Farmers Weekly NZ October 16 2023 by AgriHQ

5 Term-limit mutters after DairyNZ poll Vol 21 No 40, October 16, 2023

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Damned if you don’t Richard Rennie

NEWS

Policy and regulation

EGULATIONS requiring dams and reservoirs over a certain size to be classiﬁed for their risk are likely to prove an expensive surprise for farmers in coming months. After over a decade of to-ing and fro-ing over what will be included and how to include it, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s dam safety regulations will come into effect on May 13 next year. They are likely to capture 3000 water storage bodies nationally, of which it is estimated as many as 900 may be on farms and properties for stock water and irrigation storage purposes. Irrigation New Zealand technical adviser Stephen McNally said the water bodies captured under the dam regulations extend beyond dams themselves to include the likes of irrigation ponds and even irrigation canals. “There are two thresholds for the water bodies it captures. One is a body of water contained within a 1m high wall and totalling 40,000cubic metres or more, and the other is water held within a 4m high wall, and totalling 20,000cubic metres or more.” Dam owners will have only three months after May 13 2024 to determine if their water body is captured by the regulations, and to register with local authorities.

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“These are often large structures that no one has always paid much attention to in the past and it applies retrospectively. It could include that dam your grandfather shaped with his bulldozer back in the 1970s.” Working with MBIE, Irrigation NZ has developed a dam “ready reckoner” to help farmers quickly and cheaply determine if they have a qualifying structure on their property. If it qualifies, the structure’s risk level must be assessed, requiring a certified engineer to determine its “low”, “medium” or “high” potential impact category (PIC). The dam’s PIC is determined by not only its construction, but also the downstream consequences of any failure of the structure, and include community, environmental and even cultural impacts. McNally said at this point New Zealand landowners are likely to experience a significant bottleneck, with only nine certified senior dam engineers operating in the country at present. “With 3000 sites out there, that is a massive workload. The implications are that you are not going to do that between now and July next year.” In its submission on the dam regulations, Federated Farmers expressed concern over the need for low PIC dams to be submitted to a registered engineer for audit and approval. Continued page 3

Sun rises on robotics in the ﬁeld After a decade and hundreds of hours of development, Tauranga company Robotics Plus has gone commercial with its multipurpose, hybrid autonomous machine for orchard use. The Prospr machine was showcased at the robotic agricultural event FIRA 2023, in Salinas, California and has already attracted interest from US buyers.

TECHNOLOGY 3

‘Beautiful Flower’ begins breast health journey A state-of-the-art bright pink campervan is set to take life-saving breast health education to all regions of New Zealand.

NEWS 8 Greenhouse gas emissions Border security heightened in decline largely due to the amid global spread of agriculture sector. African Swine Fever.

‘Don’t be a dick’ is a motto worth remembering, Ben Anderson says.

NEWS 7

OPINION 17

NEWS 12

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Contents News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . 14-17 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Federated Farmers . 20-23 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 24-37 Marketplace . . . . . . . 38-39 Livestock . . . . . . . . . . 39-41 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . 42-47 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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Fonterra has lifted its milk forecast 50 cents, bringing it to $6.50-$8/kg MS. It means the midpoint has been raised from $6.75 to $7.25/kg MS. Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell said the improved outlook reflects both supply and demand dynamics. “On the demand side, we have seen increases in recent Global Dairy Trade events. While this has been encouraging, it is not yet clear whether the stronger demand from China will be sustained.”

Marine reserves Six new marine reserves in the lower South Island – home to some of the country’s most endangered species – have been unveiled. Conservation Minister Willow-Jean Prime said the new reserves, situated between Oamaru and The Catlins, increase the area in marine reserves around mainland New Zealand by more than two-thirds. The announcement has angered some local fishing groups, who say the area was not at risk and the process lacked proper consultation.

Outgoing Silver Fern Farms chief executive Simon Limmer will join the Indevin Group, New Zealand’s largest producer and exporter of quality wine, early next year. Limmer will replace Duncan McFarlane as chief executive. McFarlane founded Indevin Group, owned of the Villa Maria brand, in 2003.

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News in brief

PEOPLE FIRST: Otago farmer and farming leader Emma Crutchley says New Zealand has a positive future, but to utilise that potential the focus has to be on people. STORY P6

Head of the national insurance council Tim Grafton is calling time after leading the industry body through almost 100 major insured events. The chief executive of the Insurance Council of New Zealand, Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa, Grafton has signalled his intention to step down from the role next year.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Hands-off operation with robotic launch

different tools for various crops and applications year-round to maximise your return on investment.” At this stage the machines are conﬁgured for spraying in apple orchards and grapevines. A special spray unit developed with Croplands has removed hydraulics systems and replaced them with more exacting electric fans, enabling more precise control of spray applications. The modular design applies here also, with fans being able to be added or removed, depending upon crop type and time of year. The units are powered by a hybrid electric system where an onboard diesel generator works to recharge the unit’s batteries, pushing operating time out

for extended periods without requiring refuelling. Fuel use is claimed to be 70% less than that of conventional diesel tractors. Saunders said the machine is designed to be capable of being converted to all-electric should battery or hydrogen fuel cell technology advance in coming years. “But with an onboard generator you have a machine that does not put the same demands on charging from the grid. And for some of our larger orchard clients with many machines, all-electric would simply not be practical.” He said the signiﬁcantly lower fuel consumption already puts operators on a good pathway to a lower carbon footprint. The machines run through an operating system that enables four to be overseen by one operator, with the electric motor system and zero brakes or hydraulics keeping repair and maintenance costs lower than conventional machines. Saunders said one of the biggest challenges developing Prospr has been engineering in robust safety systems, ensuring full, consistent oversight of the operating machines at all times, and systems ensuring they are capable of identifying and responding to obstacles. “Certainly, putting automation in the likes of buildings is a lot easier than into a moving machine.” Broadacre apple and grape production in the US offers a good

scale for a return on the machines’ investment, which can be recouped in under two years with full use. Saunders cited Washington state as a key market where apple production is on a huge scale, with the state having over 100,000ha of apples. “We have a client whose orchard holdings total more than New Zealand’s total apple area.” Future applications are likely to include tasks such as leaf plucking in vineyards, weeding, and defoliation in apple orchards. “A focus is to put tools on the platform that are replacing those repeatable, slow tasks where you may only be travelling at [1.5km/h].” Given the machines’ ability to gather data across orchards, he can also see the potential to attach assorted analysis arrays to help predict parameters like crop volumes, budding or quality status of fruit within the orchard. Saunders acknowledged the value of having received US$8 million (about $13m) of investment from Yamaha Motor Company in 2018. That gave the project, and company, a welcome capital injection. Robotics Plus has also enjoyed success with other automated equipment in the primary sector space. This includes automated apple grading equipment, and its robotic scaling machine that can scan logging truckloads to assess and measure logs without the operator having to leave their cab.

check sheet to comply as part of existing farm plan processes. In June a soil dam administered by Waipa District Council on the edge of Hamilton burst, sending 23,000 cubic metres of water through 20 homes in the

suburb of Glenview, in the city’s south. That came despite a decade’s worth of analysis and warnings of its ﬂaws and warnings of imminent failure. The majority of major known

failures have tended to come from larger scale projects, including the Ophua dam failure during construction in 1997, and the Ruahihi power project canal failure in September 1981, a day after then prime minister Robert Muldoon opened it. Some farm dams were compromised by the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016, requiring drainage of some structures in the Seddon district under emergency orders. Both Irrigation NZ and Feds have stressed that their concerns relate primarily to the “low” PIC structure costs, rather than the regulations in general. “We are just trying to get a bit of pragmatism around the regulations, and to assist farmers on understanding what they may be up for, and what they can do for themselves,” McNally said.

Richard Rennie

TECHNOLOGY

Horticulture

FTER a decade and hundreds of hours of development, Tauranga company Robotics Plus has gone commercial with its multipurpose, hybrid autonomous machine for orchard use. The Prospr machine has evolved from Robotic Plus’s early efforts to develop an autonomous kiwifruit picking machine. But developers soon recognised that having a crop-speciﬁc machine limited global sales prospects, and moved to develop a multifunctional, platformtype machine with multiple applications across different fruit and orchard types. Company CEO Steve Saunders said he expects to see 20 machines in commercial use by early next year, with one a week being manufactured on the company’s Tauranga production line. This will increase to two a week in the new year. “The ﬁrst machines are already operating on vineyards near Blenheim, with another on the water to Australia, and multiple machines due to head to the United States.” The machine was showcased recently at the robotic agricultural event FIRA 2023, in Salinas, California. Saunders said the machine answers a number of challenges facing orchardists around the

Continued from page 1 Its estimates were that in 2019 the cost of submitting even a low-PIC dam for a certiﬁcate was $3000-$7000. Comprehensive assessments, likely required for high-risk dams, are put as much as $50,000-plus.

With 3000 sites out there, that is a massive workload. The implications are that you are not going to do that between now and July next year. Stephen McNally Irrigation NZ McNally said those high-risk structures may also face ongoing costs for annual safety audits that

THIS IS THE DROID YOU SEEK: The Prospr autonomous platform is presently configured for spray operations, but other tools that can be attached for orchard tasks are being developed.

Certainly, putting automation in the likes of buildings is a lot easier than into a moving machine. Steve Saunders CEO Robotics Plus world, including a shortage of skilled machine operators, the need for more exacting spray application, lowering carbon footprints, and cutting operating costs to maintain proﬁtability. “We have focused on use and ﬂexibility with a unique modular architecture throughout that means you can allow for could also run into the thousands of dollars. “We have had some dam owners say to us they are simply going to decommission their dams and drain them rather than face that cost.” Both Irrigation NZ and Federated Farmers have highlighted the irony of the regulations’ impact on water storage given the government’s desire to store more water as a climate change response. Feds has suggested integrated farm plans could be a better means of capturing low-PIC dams, and a random sampling of low-PIC dams could ensure that remains a valid way to capture them. Irrigation NZ CEO Vanessa Winning said more time is needed to get the regulations right, and tools to improve adherence and understanding require an easy

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DAMNED: The new regulations on dam safety coming into force next May give farmers little time to assess their dam’s safety ranking, and arrange a structural report.

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Farmers on top of their emissions numbers Neal Wallace

NEWS

Emissions

ORE than 90% of sheep and beef farmers and 95% of dairy farmers know the volume of greenhouse gas emissions from their farms, ahead of new rules that require banks to report such data. From the 2024 financial year, banks and financial institutions are required by the government to disclose the effects climate change may have on their business as well as the effects their business is having on the climate. This includes emissions from their clients, but the exact specifics of the information required depends on the individual bank. These annual climate-related disclosures can vary between an absolute emissions reduction target and a physical intensity emissions target. The Farmers Weekly asked New Zealand’s five largest banks what they will require from their farmer-clients. BNZ’s Agribusiness manager Dave Handley said in line with the Zero Carbon Act, BNZ has started disclosing decarbonisation targets it has set.

“We published our first set of targets in May, covering a range of industries including dairy. “Further targets for sectors such as real estate, transport, and sheep and beef will be published next year.” Handley said the targets it will publish will vary between absolute emissions reduction and a physical intensity emissions target. “BNZ’s dairy target specifically focuses on emissions intensity associated with each kilo of milk solids produced, not absolute reductions. “Recognising the dairy sector’s crucial role in NZ’s economy, our aim is to encourage growth in the sector by aiding it to become more efficient and sustainable, producing more with fewer emissions.” A Rabobank spokesperson said from the 2024 year, it has to report emissions, including those from farmer and grower clients. “Rabobank must disclose its own greenhouse gas mitigation and climate adaptation transition plan by April 2025, which will contain references to helping clients mitigate their emissions.” An ANZ spokesperson said it is collating emissions to all sectors it provides finance to. The banker to more than 34%

News PLANNING: DairyNZ sustainable dairy manager David Burger says 10,568 dairy farmers know their greenhouse gas number and 55% of them have a plan to manage those emissions.

of NZ’s farmers, it is focusing on gaining a deeper understanding of climate risk to the sector. Westpac’s NZ head of agribusiness, Tim Henshaw, said earlier this year it began collecting emissions data from farmers and sources such as dairy processors and industry assurance programmes. It plans to publicly release an on-farm mitigation report with Journeaux Economics that models greenhouse gas mitigation scenarios. ASB head of rural bank Aidan Gent said the bank does not view agricultural emissions in isolation, but as part of the farm’s overall performance and efficiency. “The drivers that are good for emission reductions on farm are exactly the same drivers of financial and productivity.” To view them otherwise will lead to a focus on planting trees and reducing stock numbers. All banks are offering sustainability loans for investment in projects that reduce the

environmental footprint of farmers and growers. These include reducing emissions but also projects such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable land and water use, green building projects and clean transport.

The emphasis needs to be placed on getting greenhouse gas reporting consistent and aligned to market needs. Dave Harrison Beef + Lamb NZ Dave Harrison, Beef + Lamb NZ’s policy and advocacy manager, said as of August 31 nearly 9500 sheep, beef and deer farmers know their emissions number, some assisted by the organisation having held more than 300 emissions calculator and action plan workshops. This represents more than 90% of sheep and beef farmers.

There are 11 calculators available for farmers to determine their emissions, and Harrison said there needs to be a common set of accounting rules to make this as simple as possible for farmers. “The emphasis needs to be placed on getting greenhouse gas reporting consistent and aligned to market needs.” DairyNZ sustainable dairy manager David Burger said in addition to the 10,568 dairy farmers who know their greenhouse gas number, 55% of them have a plan to manage those emissions and 77% have Freshwater Farm Plans. This has all been achieved ahead of regulation deadlines. He said most dairy farmers receive emissions information from their dairy company but it is also available from Overseer or FARMAX nutrient budgets. Burger said farmers need to identify options for managing emissions and document them in a plan that must be in place by January 1, 2025.

Getting better gram by gram, lamb by lamb Neal Wallace

NEWS

Emissions DETERMINING the greenhouse gas emissions from Roslyn Downs has not been a short-term project. Jason Miller and his family own the 620ha property at Glencoe at the foot of Southland’s Hokonui Hills, and for several years they have worked to implement the Farm Assurance Plan-plus programme, which also reveals their greenhouse gas emissions. They are close to complying and Miller said knowing his farm’s emissions reflects what global customers of New Zealand lamb and beef require, which he has

People overseas are far more urbanised and disconnected from rural areas than here. They don’t want to hear that you can’t. Jason Miller Roslyn Downs

observed in his role as an Alliance Group director. “So much commentary is looking internally,” he said of NZ’s discussion on the topic. It ignores the climate change concerns of the country’s global consumers. “Significant markets are moving in that direction, such as the United Kingdom and European Union. “They are way down that path

GOOD BUSINESS SENSE: Southland farmer Jason Miller says global customers want farmers to address their greenhouse gas emissions.

and not looking like stopping.” He has calculated that Roslyn Downs, a sheep and beef breeding and finishing property, emits about 1500t of carbon dioxide a year. Calculating the figure and finding solutions has required time and an open mind. Given the farms flat to rolling topography, he has limited options for forestry sequestration other than shelter belts and small

woodlots, which are not large enough to be officially recognised under present guidelines. Miller said the best option is to improve productivity. A project some years ago with the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain found his lambs grew on average 270 grams a day from birth to slaughter. If they can lift that weight gain to 300g/day and his meat

production from the current 350360kg/ha to 400kg/ha, efficiency will lower his carbon footprint, improve productivity and profitability. Improving grass quality and management will help meet those targets. Every farm and every farmer is different and he acknowledges those on hill country may have fewer options, but he urges people to start calculating their emissions as NZ’s global customers want farmers to act. “People overseas are far more urbanised and disconnected from rural areas than here. They don’t want to hear that you can’t. This is important to them and they want to know we are engaged and are doing something.” Miller said farmers need to take control of the issue as it can lead to businesses becoming more productive, financially and environmentally sustainable and profitable. “From our point of view, we can see a way through this. What we can’t see a way through, is if the government comes and tells us ‘This is what is going to be done.’”

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Glass urges DairyNZ to be ‘a lot braver’ Gerald Piddock

NEWS

At every one of those meetings I felt like I was the little boy in short pants being lectured about being a dairy farmer.

Dairy

AIRYNZ as an organisation representing farmers needs to be a lot braver, outgoing director Colin Glass says. It needs that courage when it looks to the future at what it is willing to tackle and the changes the industry is prepared to make, he said at DairyNZ’s annual meeting in Te Awamutu. “To be brave requires leadership from all of us. It’s leadership from our board, it’s leadership from our management team and it’s the willingness to embrace that leadership from our farmers as well. That requires trust and respect and that’s not given; that’s earned.” It falls on DairyNZ to demonstrate that every day, he said. DairyNZ also needs to embrace the industry’s strength. “Looking around at agri in NZ and in our provincial centres, those provincial centres are largely in decline if it wasn’t for dairy and dairy farming. “Dairy farming is in an enviable position that other ag sectors simply marvel at. That’s for us to lose.” Reﬂecting on his tenure, Glass

Colin Glass Former DairyNZ director

WORKING TOGETHER: Former DairyNZ board member Colin Glass said collaborating with the Ministry for Primary Industries on the M bovis eradication programme had ‘brought the industry significantly closer’ to the MPI. looked back at some of the issues the board dealt with over the past six years. His start and ending on DairyNZ’s board coincided with general elections, starting with the change in government in 2017, as well as changes within Fonterra. Glass recalled meeting government ministers after a board meeting in the capital.

“Just about without exception, every one of those meetings I felt like I was the little boy in short pants being lectured about being a dairy farmer.” Glass said the absence of Fonterra and the wider dairy industry in Wellington during those early years was noticeable. That has changed, with DairyNZ now having a much stronger

Term-limit grumbles after DairyNZ poll Gerald Piddock

NEWS

Dairy

DAIRYNZ chair Jim van der Poel has been voted back onto the organisation’s board. The election results were announced at the organisation’s annual meeting in Te Awamutu. Van der Poel’s position was up for re-election after retiring by rotation. The second vacant seat was ﬁlled by South Island farmer Cameron Henderson, who was elected to replace Colin Glass, who was stepping down. The election attracted 13 candidates from across the country and saw a voter turnout of 18.3% of all levy-paying dairy farmers and 28% on a milk solids basis. The estimated number of levy payers on the electoral roll is 11,300, comprising all dairy farmers in New Zealand who supply milk solids to a dairy processing company. After the close of voting, the vote for each dairy farmer was multiplied by the number of milk solids produced by each dairy farmer. Van der Poel said while the turnout was low, it was higher than previous years’ voter numbers. DairyNZ also plans to review the election process, including looking at ways of improving voter turnout. Henderson said Glass had left

some very big shoes to ﬁll. It has been a challenging six years with farmers having to deal with so many new rules and legislation and DairyNZ has done a great job juggling this work over that period, he said. While collaboration with other industry partners has been admirable, Henderson wants to see greater collaboration with farmers. “There’s great communication across the industry bodies but it’s about getting back down to that membership and helping them understand the positions DairyNZ is taking, where it’s going and getting feedback from those farmers.” During general business, Greg Mills, who chairs Hawke’s Bay dairy farming business BEL Group, asked whether the board should bring in term limits on directors to ensure continuity of people coming into those roles and prevent entrenchment. Board member Tracy Brown said while it is not ideal for Van der Poel to remain because it goes against best practice for board governance, DairyNZ had faced a unique situation with longstanding chief executive Tim Mackle leaving and Glass, who was also an experienced director, retiring and most of the remaining directors lacking experience. But ultimately, it was the decision of dairy farmers to vote him back onto the board. Mills then requested that

presence in Wellington. The board and senior management team have far greater influence on government policies. During the Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme, the response put in place marked the first time the industry had worked in collaboration with the government to achieve a goal, he said. “What it has done is that it’s brought the industry significantly closer to [the Ministry for Primary Industries] and I want to acknowledge [MPI directorgeneral] Ray Smith and the close working relationship that’s played out there.” The Essential Freshwater reforms and the wave of roadshows around the country saw the MPI and Ministry for the Environment “get a dose of what it feels like when you don’t engage with farmers effectively and when you dump regulation on farmers with no

warning or without any purpose at the end of the day”. Halls around the country were ﬁlled with farmers pushing back on the proposed regulations – farmers who only wanted to do the right thing in the best interests of their industry and communities. In recent years, the focus had changed to climate change and farmers’ response to He Eke Waka Noa. “That hasn’t stopped, and it won’t stop and we continually need to be engaged to ensure that farmers are best placed to respond to whatever change is going to play out in the future.” These were all issues that were dropped on DairyNZ without much warning and he acknowledged the staff who worked to front foot these issues, get feedback from farmers and feed that into consultation to make sure the industry was well placed, he said. DairyNZ was also involved in a wide variety of other work that ensures the dairy industry is well placed in the future. “It’s in that BAU [business as usual] stuff that DairyNZ is the silent, quiet achiever and I would challenge ourselves that we need to be stronger in how we sell ourselves and how we recognise the efforts that have gone in ... and what will hold us well placed in the future.”

‘Toughen up,’ O’Connor tells sector leaders Neal Wallace

POLITICS

Leadership

NEW BLOOD: South Island farmer Cameron Henderson will replace Colin Glass on the DairyNZ board after elections to fill two seats. DairyNZ board review their rules and look to create a resolution that would mean term limits for board members. This would put the onus on the board to ensure continuity of leadership coming through, he said. Van der Poel told Mills that DairyNZ’s charter has a nine-year term limit on directors – but it can be longer if the board supports it. “We had that conversation as a board as it wasn’t my intention originally to re-stand because of the reasons you outlined.”

THE leaders of agri levy bodies and organisations have at times struggled with the pressures of representing the views of their members and the reality of what can be achieved, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says. On occasion when grappling with criticism from their members, O’Connor told Farmers Weekly, he has reminded the leaders of those bodies of the pressure he and his predecessors have endured. “People have done their best but ultimately these roles are tough and they can come under a lot of ﬂak. I have told them a number of times that they do need to toughen up and understand the criticism I and previous ministers of agriculture have faced.” He described the quality of sector leaders he has dealt with in the past six years as varied. There was much unity in dealing with Mycoplasma bovis but not so with He Waka Eke Noa. O’Connor said the proposal rejected by HWEN earlier this year created tension between Beef + Lamb NZ and DairyNZ. “Attempting to resolve this was not easy.” Earlier this year O’Connor released a document setting

out a pricing and emissions reporting process, which has been rejected by the sector. “What we tabled in August as a timeline for an emissions pricing regime is as good as it gets,” he said. Finding unity on freshwater reforms was complicated by having national guidelines but local implementation. For the good of farming, the environment and NZ’s international reputation, he said, these regulations cannot be ignored. O’Connor said leaders need to be honest with themselves and believe what they are doing is right, and the best leaders are not necessarily those who shout the loudest. The role requires those who can represent the good of the industry and their members while also presenting the realities of the world. “The world is changing rapidly. Our competitors are catching up and there is growing pressure on livestock farming,” he said. “We are going to have to move very, very quickly to ensure we provide a sustainable future.” He is optimistic, given the calibre of young farmers coming through, saying many have international experience and ideas on how to achieve economic, environmental and social sustainability.

See page 6

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Polarised sector needs leaders who listen Neal Wallace

NEWS

Leadership

HE primary sector needs leaders with an ability to dismantle the silos prevalent in the food and fibre industry, a leadership webinar heard this week. Emma Crutchley, an Otago farmer and farming leader, said to achieve that means making people feel they belong and that they are being listened to. The food and fibre sector has faced six years of a lot of fastpaced change and part of the reason it has become polarised, she said, is that people do not feel they are being heard. “Leadership as part of this is not how we lead change, but how we break down silos.” That means creating an environment where farmers feel free to talk. Around a kitchen table, she said farmers will speak frankly and honestly but less so at a field day. The four-person panel also included KPMG global head

PEOPLE FIRST: Emma Crutchley says New Zealand has a positive future, but to utilise that potential the focus has to be on people. of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot, manager of the Agri-Women’s Development Trust and farmer Lisa Sims and Haylee Putaranui, Fonterra’s director of Māori strategy. Proudfoot said his organisation’s last Agribusiness Agenda report, Energising a World of Anxiety, identiﬁed a world in which issues are viewed in black and white.

By having this outlook, he said, opportunities are missed. He said the world needs people to lead by their actions, regardless of how small, to make change and improve the lives of others. Community catchment groups are an example of people organising themselves to perform a role that is needed and will made a difference.

Proudfoot said the cost of employing people is only going to increase and the approach of employers needs to change to reflect that. “We need to move beyond being an employer to one that takes people to a new level in their lives.” He is confident there are capable young people wanting leadership roles and to make agriculture a sector of choice, but the path to the top is not always defined. Today’s markets need responses that would benefit from a young person’s perspective, but that requires existing leaders to be flexible and share the role, he said. “We have fantastic people wanting a role taking the sector forward.” Sims said leadership starts with yourself and is about action and behaviour, not a position or title. “There are huge issues but by taking small steps each day, you move forward and will not be overwhelmed.” Putaranui said employers need to acknowledge future employees are different and they need to create a feeling of belonging.

We need to move beyond being an employer to one that takes people to a new level in their lives. Ian Proudfoot KPMG Asked where investment should be made to achieve the most for the sector, Proudfoot said in extending the sector’s foresight capability, Putaranui in acknowledging people’s differences and Sims in acknowledging the strength and weaknesses of humans. Asked about her vision, Crutchley said if any country has a positive future, it is New Zealand. To utilise that potential, the focus has to be on people – while accepting their efforts will not always succeed and solutions will require compromise. “Change happens in the middle and we need people in the middle. That is how we will break down the silos.”

Have your say on future M bovis efforts Annette Scott

NEWS

Disease TIME is running out for farmers to have their say as the Mycoplasma bovis partners propose to move the disease eradication programme from the Ministry for Primary Industries. The MPI, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand are seeking farmers’ views on the proposed National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) as the cross-sector effort moves to a new phase that is expected to create savings and efﬁciencies for farmers. OSPRI has been nominated as the management agency in the

NPMP proposal. With natural synergies in running the M bovis programme alongside NAIT and the TBFree Programme, there is potential for up to $15 million in savings across the three programmes. Combining resources and capability will allow the programme to continue to adapt to the work that remains ahead and help strengthen NZ’s biosecurity system, the MPI said. The NPMP consultation closes on October 23. The full NPMP proposal and how to make a submission can be found on the MPI website Administration of the Mycoplasma bovis Eradication

Programme | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz). Meanwhile since a new infected property was identiﬁed last month in Canterbury a further 11 properties are now being tested under a Notice of Direction with several others to be tested without movement restrictions. All the properties requiring testing to date are in Canterbury. Mbovis director Simon Andrew said while the strain type, ST21, is conﬁrmed to be the same strain as other historically infected properties, the link is not yet clear with investigation continuing around this. “Spring Bulk Tank Milk hasn’t

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identiﬁed any other infection to date and we continue to have a broad surveillance programme across NZ cattle farms. “As we have previously said, all evidence indicates we are in the tail end of the outbreak, and we expect to ﬁnd more infection before we achieve our goal of eradication. “With spring breeding underway we encourage farmers to be vigilant with their NAIT recording and to talk to their breeding centres about actions taken to mitigate the risk of M bovis transmission via AI, such as using semen imported under the current Import Health standard,” Andrew said.

LINK UNCLEAR: M bovis director Simon Andrew says the M bovis strain type, ST21, is confirmed to be the same strain as that found on other historically infected properties, but the link is not yet clear.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

GHG emissions in NZ stable since 2006: report Annette Scott

NEWS

Climate change

REENHOUSE gas emissions in New Zealand are in decline largely due to decreases in emissions across the agriculture sector, according to a new report. The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and Stats NZ have released the latest threeyearly update about the state of New Zealand’s atmosphere and climate. It suggests that the cost of responding to extreme weather events is likely to increase. The Our Atmosphere and Climate 2023 report highlights pressures on NZ’s climate, with GHG emissions from human activities changing the climate, impacting on the environment, communities, infrastructure, Māori interests and the economy. Gross GHG emissions increased between 1990 and 2021, but have remained stable since 2006, despite increases in population and economic activity. In 2021 gross emissions further declined 0.7% compared to 2020, largely due to decreases in emissions across the agriculture

sector, the report says. The two largest contributors to gross emissions in 2021 were the ag sector at 49% and the energy sector, including transport, at 41%. Methane and nitrous oxide, largely from the ag sector, made up more than half of gross emissions, 43% and 10% respectively. The remaining emissions consisted mostly of carbon dioxide at 45%, largely from energy and industrial processes and product use. MfE deputy secretary of the joint evidence, data and insights group Natasha Lewis said eight of the 10 warmest years recorded in NZ have been in the past decade. “Even minor changes in our climate can have big effects on our environment. “Rising temperatures have a signiﬁcant effect on agriculture, energy demand, ecosystems and recreation,” she said. NZ is also experiencing variations in rainfall, more frequent droughts and ocean warming to record levels. Glaciers are in retreat and sea levels around parts of the country rose twice as fast in the past 60 years as they did in the previous 60 years.

The frequency of extreme temperature events has doubled due to human activities. “This has consequences for the things we value most, our safety and security, the places we live, our livelihoods and economy and our wellbeing.” About 750,000 New Zealanders and 500,000 buildings worth more than $145 billion are near rivers and in coastal areas already exposed to extreme flooding. Major urban centres, sites of cultural significance, taonga (treasured) species and food security are also at risk in these areas. “Many sectors of our economy rely on natural resources such as water, which depend heavily on rainfall and temperature or are in areas that are prone to flooding. “The cost of responding to extreme weather events is likely to increase,” Lewis said. A key theme of the report is the impact that climate change is having on biodiversity and ecosystems. The natural infrastructure acts as a buffer against the worst effects of climate change such as wetlands that can absorb the shock of storm surges and help to protect

MISSING THE TARGET: The report’s outlook suggests it is highly likely the world will not meet Paris Agreement long-term goals of limiting global temperature increase during the 21st century to well below 2degC above pre-industrial levels. communities against sea-level rise. Native forests and restored ﬂoodplains that are reconnected to wetlands can slow and retain water during storms, helping to reduce ﬂooding. “Human activities are driving biodiversity losses. “It is now a question of how close we are to tipping points beyond which large and, in some cases, irreversible changes will be unavoidable,” Lewis said. “Looking ahead as well as behind

represents an important shift in our approach to environmental reporting. “We hope that this information helps people and organisations to understand climate change better and plan for the future.” The report’s outlook suggests it is highly likely the world will not meet Paris Agreement longterm goals of limiting global temperature increase during the 21st century to well below 2degC above pre-industrial levels.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

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‘Beautiful Flower’ begins breast health journey Annette Scott

NEWS

Health

STATE-of-the-art bright pink campervan is set to take life-saving breast health education to all regions of New Zealand. The Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand’s (BCFNZ) pink campervan inaugural tour kicked off in the Tasman region of the South Island on October 15, the middle of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Putiputi Ātaahua, the name gifted to the campervan by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei – it means “Beautiful Flower” – will have on board two breast health nurses. It will visit small towns around the South Island throughout October, November and December to educate women about breast health. The aim is to take breast cancer awareness to hard-to-reach communities that don’t have access to specialist health services. BCFNZ chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner said she is excited by what the charity will be able to achieve with the new campervan. “Early detection of breast cancer

is the key to survival,” she said. “One of the best ways we can save lives from breast cancer is to spread knowledge about the importance of going for mammograms and being breast aware. “With this new vehicle, our friendly specialist nurses will be able to reach more New Zealanders with these life-saving messages, visiting remote or isolated communities we’ve never been able to get to before.” BCFNZ fundraised for the new vehicle last year, after realising its iconic retro caravan was no longer ﬁt for purpose. The charity’s old pink caravan, affectionately known as Pinkie, had travelled around the country since 2014 with breast nurses on board, educating women about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, family risk, and the importance of mammograms and self-checking. Pinkie relied on volunteers to tow it around, which meant it was unable to travel to all corners of the country. The new vehicle can be driven by the charity’s nurses. Pinkie has now been retired from travel.

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The bright pink ﬂoral exterior of Putiputi Ātaahua is eye-catching and boasts a welcoming outdoor community engagement area, including a kids’ corner. The interior is spacious, has enhanced technology capability and contains two seating areas for private consultations and the ability to make a comforting cup of tea when needed. “We’re excited to be kicking off the campervan’s tour in NelsonTasman and then head down the West Coast, two regions we’ve not been able to visit for a long time,” Rayner said. “We want Putiputi Ātaahua to be a place where all women feel welcome to connect with our nurses and walk away feeling empowered to take charge of their breast health.” “Putiputi Ātaahua” holds multiple meanings for the vehicle and its purpose. The name refers to the ﬂowers wrapped around the campervan’s exterior, as well as the wraparound support Breast Cancer Foundation’s nurses will offer women and their families. It’s also an endearing term referencing wāhine Māori. The campervan’s inaugural tour will begin in Tapawera and it will

ON THE ROAD: Breast Cancer Foundation nurses Jo Norcott, Natalie James and Sue Bull get ready for Putiputi Ātaahua’s inaugural tour. Photo: Chris Chase Photography

We want Putiputi Ātaahua to be a place where all women feel welcome to connect with our nurses and walk away feeling empowered. Ah-Leen Rayner BCFNZ spend three weeks in the NelsonTasman region before heading to Buller and travel down the West Coast until Christmas.

With one-third of breast cancers diagnosed outside of NZ’s main centres, BCFNZ is endeavouring to reach further in these regions with its education programme to encourage more women to attend regular breast screening. Covid lockdowns created a screening backlog of 50,000 overdue mammograms and while BreastScreen Aotearoa, the government organisation that provides screening mammograms, has been making progress in clearing the backlog, several regions are still lagging behind in breast-screening participation.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Glyphosate safety back in the spotlight Gerhard Uys

NEWS

Environment

LYPHOSATE safety could be put under the microscope again. The Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) is pushing for a review of the herbicide, saying new evidence shows it is detrimental to the environment and human health, and pointing out that the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) last reviewed it in the 1970s. Director for research and legal at ELI Matt Hall said the organisation has submitted a form detailing grounds for reassessment to the EPA under section 62 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organism (HSNO) Act. An Official Information Act request the group submitted to the EPA in November last year showed there are 90 approved substances containing glyphosate in New Zealand. The ELI has submitted a list of 83 substances it wants reviewed, Hall said. The submission is the first step in the process towards a reassessment, he said. New evidence shows glyphosate and co-formulants have significant effects on aquatic and

terrestrial ecosystems, impact the human nervous and endocrine systems, and are probable human carcinogens, he said. “We will likely request the EPA investigate the key issue of glyphosate co-formulants, which have been shown to be potentially more toxic than glyphosate,” he said.

There’s no question that glyphosate has a huge economic benefit for farmers, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about impact on the environment and the health of consumers. Professor Ian Shaw University of Canterbury Manager of hazardous substances and new organisms at the EPA Dr Chris Hill said if significant new information related to the effects of a substance becomes available, a decisionmaking committee may decide there are grounds for reassessment. “While glyphosate has not

been subject to a reassessment, the EPA continually reviews the information available on the substance, both within New Zealand and globally,” Hill said. Glyphosate was approved for use before the HSNO Act came into force in 1996. Following the Act coming into force, a number of glyphosate-containing substances were moved into the HSNO framework during the “transfer” process in 2004, the EPA said. Professor of Toxicology at the University of Canterbury Ian Shaw said he agrees that there is new evidence and glyphosate needs to be reviewed. “I’d like the scientific evidence to be looked at in a risk/benefit context,” he said. “We need to perhaps adjust the way we use it. “I don’t necessarily think a review is going to lead to anything terrible. We need to look at the new data. We need to look at the different ways glyphosate is now being used. When it was originally licensed in the 1970s the use pattern was very different and the amount used was smaller,” Shaw said. There are people lobbying from all directions and the only way to break that conjecture is to look at the data, he said.

Another tough year for sheep and beef farmers Staff reporter

MARKETS

Food and fibre DEMAND for sheepmeat and beef will recover slightly, but not enough to cover continuing increases in farming costs, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s new season outlook. “It’s going to be another tough year for farmers,” BLNZ chief economist Andrew Burtt said. Farmgate prices are expected to be similar to last season but increasing costs, driven by inflation and high interest rates, will continue to squeeze farm profitability, he said. “We’re forecasting farm profitability to fall by 31% for the 2023-24 year, which follows a decline of 32% in 2022-23 and means profits for farmers have more than halved in two years.

“This is a 15-year low, when you take inflation into account.” Demand in key markets is also likely to be soft as economies remain weak and China’s economic recovery remains uncertain. Competition from Australia could add to the pressure. “While the sector faces a challenging year, this is balanced by strong longerterm fundamentals, and we expect an improvement as the economies of our key markets recover. “The global population and demand for protein is expected to continue to grow and therefore the fundamentals for the sector remain sound,” Burtt said. “The sector has gone through turbulent times before, along with our processing and exporting companies, and while farmers are resilient, these are very challenging times.”

POSITIVE: Andrew Burtt says the demand for protein is expected to continue to grow and therefore the fundamentals for the sector remain sound.

NEW EVIDENCE: Director for research and legal at the Environmental Law Initiative Matt Hall says there is new evidence of glyphosate harm that the EPA has not yet considered. “What makes me anxious is when the economic benefits are brought in, because there’s no question that glyphosate has a huge economic benefit for farmers, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about impact on the environment and the health of consumers,” Shaw said.

Canterbury arable farmer Hamish Marr, who completed a Nuffield scholarship that focused on glyphosate, said by using glyphosate farmers minimise cultivation and allow for environmentally friendly techniques such as direct drilling and minimum tillage. Without glyphosate, cultivation doubles because growers have to control weeds, often through ploughing, he said. Less tilling leaves soils in better condition and keeps carbon and nitrogen in the soil, he said. Because NZ predominantly focuses on pastoral farming, exposure to glyphosate is less than in Europe or North America, he said. Alternative chemical options are more toxic, he said Marr said if arable farmers stop using glyphosate, or if all growers adopt organic practices, the world’s farmers will simply not be able to grow enough food to feed the world’s population. The EPA is stretched in its efforts to review and release new, more effective and more integrated pest management-friendly chemistry, and unnecessary chemical reviews such as this hold up the EPA and hinder it in efforts to do its core tasks, he said.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Emissions fees sting foresters into action Richard Rennie

NEWS

Forestry

ORESTRY groups representing the bulk of New Zealand’s commercial forestry blocks have doubled down on proposed new fees for emissions trading scheme participation, seeking a judicial review of the new structure. The groups – responsible for over 300,000ha of the country’s 1.75 million hectares of exotic forestry land – include the Climate Forestry Association, Ngā Pou a Tāne – National Māori Forestry Association and the Forest Owners Association. They are pushing back on charges expected to add at least $14 million a year to forestry fees. Estimates are that some individual owners will be facing bills over $1m a year in new fees. The increases come as the sector contemplates a loss of investment in coming years on the grounds

of continuing uncertainty and a loss of conﬁdence among foresters in the direction of emissions trading scheme (ETS) reform (see “Forestry owners frustrated by ETS turmoil” (August 16, here). Concerns have been mounting that after this year’s planting season the rate of new exotic forestry plantation is about to signiﬁcantly decline, fuelled also by the collapse of carbon prices late last year when the government opted not to accept the Climate Change Commission’s advice to tighten the supply of NZ carbon units. The sector is estimated to have lost $3 billion when prices collapsed from $88 to $40. They now sit at $65. “The new charges are likely to have a major chilling effect on planting intentions and new investment, already thrown into uncertainty by the government’s ETS review,” Climate Forestry Association CEO Andrew Cushen said. The charges have also drawn the

ire of iwi foresters who have had issues with government proposals to limit carbon forestry to indigenous plantings, hampering their ability to make an income from lower quality land classes. Ngā Pou a Tāne National Māori Forestry Association chair Te Kapunga Dewes said the fees are in breach of the Crown’s duties as a Treaty partner and put the environmental and economic futures of Māori and non-Māori alike at risk. “Many iwi and Māori landowners are captured participants of the ETS. As a result of conﬁscations and the Treaty settlement process, much of the land Māori have been left with is best, and often only, suited to afforestation. Indeed, in many of these settlements, the carbon value of forests was part of the negotiation and settlement with the Crown.” The new fees regime will only further devalue the settlements and disproportionately hit Māori owners, he said. Forest Owners Association CEO

CHARGED: Government charges for ETS participation are simply too high and a disincentive to further forestry development, forest owners say. Elizabeth Heeg said the new fees are enough to put some small to medium operators out of business in a generally unfavourable economic climate. The foresters’ action was ﬁled last week in the High Court. An MPI spokesman said it cost $29.8 million a year to administer the forestry ETS and it has been almost 100% taxpayer funded since beginning in 2002. Government has decided participants will pay two thirds

of those costs and the outcome is a result of public consultation in March. “We anticipate annual voluntary emission returns will claim NZ carbon units to the approximate value of $600 million a year at current unit prices of $67 a unit. The annual cost to the industry of the new fee structure is about $18 million.” MPI had no futher comment while the matter was before the Court.

Australians could give forest carbon a boost Richard Rennie

MARKETS

Forestry

WHILE the New Zealand emissions scheme continues to face multiple consultation rounds and foresters are unhappy about hikes in registration fees, the Australian forest carbon market is starting to ramp up. Changes to regulations to make planting trees for carbon less onerous and restrictive, along with a recently announced federal grants scheme, has industry players starting to consider how carbon forest income can become an income earner. NZ Institute of Forestry president James Treadwell said the Australian carbon forestry market is presently looking more stable than New Zealand’s, buoyed by

the Canberra government putting more emphasis upon becoming carbon neutral. “Unfortunately, our ETS [Emissions Trading Scheme] has become a political football that seems to change on a whim, and it is not just changes in government that do that, but even in response to public perception.” Concern over the use of exotic forest plantations as carbon sinks has prompted a review of forest types and ETS eligibility, while overseas investment rules previously encouraging a speciﬁc forestry investment have since been reversed, all within the past three years. In addition, the recent announcement of hikes in ETS participation fees charged to foresters has the sector claiming a ﬂight of capital already being ex-

perienced will only be accelerated. Treadwell said at this point the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) market remains less developed than NZ’s, but it could only be a matter of time before it overtakes NZ’s. At present Australia has 79 carbon project forests registered for 100,000 ACCUs, compared to NZ’s 3850 covering 12.4 million NZ Units. ACCUs are selling for about A$30 (about $32) a unit, compared to NZUs at $65/unit. Estimates are they have to reach A$60 a unit to offer a strong investment incentive. The move to promote more forestry plantings has also been hastened by Australia’s decision to cease logging its native forests, recognised as some of the most carbon dense in the world. Data reported by the Australian

National University has cessation of logging in Tasmania being the equivalent to removing 1.1 million cars off the road every year. Fire risk is also signiﬁcantly reduced by not logging natives. “This also means there will be a growing need to import more timber in coming years, which

Unfortunately, our ETS has become a political football that seems to change on a whim, and it is not just changes in government that do that, but even in response to public perception. James Treadwell NZ Institute of Forestry

could play to New Zealand’s advantage,” Treadwell said. Estimates are Australia needs 1 billion new production trees planted by 2030 to ensure a supply of timber and ﬁbre, and estimates are it could be short of framing for 250,000 houses by 2050. In July the Albanese Government also followed through on its election promise to remove the controversial “water rule” that prohibited plantation forestry being registered for ACCUs if it was in an area with an annual average rainfall of over 600mm a year, limiting many areas’ potential. A A$74 million federal fund has also been made available to foresters and farmers wanting to establish plantation forestry, offering a $2000/hectare subsidy for planting a minimum of 20ha.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Trees took toll on powerlines in cyclone Richard Rennie

NEWS

Communication

REVIEW of Cyclone Gabrielle’s impact on electricity supplies through Northland, Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay has found outages were caused by fallen trees, wind conditions above line design limits and flooding. At its peak the cyclone inflicted outages across almost a quarter of a million customers around the North Island and kept some customers offline for over two weeks due to the breadth of damage. The Electricity Networks Association commissioned a review of distribution impact and response to Cyclone Gabrielle, something Richard Krogh, the report’s principal author, said is critical given New Zealand’s increasing reliance on electricity as a key energy source.

There is a continuum of how people respond to companies wanting to trim them back, some are happy for the companies to do so, through to those who want them left alone. Tracey Kai CEO, Electricity Networks Aotearoa

do so, through to those who want them left alone.” The review also found there were strong links between the ability to restore electricity in rural areas and damage suffered by roading and communications infrastructure. A report earlier this year on Gabrielle’s impact on telco companies highlighted a lack of co-ordination between authorities, telcos and electricity companies as a key barrier to more rapid re-connection through the regions. Only two cell towers were actually damaged by the weather events, with the

remainder simply running out of battery supply before electricity was restored. “The failure of roading access was material on the east coast, Hawke’s Bay, and Auckland rural regions. The communications failure on the east coast was a material factor, combined with access issues resulting in delays and impacting on restoration,” said Krogh. To improve responses in coming years Krogh said upgrading power assets as they are renewed would deliver incremental improvement. But having alternative power arrangements like microgrids for more remote communities will also reduce risks.

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The small Tairāwhiti community of Ruatoria is an example. Community leaders there have pushed for an emergency reserve that includes Starlink satellite pods, generators, and mini water treatment plants. The report also suggests the need to increase companies’ ability to incentivise landowners to enable companies to better manage trees out of the 3.5m zone, or change the regulations. Generally, company assets withstood the event well, but Krogh pointed to a lack of clarity around standards for ﬂooding nationally.

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“Electriﬁcation is going to reduce energy diversity in NZ, so the resilience of the sector is something we need to be mindful of,” he said. “Out of zone” trees falling onto lines are a long-standing area of frustration for electricity lines companies, with rules only allowing them to trim within 3.5m of the affected lines. They were the single largest cause of outages across the regions during Gabrielle. Electricity Networks Aotearoa CEO Tracey Kai said the issue of untrimmed privately owned trees falling onto lines is an ongoing one for companies. She said the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is reviewing legislation around the ability of companies to do more to manage privately owned trees outside the 3.5m limit. “There is a continuum of how people respond to companies wanting to trim them back; some are happy for the companies to

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

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NZ ‘monitoring’ global spread of swine fever Neal Wallace

NEWS

Disease

IOSECURITY officials are monitoring the global spread of African Swine Fever, which has reached Sweden, and border security measures for the disease were recently heightened. This is according to the Ministry for Primary Industries, following a request from NZ Pork for the MPI to ban pig meat imports from countries with the disease, which is fatal to pigs. African Swine Fever (ASF) is spreading through Europe, where most of New Zealand’s imported pig meat comes from. The Swedish Veterinary Institute has found ASF in wild boars, the first case in the Nordic country.

The landscape is vastly different since this risk calculation was last done. Brent Kleiss NZ Pork Sweden accounts for around 6% of NZ’s imported pork, with just under 3000t imported in 2022. The United Kingdom’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has advised ASF is rapidly spreading through the Balkan states with hundreds of cases reported in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania and Serbia. NZ Pork chief executive Brent Kleiss said the risk to the NZ pig industry has increased despite previous MPI assurances following a risk assessment on imported products and their origin as reasons for not reviewing biosecurity measures. “The risk has clearly changed.

The landscape is vastly different since this risk calculation was last done,” Kleiss said. NZ Pork wants a ban until the MPI is assured that strong biosecurity protocols are in place in nations impacted by the disease. Pork-producing countries, including Australia, have ceased pork imports from Sweden in the wake of ASF being found there. “Armenia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Ukraine, as well as Australia, have all now banned pork imports from Sweden,” Kleiss said. Mary van Andel, the MPI’s chief veterinary officer, said the threat of ASF is being taken seriously and the MPI is actively monitoring the outbreak. She noted that the most recent detection in Sweden is in a very small number of wild boars. “We strengthened border biosecurity in early 2020 after ASF was detected in Papua New Guinea,” she said. “We updated relevant Import Health Standards, increased awareness from border staff, carried out verification of food imports from companies at risk of importing undeclared meat, and increased public information to travellers at the border.” She said most of the ASF spread in Europe is associated with wild boar but some longer-distance spread could be associated with humans taking meat or infected hunting equipment from restricted zones. “Because of this, all pork products are excluded for personal consignments,” she said of NZ restrictions. Travellers trying to bring illegal pork or other illegal meat products into NZ will have them confiscated and face penalties. She said fresh or frozen pork is imported only from ASF-free countries, zones or regions. All

other imported pork products have undergone a heat treatment process, such as canning, which destroys the ASF virus. The ASF virus first appeared in 2007 and has spread rapidly through Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific, affecting both domestic and wild pigs. The virus is highly resistant and can survive in pork products, including ham, sausages and bacon, as well as on clothes, boots, wheels and other materials. It can exist for weeks in refrigerated pork, over a year in dried product and indefinitely in frozen pork. It can spread by air for over 2m between infected and susceptible pigs.

CEASED: Pork-producing countries such as Australia have ceased pork imports from Sweden in the wake of ASF being found there.

Agricademy signs up new experts Staff reporter

PEOPLE

Skills

AGRICADEMY, a national provider of online training for dairy farming and wool, has signed two new farming industry experts as partners, expanding onfarm training opportunities to Waikato and Southland. Training Centric Ltd, founded and led by Tyree Connor, is championing the expansion of Agricademy in Waikato, with Ashlea Kowalski as head trainer. “I’m passionate about vocational education and providing the right training at the right time,” said Connor, most recently general manager training at QCONZ, “which is why I’m excited to partner with Agricademy.” A past lead tutor at Dairy Training Ltd and QCONZ, Kowalski runs her contract milking business in Waipa, and is looking forward to giving new

entrants a head start in dairy through Agricademy’s blended online and on farm training. The team will also be working with employers to encourage uptake of the low cost, skills focused Agricademy model to improve productivity. In Southland, AgriTeachMe Ltd, founded by dairy farming family Hannes and Lyzanne du Plessis, has also launched operations. Immigrants from South Africa 20 years ago, the couple have sharemilked and contract-milked various size herds in Waikato and Southland and employed many immigrant and Kiwi staff – supporting and educating them and making sure they got the same opportunities as they had. At present they are contract milking in Woodlands. Hannes has a degree in Horticulture and Agricultural Economics and has been a

Primary ITO verifier for 12 years. Lyzanne worked at Fonterra as a service specialist and for Primary ITO as a training adviser. “We attribute our success in the dairy industry to on-thejob training, self-study and knowledgeable employers who mentored us along the way,” said Lyzanne, “so we are excited to have found a vehicle that combines both our passion for the dairy industry and our love for educating others and setting them up for success.” Agricademy founder Alister Shennan said the two new partners are of the highest calibre and “we’re honoured to have their expertise and experience as part of our team”. “Both partners have experienced traditional training approaches in dairy and instead gravitated to Agricademy’s innovative new model, which I’m confident will see trainees – and dairy farms – in these regions flourish.”

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Chook Symphony strikes chord with organic birds Staff reporter

NEWS

Animal welfare

HE New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is ruffling some feathers in Hawke’s Bay. And the country’s only commercial organic free-range chicken producer, Bostock Brothers, couldn’t be happier about it. Bostock Brothers has put the spotlight on animal welfare via a quirky partnership with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO), whose musicians have produced an original composition purely for the birds, Chook Symphony No 1. It is aimed at enriching the lives of the organic chickens. The piece has been attuned specifically to the chooks’ musical tastes and is the next step in championing the brothers’ ethical farming values, ensuring their birds live happier lives. Created by composer and sound designer Hamish Oliver, the piece taps into global studies that validate chickens’ enjoyment of classical and baroque music, as well as instrumental sounds

specifically tested on the Bostock Brothers’ chickens. “The Bostock Brothers chickens were responsive to the viola, oboe, and bassoon, so I combined a string quartet with the squawkiest instruments of the woodwind family (oboe and bassoon) and added some inspiration from the chicken sound-world. The baroque-flavoured result will no doubt soothe the birds and appeal to their senses,” Oliver laughed. “It’s not everyday that composing opportunities for a feathered audience come up and this has been a new kind of musical challenge for me, a definite career highlight – a quirky project that has a serious intent and purpose behind it too.” To launch the piece, musicians from the NZSO participated in a live orchestral performance for the chickens at the Bostock Brothers’ farm in Hawke’s Bay on October 6. Bostock Brothers and the NZSO have released the symphony online for anyone (or any bird) to enjoy via Spotify and the NZSO’s streaming platform NZSO+, and are encouraging other chicken farmers to play it to their flocks. “Chicken farming is incredibly

NOT THE YARDBIRDS: Dressed in their black-tie finery, the NZSO debuts its Chook Symphony No 1 to the flock in Hawke’s Bay.

complex and organic farming even more so, and we’re constantly looking for ways to better our practices, ensuring our chickens are happy, healthy and organic,” Bostock Brothers co-founder Ben Bostock said. “This is why we are thrilled to be partnering with NZSO to bring another first to the local chicken industry – Chook Symphony. While one may consider this a different approach to farming, we know investing in a quality environment for our birds will only further yield quality results.” Co-founder George Bostock said the composition is as much about

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giving the birds something special as it is about encouraging the wider industry to do more for their flocks. The NZSO is equally onboard with the idea. “The partnership with Bostock Brothers is incredibly unique and we couldn’t be more captivated by it,” NZSO chief executive Peter Biggs said. “Never could we have imagined producing a composition especially for a flock of chooks, let alone performing for them, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. “In many ways the NZSO

considers classical or symphonic music to be ‘organic’, relatively speaking, and as a wider group we’re passionate about local business and ethical farming so there are some lovely synergies between us. “The Bostock Brothers do things differently and produce a highquality product. We do too – and we’re hoping this partnership will encourage the wider industry to put animal welfare first, for good,” Biggs said.

See a video of the performance at farmersweekly.co.nz

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14 Editorial

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Letters of the week This is GE gone bananas Elvira Dommisse

From the Editor

Fruit machines a win for hort Craig Page

Deputy editor

ET ready. Robots are coming to a paddock near you. That might seem a little daunting for those who struggle to work the television remote or the supermarket self-checkout, but there is no hiding from the fact that robotics, and technology in general, will play an increasingly important role in agriculture. Tauranga company Robotics Plus has finally gone commercial with its multipurpose, hybrid autonomous machine for orchard use. It has taken 10 years of development but it got there in the end. The original plan was to create a kiwifruit picker but the developers changed tack after realising that having crop-specific machines limited international interests. Instead they developed a multifunctional machine with multiple applications across different fruit and orchard types. At this stage the machines are designed

for spraying in apple orchards and vineyards but in future they may be capable of leafplucking, weeding, and defoliation in apple orchards. Twenty machines are expected to be in commercial use by early next year, and there have already been multiple sales in the United States. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Overseas countries are already well advanced in their developments, capitalising on the growth of artificial intelligence. The Australian Centre for Robotics, based at the University of Sydney, is well ensconced in agricultural robotic research and one of its experts, Professor Salah Sukkarieh, is already warning a new breed of robots is set to transform farming. He says no matter where you are in the world – and he has travelled to plenty of countries as part of his research – farmers are facing the same issues: they struggle to find workers, maximise yields while caring for their land, keep costs low and produce food cheap enough to satisfy customers. That’s where robotics and technology come into play. While the initial outlay might seem costly, the long-term benefits more than make up for that cost. “It’s a rethink in how we do agriculture,” Sukkarieh says on the university’s website. The centre is working on a range of projects involving robotics and intelligent software, such as unpiloted air and ground

vehicles for farming specialty crops, trees, livestock and weed management. While there are naturally concerns that robots will lead to job losses for humans, Sukkarieh says agriculture is an industry where robotics is a good news story. “They can help farmers reduce costs and make better decisions.

It’s a rethink in how we do agriculture. Professor Salah Sukkarieh Australian Centre for Robotics “The technology is not the end goal. The end goal is understanding what people need from the technology.” New Zealand has been a world leader in agriculture and agriculture technology on the back of its can-do, No 8 wire mentality, and there is already plenty of automation in the sector, particularly in horticulture. But covid-19 was a lesson to isolated countries like NZ that rely heavily on overseas labour for production. The closure of borders meant workers in some sectors were at a premium and as fruit and vegetables were left to rot it highlighted the need for greater automated options within orchards and farms. Robots will never completely replace humans, but they might just provide a morethan-useful helping hand.

PhD (Biotechnology) FOOD Standards Australia New Zealand has notified us of its intention to possibly approve a variety of a disease-tolerant GE banana, QCAV-4, for consumption in NZ. Having worked in GE research, I understand the detail of the GE method and the genetic construct being used in this banana. It is very much the old methodology of the 1980s and ’90s, which we are now told was a bit rough and problematic. In addition to this, the antibiotic-resistant gene is still present in the genetic construct, paving the way for potential antibiotic resistance in those brave enough to eat these GE bananas and in the microbes and earthworms etcetera that will break down waste from these bananas. There is also the potential for this gene to enter our waterways and make its way into our aquatic species. The important question, as always, is ‘Do we need or want these bananas?’ The answer, of course, is ‘No’. We already have excellent bananas in our shops and markets. These GE bananas offer no nutritional benefits and could be detrimental to our health.

GE at the polls Claire Bleakley GE Free NZ THREE political parties declared that if they won the election they would “end the ban on GE” to further climate change goals and open up free-trade deals. New Zealand currently has highperformance, climate-smart pasture grasses and legumes on the market and non-GE biotech products that can be used for reducing the challenges of climate extremes that have shown optimal animal health and environmental benefits. Scientific literature has found that traditional mixed ley pastures have important agro ecological impacts and are climate resilient, store carbon, protect soil moisture loss and reduce phosphorous and nitrogen leaching, thereby increasing animal health. This is a shortsighted lurch that disregards the failure of experimental field trials from GE animals that suffered cruelly with a 0-7% live birth rate and the animals born with serious deformities to the GE onion, brassica, potato, pine trees, ryegrass. The product development of GE clover is an irresponsible illusion that ignores the solutions and high-performing pasture varieties suitable for all farming systems, Continued next page

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15 In My View

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

In my view ...

Political frustration unites city, farm Kerry Worsnop

Gisborne farmer and Nuffield scholar

OR years now there has been rhetoric around the separation between rural communities and their urban counterparts, to the extent that this separation is often implicated in poor land-use policy, disparate infrastructure and health investment, and at times acrimonious environmental debate. The very different needs of rural and urban life no doubt lend themselves to this debate. The challenges of the rural household are not always the same as they are for those in urban areas, but sometimes they are, and more than this, our basic human needs remain entirely consistent no matter where we live. We may be growing more united as time goes on. For anyone visiting the Netherlands, the rapidly shifting political landscape is hard to miss, emblazoned as it often is across the front page of the national newspaper. For those who missed the widespread coverage of tractors clogging city streets and highways jammed for miles with every form of rural farm implement, the rising resistance of Dutch farmers to rapid and extreme policy changes became the catalyst for a new political party, one entirely born of people who felt they could tolerate no more. The surprise was not in the birth of a new political faction, nor even that it would have rural interests at its roots. No, the most incredible feature of this political eruption lies in its popular support among those with little connection to the rural regulations at the root of the party’s birth. Continued from previous page

conventional and organic, on the market today. The electioneering rhetoric continually referenced the AgResearch GE ryegrass that has completed a five-year trial and received over $25 million from DairyNZ and the Ministry Business, Innovation and Employment. These trials were carried out in the United States. The GE ryegrass grew poorly outside, with no apparent benefits over conventionally bred ryegrass varieties already grown successfully in NZ. This year, AgResearch applied to the Australian Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) to conduct further GE ryegrass trials, but then withdrew its application. We should be very suspicious about any trade deals that require interference with our sovereignty. We cannot compromise our economy and jeopardise farmers’ future earnings by allowing

ON THE ROAD: In the Netherlands, what began as a protest movement by farmers attracted urban support and then a significant part of the vote. The Farmer Citizen Movement shocked the Netherlands and the world when, earlier in the year, it won 16 of the 75 seats in the Dutch senate, the most overall of any party, a feat clearly not possible without widespread support from urban voters. Of the 17.5 million people in the Netherlands (not all of whom are old enough to vote) the farming cohort represents as few as 50,000, a minuscule proportion of the wealthy and highly developed country. Those commentating on this seismic shift attribute the change to farmer protests having resonated far beyond the fields, a sense of frustration in that leaders increasingly treat “the government’s needs as more important than the needs of the citizens”, in the words of Caroline van der Plas, the leader of the BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-

Citizen Movement). This sense of disconnection between national leadership and the general citizenry appears to be on the rise in many places beyond the Netherlands, although few are yet to co-ordinate a response as potent as the Dutch example. Our leaders would be well advised to take notice, given that the general mood of New Zealand voters appears not so dissimilar to that of the Netherlands. The irony is not so much that politics has strayed so far from its usual haunt of promising to fix all and sundry, kissing babies and promising a better and brighter future; the irony is that the more these things are promised, the less satisfied we become, for obvious reasons. The gaps are not closing, despite the rhetoric. Too many policies are not working, despite the swathes of debt and cash devoted to them,

and this is deeply troubling. For people without mountains of cash or access to cheap credit, there is ever more reliance on the government to fix what we cannot, but naturally this comes with its own problems. Government is distant, massive and clumsy, it has little capacity to know its citizens intimately and instead increasingly relies on symbolism and burgeoning communications strategies to demonstrate effort and care, if not actual results. Inevitably, people grow cynical. They have the benefit of intimately understanding the issues nearest to them, and they often hold the answers, but too few leaders appear inclined to land an ear and we persist instead with top-down models, shuffled deck chairs and ever more frantic attempts to “do something”. Meanwhile large parts of society

continue to trudge on, bearing the weight of broken policy, poorly aligned services and inadequate power to address them. This naturally leaves citizens feeling misunderstood, unheard and ignored. This phenomenon is not rural, it is not urban: it is human.

the deregulation and release of GE organisms (including gene editing) into the environment, when the science shows there are so many unknown risks. Once released, GE cannot be recalled and contamination to organic and conventional seed stocks through weather and earthquake events will be inevitable. NZ farming has dodged the bullet and been able to get a premium for its high-quality GE-ree produce. We must ensure that all NZ is protected by robust regulation.

incorrect. In David’s case it is the assumption that the decline of seabirds is caused by man-made impacts, such as pollution, on the natural environment. That’s a bit naive, to say the least. By far the biggest impact on seabird populations is indeed caused by mankind but it is not the environmental conditions David mentions. Quite simply it is overfishing by large industrial purse seiners that scoop up entire schools of anchovies, jack mackerel and other baitfish. Not only does that deprive other, larger fish – that are a much more valuable catch – of food, it also removes the food that seabirds primarily rely on. As a result the parent birds have to hunt longer and move further and further afield to catch food for their young. The result is starving chicks and a declining seabird population. It’s an understandable but misinformed assumption that undermines one of the cornerstones of David’s opinion.

The debt deficit

responsible for delivering the social contract with a balanced budget. Instead they create policy and regulation that delivers everything but a balanced budget using every crisis possible to expand the money supply with interest attached that burdens only the real taxpayers. Anybody else drawing their income from the taxes on productivity also doesn’t share the burden of more debt. It is time to stop creating public deficits as debt, burdening real taxpayers. It is time to stop the banking system scalping the economy and taking huge profits offshore. It is time to create public deficits debt-free and spend it into the economy at zero cost to drive down “the crisis of inflation”. The Groundswell movement may help change the government but will it change anything meaningful? The ground is swelling with debt, and our politicians don’t care.

The peril is at sea Dirk Sieling Whitianga DAVID Eade’s Eating the Elephant opinion of October 2 deserves comment. At the heart of many an opinion lies an assumption that on closer inspection turns out to be

Steve Laurence New Plymouth I AM right behind Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Paterson’s Groundswell movement opposing the Labour Party’s unworkable regulations imposed on New Zealand Farmers. However, I believe their slogan Drive 4 Change, seeking political change to help farmers, should cover a wider range of issues affecting all New Zealanders, like “What is a common sense monetary system that stops the exponential growth of the national debt that burdens only real taxpayers in NZ?” and “What common sense solution could go hand in hand with the taxation system to stop growing national debt altogether?” Politicians draw their incomes from the taxes paid by the productive, so should be

Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across? We offer readers the chance to have their say. Contact us and have yours. farmers.weekly@agrihq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519

16 Opinion

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

The only certainty is nothing will change Alternative view

Alan Emerson

Semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com

S THIS has been written before election night, I’m blissfully unaware of any election result. I’d be surprised if there are any agreed coalition deals by the time you read this and that state of affairs could go on for weeks. It will be interesting to see if the pre-election rhetoric even remotely resembles the postelection reality. I’ve always found with politicians that at all times power overcomes principle, so anything could happen. Nothing would surprise me. I certainly detected the mood for a change, which seemed unstoppable. Labour could have fronted up with both Richie McCaw and Dame Noeline Taurua and I don’t believe it would have made much difference. The harsh reality is, however, that little will change no matter what happens with all the comings and goings of coalition politics. Take the cost of living as an example. It is a global phenomenon and not just an issue for us. No matter who forms the next government, the problem will continue. I have great respect for economist Shamubeel Eaqub. He tells it as he sees it and unlike those economists working for the big Aussie banks, he’s unencumbered.

His position on the cost-of-living crisis was simple. “The Reserve Bank should get on with its job and politicians should protect the most vulnerable and take a non-partisan long-term approach to make our economy more competitive and productive.” It’s hard to argue with that position but our politicians aren’t going to take a “nonpartisan, longterm approach” to anything. It’s been tried before with the late Jim Anderton setting up the NZ Fast Forward Fund when he was minister of agriculture. It was established to position New Zealand’s primary industries for the challenges of the future. To enable us to compete more actively in the global marketplace. The only problem was when National became the government the then minister of agriculture, David Carter, took the $700 million Anderton had given agriculture and put it back into the consolidated fund. So much for a “non-partisan, long-term approach”. Tribalism rules. The other issue is that what a politician wants to do and what they can are two different issues. For example, on the campaign trail Christopher Luxon told the country at length how he was going to index benefits to inflation not wages, effectively cutting benefits. Will Winston Peters agree to that? Another example was National’s promise to restore speed limits to 100km per hour compared with the 80km/h the authorities foisted on us. I would certainly support getting the speed limits back to 100km/h. The problem is that Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is an independent entity, free of political interference. Will National change the law to enable its promises to be fulfilled? That will take some years. Will it bully behind the scenes? That would totally destroy the credibility of NZTA as when asked to do that by Labour it refused. For the life of me I can’t see the population being any better

or worse off no matter who is in power. I don’t accept that National is a party of business. Its front bench contains an honours graduate in English, an ex-lobbyist for the tobacco industry and an historian. The exception is Dr Shane Reti, who I rate highly. Its financial meanderings on the election trail left me unimpressed, especially with the foreign buyer tax take, which Eaqub described as “bullshit”. The additional tax promises from National also fitted that description. Further, they will have to deal with coalition partners, whoever they may be. We’ve also been told by National it’ll repeal Three Waters in the first 100 days. What will it replace it with? There’s no money in its pre-election budget statement and sewerage, stormwater and freshwater are at crisis point. We’ve been told there is also a crisis with the population explosion of feral goats, pigs and deer. The answer is simple: reverse the ridiculous gun laws that Labour, National and the Greens foisted on us. On the positive side the primary industry policies of the opposition parties are solid. The ACT and New Zealand First policies are well thought-out. The Greens are in fairyland with their reliance on Regenerative Agriculture. Also on the positive side are the people involved in the primary industries portfolios. I rate Damien O’Connor. He worked tirelessly on trade and understands the industry. What he achieved within a Labour cabinet was, I thought, considerable. Mark Cameron has done a great job with ACT and I believe its policy is sound. He will have Andrew Hoggard as well, which is extremely positive. I rate NZ First’s Mark Patterson as well. He certainly understands farming. Finally the line-up of farmers entering Parliament is really positive. So in the short term my only advice would be to buckle your seatbelts. We’re in for a rough ride.

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WATER PUZZLE: National has said it will repeal Three Waters in its first 100 days. But what will it replace it with, asks Alan Emerson.

Food card could be NZ’s ace in the hole Straight talking

Cameron Bagrie

Managing director of Bagrie Economics and a shareholder and director of Chaperon

HE rubber is now starting to hit the road. Economic reality is sinking in fast. Global and local interest rates are still moving up. At the time of writing the yield on a United States 10-

year bond had risen to 4.6%. Calls for a soft landing for the global economy and immaculate disinflation are wide of the mark in my view. Inflation is not going away without real economic pain. Most of the workforce has not seen real economic pain. You need to go back decades. Geo-strategic issues are compounding inflation pressures with oil prices going from US$70/ bbl to $90/bbl. Onshoring, nearshoring and friend-shoring are replacing offshoring. Just-in-time and efficiency are being usurped by just-in-case and resilience. Eyes are on industrial action globally as workers demand higher wages and the return of benefits lost over the past decades. This is not a central bankfriendly or immaculate disinflation world. Continued next page

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Opinion

17 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Let’s harness the power of not being a dick Eating the elephant

Ben Anderson

Ben Anderson lives in central Hawke’s Bay and farms deer, cows and trees. eating.the.elephant.nz@gmail.com In this series, the lads each explore an unpopular opinion in farming

ADIES and gentlemen, please excuse me but I need to interrupt regular programming to bring you some breaking news. It seems, and I hate to be the bearer of such sad and worrying tidings, that there is a plague slowly making its way over our fair hills. It is a plague that we have met before, but never has its reach been so wide and insidious. I am of course referring to the Continued from previous page

If inflation is the disease, higherfor-longer interest rates are the antidotes. The effects take time to diffuse across the economy. That argues for caution. Inflation’s persistence argues otherwise. Central banks are seeing some progress in areas where it’s needed. Falling business profits are being reflected in the tax take. The 2022 Budget projected corporate tax of $21.2 billion in the 2022/23 fiscal year. The unaudited actual is $18.6bn. Corporate tax is projected to fall further in 2023/24. When firms make less money, attention turns to costs. The number of people on a benefit is 17,000 higher than a year ago, now rising by around 800 per week though most of the uplift is not coming from those who are categorised as work ready. That is an annual run rate of more than 40,000. Cue more social fracturing over the coming year, though. Meanwhile, core inflation is still around 6%, barely budging in the past year. Facing economic challenges, both the main political parties are backing migration. Better quality and settings will help, but the dividend from migration (growth) also carries a cost (housing, infrastructure and health pressure). The Reserve Bank cannot afford to let the housing market reflate and add to inflation

manifestation otherwise known as Agriculturalus dickerus, or dickery for short. Now normally I wouldn’t think to write an article on the subject of dickery within our beloved sector, but a couple of recent events have made me consider the topic in more detail. The first involved me talking to an ex-business owner who had served farming customers most of his adult life. It transpired he didn’t have much sympathy for my standard monologue on the life of the poorly appreciated farmer. His take was that farmers tended to be rude, arrogant and entitled. Although he didn’t use the word “dick” specifically, I think we can safely read between the lines. My second experience was being mistaken by a farmer for a member of our regional council. After being given both barrels on my parentage, my failings and how all the expertise that I actually needed was currently sitting on the other end of the phone, I came to the conclusion that all public-facing members of the council should be awarded an extra allowance for exposure to chronic dickery. Admittedly, life does not always line up for those of us who spend most of our time behind the farm gate. Rules do not always make sense, policies are sometimes disconnected from reality and it’s hard to keep the blood pressure in check when you are sent an

“education” letter from a faceless bureaucrat with an obvious penchant for spreadsheets and walk socks. But ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you that we need to rise above these provocations. It is time we do a bit of public navel gazing and see the world for what it is. You see, and this may come as a surprise to some of you, people don’t like dealing with dicks. They may put up with you, but they will cease to support you. And that is the real issue. You may have heard: the positive reputation that we farmers used to have with our communities and the voting public at large is starting to fade. I know this because a certain Penelope Clark did a Kellogg research paper on this very subject. She noted that in a 2017 UMR poll, only 59% of urban respondents had a positive view of the New Zealand sheep and beef industry, down from 78% of urban respondents who had a positive view of farming in general in 2008. She concluded that NZ’s primary sector was “sitting at the lowest level of acceptance, and on the precipice of its legitimacy being questioned, in light of a diversifying economy and food innovation”. This trend worries me, and I feel that it should worry you too. Farming is not going particularly well right now. We are going to need the support of our politicians,

pressure. You dent that with interest rates. A complex web of cyclical and structural forces are now colliding. The playbook we have been conditioned to over the past 30 years is being challenged. Navigating inflation presents growth and commodity price challenges. Interest rates look to be moving up not just due to monetary policy moving into a restrictive phase, but neutral interest rates (where central banks have the foot on neither the accelerator nor the brake) are moving higher too. The era of incredibly low interest rates is ending. Geo-strategic and geo-political shifts are extensive and present both challenges (China versus the US, Russia) and opportunities (India, the Gulf Co-operation Council). Artificial intelligence, climate change and the path to net zero, cyber security, demographic and digital transformation, rising demand for care and support services ... the list of change is extensive. I suspect we could see a major shakeout across management teams and boardrooms. The election campaign has been notable for a lack of debate on key issues, one of which is New Zealand’s place and strategy in a rapidly evolving world. Both main political party leaders have stumbled when asked about

derivatives of a changing world, including China’s place and influence. Every exporter and importer should read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s report Navigating a Shifting World. NZ has benefitted from open markets, founded on a trusted, rules-based trading system. That system is being challenged on multiple levels. Australia recently released an intergenerational report that noted: “Financial shocks, extreme weather events, the pandemic, malicious cyber activity and intensifying competition for resources such as food, water and critical minerals have further highlighted the importance

BOILING: While its hard to keep the blood pressure in check sometimes, Ben Anderson says we need to be fair and constructive.

We are going to need the support of our politicians, our voting public and our consumers to help us as we work through some difficult years ahead. our voting public and our consumers to help us as we work through some difficult years ahead. Somehow farming is going to have find a way to be profitable in a new world of increasing public scrutiny, consumer expectation and environmental conformity. Doing this is going to require friends. Lots of them. Now, I know that every industry has its fair share of dicks. And I don’t think that we are all out there acting badly. You only need to look in your local paper to see farmers out there amongst their of security and resilience for economic prosperity. “Geo-strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific is rising – a major conflict would have far-reaching consequences for the Australian and global economy. “These events require unprecedented co-ordination between domestic and foreign policy and between economic and security settings to keep Australians safe and ensure our economic strength.” NZ has a massive point of vulnerability with energy (diesel), but an opportunity with food and water. The government needs to play point and lead NZ’s navigation through a shifting world. I’m

COMPETITION: An Australian report says geo-strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific is rising and a major conflict would have far-reaching consequences.

communities giving their all for rural and urban folk alike. But the unfortunate reality is that nothing creates news or helps form adverse opinion more than people behaving badly. Fairly or not, we need to be better than this. We all need to be positive ambassadors for our sector. We don’t need to be meek, but we do need to be fair and constructive. We don’t need to like everyone we meet, but we do need to treat them with respect if we want their respect in turn. If we don’t, we are going to bear the consequences. I currently have a contractor with one arm working for me. His other one got torn off in a tractor accident when he was two. He happens to be one of the most positive people I know, despite what life has thrown at him. His family motto is DBAD (Don’t Be a Dick). Words to live by. scratching my head thinking who the next trade or foreign affairs minister should be. The rural community will be tested over the coming two years. Weak business models will be exposed. Good balance sheets will absorb poor balance sheets. Capital destruction is often needed to drive innovation and real change. Do not go to banks with a problem ex post. Be on top of risks, how they will be managed, how the bank can help if risks manifest into reality, the support needed, and how they will be repaid. This is not a cycle where central banks look set to come to borrowers’ rescue as they did in the Asian crisis and Global Financial Crisis. There are two overarching themes to remember. First, the recent economic expansion was unsustainable, and the coming decade will require a stronger focus on earnings-sector growth, with the primary sector an important cog, and a sustained lower currency helping. A change of government will not be a gamechanger; businesses will need to adapt. Second, do not get weighed down by absolutes. Rather think about the coming years as a game of chess and our relative position in the production of food, and how we leverage nations seeking security in food supply as a point of advantage.

18 People

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

People

Changing of the guard in deer industry Deer Industry NZ’s new industry capability manager, John Ladley, sees generational change in the industry as a key issue, he tells Annette Scott.

S DEER farming pioneers step out of the game, generational change is one of the industry’s biggest issues, newly appointed industry capability manager John Ladley says. Ladley started work with the restructured deer industry at the end of August after a varied career in several primary industry roles, his most recent being a fiveyear stint as Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s (BLNZ) general manager South Island. “I’ll be pulling on an old jersey that’s been renovated a wee bit,” he says of his new role focused on ensuring Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) has the best skills and knowledge to move into the future. “I’m both excited and pleased to be supporting primary producers and delivering outcomes as part of the DINZ team.” Reporting to chief executive Innes Moffat, he will be extending his external network, built up over the years in his previous agribusiness and industry roles, with more deer-specific ones. “Quite surprisingly my first years of work were in the horticulture industry,” he says. Ladley grew up in Nelson and while not directly off a farm he spent many of his holidays helping on relations’ farms. That, he says, surrounded him with opportunities in the primary sector, many of which helped to shape his career. “On leaving school I worked on kiwifruit and pipfruit orchards

IMPROVING: New deer industry capability manager John Ladley says he is passionate about supporting farmers as he ensures the industry has the best skills and knowledge to deliver positive outcomes. studying through the Open Polytechnic of NZ and after three years I had a certificate in kiwifruit production and a certificate in pip and stonefruit production.” His career changed direction when he took up a position at CRT (now Farmlands) in Richmond and then Marlborough, including a short stint in Balclutha. “That’s a long way from where I am now career-wise, but it’s all part of growing up and it did give me exposure to different management and farming types.” He finished his growing up with an OE to Western Australia where he worked at the top end of the grain belt.

“It was a good opportunity to do something a bit different and learn a bit more.” In early 2000 Ladley moved to Christchurch to work for Wrightson Seeds as the South Island area manager. “Sales and operational roles filled the next few years providing opportunities to learn and grow my skills.” After eight years in the seed game he joined Summit-Quinphos, now part of Ballance, but it wasn’t long before he was lured back to the seed game where he spent nine years as national sales manager with Dutch-owned Barenbrug. In 2018 he joined BLNZ as

general manager South Island. Ladley says he gains much satisfaction through working with farmers and most enjoys being able to support and connect people in the rural community. “I’m passionate about supporting farmers and growers and ensuring organisations can deliver positive outcomes for farmers.” He was indirectly connected to deer through farming friends and family, and after he left BLNZ earlier this year, the opportunity arose to share his knowledge and experience in the deer industry. “Building strong relationships is really important. I’ll be working on them both within the organisation and with its stakeholders. “One thing I have enjoyed due to the nature of my network is being able to support and connect the rural community. It is, after all, the relationships we have within our rural communities that create the success,” he says. Understanding the DINZ team, its people and function, and how he can best support them to deliver value for deer farmers, is one of his first goals in his new role, which encompasses quality assurance while also drawing in farm performance. “I want to gain a strong understanding of what our deer farmers need in the way of capability and extension to ensure the support provided meets their needs behind the farm gate. “Ensuring we’ve got the right genetics and evaluation tools for farmers to have at their fingertips is part of it, but it’s also about ensuring we’ve got the right quality assurance programmes in place, whether that’s for venison or velvet.” In the people and capability space Ladley will facilitate extension programmes for

rural professionals and regional councils, ensuring understanding of deer and deer farming, in particular in multi-species operations. As the industry’s pioneers step out of farming, he sees generational change as one of the deer industry’s biggest issues. Building that capacity behind the farm gate is also an important part of his remit.

I’ll be looking at how to encourage people to continue to farm deer along with the right pathways for the next generation to come into the sector. John Ladley DINZ “I’ll be looking at how to encourage people to continue to farm deer as an indispensable stock class, along with the right pathways for the next generation to come into the sector. “I am looking forward to building my knowledge of the deer industry and supporting it to achieve the goals and aspirations it has in my role as industry capability manager. “This is not just a desk job. “There will be a lot of farmerand industry-facing opportunity to get out and meet stakeholders and farmers, hear their challenges and help find solutions while I also build greater knowledge and understanding of the overall industry. “Seven weeks into this new role, that is my key priority.” Ladley replaces former QA manager Rob Gregory, who finished at DINZ at the end of September.

Canty family serves up 12,000 meals for Kiwis in need Staff reporter

PEOPLE

Community A SOUTH Canterbury family’s ongoing support of Meat the Need has seen almost 12,000 meals donated to food banks across the country. Shrimpton’s Hill Herefords at Cave has donated the proceeds of one bull in its annual bull sale since the charity was established in 2020. Its 2023 sale last week was its fourth year in a row, with Lot One selling for $3000 – equivalent to almost 3000 meals. Liz and John McKerchar said being able to donate is a really positive thing for their whole family. “We get a lot of pleasure from being able to do it, it’s a jolly good cause,” Liz said. Meat the Need co-founder Wayne Langford said he is incredibly grateful for the ongoing support from the McKerchar family. “They don’t just donate an average bull. Every year at the

Shrimpton’s Hill Hereford bull sale, it’s been one of the best bulls in the category, every time,” he said. “John, Liz, Abby and Hamish are such an important part of the Meat the Need family. It’s been a bloody tough few years on farm for everyone but having raised enough money to donate 12,000 meals is a huge achievement. “They’re making a massive difference to families across the country.” Liz said they were blown away to see the contribution they had made when it was broken down into meal value. “It’s very, very hard to comprehend to be quite honest. You just can’t quite imagine that many packets of mince,” she said. “It’s just fabulous and we’re thrilled it’s of use and benefitting so many people, it’s incredible.” Shrimpton’s Hill Herefords was founded in 1969 by John’s father and since then the family-owned stud has become the leader in breeding short gestation Herefords in the Australasian market. Running around 8000 stock units

that are mostly Herefords, they also have Border Leicester ewes, one of the oldest flocks of sheep breeds in the country that is still in the same family. Liz and John run the farm alongside son Hamish, who is a helicopter pilot, and his wife Abby, a personal trainer and sports nutritionist. The pair are keen to take the

stud forward and have not only initiated a strong programme using single sexed semen, but Abby has converted the woolshed into a gym where she runs inperson and online classes. They’re also focusing on hitting intramuscular fat as a trait with their Herefords, and want to breed the best marbling ability possible. Shrimpton’s Hill Herefords has

HELPING: From left, Lot One buyers Brent, McGregor and Susan Isbister, Meat the Need co-founder Wayne Langford and Abby, Liz, John and Hamish McKerchar of Shrimpton’s Hill Herefords.

also sponsored the Canterbury North Otago Dairy Awards for 17 years, which Liz said has provided the opportunity to meet and interact with enthusiastic young farmers from all walks of life. This was where the family was first introduced to Meat the Need co-founder Siobhan O’Malley and husband Chris in 2017 when they took out the Share Farmer of the Year category. “It was Siobhan who drew my attention to the charity when it launched in 2020 and I remember messaging her and saying ‘We don’t really kill anything but what if we gave the proceeds of the bull, would that help you out at all?’” Liz said. “It’s well worth getting involved and it’s very satisfying to be able to help fellow New Zealanders in these tough times. There’s always someone worse off that needs looking after.” Liz’s message for other farmers across the country when it comes to donating to Meat the Need: “Definitely do it, as best you can ... being able to make a difference is truly amazing.”

Technology

19 Technology FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Scion hones tools to meet red needle cast Researchers have stubborn pine plantation disease in their sights, from microscopes to aerial surveillance.

EW research and smart technologies are offering hope and solutions to foresters waging war against a silent enemy in New Zealand’s pine plantations. Red needle cast (RNC), an unyielding fungal-like disease, has been wreaking havoc on pine trees in NZ since at least 2008. Infections cause pine needles to lose their colour and fall to the ground, with research showing that defoliation can impact growth for three years after the trees show symptoms. Scientists from Scion’s Resilient Forests Research Programme are at the forefront of the battle, with their work providing hope for forest growers striving to mitigate the combined impact of invasive pathogens and climate change’s impact on tree health. Dr Stuart Fraser, leader of Scion’s Ecology and Environment research group, has dedicated more than six years to investigating the disease and potential control strategies. Joining him in 2021, forest pathologist Emily McLay is adding depth to the understanding of the disease, with research that aims to make it easier to predict when outbreaks will occur. La Niña events affecting NZ in recent years have resulted in extreme wet conditions. This increased moisture has created a favourable environment for needle diseases, making them more widespread and persistent. “We are in a new normal,” McLay says. “We used to believe in disease seasons, but recently, these seasons have become continuous due to the prolonged wet conditions. “Normally, drier and hotter weather would interrupt the disease cycle, but with the

persistent moisture, RNC has continued to thrive, contributing to this year’s severity.” Satellite imagery of plantation forests on the east coast, provided by Indufor, illustrates the extent of the disease this August compared with the same time one year ago. Scientists say the key to combating RNC lies in deciphering the pathogen-host interaction and how the environment influences it. RNC completes its life cycle on the needles of radiata pine trees, and very quickly responds to environmental stimuli. McLay’s laboratory work is focused on understanding how temperature and moisture drive different processes in the disease cycle. “It’s a targeted study that we can use to build epidemiological models, so we can predict when

We used to believe in disease seasons, but recently, these seasons have become continuous due to the prolonged wet conditions. Emily McLay Forest pathologist

these big years might happen,” she says. “One of the challenging aspects about field trials is that there’s covariation. Winter is typically colder and wetter, whereas summer is warmer and drier. When it comes to building a model, it’s really hard to pull those apart.” Her research, therefore, focuses on teasing out the influence of temperature and wetness, shedding light on their distinct roles. To help the forestry industry and Scion’s pathologists better understand the extent of RNC, Scion’s remote sensing and geospatial intelligence team provides monitoring support. Scientists are mapping the presence of the disease and are keen to hear from industry professionals with suspected sightings of RNC to better inform their model. Team lead Grant Pearse explained: “We use free, coarser resolution satellite imagery to identify areas that might have disease expression. But it can generate some false positives for various reasons. “The presence of RNC can only be confirmed through the purchase of very high-resolution satellite

LOOKING FORWARD: Emily McLay’s research aims to develop a model to predict outbreaks of red needle cast disease.

EAGLE EYE: Dr Stuart Fraser inspects pine needles for the disease under a magnifying glass. imagery from a commercial provider for more detailed mapping. To use our commercial imagery budget efficiently and make our modelling more accurate, we’d love to hear more from industry about areas where RNC could be impacting forests. “Having more accurate data means we’ll need to investigate fewer false positives long term. Ideally, we are looking for larger areas of trees affected by RNC as satellites struggle to detect a few roadside trees, for example.” As the RNC battle escalates, pragmatic solutions for industry are imperative, with copper emerging as a viable control treatment. Already used in low doses to manage Dothistroma needle blight, a disease akin to RNC, copper’s efficacy has been validated for more than 60 years. The central North Island, considered a hotbed for Dothistroma, saw the first copper trials to control RNC in 2017, led by Fraser. Significant RNC outbreaks in 2015 and 2016 spurred Mike Baker, national forestry manager at Manulife Forest Management (NZ), to collaborate with Scion on large-scale copper trials. Trials in Kinleith Forest demonstrated that copper significantly curbed RNC’s severity. These trials explored optimal spray timings for RNC control. However, a consistent pattern wasn’t evident. Despite this,

disease severity decreased across all trial timings compared to unsprayed control. It’s hoped copper trials on forests in the east coast will shed more light on the effectiveness of copper under greater disease pressure. With the Resilient Forests Research Programme developed to future-proof planted radiata pine forests from the impact of climate change, McLay’s research is building towards the development of a prototype model to predict RNC disease outbreaks. Although a few years away from being commercially available, the tool’s aim is to empower foresters with information they can use to take pre-emptive action. With satellite monitoring and copper research, a transformative disease management approach is emerging. “We’re aiming to not just respond to outbreaks, but foresee and address potential concerns,” McLay says. Forest Growers’ Research chief executive Paul Adams says Scion’s research offers the industry a beacon of hope for safeguarding NZ’s forests and sustaining the timber industry. “It holds immense value for our forestry sector. The potential use of copper treatments is promising. Combined with the development of predictive models and satellitebased monitoring, these research efforts will help our future forests be more resilient in the face of climate change.”

FEDERATED 20 Fed Farmers

FARMERS Vol 1 No 6, October 16, 2023

fedfarm.org.nz

Proposed restructure at Fed Farmers Terry Copeland Federated Farmers CEO

fee for next year to cover the shortfall just wasn’t a realistic option for us. We know that farming families are facing the same rising costs, along with falling incomes, that we are – and we didn’t want to add to that.

arlier this month Federated Farmers announced a proposed restructure of the organisation and I appreciate that there has been some interest in this from our members. It’s understandable that people are looking for more detail to help them understand the decision and what the flow-on effects may be for the important work we do on farmers’ behalf. While I am limited in what I can share publicly given this has potential employment implications for our staff, I strongly feel that as a membership organisation that we have an obligation to be as transparent as we can be about why these changes are being proposed and how we came to be in this position. For some time now Federated Farmers has been facing the same inflationary pressures as the rest of New Zealand. Our situation is not unique and we are not alone in having to make these difficult decisions. We have seen large cost increase when it comes to things like fuel, travel, insurance and salary costs. Since 2020 our staffing costs alone have had to increase by 32% as we’ve had to pay more to attract and retain staff. We have also had to compete with other organisations, including government departments and regional councils, who have been

There is also a real need to refocus our organisation so we can continue to meet the needs of our members in a modern advocacy environment to ensure we are getting the best policy outcomes we can for farmers. Terry Copeland Federated Farmers chief executive

SQUEEZED: Federated Farmers chief executive Terry Copeland says Federated Farmers has been facing the same inflationary pressures as the rest of New Zealand. offering large salaries for staff to support them as they struggled, just as we have, with the pace and scale of the government’s reform processes. We have also seen a small reduction in year-on-year revenue. Although our membership numbers have been relatively stable for the last few years, and we’ve actually seen an increase in the percentage of farmers that we represent, there has been some gradual attrition over time due to farm amalgamations,

conversions to forestry, and increasing numbers of lifestyle blocks. The situation has reached a point where it is no longer financially sustainable for our organisation and change is required. We need to act now to protect the viability of Federated Farmers so we can continue the important policy and advocacy work we do on behalf of farmers and rural communities now and into the future. Simply increasing our membership

Farmers are having to make hard decisions and cut their budgets, so we need to do the same. If we don’t make changes the organisation is looking at a forecast deficit of around $1.2 million next year, with that set to increase over time. That’s why we are proposing a reduction in headcount of up to 13.8 FTE from right across our organisation, not just one area. This could see us fall from 63 employees to around 49. I also want to be very clear that we aren’t just looking to reduce headcount and are trying to find other cost savings too, but the reality is that we already run an incredibly lean organisation compared to others and staffing related costs

make up over 75% of our total budget. This means that there is very little that can be trimmed from other budget lines. It’s also important to acknowledge that while a need to cut costs has been the major driver for these proposed changes, it’s far from the only driver. There is also a real need to refocus our organisation so we can continue to meet the needs of our members in a modern advocacy environment to ensure we are getting the best policy outcomes we can for farmers. This means we need to be looking at how we can make the shift from being the largest policy team outside of government to being the best policy team. We need to be relentlessly outcome-focused for farmers, avoid duplication with other organisations such as DairyNZ or Beef + Lamb NZ, and focus our efforts on addressing concerns at the central government policy setting level, rather than having to fight expensive court cases at the regional implementation stage. There is still an absolute commitment to ensuring regional policy coverage across all our provinces, and ensuring that work doesn’t simply fall on the shoulders of farmer volunteers who already have more than enough on their plates. But we need to be working much smarter than we have been in the past and clearly defining the role of Federated Farmers.

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Federated Farmers

fedfarm.org.nz – October 16, 2023

Communities the quality choice

arly on the agriculture sector ‘to do’ list for the next government should be to repeal the unworkable Essential Freshwater rules, Federated Farmers says. “Local communities and councils should determine local water quality goals, not the blunt tool of blanket national regulation,” Feds vicepresident Colin Hurst says. The Federated Farmers freshwater and biodiversity spokesperson says catchment groups deserve to be supported with consistent funding. Voluntary Freshwater Farm Plans, as an alternative to resource consents, and catchment groups should be used to empower farmers to identify streams for stock exclusion, wetlands for enhancement, and methods for improving winter grazing. “Freshwater issues are about trade-offs. We know that freshwater quality and biodiversity habitat is very important but if that’s the only aspect taken into account, and it becomes all about reducing stock and reducing production, then that’s fewer jobs in the community. “Regional councils can drive this, but even better if it’s at catchment level,” Hurst says. “Local communities - farmers, iwi, NGOs, residents - can be brought together to work with their elected regional council to work out consensus and the best balance.” The beauty of catchment groups is that “everyone’s kind of holding their neighbours to account. It’s much harder for someone to say ‘yeah, well that’s someone else’s problem’ because it’s your immediate district; your kids go to school together, it’s your jobs and prosperity on the line, it’s the swimming holes you all go to… “When it’s done through central government mandate, it’s not only taking away from the community to decide priorities, it risks just becoming a ‘tick box’ exercise and impersonal, not one where you work

The main finding of the Cawthron survey and study was that catchment groups felt they would be able to do more if the government streamlined its processes for

supporting them. A large amount of scarce volunteer time was spent on funding application paperwork, with small chance of success, and often for only small amounts of funding.

Progress big and small

SWIMMINGLY: Cawthron Institute freshwater ecologist Robin Holmes gives members of the Mid Oreti Catchment group tips on how to check on the health of freshwater species, including some long-finned eels and macroinvertebrates, in Winton Stream. with neighbours and find solutions that work,” Hurst says. Better support needed As MPI ramps up its On-Farm Support service, getting alongside catchment groups is seen as a priority. “Catchment groups are a really good support network for farmers, and their opportunity to create fitfor-purpose solutions at that farm level is brilliant,” former Federated Farmers North Canterbury president, now Canterbury manager for OnFarm Support, Caroline Amyes says. The MPI service works to link catchment groups to funding options and also works with the NZ Landcare Trust to help foster new groups, including with funding to help them get established.

In 2021, the Cawthron Institute estimated there were about 1000 catchment groups operating around New Zealand. Based on a survey sample of 240, the institute found that about 60% of these focus on terrestrial biodiversity projects, putting time and resources into pest control, species protection and habitat restoration. Another 20% of groups focus primarily on restoring waterways through riparian fencing and planting, wetland restoration, advocacy and soil conservation. The remaining 20% of groups are involved in both kinds of work. Farmers, especially sheep and beef and dairy, account for most of those involved in the waterway groups but also make up a very healthy percentage of the biodiversityfocused groups.

Strategic leadership development for Food and Fibre now. Applications for Lincoln Programme One 2024, January 23 start, close on 22 October. To learn more or apply visit ruralleaders.co.nz/kellogg

While not strictly a catchment group, the award-winning Manawatū River Leaders Accord is certainly an example of a catchment community deciding its priorities and working together on solutions and action. Federated Farmers is among the 34 partners in the accord, with others including the district and regional councils, iwi and hapu, Fish & Game, DairyNZ and jetboaters. Reporting on its progress recently, Federated Farmers Tararura copresident Sally Dryland said a project testing whether wide of use of plantain as a stock feed could reduce N leaching now involves 100 local farmers planting the crop, and 21 of them also conducting monthly waterway testing. Benefits for fish life look promising. Achievements so far from the Manawatū Freshwater Improvement Fund, instigated by the Horizons Regional Council four years ago, are exceeding targets: • 250km stream fencing / 303.45km completed • 200,000 riparian plants / 427,807 plants • 20 fish passage solutions / 23 barriers removed • 45 community led projects / 50 projects completed • Tokomaru WW irrigation to land / land purchased • Urban Streams project / plantings, bridge, pest control “The Financial Evaluation highlighted the combined $10.4m spend and advantages of a partnership approach,” Dryland said. “Farmers take a bow as nearly $6m of this was your investments to improve the water quality.” To give an example of a smaller

catchment groups, in a central Southland district with the town of Winton at its core, the Mid Oreti Catchment group has two projects on the go. One is a ‘Mini Forest Movement’, one of six catchment group projects to be awarded a $10,000 grant from the NZ Landcare Trust and Westpac New Zealand last August. Mid Oreti group leader Ainsley Adams said back in 2021 the farmers, lifestyle block owners, townies and other volunteers involved wanted to plant more trees to boost lost habitat and biodiversity. Thanks to a generous donation of 1000 trees from local firm A B Lime Ltd, they called for applications and carried out planting projects, each of 200 trees – four on local farms and one at Lochiel School’s bike track. The four landowners each donated back $1 per tree, and that $800 was invested in potting mix and everything else needed to grow more plants. “We hold open evenings every month to propagate our own plants from seed – we’ve produced about 1200 so far,” Adams says. The Mid Oreti group’s second project is to create an interactive map that identifies the best locations for construction of wetlands, run-off detainment bunds and sediment traps in the Winton Stream catchment, and to share research and best practice. “The idea is that landowners will be able to log-in, find their area, and assess if there’s any location of their property where there is scope for sediment control using those methods.”

October 16, 2023 – fedfarm.org.nz

Federated Farmers

Meaningful reform would empower and inspire communities Paul Melville Federated Farmers general manager policy and advocacy

n the past few weeks, Environment Court proceedings got underway on what is known as Waikato Plan Change 1, or “PC1” for short. The PC1 process is now in its eleventh year and won’t be completed for some time yet. The hearings will take place in Auckland and Hamilton and are scheduled to take six weeks. Federated Farmers have engaged in this process on behalf of farmers. This is expensive, but we need to be in there to make sure farmers get the best outcome possible. However, this doesn’t mean we support the current RMA processes or the need to hammer out complex policy in an Environment Court. I travelled to Hamilton to observe some of the proceedings earlier this month. As a bit of an outsider to RMA processes, I was interested to observe that on my count in the Environment Court that day sat nine legal counsellors, many of whom were barristers. These lawyers cross-examined scientists, DOC officials, expert planners and farmers amongst others. Presiding over the proceedings were Environment Court judges and Freshwater Commissioners. Discussions talked about where farmers should fence, how far back fences should be, what types of farms will need a resource consent, and what the conditions of those consents should be. At the end of the process the judges will make a decision, and that

decision will effectively become law for Waikato farmers. The impact of the decision these judges make will be far-reaching. The Waikato region could see less food production, will have less jobs, and less economic development. Many family farms may become unviable. As someone who is more used to a Parliamentary process, the whole thing seems broken to me. Why is the regional council having to hire a barrister to argue the merits of its plan? Why is the final decision being made by a judge, unaccountable to the people of the Waikato, rather than a more democratic process?

Only by putting locals at the heart of the decision-making process can we ensure decision makers balance the issues in a way that enhances local wellbeing. Paul Melville Federated Farmers general manager policy and advocacy As I sat there, I tried to imagine this process playing out for a central government. Imagine if an incoming government wanted to implement a policy such as a tax cut, but before they could, they had to spend 10 years arguing the case in front of a judge? Would central government put up with such a situation? Would the public? I’m used a system where government consults on a policy proposal, organisations like

Federated Farmers engage with officials and Members of Parliament, and, at the end of the process, elected representatives make decisions that balance the different trade-offs at play. If we aren’t happy, we don’t hire a barrister, we undertake analysis, engage the public, sometimes via the media, and try to win the debate through the court of public opinion. It’s not a perfect system - far from it. But it’s the best we’ve got. In fact, the beauty of this democratic system isn’t that it always gets things right, but that it’s usually quick to fix its mistakes. Where a policy isn’t meeting the community’s needs, you will see the electorate vote out any politician who refuses to change it. Once the judges make the final decisions on PC1 it will effectively become law for Waikato farmers. The Environment Court is the only court that can amend secondary legislation (regional plans) themselves rather than interpret them or refer them back to the rulemaking body. For example, the High Court could rule that a law is contrary to the Bill of Rights, but rather than change the law, they would refer the law back to the decision maker. Once the Environment Court amends the Regional Plan, it will be difficult for Waikato locals to reverse the decision through the ballot box. This troubles me deeply. Freshwater is inherently a local issue with local trade-offs. We all want clean water, but we all also want a vibrant economy, thriving farming families, and we don’t want to pay too much in rates for the infrastructure required

DOESN’T WORK: Paul Melville says New Zealand desperately needs meaningful RMA reform. to manage urban storm and wastewater. The benefits of improving water quality and the costs achieving this will be felt most by those living near the streams, lakes, and rivers we are talking about. Yet, sitting in the court room I saw little that represented a democratic process. The decisions were all being influenced by people who had flown in from Wellington or driven down from Auckland. The council was left defending its plan against government departments and special interest groups. I’m sure if I walked out of the room at the Distinction Hotel and talked to anyone out on the street, they wouldn’t even know what PC1 was or what the implications of the decisions would be – let alone how it would affect their community. I was left with the impression that the whole system was completely broken. Federated Farmers is of the view that New Zealand desperately

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needs meaningful RMA reform. RMA reform needs to re-empower local communities to be engaged in, and make the decisions, that impact them most. This will save the need for an army of barristers and judges to be paid to preside over long, closedshop processes. But it will also empower communities to decide for themselves what is best for their rivers, their farms, and their towns. Only by putting locals at the heart of the decision-making process can we ensure decision makers balance the issues in a way that enhances local wellbeing. It is encouraging there is a lot of political momentum for RMA reform. It important that a new RMA properly address the litigious nature of RMA processes. Federated Farmers aims to release our proposal for how a new RMA could be designed shortly so that politicians can move quickly to develop a workable alternative to our current broken system.

Federated Farmers

23 fedfarm.org.nz – October 16, 2023

Study should consider rural lending

ederated Farmers’ call for an independent market study specific to rural business banking has gained plenty of media traction, as well as support from candidates from across the political spectrum at last month’s general election Rural Issues Debate. The Commerce Commission is already underway with a market study on personal banking services, with a particular focus on deposit accounts and homes loans. While its terms of reference exclude rural business banking, Federated Farmers have nevertheless taken the chance to raise issues of concern, given that for farmers living on their farms personal banking services are often intertwined with farm business banking services. The personal banking market study has been prompted by public concern about persistently large profits recorded by banks, especially the large Australian-owned banks, and whether there is sufficient competition. “Farmers share this concern,” Federated Farmers domestic commerce and competition spokesperson Richard McIntyre says. “With so many other issues piling in on top of them – inflation, higher interest rates, lower payouts and now the prospect of a very dry summer in the east of the country – the last thing farmers want to be worrying about is whether they’re getting a fair deal from their bank.” The Federated Farmers’ submission to the Commerce Commission said the current market study should seek to understand how competition is working for New Zealanders as a whole, as well as for different population groups. “This needs to include rural New Zealanders, especially considering the closure of bank branches in many rural areas and the increased digitisation of banking services at a time when many rural people continue to struggle to get decent internet connectivity and/or mobile phone coverage.”

While farmers have deposit accounts, most of their concerns are about bank lending, where farm mortgages will often cover their homes. Banks’ decisions on interest rates and lending conditions can have a huge impact on farm businesses and, importantly for the market study, farming families’ economic and social well-being. McIntyre says he has received some feedback that banks should treat lending for a farmhouse and the land immediately around it as a housing loan (and therefore be subject to interest rates that prevail for housing lending), separately from the loan for a farm business. “We ask the Commission to consider the desirability and practicality of such an approach.” The study is looking at factors affecting banking competition. The Federated Farmers submission pointed out rural banking services are heavily concentrated, with more than 98% of agricultural loans held by five banks (ANZ, BNZ, Rabobank, ASB and Westpac). The equivalent percentages for the top five banks for housing loans (95%), consumer loans (82%), and business loans (95%), are all lower.

It would be challenging for existing non-rural New Zealand banks let alone new entrants to banking in New Zealand expand into rural banking, even if they wanted to. Rural banking is highly specialised, requiring staff that are knowledgeable and experienced in farming and rural business and requiring local and regional infrastructure, such as branches and offices. “It would be challenging for existing non-rural New Zealand banks let alone new entrants to banking in New Zealand expand into rural banking, even if they

EQUAL: Farmers are keen for banks to treat lending for a farmhouse and the land immediately around it as a housing loan (and therefore be subject to interest rates that prevail for housing lending), separately from the loan for a farm business.

wanted to,” the Federated Farmers submission said. Also deserving investigation is the regulatory environment, including its impact on interest rates, such as through risk margins and how they are influenced by regulation such as bank capital requirements and sector risk weightings. This has been cited as a reason for higher interest rates for rural lending compared to residential lending. Even among the banks actively engaged in rural banking, recent years have seen them adopt lower appetites for risk, especially for dairy farming, meaning less pursuit of market share or growing their rural ‘books’. The May 2023 Federated Farmers Banking Survey showed farmer satisfaction with their bank relationship continues to slip. While 56% of the more than 1000 respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied on this front, this was down 3% on the November 2022 survey and is the lowest since the twice-a-year surveys began in 2015. Members have also told us that there is less personal service, and that the quality of communication

has deteriorated. Closure of bank branches (where rural services were often based), consolidation of services into regional or even national offices, high staff turnover, and Covid work arrangements meaning less travel to farms, were all remarked upon by survey respondents. While Federated Farmers has supported the New Zealand Bankers’ Association rural bank ‘hub’ initiative as a ‘next best’ solution, the services provided in the hubs are relatively basic and they are not a substitute for rural banking services necessary for the more complex needs of farm businesses. McIntyre says it’s difficult for farmers to switch to alternative providers given the specialised nature of rural banking. “While high performing farm businesses remain attractive to rural lenders, farmers tell us that banks are often reluctant to take on new rural customers even if they have relatively low debt, are profitable, and have a clean history of repayments,” he says. Given banks’ increasing reliance on digital platforms and communication, when many rural

FEATURING A WEEKLY CONVERSATION WITH FEDERATED FARMERS LISTEN NOW

families and businesses lack decent broadband internet and/or mobile phone coverage, Feds has asked that the market study consider how this affects the ability of rural people to fully participate in digital banking innovation and rules around retention of some non-digital options. International comparisons show that the New Zealand banking sector’s profitability is considerably stronger than overseas – including Australia. If returns from nonbanking financial services such as KiwiSaver, wealth management, insurance, foreign exchange, etc. are included as a ‘macro’ picture of bank profits, Federated Farmers said these should be stripped out for a clearer picture of bank competitiveness and profit on loans and mortgages. “It has long been a perception of many farmers that margins from agricultural loans are used to subsidise banks’ chasing of market share in housing loans and/or contributing in an outsized manner to their large overall profits. If there is any truth to this, then it would be relevant to any consideration of the competitiveness of personal banking services,” McIntyre concluded.

24 Real Estate

Pukekohe 361 Brien Road

Waikaretu 414 Baker Road Deadline Sale

Deadline Sale

Support block or finishing unit? Located 40 km from either Pukekohe and Port Waikato is this nicely contoured 116.4 ha (S.T.T) approx. of grazing land. There are excellent support buildings that include a newish four stand woolshed, large implement shed, and good sheep and cattle yards. The two homes are older and in fair order only. Large enough to make an excellent support block for dairying or a nice little finishing unit for someone looking for entry into land ownership ranks. Title is soon to be issued.

30.6 ha (S.T.T) lifestyle block Deadline Sale closes Friday 3rd November, 2023 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/TWR169609

John Sisley M 027 475 9808

Tired of living in the city but still want to be reasonably handy. Just Deadline Sale closes Friday 3rd 48 km from Tuakau and 90 km from Auckland Airport - is this 30.6 November, 2023 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) ha (S.T.T) lifestyle / finishing block. The four bedroom, 1920's homestead has commanding views of the surrounding countryside. Recent work has been completed on the interior, with new carpet and lino throughout. The land is mostly flat and easy, and there are support buildings, but no yards. Title is soon to be issued.

View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/TWR170921

John Sisley M 027 475 9808

Otorohanga 31 Kiwi Road Auction

Take a look at this! • An excellent 118 ha dairy unit • A full range of tidy farm improvements • Three good homes and a 24 ASHB shed • Good mix of contour, 50/50 flat to easy • 7 - 8 ha of steeper sidlings • All consents are in place • Motivated Vendors will try to meet the market

Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Auction 12.00pm, Thu 26th Oct, 2023, Hautapu Sports Club, 211 Victoria Street, Cambridge View Tue 17 Oct 10.45 - 11.45am Web pb.co.nz/TWR165043

John Sisley M 027 475 9808

E john.sisley@pb.co.nz

David McGuire M 027 472 2572

E david.mcguire@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

Peter & Katie Lichfield 937A Wiltsdown Road New Listing

Waipa Dairy Waipa Dairy is approx. 277.66 ha consisting of a 248 effective ha dairy platform milking 725 cows and consistently producing 302,000 to 308,000 kgMS. The 54 bail rotary shed is nicely complemented with a large calf shed/implement shed and silage bunkers plus feed pad. It is well subdivided with the fences in good order and races maintained by the on-farm Rhyolite deposits. This property was converted from forestry around 18 years ago and has been a dedicated dairy operation since its development. The balance of the land has been planted in mixed variety forestry trees.

Tender closes 3.00pm, Wed 15th Nov, 2023 (unless sold prior) View Thu 19 Oct 11.00 - 12.00pm Thu 26 Oct 11.00 - 12.00pm Web pb.co.nz/MOR169936

There are three houses, two of which have three bedrooms and the manager's house is a nicely appointed four bedroom brick home. The property is located in Lichfield just 9 km west of the Litchfield dairy factory. This property presents an excellent opportunity to secure a larger farm with a top location and infrastructure - it is a reliable and steady operation that is waiting for the next owners to add their input now that all the hard work has been done.

Peter Lissington M 027 430 8770 P 07 280 5534 E peterl@pb.co.nz

Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Katie Walker M 027 757 7477 P 07 895 7123 E katiew@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

Otorohanga 745 Puketarata Road

Galatea 4260 Galatea Road Auction

Tender

When quality counts

Receivers say 'Sell'

An excellent 109 ha dairy farm in every respect, with a good mix of Auction 12.00pm, Thu 26th Oct, 2023, (unless sold prior), Hautapu contour and soil types, a full range of sound farm structural Sports Club, 211 Victoria Street, improvements, two good homes and located in the popular and Cambridge well known farming district of Kio Kio, approximately midway View Tue 17 Oct 12.30 - 1.30pm between Te Awamutu and Otorohanga. Web pb.co.nz/TWR164611

Located in the very heart of the Galatea Valley is this immaculately Tender closes 12.00pm, Fri 3rd Nov, presented property. Featuring 36.92 ha of flat to gently undulating 2023, Property Brokers Rotorua Office - Farmlands Building, 36 land across two terraces that has been developed as a support unit Marguerita Street, Rotorua but could equally be operated as a larger lifestyle block/small View By appointment farmlet with all associated infrastructure. Highlights of the Web pb.co.nz/RTR170619 property are the 2015 built three bedroom + office, two bathroom brick clad home that features an internal access triple garage as well a separate four bay implement shed. Divided into eight Phil Badger paddocks that are accessible by a race system and a recently M 0273575704 updated water system with new troughs that has water supplied to Phillip Berry the property from a bore on neigbouring property. M 027 478 8892

There's a lot to like about this well presented property. Contact John Sisley for the full property details.

John Sisley M 027 475 9808

Nireaha 166 Taylors Road New Listing

Wai Hiwi - 263 ha Wai Hiwi provides well developed scale to the market which caters for multiple farming practices. Currently operating as a self-contained low input dairy operation milking 350 cows on a once a day system. The property features impressive infrastructure which includes a 38 ASHB complete with in-shed feeding, 19 bays of calf rearing sheds, Fert/PK bin, cattle yards, ample shedding and an older woolshed. The 158 ha of dairy platform is made up of 104 ha flat with the remainder rolling/easy cultivated hill. The remainder of the effective area is utilised as support and drystock which is well developed easy to medium hill country. There is also the opportunity to carry on an existing neighbouring lease of 56 ha to approved purchasers. Two family homes at either end of the property provide ample accommodation or future sell down opportunities. Well consented through to 2030 allowing for increased production or take advantage of the summer safe climate as intensive finishing. Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Tender closes 2.00pm, Thu 16th Nov, 2023, To be submitted to Property Brokers Pahiatua, 129 Main Street Pahiatua. View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/PR162909

Jared Brock M 027 449 5496

E jared@pb.co.nz

Jamie Smith M 027 220 8311

E jamie.smith@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

Mike & Pat Kereru Gull Flat Road Tender

Kereru - Bare land Sherratt Block 144 ha Opportunity exists here with a very well positioned bare land block which has been part of the larger Kereru station in the renowned Kereru District, west of Hastings City. Surplus to requirements and all set for a new owner to continue as sheep and beef grazing block. There is a blank canvas when it comes to infrastructure as there is nothing currently on the property apart from 18 fenced paddocks and a very reliable water system.

Tender closes 2.00pm, Wed 8th Nov, 2023, Property Brokers 306 St Aubyn Street West Hastings View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/HR169192

An ideal run off or starter farm you choose but make no mistake it has easy contour, easy access and blocks like this are rare. There is also the option to purchase the 225 ha which is a around 1 km further along the road and has all the farm infrastructure. For a full information memorandum give us a call today.

Mike Heard M 027 641 9007

E mike.heard@pb.co.nz

Pat Portas M 027 447 0612

E patp@pb.co.nz

Kereru 463 Gull Flat Road Tender

Kereru - Genuine sheep & beef farm 225 ha Travelling to the end of a no exit road will bring you to a desirable farm nestled under the Ruahine ranges, in the Kereru district. Currently run in conjunction with the Kereru station but has now become surplus to this farming operation. Included on the block is the following: Renovated four bedroom family home, four stand woolshed with raised board and a NP of approximately 800, excellent set of sheep yards, cattle yards, extra accommodation quarters, very good reliable water systems, generally considered a reliable rainfall area, easy contour with good access. Subdivided into 29 paddocks, local Kereru school, hunting on your doorstep. There is the option to purchase the 144 ha (STT) which is a bare block and around 1 km back down the road. For a full information memorandum give us a call today. Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Tender closes 2.00pm, Wed 8th Nov, 2023, Property Brokers 306 St Aubyn Street West Hastings View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/HR169235

Mike Heard M 027 641 9007

E mike.heard@pb.co.nz

Pat Portas M 027 447 0612

E patp@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

Pleasant Point 87 Monument Road

Waimate - Mount Harris Road Auction

Tender

Monument Road farm 397.42 ha A fantastic opportunity to buy an irrigated dairy farm with a difference. The vendors are currently milking 660 cows and running all younger stock on the farm, but with current environmental rules, there are now very good options with forestry and carbon. This will give very good returns both financially and environmentally. With two homes, plus a tiny home, a 60-bail dairy shed well set up, De Laval plant with automatic cup removers, and an All Pro system. Don't delay, enquire today. Price plus GST (if any)

403.51 ha Farming opportunity Auction 5.30pm, Thu 23rd Nov, 2023, (unless sold prior), 83 Sophia Street, Timaru View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/TMR97305

Discover this outstanding property of 403.51 ha, boasting an expansive 131 ha of land under reliable irrigation. This versatile farm presents a unique blend of capabilities, catering to both dairy support and sheep and beef farming needs. The property is well equipped with top tier infrastructure and provides excellent access, ensuring optimal operational efficiency. Whether you're a dairy farmer seeking reliable support land or a sheep and beef farmer looking for an ideal location for breeding and finishing stock, this property offers a perfect solution.

Michael Richardson M 027 228 7027

Leeston 1011 Selwyn Lake Road

Michael Richardson M 027 228 7027

Lake Ohau 2/1857 Twizel-Omarama Road Deadline Sale

Millbank

This superb 107 ha mixed cropping property in the 'golden mile' of Deadline Sale closes Wednesday 22nd November, 2023 at 4.00pm, 68 the highly regarded Ellesmere farming district, only 35 minutes South Terrace, Darfield from Christchurch City. Featuring some of the most versatile arable View By appointment soils found in Canterbury, the adaptability of this property, the Web pb.co.nz/DFR166529 favourable coastal climate and low-cost reliable spray irrigation makes this a sought-after asset. Growing a range of high quality cereals and seed multiplication along with processed vegetable crops with strong and consistent yields achieved. An attractive four Gareth Cox bedroom homestead set in mature grounds complemented by a M 021 250 9714 range of sheds plus the ability to subdivide the homestead onto a Simon Anderson separate title completes the package. M 021 0828 5532 Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Tender closes 1.00pm, Wed 22nd Nov, 2023 View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/TMR167961

Deadline Sale

Blue chip development Deadline Sale closes Tuesday 21st An extremely private, freehold property located between Lake November, 2023 at 12.00pm, (unless Ohau and Lake Ruataniwha. This is a once in a lifetime sold prior) opportunity. The discerning buyer will purchase 349 ha of freehold View By appointment land subject to survey, with a second stage two further dividing the Web pb.co.nz/DNR170733 property into 14 lots all larger than 20 ha. With unmatched landscapes you will enjoy the ultimate in fishing, boating, hunting and skiing all just minutes away. If you are looking for a large lifestyle bolt hole or an impressive blue chip development block, then look no further. Contact the sole listing agent for more details.

Ross Robertson M 021 023 27220

Proud to be here

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Edendale 507 Coal Pit Road Deadline Sale

Something very special This farm has location, situated very handy to both Edendale and Wyndham. With 78.64 ha with the house side of the road and 27.94 ha of bare land on the west side of the Coal Pit Road there are plenty of options for many purchasers. The McEwan family have owned this farm for many years, but it is time for the next stage of life. The farm is in very excellent heart these soils are productive and versatile. Improvements have maintained a high standard. There is a modern attractive home for your family, large woolshed, and covered yards. An inspection is a must! Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Deadline Sale closes Wednesday 15th November, 2023 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior), 62 Deveron Street, Level 1 Hargest House, Invercargill View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/IR167242 Wayne Clarke M 027 432 5768

E wayne.clarke@pb.co.nz

John Hay M 027 435 0138

E john.hay@pb.co.nz

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

NEW LISTING

MATAMATA, WAIKATO 142 Matai Road Farm, Landbank or Subdivide Located in the blue-chip triangle of Matamata, this property of 108 hectares (more or less) in four titles has multiple options. Currently running as a dairy unit with production three-year average of 103,000kg MS coming from approximately 305 MA cows through a 2015 built 30 ASHB dairy shed on a 103-hectare dairy platform. The contour is predominantly flat to easy with small balance of steeper sidling’s on very fertile free draining soils, with well-maintained lanes to service all 70 paddocks. Two homes. This is a very presentable and profitable dairy farm in a blue-chip location. pggwre.co.nz/MAT38331 PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

TENDER

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 4.00pm Tuesday 14 November

VIEW By Appointment Only

HAVELOCK NORTH, HASTINGS Pukekura 595.76 ha (1472 acres) in four titles with one large homestead and four other dwellings. A feature of the farm is the significant boundary with the Tuki Tuki River and the large areas of cultivatable country.

Trevor Kenny M 021 791 643 E trevor.kenny@pggwrightson.co.nz

This is a large breeding and fattening property situated approx 22km south of Havelock North. Phone the agents to view.

TENDER

Plus GST (if any) Closes 4.00pm Wednesday 8 November

VIEW By Appointment Only

Paul Harper M 027 494 4854 E paul.harper@pggwrightson.co.nz Mark Johnson M 027 487 5105 E mark.johnson@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/HAS37294 Helping grow the country

Te Akau 45 Te Akau Coast Road

Large scale waterfront farming

682.5205 ha

Comprising 682ha in seven titles, very rarely are we able to offer a property that comprises opportunity, size and location. Currently operating as a sheep and beef unit, Ranworth Farm has traditionally wintered in excess of 3,400 M/A ewes and 140 cattle. Ash soils with a limestone base and easy hill country have benefitted from a sound fertiliser history. An excellent array of infrastructure includes a four-stand woolshed, implement shedding, covered sheep yards and a first class air strip. Nine ha of stunning QEII covenanted native bush and 1.4km of exclusive beachfront access is an oasis that few have the chance to enjoy. Occupying a commanding position is the sprawling five bed main homestead, with a further two three bed dwellings to accommodate staff and a beachfront two bed cottage. Situated less than an hour to Hamilton and 45km to Huntly.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 2pm, Tue 14 Nov 2023 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton View 11am-1pm Tue 17 Oct or by appointment Peter Kelly 027 432 4278 Angus Kelly 021 165 5031 Russell Bovill 027 273 9025

bayleys.co.nz/2314629

SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

View into Okahu

Boundary indicative only, view across neighboring property

Okahu - 935 Waimarama Road, Hawke's Bay

Breathtaking 360-degree views - development options Located only 13 kilometres from Havelock North on the Waimarama Road this trophy 582-hectare limestone landholding runs to the east of “Craggy Range” and boasts some of the most breathtaking 360-degree views to Napier in the north, along the coastline to Cape Kidnappers and east to Ocean and Waimarama beaches. Okahu is an appealing property given its proximity to Havelock North, Craggy Range Winery and Restaurant, Cape Kidnappers golf course and resort as well as the fantastic beaches. Options to purchase the whole property 582ha, 170ha of top plateau, 332ha farmland and 80ha lifestyle.

bayleys.co.nz/2853327

bayleys.co.nz

582.13 ha Tender Closing 4pm, Fri 10 Nov 2023 17 Napier Road, Havelock North View by appointment Tony Rasmussen 027 429 2253 tony.rasmussen@bayleys.co.nz EASTERN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

NEW LISTING

Hawke’s Bay 1262 - 1520 Maraetotara Road, Waimarama

Maraetotara magic

472.3324 ha

For those serious about farming in the picturesque Maraetotara Valley look no further than this 472-hectare sheep and beef property. Ascetically pleasing, the farm is an easy 26 kilometres drive, via sealed roads to Havelock North. Located in a district that is regarded as summer safe, the farm is a compact shape, is mostly easy medium contour and is intensively subdivided. A spring fed, solar powered water system has recently been reticulated to much of the farm, complementing good streams and dams. A set of buildings and yards at each end of the farm provides for excellent workability and stock handling. Originally an amalgamation of two neighbouring farms, the offering provides for parties to purchase the whole or one of the original farms, Kotare Farm 231 hectares and the Taylor Block 240 hectares.

Tender Closing 4pm, Fri 3 Nov 2023 17 Napier Road, Havelock North View by appointment Tony Rasmussen 027 429 2253 tony.rasmussen@bayleys.co.nz James Macpherson 021 488 018 james.macpherson@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2853388

EASTERN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

NEW LISTING

Penrose Farm

Rushbrook Farm

Leeston 121 Rushbrooks Road

Rushbrook Farm

347.9208 ha

Rushbrook Farm is an environmentally sustainable, large-scale landholding. Currently operating as a fully selfcontained dairy operation, milking approx. 1,050 cows, dropping back to approx. 850 cows through the winter with an average of approx. 575,600kg/MS over the past three years. Infrastructure is the key to this farming system with a double 53-aside Herringbone shed and 1,000 cow barn. With an abundance of water, Rushbrook Farm is consented for 258L/sec provided by numerous shallow wells. The majority of the property is able to be irrigated, with the bulk via five pivots and the balance by Rotorainer, gun, and some sprinklers. Complementing the operation are seven dwellings ranging in sizes. ‘Penrose’ run in conjunction with Rushbrook, a 93.45719ha (more or less) support block located nearby is available to purchase as one operation or separately.

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 12pm, Thu 9 Nov 2023 3 Deans Avenue, Chch Phone for viewing times Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz Evan Marshall 027 221 0910 evan.marshall@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/5521574

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

Fairlie 63 O'Neills Road

“Clearview”

867.9081 ha

“Clearview”, a highly productive property situated in Fairlie comprises of 867.9081 hectares (more or less), subdivided into approximately 115 paddocks and 10km of central laneways. The property comprises two fourbedroom residences, a standalone single-person quarters, a raised board woolshed with five stands, approximately 900sqm of covered yards, three sets of satellite sheep yards and three sets of cattle yards. Clearview” has an average rainfall of approximately 850-900mm, water is supplied via a group scheme and gravity fed troughs and the dwellings with two 30,000 litre and eight 25,000 litre tanks. Stock numbers at the end of June include 3,600 Tefron ewes scanning 185% and 1,000 hoggets’ scanning 118% (800 mated) scanning five year average, 160 mixed age Angus cows, 68 yearling heifers, 363 yearling bulls, 113 two year bulls.

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 2pm, Tue 14 Nov 2023 View by appointment Hamish Lane 027 685 6204 hamish.lane@bayleys.co.nz Georgie Murray 027 562 4100 georgie.murray@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/5522057

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Maheno Kakanui Valley Road, North Otago

Oaks Dairy

489 ha

This is an exceptional irrigated dairy farm of approximately 489 hectares, including approximately 78 hectares of support land. The first phase of the current owners purchasing land commenced in 2007, and with strategic additions of neighbouring land, they created this large-scale dairy farm. A feature of the property is the 17-hectare 1,300,000m3 water storage pond, which primarily sources water from the Kakanui River under a consent with reliability enhanced by the North Otago Irrigation scheme, giving reliability while managing water costs.

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 12pm, Wed 8 Nov 2023 201 West Street, Ashburton View by appointment Mike Preston 027 430 7041 mike.preston@bayleys.co.nz Al Brown 022 188 6601 al.brown@bayleys.co.nz

Oaks Dairy presents a remarkable opportunity for investors or dairy farmers seeking an expansive property with a substantial effective area, good infrastructure and a prime location.

bayleys.co.nz/5520740

bayleys.co.nz

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Wellsford 392 and 421 Journeys End, Tapora

Ohinewai 345 Waiterimu Road

Waterfront dairy or avocado gold!

Eight titles plus a fantastic location

277.795 ha

This strategic large scale opportunity with eight titles offers an exciting range of options in an increasingly popular area. The farm comprises 277.79ha and until recently was a working dairy farm. With free draining ash soils, the rolling contour is centrally raced throughout. Infrastructure is included on an as is where is basis and includes a disused 22ASHB and 17ASHB and a range of support shedding. With four homes all needing some gentle TLC, property owners and staff are well catered for. Easy access to the Waikato expressway sees Hamilton 45km south and Auckland 95km north.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 2pm, Wed 8 Nov 2023 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton View 12.30-2pm Wed 18 Oct or by appointment Peter Kelly 027 432 4278 peter.kelly@bayleys.co.nz Angus Kelly 021 165 5031 angus.kelly@bayleys.co.nz

Positioned on the banks of the Kaipara Harbour is Pinehill Farm; a 301 hectare dairy operation with exciting avocado potential. Set in five titles, this top-tier farm boasts an impressive pedigree; 2022-23 production of 223,989 kgMS achieved from its low-input system, and 102 hectares being identified for future orchard development in this proven avocado “capital”. Other special features include highly fertile volcanic soils, a high volume farm bore, a 60 bale rotary shed, and four houses. With direct access to the Kaipara Harbour, Tapora's popular golf course, and within 90 minutes of Aucklands CBD you can enjoy the best of both worlds!

301 ha Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 12pm, Fri 27 Oct 2023 41 Queen Street, Warkworth View by appointment John Barnett 021 790 393 john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Take a tour: www.vimeo.com/867770757 (turn on your sound)

bayleys.co.nz/2314579

SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/1203601

Hawke’s Bay 3986 Puketitiri Road, Patoka

Rangiwaea 253 and 402 Owhakura Road

Mid season settlement on offer

Easy contour in reliable district

Are you looking for summer safe farming on fantastic free draining fertile ash soils? Then look no further. Ben Alpin, a 351ha dairy farm, located in the premium Hawke's Bay farming district of Patoka. Boasting approximately 200ha of mainly flat and easy milking platform with 90ha of support land and a further 51ha of QEII bush for recreation, this well set up dairy unit must tick all the boxes, and with a quality herd, the combination provides an amazing opportunity. Improvements include two dwellings, staff quarters, a 2009 built 60 bail rotary shed with cup removers and in shed feeding, excellent housed calf rearing facilities for 350 calves and numerous implement sheds. An ideal self contained unit providing an excellent return on investment.

bayleys.co.nz/2853182

351.8563 ha Auction 12pm, Fri 10 Nov 2023 17 Napier Road, Havelock North View by appointment Tony Rasmussen 027 429 2253 tony.rasmussen@bayleys.co.nz Monty Monteith 027 807 0522 monty.monteith@bayleys.co.nz EASTERN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

'Wainella' is located 35 kilometres north-west of Taihape and 32 kilometres south-east of Ohakune at Bells Junction, and features large areas of cultivated country, two homes and three titles. These free draining soils are dominated by Ohakune silt loam on flat to easy contour, providing options for forage cropping and intensive winter grazing to finish all progeny, plus some. With a spacious three-bedroom plus office brick home and double garage, plus a two-bedroom weatherboard cottage offering extra family or staff accommodation. Fenced to 26 main paddocks accessed by a central laneway, and facilities including a five-stand woolshed, cattle yards, satellite sheep yards, two implement sheds and a large half round barn.

254.253 ha Auction (will not be sold prior) 2pm, Fri 24 Nov 2023 The Workingmans Club, 34 Kuku Street, Taihape View by appointment Pete Stratton 027 484 7078 peter.stratton@bayleys.co.nz BARTLEY REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/2900618

bayleys.co.nz

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

1522 Parewanui Road, Bulls, Rangitikei 3

Ashburton 200 Dowdings Road

TENDER: Closes 1:00 p.m. Thursday 9 November 2023 (unless sold prior)

LAND: 19.09 ha (more or less)

‘Skibbereen Farm’

Highly Productive Organic Lifestyle Farm

197.5436 ha

A prime agricultural opportunity located in the heart of Mid Canterbury's dairy region. Encompassing 197.5436 hectares (more or less). Currently, the farm has a peak milking capacity of approximately 620 cows. The farm produces an average of 289,346kgMS over the last three seasons. Featuring a modern rotary dairy shed constructed in 2010 by Dave McCrea Ltd, this facility is equipped with DeLavel ACRs and Auto-drafting, along with in-shed feeding and mineral dispenser. Water is sourced from three bores and also benefits from 1,972 MHV Water shares. Skibbereen Farm provides comfortable living accommodation with four well-maintained homes.

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 12pm, Wed 1 Nov 2023 3 Deans Avenue, Chch View by appointment Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz Simon Sharpin 027 631 8087 simon.sharpin@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

This highly productive flat Organic Farm has provided the longstanding owners with a good income, an incredible lifestyle, and are now retiring. Minutes from the ocean and close to a golf course. The property has been dedicated to organic produce with its deep silt loam, mild climate and regular rainfall. Using careful crop rotation, it has successfully grown many and various grain and vegetable crops. Proudly promoted with a BioGro certification since 1987. *Boundary lines are indicative only.

VIEW: nzsothebysrealty.com/ PNT13293 JOHN VAN LIENEN: M +64 27 446 4683 john.vanlienen@nzsir.com MICHELLE VAN LIENEN: M +64 27 249 8361 michelle.vanlienen@nzsir.com

bayleys.co.nz/5522169 Each office is independently owned and operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ.

Accelerating success.

364 Maungatautari Road, Cambridge

Auction

Known as “Dingley Dell” this superb 165 ha dairy farm has been in the Vosper family for over 140 years and is now on the market for the very first time. Situated just 8km from the centre of Cambridge and just a short walk or bicycle ride along the cycleway to the international facilities of Lake Karapiro. With road frontage of over 1km this location is second to none. Most of the infrastructure is near new (2019) including the 40 aside herringbone Chapman dairy shed, DeLaval milking and effluent systems and is in excellent working order. The farm has been leased out for approximately the last 37 years to a very well-respected farming company. It has been operating with two other smaller neighbouring leased properties milking a total of around 630 cows producing a 3-year average of 219,335 kgMS. Included with the property is the stately Dingley Dell homestead. This 1928 Category B Heritage building, designed by Cambridge’s most successful architect of the day, James Douce, is a two-storey Arts and Crafts style bungalow with six bedrooms and two large living rooms. Features of note are the large front porch, stained glass entranceway and grand staircase – lending dignity and charm of yesteryear. Within the established grounds of the homestead are fruit trees, grass tennis court and swimming pool. There are also two, threebedroom staff houses with northerly aspects. The view from the 1962 Hinuera stone house on the hill at 398 Maungatautari Road, provides a wonderful view of nearly the whole farm. Multiple sheds both new and old are close to the family homestead. With fertile ash soils and mainly flat to rolling pastures, this superbly located property will appeal to a wide range of people and would suit a variety of applications - from equine, to horticulture and of course dairy farming. This really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a large farming operation so close to Cambridge and Lake Karapiro. This is your chance to create your own chapter in the history of this iconic and treasured property. Please do not hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions. AUCTION: To be held Thursday 2nd November 2023 at 1.00pm at the Cambridge Community Pavilion, Corner of Dick Street and Cambridge Real Estate, MREINZ, Queen Street, Cambridge (unless sold prior).

Licensed: (REAA 2008)

47 Alpha Street, Cambridge 3434

View: Tuesday 17th & Thursday 19th October: 12.00pm-1.00pm Matt Seavill Rural Sales Consultant p: 07 823 1945 m: 027 444 3347 e: matt@cambridgerealestate.co.nz

Cambridge Real Estate, MREINZ, Licensed: (REAA 2008) 47 Alpha Street, Cambridge 3434

Semi self-contained Rolls Royce operation 2412 Atarau Road, Grey Valley, West Coast For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty closing 4pm Wednesday 8th November 2023

457.6333 hectares total area

2022/23 peak milked 790 cows

2022/23 production 379,798 kgMS

Semi-self contained

This superbly developed property is on the market for the first time since 1884 to allow family succession to take place. This offers a special opportunity for the discerning purchaser to secure a premium rural asset with strong farming credentials and a proven history of management and performance.

colliers.co.nz/p-NZL67025678

Richard O'Sullivan 027 292 3921 Scott Healey 022 437 0664 Agri Realty Ltd Licensed under the REAA 2008

Te Aroha 43 - 84 Te Aroha-Gordon Road

For Sale By Deadline 3pm Thursday 2 November 2023 View Thu 12, 19, 26 Oct 11am-12.30pm harcourts.co.nz/L25023587

163.2427 hectares

Grazing/Cropping Options

Two superb grazing opportunities. Whether you need a larger unit of 163ha or a smaller individual unit of 113ha or 49ha. We have options for you. Situated on the outskirts of Te Aroha township these properties offer superb dairy grazing or cropping opportunities. Our serious seller calls for all offers to be presented on the 2nd November at 3pm.(Will not be sold prior).

Ōtorohanga 27 McRae Road Super Tidy Farming Operation

Super tidy and a credit to the current owners this 79 hectare dairy unit located 11 kms East of Otorohanga is going to score a 10 out of 10 for presentation and infrastructure. • Currently milking 220-230 cows • Production history exceeding 89,000kg/ms • Immaculate 20 aside herringbone cowshed • 300 cow feed pad • Numerous sheds in excellent condition • Three bedroom plus office Intalok home and self-contained 1 bedroom sleepout. An opportunity to step into a farm where all the hard work has been done, in a highly sought after area renown for its fertile soils, grass growth and warm and inviting locals. Seriously for sale with realistic vendors looking to retire from farming.

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

79 Ha For Sale Tender closes Wed 1 Nov 2023, 1pm (unless sold prior) View Open Days: Wed 11 Oct, 11.00am-1.00pm, Wed 18 Oct, 11.00am-1.00pm Wed 25 Oct, 11.00am-1.00pm blueribbonharcourts.co.nz/property/OH22247

Kerry Harty M 027 294 6215 P 07 873 8700 E kjharty@harcourts.co.nz Blue Ribbon Realty Limited Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Kevin Cowley M 027 240 7676 Kevin Deane M 021 970 902 Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Te Kūiti 135 Whataroa Road Large Dairy Opportunity with Multiple Purchasing Options

If enviable contour, compliant effluent storage and a good track record of production up to 176,000Kg/ ms sounds like a bit of you, then a price guide under $30,000/ha will probably sound even better. Located just 17km East of Te Kuiti the challenge is on to find a better farm for this kind of money. - 214 .9184 hectares (513 acres) - Milking 497 cows - 170 hectares flat, balance gentle to medium rolling - 40 Bale Rotary Cowshed - Good standard of support buildings - Two Houses, both 3 bedroom dwellings Seriously for sale and not just testing the market, with the option to buy the entire property as a going concern or a split into a smaller 136 hectare dairy unit, 70 hectare support block and 7 hectare lifestyle proposition.

For Sale Tender closes Fri 10 Nov, 1pm (unless sold prior) View Open Days: Tues 17 Oct, Tues 24 Oct, Tues 31 Oct, 11.00am-1.00pm blueribbonharcourts.co.nz/property/OH22322

Kerry Harty M 027 294 6215 E kjharty@harcourts.co.nz Blue Ribbon Realty Limited Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Accelerating success. AUCTION

198 Eastport Road

38.94ha.

Waihou Extremely Versatile Support Block -38.9 ha productive Waihou soils for winter grazing, maize or grass crop for silage. -31 paddocks, wide gateways, great clear water supply. -Disused cowshed with yarding for 150 cows plus the 150 cow feed pad complete with Feed bins. -2 Bay half round barn, 4 Bay implement shed and 5 bay Kiwispan tractor shed and workshop -112m2 3 bedroom home plus double garage and patio area/or carport.

Sheep/Beef ‘Totaranui’

Auction Tue, 7th Nov at 12:30pm unless sold prior ___________________________________ View Wednesdays at 11am 11th, 18th & 25th Oct & 1st November ___________________________________ Agent Dave Young 0274 579 060 LJ Hooker Morrinsville (07) 889 8015 Licensed Agent REAA 2008

For Sale by Tender closing Thurs 16 November 2023 at 3pm (plus GST if any) 529 Blackburn Road, Ongaonga, Central Hawke’s Bay Doug Harvey 027 262 6153 doug.harvey@colliers.com

Land Area: 275.5931 ha (more or less)

Sheep/Beef breeding/ finishing

Two dwellings

Excellent farm infrastructure & contour

Hamish Goodwin 027 291 2156 hamish.goodwin@colliers.com

If conservation, contour, recreation, and the ability to have multiple pastoral farming options are important property considerations ‘Totaranui’ is a property you should consider. Located in the sought-after Ongaonga district with a river boundary, large homestead, cottage, new Te Pari cattle yards, 4-stand woolshed, and supporting farm buildings this property offers the opportunity to tick many boxes but also the ability to add further value. colliers.co.nz/p-NZL67025481

CRHB Limited Licensed under the REAA 2008

Central Waikato Realty Limited. Licensed Real Estate Agent REAA 2008. All information contained herein is gathered from sources we consider to be reliable. However, we cannot guarantee or give any warranty about the information provided. Interested parties must solely rely on their own enquiries.

colliers.co.nz

Open Day

Advertise with us

Reach hundreds and thousands of rural New Zealanders every week

Call 0800 85 25 80 realestate@agrihq.co.nz

FOR SALE

88.5ha

120 Pamotumotu Road, Te Awamutu We’re thrilled to offer to the market this 88.5ha dairy farm in the ever popular Korakonui district. Strong pastures with fertile soils, well raced and watered with two homes and a 20 aside dairy with compliant effluent system - running this farm is a dream. Milking 230 cows on average with calves on until Dec 1. May be sold as a going concern with flexible settlement date. rwteawamutu.co.nz/TEA30670 Rosetown Realty Ltd Licensed (REAA 2008)

For Sale By Negotiation + GST (if any) View Tuesdays 17 & 24 October, 11.00am - 12.30pm

Noldy Rust 027 255 3047 noldy.rust@raywhite.com

38 Marketplace

Marketplace

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

MOWER MASTER TOWABLE MOWERS Topper / Finishing Mower

Genuine 11.5HP Briggs & Stratton Motor. Electric start. Belt driven. Cutting Height 30mm - 300mm

75TH JUBILEE 1949-2024 Easter Weekend 29-30 March 2024

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

$4200

To Register Go to Facebook: Utiku Old Boys RFC 75th Jubilee

GST INCLUSIVE

To advertise phone Debbie 06 323 0765

Or email: utikurugby@gmail.com

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LK0116485©

Early Bird Registration Fee $80.00/person — includes a registration pack and dinner on Saturday night.

To find out more visit

www.mowermaster.co

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Cut off for early bird registration is 27th October 2023

Find primary sector vacancies at:

Phone 0800 422277 or 028 461 5112 Email: mowermasterltd@gmail.com

For all enquiries contact: Jo Kelly 027 528 1937

4X4 TAGALONG TOURS

Adventures - 4WD Tours

Bring your own 4X4 on a guided tour to discover more of the South Island.

Tour 1: Molesworth Station, St James, Mailings Pass & Rainbow Stations

High Country Heritage Tour – Spaces still available for 2024

Dates: 2023 Nov 13-16 FULL, 2024, Feb 19-22 FULL, March 4-7, March 11-14, March 25-28

• 6 day tour • Low Ratio Vehicle required

Tour: 2 D’Urville Island and Marlborough Farms Tour

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Ph: 0274 351 955 E: info@southislandtoursnz.com • www.southislandtoursnz.com

Join the team!

info@nzadventures.co.nz Ph: 03 218 8569, 027 550 6727 or 027 435 4267

www.nzadventures.co.nz

is hiring Position: Lamb weigh crate operator Location: Feilding Sale Yards When: Fridays from 11am Hours: Casual basis for a minimum two hours

Marketplace Partnership Manager

Activity: • Be part of the team weighing store lambs on a portable weigh crate • Assist with other AgriHQ stock data recording activities if required

Farmers Weekly is celebrating its 20th birthday this year and we’re looking for someone new to join the party. As our Marketplace Partnership Manager you’ll be the custodian of one of the most well-loved and well-read parts of the paper – where farmers advertise to other farmers!

It grows under them.

You will need: • An adequate level of fitness • Excellent stock behaviour awareness and handling skills • Teamwork and an obvious empathy for the work of agents and farmers • An ability to work a weigh crate (with training) • An ability to work under pressure.

You’ll be an expert at making relationships (and sales!) over the phone, via email, and on Zoom/Teams/Google Meet, and will love being part of our energetic Feilding-based team. If you’re self-motivated, love connecting with people, and are passionate about the food and fibre sector then we’re keen to talk! At least three years of Sales experience is required.

CORK OAK TRUFFLE TREES Trees produce truffles at around year 7, producing up to 1kg a year by year 15. Currently black truffles are selling at $2,500$3,000 per kg, with high demand. Great stock shade and shelter with 0% loss of grazing land. Stock protector options are available for cattle, sheep & deer. Fantastic stock feed which is low tannin and high in carbohydrates. Produces up to 1 ton of acorns per tree each year.

Training: Full health and safety, and work training will be provided.

We’re an innovative, welcoming team with a big vision for the sector. Come and join us!

For more information please email: suz.bremner@agrihq.co.nz

For more information about the role contact hr@agrihq.co.nz or visit agrihq.co.nz/careers Applications close: Friday October 27, 2023.

LK0116763©

Extremely resilient. Fire resistant, stabilises erosion, frost & snow resistant to -9 degrees. Drought & heat tolerant over 40 degrees. Add value far into the future. Trees last over 200 years. Cork harvest income at year 25, then every 10 years. Potential carbon credits at 30% with a minimum 1ha canopy cover.

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For tree availability call 021 327 637 or visit truffles.nz

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Other dates available for groups of 6 or more people on request

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Dates: 2024 – Feb 11-15, March 12-16 FULL, April 24-28

39 M-Place/Livestock

Livestock

Marketplace

CRAIGCO SHEEP JETTERS. Sensor Jet. Deal to fly and Lice now. Guaranteed performance. Unbeatable pricing. Phone 06 835 6863. www.craigcojetters.com

LEASE LAND WANTED DAIRY OR GRAZING FARM wanted. Open to leasing, equity, share farming or developing land in partnership. Rangitīkei, Manawatū or HB areas. Phone Michael 027 223 6156.

DOGS WANTED WORKING KELPIE PUP wanted when available. Male preferred. Phone 09 236 3698 or 021 0243 9736.

ELECTRO-TEK ENGINEERING

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE THE GULLIES WILTSHIRE & Low Input Rams. SIL; FE and worm tolerance. Richard Morrison Phone 021 626 513. richard@thegullies.nz www.thegullies.nz

WANTED TO BUY WHAT’S SITTING IN your barn? Don’t leave it to rust away! We pay cash for tractors, excavators, small crawler tractors and surplus farm machinery. Ford – Ferguson – Hitachi – Komatsu – John Deere and more. Tell us what you have no matter where it is in NZ. You never know.. what’s resting in your barn could be fattening up your wallet! Email admin@ loaderparts.co.nz or phone Colin on 0274 426 936 (No texts please) SAWN SHED TIMBER including Black Maire. Matai, Totara and Rimu etc. Also buying salvaged native logs. Phone Richard Uren. NZ Native Timber Supplies. Phone 027 688 2954.

ATTENTION FARMERS I AM A VERY EXPERIENCED, fully licensed and a safety conscious hunter who is wanting to hunt Deer or Pigs. I am wondering if you potentially have any of these animals on your property that I could possibly hunt? Phone 021 090 50593 or email paddy.doole@gmail. com.

DOLOMITE NZ’s finest BioGro certified Mg fertiliser For a delivered price call ....

0800 436 566 BALAGE FOR SALE EXCELLENT QUALITY, $85 per bale plus GST. Unit loads available. Phone 021 455 787.

BIRDS/POULTRY PULLETS HY-LINE brown, great layers. 07 824 1762. Website: eurekapoultryfarm. weebly.com – Have fresh eggs each day!!!

DOGS FOR SALE DELIVERING AND BUYING NZ Wide. https:// w w w.youtube.com/@ mikehughesworkingdog Phone 07 315 5553. HEADING PUPS. Strong eye, Father tricolour, 3 Dogs. $350.00 each, good working parents. Phone or Text 027 476 2579, 07 871 9934. TWO 3-MONTH-OLD HUNTAWAY pups. Good noise. Hill Country Breeding. One vaccination. Wormed. $400 each. Phone Mike 027 252 6793. Raetihi. HUNTAWAY PUPS, 8-weeksold. Vac. Dame, Kate the 2nd 24279, litter sister to NZ champion Ned Georges Sprocket. Sired by top station and trial bred. Hard on cattle. $1000. Dave Andrews. Phone 027 450 6095.

ZON BIRDSCARER electro-tek@xtra.co.nz Phone: 06 357 2454

FARM MAPPING MEASURE YOUR FARM’S effective area with a practical and cost-effective map. Visit farmmapping.co.nz for a quote.

GIBB-GRO GROWTH PROMOTANT PROMOTES QUICK PASTURE growth. Only $6.50+gst per hectare delivered. 0508-GIBBGRO [0508 442 247] www. gibbgro.co.nz. “The Proven One.”

GIBBOOST INCREASE PASTURE growth and dry matter. $5.50 per/ha ex store + GST. Phone 0508 733 343. www.vernado.co.nz

GOATS WANTED GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds. Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten. Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis.

GRAZING AVAILABLE DAIRY HEIFER grazing available. Bulls /Marton areas. Phone 027 223 6156.

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook nzsheep.co.nz/poll-dorset-breeders

BOOK AN AD. For only $2.30 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email wordads@agrihq. co.nz

RAMS FOR SALE WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Open Day 27.11.23, 2-5pm Auction 28.11.23 11am 15 Oruanui Road, Taupo Saleyards. Phone David 027 277 1556.

HOUSES AND SHEDS for shifting, relocating and removal. Phone 020 473 2394.

HIGH PRODUCTION CROSSBRED IN-MILK ON FARM AUCTION

STOCK REQUIRED R1 bulls 200kg to 380kg R2 bulls 380kg to 600kg R2 Steers 380kg to 550kg Service bulls R1 & R2 Larger lines of R1 & R2 store cattle. Cull cows. Prime cattle and bulls. SOUTH ISLAND WIDE Contact Colin 027 285 5780

WANTED TO LEASE SHEEP AND BEEF breeding farm. Approx 600-1000ha plus. Taupo, Hunterville, Taihape, Hawke’s Bay, Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Gisborne and Wairoa areas. Experienced Leasee. Contact Pete Hammond. Phone 027 412 1466. trekh.b@xtra.co.nz

SALE TALK • I have no beef with vegetarians. • The biggest problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you have finished. • If you turn the volume off on a tv for a deaf person, the point is mute.

STOCK REQUIRED

1YR Angus Steers 280-380kg 1YR Exotic & Beef Bred Heifers 250-320kg 2YR Ang & Ang X Steers 450-550kg 2YR Ang & Ang X Heifers 400kg+

STOCK FOR SALE

1YR Angus Bulls BVD & EBL Tested Suit Dairy Sector 340-400kg 1YR Friesian Bulls 330-400kg Phone Ross Dyer 0274 333 381 www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

• I listen to every genre of music, I’m polyjamorous. • I used to have a fear of crossing bridges, but I got over it. • The shovel was a ground breaking invention.

A Financing Solution For Your Farm www.rdlfinance.co.nz

• I promised my farmer friend to get his cows hooked on weed – the stakes have never been higher. • The women I’ve dated who thought I would marry them were all just near Mrs. • You might think the lead singer is in charge of the band, but it’s really the guitarist who is pulling all the strings.

HORTICULTURE NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp. The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz

Here at Farmers Weekly we get some pretty funny contributions to our Sale Talk joke from you avid readers, and we’re keen to hear more! If you’ve got a joke you want to share with the farming community (it must be something you’d share with your grandmother...) then email us at: saletalk@agrihq.co.nz with Sale Talk in the subject line and we’ll print it and credit it to you. Conditions apply

Livestock ECZEMA TOLERANT ROMNEYS RAMGUARD TESTING SINCE 1985 • 5 star rating • Bred on challenging hill country • Robust functional sheep that survive • Structurally sound • Selecting for parasite tolerance and less dags • No ewes worm drenched, dipped or vaccinated KEITH ABBOTT, RAGLAN 027 463 9859 | www.waiteikaromneys.co.nz @waiteikaromneys

•••CENTRAL PLATEAU••• A/C HARLAW DOWNS LTD Tuesday 17th October 2023 673 Forest Rd, Reporoa DN 79040 11.30AM MyLivestock will be available for online bidding 200 x Young Crossbred Cows generated from a LIC Computer Split of a 900 Cow Herd BW 176 (Up to 345) PW 230 (Up to 516) RA 85 % TB Status C10, EBL Free, BVD Negative, Lepto Vaccinated and M Bovis undetected. Current Herd SCC 125000. Last Seasons/Cow Milksolids available (Up to 636kgms). Predominantly CRV Breeding - 70% Black XB Cows and 75% 2 - 4Yr. Mating commenced on 9th October and mated Cows will be identified on sale day. Efficient young hard working Crossbred Cows who consistently produce well above their bodyweight averaging 450kgms, farmed under System 3 at 4.2 Cows/ha. Well presented Cows which come with Vendors guarantee. All Cows In-Milk, milked twice a day through Herringbone Shed. Cows to be sold in lots of 3 with the Purchaser selecting 2 Cows and 1 remaining in the Vendors possession. Prior Sale Inspection Welcome Catalogue Available Thursday 12th Deferred payment until 20th November 2023 The Sale will be Livestreamed via MyLivestock Online Platform. Please ensure your registration 24hrs prior to sale. For further information contact: VENDORS: Glen Crafar 0274 909 187 NZ Farmers Agent: Michael Conwell 027 226 1611

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BEARDIE PUP, Male, 12-weeks-old. Both parents working dogs. Hunua. $1000 each. Phone 021 299 2375. WORD ONLY ADVERTISING. Phone 0800 85 25 80.

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DOGS FOR SALE

FLY OR LICE problem? Electrodip – the magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides. Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness. Phone 07 573 8512 w w w. e l e c t ro d i p. c o m

SHORT NOTICE QUALITY MIXED BREED IN-MILK COWS AVAILABLE BY AUCTION A/c SG & GM KING LTD Date: Wednesday 18th October 2023 Address: Carrfields Sale Yards, Lower Duthie Rd, Kaponga, Taranaki Start Time: 11:30am will be available for online bidding COMPRISING: 85 x Friesian, Jersey and Kiwi Cross In-milk cows

ON FARM October 2023

Followed by, at the completion of the Mangakuri Sale:

DETAILS: • Tidy uddered strong cows milked through a Herringbone shed • BW163, PW94 RA 77%. Approximately 60 cows are 2 – 5-year-olds • 1.75kg MS/per cow per day at the factory, SCC average 95-128 • Herd tested 13th with full LIC details to be displayed on the day on the screen

TE MANUIRI STATION 412 Te Manuiri Road, Omakere 2000 Suffolk & Kelso Prime x Romney Lambs (NZFAP and ABF accredited)

AUCTIONEERS NOTE: Due to unforeseen circumstances this high performing line of cows comes to the market. Currently milked twice per day, the mainly Young cows come forward in sound condition, ready for mating. DELIVERY/PAYMENT TERMS: Deferred Payment, due 20th November 2023 Immediate delivery. For purchases outside of the province cows can be trucked home and milked until suitable trucking days. CARRFIELDS LIVESTOCK AGENTS: Vendors Agent: Brent Espin 027 551 3660 Daniel Crowley 027 215 3609 Daniel Hornby 027 636 2090 Tim Hurley 027 414 6756

EAST COAST LAMB SALES > Tuesday 24th October - 1pm Start MANGAKURI STATION On a/c of SR & BJ Williams Charitable Trust 585 Mangakuri Road, Elsthorpe 4000 Suftex & South Suffolk x Romney Lambs (GAP, NZFAP and ABF accredited) 400 CFA Romney Ewes 60 Yearling Angus & Angus Hereford x Steers (Homebred - ABF) TB Status C10

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ANIMAL HANDLING

> Monday 30th October - 2pm Start BROOKLANDS STATION 735 Puketitiri Rd, Puketapu In conjunction with PGGW 2500 Suftex, Polled Dorset & Down x Lambs (Lambs will have been weaned 5 weeks) (NZFAP and ABF accredited) 1000 CFA ewes Auctioneers note: A grand opportunity to purchase well bred, early born lambs that are renowned for their shifting ability. All properties are offering their entire 2023 lamb draft - no lambs will have been picked prior to sale. Further Enquiries: Rowan Sandford 027 215 3215

hazlett.nz

40 Livestock

Livestock

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

KAAHU GENETICS KAAHU WHITE™ MATERNAL SHEDDING RAMS 4th ANNUAL SALE

Sale Day - Friday November 17th, 1pm

WORMFEC GOLD SUPPORTS WORMWISE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR PARASITE CONTROL

Approximately 150 2th rams for sale by Auction

11am rams penned ready for viewing On farm @ 154 Whakamaru Road, SH 30, Whakamaru. Livestreamed on

SHEEP FARMERS

Open Day - Thursday 2nd November, 1pm - 3pm

You can achieve high performance without capsules by: - Feeding ewes at levels above 1200 kg/ha - Maintaining condition score 3+ for ewes - Using WormFEC Gold Genetics - Following Wormwise protocols including monitoring

WormFEC Gold Genetics Performance 578c above national MW flock average

SIL Recorded... All traits measured and recorded Top Production Low input extremely high output Our ewes pregnancy scanned 201% this year, ewe hoggets 163%

Able to withstand Barbers Pole Challenge Now including low dag score in their selection

Carcass meaty and high yielding EMA muscle scanned & Sires CT scanned for yield Great eating quality Eczema tolerance Ramguard testing @.40

KAAHU GENETICS

www.wormfecgold.co.nz

Murray Sargent 027 392 7242 | murraysargent@hotmail.com

Find us on

Cam Heggie - 027 501 8182 Alan Aldridge - 027 472 0901

ORARI GORGE GENETICS FAST GROWTH, HIGH YIELD, LESS DRENCHING, GUARANTEED PERFORMANCE Breeding MORE PROFITABLE & MORE SUSTAINABLE sheep in the HILL COUNTRY for the HILL COUNTRY.

PAKI-ITI SUFFOLK

PAKI-ITI SUFTEX

“Home of the Beef + Lamb Genetics Low Input Progeny Test”

Orari Gorge Romney, RomTex actively select for

FEWER DAGS AND GREATER RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE TO WORMS.

Orari Gorge Terminal rams (SufTex) are ideal for maximising lambs away off mum. 1800

Cents

     

........ Orari Gorge 2446 TS Flks Avg

1600

PAKI-ITI SUFFOLK & SUFTEX

1400

• Over 160 clients purchased and leased Paki-iti rams last year

1200

• Breeding for constitution, longevity, structural soundness and then performance

1000

2018

Years

2021

800

• Bred for Growth, Meat Yield, Survival and Meat Quality Traits (Tenderness and Intramuscular fat)

600

• 14 years of wintering ram hoggets on steep hill country

Please contact us any time for more information or to arrange a visit.

• Over 500 Suffolk and Suftex rams sold and leased every year

Visit paki-iti.co.nz to view our breeding programs

Robert & Alex Peacock |

03 692 2893 |

robert@orarigorge.co.nz

Orari Gorge Station, RD 21, Geraldine, South Canterbury, New Zealand

Stewart Morton 06 328 5772 • Andrew Morton 06 328 2856 RD 54 Kimbolton, Manawatu • pakiroms@farmside.co.nz

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NZ Standard Terminal Worth (NZTW)

Livestock

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Thursday 20th Nov 2023, 10am-3pm

Nithdale Station 338 Nithdale Rd, Gore

RAM VIEWING OPEN DAY

(meet at the woolshed)

INCLUDING

ELITE RAM SALE (TOP 10%)

For more information contact Russell White 027 418 3423 | www.nithdale.com

NZ MATERNAL WORTH WITH MEAT (MW+M)

2200

MEAT + SURVIVAL + GROWTH = $$$ MEAT + SURVIVAL

2000 1600 1400 1200

1600

1000

1400

800

1000

600 400 200

800 CENTS

600

-200

400

-400

200

-600

-800

-200

-1000 95 19

-400 -600 -800

+ GROWTH PERENDALE RAMS = $$$ Leading the way

CENTS

1800

NORTH 7 9 ISLAND 1 3 5 99 99 00 00 00

-1000 95 19

07 09 20 20 YEAR

Philip Brandon

0 1 1 2 2 20 20 20 20 20 AWAROA - Brandon, Philip & 2Audrey2YEAR – Otorohanga. P: 07 873 6313

RUA PEKA PEKA - Bryant, Maree – Urenui. P: 06 752 3701

NORTH ISLAND GREEN ACRES - Jury, Chris – Waitara. P: 06 754 6672 LONGSPUR - Frank, Wayne – Waitara. P: 06 754 4311

AWAROA 

AWAROA

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AWAPIKO

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HERANGI

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RUA PEKA PEKA



 DP Flks Avg  Perendale NZ Flocks



RAUPUHA



HERANGI  NZ Maternal Worth with Wool and Meat

 

AWAROA - Brandon, Philip & Audrey – Otorohanga. P: 07 873 6313 AWAPIKO - Langlands, Neil & Linda – Taumarunui. P: 07 896 8660& Sue Maxwell Graeme RUA PEKA PEKA - Bryant, Maree – Urenui. P: 06 752 3701 GLENOCHY - MacFarlane, James & Rochelle – Whangamamona. P: 06 762 5880







RAUPUHA

Gisborne 021 997 519

LONGSPUR - Frank, Wayne – Waitara. P: 06 754 4311 P: 027 355 2927 RAUPUHA – Mahoneui. GREENWAIOTANE ACRES - Jury, Chris – Waitara. P: 06 754 - Brosnahan, Sean – Ohope. P: 6672 06 864 4468

PERENDALE RAMS Leading way superiorthe Maternal Worth with Meat. superior Maternal Worth with Meat.

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WAIOTANE

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           

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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AWAPIKO  AWAPIKO - Langlands, NeilHarding & Linda––Woodville Taumarunui. 07133 8967533 8660 KERRYDALE - Robyn – P: P: 021 GREEN ACRES  GLENOCHY MacFarlane, Whangamamona. P: 06 762 5880 WAIOTANE OTOI -- Brickell, Ian &James Bobbie&–Rochelle Wairoa. P:– 06 838 7398  GLENOCHY OTOI RAUPUHA Mahoneui. P: 027  LONGVIEW - Maxwell, Graeme– & Sue – Tutira. P: 06355 8392927 7412 RUA PEKA PEKA  WAIOTANE - Brosnahan, SeanRob – Ohope. P: 06– 864 4468 THE HEIGHTS - Gaskin, & Heather Levin. P: 027 481 6924 LONGVIEW LONGSPUR  HAUTERE - Henricksen, & Carey– –P:Pongaroa. P: 06 374 3888 KERRYDALE - Robyn Harding John – Woodville 021 133 7533 GREEN ACRES  D’Ath, Warren – Palmerston North. P: 06 354 8951 OTOI - KAREREVALE Brickell, Ian &- Bobbie – Wairoa. P: 06 838 7398 KERRYDALE KAREREVALE GLENOCHY OTOI OTAPAWA - Robbie, Douglas & Dara – Eketahuna. 06 376 7765 LONGVIEW - Maxwell, Graeme & Sue – Tutira. P: 06 839P:7412 ASHBY  HAUTERE  HERANGI - Spellman, – Te Awamutu. 1433 THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS - Gaskin, Rob John & Heather – Levin. P: P: 07 027870 481 6924 LONGVIEW  LONGSPUR TE AWAITI - Wakelin, Sarah – Martinborough. 607 3888 5968 HAUTERE - Henricksen, John & Carey – Pongaroa. P: P: 022 06 374 OTAPAWA  ASHBY -- Timms, P: 06 362 7829 KAREREVALE D’Ath, Gilbert Warren––Shannon. Palmerston North. P: 06 354 8951 17 JANUARY 2023 KERRYDALE KAREREVALE TE AWAITI OTAPAWA - Robbie, Douglas & Dara – Eketahuna. P: 06 376 7765 Gore South Island Ram Sale WANGAPEKA ASHBY HAUTERE NOVEMBER 2022 HERANGI14 - Spellman, John – Te Awamutu. P: 07 870 1433 10:30 AM, Gore Showgrounds NZ MATERNAL WORTH WITH MEAT (MW+M) THE HEIGHTS MT GUARDIAN Te Kuiti North Island Ram Sale TE AWAITI - Wakelin, Sarah – Martinborough. P: 022 607 5968 OTAPAWA 12 PM, Te Kuiti Saleyards ASHBY - Timms, Gilbert – Shannon. P: 06 362 7829 BLUFF FARM 17–JANUARY 2023 MT GUARDIAN - Anderson, Tim, Sue & Edward Cheviot. P:03 319 2730 TE AWAITI BENMORE Gore South Island Ram Sale WANGAPEKA - de Vos, Cor & Belia WANGAPEKA 14 NOVEMBER 2022 DOLOMITE - Elliott, Ken – Akaroa. P: 021 221 4185 SNOWDON 10:30 AM, Gore Showgrounds MT GUARDIAN Te Kuiti North Island Ram Sale BLUFF FARM Evans, Ivan & Julie – Oxford. P: 03 312 1585 RANGIATEA 12 PM, Te Kuiti Saleyards GRASSLANDS Jebson, John & Melissa OLDENDALE BLUFF FARM MT GUARDIAN - Anderson, Tim, Sue & Edward – Cheviot. RANGIATEA - Gallagher, Blair – Ashburton. P: 03 303 9819 P:03 319 2730 DOLOMITE BENMORE KLIFDEN WANGAPEKA - de Vos, Cor &– Coalgate. Belia BENMORE - James, Warrick P: 03 318 2352 GRASSLANDS DOLOMITE - Elliott, Ken – Akaroa. P: 021 221 4185 SNOWDON – Geraldine. P: 03 693 9877 OLDENDALE MONTANA Follow on Facebook & 312 Instagram BLUFF FARM - Tripp/Veronese, Evans,us Ivan & Julie – Oxford. P: 03 1585 SNOWDON Annabel & Roy RANGIATEA NEWHAVEN KINNEAR E: perendalenz@xtra.co.nz GRASSLANDS Jebson,Richard John &&Melissa HAZELDALE -- France, Kerry – Tapanui. P:03 204 8339 HAZELDALE OLDENDALE KLIFDEN - Gardyne, Robert P: 021 144 9721 RANGIATEA - Gallagher, Blair– –Oturehua. Ashburton. P: 03 303 9819 DOLOMITE North Island Ram Sale – Te Kuiti ST HELENS + HINERUA South Island Ram Fair – Gore GOWAN BRAES KLIFDEN GOWAN BRAES - McElrea, – Tapanui. P: 318 027 242 BENMORE - James, Warrick Mike – Coalgate. P: 03 23529376 13 November 2023 16 January 2024 AVALON GRASSLANDS NEWHAVEN - Smith, Blair & Jane – Oamaru. 4329877 4154 FELDWICK OLDENDALE – Geraldine. P:P:0303693 MONTANA HILLCREST Mitchell, R&R – Clinton. P: 03 415 7187 HILLCREST SNOWDON - Tripp/Veronese, Annabel & Roy NEWHAVEN DIAMOND PEAK AVALON - Walker, Scott – Tapanui. P: 027 630 5301P:03 204 8339 KINNEAR HAZELDALE - France, Richard & Kerry – Tapanui. HAZELDALE CALDERKIN KAMAHI + PROGRESSIVE - Ayers, Warren – Wyndham. P: 027 226 4290

SOUTH ISLAND

MEAT + SURVIVAL + GROWTH = $$$

SOUTH ISLAND

www.perendalenz.com

LK0116876©

2000

1200

NZ MATERNAL WORTH WITH MEAT (MW+M)

1800

2200

42 Markets

Markets

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Next generation steps up at Opawa

The tradition of taking the people to the cattle carried on as one of the South Island’s big on-farm cattle sales took place under ‘new management’. Suz Bremner

MARKETS

Livestock

OUTH Island yards have come alive with store cattle auctions in the past week, including on farm – taking the people to the cattle. One of the big on-farm cattle sales on the calendar is the Opawa Simmental event in Albury, South Canterbury, which was held under slightly different circumstances this year. This was the sixth annual yearling sale and in previous years was held under the ownership of David and Jayne Timperley. But this year farm succession meant the Timperleys’ daughters Charlotte and Liz and their families took the reins. Rory Moore, Charlotte’s husband, said selling on farm is still the best option for them. “As everyone knows, costs are going up and by selling on farm it reduces travel and other costs, and the numbers we have justify it. We hold three on-farm sales a year – a bull sale in May, this one in October and a lamb sale in early January.” Though the sale was split between two locations this year, the same cattle were essentially sold. Close to 700 cattle mostly consisted of Simmental-Hereford, Simmental-Angus and Hereford with all bloodlines going back to Opawa Simmental. Moore’s offering was homebred out of their commercial herd.

“The commercial herd are farmed on tussock country yearround and so the Simmental and Hereford cross works well on this type of country. We keep the male progeny entire and they are picked up for service bulls for the dairy industry, as they produce outstanding calves with good growth potential that fatten well,” he said. This year’s sale could not match the high prices paid last year, though expectations were realistic in that “the sale ﬁtted the mould of the general feel of farming at the moment”, Moore said. “Last year’s sale was so strong but this year we were on the other side of the coin. David and Jayne have built up a great reputation for these cattle and return buyers come back. “We were short of a few buyers this year though, and buyers were more reserved. Most sold to mid Canterbury with a few heading further south.” At the Moores’ section of the sale the Simmental-Hereford steers weighed 282-404kg and sold for $3.27-$3.37/kg. Three lines of Simmental-Hereford bulls sold as service bulls for $1190$1330 at $3.20-$3.53/kg. Simmental-Hereford and Simmental-Angus steers at Greg and Liz Russell’s weighed 278409kg and sold for $920-$1370, $3.24-$3.60/kg, while heifers weighed 275-363kg and returned $850-$1190, $3.09-$3.28/kg. Sales also stretched from

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CROWD COMES TO THE CATTLE: Buyers came to the cattle at the annual on-farm yearling sale held by Opawa Simmental, Albury. This sale was one of many spring store cattle sales held in the South Island in the past week.

Last year’s sale was so strong but this year we were on the other side of the coin. Rory Moore Opawa Simmental Culverden to Lorneville on Friday October 6. The focus at Culverden was on traditionally bred cattle and the sale was a combination of the annual Culverden and Cheviot spring sales. PGG Wrightson regional livestock manager Grant Nordstrom said combining the sales worked well.

“These sales are only a week apart anyway and there were too many cattle to host at the Cheviot yards. The bulk were from that area but the shift to the bigger, more robust Culverden yards paid off.” Nordstrom said there was a moderate crowd, but buyers were keen to buy. “Steers sold right up to expectations and breed didn’t matter. They mainly sold to strong local support. Heifers started off well, but it was weight-based buying and anything too light that buyers couldn’t see out the other side of was harder work.” Both Culverden and Lorneville used bidr and it had a positive

impact on the sales. At Culverden, bidr accounted for 10% of the total bidding during the sale, though it added plenty of competition, especially as underbidders on the steers. Mainly heifers were purchased online, by three buyers from Canterbury and the lower North Island. Eighty-seven people watched via bidr. The Lorneville sale was mainly a dairy-beef affair and had 77 people following via bidr with 13 registered as buyers. Four lower South Island buyers were successful online, picking up mainly bulls. Results for both these sales can be found in the Weekly Saleyards section.

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Markets

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Weekly saleyards Big store cattle sales have been held in the past week as the peak of the spring selling season hits. Buyers from Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, South Auckland and greater Waikato converged on the Paeroa saleyards on Friday October 6 for the annual spring cattle sale. Offered were 700 cattle, which were mainly yearlings. Well-grown lines met strong demand and a highlight was the top pen of purebred Hereford steers, which achieved $1400. Also of note were 34 well-grown, autumn-born weaner Hereford-Friesian steers, which made $610-$710. Wellsford | October 9 | 743 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

2-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 336-337kg

3.15-3.19

2-year Hereford-dairy steers, 376-447kg

3.20

2-year Hereford-Friesian heifers, one line, 376kg

3.20

Yearling Angus steers, 316-349kg

3.20-3.24

Yearling Angus-Friesian steers, 270-312kg

3.04-3.11

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 259-261kg

3.44

Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 235-318kg

3.04-3.16

Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 438-613kg

2.86-2.97

Boner Friesian cows, 414-535kg

1.67-1.68

Pukekohe | October 7

$/kg or $/hd

Rangiuru | October 10 | 497 cattle, 19 sheep

$/kg or $/hd

2-year dairy-beef steers, 348-450kg

2.99-3.17

2-year Hereford-Friesian heifers, 357-405kg

2.95-3.11

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 215-269kg

3.53-3.79

Yearling Hereford heifers, 208-306kg

3.19-3.36

Prime beef steers, 510-566kg

3.11-3.16

Prime dairy-beef heifers, 457-545kg

2.97-3.09

Frankton | October 10 | 811 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

2-year Hereford-Friesian heifers, 405-439kg

3.18-3.23

Aut-born R2 Angus-Friesian steers, 458-484kg

3.21-3.31

Aut-born R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 407-441kg

3.37-3.38

Aut-born R2 dairy-beef steers

840-1070

Aut-born R2 dairy-beef heifers

2.96-3.10

Aut-born R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 426-443kg

3.16-3.22

Aut-born weaner dairy-beef steers and heifers

437-550

Yearling Angus-Friesian steers, 332-350kg

3.16-3.17

Prime steers

3.00-3.17

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 313-353kg

3.40-3.48

Prime heifers

2.90-3.06

Aut-born weaner dairy-beef heifers, 147-181kg

3.31-3.40

Mixed-age ewes & lambs

72-82

Prime Charolais-Friesian cows, 583-652kg

2.40-2.45

Store ewes

57-70

Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 442-483kg

3.21-3.30

Store hoggets

92-115

Prime hoggets

137-150

Tuakau | October 5 | 1080 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

3-year dairy-beef steers, 530-570kg

3.24-3.29

2-year dairy-beef steers, 450-550kg

3.20-3.29

2-year dairy-beef heifers, 380-430kg

3.10-3.17

Yearling dairy-beef steers, 250-320kg

3.40-3.59

Yearling dairy-beef heifers, 220-300kg

3.15-3.35

Tuakau | October 9 | 800 sheep

$/kg or $/hd

Frankton | October 11 | 720 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

2-year dairy-beef steers, 348-432kg

3.06-3.11

Aut-born R2 Belgian Blue-cross steers, 402-406kg

3.18-3.20

Aut-born R2 Belgian Blue-cross heifers, 345-362kg

2.77-2.79

Yearling Angus-cross steers, 228-229kg

3.25-3.28

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 223-307kg

3.45-3.57

Yearling Hereford heifers, 212-238kg

2.98-3.04

Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 193-195kg

3.39-3.46

Store hoggets, all

60-85

Prime dairy-beef cows, 488-569kg

2.25-2.30

Prime ewes, all

80-110

Prime dairy-beef steers, 505-670kg

3.19-3.26

Prime hoggets, all

140-165

Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 462-492kg

3.11-3.18

$/kg or $/hd

Boner Friesian cows, 518-525kg

1.93-2.00

Prime beef cows, 550-650kg

2.36-2.56

Te Kuiti | October 6 | 552 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

Prime steers, 550-720kg

3.17-3.26

Prime heifers, 450-600kg

3.15-3.24

Boner cows, 500-580kg

2.28-2.38

Boner cows, 430-460kg

1.90-2.15

Tuakau | October 11 | 500 cattle

Paeroa | October 6 | 700 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

2-year steers

1250-1460

2-year heifers

1010-1150

Yearling Hereford steers

1360-1400

Yearling dairy-beef steers

730-1160

Yearling dairy-beef heifers Aut-born weaner Hereford-Friesian steers

3-year beef, dairy-beef steers, 538-643kg

3.21-3.41

2-year Angus steers, 506-595kg

3.23-3.44

2-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 471-524kg

3.34-3.44

Yearling Angus steers, 333-360kg

3.86-3.91

Yearling dairy-beef steers, 296-404kg

980-1335

Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 278-380kg

890-1240

Matawhero | October 6 | 449 sheep

$/kg or $/hd

Store hoggets, medium to good

60-88

700-1060

Prime hoggets, medium to heavy

120-174

610-710

Prime ewes, medium to heavy

80-114

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Taranaki | October 11 | 1141 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

3-year beef, dairy-beef steers, 567-653kg

3.10-3.21

2-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 365-461kg

3.30-3.47

2-year beef-cross, dairy-beef steers, 540-580kg

3.10-3.20

2-year dairy-beef heifers, 378-491kg

3.08-3.24

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 252-378kg

3.17-3.32

Mixed-age ewes & lambs, BF/WF lambs, docked

71-76.50

Store whiteface hoggets, good to heavy

107-137

Feilding | October 9 | 103 cattle, 2831 sheep

2.11-2.20

Prime ewes, good

101-139

Prime ewes, medium-good

66-88

Prime male, mixed-sex hoggets, very heavy

166-180

3.28

Prime male hoggets, heavy

139-176

$/kg or $/hd

Prime ewe hoggets, heavy

153-168 121-161

1035

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 263-285kg

4.00-4.07

Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 316-364kg

3.20-3.34

Yearling dairy-beef heifers, 305kg average

3.08

Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 702kg

Prime ewes, heavy to very heavy

124-150

Prime mixed-sex hoggets, heavy

Prime ewes, medium to very good

88-120

Prime mixed-sex lambs, new season, medium-good

Prime hoggets, heavy

136.50-160

Prime mixed-sex hoggets, good

121.50-142

Stortford Lodge | October 11 | 763 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

Boner Friesian cows, 540-684kg

Yearling dairy-beef steers, 290kg average

Stortford Lodge | October 9 | 1091 sheep

Markets

$/kg or $/hd

Rongotea | October 10 | 147 cattle

129

$/kg or $/hd

2-year Friesian heifers, 490-498kg

2.69-2.80

Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 199-240kg

3.06-3.25

Aut-born weaner dairy-beef steers, 138-175kg

540-620

2-3-year traditional heifers, 374-477kg

2.99-3.12

2-year traditional steers, 448-552kg

3.21-3.31

2-year Friesian bulls, one line, 538kg

3.39

Yearling Angus steers, 264-323kg

3.67-3.78

Yearling Simmental-Hereford steers and heifers, 281-312kg

3.47-3.49

Yearling Angus, Simmental-Hereford heifers, 241-255kg

3.14-3.15

2-year traditional steers, 415-467kg

3.11-3.25

Aut-born weaner Simmental-dairy bulls, 281-325kg

1030-1105

2-year Angus heifers, 341-378kg

2.86-2.93

Aut-born weaner Angus & Angus-Hereford steers, 181-236kg

660-830

Yearling Angus, Angus-Hereford steers, 304-377kg

3.45-3.56

Aut-born weaner Angus & Angus-Hereford heifers, 177-212kg

550-660

Yearling Angus, Angus-Hereford steers, 270-302kg

3.60-3.78

Mixed-age Romney ewes & lambs, BF lambs, docked, good

78.50-85

Yearling Angus, Angus-Hereford steers, 212-265kg

3.38-3.55

Store male, mixed-sex hoggets, good to heavy

111-144

Yearling Hereford steers, 203-321kg

670-975

Store ewe hoggets, medium to good

62-114

Yearling traditional heifers, tops, 260-332kg

3.13-3.27

Yearling traditional heifers, second cuts, 260-332kg

2.93-3.08

Yearling traditional heifers, 207-249kg

2.88-2.94

Yearling Hereford heifers, 197-298kg

610-900

Feilding | October 6 | 1491 cattle, 3377 sheep

$/kg or $/hd

Aut-born weaner Friesian bulls, 190kg Boner Friesian cows, 470-604kg

Culverden | October 6 | 1246 cattle

720 2.00-2.20

$/kg or $/hd

2-year traditional steers, 566-638kg

3.26-3.42

2-year Friesian bulls, 370-430kg

3.00-3.12

Yearling traditional steers, 268-288kg

3.72-4.03

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 204-238kg

3.42-3.64

Coalgate | October 5 | 136 cattle, 2685 sheep

Yearling Friesian bulls, 311-364kg

2.80-2.94

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 217-252kg

2.50-2.67

Yearling Angus heifers, 253-313kg

3.13-3.28

Prime dairy-beef steers, 530-655kg

3.00-3.16

Upskill with an online course For shearers by shearers agricademy.co.nz/womolife

$/kg or $/hd

Markets

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 448-541kg

2.96-3.04

Prime ewes, medium to heavy

80-128

Store ewe hoggets, good

108-115

Prime hoggets, medium to heavy

130-172

Store hoggets, small-medium

50-75

Lorneville | October 6 | 861 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

Prime ewes, good

97-116

Prime hoggets, good

147-166

Prime mixed-sex lambs, new season, very good

160-278

Canterbury Park | October 10 | 162 cattle, 2455 sheep

$/kg or $/hd

Prime traditional steers, 516-635kg

3.05-3.13

Prime Hereford bulls, 664-702kg

3.09-3.18

Prime beef heifers, 453-615kg

2.97-3.06

Mixed-age ewes & lambs, good

85-93

Prime ewes, very good

104-124

Prime hoggets, good to very good

139-167

Temuka | October 5 | 599 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

2-year dairy-beef, Friesian bulls, 490-578kg

2.80-2.88

2-year dairy-beef heifers, 409-443kg

2.93-3.02

Yearling dairy-beef steers, 275-353kg

890-1170

Yearling dairy-beef steers, 186-264kg

605-870

Yearling dairy-beef heifers, 258-369kg

820-1090

Yearling dairy-beef heifers, 178-257kg

500-800

Lorneville | October 10

$/kg or $/hd

2-year beef-cross steers, 349-433kg

950-1310

Prime cows, 500-600kg

2.05-2.11

Prime steers, 550kg

2.90-2.96

2-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 416-490kg

3.11-3.22

Prime heifers, 380-420kg

2.30

2-year Hereford-Friesian (black) heifers, 426-476kg

2.90-2.91

Mixed-age ewes & lambs, all

75-90

Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 271kg

3.36-3.39

Store hoggets, all

55-130

Yearling Angus-Friesian heifers, 273-288kg

2.53-2.79

Prime ewes, all

60-138

Aut-born weaner Hereford-Friesian (black) steers, 163-189kg

570-660

Prime hoggets, all

119-168

Aut-born weaner Hereford-Friesian (black) heifers, 149-205kg

490-580

Feeder Calves | October 5 - October 10

Temuka | October 9 | 508 cattle, 2648 sheep

$/kg or $/hd

Prime Angus cows, 453-665kg

2.20-2.33

Prime beef-cross steers, 514-565kg

2.93-2.98

Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 470-586kg

2.90-3.01

Boner Friesian cows, 481-683kg

1.92-2.21

Waikato | October 5 - October 10

$/kg or $/hd

Friesian bulls, medium to good

70-140

Hereford-Friesian (black) bulls, small to good

130-180

Charolais-Friesian bulls, small to good

80-180

Other dairy-beef bulls, small to good

40-140

Hereford-Friesian (black) heifers, small to good

30-100

Other dairy-beef heifers, medium to good

40-120

Manfeild Park | October 9 | 140 cattle

$/kg or $/hd

Mixed-age Halfbred ewes & lambs, all

56.00

Store mixed-sex hoggets, heavy

80-118

Store Halfbred wether hoggets, heavy

119-131

Prime ewes, most

100-120

Prime mixed-sex hoggets, most

145-175

Friesian bulls, medium to good

50-100

$/kg or $/hd

Dairy-beef bulls, small to good

70-205

Balclutha | October 11 | 438 cattle Mixed-age ewes & lambs, all

71-83

Simmental-Friesian heifers, medium to good

100-180

Store hoggets, medium

Other dairy-beef heifers, medium to good

50-100

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Markets

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

AgriHQ market trends Cattle

Sheep

Deer

Beef

Sheep Meat

Venison

Slaughter price (NZ$/kgCW)

Last week

Last year

North Island P2 steer (300kg)

6.15

6.85

North Island M2 bull (300kg)

6.15

6.50

North Island M cow (190kg)

4.00

4.90

South Island P2 steer (300kg)

5.80

6.60

South Island M2 bull (300kg)

5.60

6.30

South Island M cow (190kg)

4.00

5.00

Slaughter price (NZ$/kgCW)

Last week

Last year

North Island AP stag (60kg)

8.80

8.65

6.15

South Island AP stag (60kg)

8.75

8.70

7.05

9.55

3.15

6.05

Fertiliser Last week

Last year

DAP

1197

1794

Super

449

509

Urea

807

1340

Urea (Coated)

856

1389

Aug

Last year

Last week

Last year

North Island lamb (18kg)

7.05

9.60

North Island mutton (25kg)

3.25

South Island lamb (18kg) South Island mutton (25kg)

Fertiliser

Export markets (NZ$/kg) China lamb flaps

9.47

14.26

Wool

Export markets (NZ$/kg) US imported 95CL bull

9.56

US domestic 90CL cow

9.90

11.11

9.96

NOTE: Slaughter values are weighted average gross operating prices including premiums but excluding breed premiums for cattle.

Steer slaughter price ($/kgCW)

Slaughter price (NZ$/kgCW)

(NZ$/kg clean)

05-Oct

Last year

Crossbred fleece

3.43

2.95

Crossbred second shear

3.07

2.45

Courtesy of www.fusca.co.nz

Lamb slaughter price ($/kgCW)

NZ average (NZ$/tonne)

Forestry Exports

7.0

10.0

NZ Log Exports (tonnes)

6.5

9.0

China

1,507,896

1,486,562

6.0

8.0

Rest of world

189,610

192,457

Carbon price (NZ$/tonne)

Last week

Last year

5.5

7.0

67.0

80.7

5.0

Oct

Dec

Feb North Island

Apr

6.0

Jun Aug South Island

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

North Island

Australia beef exports (Jul - Sep, thous. tonnes) 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

NZU Jun

Aug

South Island

Australia lamb exports (Jul - Sep, thous. tonnes)

Stag Slaughter price ($/kgCW) 9.5 9.0

25 8.5

8.0

15 10

7.5 Oct

5 0 China

Japan

S. Korea

Rest of Last year Asia

US This year

Other

Asia (xcl. Chin a)

Chin a Mid. Eas t Last year

US This year

Dec

Feb Apr North Island

Jun Aug South Island

Other

Data provided by

Get ahead of the market Take advantage of New Zealand’s most trusted independent agricultural market data reporting and analysis, with a range of insightful agriculture and forestry reports.

Subscribe from only $100 per month agrihq.co.nz/our-industry-reports

Markets

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – October 16, 2023

NZX market trends Dairy

Grain

Data provided by

Milk price futures ($/kgMS)

Close of market

Canterbury feed wheat ($/tonne)

11.0

700

10.0

650

9.0

600

5pm, Wednesday

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

10483

550

8.0

450

6.0 Sep

Nov

Jan

Mar

May

Sep-2024

Jul

Sep

ArborGen Holdings Limited

0.184

0.23

0.177

The a2 Milk Company Limited

4.55

7.83

4.37

Cannasouth Limited

0.189

0.32

0.17

700

Comvita Limited

3.21

3.48

2.75

650

Delegat Group Limited

8.44

10.2

7.98

600

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.02

3.88

2.94

Foley Wines Limited

1.22

1.42

1.18

Greenfern Industries Limited

0.047

0.113

0.044

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

1.25

0.99

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.178

0.19

0.15

NZ King Salmon Investments Limited

0.22

0.24

0.181

PGG Wrightson Limited

3.73

4.67

3.35

Rua Bioscience Limited

0.11

0.22

0.094

Sanford Limited (NS)

4.05

4.39

3.8

Scales Corporation Limited

3.1

4.25

2.75

Seeka Limited

2.46

3.72

2.2

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

1.33

3.65

1.16

T&G Global Limited

2.02

2.37

1.94

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

10483

12870

10210

S&P/NZX 50 Index

11306

12212

11178

S&P/NZX 10 Index

11470

12411

11313

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

Aug

Oct

Canterbury feed barley ($/tonne)

Dairy Futures (US$/t) 4 weeks prior

WMP

2920

2900

2760

SMP

2565

2530

2485

AMF

5100

4580

Butter

4900

4950

4550

Milk Price

7.87

7.60

7.10

550 500 450

* price as at close of business on Wednesday

400 Oct

WMP futures - vs four weeks ago (US$/tonne)

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

Aug

Oct

Waikato palm kernel ($/tonne) 450

4000 3500 3000

400

2500 2000 1500

350

1000 500 0

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Latest price

Feb

Mar

300 Oct

4 weeks ago

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

Aug

Wharfgate log prices firm Shipping starting to rise again EXPORT

PRUNED

NZ$/TONNE

+1 S1 DOMESTIC LOGS (NZ$/TONNE)

-4

132

A-GRADE EXPORT LOGS ( US$/JAS [CFR])

+14 150

-3.4

SHIPPING – CHINA

CARBON

NZD:USD

(US$/JAS)

(NZ$/NZU)

(LAST WEEK)

47.2

+4.7 80.0

+0.6C 0.672

LOG PRICE REPORT

UNPRUNED

NZ$/TONNE

117

PULP

NZ$/TONNE

184

EXPORT PRUNED

NZ$/TONNE

119

A-GRADE

NZ$/JASM3

56.0

NZ$/JASM3

181

WHARFGATE LOG PRICES

115

KIS

Pruned

Unpruned

30 - 40

20 - 26

Knot size (maximum) cm

105

Northern North Island

10 - 15

No limit

4.0 - 5.8

4.1 +

4.1 - 12.1

3.6 - 4.0

4.0 +

3.7

183

134

100 95

MARKET REPORT VIEWPOINT

WHOLE MILK POWDER VS. MONTH AGO

China wakes up Sara Hilhorst

After a three-month price lull there's finally been a bit of life injected into log export markets. This largely comes from China getting back into the game after coming back from break, supported by mildly weaker shipping costs and the exchange rate. Reduced supplies out of NZ in recent months has been key for reengaging Chinese buying, particularly when other parts of the world aren't offering any more volumes than normal, usually noticeably less.

...there's finally been a bit of life injected into log export markets. Reece Brick

Short-term we are unlikely to see much more upside than has already been reported. Shipping costs are starting to increase as of late-February due to a mixture of demand changes and increasing bunker costs partly brought on by the Russia-Ukraine situation.

JULY 2022

Key Points

75 Mar-12

Warm weather good for lambing Mar-13 Mar-14 Mar-15 Mar-16 Short-term cattle in demand, calves poorer GDT keeps on falling Wet weather plays havoc again

Log Indicator Trends

NZ LAMB SCHEDULE

NZ DOLLAR

($/KG)

(US/$)

LAMB

Hayley O’Driscoll

6.44

12 mths ago

9.35

weeks away from returning to its normal lamb capacity. Although, with it looking like there are still many lambs to process before their teeth cut, the rush to get lambs in could cause the backlogs to drag on. The store market has improved in the North Island, mainly on shorn lambs with a longer window before teethcutting becomes an issue. Though prices are quiet variable, especially in the yards where up to $5/kg isn’t

MONTHLY SHEEP & BEEF

Mar-20

US IMPORTED 95CL

2.67

Mar-21

Mar-22

NZ SLAUGHTER STEER

$/KGCW

6.17

0.633

128

Processing space opening up gradually

Risk of lambs cutting teeth starting to be considered

4.8

122

127 56

4.0

130

117

3.6 3.2

web

+64 6 323 6393 | info@agrihq.co.nz | agrihq.co.nz 2.8

Oct

Dec

5-yr ave

Feb

Apr

2020-21

Jun

2021-22

Aug

Oct

Source: AgriHQ

150

VIEWPOINT

Mid-winter markets mellow

115

107

102

121

113

105

109

103

115

111

➔

Sentiment poorer for export sales

➔

Backlogs develop on lambs

-26%

-27%

-29%

➔

FMD on the radar for Aus/NZ

-26% -19%

-19%

-20%

-21%

-22%

-23%

-24%

$/KGCW

LAST WEEK

0.621

Mar

5yr ave

May

2020

Jul

2021

Sep

Nov 2022 S ource: AgriHQ

National e xport pruned log price (NZ$/JASm3)

190 170

116 123

* Weightings are calculated on the volume of softwood logs traded through each port in the past 12 months, as indicated by available data. This month's report is weighted as follows;

Port Weightings Port(s) / Regions

210

111 113

117

9.18

Jan

Mar

5yr ave

115

115 116

122

National grade logLAMB price (NZ$/JASm3) NZ ASLAUGHTER NZD:USD

150

165

180

4.4

170

112 North Island store lamb price ($/kgLW)

6.30

116

122 123

118

110

119

On-farm condiitons slowly improving

US$/KG

124

130

high lights

CHINA FOREQUARTER

126 125

KEY POINTS

Source: AgriHQ

185

Warm weather good for lambing It’s been noticeably warmer than usual across the entire country. The east coast has had a welcome break from the wet weather and the sunshine with warm temperatures will be supporting lamb survival rates. Lambs on crops have taken a bit of a knock living in the mud and rain and they may be a few weeks away from picking up again. More processing space has opened up in the North Island as the peak of bobby calf processing has passed while

Mar-19

US$/LB

NZ P2 STEER

(US$/TONNE)

3510

Mar-17 Mar-18 10 year average

55.5

Export P

Length m

+0.5

Pruning

110

WEEK BEGINNING AUGUST 22, 2022

NZ$/TONNE

132

Grade SED (minimum) cm

PULP

NZ$/TONNE

191

NZ$/JASm3 - Weighted Average*, Delivered to Wharf

120

NZ$/TONNE

132

Ten year NZ Combined Log Indicator ($/Tonne)

125

YTD High YTD Low

MARCH 2022

LOG PRICE INDICATOR

Omicron slows NZ production

MARKET REPORT

Oct

MARCH 2022

FEBRUARY 2022 Key Points

FORESTRY

11470

Oct

Prior week

11306

Company

400

Sep-2025

Nearest contract Last price*

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

Listed Agri shares

500

7.0

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

May

2020

Jul

2021

Sep

Nov 2022 S ource: AgriHQ

+64 6 323 6393 | info@agrihq.co.nz | agrihq.co.nz

Region Level Island Level National Level

Marsden

33%

Tauranga

67%

34%

27%

51%

40%

Northern Nth Isl.

16%

13%

Gisborne/Napier

66%

New Ply/Wellington

34%

17%

13%

Southern Nth Isl.

49%

39%

North Island

80%

33%

43%

26%

Nelson/Picton

67%

Lyttelton/Timaru

33%

21%

Northern Sth Isl.

64%

13%

P. Chalmers/Otago

61%

22%

Bluff

39%

14%

Southern Sth Isl.

36%

South Island

20%

Weather

ruralweather.co.nz

State of play as spring blasts its way in Philip Duncan

NEWS

Weather

E ARE in the thick of spring now – the ultimate “hold onto your hat” weather as westerly blasts deliver cold fronts and short bursts of severe weather across the country. Despite an uptick in complaints from people who missed the headline that an El Niño spring can be wetter and cooler for many western regions, the weather pattern is settling into a new more traditional westerly-driven flow. So the complaints we’re getting, are they accurate? Let’s take a look at the state of the nation now that we’re in the middle of spring. Soil moisture Much of New Zealand is in a healthy position soil moisturewise – especially with so many worried about summer being drier. But the areas now showing up as driest are in the biggest rain shadow areas: Nelson and Marlborough. The west to southwest flow of winter means these two regions

(and in particular Marlborough) can miss out on rain. And unlike their neighbours in Wellington and Wairarapa (who receive southerly rain), Nelson and Marlborough usually do not. For anyone wanting to track the progress of El Niño’s drier trend, Marlborough is a good place to start. But outside of Nelson and Marlborough every single other region is in a healthier set-up. There are a few spots in Canterbury that are drier than usual, but there are also large portions of eastern NZ wetter than average (Gisborne, northern Hawke’s Bay and, incredibly, Otago). Rainfall So far this month’s rainfall has been lower than average in Marlborough, most notably, followed closely by the South Canterbury/Otago area (and according to NIWA data western Southland too). Much of the North Island has had closer to normal falls thanks to more low pressure in the area bringing a more even spread of rain to various regions. But Wairarapa, Central Hawke’s

Bay, Bay of Plenty and the Hauraki Plains have actually seen below normal rainfall according to public stats by NIWA. The West Coast has seen the most amount of rain, although it has been excessive. The Indian Ocean Dipole (the Indian Ocean’s version of El Niño) may be limiting rain events recently in the Southern Ocean, which means the West Coast has below normal rainfall (for now). Sunshine Our mountains and ranges really become obvious when the airflow (a westerly lately) has become more one sided. The north-eastern corner of the South Island, from Nelson to Rangiora, has been sunniest. In the North Island East Cape wins the gold medal for bright sunshine hours, followed closely by Bay of Plenty. Gloomiest regions lately: No surprise, the western side of the North Island and much of Southland.

FORECAST RAINFALL: The ‘El Niño lean’ continues to show up with, once again, the South Island’s West Coast getting a deluge but eastern areas leaning drier.

Temperatures Very generally, the North Island has leaned cooler than average this October by a degree or so,

while the South Island has leaned warmer by the same amount. This may even up more in the next two weeks.

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