Editorial - Savour saviour

Where would we be if China hadn’t roared ahead as a destination for New Zealand sheepmeat exports?

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Match made in the wool store

The company Wool Marketing sells about 14,000 bales of wool each year sourced from Nelson to Kaikoura. Joanna Grigg reports on two businessmen with a passion for fine wool.

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  • Get ready for spring

    If we keep doing the same things, we will keep getting the same results.

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  • The Red Meat(ing) industry

    This letter was sent to Country-Wide by an agribusiness executive deeply frustrated with the New Zealand meat industry. He has requested that his name be withheld to avoid repercussions between his employer and organisations named.

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  • Ewe hogget competition finalists

    Some familiar names are among the finalists of this year’s New Zealand Ewe Hogget competition.

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  • Moving the money

    Charles Rau, of BDO Gisborne, discusses how farmers and their accountants can react to set farmers up for financial, as well as on-farm, recovery after a drought.

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Descended from proven stock

Why do we do it? That weary thought jostled for space in a head filled with dust and swear words.

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  • Drought detour

    While most of the country was grappling with the effects of the drought, Ashley and I packed our bags and headed for China.

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  • Blood ties

    “Farming is in the blood.”

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  • Who needs iPhones?

    My name is David Black and I’m studying towards a Masters in Plant Science at Lincoln University.

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  • The right number of stock

    I told the deputy editor that I would not dedicate this article to how bad we have suffered during the drought. To a degree I am reneging on that.

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Double the scale

A winning team has doubled the size of their farm business in eight challenging years.

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  • Yield up 90%, now do it again

    Sheep farmers in New Zealand have made an extraordinary achievement in increasing on-farm productivity 90% in the past 25 years, AbacusBio consultant Peter Fennessy says.

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  • Returns outweigh ewe feeding costs

    Supplementary feeding ewes in a drought easily pays off, says Hawke’s Bay vet Ian Walker.

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  • Being prepared

    Was the drought of 1964-65 worse than the 1972-73 one?

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  • NZ needs brand power in China

    Waiting for the formal interview with Grand Farms’ founder and president Xibin Chen was a little intimidating. It was held in the company’s boardroom and local news media were sitting in for added pressure. Through a translator Mr Chen answered questions about the company, New Zealand sheepmeat, and market development. The following is part of the interview (a lot of it has been already covered in earlier Country-Wide issues).

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Target pasture renovation

Farmers should assess their pastures post-drought by condition scoring them as they would sheep or cows.

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  • Forage finesse

    New Zealand’s farming systems are based on grass/clover pastures with our animals being kept outside all year.

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  • Fescue force

    Tall fescue hung on in the drought when ryegrass and even kikuyu gave up, according to Northland dairy farmer Murray Jagger.

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  • Model farm

    A model farm aiming to maximise North Island sheep and beef profits is proving to be an interesting support tool for farmers facing drought.

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  • After the dry

    I have already been fielding questions from farmers about the effect of the drought on the fertiliser programme.

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Malting master

The malting process is still a craft and Jackie Harrigan talks to one of its craftsmen.

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  • Rusts never sleep

    New Zealand is about 10 years behind many parts of the world’s wheat-growing regions when it comes to understanding the strains of rusts affecting the nation’s cereal crops.

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  • Arable farmers take supreme award

    Methven-based arable farmers Craige and Roz Mackenzie took out the Supreme Award at this year’s Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

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  • Opinion - Time to walk the talk

    The Kim Dotcom saga (concerning copyright and piracy of movies and music) may seem a world removed from the seed business, but it does serve as a glaring reminder that there is huge value tied up in the intellectual property (IP) of any industry, no matter what type of goods are being produced.

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  • Picking up pointers

    An opportunity to explore the potato chip industry in Singapore and the United States has not only enlightened Raymond and Adrianne Bowan to the challenges and opportunities abroad, but also reaffirmed the success of their business home in New Zealand.

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Grand old machines entice

Tim McVeagh takes a step back in time at Takapau expo.

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Had an earful

EID has been good for Gary and Tania Coker’s beef operation at Dacre in Southland, but not so good has been the NAIT ear tag rule.

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Painless bookmarking

Do you have trouble finding all the web sites that you have visited in the past few years?

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Forthright Frank

Frank by name and frank by nature.

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  • Take charge for landscapes

    In a new series, CountryWide photojournalist John Cosgrove writes about how to improve your digital photography skills. This month he looks at landscape – the forgotten mode.

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  • Limehills loop

    It’s not often that you can buy bakery style food and vegetables at your local school.

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  • Foaled over

    On the way to the school bus we got a fright.

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  • Adelaide aspect

    On a mission to expand her knowledge about South Australia, Country-Wide contributor Victoria Rutherford arrives in Adelaide. 

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New market for Red deer farmers?

Researchers at Otago and Lincoln University may have uncovered a lucrative new market for deer farmers.

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  • BV feedback wanted

    DEERSelect wants farmers to put pen to paper and come up with the traits they would most like to improve genetically, and to crystal ball gaze as to what breed values (BVs) might be important in the future.

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  • Refining fodderbeet in Southland

    Southland Deer Industry New Zealand Focus Farmer David Nind has had a “Yes-No” relationship with fodderbeet over the four years he has grown it.

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  • Foot to the floor

    Chillaxing is not a word David and Pam Nind spend a lot of time doing if the rate of development on their Five Rivers properties is anything to go by.

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  • Abortion common

    It’s official: Abortion occurs on most New Zealand deer farms.

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Head to Head: A comparison of dairy bull beef and traditional beef R2 finishing policies

Rising two-year dairy bull beef production is more efficient than rising two-year traditional beef steer production.

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  • Gelbvieh offers starter pack

    The Gelbvieh breed was introduced to New Zealand in 1976 and the Gelbvieh Cattle Breeders Society established in 1989.

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  • Thoroughly modern cattle

    Northland stud breeder Craig Kearney says Murray Grey cattle possess all the traits required in today’s farming environment – high performance, low input and good temperament.

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  • Shorthorn cattle - 200 years on

    Shorthorn, originally known as Durham, were the first recorded cattle to set foot on New Zealand soil on December 22 1814.

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  • Finishing focus

    Charolais cattle are popular for their early finishing ability and the flexibility that offers farmers.

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Land in the rain belt

Northern sheep and beef farmers seeking more consistent rainfall might consider Southland. Farms typically receive between 900mm and 1300mm annually.

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Bolus delivers trace elements

Elemental glass boluses are an effective way to deliver elemental selenium, cobalt and copper to the rumen of dairy and beef cattle for up to six months.

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