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OCTOBER 2012

NATIONAL POLICY

Safe in the airFarmers need to ensure the future ofour agricultural aviation industry P5

Farmers appealFederated Farmers appeals againstHorizons Regional Council’s One PlanP3

REGIONAL POLICY

Farmers necessaryLand andWater Forum chairmandiscusses freshwater objectives P18

Recipe forwaterDrafting rules will not necessarilyclean up waterways P8

INDUSTRY GROUPS

Sensible steps and reporting incidentscould drastically reduce theft P15

Crime fightersFederated Farmers Goats IndustryGroup now represents all sectors P16

Christchurch donations:Where allthe money went P23

Goats group grows

Power struggleWork to block Transpower’s proposedbuffer zones continues P8

THEBIGWATER ISSUEFarmersfacebigrisks—p10

BOOKGIVEAWAYFederated Farmershas a signed copy ofphotographers’ ChrisMorton and TonyBridge’s Out There:North to give away.To enter send your name, address andtelephone number [email protected]

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Regulars:Farming’swater issues 10

Perspective . . . . . . 2

National Policy . . . . 3-6

Counterpoint . . . . 7

Regional Policy . . . . 8

Economy . . . . . . 9

Employment . . . . 12

Weather . . . . . . 13

Dairy . . . . . . . . 14

Meat and Fibre . . . . 15

Other IndustryGroups 16-17

Insider . . . . . . . . 23

■ For farming queries, call 0800 327 646

PERSPECTIVE

BRUCEWILLSFederatedFarmers president

One Plan to rule them allFarmers havemoved forward with water practices, improving theirsustainability and environmental impact. It’s time councils did the same.

TheOne Plan hasnow been underaction for longerthan I have been afarmer.

I am against heavy-handed regulation. It isexpensive, inefficient and, of course,bureaucratic. It does nothing to build goodworking relationships between councilsand their ratepayers. To date, I have seenno evidence that heavy-handed regulationactually improves water quality. Whatimproves water quality is enthusiasticlandowners working with positive andprogressive councils to make a difference.I am for a growing economy, offering

jobs for its young and increasing incomesfor its people. Farming has a big part toplay in this. I am also for environmentallysustainable farming. Profitability andsustainability go hand-in-hand. A bit likecouncils and rates; you cannot have onewithout the other!Yes, we do need to do better with our

water and our environment, but one thingI do see in my role is the encouragingprogress that farmers are making. Atti-tudes have changed and action is beingtaken. Sure, things may not be happeningas quickly as some would wish, butchanging habits and actions does taketime.What I know for certain is this whole

water issue isnow front andcentre for allfarmers; it iscertainly ournumber onefocus here atFederatedFarmers.This is one of

my issues withHorizonsRegional Coun-cil, the One Planand the very dis-

appointing decisions that have comefrom the Environment Court. The OnePlan has now been under action forlonger than I have been a farmer. WhileOne Plan has been working its waythrough disputes and courts, costingmillions of dollars, farmers have beengetting on with improving practicesaround water and water management.Just look at Taranaki Regional Coun-

cil — a model for innovative, non-regulatory, environmental improve-

ment. I am told the region’s riparianplanting programme has seen over 2million plants in the ground, with a further500,000 native plants ordered for nextyear’s planting. All this without anyheavy-handed regulation and without theconsiderable costs that go with consentsand bureaucracy.Does the neighbouring council and the

Environment Court not realise thingshave changed? Attitudes and actions havemoved on. Farmers now get it and want towork with progressive councils to dobetter. Heavy-handed regulation is notneeded, is not welcome and is not sensible.

CONORENGLISHFederatedFarmers chiefexecutive officer

The future ain’t what it used to beAmerican baseball coach Yogi Berrafamously said ‘‘the future ain’t what it usedto be’’. When it comes to water in NewZealand, he’s right. Right now, everythingto do with water is at play. The laws andrules around its ownership, allocation,management, quality and storage are allunder review.What happens in the next few months

will determine the next 100 years. This iscomplex, so we must get it right. There arehuge risks, not only for the farmingcommunity, but for all NewZealanders.Wecare about the environment and a prosper-ous future. We need both.The Government has recognised the

importance of water to the economy withthe allocation of $435 million to waterstorage infrastructure.Alongside this, there are local govern-

ment reforms seeking to change councils’focus, while the ResourceManagement Actis also to undergo further amendments.The National Policy Statement (NPS) on

fresh water management was passed last

year. The Landand WaterForum is tryingto interpret it toinform furtherlaw change.In the mean-

time, HorizonsRegional Coun-cil, Otago Re-gional Counciland Environ-ment Canterburyhave producedplan changesseeking to im-

plement the NPS. Despite best efforts, itcould be said none have got it right.Diffuse nutrient discharges are not thesame as point source discharges and theOverseer management system is not awater meter.Federated Farmers is involved in all of

this. The focus needs to be on findingsolutions, based on sound science and

profitable and sustainable farming.Farmers are custodians of the land and

water, harvesting for the benefit of todayand future generations. They want to leaveit better than they found it.While some still need to pull their socks

up, farmers have spent hundreds ofmillions of dollars putting in effluentsystems, excluding stock from waterways,measuring fertiliser and investing in moreefficient irrigation. That investment hasallowed export growth, earning money topay the bills for hospitals, schools and otherservices. It provides jobs and has improvedthe environment.Water-quality measures must include

all those whose discharge into rivers,including places like Palmerston North.There is no free lunch.When it comes to

water, it is critical our whole society getsthe balance right, does not overreact andthrow the baby outwith the bathwater. Thefuturemaynot bewhat it used to be, butweneed profitable and sustainable farming forthe benefit of all New Zealand.

Managing Editor:Conor EnglishPh: 04 494 [email protected]

Editor:FelicityWolfePh: 04 494 [email protected]

Memberships:MiriamBravenboerPh: 0800 327 [email protected]

Advertising Sales Manager:MatthewSherryPh: 07 343 [email protected]

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NATIONAL POLICY

OnePlan one step too farBy FelicityWolfe

SUSTAINABLESOLUTIONNEEDED: Horizons region farmerswant to improve thequality ofrivers, but FederatedFarmers fears the regional council’sOnePlan could regulate farmers offthe land,whichwouldnot help them, the community or the environment.

Last week, Federated Farmers appealedthe Environment Court’s decision on Hori-zons Regional Council’s One Plan. As itstands, the plan threatens agriculture’sability to operate profitably in the region.Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikeiprovincial president Andrew Hoggard saysthe current version would poorly serve thecommunity. He says the Federation hasidentified several points of law it believeshave not been properly considered.‘‘This plan has been seven years in the

making, but for all that, the end result isdisappointing for farmers and the primarysector in general,’’ Mr Hoggard says.The plan was always an ambitious

project. It stirred up concern from manyinterested in resource management, en-vironmental sustainability and primaryproduction when it was notified in May2007.From the outset the primary sector had

serious reservations. Perhaps most rele-vant were practical difficulties inimplementing the strategy and theassociated rules.‘‘Therewere numerous reasonswhy the

initial rules were impractical and inappro-priate, but after a lengthy hearing processthe decisions version released in 2010 wassignificantly changed from the notifiedversion by the independent commis-sioners,’’ Mr Hoggard says.The changes resulting from the

submissions and hearings processes werereceived more favourably by farmers. Inmany instances Federated Farmersindicated it was relatively comfortable withthe decisions version of the plan. The

Federation became involved in theappeals process and extensive mediationthroughout 2011, but there were still anumber of matters to be put before theEnvironment Court.Federated Farmers, along with the

other primary sector groups includingHorticulture New Zealand, Fonterra andRavensdown, represented the interests ofthe primary industries in response to thepositions put forward by Fish and Gameand Department of Conservation. Hori-zons took somemiddle ground.The Environment Court released its

One Plan findings on September 4.The court’s directions for the water

chapters, as well as some additionalchanges to the biodiversity and landchapters, make the plan similar to the2007 notified version.

For farmers, the water chapters of thenotified version had significantshortcomings. Perhaps the most import-ant was the inability to apply the rulesoutlined in these chapters to manyintensive land-use enterprises. This isbecause, despite all intensive land usesbeing captured by the rules, the tools toapply and monitor the rules are notapplicable to many primary industries.The re-introduction of resource con-

sent requirements for other intensiveland uses, including cropping, commer-cial vegetable production and irrigatedsheep and beef, is hugely significant tothe region’s primary sector.Many farmers recognised throughout

the One Plan process that an all-inapproach to managing water quality wasthe most appropriate mechanism.

However, if land use is to bemanaged ina catchment-wide approach, the tools forthat management must be fit for purpose,expectations for water quality must berealistic and farming must be able tocontinue to ensure the economic and socialwellbeing of those catchment communities.The plan as it has now emerged has:

■ A nitrogen-leaching loss limit assignedto existing and new intensive land uses,based on the land-use capability of the soil■ A sinking lid on nitrogen-leaching lossover 20 years■ Requirements on farmers to get consentto farm where they have existing intensiveland use in the priority water managementzone, or if they seek new intensive land useanywhere in the region■ Indigenous biodiversity managed at aregional, rather than district, level.Although all farmers in the region are

affected by the One Plan, some are moredirectly affected than others. For example,it is likely that, given productionconstraints and limitations to future landuse, this plan will cause the value of allfarm land in the region to drop.‘‘This is my interpretation of the One

Plan,’’ Mr Hoggard says.‘‘All other parties have also been

working out what the plan will mean totheir businesses and Horticulture NewZealand also lodged an appeal.‘‘At this stage there is considerable

uncertainty about how the plan will beimplemented, but if the plan is not practicalto apply, it won’t work,’’ he says.‘‘The administrators of the plan depend

on land-owners taking action so let us hopethat, out of necessity, common sense willprevail.’’

Livestock tax changeswill affectmany farmersByNick ClarkFederated Farmers general policy manager

The Government has introduced a Billexpanding its Budget 2012 legislation onlivestock tax, which is likely to haveimplications for many farmers.Herd scheme elections were made

irrevocable from August 18, 2011,preventing farmers from taking advantageof livestock value fluctuations to receiveunintended tax breaks.The Inland Revenue Department (IRD)

estimated these would have cost the

Government $275 million over six yearshad the rules not changed.The new Bill provides a little more

flexibility around exiting the herdscheme.The Government has agreed to allow

farmers to make an election to a cost-based scheme if they change theirfarming regime from breeding tofattening.The useful ‘alternative valuation op-

tion’ will continue to be available. Theincreases in the number of a class oflivestock for which a herd scheme

election has beenmadewould not need tobe valued under the herd scheme.In recent years some accountants

advised farmers to use the electionavailable to those ceasing farming andselling their livestock.Sales were made to ‘associated

persons’, usually a company, without anychange in economic ownership. IRD isconsidering auditing some cases.Therefore, the Government has de-

cided that from March 28, 2012,purchasers in ‘associated party trans-actions’ must adopt the vendor’s herd

scheme elections and base herd numbers.Federated Farmers was concerned

about the potential impact on farm suc-cession where genuine sales are made tochildren or grandchildren. The Govern-ment listened and included an exceptionwhen there is a complete inter-generationalchange of ownership. To qualify, thevendor must cease farming and the recipi-ents cannot have had previous interests inthe livestock.Another change is the combination of

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NATIONAL POLICY

MMP rule changes expectedBy FelicityWolfe andNick Clark

REVIEWINGTHEOPTIONS:Withvoters choosing tostickwith theMMPelectoralsystem last year, areview isunderway to seehow it could beimproved.

Following last year’s referendum, where anarrow majority of New Zealand voterschose to retain the Mixed Member Pro-portional (MMP) voting system, the Elec-toral Commission is now reviewing howthe systemworks.Submissions have closed and the Com-

mission will present its recommendationsto the Ministry of Justice at the end of themonth.Federated Farmers did not submit on

the review, but is watching the processwith interest, president BruceWills said.‘‘My role has highlighted the absolute

importance of having a strong rural voiceinWellington,’’ MrWills says.It is hard to say if the commission’s

proposed changeswill directly benefit ruralNew Zealand, which has seen a steadydecline in representation.While there is some historic basis for

thinking that a First Past the Post-stylesystem would increase rural representa-tion, it is unclear that would have beenborne out had FPP been reinstated.Some 86 per cent of New Zealanders

now live in urban areas and it is hard todefine what constitutes a ‘rural MP’.Federated Farmers is more focussed oncommunicating effectively with all levels ofgovernment, both central and local, toensure farmers’ voices are heard.

‘‘With ongoing urbanisation it is moreimportant than ever to have high-calibreleaders speaking up for rural NewZealand,’’ MrWills said.There has also been a lengthy

submissions period allowing people tohave their say on what they like, or wantto see changed, about MMP.There is a prevailing mood, among

both the submitting public and thecommission, to reduce the threshold forparties to gain list seats from 5 to 4 percent of the national vote.Five per cent is seen by some as too

high a hurdle, while others believe alower threshold would see many smallparties gain seats, fracturing parliament.

Another likely change is when a partywins an electorate seat, but fails to meetthe threshold, it will no longer receiveany list seats, thus eliminating the needfor ‘overhang’ seats. The rule is regardedby some as encouraging ‘tactical voting’,while others believe it a reward forwinning an electorate.Federated Farmers believes candidate

selection is paramount, regardless of theelectoral system. To ensure there aremore rural MPs coming through, therural community (including FederatedFarmers) must encourage political par-ties to select rural candidates in winnableelectorates, or give themhigh rankings inparty lists.

This requires rural people to be well-represented within political party member-ship and for rural advocates, such asFederated Farmers, to persuade all politicalparties of the merits of having more ruralpeople in their caucuses, just as othergroups of society do.One way the Federation helps nurture

future rural leaders is through its leader-ship courses. These courses are designed tosupport and encourage farmers to becomemore active in their communities and givethem confidence to step up and speak out.Many rural leaders over the years have

benefited from the Federation’s trainingand today’s courses are geared around theneeds of the ‘modern farmer lobbyist’.‘‘To have competent and capable rural

leaders we must ensure good trainingopportunities are available,’’ MrWills said.‘‘Federated Farmers runs numerous

courses, there is also the Nuffield pro-gramme, the Kellogg’s leadership courseand the more recently established Esca-lator programme, run by the Agri-Women’sDevelopmentTrust, all helping toensure the rural voice is heard.’’The Federation recognises simply

having greater rural representation wouldnot guarantee a cohesive ‘rural voice’, norbetter outcomes for rural people. Instead offocussing on electoral systems, the Federa-tion focuses on strong advocacy for ruralcommunities.

Slowing pest spreadByMark RossFederated Farmers general manger policy andadvocacy

A key part of New Zealand’s biosecurityrelies on domestic pathway manage-ment — slowing down or restricting thespread of pests to other parts of thecountry.Whenmoving from one place toanother, a number of ‘‘hitch-hikers’’ cancome along for the ride, on cars, machin-ery, sports equipment or even clothes.To find measures to decrease pests

being transported on large machinery,the National Pest Control Association(NPCA) has established the ‘‘MachineHygiene Forum’’.This group involves regional council

biosecurity managers, the Ministry forPrimary Industry, rural contractors andFederated Farmers targeting ruralcontractors and largemachine operators

moving from region to region.A recent study showed a contami-

nated machine is likely to have at leastone hitch-hiker pest on board at anygiven time. Soil on one bulldozer inCanterbury contained seeds from 73different weed species.Prevention is the best medicine.

Simple hygiene steps, such as removingvisible soil or plant material beforesending machines to new locations, go along way to solving the problem.The didymo project is a prime

example. The simple message of ‘‘check,clean, dry’’ successfully raised the profileof didymo and minimised spread.Federated Farmers has emphasised

the importance of keeping any rulesvoluntary, with the industry self-managing implementation. The inten-tion is to initially test the model in oneindustry, then extend to others.


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NATIONAL POLICY

Rural fire service roles under review

WHOYOUGONNACALL?: Rural andvolunteer fire crewsaround the countrymakean important contribution toeveryone’s safety andwellbeing.

ByNick HansonFederated Farmers policy advisor

Federated Farmers has begun work withthe Department of Internal Affairs’ FireReview Panel, which is analysing NewZealand’s fire legislation to make emer-gency services more efficient.‘‘Federated Farmers has been

consulted at the point of first principles,’’Federated Farmers board fire policyspokesperson and Wairarapa rural firechief Anders Crofoot said.The panel will provide advice on three

distinct areas of fire policy — whethercurrent legislation is appropriate con-sidering fire services’ evolving role andinteraction with other emergencyservices, their operational efficiency andthe equity and sustainability of the fire

services’ funding sources.One contentious point is the role

volunteer fire services have as ‘first-responders’ to non-fire incidents. Cur-

rent legislation allows that fire servicebrigades ‘may’ attend non-fireincidents, but community demand forthe fire service’s rapid response hasdriven an increase in call-outs tomotor vehicle accidents and generalrescue.‘‘It’s been incredibly difficult to

reconcile the requirement for a certainlevel of service in rural, sometimesisolated, areas with demands placedupon volunteers of both the rural andurban fire services,’’ Mr Crofoot said.‘‘We have submitted to the panel

that local brigades are best-placed todetermine their role in non-fireincidents, which includes the ability toopt out where they deem appropriate.‘‘We also reiterated our support for

the recognition of the public-good

element to fire prevention and sup-pression by a contribution to fundingfrom general taxation.‘‘This funding recognises that saving

lives has no relationship to the value ofyour property or whether you’reinsured.’’Fire policy was last reviewed in 2007.

At that time there were several pro-posals, including a merger of the urbanfire service and rural fire authoritieswhich Federated Farmers opposed. Thethen minister, Rick Barker, withdrewthe department’s recommendationsafter primary production and insurancestakeholders disagreed.The Fire Review Panel’s final recom-

mendations will go to the Minister ofInternal Affairs, Chris Tremain, inDecember.

Best aviation practice requiredBy John SinclairNZAAA executive [email protected]

TAKECARE: Farmers following the best practice standards set out in the AIRCAREaccrediation programme are helping agricultural pilots work safer and better.

New Zealand farmers have saved about$200 million in additional aviation com-pliance costs since December, thanks towork done by the New Zealand Agricul-tural Aviation Association (NZAAA)and Federated Farmers around theAIRCARE Accreditation Programme.NZAAA is now focused on improving

both pilot and environmental safety, bygetting farmers to comply with theprogrammes’ best practice standards.Compliance with these is an import-

ant step in ensuring agricultural avia-tion services can continue.AIRCARE has been running for just

over 12 months and already one regionalcouncil and LandCorp require the ac-creditation for aerial operators.These organisations want consistent

best practice, which includes no adverseeffects from aerial discharges, such asfertiliser in waterways. Importantly forthe industry, it also means no aircraftaccidents.There are four areas where farmers

can help pilots comply with AIRCARE.Firstly, all regional councils require

neighbours to be notified before aerialspraying, but it can be unclear who isresponsible for contacting them.Farmers need to take ownership of

this and avoid the 90 per cent ofalleged spray drift claims made bypeople who were not notified.Pilots may treat 20 farms a day, so it

is impractical for them to do this.Secondly, while fertilisers are im-

proving, fertiliser dust is still an issue.The Resource Management Act isclear that discharging contaminantsto water is a breach, but fine dust isimpossible to control. Three pilotshaving been fined for drifting fertiliserdust into water in the Bay of Plenty.For pilots to predict where the

product goes once released, theparticles must be a suitable size tohave predictable ballistics.This costs $45 per tonne to achieve

and fertiliser companies will not do itunless directed, by their farmer share-holders. The Fertmark code assuringthe fertiliser’s chemical make-upshould also address its physical pro-perties to eliminate the fines.Aerial top-dressing is only

sustainable as long as regionalcouncils have insufficient resources toenforce the Resource ManagementAct.The next issue is poor farmer buy-

in to the Top-dressing Guideline thatwas developed jointly by FederatedFarmers, CAA, NZAAA and theformer Department of Labour.Repeated trips to a property, be-

cause the wind will blow the fine dustthe wrong way or because the binleaks, is too small, or does not exist atall, costs the farmer dearly.Lastly, CAA’s Health and Safety in

Employment Unit sent a letter toFederated Farmers last year sayingstringing electric fence-feeder wires,or any other wires, across gullies thenrequiring aircraft to operate at lowlevel is not providing a safe work-

place.Best practice is to tie overhead wires

down to a fence so they protrude nomore than one metre above the fence.Farmers must provide safe

workplaces for all contractors under theHealth and Safety in Employment Act(HSE) requirements and have beengiven clear warning that HSE enforce-ment action will follow the next farmwire strike.


NATIONAL POLICY

OCEANVIEW:Working a coastal property could becomemuchharder if theNewZealandCoastal PolicyStatement is implemented in its current form.

Coastal farmers under threat frompolicy statementByMichael BennettFederated Farmersregional policy advisor

When Edward Aitken hops on hismotorbike on his Banks Peninsula farmand looks up at the ridgeline he does notsee an iconic museum piece, to bepreserved regardless of cost. He seessheep, fencelines and the generations ofinvestment behind building a productivefarm.However, if the New Zealand Coastal

Policy Statement (NZCPS) is implementedby councils in its current form, he faceshaving his property frozen in time.Under the NZCPS, large areas of

farmland could be subject to lines onmapsand rules in plans, in the name of lookingafter coastal environments.The NZCPS provides the basis for

managing New Zealand’s coastalenvironments under the Resource Man-agement Act. Councils have to make ithappen through regional and districtplans.This policy has very strict management

requirements for farmland with coastalassociations. Its implementation involvesmapping the coastal environment ‘zone’,which can stretch up to several kilometresinland where the landscape becomes morecomplex, such as Banks Peninsula.The coastal policy statement sets a

high bar of avoiding effects on coastaloutstanding natural landscapes (ONL). To

avoid effects, the landscape of thecoastal environment must be definedprecisely.Avoid means just that; a proposal can

only go ahead if it will not adverselyeffect landscape values, no matter howbeneficial it may be to a community’soverall financial or social fabric.This flies in the face of the principle

basedResourceManagementAct, wherepeople can work towards a way of doingwhat theywant, if they jump through theright hoops.The NZCPS changes this. If you own

land in a coastal ONL, there are no hoopsand keeping the landscape as a monu-ment frozen in time takes priority overany economic or social need.

This is potentially amajor headache forGolden Bay farmer Nigel Harwood.‘‘“Huge areas of my farm are suppos-

edly ONL,’’ Mr Harwood said.‘‘If the NZCPS goes over this land as

well, how do I know if I will be able to putup a fence, maintain a track, re-grass orkeep pasture clear of scrub?”’’Every coastal farmer potentially has

the same problem. The NZCPS does notleave scope for the necessary balancing ofenvironmental protection against people’sneeds.This is a big problem for farmer-

council relationships as well. Many NewZealand councils do their best for ruralcommunities despite a legislated anti-development agendamost have to balancetheir plans and policies against. How arecouncil staff, seeking to do the best fortheir communities, going to cope with thedestruction of relationships and loss oftrust that will come with the NCPS’implementation?For landscapes to be successfully

managed on private land, for the publicgood, the fundamental starting point ishaving the landowner’s trust and buy in.Because farmers’ problems are poten-

tially so severe, the NZCPS needs somereform at a national level. Thousands ofhectares of productive farmland andmass-ive amounts of ratepayers money areunder threat. From Federated Farmers’point of view, the NZCPS needs to bechanged and now.


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DAMIENO’CONNORLabourspokesperson forPrimary Industries,Biosecurity andFoodSafety

Leadership in what we are good atNewZealand needs visionarymonetary policy to protect our exports, writesDamienO’Connor Weare very good

at turning rainand sunshineinto valuableproducts for aworld that needsfibre and protein.

There have been many reports and studiesrelating to the advantages and future foragriculture and horticulture in New Zea-land. They all make for encouragingreading and confirm the natural advan-tages we have over many of our competi-tors in the international marketplace. Ourhistory of adding Kiwi ingenuity andenthusiasm has delivered exports andincome that continue to drive our economyat a reasonable level of prosperity.The future looks bright, we are told. But

there are challenges of production costsand environmentalmanagement thatmean‘business as usual’ is not going to deliverthe growth and success we need.And then we have the question of who

will create this innovation and do thiswork.Through the 1980s and 1990s many New

Zealanders were discouraged from takingup careers in the primary industries. Thenumbers completing related degrees atLincoln and Massey universities declinedas the lure of software and soft living tookyoung Kiwis to the world. Farming was onthe way out, some believed.Nevertheless, the facts show clearly

that our wealth is still created by the sameexports as has occurred for over 100 years,only the quality and quantity of those

exports hasimproved. Wehave some amaz-ing stories ofcreation, inno-vation and Kiwiingenuity, butour natural ad-vantages still re-main.We are very

good at turningrain and sun-shine into valu-able products fora world thatneeds fibre andprotein. But weare not always

good at maximising the value of theseadvantages with our skills and know-ledge.We are only 4.5 million people and a

long way from our markets. If we don’twork together we split our efforts andwaste our opportunities. The dairy indus-try has shown how co-operation and co-ordination works. The wool industryshows the opposite. We have to decidewhich way we want for the future.As the numerous reports state, time

and time again, changes are needed if weare to maximise our potential. The lateststudy by the Riddett Institute is consist-ent with the others, but what itemphasises is the need for leadership toachieve the improved outcomes; leader-ship from both government and industry,not one without the other.While it might be difficult for strong

and independently-minded farmers toaccept, industry leadership without ac-tive government participation cannotdeliver the results we all need. Tradeaccess, good infrastructure, environmen-tal safeguards and accredited standardsrely on sensible government. We needleadership that listens and is strongenough to intervene when necessary.The challenge facing every New

Zealand exporter is the relatively highvalue of the Kiwi dollar that pushes upthe cost of our products to our customersand reduces returns to farmers. This isbecoming amajor problem, underminingour export sectors.The emerging international wisdom

is that governments need to ensuremonetary policy works to reduce nega-tive impacts on small, vulnerable,export-dependent economies, such asNew Zealand. This does require vision

and leadership, which the National Gov-ernment refuses to embrace. Mainstreameconomic agencies are now calling on theGovernment to alleviate the growingupward pressure on the Kiwi dollar andKiwi exporters.Unfortunately, the only major inter-

vention by the National Government is thedetermination to sell assets against thewishes of the overwhelming majority ofKiwis. Our economy will struggle andcontinue to go backwards because of this.We need strong leadership prepared to

adjust with the changing needs of adynamic and innovative economy. Thereare too many gaps in leadership from theNational Government and, while thatcontinues, rural New Zealand will stumblerather than stride into the future.


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REGIONAL POLICY PROVINCIAL SPOTLIGHT

RECIPEFORSUCCESS: A dashof sensible policyis an importantingredient increating goodwater policy.

A farmer’s recipe for healthywaterByChris AllenFederated FarmersMid-Canterbury president

As the world grows in population so doesour need for growth in food production. Inorder to feed the ever-increasingmouths ata global and national level, New Zealand’sagricultural trade grows in significance.Every country has a trade strength,

which their economy leans on and NewZealand is no different. We specialise inagriculture and have done a fantastic job ofshowing the world we are a country to payattention to, pulling in some $20 billion ayear from pastoral agriculture.With the increasing pressure for

farmers to ramp up production, remaincompetitive and be environmentallysustainable, the question now is how weachieve this? What are our priorities as anation? And what is the cost?Environment Canterbury’s Land and

Water plan has been trying to solve justthat, but what planners have yet to realiseis that farmers are not made of money andtheir stringent rules and timeframes willtrap a significant number of farms in aproduction time-warpWe need a sustainable approach to

clean up our waterways, not a witch hunt.Below is a recipe to tenderise souring

relationships and ensure we navigate thissensitive issue successfully.

WaterIngredients:■ A dash of sensible policy■ A sprinkle of constructive collabora-tion■ A dollop of responsibility■ A touch of practicality■ A spoonful of hard work■ A pinch of ingenuity.

Instructions:A dash of sensible policy — Use consist-ency and certainty with policy for waterusers and set sensible guidelines so wecan respond to changing conditionsaround water’s value and demand.

It is important to get the limit-settingright. Local economies could suffer ifpolicy frameworks do not deliver ascience-based and balanced approachreflecting economic reality.A sprinkle of constructive collabora-

tion — Understand and address all needsand values around water use.Canterbury’s land and water resourceswill respond effectively with a dusting ofrespect.A dollop of responsibility—Take your

nitrogen loss and understand how itimpacts the environment and where youcan improve.It starts with each individual

proactively understanding their part and

consciously mitigating effects, understand-ing that properties leaching nitrogen arewasting money.A touch of practicality — It won’t

happen overnight. Measuring nitrogen-leaching levels is tricky. You cannot see it,and models used to measure are notperfect, but they can help. ‘Gut feelings’ arenot valid measuring tools either. Toachieve positive outcomes, positiveeconomic viability needs to be proven first,as well as a level-headed approach.A spoonful of hard work — Burying

your head in the sand will not make this goaway. Understand your nutrient budget.From that you can determinewhere you siton the nitrogen-loss bell curve and why. Beprepared to invest in changing yourfarming systems. If you are lucky, mitigat-ing nitrogen losses could be as simple asmodifying nitrogen fertiliser applications.A pinch of ingenuity — Science is your

friend and soil testing will produce a moredefinitive profile of high and low-fertilityareas, which fertiliser regimes can beadjusted towards. Look to industry forinnovation and technologies that will helpreduce your losses.Now mix all ingredients together and

bake.Note: This recipe is applicable to all

provinces andwe appreciate your feedbackas taste-testers.Bon appetit!

Buffer zone battle continuesByNigel BillingsFederated Farmers senior policy advisor

Western Bay of Plenty landowners hadbarely celebrated their transmission linebuffer zones win, when Transpowerannounced its intention to appeal.The Commissioners rejected Trans-

power’s proposed buffer zones aroundpylons to the district plan. This decisionwas a testament to the hard work ofFederated Farmers and other landownergroups. If Transpower does appeal thedecision, Federated Farmers will stronglysupport the Western Bay of Plenty DistrictCouncil to defeat it.The proposed zones, either side of

transmission lines crossing private land,raised the ire of farmers who host the gridfor free. They provide Transpower accessto the lines, along with the cost of workingaround the pylons. Therein lies the rub.When buffer zones were first proposed

in rural areas, Federated Farmers wanted

to know what were farmers doing thatrequired additional rules to the electricalcode of practice for safe distances?Transpower initially seemed to argue it

was a safety issue. This morphed into aplanning issue and the possibility of under-build restricting their line access.Where there are buffer zone proposals,

there is little evidence of an under-buildproblem. Farmers are working well aroundpylons. Since 2002, newly constructed lineshave been compensated and are subject toeasement agreements.But Transpower wants to regulate the

network which was built on private landfor free. Landowners also worry bufferzones will negate future opportunities forcompensation when lines are upgraded.Federated Farmers is waiting on Wai-

mate District Council’s decision onTranspower’s proposal. Policy staff are alsoworking with landowners to oppose bufferzones in Whangarei, Gisborne and Rangi-tikei districts.


ECONOMY

Interest rates lowwith a kick to comeByNathan PennyWestpac economist

CONSTRUCTIONCITY: the inflationarypressure from theChristchurch rebuildwillforce theReserveBank to act eventually.

90-DAY INTERESTRATES

Low inflation and a weak world economyare keeping interest rates low, howeverprice pressures from the earthquake re-build may spill over into general inflation,leading to steeper interest rate rises thanmany expect.The New Zealand economy is gradually

gathering momentum, with 1.6 per centgrowth in the first half of 2012. This adds tothe 1 per cent in the second half of 2011,giving 2.6 per cent for the June 2012 year.While annual growth in the economy isgetting back to its 3 per cent average, it hasyet to reach top speed.The Gross Domestic Product numbers

were boosted by strong agricultural pro-duction, up over 6 per cent for the year. Itappears every cloud does have a silverlining. While holiday-makers complainedabout a lack of sun last summer, farmersreaped the benefits of excellent growingconditions.

Earthquake rebuildadding tomomentumThe Christchurch earthquake rebuild isadding to the economy’s momentum, offset-ting businesses’ caution with investing andhiring, households who are listening tobudgeting advice more than the call of their

credit cards and a Government which isnickel and diming. Residential investment,or house building, increased nearly 6 percent in the June quarter, largely due toChristchurch. Things are just gettingstarted; we expect residential investment togrow a whopping 34 per cent in 2013.

Low inflation...With the economy running below top speedand the high New Zealand dollar keepingthe price of imports down, inflation is low.In the June 2012, prices rose 1 per cent fromJune 2011. This was the smallest rise sinceDecember 1999. Moreover, the inflation out-turns over the last four quarters were alllower than the Reserve Bank’s (RBNZ)expectations.

While the high dollar aids the RBNZ’sinflation-fighting cause, helping to keepinterest rates low, it hits farmgate returns.The dollar has remained stubbornly high,despite export commodity prices still sittinglower than a year ago. We suspect the mainculprits are large purchases of the dollarrelating to Christchurch earthquake re-insurance flows, high volumes of dairysales, and overseas central banks’ NewZealand Government bond purchases.

...plus risks to theglobal economy...The global economy is growing slowly, withthe Eurozone and Britain in recession,while China’s annual growth slowed inMarch from 8.1 per cent to 7.6 per cent inJune. In some ways, the slowing Chinesegrowth is the bigger concern. China is themajor driver of world growth and, with it,New Zealand’s commodity prices. Althoughthe Chinese authorities are planningmeasures to boost growth back over 8 percent, it is very much ‘watch this space’.

...add up to lowinterest ratesAs a result, the RBNZ is sitting firmly on itshands, keeping the Official Cash Rate at 2.50in September.

Over the next year or so, the RBNZ willweigh up the fragile global economypulling down global inflation, against theearthquake rebuild starting to crank upthe local economy and domestic inflationpressures.We think concerns around the global

economy will dominate RBNZ thoughts forsome time. This will lead it to err on the sideof caution and react slowly to, or overlookto an extent, any domestic inflation gener-ated by the earthquake rebuild.However, we expect when RBNZ

eventually hikes interest rates, probably inthe second half of 2013, it will move quicklyto get inflation back under control.Also, as the chart below indicates,

interest rate rises may need to be steeperthan the RBNZ and financial marketsanticipate.

Good fences, good neighboursByMark RossFederated Farmers general manager of policyand advocacy

In order to improve their neighbourlyrelationships, farmers and forestryowners are developing a MemorandumofUnderstanding (MoU) to iron out somegeneral principals around fencing, pestmanagement, agrichemical use andunderstanding on other issues.TheMoU is a positive initiative aimed

at improving links between landownersin industries facing similar concerns.One of the biggest points of conten-

tion between farmers and foresters canbe fencing.Good fences make for good

neighbours, but when fences aredamaged, causing disruptions on eitherside, disputes often arise.When your property is several hun-

dred or thousand hectares, it can be hard

to resolve problems quickly, especially ifthe neighbour is an absentee landowneror commercial forestry company.As laid out in the MoU, under the

requirements of sections 16 and 17 in theFencing Act, if any fence is damaged ordestroyed, repairs need to be carried outas soon as practical.Depending on the circumstances,

owners can share the costs of repair orone of the parties could be liable for thewhole cost. For example, in a farmer’scase stock damage would incur fullrepair cost, while foresters will be up forfull charges should one of their trees falland cause damage.Often the problem is identifying who

owns the fence, so itmakes sense to haveagreements.Both forestry and farming play im-

portant parts inNewZealand’s economicgrowth. It is important we remain goodneighbours.

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5101

FEATURE

QuantumleapinwaterWater is thenumber one issuebeing tackled byagriculture.Federated FarmersSouth Islandregional policymanagerMattHarcombe looks atwhat is drivingwater-quality policyaround the countryand the challengesfarmers face.

USEFUL TOOL: There is political support for irrigation schemeswhich take the stingout of droughts, but restrictive water regulations could render them ineffective.

PUREANDNATURAL: Farmers wantrivers and lakes to be clean for futuregenerations but feel there needs to bemore discussion on expected outcome,costs and timeframes across the country.

The debate centering on water and agricul-ture is a tangledweb of interlinked policies,on-farm actions, science, emotion, percep-tion and economic and cultural factorsaffecting its use, availability and quality.Some factors are well understood,

others are not. The biggest issue in thepublic eye is quality. However, access towater and its use, irrigation and storage arealso vital.While the vast majority of farmers are

working hard to adapt and evolve along-side changing public expectations of waterquality, they are also trying to keep upwiththe demands of the Government andregional councils, whileworking outwhat itmeans to their farm.The farming community wants to play

its part in ensuring everyone has reason-able access to and use of clean water butthere is no clear consensus on whatpathways should be taken to reach thatgoal and when it should be achieved, if it isachievable, at all.Everyone who has had anything to do

with farming knows the story of the earlyand mid-80s.The removal of subsidies had a pro-

found effect on the economic viability ofmany farms and sparked a quantum shiftin the way New Zealand agriculture wentabout its business.

Today’s debate on water quality andagriculture is as much of a quantum shiftand we do not know if it will boost ordamage New Zealand’s largest exportearner.On May 12 last year, the Government

gazetted the National Policy Statementon Freshwater Management (NPS),which essentially requires regionalcouncils to set limits on water quality.Last year, the Ministry for the En-

vironment put together an implemen-tation guide for the NPS.The 50-page document is supposed to

guide councils in their implementationand interpretation of the much shorterNPS, which could easily be read in waysthat could put farming out of business.The implementation guide provides

some assurance the NPS is about protect-ing water quality in a balanced way.The guide is clear that implementing

the NPS should and will take time andinvolve innovative approaches. It alsostates the NPS cannot by itself achievelocal objectives for managing water andthat setting quality limits at a catchment

level requires engagement with eachcommunity and conversations about allthe costs of any approach.The guide is clear that achieving

limits is not required by a deadline of 2030and looks for strong steps to be put inplace to work toward achieving limits.TheNPS is not the onlywater game in

town.The Land and Water Forum (LAWF)

is the Government’s independent vehiclefor reaching agreement, at a nationallevel, between many different interestson plan for water management.In its first two reports, LAWF made a

set of recommendations to Governmentand its all important third report isimminent.While LAWF is a laudable, if some-

times frustrating process, its recommen-dations will be too late for what farmersare facing nowas councils throughout thecountry begin to implement their NPSinterpretations of what needs to be doneto set water-quality limits.The NPS means a lot for farmers

because their investments and busi-

nesses are on the line.That means it is vital for all New

Zealanders as agriculture is underpinsmuch of the economy.In this context, the Government has

signalled it wantsmore agricultural growthto ensure we can pay off debt and not endup the Greece of the South Pacific.Farmers know irrigation is an


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FEATURE

management policiesenvironmentally sound means to in-crease production. The Ministry forPrimary Industries website says, ‘‘irri-gation plays an important role in agricul-tural productivity and is a major contri-butor to the New Zealand economy’’.‘‘In 2002/03, irrigation was estimated

to contribute about $920 million net GDP‘at the farm gate’, over and above thatwhich would have been produced fromthe same land without irrigation.’’The ministry has identified a further

1.9 million hectares which could benefitfrom irrigation and has allocated $435million for developing more water stor-age infrastructure.Given the above contexts, while the

NPS states the effects of its implemen-tation should be reviewed by the Minis-ter for the Environment after no morethan five years, there are strong groundsfor holding that review now.This is for two reasons.Firstly, there seems no point in LAWF

collectively spending many thousands ofhours and dollars in meetings hosted atFederated Farmers’ boardroomsthrashing out what can be agreed on

how, when and what to do about watermanagement in New Zealand, only to betrumped by premature implementationof the NPS by overeager councils.The recommendations need time to be

debated by a wider public and thenenacted, before we continue to interpretand re-interpret the NPS region byregion.Secondly, we need to ensure we get

the economic and environmental mixright, through agreed, science-informed,community-led and catchment-basedprocesses.The removal of subsidies had a

profound effect on agriculture. So willsetting water-quality limits but Kiwifarmers are adaptive, innovative andresilient and will respond to the limits.We need to make sure we have

learned our lessons from the mid-80s.The social, mental and economic toll ofovernight subsidy removal on ruralcommunities and the economy was hor-rific.Instead of jumping into such sweep-

ing changes, farmers need to be given achance.

Otago bursts out ofthe starting blocks

REGIONALCASESTUDY

WASTED INVESTMENT: Farmers areworried that despite spendingthousands of dollars on fencing andriparian planting, their properties stillmay not be able tomeet Otago RegionalCouncil’s requirements.

When it comes to implementing theNational Policy Statement on Freshwater(NPS), the Otago Regional Council (ORC)seems to have taken a cue from UsainBolt, bursting out of the starting blockswith Plan Change 6A.This aims to give effect toORC’s Rural

Water Quality Strategy and is currentlyhearing submissions from farmers andother groups.TheOtago approach towatermanage-

ment is different from other regions’strategies, because ORC is not relying onresource consents to enforce the plan.Instead, ORC’s preference is for most

farming activities to be permitted, as longas certain water-quality limits are metover time, an approach which hassparked debate among experts onwhether it will fulfil the NPS’requirements.The plan sets both quantifiable

objectives for all of the region’s water-bodies and limits on how much nitrogen,phosphorous, sediment and how manybugs can be in water leaving a propertywhen it reaches a waterway. This iscertainly a unique approach, but farmersat the hearings are still wondering whatexactly it means for them and theirbusinesses.Farmers submitting on the plan

change have been supportive of notpaying consultants to approve resourceconsents in order to continue farming.However, they are asking hard

questions about whether the proposal isachievable. One farmer from SouthOtago, for example, has double-fenced allhis waterways, installed a stock waterscheme and reduced his stocking rate,yet believes he will not be able to complywith the plan.Others are questioning the use of the

Overseer farm nutrient managementprogramme as a measurement tool, as itis gives wildly differing results when

estimating farms’ nitrogen loss. Stillmore have called for a more robustdiscussion to take place at a catchmentlevel, aboutwhat the limits should be andhow best to achieve them.All Otago farmers are nervous about

how the rules around on-farm waterlimits meeting waterways will beenforced, having heard horror stories offarmers’ experiences with EnvironmentCourt prosecutions, resulting in hugefines and criminal convictions, with nogreater certainty of outcomes for en-vironmental protection. It is importantORC creates certainty in the plan.It also needs to develop farmers’ trust

so they get a better understanding oftheir farm’s effect on water quality andwhat they need to do to improve it, thusavoiding court.Instead, farmers with a proactive

approach ought to be rewarded, likeOlympic athletes, with medals roundtheir necks and proud reputations touphold.

Water policies, region by region■ Auckland Regional Council is establishinginterim Freshwater Objectives and Guidelines,followed by catchment-by-catchment limits.The council is collating technical data andtalking with communities about values forwater, then looking at what nutrient loadsmight meet those values.■ Waikato Regional Council has enactednitrogen caps in Lake Taupo catchment, andwill work with landowners through monitoredresource consents to reduce nitrogen loss by afurther 20 per cent.■ Bay of Plenty Regional Council hasadopted a directive regional policy statementfocused on enhancing water quality bymanaging nutrient losses and land-usechange. Its Land and Water Plan has cappedthe existing nitrogen and phosphorus loss fromland-use activities around the Rotorua Lakes.■ Hawkes Bay Regional Council’s Land andWater Management Strategy takes a catch-ment approach with values, guiding principles,objectives, policies and prioritised actions.■ Greater Wellington Regional Council iscurrently consulting with stakeholders and thepublic on developing a new Regional Plan,possibly to be notified later in 2013.

■ Tasman District is reviewing its classifi-cation of different water-bodies and theirstatus before undertaking discussion on limitsetting.■ Marlborough District Council is in the earlystages of considering requiring new dairyfarms to gain resource consents.■ West Coast Regional Council has devel-oped a specific plan for the Lake Brunnercatchment, focused on managing phosphor-ous.■ Canterbury Regional Council is consultingon a new land and water regional plan,classifying each of the region’s catchments bytheir nutrient state. In over-allocated, or redand sensitive zones, land-use changes over thenext five years require a ‘non-complying’resource consent. It has adopted a toughthreshold for nitrogen at 20 kilograms ofnitrogen per hectare per year.■ Environment Southland has introduced aregional rule requiring resource consents for allnew dairy farming. The council is workingthrough focus activities including hill countrydevelopment, nutrient management andwintergrazing. The council is in the process ofdeciding catchment-based limits.


5351

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EMPLOYMENT

Strict rules for landlords and tenants on the farmBy EmmaCoburn

ON-SITEACCOMMODATION: Offeringemployees accommodation can raiseadditional problems.

A common query to the 0800 FARMINGline relates to employees living inemployer-provided accommodation.The service tenancies raise some

tricky issues, merging laws coveringemployment and landlord/tenant re-lationships.The tenancy relationship exists be-

cause of the employment, so it shouldend at the same time, although there areexceptions.Service tenancies are fully covered by

the Residential Tenancies Act but havesome special rules.■ Section 40 and 45 — the landlord andtenant’s responsibilities, includingcleanliness and repair and ensuringreasonable peace and privacy of alltenants.■ Section 48 — the landlord’s rights ofentry. Rights are limited to being only byconsent of the tenant immediately be-fore, or at the time of entry, in anemergency, or to undergo inspections,maintenance and repairs if notice isgiven beforehand.■ Section 51 — the requirements forlandlords terminating a tenancy. Thenotice must be in writing, identify thepremises, specify the date when thetenant is required to leave and be signedby the landlord.■ Section 53 — extra provisions for

tenancy termination. Landlords, ortenants, must give a minimum 14 days’written notice to terminate, unless thelandlord reasonably believes the ten-ant will cause substantial damage tothe premises, or the landlord has toappoint a replacement employeeneeding the accommodation. Tenantemployees cannot be forced to leavebefore their employment ends.The Ministry of Business, Inno-

vation and Employment’s building andhousing group’s website,www.dbh.govt.nz, has a full guide tothe rights and duties of both parties.

Common questionsMy employee has abandoned theiremployment and the house, leavingsome of things. I urgently need to housenew tenants. Can I remove their things?Before removing any property from

the house, the tenancy must be termin-ated. Ensure you give the two weeks’notice to vacate the property whenemployment ends. This can sometimesbe shortened when there are incomingtenant employees.When a tenant abandons the house

and stops paying rent, apply to theTenancy Tribunal for a terminationorder on the grounds of abandonment.Once the order is given, the tenancy

has been terminated.The Residential Tenancies Act 1986

allows landlords to dispose of perish-able goods left behind.For other items, landlords must

make all reasonable efforts to contactthe tenant to agree on a period for thegoods’ collection.Where impossible, landlords must

securely store personal documentssuch as passports and power bills.Items such as furniture, books and

televisions can be assessed for marketvalue. If values are below storage,transport or selling costs, you candispose of the goods in any way.If the value is above the costs, you

must store them for 35 days, so thetenant can claim them, if reasonablestorage costs are paid.If unclaimed, you can store or sell the

goods for a reasonable market price.Personal documents must not be sold.

Hand them into the local police station.

My tenants let their dogs live inside,which I would not have allowed if I hadknown about them. Can Imake them keepthem outside?Federated Farmers’ standard agree-

ment provides for disallowing animalsinside houses. If you used this agree-ment, enforce its terms by giving tenantswritten notice of the breach of thetenancy agreement. They must rectifythis within 14 days.You can state they will be liable for

damage occurring as a result of thatbreach and, if they fail to comply, youmay apply to terminate the tenancy.If you have not used the Federated

Farmers’ agreement or similar, there islittle you can do. You could try torenegotiate the tenancy agreement’sterms but there is nothing you can do ifthe tenant refuses to play ball. You areentitled to recover damages if the animalcaused excessive damage inside.

■ If you have any questions about servicetenancies, call 0800 FARMING for accessto free, independent legal advice.

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WEATHER

The neutral winter of variabilityByDaniel CorbettMetservice weather ambassador

This winter saw a good mix of weathertypes, ranging from a brief polar blast inJune, to blocked southwesters,anticyclones and stuck Tasman lows.Thewintermaynot have felt so cold and

perhaps appeared back to front, with theseason opening with a polar blast andsnow, then milder weather later on.This mix of weather systems was

typical of the passing neutral phase in theEl Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.It is moving away from last summer’s LaNina, without reaching the other extremeof El Nino.In the neutral phase, other factors can

influence the season’s weather, includingsea temperature anomalies, the SouthernAnnular Mode (Sam) and winter blocking.The other interesting thing about the

winter was the source regions for the airmoving across New Zealand at varioustimes. Source regions influence how cold,or warm, the air feels in weather systems.In the first part of the winter, the sourceregion was the Southern Ocean.During the second half, air was more

often from the milder Tasman Sea.This winter was coldest early on, when

the Southern Ocean opened up and beganto feed polar-chilled air toward NewZealand.

On June 6, some of this air collidedwith a moist Tasman Sea low, bringingsignificant snow to parts of the SouthIsland. Christchurch received 15cm andsome higher elevations 50-100cm.

In mid-June, the Southern Ocean con-tinued to be the main airflow source,resulting in colder than normal daytimehighs, barely above 8°C in some parts ofcentral and southern regions. A blocked,or stuck, weather pattern kept a bone-chilling southerly flow in place withwintry showers peppering southern andeastern coasts for more than a week.

Stubborn lowsIn late July, the upper wind flow changedto a more blocking regime, causing manylows from the Tasman Sea to get stuck

and linger. This led to excessive rain andflooding, particularly along northern andeastern areas.A stubborn low spent nearly a week

spinning off the west coast of the NorthIsland in the final days of July. Thesystem began as an active low, moving infrom the Tasman Sea. The rain spreadacross the north of the North Islandduring July 30. By the following morning,more than 100mm had fallen in theCoromandel ranges, with Kopu recording115mm. The low remained for severaldays, bringing wet weather to much ofNew Zealand.

The blocking eased in mid-August. Amore typical winter westerly flowreturned with a procession of rain-bearing fronts interspersed with milderanticyclones.

Another curious event was early Sep-tember’s wintry blast which brought snowto sea level across parts of the South Islandand low levels over southern and easternparts of the North Island. The polar-chilledair behind the system was some of thecoldest air over winter, although it hap-pened in the first few days of spring.

What is to come?Westerly flows will be a major featureduring the next several weeks, bringingspells of rain with active troughs. Lookingfurther into spring, do not be surprised atcontinued variability, especially once theweak El Nino settles into the driver’s seatfor the ride toward summer. This weaksignal ElNino could also allow other factorsto play a part in our weather patterns.Expect settled periods, with clear sunny

days and frosty, or foggy mornings,associated with passing anticyclones.Fronts and troughs rolling in from the

Tasman may be followed by episodeslasting several days of cool southwestwinds across the whole country. Occasion-ally, a low-pressure centre may move on tothe country from the north, preceded by aneasterly flow with some heavy rain fornorth-eastern areas. Watch for a blockingpattern during the next several weekswhere the weather patterns get stuck,causing some anomalies.


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INDUSTRY GROUPS DAIRY

By FelicityWolfe

FINDINGAGREEMENT:Whendisputes betweensharemilkers andfarmowners can’t beresolved personally,Federated Farmersrecommends bothparties go toconciliation to get theissue resolved assmoothly and fast aspossible.

Settle dispute by arbitrationDisputes between farm owners, employeesand families can have a devastating impacton people and happen all too often in therural community.A recent prosecution,where aCoroman-

del farmer reneged on his agreement onmilk payments to his sharemilkers, re-sulted in him receiving a 12-month prisonsentence and a sharemilking couple failingto meet their goal of farm ownership.This may be an extreme case but,

unfortunately, disputes are common infarming.There are an increasing number of

areas which can spark a dispute, fromcontractual issues to effluent managementto leasing agreements.The Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Insti-

tute of New Zealand, (AMINZ) expectsFonterra’s Trading Among Farmersscheme will produce conflict betweenowners and sharemilkers.Federated Farmers has a Memorandum

of Understanding (MOU) with AMINZ, thecountry’s largest professional institute forpeople working in dispute resolution.For those in sharemilking, the MOU

provides clear pathways for resolvingdisputes,with provision for conciliation andarbitration led by AMINZ into VariableOrder Sharemilking contracts.As well as avoiding the expensive court

system in resolving disputes, the concili-

ation and arbitration offered by AMINZprovides an independent and neutralperspective on the situation which canensure parties can move beyond thepersonal.AMINZ can help people communicate

more effectively with each other,allowing them to get past petty pointscoring to find a mutually beneficialsolution.AMINZ executive director Deborah

Hart outlined a recent example of acontract milking couple who leased outtheir stock to a farm owner using aformal stock lease agreement. It providedfor any replacements to be on a ‘‘like forlike’’ basis.‘‘Unfortunately, when the stock was

returned, many were not in calf, other

stock had low body condition scores andthe replacement stock offered lowerbreeding worth (BW) than the cowsoriginally provided,’’ she said.The contract milkers and the farmer

were unable to reach an agreement andwent to AMINZ for a conciliation process.Once this began, they were able to

reach an agreement on the same day.This included compensation being

made to the cows’ owners and replace-ment stock provided by the farmer.The relationships between farm

owners and herd-owning sharemilkers isanother area which is often fraught withpotential for dispute, with conflict oftenarising around the areas of body con-dition scores, milk production and timingof calving.

The disputes can rumble on, potentiallyleading to explosive disagreements if notconfronted and settled.Federated Farmers Dairy Industry pol-

icy advisor Ann Thompson says dealingwith disputes early can avoid damagingmorale, which can affect the performanceof the overall business.‘‘Federated Farmers’ experience is that

using professional rural arbitrators andconciliators can lead to lasting resolutions,even after apparent impasses,’’ Thompsonsaid.‘‘It is better for everyone involved and

thewider industry to avoid these situationsby better managing relationships.’’AMINZ has a vetted list of professionals

trained in rural disputes and it alsooperates the National Panel of Conciliators,who are specifically trained forsharemilking disputes.Using AMINZ’s services means a pro-

fessionally trained and qualified conciliatorwith rural experience can help the partiesreach a resolution people can live with,Hart says. ‘‘In many cases, the parties indispute need to continue to work together,so this is key.’’Hart said it is difficult to imagine in the

middle of contentious and often personaldispute that it can be resolved to the pointparties can go back to a healthy workingrelationship.‘‘But this is the reality rural arbitrators

and conciliators facilitate daily.’’

By Ann ThompsonDairy Industry policy advisor

Stay ahead of the game, stay in business

NOTJUSTMILKING: Once theherdhasbeenmilked for theday,many thingsremain tobedoneand thought about on-farm.

With the new milking season well underway and calving falling off, now is anideal time for all dairy farmers to reviewthe last few weeks and plan what iscoming up next.For those in their first season on a

farm, it is important to get to grips withthe local rainfall and temperatures.It is vital to keep track of what you do.

This requires discipline but is worth it.Notes in a simple, dated, exercise book ordiary can help when reviewing meetingsand making decisions. Sorting out anemail system with folders also helpskeep track of various business streams.Now is the time to:

■ Discuss things with your partner,

sharemilker, farm owner, or staff■ Review what went well duringcalving and what you never want torepeat

■ Ask the farm owner what to expectduring the next few months■ Work out with staff what cover isrequired during the Christmasholidays■ Discuss Trading Among Farmerswith the farm owner if supplyingFonterra. Discuss the possible share-milker milk payment scenarios shouldthe shareholder opt to start tradingshares for units in the Fonterra Share-holder Fund.■ Record your decisions and, ifnecessary, get all affected parties tosign them.■ Check your contract — is it signed?If this is your last season

sharemilking on a farm, start consider-ing the options.The perfect job is harder to uncover

than before, so contact your banker andaccountant and talk to people who willhelp advance your cause.It is always good to see where you can

lift your game.All sharemilkers and others working

in the dairy industry should considerentering the New Zealand Dairy Indus-try Awards.They force participants to evaluate

their business and help progressionthrough the industry. The awards havethree categories:■ Sharemilker/equity farmer of theyear.■ Farm manager of the year.■ Dairy trainee of the year.Federated Farmers proudly sponsors

the awards. Entries open on November 1at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.


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INDUSTRY GROUPSMEAT & FIBRE

Getting organised about rural crime

TARGETED: Policewant farmers to takeprecautions and report any stock thefts,or other instancesof rural crime.

ByDavid BurtFederated Farmers Meat & Fibre policy advisor

Reports of sheep rustling are again in theheadlines with news of ewes stolen inWhanganui recently.Federated Farmers and the police are

working together to try and eliminate theillegal meat trade which costs farmersthroughout New Zealand many thou-sands of dollars annually.‘‘The animals are the basis of our

livelihoods and are worth anywherebetween $100 and $1500 a head,’’Federated Farmers Meat & Fibrechairperson Jeanette Maxwell says.‘‘To let police know the extent of the

problem, farmers need to report all stockrustling, so the appropriate resources canbe allocated to this on-going problem.’’Stock rustling, or poaching, usually

spikes when meat prices rise and lamband beef are still commanding reasonableprices in the supermarkets.Police want farmers to report every

instance of stock theft, as well as anyother thefts from farms, so they can get abetter idea of the problem.It is likely many rustling raids are

connected to gangs and even a couple ofmissing animals could be a key piece ofinformation about a larger pattern ofoffending.While sheep and cattle are the main

targets, all stock, including deer, goatsand pigs are being targeted and mostare taken for consumption, rather thanstolen for on-farming.‘‘It is not just about protecting

farmers’ incomes,’’ Mrs Maxwell says.‘‘There are health risks for those

who consume meat from the animals.There have been many instances ofstock being stolen while within with-holding periods after being treated withhealth remedies.‘‘These animals are not cleared for

human consumption and can makepeople sick if they eat them.’’As well as taking precautions to

discourage would-be rustlers, farmersalso need to be aware of other situa-tions where farming property istargeted by criminals. There has beena spate of thefts of quad and farm bikes,

scrap metal and electric fencing in manyareas.Farmers need to take all practical

steps to protect their property and stock.‘‘This can include shutting road gates,locking gates and buildings, and instal-ling security cameras,’’ FederatedFarmers security spokesperson KatieMilne says.Ms Milne does not recommend

confronting people acting suspiciouslynear the farm as they may be armed.‘‘You can take photographs of people andvehicles and report sightings to police.’’It is also a good idea to form a

community watch where information isshared and neighbours can watch adjac-ent farmland.Police say crime has three compon-

ents: a motivated offender; a target;which on a farm can be an unlocked shedcontaining valuable items; and no onearound to keep watch.Farmers can reduce opportunities for

offenders by noting who is out and aboutand talking to them, particularly if theyare not locals, locking houses, removingkeys, closing access gates, particularly tohome driveways, and keeping a watch onneighbouring properties.

■ For more information call your localcommunity constable or check outwww.police.govt.nz/safety/rural.html

Keepyourself safeBeing in a rural area means policebackup is not necessarily close.Farmers often feel compelled to actwhen their livelihood is being threat-ened, but this can be dangerous.■ When investigating suspiciousactivity, make sure someone elseknows what you are checking andhow long you expect to take. Phonethe police or your neighbour, wait fora neighbour to join you and take amobile phone or hand-held radio.Your response must always be

within the law, but you are entitled toprotect yourself and your property:■ Safety should be your first con-cern. Never take the law into yourown hands or take unnecessary risks.If there are intruders on your prop-erty, call the police. Incidents canquickly get out of hand and the policeare trained to deal with them.


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INDUSTRY GROUPS GOATS, BEES

Goats group broadens focus on sectorByDavid BurtFederated Farmers Meat & Fibre policy advisor

Originally mohair-focused, FederatedFarmers Goats Industry Group (GIG)now includes representatives from thewider sector.The GIG executive includes repre-

sentatives from Meat Goat New Zea-land and the Dairy Goat Co-operative.

Recent executive discussions havebeen on progressing the goat industryand formulating a strategy to helpdeliver a strong and sustainableindustry. Two key areas were ident-ified.A unified approach is important.

Historically, differences of opinionbetween sector stakeholders meantefforts to improve the industry were

not always as effective as they mighthave been.While industry stakeholders will

continue to work for their members’benefit, they will also identify allindustry stakeholders and clarifypossible roles within a unified sectorso industry efforts can be co-ordinated and leveraged to bestadvantage.

The second initiative is the possiblereinstatement of a goat meat levy. Theexecutive agreed this should beinvestigated, initially by gaugingstakeholder support, in principle, forthe idea.

■ For more information on these issuescontact John Woodward on 027 2336581 or at [email protected]

GOATCONFERENCEThe 2013 Federated FarmersGoat conference will be held inPukekohe in February. Aregistration form and agendawill be available later thisyear.People interested in

attending can contactFederated Farmers events co-

ordinator HannahWilliamsonon [email protected], orMeat & Fibre policy advisor,David Burt, on on 0800FARMING (0800 327 646) oremail [email protected] will be the

Federation’s Goat policyadvisor from January.

Colony collapsecaution urged

HEALTHYFRAME: Beekeepersconcernedabout colonycollapsedisorder need to firstensure they are followingcorrect hivemanagement.

ByNick HansonFederated Farmers Bee IndustryGroup policy advisor

Federated Farmers Bee In-dustry Group is urging cau-tion after an Aucklandbeekeeper’s claims thathives have suffered colonycollapse disorder (CCD).CCD is a phenomenon

causing the entire popula-tion of a hive to suddenlydie, but is yet to be seen inNew Zealand. The causesare unknown, but in theUnited States in particular,CCD has resulted in sig-nificant losses forbeekeepers and reducedfood crop pollination.‘‘It is a concern, but

beekeepers should look attheir own management inthe first instance,’’ Bee In-dustry Group chairmanJohn Hartnell said.‘‘The varroa mite is still

the major threat tohoneybees in this country.

‘‘It is essential thatvarroa treatments are in ontime and chemical familiesare rotated.‘‘Beekeepers in the upper

North Island are now seeingpossible signs of varroa re-sistance to the miticidesthat were first available soit’s important we nowalternate between modes ofaction.’’


INDUSTRY GROUPSGRAINS

ByNick HansonFederated Farmers Policy Advisor

PERFECTCROP: Online tools for seed certification is bringing the industry into the21st century.

Online initiativemodernises seed certFederated Farmers Grain and SeedIndustry Group has welcomed thedevelopment of an online tool whichwill be a big step forward in modernis-ing seed certification administration.The tool will allow growers,processors and merchants to initiate,monitor and manage the certificationof their crops.‘‘We are really glad that seed

certification is being brought into the21st century,’’ Federated Farmersspokesman Colin Hurst said.The new tool will allow growers of

certified seed to complete many ad-ministrative tasks necessary to entercrops for certification through awebsite, reducing time farmers spendon paperwork and speeding up theprocessing time.Mr Hurst said growers will find it

particularly useful that the pro-gramme automatically records andpre-populates the paddock historywhere previous crops have been certi-fied.‘‘It will go a long way to address the

issues of constantly having to go backthrough your records each time you fillin a grower application.’’‘‘Growers should also be happy

about the fact that they’ll be able totrack their application on-line toknow when it’s been approved. Theywill also be able to print off copies oftheir grower declarations.’’Farmers will be able to view the

germination test of their commonseed line at both interim and finalstages in real time where previouslythey relied on the hard copy to comein the post which had caused delays.The website is being developed by

Asurequality, which also managesseed certification in New Zealand onbehalf of the Seed Quality Manage-ment Authority, a pan-industry bodyon which Federated Farmers is repre-sented.‘‘We are in the final stages of beta

testing with a group of growers rightnow and we hope to start a staggeredrole out by the end of the month,’’Asurequality spokesman, Evan John-ston said.‘‘So far the feedback has been

positive and while there will be somefarmers that prefer to continue withthe current way, most have beenprepared to look at this new techno-logy.’’At this stage, the on-line pro-

gramme is only an alternative to theexisting manual system, but it hasbeen developed with an eye to thefuture. Asurequality distributedapplications forms for log-in and pass-word details to some 650 growers onthe register of certified seed growersand almost two-thirds have beenreturned.

■ Any growers of certified seed thathave not been issued log-in andpassword details should contactAsurequality [email protected]


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ALASTAIRBISLEYLand andWaterForum chairman

‘Newdeal’ for freshwater controlsLand andWater Forum report says community involvement is important in ensuring wateruse is sustainable while keeping waterways safe and healthy, writesAlastair Bisley

Wethink localcommunitiesshouldworkwithregional councilsto set the specificobjectives fortheir catchments.Communitiesshould set thetimetables toreach them.

Freshwater is central to our economy,our environment and our way of life.Our economy has been built upon its

use and it plays a key role in ouridentity, heritage, culture and recrea-tion.That has been the starting point for

the Land and Water Forum and wealways bear this in mind as we exploreways of better managing our rivers,lakes, streams, wetlands and aquifers.Our recommendations must en-

hance the value of this marvellousresource for all — not just for some atthe expense of others.Farmers have played a central role

in our discussions.Federated Farmers, Beef and Lamb,

Fonterra and Dairy NZ have been atthe table, along with other primarysector organisations, iwi, power gen-erators, green NGOs and others.Our report to ministers, released in

May, got a pretty good reception frompolitical parties and a wide range ofcommentators, probably because itwas deliberately even-handed and itsrecommendations applied to urbanand rural waterways.The Forum has recommended The

Governmentshould set bot-tom lineobjectives forthe state of ourwaterwaysacross thecountry, takingaccount of theirdifferent types.They will

ensure themana of ourrivers is re-spected — that

they have good ecological health andthey do not endanger human health.Can fish live in them and the

creatures that fish eat?Will river beds not be choked with

algae?Will the water be reasonably

clear?Can people have contact with the

water without getting sick?We think local communities

should work with regional councilsto set the specific objectives for theircatchments. Communities should setthe timetables to reach them.

Catchment objectives will reflectthe local mix of values and interests,and the knowledge the community,including farmers, bring to the table.The community will work out

which water needs to be managed fordrinking, or for trout fishing; whereswimming is important, where stockwater or irrigation is key —and howto manage the mix between these andother activities.Regions will then set catchment

limits for takes and for contaminantsin order to achieve the mix they havechosen.We recommend collaborative pro-

cesses to lead the decisions because,based on our experience, we knowthey help to identify win-wins andproduce more enduring outcomeswith local community buy-in.You can see the Land and Water

Forum is recommending some bigchanges from the system but wethink our approach will be faster andless expensive.It gives responsibility to com-

munities to find a way through and tofind their own win-wins and trade-offs.

Our report is with the Government.In the meantime, we are working onthe second leg of the double — how tomanage water within use limits, in-cluding through more effective andefficient allocating systems.We look forward to further con-

structive and collaborativediscussions with the farmingcommunity.

COMMENT

HuMates is the most concentrated form of super compost available at over 20 timesmore potent that traditional compost. Easily blended with your fertiliser at the point ofdespatch HuMates binds to newly applied fertiliser to unlock its maximum potential andreleases the latent nutrients in the soil. HuMates really is the ultimate soil and fertiliserenhancer.

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MEMBERSHIP

By JeremyBlandfordFederated Farmers general manager ofsales and marketing

Going solo v a teameffort

As a Federated Farmers memberyou can play an active role in NewZealand’s most successful advocacyorganisation for pastoral farming.Your support, through member-

ship, helps the Federation gain thebest possible outcomes for theagricultural sector.Members can also participate in

national, regional and communityadvocacy, helping influence keydecision-makers to create betteroutcomes for profitable andsustainable farming.Going it alone is not the best

optionwhen advocating for farming,whether on national or local issues.It is your thinking, your consid-

ered analysis and your input intothe farming issues which givesFederated Farmers its strength andmandate.Wemaynot necessarily agree on

everything; that is part of being ademocratic organisation. However,together we can accurately portrayfarming’s real voice.Where else can you stand up and

be heardwith fellow farmers in such

a co-ordinated and powerful way?Federated Farmers has gained

extensive pragmatic and successfuloutcomes for farmers and theircommunities, which have allowedfarmers to continue to run sustain-able and profitable farming oper-ations.You can choose to voice your

own views in isolation, but we haveseen the real success which comesfrom standing alongside otherfarmers and fully engaging in issuesfacing you, your business and yourcommunity.Federated Farmers is about get-

ting involved and making a positivedifference to our industry’soutcomes.Membership is a key farm asset

in today’s complex environment.The Federation needs you to makethat individual commitment andyou need the Federation workingfor you on all the off-farm issuesthat can have significant impacts onyour business.Be proactive, manage the big

risks to your business and joinFederated Farmers today.

■ To join Federated Farmers, call0800 327 646

By Ann ThompsonFederated Farmers Dairy Industry policy advisor

Devil in the detail onanimal welfare reform

Federated Farmers has given provisional sup-port for the Ministry for Primary Industries’(MPI) review of the Animal Welfare Act 1999and development of a national animal welfarestrategy, but is waiting for more details.When drafting its submission, the Federa-

tion asked members for their opinions andmany responded saying the ‘‘devil would be inthe detail’’.Federated Farmers agrees.The Federation welcomes many of MPI’s

proposals, including one ensuring anything putinto standards is practical and economicallyviable. The Federation’s submission noted thatwhere these make sense, are achievable andhelp farmers’ bottom lines, farmers will happilycomply.There are three proposals, however, the

Federation is wary of: classifying surgicalprocedures in the Animal Welfare Act itself;placing stockmanship into regulation; andspecifying the intentional drowning of any landanimal as an offence.Classifying surgical procedures in the Act

will require debate in Parliament. The Federa-tion is concerned this could lead to emotionalgrandstanding by politicians and voting along

party lines which could be manipulated forpolitical gain.Instead of debate, the surgical procedures

proposal requires careful questioning of experts.This can happen only outside the House. TheFederation would prefer surgical procedures beclassified through regulations, decided by Cabi-net after consulting the appropriate experts.Federated Farmers shares MPI’s concern

around declining stock skills, but does notbelieve regulating them will lift skills.Stockmanship is a broad issue with as manytheories as practitioners. Rather than specifyinggood practices, it would be better to regulatepoor stockmanship, dealing with the owner ofthe neglected or poorly treated animals, leavingstockmanship improvement to industry trainingorganisations.Finally, the Federation does not condone ill-

treatment, including drowning, of animals, butthis proposal could unintentionally include pestmanagement.As an example, many people cage-trap pests,

from possums to rats, but may not have afirearm licence to shoot themand are unlikely tocall a vet to euthanase them. In these casesdrowning may be the only option.Federated Farmers believes inhumane

drowning of animals can be dealt with in thecurrent Act, without spelling it out.

THE NEW 50 TONNECERTIFIED WEIGHBRIDGE

From Neville Marsh Contracting Ltd

Ramps are included with any ordersunless they are not required. Theindicator and printer are the sameas those used for the 30 tonneweighbridge. The pricing for the 50tonne weighbridge is $87,000.00 plusGST for the two weighing platforms, six ramps, indicator, printer,two twelve volt batteries in battery box, laser level, dockets (ifrequired), and memory stick. If a memory stick is not needed$2,000.00 plus GST can be deducted.

The new 50 tonne weighbridge is 5.223m long x 2.910m wide (these are the outer frame dimensions) andwith the lifting hooks on the sides it measures 3.05m. Each platform weighs 2.7 tonne. The weighbridge mustbe lifted with the lifting hooks or the calibration will be affected and the weighbridge may not weigh correctly.

Pictured above is the 50 tonne weighbridgeset up as a permanent weighbridge.

P: 07 533 1887 E: [email protected]: 027 497 0315 or 027 233 3014799 OLD COACH RD, RD 6, TE PUKE

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ADVERTORIAL

Sodium and animalsLocal research shows lack ofsodium in the diet is aproduction issue.

Dairy cowsFor lactating dairy cows, theeconomics of supplementingwith salt where there is a knownsodium deficiency aresignificant. In 1999/2000 a trialwas conducted at Waikite Valley,Rotorua, where lactating cowswere given 35g of salt per head,per day. Milk productionincreased by 12.8 per cent. At2011 prices, that’s a return of$55 in additional milk receiptsfor each dollar spent on salt.

Beef cattleBeef cattle on low-sodium dietsrespond to salt supplementation.In the mid-1970s, trials wereconducted at Wairakei ResearchStation, Taupo, feeding cattleLucerne. Salt was added at 40g

per head, per day, resulting inlive-weight gains of 18 to 48 percent in different aged cattle. At2011 prices, for every dollarspent on salt, the weight gainwould be worth $10.

Sheepand lambsTrials conducted at WairakeiResearch Station in 1974 withLucerne resulted in twice thecarcass weight when lambs weredosed once weekly with 8.4g ofsodium. Marlborough HillCountry trials using free accesssalt blocks led to greater weightgain in ewes between tailing andweaning, a trend towards morelambs tailed and greater weight

of lamb weaned per ewe mated.At 1kg of salt block/head/yearthe Marlborough trials wouldreturn $5-$10 for every dollarspent.

The minimum sodiumrequirements for differentclasses of stock are are based onrestricted, experimental data.For grazing animals, pasturecontaining 0.09 per cent sodiumis sufficient for sheep, 0.1 percent is sufficient for beef cattleand 0.1 2 per cent is sufficient forlactating dairy cows.■ Dairy (lactating) — 35g salt/head/day (10kg/head for 280lactation days)■ Beef Cattle — up to 15g salt/head/day (3-4kg/head/year)■ Sheep — up to 10g salt/head/day (1-1.5kg/head/year)

Note: For lactating dairy cowsthis is a minimum input. The useof supplementary feeds willincrease the sodiumrequirement.

An easier EID optionTru-Test’s new SRS EID stickreader, designed to work withEID weigh scales, is nowavailable, offering an option forfarmers who want to read tagsbut not necessarily capture andhold data on the reader itself.

The SRS is an entry levelversion of Tru-Test’s XRS reader.

It enablesfarmers to putlarge stocknumbers throughthe yards, thanksto the fastest‘read-rate’ in themarket, alongwith a superiorbattery life which allows around19 hours of solid use betweencharges.

Tru-Test Group’s NZ sales andmarketing manager VerneAtmore says EID recording isgrowing rapidly, but not allfarmers are at the same stage,nor have the same requirementswhen it comes to capturing andusing the data.

‘‘For farmers who don’t needthe advanced features of the XRS,the SRS offers a simplified optionfor scanning tags, with the datawirelessly transferred to an EIDcapable indicator for capture,’’Verne says.

‘‘The user can then set thepaired indicatorto record just theEID tag data orother additionalinformation, suchas animal weightsor traits.’’

The SRS can belinked to anymajor brand EID-capable indicator,

removing the need to purchaseadditional equipment where anEID-capable indicator alreadyexists.

With the inclusion of Bluetoothwireless technology along with alightweight, ergonomic design,the SRS stick reader offer trueportability for comfortable,flexible use over long periods oftime.

Cyrex reduces flystrike risk in King CountryAria farmer Peter Hurley is one ofmany in the King Country regionwho has had to contend with theAustralian green blowflyincreasing fly-strike risk in hissheep flock.

The summer of 2010-2011provided ideal conditions for theaggressive fly, compounded byproblems Peter experienced withhis traditional fly treatmentbreaking down as fly resistance

exploded. It was a breakdownthat for Peter was as swift as itwas disturbing and damaging. ‘‘Itseemed that what had workedfine the year before suddenly juststarted to fail that summer afteronly two weeks. There wasnothing gradual about it.’’

Advice from his vet promptedPeter to re-assess his treatmentand pick up on Cyrex fromElanco, a new treatment that at

that stage had only been on themarket a year.

Cyrex contains two provenactives in a potent combinationfor eliminating fly strike and lice.Long-term fly control is achievedwith the proven activecyromazine, promising up to 12weeks of fly control. This iscombined with the revolutionarylice and maggot control activespinosad. South Island farmers in

particular are familiar withspinosad as the active in Elanco’slice dipping product Extinosadand lice pouron Expo.

Peter reported maggots fallingoff affected sheep, and excellentresidual cover that matched thelabel claims of 12 weeks ofongoing fly protection, sufficientto get him through the at-risksummer period.

Like most using Cyrex, Peter

says he was pleasantly surprisedat the ease of mixing, lack ofsmell and low level of riskcompared to more traditionalorgano-phosphate type dips.

Meantime, Peter has nailedCyrex firmly into his dippingcalendar for this season andevery other.

‘‘I would definitely be using itagain. It is my number one go-tosolution at present.’’

New mill feeds demandHeightened dairy farmerawareness of the need fortargeted nutrition hasculminated in the constructionof a new feed blending plant.

‘‘Dairy farmers are realisingthat pastures alone haven’t gotthe horsepower to provide thenourishment that matches theircows’ genetic potential,’’ saysIngham Feeds & Nutrition feedmill manager Oscar Stevens.

‘‘Under the ‘Acu’ label,farmers will be able to havecomplete confidence that thespecifications and nutritioncontent of what will initially befive different mixes is totallyaccurate.’’

Construction of the $2.5million plant at Ingham’s BisleyRd site in Hamilton took fourmonths. Because there was onlya 12m x 3m spare space, theblending plant’s design was amix of off-the-shelf componentsas well as bespoke elements.

‘‘The other big advantage of

our new mill is that the blendsare thoroughly mixed,’’ saysStevens, a bread baker in formerlife. ‘‘That means there’s no hotspots or cold spots within theAcu blends.’’

The addition of the ‘Acu’range to Ingham’ssupplementary feeds will alsoallow farmers who are new toboosting their cows’performance to gauge the profit-potential of the blends.

Ingham’s pelletised TopCowrange generally have to be fedin-shed by individual troughs aseach cow is milked. The Acurange, which has beendeveloped in conjunction withTasmanian animal nutritionistPip Gale, can be dished out on afeed pad, mixed with silage ordolled out in a paddock.

‘‘Dairy farmers can dip theirtoes in the supplementary feedsarena, with total confidence thatwhat the label says is totallyaccurate,’’ says Stevens.

US tours provide insightFarm to Farm Tours’ annual tourto the USA each June gives goodinsight into mega trends affectingthe farming world today. A USdrought affects us here —especially our dairy, beef andgrain industries. If there’s a majorchange in the White House, it canaffect our trade policies andexchange rates. If there’s a foodscare, it can affect us too. If thereis an advance in crop technologyor agricultural machinery, youmay see it in the USA first.

Our tour to the USA starts nearScottsdale, Arizona beforeheading to the Grand Canyon andLas Vegas. Next, it’s the mostproductive agricultural region inthe world where irrigation has

transformed a central Californiandesert into vast expanses of fruit,vegetables, cattle ranches, dairyfarms and wineries.

After time in Monterey and SanFrancisco, we fly to Oregon —which has a climate not dissimilarto NZ — where around 150 cropand livestock farms grow on therich soils of the Willamette Valley.

Then we fly east to Memphis,Tennessee in the Mid West withvast expanses of corn, wheat,beef cattle and dairy farms. Herethe great Mississippi River isparamount in distributingproduce from the regionthroughout America. The tourfinishes in vibrant Chicago, or anoptional extension takes infarmland in the east plusWashington DC New York. You’llsee it all in America and enjoygreat rural hospitality, servicesand wonderful farm visits.

■ FarmTo FarmTours is planning areturn tour to the USA, in addition tomany other destinations, in 2013—ph0800 3838 747 for details.

Generating future successReaching goals and fulfillingpersonal ambition will becomeeasier for New Zealand’s ruralprofessionals this October.

Enrolment is open forGenerate, a free programme thatup-skills agriculturalprofessionals and leads to anationally recognised Certificatein Rural Leadership.

Hundreds of ruralprofessionals around NewZealand have already takenadvantage of this programme.‘‘Graduates tell us they value the

opportunity to add skills to their‘tool-kit’, as well as thenetworking opportunities thatGenerate creates,’’ says ClarissaWallace, Generate co-ordinator.‘‘The opportunity to focus onwhere they are at personally orprofessionally gives themdirection.’’

Sharon Paterson, a Generategraduate, manages sheep andcattle studs with her husband andis an FMG rural manager.

She particularly valued thepresentation and people skills

she took from the workshops.‘‘I have been in farming all my

life. I looked to the programme tohelp me develop moreconfidence in speaking withpeople. Generate exceeded myexpectations,’’ says Sharon. ‘‘Eachworkshop gave me a differentskill, many of which I haveapplied to my professional lifeand I have seen great results.’’

■ Contact ClarissaWallace on 063782116 or [email protected]

National Farming Review, Monday October 8, 2012 2185

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INSIDER

ParliamentBills in the HouseAs at September 20, a number of Billsrelevant to farming were before Parliament,at various stages:■ Food Bill – Second reading■ Climate Change Response (EmissionsTrading andOtherMatters) Amendment Bill– being considered by Finance and Expendi-ture Select Committee■ Lobbying Disclosure Bill — being consid-ered by the Government AdministrationSelect Committee■ Building Amendment Bill (No 4) – beingconsidered by Local Government and En-vironment Select Committee■ Local Government Act Amendment Bill –being considered by the Local Governmentand Environment Select Committee■ Game Animal Council Bill – being consid-ered by the Local Government and Environ-ment Select Committee■ Heritage New Zealand Pouhere TaongaBill – being considered by the Local Govern-ment and Environment Select Committee■ Regulatory Standards Bill – being consid-ered by Commerce Committee■ Public Finance (Fiscal Responsibility)Amendment Bill – awaiting first reading■ Taxation (Livestock Valuation, AssetsExpenditure, and Remedial Matters Bill) Bill– awaiting first reading■ Local Electoral Act Amendment Bill –awaiting first reading■ Reserve Bank ofNewZealand (AmendingPrimary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill– awaiting first reading.

Other reviews andconsultations:■ Review of Agricultural Transport Rules,Ministry of Transport■ Vehicle Licensing Reform Project, Minis-try of Transport■ Land and Water Forum recommenda-tions■ Revisions to Regulatory Standards Bill,The Treasury■ Strengthening Economic Relationsbetween Australia and New Zealand, Aus-tralian and New Zealand ProductivityCommissions■ Inquiry into Local Government Regula-tory Performance, NewZealandProductivityCommission■ Road Maintenance Taskforce, New Zea-land Transport Agency■ Government Industry Agreements, Min-istry for Primary Industries■ Animal Welfare Strategy Development,Ministry for Primary Industries

■ Review of Agricultural QualificationsFramework, Tertiary Education Com-mission■ Review of Government Investment inIndustry Training, Ministry of Education■ Review of Fire Policy, Department ofInternal Affairs■ Technical Advisory Group Report onthe Review of Section 6 and Section 7 of theResource Management Act, Ministry forthe Environment■ New Zealand Post Deed of Understand-ing, New Zealand Post.

Happenings:■ October 24-25 — Federated FarmersLevel One Leadership Course, Wellington

■ November 6-8—NZGrasslands Confer-ence, Gore■ November 7-8 — Federated FarmersMeat & Fibre Council, Wellington■ November 10-16 — Visit of HRH ThePrince of Wales, Campaign for WoolPatron■ November 13-15— NZ Association ofResource Management Conference, Dun-edin■ November 14-16 — 150th CanterburyA&P Show, Christchurch■ November 21-22 — Federated FarmersNational Council, Wellington■ November 28-29 — Federated FarmersLevel Two Leadership Course, Wellington.

■ For manymore events, see ‘events andtraining’ at www.fedfarm.org.nz

THEOFFALPIT

Mutant calvesandwaterThere could be upsides if iwiowed water. The next time weget a drought, or a flood, we willbe able to add up our losses andsend the bill off to iwi. Okay,this will not happen but is thatnot what some used to say aboutTreaty of Waitangi claims? Ifiwi own the water Maori willbecome responsible for what‘their’ water does. We knowwhat this is like with stockfencing; if your stock gets out onthe road and causes a pile-up,guess where the buck ends upstopping?Of course, the Livestock Im-

provement Corporation (LIC),may be the exception.What gets me about LIC’s

mutant calves mess is that LICis a company trading on itsgenetic offering. This is whathas helped make the New Zea-land dairy industry what istoday. So you would think LICwould stand by their productwhen things don’t go to plan.I bet I will win Lotto before

seeing another Matrix. How-ever, when this whole thing firstbroke there seemed to be denial,a refusal to admit there was aproblem. Then came a surpris-ing artificial insemination reim-bursement offer.The one thing LIC has refused

to talk about was proper com-pensation for dud calves. Let’sbe real here. If LIC had gotten itscheque book out early, it’s un-likely any of this would havemade it into the papers.Now that LIC has dragged its

heels it has a Commerce Com-mission complaint lodgedagainst it.There is possible legal action

on the cards as this turns fromcompensation into a matter ofprinciple for some farmers.If iwi can take any lessons

from LIC, it is not to wish toohard for what you want, becauseyou may end up getting it.

■ The Offal Pit is an opinioneditorial not necessarilyreflecting the views or policies ofFederated Farmers.

Whereyourdonationswent

FIRSTRESPONSE: St Johnwereoneof theorganisations onthe frontline of theChristchurch earthquake response. Theyhavebecome the final and largestAdverseEventsTrustrecipient. PHOTO:STJOHN

Federated Farmers’ AdverseEvents Trust has given thelast of the money raised forChristchurch, following theCanterbury earthquakes.Overall, $402,780 has beengiven to groups supportingChristchurch and Canterburyresidents. This figure doesnot include the immense vol-untary rural contribution ofthe Farmy Army.Federated Farmers thanks

all donors, large and small, aswell as the meat companiesand wool processors whomade ‘Meat the Needs ofChristchurch’ possible.Recipients:■ St John Christchurchappeal — $54,326■ Red Cross 2011 Earth-quake Appeal — $40,000■ Presbyterian Support (up-per South Island) — $40,000■ St Vincent de PaulNational Council Christ-church Appeal — $40,000■ Salvation Army Canter-bury Earthquake Appeal —$40,000■ IHC Christchurch —$40,000■ Alzheimer’s Canterbury—$40,000■ Royal New Zealand Foun-dation of the Blind— $40,000■ Variety The Children’s Charity Inc —$20,000■ SPCA Pet Emergency Earthquake Fund —$20,000■ Christchurch 2011 Christmas Hampers —$20,000

■ van Asch Deaf Education Centre — $5000■ Aranui Community Trust for Family fest-ival fun day— $2000■ Swannanoa Home & School Inc for ruralday— $1000■ Grain and silo expenses arising from the2010 Darfield Earthquake— $800.

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