ANDING CONTRIBUTION

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Taupo farmerwins DairyCommunityLeader ofthe Year

JUNE 2018

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HOMEOPATHIC FARM SUPPORTe info@farmsupport p 07 858 4233 • f 0800 367 437 •w farmsupport.co.nz

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News EditorSonita Chandar 06 374 5544

027 836 2035ReportersFritha Tagg 027 616 7821Rob Tipa 03 478 0360

022 132 9367Heather Chalmers 027 593 8747Kate Taylor 027 807 7941

SALESAuckland/NorthlandSteve Mclaren 027 205 1456Waikato/Bay of PlentySam Tennent 027 203 6518Lower North IslandAndrea Mansfield 027 405 2595South IslandDanny Schroder 027 505 5637Real EstateKiri Jones 027 809 5024General enquiriesFairfax AgriMedia ManagerDean Williamson 027 889 3070

www.nzfarmer.co.nzISSN 2463-2716 (Print)ISSN 2463-2724 (Online)

Taupo farmer KylieLeonard is the2018 DairyCommunity LeaderCover:RachelTrevelyanPhoto: RobertSteven/Stuff

June 2018

‘‘When you areoverseeing a bigbusiness it is easyto lose your corefocus ... Being inthe shed allowsme to see how theherds are beingmanaged andhow the staff areworking.’’

JACK RAHARAUHI

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Special features

Regular features

8 A success storyWest Coast farmer JackRaharauhi has turned over anew leaf and is now a topfarmer

18 Technology helpsMid Canterbury farmers Peterand Nicki Webster are usingtechnology to keep their herdhappy and healthy.

7 ClosingStuff to close ruralpublications

17 WinnersTop farmers named atDairy Industry Awards

52 Living with itScientist believesMycoplasma Bovis ishere to stay

28 Kylie Leonard32 Kara Ireland

34 Fieldays40 Supplementary feeding

51 Industry Good - Newsfrom DairyNZ

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Final edition as ruralcoverage goes online

This is the final edition of NZDairy Farmer, as ourpublisher and owner, Stuff,

shifts the focus of rural coverageto online and its portfolio of dailynewspapers.

NZ Dairy Farmer and itsrelated titles – NZ Farmer,Canterbury Farmer, CentralDistricts Farmer, OtagoSouthland Farmer and WaikatoFarmer – were identified for saleor closure by Stuff in February,as the company shifts its focus todigital publishing and products.Attempts to find a buyer to takeover the titles were unsuccessful,leading to the decision late lastmonth to close them.

Despite the closures, Stuffchief executive Sinead Bouchersaid that rural coverageremained important to thecompany, and it would continueto invest ‘‘significantly’’ injournalism dedicated to ruraland farming issues.

The focus would shift tobuilding Stuff’s online ruralaudience – already more than230,000 per month.

‘‘We have the largest ruralonline audience. As Stuffcontinues to invest in thesebrands we have high

expectations for these audiencesto grow, making themworthwhile environments foradvertising customers to reachthis audience,’’ Boucher said.

‘‘Farming is an importantsector to New Zealand and avital part of our economy. Ourfocus on the NZ Farmer digitalsection means Stuff can stillprovide a daily news andadvertising platform for themany rural Kiwis that willcontinue to look to Stuff for theirfarming news. It also ensuresrural advertisers have strongfarming environments to placetheir ads to a much wideraudience through our digital andprint portfolio’’.

The company was stillinvested in print coverage forrural readers and advertisers. Itsclassifieds AgTrader publicationwould continue, and regularindepth rural news coveragewould be integral to thecompany’s newspapers under theNZ Farmer banner.

Eighteen staff – 12 editorialand six advertising – wereimpacted by the closures, withthree journalists retained to leadStuff’s refocused farmingcoverage.


Farming a

saviourFarming has helped a young man turn his life around – SONITA CHANDAR reports.

Jack Raharauhi went through some rockyteenage years and he was a on a path ofdestruction when his parents packed himoff to work on a dairy farm. He is now theoperations manager overseeing threefarms in Westport.

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Jack Raharauhi credits his wife Charlotte for keeping him on the straight and narrowand says her love and support and his family are a key motivator for him to succeed.

hen West Coat farmer JackRaharauhi says he has an

‘‘interesting story to tell’’, he is notwrong.

His life is full of ‘what ifs’.What if his parents hadn’t intervened?What if he refused to give up his mates?What if he rebelled even more than he had, and

continued on his path of destruction?What if he never went dairy farming?What if he had decided that being a troublemaker

on the streets was far more fun than milking cows?Lucky for him his parents did intervene, he did

give up his mates and he did go dairy farming andhas stayed there.

‘‘That part of my life was the making of me,’’Raharauhi says.

‘‘If Mum and Dad hadn’t grabbed me by the scruffof the neck so to speak and put their foot down, Iwould probably still be roaming the streets lookingfor trouble or I would be in jail.’’

He comes from a respectable family and is ofNgati Kahu descent, but at the age of 14 he fell inwith the wrong crowd and ‘‘chose the wrong path’’.

‘‘I was young and dumb,’’ he says.‘‘There wasn’t much happening around Westport –

well I didn’t think there was. The only things I wasinterested in were fast cars, drugs, alcohol and girls.You name it, if it looked like trouble I was in.’’

Fed up with his rebellious ways, his parentsstepped in, pulled him out of school and hauled himoff to Landcorp’s Basset Farm, at the time being run

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Jack heads offto do sometractor work.

by close friend Dion Fox.‘‘They figured that because

Dion was a bit of a tough buggerhe would help straighten me out.

‘‘Dion gave me a casual job,took me under his wing and in theprocess kept me in line. It wasreally tough though. I had to giveup my mates – some of who I hadgrown up with.

‘‘Two years later I woke up andrealised this was a far better lifethan the one I had left behind. Irealised that I was really enjoyingfarming.’’

He returned to studying andenrolled with AgITO. He hassince completed Level 3, 4 and 5qualifications in dairy farmingand production management. Healso has several short courses inmilk quality and leadership skillsunder his belt and is studyingtowards a Diploma inAgriculture.

He was semi-qualified when hemet his wife, Charlotte Park-Stewart, in 2012 and theymarried in 2017. Charlotte andJack have three children,Preston, 10 and Mia, 5. They havealso recently welcomed Winter-Rose, 5 months, into their family.

He credits his wife for‘‘straightening me out and pullingme back into line’’.

‘‘I was still occasionallyhanging out with naughty people.

‘‘She helped and supported me,and encouraged me to cut tieswith them. Charlotte had Prestonwhen I met her and when we gotpregnant with Mia, I had to makesome big life decisions and stepup and be a role model. Being afather of two was a big incentivefor pulling my head in.’’

He pulled his head in and puthis head down and studied andworked hard. He was promoted to2IC at Bassets Dairy Unit andentered into an acceleratedmanagement programme withLandcorp (now Pamu).

In 2015 he was named AgITO’sWest Coast Overall Trainee of theYear and promoted to farmmanager.

The following year he wasnamed Ahuwhenua Young MaoriDairy Farmer of the Year andwon a West Coast environmentalaward for milk suppliers for aprogramme he had implementedat Bassets. It included fencing 42kilometres of waterways andplanting flax, manuka and othernatives to capture excessnutrient.

In 2017 he moved next door tomanage Totara Farm also ownedby Pamu.

‘‘Totara was under-performing,rundown and just needed somesystems put in place.

‘‘We put a solid team together,got the basics right and brought itup to speed. We turned it into ahigh performing dairy-unit in justa year.’’

In 2017 he was named the WestCoast-Top of the South DairyManager of the Year and won theleadership award at the nationalcompetition.

Today he is the operationsmanager for three Pamu Farms –460ha Totara, 450ha Basset and360ha Tram Rd, all three are nextto each other.

They run a System 2 low-inputand feed lots of grass,supplemented by 2kg of barleythrough the in-shed feeding

system.They do pasture walks every 10

days and use FarmIQ to producebudgets. They aim to graze at2800kgDM and leave residuals of1650kgDM.

‘‘Because grass is key to thesystem, we do a lot of mowing andintensive feed budgets.

‘‘Monitoring paddocks helps usto keep a good handle on thesituation, particularly in times ofgood growth and means we canlock up paddocks for silage at theoptimum time.’’

Their winter feeding regime

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‘‘If Mum and Dad hadn’t grabbed me by the scruff ofthe neck so to speak and put their foot down, Iwould probably still be roaming the streets lookingfor trouble or I would be in jail.’’

JACK RAHARAUHI

totals an average of 200 tonnes ofdrymatter. They grow 30ha offodderbeet which yields 23-24tonnes, kale and 87ha of rape,which didn’t do as well as theyhad hoped this season.

‘‘The tonnage yield on the rapewas lower than normal and didn’treach our target of 8.5tn.

The cold snap in April stuntedthe growth and it struggled togrow. We ended up with 6tn.’’

Their summer strategyincludes 60ha of chicory whichdoes well in the sandy soil as thelong taproot gets down to themoisture.

‘‘This season has beenparticularly tough and we had tomove to once-a-day in Novemberbecause it was so dry.

‘‘This is sand country so the hot

dry weather and the wind suckedthe moisture from the ground andknocked production. We havesince recovered and are going intowinter with good cover whichshould set us up really well fornext season.’’

Some cows from each farm arenormally wintered at one of thesupport blocks but this year,Totara will be the only farm tosend cows off grazing. They willwinter 550 at home.

The herds begin calving on July20 and on a busy day they canhave 150-180 drop in one daythroughout the complex.

‘‘It can get pretty hectic so weemploy two calf rearers on eachfarm for four months which takesthe pressure off.’’

They keep 750 replacements


FARM FACTS

■ Owners: Pamu Farms■ Operations manager: Jack Raharauhi■ Location: Westport, West Coast■ Farm Size: 1270ha■ Cows: 3000 kiwicross on all three farms■ Production: 2016-2017 1 million kgMS■ Target: 2017- 2018 1.1 million kgMS

Jack looks after 15 staff on the three farms as well as three machinery drivers. He divides his time between the three farms and works alongside his team.Pictured Jack with staff Carl Drumm and Angela Baker.

and excess heifer calves thisseason will be kept and reared to85kg and sold to one of Pamu’ssupport blocks for extra revenuefurther through the season in aneffort to reduce bobby calfnumbers.

Pamu also run a livestockbusiness so this season each farmwill rear 50-80 hereford bullswhich will also go to the supportblock at 85kg and be sold in thecoming season.

Jersey-type calves are weanedat 85kg and kiwicross at 90kg.Once calves reach 100kg they aresent to the dairy support unitacross the road.

They do premating heats andmetricheck any non-cycling cowsidentified by the teams withassistance from Milk Hub, whichmeasures a cow’s weight,production, her number, cellcounts and her heats.

‘‘Milk Hub is a greatprogramme as it provides us withsome really valuable data on adaily basis.

‘‘It even records how long a cowhas taken to milk and how manycows have been milked soidentifies straight away if anycows have done a runner or arehiding in the paddock.’’

Mating begins on October 20.They do six weeks of AI and runa bull for four weeks. This seasonthey are trialling on Tram Rdfarm a system in which no bullswill be used and AI will be carriedout for 12 weeks.

‘‘It will be interesting as it haspresented a lot of questions aboutwhat technology we need to assistus, what training staff need andhow it will work.

‘‘The goal is to have no bobbycalves and it will be good forhealth and safety as it mitigatesthe risk of having bulls on thefarm.’’

Another bonus is the reducedbiosecurity risk as new animalsare not being introduced onto theproperties.

‘‘We will use Kmars andextended the AI period by two

weeks to help reduce the emptyrate.’’

Basset had a six-week in-calfrate of 77 per cent and an emptyrate of 7 per cent, Totara an in-calf rate of 82 per cent and anempty rate of 7.9 per cent whileTram Rd had an in-calf rate of 70per cent and empty rate of 10 percent.

‘‘We have all worked reallyhard to get our empty rates downso I was pretty happy with thosefigures.’’

Each farm has five staff and healso looks after the machinerysyndicate and three drivers whowork across all three units. Heand Charlotte like to make sureeveryone is looked after,especially during the busy springperiod.

‘‘Every morning Charlottecooks breakfast for everyoneacross all three units in an emptyhouse on the complex for the busythree months.

‘‘The house is like a halfwayhouse where we can all catch upand raise the morale of the teamif they are feeling a bit under thepump each day.

‘‘It is really important to beengaged with our staff and keepthem happy – especially the

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The team meet on a regular basis and every morning during the busy calving period, Jack Raharauhi’s wife Charlotte cooks everyone breakfast. PicturedSome of the team tuck into a decent breakfast to start the day.


Jack Raharauhilikes to milk oneach of the farmsat least once aweek as it keepshim engaged withstaff and he cankeep an eye onhow his team isdoing and how thecows are milking.Pictured Jack in theshed on TotaraFarm.

‘‘Two years later I wokeup and realised this wasa far better life than theone I had left behind. Irealised that I was reallyenjoying farming.’’

JACK RAHARAUHI

younger guys in the team and bycooking them breakfast we knowthat they are getting a decentmeal to start the day.’’

The team meets weekly andonce a month, they get togetherfor lunch, socialise and talk aboutthe farms.

He is hands-on in the sheds andmilks at each farm at least once aweek so he can stay connectedwith his staff and the herds.

‘‘When you are overseeing a bigbusiness it is easy to lose yourcore focus or just leave the staff todo everything and then you justbecome some figurehead.

‘‘Being in the shed allows me tosee how the herds are beingmanaged and how the staff areworking. Milking keeps meengaged with the teams so I get toknow them, what makes themtick and identify any strengthsand weaknesses.’’

He is a great believer ineducation and training and says,‘‘Education is a big thing thesedays.

‘‘To get a manager’s role now,qualifications are a necessity. If Ican train my guys up to get tothat level and know they have thecertificates to back themselves, Ifeel really positive that I’vehelped them get there.’’

His goal is to start a trainingfacility to attract people to thedairy industry and help mentorthose already involved, throughstudy and practical support.

He encourages healthycompetition among the threefarms and will often ‘‘stir the pot’’and tell one manager how wellthe other is doing or show them agraph of another farm to ‘‘keepthem going’’.

‘‘Competition is good forcreating success.

‘‘We keep it friendly and funbecause the profitability andsuccess of the business comesdown to them.’’

He is planning to introduce anawards evening for his team togive them even further incentiveto succeed.

His five-year goal is to be theSouth Island business managerand oversee all of Pamu’s 23farms and in 20 years’ time hewould like to move into farmownership.

At the age of 26, and just 12years after his parents intervenedand sent him to the farm, he is achanged man. He is proud to be adairy farmer, father and husbandand proud of what he hasachieved. He hopes his story willinspire others to follow the rightpath.

‘‘I believe in second chances.‘‘As a teenager, I never

imagined this would be the life Iwould be living. It is never toolate to change – you can redeemyourself and if given theopportunity and help, anything ispossible.’’

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Dan and Gina Duncan, of Northland, centre, were named the Share Farmers of the Year, Gerard Boerjan, right,of Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa, became the Dairy Manager of the Year and Simone Smail, of Southland-Otago, wasannounced the Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Creamof the Crop

Edward and TracyBrown ofMatamata are theinaugural winnersof the FonterraFarm SourceResponsibleDairying Award.

The winners and finalists inthe 2018 New Zealand DairyIndustry Awards winners

are smart people who aretechnologically savvy, care aboutpeople, the environment and cowsand who are doing very well atdairy farming.

Dan and Gina Duncan fromNorthland were named the ShareFarmers of the Year, GerardBoerjan from Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa is the Dairy Managerof the Year and Simone Smailfrom Southland-Otago the DairyTrainee of the Year. They sharedprizes worth over $202,000.

‘‘This year there were a fewtrends amongst the 33 finalistscompeting for honours in theawards programme,’’ generalmanager Chris Keeping said.

‘‘The finalists displayed anacute awareness of theimportance of biosecurity andhealth and safety with regards toboth environmental issues,animal management andsustainability. It’s extremelypositive to see such dedication tothese issues within the industry.’’

Share Farmer head judgeKevin McKinley, from DairyNZ,said the judges were impressed todiscover how educated theentrants were, either tertiaryeducated or looking to upskillthemselves.

The judges said the Duncanscould be summed up in threewords – passionate, professionaland committed. ‘‘They are afriendly, out-going couple who areworking on an exceptionallychallenging farm.’’

Six years ago, the Duncans lefttheir jobs as registered valuers togo dairy farming and have sinceprogressed to a 50:50sharemilking position for thePouto Topu A Trust, milking 1020cows.

They both hold Bachelor ofApplied Sciences majoring inrural valuation and management,with Dan holding a double majorincluding agriculture.

In winning the national titleand $49,700 in cash and prizes,the couple demonstratedstrengths in pasture managementand financial management. Theyalso won three merit awards; thePrimaryITO Interview Award,the Ravensdown PasturePerformance Award and theWestpac Business Performance

Award.Dairy Manager of the Year

head judge Mary Craw, fromMarton, said Gerard Boerjantargeted excellence in everythinghe was involved with.

‘‘He has great experience as amanager of people, and a greatpassion for working with peoplein a large team environment,’’Craw said.

Boerjan has farmed in Portugaland Brazil and is the farmmanager for Trevor Hamilton onhis 553ha Takapau property. Hewon $22,600 in cash and prizes aswell as the DairyNZ EmployeeEngagement and the WestpacFinancial Management andPlanning merit awards.

Invercargill herd managerSimone Smail, the Dairy Traineeof the Year, works on a 780-cow,310ha farm owned by InvercargillCity Council and run by Steveand Tracy Henderson.

It was while she was studyingfor her Certificate in VeterinaryNursing that she discovered shepreferred to work with cows.

Judges said, ‘‘She is anexcellent example of someone whohasn’t grown up in a farmingenvironment, but has developedan obvious love of the land and ofthe stock that she works with.’’

The inaugural winners of theFonterra Farm SourceResponsible Dairying Award areEdward and Tracy Brown ofMatamata where they own andrun a 320ha 700-cow farm.

Their property bears the nameTiroroa, which means ‘extensiveview’ or ‘view to the future’.

‘‘Our aim is to run aneconomically andenvironmentally sustainabledairy farming businessmaximising production whileminimising our footprint,’’ theysaid.

‘‘We like to take the nameTiroroa into consideration whenmaking any decisions about thefarm or business.’’

SONITACHANDARNEWS


Peter and Nicki Webster milk1150 cows at Dorie. Theirdairy farm is integrated withtheir cropping unit whichgives them flexibility.

ONFARM


A picture of healthA Mid Canterbury couple are using technology to ensuretheir herd is healthy – SONITA CHANDAR reports.

‘‘It was abig job butdiversi-fying hastaken thepressureoff.’’

PETER

WEBSTER

Many farmers like to takephotos with their cowsbut a Mid Canterbury

couple are taking that toextremes. They take a video ofevery cow that passes throughtheir shed at every milking.

It is a body condition scoringcamera, part of Peter and NickiWebster ‘s upgraded DeLavalDelpro system.

They first saw it in action inIreland in 2016, Peter says.

‘‘Nicki and I were reallyimpressed and thought it would agreat addition to the system.’’

Nicki says, ‘‘Out of all thetechnology we have in the shed,

this is the most exciting.‘‘This is the one piece of

technology that I think can makethe most difference to how wefarm, especially as we continue tolearn more about what it enablesus to do.’’

A 3D video camera is fixed on agate and once a cow passes underit, the system recognises themovement and selects the beststill image of the cow in the videosequence. The image is convertedinto an accurate body conditionscore and sent to DelPro FarmManager.

‘‘We can check the data ofindividual animals, groups or the

entire herd and identify anydifferences in the cows from dayto day,’’ Peter says.

‘‘Once we put in the criteria,the camera flags a cow if sheshows any weight loss over timewhich means we can act fast.’’

They are also using the data asa critical measure to determinethe effectiveness of their feedingsystem, future feed requirements,drying off parameters and toassist with understanding thereproductive performance of theherd.

‘‘As soon as we put the camerain, we found cows that were belowa BCS score of 4.3 but they wereour highest producers,’’ Nickisays.

Those cows were fed a fullallocation of grain up untilmating time. The feed boost and

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Neither Peter or Nicki have ever milked as they have employed lower-order sharemilkers since converting partof the cropping unit to dairying but Peter oversees the integration of the dairy and cropping units and Nickilooks after the business side of the operation. Peter and Nicki Webster with their farm dogs Ritchie and Archie.

extra monitoring meant theydidn’t lose any more weight andstayed their highest-rankingcows – producing around 20 percent above the herd.

Peter says,"The reproductiveperformance of this group wasthe same as the whole herd whenyou would expect these cows to bethe most at risk of not getting incalf.’’

‘‘The light cows were efficientat putting milk in the vat butthey were taking it off theirbacks,’’ Nicki says.

‘‘We also identified a group offat cows who were not efficient atputting milk in the vat so wewere able to graze them in thewinter separately to try and eventhem up with the herd.’’

They say the camera has beenworth its weight in gold as thedata has enabled them to analysetheir herd and production andmake the necessary changes totheir system to work moreefficiently.

‘‘Information is the key,’’ saysNicki.

‘‘The camera is saving us a lot

of time as we are not having tophysically check individual cowcondition and our sharemilkerAndrew Keller has preparedstandard operating procedures forstaff to follow if a cow’s weightchanges more than 10 per centover a few days.

‘‘We wouldn’t be able to do whatwe are doing or be able to fine-

tune the system the way wehave.’’

In early April they put theirherd on 16-hour milkings. Theydon’t do this every year but ifproduction and conditions favourthe move then they will. Nickisays 16-hour milkings arecommon on farms in Canterbury.

‘‘It is a lot easier on the cows

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The camera allowsthem to check thedata of individualanimals, groups orthe entire herd andidentify anydifferences in thecows from day today. Pictured Peterchecks out a cowafter morningmilking.

and it frees up time to do otherthings on the farm.

‘‘If the cows are doing morethan 1.7kgMS/day, thenproduction does take a bit of aknock but it is a great way toensure they head into winter ingood condition.’’

In early May they put 190lighter cows on once-a-daymilking. They are milked at thestart of the lunchtime milkingand then at the end of morningmilking on the following day. This

has significantly improved thecondition of this group by anaverage of .3 of a condition scorealready.

‘‘We do have to be a bit carefulas our staff are in the shed earlyand late at night on every otherday so scheduling time off isreally important if though it is aquieter time on the farm,’’ Nickisays.

The farm is run by lower-ordersharemilkers Andrew and KristyKeller who employ four staff and

two calf rearers.The farm has been in Peter’s

family since 1902. He is the fifthgeneration to work on the farmbut is the first to be dairying.

‘‘The farm started as a drylandsheep and cropping unit,’’ he says.

‘‘In the 1980s irrigation wasinstalled and the farm became astraight cropping unit.’’

Part of the farm was convertedto dairying 11 years ago, alongwith a piece they bought off aneighbour. The dairy platformnow totals 275ha.

‘‘We had to do the developmentvirtually from scratch and installeverything from water lines andraces to putting in the effluentsystem and building a new shed,’’Peter says.

‘‘It was a big job butdiversifying has taken thepressure off. We are not reliant onthe milk payout or the cropsdoing well. It makes sense tospread the risk over severalbusinesses and not have all oureggs in one basket.’’

He has been on the farm sinceDay 1 and has never been


‘‘We base our decisions onwhat we are wanting toachieve ... We are lookingfor good udders, longevity,high breeding worth,fertility and stature.’’

PETER WEBSTER

Peter Websteralways wanted togo farming. Heconverted todairying as part oftheir diversificationplan to spread risk.

FARM FACTS

■ Owners: Peter and NickiWebster■ Location: Dorie, Mid Canterbury■ Farm Size: 620ha, 227ha dairyplatform■ Cows: 1150 crossbreed andfriesian■ Production: 2016-2017575,000kgMS 500kgMS/cow■ Target: 2017-2018575,000kgMS

interested in a different careerpath.

Peter has never milked as theyhave employed lower-ordersharemilkers since converting,although he does oversee theintegration of the dairy andcropping units.

Nicki is an accountant andlooks after the business side ofthe operation. She has also nevermilked a cow but in previousyears has driven trucks duringharvesting and reared calves.

They have three sons, Tom, 27,who manages their cropping anddry stock unit at Aylesbury,George, 25, who is the 2IC on theDorie cropping unit and James,21, who is on an internship in theUnited States.

This season, the herd averaged500kgMS/cow although they haveaveraged 520-530kgMS inprevious years.

‘‘This season has been reallychallenging,’’ Nicki says.

‘‘It is unusual for us to beaffected by the weather,especially with irrigation, but wehad a wet spring then it was hotand dry during summer.’’

The conditions caused theircrops to mature earlier and notreach their full potential althoughthey say their crops achieved areasonably good average yield.

They run the cropping anddairy units as an integrated unitand expand the dairying area intothe ryegrass seed crop.

‘‘The herd grazes before theseed develops and is harvestedand then again after harvest,which can give us 20 per centmore area and is why we can runa higher stocking rate,’’ Petersays.

Peas, barley, vegetables such ascarrots and radishes and Asianbrassicas for seed are grownunder contract.

They own a range of equipmentand do all their own cultivation,spreading, spraying andharvesting.

The dairy unit runs a System 4and the herd is wintered on amixture of fodderbeet, oats andgrass. Up to 3kg of grain mixedwith minerals is fed through thein-shed feeding system but whenthere is sufficient grass, thisdrops to about 1kg. Molasses isfed through the mineraliser at arate of about 300ml/per/day.

Pasture management is key toproduction and through the peak,they aim to graze paddocks at

3000kgDM and leave residuals ofaround 1500-1600kgDM.

Pasture walks are done weeklyand information put into MindaLand and feed.

‘‘Our rotation length can getdown to 18 or 19 days during thepeak growing season,’’ Peter says.

‘‘Pastures are closely monitoredso we know what is ahead of thecows so hitting those residuals isa key part of our pasturemanagement.’’

During November andDecember, they may top paddocksahead of the herd but if residualsaren’t hit, then they will mowbehind them, for the balance ofthe season they let the cows dothe work for them.

Calving begins on July 29 and

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The Websters havealways employedlower ordersharemilkers.PicturedSharemilkerAndrew Keller inthe milking shed.

they keep 300-320 calves asreplacements and rear the rest tosell at weaning.

‘‘This coming season, we arelooking at pasteurising the milkbefore feeding it to the youngcalves,’’ Nicki says.

‘‘Pasteurisers are widely usedoverseas but not so common herein New Zealand.

‘‘We initially looked at it as ameans to prevent or minimise therisk of Mycoplasma bovisspreading to the young stock, butthe more we investigated, thekeener we became as it is a greattool to prevent the spread of otherdiseases such as Johnes.’’

With 1150 cows calving, thingscan get hectic on the farmespecially on days when 50 ormore calves can drop so two calfrearers are employed.

The herd is checked twice a dayand newborn calves fed goldcolostrum only.

Larger friesian-type calves areweaned at 95kg and smallercrossbreed-types at 85kg. Weanedcalves are sent to a small supportblock nearby and the Aylesburyblock and return as in-calfheifers.

Mating begins on October 21and they select individualAmbreed bulls for their herd.

‘‘We base our decisions on whatwe are wanting to achieve,’’ Petersays.

‘‘We are looking for goodudders, longevity, high breedingworth, fertility and stature.’’

They do not select onproduction but rather tend to gofor F8, J8 and higher.

The herd is 100 per cent

recorded and consists of 65 percent friesian-type animals and 35per cent jersey-type which givethem a medium-sized animal.

‘‘We have free-draining soils soa medium-sized herd with anaverage weight of 490kg is moresuited to the farm, and we seethem as being more efficient sothat is why we crossbreed,’’ Nickisays.

They do AI for five weeks, then

run a friesian bull with the herduntil the New Year when theystart AI again using super-shortgestation bulls from LIC.

‘‘Cows inseminated with super-short gestation calve up to 15days earlier so it helps to keepour calving spread compact,’’Peter says.

They also do three weeks of AIon their heifers and use easy-calving friesian or jersey semen.

ONFARM


‘‘Information isthe key ... Thecamera is savingus a lot of timeas we are nothaving tophysically checkindividual cowcondition andour sharemilkerAndrew Kellerhas preparedstandardoperatingprocedures forstaff to follow if acow’s weightchanges morethan 10 per centover a fewdays.’’

NICKI WEBSTER

A jersey bull is then run.They stopped herd testing

several years ago and instead, relyon milk meters in the shed to tellthem what individual cows areproducing.

‘‘The milk meters do notmeasure milk solids but do give usa concise and accurate dailyreading on what volume a cow isproducing,’’ Nicki says.

A herd test was done in April tomeasure cell counts and test forJohnes disease.

‘‘We were able to use that datato determine which cows weregetting a bit high in somatic cellswithout being clinical cases,’’ Nickisays.

The meters are another toolwhich, along with the bodycondition scoring camera, ishelping them to streamline theirsystem to ensure their herd ishappy, healthy and producingefficiently without compromisingtheir condition.

‘‘Looking ahead, we willcontinue doing what we need toensure the herd and the farm isreaching its full potential.’’


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HowFarmerAndrewHardieismanagingcontagious Staphaureusmastitisin his herd

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Te Maunga farm milks 720 cowsonce a day on a 240 ha milkingplatform and 80 ha run-off. For

five years they have battled mastitis ata cost of $40-60,000 in lost production.

A Herd Screen (in late spring 2017)revealed 130 cows, or 18 per cent of theherd at Te Maunga, were infected withStaph aureus (Staph).

With the help of Farm Medix, thelocal vet and GEA’s FIL team, farmowners Andrew Hardie and Helen Long,along with Contract Milker LiamRichardson quickly implemented athree-prong approach to controllinginfection:

(1) separate the Staph cows from therest of the herd,

(2) milk the Staph cows last, cullingany that develop clinical mastitis, and

(3) culture every new case of mastitiswith the Farm Medix Check-Upmastitis diagnostic tool.

‘‘We agreed that Staph cows wouldnot be teat sealed, would not undergodry cow therapy nor be mated andwould then be culled at the end of theseason’’ Andrew says. In this article, we

look at what has happened on farmsince the article published in the Marchedition of NZ Dairy Farmer and theirplan for dryoff.

Both Andrew and Liam agree thatseparating the Staph cows from thehealthy herd has made the mostpositive impact in controlling thespread the highly infections Staphaureus strain. The Staph cows arealways milked last.

They strip the healthy herdcompletely every four days and theStaph herd every second day.

From Liam’s perspective, there was anoticeable change in teat conditionfollowing the change to GEA’s FILTeatshield Active. However, they didhave to use up some existing teatsprayand continue to work closely with FILArea Manager Ryan Medlin to maintainteat condition.

They’ve monitored the bulk somaticcell count (SCC) closely, continuing8-weekly herd testing to identify andculture samples from cows with highercell counts in the good herd.With whatthey’ve learned over the last eight

months, their approach to mastitis is alot more targeted than previously.

‘‘We’ve only identified six cases ofmastitis in the good herd. Samples fromthose six cows were cultured to identifythe strain, after identifying, we selectan antibiotic that is best suited to curethe strain, while taking the followinginto consideration; is the animal is arepeat offender, her age and udderconformation. ‘‘ confirms Liam.

‘‘95 per cent of clinical cases we’vehad since the Herd Screen have been inthe Staph mob, and they were culled.’’

Bulk SCC has varied because of theStaph herd. In March it was up at350-400,000. A recent cull of 42 cows inthe Staph herd saw the bulk milk SCCdrop immediately to 270,000.

Come dryoff, the rest of the Staphherd will be culled. The cows remaining


L with

Marking animals in red once treated helps staff identify these should nolonger be milked.

in ther herd for next season will gothrough a selective drycow process. Inconsultation with the local vet they willuse their April herd test results todetermine which cows will be teatsealed or undergo dry cow therapy.

They are using the following criteria:■ Cows >500,000 receive a Cepravin■ Cows >150,000 and Heifers > 120,000but <500,000 receive a short acting ieOrbenin in combination with Teat Seal■ Cows <150,000 and Heifers <120,000require a Teat Seal■ If a cow has had a mastitis case shewould get a orbinen +teat seal. Thisyear 53 per cent of the remaining cowswill be teat sealed, 40 per cent obrenin+ teat seal and 7 per cent cepravin.

In spring the Staph herd will bereplaced with 105 2yr heifers.

‘‘We’ve purposely purchased heifers toensure there’s no chance of Staphentering the herd’’ Andrew notes. ‘‘Andwe’ve bought these from twooutstanding once-a-day farms.

‘‘This investment in new stock willtake a good three years to realise areturn but we know we’re absolutelydoing the right thing for the future ofthe farm.’’

Andrew concludes that Staph aureusis an insidious infection.

‘‘No matter how well you clean andtreat, Staph is very hard to beat. Wemade no gains in taking a blanketapproach, not really knowing what wewere dealing with. And each year it gotslightly worse.

‘‘Getting to the bottom of the problemhas been a big outlay but it feels like weare making good progress and it’s better

than spending $5-10K a year onantibiotics with little to no return.

‘‘Working with Farm Medix, the vetand FIL, we have access to the rightadvice. And we’re confident of a lowerSCC and much lower intervention withantibiotics in the coming years.’’

Andrew and Helen were recentlyannounced Supreme Winners of theHorizons Region Ballance FarmEnvironment Award, also winningawards for sustainability andintegrated management. The judgescommended Andrew and Helen forculturing mastitis samples (andforgoing blanket dry cow therapy).❚ We’ll check on Andrew’s progress againafter calving. If you would like someadvice on controlling mastitis in yourherd, please get in touch with your GEAFIL Area Manager on 0508 434 569.


ProfileProfile

Taupo dairy farmerKylie Leonard is theDairy Women’sNetwork 2018Dairy CommunityLeadership Awardwinner. She is abusy lady whovolunteers onvarious boards andcommittees, milks400 cows andteaches dyslexicchildren.

A Taupo farmer is always available to lend a helpinghand – SONITA CHANDAR reports

Generosityrewarded

Kylie Leonard

In between milking 400 cows,feeding and rearing calves,raising three daughters and

teaching children, Taupo farmerKylie Leonard manages to findtime to volunteer in thecommunity, support AgITOstudents and advocate for theindustry.

Her work has been recognisedby the Dairy Women’s Networkand she was named the 2018Dairy Community LeadershipAward winner at the network’sannual conference in Rotorua.

The award, which celebratesthe unsung heroes of ruralcommunities, came as a bit of asurprise and she says it is anacknowledgement of hercommitment to promoting thedairy farming lifestyle.

‘‘It’s an honour but I still can’tbelieve someone thought I wasdeserving of this and actuallynominated me,’’ she says.

‘‘The dairy industry is in myheart and soul, and seeing othersbe involved and succeed is a reallygreat feeling.

‘‘For me, the connection is allabout authenticity and inclusion– whether that’s sharing apositive story about the industryor putting my hand up to questionsomething. I pride myself onbeing a positive role model toothers.’’

She says her love of farming iswhat drives her to succeed and

advocate for the industry. She is a‘‘firm believer in giving back’’ andstrives to make a difference byusing her skills and knowledge tohelp others along the way.

‘‘I just wish more people couldcome and see just how wonderfulthe dairy industry is and not justbe influenced by some of therubbish that is printed in thepaper.

‘‘When I first entered theindustry I was blown away by thepeople who were willing to help.There are not many industrieswhere people go out of their wayto help each other.’’

Her goal is to get more urbanpeople onto farms so they canexperience first-hand what goeson behind the farm gate.

‘‘Farms are amazing places tovisit and if farmers are given thechance to talk about the land andthe animals and how they makestuff happen every day, I thinkperception would begin to turn.’’

She regularly hosts localschoolchildren for farm visits andlast year, nearly 200 visited thefarm.

‘‘Sharing a positive story andmy love for our cows and our landis something I aim to do daily,whether that’s on social media, atschool, at an event or socialising.I never let an opportunity toshare go past.

‘‘I have always been one forsharing and it is always a thrill to

show a group of children aroundthe farm.

‘‘It was amazing to watch themwander through the cows, pick upa pile of silage and smell it andlisten to them squealing withdelight at the calves sucking ontheir fingers – those are thingsthey can’t learn or experience inthe classroom.’’

Positive on-farm experienceswere not just limited to thechildren but also adultsupervisors.

‘‘Adults expressed surprise atthe riparian planting we havedone and were shocked at howwell we looked after our stock.

‘‘When we explained that mostfarmers were doing the same orsimilar, it really threw them as itwas a complete contrast to whatthey thought they knew about thedairy industry.’’

Her knowledge of the industryhas come from experience, seizingopportunities to learn and fromasking questions.

‘‘When I started out, I didn’tknow much at all.

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‘‘I just wish morepeople couldcome and see justhow wonderfulthe dairy industryis and not just beinfluenced bysome of therubbish that isprinted in thepaper.’’

KYLIE LEONARD

‘‘Through the Dairy Women’sNetwork, I saw some fantasticopportunities to learn and getinvolved. One of the forums onFacebook has a questions sectionand I had more than a few thingsI wanted to ask.’’

Farming is in her blood – herfamily roots go back to the 1860swhen her great-grandfather PeterMolloy emigrated from Irelandand began farming at GummiesBush near Invercargill. Hermother’s family (Gray) has beenfarming at Pauatahanui since the1820s.

Her family also has a longhistory of farming in the CentralPlateau. Her grandparentswalked from Te Aroha, inWaikato, to Reporoa to establishtheir dairy farm in the 1950s.

‘‘They were sharemilkers andwalked all that way from withthree small children which tookseveral days.’’

Her father, Colin Molloy, grewup on the family farm at Reporoabut gave up dairy farming for lovewhen he met Jennifer and moved

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‘‘The dairy industry is in my heart andsoul, and seeing others be involvedand succeed is a really great feeling.’’

KYLIE LEONARD

Taupo farmer Kylie Leonard had two passions growing up –animals and children. She trained as a teacher but harboured thedream of owning a dairy farm. Pictured Kylie with her award.

to Wellington. The family movedback to Reporoa when Leonardwas young. At the age of seven,her world was rocked when hewas stung by a bee and died.

‘‘I remember it was a reallyhorrible and tough time but mumwas a super strong woman,’’

‘‘Mum eventually remarried toan incredible man named MurrayHargreaves.

‘‘I miss Dad but am so thankfulthat Murray came into our lives.He has been the most amazingfather that anyone could ask forand is hugely supportive.’’

In Reporoa, the family livednext to a dairy farm owned by RobShaw. She often saw him out andabout working around the farmand it wasn’t long before sheventured through the farm gate.

‘‘He became an honorary uncle.Uncle Rob was amazing and letme do whatever I wanted, fromfeeding calves to helping milk.

‘‘This is where I developed mypassion and love for dairying. Ihad two great loves in my life andthey were animals and children.A coin toss took me down the path

of teaching.’’She trained as a teacher but

always harboured the dream ofowning her own farm.

While teaching she workedwith the Life Education Trust andHarold the Giraffe. She methusband Rick, an engineer whosefamily owned a transportbusiness, when he came to talk toher about transporting the mobileclassroom.

They married in 2004 and havethree daughters, Kate, 10, andtwins Isla and Eloise, 7.

When Kate started school,Leonard joined the board oftrustees of which she is now thechairwoman. She is also a patronof Taupo Family Playcentre andis on the Taupo board of the RuralEducation Activities Programme

She was teaching at TaupoIntermediate when a parentbrought her son’s report in.

‘‘He had tried so hard on amaths test but didn’t pass – itbroke my heart.

‘‘I decided to try somethingdifferent and gave him an oralexam which he passed with 98 per

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Kylie Leonard, centre, with friends and family at the DairyWomen’s Network conference in Rotorua.

cent. I realised I had found mypurpose in teaching and that wasto help dyslexic children or thosewith learning difficulties.’’

In 2001, she came across anadvertisement for a 92ha block atOruanui, north of Taupo andconvinced her parents to buy it.They took on dairy grazing andreared calves.

In 2013, they came up with theidea of converting the block todairy. They bought a piece of theneighbouring property andentered into an equitypartnership with her parents.

‘‘We had to develop theproperty from the ground up butluckily Murray had a plan as tohow the farm should look.

‘‘We put in waterlines, fences,built the shed and effluent systemand had to buy cows – it was hardwork but hugely rewarding.’’

Since then she has juggledseveral things at once – evenduring the busy times on thefarm.

‘‘During spring, I feed thecalves at 4.30am then get home intime to take the girls to school.’’

She has since completed AgITOLevel 3 and reads everything shecan to learn new things. Overtime she has gained more andmore confidence in her farmingabilities and says there are a lotof great resources available tofarmers.

‘‘We used to farm by gutinstinct but now base it more onscientific facts and figures. Wehave certainly come a long way.

‘‘I am really lucky that a closefriend is a farm consultant so wehave some brilliant robustdiscussions.’’

The farm is a family affair witheveryone pitching in, althoughshe says Rick was never keen onmilking so continues hisengineering business.

‘‘I am proud to tell people thatRick built our cowshed.

‘‘He is hugely supportive eventhough at first, he thought I wasmad for milking cows. The girlslove being out on the farm and Ioften lock Murray in the cowshedwith me and have lots ofdiscussions about pasturemanagement, growing grass,feeding and all the other thingsthat go on.’’

She says her life is ‘‘prettygreat’’ at the moment anddescribes herself as ‘‘sitting in aperfect bubble on cloud nine’’.

‘‘I love farming, I love theanimals.

‘‘I have lots of things on the goand am really busy but happywith how everything has turnedout.’’

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Kara Ireland

OUR PEOPLE 5 QUESTIONS

Kara Ireland is originally from Cheltenham near Fielding andcomes from an equestrian background - her parents own andoperate Hyforce Endurance Stud.She works on a 400-cow farm at Woodville where she is the2IC for 2017 Hawke’s Bay- Wairarapa Farm Manager of the YearKenny Henderson.Her goal is to continue moving forward and upskill in ways thatwill benefit her career and allow her to progress to amanagement role. She is working towards her AgITO Level 4.She describes herself as a ‘‘colourful character’’ and owns a pairof bright pink overalls. Her hobbies include endurance horseriding which she says, ‘‘fits in well with my personality as allthe gear I use is very bright and colourful – just like my overalls.’’She believes it is important to strike a good work-life balanceand that both should be fun and enjoys spending time sociallywith friends and family.

1 What philosophy do you liveby?

One of the things I try to use asa guideline in life is to keep lifebalanced while still being in ableto move forward but also to havefun along the way.2 What annoys you most aboutfarming and what do you enjoythe most and why?

The early morning starts can behard but what bugs me is peoplethat have no real insideknowledge and always seem to beout there spreading their opinionswhich is not always helpful.

I am really enjoying working on adairy farm. I have found that thecows do not care if your make-up

and hair are not done.3 Why dairying? Whatattracted you to the industry?

Why is something my friends’ask and the easy answer is thatI needed a job and this oneaccepted me after I spent theseason rearing calves and hey,who doesn’t like the cute cuddlybabies.

But mostly it allowed me tosee a different side of dairy sowhen a position was offered tome to become part of a team itwas easy to say yes. It hasturned out to be a gooddecision as I can see dairyingas a career and there is a goodpath for progression in the

industry.4 What are some of the biggestchallenges you are facing nextseason?

I will be learning a new systemas I move between farms in thegroup from the large farm to oneof the smaller farms. This will bea challenge as I will have to get toknow a new herd, doing a lot moreof tractor work and have greaterinvolvement with the farm systemto help me upskill to move forwardin the dairy industry.5 If you weren’t dairying – whatwould you be doing instead?

I would still be working withhorse breeding studs and mostlikely would be following my dadand scanning sheep. So I wouldhave kept working and training tohave my own sheep scanning run.


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Fonterra’s seasonopener $7

Fonterra has announcedan opening forecastprice to its farmers of $7

per kilogram of milksolids forthe 2018-19 season, andincreased its 2017-18forecast farmgate price by20c cents to $6.75 per kgMS.

It also announced itsthird-quarterfinancial results,which it describedas ‘‘not the resultsit had planned’’.

Although higherprices lifted itsrevenue to $14.8 billionfor the first nine months of2017-18, up 7 per cent on thesame period last year, itstotal milk volumes had fallen5 per cent to 16 billion liquidmilk equivalents.

This resulted in its grossmargins declining to 16 percent from 18 per cent for thefirst nine months of the year,compared to the same periodlast year.

While it will not announceits forecast earnings pershare for the 2018-19 seasonforecast until July, Fonterrahas revised its forecastnormalised earnings pershare guidance range for the2017-18 season down to25-30c per share and itsforecast dividend range forthe full year down to 15-20cents per share.

Chairman John Wilsonsaid the revised earningsforecast for 2017-18 wasdisappointing forshareholders andunitholders.

‘‘However, the totalforecast cash payout forfarmers increases to$6.90-$6.95 per kgMS whichis the third-highest payoutthis decade.’’

Chief executive TheoSpierings said the co-operative had expected amore successful second halfof the year but this had nothappened because of a rapidrise in input costs late in theseason into its value-add

business.‘‘With the increase in the

price of milk fats we havealso seen continued demandtowards products with alower fat composition,sustained competition inGreater China’s foodservice

market and furtherconstraints in some

Asian marketslimiting our abilityto pass throughcosts.’’

The payment ofdamages to Danone

of $183 million, andthe write down of its

Beingmate investment by$405m meant Fonterra’sgearing ratio was expected tobe above its target 40-45 percent range.

‘‘While the strong milkprice is good for our farmers,it does make the remainderof the year challenging forthe business. We remaincommitted to maximising thetotal payout for our farmersand value for our unitholdersby delivering the bestpossible earnings,’’ Spieringssaid.

Federated Farmers dairychairman Chris Lewis saidfarmers would be in aposition to do moreenvironment work, continueto catch up on deferredmaintenance from previouslow payouts and look atpossible pay increases forstaff.

He said the payoutincrease could be creditedpartly to the devaluation ofthe dollar by 4 cents to as lowas 68c against the UnitedStates currency in the pastmonth and commodity pricesturning around.

The baseline commodity ofwhole milk powder was atabout US$3200 a tonne - upfrom US$2700-$3200 a yearago.

Milk powder demand is uparound the world with aresurgence of butter andcream prices.

NEWS

GB

AU

-7

82

17

39

AA


Cleverinventionsshowcasedat Fieldays

Kiwi ingenuity will be onceagain showcased in theInnovation Centre at the

New Zealand National Fieldays.The latest innovations in

agriculture, backyard inventionsand commercial improvementsare always an integral part ofFieldays with thousands ofvisitors eager to view the latestrural advancements, eventmanager Gail Hendricks says.

The Innovation Awardsshowcases innovation acrossseveral industry areas – dairyand drystock farming,horticulture, information andcommunication technology, cloud

and mobile-based software,animal health and genetics, waterand waste management,environment and clean-tech,animal and farm management,farm safety and leading research.

Hendricks says 70 entries havecome in, from small grassrootsinnovations through to the largerinternational innovations. Theseinclude innovations in machines,machinery gadgets, software andapps.

‘‘We love seeing howwidespread our entries are, andhave always encouraged thesmall, grassroots entries just asmuch as the bigger, more

FIELDAYS

Clean. Clear.

Under Control.

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under control before your calves hit the ground.

Contact GEA FIL on 0508 434 569

to book an appointment.

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‘‘Kiwis areclever people... Fieldays isa greatlaunchpadfor theseideas andthere will beplenty morethis year.’’

NEW ZEALAND

NATIONAL

AGRICULTURAL

FIELDAYS

INNOVATIONS

EVENT MANAGER

GAIL HENDRICKS

The Innovation Centre is always apopular place.

established ones,’’ she says.‘‘Kiwis are clever people.

Some of the ideas featured atthe Innovation Centre areingenious. Fieldays is a greatlaunchpad for these ideas andthere will be plenty more thisyear.’’

The four-day event is celebratingits 50th year and the theme is TheFuture of Farming which she says ‘‘tiesin perfectly with the forward-lookingInnovation Awards’’.

‘‘Originally, the Fieldays InnovationAwards were about widgets, gadgetsand devices to improve farming, butmore and more we’re seeing entries thatplay to the agri-tech factor and reallytake into account how science andtechnology continue to advanceagriculture.’’

The three main categories are:Fieldays Prototype Award, FieldaysLaunch NZ Award and FieldaysInternational Award. Other awards areFieldays Young Inventor of the Year,Vodafone Innovation in TechnologyAward, Locus Research InnovationAward, the Crowe Horwath AgriInnovation Award, the Tompkins WakeIP and Commercialisation Award andthe Origin Intellectual Property Award.Other sponsors are CallaghanInnovation, Enterprise Angels andSprout.

Judges consider inventiveness,design and originality, the process ofcoming up with the innovation,commercial opportunities, intellectualproperty protection, technical viabilityand the benefit to New Zealandagriculture.

Hendricks says entrants get a lot ofvalue from entering the awards, asFieldays provides access to a largegroup of potential customers with achance to do valuable market research.

Awards entrants have access tobusiness advisers, legal experts andproduct development consultants at adedicated space in the InnovationsCentre called The LAB, powered byLocus Research. In addition, they havea chance to meet with potentialinvestors at an invitation-only eveninghosted by Enterprise Angels– FieldaysInnovations Capital.

‘‘The Innovations Centre is anexciting place to be at Fieldays,Hendricks says.

‘‘People visiting will see all sorts ofinteresting inventions and ideas thathave a practical and commercialapplication, to help streamline work onthe farm.’’

SONITACHANDAR

Time forannual pilgrimage

‘‘The story goes thatwhen the society wentinto the bank theywere asked whatsecurity they had forthe loan, and one of thefarmers threw a roll ofcopper wire on thebank manager’s deskand said, ‘This is theonly asset we own’.’’

FIELDAYS CHIEF EXECUTIVE

PETER NATION.

It is that time of year againwhen the gumboots, swandrisand utes come out for the New

Zealand National Fieldays atMystery Creek.

This year, Fieldays celebratesits 50th year of showcasingagriculture and innovation torural and urban audiences alike.It is a staple on many agriculturalpeople’s calendars, with hundredsof thousands descending onMystery Creek each June.

In 1969, the first Fieldays washeld at Hamilton’s Te RapaRacecourse. The Town andCountry Fair, as it was knownthen, aimed to bring rural andurban audiences together tocelebrate New Zealand’s farmingindustry and lifestyle and theircontribution to the economy.

The racecourse housed Fieldaysin its first two years before theevent was moved to MysteryCreek in 1971.

At a Fieldays launch event heldearlier in the year, Origin’68, ananniversary sculpture byAuckland-based sculptor andjewellery designer CheriseThomson was unveiled.

Origin ‘68 incorporates thesame copper wire that was offeredas collateral by the farmers whoestablished Fieldays. It ismounted on reclaimed nativetimber that once lined theFieldays Society’s boardroom.

Fieldays chief executive PeterNation said the tenacity andperseverance of six farmers of theFieldays Society paved the wayfor Fieldays to become thepremiere agricultural showcase itis today, contributing half abillion dollars to the globaleconomy each year.

‘‘Those first six farmersapproached ANZ in NorthHamilton for a 100 per cent loanof $62,500 – $430,000 in today’smoney – so they could moveFieldays to Mystery Creek,’’Nation said.

‘‘At the time, Mystery Creekwas a run-down dairy farm buthad been identified as the site to

house the event for future growth.‘‘The story goes that when the

society went into the bank theywere asked what security theyhad for the loan, and one of thefarmers threw a roll of copperwire on the bank manager’s deskand said, ‘This is the only assetwe own’.’’

Thomson said she ‘‘washonoured to work on thesculpture’’. She said the 12 copperloops framed with native timberwere a tribute to the seasonal lifeof farming and the dedication ofFieldays’ volunteers and staff.

‘‘I wanted the sculpture torepresent the cycle ofinterconnectedness, inspirationand growth that has madeFieldays what it is from thefounders’ original vision 50 yearsago.’’

This year’s theme – the Futureof Farming – will examineagricultural trends andideas for the future whilecelebrating the wide-ranging contributionsFieldays has made to theagricultural industrysince its inception.

Nation said the themewas appropriateconsidering the futurechallenges the primarysector faced.

‘‘Fieldays has set thepace on technology andinnovation in the ruralspace and the theme willhelp springboard theevent into the future,’’ hesaid.

Highlighting technologyand innovation that setNew Zealand agribusiness apartfrom others should be takenseriously, he said.

‘‘In a world that is changingfast and being led by the nose bytechnology, our team mustremain aware of theopportunities, the trends andchange driven largely byconsumer demand locally.’’

Pushing boundaries createdchange and drove innovative

ways for solving problems.It made New Zealandunique in the primarysector on the world stage,he said.

‘‘We must embrace, lookforward, think future,think challenge and thinkthe future of farming.’’

Nation said NewZealand was a worldleader in agriculture andprimary production, andthe Fieldays also led theway as a place wherebusinesses andindividuals come for thelatest in agriculturalinnovations andtechnology.

Visitors and exhibitors arebeing encouraged to startdiscussions around what thefuture of farming meant to them.

‘‘We hope Future of Farming isa theme that our partners andexhibitors will embrace.’’

The Fieldays is the largestevent of its kind in the SouthernHemisphere and in 2017 a record133,588 people went through thegates over the four-day event.

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The copper wire put up ascollateral for the purchase ofMystery Creek for Fieldaysfeatures in the AnniversarySculpture with artist CheriseThomson and Fieldays chiefexecutive Peter Nation.

In 2017 the event generated$538 million in sales revenuefrom New Zealand firms,including $191m from Waikato.There were 998 exhibitorsshowcased across 1473 sites, 232volunteers helped, 10,680 visitorstravel by bus to Fieldays, a 200per cent increase on 2016, andthere were more than 30,000downloads of the Fieldays app.

A survey conducted afterwardshowed that 93 per cent ofvisitors rated Fieldays as verygood or excellent.

Nation said internationalinterest in Fieldays had grownwith representatives from 20countries indicating theirpresence either as part of a tradedelegation or as an exhibitor.

As well as exhibitor sites, therewill be plenty to see including theStihl Festival of Logging, NZfencing championships, excavatorcompetition, Ag Art Wear,Tractor Pull, Kiwi’s Best Kitchenand the Rural Catch competition.

The 2017 NZ NationalAgricultural Fieldays run fromJune 13 to 18 at Mystery Creeknear Hamilton.


What’s onat Fieldays?

A lucky bachelor or bachelorettewill take home the The Golden Gumboot and possible find love in the process.

Chefs will showcase some of New Zealand’s finest produce.Pictured Brett McGregor will feature in the Kitchen Theatre.

RURAL CATCH OF THEYEAR 2018Formerly the Rural Bachelor ofthe Year competition the eventhas been changed to includebachelorettes.

Four eligible men and foureligible women will compete indaily challenges to test theirskills both on and off the farm.

The competition begins onSunday June 10 with theFarmlands Road Trip, givingfinalists the chance to get to knoweach other and try their hand atsome challenges and activitiesbefore the serious stuff begins onWednesday June 13.

The winner will walk awaywith an impressive prize poolworth over $20,000 as well as thecoveted Golden Gumboot trophy.The People’s Choice winner alsoreceives a prize pack.

These men and women willseek fame, fortune and love withall eyes on them. They will have

the chance to mingle and charmtheir fans, both at the Fieldaysand various evening functionsduring the week.

KITCHEN THEATREFrom farm gate to dinner plate,hops to handle, vine to vessel andfrom lab to platter, this excitingattraction is a new concept forFieldays. The Kitchen Theatrehas a lineup of top chefs withfunctional kitchens todemonstrate the paddock todinner plate philosophy.

Chefs Simon Gault, BrettMcGregor, Nadia Lim, Neena andBelinda and others will showcasesome of New Zealand’s finestmeat, vegetables, fruit and wineproduced by a variety of precision,scientific, technological andsustainable farming techniques,inspired by our beautiful naturalenvironment.

The focus is on highlighting thefoods’ origin and developmentstories and the importance ofknowing what we’re eating from anutrition and wellnessperspective.

TRACTOR PULLThe boy racers of the farmingworld are back at Fieldays withthe big loud machines that neverfail to attract the crowds. TractorPull is always a hotly contestedcompetition and a firm favouritewith Fieldays folk of all ages.

Contestants will battle it out inthree different classes, with thefinal held on Saturday. Check outthe weight transfer class for abattle of grunt, while speedfanatics can get their fix watchingthe weight adjusted class.

There is also the modified classwhich is a must-see for petrol-heads, providing all the noisemaking, smoke generating andwheelie popping action spectatorshave come to expect.

FENCINGFencing is an essential elementwithin our farming communitiesand a skill to be encouraged andappreciated.

Quality workmanship will beparamount but speed is also ofthe essence when New Zealand’stop fencers go head to head in amatch of skill, speed, enduranceand tenacity.

Two trophies are on offer, theWiremark Golden Pliers for thesingle competition and the SilverSpade trophy for the winners ofthe doubles competition. Also upfor grabs is the Bill Schuler

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Rosie the Cow will be giving performances and helping to teachkids and families the importance of dairy.

Trophy which is designed topromote youth in fencing andthose new to competitions.

FESTIVAL OF LOGGINGChainsaws will be buzzing andwoodchips flying during thethrilling challenges of theFestival of Logging – an array oftimber sport activities to captureeveryone’s attention.

Thursday is Champions Trophytrials day to find who willrepresent New Zealand at theWorld Championship atMarseilles, France, later thisyear.

Friday is Timbersports trialsday. This globally popular sport isa display of power, precision andtechnique. Elite athletes willcompete to make the team torepresent New Zealand at the2018 Stihl Timbersports WorldChampionships in Liverpool,England.

On Saturday, loggers fromaround New Zealand will competeagainst each other and the clockin multiple Loggersports events.

ENTERTAINMENTChelsea & the UltimateCanines

Chelsea Marriner has been

training dogs since she was twoyears old, and it shows in herentertaining displays appealingto a wide audience – not just doglovers. Chelsea & the UltimateCanines will be performing atEntertainment on South St twicea day.Cowbassador Rosie the Cow

DairyNZ’s Rosie the Cow willbe giving performances, helpingto teach kids and families theimportance of dairy in NewZealand, as well as creating athat is both educational and fun.Rosie takes the stage three timesa day on the Village Green.Sam and his FarmyardFriends

Sam and his Farmyard Friendswill be in the Petting Farm,featuring a pony, giant Flemishrabbit, sheep, kunekune pig, silkybantams and Peking ducks. Byvisiting with the animals,children can gain confidence anddevelop an understanding of theanimals and their wellbeing.Doug the Digger

Doug the Digger will be givingkids a fun opportunity toexperience a mini excavatoroperating in a safe environment.Gold coin donations will be go tothe Child Cancer Foundation.


Feed testing gives important information about the overall quality of the supplementary feed.

The importance ofsupplementary feeds

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Poorer qualityfeeds are oftenrejected by stockresulting in morewastage of thesupplement, lowerintakes of the hay,straw or baleageand therefore poorrumen health onthe brassica crop.

CHARLOTTE WESTWOOD

High yielding brassicacrops provide afantastic top quality,

low cost winter feed.Depending on crop type,brassicas contain plenty ofenergy, moderate amounts ofcrude protein and low tomoderate levels of fibre(neutral detergent fibre;NDF). Cattle need about 35per cent NDF as brassicasfed as 100 per cent of the dietdon’t provide enough fibre tosupport healthy rumenfunction.

When planning a winterfeed budget, a fibrous highNDF supplementary feed isneeded to balance low NDFlevels in brassicas. Plan tooffer stock between 20-30 percent of the diet as high NDFsupplement oncetransitioned, plus 70-80 percent brassica crop on a drymatter (DM) basis. Duringtransitioning (the first 7-10days on a brassica crop)budget for 50 per centsupplement and 50 per centcrop on a DM basis, startingoff with less than 10 per centcrop: 90 per cent supplementand building to 70 – 80 percent crop duringtransitioning.

With a wide range of highNDF supplementary feedsavailable, which is the bestfor crop feeding?

High ‘physically effectiveNDF (peNDF) feeds. Thesefeeds are those that maintainnormal rumen function byencouraging more chewingduring eating, and ongoingchewing and salivaproduction during cudchewing. Some feeds e.g.PKE might contain highlevels of NDF but they arenot a good peNDF feedbecause PKE is finely groundand doesn’t stimulate goodcud chewing. (Note that PKEcan be useful supplementaryfeed for cattle on crop ifadditional body conditiongain is needed through thewinter. PKE would be offeredin addition to high peNDFfeeds, not in place of).

The best peNDF feedsinclude hay, silage, baleageand straw. For crop feeding,baleage can be better utilised

than shorter chop silage onwet crop paddocks.

Choosing a high peNDFsupplementary feed.

Price. The first step is tocalculate the price/kgDM,landed on farm. Know theDM percentage of your feed,e.g. hay might be 85-88 percent, straw might be 90 percent and baleage anywherefrom 25 – 60 per cent. Ideallyfeed test your supplementaryfeeds pre-purchase givingyou not only dry matterpercentage but also a reporton feed quality. Use theresult to calculate cost of thefeed/kgDM e.g. $80 per600kg (wet weight) balelanded at 40 per cent DM =33.3 cents/kgDM. Adrymatter percentage alsohelps to get the correct dailyfeeding out rates by knowinghow much DM is in a bale.

Feed testing givesimportant information aboutoverall quality, includingprotein content. Youngerstock classes such as R1 andR2 animals needing to gainliveweight during the winterwill need a high peNDF feedthat also contains a goodlevel of crude protein. Olderstock classes have a lowerdemand for protein.

View the supplementaryfeed pre-purchase. A feedtest is just part of the story.Sometimes a supplement canlook great on feed tests, butnot so good when it’sdelivered.

Straw should look cleanand golden, free of anymottling or discolourationand smell fresh and sweet.Note that wheat and oatstraw can be sharp texturedand may not be as wellconsumed as ryegrass orbarley straw. Hay should besweet smelling, looking greenand tasty, and be free ofwater staining, mouldy areasand too many weed species.Baleage should be tightlybaled, free of damage to thewrap, smell sweet whenunwrapped and haveminimal mould on theoutside of the bale. Tubewrapped bales should beclean at the junction betweenbales – difficult to ensile

forages such as lucerne orred clover sometimes havemoulding between bales.

For in-calf cows, it’simportant to avoid mouldyhay and baleage due to riskof mycotic (fungal) abortion.

Tasty high peNDF feedsare essential for feedingstock on brassica crops.Poorer quality feeds are oftenrejected by stock resulting inmore wastage of thesupplement, lower intakes ofthe hay, straw or baleage andtherefore poor rumen healthon the brassica crop.

Less tasty supplementsincrease risk of greaterbetween-animal intake ofsupplements. Some animalsrefuse poor qualitysupplements altogether,instead eating 100 per cent ofthe diet as crop. Others eatthe supplements andconsume less crop. Across allstock there’ll be a wide rangeof animal performancedespite the stock, beingoffered exactly the same diet.


Focus turns toincreasingcondition score

Corn gluten feed pellets are goodfor putting condition on cows.

Condition scoring (CS) isnow a primary focus indairy herds, as farmers

start to make decisions aboutdrying-off the lightest cows – andin some cases the whole herd.

ADM Animal NutritionistGerard Fellowes said well-knownindustry targets were to haveheifers, and also ‘‘second calvers’’,up to CS 5.5 by calving start date,and with the remaining cows tobe CS 5.0.

‘‘There is not much likelihood ofgetting any CS gain in the monthpre calving. This means,realistically, that targets shouldbe achieved by mid-June at thelatest,’’ Fellowes said.

‘‘This is usually modified tocows reaching targets by drying-off date, which gives a bit moretime to get the weight on – if thefarming operation does not quitemake it by drying-off date.

‘‘We have noticed that for mostfarmers, their cows are light, andwhile there is lots of maize silageon-hand, pasture covers are stilllow and farmers will havestruggled to meet CS and covertargets by May 31.’’

He said ADM had beenreceiving calls from farmerswanting to boost their herdcondition up over the next sixweeks, as well as slowing downthe rotation. Usually, drying-offwill be part of this.

‘‘It will take around 2000MJME for a friesian cow to gainone condition score. When this isto be achieved in 42 days, andmaintenance included as well,then about 108 MJME/cow/ daywould be required. When the feedis around 11 MEME/kg DM, then10 kg DM/cow/day over 42 dayswould be the feed level required.

Energy required for the cows towalk across to the feed pad eachday will be in addition to this, aswill energy for milksolidsproduction if the cows are stilllactating, as well as energy formoving over the hills if the farmis not flat.’’

Fellowes said it was commonknowledge that the higher theenergy level of the feed, the easierit would be to both achieve weightgain targets and lift averagepasture cover.

He said there were a number ofsolutions at the farmer’s disposal.

‘‘One key weight gain feed overthe late autumn-early winter, andthrough the transition period, iskibbled maize. This has an energydensity of 14 MJME/kg DM and is75 per cent starch.’’

‘‘We have noticed that it onlytakes a small amount of kibbledmaize to make a big difference tothe nutrition of a ration.’’

He said another key feed at thistime of year was corn gluten feedpellets or CGFP. It has the keyanalysis figures of 12.7 MJME/kgDM and is 8 per cent starch.

Taranaki farmers John andMaria Hamblyn started feedingthe pellets 350-cow herd thisyear.

‘‘We had no trouble in changingfrom palm kernel to the corn

pellets and our Fat EvaluationIndex (FEI) dropped, which was avery pleasing result,’’ Hamblynsaid.

‘‘The cows loved the productand were licking the bins clean inthe shed.

‘‘We will be stronglyconsidering the introduction ofCGFP into the herd’s diet for thiscoming season.’’

Fellowes said the pellets hadbeen very popular among thefarmers using it.

‘‘We have also seen favourableresults in the ability of thisproduct to lower the FEI of milkfor those farmers who find theirfeed regime has lifted their FEI tothe top of the B band or higher,’’he said.

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Aworthysystem change

A Waikato farmer says his feedpad isinsurance against hot dry conditions– SAMANTHA TENNENT reports.

A drought was the incentive Waikato farmerDavid Harris needed to build a feedpad.

Adrought in 2007 was thedeciding factor for DavidHarris. He didn’t want to

solely rely on grass to feed hiscows anymore and began tochange to a high-input system.

He did his research and built afeed pad on his Morrinsville farmin 2009. He included feed bunkersand a few extras to make the jobeasier.

More recently he has addedrubber matting to make the cowscomfortable. The pad allows himto protect the pasture in wetweather and the rubber helpsprevent sore feet.

‘‘When it’s hot in summer thecows come in from around10-11am till afternoon milking,’’he says. ‘‘We have the sprinklersgoing on a timer for them. Havingthe rubber means they can comein, have a feed and stand happilyunder the sprinklers. There’splenty of fresh water troughsaround for them.’’

Harris says a feedpad hasmany benefits.

‘‘The pad combatsenvironmental issues as well,mitigating nitrate loss in thepaddock.’’

He sees it as an insurancepolicy against the summer dry bybeing able to keep feeding thecows and keep production up withno loss in body condition while atthe same time the cows aren’tsuffering under the sun in thepaddock.

‘‘The farm is situated in a verydry area. We can have 10 days ofhot air with wind and go fromgreen to very brown, veryquickly.’’

The diet he feeds variesthroughout the year. Grass is stillking but at times it doesn’t keep

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David Harris’ herdtucks into themaize silage on thefeedpad he built in2009.

up with demand and thesupplement fed is increased.

Maize silage is fed year-roundin large quantities. Sunflowerpellets are included for proteinand hominy maize for energy.Some palm kernel gets used,along with plenty of grass silage.

A large focus is on minerals inthe cows’ diet. Selenium levelsare monitored in the milk eachmonth. Magnesium, calcium,micro-minerals such as cobalt andzinc, and probiotics are all mixedand fed on the feed pad.

The diet was put together by anutritionist. A lot of time wasspent studying, testing andassessing and then makingseasonal adjustments in thesearch for the ideal diet. Harrissays ongoing discussions with thenutritionist have helped themboth gain the knowledge andexperience to makeimprovements along the way.

‘‘Nowadays I have the ability toadjust the diet myself withconfidence, but this did taketime.’’

He likes to assess how muchfeed the cows can consume, how

content they seem and heobserves their coats’ appearanceto indicate whether the diet issuitable and sufficient.

‘‘It’s been a huge learningcurve. I believe it’s reallyimportant to get it right fromwhen they’re young. It’s reallyimportant they’re fed well whilethey’re growing.’’

The young stock are treatedparticularly well on the Harrisfarm. When the calves moveoutside they have covers on sothey aren’t wasting energy tryingto keep warm and they are well-fed. They rear more stock thanthey require, selling a lot of in-calf surplus heifers.

The herd is just over 300mostly friesian cows, with two-thirds calving in spring. The cowspump out large quantities ofmilksolids but Harris still wantsmore.

‘‘I plan for performance, itdoesn’t just happen. It’s all like abig jig-saw puzzle and every yearthere are more pieces. We havemade huge leaps in ourproduction gains since we beganthis system and are stillimproving all the time, but thegains aren’t as dramatic now.’’

Always monitoring the marginper cow per day, Harris ismeticulous in his record keeping.He herd tests five times throughthe season and he culls for avariety of reasons. Udderstrength is important as the highproduction puts strain on theudder support.

The shed is old, but it has beenwell looked after and a lot ofthought went into designing thepad and infrastructure He saysthe layout of the system makesthe job a lot easier to do on a dailybasis and he has never regretteddoing it right the first time.

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Keeping calf shedsclean and dry willhelp to keep calveshappy and healthy.

Keeping calfsheds cleanT

he goal of every calf rearer isto achieve a level of shedcleanliness that prevents

the shed itself from being thesource of new infections.

Between seasons the differencebetween rotavirus andcryptosporidial infectionsemphasises that hygiene anddisinfection will need to take intoaccount two separate standards.The disinfectant for crypto shedcleaning needs to be differentfrom that used for rotavirusdecontamination.

Rotavirus can in fact disguisethe onslaught from crypto thatwill occur a few days later. Thecombined infections will lead tomore severe scouring, and a sick

calf will remain sick for longer.Good general hygiene will limitthe spread of both or eitherinfection between calves.

Lower intakes of crypto oocystswill lower the percentage ofsevere crypto scours with certainprovisos – genotypic strains,adequate colostrum transfer andlimiting the severity of secondarybacterial infections are alsoimportant.

This becomes the idealsituation in which to useKryptade, which can reduce therecovery period back to full milkappetite.

Calf bedding choices areimportant. The goal is to retainprofitability for calf rearing

enterprises, and the cost ofmaterials for bedding may begame changers.

Dry bedding is very important– the aim is to raise healthycalves on dry bedding, by addingnew bedding at least weekly andpreferably more often. Ensuringcalves are protected fromprevailing winds will help keepbedding dry.

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Efforts to‘keep itclean’ areneverwasted.

Infection of the bedding canalso happen if the dam hasinfected her calf at birth.Australian research done on twofarms struggling with calfscouring infections (Gunn et al,2016) suggests that 40 percent ofcalves excreting rotavirus fromabout day three do so because ofthe dam, and/or fomites includingfeeding utensils.

To reduce infection in calfbedding, Gunn et al found thatdespite bedding being clean whencalves are introduced to the pen,rotavirus contamination from thepen wall can easily be transferredto the calf within three to fivedays.

To minimise urine pooling,sheds with sloping floors mayneed to be designed for the newseason. This helps keep beddingdry and also removes urine-bornecontaminants.

The shorter period of time frominfection to shed contaminationwith rotavirus and thesusceptibility of unprotectedcalves means rotavirus infectioncan dominate scours if a herd isnot vaccinated.

The strategy changes onceinfection is established in theshed in the early part of theseason with either infection. Thetarget then is to both limit thespread of infection between calves– by limiting the output of oocystsin the case of crypto such as withExagen – and by maintaining a

degree of hygiene that reducesoocyst intake.

Hygiene means detergentscrubbing with warm and hotwater, and drying of food utensils.Crowding of calves in pens maymake a problem worse, andspreading infection on footwear,clothes or hands requires abarrier between healthy andinfected groups of calves.Changing clothes or allocatingstaff to care for specific groupsmay be impractical but remainsrelevant, so long as barriersbetween infected animals arekept at the highest levels.

Unless these hygiene standardsare maintained between allgroups of calves, and through allstages of the calf season, infectionwill spread. For some calvescrypto oocyst output increases fortwo or three days before calfscours is diagnosed, and oocystoutput needs to increase onlymarginally for a new infection tooccur.

Efforts to ‘keep it clean’ arenever wasted.

Bigmachinesa fun challenge

Shaun Bradley spent time in WesternAustralia driving some big machines on anarable farm. Pictured Shaun in one of thebig machines he has ever driven.

Everywhere ShaunBradley goes, histrusted right-handgirl Indie follows.She will happilyspend all daysitting in thetractor watchingthe world go bywhile he works.

Give Tararua man ShaunBradley the keys to atractor, truck, digger or

any type of machinery he will bea happy man.

‘‘Throw me in anything thatmoves and I am happy,’’ he says.

And as long as it has airconditioning, a comfy seat, a radioand a beer fridge, he is on cloudnine.

His love of machinery led himto buy the company – well notquite, but he has established acontracting business.

Originally from Taihape wherehis parents ran a sawmill, he hasbeen putting farm machinerythrough its paces since 2005when at the age of 17 he got hisfirst taste of heavy metal.

‘‘I was a bit of a late starterwhen it comes to driving heavymachinery.

‘‘But since the first day Ihopped in the cab I have beenhooked. I love burning the diesel,the power of the machine andwhat can be achieved with them –especially in challengingconditions or on hills.’’

He cut his teeth on the hillsbehind Taihape where his firstjob was on a high country stationwhere he rotary-hoed a 100hapaddock in a John Deere 7810which he says is ‘‘still one of thebest tractors I have ever driven’’.

‘‘The opening lap took me 41⁄2hours, so it was pretty slow going.

‘‘I really enjoyed it and wasn’tput off by the slow pace.’’

Leaving school, he was giventhe opportunity to work on adairy farm so tried his hand atmilking and managing the farm.

Several years later he returnedto Taihape to pursue his love ofmachinery and went to work for acontractor where he got to try hishand at a range of cultivatingimplements and equipment.

‘‘I get a kick out of drivingsomething new and each job andmachine can have its challenges.

‘‘Those challenges help to build

up my skills and the more I have,the better I am at my job.’’

When winter arrived, heheaded off to Western Australiawhere he worked on a croppingunit planting canola, wheat andbarley. It is also where he got todrive the biggest machines yet – aNew Holland combine harvester,a New Holland pivot steer tractortowing a 60ft airseeder and a120ft self-propelled sprayer.

He also did a stint in Norfolk,England, before returning todrive tractors for a farminggroup.

In 2014, his cousin NickyAllomes and her husband Benasked him to go into partnershipin a contracting business. Theyhave completed their fourthseason as Bradley Agri.

‘‘I bought a couple of CASEtractors and away we went. Benpretty much leaves me to get onwith the job.’’

He has just a few clients andwants to keep it that way so hedoesn’t over-promise and under-deliver.

‘‘I want to be available to myclients so that I can do the jobsthey need me to and when theyneed them done.

‘‘One of our clients has a large200ha cropping programme overfour farms in and aroundPongaroa east of Dannevirke andwe also look after the Allomesgroup of farms, so I have lots tokeep me busy.’’

He has pride in his work andhis priority is to ensure goodresults – a good strike rate and agood crop for the farmer.

With little work available atpresent, he is helping the Allomeswith farm development andhelping to put in tracks and buildfences and cattle yards.

Everywhere he goes, histrusted chocolate Labrador Indiefollows.

‘‘She is my right-hand girl.‘‘If I am in the tractor, she

settles herself down in a spot onthe floor, same with the truck.She is great company, alwaysready to go to work – she neverleaves my side.’’

SONITACHANDARFARMMACHINERY


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DBOY awards night

Andrew and Sibylle Sulzberger andBrad and Christine Sulzberger werethe 2017 Dairy Business of the YearSupreme award winners. PicturedAndrew and Sibylle at the awardsevening last year.

Judging is underway inthe 2018 Dairy Businessof the Year with

winners announced later thismonth.

Now in its 11th year, theDBOY event held across alldairy regions of NewZealand, provides a uniqueopportunity for farmers toobtain a comprehensive farmperformance assessment andreport of their dairyenterprise’s financial, humanresources and environmentalmanagement performance(triple bottom line).

Regional OptimisationDays that highlight howaward-winning farmers haveobtained a resilient andprofitable system, will beheld this year on the regionalwinners’ farms throughoutNew Zealand during Octoberand November.

‘‘These field day events area great day out and anexcellent opportunity to hearand learn from some of NewZealand’s most resilient,sustainable and innovativedairy farmers,’’ DBOYmanager, David Densleysaid.

‘‘Attending these eventsprovides an opportunity tosee first-hand those farmingprinciples that are applied onthese high-performing farms,and a perfect time to askquestions, share ideas, and toexpand your own farmknowledge that could then beapplied to your farmingsystem.’’

The Sulzberger family ofTaranaki were the winners ofthe 2017 Dairy Business ofthe Year Supreme award.

‘‘We have met a lot ofpeople and get a lot ofcomments about our win.Winning the award hasreinforced the years of hardwork that have gone intogetting the farm and thebusiness to this point,’’Andrew Sulzberger said.

He said the detailedphysical and financialanalysis from DBOYconsultants gave them abetter understanding of key

performance indicators intheir business and theenvironmental reporthighlighted several areaswhere they could makeimprovements.

‘‘The reports reinforced ourlow cost structure andidentified areas that wecould tweak to gain evengreater efficiencies.’’

Their win had put them ingood stead with their bank.

‘‘They have greaterconfidence in us and see usas a low risk which is reallyimportant especially for anyfuture developments oropportunities that we maywant to pursue.’’

The DBOY LeaderOptimisation Day – anexclusive workshop for thefinalists – will be held theday after the awards. This isan opportunity to share ideaswith other regional leaders.

The competition ismanaged by Headlands, andsponsored by NZ CharteredAccountants, Ministry forPrimary Industries, Thelandand Headlands, along withBoehringer Ingelheim,Pioneer, NZI, CRV Ambreed,JobDone, No8HR, PGGWrightson Real Estate andthe NZDairyFarmer.

The awards are beingannounced at the DevonHotel in New Plymouth onThursday June 21. Ticketsare available atwww.dboy.co.nz or to find outmore call Monique Stewarton 0800 735 588.

NEWS SONITACHANDAR


Dairy farming:A lifestyle not a jobThe dairy industry needs more talented andpassionate people says DairyNZ educationfacilitator SUSAN STOKES.

Many farmers choose a career in dairy as they see it as a lifestyle rather than a job.

DairyNZeducationfacilitatorSusan Stokes ispassionateaboutpromotingdairy farmingas a career andthe vast arrayof roles it hasto offer.

The dairy sector needs 50,000 more skilled and enthusiasticpeople by 2025.

I’m a firm believer in the saying:‘If you love what you do, you’llnever work a day in your life’.And for most dairy farmers

that’s the case. Many choose acareer in dairy for the lifestyle.The farm isn’t just theirworkplace, it’s their home.

A dairy farming friend of mineonce said to me that ‘‘dairyfarming isn’t a job, it’s a way oflife’’, and that really struck achord with me.

I’m passionate about promotingdairy as a career and the vastarray of roles it has to offer. Therereally is something for everyone,whether that’s on farm, or in anagri-business or agri-science rolehelping farmers make informeddecisions.

And the sector is screaming formore talented and passionatepeople.

In fact, the dairy sector needs50,000 more skilled andpassionate people by 2025. That’sa lot.

To keep people informed aboutthe opportunities available withinthe sector, DairyNZ hasdeveloped a careers website

called ‘GoDairy’.The website has everything

from information onrecommended school subjects,tertiary study and training, linksto job search sites, andinformation on DairyNZscholarships.

It also features profiles on realpeople that are achieving successin their career to give insight intothe different paths some peopletake. Not everyone working onfarm grew up on one. TakeRachael Foy for example.

Rachael had no farmingbackground but was attracted todairy by the opportunities forgrowth in career, equity andlifestyle goals as well as beingpart of an industry thatcontributes significantly to NewZealand’s export sector.

She started out with a job on adairy farm before completing aBachelor of Agriculture at LincolnUniversity to further herknowledge. Now, she’s in her fifthseason dairy farming and hastaken on a 400-cow contractmilking position.

Whether you’re in high school,

looking for a career change, orjust curious about theopportunities in the sector, I’dencourage you check outgodairy.co.nz to find out what acareer in dairy could offer you.

For more information oncareers in dairy, or DairyNZscholarships, visit dairynz.co.nz/careers.

❚ Susan Stokes is a DairyNZ

education facilitator

Industry good: News fromDairyNZ

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Eradicating disease not an option

‘‘I don’t believewe will evereradicate M.bovis, andhaving it is notthe worst thingthat canhappen.’’

TOM FRASER

Mycoplasma bovis is almostcertainly here to stay andunlikely to be eradicated,

says a former AgResearchscientist.

Retired AgResearch farmsystems scientist, Tom Frasersaid most countries had M. bovisand he doubted it could or shouldbe eradicated in New Zealand.

‘‘I don’t believe we will evereradicate M. bovis, and having itis not the worst thing that canhappen, said Fraser at aRangitıkei Women in Farmingmeeting at Bulls.

‘‘Most countries live with it.Imagine if it was foot and mouthdisease,’’ he said.

Fraser who was an agriculturalscientist for 40 years, saidfarmers faced many challenges,including disease.

‘‘There are challenges. Thereare floods, droughts, marketcrashes, earthquakes anddiseases such as Mycoplasma

bovis, which is a real wake upcall for all farmers.

He said farmers should besetting up on-farmbiosecurity systems to stopany disease spreading.

Fraser sang the praises ofsheep and beef farmsthroughout New Zealand.

He said their income oftencame only three times a yearand they had many differentclasses of stock and land todeal with.

‘‘But think about budgetingif you can. It really helps. Asheep and beef farmer has tothink about the quality andquantity of feed, animalhealth and animalperformance and more fornumerous stock ages andtypes. But information is king.Do a budget and it will help.’’

Many rural women helpcome up with ideas on farm andmake them happen, he said.

Women in Farming group,facilitator Sarah Bell aTaihape farmer said farmingwomen were often decision-makers.

‘‘Part of this network ofWomen in Farming is about

women and that knowledge andawareness from people like Tom

Fraser gives them confidencearound farming, and able toengage meaningfully withtheir partner about thosethings.’’

About 15 rural women hadgathered for the farm systemsaddress after attending abreast cancer awarenessevent.

The rural women held anauction raising hundreds ofdollars for breast cancer, withmany donations from Taihapebusinesses, said Bell.

She said everyone knew ofsomeone who had had breastcancer.

JILLGALLOWAYNEWS


21st June 2018 from 6.00PM

New Plymouth, The Devon Hotel. Book your table now at

WWW.DBOY.CO.NZ

2018 AWARDS NIGHT

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Last issue for NZDairyFarmer

Goodbye and good luck

SONITA

Stuff has announced theclosure of six farming titles,including NZDairyFarmer.

This is our last issue.Our flagship publication, NZ

Farmer, will also close with itslast issue hitting letterboxes fromJune 18. Waikato Farmer,Central Districts Farmer,Canterbury Farmer and OtagoSouthland Farmer will also close.

I would like to take this time tosay thank you to all ourcontributors who have suppliedcolumns, opinion pieces andstories. A huge thanks goes toDairyNZ, which has supplied amonthly column and often hasstepped in to supply extra copywhen we have needed it.

Thanks to our agri team whohave done an amazing job atgetting out on farms, attendingevents and field days andproviding coverage of industrynews.

Gerald Piddock, Andrea Fox,Anne Boswell and Fritha Tagg inWaikato, Esther Taunton inTaranaki, Jill Galloway inManawatu, Barbara Gilham andKate Taylor in Hawke’s Bay,Gerard Hutching, Wellington,Heather Chalmers, Pat Deavolland Tony Benny in Canterbury,Rob Tipa in Otago and BrittanyPickett in Southland. It has beenan honour and pleasure workingwith you all and I wish you luckin your future endeavours.

Thanks also go to TimCronshaw, our head of ruralcontent, who has kept us tickingalong, rural brand manager Dean

Williamson and his team, SteveMcLaren, Kiri Jones, SamanthaTennent, Andrea Mansfield aswell as past members ArdiRoberts and Olivia Sanders. Youall knew how to wind me up andkeep me on my toes.

My biggest thanks has to go toNZ Farmer editor Jon Morganwho I consider to be a good friend.He has always made himselfavailable to have a chat –oftenabout anything other thanfarming – or look over stories. Icould not have wished for a bettermentor and I am sure he will besorely missed by us all. Have fun,kick back and enjoy yourretirement, Jon.

Also a big thanks to RachelTrevelyan who laid outNZDairyFarmer each monthalong with Donna Olsen andMijburgh Beukes who havejumped in and worked onproduction when needed as wellas Victor Soh and our printproducer Arvind Kumar. Sorry fordriving you all crazy with mychanges.

Also, thanks go to all thephotographers around thecountry who have donned theirgumboots and gone out to get allthe amazing photos we have runalongside our on-farms andprofiles.

But most of all, thank you to allof you farmers who have allowedus to tell your stories – withoutyou, the pages would have beenempty.

Goodbye and good luck.Sonita

SONITACHANDARNEWS


AU-7932332AE

Email: [email protected] | Phone: +64 9 837 3243

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Any time an immune systemis overwhelmed bypathogen challenge,

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One of the most common timesthat an immune system isoverwhelmed is around transitionand in particular, calving. Thetransition period is generallyconsidered to be the moststressful time in the annual cyclefor a New Zealand dairy cow.During transition the cowundergoes massive metabolic andphysiological change as she movesfrom being geared to support afoetus to expelling that foetus andproducing large volumes of milk.

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A key consideration insupplying trace elements insupport of the immune system isthe form of those minerals. Acow’s natural diet consists ofminerals in an ‘‘organic’’ form,

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Nutritionists have longunderstood that inorganicminerals in the form of sulphatesare relatively poorly absorbed.This is because of bothinteractions in the rumen withother minerals and also becausethe inorganic minerals have greatdifficulty crossing the mucuslining of the intestine. Incontrast, organic minerals havelower interactions in the rumenand can easily pass through themucus layer and shown tosupport superior outcomes whencompared to sulphates.

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Where to now for dairy farm values?

We consider the markethas largely adopted await and see approachwith regard to howthings play out over theremainder of this seasonand during winter.

RYAN BRATTY

Real Estate

It has been a reasonablyslow end to the 2017-2018selling season for the

Canterbury dairy farmmarket, following arelatively active start inspring 2017. We have seena number of strong sales inthe most keenly soughtlocations from predominantlylocal farming families.

Now we have observed fewertransactions of larger scaleoperations which suggests thatthe buyer pool for theseproperties has reduced. TheOverseas Investment Office (OIO)have delayed decisions and as aresult, overseas buyers effectivelyhave their hands tied. On theback of this, there is a concernthat the impact of restrictedliquidity will put pressure onvalues.

Foreign capital hasunderpinned demand in the dairyindustry over recent years andthe sheer weight of capital topurchase larger farms may be a

challenge for local buyers.There has also been an increase

in the number of ‘Tier 2’ and ‘Tier3’ properties being listed withvery few sales. It is now likelythat these properties will bewithdrawn from the market untilspring. With a greater number oflistings and vendors having morerealistic expectations, coupledwith the smaller pool of buyers,the gap between higher qualityand poorer quality properties islikely to widen further nextseason.

Other market factors which arestill evolving and the outcomes ofwhich are yet to be understood,such as Mycoplasma Bovis, areonly adding to uncertainty and insome cases causing issues withtransactions getting across theline.

In the interim, we consider thatprospective local buyers are nowsomewhat holding back in-orderto get a better sense of marketdirection, whilst the vendors arestill trying to achieve a strongsale.

We consider the market haslargely adopted a wait and seeapproach with regard to howthings play out over theremainder of this season andduring winter. The only exceptionto this being prime land wherepotential purchasers would notwant to let opportunities slip byor whereby a neighbouringfarmer influence may exist.❚ Ryan Bratty is a registered valuerand associate director for ColliersInternational.


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From small beginnings, Fieldays has

grown to become the largest

agricultural event in the Southern

Hemisphere. In its irst year 10,000

people came through the gates to visit 80

exhibitors; last year, more than 133,000

visited almost 1000 exhibitors.

Run by the New Zealand Agricultural

Fieldays Society (the Society), the chosen

theme for Fieldays 2018 is ‘the future of

farming’ with a focus on agricultural trends

and ideas, and an aim of starting a discussion

on what the future will look like for New

Zealand farmers.

“As an event, Fieldays has always looked

forward, so the theme – the future of farming

– is very apt,” says Society CEO Peter Nation.

New Zealand’s economic future, says the

Minister of Agriculture and Rural

The future of farming in this country

can be in no doubt as Fieldays this

year celebrates its 50th anniversary

of presenting New Zealand’s farming

industry and lifestyle to the nation

and the world, and recognising the

contribution the agricultural sector

makes to our economy.

Looking to the future

with new and diferent ways of achieving.

take the weight of your feet.

team have pulled of such a creative and

Here are CEO Peter Nation and President Peter Carr’s top ive things

“When we look back it’s

astounding how far we’ve come, and a number of really

special organisations and exhibitors have been with us every step of the way

”Peter Nation, CEO, Feildays Society

technology to help them get around the site

more easily and plan their days in advance.

Exhibitors, streets and key areas are all now

digitally mapped, and the app will help visitors

ind the best routes around the site, providing

directions and suggesting the shortest routes

to their next port of call, whether it’s a coffee

cart or one of the main event hubs. And at the

end of a long day, the app can direct you back

to your car.

While many visitors value Fieldays as an

opportunity to catch up with new

developments, equipment and technology,

there’s also a lighter side. Competitions and

attractions, both fun and challenging,

including perennial favourites – such as the

Festival of Logging, NZ Fencing

Championships, Tractor Pull and the

revamped Rural Bachelor competition, now

called Rural Catch and featuring both female

and male competitors – are expected to draw

the crowds again this year.

“Part of changing the Rural Bachelor

competition is us acknowledging that times

have changed, and that it’s important to

recognise the important role and contribution

of rural women,” says Nation. “When we talk

about ‘the future of farming’, equality and

representation are part of that.”

Communities, Hon Damien O’Connor,

“depends on our ability to sustainably

produce the inest primary sector products for

a growing global population. But we need to

move quickly to ensure we are in step with the

staggering pace of market and technological

change. Fieldays is a special event where we

can come together to confront these issues.”

Relecting on Fieldays’ long involvement in

the agricultural industry, Nation says there are

a signiicant number of companies and

organisations who have supported the event

from day one. “When we look back it’s

astounding how far we’ve come, and a

number of really special organisations and

exhibitors have been with us every step of the

way. Not many people can say they’ve

committed to something for the last 50

years,” he says.

Fieldays will again be a four‐day event

running from Wednesday 13 June to Saturday

16 June, with highlights including the Health

and Wellbeing Hub, Careers and Education

programme, live‐action kitchen theatre, and

the Innovations Centre. For the forward-

looking Innovation Awards, the Fieldays’

theme of the “future of farming” ties in

perfectly.

“Originally, the Fieldays Innovation Awards

were about widgets, gadgets and devices to

improve farming, but more and more we’re

seeing entries that play to the agri-tech factor

and really take into account how science and

technology continues to advance agriculture,”

says innovations event manager Gail

Hendricks.

Innovation and looking to the future isn’t

conined to exhibitors; Fieldays is launching a

new, free app offering visitors GPS mapping

6

Entrepreneurs and ideas people the

world over are searching for ways to

help producers farm smarter,

through developments such as

robotics and automation, biotechnology, and

supply chain and logistics software.

Helping Kiwi start-ups bring their ideas to

fruition and maximise their impact is Sprout

Agritech Accelerator. Designed to fund the

next generation of agritech start-ups, Sprout’s

goal is to help entrepreneurs grow global

agritech businesses from New Zealand.

The speciic primary production areas

covered in Sprout’s deinition of agritech

include agriculture, horticulture, forestry,

pipfruit, viticulture and aquaculture.

Incorporating key learnings from inventors,

business owners, investors and employees,

each year Sprout provides up to eight

start-ups with the basics they need to

establish their businesses.

The ive-month accelerator gives participants

access to a pool of more than $500,000 in

grants and investments, as well as extensive

mentoring from a team of experts, and access

to four fully funded block courses designed to

upskill them as businesspeople.

This year’s cohort has the opportunity to

showcase their businesses as part of the

innovation den at the 2018 National

Agricultural Fieldays and, like previous

cohorts, they will get the chance to pitch to a

hand-picked group of investors, corporate

partners and potential customers.

A helping hand for agritech start-ups

Farmote Systems’ new

technology aims to

make farming

methods more cost

effective and less

time-consuming.

By the year 2050 the world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion,

which means there will be an extra 2.4 billion mouths to feed. That’s a tall

order for the world’s food producers and will require developments in

technology that will help improve yield and eficiency, a.k.a. ‘agritech’.

Making Farming More Cost EffectiveChristchurch start-up Farmote

Systems beat out competition from

more than 80 hopefuls to be chosen as part of

the 2018 cohort. The creation of Richard

Barton, Stuart Brown, Ram Manthry and

Souless Yu, Farmote Systems hopes to make

farming methods more cost effective and less

time-consuming.

Their technology measures growth of

pasture and forage crops, and combines this

with data on soil and environmental

conditions, allowing farmers to adapt and

make decisions based on accurate, real-time

data. Currently in the pre-launch phase, the

company aims to launch its product later this

year.

Managing director Richard Barton says as

“a group of engineers” the team is inding the

non-engineering expertise, such as sales and

marketing, invaluable.

“It has deinitely illed in some of the areas

we were concerned about.

When you start a company,

you try to wear as many hats as

you can but you’re never going to be

an expert in all areas.”

Other start-ups selected this year include

ABNZ, a company focused on extracting

collagen from cow hide for use in the US

wound care market; Acuris Systems, which is

developing automated robots to help

orchardists increase high-quality yields; and

Micropod, a smart device that allows fresh

microgreens to be grown indoors using

innovative control systems.

“The companies we selected showcase

unbridled entrepreneurial ambition,” says

selection committee member Damian Lynch

from PGG Wrightson. “These are really good

examples of young emerging business

leaders who are not afraid to throw everything

they’ve got at their idea, and these

businesses are moving quite fast, which is

exciting to see.”

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Faster Colony Growth for BeekeepersPart of Sprout’s 2016 cohort, Ceratech is the

brainchild of Taranaki beekeeper Shandy

Gibbs and her business partners, Michael Fry,

Nick Eaton and Nick Couch. Their innovative

product, which they hope to have on the

market in the fourth quarter of this year, is a

pre-built beeswax honeycomb frame that will

provide faster colony growth and ultimately

allow beekeepers to increase honey yields

without increasing hive numbers.

Using the bees’ own wax to build

honeycombs, rather than waiting weeks for

them to do the work, will allow beekeepers to

build up colonies and expand at least twice as

fast as was previously possible. Replacing

frames more often will also mean a reduction

in the spread of pests and diseases, and for

the end consumer, a cleaner, more natural

and more bee-friendly product.

“We went to Sprout with an idea, and

Sprout helped us to build a business around it

and set a strong direction,” says CEO Gibbs.

“They helped us access business networks

across New Zealand and aided in our

business becoming investment ready. Since

entering Sprout we’ve made signiicant

headway through developing our technology

and through customer validation.”

Gibbs recommends Sprout to anyone

looking to build an agritech start-up. “We

have progressed further along our journey …

than we ever would have on our own, and

with their support and mentoring have been

able to build a company that we are extremely

proud of.”

Helping with Logistical ChallengesPart of the inaugural 2015 cohort, AgriTrack is

a logistics management system designed by

Dunedin entrepreneurs Andrew Humphries

and Tom Rivett. The system helps large-scale

crop farmers with a multitude of logistical

challenges during harvest time, particularly

those associated with vehicle management.

Chief executive Andrew Humphries spent

ive years driving tractors on Australian farms

and, frustrated by the inability to communicate

between tractors on a farm, he decided to

come up with a solution.

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“We have progressed further along our journey … than we ever would have on our own

”“Through the use of innovative technology,

our real-time GPS tracking service allows farm

managers to minimise workload while

maximising eficiencies,” says Humphries,

who splits his time between New Zealand and

Australia, AgriTrack’s biggest market.

“AgriTrack gives them accurate reporting and

more informed forecasting, budgeting and

purchasing decisions.”

When AgriTrack took part in Sprout

Accelerator they had already developed a

product but were looking for advice on

distribution and scaling the company. The

team at Sprout helped them create a plan and

raise $550,000 capital. “They went above and

beyond,” says Humphries. “They’re great

people who I still talk to quite often, four years

down the track.”

Next year, alongside the eight New Zealand

agritech companies, Sprout will be selecting

four companies from around the world to join

the Accelerator. These entrepreneurs will be

supported by Sprout’s world-class investors,

partners and mentors, and interest has

already been received from start-ups in the

US, UK, Ireland and Asia.

The Sprout Accelerator was designed by

BCC, a Palmerston North-based business

incubator. Over the last two years BCC has

helped establish four globally focused

agritech start-ups, BioLumic, CalfSMART,

CropX and Polybatics, which have raised over

$15 million in growth capital from New

Zealand and overseas investors.

AGMARDT is the pre-seed funding partner

and Sprout is supported and funded by a mix

of public and private sector leaders in agritech

and start-up investment, including Callaghan

Innovation, C B Norwood Distributors Ltd,

Fonterra, Livestock Improvement Corporation

(LIC), Levno, Massey University, Gallagher

Group, KPMG, Manawatu Investment Group

(MIG) and PGG Wrightson.

By Sara Carbery

Ceratech has produced a pre-built beeswax honeycomb frame for faster colony growth.

8

Countrywide, streams and rivers

show unacceptably high levels of

contaminants, the bulk of which

can be attributed directly to

chemical and organic run-off from farms.

These surface-derived contaminants include

suspended sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen,

and the faecal indicator bacteria Escherichia

coli (E. coli)

The urgent need to reduce the levels of

contaminants in our waterways has been the

subject of numerous debates and postulating,

and has spawned the national adoption of

planting and fencing.

Many councils and some industry

organisations have a policy stating that cattle,

deer and sheep should be fenced out of

permanently lowing waterways and drains

wider than 1 metre and deeper than 30

centimetres.

Recognising the importance of

rehabilitating our waterways, New Zealand’s

dairy farmers have voluntarily erected some

27,000km of fencing – approximately 90 per

cent of the major waterways that fall within the

prescribed parameters.

Unfortunately, new studies (Professor

No fence sitting for cleaner waterwaysIt wasn’t all that long ago when you could cool off by taking a dip in the

nearest river. Today, however, water pollution poses a serious health risk.

Richard McDowell – National Science

Challenge) have shown that while this does

have the effect of reducing direct

contamination, there are two major factors

that are thwarting the programme’s objectives.

First, it appears that 77 per cent of

contamination is derived from smaller streams

and watercourses that are “exempt” from

fencing according to their size and nature. So,

by the time they low into larger, fenced-off

streams, the pollution is already present.

Second, the sheer number and

inaccessibility of many of these exempt water

bodies make it prohibitively expensive and

impractical to consider fencing them all.

This means that while fencing can assist in

reducing water contamination, it is unlikely to

achieve the desired goals. Especially when

this is combined with the fact that the

much-trumpeted vegetated buffer strips often

simply aren’t wide enough to be effective, or

the practical reality that concentrated lows

simply pass straight through them, it is time

for new thinking, a new technology.

This is where Dung Beetle Innovations will

play a pivotal role. Using dung beetles to bury

the problem “at source” and sustainably,

farmers can reduce the number of

contaminants that enter the water system as

surface runoff and, at the same time, improve

iniltration, soil fertility and health, with all the

goodness buried manure provides.

Government’s stated objective – to make

90 per cent of rivers and lakes “swimmable”

by 2040 – is no pie-in-the-sky fantasy. With

the broad-scale deployment of dung beetles,

fencing and good management practices, we

have every chance of meeting this goal.

If we are serious about making sustainable

improvements not only to our water quality

but to our precious top soils, then we ought to

consider ALL options. Central and local

government, and industry organisations need

to follow the lead of progressive farmers and

iwi to support and help deliver this world-

proven, common-sense technology. In

partnership with catchment-based farmer

groups we can make a signiicant change.

The time for fence-sitting has ended.

About the Author: Shaun Forgie is an

internationally recognised entomologist, with

PhD and MSc (Hons) degrees specialising in

dung beetle reproduction, ecology and

evolution. His work has been published in the

media and peer-reviewed scientiic journals.

In his previous role as a research scientist for

Landcare Research, New Zealand’s foremost

environmental research institute, he received

a science excellence award for his key role in

the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Project.

Dung beetles bury manure sustainably and can also help improve soil health and fertility.

9

Clever inventions and their inventors

have been recognised in a variety

of ways during the years since

Fieldays was irst established –

one stand-out and much-treasured prize has

been a ceramic plate designed by Auckland

artist Jill Totty and ired in the kilns at Phoenix

Pottery, also in Auckland.

Doug Baldwin, who is one of the original

Fieldays committee members, says that

recently someone stumbled across one of the

old plates and wondered where it came from.

“We did a bit of digging and discovered that

these plates were presented by NZ Farmer for

worthy inventions between the years 1985

and 1989.”

Some were for ideas dreamed up by

practical and canny individuals from almost

every corner of the country, and others came

out of the workshops of various New Zealand

companies.

Baldwin says each plate cost around $50 to

cast, so they were quite expensive, and each

was engraved with the name of the winner,

the invention and the year of presentation.

A piece of Fieldays historyFrom bin illers to adjustable vat

stirrers to rope tightening tools,

outdoor clothing and calf houses – a

plethora of interesting and unusual

inventions has emerged from

Fieldays over the last 50 years.

Many of the inventions that took home a plate

have gone on to become standard equipment

on farms and in other rural businesses, while

over the years others have been replaced by

newer technology.

At the time that they were presented,

however, it was considered a great honour to

be able to hang a plate on the wall. “Everyone

in the community was very envious of those

who did win them,” says Baldwin.

In 1985, nine plates were

presented for entries including

a mower blade from W.S.

Gillanders of Moerewa, a

fencing wire tension

meter designed by

Ron Stockley of

Oamaru and a pipe

clamping system

from Stephen Cole

of Goodnight

Australia.

All nine winners took

home sponsors’

equipment and a share of

$1400 prize money. Two

winners – Neil Muller from

Otorohanga with his loading gate on a crate,

and Martin Bruce from Canterbury for his

Gudgeon socket – went on to represent New

Zealand and present their inventions at the

Orange Field Days in New South Wales.

By 1987 the stakes had improved and six

men and one woman inventor

shared $1900, as well as receiving

the plate and sponsors’ product. Marlene

Kilgour from Taupo took her share of the prize

for under and outer protective clothing. Other

winners that year included Neil Grant from

Otago, with a three-way drafting gate, and SG

Paxton from Katikati, for a detachable trailing

axle, semi-trailer assembly.

In the last year the plate was presented,

1989, the inventions included Eze Pull fencing

pliers from CH Johnstone of Te Pahu, a bio

blade opener and hydraulic memory value

from the Agricultural Machinery Research

Centre, Massey University and a wind turbine

from Dave Pate in Whanganui.

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The Inventions Award was given for worthy inventions from 1985 to 1989.

10

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Proudly owned by John Biesebroek, the

vintage Hansa was purchased second-hand

in 1990, after spending the previous 28 years

working hard, chipping and mulching in a

designated signiicant area of native trees just

north of Auckland.

With 440 metres of driveway, Biesebroek

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away fallen debris and branches from the

almost 33ha of regenerated native timber

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When asked how many trees the Chuck n

A chipper with a long and

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Veteran chipper retiresDuck had shredded in its day, Biesebroek’s

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to be maintained. Storms can do a lot of

damage, especially to dead trees, which can

become dangerous over our driveway.”

The Chuck n Duck was inally allowed to

retire last year after it came to Hansa Chippers

for a service – and although Biesebroek stated

that he would have happily carried on using it,

the team at Hansa was blown away with what

they described as an ‘antique’ of sentimental

value and made a deal with him to trade it

towards a new C21.

Biesebroek was unaware of the machine’s

Chuck n Duck nickname, but said that it

certainly struck a note when he heard the

term. “Although the Chuck n Duck was great,

its name says it all; you have to be

experienced to use it. We had some very, very

close encounters after putting timber in the

machine – you never knew when it was going

to come back!

“The C21 is safer and more than suficient

for our block; we are very pleased with it.”

In comparing the two machines, Biesebroek

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work. It was never a disappointment, but

there’s no comparison; the new C21 machine

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a tremendous job.

“One of my favourite features on the C21 is

that it’s road towable, which makes it so much

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the safety – there’s no more chucking and

ducking!

“I’ve had over 25 years’ experience with

Hansa Chippers, and it’s great to see the

advances the company has made with its

machines.”

Biesebroek’s friends and family have seen

the land change over the years as the native

trees and birds have lourished under his care.

Hansa Chippers is pleased that Biesebroek

re-uses the mulch, something they promote

to its customers. “The mulch from the chipper

is used in my garden and in between the

trees. It’s our way of bringing it back to

nature,” he said.

Martin Vogel, managing director of Hansa

Chippers, was thrilled to have the Chuck n

Duck back. “I couldn’t believe it when it turned

up for a service. I was only just born when this

was made, and for it to still be in working

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John Biesebroek has traded his ‘antique’

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Looking back in timePaths and roads through Mystery Creek are no longer muddy, but the same enthusiastic spirit

pervades the event, with contests from sheep shearing to log trimming still drawing the crowds.

LEFT: Gumboots and umbrellas were the order of the day

for these wet crowds.

ABOVE: Te Puke farmer Eion Bowen invented a gate that

opened automatically when a vehicle approached.

Fieldays Focus celebrated 10 years of

Agricultural Fieldays in 1978.

Competitions at Fieldays

have always drawn big

crowds of spectators.

A young farmer demonstrates a rotary

shearing machine.

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ABOVE: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip enjoy

a visit to Fieldays.

BELOW: Butter churns may not appeal to today’s

farmers, but they were a drawcard in the past.

ABOVE: Agricultural Fieldays was a sea of tents in 1986.

BELOW: Robert Bolton of Pukekohe trims logs in a sawmilling demo.

Farmers in their Sunday best enjoy a

quiet moment at the livestock pens.

The New Zealand National Fieldays

Society was was envisioned by

Nufield Scholar John Kneebone ,

who wrote to the Waikato Times in

1968 promoting the idea of a Town

and Country show for farmers. He

wanted to create an event where

farmers could meet, and view

products, services and innovations

in farm machinery. His concept

became the irst Fieldays event.

PHOTOS: HAMILTON CITY LIBRARY, STUFF NZ, DOUG BALDWIN.

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FencingSee some of the country’s top fencers in action and take advantage of free and interactive

advice at demonstrations that are run continuously by three top professional fencers and

fencing instructors each day. There will also be demonstrations of fences being built using

tractor-driven post drivers from several NZ manufacturers. Fieldays Fencing Competitions

shows New Zealand’s top fencers in a match of skill, speed, endurance and sheer tenacity.

No.8 Wire National Art AwardThis Award showcases the imagination and

creativity of Kiwi artists and DIYers, challenged

to create innovative artwork, predominantly

using No.8 Wire. The display of ingenious and

unique artwork celebrates the innovative Kiwi

spirit in a creative form, paying homage to

Kiwi ingenuity and innovation and the can-do

Kiwi attitude.

ExcavatorsThe Waikato regional event of the National

Excavator Competition begins on Friday at

8.30am and continues on Saturday. The

winner of the Waikato regional heat receives a

prize package of approximately $2000 in cash

and prizes, plus an all-expenses paid trip to

compete in the National Excavator

Competition inals in March.

EntertainmentFieldays has a variety of shows and

experiences the whole family can enjoy.

Check out Chelsea & the Ultimate Canines, as

they dazzle audiences with tricks and skills

that appeal to a wide audience – not just dog

lovers. DairyNZ’s Rosie the Cow is also

putting on a show, with performances

designed to teach kids and families the

importance of dairy in New Zealand – both

educational and fun. For younger children,

Sam and his Farmyard Friends will be in the

Petting Farm. Get up close and cuddly with a

pony, giant Flemish rabbit, sheep, Kunekune

pig, silky bantams and Peking ducks. For the

more adventurous, visit the Excavator Area

where Doug the Digger gives kids a fun

opportunity to experience a mini excavator

operating in a safe environment.

Fieldays 2018From the most up-to-date agricultural technology and ground-breaking

innovations, to shopping, competitions and demonstrations, live shows

and delicious food prepared by some of New Zealand’s top chefs,

Fieldays has something for everyone.

Careers and EducationThis fun and interactive zone aims

to inspire young people to see

themselves in the primary sector,

with information on opportunities

and avenues for agricultural

success.Those wanting to ind out

more about a career in agriculture

can meet agricultural education

providers and agribusinesses.

Rural CatchFour eligible rural males and four

eligible rural females will represent

the farming community. These

inalists will compete in daily

challenges designed to test their

skills both on and off the farm, as

they compete for the title of Fieldays

Rural Catch of the Year 2018, and

the honour of having the Golden

Gumboot on the mantelpiece. A

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Health and WellbeingLearn about health issues for you

and your family in a non-threatening

and interesting way. Mobile Health

and a range of healthcare services

are showcasing some of the

innovative and lifesaving services

they are providing communities.

Topics include cancer detection and

treatment, rural mental health and

wellbeing, through to services that

support our rangatahi/youth, and

check your child is enrolled for free

dental care.

Kitchen TheatreThis area is dedicated to

showcasing the inventive

developments in our culinary

industries. The Kitchen Theatre has

a line of top chefs, set up in

functional kitchens to demonstrate

the paddock to dinner plate

philosophy. Presentations feature

delicious recipes and professional

techniques, and guest chefs and

presenters introduce foods from

various sources including

sustainable farming, technological

developments and the natural

environment. The focus is on

knowing what we’re eating from a

nutrition and wellness perspective.

Guest Chefs

InnovationsThe Innovations Centre is home to the

Innovations Award exhibits. Admire the latest

developments in agricultural technology that

will shape farming practices and check out

the entries into the Innovation Awards. Over

60 entrants are showing their crazy-great

ideas and genius innovations that one day

might change the future of farming.

The Innovations Centre is open all four days of

Fieldays and hosts several networking events

InternationalAgricultural industries from across New

Zealand and the world can advance their

commercial enterprises at Fieldays

International. This space is designed to bring

agritech companies and international buyers

and visitors together, giving exhibitors and

international business visitors a professional

environment where they can relax and

conduct business at Fieldays.

Tractor PullThe boy-racers of the farming world go

head to head in this hotly contested

competition, a irm favourite at Fieldays.

Make yourself comfortable in the

grandstand forthe best views of this

action-packed event. Heats are held

Wednesday to Friday, with the inals on

Saturday afternoon followed by

presentation of the prizes.

AG HeritageThe heritage buildings, museums,

artefacts, demonstrations, and

hands-on activities offer insight into

life in days gone by in rural Waikato.

The Village is a favourite with

families, and kids and adults can

enjoy activities, puzzles and

challenges. Inside the village are the

old Ngatea Church, Kihikihi Jail,

Whitehall School and Waikato

Hospital.

These buildings will be open for you

to explore, with puzzles,

LoggingThe Festival of Logging is an array of timber sport activities to capture everyone’s attention.

Thursday is Champions Trophy trials day and Friday is Timbersports trials day. On Saturday

loggers from around the country will compete in multiple Loggersports events.

16

Coined in the 1950s, ‘Artiicial

Intelligence’ (AI) is no longer the

domain of science iction. It’s well

and truly here and fast becoming

mainstream. In fact, if you’ve used Google

Maps, Spotify or Siri, you’ve used some form

of AI, perhaps without even realising.

In a recent report by the AI Forum, AI is

deined as ‘Advanced digital technologies that

enable machines to reproduce or surpass

abilities that would require intelligence if

humans were to perform them’.

Titled Artiicial Intelligence: Shaping a Future

for New Zealand, the report estimates that by

2035, AI has the potential to increase New

Zealand’s GDP by up to $54 billion. It lists the

top ive drivers of AI uptake as the

technology’s ability to make sense of vast

amounts of data, automate tedious or

Automation – the way of the future

dangerous work, support decision making

with speed and accuracy, reduce business

costs by automation, and optimise business

processes.

A white paper released in March by

Callaghan Innovation predicts that AI will have

“an extreme impact” on New Zealand’s

agriculture sector in the next decade. “In

agriculture AI is driving automated harvesting

and milking, smart monitoring of plants and

stock health, as well as more precise

forecasting of crop and dairy yields,” says

Callaghan Innovation chief executive

Vic Crone.

“Artiicial intelligence is not just a

technology for tech companies,” she adds.

“In New Zealand and around the world,

businesses across diverse industries are

using it in a host of ways to create serious

competitive advantages.”

In the white paper, Thinking Ahead:

Innovation Through Artiicial Intelligence, the

authors write: “We believe there will be an

extreme impact in agriculture, with many

tasks able to be automated and optimised.

Presently we see the bulk of this impact

occurring in the next two to ive years …

focused on eficiency and cost savings.”

One of the ways in which AI is being used is

in the application of machine learning (a term

often used interchangeably with AI) to near

infra-red images of soil samples by

researchers at the University of Waikato. This

means the samples don’t need to be sent to

the lab – so faster turnaround times – and it

also enables farmers to apply fertilisers “much

more eficiently”, according to the report.

Callaghan Innovation also foresees robots

roaming between plots, collecting data and

eliminating weeds. “These bots are light

Get ready New Zealand – ag-bots are coming our way.

“In agriculture AI is

driving automated harvesting and milking,

smart monitoring of plants and stock health

”Vic Crone, chief executive,

Callaghan Innovation

PHOTO: STUFF NZ

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enough that they do not damage the soil, and

because they release herbicides only onto the

weeds, they’re also more environmentally

sustainable.”

The paper also outlines the ways AI can be

used to improve eficiencies in livestock

management through the optimsation of feed

and the dispensing of medicine. The

technology can constantly monitor stock

movements, eating patterns and health, and

immediately lag animals that are showing

unusual behaviour or reduced wellbeing.

Another example given in the paper is the

prediction of crop yields well ahead of

scheduled harvests. Even stabilising a device

as simple as a smartphone to ride along on

trailers can help provide better estimates,

suggest the authors. “The device videos the

orchard on the go and can then geo stitch a

map. From there, video-based machine

learning systems can detect, and therefore

count, seeds and fruit months in advance.

“Having these insights in advance would

also enable harvesters to undertake section-

based optimisations, improve food safety,

and direct fertiliser to speciic locations.”

Professor Ian Yule, director of the Massey

Agritech Partnership Research Centre,

believes we are just at the beginning of seeing

AI making a real contribution to the

agricultural sector in New Zealand.

Along the lines of the C-Dax pasture robot,

which was developed to help measure

pasture autonomously (and showcased at the

National Fieldays last year), Professor Yule

predicts that in ive years we will see basic

robots on farms doing simple tasks such as

recognising and spraying weeds, and picking

and packing fruit.

Much of the AI technology is now coming

out of the research phase and into the

development phase, he says, citing the

purchase of Blue River Technology late last

year by John Deer. A Californian innovation

leader, Blue River has designed and

integrated computer vision and machine

learning technology that will enable growers

to reduce the use of herbicides by spraying

only where weeds are present.

Professor Yule, who has a PhD in

agricultural engineering and a passion for

remote and hyperspectral sensing, says a lot

of information can already be gathered

remotely on farms via sensors, and this data

will increasingly be analysed using artiicial

intelligence. However, he believes the real

challenge is to combine these various

sources of information into one, useable

system.

“What the human mind is really good at,

and what farmers aren’t given enough credit

for, is their ability to integrate information from

lots of different sources,” says Professor Yule.

“That’s why a lot of technologies don’t quite

make it; they’re singular, and a farmer’s world

is an extremely integrated one. They want all

the data in one place.”

With the development of 5G mobile

technology, our capacity to move data

around will increase “massively”, predicts

Professor Yule. “At the moment we’re limited

by the amount of data we can work on

instantaneously. If robots were linked to the

5G network, we could control them from

almost anywhere in the world.”

Another area in which AI is being

incorporated is in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

(UAVs), or drones. Alongside checking stock

and aerial spraying, an application that is

starting to gain popularity is the use of NDVI

(normalised difference vegetation index)

imaging.

“By analysing imagery captured in the

near-invisible light spectra, we can analyse

crop photosynthesis levels – and therefore

crop health – along with water levels, crop

density and nitrogen levels,” explains

Jonathan Kubiak, a sales consultant with DJI

Ferntech. “Using this information, early onset

of disease can be predicted, fertiliser

application can be optimised and irrigation

can be improved.”

Craige Mackenzie has been described by

Idealog magazine as “one of New Zealand’s

most technologically savvy farmers”. As well

as farming an arable cropping property near

Methven, Mackenzie is past chair of the

Precision Agriculture Association of NZ

(PAANZ) and founder and director of Agri

Optics, a precision agriculture company with

a focus on crop sensors and farm and ield

mapping technologies. One of the products

the company is developing is Smart-N, a

technology that cost-effectively helps farmers

manage nitrogen application.

While Smart-N “probably would beneit

from AI”, Mackenzie suggests the industry

should take a cautious approach to how it

incorporates this new technology.

One of the questions he believes the sector

should be asking is “whether we’re talking

about artiicial intelligence or augmented

intelligence”. (Augmented Intelligence

emphasises that AI is designed to enhance

human intelligence rather than replace it.)

“We’re still living in a biological system

which on a day-to-day basis needs input from

farmers,” explains Mackenzie. “There’s a

saying that outstanding farmers are often the

ones out standing in their ields. We don’t

want to lose that hands-on side of farming.

“AI may be able to recognise pests and

diseases before we can, but making the

decision around the right product to use,

that’s where farmers come in.”

Mackenzie also suggests that while AI

might help upskill some farmers, the farmers

who are pushing the boundaries – what he

dubs “the top 20 per cent” – are probably

going to be one step ahead of AI.

“Just because the science says you should

do something doesn’t mean that’s what the

leading farmers are doing,” he says. “We

don’t want to lose that leadership, innovation

and engagement.”

However quickly AI is adopted on New

Zealand farms, and whatever roles it plays,

there’s no doubt artiicial intelligence will be

part of farming’s future. In fact, it’s already

here.

If New Zealand farmers don’t embrace it,

Callaghan Innovation warns in its white paper,

our agricultural sector risks being left behind.

“Far more aggressive uptake and application

right across the value chain is required if we

want to sustain and advance our leadership in

this space.”

By Sara Carbery

“There’s a saying that

outstanding farmers are often the ones out standing

in their ields. We don’t want to lose that hands-on

side of farming

”Craig Mackenzie

Drones are the future

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F I E L D A Y SS P E C I A L

Providing a clean and safe

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health and rubberware solutions, GEA can

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GEA’s state-of-art milking systems, milk

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designed to give farmers the control to

consistently command a winning

performance from their businesses. With a

range to suit individual budgets, GEA can help

increase eficiency, optimise milk production,

and keep the song and dance to a minimum.

Kiwi ingenuity meets German excellence

Today there is a far greater awareness of the

importance of handling efluent, and GEA’s

tailored efluent packages are designed to

provide eficient storage, lexibility of pasture

management and signiicantly reduced fresh

water use.

With these packages, which include three

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Spreading – efluent can be managed to suit

your business.

GEA has built a strong reputation in the

northern hemisphere for considering the

comfort of cows. Its robust range of barn

equipment provides farmers with peace of

mind that the wellbeing of their herd is taken

care of and protected from New Zealand’s

weather extremes.

GEA works with New Zealand farmers to

build world-leading, state-of-the-art dairy

solutions, to produce healthy, high quality

milk, and stay at the top of its game, says

GEA’s Jen Titchmarsh.

When it comes to dairy farming,

New Zealand is known for its

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“Today there is a far

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lexibility of pasture management and reduced

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19

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In a changing world, Cash Manager Focus

is the modern, new inancial software

management tool that puts farmers in the

driver’s seat, giving them control of their

business.

CRS Software managing director Brian

Eccles says the company is proud to be part

of the future landscape of farming, but equally,

a trusted part of the history of New Zealand

farming. “Cash Manager Focus is all about the

future, but with the backing of 30 years of

practical experience in creating quality

software solutions, designed just for farmers.”

To be a successful farming business is not

just about production – it’s also about proit,

and how the day-to-day decisions you make

relate to the cash that drops out the bottom.

Eccles says using a inancial management

software product means you get a clear

picture of what is happening in your business

and can make informed decisions about

where to invest your time and money in the

future.

Just using an accounting product, and

doing GST every two months, is not suficient

to run an eficient farming business at the top

of the game.

Cash Manager Focus, created by CRS

Software, is the next generation of

Cashmanager RURAL. This modern farming

inancial software has been built from the

bottom up, with the farming business in mind.

The program delivers real-time, up-to-date

management information that you can use to

make faster, smarter decisions, Eccles says.

“Cash Manager Focus offers the best of

both worlds, providing instant access to the

up-to-date information you need to run your

farming business and maximise results, and

meet your compliance obligations with ease.”

“If you think about how often you are making

serious decisions on the farm, sometimes

daily, you are continually revising and

rethinking things that impact your season. You

need the right information at the right time, to

run scenarios and understand what they mean

for your cash low,” explains Geordie

McCallum, of Wairarapa Property Consultants.

All farms are different and hence a farmer-

centric product like Cash Manager Focus,

which can be individually tailored, is

Taking control of your inancial future

“The program delivers real-time, up-to-date

management information that you can use to make faster, smarter decisions

”

important, McCallum says.

Taihape sheep, beef and deer

farmer John Gilbert likes the

automations in Cash Manager Focus,

providing up-to-date information

about exactly what is happening in his

business, in real time.

John was one of 23 farmers and rural

professionals who acted as Beta testers for

Cash Manager Focus.

The Cash Manager Focus Beta Project was

developed to test the functionality and

practicality of the new software.

“We switched internet provider about 12

months ago and that provided an opportunity

to go online,” Gilbert says.

“The big thing when I went to online was

getting the automated bank feeds – that was

huge. The new Focus product will be another

step forward, because it will be constantly

updated. As soon as you turn it on you know

exactly where you are; that’s a big driver for me.

“It gives a real-time snapshot of the

business, real-time balances right now – I

think that should be a key thing for everyone.”

He didn’t ind the new product too different

to what he was already using. “Every time we

have a software upgrade we have to learn

new tricks. It will take time to get used to, but

software these days is so much easier than it

used to be. It (Focus) is not drastically different

and all the key features are still there.

“It’s good to see the company (CRS

Software) is going forward. It was a

worthwhile exercise being a tester. It was

interesting to get a feel for the program and

the help side was great; I actually enjoyed it.”

The CRS Software team will be at the National

Fieldays - come and visit site PE30/32 for a

demonstration of this new product.

New ideas, technology and innovations – the world is evolving quickly and agriculture is no exception.

20

This is very much a recreational

vehicle, but it does have commercial

applications,” Yamaha’s Lance

Turnley said at the Wolverine X4’s

launch in Queenstown, which was chosen for

its reputation as New Zealand’s adventure

capital.

There has been a two-seater vehicle in

Yamaha’s SSV line up for many years, but the

new four-seater model has a redesigned

chassis to accept the extra seating and the

extra weight – putting it somewhere between

the brand’s pure sports YXZ1000R SS SE and

the utility Viking range. Use of this vehicle is

expected to be about 40 per cent

recreational, 30 per cent agricultural, 20 per

cent commercial and 10 per cent hunting.

The new X4 can take up to four adults off

road – perfect for carrying teams of workers to

and from or around work sites, and it features

smooth, quiet power from an 847-cc twin

cylinder engine.

For those familiar with the technical jargon,

Yamaha says the new model’s forged pistons

and connecting rods ensure durable high-

RPM performance and Yamaha’s 270-degree

crankshaft format allows for linear torque

development and excellent power throughout

the RPM range. To improve eficiency, the

engine features a dry-sump design for a more

compact layout, and an offset cylinder block

to reduce friction loss, while rubber engine

mounts and a geared counter balancer all but

eliminate vibration at idle and throughout the

RPM range.

For those who don’t know the technical

For farmers, hunters or family

groups wanting a fun day out,

Yamaha’s new four-seater off-road

vehicle lifts the standard in

recreational adventuring.

down – demonstrating to visiting Australian

and New Zealand journalists the power and

control of the Wolverine X4 in the mud and on

the steep, rutted tracks of Off Road

Adventures, a family-owned business that

hires out more than 100 dirt, quad and road

bikes on its 4450ha property on the outskirts

of Queenstown.

The Wolverine X4 has an upswept

underbody design, wide arc A-arms and

27.2cm of ground clearance, which provides

ideal approach and departure angles to help

traverse challenging terrain.

In addition to comfortably seating up to four

people, it features a storage system with

folding and sliding rear seats, so the cargo

bed area can carry up to 270kg. It is also

rated for 900kg of towing via a two-inch

receiver hitch.

Comfort and safety are carefully

considered, with a rubber-mounted and

counter-balanced engine making it one of the

smoothest and quietest SSV vehicles ever

built. The cab has four high-backed seats,

each with shoulder bolsters and automotive

style three-point seat belts. Additional cab

comforts include multiple cup holders,

high-traction loorboards and adjustable driver

seat and steering column.

The Wolverine X4 offers nearly 600 watts of

electrical output from the engine, two

standard 12V DC ports, four pre-wired

accessory switches, fully-enclosed doors,

high, wide fenders, LED headlights and

taillights. The new LCD digital meter features a

large dimmable display, with speedometer,

odometer, trip and hour metres, along with

vehicle status and warning displays.

“This vehicle is designed to be blinged,”

Turnley says. “It has everything in there, wiring

and facilities, to easily it a wide range of

accessories. It can be tailored to suit whatever

you want to do with it.”

“The new X4 can take up to four adults off road – perfect for

carrying teams of workers to and from or around work sites

”

Adventure and utility in one package

jargon but enjoy the ride regardless, that

description means the Wolverine X4

immediately delivers when you ask it for more

power on the hills. It has a great balance of

power and control, and gives a comfortable

ride even over rough terrain. It’s also easy to

drive – there’s no clutch to worry about, hand

controls give the choice of high or low range,

neutral and reverse.

Yamaha Real World Tech driver-centric

features include on-command four-wheel

drive (with a dial on the dash for 2WD, 4WD or

diff lock), continuous variable transmission

(CVT), speed-sensitive electric power steering

(EPS) and a tight turning circle.

It also comes with a new speed

management system – a quick lick of the dial

under the hood from hare to tortoise limits the

machine to a top speed of 40km an hour

(perfect for use by younger or more

inexperienced drivers).

For farmers especially, the Wolverine X4’s

disc brakes are backed by impressive engine

braking that keeps the speed down on

prolonged descents. The two back seats can

also be folded forward allowing room for tools

and work gear or the farm dogs. It has an

independent suspension with advanced

self-levelling rear shocks to adjust to the loads.

Built for all weather situations, this hardy

off-road vehicle also has a full hard-cab option

available direct from the manufacturer (or soft

top/sides and a windscreen). The launch in

Queenstown needed it – the rain bucketed

Fendt is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation.

Freecall 0800 825 872 or visit fendt.com.au to find your local Fendt dealer.

says you’re serious.

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years to come.

NEW MF 6700 GLOBAL SERIES112 – 132 HP

• Power shuttle with comfort control

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• 4 cylinder 4.4 litre turbo charged Tier 2 AGCO power engine

• Tilt and reach adjustable steering column (tilt only on ROPS)

• 12 x 12 fully synchronised transmission – 40km/h

• Electronic 3 point linkage with draft control

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• 98 l/min hydraulic output

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COME SEE US

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MASSEY FERGUSON®, MF®, the triple-triangle logo® is a worldwide brand of AGCO. © 2018.

MASSEYFERGUSON.CO.NZ | FREECALL 08800 825 872 A world of experience. Working with you for 60 years.

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The Fendt 1000 Series is the tractor without peer. Occupying a new segment with

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22

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Heavy machinery that’s light on the

environment

23

The idea for New Zealand’s irst

successful tea estate came to

Hamilton man Vincent Chen – an

avid tea-drinker – when he admired

a neighbour’s lowering garden camellia, a

relative of tea plant Camellia sinensis, and

realised that it was lourishing because the

local climate was perfect for this crop.

Chen did his research and, in 1996, saw an

opportunity and decided to import 1500 tea

plants from Taiwan. Although only 130

survived the Ministry of Agriculture quarantine

process, it was enough to get him under way

– and today Zealong Estate produces 100

percent organic, Halal-certiied, Fernmark-

approved tea, free of additives, residues and

heavy metals.

Not only was the original venture

pioneering, but the way he has approached

the business since then has also been

innovative.

Because of the tea’s 100 per cent organic

certiication, everyday tasks like mowing,

Waikato farmland that was once

grazed and trampled by herds of

dairy cows is now covered with

rows of healthy, evergreen tea

bushes, and our country’s only

commercial tea plantation now

exports its product all around the

world – with the help of a custom-

designed tractor.

weeding, trimming and fertilising were very

labour intensive as they couldn’t be done

with standard machinery.

Looking for a way to improve eficiency

without loss of quality, the company’s

research and development manager, who is

French, contacted a French company that

manufactures equipment for vineyards and

other crops.

“We took our own knowledge and design

requirements to the French manufacturer and

together came up with a design for a unique

machine that does everything we need,” says

Zealong’s Annalese Webber.

The resulting machine, nicknamed the

Transformer because of its extendible arms

and system of attachments, was

manufactured in France and shipped back

here in October 2015.

Now it takes care of all the jobs that

otherwise would have to be done manually to

maintain the organic status of the estate. By

adding various attachments and extending

or retracting the arms on either side of the

machine, the huge beast slips neatly

between the rows of tea bushes, mowing,

weeding, ploughing, discing, fertilising or

trimming the bushes, depending on what’s

needed.

The trimming attachment is particularly

clever, says Webber, as it incorporates both

vertical and horizontal blades that keep the

rows of tea bushes tidy and at the optimum

height. If left untended, tea bushes can grow

to around 12 metres high – too tall for

harvesting – so they need regular pruning to

keep them to a height of around one metre.

The tea is picked three times during the

growing season – in November, January and

March – so trimming after each plucking is

essential to encourage new growth. It’s also

important for the lavour of the tea that the

bushes don’t produce lowers or seeds.

The tea itself is still harvested by hand, an

“People are more concerned about what is in their food today,

and many want to be able to trace it from picking to packing

”Made to measure

The Transformer is a specially designed

tractor with a 3800cc Kubota Tier III

engine. The cleanest diesel engine in the

industry at the time of manufacture, it meets

very stringent evaporative emission

standards, so it has a negligible effect on the

tea plants. Hydraulic operation means that this

particular tractor can be used for a wide range of

applications, wear and tear is reduced, and it is very reliable and more powerful than

the standard type of mechanical machinery used on many tea plantations.

operation that requires considerable skill and

tea,” says Webber.

Part of the success of Zealong is down to

New Zealand’s reputation for being clean

and green, which extends to the food it

produces, says Webber. “However, the

innovative design of the Transformer is also

part of this, enabling Zealong to maintain its

organic certiication and do a variety of jobs

through the year quickly and eficiently.

“People are more concerned about what is

in their food today, and many want to be able

to trace it from picking to packing. Zealong is

unique globally in its ability to provide this

information,” she says.

24

The best ideas are likely to spring

from a need or a problem, and our

farming community has always

been known for its “No 8 wire”

approach, sometimes driven by the effects of

isolation, sometimes by the need for an

immediate solution, or because farmers and

others working the land have simply had to be

inventive to get by.

Geographically, New Zealand has many

advantages when it comes to developing

agricultural technology. With a broad

spectrum of products and farming systems in

a relatively small area, we can develop

different technologies on manageable scales

for diverse world markets.

Country Calendar’s Julian O’Brien has

witnessed his fair share of creative thinking in

the rural sector during his 33 years as director

and, later, producer of NZ’s iconic TV show,

Country Calendar.

“In terms of innovation and creativity, it’s

very apparent to us at Country Calendar that

there is a huge amount of it in rural New

Zealand (and in cities, too),” he says. “Farmers

are relatively isolated and can’t easily get a

tradesman in if something breaks down, or if

they need a tool they may have a two-hour

drive to the nearest shop. So they have to

think outside the square; they are forced to ix

things themselves, which makes them

innovative.”

O’Brien’s always impressed with the people

he meets through Country Calendar, saying

they are thoughtful, intelligent, committed and

passionate. “In my experience, these people

tend to be innovative,” he says.

And the seasonal and cyclical nature of

farming is likely to encourage innovation. “The

repetitive rhythm helps people to analyse and

think things through.”

One of the big changes in the rural sector is

the increasing diversity – sheep, beef and

dairy are our major prongs, but there is an

increasing overlay of wider activities, which

brings a lot of innovation, he says. In rural

communities now a blueberry farmer may

have a sheep farm and a dairy farm as

neighbours, and they all learn from each other,

cross-fertilising and adapting ideas.

Societal changes – such as the roles

women on farms have today – could be

another driver of innovation, says O’Brien. A

far larger number of women are actively

farming and bringing a different perspective

and approach to problems they come up

UBCO’s electric motorbikes are

far safer for riders than the more

traditional farm quad bike.

Creativity is often seen as the province of artists, architects and

fashion designers, but many of New Zealand’s successful

innovations have begun their lives in the tractor shed.

“Farmers are relatively

isolated... they have to think outside the square;

they are forced to ix things themselves, which makes

them innovative

”Julian O’Brien, Country Calendar

against, and they realise that mechanisation

and technology can make some of the more

physically challenging jobs on the farm more

manageable.

As well, today’s new technologies are often

cheaper than traditional mechanical-type

technologies and can be easier to master

– and then adapt – to a different use.

One such success story, that began in the

farm shed with a small boy and an old bike, is

UBCO Ltd, a company that now sells its

product – the UBCO 2x2 electric utility bike –

in New Zealand and around the world.

Daryl Neal was your typical farmer’s son,

with passion for bikes – so a farm with a

shedload of motocross and farm bikes and a

workshop was a fertile breeding ground for a

young man with a mechanical bent and an

enthusiasm for trying out new ideas.

“I had always ridden push bikes, and when I

was 13 we moved to the farm and I

encountered motorbikes. We used to ride all

over the farm every day, working and having

fun, and the problem came at lambing time.

The bikes were noisy and dad said we couldn’t

ride because it would scare the sheep.”

“That was the original problem, and of

course you also need to go out to sheep in

trouble, and if you ride up on a noisy quad,

you cause more trouble.”

With the examples of both a father and a

grandfather who were handy in the farm shed,

it was a short step for Neal and his mates to

start modifying their bikes so they could keep

riding. Neal studied industrial design at

university, coming up with a concept for an

electric quad bike for his inal project. He

continued to work in industrial design and,

while looking into designing an electric

motorbike for himself, he met up with Anthony

Clyde, who was importing them.

“I looked at the bikes he was importing and

felt we could do better here,” he says. So, in

2015, after a good few more hours in the shed

and at the drawing board, and armed with the

prototype he and Clyde had designed, the

two men signed up to the innovation tent at

Fieldays. They won the top prize, and met Tim

Allan whose company, Locus Research, was

sponsoring the award. “Tim was excited by

our idea and after a bit of talking, the three of

us formed UBCO, rapidly kicked things into

gear, went out and got funding from a local

guy in Tauranga, and moved on from here.”

Three years on from their launch at Fieldays,

the men are manufacturing electric utility bikes

which sell in New Zealand and around the

world, they have an American company

Recognising creativity

selling the bikes in the US, and they are

looking to dial things up another notch here,

Neal says.

UBCO’s 2x2s are often sold for farm use,

but also are popular with councils for use in

parks, with businesses looking after land,

with DOC, and adventure tourism

companies are seeing their value, too. The

success of their business has been

recognised and recently incorporated in a

TVNZ OnDemand series on business

entrepreneurs, Big Ideas for a Small Country.

“The current model is a reined version of

the original,” says Neal.

It is easy to understand why the electric

motorbike concept is taking off with farmers.

It makes sense in an animal environment to

have a means of transport that is silent, “so

you don’t frighten the animals and you can

hear what is going on around the farm. One

guy told me that riding the electric bike’s just

like walking around the farm, only quicker,”

says Neal.

The 2x2 is far safer for riders than the more

traditional farm quad bike; they are very light,

about a third of the weight of a quad bike, so

they may leave a bruise if you tip off, but not

much more. They are easy to ride and operate

– there’s no kick start, you just turn a key;

there are no gears; fuel and maintenance

costs are low; there’s no fuel, oil, grease – it’s

a clean, low-maintenance vehicle. And with a

top speed of 50km/hour, inexperienced riders

are less likely to get into trouble.

Dairy farmers like them for moving cattle; it’s

easy to follow the animals at low speeds,

because there are no gears or risk of stalling.

They’ve also been popular on small farms, and

in horticulture, such as kiwifruit farms and

vineyards, because they are clean, quick and

do the same job as an expensive larger vehicle.

There are many similar success stories in

New Zealand’s agricultural sector, with events

like Fieldays and programmes like Country

Calendar showcasing and encouraging

innovation.

O’Brien also attributes our creativity to the

general dynamism of the agricultural sector in

this country. “People are always coming up

with new ideas, and young people coming

into the sector rub up against older people

with different ideas.

“I am constantly amazed by the variety of

activities in the rural sector and the way

people so often look for a fresh approach.”

The Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award

recognises the creative connection between

the farm and the artist’s studio as they

combine art and practicality, challenging

artists to create sculptures using mainly no.8

wire and other agricultural materials.

By Mary Rean

Don’t fence me in!This year’s No 8 Wire award winner, Akky

van der Verde, was praised by the judges

for “creating something magical with an

economy of materials”. Her work,

Outside the Square, “is articulate and

understated,” says award judge Andrew

Clifford. “Its sophistication is in its

simplicity, easily understood but a delight

to look at, held together only by gravity

and the magnetic forces of metal.

“No.8 wire means a lot of things to a lot

of people, whether it’s an association with

Aotearoa’s strong agricultural industry,

our deep culture of innovation or our

egalitarian approach to DIY.

“These perspectives are all evident in

this year’s entries, as is the wide range of

ways this humble material can be put to

use. Works range from bright and

lamboyant to poetic to politically

motivated, but all defy assumptions as if

to say – don’t fence me in!”

The awards are managed by Waikato

Museum, and director Cherie Meecham

says the challenge they pose shouldn’t

be underestimated. “One reason no.8

wire is part of our nation’s psyche is its

robustness.”

The inalists in the No 8 Wire Awards will

be displayed at Fieldays on Wednesday

13 June.

AU

-8

05

15

82

AA

“ It is easy to understand why the electric motorbike

concept is taking off with farmers. It makes sense in an animal environment

”

26

For the irst time ever, men and women

will be stepping up and competing on

an equal footing in an update of the

popular Rural Bachelor competition

– Fieldays Rural Catch of the Year – to be held

at this year’s New Zealand Agricultural

Fieldays.

Rural Bachelor has been hotly contested at

Fieldays since 2003, when eight inalists from

Australia and New Zealand put their skills

under the spotlight in a variety of farm-related

activities, and judges looked for an honest,

reliable, sensitive yet masculine, genuine Kiwi

bloke, who wasn’t married, but had

personality, and ‘could cook dinner and sing’.

Until this year eligible blokes from all over

New Zealand have competed in events that

judged their ‘ruralness’ and ‘bachelorness’.

The men donned Swanndri uniforms and

competed in events that included driving

diggers, using chainsaws, riding mechanical

bulls, cooking on a BBQ, delivering pick-up

lines and generally displaying the

characteristics of a good Kiwi bloke.

Now, 15 years later, the competition has

been amended to relect our changing

society.

Fieldays major event manager Lee Picken

says women all over the country work in the

rural sector and Fieldays decided it was about

time the contest caught up.

“In the past we’ve had women coming

along to support the men, but that’s just so

outdated. They can do the work just like men,

and now they can compete just like men,”

said Picken.

The format will be similar, and challenges

won’t be gender-speciic. “These changes

recognise the roles both men and women

play in the agriculture industry, and support

for the new format has been huge,” she says.

“Our competition is about celebrating the

talented men and women working in the

agricultural industry and giving them the

opportunity to take a break and meet some

new people. Rural life can mean long hours in

remote locations so it’s all about inding

support and building networks,” said Picken.

Fencing contractor Tim Stafford, who

walked off with the irst bachelor of the year

title, says he never even intended to enter. A

cousin put his name forward, without

consultation, so when he got the call to say he

was on the shortlist, it was a surprise.

However, he decided to “give it a crack”, he

says.

“I went in to have fun, and ended up making

some good mates.”

Stafford, now 41, says participating in the

competition was good for his conidence and

helped him with public speaking. “We had to

do it every day in the contest, get up on the

stage, speak in public and answer questions,

which was very good experience.”

Prior to the competition, Stafford had

completed a Diploma of Agriculture and had

been working on sheep and beef farms

around the North Island.

Finding a partner in life wasn’t a direct result

of the contest, but Stafford met his wife,

Vanessa, also a rural girl, when they were both

working with horses. “The rural bachelor

award might not have given me a wife, but it

opened up other opportunities for me; after

winning it I was asked through the fencing

industry to promote different products and do

endorsements.”

He was also involved in Young Farmers and

in fencing competitions, and has been

entering the New Zealand Fencing

Competitions (NZFC) every year since,

winning the Wiremark Golden Pliers in 2015,

Best foot forward, rural lads and lasses

From technology to psychology, the farming sector likes to keep up with the play, and even in the 15 years since the irst Rural Bachelor

walked off the stage at Fieldays proudly clutching the inaugural Golden Gumboot, the industry has seen its fair share of change.

Until 2017 young men tested their skills to

become Rural Bachelor of the Year, but

this year, for the irst time, women are

competing to be Rural Catch of the Year.

Fieldays’ irst Rural Bachelor,

TIm Stafford, is now happily

married with two children and

a farm of his own.

27

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after being a inalist for the previous six years.

Stafford had always dreamed of owning his

own farm, and using the contacts he’d made

in the fencing industry through the rural

bachelor contest, he seized the opportunity

and set himself up as a fencing contractor “to

try and get enough money to buy a farm”.

“Fencing is hard work but you can deinitely

make money through it,” Stafford says, and

only a few weeks ago his dream came true

when he, Vanessa, and their two children, Ellie

(3) and Max (6) moved onto their own farm.

Even this occasion brought back memories

of his rural bachelor days. “The real estate

agent said she thought I looked familiar and

then realised it was because of my rural

bachelor win all those years ago! It’s surprising

how many people remember me,” he says.

Stafford’s now the proud owner of 200

hectares of steep and rolling hill country

towards the Turakina Valley out of Marton,

where he and Vanessa will farm sheep and

beef, and keep beehives to take advantage of

the Manuka scrub on the hillsides.

What is his view of women being included in

the revamped contest? “I don’t have any

issues with equal opportunities. It’s a good

thing,” he says. “There are lots of females in

farming today, running farms, working as

stock managers, shepherds, especially on

dairy farms.” Stafford says a lot of his fencing

clients say they prefer women workers. “They

are kinder and better with stock, calf rearing,

that sort of thing. There are plenty of female

reps working for businesses selling

machinery, grain and so on. Equal

opportunities are everywhere today and the

women are respected. I ind very few who

won’t accept females. There may be some

jobs that small women aren’t strong enough

to do, but there’s always a job somewhere

they can do.”

So, extending the competition to include

them makes sense at every level. “It’s

a good thing, because they

have the same

opportunities and

problems as the men;

it’s just as hard for

women to ind a

match. If Rural

Catch can help and

they have fun, it has

to be a good thing.”

How does this

Rural Bachelor see

the future of farming?

Stafford says the

biggest challenges in rural

life he sees today are the

changing and more extreme weather

patterns, and the increasing divide between

townies and rural people.

“We need to integrate more, so townies

understand what farmers and rural people do

and bring to the country; for example, we

could introduce young

people to farming at

school. People hear about

dirty dairying and mistreatment

of stock, which gives farmers a bad

name, but most do a good job. And there’s

good, well-paying work for young people in

rural areas, if they knew about it.”

Changing technology is another area where

famers need to keep up to date, if only to be

aware of what is good and what is not,

Stafford says. Many new developments in

farm equipment are effective, getting jobs

done more quickly and eficiently, and saving

farmers time and money, but he is also

concerned about other issues such as

genetic modiication of stock and the

longer-term impact on farming of

developments like this.

By Mary Rean

Men and women this year will be entering non-gender speciic

events and the winner takes home the Golden Gumboot.

“These changes recognise the roles both men and women

play in the agriculture industry

”

28

MF35-65 production line.

2018 marks the 60th anniversary of

the creation of the world-famous

Massey Ferguson brand name,

which resulted from the merger of

farm machinery companies Massey-

Harris of Canada and UK company

Harry Ferguson.

Wherever you are in the world,

you are never far from a

Massey Ferguson machine

badged with the iconic Triple

Triangle emblem – the company’s equipment

is part and parcel of the global agricultural

landscape.

From its earliest days, Massey Ferguson

(MF) has pioneered and developed key

advances in farm machinery. Since the irst

tractor three-point linkage system and the irst

self-propelled combine harvester, the brand

continues to develop appropriate,

dependable solutions that farmers need to run

successful and proitable businesses.

In the last 60 years, MF has been

responsible for introducing the MultiPower

shift-on-the-move tractor gearbox (1962),

automatic table-height control for combines

(1967), the PowerFlow combine header

(1977), Electronic Linkage Control (1978),

‘Intelligent’ tractors with on-board computers

(1986), in-cab interactive information displays

in combines (1988), yield-mapping via GPS

(1991), and the application of Selective

Catalytic Reduction technology to tractor

engines (2008).

Massey Ferguson celebrates 60 years in New Zealand

MF has also had a long and strong

association with New Zealand, as the brand

irst hit our shores in the same year it was

born. “It’s a proud milestone to be able to

celebrate not only 60 years of the brand but

also celebrate 60 years of Massey Ferguson in

New Zealand,” says Peter Scott, manager

for New Zealand. “The brand has

been here since day dot and

has been an integral part of

the New Zealand

agricultural landscape,

having touched so

many people including

customers, dealers

and company

employees,” he says.

In 2014, an 110hp

MF 5610 made history

by becoming the irst

tractor itted with

agricultural tyres to drive

overland across Antarctica to the

South Pole – a gruelling 4638km journey

lasting 27 days. The expedition was in part to

pay homage to the great Sir Edmund Hillary,

who has become synonymous with the brand,

thanks to his herculean efforts to take three

TE20 Ferguson tractors to the South Pole.

In recent years, MF has completely

rejuvenated its full line of multi-award-winning

tractors, harvesting machinery, hay and

forage tools, materials handling equipment

and support services. In 2014, the MF Global

Series was launched – the irst conventional

tractors to be completely reengineered for the

21st century. And in 2018 and 2019, the

all-new MF IDEAL combine will be unveiled,

signalling a radical new direction for harvester

development.

The company is committed to the future of

farming and the development of new

techniques and technologies, with

investment in research and

development, in people and

in understanding the

needs of the both the

farmers of today and

into the future.

“There is a dramatic step-change taking

place in farming,” says Peter. “New ideas and

new opportunities are transforming

agriculture forever, and we are on the brink of

another revolution on the land. Massey

Ferguson is fully focused on the requirements

and growth of the new generation of farmers.

Our key mission is to be a reliable partner and

provide clear solutions for their farming

business needs.”

See the full line-up of new Massey Ferguson

products at National Fieldays sites A3 A5 & A7

Massey Ferguson has

continued to develop new

techniques and techologies

over the past 60 years.

29

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Most farmers and businesses

involved in agriculture strive hard

to ind on-farm tools that allow

them to improve eficiency,

productivity and proitability.

Two new services introduced by Alltech –

Alltech E-CO2 and Alltech IFM – are designed

to improve farm eficiency and environmental

sustainability.

Alltech E-CO2Alltech E-CO2, based in the United Kingdom,

has developed a portfolio of environmental

software and services in response to the

need to further understand and reduce

greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

and the food chain.

It provides on-farm environmental

assessments and programmes which

producers, processors, retailers and

governments can use to measure and reduce

the emissions associated with producing

agricultural products. After an initial pilot

phase in Oceania, Alltech E-CO2 can now

provide Carbon Trust-certiied Oceanic

Tools can improve eficiency and sustainability

models to New Zealand

industries.

Assessments by

Alltech E-CO2

determine the

environmental impact

of a farm as a holistic

measure of overall

eficiency. These

assessments are directly

linked to physical and

inancial performance, where

management practices can be

developed to sustainably improve farm

eficiency and proitability.

Recent assessments conducted by Alltech

E-CO2 across Europe have shown how farm

eficiency improvements can boost

proitability, while also reducing the carbon

footprint of the enterprise. In the study,

various herd eficiency improvements

delivered an average of NZ$386 extra per cow

per year for dairy and NZ$71 extra per head

per day for beef, and there was a signiicant

drop in carbon emissions.

Alltech IFM (In Vitro

Fermentation Model)

For farmers and nutritionists

looking for a new way to

approach feed evaluation and to

propose nutritional strategies, Alltech IFM

technology helps to evaluate ration balance

by showing how carbohydrates and protein

are fermented. Using IFM tests, barriers to

diet fermentation can be identiied, then

rations can be formulated based on nutrient

availability, thus reducing energy losses.

In vitro fermentation technology uses a

holistic approach to assess the nutritive value

of dairy rations by quantifying the process of

rumen digestion in real time. The approach

allows producers to not only consider their

feed in terms of chemical composition, but to

look at how the feed behaves inside a cow.

The rate and extent of digestion of different

carbohydrates in the feed can be assessed for

the way they line up with protein availability in

the rumen.

Many shortcomings in the ration, including

the rate of digestion of the fast (e.g. sugar and

starch) and the slow (e.g. ibre) pools, can be

identiied quickly, and nutritional solutions can

be proposed. Those strategies are developed

and tailored to optimise feed eficiency and

proitability for individual customers.

Alltech’s founding focus and core business

is to improve animal health and performance

by adding nutritional value to feed. Science is

the company’s trailblazer into the future.

Improving farming eficiency and sustainability is the driving

force behind Alltech and its new services.

30

The global appetite for organics is

growing in double igures year on

year, making organics the fastest

multi-food growing sector in the

world. In New Zealand alone, organic grocery

sales through supermarkets increased by 127

per cent between 2012 and 2015.

Be advised, say those in the industry,

organics is a boat you don’t want to miss.

“It’s serious business; everyone wants in,”

says Buy Pure New Zealand’s managing

director and Organics Aotearoa New

Zealand’s chief executive Brendan Hoare,

citing the recent acquisition of natural and

organic food giant Whole Foods, by Amazon.

“Amazon doesn’t make decisions based on

emotion,” he says. “They make them by

crunching numbers.”

He says the organic proposition its with the

market’s demands for greater transparency

and authentication.

“Resistance to the change to organic has

been from a traditional conventional base who

do not want to know about organics. That’s

ine,” says Hoare. “But anyone who has got

their inger on the pulse will see there is a shift

towards organics and it’s only going to grow.”

This growth is being driven largely by

Millennials/Generation Y, deined by Goldman

Sachs as those born between 1980 and 2000.

“Millennials are poised to reshape the

economy,” the multinational investment bank

writes in its report, Millennials: Coming of Age.

“Their unique experiences will change the ways

we buy and sell, forcing companies to examine

how they do business for decades to come.”

According to the Organic Trade

The future of organics

The increasing interest in organics is being driven by Millennials and Gen Y,

as they focus their attention on their health and the environment.

“Anyone who has got their

inger on the pulse will see there is a shift towards

organics and it’s only going to grow

”

Association, 52 per cent of organic

consumers are millennials. The generation

credited with being out to change the world,

millennials have a strong interest in health and

wellbeing, a high social consciousness and a

drive to protect the environment.

“The tide has turned,” says Hoare.

“Globally, people are reconnecting with their

health and the environment and they’re saying

‘enough’; enough plastics in the ocean,

enough poisons, enough antibiotics. That age

is over.”

Jon Manhire, managing director of the

AgriBusiness Group, and chair of the Lincoln

University Biological Husbandry Unit Organics

Trust agrees the key driver for the increased

demand for organic products is the alignment

of the values that inspire organic farming with

those of an increasing number of consumers,

such as the protection of the environment and

minimising negative social impacts.

On the supply side, Manhire identiies three

drivers for farmers converting to organics.

Some, particularly those who have been

farming organically for a long time, are driven

by personal motivation to be sustainable;

some are driven by inancial gain; and a third

driver Manhire is observing is a regulatory one.

“As more and more of a regulatory framework

comes into play, around intensive dairy

farming systems, for instance, farmers are

starting to ask, what are the alternatives?”

Manhire says most sectors in New Zealand

now have “pretty good” supply chains in place

for organic products and across all sectors

bar one, production is increasing.

“The only sector I’ve seen with a drop in

not ind a statistical difference in inancial

performance.”

“Financially, you’re no worse off, if you do it

properly,” says organic dairy farmer Ged

Goode. “But it’s not just the inancial side; the

personal transition is amazing.

“Farming has become very enjoyable again,

and less stressful,” says the 68-year-old. “You

make a decision, you implement it and things

take care of themselves. When it rains, the

grass grows; when it doesn’t rain, the grass

still grows. It used to be that if we got more

than 10 days without rain, we’d have a

drought, but no longer.

“You come to the realisation that nature

does it best.”

Goode has been farming 800ha south of

Tokoroa for 26 years and is heading into a

tenth season of farming his 680-strong herd

organically. He’s a director of the Organic

Dairy Hub Cooperative, a brokerage for 30

organic suppliers, and an advocate of

biological farming.

“To farm successfully, you’ve got to work

from the ground up; you have to farm

biologically,” he says. “It’s all about getting

the ground to a stage where biology wants to

live in it.

“If you talk to biological/organic farmers

who have been in it for a long time, they don’t

put a lot of fertiliser on. It’s not about keeping

costs down; they don’t need to.”

Like most organic farmers, Goode’s

motivation for converting to organic farming

was sustainability. “Looking ahead 20 or 25

years, we still want to be producing a product

people want, that has as low an impact on the

environment as possible. We want to be

farming in a truly sustainable way.”

Goode is in the process of embracing A2

milk production – part of his mission to

production over the past 15 to 20 years is the

organic honey sector, and that is largely due

to the Varoa mite.”

He says farming organically presents an

opportunity to move away from the

luctuations of the commodities market and

get into higher-value supply chains.

While it’s true organic products generally

garner a higher premium, research

undertaken by the Agricultural Research

Group on Sustainability didn’t ind a signiicant

difference in inancial performance between

organic farmers and conventional farmers.

“Good organic farmers are making good

returns and good conventional farmers are

making good returns,” he says. “You have a

similar mix of inancial performance of farmers

in both systems – which meant that we did

Brendan Hoare, chief executive

Organics Aotearoa

SONGSAK PANAME/123RF

31

produce “the most nutritious, healthy, tasty

milk possible” – and establishing a polled

herd. “We’re trying to breed calves that we

can rear as beef animals, which would mean

fewer leaving on the bobby calf lorry. It’s all

part of being sustainable.”

Goode acknowledges that transitioning to

an organic system was dificult but says there

is a lot of information and support freely

available within the organic community.

“It’s a global community built around ‘ours’

rather than ‘mine’,” agrees Hoare, who

highlights the fact that the transition to an

organic system is a gradual one.

“There are a few producers who go cold

Manhire suggests that for some farmers,

particularly those farming less intensively, the

transition might be easier than they expect.

“There has been a shift over the last 20 or

so years within the conventional farming

system, in farm management, pesticide use

and animal welfare management,” he says.

“It’s a bit of a coming together in some ways.

Happily, that bodes well for all of us.”

Organic certiication requires a commitment

to traceability, and all the paperwork and

costs associated with this is seen by some as

a barrier, “or at least a grumble”,

acknowledges Manhire.

“We need to streamline and support

certiication,” he says. “We need to develop

solutions for farmers, help them manage risks

and achieve optimal returns.”

This is where government – regional and

central – comes in, says Hoare. “We need

government to understand it’s a no-brainer to

invest in organics. We need them to say,

‘we’re going to stop doing that, and start

doing this’.

“The companies we work with are seeing

good growth domestically and in export, but

they must have a well-positioned product and

supporting brand.

“Nationally, we’re seeing an 11 per cent

growth without any investment. Imagine if the

country as a whole started investing in the

transition towards organic that authenticated

market requirements.”

Goode agrees there’s a role for government

in the growth of organics. “The government

going forward needs to understand that if they

want us to lead the way in clean, green

farming, there has to be some

encouragement because it’s still looked upon

as a risk to make the transition.”

Hoare is an enthusiastic advocate for New

Zealand going organic. “We’re beautifully

placed to deliver goods and services to the

world that are good for us, good for others,

good for life,” he says.

“But it’s not a race; it will take a couple of

generations. We are still in the infancy of

understanding what’s possible.”

Signiicant transformation will require a

change in cultural intelligence and attitude, he

suggests, along the lines of what we’ve seen

in the manuka honey industry. “It wasn’t that

long ago that manuka was seen as a problem

and a weed; now sheep farmers have

become bee rangers. It’s about turning a

perceived problem into an opportunity.”

Manhire says there’s no doubt demand for

organic products will continue to grow. “But

where it ends up, as a percentage of product,

I’m not sure.”

Ultimately, says Hoare, the consumer will

decide. “Purse power is king.”

By Sara Carbery

HOMEOPATHY

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turkey, but it tends to be a minority,” he says.

“Most people transition between systems, not

just for the land, but for personal and family

health reasons. People need time and

sometimes guidance through the transition.”

While certiied organic producers must

comply with a set of global standards and

regulations, within the system there is a lot of

diversity, says Hoare. “No two organic farmers

are the same; everybody has their own way of

doing things.”

Goode agrees. “It’s biological farming; the

organic certiication is really the marketing and

proving to your customers that you’ve stayed

within the guidelines.”

“No two organic farmers are

the same; everybody has their own way of doing things

”

Ged Goode is in his tenth

season of farming a herd of

680 dairy cows organically.

FRITHA TAGG/STUFF NZ

32

Bringing health to the community

Up to 20 per cent of New Zealanders

live in rural areas, and the lack of

services for these people is likely to

put them at a disadvantage.

“People in rural and remote places are likely

to delay seeking advice or treatment, so it’s

important that we encourage the rural

community to be aware of their health

requirements, and act in a timely way,” says

Andrew Pankhurst, marketing manager for

Mobile Health, a company delivering

healthcare to rural communities.

Mobile Heath’s answer to the inequities was

to tip the usual medical model upside down

by bundling health services into a mobile

caravan and bringing them to the rural

community.

The Health and Wellbeing Hub at Fieldays

was established last year to encourage the

rural community to engage on health matters,

Pankhurst says. Mobile Health worked

closely with the National Fieldays Society to

bring different health organisations together in

the hub, and get them working collaboratively

to interest and inform people about their

health and wellbeing.

The event was so successful that, this year,

24 health-related groups have pulled together

to get their messages out into the rural

community.

Providing health care for all is considered a key role of the government

in our country, but for a reasonable percentage of the population,

getting access to services can be a real challenge.

Mental health and haircuts in a tidy packageOne of this year’s Health Hub participants,

27-year-old Sam Dowdall, probably better

known as the Barter Barber, is taking a slightly

unorthodox approach. Having lost several

mates to suicide, he is very aware that men,

and in particular, young men and rural men,

have among the highest rates of suicide in this

country, with isolation and inancial pressure

being among the risk factors.

Dowdall, who has had a lucrative career as

a barber here and overseas, has spent the

past year or so travelling around the country,

mainly giving rural men haircuts, then gently

opening up that taboo issue of male

mental health.

What inspired Dowdall’s

latest passion? “It can be

dificult on the farm to

ind someone to give

you a decent haircut,”

Dowdall says with a

big laugh, “and I use

the time and space to

get a conversation

going about what we

guys do when we are

sad or angry, how to show

emotion, and I try to get out

The Barter Barber, Sam Dowdall, travels

the country talking with men about

mental health issues. He is bringing his

message to the Health Hub this year.

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there the broad, basic idea that talking about

problems is a good thing to do.”

The Barter Barber is very clear that he is

simply a sounding board and, if anyone needs

ongoing help, he can put them in contact with

the appropriate services.

He doesn’t work alone; his co-volunteer is

poodle-cross Bo, an emotional response

animal. “For men, when they’re speaking

about their emotions, it’s often important to

keep their hands busy, and Bo is good for

that,” he says.

At Fieldays he will be pulling up in front of

the Health Hub in his old Bedford van with his

caravan-cum-barber’s shop in tow, aiming to

get the issues of mental health out and talked

about, helping to open up conversations

within communities, and showing guys how

they can talk to each other effectively.

“Us men have a lot of slack to pick up” he

says. “Take a step back and look at ourselves

as a gender. Men never look at themselves

– your masculinity shouldn’t come from cars,

violence, etc. That’s complete rubbish.

“I want to listen to people and teach them

how to talk to each other. I come and talk to

someone about depression, and then later,

when someone else talks to them, they know

how to respond; this is about teaching

communities to help each other and

themselves,” says Dowdall.

Take a close look

CEO of Melanoma NZ Jude Woolston

grabbed the opportunity to bring her

organisation to Fieldays, seeing it as an

important step in engaging with farmers and

other rural people and bringing the shocking

statistics to their attention.

“Every day in New Zealand 13 people are

diagnosed with melanoma, one of them will

die, and the most at-risk group are men

between the ages of 25 and 44,” she says.

“These frightening igures have encouraged

us to take part in this year’s Health Hub. And

the fact that skin cancers were discovered on

10 visitors to the inaugural Health Hub last

year reinforces the importance of delivering

the prevention message to the rural

community.”

Melanoma NZ is very concerned about our

statistics – New Zealanders have the highest

rate of melanoma in the world, higher even

than Australians, with around 4000 people

diagnosed every year and, according to the

Ministry of Health’s most recent information,

(2014), 378 die annually from this cancer.

“It is really frightening. There seems to be a

lack of awareness that this particular cancer is

preventable. We want to get our message out

to everyone that no one in this country is

immune from the effects of the sun.

“If you are spending a lot of time outside,

and not only in the sun in the summer, you are

at risk,” says Woolston.

Some groups have a higher risk level – red-

heads and people with fair skin, but everyone

is susceptible to the effects of the sun. A small

number of melanoma are genetic but 90

percent are due to UV exposure, and most of

these are deemed to be preventable.

“Farmers clearly are more at risk because

they are working outside often from early in

the morning, and right through the middle of

the day.

“Our aim in coming to Fieldays is to highlight

the risks of exposure, discuss ways to protect

yourself, and promote early detection to

prevent deaths,” says Woolston.

Melanoma NZ will have a UV camera at the

Health Hub, and will focus on showing visitors

the difference that using sun screen has on

their skin, and the impact of long-term sun

exposure on skin.

“We want people to sit up and understand

why it’s important not to ignore moles and

marks that don’t look quite right. Our

message is quite clear: if you are worried

about a mole, visit your GP. He should be your

irst port of call. He is the person you see

most regularly, he knows you, knows what to

do and whether to refer you on to a specialist

for further investigation,” says Woolston.

Mole mapping is another tool and is

appropriate for high-risk groups who need

regular surveillance, but if in doubt, the

“New Zealanders have the highest rate of melanoma

in the world, higher even than Australians, with around 4000 people diagnosed every year

”

message is simple: visit your GP.

“Also,” says Woolston, “even in isolated

rural communities, there is generally access to

a medical centre and a GP, whereas

techniques like mole mapping are harder to

ind away from main centres.”

Organisations dealing with many different

aspects of health will be represented at the

Health Hub this year – including Rural Health

Aotearoa New Zealand Youth Mental Health,

NZ Rural General Practice Network, Rural

Women, Age Concern, Rural Midwives,

Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand,

Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, Bay Audiology,

and many more.

Mobile Health sees the Health Hub as a

good opportunity to introduce itself and the

issue of health care generally to the rural

community. “We deliver low-risk elective day

surgery to rural New Zealanders using a

modern, fully equipped mobile operating

theatre, and we also provide quality

continuing education to rural health

professionals. We believe in developing strong

community partnerships rather than replacing

existing health services, and we act as a

catalyst for communities and rural health

professionals to develop better rural health

systems,” says Pankhurst.

By Mary Rean

Melanoma NZ will be at the Health Hub

this year delivering their message to

farmers that melanoma is serious and

prevention includes not only protecting

your skin from the sun, but also checking

any odd-looking moles or marks.

34

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Farmers are increasingly under

pressure to improve their practices to

reduce the impacts of dairy farming in

particular on the environment, and

objecting to changes on the basis that they

are not cost effective is no longer acceptable.

John Barnes from Fertilizer New Zealand

has been at the forefront of the fertiliser

industry for many years, and says that farmers

face a choice. “Change their farming practices

on their own or face the very real prospect

that they will have change forced on them by

national and local government.”

Barnes believes that the government may

simply announce changes to the

environmental laws without consultation or

notice. “That’s when farmers who have not

made the changes themselves will face

increasing costs to change and have no

choice but to do things differently.”

Environment Minister David Parker recently

stated in the media: “In some areas the

number of cows per hectare is higher than the

environment can sustain.”

He went on to say that “[improving

waterways] won’t be done through a raw cap

on cow numbers; it will be done on nutrient

limits, the amount of nutrient that can be lost

from a farm to a waterway, because it’s not

just a dairy cow issue.”

It is this issue of nutrient limits that needs to

be addresses as this is where the most

signiicant gains in looking after the

environment can be made.

Barnes says farmers can change their

practices relatively simply. “Yes, there is cost

involved, but changing from the granular

application of fertiliser, nitrogen speciically, to

applying fertiliser to the leaf of the grass is the

obvious thing to do.”

For most dairy farmers, grass is the

cheapest form of feed, and the regular

application of a fertiliser such as nitrogen is

essential for producing lush, green pastures.

Nitrogen fertilisers are costly, says Tim

Henman, marketing manager of Tow and

Farm, and when farmers consider the

Farming is a business, providing a

livelihood for farmers, their families

and employees and, as with any

business, it’s important to ind ways

to reduce costs, boost proitability,

increase productivity – and protect

the environment.

proportion of applied granular nitrogen that

volatilises into the atmosphere, or the amount

that runs off into the groundwater after a high

rainfall event, then inding a more eficient and

cost-saving way to apply nitrogen fertiliser is a

win all around.

Foliar application of nitrogen is an

alternative method of fertiliser application that

has signiicant beneits for pastures, animals

and, ultimately, for the farm’s bottom line.

Urea, sulphate of ammonia and many similar

nitrogen-based fertilisers are dissolvable in

water, which means that they can be applied

directly to the green leaf of the pasture. Liquid

nitrogen has the immediate advantage of

being plant ready, which increases uptake by

the plant, making the application of nitrogen

more effective. “The result is that less fertiliser

is required to produce the same or more grass

growth than when using traditional application

methods. Ultimately, this means less

nitrogen, less cost, better-quality grass and

more proits,” says Henman.

This, says Barnes, is why looking after the

environment by reducing the amount of urea

applied makes good business sense.

“Farmers can apply

less urea, reducing their

cost of fertiliser yet still get

the same or better results. It’s

actually a really simple decision.

Change to foliar application of fertiliser and

the environment wins and your business wins.

Why wouldn’t farmers change?”

And if they’re not prepared to change, they

may face heavy government intervention.

Parker says, “Those people will have to be

regulated to do the right thing, because they

may not be willing to do it voluntarily. That’s

the purpose of environmental regulation.”

In its Dannevirke factory, Tow and Farm has

been working on inding a better, more

eficient way of applying nitrogen fertiliser to

paddocks and pasture, says Henman.

The result is the Tow and Fert range of

spray machines which offers the beneits of

liquid application of dissolvable nitrogen

fertiliser and other minerals, while signiicantly

reducing the cost of the nitrogen. The latest

machine, the Multi 2800, is even faster and

more eficient than earlier models, covering

1ha in three minutes at 12km/hour, and with a

capacity of up to 20ha per load, it makes light

work of this traditionally large job.

The Tow and Fert fertiliser applicators have

been developed to quickly dissolve normal

granular urea in cold water on the way to the

paddock, so that turning urea into a dissolved

foliar spray is fast, convenient, more cost-

effective and better for the environment. With

their speciic agitation patents and boom

recirculation technology, they can dissolve

soluble products, as well as keep insoluble

products like ine lime or RPR in suspension.

“The advantage of this is that you can do

one-pass applications, eliminating the

need for another pass across

your farm. The fertiliser

applicator is also able to

deal with animal health

products, soil

amendment products,

weed-spray, humates,

gibberellic acid and

even small seeds,”

says Henman.

“Our clients are

already reporting savings

on nitrogen fertiliser costs

of up to 50 percent from day

one, for the same result in

pasture growth.”

To put this into perspective from a

proitability point of view, on a typical farm of

150 hectares milking 400 cows, a typical

application of granular urea at 80kg/ha six

times a year would equate to approximately

72 tonne of urea, costing approximately

$43,000. If it were to be dissolved and applied

as a foliar spray using the Tow and Farm’s

applicator, then the annual saving on nitrogen

alone could be up to $21,000, without even

taking into account other application cost-

saving beneits.

And from an environmental point of view,

the nitrogen escaping into the environment as

ammonia, leached beyond the plant’s root

zone, or as the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide,

would largely be eliminated because the urea

is directly absorbed by the leaves and will not

enter the soil.

“Farmers are well aware that grass is the

cheapest form of feed. This applicator is a key

part of signiicantly reducing input costs while

also reducing your environmental footprint

and increasing your ability to meet regulations.

Quite simply it’s a win-win situation all round,”

says Henman.

Fertilising safely and eficiently

Tow and Fert's sprayer is eficient and light on the environment.

“Change to foliar application of fertiliser and the environment

wins and your business wins. Why wouldn’t farmers change?

”

•

•

•

•

•

36

If you want evidence that more

women are choosing farming as a

career, take a look at the list of the

inalists in the 2018 New Zealand

Dairy Industry Awards.

Out of 11 Dairy Manager of the Year

inalists, four were women, with

the same percentage of female

inalists in the Dairy Trainee of the

Year competition. Simone Smail from

Southland-Otago took away the Dairy Trainee

Manager of the Year award, while another

woman, Donna McKinley, was placed as

runner-up.

Women have come a long way since the

days of his and hers roles on the farm. Gone is

the division between ‘women’s work’ and

‘men’s work’; in the 21st century, statistics

show there are no areas of agriculture

off-limits to women.

According to Statistics NZ, 12,018 women

were employed in dairy farming in 2013,

compared with 23,856 men. In the specialised

beef sector the igures were 6429 men and

3618 women, and in specialised sheep, 7896

men and 3681 women. These numbers,

roughly 2:1, hold true when the primary sector

(agriculture, farming and ishing) is viewed as

a whole.

Emma Lewin is one the 3000+ women who

have made sheep farming their profession.

Recently named Tararua Shepherd of the

Year, Lewin works on a 700ha block south of

Dannevirke.

Her introduction to farming was helping out

on a dairy farm owned by a friend of her

Women in rural roles mother. “I thought then – and still think –

she’s awesome.”

When she was 15, Lewin began milking

cows on weekends and during school

holidays near her hometown of Bulls, and at

16 she took a taster course at Taratahi, which

convinced her farming was the profession

for her.

Following her studies at Taratahi in

Masterton, where she achieved Level 2, 3 and

4 sheep and beef qualiications, Lewin worked

on sheep, beef and deer farms in Canterbury

and Te Anau, before taking on her current role.

Asked if she ever felt she was entering a

male domain, the 25-year-old replies that

being part of a group of six females and one

male at Taratahi helped set the scene. “We

learned how to farm as mostly girls,” she says.

“Sure, we weren’t as strong, but we were

determined and we worked hard.

“It paid off because one of the girls in my

group took out Top Student of the Year, and I

came second. Another girl took out ‘Most

Improved’, another ‘Most Dedicated’. The

tutors had a lot of respect for us by the time

we graduated.”

Lewin has never felt shepherding is a

profession more suited to men. “Sure,

sometimes I’d have a cry and question if I was

in the right job, but I got up, and kept going. It

was never about my gender, but only about

my ability.

“I think women are inding their strength and

equality pretty early on in life now, so the

concept that ‘that’s a man’s job’ is old-

fashioned,” she says. “Girls these days know

they can do it, so they do it.”

While co-workers have voiced surprise at

some of the physical work she is capable of

– fencing, shearing and so on – Lewin has

never encountered sexism at work. “People

don’t care what sex you are, as long as you

can do your job.”

One thing she has observed is the paucity

of women in farm management roles. As a

result, some of her female colleagues have

returned to university to get degrees they

hope will lead to jobs in the agricultural service

industry. “They were struggling to progress

from shepherd to stock manager on a farm

and that was frustrating for them.”

Female student numbers in agricultural-

related subjects at Lincoln University have

been rising steadily over the past decade. In

2008, 30 per cent of agricultural students

were female; last year, this igure rose to

47 per cent.

Putting female role models in front of

“People don’t care what sex you are, as long

as you can do your job

”

Tararua Shepherd of the Year

Emma Lewin works on a

500ha farm south of Dannevirke.

Times – and roles – have changed for

women in the rural sector.

37

students is one of the ways the university

promotes agricultural subject choices to

prospective female students, says Jaime

Shone, domestic engagement manager,

student services & marketing. At a recent

presentation to school students about primary

industries’ careers, all four of the industry

panellists Lincoln selected were women.

“We also have numerous female graduates

who are high achievers in the primary

industries, and many are highlighted in our

marketing and promotional material,” says

Shone.

At Massey University, where female

undergraduate and postgraduate students

make up 56 per cent of the agricultural roll,

students work with industry throughout their

degrees to help them make a smooth

transition into employment.

“The more women they interact with in

those work-experience situations, the easier it

becomes for young women to aspire to be

leaders and managers and business owners

across all aspects of the food production

sector,” says vice-chancellor Professor Jan

Thomas.

Sharemilker Rachael Phillips agrees

industry role models are important. “As I was

growing up, my mum always said she never

wanted me to go farming due to it being a

‘man’s job’. However, I think at the stage I

entered the industry, there were already so

many great women farming and being positive

leaders in the industry that it wasn’t really seen

as a ‘male domain’ anymore.”

Phillips graduated from Massey University

with a Bachelor of Applied Science

(Agriculture) and travelled for two years before

returning to the family farm near Te Awamutu,

where she is in her irst season 50:50

sharemilking 240 cows.

She admits some people are surprised

when they learn she’s a farmer. “Especially

because my iancée works in a ‘town job’

while I run the farm. It’s very common for

women to be sharemilking alongside their

partners, but quite rare for a woman to be

doing it while the male in the relationship

works in town.

“But it’s always a positive reaction,” she

says, “and they’re supportive of the fact that

I’m the one running the show.”

Phillips (28) believes it has become

‘normal’ for women to be farmers. “I have

many women friends who are farming,

ranging from farm assistants to farm owners.

It can be seen in the number of women

winning awards and being successful in the

farming industry. There are also a lot of

amazing women contributing to leadership

roles throughout the industry.”

When asked if more could be done to

encourage young women into farming, both

Lewin and Phillips reply that more could be

done to encourage young people into the

industry, regardless of gender. “More needs

to happen to promote that farming isn’t just

about hard, physical work,” says Phillips.

“There are a lot of different aspects to it,

including animal health, agronomy and

inancial management. There are also

amazing opportunities in farming to own your

own business and build strong equity at a

young age.”

Her key piece of advice to any young

person considering farming as a career is to

choose good mentors. “Both experienced

people, who can guide you in your career, and

also like-minded young people who will create

a positive environment.”

As well as running a dairy farm in the Bay of

Plenty with her husband Corrie, Chartered

Accountant Donna Smit is a trustee with the

Dairy Women’s Network, a director of Kiwifruit

Equities, a director of Corona Farms Ltd, a

director of Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, and a

director of Fonterra Co-operative Ltd.

Smit maintains women are seen as equals

“on the farm”, but believes they are

underrepresented in industry leadership roles.

She acknowledges this is an issue seen

across all industries, backed by statistics from

the NZX which reveal that 87 per cent of

directorships are held by men.

As well as not fairly representing society

– “We should be 50 per cent” – Smit suggests

that low female representation on boards

doesn’t make good business sense.

“I’ve seen research showing that

companies that are in the top quartile for

gender diversity are 15 per cent more likely to

have an above average inancial return,” she

says. “What women bring to boards is

knowledge and education – a higher

percentage of women are graduating from

university; we control 80 per cent of

household spend, so can offer insights into

how consumers will spend their money, and

we’ve been shown to be good at innovation

and evaluating risk.

“There’s a lot of talent we’re missing out on.”

Smit is proud of the work being done by the

Dairy Women’s Network, which was

established in 1998 by a group of women in

the Waikato who were frustrated at the

paucity of females in leadership roles in the

industry.

She sees her role in the family’s farming

business – a multi-million dollar enterprise,

with seven farms and 15 staff – as being

typical of many women. With her children now

grown, Smit relief milks when needed, but her

job is more about taking care of regulatory

issues, health and safety, HR and inance, and

less about fencing and feeding out.

While Smit maintains that farmers “see the

person and not the gender – probably better

than most industries”, she concludes the

industry has a long way to go before it

achieves true gender equality.

Professor Thomas agrees. “We can see at

Massey that women are gaining education in

areas traditionally dominated by men. There

has been a groundswell in the number of

women graduating in some of these areas,

but there is still a long way to go in some

sectors, particularly when we look at the

numbers of women in leadership roles.

“We are too small a nation to disregard the

capability and economic contribution of half

the population.”

By Sara Carbery

Women today can take on most tasks in the farming industry. It's not all about strength.

Sharemilker Rachael Philips is in her irst season sharemilking 240 cows.

“More needs to happen to promote that farming isn’t just about hard, physical work

”

38

Spring Sheep farms dairy sheep for

their premium milk, which is turned

into high-end nutraceutical

products, such as milk powders,

and exported to various countries in South

East Asia where customers are looking for

alternative dairy products. Sheep milk is

becoming increasingly popular around the

world, as it is a rich source of calcium and

protein, is easy to digest, and has higher

levels of many other minerals and vitamins

than cow and goat milk.

For its lock of 1000 dairy ewes, Spring

Sheep wanted to build a high-ridge shelter

that included enough space for feeding and

for new stock. The sheep on the property

generally graze outside in paddocks, but they

also require a protected area to provide them

with shelter from the weather when they need

it, and where they can be fed if necessary.

The new sheep barn was designed by

Spring Sheep in collaboration with the team at

Aztech Buildings. Sales consultant for Aztech

Hamish Prestidge says the shed was fully

constructed by his company using top-quality

materials. “It is important when investing in a

large structure like an animal barn to buy the

best, to ensure that it will last for many years.

A shed such as this offers the farmer an

increased return on investment because it

Massey University engineers have

been developing a screen-

based prototype to help on the

farm that could be used from

anywhere – the home, the ute, even when

you’re on an overseas holiday. Still in its early

stages of development, the system involves

users speaking to a computer-generated

avatar, which answers farm-related questions

and puts forward data-driven solutions based

on the information it has.

The system is designed to tap into sensors

on the farm that give real-time information to

farm managers about what is happening. It

can compare that to what has happened in

the past, and recommend options for what to

do next, based on the data available. The

questions can be wide-ranging – the levels of

milk solids in the cow shed vats, how that

compares to the same time last year, what’s

the pasture cover, and where everyone is

currently located on the farm.

Massey master’s student Hayden Wilson is

doing the development on the project, with

signiicant input from senior lecturer Dr Khalid

Arif, who was instrumental in developing the

base algorithms and software. Professor

Johan Potgieter will oversee the projects

development in his new role in the Massey

Agritech Partnership.

The system will be able to absorb historical

data from the farm and be capable of linking

with on-farm systems to analyse data to help

farmers make better-informed decisions, as

well as helping with the day-to-day running of

the farm.

The tool is not just designed to optimise

productivity, but every aspect of farm life, for

example, in the identiication of animal illness.

These may include spore count data on

certain paddocks to let farmers know which

paddocks might be contributing to facial

eczema. The system would automatically lag

these paddocks and let the farmer know so

they can eficiently manage the farm based on

the information the system provides.

Massey University is the new partner of the

New Zealand National Fieldays Society, owner

of the Fieldays event. The university and

society signed the three-year initial term

agreement in March, with Massey also

partnering with the health and wellbeing

programme that was successfully

implemented at Fieldays last year.

When Spring Sheep Milk Company was looking to add a shed to its Cambridge sheep dairy farm

recently, it approached local building supply company Aztech Buildings.

Taking shelter

provides cost-effective protection from the

elements.”

The new shed is a substantial 84m long and

50m wide, comprised of 14 bays, with

additional roof overhangs. The interior has two

feed lanes running through the centre.

Designed using Aztech’s Stratos system™,

the shed is constructed with timber poles and

has roll-formed steel rafters and purlins. A

Zero-Bird-Perch rafter system keeps the barn

clear of bird droppings. The gable roof design

includes translucent roof sheets to manage

lighting and a ridge vent to optimise airlow

and ventilation.

This is the second farm building that Aztech

has constructed for us says Spring Sheep

business manager Thomas Macdonald. “We

have worked with them in the past, and know

that they produce a good building, fast and

eficiently, on time, on budget, and are local -

all of which are important.”

Additionally, the company has good health

and safety systems. “This is really essential.

While having a large construction site on the

farm can present a big risk, the company

manages it very well,” says Macdonald.

Aztech designs and constructs rural farm

buildings including dairy sheds, implement

sheds, workshops, storage sheds, and hay

barns for large and small farming needs. The

company’s design team can also customise

existing timber or steel sheds to suit individual

farming requirements.

Artiicially intelligent systems that can clean the house, manage heating for

cheaper power and provide surveillance of the family home are developing

every day. So how far away are we from using these systems on the farm?

Can robots help run a farm?

College of Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor

Professor Ray Geor says Massey is excited

about connecting with the society at a

partnership level.

“Fieldays is a premier event, recognised in

world agribusiness. It’s an excellent it for

Massey and our plans for the future. We often

exhibit new technologies with our partners at

Fieldays, and always enjoy talking to visitors

about the beneits Massey students bring to

the primary industries sector. We look forward

to growing this important partnership

between education and agriculture.”

Massey’s College of Health is a member of

the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New

Zealand and wants to help ensure research-

led education makes a difference to outcomes

in New Zealand rural health.

College of Health Pro Vice-Chancellor

Professor Jane Mills says, “We look forward to

working with Fieldays to be part of the

community improving health and well-being in

rural New Zealand.

“Optimal health is the result of many factors,

including the individual person, the

environment and society they live in. There are

many opportunities to make a difference.”

Visit Massey University in the Pavilion, Health

and Wellbeing Hub and the Careers and

Education Hub at Fieldays.

Massey University is a new partner of NZ National Fieldays Society.

“It is important when

investing in a large structure like an animal barn to buy

the best, to ensure that it will last for many years

”

39

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At the same time, the problem of

connecting rural New Zealanders

to the internet had the major telcos

scratching their heads. The large

size of the market posed all sorts of challenges

– from remote locations to lack of resources. It

had been in the “too hard basket”, and country

dwellers fell by the wayside as the rest of the

country enjoyed broadband and discovered

the world wide web.

About this time, a man named Barry Payne

Connecting the countryside

Sixteen years ago, in 2002,

Labour, led by Helen Clark, was

re-elected to govern the nation.

New Zealand won 45 medals at

the Commonwealth Games, the

Crusaders were the reigning

super rugby champs and the

All Blacks won the Tri-Nations.

moved back to New Zealand to the outskirts

of Waimate and, to his dismay, found he

couldn’t get an internet connection due to his

location. Payne was not alone; thousands of

rural New Zealanders were without internet

connections, and there were no immediate

plans to resolve the issue.

So, in the true “do it yourself” Kiwi way,

Payne set to work to ind a broadband

solution for rural New Zealand, and Farmside

was born. Out of Timaru a small team of rural

connectivity experts began their mission to

connect New Zealanders no matter what or

where – from the Chatham Islands to Bluff to

Cape Reinga – and they were certain there

had to be a solution.

This solution came in the form of satellite,

says Farmside’s general manager Jason

Sharp. “This was a signiicant investment for

any company, especially a new business, but

it was the only option. Satellite required no

ixed lines, meaning that regardless of the

terrain or distance from city centres, internet

was accessible.” Suddenly, with satellite, New

Zealanders had the opportunity to connect to

one another and to the world, and without it

and Farmside’s determination to back rural

Kiwis, farmers who would not have been

connected, potentially for many years.

Rural broadband has progressed since

then. ADSL and VSDL connections are more

readily available and the Rural Broadband

Initiative (RBI) rolled out by the government in

2015 has unlocked further opportunities.

“Thanks to these developments, farmers

can now buy and sell livestock at the click of a

button, and manage their inances and staff

from the comfort of their own home,” says

Sharp. “We live in an increasingly connected

world, and it is easy to forget the days when

rural New Zealand was only connected by

letter, a drive down the road and a home

phone line, when the internet was something

just for townies, when nobody wanted to

invest in connecting our rural Kiwis.”

Only a few years later, rural New Zealanders

can enjoy and beneit from this connectivity,

thanks to a man from Waimate and a startup

called Farmside.

40

Tineke Verkade

control over the health of their animals, and

enables them to quickly utilise the system

themselves when they identify a health

problem with an animal. It is also considered

to be environmentally friendly, and is

recognised as an acceptable option for

animals on farms that have organic

certiication.

“With this type of approach, the results are

quicker, the farmer is in charge of animal

health on his farm, and he is able to look after

his animals himself.”

Verkade says farmers need to be observant

of their animals to treat them using these

methods. “For example, if an animal is lame,

you need to know which leg, how long it’s

been lame, is it still walking, and you may

prescribe arnica for bruising. Farmers do

observe their animals, and if a farmer sees an

animal with a problem at the 4am milking, he

can get onto it and begin homeopathy

immediately. So the animal is likely to get

better sooner.”

Originally a general nurse, Verkade has

always been passionate about natural health

and wellbeing, both in humans and animals

and has studied naturopathy and

homeopathy. It was these skills and interests

that led her, in 1997, to create HFS, which

researches and develops homeopathic

products, and provides farmers with

professional information, education,

guidelines and support in the safe and

effective use of homeopathy. In November

On a farm, a healthy animal is a

productive animal, so maintaining

and improving the health of their

sheep, cows and other livestock is a

key objective of farmers.

For the past 20 years, New Zealand

farmers have increasingly been

moving towards using homeopathic

products and remedies, although

conventional medicine, dispensed by a

veterinarian, still has a part to play.

Tineke Verkade, of Homeopathic Farm

Support (HFS), says many conventional

farmers are now using homeopathy for animal

health in their farming operations. More than

a quarter of Fonterra’s dairy farmers and a

signiicant number of sheep and beef

producers choose homeopathy (exclusively or

along with conventional medications) due to

the success they have experienced in using it

to maintain and improve the health of their

animals and the productivity of their farms.

Homeopathy is a system of healing that

looks at the symptoms, says Verkade, then

prescribes small, very diluted doses that help

the body to heal itself, using substances from

the mineral, animal and plant kingdoms. A

central principle is that every being is unique

and the use of homeopathy must be tailored

to the individual.

The big advantage of homeopathy for

farmers, she says, is that it gives them more

History of HomeopathyHomeopathy can be traced back to the

late 18th century when German physician

and scholar Samuel Hahnemann became

disillusioned with medical treatments –

often these were not only brutal and harsh

but also ineffective as cures and caused

terrible side effects for patients. While

translating a medical book, he discovered

what later became the key to developing

homeopathy as a healing system. Through

experiments, observing and documenting

his indings, he came to the view that like

cures like, which is the fundamental tenet

of homeopathy. He tested his theories on

humans, but not on animals as they are

unable to express themselves.

Hahnemann believed that the totality of

signs and symptoms should be the guide

for selecting a remedy, and animals should

be treated according to their individual

symptoms, behaviour, build and speciic

characteristics. As animals don’t speak, it

is necessary to observe their behaviour

and reactions to correctly treat them.

“

Farmers need to be observant of their animals

to treat them using these methods

”

The latest reliable workhorse to drive out of the Nissan garage

is a vehicle that’s designed to tackle back-country farm tracks,

country roads and city streets with equal ease.

The Nissan Navara is equipped for

the toughest terrain with enhanced

off-roading abilities, but at the same

time it has a new level of car-like

reinement, style, comfort and quality.

Nissan New Zealand’s managing director

John Manley says that improving reinement

and delivering a crossover-style driving

experience was a key element of the Navara’s

development. “To help achieve this without

compromising the vehicle’s off-road ability,

Nissan has designed an all-new ive-link rear

suspension system for the double cab,

providing signiicantly enhanced ride comfort

and improved handling on and off-road.”

There’s an impressive array of new

customer technology including the very latest

in performance, safety, technology, comfort

and convenience features which, coupled

A new driving experience

The new Nissan Navara is designed for both country and city driving.

Healthy healing, naturally

3500kg, the Navara is ready for

the toughest and most

demanding of jobs or leisure pursuits.

“Tackling hilly terrain? Now you can do it

with more conidence and control,” says

Manley. On an incline, Hill Start Assist can

help keep you from rolling backwards when

you’re accelerating up a hill from a stop. And

Hill Descent Control helps you maintain a

with eficient running

costs, make the

Navara well suited for

both work and leisure.

The Around View

Monitor is a popular

feature of Nissan’s

crossover vehicles and

unique to the Navara in

the ute market. Further

safety and convenience

features include cruise control,

keyless entry and parking sensors.

Knowing that ute owners need their

vehicles to earn their keep, the Navara’s

load-carrying and towing ability across the

range is better than ever. With payload ratings

in excess of one tonne across the range and

an impressive towing capacity of up to

steady speed and braking, so you can get

down a steep grade more safely.

The Nissan Navara also has a host of safety

features standard across the range: seven

airbags including driver knee airbag, Vehicle

Dynamic Control (VDC), Traction Control

System (TCS), Anti-lock Braking System

(ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution

(EBD) and Brake Assist (BA).

2009, HFS won the Organics Aotearoa New

Zealand (OANZ) Enterprise Award, and

Verkade was the Supreme Winner of the

Enterprising Rural Women Award 2010.

HFS supports farmers wanting to use

homeopathic methods through education via

one-day seminars, the publication of

handbooks for reference, and a telephone

help desk for farmers wanting to talk through

particular issues. It also supplies a wide range

of products for animal general health.

An HFS product, Natural Teat Conditioner,

was recently approved as a veterinary-

registered product. The BioGro-certiied

conditioner is a teat spray that is used after

milking to maintain teat health. It helps

cracked teats, blemishes, sores/pox and sore

teats, has a pleasant odour and calms the

cows. For easy identiication, the conditioner

becomes white when sprayed on the teats.

41

What is often not realised is that

cows that have had milk fever

(parturient hypocalcaemia)

have a reduced immunity. This

then makes them more susceptible to a whole

range of conditions such as retained placenta,

mastitis, metritis and fatty liver syndrome – all

of which can have negative effects on

subsequent fertility.

The science is simple: in the body, calcium

is needed (amongst other things) to aid the

release of the chemical messenger that

activates muscles. Lack of calcium results in a

loss of muscle activity, and it is no surprise,

therefore, that the clinical signs of milk fever

are a lack of muscle function.

Magnesium is also important, having an

inluence on calcium homeostasis. During

periods of low calcium intake, the body

maintains normal blood calcium levels

(homeostasis) by increasing the eficiency of

calcium absorption from the gut.

Mobilisation of calcium from skeletal

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Improving dry cow management and fertilityMilk fever, a common problem that can affect cows around calving time,

can then go on to affect their future fertility. One of many livestock

problems where “prevention is better than cure”, milk fever is a condition

where the animal’s blood calcium levels drop.

reduce the risk of mastitis in early lactation.

Research conducted at University of

Glasgow Veterinary School shows that

Crystalyx Dry Cow contains a unique blend of

magnesium salts that ensure the magnesium

is more eficiently absorbed than any pure

calcined magnesite source. The blocks also

contain high levels of vitamin E and selenium,

which help to reduce the risk of retained

afterbirth post-calving.

Three research studies, undertaken on New

Zealand dairy farms, were overseen by the

University of Auckland’s Dr Mark Oliver.

“Crystalyx Dry Cow is a viable alternative to

traditional magnesium supplementation on

NZ dairy farms. Additional essential minerals,

trace elements and vitamins are also provided

in the block, which should support improved

immunity and disease resistance. Cows like

consuming Crystalyx Dry Cow and this should

help with an easier and faster transitioning

and improved production,” he says.

Crystalyx Dry Cow blocks contain a blend of magnesium salts, vitamin E and selenium.

reserves increases at the same time, but this

takes 10-14 days to be fully switched on, and

magnesium is required to increase this

absorptive eficiency.

According to research, dry cows show a

tendency to have low blood magnesium

levels, and a cow need only be mildly

hypomagnesaemic to greatly impair the

eficiency of calcium absorption. Even a

small reduction in blood magnesium levels

can dramatically reduce the eficiency of

calcium absorption and the amount of

calcium mobilised from the skeleton by up to

40 per cent.

On the basis of preventing problems before

they arise, it makes good sense to ensure

cows have access to generous levels of all

essential trace elements and vitamins to

replenish bodily reserves prior to calving, and

help support and maintain a strong, healthy

immune system within the cow. Plus, good

levels of trace elements and vitamins are also

important for calf health and vigour and to

42

But having a great idea is only the

beginning of the story; being able

to drive it to commercial success

requires another area of expertise.

Whatever the invention or innovation –

whether it is industrial, agricultural or in

another area altogether – at every stage from

scientiic investigations to market research to

mentoring, all new products need a large

amount of considered research and

development before they can get to the next

level and introduced to the market.

And because much of the world looks

toward New Zealand to lead innovation in the

agricultural sector, Fieldays understands the

importance of encouraging and supporting

the country’s innovators through its

Innovation Awards.

Tauranga-based Locus Research judged

the awards in 2013 for the irst time and

recognised an opportunity to become more

involved and to offer the expertise of its team

to Fieldays innovators. “The following year,

we set up a purpose-built structure within the

Innovation Centre, The Lab,” says Locus

CEO Daniel Faris.

The Locus team – nattily attired in lab

coats, complete with thick-rimmed glasses

– mentored and debriefed entrants into the

All great inventions must begin somewhere, and in

New Zealand, they are just as likely to start at the

kitchen table over a cup of tea or in the milking shed

while a farmer goes about his daily chores, as they are

to be designed by a professional innovator.

Encouraging innovation

Innovation Awards, giving

them tips for their pitches

and advice on their projects.

They welcomed visitors wanting to

share and discuss ideas, and hosted

workshops for interested businesses. Some

of the one-on-one sessions with award

inalists have led to development projects,

such as Kelvin the Thermokennel (which is

heading back to Fieldays this year for

production presales).

Over the years, award winners have

received prize packages that have included

four days with the Locus team to work on the

issues that would make a difference to their

products, from creating a brochure, brand, or

IP, to tackling a technical or commercial

problem, or any aspect of the development

process the team could help with.

One such winner irst made their debut in

the 2014 Innovation Centre: UBCO Bikes.

The bare framed prototype won the Locus

Research Innovation Award, and what started

off as a branding

exercise quickly grew

to incubating a start-up

company. Locus dove

into every aspect of the

business, from iterating

the frame design to

aligning manufacturing

partners and setting up the

inancials. Today, UBCO is exhibiting

at Fieldays on its own busy stand and the

bikes are selling internationally.

Locus Research is well qualiied to provide

this type of support. The company

specialises in product development,

particularly when the products are creative,

innovative and break boundaries. Its team

has been working with individuals and

companies since 2002 helping to develop

ideas all the way through to delivery into the

market, using an approach that is research

driven and which seeks to establish the

feasibility of a programme at an early stage,

even before getting involved in any technical

development.

If an idea or opportunity has merit, the

company’s process begins by looking deeply

into it and suggesting a pathway for

development. Research is a key area, looking

at factors that could inluence the

development and commercial success. Next

comes the development phase – from

conceptualising the idea, to developing the

concept, early prototypes, and detailed

speciications – to a inal iteration of the

product or service, looking at markets and

suppliers, and making a inal commitment to

production and marketing. Along the way,

they will not only develop the product; the

team will explore and develop the branding,

translate this into the physical design,

establish inancial models, and secure the

team behind that will, hopefully, turn into a

successful business.

Five years down the track, the Lab has

become a true innovation hub, operating from

its stand in the middle of the Innovation

Centre, and companies from all around the

country join together on its advisory panel.

Each Fieldays, the Locus team looks forward

to meeting innovative people and discovering

new ideas to push along. With experience

across the entire product development

process, the team is well suited to advise the

many innovators who come through the

Innovation Centre. The team of partners the

company has pulled together ensures that

any and all questions are answered – from

intellectual property to accounting,

investment opportunities to government

funding. Together, the Lab team hopes to

foster and encourage New Zealanders to

follow their passion, push the envelope and

continue to innovate from the dairy shed to

the world.

By Mary Rean

Fieldays Innovation Awards are designed to bring the inventors out of the cowshed and

into daylight, where companies like Locus Research can provide support with all stages

from initial product development through to production and marketing.

“If an idea or opportunity has merit, the company’s process

begins by looking deeply into it and suggesting a pathway

”

43

Pure DairyExcellence.When it comes to dairying, New Zealand

is known for its passionate innovators

GEA brings together this pioneering spirit

with world leading engineering expertise.

PIONEERS ENGINEERS

Hamilton-based company Gallagher

celebrates its 80th anniversary in

2018.

Gallagher was founded in 1938

by the late Bill Gallagher Senior, who was

inspired to solve a problem – he electriied his

Essex car to prevent his horse Joe from

rubbing against it. This, in turn, led to the

creation of a family business designing and

supplying electric fence solutions.

Eighty years later, and that 10-person

business has grown into a multinational

company with 1100 employees worldwide. It

has diversiied from electric fencing into

animal management, security and fuel

systems, and focuses on technology-led

solutions to customer problems.

“Gallagher was one of the original exhibitors

at the very irst Fieldays in Te Rapa, Hamilton

in 1969,” says Gallagher national sales

manager Darrell Jones. “We will be there

again this year, and we are excited to

celebrate our strong, long-term relationship.”

Gallagher’s 80th anniversary theme is

‘celebrating the spark,’ and this year the

company is shining a light on the importance

it places on innovative thinking and tech-led

solutions that ‘spark possibilities’ and solve

farmers’ problems.

“Sir William has made a commitment to

reinvesting in the company to spark new

ideas, and ten per cent of total revenue is

channelled back into research and

development at Gallagher each year,” says

Jones. “As a company, we place importance

on being at the forefront of

technology, solving problems

that have an impact on

people’s lives and

bringing out new

products that are

smart, practical and

make things easier for

our customers.”

“This year we are

extremely excited to

launch three new

products at Fieldays,”

says Jones.

The new TWR-5 Weigh

Scale & Reader combines two

pieces of hardware – an EID reader and the

award-winning Gallagher TW Weigh Scales

– into an all-in-one solution. “This is a game

changer for farmers, enabling the task of tag

reading and weighing to be performed by one

person,” says Jones. “On top of that, it has all

the smarts our existing TW Scales have, with

a daylight readable touch screen and the

ability to add up to nine traits.”

The S200 and S400 Integrated Solar

Energizers provide reliable power off-the-grid,

Celebrate the sparkIt’s a year for celebration with two Waikato agricultural icons

celebrating key milestones this year.

The TWR-5 Weigh Scale & Reader (left) and the S400 Integrated

Solar Energiser (above) are just two new products from Gallagher.

giving farmers a portable

solution for animal control and

break feeding of supplement crops.

“They’re tough, robust units and were well

received at the three regional ield days, so

we're keen to oficially launch them at Mystery

Creek,” says Jones.

The Gallagher Energizer Dashboard App

allows farmers to monitor electric fence

systems performance remotely. “It puts a

smart solution in farmers’ pockets; they can

get updates on their electric fencing – including

faults or problems– on their mobile device. It

offers peace of mind and saves time.”

“We’d like to invite farmers to come and

have a look at these innovative products at

Fieldays, have a talk to us and try them out

irst hand,” says Jones.

He says Fieldays gives Gallagher staff the

ability to talk to people, get valuable feedback

on products and developments and show

their entire range of products in one place,

while providing valuable training for reseller

staff from around New Zealand.

"At Gallagher we are constantly thinking

ahead and talking to customers about how

we can solve their problems on-farm, now

and into the future,” says Jones.

Their efforts in adopting sustainable

practices on their farm were

rewarded with the recent

announcement that they are the

supreme winners of the 2018 Waikato

Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The McKinnons had plans for a feed pad,

wedge and pond for their farm. A key factor

around the pond was moving to shore-based

equipment to provide ease of maintenance

and improved health and safety. At this stage,

they utilised the services of Reid & Harrison

1980 Ltd and their Yardmaster product range

for efluent management.

Reid & Harrison conirmed that a

Yardmaster self-priming pump and shore-

mounted stirrer was ideal for this requirement.

A challenging aspect of the design was the

need for multiple outputs for the farm. While

the land adjacent to the pond is relatively lat,

the land across the road has a 70m head

pressure. Also, McKinnon wanted to conserve

water by using green water from the pond for

his feed pad lood wash tanks.

The answer to this was a Yardmaster HALO

Supersmart system, which enables the lows

to be varied for each duty, and allows for a

constant low with the pump adjusting to the

required low or pressure setting.

Being able to record all required data and

have safety settings means the McKinnons

know the system will alert them and shut

down equipment should it go out of set

parameters. “And because the system is

accessible on any smart device, I can also

monitor performance and levels, even when

I’m away from the farm.”

Having GPS and fail safes on the main

irrigator has been further enhanced by

geofencing the irrigation areas. With a stream

running through the farm and some wetlands

that are being riparian planted, the system will

only let the irrigator operate in safe zones.

GPS and low measurement give the

McKinnons proof of placement and, more

importantly, peace of mind that the system is

working for the environment. They know

exactly where the irrigator has been and what

Set in the picturesque Hinuera Valley near Matamata is a 194ha dairy farm owned by Rod and

Sandra McKinnon. With their passion for the environment and can-do attitude, they have

explored ways to protect a stream and manage the efluent needs of their farm.

Smart farmers need smart systems

has been applied to each area.

“Being able to monitor the irrigator is very

helpful. We can tell straight away if the ground

is too wet and doesn’t need irrigation, and we

know exactly how much nitrogen is in the soil

so we can’t overload the pastures,” says

McKinnon.

Reid & Harrison, an accredited farm dairy

efluent designer, has also worked to provide

detail on how the efluent system can be

operated with the particular soil and

equipment on this farm.

Having added milk, water

and weather modules to

the system, the couple

now has an integrated

package that provides

data on a wider source

of information.

“Information is key,”

says McKinnon. “If you

have it you can do

something with it. It goes

back to the classic

management statement that

you can only manage what you

measure.”

For the McKinnons, their desire to have a

sustainable farm means being able to control

what is happening with the efluent system so

as to adjust to changing needs, provide

information so they can make decisions, and

have fail safes for when things do go wrong.

“The system is so well set up that a failure is

almost impossible. We really care about what

we are doing here, so it’s important to us to

know we are fully compliant for our resource

consent at all times,” McKinnon says.

Using the smarts of the Yardmaster HALO

system and the accredited system design

capability of Reid & Harrison, combined with

their enlightened attitude to the environment,

they know their farm land is in good hands.

“We really care about what we

are doing here, so it’s important to us to know we are fully

compliant for our resource consent at all times

”

Smallaire strives to be innovative in

air movement technology, and one

of the components it has designed

and developed is an air diffuser.

These diffusers suit all types of air seeders,

and enable them to achieve the best possible

yield results.

Seed bounce at the boot can be a costly

fault on an airseeder, as grain is wasted. This

will result in a low percentage of yield; when

the grain hits the ground with excessive force,

it will bounce out of the furrow, either leaving

the grain on top of the ground for birds and

vermin to eat, or placing the grain at the

incorrect depth for proper germination.

Smallaire’s Pressure Relief Vent is designed

to relieve air speed and air pressure before the

seed boot to prevent these issues of seed

damage and bounce caused from excessive

pressure and velocity.

The company has a range of styles to suit

most applications, which are available in

quality materials – stainless steel, mild steel

with a powder-coated inish, as well as

galvanised dipped.

The Pressure Relief Vents are available in

several different options – double inlet pipes

give the option of different sowing widths

without major changes to the seeder. For

example, the seeder can be changed from

Precision farming is a must; the

days of just sowing the seed and

hoping for the best are long gone.

Farmers today have access to

skills and technology that ensure

their farms are run eficiently and

they can achieve more than one

sowing per year.

Airseeder diffuser technology

six-inch row spacing to 12-inch by running

two pipes to the one relief vent, without the

worry of seed bounce or seed damage.

Other options are multiple pipe sizes going

in and out, to suit seeder boots and hoses.

These can be mounted direct to the seeder

boot or be mounted over and above the boot

via the bolt holes on either side of the vent.

These diffusers complement Smallaire’s

large range of air seeder components, which

give farmers the conidence to know their

system is the best they can buy.

Come and visit us at this year’s Fieldays.

Smallaire's air diffusers suit all types of air seeders and aim to improve yield results.

Often called ‘the Apple of drones’,

DJI is the world’s leading company

in the drone industry, accounting

for over 80 per cent of the global

drone market. Its authorised New Zealand

distributor, Ferntech, reports a growing

customer base of farmers purchasing drones

to assist with tasks from stock management,

surveying and mapping to crop spraying and

tracking crop health.

Jonathan Kubiak, senior sales consultant at

Ferntech, says the most common purpose for

agricultural drones in New Zealand is stock

management and aerial mapping. Farmers

utilise the technology to perform checks

across their farms, comply with health and

safety, or herd stock by attaching an

inexpensive siren to the drone.

Dairy farmer Brad Kilgour from Reporoa

uses his DJI Phantom to check stock, move

cows and has mapped his farm from above.

“We use the DJI Phantom on our

dairy farm to carry out stock

surveillance, especially

around calving time,”

says Kilgour. “In no

time at all, we can ly

up to our springer

mob and see if there

are any cows

needing assistance.

“The greatest

beneit is getting in the cows to milk in the

afternoon. When they start walking to the

shed around 2.30pm, I ly back over them to

check every cow has left the paddock, saving

around 30 minutes a day if I had to follow

behind them on a motorbike.

“I have also aerial mapped our property,

which has given us a highly detailed

interactive map, so that I can accurately

measure areas and distances. This comes in

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NATIONAL AGRICULTURALFIELDAYS

Farm management from aboveIt’s well known that drones are set to revolutionise agricultural markets.

Our country’s geography makes drones particularly relevant; transit and

management can be a logistical challenge on many NZ farms. Drones take

the farmer into the sky, and away from having to navigate dificult terrain.

Drones save time checking stock, and can aerial map properties.

handy when ordering

seed for crops or

sprays, saving us time

and money,” says Kilgour.

For crop farmers, there are a

variety of sensors now available on

the market, including NDVI imaging devices

that can help growers map and assess the

vitality of their crops. Information like this can be

extremely powerful and save hours of manually

checking growth from the ground.

The 25kg DJI Agras spraying craft is now

being used effectively by a handful of

operators who have found a niche with spot

spraying. These craft are improving eficiency

with spraying as they actively track terrain and

ensure minimal wastage. Running costs are

low compared to conventional, diesel-

powered equipment or helicopters, allowing a

leet of these craft to be managed for a

fraction of the cost of a single helicopter.

Uptake of the technology has beneited

from government support for innovation in

agriculture and horticulture. Kubiak says that

as the technology becomes more advanced,

it is expected that most farmers in New

Zealand will use drones as part of their toolkit.

DJI Ferntech’s team will be at Fieldays Stand

PB19 to answer questions around the use of

drone technology in agriculture. Read more

online at www.djistore.com/agriculture.

“In no time at all, we can ly up to our springer mob

and see if there are any cows needing assistance

”

45

HEAD

Smart farmers need smart systems

INTRO

Set against the picturesque backdrop of

the Hinuera Valley near Matamata is a 194ha

dairy farm owned by Rod and Sandra

McKinnon. With their passion and

commitment for looking after the

environment and a can-do attitude, this

couple has explored ways to protect a

stream on their land and manage the efluent

needs of their farm.

COPY

Their efforts in adopting sustainable

practices on their farm were rewarded with

the recent announcement that they are the

supreme winners of the 2018 Waikato

Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The McKinnons had plans for a feed pad,

wedge and pond for their farm. A key factor

around the pond was moving to shore-based

equipment to provide ease of maintenance

and improved health and safety. At this

stage, they utilised the services of Reid &

Harrison 1980 Ltd and their Yardmaster

product range for efluent management.

Reid & Harrison conirmed a that

Yardmaster self-priming pump and shore-

mounted stirrer was ideal for this

requirement. A challenging aspect of the

design was the need for multiple outputs for

the farm. While the land adjacent to the pond

is relatively lat, the land across the road has

a 70m head pressure. Also, McKinnon

wanted to conserve water by using green

water from the pond for his feed pad lood

wash tanks.

The answer to this was a Yardmaster

HALO Supersmart system, which enables

the lows to be varied for each duty, and

allows for a constant low with the pump

adjusting to the required low or pressure

setting.

Being able to record all required data and

have safety settings means the McKinnons

know the system will alert them and shut

down equipment should it go out of set

parameters. “And because the system is

accessible on any smart device, I can also

monitor performance and levels, even when

I’m away from the farm.”

Having GPS and fail safes on the main

irrigator has been further enhanced by

geofencing the irrigation areas. With a stream

running through the farm and some wetlands

that are being riparian planted, the system

will only let the irrigator operate in safe zones.

GPS and low measurement give the

McKinnons proof of placement and, more

importantly, peace of mind that the system is

working for the environment. They know

exactly where the irrigator has been and

what has been applied to each area.

“Being able to monitor the irrigator is very

helpful. We can tell straight away if the

ground is too wet and doesn’t need

irrigation, and we know exactly how much

nitrogen is in the soil so we can’t overload

the pastures,” says McKinnon.

Reid & Harrison, who are accredited farm

dairy efluent designers, has also worked to

provide detail on how the efluent system can

be operated with the particular soil and

equipment characteristics of this farm.

Having added milk, water and weather

modules to the system, the couple now has

an integrated package that provides data on

a wider source of information.

“Information is key,” says McKinnon. “If

you have it you can do something with it. It

goes back to the classic management

statement that you can only manage what

you measure.”

For the McKinnons, their desire to have a

sustainable farm means being able to control

what is happening with the efluent system

so as to adjust to changing needs, provide

information so they can make decisions, and

have fail safes for when things do go wrong.

“The system is so well set up that a failure

is almost impossible. We really care about

what we are doing here, so it’s important to

us to know we are fully compliant for our

resource consent at all times,” McKinnon

says.

Using the smarts of the Yardmaster HALO

system and the accredited system design

capability of Reid & Harrison, combined with

their enlightened attitude to the environment,

they know their farm land is in good hands.

N

EW ZEA

LAND

DEVE

LOPED FOR

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