new and used imports – during are not securely stored.” the stink bug season – from other countries The approved treatment options are fumigation with methyl bromide or sulfuryl covered by the standard will need to be treated or go through an approved system. uoride and heat treatment, says aul.

Vehicle manufacturers will have the “We expect most of the imports from option of applying to MPI Japan will for biosecurity approval of undergo heat their supply chain protreatment, as cesses, avoiding the need to that’s going to be treat each new unit. This available locally involves having strict conand Japan has trols in place to reduce the restrictions on risk of contamination. some fumigants.

“We want to do everything we can to stop brown marmorated The brown marmorated stink bug from stink bug is a big threat to invading NZ, given NZ’s horticulture industry. the damage it could cause to our horticulture industry,” says Paul.

Under the new standard 14 more countries have been added to the list requiring mandatory treatment of vehicles and MPI has made offshore treatment compulsory machinery during the stink bug for non-containerised vehicles and machinery season. This requirement previsourced from affected countries. ously only applied to vehicles

Used machinery from any country must have a certificate proving it has undergone thorough cleaning and treatment before arrival in NZ. And there must be evidence the machinery was disassembled for cleaning. It must also arrive with a sticker showing how and when it was treated.

MPI can approve alternative treatments, but only if there is proof they can produce the same outcome as approved methods.

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Page 46

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Brian’s a ‘Fergi’ fanatic Brian Scott driving ‘Fergi’ his 1963 Massey Ferguson 35X multi-power tractor.

Photos: Catherine Fry.

The rear of a Massey Ferguson 35X tractor. Photos: Catherine Fry.

Brian Scott’s lifelong obsession with Massey Ferguson tractors is apparent from the huge collection of models and memorabilia in his house.

Delivered direct to your letterbox... www.coastandcountrynews.co.nz

In the early-2000s he acquired a very collectible real 1963 Massey Ferguson 35X multi-power tractor and restored her to her former glory.

‘Fergi’ is now an admired machine who spends her time at shows, relaxing in the garage, remembering her younger days on a sheep and beef farm in Te Kuiti, and working part-time on Brian’s family farm.

The front of a Massey Ferguson 35X tractor.

Brian’s loved Massey Fergusons since he was a small boy. Growing up on the same Walton farm he lives on now, he soon discovered which tractors he liked best, when he drove his father’s Massey Ferguson 35 – with no ‘X’ after it. The ‘X’ has more extras, and are rarer. rian had his first when he was 18, and is working on the current owner to sell it back to him. “They’re just really good to handle, very nimble,” says Brian, “They feel like they are an extension of you.” When Brian got his hands on Fergi she was mechanically quite sound, but her bodywork was in a very poor condition.

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 47

Restoring one model to her former glory “I knew she had good wife Shirley’s surprise when she bones,” says Brian. “She just found badges and hydraulic needed a little TLC.” top link yokes in his suitcase – And although Brian is presents for his other ‘girl’. capable of restoration work Fergi is semi-retired but does himself, Chris Jew, of a tractor bit of mulching and operates Ngaruawahia, finished the attraction the baler on the farm, which Tales of ‘Pet’ Tractors paintwork. Fergi now sports is a 1963 Massey Ferguson 10 & Machinery alike a shiny Red body, with a aler that fits her perfectly.

Stoneleigh Grey base, and In her spare time, she Silver Mist on her wheels. accompanies Brian to events with the “It’s very important to use the Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinright colours,” says Brian. “If the ery Club, or the annual gathering of bonnet looks nice, then the tractor the NZ branch of the English Fergulooks nice.” son Heritage Club at Queen’s birthday Brian also bought some parts home weekend. In June she was at Fieldays. from a trip to England, much to his

As the Scott Family Centenary on their farm approaches next year, Fergi will no doubt be part of the planned festivities. Catherine Fry

Does your farm or boss have a pet tractor? Or maybe a pet digger or bulldozer? If so, we’d love to hear about it! Email: merle@sunmedia.

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The before shot of ‘Fergi’ the Massey Ferguson 35X before Brian restored her. Copy of supplied photo.

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KIWIFRUIT

Page 48

Biopesticides a ‘massive opportunity’ for NZ kiwifruit industry As consumer demand for residue-free produce rises, New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry would benefit from fast-tracking its shift towards biopesticides, according to a University of Auckland researcher.

agro-chemical company staff and espri iwiGreen ntegrated est others. “ found widespread negative, Management programme, which but inaccurate, preconceptions about Zespri says ensures that pests and biocontrol that it is ‘niche’ or ‘fringe’ disease are controlled in a safe and and unproven, it doesn’t work as well environmentally sound manner. as chemicals, and it’s more expensive Biopesticides are one element of this and labour intensive,” says Madeleine. programme, but aren’t widely used.

An internship at Plant & Food Research has Her research is part of a Master of Madeleine also analysed growers’ attiseen Madeleine Trusewich determine that “shiftioscience Enterprise, a programme tudes to change. ing sooner rather than later to biocontrol would be delivered by the University of Auck“Overall, they’re happy with the status a massive opportunity for NZ” – particularly for land’s School of iological Sciences, uo, but there is a small group of kiwifruit, our largest single horticultural export by Preconceptions Business School and Faculty of Law to more innovative orchardists, especially volume and value.

To find out why, Madeleine analysed existing teach students with a science backorganic growers, who are looking for Supermarket chains in Britain and Europe are data, observed the industry through her internship ground how to understand, protect alternative ways of doing things.” increasingly setting residue limits and banning proat Plant & Food Research, and carried out in-depth and exploit the value of research. ut kiwifruit growers are the ultimate duce exposed to certain pesticides. interviews with orchardists, suppliers, scientists, “Generally, biopesticides are more source of knowledge when it comes expensive and they don’t visibly proto pest and disease control and have duce a fast result because they work by a crucial role to play in co-creation of Ourenhancing Atoms are the set up with radar sensors, vitality of thespeed soil or the this biopesticides, says Madeleine.

My Name is Neil Woodward. combined fullyresilience automated controllers “The and industry should foster a positive plants’ with natural tosprayer pests and I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run three nozzle rings enhances application efficiencyattitude and towards change and encourdisease,” says Madeleine. business, our team consists of three, being myself, my accuracy. age, inspire, and incentivise growers to son and my brother.

216 Pongakawa Bush Road WePositive also use a quad bike for strip weed spray attitude experiment with biopesticides.

Our organisation has been established for over 18 applications.

“But you can achieve “The regulatory environment Te is Puke years. I have been involved in applying crop protection good efficacyneeded to meet Globalgap fast-moving, and the horticultural holdasall certificates programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We ust compliance. if you use biopestiindustry is racing replace products Totocontact us: We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We cides in all conjunction that have been banned, product-byWe look at challenges to help ensure we protect Phone: 021 907 621 have the equipment to spray orchards with our two with biocontrol product – that’s a slow shift. your cropother with excellence.

Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom E-mail: methods, like keeping “Shifting soonerzcl@zanadu.co.nz rather than later Formula tractor which is also available for mulching tidy weed strips, to biocontrol is a massive opporand mowing. monitoring tunity for NZ. The industry’s Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, this My Name is Neil Woodward. for pests and response to Psa-V demoncombined with fully automated sprayer controllers and diseases, and strated their strength in I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run three nozzle rings enhances application efficiency and business, our team consists of three, being myself, my accuracy. factoring in uniting for a common son and my brother. the effect of cause, so we can be con216 Pongakawa Bush Road We also use a quad bike for strip weed spray weather and fident in its capacity to Our organisation has been established for over 18 applications.

Te Puke years. I have been involved in applying crop protection other condirespond to this inevitable programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966. We hold all certificates needed to meet Globalgap tions.” shift.” compliance.

To contact us: All Zespri Madeleine’s full report We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect Phone: 021 907 621 have the equipment to spray orchards with our two fruit is required is at: https://researchyour crop with excellence.

Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom to be produced space.auckland.ac.nz/ E-mail: zcl@zanadu.co.nz Formula tractor which is also available for mulching Madeleine Trusewich. in line with the handle/2292/37086 ere, kiwifruit exporter espri has been working with lant & Food esearch, Ag esearch and the Bio-Protection Research Centre to develop and promote “next generation” biopesticides pest and disease control products based on natural biological agents, including fungi, bacteria, yeast and plant oils.

Zespri already restricts the use of pesticides to comply with or do better than EU limits, says Madeleine.

But uptake of biopesticides has remained low in the kiwifruit industry, in line with global trends.

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KIWIFRUIT

Page 49

Sponsorship opportunities for kiwifruit pioneers’ book When, in 1953, Te Puke orchardist Jim MacLoughlin sent 40 boxes of Chinese Gooseberries to England he marked the beginnings of today’s multi-million kiwifruit industry.

In sharp contrast to 65 years ago, the 123 million trays of kiwifruit exported in the 2017/2018 season generated a total revenue of $2.51 billion.

The industry today owes a debt of gratitude to Jim and other early pioneer growers who, often in the face of adversity, persevered with what was then a new and relatively unknown fruit, to pave the way for its current success.

The stories of those pioneers are to be recorded in a book commissioned by New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. to mark its 25th anniversary next year. Its author is former Coast & Country News editor, Elaine Fisher.

The project, which has already received funding support from several industry bodies and businesses, still has sponsorship opportunities available.

The purpose of the sponsorship is to fund the writing and production of the book and to provide a subsidised purchase price.

“This sponsorship will be a special opportunity for businesses’ names to be recorded alongside the founding pioneers of the kiwifruit industry. We expect that the book will become an important reference for the industry for many years into the future,” says NZKGI communications manager

Mike Murphy.

The book will feature growers who first recognised the potential of the fruit and used their diverse skills to not only successfully grow kiwifruit commercially, but also to export and market it, and worked to set in place structures to provide the strong foundations of today’s successful industry.

Mike says the kiwifruit industry is relatively young and is fortunate to have many of its grower pioneers still alive. “However, some notable people have recently passed away such as Roly Earp and Mike Te Puke orchardist Jim MacLoughlin Muller. is among the pioneers to feature in the “NZKGI, representing book commissioned by NZKGI. kiwifruit growers, is in a close partnership with their wives unique position to capture the voices of kiwifruit grower pio- and partners to manage and grow neers. If this capturing of pioneer’s their orcharding businesses and raise families,” says Elaine. voices is delayed, they will be lost “This book is a chance to forever,” says Mike. tell both sides of the stories of ‘ ioneer growers’ are defined the inspirational growers who, as those who were growing in through hard work and deterthe decades from the mid-to-late mination, often in the face 1950s and onwards. of significant adversity, grew Specifically, they are growan industry from a relatively ers who were among the first to unknown ‘hairy brown fruit’ to research and develop or apply a become a national and internanew area of knowledge, method tional success story.” or activity.

There are several different levels Elaine, also former editor of the ‘Kiwifruit Journal’, and an award- of sponsorship available for the book, each with limited availabilwinning rural journalist, says ity based on a first in, first served work on the book is well underprinciple. way. “While it has generally been For further information, contact men who have played leading Mike Murphy at: public and political roles within info@nzkgi.org.nz the industry, most have worked in

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iosecurity officers intercepted the larvae in uly in undeclared food with a holiday group from Malaysia at Auckland Airport, says iosecurity N passenger manager Craig ughes.

The larvae was found in chillies following x-ray screening of the tour leader’s baggage. A caterpillar was also detected in garlic bulbs carried with the undeclared food. “Many horticulture crops are susceptible to attack by fruit y. Affected fruit and vegetables could be inedible or sub ect to trade restrictions if the pest became established inULTRA-PRO N .”

The tour leader received a 400 fine for failing to ULTRA-PRO declare the food package.The intercepted larvae was believed to be Malaysian fruit y, which has invaded a number of acific islands. The species attacks more than 0 types of fruit and vegetables.

Craig says biosecurity officers are on high alert for fruit y following recent outbreaks in Tasmania and Adelaide. iosecurity N , which is part of the Ministry for rimary ndustries, has made more than 10 fruit y interceptions at the border this year.

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Credible and cost effective choices for testing and auditing services

a staff at Eurofins busy at work.

A full range of micro and chemical testing in the food, environmental, soil and fertiliser, agriculture, horticulture and pharmaceutical sectors is what Eurofins N offers, says Floris an hyn, who is managing director at Eurofins ay of lenty.

“Eurofins N provides the New ealand market with credible, reliable and cost effective choices for testing and auditing services and a laboratory of choice in the primary, manufacturing and services sectors,” Floris.

“This is achieved by using advanced technologies, supported by a high level of research and development and bespoke T solutions delivered

through standardised, accredited, high uality services.”

Eurofins N also provides its customers with access to the global Eurofins network of testing and laboratory services that include genomics, discovery pharmacology, forensics, advanced material sciences and services for supporting clinical studies as well as specialty clinical diagnostics.

And locally, Eurofins employs more than 00 staff, with laboratories in Auckland, amilton, atikati, Te uke, astings, ellington and unedin.

“Eurofins contributes to the health and safety of society by providing its customers with high uality laboratory and advisory services whilst creating opportunities for its employees to meet customer needs,” says Floris.

Page 51

AVOCADOS

Page 52

Boost to direct retail channel for Just Avocados Just Avocados’ Australian retail channel has grown by 55 per cent during the last three seasons – and, a further boost to this has been announced for the 2018-2019 season with the specialist avocado packer and exporter to now supply a major Australian retailer directly.

“We are very excited to announce we have direct vendor status this season with Australian retail, which allows us to place a significant volume into this channel,” says Jacob Darling, who is general manager of group sales and marketing for Darling Group – the parent brand to Just Avocados, JH Leavy & Co and Avoworks.

Just Avocados’ general manager of operations and grower services, Jarrod Redwood, says this develop-

ment will benefit their growers.

“This season, 65 per cent of our Australian programme will go direct to retail – this is a more streamlined transaction with cost savings,” says Jarrod.

Additionally, according to Jacob, Just Avocados is positioned to see more value retained from Australian exports by utilising newlyapproved facilities at JH Leavy & Co. “Our team in Australia has launched a third-party logistics division and has recently had inspection and treatment facilities approved – both allow us to remove time delays and costs in the supply chain for our growers.”

“We can receive our containers directly from the port and inspect and treat them ourselves. This increases the speed of our fruit to market, which reduces quality issues through minimising stock age.”

Overall, according to Jacob, the market outlook is positive for the start of the New Zealand export season.

“Wholesale in Australia is currently well represented with Australian fruit and our market information suggests current volumes

of more than 350,000 trays per week will continue into October.

“To mitigate the wholesale market in the early part of the season, we will begin exports with our direct retail programme.”

Darling Group’s strategy is for strong volumes early in the season into the Asian markets and to then optimise the late-season Australian window.

“In 2017-2018, we shipped 24 per cent of our volume to Asia, versus the industry at 19 per cent. This strategy proved successful with leading export returns for Just Avocados growers,” says Jacob.

“Currently, 95 per cent of our volume for the 2018-2019 season to date has been shipped to Asia – Korea and Thailand.”

Jarrod says that with a valuable early Asian market, and a time premium payment for fruit harvested late season for the Australian market, Just Avocados offers options to suit a range of grower needs while meeting market requirements.

“We’re committed to providing a model that allows exibility around harvest and rewards growers for holding fruit from week

50 onwards.

“We work with growers to deliver the outcome that will maximise returns and suit what they want to achieve on their orchard.”

Just Avocados general manager of group sales and marketing Jacob Darling.

Duo face theft charges Two people will appear in Tauranga District Court this month facing charges related to theft of avocados in the Western Bay of Plenty, with the region’s growers experiencing a spike in fruit being stolen this season.

Tauranga Police say they responded to a number of avocado thefts at rural addresses in Te Puke, Welcome Bay, Bethlehem, Te Puna and Katikati in the last twothree months. “Police have made arrests for some of these offences including the arrest of an organised receiver who was purchasing the avocados from burglary offenders.”

As a result, a 63-year-old local man appeared in TDC last month on two charges of receiving property.

A 23-year-old man, facing two burglary charges, and a 27-year-old woman, facing three burglary charges, will appear in TDC this month.

Police say these arrests were made with assistance from victims and witnesses who acted quickly in reporting suspicious activity to them. “Police hope people will continue to report suspicious vehicles and activity in orchard areas during the day or night.

“The avocados are believed to have been on-sold by the receiver.”

Improving orchard health and production ü ü ü ü ü ü

Local market picking Injecting Pruning Chipping Fertilizing Wood splitting

Call today to book a free consultation and begin the steps towards boosting your orchard productivity!

Phone: Matt 027 552 5411

WHEN DO YOU WANT TO PICK? At Just Avocados, we are committed to providing a model that allows flexibility around harvest while maximising returns.

Talk to us about how we can deliver what you want to achieve on your orchard.

Jarrod Redwood

Greg O’Carroll

GM Operations and Grower Services

Grower Services

027 200 0295 jarrod@justavocados.co.nz

027 268 0374 greg@justavocados.co.nz

@justavocados info@justavocados.co.nz www.justavocados.co.nz 07 549 3027

AVOCADOS

Page 53

Avanza to debut in China with ‘next-level cool’ brand re ected in new fruit labels carrying the Chinese name for Avanza: “Chao niu guo”. “ hen translated, to a younger generation the name implies ‘next-level cool fruit’ or ‘next-level cool’, whereas the more literal translation reads as: “the super one,” says Steve.

“The name is a call-to-action of sorts, and if you want to be seen as ‘next-level cool’ or feed your family ‘super food’,

A strategic promotional campaign targeting af uent and aspirational young families will be used to drive sales of Avanza avocados in China this season.

Avoco’s marketing and communications manager Steve Trickett says the campaign, supported by in-store demonstrations and the eChat app, will position Avanza as the supplier of premium uality New ealand avocados and tap into the desires of Chinese ‘supermums’ who want to be seen as upper-middle class.

For mothers of school-age children in China, in-depth market research shows avocados are a symbol of prosperity purchasing them is a sign that you want the very best for your family. remium prices are no barrier for this consumer group, which Avanza is targeting in niche retail stores with a new Chinese brand that re ects the avocado’s status as a high- uality super food, says Steve.

Avoco is exporting avocados to China under its Avanza brand for the first time this month since N gained market access earlier this year. About 0,000 trays are planned for its debut.

Niche market

Steve says the promotional plan and its niche market focus would help to differentiate Avanza avocados from fruit sourced from South American heavyweights, including Chile and eru.

Avanza, with around per cent pro ected share of N exports, will

it’s something you need to have in your shopping basket.” Supporting this is promotional information available through in-store tastings and interactive digital campaigns, which involve eChat. “As with most markets we export to, in-store tastings, product demonstrations and social media remain the most effective and rewarding promotional investment we make.”

Resonance China director Jerry Clode talks to a consumer in China. be the industry leader in China. n preparation, Avanza appointed Shanghai-based branding agency, esonance China, to conduct research to better understand consumer behaviours and attitudes towards avocados, especially among the group labelled ‘supermums’.

“These are mums who are very independent in their own right and who are very focused on their children and spend a lot of money on fresh produce, not really having any price sensitivity in that area,” says Resonance China director Jerry Clode, a iwi expat. is company’s research discovered many mothers in this consumer group disliked the taste and consistency of avocado after trying it the first time. espite this, they persevered and amalgamated it into their families’ diets as they believed

it had nutritional benefits.

“One thing we noticed was avocado was a very important part of middle class status,” says erry. “ hen we went to people’s homes, they had avocado on display in their fruit bowls. t’s important in symbolising modern health, wealth and family.”

Shopping trip

erry’s team accompanied women who fit the ‘supermum’ description on shopping trips. “ e observed interesting cues, which we could build into a brand story for Avanza, with the ob ective of positioning it as the most recognised and trusted N avocado brand in China.”

This involved creating the idea that Avanza avocados “reach a new standard” of uality compared to other imports. This messaging is

Measuring and reviewing helps with performance Measuring and review provides an opportunity to better see where to focus your next year’s efforts.

Annually, Aongatete Avocados td undertakes an analysis of the last season for each orchard managed. ithout a doubt, last season provided some extraordinary results, including our best results on par with gold kiwifruit at 1 4,000/ha Orchard Gate eturn, making the return on capital far better than growing kiwifruit. f we could ust replicate those same market conditions. This is an outstanding result and interestingly it is a mix of export and local market fruit-picking programme. This orchard has been a consistent top-earner it is a high-input, highfruit production unit. e believe it has also highlighted the importance of getting the timing right. On this two-hectare block we focus on four ma or components timing, nutrients, pruning and in ecting.

Timing is the most critical and despite the size of the cropping volume, pruning, which happens every year, is close behind. e target 0 per cent- per cent canopy cover removal every year. Similarly, we’re pretty consistent with in ecting twice per year on sick trees and once on the balance. Once again tree height is in the 8m hydralada picking range. A factor overlooked by many orchardists.

Our strategy with this block is to always grow for the next season. t has been a tactic we’ve applied for a number of years and will harvest our fruit to the optimal timing, rather than a market price focus.

This orchard is an ideal pool participant. t has early and later-season fruit, it consistently produces a crop, and size picking plays an important part. To reduce stress and improve fruit carrying later in the season we harvest prior to ecember for export and if dry will go again in anuary/February. e also carry a third of the crop into the late season.

Getting ready for the next season plays an important part of our decision-making strategies on this block. This involves setting the orchard up for access to all markets, maintaining a compliant food safety

programme and using compliant inputs. astly, targeting good harvesting strategies plays a role in the timing. Size and select picking are used each pick, followed by a good nutrient feed. y reviewing this orchard programme annually we’ve been able to tweak the inputs to deliver production that achieves a superior return. n this case it’s not always about one factor but price, timing and consistency are the lead players.

Assumptions challenged.

Experience is invaluable. So too is a fresh perspective.

AVOCO welcomes BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year, Danni van der Heijden, to the AVOCO technical team led by Colin Partridge.

avoco.co.nz CC0818

By Tony Bradley of Aongatete Avocados Ltd

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 54

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Make your youngster’s first catch a trout Children will be able to embark on their first trout-fishing experience this month and October and November as Eastern Fish & Game runs its “kids fish out” days for 2018.

The first event was held on August 12, with children aged from six to 14 years old able to catch a rainbow trout at Ngongotaha hatchery’s specially designed fish-out pond.

Fish & Game Officer Mark Sherburn says for many children the event is their first trout fishing experience and with expert tuition from members of the Rotorua Anglers Association, they’re guaranteed

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events – but no experience or fishing gear is needed. A $3 donation is requested to help fund the event.

Mark says the ‘kids fish outs’ have been run for many years now, and Fish & Game is “hugely” grateful to Rotorua Anglers Association and local businesses Rainbow Springs and Kilwell for their continued support.

To book, see: https://fishandgame. org.nz/eastern/news/children-givenchance-to-catch-a-rainbow-trout/ Or phone Fish & Game Eastern Region on 07 357 5501.

September 21

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to catch a trout that can be taken home for dinner.

“This was the first of four special fish out days at the hatchery. They really are a wonderful experience for young children,” says Mark.

“That very first fish, which it is for most, is very exciting and leaves most on a real high grinning from ear to ear.”

Further children’s’ fishing days will be held this month on September 9, in October and November. But Mark says children need to be pre-booked to guarantee a spot at these popular

Email your listing to: merle@thesun.co.nz with ‘Rural Event’ in the subject line.

September 6-9

Claudelands Arena, Hamilton.

See tinyurl.com/y83wuvzp

September 7

Morrinsville Daffodil Show, 11.30am-3.30pm, Presbyterian Church Hall, Canada St. Gold coin.

September 8 Worm Composting

Workshop, 1pm, Community Centre, Waihi Beach. Open to Western Bay residents only.

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Up, Hillcrest Stadium, 138 Wairere Drive, Hamilton, 1pm-4pm, free. See:. eventfinda.co.nz/2018/ transformation-from-roots-up/ hamilton

September 9

Waikato & Rotorua Botanical

Societies Field Trip, Arnolds Bush (Piarere). See tinyurl. com/h4zph2x

September 15

Potting Working Bees, Waikato Ecological Enhancement Nursery, 284 Airport Rd, Mystery Creek, 9am-12 noon, free admission.

See: www.facebook.com/ wiwakarkenaturalheritagepark/

September 22

Go Batty in Waitomo,

4pm-8pm, Ruakuri Reserve Tumutumu Rd, Te Kuiti, free. See: www.eventfinda. co.nz/tour/2018/conservationweek-2018

September 23

Felted Cozy Wool Slipper

Rubbish: The Zero Waste Approach, May St Scout hall, 3pm-5pm, free admission.

Come Find Bats with me, 3.30pm-8.30pm, Ngaherenga Campsite Barryville Rd, Pureora, Te Kuiti, free.

See: www.eventfinda.co.nz/ tour/2018/conservationweek-2018

workshop, 10am-4.30pm, The Regent of Rotorua, 1191 Pukaki St. See: www.facebook .com/woolberrycraft Waikato Orchid Society Show, 10am-3pm, Hamilton Gardens.

Worm Composting workshop, 1pm-3pm, Gordon Spratt Reserve. See: wwww.tauranga. govt.nz

September 29-October 14

Huka Prawn Park’s Famous Fishing Competition, Karetoto Rd, Lake Taupo.

See: hukaprawnpark.co.nz

October 4-7

Waikato Home & Garden Show 2018, Claudelands Event Centre. See: www. waikatohomeshow.co.nz

Fish & Game Eastern Region hosts four special ‘fish out days’ at the Ngongotaha hatchery each year.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 55

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Page 56

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Slow and steady Reactive Phosphate Rock (RPR) Madelyn, 1, and Haylee, 3, take a stroll together in Ohaupo.

Ella, 10, with her minature show horse ‘Sherwood The Stalker’ known at home as Nigel, a three-year-old gelding in Cambridge.

Ensure a steady supply of plant available phosphate to maintain soil P of your pasture over time.

RPR meets Fertmark quality assurance standards and voluntary cadmium limits.

Corban, 3, is enjoying a day on his grandparents’ farm in Te Awamutu.

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Having a great time on their tractor in Motumaoho is Daisy, 6, and Indie, 3.