Dairy News 26 April 2016

China resumes buying, prices up. PAGE 4INVADER COMINGUnveiling at FieldaysPAGE 38

RAW MILK BENEFITSLock allergies out PAGE 21

APRIL 26, 2016 ISSUE 355 // www.dairynews.co.nz

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NEWS // 3

NEWS�� 3-17

OPINION��18-19

AGRIBUSINESS�� 20-23

MANAGEMENT�� 24-29

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MACHINERY & PRODUCTS��33-36

FARM BIKES & ATVS�� 37-38

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Stick with your bank

READJUST, STICK with your banks and keep supporting your dairy company; things will come right. That’s the message from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bill English to dairy farmers nearing the end of their second season of low milk payout.

English, headline speaker at next month’s DairyNZ Farmers Forum in Hamilton, believes farmers are adapting well.

“They’re in a tough patch lasting longer than people expected but they are adapting pretty well in the short term,” he told Dairy News.

“We see an industry doing the things they need to do; farmers are not just sitting around complaining. Dairy farmers are addressing problems in cost structures and so far have convinced their financiers to back them.”

The Government shares the industry’s confidence in its long term future. Dairying will bounce back, he says.

“There are bound to be farmers who have to make short term decisions under a bit of pressure.

“We would expect that when the industry has had a good run for so long there would be a build of costs and debt.

“As long as they readjust and the banks stick with them and they continue to support their dairy company, we think it will come right. We think they will be there to benefit when it comes right.”

The Government is keen to see farmers and banks stick together; they have good reasons to do so.

“The farmers can see a long term future and they need to persuade the banks they will be profitable customers in the future,” says English.

“The banks’ interest is that they don’t act in a way that reduces equity in farms to the point where it represents a risk to the debt.”

The Government checks in with banks regularly about their view of the dairy industry; banks are seen by the Government as cautious but positive.

For its part, the Government continues

spending on science and R&D which in the long run will lead to a more competitive industry that could weather downturns better, English says.

The Government is also looking at securing better market access for our dairy products.

On Fonterra’s performance, the deputy PM says during a downturn there is always a temptation to blame the company; however that’s a product of world supply.

“You can’t expect Fonterra to be setting the world price.”

He is confident that whatever Fonterra is discussing with its shareholders it is helping farmers maintain a cohesive and confident view of the future.

Fonterra is expecting milk production to be lower by 4% this season. English says this allows the co-op to focus on its volume-to-value strategy. More milk is going into higher value products.

Shareholders and the Government would

like to think more could have happened sooner, English says.

“But Fonterra has had to deal with this big surge in production over recent years so they are now well geared up with the right attitude to push more volume into high value added products.

“In five years that’s how farmers will judge them: on how the co-op has succeeded in turning more milk into high value products.”

However, English notes that higher value added products would always be risky investments; Fonterra’s product range will always be underpinned by a base load of competitive production of milk powder commodity type products.

“The two go together and I think Fonterra has turned out to be pretty good at making milk powder and they always will be processing a portion of that.”

SUDESH KISSUNsudeshk@ruralnews�co�nz

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English believes farmers are working with their banks and adjusting well.

@dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews


4 // NEWS

RABOBANK DAIRY analyst Emma Higgins says any improvement in dairy prices is good news.

“In saying that, commodity prices have been very low and any upwards movement does seem significant from such a low base,” she told Dairy News.

“However, the global dairy market outlook remains weak over

the next 12 months and so we are cautiously optimistic regarding these latest GDT results.

“We remain conscious that the rebalancing process of supply and demand dynamics in the global dairy market is ongoing – and international dairy markets remain fragile.”

ANY RISE IS WELCOME

China resumes buying but still a long road ahead

LAST WEEK’S Global-DairyTrade result indi-cates China is back in the market and New Zealand supply is tightening, says Doug Steel, BNZ senior economist.

The GDT result was close to expectations -- perhaps even a little higher, Steel told Dairy News.

The overall GDT price index rose 3.8% with the whole milk powder (WMP) index up 7.5% to an average price of US$2156/MT. In contrast the skim milk powder (SMP) index was up just 0.3%, to an average US$1727/MT.

Steel says WMP lifting

significantly was encour-aging. “But not so much encouragement from the weaker aspects of the auc-tion – particularly the skim milk powder, butter and cheese,” he says.

“I think that differ-ence between WMP and the other products is a function of the likes of China probably back in the market buying, and the tightness of New Zea-land supply versus what’s happening in Europe -- the massive amounts of milk being made there and product stockpiling, particularly in SMP and butter.

“With WMP the big-gest buyer is China and the biggest seller is NZ. We think China is back in the market and obviously NZ’s production is down this

season. For that particular product there’s probably better demand and tighter supply, so there’s price pressure upwards.”

The Europeans are big makers of SMP; they are making heaps of it and stockpiling, and the demand side for SMP is definitely not strong enough to match the supply, he says.

So prices are still very weak for SMP.

“We are cautiously optimistic about the next year or two,” Steel says.

“Even though prices have lifted in this auction they are still extremely weak in the bigger picture. We think weak prices will ultimately cause supply growth to slow down or even contract a bit. At current levels, prices

are surely encouraging demand.

“So it is like a usual commodity cycle: the low prices fix themselves eventually by encouraging demand and discouraging supply.”

The harder question to answer is how long it will take, he says. “It certainly has been a while. There are a few other wrinkles in the system – the Russian ban and the like. We still think prices will lift over the coming year or so. It is a question of when that comes through.”

For the season coming, 2016-17, BNZ is forecasting $4.60/kgMS. That com-pares to Fonterra’s current season forecast of $3.90/kgMS.

“You could convince yourself there is an upside

risk to $4.60/kgMS. “The reason we are not

lifting now is that the NZ dollar is pushing higher and offsetting some of the price gains on the GDT.

“For example for this auction prices are up on average 3.8%; it almost exactly matches the lift in the Kiwi dollar over the same period. So when you bring the prices into Kiwi terms they are pretty flat.”

The dollar is connected to the general increase in commodity prices over the last few months, most notably the bounce up in oil.

“It wasn’t too many months ago when oil prices were below US$30 a barrel; now they are US$40 or just above. In percentage terms it is quite a big lift although relatively low. That’s given confidence to the general financial markets that the jitters existing during Jan-uary and February have settled down and the Kiwi tends to benefit in that environment.”

Westpac senior econo-

mist Anne Boniface says the latest GDT brings WMP prices back near where they started the year and will come as wel-come news for belea-guered dairy farmers. And the auction was stronger than anticipated by the futures market.

While this suggests some upside risk to West-pac’s $4.60/kgMS forecast, she notes caution.

“The sustained period of lower prices has given many buyers the oppor-tunity to stock up, and while there have been pre-liminary signs of slower growth in European milk production, grow-ing stockpiles will eventu-ally be released onto the market.”

This means any large and sustained improve-

ment is likely to be some way off. The New Zealand dollar is also back above 70c against the US dollar, tempering the good news for farmers, she says.

ASB rural economist Nathan Penny says the price moves are consistent with a recovery, albeit one that has a long way to run.

Penny says they expect to see NZ farmers con-tinue to lead the produc-tion response to low milk prices. “And as NZ produc-tion falls, we expect to see prices for NZ-dominated products recover first.”

Elsewhere globally, the response to low prices is slower, but in the EU the response is happening.

ASB expects Fonterra’s opening 2016-17 season milk price forecast to be near $5/kgMS.

PAM [email protected]

Whole milk powder prices jumped 7.5% at last week’s GDT auction.

The Forum has a thought-provoking line-up topics, workshops and speakers including:

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NEWS // 5

FARMERS ARE being urged to get involved in the upcoming local authority elections.

Federated Farmers’ spokeswoman on local gov-ernment, Katie Milne, says local government elec-tions are vitally important for farming on many levels, and she is encouraging farmers to make their voices heard.

“It is crucial that farmers get involved in hold-ing their councils to account. This includes being engaged on the issues and when the time comes making an informed vote.

“It’s also important that we get good candi-dates, including farmers and other business-minded people, to stand for election,” she says.

“It’s a challenging role but farmers can make a dif-ference on councils, informing and educating [other councilors] about what happens on-farm, which is crucial for getting sensible, workable outcomes.”

Milne says that the way local government is funded, by property value based rates, has a big impact on farms’ financial viability.

Make your voice heard

‘Good support’ to overhaul co-op’s leadership structure

FONTERRA DIREC-TOR Michael Spaans says overall there is good sup-port for changes proposed for its leadership struc-ture.

Speaking to Dairy News after taking part in six farmer meetings between Northland and Waikato, Spaans said farmers recog-nise the better processes and outcomes proposed by the review.

He says the proposed cut in director numbers from 13 to 11 was barely raised at the meetings he attended.

“There were one or two questions on why couldn’t we keep it at 13; one or two raised the possibility of reducing the number fur-ther,” he says.

“We explained [the numbers were needed because] of our unique

regulatory requirements like the milk price panel and the general workload of directors.”

Spaans was joined at the meetings by Fon-terra Shareholders Coun-cil deputy chairman Greg Kirkwood. On average 30 farmers attended each meeting.

Spaans says while many farmers lacked time to think about the proposal, mailed out on April 13, lots asked questions and gave feedback.

The review committee will discuss the feedback before putting a proposal to the Fonterra board and the Shareholders Council. A final proposal could be put to farmers for voting in late May, Spaans says.

“If we pursue those changes we will need 75% support at a special meeting and that is a big hurdle.”

Former Sharehold-ers Council chairman Ian

SUDESH [email protected]

Brown, who held farmer meetings in Southland and Otago, refers to “good questions” on the board numbers and composi-tion.

But he says the new proposal to assess can-didates’ attributes and

attracted the most interest among shareholders.

Brown says over-all there was support for evolving the governance and representation of the co-op from “where we are today”.

Also attending the

meetings was John Monaghan, standing in for chairman John Wilson, in China on the Prime Min-ister’s trade delegation. Brown says Monaghan’s presence was a great example of the varied workload of directors.

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THREE FINALISTS for the Dairy Women’s Net-work’s (DWN) Dairy Community Leadership Award have been announced.

They are Tracey Collis from Eketahuna, Lisa Hicks from Ohakune and Katrina Simpson from Hokitika.

Collis, a first term member of Tararua District Council, will contest the mayoralty later this year. She volunteers for many community committees and groups. She and her husband have farmed for 27 years and are former regional Sharemilker of the Year winners.

DWN Manawatu regional group convenor Hicks helps those with learning disabilities and initiated the Ohakune Dairy NZ discussion group. She hosts agri students and urban children. Hicks and her part-ner manage an 800 cow dairy farm in Ohakune.

Simpson, a former West Coast DWN regional convenor, holds three positions at Hokitika Scout Group. She and her husband run a dairy grazing and finishing beef operation near Hutia, following share-milking in South Westland. Simpson is also a live-stock drafter for Silver Fern Farms.

The winner will be announced at an awards eve-ning on May 4 at the DWN conference at Claude-lands Events Centre, Hamilton.

Top leader to be named

European farmers hurting too

EUROPEAN DAIRY farmers are hurting too, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

Guy, who attended the OECD agriculture minis-ters meeting in Paris this month, told Dairy News that EU farmers -- who get subsidies -- have the same cost of production and are paid about the same for

their milk as New Zealand farmers.

“That goes to show that even with subsidies their farmers are still feel-ing pain. Some EU coun-tries have now asked their farmers to voluntarily reduce supply because in the last 12 months produc-tion in the EU has grown by 2%.

“I told the ministers’ forum that subsidies aren’t sustainable in the long term and pointed out that when subsidies came off in NZ we had to innovate and adapt.... So it’s not just NZ that’s feeling the pain of global dairy prices, its right across the world.”

Guy says he spent a day with the French Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Le Foll and went down to his electorate to see a farm-ers’ market.

“I also went to Berlin where I had a couple of fascinating days visiting a dairy farm and milking

a couple of cows. I later met with representatives of farming organisations from Germany, Ireland, Poland and other coun-tries. We talked about the global milk price issue and it’s clear this is very com-plicated. The EU countries talked about the Russian ban and the strong milk producing countries like Ireland and the Nether-lands that are producing more milk.”

Also compounding the problem, says Guy, is that low oil prices have reduced the buying power of some of the oil states. Last week he visited China to try to better understand what is happening there to supply and demand.

Guy says the OECD meeting was concerned with how farmers can feed a fast-growing popula-tion while also living with restrictions on farming. Climate change is a related issue, he says.

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8 // NEWS

Dairy high on trade mission agenda

THE MINISTER for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, spoke to the Chinese Minister of Agriculture in Beijing last week, trying to discover when the glut of dairy products there will end.

He spoke to Dairy News while visiting Beijing in a large trade delegation led by Prime Minister John Key; it included representatives

of about 40 New Zealand companies, including most dairy companies.

Guy says he realises

that NZ farmers are suffering because of what he calls a “congested market in China” and says he hopes the situation will gradually improve.

One problem is that some of the EU milk formerly made into butter for Russia is now going to

China.“It’s a bit early to

say how long it will take to get a correction of the demand and supply imbalance. Demand

has still been growing in China at about 2% which is important but unfortunately supply is exceeding that growth. It is going to take time for that correction to take place, but I am still optimistic that next year will be better than this year.”

Guy says he and Key spoke to their Chinese counterparts on the present NZ/China Free Trade Agreement (FTA). They are hoping for an earlier lifting of ‘safeguard clauses’ in the FTA. At


present, once the amount of tariff free product entering China reaches

a certain threshold, the tariffs kick in again. These are due to be completely lifted by 2020-2022, but NZ wants them lifted sooner and aligned with Australia which has a better deal in this regard with China. Guy says this is an issue of fairness.

Guy says an exciting development on the trade mission was NZ signing a memorandum of understanding with the world’s largest online sales platform Alibaba. The aim is closer cooperation between Alibaba and NZ exporters.

“They have 407 million active buyers on-line in China and they want to see more NZ products on their platform -- an exciting opportunity,” he says.

Guy joined dairy company representatives attending the World Dairy Summit in Harbin in Heilongjiang Province. More discussions took place with Chinese officials.

China is a challenging

market and any new exporter needs to go in with eyes open and be aware of the Chinese culture and how this plays out in any business deal, Guy says.

But despite the challenges there is also good news. Cancelling the one-child policy has caused a baby boom -- 38 children born every minute -- and that has positive implications for NZ.

“The average spending power of a middle class Chinese consumer has doubled from $16,000 in 2010 to $32,000 last year. There are 300 million middle class consumers, likely to grow by a further 150 million in ten years. This makes me confident about the Chinese market in the long term,” he says.

Other deals signed during the trade mission included one whereby the Chinese accept NZ’s halal meat certification process.

“The average spending power of a middle class Chinese consumer has doubled from $16,000 in 2010 to $32,000 last year.”

Prime Minister John Key flanked by Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy (left) and Chinese Ambassador to NZ Wang Lutong in Beijing last week.

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NEWS // 9

Fonterra celebrates China dairy allianceFONTERRA’S PART-NERSHIP with Chinese company Beingmate was celebrated in style last week.

A ceremony in Beijing was attended by Prime Minister John Key, New Zealand ambassador to China John McKinnon, Fonterra chairman John Wilson and chief execu-tive Theo Spierings, and representatives of Being-mate, the Ministry of Envi-ronmental Protection, the Chinese Academy of Sci-ences and Tsinghua Uni-versity.

A plaque was unveiled to mark the first phase of the NZ-China Environ-ment Cooperation Project and the Fonterra-Being-mate deal.

Spierings says the event marked progress in build-ing an integrated business in China.

“Part of this is build-ing partnerships to sus-tainably develop the dairy industry and to bring safe, high quality dairy nutri-

tion to Chinese consum-ers,” he says.

The three-year NZ-China Environment Cooperation Project was launched by the Chinese and NZ governments, with support from government agencies and Fonterra. The project explored ways to use stock effluent as a fertiliser to maintain crop productivity, improve soil health and protect water quality.

Fonterra and Being-mate signed an agreement to extend their partner-ship in maternal and infant nutrition and the Anmum brand in China.

Beingmate chairman Wang Zhentai signed on behalf of Beingmate.

“There has been a strong start to our part-nership and we look for-ward to continuing to build on this. Today’s cel-ebration reflects our joint ongoing commitment to Chinese consumers and I believe sets a strong exam-ple of win-win coopera-

tion for our two nations,” says Wang.

Fonterra and Being-mate started their part-nership in August 2014, and formalised it in March 2015 when Fonterra bought 18.82% of Being-

mate. The two companies then signed a distribution agreement for Beingmate to sell Fonterra’s Anmum-branded products in China and jointly own Fonterra’s factory at Darnum, Aus-tralia.

From left: Wang Zhentai (Beingmate Chairman), Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings, PM John Key and Song Kungang (chairman of China Dairy Industry Association) at the celebrations.

McCracken wins in NorthlandWELLSFORD FARMER Greg McCracken has won the by-election for Fonterra Shareholders Council‘s southern Northland seat.

McCracken, a farmer in Northland for 30 years starts work immediately.

Shareholders Council chairman Duncan Coull welcomed McCracken to the council and congratu-lated him on his election.

“Succession is important for our council and I look forward to working with Greg. I trust he will represent his shareholders and the council with dil-igence and integrity.”

McCracken replaces Tracey Bryan.

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10 // NEWS

Rick Pridmore, DairyNZ.

Navigating the down-turn at farm levelA FARMERS’ forum to be held next month will help farmers understand the current financial climate and what they can do to manage through it, says DairyNZ.

The two-day event in Hamilton is expected to attract 700 farmers.

The speakers’ line-up will be spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and Fonterra chief

executive Theo Spierings. DairyNZ strategy

and investment leader for sustainability, Rick Pridmore, says the event will give dairy farmers insight into how to adapt

their businesses to the times and how the global environment will shape the future of NZ milk production.

“Adapting to the changing environment is more important than ever,” Pridmore says. “Farmers are looking hard at where they can improve their businesses.”

On day one English will speak on the Government’s view of dairying’s future, and Spierings will speak about what the dairy industry needs to do well to succeed.

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

Day two keynote speakers include Zespri International chief operating officer Simon Limmer and grower Ian Greaves, who will outline lessons learnt by the kiwifruit industry after the PSa outbreak.

“The Farmers’ Forum is a great opportunity for dairy farmers. It’s rare to hear from a line-up of speakers of this calibre at a single event, and it is important to get off-farm and interact with other farmers,” says Pridmore.

Farmers can also choose from 11 workshops over two days.

A workshop by Lincoln

University’s professor 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 leaders will look at value add, including Tatua chief executive Paul McGilvary, Open Country Dairy chairman Laurie Margrain, Miraka chief executive Richard Wyeth and Lewis Road Creamery co-founder Peter Cullinane.

Waikato University agribusiness professor Jacqueline Rowarth will host a workshop discussing genetic modification and whether it should be part of the industry’s future.

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

The 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 register, visitwww.dairynz.co.nz/farmersforum.

DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum 2016 ■ May 17-18

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■ Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings

■ Fonterra chief operating officer velocity, Jacqueline Chow

■ Rabobank head of food and agribusiness research and advisory, Tim Hunt

■ Lincoln University’s trade and environ-mental economics professor, Caroline Saunders

■ Waikato University agribusiness profes-sor, Jacqueline Rowarth

■ Entrepreneur Melissa Clark-Reynolds.

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12 // NEWS

Dairy women raring to make a difference

REBECCA KEOGHANKeoghan says she has

a passion for mentor-ing others and that is a key aspect of the Dairy Woman of the Year award.

Keoghan manages five dairy farms, a dairy support block and a machinery syndicate for Landcorp, is a director of Westland Milk Products and plays trombone and percussion in a Westport brass band.

All facets of her per-sonal and professional life are immersed in dairy-ing, she says. She entered the dairy industry 10 years ago, moving to her hus-band’s family farm near Westport after managing medical laboratories in Australia.

“My passion for men-toring others, driving the success of our sector and being a leadership role model within our indus-try is extremely impor-tant to me,” Keoghan says. “Receiving this award would mean the world in recognising that I have in some small way been suc-cessful in inspiring other dairy women to lead, grow and develop in our indus-try.”

Keoghan farm milks 200 Jersey cows on 120ha with all young stock raised at home. Farm produc-tion volumes have grown at least 10% per year for the last five years with no change in costs, she says. They have three times won the Westland Dairy Awards for the most pro-duction from pasture for the last five years.

“Our system change in this 2016 season to once-a-day milking all season to [survive lower] milk prices has proven successful.”

Before Landcorp, Keoghan was operations manager for the Holcim cement plant for eight years, while studying for an advanced business management diploma and an International Institute for Management Devel-opment (IMD) leadership diploma from Switzerland. She is team leader for the NZ Dairy industry awards

and a member of the OSPRI committee (north-ern South Island).

With Landcorp she leads 55 staff and oversees quality production across 5000 dairy cows, 4000ha and 2500 young stock.

“This senior manage-ment role with Landcorp provides an excellent plat-form to combine my lead-ership and business skills business within the indus-try I am fiercely passion-ate about.”

She has been involved in Dairy Womens Net-work for four years, having helped a friend set up a local group because there wasn’t one in Westport.

“We’ve got to encour-age more dairy women to step outside their com-fort zone. We have fantas-tic knowledge and great multi-skills and we should be out there involved in the industry... to encour-age those who are perhaps a bit shy and need help and backing to get out.

“If I succeed in encour-aging only one more dairywoman to step out-side into governance and leadership roles in our industry, that would be fantastic.”

MICHELLE WILSONWilson believes the

Dairy Woman of the Year winner becomes an ambassador for the dairy industry.

Wilson is an LIC farm improvement manager and was chair of Dairy Womens Network for four years to 2014. That included nine months of holding the joint positions of chair and chief execu-tive while recruiting a new chief executive.

After farming in South-land from 2002 she and husband Pete moved back in 2014 to his home area of Bay of Plenty and down-sized farms from 650 to 120 cows currently.

She says the Dairy Woman of the Year title is an opportunity to lead by example and be an ambas-sador for the dairy indus-try.

“At first the award was about profiling women in dairying and not just about gumboots and over-alls. We are running multi-million dollar businesses at the same level as urban corporates.

“We had the commu-nity leadership award which is celebrating women inside the farm-gate and in their commu-nities, and this award is for those of us going to the next level and showcas-ing that.”

As an example, the 2012 inaugural winner Barbara Kuriger (now an MP) has inspired many people to step up in their commu-nities and nationally because it highlighted

her role in the industry, says Wilson. She already was prominent in the industry but winning Dairy Woman of the Year gave her a wider voice.

“If I [win] I think my knowledge of the Dairy Womens Network and the contribution it makes to the industry will help me influence change in the busi-ness communities regarding their perception of agri-culture.

“The Global Women pro-gramme allows you to work along-side globally focussed women in lead-

Three finalists for the prestigious Dairy Woman of the Year award have been named by the Dairy Women’s Network and the winner will be announced at the annual conference in May. They are Landcorp business manager Rebecca Keoghan, Westport; central West Coast dairy farmer Renee Rooney; and LIC farm solution manager Michelle Wilson, Waihi. Dairy Women’s Network chief executive Zelda de Villiers says the judges had a hard time selecting the finalists for the fifth annual awards. Pam Tipa profiles the three finalists:

Rebecca Keoghan

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NEWS // 13 12 // NEWS

Dairy women raring to make a difference

Renee Rooney

ership roles and allows that conversation to happen.”

A visit to China with Global Women to the APEC Women in Lead-ership Forum in 2013 showed her how much we need to all look out-side our own sphere. “The award gives the oppor-tunity to work alongside globally focused women and influence their way of thinking about how the dairy industry contributes to NZ Inc and our com-munities.”

The award each year shows a different dimen-sion of what the dairy industry is doing. “It highlights that we as an industry band together and work through things together and support each other. That is unique and it’s what I love about the industry.”

The award creates a talking point and positiv-ity about the industry.

Over the past 15 years Wilson has held trustee/director positions in not-for-profit organisations. She chaired a community medical trust that held four contracts with the Southland District Health Board to deliver a variety

of medical services in western South-

land.Wilson

was a final-ist in the Institute of Direc-tors’ Aspir-ing Director Award 2013

Otago /

Southland Branch.She is a graduate of

the Agri-Women’s Devel-opment Trust Escala-tor Programme 2015, the NZ Institute of Directors, Certificate In Company Direction 2011 and holds a Diploma Agri-Business Management.

RENEE ROONEYRooney wants to

belong to a team that shapes the future of the dairy industry.

She is co vice-presi-dent of Federated Farmers West Coast and chair-woman of the dairy sec-tion. The Rooneys run 530 cows on their 320ha equity partnership farm near Lake Brunner.

“I was humbled to get the nomination and it was a massive surprise to get into the finals,” says Rooney.

“Dairy is an industry I want to stay in, and it must be sustainable and profitable. A successful dairy industry contributes much to successful rural communities, a success-ful economy and New Zea-land.

“The whole intergen-erational aspect is impor-tant to me -- what it will look like for the next 25 years. In my leadership journey, wherever it takes me, I want to belong to the team that will shape our industry. It is a long term thing for me: governance and strategic thinking excite me.”

The Dairy Woman of the Year award promotes a positive image of the dairy industry because it is important to NZ, she says.

“It doesn’t matter what milk processor you supply or what part of the country you live in, the contest is about the NZ industry as a whole and being successful, sustain-able and profitable.

“I don’t know the answers but I can have a jolly good crack at making the road a little less lumpy through my own experi-ences and where we’ve come from.”

Rooney says her Feds role has taught her that grassroots dairy farmers need a voice at the table, to get their message to the decisionmakers at the top.

She has grown a lot in the Feds role; though it wasn’t planned, the Lake Brunner environmental

challenges of farming with restrictions cemented for her the need to get involved.

“I shouldn’t say I am just a dairy farmer but I am. Farming where we do, I [found that] my leader-ship journey was kicked off by circumstance – from living and farming where we do, by getting

involved.”She values her role on

the local school board of trustees, and she encour-ages dairy women to look at that opportunity. “It gives a good grounding – a good way to learn sys-tems and gain governance knowledge. It is a really good way to be involved in the local community.”

Michelle Wilson

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14 // NEWS

Sweet spot for premium milk powderAS THE famous cheese advertisement says, good things take time.

Three years of collect-ing and analysing data from production at Fon-terra milk powder plants could help the co-opera-tive optimise production and improve premium export product.

Fonterra R&D pro-gramme manager Steve Holroyd and his team have backed up their award-winning milk-fin-gerprinting innovation with another application that allows processing plants to find the ‘sweet spot’ for consistent, pre-

mium milk powder.The research is part of

the $170 million, seven-year Transforming the Dairy Value Chain Pri-mary Growth Partner-ship programme involving

the Ministry for Primary Industries and industry partners including Fon-terra and DairyNZ.

It is based on a major

study and compilation of one of the world’s most extensive databases on milk powder produc-tion parameters and seeks to use advanced process control to optimise milk

powder processing. Fonterra was confi-

dent of the compositional and microbiological qual-ity of its milk powders but

saw an opportunity to improve further its func-tional properties.

“It’s about how the product behaves when customers use it,” Hol-royd says. “It’s very important that our milk powder dissolves consis-tently, has the right heat stability and has a wide range of functional prop-erties in dozens of differ-ent applications.”

Companies will pay a premium for consistent, top-quality product.

Fonterra, in associa-tion with research part-ner University of Auckland and Auckland Univer-

sity of Technology, built a database of processing parameters from specific Fonterra milk-powder fac-tories, often with minute by minute data.

There are many vari-ables in the production process that impact the quality of milk powder. The research helped build a clearer picture of the key ones, including tempera-ture and air quality.

“We linked them all up with statistical model-ling,” says Holroyd, which allowed the team to align those key variables and establish a production ‘sweet spot’ that could produce the best milk powder consistently.

The process is now being implemented by Fonterra’s advanced pro-cess control team to design better systems -- likely resembling an app that runs on the comput-ers at processing plants and allows real-time qual-ity control.

“It’s complex maths but the key thing is how you present that system to an operator; some of the computerised control

boards at the plants can look like something out of the Starship Enterprise.”

Advanced process con-trol manager Nigel Russell and his team are working on how that database can be incorporated into the manufacturing process.

“It’s great, as it gives us an advanced world-lead-ing control system that can either adjust automat-ically – in real time – or be changed by the processor.”

The innovation will help Fonterra maximise its top quality instant whole milk powder.

The benefits could mean greater efficiencies in processing and more top-quality product sold at a premium.

Fonterra manufactures up to half a million metric tonnes of instant whole milk powder each year. Each metric tonne can be worth over $50 more than regular whole milk powder. Producing more of that premium product more consistently is worth a great deal to the co-op and the economy.

And the benefits don’t stop there.

“The approach could be used for other products and processes,” Holroyd says. “We know you can use it for cheese.”

The initial modelling was based on processing at the company’s Whareroa site, near Hawera. Testing of the innovation would continue there before roll-out at other Fonterra sites.

Auckland University researchers visited Fon-terra plants at Te Rapa, Hamilton, and Whareroa as part of the study.

Professor Brent Young of Auckland University says the work on site has been invaluable for his researchers.

“It helps their personal development as young engineers and to under-stand how their work relates to real industry conditions.”

The work gave indus-try access to researchers while advancing knowl-edge of fundamental sci-ence for those involved.

“It pushes academic knowledge and also gives us the opportunity to col-laborate on other proj-ects.”

“It’s very important that our milk powder dissolves consistently, has the right heat stability and has a wide range of functional properties in dozens of different applications.”

The research is part of the $170 million project to transform the dairy value claim.

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NEWS // 15

Still time for velvetleaf to spring backFARMERS AROUND the country are being asked to keep inspecting crops for velvetleaf despite the weed outbreak beginning to wind down.

The Ministry for Pri-mary Industries this week updated its advice to farm-ers who find velvetleaf, suggesting they dispose of the plants by deep burial, at least one metre deep and possibly in an offal pit. Plants should first be bagged, or double-bagged if the seed heads appear ripe.

As autumn progresses there is still time for unde-tected plants to show themselves. MPI’s vel-vetleaf 2016 response man-ager, Carolyn Bleach, said the window of opportu-nity to control plants that hadn’t yet seeded was nar-rowing and it was impor-tant farmers remained watchful.

“Farmers and land-owners need to maintain a watchful eye until crops have been grazed, particu-larly as some late emerg-ing plants have been found in crops that have already been inspected.

“It’s become appar-ent that velvetleaf shoots up dramatically when it goes to seed. A plant that may have been hidden by the canopy of the crop one week can appear a week or so later.”

By the start of this week, velvetleaf had been found on 196 properties in 11 regions, Canterbury the worst hit with about half the finds.

Environment Can-terbury chief execu-

tive Bill Bayfield said he was pleased MPI had responded strongly to the incursion. “The regional council too has treated the situation seriously and swung into action quickly, drawing together its key biosecurity staff and those from a wide range of rele-vant organisations.

“The time to act is now,” Bayfield said. “This pest plant can have a dev-astating effect on arable farming and we are com-mitted to... stopping it getting established in Can-terbury.”

Meanwhile, MPI said it had identified some lines of fodder beet seeds grown in Italy and pelleted in Denmark as contaminated with velvetleaf and these had been banned from entry.

“MPI continues to inspect seed from other sources to determine if any other lines of seed are con-taminated. The tough new border inspections to stop more contaminated seed from entering the country remain in place until fur-ther notice.”

MPI said it was encour-aged by the collabora-tive effort in the response to velvetleaf. “Increasing numbers of volunteers, particularly in Southland, are giving up their time to help local farmers manage the incursion.”

Farms where the weed has been found will have to be carefully managed for several years.

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16 // WORLD

$160m approved for free school milk in EUEUROPEAN LEAD-ERS have approved free milk supply to schools -- at a cost of NZ$161 million.

The European Coun-cil approved a budget this month and the new reg-ulation will apply from August 2017, when schools

re-open after the summer holiday.

The Hungarian and Netherlands delegations voted against adopting the regulation and the UK abstained.

The National Farm-ers Union (NFU) had lob-

bied the UK government for support. NFU dairy adviser Rosie Maltby says it is pleased with the EU’s decision. Maltby says the UK Government tradi-tionally objects to any ‘over extension’ of Euro-pean influence.

“It often abstains on principle to make the point that national gov-ernments should be allowed to determine how to implement legislation, rather than leaving it as a European competence.”

“We know young people are eating fewer dairy products and the

AUSTRALIAN FARMERS and rural contractors are welcoming the abolition of the Road Safety Remu-neration Tribunal.

The Coalition Government, with the help of inde-pendent senators, passed the Road Safety Remuner-ation Repeal Bill 2016.

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) and National Farmers Federa-tion (NFF) say the tribunal was unfair and damaging to the industry by driving up freight rates.

NFF president Brent Finlay says that abolition would immediately restore confidence in the supply chain.

“The 2016 order drove up freight rates by as much as 350% and exposed farmers to longer working hours, fewer transport options, new red tape and hefty fines,” says Finlay.

“We can’t forget the huge flow-on effects the 2016 order would have had on small rural businesses around the country.

“The tribunal had to go. Having achieved that certainty in the Senate last night, farmers can once again be confident that safe and affordable transport arrangements of longstanding can continue.”

ALRTA national president Kevin Keenan says it has been calling for the abolition of this tribunal for years.

“I am relieved that the Australian Parliament has acted decisively to prevent the ruin of 35,000 mum-and-dad trucking companies around Australia. The tribunal showed us often that it would not listen to the very owner drivers it was meant to protect.

“We told the tribunal about the damage that would flow from its 2016 order in our formal submissions. Despite the public pleas of 800 industry participants, the tribunal showed no compassion, refusing any form of delay and dismissing all the problems we identi-fied.”

NFU has been working in Brussels and with other UK stakeholders in the School and Nursery Milk Alliance to monitor and push to have the scheme implemented in 2017.

“The scheme will help to improve the nutritional profile of children’s snacks and meals and to shape consumption trends.”

Last year came news that cheese, yoghurt and some flavoured milks could be included, plus regular white milk (which is part of the exist-ing scheme). The health authority in the UK would need to approve eligible

products for distribution in all schools. The scheme will also promote educa-tional measures such as farm visits.

The scheme will be vol-untary for member states because of the different consumption patterns across the EU. Participat-ing countries and regions may choose which prod-ucts are eligible for supply to children; the priority will be fresh and healthy products.

The school fruit and vegetables and the school milk scheme are separate programmes; the new reg-ulation will merge them.

Oz farmers cheer repeal of tribunal

The voluntary scheme will be rolled out in August 2017.

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WORLD // 17

EU dairy processors are paying an allowance to farmers who are grazing cows outdoors.

Grass-fed milk gets EU farmers another subsidyONE OF Europe’s largest dairy cooperatives is paying farmers to graze cows on pasture as demand for grass-fed milk products rise.

FrieslandCampina says the number of dairy products made from pasture milk is increasing.

Last year more dairy farms let their cows graze on pasture, ending a decline in the number of dairy farms doing outdoor grazing, which started in the 1990s.

FrieslandCampina suppliers’ pasture-grazed cows increased by 100 in 2015, the co-op says. Some 78% of its member 12,618 farms in the Netherlands grazed outdoors in 2015 versus 77.25 in 2014.

The co-op wants to

have 81.2% of the farms doing outdoor grazing by 2020.

FrieslandCampina and other dairy companies in the Netherlands are said to be pushing this policy. The co-op aims at a minimum of 400 farms, whose cows are now barn raised and milked. It plans to approach dairy farms that stopped outdoor grazing in the past three years, to prompt the farmers to use a national scheme for ‘new grazers’.

The co-op says grazing cows have been part of the traditional Dutch landscape for many centuries.

Dairy farmers who pasture graze their cows at least 120 days/year for a minimum of six hours/day

are entitled to an outdoor grazing allowance of 1 euro (NZ$1.63)/100kg of milk. And FrieslandCampina rewards partly grazing outdoors with 0.46 euro (75c)/100kg milk.

Campina cheese, a

series of Gouda cheeses made from pasture milk, was launched in March 2016. Milner and the North Holland Gouda cheese with the red label are also made from pasture milk. Some

supermarket chains will soon start buying FrieslandCampina pasture milk cheese for their private labels, the co-op says.

FRIESLANDCAMPINA launched pasture milk products in 2007. The pasture milk is col-lected and processed separately.

The products can be recognised by the pasture milk logo of Stichting Weidegang on the packaging. Initially, this mainly involved dairy products including milk, buttermilk and yoghurt, but brands such as Milner, Optimel and Vifit followed.

The first supermarkets started to add pasture milk dairy products to their private label product ranges in 2011.

FrieslandCampina retails the pasture milk dairy products at higher prices to cover the outdoor grazing premium paid to the farmers and the extra production costs.

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RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

MILKING IT...

18 // OPINION

IN MANY ways the Government’s new regulations on animal wel-fare should not be necessary.

Farmed animals are the mainstay of our economy and to treat them badly is plain dumb, threatening the income of the very farmers responsible for these creatures’ ability to produce high quality milk, meat or fibre.

Animals that are cared for well -- well fed, farmed in an appro-priate environment and not stressed -- grow better and produce more. It’s not rocket science to care for them.

Sadly, the Government is compelled to enact legislation to deal with the idiot fringe – people too lazy, too dumb and adopting a she’ll be right attitude to animal welfare.

The new regulations will rightly hit them and so they should because they hurting the animals, which is cruel in itself, and are damaging New Zealand’s reputation and putting markets at risk. Arguably they are committing treason!

The Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, wpoints out that NZ has a great reputation for food safety and biosecurity and it must apply the same high standards to animal welfare.

Modern consumers, whether in Beijing, Boston or Blenheim, are interested to know how animals are treated onfarm, and if they hear of maltreatment they may not buy certain products. Reputational capital is all important to NZ.

In times past a farmer could feel safe from public scrutiny behind the boundary fence – not so now. Mobile phones with cameras can quickly capture images of the mistreatment of ani-mals. The animal rights activists get great delight in highlighting farmers and others who treat their livestock badly.

Complicating this is the growing rural-urban divide, so farm-ers need to be more proactive in explaining their sensible farm-ing practices which to a townie may appear cruel or wrong. The primary sector has been very lax over the years in this regard.

More regulations and resulting harsher penalties are an unfor-tunate necessity; let’s hope common sense prevails so that the need to invoke them is minimal.

NZ is a world leader in food safety and is doing more than ever in environmental matters. And it is equally important that we look after our animals.

Nathan Guy says most NZ farmers look after their animals very well and they won’t notice any significant changes “but those few scallywags who don’t will have to pull up their socks”.

It is about time.

Common sense rules

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Not sending them broke?IS FONTERRA’S board thinking of backing up the truck on its management’s decision to take longer to pay accounts from the companies from which it buys goods and services?

The issue is not going away for the co-op; even Fonterra basher and NZ First leader Winston Peters has said his two cents worth on the issue. And the co-op is still under pressure from small businesses in rural areas.

The South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce recently has warned that some Fonterra contractors could go out of business if it does not resume paying its bills within 30 days.

Choc milk hunting for grand prizeLEWIS ROAD Creamery’s chocolate milk will put New Zealand on show in a global contest for inno-vative food products.

The biennial SIAL awards is judged by the world’s food editors who gather in Paris in early April to assess 84 food products.

Lewis Road’s milk, which caused a frenzy when it launched in 2014, was chosen by international judges as NZ’s entry in the final, up against 27 other country winners.

During the launch, se-curity guards had to keep supermarket customers apart as they fought to get a bottle.

Meat company follows suitTHE NEWS is that a big meat processor has fol-lowed Fonterra’s lead and started dragging the chain on paying its suppliers’ ac-counts.

However, with Fonterra facing the blowtorch, the meat company remains un-scathed, for the time being.

The grapevine is abuzz with how livestock trans-port companies are being squeezed out of business by the meat company’s action.

Print us a milk, mateTRIALS ARE underway to determine if milk can be produced by 3-D printers, according to the American Council on Science and Health.

They reckon it might be useful to astronauts on long journeys (Mars, anyone?), and NASA is looking into it.

Basically, the process involves ‘printing’ sodium caseinate, a main pro-tein found in milk, then adding the required other ingredients to form... ‘milk’. Along with the milk, the astronauts might also be able to print a pizza — as long as the printers work in zero-gravity conditions.


OPINION // 19

Revolution has a long way to roll

ON OUR farms, in our universities, research labs and factories, the dairy industry is in a transfor-mation rivalling the start of refrigerated shipping 130 years ago and New Zealand’s first bold steps into the global market-place.

Kiwi innovation is again enabling a mas-sive, fundamental shift: moving our nation from a respected global trader in bulk milk and powders to a world leader in targeted dairy products, ingredi-ents and high-value foods, beverages and infant for-mula.

And there’s plenty of value to be had -- for com-pany and country.

Despite a tough finan-cial year, Fonterra raised its net profit 183% in its most recent annual result. Fuelling that success were extraordinary jumps in its consumer and food ser-vice (216%) and ingredi-ents (43%) businesses.

As Fonterra’s acting manager, global brands and nutrition, Rene Dedoncker, points out, that kind of acceler-ated change doesn’t just happen.

“It is part of a collec-tive and ongoing effort over many years of study and innovation to find that magic ‘sweet spot’ at the zenith of cutting-edge science and commercial vision.”

And change we must. NZ is still a force in global dairying but other nations have made great strides and we remain a shrimp among global corporate whales such as Nestle, Danone and Unilever.

Just as Fonterra has harnessed the hard work and momentum of many in its world-leading co-operative, this ‘collective effort’ has involved vital partnerships between gov-ernment and industry -- farmers joining forces with scientists, product developers and salespeo-ple; the Ministry for Pri-mary Industries working with DairyNZ and com-mercial partners Fonterra, Synlait, LIC and Zespri, among others.

These are unprece-dented partnerships to accelerate thought and deed towards realising the

Government’s huge chal-lenge of doubling primary exports by 2025, while maintaining NZ’s strong pastoral identity and limit-ing the impact on the envi-ronment.

DairyNZ chief execu-tive Tim Mackle says his organisation’s work with MPI, Fonterra and others, as part of the Transform-ing the Dairy Value Chain Primary Growth Partner-ship, is a key plank in a campaign to drive change and reach the goal of adding at least $2.7 billion

each year to the national economy by 2025.

This $170 million, seven-year PGP is one of 20 the Government is involved in. That cross-sector support is a vital component in the suc-cess helping to drive the national economy forward and realise opportuni-ties from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement and the World Trade Organisation’s recent moves to abolish export subsidies for farm products.

The revolution taking place from farmgate to factory floor is also har-nessing and transform-ing the minds of some of this country’s best and brightest: dozens of our top scientists and stu-dents are working on PGP-funded dairy indus-try projects that are boost-ing the national economy and intellectual property while promoting the excel-lence of NZ’s agricultural research.

Cameron Mitchell is part of a team at the Uni-versity of Auckland study-ing the impact of dairy products on muscle metabolism. Their work could lead to new foods and beverages for a grow-ing world market in pre-mium-value products supporting healthy life-styles.

On farms around the

ROB MITCHELL

country, PGP-funded sci-ence and smart thinking are advancing our farmers’ capabilities and capacity for change, driving mas-sive improvement in man-agement of nutrients and effluent, people, pasture,

stock and environmental effects.

DairyNZ, LIC and others are supporting projects to transform atti-tudes towards and use of technology and data, and are working towards

healthier farms, farmers and animals.

Together, they are all making a difference – the farmer, the scientist, the government official.

Benefits include world-leading PGP-funded

research that has led to a mozzarella cheese that can be ready in hours rather than weeks, with $72 mil-lion spent on new plant so far and dozens of jobs created in a global market worth $36 billion.

An award-winning milk-fingerprinting innovation has helped strengthen NZ’s food

safety and quality repu-tation abroad, especially in countries with variable supply chains and infra-structure.

And there is much more to come.• Rob Mitchell is the com-munications manager for the Transforming the Dairy Value Chain Primary Growth Partnership.

Rob Mitchell

DairyNZ, LIC and others are supporting projects to transform attitudes towards and use of technology and data.

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20 // AGRIBUSINESS

Dr James Dekker, Fonterra.

Market potential for healthy bugs

THE GLOBAL market for probiotics is an estimated $54 billion per annum, says Dr James Dekker, Fonter-ra’s senior research scien-tist probiotics.

Fonterra’s share would be small, however cur-rent research on the health benefits of a particular strain for conditions such as allergies may see it get a larger slice.

“There’s quite a lot of money to be made in bugs,” he told an Auckland conference.

Dekker explained to Dairy News that Fonterra has the HN019 strain, trademarked DR10, which is used in the yoghurt product Symbio in the New Zealand market. It is starting to be used over-seas in the Anmum range’s maternal product, infant formula and growing up milks.

The other commer-cialised strain, HN001, trademarked DR20, is not much used yet as they are trying to work out how to pitch it. Trials show it has allergy benefits but it is dif-ficult to tell consumers because it is hard to make those sort of health claims, he says.

With DR10 you can say it supports a healthy gut. “But with DR20 we are struggling; we’ve got this benefit but how do we promote this? Allergy is common, a lot of people know about it but it’s still not enough for a global brand. So we’re looking at what will be the benefits attached to DR20 in the mother-infant space.

“We have work coming out soon which hopefully will answer that.”

Another question on DR20 is about dose. Cur-rent studies are at dietary supplement level, and in yoghurt or cheese you can also get enough probiotic in one go.

“But a milk powder on a shelf for two years [suf-fers] a little bit of die-off,” he says.

“You have to put in extra at the start to make sure there’s an effective

dose at the end of shelf life. So that extra you have to put into milk powder means it is not quite cost-effective. We are work-ing to reduce the dose or improve the stability to get us into the sweet spot.

“That will make it cost-effective for a powder; it is all work in progress.”

They have Asian mar-kets in mind but are also keen to launch in NZ espe-cially with eczema being prevalent here in infants. He has heard that 20% of infants in NZ get eczema at some point.

“It is quite common in NZ and there’s not much you can do for it once it has happened apart from treat-ing the symptoms, put-ting creams on, etc, so it is upsetting for the child. If we can prevent that, great. That gets back to us saying ‘how do you talk about the benefit without contraven-ing the rules on what you can say about infant for-mula?’ We are still working on that.”

Earlier Dekker told a High Value Nutrition sym-posium in Auckland that a trial with HN001 (DR20) showed that infants at risk of eczema given the probi-otic in the first two years of life – with the mother also given it in the last two weeks of pregnancy -- had a 50% reduction in the condition versus those given a placebo.

“That’s a fantas-tic result – there isn’t any treatment out there, including pharmaceutical, which will offer that kind of benefit.”

The effect was main-tained when the chil-dren reached four and six despite receiving no fur-ther probiotic. (An earlier speaker told the con-ference that while most infants grow out of eczema some go on to develop food allergies and asthma).

“The problem is how to translate that into health claims. It is difficult to talk about therapeutic claims – and any kind of claim in infant formula,” Dekker says.

Interestingly HN019 (DR10) had no effect what-soever, he says. It is a great probiotic in many respects

but for this outcome it didn’t show much bene-fit at all.

However with DR10 a large study of two groups of children fed fortified

milk – one containing a probiotic and a prebiotic and the other a placebo -- over two years showed there was a “whole bunch” of benefits.

In addition, two stud-ies about to be published will show respiratory tract infection protection in infant populations in dif-ferent countries.


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AGRIBUSINESS // 21

Dr Alison Hogdkinson, AgResearch.

‘Growing up’ milk seen as holding off allergies

RESEARCHERS ARE about to begin looking at how to gain the health benefits of drinking raw milk without risking the pitfalls.

Dr Alison Hodgkinson of AgResearch is partner-ing with Miraka to look at producing ‘Growing Up’ milk for toddlers which retains the natural protec-tion of raw milk against allergies.

She says many epi-demiology studies in

Europe show a connection between drinking raw milk and fewer allergies.

“Surveys of thousands of people have found that farming people who drink raw milk have a lower incidence of allergies – all types of allergies,” Hodgkinson explained to

Dairy News.“It’s not just people

on farm drinking the raw milk and getting the ben-efit; the city dwellers who get farm milk and drink it have reduced allergy risk.”

She says they don’t advocate people drink raw milk because it con-tains bacteria and has lim-ited shelf life. People who drink it from farms tend to get it fresh every day.

“There are strict rules and regulations about making the milk safe; the trick is to make the milk safe in such a way that it

retains some of that ben-efit.”

The project is looking at how to retain immune-type proteins in milk after processing; normally they get damaged during heat-ing.

Under a Primary Growth Partnership for the last three years, Miraka has worked exten-sively on manipulating the processing which will allow them to retain some of this immune activity, she says.

“We are now going to see what benefits retain-ing some of those proteins that are in an active form might have in reducing allergy and seeing if that is what is happening in raw milk,” she says.

The project was suc-cessful in the High Value Nutrition funding round late last year. Hodgkinson told a High Value Nutri-tion conference in Auck-land this month that it is well known that allergy is on the rise and it is a major health issue in many coun-tries – in particular food allergy.

“Two to three percent of infants in their first year of life will develop a cow milk allergy and 5% of chil-dren develop food aller-gies. The majority of these children will grow out of the problem. But persis-tent sensitisation is lead-ing to an increased risk of later allergy.” A propor-

tion of infants start with dermatitis and go on to develop food allergy, hay fever and asthma.

“Ideally we would like to reduce the risk of chil-dren developing allergies. There’s good evidence to suggest there are good opportunities for this in the first 1000 days of life – that’s from conception through to two-three years of life.”

She says they don’t advocate that people drink raw milk and there are lots of regulations to make milk safe to drink.

However an experi-ment with mice has shown that feeding mice differ-ent milks gives a different allergy response.

“Our hypothesis is that a safe milk product using special processing tech-niques to preserve heat sensitive components will retain health bene-fits associated with unpro-cessed milk.

“Miraka will develop a Growing Up milk prod-uct for toddlers and in our research plan we will develop and validate models that demonstrate this product has protec-tive effects.”

They will identify potential biomarkers that could be used in clinical trials. They will also look at the optimal timing and dose to get the best effect from the product.

It is believed the Grow-ing Up milk will meet a consumer demand from parents for natural foods to help reduce the risk of allergy developing in chil-dren.

Hodgkinson says there is quite a lot of informa-tion hinting towards what component in milk might be providing the (allergy) protection but there is no definitive evidence yet so that is what they will be looking for.

The research project is about to begin.


Contains SustaiN

To maximise pasture growth on the shoulders of the season call your Ballance Nutrient Specialist, call 0800 222 090 or visit sustaingain.co.nz

Spread the wordPhaSedN is a unique formulation of SustaiN, fi ne elemental sulphur and lime in one granule that grows more pasture both sides of winter. The nitrogen provides an immediate boost and by being retained in the soil over winter the fi ne elemental sulphur slowly releases to support early spring pasture growth.

“Surveys of thousands of people have found that farming people who drink raw milk have a lower incidence of allergies – all types of allergies.”

@dairy_news

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22 // AGRIBUSINESS

Big orders in hand as Westland’s UHT plant hits go

ADDING VALUE to New Zealand’s dairy pro-duce was the strong theme of the official opening of Westland Milk Prod-ucts’ new UHT plant at Rolleston last week.

Westland has hit the ground running with the $40 million plant, with commercial production underway and “substantial orders” already received. The company has hired its

first overseas permanent staff, at an office in Shang-hai, and plans to launch its UHT (ultra heat treated) long-life milk and cream in the Chinese market in June.

The plant, under con-struction since March 2015, was officially opened on April 15. A 3.6mMW LPG-fuelled boiler can process up to 14,000L/hour of white milk or 9000L/h of formulated whipping cream. Tetra Pak packaging lines fill con-

tainers ranging from 250ml consumer packs with built-in straws to 1000L com-mercial boxes.

The plant is Westland’s first foray into producing and exporting liquid milk and cream, adding to its well-established milk pow-ders. Chief executive Rod Quin calls it “a significant milestone in the compa-ny’s strategy to move away from the volatile, and cur-rently oversupplied, bulk dairy ingredient market”.

“Our focus is now on

producing high-profit, added-value products for the top end of the market.”

Holding up a 250ml pack to guests at the open-ing, Quin said it would rep-resent only 9-10 cents of ‘commodity’ milk to the farmer, but as UHT milk processed for the Chinese market would sell for $1.30 – a big gain even after mar-keting and distribution costs. Similarly, the com-pany’s 1L UHT whipping cream would sell in China

for about $6.80.“So that’s our initial

foray into UHT but it will not stop there,” Quin said. “Part of the plant design is around a mixing unit mixing dairy and non-dairy components to then develop things like sports drinks, flavoured drinks and potentially aged nutri-tion. That’s where the

NIGEL MALTHUS

true added-value starts to flow.”

Opening the plant, the Minister for Food Safety, Jo Goodhew, acknowl-edged a difficult time for dairy, in “a world awash with milk”. But she assured guests the Government was working towards a goal of doubling NZ’s export value by 2025.

“Free trade agreements are fantastic and we know dairy will benefit from the TPP, perhaps not as much as they wanted but there will be a significant ben-efit. Then you’ve got the non-tariff barriers and… the Government is focused on that too.

“Market expectations are for a product that is much more than a com-modity. You are deliver-ing…. Congratulations on [helping] us achieve our goal of doubling value by 2025.”

Westland’s chairman, Matt O’Regan, told guests the plant arose from a 2010 decision to improve shareholders’ return through processing more milk – 18% now comes from Canterbury suppliers – and pursuing value-added projects, including a purpose-built nutrition plant at the Hokitika headquarters already producing 30,000 tonnes/year of infant formula, and

the new Rolleston UHT venture.

“UHT processing is not new but quality milk and cream produced from NZ receives a premium in the Chinese market, and will lead us to work with our customers to develop UHT products for an ever-dis-cerning consumer,” said O’Regan.

Quoting Charles Darwin as saying it is nei-ther the strongest nor the most intelligent of a spe-cies who survive, but the most responsive to change, O’Regan said the new plant was as significant as was Westland’s first dryer producing milk powder in Hokitika 50 years ago.

“World commodity prices have fallen through the floor. Current returns to dairy farmers are unsus-tainable for our dairy industry to survive.

“In Europe last month we talked to many involved in the European dairy industry; I believe it will be 18-24 months before we see dairy prices increase to the $5-$6/kgMS required to sustain our industry.”

Although Westland’s Westgold brand is already established internation-ally, Quin said the new Chinese market labeling translates as ‘Nourishment from the Pasture’.

Food safety Minister Jo Goodhew unveils the plaque while Westland chairman Matt O’Regan looks on.

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AGRIBUSINESS // 23

Hope beckons in a hungry worldRIGHT NOW trading conditions for New Zea-land dairying are as chal-lenging as I have seen.

The sustained down-turn combined with dis-ruptive international events are fuelling volatil-ity, requiring businesses to better control their ‘con-trollables’ while having the wisdom to “accept the things they can’t change”.

It’s not all bad news: in the spirit of ‘never wast-ing a good recession’, top farming families are learn-ing from circumstances and working to create buffers and options such as responding realisti-cally to market trends and acknowledging the need to diversify away from relying solely on dairy for long-term profit.

Capital markets across the economy are grappling with their own challenges, mostly driven by cash-rich investors bidding to do better than just achieve market interest rates. It’s ironic that many non-farmers are finding that having cash available for investment is something of a weakness. It is result-ing in inflated urban prop-erty values as the markets behave rather like the rural land market at its peak.

My sense is that when dairy inevitably bounces back it will be vital to use the upswing to restructure away from this volatile milk market. Traditional strategies whereby dairy operations expand when milk prices are high can no longer be justified. Instead, when better times reappear they must be used to rebalance farm portfolios and achieve multiple revenue streams, e.g. sell some core dairy investment to reinvest in other types of farming or off-farm enterprises.

Obviously a business could focus on building cash buffers or aggres-sively reduce debt to insu-late against fluctuating returns. But this takes time and with the now-common rapid and often unpredictable market changes, hording cash or cutting debt may be a less

effective strategy than using cash to get out of dairy markets.

Fresh investment could, say, take advantage of management skills or resources already available to a dairy business such as meat or cropping. Dif-ferent dairy systems, e.g. goat and sheep milking, are gaining traction and these could use expertise and infrastructure already available.

Growers are doing well; getting into these indus-tries could be via syn-dicated investment or learning new management skills.

Now is the time to evaluate infrastructure, soil types, contours, staff capabilities and access to processing facilities, sup-ported by professional advice. That should give a business confidence to act when the time is right.

Off-farm investments also offer opportunity. Interest rates are at an all-time low – little reward for holding cash. So investors are competing with each other to secure commer-cial and residential prop-

erty or buy businesses that can truly make money. This is pushing up asset values, hinting at value creation by development or trading of such ven-tures.

But such ventures take time, just when a farm owner may need to cut staff and be more hands-

on to maximise his own farm’s performance while the dairy returns are low. Thus, many farm business leaders may be so busy at their day-to-day farm-ing that they won’t realise what is happening off-farm.

Priority must be to ensure the farming

enterprise can be delegated so key people can concentrate on business development and be fully informed of options across the economy, regardless of their ability to restructure or invest right now. Get ready for action when opportunities arise.

The rate of change for all business has acceler-ated. Getting a balance between redeploying capi-tal and optimising operat-ing performance will be a key challenge. Capturing these opportunities will require new insights and skills and robust strategic planning.

Stronger and more diversified businesses will emerge to capture an inev-itable opportunity in a hungry world.• Kerry Ryan is a Tauranga agribusiness consultant available for face-to-face or online for advice and ideas. You can contact him at www.kerryryan.co.nz.


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24 // MANAGEMENT

Makeover for farm menusFARM MENUS are back on the table for Waikato farmers, says Waikato Regional Council.

An upgraded version of the council’s ‘farm menus’ suggests ways to reduce the impact of farming on water quality.

Since their launch in 2013, the menus have been used by 4000 farm-ers and rural professionals in Waikato and elsewhere. The first menus – cov-ering nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment or micro-organisms getting into water-ways -- were chiefly about reducing nitrogen leaching. More research is embodied in the upgraded menus, sug-gesting ways to cut phosphorus and sed-iment loss.

DairyNZ’s Adrian Brocksopp says the menus point farmers to where they can start being more efficient, provid-ing environmental benefits. “The menu guides your discussion with your con-sultant about mitigation options for your farm.”

Diana Mathers, from the Founda-tion for Arable Research, says the crop-ping section of the menus is practical “in helping farmers develop manage-ment strategies for their farm environ-ment plans”.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Matt Harcombe says it has spent a lot on developing its land and environment planning toolkit for farmers and the menus add another dimension to those.

Also, with the Overseer modelling tool’s irrigation module having been updated, the menus now include a sec-tion on irrigation, says council sustain-able agriculture advisor Don Harford, who co-ordinated the latest upgrade.

“Managing soil moisture levels over the summer to prevent drainage from land under irrigation helps control nitrogen leaching to waterways. The technology is available to do this and it comes with lower pumping costs.”

This second round of menus empha-sises staff training for good manage-ment.

Harford says many small things can be done onfarm to look after water qual-ity. For example, changing the direc-tion the cows graze a crop in winter can reduce phosphorus loss by up to 50%.

This is a saving to the farm and fur-ther protects adjacent waterway. Cut-outs along races can channel water back into the paddock and prevent contami-nated water running down the race

or track and into a stream or river. The farm menus are now web

based for use on a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.

“Farmers doing planning can use them to help model various mitigation measures and their expected outcomes to get the best bang for the environmen-tal buck,” says Harford.

The menu is best used alongside the Overseer and Farmax tools. “These will give stronger indications of nutri-ent reduction, and costs and benefits.”www.farmmenus.org.nz

Adrian Brocksopp

Farm menus were launched in 2013 and are popular among stakeholders.

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MANAGEMENT // 25

AgResearch principal scientist Graeme Bourdot says defoliation of the thistle helps reduce growth in pasture.New tool to

whack thistle?FARMERS MAY soon have another weapon for fighting the weed Cal-ifornian thistle, says AgResearch.

Scientists there have developed a model that simulates population growth of the thistle -- a help in controlling the weed. It has just been published in the online publication Ecology and Evolution.

Californian thistle was recently estimated to cost almost $700 million each year in lost agricultural productivity in New Zea-land.

Based on experimen-tal data gathered by NZ and overseas scientists over many years, the model allows a compari-son of different defolia-tion strategies, whether through the use of her-bicide, mowing or bio-logical control like the green thistle beetle (Cas-sida rubiginosa) which is now established in several parts of NZ.

Principal scientist Graeme Bourdôt says defoliation of the thistle is widely regarded as the most effective way to halt its population growth in a

pasture.“The amount of root

the thistle produces over the growing season is what regulates popula-tion growth. The more you defoliate the thistle, the less root it can produce.

“We’ve always known there would have to be a ‘tipping point’ because the root can only be produced if there is foliage above the ground. So the tip-ping point has to be where you defoliate enough so the plant cannot produce enough root to replace what was there during the current season. This model allows us to figure out where that tipping point is.”

Bourdôt says the model shows that a single defo-liation during the growing season (typically Decem-ber – March) and repeated each year isn’t going to reduce the thistle, it will simply stabilise the popu-lation.

In comparison, the model shows that two treatments at specific times during the year will bring about population decline if repeated annu-ally.

As an example, Bourdôt

says, the model shows that if a farmer chooses to mow the thistle first in Decem-ber and then again in Feb-ruary each year, then the thistle population is likely

to go into rapid decline, halving in density each year. Mowing at other times of the year is likely to be less effective, caus-ing slower rates of decline.

This backs up past field experiments and provides good guidance for farmers in all grazing systems in choosing the best time to defoliate the thistle.

Cow feeding in researcher’s gazeCOULD FEEDING cows brassi-cas help reduce nitrogen loss from the soil?

That’s what University of Waikato second-year PhD student Sheree Balvert hopes to find out and she recently won a $10,000 scholarship to aid her research.

Balvert has won the 2016 Pukehou Pouto Scholar-ship, awarded annually to students at any New Zealand university doing postgraduate study in agricultural or silvicultural (forestry) science.

She is researching negative agricultural impacts on the environment, which include water quality and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Cows are inefficient feeders: 70-95% of the nitro-gen they eat is excreted in their waste,” she says.

“The concentrated urine patches deposited on the ground contain more nitrogen than plants and soil microbes can process, and the excess nitrogen is lost as nitrous oxide gas or as nitrate leaching out of the soil.”

Balvert is researching the impact of feed change in cows -- whether feeding them forage brassicas such as turnips, swedes and kale affects the nitrogen cycle and could reduce nitrogen loss on dairy or drystock farms.

“How and why this could work is what I’m trying to figure out,” she says.

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26 // MANAGEMENT

AN INEXPENSIVE autumn feed test can guard against mineral deficiencies in dairy and beef cows that can lead to low growth rates and poor milk yields, says a consultant nutritionist to SealesWinslow, Paul Sharp.

Winter feeds like fodder beet, low pasture phospho-rus levels in some regions and lower seasonal availabil-ity of copper can cause animals to be deficient in both these key minerals during late pregnancy, early lacta-tion and calf growth, Sharp says.

For about $100 a comprehensive pasture mineral test will tell farmers what they need to know about these key matters. They can then get animal nutrition-ists or vets to determine what supplementation their stock need.

Liver biopsies from culled cows are also a useful indicator of animal reserves of key trace elements such as copper intake, and while blood tests can mon-itor trends, these are not as good at predicting animal stores.

“Copper availability to the animal is lower over winter and we often have low copper concentrations in pasture,” Sharp says. “Availability is further com-promised by other minerals that could be in the ani-mals’ diet – such as high iron content when grazing crops, high molybdenum levels in some soils, sulphur and zinc.

“These make the copper unavailable for absorption in the diet. Copper deficiency is most likely to occur in winter and early spring and it has impacts on concep-tion and growth rates, and can even cause bone frac-tures in calves and osteoporosis in cows.”

Sharp says zinc treatment for facial eczema can deplete copper reserves because zinc can lock out copper competing for absorption in the digestive tract. Fodder beet can also contribute to copper deficiencies, and increase the risk of phosphorus deficiency. Lactat-ing cows need 3-4g of phosphorus/kgDM, and copper requirements are about 150mg/day for weaner calves and up to 450mg/day for cows.

Although phosphorus fertilisers are used to boost pasture growth, SealesWinslow says it has seen during the past year that phosphorus deficits in pasture appear to be increasing, particularly in the South Island, pos-sibly due to changes in pasture cultivars and grazing management, although the cause isn’t fully clear.

“The trouble with deficiencies of nutrients like phosphorus is that they can be hard to detect. If cows don’t get enough phosphorus, they start to mobilise their reserves and can end up developing sub-clini-cal symptoms, including reduced appetite and rapid weight loss. This can lead to a reduction in milk yield in dairy cows. Some cows will recover from phospho-rus deficiency, but others will go down; this is when you see creeper cows.”

The risk of phosphorus, magnesium or trace ele-ment deficiency causing animal health issues can be reduced with supplements, including SealesWin-slow’s molasses block range, the company says. This includes a Fodder Beet Block, which helps to fill the nutritional gaps of the crop. Low copper levels can also be addressed by molasses blocks, feed additives or by dosing drinking water.

Time to fend off costly nutritional deficits

Dairy beef an income option for winter matingDAIRY FARMERS wanting to spread risk and income source are enquiring about Firstlight Wagyu genetics, says the company’s supply manager Peter Keeling.

He says the company will meet its targets for straw semen and bulls to supply dairy farmers for winter and spring mating.

“Dairy farmers are keen to look at alternative income sources... within their existing dairying busi-ness.

“Crossing cows and/or heifers with Wagyu genetics... can lock in a high value four-day-old calf with a guaranteed buyer at a premium that makes them more appealing than the traditional bobby calf.”

Farmers can expect to be paid $200 per mixed sex AI calf, and $150 per naturally mated calf. They also have the option of rearing them to 90kg and getting up to $550/head.

Easy-calving Wagyu also offer an option to traditional breeds for farmers mating heifers for the first time, Keeling says.

Marketing-wise Firstlight Wagyu are also good value, the

company claims. Friesian-cross Jersey and Friesian dairy breeds can produce high quality marbled beef, and mating them with Wagyu sires results in high-marbling beef.

Firstlight director Gerard Hickey says market demand for Firstlight grass fed Wagyu is gain-ing momentum every year in many markets. “We now have sales staff in the United Arab Emirates, Cali-fornia, Paris and the UK.”

Firstlight says in the US it has a loyal following in retail chains in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The beef is said to appeal to high

income, environmentally con-scious consumers, Hickey says.

“Buyers or consumers tell us this is the best beef they have ever tasted.”

The company says it tells a gen-uinely “New Zealand” story with its grass fed, antibiotic free, high qual-ity brand.

“Dairy farmers are keen to look at alternative income sources within their existing dairy business.”

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OVER THE past few weeks I have been travel-ling around the country visiting farmers. Autumn rains mean pasture covers are looking pretty good in many regions.

Many farmers plan to milk on until late May to take advantage of the good feed levels and to generate winter cashflow.

While this makes eco-nomic sense in many cases, it is critical that get-ting more production out of this season is not done at the expense of cow condition. I have heard of some horrific stories

of extremely high empty rates which occurred as a result of low cow con-dition at calving. In most cases farmers milked too long last autumn and/or substantially reduced their supplementary feed inputs.

Cow body condition score at calving is one of the most critical things to get right in farming. Cows that calve too light pro-duce less milk, take longer to cycle and have more animal health issues than cows which meet the con-dition score targets, which are condition score 5.0 for mixed age cows and 5.5 for heifers and first calvers. Even at low payouts, it is well worth meeting condi-tion score targets even if you need to purchase addi-tional feed (Table 1).

There are some funda-mentals to achieving cow condition score targets at calving. These include

drying off cows early enough so they have time to replenish body condi-tion score, and managing feeding types and levels during the dry period. The energy in maize silage is used 50% more effi-ciently than the energy in

autumn pasture for body condition score gain. This means you need around 220kgDM of urea boosted or autumn-saved pas-ture, but only 180kgDM of maize silage to put one condition score on a 450kg F x J cow.

If you are feeding high rates of maize silage during the dry period, always ensure silage qual-ity is high and avoid feed-ing spoiled or mouldy silage to cows especially if they are in-calf.

In my many years with Pioneer, I have seen very few poor quality maize silage stacks. The few I have seen have been as a result of a poor covering or sealing job, as a result of rodents making holes in the cover or very poor feed-out management. Check your stacks regu-larly and when you are feeding out make sure you keep the stack face firm.


MANAGEMENT // 27

Feed Purchase

Cost

BCS Change

3.0-4.0 3.5-4.5 4.0-5.016c/kgDM $74 $61 $50

23c/kgDM $59 $46 $35

30c/kgDM $44 $31 $21

Maize silage and dry cows

1Assumes 85% utilisation and 5 c/kgDM feed-out cost. Assumes a milksolids increase of 18, 16 and 12.5 kg/cow for increasing from 3.0 - 4.0, 3.5 – 4.5 and 4.0 – 5.0 respectively. See http://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/herd-management/body-condition-scoring/bcs-strategies/

The use of an aerobic stability inoculant (like Pioneer® brand 11C33) can greatly reduce heating and the subsequent energy losses at feed-out time.

For more informa-tion on maize silage feed-

ing rates and mineral inclusions during the dry period, talk to your local Pioneer representative on 0800 PIONEER (746 633).• Ian Williams is a Pioneer forage specialist. Contact [email protected]

Table 1: Profit ($/cow) from using maize silage to increase cow condition score for a 450 kg J x F cow1

The energy in maize silage is used 50% more efficiently than the energy in autumn pasture.

Get up-to-date news at www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nzLATEST STORIES EVERY DAY

Our GEA Service Partners provide a full service for maintenance and breakdowns, a range of spares including, liners, rubberware and milk filters, to assist you through the dairy season.

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28 // MANAGEMENT

Maximise pasture yield and feed the cow

GIVEN THE tough finan-cial situation, it is time for dairy farmers to rely more on pasture production and to plan how to get more

milk from fewer cows.There is a place for sup-

plements, to bridge feed gaps -- particularly in the early part of the season -- but the first priority should be to maximise the pasture grown (ie the

megajoules of metabolis-able energy or MJME) and harvested per hectare.

Too often farmers talk about supplements (which cost money) rather than feed wedge, round length, growth rates, pastures in

good growing state, nitro-gen responses, stocking rates and so on.

It is easy for a farm manager to request or jus-tify the need for additional inputs in the form of nitro-gen and supplements

when, in fact, the need could have been avoided had the timing of earlier decisions been different. Examples include culling and otherwise reducing stock numbers, speed-ing up or slowing down

the grazing round, altering the milking frequency of part or all of the herd and the timing of when and what cows to feed supple-ments to.

Dairy farmers succeed by first excelling at grow-ing pasture -- optimising the use of the land they farm. You should treat the farm as a grass factory and aim to grow a quality ‘crop’ of pasture on every paddock every grazing (no matter what the round length) in order to maxi-mise MJME/ha.

Every region and farm within a region will differ, but the aim should be to get optimum round length that will meet cow require-ments, and grow surpluses for supplements. Every farm needs to be managed to limit risk or exposure to ‘bad’ weather -- cold, wet, drought, etc. Risk man-agement might take the form of expensive capi-tal improvements (eg irri-gation, feed pads, in-shed feeding).

Much better is a farm-ing system based on main-taining more pasture (ie higher average cover / feed wedge). This may be achieved by a longer round to smooth out highs/lows in daily and weekly growth rates and make sure the cows are always fully fed.

In other words, you take control of your feed situation rather than the feed situation controlling you; then you can limit or avoid ‘mayday’ calls for more feed -- most of them avoidable

With costs rising and payouts low there is little margin for error. Buying in feed (and / or taking a pro-duction drop) to fill a hole in the feed wedge may not be an option.

Cherish and protect pasture cover and feed wedge and keep pastures in a good vegetative grow-ing state. This will under-pin growth rates and responses to nitrogen applications.

Farm with a buffer in the feed wedge and be prepared to use a mower (assuming the farm is mowable) to control qual-ity or harvest surplus for supplements. It is often cheaper to mow than to feed supplements from a feed wagon (if you’re forced to buy supplements to correct a deficit).

Be mindful of pasture utilisation and over-graz-ing. It is better to use 80% of 15 tonne / ha than 90% of 12 tonne. I believe pasture production and per cow / total milk pro-duction on farms is now limited by incorrect utili-sation practices.

Moderate the stocking rate and focus on looking after the cow by fully feed-ing year-round relative to the stage of lactation. This will flow through to well-fed cows and improved herd health, reproduc-tive performance (without intervention) and per cow productivity.

A hefty portion of a farm budget gets spent on breeding and rear-ing replacement stock with high genetic merit. As farmers we should be aiming to exploit that pro-ductive potential.

Aim to fully feed all stock to requirements (subject to stage of lacta-tion) every day of the year on high ME feed.

Maintain high ME intakes by:

■ Appropriate calving date

■ Suitable stocking rate (cows per ha / breed and size of cow)

■ Preparing autumn feed budget = target cover / feed wedge as at dryoff and start of calving

■ Preparing spring rota-tion plan = controlled management of feed and first spring rotation

■ Setting feed manage-ment guidelines

■ Regular feed monitor-ing.

• Jack Ballam is a FarmWise consultant.

Jack Ballam, LIC FarmWise consultant.

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MANAGEMENT // 29

DAIRY FARMERS in 2013 committed to the Sustainable Dairy-ing: Water Accord which requires them to have a riparian management plan by 2020, and by 2017 to exclude stock from all waterways wider then 1m and deeper than 30cm.

Now a new DairyNZ online ‘Riparian Planner’ provides farmers with an easy, inexpensive solution to riparian management.

The Riparian Plan-ner enables a farmer to create an online farm-spe-cific riparian management plan. This outlines costs, to help prioritise fencing, planting, maintenance and managing riparian zones.

DairyNZ senior devel-oper Matt Highway is tri-alling the Riparian Planner with farmers.

“A riparian plan can be rolled out over a few years, so by planning now and taking a long-term approach to riparian zones farmers can budget in changing times,” says Highway.

“There is a lot of pres-sure on farmers now but I continue to see good work by dairy farmers manag-ing their waterways. Farm-ers tell me they appreciate the tool’s simplicity and accuracy, and being able to work within their budget.”

A plan takes no more than one hour to com-plete, depending on its complexity and how the riparian zone will be man-aged.

Having a plan should reduce the risk of planting in the wrong place, at the wrong time or spending too much.

Once completed, the plan includes costs, actions and a timeline, a plant list, a map and details on how much fenc-

ing to buy, where to plant, site preparation and pest control.

The tool’s map fea-ture makes planning easy. Simply enter the farm’s supply number and zoom in on the property to mark out existing waterways including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and drains. Select each waterway’s current state by width, the area fenced off and vege-tation type, then tick if it has weeds, exotics, natives or grass.

Finally, select whether each waterway is fully or partially fenced and choose what to achieve over the next one to five years, whether you plant or use grass to filter over-land run-off.

As the riparian zone develops or anything changes on-farm, revisit the Riparian Planner to update details for further planning.

A riparian management plan takes pressure off the farm business and pro-tects waterways. Riparian zones help filter out sedi-ment and nutrients before they enter waterways, prevent land erosion and increase habitat for native wildlife.

By setting a planting plan through the Ripar-ian Planner, management can be financially viable and done within time con-straints.

The planner was devel-oped by DairyNZ and Landcare Research, with input from regional coun-cils and environmen-tal experts. The project is funded through the Trans-forming the Dairy Value Chain Primary Growth Partnership.• This article was first pub-lished in Inside Dairy April 2016.

Planner gives bird’s-eye view

DairyNZ developer Matt Highway has

been trialling the Riparian Planner with farmers. He

is pictured with Waikato farmer

John Bluett.


■ BREAKING NEWS




■ COMPETITIONS



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30 // ANIMAL HEALTH / WELFARE

Animal welfare regulation critical, says minister

THE DAIRY Companies Associa-tion of New Zealand (DCANZ) is welcoming the start of consul-tation by MPI on the proposed regulations.

It says NZ’s reputation as a country with strong outcome-focused animal welfare frame-works is important to the dairy companies and to the dairy industry as a whole.

DCANZ says the proposals

are a positive move to reinforce the country’s animal welfare system which is already recog-nised as world leading. It says it will also clarify expectations of minimum standards and enable MPI’s compliance team to use more rules to enforce compli-ance.

DCANZ says the dairy industry ‘Strategy for Sustainable Dairy Farming’ sets

a target for 100% compliance with NZ animal welfare standards, and individual dairy companies have reinforced, in their farmer supply contracts, their expectations of compliance by farmers.

It says dairy farmers are sup-ported in achieving good animal welfare via the work of DairyNZ in developing and promoting industry best practice guidance.

DCANZ SUPPORTS PROPOSAL

THE MINISTER for Primary Indus-tries, Nathan Guy, says the proposed animal welfare regulations now out for consultation are very important for the New Zealand primary sector.

He told Dairy News that NZ earns $23 billion from animal related exports and consumers are now much more connected to what is happening on our farms.

Guy says NZ is a world leader in food safety and is doing more than ever in environmental matters. And it is equally important that we look after our animals: this matters to our international reputation.

“Most NZ farmers look after their

animals very well and they won’t notice any significant changes but those few scallywags who don’t will have to pull up their socks.”

The new regulations follow the passing last year of an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act, designed to improve the enforceability, clarity and transparency of the animal wel-fare system. Proposed regulations set-ting out in detail what farmers need to do have been developed in consul-tation with the National Animal Wel-fare Advisory Committee (NAWAC).

Guy says the proposed regula-tions will set enforceable rules based on best practice and modern science. “Our animal welfare system is con-sidered one of the best in the world. The proposed regulations will further strengthen our reputation as a coun-

try that cares for animals.”The proposed regulations relate to

the care of and conduct towards ani-mals and include:

■ Infringement notices of $300 or $500 for low-level offending

■ Who may perform surgical or painful procedures on animals, and under what conditions

■ New rules for handling bobby calves, including raised areas for loading and trucking distance restrictions.

■ More powers for the director-general of the Ministry for Pri-mary Industries on reporting of animal welfare when live animals are exported for breeding pur-poses.Feedback is sought on the propos-

als by 19 May.


The proposed animal welfare regulations include new rules for handling bobby calves.

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ANIMAL HEALTH // 31

Oz moves towards 15% limitFOLLOWING A 2015 agreement to phase-out calving induction nationally, the Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC) is targeting a 2016 limit for rou-tine calving induction of 15% of cows per herd.

ADIC chair Simone Jolliffe says this will apply to all farms unless an exemp-tion is granted.

“Exemptions may be granted either by implementing a herd fertil-

ity management plan or by obtain-ing dispensation for exceptional circumstances beyond the con-trol of the herd manager,” she said. A panel will consider requests for exemptions and grant approvals as appropriate.

She says progress will be monitored and reviewed until the phase-out is achieved and no routine induction -- without exemption for exceptional cir-

cumstances -- is done. “We want to be proactive on mea-

sures to support excellent animal wel-fare and to meet the expectations of the community, customers and consum-ers,” Jolliffe says.

“Failure to meet these obligations risks the introduction of onerous and unrealistic regulations and/or damage to our reputation and markets.”

She says the ADIC recognised that

the target would involve much manage-ment change for some farmers.

“We will work with farmers, vets and their advisers to ensure annual targets are achieved.”

The approach resembles the NZ strategy where routine calving induc-tion was phased out over time with pro-gressively reduced annual limits.

ADIC is especially concerned about late-calving induction.

“Late inductions (within 4-6 weeks of the due calving date) provide no overall reproductive benefit for the herd and should not be performed except for the welfare of the cow or her calf,” she said.

“Early pregnancy testing is required by these practices to make sure late inductions are not occurring.”

@dairy_news


Possum kill planned for Kaweka RangeAN AERIAL possum kill using 1080 poison is planned for the high Kaweka Range between Taupo and Hawke’s Bay this winter, says OSPRI.

The work is planned for areas of the Kaweka Range where TB-infected wildlife has been found. Consultation and planning has been done with farmers, deer hunters, local iwi and groups which use the tracks in the Kaweka Forest Park.

Consultation has gone on since August 2015 with representatives of DOC, NZ Deerstalkers Associa-tion and Game Animal Council, neighbouring land-owners, local iwi and residents. The timing has been agreed with DOC to coincide with changes in the winter feeding behaviour of wildlife.

The first drop will target an area of the Kaweka Range north-west of Napier, between the Mohaka River in the north and the Napier-Taihape road in the south. The area has east-facing slopes around the headwaters of the Tutaekuri and Donald Rivers in the south and steep gorges north of Makahu Saddle.

Matthew Hall, chief operating officer of OSPRI, says this is the first kill in this area, and it will help halt the spread of TB into neighbouring farmed cattle and deer, and help conserve native flora and fauna in the high country forest.

He says the steep terrain of the area makes access difficult and supports the use of aerial drops as the most effective method.

The June timing recognises the importance of the Kaweka for recreational deer hunting. “OSPRI has spent a lot on deer repellent bait for the opera-tion,” he says, “and the timing avoids the peak deer-roar hunting season.”

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32 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Avoid abomasal bloat in calves

BLOAT IS a condition commonly suffered by mature cattle, in which their rumen distends for various reasons. However, in calves less than a month old it is the abomasum that is generally associated

with distension. This arti-cle discusses the potential causes, signs and treat-ment of abomasal bloat in dairy calves. What is abomasal bloat?

The pre-weaned calf relies primarily on diges-tion of milk in the aboma-sum (the fourth stomach) and small intestines. In the very young calf the first

three stomachs (reticu-lum, rumen and omasum) are not sufficiently devel-oped and the calf is con-sidered to be a ‘simple stomached’ (monogas-tric) animal at this early age. The abomasum has an acidic environment which helps in the formation of the milk clot before its passage to the small intes-

tines for absorption of nutrients.

Acute bloat syndrome is characterised by sudden distension of the aboma-sum to give the calf a bloated abdomen appear-ance on one or both sides. It typically affects calves less than three weeks of age that have previously appeared healthy.

In mild cases, calves may show only slight abdominal distension with a fluid or gas splash-ing sound, have inconsis-tent mild diarrhoea and mild depression. In severe cases, calves are usually off their milk, are dehy-drated, show signs of discomfort such as kick-ing their abdomen or

lying flat-out and have a severely distended abdo-men. They may or may not have diarrhoea. Death can occur within 6 to 48 hours if the bloat progresses and is not relieved. This con-dition tends to occur spo-radically in dairy calves and some herds have mul-tiple cases at once. What causes abomasal bloat?

The cause of aboma-sal bloat has not been fully defined but is almost cer-tainly related to milk-feed-ing nutrition. Several risk factors have been iden-tified and these include feeding large volumes of milk in a single daily feed-ing, fortified milk-feed-ing programmes, bacterial infections, lack of water, irregular feeding times and inadequate colostrum intake.

It is thought that the excessive gas production is due to the fermenta-tion of high-energy liquid feeds such as those used in accelerated growth programmes or electro-lyte feeds with inadequate water. The fermenta-tion process occurs as a result of bacterial over-growth and production of enzymes in the aboma-sum.

Anything that slows down the rate of aboma-sal emptying can result in an accumulation of excess gas. In North America, high-osmolality electro-lyte products and milk replacers have been iden-tified as the primary risk factor of abomasal bloat on some farms. Osmolal-ity is a measure of the con-centration of particles in a solution and a high-osmo-lality milk feed can occur in fortified milk feeding programmes and/or when incorrect mixing rates of milk powder are used. Consequently it is impor-tant to ensure the correct mixing rates are used for

the specific brand of milk powder, whether used alone or in an accelerated growth programme.

Abomasal bloat can also be seen in conjunc-tion with abomasal ulcer-ation causing a mechanical obstruction of the aboma-sum and facilitating the accumulation of gas. How is abomasal bloat treated?

Prompt veterinary attention is required in an attempt to relieve the abomasal distension by either trochar or passage of a stomach tube. Plac-ing the calf in a ‘dog-sit-ting’ position with the front legs elevated, whilst passing a stomach tube, can aid in the relief of gas. Antibiotics are sometimes indicated especially where bacterial infections are suspected. The specific treatment is determined on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the veterinarian.

The syndrome is likely to be caused by multi-ple factors and although the definitive cause is unknown, dietary man-agement is integral in the control of outbreaks. Pre-vention of abomasal bloat should be aimed at con-sistent milk-feeding nutri-tion and consultation with a veterinarian prior to feeding high volume or fortified milk feeding pro-grams.

Fortified milk feeding programs are not simply a matter of ‘adding a bit of milk powder to whole milk’; the exact mix rate will depend on the indi-vidual farm’s feeding system, frequency of feed-ing, brand of milk replacer used and the nature of the whole milk used to mix the powder with. • Gemma Chuck is a veterinarian with The Vet Group in Victoria, Australia.

GEMMA CHUCK

Gemma Chuck

@dairy_news


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MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 33

Keeping shed water clean by treating with chlorine

FARMS’ DEMANDS for large water vol-umes requires water storage in tanks and troughs, with potential for contamination.

Cracked, ill-fitting or missing covers pose a risk of bird and small animal faeces getting in, along with leaves and other debris that will eventu-ally contaminate water. Sourcing water from the ground, dams, creeks or rivers poses other contamina-tion risks, especially from ani-mals.

Dealing with all this is the new GEA FIL Farm Chlor water treatment range of chlorine products – the only dry chlorine approved by MPI for use in dairy sheds, and a stable, and cost effective way to chlorinate water in reser-voirs and water treatment plants.

The system is designed to be installed in the main water line, between the water pump and water tanks, so any water pumped onfarm passes through the chlo-rinator unit and is treated with a pre-set amount of chlorine before being stored or pumped elsewhere.

The company also offers specially for-mulated Chlorinator Rods (chlorine rods)

for the system; together, the Farm Chlor system and rods treat water to approved drinking water standards, suitable for human consumption.

Designed by Farm Medix, the Farm Chlor system will reduce the level of bac-teria in water. The system delivers (adjust-ably) one to five PPM (parts per million) of chlorine into the water. It handles water pressure to 150psi.

The system, used correctly, delivers chlorinated

water, free of E coli, to a whole farm. Slime

and bacteria growth is mini-

mised in milk-ing sheds and plant, and trough water is more potable.

DIY installation by

farmers is OK.Farm Medix

director Natasha Maguire points out

that MPI regulations require water used to clean

milking surfaces to be scrupulously clean, likewise cows’ drinking water, to protect the integrity of the dairy industry.

Clean water lifts milk production cheaply, the company observes. Lactating cows drink lots of water: to produce 1L of milk a cow must drink 3L of clean water.

“If the water tastes better and isn’t con-taminated, it’s of huge benefit because cows will drink more and be less likely to have animal health issues,” says Maguire.www.gea.com

MARK [email protected]

Not just a good lookerTRACTORS HAVE come a long way in design, as seen if you com-pare today’s machines with yester-year favourites like the MF 135 or the Ford 4000.

Nowadays these workhorses have more exterior curves than Marilyn Monroe, and interior fin-ishes fit to make automobile makers cry.

One such ‘modern’ tractor, the Valtra T234 from the AGCO camp,

recently won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award for 2016 in a compe-tition that drew 5200 entries from 57 countries being judged by 41 design professionals from around the world.

The Valtra T4 series is the result of seven years R&D, and is the first of a new generation of trac-tors where technical innovations and a whole new look are brought together.

The clean exterior lines look good, and underlying design work has focused on usability, ergonom-ics, safety, durability, serviceability and productivity.

Incidentally, the fourth-genera-tion Valtra have also won interna-tional awards including Machine of The Year 2015.www.valtra.com.au

@dairy_news


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34 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Vintage ploughing draws crowds

MURRAY GRAINGER of Mosgiel was one of many competitors from the South Island at this year’s national ploughing championships held at Rongotea in Manawatu. The weather and ground conditions were perfect and large crowds came for the two days of competition.

Chairman of World Ploughing, Colin Millar says the local organisers and the owner of the land where the competition was held stepped up to the mark – in fact went over – because it was a beautiful site and the soil was well prepared.

He says no one could complain about it, the event was very well run.

“The soil conditions were amazing, the level of the grass and the stubble was exceptional. We told the competitors they could remove as much straw as they liked because there was no

straw on the site.”Murray Grainger was placed third in the

vintage class behind Paul Houghton and the winner John Stalker. Seven competitors

contested the vintage class. • More stories and pictures from the 2016 national ploughing championships in next week’s Rural News.


Murray Grainger with his Ferguson TE20 at the Championships.

Offset drawbar machines cost less.

Offset grass harvesters can speed tedding

TO COMPLEMENT recently introduced trailed mower conditioners with centre pivot drawbars, grass harvesting specialist Kuhn has launched three new models with offset drawbars.

The Kuhn FC 2860, FC 3160 and 3560 TL machines offer mowing widths of 2.67, 3.1 and 3.5m respectively, and the choice of roller or tine-based crop condition-ing units.

Why the need for offset or centre-pull drawbars? Centre-pull machines have the potential for up to 10% more output in large areas because they can operate on either side of the tractor, like a reversible plough. By contrast the offset drawbar machines can only work to the right side of the tractor, but cost less.

The new units have the same key features as the centre-pull units: Gyrodine swivel headstocks take care of any PTO problems, even in tight turns; and the Optidisc cutter-bar uses irregular spaced discs to promote crop flow and clean cutting.

A gear-driven conditioner driveline is protected by the Posiguard safety system if junk is encountered, and there is a choice of two speeds for best condition-ing effect.

The conditioner has, as standard, adjustable swath doors for different following machines, and it can spread to the machines’ full width if required – said to promote more rapid wilting, and in most cases can avert at least one following tedder pass.

Extra-large tyres reduce ground pressure and sward damage, particularly in damp ground condi-tions.www.kuhn.co.nz


Available from your local dairy merchant.Manufactured by:

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Licence 2509

Superheat Ltd www.superheat.co.nz

QUALITY DAIRY HOT WATER CYLINDERSFrom 180 litres to 1500 litres

Superheat Popular Sizes (measurements in mm)

STANDARD RANGE AVAILABLE WITH COPPER BARREL, GALVANISED OR STAINLESS CASE180 ltr 610 dia x 1330 high 3kW200 ltr 600 dia x 1295 high 3kW225 ltr 610 dia x 1550 high 3kW270 ltr 610 dia x 1750 high 3kW270 ltr 710 dia x 1350 high 3kW270 ltr 810 dia x 1050 high 3kW300 ltr 710 dia x 1330 high 3kW350 ltr 710 dia x 1660 high 2 x 3kW350 ltr 810 dia x 1400 high 2 x 3kW400 ltr 710 dia x 1820 high 2 x 3kW450 ltr 710 dia x 2010 high 2 x 3kW450 ltr 810 dia x 1600 high 2 x 3kW

500 ltr 915 dia x 1400 high 2 x 3kW600 ltr 810 da x 1900 high 3 x 3kW600 ltr 915 dia x 1500 high 3 x 3kW700 ltr 810 dia x 2200 high 3 x 3kW700 ltr 915 dia x 1700 high 3 x 3kW800 ltr 915 dia x 1900 high 3 x 3kW800 ltr 1160 dia x 1400 high 3 x 3kW1000 ltr 915 dia x 2400 high 3 x 3kW1000 ltr 1160 dia x 1650 high 3 x 3kWSUPERHEAT STAINLESS SIZES WITH PLASTIC CASE600 ltr 920 dia x 1650 high 3 x 3kW1000 ltr 1170 dia x 1640 high 3 x 5kW1200 ltr 1170 dia x 1865 high 3 x 5kW1500 ltr 1170 dia x 2180 high 3 x 5kW

NEW SIZES AVAILABLENow with stainless steel inner barrel and stainless outer case

350 ltr 710 dia x 1670 2 x3 kW400 ltr 710 dia x 1860 2 x 3kW450 ltr 710 dia x 2010 2 x 3kW500 ltr 810 dia x 1690 2 x 3kW600 ltr 810 dia x 2100 3 x 3kW700 ltr 810 dia x 2370 3 x 3kW

Special sizes available on request. Superheat cylinders include elements,

thermostats, valve pack, vacuum break and sight tube.

Superheat mains pressure domestic cylinders now available

E A S YC U TD I S C M O W E R S

KRONE EasyCut disc mowers have proven exceptionally well around the world. Delivering perfect results, these mowers feature genuine and exemplary KRONE innovations including:

• SafeCut disc protection system - prevents damage to the spur gears and neighbouring discs

• Quick-change blades

• Fully welded cutterbar

• DuoGrip centre-of gravity suspension

0800 88 55 624www.tulloch.co.nz DEALERS NATIONWIDE


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 35

Rotary rake delivers low-cost alternative

AUSTRIAN GRASS-LAND specialist Pot-tinger has launched a centre-delivery rotary rake of high capacity and offer-ing a cost effective alterna-tive to expensive 4-rotor machines, reports the NZ distributor Origin Agroup.

The TOP 962C, with working width adjustable from 8.9 to 9.6m, has 4.4m diameter rotors fitted with 15 tine arms. Its large diameter cam track with shallow inclines is said to ensure precise control and minimum stress on the control arm bearings. The cam track can be adjusted to suit crop volumes or harvesting conditions, and is encased to prevent ingress of crop or dust.

The rake attaches to the tractor via the three point linkage and has 73 degrees of turning angle for tight turns.

The driveline has a free-wheel system for run-down, and each rotor drive is individually protected from overload. Rotor drive gearboxes use gears submerged in semi-fluid grease for maximum lubri-cation and extensive seal-ing to exclude dust.

After folding for trans-port the rotors can be low-ered hydraulically, using a double acting valve, and

further removal of four tines results in a transport height of less than 4m.

In work the rotors can be lifted by up to 60cm to clear obstructions. Ground following is con-trolled by a 6-wheel under-carriage on tandem axles which can be optioned with the MultiTast jockey wheel for difficult condi-tions.

The 2.9m main chassis is said to be very stable on sloping ground and com-bines with a steering axle layout that ensures the machine ‘tracks’ the trac-tor accurately and makes it very manoeuvrable.

Tyres are 340-55 R16 with the option of over-size 380-55 R18 for softer ground.

In operation rotors are raised using a single acting hydraulic connection, with lifting clearance at head-lands controlled by an adjustable valve.

A double acting con-nection is used to adjust overall raking width, adjusting final swath width from 1.3 to 2m dependant on the follow-ing machine requirements.

Options include indi-vidual rotor lifting which can be activated from the standard control termi-nal, which also combines to display information on working width and overall height setting.www.originagroup.co.nz


The centre-delivery rotary rake offers a cost-effective alternative, says its distributor.

The rake attaches to the tractor via a three-point linkage.

European design and quality - Over 50 years experience in developing milk cooling tanks and one of Europe’s leading Dairy Cooling Systems producers for the needs of farmers around the world – from Mexico to Japan, from Russia to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Horizontal Milk Cooling Tanks with Iced Water Cooling – 50% more effective in cooling the milk compared to standard direct expansion systems without any risk of freezing the milk due to the water temperature of +0.5 > 1.0degC.

Highly suitable for AMS (Robotic Farming Systems) with low milk flows – no risk of freezing the milk.

Energy Saving with Packo Ice Builders (PIB’s) – thanks to the ice energy store build-up during night time hours, a smaller refrigeration unit can be installed plus the potential savings of off-peak power rates.

Water Saving with PIB’s – bore water pre-cooling is not necessary with the correctly sized PIB. This is ideal for drought prone regions or where water supplies are restricted.

Improved Milk quality through Snap Chilling = potentially a higher return adding PROFITS to the farm.

For 30yrs Eurotec has been supplying the NZ Refrigeration Industry with leading Global Brands. The only NZ supplier of this technology providing nationwide coverage and After Sales Support with branches in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with over 30 Approved Refrigeration Installers throughout the country from Invercargill to Whangarei.

Check out the DCS website www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz, talk to your refrigeration contractor, and come and see DCS/Packo milk cooling technologies operating at the National Field Days, stand# J22.

WHY A DCS MILK COOLING SYSTEM IS THE BEST INVESTMENT IN YOUR FARM

Find us on Facebook too,www.facebook.com/DairyCoolingSolutions

Dairy Cooling SolutionsTradition meets Technology

www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz

Packo Milk Tanks

PIB 230 - 370

PIB 25-160

Dairy Cooling SolutionsA Division of Eurotec Limited

Find us at the Dairy Pavillion Stand# J22 at National Field

Days!


36 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Multidisc tillage tool uses little power

DUTCH IMPLEMENT maker Tulip is known for delivering quality arable products, and its Multidisc

series is proven cost effec-tive – a minimum tillage tool with unique disc sus-pension.

Minimal moving parts, heavy duty bearing hous-ings and a shock absorbing rubber mounting system

lowers the power require-ment and removes the need for increased frame weight to get penetration.

In work the aggressive action of the serrated discs and large inter-gang clear-ances allow the machine

to form one-pass seedbeds in stubble or cover crops, as it is able to deal with lots of crop residue.

Available in working widths 2-12m, the Multi-disc range is now bigger: the XL and XXL versions


have discs of 56cm and 61cm, respectively.

Also, the Multidisc Vario S offers five cultiva-tor tines over a 3m work-ing width, laid out in a vee formation.

This is said to ensure rapid residue flows through the machine and lower power requirement than machines with tines fitted in straight banks.

Accumulator based overload protection guards each tine against damage from hitting junk in the ground.

For operators want-ing cultivation and seeding in one pass the Polymat

Compact airseeder has offered the answer, but until now this suited only rigid machines. The recently launched H ver-sion has a folding seeder bar that can be used with wider cultivators that fold for transport.

Seed hoppers come in a range 400-750L to match 8-24 outlet setups.

The hydraulically driven system is con-trolled by an in-cab elec-tronic terminal and offers users the opportunity to cultivate and establish crops at speed: a 6m unit typically covers 8ha/h.www.lely.co.nz

100,000th tedder rolls offDUTCH GRASSLAND machinery specialist Lely recently celebrated selling its 100,000th Lely Lotus rotary tedder: a Dutch farmer, Frank van der Sch-reik, received a plaque from Alexander van der Lely to mark the event.

Lely in 1965 started making the machine with a unique hook-shaped tine assembly that offered quick and clean tedding in a variety of crops.

Nowadays it has become clear that tedding cut grass is important to ensure fast, even drying, reduce effluent discharge and achieve higher quality winter feed.

The hook tines’ trailed positioning on the machine’s rotors allowed excellent ground following, and the hooked layout is said to have greater pick-up capacity – 50% more crop per rotation than straight tined designs. And the shorter top tine of the assem-bly is said to achieve complete crop inversion.www.lely.co.nz

Lely Lotus’ unique hook-shaped tine.

Tulip Multidisc series.

Lower your long term total operating costs with a platform that just makes sense contact GEA on 0800 GEA FARM (0800 432 327)

A proven design, simply means less wear over a given period.Our concrete platform sits on two steel beams with nylon rollers. It’s a proven design using everyday materials. There’s very little maintenance, minimal wear and it’s a highly cost-effective system.

It just makes sense…


FARM BIKES & ATVS // 37

Trailer maker adds UK-made range

ELITE TRAILERS, run by husband and wife team Debbie and Keith Gordon, dates back to 2007, and offers nationwide coverage from distribution hubs in Auckland and Christchurch.

Their business aims to offer the best quality trail-ers at competitive prices, in an extensive range of models to suit all needs.

Whether it’s a simple trailer to carry a quad, a heavy duty stock trailer or even a high class horse float, Elite is a one-stop shop.

Elite recently expanded its range by taking on NZ distribution of UK made Brian James Trailers’ high quality commercial units.

James has for 35 years designed and manufac-tured flat-deck and high capacity hydraulic tipping trailers.www.elitetrailers.co.nz

Defender designed to suit locals

CAN AM off-road vehicles’ reputa-tion for performance and durability stems from the company’s heritage of building snowmobiles for the Arctic Circle and the wildernesses of Canada.

So its launch of a sport/utility side-by-side called Defender had the opposition hoping it wouldn’t be very good; alas it set a new benchmark.

Designed with input from users of such vehicles in New Zealand and Australia, the Defender is built around three tenets: tough, depend-able and clever.

Designers and engineers spent a lot of time developing, testing and understanding farm users’ must-haves – things as simple as some-where to put staples during a fencing job, or somewhere for the dog to sit when the cargo tray is loaded.

‘Tough’ sees the use of proven V-Twin Rotax engines pushing out 50 or 72hp and said to have 20% more torque than its main competitors’ engines. It has a tough chassis with 10 inches of suspension movement at

each corner and 11 inches of ground clearance. The Pro-Torq transmis-sion uses larger CVT ratios for a quick response, has a work-specific low gear for arduous jobs, electronic belt protection for overload, and an integral engine braking system for safety.

‘Capable’ sees the Defender achieving best-in-class towing, haul-ing and carrying statistics: towing capacity is 907kgs, the cargo bed is rated at 454kg and the payload is 680kg – scope for a load plus a couple of passengers.

The 4WD comes in 2x4, 4x4 and with the combination of an open or locked rear differential, allowing the driver to configure the vehicle for the ground conditions at hand. A claim to best turning circle in class (13 feet) is said to beat the sector’s top sell-ing competitor by a full 2 feet. An option of dynamic power steering eases tight turning.

‘Clever’ means a versatile cargo box with the lin-Q quick-attach system, tie downs and anchor points, plus a simple design detail in the structure of the body with pre-moulded rebates that accept divid-ers to create dedicated storage areas.

Storage in the cab includes a dash-board with cubbyholes on the upper sur-face, shelves and ledges below and the option of a removable carry box under the passenger seats. Without the carry box in position the seats flip up to allow a flat area for the farm dog.

The cab area is roomy, helped by a front roll frame designed to be ‘pushed’ forward to aid entry and exit and remove the risk of tall operators bumping heads on frames – often seen on more conven-tional layouts.

The maker thought hard about cost of ownership, resulting in a rear mounted engine accessed by simply tipping the cargo bed. Service interval is 200 hours or 3000km and warranty is three years and unlimited kilometres.

The NZ manager for BRP NZ, Rich-ard Shaw, speaking on a dairy farm near Karaka, said the company had held com-petitive training days that had highlighted the daily uses and demands of side-by-

sides on farms. The Defender showed the best per-

formance towing a loaded meal trailer, the best slow speed following of a herd coming to milking, the tightest turning circle and the lowest noise levels.

It also scored highly in offering space for man’s best friend, and in having a master key to limit the machine’s per-formance for inexperienced users or to achieve the best economy onfarm.www.canamoffroad.com


Can Am’s Defender achieves best in-class towing, hauling and carrying statistics.

There is somewhere for the dog to sit when cargo is loaded.

Two Wheels on the Farm

Farm 150250 StockmanBuilt for farmers who put a premium on high quality construction.Electric start, disc brakes, alloy rims, quality suspension, stainless muffler, O-ring chain, rear farmcarrier, knobbly tyres and mudflaps, feature on both models. Plus the Stockman has dual side stands, front carrier, handlebar and engine guards.

See the full details at www.kawasaki.co.nz

$5,648.00 excl. gst $4,343.00 excl. gst


38 // FARM BIKES & ATVS

Invader about to hit NZ shoresFIRST QUADS, then UTVs and latterly side-by-sides: love them or hate them, it’s gener-ally accepted we can’t live without them on modern farms.

A walk around recent regional field days con-firms there’s plenty of choice, but users can be heard moaning about reli-ability and running costs.

A lot of machines can trace their roots back to the North American sports scene, and although mod-ified and strengthened

they can be seen lacking in the harsh New Zealand setting, prompting some manufacturers towards clean sheet designs for agriculture.

For example, Avatar Products’ principal Hamish Gilbert first set about delivering machines better suited to farm-ing, and he is now set to introduce a higher spec machine.

Says Gilbert, “A lot of machines in use are being asked to perform the duties of a 4WD ute or small tractor, when in some cases their chassis configuration is that of a stretched quad. Frankly

it’s always going to end in tears.”

With this in mind Avatar will release its new Invader series at National Fieldays. The machine was originally designed and developed for military transport and reconnais-sance unit, a job that took six years; now it is in pro-duction, under a 500 unit/year rolling contract. The original design brief was for a robust, durable, easy to operate machine using readily available automotive technology. This last point shortened development time, and ensured time proven parts and spares availability any-

where.The chassis is a cold

rolled construction for maximum strength and the elimination of cut points, and sub-assem-blies are made from steel using five different ten-sile strengths, offering durability and flex where required.

The heart of the machine is a 1.3L turbo-charged common rail Fiat engine of 4 cylin-ders, using a Bosch fuel system to deliver 74hp. This is coupled to a newly designed, fully automated CVT transmission with high, low and reverse and engine braking fea-

ture, automated diff locks, selectable 2- or 4WD and a rated top speed of 100km/h.

The rear tipping load deck is rated to 500kg and a useful towing capacity of 1100kg is intended for users looking for a heavy duty machine built to last.

Machines are now on extended NZ test, and Gil-

bert is looking at a range of options for the launch in June. He comments that “the machines have been tested to military stan-dards from 40oC degrees down to -20oC.

Basic, potentially trou-blesome items like wheel bearings have been sub-jected to 1000km tests then removed promptly

from machines and sub-merged for 72 hours to measure the ability of the seals to keep out water and mud.

“We believe we will deliver a reliability stan-dard that other manu-facturers aspire to,” says Gilbert.www.avatar-products.com


The new Invader series will be unveiled at the National Fieldays.

Mule packs a kick, carries a load

KAWASAKI HEAVY Industries made its first side-by-side utility vehi-cle in 1998: the Mule 1000,

powered by a 450cc liquid cooled twin based on a motorcycle engine.

At that time in New Zealand import tariffs made the unit expensive so it sold in low numbers.

The first model to sell

in large numbers in NZ was the Mule 500, a 2x4 light utility powered by a 300cc air-cooled single; then came the Mule 2510 4x4, a larger machine pow-ered by a liquid-cooled, 620cc V-twin.

The range developed over the years with the Mule 600 and 610 range of 400cc models and the 4-seat Trans in the 620cc, 4010 range. A 953cc diesel model in 2- and 4-seat form was added to the line-up and proved popu-lar here.

In 2015 Kawasaki intro-duced the Mule Pro FXT, an all-new model pow-ered by a 3-cylinder 820cc petrol engine able to carry up to six people. This was the start of a new Pro series model line which now includes a Mule Pro-FX, 3-seater and 3- and 6-seat Mule Pro-DX and DXT diesels – altogether nine models in NZ

Unlike many side-by-side vehicles, Mule was not designed as a recre-ational/utility vehicle, but as a workhorse for agri-culture and industry.

Manufacturing is at Kawa-saki’s plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.

All Mules except the Mule Pro-FX/FXT 820cc petrol models are speed limited – popular on some farms where speed lim-iting helps keep workers safe.

The new Mule Pro-DX diesel is powered by a Yanmar, 953cc, 3-cylinder diesel and has the same strong chassis and drive-line as the other Mule Pro series models.

It has a flat bottomed, gas assisted-tilting cargo bed capable of carrying at least 450kg.

A wide track gives sta-bility over rough terrain and electrically switched 2WD/4WD and a lock/unlock rear differential ensures plenty of traction when needed.www.kawasaki.co.nz


Kawasaki’s Mule model of ATVs have been regularly upgraded.

The 3-cylinder 820cc petrol engine gives extra power.

FOR ALL YOUR TRAILER NEEDS VISIT www.elitetrailers.co.nz

Trailers for ATVs, Side by sides, stock, and much more

• 37 Lunns Road, Middleton, Chch• 66 Princes St, Onehunga, AkldPHONE 0800 222 172

NZ AGENTS FOR

To find out more, ask in-store, call 0800 287 325 or see www.crystalyx.co.nz

FEED THE RUMEN BUGS AND REDUCE THE RISK OF MILK FEVERCrystalyx Dry Cow reduces the risk of milk fever by maintaining optimal magnesium levels

Trials show there’s no need for any other magnesium source when stock have adequate access to Crystalyx Dry Cow during the pre-calve period*

* Oliver, M.H., Rossenrode, S. & Aveling, JB. 2013. Follow-up trials of Crystalyx Dry Cow on Tokoroa dairy herds on two adjoining farms. UniServices Ltd, University of Auckland and Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Tauranga, New Zealand

WAVE22943DC_DN

Dairy News 26 April 2016

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