“One of the most notable trends we are seeing right now is the level of uncertainty in forward ordering, and how differently customers are responding to it,” says Joe Hardman, stockfood sales manager for J Swap Stockfoods.

Market Uncertainty Driving Farmer Decisions

The Iran-US situation remains volatile, with sentiment shifting quickly with each new headline.

Hardman says this constant flow of news is making it difficult for markets to find any real footing. He says the unpredictability around what comes next, more than the events themselves, is driving behaviour, and many farmers are acting now to secure supply and manage price risk.

“A significant portion of our market has already taken a position,” he says.

“Many customers have chosen to secure tonnage well in advance, locking in supply to manage the risk of further price increases and potential availability constraints. This early commitment reflects a growing awareness that waiting for certainty in this environment can come at a cost.”

Shipping Constraints Driving Price Pressure

A key factor underpinning the current market is the ongoing reluctance from shippers to lock in forward freight rates.

Hardman says, with volatility still present across global shipping lanes, many carriers are hesitant to commit to fixed pricing too far out, preferring to “keep optionality rather than risk being caught on the wrong side of further market movement”.

“This hesitation is flowing directly into forward product pricing,” he says. “Without firm freight locked in, our suppliers are having to price in a level of risk, which is keeping forward values elevated.”

In simple terms, until shipping costs become more predictable and shippers are willing to commit, it’s unlikely we’ll see any meaningful softening in forward pricing, he says.

“Our approach remains focused on transparency and communication. We will continue to provide up to date insights as the market evolves, along with clear pricing signals where we have them. For customers still considering their position, the key is balancing risk, weighing the cost of committing now against the potential exposure of waiting.

“There is no one-size fits all answer in this market, but doing nothing is increasingly becoming a decision in itself.”

Owned by Rimanui Farms Limited, the original Erewhon Station was purchased in 1992, followed by Springdale in 1994. From 1996 to 2005, both units were run as one, before some of Erewhon was absorbed by Springvale, resulting in the two blocks that operate today.

Erewhon is currently 3600 effective hectares, with 60% to the north and 40% south of the highway. The contour is described as 30% steep hill, 40% medium hill country and the remainder dubbed as easy land.

The main buildings are located at 850 metres above sea level, the northern ‘flats’ sitting at around 500 metres, with the highest point at 1000m. Annual rainfall is a rather surprising 850mm, explained by living in the shadow of the mountain. The majority of stock water is collected via dams and waterways, with a small part of the property having access to reticulated water.

Winters are described as tough, lasting a full 150 days from May 1st to 30th September, with pasture growth averaging 10 kgDM per day.

Erewhon is managed by James Maher, one of nine staff, including a stock manager, four single shepherds, two general farm workers and a cook. The team is complemented by a farm technician who operates across the company’s three Taihape properties, alongside casual labour brought in as necessary.

James says winters can be brutal, “while we also have to deal with the unique shape of the station, that means stock may have to walk up to 12km, to the central, single woolshed for shearing, as using trucks is not practical given the hilly topography”.

Due to a pasture deficit over winter, great emphasis is placed on May 1st pasture covers alongside a strong reliance on accurate feed budgeting of winter crops and bought-in supplements.

Typically, a tough winter is followed, in James’ words, “by an explosive spring, that means we have high winter stocking rates to take advantage of the spring flush, both in terms of feed utilisation and maintaining pasture quality”. Currently, that winter stocking rate sits at 11.5 SU/ha.

Erewhon’s sheep operation sees 5000 “B” ewes and 6-year olds covered by Rimanui-bred Suftex rams on 1st April, 7000 “A” ewes covered by Pahiwi Romsey rams on 29th April and 4500 two-tooths mated to Pahiwi-Romney cross rams on 29th April. Finally, 5000 replacement hoggets are weighed in May, with around 3500 animals of more than 42kg mated to Suflex rams around the middle of the month.

Lambing performance across all MA and two-tooths consistently sits at 145-150% to the ram, while hogget performance sits at 80%. Overall production sees around 22,000 trade lambs, alongside 5000 replacements. Stores versus prime numbers depends on feed levels, as well as store price levels, but typically the target is to finish between 60 and 80% of animals at 18kg before the start of May, when all lambs need to be away from the property.

Looking at shearing, ewes are shorn once a year in late January, lambs are shorn in February, then hoggets are shorn again in early September. Two-tooth animals are shorn in late March, then eventually fit into the typical shearing rotation.

On the cattle front, 1300 in-calf Angus cattle are over-wintered, made up of 250 R2 first-calving heifers and 1050 MA cows. These numbers include a fully recorded stud herd, including 270 females that are synchronised for AI annually. 70 bulls are sold to the other Rimanui farms as yearling or R2s in May, as well as 15 bulls retained for commercial use at Erewhon.

All steers are finished between 2 to 2.5 years old at a target carcase weight of 315kg. Replacement heifers for the herd are selected using modern genomic technology, while all surplus heifers are sold as stores in autumn.

Pasture Management

Cropping and supplementary feed sees around 80ha of a swede/kale mix grown for winter feed, complemented by 40ha of straight kale for winter feed, but with the option of summer grazing for lambs as required. 80ha of Raphno - the kale and radish hybrid - is used for lamb feed through summer, then locked up for winter feed. Currently, the farm is trialling plantain for improved feed quality and volumes at either end of the season.

New grass cultivators are drilled depending on how individual paddocks fit into the overall rotation. 150ha of pasture is cut for baleage or clamp in December, while around 100 tonnes of palm kernel is fed as a supplement to two-year old steers.

The station fertiliser policy comprises of a DAP application if, as James explains, “it warms up early enough”, followed by between 30 to 40kg of nitrogen, depending on price, applied by plane using a nearby airstrip.

Pasture management also use a “chemical topping technique” using low-dose glyphosate applied in early November, when cover levels sit at 1200 to 1300kg DM/ha, knocking grass growth back, but promoting improved clover growth, providing valuable feed reserves two months later in January for weaning.

“We have to use a reasonable amount of nitrogen to grow the grass we need, while our greatest agronomy challenge is dealing with thistles,” says James. “Without a doubt, throughout the year our planning is always focused at looking 90 days ahead, with a need to ensure we set up the next block of feed, which in turn then drives all our selling decisions.”

She was in NZ recently as a keynote speaker at Massey University’s Farmed Landscape Research Centre Conference. While in NZ she was looking at how we are developing farmer-run catchment groups which Ireland is in the process of setting up.

Ryan is a specialist in agricultural economics and works for Teagasc – the Irish agricultural research organisation based near Galway in the west of Ireland.

She says Ireland and NZ have very similar issues with nitrates leaching into lighter soils in the east of the country. But she says they have overland flow, phosphorus, sediment and pesticides that largely happens in the poorer, heavier soils and steeper country in the west coast of the Ireland where there is much more organic matter such as peat. These soils retain a lot of moisture which leads to overland flow.

The EU sets the standards that member countries must achieve, but how they do this is left to the individual country. The issue for Ireland, says Dr Ryan, is similar to NZ – ensuring higher quality waterways and looking at ways of doing this. Obvious options include stock exclusion and reducing pollutants on the land.

Ireland has identified 97 priority catchments that need special attention and it’s to these that scientists are sent to determine the cause of the problem and the associated risks. Their findings are passed on to a group of Agricultural Sustainability, Support and Advisory Programme advisors (ASSAP) whose role is to engage with the farmer to get them to deal with any problem.

“Firstly, the ASSAP advisor prepares a dedicated farm plan, where they look at what’s happening in farmers’ yards and where the risks are, what is happening terms of nutrient management planning and seeing if they can they pull back in the application of chemical fertilisers.

“They also look to see if the farmer needs more storage for slurry, because in Ireland, we house animals the winter and sometimes we have very wet land coming out of the winter, so it’s not always possible to get slurry out into the land,” she says.

Ryan says having got all this data, the onus is now on the farmer to decide what mitigation strategies to adopt. While advisors can advise, she says the more effective way is to involve what “champion farmers” – highly successful, innovative and respected farmers who help and mentor other farmers to make appropriate changes.

“The advisors do a dedicated farm plan in which they look at what’s happening in farmers yard and where the risks are,” she says.

Ryan says the farm plan is free, but the farmers don’t get any money for the mitigation work; that’s where the challenge begins and where the role of ‘champion farmers’ becomes important. She says in the first instance they are the ones most likely to understand the complexity of the issues and know that they have the wherewithal to do what is required.

“Those who feel that they may not do a good job and are fearful of what their fellow farmers may say about them are less likely to get involved at the beginning. So, they will look to someone they respect and who is already doing the work well to motivate them to give it a go,” she says.

Ryan adds that the most successful farmer champions in influencing others are locals, not someone a hundred kilometres away who the local farmers don’t know. She says getting the local expert out on site and explaining the issues they’ve had to deal with, and the associated costs, is the best way of effecting the change in farmer behaviour on environmental issues.

Catchment Groups

Dr Mary Ryan says there is a strong move in Ireland to develop catchment groups which are organised and led by farmers.

She says one of the reasons for coming to NZ was to see how our farmer-led catchment groups are run and how effective they are.

Ryan says it is critical to make sure these are farmer led and well run but supported by scientists and other rural professionals.

She says in Ireland dairy farmers have taken the initiative and set up their own effective systems of dealing with environmental issues on their farms and are not claiming any government money to this. Ryan says they have access to catchment maps and are monitoring water quality themselves

While in NZ, Ryan has spent time talking to catchment groups in both the North and South Island.

“In the Manawatu I saw Dr Margaret Brown, who is a scientist and a very successful farmer and who’s involved in a very successful catchment group. In the South Island it was about going to Canterbury and meeting catchment groups in the upland regions,” she says.

Ryan says the visit to NZ was very successful and the research being carried out in Ireland and NZ is very complementary. She says by sharing information, they are able to progress research much faster for the benefit of both countries.

That’s the strong advice from Julie Clark, a Rural Contractors New Zealand (RCNZ ) board member, who with her husband John runs a contracting business in Ōtorohanga which  was hit hard in February’s flood.

The company is now amid the maize harvest as well as undersowing, spraying and ground cultivation.

Julie says it’s been a very busy few weeks for her staff after the mid-February deluge saw up to 300 millimetres of rain dropped on the town in a few hours.

John and their son Matthew both drove tractors around midnight on Friday February 13 to rescue family and friends from the rising flood waters and returned them to their home on Kio Kio Station Rd in water about 1.5m deep.

At dawn, they were all evacuated to higher ground with the water having reached 1m high in their nearby workshop.

Julie rang her local insurance agent on the Saturday morning and started lodging multiple claims for the couple’s own home, that of their son, workshop contents and stock, cars and machinery.

She asked the agent who was away in the South Island, to come on Monday to see the damage. He was later supported by two assessors. In the interim she took photos.

“We had a dozen of our 15 tractors affected with four having to be transported to town. The staff from Giltrap AgriZone and Waikato Tractors were great in getting the gear sorted and mobile.”

The repair costs started at $5,000. One vehicle was written off as was anything electrical in the workshop. In the compound, hay and silage wrap was lost among other stock.

Julie and John have been on the property for 30 years and considered they were outside any flood risk.

“If you’d asked me if I would have a claim on a flood, I would have laughed at you.”

The flooded farm.

Now her insurer is working through seven different claims. She is grateful the company has, at her request, appointed a dedicated person to work with her rather than having to deal with multiple staff.

Julie says the total cost will run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and she expects most, though not all of this, will be covered.

She says rural contractors need to check they have full, comprehensive insurance.

“While it’s been a very trying time, we’ve had the support of our family and our friends. Our staff have also been amazing with all the hard work they put in cleaning up the damage.

“We also knew we had full cover with an insurer we’ve been with for a long time. Without all that, we’d have been knocked flat rather than being up and running again.

“I’m urging all RCNZ members to dig out that policy and check it gives you the cover you might need.”

The UK Agri-Tech Centre’s Global Growth Accelerator will introduce a select group of UK dairy and livestock innovators to New Zealand, where their technologies will be piloted directly on local farms through FIN’s nationwide network of progressive farmers.

Delivered by the UK Agri-Tech Centre, and in collaboration with Agnition Ventures and AgriTech New Zealand, the programme creates a new international pathway for promising agritech solutions to be validated in one of the world’s most advanced pasture-based farming environments.

For New Zealand farmers, the programme provides early access to emerging technologies not yet available locally, with supported pilot trials allowing farmers to test innovations with minimal risk while helping shape products through realworld feedback. These technologies have already proven themselves on UK farms, delivering both technical performance and real on-farm value. Now UK companies are bringing them to NZ to pilot in local conditions, work directly with farmers, and refine them for our farming systems before broader rollout.

It also leverages the counter-seasonality between the UK and New Zealand, enabling innovators to continue testing technologies year-round and accelerating development cycles that would otherwise stall during the northern hemisphere off-season.

Jasper van Halder, chief executive of Agnition Ventures and chief innovation officer at Ravensdown, said the programme highlights the important role New Zealand farmers play in shaping the next generation of agricultural technology.

Recent master’s research by Theané de Klerk analysed New Zealand’s national agricultural phosphorus (P) budget and found that overall, fertiliser use is closely aligned with the amount needed to maintain soil fertility.

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient used in fertilisers to support pasture and crop growth, but excessive amounts can contribute to environmental challenges if not carefully managed.

During the 2021/2022 production season, about 143,000 tonnes of phosphorus fertiliser was applied to agricultural land nationwide. This compares with an estimated 157,000 tonnes required to maintain soil phosphorus levels, indicating a relatively balanced national picture.

“While my research only represents a single-season snapshot, the findings are encouraging for farmers, showing that the shift towards sustainable nutrient management has been worthwhile," de Klerk says.  "It reflects the effort farmers have put into managing nutrients carefully.”

While the overall amount of phosphorus being applied through fertiliser is broadly similar to the amount needed to maintain soil fertility, the research also found differences between farming sectors.

The dairy sector tended to apply slightly more phosphorus fertiliser than required, resulting in a small accumulation of soil phosphorus of around three kilograms per hectare per year.

In contrast, the sheep and beef sector generally applied less fertiliser than required, resulting in a small decline of about two kilograms per hectare per year, which over time could result in some production losses for this sector.

De Klerk says that continued attention to nutrient management will be important to maintain this balance.

“There’s still room for improvement. Applying too much fertiliser in some areas can lead to phosphorus accumulation, while applying too little in others can gradually reduce soil fertility.”

The research relied heavily on industry data from organisations including DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand. Limited data availability meant the analysis of the cropping and horticultural sectors was less detailed than that of pastoral farming.

De Klerk says she hopes the research will help inform future nutrient management decisions across the sector.

“Understanding how much phosphorus our soils actually need helps farmers apply fertiliser more efficiently, supporting both farm productivity and environmental sustainability.”

Now that her research is completed, de Klerk plans to pursue a career in sustainable nutrient management, working with farmers to improve the use of phosphorus and other key nutrients on farms.

De Klerk’s research was funded by the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand and was supervised by Associate Professor Lucy Burkitt, Dr James Hanly and Professor Peter Tozer of Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, and Dr Katrina Macintosh of DairyNZ.

Across New Zealand, we apply more than two million tonnes of nutrients each year, vital to enable our food and fibre exports. It's simply not a cost line farmers and growers can afford to get wrong.

One question we don't always ask is, is it landing in the best way to maximise return? When it comes to nutrients, that could be the difference between investing well and potentially leaving money sitting in the paddock. If the bout width is too wide for the product and spreader combination, you create stripes, where some areas are underfed and others overfed. The paddock might look green overall, but the performance underneath tells a different story.

Variation can lead to poor yield

Research shows that as spreading variability increases, yield losses climb rapidly. One of the most comprehensive multi-year studies published about this topic was in 1999 by the Grassland Association and it showed at a coefficient of variation (CV) of 30-40%, nitrogren applied to ryegrass seed crops resulted in significant production losses.

In pasture systems, these effects compound over time. With phosphate and sulphur, uneven spreading repeated year after year led to mounting economic losses by year three, particularly in dairy and sheep and beef systems. In other words, stripes might not hurt much in year one, but they'll soon add up.

Let's put that into farm terms

At a CV of 10-15%, losses are small. Push that out to 30-40% and the lost dry matter and the revenue attached to it grows sharply. For the Waikato dairy pastures featured in the study, uneven P and S applications at a 40% CV resulted in more than $110/ha in annual loss by year five, which would be a lot higher today if we account for inflation and milk prices.

That shows bout width, product quality and calibration need to all interact together to work, and if one of those elements are off, accuracy and profitability suffer.

Why bout width is the lever you control

A fertiliser granule placed into a spreader behaves like a projectile. If you’re using larger particle size or a higher bulk density, it throws further. If you’re using finer less dense particles, they won’t throw as far. Well granulated compounds typically achieve wider effective bout widths compared with dusty or blended products.

Think of it like using a golf club to hit a golf ball versus a ping pong ball. The club can have the same swing, but vastly different outcomes of where the ball lands because of the density of the ball.

A blend won’t behave the same as a compound, or a lime compared with a granulated fertiliser. Even changes in dustiness or granule hardness affect spread pattern.

Yet too often bout widths stay fixed out of habit.

Pasture responses to nitrogen are relatively linear, meaning some unevenness can self-compensate in total dry matter. You might see stripes, but total yield loss may appear modest in the short term.

However, phosphorus and sulphur are different. When soil fertility is marginal, underfed strips underperform year after year. Overfed strips can’t compensate fully because plants can only use so much at once. And the result? Cumulative losses.

Calibration an investment, not a cost

Spreader calibration costs are modest, often measured in cents per hectare, and correct calibration can even increase effective bout width, reduce paddock time and improve spreading efficiency.

We should also acknowledge the skill of spreaders who work with different products, landscapes and conditions every day, developing a practical understanding of how fertiliser behaves.

Warwick Catto, is science strategy manager Ballance Agri-Nutrients

Hybrid plants are now growing in a Palmerston North greenhouse - the first time this notoriously difficult pairing had produced viable seed, despite decades of international effort.

Researchers say the result won’t change pastures overnight, but it could eventually open new pathways to grasses that are more resilient, more nutritious, and better suited to a changing climate.

Cocksfoot and ryegrass are two foundational species in New Zealand agriculture. Cocksfoot offers drought tolerance and persistence; ryegrass provides high feed quality and ease of establishment. For years, breeders have tried to combine their strengths, but the two species are so distantly related that traditional hybridisation repeatedly failed.

Although Japanese and German researchers in the 1990s did manage to produce some plants, nearly 4000 previous attempts resulted in hybrids that were weak, infertile, and unable to produce viable seed. The prevailing scientific view became that the barrier was simply too high to overcome without a much deeper understanding of the biology involved.

That deeper understanding came from Bioeconomy Science Institute scientist, Dr Wajid Hussain, who drew on years of experience working on complex clover crosses. By applying new strategies to navigate the long-standing biological barriers, the team achieved what earlier generations of scientists could not.

The breakthrough came late last year.

“This has been an incredibly risky and technically challenging process but immensely satisfying for the large number of people involved,” says Hussain.

“We now have enough of the hybrids to show the method works and to open the door to the next wave of scientific exploration.”

The “neonatal care unit” for plants

The key to success was a specialised technique known as embryo rescue.

When cocksfoot and ryegrass are crossed, an embryo may form, but the seed’s endosperm - the natural food source - does not. Without that nourishment, the embryo cannot survive.

Before that could happen, the team delicately removed the tiny embryo and transferred it onto an artificial nutrient medium, effectively placing it into a controlled, plant scale equivalent of neonatal intensive care. With this support, the embryo developed into a viable plant and, remarkably, later produced fertile seed.

Why this matters – eventually - for farmers

Researchers are quick to temper expectations.

These plants are a proof of concept, not a commercial product. The hybrid’s traits are not yet optimised for paddock conditions, and further study is needed to understand how best to harness the advantages of combining two species that have never successfully hybridised in nature.

Work will now shift to stabilising fertility, assessing agronomic traits, and developing later generation hybrids, including a planned three-species grass hybrid.

If successful, the research could produce pre breeding material for commercial seed companies in the future. But scientists emphasise that the pathway from breakthrough to farm gate will take time.

Bioeconomy Science Institute Plant Genetics Science Team Leader, Dr Marty Faville, explains: “Good science, as they say, requires careful validation, multiple generations of refinement, and ongoing collaboration with farmers and breeders. But this is an exciting development and a career highlight for many in the team.”

A breakthrough worth watching

Even at this early stage, the achievement is generating interest from pastoral farmers and international research groups. Future development will be supported by Grasslanz Technology, which will explore commercial pathways to help ensure the science ultimately delivers benefits on farm.

The work will also be submitted for publication in a scientific journal.

For agriculture, any advance with the potential to combine improved feed quality and stronger tolerance to climatic stress is worth attention.

For science, this breakthrough opens a door long believed to be locked.

A hard grazing in March will open up the pasture, particularly after such a growthy season, and aid the germination of oversown subterranean (sub) clover seed.

If necessary, herbicide can also be used to reduce drymatter before broadcasting or drilling seed, it says. 

Ideally, the seed should be oversown, direct-drilled or broadcast at 10 kg/ha and fertiliser applied if required.

Legumes need a soil pH greater than 5.5, an Olsen P of over 15 and sulphate-S of over 8. 

Germination is triggered by rainfall of over 20mm. Once germination has occurred, the area should be spelled to allow establishment and the seedlings to reach the trifoliate leaf stage. 

Over winter, the area can be lightly grazed, preferably by cattle, to keep the pasture at around 2000 kg DM/ha. This ensures the clover is not shaded. The area can then be used for lambing ewes before being shut up to allow reseeding in late spring. 

Establishment methods 

Because clover seed has adapted to germinate from seed burrs buried in the top 10mm of soil, drilling is the ideal method of establishment. 

Success from broadcasting seed is more weather dependent and the best results are seen when seed is spread just before a prolonged wet spell in March or April, this can be difficult to predict. Immediately after broadcasting, stock can be used to trample the seed into the ground. 

Rates and mixes 

The recommended sowing rate of 10 kg/ha will generate about 100 established sub clover plants per metre square. 

 The best way to quickly build a large sub clover seed bank is to sow the clover alone or reduce grass seed rates down to under half of what would normally be used (e.g. 8-10 kg/ha of perennial ryegrass or 2 kg/ha of cocksfoot and plantain). 

Alternatively, sub clover could be sown with rape (at 1 kg/ha or less if the soil is fertile) as the brassica will act as a nurse crop for the clover and provide a couple of grazings over winter. 

Grass can be over-drilled the following autumn, after the sub clover has set-seed. 

Cultivars 

Sub clover cultivars vary considerably in flowering dates, leaf size, pest and disease tolerance and hardseedness, so a mix of at least two complementary cultivars will compensate for site and climate variability. Luisetti Seeds has a range of sub clovers available, including Puawhaa, a variety bred specifically for New Zealand hill country environments.

As a rule of thumb, earlier flowering cultivars are better suited to low rainfall areas (under 500mm) whereas later flowering cultivars are adapted to higher rainfall areas (over 700mm). 

The event, running from 19-21 March, is one of the largest agri-sector gatherings in the country.

You'll find the team at Site G31/G32, where B+LNZ will be located alongside DairyNZ and Federated Farmers. The shared site reflects a growing emphasis on partnership across the primary sector, ensuring farmers can access a wide range of trusted expertise and practical resources all in one place.

Across 19-20 March, the B+LNZ team will be on hand to discuss tools, technology and opportunities that support profitable, resilient farming. Alongside members from the extension team, visitors will also be able to chat with B+LNZ Farmer Councillors and local Director Andrew Stewart.

B+LNZ's Wormwise programme manager Ginny Dodunski will also be onsite with liver specimens showcasing the impacts of facial eczema - an opportunity for farmers to see first hand the importance of proactive parasite management.

A key highlight on Thursday 19 March is a Dairy Beef presentation at 11am, followed by the return of the crowd-favourite Tug of War at 3pm - always a popular moment of fun and camaraderie among exhibitors and visitors.

On Friday 20 March, B+LNZ will take part in a panel discussion with industry leaders at 11am, exploring the big opportunities and challenges shaping the sector.

Read More:

• Tickets available for Beef + Lamb NZ's Out the Gate 2026
• Drench resistance already impacting NZ farm profits
• Helping protect sheep from parasites

Mikaela Franks, B+LNZ extension manager - Western North Island, says she's looking forward to connecting with farmers and getting a good understanding of what is top of mind for farmers so that we can get ideas and provide quality events to levy payers.

"Field Days are always a great opportunity to connect with farmers, hear what's on their minds and answer their questions. It's incredibly valuable for us to understand what's top of mind so we can shape relevant, quality events for levy payers."

"Having B+LNZ, DairyNZ and Federated Farmers together is a great opportunity to show farmers we're collaborating for greater impact. It means people can access the support and information they need quickly and in one place," says Franks.

B+LNZ warmly welcomes all attendees to drop by, grab some resources and have a chat. Whether you're seeking advice, wanting to connect with sector experts, or simply passing through, the team would love to see you at Site G31/G32.

Article - Beef + Lamb NZ

McGehan farms 135ha in the Scotsman Valley and runs a crossbred herd of 400 cows, fitted with collars, on a System 3-4 operation.

The herd is on track to achieve record production of around 185,000 kgMS for the season after he dropped beef genetics in favour of short-gestation semen at mating. The move significantly tightened the herd's calving spread to 92% of the cows calving in the first six weeks.

For his re-grassing programme, he looks closely at the National Forage Variety Trials (NFVT) data and also considers feedback from his network before choosing specific cultivars that will deliver the high-quality feed he needs at critical times in the season, to maintain cow condition and production.

A large area of the farm previously had whey spread on it which boosted soil fertility to very high levels.

"Our strategy is to pull some of the levels down because they can be a challenge, particularly potassium levels on the effluent blocks," he says.

The original effluent block is being continually cropped, followed by an annual grass to lower its fertility to more sensible levels.

"We're trying to get 30 tonnes/ha average of forage off those paddocks but this can be a challenge because we are direct drilling maize to preserve the soil structure, because it's also the main area for our springer cows," he says.

"In total, we're doing around 20-22ha of summer crop each year and I'm probably under-sowing another 20-30ha on the dairy platform."

By selecting proprietary cultivars off the NFVT list for his region, he can consider which ryegrass options best suit individual paddocks, depending on a range of criteria, including soil type, contour, damage, and aspect.

"Because we're now calving over a much shorter period of time, we're startign to use more of the early-headng ryegrass varieties, and there are some good ones out there at the moment," he says.

Another example of dialling in cultivars is a leased block of rolling clay country at the reat of the farm which is exposed to the westerly wind and prone to drying out.

"Down there, we've been using a fescue hybrid that seems hardier and drought tolerant."

One area of the farm can flood after heavy rain, so Mike adopts a specific strategy for any regrassing where he is prepared to use lower-value seed options.

"I've experimented with different options on the area that can get wet in a big rain event, but I definitely wouldn't use low-cost seed in other areas where I expect it to be in grass for a long time."

He admits that having his own drill means he is more inclined to try different options in the same paddock to see what works best.

"I'm still targeting a kind of grass that I want for that particular paddock so we are able to utilise it best at the time of year it's required."

Once a cultivar decision is made, timing of sowing is critical to maximising pasture growth and future milk production. He always aims to get at least one grazing in before winter.

Gaps in pasture supply are filled with bought-in feed and a combination of maize grown on the property.

"Apart from pasture, we're also typically feeding between 500-800 kg/cow of meal blend, which is mostly palm kernel, and we grow around 250-300 tonnes of maize silage each year on the farm," he says.

He uses farm maps to keep track of his drilling plan through the seasons, so he knows what is sown in each paddock in his re-grassing or cropping programme.

"The hard part is, when the companies are bringing new grasses out every few years, I have to try them all out!"

To access the latest National Forage Variety Trial results for any region, visit the PBRA website.

That the message from Professor Paul Kenyon who heads the Massey School and who recently returned from Ireland, where he spent three weeks at UCD in Dublin and the Irish agriculture research organisation Teagasc – one of its main sheep research stations – at Athenry near Galway city.

Kenyon’s trip was funded by the European Union and was part of a special exchange programme for academic staff and postgraduate students from the two agricultural universities.

Kenyon says for academic staff, it’s about teaching undergraduate students, and for post graduate students, it’s about spending time studying in each other’s country to understand their respective agricultural production systems and university life.

“So, I taught some undergrads and post grads at UCD in Dublin, plus I went and talked to academic staff about areas in which we have similarities in terms of interacting with high schools to attract students into our respective courses to meet current students and industry demands,” he says.

Kenyon says the second part of the trip was about collaborative research and seeing other sheep and beef projects underway in Ireland. He says Massey and UCD already have collaborate programmes running, in particular with Professor Tommy Boland of UCD who’s been to NZ many times.

Kenyon says he was keen to learn about what programmes – especially of a commercial nature –

UCD is involved at its Lyons research farm just out of Dublin and the Teagasc research station.

“At Athenry, I spent time with an Irish PhD student that I co-supervise in conjunction with UCD who’s looking at pasture swards and the use of greater levels of clover. I had a good chat to her and then I took the opportunity to look at more opportunities for collaboration between the two countries,” he says.

Joint Research

Ireland and NZ have much in common; both have pastoral-based systems and have to deal with similar issues in the environmental and animal production space. Paul Kenyon says that both countries can learn a lot from each other by greater collaboration.

“The advantage of working collaboratively [is] that we can do research faster because we operate in different hemispheres and effectively get two springs within the space of 12 months,” he says.

A big part of Kenyon’s Ireland trip was to firm up a student exchange programme between UCD and Massey. He says four Irish PhD students will spend three or four months at Massey and a NZ student will be going to UCD and their Lyons research farm early this year.

Kenyon says one of the roles of his trip has been to connect people in UCD and other organisations, many of whom were not directly related to the specific aims of this trip.

“I forged linkages and collaborations that hopefully others will take up for the benefit of both countries,” he says.

The big end game in this collaboration programme is to source funding for future research. Professor Kenyon says there are international funding bodies who are looking to invest in collaborative research – especially if the partners are from different hemispheres. He says both UCD and Massey, both leading agricultural universities in their respective countries, are keen to tap into these funding sources and understand what each is doing to ensure that high quality bids for funding are made.

While this can increase the total number of lambs weaned and boost farm revenue, it doesn’t automatically mean greater profitability. Success depends on careful planning and management.

If you’re thinking about breeding hoggets, now is the time to have well-developed plan to maximise the chance
of pregnancy and healthy lambs.

Key considerations:

• Target weight and condition: Hoggets should be close to 70% of their expected mature weight before mating, or at minimum 65%. You can use the four-tooth ewe weight as a proxy for mature weight. Body condition scores of 2.5 or above are also recommended. Monitoring liveweights and adjusting feed levels now can make a significant difference.
• Animal health: Work with your local veterinarian to ensure a robust animal health plan, including vaccinations, is in in place.
• Encouraging cycling: Encourage cycling by introducing vasectomised “teaser” rams 17 days before breeding. Well-grown hoggets may benefit from an even earlier teaser exposure, for example, 34 or 51 days before mating. It is advised to use a teaser-to-hogget ratio of 1:100.
• Ram introduction: Use mature rams in smaller paddocks, at a ratio of 1:50, since hoggets are shy breeders. Avoid ram genotypes that produce large lambs, as hoggets have an increased risk of birthing difficulties.

The most common challenge with hogget breeding is ensuring sufficient feed. Hoggets need to continue growing during pregnancy, gaining at least 130 grams per day to maximise lamb survival and maintain their suitability for rebreeding as two tooths.

Massey University modelling shows that, in many cases, farmers can adjust mature ewe numbers to maintain feed availability and still improve profitability by breeding hoggets. However, research also indicates that if mature ewe weaning percentages are below 150%, it may be better to focus on improving mature ewe performance before introducing hogget breeding.

Our research at Massey underscores the importance of evidence-based decision-making in agriculture. While high lamb prices are tempting, breeding ewe hoggets can be a profitable way to increase farm productivity but only if done carefully, with proper feed, animal health and overall farm management.

Professor Paul Kenyon is the Head of the School of Agriculture and Environment, and a Professor in Sheep Husbandry at Massey University.

Chief executive Campbell Parker and deputy chair Cam Henderson will be at the DairyNZ stand, along with DairyNZ's regional team.

DairyNZ lower South Island regional manager Jared Stokman says it's a great opportunity for farmers to catch up with DairyNZ staff and chat about priorities in the region.

"We've attended several Southern Field Days, and the event is a great opportunity to engage with farmers at a farm-focused event and have more constructive conversations with those in the industry. The format of the event allows us to have more in-depth and detailed discussions with farmers about issues they think we should focus on," he says.

"We will be showcasing some of our farmer tools and resources, which have been developed with DairyNZ's research and farm systems expertise, to support success on farm.

"Campbell and Cam can also answer any queires around how the levy is invested and the upcoming Milksolids Levy."

The Milksolids Levy is the primary source of funding for DairyNZ's work. This vote is an opportunity to reflect on the value delivered through levy-funded initiatives and to reaffirm support for ongoing investment. Voting will open on 16 February and run through until 13 March.

Read More:

• Shared knowledge is our advantage so let's vote together
• Dairy sector profit still on the table, but margin gap tightens
• We must keep our foot on the pedal

Big year in Southland

DairyNZ is facilitating a range of events over 2026 in Southland and Otago including field days, workshops, and farmer discussion groups.

These regional events provide farmers with greater access to our scientists, experts and our research, with a focus on farm systems application, while continuing to support farmers to connect with other farmers in their local region.

Meet us there

Come along to learn more about DairyNZ and what we are doing to support your farm's future. We look forward to seeing you there.

Its work to improve propagation and increase the production of indigenous species in nurseries was the focus of a journal article published in 2025. This work investigated the impact of container grade size on the survival and field performance of 12 key native species - to better understand the link between containers and post-planting seedling survival and growth performance.

The study saw the Bioeconomy Science Institute team raise seedlings from the selected species in different container sizes and test how they performed in good-, average- or poor-quality sites. It was a collaborative effort with Te Uru Rākau - New Zealand Forest Service, Minginui Nursery, CNI Iwi Land Management, the Tumunui Land Trust, Timberlands, Rotorua Lakes Council and the Tipu Waiariki Charitable Trust (Tipu Wai), which provided the sites and helped with preparation and planting.

Industry-standard pots used for natives were compared with bigger containers such as 7cm and 8cm paper Ellepots and smaller forestry-grade pots. The effect of differences in the type of container were monitored to determine the impact on survival rates and tree growth across sites.

Programme lead David Siqueira says results showed variable patterns depending on tree species, container size and the quality of the respective planting sites. “Some species, such as manuka (Leptospermum scoparium), survived and grew well (>75%), even when raised in small containers, while others such as kowhai (Sophora microphylla) had low survival rates (< 5%), even when raised in revegetation container grade sizes.”

Other species such as cabbage tree (Cordyline australis) and totara (Podocarpus totara) appeared to depend more on site quality.

“The results show the importance of aligning the choice of container grade size to the needs of individual species and planting purpose,” Siqueira says.

“Nursery container systems for raising New Zealand native plants should be chosen based on the biology of the species, nursery management practices, quality of the planting site and a balance between cost and benefit for each situation.”

Nurseries have traditionally used large containers to successfully establish native species, but this means the trees take longer to grow – making this approach costly and labour-intensive at the planting stage. It also limits the rate of establishment.

“The conventional approach of sowing native seed, setting out and then growing in containers takes 12-36 months, adding significantly to native tree establishment costs over typical New Zealand-grown exotic forest trees,” Siqueira says.

“By enhancing our understanding of how container size affects native tree growth when planted in sites of varying qualities, we hope this research will result in more fit-for-purpose natives being raised in nurseries to generate our thriving future forests – conserving New Zealand’s biodiversity and contributing to the mitigation of climate change.”

RRCC now supports 24 sub-catchment groups and more than 110 water-quality monitoring sites across the Rangitīkei, Turakina and Whangaehu river catchments – a network that continues to grow.  

Established in 2017, the farmer led RRCC is focussed on understanding and improving  water quality and ecology in local waterways.

Landowners have consistently sampled river and stream sites, on a monthly basis, for between one and seven years, with newer sites continuing to be added, creating one of the most robust and comprehensive long-term freshwater datasets in the Horizons Region.

Sampling tracks key water quality indicators of suspended fine sediment (turbidity), nutrients (ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and dissolved reactive phosphorous), and pathogens (E. coli). This data provides a valuable picture of stream health in catchments that were previously largely unmonitored.

“Parts of the Rangitīkei River and its tributaries are popular with anglers for their clear waters and abundant rainbow trout population, and our monitoring helps us understand what’s supporting that,” Dalrymple says.

Supported by Ministry for Primary Industries Catchment Extension Services Funding, all monthly samples are analysed by Central Environment Laboratories in Palmerston North, with independent assessment of the results by Traverse Environmental. Results are compared between sites and against National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management attributes and Horizons One Plan targets.  

This provides landowners with a clear picture of how their local streams are tracking.

Overall, plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations suggest a generally low risk of nuisance periphyton growth across many mainstem and tributary sites.

However, the monitoring results also revealed some unexpected finding . Several “reference sites” – with predominantly natural land cover – did not meet One Plan targets for suspended fine sediment and plant available phosphorus.

This has also been found in some other New Zealand waterways and indicates that elevated dissolved reactive phosphorous (DRP) is not always solely related to land use. Urban run-off, road run-off, wastewater, natural geology, legacy soil disturbance, forestry and land conversion all play important roles depending on the area. In the Rangitīkei catchment, elevated DRP is likely influenced in part by the naturally phosphate-enriched soft sedimentary and volcanic geology, soils, and natural erosion processes of the Rangitīkei. 

Monitoring results for E. coli, an indicator of the potential presence of nasty pathogens such as Campylobacter, show that many sites are suitable for swimming during dry weather conditions when this is likely to occur. However, there are also some sites that are sometimes impacted, highlighting that, while progress is being made, there is still work to do to improve water quality in parts of the catchment.

Dalrymple says none of this work would be possible without support from the Ministry for Primary Industries, Horizons Regional Council, and – most importantly – the commitment of local landowners. 

“Dedication from our landowners is helping us all better understand the true condition of our waterways and where we can make meaningful improvements.”

We all want to improve the quality of our water bodies and programmes like Growing Change show how government and industry can deliver real results fast. Growing change is a partnership between Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) and the Ministry for the Environment to help growers adopt FWFP.

Across regions, the new FWFPs will look different from many existing Farm Environment Plans (FEPs). Many traditional FEPs follow prescribed good management practices to lift baseline performance. FWFPs are risk‑based: they assess landscape characteristics, on‑farm activity risks, the values of the catchment the property is in, then set proportionate actions that reflect the risks to water on site. Some farms will need additional targeted measures, some will stay largely the same, and some may avoid unnecessary blanket requirements. FWFPs are designed to focus effort where it will have the most impact on freshwater outcomes.

Freshwater Farm Plan regulations will likely roll out in different regions at different times, so this is an opportunity for growers to lead rather than wait. Starting to prepare now reduces the risk of a last‑minute compliance rush, safeguards production and farm incomes, and shifts the debate from fear of regulation to practical on‑farm action. Taking the initiative also brings mental and community benefits: visible progress lifts morale, reduces uncertainty and drowns out the noise that comes with big change. Small, early steps add up — and they show communities and markets that growers are focused on outcomes, not paperwork.

That’s where Growing Change comes in.

Growing Change helps to translate Freshwater Farm Plan intent into on‑farm results. Built from on‑farm testing and backed by HortNZ and the Ministry for the Environment, Growing Change has provided a funded, NZQA‑approved micro credential to upskill over 100 growers, staff, horticulture advisors and council staff in horticulture‑specific freshwater risk management. The purpose of the micro credential is to enhance knowledge and demonstrate commitment to freshwater management, capability is backed with co‑funding, funded adviser time and targeted training so plans don’t stay on a shelf.

On the ground this means helping growers take the first steps, planning targeted measures to manage and mitigate identified freshwater risks where appropriate, upskill staff, and set up simple monitoring and reporting so progress is visible, auditable and practical while the industry readies for regulation.

Growing Change has also supported growers in ten catchment projects prepare a Freshwater Farm Plan through use of the New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice Environmental system add-on (EMS). Growers who participated were provided independent advisor support to prepare their EMS plan in preparation for the Freshwater Farm Plan regulations.

Early results from the Growing Change rollout show encouraging progress. By 30 June 2025, the number of Farm Environment Plans completed exceeded the 85‑plan target, covering close to the target of 37,500ha of land. 124 people were enrolled in NZQA‑approved freshwater micro-credential at the end of September (target 150) – sign up now to secure a place. Training engagement is strong across the board: ~300 people completed non‑NZQA formal training (target 61) and 261 received on‑the‑job informal training (target 183). These outcomes show advisor capability and on‑farm planning are scaling quickly, positioning growers and regions to start delivering improvements this season rather than years from now.

Freshwater Farm Plans are a practical, risk‑based pathway to protect and enhance water while keeping farms productive; they reward proportionate action rather than one‑size‑fits‑all rules.

Start now with one or two high‑impact actions this season – it removes the stress of trying to do everything at once and means you’re already on the path when FWFPs roll out in your region.

Michael Edmondson is an environmental consultant based in Te Tau Ihu - the top of the South Island - and founder of Agri Environmental Limited.

But 2025 has seen a new focus for staff working at Corteva Agriscience’s global discovery site – the rehabilitation of several hectares of steep hillsides and natural wetlands between the research station and the coast, to restore habitat and boost biodiversity.

Waireka Research Centre leader, Tania Gunn, said plantings on such steep slopes have required a team effort from all staff.

“Due to the steepness of the site we have to plant by hand, so in September the whole team, six people including scientists, researchers and admin staff, hiked up and down the hills together planting out 250 seedlings,” Gunn said.

“That’s around 15-205 of the total area we aim to rehabilitate with coastal plant species such as New Zealand flax, corokia and karaka, and we’re hoping to scale up even more in 2026 with another 1500 plants on order.”

Riparian planting is the process of establishing native vegetation along riverbanks and other waterways to protect and rehabilitate the area. It is a common requirement for New Zealand farmers to ensure sensitive areas are protected, to stabilise the banks of small streams, improve water quality and enhance biodiversity.

The New Plymouth District Council provides discounted plants that are ordered a year in advance, and the farm managers on Waireka clear the site of grasses and lay out the seedlings prior to sowing.

The Waireka site receives more than 1200mm of annual rainfall and features volcanic soil types, a legacy of nearby Mt Taranaki. After 20-plus years of grazing, the exclusion of stock from three significant areas of farmland is part of the plan to allow the wetlands to recover.

The project has also required the support of local iwi and hapu (tribes & subtribes), as areas of the farm are SASM (Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori) and wahi tapu (sacred), and contain several sites of archaeological importance.

“We have built partnerships with local iwi and hapū over several years to ensure our plans respect cultural values,” Gunn said.

“This ongoing communication and feedback culminated in a consent application After 20- plus years of grazing, the exclusion of stock from three significant areas of farmland is part of the plan to allow the wetlands to recover. to the local council, supported by iwi.

“Due to needing to fence stock out of the riparian areas, local Hapu representatives from Ngati Tairi were present for the ground disturbance of putting in fence posts.”

Future Plans

Another challenge awaits, to protect the new plantings.

“The sites require regular maintenance to prevent damage from rabbits, a type of swamphen we call pūkeko, and overgrown grass,” Waireka Research Centre leader, Tania Gunn said.

“It’s too soon to see any change, but we would anticipate that the next three years of planting will bring results. Hopefully, we’ll see more native fish in the stream that runs through the Research Station and attract coastal bird life such as black billed gulls and fantails.

“For Corteva Agriscience and the Waireka Research Station, riparian planting is part of our commitment to sustainable land management. And restoring native plants to the site was a fun and rewarding way to connect as a team.

“Next year we have 1500 plants on order, so we’ll be expanding an offer to the wider NZ team to help us get them in the ground.”

Having an “eye” for stock is what I mean - judging how well they’re doing, without weighing. One pointer being, if the wool on sheep and the coat on cattle has lost its sheen (bloom) then they’re doing no good.

A blunt, but wellmeaning discussion on this topic seems appropriate, because whilst tech savvy, some “modern” farmers don’t always have a grasp of the simple basics. So, lack of practical knowledge limits their observational skills.

I saw on TV a farmer sorting beef steers for slaughter – and he uttered all the correct terminology, such as, they were blocky and well finished with good covering. Yet, they were not prime at all. And when butchered, there was no marbling, and the small amount of fat cover was yellow.

As an indication of prime condition, a beast should be reasonably ‘full’ in the brisket, flank and cod. While most importantly, have good depth of loin on each side along the backbone. Including where the tail joins the top of the back, which should not be sticking up, and nor should the hip bones, other than a general bulge.

The inability to see the obvious often occurs when people are feeding a pet lamb. After a big bottle of water with a dash of milk powder added, they’ll say the lamb is fat – based on how full the stomach looks. While not noticing the backbone and ribs sticking out.

Analytical observation is also vital as regards grazing, that is, noticing that numerous sheep turds are showing above the pasture level. If set stocked for lambing, this not only indicates overstocking, but the worst thing is that sheep will be walking on all that exposed dung and thus contaminating the very short grass.

So, evaluating pasture at a glance is essential. Like, noticing it’s dirty (lost its glossy look). But, if it’s not until the sheep (especially lambs) get daggy before you react, then it’s too late. And the solution is not just drenching. The trick is to get the stocking rate (grazing management) right.

Being aware of all these things is basic common sense. But due to becoming dependent on technology, some farmers are losing the ability to think for themselves logically.

Another point is, when people are buying stud beef bulls, they don’t always understand some important traits, e.g. they look for a long body, but overlook a sway back. And they don’t make sure of a wedge body shape, i.e. narrower in the front to prevent calving problems. Nor do they take careful note of feet and leg structure.

And it seldom occurs to them to look for meaty ‘hams’ (rump). You know how some shapely women are blessed with beautifully rounded buttocks – well, while not meaning any disrespect to those gorgeous girls with such stunning attributes – that’s the sort of shape you want to see on the rear end of top quality beef cattle.

Kerry Butler farms in Waipawa, Central Hawke’s Bay

Wool training business Womolife, in partnership with Hokotehi Moriori Trust, Tāmata Hauhā and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), will deliver the programme.

Chatham Islander Tommi Gregory-Hunt is managing the programming delivery, enrolling over 30 people in online learning, followed up by a four day in-shed training course (three x 4 days courses, each stepping up a level).

The goal is to build practical shearing and wool handling skills while fostering long-term employment pathways.

"This is more than just training, it's about creating opportunity in a place where access to industry support is limited," says Carmen Smith, Womolife head trainer.

"The learners here are motivated, resilient, and ready to contribute to the sector."

Local shed owners have also stepped up to support the programme, offering space, equipment, and encouragement.

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Tāmata Hauhā feels privileged to be able to support Tommi and grass roots kaupapa like this.

"It's great for the island, and our rangitahi aspirations and also for the farming and wool industries as a whole," says Cherie Tirikatene, general manager at Tāmata Hauhā.

This wool training initiative is currently the only programme of its kind, making the Chatham Islands a national leader in hands-on wool harvesting education.

The programme will be documented across Tāmata Hauhā's social media channels, with learner profiles, trainer interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage capturing the energy and impact of the training.

Speaking at a field day at Pāmu's Eweburn Station, near Te Anau two weeks ago, Charteris cited latest figures that show about 18% more beef straws going into dairy cows this spring compared to last year.

"In the last four or five years, it's just been up and up in terms of the number of beef straws going into dairy cows," he said.

"I looked at last week's figures: we're looking at about 18% more beef straws going into dairy cows this spring right now than what we had last year. And that's a similar percentage increase on the year before that and the year before and the year before that."

There are several reasons for the rise in dairy beef genetics.

Number one is sex semen in the dairy herd. Charteris says the more sex straws that are used in dairy, the more wombs are available for rent.

"And you can out a beef straw in there: that's definitely a big driver."

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The second is uptake of wearables in the dairy herd. As the collar goes on the cow, the natural mated bull goes out.

According to Charteris, national data shows that the rate of natural mating has decreased across the whole country.

"And a whole lot more beef straws are being used right on day one of insemination. They're pre-sorting the cows they want replacements from and the ones they don't.

"And the beef straws are going into those cows you don't want replacements from. So, we're seeing a real evolution of mating strategies nationwide as more wearables go onto dairy cows."

The industry policy around bobby calves is also influencing farmers.

Charteris says the industry should prepare for a "non-bobby future".

"We talk with processors, and we talk around are we going to have bobby calves in the future. And what we're hearing is, yep, the bobby calf is going to stay here, but not forever.

"And so, as a farmer incorporated company, which has got a long-term vision, we must have beef products and strategies in place for a non-bobby future. And that's exactly why we're investing in beef breeding programs and we're putting so much time and energy into dairy beef."

Another driver of dairy beef genetics is carbon efficiency on beef units. Dairy beef animals coming onto beef farms will drive down the carbon emissions per kilogram carcass weight by about 25% to 35%, says Charteris.

"So, if you want a more carbon-efficient beef future for New Zealand, more dairy beef animals do help in that regard.

"And finally, from our processes, when we talk to the likes of Silver Fern, Alliance and ANZCO about potential markets for low-carbon dairy beef products at retail level, we're seeing some exciting changes there. So, all those changes are coming together to help drive dairy beef into the future."

Virtual Fencing

There was one player on Paul Charteris' "bingo card of drivers for dairy beef" that he overlooked a few years ago - use of virtual fencing on beef units.

He was on John and Fiona Sherlock's sheep and beef farm in the Waikato a few months ago.

A Class 5 and 6 hill country farm, it uses Halter virtual fencing for all beef finishing.

Paul Charteris, LIC.

"And talking to John, he said he's had, over the last two and a half yerars, 50% increase in carcass weight per hectare from using Halter now as opposed to two and a half years ago," says Charteris.

"And he's now getting kilograms of carcass weight per hectare in the top 10% of all beef finishing farms in New Zealand. And he said it's doubled and triple-checked his figures.

"He said he should not be able to do that on his type of country, but he is. So I think that sort of technology is going to be a real driver for more dairy beef cattle coming in and finishing in the future."

LIC's Response

Paul Charteris says LIC is responding to increased demand for dairy beef genetics by investing in breeding programmes of their own.

LIC has got an Angus Cross Europe breeding program, Kiwi Prime, coming onto the market next year.

Kiwi Prime genetics is designed to produce animals with lower birth weights for easier calving and faster growth for better finishing outcomes.

Charteris says another dairy beef genetics they are excited about is Synergizer, a project done in collaboration with Pāmu.

Synergizer brings together the best of Charolais and Stabilizer breeds. Charolais is a continental breed from France, refined in New Zealand to suit pasture.

By combining Charolais' growth and colour-marking genes with Stablizer's efficiency and carcass weights, Synergizer is poised to deliver a reliable, profitable calf which is designed with the needs of rearers and finishers in mind.

The product will be on the market in 2027 as liquid straw.

Charteris says LIC is "deadly serious" about dairy beef.

At a recent Beef + Lamb NZ field day, Wairarapa farmers showed it doesn't have to be the end of the road. With the right support, knowledge and confidence, farmers can stay ahead of resistance and keep stock performing.

The event featured members of the Wairarapa Livestock Parasite Management Group, a collaboration between B+LNZ and local vet and parasite expert Sara Sutherland. Farmers in the group shared their experiences managing drench resistance and offered practical advice for others facing similar challenges.

The panel outlined a range of strategies to tackle resistance, starting with monitoring, then moving through prevention, stock integration and ensuring drench is not the first solution reached for.

"You're farming worms," one farmer said. "Once you figure out your worms, then you farm accordingly." Many farmers don't realise resistance is an issue until it's already causing problems. That's why monitoring is essential. The group encouraged others to begin with faecal egg counts and drench effectiveness tests, and where possible, identify worm larvae species. As Sara Sutherland put it, "Test, not guess."

Monitoring livestock condition was another key focus. Speakers highlighted the importance of ewe condition, noting that well-fed ewes often don't need routine drenching. Healthy ewes also produce heavier lambs at weaning, allowing lambs to be sold or moved off the farm earlier. This reduces worm pressure and improves overall farm health.

Wormwise programme manager Ginny Dodunski reminded farmers there is no universal solution. "There is no recipe for perfect parasite management on every farm," she said. "Starting with the basics - good feed, parasite monitoring and minimising the time lambs are on grass - can make a big difference."

Read More:

• Protect Your Patch: Treat farm boundaries like borders, says B+LNZ vet
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Other strategies discussed included reducing the number of young animals on farm, identifying blocks with high and low contamination, using mature animals or cattle to clean up pastures and maintaining refugia (a way of preserving drench susceptible parasites). Attendees also learnt about DAGI (Drench and Grazing Integration), a new app being developed with B+LNZ support to help farmers map contamination levels across paddocks.

Genetics was briefly mentioned but recognised as an important long-term part of the solution.

By following these approaches, farmers can reduce their reliance on drench. Reflecting on past practices, one panellist said, "These days we don't put a drench into any ewe, we don't put a capsule into our hoggets... We’re living in a new world now where that’s just not an option if we want to carry on and hand the farm over to the next generation as a viable business.”

The takeaway from the field day was clear. Prevention is ideal, but practical management can make a real difference.

Looking ahead, B+LNZ’s parasite research programme is focused on developing new diagnostic tools and supporting changes to farm systems. Awanui Veterinary is currently working on a new tool that will provide more detailed information about parasite species faster for decision making. Following the success of the Wairarapa group, seven parasite management groups have now been set up across the country, if you want to find out more talk to your local extension manager.

That’s according to Rabobank’s recently released ‘Strategic Moment for Dairy-beef in New Zealand’ report. In it, the agribusiness banking specialist says with a potential value over $1.2 billion annually, this represents a strategic crossroads for New Zealand’s agricultural sector.

With global beef demand rising, strong export prices and tightening global supply are creating a lucrative window for New Zealand to expand its beef footprint.

However, realising this opportunity will require coordinated cross-sector action across breeding, herd rebuilding, rearing and value chain relationships.

“To succeed in developing a well-functioning dairy-beef system and meet evolving consumer and market expectations, collaboration is nonnegotiable,” said report co-author RaboResearch senior animal protein analyst Jen Corkran.

Each year New Zealand’s dairy farms produce around four million calves, but only 28% are retained as replacement dairy heifers, with just over one quarter of calves born to dairy farmers currently reared as dairy-beef.

The remainders are surplus to requirement and often sent for processing at four to five days old. Corkran says herein lies the opportunity to create more value from the almost two million currently under-utilised bobby calves.

“At current average market prices for the 2024/25 export season, rearing an additional 600,000 surplus calves could unlock over $1.2 billion in value.”

With the bulk of New Zealand’s dairy herd having an early spring calving pattern to match the herd’s feed demand with peak pasture growth, most dairy calves are born within a six-week period prior to October.

Corkran explained while this system is efficient for milk production, it creates a concentrated calving window that can limit the capacity to rear all dairy calves born; a structural constraint that is a key component in New Zealand’s dairy-beef challenge.

Beyond being an economic imperative, Corkran said the issue is also a reputational one, with a more integrated dairy-beef system protecting New Zealand’s global brand and social licence whilst futureproofing the livestock sector.

“RaboResearch sees value in exploring the concept of a national dairy-beef breeding strategy. This idea would benefit from a pan-sector approach, supported by robust data and aligned with economic, genetic and environmental objectives.

“With broader industry engagement and the right support, including potential funding through MPI’s Primary Sector Growth Fund, this concept could help unlock significant progress across the sector.”

With breeding decisions made at the start of the dairy-beef value chain having impacts on quality and profitability down the line, a more strategic approach to breeding considering genetics used and time of reproduction can unlock significant value without needing to overhaul the entire dairy herd.

With risk reallocation across the value chain an important driver in the creation of a profitable dairy-beef system, Corkran highlights the use of traceability systems like wearable technology and calf ‘passports’. These could target essential dairy traits like shorter gestation and calving ease while tracking calves through ownership changes.

With rearers often carrying disproportionate risk, models such as performance-based management fees or fixed-price contracts from insemination with premiums tied to growth could provide financial certainty. Meanwhile, a rapid feedback loop between genetics providers and end users would help ensure breeding decisions remain commercially viable.

The report says the strategy utilised by government- owned farming enterprise Pāmu may offer a blueprint for integrating dairy and beef systems across the country at scale.

Pāmu, which first began rearing dairy-beef calves in 2016, reared 69% of all calves born in the 2025 fiscal year. With plans to rear 10,500 calves annually by 2026– 2027, full implementation is targeted across all 42 dairy farms – milking 40,000 cows – and rearing 100% of calves by the end of the decade.

Grace was working for T&G (Turners & Growers) Global in her home region when the cyclone ravaged Hawke's Bay in 2023 - and it was a steep, but powerful, learning curve for the quality and compliance manager.

"One of my biggest takeaways from the cyclone is the leadership within T&G - essentially the people that made sure we all held together and set us towards where we needed to be," the 28-year-old says.

"We were severely impacted and it really changed the way we worked. But we also had a sense of community. Everyone was helping out their neighbours, and our number one priority was making sure everyone was safe - let alone losing orchards and land and all of the destruction."

Growing up in a four-generation family of horticulturist - including her father Colin and three older siblings - Grace had already seen the stressful side of the business and it was partly the deterrant that resulted in her seeking out the totally different career path of engineering.

"Initially, I didn't want to get into horticulture, mainly because I'd spend time with my dad and he would be stressed about the weather, the growing season, what was going on in the orchard. You don't intend it, but that stuff comes home with you."

However, part-way through university, she realised that the family's history was also running through her veins.

"When you get our family together, it's pretty hard to stop us from talking about growing," she says.

So, Grace returned home to work on her family's Omahuri Orchard in Hastings nine years ago and has since thrown herself into the industry.

Four years ago she left the family business to start with T&G as a packhouse shift manager. Three years ago she became quality and compliance manager and is currently working in T&G's Apples business.

Grace is also part of the Hawke's Bay Women in Horticulture group - established to bring women in the sector together - and says there are so many opportunities in the horticulture industry.

"I could literally go anywhere that interests me and no two seasons or even two days are the same, which is quite exciting," Grace says.

"The change our industry has made in the past 10 years alone has been huge - the automation and technology that we have available to us now is potentially something that wasn't thought about 10 years ago. So, it's quite exciting to think about where we could be in the next 10 years.

"It's very different to how my grandfather and his dad grew and packed fruit back in their time. My nana graded cherries, and they used to just pour them all onto a big table and pull out the bad ones. With the applies, there were no colour sorters, no defects sorters. It was all packed by hand, apples were individually wrapped before they were put into boxes."

She recalls as a child taking copious amounts of fresh fruit, from almost on her doorstep, and trading it with her school mates for almost anything else.

Opportunities Galore

One thing Grace Fulford dowsn't underestimate is the opportunities, growth - and confidnece - she has had by taking part in the 2024 regional and national Young Grower of the Year competitions and is excited by what lies ahead.

"I don't want to sideline myself or just say I'll go down one specific path. I've changed my mindset in the past 12 months  - when opportunities come up, I'll just say yes, I'll make it work. Previously, I probably would have shied away from them."

She is now eagerly looking forward to taking part in the 2025 Young Horticulturist of the Year competition - even if it does mean time away from her electrician husband Jack Campbell, and their two Border Collies.

Grace will now compete in the prestigious Young Horticulturist of the Year, a competition involving six horticultural sectors, in Auckland in November.

The study led by University of Waikato researchers Hamish Lewis and Dr Luke Harrington reveals a sobering truth: the driest years of today could become the average years of tomorrow.

Funded through the Endeavour Fund's Smart Ideas programme, Lewis and Harrington used a range of climate models to explore how uncertain rainfall projections interact with rising temperatures to shape future drought risk.

The research comes on the back of other recent findings by the pair along with colleagues from Earth Sciences New Zealand in which they found heatwaves that currently hit once a decade could potentially strike every other summer.

Rather than relying on a single forecast, they examined two plausible futures: one where summertime rainfall increases, and one where it decreases.

"In a wetter future, droughts are not too much worse. The temperature-driven drying of the land when the world heats up because of extra greenhouse gases is offset by the extra rain," postdoctoral research fellow Lewis explains.

"But when the world heats up and you also have less rainfall, drought events can worsen significantly. The average year in the future would resemble the driest summers we see in today's climate."

He says this pattern holds across regions from Waikato to Southland despite local climate differences.

"It's impressive how consistent the signals of change are across the country. This isn't a case where regions like Southland are off the hook. You can't simply sell your farm in one area and relocate elsewhere expecting to escape the impact. The risks increase everywhere."

Senior lecturer in climate change Harrington makes it clear that it is "inherently uncertain" which way the future weather could go, hence the two storylines chosen.

And it will mean that farmers have a choice.

"They can take a gamble, hope that we have wetter summers in the future, in which case the additional rain will offset the warming-induced risks of more extreme drought.

"Or they can take a pragmatic approach to risk management, and plan for the equally plausible outcome where rainfall does decline in the summer and drought risks increase substantially across the country."

As Harrington notes, adaptation strategies will vary depending on the farm, but the most effective responses are likely to come from those working on the land day to day.

"Whether it's planning ahead for supplementary feed during dry spells, improving water storage capacity, or exploring alternative land uses, farmers and growers are best played to make informed decisions, especially when equipped with clear, practical data."

At the heart of Verdus Energy & Associates’ mission lies a bold promise: to convert dairy and livestock farms into carbonnegative operations while generating a diverse portfolio of high-value green commodities.

By leveraging patented circular economy principles and energyneutral processes, Verdus turns animal manure and agricultural residues into a powerful engine for ecological and economic transformation.

The company supplies a modular BCT system— developed over 15 years and now in its fifth generation— which is a plug-and-play solution that arrives in 10 shipping containers and can be assembled in under a month. Each module processes 36 tonnes of dry biomass per day, producing negligible emissions and leaving no residual waste. Unlike competitors who require 500 tonnes daily to operate, Verdus achieves superior efficiency with a fraction of the input, making it ideal for decentralized deployment across farms, forests, and industrial sites.

Verdus Energy’s technology transforms feedstocks such as cattle manure, poultry litter, crop residues, and even municipal solid waste into over 200 marketable products. These include renewable diesel, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Biochar, green fertilisers, organic pesticides and herbicides, bio-oils, electricity, and carbon credits. The environmental impact is profound: Biochar alone sequesters three tonnes of CO₂ per tonne applied to soil, and when fed to cattle, it reduces methane emissions by up to 22%. Combined, Verdus’ solutions can achieve a staggering 187% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The company’s ESG alignment is equally compelling. Environmentally, Verdus eliminates landfills, cleans up rural pollution, and replaces petrochemical inputs with natural alternatives. Socially, it protects ecosystems, enhances food safety, and revitalises degraded land. From a governance perspective, Verdus empowers responsible management through traceable carbon credits and sustainable procurement.

Verdus Energy says its business model is built on strategic partnerships with governments, primary producers, energy companies, and waste managers. With feedstock surpluses exceeding 20 million tonnes annually in New Zealand alone, and strong global demand for its offtake products, Verdus says it is well-positioned to scale rapidly.

Kevin Smith, President and Chief Operating Officer of Verdus says the company’s technology has already proven itself in commercial settings.

“Version 4.0 has been successfully operating for over two years, producing carbon fuel pellets for one of the world’s largest mining companies. The current rollout of V5.0, will start in Q4 2025 and production is planned to commence in North America in 2026.”

Smith says Verdus Energy isn’t just solving the waste problem— it’s constructing a new paradigm for resource recovery, climate resilience, and economic regeneration.

In partnership with Halter, owners Mark and Sherrie Stokman have been using Halter covers on their 456-unit farm - comprising Angus stud cows and commercial Angus cows and yearling bulls.

Stokman Angus holds regular bull sales. In 2024, it sold 115 bulls averaged at $5340/bull with 65 head selling for under $5000. The 380ha effective farm includes hilly terrain.

At a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand council meeting and field day on the farm, Mark told farmers that physical fencing can be a barrier to rotational grazing on beef farms. It's been expensive, labour intensive, and restrictive.

He says they are excited to team with Halter to test the world-leading virtual fencing technology to the beef industry.

Mark says he's been very impressed with Halter. Pasture is being managed effectively, even on hilly terrain. The technology helps optimise grazing and feed management by providing realtime data and provides a live map of the herd and allows for remote management, giving Stokman Angus more flexibility and control over their cattle.

"It's so simple to make that virtual fence line, we are grazing to a more consistent residual and getting better regrowth behind. I would say we are saving three hours of labour a day and we are going to get 15kg weaning weight gain," he says.

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"After a tougher summer and a slow autumn to follow, our sale bulls spent a few months on the hills to build up some cover on the flats. Halter was a game changer to be able to graze effectively and evenly over areas we don't usually run the yearling bulls.

"We definitely can say the team didn't complain about not having to run reels and standards up and down the hills."

Mark says he did his homework on Halter and believes a 15kg weaning weight gain on yearling bulls made economic sense.

"I'm half Dutch and an ex-dairy farmer and we've got a big mortgage. I believe you can have whatever you want - if you're throwing money at it and you make enough off it to make it work well.

"When we first got Halter, I think I calculated that if you've got an extra 15kg weaning weight, say at $4 a kilo, there's $60.

"Well, that's over 50% of your collar cost on a yearly basis, so I think that's quite a return.

"Then when we look at our labour saving, a lot less side-by-side usage, freeing up time block, then as a whole I'm impressed with Halter."

A Halter representative at the field day told farmers that the beef sector is the focus of the New Zealand company that has now gone global.

"It's the core of where we see all our growth. A couple of years ago we really saw value in the beef space," she said.

"We've got a whole team working on the development of the product now and there's going to be some pretty cool things coming out for our New Zealand beef farmers and also for international beef farmers."

She says Halter has about 90% of the dairy virtual fencing market in New Zealand and remains the fastest growing provider in the dairy space.

Close to a decade after a momentous move from the Hoban’s traditional stomping ground in Culverden, the Hoban’s Corriedales are just one component of an enterprising business at Glenafric, Waipara.

It’s not the first time the Hobans have run with an opportunity.

Founders James and Sarah Hoban moved to Culverden in 1909 and James was the closest thing Culverden had to a vet for a number of years, particularly valued for his work with horses.

James had previously been working at Horsely Downs, Mt Parnassus, Molesworth and Rotoiti near Scargill. Even after they moved to Culverden James was retained in an advisory role at Rotoiti for a few years.

It’s unclear exactly when James and Sarah started with Corriedales but it was at least several years before the Parham Hill stud was officially registered in 1925. And so it continued down the generations, with William (Bill) and Margaret Hoban taking over the stud in the 1930s before Pat and Judith in the 1970s.

Their son James and his wife Maria got involved in 2007 when they started their own Gargustan flock which merged with the stud a few years later.

“We are not enjoying the same level of demand that Corriedale breeders had in their heyday. The wool market decline has been disastrous for our breed and there are few studs left but we still enjoy Corriedales,” James says.

They fit the business and stack up well with their ability to handle a drought. “They are easy on people, dogs and fences. We are extremely proud to continue a family sheep breeding legacy.”

Daughter Alice (13) started her own Corriedale stud a couple of years ago and now William (11) is breeding English Leicesters. “If he’s not the youngest stud sheep breeder in NZ he’ll be close to it,” Dad says.

People who have moved away from Corriedales don’t always realise the gains the breed has made in recent years, he adds. These days the Hoban’s main wool line sits around 25-26 microns.

“Stud breeding is a fun part of our work. It’s labour intensive and not for everyone but it spins our wheels. I’ve been lucky to travel to Australia several times and Peru last year through breed commitments and we enjoy international fellowship, built over generations, that I doubt any other sheep breed can match.”

Glenafric Farm

Nearly a decade ago, the Hobans decided their time at Culverden was up. After a careful search they found Glenafric, a 770ha coastal sheep and beef farm near Waipara.

It’s here they run Corriedale and South Suffolk stud sheep flocks as well as commercial Corriedales and Hereford cattle.

Every year there’s an on-farm ram sale. James admits the move from Culverden was a tear at the time, but the old home block needed irrigation development and it was clear that older-style sheep and beef management would no longer stack up there.

When they sized up Glenafric they could immediately see good rainfall, soil and scale in a lower intensity dryland system. The combination means they can focus on sheep – both stud and commercial – in combination with beef breeding and finishing.

“It is a special farm and we are extremely lucky to be here. The Mackintosh family had done a great job looking after this property for nearly a century before our tenure started.”

A fair bit of sweat has gone into tuning up Glenafric to suit the Hobans’ requirements. Improvements have included re-fencing, planting poplars, native shelter and fencing waterways. On a bigger scale, they’ve retired 65ha of native bush, put in a stock water scheme and built a new woolshed and covered yards.

As he told one journo, “We’ve swung a hell of a lot of gates”.

The farm’s a four-person operation with James and Maria and Pat and Judith closely involved in all the admin and hands-on farm work. When work gets extra heavy, they often bring in a casual worker too.

The farm also has a beach frontage and it gives the Hobans a lifestyle they cherish, blending work with play. Maria has learnt to fish and the family enjoys regular deer hunting. The kids Alice and William take a keen interest in farming too.

Last year at the Christchurch Show Alice won the dual purpose Super Ewe competition, the ewe class in the youth exhibitor section, the supreme champion in the youth section and young exhibitor of the year.

William, competing for the first time, went well with his English Leicesters, taking second place ewe hogget in the youth section. Naturally, he wants to grow his flock and beat his sister in future shows.

James says while the showing focus is starting to shift to the next generation, they were still proud as a family to win the Supreme South Suffolk for the third year in a row as well as most points for the first time.

Farm Tours

Now well settled in Waipara, the extended Hoban clan continue to be open to new ventures.

Last year they partnered with Geoff Venning of Real New Zealand Tours to bring in busloads of tourists for a farm experience. A lookout lends itself nicely to picnic lunches while a tractor shed has been converted to a museum “which completely justifies all previous and future vintage tractor purchases. After every group leaves, I tell Maria that their highlight was the museum”.

James says the family have been fortunate to find a great business partner to work with.

“Geoff and his team can do the things we can’t like marketing, driving a bus and taking bookings. We can host a farm visit but we needed someone to help turn that into a business. Geoff came to us with the idea and has invested in getting this running. He brings years of tourism industry experience.”

Explaining farming to tour groups has helped the family reflect on their business and lifestyle choices.

“Visitors are amazed at the way Kiwi’s farm on properties like this. They see the work involved and how much we care about our land, our stock and the pride we have in our products.”

James always tells the guests that anyone wanting to be rich would be mad to go into sheep farming.

“We need to make enough money to be able to keep farming and bring our children up in this amazing place. We have to work hard to make it work but we are our own bosses, we can be flexible on work days and we have a pretty unique office.”

The addition of most of the remaining Campbell Island sheep and some adopted Finns add to the interest for visitors.

The business relies on three generations of family involvement to keep the wheels turning. James and Maria are grateful to farm with Pat and Judith. James says family farming brings challenges and tension on a bad day but is immensely rewarding.

“Dad and Maria are extremely patient which helps. We all work well together. Dad has over 65 years farming experience behind him and he has taught us a lot.”

James explains that Alice and William both work hard on weekends too. Whether it is mowing lawns, grubbing tussock, feeding dogs or helping with sheep work.

“I look at how hard three generations before us worked to give us this opportunity and I like to think that if James and Sarah are watching they’d be proud of what we are doing.”

The review was conducted by a Plan Governance Group (PGG) including representatives of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), and Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) and chaired by Dr Helen Anderson, an experienced primary sector board director.

Anderson said while New Zealand has made great progress in reducing the impact of TB, there was more to do to protect valuable dairy, beef and deer industries and to safeguard rural communities.

"While the disease remains in possums, we will keep having outbreaks of reinfection."

The PGG is seeking feedback on a number of matters including prioritising eliminating TB in the remaining hot spots of highly-infected possum populations as soon as possible, using the most cost effective tools in large 'landscape-scale' operations and updating the TB Plan milestones to achieve TB freedom in both herds and possums by 2040.

Primary sector levy organisations represented on the PGG are encouraging farmers to have their say.

"Wether or not you've been directly affected by TB, eradicating this disease is vital for the future of our entire sector," said DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker.

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Anderson says it is proposes to replace the current milestone of TB freedom in herds by 2026.

"We are so close to achieving zero infections in our livestock, with just 15 herds, or around 0.01 percent, infected in June this year. That’s an amazing achievement, thanks to decades of hard work and ongoing investment.”

OSPRI operational developments which contribute to the goals of the TB Plan include changes to targeted criteria-based on-farm TB testing and potential simplification of the herd status classification system. These are included in the consultation for feedback.

For the next five years the TBfree programme will be receiving $60 million in funding per year, with 60% derived from farmer levies and the remaining 40% from the Crown. Anderson said that the sooner New Zealand could get rid of TB in possums and herds, “the sooner cost to farmers can reduce”.

“Beyond 2031, its currently expected there will be a [funding] shortfall, but it’s proposed to undertake a further review of long-term funding before we get to that point.”

Deer Industry New Zealand chief executive Rhys Griffiths said that farmer input “plays a crucial part in the primary sector’s future, and here’s your chance to feed into important decisions. Get informed on what the plan is proposing and make sure you have your say”.

Consultation on draft proposals for the TB Plan runs from 1 September through to 12 October. For more information or to make a submission visit www.tbplanreview.co.nz

B+LNZ chair Kate Acland says the AI digital assistant Bella was another example of B+LNZ investing in tools and support that deliver genuine value for farmers.

"Bella is only trained on B+LNZ's verified Knowledge Hub resources, providing answers that farmers can trust and use on their farms.

"She has access to around 4600 pages of information and more than 220 hours of podcasts and videos in the Knowledge Hub. Bella will revolutionise how farmers access off-the-shelf research, unlocking around $100 million worth of investment from B+LNZ and others in science-based, New Zealand-specific information and turning it into bespoke answers.

"I've been testing Bella over the past few weeks and she really is a game changer in terms of turning information into something farmers can apply on-farm.

"She can create a mind-blowing range of tailored outputs based on what you need. Bella is accessible from a farmer's smartphone so she's available anywhere - she puts the power in farmers' hands."

Bella's testing has involved more than 100 farmers, students, researchers and advisors over two months, and she is the end result of nearly five years of investigation by B+LNZ.

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Testers have been able to create everything from month-by-month plans to checklists. "So far, it seems there's not much she can't do," Acland says.

"Bella is comfortable with complex, multi-part questions, and you can speak questions instead of typing them and have the answer read back to you - all in a range of languages from Te Reo Māori to Filipino - in fact every language we have tried so far."

Bella's name comes from 'Beef + Lamb Assistant', and she uses Christchurch tech company Custom D's 'Caitlyn' AI software (also utilised by the Foundation for Arable Research).

"This means she came to us with a high degree of training already built in, and she's cost-effective," Acland says.

Acland says Bella's training is ongoing and B+LNZ will be asking farmers how they use Bella, to inform future development.

Bella can be accessed via www.AskBella.co.nz,  and there is further information on how to use Bella available from that link.

Ten years of research, including long-distance travel, millions of dollars and countless hours spent on research and running DNA tests, have helped a small team of people achieve their goal - to develop something that previously only government labs with much deeper pockets had ever accomplished.

Meet one of the newest novel endophytes farmers can buy, CM142. The endophyte has been on the radar at Cropmark Seeds for more than a decade.

The company says that in all that time, it’s been an inside job - no outsourcing the heavy lifting.

“This pasture breakthrough is selfgenerated, by NZ’s only locally-owned private forage breeding company,” says Cropmark R&D manager Stephane Montel.

In terms of research, it was also a very long-shot, Montel says.

“The odds of finding a strain like CM142 are one in a thousand. And we had to start with the very basics. One thing with endophyte science, it’s all good to say, let’s get involved. But no one is going to tell you how to do it, because it’s commercially sensitive.

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“As a small player in the seed industry we had to do it on our own. It pushed us, forced us not to rely on anyone else, and to eventually succeed with a commercial product was incredibly exciting.”

Endophyte screening tools created and refined by Cropmark’s team early in this process are now routinely used by others in the industry.

Simply finding CM142 in 2015 was a big task. It meant screening thousands of grass seed samples from around the world before settling on one particular line of germplasm collected in western Greece in 2012.

That was just the first step. To bring a new endophyte of this type to market in NZ, Cropmark researchers first had to ensure it wasn’t simply a copy of existing patented technology, says Montel.

While it contains epoxyjanthitrem alkaloids like some other novel endophytes on the market, they had to prove CM142 was unique, from its genetic makeup to its attributes.

Gathering the evidence to do so took years, and trial after trial on cultivar yield & persistence, animal safety, insect deterrence, fungicide resistance, stability, and transmission, among other things.

“We had pages of check lists to go through before we could ensure CM142 was commercially viable,” says Montel.

But the outcome is worth all the effort, she adds.

“It’s a very good achievement for our team. It has been an emotional rollercoaster, but we succeeded.

“Our goal was to maintain insect protection while increasing livestock performance with reduced toxicity and better forage production. We have achieved that and more with CM142 and believe it is the safest endophyte of its type on the market.”

That’s the view of Hawke’s Bay wool broker Philippa Wright who has called it quits after a stellar 48-year career in the NZ wool industry, most of which has involved running her own wool broking business in Waipukurau.

She says she first noticed the start of productive farmland moving away from sheep when the big move to dairy conversions began and since then the problem has increased with the planting of trees.

“We have lost an enormous amount of sheep country and at the same time the price of wool hasn’t matched what a grower needs to make a profit, so therefore they have made other choices for their land,” she says.

Wright says another factor which has led to the decline of the wool industry was the decision by farmers in 2003 to disestablish of the then Wool Board whose task it was to promote our wool.

She says while there were problems with the way the Wool Board was being run at the time, the vote to kill it off completely was wrong.

“I am still absolutely gobsmacked that they threw it all out. They should have said we still need wool fibre to be represented at a high level and to promote it in the northern hemisphere. Why couldn’t they have just changed it to suit that requirement rather than get rid of it?” she says.

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Wright says, to make matters worse, up until comparatively recently with the advent of the campaign for wool, farmers did nothing to support or advocate for wool.

The result she says is that wool has slipped off the radar of New Zealanders. Wright says wool used to be the major export for the country and NZ was one of the biggest users of the fibre, but this is no longer the case.

“We have missed educating at least two generations of our people about the value and great properties of wool and we have a lot of catching up to do,” she says.

Wright says the good news is that over the last five or so years, the media and people in general have become much more aware of wool due to the efforts of the campaign of wool.

What we need to do now, she says, is to create an enthusiasm for wool in our own country and make people aware of the excellent properties of the wool and the myriad of uses that it can be put to.

The Wright Journey

Philippa Wright began her career in the wool industry immediately after leaving school and spent the next two years working as a shed hand before going to Massey University to get a diploma in wool handing.

After that she did some wool classing on Merino clips before moving to the North Island.

“I’m not from a farm and I can’t say that early on I had a fascination with wool. But my father was a wool buyer and classer, so I saw what the industry was about from a very early age,” she says.

Wright ended up in Hawke’s Bay and stayed there for 15 years working for a variety of companies such as William and Kettle, Dalgety’s and Wrightson’s – all of whom eventually merged.

“It was a tough working in the brokering industry and was quite difficult for a female trying to progress. They gave me every job from bottom to top, so I got good all-round experience and, in the end, this created a resilience and toughness that has held me in excellent stead in my own business,” she says.

After 15 years in Hawke’s Bay, Philippa had the opportunity to buy into a wool broking business in Waipukurau. She initially bought a 50% shareholding in the company and four years later took over the business outright and formed her company, Wright Wool, which she has run for 28 years.

During her career in the wool industry, Wright has seen many changes. She says two things stand out: firstly, the improved testing of wool and also the mechanisation of the industry.

She says when she started, testing was just beginning and it was mainly for yield. But now she says they test for everything – colour, the micron, the bulk the length and strength.

“This is one of the single biggest innovations because it’s taken away that subjective assessment, which means that down the line there is proof that wool is a more reliable fibre to process and create new uses for,” she says.

The other big change has been the advent of technology and machinery. Philippa Wright says when she started in the industry, there was only one forklift in the entire wool store of the company she was working for and, of course, lots of people. She says the introduction of mechanisation and new technology made a massive difference.

Now that she has sold her business, Wright says she just plans to take a break and see what happens and perhaps reflect on the sector that has been her life. She believes that while a lot of innovation is taking place in the sector, nothing really new is happening – just doing what we always did better. She says the challenge for the future is to create new products that the consumer will genuinely want and be prepared to pay for.

After successful trials on several farms last spring, Allflex launched its new generation RapIDMatic Evo applicator and RapID Evo tags nationwide just before Fieldays 2025.

Among the trial farms was Hawke’s Bay coastal property Te Tumu Station where the new RapIDMatic Evo applicators reliably installed RapID Evo tags in more than 10,000 lambs at docking.

Manager Jaime Pickens says Te Tumu’s total lamb crop is destined for finishing on chicory for the Lumina lamb programme through sheep genetics and logistics company Headwaters, so lambs must be tagged at docking to ensure a traceable source of data on every animal.

Jamie says the new RapIDMatic Evo applicator is a significant step forward on the earlier model applicator.

“There is no jamming with the RapIDMatic Evo applicators and that meant the docking team could get through the mobs without any stoppages and at a good pace,” he says.

He deliberately ordered extra new RapIDMatic Evo applicators to ensure he had several back-ups, just in case of breakdowns, however, that proved unnecessary and three of the new applicators remained unopened at the end of docking last spring.

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He says excellent tag retention was a big advantage from using the new RapID Evo tags so they can track the grazing history for each lamb and capture the premium available from supplying the Lumina programme.

Pickens also likes the compact design of the new RapIDMatic Evo applicator and says they are easy to operate even when lambs are tucked into a docking chute.

Each applicator can take up to 20 tags in a roll which also improves the speed of application. The tags can be ‘prerolled’ so they are ready to load into the applicator as the previous roll runs out.

Allflex NZ sales lead Christopher Jennings says he is pleased with the feedback from farmers on the company’s new RapIDMatic Evo applicator and RapID Evo tags.

“The new tamper proof cap on our tags significantly improves their retention and reduces the risk of over application, so shearers and farm staff will appreciate the tip of the bayonet on the tag won’t catch on them when they are handling sheep on farm,” he says.

The new RapID Evo tags have a high-quality transponder built into the stem to maximise EID read distance and the tags are available in strips of 20 in a range of colours, printed in both alpha and numeric options.

The new RapIDMatic Evo multi-shot applicator features a larger internal barrel with an improved tag feeder and guide for easier loading of tags and less jamming.

“The cutting mechanism that separates each tag has been improved for increased reliability of tag application and we’ve added new shock absorbing handles on the applicator to reduce the jarring effect for users as well.”

Te Tumu Station

Te Tumu Station is part of Big Rural Limited, the farming enterprise owned by Big Save Furniture. The station covers 2500ha in total and has about 2000ha effective, running 1000 cows and up to 9000 ewes in a terminal sire operation.

Replacement twotooths are bought in each year so all the ewe flock is mated to terminal sires and all the lambs are moved on to other Headwaters client farms for finishing for the Lumina lamb programme, says station manager Jaime Pickens.

“All our lambs are tidied up by March each year so we can avoid the typically dry East Coast conditions and put the feedback into ewes and cows for next season’s crop of lambs.”

The cows are mated to Rissington sires and the bull progeny are returned to Rissington for its dairy sire programme.

New Zealand’s freshwater management policies have long been focused on nitrogen and other contaminant limits, but DairyNZ says with freshwater reform underway, there is an opportunity to shift towards more of a focus on stream health.

While reducing the loss of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to our waterways from farming activities is important, this narrower focus risks missing the bigger picture: the health of our freshwater streams depend just as much, if not more, on enhancing habitat, biodiversity, and re-instating more natural-like processes.

The science shows – and DairyNZ agrees – that New Zealand needs to rebalance its thinking from an exclusively mitigative approach to one that includes restoration and rehabilitation. That means investing in riparian planting, wetland restoration, and biodiversity corridors.

Restorative actions not only reduce contaminants but also build up the ecological integrity of our waterways, DairyNZ says, allowing native flora and fauna to thrive, which is the ultimate sign of healthy streams and riparian areas.

The power of riparian planting

Riparian planting is one of the most effective tools we have, and while many waterways have been planted, there is opportunity for much more.

Riparian planting stabilises stream banks, reduces sediment runoff, and creates habitat for native species. It provides shade, which makes a big difference to stream temperature – for example, peak summertime temperatures in small pastoral streams can be 10-12°C warmer than a similar size forest stream (i.e. 18-20 vs 30°C).

Many of our native fish cannot thrive in water warmer than 25°C, and so if stream water is too warm, then the only way to cool it is to shade it – no amount of contaminant reductions will fix this.

Small streams make up 75–80% of our stream network and are especially important. They respond quickly to restoration, support key species like banded kōkopu and tuna (eels), and influence the health of larger downstream waterways.

The science of shade is clear

Just 1km of riparian planting can cool a stream by 5°C – a powerful, nature-based solution. “The science of shading is more robust than the science of contaminant, such as N limit setting,” says Dr Craig Depree, DairyNZ principal water quality scientist.

Waikato Regional Council research from 2022 confirms that there is only a weak relationship between nutrient concentrations and important measures of ecosystem health, such as aquatic insects.

In contrast, habitat quality, stream temperature, and biodiversity are far more reliable indicators of freshwater vitality.

Policy focus on outcomes

DairyNZ says it has been active in representing its science-backed policy recommendations to government during the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) review in 2025.

Nitrogen (N) in NZ waterways accounts for just a small slice of ecosystem health, says Dr David Burger, a freshwater scientist and GM farm solutions and policy at DairyNZ.

“In my opinion, we are far too focused on N in our policy frameworks in New Zealand. Through our engagement in the current policy reform, we’re advocating for a move away from a rigid focus on numerical nutrient limits, toward a smaller set of compulsory attributes centred on human and ecosystem health,” says Burger.

Among other things, DairyNZ is seeking a freshwater management framework that supports the work of catchment groups, who have demonstrated their effectiveness in delivering on-theground environmental improvements, such as riparian and wetland planting, which are critical to freshwater health.

Farmers Lead The Way

Despite the policy gaps, many farmers have been stepping up. Across the country, dairy and drystock farmers alike have been partnering with iwi, councils, trusts, and community groups to plant natives, restore wetlands, and protect waterways.

Johan van Ras, a DairyNZ environmental specialist and farmer working with the Piako-Waihou catchment group, makes his point clear: “We’re doing this for the next generation, and I am so proud of what we have achieved,” he says. “The power of the group is the only way we’d have got this done, this is where the catchment groups are amazing.

“These restoration efforts are about legacy, community, and caring for the land,” he says. They also work – Johan is seeing his planted stream banks remain stable after flooding, in ways he never did prior to planting.

“After Cyclone Gabrielle my neighbours lost their banks, I did not,” he says. He points to the benefits for reduced maintenance (drain cleaning), indicating that since planting, they have not had to clean to remove sediment or nuisance weed.

Van Ras also has extensive wetland restoration planting on his Tatua farm near Morrinsville and, when combined with planting waterways and streams, hopes to provide habitat for taonga species like tuna (eels) and to potentially attract endangered bird species – such as the native bittern – back to this land.

“I’m really excited about bitterns, it’s a major motivation for me, although I haven’t seen or heard their unique boom call yet, it’s only a matter of time. I reckon I just need to convince my neighbours to get a more joined-up wetland habitat,” he says.

The Australasian bittern, known as the matukuhūrepo, has a population estimated to be in the hundreds, making it one of our most critically endangered birds. It is known to travel across the Waikato where Johan farms but needs the right native habitat and food sources to stop, fish and rest as it travels.

That said, van Ras proudly shows a picture of fledging swamp harrier (kahu) chicks in a nest within his wetland.

“It really hits home when you see these cool things with your own eyes, on your farm, and you know that’s because of what we’ve done. It’s a sign that the environment is healthy and thriving.

“And to be doing that while farming productively, is something I am immensely proud of,” says Johan.

Seeing tuna, and other native species return to the catchment is a key indicator of ecosystem health, says Makoha Nightingale-Pene, a project manager for Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust.

The Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust has played a key role in supporting planting efforts within the catchment.

Carex Planting

Native plants like Carex are unsung heroes.

They spread naturally and quickly, holding up stream banks, are flood resistant, and providing habitat for insects that feed fish, contributing to the food cycle. They’re a perfect example of how native biodiversity supports ecosystem function.

Established Carex/sedge riparian planting alongside native flax.

“Planting Carex is the simplest thing a farmer can do for your small waterways and streams. It’s easy, I don’t need the council here to clear sediment and weeds from these managed waterways – so that’s a saving for ratepayers. It’s also robust, and able to ‘lay down’ during a flood, so less likely to get ripped out and cause blockages,” says Johan van Ras.

But restoration and riparian planting isn’t something landowners need to do alone. There is considerable support available, through plants, funding, people power, and community expertise.

The key is getting involved and initiating action in your own patch.

DairyNZ-supported catchment groups are at the heart of habitat restoration efforts throughout the dairy farming regions of New Zealand. DairyNZ says they are one of the best opportunities to make progress on improving waterways and to add native biodiversity onto farm, which deliver co-benefits for people and the land.

“Catchment groups offer a platform for sharing knowledge, connecting people with common values, adopting good management practices, addressing water management challenges and helping communities enhance their environments.”

Environment Canterbury, on behalf of the National Biocontrol Collective, applied to use two biological control agents to combat Darwin’s Barberry in New Zealand.

Darwin’s barberry is a resilient noxious weed found in disturbed forests, pastures, shrubland and short tussock-land. It is considered a threat to indigenous ecosystems throughout the country, as well as pastures where livestock graze.

Standard control methods like herbicides or weeding can prove costly, impractical and harmful to the environment.

It is native to Chile and Argentina and was introduced into New Zealand as a garden plant in the 1940s. Fruit-eating birds deposit seeds far from the parent bush, increasing its spread.

The plant can be found throughout New Zealand – particularly in the Canterbury, Otago, and Wellington regions.

The proposed biocontrol agents could also be used to target Darwin’s barberry elsewhere in the country.

Both the flower weevil and the rust fungus proposed for introduction are native to South America.

All organisms new to New Zealand must receive approval from the EPA before being released into the New Zealand environment.

Dr Chris Hill, general manager of hazardous substances and new organisms at the EPA, says the independent decision-making committee approved the introduction of the new organisms following “rigorous, evidence-based assessment”.

“The applicant’s risk assessment showed that these agents are highly unlikely to harm native plants or animals,” Hill says.

“The weevil does not bite or sting, so there is no health risk to people, and the rust fungus is also benign,” he adds.

Hill says the decision followed public consultation, engagement with mana whenua, and consideration of international best practice.

“New Zealand has a strong track record of using biological control agents to manage invasive weeds with minimal impact on native ecosystems," he concludes.

The converted dairy farm, situated along the border of the Waitohe River in the Opotiki District, is a joint venture between Trinasolar, a global smart photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage solutions provider and Lodestone Energy.

Construction of the 71,000+ module utility-scale solar farm began in December 2023 and achieved first generation in December 2024, with the project's construction progressing faster than anticipated. This was due, in part, to the ongoing partnership between module supplier, Trinasolar and Lodestone. As the third agrivoltaics project developed together, ongoing collaboration enabled the refinement of construction processes.

Incremental improvements in small and repetitive installation tasks translated to large efficiencies at scale - significantly accelerating the construction schedule. Once fully operational, the 42MWp farm will generate 69GWh of clean energy annually, enough to power nearly 10,000 homes, and is the first solar project in New Zealand to feed directly into the grid.

Like Lodesone's other farms, Te Herenga o Te Rā, plans to integrate sheep grazing beneath elevated solar modules, allowing livestock and renewable energy production to coexist. The elevated panelling design provides shade for sheep during warmer months, reducing heat stress, while their natural grazing controls grass growth under the modules - reducing maintenance costs, herbicide use, and machinery emissions.

Lodestone Energy plans to reinstate the necessary infrastructure to support livestock, including new yards and fencing, before welcoming the next grazing lessee to Te Herenga o Te Rā later this year.

Connor Dent, grazing lessee and pastoralist of Lodestone's first agrivoltaics project, Kohira, has found the experience overwhelmingly positive.

"As a civil engineer, I was directly involved in constructing Lodestone's first solar farm, Kohira, which gave me a unique perspective on the project from the ground up. Through this work, I became aware of the opportunity to trial grazing under the panels and was keen to take it on," he says.

"Since then, I've seen firsthand the benefits of agrivoltaics for both the land and livestock. The panels provide shelter, which has improved survival rates, and we've noticed better grass retention through dry periods. There are some challenges, like managing fertiliser application and working the dogs when the panels are tilted, but overall, it's been a positive experience. Seeing the project through from construction, to now farming on the land has been incredibly rewarding."

The latest project builds on the longstanding partnership between Lodestone Energy and Trinasolar, which has now seen nearly 200,000 Trinasolar modules deployed across Lodestone's three operational solar farms in Kaitaia, Edgecumbe and the latest in Waitaohe.

Edison Zhou, head of Trinasolar Australia & New Zealand, says the farm is a standout example of how solar and agriculture can work together seamlessly.

He notes that globally, interest in agrivoltaics is accelerating, and Lodestone is at the forefront of delivering large-scale, dual-use projects.

"Their work is setting a benchmark for agrivoltaics initiatives worldwide, and we're excited to be part of their journey."

The university will display the laying of the genetic groundwork for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand's working dogs.

Right Dog for the Job is a three-year research project led by Massey University, in collaboration with industry partners including Pamu and Focus Genetics. The project is co-funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries through the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund and supported by Ancestry.com. The goal? To better understand the genetics of New Zealand's working dogs and lay the foundation for future genetic testing and selection tools.

The project began with New Zealand's first large-scale genetic study of working dogs, sequencing the genomes of 249 Huntaways, heading dogs and crossbreds. This revealed over 19 million DNA variants, a vital first step in uncovering how genetics influence health and performance.

Researchers are now analysing the frequency of potentially harmful recessive variants, comparing them to those known in overseas breeds. This work supports more informed breeding decisions and aims to improve the health, working ability and longevity of our working dogs.

Of nearly 400 known variants linked to health or physical traits in other breeds, 27 were found in the dogs sampled with five appearing at high enough frequency to warrant further testing.

Professor Matt Littlejohn and members of the research team will be at Fieldays to share insights into the project and demonstrat how selective breeding can support healthier, more capable working dogs. Visitors can even get hands-on with an interactive 'Tinder for working dogs' experience, where they'll be tasked to identify the healthiest breeding matches based on genetic compatability.

Dog whistles will be up for grabs for successful participants, along with the chance to win a genetics kit, thanks to Ancestry.com.

As the project moves into its next phase, including collecting more DNA samples and collaborating with farmers and vets to track health and performance traits, Littlejohn says connecting with the farming community is key.

"The long-term aim is to enable future tools for breeders and dog owners, not just to avoid genetic disease but to select for the traits that really matter on farm. If the research can help pick the best dog for the job, it will make a real difference to farm efficiency and the wellbeing of both dog and handler."

Also, on display will be how to mitigate the cost of shearing through self-shedding sheep. With many farmers finding that the price of wool no longer offsets the cost of shearing, what was once a profitable process is now an increasing expense.

To explore alternatives, a long-term project at Massey's Riverside Farm in Wairarapa is investigating the viability of self-shedding sheep, specifically Wiltshires which naturally shed their fleece once a year. The research has two key aims: first, to model the profitability of transitioning from traditional Romney sheep to self-shedding Wiltshires, and second, to conduct a multi-year flock study tracking the production and performance of the sheep as the flock is gradually bred towards Wiltshire genetics.

Running since 2020, the project has already yielded promising insights. By collecting animal performance health and wool data from sheep from varying proportions of Wiltshire to compare with the original Romney-type sheep, the study aims to better understand the genetic control of shedding.

This study will continue to collect production data to support farmer decision making for the future of their flocks. The project will extend until 2028.

Dr Nick Sneddon and his team will be sharing more about the project at Fieldays, including its findings and what they could mean for the future of farming in New Zealand.

Site PE51

The flyovers will focus on land disturbances, looking at forestry and machinery working in or around the streams, rivers and wetlands and intensive winter grazing, says Otago Regional Council (ORC) manager compliance, Carlo Bell.

“The ORC undertakes compliance flights every year to gain a bird’s eye view on land use in districts around the region to identify any potential risks to water quality,” says Bell.

Bell says that following the flyovers, staff will assess the information and undertake site visits and follow ups on any potential high-risk sites to ‘ground truth’ observations and check compliance.

He says these flyovers prove to be an effective way to look at activities across the region from forestry to winter grazing, that they’re operating the way they should be.

“The flyovers are one tool in our compliance tool box and have been a longstanding part of our compliance work programme,” Bell says.

Bell says that while the Government recently changed intensive winter grazing regulations, he still encourages Otago farmers to continue with their best management practices.

“We know farmers are well set for this winter and have grazing plans in place and are able to maintain the gains put in place from previous gazing seasons. While the regulations have changed, good practice hasn’t changed,” he says.

Bell says that ORC’s compliance programme will continue for winter 2025, with a continued focus on education where appropriate however, the worse the effects on the environment, the more likely that enforcement tools will be considered.

“We’re expecting farmers, forestry contractors and earth moving contractors, to have plans drawn up for managing sediment which is likely to be mobilised and sediment controls in place to keep sediment from getting into Otago waterways,” he says.

Anyone who sees pollution of a waterway is encouraged to call the ORC’s 24/7 pollution hotline on 0800 800 033, or email pollution@orc.govt.nz.

Yaldhurst Wools is a buyer, grader and exporter of fine and strong wools, which has been in operation on the western outskirts of the city since it was founded by wool exporter John Betts in 1988.

It is now run by Betts' son-in-law Ross McGuckin, whose own son Edward, 23, has now joined him in the business.

As a buyer of all wools, the Yaldhurst operation is all about grading and sorting wools for various end-uses. On an average day, they might bale 15-16 bales, and up to about 20 on a busy day.

"You get a lot of those crusty fleeces coming through the door," says Ross.

"It takes a lot to class it out."

Some of the wool comes in loose packed. While many shearing sheds now have their own TPW presses, Ross says some of it is not sorted too well and they will sort and re-bale it.

He has had a TPW press in operation for about 30 years, the current machine since 2013.

"So, it's had 12-year service and we'll probably do four or five thousant bales a year through it," he says.

"It's like anything we do: we service it every year. And it works a dream if you keep up to date with everything and you use it properly, you're fine."

Originally invented by the Perth company Theresia Perfection Welding, the TPW woolpress is said to have revolutionised wool handling in both Australia and New Zealand with its power-driven and largely automated operation. Following the passing of its founder in 2000, the company was acquired by Heiniger which now markets them alongside other shearing equipment and other agriculture products.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, Heiniger is currently offering a free 600kg capacity TPW Backease Hoist with each new TPW Xpress Woolpress sold (details at heiniger.co.nz).

The press features inbuilt electronic scales, a unique sidepinning system and a variety of safety locks.

McGuckin's press is a three-phase model which gives it a stronger and faster action.

They usually press to 180kg which they find easy to handle. Bales that are too heavy or too light don't stack very well.

On the day Rural News visits, Edward McGuckin is sorting fleeces into various bins for each class of wool. The wool will go into the press once there's enough in a bin.

Picking out some Corriedale lamb's wool, short and about 23 or 24 microns, he explains that it would card well and be very suitable for scarves or gloves.

Another crossbreed wool he classes as B or C-grade, being a little long in the fibre and probably coming from a 12-month shear.

Shorter wools are selling for more now, he says.

“People like to shear at six months more than full now, because they find that the ewe does producing a lamb as well producing wool it. It’s really a personal preference for the farmer."

Edward said he knew he’d go into the family business since he was young, having worked there in the holidays, and also working on family sheep and beef farms. McGuckin family members still farm on land they have held since 1915 at Glenmark in North Canterbury.

While some of McGuckin’s wool is sent to the South Island’s only wool scour at Timaru, much of it is sold greasy for export, and is shipped via a company on the other side of Christchurch which can compress three standard bales into 600kg bales.

Artificial Fibres

On the state of the wool business, Ross McGuckin agrees it has fallen away a lot.

He says the “whole problem” is too many people wearing clothes made of artificial fibres.

“But our biggest fear with the industry is, everyone’s getting older. Who’s going to take on the mantle of doing it?”

With some “funny breeds” coming on, people need to know what those wools are good for, and how to class them.

McGuckin welcomes the recent Government decision to use wool in government offices for carpets and furnishing but questions whether it specifies that New Zealand wool is used.

However, a lucrative side of the Yaldhurst Wool business is its own line of top-quality woollen blankets bags and other items all made from 100% New Zealand wool but woven in Yorkshire.

Ross says they are very popular with overseas tourists.

With the correct management, these seedlings will provide ewes and lambs with high quality feed in late winter and early spring.

According to B+LNZ’s factsheet “Using Subterranean Clover”, farmers wanting to increase the population of subterranean (sub) clover in their swards should spell paddocks after germination has occurred to allow the seedlings to reach the 3–4 trifoliate leaf stage.

Ideally, the paddocks should then be grazed by cattle to reduce shading of the clover seedlings. This is particularly important in wet, ‘growthy’ autumns.

Over winter, the paddocks can be grazed as required, but B+LNZ recommend farmers keep the clover-rich pastures above 1200kg DM/ha. If possible, lambing paddocks should be spelled completely to allow pasture covers to build for lambing.

Sub clover is an annual legume which is valued for its ability to produce more drymatter than perennial legumes in early spring, making the most efficient use of available soil moisture. This means it is ideal for driving ewe lactation and pre-weaning growth rates.

Sub clover grows at least a month earlier than lucerne, white and Caucasian clovers. It favours sunny dryland sites, so it is particularly valuable in East Coast dryland hill country, where, with the appropriate management, it is able to persist in environments where white clover dies off.

Well managed dryland pastures can have 50% clover on offer in September and October.

Grasses in legumerich pasture benefit from the nitrogen(N) fixed the legumes as they take up the extra N and become more palatable to stock.

Subterranean clover has the ability to produce high-quality feed in late winter and early spring. As it thrives on drier sites (sunny hill faces, stony soils), with the correct management, subterranean clover can be a valuable component of east coast, dryland, sheep systems.

As an annual legume, sub clover produces more drymatter in early spring than perennial legumes such as white clover. This is because annuals germinate and grow at a lower optimum air temperature (10-15 °C) than perennial legumes (20–25 °C). Sub clover starts rapid growth at least a month earlier than lucerne, white and Caucasian clovers. Wellmanaged dryland pastures can get 50% clover on offer in September and October.

Grazing animals, when given the choice, prefer a diet that is 70% clover and 30% grass. Providing quality herbage from August to November helps lactating ewes milk well, ensuring rapid lamb growth rates. This allows lambs to be finished earlier, before summer dry conditions limit pasture production.

The crown research institute says it is rising to the challenge, building understanding of NZ’s groundwater systems and striving to provide advanced warning of when and where the impacts of drought will hit in the future.

It is leading a multiyear research programme to fill in the gaps in knowledge of the inner workings of aquifers – their structure and storage, and the rate that water flows through the system and is recharged by rain. The scientists aim to identify the groundwater systems most vulnerable to climate change.

GNS says that while the most direct cause of drought is lack of rainfall coupled with warm weather, aquifers play an important role in mitigating the impacts of prolonged drought. During dry spells, some rivers and streams cope well when the rain doesn’t come, maintaining water flows, while others suffer low flows. The varying performance can be due to the drought resilience of the groundwater system that replenishes them. It notes that existing drought assessment tools have a high level of inaccuracy because they focus on soil and surface water and don’t consider the deep reservoir of connected groundwater that sustains freshwater systems. The future-proofing groundwater systems research programme, which has received $10m funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Endeavour Fund, will characterise aquifers’ resilience to drought, identifying those that can buffer drought impacts, and those which are more vulnerable.

The models developed by the programme will enable both multidecade forecasts and seasonal projections of where the impacts of drought will occur. The programme will conduct research in five case studies, in regions where drought and nitrate contamination are of greatest concern (Hawke’s Bay, Northland, Waikato, Wairarapa and Canterbury).

“These forecasts will help us be better prepared when drought hits, reducing the impacts and costs for our primary producers, regional councils and iwi,” says Catherine Moore, GNS principal scientist and co-lead of the research programme.

“With long-term forecasts we can make better decisions about infrastructure projects and land use, mitigating the consequences of reduced water availability.”

More than 80% of the water flowing at NZ’s surface is supplied by groundwater, and at times of drought this contribution can be critical.

Agtech start-up Aimer Farming has announced the official launch of Aimer Vision - the platform’s ‘eyes’ - to New Zealand farmers.

The world-first vision AI toolset applies AI-driven machine vision techniques to assess pasture cover with around 90% accuracy via a five-second, 180-degree scan using a standard smartphone which can be done whilst farm workers are out doing day to day tasks.

Founder and chief technology officer of Aimer Farming, Jeremy Bryant points out that traditional pasture measurement methods are often labour-intensive, inconsistent and take hours of time to 'walk the farm' on a weekly basis.

“Aimer Vision delivers instant, AI-powered insights using a smartphone, allowing farmers to optimise grazing, reduce waste, and improve profitability - all without increasing labour costs,” says Bryant.

“Our industry estimates suggest that regular and accurate pasture measurement using Aimer Vision could boost farm profits by up to $400/ha - potentially adding $60,000 to $80,000 in annual revenue for an average-sized dairy farm.”

Prior to now, the tool was only available to select farms in BETA as part of a project funded by an Agmardt Agribusiness Innovation Grant. Now, having ingested 15,000 video scans across all four grazing seasons to improve accuracy, wider launch will significantly shift the way dairy sector operates, Bryant says.

Data gathering across a full year of seasons is also underway across Ireland to enable Aimer to launch in Europe.

“AI is revolutionising so many industries; and we believe farming should be one of them. Applied AI can help dairy farmers drive huge improvements in pasture measurement, management automation, profit and sustainability.

“We’ve been talking about Aimer Vision for a while now; and it’s exciting to have refined the product to a point where it’s ready for wide launch and a potential game-changer for users.”

Aimer Vision says its user-friendly smartphone application eliminates the need for specialised skills, making pasture measurement more accessible and helping to address ongoing labour shortages. By working to deliver more precise pasture data to Aimer’s underlying models, Aimer Vision can help optimise grazing patterns and feed management, directly contributing to increased farm productivity. Additionally, AI-driven predictive insights allow farmers to forecast pasture growth up to 21 days in advance, improving planning and resource allocation.

“Pasture management is a complex puzzle, requiring constant calculations, predictions and communication,” says Bryant.

“By building a ‘digital twin’ of each paddock on every farm, Aimer learns growth rate patterns, predicts pasture performance and offers tailored recommendations, from supplement levels to grazing plans. Aimer Vision is a powerful way of making sure farmers save even more time by making inputs easy and instant.”

The potential impact of Aimer Vision extends well beyond the farm gate, according to Phil Townend, chief commercial officer at Aimer Farming.

"AIMER is building the world's largest pasture productivity database, which could help global food corporations measure sustainability from farm to product, and input suppliers understand the efficacy of their products. The value of this data, alongside the productivity gains, is significant."

He adds that New Zealand's dairy sector is a key driver of the economy, but rising costs, labour shortages, and stricter environmental expectations mean farmers must find smarter ways to operate.

“AI-driven solutions like Aimer Vision offer a way to boost efficiency without increasing workforce pressure, helping farms remain competitive in a changing global market."

Aimer Farming made history in 2022 when it launched New Zealand’s first ‘Siri for farmers’ digital coach in your pocket for the dairy industry. Today, Aimer is used by over 170 farms in NZ and Australia and scaling rapidly via distribution partnerships with the likes of Fonterra Farm Source.

Moleta farms at Waitui, one of the many small bays at the very tip of the Marlborough Sounds.

It is two hours by winding hilly road from Havelock, much of it unsealed and vulnerable to poor weather. Moleta must sometimes resort to sea barge to get stock to Picton.

But by running first Wiltshire wool-shedding sheep, and now Shire hair sheep sourced from Southland breeder Tim Gow, Moleta hasn't regularly shorn his animals in about 15 years.

He has a long working relationship with Gow initially buying the Wiltshire wool-shedding animals for their ease of management. He was more than interested when Gow managed to produce his Shire hair breed, which he trademarked in 2011.

"As soon as he started breeding hair sheep we started buying them."

Moleta has recently confirmed his commitment to the breed by buying two more premium Shire rams, at a top price of $8,800.

"We've bought some expensive rams over the years but what we do is we just buy the best that we think we can get and put it over a line of ewes and then keep the rams for our breeding rams."

While Moleta is based at what is one of the most northern tips of the South Island, Gow is almost as far south as possible, in western Southland near Manapouri.

"We would generally just pick them from the catalogue and buy over the phone," said Moleta.

"It's a rather long drive down there. I just went down there maybe a month ago, but prior to that, we only had two trips in all those years."

Moleta said Wiltshires can be messy as the wool falls off, and they can get sunburned, but that's not a problem with the Shires.

"The reason we've got the hair breed is they are chunkier, gruntier sheep. Just a better sheep."

They also do not need tailing because they shouldn't get dags unless they are undernourished or sick.

Moleta also runs some Angus cattle at Waitui. He also has a block at Tapawera, southeast of Nelson, where he has some sheep but mainly grows hops. A third hill block at Tadmor near Tapawera is running ewe lambs and two-tooths.

He currently has around 5,000 ewes across the three properties.

Waitui was fully organic for many years and ewe numbers have come down from a high of about 5,800 as he has fenced off areas for native bush under the One Billion Trees and Significant Natural Area initiatives.

The economics have been tough. For some years he trucked lambs to ANZCO in Ashburton to take advantage of an organic premium that ANZCO no longer offers.

"Once that change went through we went back to conventional because I didn't want to send our stock any further south; Ashburton was enough. So now we just send to the local plant.

"So we've gone away from organics," says Moleta.

Strong Demand

Southland breeder Tim Gow says a recent auction on his Mangapiri Downs Organic Stud Farm was a success, with prices for his Shire breed of hair rams ranging from $700 to $7,000.

The top-priced ram was bought by Wayne Donaldson of Ashburton.

"This strong bidding reflects the increasing demand from farmers looking to transition from wool sheep to low-maintenance, organic Shire hair sheep," said Gow.

"Mangapiri Downs is now taking bookings for Shire rams and mated ewes, offering farmers another opportunity to secure proven genetics."

The event was Gow's second ram auction for the Shire hair breed, which he trademarked in 2011. He had worked since the 1990s to establish the stable genetics for the breed, largely under the guidance of his uncle, the late Australian animal geneticist Dr Scott Dolling.

Despite much of the infrastructure around roads and bridges still underway, or in some cases, put in the “too hard” basket, locals were attending the event with a great deal of positivity, particularly as dairy, beef and sheep prices were now in ascendency.

While the Expo was a chance to see the latest machinery and tech for agriculture, or a chance to quiz industry advisors, it also offered a chance to catch up with old friends for a chat and a cold drink.

A packed seminar marquee tackled the issues of the day, with a range of speakers on day one including Dr John Roche, chief scientific officer for MPI, discussing emerging genetic technologies, while Cara Brosnahan, the principal scientist for Animal Health Research at Beef + Lamb NZ looking at facial eczema and on-farm parasites.

Day two quickly hit the 30-degree mark on the thermometer by midmorning, with a large crowd learning about drench resistance, followed by the topic of “Wild About Wool” with panellists discussing how to add value to a crop that continuously seems to sit in the doldrums. The speakers included John McWhirter, CE of Wools of NZ, Dan Norman of Big Save Furniture and National Fieldays Innovation Awards winner Maddie Foote from Iona College, who built a clever wool cladded study pod.

The biggest buzz during the second day was the Rural News Cadet Challenge, fought out by eight teams of three from schools and colleges throughout the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast.

Arriving without any pre-warning what their challenge entailed, the teenagers watched a demonstration of how to bone a leg of lamb by Vaughan McNabb from Affco, followed by rural butcher Taiamai Corker mincing the meat to make sausages using natural skins.

Given 90 minutes to complete the task, the teams were also presented with a table of herbs, spices and flavourings to tempt the tastebuds, when blended with the sheep mince to create the “perfect” snarler. They were tasked to produce an accompanying side dish, with salads, citrus and, of course, the staple East Coast ingredient sweetcorn, both dishes to be presented for tasting to three esteemed judges.

Certainly a hive of activity for the 90 minutes, with a few “oh bugger” moments and some “interesting” flavours presented, a close battle saw the young ladies of Woodford House School in Havelock North take the overall honours. Their prize included the Competition and Individual trophies, accompanied by a plain envelope, which we understand held a substantial cash reward.

The winners, Hannah Newman, Sophie Storrar and Chloe Williams, would certainly have a big smile on their faces on the arduous trip back west, alongside a better understanding that putting some good sausages on the dinner table is not just about a dash into a New World or Pak’n’Save store!

Both sires are top picks among farmers seeking strong udders in their replacement heifers.

Earl says LIC first became interested in Dembe’s grandmother about six years ago, and a bull out of her was sold through contract mating.

“At that time, I was just starting to do a bit of embryo transplant work… we had some really good results, and found ourselves with eight heifer calves from her,” Earl says.

“One of those heifer calves was Dembe’s mother; she was contract mated as a yearling.”

This year, LIC’s sire selection team has purchased five bulls out of Earl’s herd.

Having satisfied all genomic evaluation benchmarks, all five young sons will progress through LIC’s Sire Proving Scheme this year.

Read More:

• Illustrious lives up to his name
• Record graduation rate a testament to genetics
• Top bull joins Hall of Fame

The evidence is strong, and Earl knows he’s breeding good dairy progeny. How’s he doing it?

Selection pressure key

Mating the yearlings to elite young sires is an acknowledged method of fast-tracking genetic gain, but so too is selection intensity within a herd, a tactic that’s not lost on Earl.

“In terms of genetic improvement within our herd, the number-one driver has been selection pressure, and by that I mean getting plenty of cows in calf and reducing wastage, enabling us to sell a portion of budget cows at the end of most seasons.

“For the last few years we’ve had good six-week in calf rates in the high 70s, and because of that we’ve been able to chop between 20 and 50 cows out of the bottom each year – and we’re making those selection decisions primarily on production worth (PW).”

This follows the mantra of herd improvement specialists, professional farm consultants, top commercial farmers, and fellow breeders: ‘Breed on gBW, cull on PW’.

“We nominate our bulls,” Earl said. “I do make picks from Premier Sires (tables) but I don’t take them as a team, I nominate them within a pack, and they’re primarily genomic bulls.

“And we’ve always mated our heifers to AB.”

Utilising genomic bulls over young stock fast-tracks genetic gain because the very latest genetics are being used, which are generally better than the previous generation of bulls and heifer calves.

In addition, time is not lost waiting for daughter proofs (i.e. herd testing information) to filter through, because DNA information (through GeneMark Genomics, for example) can identify whether desirable milking traits, such as fat and protein, have been passed on to the calf.

A solid performer

Earl typically milks 765 crossbred cows during the season through a 54-bail rotary. He and wife Melissa farm 240ha of flat Canterbury land, and aside from themselves (Melissa helps during peak calving season), the couple employs three fulltime staff.

The farm is owned by the McSweeneys alongside equity partners.

Dembe’s mother is still a core part of the herd, Earl said.

“She’s a four-year-old… she’s performing well, she’s got better with age actually, and she’s right up there with the best among the herd.

“It’s a family that’s performed very well for us; we sold (to LIC) two more bulls this year out of the same family.

“She’s 427 (gBW) and 635 production worth, and she’s probably a 470kg cow.

“She did 600kg solids as a 3-year-old last year. And that’s in a herd that’s doing an average of around the 490kg mark; they’re (i.e. the family’s daughters) producing well above their peers.”

Goal setting

On average the herd was producing about 105% of its liveweight, which equated to 490kg milksolids per cow, Earl said.

“All our top cows are doing well above that – our quartile one group is probably doing about 130% of their liveweight, and my agri manager Pete de Vill helps me out with that sort of data.

“We want our top cows to be staying in the herd until they’re 8- and 9-year-olds.

“You could say it’s our five-year goal to bring our whole herd to 110% of their liveweight, while maintaining our current farm system.”

Mating Plan

Recent mating plans have seen about 60% of the herd bred back to dairy replacements, with the remaining 40% of the herd going to beef (utilised from day 1 of the mating plan).

Cows were targeted based on gBW, Earl McSweeney said.

“From week 6 to week 10 we use SGL. We’ve gone AB right through this year. We’ve invested in CowManager tags six months ago, so it’s made it a lot easier.

“We scanned (the cows late January), and we maintained our six week in calf rate (mid-70s).”

Replacement calves were managed on a runoff within 10km of the farm, Earl said. “We weigh the young stock and all the data goes to MINDA Weights. Every time we drench, we weigh.”

Although the farm didn’t weigh milking stock, Earl said it was a strong consideration as it would make his genomic breeding worth information more robust.

The McSweeneys are also breeders of another top genomic bull that LIC has catalogued this year, 524059 Plateau Grayson-ET, another Spectacular son.

CP Lime Solutions has announced their new range of Vitalise mineral supplements for sheep and beef, using micronised mineral pellets containing calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and trace elements.

The company has provided mineral supplements for dairy cows over the last 17 years, but a growing demand from sheep (especially fine wool) and beef cattle farmers for minerals that can be fed ad-lib in the paddock has seen the range expanded.

Looking at minerals in more detail, calcium and phosphorus are fundamental for the development of strong bones and teeth in livestock. Any deficiency in these minerals can lead to skeletal abnormalities and reduced growth rates.

By incorporating mineral supplements into the diet, farmers can ensure that their animals receive the necessary nutrients to support robust growth and structural integrity. This is particularly important for young animals whose rapid development demands higher mineral intake.

Reproductive efficiency is another critical factor in the profitability of pastoral farming, with trace minerals such as zinc, selenium, and copper having been shown to influence fertility positively.

As an example, zinc plays a vital role in hormone production and ovulation, while selenium is essential for sperm motility and overall reproductive health. Supplementing livestock diets with these minerals can lead to improved conception rates and healthier offspring, thereby enhancing the sustainability of the farming operation.

In the dairy sector, milk yield and quality are directly linked to mineral nutrition, with calcium in particular, being a major component of milk and required in significant amounts during lactation. Insufficient calcium levels can result in decreased milk production and conditions such as milk fever. CP Lime Solutions says Vitalise mineral products are formulated to provide adequate calcium and other essential minerals, supporting optimal milk production and quality.

A well-functioning immune system is essential for livestock to resist infections and recover from illnesses, with minerals like zinc and selenium known to bolster immune responses. Zinc is linked to maintaining skin integrity and wound healing, while selenium acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage. Regular supplements containing these minerals can reduce the incidence of diseases, leading to lower veterinary costs and improved animal welfare.

Metabolic disorders, such as grass tetany and milk fever, can also be linked to mineral imbalances. For example, grass tetany is associated with low magnesium levels and can be fatal if not addressed promptly.

Incorporating magnesium- rich supplements can help prevent such conditions. Similarly, ensuring adequate calcium intake pre- and post-calving can mitigate the risk of milk fever, while promoting smoother lactation transitions.

Investing in high-quality mineral supplements can lead to significant long-term savings, as healthy animals with balanced mineral nutrition exhibit better growth rates, reproductive performance, and disease resistance, leading to increased productivity and reduced healthcare expenses. Moreover, preventing mineral deficiency- related issues before they arise is more cost-effective than treating them after they develop.

www.cplimesolutions. net.nz

HortNZ will be sharing a stand with Potatoes NZ at Site C61, where members of its policy team and Canterbury regional representative Chelsea Donnelly, will be available to meet growers.

"We're always ready to support growers and appreciate taking the opportunity to meet face-to-face," says Scott.

"That's why we encourage everyone to stop by and see us at the event."

These are exciting times for New Zealand's horticulture sector, with export revenues expected to reach a record $8 billion by 30 June - an impressive 12% increase.

However, growers also face significant challenges, including extreme weather, rising costs, and increased regulation.

Biosecurity remains a top priority, highlighted by the recent discovery of a second male Oriental fruit fly in Auckland.

"HortNZ is committed to helping growers navigate these challenges while continuing to grow their businesses and contribute to the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan's goal of doubling the farmgate value of horticultural production by 2035."

HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott.

Donnelly's appointment last year marked the start of a pilot programme introducing four regional representatives.

"Having Chelsea on the ground means growers in the South have a direct link to us," says Scott.

"She regularly visits growers, but she's also just a phone call away for any questions or concerns. She ensures growers' insights and ideas reach Wellington, shaping our discussions with the Government on key policies." 

With this direct connection, HortNZ can tailor industry meetings across the regions to be as relevant and useful as possible for growers.

As the autumn re-grassing season approaches, the association is urging farmers to choose modern proprietary cultivars which are supported by years of investment, testing and development.

Choosing uncertified or unknown cultivar options can result in poorer strike rates and weed infestation. Cheap pasture seed may also contain unknown and potentially low or non-existent endophyte, crucial for pasture persistence and good livestock performance.

Newly appointed PBRA chief executive Sarah Clark says modern ryegrass cultivars are inoculated with new and known endophyte strains which are designed to reduce the effects of some performance-limiting livestock challenges and enhance persistence.

Clark says PBRA member companies deploy specific managment systems to ensure endophyte levels and seed quality are maintained, and they also come with support and advice from experienced field staff. "It might be tempting to consider buying cheap, uncertified seed, but the risk of poor pasture performance is high, as is the risk to on-farm biosecurity from the introduction of unwanted weeds," she says.

"Buying seed of unknown quality and provenance buys a risk of high weed control costs and reduced pasture and animal productivity. The cost of additional management inputs and lost animal productivity can far exceed the premium paid for buying known and proven cultivar pasture seed."

Many PBRA member companies make significant long-term investments in proprietary cultivar development, and she says the support of farmers is vital to maintain those programmes, so they continue to provide cultivars which perform better and mitigate some of today's farming challenges.

The general manager of PBRA member company Germinal New Zealand, Simon Larsen, says many of the proprietary cultivars have also been included in multiple National Forage Variety Trials across several regions, so farmers can compare their performance against other options in similar farming areas to their own.

Newly appointed NZ Plant Breeders and Research Association chief executive Sarah Clark.

"Those trials are independenly run and audited, so farmers can view the results, maker their own selections with confidence and know the cultivar choice they make will provide value to their farm," Larsen says.

PBRA member companies have good supplies of their proprietary ryegrass cultivars available for sowing this autumn after last year's challenging season resulting from lower farm gate prices and the hike in input costs experienced over the past two years.

Larsen expects improving farmgate prices will have a positive influence on the volume of seed sown in this autumn's re-grassing period.

"The cost pressures on farms mean there's been a lot more short-term crops repeated over the past couple of years and pasture renovation deferral. At some point those paddocks will return to perennial pasture as part of the farms re-grassing programme," he says.

The PBRA represents plant breeders, intellectual property owners and managers of proprietary agricultural seed. Association members are companies whose primary focus is the development and marketing of plant intellectual property through demonstrating the strength of research-proven standards of performance.

Gow runs the Mangapiri Downs Organic Stud Farm in Western Southland, which has been fully organic since 1989.

He originally ran mainly Wiltshires, for their hardiness under an organic regime in the Southland winters, but they were messy because of their wool shedding.

“I wasn't a huge fan, but they were a very strong breed,” said Gow.

But when a Wiltshire ewe happened to produce a big strong ram lamb covered in a coarse hair instead of wool, Dolling took an interest, believing it to be an “incredible” throwback to an old Persian breed which the Romans had spread around their empire.

Dolling explained that that was the start of meat breeds in Britain, even though the Britons continued to breed animals for wool. Meanwhile other strains of the Persian ancestor became the German Mutton breed popular in the cold damp conditions of Denmark and Northern Germany, and Dolling encouraged Gow to import them to cross with his hair line though the 1990s.

By 2011, Gow had a stable breed, covered in a coarse hair, which he was able to trademark as the Shire.

“He [Dolling] was confident that would be dominant and come through, and it has.”

Gow says the Shire is very strong, hardy in the snow, wind or rain of the Southland winters, and “great swimmers in floods.”

As Dolling predicted from their origins, they are also very long-lived, a trait Gow has encouraged by breeding old ewes to old rams.

“So, it's got all these advantages. We've got productive ewes at 15 years old that can still produce really good lambs,” said Gow.

“Now we're just at the beginning of licencing out the trademark, so that we can adopt more breeders around New Zealand. And I'm also getting an interest from overseas for them, from South America and Africa.”

He is also selling all over the country and would be hosting a major stock auction on his farm on March 10.

Gow said he was not anti-wool but interest in hair sheep is rising with the current “shocking” state of wool prices.

“We sell ewes at two and a half thousand dollars, and we've sold them all around New Zealand and getting this interest from overseas as well, mainly because they live so long.

“There's been a lot of effort go into breed them and we're not going to give them away.

“They're quite different. They have a silvery look to their hair as well. So, they're quite a stunning looking sheep.”

Decades after they first began harvesting rainwater to nourish their tomatoes and cucumbers, the company is now trialling compostable twine and truss clips and hope to roll it out sitewide as soon as possible. The move will divert an astonishing 12,000km of plastic twine from landfill every year, as it can simply be composted along with other green waste.

NZ Hothouse sales and marketing team member, Claudia Wharfe, says all crops are grown vertically, winding around twine suspended overhead. The growing facility spans 19ha across two sites.

“In a year, we use enough twine to stretch from New Zealand to Los Angeles, so that’s a lot of plastic waste,” says Claudia.

“We have previously trialled compostable growing materials, but none were suitable. Now with new developments and redesigns, we believe making the switch to compostable is achievable. We’ve been trialling various options over the last 12 months and hope to roll it out across the whole business next year.”

The company prides itself on its eco-friendly approach and recyclable packaging, alongside its family culture. The business was founded 40 years ago by Claudia’s father, Brett Wharfe, and continues to employ multiple family members plus a long-standing team – “so they feel like family too”.

Today, cherry tomatoes account for half of NZ Hothouse’s total production with about 8-10 million punnets harvested each season from their Bombay site. Other tomato varieties such as cocktail truss, Roma (low acid) and loose tomatoes, plus 7-8 million Telegraph cucumbers, are grown and packed at the company’s second site in Karaka.

Claudia says people often question why cucumbers are individually wrapped in plastic.

“Firstly, the wrapper that we use is 100% recyclable so it can go in with the soft plastics. And secondly, the reason why it’s wrapped is because of the really high water content in cucumbers. If they’re not wrapped, you’ll have a 2-3 day shelf life. So, by the time it’s picked, put into crates and sent to store, you’ve already lost a day. Then they might sit on the shelf for a day so the consumer loses out in the end.

“We did a trial with Woolworths many years ago because they wanted to see what it would be like in store without wrapping. And the food wastage was astronomical. So ultimately, it’s about allowing the consumer enough time for optimal eating.”

NZ Hothouse has invested heavily in automated packhouse machinery in recent years, and continues to keep a close eye on technological developments. The business currently employs 300 people during the peak summer harvest.

“There’s been a lot of gains in automation and robotics over the last five years which helps us get to market quicker. And because we’re more efficient, we can offer better quality and value to customers. I think automation has been a great win for the whole industry. But everything that we grow is handpicked by staff and all of our crop work is done by hand.”

Pests and diseases remain the number one challenge. NZ Hothouse employs a dedicated ‘bug scout’ to identify crop problems and uses integrated pest management to tackle common issues such as introducing Encarsia wasps to keep on top of whitefly. <pProper Snacking Varieties

Over four decades, the company has grown to become a major supplier of tomatoes and cucumbers to domestic consumers. Their cherry and strawberry tomatoes are currently packed and sold under Woolworth’s and Foodstuff’s own brands (Woolworths and Pams).

Claudia says snacking varieties have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years as consumers gravitate towards convenience and pre-packaged items.

“When we first started growing cherry tomatoes 20 years ago it was a niche variety and we produced 500,000 handpacked punnets each year. Now we’re packing 8-10 million punnets using state of the art machinery. We’ve seen massive growth in the last 3-5 years.”

NZ Hothouse is a long-time member of United Fresh and a keen supporter of industry collaboration and promotion. “We’re proud to be part of this industry and offer something to Kiwis that has a positive outcome and keeps our country healthy.

“Our slogan is ‘from our house to yours’, so that really encapsulates what we’re trying to do.”