The devil is very much in the detail of the new multi-billion-dollar United States-China trade deal in terms of its impact on New Zealand agricultural exports.
Both the Dairy Companies Association and the Meat Industry Association are examining the 94-page agreement to see what impact it will have.
The phase-one deal between US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He means an extra US$32 billion of US agricultural products will be bought by China by December 31 next year.
Dairy Companies Association executive director Kimberly Crewther said its implications for New Zealand’s $5b dairy export market are unclear because not all . .
A six-generation family history in stud breeding and a love of cows bodes well for the farming future of Tararua’s Niamh Barnett. Kate Taylor reports.
Right down to the Hereford salt and pepper shakers on the kitchen table Herefords have always featured in Niamh Barnett’s life.
Niamh, 18, is the youngest member of the New Zealand Hereford Youth Breeders team competing at the World Hereford Conference in Central Otago in March and won the Young Fleece Judge of the Year title at the 2019 Royal Show.
“I’ve always been involved on the farm, right from when I was little. . .
New Zealand’s pork industry would be “decimated” if African swine fever (ASF) was to hit the country, New Zealand Pork chairman Eric Roy says.
Since China reported the first case of ASF just over a year ago, it has culled more than 131million pigs, or around 40% of the previous pig herd.
Some private sector estimates suggested the culling might have even been larger than official estimates, BNZ’s latest Rural Wrap said.
NZ Pork was concerned the disease was spreading “quite rapidly” and was now in Timor-Leste, or East Timor, as it continued to move south from China. It has been confirmed in the Philippines and South Korea. . .
But make no mistake, the percentage of Kiwis who are vegetarian or vegan remains at 3 percent. Yes, 97 percent of us are still into our meat and so we should be, especially in New Zealand. . .
Two Waikato dairy farmers were elected to DairyNZ’s board last week. Tracy Brown is a new member and Elaine Cook was re-elected at the annual general meeting in Hamilton on October 22.
They are two of five farmer-elected directors and three board-appointed directors who contribute to strategy and priorities on behalf of dairy farmers. DairyNZ now has a board of five women and three men.
Chair Jim van der Poel welcomed the directors and acknowledged their role in “playing a key part in setting the future direction of DairyNZ”. . .
Good to catch up on stock work this afternoon, weigh and drench 18 autumn born beef stock left, nice view from top paddock. Coast in the distance… pic.twitter.com/uOQ0x9oGZf
A strong desire to capture the essence of people and tell their stories won a former West Otago woman the Rural Champion category at the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards recently. Alice Scott reports.
Kate Taylor, who now lives in Hawke’s Bay, grew up in the small southern farming district of Dunrobin.
She says entering the Rural Women business awards was a way for her to ”walk the talk” and share her story, as she has for so many years been preaching to the people she interviews.
Mrs Taylor is the youngest of four Rivett girls and grew up on her family’s sheep and beef farm known as The Glen. She attended Blue Mountain College, in Tapanui, and got her first job in Gore, at radio station 4ZG, then did a journalism course at Christchurch Polytechnic . .
An extension to the Brexit deadline is being welcomed by New Zealand lamb exporters, who had been worried about possible disruptions to Christmas trade.
European Union leaders have agreed to extend Brexit until 31 January next year – meaning the UK will not leave as planned on Thursday. The bloc would also allow for a so-called “flextension” – meaning the UK could leave before the deadline if a deal was approved by Parliament.
The UK market is very important for chilled New Zealand lamb exports ahead of Christmas and there had been concerns from industry that the UK’s departure from the European Union during this period could present border delays and increased administrative costs. . . .
An iconic Hawke’s Bay station founded on pioneering spirit and nurtured over 100 years by the same family is now on the market for the first time.
Historic Te Rangi Station, located 50 minutes north of Napier Airport is generating strong interest among farming circles as far afield as the South Island from potential buyers recognising the opportunities a deer fenced station of this scale and summer safe location offers. . .
The needs for animal protein in discussions on future nutritious and sustainable food systems seems to be missing from much of the rhetoric, says Jeremy Hill, Fonterra’s chief scientist and technology officer.
That includes the EAT-Lancet report, says Hill, who spoke at the Climate Change and Business Conference in Auckland last week.
Hill said he was speaking in his role as a professor of sustainable food systems at the Reddit Institute. . ..
A Central Hawke’s Bay family farm is combining bulls and Wagyu steers to make the most of its climate and the most of its family asset. They not only know what they are doing on-farm but also know the supply chain from end to end so can tick all the boxes expected of them. Kate Taylor reports.
Growing quality cattle on an all grass and homegrown fodder system is all that’s needed to keep James Greer happy in his work.
“Farming is in our blood. Every day is different and every day is a challenge. We love it.”
James and Katherine Greer and James’ parents Jerry and Diana farm 830ha at Argyll east, west of Waipawa. . .
A dollar out every $3 earned from primary products exports comes from China, a scenario that concerns Otago University marketing expert Dr Robert Hamlin.
Treasury has also warned about over-reliance on China, particularly for dairy.
Hamlin says as a rule of thumb no more than 20% of revenue should be earned from one source to ensure a buffer against changes in terms of trade. . .
Since changing their farming practice to growing all grass year round for full-time dairy grazing, running more than 1000 head of stock was a “doddle”, farm manager Stuart Browning said.
He and wife Kim work for Brian and Glennis Webster, of the Coromandel Peninsula, who bought the 370ha (300ha effective) “Waikite” property next to Waituna Lagoon 11 years ago.
Since the Websters and Mr Browning changed the farming system, they have gone from about 600 stock on crop and grass, to grass only and running nearly twice that number while reducing their workload and making significant feed savings. . . .
For 50 years, the Young Farmer of the Year contest has been part of the fabric of New Zealand’s rural sector.
Dubbed “the challenge second only to the land”, it tests the knowledge and skills of the country’s young farmers.
To mark the milestone, Hawke’s Bay writer Kate Taylor has recorded the contest’s history in 50 Years Young — A History of the Young Farmer of the Year.
But it is more than just a comprehensive history; it contains interviews with various winners, finalists and organisers, and is peppered with interesting and amusing anecdotes. . .
New Zealand’s largest wine region could soon be facing water restrictions as record-high temperatures affect rivers.
The Rai, Waihopai and Wairau Rivers’ minimum flow rates were rapidly being approached and surface water “takes” were expected to be halted by the end of next week.
Marlborough District Council hydrologist Val Wadsworth said it was trying to “forward forecast” on the current rate of flow decline, but it was difficult to be concise. . .
Well here I am up the hill trying to send emails to our internet provider as the internet at our homes on the farm is so poor. Nice view. pic.twitter.com/Zr4Fe18XXo
The country’s largest maize seed supplier is working with an insurance company to settle losses incurred after seed treatment failure in some hybrid varieties this season.
Early in the maize planting season late last year a number of growers in Waikato and Northland reported stunted crops post-germination, prompting some to replant crops before mid December.
Pioneer’s investigation team head Raewyn Densley said a number of growers have . .
Forget Paris: for one newlywed couple, there’s no better honeymoon than killing possums in Taranaki.
Fresh from their wedding, Andrea and Max Hoegh are working at the frontline of New Zealand’s first large-scale possum eradication operation.
The biggest pest-busting project of its kind in the country, Towards Predator-Free Taranaki divided the region into pizza-slice sections around the mountain, with work kicking off in the New Plymouth area. . .
2 tooths are next on the shift list at #WaikakaStn as we move into lifting them back up after weaning the lambs off them at the start of the month. pic.twitter.com/d9ThyMhnZ4
“Right now, growing cells as meat instead of animals is a very expensive process,” says Yaakov Nahmias, founder and chief scientist of Israel-based startup Future Meat Technologies. But it will get cheaper, and it probably will be needed.
The global population is heading for 10 billion by 2050, from the current 7.7b. Average global incomes will triple in the same period, enabling more people to eat meat-rich diets. . .
Two record-breaking shearers are working their way into land ownership in Hawke’s Bay. Kate Taylor reports.
What does a champion shearer do on his days off? His own shearing.
Rowland (Rowly) and Ingrid Smith bought their 28ha block at Maraekakaho in Hawke’s Bay four and a half years ago. He’s still shearing full time but is starting a seasonal contracting business and the couple hope to buy more land in the future.
Their first few years as landowners saw all their spare cash put back into development including fencing and a new shearing shed.
They’ve since bought a 6000 square metre block down the road and plan to live there while they build a new house. . .
Six young people from Hawke’s Bay are on a mission to get others like them to join their world leading apple and pear industry.
They are part of a new nation-wide recruitment campaign to raise more awareness about all the new career opportunities for young Kiwis looking for a bright future with rewarding job prospects.
New Zealand Apples & Pears capability development manager Erin Simpson said job attraction is a far bigger challenge than job creation for the industry, as horticulture has, in the past, struggled to gain wider appeal. . .
From the first week of August 2017 when M. Bovis was in its infancy. I don’t envy the task @MPI_NZ has in front of it… pic.twitter.com/VWZMPhhSqV
Farmers will not get stock moved if trucking companies do not get better freight rates, according to the Road Transport Forum (RTF).
“We’re at the point where people won’t get stock moved; something has to give here,” Ken Shirley, RTF chief executive told Rural News.
“All these additional biosecurity conditions and precautions we accept are necessary, but someone has to be prepared to pay for them and surely that’s the primary sector’s problem.” . .
Mexico, Peru and Chile are eyeing up exporting avocados to Australia, threatening New Zealand’s exclusive access to the lucrative market.
Australia is New Zealand’s number one market for avocados, worth $88 million in sales in the 2017-18 year. Total exports were $105m.
However following the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) deal, Mexico, Peru and Chile have signalled they are keen for access to Australia in particular.
They also want to sell into New Zealand but it could take some years and would not necessarily result in cheaper avocados, Avocados NZ chief executive Jen Scoular said . .
Generations of farmers have relied on knowledge and family expertise to grow food, but the sector is set for a surge of disruption at the hands of made-in-Canada artificial intelligence-powered systems.
AI is now helping farmers across the country to increase yields, save costs and minimize environmental damage. Instead of spreading fertilizer across acres of fields or spraying entire orchards with herbicides, they can now target their efforts for maximum effect. . .
The life’s work of a Waikato Jersey breeder will be used to help inspire students about careers in the agri-food sector.
Sixty-one cows from the herd of the late Bobbie Backhouse have been bought by NZ Young Farmers for its Auckland dairy farm.
The 74ha property was gifted to the organisation by Donald Pearson last year.
“Bobbie Backhouse was a passionate Jersey breeder who farmed near Thames. Sadly, she passed away in early 2016,” says Donald Pearson Farm board chair Julie Pirie. . .
Productivity on UK farms has improved significantly, according to new figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The figures, in the report ‘Total factor productivity of the UK agriculture industry’, provides the first estimate for 2017.
It shows that total factor productivity – a measure of how well inputs are converted into outputs, giving an indication of the efficiency and competitiveness of the agriculture industry – was up by 2.9 per cent last year. . .
His work has earned him an award that will allow him to mix with Australasia’s agribusiness elite on an equal footing but Thomas Macdonald, now involved in the developing sheep milk sector, never forgets the consumers who make it all possible. He spoke to Richard Rennie.
This year’s Zanda McDonald award winner is no stranger to collecting scholarships and awards for his efforts to look longer and harder at the challenges and opportunities in the pastoral sector.
Thomas Macdonald, business manager for Spring Sheep Milk Company, has been awarded the prestigious Platinum Primary Producer (PPP) Zanda McDonald award valued at $50,000 in recognition of his work in the sector and his continuing contribution to the innovative sheep milk company. . .
A Mahia farming couple won three awards in the East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Kate Taylor reports.
Okepuha Station has a bird’s eye view of the Rocket Lab launching pad on Mahia Peninsula and Richard and Hannah Coop love farming the windswept Hawke’s Bay coastline.
Richard and Hannah are the fourth generation Coops to farm at Mahia in more than a century. The family’s long association with the peninsula began back in 1905 when land was bought by Richard’s great grandfather.
The 940ha Okepuha Station was farmed by Richard’s parents, Will and Cathy, from the 1970s until recently when Richard and Hannah took over the farm business. . .
Dry aging meat concentrates the flavour. Rob Tipa reports on a scientist who is working on an electrifying new aspect.
Meat researchers at the University of Otago are reviving an ancient technique to age and tenderise meat by exploring new technologies to make the process more efficient for commercial meat processors.
Tanyaradzwa Mungure, a PhD student in the Department of Food Science at Otago, won an award for his presentation of research into dry aging of meat at an international meat science conference recently in Ireland. . .
Midhirst dairy farmers in Taranaki are donating any hay bales they can spare to farmers in coastal parts of the region who are facing a feed shortage.
The dry summer has had a significant impact on pasture and crops across the drought-hit region, with growth rates estimated to be down by at least 40 percent.
Taranaki Rural Support Trust chair Mike Green said coastal Taranaki had been particularly hard hit, with many farmers having to dry off their herds early and reduce stock numbers as they did not have enough feed. . .
It will be 30 years this year since the first modern-day wine made in the Alexandra basin was sold.
In his new book Latitude 45.15S – among the world’s southernmost vineyards journalist, Otago Daily Times columnist, bed and breakfast co-owner and author Ric Oram said 2400 bottles of Black Ridge gewurztraminer and riesling and 2000 bottles of assorted William Hill varieties were sold in 1988.
Bill Grant, of William Hill vineyard, and Verdun Burgess, of Black Ridge, sent their grapes to Rippon vineyard in Wanaka to be made into wine by Tony Bish. . .
(BusinessDesk) – New Zealand carpet maker Cavalier Corp is emerging from a “tough” period after an influx of cheaper synthetics forced it to restructure its business to compete. It has now streamlined its operations and with most of the pain now behind it, is stepping up investment in innovation and marketing as it eyes rising consumer demand for natural woollen products.
The carpet market has undergone rapid change over the past 20 years, with woollen carpets in New Zealand shrinking to about 15 percent of sales from 80 percent as cheaper synthetics made inroads. In response, Cavalier sold uncompetitive assets like its carpet tile business in Australia, began manufacturing its own synthetic range, and consolidated its woollen felting and yarn spinning operations. . .
‘It was like a bloody atomic bomb had gone off.’ An East Coast farmer looks back at Cyclone Bola. Kate Taylor continues her series marking the storm’s 30th anniversary.
Sam Reeves loves farming Mangaroa Station today but can only imagine its devastation at the hands of Cyclone Bola.
At age 27, he wasn’t born when the historic storm hit the East Coast of the North Island in 1988.
But he is the same age previous owner Graeme Williams was when Cyclone Bola dumped more than 900mm of rain on the Tokomaru Bay farm in just two days.
“When I went to bed on the night of the 7th it was pouring down with rain,” Williams says. . .
Another unequivocal message has been delivered that agriculture needs to shoulder a greater share of the efforts and costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In January Climate Change Minister James Shaw signalled agriculture could be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme and this week the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton said climate change policy cannot ignore agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
New Zealand has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 but Upton said climate change policies lack bite for fear they would compromise competitiveness. . .
The Agribusiness Monthly provides timely information and analysis on agricultural conditions, commodity price updates and commentary on the latest sectoral trends and developments.
Key Highlights:
Dairy Can the price rally survive the EU Spring peak?
Beef Is there potential for near term price falls? . . .
The planets seem to be aligning for sheep and beef farmers this season.
We have had that rare combination of excellent growing conditions and strong prices for both beef and lamb – prime and store.
Adding to what has been a positive start to the year was the release of a Beef + Lamb New Zealand- commissioned report on alternative proteins.
The research showed that despite the emergence of alternative proteins, the future for this country’s grass-fed red meat is healthy. Internationally, consumers are seeking red meat produced without hormones or antibiotics and to the highest standards of animal welfare – and NZ farm systems tick all of these boxes. . .
At the bend in the Missouri River on grass covered flats if you listen close you might hear echoes of the past; hoofbeats, whistling, spurs jangling, the slap of leather and the high pitched zzzzzz of a lariat. Cowboys, dust covered and bone tired, riding weary cowponies barely heard over the bawling of thousands of Texas steers, “Hold’em here boys, the drives bout over.”
Kansas City sprouted from its agricultural heritage as a Cowtown. The transition to a center for animal health, education, and technology seems only natural for a town that for hundreds of years has had millions of animals pass through this gateway to the west. . .
A lucky glance gave now-retired Whatatutu farmer Rod Mead time to escape when a flooded river topped its stopbank. Kate Taylor talks to a survivor of Cyclone Bola.
Rod Mead looked across the river flats on Waitahoata Station near Whatatutu, Gisborne, with horror but also relief. Minutes earlier, he had been lifting equipment in the station’s old woolshed in case Cyclone Bola flooded the valley.
Glancing towards the river, Mead saw it had breached its stopbanks and immediately went outside and started up the tractor. As he did so, floodwater swirled around his ankles and he steered the tractor toward the safety of his hillside track 400 metres away.
He didn’t look back again until he reached the track and when he did he saw floodwaters raging where moments before he had been standing.
New Zealand’s best dairy farmers are achieving results well above average levels and other farmers are being urged to learn from them.
Their pasture and animal health management put them well ahead in milk produced per cow liveweight and in lower rates of cow losses.
Research overseas and in NZ showed leading farmers are ahead of the consultants, institutions and available information in the work they’re doing, veterinary surgeon and farm systems analyst Brian McKay told a Federated Farmers dairy group presentation in Christchurch. . .
From a distance, Kerry and Rosie Dwyer’s Maheno farm looks a picture.
The sun is shining on a glorious autumn day in North Otago and the paddocks are covered in lush, green grass.
But something is missing; shelter sheds – usually home to hundreds of calves – sit empty and the 120ha farm is devoid of stock, apart from a few sheep.
“I’ve got no business. It’s stuffed and I accept that.
“I just don’t know what we’ll do,” Mr Dwyer says. . .
The Central Districts Field Days turn 25 next week. Sam Kilmister looks back at an agricultural showcase that had small beginnings and now a big following.
Noel and Eleanor Mortimer recall the moment their son-in-law Don Eade started the Central Districts Field Days.
He had returned from the Mystery Creek Fieldays, near Hamilton, which ignited a vision to have it replicated in Manawatū. . .
Dart Watson might have been one of the younger entrants in the produce shed at the Wanaka A&P Show, but he sure grew one of the most spectacular entries.
For the third consecutive year, Dart (13) won the largest pumpkin in the junior section with an absolutely whopping vegetable. . .
A low-cost device designed to detect when cows are ovulating and ready to be inseminated has earned two Kiwi entrepreneurs a place among the finalists in the 2018 New Zealander of the Year awards.
Fraser Smith and Matt Yallop, of Farmshed Labs, are finalists in the New Zealand Innovator of the Year category for their product FlashMate.
I think our countryside is beautiful, but then I am biased! Does the view from your office window look like this…? pic.twitter.com/Qci7wtRGB1
New Zealand AgriFood Week is returning to Manawatu with a series of more than 10 events dedicated to developing, celebrating and showcasing the country’s food producing industries.
The week in association with ASB, is designed to help New Zealand agrifood businesses succeed through the development of innovation, investment and people. Project managed by Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA), the week will deliver a programme of events designed to connect, challenge and grow the agrifood industry.
This year’s theme is “Transforming Food Producers for the Future”. . .
Using a 12-tonne Hitachi excavator to pour a cup of tea, slam dunking a basketball and transporting an egg is no easy task but for New Zealand’s top excavator operators, it’s a piece of cake.
The boys and their toys will be back at Central Districts Field Days in Feilding to do battle for the Civil Contractor New Zealand’s (CCNZ’s) National Excavator Operator Competition title.
Ten of the country’s top excavator operators and will be taking on current titleholder Steve Galbraith, from Galbraith Earthmovers, Napier. Steve has won it for the last two years and is determined to make that three wins in a row. . .
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Executive Chair has been named as one of three finalists in the 2018 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year awards.
Rachel Baker farms in the Central Hawkes Bay with her husband and three children. She and her husband won the Manawatu Sharemilker of the Year title in 2009, and progressed to large scale sharemilking before purchasing a dairy support unit in 2017. . .
The contrast between the European and the New Zealand kiwi fruit season is large. New Zealand mostly harvested large sizes. The European kiwi fruit season is characterised by small sizes and a smaller volume. The harvest was particularly disappointing in Italy. Nele Moorthamers of Zespri talks about the challenges of this season, and the growth opportunities for the originally New Zealand company for kiwi fruit during the European season.
During the season, the Zespri kiwi fruit mostly comes from Italy and France. . .
With the power to salve the soul and sell stock, sustainability is luxury’s new holy grail. As we investigate in two special reports, it begins with the pioneers rethinking the production of raw materials. Part I explores how that means being able to trace one’s organic knit back to a happy Patagonian sheep, part II follows the same thread by investigating denim naturally dyed with Tennessee-grown indigo.
Renewable, warm, odour-resistant, non-flammable, hypoallergenic, elastic, soft, wrinkle-free: wool is a natural fibre with a lot going for it. Yet according to a 2017 report by the global non-profit organisation Textile Exchange, wool and down accounts for only 1.3 per cent of the world’s fibre production. This is partly due to a communication problem: ‘Over the last half a century, consumer messaging on wool has been confusing,’ says Alberto Rossi, business development manager of Organica, a new arm of French company Chargeurs Luxury Materials, one of the world’s leading suppliers of premium wool fibre. Cheap synthetic alternatives now have a 68.3 per cent share of the textiles market. . .
A New Zealand outdoor recreation advocacy says outdoor recreation is a very big contributor to the economy, but lacked appreciation by government.
Andi Cockroft, co-chairman of the Council of Outdoor Recreation said a recent study in the US showed the outdoor recreation industry’s contribution to the US’s GDP was larger than that of all mining, including the extraction of oil and gas.
“And the US study showed the industry is expanding. In 2016, it grew 3.8 percent, compared to the overall economy’s growth of 2.8 percent,” he said.. . .
Growing up on a farm was the greatest gift I have ever received. I learnt to drive before I could touch the pedals, ate mud for breakfast and played conkers without a hard hat.
I became the ‘roller girl’, changed my first oil filter and found a passion for farming.
But as a girl, I was not encouraged to become a farmer. “It is not very ladylike,” they said. “You need a back-up.” So that is what I did. . .
There are challenges facing people with small rural businesses all over the world.
But in rural New Zealand, it is not always easy to solve them in isolation.
Rural people know how special rural New Zealand is, that’s why we fight so hard to stay out there running businesses alongside our farms or lifestyle blocks or within our homes.
I say we, because I own a small rural business. When I’m not writing for NZ Farmer I’m a freelance writer – communiKate – and I have been self-employed in rural Hawke’s Bay for almost 18 years. . .
The introduction of agribusiness as a subject at Kavanagh College signals “exciting times” in education, head of commerce Jill Armstrong says.
On Friday, pupils from the Dunedin school visited origin verification company Oritain, animal parasite diagnostics company Techion Group and Duncan and Anne-Marie Wells’ dairy farm on the Taieri.
It was a “fantastic” field trip and followed on from the introduction of agribusiness as a subject at NCEA level 2 this year, Ms Armstrong said.
At Oritain, Sam Lind gave an overview of the company and why it had become so important for businesses to be protected from fraud. . .
A dairy consultant, a district mayor, and a leadership coach are finalists in the 2018 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year awards.
Hawke’s Bay dairy consultant Rachel Baker, Tararua district mayor Tracey Collis, and Southland dairy leadership coach Loshni Manikam are in the running for the coveted dairy award, which will be announced at an awards ceremony during Dairy Women’s Network’s conference in Rotorua on Thursday 22 March. . .
Two women with generations of farming experience behind them are finalists in the 2018 Dairy Community Leadership Awards.
They are dairy farmers Kylie Leonard, from Reporoa in the Central Plateau, and Lorraine Stephenson, from Dannevirke in Manawatu.
The Dairy Community Leadership Awards are a Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) initiative recognising the unsung heroes of rural communities. This year’s award will be presented at an awards ceremony during the Network’s conference in Rotorua, 22-23 March.
Sponsored by ASB and Tompkins Wake, the award recognises the voluntary role dairy farming women have in leading their communities and sharing their time and skills beyond the farm gate. . .
A moth that attacks red clover, with “devastating” effects has now been found nationwide.
The red clover casebearer moth was first discovered in Auckland two years ago. It has now been found in pheromone traps at the bottom of the South Island, leading researchers to believe it has actually been in the country for around 10 years.
The larvae eats the red clover’s seed, spurring fears for the seed industry, the seed research manager for the Foundation of Arable Research Richard Chynoweth said. . .
In fact, the Owaka-based shearing sports administrator much prefers to be “behind the scenes and hidden under the table”. But she acknowledged that being named as a finalist for this year’s Norwood New Zealand Rural Sports Awards — in the contribution to the rural sports industry category — was a “real honour”, despite deflecting attention from herself.
“I don’t do this on my own. It’s a team effort with everything. I’m probably the bossy britches,” she laughed.
The awards were about celebrating traditional sports and the people who kept events running year-in and year-out in towns and settlements across the country. . .
Supporting farmers and growers to clear more waste and preserve New Zealand farms for future generations is the mission of the rural recycling programme, Agrecovery.
In tackling the plastic used by our rural communities, the leading product stewardship programme recycles over 300 tonnes per year. “That is enough plastic to cover a rugby field six feet high,” says Agrecovery General Manager, Simon Andrew. . .
Farming is changing. In all the talk of technology reshaping society, some might have assumed that farming would have been left untouched by this rapid pace of change. But there has been revolution and evolution in the fields of Britain. An agricultural revolution, with the introduction of new productivity-enhancing technologies, and a food evolution, with a relentless drive for high standards. . .
Compensation for farmers affected so far by the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis could cost more than $100 million, National’s Primary Industries spokesman Nathan Guy says.
But he said the coalition Cabinet would probably soon decide it had other spending priorities, and farmers would be told to learn to live with the disease.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) announced on Friday a further two South Island dairy farms had been confirmed infected with Mycoplasma, bringing the total to 23. . .
Mycoplasma bovis infection, now spreading throughout NZ dairying, needn’t be a death sentence for farm profitability, according to American veterinarian Dr Paul Dettloff, visiting here in early March.
Official response to the M. bovis crisis has focused on containment and keeping the contagious bacterial disease from spreading between animals. This infection is widespread in other dairying countries and needn’t reduce dairy profitability here. Dr Dettloff, who works for a large dairy cooperative in the US, indicates he sees farmers who don’t have M. bovis in their cows, despite being surrounded by farms with infected animals. . .
Southern welfare groups are urging farmers not to be complacent after substantial falls of rain appear to have alleviated some areas of drought in Southland and Otago.
Southland Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Lindsay Wright said pasture response and aquifer recharge have been slower than expected and though the rain has jolted winter crops to start growing again, more is needed.
Farmers should assess whether they have enough feed for winter and if not they need to source extra supplies sooner rather than later. . .
Youngsters in Northland are getting the chance to experience dairy farming thanks to two couples taking part in DairyNZ’s Find a Farmer programme.
Creating a link between urban and rural communities and showcasing farming to the next generation are just two reasons why Terence and Suzanne Brocx and William and Robyn Hori host school visits.
Suzanne feels the connection many city families once had to relatives in the country has largely been lost. The Brocxs and Horis say joining DairyNZ’s Find a Farmer service has been their attempt to re-establish that connection. . .
First he turned smashed avocado into a much-discussed metaphor for the Millennial generation’s poor money saving discipline.
Now he’s challenging what he fears is often our overly casual national attitude to business entrepreneurship and ambition.
Notably, the demographer and social commentator, Bernard Salt, believes agribusiness and agricultural initiative on the global stage are obvious areas for Australia’s business spirit to rise significantly higher. . .
Otago farmers are being asked ”to keep an eye on their partners and neighbours” as the stress from the drought, or what has been termed a medium-scale adverse weather event, continues.
Otago Federated Farmers president Phill Hunt said the rain last week was a big boost to the farming community but ”it’s not over yet”.
”The rain and the cooler temperatures have been very welcome; in particular the rain has filled up a lot of dams both for stock water and for irrigation.”
”People who have put infrastructure in for irrigation have been staring down the barrel of not being able to use it; a very expensive clothes line is how it was described to me by one farmer.” . .
Central Hawke’s Bay friends and workmates, Patrick Crawshaw and Hugh Abbiss, will become rivals in the East Coast Young Farmer of the Year on February 17. Kate Taylor reports.
The temperature has been higher than 30 degrees all week, so it’s no surprise to catch Central Hawke’s Bay farmers Hugh Abbiss and Patrick Crawshaw taking the chance to work inside in the shade.
They’re working out feed budgets and stock movements for the next two months as the above average Hawke’s Bay summer has given them an abundance of feed.
The pair work for Foley Farming, where the make-up of the staff is a bit different to most – with four staff, all aged under 30 and three with university degrees. . .
A Northland farming couple are hoping to add value to the wool they shear from the family flock by creating high value, decorative and functional architectural products which includes a natural wall covering.
Sarah Hewlett and her husband Chris Coffey run Hewlett Point, a sheep and beef farm near Mata around 25 kilometres south east of Whangarei.
Their two young sons are the seventh generation to live on the family farm. . .
Our steep ground makes grass the only realistic crop that we can grow. Luckily these grass munchers love to turn the green stuff into high quality protein, just right for us humans to enjoy 💪 #Februdairypic.twitter.com/fm118PPNm3
Farmers are turning to hunting technology to protect stock from thieves.
While Parliament is debating a proposed law that would impose harsher penalties on stock rustlers, property owners are already taking steps to protect their stock.
Hunting and Fishing New Zealand Timaru owner Alister Jones said a ”huge” percentage of his sales were now going towards farmers who wanted to protect their land and property.
Previously, sales of motion sensor cameras, also known as game cameras, were predominantly made to hunters who wanted to monitor and catch animals such as deer. . .
Wet spring conditions followed by a hot dry summer is creating havoc for a Canterbury Dairy farmer
A Canterbury farmer wants whoever flicked the fine weather switch on, to switch it back to rain for a while.
Robin Hornblow and fiancée Kirstie Austin are farm managers on Willsden Farm Ltd, a 306ha farm at Te Pirita – one of several owned by the Camden Group.
This is their first season on this farm and so far, the weather has not been kind. . .
Farmers are being warned to keep a close eye on their stock as facial eczema spore counts rise around the country.
Spore counts are trending upwards in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, East Coast and the lower North Island, as well as in Tasman and on the West Coast.
Facial eczema affects cattle, sheep, goats and deer and can result in liver and skin damage, which can severely affect an animal, seriously reduce production and can in worst cases cause death.
It is estimated that production losses caused by the disease are around $200m annually in this country. . .
Been enjoying the questions my vegan farm challenge raised, not the abusive ones but those genuine questions that people ask because we are not good at getting the info out there. This little chart is a useful indicator of the environmental benefits of livestock and grazing. pic.twitter.com/Krwey6xoTT
Autogrow has opened a virtual agtech and science lab and are inviting indoor ag developers, growers and enthusiasts to join in building a dynamic and innovative community.
Following on from the launch of their Jelly SDK, APIs and Autogrow Cloud platform last year, the Autogrow Lab was set up as a collaborative environment for continued research and development of control systems for indoor agriculture.
“The industry is a fragmented hardware landscape with software and data technology being introduced into the mix. Our goal is to bring much of that together in an open platform, add in the science of plant biology and create a space for discussion, invention and pushing the boundaries,” explains Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Law. . .
The urban/rural disconnect is real, more so in Western and urbanised societies, and both the media and farming industry are contributing to it.
Some mainstream media coverage is clouded by urban bias, knee-jerk distrust of agribusiness, failing to differentiate between campaigners and informers and an over-reliance on too few sources with an overt political agenda. There is a severe lack of agricultural specialism among general news journalists.
Farmers and industry are fuelling the disconnect through a lack of openness and transparency, disproportionate defensiveness in the face of legitimate challenge, disunity among farming sectors and a sense of ‘exceptionalism’ or entitlement to positive coverage.
The public debate and narrative around agriculture is being dominated by farming unions and lobbyists. Politics at an industry level is drowning out individuals at a farm level, contributing to more distrust.
Jones visited USA, Kenya, Denmark, Ireland, France and Belgium. Would her findings be very different here?
New Zealand has some very good rural journalists in the print media including the Otago Daily Times’ Sally Rae; Stuff’s Kate Taylor, Gerald Piddock and Gerard Hutching; NZ Farming Weekly’s Neal Wallace, Annette Scott, Richard Rennie, Tim Fulton, Alan Williams; Pam Tipa and Nigel Malthus at Rural News and RNZ’s Alexa Cook.
We also have a good variety of rural shows on radio and television.
Jamie Mackay does an excellent job of covering farming and wider rural issues on The Country as does Andy Thompson on The Muster.
Country Calendar seems to cover more lifestyle and alternative farmers now but still does very good work. Rural Delivery was always interesting but now it’s failed to get NZ on AIr funding probably won’t be back.
RNZ has Country Life and its Friday night and early Saturday morning slots don’t matter so much when it’s easy to listen online at a time that suits better.
We are generally well served by rural media and rural journalists in general media.
The problem is other journalists outside rural media who don’t understand farming and wider rural issues.
They’re the ones who buy the anti-farming propaganda often wrapped in faux-green wrapping; the ones who pedal the emotion and don’t have the inclination or time to check the facts.
They’re the ones who serve farming and the wider rural community badly and undo much of the good rural media and journalists do.
Now that we have heard that a climate change commission will be established, this makes 2018 an important year politically for farmers.
There is a real possibility that if the truth about agricultural emissions is not better circulated amongst farmers and the general public alike, the New Zealand agricultural industry may be forced into a highly damaging and completely unnecessary emissions reduction scheme if it is not set up correctly.
With the notable exception of Northland avocado farmer Robin Grieve, few people or organisations have been prepared to state this basic fact that in my opinion, New Zealand agriculture is not the problem it is made out to be. . .
Sited in one of New Zealand’s remotest regions, Haast township continues to lobby for life-saving cellphone reception. Sarah Harris reports.
Blair Farmer will never forget how a woman’s life slipped away as he tried to save her on the floor of the information centre in Haast.
Yi-Chieh Feng, from Taiwan, had been flung from the rental camper van when it crashed into a bank. She was not wearing a seatbelt.
Driver Yu-Hsiang Chen could not call 111 as there was no reception. So he bundled her into the van and drove 30 minutes to Haast at the bottom of the West Coast. . . .
A southern Rangitikei vet is determined to improve retention numbers in the profession she loves. She spoke with Kate Taylor.
As one of five children growing up in Auckland, Kristina Dykes never pictured herself working as a rural vet in provincial New Zealand.
She did want to be a vet from an early age, but it was cats and dogs in her sights more than cattle and sheep. She went to vet school quite indifferent to the rural sector but soon realised the opportunities available to her. . .
Pop quiz: what's this? And why might it not be allowed into the country? (We DO know the answer by the way, just before you get cheeky) . pic.twitter.com/FvXmt7WZ5d
Low financial returns have pitched the New Zealand crossbred wool industry into a crisis, a leading grower says.
Sales of merino wool were doing fine, but these represented less than 15 per cent of our national wool clip, with most of the country not high and dry enough to run merino sheep.
In contrast, returns from coarser crossbred wool were so low, many farmers found it barely worth taking their quadbikes out of the shed.
Campaign for Wool NZ Trust chairperson Renata Apatu, in particular, paints a grim picture. . .
A desperate plea to farmers and investors has finally pushed Hunter Downs Water across the start line.
Late last year the proposed multi-million dollar South Canterbury irrigation scheme was at risk of being abandoned but a last-ditch effort proved successful.
After a renewed push for investors, HDW chairman Andrew Fraser confirmed the company had the shareholders needed to proceed with the $110 million scheme. . .
TOWNS across Scotland have been affected by heavy snow since Monday evening, and, although some people have experienced chaotic situations, others are taking advantage of the glorious views, and even considered the impact snow can have on their current situation.
One lorry couldn’t access Scotstounbank Farm, in Blyth Bridge, West Linton, due to heavy snowfall, and instead of abandoning the job, the lorry driver waited in the village while the farmer, William Aitken, dropped 270 prime Blackface wedder lambs off using a Massey Ferguson tractor and trailer. . .
A Central Hawke’s Bay couple are proud to be dairy farming and love the lifestyle it provides. Kate Taylor pays them a visit.
A pair of small pink gumboots kick the dust on the laneway as cows wander from their paddock to the milking shed. Three-year-old Annabelle has had enough of the hot summer day.
Bringing in the cows is often a family affair at White Stag – one of three properties farmed by Andy and Robbie Hunt in Central Hawke’s Bay – but today, in the middle of the school holidays, it’s big brothers William, 8, and Ben, 6, doing the work. Andy and Robbie have been on this property since Annabelle was a baby – she was just a couple of weeks old when they had the roof shout for the new shed.
“It’s been a busy few years,” Robbie says, laughing. . .
GISBORNE, Wairoa and East Coast hill country farmers are leading the country as innovators and are in great shape to take on the challenges of 2018.
AgFirst agribusiness consultant Peter Andrew says sheep and cattle hill farmers here have progressed to become some of the best in New Zealand.
Gisborne will get to show off some of this country’s best sheep and beef operations when the region hosts Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s annual meeting for the first time on March 22. . .
(BusinessDesk) – Federated Farmers vice-president Andrew Hoggard says farmers should pay backpackers market rates if they want to keep a handy pool of casual labour and avoid volunteer workers.
The Employment Relations Authority ruled an organic farm near Christchurch breached worker rights by paying them $120 a week plus providing food and lodging irrespective of the hours worked, and claiming they were volunteers after a Labour Inspectorate investigation. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said in a statement that thousands of people had been exploited at the farm, working up to 40 hours a week and often as hired out labour at a profit for Robinwood Farms director and shareholder Julia Osselton. . .
This year, Canterbury farmer Colin Glass also joined DairyNZ’s Board of Directors as its newest recruit.
The farm owner and Dairy Holdings chief executive joined DairyNZ’s Board in October 2017. Colin is particularly passionate about dairy farmers connecting with the wider community and showcasing the great work being done on farms.
“We have had a massive refocus on what is important to the sector – the new dairy strategy highlights the need for us to have vibrant, profitable businesses and communities,” says Colin. “But that has to be done in a sustainable way that plays on New Zealand’s competitive advantage. . .
National Party Spokesperson for Biosecurity Barbara Kuriger is calling on farmers to be vigilant in light of recent Mycoplasma Bovis incursions to help prevent the spread of the disease.
“The discovery of Mycoplasma Bovis in Ashburton is a strong reminder to our rural communities that we need to be increasingly watchful and report concerns to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) if there are any suspicions of a further spread of the disease,” Ms Kuriger says.
“We cannot be complacent in any rural areas. The recent confirmation in Ashburton follows cases last year in Hastings, North Otago and the Winton District. . .
Great to see a very large contingent of serious pro-active farmers and key industry players in Meyhven for the Mycroplasma Bovis meeting. Thanks Fonterra, Westland Milk, Synlait, Mymilk and MPI 👍👍👍👍 pic.twitter.com/Yn2zCKS9lr
Wintermax Triticale – a new nutrient management tool for reducing nitrogen leaching.
Plant Research (NZ) Ltd in collaboration with Grasslanz Technology have developed a unique nutrient management tool in the for of a winter active triticale variety named wintermax.
Nutrient losses to waterways can occur from rainwater either moving organic matter, sediment and nutrients from land surfaces into surface waters, or leaching of nutrients, such as nitrogen, potassium and sulphur, through soil into groundwater. . .
It’s many years since stud breeders of jersey bulls, landrace pigs and rhode island red roosters presented their prized stock at the various capital city Royal Shows to assess breeding potential. Today, these industries rely on data & science to identify the best sires to breed for the growing commercial demand for milk, pork and chicken.
Performance recording has replaced show judging. There is still a role for the show ring, principally for the committed lovers of breeds to showcase their stock. However, the pragmatic farmer of today needs proof or at least confidence that the decisions around sire purchase align with the breeding objectives of their business.
This makes sense, it is not the pampered, prepared and perfumed animal in the show ring that matters; it is the progeny that must perform under commercial conditions that is important. Lipstick on the pig simply won’t do now. . .
I don’t know anyone in my circle of friends and family who has been killed in a car accident. Or on a quad bike, or by drowning, or in a work accident, or any other sudden accidental death.
Except for suicide. In the last few years I have lost three close friends or family to suicide, the latest being my nephew on January 10.
Almost everyone I have talked to since then has said the same thing to me. . .
Belief in how they do things and the values their family hold are the prime drivers behind Sentry Hill Organics. Kate Taylor visited Tom and PJ White to find out more about how they do things their way.
There’s a lot of laughter at the White family home in Ashley Clinton – much of it aimed at themselves.
“We just do things differently,” Phillippa White says, who is known locally as PJ.
“Yep, we’re definitely not followers,” adds her husband Tom.
“We’re not leaders either though,” interrupts PJ, with a shake of her head. . .
(Business Desk) Prices on the GlobalDairyTrade auction may lift next week, snapping four consecutive declines, as the increased threat of drought in New Zealand weighs on expectations for Fonterra Cooperative Group’s milk production.
The NZX whole milk powder futures contracts for December last traded at US$2,840 a tonne, 3.7 per cent ahead of the equivalent contract at the last GlobalDairyTrade auction on November 21, signalling traders expect the price to rise at the next GDT auction overnight on December 5.
Longer-dated whole milk powder futures contracts are also signalling an increase, as are futures contracts for skim milk powder, while futures for butter and anhydrous milk fat point to declines. . .
Farming in high-rise buildings, warehouses or shipping containers could benefit a rapidly expanding Auckland, an expert in sustainability says.
Some farmers and industry groups, including Horticulture New Zealand, are worried productive land is increasingly being swallowed up by growing towns and cities.
The problem is especially evident in Auckland, the country’s fastest growing region, and in its southern vegetable growing towns like Pukekohe.
New York-based sustainability strategist Henry Gordon-Smith said Auckland should look into merging city and farm. . .
Congratulations @FAR_Arable Anna Heslop who was presented the @NZIAHS Sir Arthur Ward Award this week for her significant contribution to the extension and adoption of agricultural or horticultural science. pic.twitter.com/OyU8do07HI
A Central Hawke’s Bay farming family has fenced, leased and worked its way to farm ownership. Kate Taylor reports.
Young pheasant chicks will be making their new home on an Elsthorpe farm dam this Christmas.
But the Laugesen kids might not be there to see much of them. They’re hoping to repeat last year’s summer holidays and camp out the back of the farm.
Planting native trees, regenerating wetlands and restoring birdlife is a huge bonus of farming for Graeme (who’s known by all as Logie) and Kate Laugesen and their children – Phoebe, 15, Maddy, 13, and Jack, 9. . .
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) is proud to announce the category winners and finalists for the Enterprising Rural Women Awards 2017.
The four finalists are vying for the Supreme Enterprising Rural Women Award, which will be revealed on Saturday 18 November at the RWNZ National Conference at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill. . .
A Cromwell woman has been recognised for her business success, creating a niche market for port and providing solutions for fast-growing boutique vineyards.
Debra Cruickshank, of Tannacrieff Wines, is one of four finalists to be announced for the Enterprising Rural Women Awards 2017 after taking out a category win – the SWAZI New Zealand Entrepreneurial Enterprising Rural Women Award.
She joins Kylie Davidson and Emma Hammond, of Hammond and Davidson Accountants, in Riversdale; Jo Kempton, of Happy Belly Ferments, in Greytown; and Kiri Elworthy and Jenny Bargh, of Tora Coastal Walk, Martinborough. . .
There’s a bit of a family affair going on at Waipori Station. In fact, Pete Ronald jokes he has warned manager Dave Vaughan there could well be a takeover.
Mr Ronald (61), his daughter Nicky Adams (41) and his granddaughter Shelby Wilson (19) — who is Ms Adams’ niece — all work on the 12,000ha Landcorp-owned property which surrounds Lake Mahinerangi.
There’s a reasonable amount of good-natured banter when the three gather over lunch, with Ms Adams wearing her trademark cap emblazoned with Auntie. . .
The dairy sector is calling for the future Government to provide the strong direction necessary for New Zealand to move toward a low emissions future, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.
His comments came following the release of the Our Atmosphere and Climate 2017 report.
The report confirms that global emissions of carbon dioxide topped 400 parts per million in 2016, the highest for 800,000 years. . .
A Filipino leader in the dairy industry is worried tighter restrictions to visas could leave huge holes in the farming workforce because they do not accurately reflect what happens on farms.
In late July, the government announced that workers in low-skilled jobs earning below $41,500 a year would after three years have to leave New Zealand for 12 months before returning on a new visa.
Roberto Bolanos is a New Zealand citizen with more than a decade’s experience in the industry, and feared the changes could leave gaps in the workforce if immigrants had to leave after three years. . .
The Berry family’s journey from farming to specialty cheese began in 1987.
Such a leap was triggered by a huge upheaval in our rural communities. In 1984 all farming subsidies were removed, product prices halved and interest rates ballooned to 23-24%.
When Rob Muldoon was voted out Roger Douglas and Labour inherited a broken economy. ‘Rogernomics’ and the ‘free economy’ were born, which crippled our rural communities resulting in many farmers leaving the land and numerous farmer suicides.
In our case, North Otago had the added challenge of crippling droughts. We had a pretty large farming operation, which included a high country run and two down land properties. I decided the former could stay as it was, while the down country farms would be used for cropping and stock trading. . .
Any initiative that helps train health professionals ready and willing to work in rural communities is good, says Michelle Thompson, chief executive of Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (RHAANZ).
The Government announced last week a plan to establish a school of rural medicine within the next three years to train doctors for rural and regional areas.
Two proposals are now before the Government: one from the University of Waikato and the Waikato DHB, the other a joint proposal by the Otago and Auckland medical schools. . .
As the traveller turns off State Highway 2 at Oringi, south of Dannevirke, the cellphone coverage hovers around three or four bars. Further down the road they start to disappear and have gone completely 10 minutes later when the Manawatu River bridge is crossed and the road winds towards Kumeroa.
This isn’t unusual for thousands of rural roads around the country. Farmers all over New Zealand put up with landlines reminiscent of the 1980s and satellite broadband costing a small fortune. . .
For Joseph Domingo, Taranaki has given him the chance to live his dream.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Domingo made the difficult decision to leave his homeland shortly after he completed his tertiary education in animal science.
It was a choice driven by economics and a desire for seek out new opportunities.
Domingo said competition for jobs in the Philippines is fierce and a university education doesn’t guarantee work in a country with a population of 103 million people. Only about 60 per cent of tertiary educated people get work there, he said.
“The best opportunity for me and my family was to move overseas.” . .
Yesterday’s GDT (Global Dairy Trade) auction has again demonstrated the continuing strength of butterfat prices, with the butter price up 3.8% and AMF (Anhydrous Milk Fat) up 3.6%, according to the IFA’s (Irish Farmers’ Association’s) National Dairy Committee Chairman, Sean O’Leary.
Taken together with continued strong European market return trends, it is clear that a price increase on August milk of at least 1c/L is fully justified, the chairman stated. . .
Just to be a finalist was an absolute thrill for Gary and Adrienne Dalton and the Te Whangai Trust in this year’s Auckland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Winning the region’s Hill Laboratories Harvest Award made it even sweeter, Gary says. . .
After being called sexist, Louise Giltrap feels the need to explain what she really feels about her husband’s place in the family.
My last column about how women cope with stress struck a chord with a lot of people. Rural women out on the farm everyday especially identified with it.
Men read it and said it was like having a penny drop for them. Their wives had been telling them, but all of a sudden it made sense.
The bit some people got up in my grille about was what I said to the men out there, “You are the heads of our families.”
That’s just my opinion. Even though I’m headstrong and opinionated and have my roles within our agribusiness, Geoff is the head of our family. . .
A second dairy farm in South Canterbury that was already under biosecurity controls has today been confirmed as positive for the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.
This farm is linked to the initial property under investigation and is part of the 16 farm Van Leeuwen Dairy Group. The detection was not unexpected given close connections between the 2 farms.
MPI is today continuing sampling and testing for the disease on all farms in the enterprise, as well as neighbouring farms. . .
Central Hawke’s Bay farmer has moved away from his dual purpose roots to breed stud sheep focused on meat production. He talks to Kate Taylor.
It’s hard to see the motorbikes from the mud as Rick Lee and his father Charlie pull up to the sheds on their Elsthorpe farm.
It is a wet winter after a dry summer, but there’s a smile on both faces under their woolly hats.
Charlie has been fixing something in the yards and Rick has checked the stock. A team of dogs have also done their duty for the morning and are tied up at the woolshed. It’s morning tea time. . .
A key and consistent message over many years from DairyNZ to its 12,000 farmer members has been the importance of optimising the use of grass. Aligned to this, has been an ongoing negativity to non-pasture supplementation.
I know of no-one who disputes the ongoing importance of grass to the New Zealand dairy industry. However, there are many who would argue – and I am one of them – that DairyNZ has become blinkered to the opportunities that can arise from ‘pasture-plus’ dairy systems.
Ironically, despite the DairyNZ focus, there has been a steady drift by farmers to increasing use of supplement since the turn of the century, typically by matching stocking rate to peak pasture production and then feeding supplements in the shoulder seasons. . . .
Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dean Hamilton is leaving the meat processing group at the end of the year. He made the announcement yesterday just days after saying SFF has never been in a stronger financial position.
He has been chief executive for three years.
Along with chairman Rob Hewett, Mr Hamilton helped drive the merger deal with Shanghai Maling, giving the Chinese company a 50% stake in the Dunedin-based SFF. . .
Massey University sheep milking expert Craig Prichard’s fun exhibit at Fieldays — allowing site visitors to milk a sheep — had seriously optimistic intent.
Behind the fun was positive news about the rapidly growing sheep milk industry in NZ.
He noted that people have a sort of anxiety about food, prompting them to query its health properties and ponder whether it will make them feel better. People want to learn more about products made from sheep milk, Prichard says. . .
Three dairy farms in Southland and South Otago have been affected by ergot poisoning after feeding infected ryegrass to dairy cattle.
To date, only dairy cows had been affected but ergot poisoning can affect other animals.
Ergot is a naturally occurring fungus which can affect grains and grasses, and produces potent alkaloids poisonous to animals.
A Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) spokesman said ergot poisoning occurred sporadically when environmental conditions were suitable in New Zealand. . .
Kiwi consumers are crazy about vividly coloured egg yolks, but Asian customers of an egg exporter prefer a paler version.
The New Zealand Egg Producers Federation confirmed synthetic carotenoid food dyes, or more expensive natural ones made from marigold, turmeric or paprika extracts, were fed to both caged and free-range laying hens.
Federation technical advisor Kerry Mulqueen said many commercial egg farms used them because New Zealanders preferred brighter yellow yolks.
The diet of some free range hens also included the colour additive because they did not eat a lot of grass, he said. . .
Federated Farmers president Katie Milne has lost track of the number of people who have called her farm in Kumara on the West Coast, asking to talk business with the man of the house.
Within minutes, she will often hear her husband say “I’ll hand you back to the boss, she can help you,” as he returns the phone to her.
This is because although the farm is a partnership, Milne is usually the one managing the books and keeping the business side of things ticking over. . .
No one will ever call Mid Canterbury farmers Kate and David Acland lazy. Not only do they run a 3800ha mixed livestock finishing farm with 25,000 stock units; they have tacked onto the family enterprise a dairy operation, an apiary, a Marlborough winery and a local cafe and farm store.
“Schemes interest us,” says David. “Diversification has been our strategy since 2012. We are spreading our income and are not at the mercy of any single industry.
“Driving our business to grow and intensify while staying true to our farming values is a challenge, but opportunities such as bee keeping allow us a whole new revenue stream without affecting the core business of the farm or affecting the environment.” . .
Applications are open for 2018 Nuffield Scholarships. Kate Taylor spoke to a 2017 scholar in the middle of his international travels.
The best thing about Mat Hocken’s Nuffield scholarship has been the way it has opened his eyes to the global agricultural stage. The hardest thing has been leaving his young family.
Hocken is farming a Manawatu property, Grassmere, that has been in his family for over 125 years. He works alongside wife Jana, with whom he has two young daughters, and his father Ross who lives on one of the support blocks nearby. . .
Federated Farmers has decided to appeal Environment Canterbury’s Plan Change 5.
The Plan Change is ECan’s solution to addressing water quality issues associated with farming activities in Canterbury – but excludes catchments already addressed.
The Federation backs the principles outlined in the proposal, but has decided to appeal on proxies attached to the plan. . .
Fonterra will build two new cream cheese plants at its Darfield site.
With cream cheese undergoing a steady surge in popularity in Asia, the $150 million two-stage project will see the first plant completed in 2018 with a second to follow in either 2019 or 2020.
The two new plants will incorporate technology that will allow the firmness and consistency of the cream cheese be dialled up or down to meet customer preference.
Fonterra’s director of global foodservice Grant Watson said the investment is a timely one as more and more consumers around Asia develop a preference for milk-based products . . .
Tim and Kelly Brittain, from Otorohanga, have been awarded this year’s Steak of Origin grand champion title for their Angus steak.
Being recognised as the country’s top beef producer is an achievement Tim and Kelly are extremely proud of.
“Each year our entries into this competition have stepped up a level and I am so proud that tonight all our work and efforts can be celebrated. This outcome is a significant achievement and something that Kelly and I have been working towards,” Tim said. . .
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