dairy news may 31 2011

eagle eye on fieldaysTracking farmer footprintsPage 30

Two big wins in a weekDairy Awards 2011 3may 31, 2011 issue 247 www.dairynews.co.nz

Labour’s ETS plan, tax claims slammed Pages 3, 4 & 5

farmers fighT back

Fonterra unveils record payout, sets bumper forecast Pages 6-7

See us at National Fieldays – site E52-E54

Dairy News // mAy 31, 2011 3

news

News .......................................................... 3-20

Opinion .................................................... 22-23

Agribusiness ...........................................24-26

National Fieldays ................................... 27-41

management ........................................ 43-46

Animal Health ........................................ 47-51

machinery & Products ..........................52-54

mark Dewdney on genomic data suspension.

A proud maori heritage in farming.

Pages 8-9

Page 43

Does in-shed feeding lift milk production? Page 52

FONTerra says it will vigir-ously defend its farmers against political attacks.

The co-op’s chief executive Andrew Ferrier says its farmers are getting caught up in an elec-tion year politics.

Ferrier says recent claims on income tax paid by dairy farm-ers are appalling.

“It’s New Zealand’s tall pop-py syndrome in action,” he told Dairy News.

He says, like Federated Farmers and DairyNZ, Fon-terra has also been defending its farmers against such “unfair at-tacks”. However, he has rejected Labour’s claims the co-op was out of touch with consumers and politicians.

Labour’s Damien O’Connor says there’s a real need for the dairy sector as a whole to communicate to, and connect better, with the wider commu-

nity about the way it operates. He says he’s been telling

Fonterra and the Shareholders Council and others in the sec-tor about the need for them im-prove their communication with the public.

O’Connor believes they need to explain the reality, variability and the fact that it’s a high capi-tal industry.

“They need to know that the high incomes for dairy farm-

ers that are sometimes bandied around in the media don’t nec-essarily relate to high profits.

“That’s related to seasonal is-sues and that despite all of their hard work, the huge investment sometimes they don’t make the profit they deserve,” he says.

O’Connor blames some of the miscommunication on Fonterra’s decision to move to Auckland from Wellington.

More on pages 4 & 5

Fonterra to bat for farmers

Co-op slams Labour’s election gimmicksudesh kissun and PeTer burke

FONTerra Has told Labour hastening agriculture’s inclusion in the ETS is like “shooting our-selves in the foot”.

The co-op met with Labour’s agriculture spokesman Damien O’Connor last week after the party stung the farming sector by announcing it will bring agricul-ture into the ETS two years early in 2013 and use the $800 million raised to fund five years worth of tax breaks on research and devel-opment.

Fonterra chief executive An-drew Ferrier says Labour’s ETS policy is “all politics”. He says the co-op told Labour it dis-agreed with the policy.

“We told Labour it will make your strongest industry less com-petitive in the global market,” he told Dairy News. “We should not

even think of including agricul-ture in ETS, leave alone bring-ing it forward by two years, until there is global agreement with our trading partners.

“Bringing agriculture into ETS unilaterally is shooting our-selves in the foot.”

The co-op has also rejected Labour’s claim taxpayers are subsidising farmers through the current ETS. It points out that Fonterra farmers are being taxed on carbon emissions through its processing facilities. The co-op’s annual ETS bill is $40 million which equates to $3500/share-holder.

Ferrier says the ETS bill comes directly out of the payout. Analysts say Labour, trailing badly in opinion polls before the November 26 election, is trying to attract urban votes.

Ferrier agrees saying it’s an election year gimmick.

“Its election year and every-

one is trying to get sound bites on what might play out with voters in a popular way,” he says. “This is not driven by consum-ers, but by the political process.”

The Government has also slammed Labour and has called it ETS policy the “politics of envy”. Agricul-ture Minister David Carter told Dairy News the policy won’t earn Labour any votes. He says most New Zealanders realise if the farmers are doing well that feeds back to the whole economy.

“In other words, ev-ery New Zealander ultimately ben-efits,” he says.

Carter also rub-bished Labour’s claim that under the present ETS farmers are be-ing subsidised by other taxpay-ers.

“What the ETS attempts to do

is to change the behaviour of any emitters. Over time, as we find solutions for farmers to address methane emissions, the ETS will give them signals to change,” he says.

Andrew Ferrier

Dairy News // mAy 31, 20114

news

Farmers declare war on ETSTHe FarMiNG community is openly at war with Labour over Phil Goff’s ETS plans.

The move to bring agriculture into the scheme, two years early, has outraged farming leaders with Federated Farmers calling it a “cynical attack on the rural sector”.

While party faithful at their recent congress greeted Goff’s announcement with applause, the reaction might have been differ-ent had he decided to make the announcement at a local sale-yards.

The move is seen by many in the rural sector as ‘farmer bash-ing’ based on the false assump-tion that dairy farmers, and even those in the sheep and beef sector, are milking the tax system.

Goff’s pot shot at farmers coincided with other media sto-ries claiming farmers didn’t pay

enough tax and another story blaming dairy farmers, yet again, for polluting the Manawatu River.

Dairy farmers at local discus-

sion groups around the country have also voiced their concern about the way their industry is be-ing portrayed in the mainstream media and the failure of city folk to understand the financial posi-tion of dairy farmers. They want Fonterra to do something about this.

Nicolson says he’s been told that Labour is not anti-farming.

“But they consistently show, by the cost structures that they develop, they really don’t care as long as they get revenue from somewhere so they can redistrib-ute out somewhere into the econ-omy,” he told Dairy News. “They don’t really care if we’ve got prof-itably farming or not.”

Nicolson says what’s missing in this debate is a general under-standing of the huge production efficiencies that have occurred inside the farm gate.

Don Nicolson

‘A nasty financial shock’PeTer burke

aN aGriBUsiNess expert says La-bour’s announcement on the ETS obvi-ously caught farmers by surprise and ap-parently came without any consultation with the farming community.

Stuart Locke, Waikato University, says if farmers have been working on business and financial plans for the ETS to come into effect in 2015, then bring-ing it forward by two years is a pretty nasty financial shock.

“For most of us if we were told that we are retiring two years earlier than we had anticipated with no golden hand-shake, it would come as a nasty shock.

He believes farmers are right to be surprised, if they’ve been planning for 2015 as the change will be quite disrup-tive.

Locke says he doubts if the change would actually send farmers to the wall. But says the change of date is a pretty strong imposition on farmers.

Labour’s ETS announcement coin-cided with media reports that suggested that farmers were not carrying their fair share of the tax burden. Locke says they are two separate issues.

“One is about income tax and the other is about an emissions issue and whether there has to be an additional charge coming from the agricultural sector, primarily dairy farmers.”

Locke says, at present, the dairy in-

dustry has a perception problem with the wider public of New Zealand. This is because the milk payout is at record levels and a large part of the population is struggling financially.

“We are told that dairy farmers will be earning an additional $300,000 a year and that’s huge figures for people. That’s additional revenue, let alone ad-ditional costs, and I think that’s a per-ception thing that will rub a lot of strug-gling people.”

Locke says an argument could be

“For most of us if we were told that we are retiring two years earlier than we had anticipated with no golden handshake, it would come as a nasty shock.

Stuart Locke

Defending the indefensibleLaBOUr’s aGriCULTUre spokesperson, Damien O’Connor has defended Phil Goff’s ETS poli-cy ‘initiative’ saying the idea comes from his party’s philosophy for all new policies to be ‘fiscally respon-sible’.

He claims that under National’s proposal taxpayers will effectively subsidise farmers’ emissions for two more years. O’Connor says La-bour believes it’d be better for the money used to subsidise agricul-ture’s contribution to the ETS spent on research and development.

“Labour is conscious of how the country is facing a period of fairly high strong commodity prices,” he told Dairy News. “If ever there was a time that the industry could tran-sition into the ETS then it’s prob-ably going to be in the next few years, while those prices are still solid.”

O’Connor accepts while dairy farmers are getting high prices for their milk, in most cases, this doesn’t translate into instant profits for farmers. He says dairying has now become a high cost regime.

“This is not because of high Government costs or ETS, rather it’s because both banks and farmers have been prepared to pay more for land and higher inputs on basis that returns will be high, he says. “Re-gardless of the ETS, farmers who are too highly geared will be under pressure.”

O’Connor also says calculations of the ETS’s impact on farmers, by both National and Labour, will be still relatively small. He claims Federated Farmers have exagger-ated the cost of the ETS on farmers.

mounted that the timing of the announcements could have been managed better. He says the La-bour’s ETS policy and its sugges-tions that farmers aren’t paying enough tax and then Fonterra cel-ebrating an increased payout has raised some concerns.

He believes environmental is-sues such as clean streams, where in some regions targets are not be-

ing met, leave farmers with a weak underbelly in the eyes of the public

“Not only are they perceived as not fixing up environmental is-sues such as cows in streams and effluent or nitrogen run-off, they are also perceived as not wanting to pay their share of carbon emissions. So I think they are easy to attack as tall poppies at this time.”

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news

FONTerra FarMers say a recent newspaper ar-ticle claiming they don’t pay their share of taxes is a cheap shot.

Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Simon Couper says the article in the Dominion Post ig-nored the facts. Dairy farmers work hard in diffi-cult conditions, he says. They have to deal with the weather, swings in the value of dairy commodities, rising on-farm costs and the ups and downs of the New Zealand dollar.

“Farms are businesses like the corner store or the panel-beating shop,” he says. “They incur very substantial busi-ness costs such as labour, elec-tricity, feed, fertiliser, vehicles and on-farm equipment.

“Many also have massive debts to service. The reality is, if a farm doesn’t make a profit, it doesn’t pay tax.”

Couper says zeroing in on 2009, which saw the lowest payout in three years, is misleading. He says the majority of farmers will pay tax this season.

DairyNZ says the average tax paid by dairy farm-ers over the last decade is $28,225, a far cry from the average reported in media reports. Its figures show that on average, $300 million tax is paid each year by dairy farms and not $26 million as claimed in the article.

Chief executive Tim Mackle points out the tax paid in 2009-10 was low in comparison to the tax-able income because of the large losses made the previous year, which was a very difficult one for farmers and one of the worst on record financially.

He says tax paid in 2010-11 will be much higher, based not only on the 2010-11 high income levels but also a good season in 2009-10.

Mackle adds that the 2009-10 figures reported are also distorted by the fact many farmers received tax refunds for overpayment of tax in relation to in-come for the previous year because their earnings were less than anticipated, because it was such a bad year.

“That year, the average farm had a cash operat-ing surplus of $380,000, but once interest, rent and depreciation were paid, the taxable income stood at only $126,000.”

Tax claim a cheap shot

Simon Couper

Labour plays the man not the ballPOLiTiCs is a dirty game and this year’s election looks as though it is going to be dirtier than usual.

Now farmers have been un-fairly drawn into the firing line as it appears that part of Labour’s election strategy this year is to portray dairy farmers as ‘rich pricks’ and tax evaders.

This comes after recent ‘rev-elations’ by Labour’s previously anonymous revenue spokesman Stuart Nash claiming that the average dairy farmer only pays $1506 a year in tax, despite an annual Fonterra payout of over $500,000.

Nash’s clear inference is that the dairy farmer don’t pay enough tax and is a crude at-tempt by Labour to raise anger and envy among voters that the dairy sector, and the wider rural economy in general, is not pay-ing its fair share tax compared to wage and salary earners.

However, Nash has played the man and not the ball in this case. The use of misleading fig-ures and cheap assertions around dairy farmer taxation not only raise questions about Nash’s own economic literacy, but also that of a Labour Party that has chosen him as its revenue spokesman.

Nash is not comparing ap-ples with apples, more like sour grapes with lemons. The dairy sector’s contribution to the na-tion’s tax take and economy needs to be put into perspective.

PWC chairman and member of the tax working group John

Sherwan points out dairy farm-ers are subject to the same tax rules as all businesses. Busi-nessNZ says the comparisons are misleading because businesses have income structures that take into account the cost of doing business – a cost not borne by a salary earner.

“Farm businesses face capi-tal investment and depreciation servicing costs, debt costs, feed costs and labour costs, in the context of fluctuating cash flows often affected by weather, neces-sitating further debt for operat-ing costs before receiving end of year payouts.

Comparing this situation to an employed person’s $50,000 income – who does not have to account for operating and busi-ness debt costs - is not a valid comparison.

Maybe the Labour Party is not aware that when you’re in busi-ness you are legally allowed to write income off against expens-

es – providing they’re business related ones?

Perhaps, Damien O’Connor was not far off the mark in claim-ing Labour is dominated by a gaggle of gays and self-serving unionists – who obviously also have no understanding of how business is run!

Surely Nash and his

Labour colleagues would be better off thanking the agriculture sector for its

ongoing and important contribu-tion to New Zealand’s economy – especially when we are borrow-ing $380 million a week to keep the country running – instead of taking cheap shots at dairy farm-ers.

As Conor English, Federated Farmers says the primary sec-tor is responsible for 66% of the country’s exports, and for each dollar earned overseas only 6c goes to the farmer with the other 94c spread throughout the wider New Zealand economy.

A NZIER report – released in December last year – on the contribution of the dairy sector

makes to the country’s economy proves just how out of touch Nash and Labour are with reality. It found that of the $7.5 billion of revenue received by farmers in 2009, $3.6b was spent on domes-tically produced goods such as fertiliser, feed and agricultural and financial services – all pro-viding much-needed tax revenue.

It also pointed out how the dairy sector provides 26% of New Zealand’s exports, employs 35,000 people directly and an-other 10,000 contractors – all paying tax funded by dairy farm-ers.

Meanwhile, DairyNZ says the average annual tax paid by dairy farmers during the last decade was actually $28,225 – some-what higher than Nash’s $1500 claim!

Meanwhile, Nash says Labour will investigate whether farmers in general were paying a fair tax share.

Fair enough. I am sure the vast majority of farmers would agree to anyone avoiding or evading tax – including dairy producers – being punished ac-cordingly. However, will Labour also be as keen to investigate state housing rorts, trade unions not paying taxes, eligibility around student loans, working for families, sickness benefits and the DPB as well?

That is politics for you and some people have the cheek to claim that dairying is dirty!• David Anderson is a former Rural News editor.

Now farmers have been unfairly drawn into the firing line as it appears

that part of Labour’s election strategy this

year is to portray dairy farmers as ‘rich pricks’

and tax evaders.

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news

Dairy outlook positive

FONTerra says its ingredi-ents and brands businesses have improved despite paying more for raw milk.

The co-op’s forecast distribut-able profit range of $690-$830 million, equating to 50-60c/share is 10c/share higher than its February forecast.

The co-op has announced a record payout for 2010-11 of $8-$8.10/kgMS before retentions. This includes an unchanged fore-

cast milk price of $7.50/kgMS. The target range for the dividend to be paid out of distributable profit is also unchanged at 25-30c/share.

A 100% share-backed farmer will earn on average in the range $8.00-$8.10/kgMS before reten-tions and $7.75-$7.80/kgMS on a cash basis.

Fonterra chief executive An-drew Ferrier says the final payout will be confirmed when Fonterra

announces its annual results in late September. He says the co-op will also announce then how much of the payout will be re-tained for reinvestment.

The distributable profit fore-cast of $690-$830m for the 2011 financial year, compares with a distributable profit of $800m for 2010.

“When we issued our previ-ous forecast in February, we highlighted how the margin

squeeze due to higher milk costs was affecting operating earnings especially within our ingredients businesses,” Ferrier says. “We also signalled that higher com-modity prices were also starting to have a negative impact across our consumer businesses.

“Since February, our ingredi-ents businesses have recovered some lost ground, in terms of op-erating earnings, as commodity prices have levelled off.”

Co-op lifts distributable profit range

Dairy PriCes will soften slightly as global milk produc-tion ramps up, says Fonterra.

However, demand for dairy products is also growing and farmers can look forward to an-other season of good returns.

Fonterra chief executive An-drew Ferrier says a record open-ing forecast for the 2011-12 sea-son, reflects “a realistic outlook” to global dairy markets over the next 12 months.

Ferrier says, as expected, milk production in the US, Eu-rope, South America and Aus-tralia is rising. At the same time, there has been no reduction in demand for milk products.

“Most of the milk produced will find an early home,” he told Dairy News.

But the co-op has been cau-tious in its forecast as other fac-tors including a strong Kiwi dol-lar will impact returns.

Ferrier says a weak US dollar has been factored in to shaping the opening forecast.

“We believe there will be a slightly softening of prices,” he says.

Fonterra is forecasting a milk price of $6.75/kgMS, plus a fore-cast distributable profit range of 40-50 cents per share. This means Fonterra is forecasting that a 100% share-backed farm-

er will earn, on average, in the range $7.15-$7.25/kgMS before retentions.

Ferrier says it’s too early to say whether the co-op is on track for another record milk produc-tion next season. He says good weather conditions will be a fac-tor in milk production in the new

season, which starts June 1.Meanwhile, Fonterra has re-

tained its fair value share price for the new season.

The independent valuer, Grant Samuel, assessed a re-stricted market value range with a mid-point of $4.18/share. As this is below the current base price of $4.52 that applies during the transition to restricted mar-ket value, the fair value share price has been set at $4.52.

Grant Samuel’s latest valua-tion is 2% lower than its 2010-11 assessment (mid-point $4.27) and 6% less than its interim es-timate for 2011-12 ($4.45 mid-point) published in December 2010.

Fonterra chief executive An-drew Ferrier says the change in valuation since May 2010 was mostly due to a slight reduction in the valuation of the commodi-ties and ingredients business seg-ment, driven by the impact of higher commodity prices on seg-ment earnings.

More milk please... global demand for milk is growing, says Fonterra.

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news

andrew swallow

sUPPLiers HaVe, unsurpris-ingly, welcomed Fonterra’s pay-out forecasts.

However, questions are being asked about the retention of the 10c extra profit from this season and what’s happening with the share value.

“We’re really pleased. The industry needs a couple of good years, one after each other,” Ron Ferriman, who has two farms and 2100 cows supplying Fon-terra.

However, he – and several other farmers he’s spoken with – are less happy about the 10c extra profit this season being retained.

“I’m pretty annoyed about that to be honest... It’s been poor-ly portrayed to farmers as com-ing from one-offs and businesses they’ve sold.”

While his business isn’t under

any financial pres-sure, he believes the money would have been better paid out to farmers.

“There’s not a whole lot of point in Fonterra having a hugely strong bal-ance sheet and farms having poor balance sheets.”

It also ties in with the Fair Value Share situation, which was held at $4.52, despite valuer Grant Samuel dropping its mid point estimate to $4.18.

“The value add is increasing, but the share value isn’t increas-ing at all. It’s becoming quite farcical.”

Brian Bosch, Wairarapa, says the payout forecast is very wel-come, but like most farmers he’s treating it with caution.

“It’s looking good, but my

concern is three years ago we started out like this and ended up with a very poor payout. That made it hard, particularly for sharemilkers.”

However, with contract milk-ers on his 1000-cow farm at Featherstone, Wairarapa, at least they’ll be insulated from such a scenario, he notes.

“Unless you’ve got a crys-tal ball it could be $8, $9 or $5/

kgMS. It’s very hard to gauge at this stage.”

With regards the extra 10c profit an-nounced for the 2010-11 season, he questions where such retained funds go.

“The year it was $7.90/kgMS there was a 30c retention. We never saw where that went to.”

However, Bosch’s pleased the FVS has

been held at $4.52, although a little concerned that valuer Grant Samuel’s mid-point figure is down at $4.18/share.

Hugh Le-fleming, Morven, South Canterbury, believes this discount is down to the uncer-tainty surrounding Trading Among Farmers and DIRA.

“Government really needs to let the company get on with re-structuring,” he says.

Cautious farmer reaction to bumper payout FOrGeT $7.50/kGMs if you’re talking to the

public. Tell them you’ll be getting about 66c/L of milk supplied to Fonterra over the past year.

“When you’re talking to the urban popula-tion of New Zealand, 90% have no idea what a kilogramme of milksolids is,” Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Lachlan McKenzie told Dairy News.

“But they do know what a litre of milk costs them.”

That’s about $2, depending on brand and outlet.Feds’ press release responding to Fonterra’s

payout forecasts last week immediately made the conversion to cents/litre, then cautioned that 66c/litre is only revenue, and farm costs come off that.

“While dairy is an economic dynamo, the milk price of $7.50kgMS is pure revenue and doesn’t represent the costs involved of running a farm. Quite easily, 65% of the milk price forecast is eaten up by farm business costs.

“The balance, say around $2.60/kgMS or 23c/L of milk, is what we have to pay the mort-gagee and Inland Revenue before we can put food on our tables,” the media release quoted McKen-zie as saying.

McKenzie also warned politicians not to “look at our dairy farms as some form of piggy bank” in the wake of the forecast, or at Labour’s plan to bring agriculture into ETS early.

“Politicians have to be very, very careful.”

Fed’s message to consumers

Fonterra’s record payout has been welcomed by dairy farmers.

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interview

Dewdney sheds light on NZAEL genomic data suspensionLIC has been in the news lately around its genomically selected bulls and the NZAEL’s decision to suspend genomic data from bull BW. LIC chief executive Mark Dewdney spoke exclusively to Dairy News on what it means for the cooperative.

NZAEL recently an-nounced its decision to temporarily suspend genomic data from bull BW – is this, as some media have said, an indignity for LIC?

It’s not an indignity, but it is disappointing. LIC does not agree that the NZAEL Board made the right decision with-drawing genomic data from bull BW. Every developed dairy nation is adding genomic information to their official sire evaluations while New Zealand is withdrawing – it’s very disappointing.

LIC believes in genomics and does not intend to withdraw our genomics products, research or commercial focus. Genomics allows the identification of elite sires at a very young age, and it will continue to help deliver faster

rates of genetic gain to NZ farmers.

The interesting di-mension is that in every other developed dairy nation, all the major AI companies have a genomic product that they provide custom-ers – in New Zealand, at present, only LIC has the confidence to use it commercially. Why has genomic infor-mation been suspended from bull BW?

The primary reason is that NZAEL do not believe they can provide true comparability between estimates of genetic merit of young sires with and with-out genomics or fully

validate the genomic bias corrections. Both NZAEL and DairyNZ acknowledge that ge-nomic selection gener-ates increased rates of genetic gain and is vitally important for the future competitiveness of our dairy farmers.What impact does NZAEL’s decision have on farmers?

Farmers have a choice of bulls. There are three major categories of bulls available to our dairy farmers;

Young sires with no daughters in milk, and no genomic information (eg Liberty unproven bulls)

Young sires with no daughters in milk, but which have been genotyped and compared against the DNA patterns of thousands of fully proven sires and cows to identify the most elite of them (eg LIC DNA Proven teams)

Older ‘proven’ sires with many daughters in milk (eg CRV and LIC Daughter Proven sires and teams)

Reliability of the indi-vidual sire’s genetic merit estimates increase from approximately 20 - 30% for the first category, to approximately 50 – 55% for the DNA Proven sires, to anywhere from 80 – 99% reliability for an extensively proven sire.

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LIC is selling its DNA Proven sires in teams of 25 bulls. Whilst the in-dividual bull proofs may move, the team reliability will be close to 98% and, most importantly, a large

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Dewdney sheds light on NZAEL genomic data suspensionteam of elite young DNA Proven sires will deliver a higher overall BW, than a smaller team of mature bulls.Is criticism of the DNA Proven product unex-pected?

No – anything new will always spur com-ment from those who do not have access to the science. It was the same back in the 1950s with AB, so we’re not surprised now. Just as it was with AB, we’ll make the investment and expect our critics will come on board once they have access to the technology and the early adopter risk is minimised. Without someone taking the risk there will be no progress.It’s been quoted that DNA Proven bulls’ BW rankings have dropped by as much as 100 BW points – is this correct?

Yes, there will be instances where a bull will deviate (up and down) by up to 100 BW points from their evalua-tion. This is represented in the 55% reliability of a DNA proven sire. This variation at the individual level is why we advo-cate the use of a team of DNA proven sires where the reliability increases to approximately 98%, which means that in 95% of the time the team BW will be within 25 points of the genomic estimate.

We are monitoring the performance of DNA Proven sires once they have daughters milking against the prediction based on their DNA and have just announced that the 2007 crop of 42 bulls, whose daughters milked for the first time in 2010, deviated from their pre-diction by –6.0 BW units

over all three bull teams.

Was this product launched to market ahead of its time?

We believe the timing of DNA Proven was ap-propriate given the stage of the technology, our research and internation-al peer validation work prior to launch.

The first genomically selected bulls supplied in 2008 now have prog-eny tests and it is clear their BWs were over-estimated. It is also clear, though, that a net benefit was delivered (relative to their Daughter Proven counterparts) along with some much-needed new bloodlines, especially in the Jersey breed.

With every BW unit worth more than $4m to the industry, even modest incremental advantages are valuable, and holding back would amount to a substantial opportunity cost. Also, importantly, farmers have been given a choice.What validation did you have to go to market?

LIC uses an inde-pendent Science Advi-sory Group to review the technical aspects of our genomics investment. All of the research data LIC has generated was shared with the scientists that form this advisory group.

They supported the commercial release of the technology.Why did you charge a premium for DNA Proven semen?

We are confident that the DNA Proven teams will deliver more genetic gain than any alternative product available, either from LIC or from any competitor. Our pricing

philosophy is to charge for the value we provide and the additional value justified the price we asked.

The second reason for charging more was to partially cover the signif-icant costs that have been invested in genomics by

LIC. We have invested approximately $25m in the past decade on bio-technology / genomics, and, unlike overseas, this

has all been funded by LIC’s owners.

Is LIC reprinting its February bull catalogue given that rankings have changed?

No, we will not reprint any catalogues as we believe there is no need – proofs in catalogues are accurate for the time in

which they are printed. These change at regular intervals when NZAEL updates animal evalua-tion.

Farmers know they need to go to their LIC customer relationship managers, the LIC or AEU websites for up-to-date rankings.

“Anything new will always spur comment from those who do not have access to the science. It was the same back in the 1950s with AB, so we’re not surprised now. ”

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news

Sharemilker jobs drying up?andrew swallow

iT’s CHaNGeOVer week, but there will be fewer herds on the road this year and that’s not because they’re all in trucks.

The low level of farm sales is one cause, but another is an increasing shortage of sharemilker positions, particu-larly higher order, says a large-scale lower order sharemilker.

“Sharemilkers are vital to the New Zealand dairy industry but there are fewer and fewer positions available,” Ben Jaunay, South Canterbury,

told Dairy News.DairyNZ/LIC annual

dairy statistics show the trend Jaunay highlights was already emerging in 2009-10 (see table).

The Federated Farm-ers’ regional sharemilker section chair would like to be going higher order sharemilking this com-ing season. However, he was advised by his bank not to buy cows because there would be nowhere to put them, and, as he puts it, “there aren’t any jobs out there.”

Jaunay’s concerned the narrowing of the tra-ditional pathway to farm ownership will, in the long-term, be to the detri-ment of the whole sector. He reckons retiring farm-ers won’t find as many higher order sharemilkers looking to buy and more farms will end up in corporate-type structures owned by investors – lo-cal and overseas – and run by managers.

Such businesses may offer a pathway into ownership by way of farm management with an equity stake, but there are pitfalls to such arrangements compared to the tried and tested sharemilking system, he believes.

“In an equity-farming position you’ve got your money tied up and you’ll only be earning a man-ager’s wage. You’re prob-ably going to struggle to grow that equity and it’s sort of stuck there. The only way I’d go into it is

as a lower order share-milker as well as being an equity partner.”

Contract milking positions for a fixed rate per kgMS produced are equally problematic.

“In theory you should be earning about the same as a manager but you’ve got all the risks of grades and staff and equipment as well. You only need one bike to blow up and there’s a big chunk of your profit gone.

“There are some good contract milking positions out there that do allow you to progress, but you’ve got to make sure the terms are adequate for the risk and responsi-

bility involved.”Feds’ sharemilkers

chairman Ciaran Tully says Jaunay’s concerns are far from unique, but despite a dwindling number of positions available, some 35% of production nationally still comes from sharemilked properties.

Recent financial pres-sures forced some farm owners out of offering sharemilking positions, while farm amalgama-tions have also reduced the number of jobs avail-able, he says.

“It is a concern, but the industry always evolves as time goes on. One thing we have been concentrating on in the sharemilkers’ section of Feds is to educate members to do their own budgets, not to leave it up to the bank.”

He says such prepara-tion will help sharemilk-ers show farm owners the returns both parties can expect, and give owners the confidence to con-tinue with the sharemilk-ing system.

Jaunay notes some sharemilkers looking to step up to higher order positions are putting forward proposals where the farm owner gets more than 50% of the milk cheque, “to make it stack up for both parties.”

Tully echoes Jaunay’s comments about equity manager positions, saying those going into them need to make sure they have an exit strategy.

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

% Owner operators 63.1 63.6 65.1

% Sharemilkers (all levels) 35.4 36.0 34.6

% higher order 23.4 22.3 20.1

Total No. Herds 11,436 11,618 11,691

Ben Jaunay

“Sharemilkers are vital to the New Zealand dairy industry but there are fewer and fewer positions available.”

Adapted from DairyNZ/LiC industry statistics.

$


news

in brief

Dairy women’s new CeODAIRy WOmEN’S Network Trust Board has appointed Sarah Speight as its new chief executive officer.

Speight, involved in the dairy industry since finishing university in 1992, will start on June 13. She has held various positions within DairyNZ focused on education ex-tension, strategy, management and farm systems.

Speight spent time in Pakistan leading the development of the na-tional dairy extension service and began the process of establishing

a vocational training organisation with particular emphasis on growing the capabilities of women.

more recently she was involved in operation management of large scale dairy farming businesses first-ly in Chile as general manager pro-duction and upon her return to New Zealand, employed by Kordamentha to help manage the Crafar receiver-ship.

Dairy Women’s Network chair mi-chelle Wilson says the board looks forward to working with Speight.

‘No competition with Fonterra’Kingi Smiler

PeTer burke

THe HeaD of the new Maori consortium build-ing a new dairy process-

ing plant near Taupo says, contrary to some reports, his company is not in competition with Fonterra.

Kingi Smiler says

Fonterra has told him that Miraka will be competing with the New Zealand dairy giant. However, he says with Fonterra now putting be-

tween 25% – 30% of its production on an auction platform his company is actually targeting quite specific customers who want a relationship and

who want to work closely with them.

“So we’re not compet-ing with the auction platform. We’ll never be competing with Fonterra and we never intend to,” he told Dairy News.

Miraka’s new plant is due to open for business on August 1 and will cost around $90 million.

Smiler has just re-turned from a trip to Asia where he met with execu-tives from Vinamilk in Vietnam. Vinamilk owns a small shareholding in Miraka. It is to Vietnam that Miraka plans to export much of the whole milk powder that it will produce.

“What the trip to Vietnam did confirm is the potential that we hear of in terms of the demand for dairy protein.

“There are large popu-lations demanding more protein in their diets. Certainly our partner-ship with Vinamilk in Vietnam is going to prove of great strategic value to Miraka.”

While in Asia, Smiler also visited Thailand and says there is significant growth in that market as well.

“You see the size of the population they have and with their need for protein, more particu-larly milk protein, and it shows that our strat-egy and the future look good.”

Smiler says Miraka will have customers in China, but says it is a niche player and oper-ate on a very small scale

compared with Fonterra. They are also looking at markets in Africa and also the US.

Suggestions that Miraka may look at a partnership with the Chi-nese company attempting to buy the Crafar farms has not been ruled out by Smiler.

He says they would be comfortable with any partnership where there is mutual benefit. How-ever, he’s heard Pengxin are planning to stay with Fonterra anyway.

“So we’re not competing with the auction platform. We’ll never be competing with Fonterra and we never intend to.”

YOUR CHOICE, YOUR PROFIT 0800 262 733 | www.crv4all.co.nz

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news

Dairy women’s new CeO

Awards competition inspires trainee

sue edmonds

THere PrOBaBLy aren’t many couples who could cope with having a third baby on Saturday in Hamilton and then flying to Queenstown on the following Wednesday (with baby) to receive the New Zealand Sharemilk-er/Equity Farmers of the year title – looking as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

But to win such an award you have to be well organised, and Jason and Lisa Suisted are all of that. Both with dairy farming backgrounds, Jason initially trained as a builder and Lisa as a hairdresser. But the desire for an outdoor life, where he could eventu-ally be his own boss, drew Jason back to dairying.

Starting as an assistant manager on one of the Tatua dairy farms, the following year he landed a contract milking job with 600 cows. By his fourth year he and Lisa were 50:50

sharemilking 260 cows, a stint which was followed by three years at Lo-cherbie.

They have now been milking their present herd of 430 on the farm of Bruce and Glenys Batkin Gordonton, who now live in Auckland. Next stop is a 50:50 with 600 to 1000 cows be-fore trying for ownership.

While Jason works the farm to achieve sufficient equity to do this, Lisa plies her skills as a hairdresser, latterly with a salon next to the house, as well as managing the farm financ-es throughout this time.

Their initial foray into the com-petition was back in 2007. A change of farm and a second child meant a two year break, but they came back as runners up last year – before taking out the national title this time.

Gaining sufficient equity to get their own farm in a few years, has been a mutual goal for both Jason and Lisa, who have prioritised keep-ing records, getting on well with both

owners and their one fulltime staff, as well as working constantly on farm improvement.

They have also taken every op-portunity to take advice from knowl-

edgeable professionals and have found entering the competition has given them plenty of that.

Their current farm is on soft peat and pasture renewal has also

been a significant focus, after the big drought just before they arrived wiped out around 25% of the existing pasture.

They now crop turnips and maize and work on replacing 10% of pasture each year, using ploughing, power harrowing and two lots of 5 tonnes/ha of lime, one worked into the soil and one applied on top, which is cop-ing well with the very acid peat.

As well as the national award, Ja-son and Lisa also won both the Hon-da Farm Safety & Health Award and the Westpac Business Performance Award.

Simple, readable health and safety instructions and a sign-in book mean that every contractor and visitor is made aware of all likely hazards, including drains, electric fences and stock.

This is a couple who are not only aiming high, but taking time to enjoy family life and relishing each step along the way.

Couple deliver two wins in a week

Dairy TraiNee of the Year, Ben Smith says taking part in the compe-tition has inspired him.

Smith, 2IC on a farm near Taka-pau, Hawke’s Bay, spent five days in Southland with the other regional Dairy Trainee of the Year winners as part of the lead up to the national finals.

“The study tour was just out of this world,” he says. “It opened my eyes to the depth this industry pro-vides.

“We visited a wide range of places and high performing farms in the Southland region. We went to a ro-botic milking farm – it’s amazing to

see what technology can do, the cows milk them-selves, they wander in when they want and the robots milk them.

“We also visited the Edendale Fonterra plant, suited up in safety gear and had a tour of the plant. After speaking to inspirational people on the study tour I found it hard to sleep – it inspires you so much to know the opportunities that are out there,” he says.

The study tour also involved team building activities including a high

ropes course at Adven-ture Southland. Smith says it was awesome to meet the other regional Dairy Trainees of the Year from across the country.

“They are all driven and passionate about the industry. Being able to mix and mingle and

gain contacts with other likeminded individuals was amazing.”

Smith says the judging process for the national finals included submit-ting a three minute DVD about him-self prior to the event, participating in

a dairy challenge and taking part in a 15 minute interview with the judges who’d previously watched the DVD he made. He also found the national finals awards dinner very enjoyable, if a bit nerve-wracking, waiting for the announcements of the winners.

“I was definitely nervous,” he says. “For me it was an awesome end to a phenomenal week. The Dairy Train-ees of the Year became quite a tight group and great friends after nearly a week together, so we went in thinking we’d be happy whoever won as it’d be our friend winning.

“I didn’t know what to expect, I was hopeful, I was in to win, but with

the calibre of everyone else I wasn’t sure what would happen.”

Smith is an advocate of upskill-ing through training and is currently completing his National Certificate in Agriculture, Dairy Farming, Level 4, through Agriculture ITO (AgITO).

“I’ve had two years dairy experi-ence and one and half years’ sheep and beef experience since doing a three year business degree at Victoria University in Wellington,” he says, admitting that it was a bit of a change of scene.

Jason and Lisa Suisted

Ben Smith

• awards night pictures and commentary - Pages 16-17

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news

Everyone a winner at dairy awards

New ZeaLaND’s dairy industry is as at home in din-ner jackets and ball gowns as it is in gumboots, judging by the glittering turnout for the national awards night in Queenstown earlier this month.

And while there could be only three, outright na-tional award winners – Trainee, Manager, and Share-

Another year’s Dairy Industry Awards drew to a close in Queenstown, earlier this month. andrew swallow reports from the gala dinner where the national winners were announced.

milker/Equity Farmer of the Year respectively – nu-merous times it was stressed every entrant present was a winner.

“You’re all world class,” DairyNZ’s Tafi Manjala, who headed the farm manager judging team, said. “We were constantly impressed with the clarity you have of where you are now, where you want to go and how you are going to get there.”

Entrants’ passion for the industry was similarly striking.

“How can we bottle it up and spread it around?” asked Manjala

Jason Halford, Palmerston North, landed the Man-ager title, donning the winner’s jacket in a ceremony mimicking golf’s US Master’s, as did each category champion.

“A big thank you to my farm owners Kevin and Joanne Argyle. They’ve been a real inspiration to me and I’ve really enjoyed working with them and hope to again in the future,” he said, who takes up a 50/50 sharemilking position with 300 cows this week (see p13).

Halford also paid tribute to the support of his part-ner, Nicki Ranns, in work and through the competition, sentiments echoed by Trainee of the Year Ben Smith with respect to his partner Chloe.

“It was a big move to go dairying and she’s backed me all the way,” said Smith.

Like many finalists, Smith reflected on the week preceding the awards night.

“The study tour was phenomenal; a life changing experience. It really opens your eyes to the amazing opportunities this industry provides.”

Every winner’s approach to the stage was accompa-nied by thumping up-tempo music, filling the break in applause as they picked their way through the 60 or so tables packing the Queenstown Events Centre.

Reflecting the evening’s fire and ice theme, Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire backed the Olympic-style opening procession of regional convenors and winners into the hall. Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Paradise City and Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger were among the many tracks that followed. Predictably, Queen’s We are the Champions was re-served for the finale, the announcement of Jason and Lisa Suisted as 2011 Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year.

“This is absolutely a dream come true,” said Jason. “We’ve had an amazing time in Queenstown for the last four days and to receive this award just tops it off.”

Like most finalists, the Suisteds were supported by many friends and family, including their seven-day-old son Beau. Grandparents Brian and Sheryl Suisted, dairy farmers from Morrinsville, were left holding the baby during the presentations.

“He [Beau] was making his parents very nervous before this I can tell you,” Brian told Dairy News on the night.

Not everyone had travelled as far as the Suisted’s for the event, as master of ceremonies Greg Ward noted in his opening address.

“We’ve got finalists from as far away as Roxburgh and Tapanui, Gore and Winton. You’ve probably never been so far away from home,” he joked.

Perhaps in defiance, the cheer for the Southland winners and convenors’ entrance was easily the loud-est.

The Awards’ core “family” of sponsors - Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, RD1, and industry partner Agriculture ITO - filled sev-eral tables, Meridian’s Dave Greenwood among them.

“It [the Awards competition] really does help the dairy industry attract the right young people who come through and develop the skills needed to succeed,” he told Dairy News.

Manjala’s opening comment in the run-up to the Farm Manager presentation echoed that.

“The future of the dairy industry is in exceptionally good hands.”

Cool cows: The ice and fire themed awards night opened with flame-twirling dancers and a chainsaw carving of the awards’ logo in a 400kg block of ice.


news

Everyone a winner at dairy awardswinners and purseNZ sharemilker/equity Farmer of the year:1st – Jason & Lisa Suisted, Waikato: $40,000

2nd – Richard & Joanna Greaves, Hawke’s Bay/ Wairarapa: $20,600

3rd – Rob & Debbie mackle, Canterbury/ North Otago: $15,400Merit awardsDairyNZ Human resources award – Richard & Joanna Greaves

ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene award – Rob & Debbie mackle

Federated Farmers Leadership award – Richard & Joanna Greaves

Honda Farm safety and Health award – Jason & Lisa Suisted

LiC recording and Productivity award – Nick & Bec Simmonds, Central Plateau

Meridian energy Farm environment award – Rob & Debbie mackle

ravensdown Pasture Performance award – Jason & Lisa Suisted

westpac Business Performance award – Jason & Lisa Suisted

DairyNZ interview award – Kate & Aaron murdoch, Taranaki.

NZ Farm Manager of the year: 1st – Jason Halford, manawatu/Rangitikei/ Horowhenua: $18,000

2nd – Charlie & Johanna mcCaig, Taranaki: $8300

3rd – michael & Susan Woodward, Canterbury North Otago: $6600

Merit awards

DairyNZ Human resource award – Scott Levings, Otago

rD1 Farm Management award – Jason Halford

westpac Financial Planning and Management award – michael & Susan Woodward

Fonterra interview award – Jason Halford

NZ Dairy Trainee of the year:1st – Ben Smith, Hawkes Bay Wairarapa: $8700

2nd – Jemma Lourie, Central Plateau: $5400

3rd – Samuel Humphreys, Taranaki: $3600

Making an entrance: regional convenors Chris and Teresa Moore lead the Central Plateau’s national finalists into the gala dinner.

Brian & Sheryl Suisted with grandchild Beau at the awards dinner.

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world

Analysts are not ruling out another bid by Murray Goulburn for rival Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Company.

a POssiBLe takeover of Australia’s only listed dairy processor is back on the cards after a shareholding re-striction was lifted last week.

Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Company (WCB) informed the Australian Stock Exchange last week a constitutional clause restricting shareholding to 15% has been removed.

Share cap removal fuels takeover talk

Two rival Australian dairy companies are currently cornerstone shareholders in WCB. One, Murray Goul-burn which holds 11.4% stake, mounted an unsuccess-ful takeover bid last year. The other, Bega Cheese, has a 15% stake and a close working relationship with WCB.

Analysts say Murray Goulburn may return to target WCB, while global dairy giants including Canada’s Saputo could also take an interest. Any such moves would put pressure on Bega to consider its next move

According to Australian media reports, Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin has hosed down speculation of mounting a takeover bid. How-ever, analysts note Bega’s upcoming public float will put Australia’s fourth largest dairy company in a good financial position to mount a takeover bid.

Analysts have tipped the float to be worth around $A375 million and say it could stimulate substantial investment in the Bega region. Bega Cheese is working with its advisers and aims to have its prospectus lodged with ASIC before the end of May and to close the of-fer at the end of June – to enable a listing in early July.

In overwhelmingly approving the float with about 90% support, the company’s 150 farmer-shareholders have also acted to protect Bega’s local identity. Share-holding restrictions will be in place for at least five years, with options for a five year extension – and a majority of directors will have to be farmer suppliers.

Shares will be capped so that no one shareholding can be greater than 5% and a minimum of four dairy farmers will fill the eight board positions.

Irvin says the decision to list on the ASX was an important day in Bega’s history. The listing will create a new level of financial strength for existing sharehold-ers and “position Bega Cheese for opportunities that will inevitably come from further industry rationalisa-tion and the ever growing international dairy market place”, he says.

Bega plans to retain all its production facilities and may use the extra funds to improve infrastructure or look at new markets.

Bega has annual revenue in excess of $A800 mil-lion, key customers in dairy giants Fonterra and Kraft and a substantial export business into Asia and the Middle East.

Irvin says the float will strengthen Bega’s ability to respond quickly to development opportunities.

in brief

korean visitorsIN A first for the Australian dairy industry, two Korean dairy farmers will spend 14 days training on two Victorian dairy farms at the end of this year.

The training is part of an agreement recently signed between Dairy Australia and the Korean Dairy Committee. It was finalised by Dairy Aus-tralia international market development man-ager Phil Goode on a recent trip to Korea.

Goode says the memorandum of understand-ing will not only give the two farmers the oppor-tunity to learn how Australian dairy farms oper-ate, but also provide the Australian industry with the chance to understand how Korea managed their recent foot and mouth disease outbreak from a food safety point of view.

“This will be a very positive experience for both Australia and Korea’s dairy industries,” says Goode. “This strengthens the existing good rela-tionship we have with Korea at the manufactur-ing level and expands it to the farm level.

“The Korean dairy industry will also use the time to learn from our experience of deregula-tion following the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Trade Agreement.”

Dates and host farms are yet to be decided.

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world

TaLks are underway to install a second automatic milking rotary (AMR) in Australia.

DeLaval says its first commercial AMR in Tasmania is running well and generating interest among farm-ers.

Spokesman Andrew Turner says an announcement will be made soon.

Turner says the AMR will be available in selected countries next year. In New Zealand, DeLaval has been in talks with Fonterra and oth-er stakeholders, but no decision has been made.

“We are keen to install an AMR in New Zealand provided we find a farmer partner,” he told Dairy News.

The AMR will feature at next month’s National Fieldays, Mystery Creek.

The Dornauf family, Tasmania is the first AMR commercial dairy farmer in Australia. Another AMR is operating on Stefan and Karin Lowenborg’s farm in southern Swe-den.

Chris Dornauf sees the AMR technology as being vital to the fu-ture of the dairy industry.

“We invested in the AMR be-cause we want to manage our farm in a way that allows us to focus on the cows’ performance rather than on the

manual task of milking them. I think this is the system that will help me achieve that goal,” he says.

Lowenborg says its AMR instal-lation will be able to milk up to 90 cows an hour and operate 9 hours, twice a day – without the need to hire new employees and make further fi-nancial investments. He believes it can also be a good way to attract and keep quality labour.

“People who want to work on a dairy farm are interested in the ani-mals, so if you offer them the oppor-

tunity to focus on that aspect of the job instead of making them milk all day your farm becomes a more at-tractive workplace,” he says. “And it’s also a fun job for those who enjoy working with technology and com-puters.”

DeLaval says the AMR was de-veloped with three key customer benefits in mind; profitability, farm management and flexibility. Its main components are teat preparation, at-tachment and teat-spray modules, two touch screens to operate the system,

automatic cup backflush, automatic floor cleaning and safety systems.

The first AMR systems will have up to 90 cow/hour capacity, depend-ing on the number of robots installed. As many as five robots can be at-tached to the rotary.

The technology is part of DeLa-val’s ‘Smart Farming’ concept and provides decision tools and automa-tion technologies promoting better quality milk, herd management, pro-ductivity and profit.

Turner says the company devel-

oped the system keeping large scale dairy farmers’ needs in mind.

“AMR farmers will be able to focus their time and energy on their own personal and business priorities rather than being confined by daily milking routines,” he says.

“The robotic rotary is not just an innovative piece of equipment. It rep-resents a new way of farming.

“We are focusing now on making sure that the upcoming commercial installations can reap the benefits from this revolutionary technology.”

New milking rotary gets farmers talking

Stefan and Karin Lowenborg.

Oz dairy industry poised to growaUsTraLia’s Dairy industry is poised for growth on the back of strong demand and good weather, according to the 2011 Dairy Australia Situation and Outlook report.

The report, released earlier this month, says operating conditions for most farmers have improved dramatically in 2010-11. The national milk production has been maintained with a mar-ginal gain of less than 1% taking the total to 9.1

billion litres. However, varying

price signals and demand outlooks highlight significant regional dif-ferences, says Dairy Aus-tralia managing director Ian Halliday.

“South eastern Aus-tralian dairy farmers are in a good position, but this has not yet translated into strong growth inten-tions,” he says. “A more sustained period of reli-able returns for farmers is required before we can expect to see signifi-

cant investment in herd growth or infrastructure.”

The Australian market has represented a safe haven in recent years, in contrast to the more vola-tile international market.

However, with increasing pressure on margins, manufacturers will be carefully assess-ing the relative returns and opportunities for growth represented by the domestic and export markets. The recent fresh milk battle among retailers is also worrying

farmers.“While initial cuts

to private label retail dairy product margins have been absorbed by the major retailers, the dairy industry has raised concerns about the long term impact on the prof-itability of the fresh milk supply chain if discount-ing is continued,” says Halliday.

The international dairy market has enjoyed a strong price recovery in 2010-11, with the combi-nation of good demand

from the developing markets led by China and Russia and the general weakness of the US cur-rency.

This delivered higher farmgate prices to Aus-tralian farmers. However, for exporters the benefits of higher commodity prices have been offset by the strong Australian dollar.

Farmgate milk prices for 2011-12 are expected to open higher than last year, with the full year price in line with the

current season, which is good news for southeast coast farmers, says Hal-liday.

“The Australian dollar is a risk to this price out-look should it continue to strengthen ahead of the currencies of our com-

petitors and customers.” The annual report also

analysed a range of fac-tors impacting the dairy industry. High commod-ity prices, the global economic recovery and growth in Asia are causes for optimism.

The new automatic milking rotary is a

new way of farming, says DeLaval.

When Graham upgraded to a Protrack system in his herringbone shed, he knew he was getting an awesome piece of farm automation equipment. What he didn’t realise was that it was also the best piece of multisport equipment he’d ever bought.

He reckons that the time he used to spend in the shed is far better spent clocking up the miles doing what he loves; training for, and competing in multisport events. And now, with the time he’s saved, he can do more of it than ever.

You may not be as mad as Graham, but we’re sure you will be able to think of something to do with the time a Protrack system can save you.

To fi nd out more about how Protrack can help make your life easier, call 0508 Protrack or contact your LIC District Manager.

Graham Barlow:Waikato. Herd size 350.

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opinionrUMiNaTiNG

MiLkiNG iT...

ediTorial

ANOTHER SPECIAL prize this week for being outrageously out of touch: in their overpriced skite-sheet, Federated Farmers opined about the Labour Party list, saying “talented mPs like Stuart Nash are ranked low down

[on the list].”This is the same Stuart

Nash who as Labour’s rev-enue spokesman recently claimed that the average dairy farmer only pays $1506 a year in tax, de-spite an annual Fonterra payout of over $500,000.

Nash’s clear inference was that dairy farmers don’t pay enough tax – an at-tempt by Labour to raise anger and envy among uninformed urban voters.

To infer that the dairy sector is not paying its fair share tax compared to

wage and salary earners is clearly ignorant, not to mention a kick in the guts for farmers. If the likes of Nash is what passes for “talent” at Federated Farmers, their current membership drive is doomed to fail.

spreading toxic A SPECIAL prize must go to Straight Furrow for bringing an “exclusive” story on possible toxic dumping in Opuha Dam, Canterbury 25 years ago.

Astonishingly, the article neither fails to mention a possible conflict of interest nor carry a disclaimer because the reporter who ‘wrote’ the article is also the spokeswoman of Opihi Catchment and Environment Protec-tion Society, set up two months ago.

meanwhile, whether the article has sub-stance is another story as doubts are being cast by those associated with the dam’s con-struction.

DURING A recent trip to Sweden, milking It scribe was surprised to find how Euro-pean journalists regard Fonterra.

most wrongly believe the co-op is subsidised by the Government giving the world’s biggest dairy exporter an unfair advantage. The reporters are fed from

European dairy leaders who love bash-ing Fonterra to score points with their members.

One wonders whether Fonterra and the dairy industry are doing enough to tell the world that dairy subsidies have long gone in New Zealand.

Out of touch

mASSEy UNIVERSITy’S third year veterinary students have revealed all in a calendar to raise funds for their half-way celebration and chosen char-ity – SPCA Canterbury.

“We are celebrating reaching the half-way point in pursuit of a gruelling veterinary de-gree,” says vet student, Rosie Keen.

She says the stu-dents find a talented photographer (which is never difficult!) to take the pictures and then travel to unique locations, undress and pose artistically with animals.

The combined theme for this year’s

calendar is the role of animals in society and the international nature of the third year vet class. Part of the money raised from the calendar sales will be

donated to SPCA. It’s the sixth year that vet students have held a fundraiser.

The July to June calendars are avail-able for purchase at www.vetcalendar.co.nz for $15 from June 1.

Barely there

subsidy fallacy

Goff’s gaffewHaT was Phil Goff thinking when he blandly an-nounced, at Labour’s recent party congress, that agriculture’s entry into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be brought forward by two years.

Did he realise in terms of heartland New Zealand, and es-pecially dairy farmers, that this was the fastest way to widen the gap between town and country?

Did he think farmers would say ‘well done Phil’ or ‘yes we deserve to pay more tax and support the burgeoning bureau-cracy that you and your mates have created in Wellington over the years’?

Did he believe this was an election winner and there were no downsides?

Did he realise he was aligning himself with a motley lot of other anti-farming activists who dump on the dairy industry on a daily basis?

Well, in terms of the farming community, Goff has now – in the eyes of many – positioned Labour as the anti-farming party.

This is sad because over the years Labour has done a lot for the rural sector and has produced some excellent Minis-ters of Agriculture. One feels a bit sorry for poor old Damien O’Connor, Labours agriculture spokesman who’s had to de-fend Goff’s gaffe.

To suggest that farmers alone are being subsidised by the taxpayer and need to ‘pay their share’ is naïve. Everyone in New Zealand is subsidised in some form or another. To single out farmers, whose businesses have high turnovers and not necessarily high profits, is bizarre.

Goff says farmers need to pay their fair share but they do that already – what’s new?

Farming leaders are rightly angered by Goff’s latest pro-nouncement. His timing to bag farming is appalling and has added fuel to the inaccurate and unfair press the sector has attracted in recent weeks, including payment of taxes, anoth-er Labour gaffe.

Maybe Goff needs to spend a day or two on a dairy farm and do a real job.

He may well need a new job after November 26.

WINNING a new pair of Skellerup Red Band boots has just become easy.The best Letter to the Editor published in Dairy News each issue will

receive a pair of boots. So, put your pen to paper and let your views and comments be known through the most widely read farming publication. And you may end up bagging the Skellerup Red Band boots.Send to: Letter to the Editor PO Box 3855,

Auckland 1140. Email: [email protected]

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opinion

colin marshall

iN eQUiTy partnerships, and farming enterprises in general, we need to be aware of the risks we face in relation to our business both short and long term.

Recent events like extreme weather and earth-quakes have sharpened our focus. We need to decide which risks we pay insurance for and which risks we carry in our businesses.

In these times of better payout we should re-evaluate these risks. So what are the risks and how can we manage them:

• Weather related, flooding, snow, droughts.

• Natural disasters, earth-quakes, tornados, bush fires.

• Accidents: personal, vehicle, product contamination etc.

• Loss of key people.• Loss of records and

data.• Law suits.• Fluctuations in payout

and interest rates.• Loss of investors in an equity partnership.Most weather related risks are uninsurable so it

is important that we make provision in our budgets. While it is great to have aggressive targets in our bud-gets it is important to not spend all the profits before they are banked.

Perhaps, while times are good, we should conserve that extra stack of silage. Last spring’s unexpected snow fall in Southland bought home to us the impor-tance of having supplementary feed available at short notice. Meal feeders installed in the dairy give us op-tions to add a different feed at short notice.

Natural disasters can and should be insured to an extent which is affordable. Earthquakes, Tornados and Bush fires are covered in your insurance policies for damage to buildings, contents and in some cases busi-ness interruption. But it is important to check your policies and know what you are covered for. What is not covered is land damage, fencing, re-grassing, stock losses, etc. Some of these you might see some compen-sation from EQC or disaster relief organisations or do-nated time and goods, but these cannot be counted on. After the Australian bush fires, we were faced with re-grassing and re-fencing the whole farm at our cost. We got some voluntary help in fence clean up and some donated fence materials.

Accidents can and do happen so it is important to insure for them. Have you checked your policies for milk contamination?

We all have procedures in place to avoid antibiotic contamination, but it is surprising how easily the rules can be breached. How many times have you called the dairy company in a panic thinking that a breach may have occurred?

It is possible to insure for having to dispose of your milk and still possible to insure against your milk con-taminating a tanker load. However, this may not be available in the future as the insurance companies are getting too many claims.

Vehicle and personal accidents do happen and are covered by your insurance and ACC. You can also cover legal action against your entity for breaches of the Health and Safety Act and employment related law.

Key Person Insurance can also be bought. This cov-ers your business against losing a key person through accident or sickness. The effect of losing your manager can be disastrous for your business.

Do you have a succession plan and procedural man-ual? If your manager was taken out unexpectedly who would take over and what would it cost? This can be a tricky one as the individual person should also have personal accident insurance to cover their loss of in-come. The business would no longer have to employ him or her and their salary would be applied to a new manager.

But there would still be costs – like finding a suit-able replacement, relocation costs, training and hous-ing, if the manager’s house is not available.

It may also cost more for a relief manager.Evaluate what insurances you have every year and

make adjustments as circumstances change. Decide what you can afford to self-insure and be aware of the risks involved. Get the insurances you need, sleep soundly at night, and enjoy the positive side of farm-ing — growing your wealth, knowledge and personal satisfaction.• Colin Marshall is a Waikato dairy farmer involved in several equity partnerships; contact: [email protected].

Be aware of risks

Colin Marshall

Check your insurance policies

and know what you are covered for.

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agribusiness

Pasture improvement remains a major challenge for Waipapa 9 Trust.

Maori farms eye growthWaipapa 9 Trust, north-west of Taupo, is rapidly becoming a major player in the dairy industry in the area. Dairy News reporter, Peter Burke went there recently to see the developments.

THe waiPaPa 9 Trust could be best described as one of life’s ‘quiet achievers’.

It runs an impressive

sheep and beef unit, but in recent years – in line with national trends – has moved into dairying.

Between 2007 and 2008 the trust com-pleted two new dairy conversions to add to its existing dairy farm. The three units now cover about 1400ha or about a third of Waipapa 9’s total farming area.

The farms are situ-ated on pumice country which, because it is ‘new land’, is lacking in sub-stantial sub-soil. A total of 3000 cows are run at Waipapa on the three dairy units and each is fully self-contained.

The two new conver-sion units have modern dairy sheds. A new shed is also being built on the original dairy farm, Oku-haerenga, to complete the trust’s modernisation programme.

One of the character-

istics of Maori farming operations is scale. It is not uncommon for trusts such as Waipapa 9 to run large herds.

Bob Cottrell is the farm supervisor for Waipapa, and is part of a team that’s been driv-ing development on the farms. He admits that dairy farming in the area has its challenges. “The altitude ranges from about 520 metres to just under 700 metres above sea level. The two new units sit in that 600 metre plus range, which makes it a challenging environ-ment,” he says.

“But because Waipapa 9 had a dairy business, it wanted to turn it into a more significant dairy business within the total

business and hence the new units.”

A major challenge for Waipapa is pasture improvement.

Financial advisor Steve Bignell, a chartered accountant and a farmer in his own right, says they are doing this at a rate of 100 ha a year, but it’s not easy.

“What we’ve found is that it takes about two years to get the grass properly established.

There is a lot of brown top and it keeps coming through, so we have to manage the re-grassing programme carefully,” he says.

Cottrell agrees with the need for better qual-ity pasture and says until there is better pasture on all the units, there will be challenging times.

But the new dairy unit has more new pasture and its feed situation is better. Even so, there is a reliance on supplements such as PKE, maize silage and grass silage – most of which is bought in.

One thing working in Waipapa’s favour is that all of its land is outside the Lake Taupo catch-ment, so the trust is not

directly affected by the nitrogen restrictions imposed on farmers by regional council Environ-ment Waikato (EW). But Cottrell believes, at some time in the future, they will be affected by en-vironmental constraints that EW might impose.

However, while Waipapa 9 is free of the nitrogen restrictions imposed by EW, Bignell says on-farm effluent disposal is a big issue.

“In the early days, we would allocate about $20,000 in the budget for effluent disposal. Now days, we are talking about $200,000.”

Bignell says much of this investment is going into the system at the new dairy shed.

As a trust, Waipapa 9 has been successful and has been particu-larly strong in terms of governance and finan-cial management. It has invested in commercial property to widen its fi-nancial portfolio and also recently invested in the new Miraka dairy factory being built nearby and will be a supplier to the new company.

But Bignell says any expansion into new dairy units will probably have to wait for a while.

“The focus right now is on getting the pasture up to scratch on all the dairy units which will take about five years.”

Only then, is there likely to be development on the farms.

“In the early days, we would allocate about $20,000 in the budge for effluent disposal. Nowadays, we are talking about $200,000.” – Steve Bignell

Bob Cottrell

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agribusiness

LiC says its FarmKeeper software is set to become even more valuable as the dairy farmer cooperative joins forces with two renowned agriculture companies.

The pasture management and mapping programme is integrating with C-Dax’s pasture meter and new XC1 auto-control spreader range and TracMap’s GPS guidance and mapping system.

LIC farm systems general manager Rob Ford says both C-Dax and TracMap are committed to improv-ing efficiency on farm and when combined with Farm-Keeper, provide farmers with an easy way to collect and record accurate records on one system.

“This latest development allows for seamless in-tegration with the C-Dax pasture meter and spreader automation suite providing measurement, control and traceability on smart C-Dax products; and also the TracMap GPS system which helps ensure traceability of fertiliser spreading and irrigation application.”

Information collected by these products, including grass cover and the length and spread of fertiliser or irrigation, can now be imported into FarmKeeper and automatically matched to paddocks on the electronic farm map.

With this detailed information about individual paddocks, farmers can record and understand the vari-ables that have gone into their production system, Ford says.

“The information can be extremely powerful when it comes to making decisions around identifying which paddocks are under or over performing, which need fertiliser and which should be scheduled for re-sow-ing.”

Trophy honours awards pioneer

Gordon Stephenson

THe 2010 national supreme winner of the Ballance Farm Environ-ment Awards will receive a trophy named after the man who started the competition.

The Gordon Ste-phenson trophy will be presented to one of nine regional title holders at the 2011 New Zealand Farm Environment Award Trust Sustainabil-

ity Showcase in Hastings next month.

Stephenson, a Waikato dairy farmer, developed the awards as a way to recognise farmers trying to balance farm produc-tivity with environmental protection. While other competitions focussed solely on farm produc-tion, the Farm Environ-ment Awards were an “all-embracing” con-cept that measured the economic, environmental and social aspects of a farming or horticultural operation.

The first Waikato Farm Environment Awards were held in 1993. With the support of regional councils and key sponsor Ballance Agri-Nutrients, the awards went national in 2000. Over the years, the com-petition has continued to grow and is now sup-ported by a wide range of sponsors and strategic industry partners.

Stephenson is excited about the new National Winner award.

“I think it’s important that the winner is con-sidered to be first among equals. In accepting the

award they also accept a number of responsibili-ties and among these is the need to have a vision for the future of farm-ing in New Zealand,” he says.

With a growing world demand for food, Ste-phenson says sustainable farming practices are more important than ever.

Though semi-retired, he and wife Celia main-tain a keen interest in farming and conserva-tion. They live at Waotu, northwest of Tokoroa, on a 22ha farmlet that includes 4ha of native bush. In 1978 this block of native bush became the first covenanted by the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust. Stephen-son was a key instigator in the establishment of this trust.

Looking back on the Farm Environment Awards, he says it’s enormously satisfying to see how they have grown over the last 18 years.

“I had no concept of what they would become. It’s like planting a gar-den. You are never quite sure what it’s going to turn out like in the end.”

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Heritage Machinery Trail

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nz national fieldays Mystery CreekhaMilton

June 15-18

Eye-in-sky watch on your visit?Tony benny

iN a novel bid to better discern what makes Fiel-days ‘tick’ for visitors, the organisers will fit GPS to selected patrons, and track them through their stay.

The aim is to keep the event fresh and interest-ing, and the GPS move should lead to improve-ments at Mystery Creek, says Fieldays chairman Warwick Roberts.

“I keep saying I need to know our custom-ers and unless you know what your customers want and where they go, you’re running in the dark a lot of the time. So this is the first move towards that.”

Vodafone will supply the GPSs, issuing them to 15 patrons each day.

“We’re going to track them through the Fiel-days to see where they go and how long they spend

there,” Roberts told Dairy News.

“This will be good for us, and good for the ex-hibitors to get some ideas. We want a cross section – we’d like some dairy farmers, some sheep farmers, farmers’ wives and the general public.”

But while he’s excited about the improvement GPS tracking could lead to, Roberts is disappoint-ed some high level guests he was expecting at the Fieldays have pulled out. Thirty-nine international Ministers of Agriculture who where to attend this year’s event are now go-ing to Italy instead.

“We’ve lost them in the mix somewhere;

whether it’s cost I don’t know. It’s disappointing because one of the things we are working on is in-ternationalism.

“I guess maybe it’s the financial climate, who knows? You really wouldn’t know with these people. They meet togeth-er, I guess, to discuss their problems and we thought it would have been great to have them here to see what we do.”

Roberts hopes Mystery Creek may gain some in-ternational profile on the back of the Rugby World Cup as overseas journal-ists look for story angles.

“People are starting to write stories about the cup and I have a feeling

they’ll pick up on the Fiel-days as a sort of pre-cup story.

“They‘re out here al-ready and it’ll be ‘what do we talk about?’ Christ-church is sort of old hat now, what’s next?’”

Improvements have been made to the site for this year’s event. Four roads are ready for seal-ing when the weather al-lows and another property – closer than in the past – is leased for parking.

“It’s about the experi-ence,” says Roberts “It really is about displaying our agriculture to New Zealand and the world.”

“I keep saying I need to know our customers and unless you know what your customers want and where they go, you’re running in the dark a lot of the time.”

Warwick Roberts

GPS tracking of selected visitors is a move towards knowing better

who does what at Fieldays.

See us atSite F36


nz national fieldays

Blokes best of the bestwHaT DO you call a bachelor with a wife and kids? Fieldays calls them the “best of the best” – eight previ-ous Rural Bachelor of the Year winners, returning this year for “the ultimate challenge.”

The ‘boys’ (men?) have been invited to compete for a supreme-champion award.

Many of the contestants now have “partners, wives” and children, “but do they still have what it takes to be titled best of the best?” a Fieldays spokeswoman asks.

The contest’s strong rural focus will reflect the knowledge and skills required on the farm and in the agriculture industry.

New challenges include fencing, horse handling, general knowledge, dog handling and excavating.

Here they are:Mat Sherriff, farm owner/manager, Te Awamutu,

2003 People’s Choice Award winner.Tony Buckingham, farmer, Wyndham, Southland,

2005 Golden Gumboot and People’s Choice Award winner.

Christen Diamond, farm and bar owner, Waitomo, 2006 Golden Gumboot winner.

Paul Slater, cropping farm worker originally from Te Pahu, Waikato, now in Western Australia, 2007 Golden Gumboot winner.

Mark Woodcock, dairy farm manager/owner, Dar-gaville, 2008 Golden Gumboot winner.

Charlie Taituha, rural supplies account manager, Piopio, 2008 People’s Choice winner.

Mike Short, bull farm manager, Sanson/Bulls, Manawatu, 2009 Golden Gumboot winner.

Golden Gumboot 2010 winner

Nick Torrens.

‘BreakiNG Barriers to Productivity’ – theme of this year’s Fieldays – is an ideal close to the heart of PacificAg directors, a company spokesman says.

“Our clients stay with us because we’re always working with them to improve their bottom line.

“Healthy stock means healthy profits for the farmer, and all our solutions are tailor-made to the individual farmer’s requirements.”

PacificAg cites the example of its product Maxi Trace Dairy, a stockfood supplement specifically de-signed to meet the daily requirements of a dairy cow. It contains the essential elements that grass fed, lactat-ing stock need to maintain production and good health every day.

Maxi Trace Dairy is a concentrated liquid supple-ment made from quality, food-grade materials. It com-bines carbohydrates, protein, electrolytes, minerals, trace elements and vitamins essential for maintaining stock health. Its organic seaweed base enhances as-similation of these essential elements and provides ad-ditional nutrients from a natural source, the company says.

The manufacturing process creates a liquid sus-pension easy to use in most farm delivery systems – drench gun, trough treatment, in-line dispensing sys-tem or poured onto grain, hay or supplementary feed.

“Better production, increased weight gain and high-er conception rates all occur when stock is healthy, and Maxi Trace Dairy provides the platform for maximis-ing farm profits.”

PacificAg works with farmers and institutions in farm trials. All laboratory analysis is by Hills Labora-tories, Hamilton. Soil tests are done regularly.Tel. 0800 476 969www.pacificag.co.nz

Nick Torrens, sharemilker, Te Aroha, Waikato, 2010 Golden Gumboot winner.

Heats will run during the four days of Fieldays. The Best of the Best Golden Gumboot will be awarded Sat-urday June 18, 12 noon, in the Ag Art Wear Pavilion.

The winner will take away a luxury trip for two to Rarotonga, Suzuki Trojan motorbike, Swanndri cloth-ing package, Stihl voucher and a Skellerup voucher. The People’s Choice winner will get a mountain bike from Cycle Time.Tel. 07 843 4499 [email protected].

Theme close to heart

Fieldays calls them the “best of the best” – eight previous Rural Bachelor of the Year winners, returning this year for “the ultimate challenge.”

“Maree and I would like to let you know how pleased we are with our Varivac. Not only does it save power, but as you promised it dramatically reduced our SCC.

Prior to installing the Varivac we were grading at every pickup for SCC (the kind of stress parents of young children can do without in spring). I have en-closed a copy of our Fonterra SCC graph clearly showing the day the Varivac was fitted. We now aver-age 130,000 SCC and life is good. We would not hesitate to recommend Varivac to anyone else in our situation.

Best wishes and thanks again”Hamish & Maree Tong 06 272 6349

We have had many years of high SSC. In fact, since putting in a new milking plant 10 years ago and no one being able to fix the problem

and having culled heavily because of this we didn’t know where to turn next.

We saw the article on Varivac and decided to give it a go. Well, we are delighted with the results. Proof is in the graph taken off Fence-post.

Our SSC compared with the company average. Coupled with the added power savings we couldn’t be more pleased. Thanks Varivac

Gil and Jill Hall, Dannevirke,Hawkes Bay, NZ

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The farm had serious Somatic Cell Count figures and mastitis problems. We installed a Varivac vacuum control system and the problems are now gone. Quite simply it works.

Steven Robb, Dairy Farmer,Morrinsville, NZ

Save Power and Lower SCC Count!

Varivac installed here!(Last pick-up dried off.)

See us at Fieldays – Site G119


New FeNCe Lite electric fenc-ing from Taragate features light-weight tread-ins that do not tan-gle when carried in bundles, a 3:1 geared reel, and a new fence hook that holds another wire without releasing.

Also on show will be the company’s improved free-standing Tarapost for an-choring electric fences to aid sub-division sizes for break fencing, and a new carry frame for ATVs that can safely carry electric fencing gear, spades, etc.

“A bundle of 25 of our new

tread-ins weighs only 4kg, com-pared with light-weight pigtails weighing 8.25 kg and heavy-

weight pigtails three times the weigh at 13.75 kg,” says manag-ing director Kerry Powell.

The tread-ins are now stron-

ger and hold firmer in the ground. Pushed over, they read-ily spring back to vertical. Hav-

ing a simple top for attaching the electric tape and a right angled tread at the bottom the standards do not tangle.

The geared reels hasten the job of reeling in the tape.

A positive tape guide and stop latch are strongly held so as not to flop shut when the farmer is half way across the paddock.

“The Tarapost can solve all the problems of strip grazing with one tool,” Powell says.

It can be placed at any point and act as a free-standing an-chor to hang four different

reel or four end attachments for wires. Tel. 07 843 3859www.taragate.co.nz


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New FrOM McIntosh Bros Engineers comes the com-pany’s largest-ever feeder wagon, requested by farmers and with features not seen before on New Zealand-made units.

Until now their largest wagon has been a 20m3, but the industry wants larger, Brett McIntosh says.

Notable features include a larger floor and eleva-tor chain (13mm with 23 tonne breaking strain vs 10mm/11.5 t) less prone to stretching, so needing less adjustment and lasting longer.

Says Brett McIntosh, “We’ve gone to the heavier chain to offer farmers a heavier-duty wagon than is currently available. And customers want larger than our current 20 cubic metres.”

The larger chain also allows the company to offer a three-beater system, as well as the elevator system currently used, and as found on other wagon makers’ machines. The heavier chain will also be used on the larger McIntosh manure spreader.

“The new range of wagons with the beaters is de-signed for Australia where they need to break up big square bales better than the current elevators on wag-ons can do,” McIntosh says.

“Another reason for the beaters is farms these days want the wagon contents better mixed, but do not want the hassle of running a mixer wagon.”

The beaters revolving at up to 540 rpm break up and mix the load onto the cross conveyor. The beaters are driven by PTO to give them enough power when dealing with bales. A 13mm floor chain is used for its extra strength when driving the floor into the beaters. And the company can install the 13mm upgrade kit on as an option for farmers wanting less maintenance and a longer chain life.

Says McIntosh, “We’re still very happy with the 10mm chain but because we need the 13mm on the beater wagon and a larger silage wagon, we are putting it on the large manure spreader and offering it on all other wagons as an option.”Tel. 06 356 7056www.mcintosh.net.nz



a New crawler from Kubota New Zealand will suit commercial growers, especially, during the wet season.

The Kubota M126X Power Krawler will fill a market niche, the company says.

“Chiefly the tractor will be used in the grower markets where jobs need doing during the winter months when a conventional trac-tor is unsuitable.”

The Krawler retains traction in conditions that would bog a wheel tractor even without having an implement above or in the ground,

Norwood says.The design of the track unit is

a key feature. The pivot point of the track unit is positioned in the middle so when weight is applied to the tractor via pulling, the front of the track unit is pushed down to keep the entire track in contact with the ground.

On other crawlers, when the pulling weight comes on, the front of the track comes away from the

ground because the pivot point is higher and has a seesaw effect, causing the track to lose grip as less track is in contact with the ground.

The Krawler is powered by a long-stroke 6.1L 4-cyl. common rail engine. Transmission is a 16-speed semi-power shift trans-mission with optional 8-speed creep.Tel. 0800 kuboTa

www.kubota.co.nz earlier to breakfastaBOUT 200 hours can be saved annu-ally, and yards cleaned more thoroughly, by an automatic wash that connects to the Reporoa Engineering Herdflow backing gate.

The company’s Dungbuster automat-ic wash is said to save shed time – you get to breakfast earlier – and cut water costs and effluent loadings.

Manually hosing yards is a time and money waster, the company says. Better to do something more productive, and less wasteful of water and power.

“The Dungbuster cleans efficiently while the backing gate moves cows for-ward. With one or two sweeps of the yard you could be on to your next job.

“Operation is simple and all controlled from within the shed. Simply hit the wash button and go off for breakfast. The yard will be cleaned and the gate waiting for the cows at the next milk-ing.”

In a herringbone shed the system cleans the yard while the last row of cows is in the shed.

Then, after the shed is hosed down the automatic wash system can take the effluent down the yard for a sec-ond time, leaving the concrete looking “near-new” and setting up the yard for the next milking. Tel. 0508 herdflow www.herdflow.com

Crawler traction

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Weighbridge upgradeMarsH CONTraCTiNG will dis-play its upgraded weighbridges with accompanying software, and Marshn Rings for protecting large rotary ted-ders and rakes.

The bridges now have aluminium on/off ramps and centre inserts to re-duce travelling weight and are easier to assemble.

With the use of aluminium the ramps have been re-calibrated.

The software is now housed in a water/dust proof container that travels between sites and is simple to discon-nect and reconnect.

The upgraded software now con-tains a roll or slip printer and is user friendly. There is a point for a memo-ry stick that enables farmers or con-tractors to download to a computer.

The Marshn Rings are now used and fitted by all large rake makers in-cluding Krone, Pottinger, Lely, Fella and Claas.Tel. 07 533 1887

Data is stored safely and conveniently in the new data logger on Marsh contracting’s weighbridge.

Worst weather kept at bayCOw HOUsiNG concepts are bounding ahead at Widespan South Island, as seen from these computer-generated pictures sent recently to Dairy News.

The company says the concepts, and resulting specific designs, can suit dairy farmers and beef feed-lot operators.

Buildings are ‘turn-

key’ – walk in and start farming.

Each design is to the customer’s specific needs, and accommo-dates the needs of the animals to ensure the best environment.

Construction time is surprisingly short, even on 34m spans.

A notable benefit is the protection against weather that the buildings provide, with resultant production benefits.

Cow health and welfare rises too, the company says. The cows use less energy to keep warm, so converting more feed to milk. Keep-ing cows out of wind chill has a large effect on their temperature and resistance to illness.

New technologies offered in the sheds are cow mattresses, automat-

Each design is to the customer’s specific needs, and accommodates the needs of the animals.

ed cleaning systems, and feed out lanes for easier supplementary feedingTel. 0800 94 33 77www.sheds.co.nz

Simple Click and Clean System

Calibrated Floating Level Indicator

Powerful Honda Petrol Motor

Mix/despense 320 Litres Per Minute

With Easy Use Despensor Gun

A Mobile Mixer/Tanker built on a strong galvanized steel frame can carry and mix colostrum, milk powder or any other calf supplements that you want to feed out.

NEW FOR 2011!MT800 TANKER/MIXER

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FEEDTECH ROLLER MILLS

• Hecton offer a range of roller mills to suit most feeding systems.

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Capacity 8.00 tonne per hour3.5 TONNE PER HOUR ROLLER MILL

8 TONNE PER HOUR ROLLER MILL

BELT DRIVEPENCIL AUGERS• Hot dipped galvanised• Easy belt adjustment• Compact & robust• Motor cover optional• Motor cover available

ROLLER MILL• Fully automatic digital controller – suited to in line applications (grain flow is actuated and shut off automatically on demand – motor shuts down on a variable timer delay)• Manual control – manual start/manual stop• Three phase or single phase• Overhead hopper and frame available• Pneumatic actuation

GEARBOX DRIVE PENCIL AUGERS• Hot dipped galvanised

• Direct positive drive

• Compact and robust

• Unmatched strength and reliability by design. Drive shafts are supported through the gearbox and an independent bearing.

ADDITIVE DISPENSER• Robust full galvanised construction

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Call in and see us at 73 Preston Street, Invercargill | Ph: 03 215 8558 | Email: [email protected] our website www.hecton.co.nz for a full list of products.

SEE US AT THE FIELDAYS

SITE L28-32



Waterbeds promise luxuryaBOUT 2800 cows will this winter enjoy waterbed comfort in sheds now being constructed by a partner-ship of a dairy shed engineer and a builder.

Advanced Cow Barns is a 50/50 partnership be-tween Winton Engineering Ltd and Southland Con-crete Construction Ltd.

The waterbed supplier is the designer and manufac-turer Advanced Comfort Technology Inc, Wisconsin, USA, holder of a patent on Dual Chamber Waterbeds.

Advanced Cow Barns is building and equipping sheds on four Southland farms, two with 700 cows, one with 750 and one with 658. About 18 staff will work in the completed wintering sheds.

Never before seen in New Zealand, the waterbeds have been used in the USA for 11 years “with very positive results,” Winton Engineering says. The com-pany holds the distributorship for New Zealand and Australia and has imported three container-loads for its current projects.

Advanced Comfort Technology’s president Dean Thornsdsen visited New Zealand to advise and assist in the fitting the first waterbeds.

The waterbeds are made by vulcanising together two layers of reinforced rubber to form water cham-bers. The beds are secured to concrete, filled with about 40L of water, then sealed for life.

Rodger Short, of Winton Engineering Ltd, first saw the waterbeds in 2010 at the World Dairy Expo, in Hol-land. New Zealand dairy farmers then visited Holland to see installations of the beds. They were impressed with the cow comfort and positive farmer comments, Short says.

Advanced Cow Barns so far has bookings to build three more sheds during 2011–2012 and is talking to several more interested farmers.Tel. 03 23 66 077www.cowbarns.co.nz

Feeder suits weanersa New oval stock feeder from Ag Brand Products suits weaner calves.

This feeder, designed for larger calf mobs, can hold two round bales, or one square, and even large freeman bales.

Features include: 20 feed positions; holds two size-12 equivalent rounds or one rectangular bale; a lower chest rail gives easier access to feed; bolted or pinned models are available.

The maker says this model has been “tried and tested in the South Island as a perfect addition to our product range.”

“The feeder has a lower chest rail and is narrower to allow total utilisation of feedstuffs by calves.”Tel. 09 292 8077www.stockfeeders.co.nz



Feed robot pays offDairy sHeD automation features strongly in Lely New Zealand’s offering.

On a new stand at Gate 2 visitors will find Lely Dairy Equipment in a joint promotion with Cowhouse.

Here the company will introduce the new Lely Astronaut A4 and show the Juno robotic feed pusher (picture right) and automatic rotating cow brush; the Lely Luna and the new high capacity Lely Calm Vario Combi automatic calf feeder.

Lely makes much of the installation of the Juno by Southland dairy farmer Alfons Zeestraten, known to keep a close eye on the inputs and outputs of his operation.

He says the numbers tell him his Lely Juno feed pushers boosted milk production and cut costs to such an extent

that they paid for them-selves in a single year.

The Zeestraten family and their 11 staff milk 2000 cows on three farms near Winton. Each farm carries about 650 cows. Two of the farms have rotary milking sheds, one has a herring-bone shed, and all have a wintering barn.

“The cows are indoors for about 90 days a year,” Zeestraten says.

“During that time we prepare a silage mix for them, and we use the Juno pusher to ensure they have access to feed at all times.

“We programme the feed pusher to make a circuit every 90 min-utes. Without the Juno we would either have to move the feed by hand or with a tractor and imple-ment.

“Not only does it place

the silage in front of the cows around the clock, it encourages them to eat more because it has an sound that they recog-nise. When they consume more they produce more, so we gain through both lower costs and higher output.”

The Juno automati-

cally drives itself around the feeding alley by following the feeding rail. It contains a 500kg concrete block that gives it the mass necessary to push the forage towards the rail without disturb-ing the cows.Tel. 07 850 4050www.lely.com

easier life on rubberaGri-MaT iNTerLOCkiNG panels of rubber matting will this season give a Kaimai herd an easier life in the dairy shed yard.

Increasing use of yards as on/off pads protects pas-ture during wet weather; cows also benefit from the softer surface. At milking, the cows can stay longer and the greater expanse of concrete gets greater use.

The Kaimai farm (t/a Evendale) is owned by Ken and Thelma Hollinshead with their son Tony and his wife Kirstin.

When Dairy News visited they were halfway through covering the yard.

“We spread the project over two seasons, thinking if it doesn’t work we’ve made a big financial commit-ment,” said Hollinshead. But it has worked and they are now ready to lay the second section when the cows are dry.

The yard slopes to a central point for drainage and they intend to leave a ‘V ‘from the end of the milking pit uncovered so drainage from the milking area can flow unimpeded to the central drain.

The farm of 130ha milks 330 cows producing 113,000kgMS. It runs back to the Waihou River and

To page 37

The game is up. Your replacements bench is a good indicator as to how well you’ll fi nish the game. On the farm, the heifers you bring into the herd each season will have an immediate impact on your bottom line – for good or for worse.

Farmers who have weaned and reared their calves on the freshstart® calf development program report better quality animals from weaning right through to herd replacements. The new milkers are introduced at the peak of their game and contribute strongly to your milk returns from day one. Additionally, indicative evidence suggests these heifers carry superior genes which can be passed onto the next generation again.

The freshstart® calf development program is based on the simple premise that you cannot prepare a calf for grass (fi bre) by feeding a non-fi bre product. It’s a common sense approach to stimulating full stomach development in animals (ruminants) that spend a lifetime consuming pasture.

Better still, the freshstart® calf development program is not expensive. In fact, it is about the same cost as any meal based program.

So get your profi ts over the advantage line. Check your big-game strategy online at www.fresh-start.co.nz and come away a winner with a strong replacements bench.

www.fi ber-fresh.com

Have you thought about the quality of your replacements?

© IC

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688

4 FI

B

SEE US AT OUR DUALMYSTERY CREEK FIELDAYS®

SITES J18 & THE PAVILION!

For information on the freshstart® calf development program visit us on site at the Mystery Creek Fieldays®online at www.fresh-start.co.nz or call 0800 545 545.

STAGE ONE STAGE TWO



there is a small area prone to flooding when the river rises. It is also in an area prone to severe winds – the notorious Kaimai ‘buster’. “We came from the foot-hills of Mount Pirongia and thought we knew winds but these are something else.”

Now the cows are taken to the dairy shed and stand on the yard soon to be almost covered with the Numat matting, protected from the wind by an adjacent hedge.

The Agri-Mat panels are interlocking on all four sides, are 1190 x 850mm x 24mm thick, each cover-ing 1m2 . Agri-Mat Kura have a stud base so the hoof can sink into the mat and have maximum traction and comfort.

The material is easily cut for rounding the edges to the side of the yard. The edges are Dynabolted to the concrete through holes at each corner. “It is as easy to wash down as a concrete yard.”Tel. 0800 686 121www.numat.co.nz

Yarding, handling gear yarD DesiGN and cattle handling gear will feature on Technipharm’s site under the banner ‘We make farming ezy’.

Cattle demonstrations will be held daily, by New Zealand and Australian experts.

With EID high on the agenda, the company will help visitors make prudent business decisions. A new headbail will also be on show.

The company’s dairy section will

give New Zealand’s first showing of a dual Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milker – the much-heralded ‘yellow revolution’ launched last year by Lely.

Says Technipharm managing director Harmen Heesen, “We’ve placed the Lely robots in a real Cow-house so visitors can see what this new hybrid technology is all about.”

The ‘yellow revolution’ promo-tion is a joint effort by Lely New

Zealand, Cowhouse Construc-tion Ltd and Karimor Ag Products (Cowtel). Cowhouse and Techni-Pharm “have created a relationship of knowledge to allow you to see the experts in one spot. Also in dairy visitors may see the Seelect a Cow autodrafter in action, the only award winning dairy autodrafter on the market.”Tel. 0800 80 90 98www.technipharm.co.nz

Specific to mid-rangeMassey FerGUsON has added four new tractors (82-107hp) to its big-selling MF 5400 series.

These “completely new tractors with innovative design features, are specifically to provide the power, performance and economy needed by operators in the mid-range sector,” says Agco general marketing man-ager Shane Snijders.

“They are not simply updates to existing models. They are truly new… in our most popular sector where we have unrivalled experience.

“We’ve consulted extensively with customers. Now we’ve introduced four new, agile tractors… with su-perb power-to-weight ratios, excellent visibility and novel features ideal for loader work.”

Snijders says the company has taken successful features, such as the Dyna-4 transmission, and re-en-gineered them to suit precisely the customer require-ments for this size and type of tractor.

“This means the MF 5400 series models offer the best combination of manoeuvrability, stability, visibil-ity and access, with lively performance in yards, on roads and fields.”

Power ranges 82-107hp from a Perkins 4.4L, 4-cyl. 1104D-44T mechanical injection engine with high vis-ibility bonnet. Maximum power is at 2000rpm and “impressive torque” at 1400rpm – lower engine speeds, and less fuel consumption and noise.

A new transaxle developed for these tractors has “optimised and flexible” Dyna-4 transmission ideal for sub-110hp tractors; novel front axle support housing; optional 1.8t integrated front linkage system; new rear axle exclusive to these tractors; rear linkage optimised for tractor size with electronic linkage control; electro-hydraulic PTO speed selection with 540/540E/1,000 speeds; high-comfort spacious cab with suspension option.www.masseyferguson.com.au.

easier lifeFrom page 36

The game is up. Your replacements bench is a good indicator as to how well you’ll fi nish the game. On the farm, the heifers you bring into the herd each season will have an immediate impact on your bottom line – for good or for worse.

Farmers who have weaned and reared their calves on the freshstart® calf development program report better quality animals from weaning right through to herd replacements. The new milkers are introduced at the peak of their game and contribute strongly to your milk returns from day one. Additionally, indicative evidence suggests these heifers carry superior genes which can be passed onto the next generation again.

The freshstart® calf development program is based on the simple premise that you cannot prepare a calf for grass (fi bre) by feeding a non-fi bre product. It’s a common sense approach to stimulating full stomach development in animals (ruminants) that spend a lifetime consuming pasture.

Better still, the freshstart® calf development program is not expensive. In fact, it is about the same cost as any meal based program.

So get your profi ts over the advantage line. Check your big-game strategy online at www.fresh-start.co.nz and come away a winner with a strong replacements bench.

www.fi ber-fresh.com

Have you thought about the quality of your replacements?

© IC

ON

688

4 FI

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SEE US AT OUR DUALMYSTERY CREEK FIELDAYS®

SITES J18 & THE PAVILION!

For information on the freshstart® calf development program visit us on site at the Mystery Creek Fieldays®online at www.fresh-start.co.nz or call 0800 545 545.

STAGE ONE STAGE TWO



‘Better to crush your own’aUsTraLiaN-MaDe FeeDTeCH roller mills and supplementary grain handling gear, from Hec-ton Products, Invercar-gill, give farmers precise control over what they’re feeding their stock, the company says.

Feedtech has sold roller mills in Australia for 16 years, supplying at least 500 systems.

Hecton director Aaron Bremner says compared with buying in grain, on-site crushing reduces costs and retains feed freshness and nutritient values.

Hecton has supplied in-shed feeding systems

for four years and the Feedtech roller mills, pencil augurs and addi-tive dispensers comple-ment the feeding systems perfectly, Bremner says.

In an ideal system, grain is augured out of, say, a 50 tonne silo into the roller mill, is crushed, then augured into a five tonne ‘day silo’.

“You’re crushing only one or two days ahead,” Bremner says. “The product is fresh – prob-ably the main advantage of crushing your own because if you buy a big silo of crushed barley, after 7-10 days you’re be-ginning to lose nutritient

value.” If extra ingredients

are required in the feed they can be added dur-ing crushing, using the additive dispenser.

The mills come in

capacities 2.5 tonnes/hr to 8 t/hr. Design and manufacture are robust.

Features include differential-speed roll-ers for optimum crush, smooth operation, and

gear drive – no chains or sprockets to wear out.

Maintenance is simple and easy.Tel. 03 215 8558 [email protected] www.hecton.co.nz

easier to feed outa TaNCO bale shear, newly available from Norwood, has raised feeding efficiency and made it easier at San-dy Bidwill’s dairy farm in Wairarapa.

This simple machine has revolutionised his feeding system, he says.

The bale shear retains both net and wrap as it splits a round silage bale, and also the action of the knife through all the bale’s layers causes the silage to be pre-sented to the feeder in a more fragmented fashion.

This chopping or reduction effect raises the consis-tency of the feed.

Norwood says this auto cutting and wrap retention precludes the driver having to leave the tractor seat to cut and remove wrap prior to feeding. Time is saved and an unpleasant job erased.

The bale shear can also be used as a conventional shear grab. With two extra tines added, the bale shear can feed out pit silage and keep the stack face free of waste.

Bidwill says the feeding of 1200 cows in three herds has dropped from three hours to one.Tel. 06 356 4920www.tanco.co.nz

“Surprisingly cost-effective, A Redpath shelter can be constructed on farm over existing or new feedpads from $300 + gst per cow*!, includes structure, labour & permit application!”

*conditions apply

FREEPHONE 0508 733 728email [email protected]

www.standoffshelter.co.nz

“Redpath’s Durashelter clear roofing membrane dries the floor and reduces disease/bacteria spread. Redpath shade-screens can be easily

installed for an ideal summertime shelter”

See us at Mystery Creek, Site D70

Beat the seasonsRedpath feedpad shelters now from $300* per cow built!

“Redpaths soft floor system is easy on the

cows & effluent run-off is almost nil, I spread it onto

the farm as a fertilizer rich compost, its

great” Gore

“The shelter eliminates rainfall

washing effluent from the feedpad, & the extra

thick roofing dries the flooring litter”

Waikato

“Keeping the cows in my Redpath shelter during poor weather reduces my pasture damage

immensely.” Taranaki

“Protects my herd in the middle of summer

and gives me much better control over

feed and water uptake all year

round”

WHAT FARMERS ARE SAYING

Have a look at our new website for up to date information on the bulls we are marketing plus several more that are not listed in our current catalogue.

WORLD WIDE SIRES NEW ZEALAND,

WORLD WIDE SIRES – New Zealand | www.wwsiresnz.co.nz | Email [email protected] | Free Phone 0800 60 70 70

invite you to visit us at Mystery Creek Fieldays - Site PC11 - Main Pavilion.Visit our team of friendly faces and take the opportunity to chat with our staff about the strong sire line-up we have to offer you this season. There will be a hot cup of coffee waiting for you.

Fill in the entry form on site to enter our draw for $250 of free product.



EID focus as November deadline loomsa New-LOOk site jam-packed with the lat-est products and outstanding deals: that’s the promise from Gallagher Animal Manage-ment for this Fieldays.

Regional sales manager Matt Macfie says much of the site will be dedicated to EID weighing and recording equipment.

A key focus will be helping farmers to understand the technology, to use it to best advantage.

Visitors will see how EID products such as the award-winning TSi weigh system can improve returns by providing timely, accu-rate information for pasture management, stock marketing and animal health decisions.

Other weighing and EID products will include new-generation weigh scale and data collectors, SmartReader tag readers and the DairyScale Walk-Over weigh system.

Macfie says Gallagher will demonstrate how its products meet the requirements of the NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) scheme.

“We are also offering some exceptional deals on EID packages and on the world’s best handheld tag reader, the HR3.”

The site will also display new-genera-tion weigh scales, including the new W610 model described as the best entry-level EID weighing system available. It can connect to

any brand of EID reader and has a massive memory that can store weight readings from 12,000 animals.

Upgrades have also been made to the ex-isting W210 and W810 weigh scale models, which feature tougher construction, the latest software, backlit screens, raised keyboards and ergonomically-operated switches and buttons.

Also on display will be Gallagher’s elec-tric fence energisers and fencing accessories, including several new products for all farm-ing sectors.Tel. 0800 731 500www.gallagher.co.nz

Beam takes a hammeringTriaNGULar PrO-FiLe used in the design and construction of the Beamtec mast on Field-master’s Forte postdriver gives this component exceptional rigidity and strength, the company reports.

The Beamtec mast section on this model is custom folded and fabricated from 10mm high-strength plate into a triangular profile and attached to a 16mm front flange member.

This construction pro-vides “remarkable” tor-sional rigidity, precluding the problem experienced with conventional UB sections which can twist under the constant strain of hammer movement up and down the mast.

Mechanical design engineers have done computer-simulated deflection testing and proven the Forté mast is 21 times more resistant to

twisting than equivalent 180UB postdriver types.

Superior strength is also seen in the x and y axis with comparison test results confirming this mast is 4 times more resistant to forward and back deflection (top-link direction) and 1.5 times stronger in the side-tilt

direction. This runs a 315kg

steel hammer driving posts with fewer blows.

The Forté suits trac-tors 80-180hp and has a range of spike, auger and side-mounting options.Tel. 0800 500 275 www.fieldmaster.co.nz

UPGraDes TO Buckton Engineering’s side delivery wagons reduce wastage on feed pads, the company reports.

“We were getting comments that when feeding finer material on feed pads it was dropping to the concrete under the wagon, so unavailable to the stock,” says joint owner Eric Buckton.

This applied to fine materials such as PKE, fine chop silage and other mineral additives.

The upgraded wagons have their floor extended further over the side-de-livery conveyor, ensuring

all material drops to the belt.

To ensure no material can return underneath on the scraper arms, the maker has added, to the leading edge of the floor, small scrapers to ensure all material drops to the belt for placement in feed troughs.

Different floor profile and a rubber seal on the back door also help prevent waste.

The side delivery belt, which can hydraulically extend 250mm outside the wheel line, now has no cross cleats to preclude material being

Less waste at feedoutdragged under the wagon.

The hydraulic jack attachment point has been repositioned so the weighing system still works when the wagon is disconnected from the tractor.Tel. 07 533 1259

AgBrand Products

Manufactures and suppliers of the Original NZ made Stockfeeder

Round, Oval and Rectangle feeders, plus feed fence lengths available

for Cattle, Deer and Sheep.

0800 104 404

✓ Simplify big bale feeding✓ Stop wasting hay & silage✓ Easy to assemble, fill & move✓ 100% NZ made

• [email protected] • www.stockfeeders.co.nz


National Fieldays come and see us on our new Site C70

(opposite Waikato Toyota).

P O Box 5, Clevedon

10 ROBINSON ST, ASHBURTONPh 03 307 9049 • Fax: 03 307 9047

email: [email protected] website: www.rainer.co.nz

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• Grunty front mounted wire guide for strength

• Snagless spool brake – won’t flop closed when running out wire/tape

• Unique clip-away insulated hook – snaps onto fence won’t fall off.

TREAD-IN

TARAPOST – REEL POST ANCHOR

GEARED REEL

Taragate LtdRD2 Hamilton, New ZealandPhone 07 843 3859Fax 07 843 3952Email [email protected] Web www.taragate.co.nz

TG1



Wide range of new implementiN THe seven years since Origin Agroup first showed at Fieldays the group has come far, now presenting a full offering of products.

In the Pottinger range will be a release of the new X8 double rear mounted mowers with or without conditioners. Pottinger has also in-troduced the new high capacity V10 double rear mowers, a hit among contractors for their large 9.8m cut-ting width, adjustable hydraulically on the move down to 8.76m. This allows the operator to increase the blade overlap when turning to elimi-nate or reduce striping.

A New Eurotop 9.85m twin rotor swather is also being released this year along with the 1252C four rotor swather rake introduced last year.

Alpego’s new Roto-Pick one pass rotary cultivator suits one pass cul-tivation direct into existing pasture or after crops, saving farmers and contractors time and costs.

The Roto-Pick has auto leveling

and packer or cage roller providing a level finish. Also on display will be the full range of power harrows, mulchers and Sub Soilers.

Hatzenbichler air seeders are proving versatile and cost effective for fast and simple sowing of forage crops, turnips and grass. These fit any make or model of power harrow, roller or cultivator.

Two models will be on display from 8 to 16 outlets to suit 2.5m up to 12m working width. Also fea-tured will be a 6.0m grass tine har-row with air seed box for pasture renovation and crop sowing.

Origin says Hatzenbichler has a good reputation for build quality. These allow seeding rates as low as 1kg/ha at low forward speeds of 2km/h on a 3m power harrow or spike rotor cultivator if necessary.

New Bogballe L2plus spreaders are designed for economy for dairy, cropping and drystock sectors, yet retain good accuracy, Origin says.

All Bogballe spreaders have border spreading controls which are simple to calibrate and adjust with optional variable rate controllers.

Also new will be this maker’s M2W Quadro models with or with-out weigh scales, and now fitted with a simple calibration design which means no removing the spreader vanes to take a test sample.

In their Tatoma range, Origin Agroup has expanded the range and is offering Diet mixer wagons in both vertical and horizontal au-ger mixing formats. These come in a range of single and twin vertical mixers and single horizontal mixers from 12-30m3 capacity.

Strength and reliability are no-table features of Great Plains seed drills. The firm is now among the world’s largest seed drill makers. Its new Spartan 607 direct drill will be seen here for the first time.Tel. 07 823 7582www.originagroup.co.nz

Great Plains seed drill.

Pottinger four-rotor swather – new this year.

Farmer suffers NASTY cut to the handREASONS WHY A GROWING NUMBER OF FARMERS CHOOSE TO TRIM HOOVES THE SAFEST WAY USING THE SPECIALISED WOPA CRUSH

CALL 0800 833 463to book your

FREE trial now!* HOOF TRIMMING SERVICES,EQUIPMENT & TRAINING

www.veehof.co.nz*Conditions apply

“I feel a lot better about staff being able to tie up legs and treat cows properly with less risk of injury to both cow & person” Neville McDonald – Southland

Front foot support blocks with safety winch and leg ties.

No extra bars – allowing safe and easy to access animal.

Rear adjustable chain for extra security.

Let’s face it... hooftrimming is part of good herd management.However, there are safe ways and unsafe ways to do it! Recently we heard of a situation where a farmer had a cow tied up to a gate for trimming. The cowkicked out and well...the rest is history asyou can see above....

Secure front opening head bail that locks in place and foot activated quick release.

Winchable front brisket strap with quick release clip featuring geared safety winch.

Back leg strap with quick release clip featuring geared safety winch.

See us atSite G90

YM-Pump+SepAd_p 18/06/2007 3:33 PM Page 1

See us at Fieldays• Site F16 •



Pasture watch now wider

Stronger bale feeder presses aheadsTrONGer CHaiN and several crucial design upgrades give McIntosh Bros Engineering’s new bale feeder a head start on competitors’ ma-chines, the company says.

Spokesman Brett Mc-Intosh says they now use the strongest chain on the market – a 12000lb roller chain that lasts longer than smaller capacity chain.

“These chains also have large-diameter roll-ers that cover a greater distance with each revolution, so there is less wear on the chain.”

Also, eight-tooth high-tensile sprockets are used, these wear-ing better than six-tooth

variants.Says Macintosh

“We’re using our same V shape which is deeper than a lot of our com-petitors’ machines, but this keeps the bale in the cradle a lot better on hilly country and makes it unroll better and longer before the last of it is fed out.”

As in previous ma-chines, the company con-tinues installing bronze bushes instead of bear-ings, proven long-lasting on previous models and not at risk of seizing if feed material or juices get into them.

A better bite at ‘dif-ficult’ bales is assured by angled slats with heavy,

flat teeth on an angle. The 8mm-thick angled slats are fastened by 12mm bolts.

A latch each side of the headstock at-taches the cradle and headstock at both top corners instead of one. This prevents the twist-ing that can occur in the headstock when only a single latch is fitted – important with bigger tractors travelling faster. It also means the rope is attached to an arm directly behind the cab, so it is pulled in a straight line, not to the side of the machine which could make it more difficult to open the latch.

Macintosh uses a

larger hydraulic motor with a 1.25 inch shaft and a bigger keyway than is found on most other feed-ers using 1 inch shafts.

The open section of the headstock has been covered to prevent parts of the bale falling through.

Very accurate po-sitioning of the drive coupling prevents exces-sive wear which would otherwise occur when the pins are sliding against each other, because the headstock is a lose fit to the cradle.

Brett Macintosh com-

ments, “Our new feeder is heavier than competi-tors’ but since tractors today tend to be larger, machine weight is not the issue it was when 60hp tractors were the norm.

“We think it’s better to be heavier and stronger than to offer the light-

est on the market when tractors are heavier and capable of higher speeds and so impose more stress on the 3-point-linkage area of the bale feeder. Tel. 06 356 7056www.mcintosh.net.nz

PasTUre MaNaGeMeNT and map-ping software from LIC – called Farm-Keeper – now integrates with the C-Dax pasture meter and new XC1 auto-control spreader range, and with the TracMap GPS guidance and mapping system.

Farmers are offered the whole bundle free for a 30-day trial.

LIC spokesman Rob Ford says the expansion makes FarmKeeper “one of a farmers’ most powerful tools.”

“Seamless integration with the C-Dax and TracMap products helps ensure

traceability of fertiliser spreading and irrigation application.”

Data collected by these products, in-cluding grass cover and the length and spread of fertiliser or irrigation, can now be easily imported into FarmKeeper and automatically matched to paddocks on the electronic farm map.

“With these details about individual paddocks, farmers can record and un-derstand the variables that have gone into their production system,” Ford says.Tel. 0800 505 061

www.kinghitter.com

Call now to try the KingHitter® range

0800 476 868

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Manufactured by fairbrother trusted for over 30 years.

DRIVEat fairbrother we’re driven to develop the toughest, most reliable range of postdrivers that perform time and time again.

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A range this strong doesn’t happen overnight. We’ve been driven to produce the best for over 30 years. Every new model is stronger, smarter, and more reliable.

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See us atSite PD24

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Visit us at Mystery Creek for the ANZ Seminar Series, talk to one of our Agri Managers and have a bite to eat.

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More briskMystery Creekmornings,more conversationsthrough frosted breath, more capacity for yield,more innovations,more networking,more ‘wouldn’t missit for the world’.


management

Family extends proud dairy heritageTony hoPkinson

NeiL arMiTaGe is a Maori with a proud Whakatohea family heri-tage in dairy farming.

He is also a former winner of the Ahu-whenua Trophy for Maori dairy farmers, gaining this in 1989 at age 26. Winning the Ahuwhenua trophy is a family tradi-tion. His grandfather Frederick Amoamo won it back in 1948 as well as his uncle Raumoa Amoamo in 1978

Armitage owns a 324ha property at Patoka, 55km west of Napier. The property was bought 16 years ago and converted to a dairy unit. Since then, production has in-creased to 335000kgMS – equating to 418kgMS/cow from his 800 cow herd of Friesian and Frie-sian crossbreeds.

“We were originally attracted to the area be-cause the farm was in one 324ha block, and while it was isolated then there are now 12,000 cows in the area.”

A family equity partnership originally bought the property, with Armitage buying the farm outright from the family in 2008.

Its milking platform is 230ha, rolling to flat and all 2WD country. There are 40ha of rolling hills for the young stock and a leased run-off attached to the farm of 120ha.

The dairy shed is a 40 bail, DeLaval rotary with a rectangular yard and REL Hi-Lift gate. The dairy is centrally situated and there are 6km of races, with a 1km walk

the longest to the shed.Armitage employs

four permanent staff, with some casuals for calf rearing.

With the farm near to the Kaweka Ranges the rainfall is 1450mm and the farm spans between 275m and 366m above sea level.

“We get an occasional sprinkling of snow, but the season is dictated by the equinox winds from October through to De-cember, which can make or break all Hawke’s Bay.”

Armitage calves two thirds of the herd in spring and one third in autumn with the idea of mitigating the effect of summer dries if they happen and spreading production throughout the year. He runs a 12 hour grazing regime and tries to maintain a 30 day plus round all season.

“Winter supply is challenging but we are paid a premium by Fonterra which makes it worthwhile.”

He rears 25% from each calving for replace-ments and has a ready lo-cal market at a premium for all surplus heifer and bull calves.

Feed pads are used to hold 800 head and there are adjacent silage bun-kers to ensure all stock are well fed during all parts of the season.

Fonterra area man-ager for Hawke’s Bay, Tony Haslett, says the property’s milk quality is outstanding putting the Armitage farm in the top 3% nationwide.

“I was concerned about the level of mas-titis and two years ago

installed a Corkill Dairy Systems Vari-Vac and it has reduced the level and teat health is now excel-lent,” Armitage says.

Shed and pad effluent pass through two screw press separators installed by Reid and Harrison and the remaining liquid is stored in a 1.3 million litre lined pond. When dry the solids are spread back onto the farm.

Six years ago, Armit-age converted to biologi-cal farming because he was becoming increas-ingly frustrated and unhappy with the results he was getting from the heavy use of chemical fertiliser.

“We were using increasing amounts of urea but we were getting

increased animal health problems. We couldn’t hold clover and all our plants were shallow rooted.”

He joined ranks with Outgrow Bio Agricul-tural Ltd, Dannevirke. The main thrust of their programme is to correct the balance in the soils between sodium, potas-sium and other elements, which reduces bloat and other metabolic troubles especially at calving.

“You don’t do it cold turkey, but it is a transi-tion across and you have to understand what you are doing.”

The farm now uses only 12 units of N each year, 10 units of phos-phate and no potash. Lime use has increased,

with all elements being applied by helicopter with fine particle applica-tion.

He has also added more diversity to his pas-ture, planting low rates of yarrow, chicory, lu-cerne, plantain, prairie, timothy, red and white clover

and cocksfoot.“We have turned

around. We are still in-creasing production and in the long term will save more money.”

The farm is now

Winning the Ahuwhenua Trophy is a family tradition for farmer Neil Armitage.

growing 14t/haDM and Armitage believes he is harvesting 12 t/ha.

Armitage has a num-ber of goals that he’s set himself and for the farm. These include producing

500kgMS/cow through a biological and predomi-nantly grass fed system and to provide an oppor-tunity for one of his sons to win the Ahuwhenua Trophy.

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See us at the Fieldays Site D69


management

mary wiTsey

iNCreaseD sTress levels are a growing part of the dairy industry and farmers need to be aware of the health implications, a specialist in ru-ral welfare says.

Claire Welsh, a Rural Support Southland agricultural recovery fa-cilitator, says with bigger farms, more staff, increased herd sizes, more debt and the push to boost production the pressure is on.

“Farmers are trying to achieve so much more and if they don’t follow up all of the opportunities they feel guilty.”

Add to that the increased demands of a rural lifestyle, including long hours, being on-call seven days a week and cop-ing with isolation and you’ve got a pressure cooker situation, she says.

The Dairy Women’s Net-work has been running “FarmHer Wellbeing” programmes up and down the country, during May, providing rural women with strategies to handle stress and keep themselves and their families well.

“There aren’t many careers where you’re asked to live on the job, or

work as and when required without limitation. Or with a

salary package that’s de-pendent on the weath-er, global markets and currency fluctuation.”

Welsh says that is dairy farming, but people need to look after their emotional well-being in order to stay healthy.

“Although we’re getting better, farmers are not so good at picking up on the signs of stress and just tend to

soldier on.“I think it’s almost a responsibility

in our rural communities to look out for each other.”

She adds that taking time out is difficult on a dairy farm and this also impacts on stress levels.

“You can’t easily get away – it’s not like a job in town where you can ring in sick. Plus you’re emotionally attached to the business, to the land and your home is involved as well.

“When you’re self-employed

you’re completely and wholly invest-ed in the job.”

Welsh points out in a place like Southland these problems are fur-ther exasperated for the many North Island farmers who have shifted to the region, without their usual family support networks.

“Change creates stress and adapt-ing to a new life, in a new part of the country can be stressful.”

She says while some stress is good, it’s when it gets out of control and af-fects our ability to enjoy life, or our health deteriorates that it becomes bad. Stress warning signs included headaches, poor concentration, low energy and difficulty sleeping.

Stress levels on the rise

Claire Welsh

THe Dairy industry has welcomed the establishment of a new fund to promote development of irrigation projects, as part of a range of water initiatives.

The Irrigation Acceleration Fund, announced by the Government, is a step in the right direction, says Fonterra.

“The natural competitive advantage associated with New Zealand’s comparative water-rich status can be turned into more wealth for our country,” says the co-op’s director supplier and external relations, Kelvin Wickham.

“Any investment in infrastructure to store water is a good step towards this goal. Projects like these have long lead times so this fund will hopefully support them through the developmental stages.”

DairyNZ strategy and investment leader for sustain-ability Rick Pridmore says dairying is central to New Zealand’s economy and better use of abundant fresh-water is key.

“It is good to see government has recognised the contribution increased water availability will make to local economies,” says Pridmore.

Irrigation fund gets support

“Although we’re getting better, farmers are not so good at picking up on the signs of stress and just tend to soldier on.”

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management

Kudos for King Country couple

Garry and Joyce Voogtgail henshaw

kiNG COUNTry dairy farming couple, Garry and Joyce Voogt were recently named LIC Sire Proving Scheme (SPS) farmers of the year – an accolade that is among the hardest in the indus-try to achieve.

“It’s come as a big surprise – but a welcome one and a pleasant one,” says Garry. “Joyce and I just do what we do, and I suppose we’re doing it quite well. We just want quality data going in to the industry – because other farmers rely on it.”

SPS members get access, at special prices, to potentially some of the best dairy cattle semen available in the country (for artificially insemi-nating in to their dairy cows).

A young bull’s merit is based on outstanding an-cestry and DNA profile, but its true potential be-comes known, or proven, when 70-plus two-year-old daughters calve and are herd tested.

In return for well priced semen, SPS mem-ber farmers adhere to a range of criteria, which centre mainly on bring-ing through greater than 20% of their SPS heifers milking as two-year-olds and keeping immaculate records on their herd’s reproduction, health, and milk production performance (the data is recorded for inclusion on the LIC database).

Joyce says it is an

honour to be named the SPS members of the year, given the calibre of fel-low members throughout New Zealand.

“It’s great to be acknowledged and to get some positive feedback from the people that run the progeny testing programme,” she says. “We’ve been members of sire proving for about 15 years, and I think we’re being recognised for the good communication we’ve got with the people who run the scheme – for us it’s a matter of keeping LIC informed of what’s going on at our farm, so there are never any sur-prises for them or us.”

The couple run their dairy operation on 80ha of rolling and flat ter-rain near Otorohanga, milking 225 KiwiCross cows through a 20-aside herringbone dairy. And when it comes to mating they have an outstanding three-week submission rate of 95%.

LIC customer relation-ship manager Stephen Forster says in the three years he has dealt with the Voogts he’s most impressed at how accom-modating the couple had been.

“Being SPS farmers they’re very busy and focused people, but noth-ing is ever a problem for them – they deal with so many duties in their set-up, from MAF admin-istration to DNA testing and frequent herd testing, as well as daughter pho-tography.

“They’re definitely

dream clients. It’s always a pleasure to visit and discuss goals, strategies, and farming in general with them. They have a very high standing in the community.” The Voogts say they enjoy being SPS farmers because they were at the forefront of most devel-opments.

“We’re believers in science and technology,” Garry says. “LIC relies on us getting it right and we rely on them getting it right. We have every faith in the co-operative because we know the people involved; they cer-tainly know what they’re talking about.”

The farm has de-stocked over recent years in response to conditions on farm, an action Voogt is more than comfortable with. “We try not to get too fixated on numbers. We just try to feed the cows the best we can and try to do as much forward

planning as possible.” Currently, putting

condition on cows was the farm’s number one priority ahead of calving.

“For us, mating is the most crucial time of the year.”

To make useful strides in the performance of a herd, Joyce says farm-ers in general needed to focus on heifers that were second-calvers.

And she should know – juggling farming commitments with her profession as a vet.

“When it comes to young stock, farmers are vulnerable in making drying off decisions that are either too early or too late. You’ve got to prefer-entially feed the heifers to give them a chance at showing their true poten-tial in the herd.

“To get a condensed

calving pattern you need three main things: big enough, well-grown heifers entering the herd; good body condition score at calving; and minimisation of weight loss between mating and calving – a loss of less than one condition score is ideal.”

She says while this impacts on the calving spread and is hard to get there, once you’ve got it all right, it’s easier to keep it.

“Of the 91 heifer calves born last year we kept 55. We also look to run lots of heifer calves for culling choice. We’ll cull on mastitis and con-formation, or those that are not good to milk. We try not to keep anything over 10 years old.” • Gail Henshaw is LIC communications advisor.

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management

No apologies for going organicPeTer burke

JaMie DUNLOP loves the land and genuinely cares about the environment on his 140ha organic dairy farm near Tokomaru, just south of Palmerston North.

It’s a farm which his parents have owned for about

two decades and where he’s worked since leaving school.

It’s an unusually-shaped property for a dairy farm. It is 8km long and narrow which means, on some days, the 240 crossbred organic cows have quite a walk to the milking shed. The support block of 50ha is at the end of the farm, which reduces the daily walk for the cows

Recently, Dunlop hosted his local DairyNZ discus-sion group on the farm. The property has been organic for about five years – roughly the time Jamie has been running it as a lower order sharemilker. But for him, and his family, the move to organics was no big deal.

“We decided it wasn’t a big change from what we were doing. We saw there was a difference in the fer-tiliser regime and the drenches. We were using home-opathy already for the management of the most of our milking herd and for dealing with pests and diseases,” he says.

“We didn’t like using spray on fertilisers or chemi-cals for weed control, so those changes weren’t major. Overall we feel it was healthier for the environment as well.”

Dunlop says he and his family want to be green and environmentally-friendly.

“We look after the water races. We plant trees and try to keep stock out of the waterways and create a bet-ter environment for next year.”

He believes this is one of the key benefits of being an organic farmer and points to the fact that he doesn’t put on fertilisers that rush into waterways. One of his biggest challenges is dealing with weeds, which cannot be sprayed by chemicals.

“The most common weeds on a dairy farm are rag-wort and thistle. We normally manage those by hand and it’s not too big an issue. However, gorse is a much bigger challenge and it requires a bit more effort to cut it down.”

Another challenge is buying stock and organic feed.“There are not a lot of organic farmers which have

stock they are willing to sell. There are also not a lot of organic farmers who have feed to give either. Keeping stock is the key and you’ve got to rear and replace your own stock as best you can.”

Dunlop grows some of his own supplements and also a summer crop. He’s also managed to find another organic farmer who’s able to supply organic hay.

The soil around Tokomaru is clay, which means that it holds water but can get very dry in summer. Care has been taken to plant grass species which best suit the property and his organic system.

Apart from some gate sales of organic milk to lo-cals, Dunlop sells his milk to Fonterra and says the farming operation is profitable.

“We support two families on this farm, as well as my two brothers and sister who also come to the farm on occasions. We probably do have more expenses in some ways, but we make money in other ways.

“For example, we save money by not having to buy chemical and herbicides and vet treatments and things like that. But some of our fertiliser can cost a little more as well. It’s a two-way street.”

At the discussion group, interest was focused on whether Dunlop should go to once-a-day-milking giv-en the distance his cows have to walk to the milking shed.

He’s keen to stay with the twice a day, but is moving from winter milking to seasonal milking in an effort to lift production.

Dunlop’s aim is to get production from just over 60,000kgs/MS to around 80,000kgMS. Despite the challenges of an unusually-shaped farm and the local climate, Dunlop says he wouldn’t have it any other.

Jamie Dunlop says the move to organics was no big deal.

“We didn’t like using spray on fertilisers or chemicals for weed control, so those changes weren’t major.”

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animal health

Low induction rates help cow conditionmary wiTsey

reDUCiNG iNDUCTiON rates is all about main-taining cow condition, mating management and condensing the calving period.

That’s the message DairyNZ developer How-ard de Klerk delivered at a Southland Demonstra-tion Farm field day in the province recently.

The body condition score (BCS) of cows at calving and the amount of condition they lose between calving and mat-ing impacts significantly on reproduction rates, he stresses. This in turn affects the calving dura-tion, with late cycling cows often falling outside the target period and forcing inductions. This has been the key strategy for reducing inductions on the Southland Demon-stration Farm.

De Klerk says cow condition must be actively managed to improve reproductive performance and reduce inductions, with the goal of calving cows at a BCS 5, limiting condition loss in early lactation to BCS 1 and having cows at a BCS 4 at the planned start of mating. He says New Zealand data shows cows calving at a BCS 4, instead of 5, are 7% less likely to be cycling at mating time.

Observations on the demonstration farm indicate that 34% of cows calving at BCS 5 were

not observed cycling at the planned start of mating, compared with 54% at BCS 4. Milk-ing frequency can be adjusted and silage fed in late autumn to achieve BCS5 by calving.

“Otherwise it just goes from bad to worse - if she’s late this year, she’ll start cycling later next season and it becomes a horrible cycle.”

Research from Lin-coln University’s dairy farm supports this and shows that early calving cows and heifers have a greater chance of con-ceiving early and calving earlier next year. De Klerk also says cows that have not started cycling at the planned start of mating have a 16% lower six-week in calf rate and a 6% higher empty rate.

This was confirmed at the demonstration farm last season, when there was a 23% differ-ence in six week in-calf rates, with cows cycling at mating having an early pregnancy rate of 78%, compared to 55% for non-cycling cows.

A more condensed calving pattern can also be achieved by selling cows due to calve after 12-weeks.

In Southland, this in-volves many of the older cows in the herd.

Those remaining cows that calve later than week nine will be induced, not exceeding the allowable 8% rate for this season, so by calving these cows early it increases their

chances of conceiving early and calving early next season, he explains.

De Klerk points out that in future it will be necessary to reduce the mating period to between 10 and 12 weeks to eliminate inductions.

Removing the bull from the herd earlier will also assist with this.

While synchronis-ing heifers and mating them a week to ten days earlier than the main mob, to give them some extra time to start cycling

by the planned start of mating, can also help condense subsequent calving patterns and reduce inductions.

“This effectively gives heifers 10-12 days longer to get back into shape

and start cycling.”Maintaining the herd

age structure also has implications, with cows around ten years-plus often slower to get into calf.

“Inductions have been

a convenient tool, but it’s been like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. By being more pro-active around managing BCS and mating management, we can reduce the need for inductions.”

key PointsImprove body Condition score of the herdCondense calving periodReduce mating period to 10-12 weeksSynchronise heifers and mate them earlierUtilise 8% inductions allowed this yearmaintain herd age structureCull late calving cows

DairyNZ developer Howard de Klerk offers strategies for tackling inductions at a recent Southland Demonstration Farm field day.

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animal health / nutrition

Fine tuning silage management

Figure 1: USA crop yields 1980-2008. Note that improved maize genetics have helped overcome some of the yield variability from environmental challenges experienced in the 90’s

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DUriNG THe week May13-20 I was travelling around the country speak-ing at the Pioneer Dairy Roadshow.

One of our guest speakers was Dr Bill Mahanna who works for Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. and is also a collaborative faculty member in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. Mahanna’s presentation provided excellent infor-mation on hybrid selection and fine-tuning silage management. In the next two articles, I will review some of his key points.Maize yield gains

To achieve high genetic gains, maize breeders have spent the past 50 years focusing on:

• increasing yield stability across environments

• improving root and stalk strength• increasing tolerance to high den-

sities• increasing drought tolerance• decreasing barrenness (i.e. plants

without cobs)What makes a good silage hybrid?

When selecting a maize silage hy-brid, don’t get hung up on labels such

as silage-specific, dual-purpose or grain hybrids. Rather, rely on multi-year data for important traits such as total drymatter yield and starch content, just like dairy farmers rely on sire performance data, not the name of the bulls they are using in their herds….Fibre digestibility

The huge range in fibre digest-ibility seen among individual farm maize silage samples is primar-ily the result of non-genetic factors like:

• growing conditions• harvest timing• chop height• fermentation quality• feed-out managementThe range (variation) in fibre

digestibility among commercial, high yielding maize hybrids is low. A good silage hybrid, must start out as a good grain hybrid because you cannot overcome lack of starch (>90% digestible) with small increas-es in fibre digestibility (60 - 70% di-gestible). However, not every grain hybrid makes a good silage hybrid because some may be too short and not deliver the desired total drymat-ter yields.

The weather before and after silk-ing appears to affect maize silage nu-tritive value.

Before silking, weather affects maize plant height (and yield) and fi-bre digestibility.

Dry conditions result in higher fi-bre digestibility and wet conditions result in lower fibre digestibility. The

weather after silking affects grain yield and total drymatter digestibility.

Novel maize geneticsBrown Midrib (BMR) is a maize

mutant that was first identified in the 1920’s. BMR hybrids contain 10% less lignin so they have greater fibre digestibility but also poor standabil-

ity. Traditionally they yield 20 - 30% or more less total drymat-ter when compared to other elite conventional silage hybrids.

Leafy hybrids set extra leaves above the ear resulting in a “showy” silage field appearance. Leafy hybrids do not contain lower lignin in fact university data shows they have about the same fibre digestibility range as any other hybrid. Published Uni-versity trials also showed no milk production advantage to leafy hy-brids.

Soft starch hybrids contain more soft (floury) starch and less dense (vitreous) starch. Research has shown there is no milk pro-duction advantage to feeding silage made from soft vs. hard starch hybrids. Silage starch availability increases with good kernel processing and starch in

silage gets more digestible over time in storage. To download Mahanna’s presentation visit www.pioneer.co.nz and click on the Dairy Road Show ‘Proceedings’ icon.• Ian Williams is a Pioneer forage specialist. Contact; [email protected]


animal health

Facial eczema a tough testTHis sUMMer and autumn the risk of facial eczema (FE) has proved to be both challenging and prolonged for farmers.

FE affects stock throughout the North Island and northern South Island and costs New Zealand farmers dearly – running as high as $95 million in a bad year in the dairy sector alone.

With drought in the northern regions of the North Island hitting many areas hard in December, and the warm condi-tions and shortage of feed that prevailed, the die was cast for an early incidence of facial eczema when warm rain fell in late December and early January.

AsureQuality’s facial eczema coor-dinator Leo Cooney warned farmers

and lifestyle block owners in December 2010 that this could happen. As predict-ed, FE spore counts increased rapidly in many regions to reach dangerous levels much earlier than it has occurred in oth-er seasons.

Throughout this year’s high risk sea-son AsureQuality partnered with Grib-ble Veterinary, Agrifeeds Limited, RD1, DairyNZ, Meat & Wool New Zealand and a number of veterinary practices – to produce weekly eczema spore count reports for farmers. This helped increase awareness of FE, which is one of New Zealand’s most production-limiting dis-eases and made it easier to predict and provide warnings.

Farmers also have an online resource to help track FE with weekly spore count reports posted on the websites www.asurequality.com and the RD1 website http://www.rd1.com/dairy/fa-cial-eczema.

This season, by the fourth week of January, reports were indicating that risk was high and further sudden in-creases occurred in early February and March. By this time, 21 of the 34 dis-tricts sending in spore counts to Ham-ilton’s Gribbles Veterinary Laboratory, were showing high spore counts.

The graph (above) also shows anoth-er high spike at the beginning of April

and from then on, with cooler weather conditions, spore counts began to track down to much safer levels. While a cold, southerly snap in the lower North Island towards the end of April brought most counts down rapidly.

However, early May in most re-gions brought unusually warm north-erly weather, which kept spore counts up in some districts – such as Waihi, the Hauraki Plains and parts of Northland. Farmers in these areas were advised to continue with precautions until colder conditions prevailed.

Grazing high spore count pasture (over 40,000 spores/gram) causes the stock to ingest Sporidesmin, which is

the fungal toxin produced by the FE spores and causes the liver damage. Sudden increases in spore counts pro-duce more severe and cumulative liver damage every time an animal grazes af-fected pasture.

Most animals affected by FE show no clinical signs of disease, other than lower production or growth rates, which may be difficult to detect. These ani-mals are termed sub-clinicals. One can guarantee that if a few animals in a herd or flock are showing clinical signs, then many others will be affected sub-clin-ically. These animals can be detected by a blood test for liver damage caused by FE. The GGT test measures a liver enzyme excreted into the blood stream.

Gribbles Veterinary Laboratory also produces a weekly graph on its web site, which shows GGT levels measured on bloods tested at its laboratories dur-ing the FE season. The graphs show very similar trends to FE spore counts, but tracking a couple of weeks behind because high spore counts take a week or two to elevate GGT levels within af-fected animals.

GGT levels are a good yard stick as to what is happening within affected herds/flocks and can be used to identify sub-clinicals from healthy resistant ani-mals at the end of a challenging season.

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health and stress will affect how well those genetics are expressed.

“There is a key growth window in a calf’s first three months where nutritional and physical factors like fibre will help develop the rumen, and it is time specific.

“If farmers miss the boat and don’t give the animals what they need at the right time, then the growth that results will be qualitatively different in respect of the rumen development, composition of that ani-mal and its reproductive performance.

“If you have two calves with the same ge-netic potential and you give one of them fibre and the other low fibre, they would probably achieve different rumen sizes – despite having the same genetics. “Giving the animals the right environmental exposures, at the right time, is very important.”

The scientific concept of phenotypic plasticity applies here and in this case, the phenotype is rumen size.

Oliver is working with Fiber Fresh Feeds Ltd to help develop the science of phenotypic plasticity whereby animals have the potential to grow and produce better.

Fiber Fresh Feeds Ltd quotes Oliver as say-ing superior protein in its HNF Fiber is very

important in calf growth and development.

The company this year launched a two-stage calf development programme,

called Freshstart, designed to produce better calves and big-ger and better replace-ments. It contains the company’s FiberGain for older calves, and a new stage-one feed, called FiberStart, which is fed on its own for an animal’s first four weeks then mixed 50/50 with FiberGain for the fol-lowing three weeks.

Stage one is for-mulated to encourage rumen development in young calves and

ensure they grow and develop correctly, Fibre Fresh Feeds says. It contains natural, easily digested HNF fiber with 16% captured oats, pro-viding a ‘scratch factor’ and encouraging the cor-rect mix of micro flora bacteria.

Fiber Fresh Feeds managing director Mi-chael Bell says the pro-gramme is a world first “by using HNF Fiber to produce superior animals genetically predisposed to increased performance and production.”

Fibre Fresh Feeds reports on a Morrinsville farmer, David Har-ris. During seven years rearing calves with Fiber Fresh he has seen the empty rate drop from 10% to 3%.

“Getting the calves into the elite weight range is helping the heifers get into calf and helping our production,” Harris says.

He last year achieved 102,000kgMS from 250 cows, averaging 408kg/cow and 1545kg/ha.

Bell says the use of Fiber Fresh was one of several factors contribut-ing to Harris’s calves’ increased fertility.Tel. 07 333 8039www.fiber-fresh.com

animal health/genetics

Calves need fibre to reach full potential CaLVes are much more likely to reach their full genetic potential if fed good quality fibre-based feeds during their first three months of life, says a feed company advised by an animal nutrition scientist from the Liggins Institute, part of Auck-land University.

Fiber Fresh Feeds Ltd, Reporoa, cites the advice of Dr Mark Oliver, research director of the institute’s Ngapouri Re-search Farm Laboratory: “Even though an animal may have good genetic potential, environmental factors such as nutrition,

Fibre helps develop the calf’s rumen, says Mark Oliver.

Good genetics lifts yieldGeNeTiCs COMPaNy World Wide Sires Ltd (WWS) says it is committed to providing top ser-vice to global dairy and beef pro-ducers.

A leading exporter of US livestock semen, WWS rep-resents companies, Acceler-ated Genetics and Select Sires in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. The company claims it remains at the forefront in providing genetics for improved produc-tion.

“WWS is committed to pro-viding dairy and beef producers throughout the world with the highest quality genetics and ser-vices available,” it says.

In 1971 Bill Clark took his first steps towards creating WWS. Tri-State Breeders Cooperative, East Central Breeders, Eastern A.I. Cooperative, Sire Power and Mid-

west Breeders Cooperative were the original suppliers to WWS. Several others, including Select Sires, joined the WWS organisa-tion in later years.

What started as a passion for

cows and international people soon grew into a global business in over 70 countries.

In 2001, Accelerated Genet-ics, Baraboo, Wisconsin, and Se-lect Sires, purchased WWS Ltd. It has since operated as a stand-alone company aimed at provid-ing dairy and beef producers throughout the world with conve-nient access to the highest-quali-ty genetics through a professional distribution network.

World Wide Sires Ltd has pro-duced many great sires such as Elevation, Bell, Chairman, Chief Mark, Blackstar, Emory, Ito, In-tegrity, Manfred, Durham, BW Marshall, Potter, Blitz, O Man and Marion.

www.longacrefeeds.co.nzFOR MORE DETAILS VISIT OUR WEBSITE


animal health

THe New ZEALAND Vet Asso-ciation (NZVA) will hold its an-nual conference in Hamilton in late June.

Initially planned for Christ-church, it was moved following earthquake damage suffered to the Christchurch Convention Centre. The NZVA says the deci-sion to move the conference has not been taken lightly.

“We agree it is in the best in-terest of the NZVA Conference to move it to Hamilton. To ensure we support the business com-munity of Christchurch we will still be using as many suppli-ers as possible in Hamilton that we would have used in Christ-church.”

The conference will be held at the Claudelands Conference and

Exhibition Centre June 21-24.Its dairy cattle programme

will include a blend of clinical topics, animal welfare and in-dustry sessions signalling key developments and opportuni-ties for dairy practice. A strong programme in epidemiology and animal health management runs in parallel, with many sessions blending across disciplines.

NZVa conference moves

AHB blitz on TBTHe aNiMaL Health Board (AHB) is planning another blitz on pos-sums in a bid to control TB.

It will work with community groups to monitor possum traps and bait stations across 2500ha south of Wairakei, Bay of Plenty. It has also begun aerial TB control in the Hau-hungaroa Range.

This control work is weather dependent and fol-lows the recent application of non-toxic cereal pellets to attract possums to the toxic bait. AHB northern North Island programme manager, Brent Web-ster says the planned TB ground control operation in Wairakei will take place along the Kawakawa Bay and W2K tracks. It would also include an area of bush from Acacia Bay to Kinloch.

“After extensive consul-tation, we have opted for a ground-based operation and will involve the local community in controlling TB around this widely-used stretch of land,” he says.

Bike Taupo spokesman Pete Masters says the ground-based pro-gramme is a positive initiative.

“It will minimise the impact of possum control work on recreation-al users of the Kawakawa Bay and W2K tracks,” says Masters.

Bike Taupo will work with the AHB to allow its contractors ac-cess to the W2K track to undertake work in the area. The track is fre-quented by many members of the public and other interest groups.

Webster says aerial TB control will still be utilised over a larger

tract of surrounding land. Possums are the main source

of TB in farmed cattle and deer. Keeping possum numbers at low levels will prevent the spread of the disease and protect the value of Taupo’s dairy, beef and deer

products. TB control also provides recognised biodiversity benefits for native plants and birds.

The AHB’s revised national TB control strategy aims to eradicate the disease from herds and wildlife across 2.5 million ha of New Zea-land known to contain TB-infected wildlife. Northern North Island re-

gional coordinator, Frank Pavitt says the TB control programme has made significant gains in the area, with infected herd numbers dropping to historic lows.

“But possums continue to maintain the disease in their pop-ulation and spread it to farmed cattle and deer,” he says. “Eradi-cating this source of the disease in the Hauhungaroa Range will help protect access to high-value over-seas markets for our beef, dairy and deer products.”

Aerial control methods, using biodegradable sodium fluoroac-etate (1080), and ground-based techniques will be employed. The aim of the operation is to break the disease cycle within wildlife in the Hauhungaroa Range.

“Ongoing control work has greatly reduced possum densities in the Hauhungaroa Range. The chal-lenge now is to keep their numbers low to prevent the disease from spreading and ensure TB is eradi-cated,” says Pavitt.

“Possum and other wildlife con-trol also provide biodiversity ben-efits for native plants and birds.”

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Our partnership with the Dairy Women’s Network has put us in touch with close to three thousand dairy women all over the country.

They’ve told us they put their heart and soul into rearing strong and healthy calves.

They’ve also told how heartbreaking it is when things go wrong – and that one of the worst experiences is when their calves are hit by infectious scours.

That’s why we’re helping them share their stories online – to support other women in dairying in successfully rearing healthy calves.

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MiLksOLiDs PrODUCTiON is way up and calving this season is expected to be higher on a Waikato farm which last winter installed an in-shed feed-ing system.

In a “very difficult” season Mark and Jo Turnwald achieved 33% higher production on their 94 eff. ha farm at Ohaupo, 15km south of Hamilton.

They installed a PPP Industries in-shed feeding system so their cows could be supplementary fed all year round, Turnwald says.

“We did not want the high capital spend on feed pads followed by ex-panded effluent disposal needs and costs for storing extra supplementary feed, and then using the pads only for a limited time each season.”

This installation enabled them to lift production from the 2009-10 season’s 88,300kgMS an expected 2010-11 figure of 118,000kgMS – the cows were still milking during Dairy News’ visit.

“This in a season when the whole Waikato farming area experienced

drought conditions before Christ-mas.”

The has a small area of Hamilton clay but is mostly flat peat which can be wet but holds on about two weeks longer when the weather turns dry.

This season they calved 295 Frie-sian cross cows, but with the better

feeding system Turnwald expects in the coming season to calve 315 head.

After discussions with SourceNZ, and using their Interlact programme, they decided last winter to install the PPP Industries feeding system. It has a 25m3 silo, two delivery lines to the shed and 28 dispensing units on each side of the milking pit. The feed falls onto a stainless steel tray without partitions, resulting in virtually zero waste.

The feed varies through the year

to meet seasonal stock needs. Fol-lowing calving the PKE-based feed contains extra minerals and tapioca. Later in the season this changes to a mix of PKE, broll and dried brewers’ grain. All mixes are blended at the SourceNZ base, trucked to the farm and augured into the silo.

“We do not drench for bloat and there is little need for magnesium and calcium in the spring. In autumn we add zinc via the feed to counter ec-zema.”

Another benefit of the system is compact calving. Of the 290 cows mated last year, 210 will be calving this year in a six week period.

“For the last few months we haven’t had to use the backing gate at all.” Tel. 09 236 8414www.pppindustries.co.nz

Milksolids up, more calves on the way

“I’ve been milking the cows by myself and though they don’t run, they’re obviously keen to get to the shed for the meal.”

Mark Turnwald, Ohaupo.

See us at the National Fieldays®, site C61



Baler vital link in business launcha BiG square baler makes a vital link between a Canterbury family’s cropping farm and its winter grazing operation.

Using the Kuhn LSB 1290 has also helped them get a contracting operation off the ground, reports Kuhn New Zea-land.

Jacob Holdaway works on the 250ha family cropping farm 16km west of Ashburton.

The Holdaways also graze 3000 dairy cows in winter, feeding straw from the cropping opera-tion.

They bought their Kuhn LSB 1290 from Cochranes of Canterbury in Ashburton in October last year. Needing to make a lot of bales, they found it expensive to use contractors. Now they do their own and make them for other farms, trading as Jacob Holdaway 0274 Baling.

“We use it for silage for dairy farmers from October to January. Then we switch to cropping clients and bale straw and a small amount of hay for them. We also bale whole crop – barley and oats – on our own farm.”

The LSB 1290 makes bales 4 x 3 feet (or 120 x 90) with variable length. “These are the most pop-ular bales in the area,”

says Jacob. “We truck bales around and they are a good size for transport companies, as they’re the easiest to handle.” Jacob makes six-foot bales for anything that needs to be wrapped to keep the wrapper happy. Anything unwrapped is seven feet long.

Maintenance is easy, Holdaway says. “Every-thing is well thought out and well laid out. Impor-tant points are greased automatically every 15 minutes. It’s also easy to use.” A drop floor deals with blockages.

He also likes the baler’s single tie sys-tem. “Every bale comes out with only one set of knots. We’re feeding out 30-40 bales a day, so hav-ing only one set to pull out in the feeder wagon makes a huge difference.”

The bales have a high percentage of dry matter and that also helps with feeding out. “With a higher dry matter, you’re feeding out fewer bales per day. It may look the same as another bale, but it’s twice as good for the cow.”

The baler’s stuffing system produces bales of a good shape. “Most square balers have a stuffer door at the bottom of the prechamber. The Kuhn LSB 1290 has it

at the top, so it has to be packed full before being pushed through.”

The baler is powered using a John Deere 6920 (160hp).

Holdaway budgeted on

doing 6000-7000 bales in the first season. He made 13,000, and expects greater output next season.Tel. 0800 585 007www.kuhn.co.nz

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Collecting rainwater – even in townCOLLeCTiNG raiNwaTer for household use can be safe in country or town, says a Massey researcher.

Stan Abbott, from the Roof Water Research Centre, will show the latest systems and research at Fieldays.

About 400,000 people rely on roof water for their daily needs, he says.

“Many of these are in rural house-holds, but urban dwellers are increas-ingly being encouraged to install

rainwater tanks to save mains water, reduce flood risk and have an emer-gency water supply.”

His team is working on ways to maximise water capture and ensure it is always safe to drink. The centre has a wide range of rainwater stor-age tanks with purpose-built plumb-ing for evaluating rainwater products and systems. Abbott says they use the latest laboratory methods to test

a variety of water quality parameters.

“We can test roof wa-ter samples from any-where. A range of soft-ware packages are used for health risk assess-ment; modelling software is used to estimate tank yields and cost benefits of rainwater tanks in urban environments.”

The microbiological quality of collected rain-water differs widely from tank to tank, but steps can be taken to lessen the risk of contamination.

“These include ensur-ing the roof and guttering is made from non-toxic ma-

terial and keep clear of moss, lichen and debris; installing gutter guard

screens to prevent blockages and us-ing downpipe debris screens and first flush diverters to prevent contami-nated water entering the tank.”

Tanks should be inspected annu-ally and if necessary professionally cleaned, Abbott says.

Current research projects at the centre include pathogen destruction and removal systems in rainwater tanks.

sneaking up on gorse in lanesTony hoPkinson

GOrse sNeakiNG through on the edges of lanes is killed by a Southland dairy farmer using a new Spraysmart Target 600 sprayer from Otautau Tractors and Ma-chinery.

A special feature of the Cricket is a specially placed nozzle directed to spray the sides and edges of laneways.

Ben Cricket, of Otau-tau, says he’s happy with his purchase – it’s doing everything he wanted.

Cricket and his wife Renee farm with two eq-uity partners on a 340ha rolling-to-steep property with a spread rainfall of 1200mm. They milk 450 crossbreds in two herds on a seasonal supply contract to Fonterra.

“This season we’re in a 42-aside herringbone shed we extended from a 20-aside last winter,” Cricket says. “Its’s made milkings a lot easier.” They also added a rect-angular yard to hold 400 cows.

The property has been milking cows for many

Stan Abbot

years and the Crickets have been equity partners for two years. They have one full time worker.

The farm is self con-tained, making 500 bales of baleage, 60-100 tonnes of grass for pit silage and they plant about 38ha of kale/swedes for winter feed. “We run a split herd so we can better look after the younger and lighter cows.”

The farm has an ongo-ing problem with gorse

and they believe the best way is with spot spraying. They recently bought a new Spraysmart Target 600 from Roger Scott at Otautau Tractors and Machinery.

“We had been looking at second hand spray pumps and Roger showed us this setup and I re-alised it was good value for the price they were asking.”

It has a 600L tank with integrated clean

water and hand wash pump and an 8m boom with manual fold with protected anti-drip nozzles. He has also had an optional 50 m hose reel attached.

The boom has three solenoids to control spraying from each sec-tion from the cab which also monitors are and usage.Tel. 06 879 9016www.hustlerequip-ment.co.nz

Spraysmart Target 600 sprayer buyer Ben Cricket (right), Otautau, Southland, with Roger Scott, Otautau Tractors and Machinery.

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section head

dairy news may 31 2011

Documents

labours ets policy

labours damien oconnor

dairy sector

tax claims

federated farmers

ets plan

dairy farmers

fonterra chief executive