Paul Charman

Pasture worms represent the lion’s share of the animal health spend per farm, which is slightly under $24,000 a year.

The figure includes not only drenches but also facial eczema treatments and vaccinations, lice treatments and so forth, but Beef+Lamb’s Dan Bier says pasture worms clearly head the list.

“When we talk to farmers about their on-farm challenges they confirm that parasite management and parasite resistance are always number one production challenges,” he says.

“When you put aside the carbon farming and other issues these are always right up there. Parasites slow down the growth rate of stock and reduced their condition, representing a significant cost you have to buy a tool to deal with.”

Bier, who is the chair of NZ Wormwise, says throughout the country wet summers favour trichostrongylus build-up; bad outbreaks of this worm occur the following autumn and early winter as high numbers of larvae on pasture are consumed by lambs.

And trichostrongylus larvae can survive freeze and thaw cycles, so a couple of frosts will not kill them.

“I suppose you could say wherever you have grazing ruminants you’ll have parasites. Farmers have known for generations that there are parasites affecting their animals and we have to manage them.

Over the years we have had different ways to do that such as drenching with copper sulphate and nicotine in the old days.

“Chemicals have worked very well since the 1980s but now we’ve managed to wear them out, just like antibiotics. It’s clear that when you expose a population to something that will kill most of them only the ones which are resistant survive. We have done that with our sheep and cattle drenches.

“The problem now is that we have taken those very few (parasites) that were resistant to the drenches and made them a bigger chunk of the population, so the golden age of cheap and effective drenching is over.”

Bier says the challenge now is to take what is known about parasite life cycles and how they live on the pasture and then give farmers as many tools as we can to deal with those.

“The problem is on all farms to varying degrees, albeit with more parasites on farms with younger animals because they have less natural immunity. So we don’t really see parasite problems on dairy farms where mostly they have adult cows.

“But we do see really high parasite counts building up on land finishing blocks where they just have lots of young lambs or heifer growing blocks for dairy or beef farms, where they have young cattle in a big lot without very many adults. We can see those shoot up really quickly and get very high numbers.”

He said he agreed with Melvin Forlong, of Ohura, that breeding was a good way to manage the parasite problem.

“We are moving from farm systems that relied on drenches to farmers thinking in a much more integrated way on how they manage parasites on their properties. As well as breeding there’s matters like how you integrate adult with younger stock on your sheep and beef on other property.

“Farmers are thinking a lot more clearly about this. So rather than just having a place where the calves always go, that may be a couple of times a year they work their beef cows through there as well just to clean up the parasites. And it’s the same with these lamb finishing blocks.

“Rather than just dumping lambs in the same paddock year after year, they’ll be thinking about how they can manage animals that don’t need drenching through those to clean up the larvae on the pasture.

“Sheep and cattle generally have different parasites. So, if you have a lamb finishing block and you graze cattle through it then they’ll eat up all or a big chunk of the sheep parasites and not be affected by them.

“Also the older animals are key. Adult ewes generally won’t need drenching. And so, if you’ve got a lamb block and you can work your ewes through it once or twice a year then maybe they’ll clean out a big chunk of those parasites so this will reduce the pressure on drenching.”

Crops were another important tool; farmers can use things like lucerne as a way of reducing the parasite loadings

“There’s an old saying the worst thing on your farm for one lamb is another lamb. More and more farms are looking at how they can get those lambs off their farms as soon as possible.

“Grow them quickly and get them off to the works. From weaning to slaughtering lambs is three months during which you might traditionally have given them three drenches. But if you can reduce that to six-weeks you’re reducing a lot of drenching.

“In the King Country we see a lot of farmers breeding and finishing their own lambs. But maybe we’re seeing more people make a clear decision at weaning time like – I am going to keep the top 60 per cent of my lambs. And all the bottom ones that would have been around for three, or five or six months, I’ll get rid of them now.

“So, they won’t need drenching – they can go to some finishing block somewhere else where somebody has a more specialist setup.

“So they won’t have those lambs hanging around in the summer and autumn which is when those parasite problems build up.

“At Wormwise we aim to use drenching as little as possible. It’s a tool you will have to use but if you can put all these other measures together you’ll really reduce the necessity to lean on those drenches.”

Worms the No 1 problem

Chris Gardner

Growers are thinking twice about planting maize with wholesalers withholding contracts ahead of a looming natural gas supply shortage.

New Zealand’s natural gas production is declining with reserves dropping by 20 percent in the year to January 2024.

The shortage means the likes of wholesalers PGG Wrightson Grain and Viterra are not offering contracts to growers.

“PGG Wrightson Grain and Viterra both use gas to dry grain with,” said Federated Farmers Waikato Arable chair Donald Stobie in his September report.

“At the moment they both say that they currently cannot get a gas supply contract for next year. They also both say that the lead time is too short to change to a different fuel source to use at drying time.

“It is proving very hard to get a maize silage or grain contract, with end users holding off to see how the season ahead plays out. It will be interesting to see how much maize silage and grain gets planted.

“That question will come down to the financial situation of each grower.

How much finance do they require to grow these crops? Will a lender provide that money without a contract at planting time?”

The News sought comment from PGG Wrightson Grain and Viterra.

It’s been a roller coaster year for growers. Prices were good a year ago, with Niwa predicting a drought. But prices dropped when the drought did not eventuate.

“By the time harvest had finished if you had a crop sale you may have thought you were lucky - although some of those sale prices were at levels that growers are probably losing $1000 to $1500 per hectare.”

Crop yields were up about 8 to 10 per cent, maize silage sales had pricing as low as 15 to 17 cents per kg dry matter standing and maize grain pricing down to $300 per dry ton delivered to the silo.

“A number of growers did decide that these prices were too low so they either stacked maize silage or harvested the grain and are storing it at their own expense,” Stobie said.

“For all growers this overhang is a problem as it has kept a lid on demand and pricing for the new season.

“From a feed sale view the summer, autumn and winter has been far too kind with too much grass growing and there is very little demand for this extra feed that is around at the moment”.

Fonterra and its customers focusing on emission intensity per unit of production, maize grain could become a more attractive option compared to palm kernel, which has a higher emission rating. A shift of just 10 per cent from palm kernel to maize grain could boost demand by approximately 20,000 tons.

Waipā District based agricultural contractor John Austin, who grows about 6000 tonnes of grain on 500ha every year, said the industry had been discussing the gas shortage for months.

“It does not make sense to me,” he said. “As a contractor it really concerns me because we really need the work.”

Maize... to plant, or not to plant

Parasite specialist Trevor Cook is a tireless advocate for drenching, management and genetics as the three-pronged means of fighting the New Zealand sheep industry’s pasture parasite problem.

The experienced vet and farm advisor has long warned of an over dependence on chemicals due to growing drench resistance.

He gave the main talk at the Fernleaf Romneys field day on the Forlong family farm at Ōhura last week.  

At this property Romney rams and sheep are bred with genetics offering inbuilt resistance to worms and facial eczema, needing little or no drenching, something Cook acknowledged as a vital component in the fight against parasites.

In the era of growing drench resistance, he saw little future for farmers dependant on drenching every 28 days.

In sharing basic guidelines for improved management, he recommended keeping in mind the number of lambs on any given property. The priority had to be how to mitigate the parasite problem in lambs because these are the most susceptible and the biggest contaminators. Male lambs are more susceptible whereas more mature sheep are much less. In fact, mature ewes can be used as one of the tools to break the contamination and exposure cycle.

“On our hill country there is an ongoing cycle of lambs contaminating and then being exposed to that contamination.”

Cook noted that though some species of dung beetles had been reported to be control agents for gastrointestinal parasites of livestock, they are not the panacea promoted and, in some cases, may improve the survival of the parasitic worms.

“In my view, if anything dung beetles can just open up to provide more oxygen to accelerate the growth of worms.”

When lambs are ingesting L3 larvae there is a decrease in their appetite which decreases their growth. Reducing the number of L3 larvae that lambs are ingesting allows them to grow much faster.

“Controlling worms will very simply result in them eating more and gaining more weight.”

On farms where drenches were failing Cook works out the opportunity to graze lambs on less contaminated pastures which then sets the number of lambs that the system can handle. This then requires a discussion about the sheep and lamb selling policy.

The worm larvae mostly live in the lower couple few centimetres of the pasture where they are more protected from UV light which they do not like. Longer pastures favour the survival of the worm larvae. And in another interesting aside Cook noted that sheep seemed to be able to somehow detect the presence of L3 larvae in pasture, and – given a choice - preferred not to feed on it.

Pasture grazed by cattle can result in a lower worm challenge for sheep if for long enough.

“But unfortunately, running cattle concurrently alongside sheep does very little to reduce the worm count.”

Meanwhile, summer crops are hugely valuable in managing worms because the free-living stage of the worm cycle struggles to survive in them. What is more, contamination from lambs is concentrated onto the crop area and does not add to the overall farm contamination, Cook said.

No future in endless drenching

Six hundred hikers are being invited to walk for a cause across a Wharepūhunga sheep and beef farm.

Geoff and Johanna Fitzgerald, who have farmed the 450ha Duncan Road property for 24 years, have created the Maungahau: Walk for a Cause charity walk and hikers can choose from a 6.5 km or 10 km cross-country walk on their sheep and beef farm on Saturday (October 19).

Walkers will pay $80 to complete and, if registrations are full, the Fitzgeralds will raise $48,000 for two good causes. The walks will also include the neighbouring farm owned by the Kimton family.

Proceeds will be split between Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Waikato Hauraki Coromandel Rural Support Trust.

The Fitzgeralds have benefitted from both services over the years.

“We have capped it at 600 walkers because of our health and safety plan that we have got in place,” Geoff Fitzgerald, 74, said.

The short walk is expected to take two to two and half hours, the long walk three to three and half.

“We hope to do it annually, give people a really good experience, and be able to increase the numbers next time.”

Chance to walk for a cause

Supplied

Waikato Regional Compliance Manager Patrick Lynch has declared that can be “no tolerance” for a failure to manage farm effluent.

He was commenting after a Waikato farming company, a company director and a farm manager were fined almost $306,000 for discharging effluent into the environment.

Flint Farms Limited, farm owner Barry Flint and farm manager Gavin Flint were sentenced by Hamilton District Court Judge Melinda Dickey last month on 14 charges under the Resource Management Act as a result of a prosecution taken by Waikato Regional Council.

It was the biggest fine for discharging contaminants into the environment in the Waikato region since the Resource Management Act was introduced over 30 years ago.

“It’s 2024. There simply can be no tolerance for not having adequate infrastructure on farm to manage animal effluent,” Lynch said.

He said the size of the fine was a warning “to those farming operations who still have shoddy systems, or are not managing effluent systems properly.”

In addition to the fines, Judge Dickey issued an Enforcement Order against Flint Farms Limited requiring them to upgrade the farm effluent system and implement an effluent management plan to avoid further adverse effects on the environment.

In August 2022, council officers inspected the dairy farm owned by the defendant at Ngātea, south of Thames.

They found numerous breaches of environmental regulation, related to the discharge of dairy effluent from two effluent ponds, a sump and a stock underpass.

Two abatement notices were issued to prevent further discharges into the environment but during follow up inspections over the next 10 months, additional breaches were identified.

“This region has had clear rules in place for the last 30 years prohibiting this kind of activity,” Lynch said.

“It is very concerning that we still find contamination like this, even after putting a farm formally on notice.

“To need a court order to ensure appropriate infrastructure is installed, that should have been in place decades ago, is incredibly disappointing.

“But those are the lengths we are having to go to in situations such as this to get some farming operations to do the right thing.”

Record fine, and 'no tolerance'

Staff Reporter

Next Generation Apples won the Primary Sector Award category at the 2024 New Zealand Food Awards in Auckland last week.

The company launched a new apple variety last year.

Sassy was by Plant and Food Research and grown and marketed by New Zealand-based growers Next Generation Apples, comprising Golden Bay Fruit and Taylor Corp.

“Sassy Apples were developed through plant-breeding techniques to create an apple with a crisp texture, high flavour, long storage and shelf life, novel skin and flesh colour, optimal harvest maturity, and pest and disease resistance,” Vincent Arbuckle, deputy director-general of New Zealand Food Safety, said.

“It is exciting to see how investment in research can lead to practical advances without sacrificing on bite or flavour.

“Sassy Apples are an example of excellence across the supply chain – from research to the orchards, to our supermarkets. Our judging panel for the Primary Sector Award noted the impressive research and innovation behind this product.”

The other finalists were Waitoa Free Range Chicken, Good Guise Paneer and Akaroa Salmon.

“Finalists demonstrated a commitment to the kind of quality and ability to overcome challenges which has always formed the foundation of New Zealand’s food production,” Arbuckle said.

The New Zealand Food Awards are held annually by Massey University to celebrate food and beverage excellence and innovation.

Ends New Zealand Food Safety/Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been involved with the awards for more than 20 years, and has been a sponsor since 2008

Vutter Avo Spreadable – a dairy-free butter, produced by Feliz Wholefoods – took out the 2024 Supreme Award.

Sassy apple, sweet with zing

It is no longer practical for members to bring every issue to Federated Farmers Waikato.

“We have so many things we have to deal with,” Holmes told the September meeting of the provincial executive.

“The act of bringing it all through the chair is really not practical anymore. We have to think differently.”

In this monthly report he said because the workload was so large, he had expanded portfolios.

“Within the sectors we also have to give more autonomy for the actions and outcomes from the working groups.”

By way of example, Hamilton branch chair John Bluett had sent a submission to the Government on the future of agricultural education post Te Pukenga.

“The consultation was with those of us who have an interest in the subject,” he said. “I was very impressed with the submission, especially given the short time we had.”

Holmes asked members to become nimbler and more responsive, attaching members to interest groups.

“Democratic decision making comes in many forms – but it should never revert to the ‘sludge’ of local body consultation, with no decisions ever being made,” he said.

Holmes described the advocacy Waikato Federated Farmers was involved in as selfless, demanding and relentless, in terms of workload.

“The wins are there to be seen and coming fast,” he said, listing a pause on the fresh water farm plans, re-opening the doors for livestock exports, reviewing the carbon and ethane solutions, opening to the opportunity of the use of gene editing technology and de-clogging the barriers to opportunity, innovation and consent procedures.

“Significantly the rebuilding of the Resource Management Act version 3, is also giving back to farmers their lost ‘property rights’, taking back the invasive overreach of the concept of Significant Natural Areas and posing the question of who should pay for ‘the Society Wish List’ as we know as farmers we simply can’t and shouldn’t be seen as society’s Golden Goose or cash cow.”

Holmes empowered section and branch chairs to engage in member advocacy.

“I have had a discussion with Dairy vice chair Louise Gibson about what sharemilkers are doing,” he said.

The Sharefarming Consultants founder Gibson, a former Federated Farmers policy advisor, is focussed on ensuring contracts between farm owners and sharefarmers don’t have any fishhooks

“We trust Waitomo branch chair Chris Irons,” Holmes said. “It’s the same with, and Arable chair Donald Stobiet.”

“We have to be careful we don’t rely too much on individuals,” Irons said. “We have to be nimble and pull people in.”

Feds move to delegate

Federated Farmers says it agrees with the government that it is timely and worthwhile to review New Zealand’s overseas investment settings.

“It’s alarming and regrettable the OECD has rated us 35th out of 35 countries in terms of openness to investment,” Federated Farmers meat and wool chair and forestry spokesperson Toby Williams said.

“As a small nation, capital and investment from overseas can help New Zealand to fix infrastructure and drive industry development.”

Federated Farmers agrees the Government should retain the legal option of screening those investment types currently screened, including the sale of farmland, to ensure they are in the national interest.

“However, fast-tracking the overseas investment assessment process when no risk factors have been identified, and consolidating the investor, benefit and national interest tests, also makes sense,” Williams says.

“We understand the farmland test can take as long as two years from application. It’s such a long-winded process that investors can lose interest and pull out.”

The delay and costs were a real deterrent to potential offshore investors who wanted to invest in farmland, and keep farming it, rather than converting it to forestry - applications for which are currently processed faster, he said.

Williams doesn’t see any risk the proposed changes to the Overseas Investment Act will accelerate conversion of farmland to forestry.

“The land use changes we are seeing are due to settings with the ETS distorting the profitability of one land use over another.”

'Streamling' plan backed

Farmers are pay for capital projects and manage debt repayments using overdraft facilities, a Federated Farmers survey of farmers has found.

Twelve percent of farmers who responded to the Fed’s survey said their bank had asked them to fund capital work using an overdraft.

Federated Farmers banking spokesperson Richard McIntyre says that’s unacceptable and overdrafts should be a tool, not a trap

“Overdrafts are designed for managing seasonal cash flow, not to burden farmers with higher-interest debt, which only serves to boost bank profits.”

He said farmers were stuck in overdraft facilities that never returned to positive balances and banks were reluctant to offer more sustainable solutions.

A key finding presented by Federated Farmers in a submission to Parliament’s banking inquiry was that more than one in five farmers said their bank did not allow them to structure their debt in the most interest-efficient way.

“New Zealand farmers are clearly under huge pressure from the banks because we had more than 1000 farmers come forward to share their frustrations with us,” McIntyre said.

“We’ve used that feedback in our submission, leaving the select committee in no doubt about what farmers are dealing with and how banking issues are affecting them.”

It was highly concerning to hear 22 per cent of farmers had not been allowed to structure their debt to minimise interest payments as much as possible.

“We also had another 18 per cent of farmers tell us they’re unsure of their options.

“In total, 40 per cent of farmers either find their debt structure inefficient or aren’t receiving the information they need to improve it.

“That’s something we need this inquiry to sort out - and fast.”

Another recurring theme in farmer feedback was a lack of transparency and a one-size-fits-all approach banks take to lending.

This created a cycle of high-interest debt, leaving farmers financially strained over the long term.

“This isn’t just bad practice - it’s bad faith,” McIntyre said.

“Banks are prioritising profits over the long-term financial health of New Zealand’s farmers.”

Farmers reported that even when it made good business sense, they were unable to convert overdraft debt into term debt.

“The advantage for the bank is that overdrafts generate higher interest, and banks can call in the debt at any time,” McIntyre said.

“This practice leaves farmers vulnerable, with overdraft rates often 3-4 per cent higher than term debt.”

Federated Farmers is calling for banks to provide fair access to more efficient debt structures, particularly term debt, which would allow farmers to plan for the long term.

“Farmers aren’t asking for special treatment,” McIntyre said. “We just want a fair go.”

Federated Farmers has been instrumental in securing an initial briefing on rural banking, led by the Primary Production Committee.

This has now developed into a full inquiry into banking competition, led by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee.

Federated Farmers will ensure farmers’ perspectives are taken seriously, pushing for real changes in New Zealand’s banking system, McIntyre said.

“Farmers want change, and they’ve added significant weight to our submission.

“We’re not just here to highlight the problems,” McIntyre said.

“We’re here to advocate for real solutions that will make a difference for every farmer in New Zealand.”

Banks in firing line over debt

Contributed

Finding the best and most helpful joint supplement for our active, ageing, and arthritic dogs can be a challenge.

With our aging working dog and pet population, there are now many new options and much more reliable research available on treating and preventing arthritis at any stage.

Broadly, managing arthritis consists of a combination of the following: weight management, activity modification, nutritional supplements and medical interventions.

Pet joint supplements are growing, lucrative and poorly regulated industry. To ensure you are purchasing products which are most likely to be effective, it pays to know the principles of joint supplementation and to know the most helpful ingredients.

The goal of oral joint supplementation is to increase the omega 3:omega 6 ratio of fatty acids in the body.

Fatty acids (FAs) form the membranes of cells all around the body and are required in many body processes, including the pathways of inflammation involved in arthritis.

While omega 6 fatty acids are essential for the body, by increasing the amount of omega 3 fatty acids in relation to omega 6’s, the body produces less inflammatory compounds and thus less inflammatory discomfort is produced in the joints.

Omega 3 FAs are found in many different formulations, in both commercial pet and human supplements.

I would always recommend having a discussion with your vet before starting your dog on joint supplementation, to ensure you are giving an effective, but safe dose, and it will not interfere with any other medications.

General principles for canine joint supplementation that will help you select a joint supplement are:

• Fish oils are a much more potent source of omega 3’s than krill oil.

• The main omega 3 FAs are EPA and DHA. Dogs cannot process ALA, which is found in flaxseed, linseed and canola oils.

• Look for supplements with antioxidants in them – these preserve the fatty acids for use in the body, rather than degrading in the packaging before use.

• Check the concentration and dose of DHA and EPA in the supplements you are buying – for example a 20kg dog needs a dose of about 2000 milligrams of EPA + DHA daily for it to be effective.

Don’t forget – arthritis management is about multimodal care - talk to your vet about activity modification, physiotherapy, weight management and medical interventions to keep your dog comfortable and active in the face of arthritis.

Dealing with arthritis

Stu Kneebone

As we come out of winter and into spring, a reminder to landowners that that both the Waikato Regional Council (WRC) and the Waikato River Authority have contestable funding available to landowners to assist with restoration of wetlands, rivers and streams and steep and eroding land.

The WRC portion of this funding is sourced primarily from a targeted catchment rate that is applied depending on which catchment zone you are based in, plus a general rate contribution of approximately 15- 20 per cent. These rates are based on property value.

WRC funding is generally prioritised to the parts of the region’s catchments that have been identified as a priority for funding assistance. This is primarily about ensuring that our limited public funding is utilised effectively in a way that we can be confident will deliver results for the catchment as a whole.

The Waikato River Authority makes contestable funding available via its Waikato River Clean up Trust for restoration projects in the Waikato and Waipa river catchments.

This funding was made available via a treaty settlement that was negotiated by Waikato River Iwi with the Crown in 2010, following recognition that the river was degraded, and should not have to accept further degradation as a result of human activities.

The Authority allocates approximately $6 million a year to restoration projects in the Waikato and Waipā river catchments. Its funding decisions are guided by the Waikato and Waipa river restoration strategy.

In the Waipā Catchment, Waikato Regional Council and the Waikato River Authority with the support of the MPI Hill Country Erosion Fund can jointly support landowners via the Waipā Catchment Plan programme.

Up to 70 per cent funding assistance is available for undertaking works.

Landowners in the Kaniwhaniwha, Moakurarua, Mangarama, Mangatea, Mangarapa, Upper Waitomo and Upper Puniū catchments may be eligible for funding assistance.

The MPI Hill Country Erosion Fund is also available to landowners undertaking these works within the West Coast Harbour and southern catchments.

Type of works eligible for funding include:

• Fencing to retire steep/erosion prone land.

• Re-vegetation of retired steep/erosion prone land with a mix of native plants using small plant sizes to keep costs down.

• Planting of poplar poles to help stabilise land slips. Poplar poles come with a protective sleeve which allows grazing to continue.

• Fencing of wetlands and eroding streams.

• Planting of eroding streambanks

WRC is keen to engage with landowners early to plan and prepare for next winter’s planting programme so plants, work programmes and associated budgets can be organised.

If you have areas on your farm that you are thinking about fencing off and planting, please contact us early to avoid missing out.

Helping with restoration

Courage is a common requirement whether contesting high performance sports or farming in a challenging economic environment.

So says David Galbraith, a high-performance coach with 20 years’ experience working with top athletes within New Zealand and overseas.

Galbraith, who previously worked with fellow psychologist and author Nigel Latta, spoke at a field day held at Fernleaf Farms, Ohura, earlier this month.

Though still active as a consultant in his field, Galbraith moved from a farm at Marokopa several years ago and more recently to a sheep and beef property at Ohura.

He told about 40 people gathered at the field day that his current farming career fulfilled a dream held since teenage years; this was to both to own a farm where he could live and work with his elderly parents.

There are parallels between high performance sport and farming, he told his audience.

“Courage is critical to you unleashing your mind and achieving your potential in either profession.” Galbraith said.

“It is courage you need to overcome a fear, to step outside your comfort zone, to keep moving, to be patient, to keep practising, trusting and investing. Courage is the most important emotion people need to learn to control their lives.

“It doesn’t matter if you are still at school, work in one of the biggest companies in the word, are an Olympian or a parent.”

Galbraith was a “mind coach” for the All Blacks Sevens team over 14 years; he advised the Chiefs Super Rugby team for 11 years and was a performance coach to Japan’s Brave Blossoms rugby team for 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups.

He has worked with athletes ahead of four Olympic Games, his protégés achieving 12 gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

As a so-called “mind coach” he has assisted athletes including flat water canoeist Lisa Carrington; BMX rider Sarah Walker; Silver Fern Laura Langman; track and field athlete Sarah Cowley and slalom canoeist Mike Dawson.

“As a performance coach I support an individual to get the very best out of themselves,” he says.

“She may have worked 16 years but I may be working with her to focus it all on 35 seconds.

“Whether in elite sport or farming one must wake up in the morning and look at the world through the eyes of a five-year-old, because that is the kind of energy that will inform every interactions we have with others.

“We are like tuning forks; the way we resonate makes others resonate the same way.

“Every interaction you have when you meet people off farm is important, whether it’s getting tyres put on a truck or buying groceries at New World Taumarunui and talking to the checkout lady.

“He likened every day to making a great chocolate cake – to be successful one needed to follow a recipe. To have a successful day one had to have a plan.

“I have spent 20 years helping people figure out how to get the best out of themselves.

“We all have potential but are we getting everything out of yourself you should be getting.

“Forget that you’ve done it for seven years; your job is just to do it today with the same energy. Our job is to wake up every day and make sure we’re in that space (to do that) once again.

A message about courage

Doug Laing

The selection of the New Zealand Shearing team for the 50th anniversary trans-Tasman shearing and woolhandling series has been completed with the naming of two South Islanders last weekend.

They were the big winners at the New Zealand Merino Shears in Alexandra - Open shearing final winner Chris Vickers, of Shag Point, near Palmerston, and Open woolhandling final winner Pagan Rimene, of Alexandra.

Vickers will make up a three-man shearing team with Golden Shears champion Leon Samuels, of Roxburgh, and PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit third placegetter Jack Fagan of Te Kūiti, while Rimene will be joined by North Island Woolhandling Circuit runner-up Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna.

The blade shearers will be South Canterbury pair Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, and Tim Hogg, of Timaru, and the management will be shearing judge and manager Russell Knight, of Apiti, and woolhandling judge Rose Puha, of Kimbolton.

It’ll be a quick start for Dobbs and Hogg who will shear against Australian blades shearers Johnathon Dalla and Andrew Murray in the first test of the summer at the Waimate Spring Shears on Saturday.

There will then be separate machine shearing, blades shearing and woolhandling tests on the last day of the October 25-27 Australian National Shearing and Woolhandling Championships at Katanning, West Australia, marking the 50th anniversary of the first test in the series at Euroa, Victoria, in 1974.

Home machine shearing and woolhandling tests will be held at the Golden Shears in Masterton from February 27-March 1.

Kiwi team for Trans Tasman tests named

Te Kūiti stock agent and auctioneer John Grainger was made a life member of the Te Kūiti Volunteer Fire Brigade at the brigade’s awards night this month.

He joined in 1989 as a fire fighter in his mid-twenties, immediately enjoying the camaraderie of working with the others and the excitement of being called to emergencies.

“At the back of it all you just felt the contribution you were making had some significance – that you were helping people in a time of need,” he said.

In 1991 his job took him out of town, but Grainger made sure to re-join the brigade when he moved back to Te Kūiti eight or nine years later.

More recently he spent three years in Taranaki, returning to Te Kūiti in June.

What sticks in his mind after racking up a combined total of about 21 years as a volunteer fire fighter at Te Kūiti, 15 of which were spent as brigade secretary?

“I think it is how well Fire and Emergency looks after its people,” he said.

Grainger was part of the brigade’s critical stress team, set up by the then NZ Fire Service to help fire fighters struggling to deal with disturbing aftereffects of fires, crashes and medical events.

This on-call group sent him out to visit colleagues following traumatic events they had experienced.

“You must remember volunteer fire fighters are just ordinary people who get thrown into situations which are far from normal.”

He completed a series of intensive psychological courses, training him how to assist those who’d been in grim situations. This involved travelling to see colleagues in centres as far away as Rotorua and the Coromandel. In 2018 Grainger received a Region 2 Safety, Health and Wellbeing award in recognition of his service.

“Following a bad incident, colleagues are referred by their chief, or sometimes by a partner or spouse. In most cases a chat with a colleague who understands what they’ve been through is all that’s required. When there are more issues we can bring in specialised counsellors or psychologists.”

Traumatic incidents could be compounded when parents, witnessed children being hurt; or when brigade staff came in contact with those they knew personally, which was always possible in a small town.

Counselling on offer could go wider that just work trauma, if need be touching on work and relationship issues.

“I was impressed at how deep and thorough the Fire Service was when looking after the mental health of their people,” Grainger said.

Was being a fire fighter a difficult life when it came to lost sleep?

“Yes, but it was just part of the job as a volunteer. I can remember getting home at five or six in the morning and then the alarm would sound to go to work.

‘But somehow you always seemed to get through. You couldn’t always go out on a call, of course, because for everyone there are days when you just have to stay at work.

“Don’t ever underestimate the contribution employers make to maintaining our volunteer fire brigades. Employers are very good in this town – they are really the unsung heroes keeping our brigade going.”

What Grainger values most are the friendships he has made over the years.

“I have made some very good friends in fire and emergency all over the country and my brigade has been a very caring one. I have had some very good chiefs who created a unit it was a pleasure to be part of.”

That said, the work remained a challenge.

“I think when I first joined we were doing 50-70 calls a year. Now it’s up to about 200 and for a little place like Te Kūiti that’s a lot of calls.”

Firefighter awarded life

Andy Campbell

North King Country riders were chuffed to find themselves nationally competitive at the New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships held at New Plymouth at the weekend.

There were 160 riders in the 9-11 age group and they were chasing one of 30 qualifying places.

North King Country Motorcycle Club riders who finished mostly in the top 10 nationally included Mason Williamson, Ōtorohanga Trail 7-9 yrs 8th place, Case Wilson, Piopio 9-11 yrs 65cc 2nd place, Flynn Neustroski, Ōtorohanga, 8-11 yrs Trail 125cc, 8th place, Heath Wilson, Piopio, 9-11 yrs 65cc 10th place, Deklan Burton, Ōtorohanga, 9-11 yrs 65cc 6th place, Evan Gray, Te Kūiti, 7-8 yrs 65cc 11th place, Reed Legg, Te Awamutu, 7-8 years 65cc 1st place, Kase Legg, Te Awamutu, 6-8 yrs mx 50cc, 12th over all.

“We weren’t thinking we would place as high as we got so we were very happy,” proud parent Kim Simpson said. “They live and breathe these bikes, they quite love them.”

There was some ugly weather off and on.

“It poured with rain for round three,” Simpson said. “Day two, round four and five the rain held off but there was still a bit of mud to push through. They did really well.”

Held at the Barrett Rd motorcycle park facility, on the outskirts of New Plymouth, the two-day event produced high calibre racing, with a large number of spectators in attendance.

Motorcycling New Zealand motocross co-commissioner Sonia Cloke was impressed with the host club’s work rate.

“The club did a fantastic job keeping up with track maintenance. They couldn’t have done better. The track gave competitors a mixed bag of conditions and the eventual champions certainly earned their titles.

“The tricky conditions really did sort them out. The brief rain we experienced really did only serve to keep the dust down.”

Bikesportnz’s Andy McGechan reported the event showed the sport was extremely healthy at this grassroots level.

“It shone the spotlight on the next Kiwi international superstars, young riders who may go on to follow in the wheel tracks of world class New Zealand riders such as Otago’s Courtney Duncan, New Plymouth brothers Darryll, Shayne and Damien King, Motueka’s Josh Coppins, Oparau's James Scott, Opotiki’s Cody Cooper and West Auckland's Hamish Harwood or Tauranga trio Ben Townley, Brodie Connolly and Josiah Natzke, for example,” he said.

Speakng at the weekend he said it was interesting to note that Harwood, Connolly and Natzke were overseas representing New Zealand at the big annual Motocross of Nations in England, “the pinnacle of senior racing at international level and often referred to as the “Olympic Games of Motocross”.

That event was won by Australia as luck deserted the Kiwi team as they finished 21st overall of the 36 nations represented and missed the cut off mark.

The trio managed third in a B-final, which was its last chance to qualify.

Riders make their national marks

Sigrid Christiansen

A new agribusiness stream at Waikato University will aim to usher in a new generation of rural professionals to support the indigenous food and fibre sector.

The three-year programme, Tupu Rangatahi, Tupu Ahuwhenua - which could be translated as ‘growing young people, and growing farming’ - will be offered by university’s management school from next February.

The university said last year the Māori food and fibre sector was integral to the economic, cultural and environmental prosperity to New Zealand with the wider Māori agri economy, including seafood contributing more than $2.4 billion to the gross domestic product.

Project lead Tom Woutersen said the stream was intended to meet the needs of Māori agribusiness wuthin its existing degree programme.

The cohort would build skills via ‘experience modules’, field trips, and events, internships and iwi partnerships, expected to include Maniapoto body, Te Nehenehenui trust.

Students can submit assignments in Māori or English, and will be supported in the transition from school to university if necessary.

While Woutersen is on the academic staff, he aspires to spend time next year on the other side of the lectern, joining students taking te reo Māori papers.

The university’s project leader of international indigenous development, Te Kūiti based Luke Moss said he was excited about the opportunity becoming available to students.

Moss said the motto was “ko te tangata i manaaki i te whenua, ko te whenua i manaaki i te tangata” – “if we look after the land it will take care of us”.

The programme is expected to start with a small number and build on it over time.

The New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management - NZIPIM - previously identified an unmet demand in the area, and contacted the university.

Its president, Rob Macnab, said the group represented 1400 mainly degree qualified rural professionals who provided advice to the sector.

They wanted to service Māori agribusiness on all levels, culturally as well as in terms of our technical understanding.

Planning also involved calling on advisors such as Ngāti Porou farm management consultant Hilton Collier, a former president of the NZIPIM - and Charlie Taituha, Māori Strategy and Relationship manager at Beef + Lamb New Zealand.

NZIPIM established a significant number of talented young Māori students had all it took to succeed, but were finding the university environment difficult.

Waikato University was a natural partner in the project because of its existing academic programmes and approach to pastoral care – their ability to “wrap support around these young men and women,” Macnab said.

Indigenous food, fibre sector boost.

An American summer camp proved perfect medicine for horse rider Jenny Bevege, after an accident on ‘Tilly’ at a cross-country event in Hawera in January 2023 left her shaken.
“I was fine, the horse was fine, but it knocked my confidence,” she said. “After that, I wasn’t as brave.”
Jenny, who is based in Cambridge, comes from a horse-loving family from Ngātamahine, near Piopio. And riding had been her life.
Jumping her horses in competition, once easy, no longer felt possible. She had always seen her future as horse riding and an instructor, although mum Pip Bevege had encouraged her to study business at university. After Hāwera, that future was in doubt.
In years past, Jenny had weathered depression, anxiety and concussions; the worst from another fall in 2018.
In the years that followed, she was enjoying working in a racehorse stable and her work as an instructor in King Country and Waikato pony clubs.
But by 2024, things were piling up, and she asked, “what can I do with my life other than riding horses?”
Jenny’s second life passion is public speaking: she had lessons with former Labour MP Dianne Yates, and speaking exams through Speech New Zealand.
But she still wanted to break out further. An overseas trip would “help her see her life from the outside”.
“I wanted to go on a “horse free” trip, think about what I could do, what would fit with my passions and what I could do justice to,” she said.
She applied to Camp America, ending up at the organisation’s fair in Auckland where she met spokesperson Lauren or “Loz,” who was sceptical at first. Most camp counsellors are 18 or 19, Jenny is 27.
“She wanted to know whether it would be right for me, and whether I’d enjoy it or just get through it. She said it would be busy and hard work.”
She left in early June this year.
The work was only comparatively hard.
“We didn’t even have breakfast until 8:15. It was nothing like my sister Sarah and I would do on our home farm,”
And the horse free thing didn’t quite work out – in America, she worked as an instructor in the “horseback riding” programme at a camp near Scranton, Pennsylvania.
She even competed in horse events, reconnecting with friends from North and South Carolina, USA, where she had competed as part of the New Zealand Pony Club international team in 2017.
The camp was indeed busy – with up to 500 children at each of the three sessions. A total of 120 children took “horseback riding” – only five were confident riders.
The challenge for Jenny was around being social for that long period of time, which she wouldn’t have been comfortable with in the past.
“I was never the most social person, but after my concussions, it got even worse.”
But at the camp she felt she had stared down that particular demon.
“Afterwards I thought, “I really did it. I couldn’t have done that last year or the one before.
“But now I feel, if I can do that, I can do something like it again.”
The hardest person to farewell was “Loz.”
With her boosted confidence, Jenny’s new “work-in-progress” is “the brave project” which will help others face life’s challenges, as she has. She also blogs as “One Ordinary Girl” on Facebook and dreams of writing a book.An American summer camp proved perfect medicine for horse rider Jenny Bevege, after an accident on ‘Tilly’ at a cross-country event in Hawera in January 2023 left her shaken.

“I was fine, the horse was fine, but it knocked my confidence,” she said. “After that, I wasn’t as brave.”

Jenny, who is based in Cambridge, comes from a horse-loving family from Ngātamahine, near Piopio. And riding had been her life.

Jumping her horses in competition, once easy, no longer felt possible. She had always seen her future as horse riding and an instructor, although mum Pip Bevege had encouraged her to study business at university. After Hāwera, that future was in doubt.

In years past, Jenny had weathered depression, anxiety and concussions; the worst from another fall in 2018.

In the years that followed, she was enjoying working in a racehorse stable and her work as an instructor in King Country and Waikato pony clubs.

But by 2024, things were piling up, and she asked, “what can I do with my life other than riding horses?”

Jenny’s second life passion is public speaking: she had lessons with former Labour MP Dianne Yates, and speaking exams through Speech New Zealand.

But she still wanted to break out further. An overseas trip would “help her see her life from the outside”.

“I wanted to go on a “horse free” trip, think about what I could do, what would fit with my passions and what I could do justice to,” she said.

She applied to Camp America, ending up at the organisation’s fair in Auckland where she met spokesperson Lauren or “Loz,” who was sceptical at first. Most camp counsellors are 18 or 19, Jenny is 27.

“She wanted to know whether it would be right for me, and whether I’d enjoy it or just get through it. She said it would be busy and hard work.”

She left in early June this year.

The work was only comparatively hard.

“We didn’t even have breakfast until 8:15. It was nothing like my sister Sarah and I would do on our home farm,”

And the horse free thing didn’t quite work out – in America, she worked as an instructor in the “horseback riding” programme at a camp near Scranton, Pennsylvania.

She even competed in horse events, reconnecting with friends from North and South Carolina, USA, where she had competed as part of the New Zealand Pony Club international team in 2017.

The camp was indeed busy – with up to 500 children at each of the three sessions. A total of 120 children took “horseback riding” – only five were confident riders.

The challenge for Jenny was around being social for that long period of time, which she wouldn’t have been comfortable with in the past.

“I was never the most social person, but after my concussions, it got even worse.”

But at the camp she felt she had stared down that particular demon.

“Afterwards I thought, “I really did it. I couldn’t have done that last year or the one before.

“But now I feel, if I can do that, I can do something like it again.”

The hardest person to farewell was “Loz.”

With her boosted confidence, Jenny’s new “work-in-progress” is “the brave project” which will help others face life’s challenges, as she has. She also blogs as “One Ordinary Girl” on Facebook and dreams of writing a book.

Summer boost for Bevege

The New Zealand pork sector has welcomed a policy amendment for highly productive land

It says the previous wording could have prevented pig farming on agricultural land.

The Government changed the wording in the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land to make it clear pig farming is an appropriate activity in such areas.

The industry was “grateful” to the Government for listening to farmers’ concerns and taking action to address the issue, NZ Pork chief executive Brent Kleiss said.

“The wording in the policy states highly productive land should be safeguarded specifically for “land-based” primary production,” he said.

“This effectively excluded pig farming from land, deemed highly productive, creating significant challenges for establishing new farms or expanding existing ones in these areas.

“We were very concerned that was the way the Ministry for the Environment and local councils were interpreting the policy.”

Under the revised policy statement, pig farming – referred to as ‘intensive indoor primary production’ – is recognised as an appropriate activity on highly productive land, Kleiss said.

NZ Pork raised its concerns with the Government.

“The amendment was important because pig farms are often part of bigger farms where effluent is used as a natural fertiliser on cropping or pastoral land. That is why many commercial pig farms are on land that is considered highly productive under this policy,” he said.

“Resolving this issue has been a significant focus for the industry over the past two years, and we are pleased with the outcome. The amendments ensure that pig farming can develop or expand on highly productive land while preserving the overarching goal of the policy statement to protect these lands for food production.”

Support for amendment

Paul Charman reports on the work of King Country Rivercare to clean up waterways in the King Country.

Many King Country farmers are confused over the need to prepare fresh water farm plans while the coalition government adjusts legislation that will define rules such plans are to cover.
The plans, which were to be completed by mid-2025, were initiated as part of a push by successive governments. They aim to improve the “swimmability” of New Zealand rivers by reducing contaminants generated by rurally based farm runoff, plus sewage and factory waste generated closer to town.
But the brakes went on following the election, with the coalition keen to focus on risk and reduce costs to farmers.
Hence, among other changes, a relaxation of rules for keeping farm animals out of waterways and more permissive rules for intensive winter grazing are now expected.
The final set of rules covering freshwater farm plans are expected to be out soon, but a revised freshwater bill is not the only legislation many King Country farmers will have to follow in this area.
The Waikato Regional Council’s Regional Plan Change 1 has similar aims to the Government Bill, albeit with the added impetus of Treaty Settlement conditions aimed at restoring Waikato and Waipā rivers to a much better condition than they are at present.
“There has been no word on what the WRC’s final PC1 rules for fresh water will look like though there has been a lot of consultation,” King Country Rivercare’s Reon Verry said.
“We also don’t really know how Plan Change 1 will meld with the Government’s revised freshwater bill - it all just adds to the uncertainty.
“The WRC Plan Change relates back to a Treaty Settlement which sets it apart from regional water plans in other parts of the country.
Elsewhere regional councils have just been guided by the national policy statement on fresh water.
“But farmers here know that it doesn’t matter what happens in the rest of the country; we are 10 years into an 80-year-plan to restore the Waikato and Waipā rivers to an improved state, still without a plan in place.”
Verry pointed out that farmers had no problem with the whole idea of improving water quality.
“We have been busy, particularly in the last few years, with measures such as excluding stock, riparian planting and fencing off bush – you name it.
The motivation is nothing to do with the forthcoming freshwater bill or Plan Change 1. We want our families to be able to swim in these rivers, and of course we need clean water for ourselves, our farm animals and the rest of the community.”
Verry says in the last four years King Country River Care’s 160 members had made a major push toward better water quality off their own bat.
“River Care received some funding from the Government’s One Billion Trees programme before the election and we’ve put it to good use.
“Most of the work had been done on farms, though public reserves at Piopio, Āria and Mōkau had also benefitted.
“The aim was to plant 200,000 trees and we’ve exceeded that by more than 10 per cent (planting 227,715).
“We’ve partnered 149km of fencing to protect waterways and restored 80 ha of native bush.”
“The beauty of it all is that nobody has forced us to do this – we have done it willingly. And we have been free to prioritise when and what areas we put the work into.”Paul Charman reports on the work of King Country Rivercare to clean up waterways in the King Country.



Many King Country farmers are confused over the need to prepare fresh water farm plans while the coalition government adjusts legislation that will define rules such plans are to cover.

The plans, which were to be completed by mid-2025, were initiated as part of a push by successive governments. They aim to improve the “swimmability” of New Zealand rivers by reducing contaminants generated by rurally based farm runoff, plus sewage and factory waste generated closer to town.

But the brakes went on following the election, with the coalition keen to focus on risk and reduce costs to farmers.

Hence, among other changes, a relaxation of rules for keeping farm animals out of waterways and more permissive rules for intensive winter grazing are now expected.

The final set of rules covering freshwater farm plans are expected to be out soon, but a revised freshwater bill is not the only legislation many King Country farmers will have to follow in this area.

The Waikato Regional Council’s Regional Plan Change 1 has similar aims to the Government Bill, albeit with the added impetus of Treaty Settlement conditions aimed at restoring Waikato and Waipā rivers to a much better condition than they are at present.

“There has been no word on what the WRC’s final PC1 rules for fresh water will look like though there has been a lot of consultation,” King Country Rivercare’s Reon Verry said.

“We also don’t really know how Plan Change 1 will meld with the Government’s revised freshwater bill - it all just adds to the uncertainty.

“The WRC Plan Change relates back to a Treaty Settlement which sets it apart from regional water plans in other parts of the country.

Elsewhere regional councils have just been guided by the national policy statement on fresh water.

“But farmers here know that it doesn’t matter what happens in the rest of the country; we are 10 years into an 80-year-plan to restore the Waikato and Waipā rivers to an improved state, still without a plan in place.”

Verry pointed out that farmers had no problem with the whole idea of improving water quality.

“We have been busy, particularly in the last few years, with measures such as excluding stock, riparian planting and fencing off bush – you name it.

The motivation is nothing to do with the forthcoming freshwater bill or Plan Change 1. We want our families to be able to swim in these rivers, and of course we need clean water for ourselves, our farm animals and the rest of the community.”

Verry says in the last four years King Country River Care’s 160 members had made a major push toward better water quality off their own bat.

“River Care received some funding from the Government’s One Billion Trees programme before the election and we’ve put it to good use.

“Most of the work had been done on farms, though public reserves at Piopio, Āria and Mōkau had also benefitted.

“The aim was to plant 200,000 trees and we’ve exceeded that by more than 10 per cent (planting 227,715).

“We’ve partnered 149km of fencing to protect waterways and restored 80 ha of native bush.”

“The beauty of it all is that nobody has forced us to do this – we have done it willingly. And we have been free to prioritise when and what areas we put the work into.”

Rivercare takes the plunge

We have some incredible birds in New Zealand. Anyone who’s driven through the South Island has probably encountered the kea (our alpine clown) and if you’ve been lucky enough to go to Stewart Island, you’ve probably heard a few of the 20,000 kiwi inhabitants. The male has a shrill and thrilling call that cuts right through you; the female sounds like she’s throwing up. Stewart Island is rugged and wild, and it’s never been aerially poisoned with 1080, until now. ZIP (Zero Invasive Predators) poison drops are scheduled to begin in 2025.
I have to ask – why would you drop poisoned food onto an island where kiwi are thriving? Kiwi chicks are vulnerable to stoats but there are no stoats on Stewart Island. The Graf Boys (Me, and my brother Steve) have filmed a good range of birds there, including kiwi, ruru, kaka and tomtits. My brother has even produced a full-length documentary on the lives of the yellow-eyed, and the Fiordland Crested penguins, the rarest penguins in the world.
Whatever poison you drop will kill birds. Cereal baits containing 1080 or brodifacoum are food, and food is scarce in winter. The neighbouring Ulva Island brodifacoum drop in 2023 killed rats but it also killed robins, saddleback, rifleman, brown creeper, and all but one weka with chicks. The recent Wet Jacket (Fiordland) and Matukituki (Wanaka) 1080 drops killed 50% of the radio-tagged kea. Back in 2011, DOC killed 78% of monitored kea in North Okarito. An Official Information Act (OIA) response from DOC dated 6/9/24 (OIAD-4369) states that “… we expect the mortality rate of the unmonitored population to be proportionate to the monitored birds.” Paradoxically, that means DOC is killing a lot of endangered kea when they drop poison into their environment to save them.
DOC says that 1080 isn’t killing kiwi, but you have to test kiwi for 1080 to know that. In 2018, I asked for a list of dead kiwi found in Northland over a 20 year period, their cause of death, and whether they were tested for poison residues (OIA 18-E-0899/docm 5630647). Out of 740 dead kiwi, 53 were tested for anticoagulants such as brodifacoum – 37.7% were positive. Not a single one’s cause of death was listed as “pesticide”. They had only tested three kiwi in the whole of New Zealand for 1080 and none for fluorocitrate (a deadly metabolite of 1080).
This reluctance to test kiwi continues, so it was a surprise to see that two dead kiwi were tested from South Okarito in November 2022 (OIAD-4096), and that the results were positive for 1080. DOC still didn’t say 1080 killed them.
We know that invertebrates eat cereal baits, and we know that kiwi eat cereal baits and invertebrates. Either way, when you drop poisoned food from the sky, it will reach a lot of beautiful birds. It’s how the food chain works.
On a recent Breakfast show, DOC asked people not to feed the kea because feeding them novelty food items is killing them. How ironic.
When will this ecocide end, you ask? I guess, in their minds, the $80 million incentive attached to the Stewart Island project justifies the insanity.
UPDATE: DOC confirmed in July 2024 (OIAD-4096) that hundreds of dead bees were found at multiple beehives after the Arthur’s Pass 1080 poison drop in 2022, and that the bees, their pollen sacs and hive frames tested positive for 1080.


The 1080 conundrum

A white paper has warned there will be a significant transition of sheep and beef farms into pine forestry unless policies and economic signals are reconsidered.
“Why Pines?” summarises the results of four recently completed research programmes, funded by Our Land and Water.
They all found a likely increase in pine plantations on land used for sheep and beef farming.
Lead author, principal economist at NZIER and science leader at Our Land and Water, Dr Bill Kaye-Blake, said rural communities were concerned a large change to pine forestry would threaten intergenerational connections to their land.
They were also concerned that it would reduce population, employment and services in their communities, harming the health and wellbeing of those left behind.
Low lamb prices could see more land being converted to trees.
The white paper identified areas for action, including:
Policymakers should take into account the social and cultural benefits of sheep and beef farming.
Researchers and policymakers should quantify the risks and benefits of pine forestry that have not been included in computer models so far.
Policymakers should recognise benefits of native forestry. Converting highly erodible pasture to native forests should be prioritised to reduce erosion.
Policymakers should reassess the influence of climate change policy on land-use change and its impacts on communities and the sheep and beef sector.
Federated Farmers chair Waikato Reon Verry said policy settings around carbon and the carbon price were having a big effect on the price of land.
“If you think that’s a good thing because you are selling your farm – I suppose that’s fine. But long-term effects on the community like the white paper talks about – they are going to be real.
I still don’t believe there is more employment generated by a forest than a sheep and beef operation.”
Verry said a production forest generated some employment but a carbon forest did not employ a lot of people.
“No hay makers, drain diggers, shearers, vets and there is nobody living on the property so there’s nobody coming into town to spend their money. No jobs for all those agricultural industries that surround the farmland.
“Do we realise where it’s all going in 50 years time? No, only that if we carry on on this trajectory it is going to hollow out the rural communities. Carbon farming is no good to rural service centres like Piopio, Te Kūiti, Ōtorohanga or Taumarunui.
“Meat processing operations are the big industries in Te Kūiti but with all the animals gone we won’t have meat processing here. The operations have so many businesses that depend on them over and above the staff employed there.
“ There are sawmills in the King Country too, but you don’t need a sawmill to grow trees for carbon farming because it’s not in the plan to chop them down.”

The downside of carbon copies

Māori-owned dairy manufacturer Miraka has launched New Zealand’s first green hydrogen milk collection tanker.
The vehicle, a 700hp Volvo green hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel milk collection tanker, was launched at the company’s dairy plant at Mokai, northwest of Taupō.
Miraka chairman Bruce Scott said the launch marked ‘another significant milestone’ for the company, aligning with the founders’ kaitiakitanga vision and values and Miraka’s commitment to environmental care.
Company chief executive Karl Gradon said the tanker was designed to reduce milk collection CO2 emissions by about 35 per cent per vehicle.
He commended Miraka’s transport and hydrogen partners, Central Transport Ltd and Halcyon Power, for their support.
He said a year to the day before the launch, the company entered a partnership with Central Transport and Halcyon, establishing a Rural Hydrogen Hub which it hoped to expand nationwide.
“Launching our first green hydrogen dual-fuel milk collection tanker one year later is a tremendous achievement which we look forward to seeing rolled out across the fleet,” he said.
Tūaropaki Trust, a cornerstone shareholder in Miraka, provides geothermal energy and steam for the Miraka dairy plant through its Mokai Power Station.
Under a joint venture partnership with Japan’s Obayashi Corporation, Tūaropaki established Halcyon Power, New Zealand’s first commercial-scale green hydrogen plantMāori-owned dairy manufacturer Miraka has launched New Zealand’s first green hydrogen milk collection tanker.

The vehicle, a 700hp Volvo green hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel milk collection tanker, was launched at the company’s dairy plant at Mokai, northwest of Taupō.

Miraka chairman Bruce Scott said the launch marked ‘another significant milestone’ for the company, aligning with the founders’ kaitiakitanga vision and values and Miraka’s commitment to environmental care.

Company chief executive Karl Gradon said the tanker was designed to reduce milk collection CO2 emissions by about 35 per cent per vehicle.

He commended Miraka’s transport and hydrogen partners, Central Transport Ltd and Halcyon Power, for their support.

He said a year to the day before the launch, the company entered a partnership with Central Transport and Halcyon, establishing a Rural Hydrogen Hub which it hoped to expand nationwide.

“Launching our first green hydrogen dual-fuel milk collection tanker one year later is a tremendous achievement which we look forward to seeing rolled out across the fleet,” he said.

Tūaropaki Trust, a cornerstone shareholder in Miraka, provides geothermal energy and steam for the Miraka dairy plant through its Mokai Power Station.

Under a joint venture partnership with Japan’s Obayashi Corporation, Tūaropaki established Halcyon Power, New Zealand’s first commercial-scale green hydrogen plant

Miraka milk collection goes green

Livestock Improvement Corporation is taking part in a project to breed heat tolerant and disease resistant dairy cows for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Embryos bred from LIC’s pasture-based genetics will be sent to the United States, where breeding company Acceligen will perform gene edits on the stem cells. The embryos will then be transferred into dams that will give birth to gene edited sires.
The bull calves will be reared in Brazil and semen will be collected from sires sold into Sub-Saharan African markets through a developed distributor network.
The project is a collaboration with LIC, Acceligen and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which is providing more than $8 million in funding.
The government has committed to legislative change to enable the greater use of gene technologies, ending an effective ban on gene editing by the end of 2025. (See GE rules up for change, Page 11).
LIC Chief Executive David Chin said the company is looking at the science and viability of adopting such tools for New Zealand farmers.
“As an organisation, we continue to explore gene editing as a breeding technology to ensure the co-operative stays current with this area of science so we can understand how the sector may adopt it in the future,” he said.
The African initiative seeks to address food insecurity in the region by providing high-performing dairy animals to help grow sustainable dairy markets, contributing to improving human and animal welfare.
“This is a big one for LIC and we are proud to be involved,” Chin said. “Collaborating with Acceligen allows us to work with the very best in the world, whilst showcasing our advanced breeding capability to global markets.
“The initiative supports us to stay at the forefront of the latest technologies and is an opportunity to leverage international expertise with positive benefits for the dairy sector.
“As a leader in pasture-based dairy genetics and a farmer-owned co-operative, LIC supports dairy farmers to navigate their unique challenges and, in particular, provide them with the right tools to breed the most sustainable and profitable herds, now and into the future.”

LIC in cows for Africa project

The Government is set to end a 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab with new laws around gene tech.
The laws, to be introduced to parliament by the end of the year, along with a new regulator to oversee applications, will align the country’s stance on genetic modification and gene editing with Australia, which has long had its own regulator.
Five genetically modified (GM) crops have been approved for cultivation in Australia: cotton, canola, Indian mustard, banana and safflower. GM flowers have also been approved for growing or importing into Australia. Other crops are undergoing field trials.
What is envisaged for New Zealand is a dedicated business housed within the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and it would have the authority to exempt certain activities involving gene editing.
No genetically modified crops are grown commercially in New Zealand. No fresh fruit, vegetables or meat sold in New Zealand is genetically modified.
However, some processed foods may contain approved genetically modified ingredients that have been imported.
But future options to use genetic technology in response to climate change and restoring nature have been highlighted in a report from the Aotearoa Circle, a public-private partnership which says it, “aims to restore natural capital in New Zealand”.
The report, published by Price Waterhouse Coopers New Zealand, does not provide specific recommendations on the pathway the country should take with respect to gene tech, but does compare and contrast its position on the technology to that of the rest of the world.
It notes the difficulty New Zealand researchers face to meet this country’s criteria for trialling and releasing genetically modified organisms.
There are nine genetically modified food sources available in New Zealand, including GM potatoes soy, wheat, corn and rice.
New Zealand tends to sit at the extreme end of process approval in terms of caution, alongside the European Union.
Other trading partners, including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, tend towards a more moderated, tiered approach to gene tech approval.
Only Canada sits at the most liberal end of the approval spectrum, taking a “traits based” approach to the organism, regardless of the process use or change made.
Examples highlighted in the report on the tech that New Zealand could use include rapid-flowering apple trees, high condensed tannin clovers and sterile Douglas fir trees.
A shift in other countries’ regulatory environment could see the EU move towards more of a tiered risk system.
The report’s scenarios highlight some of the risks facing this country as other countries start to adopt GE.
Alignment with a more tiered risk approach could mean New Zealand retains its competitive advantage as a food producer, while non-GE products may also meet a specific market niche.
More than one commentator has pointed out that the likes of Fonterra and Zespri use “GE free” a promotional slogan.

GE: New Zealand will get in line

Turning the concept of kaitiakitanga into an international legal tool earned Justin Sobion a doctorate which he will apply in the International Court of Justice at The Hague to establish the obligations of countries to address the climate crisis – and the consequences if they don’t.
“In my doctoral studies, I was looking at the duties of states, particularly around holding the Earth in trust for future generations. So I’m a good fit to work on this case,” Sobion said.
He was awarded his PhD in law last week. His thesis is titled ‘Earth Trusteeship: A Framework for a More Effective Approach to International Environmental Law and Governance’.
Trinidad born Sobion will represent Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia in a case initiated by Vanuatu, involving 132 nations.
The eight Caribbean countries have filed written submissions at the Court of Justice for an outcome that will strengthen the region’s legal position in terms of climate loss, damage claims and negotiations.
Public hearings for the landmark case will begin on December 2, with Sobion coordinating the Caribbean submissions.
It was an article about how the Whanganui River was the first in the world to be recognised as having the same legal rights as a person which caught his attention.
It inspired the Swiss resident and United Nations employed human rights officer to embark on his doctoral studies at Auckland University.
“It was fascinating to read about this legislation that sought to protect the river and aligned with the Māori worldview that the river is a sacred living entity. It got me interested in the country, tikanga, and the legal system here,” Sobion said.
The aim of his thesis was to explore whether Earth trusteeship could provide a framework for a more effective approach to international environmental law and governance - addressing head-on the ecological crisis.
“To be a trustee means you give up some authority because you’re acting on behalf of someone else,” he said. “That’s a challenge, especially in a world where many states prioritise their own interests.

Rural

Worms the No 1 problem

Legal

Terms

Privacy

King Country News

About

Contact

King Country News, King Country Farmer and the King Country App is independently owned published by Good Local Media Ltd – also publishers of the Te Awamutu News, Cambridge News and Waikato Business News.