Coast & Country News September 2016

September 2016 Issue No.193

500 year project PAGE 4-5

WHAKATANE

Eighteen-year-old Buddy with Vanessa Donnelly of Cambridge RDA and Nash Francis. Buddy is one of 10 horses at the Cambridge RDA facility where therapist Nash uses acupressure, speciďŹ c trigger point therapy and soft tissue manipulation to relieve aches and pains the horses experience. Read the story on pages 6-7. Photo Elaine Fisher.

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Page 2

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Small town – Pacific nation “Tonight, Katikati has become a Pacific nation,” said Recognised Seasonal Employer workers scheme’s Tongan liaison officer Sefita Haoluli.

He was talking at a memorial service in Katikati for five Tongan men who died in a road crash on State Highway 2, near the town in August.

Describing the small Bay of Plenty rural community as a ‘Pacific nation’ may sound a little grand but Sefita was acknowledging the cultural diversity of those attending the service, from fellow RSE employees from Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands to local iwi representatives and Europeans. “You are here because you wish to share our sorrow, not just here but back home too.”

More than 500 people filled the Katikati Christian Centre to remember the lives of father Uloupini (Stephen) Vaipulu, 44, and son Koli Vaipulu (son), 21, and friends Sione Teulaka, 21, Samuela Taukatelata, 28, and Halani Fine, 28.

All were employed at Aongatete Coolstores, with four being part of the RSE workers scheme. The outpouring of grief and support for the men’s families and co-workers demonstrated how highly they and others on the RSE scheme are valued in the community. A trust fund has been set up to support their families – see story page 9.

Tragically, the five men died after the vehicle they were travelling in turned from Dawson Lane onto

Kiwi Farmers Love Gypsum

State Highway 2 and into the path of a logging truck.

At the time of publish, the cause of the crash had not been released but the stretch of road between Katikati and Tauranga is regarded as risky by locals.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges describes it as “a complex and potentially treacherous road”.

He says $85m worth of safety improvements designed to reduce death and serious injury crashes will be invested into the area as part of the $520m roading package announced in April.

The need for road safety improvements can’t be disputed but attention must also be given to driving skills and responsibility. Deaths on our roads have risen from 253 in 2013 to 320 in 2015. And from January 1 and August 15 this year 208 people have died on our roads.

In addition, hundreds of others have been seriously injured; some will never return to a full active lifestyle. If it was a disease causing those kinds of tragic impacts on a population, billions of dollars would be invested in finding a treatment or cure.

While money is being spent on roads, the costs of gaining driver licences is rapidly becoming prohibitive for many, especially younger drivers, meaning more are either unlicensed or aren’t bothering to gain their full licence. Then there are the scammers who are selling false licences.

The road safety slogan of a few years back ‘Rural people die on rural roads’ is still true and to change that we need to improve both our roads and the skills of our drivers.

Elaine Fisher

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS and feeding systems. Landcorp and other farmers returning to growing their own supplementary feeds and buying in NZ-grown supplements will be good thing on many levels, says Colin.

Rural economies

“It’s key to that over-used word ‘sustainability’.

“Growing maize crops, for example, helps reduce nitrogen leaching as maize roots can extract the nitrogen from deeper down in the soil than grass can.”

Supporting local contractors, who grow and harvest supplementary crops, also helps keep rural communities economically viable.

“There is a massive multiplication factor in the value of local industries.”

Landcorp’s decision to stop feeding its livestock Palm Kernel Expeller is being applauded by two New Zealand farmers who, following a visit to Malaysia four years ago, raised serious concerns about biosecurity risks associated with the feed.

Colin MacKinnon of the Bay of Plenty and David Clark of the South Island say the decision of New Zealand’s biggest farmer to stop using PKE is great news for New Zealand.

“It is good to see NZ’s largest farmer farming in a sustainable manner and taking a pride in what it produces,” says David, who is Federated Farmers grain and seed vice-chairman

Bio-security incursions

David and Colin say farmers growing supplementary feeds and contracting businesses growing and harvesting it spend money locally, supporting a wide range of service and retail industries.

On another level, local schools and community groups benefit too.

As well as his previous concerns about PKE, Colin is also worried about the increasing biosecurity incursions affecting NZ’s primary industries from the vine disease Psa-V in kiwifruit to velvetleaf for cropping industries; and most recently the pea weevil.

In July the pea weevil Bruchus pisorum was found in pea seeds grown on eight different Wairarapa properties and in three seed storage facilities in the region.

Elaine Fisher

“The official site we visited was excellent but when we asked where that palm kernel was going, we were told to Europe.

“None of it went to New Zealand.”

Foot and mouth

In the second facility the PKE, which is a byproduct of the palm oil industry, was exposed to contamination by birds, animals and insects. And Colin says there was no way to trace exactly where the feed sent to NZ came from because the production from several plants was required to make up the shipments.

“Malaysia has foot and mouth disease among its animals, and animals graze in the palm plantations, which is of real concern for NZ.” Of concern too is the potential for the arrival of other unwanted pests and diseases in the PKE shipments.

Regulations tightened

As a result of the report they wrote following their visit, David says the Minister for Primary Industries made changes to import regulations for PKE, which were “long overdue and essential”.

David says NZ has the ability to grow high quality feed for the dairy industry and has a great story to tell about its farming industry.

“A number of different feeds are grown in NZ, including grass, maize and cereal silage.”

Colin says he’s surprised farmers’ unions among our trading partners haven’t protested about the amount of imported feed used by NZ’s dairy industry.

While PKE has proved a valuable supplement in times of drought, Colin says the dairy industry has come to rely on it year-round and a whole industry has developed around its importation, distribution

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Colin, who is currently arable chairman for Federated Farmers BOP, says the move reflects a trend being seen among other farmers too. “It will help make NZ safer from biosecurity incursions and possible trade access issues.”

Their comments follow an announcement by Landcorp chief executive Steven Carden that all Landcorp farms will transition to alternative feed supplements

by June 2017.

“One of the real points of difference for NZ farming is our ability to grow grass and produce grass-fed animals. There is a growing interest in this food globally,” says Steven.

When Colin and David visited Malaysia as delegates at an official Palm Industry Board Conference four years ago they paid an official visit to a PKE operation but also managed unofficial visits to another.

What they saw raised serious concerns, says Colin.

Page 3

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Page 4

Four decades into a 500-year project +$< 6,/$*( 675$: 6833/,(6

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In 1994 Sue van Dorsser promised her husband Jaap that when she retired she would work with him on his ambitious native restoration project along the banks of the Awahou Stream until he turned 70.

That was more than 20 years ago. “This is not quite how I expected to spend my retirement, but we enjoy it and it keeps us fit,” says Sue, a former physiotherapist who met her Dutch husband-to-be through the Rotorua Tramping and Skiing Club in the 1950s.

Currently, every Wednesday the couple, both now in their 80s, together with friends Jan Gifford and Peter Goodwin, enter the rapidly growing native forest to care for the thousands of trees planted there during the last 40 years.

The revegetation of the Awahou Stream, which flows along Jaap and Sue’s lifestyle block near Ngongotaha and farms belonging to their neighbours, began well before the couple retired. And it is for his work on this and a raft of other projects that Jaap was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for service to the environment this year.

Jaap, who immigrated to New Zealand in 1953, went on to more than put down his own roots in this country. He’s overseen and taken part in the planting and regeneration of thousands of native trees around Rotorua, and is well-respected nationally and internationally as an expert and teacher in forestry and planting methods.

Streams transformed

The citation for Jaap’s medal says: “His work planting, clearing stream areas, and removing noxious weeds and rubbish has made a significant difference to the community and to the environment. He has led many pro-

Jaap and Sue van Dorsser have spent 40 years planting native trees along the banks of the Awahou Stream. jects, sharing his skills and enthusiasm to achieve the successful regeneration of huge areas of native bush around the region, transforming the Ngongotaha, Hamurana and Awahou streams, Lake Rerewhakaaitu, the Horohoro region, and many of the Te Arawa Iwi rivers”.

“He works closely with regional and local councils and iwi as part of Progress Ngongotaha and the Awahou Stream Care group. Mr van Dorsser has donated thousands of native seedlings and built walkways and bridges to enhance plantings, and is an enthusiastic teacher, regularly taking sessions with schools and other community volunteers.”

To walk through the forest Jaap and Sue-

have helped create is like walking through a diary of much of their lives for the last several decades.

“These trees were planted in 1994,” says Jaap, as we climb over a fence into an area of tall, well established trees. And later we walk through the year 2000, and on to progressively younger-but-still-impressively-tall trees to reach the area known as 2014.

“This is as far as we will go with the work, and over there is what it and most of this area was like before we started,” says Jaap, pointing to a grove of tall and tangled barberry, with bare ground under its dark canopy.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 5

Native plantings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a diary of coupleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life continued...

â&#x20AC;&#x153;These show the size of the barberry we cut out and poisoned,â&#x20AC;? says Sue, indicating the large stumps cut off at ground level. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a 500-year project but we hope to get it to the stage where it can take care of itself before we die,â&#x20AC;? says Jaap.

While most of the plantings have been carried out since 1994, Sue and Jaap did plant some trees from 1965 to 1987 before leaving to work in Australia. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we returned in 1994 the trees were almost completely smothered in blackberry,â&#x20AC;? says Sue. The task of cutting and removing the dense and prickly blackberry had to be done by hand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Surpris-

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We came upon a major one in 2001 and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council supplied us with a mobile crane and digger â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and with 12 friends we cleaned it up in a day.â&#x20AC;? The gully where the dump was is now lush with native vegetation.

Removable bridge

All this work has been to restore the banks and water quality of the stream and Jaap would love to see the project extend from the main source in the Mamaku Ranges to Lake Rotorua. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not in my lifetime I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think, but maybe others will pick up where we leave off.â&#x20AC;?

The Awahou Stream doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always co-operate with the volunteersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hard work. It is prone to fast and very high ďŹ&#x201A;oods, which threaten the stability of its banks. But Jaap has used his knowledge to plant species that will withstand the torrents.

In one place heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s installed a removable bridge to cross the stream where a permanent one would not survive.

During the years many volunteers have helped with the project, but the most faithful have been Jan Gifford and her husband Ham, who died in 2013; and more recently Peter Goodwin and Tim Sharp.

Jaapâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s childhood, growing up in a forest at Mook, on the Dutch/German border, and his later career in the New Zealand Forest Service helped foster his love of trees and the environment.

His commitment to the many projects heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been involved in runs deep. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My philosophy has always been that the environment is more important than people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; because people stuff things up.

Stuff ups

Tall native trees grow where animals once grazed thanks to the work of Jaap and Sue van Dorsser. ingly most of the trees had survived under all that, though some of them werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t growing straight,â&#x20AC;? says Jaap. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the Awahou Stream project has been the cleaning up of other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rubbish dumps,â&#x20AC;? writes Jaap, in his book called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Putting Down Rootsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only way we can counter the stuff ups is to do something to reverse it. Without the environment, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got nothing. If that falls away â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where are we? â&#x20AC;&#x153;You probably canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t arrest the decline completely but you can make improvements in certain areas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only way that individuals can react is to do something locally. By doing something locally you may inďŹ&#x201A;uence peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thoughts and you may encourage change in attitudes world wide â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who knows. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I have achieved anything along these lines through my efforts, then I am satisďŹ ed.â&#x20AC;?

Elaine Fisher

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Buddy benefits from acupuncture therapy Buddy is sore and a little nervous but nonetheless stands quietly as Vanessa Donnelly holds his halter and Nash Francis skilfully inserts acupuncture needles into his chest.

Since then Nash has been donating her expertise and treatments for Cambridge RDA horses, as she does with horses at the Waikato RDA in Hamilton, working that around her

full-time role as a practitioner treating horses, cats and dog through her business called Animal Muscle Release Therapy Ltd. This is Buddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

second treatment and while he accepts Nashâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needles without complaint, he does lift his feet in an attempt to avoid the ones she places just above his front hooves. However, Nash is quick and deft and once the needles are in, Buddy stands quiet again.

Body language

The 18-year-old is one of 10 horses at the Cambridge Riding for the Disabled facility, where up to 70 children and adults ride in different sessions four days a week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All our horses learn to compensate for riders who often canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support themselves in the saddle the way an experienced rider would â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that can lead to back, neck and leg problems for the horses,â&#x20AC;? says Vanessa, who is the manager of Cambridge RDA. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I recently attended a workshop Nash presented at a conference and immediately recognised that some of our horses were displaying the symptoms she spoke about, so asked her to come to work with them.â&#x20AC;?

Nash Francis gains pleasure from seeing the positive effects of treatments on the quality of life of the animals she cares for

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One set of needles inserted in Buddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoulder set up a very visible muscle twitch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are still people who are sceptical about the effectiveness of acupuncture,â&#x20AC;? says Nash. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The results we gain with animals show itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a case of mind over matter, as some claim happens with humans.â&#x20AC;?

Nash watches Buddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body language, including his eyes and ears, to gauge his responses, predicting ahead of time, his reactions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He will stop rolling his eyes.â&#x20AC;?

And he does. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Buddy will begin chewing.â&#x20AC;? And he does. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Horses probably tell us more about how effective the treatment is than humans, because people tend to overthink how they feel. Horses just show it.â&#x20AC;?

As well as needles, Nash also uses her hands for acupressure and speciďŹ c trigger point therapy and soft tissue manipulation. She works on his back, his head, especially around his ears, and even manipulates Buddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tail, something he appears to enjoy.

Gently Nash opens Buddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mouth and after a little initial reluctance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but deďŹ nitely no biting â&#x20AC;&#x201C;the horse allows her to manipulate his tongue, aiming, she says to help release muscles through his head, neck and shoulders.

Ready for sleep

After more than half an hour of treatment Buddy is so relaxed he appears ready for a sleep â&#x20AC;&#x201C; his eyelids close and he lowers his head. He will be rested from riding duties and Nash will treat him one more time, with follow-up treatments as required.

With the treatment over, Nash leaves for her next appointment. Her clients include racehorses, dogs and cats â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even treated goats.

Born of Pakistani and Iranian parents, Nash had a fascinating upbringing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My parents met in England and moved back to Iran where they set up a breeding stud involved in the breeding and racing of thoroughbred horses. They also bred Dobermans and German shepherds as part of the business.â&#x20AC;?

Extensive training

From a young age Nash took part in various equestrian disciplines, such as show jumping and racing of Arabs and thoroughbreds. Her love of animals, and horses in particular, made it inevitable she would pursue a career involving them.

Nash has trained in various aspects of the stud and racing world in several of the most inďŹ&#x201A;uential countries such as Ireland, England, New Zealand and Australia.

She has a wide range of qualiďŹ cations including completing the Irish National Stud Breeding Course and gaining a John Durkan scholarship for two yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; study of race management in the United Kingdom. ...continued

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 7

Treatment works for horses, cats and dogs too continued...

She has also worked at the Darley Stud in one of their main breeding studs in Ireland, the global breeding operations owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vicepresident of the United Arab Emirates.

wellness and performance in Australia.

In 2015 she attended a Biomechanics workshop conducted by Sharon May Davis.

Dissection

It could be said Nash knows her patients inside out because she has also Stud manger attended a dissection When she came to New workshop on muscles, Zealand, and drawing on fascia, skeletal system, her management skills, internal organs and acuNash worked as a horse puncture fascial trains. stud manager for a number She’s also now getof years for a well-known ting her qualification to boutique Waikato Thorbecome an accredited oughbred stud-farm. There saddle fitter through an her work consisted of Cambridge RDA manager Vanessa Donnelly holds Buddy’s halter while Australian qualification. spelling racehorses, foaling Nash Francis applies acupressure and specific trigger point therapy Today she enjoys and preparing yearlings, and soft tissue manipulation. working with animals supervising horses for from high performance rehabilitation and caring for post-surgery completing both the Equine Muscle Release racehorses, to agility dogs and pedigree cats patients.

Therapy and Cat & Canine Muscle Release to family pets – and, of course, the RDA “However, I discovered I didn’t enjoy Therapy. She has studied under Dr Kerry horses, taking pleasure in seeing the positive management as much as working more Ridgeway, Dr David Gilchrest and also effects of the treatments and their impact directly with horses.” with a traditional Chinese medicine teacher on the quality of life of the animals she So she travelled to Australia to attend the in Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupunccares for.

Elaine Fisher Equus College of Learning & Research ture and Acupressure for equine and canine

Have a go at haiku writing in Katikati contest The Katikati Haiku Contest is an opportunity for children and adults to get creative with poetry writing.

Haiku – pronounced as hi-coo – poems, reflect a personally-significant moment conveyed by one or two images, presented in a small number of words and are fun to write, say the contest organisers.

This year the prize pool for seniors is $175 and $85 for junior entrants thanks to sponsors Kings Seeds.

Plus there is a book prize for the Best Local Haiku.

All proceeds go to the Katikati Haiku Pathway project, which supports the town’s riverside pathway, featuring boulders engraved with haiku poems.

Poems should be typewritten, or otherwise clearly handwritten. Submit two copies of each haiku or sheet of haiku with onky one copy including name, address, phone number, email – and for the junior section only, their age. Junior entrants should be 17 or under on October 31.

Haiku should not have been previously published.

Please do not decorate or illustrate entries. Entry fee: Senior: $5 for every three haiku or $2 for one haiku.

Junior: $1 for up to two haiku. Schools are welcome to send bulk entries. Make cheques payable to Katikati Haiku Pathway Committee. Closing date for entries is October 31.

Send entries to: Katikati Haiku Contest, PO Box 183. Katikati 3166 Lesson plans and helpful Haiku writing tips can be

found at: Learning to Write Haiku by Katherine Raine, poetrysociety.org.nz/ HaikuHelp Katherine writes that a Haiku is a “very short poem which needs to be very sharp to touch us”. “Its brevity and focus give it a keen point. The most amazing quality of haiku

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Here’s a sample of captions suggested for the photograph.

“A variation on beef wellingtons” wrote Johanna Schwartfeger of Papamoa. “Pork in boots” said Brian McCready of Te Puke.

“I couldn’t resist it – buy one pair get the second pair free” came from Gav Brears of Turangi. And “My mamma told me pigs are supposed to like mud – I think she was lying” came from Natalie Bylsma of Tuakau. Sharron Ruiterman of Bombay sent in: “Well what do you expect when you call a pig Dorothy? Now where is the yellow brick road?”. “Bet these boots don’t stay shiny for long” was sent in by Jan Webber of Hamilton. And “This little piggy wants to paint the town red” is from

by Cushla Chubb of Oparau. While “First up, best dressed” is by Murray Chubb of Oparau.

Brian and Kay Meikle of Waiuku sent in three captions: “I feel like a puss in boots” and “Some sow has stolen my Red Bands!!” and “If this rain continues I’ll need waders”.

“Curiously Cute Quad” came from Annette Cranfield of Morrinsville. And “Keeping dry so I can fly” is Grant Cranfield’s suggestion.

Raewyn and Bill Storey of Matamata came up with four captions: “First up - best dressed!” and “Bye Mum – I’m off to market” and “I’ve got more pairs like this at home” and lastly: “When Dad see’s this he’ll be lost for grunts!” While L R Crafar of Tauranga suggested: “A piglet stole our gummies”.

The winning caption comes from Tom Jackson of Taupo with: “Paddington Pig loses his coat and hat!”

Tom wins a copy of ‘What could it be?’ by Sally Fawcett, published by Exisle.

Caption this month’s photo (above right) and be in to win a copy of ‘The Essential Edible Pharmacy’, published by Exisle Publishing. ‘Leafy greens will save your life’ – that’s not a statement anyone adverse to

FU

N NIE

S

A photograph of a very cute piglet in bright red gumboots tickled the funny bones of Coast & Country News readers, judging by the entries in the July Country Funnies contest.

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Pig in boots too cute

C

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 8

eating vegetables probably wants to hear, but the information, photographs and recipes in Sophie Manolas’ book ‘The Essential Edible Pharmacy’ could well change their minds.

Sophie’s beautifully illustrated and informative book features 60 of the most commonly available nutrient-dense foods covering leafy greens, brassica, root vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, fruits, plus herbs and spices.

Sophie is a clinical nutritionist, who has developed corporate wellness programmes and runs community workshops for groups from new mums to the elderly.

The author certainly practises what she preaches.

After a long struggle with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, she discovered a change in diet to be the only effective treatment.

Thanks to publisher Exisle, Coast & Country News has a copy of ‘The Essential Edible Pharmacy’ to give away. To be in to win, send in your captions for this photo below along with your name and address, with Country Funnies as the subject, to: elaine@thesun. co.nz Or put these details on the back of an envelope and post to: Country Funnies, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140. Entries need to arrive by September 26. Winners will be announced in the November issue of Coast & Country News.

Solar pumps answer for remote locations Franklin Electric has developed a rugged, highoutput solar pumping system, which tackles the challenges of harsh and remote environments, says Des Cook of Stallion Pumps in Tauranga.

“Franklin Electric’s latest solar product is the allin-one package called the Fhoton, which combines quality components and innovative thinking based on global technical expertise in ground water pumping.”

And the company’s tried-and-proven Solar SubDrive SolarPAK is still available. This system offers full compatibility with remote monitoring and access parameters to allow owners and operators full access to the system whether on-site or remotely.

“No other system delivers the features, benefits and reliability of the Fhoton SolarPAK in just one package.”

Des says Franklin Electric, which Stallion Pumps is the New Zealand agent for, designs and manufactures

The SubDrive SolarPAK System is ideal for providing water anywhere the sun shines. Powered by a renewable energy source, it is capable of tackling the challenges of the harshest environments. Discover the new power in solar pumping and get the quality you expect from the name you already trust.

You’ll find everything you need with SubDrive Solar.

solar pumping system to meet individual applications up to 150kW. “Franklin Electric not only supplies the solar pump, solar motor and solar controller but also the panels and arrays, sized to meet the exact demand of each system.”

The feature of the Fhoton and SubDrive include a high flow system for faster tank filling and significant water output plus proven motor and pump technology and reliability. The Fhoton is optimised for use with DC solar arrays, and SubDrive with DC and AC power inputs.

The soft-start feature prevents water hammer and increases the life of the system. The system can be operated by a new solar array or retrofitted to an existing array, depending on a size and performance check. Installation is simple and no maintenance is required as the systems have built-in diagnostics and protection.

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 9

Trust fund set up to support Tongan men’s families Post-harvest company Aongatete has set up a trust to help support the families of five Tongan men killed in a traffic accident on State Highway 2 near Katikati last month.

Father Uloupini (Stephen) Vaipulu, 44, and son Koli Vaipulu (son), 21, and friends Sione Teulaka, 21, Samuela Taukatelata, 28 and Halani Fine, 28, died after the vehicle they were travelling in turned from Dawson Lane onto State Highway 2 and into the path of a logging truck.

The crash, which occurred opposite their place of work, has left the Tongan community both in New Zealand and in Tonga and the wider Katikati community in shock.

Aongatete director Allan Dawson says the Tongan men working at Aongatete had pledged to support their families left at home in Tonga and in particular educate their children, brothers and sisters.

“It is my intention to co-ordithe Recognised Seasonal Employ“The fifth man was earning money to be under the control of approprinate, where possible, a number ment scheme, which we all carry on his education to be a counsel- ately-appointed trustees and all donations will be acknowledged. of other funds which have been recognise as being critical to both lor. He didn’t want to be a burden on offered. For example the New the New Zealand kiwifruit indushis mother and Zealand Kiwifruit Growers and try and horticulture in general, brothers.

HortNZ emergency fund and and the Tongan community and “Aongatete has Givealittle page set up by the families themselves,” says Allan. pledged to honour Tongan Community in Auckland.

If you would like to make a conthe pledges of “Aongatete would sincerely like tribution, the details for this are: these men and to thank those who have sent Bank Deposit to: Westpac: 03 believes a trust that messages of sympathy and condo- 1550 0017661 02 Aongatete meets educational lences following the recent fatal Coolstores Ltd requirements of accident that claimed the lives of Cheques to: Aongatete Trust these families is the five Tongan men working at the (Tongan Appeal) most appropriate site and for expressions of interest Cash: Appropriately labelled vehicle. to contribute to the trust fund set to the reception at the Aonga“A number up for the Tongan families. tete Coolstores Ltd main office, of companies, Mourners at a Katikati memorial service for the men.

“Four of these men were part of Dawson Lane. corporates and individuals have asked to support this trust and in fact CAPITAL TRACTORS many have already sent money to us for this purpose.

“Some of these people are other staff members who cannot afford to donate money but who have none the less turned up with envelopes of cash.”

Allan says the affairs of the trust will

Career turns dreams into a reality The Royal New Zealand Navy’s Petty Officer Diver Shaun Heaslip, from Matamata, is living out a childhood dream.

He’s diving in warm Hawaiian waters – as part of the world’s largest international maritime exercise.

Petty Officer Diver Shaun Heaslip, from Matamata.

At Exercise Rim of the Pacific – known as RIMPAC – Shaun is a diver supervisor with the New Zealand Defence Force’s Littoral Warfare Unit.

This is a Navy specialist unit compris-

ing of divers, hydrographers and mine counter measures specialists. Shaun is one of those conducting salvaging and underwater searches during the exercise.

Twenty-seven nations, 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC, from June 30-August 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.

For Shaun, one of the biggest highlights so far has been diving on the USS Arizona. The Arizona Memorial, located at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, marks the resting place of 1102 sailors killed on the ship during Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States’ direct involvement in World War 2.

The sunken remains of the battleship are a US national historic landmark.

“The Arizona is usually closed off to divers as it is a war grave. It’s an amazing dive,” says Shaun.

Coming straight from a Southern Hemisphere winter, he’s also enjoying the warmer weather.

Year after year

A&P SHOWS

Page 10

Mud tyres to get out of sticky situations These chunky tyres are for offroad use only.

Do you use a Suzuki Jimny or Vitara on the farm? Then Evolution Custom Utes has special tyres for your Suzuki.

Evolution Custom Utes owner Peter Weatherly says these tyres are dedicated ‘offroad’ tyres designed for flotation and traction. “This is the biggest tread you can get,” says Peter.

Compared to ‘a normal’ mud tyre these tyres would “eat it alive”.

Evolution Custom Utes import these tyres and fits them on their custom trucks. They are designed for

the side-by-side vehicle market.

Peter says a Te Awamutu farmer, who has purchased some of these tyres for his Suzuki Jimny, called to tell him how he got his calf trailer stuck in the mud and the vehicle attached couldn’t get it out.

So he went back home, got into his Suzuki “with the special tyres on” and he towed the trailer out without any effort at all. Now that farmer is ordering two new trucks with the special tyres. “He says the tyres are so good he must also have the best trucks,” says Peter.

And the cost of these tyres is comparable to normal mud tyres. “These chunky tyres are for offroad use only, we import them and are the only supplier in New Zealand, so if you have a Suzuki these tyres are for you,” says Peter So give Evolution Utes a call to get more information on these special offroad tyres or the best of both worlds, custom Suzuki Jimny utes and custom tyres to match. Just phone Peter – if he’s not building trucks, he’s on the farm, chasing stock around.

103rd show’s entries open Put Sunday, October 9, in your diary for a great day out for all of the family. It is time for the Matamata A &P Association’s 103rd annual show to be held in Station Rd on the town boundary.

Show secretary-treasurer Jeff Nobes says the Matamata A&P Show is a typical traditional rural show with the best of animals, produce and plenty of family entertainment.

“This is where country meets town and is a chance for the country folk to show the town folk all that ce is good with country living.” ow is a chan ata A&P Sh e town folk all The show will feature am at M he T th a wide range of equestrian folk to show g. for country od with country livin events – both flat classes and that is go jumping – and continue with the strong tradition in the dairy supportive crowd.” section showcasing Jersey, Friesian and A full entertainment schedule is Ayrshire breeds. planned with sideshow amusements “The calf club section is always very and a variety of food stalls. popular along with dairy Entries for all events are open now goats, miniature horses and sheep and the schedule is available by emaildog trials, which usually attract a large ing: matamataaandp@gmail.com

Lockable pulley for ‘extra grunt’ Karaka Products, well-known for its all weather, low maintenance, durable stock whips, will be at the Gisborne A&P show in October and will have its most recent product – the Karaka Lockable Pulley – for everyone to try.

“It is already proving very popular with farmers and hunters,” says Karaka Products owner Ashley Turner, who developed the lockable pulley.

“We are sure that locals will want to try one of the two sizes themselves.”

Ashley saw there was a demand for a simple, efficient lockable pulley in areas such as farming with both homekill and calving, winching and lifting.

The Karaka Lockable pulley has been found useful not only by

farmers but also hunters, mechanics and vets, who have appreciated that it is made with stainless steel and has sealed bearings.

There are two sizes available, the smaller is rated to 272kg, small and compact, and perfect for farmers and hunters. While the larger pulley rated to 2000kg has proved popular with vets in calving season, as well as for those just needing that little bit more grunt.

Karaka Products has expanded its range to include the Outback Oilskin collection of durable wet weather oilskin clothing, which will be on display at the Gisborne A&P Show at site S6.

Of course they will be bringing their range of all weather, durable stock and bullwhips, which will be available for customers to try too.

The Karaka Products range of all weather, durable stock and bullwhips will be on display at the Gisborne A&P Show.

CROPPING & SPRING PLANTING

Farming in the wet not easy Dairy farmers who have been battling very wet conditions are encouraged to not only protect their pasture growth for this spring, but also take care of their own welfare.

DairyNZ Bay of Plenty regional leader Sharon Morrell says calving is a challenging, busy time on-farm – and both people and pasture need to be cared for.

Soils have been extremely wet.

“During July, the coastal Bay of Plenty had about 150 per cent of the long-term average rainfall for July with 200mm at Te Puke,” says Sharon.

Along with managing pastures, farmers are encouraged to talk to neighbours, farm advisors or their DairyNZ consulting officer to discuss their situation, and look after their team.

“Simply getting everyone together for a home-cooked meal or finding a way to keep the team motivated and uplifted can be a real boost – even something like a morning tea in the shed.”

The way farm teams respond to pasture management can also pose a big threat to future pasture regrowth and milk production.

“It can be tempting to change set paddock rotations and offer larger or fresh breaks of grass when paddocks are so wet,” says Sharon. “But it’s important to manage rotation length and therefore pasture cover to achieve the growth required later, when the herd is eating more.”

Grass growth from balance date will secure feed supply and milk production until Christmas, and underpin a profitable farm business under the

current reduced milk price.

Farmers are encouraged to achieve target pasture covers firstly by sticking to the set rotation area, then working on preventing pugging.

Research has shown fast rotations have cost 20kg/ms per cow before Christmas, due to pasture growth rates declining by 1.8t DM/ha – from 60 days times 30kg/ms per day.

It takes extremely bad pugging to reduce a farm’s annual pasture yield by five per cent or more – meaning a farm with 16t DM/ha pasture might lose just 0.8t DM/ha annually due to severe pugging.

Farmers may need to feed supplement if there is not enough pasture to hold the rotation to plan.

To manage pugging, the best solution is having cows on paddocks for just a few hours and using stand-off pads combined with an area where supplements are fed.

Alternatives to stand-off pads include the dairy yard, waste areas, a paddock to be cropped or regrassed in the spring and farm races for short spells.

If feeding supplements on paddocks, put feed onto long grass before the cows arrive. Walk cows over long grass when going in and out of paddocks or use multiple entrance points to prevent damaging the re-growth of pastures on subsequent rotations.

Throughout calving, the DairyNZ Bay of Plenty team will be working with small groups on-farm to review how the host’s spring rotation plan is going. Feed allocation, rotation and all those curly questions on juggling multiple aims will be addressed in a 1.5-hour event.

If you are interested in being part of one of these, phone Sharon on 0274 922 907.

Resources a

Wet weath er ti Winter stra ps – visit: www.dai rynz.co.n tegies – vi z/wet sit: www.d The Sprin airynz.co g Rotation .nz/winte Planner to DairyNZ r ol – visit: consulting www.dairy officers – For tips to nz.co.nz/ visit: www maintain srp .dai wellness – To discuss visit: www rynz.co.nz/contact -us .d on ai -f rynz.co.n arm issues programm z/ wellbeing with ot e can help – visit: ww her farmers, the D air w.dairynz. co.nz/dair y Connect yconnect

vailable:

after year after year

Page 11

Page 12

CROPPING & SPRING PLANTING

Weeds adversely impact fodder beet yields “This is especially the case in the northern parts of New Zealand, where in ideal growing conditions fast-growing

weeds can quickly outcompete and smother beet seedlings. If not controlled weed competition can dramatically impact yields.”

Chris says Betanal quattro is a flexible and easy-to-use “four-in-one” post-emergence herbicide for beet crops.

“It is the only product that contains the four most commonly used active ingredients in one complete formulation.

“This not only makes Betanal quattro easy-to-use but reduces the chances of mixing and tank filling errors and leaves fewer containers to dispose of. The combination of active ingredients provides contact, knockdown and residual activity.”

Timing of Betanal quattro applications is critical, especially in relation to crop growth stage and weed size. Betanal quattro has flexible timings and use rates to suit most weed challenge scenarios in beet crops. If

weeds emerge with the beet crop, Betanal quattro can be used – at two litres/ha – once the beet crop has two fully expanded cotyledon leaves.

“Once the beet crop has reached the fully expanded two true leaf stage onwards the Betanal quattro rate can be increased three to five L/ha depending on the situation.

“Use the higher rate on larger weeds or more difficult to control species.”

On the left: Untreated fodder beet alongside that treated with Betanal Quattro on the right. Photo: Bayer CropScience.

Planting 4000 apple trees a day New Zealand’s largest organic apple grower, Bostock New Zealand, has been planting new apple trees in the Hawke’s Bay at a rate of about 4000 trees a day.

The company pulled out its old apple varieties and planted new trees to keep up with the international demand for organic, genetically modified-free fruit.

Bostock New Zealand organic

orchards manager Craig Treneman says it’s exciting to be planting new varieties, which are sweeter and have higher colour and appeal to the growing Asia market.

“We have some new orchard developments in Twyford, where we were planting about 4000 new tree varieties a day.

“We had a team working around the clock to get the trees in the

ground during just a few weeks.

The new planting created about 20 new jobs and will continue to provide permanent and seasonal jobs through the year.

“The new apple tree varieties include Premier Star, TCL3 and Kingsbeer Red – all are bright red, sweet, juicy apples, which appeal to the overseas markets.

So safe and so convenient!

Farmers are growing bigger beets with Betanal quattro. Here’s what they have to say:

We have got a good clean high yielding crop, the Betanal quattro has done its job well, being easily mixed as a single solution spray, and it’s dealt with the problem weeds on our farm very effectively.

The four in one allows me to fit far more spray upon my truck and there is a lot less cleaning up afterwards, there’s less rubbish and boxes, and fewer containers to rinse.

It’s a no brainer to use.

NEIL ROE – MAMAKU, ROTORUA

CHRIS HORN – WAITAKI SPRAYING LTD, KUROW, OTAGO

To read the full stories visit www.growbiggerbeet.co.nz

When it comes to growing bigger beets, there’s nothing like a 4 in 1 for huge convenience.

Betanal quattro is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. P8851 and is approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996, No. HSR100882. Betanal® quattro is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. © Bayer 2016.

BAC1563R

Because it is slow to establish, fodder beet is very sensitive to weed competition, says Bayer CropScience fodder beet marketing manager Chris Miln.

CROPPING & SPRING PLANTING

Page 13

Environment awards open for entries Organisers of the prestigious Ballance Farm Environment Awards are urging farmers and horticulturists to get their entries in for the 2017 awards.

Facilitated by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust and held in 11 regions throughout the country, the awards promote best-practice land management by showcasing the work of people farming in a way that is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.

NZFE Trust national judging co-ordinator Andrea Hanna says all farmers and horticulturists, including orchardists, vegetable growers and viticulturists, are eligible to enter.

Most people participate because they want high quality feedback on how their farming operation stacks up in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability.

“The awards prove that sound environmental practices and good business management go hand-in-hand. Farmers who participate in the awards programme are also encouraged to share ideas and innovations with the wider farming community.”

Entering the awards is as easy as filling out a simple form, available online at: www.nzfeatrust.org.nz It costs nothing to enter, and Andrea says the awards programme offers excellent educational opportunities for any farmer wanting to learn more about how to improve the sustainability of their farming business, which includes key social, economic and environmental outcomes.

The judging teams have a wide range of skills and look at all parts of the farming

business. Judging is conducted in a relaxed and friendly manner, and judges always take climatic factors into account.

“In the past we’ve found that farmers can be reluctant to enter if their farm has been affected by wet weather or drought.

“But the judges know that severe climatic events are all part of farming and they will look beyond this at the wider picture.

“It’s not just targeted at top farmers. Every farmer should take the opportunity to enter.”

Many past entrants say their involvement in the awards has helped their personal development because they get to meet and be inspired by a range of like-minded people.

More information on the 2017 Ballance Farm Environment Awards is available at: www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

Research - boysenberries may benefit asthmatics New research suggests regular boysenberry consumption may improve lung function by reducing symptoms associated with inflammation of the airways, which can cause conditions such as asthma.

Globally it is estimated 150 million people are affected by asthma, with children making up about 10 per cent of sufferers. In New Zealand, one of every nine adults and every seven children are prescribed asthma medication.

Previous studies have found lung function can be improved by consuming fruits that contain high levels of antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols, although the underlying mechanisms behind this are largely unknown.

Through their investigations with berryfruits, scientists at Plant & Food Research, working in collaboration with the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, have made new discoveries on the role polyphenols play in reducing

the effects of asthma and chronic airway inflammation.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-funded research examined two key agents associated with regulating lung inflammation: arginase, closely linked with decreased inflammation in asthma; and matrix metalloproteinase-9, associated with improved tissue remodelling.

“We’ve seen some really exciting results from this recent study,” says Plant & Food research science group leader Dr Roger Hurst. “Our results suggest boysenberry consumption may help protect the lungs and associated airways from the chronic buildup of damaged and scar tissue.

“These agents appear to support an environment capable of reducing scar tissue deposits on the lungs.”

The research also observed structural improvements in the lungs through the activation of specific immune cell types, which are known to assist tissue repair and retention of normal lung function.

These findings provide the first

evidence that boysenberry consumption could be used to support the body’s natural defences and potentially reduce negative physical effects on the lungs caused by asthma and other chronic pulmonary conditions.

This research has been published in ‘American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology’, a top-10 ranked journal on respiratory systems.

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FORESTRY

Page 14

FARMOSH

Timber value driving demand

Helping Farmers Reduce OSH Risk

Significant rises in New Zealand carbon prices and positive prospects for exported timber may signal a renaissance for forest plantings, with new opportunities for landowners and investors alike in coming years.

PROFESSIONAL HARVESTING SYSTEMS

Bayleys Waikato agent and forest specialist Mark Dawe says the company has received enquiries from a wide range of potential buyers in recent months.

Interest has been strong and spread across a spectrum of parties, from farmers seeking sheep and beef units with pine plantings, to corporate investors wanting substantial blocks of well-maintained mature plantations.

Since April the value of carbon prices in New Zealand have

almost doubled to $18/tonne after languishing as low as $2.50/tonne only two years ago.

Meanwhile, log prices have remained relatively firm – sitting $15 a tonne above their five-year average with some strong price signals during the last year coming from traditional markets including China and increasing market share to India and South Korea.

As of May export values were up six per cent in value on a year-toyear basis.

“We have seen forestry blocks sit at the lower end of the market for price, and in some cases eclipsed by support plantings of Manuka for honey production that command a premium,” says Mark.

“However, once that demand is satisfied we anticipate we will see that disparity disappear.”

Typically, bare land blocks suitable for forestry are valued about $2000-$2500 a hectare.

“For a mature block you would

Shortage of logs threatens housing affordability A shortage of logs is threatening to impact on regional economic growth and housing affordability, says Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association of New Zealand chair Brian Stanley.

“If New Zealand wants economic growth in its regions, jobs for local people, affordable housing and environmental protection then it needs a viable New Zealand wood industry,” says Brian.

The comments follow a hui for New Zealand wood

Office: 07 347 8344 s Fax: 07 347 8345 Unit 6, 1318 Pukuatua St, PO Box 525, Rotorua

take the bare land value and then have the forest assessed for crop value; and that will depend greatly on what silviculture practices have been conducted to maintain its quality.”

Tree crop value can vary significantly depending on how it grades, with quality pruned timber blocks worth more than twice those only suitable for low value pulp production.

Mark says the demand is largely being driven by the value of the forest timber on a block, rather than potential carbon value under the Emissions Trading Scheme, known as the ETS. A report from the Global Agricultural Information Network highlights the rapid lift in carbon prices in New Zealand.

It has also anticipated the previous downward trend in forest plantings may be poised for a turnaround as the carbon prices approach $20 a tonne.

processing leaders and senior government officials and political leaders in Whangarei.

The joint industry-government meeting saw statistics that clearly show: the completely unsustainable forest harvest rate in Northland, and Northland forests being harvested and exported at an immature stage, plus limited evidence of replanting and certainly no new afforestation.

Brian says the Northland circumstance is severe but he’s hearing a clear message from WPMA members that a threatening log supply situation is being observed from Northland right through to Southland.

This view is strongly reinforced by Pita Tipene of Taitokerau Maori Forestry Inc, who adds the importance to Maori of being able to take the long-term view on forestry development. “What we are seeing unfold here in Northland is rabid global demand for wood coinciding with short-term speculation in the industry.

Brian says the pillaging of our forests cannot continue. “We owe this to future generations. I want to see our forest resources treated as a national strategic asset; held with the same mana, for example, as our land, minerals and fisheries,” says Brian.

“Thirty years after New Zealand took the radical step to privatise the industry we are now at the end of one growing rotation of our trees.

“We need to know where this ‘privatisation experiment’ has landed us. It’s for this reason that I am calling for an urgent review of the industry. This joint government-industry Rotation Review needs to start in Northland now and extend nationwide.”

SPRING FERTILISER

Page 15

Humates play roles in soil and plant health Humates sourced by Humate Solutions Ltd have recently been tested, showing an extraordinarily high level of Cation Exchange Capacity, or CEC, of more than 300, says Humate Solutions managing director Dave Whitteker.

“This alone has a major influence over the soil’s ability to hold onto essential nutrients, which provides an important buffer against soil acidification.

“CEC is a very important soil property, influencing soil structure stability, nutrient availability, soil pH and the soil’s reaction to fertilisers.

“Lifeforms such as bacteria and

earthworms, which are dependent on humus content, contribute a lot to the maintenance of the soil structure.”

The use of humates can prevent soil cracking, which exposes roots to the air and can cause crops to burn in severe heat conditions. Since organic matter is not water soluble, soil with high humus content is less likely to be subject to water erosion.

Humic acids have a direct and very positive effect on plant growth in a number of ways, says Dave.

“Both plant root The use of and top growth humates can have been prevent soil stimulated by cracking. humates, but the effect is usually more prominent in the roots. A

proliferation in root growth, resulting in an increased efficiency of the root system, is a likely cause of higher plant yields seen in response to humic acid treatment.”

Fulvic acids that make up part of the humate are extremely small molecules.

They are also loaded with oxygen.

“Because they are so small, they can easily move through the cell wall, and enter the cell of the plant. Fulvic acids are the carriers of nutrients into the plant. It’s the fulvic acids that allow the plant to absorb the organic formula so quickly,” says Dave.

“Fulvic acids are the ‘carbon carriers’ in the fertiliser. Humic substances and humates are an excellent source of carbon, which is vital to all life.

“When humic substances are blended with other soil amendments it can make a very powerful combination in the organic development of plants,” says Dave.

Predator-free NZ next step in conservation programme New Zealand’s native birds and plants are a treasured part of our nation’s identity.

We use symbols of the kiwi and the silver fern to represent our country, and our native species are a huge source of national pride.

However, many of our most threatened native animals come under constant attack from introduced predators such as rats, stoats and possums. These animals kill about 25 million native birds a year and are the most significant cause of New Zealand’s decline of threatened species.

Predators also wreak havoc for our agricultural sector by spreading disease, and destroying pasture, crops and forestry, which is especially significant for us here in the Bay. As well as being responsible for a widespread loss of biodiversity, introduced pests also threaten the economy and primary sector, with their total economic cost estimated at about $3.3 billion each year.

The Government recently revealed its plan to tackle these rampant rodents by announcing an ambitious goal of ridding New Zealand of all predators by 2050.

This is a ground-breaking initiative – never before has the world seen such an ambitious conservation target. Our vast Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park, the Otawa Scenic Reserve in the Papamoa hills, and the Otanewainuku Forest are

all areas that will benefit from this initiative.

Tuhua (Mayor Island), our very own wildlife refuge, has seen the benefits of being predator-free and is a safe haven for threatened bird species from the mainland. This island hosts healthy populations of Kereru – the New Zealand wood pigeon – as well as supporting the growth in the number of the North Island brown kiwi and North Island robin to name a few.

Predators have been roaming New Zealand’s forests and destroying our natural environment for decades. The Government’s predator-free plan is a comprehensive, long-term approach to the problem and relies on the support of communities and organisations throughout the country. Focusing on three main species ensures we are concentrating on a significant goal and gives clarity to the issue. Restoring our country by reducing and eradicating predators will help to bring back all sorts of native species and boost our agricultural industry.

A new company will be launched, which will match Government resources with local government, community groups, iwi and philanthropists to develop predator eradication programmes. This goal is important for our country and it is great to see a number of organisations, big and small, are on-board.

Achieving a predator-free New Zealand is the next step in our conservation journey and some are saying that it is an impossible task. I agree the

project will require a massive effort from our communities, but the end result will be worth it – and I believe we can achieve it.

Humate Solutions managing director Dave Whitteker.

Page 16

SPRING FERTILISER

Reward your soils – feed crops with vermicompost Successful farming and orchard management is firstly about achieving high yields to reward yourself with a strong cash flow, says Mynoke founder and scientist Michael Quintern.

“Second most important is controlling inputs such as fertilisers, pest management, and plant protection; and thirdly sustaining and improving the productivity of your farm and orchard, which will increase the value of your asset.”

The most valuable assets are your

herd or orchard and your management skills.

The foundation to it all is the soils you are managing.

Michael says healthy and high productive soils are those transforming organic and mineral fertilisers into high yields, which will reward with strong revenue returns.

“As you reward your best performing employees and yourself, rewarding your soils will lead to higher performance by transforming fertiliser more efficiently, reducing nutrient losses, increasing yields and improving plant and stock health.

“How to reward your soils?

MyNoke recommends the best reward for your soils is vermicompost.”

Vermicompost is pure earthworm casting providing high quality plant nutrients, essential trace elements, mature soil humus, beneficial soil bacteria, fungi, and mycorrhiza.

“The secret ingredient in vermicompost are gibberellins and auxins. These are the most effective plant growth promoters to boost root growth,” says Michael.

“They are more effective to plant growth than manure and most composts.

Vermicompost works especially efficiently in combination with mineral fertilisers as proven by scientist globally year after year.”

MyNoke offers a variety of high quality vermicompost, made from certified wood fibres, milk sludge, and other organic resources, which are certified and approved for bulk application, and screened for easy spreading by your local contractor.

Mynoke founder Michael Quintern shows the comparison between maize grown using vermicompost and that without.

Cost-cutting shows industry resilience New Zealand dairy farmers have significantly reduced their operating costs in the face of sustained low milk prices – a reflection of the industry’s resilience and innovation.

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says while the milk price will continue to keep pressure on farmers this season, the industry’s performance in cost-cutting onfarm means break-even costs have been reduced.

“We’ve revised our break-even milk income required for the average farmer in 2016/2017 to $5.05 per kilogram of milk solids. It was $5.25 per kg/ms for 2015/2016 and $5.77 per kg/ms in 2014/2015.”

Industry body DairyNZ says the

increased dividend and the maintained $4.25 per kg/ms Fonterra Farmgate Milk Price is some good news for farmers with shares.

But another positive is also emerging – New Zealand dairy farmers have sharpened their systems and reduced costs through this sustained low milk price period.

The break-even cash price includes farm working expenses – excluding adjustments for unpaid management and depreciation – interest and rent, tax and drawings; and nets off livestock and other income received.

“The reduced milk price has meant farmers have really finetuned their management and analysed their costs of production.

This should bring the average farm working expenses back to

an anticipated $3.55 per kg/ms this season, the lowest level since 2009/2010.”

Farm working expenses were sitting at $4.07 per kg/ms in 2014/2015, so the reduction has been equivalent to about $100,000 per farm, on average.

Tim says reducing the breakeven price is tremendous recognition for New Zealand dairy farmers and the resilience they have shown.

“Being able to reduce the breakeven milk price tells us that dairy farmers have cut costs further than we thought.

“This cost control is resulting in more efficient dairy businesses, which is key to resilience.Let’s be clear, this is still very tough for farmers as it’s been a sustained period of low milk price.”

SPRING FERTILISER

Page 17

Biostimulants enhance ‘soil first’ farming Biological farming is becoming important worldwide and a few years ago the international biostimulant organisation was set up to encourage the science around strategies that focus on healthy, well-functioning soil, says Tane Bradley of AgriSea.

the leading input manufacturer for biological farming in New Zealand and the biggest investor in research for innovative farmers keen to adapt to more economically and environmentally sustainable farming practices.

Their liquid NZ seaweed concentrates include a soil (biology activator); a foliar (nutrient direct to canopy or pasture) and an animal nutrition (through dosing troughs) product.

All are widely used in agriculture, horticulture and viticulture throughout the country. They have been widely trialed by farmers and researched in New Zealand conditions over time.

AgriSea continues to respond to farmer needs and innovate top quality high nutrition products, including a seaweed salt block that stock love.

When farmers asked for a dry solid form of seaweed, many years of research began. AgriSea needed to find a high quality carrier for their liquid seaweed concentrates and partnered with Blue Pacific Minerals to develop the first seaweed/zeolite slow release seaweed solid product that has been well trailed by farmers. It is named SOIL + Plus.

“Well-functioning soil is the ‘ground zero’ nonnegotiable for biological farming. Healthy soil is teeming with micro-organisms that support strong plants that have fibre, resist disease, are robust in weather extremes and provide highly nutritious food for animals and humans.”

The United Nations declared 2015 as the International Year of Soil as great concern exists around the issue of the degradation of soils worldwide.

Tane says soil degradation leads to compaction and loss of water – holding capacity, increasing the movement of sediment, manure and excess nutrients to rivers.

The low levels of biological activity observed in degraded soils result in a plethora of weed, pest and disease problems.

“High analysis fertilisers and other chemicals used to mitigate the problems created by reduced soil function not only increase farm costs, but negatively impact on the quality of ground and surface water.”

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SPRING FERTILISER

Page 18

Two scholarships awarded for rural health The standard of applicants was so high that – for the first time – two Access Community Health and Rural Women New Zealand scholarships have been awarded.

Felicity Lallier from Horowhenua and Jo Tiller from Greymouth will each receive a $3000 fund to help support their health-related post graduate studies.

Access Community Health chief executive Simon Lipscombe says both

women reflect the importance of the services provided, by helping support people to remain independent in their communities and homes.

“We were impressed by the passion they both showed for their rural areas and their desire to continue their studies. We recognised the great benefits this would bring to the rural communities they serve.”

To ensure each recipient would receive $3000, Access Community Health and RWNZ contributed extra funds towards this year’s scholarship.

RWNZ’s Health Portfolio spokesperson Margaret Pittaway says both women “were outstanding in their commitment to their profession and very focused on using postgraduate health studies to improve care and treatment of patients in the rural community”.

For Jo Tiller, caring is very much in the genes. Her father was a consultant physician and her mother worked as a nursing sister, exposing her to the world of health care from an early age.

Jo plays a crucial role at Greymouth Hospital, where having specialised in post-anaesthesia care and recovery, she will be consolidating all her skills through her Post Graduate Diploma in Health Sciences - Rural Nursing.

“I’m very passionate about my nursing and consider it a gift to be

able to help people recover. We help treat people from across the entire West Coast.”

Felicity Lallier entered the health profession as a paramedic fairly late in life.

Originally from New Zealand, Access Community Health and Rural she trained in the Women New Zealand Scholarship winners United States where Jo Tiller and Felicity Lallier. she saw many differences in the types of emergencies compared She has a Paramedic Bachelor’s with her home in Horowhenua. degree from Whitireia and is “There were a lot a big trauma now studying for a Post Graduate situations whereas, here with such Diploma in Health Science Paraa large population of older people, medicine while working part-time we see a lot of falls and wound as an Intensive Care Paramedic care,” says Felicity. with St John.

The game is changing for farming Topsoil and water are the two of the most precious things we have on our planet – more precious than gold, silver or platinum – says Agrissentials CEO John Morris.

“Without topsoil and water we cannot feed ourselves, so it is paramount we take good care of our topsoil and our water.”

Today, based on current agro-chemical production methods, many experts are predicting agricultural topsoil around the globe will be lost within the next 60 years, says John.

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Industry needs skilled nutrient advisers The Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord highlights the important role of talented people in delivering improvements in the environmental performance of dairy farming, according to the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand.

Fertiliser Association of NZ chief executive Philip Mladenov says attracting, developing and retaining highly skilled and motivated nutrient advisers into the primary sector is a vital part of helping dairy farmers manage

nitrogen and phosphorus losses from their farming systems, meet nutrient loss limits and pursue continuous improvement in nutrient use efficiency.

“We are pleased that the certification programme continues to attract more and more qualified people.

“We now have more than 130 certified advisers working throughout the country, from Northland to Southland, with an additional 50-plus people in the process of working towards certification.”

The training and certification of nutrient management advisers hit a major milestone in the

2014/2015 year with a total of 100 rural professionals completing the requirements for and achieving certification in the Nutrient Management Adviser Certification Programme.

This was accomplished with the ongoing support and commitment of the Fertiliser Association of NZ and its member companies, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd and Ravensdown Ltd. One of the accord targets was 50 per cent of fertiliser association member company advisers would be certified by May 2014, which was comfortably achieved.

The NMACP provides ongoing educational and training oppor-

tunities for certified advisers through its programme of continuing professional development.

This allows certified advisers to improve their knowledge and skills and remain on top of new developments within the sector as they relate to providing nutrient management advice.

For more information and to view the full list of certified advisers, visit: www.nmacertification.org.nz.

Farmers hope cycle has bottomed out Dairy farmers will be pleased with the lift in Fonterra’s milk payout forecast but hope there is more to come, says Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers dairy chairman Steve Bailey.

“We will take the 50 cents per share but would like another dollar.” Steve says while the projected payout is better than last year, farmers will still struggle at these levels.

Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited has announced a forecast earnings per share range for the 2017 financial year of 50 to 60 cents. The forecast Farmgate Milk Price has been maintained at $4.25 per kilogram of milksolids, making the total payout available to farmers in the 2016/2017 season $4.75 kg/ms to $4.85 kg/ms.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson says the solid forecast earnings per share range reflects performance improvements across the business and will be welcomed by farmers. However, with the Farmgate Milk Price forecast remaining at $4.25 kg/ms, it is another financially challenging season for farmers.

Steve says Federated Farmers has concerns for all farmers, but in particular for young farmers and sharemilkers who will be struggling financially under the continuing low payouts.

“However, we hope that we have reached the bottom of the cycle and now are on the way back up.

“Farmers live with volatility and there are many uncertainties with international markets which are beyond our control.”

Speaking as a dairy farmer shareholder, Steve says the fact Fonterra is a strong company is important and he takes comfort from chief executive Theo Spierings’ statement that “the returns from the ingredients, consumer and foodservice businesses continue to grow in-line with Fonterra’s business strategy to convert more milk into higher returning products”.

As well as struggling with low financial returns, Steve says dairy farmers have faced a tough time in recent months with almost constant rain.

“Farmers have been flat out with calving and attempting to project their precious pasture, which was sodden.

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“Some people think farmers farm cows, but they also farm grass and must do what they can to protect their pasture for the spring.”

This can mean standing cows off and using “sacrifice paddocks” which become heavily pugged, while limiting the time cows are grazing, and supporting them with supplementary feed.

“Whatever is happening with the weather or payout, farmers have to look after their cows and do the best they can to prepare for the season ahead.”

Farmers also need to look after themselves, their families and watch out for their neighbours. Anyone who needs help should call Bay of Plenty Rural Support on phone 0800 787 254. Or visit: www.bayofplenty. rural-support.org.nz Elaine Fisher

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MAIZE

Page 20

Hygiene reduces weed spread

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to new areas of the same property, between neighbouring properties, or even between regions.

By implementing some simple biosecurity practices rural contractors can help protect the spread of unwanted pest plants such as velvetleaf.

“Farmers and other professional operators in the rural Steve is reminding contracsector, like contractors, need tors about the importance to pull together to help protect of biosecurity and machinery our agricultural sector from the hygiene practices on-farm, and spread of velvetleaf and other between farms, in controlling the pests. I just want to remind rural spread velvetleaf. contractors to stay vigilant and keep And he says rural contractors have up sound biosecurity prati- ces.” an important role to play in this.

Steve says RCNZ has worked “Contractors need to be conwith national pest scious of the potential of spreading Keeping machinery clean will help agencies to produce velvetleaf when moving between reduce the spread of velvet leaf. guidelines for machinery properties, or between areas of the hygiene to prevent the same property, and to take responsibility in managing spread of pests and weeds. This includes a these risks,” says Steve. hygiene logbook, which can be found at: Velvetleaf plant seeds can be spread by the movement http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/Genof vehicles, machinery, feed or stock. It can also spread eral/keepitclean.pdf

Agricultural contractors around the country must play their part in helping to prevent the spread of the invasive weed velvetleaf, says Rural Contractors NZ president Steve Levet.

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Silage in a bag has many advantages.

September is always the start of a busy and exciting time for the team at Jordaan Contracting.

“The start of spring usually brings warmer weather and faster growing pastures,” says Jordaan Contracting Ltd managing director Japie Jordaan.

“Farmers start to prepare for the maize season and this is a crucial time for planning how much feed supplement might be needed for the upcoming season,” says Japie.

The agbagger for maize silage has proven to be very popular with farmers because it not only reduces wastage by between 15 and 20 per cent, but is also easier to feed out from.

“This will be the third year we will be using the agbagger and while the initial cost is slightly higher, this is more than made up for by the advantages the agbag has to offer.”

The agbags retain the quality of the silage and no tyres are required over the stack, this is a huge benefit to the farmers.

“The agbags have measurements on them so farmers know exactly how many kilograms of dry matter they have left in the bag and are very easy to feed out from,” says Japie, who has 27 years’ experience in rural agricultural contracting. “Making silage from surplus pasture can be achieved at a cost as low as eight to 12 cents/kg dry matter which is below the cost of Palm Kernel Extract.”

The team at Jordaan Contracting, also known as JCL, is geared to go for the new season with all the maintenance on its fleet of machinery up-to-date to ensure there are no delays in providing the work farmers need. The company’s drivers, who include several from overseas, are experienced specialists in agricultural contracting.

“We have purchased a sprayer so we can carry out weed spraying in a timely manner. We can help farmers with whatever they need done, from taking soil samples, to spraying, to planting and harvesting quality feed to ensure they get the best return from their pasture, allowing farmers to focus on farming in this hard dairy payout season.”

Page 21

Page 22

IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE

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The Waikato Peat Lakes area is one of five key catchments where Fonterra and DOC work on their Living Water partnership programme.

Living Water partners Fonterra and the Department of Conservation have muchneeded ‘silt traps’ on two of the Waikato Peat Lakes they’re working hard to restore – Ruatuna and Rotomanuka.

Described as ‘critically threatened’ under the Land Environments of New Zealand Threatened Environments Classification, peat lakes are globally rare ecosystems. And the Waikato region is home to more than 30 of them.

The Waikato Peat Lakes area is one of five key catchments where Fonterra and the Department of Conservation work on their Living Water partnership programme.

Living Water Fonterra North Island project manager Tim Brandenburg says the peat lakes are an integral part of New Zealand’s landscape, with silt traps a key contributor to restoring lake water quality.

“The majority of pollution comes from sediment and excess nutrients that drain off cleared lands surrounding the lakes. Silt traps are like a vital organ the ecosystem needs to recover – they act like a kidney.”

“We’re artificially creating what would normally happen in nature – when a stream meanders through a wetland, and filters out silt coming downstream,” says Tim.

These culturally and historically important peat lakes are a significant focus for Living Water, as part of its mission to improve water quality and increase the abundance of native wildlife in five catchments where intensive dairying exists.

DOC Living Water Waikato site lead Mike Paviour says: “We’ve given the lakes the equivalent of a kidney transplant”.

“On top of that, we’re planting both the silt traps and lake edges with thousands of native wetland plants to provide habitat for native wildlife.”

“We’re excited to see the native species thrive as habitat becomes established, and we’ll be working to improve public access so everyone can enjoy it,” says Mike.

Living Water works with farmers, iwi, hapu, community groups and key stakeholders to improve the abundance and variety of native wildlife and water quality. The Waikato Peat Lakes catchment includes three lakes where Living Water continues on its mission to help restore Waikato’s unique peat ecosystems.

The other Living Water catchments are Kaipara Harbour’s Hikurangi catchment, Tikapa Moana (Firth of Thames) Pukorokoro/ Miranda catchment, Waikato peat lakes focusing on Lakes Areare, Ruatuna and Rotomanuka, Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) in Canterbury focusing on the Ararira LII catchment and Awarua-Waituna in Southland focusing on Waituna catchment.

WAIKATO

Page 23

Waikato couple sharemilking - with their calves Regan and Lee McLeod are sharemilking – not with a farm owner – but with their calves.

The couple, who milk 180 cows on 100 hectares near Te Aroha, leave replacement calves with their mothers – and the benefits far outweigh any temporary loss in milk production.

“People think it’s too hard to manage cows and calves in the shed but it’s not,” says Lee. “The calves come to the shed with their mothers and gather together to wait outside until the cows are milked, before going back to the paddock with them.

“We do obviously have a drop in milk production while the calves are on their mothers, but those heifers are so much healthier and better producers when they join the herd that it’s worth it,” says Regan, who also believes the mothers benefit too.

“People don’t think cows suffer when they have their calves taken away, but they do. They often sulk and that’s understandable as they are programmed to reproduce and raise a calf.

“I think those that are feeding calves are driven to eat more to produce more milk so their production doesn’t drop as much as you would think.”

Regan, who grew up in the city, says the couple’s current style of farming is radically different from that which he experienced as a young farm hand.

of True Health, who was among the farm’s consultants.

“Phyllis opened our eyes to different ways of doing things for the health of our cows and our family,” says Lee. Regan wanted to experiment further with unconventional farming methods so the couple leased the farm they are currently on four years ago. Today, the farm and the herd are certified organic and supply milk to Green Valley Pure Milk through the Organic Dairy Hub. “We were going broke at conventional milk prices.” says Regan. “If we hadn’t switched to organics we would have had to leave the industry, but that was something we didn’t want.”

Organic farming has done more than boost the bank balance and remove income worries – it’s also relieved a whole lot of other stresses, including those around animal health.

“Animal health used to cost us up to $12,000 a year, but now our vet bill is very, very low and we don’t need to use antibiotics.”

Being free to experiment with different farming techniques is something Regan enjoys and he bases many of his practices on observations of animal behaviour and the need, as a one-couple farming operation, to keep things simple.

He’s changed calving time from winter to September-October. “About 50 per cent of this property

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“I was working on a high input farm and loving it. I spent almost all of my time on the tractor feeding out and I thought this was what dairying was all about.”

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It was through this role Regan and Lee, who comes from a farming family, met Phyllis Tichinin

“Calving in spring is a pleasure – I’m usually out there in shorts and T-shirt.

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HORTICULTURE

Nutritious Kiwi gift to Fijian students Fijian school children whose lives and food supplies have been adversely impacted by Cyclone Winston are enjoying a tasty and nutritious boost to their diets thanks to 20 tonnes of New Zealand green kiwifruit.

The donation of the fruit is the result of collaboration of five companies: Zespri, Turners & Growers, Tauranga Kiwifruit Logistics, SEMCO and Maersk.

Zespri donated the fruit, Tauranga Kiwifruit Logistics helped get the fruit to Turners & Growers, SEMCO trucked from the Bay of Plenty to Auckland at no charge, Maersk Line donated

the shipping and Turners & Growers stored the fruit in its coolstores in both Auckland and Fiji.

Turners & Growers staff trucked the fruit to schools near the city of Nadi, with the help of the Fijian Ministry of Education.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston, which struck in February, was the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Fiji and the South Pacific Basin in recorded history and caused significant damage.

Zespri external relations manager Nick Kirton says the collaboration to deliver the fruit is a great opportunity for the kiwifruit industry to give back to the communities that provide workers to the New Zealand horticultural industry each season.

“About 150 Fijians each year come to New Zealand for seasonal work in our horticulture and fresh produce industries,” says Nick.

“We are really pleased to have been able to work together to get healthy, fresh New Zealand produce to our Pacific neighbours.”

Turners & Growers Fiji managing director Bobby Sharma says it was all about getting nutritious food to

Students at Mulomulo Primary School about to enjoy the taste of Zespri green Kiwifruit. people who’ve had a hard time in the recent cyclone.

“We just want to do our bit to help provide nutritious food to those kids.”

Fiji’s Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Dr Mahendra Reddy officiated the handover, attended by New Zealand’s deputy head of mission Amanda Vercoe, and Zespri and Turners & Growers representatives.

Many factors involved in horticulture’s success How to do you grow your horticulture business? One answer is by exporting.

The formula for success, however, is more complicated than just exporting.

The current growth in value for many horticultural products comes from exporting. Fruit is a prime example. Two-thirds of the fruit grown in New Zealand is exported, with one-third consumed here domestically.

With vegetables, the mix is the other way around. One-third is exported and two-thirds is consumed in NZ. The result is fruit returns have increased dramatically, not particularly by a growth in volume but by a significant growth in value.

For example, the apple industry has exported 21 per cent more fruit since 2012 but remarkably has grown the value of those exports by 105 per cent since 2012.

NZ apples are ranked in the top three countries for all aspects of production, processing, shipping and marketing, and share the top three rankings with Italy and Austria out of 33 countries.

These measures are done by the

independent World Apple review, which in 2015 had this to say about NZ apple production: “Among all the major apple exporting countries, NZ has been consistently the largest risk-taker in attempting to develop and market newer varieties that can win a premium from retailers and consumers, and can be rolled out around the world under a controlled marketing system”.

Not enough

The first part of the export success formula is risk-taking: developing and commercialising new varieties that consumers want and will pay a premium for. But that’s not enough. The next important consideration is where the fruit and vegetables are exported to.

Traditionally, we have exported to the United Kingdom and Europe.

In 2002, it is recorded that 56 per cent of kiwifruit exports went to Europe. Last year this had reduced to 43 per cent. The growth in volume has been in the Asian markets, particularly China. In 2002 two per cent of the kiwifruit exports went to China, which last year had risen to 17 per cent and

will likely continue to grow. So exporting to Asia is the next part of the formula for export success.

To enable premium pricing, quality is needed.

Taking onions as an example, the variety called Pukekohe Long-Keeper has firm flesh, multi skins, clean appearance, good flavour and stores for up to 10 months. In NZ we can grow quality, as we have some of the best growing conditions in the world, world-leading production and post-harvest systems, high productivity and quality control resulting in safe fruit and vegetables with low residues.

Consumer demands

The last two ingredients are vital.

To earn a premium price, you need to give the consumer what they want – simply because consumers will not pay a premium for poor quality produce that doesn’t meet their demands.

The final ingredient is scale, either due to the size of the exporter, such as Turners & Growers Global or Zespri, or by joint venture collaboration with a number of exporters. Once you have scale, you can then cross the final hurdle and get market penetration.

HORTICULTURE

‘Golden’ harvest in Gisborne In Gisborne, the Navel orange harvest is well underway, meaning Kiwis have access to high quality, vitamin-rich, fresh and locally grown citrus, says Wayne Hall, who is chairman of the orange and tangelo product group of New Zealand Citrus Growers Inc. “New Zealand-grown Navel oranges are picked within days of them appearing in our supermarkets so consumers know they are eating the freshest of fruits, which haven’t been picked weeks ago and spent time being shipped here.”

Wayne says a voluntary industry initiative to independently test Navel oranges for ripeness before harvest is helping guarantee consumers enjoy the best possible taste experience and be encouraged to make repeat purchases.

“The majority of growers and marketers are supporting the system, which sees samples of fruit taken from orchards and tested for Brix and acid levels.”

Growers are advised by the independent testers when their fruit is ready to harvest, and Wayne says the two main supermarket chains are also supporting the voluntary programme.

Gisborne is New Zealand’s largest growing region for Navel oranges and in the last eight to 10 years significant new plantings, including of new varieties, have been carried out, meaning production levels are steadily increasing.

Wayne says that’s good news for New Zealand consumers who can enjoy top quality fruit, which has been grown and ripened by up to 2200 hours of Gisborne sunshine.

Those high sunshine hours and plentiful rainfall make Gisborne a premiere region for growing citrus.

Wayne says the citrus industry is important to the economy of the district, which also has the postharvest infrastructure and labour force to support more than 220 growers.

The harvest and availability of Navel oranges extends from June to December annually, ensuring a regular supply of fresh fruit high in vitamin C. Each orange contains only about 85 calories and has no fat, cholesterol or sodium.

Wayne, who is operations manager for the 100 hectares of Wi Pere Trust orchards and vineyards in Gisborne, says his favourite way to enjoy a Navel orange is to cut into quarters and eat it straight from the skin. For information, competitions and delicious recipes using Gisborne Navel oranges go to: www.facebook.com/nznaveloranges or visit www.naveloranges.co.nz

INDUSTRIES

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Page 25

Be neighbourly this spray season Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff are encouraging open dialogue between kiwifruit growers and their neighbours this spray season.

Council senior pollution prevention officer John Morris says growers are usually compliant with spray rules but in some areas, a little extra care is appropriate.

“The Bay of Plenty Regional Air Plan requires orchard owners or contractors to notify the neighbours of any adjoining properties within 50 metres at least 12 hours before spraying and no more than 20 days in advance.

“This year we’ve also encouraged growers and industry representatives to develop extra guidelines for spray timing and notification near schools and other sensitive public areas at Te Puna, in response to concerns raised

by the local community there.”

Hydrogen cyanamide, known by the brand name Hi Cane, is sprayed onto kiwifruit vines at this time of year to increase the number of fruit on the vines, promote bud break and encourage earlier and shorter flowering.

“Generally neighbours like to be notified about Hi Cane spraying so they can take extra precautions such as moving stock, keeping pets inside, or going elsewhere while the spray is being applied.

“Road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, also have a right to be warned; especially when spray is being applied to orchards that adjoin public roads near schools, bus stops or sports fields and at times of high pedestrian flow,” says John.

Unsafe or un-notified spraying should be reported to the regional council’s Pollution Hotline on 0800 884 883. The hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Page 26

Aaron bucks the trend in orchard ownership Orchardist Aaron Hokopaura

In an industry where 58 is the average age of orchard owners, 25-year-old Aaron Hokopaura is an exception.

In March he took the bold step of buying a Katikati kiwifruit orchard, demonstrating that it is possible for young people to do more than work in the industry.

Aaron, a grower services representative for Aongatete, has surprised even himself in achieving orchard ownership well before his 30th birthday.

“I looked at the figures around orchard prices and thought maybe for me that was 10 years away. But thanks to the encouragement of my bosses, and with KiwiSaver, I managed to buy this orchard.”

The property is 2.2 hectares, which includes 1.4 canopy hectares in Hayward green kiwifruit and the balance made up of a small grazing paddock, and a house.

“It’s a big step and financial commitment and I’ll have to work hard to make it work.”

Katikati is probably the place for young growers to get into the industry, says Aaron. “There are quite a lot of smaller orchards in this area, which are ideal for the first-time buyer.”

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Aaron says committing to an orchard is a huge step but unlike a house in town, it comes with an income to help pay its way.

Although he’s now a proud orchard owner and enjoying the challenges the industry offers both as an owner and through his full-time job, kiwifruit wasn’t top of Aaron’s career options when he studied horticulture at Massey University.

In fact, he strategically avoided selecting the industry for assignment topics. “It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in kiwifruit; just that everyone else seemed to be writing about the industry.

“I figured the lecturers could get a bit tired of reading about it; but if I came up with something different, it might grab their attention.

“However, when I started looking for jobs most of the opportunities were in kiwifruit, even though it was struggling with the impacts of Psa-V.”

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Aaron was offered a job with Aongatete, which has an active policy of employing graduates. Four years on he’s one of the company’s grower services representative, a job he enjoys.

Even with the issues caused by the vine disease Psa, Aaron could see a promising future in the industry

and began planning how he could become an orchard owner. Now his next challenge is to balance orchard ownership with his job.

“I will manage the orchard and do some of the work but contract Aongatete to do most of it.”

The mature orchard is in generally good shape although, because of its age, wooden support structures need replacing. “It’s been well managed and the soil fertility is good. It is prone to frosts but there are water storage tanks and overhead sprinklers to fight that.

“It’s normally an early start orchard but only just scraped in this year because of the season’s unusually warm weather.”

Aaron grew up at Ohawe Beach near Hawera, with his three sisters. Initially his father Peter worked in the freezing works before changing careers to become a policeman. He now works with people on probation.

Aaron’s mum Suzanne is a registered nurse, who now works part-time.

Both are immensely proud of what their son has achieved at such a young age.

Diverse crops

Aaron attended Hawera High School where he took horticulture as one of his subjects.

“We were fortunate that we had good teachers and I really enjoyed it.” However, Aaron was advised to study resource management at Massey. “I didn’t like it and soon switched to horticulture.”

Part of the course required work experience and Aaron set out to learn as much as he could about diverse crops and topics including beekeeping, saffron, potatoes, apples, pears, kiwifruit and the natural sweetener stevia.

“I really enjoyed beekeeping and now managing pollination is one of my roles at Aongatete.”

His plans for his own orchard include upgrading the support structures and planting the bare block in kiwifruit. “I’d love to plant a new variety but can’t afford the licence fee. But I’d be keen to be part of trials with any new varieties.”

His hopes other young people will be able to get into the industry either through purchasing an orchard or perhaps a share agreement, similar to that in the dairy industry.

“Maybe there could be a scheme where young growers could lease the vines and manage the orchard, meaning the owners could still enjoy living there without all the work.”

Aaron also hopes his orchard will be the stepping stone to a bigger one sometime in the future.

Elaine Fisher

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.

KIWIFRUIT

Page 27

World class sprayers designed for NZ growers pergola structure. It has built an awesome reputation in the kiwifruit world as the sprayer that gets the product to its target.”

It was Robin and Bill who put the idea to Andreoli’s team, of incorporating two rows of nozzles into the sprayer. Now the sprayers are able to deliver the correct amount of air to the correct places in the canopy and half the amount of spray from each nozzle, giving even more effective coverage.

Bill May of Spray Tec says the hi-tech Italian Bill says Andreoli designers are experts in computer company’s design team listens to feedback from those technology and design operating the sprayers and where appropriate, makes and the work they have modifications. done to improve the The Fantini performance of their Trailed Sprayers sprayers has resulted and Atom selfin significant reducpropelled sprayers tions in spray drift, of today may look at the same time the same on the increasing the effioutside but they are ciency of delivering very different from the spray where it is 15 years ago, thanks needed. largely to input from Robin says the NZ. Atom and Fantini “In fact, Andreoli sprayers are now refer to the equally efficient sprayers as the Kiwi at precisely design. I recently went delivering spray to Australia to calibrate where it is Andreoli sprayers where e th ractors in needed. the clients had specifiof R&R T yer ay rr u M ra Robin sp cally asked for the Kiwi Robin of an Atom b ca first met the design model,” says Bill, Andreoli team in Europe 21 years who is a leading expert in ago and quickly realised it was a company which liscalibrating orchard spraytened to the needs of its clients. R&R Tractors went ers and advising spray options. on to import the first Atom self-propelled sprayer Bill says Robin Murray of R&R Tractors, who is the New Zealand agent for the Andreoli sprayers, has into New Zealand in 1996.

Andreoli has 58 years’ experience designing sprayers played a significant role in their adaption to meet with founder Mario Fantini manufacturing the first NZ kiwifruit growers’ needs. sprayers in the early 1950s.

Both Robin and Bill have visited Andreoli in Italy Today that passion for innovation is shared with several times and the company’s experts have also his three sons Francesco, Federico and Enrico, who come to New Zealand too, keen to learn about what have taken the design and engineering side to a new growers in this country need. level, working on joint projects with the University Robin, who is also a kiwifruit grower, is impressed of Modena to use sophisticated three-dimension at the design team’s willingness to work with its computer analysis of airflow for the design and the customers.

“In New Zealand, with our system of growing kiwi- optimization of the blowers.

“Enrico is such a talented young designer, he fruit on pergola, when it comes to spraying we are worked for three years with Ferrari to help with basically trying to fit a round peg – that is the spray a project to reduce weight of its racing cars,” says profile – into a square hole – that is the shape of the Robin. orchard structure.

Now back with his family business, Enrico is apply“Three-and-half-years ago Andreoli made major ing what he learnt in designing high-performance changes to the design of the spray fans to direct air race cars, to precision orchard sprayers. and spray even more effectively where it is needed Giovani and Velma, Francesco, Federico, Enrico into the canopy and also to the sides. and their team have a growing business based on “The sprayer system is the only air blast sprayer providing solutions to the needs of many industries. designed exclusively to spray kiwifruit on a

Advice and suggestions from New Zealand spray technology experts and kiwifruit growers have contributed to refinements in the world-leading horticultural sprayers designed and manufactured by Andreoli Engineering in Italy.

Honeybee demise fear Ferrari RS 85 New Zealand agriculture stands to lose $295-728 million annually if the local honeybee population continues to decline, according to a new study into the economic consequences of a decline in pollination rates.

One of the co-authors of the study, Lincoln University Professor Stephen Wratten of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, says it is well known that a global decline in the populations of insect pollinators poses a major threat to food and nutritional security.

“We’ve lost most of our wild bees in New Zealand to varroa mite, and cultivated bees are becoming resistant to varroa pesticides.”

Stephen says functioning beehives are becoming increasingly expensive for farmers to rent. “We know the decline in bee populations is going to have a major impact on our economy, but we wanted to measure the impact.”

Previous methods of estimating the economic value of pollination have focused on desktop calculations around the value of crops and the dependency of those crops on pollinators. The experimental manipulation of pollination rates is a more direct estimation of the economic value of pollination, or Ecosystem Services.

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RURAL DRIVER

Free driving lesson for seniors Advances in health care and technology mean New Zealanders are living and driving for longer. But how do we ensure the driving we’re doing in our golden years is up to speed? The AA is set to roll out a solution.

The AA is offering one free practical driving session every two years to its members aged 80 years and older. It’s called AA Senior Drivers and it’s specifically designed to help senior drivers stay confident and safe behind the wheel.

AA Driving School General Manager Roger Venn says that as a car-loving nation, our need for our vehicles doesn’t just end when we retire.

“Whether you’re 18, 45 or 80 – the truth is we all want to retain the mobility, freedom and independence that driving gives us,” says Roger.

“We know when seniors stop driving it has a massive impact on their lives.

They feel isolated from friends and family, experience a sense of loss of control and struggle to run their everyday errands and tasks.”

For many senior drivers new road infrastructure or traffic hotspots can be intimidating and often shake confidence in their own abilities.

“Things have changed dramatically on the roads to compensate for more traffic and different forms of transport, which we know from our research tends to intimidate some senior drivers.

“Giving them a chance to navigate these changes with an instructor and in their own car helps to con-

firm their awareness of their own skills and build their confidence, which also makes them safer on the road.

“For others it’s a matter of raising awareness of basic changes in your car – like adjusting the seat, steering wheel and seatbelt – and the positive impact that can make on your driving,” says Roger.

These are all aspects covered in the free one-hour AA Senior Drivers session. Members become eligible for the benefit again every two years to help senior drivers refresh their skills. The AA believes it will help them safely extend the life of their driver licence.

“At age 75 we have to be assessed by a doctor to see if we’re fit to continue driving, and we may be required to sit the on-road test again,” says Roger.

“After we turn 80, that process occurs every two years, so the Senior Drivers programme coincides with that.”

While older drivers don’t have as many crashes as younger drivers, they and older passengers, if involved in a crash, are more at risk of being seriously injured or killed. This is largely due to them becoming frailer.

“With majority of all crashes on New Zealand roads come down to driver error, we believe a regular skills refresh is a positive way to keep some of our most vulnerable drivers safe on the road.”

AA Members will be able to book their free Senior Drivers session online at: www.aa.co.nz Or by calling 0800 223 748. Members must be at least 80 years old, must hold a valid driver licence and have access to a car and an email address. For more information, visit: www.aa.co.nz/senior-driver

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AVOCADO

Improved spray results, increased coverage with less water concluded that low-volume spraying with Du-Wett can provide higher and more evenly distributed spray deposits on avocado fruit and foliage throughout the canopy compared to high volume spraying.

Pest and disease control was also maintained or improved with low volume spraying with gains for growers in both spray efďŹ ciency and orchard For several years now many growers returns. Du-Wett low volume spraying also with crops such as kiwifruit, vegetables, provided higher deposits on the avocado lower grapes, pipfruit and other crops have leaf surface and fruit, both of which were been reaping the rewards from the poorly covered with conventional dilute use of Du-Wett as part of their spray spray mixtures. programmes.

Trials have also shown Du-Wett can be Many of the beneďŹ ts growers comused with oil sprays on avocados and this ment on are: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get superior spray has proven to be non-phytotoxic to avoresults, even on hard to wet areasâ&#x20AC;?. cado trees using only one-third of the And â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can spray a bigger area normal dilute water volumes with oils, with every tank fullâ&#x20AC;?. Another such as D-C Tron and Excel Oil, at up says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have less leaf phyto sympto 1.5 per cent â&#x20AC;&#x201C; three times concentomsâ&#x20AC;?. And: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It saves me a lot of trate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in four to six sprays during the time when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sprayingâ&#x20AC;?. season.

Etec Crop Solutions northern â&#x20AC;&#x153;The result of this work has allowed regional manager Pieter Van Der best practice guidelines to be developed Westhuizen says â&#x20AC;&#x153;at present many for New Zealand avocado growers: to set in the avocado industry are using up sprayers for concentrate sprays and to high water volumes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; up to 6000 accurately apply them to different sized litres/ha on large trees â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to obtain avocado trees,â&#x20AC;? says Pieter. adequate spray coverage for pest and â&#x20AC;&#x153;The use of Du-Wett can maximise the diseaseâ&#x20AC;?. evenness of concentrate spray deposits on In 2006 the New Zealand Avocado Indusfruit and foliage and maintain or better export try Council and the Ministry for Primary pack-out returns,â&#x20AC;? says Pieter.

Industries Sustainable Farming Fund commenced So the message is spreading research into the use of Du-Wett in â&#x20AC;&#x201C; low volume â&#x20AC;&#x201C; three times conSpraying one side of leaf low volume concentrate spraying in centrate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; spraying with Du-Wett with water and dye and the avocados in both Northland and the delivers results and saves time, other with half the water Bay of Plenty during a four to ďŹ vewith excellent disease and pest and Du-Wett demonstrates year period. control with equivalent or better superior coverage.

The ďŹ ndings from this work have grower returns, says Pieter.

When ďŹ rst introduced to the concentrate spraying concept, many in the horticultural industry often ask how that can work. Better coverage with less water?

Co-op of year FMG is the inaugural winner of the Cooperative Business of the Year award which recognises the Cooperative/Mutual that has made the most signiďŹ cant and positive impact within the cooperative community over the past year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Co-operatives return value to their shareholders/members in many different ways - not just the bottom line. FMG leads the way here in New Zealand, no better example being its concern for the well-being of farmers and growers nationwide with its Farmstrong programme. In challenging economic times, Farmstrong is aiming to shift the focus of mental health from illness to wellness,â&#x20AC;? says NZ Co- Op Chief Executive Craig Presland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In addition, in true co-operative spirit, FMG has been fully involved in community investment with such programmes as principal sponsorship of the NZ Young Farmer of the Year, rural crime prevention advice and guidance, and support for farmers and growers by attending, hosting or sponsoring hundreds of rurally focussed events across New Zealand each year.â&#x20AC;?

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Page 29

Page 30

AVOCADO

Toolkit for safety on orchard An updated toolkit has been produced with the aim of helping farmers and growers better manage risks on their properties.

The toolkit, which provides practical advice and resources, has been developed by Safer Farms, ACC and WorkSafe New Zealand’s health and safety programme designed with farmers and the wider agricultural sector in mind.

The Avocado Industry Council has some of the toolkits available at its Tauranga NZ Avocado office, where growers are welcome to pick up one.

Beef Lamb New Zealand and Federated Farmers were among the groups that provided input to the toolkit, and the information can be applied across all sectors of horticulture and agriculture.

WorkSafe’s agriculture programme manager Al McCone says while many farmers and growers recognise that proactive planning is needed to make sure they can keep healthy and safe, they find it difficult

to know where to start with changing their approach.

Al says this doesn’t need to be hard. The easy-touse toolkit concentrates on those things that make a difference on farm or orchard, which are also at the heart of the new Health and Safety at Work Act – involving everyone on-farm, recognising health as well as injury risks, and working with other businesses to make sure overlapping risks are managed.

“Fit and healthy people are a critical factor for successful farming. In 2013, about 20 per cent of agricultural workers made a farmingrelated injury claim to ACC, at a cost of more than $26 million,” says Al. “Some of those injuries will keep costing for several years. Keeping everyone on your farm safe and healthy helps ensure a farm is productive and profitable.

“The new toolkit can help farmers keep safe and keep farming.”

For more information, see: www.saferfarms.org.nz

Easy avocado, macaroni and cheese bake Serves: 2 Preparation time: 15-20 minutes Cook time: 25-30 minutes Ingredients 1 avocado, diced 300g macaroni noodles 1 egg ¼ cup reduced fat cream 1 cup grated low fat cheddar cheese

Method Cook 300g macaroni noodles in boiling water for 10-12 minutes.

Drain well and put into a large bowl. Beat one egg, ¼ cup reduced fat cream and add to the pasta. Stir through 1 cup grated low fat cheddar cheese and 1 diced avocado.

Spoon into baking dish. Cook in 180 degrees Celsius oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden.

(Source: Avocados Australia Limited www.avocados.org.au)

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for children to make.

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Export season picked to ‘smash previous records’

After a short crop of 2.5 million trays last season, the national avocado crop in 2016-2017 is estimated to be 5.4 million trays – exceeding the previous record of 4.5 million trays in 2014-2015.

Leading export supply group AVOCO will handle the bulk of New Zealand’s crop and this season plans to export about 3.1 million trays, with 83 per cent destined for Australia. The remaining 17 per cent will be sent to various Asian markets, including Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Korea and marketed under the AVANZA brand.

Early season harvesting is underway in both Northland and the Bay of Plenty and will continue until February next year. AVOCO director Alistair Young says that in order to fully benefit from this year’s massive crop, packers, growers and AVOCO’s export marketing team will be working hard to ensure customers receive a seamless supply of fruit.

“Once again we have big retail commitments in Australia, where sales growth has exceeded expectations in recent years.

Australia is our biggest market by far but we’re also very keen to continue developing our Asian markets, where customers highly value New Zealand avocados for their premium quality and taste.”

AVOCO, a collaborative partnership between exporters Team Avocado and Primor Produce, has enjoyed three successful seasons since the two companies joined forces in 2013.

Much of the success has come from their forwardthinking and collaborative approach to exporting, disciplines around flow planning, technical support

for growers and their expertise in market development.

“AVOCO is 100 per cent committed to driving the AVANZA brand,” says Alistair.

“While Australia is a high-value market, reliance on this export market would be detrimental to AVOCO’s future success. We have wonderful support from our retailers there but it’s essential we continue to view Asia as a strategic focus to help overcome any future challenges we could face across the Tasman.”

The export programme to Asia will start with AVANZA representatives attending Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong this month – Asia’s leading trade show for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry.

The Asia supply programme runs between August and the end of January and is seen as lucrative with Asian consumers developing an appetite for high quality, healthy food options.

For the third consecutive year, the AVANZA team will operate a joint trade booth with US-based marketing partner, Mission Produce, with both parties using the trade show to meet with their existing Asian customers and show them how effectively their partnership provides a 12-month solution to the growing demand for premium avocados.

AVOCO export manager Ted Thomas says it’s a chance to highlight how New Zealand’s close proximity to Asia and our industry’s strict adherence to quality have significant benefits to the consumer.

New Zealand’s harvest maturity requirement is one of the highest in the world, with fruit needing to reach a minimum of 24 per cent dry matter before it can be harvested.

This level ensures a creamier, premium avocado and this, combined with New Zealand’s close proximity to Asia and strict pick to ship timelines, means AVANZA can deliver avocados with unrivalled freshness, he says

Let us take it from here.

5 Grower-led 5 Future proofed 5 Delivering value enquiries@avoco.co.nz Leading AVOCO Bay of Plenty growers Hugh Moore, John Schnackenberg and Ron Bailey.

CC010916

A mild wet winter, coupled with optimum growing conditions, has set up an avocado export season that’s expected to smash previous records and reward disciplined Bay of Plenty growers supplying AVOCO.

SHEEP & BEEF

Page 32

Clover-herb mix for high performance Spring is a critical time for farmers. Lambs and calves are born, which means pasture and crops need to be primed for optimal growth and support for milking mothers.

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A popular crop that delivers the higher feed nutrition needed is the clover and herb mixes, says Ravensdown agronomist Jeremy Klingender.

“Clover and herb mixes are ideal for fattening lambs and increasing milk production for mothers which need to not only feed their offspring but keep themselves at a healthy weight.

“Both mixes provide a higher quality feed than pasture, and being a semi-perennial crop it lasts up to two to three years, so you can multi-graze, ultimately giving you longer term value than a brassica crop and more flexibility than a perennial pasture that lasts longer.”

Jeremy says the ease of management is also a bonus as there are fewer insects that can damage the crop. However, this is a crop you cannot cut corners on.

“A common misconception farmers have is they can plant the crop straight away. They need to be aware of the prep that goes into a clover and herb crop.

“Unfortunately you can’t go straight from old pasture to a clover and herb mix because you end up with a lot of weeds and an expensive, time-consuming crop that doesn’t give you the same nutrient value.”

Short rotation

To get the most out of a clover and herb mix, you need to plant a short rotation crop first to clean the seed bed. The cultivation and spraying out involved in planting kale or swedes for winter or rape or turnips for summer gives you a good clean soil bed that

your clover and herb mix will thrive in.

Also the higher stocking rate on a short rotation crop will likely mean your nutrient levels will be at optimum for the clover and herb mix to strike.

When picking a herb to go with your clover, Jeremy says both plantain and chicory are great options that suit different climates.

“Chicory is one of the highest nutritional forages you can plant with an Metabolisable Energy ranging from 12 to 13. It grows in summer and is relatively dormant in winter, all you have to watch out for is the second summer when it will try to go to seed, grazing and/or mowing at certain times will minimise the impact of this.

The returns “Plantain has similar growth habits to ryegrass, with autumn and spring growth.

It grows tall and upright giving the clover a lot of space to express itself, with an ME ranging from 11 to 12.

“East coast farmers in the North Island benefit from plantain growth in the winter, which is their prime growing season.”

Jeremy says every farmer wants the highest return they can get for their stock, and at lambing and calving a high performing high ME crop can be the difference from selling store to being able to finish stock on farm. “I can’t emphasise enough that it starts with making sure you’re getting good advice and giving yourself enough lead in time.

I suggest start planning 10 months ahead.”

Cattle numbers up – sheep numbers down New Zealand’s beef cattle herd increased by 2.8 per cent to 3.7 million during the 2015-2016 season. And at the same time the country’s sheep flock decreased three per cent, now totalling 28.3 million.

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Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s latest stock number survey shows the 2015-2016 year has been an exceptionally trying farming season with facial eczema in the North Island and widespread climatic challenges in other parts of the country, particularly North Canterbury.

Beef + Lamb NZ chief operating officer Cros Spooner says the 2.8 per cent increase in beef cattle numbers follows a 3.3 per cent decline in the 2014-2015 season.

The largest contributor to the increase in cattle numbers was a lift in weaner cattle in many regions, up 8.2 per cent as farmers responded to good returns. The exception to the increased weaner numbers trend was on the East Coast of the North Island, which experienced dry weather conditions, says Cros.

Breeding ewe numbers fell across all regions of New Zealand. They were down by 3.1 per cent overall – but the largest drop was in Marlborough and Canterbury – by 6.5 per cent – due to ongoing drought conditions.

“North Island ewe numbers decreased 2.9 per cent to nine million with drought conditions and facial eczema a significant cause.

“South Island numbers dropped 3.3 per cent to 9.5 million also affected significantly by drought. Reducing capital stock numbers is often the least preferred option for farmers so it does reflect a very challenging year.”

Full report at www.beeflambnz.com/stock-survey

SHEEP & BEEF

Page 33

Those not so scary farm plans In all the articles I’ve read lately on cleaning up our freshwater, a recurring theme seems to be the need for pretty well all farmers to have a farm plan.

Having worked out what is actually there, we then considered a process of risk assessment on what problems would need tackling first, and what could wait a bit without a disaster. This led to a discussion on what different risks would look like, and some thinking about what reparation system would work best for each including costs and dates for each step.

We then worked our way through some defined topics, including water quality affected by different pollutants – phosphorus, nitrogen and faecal bacteria, plus a section on erosion and sediment, and another on biodiversity.

Nothing seemed to be definite about what these would consist of, apart from having to be ‘signed off ’ by a certified consultant.

At a recent dinner held by Beef + Lamb New Zealand in Hamilton, some were talking about the many thousands this would be costing. But these fears were somewhat put to rest by an announcement that individual farmers would be able to do much of Native bush the work themselves, and would only need to have it Each of these had a series of ‘yes/no’ questions, checked and ticked off by someone who would need which we related to our farms and wrote down some to be paid. ideas arising out of the questions. There are also The basis of the included a whole list plans seemed to be of ‘other issues’ which the three-level Land include potential floodand Environment ing, wetlands, offal pits Plan system, and and farm dumps, sheep farmers are encourdip sites, and protecting aged to attend the any good bits of native Level 1 workshops bush which might be currently being held still around. nationwide to find Later we drove around out how to use the parts of the farm and planning materiadmired the wonderful als. I was invited to new eight-wire fencing attend one of these and native plantings on Charlie Lea’s round all the watery sheep and beef farm places, and Charlie at Karapiro, and talked about what Creating farm plans need not be a costly exercise. found it a fascinathaving these fences had ing experience. done for his farming practice.

A group of 15 or so of us spent the morning going With lambing and calving going on, there was a lot through the paperwork, which is well designed and of talk about drownings in swamps, and Charlie was full of useful hints on what to think about. keen to tell us those were a thing of the past. And

Farm map

They also have a page for each topic to fill in your own ideas on what might need looking at, and possibly fixing at some point, related problems on your own farm. The basis of the system is if you’ve written it down, and filled in the likely costs and some progress and completion dates, whatever needs doing will probably get done.

The first part of the booklet deals with creating a detailed map of the farm, complete with all its natural and added features, plus areas where problems such as erosion, fencing streams, gorse control, bush and scrub areas, wetlands and forestry blocks all get clearly filled in. It even advises where aerial photographs can be acquired from.

the extra fences had also allowed him to use some paddocks differently and more effectively through these periods. In such rolling country the changes in pasture usage had not only meant more managed feed growth, but more time to do other things too, including off farm.

Generous grants

At present there are quite generous grants available – regional council, river authority etc –to help pay for fencing and planting, and Charlie had made full use of these to do as much as he could while the funds were still available.

From my brief experience I would heartily recommend sheep and beef farmers get cracking, both on applying for grants and getting themselves to these

workshops. Once regional councils, particularly Waikato, approve the regional plan changes which are being recommended, farmers will be working to deadlines.

These may sound a long way off now, but for the first category requirements 2019 will come racing up, and some of

the projects may well take until 2023 or so to get done.

It will require a lot of thinking, pricing, planning and action. But if sheep and beef farmers want their plans signed off without a lot of reworking, they need to put their minds to it soon.

Sue Edmonds

Page 34

ANIMAL HEALTH

Looking forward to a great start to mating The importance of early milk was illustrated locally two years ago by the Dairy Base Project meetings run throughout the Bay of Plenty and Central Plateau. They noted the most cost-effective production came from cows calving early and utilising on-farm spring feed as This spring will be no opposed to relying on the more costly different, with much focus supplement required during lean summer being made on optimisperiods. ing the number of cows Good heat detection programmes in mated early in the mating particular can have a major impact on period. overall herd reproductive performance. The Key drivers of the sixkey to ensuring semen is not wasted and week in-calf rate include cows conceive at the right time is accurate the three-week submission heat detection. rate as well as the conception rate.

Detection losses The cost of a missed heat is conservatively estimated at about $150-200. It is recommended paddock checks are done as well as using some other heat mount detector to improve heat detection. For example, tail paint and applied devices.

To get the most out of these detection efforts, heats can be encouraged at a herd level through management tools such as once daily milking, separate grazing, teaser bulls and progesterone based treatments.

Typically 10-20 per cent of a herd may not be coming into heat – termed as anoestrus – in any given spring.

Conventional use of progesterone hormones, such as Controlled Internal Drug Releases, has for many years reliably enabled early synchro-

Submission rates have a large impact on how mating tracks.

nising of anoestrus cows so they are advanced into the earlier part of the mating period to calve in good time the following spring.

Re-synchrony research

Building on this standard early synchrony approach, re-synchrony research involving eight herds involving 1819 cows in two regions of the South Island has been done recently. The study looked at the effect of targeted resynchronisation of cows not showing heat by 10 days before the planned start of mating, known as PSM. Following an early synchrony treatment, any cows not detected in heat 23 days after treatment – also known as ‘phantom cows’ – were retreated and the proportion pregnant at 42 days after PSM and the end of mating measured. The study found treatment increased the proportion pregnant by six weeks of mating.

The benefit of resynchronisation shown is one way to improve reproductive performance. Ultimately, the choice to resynchronise depends on the number of anoestrous cows seen before mating and the number of phantom cows.

Therefore, it is on a herd-by-herd basis to find the most cost-effective way of identifying and treating these problematic phantom cows.

Give your vet clinic a call before mating begins to organise some time with your local large animal vet to discuss ways to help make this a great mating period.

Magnesium – don’t stop it too early Increasingly, farmers are seeing the benefits of supplementing magnesium through to the end of mating. Historically, pasture

dusting – as the only means of magnesium supplementation – is the first job that ends as artificial breeding takes priority.

“No one is sad to see the end of that job,” says Jen McCarty of Technical Services at BEC Feed Solutions.

Spring, however, is when the vital mineral magnesium is needed most. Low pasture magnesium levels, peak lactation and mating – needing to be in top condition – all call for adequate and effective mineral supplementation.

Those who continue to pasture dust through this period know its importance, although uptake is an issue given spring is windy and wet.

“Staff are busy and this job is rushed. Driving around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty during spring, seeing white strips of dust, before hosing down with rain, and you’d have to question its effectiveness.”

Efficient supplementation of magnesium is via feed, mixed in feed blends. This way uptake is not weather

dependant, says Jen. Mag33 is a granular, palatable magnesium farmers and cows are enjoying across the country.

“Farmers reap the benefits of effective mag uptake, staff enjoy not pasture dusting; and fertility is optimised so calving spread appears to be shorter. Cows eat their full ration without feed refusal, as Mag33 is palatable.

“Farmers are starting to see the difference between down cows, where the sleepy ones, traditionally milk fever and creeper cows, are often a sign of phosphorus deficiency.

“Many symptoms improve overnight with correct supplementation. This is where they have the choice between Mag33 magnesium or MGP+ magnesium and phosphorus.

“To be honest, farmers are sceptical when we tell them they can stop pasture dusting completely,” says Trina Parker from BEC Feed Solutions.

“Depending on the situation and feed types – and symptoms presented on-farm – we work to deliver either Bolifor Mag33 or Bolifor MGP+.

“Both have several distinct advantages over magnesium oxide in terms of consistency, palatability, ease of use and solubility.”

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 35

More time swimming, less time cleaning Having a Floatron in three different pools during the last 20 years has given Melissa Growden an edge when it comes to swimming pool maintenance, and how to keep chemicals to a minimum.

Melissa, who is Floatron NZ Limited’s company director, started selling Floatrons while she was studying at university after her parents tried one with great success in their family pool.

“It made such a difference to the clarity of the water, and the chemical use was cut to a bare minimum.”

Melissa’s father Les was so impressed he suggested The Floatron is a solar-powered she start selling this amazing product. The business water purifier for swimming grew from there, and Melissa has pools, which replaces the need for been the exclusive Floatron NZ chemicals by up to 90 per cent. agent since 1997.

Floatron has become a leading product for pool maintenance in New Zealand and Melissa says it has made a world of difference for her family. Since having their three daughters, one of who suffers with eczema and allergies, Melissa and Zodiac products include automatic pool husband Craig have an increased pascleaners, which save you from having to sion for this product.

“Our daughter suffers when swimming push a manual vacuum around the pool. in chemical-laden pools, but she can swim in our pool all day long, with no skin or health issues at all.”

“You save so much time on pool maintenance, The Floatron is a revolutionary solar-powered water because you don’t have to add excessive chemicals, or purifier for swimming pools, which replaces the need frequently test the water. And, you save money too, for chemicals by up to 90 per cent. The technology because chemical usage can be cut by an amazing 90 was initially developed to purify drinking water by per cent.”

NASA, and uses the process of ionisation to combat Alongside the Floatron, Melissa sells Zodiac algae and bacteria in the water. products too. These include automatic pool clean“With a Floatron you swim in crystal clear water, ers. which save you from having to push a manual with no taste, smell, or chemical effects –that means vacuum around the pool. no dry skin, or red stinging eyes.

Flushed with love - but timing is off An elderly couple had just learned how to send text messages on their mobile phones. The wife was a romantic-type and the husband was more of a no-nonsense guy.

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The husband texted back to her: “I’m on the toilet. Please advise.”

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 36

Hog tongs and gongs among museum pieces The mystery this month is from the Morrinsville Heritage Centre. It’s not so much of a mystery as it is obviously

a gong. But we’d love to receive readers’ stories about the use of similar gongs – or even more specifically, this one.

It was donated to the Morrinsville Orphans Club in 1923. The museum would like to learn more about the club and its members, so send in your entries to be in with a chance to win admission for two to the museum.

Send your entry to elaine@thesun. co.nz with ‘Mystery item’ in the subject line, or post to Mystery Item, Coast & Country News, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3110 to arrive no later than September 13.

Sadly, no one was able to identify Do you have a story to share about last month’s mystery item from the Te this gong, or other similar ones?

Aroha & District Museum. It was a If so we’d love to hear from you. set of ‘hogs tongs’ or ‘pig tongs’ used

to hold a hog – or pig – by its upper jaw while putting a ring in its snout or nose. This particular set was patented on December 2, 1873, by Hugh W. Hill, of Decatur, Illinois, says Mary Davey Administrator of Te Aroha & District Museum.

No one was able to identify these ‘hog tongs’ fraom the Te Aroha & Districts Museum.

Local candidate with nursing background EMILIO’S TIMBERS EST1981

Deputy vying for Mayoral seat “That’s why I have Western Bay Deputy decided not to stand Mayor Gwenda Merfor one of the seats riman is ready for her in Kaimai Ward mayoralty campaign to as well – because I get underway now that believe it is vital that the nominations have the Mayor be able to officially closed. act in everyone’s best “It is good for the rural Gwenda Merriman. interests, whether community to have a contested mayoralty so people can vote farmers or townspeople, fairly and without favour.” for the candidate who best matches After six years on council, Gwenda their needs and aspirations. believes her role – if elected Mayor – “I know who I am up against and will be to promote the ambitions of all while they have admirable aspects I sectors in the Western BOP by encourbelieve my performance as deputy aging inclusiveness and compromise. mayor has prepared me best for the “I have a personal stake in the region role. as a farmer, a wife and as an export“This experience has reinforced to focused businesswoman. Together, we me the need to see the big picture for once established a kiwifruit orchard, the good of the whole Western Bay of ran an agricultural contracting business Plenty.” and I still work in the family’s food and If elected Mayor, Gwenda says she’ll agri-business Jeffco International. provide the continuity and connected“Alongside my husband Ross and son ness necessary to keep the needs and Paul, we operate a 150 hectare drystock aspirations of the Western BOP to the farm in upper Whakamarama.” Advertorial fore.

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Yvonne Boyes, who is seeking re-election to the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, with her husband Mike.

Yvonne Boyes has lived and worked most of her life in this geographically-diverse region.

“I am extremely aware of the challenges people face on a daily basis. With positions I have held within nursing, Bay of Plenty District Health Board and community, it has ensured an excellent understanding of governance and the strong ability to advocate for communities.

“If you want to influence change, you need to be at the governance table. It has been my privilege to be your board member since 2001.”

Yvonne is standing for the BOPDHB election again this October. She says BOPDHB is the second-fastest growing in New Zealand, which needs stable and strong governance to lead the development of an ever changing health service.

“My strengths are my nursing, integrity and governance experience which enables commitment to our communities and an advocate for the health and welfare of our environment.

“Equity of access is paramount and it is a commitment of mine to ensure this DHB continues to provide and enhance services where needed.

“The BOPDHB is not all about hospitals; its primary care and communities. These areas have increasing demands and as a DHB we need to achieve this by supporting our populations, health professionals and organisations to ensure an integrated approach to life, health and wellness,” says Yvonne.

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COUNTRY LIVING

Page 37

Elderly significant contributors There is a tired, old phrase that “elderly people are a burden on our society” but Jacinta Gray of Miranda Smith Homecare says there is another side to this story.

And her views are backed by the World Health Organisation.

Take a few moments to think about the elderly people you know. Do they look after their grandchildren or maybe someone else’s? Are they continuing to work past their retirement age? Have they ever taught you something you couldn’t learn on Google?

There is an assumption that if a person no longer pays tax, they drain from those who do. But imagine if we placed a financial value on the hours of childcare and volunteering that many do. “Did you know that one in five elderly New Zealanders volunteer for two or more charities?” asks Jacinta. Add in the time spent caring for an elderly spouse, soon the value overtakes any cost of care or pension.

Most concerning is when elderly people believe they are a burden to those around them. This belief, if left unchallenged, leads to isolation and loneliness some-

thing that affects more than half of the New Zealand elderly population, says Jacinta.

“Visits, even once a week, can transform that. When families are unable to do so, the careful, sensitive introduction of supportive care can make all the difference.”

One of Jacinta’s client’s daughters called yesterday to tell her of the difference in her mum’s life now she has her Wednesday visit to the local food market to look forward to.

“No one knows who will need care; some never do, others need it for years,” says Jacinta. “It is a lottery, but as a caring society nobody should have to worry about how their care is going to be met when they are most vulnerable.”

Au pair services expand nationwide A new partnership between Au Pair Link and PORSE extends the availability of comprehensive childcare services to new areas of New Zealand.

The collaboration between the two home-based early childhood education services means families have access to more options when choosing inhome childcare.

Families within PORSE-licenced areas can now take advantage of the ability to place with Au Pair Link’s experienced and fully screened au pairs.

The partnership with PORSE expands the number of licensed regions covered from 14 to 76 to include areas such as Hawke’s Bay, Whangarei, Dunedin, Nelson, Blenheim, Invercargill, Gore, Queenstown and the Wairarapa.

Au Pair Link general manager Casey Muraahi says the company received weekly enquiries for au pairs outside licensed regions.

“The partnership with PORSE enables us to better meet these demands and find placements for the hundreds of au pairs looking for host families.

“Families reach out to au pair services for a number of reasons, and we undertake a rigorous process to ensure each family gets the right au pair for them.

“By sharing our resources with PORSE Kiwi children are better able to receive the 1:1 attention and care they deserve.”

Casey says au pairs can help alleviate the stress many people can feel nowadays, especially when juggling work and childcare responsibilities in regional industries.

“We want the best for all Kiwi children, and our expansion in to regional areas helps to connect us with more and more families who want to give their children all the attention growing minds need.”

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Page 38

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Look out for subdivision rule changes in the Waikato “I should have looked at the proposed subdivision rules when they were notified by council. If only I had realised the significance of the changes.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this said over the years.

You see, most residents are busy

getting on with their lives and don’t really have the time or inclination to be bothered with the continual announcement of changes to this rule and that.

I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to keeping an eye on rules that affect me personally – it can be a daunting task.

But we really can’t afford to be complacent, can we? There have been major changes to subdivision rules during the last several years and helping people keep ahead of them has kept us in business through some otherwise quiet times.

But not everybody is aware these changes are in the pipeline and what effect they will have. So you must keep an eye out in the mailbox and local media for proposed changes and have your say.

You should always make submissions on the rule changes whether you agree or disagree with proposals – don’t believe that the rules will end up as council initially advertises. I’ve seen cases where the Environment Court makes a ruling quite different to

either that originally proposed by council or that proposed by a submitter. Currently, we are involved in appeals to the Thames-Coromandel District Plan and we are watching closely the developments at Waikato District Council.

They are due to advertise a plan change soon which, no doubt, will have a significant effect on rural landowners in the region. With options for subdividing a small farming-horticultural, lifestyle or retirement block already minimal, it is due to get a lot, lot harder in my opinion.

Super City

The new Waikato Plan will cover the part of Franklin annexed when the Auckland Super City was formed. This should see similar rules established across the district.

However, it will mean a radical change to the existing regime in both parts, I believe. You can expect to see transferable titles disappear and lifestyle blocks be virtually eliminated unless they are being subdivided off very large blocks or protecting major ecological features. For those in this area it has never been more important to plan ahead and obtain additional titles now to give you flexibility in managing and developing your property in the future.

So, if you have been procrastinating over how to get the best value out of your land, now is the time to act – before it is too late. If you are interested to find out how the changes may affect you, feel free to give me a call and discuss your situation.

Brent Trail, managing director of Surveying Services, specialises in resource consent applications for subdivisions across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

For further information call 07 838 1571 or email: btrail@surveyingservices.co.nz

Flying into a new land-based career Wayne Pamment, a former avionics engineer, farmer and land resources manager, has taken a new career path – this time into real estate.

area of Kaikoura.

He’s the newest rural and lifestyle Wayne aims to bring a high level salesperson to join the team at of service to the rural real estate Harcourts Hamilton in the Hillsector from his extensive undercrest office. standing and experience of the He’s made the move after a primary industry. three-year professional career He’s been involved at the at Tatua Co-operative highest level with the dairy company as land regulatory and compliresources manager. ance challenges the There he managed the industry faces including company’s 600-cow nutrient management, dairy farm, wastewater effluent, milk cooling, irrigation system, riparian management plan, Harcourts Hamilton’s newest riparian management, animal welfare, and resource consents and Rural and lifestyle salesperson pasture and cropping. was involved in enviWayne Pamment.

He also farmed through ronmentally sustainable the 2007/2008 Global Financial Crisis initiatives and research programmes. period and understands what tough Wayne believes his three years at times are.

Tatua has helped to culture a mindset Wayne says he chose to join the Harand skillset that focuses him to deliver courts team due to its great culture and “value-add” in everything he’s charged values coupled with the recent adoption with. Strong values and commitment of some advanced in-house technolto task are also attributes Wayne further ogy that will hugely benefit clients to refined with the small Morrinsvilleachieve the best result, or buyers to find based dairy company. that desired property.

But these were first developed from a With the support of Harcourts, a New farming upbringing in the Bay of Plenty Zealand company that specialises only and a seven-year stint in the RNZAF in real estate now based in 10 countries, as an avionics engineer. Wayne then and recently voted Reader’s Digest’s with his wife and family ventured on most trusted realty company for a 14-year dairy career from north of the fourth year in succession, Wayne Auckland to the southern city of is focused on deliverables that put Invercargill, and finished with purchaspeople first. ing an 800-cow farm in the majestic

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Page 39

Materials and tools available for all building projects If you’re taking on a building project on your farm or lifestyle block, your first stop should be PlaceMakers.

PlaceMakers owner-operator Steve Kinsey says his Hamilton City store has all you will need to get that building up and operational and built with minimum stress.

“We have a comprehensive range of building material and hardware products; and of course our helpful staff can help with expert advice on what you need or a range of alternative options.

“We have great information on our website to help make the decisions; with the easy-touse product search it makes it easy to look at all options making sure you have the right building supplies.

Then the next stop should be your local PlaceMakers store to make your building project easy and straightforward.

PlaceMakers has a range of tools and equipment to ensure you have the right gear for the job “From the small handyman job to the full-on building project

PlaceMakers has everything you will ever need and if we don’t have it we will source it for our customers.”

PlaceMakers also has a wide range of sheds from the backyard to larger implement sheds and leanto sheds. These are all constructed with round poles, heavy gauge steel in either Coloursteel or plain Zincalume with H5 treated pine poles. These sheds are engineered to be great in any weather conditions and designed to suit any situation.

Broadband initiative benefits rural areas The first phase of the Government’s Rural Broadband Initiative is now complete, benefitting 300,000 homes and businesses, says Communications Minister Amy Adams.

“Under the programme, rural communities around New Zealand have significantly improved broadband, thanks to the Government’s $300 million investment into RBI. “We’ve seen a considerable improvement in access, reliability and speeds across New Zealand.

“Prior to our RBI build, only 20 per cent of rural lines were capable of speeds about 5Mbps. RBI phase one increases this to 90 per cent of rural New Zealand households and businesses, and speeds are in fact well in excess of 5Mbps.

“Before the project, our rural communities were grappling with poor speeds, little better than dial up – but are now enjoying speeds around 100 times faster. Prior to the project, 30 of our rural schools had fibre – now 1034 do.”

All New Zealand state and state-integrated schools

are able to connect under RBI or UFB, or the Remote Schools Broadband Initiative. About 39 rural hospitals and integrated family centres are able to access peak speeds of 100Mbps under the RBI. “Connectivity is a necessity. It’s an essential part of New Zealand’s growing economic and social infrastructure, and even more integral for our rural communities.

“RBI has delivered enormous gains for our remote and rural communities, and I encourage New Zealanders to get on board,” says Amy. Under the RBI, Vodafone has completed all 154 new towers built to deliver rural broadband. A further 355 tower upgrades are now complete, with just 32 left to be upgraded.

Alongside this Chorus has upgraded 1242 cabinets, which means more than 110,000 rural lines can now access faster fixed broadband, well exceeding the original target of 103,000 rural lines.

LIFESTYLE FARMING

Page 40

No-mess rat eradicators counts too That 10 out of 10 rating meant Sonya was happy to purchase another A24 trap. She’s part of a growing number of Kiwis who own multiple Goodnature humane and toxin-free traps.

For example, Laurence farms near Morrinsville and he hasn’t seen any rats or damage since buying five Sonya bought a Goodnature Strike Counter to get A24 traps. Kerry has 10 A12 possum traps on Banks a more accurate picture of the work her A24 trap was Peninsula and is admiring the growing population of doing at her duckpond. kereru wood pigeon, thanks to the absence of rats, “It has been amazing to watch the counter click off on his farm. the number of kills, In each case these customers like the traps because, and no rats have ever rather than waiting to been sighted in the be cleared and reset, morning when the they’re instead waittrap was checked.” In ing for the next pest all, Sonya has had 49 to come along. kills counted and no Department dead rates sighted. of Conservation The reason Sonya predator experts and many other call Goodnature’s Goodnature traptraps the best they’ve pers don’t see the ever tested and that’s full impact they because they’ve cleared have with their rats from large tracts of A24 trap is because forest within months of scavenging. and kept it that way.

Goodnature “It’s great for instance director and s and Counter Kit to see Rotorua Canopy Goodnature A24 self-resetting trap are killing rats. trap co-inventor they that Tours using their tourgives owners peace of mind Robbie van Dam ism business to educate says it’s the animal about conservation while kingdom out there “and there are plenty of critters also protecting it through using our traps,” says happy to have a free lunch when our trap automatiRobbie. The award-winning tourism operator last cally releases its kill upon resetting”. year deployed 100 hectares’ worth of Goodnature So powerful is the picture the counter paints of trap network that has removed all rats from their the A24’s impact, that Goodnature this autumn zipline area and beyond. launched the A24 Trap and Counter Kit. “Whether it’s home, “We surveyed hundreds of our trap users and got the bach or the bush, a clear signal that people want counters with their Goodnature traps traps,” says Robbie. “Sonya’s trap would have still are great for your knocked off those 49 rodents without a counter, backyard, however but it gave her that peace of mind that she’d made a big,” says Robbie. smart investment.”

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CALVING

Page 41

Many benefits from improving calf gut health There has been a dramatic uptake in the use of Opticell UF this season, as word is spreading around calf-rearers who have seen the effects of improved gut health in their calves, says BEC Feed Solutions country manager Trina Parker.

“Opticell costs around nine cents per calf per day, and is very cost-effective aid to calf health. We recommend it is fed for a minimum of two weeks and ideally for four weeks-plus.”

Trina says calf-rearers across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions have commented that there is noticeably less odour in the calf sheds. She suggests this is due to digested milk and visibly less faeces. So the benefits show immediately due to less mess to clean up.

“Calves previously agitated and hungry in the afternoon are now relaxed and content, even on once-aday feeding regimes.

“Some farmers notice a decline in navel sucking, and some notice interest in meal and hay appears to be greater in the first week.

“The quicker and more they consume of meal and hay, the quicker the vital rumen is developed.”

Trina says customers are seeing the benefits of using a naturally-derived fibre and the prebiotic effects, where previously all they had was mined bentonite and zeolite that bind up the calf with no prebiotic effect.

Prebiotics are important in calf-rearing and calf health. Opticell provides the important aspect of fibre to the developing calf diet. Fibre acts in two ways to aid the health of the calf.

Opticell Plus Ultra Fine is a naturally-derived prebiotic fibre, developed for inclusion in calf milk replacer or whole milk that nurtures and promotes ‘eubiosis’ or a ‘good balance’ of microbes within the digestive tract. Prebiotic fibre “feeds the good bugs” to maintain a healthy balance, and therefore less room for the bad bugs.

Adding Opticell Plus to prepared milk helps counteract nutritional scours, especially when transitioning calves onto new feeding regimes. For example, from twice-a-day feeding to once-a-day or when changing milk source or as feed intake increases, says Trina.

Opticell Plus encourages water absorption in the colon, which helps to improve faecal quality and reduce incidence of nutritional scours.

When even the healthiest of calves can succumb to scours, prevention is definitely the key where possible.

ENGINEERING

Benefits of Opticell Plus include: • Reduced time spent nursing unwell calves.

• Reduced medical intervention.

• Drier litter, less smell.

• Increased average daily weight gain.

• Earlier weaning due to early and increased feed intake.

• Easy to mix with prepared milk.

EFFLUENT

Page 42

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EFFLUENT

Page 43

Surviving spring and overdrawn ‘sleep accounts’ Although I reside in Hamilton City where my “total effective graze-able area” is controlled by a push mower, my mind is never far from the memories of gumboots, raincoats and mud.

I remember spring. When the alarm goes off, it’s like the starter’s gun for a day-long sprint. There are cows in the calving mob to check, newborns to match with mothers then tag and record, milking, feeding calves, feeding cows, getting in newly-calved cows, checking and treating sick animals, teaching new calves to feed, drafting cows into new mobs; and maybe, if there’s time, trying to lift the old girl that went down.

Spring is when the ‘sleep account’ of every staff member is in overdraft and stress is at its highest. The one saving grace is that this period is relatively short. When you think you’ve had an absolute guts full and can take no more, it’s over.

Good and bad

Here are some ideas that may help. When the dust settles, it’s good to have discussions with staff and analyse what your practises have been, both good and bad.

While everything is fresh in their minds, get their suggestions on ways to improve

for next year. And while you’re at it, look ahead three months and together do a checklist of the tasks you’ll need to get through.

Discussions like this turn mere employees into a committed team.

On my recent rounds with clients, I came across a number of issues you might include in your staff talks.

Farmers are turning to homegrown supplements in the way of maize or grass silage.

Although these can reduce costs, watch out for nasty surprises; there is nothing worse than finding a large percentage of the bales you stacked last year are spoiled due to holes from rough handling.

Dry matter

If it’s really wet and you have a grass shortage, utilise supplements for the short-term to protect your grass and avoid pugging. Be aware of dry matter – in particular, metabolisable energy and protein for your cows to get balance.

If you are feeding high amounts of maize at eight per cent protein, then a high protein to counteract this may be needed – such as soya meal at 48 per cent protein

or DDG at 28 per cent. Search for a blend and get advice while you have your own feed to mix it with.

During a wet spring, a lot of sulphur will have leached out of the soil, so consider applying nitrogen to get your feed growing. Ammonium sulphate is a good option since it will deliver sulphur and nitrogen that will hang around and be fully utilised.

There are publications showing it will grow grass at six degrees Celsius soil temperature.

But don’t use urea. Urea needs at least 10 degrees Celsius to be effective and won’t grow grass in wet and cold conditions Here’s one thing I’m concerned about: the increasing numbers of farmers putting on lime in large amounts without first knowing where their soil’s calcium levels are at.

One farmer wasted money putting on three tonnes of lime per hectare when he only needed one.

The real expense is not the lime, which is relatively cheap. The cost is animal health.

Excess calcium puts downward pressure on magnesium, which will have a negative effect on animal health.

Although the daily grind of spring may

take your eye off the long-term picture, a phone call and some help may well make the next three months easier. I’m here if you need me.

Many farmers already meet new rules for bobby calf care New regulations to strengthen the law around the treatment of bobby calves have been officially gazetted says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy. “They are an important step in protecting animals and New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible producer. They set clear standards and include a wider set of compliance tools, including the ability to issue infringement notices for lower level offending and broader prosecutable offences.”

The changes, which came into effect on August 1, 2016, include: • Requiring that young calves must be at least four days of age and physically fit be-fore they are transported for sale or slaughter.

• Setting a maximum duration of 12 hours journey time for young calves being trans-ported.

• Prohibiting the transport of young calves by sea across Cook Strait.

• Prohibiting the killing of any calves by use of blunt force to the head, except in an emergency situation.

“Most farmers care for their animals and good operators will not notice much difference.”

Three further regulations will be introduced under a delayed startdate to provide enough time to make the business changes necessary.

These regulations include: • Maximum time off feed before slaughter (no more than 24 hours after the calf was last fed on farm). (Taking effect on February 1, 2017).

• Requiring that loading and unloading facilities be provided and used when young calves are transported for sale and slaughter.

(Taking effect on August 1, 2017).

• Requiring that suitable shelter be provided for young calves before and during trans-portation, and at points of sale or slaughter. (Taking effect on August 1, 2017) “I want to thank the Bobby Calf Action Group for all their valuable input throughout the process,” says Nathan.

The new regulations are part of a suite of wider initiatives being undertaken by Government and all of the industries involved with bobby calves to ensure best practice.

More information on the new regulations covering a range of animal welfare areas is avail-able at: www.mpi.govt.nz/calves

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DAIRY

Page 44

The added value of dolomite this spring There’s a school of thought seemingly prevalent among the science and farming communities in New Zealand that although changes are required to soil fertility systems in order to stem further environmental damage, they can be made by tweaking the existing urea-fuelled conventional system.

Recent reports indicate some of our pastoral soils have been losing carbon at the rate of one tonne per hectare per year for the last 20 to 30 years, and currently all irrigated land, without exception, is losing carbon.

Carbon is the foundation of future farming and growing, with the most productive soils being those with the greatest amount of carbon.

There may be debate about whether carbon is the same as humus, and how stable that may be. However, it doesn’t alter the fact that, under present systems, we’re chewing through our productive base at an everincreasing rate.

DAIRY TECH

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Net carbon loss

Overseas trial work shows the reason for the loss is almost certainly the use of fertiliser nitrogen, particularly urea, of which more than 750,000 tonnes is applied each year to pastoral land in New Zealand.

Urea, according to the research, stimulates bacterial activity, which in turn utilises carbon for energy. If this use of carbon is greater than the amount sequestered, there is a net loss. And, as a result, physical soil structures deteriorate, and nutrient and moisture storage as well as plant growth steadily decline.

Tweaking the existing systems won’t provide the necessary fundamental changes, and current discussion around mitigating the adverse environmental effects of conventional practices indicates there’s no genuine alternative technology coming out of mainstream science and advice.

There are, however, other pathways that increasing numbers of farmers are exploring. And at the base of the most effective is Golden Bay Dolomite. Dolomite is essentially a magnesium fertiliser and not appropriate for use where natural magnesium levels are high; soil testing will provide that information.

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Powerful conditioner

Dolomite is a powerful soil conditioner in its own right, alleviating at least some of the downward pressure caused by heavy feet.

This means excess water percolates away more readily, and plant roots are able to penetrate further, accessing both moisture and nutrient from a greater depth.

Magnesium is a carrier of phosphorus, and when phosphorus inputs are being reduced to limit fertiliser costs, it’s good to know the cycling of phosphorus is being given some extra impetus.

With improved soil structures clovers are healthier and fix more nitrogen, with the potential damage by flea and weevil reduced.

The importance of clover is difficult to overstate. Its ability to replace fertiliser nitrogen is critical to the future of farming, and its value as milking and fattening tucker is also often underestimated.

Clover calcium Clover contains three to four times the amount of calcium of grasses and is more digestible. During the period from early-November until late April, when soil temperatures decline, animals fed a diet rich in clover produce at significantly higher levels.

If dolomite is to be applied prior to November, nitrogen inputs can then be steadily reduced, encouraging clover growth when soil temperatures are too high for strong grass growth.

Spreading dolomite is a useful first step in the implementation of a more efficient and effective programme that allows farming to continue within the coming regulations. For more information call Peter on 0800 436 566 (0800 4Dolomite).

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magnesium products. But none that are as effective.

Dolomite is a naturally occurring rock containing both calcium and magnesium. The normal annual application rate of 200kg/ha-220kg/ha provides 23kg-25kg magnesium/ha, and may be applied at any time.

The main reason for considering its use is the positive effect it has on calcium and magnesium related metabolic disorders in spring, and these effects can often be almost immediate.

Fewer clinical cases are reported, with the tell-tale signs of wobbling and aggressive behaviour usually obvious well in advance, providing time for effective treatment to take place. The response to the initial treatment is usually rapid and often no further action is required.

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Government assistance to farmers following the June 2015 Taranaki-Horizons storm has helped the worsthit farms with on-farm infrastructure repair, including access and fencing, and removal of silt and debris, says report into the support.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says the funding has helped get basic farm systems restored and in turn support other businesses providing rural services.

“These storms had a major impact on the region and caused widespread damage, so it’s pleasing to see that Government funding has made a real difference.

“The storm on June 18 to 20, 2015 brought widespread heavy rainfall, flooding and erosion to the Taranaki and Horizons regions. Hill sheep and beef farmers were particularly affected by flooding of river margins and damage to tracks and fences, with damage also to dairy land and young forest plantations.”

The Government provided an assistance package for affected farmers totalling $1.68 million made up of: • $1,280,000 contingency funding for rural on-farm infrastructure repair • $300,000 support for regional councils’ resilience initiatives • $100,000 for building business resilience activities.

“Many farmers have now shown an increased interest in projects that would reduce sediment loss to rivers and have wider community benefits, like erosion control and riparian planting.

“The Ministry for Primary Industries, Horizons and Taranaki Regional Councils, and the local Rural Support Trusts all worked together to quickly get farmers back to business.”

DAIRY

Page 45

Proper planning prevents pitiful performance Landcorp’s decision to stop using Palm Kernel Expeller may signal a return to a more pasturebased farming – the way it used to be in this country.

Landcorp is not only New Zealand’s biggest farming entity, but it is also a recognised leader in farming practices and it will be interesting to see if this sets a trend away from what I called the ‘KFC fast food for cows’ that is PKE. In the eight to 10 years that PKE has been imported whole industries have been built around its shipment, storage, transport and feeding to livestock.

What has also happened in that time is the quality of homegrown grass and maize silage, and the technology to harvest wrap and feed out, has markedly improved.

There was a time when grass silage was made from surplus usually poor quality grass, which farmers cut and made into wrapped bale silage. And if they had a surplus it was quite often sold to make a quick buck, but the quality left a lot to be desired.

We have never done that. We grow and manage our silage crops specifically for making high quality silage, which is tested and consistently achieves Metabolisable Energy levels of about 11.9.

We apply fertiliser, sow specific grass species, spray weeds and then harvest at the peak feed quality stage when it is green and leafy in spring, and well before it turns to seed.

Rural communities

I’d be pleased to see a reduction in the importation of PKE, not just for our own business but also for the hundreds of rural contractors and growers throughout the country who rely on making silage themselves or for farmers.

Buying NZ-grown quality supplements benefit entire rural communities, not just a few PKE importers.

Then there’s the everpresent biosecurity risk around PKE, which comes from tropical countries with pests and diseases, including foot and mouth, which we certainly don’t want in New Zealand.

It’s not just Landcorp which is moving away from PKE. I’ve been contacted by some other big farming operators who are also discontinuing its use.

The moves may be triggered partly by Fonterra’s recommendation in September 2015 that farmers feed a maximum of three kilograms of PKE per cow per day to reduce the risk of milk taint and then there is the question mark

around sustainability.

It could also be around biosecurity concerns, but whatever the reason if more and more farmers follow Landcorp’s lead then they are going to have to rethink farming practices, going back to more tried and true methods including growing more of their own supplements like lucerne for drought tolerance and a high energy feed with a good source of protein or maize for high energy silage with a good source of starch.

Less maize grown

and they want more money, plus cover all the growing, management and harvesting costs, so will only be growing to order again this season.

The continuing wet weather is creating lots of issues. Looks like I’ll be flying on urea as some of the paddocks are too wet to drive over, but we have to give the soil a boost to get the growth ready for the grass silage crops.

It’s been so wet some farmers in Reporoa are saying they are having problems with mud – almost unheard of on their pumice soils.

New Zealand-grown supplements can’t equal the 22 cents to 28 cents price of PKE unless grown on a farm.

But if farmers buy good quality feed with tests results showing it has high ME values, they can afford to pay more. To find out what you can afford to pay, go to the DairyNZ website to check out the supplement price calculator: See: www.dairynz.co.nz/feed/feed-management-tools/ supplement-price-calculator/ If you enter in the higher ME values of about 11.9, which our silage achieves, you’ll see you can afford to pay more per bale of quality feed to achieve better results, be it putting on cow condition or milk in the vat.

Like other contractors and growers, we are planning our planting programmes for the coming season and I believe not as much maize will be grown nationally this year because contractors and growers have been let down by clients cancelling orders during the last few years.

Growing supplements is a high-cost, high-risk business. We have to pay the owners of the land we lease,

PK / SILAGE BUNKERS

DESIGN – SUPPLY – BUILD

Now is the time for farmers to prepare their feed budgets for the season ahead, and order in the supplementary feeds they need and plan their cropping requirements for the coming season as with it being so wet for so long who knows what the weather gods have in store for us this summer?

As I always say – proper planning prevents pitiful performance – and no one can afford pitiful performance in these tight times.

These are the personal opinions of Bill Webb.

DAIRY

Page 46

Maize crops require the right soil nutrients It’s that time of year for me – taking samples for maize-growing clients, including several who have award-winning crops in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region.

Maize is one hungry plant for nutrients and if you don’t feed the soil right you can really compromise production. Therefore, it is imperative to find out what is lacking by soil testing.

But I find myself in constant despair about how much poor knowledge there is in being able to grow decent maize crops.

Unless there is a drought, you should be able to expect a maize silage crop of at least

25 tonnes DM/ha.

Recently, I visited a maize contactor using one of the fertiliser co-op representatives to do their soil tests; and their ‘agronomist’ was telling me he likes to get a calcium base saturation percentage to 60 per cent.

This was based on a test result from a Waikato-based laboratory, and while this rule of thumb may work on higher Cation Exchange Capacity soils it would be unwise on low CEC soils or else over-liming can be an issue as the soil can become calcified, creating magnesium and potassium deficiencies.

During the years I’ve run into people who’ve read professor William Albrecht’s

books and research and try to aim for his ratios.

But do this using a New Zealand laboratory that uses CEC methodology, which buffers the soil to a pH of 7 in the lab, compared to Total Exchange Capacity that uses the field pH of the soil which American labs do.

This includes Brookside Laboratories, the original Albrecht lab in Ohio, which is my lab of choice. Albrecht ratios should not be considered if using a local laboratory with different testing methodology.

Manganese deficiency

The other issue I have with these local soil tests is they normally only consider six or seven elements, yet plants need 16 to grow properly. Elements such as boron and zinc are critical for maize, and over-liming peat soils in particular can cause manganese deficiency.

Maize is very hungry for potassium and I sometimes meet farmers who go to the effort and expense of spraying out and working up paddocks properly and buying the seed, yet do not apply enough fertiliser nutrients.

Here I also blame some of the historical recommendations put out by some of the maize seed companies, who like to trim back fertiliser inputs, thinking it an unnecessary cost.

Some soils are naturally high in potassium; and if effluent paddocks are being used to grow maize there is probably little need for additional potassium, but always refer to soil test figures before leaving potassium out of the base fertiliser dressing.

Potassium Chloride

On low potassium soils up to 800kg/ ha of potassium chloride can be applied as part of the base fertiliser dressing.

Phosphorus is another nutrient that should not be compromised, particularly on volcanic ash soils.

Another forgotten element is carbon, or organic matter in the soil. This determines the nutrient and moisture holding capacity in the soil and is also what soil organisms thrive on. On continuous maize ground, organic matter levels become depleted over time and applying animal manures such as cowshed effluent, feed-pad waste, chicken manure, goat manure, horse manure or compost materials will be beneficial.

If using composts, try not to get ones which are full of woody plant material and twigs. Go for ones with more leafy material where the carbon to nitrogen ratio is no more than about 18:1.

Snake oil

Maize is also a target for “snake oil” products. I recall about 15 years ago a maize client wanted to try a particular product, which someone he knew had become a rep for, which cost a lot of money for very little nutrient.

Their claim was that their particular product would release all of the bound up nutrients in the soil and no additional base fertiliser would be needed.

Within about a month of planting it was significantly poorer than the area which had conventional fertiliser, which soil tests had shown was required.

If coming out of permanent pasture, the amount of nitrogen required is likely to be minimal if at all – particularly if there has been a lot of effluent applied – but on continuously cropped ground, nitrogen in both the starter fertiliser and side-dressing will be required.

Di Ammonium Phosphate at 250kg/ ha is a good starter fertiliser where phosphorus levels are low or only just adequate. And there are currently a couple of importers selling DAP considerably cheaper than the two main co-ops, but this needs to be pre-ordered to ensure supply.

Side-dressing

If phosphorus levels are high, then using a product like Calcium Ammonium Nitrate at 150kg/ha is a cheaper option as a starter fertiliser.

Using SustaiN nitrogen as a sidedressing may be slightly more expensive than straight urea, but as this is applied coming into summer, having the protective Agrotain coating which reduces volatilisation for these higher rates of N needed does give greater insurance that the N will be taken up by the crop.

On low sulphur soils Sulphate of Ammonia can be considered for side-dressing. The N lost through volatilisation from SOA is very minimal and only a fraction of what is lost even when using SustaiN. However, if using sulphur in the base fertilisers, the sulphur demands of the maize may have already been met and SOA is a more expensive source of N than urea or SustaiN. ROBIN BOOM CPAg, member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists.

Robin Boom

CPAg MBSPC

Independent Agronomy & Soil Fertility Consultant

GRUNDFOS ®

DAIRY

Avoid convoluted, keep it simple

They often get completely overrun with everything, which can lead to ill health, heart attack and so on.

A great friend of mine had a small farm in the South Island. He ran some breeding ewes and kept replacements.

He grew wheat, barley, white clover seed and rye grass seed. He reared calves and fattened them. He bought extra cattle and sold them.

He had all has own gear and did everything himself – and, yes a great operation – but on top of his own chooks, a house cow and five dogs his life was “chocka”. Oh, and let’s not forget the 50 weaner pigs, and fattening them on grain etc. Plus he also took in winter grazing.

After much discussion, he realised that, yes, a lot had to go and now he’s down to a more simple system and is able to get away on holiday. At the peak he was suffering from anxiety, depression and overload. His poor wife.

the farming business. Have you got trusts, companies and partnerships, and how do they all fit together? Try to keep it as simple as you can. Companies can be very complicated and hard to understand. If you are not comfortable with them say so at the outset.

Maybe have the farm in a trust. Then have the stock and plant in a company or partnership and pay rent to the trust. Keep it simple.

Some people have incredible “money-go-rounds”. Goodness knows how they understand their accounts, let alone how their accountant does.

On the dairy farm, have simple systems which you can notate and keep a track of. This might include having 32 nearly-equal sized paddocks so you can fit your rotation around those 32 days.For example, 32 days is your summer rotation and all multiples from there.

In the avocado orchard (now sold) we identified the five essential things that needed to be done to produce a good crop and focussed on those five things successfully. We only had a small amount of gear and kept it simple.

Trust universe

Simple style

We see people with such complicated lives and complicated businesses and you wonder how they cope. In fact, many don’t.

What was driving him was also fear. Fear of not having enough to do and fear of not enough money. Once he slowed down and simplified the operation and trusted himself and the universe, everything started to come right.

I’ve often found people in financial trouble frequently have crazy, mixed up and complicated finances. Their left hand would hardly know what their right hand was doing. I often struggled to understand how it all fitted together; and clearly they had little or no idea as well.

Often they would pass me their set of accounts with the comment: “I have not got a clue how these all work”.

With that going on it is easy to see why they were in financial trouble. They just spent up to their income, which resulted in them basically running out of money. They needed to keep it simple so they understood their own business It is the same with ownership structures on

We are now building a new home. We have got a good team in the designer and builder and I keep reminding them to keep it simple. An example here is the roof has one long gable. Boring you may say, but sometimes simple form and style is best. Interestingly, the builder showed me an architecturallydesigned house that he did not want to even quote on. It had more roof breaks and triangular walls than you can imagine.

Spending less than you earn or conversely earning more than you spend is a simple philosophy. Keep it simple

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So, I could go on and on here, but the message is simple: ‘keep it simple’. Avoid convoluted complicated processes and systems and the benefits from a less cluttered business are all yours.

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

Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought. Don Fraser is the Principal of Fraser Farm Finance and a consultant to the Farming Industry.

Contact him on 0800 777 675 or 021 777 675. A disclosure document is available on request.

Page 47

DAIRY

Page 48

Down cows, no longer a fact of dairy life Death and taxes may be a certainty in life – but for dairy farmers, down cows don’t have to be.

Nutrition company DSM’s technical manager and nutritionist Dr Joe McGrath is urging farmers to work harder to stop “down cows”, and make their dairying days more enjoyable and more profitable.

“We take a very accepting view of down cows in New Zealand, like it is just part of dairying life. In real-

ity it does not have to be that way.”

Joe also lectures in ruminant nutrition at The University of New England, New South Wales, Australia, and spent much of his career studying mineral utilisation and deposition within cattle.

He says unfortunately the acceptance of down cows being part of life is reinforced by their prevalence during spring time.

“I challenge anyone to take a drive around the back roads of the Waikato in July and not see at least one down or dead cow,” says Jo.

DairyNZ published a report indicating there are about two per cent of cows in a herd that actually go down in NZ during the calving period.

“That is 50,000 cows within the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions alone.

“Down cows are just the tip of the iceberg. For every one that goes down, there are at least 10 times more that are sub-

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clinically suffering the same problem.

“In fact DairyNZ suggests that 33 per cent of all cows in New Zealand are affected. This results in further problems with calving, milk production, fertility and mastitis through the season.”

Not to mention cost, the impact of hypocalcaemia adds up to losses the industry can ill afford.

“According to DairyNZ in 2012 milk fever will cost farmers about $400 million on treatments resulting from calcium deficiency. However, these are treatment costs and are not prevention. Often the damage to the cow is already done.”

The $400 million includes not only calcium treatments for down cows, but fertility treatments for retained membranes, non-cycling cows and treating cows with calving difficulties.

“These are all the ‘usual’ conditions farmers have come to accept as normal demands and costs for calving time.”

Stressful time

Furthermore, it has been conservatively estimated that poor health of dairy cows during the calving period is costing the industry more than $1 billion dollars annually.

“And anyone who manages a herd will appreciate the precious time lost in managing these down cows at a very busy, stressful time of year.”

But Joe estimates an effective prevention strategy using low-cost, calcium-based supplements would be one-tenth, or only $8 a head – about $40 million for the industry – of the cost of having a hypo-calcaemic herd.

“By supplementing large amounts of magnesium prior to calving with dusting, drenching, and water dosing and using anionic salt based springer diets, we enable the cow to get her required calcium from her skeleton.

“While utilising the cow’s skeleton as a source of calcium at calving is wellpractised and often successful it is likely leading to calcium deficiencies later in life.”

Jo says this method of keeping cows healthy at calving is antiquated and risky. It relies on the cow having a healthy skeleton prior to calving and ensuring it is replaced during the following lactation.

Mining skeleton

It is likely mining of the skeleton is the reason the incidence of milk fever increases as they get older, and it is worse with better producing cows.

While in NZ Joe has been working with the business Sollus to develop nutritional systems to help address calcium and phosphorus deficiency issues behind many of the health problems on New Zealand dairy farms.

“We know now how to incorporate calcium into pre-calving diets, which leads to healthier cows now and into their future.”

But he cautions the utilisation of calcium within the cow’s diet precalving and post-calving should only be done as part of an advanced nutritional programme, as there are many other nutritional imbalances in grass diets that need to be fixed first. “Farmers we work with often get to the point where a down cow is most unusual.”

DAIRY

Page 49

Sechura use is making a difference in farming There are many phosphate products on the market and each one has different qualities.

At Kiwi Fertiliser, we search the globe for quality products.

As far as phosphate is concerned, our choice is Sechura RPR. For a start it is a natural product and does not need to be manufactured with sulphuric acid to make it effective. It is an alkaline product that fits in nicely with our acid soils.

Explosive results

To get maximum effect, sulphur needs to be added, as our soils are sulphur deficient. When sulphur is added, the results are almost explosive. Here are several farmer reactions.

“Considering how poor the season has been we came through the winter drought reasonably well, the farm held its colour when other farms in the district did not.

“Also after the recent weather bomb there have been no metabolic issues which is wonderful.

The ewes are milking up, must be the available calcium in Sechura as it has not been buggerised by acidification like superphosphate.”

Another said: “Very pleased, we put Sechura on the tiger country with big improvements seen in all areas”.

Plus: “Put it on, got a quick response just like using a soluble phosphate so the bio-availability is tops”.

And: “From a

soil testing point of view it is certainly elevating phosphate which is awesome. So it is certainly coming into the system quickly, also another great benefit is you can put sulphur with it as the calcium in Sechura counters the acidity of the sulphur. It is great for elevating soil pH”.

“We are seeing better clovers and more soil biology such as worms and other beneficial critters.” And one said: “Blends incredibly well with Ag lime and is a far better option than dicalcic superphosphate”.

Shane Hurley says he’s applied Sechura RPR with compost on a number of occasions on his hill country property Pohonui, between Hunterville and Taihape.

“I’ve noticed increased clover growth on the hill, and stock health has improved. The requirements for dagging have been reduced and I put this down to the levels of useful calcium in Sechura. Acid in, runny stuff out. P levels have built using the Albrecht-Kinsey system of monitoring.”

Another says: “We have been using Sechura RPR since the early 1990s, firstly on only one property. There was much improved clover growth on the hills, and stock constitution and health improved hugely. Two similar north-facing paddocks side by side, one had Sechura, the other super. At crutching the 1500 hoggets from the Sechura block were 10kg heavier, and 200 were dagged. Of the 1500 from the super block, only 200 didn’t need a dag and were noticeably inferior hoggets”.

Talking of dicalcic, one

wag lauded reverted superphosphate’s inventor. “He was a bloody genius, he owned a lime works and was able to sell four parts phosphorus and 96 parts lime and that amount of NPK was all you needed for a sustainable farming system. He certainly built net wealth for his family and you have to admire him for that.”

The analysis of Sechura RPR varies as is normal with any mined product. A typical assay will be: phosphorus 12-13 per cent; potassium 0.45 per cent; sulphate two per cent; magnesium 0.65 per cent; calcium 25-27 per cent; sodium 1.8 per cent; boron ppm five-100; manganese ppm 70-1530; copper ppm 20-40; iron* ppm 4700-7550; zinc 80-220 ppm; liming value 70.

Cadmium is very low and citric solubility usually in the mid-40 per cent to mid-50 per cent range. *Most hill country we test is short of iron.

decreases the availability of the phosphate to plants”.

Not all RPRs are equal.

There is only one true Sechura RPR. For your own sake take a sample of any RPR you have bought and have it independently analysed.

Some operators finegrind their products before submitting that sample for analysis. That can inflate results.

Phosphate constant

Professor Ian Cornforth of Lincoln University commented: “The gradual dissolution of reactive phosphate rock fertilisers supplies plants with available phosphate at a rate roughly equal to the rate at which pasture plants absorb phosphate into their roots, so the concentration of phosphate in the soil solution remains reasonably constant.

“In contrast, phosphate fertilisers that dissolve rapidly produce a very high concentration of phosphate in the soil solution immediately after they have been applied. This encourages a reaction between the fertiliser phosphate and some soil constituents that Authorised Dealers

s Dairy Shed installations and upgrades s Service and parts for all types of milking machines

Multi-purpose wood shaving bales are easy to handle Round bales containing about four cubes of good quality wood shavings, which are easy and convenient to handle, are available from Bill Webb Feed Solutions.

Ideal for either spreading in or topping up calf pens, they can also be used for goat, duck or chicken farms as well.

“The tightly packed bales are reasonably light weight and can be cut open to remove just what’s needed, while the balance remains dry and ready for later,” says Bill.

s Drench pumps, teat spray systems, hoses and supplies s Machine Testing s Effluent and Irrigation Supplies s Pumps & Water fittings – Galvanised, PVC and Alkathene s Rubberware s Stainless Steel manufacture and repair s Trenching

Page 50

CARTAGE & EARTHWORKS

On-road and off-road cartage speciality Johnston Drainage and Contracting Ltd is wellknown in the Waikato and surrounding areas for its earthmoving works and cartage of bulk farm supplies.

The company has bulk truck and trailers operated by experienced drivers, who are well used to on-road and off-road driving, says Johnston Drainage and Contracting Ltd transport manager Paul McAlpine.

“We can assure clients of our reliable, personal and cost-effective services and can transport ferti-

liser, palm kernel, ag-lime and aggregate and more throughout the greater Waikato, Bay of Plenty and just about anywhere in the North Island.

“We go where our clients want,” says Paul.

“The company also has a transporter ideal for the cartage of farm machinery and silage bales. It has several diggers suitable for farm drainage, race work and contouring.

“With our experience in the rural sector we are able to offer the quality services farmers deserve.

“We are happy to talk to anyone about their current requirements and their future needs.”

Farmers can contract the company directly to cart material or Johnston Drainage and Contracting Ltd will work with other contractors, including fertiliser spreaders, to deliver materials where and when they are required.

Ecological conference in Hamilton ‘Restoring resilience across all environments’ is the theme for the joint conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia and the New Zealand Ecological Society being held in Hamilton from November 19-23.

The conference headline signifies an aspirational goal to restore resilience to all environments –land and sea, urban and rural – by upscaling efforts from local to regional and national scales.

The conference will be structured around 13 themes, which are designed to illustrate a broad framework and organisers welcome registration of papers, posters or symposium contributions on these topics.

They are: ecosystem function; marine, reef and estuarine ecosystems; freshwater and floodplains; forests and grasslands; restoration genetics; mining restoration; species focus; invasive and pest species management; indigenous restoration and co-management; working outside the box; society and politics; frameworks, standards and planning; methods and technologies.

This conference will bring together more than 500 delegates, who represent all levels of government, universities, students, researchers, contractors, suppliers, volunteers and consultants.

ERA 2016 conference convener Bruce Clarkson says a unique feature is a day of presentations targeted at restoration practitioners and community volunteers.

“We are focused on linking practice with research and will therefore be offering a discounted one-day registration and an accessible Sunday start on November 20,” says Bruce.

Conference information is available at: newzealandecology.org

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 51

Fit-for-purpose machines are safer Another All-Terrain Vehicle tragedy on a farm in the Bay of Plenty in August was not a good start to the month, says Transport Maintenance and Mahindra tractors salesperson Andy Lawson.

“Safety on farm and lifestyle properties has got to become a higher priority.

“The humble ATV is designed to carry one person and a few tools and maybe tow a light trailer.

“If you want more from your transport you need to look at a UTV or a 4X4 suitable for the job at hand,” The Mahindra UTVs says Andy. are designed to carry U Task more than one person Vehicles and tools, and the or ‘Side by larger models will tow Sides’ are trailers too. not new to the market, but Andy says they are increasing in popularity because they’re designed to carry more than one person – and they can tow a larger trailer, safely. “The specifications of UTVs reflect the price,

you pay for what you get.”

Andy says lightweight machines are built to carry a couple of adults and some tools.

“They will tow a light trailer comfortably, but overload them and you will come unstuck going down that slippery track.

This will hopefully be embarrassing rather than deadly.

“If you want to tow a calfateria with 500 litres of milk or a bale feeder with 750kg of silage, you need a UTV rated to tow 900 kg.

There are only a few machines out there that are workhorses not transporters.”

Transport Maintenance supplies the Mahindra mPACT UTV. “The mPACT machines are built to carry three people, and tow a 900kg trailer. You can get them in petrol or diesel to suit your requirements.

“These machines are true 4WD, with locking front and rear diffs, and 300mm ground clearance.

“Keep your family safe get equipment that is fit-for-purpose,” says Andy.

Tauranga fun day out with ‘old cranks’ A group of ‘old cranks’, some more than a century in age, will be putting on a demonstration at the Tauranga Historic Village on Sunday, September 11, which promises to entertain and enthral people of all ages.

That’s when the Tauranga Vintage Machinery Club members fire up their stationery engines, vintage tractors and machinery, plus scale models for the public to enjoy.

As well as putting on a family-orientated event, the members want more people to learn about the club and its fascinating old machines.

“The aim is to attract the younger generation into the world of heritage machines

that helped build New Zealand,” says club member Shaun Hurst.

“In today’s age these machines and vehicles are unfortunately being forgotten or overlooked; and those of us who grew up with them are thinning out so we’d like to get younger people involved.”

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Page 52

Recycling 7269 tonnes of waste plastic Support for rural recycling is growing among farmers and regional councils nationwide with the on-farm recycling scheme Plasback collecting more waste plastic than ever.

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“We collected 1822 tonnes of silage wrap and other plastic last year. This is phenomenally higher than the 10 tonnes we collected in our first year, or the 480 tonnes we collected in our fifth year,” says Plasback manager Chris Hartshorne.

The nationwide collection service, which has just celebrated it 10th anniversary, has collected nearly 100 tonnes more waste in the 2015-2016 year than in 2014-2015.

“In total, during the last decade we have collected and recycled 7269 tonnes of waste plastic that would have otherwise been burned or buried.”

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Chris says a German study has shown every tonne of agricultural film that is recycled removes the equivalent of 1273kg of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. In its decade of operation Plasback has therefore saved 9250 tonnes of CO2, which is the amount bound by 1.27 million trees.

Plasback has built up a national network of contractors to collect plastic from farms, and Chris says as the volumes they collect have grown, and the service has become more efficient.

“When more farmers book to have their plastic collected, our contractors can schedule more frequent runs to pick it up. We are proud of the fact that by increasing efficiencies, we have not had to raise the cost of an on-farm collection at all in 10 years.

Collection easier

“We have also made it much easier for our customers to book a collection online through our website or on our free phone line. In the past when someone called our free phone number, they came through to our central office in Christchurch.

“Now each call is directed straight to the local contractor, who is familiar with the area.”

To make the collection of the scrap plastic more efficient, Plasback has also commissioned two more

balers – one in Taranaki and one in Southland – to compress the plastic so it is easier to transport and export.

There are now six Plasback balers and two contract balers at work throughout the country – four in the North Island and four in the South Island – so the collection service’s infrastructure is complete.

Riverlea Contracting is the Plasback collector in Taranaki, and the new baler is in place at its yard in Kaponga. Riverlea principal Mike Silson says volumes are up and he’s pleased Taranaki farmers are getting behind the recycling scheme despite the low dairy price.

“The new baler does not really affect farmers but it does make the scheme more cost-effective. In the past we had to ship the plastic loose up to Matamata, where it was baled. Now we bale it, put it in a shipping container, and send it straight to the port,” says Mike.

Product stewardship Among the other milestones Plasback achieved in its first decade was to become the first product stewardship scheme for agriculture to receive accreditation from the Ministry for the Environment.

Chris says there is growing awareness of the need for farmers to recycle a range of products, not just farm plastic.

Regional councils are really getting behind these efforts. Canterbury and Southland have put bans on burning plastic in place and Environment Canterbury is working closely with the Ministry of the Environment on a rural waste minimisation strategy that will be rolled out nationwide when it is finished.

“They have been very supportive of Plasback’s userpays approach to product stewardship and we look forward to working closely with them in future,” says Chris. For more information, or to book on-farm collection, visit: www.plasback.co.nz

FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Page 53

COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

Page 54

trades & services

August 31

Early Bird Tickets for BOP Garden & Art Festival Early bird tickets for garden trails only, available from: www.gardenandartfest.co.nz or Baycourt Theatre in Tauranga. The festival is from November 17-20.

Waikato Rural Business Network Building The Future of Food.

At Bledisloe Building, Gate 3, Mystery Creek, Hamilton, from 6.30pm.

Interesting, relevant key note speaker. Question and answer session for in-depth understanding. Networking and socialising. A $10 cover charge includes complimentary drink and nibbles.

Cash bar available. Call Daile: 021 919 801.

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September 1

BOP Garden & Art Festival Tickets to all events available from www. gardenandartfest.co.nz or in Tauranga from Baycourt Theatre, Palmers and Décor Gardenworld.

September 2

Morrinsville Horticultural Society Spring Show From 12noon-4pm, Knox Presbyterian Church Hall, Canada St. Ph Jan 07 889 3607.

September 3

Rotorua Botanical Society Field Trip At Lake Arapuni on the Waikato River. Details at: tinyurl.com/h4zph2x Plant Sale in Hamilton From 10am-4pm, outside the information centre, Hamilton Gardens.

Free Home Composting Workshop From 3pm-4.30pm, Taupo Community Gardens. Register at tinyurl. com/gqseptb

September 6

Tactics for Spring Optimising pastures and crops in your system.

Understand how spring grazing management affects the growth and survival of

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ryegrass tillers for the rest of the season. Investigate how cropping fits into your system. Give your staff the chance to learn the skills required to help you get more out of pasture.

Discover why pasture underpins future competitiveness. Held at Fiona Wades, 7 crown Road, Paerata SN71273, from 10.30am-1.30pm.

Call Jamie 027 486 4344.

September 9

Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop From 7pm at St Francis Community Church, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, cost $20 ($10 NZTCA members), includes rootstocks (first in first served) to graft apples, pears and plums. Register: waikato@treecrops.org.nz or ph 027 695 6229.

September 9-11: Tauranga Orchid Show At Tauranga Racecourse, Greerton, from 10am-4pm daily, cost $3 adults, under12s free entry. Large display of flowering plants, plants for sale, expert advice, repotting demonstrations.

September 10-11

National Daffodil Show The show for the North Island is at Hamilton Gardens, from 2pm-4.30pm on September 10 and from 10am-3.30pm on Sept 11.

TO LIST YOUR RURAL EVENT please email: julie@thesun.co.nz with ‘Rural Event’ in the subject line.

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September 11: Aongatete Forest Spring Walk From 10am, meet at the end of Wright Rd, between Tauranga and Katikati, with gold coin donation.

Celebrating 10 years of pest control.

September 13

Aongatete Nature Trail From 3pm, meet at the end of Wright Rd, between Tauranga and Katikati, for the opening of an 800m trail with info boards, free.

September 17

Waikato Botanical Society field trip From 10am-3pm, Moanatuatua Peat Bog Scientific Reserve. Details at: tinyurl. com/hx9csyg September 17-18: Introduction to Biointensive Gardening From 9am-5pm, Aongatete, between Tauranga and Katikati, cost $240. Details at: www.growfoodinstead.co.nz

September 18

Free Home Composting Workshop From noon-1pm, Gisborne. Take home a free compost bin, one per household. Register with Tairawhiti Environment Centre. Ph 06 867 4708.

September 22 Waikato Horticultural Society talk: Hemp From 7.30pm, Wintec classroom, Hamilton Gardens (Gate 2), $5 nonmembers. Ph Carmel 07 859 0158.

September 22-25

NZ Orchid and Flower Show, Auckland. Details at: orchidplusflowershow.co.nz

services

trades & services

September 23-24

Waikato-BOP Tree Climbing Competition At Prideaux Park, Kawerau. Details at tinyurl.com/ h6qbu3m September 25-27: Kawerau Woodfest & National Woodskills Competition Details at: tinyurl.com/ z59gzgy

September 24

Paparimu School Calf Club – Pet Day (Ag Day) Held at Paparimu School, 3 Matheson Rd, Hunua, Auckland, from 9am-2pm.

Animal exhibits, farm animals and pets. Indoor art and craft exhibits. Food stall, activities for children and pony rides. Free admission.

October 1 Plant Sale in Hamilton From 10am-4pm, outside the information centre, Hamilton Gardens.

Northern Daffodil Club Late Show From 12noon-4pm, Hamilton Gardens.

Guided Tour of Koanga Institute From 1pm-4pm, 96 Kotare Rd, Wairoa, cost $20 (includes afternoon tea). Details at: tinyurl. com/htua2l6 Free Home Composting Workshop From 3pm-4.30pm, Taupo Community Gardens. Register at: tinyurl. com/gqseptb October 1-2: Waikato Botanical Society field trip At Waitete Bay, Coromandel. Details at: tinyurl.com/ zhdnckc October 1-9: Rotorua Tulip Festival www.tulipfestrotorua.co.nz

October 2

Tauranga Clivia Show Noon-4pm, Te Puna Quarry Park Gallery, off State Highway 2, free entry.

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

TENDER

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COAST & COUNTRY NEWS

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