Coast & Country April 2015

BEST ALL ROUND NEWSPAPER 2014 路 BEST ALL ROUND NEWSPAPER 2014 路 BEST ALL ROUND NEWSPAPER 2014 路 BEST ALL ROUND NEWSPAPER 2014

OPOTIKI MUSEUM PAGE 4-5

CALVING PAGE 20-21

EFFLUENT PAGE 36-41

AUTUMN FERT PAGE 42-43

KIWIFRUIT PAGE 49-51

AVOCADOS PAGE 54-55

TRAVEL PAGE 58

April 2015 Issue No.176

Bay of Plenty & Waikato Farm, Orchard & Rural Lifestyle

Out of Africa Nathan and Elri Levin are one of three South African couples to win major awards in 2015 Central Plateau Dairy Industry Awards. The couple are loving their new live and their adopted home. Read their story on pages 16-17. Photo by Elaine Fisher.

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 2

Hunters replaced by 1080 Brian Rogers Director/ Editor

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Claire Rogers Managing Director

Elaine Fisher Editor 07 928 3046

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1080 is essential if we are to protect and retain our native flora and fauna.

It would be excellent to see large numbers hunters return to the bush and hit possums as hard as they did in the 1970s and 1980s but that’s not likely to happen.

There are still small bands of hunters, and companies paying good Skins were being sorted by money for possum fur, but graders who consigned each there’s a shortage of bushGraham Fisher with a haul of possum skins, to piles depending on qualwise men and women keen plus a deer, he and friends brought out of the ity. There were open wool to endure the isolation and Te Urewera National Park in bales suspended on frames, hardships of that life. the last 1970s. into which the graded skins were Threatening the lives of babies packed. Full bales, ready for export, did returns when the industry was and the New Zealand economy hit by a campaign against animal were stacked several deep and aren’t going to stop the use of fur which included models dragalmost to the rafters.

1080. Instead what those who ging blood-stained fur coats along This was 1979 and my husbandissued the blackmail demand have a runway. to-be Graham had a ute-load of done is caused anguish for thouUntil then hunters were making skins to sell. Top price was $23 and sands of parents and deep concern a huge impact on possums. Now the average was $11 to $12 a skin. for the dairy industry – actions it’s 1080 poison, supplemented Graham and two friends had made which can’t be justified. by hunting on a much smaller up to $1000 each a week workIn the midst of the 1080 scare, scale, which are the main forms ing blocks in Te Urewera National the dairy industry celebrated its of possum control. And 1080, as Park, taking time out from their best in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato borne out by the 1080 infant milk day jobs to do so. and Central Plateau dairy industry powder threat, is highly contenThey were among hundreds of tious in some quarters. hunters throughout the country awards – see stories pages 6 to 19.

I have sympathy for those who earning very good money from The kiwifruit season is well hate poison being dropped into possums. Initially it was tax-free, underway – see pages 49 to 51. native bush and their concerns then a seven per cent tax was And visitors to Opotiki’s Shalfoon about its impact on wild and imposed, more if it was a & Francis grocery and hardware domestic animals and birds. secondary income. store are stepping back in time – I also respect the views of those The incentives to spend long cold see story pages 4-5. ardent conservationists, who say winters in the bush diminished, as

By Elaine Fisher

The smell was slightly unpleasant – clawing, greasy, a little musty – but the sight was overwhelming.

Thousands of possum skins filled the large half-round Gisborne warehouse.

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COAST & COUNTRY

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Warmer world awaits grandchild - and that’s not good news

Scion is at the forefront of bioplastics technologies using renewable resources like wood and crop residues to create new products such as these containers.

Dr Warren Parker, CEO of Scion, is worried about the world his grandchildren will inherit.

Scion research leader Dr Warren Grigsby is developing bio-adhesives from natural sources such as tree bark.

“Even by 2050, it’s predicted average temperatures will be two degrees warmer, and there will be an increase in erosion, extreme weather events, and pests,” says Warren, who wonders what future his grandchildren will experience due to climate change.

Warren believes trees hold some of the answers to slowing temperature increases, as well as contributing to improvements in other aspects of environmental performance.

That belief is not surprising. After all he heads Scion, the New Zealand Crown research institute that specialises in research, science, and technology development for the forestry, wood product, and biomaterial manufacturing sectors.

As well as absorbing carbon, trees can help improve water quality, create a healthier environment, prevent erosion, increase biodiversity, create jobs, and provide not only conventional timber products, but innovative new ones to take the place of oil-derived products such as plastics.

Economic value

Warren told the audience at the 2015 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards that Scion’s purpose is to drive innovation and growth in the forestry and wood sectors to ‘build economic value and contribute to beneficial environmental and social outcomes for New Zealand’.

“The world will need more food to feed its future population of 9.5 billion but it will also need 500 to 600 per cent more wood and wood fibre for housing, clothing, and for new materials replacing plastics.”

Statistics indicate deforestation of an estimated 10,000 hectares of land occurred last year.

The ongoing felling of trees will have an impact on the long-term supply of wood, especially for big consumers like China and the USA.

Radiata pines

“By 2020 there will be a world shortage of long fibre softwoods produced by radiata pines grown in New Zealand.”

Those long fibres are important because they are strong, and products made from them are now being used in car manufacture in Europe.

“The product is light, can be coloured, is just as strong as plastics, and it can be produced by radiata pines growing here in the Bay of Plenty.”

Warren says trees can also produce biofuels to power cars, and are used as a source of food for livestock.

TV screens

Even today wood fibres are used in unexpected ways, including the manufacture of television screens.

Research into more uses for timber, plus which trees produce the best products and how to grow them, is ongoing.

Technology such as drones to photograph and map forests and hand-held devices to measure the dimensions of a tree and the quality of its timber, are already in use.

Scion is also researching growing native totara and kauri trees commercially. “Totara can be harvested for commercial purposes in 40 years and kauri in 60 years.” Kauri dieback disease is also the focus of research to find ways to give trees the resilience they need to survive it.

Warren, who was guest speaker at the 2015 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards, describes the entrants as leaders in their farming and horticultural industries.

“You are exemplars for your industries and can positively influence others. It’s been said you can’t be green if you are in the red [financially] but in the future it may be difficult to be in the black

By Elaine Fisher unless you are green.”

15R&R002

By 2100, when his oldest granddaughter is 98, the world is predicted, in some scenarios, to be four to five degrees hotter, and that’s worrying Scion’s CEO, Dr Warren Parker.

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 4

No self-help shopping in this store There was a time – and not really so long ago – when customers stood at the grocery store counter and asked the owner for items displayed on the shelves behind.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s there were no smart self-service supermarkets with long aisles, ďŹ lled with a confusing array of products and brands.

Instead were neat shelves displaying goods from oor to ceiling, and counters groaning with even more

products and produce. Customers could even phone the grocer and place an order, with the goods delivered by a boy on a bike, or by truck or van as part of a regular service to urban and rural clients. Accounts were neatly kept in docket books and settled by cash or cheque each month.

Those were the days, and those days are preserved in Opotiki’s Shalfoon & Francis Grocery and Hardware Store, now a museum.

The store served the district from 1896 to 2000 when George Shalfoon ďŹ nally retired, selling his business – lock, stock

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The Opotiki Museum has been built around the facade of the former Road Services Bus Depot.

and barrel, and a good deal more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to the Opotiki Heritage and Agricultural Society which operates the Opotiki Museum just up the street.

0 R U W J D J H , Q V X U D Q F H ) L Q D Q F H % U R N H U The store looks very much as it did the day George retired. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d resisted change, even to the extent of not replacing the wooden ďŹ&#x201A;oors.

They rise up and down in waves in the grocery M store, the legacy of ďŹ&#x201A;oods in 1918 and 1964 TI BE which warped the timber.

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It was said of Shalfoon and Francis, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you name it, they have itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and museum manager Dot Wilson says much of the stock is still there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; right down to heel and toe caps for boots, blocks of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;blueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for washing water, and a good deal more. â&#x20AC;&#x153;George didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t throw anything out, and he knew where everything was.â&#x20AC;?

Finding out not just where everything is, but in some cases what it is has been an ongoing challenge for Dot and the team of museum volunteers ever since they took over the stores.

As well as selling groceries and hardware, George also sold dynamite â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an old brick explosive store out the back.

Today part of what was a large department store, with a long frontage on the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church Street, is now an opportunity shop where volunteers sell a range of donated goods to help cover the operating cost of

Opotiki Museum volunteer Maurice Andrews plays the role of a last century retailer behind the counter at Shalfoon & Francis grocery and hardware store, which is now a museum. both the store and museum.

However, the grocery and hardware store remain just as they were when George was the owner, right down to the account books he kept. Maurice Andrews,

one of the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many volunteers, thumbs through the pages of one book. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look a dozen eggs cost 85 cents in 1975, bread was 17 cents a loaf, and two light bulbs cost 46 cents.â&#x20AC;?

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 5

Elvira’s bequest to Opotiki lives on in museum

Born in South Africa in 1905 to Finnish parents, Edward and Hilda, Elvira arrived with her family in New Zealand just after the outbreak of World War I.

Up the road on the ground floor of the museum George’s delivery truck has undergone restoration and is ‘as good as new’.

It’s part of an extensive display of mainly farming and agricultural machinery and equipment restored, identified, and arranged by volunteers. Also profiled are saddlery, printing, candle-making, shearing, engineering, the dairy industry, and barber’s shop, all on the ground floor.

Legacy left

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They farmed in the Takaputahi Valley near Opotiki. Elvira never married and for many years managed the family farm after her brother and father died. In the 1970s, she bought a beach house at Waiotahi, and then in her 70s began travelling the world.

Brown bear When she died aged 98 Elvira All of that is overlooked by a huge left a bequest to the Opotiki brown bear, moose, and deer heads Museum, which was used to conon loan to the museum from local struct the modern building. veteran hunter and shearer Piki It’s an impressive building Amoamo. Piki has hunted extendesigned to best tell the district’s sively in New Zealand, Australia, diverse history from the time of and Alaska and it was while making its first Polynesian settlers a documentary in Alaska in the to today.

1980s that he shot the bear and Early pioneer photographs and moose. In all, 14 exotic animals and A huge brown bear shot by local an exhibition focused on the three fish caught or shot by Piki are veteran hunter and shearer Piki Amoamo is on display in the importance of shipping in early on display.

Opotiki Museum.

Opotiki occupy the mezzanine The museum itself is an impresfloor. Twelve heritage rooms trace history from the sive new three storied building, built around the arrival of European pioneers to the 1930s on the facade of the former Road Services Bus Depot. It is Elvira Sundell third floor, along with the Whakatoa fully independent museum, but does receive some hea Research and Archives Taonga in an exhibition funding from the Opotiki District Council. called ‘Treasures of the past’.

It’s also received substantial grants from the Lottery The Opotiki Museum is well worth a visit. It’s open Grants Board, Eastern Bay Energy Trust, The SouthMonday to Friday 10am-4pm and Saturday from ern Trust, and Scottwood Trust.

By Elaine Fisher 10am-2pm.

The late Elvira Sundell made the museum possible.

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Page 6

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Payout drop presented opportunity progresses through the industry.

Brett and his partner Ruth Hone have bought their own herd and next season will be 50/50 sharemilking on the farm at Whakamaru.

“Ruth is farming too, so this is a chance for us to work together and “When the price dropped from a build our business.” high of $8-plus, cow prices came back To increase his skills and knowledge which created a good opportunity to Brett has almost completed Primary get into the industry,” says Brett, who ITO Level 4 and keen to progress is the 2015 Waikato to Level 5, the diploma Dairy Trainee of the course.

Year.

He entered the Becoming a dairy awards to gain farmer was always exposure in the Brett’s long-term industry and to plan. “I knew I push himself. would go farm“It’s always ing eventually, but good to challenge wanted to travel yourself and take first.” yourself outside He began his your comfort zone. working life with “The job market a mechanic’s in the industry is apprenticeship, getting competitive progressing to and anything you a senior role can do to get your in a corporate CV to the top of the Brett Steeghs is the 2015 company which pile is great.

Waikato Dairy Trainee included respon“The judging of the Year. sibility for staff. progress helps grow your confidence and the feedback “Last year everything seemed to line is useful.” up for the opportunity to get into Doing well in the awards not only dairying, so I took it.” gives an edge when it comes to applyBrett is assisting on a 420-cow Horahora farm owned by Harry and Yvonne ing for jobs.

Brett says it also helps when working Ruffell, working for sharemilkers with banks and rural professionals.

Cameron and Tessa Thompson.

“Banks see it as a sign that you’re proIt’s a system four farm with a lot active about your business, and rural of inputs, with most supplements professionals like to be associated with brought in but some grown on-farm.

The skills he gained as a mechanic are people who are keen to progress in the industry,” says Brett, who also won the a definite plus on-farm and the experiDairy Production Systems Farming ence of managing staff from his last

By Elaine Fisher job will stand Brett in good stead as he Knowledge title.

The drop in Fonterra’s predicted payout didn’t deter Brett Steeghs from entering the dairy industry.

Instead of a negative, he saw it as a positive opportunity.

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 7

Gerard van der Mark is the 2015 Central Plateau Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Grandfather’s influence in career choice Gerard van der Mark couldn’t wait to leave school and start milking cows.

“I finished my last exam in November 2010 and within days had started work,” says the 2015 Central Plateau Dairy Trainee of the Year.

The 22-year-old was introduced to farming in South Africa, where he spent as much time as possible on his grandfather and his uncle’s farms.

“The farm my grandfather Chris Schutte owned was half cattle ranch-half wild game, and I loved being there.”

When Gerard was 13 his parents moved the family to New Zealand, in pursuit of a better life for their children.

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Gerard is married to Marcelle, also originally from South Africa. They met in New Zealand and the couple have two children, Liney 22 months and Hein three months.

Their South African roots are strong and Marcelle and Gerard are teaching their children the Afrikaans language so they will be bilingual. But the couple say their future is firmly grounded in New Zealand.

In fact their goal is farm ownership by the time they are 35.

Gerard, who didn’t like school much, has been studying hard and gaining qualifications through Primary ITO for four years now.

He is working towards a diploma in agriculture/dairy.

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thews, who I would also like to thank. He has a mind full of information that always comes in handy when I am in doubt.”

Through Lizzy Widing of Primary ITO Gerard says he’s gained much valuable theoretical information about dairy farming.

“She has also given me the opportunity to meet people in the industry including some great mentors.

“Moanna Pua from DairyNZ also arranges discussion groups in our area which are great to attend. I always learn something new. LIC’s Vicky Wallace is who I contact for everything to do with herd improvement.”

Gerard is second in charge on a 900-cow Mangakino farm owned by the Sargent Family Trust. The 450ha farm has 340ha of grazing. The contour is rolling to steep, and crops are grown on the easier land.

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been on once a day milking. Next season he and Marcelle are progressing to a 600-cow contract milking position in June and Marcelle plans to take care of calf rearing.

The couple has registered their company Maziwa Pride (which means dairy in Swahili), and plan to further their dairy education and business management.

“When we have figured out the business side of things, we would like to save up as much money as possible and grow as quick as possible to reach our long term goal of buying our first dairy farm at the age of 35.”

This is the second time Gerard has entered the dairy awards.

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“The awards night was a fun event to attend and the whole experience built my confidence in public speaking and general dairy farming knowledge.” By Elaine Fisher

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 8

Starting again in new land not easy Johan and Theona Blom are the 2015 Central Plateau Dairy Industry Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the year.

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Keeping records and analysing data are among the tools Johan and Theona Blom used to lift the production of their herd to 53 per cent of body weight by the end of December.

“When we looked closely at our records, and with the use of Minda, we could see that our biggest cows were not efficient in feed conversion,” says Johan.

The data showed cows with a body weight of 700kg and over were only nine per cent efficient, compared to 18 per cent for cows weighing around 490kg, so the decision was made to progressively breed smaller, high producing cows.

Keeping records is an everyday part of farming for the couple who are the 2015 Central Plateau Dairy Industry Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the year. It’s no surprise they also won the LIC Recording and Productivity Award and the Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award.

The couple are meticulous in all they do.

Johan records information about the cows, the pasture, the weather, and more in the ‘little yellow book’ and cards he carries in

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his pocket. Theona, in her neat precise handwriting, transfers the data to one of a series of exercise books, and ultimately onto computer files.

Measure to know

“You have to measure to know what is happening,” says Theona.

When Johan and Theona immigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2008 they brought with them skill sets ideal for their new careers.

Johan had been working as a drystock agricultural extension officer, having gained a Bachelor of Science majoring in Agriculture, and Theona was an accountant.

The couple had always wanted their own farm but that was out of their reach in South Africa.

“We had read about the NZ dairy industry and its pathways to farm ownership so decided to come,” says Theona.

The ages of their children were another factor in that decision. Hanel was 10, Corien eight, and Charles six.

“We wanted to make the move before the children were teenagers, when the transition might be more difficult for them.”

Johan began as an assistant herd manager

on the 420-cow farm of Mary Anne and the late Adolph Mathis of Tokoroa.

The next season the family moved to Cambridge, and the 400-cow farm of Pat and Sue Crowe. Eager to progress quickly up the dairy ladder, the Bloms next took a position at Reporoa 50/50 sharemilking 210 cows on Russell and Ruth Tremain’s irrigated farm.

Now they are 50/50 sharemilking 270 cows for Ron and Jan Hall at Ngakuru.

Invaluable help

“We have been so fortunate with all the farm owners we have worked for. They have all supported and encouraged us. Their help has been invaluable,” says Johan.

The couple have no regrets about the decision to come to New Zealand, but leaving South Africa wasn’t easy. It’s a country they hold dear.

“Farming was completely different on the Eastern Cape where we lived. Drystock farms have one cow per 12 to 14 hectares and annual rainfall is 250ml to 400ml.

“It is however, rich in plant life and in 10 square metres I could find 150 different flowering plants,” says Johan, whose is passionate about them.

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 9

Production lift from meticulous record keeping with 97ha effective. The country is ďŹ&#x201A;at to rolling with around three per cent steep. Since February 17 the herd has been milked every 16 hours.

Kale is grown as a supplementary feed and a way to renew seven per cent of the pasture each season.

Fertility is good and the valley has received sufďŹ cient rainfall to keep the grass growing despite this summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dry conditions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been dryer than normal this summer, we expect to grow 12 to 13 tonnes of grass per hectare. This is a system two farm and we make our own grass silage, which is stored in the pit and some in bales,â&#x20AC;? says Johan.

Nitrogen leaching

Johan and Theona Blom milk 270 cows in this 22-aside herringbone dairy at Ngakuru.

Theona not only left her homeland, she also gave up her accounting career to become a full-time farmer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love farming, especially calving, and I keep the books for our business, but I do sometimes miss working in an ofďŹ ce.â&#x20AC;?

Initially hard

The hardest thing about the initial time in New Zealand for Theona was a feeling of disconnection. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had no point of reference. I felt like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d lost my contact book with all my friends and family listed in it.

I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to buy things. It was quite strange but I was overwhelmed at how kind and generous New Zealanders were in making us feel welcome and helping in any way they could. We feel really blessed.â&#x20AC;?

The attractive Whirinaki Valley Rd farm they are now sharemilking on just south of Rotorua is 110ha,

The cows are milked through a 22-aside herringbone dairy, and efďŹ&#x201A;uent is spread across 44 per cent of the farm, which is signiďŹ cantly more than required for the herd size. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are not in a sensitive area but are conscious of nitrogen leaching so only apply 66kg per hectare. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to manage nitrogen leaching and there are several ways of doing this, including using liquid fertilisers and monitoring in-puts through nutrient budgets.â&#x20AC;?

Johan and Theona donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t employ staff so manage milking, calving, mating, and all aspects of the farm together. They are proud of their relaxed and contented, productive cows and the fact that in their years of sharemilking they have been grade-free. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it comes down to the good systems we have in place,â&#x20AC;? says Johan.

Theona thinks happy cows are also a factor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stressed and feel the dairy is a good place to go to.â&#x20AC;?

This is the third time Theona and Johan have entered the awards and even though they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win awards the ďŹ rst time, they say they won in other ways. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We frequently refer back to the judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comments and have implemented many of their recommendations. Their advice is so useful in helping us grow our business,â&#x20AC;? says Theona The goal for the Bloms, who won $15,300 in prizes, is to invest in a drystock or heifer grazing block.

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Farmer, firefighter and ironman Aaron Work-life balance is important to Aaron Price, whose recreational pursuits – like his occupation – are far from laid back.

The 2015 Waikato Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year completed the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman event in January and is a volunteer firefighter for the Tahuna fire brigade.

Aaron Price and wife Sarah plan to achieve farm ownership by 2021.

But Aaron has never been one to take a leisurely approach to life. He left school at 17 and as the youngest student on campus, completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Commerce at Lincoln University by the time he was 19.

As a change from farming, Waikato Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year for 2015 Aaron Price took part in the Tauranga half ironman in January.

“I’ve always pushed myself, set goals and worked hard to achieve them.

“However, work-life balance is important,” says Aaron.

“Farming can be stressful but I’m in this industry for the long term and don’t want to burn out, so having interests and time off-farm is important.”

In his sixth season of dairy farming this year, Aaron is 50 per cent sharemilking 250 cows for Clyde Whitechurch at Morrinsville. He’s also 50 per cent shareholder in two sharemilking companies he’s established with business partner John Assen.

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“Our partnership has allowed me a lot quicker entry into sharemilking and then it has enabled us to expand the operation sooner than if I was on my own,” says Aaron.

“It also provides support, flexibility, and greater economies of scale for us.”

The Morrinsville farm Aaron is milking on is 80 hectares with a 20-aside herringbone dairy.

“The farm has a great set up and my goals have included pasture improvement through re-grassing. We have 30 ha under irrigation which helped early on but once things got really dry, the irrigation had to be turned off.”

However, the herd is still being milked twice a day and on track to continue milking until the end of May. “We are ahead of our feed budget as we had a plan in place for a dry summer, which was not unexpected.”

Chicory crop

The farm brings in 80 tonne of maize, 250 tonne of palm kernel and 70 tonne of maize is grown on-farm.

“We also grow chicory on 8.5ha. It’s a quality crop which is high in protein and cows milk well on it.”

The herd is primarily Kiwi Cross and Aaron aims for animals at 450kg to 500kg, which are highly productive for their live weight.

Aaron has entered the sharemilker/ equity farmer contest four times and has been named runner-up twice.

The experiences and judges’ feedback has helped achieve his goals.

“Since entering I’ve improved pasture recording and my health and safety practices, I’ve lifted livestock targets, improved business monitoring and system analysis, and I’m continuing to make improvements.

Enhance environment

“My long-term goal is to achieve farm ownership by 2021 to provide stability and security to myself and my wife Sarah.

“I also want to be able to help other young people progress through dairying and enhance the natural environment with a long-term vision,” says Aaron.

Alongside his dairy career, Aaron’s also been studying and training as a volunteer firefighter, including attending an intensive training programme in Rotorua in January.

The Tahuna Volunteer Fire Brigade responds to an average of 70 emergencies a year, many of them to motor vehicle crashes.

Despite the sometimes early-morning or late-night callouts Aaron enjoys being part of the brigade.

“It’s a way that I can be of value to our local community, assisting in all emergency situations.”

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Page 13

From office suits to gumboots is perfect fit for Jodie Jodie Mexted’s workwear has gone from office suits to overalls, and the winner of the 2015 Bay of Plenty Farm Manager of the Year award is loving the change.

In three years she’s progressed from being a farm assistant on the 530-cow farm to managing it. Her next step is to go contract milking.

“I never realised what opportunities dairying offered and it’s not just hands-on farming. There are lots of skills required in farm management too.”

It is, however, the hands-on Jodie loves – especially calving.

“I really enjoy the busy times of calving and mating. I love milking and working with the cows.”

With three staff on the farm she’s not in the dairy all the time and relishes the opportunity for tractor work and pasture management.

Cross credited

Jodie Mexted is loving her new life as a dairy farmer.

“I grew up on a dairy farm but never thought about dairying as a career.”

Instead, she gained a Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Otago Polytechnic and worked at the James Cook Hotel in Wellington before going overseas.

“When I was planning my OE I decided I could hardly say I was from a dairy farm when I hadn’t done much milking so I helped out on my parent’s farm before I left and really enjoyed it.”

Instead of returning to the hospitality industry, Jodie, aged 29, took the role as farm assistant on the Whakatane farm owned by her parents, Michael and Linda Mexted, when she came back from overseas and she’s been there ever since.

There may appear to be very little in common between hospitality and dairy industries but Jodie says many of the skills she learned working in the James Cook Hotel have ‘cross credited’ to her new career.

“I managed staff in the hotel which had excellent human resource systems and I’ve been able to use those ideas on our farm,” says Jodie, who also won the BOP dairy awards Primary ITO Human Resource Management Award.

“The computer skills I gained have also come in handy, especially since we installed Protrack drafting system in the dairy.”

As well as learning practical skills, Jodie has been studying through Primary ITO and hopes to take further courses in taxation and investment, and artificial insemination.

“I’ve been really impressed at how willing people in the dairy industry are to share their knowledge and help each other. In the hospitality industry it’s very competitive but in the dairy industry we’re all in this together and if one of us is better off, someone else is not worse off.”

“We’ve been lucky this summer to get enough rain to keep the cows milking twice-a-day. We have paspalum, which helps with grazing at this time of year, and using it in a 12-day rotation makes sure it’s not too long for cows to eat and helps preserve existing rye grass.”

Jodie, who also won the Bell Booth First Time Entrant Award and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Environment Award, has plans for more trees on the family farm.

“This winter we’ll plant more to provide shelter and shade for the cows.”

Becoming self-employed and owning her own herd is Jodie’s long-term goal,

but despite the career change, aspects of the hospitality industry still hold appeal.

“I love to cook and a friend Rachel Thompson and I regularly did the catering for events at the Edgecumbe Squash Club last year.

“I love the country life in the Bay of Plenty but still sometimes miss the city – shopping in particular.”

She’ll have the chance to indulge in retail therapy by spending some of the prize money she won in the awards buying a new dress for the big night when she represents the Bay of Plenty at the National Dairy Industry Awards at SkyCity on May 2.

By Elaine Fisher

Self-sufficient

The Mexted farm is low lying and can be wet in winter so cows are moved to a run-off.

Maize and lucerne are grown for supplementary feed, helping keep input costs down and making the business more self-sufficient.

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 14

Dairy farming enhances time with family Relief milking when he was a student to make money for motocross events convinced Paul Manion to study agriculture at university as his first step towards a farming career.

Paul Manion identified early on that the dairy industry held the career for him.

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“Farms are a great place for kids to grow up and dairy farming means parents can spend more time with their children,” says Paul, who with wife Kate have won the 2015 Waikato Farm Managers of the Year award.

“It’s also an opportunity to build your own business – I was hooked.”

Paul has a Bachelor of Agricultural Commerce from Lincoln University and Kate has a Bachelor of Science from Canterbury University and a post graduate Diploma in Teaching from Waikato University.

It’s five years since they entered the dairy industry, and Kate and Paul now have two children – Rupert, 22 months, and William, nine months – and are discovering dairying does indeed enhance family life.

“Dairying can be a lot of hard work, and long hours, but I can be around home to spend time and help out with the children.”

Move rapidly

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Paul says his Lincoln studies have helped significantly in enabling the couple to move rapidly through the dairy industry. After just six months as farm assistant in his first job, Paul progressed to farm manager.

Next was a contract milking position on a 470-cow farm and now the couple, both aged 29, are contract

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milking 485 cows for “great farm owners” Jonathan and Mary Robinson at Cambridge.

It’s the third time Paul and Kate have entered the dairy awards and the couple say taking part is not all about the prizes, which they admit are awesome.

“Our next goal is to go 50 per cent sharemilking but these jobs are hard to get, so taking part and doing well in the awards does give you an edge and a point of difference,” says Paul.

Polished presentation

The couple used the previous feedback from judges in their preparation for the 2015 awards, and planning began last June.

They systematically went through all aspects of their farming business and by December had collated the information and were polishing their presentation.

It was a useful exercise which made them look closely at their business and refine areas needing attention.

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Hard work is rewarded

Page 15

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Scott Neeley • Corporate Agriculture Specialist • T: 027 475 4684 Family time is important to Paul and Kate Manion, the 2015 Waikato Farm Managers of the Year, pictured with sons Rupert and William.

“Taking part in the awards is also a great way to network, meet like-minded people and get your name out there in the industry.”

The system three Cambridge farm the couple live on is flat to rolling with a 54-bail rotary dairy.

“It is a well-set up farm which has been in the Robinson family for four generations. The whole farm has been designed to operate as a simple one herd system,” says Paul.

Targets met Farms are a great place to bring up children – as demonstrated by Rupert, the son of 2015’s Waikato Farm Managers of the Year Kate and Paul Manion.

“I like the simplicity of the systems, which work well. This year we brought in six hectares of maize and 300 tonne of palm kernel, and because of the dry

summer we began feeding out on January 16.

“We’ve also been getting rid of culls early.”

Despite the dry summer, the Manions have met their targets.

Cows were producing 1.4 kilograms of milk solids in midMarch and are on track to keep milking until the end of April.

Dairying, says Paul and Kate, rewards hard work and it’s an industry in which they want to continue to succeed.

The couple also won the New Zealand Farm Source Farm Management and the Westpac Financial Planning & Management awards in the Waikato

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Sweet smell of silage means ‘home’ Cover Story Running adventure sports events for children in South African townships is vastly different from milking cows on a dairy farm near Tokoroa.

However, Nathan Levin loves his new life. So too does Elri Levin, who has a diploma in office administration and a sophisticated palate for tasting wines developed while she was employed in the industry in South Africa.

The couple have taken to dairying so successfully, they have won the 2015 Central Plateau Farm Managers of the Year award.

It was Elri’s brother-in-law who encouraged the move to New Zealand in 2006 to take up jobs as farm assistants.

Since then they have progressed to their current position, contract milking 650 cows at Tokoroa for Ian and Margaret Elliot and John and Erica Trebilco on a 242ha (235ha effective) farm newly converted from forestry to pasture.

Elri and Nathan have two children, Joshua and Hannah.

It was with their futures in mind that they decided to take the big step of emigrating to a new country and new careers.

Straw is brought in to feed cows alongside crops to avoid acidosis.

Both the lifestyle and the dairy industry have exceeded the family’s expectations.

They all love the outdoors, and Hannah and Joshua enjoy their country school and farm life.

Protecting the environment is a family philosophy.

“We play in the outdoors so we have to look after it,” is their motto. Nathan and Elri enjoy working outside with the cows and the challenges of running an effective, productive operation.

Silage aroma

However, the family still has close links to South Africa, where they helped many talented youngsters progress to academies to learn life skills

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and find employment.

It was an unusual aroma which made Elri realise New Zealand was home.

“We had been back to South Africa for a visit, and when we returned [to New Zealand] I couldn’t believe how nice the silage smelt,” she laughs.

Family is highly important to the couple. “We know the time we have with our children while they are young is short so we want to make the most of it,” says Elri.

They also recognise the importance of family for their two full time staff, which is why the farm has a roster of 12 days on and two days off. Extra help is brought in during calving. “It’s full-on and the extra help takes some of the pressure off,” says Elri.

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 17

A herd of 650 cows is milked on the Tokoroa farm owned by Ian and Margaret Elliot and John and Erica Trebilco.

Spring arrives weeks later “Before the calving and mating season begins we make sure staff have a break away from the farm, so everyone is fresh and rested,” adds Nathan.

Sustainable plan

Nathan and Elri Levin, winners of the 2015 Central Plateau Farm Managers of the Year award.

Conversion of the farm, which is 80 per cent flat and 20 per cent rolling, was complete before the couple began working there, but it has yet to reach its full potential so careful pasture management is important.

Olsen P, K, and pH levels are increasing. Developing the farm fully, including increasing fertility over time, are part of the owners’ sustainable milk plan.

Swedes and kale are grown for supplementary feed on the system 3-4 farm.

“We feed straw to the cows when they are on the crops to avoid problems with

acidosis.” Grass silage is made, usually in November and January.

At an altitude of around 500m, spring begins around three to four weeks later than in other areas.

“The development of the farm is excellent, with a central race system which makes moving stock easy,” says Nathan.

what is required. Elri and Nathan entered the dairy awards for the first time last year, placing second, and say the experience was valuable.

They are continually impressed at the generosity within the dairy industry to share information and encourage people to succeed.

“Through the awards we got advice from leaders within the industry and were able to surround ourselves with positive people,” says Elri.

They are also grateful for the support, advice, and encouragement of Ian and Margaret Elliot and John and Erica Trebilco.

While owning a farm of their own is not on their long term plan, Nathan and Elri want to be 50 per cent sharemilking 400

By Elaine Fisher cows in 2016.

Supplementary feed

A modern 50 bale rotary dairy is well placed on the farm for ease of access and there’s no problem getting cows to step on board to be milked.

“They just love the supplementary feed they each get. If, for some reason, we occasionally run out, the cows really let us know they are not happy.”

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 18

Former beautician and sheep farmer dairy winners Grant Thomson didn’t know how to put cups on a cow when he decided his future lay in dairying.

By Elaine Fisher

Karley and Grant Thomson are the 2015 Bay of Plenty Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year pictured with their children, Mischa, 3, and Lennox 18 months. milking so I helped out and never went back Dairy Hygiene Award, the Triplejump Risk “I was working on a sheep and beef farm to beauty therapy,” says Karley who was 17 Management Award and the LIC Recording but at 19 went to Telford Rural Polytechwhen she began milking cows. and Productivity Award. nic to learn about dairying because of the Karley grew up on a farm but trained as a pathways it offered to farm ownership,” beautician and worked in the industry before Go bigger says Grant, who with wife Karley has won When Grant graduated from Telford with a meeting Grant. the 2015 Bay of Plenty Sharemilker/Equity Dairy Certificate and Farm Management Cer“He needed help in the shed when his Farmers of the Year Award. tificate, his first job was on a farm at Tokoroa. herd went from once a day to twice a day The couple also won the Ecolab Farm

Stunning winners with a Wrangler The look of stunned surprise then delight on the faces of farmers when they’re told they’ve won a Race Wrangler is among the reasons Waverley and Wilco Klein-Ovink of The Wrangler enjoy sponsoring the Bay of Plenty Dairy Industry Awards.

“The winner of the Sharemilker-Equity Partner of the Year award often don’t realise the prize package includes a Wrangler worth $4600, so they’re stunned when we tell them, and we enjoy their reaction,” says Waverley.

Wilco and Waverley weren’t disappointed last month when they presented the prize to delighted couple Grant and Karley Thomson of Opotiki, winners of the 2015 Bay of Plenty Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year Award.

The Wrangler has been sponsoring the awards nationwide for 11 years, usually as tier-one sponsor for both a North and South Island region, giving away a Race Wrangler each time.

“We support the awards because they are a great opportunity for farmers to benchmark themselves in the industry and have the benefit of input from awesome judges who provide invaluable advice which helps their business.

“We have seen that those who win or are placed highly in the awards really rocket through the industry.

As well there are fantastic prizes, says the KleinOvinks.

“No other industry has awards like these. Many previous winners of Wranglers have gone on to own more than one farm and be very successful.”

The Race Wrangler is an important piece of equipment for animal health care, particularly hoof care, and for the health and safety of those working with the cows.

“It’s a piece of equipment many farmers want and winning one is a real thrill.”

The Wrangler enables staff to quickly, easily, and safely assess a hoof suspected of having something wrong before it develops into a bigger problem.

The Wrangler is safe for the cow, safe for the farmer, as well as quick, easy, and efficient to use.

Designed by a farmer for New Zealand conditions, it was made to be strong and durable, with little maintenance required.

Wilco and Waverley Klein-Ovink of The Wrangler (far left and far right) with Grant and Karley Thomson of Opotiki, winners of the 2015 Bay of Plenty Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year Award.

Not only is the Wrangler the best way to do hooves, it’s also unbeatable for calving cows and any other handling requirements. Fixed, mobile, or road-registered, there’s a Wrangler to suit every farm.

Waverley and Wilco offer winners the chance to upgrade their Race Wrangler to a mobile Premier model, for just the cost of the extras – and most are more than keen to do so.

Some lucky Otago or Southland farmer will also win a Wrangler in their dairy awards this year.

Waverley and Wilco say they’ll be watching Grant and Karley’s progress through the dairy industry with interest and wish them well when they represent the Bay of Plenty at the national awards on May 2.

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Page 19

Season is earlier for calving at Opotiki Later on Mike and Maxine Davey’s farm he began training as a farm manager, going on to work for three seasons as a lower order sharemilker.

“We decided it was time to go bigger so went to milking 440 cows at Waitoa on a farm owned by Bruce and Pauline Luxton.”

The next move was to Opotiki where the couple are currently 50 per cent sharemilking (with a silent partner) 420 cows for Tom and Tony Trafford.

In June they will buy their silent partner out of the company and begin a 400-cow 50 per cent sharemilking position at Kiwitahi, near Morrinsville.

...Was time to go bigger so went to milking 440 cows...

Effluent blocks

Farming at Opotiki has proved challenging and another learning curve. “The farm is about 60 hectares flat, 20 rolling and tractor country, and 20 steep.

“There’s quite a lot of paspalum on the flats and cows milk on it if it’s well managed.

“However, we grow eight hectares of maize on effluent blocks to not only produce our own supplements but also get rid of paspalum before turning the paddocks back into pasture.”

“This year we’ll produce around 22 tonne a hectare of maize which is slightly down on last year but it’s still pretty good.”

Growing maize and reducing the amount of palm kernel brought in are two of the couple’s low-cost strategies.

“One of our strengths is that we run a lowcost system which helps us to repay debt quickly so that we can make the next move.”

Their long-term goal is farm ownership in 10 years’ time.

Discussion

A herd of 420 cows graze on the Opotiki farm owned

by Tom and Tony Trafford.

After maize is harvested from effluent blocks, the paddocks are re-sown in pasture in a programme to remove paspalum.

Grant belongs to an Opotiki discussion group which has been helpful in comparing his business management with that of other farmers.

“Higher cost systems are a lot more work and for sharemilkers you need to supply all the equipment and labour that goes with those systems.

The end result, between higher input and lower inputs, is not much different.”

Grass growth begins earlier in Opotiki than many regions and

Grant has brought calving forward to July 15 to take advance of the October pasture growth.

“We’ll probably continue to calve early at Kiwitahi as the seasons seems to be getting earlier.”

Karley and Grant have two children, Mischa three and Lennox 18 months; and Karley runs an online children’s wear business, Cherry Blossom Kids Boutique from home.

“It gives me another interest and I enjoy the contrast

between farming and fashion – rough to tidy.”

The couple are looking forward to their next move, new challenges and being closer to family.

By Elaine Fisher

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CALVING

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Prices achieved at the February Rangiuru weaner fair were well up on last year and have set the benchmark for those to follow.

Among the top performers were Charolais-cross heifers and steers from Tawa Ridge Stud, Te Puke and Wrightson Livestock representative Neil Penman says the animals were an excellent line. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were even in colour and size and well representative of the pedigree Charolais bulls Mike Fitzpatrick of Tawa Ridge Stud is putting over his cows. The weaners were well reared. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The heifers will go on to be good ďŹ nishing or breeding cattle and the steers will be good bullocks.â&#x20AC;?

Neil says prices at the fair were up on last year, reďŹ&#x201A;ecting improved

payouts to farmers and also a shortage of cattle as more farms are converted Charolais-cross weaners from Tawa Ridge to dairying or dairy Stud, Te Puke, achieved among the top prices support. at the February Rangiuru weaner fair.

Richard Baird of heifers achieving $880 and steers Elders says buyers from as far away $820. Some of the buyers had as Kaikohe and South Auckland previously bought Tawa Ridge Stud in the north, to Hawkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay, Gisstock and were purchasing more, borne, Waikato and King Country based on their performance. attended the sale and demand was Mike says the weaners will strong, including for Tawa Ridge perform well for their purchasers. animals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The excellent sale results are good â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some buyers even went away empty-handed. The values achieved news for our stud but also for the beef industry and make a change will help keep breeding of quality from the doom and gloom we hear cattle alive.â&#x20AC;? from other sectors.â&#x20AC;?

Tawa Ridge animals were among Tawa Ridge Stud has been buildthe yarding of 1598 attractive ing its pedigree Charolais herd young cattle at the fair, of which for four years now and has 1700 about half were steers. animals, including stud bulls and Mike says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very pleased with 80 purebred breeding cows. the returns for his animals with

Mastitis risk rises at calving The period around calving â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from two weeks before birth until two weeks after â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is often the highest risk period for mastitis infections to occur.

This period can be critical in determining the infection status of individual cows and

the herd for the rest of the lactation, says DairyNZ on its website www.dairynz.co.nz There are huge potential gains to be made by preventing new infections in the calving period â&#x20AC;&#x201C; many of these infections can be prevented by implementing simple management changes.

These include reducing exposure to environmental mastitis bacteria. Cows are

very susceptible to infection around calving because their natural defence mechanisms are low.

New infections occur and subclinical infections, which have persisted through the dry period, may ďŹ&#x201A;are into clinical cases.

Heifer care

Take care with heifers. After calving, heifers are often uncomfortable with swollen udders, or oedema, and may be more difďŹ cult to move, handle and milk out completely.

For young cows calving for the ďŹ rst time, the milking routine is a new and different experience.

Check milk is suitable to go in the vat.

For milk quality reasons, all cows should have their colostrum milk withheld from the vat for at least eight milkings after calving, and 10 milkings for heifers.

Rapidly ďŹ nd, record and treat clinical cases in recently calved cows.

Early detection and treatment of mastitis in the calving period reduces the risk of severe cases developing.

It also reduces the likelihood of infection being passed to other cows, and the development of chronic infections.

CALVING

Page 21

Correct calf housing pay dividends Failing to house calves property in purpose-built facilities can cost dairy farmers greatly, says Ernst Frei of FlexiTunnel.

These FlexiTunnel dedicated rearing facilities provide a warm and draft-free environment for calves.

Mastitis guidelines The golden rule is only treat cows with clinical or visible signs of mastitis with antibiotics during lactation.

New recommendations in the DairyNZ SmartSAMM guidelines go further and say treatment should only be given to clinical cases that show signs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; clots, watery or discoloured milk â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that persist for three or more squirts during stripping. This helps avoid wasting antibiotics on cases that may otherwise cure on their own.

Cows with only a few ďŹ&#x201A;ecks or clots, or a positive result on a rapid mastitis test â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for example, the thick gel or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;snottyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reaction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; should be marked, monitored and stripped at later milkings to check for more obvious clinical signs; that is signs that persist for three or more strips.

Unless otherwise recommended by a veterinarian, these RMT-positive cows should not be automatically added to the treatment list, says DairyNZ senior scientist Jane Lacy-Hulbert, in an article published in 2013.

This practice is hugely wasteful of antibiotics and discarded milk, and can show little beneďŹ t.

So, do you have a written procedure for ďŹ nding and treating mastitis this season?

Does your milking team know it and understand it?

Take time this autumn to review last season and ask your vet or advisor to help you develop a practical and cost-effective procedure for this calving time.

DairyNZHealthy Udder provides a great place to start.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Proper calf housing that provides a warm and draft free environment with adequate ventilation and plenty of sunlight, are one of the cornerstones of successful calf rearing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has been shown that farmers can provide dedicated calf rearing facilities for as little as one per cent of the cost of a replacement heifer based on an assumed 10-year depreciation time.â&#x20AC;?

Live-weight gains in calves reared in a dedicated facility can be up to 10kg higher at six weeks compared to animals reared in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;conventionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sheds with the same inputs and similar management.

Additional life weight gains in the ďŹ rst important weeks of an animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life will certainly go a long way in reaching target weights at the two crucial points further down a heiferâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, namely at mating (60 per cent) and at calving (90 per cent).

Unfortunately, says Ernst, the reality is that calf housing often is a low priority on farms or on new conversions being built. Neglecting

this important part of a dairy farm business often leads to a range of pressures on the calves, as well as on the person in charge of raising them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But even today, it is estimated that between 75 and 90 per cent of New Zealand farmers still use non-dedicated and woefully inadequate housing, like converted wool sheds, hay barns, or implement sheds. They risk not reaching the potential of their future herds.â&#x20AC;?

Evidence suggests that the majority of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s replacement heifers fall short of reaching expected live-weight targets. The ďŹ nancial implications are rather far reaching; heifers that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reach the target produce less milk.

A heifer that falls 20 per cent below the target weight is expected to produce 10 per cent less milk fat in her ďŹ rst lactation. This can equate to an average loss of around 35kg of milk solids or $175 at a $5 pay-out.

And this represents the loss for just her ďŹ rst productive year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the other hand, heifers that reach the target weights not only produce more milk, they also have a better reproductive performance (fewer empties), a better calving pattern and remain longer in the herd.â&#x20AC;?

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 22

The performance of the ‘Billion Dollar’ grass ADVERTORIAL

Shirohie or Japanese millet is also called the ‘Billion Dollar’ grass. Ray Shearer was advised by his seed rep to grow some while preparing his four hectare paddock for a permanent crop.

The Kinsey fertiliser recommendation was visited and modified, with the following kg/ha ratio being applied per hectare.

Compost 250 Calcium Carbonate 1,000 Sechura RPR 100 DAP 50 Organibor 20 Selenium 0.5 Cobalt 0.5

Elemental kilos N 10 P 21 K 1 S 2 Mg 1 Ca 393

The soil is gradually being brought up to a high standard of fertility with more calcium, phosphate and potassium still being required.

Ray sells into the dairy goat market, so animal health is taken into account; hence the selenium and cobalt.

That said, selenium is an antioxidant and ‘sunscreen’ for plants; research has also shown selenium to improve yields of certain plants. Cobalt is used by microbes for vitamin B12 formation and nitrogen fixation.

Planting occurred on December 9 and the first harvest was on the February 19, 2015.

The crop yielded 126 bales of silage.

Two balers were used and bales were weighed from each baler. One popped out 695kg bales, the other’s bales were 780kg.

The final tally being 92,770 wet kg. Samples were dried to determine the dry matter at 49 per cent. That translates to 45,457 kg/DM and 11,364 kg/DM/ha. Growth rate from planting to harvest was 158kg/day for 72 days.

The costs

The fertiliser costs in cents per kg of DM harvested were 2.77. Of course, add the cost of seed and cultivation to that, but it is important to highlight the low cost of fertiliser when the correct fertiliser is used, leading to high yields of high quality forage.

Cultivation costs will vary considerably for each individual farmer. No chemicals were used for this crop.

Gross Income: This is actual, not theoretical - 41.57 cents per kg/DM. From that, baling costs need to be deducted.

Quality: Just before harvest a plant sample was sent to Texas Plant and Soil Lab.

N P K Ca Mg Na S Zn Fe Mn Cu B

3.42% 0.29% 1.59% 1.2% 0.48% 0.03% 0.87% 49ppm 93ppm 62ppm 15ppm 88ppm

Ray Shearer of Kihikihi in his millet crop a few days before harvest.

The results of that analysis were as follows. Expressed another way, N, Na, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu, and B were excellent; P and Mn were good but could be higher; K and Ca are low, while S is high. As always, we strive to balance things to a high standard, but it all comes back to correctly prioritising within a budget while on that journey.

After that first cut, the following fertiliser was applied for the second crop.

harvest time 2015. This may drive the price of all maize down.

Is it a coincidence that China has rejected shipments of American corn contaminated with GE, and that grain is looking for a home? Currently there are lawsuits taken by American corn growers against Elemental kilos the GE companies, as those Compost 250 kg N 31 companies’ promises have fallen Dolomite 590 kg P 21 well short of the mark.

Sechura RPR 100 kg K 43 Further to this, since the Potassium sulphate 100 kg S 43 advent of GE, average yields in Ammonium sulphate 100 kg Mg 84 Europe (mostly GE-free) have surpassed those in DAP 50 kg Ca 208 USA, which is about 95 per cent GE maize.

The rice growers have already been successful in court to the tune of $750 million, with GE rice that did not live up to promises made.

Calcium drives magnesium down; hence magnesium is If you are in the market for maize, make sure you can trace required to counter that reaction. your grain to a local source.

On a completely different note, I’ve heard from several I certainly would not knowingly put imported grain of sources that some Genetically Engineered maize grain unknown status through any of my stock. may be on its way to New Zealand, due to arrive about

COAST & COUNTRY

Page 23

Flystrike still a threat in late summer All livestock and at times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even our companion animals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are vulnerable to being infested by ďŹ&#x201A;ies, including in late summer.

backline, on the ďŹ&#x201A;anks of the belly and around the pizzle in males.

They can also be found at the pole, between the ears of rams from ďŹ ghting. Shearing is helpful to deter infestation for a few The Australian blow ďŹ&#x201A;y, chrysomya megaweeks, though shearing cuts and cephala, lays eggs which develop quickly other wounds will attract ďŹ&#x201A;ies. into larvae and constitute the majority of Affected animals may nibble their the maggots found in damaged skin and wool, stamp their feet and twitch underlying tissue. their tails prior to becoming Areas commonly affected by depressed and succumbing to ďŹ&#x201A;ystrike are around the infection. the tail, on the Dark patches may also be seen on white ďŹ&#x201A;eece. Maggots can be difďŹ cult to see, so the wool should be parted and checked.

Prevention and treatment of ďŹ&#x201A;yblown stock should be done in a timely manner.

In the case of sheep, six weeks post-shearing is ideal for uptake of chemical.

These contended-looking sheep arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t displaying the Insect growth regulators agitated signs of ďŹ&#x201A;ystrike.

such as Cyrex, generally give up to 12 weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; protection when applied properly and are safe to use.

Insect Growth Regulators act on maggot stages so adult ďŹ&#x201A;ies will die out naturally in a few weeks. Cyrex also kills maggots within hours.

The dual combination of active ingredients in Cyrex means it will stop active feeding of maggots within minutes of contact and also kill maggots or moves them out of wounds and off the sheep within hours.

Cyrex is available in 250ml bottles, which must be diluted at a ratio of 10ml Cryex to ďŹ ve litres water.

Treatment of ďŹ&#x201A;yblown animals should also involve clipping of wool from around the affected area close to the skin and disposing of the clippings.

Where clipping/ shedding of wool over the back occurs, the exposed skin is prone to sunburn and exposed skin should be protected with a Zinc-based product such as Filta Bac cream.

New noses for biosecurity frontline Harrier hounds which look like a super-sized beagle may soon be working at the border to protect New Zealand from imported pests and diseases.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;MPI thanks the New Zealand Huntsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association, who are the New Zealand custodians for the harrier breed, for their cooperation and help with this initiative.â&#x20AC;?

NZHA president Andy Morison says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are pleased our sport can make a contribution to help

The Ministry for Primary Industries is currently trialling two harriers Morley and Museto to see whether the breed could upsize its detector dogs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Harriers could be a great asset for our border protection work,â&#x20AC;? says MPI detection technology manager Brett Hickman. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Harriers are very much like beagles in appearance, only taller. And similar to beagles, they have great drive, excellent noses for the food and plant materials we are looking for. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They also are good with people. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard them described as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;beagles on steroidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The extra height would come in handy with passengers carrying backpacks or with baggage stacked on trolleys.

Morley is one of two harrier Reaching up to sniff baghounds being trailed as gage can put strain on a detector dog at the the hind legs of beagles. borders by MPI.

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manage New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biosecurity system, which is so crucially important to the primary export sectorâ&#x20AC;?.

MPI recently announced a range of measures to make it harder for materials containing fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y to get past the border, introducing 100 per cent screening of passengers and baggage by detector dogs.

MPI currently uses beagles and labradors as biosecurity detector dogs. It runs a beagle breeding-programme.

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Page 24

DAIRY

Concrete start to new career

Working with animals is a ne for Jeff White , who is 2015 w dimension ’s Bay of Plen Dairy Traine ty e of the Year.

Jeff and Alicia White love living in the Bay where Alicia is a chiropractor and Jeff has won the 2015 Bay of Plenty Dairy Trainee of the Year award.

ty Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Jeff White, the 2015 Bay of Plen

Jeff White had no idea that when he contracted to help build a feed pad on a Te Puke dairy farm, it would lead to a completely new career.

“When I had nearly finished the contract, I was offered a job on the dairy farm,” says Jeff, who at the time had his own landscaping business.

That leap of faith not only landed Jeff a job he loves, it also led to him winning 2015 Bay of Plenty Dairy Trainee of the Year.

“I hadn’t really thought about the dairy industry as a career, although I was always interested in farming. My grandfather in South Africa had been a farmer and my dad always talked about farming so I guess the idea was always there.”

Before the Te Puke feed pad contract, Jeff had only ever set foot on a dairy farm once, and that was during a high school geography trip.

Landscape business

Jeff and Alicia, who is a chiropractor, moved from Auckland to the Bay of Plenty in 2012 where Jeff, aged 29, continued to run his landscaping business.

He has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, gained after four years’ study.

While Alicia practices in town, the couple live on the Te Puke farm owned

by Barry and Catherine Cawte, and Jeff works for their son James Cawte.

“I am amazed at how supportive everyone in the dairy industry is.

“My employers, tutors at Primary ITO, local reps, and other farmers are all so helpful in encouraging me to progress through the industry. You don’t find that in other industries.”

While Jeff walked away from five years’ of self-employment to work for someone else, he has no regrets.

“It’s not all about money. I really enjoy what I am doing and dairying offers opportunities to grow our own business.”

His goal is to go 50 per cent sharemilking 320 cows in the region within the next few years.

New dimension

Working with animals is a new dimension which Jeff is thoroughly enjoying and he’s finding the skills and knowledge gained through landscaping are applicable to farming.

“I certainly have an understanding of how plants grow so that helps with pasture management and many of the practical skills like fencing and operating machinery are also relevant.

“One of the strengths at the farm I work on is innovation and I am always looking to use the newest and best technologies available.”

Jeff, who is taking courses through Primary ITO and plans to complete Level 5 this year, also won the Assmuss Brooking Leadership Award in the dairy awards, which he says are a great way to not only benchmark his own performance, but also meet others

By Elaine Fisher in the industry.

DAIRY

Page 25

Challenge - to find why pasture is declining We’ve suspected for some time that pasture production is declining and have heard some farmers aren’t growing as much grass.

Peter Burton of Eco-Logic Soil Improvements in his column in last month’s Coast & Country News says: “Based on verifiable figures, permanent pasture production in New Zealand has steadily declined since the late 1970s-early 1980s”.

Given improvements in plant breeding, fertilisers and management it’s hard to understand why this is happening.

To compensate for declining pasture production farmers are bringing in supplementary feed, using off-farm grazing more and applying nitrogen more to boost grass growth. Applying more nitrogen presents its own problems, as leaching is clearly under the gaze of the regional councils under the nutrient management plans, so care needs to be taken in this area.

Now with a lower payout, farmers need to look hard at costs

– including supplements.

Changing weather patterns are also an issue and it appears harsher seasons may be the trend going forward.

Grass species

I challenge farmers with pastures which aren’t performing to find out why for themselves.

Farmers should, of course, take note of advice from consultants, fertiliser and seed merchants, but also do their own research.

Record what grows well and where, and equally what species are not performing. Also record how much cows are eating and how much milk they produce in return.

It doesn’t have to be scientific – farmers are great observers and will soon figure out what’s working and what’s not. Maybe it’s time to look at different grass species or even crops like lucerne to meet changing climatic conditions. If you keeping doing the same thing, you just get the same results. In our business we’re continually lifting maize production per hectare, and that’s growing maize year after year on the same soils. We don’t use the

same maize variety in every location but select the hybrids which best suit the conditions and time of planting. I do a lot of my own trial work, some of it in conjunction with Pioneer, always looking for the best variety with the best yields and energy content.

Farm budgets

When the maize is harvested, paddocks go back into grass for grazing and silage and this is measured too, not in caged plots but by testing what is cut and recording what is eaten.

It astounds me that many farmers still don’t do farm budgets, which I learnt from when I was at a discussion group, so they don’t know where their business is tracking, how much they are making and how much they can afford to spend, including on supplements.

There’s never been a better time than now, with a low payout, to prepare budgets and stick to them.

Farmers also need to be doing their feed budgets now to know how much and what type of feed they need. They also should secure feed now so if they have a short-

Your view may not be the bank’s view Stress rises as farmers’ perception of the bank’s involvement becomes muddied.

What is the bank really saying? Have they changed their behaviour or our credit availability position? Have they increased interest rates, pegged the overdraft, or require it all to be repaid?

Uncertainty about the bank’s plan for your business changes relationship with your ‘friendly’ banker as your business performance weakens.

You may get put with a specialist debt management unit (out of the ward into the critical care unit).

So stress increases when there is reduced liquidity and available cash. Tight budgets mean corner-cutting, working harder and making do. Equity gets reduced and thoughts start to pervade of losing the family home and livelihood in severe cases.

You, or the person who put up some cash as an investment, is on ‘second tier’ behind the bank. You need to look at it from your point of view and your risk. The bank wants to lend you money to make a return on their investment. The bank is in business with you. In a way you are farming dairy cows and the banks are farming you. It’s possible highly indebted farmers spend the first six months of the year working for the bank, another five months for suppliers and one month for themselves.

In summary, despite our impressions otherwise, banks are there to make money. They have a completely different criteria to you. Their budget should not be your budget. You need to run an efficient business and stay in good control. If the pressure comes on your stress

levels will rise. Seek the right help and take action.

A ‘head in the sand’ mentality doesn’t work. And finally, we need rural bankers to lend us money to grow our equity which is behind that of the banks.

There are many brilliant rural bankers out there who’ve helped us all make millions. This report is a blunt reminder of the need to be aware and look at things from your point of view and realise your bank may have a completely different agenda.

Remember it is your money or equity that’s behind the bank, as they have first call on everything.

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 the principal of Fraser Farm Finance, and a consultant to the farming industry.

Contact him on 0800 777 675 or 021 777 675.

fall, they are not buying it on the spot market and potentially paying higher prices due to the demand and potential shortage. We also have straw and hay for winter feed, which is ideal for cows

eating brassica crops as it provides the vital fibre they need to get the best value out of their winter annuals and crops to help put condition on in preparation for the spring.

DAIRY

Page 26

Proactive grandparent water applications Waikato dairy farmers and their milk companies have been proactive in applying for ‘grandparented’ access to water takes under the region’s new Variation 6 policy, says Waikato Regional Council.

After talking to their suppliers, dairy companies are confident all their farmers who needed to apply for the grandparented dairy shed water take consents did so before the

January 2015 deadline.

“This has been a fantastic effort by the 2600 or so farmers involved and their dairy companies, as well as DairyNZ and Federated Farmers,” says farm water project manager Amy King.

“The dairy sector’s efforts on behalf of farmers, including engagement with the council, have been simply outstanding.Our challenge will now be to get on with processing these consent applications as soon as possible.”

The high level of engagement in the applications process has meant

DAIRY TECH

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A consequence of this focus on working with farmers and dairy companies is it will take a bit longer to process all applications.

“But we’ll certainly aim to do things as quick as we can, to help give farmers certainty over the volumes of water they are authorised to take.

“We appreciate the patience farmers have had with the timeframe for issuing consents.”

The call for grandparented water take applications followed a push to implement rules under Variation 6 policies for managing water takes and their environmental impact.

First in

Other farmers who’ve expanded their farms or started new ones since October 2008 will have their applications for additional water take consents dealt with on a first in, first served

Cattle are not particularly selective eaters and this can result in them swallowing foreign objects such as wire and nails.

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These objects, which are usually between five to 15cm long pass into the reticulum, another stomach compartment, where they may become trapped in the honeycomblike lining.

The object may penetrate the wall of the

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Longer process

Dairy farmers can still take up to 15 cubic metres a day from bores or waterways for dairy shed water, subject to water availability, but need a consent if they want to take more.

While still needing to apply for a consent, farmers were guaranteed grandparented access to the level above 15m3/day they were using at October 2008, provided they met the applications deadline.

The council introduced group bulk consent processing in various catchments to streamline the process and save farmers costs.

basis in their catchments.

Amy says indications are there have been a significant number of applications from this group of farmers as well.

Any farmers still concerned about their water situation can contact the council to discuss their individual circumstances so they can explore options to gain lawful access to water.

The contact number is 0800 800 402.

Consent advice

Advice on consenting is also available from dairy companies or by visiting www.waikatoregion. govt.nz/watertakes If limited by water availability, there’s also potential for farmers and others to: improve water use efficiency so they can do more with the same amount of water, transfer water permits between parties, and harvest and store water at high flow times for use at other times.

More council information for farmers is available at www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/ Community/Your-community/ For-Farmers/

Hardware disease – a painful condition

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION & AUTOMATION

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the work of the council’s farm water team has so far mostly been focused on making sure farmers and milk companies have had the advice they need for their consent applications.

reticulum when it contracts and this leads to infection, which is generally localised.

However, the object may penetrate the diaphragm, the pericardial sac around the heart or the liver.

The signs of hardware disease vary depending on where the puncture and resulting infection occur.

Diagnosis can be difficult, primarily because many other diseases mimic the signs of hardware disease, also known as traumatic reticuloperitonitis.

Common signs are loss of appetite, depression through to reluctance to move, an arched back, and grunting when forced to walk.

This is a painful condition. If the infection in the chest or abdomen is extensive then the prognosis is poor and cattle usually die.

In some instances early intervention with removal of the object may allow cattle to recover.

Prevention is the best cure and this can be achieved by keeping pastures and feed free of wire, nails, fencing staples and other sharp objects – even heavy plastic items – that could be swallowed.

A magnet can be administered by mouth to lodge in the rumen to trap metal fragments.

Ingested ferrous metal is drawn to the magnet instead of working its way through the stomach wall.

Got Barber’s Pole?

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Leading the way in agriculture 0800 100 123 www.ravensdown.co.nz

DAIRY

Page 27

Ground water project gets underway A drilling project is underway to find out how much ground water there is in the Bay of Plenty and property owners are being asked for their help.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council wants to hear from landowners in the Te Puke or Rangitaiki Plains areas who have bores they are not using, or are willing to have a dedicated monitoring bore installed on their property,.

It’s part a drilling project council has under way to install ground water monitoring equipment and get systems up and running.

Unused bores can be used for additional monitoring.

“Where possible we are installing dedicated monitoring bore fields at key locations to keep drilling and ongoing monitoring costs down. We’re also keeping and adding to existing ground water monitoring sites,” says Bay of Plenty Regional Council Environmental Scientist Diane Harvey.

Water allocation

The drilling project started in the past financial year in the Upper Rangitaiki and has since moved into the Te Puke area. It aims to help council staff understand what resources are there, so that decisions can be made on how much water can be allocated.

Staff are collecting geological information by gathering samples of the drilling cuttings and hard rock cores. They are also collecting information about the layered aquifer systems during the drilling process by conducting pump tests at each water-bearing layer encountered.

Water quality samples are collected and tested for a suite of chemicals such as fluorine, sodium, arsenic, zinc, iron, calcium, boron, manganese,

magnesium, chloride, potassium, aluminium, silicon, sulphate phosphorous and nitrogen.

Age measured

“We also measure other variables such as pH, temperature, conductivity and alkalinity, and tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, for age dating.”

The public can view live water level data and rainfall and rainfall recharge data on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website.

There is live data for sites that have already had telemetry systems installed.

Council hopes to have live data available at all its groundwater monitoring sites at the completion of the project.

The project was planned following public consultation a couple of years ago and it’s great to see things get under way, says Bay of Plenty Regional Council Senior Environmental Scientist Janine Barber.

“What we said we were going to do is coming to fruition. We want the public to be aware that we are steadily improving our knowledge of the groundwater resource.”

The first two bores have been completed and the council expects to drill an additional two this financial year.

Next year the project is expected to move into the Rangitaiki Plains area. It is still a couple of years away from completion.

If you have a bore you’re not using or are willing to have a dedicated monitoring bore installed on your property, please contact Diane Harvey on 0800 884 880 or email diane.harvey@boprc.govt.nz

Drilling underway during the the Upper Rangitaiki Drilling programme. Photo by Jason Hursthouse.

“We want the public to be aware that we are steadily improving our knowledge of the groundwater resource.”

ADDLINE TRANSPORT LTD

Page 28 BALLANCE FARM ENVIRONMENT AWARDS

Rotorua station award winner One of the largest farms in the Rotorua district, a 1240ha sheep and beef property, has won the supreme title in the 2015 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Highlands Station and its owners John and Catherine Ford, who took out the title at an awards dinner at Mount Maunganui, hosted a field day on their farm at the end of March.

The couple also won the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award and Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Award, all presented at a gala dinner attended by 190 guests where Dr Warren Parker, CEO John and Catherine Ford for Highlands of Scion in Rotorua was the Station Rotorua guest speaker. are winners of the In accepting the award, John and Catherine paid tribute supreme title in to their staff Daniel Hodson, the 2015 Ballance Bronwyn Edwards, Kevin Kelly, Farm Environment Colin Mead, Catherine and Awards.

John Ford, and George Bulled.

“We are the owners and take the financial risk but our staff produce the results which make it viable.”

Award judges say the Ford’s effective and outstanding staff management programme is among the reasons for their win.

“Highlands Station and its owners have a strong family history of commitment to agriculture. They have an excellent understanding of water dynamics, both above and below the ground, and appropriate use and management of land, based on its capabilities and catchment.”

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GRUNDFOS ®

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Highlands Station is in the catchments of both Lakes Tarawera and Rotokakahi (Green Lake).

Farming on Highlands Station isn’t easy. It stands on an old rhyolite dome formed about 250,000 years ago.

It’s steep, but thanks to careful grazing management there is no erosion.

Rainfall run-off is controlled up 200 detention dams John has built, and 320ha of native bush has been retired leaving 992ha in pasture for the grazing of sheep and young bulls.

John’s father Allen began its development in 1931 by grazing part of the land and in 1932 paid £800 for about 2500 acres as a ballot block. The Tarawera eruption of 1886 had flattened much of the bush.

When Allen bought the farm most of it was covered in fern and scrub, which he burnt, cleared, and gradually turned into pasture.

Other winners are: Phillipa Wright and Stephen Kenna of KWKIWI Limited orchards at Ongare Point, north of

Katikati, who took the Zespri Kiwifruit Orchard Award, the Massey Innovation Award and the Hill Laboratories Harvest Award.

Three dairy farms were also among the winners. Corrie and Donna Smit of Corona Farms Limited Edgecumbe won the LIC Dairy Farm Award.

Geoff or Gerda Bradly of Nga Rakau Farm, Manawahe won the Waterforce Integrated Management Award and Tataiwhetu Trust Tataiwhetu Farms Ltd of Ruatoki won the Donaghy Farm Stewardship Award.

Te Kaha 14B2 Trustees, Tkg/OPAC Hamama Kiwifruit Orchard at Te Kaha, won the PGG Wrightson Land and Life Award.

The two Bay of Plenty Regional Council Awards went to dairy farmers Tony and Margo Cairns of Oturoa Properties Ltd Rotorua and Geoff and Bill Dobbs of Katikati.

By Elaine Fisher

BUSINESS

Page 29

No GST claims on used cows Freddy’s purchased plenty of excellent second-hand farm gear off TradeMe and, being GST-registered, has been able to claim back the GST even where the vendor’s unregistered.

It’s all under the rules around GST and second-hand goods; and of course, as with all tax law, there are criteria to meet first.

So, when it comes to GST claims on second-hand goods, the buyer has to have an invoice and receipt of the transaction, has to have actually paid for the goods before making the claim and, the goods have to meet IRD’s definition of ‘secondhand’.

“Herein lies the quirk for farmers,” says Freddy. “If you buy a cow that’s been around the traps from some unregistered vendor, you’ll be out of luck when it comes to claiming back GST.”

Even though IRD defines secondhand goods as items that have been used by someone else, the legislation says livestock of any sort, whether cattle, dogs or sheep – and their progeny – don’t count.

In addition, since 2011 there are further fishhooks when it comes to claiming GST on purchase of second-hand goods which relates to the newly GST registered operators,

Lesson here

“So the lesson here is, if you buy cows or sheep or old dogs from the likes of lifestylers or wandering shepherds who aren’t likely to be GST registered, don’t expect to get back 15 per cent of the purchase price from the IRD.” However, when it comes to land purchases, Freddy could claim GST on land bought from an unregistered vendor as long as he’s going to use it in the farming business, as opposed to building a hideaway hut or some other non-business activity.

‘Meths’ a new risk in house purchase We all are aware of the well-versed and recited legal advice when purchasing a new property – whether it be for commercial, investing or residential purposes and everything in between – to obtain legal advice before signing an agreement for purchase.

Many of us are also aware to make the agreement for purchase subject to a satisfactory Land Information Memorandum, builder’s report and finance.

However, there is an alarming and increasing need for care in the pre-purchase negotiations for a provision in the agreement to protect purchasers in order to test for methamphetamine colloquially known as ‘meth’.

This often unknown issue is an insidious problem and in many cases not only affects residential but commercial properties and is indiscriminate of locality.

Such a test, performed by experts and trained professionals, can be used to identify if there has been

manufacture of methamphetamine, or even where methamphetamine has been smoked.

In addition to being a serious health issue, the cost of decontaminating a dwelling which has been used to manufacture or otherwise exposed to methamphetamine can be significant and in some cases financially detrimental to the property owner.

To prevent such a costly exercise, we recommend a pre-purchase inspection be obtained to establish if there is contamination to the property.

In many cases, a property purchase is the single most important financial investment a person will make during their lifetime.

It’s well worth considering seeking legal advice pre-purchase to ensure the safeguarding of your position under such an agreement, to allow you the opportunity to detect a problem before it becomes your burden and issue.

The old adage of ‘my house my castle’ still rings true – and we can help to protect your interests.

Disclaimer: This article is general in nature and should not be treated as professional advice. It is recommended that you consult your advisor. No liability is assumed by Harris Tate Ltd for any losses suffered by any person relying directly or indirectly upon the above article.

this case the new entity will buy the gear from the employee at current market value and can claim 100 per cent of the GST.” However, the new rules still require the ex-employee, as an associated person, be able to show they paid GST on the original purchase “It’s all a bit of a nonsense really.

If this new entity buys a used bike or car off an unregistered TradeMe vendor there’s no problem claiming back GST, but if it buys the bike or car off the ex-employee who bought it off an unregistered vendor then you can’t claim it!

“So there is a lesson there for anybody buying gear now in anticipation of one day being selfemployed. Keep those tax invoices showing you paid GST when you bought the gear, because if you don’t, it will cost you hundreds of dollars or more.”

such as employed farm workers who move into contract milking or lower order sharemilking.

“So, you get a young farm worker who sets himself up as a contractor.

He’s already got a quad bike and other farm gear which will be very useful for his new contract operations.

“Once he’s GST registered he can legitimately claim GST on these goods.”

New rules

However, the new rules include some conditions such as the original GST exclusive cost being more than $5000 and being able to show that he paid GST when purchasing the goods originally.

“In a lot of cases of course, the ex-employee will be advised to set up a company or trust to operate the business,” says Freddy. “In Business Advisory

Corporate Finance

Audit

Jenny Lee is a Director of BDO Tauranga Chartered Accountants, specialising in rural and horticultural services. Phone Jenny 07 571 6280 for considered accounting and business advice.

Taxation

Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors TAURANGA The Hub, 525 Cameron Road TE PUKE Corner Jocelyn & Queen Streets 07-571-6280 www.bdo.co.nz

Trusts

Insolvency

MAIZE

Page 30

FAR turns attention to next two decades

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Now that it’s turned 20, the Foundation for Arable Research is considering which technologies will drive its development in the next two decades.

FAR was set up in 1995 to “undertake practical research for arable farmers” and since then the levy-funded organisation has developed to actively undertake research and extension on a broad range of grain and seed crops in New Zealand and Australia, and, in more recent years, developed a broader systems approach to research.

FAR CEO Nick Pyke has led the organisation since day one. He says it’s difficult to single out any particular project or piece of research as the most important, because the organisation’s research focus is so broad and has developed over time.

“Our first achievement was the first referendum that gave us the mandate to proceed and form FAR. Initially, our research focused pretty much within the farm gate on things like crop inputs and cultivar selection.”

Key achievements

“From there grew one of our key achievements, our involvement in the Cultivar Performance Trials, which provide growers with completely independent advice to help them select the appropriate wheat and barley cultivars to meet their production and agronomic needs.

Nick says it’s been pleasing in the last 12 months to see the development of a similar programme for the maize industry.

“Another key focus has been on the development of long-term research sites and we

are very lucky to have maintained access to our Chertsey and Waikato Arable Research Sites for 12 and eight years respectively.

“Location-wise they provide a focal point for our work, and importantly they allow us to carry out long-term research, comparing results over a number of seasons and years.

“Research is only part of what we do, and is of absolutely no use if it isn’t partnered with a strong extension programme.

“Our extension work is a combination of meetings, field events and publications.

Nick says all of these have developed over time, as research projects have increased in number and scope; and as results accumulated.

Compile results

“For example, strategy booklets which outline tested options for disease management and nutrient use on grain and seed crops are based on several season’s research results, and FAR Focus books compile the results of several projects over several seasons to provide comprehensive information on topics like converting pasture to crop, irrigation management and nutrient management.”

A key development for FAR in recent years has been an increased focus on research into whole farm systems and managing the environmental impacts of cropping farms.

This in turn has led to increased collaboration with other primary sectors, particularly the dairy industry, and with other research providers, notably the Crown Research Institutes and universities. It’s also led to an increase in external funding, with FAR levy funds being used to leverage contributions from central government agencies, the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry

of Business, Innovation and Employment.

An example of this collaborative approach is the 20t by 2020 project. The 20t by 2020 involves FAR, Plant & Food Research, Canterbury University and NIAB TAG in the UK, and aims to up wheat yields, increase productivity and improve farm profitability.

Each partner organisation is contributing funding and or expertise, and in the case of NIAB TAG, replicating trials in the Northern Hemisphere to add knowledge to the programme.

A further recent focus has been the identification and development of new, higher value products and systems for the cropping industry.

The Avanex grasses, released by PGGW last year are an example of FAR having involvement in a new product from concept to commercial production.

Nick says since its formation, FAR has successfully increased research investment from about $1 million of levy funds, to $5.5 million of levy and grant funds.

Trans-Tasman

The development in Australia has led to the development of a range of transTasman collaborative research and extension programmes and the establishment of FAR Australia in 2012.

FAR operates with a staff of 23 across four sites in New Zealand – Templeton near Christchurch, Ashburton, Hawke’s Bay and Waikato – as well as in Victoria and New South Wales in Australia.

It also invests in student and post-graduate research and development, in order to encourage the next generation of cropping researchers and farmers.

COAST & COUNTRY

Kiwi Fertiliser Company Limited was formed as a result of declining results, particularly with pastures, kiwifruit and avocado’s.

However the work we do is not limited to these crops as our programme works with all crops, trees and vines. We work exclusively with Kinsey Agricultural Services of Missouri USA with soil audits conducted by Perry Agricultural Laboratory also of Missouri USA. We have five years of solid results behind us based on the teachings Dr William Albrecht.

William A. Albrecht (1888-1974) was the foremost authority on the relation of soil fertility to human health and earned four degrees from the University of Illinois. He went on to be emeritus Professor of Soils at the University of Missouri. Dr Albrecht saw a direct link between soil quality and food quality; a link which necessarily lent itself to human health. His work made clear that health stems from the soil. He drew direct connections between poor quality forage crops, and ill health in livestock.

He developed base-level requirements for soil nutrients which are still successfully being used today. Dr Albrecht’s work has been diligently continued, taught and improved by Neal Kinsey. The programme works exceedingly well here in NZ, as it does in 70 other countries.

The industrial age of big acid plants producing copious amounts of superphosphate and dumping it on farmland whether it needs phosphate or not is well and truly over.

It is our opinion that the acid plants at the various ports around NZ are relics of a past industry, nevertheless an industry that did the country proud until the mid-eighties.

From the mid-1980s on it has been a race to the bottom for farmer shareholders.

Amalgamations and takeovers in the fertiliser industry and various shut downs of inefficient acid plants has left two major co-op’s in NZ that act more like corporates than co-op’s; they seem more concerned about volume sales that are focussed on individual market share, big egos and power.

They appear to be involved in price collusion and to be focussed on lowest cost rather than providing quality products. They are not serving clients well by focussing on offering solutions for their respective shareholders that will add to a potentially vast

improvement in animal health, pasture and crop health, and client profit.

At Kiwi Fertiliser we have no generic fertiliser blends. We soil audit each individual property or part thereof and we make up a recommendation based on the deficiencies or excesses found and offer a prioritised custom blend to suit each soil’s needs.

During the last 60 years as NPK has been promoted, we often find that calcium and magnesium have been grossly ignored, as have sulphur, boron and copper along with a

they need to be.

On a PAL test we need to see sulphur at 50ppm on high producing dairy farms and at least 20ppm or higher on sheep and beef farms. As sulphur is an anion and easily leached owing to rainfall we need to top sulphur up annually. Sulphur has been highly underrated in NZ. We also want to see potassium at 919 kg/ha or between two to five per cent base saturation. Potassium is a necessary input; another input that we find low on most soil audits.

We invariably recommend potassium sulphate

Typical pasture produced by our fertiliser.

This paddock yields more than 23tDM/yr and rising. number of other nutrients.

In soils that have a Total Exchange Capacity of 8.69 to 19.34 we aim to get calcium to 68 per cent and Magnesium to 12 per cent of TEC; this is a very important aspect of the work we conduct. At Kiwi Fertiliser we treat calcium carbonate and Dolomite as true fertiliser inputs.

Applying Ag lime on its own generally leads to severe magnesium deficiencies; as calcium builds in soils there is generally a one to one reaction with magnesium. As calcium moves up by one per cent, magnesium decreases by one per cent. This is why we do not recommend a separate liming programme; we will recommend addressing magnesium and have it build to the correct level. Some magnesium products will build in the soil: others will not.

On our test we like to see phosphate at 560 kg/ha on a Bray II test. Below this we recommend Sechura RPR in order to build phosphate. Eighty per cent of the soils we audit have phosphate levels well above where

in our fertiliser mixes.

We want to maintain boron at 1.75-2ppm, mostly we see B at 0.6 to 0.8, less than half of where this important element should be.

Boron is another underrated fertiliser input in NZ. Copper needs to be 5ppm; mostly we see copper at 0.6 - 0.9ppm, certainly below 2ppm. In crops and vines we like to see copper 10-15ppm.

We fully understand that nitrogen is an important element in a true fertiliser programme, to this end we invariably recommend ammonium sulphate as a nitrogen input; sulphur is a bonus. Many of our clients have changed from urea to ammonium sulphate and notice the difference. Among other positives, we find ammonium sulphate enhances phosphate efficiency.

Our clients invariably report markedly improved animal health as a result of changing from their NPK regime to the Albrecht/

RPR

Reactive Phosphate Rock Kinsey system of soil fertility, as animal health improves vet bills subside, condition score improves, somatic cell counts reduce and allround quality improves.

Average means mediocre. This is not in the mind-set of our clients who are focussed on producing quality while remaining profitable, our clients are producing nutrient dense pastures and food by focusing and demanding quality inputs that affect positive change.

The goal of lifting productivity and profit in agriculture is real; we are pleased to be in a position to effect positive change and work with positive clients who are “making it happen”.We invest in educating our soil fertility advisors with the knowledge of our soils programme; many of our people have attended Advanced 1 & 2 training with Neal Kinsey and other biological practitioners.

Our role is also to re-educate farmers that there are permanent solutions to all of their issues relating to soil, pastures, pests and diseases, and animal health.

The race to the bottom is a lousy goal. We look forward to working with farmers and agribusiness people who want to join the journey to the top.

RPR

Reactive Phosphate Rock

Kiwi Fertiliser has completed filling its stable of quality fertiliser products by securing a shipment of Sechura RPR which arrive at the Port of Tauranga mid-March.

Sechura RPR is an unadulterated naturally occurring reactive phosphate rock that is a well proven alternative to superphosphate and reverted super (dicalcic) in all situations.

We will recommend phosphate to those properties that are requiring capital dressings of P according to our soil audit, many properties we audit have excessive Phosphate.

Phosphate P % > 10 Sulphur S04-S % >2 Calcium Ca % > 27 As Calcium Carbonate >67 Total Neutralizing Power >70 In terms of CaCo3 Citric Solubility > 45%

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Kiwi Fertiliser has completed its stable of quality fertiliser products

Page 31

Page 32

RURAL DRIVER

Ford and Toyota achieve five-star safety rating The newest Ford Mondeo, along with the Toyota Prius V and Lexus NX, have all been awarded a five-star safety rating by the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.

MY FORD FINANCE

Set to launch in New Zealand this month, the Mondeo is the latest rated Ford to achieve a maximum ANCAP safety rating, a company that’s done well in its ratings in recent years.

All three models include a wide range of crash prevention technologies including electronic stability control and electronic brake distribution as standard features across each range.

The seven-seat Toyota Prius V hybrid increases its family car credentials with side curtain airbags, seat belt reminders for all three rows, reversing camera and provides excellent pedestrian protection.

Owners of the model will be happy to note all variants of the Prius V built from 2012 have the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

However, the Mondeo,

IS NOW AVAILABLE

Prius V and Lexus NX all miss out on making autonomous emergency braking standard across all variants.

The life-saving technology is only available in higherpriced options across all three models.

AA general manager motoring services Stella Stocks says while it’s encouraging to see more safety assist technologies entering the New Zealand market there is always room for improvement.

“It’s fantastic to see more crash prevention technologies being made standard across latest models, but AEB shouldn’t be left off that list.

“While it is good the technology is available in some variants, we would prefer to see it made standard.”

ANCAP has published crash test results for a wide range of passenger and light commercial vehicle makes, models and variants sold in Australia and New Zealand since 1992.

It’s supported by all Australian and New Zealand motoring clubs, the Australian and New Zealand governments, all Australian state governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, NRMA Insurance and the FIA foundation.

For a full list of ANCAP’s vehicle safety ratings, other vehicle safety information and the specifications of the rated vehicles visit www.aa.co.nz or rightcar.govt.nz

Marriage beyond resurrection A man and his ever-nagging wife went on holiday to Jerusalem.

While they were there, the wife passed away.

The undertaker told the husband, “You can have her shipped home for $5000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150.”

The man thought about it and told

Phone Dave Merrick or Peter Broom

578 0256

him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied, “Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance.”

RURAL DRIVER

Page 33

Ngatea teen ‘most outstanding rider’ It’s been a big year for Ngatea teenager Ben Broad, who not only signed up as a new member of CMR Red Bull KTM motocross team, but also finished third in the senior New Zealand Motocross Championships.

At 16, the Hauraki Plains College student was up against riders two years older than him. The last race of the four-round series was held at Pukekohe in early March and only seconds separated Ben from first and second placings.

“My goal is to win the championships next year,” says Ben, who was awarded the series’ Most Outstanding Rider trophy.

He certainly has a talent for the sport. Ben’s win in the 15-16 years 125cc class and the 14-16 years 250cc class at the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville; and finishing third overall in the senior 125cc class brought him to the attention of the CMR Red Bull KTM Team manager Cannon Smith.

What followed was an invitation to join the high profile team to fill a space left by its national champion rider Josiah Natzke, who is racing in Europe this season, including events in Italy this month.

Race ready

Ben rode his new KTM 125 bike in the senior champs and is pleased with how it performed. “Among

the benefits of being with the team are not only having a great bike to ride, but also the services of a mechanic to make sure everything is ready for the races.”

In January Ben won the 16-17 years 125cc class at the Whaka-

competes in motocross; and his Te Aroha-based grandparents Gillian and Ernie Bygrave.

“We are very proud grandparents. Ben is a level-headed, modest young man who has been rewarded for his hard work and consistent good riding with these results,” says Ernie.

“Despite the time and travel involved in competing, Ben hasn’t neglected his studies and recently passed NCEA with excellent marks.”

Ben Broad loves competing in motocross, whatever the conditions. tane Honda Summercross and was fourth overall in the 12-17 years 250cc class at the same event, competing in nine races during two days.

Ben began riding motorbikes when he was four and would like to one day ride professionally on the world circuit. “I’ve been riding now for 12 to 13 years and still enjoy it.” That’s despite fracturing both legs in one crash, and wrist

and collar bone fractures early in his racing.

Well prepared

“I’ve paid more attention to fitness and getting myself mentally prepared before races and that’s paid off because I’ve had no breaks in the last three years.”

Ben has the strong support of his parents Roy and Celeste and brother Isaac, 12, who also

The race season is nearly over for 2015. Ben turns 17 in November and in 2016 will compete in the senior championships again, this time as CMR Red Bull KTM team’s official rider.

After leaving collage, Ben’s plans are to compete overseas for six months. “That way I’ll find out if I’m good enough to make a career out of motocross. If not I’ll go to university and do a business management degree.”

Page 34

FARM REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE

Tractor licence changes The New Zealand Transport Agency’s new tractor licensing fees came into force on April 1. There are two choices of licence. The first is a new licence for tractors exceeding the speed of 40 km/hr on road which costs $530.36 per annum excluding GST for diesel vehicles, or $486.46 for petrol vehicles.

This is made up of the: licence fee of $410.50, including $367 is in lieu of road user charges, an

Alan Lee Fix it for me Mr Lee.

administration fee of $6.26, an ACC levy of $114.43 for diesel tractors, or $69.53 for petrol, and a label fee $0.17.

The second is a licence conditional on the tractor’s on-road speed not exceeding 40 km/hr of $49.93 per annum excluding GST. This is made up of the licence fee of $43.50, am administration fee of $6.26 and label fee of $0.17

Farm vehicle maintenance that improves safety Keeping farm and orchard machinery in good repair and the orchard and farm working environment well-maintained are among the key factors in reducing accidents and injury.

According to the organisation FarmSafe, while injuries caused by vehicles are high on the list, so are those caused by a working environment, such as slips, trips and fall.

Autumn is among the busiest times on kiwifruit orchards, while for livestock farming things are often slowing down a little.

So before winter arrives is the ideal time to carry out repairs and maintenance to machinery, equipment, races, dairies and implement sheds.

According to FarmSafe’s statistics the majority of injuries in the dairy industry are caused by animals, vehicle injuries including ATV rollovers, lifting and strains especially from lifting calves and feed.

Noise and occupation overuse syndromes are also an issue. Slips, trips and falls mostly in and around dairy sheds, also result in injuries.

For sheep and beef farmers, injury by animals including hits and crushes are frequent as are vehicle injuries, once again largely from ATV rollovers.

Lifting and strains from lifting implements, animals and feed and slips, trips and falls are also an issue; as is noise from machinery which can lead to hearing loss.

Trees and vines are a hazard for those

in the horticulture industry and not surprisingly injuries from lifting and straining are common, caused by lifting produce, building materials, loading and unloading gear and produce.

The repetitive nature of picking, pruning, harvesting, sorting/bagging and noise are also hazards. Slips, trips and falls including from ladders and those caused by wet surfaces and uneven ground are common.

Horticulturalists are also prone in injury from vehicles and towed implements including slipping off machinery, being struck by towed implements, repetitive driving and being run over.

Some receive facial and other injuries when they are struck by objects such as tree branches, wire, building material, saws and knives.

FarmSafe was born from an industrygenerated initiative to improve safety in the agricultural sector and is now owned

by Lincoln University and governed by representatives of the agriculture and horticulture sectors.

For more information about FarmSafe and its services go to farmsafe.co.nz

Be very careful what you pray for A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home.

He wanted her to see what he went through, so he prayed: “Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in eight hours while my wife merely stays at home.

I want her to know what I go through. So, please allow her body to switch with mine for a day”.

God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man’s wish. The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.

He arose, cooked breakfast, awakened the children, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches and drove them to school.

Came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit.

Went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries.

Paid the bills and balanced the books, cleaned the cat’s litter box and bathed the dog.

Then, it was already 1pm and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Then ran to the school to pick up the children and got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out

milk and cookies and got the kids organised to do their homework.

Set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing. At 4.30pm he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, prepared the pork chops and fresh beans for dinner.

After the meal, he cleaned the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the children, and put them to bed.

At 9pm he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren’t finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: “Lord, I don’t know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back. Amen”.

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied: “My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. You’ll just have to wait nine months, though.

You got pregnant last night”.

Correction for equestrian event It was Bill Noble competing in a dressage event on the horse that went on to win the 2014 Dressage Horse of the Year, Airthrey Highlander, in the picture on Page 52 of last month’s Coast & Country, not Joe Waldron as the caption read.

FARM REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE

Page 35

Can readers work out this one?

This month’s mystery item comes from the Opotiki Museum and may be familiar to many readers who’ve encountered a similar device in their working lives.

If you think you know what it is or have a story to tell about it, we’d love to hear from you – and you could be in to win a visit for two to the Opotiki Museum on Church St.

Readers have requested more time to get their entries in for Coast & Country’s mystery items competitions, so we won’t be announcing the March winner until the May issue.

Send your entry for this month’s mystery item to elaine@thesun.co.nz, with Mystery Item in the subject line, or post to: Mystery Item, Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than April 27.

The winner will be announced in Coast & Country’s June issue.

The Opotiki Museum is open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm and Saturday from 10am-2pm. To find out more, see www.opotikimuseum.org.nz

Do you know what this is? If so, you could be in to win a visit to the Opotiki Museum.

Chainsaw safety avoids ‘a lot of grief ’ Responsible drivers and vehicle passengers always wear seatbelts.

Sensible boaties don life jackets and set off to sea with appropriate safety gear – and safety measures should also apply to the use of chainsaws, says Stihl Shop Whakatane owner Paul Henricksen.

“Chainsaws are designed to cut wood, which is solid. If they come in contract with flesh, injuries are often very nasty – so it pays to take safety seriously, including wearing the right protective clothing.”

Knowing the capability of a chainsaw and matching the saw to the job is important. “Don’t attempt to do a big job with a small saw, or vice versa.”

Check the saw before using, making sure the chain is tensioned correctly, the teeth and drags are set correctly and all the safety devices are working correctly.

Appropriate safety equipment for operating a chainsaw include gloves or a mitt, chaps or safety trousers, helmet, eye protection – either a visor or safety glasses – and good quality hearing protection in the form of ear muffs.

Solid boots, preferably with steel caps, should be worn.

Before beginning work, check the site for hazards, especially something which might trip you up or any overhead hazards, like wires or branches.

Never ‘drop start’ a chainsaw. Chainsaws should always be started using the cold or warm start positions and started well clear of the fuelling spot.

Hold the saw firmly with both hands with the thumb encircling the grip. Never cut above shoulder-height and preferably keep the body of the saw close to your body so you’re not overstretched.

Avoid cutting into the ground, as dirt will blunt the chain immediately. Cut one piece of wood at a time, as cutting multiple pieces may cause kick-back.

Avoid using the tip of the bar unless you know what you’re doing, as this is a dangerous area, says Paul. To reduce the risk of accidents take regular breaks.

Paul says most young people don’t think twice about wearing safety gear, but some among the older generation are still reluctant to do so.

“They may have used a chainsaw for years without incident, but it only

takes one slip for things to go very wrong.

“The right safety clothing and safety practices along with a well maintained chainsaw can avoid a lot of grief.”

Knowing the capability of a chainsaw and matching the saw to the job is important.

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Page 36

EFFLUENT

‘Do not plead guilty to effluent charges’ Farmers facing prosecution over effluent issues shouldn’t get involved in plea bargaining and should elect trial by jury – that’s the advice from Bill Cox of Waihi who has appeared as an expert witness and a ‘McKenzie Friend’ in several court cases.

Bill believes some farmers are being bullied into pleading guilty by some regional council staff, when they should in fact defend their case.

His warning to farmers comes after Bill assisted a West Coast farmer appealing a $66,000 fine imposed on him for a non-compliant effluent system on a farm he had purchased.

Bill appeared in court along with the farmer, as a McKenzie Friend, a role recognised by the courts as one which supports a defendant.

“The farmer paid $7 million for the farm, and carried out due diligence before the purchase, which included a written statement from the regional council saying the effluent system was compliant.

“Some time later the farmer noticed problems with the system and took measures to repair them and mitigate the environmental impacts, but council still prosecuted him.”

Independent inspection

Bill says this highlights the importance of anyone buying a farm having an independent inspection of effluent systems carried out. “In addition to the fine

and legal expenses, this farmer has spent $403,000 on fixing the effluent system which he was assured was compliant at the time of purchase.

“At the appeal the judged asked not once but four times why the farmer pleaded guilty to the charges.”

Bill says the farmer only pleaded guilty after council staff said they would drop several other charges against him. “He just wanted it to be over and done with and didn’t realise the other charges probably wouldn’t have stuck anyway.”

Now he’s pleaded guilty, the court can’t reverse his guilty conviction but it is hoped the judge may reduce the fine.

Bill Cox of Waihi enjoys restoring old tractors, and using his layman’s experience of the courts to help other farmers through the McKenzie Friends system.

Common sense

Bill believes farmers should elect trial by jury “because then their case will be heard by 12 men and women with good common sense who will be able to understand what’s going on, on a farm. Most judges and lawyers haven’t a clue about effluent issues.

“A McKenzie Friend like me doesn’t need to be a lawyer and can’t address the court unless invited to by a judge, but can advise and direct a defendant who is representing themselves,” says Bill.

He agrees undoubtedly some farmers are guilty of effluent breaches and put the environment at risk but he doesn’t think the hefty fines handed out should go into the coffers of regional councils.

“Most farmers want to do the right thing by the environment but fixing effluent issues is hugely expensive, costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some if not all of the fine should go to helping upgrade the systems.

Financial edge

“Big fines, plus the cost of up-grades can push farmers over the edge financially and the banks end up putting their farms up for mortgagee sale.

“If regional councils really want farmers to lift their game, they should be taking a partnership, not a big stick, approach.”

Farmers whose effluent systems are non-compliant can find their dairy company will refuse to accept their milk.

“This can cause another big issue – what to do with the milk? It can’t be dumped as that would cause another environmental problem. I suggested farmers feed it back to their cows to drink. They love it, rapidly put on con-

dition and solve a big problem.”

In the case of the West Coast farmer, the Gloriavale Christian Community near Lake Haupiri came to his aid.

“They took his milk to make cheese and even helped with work on the effluent system. They were absolutely amazing and to my mind demonstrated true Christian values,” says Bill.

McKenzie Friend

The McKenzie Friend movement arose from the 1970 UK divorce case McKenzie v McKenzie when a barrister, Ian Hanger, whose Australian law qualifications did not allow him to practice as a barrister in London, joined Levine McKenzie in court to assist as a ‘friend’.

Since then the practice of permitting a McKenzie Friend, who may not be a lawyer, to help a defendant in court, has become accepted in many countries, including New Zealand.

It’s a principle which appeals to Bill, who took to representing himself when his legal bills grew but his cases were being lost.

Bill, who with wife Naiyana and daughter Narisa lives on a lifestyle block near Waihi, previously farmed near Te Aroha. He operated a contracting business irrigating effluent from dairy factories and an abattoir onto farmland and gave farmers expert advice on effluent disposal as well as ploughing and contouring new pastureland.

By Elaine Fisher

See Effluent WOF story on page 40.

EFFLUENT

Page 37

Effluent remains priority for farmers This year an outdoor area featuring Fonterra, DairyNZ and Waikato and Bay of Plenty Regional Council stands was introduced. A mini-grandstand was erected for irrigator demonstrations and seminars conducted by Debbie Care of Agvice.

Effluent issues are still high on the agenda for farmers, despite the financial pressures of a low payout and this summer’s drought, believes Waikato Regional Council’s environmental farming systems adviser Electra Kalaugher.

A series of seminars were also run on topics, which included effluent storage options including ponds and tanks, tricky installations, leak detection, system upgrades in tight times, dairy effluent monitoring and nutrient management on dairy farms.

The technology around effluent handling, containment and distribution is developing rapidly as those who attended the Effluent Expo at Mystery Creek discovered.

Electra says extensive publicity “We had thought the drought given to previewing the event by and payout might affect numbers Debbie Care of Agvice conducted Coast & Country News appear to attending the Effluent Expo in a series of seminars on getting the have had a positive influence on March, but attendances were in most out of effl uent irrigators. attendance numbers. fact up.

Now in its fifth year, the Effluent “We had between 650 and 700 Expo is a one-stop-shop for high visitors this year. Of the ones who quality information about effluent identified their background, over management solutions. half were farm owners again – There were 55 exhibitors at the which is great as they are really the one-day expo at Mystery Creek, decision-makers. which was also up on last year, and “It really highlights farmers’ ongoElectra says the technology around ing commitment to improving handling effluent is developing their environmental performance, rapidly. despite the low pay-out this year.”

Horizontal pump designed for NZ farms The new Numedic Horizontal Effluent Pump is proving to be a complete solution for pumping from above ground tanks.

Numedic Ltd managing director Peter Reid says they are becoming more popular with dairy farmers for effluent storage. “Based on our 20 years’ of experience we have developed an extremely strong and reliable horizontally mounted pump.

“The Numedic Horizontal high performance effluent pumps are easy to access and simple to service.

By using the latest design principles and modern seal technology these pumps are ideal for handling those difficult to pump abrasive materials.”

The pumps range in size from 5.5kW through to 18.5 kW. They can be used as either close coupled transfer pumps, or high pressure pumps capable of running travelling irrigators, stationary guns, and pods out to 1.5 kms.

Correctly sized installed pipelines and farm contours need to be allowed for and Numedic can design a system using CAD design, and pump and pipeline computer software.

Chopper blades are easily fitted to Numedic Pumps that can chop up fibrous material as required. The castings are manufactured from heavy duty SG iron, which copes well with abrasive materials so has a

longer life. Energy efficient MEPS electric motors are used for optimum efficiency.

“Manufactured and designed in New Zealand by Numedic Ltd, dairy farmers now have the availability to purchase a superior pump designed for New Zealand conditions.”

The new Numedic Horizontal Effluent Pump.

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EFFLUENT

Page 38

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EFFLUENT

Page 39

Farmers need worry-free effluent storage Presco Group’s heavy duty concrete Prosumps are constructed from high strength, reinforced concrete.

concrete to the concrete technology we use today, yet it just had its 100th birthday the other day.”

Any dairy farmer that’s interested in sustainable farming and is serious about effluent storage should give Oliver a call. You can be sure

Responsibility to prevent stored farm dairy effluent from leaching back into the environment is being placed fairly and squarely on the shoulders of dairy farmers by regional councils around New Zealand.

Abatement notices are on the increase, farmers are being asked to provide evidence their effluent storage facilities are compliant.

And the resulting flurry of activity to upgrade effluent storage has spawned a plethora of different companies pushing their solutions that are all screaming out for the farmer’s attention.

However short-term, cost-driven thinking can lead to decisions being made today that will have serious environmental and financial consequences tomorrow, warns Oliver Prestidge of Presco Group’s Environmental Infrastructure division.

Oliver is noticing a large number of farmers this year who want to do it once and do it right when it comes to farm dairy effluent management.

“This is an encouraging trend, as we’ve heard so many horror stories from farmers that have ended up in the proverbial brown stuff over issues with their effluent ponds.”

tell us there is nothing else that compares with the Prosump’s high strength, reinforced concrete construction. We often get the comment: ‘You can’t compare 150 millimetres of concrete with just a few millimetres of plastic’.”

“When the farmer looks at the bullet-proof design of a Prosump and our specialist construction methods, it gives them the confidence that it’s built to last a lifetime, regardless of what warranty we might put on it,” says Oliver.

Forget about it

Concrete durability

The big increase in the number of Presco Group’s heavy duty concrete Prosumps being installed this season can be put down to one thing, says Oliver.

“Peace of mind.”

“With a concrete Prosump, a farmer can put one in the ground and forget about it. It can’t rust, it can’t rip or tear and it can’t leak.

“Because of its durability, the decision to install a Prosump is a no-brainer for forward-thinking farmers.

“After researching all the options, they often

“We have a bit of a chuckle with clients from time to time about the extended warranties on effluent tanks and liners being bandied about the market place currently.

“With the rapidly changing face of business in today’s world, who can say they’ll be here to honour a warranty in 20 or 30 years? We prefer to let the reputation of concrete durability speak for itself.

“We point clients to the iconic Hawera Water Tower, which can be seen from our premises. This towering landmark was made from vastly inferior

that you’ll both be speaking the same language.

Presco Group is a NZ leading supplier of farm dairy effluent management infrastructure and the sole NZ manufacturer and installer of Prosump effluent sumps.

Page 40

EFFLUENT

Lightweight liner easy to install Transporting a liner through three kilometres of kiwifruit vines and installing it in a frost protection pond was easy for the Pondco team, thanks to the light weight of the AquaFlex Pond Liner.

"We were able to transport the liner for the 55 metre long pond, which is 13 metres wide by 5 metres deep, through the orchard on a trailer pulled by a 4X4, because the lining material is so light,” says Hamish Forbes of Pondco.

Pondco was commissioned to re-design and replace an existing pond, which had failed on Riverside Orchard near Katikati – and Hamish says AquaFlex is the ideal liner for the job.

“It has more than double the strength of other compound liners and double the punch resistance but is around half the weight so is much easier to transport and install.”

Every seam is double welded, recorded and air tested for water tightness during the liner installation.

“The system is so good and the product so light, we are able to pre-fabricate liners off-site and have even sent custom-made liners to the South Island for installation.

“AquaFlex fills a gap in the New Zealand market not currently met by plastic or rubber liners.”

AquaFlex comes with a 20-year warranty and doesn’t contain plasticiser, which can migrate to the surface causing premature aging and degradation.

“It’s fish-safe, which a lot of liners aren’t, which makes

it ideal for small ponds, or streams in a landscaped garden. It’s also ideal for dairy effluent ponds and council or commercial water catchments.

“The product is a co-extruded membrane, which provides high elongation tear resistance and bursting strength. Its flexibility means it conforms to challenging angles and terrain without stress cracking problems often seen in high

Every seam of an AquaFlex Pond Liner is double welded, recorded and air tested for water tightness during the liner installation.

density membranes.”

The liner has a black carbon content of two per cent, which provides UV and harsh weather protection and is made from virgin resins.

Pondco has the New Zealand licence for AquaFlex, which is supplied by the world’s largest lining installation company, Colorado Lining International, and the Pondco team has access to that company’s expertise if required.

The liner for this 55 metre long frost pond on Riverside Orchard in Katikati was easily transported through the vines.

Effluent WOF cleans up uncertainty Buyers and sellers of dairy farms are now able to get some peace of mind about one of the most critical aspects of a dairy farm purchase, the property’s effluent system.

Industry good body DairyNZ has focussed on helping clear up the uncertainty that often lurks around farm effluent systems’ compliance, by developing the Effluent Warrant of Fitness programme.

The programme aims to give a clearer indication to farmers, advisors and rural professionals, including real estate agents, about a system’s capability to meet current council regulations and be fit for purpose 365 days a year.

DairyNZ developed the system, with significant farmer input, in response to frustration felt by many farmers and professionals. They wanted to ensure systems were up to standard, but also wanted an independent, certified means of determining that.

DairyNZ sustainability team leader Dr Theresa Wilson said the Effluent WOF programme is based on a consistent method for assessing an effluent system

with an independent certified assessor looking at the farm’s entire effluent infrastructure.

“The assessment process is very thorough. It covers the farm’s effluent consents and permitted rules, the storage capacity, nutrient loadings from the system, soil risk, irrigator performance, off-pasture infrastructure, and general health and safety requirements.”

The system has been welcomed by real estate professionals, who may sometimes encounter problems over dairy farm settlements due to an effluent system’s claimed capability and compliance.

“The effluent system is the second most viewed part of the farm for a potential buyer, after the farm dairy milking shed. It is very much at the forefront of the due diligence process. It is an aspect of farm infrastructure that can require significant investment to bring up to compliance level if it is not there, and receive significant fines if not up to scratch,” says Theresa.

The Effluent WOF certification programme is establishing a network of certified assessors throughout the country who are capable of conducting the assessments.

To learn more about Effluent WOF programme visit: www.effluentwof.co.nz

EFFLUENT

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Page 41

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Page 42

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Nano-Cal is 24% calcium and as a bonus also contains the following trace elements: copper, iron, manganese, zinc and boron.

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Calcium is the answer to pest and disease control, and fruit quality and shelf life or storability.

Calcium’s role in plant nutrition is so overlooked its costing growers and consumers millions of dollars in fungicide/pesticide use and produce storage problems.

Let alone looking at the human health complications brought about by the consumption of chemical pesticide and fungicide cocktail combinations and further complicated by low mineral intakes.

We should not confuse the role of important soil amendments such as lime or gypsum with the overwhelming need for water soluble calcium by high value crops.

They are both critically important but are two separate issues.

Calcium fertilisation of many crops should not be confused with the actual calcium requirements of a crop.

For example, potatoes and apples require 90 per cent of their calcium during budding for potatoes and four to six weeks after full blossom for apples.

This cannot be achieved by the application of agricultural lime. It doesn’t release anywhere near the

calcium requirements for a plant when it requires it.

Most times calcium fertilisation is only considered when a deficiency is evident – you only have to visit the local supermarket to experience this.

Deficient symptoms

Classic deficient symptoms are: death of growing tips; abnormal dark foliage; premature shedding of buds and flowers; weakened stems – quite often confused with a potassium deficiency but the problem is a plant available calcium issue.

Calcium’s number one role is cell wall strength and thickness, which is critical for strong structure rigidity within the pectin polysaccharide matrix. The rapid uptake can only be supplied by the application of water-soluble forms of calcium and timing is everything.

Many bacteria and fungi (pathogenic) infect plant tissue by producing enzymes that dissolve the middle lamella, two of these enzymes are polyglacturonases and pectolytic enxymes like pectate transeliminase.

In another trial calcium bean leaf tissue content 1.06 per cent was replaced with potassium, and the leaf tissue content for potassium was raised from 1.44 per cent to 4.89 per cent and the calcium content was reduced from 1.06 per cent to 0.18 per cent, the infection rating for botrytis went from slight to severe. This was also evident in lettuces.

In another trial the application of soluble calcium (not agricultural lime, gypsum etc) during fertigation reduced Fusarium oxysporum activity, which is a fungal pathogen which causes crown rot in tomatoes, it also severely reduced pythium blight and root rot in grasses and citrus.

Riverside quarry has decades of potential

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Recent trials show the raising of bean leaf Ca levels from 0.4 per cent (where 100 per cent of the plants were infected and decayed within six days) to 3.4 per cent resulted in the total elimination of erwinia infections. Erwinia bacteria effect a large range of vegetable crops and are responsible for storage rot in potato tubers.

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Director Mike Rorison can proudly call himself a third generation quarryman, carrying on the business established by his grandfather Ian and expanded upon by his late father Gary.

Today Mike and his wife Rona have invested heavily to ensure the family name behind the business can continue for several more generations yet.

The modern design and facilities within the quarry asserts the company’s future in more ways than one.

It has been designed and built around a limestone seam with decades of resource potential in front of it.

The facilities and infrastructure supporting it ensure the quarry has the capability to expand its tonnages over time within its existing footprint.

“We are conscious we work in what is the back yard for many people in the district. We have worked hard on a design that limits the impacts to neighbours, and planned a remediation programme across both our quarries,” says Mike.

With its head office in the Bay of Plenty, the company enjoys strong ties with local communities in both regions, and the new quarry provides valuable local employment.

The family’s original Wairere Quarry neighbours the Riverside operation, and has long been renowned for the high quality lime and serpentine (magnesium) it has provided to thousands of farmer clients during the last 50 years.

“The Riverside project aims to continue offering that high standard of lime, and demand is growing consistently for the high grade we are capable of supplying.”

Greater understanding about nutrient availability and its relationship to soil pH means Rorison RMD has been well placed to offer a product that brings soil pH up, essentially unlocking nutrients already present in the soil profile to boost soil productivity.

The company will continue to source magnesium in the form of serpentine from its long time Wairere Quarry.

This forms the key element in Rorisons RMD LimeMag, with the magnesium component offering additional soil and animal health benefits to conventional lime product. Mike says more farmers see a link between their stock’s feed intake and magnesium’s health benefits over periods of high stress. LimeMag’s soil conditioning ability has also significantly aided pasture productivity on younger soils in the region.

AUTUMN FERTILISER

Page 43

Fertilising in tough times post-drought little as 3-5cents/kg DM. This is less than one-third of the cost of nitrogen and one-sixth of the cost of palm kernel.

Waikato farmers have now suffered their third consecutive drought, but for dairy farmers this year has been coupled with a low payout – and the brakes are being put on spending.

Nitrogen uneconomic

When it comes to nitrogen, a paper presented at the NZ Grasslands Association conference at Tauranga in 2013, by DairyNZ’s Chris Glassey, shows during the previous 10 years about half the time artificial nitrogen was uneconomic to apply, and this was largely dependent on the price of nitrogen and the price of milk solids payout.

Last year, at a high payout, nitrogen would have been very economic. But this year is probably a different story.

Given that half the time, nitrogen is uneconomic, it amazes me how it’s the first thing most farm consultants and DairyNZ advisors

Fertiliser is one area where cuts can be made if soil nutrient levels are in excess of plant requirements. Soil tests can identify which elements, if any, are below biological optimum levels; and these should not be allowed to slip.

Elements which are in excess can probably be left for a year or two without affecting pasture productivity. But where an element is identified as being deficient, correcting a deficiency is likely to cost as

get farmers to apply post-drought.

For a start, there will have been a natural build-up of nitrogen in the soil during the drought period, and once the rains come there should be sufficient nitrogen to last a few weeks. Adding more nitrogen will only increase the risk of nitrate poisoning, environmental losses, and crude protein overload in the rumen.

Sulphur is another element which is likely to have accumulated during a drought period. Most of the soil’s sulphur is held in the organic matter; and as this organic matter is mineralised by soil microbes, organically bound sulphur becomes plant available.

Elemental sulphur

Consequently, applying soluble forms of sulphur is likely to have little benefit in the first few weeks post-drought. On soils where sulphur levels are inherently low such as pumice, peat and clay soils, and the

farmer wants to apply some nitrogen, I like Ballance’s product Phased N which is manufactured at Te Poi, being a blend of fine elemental sulphur, lime and SustaiN nitrogen.

The sulphur in this will last into the winter and spring when sulphur deficiencies are most marked.

Sulphate of ammonia is of less value in autumn as the sulphate sulphur is highly available and leaches readily.

Sulphate of ammonia is more useful in the winter and spring when sulphur levels are at their lowest, and having highly available sulphate sulphur works better then.

Few dairy farms nowadays have low phosphorous levels, but where P is low, then DAP can be an economic way of providing nitrogen and phosphorous.

For sheep and beef properties, where fertiliser has to be flown on and where P deficiency is more common, DAP can be a good option as it has lower cartage and applica-

tion costs, and a nitrogen boost going into winter can improve winter stocking rates.

High rates of potassium applied in the autumn should be avoided as K leaches easily, can interfere with calcium and magnesium uptake, causing metabolic problems. And K is more required by clovers, which are dormant during winter.

Lime and magnesium are good to apply in autumn where levels are low, and essential trace elements such as boron, copper and molybdenum also should be considered, as correcting these are a lot cheaper than urea long-term.

Robin Boom

CPAg MBSPC

Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant

Eyes peeled for winning caption personal map it would sound like a different place than that drawn by the people at Lands and Survey, and to me a richer place,” he writes in his book.

The Dead Tree, Lost Clearing, and the Great Wallow are among the names James has given to places significant to him. He shares many in the book, which is illustrated by stunning colour images of landscapes – and of course animals, dead and alive.

James is an outdoor magazine writer based in New Zealand and author of ‘The New Zealand Hunting Rifle’.

‘The New Zealand Wilderness Hunter’ contains some of his finest deer hunting stories as well as descriptions of solo wilderness adventures and the philosophy of a passionate hunter.

O U NT R

However, Opotiki has its own special tsunami warning service just north of town – a wooden figure keeping watch on the ocean, ready to ring his warning bell.

Coast & Country News invites readers to submit suitable captions for the picture above and the best one will win a copy of ‘The New Zealand Wilderness Hunter’ by James Passmore, an author who gives his own names to the landscape he hunts.

“If one were to navigate by my

N NIE

S

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Y

C

Cyclone Pam generated swells of almost tsunami proportions along the East Coast in midMarch and there was plenty of warning from the Metservice.

To be in to win ‘The New Zealand Wilderness Hunter’ published by Halcyon Press, email your suggested captions for the photo above, along with your name and address, and with Country Funnies as the subject to: elaine@thesun.co.nz Or put these details and captions on the back of an envelope and post to: Country Funnies, Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than April 27. The winner will be announced in the June issue of Coast & Country.

The winner of last month’s Country Funnies caption will be announced in the May issue.

PASTURE RENOVATION

Page 44

GR

A IN &

SEED DRESSI

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QUA LITY PASTURE SEED

Waiuku farmer Lance Morley is dismayed at the rate at which productive land is being lost to housing in New Zealand.

Plea to protect soils and food production New Zealand’s government and councils haven’t learned what the English knew 500 years ago – houses shouldn’t be built on high quality, foodproducing soils.

That’s the view of long-time Waiuku resident Lance Morley, who is upset and dismayed at increasing urban development swallowing up large tracts of productive land in the Franklin district.

“Five hundred years ago the English decreed that villages had to be built in gullies, not on flat or rolling farmland, and for good reason – to protect food production.”

Lance is responding to the articles in last month’s Coast & Country about the Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association’s concerns that urban growth threatens to engulf the rich growing soils in their region known as “the food bowl of New Zealand”.

PVGA president Bharat Jivan says in the last 40 years about 10,000 hectares of elite and prime land has been lost to urban development. This includes areas at Otahuhu, Papatoetoe, Mangere and Pukekohe.

Auckland Unitary Plan’s has identified

Pukekohe as a priority satellite town for 50,000 people and 9000 new jobs in the next 30 years – and the plan includes future urban zoned land around Pukekohe, for residential, business and industrial use.

Lance says an area known as Patumahoe Hill has recently been sold and he understands it will be covered in houses.

“It is beautiful land with excellent soils. I can’t understand what council planners are thinking allowing this to happen.

“Also, another large area of good quality dairy land at Paerata near Pukekohe is earmarked for housing.

“There’s plenty of less productive country around Auckland, especially to the north, which could be built on,” says Lance, who aged 76 raises beef cattle on his farm at Waiuku.

“I was born and bred here but I’ve travelled widely and seen how other countries manage their land. I can’t believe what is happening here.”

Lance does admit that as a young man he drove a bulldozer for contracting company, clearing land in what are now the Otara and East Tamaki areas.

“At Otara we bulldozed cowsheds, races, fences, buildings – all on high quality soils –just for housing. We haven’t learnt. It’s still happening.”

Beef + Lamb awards open Nominations are now open for the fourth Beef + Lamb New Zealand Sheep Industry Awards, which champion the country’s top performing sheep farmers, breeders and industry innovators.

Award categories cover genetics, production, and business innovation.

Farmers, sheep meat processors and

others in the industry are encouraged to get their nominations in by Friday, April 17.

The awards will be presented in Invercargill on Wednesday, July 1.

Nominations form can be downloaded from the B+LNZ website at beeflambnz.com/sheep-industryawards

Certificate in irrigation The National Certificate in Irrigation Design is aimed at those involved in the design of irrigation systems for pasture, broad acre crops, horticulture, turf and landscape.

It’s delivered by the New Zealand Water and Environment Training Academy in partnership with IrrigationNZ and the course covers the five areas outlined in the Irrigation Design Code of Practice: planning; design; quoting and supply; installation and commissioning, and operation and maintenance.

Upon successful completion of this

NZQA registered programme designers will be formally recognised with the title ‘certified irrigation designer’.

The training programme enables irrigation designers to comply with the Irrigation NZ Irrigation Design Code of Practice, providing them with the understanding and tools required to achieve the required standards.

Both full and accelerated options are available. The full option is for those with a couple of years of industry experience and involves a four-day followed by two two-day courses.

The accelerated option is for experienced practitioners, who need a refresher to brush up on their skills and involves one two-day course.

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 45

Gizmo’s use has Robbie totally flummoxed The origin and use of a ‘gizmo’ in about what it might be – but no one knew for sure.”

Robbie Rogers’ backyard has The device has a plate on its side him stumped. with the name Famos, a cross, “We have no idea what it is,” says Robbie, a fencing contractor, who has a private museum and is pretty knowledgeable about machinery.

“We took it to the Rotorua Tractor and Machinery Club’s vintage tractor show and live day in February. Lots of people looked at it and made suggestions

Robbie Rogers has figured out how to work the gizmo – he just doesn’t know what it does.

’Patent’, and ‘Contr. No 198U6’.

“We think it might have been used to tie bundles of oats or straw after threshing,” says Robbie.

The device is foot-operated and has a series of springs and cogs which operate two interlocking jaws to move backwards and forwards over each other.

“We’d love to find out what it is. Even trying to track down the patent number hasn’t worked

because we are not sure of the country of origin.”

Anyone who thinks they know what it is can phone Robbie on 027 4502 723 or email elaine@thesun.co.nz with ‘gizmo’ in the subject line.

By Elaine Fisher

The gizmo has a series of springs and cogs which operate two interlocking jaws to move backwards and forwards over each other.

Prize package a delight

2.95% NOW

Michelle Hedges of Capital Tractors (right) presents Rowena Crowley with the barbecue and meat voucher she won in the company’s promotion.

Rowena Crowley of Te Puke is the lucky winner of a Masport barbecue in a promotion to celebrate the purchase of Capital Tractors Tauranga by Reg and Michelle Hedges.

Rowena and her family not only won the portable barbecue supplied by Masport Ltd but also a $100 meat voucher supplied Stevens Products Ltd, redeemable from Steve’s Traditional Meat in Te Puke.

“We are sure Rowena and her family will enjoy many great barbecues during the rest of summer and we’re grateful to Masport and Stevens Products for supporting this promotion,” says Michelle.

Capital Tractors sell, service and retail parts for a large range of product including, Deutz Fahr, Kioti and the Same range of orchard tractors and Hustler and Masport ride on mowers, and is happy to arrange demonstrations.

LOCAL NEWS + VIDEOS ANYTIME ANYWHERE

2016

2017

Page 46

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

How to create a beautiful lawn

the organic nutrients and exchange carbon.

• Larger roots leads to better aeration of the soil which helps with drainage, absorption of water with and reduces run-off.

• The stronger turf canopy shades and crowds out weeds, and slows water evaporation which leads to a more drought-resistant moist lawn that stays green longer and encourages earthworms.

• When mowing higher the job can be completed faster using less fuel and with less wear and tear on the mower.

New Zealand is a wonderful country in which to be a pastoral farmer. We enjoy a mainly temperate climate with high average rainfall, which keeps the grass growing most months of the year.

Desired height

This climate is also part of the reason why we have challenging lawn mowing conditions.

Other challenging factors are many lawns are made up of fast-growing paddock grasses or the very tough kikuyu.

In the cooler seasons mowing moist grass can be unavoidable and many of us like to mow our lawns very low, which is hard on the grass and mowing equipment.

I’ve often wondered why many New Zealanders like to cut their lawn as low as possible and enjoy this appearance. I think this perspective was developed by our attempts to put off the burden of mowing for as long as possible.

These days mowing equipment has come a long way and it no longer needs to be a test of endurance wrestling with a steering wheel and negotiating pedals.

Mowing large areas on a comfortable zero turn ride on mower like a Grasshopper is so fast and easy it doesn’t feel like a chore. In fact, many people now say they love mowing and view it as good therapy.

Many of these people are starting to mow the grass higher and are enjoying the appearance and results.

Thick grass

Mowing low is hard on your mowing equipment and the blades need to be sharpened more often.

The blades lose their sharp edge faster, cutting the thicker grass stems and through scalping the ground.

This is also slower, harder work for the mower, and the engine which uses more fuel; and leads to increased wear and tear on the running gear.

The Grasshopper Zero Turn mower manufacturer has published an interesting brochure on creating a beautiful lawn which highlights the benefits of a mowing your lawn higher.

A summary of the key benefits are: • When grass is allowed to grow higher it develops a healthier root system which nurtures co-dependent microorganisms that work with the roots to break down

How high should I try mowing the lawn?

Raise the cutting height to a level that leaves a significant portion of the grass blade intact and then work on cutting no more than one-third of the foliage each time you mow.

Adjust your mowing frequency throughout the year to keep the lawn at your new desired height.

Does mowing higher mean I will be mowing more often? No, the opposite is true. Cutting the grass too short doesn’t save you time.

As mentioned above when mowing higher you can mow faster because you’re just cutting part of the leaf which takes less power than the thicker grass stems.

Also if you follow the cut one-third rule, the higher you cut your grass the more growing time you allow before the next mowing.

Keep your blades sharp. Blunt blades tear rather than cut the grass, which puts the grass under unnecessary stress and can affect the lawn appearance.

Catching or mulching the clippings are other considerations that can improve the health and appearance of your lawn. They will be examined in another article soon.

If you have any comments or questions on this article or if you would like a copy of Grasshopper Mower’s brochure ‘Guide For A Beautiful Lawn’ email andrew@zeroturnmowers.co.nz

By Andrew Peacock, ZRT Mowers

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 47

Back in business after major fire meets

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In fact within two days of the devastating blaze in the twoAction Equipment is now at 39 Waihi Rd storey building on February 6, following the February fire. the company had relocated to its Waihi Rd Polaris and Kawasaki dealerRichard says Action Equipment’s staff ship premises and staff were available have been fantastic in their response to assist clients. to the fire and support to relocate the Since then the company has opened a company, get back into business, and new showroom almost next door at 39 help and reassure clients.

Waihi Rd where it’s “business as usual” Action Equipment also has an outlet says owner Richard Ive. in Katikati and on the morning after The fire was started by a batterythe fire, staff were selling clients new powered domestic lawnmower. equipment, delivered from that branch.

“We managed to rescue the hard “We have been overwhelmed at the drive from the CTV camera and could offers of support we have received from pinpoint where the blaze started,” says the Tauranga community, including Richard. from our competitors and rivals.

“The generosity and kindness is really “It appears the battery, which the lady heart-warming and makes us grateful owner of the mower told us wouldn’t hold a charge, pretty much melted and to be part of this community.”

The fire, which was visible across the caught fire. city, took six fire trucks and up to 35 “We are just grateful it didn’t happen in her house because it could have firefighters to bring under control. The resulted in loss of life. Sure we lost a building was a total loss, but Action building, but no one died or was hurt.” Equipment is fully insured.

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Page 48

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Agri-machinery company expands territory The ‘Get a haircut – get a real (agri) job’ promotion saw 120 people receive free haircuts at the 2015 Central Districts Field Days.

Real jobs – and real haircuts – at show The Giltrap Agrizone demonstration day at Whakatane was a chance to see machinery in action.

Giltrap AgriZone held a successful demonstration day near Whakatane recently, facilitated by Tom Grant of Grant Farms Limited.

“The purpose was to promote the fact that we are now extending our territory and actively canvasing for business in the area,” says Giltrap AgriZone’s group sales manager Ben Peters.

“Our Rotorua branch has been performing well, and we are growing staff numbers to provide a better service to the Bay of Plenty area.”

The demo day showcased the range of Case IH tractors Taege drills, and representative products from Kuhn, Hustler, Hooper and Fairbrother post drivers. A number of sales were made on the day.

“We aim to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the full range of farm machinery, for lifestyle

to open in May 2015. block owners “We are proud of the fact we are prithrough to large vately and locally owned and operated; scale grass and and as such can cultivation conmake fast decitractors.” sions to ensure Hard work, you receive the and top cusbest possible dealtomer service ership experience. by the Giltrap “Please ensure AgriZone team you give us a and the relichance to be able machines involved in your themselves, have next machine or enabled Case IH Graeme Wilson is tractor purchase, to become the Giltrap AgriZone’s and talk to us official number Western Bay of Plenty regarding any one selling representative. parts or service tractor in the requirements Waikato for 2014, says Ben. Daniel Gibbs is Giltrap you have for The continued growth of Giltrap AgriZone’s Eastern Bay the upcoming AgriZone has led to a new purposeof Plenty representative. season,” says Ben. built premises in Cambridge due

“Get a haircut – get a real (agri) job” was one of the more unusual themes at the 2015 Central Districts Field Days.

It was part of a new programme dedicated to promoting and fostering careers in agriculture.

Branded as ‘Get Ahead’, the initiative allowed students to talk to agricultural ‘champions’ about the jobs they do.

Students were also tasked with a simple challenge in return for a free haircut, which saw the hairdressers on-site More than 30,000 people mowing attended the three-day 2015 through Central Districts Fielday.

120 haircuts during the three days.

Now in its 22nd year, the field days – held at Manfeild in Feilding – attracted more than 30,000 visitors from all throughout the country to enjoy three days of agricultural events, products and displays.

The stock-handling systems, in particular, were a popular choice, with sales continuing right through until the final day of the event. And exhibitors with ‘big ticket’ items like machinery and tractors also saw good transactions.

Among the more popular attractions was the FoodHQ site, giving farmers and visitors an insight into New Zealand’s international centre for food innovation.

Visitors had the opportunity to taste preservative-free brownies and ginger slice with an export shelf-life of four months, and discover the potential value in broad beans as a fodder crop, a protein source, a nitrogen-fixer in our soils and a healthy snack food.

FoodHQ was also the venue for a number of events and networking functions, including presentations by the regional development task force, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, and an FMG breakfast hosted by Jamie McKay from radio’s Farming Show.

KIWIFRUIT

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A $15 million kiwifruit investment “Many others are doing the same and this is a vote of confidence in the industry.

“Zespri is investing more in market-

EastPack is investing about $15 million this kiwifruit season in a move to not only meet growing fruit volumes, but also the narrow harvest window of the new variety SunGold.

KIWIFRUIT SOLUTIONS Fruit enters the EastPack Washer Rd packhouse on a blue ‘motorway’ which ensures its gentle delivery to the InVision cameras and packing lanes. coolstore capacity. In addition, the company has invested in new plant and machinery and more than 13,000 new harvest bins for the 2015 season.

Despite increased automation, EastPack will employ even more staff this season and John says there are opportunities for full and seasonal work at all levels thanks to the increasing growth and sophistication of the kiwifruit industry.

The majority of employees are New Zealanders but once again Recognised Seasonal Employer workers from the Pacific will join the workforce.

“EastPack is not the only postharvest company investing heavily this season,” says John.

Compac works with the world’s leading kiwifruit packers like EastPack. We deliver unrivalled performance in terms of speed, handling, blemish detection and sorting accuracy.

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“About $4.5 million of the investment is in a new nine-lane, high-tech, high speed Compac grader in our Washer Rd site,” says EastPack’s interim chief executive John Loughlin.

“This is the first time we’ve installed a nine-lane grader but it will enable us to get 50 per cent more fruit processed, which is important given SunGold’s relatively narrow harvest window.”

The grader has InVision camera technology, which identifies class 1 fruit and reduces the need for human graders. It also has automated bulk fillers for packing fruit too.

In order to meet the demands created by predicted increases in fruit volumes from 24.5 million trays last year to 31.1m trays this year, EastPack is also building new coolstores at its Opotiki site, and Collins Lane site in Te Puke. These two coolstores will increase EastPack’s coolstore static capacity by more than one million trays.

The Washer Rd Te Puke facility, mothballed when Satara and EastPack merged, is undergoing major redevelopment.

“As well as the new nine-lane grader, coolstore capacity on this site will increase by more than 700,000 trays of kiwifruit.”

Other initiatives with EastPack's controlled atmosphere coolstores will add another one million trays of

ing capability internationally and it’s up to us to maximise the performance of the onshore ‘manufacturing’ side of the business.”

KIWIFRUIT

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KISP vote may be record The results of the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project referendum should be known in early April.

KISP independent chairman Neil Richardson says grower response to the referendum surpassed all expectations and could be the largest voter turnout in the horticulture sector for almost two decades.

Growers appreciated the opportunity to have their say on the industry’s future; and in doing so they’re sending a clear message to all parties involved in the New Zealand kiwifruit industry on the vision they support for the future growth of their industry, says Neil.

Voting for the KISP referendum closed on March 20 and due to large volumes of postal voting, the full results may not be available for up to two weeks following this date.

The KISP referendum asked growers to vote on the fundamentals of the kiwifruit industry, including: increasing grower ownership and control of their marketer Zespri; strengthening grower control of their industry; and enhancing the performance of their industry.

The referendum also asked growers to reaffirm their support for the Single Point of Entry marketing structure. This referendum follows an 18-month process involving more than 650 submissions, 80 grower and industry meetings and three rounds of consultation.

New cool storage for an extra million trays Looks as though Apata will have a good problem this year. The IRD is going to get some tax out of us – hallelujah!

My Name is Neil Woodward.

I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family run business, our team consists of three, being myself, my son and my brother.

Our organisation has been established for over 18 years. I have been involved in applying crop protection programmes within the horticultal industry since 1966.

We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, We have the equipment to spray orchards with our two Atom sprayers and one recently purchased Tracatom Formula tractor which is also available for mulching and mowing.

Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, this combined with fully automated sprayer controllers and three nozzle rings enhances application efficiency and accuracy.

We also use a quad bike for strip weed spray applications.

We hold all certificates needed to meet Globalgap compliance.

We look at all challenges to help ensure we protect your crop with excellence.

Apata has plans for $20m of capital development during the next four years.

It wasn’t so long ago that staff were sharing the same teabag at smoko, and plenty of coolstores could only host indoor cricket matches. Now we’re faced with unprecedented growth – an extra million trays of coolstorage is being finished as we wind up into the 2015 harvest.

Beyond that, we’ve already planned for similar growth each year through to 2018. We’re talking about $20m of capital development over the next four years, as we fully step out from the shadow of Psa-V. That doesn’t mean you’ll be seeing splashy marble tiling or Greek figurines and fountains at reception any time soon though. That’s not who we are and we don’t need to look sexy on the outside cos it’s the Ferrarri engine under the hood that counts.

Our investment doesn’t stop with the buildings and plant either; we’re investing in people and systems too. Given the increasing scale and complexity

of our business, we’re needing smart (read: expensive) people to join us. Of course we also need systems to make us smarter and more efficient.

It’s a marvel to a dinosaur like me just how well we now measure and analyse our business and how innovative our guys are. This year, many of us will be watching the packing schedules and packhouse metrics from our iphones (at least while the batteries last) and I reckon it won’t be long before growers will be able to view the same thing.

As much as we’d like to take credit for this business turnaround, the reality is we’re just a beneficiary of a lot of hard, smart work done by our awesome growers and an impressive Industry.

And we’re glad to be part of it. So thanks to our growers, we love what we do and the people we’re doing it with.

Now we just have to get all that fruit packed. Giddy Up.

By Stuart Weston, Managing director Apata Group

“THE BEST PREPARATION FOR TOMORROW IS TO DO TODAY’S WORK SUPERBLY WELL” WE’VE PULLED THINGS TO PIECES, CHECKED THINGS, TESTED THINGS AND REPLACED THINGS THAT WERE PROBABLY GOING TO BE FINE. WE’VE BOUGHT NEW THINGS, PROGRAMMED THINGS, BROKEN THINGS, SKINNED KNUCKLES, BLED AND SWORN AT THINGS. OUR THINGS ARE READY. SO ARE WE.

0315AP DEVCICH.CO.NZ

WILLIAM OSLER

KIWIFRUIT

Page 51

Harvest in full swing at Katikati need to look at further coolstorage in two to three years’ time.”

The company is employing the same number of staff as in previous years, and they are able to do more hours and earn more money.

“Staff will be able to work five to six days a week conElaine Kiwi sistently is among during the the quality season.” controllers In midmonitoring March fruit at Hume workers Pack-N-Cool. arrived during April”. from Tonga “We have under the additional staff Recognised to handle pickSeasonal The kiwifruit harvest is well Employers underway for Hume Pack-N-Cool. ing but Mother Nature needs to scheme to play her part. Some facilities are add to the team of locals, many of going to have real big issues being them full time staff, and backpackable to cope with the volume of ers. picking, packing and coolstoring.

Mark says his only concern for the season is picking “given that we We are very comfortable with normally get seven days rain at least our preparations.”

Picking and packing the 2015 kiwifruit crop is in full swing at Hume PackN-Cool in Katikati, where director Mark Hume is upbeat about the season.

“This will be a very busy season and a real bonus is that there will be plenty of work for anyone who wants it.”

Picking began on one orchard just before Cyclone Pam was forecast to hit the Bay of Plenty.

“In hindsight the grower could have waited because there was absolutely no wind damage but his orchard faces north-east into the path of the storm, which had it been as bad as forecasted would have been devastating for his crop.”

Hume Pack-N-Cool has sufficient capacity to pack and cool-store its clients’ fruit for the next two seasons and expects to handle four million trays of fruit this season, increasing by 500,000 in 2016.

“We have the ability to add to more lanes to our grader to give us a 20 per cent increase in throughput when the time arises. We will

Hume Pack-N-Cool has the ability to add to more lanes to its grader, to give a 20 per cent increase in throughput.

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Maximising Your Profits

Page 52

COAST & COUNTRY

HORTICULTURE

Page 53

Shelters enhance animal Why dolomite in autumn saves and fruit production time and money One kiwifruit grower has increased orchard production by up to 9000 trays per hectare by installing a kiwifruit canopy shelter roof over his vines.

“Installation of a plastic canopy roof on half of the grower’s gold orchard, which had produced 17,000 trays a hectare, increased this year’s production to an estimated 26,000 per hectare, while the half which was uncovered continued to produce 17,000 to 18,000 trays,” says John Holwerda, from SABRE Construction.

SABRE Construction is a family owned and operated company which specialises in the supply and installation of plastic or steel roof protection systems over agriculture, industrial and commercial sites.

Constructing a protective canopy over kiwifruit offers a number of other advantages including reduced reject rate and a reduced likelihood of Psa-V infection, plus the ability to grow high value new varieties.

Earlier harvest to capture early-start fruit payment and complete control over Hi-Cane spray timing to ensure optimum bud burst are other advantages.

Reduced exposure to frost, wind, hail and heavy rain damage, improved control over fertiliser and water utilisation and improved labour utilisation with the ability to work under vines in any weather are other benefits.

Animal shelters

The SABRE Canopy Shelter Roof is not just for kiwifruit vines, says John.

“We are currently completing contracts to cover a car parking area in Auckland

and a transport yard in the Waikato.

The system is ideal for animal shelters, including on dairy farms.

“Conventional steel roofs over feedpads and other animal shelter building systems have become price-prohibitive in the current economic environment.

“However SABRE’s plastic roof system, at about half the price, gives farmers another option.

“The plastic roof system SABRE uses is not clear and so provides both shade and shelter for cows, who are often hard to move from under it, because they enjoy the environment so much.

“Farmers are achieving up to 80 per cent increase in their herd milk solids production by utilising animal shelters and feed-pads in their farming system.”

Other benefits include happier cows due to benefits of shade and shelter from extreme weather; enhanced feed conversion to milk solid production; reduced feed wastage; and better reproductive performance due to cow condition.

There are environmental impacts too including reduced soil and pasture damage resulting in increased pasture production and reduced nitrogen leaching, along with improved effluent/ fertiliser utilisation.

Calf rearing

The SABRE system is also ideal for calf rearing providing a sheltered, warm, dry environment to raise valuable replacement animals.

SABRE is not limited to simply providing roof shelter systems. SABRE can provide solutions for vertical shelter for crop or industrial protection as well.

Visit www.sabreconstruction.co.nz for more information on how SABRE can help you protect your investment.

In the past, when dairy income has been tight, withholding autumn fertiliser has been seen as a valid means of containing costs.

But is it a sound option? Farmers who spent less on feed last spring, without reducing animal numbers, are reporting fewer cows in-calf than usual.

Empty cows are a real extra cost that will impact negatively on next season’s production.

Most dairy farms now have little wriggle room when it comes to feed availability.

The requirement for maximum production has to be found from somewhere.

When budgets are already tight, risking being short of spring feed by withholding fertiliser this autumn could be very costly.

Adequate level

If fertiliser inputs this autumn are reduced, what is the priority component needed? On many properties phosphorus inputs, particularly last season, were significantly above maintenance.

Potassium availability in autumn after a dry summer is nearly always adequate for strong winter and early season growth, as is sulphur.

A low-cost option this autumn, that ticks a number of important boxes for the next six months, is Golden Bay dolomite – a relatively inexpensive natural product containing both calcium and magnesium.

Properties where dolomite is applied regularly in autumn have few, if any, severe cases of calcium/ magnesium related metabolic disorders in spring.

Any clinical cases that do eventuate are not severe, and rapidly respond to a single treatment. This means valuable time isn’t lost in spring treating cows that are down for a lengthy period.

When cows get back to their feet quickly, little muscle damage occurs – and the impact on the season’s milk production is minimised.

Plant magnesium

In our 25 years of providing dolomite for intensive dairying there has never been any doubt or criticism of its effectiveness.

The SABRE Canopy Shelter Roof is ideal for animal shelters on dairy farms.

Trial work at Massey University’s Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre shows dolomite effectively lifts plant magnesium levels soon after application, and remains effective for at least 17 months.

Magnesium is also a carrier for phosphorus, helping ensure sufficient phosphorus for maximum pasture production and energy until at least late spring.

The typical dolomite application rate to intensive dairy properties is 220kg/ ha, which effectively applies 25kg of magnesium per hectare.

At this rate a typical truck and trailer load of about 28 tonnes provides sufficient magnesium for 130ha. And with regular annual applications a steady increase in soil test magnesium levels can be expected.

Soil conditioner

The outstanding animal health and overall performance benefits provided by dolomite is due in large part to its ability to improve physical soil structures.

As a highly effective soil conditioner it helps with the drainage of excess water in winter, and has the same liming effect as high quality limestone.

Autumn is the ideal time to apply dolomite, as sufficient time is available for plant magnesium levels to lift for a largely trouble free-calving, and ensure high levels of per cow production throughout the remainder of spring.

For more information, call Peter on 0800 4Dolomite (0800 436 566).

AVOCADO

Page 54

Strong forecast for avocado grower returns New Zealand’s largest avocado exporter, AVOCO, is hinting at strong Orchard Gate Returns for growers this season on the back of surprisingly high demand for its product in Australia and across Asia.

This final OGR, due to be released later this month, is expected to be welcomed by AVOCO’s 700-plus growers and spark interest among nonsuppliers – all of whom have contributed to a record-breaking year for the industry.

About 4.5 million trays were exported out of a national crop of more than seven million trays.

New Zealand’s previous high was 6.2 million trays total crop in 2011-2012 when 3.7 million trays

were sent offshore.

About 63 per cent of the industry’s total exports have been handled by AVOCO this season since harvesting got underway at the end of August.

About two-thirds of shipments went to Australia while the remainder was split between Asia and the United States and marketed through AVANZA.

AVOCO directors John Carroll and Alistair Young are delighted with this avocado season’s results.

Pleasant surprise

AVOCO director Alistair Young says a financial analysis of the record-breaking season began in February after the final shipments were sent to Australia.

Figures are suggesting the 2014-2015 OGR result would be a pleasant surprise for growers who’ve historically received low returns for their fruit in years of high volume.

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“We’re still crunching the numbers but we believe the result will reflect the strong effort our teams put into managing this season’s record crop, which presented us with a range of challenges and opportunities.

“Our growers supplied us with top quality product and our marketing teams did an outstanding job of raising awareness of our fruit in Australia, where consumption grew by more than 35 per cent.

“This exceeded all our expectations, as we were competing against large volumes coming out of Western Australia and sending our retail customers more fruit at the same time. This increased demand gives us real confidence about the future under AVOCO.”

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In 2011-2012, growers received less than $10 a tray after New Zealand exporters flooded the Australian market – a result which prompted export rivals Southern Produce and Primor to merge and form AVOCO in an effort to better manage the flow of fruit.

High consumer demand in AVOCO’s inaugural 2013-2014 season, which was also a low-fruit volume year, resulted in tray prices in the mid to high $20 range, adjusted for fruit sizes.

This current high volume season was always expected to test AVOCO and its vision for market diversification is seen as critical to its success.

One-third of AVOCO’s exports were sent to the US and Asia through AVANZA, which handles 93 per cent of the industry’s shipments outside Australia.

The US market, in particular, served as a valuable “release valve” this season with just more than half of AVANZA’s volumes shipped to the US in a programme run in conjunction with US-based Mission Produce.

Investment in marketing activity to develop consumer interest in New Zealand avocados across Asia also paid off. Sales in Japan and Singapore grew by 144 per cent and 78 per cent respectively this season.

Combined entity

Director John Carroll says working together as a combined entity gave AVOCO its strength to coordinate and manage the supply of fruit with this season’s success proof that it could still achieve excellent returns to growers and the industry in years of heavy volume.

“With critical mass we have the ability to draw from a larger pool of people who are making intelligent, strategic decisions about our exports – and that ultimately helps to make the New Zealand industry and its growers more profitable in the long run.”

AVOCADO

Page 55

Growing on steeper terrain now possible low crop volume year, or when outside markets see a good value in New Zealand fruit because of quality.”

Operators coming from other types of elevated platforms into using an ATP say they are easy to get used to, as ATPs have so much more functionality and capability.

“Because our ATP machines are “It is common for operators new to extending the boundaries for cropping, elevated platforms to take to the ATP some orchardists are talking of plantmachines pretty quickly. We hear a ing more trees on what was previously lot of positive things around the ATP thought too steep terrain,” says Don machine. Probably the most common Rust of Mural Town Engineering, an comment is ‘you feel very safe’. As the owner and designer of the ATP. suspension system takes out up to 80 “At 25 degrees slope capability, with a per cent of the effect of bumps travelled big outreach, there is not much that an over, the ATP is very stable,” says Don. ATP cannot access.”

There is a lot of live The ATP harvesting machines feedback to the operaare easy to transport. tor via the screen in the cage, such as slope angles that are being operated on, weight in the cage, appropriate safety warnings, and system loads. “That removes any guesswork about whether you should be operating there or not.”

ATPs are not skidThe Katikati company has sold several steer so don’t tear the ground up, which machines to Australian clients includis a positive on manicured landscapes. ing one who admits to being afraid of ATPs are also used in the construction heights, but says he enjoys working industry sector and its compliance to from the ATP. After two weeks operatAS/NZS 14.18.10 2011 allows for that. ing the machine he was picking more MTE will provide a two-man cage for than 3000kg of avocados a day in his further models in that sector. orchard, which has a slope of 12-16 “The ability to multifunction and degrees. “ATPs are head and shoulders smooth proportional control that comes better than any other machine,” says the with joystick control has been well grower. received, as it also keeps the floor clear He had tried other types of machines, to put your feet anywhere and to face in but sent them packing when they were any direction. More than one operator breaking bottom branches and damaghas told us that going away from foot ing trees’ root systems. ATPs don’t need controls may have solved their sore to drive into the trees to harvest fruit. backs.

“More and more of our customers are “ATPs are a frugal machine to operate. saying ATPs are the new generation of We hear of fuel consumption of around elevated platform for difficult terrain,” one litre of fuel per hour in a normal says Don. day’s operating. Even though ATP “Harvesting fruit not previously accesmachines are working steeper slopes sible becomes very important when the and more difficult terrain than other value of each fruit is high, such as in a machines available, to date ATPs have a

Land previously considered too steep for avocado trees may now come into production, thanks to the cropping abilities of All Terrain Platforms machines.

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x Compliance to AS-NZS 14.18.10 x Continuous 360 o slew x Variable width and rating x 22 deg rating @ 2.3m wide x 25 deg rating @ 2.5m wide x Full proportional controls x Articulated booms x Large work envelope x Side levelling chassis

x On screen slope readout x Cage load indication x Over slope alarm x Dual oscillating axles x Auto stabilise locks x ‘Bump’ reduction technology x 4x4 (Hi-torque drives) x All drives include braking x Rough terrain tyres x Emergency descent x Multi failsafe x Auto/manual throttle x Diesel or Petrol engine x Hour meter x Cage cover x Easy cage access x Phone tray x 200kg & 220kg SWL x x x x x

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A number of the first of the new ATP Lite series machines are currently under assembly and should be available for delivery to clients soon. Don says there

is a lot of interest in the ATP Lite, an 8.6m working height (6.6m platform height) smaller, cheaper version of the super series, which has an 11m working height (9m platform height).

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Page 56

EARTHWORKS

Not much the D9 can’t shift If there’s a tree to fell on Sherida and Michael Cooper’s Katikati property, Michael has just the machine for the job – a 1958 D9E Caterpillar bulldozer.

Weighing around 50 tonne, with the blade in place, the huge machine and its 335hp engine can tackle almost any task, not that there’s much for it to do now.

There’s not much Michael Cooper Some time ago can’t move with his massive 1958 D9E Michael finished Caterpillar bulldozer. removing unwanted trees to create a park-like area on the orchard and the big D9E now sits quietly under one of the remaining large trees. Just occasionally Michael takes it for a sedate trundle and then has to repair the ‘damage’ the tracks have done The D9 has a 335hp engine. to the grass.

He believes the big machine was probably imported to New Zealand from America by the then Ministry of Works for building roads or even hydro stations. When Michael bought it in 2007, it was sitting in a paddock in Silverdale.

He’s spent hours repairing parts of the machine and learning to drive it. “They We specialise in driveways, reckon it takes five to six years to get the entranceways, tanker tracks, hard best out of an operator and out of one stands and more. of these machines. There’s a real art in We can offer you metal for farm driving it.”

The reason the bulldozer is still in such races, shed sites etc good order is that D9s were built to deliver to site ex quarry. operate 24 hours a day in harsh conditions. “I’ve seen them working on mines in New Guinea when the only time they stopped was to change operators, and re-fuel.”

Electrical trade

The D9 is one of several Caterpillars and other veteran machinery Michael owns; there’s a couple of classic cars too.

He’s an electrician by trade but has always had a fascination with things

mechanical. It was a Warwick Spirit Engine used to run a three-stand shearing plant which started his collection and he still has the 1912 machine which is in full working order.

“I came across this when I was an electrical apprentice, wiring up a shearing shed for electricity. These were pretty common in the days before electricity reached farms, and even after that, many farmers hung on to them because if there was a power cut they could keep shearing.”

The engine sits in front of a 19421943 International Tractor. “I know it’s around that date because they used to have German Bosch injectors but once war broke out with Germany, the name on the injectors was changed to International.”

Aircraft carrier

Nearby is another link with World War II – an all-electric Herbert Morris crane which was used on a British aircraft carrier. “These cranes were kept below-deck and brought up on an elevator when needed to load or off-load supplies. It’s pretty handy if I want to lift an engine out of a vehicle I’m working on,” says Michael.

Not far from the D9 is another crane built by the Hamilton company famous for its jet boats.

“Because of import costs it was highly expensive to bring in machinery from overseas so Hamilton would have imported just the tractor body and motor, without wheels or any fittings, and built the rest in New Zealand.

Hamilton sold a lot of these cranes throughout the country.”

There are two more Caterpillar tractors in a shed alongside the crane, awaiting Michael’s attention.

Those machines, the D9, and many others, were enjoyed by visitors to the Blokes in Shed Ramble held on March 21 as a fundraiser for a new St John Ambulance station in Katikati.

By Elaine Fisher

FORESTRY

GIS forestry conference ‘Are you ready?’ is the theme for a conference in May focusing on the impacts of Geographical Information Systems, commonly referred to as GIS technology, on the forestry industry.

The Forestry GIS conference is a forum to discuss whether GIS is changing, and the ways in which the industry captures, stores, and uses data. The conference runs over two days, May 27 and 28, at the Distinction Hotel in Rotorua.

The aim of the conference is to showcase new and emerging technologies and explore the issues relating to change adaptation and data management for GIS in forestry. Topics include apps and software used in tackling forest fires, disease and pest prediction, forest inventory using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, forest health and safety, forest transportation, cloud services, remote sensing, and open source software. Forestry GIS includes not both planted and indigenous.

For further information contact Marie Heaphy at marie.heaphy@scionresearch.com or phone 07 343 5554.

Great War legacy in New Zealand’s landscape The First World War didn’t just happen overseas – it had a major impact on New Zealand soil too.

No battles were fought here, but our landscape is signposted with thousands of poignant memorials for the Great War. Senior historians in the Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s history group, Imelda Bargas and Tim Shoebridge, have searched the country from Northland to Stewart Island to rediscover a huge number of places with wartime associations.

These include army camps, fortifications, soldier-settler farms, convalescent homes, cemeteries and war memorials, dairy factories, hat factories and woollen mills.

They share these discoveries in the beautifully illustrated and engagingly written book ‘New Zealand’s First World War Heritage’.

Behind the facades of old buildings, under scrub and behind farm fences

lie less visible landscapes of war and hundreds of stories waiting to be told – such as a soldier’s name carved on a remote railway station wall, a once-bustling uniform factory in the heart of a city and a long-abandoned gun battery and much more.

All of these places had lives after, and often before, the war – sometimes with other layers of meaning and association – and are among the places the authors describe in this book released to coincide with the centenary of the First World War. Thanks to Exisle Publishing, Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘New Zealand’s First World War Heritage’ to give away. To be in to win, send us your story and photos of a

place special to you which relates to New Zealand’s First World War history.

To be in to win, email your entry along with your name and address, with First World War Heritage Book Prize as the subject, to: elaine@thesun.co.nz Or post these details to: Coast & Country First World War Heritage Book Prize, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110, to arrive no later than April 27. The winner will be announced in Coast & Country’s June issue.

Page 57

Page 58

TRAVEL

High country adventurous tours NZ Adventures’ four wheel drive tours for 2016 include the Mackenzie Country Explorer and Southern Ranges Explorer.

“These five-day trips, scheduled for next year, are very popular tours through the

being the vast plateaus of the Hawkdun Range on the border between Canterbury and Otago and the huge sheep stations on the Lindis Pass.

“Day two of the tour takes in the Macauley Valley and offers the opportunity to drive well into the Southern Alps up the boulder-strewn glacial valley. It’s a chance to see chamois and red deer and an absolutely fantastic drive.

“Following, the gathering waters of the mighty glacial-sourced river of the Mac-

previously known as the Southern Lakes Explorer and is also five days but ventures into an altogether different area and landscape.

“Starting at Omarama this tour goes into the Lindis Pass area but on different tracks to others we use.

“The farming industry plays a big part in the southern ranges tour, as we travel through many well-known properties ranging from the extensive high country home of the merino through to the much more inten-

heartland of the South Island high country, through ever-changing and stunning views, crystal clear streams and along off-road tracks which you don’t have to share with anyone,” says Connie Crickett of NZ Adventures.

The Mackenzie trip starts in Geraldine and heads straight into the South Canterbury hill country on the way to the first overnight at scenic Lake Tekapo.

“The tracks and scenery in the Hunter Hills area behind Albury is amazing.”

Subsequent nights are in Omarama, Cromwell and Twizel with highlights of the trip

kenzie region down to the Waitaki is also amazing with a mix of canals and the braided riverbeds of the Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau rivers coming together in Lake Benmore.”

Day five is the opportunity to take in the western or wetter branch of the Manuherikia River valley catchment.

“The Mackenzie Country Explorer is a wide-ranging look through the central part of the South Island with a variety of scenery from high tussock ridges through vast pastoral areas and rocky alpine valleys.”

The Southern Ranges Explorer tour was

sive fat lamb farms of Northern Southland.”

Overnights include Alexandra, Gore, Cromwell and Cardrona.

“Highlights for most on the tour is meeting the landowners and seeing the farming operations,” says Connie.

“The contrast between the tawny browns of the high tussock lands and the lush green of Southland is always intriguing, as is the suddenness of the change. Also the many ranges we travel through. And a drive into Macetown on day four is always very enjoyable.”

NZ Adventures’ four wheel drive Mackenzie Country Explorer and Southern Ranges Explorer 2016 tours are a chance to drive through a big part of southern New Zealand not often seen and meet the people who live and work there.

Nepal experience not just for super-fit You don’t have to be super-fit to enjoy Skylark’s 18-day tour to Nepal say Wendy and Graham Hawkes, owners of the company which specialises in small group escorted tours to places worldwide.

“The first two hours of the trekking part of the itinerary is a leisurely walk through Nepalese villages and the ever-present rice fields,” says Wendy.

“At this stage, you are 900 metres above sea level without even realising it. The second stage is a 700metre climb to the lovely Annapurna Eco Village, where we stay overnight for some genuine Nepalese food and a close-up look at the sunrise over the near-by Annapurna range.”

Wendy says for those who do not feel they can cope

On the trail to the Annapurna Eco Village.

with the second stage climb, Skylark can arrange a jeep ride to the top. Thereafter the second and third days are very easy walking and would suit people with just a mild level of fitness.

“The thought of white water rafting can terrify some people initially, and on our last two tours to Nepal there have been ladies in that category. But having confronted their initial fears and got into the boat, it was hard to get them out again because they were enjoying it so much.” There are two days of rafting in the itinerary. Those who decide the water is not for them can stay with the tour bus and take photographs from the bank with the tour leader.

Skylark’s next tour to Nepal departs on November 11, 2015.

“Call us now, but before you do, take a look at the gallery on our website www.skylarktours.co.nz where there are photographs and a video showing some of the highlights of our previous tours.”

COUNTRY LIVING

Page 59

Risky fruit fly pathways need closing in place in New South Wales and Victoria. These controls no longer exist. So our focus needs to be on whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not happening to control fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y in Australia. We The people who live in the fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y control zone then need to take approprialso need to be thanked for their co-operation as the ate steps to make sure those control measures are being applied in their backrisky entry pathways into yards.

New Zealand are closed off.

The ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff is being assisted by a contingent It will likely take weeks from the kiwifruit industry as they work to contain for the fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies in Grey and eradicate the Queensland fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y.

Lynn to be eradicated As at March 18 14 fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies had and then a number been found and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expected further of months before fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies will be found before the MPI can be cerpopulation is eradicated. tain these fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies have been eradicated.

DNA testing suggests the fruit During this time the controlled area ďŹ&#x201A;ies are from the same source and fruit movement restrictions remain and MPI is conďŹ dent itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dealing ďŹ rmly in place; and kiwifruit will need to with a localised population and be picked, packed and shipped. eradication will be successful.

The issue for kiwifruit is the markets There is no reason to doubt this. that do not have Queensland fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y do not There are ďŹ ve properties within want it. Essentially, this is everywhere close proximity of each other where fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y larvae has been More Queensland fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies are likely except Australia and the couple of to be found in Auckland, as part of PaciďŹ c Islands that already have fruit found. The focus is on stopping breeding and eradicating the current eradication programme. ďŹ&#x201A;y established.

This is because female fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies lay all the adults, pupae and eggs inside ripe fruit and therefore Queensland fruit larvae. ďŹ&#x201A;ies can be transported through the movement of No fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies have been found outside of the confruit to other countries. trol area and, with the measures currently in place, the reasonable expectation is that none will be found.

The Minister and the Ministry for Primary Industries are to be congratulated on their world class response to the fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y ďŹ nds in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies and look across to Australia to see what we can do to restrict further fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies ďŹ nding their way to New Zealand.

Kiwifruit Vine Health, the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biosecurity agency, will do this in partnership with the Government and

other horticultural industries under Government Industry Agreements.

By working together we aim to greatly reduce the risk of fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y being found so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to run eradication programmes.

The views expressed are those of the author.

Restriction zone

Export produce

The question being asked is how did these fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies get to New Zealand? The ďŹ rst point is these are Queensland fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies and as their name suggests, their home country is Australia.

A couple of the PaciďŹ c Islands are unlucky enough to be infested with Queensland fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y as well as most of Australia, with the exception of Tasmania and South Australia.

The problem is a lot of produce is grown in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and some of that produce is exported to New Zealand either commercially, or by visiting yachts and air travellers. Until recently there were fruit ďŹ&#x201A;y controls

Restrictions are therefore imposed on any kiwifruit that is within the Export Restriction Zone, or ERZ, which is a 3.5km circular area MPI has established around the infected properties, or transiting through the ERZ. Luckily, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no kiwifruit grows within this zone.

However, kiwifruit does have to move through or around the ERZ. While this is going to have implications for moving fruit, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the worst case scenario. If these fruit ďŹ&#x201A;ies were found within a dense kiwifruit-growing region, like the Bay of Plenty, there would be signiďŹ cant problems.

Looking to the future we need to eradicate these

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Page 60

Changes to reduce ambiguity in subdivision applications The Resource Management Act Amendment 2013 came into play last month without much fanfare at all. I guess that’s because it’s business as usual for most of us working in this environment.

The changes are designed to reduce ambiguity about what information needs to be included with an application to enable a decision to be made on it within the prescribed timeframes. Also in need of

Employment Law Services

addressing was the ambiguity in the consent time frames and the inability for council officers to adopt all the information from an applicant’s report, which led to duplicated work and a corresponding increase in overall costs.

The overall intention of the recent change is to put the onus on the applicant to provide all the information so council can process the consent without delay.

The outcome has been that Schedule 4 of the RMA has been

amended and expanded to include a list of all the information councils require for an application for resource consent to be accepted – rather than have the requirements spread throughout the Act as they were.

Wider provisions

If an application fails to provide such information council must now return it to the applicant without processing.

As well as requiring an assessment of environmental effects, site plans, a description of the proposal and consents required along with an assessment against the objectives and policies of the District Plan, Schedule 4 also requires the application to take into account the wider provisions of the RMA and other relevant planning documents, including regional plans and National Environment Standards.

This sounds like a lot of information to provide with every subdivision application; so what does this mean to the average punter you may ask? In short – not a lot.

We have long been providing most of this information with our applica-

tions anyway. An important clause in the amendment is it requires ‘information to be provided in sufficient detail to satisfy the purpose for which it is needed’.

Sufficient detail

This means we will continue to have the conversation with council, around what constitutes sufficient detail, on a case by case basis.

This discussion needs to be had at a much earlier point in the process in order to determine council’s attitude to the level of information requirements. Without this feedback we cannot hope to balance the requirements of the Act with the reality of providing an economical and timely application on your behalf.

Whenever proposing development or subdivision of your land you will need a resource consent from council and have to comply with the many technical conditions attached.

The first step is to discuss this with a professional surveying company, experienced in the type of application required. If you think we can help, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

Brent Trail, Managing Director of Surveying Services, specialises in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Coromandel. For further information call 07 862 8963 or email btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz

Lessons to be learned from offensive cake case The Human Rights Review Tribunal on March 2, 2015, awarded Karen Hammond more than $168,000 in damages from her former employer, New Zealand Credit Union Baywide, following a Facebook breach of privacy and “loss of dignity”.

Karen left NZCU in March 2012. Five days later she made a cake for her friend, who she believed had been constructively dismissed from NZCU. The cake was decorated with “Credit Union Baywide f*** you” and “c***s”. The cake was dessert at a private dinner party for 10 people. An image of the cake was posted on Karen’s private Facebook page.

NZCU accessed a copy of the image of the cake and distributed this to recruitment agencies and Karen’s new employer.

NZCU then offered Karen’s new employer financial support to take professional advice regarding terminating Karen’s employment.

NZCU also halted business with Karen’s new employer, resulting in Karen resigning from her new position, to save her new employer’s business suffering.

The tribunal not only awarded Karen damages, they also made orders for NZCU to apologise to Karen, retract statements made to recruitment companies, retract statements made to NZCU staff about Karen, and ordered NZCU, at its own expense, to train their management staff in relation to their obligations under the Privacy Act 1993.

We suggest employers have in place a social media policy for their organisation, and an understanding of their obligations under the Privacy Act 1993.

If you would like an electronic version of this case, please email wendy@accordservices.co.nz.

This article is intended as a point of reference and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice. Specialist advice should always be sought in relation to any particular circumstances and no liability will be accepted for any losses incurred by those relying solely on this article.

COUNTRY LIVING

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Big or small, they do it all The Tree Fellers team, from left, is Joe Anderson, Shawn Moriarty, Peter Blair and not pictured, Beadene Oldham. to regarding quotes, questions, and arranging jobs.

Removing a huge red wood tree growing Tree Fellers offer free quotes and advice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Somewithin three metres of a house without times trees donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be removed to restore a view damaging the building might seem a near or reduce shading and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where our expertise at impossible task. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just one of the jobs the crown lifting, which is removing lower limbs to lift up the base, comes into play. Removing dead wood also team at Tree Fellers of Tauranga complete makes trees safer.â&#x20AC;? without a hitch.

Tree Fellers will ďŹ nd out if trees are covered by any protection orders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some trees growing on council â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a challenge but with careful planning, qualiďŹ ed and skilful staff, and the right equipment we safely verges may not belong to council and can be removed if residents wish. removed the tree and the homeowner was delighted,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no limit to how high we can get. In fact, says Tree Fellers owner Peter Blair. we have quick access to cherry pickers for elevated However, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not only the really big jobs like that work and bring in cranes when needed. Servicing the one which the team carry out. wider Bay of Plenty area, we come to you anywhere â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do everything from pruning fruit trees, trimin Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Te Puke, Papamoa, ming hedges and felling trees to land clearing, stump removal, shelter belt topping, and crown lifting. Big or Katikati, Waihi, Rotorua, Whakatane, and Matamata.â&#x20AC;?

Mulching and chipping is another part of the service small, we do it all,â&#x20AC;? says Peter. and Tree Fellers will deliver free mulch for gardens and The Tree Fellers team are; Joe Anderson, cherry orchards. picker/access specialist and training arborist, in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mulch is fantastic for trees and gardens, especially in trade for ďŹ ve years; Shawn Moriarty-Rae, qualiďŹ ed hot summer weather as it helps keep the soil moist. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arborist, climber, in the trade 16 years; owner Peter not like bark because it sweats and creates an environBlair who has been in and around the trade â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;for a long ment which beneďŹ ts soil life and plants. I use it on my timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and Beadene Oldham, grounds man and new trainee. Peter and Shawn are the people clients will talk garden all the time.â&#x20AC;?

Study from home supported by free tutorials and practical workshops

Please continue to slip, slop, slap, and wrap New Zealand and Australia undoubtedly have the highest rates for both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer in light skinned populations in the world.

So what can we do about this?

We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to move. We love where we live, and who would not envy us for living in the Bay of Plenty?

The main modiďŹ able risk for skin cancer is therefore UV exposure.

Research has shown that melanoma risk is strongly associated with blistering sunburns between the ages of 15 to 20 years, so please look after your children and teenagers.

However, do not get slack in your older days as continued exposure increases your risk for non-mela-

noma skin cancer such as Basal Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma. There is plenty of evidence that regular sunscreen use prevents the development of melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, and photo ageing (wrinkles).

Most of us use a fraction of the recommended amounts of sunscreen and even if used appropriately it does not provide complete protection. Shade and protective clothing are still an essential part of being sun smart. Did you know that most burns happen during home based activities such as gardening and not at the beach?

There have been controversies regarding safety and efďŹ cacy of sunscreens. However, published data has shown sunscreens protect

against skin cancer, and do not cause subnormal vitamin D levels or an association with systemic toxicity in humans. Reassuringly, New Zealand research has shown that exposure of hands, face and neck for three minutes per day in Auckland summer through to about 60 minutes per day in Invercargill winter is sufďŹ cient to maintain normal vitamin D levels. So please continue to slip, slop, slap, and wrap.

If you have any concerns about your skin or would like a skin examination (skin check) make an appointment to see a specialist dermatologist.

For further information please contact the Skin Centre on 0800 SkinCentre (754 623).

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COAST & COUNTRY

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trades & services Tuesday 31 March

Ballance Farm Environment Awards: Winners Field Day Join John and Catherine Ford at Highland Station, 171 Highlands Rd, Rotorua, to find out why their farm won the Bay of Plenty supreme award. Morning tea at 9.30am. Event runs from 10am-3pm. For info email: Kirsten Winter at bop@bfea. org.nz or ph 027 572 1244.

Wednesday 1 April

Beef + Lamb demonstration farm field day. Forage use in a high performance sheep system includes guest speakers. From 10.30am-3pm at 248 Potaka Rd, Aria. Come along at 10am for a cup of tea. Barbecue and refreshments at conclusion.

For more information, email Andrew Jolly andrew.jolly@ beeflambnz.com

Wednesday April 8

Saturday 11 April

we’d love to see as many past members as possible. Ph 07 824 6527 or email jhrennie@farmside.co.nz

Heaps of Trophies & Classes; Hot rods, muscle cars, Classics, Vintage & Motorcycles.

No Jappa’s. Entry Fee; Gold coin donation.

9am Saturday 11th April Main Street, Katikati.

Orini Garden Club 50th Jubilee Celebration.Orini Hall, Waikato. All welcome and

Thursday April 9 Beef + Lamb Resilient farmer roadshow.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is a gold sponsor of this new venture from Marlborough farmer Doug Avery. Using seminars and ongoing mentoring, it aims to support farmers across three pillars: financial, environmental, and social.

From 12pm at Fahrenheit Restaurant, 13 Roche St, Te Awamutu, and 4pm at Taumaranui Council Chambers, 59 Huia St, Taumarunui.

e We servic of all makes pumps

5th Annual Happy Days Car Show in Katikati.

Sunday 12 April

Waikato Triumph Car Club Annual classic car show and swapmeet at Te Awamutu Racecourse, Racecourse Rd, Te Awamutu, from 7.30pm. Trial bike displays, classic cars, bouncy castle, vintage cars, hot rods and more.

Fundraiser for Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance. Show cars and drivers: gold coin donation. Passenger $5 each, swapmeet sellers $10 per site. Public $5 each, under 12s enter for free.

Thursday 23 April

Waikato Balance Farm Environment Awards 2015 at Don Rowlands Centre, Karapiro.

These flagship awards find and celebrate role models who show how an environmentally sensitive approach can be part of a profitable farm business and can inspire and motivate others by example. To find out more, visit www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

Alpaca Open Day

Hacienda Suri Alpaca Stud, 1005 Whakamarama Rd, Tauranga, from 10am-4pm.

Interact and learn about these endearing animals. An opportunity to see alpacas up close.

Hand feed them and feel just how soft their fleece is.

Free entry.

To list your rural event please email: julie@thesun.co.nz with Rural Event in the subject heading.

17 0( $7

3 (33( 5

Sunday 3 May %(5 75 7,0 ( 6

runon listings

for sale PULLETS Hy-line Brown, great layers. Phone 07 824 1762 www.eurekapoultryfarm.weebly.com

cars wanted WE ALWAYS PAY MORE!

$1000 CASH per week

0800 382 828

ONLY $20+gst for 20 words to showcase your services as a Run-On Listing. Phone 07 928 3677 today!

join a club WIN $500 CASH Monthly.

Join Te Puna Hunting & Fishing club for only $10 per adult and enter our monthly competition Prime Explosives 500, you could win $500 Cash every month. Check out www.tepunahuntfishclub.co.nz or check out our facebook page to keep upto date www.facebook.

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Ph 552 4888

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 63

www.harcourts.co.nz ADVANTAGE REALTY LTD MREINZ

Advantage Realty Ltd MREINZ Licensed Agent REAA 2008

5

Tauranga Central Office – 07 578 0879 Cherrywood Office – 07 576 8770 Bethlehem Office – 07 579 2206 Mount Central Office – 07 575 6384 Papamoa Office – 07 542 9012 Te Puke Office – 07 573 4754

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COAST & COUNTRY

Page 64 The knight in shining armour, Daniel Robinson, aged 6, just rescued his princess Imogen, aged 3.

Leo is watching the bumble bees. There was one or two bees in every pumpkin flower.

Sent in by Hazel Emmett.

Our chocolate lab Gemma enjoying a feed of milk and Weetbix with the piglets.

Photo by Justine Brown.

COAST & COUNTRY PRIZE UP FOR GRABS! Pictures and details can be emailed (high resolution jpgs) to sarah@thesun.co.nz “Country Camera” or posted to Coast & Country, PO Box 240, Tauranga. Please include a name, address and phone number with every entry.

This ram is Willow, with best friend Indie the miniature dachshund.

It walked around for about 10 minutes with her on the back! So cute!

Sent in by Briar Wood.