365 days of gratitude

In the old days wedding cakes were fruit cakes.

Traditionally they were iced with almond icing, often with a great deal of artistic decoration.

These days wedding cakes aren’t necessarily even baked – Whitestone Cheese does a wonder line of celebration “cakes” in cheese.

The one I’ve been asked to bake is a chocolate cake to from the base of a tier.

So far so easy. But the request came for the cake to be 35 centimeters and the recipe I wanted to use was for a 28 centimeter tin.

I enlisted the assistance of someone who’s much better with numbers than I am and he said I should increase all the ingredients by half.

So far so easy, until I got to three eggs. Do I try to halve an egg or use five instead of 4 1/2?

I opted for five.

It worked and I’m grateful for that (and our dairy staff who will get the rest of this practice version probably will be too).

 

Rural round-up

Farm conversion considers environment – Nicole Sharp:

Kanadale Farms is no ordinary dairy farm.

First to stick out are the rolling hills and steeper landscapes, obvious signs it was once home to animals of a different kind, combined with planting of trees around the property.

It was the diversity of the 355ha property, and the work and investment the Moseby family has put into it, which resulted in their being crowned the 2018 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Award supreme winners. . . 

Hoki Dokey: NZ fish skin facemasks to launch in China – Emma Hatton:

It’s not quite a slap in the face with a wet fish but hoki skins, once destined for pet food, are now in a facemask and going on sale in China this month. 

Sanfords fishing group and Auckland science company Revolution Fibres have teamed up to produce a skincare range, which they claim can reduce wrinkles by up to 31.5 percent.

Revolution Fibres recently created a product called a nanofibre, which is a particle 500 times smaller than the width of a human hair. . . 

Sanford lifts first-half profit 43% with focus on higher value fish fillets – Rebecca Howard:

(BusinessDesk) – Sanford, New Zealand’s largest listed seafood company, lifted first-half profit 43 percent as it continued to focus on higher value items such as fish fillets rather than frozen commodity products.

Profit rose to $27.3 million, or 29.2 cents per share, in the six months ended March 31, from $19 million, or 20.4 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue from continuing operations lifted 18 percent to $272.7 million. Earnings before interest and tax lifted 14 percent to $35.4 million. . . 

Tomorrow is #NationalLambDay which marks the day the first shipment arrived in London, 136 years ago. This is the model of the Dunedin that took it there from Port Chalmers, made by David Carruthers. It is proudly displayed in our office #NZFoodHistory pic.twitter.com/jYSKTnGbgN

— Beef + Lamb NZ (@BeefLambNZ) May 23, 2018

(That tweet is form yesterday, today is National Lamb Day).

Zespri annual profit rises 38%, lifts grower payment – Rebecca Howard:

 (BusinessDesk) – Zespri Group reported a 38 percent lift in full-year profit and tripled its dividend after revenue growth was driven by the release of 400 hectares of licences for the profitable SunGold variety in 2017.

Net profit for the season ended March 31 was $101.8 million with global kiwifruit sales for the year up 6 percent at $2.39 billion, the Tauranga-based business said in a statement. Total revenue, which includes the license income, was $2.51 billion.

Zespri said the total dividend returned to shareholders was 76 cents per share, versus 25 cents per share in the previous season.  . . 

Sheep and Beef sector welcomes agreement to start NZ-EU FTA negotiations:

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) and the Meat Industry Association (MIA) welcome the agreement to start the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations following the agreement from all European Union Member States on the negotiating mandate.

B+LNZ Chief Executive Sam McIvor says the agreement to start negotiations represents a significant milestone for the sector in the face of growing protectionist rhetoric worldwide. . . 

Specialty cheesemakers ‘worse off’ in EU trade deal – Chris Bramwell:

An award-winning cheese producer says a trade deal with the European Union will hurt the specialty cheese industry.

The EU, the world’s biggest trading bloc, overnight approved the beginning of negotiations with New Zealand and Australia.

Whitestone Cheese company produces a range of products from blue to feta in its Oamaru-based factory.

Whitestone Cheese chief executive Simon Berry said for cheesemakers in the specialty trade like his, the news of a trade deal with the EU was not that great. . . 

NZ Apple Industry Leads the World Four Years Running:

The World Apple Review has for the fourth year running named New Zealand’s apple industry the most competitive on the global stage, against 33 major apple growing countries.

Released this week by Belrose Inc, the US based world fruit market analysts, the World Apple Review, stated that the innovations emerging from New Zealand’s apple industry will increasingly impact production and marketing throughout the world.

New Zealand’s high productivity gains helped deliver the outstanding performance, ahead of its closest rivals Chile and the United States. . . 

The Farmer’s dilemma.

Many have said “farming is easy.” “All farmers get rich.” “Farmers only work a few months out of the year.”

However, if farming is so easy, so profitable, & requires so little work; why are only 2% of the population brave enough to be farmers.

Australians buzzing about New Zealand honey as Manuka Health wins most ‘Trusted Honey Brand’ across the Tasman:

Reader’s Digest ‘Trusted Brands’ survey reveals Aussies prefer New Zealand’s Manuka honey to homegrown brands

Leader in the Manuka honey industry for more than a decade, New Zealand natural healthcare company, Manuka Health New Zealand, has been voted the ‘Most Trusted Honey Brand’ by Australians – topping brands including Capilano and Beechworth.

The award has been revealed as Reader’s Digest releases the results of its 2018 ‘Trusted Brands’ survey, highlighting the most trusted brands in Australia from across 70 categories, as chosen by more than 2,400 members of the Australian public.. . 

FQC produces guidelines for bulk fertiliser storage and handling:

The Fertiliser Quality Council (FQC) has produced a set of storage and handling guidelines for manufacturers and distributors who deal with bulk fertiliser.

The guidelines, which can also be applied to the storage and handling of fertiliser on-farm, aim to ensure that the physical quality of the product is maintained from when it arrives at the depot (or farm) to the point it is distributed on the land. . . 

 

Rural round-up

Direct link between irrigation and polluted waterways is ‘wrong’ says mayor – Jo McKenzie McLean:

Wide opinion that an “incontrovertible” direct link exists between irrigation and the degradation of New Zealand’s waterways “is wrong”, Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan says.

Cadogan delivered an opening speech at Irrigation New Zealand’s national conference being held in Alexandra, Central Otago, on Wednesday and Thursday. 

He told a crowd of over 400 that he was one of the few at the conference who had an “unbiased view” and in the past had drawn criticism from both ends of the spectrum. . . .

Goats blue is gold for cheese maker – Daniel Birchfield:

The accolades just keep coming for Oamaru cheesemaker Whitestone Cheese.

Following its successful showing at last month’s Wisconsin World Champion Cheese Contest in the United States, where it picked up two top-five placings, Whitestone was last week awarded one gold and two silver medals in the dairy category of the 2018 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards.

Its Ohau Goat’s Blue cheese claimed gold and Lindis Pass Brie and Camembert silver.

Whitestone’s Shenley Station cheese was highly commended. . .

From a US agricultural feed but is just as true for the backbone of New Zealand’s Economy.
Here’s to all NZs Agriculture, Horticulture & Primary Producers, you are part of the most Helpful, Useful & most Noble industries to all.
Don’t let any one or any govt tell you otherwise. pic.twitter.com/auLEJLMKIm

— NZ PRIMARY INDUSTRY (@GeoffBooth_NZ) April 23, 2018

Ballance Agri-Nutrients reaps savings, health and safety benefits with new app:

A new locally developed mobile app is helping Ballance Agri-Nutrients provide a safer environment for staff and customers, while removing paper-work, streamlining business processes and providing cost efficiencies for the company and its shareholders alike.

The New Zealand farmer-owned co-operative, which provides fertilisers as part of its business, called on its trusted technology partner, Soltius, to develop the mobile app which plugs into the company’s traditional SAP enterprise software.

The Loader Driver app mobilises the company’s SAP S/4 HANA system, providing ‘a shopping cart in your loader cab’ for the drivers to be able to more easily load spreading trucks picking up fertiliser from Ballance Agri-Nutrients centres around New Zealand. . .

This should boil down to $1,000 worth of maple syrup street value. Sap still flowing upstate. Let it rip, we need the $ pic.twitter.com/kHTSxu9JF1

— NYFarmer (@NYFarmer) April 22, 2018

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Rural round-up

Feds welcomes NAIT recommendations:

Federated Farmers says its members will jump at the chance to contribute to the drive for improvements to the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme.

A report detailing a major review of NAIT, with 38 recommendations aimed at streamlining processes and boosting access and compliance, was released today after a long process involving OSPRI, MPI and a host of industry groups including Federated Farmers. . . 

Organic produce sitting pretty in a tasty $90 billion global market – Neil Hodgson:

The perception of organic fruit and vegetables is often of misshapen produce that doesn’t look very appetising, and it is fair comment.

However, the reality is many of those perfect looking fruits and vegetables have a beautiful appearance because producers use synthetic products to treat various bugs and diseases.

If you grow your own produce at home, then chances are they won’t look as perfect as the goods piled high on the supermarket or general food store shelves because chances are you don’t use too many synthetics in your garden at home.

You might use a bug spray and you probably add fertilisers and that is about it. . . 

Unusually, farmers and meat processors doing well at the same time. Beef prices slip. Deer prices get boost from pet food market – Guy Trafford:

SHEEP
Since allowing Shanghai Maling to purchase 50% of Silver Fern Farms (SFF) the meat company has had a significant turn around of fortune. For the twelve months from the $261 mln injection from Shanghai Maling, SFF has paid of $203 mln worth of debt and has managed to achieve a $15.4 mln after tax profit.

In the past it has often been a toss up between farmers and processors as to whom makes the profit. Rarely is it both. . . 

International acclaim for Whitestone:

Whitestone Cheese Co. is riding a wave of international critical acclaim after recent achievements at the world’s biggest cheese competition in Wisconsin USA and a trophy from the New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards.

At Wisconsin, Ohau Goat’s Blue achieved the highest accolade with 4th place in its category with a near perfect 99.7 out of a 100 – an incredible result and just 0.1 points off the bronze medal. Ohau Goat’s Blue is a new addition to Whitestone’s Premium Black Label range. The goat milk comes from a Washdyke farm just north of Whitestone’s Oamaru cheese factory, and the cheese is made with Whitestone’s Windsor Blue culture. . . 

A fantastic write up on Samantha Weller from New World Rangiora and her latest title of World Champion Apprentice Butcher – https://t.co/r9AlMgErSZ #WorldButchersChallenge pic.twitter.com/FgFhwauOoU

— Retail Meat NZ (@RetailMeatNZ) April 4, 2018

Samantha is a cut above the rest – Robyn Bristow:

The knives were out last week as Samantha Weller, from New World Rangiora, trimmed her way to the title of World Champion Apprentice Butcher.

The 23-year-old travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, with New Zealand’s butchery team, the Pure South Sharp Blacks, to compete in the cutting test.

She competed against 10 others from five countries, who had two hours to turn a beef rump on the bone, a side of lamb, and a loin of pork belly into a display of value-added cuts – much like that seen in a butcher shop or supermarket. . . 

Seeka  sells out of Zespri after opposing changes to constitution tying shares to trays – Jonathan Underhill:

(BusinessDesk) – Seeka, New Zealand’s biggest kiwifruit grower, has sold out of Zespri Group after opposing constitutional changes at the monopoly export body that tie shareholdings to trays of fruit produced.

The changes were approved by more than 75 percent of shareholders last month but among the resolutions was that shareholders who voted all their shares against the overhaul could require Zespri to buy back their shares. . . 

OIO signs off on Icebreaker sale to US clothing giant VF Corp – Sophie Boot:

Icebreaker Holdings has been sold to US-based VF Corporation for at least $100 million after the Overseas Investment Office approved the deal.

In a media release today, North Carolina-based VF Corp said the OIO signed off on the transaction, which completed the transaction. The acquisition “is an ideal complement to VF’s Smartwool brand, which also features merino wool in its clothing and accessories. Together, the Smartwool and Icebreaker brands will position VF as a global leader in the merino wool and natural fibre categories.” The brand is expected to be immediately accretive to VF’s earnings per share, it said. . . 

Kiwi apple remains ‘Envy’ of others in USA:

American’s have once again selected New Zealand-born Envy™ apple as their favourite in a consumer competition run by the US Apple Association.

The interactive tournament-style competition called on American apple fans to vote for their favourite from 16 different apple varieties during the month of March.

Kiwi grower, T&G Global, was well represented in the competition with three of its premium apples namely JAZZ™, Envy™ and Pacific Rose™ being voted on by apple-lovers. . . 

Lift off…. pic.twitter.com/6OdM2ez5Tp

— Gert van den Bosch (@gertvanden) April 4, 2018

Berry orchard sale offers horticultural operators a sweet growth opportunity:

One of the North Island’s most diverse boutique orchards –encompassing blueberry, raspberry and avocado production operations – has been placed on the market for sale.

Tomo Orchard at Pukenui near Houhora in the Far North, is an intensive 6.2 hectare horticultural venture growing blueberries under some 10,000 square metres of fully-enclosed framed canopies and 8000 square metres of covered netting. . . 

365 days of gratitude

The advertisement encouraged us to buy a bigger block.

It was talking about cheese and in those days it meant mild or tasty.

These days we have much more choice in cheese, imported and local.

It might be parochialism, but my favourite is Whitestone Cheese.

Today I’ve been enjoying their Lindis Pass Camembert.

It’s creamy, delicious and I”m grateful for it.

Rural round-up

Mouldy hay bale discovery leads to new NZ cheese – Adriana Weber:

A discovery in a mouldy bale of hay has led to a new type of cheese its makers hope will put New Zealand on the map.

Whitestone Cheese, a family-run business based in Oamaru, has discovered a new, local blue mould culture.

Chief executive Simon Berry said he spent about six months trying to find a version of Penicillium roqueforti, originally found in limestone caves in France.

He and his head cheesemaker set out to swab similar caves in Otago, and had come close to calling it quits when they received a timely phone call. . . 

Our world of cheesecraft :

We’re often asked, how many of your cheese recipes come from the New World versus those based on old recipes? Great question…

 Cheese is just like wine, their heritage styles date back to old Europe and Middle East. And just like wine, each little village in Europe put their own twist on cheese recipes to forge their own style. Such as Camembert being from Camembert, while Brie is from Brie.

 This Old World would soon branch out into the new. As civilizations split and expanded around the globe, up popped the New World producers. In the case of wine, California’s Napa Valley, South Africa, Australia, Argentina and New Zealand all joined this group. They each made the most of similar climatic conditions to grow European grape varieties and developed their take on traditional wines.

 It’s exactly the same with cheese. Thousands of miles from the traditional home of Brie and Camembert, at Whitestone we discovered that the local great grass growing combined with fantastic dairy meant we could produce European style cheeses. The result was a Mt Domet Double Cream Brie, Waitaki Camembert and Lindis Pass Brie all named after local source icons, stamping our kiwi regional characteristics to these classics. . . 

Storm hits early crop of cherries – Tom Kitchin:

One Teviot Valley orchardist says between 30% and 40% of his crop was damaged because of the sudden torrential Central Otago downpours.

He has also had to lay off staff for the next 10 days.

Other orchards in the valley and Alexandra-Clyde area have fared somewhat better.

The Teviot Valley orchardist, who did not wish to be named, said his first varieties of cherry, Burlat and Earlise, were severely affected by Sunday’s downpour.

He said his varieties of cherries came earlier than other pre-Christmas and post-Christmas varieties.

About 30% to 40% of his crop was damaged by 50-60mm of rain, so he had to lay off staff.

”Roxburgh’s feeling it at the moment. I employ local people. I feel sorry for them.” . . 

Farmers & Growers: Tonight on @Country_TV I use the "#drought" word for the first time this season. NZ is now in a worrying early Big Dry. Details 7pm. cc @MPI_NZ pic.twitter.com/k3izUuEyo9

— Philip Duncan (@PhilipDuncan) November 28, 2017

Synlait founder Penno to step down as CEO after 12 years, will remain a director –  Jonathan Underhill:

(BusinessDesk) – Synlait Milk founder and chief executive John Penno is to step down after 12 years leading the Dunsandel-based milk processor, whose shares have almost tripled since listing in July 2013.

Penno will step down in the next 12 months in what the company said would be an orderly transition. He will stay on during an international search for his successor.

Penno, who has spent a total of 17 years with the company, said he was ” looking forward to getting back to my entrepreneurial roots and will be looking for opportunities to get involved with start-ups and young companies, which is where my wife, Maury, and I want to continue to make a contribution.” . . 

Celebrating the Kiwi inventor who transformed dairy farming:

Global dairy equipment company DeLaval today celebrated 100 years since the launch of the world’s first commercially successful milking machine by sharing the story of an unknown Kiwi inventor.

At an event held in Hamilton today, the company recognised the vision and innovation of Norman John Daysh. In the early 1900s, Norman invented the first commercial vacuum-pump milking machine that went on to revolutionize the dairy industry.

Norman’s grandchildren John Daysh and Mary Daysh were the guests of honour at the centenary event. John Daysh said he is thrilled his Grandfather is receiving recognition one hundred years after his machine was launched to the world, saying it’s been an untold story until now. . . 

Famous Cambridge stud sold:

One of the country’s most famous horse studs has been sold.

Cambridge Stud has been sold by champion breeder Sir Patrick Hogan.

It has been bought by businessman Brendan Lindsay, who founded and recently sold the Sistema plastic business, and his wife Jo Lindsay. . .

A farmers worst nightmare is a harvest fire. Today it was our turn. It was started by an electrical fault in the fuel system of my ute.
The Pinnaroo farming community has been proactive in fire compliance following the Pinery bushfires. Today it paid dividends pic.twitter.com/5oKfCtJUM6

— Corey Blacksell (@CoreyBlacksell) November 27, 2017

Strong Farm Machinery Sales Herald Strong 2018:

Sales of tractors are strong and the farm machinery sector is employing more workers, demonstrating a positive outlook in the primary industry, says NZ Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) President, Roger Nehoff.

Mr Nehoff said in the year to date (end of October) the total number of tractor sales was up about 11% on the year before with some regions up by 45 to 50%. Overall sales were 3164, compared with 2849 for the same period in 2016 and 2978 in 2015.

In addition, the total number of people employed in the tractor and farm machinery sales and servicing sector had increased by more than 350 since 2015 and was now at 2846. . . 

Rural round-up

The leap from farming to cheese:

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. . . 

A very good move – Pam Tipa:

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. . .

Rural-community-fights-for-cell-phone-and-internet-connection – Kate Taylor:

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. . .

Becoming Kiwi: A Filipino with a passion for farming – Deena Coster:

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.” . . 

‘Justifiable milk price increase must be passed back to farmers’ – Sylvester Phelan:

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. . . 

Nursery’s charitable trust thrilled with Ballance Farm Environment Awards involvement

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. . .

Why my husband is head of the family – Louise Giltrap:

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. . . 

Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a #biosecurity pest. If you see one, catch it& report it to @MPI_NZ on 0800 80 99 66. #potatoesnz pic.twitter.com/kxXidNoJmi

— Potatoes New Zealand (@PotatoesNZ) September 3, 2017