Mobile Packer PAGE 8 Luuka Jones PAGE 12 Dairy Awards PAGE 14-17 Calving PAGE 21-23 Fieldays PAGE 26-38 Sheep+Beef PAGE 44-47 Travel PAGE 61

WHAKATANE 07 308 7299 TAURANGA 07 543 00210800 4 TRACTORS

APARANGI V i l l a g e

Page 2 COAST & COUNTRY

Its expected that ef uent will be on the agenda at most dairy industry events but its not often that an after-lunch speaker

at an international seminar will not only talk about, but also show

images of, human stools.However, thats just what happened when Profes-

sor Richard Geary addressed the First International Symposium on Kiwifruit and Health in Tauranga in April see page 3.

To illustrate parts of his address, explaining the multi-centre clinical trial on the effects of kiwi-fruit on digestive and gut health functions, he used images of the Bristol Stool Form Scale. Developed by researchers at the Bristol Royal In rmary a hospital in Bristol, England the scale is a visual guide to the different types of human stools.

InterventionNot the most comfortable topic or illustration it

has to be said, but according to Richard, digestive discomfort, including constipation, affects at least 15 per cent of adults in the western world.

Its a serious problem, he says, affecting quality of life and general wellbeing. Current interventions for gastrointestinal conditions include lifestyle and dietary modi cations as well as pharmacological interventions, which may cause side effects.

However, the ongoing research suggests eating kiwifruit may be effective for the treatment of con-stipation or functional bowel disorders as well as an effective strategy to regulate the digestive system and enhance bowel movement satisfaction.

An excellent result in more ways than one the challenge now is to impart this information to

consumers worldwide, using it, along with other important health ndings, to encourage them to eat more kiwifruit the Zespri-branded ones in particu-lar.Zespris science and marketing team says while New Zealanders might be a bit coy about discussing bowel movements, in many other countries, Spain in particular, messages about bowel health are readily accepted. Leading edge research is something NZs primary industries often excel at and much of whats new and whats hot will once again be on show at the 2016 Fieldays at Mystery Creek see pages 26 to 38.

The dairy industrys brightest and best young farm-ers compete this month for national titles meet three of the contenders on pages 14 to 16.

Elaine Fisher

Kiwifruit answer to uncomfortable problem

Kiwifruit has been shown to have a bene cial effect on gut microbiota as illustrated in this

slide presented at the symposium.

Page 3COAST & COUNTRY

Ground-breaking scientic research, which promises real

advancements in human health, is normally associated with the latest

pharmaceutical developments not a natural food.

However, kiwifruit is the exception, as demonstrated by the nding of scientists and researchers who took part in the rst International Symposium on Kiwifruit and Health in Tauranga in April.

The two-day symposium brought together nearly 200 global health experts and international media to consider the role of fruit, in particular kiwifruit, in a healthy diet.

The event, initiated by the Riddet Institute of New Zealand and sponsored by Zespri, presented research into the health benets of kiwifruit in the areas of digestive health, health and vitamin C and metabolic health.

Among key ndings presented: Kiwifruit regulates sugar highs and lows

in your bloodstream. For the rst time in human clini-

cal trials, Zespri Green kiwifruit has been found to improve digestive health function and comfort. This is through a unique combination of actinidin (a kiwi-fruit enzyme), bre and other components.

Kiwifruit boosts your immunity. Eating kiwifruit daily is very effective at increasing blood levels of vita-min C as well as levels in other parts of the body.

The digestive health studies have involved trials in humans, rats, pigs and in whats known as in vitro studies, in which parts of the human digestive system are replicated articially in a laboratory.

Multi-countryThe clinical studies demonstrated positive results

in the treatment of constipation in a range of adult populations, including healthy subjects and elderly and patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Research on the digestive health benets of kiwifruit is ongoing with results of a multi-country controlled clinical intervention study expected to be released this year.

The research also found kiwifruit is associated with benecial changes in the gut which can affect the structure and function of the mucosal barrier in the colon, preventing water-soluble bacterial products and toxins passing from the colon to the blood.

Other research showed Zespri Green and Zespri Sun-Gold kiwifruit have low glycaemic index of 39 and 38 respectively. The bre in kiwifruit increases in volume in the small intestine, causing a delay in carbohydrate digestion and absorption, resulting in a low glycaemic potency. These properties, make kiwifruit an excellent option for people with diabetes and assist with the management of blood sugar levels by carbohydrate exchanging.

Professor Margreet Vissers of the University of

Otago, who has a long career in the study of vitamin C, immune cell function and oxidative stress, told the symposium kiwifruit is an exceptional dietary source of vitamin C. We have found that plasma and tissue saturation can early be achieved and maintained by the addition of two kiwifruit per day.

Whole fruitA key point stressed by many speakers was the ben-

ecial effects of green and gold kiwifruit are achieved by eating the whole fruit, not extracting the active ingredients of it.

Keynote speaker, Professor Jaap Seidell from Vrije Uni-versiteit in Amsterdam, and the Netherlands foremost obesity specialist, says kiwifruit, together with other low-glycaemic fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet, can be crucial in helping ght the epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases sweeping the globe.

The high and increasing intake of ultra-processed foods leads to an increase in the intakes of sugar, salts and trans fatty acids. Energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods are the most attractive option to many consumers in terms of price, convenience, taste and availability.

This is at the expense of minimally processed or unprocessed basic foods such as fruit and vegetables.

Today, there is general consensus that for much of the world, nutrient-poor food is a key driver in escalat-ing rates of obesity and related chronic disease.

Improved health outcomes are associated with diets high in nutrient-rich, low energy-dense fruit such as kiwifruit, says Japp.

Dr Juliet Ansell, who oversees health and nutrition research for Zespri, says the ndings of the research are

Scientific proof for kiwifruits health benefits

Elaine Fisher

exciting for human health and for Zespri and its growers.

We know that our investment in scientic research on health can be ben-ecial for the entire kiwifruit category and attracting more consumers to kiwifruit as a whole is great news for our industry. Zespri Kiwifruit is furthermore differentiated from the competition through our focus on quality, delivered by the Zespri System, says Juliet.

Professor Paul Moughan, co-director of the Riddet Institute, says Zespri is to be congratulated for taking the lead in ensuring a well-funded science programme, of the very highest science quality, which is dened by independent,

rigorous science and uncompromised ethical standards.

Grower valueNew Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc

chairman Doug Brown also sees value in the research and its ndings.

In some markets it is not possible to make claims for health benets, unless they are backed by scientic proof. The nding of research so far for kiwifruits role in nutrition and gut health are exciting and will help with our marketing.

Doug says proof for growers of the nutritional value of the fruit they grow is also a source of pride.

Dr Juliet Ansell, who oversees health and nutrition research for Zespri, says the ndings of the research are exciting for

human health and for Zespri and its growers.

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Page 4 COAST & COUNTRY

For decades it lay abandoned and rusting on a Kaimai

farm but thanks to the skill and hard work of a team of engineers and enthusiasts, the bright blue and yellow

Booth & MacDonald stationery hay baler is back

in action and looking almost as good as new.

It was Colston Landon of Tauranga who was among those who helped rescue the historic machine from the property where it last made hay about 60 years ago.

Cast iron It was lying on its side with

pieces of tin over it and all the steel had rusted, but the cast iron was virtu-ally untouched, says Colston, who with friends, rebuilt the baler in his urban backyard.

Its believed the baler was bought by the Stevenson family, who farmed on Old Kaimai Rd, on land now owned by their neighbours the Roberts. Don Roberts can remember seeing the baler in action when he was ve or six years old. That would be in the late-1950s and probably the last time it was in action, says Colston.

The baler was manufactured by Christch-urch company Booth & MacDonald, well-known for its agricultural machinery. It was probably made during the World

War II, using whatever materials were avail-able at the time.

Unlike more modern hay balers, it wasnt towed around the paddock, attached to a tractor. Instead hay is bought to the machine, which is driven by a belt-drive from a tractor or stationary engine. Piles of hay are forked into the machine which has a large arm moving up and down to compress the hay as it moves through the chamber.

Manually tiedAs the bales feed through, they are manu-

ally tied, originally with wire, before being discharged out the end of the machine.

Well-known vintage machinery enthusiast from Tauranga, Larry Williams, re-built the main frame for the old baler and cut down steel piping to replace the rusted-away bot-toms of the wheels.

There was nothing too hard about re-building the baler because we just gured out how it would have worked, says Colston, who is a retired engineer.

While many parts had to be re-made, any-thing which could be salvaged was repaired and reused.

Some of the half-inch thick steel parts were rusted almost through and in places where it is safe to do so, weve left them like that to show what it was like, says Colston,

Historic machine bales hay once again

Larry Williams forks hay into the Booth & MacDonald stationery hay baler.

...continued

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Page 5COAST & COUNTRY

New and improved rubbish collection regimes that will increase recycling and reduce the amount of rubbish going to land ll are being considered by Western Bay of Plenty District and Tauranga City councils.

The Waste Minimisation Act of 2008 requires the councils to reduce the amount of rubbish going to land ll and to recycle more, but assessments shows the councils havent achieved targets set in the previous WMMP in 2010.

There has been little positive change in three main measures since the 2010 plan.

Figuresshow 77,317 tonnes taken to land ll in 2010 and 87,909 tonnes in 2015. The only year the amount decreased was the 2012/2013 year when it dropped to 76,228 tonnes.

By 2026 the sub-region will be send-

ing about 100,000 tonnes of material to land ll, a further 60,000 to clean- ll, while green waste grows to about 10,000 tonnes, other organics to 7000 tonnes, recyclables to 28,000 tonnes and scrap metal to 18,500 tonnes.

Together, Tauranga and Western BOP have a population of a little more than 160,000. Of these, 117,000 live in Tauranga, with another 12,400 living in Te Puke, Katikati or Waihi Beach. A large part of Western BOP is relatively sparsely populated.

By 2031, the region will be home to more than 216,000 people, an increase of 35 per cent in population and 40 per cent in the number of households.

More than 50 per cent of the waste currently disposed of at Class 1 land lls could in theory be diverted from land ll disposal.

who can also remember seeing a Booth & Mac-Donald stationery baler in action near Auckland when he was a young boy.

The baler took about 14 months to restore to working order, and it was nished just in time for the Tauranga Vintage Machin-ery Clubs Crank Up Festival at Katikati in April.

Crank UpThere it drew crowds

of onlookers, fascinated by the workings of the brightly-coloured machine which, with its cogs, wheels and large moving arm, looks a little like an over-sized Meccano model.

People really enjoyed watching it work, and one person has told me theres another baler on Matakana Island which Ill check out.

Larry Williams used his 1916 Mogul tractor to drive the baler and along with son James, kept the baler fed with hay while Colston perfected tying the bales.

It took a bit to work out how it should be done. Weve gured out now that we need to polish the inside of the chamber the hay goes in so it slides through better because the bales were being com-pressed too tight.

We started with seven conventional bales of hay which we cut up and put through the machine and it ended up compressing them into about four bales which were far too tight.

Now its had its rst suc-cessful outing, the baler will be stored away. When it will appear in public again is unclear.

Colston is delighted at how the baler performed and can now tick that pro-ject off his long to-do list.

Elaine Fisher

Bale tying perfected

The way it was the Booth & MacDonald stationery hay baler lay rusting in a Kaimai farm paddock before being

rescued by vintage machinery enthusiasts.

continued...

Less rubbish to landfills is the aim

Andrew Campbell

Knotty problems Colston Landon and James

Williams tying bales while Larry Williams feeds hay

into the machine.

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Tauranga: 31 Waihi Road07 5783169

Katikati: 108 Main Road07 5492260

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Page 7COAST & COUNTRY

Elaine Fisher

Proving sustainable fisheries and dairy farming can co-exist

Institute at Warkworth which is also trialing commer-cial breeding of whitebait.

Whitebait recordsCharlie says Charles enjoyed working with local

whitebait shermen, particularly those who had been whitebaiting for decades. He found among some of the old-timers, people who were amateur scien-tists who kept detailed records going back years of weather, tides and their catches. This information was invaluable to his research.

His ability to raise eels to commercial size in three to ve years something which takes around 35 years in the wild attracted the attention of the NZ Eel Processing Company and demonstrated eel farming could become a real commercial possibility.

Charles Mitchells vision for how eel and dairy farm-ing could co-exist and bene t both farmers and the environment, is outlined on the Nitro EELS website.

Nitro EELSFew have investigated techniques for recover-

ing and utilising the nutrients inevitably lost into waterways. But if ecological restoration targets for our diminished and degraded lowland NZ waterways are to be realised, collection and management of nutri-ent-rich farm drainage so that it supports healthy, productive and valuable sh life before it leaves the farm will have to become a goal. This is one outcome of installing our Nitro EELS System.

The Raglan EELS Nitro EELS system is the only commercial product in development for a solution-based wetland nitrogen management plan that contains a direct return on investment of approx three to ve per cent per annum.

The primary goal of the Nitro EELS original

proof-of-concept water management system has been to develop sustainable sheries while achieving signi -cant nitrogen and e-coli mitigation for farming and urban activities.

This goal has been realised by harvesting valuable juvenile sh [whitebait, eels and mullet] attracted to the systems zoo-plankton-rich discharges and then growing them to adulthood under low-intensity aquaculture conditions. Behavioural manipulation and trapping is used to harvest the adult sh in peak eating condition. The system is adaptable for New Zealands various catchments and farming waterways.

It was Charles aim that his research would be put to practical use on farms and in urban settlement, both coastal and inland, to reduce pollution, improve water quality and enhance sh stocks.His vision to work hand-in-hand with nature, pro-viding environmentally and nancially sustainable solutions to some of this countrys most urgent prob-lems, must now pass to other hands. His legacy is too precious and vital not to endure. To nd out more, visit: www.raglaneels.com or call NitroEELS on 07 825 7873.

The late Charles Mitchell grew eels to market size in just ve years in his Te Uku sh ponds.

continued...

Page 8 COAST & COUNTRY

REE FELLERSBIG OR SMALL - WE DO IT ALL

PLALIMITED

TICSY TEMS

This is the couples 10th season working at Birchwood Packhouse at Katikati, living on-site in their mobile home during the kiwifruit harvest season.

We love it. Birchwood is such a friendly packhouse and really looks after its staff, says Paddy.

Paddy and Basil were holiday-ing in the South Island in the bus called Pokn Round which Basil converted to a mobile home, when they rst saw Birchwoods advertisement for seasonal staff in a motorhome magazine.

We rang up and they asked when can we start. That was in 2007 and theyve been coming back every year since. Now in their 70s, both acknowledge the time will come when they have to give up the work Paddy has had hip replacement operations and Basils health wasnt too good a couple of years back.

However, were not about to give it up yet. We enjoy being here, says Basil. Being on-site is ideal as we virtually have no living expenses while were here so can save most of what we earn.

Birchwood of ce manager Linda Beachen says having Basil and Paddy and their motorhome neigh-bours on-site is a big plus for the packhouse too.

It means we can call on them at short notice if we need more hands for a shift.

When it comes to Basil and Rosie, their experience and knowledge is invaluable. They know how every-thing works, know the staff and take a real interest in the fruit they pack.

Home cookingFor at least nine hours a day, from April to June,

Paddy and Basil work on the packing lines and sometimes Basil will do a late shift too. Part of the attraction is that Birchwood employs a cook who prepares home-made morning and afternoon teas for all the staff.

The food is excellent and you can also order an evening meal, says Paddy.

They also enjoy the people they work with, catch-ing up each year with those who are also regulars, and meeting newcomers, often young backpackers

from around the world.Both born and bred in Gisborne, the couple have

seven children and a host of grandchildren, many of them overseas. Basil owned a joinery business in Gisborne, where Paddy was an early childhood supervisor. But when Basil turned 64 they sold the business, left their jobs and took to the road.As well as travelling around New Zealand, they bought a caravan in Australia and for time joined that countrys band of travellers known as the Grey Nomads.

Kawerua homeLiving for weeks on end in the bus is no hardship.

It has all we need, including a small diesel stove which keeps us warm in winter, says Paddy.

The most important thing is a comfortable bed and thats certainly what we have, says Basil.

The great thing about living in a mobile home is that if you dont like the neighbours, you can just up and leave.

Recently, the couple have bought a house in Kawerua to provide a base when they arent on the road. Kawerua is a motorhome-friendly town and a lot of movanners are now settling there. Property prices are really reasonable and the town has great facilities.

Its also very handy to Rotorua, Tauranga, Whaka-tane and the beaches, says Basil.

When this kiwifruit packing season is over thats where they will be heading at least until they feel the road calling once more. Elaine Fisher

Mobile couple pack plenty into retirementBasil and Paddy Rosie pack a lot into the autumns months when

they are away in their mobile home a lot of kiwifruit that is.

Basil and Paddy Rosie took to the road in their motorhome in 2003 and for the last 10 seasons have lived on-site at Birchwood Packhouse

where they pack kiwifruit during the harvest season.

Page 9COAST & COUNTRY

Stories within a story; stories for children, teenagers and adults are all to be found

in the pages of Marnie Anstis book Taketakerua The Millennium Tree.

The Opotiki author has skilfully woven the 2000-year life of the districts most famous tree into a tale of New Zealands settlement and development, and events around the world, creating a timeline and a history lesson too.

If you dont know your history, you dont know anything. Youre a leaf that doesnt know its part of a tree, says a quote on the title page. This book is Marnies way of making history accessible, enjoyable and interesting.

Her clear, concise and lyrical writing and gift of imagination give the book appeal across a wide age group of readers. Beautiful illustrations by Patricia Howitt accurately re ect and enhance the text.

The book begins with a child and a Grandma listening to story time on the radio. An elderly Maori gentleman, Koro, is narrating the story which begins 2000 years ago. As the child listens, Grandma reads to herself from a well-loved history book.

Marnies book is designed so that three stories appear on each of the facing pages. On the left are Patricias full colour illustrations on the right, the words of Koros story, and in an adjacent panel, briefs which tell of what is happening across the globe at the same time as the puriri tree Taketakerua is grow-ing. Running across the bottom of both pages is a

timeline, illustrating the passage of the centuries.Taketakerua is a real tree which stands today in the

in the Hukutaia Domain, 10 kilometres inland from Opotiki, and close to where Marnie lives.

When Maori rst arrived in the district about 1000 years ago, the tree was already ancient and, in recog-nition of its great age, they placed a tapu upon it and used it as a burial tree.

When the tree was about 1700 years old, Captain James Cook and his crew aboard the sailing vessel Endeavour visited the region, changing forever the course of this countrys future.

Much, much later, in 1913, a settler came across the tree, which had lost a massive branch in a storm, exposing the bones within. Eventually the bones were removed, the tapu lifted and the tree and ne stand of native bush which surrounds it became the public reserve it is today.

At the end of her book Marnie pays tribute to Opotiki solicitor and amateur botanist Norman Potts, who spent 30 years collecting plants and seeds from around the country and introducing them to Hukutaia Domain, making it one of the best public collections anywhere of New Zealand native plants.

Taketakerua The Millennium Tree was a non- ction nalist in the 2013 NZ Post Childrens Book Awards, named on NZ Listeners 50 Best Childrens Books list in 2012 and was highly commended in the 2012 Ashton Whyte book awards. It is available from book stores throughout New Zealand, and can be purchased online at www.themillenniumtree.com RRP: $35 Elaine Fisher

Puriris story a timeline of Kiwi history

Marnie Anstis with her book Taketakerua The

Millennium Tree which she based on the real puriri tree of the same name which stands in

Opotikis Hukutaia Reserve.

If you dont know your history, you dont know anything.

New Zealand Red Cross is launching a new programme to train people in providing

Psychological First Aid.

Known as PFA, it enables people to provide practical and emotional short-term support for individu-als, reduce distress and foster the ability to adapt following a disas-ter or emergency situation, such as an earthquake or traumatic event.

New Zealand Red Cross secre-tary general Tony Paine says PFA is a proven approach to helping people affected by an emergency or traumatic event.

At its core, PFA is about provid-ing a safe, supportive response to someone who has just been through a sudden disaster and in need of support.

PFA helps people feel safe, connected to others, calm and hopeful, able to access physical, emotional, cultural and social support, and feel able to help themselves.

Tony says PFA is a useful skill for everyone to have up their sleeves in every day circumstances. The reality is we cannot predict the next traumatic event or if it will affect those immediately around us. Just like physical rst aid, we recommend PFA as a valuable tool that can make a huge difference to peoples lives.

Its especially helpful for people whose work might bring them into contact with people coping with emergencies like rst responders and insurance asses-sors.

New Zealand Red Cross developed the PFA training into a one-day practical workshop as part of the lessons learned from working in Christchurch after the quakes. Based on an internation-ally recognised best practice model developed by the World Health Organisation and World Vision, PFA is endorsed by more than 20 international humanitarian agen-cies. Red Cross disaster response team members now all receive the training.

The Australian Red Cross, New Zealand Psychological Society, Massey University Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Te Piringa o Te Awakairangi and Le Va all contributed to the training materi-als that have been recognised by the Ministry of Health.

Red Cross training for psychological first aid

Page 10 HORTICULTURE

My Name is Neil Woodward.I am a director of Z-Contracting- we are family runbusiness, our team consists of three, being myself, myson and my brother.

Our organisation has been established for over 18years. I have been involved in applying crop protectionprogrammes within the horticultal industry since 1966.

We specialise within the kiwi fruit industry, Wehave the equipment to spray orchards with our twoAtom sprayers and one recently purchased TracatomFormula tractor which is also available for mulchingand mowing.

Our Atoms are set up with radar speed sensors, thiscombined with fully automated sprayer controllers andthree nozzle rings enhances application efciency andaccuracy.

We also use a quad bike for strip weed sprayapplications.

We hold all certicates needed to meet Globalgapcompliance.

We look at all challenges to help ensure we protectyour crop with excellence.

Horticulture well on track to $10 billion targetstrategy. Horticulture exports increased 9.5 per cent in 2015 to a record $4.3 billion, including wine at $1.4 billion, and when that is added to domestic sales based on the 2013 Household Economic Survey, the total is $6.1 billion.

The total investment in New Zealand horticulture is estimated by Fresh Facts to be $40 billion from an estimated 124,600 hectares of cultivated crops. Interestingly, the largest investments in horticulture by crop type are from kiwifruit, pipfruit and potatoes.

The exporting stars are kiwifruit worth $1.2 billion, pipfruit worth $562 million, avocados worth $115.5 million, potatoes at $112.8 million, peas at $84.4 million, onions at $81.4 million, squash worth $58.7 million and summerfruit at $58.2 million.Then there is the increase in land area under organic certi cation, according to Fresh Facts this has increased by 37 per cent in the three years from 2009 to 2012. Organic exports are now worth $97 million.

Organic growthOrganics Aotearoa NZ earlier this month released

its market report 2016 with the following highlights: The New Zealand organic sector has grown by

more than 11 per cent per annum since 2012. The domestic market for certi ed organic products

is estimated at $217 million. Organic grocery sales through supermarkets have

increased by 127 per cent since 2012. Organic product exports have increased by more

than 11 per cent since 2012.

Fresh fruit and vegetables account for more than 45 per cent of total exports.

. Key horticultural crops are grapes, apples and kiwifruit. Land area under organic hor-ticulture has grown 128 per cent since 2012, from 11.188 hectares to

25,476 hectares. The message is clear. Horticulture is in a growth phase, led by

exporting our premium produce to our key markets which are in order of greatest volume Australia, the USA, Japan, China, the European Union (centralised distribu-tion), Taiwan, Canada, Netherlands and

Spain. The growth in organics across most of the commercial produce grown is also signi cant.

Supporting growthThe predictions are for this growth to continue and

for the horticultural industry target of $10 billion by 2020 being reached by 2020, if not before.At HortNZ, we are concentrating on supporting this growth through our core areas of work: biosecu-rity protection at the border, resource management advocacy for high value soils plus the access to water to sustain our growth, attracting and retaining per-manent workers, ensuring there are enough seasonal workers and encouraging regulatory reform to reduce compliance.

If you want to get up-to-date with what HortNZ is doing in these areas and developments in horticul-ture, follow us on Twitter @HorticultureNZ and @MikeChapmanHort.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author.

Every year Plant and Food Research publishes a booklet

called Fresh Facts which reports on the performance of the wine

and production horticulture industries.

In 2010 HortNZ developed a target of being a $10 billion industry by 2020. This does not include wine.The authors of Fresh Facts say hor-ticulture is halfway toward the 2020 deadline, horticultural exports are growing strongly and delivering on that

Citrus ninth industry to join the GIA

...continued

New Zealands citrus orchardists will have more direct involvement in managing biosecurity risks to their industry, now NZ Citrus Growers Inc

has signed the Government Industry Agreement Deed for Biosecurity Readiness and Response.

NZCGI has become the ninth signatory to the agree-ment following a ceremony in Wellington attended by the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy, NZCGI chair Richard Curtis, NZCGI executive man-ager Nikki Johnson, Ministry for Primary Industries director-general Martyn Dunne, and the GIA secretariat.

We are pleased to join the GIA partnership which will ultimately help to deliver the best biosecurity outcomes for the New Zealand citrus industry, says Richard.

The citrus industry faces a number of serious bios-ecurity threats that could decimate our industry. From the early discussions around GIA, NZCGI determined GIA provided an opportunity to work more closely with government to understand the risks, undertake

activities to prevent entry, and respond quickly and appropriately if required.

Richard says signing the GIA Deed will give the citrus industry a much stronger voice and working in partnership with MPI provides the best opportunity to manage biosecurity risks, thereby maximising our industry potential.

There are more than 350 citrus growers in New Zealand. About $60 million worth of citrus fruit is produced per annum, about 36,000 tonnes, and about $6 million is exported to overseas markets.

In 2014, New Zealand exported about 812 tonnes of navel oranges, 925 tonnes of Satsuma mandarins, and 1678 tonnes of lemons to markets around the world.

Diverse rangeGIA secretariat manager Steve Rich welcomes

NZCGI to the partnership, saying GIA now has a diverse range of industry groups that is already begin-ning to deliver improved biosecurity readiness and response activities.

The creation of the GIA partnership to deliver better biosecurity outcomes was a bold and innovative

Page 11HORTICULTURE

They may appear daunting, but growers should not be worried

about the new food regulations, says HortNZ business manager

Matt Dolan.Horticulture will be among the last

sectors to be regulated under the new food regulations that will operate under the Food Act, and in fact most growers are already operating to standards which far exceed those required by the act, says Matt.

The Food Act came into effect on March 1 this year, and requires any new horti-cultural business to meet the regulations from that date, but existing horticulture businesses have three years, until March 1, 2019, to comply.

However, an existing business which changes ownership will have to meet the regulations immediately, because, says Matt, it is the owner or owners who are registered along with the business.

Avoiding duplicationThe Food Act and its requirements has

been the subject of 10 years debate, includ-ing successful submissions from HortNZ for the act to recognise industry pro-grammes like NZGAP and GlobalG.A.P, avoiding duplication of audits and costs.

These programmes have higher stand-ards than those required by the act and are recognised internationally. Ninety-per cent

of New Zealand growers are already certi- ed under one or more of these standards, which is among the highest rates of certi -cation in the world.

Compliance can be a source of frustration for growers, but Matt says some grow-ers see the standards as a way to validate and improve their business while others see them as an imposition. Whatever the attitude, business producing food now have to comply.

HortNZs interpretation of how the Food Act is likely to be implemented in the horticulture industry is there is a three-year

implementation period for existing business and by 2019 the regulations will apply to all horticultural businesses.

This will require businesses to register with their local council or the Ministry for Primary Industries in Wellington, and pay a registration fee. The ne for not registering could be $500.

Once registered growers will have 12 months to undergo a food safety audit, car-ried out by an MPI-recognised auditor or local councils.

If the business passes the audit it is unlikely to be audited again. If it fails, more frequent audits will be carried out. Registra-tion will be renewed possibly every two years.

Food safetyMatt says a number of the GAP scheme

owners, including NZGAP, may be able to take care of the registration of their members.

There is an expectation that GAP certi ed businesses will not have to be re-audited. However, this is not yet clear in the proposed regulations.

The food safety regulations focus on a number of food safety standards including food handling facilities and equipment, hygiene, training and record keeping.

HortNZ has concerns about the avail-ability of auditors who have the appropriate skillsets to undertake audits of horticultural businesses, says Matt.

Most grower standards exceed new regulations

HortNZ business manager Matt Dolan.

Elaine Fisher

The industry is actively seeking recognition of its GAP programmes rather than additional audits from local councils. This recognition is part of the Food Act, but is not clear in the regulations.

The competency and availability of auditors in the horticultural industry is a concern, says Matt.

The act covers all business which employ staff and sell produce through a middleman such as a whole-saler or retailer.

However, a small number of businesses in which all produce is grown by an individual and sold directly to the public may be exempt.

step for primary industries and the New Zealand Government.

NZCGI joins the growing number of industry groups prepared to take responsibility to manage biosecurity risks within

their sector. The existing GIA partners acknowledge this com-mitment and welcome NZCGI to the GIA partnership.

NZCGIs former executive manager Nikki Johnson is

continued...Biosecurity preparedness a key to citrus survival

Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy and NZ Citrus Growers Inc chair Richard Curtis at the signing of the GIA

agreement between the industry and government.

pleased to see this milestone achieved for the citrus indus-try. Biosecurity is the highest investment priority for NZ citrus growers and largest business risk for our growers. Biosecurity pre-paredness is key to the survival of the industry.

This partnership-based approach means there is more certainty that high priority citrus pests can be found and responded to in an appropriate timeframe.

Commercial growersNZ Citrus Growers Inc joins

New Zealand Avocado Grow-ers Association, Kiwifruit Vine Health, Pipfruit New Zealand, New Zealand Pork, New Zealand Equine Health Association, Onions New Zealand and the New Zealand Forestry Owners Association, along with MPI

representing the government as GIA partners.

NZCGI is the national citrus growers' organisation. It repre-sents New Zealands commercial citrus industry, including lemon, lime, grapefruit, mandarin, oranges and tangelos. It operates to promote citrus grower interests, and the sustainable growth and pro tability of the New Zealand citrus industry.

The GIA for Biosecurity Readi-ness and Response operates as a partnership between industry and government to manage pests and diseases that could badly affect New Zealand's primary indus-tries, economy, and environment. It aims to improve biosecurity outcomes and give everyone the con dence that the best decisions are being made.

Page 12 AVOCADO

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Rating- 25 deg (47%)

Bay of Plentys Luuka Jones will become a third-time Olympian when she represents

New Zealand in the K1 canoe slalom events at the Rio Olympics this August.

The 26-year-olds place as one of only two New Zealand competitors in the event was announced in April, much to the delight of Just Avocados, the Katikati-based company which is one of her sponsors.

Its wonderful news that Luuka has been selected and quite remarkable to think at just 26, this is will be her third Olympics, says Just Avocados marketing director Steve Trickett.

Mike Dawson, also of the Bay of Plenty, will be Luukas team mate, competing in the mens canoe slalom.

Avocado ambassadorSteve says Just Avocados plans to ensure Luuka,

Mike and the entire New Zealand Olympic team can receive a nutritional boost to their diets by air freight-ing trays of avocados to Rio for them to enjoy.

Last year Just Avocados, the Katikati-based avocado post-harvest and export company, formed a spon-sorship partnership with Luuka, appointing her its Avocado Ambassador.

As well as ensuring Luuka has a constant supply of her favourite fruit, Just Avocados also provided her with a 2015 VW Polo sign-written with the words helping power Luuka Jones to the Rio Olympics and tted it with a roof rack for her kayak.

Luukas role while home in New Zealand involved visiting schools to talk about her sporting career and inspire young people to follow their dreams, whatever they are.

Committed fanThe relationship is an excellent t because Luuka

really does enjoy avocados and they play an impor-tant part in her diet.

I love avocados on toast or in salads. They are a great food during training, before an event, and an avocado smoothie is an ideal recovery drink after competing.

And, says Steve, Luuka is the ideal brand ambas-sador for the avocado company.

She epitomises health and vitality and believes in good nutrition. Shes also a committed fan of avoca-dos.

Shortly before Luuka left for Europe in April to continue her training for the Rio Olympics, the Just Avocados management team caught up with her to wish her well. Just Avocados managing director Andrew Darling hopes to visit Rio to see Luuka in action at the Olympics too.

She is a remarkable young women and we are proud to be associated with her. While her immediate focus is on the Rio Olympics, Luuka also has plans for the future and the next Olympics.

As well as being a top athlete she also has a degree in communications and Just Avocados would like to form an ongoing relationship with her, says Steve.

Luukas love of water and kayaking was sparked when her family moved to Bethlehem, close to the Wairoa River. I used to help out at Waimarino Adventure Park in return for kayaking lessons and went over my rst waterfall in a kayak when I was about 14, says Luuka.

At 18, to get better at her chosen sport, Luuka saved hard to move to Nottingham to train alongside the British kayaking team.

Turning pointQualifying for Beijing in 2008 was a turning point

for me. I was 19 years old, naive to the world of pro-fessional sport and totally inspired by the occasion.

Following Beijing, Luuka joined the Waiariki Academy of sport in Rotorua, receiving sports science input for the rst time and immersing herself in a fun and supportive athletic environment.

This was integral in helping me qualify for and compete in the London Olympics. Following London, I received support from High Performance Sport NZ, enabling me to work with a full-time coach for the rst time.

This has made a huge difference and in two years I have gone from being in the top 30 in the world to nishing in the top 10 at the World Championships in 2014. To keep up with Luukas progress, see www.justavocados.co.nz or Luukas website: www.luukajones.com Elaine Fisher

Avocados helping fuel Luuka for Rio

Olympian Luuka Jones tries out Just Avocados 1955 Dodge Truck, which her sponsorship company uses as an eye-catching promotional vehicle.

Rios that way...

Page 13AVOCADO

www.avoco.co.nz

Better results through working together

CCQP1115

Couples winning formula yields results

A return to the country has proved to be a rewarding

decision for Roy and Helen Orlowski, the Team Avocado and AVOCO Growers of the

Year for 2014-2015, who are looking forward to a

bumper crop next season.The fertile, free-draining soil on

the couples Prole Rd orchard is well-suited to growing all kinds of crops avocados especially.

Like a lot of growers, we had a good fruit set after just one pick last year, says Roy. Our production can be up and down but generally the big crops make up for the small ones and were very happy with what weve got coming on for the season ahead.

The decision to buy their avocado orchard in 2003 and move from Mount Maunganui to Omokoroa was driven by their desire to retire to the country. Roy had spent a good part of his life as an electrician while Helen worked for 35 years in the racing

industry. Neither were attracted to the idea of growing kiwifruit, but they both desperately wanted more space.

Despite having little horti-cultural experience, the couple backed themselves to learn as much as they could, taking on board the advice of consultants and more experienced growers when needed.

Whats bestHowever, having a much greater

understanding now of how their orchard ticks, Roy is cautious about listening to too many people.

We lter out the information. If you ask 10 different people, youll get 10 different answers. We gure out whats the best for us.

Roy knows he was late to adopt conventional advice about canopy management, aggressively pruning for the rst time only last year. Theyve recruited a contractor to give them some pointers and their issue now is to manage the re-growth.

The aim will be to balance the top of each tree with its root structure underground. Well endeavour to keep them trimmed and open but its always hard to cut out branches when theyve got fruit on them.

They enjoy the size and mostly at contour of their orchard which they say makes it a lot easier to manage. Mother Nature doesnt always play along however, and one of their biggest threats to production each season is heavy frosts.

Frost riskLast year, their orchard recorded

32 nights when temperatures dipped below 2.5 degrees Celsius, triggering automatic irrigators. Never content to risk frost damage to young buds, Roy will get up to check the water irrigators have successfully switched on. If theres a fault and we miss it that could be our season gone.

The couple pack with KauriPak

and in a good season will pick twice around the rst week of November and early in the New Year. Roy says harvesting can be a stressful time but the picking gangs on their orchard always arrive with a great work ethic.

A loyal supporter of AVOCO, Roy

and Helen say theyre proud about their AVOCO Grower of the Year and Team Avocado Grower of the Year status.

We certainly werent expecting it. Its quite an achievement and a nice reward for all the work we put in.

Helen and Roy Orlowski are the Team Avocado and AVOCO Growers of the Year for 2014-2015.

A healthy diet will give your baby a better start in life by providing the essential nutrients

to grow and develop normally.

Avocados can be part of a healthful diet for both pregnant and nursing moms. These fruit are a treasure trove of vitamins and miner-als and in particular folic acid, which is essential during pregnancy.

It has been shown folic acid supplementation pre-vents neural tube defects in children in 100 per cent of cases. In pregnancy your bodys requirement for folic acid doubles from 400mcg to 800mcg per day. Folic acid increases the production of nucleic acids required by the body during pregnancy.

Avocados are an excellent source of folate, delivering 27 per cent of the recommended daily intake in just one serve.

The avocados smooth, creamy consistency makes it one of the rst fresh fruits a baby can enjoy. Sodium-free and cholesterol-free, avocados contain valuable nutrients including folate.

Per serving, avocados have 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain. (Source: www.nzavocado.co.nz)

Avocados are perfect for mum and baby

Page 14 DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

1300mm but this summer, like almost every other farmer, Glen was prepared for an El Nino drought, which didnt eventuate. Faced with a season of higher than usual pasture growth, he proactively managed surpluses and maintained pasture quality, impressing the award judges.

Operating a system two-farm, Glen recognises the importance of good pasture management. Ef uent application and the use of irrigation is well managed, taking account of the soil type, the judges say.

Weed problemManagement of the pasture has been made more

challenging because of the invasion of the weed yellow creeping grass. The Sparrows farm consultant Selwyn Beynon says the weed probably arrived on the farm during the signi cant oods in the Eastern Bay region of 2004-2005.

The cows dont like it and wont eat it unless pushed, says Glen.

In an effort to control the weed, this season 6.8ha of pasture will be renewed. After spraying out, 3.9ha was planted in Hogan and then chicory for summer with the balance planted in Shogun for two years. After that the paddocks will go back into a perennial ryegrass-white clover mix.

The farm is divided into 43 paddocks with irriga-tion on 67 of its hectares, the balance irrigated by dairy shed ef uent. The Holstein Friesian herd of 350 cows are milked through a 40-aside dairy and has a six-week in-calf rate of 65 per cent with calving beginning on July 10.

A detailed mating plan is used to clarify any risks among the herd and this season Arti cial Insemina-tion was used for 12 weeks, made up of six weeks using Kiwicross Premier sires, two weeks of short gestation Herefords and four weeks, short gestation Kiwicross semen.

The targeted stock rate for the 2015-2016 season

is consistent with previous years at 3.4 and the aim is to raise kgMS from 145352 to 150000 and kgMS per hectare to 1470, up from 1425 last season.

For ve weeks 160 cows are grazed off the farm during the winter and while the aim is always to maximise feed grown and utilised, around 90 tonne of PKE is brought in to supplement feed.

Glen, farm owners Craig and Marianne and consultant Selwyn, have regular meetings to discuss pasture and animal management and Glen car-ries out regular farm walks to assess growth versus demand, making decisions aimed at feeding cows well and maintaining feed quality.

While inspecting the pasture to make grazing rota-tion decisions is important, Glen also listens to the cows. They will soon let me know if they are ready for more food or not.

Before taking up dairy farming, Glen was involved in motorcycle and marine sales and worked as an insurance advisor. For 15 years Donna has worked in of ce administration, currently for the Whakatane District Council.

Financially freeTogether they have been contract milking on Island

View Farm for three seasons and their long-term goal is to be 50/50 sharemilking 300 to 400 cows within ve years. Donna says: We want to create a pro table and sustainable sharemilking business that provides us with a good income to become nancially free which ensures nancial security for our family going forward.

Donna, Glen, together with Craig and Marianne, hosted the 2016 Bay of Plenty Diary Industry Awards eld day at Island View Farm in April. In a new format, just one eld day was held this year, featuring dairy trainee winner Michael Simpson and dairy manager Thomas Chat eld as well.

Pasture management impresses awards judgesMaking every blade of grass count is the aim for Donna

and Glen Sparrow and their success in doing so is among reasons the couple won the

Bay of Plenty Share Farmer of the Year title in the 2016 New

Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

The couple are contract milkers for Craig and Marianne Hammond, owners of Island View Farm at Thorn-ton near Whakatane.

The 101.6ha effective property with its Paroa gley soils, which are affected by waterlogging, and Kopeope sandy loam soils, is just one to ve metres above sea level and virtually at.

The 10-year average rainfall is

Glen and Donna Sparrow, winners of the 2016 Bay of Plenty Share Farmer of the Year Award, contract milk for Craig and Marianne Hammond, owners of Island View Farm at Thornton near Whakatane.

Page 15DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

s Dairy Shed installations and upgrades

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AIR COMPRESSORSPNEUMATICSAIR TOOLS

Its not easy farming in a low milk payout environment, but Ross and Karla Shaw have

taken up the challenge to nd economies in their management systems which are

returning bene ts now and into the future.The couple, who won the Central Plateau Share

Farmer of the Year title in the 2016 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, aim to drive production through good grass management and ef cient use of resources.

Together with Ross parents Jim and Helen, they farm 491 Friesian-Jersey-cross cows on 188 effective hectares of land at Reporoa, in an equity partnership. The couple own 20 per cent of the shares, and aim to lift that to 30 per cent next year as another step towards eventual farm ownership.

Theyve been farming on the property, known as Sangro Farm, since 2008 when Ross became farm manager. In 2010 they became 10 per cent equity managers and by 2013, had 20 per cent of the shares.

The recent low dairy payout has brought every aspect of farm management and expense under scrutiny; and, in making major decisions, the equity partners value the input of their accountant and bank manager who are members of the farms advisory board.

It may be a family farm, but Sangro is run on professional lines, with regular formal meetings scheduled between the partners. Decisions must be made for the good of all involved, says Ross, who also believes in the value of seeking outside advice from the right people who know the farm business.

Monitoring excellenceRoss and Karla won the Ravensdown Pasture Per-

formance award and received praise from the judges. The Shaws displayed excellence in monitoring, planning, analysis and implementation of grazing

and supplement management. They showed extensive knowledge and understanding of N use policies and fertiliser. Their key performance indicators are utilised with bench-marking undertaken constantly to improve production and make sys-tems enhancement, the judges say.

They also won the Westpac Busi-ness Performance Award. Ross and Karla showed strong nancial and analytical skills in monitoring their business. Their nancial projects were well thought-out, realistic, obtainable and tted in with their goals and timelines.

Their projected strategies will ensure their business grows and strengthens in the future, the judges commented.

Soil typesAmong those strategies has been to reduce the

volume of brought-in feed, which has resulted in sav-ings in labour, tractor use and diesel now that most of the feed is given to cows in the shed.

The farm has three types of soil sandy loan over pumice, Mairoa ash over pumice and consolidated peat. Teraploids are planted on the wet ats, diploids on the sandy silt loams and cheap rye clover on the Mairoa ash.

The grazing round length is 24 days with pre-grazing cover at 2800kgDM and cows leaving behind a 1500kg/DM residual. From mid-December

Elaine Fisher

an extended rotation of 42 days is introduced to push feed forward. Any surplus grass is harvested for silage, made in a stack at a cost of 8.5 cents kg/DM.

Based on soil tests, fertiliser input has also been adjusted to mine the existing fertility in the soils. Nitrogen leaching is 35kg per hectare and nitro-gen ef ciency 37 per cent.

All the farm waterways are fenced and ef uent is spread by travelling irrigator to 44ha, with about 60 days ef uent storage in a fully lined ve-year-old pond.

Careful management has seen a cut in farm working expenses from $3.61

per kgMS in the 2014-2015 season to a predicted $2.48 for the current year.

Ross grew up on the farm, helping his parents plant and care for hundreds of trees which not only provide shelter for stock, but also enhance its beauty. He and Karla plan to continue that tradition with their own young family, some of who they hope will become the third generation of Shaws to farm the land.

The eld day at Sangro Farm also included sessions with Central Plateau Dairy Manager of the Year Leighton Swan and Central Plateau Dairy Trainee of the Year Olivia Wade.

The Shaws - Helen holding grandson Oliver, Ross and Karla and Jim on the familys Sangro Farm at Reporoa.

Page 16 DAIRY

going back into permanent pasture and 4ha to be undersown with an annual. Jade and Bobby share a common phi-losophy with farm owners Jim and Judy of a pasture- rst, low-cost system.

We focus on what we can control and dont waste energy worrying about the things we cant control, like the payout and the weather, says Jade.

We can only react to those things out-side our control by having an established and sustainable system in place.

Sustainability for the Millners includes nancial sustainability; and it is here that Jades accounting skills come into play. Not only does she take care of the farm accounts, Jade is also studying towards a Bachelor of Business, majoring in accounting, and works part-time for accountants in Putaruru.

Meticulous recordsHer meticulous record-keeping means

she knows, down to the last cents, what the farm working and operating expenses are; and it was the couples

book-keeping which also won them the Westpac Business Performance Award.

Jade and Bobby were outstanding in this section, with clarity and detail around where they plan for their busi-ness to go. They are realistic in their expectations and have shown brilliant performance in their rst two years under varying milk prices, with an aggressive approach to paying down debt, even in low milk price seasons. Their farm working expenses are a credit to them, the judges say.

We were lucky to get the $8.40 payout but its what you do with that money that counts, says Jade. She and Bobby took the opportunity to pay down debt and help towards their goal of moving to a larger 50/50 sharemilk-ing position next season. They also aim to continue to grow their equity to enter into an equity partnership or land own-ership within 10 years, at the same time enjoying the lifestyle and family time that dairy farming allows.

For this season we are tracking at

Pasture-first system growing results

Elaine Fisher

Bobby and Jade Millners farming practices are proof that with careful management, milk production can increase despite a

signi cant drop in supplements.The couple, who won the 2016 Waikato Share Farm-

ers of the Year award in the 2016 NZ Dairy Industry Awards, have lifted production in the three years theyve been sharemilking for Jim and Judy Barrett near Mor-rinsville.

Brought-in feed has reduced by 70 per cent while production has increased by six per cent in the three years we have been here, says Bobby.

During the couples rst season on the 78 ha effective farm, then milking 246 cows, now 265, brought-in feed was 21 per cent. Last season that reduced to 12 per cent and this season just nine per cent.

Historically, maize and palm kernel were used as sup-plementary feeds; but maize has been removed from the system during the last three years. The couple pay close attention to pasture management and while the farm didnt have a yearly re-grassing programme, this season 8.9ha has been planted in summer chicory, with 4.9ha

farm working expenses of less than $1.30, based on the reviewed 93,000 kilograms of milk solids. Weve been on interest only since April 2015 so there is no reduc-tion in debt. There has also been no increase in debt over the year.

Below benchmarkAt $2.26, the farms operating expenses per kg/ms are

below the Dairy Base benchmark of $2.91 and farm working expenses of $1.40 are well below the bench-mark of $2.16, giving an economic farm surplus of $1620 per hectare compared with the benchmark of $644.

As Jim and Judy live on the farm, the Millners see Jim on a daily basis and appreciate his advice and guidance. On a more formal basis they meet every three months, together with farm consultant Ken Bartlett, to discuss performance and future plans.

The Jersey and Jersey-cross herd of 265 cows, pro-duced 94,353 kg/ms last season giving a kg/ms per hectare result of 1210 and 370 kg/ms per cow. The target this season is for 93,000 kg/ms production, lift-ing per cow performance to 370 kg/ms.

The calving date is July 13, with a 75 per cent six-week in-calf rate. Calving, brought forward from July 20 in 2013-2014, has resulted in a 14 per cent empty rate this season.

All cows are wintered on the farm, but the majority of calves leave the property on December 1 for grazing at Cambridge.

All waterways are fenced and drains sprayed twice a year. Ef uent is spread by travelling irrigators on 23ha and ef uent and nitrogen spreading is kept away from the drains.

The farms Overseer report shows nitrogen leaching in the 2014/2015 season was 22 kg per hectare down from 25kg in 2013-2014. Nitrogen ef ciency is 33 per cent in 2013-2014 and 28 per cent last season.

The pre-grazing target for pasture is 2800kg dry matter per hectare and target residuals is 1400kg to 1500kg. Pasture eaten has been calculated by Dairy-Base as 12.2tDM/ha in 2013-2014, 13.7tDM/ha in the following season and an estimated 14.4tDM/ha for the 2015-2016 season.

Jade and Bobby believe the New Zealand dairy indus-try has a positive future and they want to be part of it.

In a new format, the eld day held at the Barretts farm in Tahuna Road near Morrinsville was combined with presentations from 2016 Waikato Dairy Trainee of the year Chris Ferguson, and 2016 Waikato Dairy Manager of the Year Leyton Evans.

Page 17DAIRY

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airyTech

A large prize pool and further recognition await the 2016

Bay of Plenty Dairy Industry Awards winners, who will

progress to the national nals in Wellington on May 14.

They will line up against 30 other Share Farmer, Dairy Manager and Dairy Trainee competition regional nalists to determine who will take home the prizes, worth more than $165,000 and the national honours.

New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards general manager Chris Keeping says strong support from the national sponsors has ensured the prize pool is fantastic.

Splendid prizesThere are some splendid prizes

that will be taken home by our national winners prizes that will set them up in their career as well as provide them with some learn-ing experiences.

The New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year winner will take home

prizes worth $46,500 while among the Dairy Manager of the Year winners prizes is a leadership course.

Honda is giving each of the winners a fantastic farm bike. Its incredibly generous and these bikes will also be really useful as the winners go about their farm business. In a low payout year upgrading their farm bike was probably not high on their prior-ity list, so its great one of our sponsors will do that for them.

The prize pool for the 2016 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year is valued at $101,500. As well as the winner taking home prizes worth $46,500, the runner-up will receive $23,000 in prizes and the third place-getter will take home prizes valued at $12,000. A further $20,000 in cash and prizes will be won by the winners of the nine merit awards.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, DeLaval, Ecolab,

Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Merid-ian Energy, Ravensdown, New Zealand Farm Source, along with industry partner Primary ITO.

National meritThe 11 regional nalists compet-

ing in the New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year will compete for a total prize pool of $47,500, with the winner taking home about $21,000 in prizes including a leadership course courtesy of Federated Farmers.

The runner-up will receive prizes worth $8500 and the third place-getter will win $4000 in prizes. Seven merit awards are worth another $14,000 in cash and prizes to the winners.

A total of $18,500 is on offer to those competing for the New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year title, with the winner collecting prizes worth more than $10,500. The runner-up receives $3500 and the third place-getter $2500 in prizes. One national merit award

A community relief milker scheme has been established to help stressed and under-pressure dairy farmers in the Waikato. Many farmers around the country are feeling the pinch from one of the lowest milk payouts in years, says Waikato regional councillor Stuart Husband, who is also Federated Farmers Morrinsville chair and helped start the scheme.

There was a real need for farmers to be able to get a break and spend time with their families but tough nancial conditions made that difcult.

Locals formed the idea that qualied milkers could offer their time to give farmers a break, in exchange for things such as a piece of meat or some milk rather than a monetary deal.

That would mean farmers could take some time off without worrying about having to pay for someone to cover them. It is all about communi-ties helping communities.

Itll enable guys that are in huge nancial difculty to get away and have some of that much-needed time with family and take focus back on their life, and just have a bit of time to themselves to realise whats important in life.

Farmers who want help can contact Stuart Hus-band on 027 233 0030.

Relief milking scheme set up

Impressive prize pool for national winnersworth $2000 will also be presented to a trainee. Further information on the prizes and awards, see www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings

are among a line-up of leading speakers presenting to dairy farmers at the DairyNZ Farmers Forum on

May 17-18 in Hamilton.

The biennial event will give dairy farmers insight into how to adapt their businesses in the current challenging times and how the global environment will shape the future of New Zealand milk production.

The Farmers Forum is about helping farmers understand what is driving the cur-rent nancial climate and what they can do to help manage it, says DairyNZ strategy and investment leader for sustainability Rick Pridmore.

Adapting to the changing environment is more important than ever the industry is going through challenging times, so farmers are looking hard at where they can improve their businesses.

The two-day DairyNZ Farmers Forum at Hamiltons Mystery Creek Events Centre is expected to attract more than 700 farmers.

On day one Bill English will speak on the Governments view on dairyings future, while Theo Spierings will share his thoughts on what the dairy industry needs to excel at to succeed.

Other keynote speakers include Rabobank International head of food and agribusiness research and advisory Tim Hunt, who will share what is happening in global markets and what this means for New Zealand dairy farmers.

Share lessonsDay two keynote speakers include Zespri

International chief operating ofcer Simon Limmer and grower Ian Greaves, who will share the lessons learned by the kiwifruit industry after the Psa-V outbreak.

The Farmers Forum is a great opportunity for dairy farmers. Its rare to hear from a line-up of speakers of this calibre at a single event; plus in these challenging times it becomes even more important to get off-farm and

interact with other farmers, says Rick.Farmers can also choose from 11 workshops

during two days.

Overseas consumersA workshop by Lincoln Universitys profes-

sor of trade and environmental economics Caroline Saunders will address what overseas customers want from our milk and what they are willing to pay for it.

A panel discussion of dairy company lead-ers will look at value add, including Tatua CEO Paul McGilvary, Open Country Dairy chairman Laurie Margrain, Miraka CEO Richard Wyeth and Lewis Road Creamery founder Peter Cullinane.

Waikato University agribusiness professor Jacqueline Rowarth will host a workshop discussing genetic modication and whether it should be part of the industrys future.

Other workshops include living a pasture-rst strategy; exploring whether $3/kg MS farm working expenses is doable; staff roster systems; growing better quality and more persistent pastures; breeding better cows and dealing with environmental constraints.

The DairyNZ Farmers Forum is free to levy-paying dairy farmers and their staff.

Registrations are open and essential prior to the event. To view the full programme or reg-ister, visit www.dairynz.co.nz/farmersforum

Top speakers at Dairy Farmers forum

Page 18 DAIRY

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Cooperia is the small intestinal worm regarded

as being the most prevalent roundworm in New

Zealand cattle.They are reddish in colour

and quite small, growing up to 10mm in length. Eggs in faeces may hatch in as little as 20 hours, while infective larvae can develop within four days. Like most para-sites infective larvae are ingested by the host while grazing.

DrenchingThe importance of drenching against Cooperia is

well-known in young cattle, as in certain conditions it can cause thin, scouring weaners that can die if not

Cooperia a threat even at low levelstreated quickly. While this is one obvi-ous undesirable form of the disease, productivity trial work has also shown that apparently healthy yearling cattle can also be affected.

Weight differences between groups were noted by Dave Leathwick and others at AgResearch in a study published in 2012. This small study suggests even relatively low levels of Cooperia in healthy nine-month cattle may have a detrimental effect on growth. This chal-lenges the traditional doctrine that Cooperia parasites normally need to be present in high numbers to cause disease.

Defenses weakenedDry seasons favour all parasites when

autumn rain comes. Grazing animals natural immune defenses are weakened by drought and they are forced to graze

low where the parasite larvae live. A wave of larval contamination can occur after a long dry spell and young cattle need to be drenched soon after decent

rain.When used on

their own the pour on drenches (endectocides) are

not highly effective at killing Cooperia.

Levamisole, however, continues to have excel-

lent effect against Cooperia so using these drenches in combina-

tion makes sense. The recommended practice of using

combination drenches that contain lev-amisole continues to be the preferred approach, especially in cattle less than 15 months. Of some conciliation to stock is by their second autumn by 12-15 months of age the immunity of cattle against Cooperia is normally well established.

Australias biggest milk processor Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co

Limited has secured a long-term nutritionals supply agreement with Indonesias leading consumer health

and infant nutrition company, Kalbe Nutritionals.

MGs website says this agreement supports the companys stated aim to secure offtake agreements with global nutritional customers to underwrite the planned $260-$300 million nutritional powders investment at Koroit.

Kalbe manufactures and distributes premium quality pharmaceuticals, energy drinks and nutritional products for sale in Indonesia and Asia.

It also operates a sophisticated dis-tribution and logistics division which provides the widest distribution cover-age for pharmaceutical and nutritional products in Indonesia, covering all 33 Indonesian provinces and reaching about one million outlets throughout the country.

The new nutritional supply agreement between Kalbe and MG builds on the existing strong supply partnership which has seen MG supply dairy powders for use in Kalbes range of nutritional products including infant and children nutrition brands.

Under the new long-term supply agreement, MG has committed to supply and Kalbe has committed to purchase signi cant minimum annual volumes over time.

Commenting on the new supply agreement, MG managing director Gary Helou says: We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Kalbe, one of Indonesias foremost healthcare companies.

MG and Kalbe have worked closely together in recent years to meet the nutritional powder supply needs of Kalbes leading infant and children nutrition brands, and in doing so we have developed a deep understanding of each others needs and requirements.

It is therefore particularly pleasing that Kalbe has turned to MG to secure additional supply of quality, Austral-ian nutritional powders for use in their market-leading brands.

Gary says it also paves the way for further collaboration between our two companies, particularly as MG looks to grow its high quality dairy foods products in Asian markets, including Indonesia.

Indonesia is an important Asian growth market for dairy foods. It has one of Asias largest paediatric popula-tions, with approximately one in 10 people under the age of 51.

Australia-Indonesia dairy accord

DAIRY Page 19

DESIGN SUPPLY BUILD

PK / SILAGE BUNKERS

Lessons from 1987 applicable todayAs an old fart I

remember dairying in the 1987 crash and heres what I learnt.What goes down, down,

comes up. The turna-round can be really quick as it was then, or this could be slow. As a great dairying friend of mine said he could still see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel had just got a bit longer. It was absolutely frightening then.

You feel hopeless but the feeling does pass. To get the bad feeling to pass I talked to my service providers, talked to my bank, and had various meetings with positive people. Note: the positive people as you need to steer clear of the doomers and gloomers.

In those gloomy days a contracting neigh-bour of mine said: When times are tough you just have to go harder.

Bright music can help to drown out our negative thoughts as we are silently milking.

I know I am in the old fart age-group but in 1987 we had to peel everything back and get back to basics.

We sold all non-producing animals that were not part of our production team or replacements. We culled all low-producing cows immediately and cut the herd back

no passengers. We tidied up the few hospital

paddocks and turned them into dairy production. We cut out all bought-in supplements and became virtually a self-contained business. We only bought in bulls to nish off after Arti cial Breed-ing.

We did one round of AB only sorry LIC. We did two herd tests in a year sorry LIC. We made our cows cut and carry all feed for example, pasture, summer crop and hay, and silage sorry

contractors.

No-brainerWe immediately went to milking three

times in two days less labour less wear and tear, fatter cows, longer rounds. Yes, I hear it is dif cult to get your head around, but it is so simple and so obvious it is a no-brainer!

We put away the quad bike after calving and walked or used push bikes to get the cows. We hardened up and did everything ourselves. Oil changes and new spark plugs will keep most gear running sweetly for years. We became experts on preventative maintenance so gear did not break or fail.

We learned to weld so we could x all our own plant and cowshed. It is not hard and is actually a lot of fun to do.

We applied ourselves harder to animal

health issues, sorted as much as could before calling in the vet - Sorry vets. Stock health became para-mount and anything looking off-colour was reported and looked at immediately not the next day.

We hunkered down and reduced all per-sonal spending to the absolute minimum. There was a separate bank account for drawings and once empty that was it.

We refused to use hire purchase for anything that is anything sorry nance companies.

We cut back on staf ng with the three times in two days, but paid our team well and looked after them.

No apologyWe planned trips to town with a list of jobs

instead of ducking in and out every day. We kept our races graded up to avoid pot

holes and expensive maintenance. We did most of our crop cultivation and tractor work with a cab-less 135 Fergy diesel.

We sowed our own new grass and crop seeds with a three point linkage fertilizer spreader with the seed mixed with reverted super successfully sorry contractors. We

borrowed/hired gear like Cambridge rollers to con-solidate our cultivated land.

And the list could go on ... All the rural towns and farm services went into rapid decline as people put their cheque books away (not bank cards like we have today).

So, I make no apology for an old view 1987 is decades ago. And yes, a lot has changed and frankly a lot has not.

Herds are now bigger too, bringing their own issues and yes I accept a lot of infrastructure has gone into modern dairying.

But as my Wellington son-in-law said, farmers need to go out to the shed and nd some No.8 wire.

These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance. Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional

assistance should be sought. Don Fraser is the principal of Fraser Farm Finance, and a consultant to the farming industry.

Contact him on 0800 777 675 or 021 777 675.

Increasing use of Palm Kernel Extract as a supplementary feed could affect Fonterras

ability to process milk to meet customers

requirements, says group director of co-operative affairs

Miles Hurrell.

Large quantities of any feed can affect the composition of milk and how consumers per-ceive our products.

Weve seen a signi cant increase in the use of PKE during the last few years, and if this continues it could affect composition to the point where we cant process our milk to meet customers requirements, says Miles.

Hes responding to questions from Coast & Country News about the use of Palm Kernel Extract, also known as PKE, and its impact on milk quality and the cost of dairying.

Last year Fonterra called for farmers to limit PKE consump-tion to about 3kg per cow per day. Our PKE guideline is a voluntary guideline and we are still talking with our farmers to understand how its working in practice within a range of differ-ent farming systems.

Anecdotally, it does appear that this summers grass growth, together with a low milk price environment, is encouraging farmers to reduce their use of supplementary feeds, including PKE, says Miles.

In a low milk price environ-ment, the use of imported supplementary feeds does become uneconomic for many farmers and we would certainly encourage farmers to consider grass as a way of lowering costs.

In general, we know that in international markets we get a premium for our milk because of our pasture-based

Fonterra palm kernel can affect milk compositionsystem. We see reduced PKE use as a positive step toward protecting

that grass-fed reputa-tion and our product integrity.

Page 20 DAIRY

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In adversity there are can also be opportunities. The current tough times in the dairy industry may be a chance for young farmers to buy the farm they had previously thought was outside their reach.I know some older farmers have had enough of the volatility in the payout and are

ready to sell and quit the industry. Thats tough because for many farming has been their lifes work, but it also may open the way from the next generation of farmers to come through.

Ive heard of some farms that have been in the family for generations, where the

Opportunities in adversity - if you look for them

sons are no longer interested in continu-ing with the family farm causing quite a bit of controversy with the family. They see dairy being too hard and risky in the current conditions. This should be a major concern to the dairy industry as a lot of farmers want their sons or daughters to take over the family farm. It is possible a number of farms will not remain with inter-generational ownership as has hap-pened in the past

Dairy farm prices have held up fairly well until now but I understand some open days on farms for sale havent attracted any farmers and maybe there will be a cor-rection in prices, making farm ownership more affordable for younger people.

Young talentWhats tended to happen in the past is neighbours

have bought farms, incorporating them into their own property to create economies of scale and meet Fonterras demand for increased milk production. However, this has also excluded young people from farm ownership; and the industry needs to retain the talented young people who have grown up with the latest technology and have the drive, enthusiasm and business savvy to take the industry into the future.

The worry is that the current tight economic times in the industry may also cause these very people to leave for something they see offering more certainty.

It will take courage to commit the signi cant sums of money required to buy a farm but predictions are the industry will turn around within ve years and when it does, those brave enough to buy now will be in a good position; and those who let the chance go by, will again be priced out of the market.

Long-term rewardWhen you are working in the industry it is some-

times hard to see the opportunities, but now might be a good time to take the blinkers off and take an out-side view. Astute businesspeople know that investing, when others are leaving, usually results in long-term rewards.

As I said in an earlier column, sharemilk-ers and contract milkers should be talking to their farm owners and re-negotiating contracts to enable them to afford to stay farming. Contracts must be fair and work for both parties. If one is doing well and one is not, it wont last.

The last thing the dairy industry needs now is to lose a whole generation of farmers. Weve seen what happened in the construction industry when times were tough. Apprenticeship numbers for builders, plumbers, electricians and even mechanics dropped dramatically and now the country is still short of skilled trades-men.

As predicted, this unseasonal summer has thrown up some issues, including the collapse of some kale crops in the Waikato due to stem rot, probably caused by wet humid conditions. Ive only heard of one case in the Bay of Plenty but regular inspection of brassica crops is always a good idea.

Keep an eye out for the black beetle as we have had some new grass affected; the army caterpillar has caused a few issues in some new grass paddocks as well.

Taranaki and some Waikato farmers have been hard hit by facial eczema, again due to the warm, mild and humid conditions.

Facial eczemaFacial eczema is a costly animal welfare issue and of

major concern for both sheep and dairy farmers. Ani-mals showing obvious symptoms need to be identi ed and treated, or culled. Farmers need to talk to their vets for the best cause of action, which can include administering zinc bullets and zinc in the water troughs. However, some cows wont show obvious signs until they calve, when they will collapse because the stress of giving birth puts too much pressure on their liver.

As always, these are my own personal views on the topic and do no