Federated Farmers - July 2010

Dairy Alert

The bi-monthly newsletter from Federated Farmers Dairy Industry Group

Chairperson's commentary

Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson, Lachlan McKenzie

It is a clear, crisp spring morning as I type these comments. The calving season is upon us and we can be assured somewhere soon there will be some inclement weather. That brings me to the first issue I want to mention and that is animal welfare.

New Zealand has a much urbanised society, and now fewer than 6 percent of the population work on a farm. That leaves 94 percent of the population who often do not understand the farm practices that we farmers have always used. We now find that we have to be careful and be a little more discrete with some of our practices.

MAF is going to be riding in bobby calf trucks to observe on-farm and transport conditions, making sure that bobby calves are well cared for. Please ensure these, and all, calves are well housed and fed. If there are any calves unfit for travel, please euthanize immediately. Cast a neighbourly eye over other farmers' facilities in your area. We do not want our industry on the six o'clock news for the wrong reasons. Have a coffee with them and suggest some changes if you have concerns for our image. More on this can be found in the advice section, below.

Please ensure all dead animals are either covered or out of sight of roads.

I have to mention effluent management again. Please be careful out there. Make sure it is applied at the right depth to stay in the target zone. This means where pasture roots can take up the nutrients to grow grass for your cows. Your Federated Farmers Dairy representatives are working hard throughout New Zealand to ensure the industry and regional councils come up with clear, understandable codes, standards and consents that pass the farmer sensibility test. There has been some huge progress made in some provinces so please keep up the good work. If you have any concerns, please contact your local Federated Farmers representative, their contact numbers are at the bottom of this newsletter. In the meantime, please apply effluent carefully and again, use a neighbourly eye to look after each other.

It would be remiss of me not to add a vote of thanks to John Bluett who stepped down from the executive at the recent AGM. John is passionate about Federated Farmers and even though he has stepped down from a formal role within our executive, he still managed to phone me yesterday to inform me on the tasks he was carrying out for farmers over the next few days. Thanks to John, Jill and their family, I am sure it is not the last we will hear from them.

Regards,

Lachlan McKenzie
Chairperson
Federated Farmers Dairy
Phone: 07 332 3440
Mobile: 021 382 442
Email: lmckenzie@fedfarm.org.nz

Federated Farmers Dairy AGM and Conference

About 40 delegates and observers turned up to the Federated Farmers Dairy AGM and Conference that was held in Invercargill from 23 to 24 June. Having it in the deep south allowed more than the usual number of southern members to attend and it was great to see them there.

FARM TOUR

The meeting was preceded with a tour of three dairy farms and the conditions were wintery, allowing farmers to fully appreciate the challenges farmers in the south face. Two of the farms featured covered wintering sheds, while the third was a pasture based farm with an innovative effluent system.

ELECTION RESULTS FOR THE FEDERATED FARMERS DAIRY EXECUTIVE

Chairperson: Lachlan McKenzie.
Vice-chairpersons: Willy Leferink and Robin Barkla.
Executive members: Andrew Hoggard, Michelle Riley and Ciarán Tully (Sharemilkers' Section Chairperson).

Michelle farms in Collingwood and has been the Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson for Golden Bay for five years. Ciarán farms on the Hauraki Plains and is a lower order sharemilker and equity partner.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Sir Henry van der Heyden, Chairman of Fonterra, addressed the conference and covered the state of the market and industry. He also spoke on the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) and commented that it was part of the price Fonterra paid on its formation, and that regulated raw milk as supplied under the DIRA was now being sold at a fairer price than before. Sir Henry also highlighted the importance of shareholder participation in Fonterra and the capacity adjustment calculation going forward, stating that it would be calculated on the milk production for that year, rather than on the rolling average, and would be made at the end of the year. Those suffering from adverse events (e.g. drought) would be penalised to a certain extent as these would not be taken into account.

FONTERRA AND EFFLUENT MANAGEMENT

Emma Parsons, Manager of the Sustainable Field Team for Fonterra, reported on the work programme Fonterra is rolling out on effluent and the reasons Fonterra was taking a tough stand on effluent compliance. She also spoke of the collaborative role Fonterra was taking with Federated Farmers and DairyNZ to get better outcomes for farmers.

FEDERATED FARMERS AND EFFLUENT

Willy Leferink reported back to the council on the work of the Effluent Sub-committee, formed at the February council meeting, and noted that often Fonterra and DairyNZ bypassed the farm to get to solutions to issues. This missed step has meant that farmers did not get to make sure the solutions were practical. Federated Farmers Dairy continues to remind these two groups how important that step was.

Willy advised that farmers need to recognise effluent disposal is an integral part of the farming process that has to be properly designed, maintained and operated for a good final outcome. Farmers can not continue as they have in the past.

INDUCTIONS

The work of Federated Farmers Dairy, DairyNZ, Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) and the New Zealand Vet Council in coming to an agreement on the Operational Plan for inductions was outlined, with John Bluett talking of the hard negotiation that was needed to come to an agreement. Federated Farmers pushed hard for farmers to retain the right to induce. Some sectors wanted to stop all inductions immediately. The targets set are:

From 01/06/10 to 31/05/11, within an individual herd, the level of inductions should not exceed 15 percent of the herd's total size. It is desirable that the level of inductions in this period does not exceed that of the 2009/10 season.
From 01/06/11 to 31/05/12, within an individual herd, the level of inductions should not exceed 8 percent of the herd's total size.
From 01/06/12, within an individual herd, the level of inductions should not exceed 4 percent of the herd's total size.

See the advice section to see what is expected of dairy farmers planning on using inductions this year.

ANIMAL WELFARE

Lachlan brought the council up-to-date on Southland's animal welfare issues that led MAF Animal Welfare to carry out 20-30 inspections, unannounced. Lachlan was concerned by the manner in which these inspections were carried out, the damage to the dairy industry's reputation and the damage being done to the relationship between Federated Farmers and MAF Animal Welfare. A meeting was held with the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon David Carter, after he spoke at the Plenary Day, in order to make some progress on the issue.

I wish to thank all farmers who have put effort into writing reports for us to pass onto the MAF audit team. We will keep you fully informed of the outcome of the audit.

Industry news

THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 1999

Members have asked about the powers that an ‘inspector' may have under the Animal Welfare Act 1999. These powers are outlined for you below.

An inspector is able to enter onto any land, at any reasonable time, to inspect any animal on that land and when asked must show identification.
An inspector may take possession of the animal, by force if necessary, and take it away if he/she believes it to be in the animal's best interest.
An inspector may direct the owner, person in charge or person appearing to be in charge to relieve the suffering of the animal.
An inspector has the power to destroy an animal or order an animal to be destroyed if he/she believes reasonable treatment will not be satisfactory. However, before destroying the animal the inspector is required to consult with the owner, if the owner can be found in a reasonable time and
The inspector must allow the owner to obtain a second opinion from a vet if the inspector believes the animal should be destroyed. The animal can only be destroyed by the inspector if the vet also agrees.
If the person in charge is not present then the inspector must leave in a prominent place a written statement containing details about the entry, including:

Date and time
Purpose
Condition of animals inspected
Animals removed, if any
Inspector's name
Contact address

An inspector may also be granted a search warrant which empowers him/her to enter and search land under the terms of the search warrant, on a single occasion, at a reasonable time and taking such assistance and using such reasonable force as may be required.

Opinion

FROM POLICY ADVISOR, ANN THOMPSON

Some farmers ask why they should belong to Federated Farmers when they already pay a levy to DairyNZ and they see Fonterra working hard for farmers. I see the value in belonging to Federated Farmers every time I see good communication and good solutions coming out of both those organisations. The executive members of Federated Farmers Dairy are constantly talking to both DairyNZ and Fonterra, reminding them that farmers need practical solutions to real problems in a format that is easy to understand and carry out.

Advice

INDUCTIONS

Farmers who plan to use inductions should note the following requirements:

Forward planning for inductions is now required. Note the herd targets set for induction, listed above in the industry news section.
A list of all cows requiring to be induced must be sent to your vet six weeks before calving. Because of the lateness of notification to farmers, there would be some flexibility around this, for this season only.
Inductions will be based on accurate pregnancy diagnosis (PD) data. Farmers will need to make sure that the cows they buy come with accurate PD data.
All calves born via inductions are to be euthanized.
A resolution process has been put in place, e.g. if a farmer has a disastrous mating season. The farmer can appear before a committee with representatives from the Veterinary Council of New Zealand, Federated Farmers and DairyNZ to explain the extenuating circumstances and a decision will be made.

BOBBY CALVES

Now that calving is underway, just a quick reminder that bobby calves need the same care as your replacement calves, according to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare 2010. Bobbies are not permitted to be transported younger than four days old.

Bobby calves must be able to stand and bear weight on all four limbs and be fit and healthy for transportation.
They must have been fed at least half of that day's ration of colostrum or milk, not more than two hours before transportation.
Federated Farmers asks that you keep them in a sheltered place away from public view. This is to protect you from the eyes of the public.
Make it easy for the bobby calf truck to pick them up.
For those calves that you chose to euthanize rather than rearing them for four days and then have them endure a long truck trip to meet the same fate, Federated Farmers Dairy encourages farmers to either use a rifle or captive bolt gun.

Useful websites:

Notices

FEDERATED FARMERS DAIRY AGM 2011

While farmers have only just got back from the 2010 AGM and Conference, dates have already been set for the next one, to be held in Rotorua from 29 to 30 June 2011. Please set aside these dates now.

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY FEDERATION WORLD DAIRY SUMMIT 2010

The International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit 2010 (WDS2010) is to be held at the SkyCity Convention Centre, Auckland from 8 to 11 November 2010 and discounted earlybird registrations for WDS2010 close on Monday, 31 May.

WDS2010 is the premier dairy industry event for the year, showcasing a comprehensive range of topics from within the dairy industry. WDS2010 provides world class international speakers, together with the input of local scientists and analysts. It will also bring together a wide range of supply companies from research, engineering, packing and logistics associated with the dairy industry supporting the event. There has been a huge response to the call for abstracts, with over 200 abstracts received for oral and poster presentations. The Summit programme, comprising 12 conferences, is available by clicking here. To register for the Summit, please click here.

Training and education

INTERESTED IN ORGANICS?

Open Polytechnic has an organic growing course which covers soil management, pest, disease and weed management and marketing and is suitable for all sizes of property. For more information, click here or call 0508 650 200. Remember, Federated Farmers members get a 20 percent discount. Click here to download an enrolment form.

Member benefits

A DIGITAL DEAL

OfficeMax currently has Fuji A170 10 mega pixel digital cameras for only $99.00 excluding GST. To take advantage of this deal and for all your stationary needs contact OfficeMax on 0800 426 473.

EMPLOYING STAFF?

Remember, you need a written employment agreement. Buy your Individual Employment Agreement online by clicking here or by calling 0800 327 646. Contract packs are $45 for Federated Farmers members and $150 for non-members - that's a saving of $105 per pack.

WINESONLINE.CO.NZ

This week Winesonline.co.nz has eight stunning gold medal wines all from just $8.95. For great wines and free rural delivery, visit www.winesonline.co.nz.

HAVE A VACANCY TO FILL?

Post your situation vacant for free on ruraljobs.co.nz. Ruraljobs.co.nz is available to all Federated Farmers members, so visit www.ruraljobs.co.nz today.

MEMBER BENEFITS AND OFFERS

To view special discounts exclusive to Federated Farmers members, please call 0800 327 646 or click here to log onto our members only area.

Contacts

Please remember that if you have any issues or queries you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact Federated Farmers on 0800 FARMING (327 646) or contact your local Federated Farmers Dairy representative or one of the Executive team as listed below.