The benefits of a good winter feeding schedule that leads to ewes having better body conditions scores (BCS) at the start of lambing was highlighted at a field day last week reports The Southland Times. More than 200 farmers attended the Meat & Wool New Zealand Southern South Island sheep and beef council field day at the Woodlands research farm on Wednesday.

Dr David Stevens, of AgResearch, said it was clear poor winter feeding affected several aspects of production before, during and after lambing, and it was essential for good lamb growth, particularly multiples, to have ewes in good condition. “You’re no longer expecting one lamb and 5 kilograms of wool.”

(more…)

Two women directors have been elected to the Meat and Wool New Zealand board, displacing men already involved in the industry’s power structures reports Business Day. Kirsten Bryant, of Fordell, has been elected to represent the Western North Island ward and Anne Munro of Fairlie, to represent the Central South Island.

Mrs Bryant was elected with 9620 votes, beating Manawatu farmer Tony Gray (5879) for a seat in which Ron Frew did not seek re-election. The voting return percentage was only 25.25 percent, even though Mr Gray is Federated Farmers’ Manawatu/Rangitikei meat and fibre chairman. During campaigning Mrs Bryant said she was motivated to stand when farmers in her area told Agriculture Minister David Carter that hill country farming was on its last legs.

(more…)

It is technically autumn, but most of the country is still basking in summer. We are all feeling pretty pleased about that, but sheep and beef farmers’ grins are the widest reports Jon Morgan from the Dom Post. After three years of drought on the North Island’s east coast, its farmers are revelling in the greenness of their hills. And it’s the same all over – except for Northland, which is experiencing a drought for the first time in more than 10 years.

And even in Northland all is not lost. Farmers from further down the island are turning up at stock sales in Wellsford and Kaikohe to buy weaner steers at prices that will help lift sagging spirits. For dairy farmers, the joys of a green summer come mainly from less stress on their cows, although the slightly increased milk they are giving will mean a timely lift in profits in a high payout year. Fonterra reports milk flow is almost 2 per cent up on last year, despite the Northland drought, though a big contributor is the new South Island conversions.

(more…)

Meat companies are bracing themselves for a late flurry of lambs as favourable growing conditions over most of the country create a grass market. Processing plants have been working short days because of the slow flow of prime lambs, but Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper was confident the forecast number of lambs available for slaughter would be reached reports The ODT.

He said the abundant grass was affecting the flow of lambs from both store suppliers and finishers. There had been a noticeable increase in kill numbers in the past week, he said, and as autumn and winter drew near, farmers would be keen to quit their stock.”We do know stock will come over a period of time, but the risk associated with that is the influx of stock will not be in sync with markeplace requirements. It creates a production-driven model.”

(more…)

Central Hawke’s Bay shearer Cam Ferguson became the youngest Golden Shears open shearing champion in 21 years when he won a spectacular final at his first attempt in Masterton tonight. Ferguson, 25, ceded at least 10 years in age to four of his five rivals, including reigning champion David Fagan who at the age of 48 was in his 24th final and trying to win the title for a 17th time reports Stuff.

Despite being the youngest in the field, the Te Aute College old-boy was among the favourites after winning six open titles during the summer, including the Otago championship and South Island Shearer of the year finals last months. The triumph, which includes one of two places in the New Zealand machine shearing championships in Wales in July, was shared by family including partner Teresa, who won her first shearing title on the same day as he won his first open title at Pukekohe three seasons ago.

(more…)

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FOA) wants a global livestock tax to reduce the contribution their flatulence makes to greenhouse gas emissions reports Rural News.

The FAO says urgent investments, major agricultural research efforts and robust governance are required to ensure the world’s livestock sector responds to a growing demand for animal products and at the same time contributes to poverty reduction, food security, environmental sustainability and human health. “The sector is consuming a large share of the world’s resources and is contributing a significant portion of global greenhouse gases emissions,” the FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture report says.

(more…)

Landcorp Farming, the country’s biggest farmer, has produced a narrowed half-year loss helped by higher milk prices and cost control reports Stuff. The SOE today revealed a net operating loss of $6.3 million for the six months to December. That compares to a loss of $10.3m in the same period of the previous year.

Landcorp said higher milk prices boosted dairy income by 16 percent to $39.1m. This helped offset a 19 percent fall, largely thanks to the strong New Zealand dollar, to $33.9m in returns to meat producers. Landcorp said it had managed expenditure “rigorously” with total expenses falling 14 percent to $72.2m, although some purchasing had been delayed until the second-half given price trends for the likes of  fertiliser and fuel.

(more…)

I admit to being sceptical about the latest efforts to find a way to dig wool prices from the trough they have fallen into over the past 40 years.After being studied by committees, consultants, a network and a task force, the NZ industry is still floundering. Now, the problem is to be put into the hands of one person, a sort of “wool czar”. He has my deepest sympathies.

The appointment, yet to be made, follows the release of a report by a task force set up by Agriculture Minister David Carter reports The Dom Post. It concluded that the industry’s large number of interest groups did not share a “co-ordinated, overarching vision or strategy” and recommended establishing a marketing group that could leverage government funds for “partnerships in market-led wool research and innovation projects”.

(more…)

New Zealand Wool Services International Ltd reports that prices eased for most types at today’s wool sales reports Scoop. In the combined auction of North and South Island wool in Napier and Christchurch, 81 per cent of the wool on offer sold. However, at 28,000 bales, this offering was 28 per cent above the original rostered quantity, which had an impact on prices.

Compared to the previous sale, on 18 February, the New Zealand dollar has eased in value against a weighted indicator of the main international wool trading currencies, but the increased volumes coming forward neutralised the currency effect. A shortage of shipping capacity, caused by freighting providers slashing their services in response to the global recession, means wool exporters are unable to secure sufficient space, which in turn restricts their ability to purchase wool on the local market.
According to New Zealand Wool Services International, a small offering of finer crossbred fleece resisted this trend and stayed generally firm to six per cent dearer, with the very fine types benefiting the most. For detailed sale data  look here<<<<<

(more…)

Debt levels mean more farmers may have to sell land and leave the business, a rural valuer says, despite Fonterra announcing the second-highest payout in 10 years for dairy farmers. The number of farms sold in the Manawatu-Whanganui region fell almost 60 per cent in 2009, compared with the year before. There have been so few farm sales lately that valuers have found it difficult to put a value on some rural properties, and often need to use their experience to make judgment calls reports The Manawatu Standard.

Hobson and Associates senior member of the Property Institute of New Zealand (PINZ), Neil Hobson, said only four dairy farms had been sold in Manawatu, Rangitikei and Horowhenua in the past 10 months. There had also been four “significant” sheep and beef farms sold. “There are a number of buyers and sellers out there, but it is a matter of reaching prices that are acceptable to both parties and that are bankable for the purchaser and their financiers,” he said.

(more…)