-
Bay of Plenty and Waikato Farm, Orchard and Rural Lifestyle News
PH (07) 578 0030
Both sides of the fence
Cracking the market
Tropical armyworm
Launching rural driver
May 2011 Issue No. 129
The wildlife haven on Maungatautari is under threat as a dispute
continues over a change in the governance structure of the
Maungatautari Ecological Island
Trust board. Landowners have locked their gates and they say an
ultimatum to take the fence off their land is imminent.
The full story, inside.
-
Coast & Country Page 2 COAST & COUNTRY
027 205 3862027 281 7427
I am on a one man crusade to export white wine to China.
At present I am talking to four different Chinese importers and
devoting the rest of my life to getting the Chinese to drink
our white wine, says 66-year-old Roy Johnson of Tolaga Bay
Wines in Gisborne.Roy and Sue Johnson are owners of
Sunrise Estate of which Tolaga Bay Wines are a subsidiary and
are already exporting to the United Kingdom, United States and the
south of France.
Wine imports into China have grown signifi cantly over the last
few years and with a growing middle class with higher incomes,
several wine producing countries are trying to get their wines
accepted there.
France has the major share of the market with their red wines,
which the Chinese are more familiar with.
The French colonised China about 200 years ago so the Chinese
think that red wine is the only wine to buy, but what would you
rather have with your chicken chow mein or prawns and shrimps, a
quality New Zealand white wine, says Roy.
The white wines Roy wants to export to China are muscat, unoaked
char-donnay and lightly oaked chardonnay.
The recently released Rabobank Quarterly report states the
growth in wine consumption in China is phenomenal. Wine imports
into China totalled almost 150 million litres in 2010 and now
represent about 10 per cent of the Chinese grape wine market.
For the New Zealand market to catch up with the French wine
market in China there will have to be a sig-nifi cant investment in
consumer and trade education to drive changes in long-term consumer
behaviour and a concerted effort to strengthen relation-ships with
Chinese distributors, says Rabobank senior analyst Marc Soccio.
The New Zealand vintage currently underway is running ahead of
sched-ule and fruit quality looks very good. Reports indicate the
crop should well exceed last years 265,000 tonnes with the
possibility of passing the 300,000 tonne mark.
It would be very hard for the Chinese wine consumers to resist a
quality Gisborne white wine produced by a vineyard which is the fi
rst place in the world to see the sun, says Roy.
Im pretty confi dent.
Wine devotion to China
By Helen Wilson
Roy Johnson of Tolaga
Bay Wines is devoting his life to getting the Chinese to drink
our white wine.
The agricultural industry is booming according to Prime
Minister John Key, who told dairy farmers at the large herd
conference in Rotorua he expected them to start
spending again very soon.
It will be a welcome statement for exhibitors at the National
Agricultural Fieldays which is just around the corner. Read more
from the PM in our Fieldays preview.
This month, I grabbed the opportunity to sample some feijoas and
fi nd out about the feijoa industry, which has just sent its fi rst
trays of fruit to be sampled on the Singapore market.
Writer Sue Edmonds travelled to Rotorua to learn about the
latest plans to improve the water quality of lakes and was one of
500 who turned up to an effl uent fi eld day in Hamilton.
This month we are launching a new feature Hunt, Fish, Eat. Read
about the Polaris Big Four competition a team effort to bag the
biggest stag, boar, trout and pheasant.
Until next month, happy duck shooting and get your teams entered
in the Big Four comp.
Agriculture industry booming says John Key
-
PH 07 578 0030 Page 3COAST & COUNTRY
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JD
Calls of the kiwi, kaka, and takahe are being drowned
out by arguments over the governance of the
Maungatautari reserve and the pest proof fence that
protects it is at risk.The fence, which boundaries the
3400ha wildlife haven, is under threat owing to a disagreement
over the governance structure of the Maungatautari Ecological
Island Trust.
Landowners are on the verge of giving an ultimatum in the
argument, with their penalty for non-compliance the pulling down of
the fence.
The dispute started when the governance structure of the trust
was changed to a two-tiered model made up of a guardian group of
stakeholder representatives evenly split between landowners, iwi
and volunteers with an operational board of six; three iwi and
three non-iwi.
The heart of the Maungatautari project has always been the
goodwill and the partnership of landowners, iwi and the community
something which is now fast deteriorating, along with the fence,
putting the wildlife at risk to pests.
The landowners, trustees and iwi (Ngati Koroki Kahuhura), all
unani-mously pronounce their support for the project, yet
negotiations on how to proceed are not forthcoming.
Several landowners, who on a handshake, gifted land to the other
side of the fence to be part of the reserve, have locked their
gates and cut off surveillance videos to stop access onto their
properties. They are now saying the fence must be taken down or
shifted if the govern-ance does not go back to a three-tier
structure.
Shifting the fence is an uneco-nomical and impractical solution,
however, says landowner Peter Holmes.
The tough thing is I dont know where they are going to put
it.
The fence couldnt be put in a lot of places because of the
terrain or water supply thats why it was put where it is, over our
land, says Peter.
We said to put it through our land and we expected to be treated
with respect.
Ngati Koroki Kahuhura is saying they had 50-50 in the fi rst
place, theyve never had that. Land owners like us would never have
agreed to the fence on that basis, says Peter.
Tao Tauroa said at the meeting its our way or no way I heard him
say that. Everyone was bull-rushed into making that decision that
night.
Peter and neighbour Warren Charleston are now warning other
landowners across New Zealand about their property rights.
Its a frightening thing to land-owners. Dont go near it to start
with unless its in concrete. There is no respect for landowners,
says Warren.
Gifted landPeter says he gifted land to the
project where his grandfather built a dam in 1927.
Its my grandfathers land. Its very sentimental to me its hard to
give it away.
I would possibly give it to New Zealand, but not to a polarised
group like Ngati Koroki Kahuhura because I dont trust them I dont
trust what they would do with the land.
Maungatautari is also the subject of a Treaty of Waitangi claim
which is expected to see more land in the reserve gifted to
Maori.
Karaitiana Tamatea and Tony Wilding, co-chairs of the MEIT
interim executive board have writ-ten to the Landowners Council
assuring them that on advice that MEIT has received to date is
that, while title may be vested in Tangata Whenua, Maungatautari
will retain its reserve status.
They have asked the landown-ers to meet with them to discuss an
independent review of the processes used to change the governance
processes, purchase of their land, or giving MEIT the time to erect
a replacement fence on reserve land.
We fi nd your threat to remove surveillance monitoring from the
fence crossing four properties astounding and extremely sad given
that doing so will destroy a decade of hard work from hundreds of
volunteers, includ-ing work done by the other 24 landowners who do
not share your views.
MEIT acknowledges and fully accepts your right to do as you
please on your private prop-erty, however, having previously agreed
to have the fence on your property, we respectfully suggest that
you have voluntarily entered into a commitment not just with MEIT,
but with all those people who have given so much to the
project.
Lance Hodsen, trustee from the outset on the Maungatautari Trust
Board, says the trust would love to sit down with Peter Holmes and
Warren Charleston to come to an agreement on how to move
forward.
This is an interim structure at the moment, which is not set in
stone and we are happy to negoti-ate.
The trust has sent out invita-tions to come to meetings and have
attempted to negotiate with Warren and Peter to no avail.
Lance says the trust has options which they believe would
resolve the issues.
There has to be some give and take on both parts and we are well
aware of that.
The Maungatautari Landowners Council has met with Minister of
Conservation Kate Wilkinson on the issue.
Peter says Ngati Koroki Kahuhura has to back off and go back to
a tri-part agreement.
We have to thrash out the own-ership of the mountain, which can
only be done by central govern-ment and then we will unlock our
gates.
The Muru family, who own the land that the main southern
entrance walkway goes through, are also trying to restrict
access.
Temporary injunctionThey have a temporary injunc-
tion against Willie Te Aho from going on the property and say
they will be fi ling an injunction against MEIT.
Rick Muru says he welded the gates shut only to have Ngati
Koroki Kahuhura smash it open.
Rick says he has shut off public access because of concerns his
whanau could be held liable if anyone gets injured.
Family advisor Graham Cullen says the liability issue for
the
Muru family is huge and they want the right compliance set in
place.
Former MEIT trustee and landowner Selwyn Mackinder is selling
his farm because he is fed up with the politics and doesnt want to
watch the demise of such a great project.
Weve seen the fence go up and weve seen the difference, says
Selwyn.
It would be a tragedy if anything
was to happen. I would like to believe that it will be solved
with good will on both sides because I can show you takahe who dont
give a stuff (about the politics).
Fears for Maungatautari reserve fence
-
Coast & Country Page 4 COAST & COUNTRY
awn a e
KW & Julia
New Zealand feijoa growers are trying to crack the Singapore
market with Whakatane growers Rob and Mary Jessop providing one
third of the
fi rst 150 trays sent there.They were sent to boutique-style
shops, where
free sampling was set up for people to try the fruit.
An Australian buyer, based in Singapore, approached the growers
to sample feijoas on the Asian market.
The versatility of the feijoa is going to push demand up and
expand other export market potential for the unique fruit says
Rob.
There are currently about 200 feijoa growers in New Zealand
producing between 500 and 1000 tonnes annually, with 400-500 tonnes
going to pulp.
There are fi ve main growers who export from New Zealand who
collec-tively export 25-50 tonnes of feijoas 80 per cent of exports
go to Australia.
We feel the market for feijoas is just starting to come into its
own, says Rob.
We think its going to surpass the kiwifruit.
The antioxidents are really high and you can do so much with
them.
The export market is starting to grow again; for every carton we
have sent there is sale for it the demand is there.
New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association president Tim Harper says
they are promot-ing feijoas in the United States and Australia,
which are the two main export markets. Exports are limited because
of air freight prices as the fruit would spoil if it was
shipped.
Growing the export market is the main thing we are working on at
the moment, says Tim.
We are working on marketing strategies, fl yers, in-store
tasting.
Tim says New Zealanders dont know how lucky they are.
Feijoas are only grown in abun-dance in New Zealand and South
America, with Brazil being the main export competitor to New
Zealand.
Because of the limitations else-
where, other countries have to be shown and taught how to eat
the fruit.
The populations havent got a taste for them, says Tim.
We have to teach people to scoop and eat them thats the fi rst
thing.
Then its teaching them all the things you can do with the fruit,
although Tim says they are working on educating New Zealanders more
too.They are as versatile as apples and
bananas they can be used in any dish bananas are used in. People
use them to make wines, ciders, fruit juices, ice creams there are
a few
really nice schnapps. There is even feijoa beer.
Tim says he hopes the export market grows
more and if their marketing works they are going to
need growers.Its made a lot
of people look a lot harder at
feijoas. He says with subur-
ban growth, New Zealanders dont tend to have the traditional
feijoa tree in
their backyard anymore.Traditionally a lot of people had
their own feijoa tree but housing and subdivisions have wiped
out a lot of trees.
Youre going to have to pay for them now.
Feijoas reach Singapore shores
Rob and Mary Jessop grow 45
tonnes of feijoas a year on their
1800 trees.
Rob says if growers can market the fruit better overseas it will
push the local price up.
He says the New Zealand market has probably reached its peak for
the moment with prices for the growers without the export market
growing further.
Unfortunately the price is no di erent to what it was 10 years
ago.
We are probably like what the kiwifruit indus-try was 20 years
ago.
e price in New Zealand supermarkets varies between $6-10/kg.
Rob says it is uneconomical to take the fruit o their property
for less than $1/kg.
e feijoa season lasts from mid-March through until the end of
May in a good season, says Tim.
A strong frost will make the fruit go brown early. Two months
every year and thats
all we get. ere are no feijoas imported.Brazil, the only other
country who does any-
thing of volume, has the same season as us.A lot of people, I
certainly did, underestimate
how labour intensive it is in pruning and picking. We have to
pick for six weeks not like kiwifruit, who harvest in two days.
So that is more expensive, having to pay for that labour. ats
why its always reasonably pricy in supermarkets. Its the nature of
the fruit.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 5COAST & COUNTRY
By Sheryl Brown
KW
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R 3.6 ceiling insulation and R 2.6 to walls including
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Superior impact resistant Gib Ultraline interior lining
decorated with SpaceCote by Resene
Modern island styled kitchens fi tted with Fisher & Paykel
oven, hobb, waste disposal and dishwasher
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-
Coast & Country Page 4 COAST & COUNTRY
awn a e
KW & Julia
New Zealand feijoa growers are trying to crack the Singapore
market with Whakatane growers Rob and Mary Jessop providing one
third of the
fi rst 150 trays sent there.They were sent to boutique-style
shops, where
free sampling was set up for people to try the fruit.
An Australian buyer, based in Singapore, approached the growers
to sample feijoas on the Asian market.
The versatility of the feijoa is going to push demand up and
expand other export market potential for the unique fruit says
Rob.
There are currently about 200 feijoa growers in New Zealand
producing between 500 and 1000 tonnes annually, with 400-500 tonnes
going to pulp.
There are fi ve main growers who export from New Zealand who
collec-tively export 25-50 tonnes of feijoas 80 per cent of exports
go to Australia.
We feel the market for feijoas is just starting to come into its
own, says Rob.
We think its going to surpass the kiwifruit.
The antioxidents are really high and you can do so much with
them.
The export market is starting to grow again; for every carton we
have sent there is sale for it the demand is there.
New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association president Tim Harper says
they are promot-ing feijoas in the United States and Australia,
which are the two main export markets. Exports are limited because
of air freight prices as the fruit would spoil if it was
shipped.
Growing the export market is the main thing we are working on at
the moment, says Tim.
We are working on marketing strategies, fl yers, in-store
tasting.
Tim says New Zealanders dont know how lucky they are.
Feijoas are only grown in abun-dance in New Zealand and South
America, with Brazil being the main export competitor to New
Zealand.
Because of the limitations else-
where, other countries have to be shown and taught how to eat
the fruit.
The populations havent got a taste for them, says Tim.
We have to teach people to scoop and eat them thats the fi rst
thing.
Then its teaching them all the things you can do with the fruit,
although Tim says they are working on educating New Zealanders more
too.They are as versatile as apples and
bananas they can be used in any dish bananas are used in. People
use them to make wines, ciders, fruit juices, ice creams there are
a few
really nice schnapps. There is even feijoa beer.
Tim says he hopes the export market grows
more and if their marketing works they are going to
need growers.Its made a lot
of people look a lot harder at
feijoas. He says with subur-
ban growth, New Zealanders dont tend to have the traditional
feijoa tree in
their backyard anymore.Traditionally a lot of people had
their own feijoa tree but housing and subdivisions have wiped
out a lot of trees.
Youre going to have to pay for them now.
Feijoas reach Singapore shores
Rob and Mary Jessop grow 45
tonnes of feijoas a year on their
1800 trees.
Rob says if growers can market the fruit better overseas it will
push the local price up.
He says the New Zealand market has probably reached its peak for
the moment with prices for the growers without the export market
growing further.
Unfortunately the price is no di erent to what it was 10 years
ago.
We are probably like what the kiwifruit indus-try was 20 years
ago.
e price in New Zealand supermarkets varies between $6-10/kg.
Rob says it is uneconomical to take the fruit o their property
for less than $1/kg.
e feijoa season lasts from mid-March through until the end of
May in a good season, says Tim.
A strong frost will make the fruit go brown early. Two months
every year and thats
all we get. ere are no feijoas imported.Brazil, the only other
country who does any-
thing of volume, has the same season as us.A lot of people, I
certainly did, underestimate
how labour intensive it is in pruning and picking. We have to
pick for six weeks not like kiwifruit, who harvest in two days.
So that is more expensive, having to pay for that labour. ats
why its always reasonably pricy in supermarkets. Its the nature of
the fruit.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 5COAST & COUNTRY
By Sheryl Brown
KW
Fabulous flavours from feijoas
Superior Zog steel
frame technology
with 50 year guarantee
Goldseal 10 year
completion &
defects warranty
Featured Plan:
Wakefi eld
110.8 m2 2 1
Echo Minimalist Designer Tapware by Methven
R 3.6 ceiling insulation and R 2.6 to walls including
ESIBradnams double glazed windows with custom liners
Superior impact resistant Gib Ultraline interior lining
decorated with SpaceCote by Resene
Modern island styled kitchens fi tted with Fisher & Paykel
oven, hobb, waste disposal and dishwasher
Fixed price contract for peace of mind
1021139
A D I V I S I O N O F G O L D E N H O M E S
EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY & UNBEATABLE VALUE
CCaalllll TTaauurraannggaa 007 55777 99993388
RRRRoooottttoorruuaa 00077 3344555 330000000077777777
$136,340From
SUPPORTINGASTHMA CARE
SENSITIVECHOICE
-
Coast & Country Page 6 COAST & COUNTRY
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better still, give us a call or come and visit our factory
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Te Puke
www.prescotttrailers.co.nz
Kaimai Cheese Company has closed its production
facility and cafe at Te Mata near Havelock North
and the company is ceasing all South Island
and export sales. In a letter to sharehold-
ers, chairman Wyatt Creech says while Kaimai, set up at Waharoa
in the Waikato in 2005, had a high sales growth rate, the rise in
costs includ-
ing milk, were forever eroding the gross margin in the specialty
cheese sector for all competitors.Six staff at the Te Mata
plant have lost their jobs and two at the Waharoa
dairy factory and cafe, includ-ing general manager Sheryn
Cook. More redundancies are possible.
Wyatt says production ton-nage doubled last year to meet orders,
however, manufacturers like Kaimai, which buy milk from Fonterra,
do not know the price of that milk until the end of Fonterras
season.
He says milk prices during the last year had leapt, which meant
the company had made incorrect assumptions about the milk price
when entering retail contracts.
The effect of the milk price rise on the bottomline had been
mate-rial.
He says Kaimai will become an artisan $4.5m business with a
materially larger portion of its cus-tomers in Waikato and
Auckland.
The cheese company won medals at the Cuisine New Zealand
Cham-pions of Cheese Awards this year, including a silver medal for
their bocconcini in the Langham Cham-pion Fresh Unripened Cheese
category.
Cheese maker Jason Trevelyan says it was great to improve on
their bronze medal from last year.
It shows weve maintained what weve been doing and adding value
to it, says Jason.
Its not an easy product to make, but weve had a few Italians say
that they are impressed with what weve come up with and to have it
so fresh.
A popular cheese in Italy the Kaimai recipe differs because of
the taste of New Zealand milk says Jason.
It is made with whole cows milk and is made in a machine which
caters for 2000 litres of milk which converts the milk into half a
tonne of bocconcini.
If differs to mozzarella in taste because there is no salt.
Thats why it has a limited shelf life of 35 days. Its quite a
subtle, mild taste it has a really unique fl avour to it. It is not
a heavy prod-uct like feta.
A good bocconcini should be able to stretch out to a full arms
width without breaking.
What you can expect to fi nd with bocconcini is that you can
peel it it has a kind of chicken-like texture, say Jason.
Its breakable. Its stretched and pulled like Mozzarella, then
made into little balls.
I think people are expanding and developing their culinary
outlook and are looking for good quality products that arent mass
produced.
Cheese company over stretched
JD
Kaimai Cheese maker Jason Trevelyan.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 7COAST & COUNTRY
Far
mla
nds
Trad
ing
So
ciet
y Li
mite
d
FAR
2038
0
Call 0800 FARMFONE (0800 327 636) for your nearest
Farmlands/Skeltons store.
Attention growers!
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expertise?Skeltons is Farmlands horticultural crop production
specialist company, working with commercial
growers to provide innovative, dependable advice, solutions and
services with a network of technical
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Island.
To bolster Farmlands service in the Bay of Plenty we have
Skeltons Technical Advisors; Dean Gower,
Dwayne Farrington and Andrew McIntosh. With a can do attitude
and an open-door policy, were
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At Farmlands there is a most comprehensive range of
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Youll find competitively priced
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Because our aim is to see our clients grow better quality crops
and a healthier bottom line.
The high cost of rates continues to trouble farmers, while
the
overall fi nancial sustainability of what councils are doing
remains
in the spotlight.Federated Farmers is presently in the thick
of submitting on district and regional council annual plans.
Everywhere, as usual, farm rates are going up. We get from many
farmers a jaded and disillusioned silence. From others, there are
outraged calls as general rates on the family farm blow out.
An article in the February 2011 New Zea-land Local Government
magazine points to the
parlous state of local governments fi nances. The article
maintains 15 to 20 per cent of local authorities are hitting the
wall fi nancially, as a result of debt being beyond sustainable
maximums, with rates and charges becoming increasingly unaffordable
for ratepayers and businesses.
The article points to an alarming fi nancial dete-rioration in
the last ten years, which has arisen from the profl igacy of
councils, combined with a lack of emphasis on improved performance
and fi nancial prudence.
This is disturbing news for farmers reliant on land as their
primary production input, as the principle revenue mechanisms of
councils are rates on land and capital value. Only property
owners pay this tax called rates and of them, the owners of
higher value properties face the real music when hitting the wall
time comes.
Councils in the Bay of Plenty are not at all immune from this
potential train wreck. Farmers are feeling it in Whakatane where,
in response to the rates affordability problem, the district
coun-cil has moved to cut road resealing and hike farm rates.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council has proposed cuts to capital
expenditure and a new bond bank a debt partnership with eight other
councils in an attempt to reduce interest costs.
The refrain I hear from many farmers is when, or whether, the
trend of ballooning farm rates will ever end. Farmers cut spending
when things
are tight, yet councils seem bent on rearranging the proverbial
deck chairs and we continue to pay the price for that.
Government had a go at the problem back in 2007 with a rates
inquiry, which found that, under current practices, rates will not
be sustainable in 10 years time. Were well on the way. Another
review, this time initiated by the Minister of Local Government
Rodney Hide, is just around the corner.
The cabinet papers underpinning this review, called smarter
government, stronger communi-ties were publicly released in April
and include some astounding debt fi gures for councils. Be assured,
Federated Farmers will be in the thick of that review too.
Rates problem just gets bigger
JD
Acting Economic Development Minister David Carter has announced
an $850,000 contestable fund to drive further growth of New
Zealands second-largest export earner,
the red meat industry. The Red Meat Market Development
Contestable
Fund is a joint initiative between New Zealand Trade and
Enterprise and Beef and Lamb, with funding allocated to successful
applicants on a 50-50 basis.
The success of the 2009 Aquaculture Market Development
Contestable Fund, which has driven signifi cant innovation and
market development in that industry, demonstrates the potential
scope for our important red meat sector, says David.
Red meat generated around $5 billion in export revenue last year
and the government believes a more concerted approach by the
industry could considera-bly lift this fi gure. He says the new
contestable fund aims to encourage innovative industry-led projects
to lift the profi tability, competitiveness and sustainable growth
of the meat sector.
This new fund further enhances the governments Primary Growth
Partnership which has so far pledged more than $60 million towards
a joint $150 million red meat programme.
It also fl ags the importance of the Red Meat Sector Strategy
Report to be released next week.
I encourage applications to this contestable fund from
businesses that are keen to drive further growth of our important
meat sector, says David.
Applications for the fund, which will be adminis-tered by NZTE,
close on May 20.
New fund for meat sectormeat sector
-
Coast & Country Page 6 COAST & COUNTRY
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JORDAAN
PRESCOTT TRAILERS
For 40 years, people have been putting their trust in
Prescott Trailers, just ask an owner, they arent hard to
find
better still, give us a call or come and visit our factory
and
see our full range.
Strong, durable and lightweight, Prescott Trailers are built
to last a lifetime.Whether you need a trailer for the farmor
road, for your boat or orchard, we can design and
manufacture to your requirements
Ph 0800888323
Prescott Trailers Ltd.
29Station Rd,
Te Puke
www.prescotttrailers.co.nz
Kaimai Cheese Company has closed its production
facility and cafe at Te Mata near Havelock North
and the company is ceasing all South Island
and export sales. In a letter to sharehold-
ers, chairman Wyatt Creech says while Kaimai, set up at Waharoa
in the Waikato in 2005, had a high sales growth rate, the rise in
costs includ-
ing milk, were forever eroding the gross margin in the specialty
cheese sector for all competitors.Six staff at the Te Mata
plant have lost their jobs and two at the Waharoa
dairy factory and cafe, includ-ing general manager Sheryn
Cook. More redundancies are possible.
Wyatt says production ton-nage doubled last year to meet orders,
however, manufacturers like Kaimai, which buy milk from Fonterra,
do not know the price of that milk until the end of Fonterras
season.
He says milk prices during the last year had leapt, which meant
the company had made incorrect assumptions about the milk price
when entering retail contracts.
The effect of the milk price rise on the bottomline had been
mate-rial.
He says Kaimai will become an artisan $4.5m business with a
materially larger portion of its cus-tomers in Waikato and
Auckland.
The cheese company won medals at the Cuisine New Zealand
Cham-pions of Cheese Awards this year, including a silver medal for
their bocconcini in the Langham Cham-pion Fresh Unripened Cheese
category.
Cheese maker Jason Trevelyan says it was great to improve on
their bronze medal from last year.
It shows weve maintained what weve been doing and adding value
to it, says Jason.
Its not an easy product to make, but weve had a few Italians say
that they are impressed with what weve come up with and to have it
so fresh.
A popular cheese in Italy the Kaimai recipe differs because of
the taste of New Zealand milk says Jason.
It is made with whole cows milk and is made in a machine which
caters for 2000 litres of milk which converts the milk into half a
tonne of bocconcini.
If differs to mozzarella in taste because there is no salt.
Thats why it has a limited shelf life of 35 days. Its quite a
subtle, mild taste it has a really unique fl avour to it. It is not
a heavy prod-uct like feta.
A good bocconcini should be able to stretch out to a full arms
width without breaking.
What you can expect to fi nd with bocconcini is that you can
peel it it has a kind of chicken-like texture, say Jason.
Its breakable. Its stretched and pulled like Mozzarella, then
made into little balls.
I think people are expanding and developing their culinary
outlook and are looking for good quality products that arent mass
produced.
Cheese company over stretched
JD
Kaimai Cheese maker Jason Trevelyan.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 7COAST & COUNTRY
Far
mla
nds
Trad
ing
So
ciet
y Li
mite
d
FAR
2038
0
Call 0800 FARMFONE (0800 327 636) for your nearest
Farmlands/Skeltons store.
Attention growers!
Looking for an alternative source of horticultural advice and
expertise?Skeltons is Farmlands horticultural crop production
specialist company, working with commercial
growers to provide innovative, dependable advice, solutions and
services with a network of technical
advisors based in Farmlands stores throughout the North
Island.
To bolster Farmlands service in the Bay of Plenty we have
Skeltons Technical Advisors; Dean Gower,
Dwayne Farrington and Andrew McIntosh. With a can do attitude
and an open-door policy, were
always ready to help with advice.
At Farmlands there is a most comprehensive range of
horticultural and viticultural products,
everything growers need for smooth and effective production.
Youll find competitively priced
products, yet we remain independent and flexible in what we
source and stock. We will supply what
growers want and need.
Because our aim is to see our clients grow better quality crops
and a healthier bottom line.
The high cost of rates continues to trouble farmers, while
the
overall fi nancial sustainability of what councils are doing
remains
in the spotlight.Federated Farmers is presently in the thick
of submitting on district and regional council annual plans.
Everywhere, as usual, farm rates are going up. We get from many
farmers a jaded and disillusioned silence. From others, there are
outraged calls as general rates on the family farm blow out.
An article in the February 2011 New Zea-land Local Government
magazine points to the
parlous state of local governments fi nances. The article
maintains 15 to 20 per cent of local authorities are hitting the
wall fi nancially, as a result of debt being beyond sustainable
maximums, with rates and charges becoming increasingly unaffordable
for ratepayers and businesses.
The article points to an alarming fi nancial dete-rioration in
the last ten years, which has arisen from the profl igacy of
councils, combined with a lack of emphasis on improved performance
and fi nancial prudence.
This is disturbing news for farmers reliant on land as their
primary production input, as the principle revenue mechanisms of
councils are rates on land and capital value. Only property
owners pay this tax called rates and of them, the owners of
higher value properties face the real music when hitting the wall
time comes.
Councils in the Bay of Plenty are not at all immune from this
potential train wreck. Farmers are feeling it in Whakatane where,
in response to the rates affordability problem, the district
coun-cil has moved to cut road resealing and hike farm rates.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council has proposed cuts to capital
expenditure and a new bond bank a debt partnership with eight other
councils in an attempt to reduce interest costs.
The refrain I hear from many farmers is when, or whether, the
trend of ballooning farm rates will ever end. Farmers cut spending
when things
are tight, yet councils seem bent on rearranging the proverbial
deck chairs and we continue to pay the price for that.
Government had a go at the problem back in 2007 with a rates
inquiry, which found that, under current practices, rates will not
be sustainable in 10 years time. Were well on the way. Another
review, this time initiated by the Minister of Local Government
Rodney Hide, is just around the corner.
The cabinet papers underpinning this review, called smarter
government, stronger communi-ties were publicly released in April
and include some astounding debt fi gures for councils. Be assured,
Federated Farmers will be in the thick of that review too.
Rates problem just gets bigger
JD
Acting Economic Development Minister David Carter has announced
an $850,000 contestable fund to drive further growth of New
Zealands second-largest export earner,
the red meat industry. The Red Meat Market Development
Contestable
Fund is a joint initiative between New Zealand Trade and
Enterprise and Beef and Lamb, with funding allocated to successful
applicants on a 50-50 basis.
The success of the 2009 Aquaculture Market Development
Contestable Fund, which has driven signifi cant innovation and
market development in that industry, demonstrates the potential
scope for our important red meat sector, says David.
Red meat generated around $5 billion in export revenue last year
and the government believes a more concerted approach by the
industry could considera-bly lift this fi gure. He says the new
contestable fund aims to encourage innovative industry-led projects
to lift the profi tability, competitiveness and sustainable growth
of the meat sector.
This new fund further enhances the governments Primary Growth
Partnership which has so far pledged more than $60 million towards
a joint $150 million red meat programme.
It also fl ags the importance of the Red Meat Sector Strategy
Report to be released next week.
I encourage applications to this contestable fund from
businesses that are keen to drive further growth of our important
meat sector, says David.
Applications for the fund, which will be adminis-tered by NZTE,
close on May 20.
New fund for meat sectormeat sector
-
Coast & Country Page 8 COAST & COUNTRY
Where would the environment be without
Landcare groups and their assiduous volunteers?
The Department of Conserva-tion is doing its best, albeit with
what seems a constantly shrink-ing budget, but there are large
areas of bush, wetland, peat lakes and regenerating scrub which
rely on landowners and groups of volunteers to weed, plant natives
and catch predators, so the areas in question and the indigenous
plants and birdlife get a chance to continue.
When members of these groups get together for a networking
day
and explain just how much is involved in their activities, it
fair makes ones eyes pop. There are 42 Landcare Groups operating in
the Waikato, alongside 90 other groups working on single focus
projects, assisted and sometimes funded, by both regional and
district councils.
NegotiationsThe QEII National Trust has
been negotiating covenants on private land for more than 25
years now, with a total of 3,458 areas, totalling 111,000ha either
signed up or in preparation. The Waikato region has 69 signed up
out of 583 being worked on in the region. With stock excluded from
such a huge area and each piece surrounded by nice neat fences, the
bits inside are fi nally getting a chance to grow and
regenerate.
The Whakaupoko West Franklin
Landcare Group has been going for six years and has spent most
of its energies on pest control of possums and rats, as well as
monitoring native bird populations such as tui, kereru and
fantails. Its efforts have resulted in 70 monitored sites reporting
increasing tui, a good population of kereru, but the fan-tail
population seems to be going down. Monitoring is done by use of
chew cards using peanut butter as bait. The teeth marks made on
these direct which pests should be focused on in an area.
The Waikato peat lakes continue to be a focus, with increasingly
well-designed sediment traps col-lecting huge tonnage of silt from
surrounding farmlands. There was a lot of talk at the networking
day about the need to get all surround-ing landowners in agreement
and behind each project. Just one
renegade owner who ploughs right up to fences along drains and
waterways, fol-lowed by heavy rain, can undo months of work. Andrew
Hayes says that at Lake Kaituna theyve not only had to do a lot of
weed work, but the sediment trap there has so far been replaced
three times. At Lake Cameron they are con-tinuing the planting
programme round the lake and planning more signage for
visitors.
Vegetation and wildlifeOn the Awhitu Peninsula the area is
large, 34,000ha. The main problem is blowing sand which can bury
nearby vegetation. The group has focused on creating a mainland
island which gives vegetation and wildlife a chance. With a large
number of properties involved, individual owners are encouraged to
set possum bait stations and trap lines.
Hamilton Fish and Game is focuss-ing its efforts on three lakes,
Kainui, Serpentine and Koromatua, all of which have their share of
maimais along the shorelines.
Up in the Coromandel they still have kiwi in the bush and the
Moehau Envi-ronment Group, which has been going for ten years, is
focused on stoat control
as well as possums and rats. A sharing system among its members
sees monthly checks on 900 baits. Against a national decline in
kiwi numbers, the area is getting more kiwi chicks surviving over
six months and the group consider they are now seeing 68 per cent
of chicks hatched survive past this time. Their area covers more
than 1300ha, with 400 landowners involved.
InvestigationsTo explore what works and what
doesnt for Landcare groups and to record the huge variety of
activi-ties being carried out on land under different management
regimes, the Waikato Regional Council has con-tracted Dr Helen
Ritchie to investigate and report. After numerous interviews, she
is already coming up with many ideas which can be incorporated into
guidelines.
A fi eld session at Lake Kainui dem-onstrated the complexity of
building a successful sediment trap. Apparently, if you know the
right people to ask, the earthmoving and planting can be cun-ningly
cheap, (around one fi fth of the normal contractor cost)
demonstrating just how canny volunteers can be.
Ben Wolf of WDC explains the workings of a sediment trap.
Environment relying on landownersEnvironment relying on
landowners
JD
PRE-CAST CONCRETE & STEEL CONSTRUCTION SPECIALISTS
PRE-CAST CONCRETE & STEEL CONSTRUCTION SPECIALISTS
These new XUVs surv ived over 20,000 hours of blistering real-w
orls test ing in one of the harshest env ironments in the United
States.
To attack any trail, youve got to have three things:
A smooth ridethat impresses you every time you turn the key.
A seriously capable suspension. And rock solid stability (with
and without a load) These XUVs have all three. Making the world
your confidence course.
RotoruaVaughan Roadphone 07 345 5490www.agriturf.co.nz
These new XUVs surv ived over 20,000 hours of blistering real-w
orls test ing in one of the harshest env ironments in the United
States.
To attack any trail, youve got to have three things:
A smooth ridethat impresses you every time you turn the key.
A seriously capable suspension. And rock solid stability (with
and without a load) These XUVs have all three. Making the world
your confidence course.
RotoruaVaughan Roadphone 07 345 5490www.agriturf.co.nz
A new concept to assist farmers to benefi t more
from the Emissions Trading Scheme was
outlined by John Simmons, Waikato Regional Council Biosecurity
and Heritgage
group manager at the Waikato Executive of Federated Farmers.
Throughout the Waikato region there are many farms which have
small patches of reverting scrub or areas which are unsuited or
unprofi table for pasture. Plant-ing trees or allowing the scrub to
grow on these areas for individual carbon credits is probably not
economically feasible and may not be considered worthwhile by
farm-ers. Aggregation of such blocks of probably mainly post-1989
forest,
however, would bring economies of scale to the assessment and
registra-tion process, making it simpler and overall cheaper for
each farmer and more attractive to be included in such an ETS
scheme.
The proposal put forward by John is if a non-commercial body
such as the WRC were to facilitate group-ings of these small areas
so the total area of each group was suffi cient to produce economic
numbers of credits, then they could be accrued to interest local
large emitters to purchase the credits, rather than purchasing
credits offshore.
Benefi ts to farmersHaving big emitters purchas-
ing credits locally has a double whammy effect in that it benefi
ts farmers incomes and the funds remain within the region, rather
than being spent elsewhere. Local carbon trading platforms are now
being created, including one by Westpac.
There is expertise within the WRC to advise farmers on how best
to treat unprofi table land
and also the potential infl uence to attract investors to assist
with the costs of planting new forest areas. The concept is aimed
at giving farmers confi dence to make decisions on land use change
and manage risk in a group situation. There is no intent to push
farm-ers into tree planting, unless they choose to do so.
Flood controlWith the plethora of waterways
in the Waikato and the multiplicity of small catchment areas,
get-ting more trees and bush into the tops of these catchments can
have amazing effects on fl ood control further down. An example is
the Wairoa catchment, where much riparian planting had been done
along the banks, only to be washed away in a big fl ood. A much
later potential fl ood, however, was largely absorbed by the
increased amount of forest at the top of the catchment and no
damage ensued further down. The proposal could thus be seen as
having a bob each way for farmers.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 9COAST & COUNTRY
Joint option for carbon credits
JD
If youre the kind of person who really enjoys getting stuck in,
getting your hands dirty and working with machinery, a great career
awaits you. 30 weeks at Digger School will teach you all you need
to know, ensuring that youre fully prepared for a life off the
beaten track.
The programme will be offered in Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu,
Christchurch and Southland. Next intake starts 04 July 2011.
Call 03 769 9400 or 0800 800 411text 027 467 5574 www.tpp.ac.nz
[email protected]
Two-year-old Jess, a NZ heading dog from
Taumarunui, is amongst the top 10 fi nalists in
New Zealands Next Tux Dog competition.
The chosen dog will star in the new 2011 Tux TV commercial to
follow the pawprints of the previ-ous fi t as a fi ddle, sharp as a
knife dogs from Tux advertisements.
David Wards, 13, was given Jess as a pup two years ago.
Her tricks include riding in a wheelbarrow, jumping on drums,
jumping over sheep yard rails, stand-ing on her hind legs with her
paws on the top rail, sitting, staying and mustering sheep.
Her best features are her loyalty, good looks and energy. When
the farm car door is open, she likes to race David to the front
seat to get the best position and she always wins.
Davids mum Julie says Jess is very much Davids dog.
He spends a lot of time with her and has done all the training
himself.
The judges toured the length of New Zealand visiting and
audition-ing each dog at its home.
From May 9-29 the public can watch the audition videos and vote
at www.tux.co.nz for the fi nalist they think should be the New
Zealands Next Tux Dog.
The ultimate winner is revealed on June 13.
Coast & Country has three prize packs to give away thanks to
Tux for our readers. To go in the draw, send us your name and
details along with a photo of your best friend to
[email protected] or PO Box 240,
Tauranga. Please include a name, address and phone number with
every entry.
Taumarunui dog TV finalist
The10 fi nalists were chosen from more than 500 entries::Amazon,
a huntaway from Ohakune, Brodie, a border collie from Palmerston
NorthDixie, a yorkshire terrier from Lower HuttHarley, a
staffordshire bull terrier from Kumeu, AucklandJay, a collie cross
from Tuatapere, Western Southland
Jess, an NZ heading dog from TaumarunuiPatrick, a bearded collie
from ChristchurchPesh, a jack russell from Beachlands,
AucklandSniper, a boxer from Browns Bay, AucklandSonny, a golden
retriever/border collie cross from New
Lynn, Auckland
-
Coast & Country Page 8 COAST & COUNTRY
Where would the environment be without
Landcare groups and their assiduous volunteers?
The Department of Conserva-tion is doing its best, albeit with
what seems a constantly shrink-ing budget, but there are large
areas of bush, wetland, peat lakes and regenerating scrub which
rely on landowners and groups of volunteers to weed, plant natives
and catch predators, so the areas in question and the indigenous
plants and birdlife get a chance to continue.
When members of these groups get together for a networking
day
and explain just how much is involved in their activities, it
fair makes ones eyes pop. There are 42 Landcare Groups operating in
the Waikato, alongside 90 other groups working on single focus
projects, assisted and sometimes funded, by both regional and
district councils.
NegotiationsThe QEII National Trust has
been negotiating covenants on private land for more than 25
years now, with a total of 3,458 areas, totalling 111,000ha either
signed up or in preparation. The Waikato region has 69 signed up
out of 583 being worked on in the region. With stock excluded from
such a huge area and each piece surrounded by nice neat fences, the
bits inside are fi nally getting a chance to grow and
regenerate.
The Whakaupoko West Franklin
Landcare Group has been going for six years and has spent most
of its energies on pest control of possums and rats, as well as
monitoring native bird populations such as tui, kereru and
fantails. Its efforts have resulted in 70 monitored sites reporting
increasing tui, a good population of kereru, but the fan-tail
population seems to be going down. Monitoring is done by use of
chew cards using peanut butter as bait. The teeth marks made on
these direct which pests should be focused on in an area.
The Waikato peat lakes continue to be a focus, with increasingly
well-designed sediment traps col-lecting huge tonnage of silt from
surrounding farmlands. There was a lot of talk at the networking
day about the need to get all surround-ing landowners in agreement
and behind each project. Just one
renegade owner who ploughs right up to fences along drains and
waterways, fol-lowed by heavy rain, can undo months of work. Andrew
Hayes says that at Lake Kaituna theyve not only had to do a lot of
weed work, but the sediment trap there has so far been replaced
three times. At Lake Cameron they are con-tinuing the planting
programme round the lake and planning more signage for
visitors.
Vegetation and wildlifeOn the Awhitu Peninsula the area is
large, 34,000ha. The main problem is blowing sand which can bury
nearby vegetation. The group has focused on creating a mainland
island which gives vegetation and wildlife a chance. With a large
number of properties involved, individual owners are encouraged to
set possum bait stations and trap lines.
Hamilton Fish and Game is focuss-ing its efforts on three lakes,
Kainui, Serpentine and Koromatua, all of which have their share of
maimais along the shorelines.
Up in the Coromandel they still have kiwi in the bush and the
Moehau Envi-ronment Group, which has been going for ten years, is
focused on stoat control
as well as possums and rats. A sharing system among its members
sees monthly checks on 900 baits. Against a national decline in
kiwi numbers, the area is getting more kiwi chicks surviving over
six months and the group consider they are now seeing 68 per cent
of chicks hatched survive past this time. Their area covers more
than 1300ha, with 400 landowners involved.
InvestigationsTo explore what works and what
doesnt for Landcare groups and to record the huge variety of
activi-ties being carried out on land under different management
regimes, the Waikato Regional Council has con-tracted Dr Helen
Ritchie to investigate and report. After numerous interviews, she
is already coming up with many ideas which can be incorporated into
guidelines.
A fi eld session at Lake Kainui dem-onstrated the complexity of
building a successful sediment trap. Apparently, if you know the
right people to ask, the earthmoving and planting can be cun-ningly
cheap, (around one fi fth of the normal contractor cost)
demonstrating just how canny volunteers can be.
Ben Wolf of WDC explains the workings of a sediment trap.
Environment relying on landownersEnvironment relying on
landowners
JD
PRE-CAST CONCRETE & STEEL CONSTRUCTION SPECIALISTS
PRE-CAST CONCRETE & STEEL CONSTRUCTION SPECIALISTS
These new XUVs surv ived over 20,000 hours of blistering real-w
orls test ing in one of the harshest env ironments in the United
States.
To attack any trail, youve got to have three things:
A smooth ridethat impresses you every time you turn the key.
A seriously capable suspension. And rock solid stability (with
and without a load) These XUVs have all three. Making the world
your confidence course.
RotoruaVaughan Roadphone 07 345 5490www.agriturf.co.nz
These new XUVs surv ived over 20,000 hours of blistering real-w
orls test ing in one of the harshest env ironments in the United
States.
To attack any trail, youve got to have three things:
A smooth ridethat impresses you every time you turn the key.
A seriously capable suspension. And rock solid stability (with
and without a load) These XUVs have all three. Making the world
your confidence course.
RotoruaVaughan Roadphone 07 345 5490www.agriturf.co.nz
A new concept to assist farmers to benefi t more
from the Emissions Trading Scheme was
outlined by John Simmons, Waikato Regional Council Biosecurity
and Heritgage
group manager at the Waikato Executive of Federated Farmers.
Throughout the Waikato region there are many farms which have
small patches of reverting scrub or areas which are unsuited or
unprofi table for pasture. Plant-ing trees or allowing the scrub to
grow on these areas for individual carbon credits is probably not
economically feasible and may not be considered worthwhile by
farm-ers. Aggregation of such blocks of probably mainly post-1989
forest,
however, would bring economies of scale to the assessment and
registra-tion process, making it simpler and overall cheaper for
each farmer and more attractive to be included in such an ETS
scheme.
The proposal put forward by John is if a non-commercial body
such as the WRC were to facilitate group-ings of these small areas
so the total area of each group was suffi cient to produce economic
numbers of credits, then they could be accrued to interest local
large emitters to purchase the credits, rather than purchasing
credits offshore.
Benefi ts to farmersHaving big emitters purchas-
ing credits locally has a double whammy effect in that it benefi
ts farmers incomes and the funds remain within the region, rather
than being spent elsewhere. Local carbon trading platforms are now
being created, including one by Westpac.
There is expertise within the WRC to advise farmers on how best
to treat unprofi table land
and also the potential infl uence to attract investors to assist
with the costs of planting new forest areas. The concept is aimed
at giving farmers confi dence to make decisions on land use change
and manage risk in a group situation. There is no intent to push
farm-ers into tree planting, unless they choose to do so.
Flood controlWith the plethora of waterways
in the Waikato and the multiplicity of small catchment areas,
get-ting more trees and bush into the tops of these catchments can
have amazing effects on fl ood control further down. An example is
the Wairoa catchment, where much riparian planting had been done
along the banks, only to be washed away in a big fl ood. A much
later potential fl ood, however, was largely absorbed by the
increased amount of forest at the top of the catchment and no
damage ensued further down. The proposal could thus be seen as
having a bob each way for farmers.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 9COAST & COUNTRY
Joint option for carbon credits
JD
If youre the kind of person who really enjoys getting stuck in,
getting your hands dirty and working with machinery, a great career
awaits you. 30 weeks at Digger School will teach you all you need
to know, ensuring that youre fully prepared for a life off the
beaten track.
The programme will be offered in Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu,
Christchurch and Southland. Next intake starts 04 July 2011.
Call 03 769 9400 or 0800 800 411text 027 467 5574 www.tpp.ac.nz
[email protected]
Two-year-old Jess, a NZ heading dog from
Taumarunui, is amongst the top 10 fi nalists in
New Zealands Next Tux Dog competition.
The chosen dog will star in the new 2011 Tux TV commercial to
follow the pawprints of the previ-ous fi t as a fi ddle, sharp as a
knife dogs from Tux advertisements.
David Wards, 13, was given Jess as a pup two years ago.
Her tricks include riding in a wheelbarrow, jumping on drums,
jumping over sheep yard rails, stand-ing on her hind legs with her
paws on the top rail, sitting, staying and mustering sheep.
Her best features are her loyalty, good looks and energy. When
the farm car door is open, she likes to race David to the front
seat to get the best position and she always wins.
Davids mum Julie says Jess is very much Davids dog.
He spends a lot of time with her and has done all the training
himself.
The judges toured the length of New Zealand visiting and
audition-ing each dog at its home.
From May 9-29 the public can watch the audition videos and vote
at www.tux.co.nz for the fi nalist they think should be the New
Zealands Next Tux Dog.
The ultimate winner is revealed on June 13.
Coast & Country has three prize packs to give away thanks to
Tux for our readers. To go in the draw, send us your name and
details along with a photo of your best friend to
[email protected] or PO Box 240,
Tauranga. Please include a name, address and phone number with
every entry.
Taumarunui dog TV finalist
The10 fi nalists were chosen from more than 500 entries::Amazon,
a huntaway from Ohakune, Brodie, a border collie from Palmerston
NorthDixie, a yorkshire terrier from Lower HuttHarley, a
staffordshire bull terrier from Kumeu, AucklandJay, a collie cross
from Tuatapere, Western Southland
Jess, an NZ heading dog from TaumarunuiPatrick, a bearded collie
from ChristchurchPesh, a jack russell from Beachlands,
AucklandSniper, a boxer from Browns Bay, AucklandSonny, a golden
retriever/border collie cross from New
Lynn, Auckland
-
Coast & Country Page 10 DAIRY
The Lakes Water Quality Society of Rotorua is
determined the twelve lakes it cares about are restored and
sustained for future generations.
There must be many others who agree with them if the 250
scien-tists, planners, environmentalists and farmers who turned up
to their last meeting is anything to go by.
While much is being achieved by
various means in the smaller lakes, the one on the doorstep of
the city, Lake Rotorua, has still got a long way to go. So the
focus this year was on not only lake restoration, but also on how
farsighted regional planning can successfully promote growth for
the city and the region.
The guest speaker on day one had come all the way from Sweden.
Mayor Bo Frank from the city of Vaxjo proudly talked about it being
The Greenest City in Europe and what had been done to make
it so. Vaxjo has 85,000 people, is surrounded by 200 small lakes
and it used to have a serious pollution problem. The Swedes
apparently measure everything and the people are used to accepting
regulation and curbs on activities, which has probably helped, but
theyve cer-tainly achieved an amazing amount.
Bo was elected as mayor in 1991 and has been thus ever since.
Sweden operates a decentralised government, with each city being
more or less self-contained in gov-
ernance. Running Vaxjo is greatly assisted by the fact that 30
per cent of all income tax generated locally is paid to run local
government.
Vaxjo set out to attract creative people, who would offer
lateral thinking on how to make a green city work well. They now
have 8000 SME companies and a small university known as the
Linnaeus University with a focus on sustainability. All of those
200 lakes and rivers have their own water protection associations
caring for them. They recycle everything, with organic waste being
collected to run a biogas plant which supplies fuel for the public
transport system in the city. There are clear rules on housing,
with passive heating and triple glazing to cope with cold Swedish
winter weather.
Vaxjo now attracts scientists and eco-tourists from everywhere
and makes part of its income from selling the knowledge it has
accumulated.
Bill Bayfi eld, the soon to depart CEO of the Bay of Plenty
Regional Council,
was forthright in his views on what would be needed for the
Rotorua Lakes to be restored. He considers setting targets and
creating action plans for each lake to be vital and that each lake
needs to be worked on differently, according to its current state
and surroundings. The council is trying a number of different
systems. These include capping lake beds, such as has been done at
Lake Okare, building onshore and fl oating wetlands, weed
harvesting, creating buffer zones and reducing nutrients. The
diversion wall built to divert water from Lake Rotorua from
reaching Lake Rotoiti is working well, with noticeable reduction in
nitrate levels now in Rotoiti. With Lake Rotorua, the problem is
still huge. There are 2000 rural landowners and 50,000ha involved.
Bill says he foresees the restoration process taking decades and
was adamant land use change, enforced by regulation, would be
needed.
This was a commonly expressed view at a Rotorua Lakes symposium
by the attending bureaucrats, retired judges and scientists.
Rotorua District Council chief executive Peter Guerin talked
about the reorganisation within the council to ensure that lean
thinking prevailed in order to carry out its roles better, faster,
cheaper and easier.
The council long-term planning now includes spatial planning,
similar to what is being done for Auckland. Council is working
towards activity rules, which would be used to target land use
change using concept plans which would then make for controlled
activities. Consents would be required for high nutrient output
activities. Overall Peter says he foresees big changes for the
region. Frank Boffa of Wellington fi rm Boffa Mis-kell has been
working with the Rotorua District Council for some time on land use
planning. It is now consid-ered about 30 per cent of pasture land,
6,750ha, round Lake Rotorua needs to be retired. While initial
thoughts had been for much of this to be turned into some forest
and lifestyle blocks, Frank says the sheer amount of land would
make this impractical.
The 2ha blocks envisaged have proven to be uneco-nomic and he
sees better usage by creating a variety of block sizes, say from
1ha to 5ha, grouped in small clusters and surrounded by other
activities such as a golf course, wellness spas and high quality
tourism accom-modation, coupled with forest areas. Franks overall
view was growing the region to fi x the lake might be a more
economically successful system. The Hon Sir Edward Durie, retired
head of the Maori Land Court, produced some fairly heretical views
on land use for the huge areas of Maori land in the region.
With Maori ownership having been changed from tribal to
individual by the government in 1860, the proliferation of
individual owners had always been something of a problem, in that
profi ts from use of the land had too many shareholders to be paid
each year. Edward says this is now hugely exacerbated by the fact
that a hefty proportion of Maori owners now live in Australia. So,
unlike most Pacifi c people who came to New Zealand to earn money
and then repatriated it to their own people, Maori were now
required to send much of their profi ts offshore.
Fix a lake and grow a city
Or grow region to fix the lakeVoluntarism wont
work to clean up the lakes in Rotorua and farming and other
activities are going to need regulation.
DB
DoloZest and CalciZest 0800 843 809 Bio-Gro certified # 5146 or
visit www.esi.org.nz
E S I programmes consistently out-perform fertiliser N driven
programmes with more total DM grown containing more energy
resulting in higher levels of animal production.
DoloZest/CalciZest based fertiliser programmes deliver higher
energy levels in every mouthful. This means:-
more rapid weight gain over winter
less weight loss after calving.
By Sue Edmonds
By Sue Edmonds
He says land owner-ship should revert to a tribal base, so profi
ts could be ploughed back into the land for the benefi t of the
tribe as a whole. This would help to fund land use change. He also
added he felt the era of the Maori Land Court and the Maori Trustee
had run their course. His thinking may well coincide with the
recent govern-ment announcement of support and training for Maori
incorporations in their farming activities.
Judge Peter Skelton, now one of the commissioners for
Environ-ment Canterbury, was part of the decision making process on
Lake Taupo restrictions. Based on that experience he says it had
taken fi ve years of consultation and while the Lake Taupo plans
were generally collaborative, there would always be free riders who
chose to ride on the backs of those who complied. The
costs which could be incurred by individuals in some schemes
would be too great for voluntary compli-ance to work. Peter says
regulation would be necessary for such schemes in the future.
An update on the science and modelling of nutrient movement
given by Kit Rutherford of NIWA showed despite there being huge
differences in lag times of under-ground waters reaching the lakes,
an immediate reduction in nutrient inputs had an overall faster
than expected reduction in lake nitrate and phosphorus levels.
William Oliver, a Taupo farmer who saw opportunities in profi
t-able farming under the nitrogen cap, described how he has adapted
10,000ha of land adjacent to the lake for best land use, using
carbon forestry planting, bush retirement and nutrient reductions.
The system
has also preserved local jobs and worked to keep the various
compo-nents of local community viable and active.
Alison Dewes, Agribusiness consultant, talked about the ageing
demographic of farmers and the need to realign farm businesses to
cope with shifts in global repric-ing of risk in the last three
years. A process of whole farm plan-ning which allows farmers to
look at where they are, how they want to farm and where they want
to be in future years, is already allowing those who have worked
with the system to adjust stock-ing rates, nutrient effi ciency,
farm management systems, improve environmental sustainability and
still increase profi tability.
The overall atmosphere of the conference was upbeat and positive
about future changes and results.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 11DAIRY
Tropical armyworm influx the Bay
Putting profits back into the land
JD
The tropical armyworm is causing damage to crops and
pasture in the Bay of Plenty, says Bill Webb.
The contractor was made aware of the pest by an orchardist and
has since noticed it attacking turnip and chicory crops as well as
pasture.
There is a lot around there are up to 14 caterpillars every
square metre, says Bill.
They are doing a lot of damage the pasture looks like it has
been grazed.
Bill says the caterpillars didnt go after the maize crop this
year as they have some-times in the past, but have instead turned
to brassica plants, including rye grass and some lucerne crops.
Ive never had to spray for armyworm in my turnip or grass
pastures before.
We had a fl ood in one of our paddocks and they were all
clinging onto the fence posts.
One orchardist told me he saw them march-ing along the ground
and it looked like the ground was moving.
Bill Webb Contracting sent out a warning
fl yer to clients that had done new pasture renovation and crops
when it fi rst noticed the infl ux.
Checking for pests in pasture is part of a pasture renovation
programme farmers should be following anyway, says Bill.
Not many people spray for weeds or pests in new pastures.
It is essential that you spray all new peren-nial pastures for
weeds, be they cultivated or sprayed and direct drilled.
But it is important to spend the money and
do it properly otherwise you will end up losing money in the
long run.
Bill is still getting enquires after a pasture renewal fi eld
day he hosted earlier this year.
He said with the money farmers are spending on pasture renewal,
they dont want it to be
riddled with weeds in two years time.At the moment the new
pastures are compet-
ing with the weeds for nutrients and moisture.People need to get
us in and we can monitor
the new grass for you.Bill says the benefi ts far outweigh the
costs.
He noted that contractor costs are having to be increased as
they can no longer absorb the 44 per cent increase in the cost of
diesel.
Diesel has gone up from $1.18 to $1.69 since last year, with
some Bay of Plenty service sta-tions are selling it over $1.70.
Thats a 51 cent rise since I set my prices at the start of the
maize season, says Bill.
That makes quite a bit of difference to the cost of running our
machinery.
It cuts into our margins, and it takes it directly off our
bottom line.
For the 150,000 plus litres of diesel the contracting machines
go through in a season, Bill says the higher diesel price is
costing him an extra $76,000.
Thats what Ive got to cover.Its an additional $76,000 we
hadnt
budgeted on. You can see how easily it would be to get blown
out.
The 51 cent increase in diesel means the harvester is costing an
extra $25 per hectare or $30 an hour to run, says Bill.
That is about a fi ve per cent increase in the hourly rate just
for fuel.
The two maize harvesters both go through 800 litres of diesel
each in a day, while the 13 tractors combined take 1500 litres.
By Sheryl Brown
CO
NTRAC
TING IN THE BAY
BI
LL WE
BB - EST 1976
FOR QUALITY & SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON
FOR QUALITY & SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON
C O N T R A C T I N G L T DFOR QUALITY & SERVICE YOU CAN
RELY ON
YOU CAN RELY ON
-
Coast & Country Page 10 DAIRY
The Lakes Water Quality Society of Rotorua is
determined the twelve lakes it cares about are restored and
sustained for future generations.
There must be many others who agree with them if the 250
scien-tists, planners, environmentalists and farmers who turned up
to their last meeting is anything to go by.
While much is being achieved by
various means in the smaller lakes, the one on the doorstep of
the city, Lake Rotorua, has still got a long way to go. So the
focus this year was on not only lake restoration, but also on how
farsighted regional planning can successfully promote growth for
the city and the region.
The guest speaker on day one had come all the way from Sweden.
Mayor Bo Frank from the city of Vaxjo proudly talked about it being
The Greenest City in Europe and what had been done to make
it so. Vaxjo has 85,000 people, is surrounded by 200 small lakes
and it used to have a serious pollution problem. The Swedes
apparently measure everything and the people are used to accepting
regulation and curbs on activities, which has probably helped, but
theyve cer-tainly achieved an amazing amount.
Bo was elected as mayor in 1991 and has been thus ever since.
Sweden operates a decentralised government, with each city being
more or less self-contained in gov-
ernance. Running Vaxjo is greatly assisted by the fact that 30
per cent of all income tax generated locally is paid to run local
government.
Vaxjo set out to attract creative people, who would offer
lateral thinking on how to make a green city work well. They now
have 8000 SME companies and a small university known as the
Linnaeus University with a focus on sustainability. All of those
200 lakes and rivers have their own water protection associations
caring for them. They recycle everything, with organic waste being
collected to run a biogas plant which supplies fuel for the public
transport system in the city. There are clear rules on housing,
with passive heating and triple glazing to cope with cold Swedish
winter weather.
Vaxjo now attracts scientists and eco-tourists from everywhere
and makes part of its income from selling the knowledge it has
accumulated.
Bill Bayfi eld, the soon to depart CEO of the Bay of Plenty
Regional Council,
was forthright in his views on what would be needed for the
Rotorua Lakes to be restored. He considers setting targets and
creating action plans for each lake to be vital and that each lake
needs to be worked on differently, according to its current state
and surroundings. The council is trying a number of different
systems. These include capping lake beds, such as has been done at
Lake Okare, building onshore and fl oating wetlands, weed
harvesting, creating buffer zones and reducing nutrients. The
diversion wall built to divert water from Lake Rotorua from
reaching Lake Rotoiti is working well, with noticeable reduction in
nitrate levels now in Rotoiti. With Lake Rotorua, the problem is
still huge. There are 2000 rural landowners and 50,000ha involved.
Bill says he foresees the restoration process taking decades and
was adamant land use change, enforced by regulation, would be
needed.
This was a commonly expressed view at a Rotorua Lakes symposium
by the attending bureaucrats, retired judges and scientists.
Rotorua District Council chief executive Peter Guerin talked
about the reorganisation within the council to ensure that lean
thinking prevailed in order to carry out its roles better, faster,
cheaper and easier.
The council long-term planning now includes spatial planning,
similar to what is being done for Auckland. Council is working
towards activity rules, which would be used to target land use
change using concept plans which would then make for controlled
activities. Consents would be required for high nutrient output
activities. Overall Peter says he foresees big changes for the
region. Frank Boffa of Wellington fi rm Boffa Mis-kell has been
working with the Rotorua District Council for some time on land use
planning. It is now consid-ered about 30 per cent of pasture land,
6,750ha, round Lake Rotorua needs to be retired. While initial
thoughts had been for much of this to be turned into some forest
and lifestyle blocks, Frank says the sheer amount of land would
make this impractical.
The 2ha blocks envisaged have proven to be uneco-nomic and he
sees better usage by creating a variety of block sizes, say from
1ha to 5ha, grouped in small clusters and surrounded by other
activities such as a golf course, wellness spas and high quality
tourism accom-modation, coupled with forest areas. Franks overall
view was growing the region to fi x the lake might be a more
economically successful system. The Hon Sir Edward Durie, retired
head of the Maori Land Court, produced some fairly heretical views
on land use for the huge areas of Maori land in the region.
With Maori ownership having been changed from tribal to
individual by the government in 1860, the proliferation of
individual owners had always been something of a problem, in that
profi ts from use of the land had too many shareholders to be paid
each year. Edward says this is now hugely exacerbated by the fact
that a hefty proportion of Maori owners now live in Australia. So,
unlike most Pacifi c people who came to New Zealand to earn money
and then repatriated it to their own people, Maori were now
required to send much of their profi ts offshore.
Fix a lake and grow a city
Or grow region to fix the lakeVoluntarism wont
work to clean up the lakes in Rotorua and farming and other
activities are going to need regulation.
DB
DoloZest and CalciZest 0800 843 809 Bio-Gro certified # 5146 or
visit www.esi.org.nz
E S I programmes consistently out-perform fertiliser N driven
programmes with more total DM grown containing more energy
resulting in higher levels of animal production.
DoloZest/CalciZest based fertiliser programmes deliver higher
energy levels in every mouthful. This means:-
more rapid weight gain over winter
less weight loss after calving.
By Sue Edmonds
By Sue Edmonds
He says land owner-ship should revert to a tribal base, so profi
ts could be ploughed back into the land for the benefi t of the
tribe as a whole. This would help to fund land use change. He also
added he felt the era of the Maori Land Court and the Maori Trustee
had run their course. His thinking may well coincide with the
recent govern-ment announcement of support and training for Maori
incorporations in their farming activities.
Judge Peter Skelton, now one of the commissioners for
Environ-ment Canterbury, was part of the decision making process on
Lake Taupo restrictions. Based on that experience he says it had
taken fi ve years of consultation and while the Lake Taupo plans
were generally collaborative, there would always be free riders who
chose to ride on the backs of those who complied. The
costs which could be incurred by individuals in some schemes
would be too great for voluntary compli-ance to work. Peter says
regulation would be necessary for such schemes in the future.
An update on the science and modelling of nutrient movement
given by Kit Rutherford of NIWA showed despite there being huge
differences in lag times of under-ground waters reaching the lakes,
an immediate reduction in nutrient inputs had an overall faster
than expected reduction in lake nitrate and phosphorus levels.
William Oliver, a Taupo farmer who saw opportunities in profi
t-able farming under the nitrogen cap, described how he has adapted
10,000ha of land adjacent to the lake for best land use, using
carbon forestry planting, bush retirement and nutrient reductions.
The system
has also preserved local jobs and worked to keep the various
compo-nents of local community viable and active.
Alison Dewes, Agribusiness consultant, talked about the ageing
demographic of farmers and the need to realign farm businesses to
cope with shifts in global repric-ing of risk in the last three
years. A process of whole farm plan-ning which allows farmers to
look at where they are, how they want to farm and where they want
to be in future years, is already allowing those who have worked
with the system to adjust stock-ing rates, nutrient effi ciency,
farm management systems, improve environmental sustainability and
still increase profi tability.
The overall atmosphere of the conference was upbeat and positive
about future changes and results.
PH 07 578 0030 Page 11DAIRY
Tropical armyworm influx the Bay
Putting profits back into the land
JD
The tropical armyworm is causing damage to crops and
pasture in the Bay of Plenty, says Bill Webb.
The contractor was made aware of the pest by an orchardist and
has since noticed it attacking turnip and chicory crops as well as
pasture.
There is a lot around there are up to 14 caterpillars every
square metre, says Bill.
They are doing a lot of damage the pasture looks like it has
been grazed.
Bill says the caterpillars didnt go after the maize crop this
year as they have some-times in the past, but have instead turned
to brassica plants, including rye grass and some lucerne crops.
Ive never had to spray for armyworm in my turnip or grass
pastures before.
We had a fl ood in one of our paddocks and they were all
clinging onto the fence posts.
One orchardist told me he saw them march-ing along the ground
and it looked like the ground was moving.
Bill Webb Contracting sent out a warning
fl yer to clients that had done new pasture renovation and crops
when it fi rst noticed the infl ux.
Checking for pests in pasture is part of a pasture renovation
programme farmers should be following anyway, says Bill.
Not many people spray for weeds or pests in new pastures.
It is essential that you spray all new peren-nial pastures for
weeds, be they cultivated or sprayed and direct drilled.
But it is important to spend the money and
do it properly otherwise you will end up losing money in the
long run.
Bill is still getting enquires after a pasture renewal fi eld
day he hosted earlier this year.
He said with the money farmers are spending on pasture renewal,
they dont want it to be
riddled with weeds in two years time.At the moment the new
pastures are compet-
ing with the weeds for nutrients and moisture.People need to get
us in and we can monitor
the new grass for you.Bill says the benefi ts far outweigh the
costs.
He noted that contractor costs are having to be increased as
they can no longer absorb the 44 per cent increase in the cost of
diesel.
Diesel has gone up from $1.18 to $1.69 since last year, with
some Bay of Plenty service sta-tions are selling it over $1.70.
Thats a 51 cent rise since I set my prices at the start of the
maize season, says Bill.
That makes quite a bit of difference to the cost of running our
machinery.
It cuts into our margins, and it takes it directly off our
bottom line.
For the 150,000 plus litres of diesel the contracting machines
go through in a season, Bill says the higher diesel price is
costing him an extra $76,000.
Thats what Ive got to cover.Its an additional $76,000 we
hadnt
budgeted on. You can see how easily it would be to get blown
out.
The 51 cent increase in diesel means the harvester is costing an
extra $25 per hectare or $30 an hour to run, says Bill.
That is about a fi ve per cent increase in the hourly rate just
for fuel.
The two maize harvesters both go through 800 litres of diesel
each in a day, while the 13 tractors combined take 1500 litres.
By Sheryl BrownCO
NTRAC
TING IN THE BAY
BI
LL WE
BB - EST 1976
FOR QUALITY & SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON
FOR QUALITY & SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON
C O N T R A C T I N G L T DFOR QUALITY & SERVICE YOU CAN
RELY ON
YOU CAN RELY ON
-
Coast & Country Page 12 DAIRY
Proven Designs, Proven ProfitsWaikato Dairy Builders are
specialists in the design and construction of herringbone dairy
sheds.A Waikato Dairy Builders shed is designed to maximise milking
efficiency and provide better profitability.
Ph Jim 07-850 5971 Mob. 0274 936 693Ph Chris 07-849 3630 Mob.
0274 936 692P.O. Box 10 188, Te Rapa,
Hamiltonwww.dairybuilders.co.nz
We have built hundreds of high producing sheds Completed to your
requirements and budget Innovation, workmanship and experience
WAIKATODAIRY BUILDERS
0800 2269742COWSHED
Tom DickieSales Manager Central North Island
021 800 548
Jane MayoAccount Manager South Waikato
021 900 237
Paul ConveryStore ManagerTirau
07 883 1364
Talk to us about Soil testing Nutrient budgets Fertiliser
Applied pricing Aglime RPR Agrochemicals Animal health Travel
Dollars Nutrition
Terry RobertsAccount Manager Taupo / Rotorua South
021 900 235
Now with a new urea silo in the Whakatane area.
Peter OSheaAccount Manager Bay of Plenty / Opotiki
021 900 325
Accelerate grass growth
The Environment Waikato team fi nally woken up to the idea, if
they held an expo on what is available and threw in a few seminars
to boot, they could offer help without fear or favour. Around 500
turned up to the effl uent fi eld day to learn.
The basic requirement these days is storage, so those who
displayed their wares had to be graduates of the effl uent storage
calculator seminars which EW has been running in recent months.
Held in the big hall at Mystery Creek, the layout had pond liner
products all in a row, squirters, jets, travellers and pods in a
second row and the scientifi c measuring experts in a third.
Knowing when your soil can cope with irrigation and when it must be
stored is just as important as how you store it or apply it.
Thus, visitors could compare textures, welding sys-tems,
guarantees and prices for pond liners and stirrers without having
to walk miles to discover each brand at multipurpose events.
Farmers need accurate knowledge of how far, how fast and how
deep their applicators put effl uent on pasture in a measured time.
So getting the right sort of whirler or squirter for your soil,
your landforms and the acreage to be covered is an important
decision and requires quite some knowledge to get right.
The newly released Design Code of Practice and Design Standards
for effl uent are going to present some
homework for those offering integrated packages of equipment.
Even a system of accreditation for those who know is being worked
on.
This should quickly sort out the snake oil purveyors who have,
up to now, often managed to sell systems to farmers more fi xated
on the price tags than on comply-ing with the varying effl uent
rules in different regions, leaving farmers with something which
probably wasnt going to comply, whatever the weather.
The seminars were all well attended, with standing room only for
some of the morning sessions on the stor-age calculator. Its not
only how much storage you need, depending on cow numbers, soil
types, climate and regional rules, but also being aware of what
that effl u-ent contains. Depending on where its collected from,
whether from a feed pad, milking shed or stormwater and whether it
contains all the solids or just some of them, the amount of
nitrogen, potassium and phospho-rus will vary hugely.
With annual application limitations, such as 150kg/ha/year for
nitrogen, just fl inging it on to a limited acreage, even when the
soil is dry enough, could result in being non-compliant and produce
health proble