The woes of wool: ‘Find someone who’s making money, I’ll shake their hand’ – Sharon Brettkelly
Backcountry farmer Dan Steele got messages from all over the world after he took to Facebook inviting people to come and pick up his wool for free.
It was a tongue-in-cheek exercise to highlight a serious matter: the woes of wool.
Steele’s post about how much money he is losing on his wool was even translated into Chinese.
“I couldn’t believe it,” says Steele from his Blue Duck Station on the Whanganui River, a working farm and tourist operation. . .
Keeping the heart of Catchment groups – Richard Kyte :
No one can be in any doubt. Catchment groups are a success.
When we reflect on the past five years, and the rate at which catchment groups have sprung up, not only in Southland but across Aotearoa, it’s a real testament to rural communities and farmers taking responsibility for leading catchment improvements.
These people are working together in their communities to affect change, particularly around water quality as well as carbon and biodiversity.
And I believe they are a direct catalyst for the significant upswing in the rate of change during the past five years. . .
Road show spreads word of Nudies – Shawn McAvinue :
A crew from a Wairarapa hill country sheep and beef farm were in Canterbury last month, as part of a national run to showcase their ram breeds including Nudies. Wairere principal Derek Daniell speaks to Shawn McAvinue about the motivation behind breeding a sheep which grows hair rather than wool.
A monument of giant golden hand shears welcomes visitors to Masterton with the greeting “Home of the Golden Shears”, a nod to the world’s premier shearing and woolhandling championship.
Ironically, the largest town in the Wairarapa was also home to the inaugural auction of purebred Nudies ram lambs in March this year, a sheep breed which grows hair rather than wool.
Wairarapa hill country sheep and beef farm Wairere visited hair sheep breeders in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 2019, searching for hair sheep genetics from large flocks, run outdoors year round with minimal shepherding. . .
A ray of hope for farmers – Peter Burke :
The financial viability of farmers having solar panels on their land, as well as stock, is the subject of a significant two year research study being undertaken by Massey University.
Professor Paul Kenyon is co-leading the project and says there has been a lot of hype about the value of installing solar panels on farms to generate electricity for the national grid, providing a new income stream.
But he says much of the data that is being put around is based on overseas research, where climatic conditions are quite different to those in NZ.
“A lot of that information suggests that pasture grown under the panels will be the same or better than in the actual paddocks,” Kenyon told Rural News. . .
E Tipu IFAMA 2023: Farmers delivering the future – The COuntry :
The recent E Tipu IFAMA 2023 World Conference in Christchurch featured a range of speakers on a range of topics as the industry grapples with change as it looks to the future.
The central theme for this year was “Transforming the global food and fibre system”.
It included sub-themes such as Farmers First – farmers delivering on bold ambition; Fibre First – forward-thinking developments in fibre; Food First – innovations in food production, distribution, and consumption; and Future First – where the world is heading so we can get ahead of the curve.
E Tipu: The Boma Agri Summit was formed in Christchurch in 2019. . .
Shepherd careers in focus – Shawn McAvinue :
Reporter Shawn McAvinue questions shepherds at a Womolife course, teaching the skills of crutching, wool handling, penning and pressing of strong wool, on Jeff Farm in Kaiwera, between Clinton and Mataura, last week.1. Why did you choose a career as a shepherd?
2. What song do you put on a playlist to work to in a shearing shed?
Archie Tayler
18, of Temuka.
1. I come from a cropping background and was brought up with tractors and heavy machinery but it was never my thing, and we had a few sheep at home and I love working with them and then an opportunity for a cadetship came up at Jeff Farm and I thought, bugger it, I’ll make a change and I’ve been loving every minute of it. It’s the best decision I’ve made in a while, it’s all going pretty smoothly. The shearing course has been awesome, too. I couldn’t use a handpiece before I came to Jeff Farm and now I’m getting my head around crutching and belly crutching.
2. Definitely country music. It would have to be songs by Morgan Wallen. . .
Homepaddock 