NZ Inc my touchstone

When Fonterra’s immediate past chair Sir Henry van der Heyden talks about life after the co-op he starts by going right back to when, as a child, he recalls conversations around his family’s kitchen table.

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  • LIC challenged on timing

    LIC is being challenged on when it knew a recessive gene was a problem for its top bull and whether that bull’s genetics should have been pulled from last season’s matings.

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  • Cheap drugs cause dilemmas

    The arrival of vet pharmacies may mean more competition and lower prices for veterinary drugs but they could also see a hike in vet service fees.

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  • Pilot programme offers certainty

    Fonterra will be using NZX’s Dairy Futures market to help it manage seasonal volatility in commodity pricing and set a guaranteed milk price for a new pilot scheme.

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  • Rural issues top of mind

    Prime Minister John Key phoned Jo Goodhew, the National MP for Rangitata, on the morning of the day he announced a raft of changes to his Cabinet in January.

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Price moves pose challenge

Structuring farming systems so farmers can take advantage of high payout years yet be protected from the low ones has become increasingly important for longer term success of farming businesses, according to ANZ rural economist Con Williams.

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Sensibly green

Reducing the environmental impact on their farm wasn’t done for “greenie” reasons according to Gordon and Dennis McFetridge. Sheryl Brown visited their farm where retiring steep land and fencing off wateways are two key strategies.

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  • Construction starts on Yili plant

    Construction is under way on a $214 million infant formula milk processing plant in South Canterbury.

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  • Weather watch for slurry spread

    Farmers need to keep a close eye on the weather forecast when they’re thinking about when to apply slurry from housed wintering facilities or standoff areas.

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  • Bunding together to manage rain

    Putting up an earthen bank and purposely flooding parts of paddocks during big rainfall events seems counterintuitive but a group of farmers around Lake Rotorua are doing just that in an effort to cut the quantity of nutrients, especially phosphorous (P), entering the lake.

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  • Community effort pays off

    Recent research into Lake Rotorua’s water quality shows improving trends that reflect the extensive investments made by the whole community, including farmers, in the catchment.

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Succeeding in the comfort zone

Farming on a knife edge is not what West Coast farmers Phil and Karen Hunter want, and their conservative approach to the business has netted them this year’s Westland Milk Products DairyBase Profitability Challenge. As they told Anne Lee, playing it safe is giving them room to move.

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  • Wisconsin wisdom

    Spending time on US dairy farms has been an eye-opener for Southland farmer Glenn Taylor. The winner of last year’s Alltech competition spent eight days touring farms off all sizes in Wisconsin, and attending the annual Alltech Global 500 event. He told Karen Trebilcock of fenceless farms, armed guards and lots of concrete.

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  • Downslope grazing cuts loss

    When combined with other simple strategic grazing practices, grazing winter crops from the top of the slope down can drastically cut sediment and nutrient loss from wintering areas according to interim findings from an AgResearch study.

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  • Landcorp revenue down

    The drought had yet to shrink milk production, which triggered a surge in dairy prices, in the period covered by Landcorp’s report on the half-year to December 31, 2012.

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  • Contract turnaround defended

    Fonterra has defended its decision to start seeking more organic suppliers outside Waikato, 18 months after announcing it would not be renewing contracts.

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Less feed, more milk

Cows that eat less but still produce the same milk? Bring it on.

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  • Make the most of milking

    Most of the 130 farmers at the milking skills workshop at Telford on March 5, found they have been putting cups on cows the wrong way.

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  • Foot ailment causes concern

    Vets believe they are beginning to find cases of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) in New Zealand.

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  • Heifer OE going strong

    Exporters of live dairy heifers to China are hopeful the trade will continue at least for the next year if not longer.

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  • Another award for ADF

    ADF Milking has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, Britain’s highest accolade for business success in the innovation category.

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Mutual understanding the aim

After benefiting from a Fonterra training course, Taranaki farmer Rob Poole decided the best way to give back to the co-operative, and his fellow shareholders, was to become more involved in the running of the business. The new Fonterra Shareholders’ Council member talked to Barbara Gillham about what he hopes to contribute.

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  • Doing it his own way

    When it comes to breeding top cows, Otorohanga farmer Tim Barclay doesn’t follow the conventional wisdom. As he told Steve Searle, he breeds for very particular characteristics, and judging by the ribbons his stock have won recently, it’s a strategy that’s working. 

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  • Dairy awards to hit Wellington

    As part of the 2013 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards the 34 finalists will compete in an amazing race style event in Wellington on Friday morning.

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  • Talking fast a full-time job

    Kevin Hart has made a career out of his voice, working as a fast-talking rural auctioneer for over 30 years and as a radio sports broadcaster on the side.

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  • ‘Who we are will never change’

    Communicating a statement of values, management objectives and goals to employees is the most critical task undertaken in order to be successful, according to Calvin Moody.

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Worth the wait

For Don and Jess Moore it was a “nailbiting wait” until almost midnight on April 5 for their names to be read out in front of 600 people as the winners of the Southland Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year.

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  • Dairy awards to hit Wellington

    As part of the 2013 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards the 34 finalists will compete in an amazing race style event in Wellington on Friday morning.

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  • Award a step up

    It could be called third time lucky for Ken Ahradsen, this year’s Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa Dairy Trainee of the Year.

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  • Job loss leads to win

    The Central Plateau Dairy Trainee of the Year owes his career in the dairy industry to his fiance.

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  • Ahead of the game

    The opportunities for progression are what attracted Manawatu/Rangitikei/Horowhenua Dairy Trainee of the Year winner Nic Verhoek into dairying.

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It’s all in the planning

While most New Zealanders soaked up the warm weather, Dairy Exporter Associate Editor Anne Lee spent the summer shivering in a UK winter investigating wintering options developed in a cold climate. 

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  • Animal health

    *Feet*

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  • Slurry cleaning systems

    Passageways or scrapeways both indoors and outside can be cleaned by automatic scrapers. Most common were hydraulic scrapers that require a raised, covered track to be installed in the centre along the length of the passageway.

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  • Effluent management

    Storing and managing the slurry from a housed cow system or scrapeways on an outdoor pad can require a significant capital outlay for storage and handling.

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  • Quantity makes the difference

    Moorepark has carried out several experiments on crop wintering diets and found that how much the cow is offered makes more difference than what it’s fed.

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Diverse income streams help dairy farmer

The Kiwi Number 8 wire mentality is well illustrated by Scott McLaren, a dairy farmer from Atiamuri who has spent many hours over many years and many thousands of dollars to come up with the Sea Dart fishing torpedo.

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Shelter provides year-round operation

North Otago dairy farmers Mark and Melanie Kingsbury wouldn’t be without their Technifarm cowhouse which has enabled them to winter milk and provide cash flow through the traditional offseason.

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  • Confidence underlies drought

    Farm sales show an underlying confidence in the future despite this year’s drought, Real Estate Institute rural market spokesman Brian Peacocke said.

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  • Opportunities abound in Southland

    A sprawling 342ha farm for sale in the heart of Southland’s lower Mataura Valley has the makings of a large-scale dairy conversion or dairy grazing possibilities.

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  • Dairy unit and runoff in one

    An almost 500ha freehold dairy property in the very popular and strong farming district of Kimbolton is for sale with Bayleys and presents an opportunity to purchase a sizeable, self-contained and productive dairy farm in an excellent location.

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  • Feedpad opens up options

    The addition of a feedpad has enabled a Waikato dairy farm to milk 12 months of the year, and it is on target to supply Open Country Dairy 110,000kg milksolids (MS) this season.

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Inventors enter the Den

As if life’s not tough enough for inventors they can now subject themselves to a Dragons’ Den style event at this year’s National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek.

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  • New vaccine for scours

    A third vaccine option is now available to protect calves from debilitating rotavirus scours. Vaccination of pregnant cows and heifers to stimulate rotavirus antibody production in the colostrum has now become common.

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  • New headbail

    How do you improve a winning formula?

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  • New design for Milk Bar

    Last season Milk Bar dabbled with 80 and 100 teat models to address the needs of large operations.

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  • Prods make their point

    Gallagher Stock Prods, which have already proved popular in Australia as a highly effective tool for keeping stock moving in cattle yards and loading ramps, are now available in New Zealand.

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